Archive of Our Own

Gojo paces back and forth while he waits for Nanami to get to the school, twisting his apron between his fingers. Anxiety gnaws at his gut. Suguru has the kids inside doing extra reading time, and Ijichi is on the way to help him so Gojo can leave when Nanami arrives.

He’s never had a kid wander off on his watch before. Is Nanami ever going to forgive him? Nevermind forgive him, is he ever going to even look at Gojo again?

Nanami is already stressed enough as it is with how much overtime he’s been working lately. He trusted Gojo to look after his precious son through all those early mornings and late nights, not just as a teacher but as his partner, and Gojo failed him.

Shame and panic sit heavy in his stomach. He’s never had to face the consequences of disappointing Nanami before, and he’s afraid of what is about to unfold.

Gojo’s boyfriend all but sprints into view from around the street corner, red faced and out of breath with panic. He hadn’t even grabbed his jacket or his briefcase before leaving work, Gojo notes distantly, and the sweaty flush of his face only serves to highlight the deep circles beneath his tired eyes.

“Where is he?” Nanami demands the second Gojo is in range. He sounds nearly hysterical and when he’s close enough he grabs at Gojo’s biceps, his grip painfully tight as his own panic starts to take hold of him.

“Where is my son, Satoru?”

Gojo swallows around the lump in his throat and wraps his hands around Nanami’s elbows, attempting to calm him.

“I turned away for a second to help Junpei-kun off the slide and when I looked back he was just gone, Kento. We checked the security cameras and it doesn’t look like anyone took him, he just… went off on his own,” he explains quickly, voice imploring Nanami to believe him.

“It doesn’t seem like he wandered away either. He was waiting for Suguru and I to be distracted and then snuck out through the gate. He left intentionally, heading somewhere.”

Nanami stares at him as he digests that and Gojo now that he can get a proper look at him he sees just how truly awful he appears right now.

It’s been a while since he’s had a chance to see Nanami so close like this. He really has been working a lot of overtime, and it means that these last couple weeks Nanami has been leaving for work before Gojo is awake, and getting home after Gojo has gone to bed. He’s been working weekends too, so it’s mostly just been Gojo and Yuuji.

And while he enjoys the chance to spend more time with Yuuji in a parental kind of way, arranging for play dates with his friends and taking him and Junpei to school when Junpei’s mom has the morning shift, he does miss Nanami. And he knows Yuuji misses his Daddy even more.

“I think he was going to see you, Kento. Or at least, that was his intent. He’s walked that route between here and your office often enough that he probably felt he could find it on his own.”

Nanami startles at that and when he looks at Gojo his eyes are wide and full of grief and dismay. Gojo knows the same thought must have occurred to him, after he went through the panic of worrying whether Sukuna may have come to take him. He’s never met Sukuna, but if he hadn’t watched a determined Yuuji toddle towards the gate on the security tapes with his own eyes, he might have feared the same.

But, no. Yuuji left under his own influence, focused on one thing and one thing only.

“Why would he do that? I promised him I’d be home for dinner tonight, couldn’t he have waited?” Nanami asks breathlessly, and the way he trembles has nothing to do with the cold.

Gojo winces and reaches up to brush Nanami’s unkempt bangs back from his forehead, tracing the faint worry lines that are starting to take shape there. He wants to bundle Nanami up in his arms and shield him away from everything that seeks to hurt him in the world.

“Kento… That was yesterday. You promised you’d be home for dinner yesterday.”

The devastation his response wreaks on Nanami cannot be understated. His breath catches in his throat and he releases his grip on Gojo, taking a shaky step back and away as if putting distance between them will make his statement less true.

“No, I… It’s Tuesday, isn’t it?” Nanami protests, fumbling for his phone.

Gojo doesn’t have to tell him that it’s Wednesday, or that Yuuji had been heartbroken when his Daddy broke his promise. He’s not sure why Nanami has suddenly been working so much overtime or why he doesn’t just quit his miserable job and find something less soul sucking, but the man in front of him right now is on the brink.

“Kento… Yuuji has barely seen you in the last three weeks. You asked me to look after him for a while and I have, gladly, because I love Yuuji and I’d do anything for him, but I’m not you. He needs his Dad, and I don’t know what this is all about but it has to stop, because it’s killing you and it’s breaking my heart to see you like this,” Gojo says firmly, reaching out for Nanami.

Except Nanami takes another step back. Anger flashes in his tired eyes and the scowl that forms on his face is not something Gojo’s ever seen directed at him before.

“Mind your own business, Satoru. You’re not my husband and you’re not Yuuji’s father, so who are you to tell me what my son needs?”

Nanami’s voice is so cold it chills Gojo to the bone, but not as much as what he’s saying. It’s cruel and it cuts right through him like a knife, because he knows this. He knows. Even though Nanami has reassured him a thousand times that Yuuji adores him like a parent, and that Nanami appreciates him and everything he does and how much they both like having him around, Gojo knows he’s nothing more than the partner.

The memory of Kenjaku comes to him at that moment, for the first time in a very long time.

You’re nothing to me but a name, Gojo Satoru. You’re not worth anything else.

Some of the hurt he’s feeling must show on his face because something akin to guilt flickers in Nanami’s expression for a second before he turns away from Gojo.

“I need to go find Yuuji,” he grunts, and then he’s gone, leaving Gojo to stand there with his broken heart bleeding out all over the pavement.

Part of Gojo wants to accept what Nanami has declared and remain at the school, but ultimately… Yuuji is still missing, and even if Gojo isn’t his parent he’s still his teacher and someone who is responsible for his safety. He also starts moving, but in a different direction from the one Nanami took.

Where would Yuuji go?

He misses his Daddy and wants to go see him. He knows he’s at work, so he’s decided to walk to his office, which is a path he’s taken several times with both of them in the past. But he’s also just a kid, and when you’re a kid there are a thousand distracting things around you at all times.

So Gojo searches, and he ignores the deep ache taking root in his chest.

A thought strikes Gojo after the pet store he’s taken Yuuji into a few times to see the fish says they haven’t seen him. He’s about halfway through the path he normally takes when he walks Yuuji over to Nanami’s office building, and it seems unlikely that little Yuuji could have gotten much further than this on his own in only an hour.

But what if he hadn’t taken the usual path?

He twists around to stare back the way he came, considering. He’s Yuuji, he wants to see his Daddy, but he’s not quite sure where to go. He can’t ask any of the grown ups for directions because he might get in trouble, and his Daddy says he’s not allowed to talk to strangers without a trusted adult present. What would he do?

He’d probably go the way he remembers best. Maybe even the way he’d gone most recently.

