𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮 | 𝗷𝘂𝗷𝘂𝘁𝘀𝘂 𝗸𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗻

𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲

(He's never seen you this nervous, he thinks.)

You straighten your posture. (You hope you don't look as nervous as you feel.) "It's not much."

"That's not true."

You're glad he says that, even though it is.

Your key jams in the lock. Gojo's eyes bore into your back as you fiddle with it until the goddamned door finally clicks open. You take a deep breath, ironing out the last of the insecurities from your hunched over spine, and wave an arm dramatically. "Welcome to my home." He ducks in under the doorframe and whistles lowly.

"It's so...homey."

The comment strikes you. The vacant aura of his apartment had been the exact opposite. (Your nerves dissipate. Mostly.)

"It could be homier. I'm not around as much as I used to be."

"You've been distracted?"

The warm whisper, so close that you can feel his lips against the shell of your ear, makes you jump. You escape the range of his flirtations and glare at him. "You promised you'd behave yourself."

"Yeah, when I meet your grandmother."

"Well I don't think walking in on you giving me a hickey would leave a decent first impression."

"You thought I'd do that?" He hums evilly. "Or did you want me to do that?"

You pinch him. "Behave."

Kichou'd texted you that Grandma would be waiting in the kitchen. (She normally took the night shifts but you'd needed to see Gojo's first reactions to everything in real time. She'd called you crazy but agreed.) You lead the way slowly, turning to Gojo right before the last step.

He squeezes your shoulder comfortingly.

"Grandma, I'd like to introduce someone to you."

She looks especially frail, perched on the dining room chair. If Gojo notices that then he doesn't pay any mind—he bows first, then shakes her hand vigorously. (You're worried she'll fall right off, but she shakes back just as fervently.) "It's nice to finally meet you."

"And you are?"

"Gojo Satoru."

"That name sounds familiar." She squints at him. "You're the one who's been stealing my granddaughter away, aren't you?"

"The one and only."

Grandma leans in and purses her lips, ready to tell you something. You meet her halfway and she thanks you by announcing loudly, "It's bad manners to keep sunglasses on in the house."

(You're mortified.)

Gojo chuckles good-naturedly. "I didn't mean to be rude." You hold up your hand when he slides off his sunglasses.

"You don't need to do that."

"That's better."

(You glare at Grandma. She pretends she can't see you with her ailing eyes, as though a respiratory illness had anything to do with her selective vision.)

Gojo bows his head politely. "I didn't mean any disrespect ma'am."

The sound of that honorific is so foreign from Gojo that you almost ask him then and there if he is okay or even meant it. You don't mean to doubt him, but his past behavior contradicts his well-mannered demeanor so totally that you're genuinely confused. (You shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. You really want Grandma to like him. You definitely won't complain about his willingness to go along with her arbitrary rules.)