Thank You For Trusting Me :3

Thank you for trusting me :3

oh god. what have i done

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friendly neighborhood spiderman - fushiguro megumi

word count: 25k i need a lobomy warnings: swearing, men making reader uncomfortable, some blood n bruises summary: besides being morally gray, megumi has never crossed any personal boundaries while protecting the city disguised as the spiderman. that is, until it comes to her. a thorn in his side, a plague to his mind, and a skip in his heart. wait, what?

notes: SPIDERMAN AU! rivals to unknown friends to unknown lovers to..??

___

With great power comes great responsibility…

To that, Fushiguro Megumi said; no shit.  

Living a double life wasn’t always the easiest thing in the world, but the justice part came to him naturally.  He didn’t like to call his abilities superpowers, there was something too childish about it, but since gaining them, Megumi had known there was some kind of reason.

Maybe it was because he had a stronger sense of right and wrong than most of the people he knew.  His peers at the college he attended seemed to have more interest in alcohol poisoning than anything else, so he supposed it made sense that if a radioactive spider bit had to give someone powers… it might as well have been him.

Besides, he was kind of a loner, so it wasn’t hard to hide his double life.  Every day he followed the same routine.

Wake up early to work out and do a quick patrol of the city, try to get to his classes on time, study in between lectures, study through lunch, and then as soon as his last class of the day was over he was off to swing through the city and keep an eye on things.

There had been an uptick in crime in Tokyo lately, and Megumi hadn’t quite put his finger on why.  It had never been the safest city in Japan, but since taking on this role it seemed like criminals everywhere were crawling out of the cracks and shadows to challenge him.  Not that anything had proven to be too challenging for The Spiderman… petty criminals made it easy.

“Late again, Fushiguro” 

There were, however, challenges that Megumi faced.

(y/n) swiveled around in her seat just as he’d sat down behind her.  To think he’d patted himself on the back for only being three minutes late today.  He should’ve known she was counting down the minutes to rub it in his face.

Resting her elbows on the back of her seat so she could smirk at him, she plops her chin on her fists and eyes him curiously.  Megumi can’t even be bothered to roll his eyes, he’d grown too tired of the same banter every day.

If she couldn’t take his place at the top of the class, (y/l/n) (y/n) would have to find some other way to antagonize Megumi- and she took that job all too seriously.  Unfortunately their class schedules were almost identical, seeing as they were both enrolled in as many accelerated courses as they could be, so Megumi spent most of his day in her vicinity.  And hell, she never let him forget it.

When he barely even looks at her, (y/n) turns back around in her seat, seemingly already prepping her notebook for her notes of the day.  She’s probably one of those girls that makes every page pretty and aesthetically pleasing, Megumi finds himself frowning at his own train of thought.  He only had seven more hours of putting up with her competitive attitude, and then he’d be free and far from it.

Nothing cleared his mind like swinging around the city.  She couldn’t possibly plague him once he was in his suit.  He tried to tell himself that through the rest of class, everytime her hand shot up in the air and she bragged her way through perfect, textbook answers.

It was no doubt that she’d be successful after graduation.  Megumi would rather die than admit it out loud, but he wouldn’t be surprised in the least if she ended up a millionaire- billionaire- with how well studied and determined she was to win.  If she put half the effort into her future career that she did just by bothering him, she’ll probably earn herself some title of youngest most successful woman. 

Hopefully by then she’ll be too busy to bother him anymore.  Although Megumi assumes that by the time graduation rolls around, he’ll never see her again.  

She was probably counting down the days until then, too. ___

Megumi spent his lunches alone.

This didn’t really bother him.  He didn’t have much interest in making friends, and never put much effort into it.  He liked to think he was kind, but he knew he wasn’t the most approachable guy in the world.  If he was honest, he kind of liked it that way.  So long as he kept his clothes dark, his face expressionless, and his hair untamed, then he seemed to ward people off.  No one approached his usual small table in the corner of the lunchroom unless they needed to borrow one of the extra empty chairs.  Even then, people seemed nervous to ask, and more often than not someone would scurry over and take one without a word, rushing it back to their table before Megumi could say something untoward.

The way he dressed himself wasn’t the only thing keeping people away.  His reputation might have something to do with it as well…

But that fight wasn’t his fault.  Not necessarily.  So what if someone got sent to the hospital? Megumi was a believer in consequences being served… and if no one else was going to deliver, then he supposed it came down to him to do the right thing.  This was before the spider bite, before Spiderman, so his strong sense of justice had nowhere to be channeled.

To Megumi, all that mattered was the guy learned his lesson.  And by the way, he did live.  He just had to spend a week in Intensive Care to pull through, is all.

Unapproachable was an understatement when it came to Megumi.

Maybe that’s why he found (y/n) all the more obnoxious.

He minds his business during his lunch hour- although he’d argue that he minds his business all the time.  Sitting in the corner with headphones large enough to make the point clear that he didn’t want to be bothered, his nose was always stuck in a book.  He’d eat with one hand and scribble in his notebooks with the other.  Even if he could afford a laptop he didn’t want to use one.  His time was better utilized if he could study and eat  simultaneously.

The corner of his eye twitches when he catches a glimpse of her in his peripheral.  He hates that the hair on the back of his neck stands up when she shows up, all of his nerves tingling like a warning.  His grimace is obvious as he finds her walking through the cafe with the little lunch box he knew was perfectly organized in multiple compartments.  She probably didn’t let any of her food touch.

She’s stopped on her mission to get to her table of know-it-all friends, and Megumi shouldn’t care that some guy called her over to his table to talk to her, it’s a bit of a boring scene, honestly.  He should get back to his studying now, but for some reason he’s compelled to watch from the back of the room as (y/n) drags her feet over to the guy’s table.

Megumi doesn’t recognize him, or really any of his surrounding friends, but by the looks of it they seemed like the kind of guys that wouldn’t have gotten into the classes he’s taking.

A year ago Megumi wouldn’t have been able to hear their conversation, not from across the busy cafe where a hundred other conversations are happening, but now he finds it easy to tune out all the other noise and eavesdrop on (y/n) and this frat boy.

“You always walk by without saying hello.  You tryin’ to hurt my feelings, princess?” The frat boy feigns heartbreak, holding his hand to his chest all the while grinning at her.

“Hello”

(y/n’s) reply is rigid.  She sounds as bored as Megumi feels watching her.  He almost scoffs at himself for even paying this much attention.  Clearly his little warning sense was misfiring, because nothing of interest is playing out here.  He was starting to consider this a waste of his heightened abilities.

“Awe, c’mon now gorgeous, you can do better than that,” Fratboy clicks his tongue in mockery.  “Why don’t you come sit?” 

“I’m sitting with my friends” 

Once again, her tone is as flat and dry as could be.  Megumi starts to wonder what Fratboy even wants with her.  Besides her personality being insufferable, she clearly isn’t interested in whatever he’s offering.  How many hints can this guy possibly miss?

“Rain check?” Fratboy asks hopefully.  It could almost be endearing if it wasn’t for the slimy grin he wore.  Megumi hated to think it, but (y/n) outranked this guy on every scale.

“Yeah.  Maybe” (y/n’s) voice falls to a mumble before she turns and walks away, this time at a faster pace than before.

As she finds her place at her table, she glances over her shoulder, feeling the prickle of someone’s eyes following her.  Megumi’s senses are one step ahead, and he’s quick to drop his head to focus back on his studies again.  He’d already lost five minutes to watch a pointless interaction, he didn’t need to lose more time by facing her evil eye if she’d caught him staring at her.

Idiot, he thinks as he takes a more aggressive bite of his food than necessary.  Getting behind on schedule for (y/n) of all people.  

He pushes the whole thing as far from his mind as he can as he gets back to work. ___

Tokyo had been rather quiet this evening.  Not that Megumi was complaining.  It was refreshing to see the streets peaceful, even this late into the night.

Eleven o’clock might not be the ideal dinner time for your average person, but for Spiderman, it was the norm.  And Megumi liked having a quiet night where he could have a quick street food dinner at the skyline overlooking the whole city.  It was peaceful up there.  With all the stars out, a perfect breeze coming in, and without the noise of pedestrians out and about down on the streets, Megumi could positively say this was his secret piece of heaven.

Most things about his life were a secret- but this especially he held this place close.

As expected there wasn’t a single pesky thought of school on his mind.  Like the sky, it was clear and peaceful.

At least it was, until he was mid-bite of his sandwich and he caught sight of something sketchy in his peripheral.

The familiar sensation of the hair on the back of his neck prickling rises when he turns to watch the scene unfold.  An unmarked car with blackout windows pulling up behind one of the many small 24-7 convenience stores and a few men with various clown masks getting out of it.  He huffs in annoyance, already swinging down and dumping the remainder of his perfectly good sandwich in the trash.

When were these idiots going to learn that robbing a convenience store was never worth it? He wonders as he lands on the roof of the building the men had just gone into.  He finds there’s only one guy left in the car, the getaway driver he’s sure.  Pulling his mask over his face he’s swift and silent in webbing up the door handles and tires of the car.  He wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Just as silently, he drops to the ground, and enters the store.

It’s not the first time Spiderman has made an appearance during a stick up.  And Megumi’s sure it won’t be his last, seeing as no one ever learns.

“Well if it isn’t Spiderboy” One of the three clowns, Megumi assumes the ringleader, taunts him with a laugh.  He cocks his gun and aims it at him, but Megumi’s not the slightest bit threatened by a gun.  Typical, he thinks.

He barely acknowledges the silent threat at all, instead scoping out the store quickly.  

There’s one man behind the counter, his hands raised and shaking.  It appears he hasn’t handed over any money yet, which is good.  It makes for a quicker and cleaner exit for Megumi.

A couple is cowering behind the first aisle of snacks, trying to peek over the shelves without being seen- they’re not doing a very good job, but with Spiderman here now Megumi figures they’ve assumed their safety is guaranteed.  They aren’t wrong.

And then there was a girl in the very back, two aisles behind the couple, and apparently far less brave as well.  She’s crouched all the way to the ground, her hands clasped tightly over the back of her neck as if this was a tornado drill and not a robbery.  At least her head is down, Megumi thinks.  It’s not often he comes across civilians with a decent sense of self preservation.

“Did you hear me, Spiderboy-?” The ringleader’s second taunt is barely finished before there’s two webs flying at him.  One aimed for the barrel of his gun, covering his mask, gluing it straight to his face and muffling his mouth.

“Yeah yeah, I fuckin’ heard you,” Megumi grumbles.  Criminals loved to call him all sorts of names, he figured it comes with the job, but man did it get old.

There’s two other clowns, lackeys, he supposes.  These types hardly worked alone these days.  Megumi always wondered if they thought being in numbers would protect them from Spiderman.  Again, they never learn.

It takes him all of five seconds to web up their weapons as well.  Some glued to their hands and chest, rendering them useless, others so tied up in the sticky string that they couldn’t move any limbs if they tried.

“You think you can go around playing hero and people will respect you for it?” One of the lackeys snarls when Megumi tears the mask from his face.  He does the same for the other, but the second clown seems too afraid to speak.  Good.  “People ‘round here don’t give a shit, Spiderboy.  You think they’ll thank you? Heh? You think they’ll throw you a nice parade and chant your name?” 

Megumi rolls his eyes, patting down his pockets in search of any identifiable information.  Like he presumed, he finds a phone and wallet.  Sometimes it felt like these guys weren’t even trying to get away with their crimes.

Paying the lackey clown no mind, he turns over his shoulder and motions to the couple behind the shelf.  They raise their heads a little further, eyes wide and seemingly surprised Spiderman was addressing them.

“It’s safe to go,” He tells them with a wave of his hand.  “Go straight to the police station to report this” 

Does he have faith they’ll listen? No, he assumes they’ll be likely to go home.  Megumi doesn’t care much.  The police weren’t exactly his allies.  But if he was going to do their jobs for them, he was going to have to at least act like he was playing by their rules.

“Playing nice with the cops, tch,” The loudmouth lackey continues on.  “When they show up, they’ll take you before they take any of us- mmph!” 

“Much better,” Megumi sighs when his webbing does just the trick to shut the guy up.  Will he suffocate with it covering his mouth? Of course not, “Breathe through your nose,” He grumbles when the lackey’s face starts to take on a blue hue.  “Fucking idiots, you’re all the fucking same” He sighs, dropping the guy’s phone and open wallet on the ground before him, making sure it’s on perfect display for when the cops arrive.

“Th-thank you, Spiderman,” The shopkeeper behind the counter finally begins to lower his hands.  It appears he’s still shaking, but Megumi’s sure it’s the adrenaline rush he’s coming down from.  He’ll be fine in no time.  Especially once the police arrive and whisk these guys away.  “I- I don’t know how I can repay you” 

“It was nothing” Megumi replies, monotone as ever, but it’s the truth.  The whole ordeal was over in the matter of three minutes.  A robbery had barely begun when he’d shown up and shut it down.

The shopkeeper looks startled by the less-than-friendly attitude of his savior, but he doesn’t say a word, just picks up his phone to dial up the police.

Megumi’s on the move heading out of the store, ready to make himself scarce before law enforcement shows up, but of course he can’t leave just yet.

“Hey,” He calls towards the last civilian in the shop, the girl crouched on the ground, still covering herself.  “Hey,” He calls again when she doesn’t react, taking a few steps towards her.  “You’re good to go now,” He says, but even still, she doesn’t move.

It takes a tap on her shoulder for her to startle, finally uncovering the back of her head and looking up at him.  She stays on the ground, but now Megumi’s stunned to silence as well as he stares back at her.

(y/n)? He’s grateful for his mask for the millionth time but in a whole new way now.  What the hell was she doing out here in the middle of the night? 

She doesn’t say anything as she stares up at him with wide eyes.  He can’t tell if she’s still in shock, but the longer he waits for her to say something, she doesn’t.

“Are you… alright?” 

It’s a normal question to ask, he probably says it a hundred times a night, making sure no one’s left hurt or afraid.  But this time, asking her, it felt foreign coming out of his mouth.  He’s never been put in a position to… care… about her wellbeing before.  But now’s as good a time as any, seeing as she’s still got her knees to her chest and a shell shocked look on her face.

“You’re- you’re Spiderman” Is the first thing she says, her voice barely above a whisper.  Megumi could roll his eyes, but he’s too busy waiting for her to get up and get moving.

“And you’re not sitting around here all night, c’mon” He beckons her upwards, and to his surprise she takes it as an offer to grab his hand, and he finds himself pulling her up to her feet.

“You’re a lot taller than I thought you’d be” She mumbles, and if she could see his face she’d watch a look of puzzlement befall him.

“Get that a lot” He mutters, making an obvious motion to eye the hand that she still has gripping his gloved one.

“Oh, sorry,” She’s still quiet, quieter than he’s ever heard her speak before, and it’s starting to intrigue him.  

Was she this afraid of a pesky little robbery? He wondered, looking her up and down.  She wasn’t trembling, she showed little to no sign of distress at all.  For a girl that had nearly gone full armadillo just a few minutes ago, she didn’t seem all that afraid.

“I’m just- uh-” She clears her throat, and Megumi thinks it’s the first time he’s ever heard her stammer, or misspeak at all.  “I’m a big fan” She finishes, her quiet voice sounding more shy now than anything else.

Wait, what!? 

“A fan?” Megumi repeats in disbelief, and (y/n) smiles softly as she nods her head.

“You don’t get that a lot too?” She asks, inching towards speaking at a normal volume.

This is the part where he leaves, and he knows it.  The authorities were bound to be close now, and it’d give him more trouble if he was still around when they got here.  He couldn’t be wasting his time, especially on her.

But he lingers there for a second longer anyways.  There was an undeniably curiosity creeping under his skin.  Never would he have pegged (y/l/n) (y/n), regular goody-goody, as a Spiderman fan.  It had him wondering if there was more to her than met the eye.  

Maybe she was… a normal person…? Could it be true? 

Flashing lights interrupted his thoughts, his head swiveling to see approaching red and blue

“Fuck!” He cursed, and behind him (y/n) covered her mouth to stifle her giggle.  Jeez, did she expect some squeaky clean guy to be under the mask? “You’re fine, right?” He asks her, already stepping away to make his escape.

(y/n) nods her head, still giving him an awestruck look.  It makes his face feel hot under his mask.  Could she really be this enamored with Spiderman? So much so she’s rendered speechless.

“Right- well- maybe stop shopping in the middle of the night and you find yourself in these situations” He tries to be serious, but she grins as she nods back at him in agreement.

“I’ll try my best, Spiderman” 

With that he’s out the door and swinging off just before the cops round the corner to the building.  He’d just narrowly missed them, but that was the closest he’d come to getting spotted by them in quite a while.  Until then, he’d done a good job making a clean getaway.

