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ellethespaceunicorn · 8 months

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The Howling in Claw Creek Forest, Prologue

Title: The Legend of the Claw Creek Creature

Rating: Mature, 18+, Minors - DNI

Pairing: Werewolf!Walter Marshall x Reader

Word Count: 2K

Series Summary: You live in a small town called Claw Creek, surrounded by a deep, dark forest. Since you were a kid, an urban legend of the creature in the woods has been told. If the distant howls at night and mutilated livestock are anything to go by, you fear the stories to be true.

Chapter Summary: The story of the creature in the woods is told to you by your grandfather. You pass it on later to the kids in your hospital ward as a funny story from your childhood. It seems all of this might not be just a story.

Warnings: mentions of mutilated animals, spoopy vibes

A/N: So, this is my contribution to Halloween/Kinktober. It was supposed to be a one-shot, but I digress. This poll helped me decide who is my main character. Thank you to @viking-raider for challenging me. Thank you to @milknhonies for setting a fire under my butt. And a special thank you to @peyton-warren for being my lovely beta and soundboard for this.

Dividers by me

Support/Reblog banner by me

Cover Art by me

Series Masterlist

My Masterlist

“Grandpa, I wanna hear the story again, please!” You bounded over to your grandfather, your pigtails flopped on your shoulders when you landed in his lap as he sat in his favorite armchair.

He smiled down at you and spoke, “And what story might that be, darling?”

“C’mon, Grandpa, you know what story. The one about the Claw Creek creature!!” You reminded him of your favorite tale, the legend of what happened right here in your town.

“Alright, alright,” He scratched at his gray beard and looked off into the distance, “So, way back when the town was first founded over two hundred years ago, there were only a few families that settled here. The first of which was a wealthy family from England. Then came a successful farming family from the South. And so on. Well, little did these settlers know that there was an evil lurking in the woods at the edge of town.”

You listened to the story, even though you knew it backward and forward. You just liked to hear how your grandfather could make it so fanciful every time you heard it.

“After a prosperous number of years, the townspeople started to notice livestock being mutilated overnight. One family would blame the other, of course. But no one was ever caught sneaking on the farms or taunting the animals. And sadly, it didn't end there.”

You couldn’t hide the smile on your face. This is the good part!

“Look at you getting all excited! I should have you tell this story.” He laughs and pats your head.

“No, Grandpa. You tell it so much better than me.” You adopted a pout and looked up at him through your lashes.

“Your mother used to use that same approach; she must have taught you well,” He rolls his eyes and smiles, continuing, “If losing cows and chickens wasn’t enough, the town suffered another tragedy. While playing a game of ‘Chicken’, a group of boys stood at the edge of the tree line with their backs to the forest in the dead of night. One by one, each boy would run away for fear that the noises coming from the trees were a signal that the creature was nearby. Until only one boy was left. When he saw his friends had all left him, he started to whoop and holler about his victory. And that was his last mistake, sadly—”

“Are you telling her that damn story again?” Your mother interrupted your grandfather, her father, “You aren’t the one that must reassure her in the dead of night that this story isn’t real, Dad.”

“Mommy, the story is real! And I promise I won’t get scared tonight. Please let Grandpa finish the story! Please please please please please—”

“Alright, fine! But remember you promised not to get scared tonight, young lady.” She kissed your forehead, patted her father’s shoulder, and shook her head before leaving you two to your story.

“Now, where was I?” Your grandfather starts, searching his memory for his place in the story, “Ah right, the last boy was making all kinds of racket over his victory. He started to walk toward where his friends were standing until something grabbed him from behind. All his friends could do was watch for one second, he was there, and the next second he was gone. His screams faded into the sounds of the forest. Those boys ran as fast as they could back to town to tell of what had happened.

“When some of the townsfolk went to search the forest, they weren’t very lucky. They scoured those woods in search of the boy. All they found was a cabin that was covered in vines, and it seemed to have been there for quite some time. But there was no sign of anyone having lived there. They searched and they searched but only found the boy’s jacket which was in shreds and covered in rust-colored fur. With no bears in the area, they assumed maybe it was a wolf or something. Which would have made sense with the missing livestock as well. It seemed that whatever took him must have eaten him whole because they never found anything else of his. No pants, no shoes. Gone, without a trace. And they searched for days, never finding him.

“After that tragedy, the elders discouraged everyone from going even near the woods. Unless it was daytime. If the sun was out, the forest was still a little scary but nothing like that night. Even now, with all the safety precautions we have, I wouldn’t go into that forest if you paid me a million dollars. Anyway, they ended up renaming the town Claw Creek in remembrance of what happened. Never found a wolf though. I guess after all these years, we can safely say whatever was there that night is long gone now. Occasionally though, the wind carries, and I could swear I could hear howling late at night. Whatever it is out there, I say we let him have the forest and we keep to the town. That goes for you too, darling. You stay out of those woods, okay?” He finished his story with a warning, and he’d never done that before.

“I’m not going in those woods. I am curious, though. How come I’ve never heard any howling? That would be so cool!” Your excitement about the story stopped you from thinking of the danger.

“Trust me, darling. You do not want to hear those howls. They are haunting. And I’m old, I’m barely afraid of anything. But that creature? I believe he’s still out there. That’s why I tell this story, even if your mother hates it. Listen a bit closer in the night, maybe you’ll hear the howls one day. But promise me that you won’t go in search of where they lead.” His serious face scared you a bit, he was usually so jovial.

“If I hear it, I won’t go toward it. I promise, Grandpa.” You reach out your pinky to him and he locks his pinky in yours to seal the promise.

“That’s my girl. Now, what do you say we go and see if there’s any milk and cookies we can get into?” With his warm smile back in place, you return it happily.

You hopped down from his lap and took his hand to pull him up off the armchair. Pulling him into the kitchen, you took a seat and watched as he poured the milk and took out some cookies from the cookie jar. You sat and talked with him about the creature and how you hoped you could hear the howl one day.

That night you stayed up extra late to wait for the sounds of the forest to float to your window. All you ended up hearing was the sounds of owls and crickets chirping. No howl that night and no howl any night after that.

That is, until about twenty years later...

It was just a bit past midnight and you had just finished your shift as a nurse in the children’s ward of the hospital. You were dog-tired but you loved your job. You made it a tradition to pass on the story that your grandfather told you about the town. Telling all the little kids scary stories had only one consequence. They wouldn’t want anything else before bed but your story. And you loved it. Of course, you gave them the same warning as your grandfather did, to never go in search of the ‘big bad wolf’.

You made it home and had a quick dinner and shower before you poured yourself into bed. Your open windows allowed the night breeze to come and wash over you. It also allowed you some white noise to fall asleep to.

And that’s when you heard it.

Ahh-wooooooo...

You shot up in bed, thinking you were hearing things. You went to your bedroom window and you peered out into the night. You could see the tree line from where your house stood and you listened again for the howl. There seemed to be only silence and you were about to give up when you heard it again.

Ahh-wooooooo...

Your eyes were glued to the trees as the sound traveled to your ears. You blame it on your lack of sleep that you saw yellow glowing eyes watching you before disappearing back into the dark of the forest.