Gojo’s feet are moving before he realizes, back the way he came before veering off in a sharp right turn when he’s only a few blocks away from the Kindergarten. He’d taken Yuuji this way last week when Yuuji asked to visit his Dad at work after Kindergarten, except Nanami had texted Gojo back and said he was too busy for a visit that day, so Gojo altered his course and they’d ended up…

His breath catches in his chest when he sees Yuuji’s lonely little form sitting on the swingset in the small park he took him to that day. He’s staring forlornly at the ground and doesn’t even react when Gojo crosses the park to slowly sink down onto the swing beside him.

He shoots off a text to Nanami with a location pin so he knows where to find them and then just… looks at Yuuji. The poor boy seems as tired as Gojo feels, and when he twists to blink up at Gojo there are dried tear tracks on his grubby little cheeks.

“I just wanted to see Daddy, but I couldn’t remember the way,” he sniffles weakly, sounding utterly distraught. “I miss him, Toru-san…”

Gojo takes a packet of wipes from his apron pocket and gently cleans the mess from his face, wishing he knew what to say to comfort the miserable boy. He smiles faintly, making a feeble attempt at fixing his messy pink hair.

“I know, baby. I miss your Daddy, too,” is all he has to offer but for some reason this seems to soothe Yuuji more than anything else he could have said.

Yuuji looks down at the ground where he’s toeing his sneakers into the dirt, clutching at the chains of the swing like they’re his only lifeline.

“Is Daddy mad at me?” he asks in a low whimper.

Well… Gojo thinks back to the conversation earlier, and the anger in Nanami’s voice when they fought.

“Not at you,” Gojo decides with a sigh, “I think he’ll just be relieved that you’re okay, but he might be unhappy that you wandered off like that. It’s dangerous, Yuuji. You should have told me or Getou-sensei if you were missing your Dad.”

Gojo stops and wonders if he’s once again toeing the line between being Yuuji’s teacher and acting like Yuuji’s parent. He wouldn’t have thought twice about it yesterday but Nanami’s voice is playing on a loop in his mind now, making it hard to tell the difference between what is or is not appropriate for him to say to Yuuji as just the person dating his Dad.

But if Yuuji feels any kind of way about being parented by Gojo he doesn’t say or do anything to indicate it. He just nods miserably and blinks round, watery eyes at him.

“I’m sorry, Toru-san. Can we please go see Daddy now?”

Gojo is about to tell him his Daddy is on the way when the sound of racing footsteps tells him he’s already here. If Nanami had looked terrible before he looks downright awful now after half an hour of running all over the city. Yuuji takes one look at him and immediately leaps off the swing, his face crumpling as he throws himself into Nanami’s arms with a wail to wake the dead.

There’s a thud as Nanami sinks to his knees in the dirt and clutches his son to his chest and they cling to one another with equal ferocity, making apologies and offering comfort that Gojo has no part in. He stands to go as quietly as he can, watching the scene for a few nervous seconds before heading back towards the school.

They’ll be okay.

Nanami has never felt this horrible in his entire life. Not even when his parents kicked him out of the house as a teenager, or the day Sukuna took off and abandoned him and their unborn child.

The look on Gojo’s face when Nanami snapped at him haunts him. He’d been gone by the time Nanami felt able to release his death grip on Yuuji, and why wouldn’t he? Nanami had all but told him to get lost, even though he’s done nothing but love and adore him and Yuuji since the start.

He wants to apologize but it feels too big to do over text, and he’s afraid Gojo might not pick up if he tries to call. So he sits and stews in his guilt and anxiety, only worsened by the sheer joy on Yuuji’s face when Nanami reassures him that he’s not going back to work tonight. Maybe not for the rest of the week.

Gojo was right. Nanami has been neglecting his son, and because Gojo is so reliable and so caring and so perfect, Nanami wasn’t as worried as he would have been if it were anyone else looking after Yuuji. He didn’t have to worry about Gojo feeding Yuuji properly, or getting him to school, or making sure he bathed and slept, because he knew Gojo would care for Yuuji as if he were his own.

In many ways, Yuuji really is. Certainly more than he was ever Sukuna’s.

And Nanami also knows that Gojo is insecure about the role he plays in their lives. They’ve come so far so quickly in the months since that first date, and there are a million reasons why they should probably slow down, and a million more for why he should stop letting Gojo act like Yuuji’s parent, and yet…

Nanami can only think of the one, giant, important reason why he should ignore all of that, and it’s so, so simple that it overrides any other excuse he could come up with to distance himself from Gojo:

They’re happy. He and Yuuji both. Gojo makes them happy, and having Gojo around has been nothing but good for them. He loves them and cherishes them and he’s always there when Yuuji or Nanami need him. And it’s to the point where Nanami can’t imagine being without him anymore.

The last several weeks of self imposed isolation sit heavy in his gut. He’s had a taste of what it would be like without Gojo’s sleepy morning kisses, and his soft, raspy ‘good nights’, and the weight of his body against Nanami’s as they fall asleep together. The way he would touch Nanami’s waist as he passed by in the kitchen, and the warmth of his arms around Nanami when they had sex. His gentleness as he’d cradle Nanami’s face in his hands, like he was something so infinitely precious to him… He misses it. He aches for him in a way that feels impossible to put into words.

And in one careless, defensive moment he threw all of that love and all of that devotion back in Gojo’s face.

“Daddy, when is Toru-san coming home?” Yuuji asks him softly as Nanami tucks him into bed, clutching Jun-chan to his chest. “He promised he’d read me a story before bed…”

Nanami’s chest clenches and he forces a smile to his face before leaning down to press a kiss to his son’s forehead. He’s been asking after Gojo since they got back, and Nanami realizes rather belatedly that it’s become so normal for Gojo to be here that it’s now more unusual when he’s absent. He can’t remember the last time Gojo slept at his own apartment, and his entire wardrobe seems to have migrated into Nanami’s closet and bureau by now.

The bathroom is cluttered with Gojo’s skin care products, and he has a toothbrush that sits in the little cup on the sink right next to Nanami’s and Yuuji’s. Yuuji asked when Gojo is coming home because this truly has become his home. Their home, together as a family.

“I’m sure he’ll be home soon. He just has some extra work he needs to finish up with Getou-sensei, but he can read you a story tomorrow night instead,” Nanami comforts, petting Yuuji’s bath damp bangs back from his temple.

Yuuji studies him with a seriousness uncharacteristic of a toddler, then pouts faintly.

“Can you wake me up when he gets home?”

Nanami gnaws his lip as he considers the question. The problem is, he doesn’t actually know if Gojo plans to come home tonight and he’s too much of a coward to just call and ask him.

“We’ll see. It depends on how late it is,” he answers finally, kissing him one last time before turning off the light and slowly closing the door until only a sliver remains.

“Daddy!”

