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It had been around four years since Kento returned to jujutsu sorcery as full-time employment, and even though he didn’t start his shifts until ten o’clock in the morning, his body clock still had him awake at seven. Sometimes it was the sound of the birds, which was less offensive than his alarm. Sometimes it was the ruckus the sanitation workers made when they collected the recycling and other waste, since they upgraded to hybrid electric vehicles, it wasn’t the truck that was loud but the sanitation workers themselves. Once a week it was the sound of the road sweepers that took their time along his particular side of the street. Other times it was the cats around the neighbourhood deciding to fight each other underneath his window. But this morning it was a sound just as familiar as the rest that stirred him from his light sleep; Satoru Gojo was facing Kento as he snored lightly, breathing heavily through his nose and mouth combined because of the angle he was sleeping at.
It had been two years since they started casually linking up to sleep together. Kento was against the idea of sleeping with coworkers at first, he fully believed mixing up working relationships with personal relationships was a bad idea. But, as Satoru grew more persistent, he decided to research it and found that for many people a place of business was the only way to meet potential partners, and many relationships began in a professional environment. Satoru found many ways to tease him and wind him up back then, sending drawings of tiny penises on scrap bits of paper was one of them and one day he sent one too many and Kento decided to show him how wrong he was when it came to his size. Afterwards, they came to an agreement that they would remain professional at the school for the sake of the students, and they were definitely not boyfriends. Not partners, not ‘other halves’, only friends that slept together when they both needed their needs met.
Kento laid flat on his back, his head tilted towards Satoru’s sleeping face, as he came to a conclusion: a pattern was beginning to form. In the last few months, whenever they had sex, Satoru was sticking around afterwards, sleeping in and occasionally buying them breakfast or staying until Kento made enough breakfast for the both of them. In fact, it was ever since Yuji Itadori started studying at Jujutsu High. More precisely, it started the night Yuji swallowed a finger that belonged to the King of Curses to save another child’s life. There was no point avoiding it, they needed to talk about it, even if it ended their sexual relationship. The idea of it swirled around in Kento’s stomach and it made him uncomfortable. Uncomfortable enough to get up and start the day to avoid thinking about it for a while longer.
He sat up, stretching his neck by slowly rolling his head back and forth and then cracking it on both sides. He swung his legs around and wiggled his toes against the cold wood, getting used to the temperature of the room. He must’ve stirred Satoru because the remaining duvet was pulled off of him. He didn’t look back as he stood up and stretched his shoulders whilst walking into the kitchen. He lived in a mid-range 1LDK apartment near the school whilst he saved for a much bigger and better place. He began his day like he usually did; boiling the kettle, swallowing his vitamins dry, turning the rice cooker on to warm the leftover rice, and opening the curtains and blinds to let in the light as well as opening the windows to let in fresh air (but he hated bugs inside, so he kept the retractable insect nets closed). As the electric kettle boiled and the rice warmed up in the cooker, he did his morning exercises; three sets of planking, three sets of push-ups, three sets of sit-ups, three sets of squats and three sets of lunges. He smelled of old sweat, new sweat, last night’s sex and a bit of Satoru’s cologne.
“You know you could work up a sweat in other ways” he heard Satoru murmur from the bed. The man was shamelessly gawking at Kento’s naked body from a lounged position on the bed “come back here” he waved his hand, voice much clearer, gesturing for Kento to approach.
“No,” he said as he poured two glasses of cranberry juice. He drank his as he turned on the coffee machine and took four eggs out of the fridge, leaving them next to the rice cooker. He set the coffee machine to make his preferred drink then drained his glass and put it in the sink “I need to clean those sheets today so get up” he announced as he walked into the bathroom to shower.
Whilst Kento showered alone, Satoru combed his fingers through his hair and eventually rolled out of bed. As he bent down to pick up the used condoms from the floor his lower back and hips ached painfully, but it only made him chuckle as he put them in the waste bin and then pulled his underwear on as well as one of Kento’s shirts from the dirty laundry basket. He made a mental note of where his belongings were as he walked over to the largest window and looked outside at the weather. Saturday, no need to be at school for nine o’clock classes today, but he did have grading and marking to do at some point. The students could enjoy their free time this weekend with no homework, but Satoru had plenty of work to do at home. He knew how to use Kento’s coffee machine now so when it was finished he got out a new mug and set it to make his preferred drink. Whilst it worked, he took his phone out of his black jeans and checked his notifications. Some youtube video links from Yuji, a few calendar reminders, a message from Megumi asking for money from his savings account and a message from the principal reminding him of his request to come in earlier on Monday to organise the new stationery for the classrooms. He reacted to the messages with thumbs-up emojis and replied to Megumi asking him how much he wanted to withdraw, when he wanted the money by and that he would call him later. He continued to stare out of the window until he heard Kento walking back into the room.