But your tiredness wouldn’t explain the sound. The howl was there. You heard it twice. You can’t mistakenly hear something twice. Can you?

You wait at your window for a couple minutes and there are no more sounds and no movement from the trees. You close your window and lay back in bed. You toss and turn most of the night, thinking of that pained howl all night long. You even dreamt of those eyes that you thought you saw.

You didn’t know it yet, but that was not the last time you would hear that howl or see those eyes.

The next morning, you go out to your local coffee shop to fuel up. You notice there seems to be a commotion as some folks are gathering outside near the town square. With coffee in hand, you make your way over and spot your best friend.

“Olivia, what is all this about? Why is everyone out here?” You ask, gesturing toward the crowd of people near the fountain.

“Girl, you didn’t hear those howls last night?” Her panic-stricken face tells you everything you need to know.

Those howls were real. And everyone heard them.

“But...it’s just like a wolf or something? We’re outlined by a forest. That’s gotta be normal. Right?” You’re not sure whether you are trying to calm her down, or yourself.

“Well, yeah. But that doesn’t explain what happened on a few of the farms. Actually, the Elliot and the Sullivan farms got it the worst. They say some of their cattle and chickens got mutilated. But the doors to the enclosures to where the animals were kept? They weren’t broken in, they were just opened. Like something opened the door and walked in, ate their fill of beef and poultry, and then just walked right back out. How could that even happen?” She shakes her head and wraps her arms around herself to try and keep warm in the brisk autumn morning air.

You were fine with thinking you had gone crazy and heard howls and saw glowing eyes. In fact, you would rather have continued to think you were nuts. But this ain’t no dream. Other people heard the howls last night. And now there were animal mutilations. All like in your grandfather’s story.

I bet he would have gotten a sick little thrill out of all this happening. But you’re suddenly glad that he wasn’t around to see all this nonsense.

“Liv, I’m gonna go back home. If anything else comes up, call me ok? Just be careful out here, girl.” You give her a quick hug and make your way back to your house after she promises to check in with you later.

Sitting at your kitchen table, your coffee gone cold, you stared off into space. Was this all really happening? Was the creature real? Had it seen you that night? You pour your coffee into a mug and place it in the microwave. While you wait for it to be done, you check your phone and see Liv sent you a text.

‘Hey girl, so they’re actually setting a curfew for tonight. Can you believe it? Everybody needs to be indoors by ten. Anyway, let’s get together for drinks tonight. Your place or mine or whatever. Don’t really wanna be alone tonight with all this mess.’

You send a quick text back agreeing to have her over for some wine and bad television, not wanting to be alone tonight either. Grabbing your coffee from the microwave, you settle down in the living room with your laptop. You begin to search the internet for any local wolf sightings, and to your horror, there hasn’t been a single one. Which, in your brain, can only mean one thing.

The creature your grandfather warned you about might not be just a piece of fiction.

To be continued...

A/N: I am really nervous about this story so any comments are welcome. I really wanted this to be a one-shot and I should have known better lol.

**Tag List**

@deandoesthingstome @cakesandtom @brattymum96 @ambinxe @avengersfan25 @kebabgirl67 @thabiddie23 @sweetandgentlecreature @foxyjwls007 @astheskycries @enchantedbytomandhenry @rebelangel1102 @milknhonies @peyton-warren @geralts-yenn @raccoon-eyed-rebel @cardierreh15 @viking-raider

Let me know if you wanna be added (or removed) 😁

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seeingivy · 7 months

Note

pls do "the story of us" for ur gojo x taylor swift series 🙏🙏

the story of us

satoru gojo x f!reader

**part of my satoru as taylor swift songs series

content: gojo is ur roommates best friend, he is annoying (more teen gojo I am arrogant bastard vibes then sweetie teacher baby gojo), hoes are fighting, hoes are in the most complicated situationship on the planet earth, mistletoe, ice skating, sukuna as an annoying ex, mysterious evil dad figure for gojo

an: proof im the most annoying writer ever. made a poll for taylor as gojo to, for a second time now, ignore those options and write a completely different songs. sincerest apologies but gojo as taylor fans come get yall juice.

“Good morning, you hag.” Satoru states, in a fell swoop, crashing any hopes you had of having a good morning.

“Good morning, you garden troll.” you respond.

You rub the sleep out of your eyes, rummaging through the cabinets for a bowl, as he jumps up off the couch and joins you in the kitchen, keen and eager to annoy you bright and early in the morning.

He’s leaning on the granite countertops at your side, his blue eyes peering over those god awful sunglasses he’s always intent on wearing - despite the fact that it’s quite literally raining outside - and gives you a jeering smile.

“So, do all girls wear granny nightgowns or is it just you?” he asks, twisting the end of your pigtail braids in his hair. You immediately smack his hand off and glare, turning around to reach for the milk.

“Do all boys have tiny dicks and overcompensate with a shitty personality or is it just you?” you iterate back, earning a satisfying glare back from him.

With his snow white hair and annoyingly glimmering blue eyes, your roommate's best friend, Satoru Gojo, is quite literally the biggest nuisance you’ve ever met in your life. Clearly a rich kid, trust fund type, you can tell that Satoru, in earnest, has never worked a day in his life. And his lack of tact and self awareness truly reflects that.

It’s embedded deep in the way that he acts. Because Satoru saunters from place to place, showing up at your apartment with no consideration or respect for you and Suguru, bats his pretty eyes at his professors when he’s failing, flirts with girls before he cheats off of their tests, and the list goes on and on.

One thing is clear. That he’s a spineless, pathetic little manchild.

And you’re not sure why, what it is specifically about you, but he’s clearly made it his personal mission in life to antagonize and irritate you.Maybe it’s the fact that you yelled at him the first time he ever showed up in this apartment, that you couldn’t help but disagree with every word that came out of his mouth, that at his core he just agitated you - but it led you to this horrible predicament that you’re in now.

That you ended up having to room with Suguru, when Sukuna dumped you and kicked you out. And that, of course, the universe was always in your favor, and you ended up at the one place Satoru was when he wasn’t shamelessly flirting with any living organism, which was right outside your room.

Right on cue, the front door slams open and Suguru’s barging in, wildly out of breath and panting. His usual fixed, pristine bun is in a mess, his pupils wide and dilated as he looks at the two of you.

“Fucking perfect!” he pants, leaning down on his knees and trying to catch his breath.

“G’morning Suguru. You okay, there?” you ask, giving him a strange look.

“Okay, okay. You guys are dating.”

“Huh?” you both ask, eyes boggling out of your heads.

“You’re dating. Be-be in love, I don’t know, be in love!” he shouts, immediately running back out of the door and slamming the door shut.

You and Satoru give each other a look before shrugging, returning back to your bowl of cereal and Gojo to his phone. And on cue, Suguru strolls back into the apartment, more calmly and with a girl at his side. His cheeks are still flushed in pink, the panting subsided but still present in his voice.

“Y/N, Satoru, this is Hiromi. Hiromi, this is my roommate Y/N and her boyfriend, Satoru.”

You swallow hard, realizing quickly what’s happening here. And out of the kindness of your heart, groan at the fact that you’re going to have to oblige.

Three months ago, you got dumped by Sukuna. Because as much as you and the two of you had moved past, he had finally exhausted all ends and had enough of you.