Yuuji cries out and Nanami immediately turns the light back on and reenters the room, anxiety spiking at the panic in his son’s voice. His big eyes are glossy with unshed tears and he points at his little corner desk where a small, orb shaped item he’s never seen before sits atop it.

“You have to make the stars,” he whines pleadingly.

Make the stars? Nanami studies the orb, noting when he gets close enough to it that it resembles the shape and color of the moon. It’s sitting atop a square pedestal and a few seconds of searching uncovers a few dials and knobs along with a switch. For lack of a better idea, he flips the switch, and watches with wide eyes as the little machine whirrs softly to life and clicks on a lightbulb inside of the moon orb.

Small pin holes all over the surface of the moon allow the light to escape and cover the room around them in bright little spots of varying sizes.

“Did Toru-san make the stars for you?” Nanami asks, his voice sounding distant to his own ears as he looks up and around.

It’s even more beautiful when he turns the overhead light off again, sharpening the contrast between the star spots and the darkness filling the room. They’re not so bright or numerous that the space is entirely illuminated, but it does give Yuuji enough light that the shadows probably don’t feel as deep or scary.

“He said if I was missing Daddy, I just had to look at the stars and remember that Daddy is looking at the same stars and missing Yuuji too,” Yuuji explains quietly, in that devastatingly simple but honest way kids do.

Nanami’s stomach lurches and he has to bite back the hot rush of emotion that surges through him at that.

“He was right. Not a second went by that I didn’t miss my Yuuji,” Nanami whispers. “Not a single one.”

When he closes the door this time Yuuji doesn’t call out for him, so Nanami leaves him to sleep and stumbles blindly out to the living room to sit heavily down on the couch. He feels… drained. Numb. He can’t remember the last time he got a good night’s rest and fatigue drags at him like the grabbing fingers of the damned but he cannot stomach the thought of going to bed without Gojo.

He isn’t sure how long he sits there wallowing in his own self loathing and regret when a knock comes at the door, interrupting his train of thought. A quick glance at the clock tells him it’s close to midnight, and it’s with a mingled sense of frustration and confusion that he hauls himself up and towards the front entrance.

Who could be here at such a late hour? There’s only one person he wants to see right now anyways, and Nanami has an angry dismissal at the ready until he pulls the door open and the words die on his tongue.

It’s Gojo, awkwardly standing there with Yuuji’s backpack and coat clutched to his chest. He’s wearing frumpy sweatpants and a t-shirt beneath his unzipped jacket, and Nanami realizes he’s not the only one having trouble sleeping.

“I’m sorry for coming so late, I just… I thought Yuuji might need his coat for the walk to school tomorrow,” Gojo mumbles uncertainly.

As far as excuses go it’s pretty weak, considering Gojo knows Yuuji has more than one coat. Nanami’s heart leaps into his throat and he snatches everything out of Gojo’s hands in an instant, moving so quickly that he probably makes Gojo think Nanami wants him to scram based on the way his expression crumples just a bit.

Nanami doesn’t let him believe that for long though. He turns and dumps the load just inside the door and then throws his arms around Gojo in a desperate hug. One that’s returned with equal fervor and enthusiasm only a millisecond later.

Gojo picks him up like he weighs nothing and carries him inside their home, blindly shoving the door shut and fumbling the lock even as Nanami crushes their mouths together. He’s missed this so much and the feeling of Gojo’s strong, broad hands wrapping around his thighs is so familiar that it makes him positively ache with longing.

“I’m sorry,” Nanami pants, clutching at Gojo’s shoulders for balance before pressing frantic kisses to every inch of Gojo that he can reach as Gojo carries him towards their bedroom. “I’m so sorry, Satoru. I didn’t mean it, I swear.”

Gojo drops him back onto their bed and crawls over him and when he slots between Nanami’s thighs Nanami nearly weeps with joy. He’s missed him so much it feels like a literal canyon has yawned open inside of him, empty and cold and filled with such longing that it hurts.

“I know… I know, Kento. I’m sorry too. I should have been more supportive, I should have been better,” Gojo whines between the hot line of kisses he’s trailing down Nanami’s neck, releasing his death grip on Nanami just long enough to shuck off his coat and peel his shirt over his head.

But his words stick in Nanami’s throat like needles, sharp and angry. He slaps his palms around Gojo’s face and forces him to retreat from the hickey he’s worrying into Nanami’s collarbone and look at him instead, and Nanami can see the anxiety and insecurity in Gojo’s eyes even if he thinks he’s hiding it.

He can see it because he’s the one that put it there and a fresh wave of shame washes over him.

Nanami forces Gojo over onto his back and straddles his waist to keep him pinned, then takes a second to gather his thoughts while he studies the person beneath him. Gojo stares back through snowy white lashes like he’s just patiently waiting for Nanami to speak, but the faint tremor of his hands gives him away.

“You’ve been perfect, Satoru. More than perfect. You cannot be better because you’re already the best to me, and to Yuuji. And I’m sorry I haven’t done more to show you how much I appreciate you being there for us, and for taking care of me even when I’ve been so… ungrateful and selfish the last few weeks. These months with you have felt like a dream because I never thought it was possible to be this happy. But it is possible. Because of you.”

Nanami speaks softly, but firmly, and it makes him ache all over again when Gojo seems reluctant to believe what he’s saying. Beneath all his bluster and arrogance and big easy smiles lurks a sensitive, lonely soul.

“You are the kindest and most wonderful person I’ve ever met, Satoru. You literally gave our son the very stars from the sky and you never asked for anything in return,” Nanami whispers, softening when Gojo’s expression wobbles at hearing him say ‘our son’. “You mean so much to us. Yuuji asked me earlier when his Toru-san was coming home because he misses you when you’re not here the way a child misses their parent, and it makes me so, so happy to know that he loves you just as much as I do.”

Gojo’s face crumples and Nanami presses down on top of him to wrap his body around Gojo’s, burying his face in the crook of his neck as they shake to pieces together.

“I love you too, Kento… You and Yuuji, you’re everything to me. I can’t imagine a day going by where I don’t get to see you both anymore, and when I went back to my apartment tonight it just felt so cold and empty and wrong I couldn’t bear it. I was so afraid you’d break up with me but I wanted to see you so badly. I’m so sorry for losing Yuuji, please… Please forgive me,” Gojo begs and he sounds so desperate and so sure that Nanami will blame him that Nanami can’t help but tighten his arms around him.

“There’s nothing to forgive. It’s not your fault, Satoru, and you didn’t lose Yuuji. You found him, because you know him so well now that you figured out where he would go. Yuuji told me about the park, and why he ended up there. About all the things you’ve been doing these past few weeks to cover my ass and make sure he didn’t end up hating me for my broken promises.”

Nanami props himself up on his elbow so he can look down at Gojo, smiling sadly at the way his blue eyes shine almost diamond bright with unshed tears.