He huffs and tugs his mask off of his head when he finds a fire escape distant enough to rest at.  Of all the crimes he’s interrupted, that was definitely one for the books.  And it had nothing to do with the tacky clown masks or shitty execution.

His chest felt tight, an odd feeling creeping into his bones.

Shit.  He still hadn’t had a proper dinner. ___

Megumi’s exhausted the next morning when he strolls into class.  He’s five minutes late today, but he tells himself that ten is his limit so he’s still doing just fine.  He never gets a second glance from the professor anyways- with his grades? His professor wouldn’t care if he didn’t show up to class at all.

(y/n), however, cares very much about Megumi’s punctuality.

“Who taught you to be so disrespectful of other people’s time, Fushiguro?” She mocks a pout at him, already turned around in her seat to bother him as usual.

Megumi gives her a bored look, maintaining eye contact as he opens his notebook to a fresh page.  (y/n) raises a brow impatiently, waiting for some kind of response, but Megumi remains silent.  This is fitting for him, he rarely engages in her banter these days, but his silence feels different today.  Something about the way he looks at her makes her feel like he’s sizing her up, or something.

“What?” The word comes out in a mumble, her brows furrowing as he meets his inquisitive stare with a confused glare.

Megumi purses his lips, shakes his head, taps the eraser of his pencil rhythmically against his notebook.

“Nothing” 

It’s all he has to say, and for once (y/n) doesn’t have a snarky remark.  She just gives him a weird look and faces forward in her seat again.  Maybe he’d caught her off guard by actually speaking to her, even if it was just one word, it’s more than he’s given in a while.  Pretty much since the spider bite.  Engaging in petty arguments seemed pointless after that.

As he takes notes on the lecture of the day, he can’t help but be drawn to the back of (y/n’s) head.  He didn’t like the idea of giving her any of his attention, but his thoughts were drifting out of his control, and he couldn’t stop replaying last night in his mind.  The way she looked at him, smiled at him, like he was her hero.  And now today he was reduced to the dirt under her perfectly clean shoe.  It was like he had a secret about her now.  There might not be a way for him to dangle it over her head openly… but he knew, and for now, that was enough.

By the time class ended, Megumi already had his bag packed up, and he was the first out the door.  If he got to the next lesson before her, he could claim a seat in the back where she wouldn’t dare be caught sitting.  Maybe then he wouldn’t get so distracted.

Even with his heightened senses however, he doesn’t notice the way (y/n) watches him book it out of the classroom, a knot between her brows at his odd behavior.  Because since when has Fushiguro Megumi rushed to class? ___

It’s hard not to notice Megumi is avoiding her more than usual.  She shared almost every class with him, besides one art course she took, (y/n) saw him every hour of the day.  It also helped that being the top two of their class they were always seated somewhere near the front, and closer to each other than either one of them would like.

It doesn’t bother her that Megumi’s been sitting in the back of the class with the other slackers.  She couldn’t care less if he decided not to come to class at all- in fact it would be wonderful for her.  If his grades slipped just a little bit she could take his spot as top student, a position that was rightfully hers seeing as she was punctual and present in every class.  Unlike Megumi, who hardly participated unless asked to, and acted like he couldn’t care less about his status.

She always wondered if he truly didn’t care about his ranking.  He certainly acted like he didn’t, rolling his eyes at her comments if he wasn’t ignoring her completely.  But was it just an act? 

(y/n) made it an effort not to think any more about Fushiguro Megumi than she had to.  But sometimes he made that difficult for her.  Like now, when he’s sitting in the back of the class with his blocky headphones on.  She can’t help but peek over her shoulder at him, eyeing the way he actively took notes from what was on the whiteboard at the front of the class.  But how well could he learn if he wasn’t even listening? 

He catches her staring not a second later, his bored blue eyes landing on hers and holding her stare.  His expression is unchanging, completely neutral as he stares back at her, but it still feels intense.  (y/n’s) quick to shoot her eyes forward and begin scribbling messy words in her otherwise neatly kept notebook.  Was it just intense because he’d caught her staring right at him? Her face feels warm, her heartbeat kicks into an anxious pattern.

Clearly, whatever his issue was, she needed to just ignore it completely.  He seemed to do just fine doing the same, maybe it was time for her to take a page out of his book and give him the same treatment.

Still, her eyes catch him in every hallway, every class, every moment he’s around, she spots and scans him as if there’s going to be some hint as to what brought on his change in behavior. ___

A couple of peaceful weeks were well appreciated, but Megumi must’ve taken them for granted, because tonight was a rough one.

He could enjoy a good fight, he’d grown up a fighter, so it all came naturally to him.  Right hook, dodge, web, kick, swing- there were just a few extra steps to his hand-to-hand that came from the spider bite’s abilities.  To him, that made the act of fighting all the more fun.  He wasn’t afraid to admit he got a certain rush out of beating someone up.  When it was justified, there wasn’t a feeling like it.

Getting beat up, however, sucked.

Maybe the guy was on steroids, maybe the adrenaline got to his head and his fight or flight kicked into high gear, Megumi wasn’t sure what his deal was, but he certainly took a beating before finally knocking the petty handbag thief out and getting him webbed up for the cops to take care of.

It wasn’t till he got away and found an alley secluded enough that he was able to check his injuries.  He didn’t have to take his mask off to know his head had taken most of the damage.  He could taste the blood of his split lip, and feel the hot throbbing behind his eye.  

Great.  Going to class with a black eye won’t draw any attention.

With a groan he leaned back into the brick of one of the surrounding buildings, trying to even out his labored breathing.  It wouldn’t be a surprise if he found his torso littered with black and blue, too.  As much as it hurt, Megumi was more irritated than anything.  Hiding injuries was the worst part of his secret double life.  College kids always wanted to hear the gnarly stories behind visible cuts and bruises.  Megumi only hoped his shitty reputation would be enough to keep people away.

He couldn’t sit around for long, there was still a city that needed patrolling, so Megumi kicked off the wall and took a few deep, harsh breaths as he left the alley, ready to go for a swing around the next few blocks to make sure everything was as it should be.  Quiet.  It was almost one in the morning, most people should be turned in for the night by now.

Just as he reaches the sidewalk and before he can fly off into the air, however, he’s met by a not-quite-stranger.

(y/n) almost runs right into him, speed walking down the sidewalk with her head down, clearly on a mission.  Had he stepped out a second later she might’ve crashed into him, but it’s hard for her to not notice the six foot tall man in a head to toe black suit.

For half a second she looks alarmed- rightfully so, a strange man just came out of an alley, if she had half a mind she’d turn and run without thinking.  But as expected, Megumi finds she has no sense of self preservation as she looks at the block in her path with a grin.

“You again” She greets him like she knows him now.  (She does know him, but she doesn’t know she knows him, you know?) And her smile is so genuinely bright that Megumi starts to feel sick.

“Again,” He sighs, the groan in his voice not going unnoticed.  “Didn’t I tell you not to walk around alone this late at night?” His voice still sounds weird, and it’s shortly after that (y/n) notices his hand hovering over his ribcage.

“Did you get hurt, or something?” She ignores him completely, all the while putting her phone in her pocket to give him her full attention.

“I’m Spiderman, I don’t get hurt” Megumi argues, but the wince in his voice is obvious, and (y/n) somehow sees right through it.

“Okay… well… even Spiderman has to go to urgent care sometimes, right?” She tries to be lighthearted, but her smile is wavering now, concern seeping into her features.

Megumi can barely stand to look at her.  What is she doing? Staring at him like that, like she knows him, like she cares about him.  Can’t she just go the fuck home where it’s safe and more importantly: away from him?

“Tch, I don’t think so” He mutters.

(y/n) frowns.

“Spoken like a true idiot man,” She scolds.  Jeez, last time they crossed paths like this she’d said she was a fan, now this? “What is it with you guys and your reputations, huh? You’re not any stronger for toughing out an injury without help, you know” 

“I’ll keep that in mind, mom” Megumi argues back.  She scoffs, but it turns into a small laugh shortly after.

“You could at least put ice on it, you know” She says, stepping past him and continuing on her way down the sidewalk.  Megumi tosses his head back to silently curse at the sky.

“Did I not make myself clear that you should go home?” He calls after her.

“Ice is this way” Is all (y/n) says, and all she has to say to get him to groan at nothing in particular and follow after her.

It’s a good thing it’s so late at night, there’s no one to see Spiderman walking around with some random girl.  Surely the papers would have a hay day if even a photo was snapped… he doesn’t even want to think about what kind of headlines they’d come up with.

“I can buy my own ice” He tells her after a minute of walking in silence.

“I know,” (y/n) shrugs.  “But so far it seems like you’re letting me hang out with you, so I’ve gotta enjoy it just a little bit longer” 

“We’re not hanging out,” Megumi replies dryly.  “You’re refusing to go home when it’s the middle of the night and I’m…” He trails off, not wanting to say what he’s thinking, but he doesn’t have to.

“Awe, Spidey’s lookin’ out for me?” She’s smiling at him again, holding her hands behind her back as she looks up at him.  “You starting to like me?” 

“You’re starting to bother me,” Megumi quips back, but it’s followed by a chuckle he can’t help, and it only seems to endear (y/n) further.  “I don’t usually give people follow up warnings,” He mutters with a shake of his head.  “What’re you doing out this late, anyways?” He asks before he can help it.  “Don’t you have, like, school, or something?” It’s difficult to act like he doesn’t know she spends her nights studying herself to death.

“Maybe I’m going to a party” (y/n) shrugs.

“Tch, no you’re not” 

“How do you know?” 

“Not dressed like that” Megumi comments, making a point to look her up and down.

(y/n) huffs, but there’s no denying the evidence right in front of them both.  She’s wearing leggings that were at least a couple years old, and a large sweatshirt that was teetering the line of well loved and ratty.  

“Okay, well, maybe this time I’m not” She says, and Megumi bites back a smile.  He’s pretty sure that a girl like (y/l/n) (y/n) has never stepped foot in a house party.  And he knows because he hasn’t, either.

“Still not an answer” He reminds her.

“I was going to pick up some energy drinks,” (y/n) finally admits.  “It’s a short walk from my apartment to the corner store, I do it all the time.  Even without Spiderman watching over me” 

He chuckles at that, wondering just how many times she’s made the walk, no matter how short, in the middle of the night.  Couldn’t she just get them before she goes home for the day?

“And you just have to go in the middle of the night?” He scolds her, but she doesn’t seem too affected by it.

“That’s when I need them the most” She replies with a shrug.

“You always drink energy drinks that late?” 

“What, you worried about me or something?” She fires back, a curious look on her face.  “Y’know, I haven’t heard much about you talking to people” 

“I don’t” 

“You’re talking to me” She points out matter of factly, a tone of hers that Megumi was already far too familiar with.

“You’re kind of leaving me no choice” 

(y/n’s) quiet for a moment, and it seems like she’s contemplating something, but whatever it is she doesn’t let him in on, instead smiling and turning her attention to the sidewalk as they walk.

Megumi ducks into the alley next to the convenience store when (y/n) goes in.  He’s unceremonious as he drops himself to the ground, sighing in relief to be off of his feet.  His hand presses into his ribcage at a weak attempt to relieve the pain as he twists to try and find a comfortable position to sit in.  He doesn’t want (y/n) to come back and see him in any sort of pain- it wasn’t a good look for Spiderman to show any sign of weakness.

She’s quick to return, a plastic bag in one hand and a frozen bag of vegetables in the other.  Even behind the mask she must understand that he’s pulling a face at her, because she huffs in annoyance.

“They didn’t have ice” She explains, inviting herself to squat down next to him and offer up the vegetables.

“No no, you’re not sitting here,” Megumi bites back a whine when he sits upright in an attempt to urge her to leave.  “You need to go back home” 

“And miss a personal Q&A with Spiderman?” She replies, a small smile on her face when he finally snatches the vegetables out of her hand.  He grumbles a string of incoherent curses as he rests it over where the bruising feels the worst.

“That’s not happening” He mutters.

“This is why I never hear about you talking to people,” (y/n) sighs.  “You’re boring” 

“I’m not boring,” He argues.  “I just don’t have anything to say” 

“Well, you could start by thanking me for the veggies” (y/n) replies, tilting her head at him.

Megumi glares at her from behind his mask.  He didn’t need to reminder of her insufferable personality.  But… watching her smile so softly at him, like she would love nothing more than a thank you from Spiderman… maybe it’s just because he’s injured, but Megumi caves.

“Thank you” It comes out from behind his teeth, and she must know it, but Megumi swears he sees stars in her eyes.

“You’re welcome, Spiderman,” She murmurs back.

It comes out so genuine, so sweet, that there’s a pang in Megumi’s heart.  He doesn’t think any of the bruising spread so far up his chest, but it must’ve for him to feel such an odd sensation.

“I have to ask… cause I probably won’t see you again…” Her eyes land on the way his hand tenses and presses the frozen vegetables further against himself.  “Why do you do it?” 

When he doesn’t answer, she blinks at him, moving her head just enough to tell him that she really wanted him to say something.

Megumi figures she won’t leave him alone if he doesn’t say anything, so he goes with the truth.

“It’s the right thing to do” 

He shrugs lamely, and it takes a second for her to react at all.  At first it’s a furrow of her brows and a knowing smile, as if he just had to have an answer better than that.  But she didn’t know him as well as she liked to think, because she didn’t know Megumi.  

When he has nothing else to say, her expression slowly softens, and she hums thoughtfully.

“That’s it, huh?” She muses.  “You’re just… a good guy?” 

Just a guy, Megumi mentally corrects.  He might have heightened abilities, and a better sense of right and wrong than those around him, but he’s never considered himself a hero.  Just a guy trying to make things right, trying to keep people safe.

“Guess I try to be” His answer is as lame as his movements.  

If he were a superhero, he’d need some help with PR, but somehow, this makes him all the more special to (y/n).  She brightens, leans in closer and sets her hand over his, where he’s still holding the cold vegetables.

“Can I tell you something, Spiderman?” 

Hasn’t she been talking to him this whole time? If it wouldn’t hurt, Megumi would laugh.  Instead he just nods his head and waits for her to continue.

“I want to be a journalist because of you,” 

What? Megumi’s face warps into shock at the confession.  He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it wasn’t that.  She was on track to be a graduate of the sciences, whichever one she ended up choosing anyways.  He always saw her becoming some wealthy astro-physist or some shit.  She wanted to give up all of her work in those programs to… write? 

“An investigative journalist,” She corrects.  “I want to write about the things that matter, and- and I want to be honest, you know? I want people to read my articles and know they’re being handed the truth.  There’s not a lot of that around these days…” She trails off.  

She didn’t have to tell him about the light Spiderman was painted in.  Let’s just say him and Megumi would share the popularity rankings… except no one was raising pitchforks and torches in Megumi’s direction.

“You want to do that ‘cause of me?” Megumi asks, curiosity getting the best of him.

(y/n) nods, trying to bite back her smile but it was still as clear as day.

“I’ll write my first article about you,” She promises, and Megumi’s eyes widen at her sincerity.  “If you’ll let me” 

“Well you’re not getting an interview” He says, only half joking.  (y/n) laughs quietly.

For a moment, he gets that glimpse into her again.  The same one he felt the night of the convenience store robbery.  There was something in her eye he’d never seen before.  Something soft, and real.  It dawns on him that he very well may be the only person she’s told about this dream of hers.  He wants to ask, but it feels wrong, like he’s prying for something.

“I won’t need one,” She tells him.  “Can’t have the people knowing I know you” 

“You don’t know me” Megumi replies, maybe too quickly, but he can’t help it.  

He tilts his head at her as she gazes at him with too much fondness.  Was his reminder that he’s a stranger to her not enough? Sure, she could trust him because he was Spiderman, her safety wasn’t compromised, but that didn’t mean she needed to go confiding in him like this.

Besides, the look she was giving him was making him feel hot, like he was about to break into a sweat.

“I don’t know…” She murmurs thoughtfully.  “I just have this feeling… like I do” 

That has him leaping into panic mode.  That was it, this was done.  If he saw her again while he was in this suit, he was going to turn and swing the other direction.  She couldn’t be saying things like that, she couldn’t be trying to put the pieces together in her mind.  If she were to figure him out, he’d be done for.  She put a lot of trust in him tonight, but could he trust her for even a minute? Megumi wasn’t sure, and he didn’t care to find out.

As far as he was concerned, this was the last time he was going to talk to her.  He was right to avoid her after the first time- it should have been the last time, but it was too late for that now.

“You should go” He says, pushing himself to stand even through grunts of pain.  She looks at him with worry, brows knitted and lips in a frown as she follows him up to her feet.