Quite literally, enough of you, because he went as far as packing your things and taking your key, fully intent on never letting you back in. And out of the kindness of his heart, one of your only friends - who was free of any attachments to Sukuna - had an empty room in his apartment that he offered to lease to you.

Suguru, naturally, was the perfect roommate. Always cleaned up after himself, offered to listen whenever you needed him, saved leftovers for you when you had a long day. Except for the stupid white haired plus one that came with him, it was perfect.

For you. Because while Suguru was all but willing to offer you the spot in the room, insisting that it never caused an issue, he might have been fibbing the truth to save your feelings. Something you found out from Satoru, who is naturally a loudmouth.

That since Suguru has a female roommate, you’ve put a damper on his…..romantic endeavors. Because they’re increasingly enthusiastic, so into him, until the shit hits the fan.

They find out that you’re his roommate. And you think it’s a little ridiculous, but they all cite the same reason for not talking to him past the second or third date. Because to them, there’s no way in hell that he isn’t crushing on you, that you don't cuddle at night, and that you definitely coddle each other in a way no one else does.

Because nothing is more ironic than losing a guy to the girl he lives with and they’d rather cut their losses before getting involved.

Which proves that Suguru must really like this girl. Because if he’s going this far, lying to her the second before she walks in, it must mean that he really wants her to stick around.

Is it moral? No. Is Suguru lonely? Yes.

“Hiromi. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Y/N.” you respond, setting your bowl down and extending a hand to her.

She gives you a warm smile back, laughing at Satoru flaunting some stupid line about chivalry before he presses a kiss on top of her knuckles. Satoru must be enjoying himself too much, because he’s now snaking his hand around your waist, leaning down to press his temple against yours.

“Would you like to stay for breakfast? Poor Suguru has third wheeled with us far enough.” he asks, as she politely nods in response.

You and Satoru lead Hiromi to the breakfast table - Satoru now eating your bowl of cereal - as Suguru starts setting out to make breakfast for all of you. You and Satoru sit side by side, sparing each other an awkward glance, as Hiromi shamelessly ogles you.

“So how long have you guys been dating?” Hiromi asks, politely folding her hands flat on the table.

“Well. Um, I moved here right after I broke up with my ex-boyfriend. He kind of left me with no place to live and I kind of met Satoru here. And then it just happened.” you mumble, cheeks turning pink.

Satoru, again, has no concept of personal boundaries. He slings his hand around your shoulders, planting a wet kiss on your cheeks, before responding to her.

“Don’t mind her, she just gets really shy when she talks about her feelings for me.”

“Satoru.”

“But rest assured, I promise you that you don’t have to worry about Suguru and Y/N, if that’s what you’re trying to pry about.”

Her face immediately goes pink, as you look over at Satoru, who flashes you a knowing smile and squeezes your shoulder.

“I-I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to pry, I hope you understand. It’s just that…it’s kind of a weird situation. And I know that probably says more about my insecurities than anything but-”

You reach over, placing your hand over her folded ones.

“It’s a normal thing to be concerned about. If I was you, I probably would have asked a hundred berating questions already.”

“Yeah. She gets really possessive.” Gojo unhelpfully adds.

You shoot him a glare, before returning to look at her and smiling.

“But I promise, you have nothing to worry about. I-I don’t even think about Suguru like that. And we’re never here alone, Satoru’s always here with me.”

“Like you, I too am possessive over my girl. Despite the fact that she quite literally makes it so easy for us by wearing the most unflattering pajamas, I’ll be here to stamp out any budding feelings, if that makes you feel better.”

“Yeah. Satoru really knows how to take the romance out of a room. I know better than anyone.” you respond, earning a laugh from Hiromi as she releases that awkward tension in her shoulders.

You kick the tiny divots on the floor, patiently waiting for your matcha latte at the bar. Your anxiety is growing by the second, the unexpected morning rush and the heavy foot traffic outside indicating that you were going to be late to your morning class if your drink wasn’t made in the next few minutes.

You’re thrown out of your thoughts by a tapping on your shoulder, only to find a boy, with blonde hair and brown eyes smiling at you.

“I like your shirt.”

You look down, at your boygenius the record shirt, and look up to smile at him.

“Thank you! What’s your favorite song?”

“We’re In Love.” he responds, giving you a warm smile.

You’re not sure why, but hearing him say the words has the blood rushing to your cheeks. You hold your hand out to him, swallowing that deep warm pit in your throat.

“Y/N.”

“Kento. It’s nice to meet you.”

And really, the moment - your stupid coffee shop meet cute - comes crashing down when you hear that agitating, grating voice at your side.

“And I’m Satoru!” Satoru states, standing at your side and too blissfully happy for seven in the morning. You glare at him, as he gives you an annoyingly irritating smile.

“Your drink is here, babe.” Satoru states, holding your dark green matcha latte in his nimble hands. From the way it’s half full, you can tell he already downed half of it in the few seconds you were talking to Kento.

“Thank you.” you grate out, giving Kento an awkward smile.

“Well, Kento. It was nice meeting you but we have a class to get to.” Satoru adds.

He cocks his head to the side, blue eyes peeking over his sunglasses, as he looks at you.

“Ready to go?”

You groan, knowing internally that whatever shred of a moment you just had was gone, as you sigh.

“Yes. Bye Kento.”

You glare at him as you walk out of the store, Satoru reaching over to pull the hood of your rain jacket up, as the two of you start marching through the downpour. He’s walking at your side, sporting some very light clothes for the way it’s raining down.

“I don’t like matcha. We should start getting iced vanilla lattes.”

“I didn’t realize we were sharing. And that was really rude, Satoru.“

“Everything that’s yours is mine, sweetheart.”

“Really? What are the three numbers on the back of your credit card, boo boo bear?”

“666.” he responds, flicking the side of your cheek.

“That’s fitting.” you murmur back, as he slides the drink out of your hand, again.

You and Satoru march in silence, trudging through the puddles collecting in the holes of pavement, the silence enveloping the two of you.

And really, for what seems like the hundredth time, you’re racking your brain trying to figure Satoru Gojo out. You’re not sure what it is about him, what drives him to act the way he does, but every answer you find leaves you with a hundred more questions you want to answer.

In the few months you’ve been living with Suguru, you’ve been able to ascertain a few things.

First and foremost, there is no one Satoru Gojo loves more than his friends. From the way he affectionately talks about Suguru, and their hometown friend Shoko, it’s evident enough that whatever friendship he has with the two of them means the world to him.

Second, Satoru Gojo is extremely comfortable in his sense of self. From the way he carries himself, enthusiastically chats with strangers on the train and feels so comfortable stealing your lattes after the bar, you can tell that no one has tried to stomp that spirit out of him. Other people, more meek and timid like you perhaps, get that childlike wonder stamped out of them. But here Satoru Gojo is, at the ripe age of twenty-one, still sporting it like a proud badge he wears.

And third, Satoru Gojo loves to irritate you. You’re not sure what it is about you exactly, whether it’s the fact that you’re Suguru’s roommate so it leaves you off limits to any of his usual charming compliments he leaves for other girls, but Satoru treats you like no one else. Always pulling at the ends of your hair, “lovingly” making fun of your clothes, and obviously, stamping any chance you have of romantic endeavors.