“I’ve been a pretty bad Dad lately, so I’m happy that Yuuji had you to look after him and make sure he knew he was still loved.”

The kiss tastes like salt but Nanami doesn’t care. He parts his lips when Gojo’s tongue pleads for entrance, and rolls easily over onto his back again at the guiding press of a palm against his shoulder.

They shed the remainder of their clothing with quick movements edging on desperate, and the press of Gojo’s skin against his own sends Nanami’s pulse racing like it’s their very first time again. He knows he should remind Gojo about not leaving too many marks but when Gojo’s teeth dig into his throat all Nanami does is tip his head back and silently beg for more.

As much as he wants to be loud, they’re not alone in the house, so Nanami covers his mouth with his hand to muffle the moan that wants to wrench from him as Gojo kisses and bites a path down the length of his body. On a normal night, if they feel reasonably certain that they won’t be interrupted, Gojo would take his time getting Nanami off at least once by teasing his chest with his mouth while he fingers him.

Neither of them have the patience for that right now.

Two of Gojo’s fingers slide into him to test how wet he is while his lips wrap around Nanami’s clit, lapping at the sensitive bundle of nerves with steady strokes of his tongue. Nanami buries a hand in snowy white hair and spreads his thighs as wide as they can go, giving Gojo more room to press closer and suck noisily at his cunt.

“Satoru, fuck me. I’ll be fine, I just want you to fuck me,” Nanami hisses between his teeth, tugging pointedly at Gojo’s hair.

Gojo ignores him and licks at his clit again, sending a fresh spark of molten heat to blossom in the pit of Nanami’s belly. His clever fingers, so adept now at making Nanami feel good, stroke against his inner walls with familiar ease, massaging at all the sensitive spots he knows send Nanami squirming.

And squirm he does, pelvis flexing as he clenches down around those wicked digits. Gojo hums and the vibration of it buzzes through Nanami’s clit, dragging a ragged gasp from him as his pleasure builds between his hips. Nanami has had just about enough of the delay though and he shoves Gojo over onto his back with a knee against his shoulder, smirking breathlessly at the genuine look of surprise on his face.

He misses the feeling of Gojo’s fingers inside of him immediately, but it’s okay. Nanami straddles his waist and fills himself with Gojo’s cock instead, wincing slightly at the sting from rushing it but bearing down through it. Gojo’s hands fly up to grip at his hips but he knows better than to try to stop Nanami apparently, because he just holds on and watches with wide eyes while Nanami sinks down until Gojo is buried inside of him to the hilt.

Nanami groans and arches his back slightly, clenching around Gojo’s cock as ecstasy and delight courses through his veins. This is what he wanted, this feeling of closeness and of becoming whole with Gojo. He sinks down to lie against Gojo’s chest and buries his face in the crook of his throat, shivering when a warm palm smoothes up the length of his spine.

“I love you,” he pants softly, kissing along Gojo’s jawline until he finds his lips.

He can taste himself on Gojo’s tongue and relishes it, whimpering faintly when Gojo takes the opportunity to roll them once more and grinds his pelvis against Nanami’s cunt.

It’s sloppy and uncoordinated. Nanami clings to Gojo with every inch of his body and Gojo clings back with equal fervor, kissing him again and again until Nanami’s mouth feels raw and his jaw aches. The snap of his hips is short and harsh, but it leaves his cock pressing in so deep that Nanami can practically taste it at the back of his throat.

“I love you,” he gasps, because it’s worth repeating, and a soft, low sob escapes Gojo, muffled slightly as he presses his face into Nanami’s chest.

Nanami wraps his arms around his shoulders and strokes his hair. Pleasure and want zing beneath his skin like an electric current, and the slick, wet glide of Gojo’s cock is sending him soaring to ever greater heights.

“Kento, I’m…” Gojo whines into his skin, visibly struggling to hold himself back. He’s obviously tired and it’s been a very long day for both of them, and Nanami hums sympathetically.

“Come inside me, Satoru.” He, regretfully, releases his hold on Gojo to squirm a hand between their bodies, finding his clit with his fingers and massaging it with fervent strokes. “I want to feel you fill me up…”

Fresh pleasure courses through him at the stimulation and he clenches up around Gojo’s cock, shuddering at the ragged moan this pulls from both of them. Heat blooms inside of Nanami as Gojo follows his orders and comes deep inside of him, and he slams a hand over his mouth just in time to muffle himself before he yells at the intensity of his own orgasm.

He rubs himself off through the pulsing waves of their combined pleasure, uncovering his mouth only so Gojo can kiss him fervently. The rolling grind of Gojo’s hips slows to a stop and Nanami withdraws his hand so Gojo can settle his full weight on top of him again, dragging a soft, relieved sigh from deep inside his chest.

Nanami wraps his arms around Gojo’s shoulders and holds him close, keeping their bodies joined with the death grip his thighs have around his hips. If Gojo pulls out right now Nanami thinks he might actually die, and so they lie there and catch their breath, tangled up in the blankets until Nanami forgets where he stops and Gojo begins.

And he finally feels right again.

On a normal night, if they have time for it, they’ll usually fuck once or twice more before ambling into the shower. Tonight is far from normal though, and while Nanami keeps Gojo close and their kisses are long and many, they make it to and through the shower without adding to the mess. When Gojo slides his fingers into Nanami again it’s to help clean the come out of him, and while the stimulation feels good it doesn’t end up going anywhere.

Nanami notes distantly that it’s the first time Gojo has come inside of him in a while. They’d started using condoms more regularly a couple months ago when Nanami’s doctor warned him in no uncertain terms that he was going to end up with a UTI, a second child, or both if he didn’t wise up. He’s missed the sense of belonging though, and the tenderness of Gojo’s touch when he cleans him up afterwards, and it just hasn’t been the same with condoms involved.

They’re curled up on the living room floor in a pile of blankets when Gojo finally speaks again. The bed had a big wet spot and neither one of them wanted to deal with changing the sheets, so they just dragged everything out to the living room and made themselves a little nest. The gray sunlight of early dawn is starting to filter through the curtains and exhaustion sits so heavily on Nanami’s shoulders, and yet he can’t bear to close his eyes when Gojo is looking at him with such naked, open tenderness.

He strokes his fingers over Gojo’s cheeks and brow, unable to tear himself away as they lie on their sides, twined together from head to toe.

“I think you should quit your job.”

It’s spoken gently, but honestly, and somewhere deep down Nanami knew it was coming.

“I can’t,” he sighs, lowering his gaze to stare at Gojo’s chest so he doesn’t have to see his disappointment. “They’re not forcing me to work overtime, Satoru. I requested it.”

Silence answers him as Gojo digests that, clearly struggling to wrap his head around the idea that Nanami would ask for so much overtime at a job he openly despises. Nanami doesn’t leave him wondering for long.