“Wait,” 

She calls to stop him, despite having nothing else to say to him.  Well, there were a million things she wanted to say to him, but none of that felt appropriate now.  She didn’t really expect him to stand there and hear her out, but he is, and now her mouth is running dry and she’s standing before him frozen.  He radiates impatience, without having to say a single word.

“I… I didn’t thank you,” She stammers out.  It’s unlike her, but it can’t be helped.  She’s always had a little fan-crush on Spiderman since he made his appearance on the news, but after actually being around him that seemed to blossom into a very real crush, even if she’s never seen his face.  She can feel a blush heating up her face when she speaks.  “For the other night, with- with the robbery,” She clarifies, even though she didn’t have to.  “So… thank you” 

Megumi hesitates a moment longer, almost expecting her to say something else.  She looks like she wants to, her face is growing pink and her hands have begun fiddling with the bag of her energy drinks.  But she remains quiet.

He gives her a nod, before handing over the bag of vegetables.  (y/n) laughs under her breath as she takes it.  It’s lost all of it’s cold, merely a room temperature bag of carrots and peas by now.  She’s not sure what she’s supposed to do with it, but she supposes it wouldn’t look good for Spiderman to swing around with it.

“You’re welcome,” He tells her, and it sounds like the most earnest thing he’s had to say to her.  He’s always come across as blunt, something (y/n) was surprised by when they first met, but now it’s a blessing.  She knows that he means it.  “Get home.  Don’t make me have to tell you again, alright?” 

To Megumi, this is a goodbye.  He doesn’t intend to see her again, not like this.  It was… interesting, while it lasted, but it could never actually last.  It needed to be over before things could get any worse… or she could get any closer to figuring out his identity.

“I’ll try my best, Spiderman” 

It’s the same thing she’d left him with before.  She wonders if he catches it.  With that, Megumi shoots a web and swings off into the night, his black suit blending easily into the night sky.

He did. ___

(y/n) was always punctual, to everything, not just class.  But today she found herself in her favorite seat a whole ten minutes early.  She hadn’t meant to show up before the professor, but she just couldn’t contain her energy today.  She’d woken up before her alarm, got showered, dressed and dolled up in record time, ate a small breakfast on her walk to school, and now here she was.  Full of energy as if it wasn’t eight in the morning.  Call it waking up on the right side of the bed…

… or having an interesting night that she couldn’t get out of her head.

Never in her wildest dreams did she think that she’d run into Spiderman again.  The first time was a little embarrassing, she’d come close to being called a victim, but the second time just happened by chance.  It had her heart racing, her face warming, her lips smiling- hell, she was giddy.

He wasn’t anything like she’d thought he’d be, but that just made him all the more enticing to her.  He was blunt, maybe even a little crass for a masked hero, but every interaction she’d had with him drew her in more.  

She’d meant what she said about getting into journalism, she’d even been looking into transferring her credits next year, even if it meant starting over in a completely new program.  Last night, she’d spent her time in bed staring at the ceiling and replaying events in her mind.  When she wasn’t doing that, she was mentally writing her first article about The Spiderman.

The Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman had a nice ring to it, she thought.  Although she had a feeling that he would laugh at the title of Friendly.  Or maybe roll his eyes.  It was hard to tell with the mask.

Before she knew it, she found herself doodling said mask at the corner of a fresh page in her notebook.  She lifted her pen instantly, surprised at just how zoned out she’d become.  There were never doodles in her notebooks.  They were perfectly kept, clean, organized, conside, and without any extra graffiti.

She supposes this doodle can stay, though… she had done a rather good job at drawing it, it would be a pity if it went to waste…

Students begin to file into the class and setting up their laptops and notebooks at the desks surrounding her.  Without any friends in this class there’s no one for her to talk to, or share the story of her night with.

Then again, she’s not sure she wants to tell anyone about her run in with Spiderman.  She hadn’t mentioned it before… although that was because she didn’t need anyone fussing over her being out so late and putting her safety in jeopardy.  This time was different, but still… 

It felt more special if she kept it to herself.

Today, Megumi comes to class twelve minutes late.  She eyes the clock above the doorway just as he ducks in to check the time, but her eyes just as quickly dart back to his figure.  It’s hard not to, with the dark purple shiner standing out against the pale skin of his face.

Her eyes flit around the room, just to see if anyone else noticed the state of their late arrival, but every other student seemed too wrapped up in the lesson, and their professor was too deep in his lecture to give Megumi the slightest of attention.  To everyone else, Megumi was late as usual.  As (y/n) looked at him again, she had an inkling he was the only one who noticed his black eye.

He knew he was going to draw attention, clearly, seeing as his hoodie was up over his unruly hair and his head was down.  But he must’ve sensed (y/n’s) eyes on him, because when he looked up it was directly at her.

He was moving to the back of the class again, probably to take that corner desk with the graphite engravings all over it.  It would be alarming if she were to say anything to him, although she’s not even sure what she would say.  Asking him if he was alright felt weird, and it’s not like she could just shout ‘what the fuck!?’ in the middle of class.

All she could do was stare at him as he took his seat, pull out his notebook, and begin notetaking as usual, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.  She’s completely turned around in her seat now, still watching him, even though she was missing valuable points of the lesson now.  It was hard to pull her attention away- it was weird that no one else seemed to notice him at all.

Where could he have possibly gotten that from? She frowned, despite Megumi ignoring her completely.  She was sure that she would’ve heard about him getting into another fight on campus- last time she was getting texts about it while she was reading all the tweets about it.  Fights were hot news around here, and if Megumi was involved in a second one, she surely couldn’t have missed it.

Right? 

Finally, his eyes catch hers.  She doesn’t turn away from him like she had in the past, she holds his stare, trying to communicate with him in silence.

It’s obvious to him, she’s looking at him with that same worried face she’d worn last night.  She just didn’t know she was worried about the same person.  He raises his eyebrows at her expectantly, as though asking ‘what?’.  As though nothing were out of the ordinary at all.

Her lips curl into a frown, almost a pout, and Megumi has half a mind to flip her off to get her to leave him alone.  Even in silence, even from opposite sides of the room, she seems to find some way to get under his skin.

He doesn’t, though.  Just holds her stare for a minute longer before putting all of his attention into his notetaking.

Megumi told himself that he was done with her, and he was going to be true to his word.  Whether he was in the suit or not, he couldn’t have anything to do with (y/l/n) (y/n).  Being around her just made things feel… complicated.  He couldn’t pinpoint why, but he didn’t want to.  He just wanted the feeling to go away.

She sits turned around in her seat even once he’s clearly begun to ignore her again.  He can feel her eyes on him, see her watching him out of his peripheral vision as if she was going to figure him out through her stare alone.

He was only pretty sure that she couldn’t.

Eventually she turns around in her seat, but the bouncing of her leg is driving him insane even from across the class.  It was like all he could hear- the faint tap of her shoe tapping the linoleum floor.  It was louder than the lecture, than the squeak of the marker on the whiteboard, or the students smacking their gum or tapping their desks.  His ears focused on it for the remainder of class, effectively ruining his note taking ability.

He’s out of his seat once class is over, snatching his things and not bothering to put them in his bag as he bolts for the door.  There’s an itch in his mind telling him to distance himself from (y/n) as fast as he can.  The inkling was right, because he doesn’t make it far in the hall before his name is being called.

“Fushiguro!” 

A few surrounding students glance in her direction, some even snicker in passing.  Megumi wasn’t someone anyone chased after, and certainly never a girl.  If this were still high school, his sister would ooh and ahh at him before skipping away, plotting to tease him for it later.  But this wasn’t high school, and when he turned around to face (y/n), anyone who was watching made themselves scarce fast.

He doesn’t say anything as she approaches him, the strap of her messenger bag held tight in both hands against her chest.  

She opens her mouth, ready to make a smartass comment, but it comes out awkward, not quite right.

“Late to class again cause of a fight, or something?” Even her scoff comes out wrong, sounding like a nervous laugh, strangled and weird.  She shifts her weight between her feet.

Megumi’s silent for a long few seconds.  Every one that passes feels like eternity, and (y/n) deflates a little more under his stare.

“Sure” He shakes his head, not caring what she wanted to assume about him.  If she wanted to think he was that kind of guy, all the better.  Spiderman didn’t get into fights before going to class, so the further he could separate himself from him in her mind, the better.

She frowns at his answer, and it looks like she’s actually upset when she stares directly at his dark eye.  It looks pretty bad, he knows that.  The swelling he could take care of, but the dark purple was another thing.  Right now though, he’s more concerned about the way she seems to worry.

“Seriously, Fuhiguro,” She says quietly, hoping to get through to him.  

She’s not sure what it is that came over her, but something about seeing him walk into class looking like this made her heart lurch in her chest.

“What happened? Who did that?” 

“I fell,” He says dryly, earning a short glare from her.  He sighs, shutting his eyes to mask his annoyance before it got the best of him.  “Sorry I don’t have an interesting story for you- can I go to class now?” 

“Suddenly Mr Punctual?” She snaps back, crossing her arms over her chest.  Megumi huffs, shakes his head, uncaring toward her attitude.

“Whatever” He starts to turn away, but she catches him off guard when she rushes to block his path again.  

Megumi actually startles when she budges in front of him, having to step back to remove her from his personal space.  His wide eyes land on hers, annoyance furrowing his brows as he stares down at her.  She’s defiantly raising her chin towards him, eyes narrowed and everything.

“I’m actually asking, you know,” She tells him.  “Because no one else is walking around with black eyes-” 

“Who cares?” Megumi tries to step out of her way, but she slides in front of him again.  The traffic in the hallway is thinning, they would both be late for their next class if she kept this up.  “Don’t you have a class to be early for?” He hopes that’s enough to get her to back off.

“I don’t care,” She says with enough assurance that Megumi’s actually surprised.  He figured being late to class would throw her into a full breakdown.  “Why are you being such a dick about this?” 

He scoffs, a bitter smile tugging on his lips, only making him wince as it tears the healing wound.

“Why are you?” He fires back.

“Because,” She says it with such certainty, only to fall short with the rest of her reason.  She didn’t know exactly why she felt like someone needed to check in on him, but she knew that she did, and maybe she was the only one who noticed anything was wrong in the first place.  “Because… because it’s the right thing to do” 

Megumi freezes up at that.  All of his muscles go rigid, his jaw tightens, and his eyes flicker over her features rapidly, trying to find any crack in her sincerity.  Was she seriously throwing his words back at him right now? Just because of a black eye? 

Meanwhile (y/n) feels good about her answer.  She’d picked it up from a man she admired so much and it felt right.  There was no real reason, just a feeling.  She had no idea what emotional turmoil she was putting him through right now.

“(y/n), seriously…” Megumi shakes his head at her.  He steps to the side again, but doesn’t leave right away.  Her eyes follow his, waiting for him to continue.  He hates that she looks so genuinely worried about him.  Hates the way it makes his heart race and his fingers tremble.  He has to force words out of his throat.  “Leave me alone” 

Her face falls, but he’s quick to leave once he says it, and this time, she doesn’t chase after him again. ___

In the rest of their classes, she doesn’t try to talk to him again, and does her best not to look his way.  Megumi’s relieved… he thinks.  It’s for the best that everything returns to normal.  Whatever compelled her to reach out to him today was clearly Spiderman’s doing, and he couldn’t have that.  Things couldn’t change.  His feelings of distaste towards her couldn’t change.  He couldn’t start feeling… differently.

With his hood on and his headphones blasting music enough to drown out the noise of the cafe, Megumi tries to catch up on what he’d missed during his first lecture, which was the entirety of his first lecture.  Luckily his professor tended to drone on word for word from the textbook, and he could catch up by reading.

Unluckily, it doesn’t take much for him to get sidetracked from his studies.  He wants to kick himself when something compels him to look up, only to find (y/n) at Fratboy’s table again.

This again, he tells himself, certain he’ll go right back to his textbook.  But he doesn’t move.  His focus stays entirely on the table of jocks, without a shred of discretion, to make things worse.

“Not today” (y/n’s) saying when he tunes into the conversation.  Does this guy always ask her to sit at his table for lunch? Is he that oblivious? Megumi chews on the inside of his cheek.  You’d think he’d try to avoid the idiot jock stereotype a little better.

“C’mon princess, it’s never ‘today’.  Why don’t you just say yes to ‘tomorrow’, hm?” Fratboy leans out of his seat, reaching his hand out towards her.  (y/n) takes a step backwards, but he’s faster, snatching her by the wrist and pulling her towards the table again.

Megumi bristles, watching the situation with the eyes of a hawk.  If looks could kill, this would’ve been enough to get Fratboy’s hand off of her.  Even if he wasn’t hurting you, it was unwanted, that much was clear just by watching her body language.

“I really don’t feel that way about you,” (y/n) snaps, tugging her arm to get herself out of his grasp.  He doesn’t release right away, and Megumi almost gets to his feet, but with a second tug he lets go of her, and (y/n) takes a large step back, keeping both arms close to her body in case he tries to reach for her again.  “Leave me alone” She barks at him, turning to walk away.

If Fratboy says something else to her, Megumi misses it.  His focus is dialed up to one hundred, and as soon as (y/n) separated herself from him, Megumi hadn’t paid a second glance to Fratboy at all.  He wonders how long she’d felt his watchful eyes before she actually turned towards him.  Her eyes skirt around the cafe for a second, trying to find where the prickling feeling of being watched was coming from, and it doesn’t take long for her to find him.  Her bitter expression softens when she spots him, an odd feeling replacing the discomfort of being talked down to and manhandled.

Maybe because as soon as Fratboy follows her line of sight and sees Megumi’s hard stare set in his direction, he turns towards his table again and quickly engages himself with his friends, not bothering (y/n) with even a second glance.  She watches this unfold, before looking back at Megumi again, curiously.  Despite her being left alone now, he’s still staring at her, maybe waiting to see that she’ll get to her table without being bothered again, she’s not sure.

Either way, she grows still under his direct gaze.  She didn’t know how to describe it, but she’s sure she’s never had anyone look at her like that.  With an otherwise neutral expression, there was so much anger behind Megumi’s eyes that if she didn’t know better, she might be just as afraid as Fratboy.  However something told her not to be, something told her that the anger wasn’t directed towards her.  It takes a great deal of effort for her to turn her back on him and head towards her table, but even as she walks away she can’t help but glance back at him again.  He’s already returned to his book by then, but her intrigue doesn’t end there.  She spends the rest of her lunch in near silence while surrounded by her friends, her thoughts too busy for her to keep up with meaningless chit chat and gossip.

That night (y/n) wanders the sidewalk between her apartment and the convenience store up and down until her feet are too tired to carry her anymore.  She walks the familiar path, back and forth, over and over, between the hours of ten and two, her eyes fixed on the sky, peeking down alleyways, her fingers crossed, her heart racing.  Nothing comes of her walk.  She returns home with a sense of disappointment, and a will to try it again. ___

Megumi’s growing tired of this game of hers.  He’s not sure why she insists on doing this every night, it had been four nights now and she had nothing to show for it, so why was she still out there pacing the sidewalk like a maniac? 

It took all of his energy to patrol the streets and keep an eye on one particular sidewalk- one particular girl.  He was one guy.  Did she really think this was safe for either of them? He very well could be missing a crime happening two blocks over because he’s too busy checking in on where she’s chosen to wander.  Did she really think this was enough to capture his attention? 

Well, it had caught his attention, seeing as every other five minutes he was swinging back in this direction to make sure she was still alive down there.

Was she trying to learn a lesson the hard way? Megumi spent his time watching her with bitterness.  She was smarter than this, he knew it, so what the hell was she thinking?

Deep down he’d already confirmed his worries, but he’d hoped that she’d give this stunt up eventually.  He still saw her around school, even if she’d stopped bothering him, he could see the toll that staying up like this was taking on her.  She always had an energy drink or a coffee on her desk, and Megumi doesn’t think he’s ever seen her look so disheveled.  It had him wondering if this was starting to impact her grades, too.

This is why he shouldn’t have spoken with her the last time.  He should’ve swung off in the opposite direction.  Because now she was on his mind, she had him worrying, swinging all around the block she was pacing while trying to keep an eye on the rest of the city- it was exhausting for him, too.

He shouldn’t be sitting here worrying about her sleep, or her grades.  His bottom line should be safety.  And she was safe.  So why couldn’t he just leave her be? 

With a groan he stops his swinging to land on one of the surrounding buildings.  He rips his mask off his head, groaning through his irritation before raking his hands through his already messy hair.  She was driving him crazy, and he was sure that she knew it too.  This little back and forth walk of hers, she was taunting him with it.  