Satoru swings the door open for you, walking all the way to the front of your class. He holds out a five dollar bill and gives you a cheeky grin.

“What for?”

“Thanks for the latte, princess.”

You glare, snatching the bill out of his hands.

“You’re welcome.”

Right on cue, a girl all but appears out of thin air at your side, giving you and Satoru sickly sweet smiles.

“Hi Satoru.”

Satoru’s leaning against the frame now, an irritating move you’ve seen him do countless times - one to show off his stupidly toned arms - as he leans down and smiles at her.

“Hi Sammy. How are you?”

“Pretty good, now that you’re here.” she responds, twisting the ends of her hair in between her fingers.

You fight the urge to gag as Satoru laughs, leaning forward to tuck the stray hairs by the side of her ear.

“Right, so. I’ll see you later, babe?” you ask Satoru, giving him a smile.

He looks over, glaring with his bright, angry blue eyes.

“Y/N.” he responds, tone warning.

“And Satoru, sweetheart? Do remember to grab toilet paper on the way home. Suguru is getting really tired of cleaning up your skid marks.” you respond, reaching forward to pinch his cheek and settling into your seat at the front, watching him seethe at the front door.

When you walk into the apartment, Satoru’s incessant comments are the final nail in the coffin on what might be the worst day ever.

“Ouch. I think I just went temporarily blind. You look horrible.” Satoru asks, momentarily taking his eyes off of the movie he was watching with Suguru and Hiromi.

And the comment - so pathetically hitting you the last place you needed it - is enough to send you crying in a fit of your tears, as you lock the door behind you.

Satoru looks over to find Suguru and Hiromi glaring at him, Suguru more angry and Hiromi more disappointed. He can’t pick which one is worse. Well actually, you crying in his face is the worst thing that happened in the past few minutes, but their reaction is right up there with them.

“What?” Satoru asks, shrugging.

“Satoru.” Suguru berates.

“What? I was just joking.”

“I don’t understand how you and Y/N are dating. I mean, you can hardly even call it that.” Hiromi states, looking at him rather unhelpfully.

Suguru’s eyes go wide at her side and Satoru swallows hard, thinking of his collateral. Because in earnest, Satoru’s not really sure what Suguru sees in Hiromi, why he would ever think this would be the best solution to his issue.

But when you followed Suguru’s lead, all Satoru could really do was oblige.

“That’s just how Y/N and I communicate. It’s our love language.” Satoru says, giving her a halfhearted smile.

“You know she hates it right?” Hiromi asks.

“Well, I don’t know about-”

“Who would want to wake up every morning and have someone just constantly berating them? Just teasing them, making fun of every little thing you say. And sure, it’s fun sometimes to banter with your partner but…it can’t really be easy for her. She doesn’t have many friends. And the one person who's supposed to like her being…rude can’t help either.” Hiromi adds.

“Well, I just…tease her because that’s how I know to talk to her. That’s just how I am. And she has plenty of friends.” Satoru responds.

“Not anymore. They’re all friends with Sukuna, who I’m positive she wants nothing to do with. It’s probably why she even tolerates you in the first place. Granted, I’m not trying to speak on your relationship but from what I’ve seen, it’s….you kind of have to make adjustments for her.” Hiromi states.

“I don’t know if that will-”

“Just be there with her. It’ll help her. I think deep down, she just wants someone to be there with her. At her side to support her.”

Satoru gives Suguru a glare, before obliging and knocking on your door. He takes a deep breath as he walks in, finding you slumped on the floor next to your vinyl player. The gray vinyl is scratching on the table, soft guitar music emanating from it as you lay on your side. Satoru follows suit, lying flat on the ground next to you until the two of you are face to face. And in earnest, Satoru feels horrible. At your pink eyes, flushed cheeks, and puffy skin. Because for god knows whatever reason, what he had said was enough to make you cry.

Satoru never understood it. Why people assign him so much importance when anything he’s ever had to say has been discarded all together. It’s why he’s unsure of what to say to you right now, when he’s never had to say anything at all.

“Hi Y/N.”

You stare back at him blankly, his blue eyes void of any of their usual excitement as he stares back at you.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

You divert your attention, the question so…agitating, that all you can do is watch your vinyl spin around on the table, at the little pin digging into the plate.

“Is um….I don’t really know how to do this whole…comforting thing. It’s kind of awkward. Is this that band you like?”

You give him a meek nod, which he smiles at, before squinting at the small print on the vinyl.

“Ah. I get it. You’re trying to be Cool About It. Whatever it is that’s bothering you.”

“That was lame. Even for you, Satoru.” you respond, wiping the snot off of your nose.

“Well, I personally think you’re hot. Being Cool About It was never going to be your thing either.” he responds.

He’s not sure what it is about what he said, but suddenly your face is falling and you’re kind of…glaring at him. You pull your hood up and turn away from him, because the embarrassment of having Satoru Gojo in your room pitying you right now would be the actual nail in the coffin before you went full on off your rocker crazy.

Satoru’s quick to move, now sitting crisscrossed near your head and looking down at you.

“Are you playing hard to get so I’ll call you hot again?”

“No. I’m trying to get you to stop pitying me.” you murmur back, pulling the hood over your face.

“I don’t pity you.”

You stand up, crossing your legs on the floor, as you turn to face him. And you know that Satoru in no way deserves any shape of the wrath that’s coming out of your mouth, but you can’t help it.

“You don’t?”

“Well, of course I-”

“Yes, Satoru, you do. Because really, you’re only here because Suguru or Hiromi asked you to be. They asked you to put whatever the fuck it is that you have going on inside your head and think for one fucking second how it is that you make me feel. When you make fun of me constantly, do every last thing to agitate me, quite literally flirt with every living microorganism on this goddamn planet but me. I know that you really, truly do not care. You’re just here because they asked you to be but god, please spare me of whatever shitty response you’re trying to muster up to make me feel better because there’s no point. I just feel horrible when I’m around you.” you shout.

You lean back against the back of your bed, your chest heaving, as you knot your fingers together and groan. Because if the day couldn’t get any worse, you just yelled at Satoru.

For no reason. After he tried to comfort you, in his own weird way.

He scoots up at your side, sliding his hand around your shoulder once again, and leaning your head against his shoulder. Your stupid tears are falling again as he rubs into your skin, the touch soft.

“All that because you’re mad I won’t flirt with you?” he murmurs.

“Of course that’s what you got out of it.”

He laughs, the lack of anger in his tone at your words soothing down the bouts of guilt in your chest.

“You’re not the type of girl I can flirt with.”

“Jeez. Thanks Satoru. You really know how to make a girl feel special.”

He reaches forward to pinch your nose, before continuing.

“I mean, I’m obviously a guy who lacks self-awareness or tact, in quite literally any conversation.”

“Naturally.” you respond.

He gives you a pointed glare, before continuing.

“But I have self awareness when it comes to these types of things. I know I shouldn’t flirt with you.” he responds.

“And why’s that? I’m too ugly of a hag for you?” you spit.

“No. You’re the type of girl who could take my heart and run off with it if I let you.”

You shrug his hand off your shoulder, rolling your eyes.