“My Grandmother is sick. She’s… She’s dying. Pancreatic cancer, stage four. It had already spread to her lungs and her liver before they caught it. My parents refuse to do anything for her because of me, but hospice care is expensive and all her medications… The daughter of one of her friends helped with cleaning out her apartment and selling off the furniture and stuff, but I’m the only one left that can take care of her. I’ve been trying to save up enough money to move her to a facility in Tokyo, but it’s just… It’s so expensive, Satoru, and I don’t know what to do but I’m all she has.”

Nanami’s voice cracks and he shudders when Gojo wraps his arms tight around him and holds him close.

“I’m so sorry, Kento. Why didn’t you say anything? I could have helped if I’d known,” Gojo asks in a low rumble, stroking his fingers soothingly through Nanami’s hair.

“It’s not your burden to bear. She’s… She’s my family, I should be able to take care of her.”

Gojo’s hands cup his face and force his chin up until they’re eye to eye again and Nanami can no longer see the insecurity and uncertainty from earlier. He’s determined now, and sure of himself.

“And you’re my family, Kento. So let me take care of you, and her. Quit the job you hate so much and spend some time off with her and Yuuji, while you still can. And if you want to go back to work afterwards then you can come work with Suguru and I at the Kindergarten. You love kids and you’re an incredible Dad, I think you’d be perfect. Or you can find a job somewhere else if you want, but… Please don’t ask me to stand by and watch as you work yourself to death, Kento. Not when it’s in my power to make it better.”

Nanami’s heart swells in his chest and he grips at desperate handfuls of Gojo’s t-shirt to keep himself from floating away.

“I can’t imagine you make much money as a Kindergarten teacher, Satoru… I don’t think we can afford to live on just your salary, even if it’s only for a short time. We’d have to give up both the house and your apartment and probably move somewhere smaller and less expensive,” Nanami murmurs, struggling to be realistic even as he’s desperately tempted by what Gojo is suggesting.

He hates his job. He hates how soul sucking it feels to work in finance and all the games he has to play with other peoples’ money. But it pays well and the manager has been true to his word that no one would find out about Nanami’s gender, so long as he works hard and doesn’t give the company any trouble.

Gojo squirms a little at that and Nanami is surprised to see he actually looks embarrassed of all things.

“Suguru owes me a week of babysitting because I told him you didn’t recognize my family name, and yet he insisted there was no way you couldn’t know. He said you were just too polite to bring it up and when I said that you were a bad liar he asked if I wanted to bet on it, and, well,” he mutters under his breath, which only worsens Nanami’s confusion.

And then it dawns on him like the sun shining ever brighter through the gap in the curtains. He feels like an absolute idiot and bless Getou Suguru for giving him what is apparently far too much credit.

“Gojo Satoru… As in, Gojo, of the Gojo family.”

It’s not a question. Gojo has the decency to look a little sheepish but he nods, and several curious things in Gojo’s life suddenly make a lot more sense. Like, how he and Suguru managed to open their own school without a wealthy investor or public funding, and how Gojo can afford his rather large apartment on a Kindergarten teacher’s salary. The way he spoils Nanami and Yuuji with gifts any chance he gets, and the $300 moon night light currently sitting on Yuuji’s desk.

The Gojo family conglomerate practically owns half of Japan between its investments, acquisitions, and buyouts in a number of major industries. You can’t go anywhere in Tokyo without seeing the Gojo brand logo slapped on something these days, and yet somehow Nanami had never drawn the fairly obvious conclusion.

“You never talk about your family,” Nanami says lamely, not sure how he missed making the connection.

In hindsight he supposes it’s because he never really cared. Gojo is Gojo, whether he’s rich or poor or anything in between, and Nanami loves him because of who he is regardless of anything else.

“My parents disinherited me from the family. Technically, I’m not even allowed to tell you this because my own parents made me sign an NDA about the whole thing. Had to protect the business and the family name of course. Strictly speaking, they have made it clear that I can still come back to be the heir apparent to the Gojo corporate empire if I wanted… With the understanding that I’ll only be allowed to step into that role if I stop with the whole “queer thing”, get married to a perfect pretty wife of my parents’ choosing, and pump out little Gojolings. Of course, that’s never going to happen and so it’s likely I’ll eventually be permanently disinherited once my Father finds another more suitable heir.”

Gojo huffs out a soft, amused laugh.

“But they couldn’t stop me from investing the savings I’d accumulated in my teens and early twenties back into the family business through stocks and other means.”

He shrugs nonchalantly but his mouth is twisted up in a wry smile.

“The more money my parents make, the more money they make me. Of course, everything I own is under the name of a dummy corporation so they can’t trace it back to me, but I’m sure they’ve figured it out by now. Not much they can do about it though. Since they disowned me and cut me off completely from the family and the inside workings of the business, it’s perfectly legal,” Gojo sighs, leaning in until his forehead is pressed to Nanami’s.

“And so, Kento, please believe me when I say with complete and utter confidence… If you never wanted to work another day for the rest of your life then it would not matter one bit. We have the money. More than enough to live comfortably for a hundred lifetimes. More than enough to send Yuuji to any school in the entire world. And certainly plenty to move your Grandmother to Tokyo and make sure she receives the best possible care, and has the chance to spend her final days with her grandson and great grandson. Please. Please, Kento. Let me do this for you.”

Nanami’s mind is swimming with this new onslaught of information. The NDA partially explains why Gojo has never brought the issue up before, but there’s a lingering glimmer of vulnerability in his expression that tells Nanami there’s more to it than that. He wonders how many people have tried to get in Gojo’s good graces, and his bed, just because of who his parents are.

There are many people in the world that would take advantage of Gojo, and the wealth and connections that would come from being with him. Is the Kenjaku he’d spoken of briefly on their first date the reason why Gojo allowed Nanami to remain unaware for so long? Nanami can’t even be angry because it’s not like Gojo ever went out of his way to hide it from him or avoid it, he just never brought it up himself, and Nanami never asked.

“I’ll have to insist on paying you back,” Nanami says finally, threading his fingers through Gojo’s still damp hair. “But I really do hate that fucking job.”

It startles a laugh out of Gojo and the heaviness of the moment is lifted just a bit. He bites his lip as he studies Gojo’s face, trying to commit to memory every single line and freckle and blemish. He’s so beautiful that it sometimes takes Nanami’s breath away.

“Gonna be hard to pay me back without a job, Kento. You could just let me spoil you,” Gojo teases him. “I’ll spoil you even if you don’t let me. I’ve been restrained up to this point but now that you know there’s no reason for me to hold back.”

Nanami huffs out a laugh of his own before shoving Gojo down onto the blankets and swinging his leg over his waist. He smiles, slow and honey sweet, and trails a finger lightly down the center of Gojo’s chest. It’s worth it for the faint look of surprise on Gojo’s face.