Throwing himself down to sit on the edge of the building, Megumi peers over his knees to check on her yet again.  She’s slowed her pace, which hopefully means she’s getting tired and will return to her apartment soon.

With a huff, he props his head in his hand, wondering what he was going to do about this.  It wasn’t as easy to make her hate Spiderman as it was to make her hate Megumi.  Hell, it might not be a bad idea to just reveal his identity to her, she’d probably want to forget about Spiderman all together, then.

Of course, that was a stupid idea, but Megumi was fresh out of good ones.

When he lifts his head again, compelled by some invisible force to check just one more time that she was alright, he’d looked just in time.  He barely had the time to pull his mask back on his head before he was leaping off the building and swinging down towards her, half flying and half falling through the air as fast as he could to get to her before whatever figure lurking around the corner could.

Shit, shit, shit.

It happens so fast, she’s lucky she didn’t pee herself from the whole thing.  She’d just reached the end of her pace, about to turn around and wander the other direction when she finally saw a very unsettling figure come around the corner.  With disheveled clothing and a stagger that sent up warning flags of intoxication, (y/n) instantly stopped in her tracks, and started to shuffle backwards.

He never said a word to her, but from looks alone she got the feeling of what he was thinking.  Nothing good.

However before she could get herself to start running, someone else came into view.

There’s barely a second for her to show her relief when Spiderman shows up, seemingly out of nowhere.  She’s not sure his feet even touched the ground before he had an arm around her and was swinging off again.  He doesn’t have to tell her to hold on, she just clings, with all her might, she winds her arms around his neck and keeps her knees locked on either side of his hips.  

The sensation of swinging through the air is not the one she always dreamed of enjoying- the wind is harsh, whipping her hair around all directions and snapping against her face unpleasantly.  Even with her face buried against her savior’s chest, the cold air nips at her.

Even once he’s clearly landed, it takes some prompting for her to let go of him, and open her eyes.

When she does, she barely gets to open her mouth before he’s laying into her, and she should’ve seen it coming, but she can’t help but deflate.

“What the hell were you thinking!?” 

He’s yelling, and at first she wonders if he’s worried about people seeing, but a quick glance at her surroundings and she realizes they’re on the roof of a building.  No one would be hearing them here.

“Were you seriously trying to get yourself into trouble? Because you were about this close to it,” He raises his pinched fingers for emphasis, but gives her no time to answer.  “You better not have done something so stupid just cause of me-” 

“I didn’t- well- well I didn’t necessarily” (y/n) tries to explain, but the words just aren’t coming as fast as her mouth is moving and she’s left gaping at him.  

Megumi was not putting up with it.  What did he have to do to get it through her head? 

“I can’t be spending my nights keeping an eye on just you because you feel like putting yourself in harm’s way for a fucking rush,” He snaps.  “You pull shit like that again (y/n) and I’m not going to be there next time, you understand?” 

Her mouth shuts.  She nods her head.

“Jesus Christ,” Megumi puts his hands to his head, turning and walking off as if they weren’t stranded on top of a building.

Well, (y/n) was stranded.  Spiderman had the means of getting himself anywhere.

She wants to follow him, but instinct tells her to stay put while he paces and continues to scold her.

“You’re goddamn lucky I was there, you know that?” He’s not even looking at her, but she nods her head again anyways.  She knows.  “I should really go back there and beat the shit out of that guy” He starts to mutter to himself, going on incoherently, and (y/n’s) blood starts to run cold.

“He- I mean, he didn’t do anything” She mumbles, her voice hardly above a whisper, but he seems to hear her just fine, stopping in his tracks and turning his head towards her.

“Are you serious?” 

Her mouth opens and closes a few times before any words come out.

“It’s not like he… he said anything, or did anything to me” She clarifies.  Spiderman’s mask is incapable of expression, but she had a feeling the man behind it was glaring at her.  She could feel that familiar prickle of a harsh stare.

It’s silent for a long moment before he finally turns completely towards her and walks back in her direction.  She keeps her feet firmly planted, willing herself not to back away or cower, but having him come stand so close to her had her throat closing up.  He towered over her so much she had to lean her head back to look up at his mask.  If he was going to yell, she was bound to flinch.

“You have no idea what he was capable of doing,” He doesn’t yell.  In fact his voice is so eerily low she almost shivers.  “If you want to gamble your life on some drunken lowlife’s imagination, that’s your business,” He adds, and she blinks away the tears welling up in her eyes as the gravity of the situation really sunk in with his words.  “But at least have the decency to do it far away from me.  Because if it were up to me I’d go back there and kill that guy right now” 

She blinks a few more times, but still, a tear slips down her cheek.

“I-I’m sorry,” She whispers shakily, the lump in her throat growing hotter when she tries to speak.  “I didn’t- I wasn’t trying to- I-” 

Megumi sighs as more tears begin to fall from her eyes.  Her brain was playing catchup and it was clear she was too tired to handle any of this right now.

“It’s alright,” He says, but it’s obviously not enough to calm her down, so against his better judgment, he tries his hand at comforting her.  “Hey, c’mon, you’re alright,” Reaching out to her, he hesitates before placing his hands on either side of he face, wiping her tears away on the soft material of gloves.  “Breathe,” He instructs quietly, and waits as her shudders slowly morph into slow, heavy breaths.  “There you go, that’s it.  You’re alright,” He tries to remind her that where she is now, she’s safe.  “You’re here” 

It takes a few more deep breaths, but eventually he steers her clear of a full blown panic attack, and her heartbeat returns to a normal pace.

With one last deep breath, (y/n) closes her eyes on her exhale, and Megumi finally drops his hands from her head, sure that she isn't going to start back up again.

“I have trouble sleeping,” She tells him quietly, her eyes focused on the ground.  “It started in high school, I uh… I’m kind of a nerd, I guess,” She admits.  “My parents really cared about my grades and success and I guess I just… went with it.  Started staying up through the night to study and get ahead the rest of my class and… never dropped the habit” 

Megumi softens, although she’d never know it.

“That doesn’t sound so healthy,” He says quietly, not knowing what else to say.  She scoffs, smiles bitterly, shakes her head back at him.  “We should get you back home, yeah?” 

Realizing what he meant, she looks back at him with a wince, and he can’t help the small chuckle at her reaction.

“It’ll be alright.  I’ll take it easy, promise” He says, crossing his finger over his chest for emphasis.

“What, like I’m gonna find some way to sue Spiderman?” She mutters back.

He holds his arms out to her, carefully grabbing her by the forearms to loop them around his neck.

“Just hold on and keep your head down, it’ll be over before you know it” 

Her face heats up when his arm comes around her back and he presses her even closer.  She can’t stop her squeak of surprise before it comes out, and it must startle him, because he’s quick to ask her if she’s okay.

“Yeah I- I’m fine” She stammers back, feeling her blush grow hotter.

Megumi takes off without a warning, thinking it’ll be easier to rip it off like a bandaid than to count down before a jump.  All of her limbs tighten around him, forgetting about modesty as soon as they’re in the air.  She presses her face as far into his shoulder as she can to keep herself blinded from the surrounding area.  Until now, she wouldn’t have said she was afraid of heights.

She’s at least able to give him her address, a shaky whisper in his ear before she’s buried into his shoulder again.

When he lands on her fire escape, he helps her to her feet, trying not to chuckle at how wobbly she is.

“Don’t get sick on the suit, you have no idea how much of a pain it is to dry clean this thing” He tries to lighten the mood, and is surprised that he’s successful in doing so, earning a small laugh from her.

“You say that to all the girls you swing home, Spidey?” 

“Not a fan of the nickname.  Or the insinuation” He’s back to his usual dry self in no time.

“Well you have to have a nickname, we’re friends now, aren’t we?” 

He’s supposed to leave now.  He should leave now.  This was exactly what he was afraid of happening, her getting attached.  That burden was only on her of course, there wasn’t a chance Megumi was going to get drawn in when it comes to her, not when he knew the consequences.

“Spideman already is a nickname” He mutters like it’s obvious.  

(y/n) let’s out a breathless laugh, and tosses her messy windswept hair behind her shoulders.  

Megumi hasn’t left yet, why isn’t he leaving? 

“Well, then there must be some other name I could call you..?” She trails off with her question, stepping forward and eyeing him curiously.  

Megumi’s frozen.  Was she really suggesting he reveal himself to her? Obviously he couldn’t do that…

“I’d just like to thank you, again,” She says, a small smile on her lips as she takes another step forward.  

If he’s not leaving, Megumi knows he most definitely needed to step away from her before she could press any closer.  Carrying her to swing her home was one thing, that was closeness out of necessity, but this- this was too much, and he was freezing up.

“And, um, properly,” She adds in a soft murmur, her eyes flickering over his mask.  

He briefly wonders what she’s looking for, but it’s quickly answered when she reaches up towards him, her fingers brushing the space between his mask and the rest of the suit.  It’s fitted so well it’s nearly impossible for someone to find the disconnect between the two- unless of course you’re standing directly in front of him, which she was.

He doesn’t move, doesn’t say a word, but the gulp he swallows is visible to her with how close she is.  The tips of her fingers barely slip under the material of his mask, they graze his skin in a touch featherlight yet searing hot.

Without any indication from him that she should stop, curiosity gets the best of her and she carefully begins to slide the mask upwards, her eyes excitedly watching the expanse of his now exposed neck.  Almost as pale as the moonlight, she drank up the sight of his skin as if it was a completely new sight to her.

When she gets to his chin, his hand snatches her wrist.  It’s a quick action, but surprisingly gentle.  He barely grips her arm, his touch merely a warning.

“You shouldn’t” He says, the lump in his bobbing throat preventing him from saying anything more.

She looks up into the expanse of white that made for the compelling eyes of the mask.  Wondering if she was making proper eye contact with him, she shakes her head reassuringly.

“I won’t go too much further,” She murmurs.  Followed by an even softer, “Promise” 

His better judgment clean out the window, Megumi lets go of her hand, and allows her to proceed.

Using both hands now, she bunched up the end of the material until she was able to gather it at his nose where it would stay put, leaving everything from his neck to the tip of his nose on display for her.

She smiles at him, almost knowingly, and it makes him nervous.  Everything about this makes him nervous, this cold sweat she was putting him through was torture.  Even more so when her fingers begin to softly trace over the exposed parts of his skin.

“I knew you were handsome” She whispers shyly, but her eyes glimmer with excitement.

Megumi chuckles, the corners of his lips barely quirking into a smile, prompting her to hover the pad of her thumb over them as well.  She doesn’t quite touch his lips, too cautious of the healing cut over the bottom one.

“How could you know such a thing?” He mumbles, keeping his voice low out of worry that she’d recognize it without the muffle of his mask.

“I don’t know,” She giggles softly.  “Your voice, maybe.  And you’re tall” 

“I don’t think you have very good standards” Megumi murmurs.

“I think it’s completely fair for a girl to have a little crush on the man who saved her,” She replies, face warming up from such a confession.  To her delight, it gets another smile out of him.  “Who knew you smiled so much under there?” She says before she could think twice about it.  “I was starting to think you were that stoic, mysterious type” 

“I could be” He mumbles, and he finds himself taking her hand before she could finally touch her fingers to his lips.  

She’s more than enticed to, with how pink and alluring they were, she’d been dying to kiss them since she’d lifted his mask, and hoped he’d give her the chance, seeing as he hadn’t tried to cover the bottom half of his face just yet.

She’s never looked at him like this before.  And to be fair, Megumi had never looked at her like this either.  He’d had no idea how pretty she was, like this, with her eyes half lidded and half focused, staring intently at his lips, giving away all of her thoughts without having to voice them.  Her long lashes seemed to grow heavier with every slow blink.  She’s hardly looking up at him now, all of her attention on just one thing, and Megumi was starting to run out of reasons why he shouldn’t indulge her.

The hand that he’s not keeping away from him reaches out again, fingers skimming his jaw before curling around it with the softest touch.  She doesn’t pull him with much force, but Megumi finds himself following her movements as she guides him down, closer to her height.

It wasn’t right to kiss her.  It was actually the exact opposite of what he’d been trying to do here.  How the hell did he wind up in this situation? 

“Thank you, Spiderman” She whispers, her lips ghosting over his with every syllable.

Ah, fuck it.

His hand releases hers only to reach for the back of her head and pull her in the rest of the way, his lips capturing hers passionately.  Not expecting him to make the first move, she’s delayed in reacting, her hands sliding around the back of his neck and kissing him back with just as much fervor.

So lost in the kiss and how softly his lips move over hers, she almost forgets about the minor detail that his identity is still a secret to her, but even if it crosses her mind, she doesn’t care.

Her fingers press into the small strip of skin exposed at the nape of his neck, and while she longs to dig them under the back of his mask and lift it off of his head, it's not out of a desire to expose his identity.  It’s purely because she’d love to run her hands through his hair, followed by a curiosity of what that would feel like.

Was his hair long? Soft? Coarse? Was it shaggy? Was it shaved? The mystery of it all had her mind buzzing and her feet pushing her to the tips of her toes to meet his lips in one last kiss before he could pull away.

The final kiss is softer than the rest, so gentle and slow, it was the perfect first, and last, kiss.

Not that she could tell the difference, but Megumi had a hard time opening his eyes again when he pulled away.  He didn’t move far, his hand still cupped around the back of her head, fingers tangled in her hair.  A part of him hoped they’d be so knotted together that they wouldn’t ever have to leave this moment.

When he does find the courage to look at her, he’s mentally kicking himself.

Megumi’s sure that the reason the sky was so dull tonight was because all the stars were trapped in her eyes, now being gifted to him under her precious gaze.  Her lips curled into a slightly swollen smile, her cheeks pink with color despite the sun being nowhere in sight, it was perfect, she was perfect, and he can’t believe he’s spent so long missing out on it.

Shit, shit, shit.

“You…” He starts, but he doesn’t know where he’s going.  His head is in the clouds, beyond the clouds, he was completely unreachable.  (y/n) giggles softly at how quickly he’d become tongue tied.  “You should pursue the journalist thing, alright?” 

Brows slightly drawn together from the seemingly random comment, she nods back at him in a small motion.

“You think?” She murmurs back, her hand squeezing his.  It sends a wave of warmth through his arm and into his chest, and Megumi has to fight the urge to frown, because his mouth was still exposed.

Pulling his hand from hers, he touches it gently to her jaw, then her cheek.  She leans into his touch, welcoming it completely.  Her smile only grows upon feeling the warmth of his palm through his glove.

“I have a feeling that you’d succeed at anything you put your mind to,” He says, and it’s sort of cheesy, but it’s the absolute truth.  Her lips part in surprise at the sudden seriousness in his tone, but she doesn’t say anything, just lets his words linger on her mind.  “No more middle of the night walks, though, alright?” He says, shaking her head just a tiny bit to make sure it would get through her thick skull.  “If you can’t sleep, just put something on tv, like a normal person” 

Her hand raises to cover the back of his, cradling it against her face sweetly.  Megumi thinks the sight will be ingrained in his memory for the rest of time.

“Then how will I see you again?” She says, only half teasing.  Her eyes are wide and hopeful, and Megumi stalls by brushing his thumb over her cheekbone a few times.

“I’ll be around” He murmurs, nodding his head through his uncertainty.  Was it a good idea to see her again? 

(y/n) nods back at him, before letting his hand go and reaching for the bunched up material of his mask, pulling it back over his face.

It was hardly a good idea to see her this time, and she’d actually needed his help.  Look where that had lead him.

“I hope so,” She mumbles, seemingly just as uncertain as he was.

He finally drops his hand from her head, fingers carefully detangling themselves from her hair so as not to irritate her head, or maybe he just needed to linger near her a little longer.

Who was he kidding.  He was going to find himself in this position sooner or later, wasn’t he?

“I guess… you know where to find me,” She says, wrapping her arms around herself, even though it was a nice night with no breeze.  She squeezes herself for comfort.

When did it start, exactly? Was it the little secrets she confided in? Or her worry when he’d shown up to class a few days ago with a black eye? Megumi struggled to pinpoint when things took a turn down the path of no return.

“If you change your mind on that interview…” She adds with a soft smile.  She hopes he’s smiling back at her.  

He is.

“I’ll know where to find you,” He repeats, hoisting himself onto the railing of her fire escape, and standing up on the thin bar with complete balance.  He made it look easy.  “Goodnight, (y/n)” 

“Goodnight, Spiderman” 

He took off then, completely silent as he leapt from the escape and swung off, nearly invisible in the darkness.

(y/n) couldn’t help but sit outside her window a little longer, replaying the events of her night yet again, and wondering just how he figured out her name. ___

Megumi had resigned to sitting in the back of all of his classes for the rest of the year.

