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Satoru Gojo was an absolute menace.
Nanami wasn’t avoiding him, per se, but he was spending a lot of time pretending he didn’t exist when they happened to be sharing the same room. It never seemed to dissuade Gojo, though, he continued to have one sided conversations at the other man. And Nanami tuned them out as best he could, at least until Gojo said something that had him sitting up straight in his seat.
“Did you say you had a reservation at Twig and Rooster?” The name had caught his attention instantly, it was a new restaurant that was getting a lot of good buzz. In particular it seemed they had brought in a special oven to make their signature bread that several people had claimed was worth going for alone. “How on earth did you get them? They’ve been booked out half a year in advance right now.”
It was a mistake to speak up, Nanami knew he was opening the door to far worse, but just this once his stomach won out over his mind and he pressed on. Gojo looked thrilled that his words had finally gotten through to the blonde and leaned in closer.
“I might have spent most of the afternoon yesterday clearing up a nasty curse that someone had tried to attack the owner of that place with. Should have been minor, but it got way out of hand and I was in the area so…” He made a hand gesture that in no way made the resolution to his story clearer. “The guy didn’t totally understand how I helped him, but he certainly seemed convinced that I had helped and he offered me a table tomorrow night at his restaurant. 8pm. You wanna go with me?”
The “Yes” was out of Nanami’s mouth before he could stop it. And for once Gojo decided to simply smile and accept it rather than ruin the moment.
“Sounds great, I’ll see you there at 7:30.” He stood up and gave Nanami a little salute on the way out, but only because the blindfold obscured his wink.
Gojo was waiting nervously outside of Twig and Rooster, trying not to fuss a hole in the pocket of his new pants. This was an opportunity to break into Nanami’s shell a little. Gojo was fascinated by what might be in there, deep down. He hadn’t cared much when Nanami was a moody high schooler who was completely unprepared for Gojo’s collision with his life. But unlike most people, he had left their whole world behind while still being alive. And ever since that day Gojo was desperate to get him back. Maybe it was just being denied that had him feeling so intensely, but he wasn’t about to interrogate that when a taxi with Nanami Kento in the back of it pulled up to meet him.
He hadn’t been told to dress any particular way, but Nanami seemed to know exactly what to wear for the occasion. The navy blue sweater looked like it had been made specifically for him and complimented his gray slacks as well. So he hadn’t just shown up, he was also taking it seriously. Gojo might have taken a lot of swings to get here, but it looked like his first hit was clear out of the park.
Nanami didn’t say more than “good evening” to him until they were seated and he’d ordered an extremely fancy sounding drink.
“I didn’t know you were interested in new restaurants opening in Tokyo.”
“Oh, I’m interested in all kinds of things, Nanamin.” Gojo grinned at him, proud of himself for having finally found the weakness in Nanami’s armor. And no sooner had he thought it than the main attraction arrived; a complimentary basket of freshly baked bread that was still steaming lightly as it was set down. It didn’t seem like much to Gojo, but it put the most delightful look on his dinner partner’s face. He should have thought to get his phone ready to take a picture.
But maybe it was for the best that he didn’t ruin the moment. He would have missed the follow up face of Nanami actually enjoying the bread and that was somehow even more unguarded than the look when it arrived. So there was still a human under the tough salaryman shell. Gojo was happier to have caught that moment than any bread could ever make him.
There was something refreshing about it. Seeing his comrades happiness meant he was doing something right. If Gojo was more honest with himself he might call it making up for past mistakes, but being honest with himself wasn’t on the menu that night.
What was on the actual menu was a lot of very fancy names for otherwise normal foods and when Gojo expressed his disinterest in figuring out what was what Nanami simply ordered for him. He looked surprisingly pleased with himself about that as well and Gojo couldn’t hide his grin at the revelation.
“What are you smiling about?”
Grumpy Nanami was back already, but it wasn’t enough to dissuade Gojo. He had already seen that his plan was working. “Oh, nothing, just having a good time. And I think you are, too.”
The moment he opened his mouth to object a waiter came with more warm bread and the ire melted back out of Nanami.
“It’s not as bad as I would have expected.” A decisive victory for the six-eyes sorcerer.
The rest of the evening fell into somewhat awkward but genial conversation. Gojo even got Nanami to laugh once which was almost as sweet as the dessert the blonde picked out for him. A resounding success for the man who had felt it was ambitious to want to get a smile out of his dinner partner a few hours earlier. He would have to cook up a way to do this again.
Two weeks later Gojo was waiting for Nanami in the school staff room again. Well, he wouldn’t admit that’s what he was doing, but Nanami couldn’t help but notice how the other sorcerer perked up slightly when he entered the room. And how quickly he ended the conversation he had been in the middle of right after.
“Nanamin! You’ll never believe it. Have you heard of Hearth? Well I-“
But Nanami put a hand up to stop him.
“Please spare me the ridiculous lie this time and just tell me when I’m going to meet you at Hearth.”