“You’re full of shit, Satoru Gojo. And corny as hell.”

“You know you’re no good for me, right?”

You look at him, at his deep, ocean blue eyes for the first time, filled with an emotion you can’t quite place.

“You’d put me in my place too fast. Maybe too eager, too curious to figure out what it is I’ve got going on up and here. And I don’t know the answers to that either, but you’d want to make me figure it out. Whatever mess of things going on, I-I’d want to fix it for you. And as nice as that sounds, you’d probably break any semblance of structure I’d have left the second you go running. Which is something even I can’t handle.” he responds, lifting his hand to take yours in it.

You cross link your fingers with his, linking your hands together. And try to place the emotion, that dragging sound in his voice.

It’s desperation.

“Why do you think I would leave?” you ask, looking down at your intertwined hands.

Satoru smiles in response, reaching forward to trace his fingers along the edge of your lips.

“You’ve just proved my point.”

And when he pads out of your room, you realize that once again, he’s left you with a hundred questions left to answer. But the one you’re sure of is this.

That the emotion that was welling in his deep, crystal blue eyes was impassioned. That it was real.

In the following weeks, things change between you and Satoru, but not too drastically. You’re not required to keep your show up for Hiromi too often, because she’s quite literally too enamored with Suguru to even think about the two of you, and Satoru Gojo stays the same way he is.

He steals your lattes, pulls your hair, lovingly calls you an old hag, and stamps out any hopes you have for romantic endeavors. But somewhere around the grayness of November, he doesn’t stop by your apartment for three days.

“Hey. Where’s Gojo?”

Suguru looks up from his phone, giving you the most obscene look you’ve ever seen him muster.

“Huh?”

“Gojo? Satoru Gojo? That gangly idiot that’s always hanging around here?”

“Yes. I’m well aware who he is, Y/N. Why are you asking?”

“Dunno. He’s always around and now he’s not. Are you sure he’s not dead in a ditch somewhere?” you ask.

“He might as well be. His dad is in town. Spending time with him.” he responds, turning back to his phone and looking away from you.

You frown, leaning against the counter, as you reach for your phone. And you’re not sure why you do it but you slide into your chat with him and start typing.

you: are you enjoying your father daughter time?

satoru: are you missing me?

you: missing the free lattes that come from going to the coffee shop with you :/

you: come hit on the girl at the paper lantern. im craving a matcha latte.

satoru: i would never waste a free drink on a matcha latte.

satoru: and quit trying to whore me out for free drinks.

you: then buy me one.

satoru: well played.

satoru: the ice skating rink, on sixteenth and rockfield. i’ll be there in an hour.

You smile gleefully, wrapping your scarf carefully around you, as you head out into the cold to the ice skating rink Satoru had picked out. And you catch the back of his snow white hair, leaning against the railing as you eye the big, bright Christmas tree at the center.

You walk up to his side, lacing your hand through his, as you turn and give him a smile. He returns the gesture, some part of his demeanor muted today, as he turns to you.

“Hi Y/N.”

“Satoru. Where’s my drink?”

Satoru rolls his eyes, before reaching for the two cups on the ground and handing you one.

“Your shitty matcha latte. As requested.”

You smile, wrapping your arms around the drink, as he leads you to the stand to get your skates. His hand is soft on the small of your back as you walk up to the girl giving out the shoes.

“Sizes?” she asks.

“Eight.” you respond.

“Eleven and a half.” Satoru provides, as the girl whisks off to grab your shoes.

“Eleven and a half? What are you, Bigfoot?” you respond.

“You know what they say. Big feet, big…”

“Ego. But we knew that already.” you respond.

The two of you take the skates and head over to the bench, Satoru too quick with his own skates that he’s suddenly tying yours and dragging you onto your feet. The two of you stand at the front of the tiny little opening, the sudden awkwardness of the situation dawning on you.

That you don’t know how to ice skate.

“What are we waiting for?” Satoru asks, hands on both of your shoulders as he stands behind you. He rests his chin on the top of your head, his breath tickling the hair on your scalp.

“The rink to open up. There’s a bunch of people, I don’t want to crash into them the second we get on.”

Satoru frowns, bringing his hands around your chin and lightly moving your face to his.

“Are the people in the room with us? There’s like nine people here. And four of them are under the age of seven.” he deadpans.

“I don’t want to knock over a kid.” you whine.

“Yeah, that would be goblin on troll crime.” Satoru responds.

“Am I the goblin or the troll?” you ask.

“Troll. Obviously.” he responds, bringing his hands around your waist as he lifts you onto the ice with him.

You’re suddenly wobbling too hard on your feet and holding onto his extended arms with a deathlike grip, the cold air biting your skin as your legs turn to noodles.

“Okay, Raggedy Anne. Face me.” he states, voice soft as he turns you towards him. His hands are locked in with yours, the hold firm as he smiles.

“Satoru.” you whine.

“Just try to glide with me, okay? Our goal is to get to that side of the rink, by the end of our game.”

“What’s our game?” you ask.

“We’re going to play twenty questions.” Satoru states, mimicking the gliding motion as he instructs you.

You follow his suit, clutching hard on his arm every time you wobble, as Satoru starts to distract you with the stupid game he’s intent on playing.

“Me first. Why did you text me?” Satoru asks.

“Just wanted to make sure you weren’t dead in a ditch somewhere. It was surprisingly peaceful for the past few days, so I knew you had to be in some type of mortal peril somewhere.” you respond.

Gojo hums in response, as you try hard to pick the hundreds of questions you have to ask Gojo.

“Where were you the past few days?” you ask.

“Did you want me there?” Satoru asks, tone hopeful.

“You’re supposed to answer before you ask again. And I’m not sure if want is the word. But…I don’t know. It’s weird not having you around. All quiet.” you respond.

“My dad’s in town. Was kind of busy.”

You hum in response, rolling over the words in your head.

“I did want you around.” you add, earning a smile from him.

The two of you skate in silence, the wobbling minimal now as you try to reach the railing at the end of the rink that Satoru had pointed out, right near the small, brightly decorated Christmas tree at the end of the rink.

“It’s your turn, Y/N.” Satoru reminds.

“Right. Do you like your dad?”

“No. What happened with Sukuna?”

You swallow hard, so caught off guard by the question that you fall straight into the ice. You must have been holding onto Satoru too hard because he goes tumbling down with you, lightly rubbing the spot on his head that made contact with the ice. You reach forward, cradling his head in your hands.

“Fuck. Sorry, Gojo. That caught me off guard.”

“That’s my bad, princess. It came out of nowhere.” he responds, standing up on his knees as he holds his hand out for you. He’s wiping the excess ice off the sides of your clothes and you mimic his motions.

The two of you start silently skating towards the end of the rink again, hands linked together, as you figure out the right words to say.

“I live with Suguru because of him. He wasn’t the best.”

“I know that much, Y/N.”

“He…kicked me out. Like, put all my things in a box, put them outside, and kept my key.”

His hand tighets in yours as you swallow hard and continue.

“Dunno. I guess he just kind of sucked. I was trying to convince myself I liked him, that we were in love for a really long time. I’d write him all these really long love letters, that he basically read days after the fact that I wrote them. He’d compliment me once in a while, but then I realized when it was only when he wanted something.” you respond, sighing.