“I never said I was going to pay you back with money. Do you accept other forms of payment?” he croons softly, leaning down over Gojo until his lips are brushing the corner of his mouth.

He can feel Gojo’s smile and shivers when he can feel a pair of hands slip beneath the waistband of his sweatpants to grope at his ass.

“I think we can come to some kind of arrangement… You are my most valued customer, after all.”

Gojo kisses a hot line down his jaw until he comes to Nanami’s ear, his breath hot against the sensitive shell.

“Next time I’ll have you sit on my face, Kento. I want to eat you out until you’re so wet and dripping that I can just slide right in. I’ll bend you over the bed and eat your ass too, open up all your holes and take turns with every single one of them until I’m satisfied. Until you’re stuffed so full of me that I’ll have to plug you up to stop you from making a mess,” he growls, pulling Nanami in until their groins are pressed together through the thin fabric of their sweatpants.

“Suguru and Kiyotaka-kun can take Yuuji for a long weekend during the next break and we’ll spend the entire time in bed, and I’ll fuck you so good that you forget your own name by the end of the first day.”

They fumble in the blankets until Nanami’s bent over the couch with his sweats around his knees and Gojo kneeling behind him, fucking into him as hard and fast as they dare with Yuuji still asleep down the hallway. They’d closed his door completely before coming out to the living room so they wouldn’t wake him with their talking, but the morning is edging nearer and it won’t be long before he goes in search of breakfast.

“Fuck… Satoru, right there,” Nanami hisses, biting at his knuckles as Gojo grips his hips and arches them backwards a bit more so he has a better angle to fuck him.

His cock rubs at his insides in all the right ways and the bruises he can feel forming beneath Gojo’s fingers spark delicious pleasure pain. Nanami sneaks a hand inside his shirt and pinches at a nipple, gasping slightly when Gojo shoves his shirt up so he can kiss and bite down the length of his spine.

“You’re so tight, Kento. I’ve missed you so much. Missed how good your cunt feels around my cock, missed how fucking good you taste,” Gojo growls, swatting Nanami’s hand away from his nipple so he can replace it with his own.

His broad palm envelopes the modest swell of Nanami’s breast and squeezes before he plucks at the sensitive bud, sending fresh shocks of pleasure to bloom in the pit of Nanami’s belly.

“I thought about you… while I was at work,” Nanami pants wetly, biting back a cry when Gojo’s other hand dips between his thighs to pinch his swollen clit. “Working long nights alone… Fantasized about you coming to visit and fucking me on my desk, or showing up at the Kindergarten in the early morning and bending over your desk.”

He’d even gone to the bathroom one of those lonely evenings when he was the only one left in the office and fingered himself in the stall, getting off to the memory of the weight and feel of Gojo’s cock in his mouth. The slim, plastic case of his reading glasses had been a poor substitute and the bitter taste it left behind on his tongue was a far cry from what he wanted. The orgasm had been unsatisfying, but the one barrelling down on him now promises to be much better.

“Yeah? What if someone walked in on us? Suguru and I share the same office,” Gojo teases and Nanami knows he means it as a joke but the idea of someone discovering him with his pants around his ankles while Gojo fucks him to within an inch of his life…

He slaps his hand over his mouth but it’s too late to stifle the moan that wrenches out of him. Gojo’s breath catches in his throat and his hips stutter against his ass, clearly caught off guard by their shared revelation.

“Ohhh… I see, Kento… I see.”

The arousal in Gojo’s voice glides over Nanami’s skin, raising gooseflesh even as he resumes his near brutal pace from before. He pinches his nipple before squeezing at his chest again but avoids his clit for now, instead stroking his fingers through the slick folds of Nanami’s cunt like he’s playing with a toy.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? For the record, Suguru would think it’s fucking hot. He and Kiyotaka, well… Let’s just say if we were ever interested, they’d definitely be into it. Suguru would walk in and be so jealous of me, I bet. He’d want a taste of you so bad, and ohh, Kiyotaka…” Gojo leans down until his mouth is pressed to Nanami’s ear, and the rough, ragged edge of his whispering only makes Nanami burn hotter.

“He’d beg for it, Kento. You’re so gorgeous when you come and he’d get off just from watching you get fucked, and when it’s over he’d beg for the chance to lick you clean. I wonder what kind of sounds you’d make if I watched them have their way with you.”

Nanami chokes around his next breath when Gojo’s fingers find his clit again without warning and begin a relentless massage.

“Jesus, Satoru,” he manages to gasp, clawing at the couch cushions as his orgasm barrels down on top of him.

But he can feel Gojo about to pull out and swings his arm around to stop him, clenching his pussy tight to further convince Gojo to stay.

“Come inside again. Please,” Nanami begs, his thighs quivering at the denial of his pleasure when Gojo’s fingers stop moving on his clit.

“But your doctor said…” Gojo trails off and he sounds uncertain now despite his filthy words only a few moments earlier.

Nanami growls and twists around to look over his shoulder at Gojo, staring intently at him before grinding his ass back against his pelvis.

“I don’t care. If I get an infection, I’ll take medicine. If you knock me up, then we’ll have another kid. I want to feel you, Satoru.”

Gojo’s expression is complicated. He looks like Nanami’s punched the air from his lungs. Nanami worries he said something wrong when Gojo pulls out, but then he finds himself flipped onto his back with his ass hanging off the edge of the couch. His sweatpants are wrenched and off so Gojo has room to press between his bare thighs.

“You can’t just say things like that,” Gojo wheezes, digging his fingers into Nanami’s hips to hold him steady before he fucks back into him.

Nanami hisses and arches up towards him, parting his lips when Gojo prods at them with his fingers. Three long fingers press down his throat and he greedily sucks at them, tasting his own sour slick. Gojo throws caution to the wind and fucks him rough and deep now, filling the living room with the loud, wet sounds of sex.

He snakes his hand down between his legs and finds his aching clit, rubbing himself off with frenzied energy to match the way Gojo is pistoning into him, like he just can’t get enough. Nanami knows the feeling.

Pleasure seizes at Nanami and he cries out around the fingers in his mouth, back arching and muscles spasming as he orgasms hard. Fresh slick squelches out around Gojo’s cock and soaks into his sweatpants, which he’d tugged down just enough to get his cock out earlier, and it’s all Gojo needs to groan softly and come inside of Nanami for a second time.

He rocks his hips weakly through the throes of his orgasm, and Nanami waits for the welcoming weight of him to settle down on top of him but instead, Gojo sinks to his knees between his thighs and presses his mouth against the wet mound of Nanami’s cunt. Nanami twitches with oversensitivity, but he hooks his knees over Gojo’s shoulders and allows him to lick at the slick and come dripping from his hole anyways.