Gojo had the audacity to look offended, at least until it caught up to him that Nanami was agreeing to go out to eat with him again.
“I’m offended you think I would lie to you, my dear friend.”
“Time and date, Gojo-san, before I change my mind.”
It was a minor miracle that Gojo relented, then, and told him what he needed to know with no further theatrics.
The night went even better than their first dinner out, at least by Gojo’s standards. The food was more to his liking and Nanami was actually what could be described as pleasant when it came to conversation. The multiple glasses of aged whiskey might have had something to do with it as well, but Gojo was not about to complain.
In all of the times he’d been out with the other sorcerers on their drinking nights he couldn’t remember seeing Nanami truly drunk before. And it was possible he wasn’t seeing it now, either. But whatever was loosening the blonde up was worth the price. Because as they were heading out at the end of the meal Nanami said the one thing he would never have expected.
“We should do this again soon.”
Once the honest shock wore off Gojo immediately started making plans.
Months passed with more nights out, Nanami took over choosing locations and had even taken to finding spots for dessert afterward as a kindness to his dinner partner. He didn’t always indulge himself, but Gojo appreciated it. And in return Gojo picked up the tab for anything Nanami had to drink. They had long since agreed to split the cost of any food, mostly to ease Nanami’s guilt and make things feel more even. They fell quickly into a comfortable routine.
Nanami really had no reason to question it until someone else questioned it for him. Shoko had grabbed him after a meeting and simply assumed he would follow her as she walked and talk.
“We were all heading out tomorrow night, and you’re welcome to come, if you and Gojo don’t have a date then.”
Nanami stopped short. “I don’t know what anyone has told you, but we’re not dating.”
“You leave with him every few weeks with a smile on your face, go to an expensive dinner and then take him home. But sure, you’re not dating. Gojo has tried to get me to declare him too sick to work so he can get time to take you out, you know.”
The weight of her stare on him was almost more than Nanami could bear. It was tempting to drop the blame on Gojo for telling her about all of this in the first place. But Nanami knew he was not helping it look more innocent after their last night out a week before.
“Gojo was exhausted and told me he’s been sleeping poorly. It was late, and we were close enough to my apartment that I didn’t call him a car or let him go stew in his own empty rooms. I let him have my bed and for once he got some actual rest. Absolutely nothing happened between us.”
Shoko lit up a cigarette and stared her old friend down like she could see entirely though him.
“I didn’t say anything happened.” She said on a long exhale. “But it sounds like you should think about whether or not you want something to happen.”
She continued back toward her office leaving Nanami thinking far too hard behind her.
“Oh, and don’t forget to join us tomorrow if you’re free. The usual place.”
Nanami stood stunned for far too long. The previous week’s outing with Gojo was running through his mind. Had he really gotten so used to their physical contact that he didn’t flinch at all when Gojo had draped himself over Nanami’s shoulder as they walked out of dinner? Did he really walk the other sorcerer to his own home without a second thought? To his own bed? He could remember that part vividly, Gojo asking him to stay, to share the bed since there was more than enough room. He had almost agreed, too. Gojo had simply left in the morning, quietly without a word to Nanami. And he was left feeling like he’d been part of a one night stand rather than someone simply helping a friend. How could have been so blind to this?
He was so lost in his thoughts that Nanami almost walked right by the man he was thinking so deeply about without even noticing. But Gojo caught him with a hand on his shoulder and grin on his face.
“Ah, Nanami! Just who I wanted to see, I found a place for next Thursday that I think you will really enjoy.” In answer Nanami grabbed his arm and dragged him into the first empty classroom he could find.
“Whoa, what’s the rush? Everything okay?” He wasn’t joking, it wasn’t snark, that was Gojo genuinely asking him if he was alright. Things had clearly gone way too far between them if he wasn’t even wrapping his concern in a shell of jokes. Nanami couldn’t stop the question tumbling out of his mouth after that.
“I don’t know if I’m okay. Are we dating?”
It was a mild relief to see Gojo as surprised by the question as he had been when Shoko brought it up. But he recovered much faster.
“That’s a silly question, when you’ve never actually asked me out. But we do go out together pretty often and you did take me back to your place recently.” He smiled slyly, the kind of look that made Nanami want to smack him. “Why? Do you want to date me?”
He had known this man for years now, close to a decade. And for much of that time he had been an annoyance and a hindrance. Self centered, ridiculous, and making life difficult for everyone around him, even as he saved their lives time and again. But the last few months had shown him more of Gojo, and now Nanami felt like it was a blow to the chest to hear that little edge in his voice that was vulnerable. Sure he was wearing a shit eating grin, but it was armor, He was offering himself up knowing Nanami could very easily knock him down.
Nanami took Gojo’s cheek in one hand and gave him a chaste kiss.
“Why don’t you come to my place next Thursday, around seven. We can talk where there’s no chance of your students listening in.”