Concern and Control | Satoru Gojo x Reader

Chapter 17: Slipping Away

Dawn filtered through the windows, casting a soft light across the quiet room where Yuji lay resting. You were slumped in a chair beside him. Your sleep uneasy and shallow. The gentle touch on your shoulder stirred you awake, and you blinked into the morning light, finding Satoru besides you.

"How are you feeling?"

You stretched, feeling the stiffness of your muscles, the ache in your bones. A deep, sharp pain in your arm. "I've been better," you murmured, your fingers tracing the edge of the bandages around your arm. He pulled up a chair and sat down, facing you, his gaze resting heavily on you.

"How's Nobara and Megumi?" You asked.

"They're fine." He tilted his head slightly. "I'm more concerned about you."

You averted your gaze, fingers tugging nervously at the edges of your bandages. "I'm sorry, Satoru," you said after a pause. "I was so fucking stupid."

"You're young. It's ok to make mistakes."

You shot him a narrow-eyed glance. "Don't say that. I put everyone in danger."

How could you have been so foolish? With everything that's been happening, it was only a matter of time before someone seized an opportunity to attack you. Again.

"That's why I'm here," Satoru replied, reaching for your hand. His lips brushed against your knuckles in a tender kiss. "—to protect everyone, and your reckless ass."

It was meant to be light, to draw a smile from you, but the humor fell flat. Your heart felt heavy. You saw the strain behind his eyes, the unspoken fear that he masked with a joke. It was the look of someone who had seen too much, who bore the burden of keeping everyone safe—even from themselves.

You pulled your hand back. "You know, you could stand to be a little stricter with me."

Satoru leaned back. "Stricter, huh? I've tried, you know. But I guess I've accepted the fact that I'll spend my life chasing after you, protecting you from the world."

"Sounds exhausting."

He grinned. "Not if it's for you."

Your gaze drifted to Yuji, whose features were softened in sleep. Soft rays played upon his skin, highlighting the gentle rise and fall of his chest with each steady, rhythmic breath. You leaned forward slightly to take his hand and stroke it gently.

"You know," Satoru's grin disappeared. "I have to apologize as well."

"For what?"

"I may have gone a bit overboard with my protectiveness."

You sighed, the adrenaline from the night still lingering. "Not really. In the end, you were right, and I was wrong. Maybe I am just too naive to handle things on my own."

"Naive? No, I'd say you're just unpredictably spontaneous. It keeps life thrilling."

"Thrilling, huh? Is that what we're calling near-death experiences these days?"

"Absolutely," he retorted with a chuckle. "And as for being too naive to handle things on your own—well, let's just say if being naive means charging headfirst into a river to drown a sorcerer, then I'm not sure 'naive' is the word we're looking for. Maybe 'fearlessly impulsive'?"

"Fearlessly impulsive? Only you would turn my stupidity into a compliment."

"Well, I have to find some way to make sense of your antics. Otherwise, I'm just the crazy guy running around Tokyo trying to save a girl who doesn't seem to want saving."