It’s not a huge deal, he can learn fine from any seat in the class, and as he realizes this he comes to realize that there was never really a good reason why he chose to sit near (y/n) before.  All of his complaints that she was an obnoxious bother had dissolved into… nothing.  He chose to sit near her every day.  Whether it was right behind her or two seats away, he couldn’t ignore the fact that he always chose to be near.

And now that he wasn’t, it was driving him crazy.  He longed to be closer, to sit behind her again, maybe even right next to her.  Had he really been so dense all this time? 

Though their interactions had been swindling since he’d put more focus into Spiderman than he had in school, (y/n) hadn’t spoken a word to him since their argument in the hall, and that was almost two weeks ago now.  

The last thing she’d said to him, she’d said to Spiderman, not Megumi.  Still, he tries to keep the soft, precious way she’d bid him goodnight in his memory.  He didn’t want to forget a single moment of the last time he’d spoken with her, not the things she said, not the way she touched his skin so delicately, and certainly not the kiss.

Megumi leans his chin into his hand now, fingers covering his mouth nonchalantly.  However when he presses the pads of his fingertips against his lips, it’s not the same.

They caught eyes here and there, but that wasn’t the same either.  He’d come into class late, she’d cast him a short glance, but it was always quickly returned to the front of the room.  Not so much as a taunting glare was directed his way.  It was safe to say he’d finally gotten her off his back… and he’s never felt like such an idiot.

It was worse outside of classes.

He’d spend his nights swinging around town, lazing through patrol, busting perps when they came around, but crime was dwindling by the day, it seemed.  He liked to think that Spiderman was making a difference, but he’d been a little rough around the edges lately, and he knew deep down his reputation was morphing into a ruthless fighter.  

Spiderman wasn’t just keeping peace, he was keeping criminals in fear.  Not that Megumi was perturbed by this- for one, he’d long held that reputation already, so living with it as Spiderman felt no different.  Secondly, the quiet nights were comforting.

The free time was starting to become a problem, though.  He couldn’t stop himself from trying to visit her.  He’d be aimlessly swinging and the next thing he knew he was on her block, near her building, almost approaching the very fire escape at her window where they’d last seen each other.  It’s difficult to make himself turn around and swing the other way, especially on the clear nights when he can see her light is on, and he knows she’s awake.

She’d kept her promise, it seemed.  He’d swing by often enough to notice the flicker of a tv screen, just close enough to know she was home and safe, but he tried not to linger too long.  He didn’t want her seeing him checking in, and he definitely didn’t like the idea of sitting outside her window like a creep.

More than that, he feared that she’d be delighted to see him again.

It had been a week since that night on her fire escape- with the rescue, the kiss- and Megumi really tried to keep his distance.  He indulged himself in passing by her window more times than he could count, but he was careful to keep himself hidden, so she would have no idea his watchful eye was never too far.  If he kept this up, he hoped that she would forget about it altogether.  That’s what would be for the best.

Sitting across the street perched on the roof of a building like it was the most natural place in the world to sit, Megumi dropped his chin in his hand as he stared longingly at the only lit up window in the apartment building across the street.  At this point, he’d probably spent more time looking at that window than he had in his own home.

He didn’t want to forget about what happened.  He didn’t want her to forget about what happened.

His mask crumpled in his other hand, he tore his gaze away from the window to stare down at it, cursing it mentally for giving him everything only to ruin it.

It wasn’t Spiderman’s fault, though.  Megumi was just as much responsible for the rift he’d put between himself and (y/n), long before that damned spider bite.  He’d always pushed her off, kept her at arm’s length or further, if he could help it.  He was the one stubborn enough to never let anyone in.  He was the one that pushed her into treating him with the same insufferable attitude he’d directed at her, way back then.  So much could change within a year, he supposed that was true for everyone, but he couldn’t ward off the self pity that came over him, thinking he’d surely changed too much within a year.

At the feeling of the first raindrop hitting his exposed head, he sighed, running a hand through his hair to dry the following drops of water before pulling his mask over his head again.  Of course it’s going to start raining on him when he’s sitting here feeling bad about himself.

He doesn’t intend to get any closer to her building, being right across the street already felt too close, but with the extra cover of the rain starting to pick up, Megumi thought maybe tonight he could get away with being just a little closer.  Just close enough to make sure she was okay in there.  He might not be able to do anything about her sleepless nights… but it couldn’t hurt to check, right? He would leave as soon as he was sure, and then he would try not to return.

He’s not stupid enough to climb directly onto her fire escape- but then again his being here was pretty stupid already so what was one more idiot move? Instead Megumi perches himself on the one above it, opting to hang over the bottom of it just enough that he could peek through the window.

To his surprise, even though her tv is on along with the rest of the lights in her room, (y/n) is nowhere in sight.  He doesn’t think much of this at first, she very well could be in the bathroom, or the kitchen.  But just as he tries to rationalize her disappearance, the hair on the back of his neck stands up, and in the next second her window was sliding open.

“Boo!” 

Her whisper yell as she leans out the window and towards his dangling head is comparable to that of a child’s.  Completely un-scary, and followed by a string of delighted giggles.

Megumi freezes, and he would’ve fallen right off the fire escape if his reflexes didn’t have him shooting out a web of safety to hang by.  He’s still upside down, swinging in front of her, but (y/n) leans out further to steady his movement by his shoulders.

“Scared ya good, huh?” She muses.  Her grin was a sight for sore eyes.  “Serves you right, stalking a girl like that” 

“I wouldn’t call it stalking” 

“What would you call it then?” 

Her hands are still pressed against his shoulders.  Megumi’s not sure if it’s to keep him from swinging, or if she was keeping her own balance as she leaned the upper half of her body out her window.

“... is it a crime to visit people?” 

“Usually when they’re trying to creep in through a window” She quips back.  Her smile only seems to brighten the longer she looks at him- even if she did sort of just call him a creep.

“For the record I wasn’t trying to get in” He corrects, his own smile beginning to grow under his mask.  He couldn’t deny how good it felt to see her like this again, to be able to talk to her, even just look at her.

“Just spy from the outside?” 

“I don’t like the narrative you’re spinning,” Megumi scoffs.  “What happened to honest journalism, hm?” 

She giggles at that.  The corners of her eyes crinkle as she gazes at him fondly.  He liked this side of her banter- the playful side.  It was fun.

“So you think you can honestly say you missed me, Spidey?” She asks in a voice made of pure sugar.  It rots his teeth, melts his insides, and makes all his senses go fuzzy.

“I thought we weren’t going the nickname route” He deadpans, avoiding the question.

With her smile pursing to the corner of her lips, something about her demeanor changed then.

“It’s only fair, since you know my name,” Her tone is just as light, but her eyes are calculating, and Megumi knows he’s slipped up.  And again just now, by not having a quick enough response.  “And I’m certain I didn’t give it to you… so… how do you explain that one?”

“Did you think I wasn’t going to have an interest in figuring that out?” Megumi chuckles, hoping he could play it off.

(y/n) presses further out her window, far enough now that the rain starts to dampen her hair, but she appears to pay it no mind.

“I don’t like it when you’re cryptic, Spidey” She huffs.

Again, Megumi laughs.

“It sort of comes with the whole anonymity thing” He answers.

She tilts her head at him, as if she could study him even with the mask on.  Megumi couldn’t deny the paralyzing effect it had on him.

“Why does it feel like you’re a stranger to me… but I’m not one to you?” She asks him slowly, as though still debating on asking him at all.  “Why does it feel like you know me?” 

“You do talk a lot” 

Megumi’s grasping at straws now, but at least that gets a small laugh out of her.  He hopes it’s enough of a distraction, hopes that she lets things go back to the way they were.  He didn’t need her trying to put together the puzzle that was Spiderman, it couldn’t lead to anything good.

“You know what I mean,” She murmurs.  She raises a hand off of his shoulder, reaching for the hem of his mask in a way that wasn’t supposed to feel familiar to him.  “You think you’d ever tell me?” She asks as her fingers toy with the material’s edge.

“Who I am?” Megumi asks dumbly.  Besides the raindrops slowly running down her face, there’s no change in her expression.  There’s a glimmer of hope in her eye as her fingers slip under the mask, not quite lifting it yet, but holding it with the clear intention to do so.

The silence lingers until she has her answer, and Megumi thinks this might be the damning moment that he’s been trying to brace himself for.  She’ll probably rip his mask right off, and then who knows how she’d react upon seeing it was him all this time.  He knew he was faster than her, he could easily swing away before she could have the chance.

A nervous, breathless laugh breaks tension, and she gently peels the mask towards his chin.

“I guess I’ll just have to figure it out on my own, then” She muses playfully.

“An investigative journalist now, are we?” Megumi asks, but there’s no time for further banter when she’s got his mask bunched up at his nose and that’s all the further it needs to go before he’s meeting her lips in a wet kiss.

The rain was not a welcomed experience, it had (y/n) shivering and it was irritating Megumi’s now exposed nose.  It made their kiss slippery and messy, and with him still being upside down it didn’t exactly make things any easier.

Neither of them cared.

All of (y/n’s) interests lied in kissing him and then kissing him again- she couldn’t help it, even if he outright refused to tell her his name, he kissed her like a dream.

Shaky, wet palms steadied on either side of his face, trying to pull him even closer.  He follows her direction as best he can, but with his hands still occupied with the web to keep him from crashing onto her fire escape, Megumi’s left with his neck craned as far forward as he could push.  If he hadn’t held onto the last scrap of his sanity he would’ve dropped down from the railing and crawled right through her window.

He was getting carried away.

“(y)- (y/n)-” Her name is whispered soft and broken into her lips, and she knows this is his way of ending whatever this is, but she can’t help but leave him with one last lingering kiss.  He doesn’t push her away, doesn’t even go still against her kiss.  He waits, all too patiently, until she has to lean back and catch her breath.

“You’re going to leave,” She says softly.  It’s not a question, she already knows.  He might think that he’s difficult to read, with his monotone comments and the mask that’s easy to hide behind, but he wasn’t as great of a mystery as he might think.

He frowns.  It looks a little awkward upside down.  (y/n) gives him a sad smile and carefully maneuvers his mask back into place.  It doesn’t take long before she misses the small glimpse of his face that she was allowed to see.

“Why do I get the feeling that I’m not going to see you again?” She sighs.

The raindrops on her face could easily be mistaken for tears.  Megumi slides his hand out of her hair to dry her face, and he can’t keep away the memory of him drying her actual tears.

“You will,” He assures her, but the nagging feeling doesn’t quite go away.  “You just… might not know it” 

A lump forms in Megumi’s throat when he says it, and it only grows when her eyes light up with intrigue.

“Is that a hint, Spiderman?” She muses, and he chuckles, shaking his head.

“Get some sleep” He encourages, already lifting himself onto the fire escape of her upstairs neighbor.  Disobediently, she pushes herself further out her window to follow his movements. 

“I will see you again?” She asks as she looks up at him, not minding the pelting of raindrops soaking through her clothes and hair.

Against his better judgment- as things always seem to be when it comes to her- Megumi nods his head.  He doesn’t say a word before swinging away, knowing he’d overstayed his welcome by a longshot.  Even without looking back, he can feel (y/n’s) eyes on him as she watches from her window.

And when he thinks about it, he can still feel her lips against his. ___

(y/n’s) not sure of the last time she walked into her 8am class and saw Megumi had gotten there before her.  It stops her in her tracks, still in the doorway, staring at the boy hunched over his desk in the back of the class scribbling in his notebook at an alarming rate.

Wait… was he cram studying for their test today? 

She scoffs, and he lifts his head to give her a bored glare.  Of course he’d noticed her when she’d come in- he’d heard her coming from the hallway- but he wasn’t about to give her the reaction she wanted.

And it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his expression hardened and neutral when it came to her, so Megumi had been trying to avoid looking at her completely.

Keyword, trying.

“Don’t tell me you actually didn’t study” She says, a knowing little grin tugging at the corners of her lips as she looks him up and down.

Megumi holds his blank stare for as much longer as he’s capable of before turning his attention back to his notebook, pen scrawling loudly yet again.  (y/n’s) brows raise at the intensity at which he was writing, shocked that her assumptions seemed to be proven correct.

“Wow” She mumbles to herself, before walking straight to the back of the class.  

Megumi tries to ignore her, she probably just wanted to click her tongue at him in disapproval before she’d go pick out her favorite seat and ignore him for the rest of the period.  But she’s approaching so quickly and suddenly she’s leaning over his desk and he has half a mind to cover his work, as if there was any kind of damning evidence there.

She eyes the messy notes before glancing up at him, his gaze already set on her.  For a moment it pins her in place, has her freezing up just as she had a moment ago, but the feeling melts before she could question the severity in his eyes.

“If you want to borrow my notes, you’ll have to ask” He tells her, his voice unwavering and devoid of any emotion.  She rolls her eyes at the typical behavior.

“Unlike you, I cared enough to study last night” She replies, and she’s just about to turn on her heel when the unexpected happens, and Megumi actually has a response.

“That so?” 

His change in tone irks her, and she can’t put her finger on why.  But the tilt of intrigue matched with the way he smirks has her heating up.

Out of irritation, of course.

“Duh,” Her arms cross over her chest defensively.  “I’ve been studying all week” 

Even as Megumi resumes his note taking, his stupid smirk is still plastered on his face.  If she was more inclined to violence, (y/n) would’ve wanted to smack it right off.

“I’m sure you have” He mumbles, watching out of his peripheral vision as her arms shoot down to her sides, hands balled into fists as she gasps and gapes at him.  Clearly, she took offense to the comment, and he had to bite back the chuckle at it.

“What are you trying to say?” She snaps at him, but she’s not nearly as intimidating as she wants to be.

“Didn’t really say anything,” He replies, tone holding no emotion again.  “You just started freaking out” 

“I’m not freaking out,” Her eyes narrowed.  “God, why do you have to be so-” 

Before she can finish he looks up at her again, and again it’s like he’s stunned her with the way his gaze seems to pierce right through her.  He looks pleased with himself, too, as if he was just dying to hear what she was going to come up with.

Peculiarly enough, her throat goes dry, and she can’t quite remember how she was going to finish that sentence.  Megumi must figure her out, too, because his smirk almost resembles a smile now, and her heated skin was starting to become unbearable.

“So…?” Megumi repeats curiously, hoping to egg her into finishing her thought.

(y/n) huffs, shaking her head in her agitated defeat before turning around and marching towards her usual seat.

Megumi returns to his work with a smile on his face.  Her preference for Spiderman might’ve been clear as day, but there was something satisfying about knowing one way or another, he had a knack for getting her worked up.z

___

Despite her hopes reaching impossible heights, (y/n) hadn’t gotten another visit from Spiderman in quite some time.  It had been about two weeks now, and she hadn’t noticed even a shadow outside her bedroom window.

She gives him the benefit of the doubt, because for some reason unknown to her she’d grown to care for him enough to make every excuse necessary.  He was doing important work out there, she’d tell herself while sitting at her window, longing eyes looking for any sign of life out in the sleeping city.  It wasn’t like he had all the time in the world to spend on her.

Or while wandering the halls from class to class, while her eyes were trying to catch every stranger that walked passed, she hoped to find some flicker of familiarity in anyone.  It might’ve been naive of her to think he could be as close to her as being another student at her school, but she couldn’t help herself.  She couldn’t stop the ‘what ifs’ from plaguing her mind.  She was so full of hope it was rotting her from the inside out.

Her focus was never quite all there.  In class she’d mindlessly take notes, her attention shifting about the room, trying to catch the feeling of being watched, but she always came up empty handed.  There were no eyes on her, she concluded after days of paranoid searching.  It was just a placebo effect her mind had come up with in her hoping to find him.

As if she was just going to happen upon him as easily as looking at him and knowing.

It was the same even around her friends.  The usual group she’d sit with at lunch had noticed her change in demeanor, but not knowing how to bring it up to her they tended to continue on conversing as if she wasn’t actively ignoring them as she searched the cafe.

“What are you looking for?” One of them had asked one day, a slight wince on their face when she startled and turned towards them again, as if she’d completely forgotten where she was.

“Oh, nothing,” Her reply was less than convincing.  “Just spacing, I guess” 

Maybe that part was sort of true, but it wasn’t a good enough excuse for anyone to take her seriously anyways.  So she was left alone to barely pick at her lunch and scan the cafe with an undeniable skip in her heartbeat.

(y/n) was starting to think she was going crazy, but it was like an itch she couldn’t scratch.  She just had a feeling that she was close, and to stop her from chasing that feeling would take a force her lunchtime friends weren’t able to muster up.