Satoru doesn’t respond, only squeezes your hand in response to the entire bout of word vomit you just gave him.

“Why don’t you like your dad?” you ask.

“He thinks I’m perfect.” Satoru responds, sighing.

“Boo hoo.” you respond, joking.

He smiles in response, his hand lightly loosening in yours. You tighten your grip against his again, giving him your best smile.

“I’m joking, ‘Toru. What did you mean by that?”

“I just mean. He expects so much from me, because I’m his only son. And when I was a kid, he was really hard on me for it. Made me attend all these shitty classes by myself, isolated me from other kids because I was meant to be something great. And I obviously pulled away from him because of it. But then, he kind of…shifted. He was vying so hard for my attention now, that suddenly I became free of all blame, all faults.”

“Well, we both know that’s not true.”

He snorts, dragging you to the end of the railing by the Christmas tree, as you both lean against the little glass panes.

“I just wanted him to be real with me. Tell me when I was good, tell me when I was bad. Not where he was criticizing every move I made but not when he was praising all of them either.”

You nod, turning to your side to hold both of his hands in yours.

“Well, you’re shitty when you’re mean to me. But you’re nice when you’re like this.” you state.

He smiles, that stupid lopsided grin, as he brings his hands around your neck and pulls you in against him. His lips are soft and warm, though you’re not sure how, against your almost frostbitten, cold blue ones. But the warmth that’s blooming in your chest, under your skin, from his hands, from his lips on yours is enough to bring you down.

He pulls back, resting his forehead against yours as he places a light kiss to the tip of your pink nose.

“What was that for?” you ask, breathless.

“Mistletoe.” Satoru responds, pushing off the little railing and slowly skating away, waiting for him to join you.

You look up, fighting the urge to smile at the small little bundle of leaves and berries above you, as you skate out and join his hand to go around the rink.

There’s an incessant pounding on your door that wakes you up, as you pull on the closest jacket and your glasses as you pad to the door. You open up to find him there, half bored on his phone, as he looks up at you.

“Oh. Hey. Was the spare not under-”

He all but lurches forward, wrapping his hands around your neck as he presses his lips to yours. He’s all too eager, because he’s walking into you so fast that he’s all but pushed you up against the wall behind you, his lips hanging off yours as he smiles into your mouth.

“Y/N.” he hums, smiling into your face.

“Good morning to you too.”

He smiles, wrapping his hands around your wrist, as he leads you back to your bed, quickly peeling your hoodie off your frame as he tucks you into the bed with him. And instead of doing what you thought he was going to do, he’s tucking you tight against his frame, your face tucked into his clavicle, as he brings his arms around yours and holds you tight.

“Did you come all this way to cuddle?”

“I came all this way to kiss you. This is just a bonus.”

You burrow yourself into his skin, leaning your head against his, as your thousand questions swim around in your mind. On what you’re doing, on why he’s here, on if you can even ask.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You have a weird, pinched up look on your pretty face. What is it?” he asks.

“Oh. I was just thinking.” you respond.

“About?”

“Um, what we’re doing.”

“We’re cuddling, silly.” Satoru responds, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of your forehead.

“I know. But what does that mean?”

Satoru brings his hands up around your face, cupping your cheeks in his hands as he smiles.

“It means that I just had a really annoying fight with my dad. And I just want to hold you and not think about it.” he responds.

“Oh. Okay, yeah.”

You burrow yourself back into his arms, the two of you a mess of tangled limbs as you hold onto each other. And you’re not sure why you start talking, but you’re filling the silent space with your voice.

“I saw Sukuna the other day.” you murmur.

Satoru brings his hands down, rubbing into the side of your arm as he hums in response.

“Was it okay?”

“Kind of stupid.” you murmur.

“Why?” he asks.

“He came up to me to ask if I was going to go to the end of year banquet that they hold for the seniors going into the masters program.”

“And?”

“I mean, I was planning on it. And then he just felt the need to warn me that he’s bringing his new girlfriend and it was really awkward. He asked me if I was bringing anyone and I said no, just for him to smile in response and then walk away.”

“You should have said you were bringing me.”

“I wasn’t aware that I was bringing you.”

“Well, now you are. Plus, my dad…he always gets on my back to go to shit like that since he’s one of the donors. At least now I’ll have something to do there.”

“And what’s that?”

“Annoy you!” he responds.

You reach forward to flick the side of his cheek, before reaching forward to push the hair off of his forehead. The touch must be somewhat soothing to him, because it coaxes him to talk, in the slightest.

“When I was a kid, my dad forced me to go to events like that. All the time. And when I was there…he’d always yell at me for all these different things. My hair was too messy, I wasn’t standing right, I was too loud.”

You brush your thumb on the skin of his cheek, before reaching forward to press a kiss to his skin.

“And after I kind of figured it all out, I was so…irritated that I ever listened. And I’ve tried to stamp it out, that voice telling me to be quiet all the time. But sometimes when I see him…I don’t know. It just comes flooding back.”

You prop your hands up against his chest, resting your head on top of your hands as you look down at him. His eyes are shut as he faces your ceiling, a hand resting behind his head while the other one is secured, firmly around you. In the ray of sunlight peering out of your window, you notice that Satoru has the smallest patch of freckles around his nose.

“I always wondered why you were like that. But somehow, this makes it better.”

“Huh?”

“You were always so…you that sometimes it made me jealous. That you had this unstoppable, vibrant spirit, that you probably had life so easy that no one had stamped it out of you.”

You reach forward, tracing the skin on his cheek, as you continue to talk.

“But this is better. Someone tried to do that to you and you didn’t let them. You’re not weak or timid like me, you don’t let people like that shut you up like I do.”

“You’re not weak or timid.” he responds, cupping the side of your face.

“Satoru.”

“You’ve always stood your ground. Especially when it comes to me.”

“Well, you’re you. Sukuna is…”

“Nothing. You can handle an idiot like Sukuna. And I’ll be there, if he tries to say anything to you and you need me.”

You halfheartedly nod.

“And I’ll be there. If you want to annoy me instead of talking to your dad.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer. Always.”

Satoru presses a kiss to your cheek before running out the door, late for his class. And when you turn on your heel, you find Suguru giving you a wide smile, with an almost teasing look on his face. You glare in response, moving past him to do the dishes.

“Do you need something, Suguru?”

“Are you guys dating?” he asks, resting his chin in his hands as he gives you a jeering smile.

“What’s it to you?” you ask.

“My best friend…my roommate…seems like a very big deal to me.”

“Well, we’re just talking. I don’t know if it’s official, but I think it’s exclusive.” you respond.

“It’s definitely exclusive. He’s liked you for a while.”

You snort, as he comes up at your side and starts drying the dishes.

“No, I’m serious! I promise, he’s not coming around this much just to see me. And I’m sure you’ll make him very happy. Keep him in his place.”

“That’s what he said.” you murmur, smiling.

“Just, don’t get too heated if you guys get into an argument. You’re both the most stubborn people I know, but don’t let that get in the way of anything.”

“Okay, I’ll definitely take relationship advice from someone who pathologically lies to his girlfriend everyday.”