“Satoru…” Nanami sighs comfortably now that his mouth is no longer full, sliding his own hands to rest in the tangle of Gojo’s hair.

Gojo cleans him out with his tongue and fingers, lapping up the mess he’d made of him before tugging Nanami downward onto his lap, staring headily at him. He opens his mouth to show Nanami that there’s still come and slick on his tongue before leaning in to kiss him.

Nanami licks the shared taste of them out of his mouth and they stay like that for what feels like an eternity, lazily making out. At some point Nanami reaches down to guide Gojo back inside of him, but it doesn’t go farther than that. They sit there and they trade kiss after kiss and Nanami enjoys the quiet intimacy of having Gojo inside of him for just a while longer.

“We need to change and get breakfast started,” Nanami murmurs finally, stroking his fingers over the high arch of Gojo’s cheekbone and down the strong curve of his jaw. “Yuuji will be up soon and we both need to get to work.”

He can see the flicker of unease in Gojo’s eyes but he smiles faintly and reassures him with a small kiss to the corner of his lips. They’re red and puffy from kissing and Nanami knows without looking that his are much the same.

“It’ll be easier to put in my resignation in person, so I can sign all the paperwork right away and gather up my things.”

The absolute joy that splits Gojo’s face nearly takes Nanami’s breath away and he’s reminded of just how beautiful Gojo really is. How did he get so lucky?

“Come to the school when you’re done. You can help Suguru with the kids while I make the arrangements for your Grandmother to be moved to Tokyo. I’ll find her the best facility with the best nurses and doctors. I promise, Kento, she’ll want for nothing. I’ll make sure it’s close enough that you and Yuuji can visit every single day if you want,” he says in a rush, sounding so excited that Nanami is actually letting him do this that he can’t even stop to breathe.

It startles a laugh from Nanami and he can’t help but kiss Gojo again, brimming with happiness and the deep, burning satisfaction that comes with knowing you’re so very, very loved.

“I want you to come too. You should meet her. I think she’ll really like you, Satoru,” Nanami murmurs, draping his arms comfortably around Gojo’s shoulders.

Sky blue eyes blink at him and Gojo is back to looking uncertain. Bashful, even, at the notion of meeting Nanami’s Grandmother.

“Are you sure?” he asks softly and that draws another, quieter laugh from Nanami.

He kisses the corner of Gojo’s mouth and then sighs, pressing their foreheads together.

“Of course I’m sure. Isn’t it normal, introducing your family to the person you want to spend the rest of your life with?”

Gojo whimpers faintly, like he didn’t expect Nanami to say that, but Nanami just hums faintly and presses closer to him.

“I love you, Satoru. I’ll say it as many times as it takes to make you believe it, but I do. And I’ll do my best to never make you feel otherwise ever again.”

A shadow of a smirk plays across Gojo’s lips and he reaches up to cradle Nanami’s cheek, looking a little mischievous now and more like his usual self.

“I don’t know. I might need you to say it a hundred times a day, every day, for the rest of our lives,” he muses lightly, clearly pleased with himself when that gets an amused huff from Nanami.

Nanami kisses the grin off his face and then sighs before pressing his lips to Gojo’s temple and leaving them there.

“Oh, Satoru… I’m counting on it.”

Packing up his desk comes with a strange sort of bittersweetness that Nanami didn’t expect. His boss had been surprised at his resignation, but didn’t kick up a fuss at the abruptness of it when he said it was because he wanted to spend as much time with his Grandmother as he could before she passed.

For all its inherent flaws, the company had been good to Nanami, and it was the first real job he’d ever gotten. As a queer, transgender man in his 20s with no job history, no college education, and a newborn baby to care for, he’d been turned away from a lot of other companies before finding his way to this one. They could have turned him away too, but the manager decided to take a chance on him and Nanami had worked hard in the years since to repay him for it.

There’s some guilt in leaving as a result, but Nanami is tired. The deep, aching tiredness of the truly burned out. Gojo was right that working this much was killing him, and the absolute limits of his endurance had been rapidly approaching.

Still. It’s hard to give up his hard won independence. Sukuna always sought to control Nanami and keep him under his thumb, refusing to allow him to get a proper job no matter how many times he asked. Some of the lingering anxiety those memories still instill thrums beneath his skin and he studies the sparse contents of his desk with no small amount of trepidation.

Is this the right decision? Had he gotten too swept up in the moment and Gojo’s sweet kisses and tender words, just like he did when he first met Sukuna?

His eyes land on the small collection of framed photographs at the corner of his desk, which make up the majority of his non-work related desk contents. There’s Yuuji, of course. And a photo of his Grandmother holding him when Nanami had taken the long journey north to Hokkaido to introduce her to her great grandson for the first time.

But the number of frames has grown in recent months. There are photos of Gojo now. Gojo with Yuuji, and Gojo with Nanami. At the forefront, next to a picture of Nanami holding Yuuji just after he’d been born that a nurse was kind enough to take for him, is the three of them together.

Nanami remembers that day. A picnic event at the park sponsored by the Kindergarten, where the parents could socialize and get to know the parents of their child’s school friends. He’d finally gotten to meet Higuruma, the surprisingly soft spoken father to Yuuji’s fiery friend Nobara, and even some of the students and parents that had graduated the year prior and now attended the local elementary school.

Gojo made a point of introducing him to a man named Yaga Masamichi, who turned out to be the Principal at that same elementary school, the one Nanami wanted to send Yuuji to. Because Gojo introduced them, there’s now an appointment in Nanami’s calendar to meet with Yaga to discuss enrolling Yuuji in the coming year. He’s not sure he’d have been so lucky trying to apply on his own, considering the school’s successful academic record and low enrollment make it pretty difficult to get into.

In the photograph, Yuuji is sitting on Gojo’s shoulders and beaming at the camera with a wide, toothy grin, and Nanami has an arm around Gojo’s waist. His own smile is more subdued than his son’s, but no less happy, and Gojo… Gojo is positively radiant. His head is tipped towards Nanami’s and his hands are wrapped securely around Yuuji’s calves, keeping him safe.

They look like a family and that’s something Nanami never had with Sukuna.

He packs the photographs with an abundance of care not to let them rattle or clink together too much, and adds the few bits of paperwork and other personal belongings he has into the box. The unused office supplies get left on his desk for anyone that wants to take them, and the uneaten snacks go in the trash.

Gojo will take care of them, Nanami has no doubt about that. Once his Grandmother’s affairs have been seen to he might even take him up on the offer to come work at the Kindergarten. It wouldn’t be so soul sucking, doing a job he actually finds meaning and purpose in.