Her grades had yet to be affected, but her uptick in strange behavior wasn’t going unnoticed.  Her participation had dipped dramatically, some of her classes actually dragging on in near silence as no other students filled the gaps of her incessant questions and comments.  It was clear to her professors and peers that behind her wandering eyes was a void of class-related thoughts.  Whatever was occupying her every passing minute, had nothing to do with her studies.  But she maintained her perfect grade point average so effortlessly it was difficult to reprimand her for her lack of attention in each class.

Megumi had watched from the background as her sanity seemed to slip further and further.  At first, it had been a bit amusing.  He’d noticed right away, the way her eyes caught every guy walking into class, the way she seemed to pick each one apart with only her eyes.  She must have been gauging whether or not she deemed every one of them capable of being Spiderman.  It was hard not to smile to himself when she’d ultimately look away from each one, unconvinced.  

One was too short, the next too tan, another just didn’t have the right vibe, Megumi wished he could read her thoughts as she scrutinized each passerby in silence.  He was never too far from her, so it was easy to watch the hope radiating off of her as she tried to find the source of the eyes on her.  Luckily for Megumi’s rapid senses, he was always facing another direction when her gaze flickered his way.  Not that she ever quite looked at him the way she looked at the others.  He could feel her eyes sweeping right past him, pausing on a boy sitting just a few seats to his left instead.  But yet again she was facing away and trying to come up with someone else.

Megumi wondered why it was that she felt so sure Spiderman was in this very school with her.  Tokyo was a heavily populated place, and he knew she was smarter than to assume he was this close to her all this time.

(Of course… he was… but how could she have any idea of that?) 

With every passing day she seemed a little more dazed.  Which was an interesting look on a know-it-all like her.  Her interest in the world around her took a nosedive, and it was obvious to a watcher like Megumi.  She looked like a gray spot surrounded by the bright yellow of her lunch table.  She stuck out like a sore thumb in every class, finally having learned to pipe down and retreat in on herself.  She didn’t look depressed, it was just clear as day that her interests were on anything but what was going on around her.

Again, he’s entertained by this for some time.  There’s a swell of pride and something warm and new in his chest whenever he sees her so openly looking for him.  Hopeful eyes scanning every crowd, every class, only to never properly focus on him.  He should feel relief that he doesn’t seem to be even a passing possibility to her.  Instead, all he feels is a few skips in his heartbeat knowing she thought he was someone worth searching for.

Well, Spiderman was someone worth searching for, at least.

But the entertainment drains fast when her preoccupied mind lands her crashing into someone in the cafe.  A freezing cold iced coffee is dumped all over the front of her pretty blouse, ruining it instantaneously.  Megumi happens to look up just as the incident takes place, the hair on the back of his neck standing up on alert and his eyes finding her in the crowd in a moment’s notice, just in time to watch her crash.

And just as she steps away from the person she’s crashed into, her focus shifted to her soaked and stained shirt, an unsettled feeling crawls over Megumi’s skin as he notices who it was she just so happened to run into.

The frat boy that had been bugging her not too long ago.  The annoying guy, yeah, that one.  Megumi was pretty damn sure this run in wasn’t as accidental as it looked, but he stayed seated at his empty table, with faux attention on the book in his hand.

His eyes hadn’t returned to the page since his little sixth sense had drawn them towards the whole situation.  It’s upsetting that he isn’t surprised to see that when (y/n) hurries out of the cafe, Fratboy follows.

He huffs, shutting his book without marking it and tossing it haphazardly into his bag.  He hadn’t even gotten to finish his lunch.  Maybe he could sneak a few bites in his next class.

(y/n’s) trying not to tear up as she rushes into the empty corridor outside of the cafe.  It wasn’t like her to cry over a stained shirt, but it was just so embarrassing to have to go the rest of her day with the obvious mark.  Not to mention it was cold and wet and sticking to her skin and- jesus, of course it was soaked through enough that the black bra she wore was visible now.  

Even as she pried the material forward off of her skin, she could still feel the sticky remnants of coffee underneath.  It wasn’t like she had a spare outfit in her car, and she still had three classes left in her day.  Was she really stuck in this wet shirt until then? 

“Sorry princess, it was an accident, swear!” 

And to make matters worse, it appears she’d been followed.

(y/n) can’t help the groan of frustration as she releases the material of her shirt, letting it stick to her torso again.

“It’s… it’s fine, it’s whatever” She grumbles, waving off the guy she recognized as the cafe bother, or so she coined in her mind, never having gotten his name during all the times he’d hit on her.  There’s not much sincerity in her words, but she doesn’t need him lingering around while she tries to decide what to do.

“I did try to dodge ya, but you really weren’t looking where you were going,” He continues, despite her obvious disinterest in his entire presence.  “Is there anything I can do?” 

He comes closer and on instinct she backs away.  Her expression alarmed and eyes cautious when he pressed closer anyways.  It’s not that she thinks he’s going to hurt her, but she doesn’t want him any closer than arms’ length.  Ten feet would be nice, but unless she wanted to draw more attention to herself by turning and booking it down the hall, arms’ length would have to do.

“No” She answers, as firm as she can get herself to be.  To her, this is the part where he should walk away.

He looks apologetic as he steps forward again, but this time her step backward has her almost up against a wall, and now her senses are on high alert.  Discomfort courses through her, a feeling worse than the cold coffee sticking to her skin.

“C’mon, I could at least help you get out of your-” 

Fratboy doesn’t get a chance to finish his statement when a harsh grip lands on his shoulder and pries his body to move with ease.  His initial reaction is to fight back against the force, but he doesn’t get to do that either, as he’s spun around and shoved into the wall.

Even the snarl on his expression disappears when it’s Fushiguro Megumi that presses in close and keeps him pinned to the wall.  His bruising grip is replaced by his entire forearm caged against his collarbone, just barely pressing against his throat.

A yelp dies in the back of (y/n’s) throat as the whole thing happens in a matter of seconds.  It’s as if she blinks and suddenly Megumi’s there prying this guy out of her personal space as if he was personally offended by the act.

“H-hey man, what the hell is your problem?” The waver in Fratboy’s voice is embarrassingly clear.  Megumi would laugh if he was in a joking mood.  He’s not.

His hard expression is terrifying up close.  (y/n’s) standing just a few feet away and even she feels a slight shiver go down her spine.

“Pricks like you,” Megumi mutters, and Fratboy swallows a fat lump in his throat.  “Skipping around like you’re hot shit and get to have anything you want.  Pretentious pricks” He spits the last part out through clenched teeth.

All (y/n) can think about were the rumors from last year.  The guy Megumi supposedly put in the hospital.  Those rumors had been enough to have people steer clear from him.  She didn’t even let herself get too close when pressing his buttons, even if intrigue plagued her mind.

“I didn’t- I didn’t do anything!” Fratboy tries to raise his voice, a pitiful attempt at puffing his chest and making him appear more of a fighter than he really was.  His head swivels, wide eyes landing on (y/n), who was stuck frozen watching it all unfold.  “Tell him!” He shouts at her, and she startles just a little.  Not because she was afraid of the demand, but because as soon as it came out of his mouth, Megumi’s foot brought enough force to have the guy’s legs straighten up, which in turn kept him further back into the wall.

If Megumi could push the guy clean through the white painted brick, he’d be a bloody mess stuck inside of the concrete already.

“Don’t look at her,” The command comes out in a growl.  Megumi didn’t need to raise his voice to sound tough.  His brows are furrowed tight and low over his piercing eyes, which were half the force keeping Fratboy against this wall.  “Humor me, prick,” Megumi asks, making sure his attention couldn’t be drawn back towards (y/n) a second time.  “How come your shirt’s so pressed ‘n clean?” 

The guy’s lip wobbles a bit before he manages a small “H-huh?” 

“Your shirt,” Megumi’s voice is colder this time for having to repeat himself.  “How come it’s so clean?” 

“I- I- because I do my laundry?” He asks weakly.

Megumi rolls his eyes, letting them fall shut as his head tilts towards the high ceiling.  This guy had to be joking.

“Wrong answer,” He huffs.  “I’m gonna let you go, and you’re gonna go buy yourself another overpriced pretentious fucking coffee, got that?” 

Fratboy’s brows furrow, but he nods his head shakily in response.  Perhaps Megumi’s arm was pressed too hard against his chest, and he was finally out of air.  Megumi could only hope.

“And you’re gonna take that coffee and dump it over your head” 

“What!? I’m not-” 

“So you’d rather take the beating?” Megumi asks before the guy could protest too much.  His brows are raised, his interest genuinely piqued.  He had no problem with either option.  Having this prick walk around with a broken nose or an expensive shirt with a big brown coffee stain seemed like a win-win situation to him.

It’s clear that Fratboy remembers the last prick that pissed off Fushiguro Megumi, and he must remember that he wasn’t given options, because the back of his head defeatedly hits the wall behind him when he mutters out his choice.

Megumi gives him a solid nod, and he only pushes him a little bit when he drops his arm and steps back so he was free to leave.

Fratboy only takes a step and a half.

“Forgetting something?” Megumi barks, hard eyes freezing him in place before he could get close to re-entering the cafe.

Fratboy awkwardly maintains the eye contact, confusion clear in his features.  Megumi jerks his head towards (y/n), who’s silence evidently hadn’t made her invisible to the two.

“Oh, s-sorry- I’m sorry” 

It’s a weak ass apology, but Fratboy assumes it’s acceptable enough because when he rushes himself back into the cafe Megumi doesn’t stop him again.  He gets a few odd stares as he gets in line for a coffee with apprehensive eyes and his hands anxiously buried in his pockets, but he keeps his head down the entire time.

“Wh- why did you do that?” (y/n’s) mumble is the only sound in the empty hallway.  Her voice wants to stay stuck in her throat, but when it’s clear that Megumi isn’t going to give her an explanation- or say anything at all- she forces herself to ask.

His eyes fix on her, and an odd sensation settles over her.  All the previous fear and anxiety melts away.  She’d gone so rigid, her sense of fight or flight disappearing completely and keeping her stuck in place hoping she wasn’t going to be witness to a nasty fight.  But she hadn’t expected that.  Megumi’s intensity had been terrifying, even if it wasn’t directed at her, standing by and watching it had her throat closing up and her heart racing.

But he’d hardly even hurt the guy, just… humiliated him.  Still, it was just as shocking to watch.

And now, being alone with him and trapped under his stare, what she feels isn’t fear.  It’s… curiosity.

His eyes wander over her, reassuring himself that she was fine, maybe just a little shaken up by the whole thing.  She was probably more embarrassed than anything.  He could live with that, as long as she was safe.  He just couldn’t have placed his trust in that frat prick.

“I don’t like assholes” Megumi answers, his voice as monotone as ever, as if he hadn’t just scared the shit out of that guy for her.

The lump in her throat grew hot as the realization struck her.  He’d done all that for her? 

“Well- well yeah, but…” Her brows furrow, her head shakes ever so slightly as she tries to put her thoughts to words.  “But he didn’t do anything, just… was an asshole” 

“You don’t know that” His reply was quick but his tone didn’t shift.

(y/n’s) eyes widen, the furrow in her brow smooths out, and she’s at a loss for words as she keeps staring at him.

You have no idea what he was capable of doing.  Spiderman’s words repeat in her mind now as if he were standing right there saying them to her.  It’s uncanny how similar his warning was to Megumi’s just now.

“He probably would’ve fucked off if I told him to” She makes a weak argument in an attempt to fill the overbearing silence.

Megumi doesn’t say anything, just beckons her to follow him as he takes off in quick strides down the hall.  She should probably tell him to fuck off, but her curiosity gets the best of her, and she finds herself hurrying to catch up to him.  He’s not walking all that fast, but his stride is significantly longer than hers, and she finds herself out of breath as they round the corner and he enters the first empty classroom they come across.

“Maybe next time you’ll learn the lesson and tell him to fuck off, then” Megumi grumbles, more to himself than to her, but she takes offense nonetheless.

“Well sorry I wasn’t expecting you to show up out of nowhere and threaten the guy” She mutters back.

Megumi scoffs before shrugging his backpack off his shoulder.  (y/n) watches his every movement as he opens it up and digs around inside of it.  She wants to ask what he was looking for, but her words are stuck in her throat again, and this time she can’t get them to come out.

“I didn’t threaten anybody, relax,” He tells her in a voice that could’ve been more comforting, but it was at least steady and sure.  “It should make you feel better that he’s probably gone and made a fool of himself, now” He adds.

“Oh, thank you for that” She replies sarcastically.

“You’re welcome” Megumi replies in complete seriousness.

She opens her mouth, gaping at him, probably about to lay into him for taking her clear mockery as sincerity, but before she can he finally produces what he’d been looking for.

A tee shirt.

She blinks in dumbfounded silence as she stares at the plain black material in his hand.  His brows are raised in an impatient expression, but she doesn’t take the offer right away.

He sighs.  He’ll just have to do all the work, huh?

“Would you rather go the rest of the day in that?” He asks, nodding to the obvious mess of her shirt.

“It- it’s not that bad” She argues, her stubbornness forever getting in her own way.

“It’s going to reek of coffee” 

“I happen to like the- the coffee bean scent-” 

“It won’t be anything like that” 

“It’s not even that wet anymore” 

“I can see your whole bra now” 

That does the trick in shutting her up, her head snapping downward to reassess the damage done. The groan she lets out morphs into a whine before she looks up at the balled up shirt in his hand.  He vaguely stretches it towards her, and with a huff she snatches it right out of his hands.

As soon as he turns his back to her, busying himself with closing up his backpack, she’s peeling the ruined shirt over her head and quickly shrugging into the fresh tee shirt.

Besides the ridiculous proportion, she’s quick to notice the scent that clings to it.  She dips her head once it’s covered her, trying to place a name to the smell of fresh laundry.  Pine? Is this what pine smelled like? A part of her hated how good it smelled, how addicting it was to keep taking small sniffs.

“I’m… dressed” She says quietly when she’s gotten enough sniffs in and realizes that Megumi’s still just standing there.

When he turns, his eyes wander over figure not so subtly, but his expression is unchanging.  Even if his brain is going haywire seeing her in his clothes.  It’s just a tee shirt, but he takes a mental picture.

He realizes she must not wear black very often.  It’s striking on her.  It must be why his mouth has gone dry and he has to force himself to look her in the eye.

“Good?” He asks, already turning to leave the classroom.

She can’t believe he’s going to leave just like that.  It felt like nothing had been resolved here- and if anything, she only had more questions.  She doesn’t know what to say to make him stay, she’s not even sure he would stay if she asked him to.  He didn’t exactly seem to have any interest in being around her… ever… but then why had he put himself through all this trouble? Her muddled mind was a mystery, but the puzzled look on her face gave Megumi enough of an inclination to linger for just a minute longer.

“What?” He sighs, but her confusion is still plastered on her face.

“I… I don’t know…” Her voice is barely a mumble.  It doesn’t match the way her face tilts and shifts into something different.  She takes a step closer to him, a bold and large one, putting herself far closer to him than she ever would’ve imagined doing before.  She was supposed to keep a certain distance, Fushiguro Megumi had a reputation after all… but something was different.

This wasn’t the Fushiguro Megumi that she knew and despised.  In fact, this was a completely new person.  He was… familiar.

Megumi doesn’t step back when she draws in closer, but his neck leans backwards with apprehension, chin tilting lower to keep his eyes on her every movement.  It’s not like she’s able to do anything, there’s no mask to be ripped off, no secret identity to be figured out just from her stare alone, and yet something makes a pit grow in his stomach when she gets too close for comfort.

He’s never been this close to her.  Not without the wall of protection that was the Spiderman mask.

There’s nothing stopping him from walking away.  There was no harm in leaving her stranded in a classroom.  But something keeps him there anyways.  Something keeps him waiting for her to explain herself.

Her eyes drop his gaze, but they don’t fall far.  They land just a few inches lower, he can feel the prick of the daggers they stare against his lips.  Subconsciously he licks over them to soothe the ache of their sudden dryness.  Her look wanders just a little bit, but never too far.  Mapping out his chin and jawline, quickly down his neck and then back up again to his lips.

“What the hell are you doing?” He finally finds his voice when she leans in a little closer.  Not quite close enough to kiss him, but close enough that she could lean in if she wanted to.

(y/n) snaps out of it instantly, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushing when she looks at him properly again and realizes what she’d been doing.

Fushiguro Megumi? Spiderman? God, what was she thinking? 

“N-nothing” She stammers out, and before he could call her out and further her embarrassment, she brushes past him to make a quick exit out of the room.

Megumi’s left alone, his own cheeks flaring up with heat, but he can’t pinpoint what exactly causes the blushing, and he doesn’t really want to stand around to figure out why. ___

Megumi doesn’t show up to the last few classes of the day.  (y/n) notices.