Suguru yanks on the edge of ear and you splash a good amount of dishwater at him in response as you both laugh.

“I’ll have you know, that I told her almost like two days afterwards because I couldn’t stomach it.”

“Huh? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“It was just funny watching you guys try to be nice to each other. And then Hiromi was dead set on matchmaking the second she figured out Gojo was all but in love with you.”

You roll your eyes at him in response, as you turn out to walk to the coffee shop before your next class. And as you march to the coffee shop, music blaring in your headphones, you feel a tugging on your elbow as you almost walk in.

You turn around to find an older man, with blue eyes and light hair, smiling at you. And as you tug your headphones off and hear him talk, you know without a doubt that this has to be Satoru’s father.

“Are you Y/N L/N?” he asks, his hands folded perfectly against the crisp pressing off his suit.

“Sure. Who are you?” you ask, yanking your headphones off so they're resting around your ears.

“I’m Satoru’s father.”

“Oh, okay. Can I help you?” you asked, running through your thoughts as you think of what Satoru would want you to do most.

Walk away? Be polite? Insult him?

Insulting him is surely what you want to do. But knowing him, he wouldn’t even want you to talk to him for a second, so you should try your best to abort the conversation in its tracks.

“I’d like to talk to you about your intentions. With my son.” he responds.

“I'd love to do that. But I have to run to class, so I’ll have to go now.”

“Class? What’s your major?”

“Education.”

That must not be the answer he wanted, because he stiffens his jaw before talking again, which just builds onto another reason that this man irritates you.

“Right, well. I’ll be off then.” you respond, trying to move past him.

“Are you dating my son?”

“Not yet. But I think it’s headed that way.” you respond.

“Well, if you’re so intent on attending your class, here’s my phone number. I’d like for you to call me the second you’re out of your class so we can discuss more.” he states, handing you a shiny piece of cardstock.

You begrudgingly take it, shaking his hand as you all but sprint off to your class. But unbeknownst to you, Satoru was watching the entire thing play out from the window, with an ice matcha latte in hand just for you.

He trashes the cup as he walks out. He’s always thought matcha was disgusting anyways.

And three days later, you find Satoru in the library. In what might possibly, the most compromising of situations.

You’re a few weeks out from finals, the banquet at the end of the week, and buried with term papers that you need to write. Hence the need to procure your matcha latte, lock yourself in the library for the rest of the week, until you can go to the event with Satoru and let loose before you go home for break.

Except when you’re trekking through the library looking for a place to study, you find that a really large group is populating your usual prime spot near the window, with the big white board that you like to use.

But even more jarring than the stupid white board and spot you’re comfortable in, it’s who is taking up the spot. Because Sukuna and his friends are taking up the entire face and there’s a certain white haired idiot sitting all the way at the end, headphones over his ears as he types away on his laptop.

And you can hear your blood rushing in your ears as you walk up to him, all but yanking the headphones off your ears.

“Hi Satoru.”

“Hi Y/N.” he seethes back, matching the anger in your voice.

“I got you a drink, asshole.”

He looks down at your matcha latte, before looking back up at you and rolling his eyes.

“Always intent on not listening to me, aren’t you?”

“I learned from the best, asswipe.” you respond, marching off to the apartment and fighting down the angry tears that are falling out of your eyes.

With the load of finals behind you and the quietness that populates your apartment, you find yourself begrudgingly dragging yourself to the banquet. And curse yourself for letting Satoru convince you, for already putting in an RSVP so early that now you can’t take it away.

The room’s uncomfortably warm, the masses of people moving around each other, cheeks blushed pink from the drinks and flutes in all of their hands. You swipe one off of the tray as someone walks past, intent on filling that cold, awkward feeling in your chest with whatever warmth it can give you.

You take a spot near the corner of the room, a nice vantage point from where you can spot, eye who you can talk to first. Your partner from your English class is stuck talking to your professor, which is frankly a bleak option.

There’s the group of girls from your cohort, but they’re all talking to Sukuna and his girlfriend, which is a big no for you. And you’d love to talk to your advisor, but you’re positive occupying the solo spot on the wall is better than talking to the one professor that everyone hates.

And you spot Satoru, his white hair stark against the crowd, as he talks to Hiromi and Suguru. He’s all dressed up, his tie loose around his neck and the top buttons are undone. You suppose that’s as well as Satoru can present for an event like this anyways, and your heart stings at the premise.

Because there's nothing you want to do more than point it out. That everyone’s dressed up, but he can’t even be bothered to put himself together for this. And you want him to argue back, to sport that stupid shit eating grin he always uses when he argues with you.

It’s irritating. How much it’s killing you to not be with him.

You pull down the edges of your dress, trying to soothe through the creases that are lining on your green dress, as you try your best to stop that tense, uncomfortable feeling from settling in your skin.

On the most annoying cue ever, Sukuna walks up to stand by your side, two drinks in his hand. He gestures for you to take one, which you oblige, as you swallow the irritation on your tongue as he starts talking.

“Y/N.”

“Sukuna.”

“Did you poison my drink? Or are you morally above attempted murder?”

“I believe I am.”

“Shocking, given your track record.”

“Are you here alone?” he asks.

“What’s it to you?”

“It’s just that you RSVP'd for two people. Yet you’re the only one standing here.”

“Are you stalking me now?" you ask, eyeing him.

“Maybe a little bit. I was just curious to see who it was you were seeing now.”

“What’s it to you?”

“Just have to make sure that they take care of you. That’s all.” he states, shrugging

You roll your eyes, putting a sizable amount of distance between you two.

“That’s rich coming from you. Leaving me without a place to live is a real gesture of compassion, Sukuna.”

“Well, I think that-”

A girl, with short brown hair cuts the two of you off, as she excitedly points to the wallpaper above you.

“You’re both standing under the mistletoe!”

You look up, to find a small lock of the plant above the two of you, as you fight the urge to internally groan.

“Right, well. That’s my cue to leave.” you respond, setting the glass down on the table.

Sukuna wraps his fingers around your wrist, pulling you into him as you stumble on the edge of your heels.

“It’s just mistletoe. You have to honor it or that’s like…really shitty luck.” he states, giving you a smile.

“I’ll take my chances. It couldn't possibly be worse than this.”

“Look. I really hate being on bad terms. You were really important to me and I hate to think that you’re out there being mad at me.”

“Right, well. Get used to being disappointed then because I’m clear on where I stand.” you respond.

You make the motions to move again, as Sukuna yanks you back again. Except this time, Satoru’s at your side, nearly shoving him into the wall. He gives you a look, devoid of any emotion, as he adjusts his tie around his neck.

“You’re not going to kiss her.” he states, teetering on the edges of his heels. Like he’s almost bored, so disinterested in the conversation that he’s having with Sukuna right now.

“I was just joking. It wasn’t that serious, I wouldn’t even consider it honestly.” he states, as the words sting your ears. You don’t know whether to be relieved, offended, or extremely agitated by the premise of his comment.

“You’d be so lucky.” he snorts, as you swallow hard.

“Right. We are talking about the same girl, right?” he sneers.

Satoru groans, looking up to the sky, before taking his jacket off and handing it to you. You give him a confused look, to which he smiles, before turning back to Sukuna.