And it would be fun to work with Gojo and his odd friend Getou. The two of them bicker like an old married couple, as only best friends who have known one another for longer than they have not can do, and it’s amusing to watch. He also likes Getou’s polite boyfriend Ijichi and it would be nice to get to know him better.

The office around him is a flurry of activity as it always is. People are on the phone, talking with clients and prospective customers, and no one pays him much mind as he makes his way towards the exit. He’s able to sneak out without a fuss and as he steps outside into the chilly winter sunshine he feels a weight slide off his shoulders.

He takes his time walking to the school and considers what he has to do next.

His Grandmother will be moved to Tokyo in a week or two, Gojo said. He’d already been on the phone with someone he knew only hours after Nanami agreed to let him help, asking for names and numbers of doctors and facilities in the city that would be able to provide the care she needed. Nanami briefly considered the idea of having his Grandmother move in with him and Yuuji, but dismissed it pretty quickly.

Her cancer is advanced and the treatment they are using to extend what little time she had left is aggressive. Her pain and her nausea are managed well by medication and other therapies, but even with nurses coming and going to provide round the clock care for her, she wouldn’t get the same level of treatment as she would at a proper facility.

And when the end comes, they will make sure she’s comfortable. Nanami can’t ask for more than that at this point.

The ache at losing the only family that ever really loved him for himself, and the one person that helped him when he was broke, pregnant, and felt so terribly alone, is ever present. He’s been so busy that he hasn’t really had the chance to properly mourn what he’s inevitably about to lose, and part of him wonders if that might be some of the reason for why he’d been so willing to work such long hours.

If he’s too busy and tired to think, then he’s too busy and tired to be sad.

It’ll catch up to him soon he’s sure, but when the Kindergarten comes into sight and he sees Yuuji happily building castles in the sandbox with Junpei and Megumi, his heart swells so big that it chases the sadness away for a while. Especially when Yuuji catches sight of him entering the gate and beams so brightly as to put the sun to shame.

“Daddy!”

His scream is so loud it draws Getou’s attention, but he relaxes when he realizes it’s just Nanami and turns back to helping Nobara clean the dirt off her tights. Yuuji toddles to him as fast as his little legs can carry him and squeals when Nanami swoops him up into his arms for a tight hug.

“Daddy, no work today?” Yuuji asks with a breathless grin, his sandy fingers curling tight into the once pristine white fabric of Nanami’s collared shirt.

Who cares if it gets dirty? He doesn’t need it anymore.

“Mmm, no work today. Or tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the day after that,” Nanami hums softly. “In fact, would Yuuji like it if Daddy never went back to work at that place ever again?”

Yuuji’s eyes go wide around as saucers and Nanami stifles a laugh at the honest, childlike wonder of his reaction.

“Really? Daddy promises?”

The question is so earnest and wanting that it makes Nanami’s heart ache a little. He really has been neglecting his son these past few weeks, so it’s not surprising that Yuuji needs a little extra reassurance.

He smiles and extends his pinky to Yuuji, who loops his own small, chubby finger around it and squeezes resolutely.

“Daddy pinky promises. He’s going to be spending a lot more time at home with his Yuuji now,” he swears, trying to project as much sincerity into his voice as possible.

Yuuji beams back at him and throws his arms around his neck in a tight hug.

“And Toru-san too!” he declares enthusiastically before rubbing his face into Nanami’s shoulder.

Nanami’s eyes instinctively seek Gojo out and he finds him standing near the swings, supervising quietly with his hands on his hips and his dark round sunglasses perched neatly on his nose. The banana yellow apron he’s wearing is unbearably cute, and when he catches sight of Nanami a smile splits his face and he waves, bright with happiness.

“Yuuji.. What would you think about Toru-san coming to live with us?” Nanami asks softly as he sets his son back down on his feet and squats in front of him.

One of his bright red sneakers has come untied and he carefully laces it up for him while Yuuji digests the question. He looks surprisingly thoughtful and for one second Nanami wonders if he’s actually about to say no, then–

“Daddy, doesn’t Toru-san already live with us?”

It’s a fair question and Nanami barks out a laugh, taken aback by the bluntness of it.

“I suppose you’re right. Yuuji is so smart,” Nanami chuckles.

He brushes the sand off Yuuji’s jacket and smiles, wondering how he’d ever survived the last few weeks without moments like these.

“Go back and play with your friends. Daddy is going to see if Toru-san or Getou-sensei need any help with getting snack ready, okay?”

Yuuji nods and then hesitates, the faintest of pouts starting to form on his lips.

“Daddy will stay?” he asks uncertainly, and Nanami wishes he could go back in time and stop himself from introducing such insecurity to his precious son.

But all he can do now is hug Yuuji tight to his chest and kiss his forehead, pouring every ounce of love and adoration he has into the gesture.

“Pinky promise, remember? Daddy will stay the whole day, and then he and Toru-san will take Yuuji out to dinner somewhere fun on the way home after school.”

This seems to mollify the anxious toddler and he finally scampers off back to the sandbox with his friends, who have managed to create a rather remarkable sand pile in his absence. Nanami leaves his box of trinkets by the gate where he’d set it down and crosses the playground to stand at Gojo’s side, wishing he could kiss him but knowing he’ll have to wait until they find their way home later that night.

“Well, I’m officially unemployed. I hope you’re happy, Satoru,” he sighs, his tone haughty but playful.

Gojo chuckles and Nanami bites the inside of his cheek to stifle a smile when he feels Gojo’s pinky finger loop through his own.

“You’ve worked so hard to take care of Yuuji, and now your Grandmother. I’m honored to be the one that finally gets to take care of you, Kento,” Gojo murmurs and he really does sound so genuinely happy about it that Nanami’s heart skips a beat.

He turns to look at Gojo, cataloging the bright glitter of his blue eyes in the bright sunshine, and the redness in his cheeks from standing outside in the chilly air, and the warmth of his smile when it curves the corners of his lips up at the sight of Nanami staring at him, and falls a little bit more in love with him.

Soon enough, he’ll ask Gojo to move in officially. They’ll probably need to find somewhere bigger eventually, but for now? Nanami just wants to keep Gojo close, forever and ever.

“Can’t wait to get you home and kiss you the way you deserve,” Gojo whispers in his ear, doing an impressive job of looking and acting totally normal despite the heat in his words.

Nanami smirks and turns away, looking back across the playground at Yuuji.

“You’ll have to keep waiting. I promised Yuuji that we’d take him out to dinner after school,” he teases softly. “Maybe even ice cream. It might be too late for kisses at that point.”

But Gojo just laughs, sweet as church bells, and beams at Nanami like he’s never been so happy in his entire life.

“There’s no such thing as ‘too late’ for kisses,” Gojo insists with a snort, shaking his head.

And Nanami looks back at him, feeling warm and so, so painfully, wonderfully in love.

“Good. Then it’s a date.”