Her fingers pinch at the hem of the tee shirt he’d given her, rolling the soft cotton over the pads of her fingers in contemplation.  Her focus on uncovering Spiderman’s identity during class has dwindled, but she’s not paying any attention to her studies, either.

For the last few hours of her day, she replays the events of the day in her mind on fast forward and rewind, over and over, trying to find something she felt she missed.

When had Megumi followed her out of the cafe? Had he seen what happened? Why was he so angry? Why was he so kind to her? Why was he so… 

It’s on the tip of her tongue, the timing of it all, the peculiarity of it all.  She knew she just had to be missing something.

Her trip home is quicker than usual, her steps as fast paced as her racing mind.  What was it? What was it that she wasn’t seeing? 

It was so close she could feel it looming right over shoulders. ___

Never before had she sought out Fushiguro Megumi.  But (y/n) couldn’t get the feeling to go away no matter how hard she tried, and she feared the only way out was through.

She didn’t want to confirm her assumptions without any proper evidence to base it all on, and she had a feeling that he was a pretty good liar, so she’d have to get creative with catching him.  The best way to start, she figures, is by getting him alone.

It takes longer than she hopes.  Megumi’s not an easy person to approach and he appears to like it that way.  She stares him down when he comes in late to their first class, and his eyes catch hers for a moment longer than usual, but without a change in his expression it’s hard for her to get a good read on him.  He takes his seat in the back of the class and she can’t get him to look at her again, no matter how many times she turns her gaze over her shoulder to steal another look at him.

After a few more classes with the same outcome, she supposes she’ll just have to wait until they break for lunch.  He’s always sitting alone there, so she has her hopes up that it will be easier to sit down and prove it then.

But of course today is the day he’s not seated at his usual corner table all to himself.  She waltzes into the cafe with nothing but confidence, and it’s ripped away from her when she sees that gloomy table empty.  She lingers for a few minutes, hoping to catch him walking in later than the rest, but he never comes.

With her confidence boiled down to irritation, she storms out of the cafe on a mission to have this ended once and for all.  She couldn’t possibly wait any longer, so one way or another, she was going to find and corner him.

The courtyard is empty at this time of day.  The weather was cloudy and with the high chance of rain in the next hour, no one wanted to spend their free time eating lunch or studying out there.

Ever the outlier, that’s where she happened to find Fushiguro Megumi.

She’s not sure if she should grin or grimace when she approaches the tree he’s sitting under.  He’s wearing his usual oversized headphones, and he’s got both his textbook and notebook opened.  He was the perfect image of don’t bother me.  (y/n) feels adrenaline coursing through her bloodstream as she rushes over to him.

It’s sort of strange.  Just a few days ago she would duck her head and keep walking if she happened to cross his path.  But it was like all of his intimidating qualities had just… disappeared.  Despite the vibe he was trying to put off, he didn’t seem as unapproachable anymore.  He didn’t seem as scary, although when she thinks about it long enough, (y/n) figures she’s probably the only person on this campus that interacted with him.  Even if it was to antagonize him, she’d never seen anyone else speak to him.

A few days ago, he was Fushiguro Megumi, the boy with the bad reputation and even worse attitude.  He was her academic rival, a thorn in her side that reminded her of faults just by existing.  Today, she thinks he might just be the boy she’s been falling head over heels for.  The one with careful words spoken by gentle lips.  The first person in a long time that actually made her feel seen, and a feeling of being understood could work wonders on a stubborn heart.

“Hey!” She hollers, and Megumi jolts as he looks up to find her walking up to him.  His expression scrunches up as he pulls his headphones down around his neck, and lowers his dual books.

“What do you want?” He asks, but the words aren’t nearly as harsh as he wants them to be.

She stops just before him, and invites herself to sit down beside his outstretched legs.  He wants to tell her that he’s busy, that he’s studying out here alone because he wants peace and quiet, but he’s silent as she drops her backpack in front of her and opens it up.

“Thought you’d want this back” She says, pulling out a familiar black tee shirt.  She hands it to him folded in a neat square.  He almost laughs, knowing that when he’d offered it to her it had been a crumpled up ball.

“Right” He says, but before he takes it, she pulls it back towards herself, unfolding it.  Megumi watches with furrowed brows.  Was she not giving it back? 

“I’ve just had this weird feeling lately,” She explains as she opens the shirt up completely.  Megumi’s confused expression flickers between her and the shirt.  “So I wanted to see something” 

She starts bunching up the black material then, which Megumi watches with growing bewilderment.  Why even fold it? What was this? 

“Okay…?” His voice trails off when she looks up at him again, and the next thing he knows she’s leaning in close, holding his tee shirt up to his face.  “What the- (y/n), what the hell are you doing?” 

She ignores his questioning and the way he tries to swat her hands from getting any closer, but it doesn’t stop her from doing exactly what she aimed to do.  Holding the black material up to cover half his face, from the bridge of his nose up, all that was left to see was his mouth down.

She couldn’t deny that it wasn’t a familiar sight, but it was hard to prove her theory on that alone, and she sighs.

“(y/n), this is annoying.  And weird,” Megumi starts, his hands wrapping around her wrists in a careful hold, but enough to start to pull her and the tee shirt she was trying to blindfold him with away.  “Can I have the shirt back or not- mmph!” 

Just as he thinks he’s put a stop to her weird antics, she takes him by complete surprise when she darts forward and presses her lips against his.  Megumi’s eyes go wide, although he’s still half hidden behind the shirt, he can’t help but keep them open as her soft lips move over his with familiar gentle passion.  His confusion melts away the longer she holds the kiss, and by the time he thinks he should put a stop to it, it’s already too late.  He’s connected the dots and so has she.

He sighs against her mouth, his fingers twitching around her wrists, unsure as to whether or not he should let her go or pull her in closer.  (y/n) breaks away from the kiss just as she releases his shirt.  They both let it drop to his lap, and she finally gets to see the whole picture.

His features have fallen to soft surprise as he gazes back at her, waiting for whatever was about to come.  He doesn’t know if he should brace himself for something good or something bad, but he does his best to put his walls up anyways.

Her own eyes are wide with recognition, flickering between his own troubled eyes and the lips she’d just spontaneously kissed.  Her tongue darts over her bottom lip thoughtfully, and for a second, Megumi thinks she’s going to give it a second try just to be sure.  She doesn’t have to say anything right away for him to know exactly what she was thinking.  She knew those lips.  She knew that kiss.  He’d gotten his cover blown over a kiss, of all things.

What he doesn’t expect is for (y/n) to let out a breathless laugh of delight, once the gears in her mind start to turn again.  Her eyes are glimmering with an excitement she couldn’t contain.

“I told you I’d figure it out!” She keeps her voice hushed, which he can tell takes a great deal of effort.

“You always go around kissing random people?” He mumbles, thinking maybe he can play it off, maybe there was still a chance of gaslighting her into thinking he wasn’t the masked webslinger that had been slowly sparking up a romance with her.  

There’s not even a small chance, though.  (y/n) pulls her hands out of his gentle hold just to reach for his face, curiously skimming over his jaw, and then down his shoulders.  His attempts at reaching for her hands again to stop her from practically running them all over him are weak, and it’s easy for her to ignore his clear attempts at stopping her.

“Wow, I almost can’t believe it,” She begins to mumble to herself, her eyes moving at rapid speeds as she puts the picture together in her mind.  The lips she’d memorized in the hopes of finding them again, only to find they were on Megumi’s face, she lets out a delirious string of giggles.  “I mean, it makes sense now, but it also doesn’t- why did you keep coming to see me?” 

Megumi opens his mouth, but he doesn’t get a single word out before she’s throwing more questions at him.

“Did you seriously think I wouldn’t figure it out? I’m top of the class you know, and you’re not exactly great at hiding things-” 

“Second to the top,” Megumi reminds her with a slight roll of his eyes.  “And it took you quite a while, you know” 

“Yeah, well, the secrecy thing was fun for a bit,” She argues.  “But you barely tried to hide it.  Coming into class looking like you got hit by a bus? What were you thinking?” 

“That you hated my guts and didn’t care if I did get hit by a bus?” He replies with a smartass smile.  Now it’s her turn to roll her eyes.

Her hands fall still against his collarbones, fingertips barely tapping against the base of his throat with her excitement.

“It was you this whole time…” She murmurs, but she doesn’t sound as disappointed as Megumi expects.  Her gentle eyes feel piercing as they stare at him thoughtfully, as if this was the first time she was really seeing him.  In a way, it sort of was.  “Were you ever going to tell me?” She asks quietly, and this time she does wait for him to say something.  

Megumi sighs, regarding her soft expression with thoughtfulness.  There was no coming back from this now.  She figured him out and he barely even tried to cover it up.  That was a hard thing to do once she’d kissed him, though.  She must’ve figured out his weakness, and happily used it against him..  Typical brat.

“I thought about it,” He says honestly.  “Just didn’t seem like a good idea,” 

The corners of her lips barely turn into a frown, and Megumi can’t help himself from reaching out to her, cradling her jaw in as light of a touch as he could bear.  It was different now, feeling her warm skin against his without hiding in a suit, behind a mask.  He knows she must feel it, too.

Everything was completely different now.  She must be upset with him, right? She must at least be discouraged in finding out it had been him all along.  Not someone with a better track record, maybe someone more attractive, or at least nice to her.  He wonders if she had her hopes up for a specific person.

“Are you upset?” He asks.  He doesn’t want to know all the answers to his questions, but he asks before he could shove down the curiosity and avoid it forever.

“Upset?” She repeats, brows furrowing momentarily with her confusion.  “What do you mean?” 

“Y’know,” He mumbles, long lashes flickering as his eyes fall to her lips for a moment.  He looks at her again before continuing.  “That it’s me.  That it’s been me” 

“Oh,” She hums, thinking for a second.  “Well… did you mean it all?” 

“Mean it all?” He repeats her now.  “You mean while I was Spiderman?” 

(y/n) nods in a small motion.

“Yeah… did you mean all the stuff you said… and did?” She adds the last part in an even quieter whisper than the rest, but the look in her eyes is so full of anticipation it speaks volumes over her voice.

“Yeah, of course,” Megumi answers without a shred of hesitation.  “Of course I did,” He says it again, leaning forward with emphasis, his eyes never leaving hers.  “(y/n), I didn’t want you finding out because I didn’t… I didn’t know that I would…” He trails off, his nerves starting to crawl up his throat for having to admit so many truths in one sitting.  This one seemed to be harder than the rest.  “I didn’t know I’d like you so much” 

She laughs, breathless and sweet, humored by such an honest confession.  It finally makes a real smile creep over his lips, relieved to see that her reaction was anything but negative.  His heart skips a beat, and his thumb trembles as he reaches to stroke it over her cheekbone.  He can’t help but want to pull her in closer, hold her properly, maybe even kiss her again.  It should scare him, that she knew the truth now, that he was vulnerable to her now, but right now all he feels is a weight lifted off his chest, and the lingering taste of her chapstick on his lips.

“I definitely didn’t plan on liking you so much either,” She admits softly, her cheeks burning with color.  Megumi can feel the heat in her skin when he presses the pad of his thumb further against her cheek.  “Are you mad about it?” 

“Mad?” He laughs, his smile becoming a full blown grin now as he leans in closer to her.  Her fingers curl into the material of his shirt as he draws her in closer, too.  Anticipation has her eyes flickering between his lips and the deep blue eyes that haven’t left hers since she’d kissed him.  “Mad about what? Getting to know you? The real you? And falling for you?” 

Her eyes grow wide as she stares back at him.  For a guy that hid behind a mask for weeks, he sure got comfortable putting his cards on the table fast.

“No, I’m not mad about it,” He answers her properly, closing enough distance in between them that his nose prodded against hers.  Her eyes fluttered shut before she could stop herself, her chin tilting forward to meet him the rest of the way.  “I’ve wanted nothing more than to be with you, like this, for real, since you brought me that dumb bag of vegetables” 

“It wasn’t dumb, there wasn’t ice” She argued.  Her lips had just been brushing over his in the ghost of a kiss before she jerked away to argue some more.  Ever so stubborn, he thinks with nothing but fondness for her.

Megumi doesn’t let her go far, pulling her right back in until her lips landed on his, and all further arguments died on her tongue.  Her hands relaxed their hold on his shirt as her lips moved against his with muscle memory.  Soft and so pliable, she melted right against him, leaning closer and closer until they were chest to chest, and Megumi moved his free arm to wrap around the dip in her back, keeping her tucked as close to him as he could without disconnecting their lips.

She finally gets to card her hands through his hair, scraping her nails over the nape of his neck before pushing the longer strands between her fingers.  It becomes impossibly messier than usual, but Megumi only hums in delight as she messes it all up.  He must’ve always wanted more, too.

Her fingers tangle in his hair and she doesn’t let up even when they part to catch their breath.  Megumi stays close, his forehead resting against hers as he pants over her lips, leaving her still wanting more.

“You know I still have a million questions, right?” She murmurs, and Megumi can’t help but place the softest of kisses against her lips as she speaks, even if he was still breathless.

“I don’t feel like sitting and talking right now” He mumbles, chasing her lips for another kiss.  She giggles, kissing him back but not nearly as long as he would’ve liked.  Pulling away all too soon, she stares at him with wide eyes.

“I mean, how do the webs work?” 

“(y/n), we have class in ten minutes, that’s not nearly enough time to get into it all,” He sighs, his hands smoothing over her hips and trying to draw her closer again.  “Can’t we just enjoy this a little longer, and talk about all of that later?” 

Huffing, (y/n) leans back in, and it makes Megumi smile if only for a moment.  She stops short just before her lips could touch his.

“So… did Spiderman put that guy in a hospital last year?” 

Megumi groans, dropping his head back against the trunk of the tree.  She wasn’t going to let this go, and that reputation was going to follow him forever, it seemed.

“Alright.  C’mon, we’re headed to class,” He prompted her to grab her things and stand with him, but she kept her hands in his hair too secure for him to want to stand up.  “(y/n), I promise I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, later-” 

“Let’s just skip class” She suggests, all too eagerly for a girl that bragged about being at the top of their class.

“Yeah, right,” Megumi scoffs, but when her expression doesn’t waver, his face falls and he stares at her bewildered.  “You’re not serious…?” 

“Why not?” She replies.  “We can afford to miss a couple classes,” It’s not a bad argument, Megumi’s just shocked to hear her say it at all.  “And.. I want to be the first one to get an exclusive interview with Spiderman” She giggles, and Megumi huffs, giving her a bored look.

“I’d rather go to class” 

“And we can make out” 

“... I guess some catching up isn’t a bad idea” 

It takes them some time to gather their things and get going, only because (y/n) insisted on keeping her hands on him in one way or another, but even if Megumi pretended to be annoyed it wasn’t a believable performance.  He kept her close with his arm wrapped firm around her as they made their way off campus quickly, hoping to beat the rain.

“You know, I’m thinking of calling you the Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman when I write about you,” (y/n) tells him on their walk to her apartment.  “Has a nice ring to it” 

Megumi laughs humorlessly.

“Not sure it paints a very accurate picture,” He tells her, brows raised as he watches her pout up at him.  “But you’re kinda gonna be my publicist, so I guess I’ll take what I can get” 

“Hey! I thought you said you were falling for me” (y/n) sasses back.  Megumi bites the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling too hard.  He tosses his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer as they walk.

“That was off the record” He mumbles.

She beams up at him, he pulls her a little closer into his side, keeping an eye on her only from his peripheral vision.  He couldn’t be getting too sappy with the way he looked at her now, he’d grown too used to having a mask to hide the dreamy look in his eye.  Now though, it was completely on display for her to see.

(y/n) quite liked the view that she got now that he was mask-free.  She’d always had her suspicions that Spiderman was handsome, and quite the victory it was to be proven right in that department.  The stubborn, monotone, boy with a reputation part was just… an added bonus, she supposed.

She also supposed that she’d come with her own reputation now, too.  With Megumi never far behind he took on a role akin to guard dog.  She couldn’t deny she grew to like the feeling, melting at the protective way he kept close whether he had the mask on or not.

He had a certain responsibility to uphold when it came to keeping Tokyo safe, but he had a responsibility to those he loved, too.

___

xoxo ~ jordie

Cassian: I thought you looked down on brutes like him. Eris: Don’t call Az a brute. Azriel: Azriel: You call me a brute all the time. Eris: Yeah and I’m the only one who gets to call you that.

_______

for @azrisweek

August : 14

Synopsis : The final part.

Pairing : Gojo Satoru x y/n

Genre : Angst, smut, fluff

Warnings : Gun, blood, torture, smut, Minors do not interact.