“Rather unfortunate that you chose to mess with the wrong girl. That and the fact that I have no semblance of manners when it comes to these types of things.”

And then Satoru swings straight for his nose, wincing and shaking his knuckles in the air as Sukuna slams into the wall behind him. There’s a loud gasp, head turning to look at the three of you as you swallow hard. There’s a small amount of bright, red blood falling out of his nose as Satoru gives him a shit eating grin.

“Thanks for holding it.” Satoru states, taking the jacket from your hands as the two of you watch Sukuna walk off into the side.

“Right, well-”

“Satoru.”

The two of you turn around to find his father, nose flaring and undoubtedly mad, as he appears at your side. Satoru storms out of the room, agitated, as you follow and run behind him. The air outside is significantly colder, snow sticking to the concrete.

“Are you okay?” you ask, the air so cold that you can see your breath in the air.

“Yes. Are you?” he asks back, turning around to look at you. He’s kicking the tiny flakes of snow in the ground, averting eye contact with you as he talks.

“Yeah. Now, I can yell at you.” you respond, shoving him.

“What’s your problem?”

“What’s yours?” he asks back, seething.

“You. You ignored me for like two days and then I found you in the library being all buddy buddy with Sukuna. And then you punch him in the face for no reason?”

“It wasn’t for no reason.”

“Right. Your hand just jerked through the air and just happened to hit his face.”

“What do you want me to say? That I’m sorry?”

You groan, bringing your hands up through your temples, as your frustration comes to a head.

“Why are you pretending this is nothing? Like we're nothing?” you scream, tears burning your eyes at you look at him.

“When did I say this was nothing?”

“’m fucking dying over here to be the person standing next to you, because there’s nowhere else I want to be, and instead I’m standing in the corner trying to avoid you like the plague.”

His eyes twitch, his hands almost fidgeting at your sides as you angrily wipe your tears off your cheeks and smudge the makeup pressed to your face.

“You…you’re so fucking aggravating. You’re mean to me, then you’re nice. You act like you love me, but then you don’t. Your best friend tells me that I basically mean the world to you and then your stupid dad ambushes me outside a coffee shop and basically insults me but-”

“What?” he states.

“What? I just like…don’t know what page you’re on. You make no fucking sense, you’re so..so hot and cold with me instead of just telling me what’s going on. If you didn’t like me anymore, you should have just said that instead of hurting my feelings.” you state, crossing your arms as you turn back from him.

He comes up at your side, eyes wide as he looks down at you. He quickly takes his jacket off, wrapping it around your shoulders as the tears stream down your eyes.

“What did my dad say to you? Was it at the coffee shop?” he whispers, hands braced on your shoulders.

“Huh? How’d you know that?”

“Just, tell me.”

“Well, I was going to get my latte. He kind of pulled me aside. Asked me what my intentions were with you. Made some weird backhanded comment about me being an education major and-”

“And?”

“Gave me his business card. Told me to call him because I kept trying to leave. I think I threw it in a trash can or something.”

Satoru groans, leaning his forehead against your shoulder, as he curses.

“Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.” he murmurs, eyes pinched in regret as he lifts his head back up.

“What?”

“Shit. I-I got mad at you. For talking to my dad, behind my back and not telling me. I thought…he was asking you for information about me and you were obliging. That you took his card so you could call him.”

“You watched that entire thing?”

“Yeah. And I saw you shove the card into your pocket as you walked away and I just got so angry that I-”

“That you what?”

“Hung out with Sukuna. To make you mad.”

You glare at him, shoving him again for good measure.

“You did what?”

“I was upset! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to it was just that-”

“You didn’t even think to ask me? You just had to be petty?” you scream, your frustration building.

His eyes go wide, as he swallows hard. He burrows his hands into his pockets, lifting them from your shoulders as he casts his head down. You can tell that his skin is burning, it’s turning slightly pink, as you realize that the reason the two of you weren’t here together, stupidly laughing at everyone, was because of a simple miscommunication.

“Satoru.” you groan, lifting your hand to your forehead.

“Y/N. I’m so sorry.”

“In what world was that fair to me? You didn’t even think to ask?”

Satoru takes both of your hands in his, lifting them up to cover his eyes with. Your knuckles are flat against his forehead, the ends of his hair tickling your skin.

“Y/N. I’m so shit at this type of stuff. You’re far too put together for me.”

“I’m not expecting you to be put together. Just to kind of…work with me here.” you murmur, as he rests his head against your frame again. You’re wrapping your arms around his torso, deflating into his touch.

“Yeah, well. All I know how to do is fight and-”

“If you say you’ll love me rather than fight with me, I’ll forgive you.”

“Huh?”

“Just promise. That you’ll try to love me. And forgive me before you turn to fighting.” you murmur, cupping his face in your hands.

“Y/N. I-”

“You have so many walls that I’m trying to break through. Just try to work with me here when I’m trying to do it.” you whisper.

“There you go. Doing that thing again.”

“Doing what?”

“Seeing the best in me. Making me want to be better.”

You smile, leaning your head to the side.

“Is that so bad?”

“No. No, just. Try to be patient with me? I know I’m really shitty at this type of thing but-”

“As long as you stick around. And don’t ignore me for five days like a fucking asshole, I promise I will.”

He leans forward, pressing a kiss to the palms of your hands still secured around his face, as he leans his own forehead against yours.

“Okay. Just, give it to me straight when…when I do stuff like this.”

“Okay. I hate it when you’re stupid as fuck and jump to conclusions. Like genuinely, it’s really irritating that I spent all of finals week sleeping in my bed alone when it was obscenely cold and you weren’t there. And you just had to assume shit when you didn’t-”

“Okay, I get it. Get to the good parts now.”

“Ego-maniac.”

“Cmon. I’m wounded here.” he states, holding his bruised hand up to you. You take it in yours, pressing a kiss to the red skin before continuing.

“I like when you talk to me. And when we get to keep moving forward, past this type of stuff. It’s like…the best part of a story. You get to see the conflict be resolved and then keep going.”

He smiles hard, nodding at your words.

“You have to kiss me.” he states.

“Why?”

“I’m going to pretend I’m not offended by that heinous look on your face at the thought of kissing me. But, mistletoe.”

You look up, to find a set of tiny Christmas lights with little embellishments in them, one of which is mistletoe.

“That doesn’t count.”

“Yes, it does.”

“That’s not real mistletoe.”

He pouts, rolling his eyes at you.

“Fine. Don’t kiss me then.”

You wrap your hand around his wrist, yanking him down by the tie to press a kiss to his soft, warm lips. They’re enough to warm up your frozen, nearly frostbitten blue ones, as he shakes his arms around your waist, pulling you closer and smiling into the kiss.

And you take solace in the fact that at least for that night, the conflict is over. And the story continues.

the satoru as taylor swift songs series masterlist

taglist:

@porridgesblog @k0z3me @kayleegomez @yihona-san06 @bsenpai @sweetenertea @skzismyhome @mykyoon @violetmatcha @rebeccawinters @luna0713hunter @shotenvinsoot @itzmeme @gojoswifeyyys-world @cutiejg

lmk if you would like to be added to the taylor as gojo taglist or my general taglist <3

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