Kento observed Saturo looking out of the window from the door frame before he walked in. The white-haired man was wearing the shirt he wore yesterday, and the way it sat on his frame made him look damn good. His ass, his bare legs, his messy hair and the fact he wasn’t wearing his own clothes nor was he fully dressed, it was clear the man intended to stay for a while longer. Kento was wearing a pair of green joggers and a towel around his neck. He’d dried his hair with it, but the ends were still dripping water. He walked back into the kitchen and took out a pot, put it on the gas stove and filled it with boiled water. He gently placed the four eggs inside the hot water and took out two bowls from the cupboard. Before he could do anything else, two arms were snaking around his chest.
Saturo pressed up against him, resting his cheek on Kento’s shoulder as he slotted his crotch against his ass, fitting together like the last piece in a puzzle. “After last night, I’m a little weak in the knees” he sighed and looked at his coffee mug.
“You wanted it” Kento pointed out leaning his head back against Satoru’s shoulder and looking at him from the side “begged for it” he reminded him.
“And you delivered” Saturo kissed his shoulder and let go in favour of leaning against the counter and drinking his coffee. Kento sipped his own coffee as he watched the eggs boil in the water, keeping count in his head of how long they’d been in the water. “Rice and eggs for breakfast again?”
“If you don’t like it you can eat elsewhere” Kento sipped his coffee again and then took out the rice and used the rice spoon to share the leftovers equally between the two bowls.
“I like everything you produce” Satoru grinned against the rim of his mug, loving the innuendo. Kento rolled his eyes at it and kept an eye on the eggs. “Come on, I thought that was good”
“It wasn’t. Don’t you have papers to grade?”
“Ugh” Satoru pouted “don’t remind me.”
“It’s your fault for leaving it so last minute”
“I’m a busy man” Satoru nudged Kento’s leg with his foot as he sipped his coffee “I have other things to do besides-”
“Besides mark the homework you specifically gave to your students” Kento scoffed quietly “you need to organise yourself better instead of-”
“I don’t come here for you to whine at me”
“No, you come here to whine at me” Kento hoped his innuendo would be appreciated, and judging by the kiss Satoru planted on the back of his neck, it was.
Satoru sat down in front of the TV, crossing his legs comfortably as he turned it on and put the news on. After a few minutes of watching the weather report, Kento sat down next to him and handed him a bowl of rice and a perfectly soft-boiled egg with chopsticks. They ate in comfortable silence, watching the news and occasionally commenting on the reports. When they’d both finished eating Kento stood up, took their bowls, mugs and cutlery and placed them in the sink. Afterwards, he retrieved his unopened mail and sat back down next to the other man.
“Ooo” Satoru was nosy as usual, he leaned right in to observe the contents of the letters.
“Surely you’ve seen payslips before?” Kento asked rhetorically, not bothering to push the man away.
“Hey look, they gave you that extra lift-up you wanted for tutoring Yuji when he was in your care” Satoru pointed out
“I know, I could tell when I got my salary” he put the letter down and then read through a couple of bills. Taking care of Yuji whilst on that mission was a while ago, this payslip was late.
“You pay how much for your electricity?” Satoru snatched the bill from Kento’s hand and re-read it. Kento found himself not caring about the older man’s audacity, it seemed normal behaviour to him now. He stood up and took all the letters and put them on the table. He leaned against it and faced Satoru who was watching the TV again. It was now or never.
“You’re wearing my shirt” Kento pointed out, clutching the table behind him.
“I know, it was closest”
“A dirty shirt from my laundry basket is closer than your turtle neck on the floor next to the bed?” Kento raised an eyebrow.
“I can take it off if you have a problem” Satoru was standing now, walking towards the bedroom “I’ll wear my own clothes” Kento noted how defensive he sounded and he sighed.
“Satoru” he called loudly, firmly “come here, we need to talk” he beckoned him over and Satoru ignored him in favour of getting dressed into his own clothes. Kento spotted Satoru’s sunglasses on the floor next to the window so he took picked them up and put them in his pocket. He knew he wouldn’t leave without them. “Satoru” he pressed again and this time he was greeted with an innocent hum. He sighed and approached him, closing the space between them.
“I think I’ll get going,” Satoru said as he pat down his pockets for his glasses “where…” he murmured, kneeling down to check under the bed.
“No, stop being childish and talk to me”
“What do we have to talk about? We’ve been going at it like we normally do-”
“You can’t evade this, stand up and talk to me” Kento reached for his arm, but Satoru used his cursed energy technique to prevent that. Kento put his hands in his pockets and kept his expression firm “I deserve better than that”.
Satoru stood up, regretting the use of his abilities at that moment. He examined Kento’s face, the stoic expression was sexy, as usual, and without his glasses on, he could really appreciate the colour of his eyes. He looked down and examined the scars across his chest and stomach, and some on his waist and hips, some that disappeared down beyond the waistline of the younger man’s joggers. He wanted to touch him, trace the lines with his fingers and tongue. He always looked provocative in those suits of his, but in the mornings, when he looked like this after a night of passion, he was particularly seductive. Satoru’s mind raced at the idea of someone else seeing him like this. “Fine. I like things the way they are, happy now?”
“The way things are now are not the way things were when we started this”
“This…”
“This, meaning us, doing what we did last night”
“You can say fuck, you know? You fucked me, I thought I told you not to be a prude around me?”
“And I’ve told you not to be such a libertine around me, and you’re still avoiding this.”
“Well go on then Kento” Satoru folded his arms across his chest “say what you want to say”.
“For the past few months, you’ve been sleeping over; you’ve left clothes here, you left your phone charger here, toothbrush and other toiletries of yours are here” he pointed to the bed “you always sleep on the same side of the bed and you know how to use my coffee machine. This morning you got comfortable and watched TV. We eat breakfast together, and you read my letters” Kento sounded like we had more to say but he just trailed off and rubbed at his forehead, frowning “and I let you do all this”.
Satoru could tell where this was going and he didn’t like it. If Kento was going to break up what they had then he was going about it the long way.
“I can’t go along like this anymore” Kento dropped his hand back into his pocket “something needs to change. What do you want from me?”
“I just want this, what we have is fine”
“No, what we have is confusing, it’s undetermined and open for interpretation” Kento wanted to reach for his hand but he had a feeling Satoru would prevent that again. To his surprise, Satoru reached out first. He didn’t go for his hand though, he stepped into Kento’s personal space and wrapped his arms loosely around his neck.
“So… I want you to keep fucking me. And I want to sleep with you in my arms afterwards. And I want to keep eating your breakfast and watching your TV and reading your mail” he kissed the younger man’s cheek then the corner of his lips “isn’t that enough-”
Kento gripped Satoru’s biceps as he kissed him and he interrupted him “no, it’s not. Tell me you want to date me, for me to be your partner”
“You tell me” Satoru leaned back, grinning in his face “sounds like you want it”
“No, you just described domestic bliss between a couple that’s been together for years. Is that how you see us?”
“Is that how you see us?” Satoru hummed and would’ve said more if Kento hadn’t kissed him passionately, holding the back of his neck and head firmly with both hands so he couldn’t do anything but kiss him.
“Is that what you want? A romantic relationship with me?” Kento spoke against his lips “tell me”
With a lovesick sigh, it was Satoru’s turn to kiss him first, taking the lead by dropping his arms, choosing instead to grip Kento’s waist. He pushed his forehead against the other’s and nuzzled against his nose “Yes”. It was hard to admit. What with everything going on in the Jujutsu Sorcery wider society at the moment, he didn’t want to expose Kento to any more danger than he was already in just by being that much more closely associated with him. But at the same time, he couldn’t ignore his heart anymore either.
“Then… fine” Kento whispered and chased his lips for another kiss, which Satoru granted. “Go and get the work you’re supposed to mark and bring it back here, along with changes of clothes and other belongings of yours. If we’re doing this, we’re not going at it half-assed and undefined” he reached into his pocket and revealed the sunglasses he’d been looking for.
“What a dirty trick, seven-three” he smirked as he took them from him and put them on “I’ll be on the lookout for more tricks like that”. Kento adjusted Satoru’s clothing so it sat nicer on his frame, his expression returning to its usual stoic look.
“Try not to look so infatuated” Kento gently held the man’s face and kissed him tenderly and suddenly Satoru didn’t want to leave. He wanted more kisses like that, more touches like that and it showed on his face. “Go, bring it back here and I’ll help you mark it if I can”.
“You’re too good to be true Nanami”
“And yet, here I am”.