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Whatever you do to me I’ll do to her. You have one week to decide :)

Gojo stared at the text. His hands shook as he locked the phone and clasped his hands in prayer. “Please!”. He whispered to himself. He didn’t know whom he was praying to or if anyone would even answer his prayers after all the sins he has committed. His mind came up with thousand different solutions but not one of them would save his relationship with you. He stayed that way for a while and stared at your phone in his hand. Yuri had your number. She can contact you any time. He opened your phone and deleted the chat before  blocking the number immediately.

He walked inside and stared at you sleeping peacefully in his white shirt. His skin crawled thinking about sharing the bed with anyone but you. He felt disgusted at himself for letting that happen. You deserved better than this. He sighed and wiped his eyes and got in the bed. He held you close like you would evaporate into thin air.

“Satoru..”. You murmured in your sleep.

“Yes love, I’m here”.

You opened your eyes slowly, “Why are you up?”. Your speech slurred.

“I had to get water. Go to sleep baby. I’m here now. I love you”. He pecked your forehead with quivering lips.

You relaxed and fell asleep within seconds. Gojo wasn’t sure if you’d remember any of this but he was sure of one thing. He can not lose you again. 

-X-

You sat across Gojo at the breakfast table, watching him type aggressively on his phone. You sipped your tea quietly and tried to gauge the situation. Gojo had been restless since last night and you could only think that it was something to do with you. “Are you okay?”. You asked, placing the cup back on the saucer.

Gojo looked up from his phone, “Yeah. Why?”.

“You seem..disturbed”. 

Gojo sighed, and locked his phone before placing it face down on the table. “Just work”. He brought his cup of coffee to his lips. This was another usual thing that you had noticed. Gojo didn’t like coffee. Gojo pressed his lips together and placed the cup back on the table. “I think we should get your medical test done at home”. Gojo said.

“At home? Is that even possible?”. You frowned.

“Of course it is. I don’t want to tire you out with all the hospital procedures. I could have a medical team visit us and another one can stay on the grounds”.

“Why? The visit would hardly take a couple of hours and..”. You looked at him and then at his phone and smiled. “..Satoru, if you’re busy then we can postpone it or I can go alone or with Jerry”.

Gojo stared at you blankly. How he wished  he could tell you that it was not his schedule that concerned him but rather a psychopathic woman. “No, it’s none of that”. Gojo smiled and reached for your  hand across the table. “I have been thinking of doing this for a while. It would give me more time to spend with you and Keisuke and it’s always better to have doctors on call. Safe for all of us”.

Had you not known about his mother, you would have argued with him, called him paranoid, But his paranoia was not misplaced or meant to cause you harm, it steamed from losing people close to him time and aga. It was for you and your son. “Alright then”. 

Gojo brought your hand up and kissed your knuckles. 

“Will I see you for lunch today?”.

Gojo’s smile dropped. “I’m sorry, I have to take care of something”. 

You got up and walked around to his side and gently ruffled his hair. “That’s alright. I’ll send lunch to your office. Don’t skip your meals”.

Something about the domesticity of the whole situation made the coldness evaporate from his body. Never had he ever had someone dote over him like this but now he had you, his wife. Before you could walk past him, Gojo grabbed your wrist and pulled you towards him. He wrapped his arms around your waist as you stood between his legs and molded his lips to yours. It wasn’t a chaste kiss. It wasn’t a kiss a husband gives before leaving for work. You knew very well what this kiss meant when Gojo swiped his tongue between your lips. 

“Satoru! You’ll get late for work!”. You protested as Gojo moved his trail of kisses to the mark on your collarbone.

“But you said I should not skip my meals. How can I skip the most important meal of the day?”. Gojo replied with a smirk as he slowly scrunched up the silk nightgown you were wearing.

His words made you blush and his actions sent shivers down your spine.  But you were in the kitchen and anyone could come in. “You..”. You breathed out. “...need to go”. 

Gojo chuckled, “I need you”. He groaned when he realized you were completely bare under the nightgown. He slid two fingers inside making you choke on your moans. “How can I not want you where you’re so wet for me already”. He whispered against the shell of your ear as you clenched around him.

Gojo pumped his fingers as he sucked on every exposed skin he could. But as soon as you were about to cum he pulled his finger out and smiled. 

“Why?”. You whined.

Gojo smiled and picked you up by the back of your thighs and sat you down on the top of the counter. “Because I want to taste my meal”. 

Before you could voice your concern  about someone walking in on the two of you and finding you in this position, Gojo had his mouth on your core. You balanced yourself on your elbows and threw your head back when he parted your folds with his tongue. Your thighs tightened around his head as he set a perfect rhythm between sucking on your bundle of nerves and abusing the spot inside with his tongue. He knew your body like it was made for him. 

“Satoru…”. You breathed out. 

Gojo groaned in response which sent a jolt of spark inside you. Your homely kitchen was now filled with sounds of heavy breathing and slurping.You clenched around his tongue which made him even more desperate to please you. Within moments Gojo had you gushing around his tongue. He sighed in satisfaction like a man who had just finished eating his favorite dessert. He licked you clean before standing up to kiss you, giving you a taste of what he had.

“Want me to carry you to the bedroom?”. Gojo asked as he gently picked you up and placed you down so you were almost standing on top of his shoes.

“I’ll be fine”. You smiled and pecked his lips.

“Please let me carry you”. Gojo whispered against your lips making you chuckle. “That’s a yes”. He said and scooped you in his arms. He walked through the marbled corridor carrying his wife and everyone in the path stood aside and gave him the way  you blushed and hid your face in his chest. He was not the ice Prince anymore. He was a doting husband that radiated warmth and comfort. 

He walked in the bedroom carrying you and placed you softly on the bed next to Keisuke. “There you go”. He said and placed a kiss on top of yours and Keisuke’s head. “Don’t be a naughty boy and take care of your mom for me”. 

-X-

Geto sat silently, ankle crossed over the knee, left index finger pressed against his lips, his fox eyes fixed on the phone in his right hand. He was reading through the text for the third time. He felt guilty. Angry. He felt responsible for all of this. How can he introduce someone like this in Gojo's life?

He kept the phone back on the oak coffee table and let out a heavy sigh. 

"It's not your fault". Gojo said for the second time in the past one hour.

Geto shook his head ever so slightly, silently disagreeing with Gojo. But this wasn’t the time for wallowing in the guilt. He needed a way to help his best friend. “Have you told y/n about this?”. He asked, lighting a cigarette. 

“No. I can’t”.

Geto frowned, “Why not?”.

“I can’t hurt her. The video is real”. Gojo’s hands were shaking at the thought of your reaction to the messages. “She will never trust me again”. 

Geto hummed. The situation was complicated. “We can’t let her leave the estate”.

Gojo shook his head.

“We can’t tell her about this”. Geto added. “Though on one hand it could prove that you did not kill Hiro, but  then we have the video..”.

“Even if I show her the video, even if she believed that I did not kill Hiro, she would never look at me the same way”. Gojo said. He was helpless. It felt like Yuri cut both of his arms off and asked him to save you from drowning.

The two men sat silently thinking about a way out when the phone rang again. Gojo and Geto exchanged a quick glance before looking at the message notification from the same number. Gojo took a deep breath before picking up the phone. 

It was another photo.A mirror selfie .Yuri was standing with her one leg stretched out and her phone hiding half her face. She was wearing the same dress that you had worn to the hospital. 

Yuri : It looks better on me ;) 

Blood drained from Gojo’s face. He felt disgusted with himself. 

“Shit”. Geto muttered. “She is clearly stalking y/n. Does y/n have any social media accounts?”. 

“No. She doesn’t”. Gojo replied. Eyes still fixed on the photo. Before Gojo could reply, another image popped up. Geto was the one to open it this time. 

A photo of you and Hoshi talking while Gojo stood by your side with Keisuke. 

“She was at the hospital!”. Gojo frowned.

“It doesn’t have to be her. Maybe someone else is doing the work for her. I will get the security camera footage from the hospital”. Geto spoke as he types away on his phone.

Gojo leaned back in his armchair. Yuri wanted him to be scared. She wanted him to act out of fear. He looked at Geto, “I will call Yuta and have a tracking system set up in the office. We can track her location every time she sends a message”.

Geto nodded in response. “You’ll need more security around her and Keisuke”.

“Or less”. Gojo added. “More security would mean we will have to keep an eye on more people. I think we should have a small team of closest people around them”.

Within two hours the office looked like a scene from a cybercrime movie. Yuta ordered two men on laptops, Geto and Gojo were giving orders on the phone, two men were interrogating househelps lined on the outside of the office, men were checking every corner of the house for hidden cameras and other devices. 

Gojo cut the call and ran his  hand through his hair. “I am moving them on the other side of the house”.

Geto stared at his friend, “You mean..?”.

“The left wing. It might need some renovations but I can’t let y/n stay in the same room and sleep on the same bed”.

“Just get a new bed then”. Geto suggested. He knew that for Gojo stepping foot in that part of the house was like taking a trip down horrifying memory lane. It was going to open a pandora’s box of emotional trauma.

“No. I..I can’t let her stay in that room”.

“What will you say to her?”.

“I don’t know…I’ll come up with something”. 

The two men stood in silence. Gojo had never stepped foot in that part of the house for the past ten years. When his father spent his final years overlooking the lawn, Gojo would stay on the other side of the house. He didn’t want to give his father the company of a son. For Gojo, his father deserved to be alone in his final days. The thought of bringing up Keisuke in the same rooms as he was brought up made bile rise in his throat. But that can be changed. Once all of this was over, Gojo was determined to move somewhere else. Away from this cursed house.

“Yuri is not in Japan”. Yuta’s voice made both men snap out of their thoughts.

“What do you mean she is not in Japan? Where is she?”. Geto spoke first.

Gojo remained silent. A part of him knew that Yuri would not dare threaten him in this country.

“Where is she?”. He asked coldly. 

Yuta remained silent. 

Gojo stepped forward, “Yuta, do we know where Yuri is?”.

Yuta shook his head, “The signals are bouncing across different servers in different countries. For all we know she could be in the next street”

Gojo’s phone rang and your name flashed on the screen, He walked away from the group and onto the balcony. “Hi, love”.

“Were you busy?”. You asked. 

Gojo could hear Keisuke giggling in the background and wished he could be there with you. “Not really. Had your lunch?”.

“Yes and so did Keisuke”.

“Did you take your medicine?”. Gojo asked.

“Yes.I have sent lunch for you”.

“Okay. I’ll eat it”.

You chuckled. “I have also sent lunch for Geto and Yuta. I heard the three of you were working together”.

“You didn’t have to. I could have asked the kitchen to make it”.

“It was no trouble. By any chance are you on your office balcony?”. 

Gojo frowned, “Yes. Why?”.

“Look down, to your right”.

Gojo looked down to the cobbled walkway stretching from the inside of the estate and leading to the gazebo at the back and smiled widely when he saw you standing there in your white floral wrap around dress that he loves so much, holding Keisuke with one arm and your phone with the other. He leaned with his elbows on the granite railing. “This is a nice surprise”.

You chuckled and moved the phone from your ear to Keisuke’s. “Say hi to dada”.

Keisuke babbled and blew spit bubbles. 

“Hi baby”. Gojo said, smiling fondly at the two of you. 

You put the phone back to your ear, “Why do you look so tired”.

“Because you're away from me”.

Even from this distance Gojo could see you rolling your eyes at him. He chuckled on the phone. "It's because you skip your lunch".

"Maybe I should skip it often if that means you'll come to see me". 

"You're unbearable, you know that right?". You asked, shaking your head slightly.

"I know that you love me". Gojo said. Even though you hadn't said it and maybe you didn't love him like you used to but Gojo was sure you loved him. 

You bit your lip, "Go back to work Satoru".

Gojo blew you a kiss, "I love you". 

You brought Keisuke's tiny arms to his lips and blew a kiss in Gojo's direction. 

Gojo stood there watching you disappear inside the building with tears in his eyes. Each day he fell for you more and more. He was ready to face the trauma he had buried for a decade only to see you happy. Nothing else mattered to him in the entire world. Not Yuri, not his past, not his life. He was ready to die for you right now. For him you were his world. His wish granted. His reason to live. 

Gojo walked inside and found Geto and Yuta sitting around the table with food in front of them.

"Tell y/n I said thanks!". Geto smiled.

Gojo walked over and sat with them. "Will do".

"Can I call her my sister in law?". Yuta asked innocently with his plate in his lap.

Gojo blushed a little. Until now you were just his wife but now you were a part of his entire family. "I guess you can".

Geto bursted out laughing, "you guess? You have a child with her!".

Gojo groaned and picked up his plate. "You can call her sister in law". 

Yuta smiled gleefully. He was young compared to the other two men. But he was smart beyond his age. His talent in risk assessment made him a close aide to Gojo. He had looked up to Gojo since the day Gojo started defying rules of the clan. In a way, by doing so he saved Yuta's life. Had Gojo not set the precedent, Yuta, at the age of 23 would have been married to an heiress whose name he didn't bother to remember. It was Gojo who stood up for him when he told his side of the family about his intention to marry his girlfriend, Rika.  

He had met you twice and he was sure you wouldn't remember him. But from everything he had heard about you, he was sure that you had a good heart. It is not easy to make the decisions you had made and for that he respected you. 

"Y/n-san cooks really well". 

Gojo beamed visibly, "Yeah she does". 

Geto remained silent as Gojo and Yuta discussed something about Keisuke. His brain was still trying to get around the fact that Yuri did this. Yuri. "I think you should divorce y/n".

Gojo's words died down this throat. He turned towards Geto, "Suguru". He warned.

"Just to convince Yuri. A fake divorce".

Gojo weighed this option. "But I'll have to tell y/n about it and if Yuri finds out that it's fake she can get worse".

The three men discussed every possible solution and it became clear that it was imperative that they find Yuri first. She was unpredictable. Psychopathic. Powerful. 

Geto and Yuta realized the complications it would bring with telling you about all of this. It might save your marriage with Gojo but it would leave some permanent scars. 

-X-

It was well past midnight and Gojo walked groggily towards the bedroom. The hallways were silent with most of the staff retired to their quarters. 

His phone rang, he smiled thinking it could be you asking about his whereabouts but his smile dropped when he saw Yuri's name pop up on the message notification.

Yuri : You have 6 days to go :)

Gojo chose not to reply. 

Yuri : I know something about y/n that you don't :)

Gojo frowned at the message. This could be a trap. A way to get a reaction out of him. There was no way Yuri could know more about you than he did. 

Gojo's finger hovered over the text box. He swallowed harshly and locked the phone. If there was something you were keeping from him then he would respect your decision.  

Yuri : Did you know that Y/n had to be resuscitated? 

Gojo almost dropped his phone. He knew about your anemia. He knew that you suffered excessive blood loss. But this….this couldn't be possible. You would have told him about something this serious.

Yuri : Now that I think about it, y/n's fate is the same as your mother's. She ran away with your child, almost died during the childbirth, wouldn't it be better if you let her go? Free her from the curse of the Gojo clan?

Gojo : What do you mean?

Gojo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Praying that Yuri reveals it to be a cruel joke and that he had fallen for her prank.

Yuri : Your dear wife didn't tell you that she knew that going through with the birth could kill her? Maybe she forgot to mention how doctors advised her for abortion but she refused and risked her life for the baby? How heroic of her! 

Gojo's hands trembled. This was like living through a nightmare…..again..

Gojo : prove it. 

Gojo received an email from an unknown email address. He opened it to find multiple attachments, medical reports, prescriptions. He read to each of them carefully. 

Yuri : Let her go, Satoru. Unless you want a dead child and a dead wife :)

Gojo locked the phone. He briskly walked towards the bedroom. Determined to get an answer. 

You were sitting outside the bedroom, in the living room attached to the bedroom, reading a book, wearing one of Gojo's shirts with your hair in a claw clip.Your legs sprawled over the velvet couch. You flipped through pages intently, so immersed in the story that you couldn’t see him standing at the doorway. Gojo leaned on the doorframe and folded his hands over his chest. If what Yuri had told him was true and all those documents were original then he wanted to know why did you risk your life? Would you have come with him if Keisuke was not in the picture? Would you have stayed with him if it wasn’t for Keisuke? 

Gojo cleared his throat as he walked in with his hands in his pockets.

“Hi”. You looked up and smiled at him. You closed the book, placed a bookmark between the pages and put it on the table.

“Why aren’t you in bed?”.Gojo sat on the other end of the couch and put your feet in his lap. 

“I was waiting for you”. You said, as you rested your head sideways on the backrest.

Gojo smiled and gently massaged your feet. “Geto and Yuta thanked you for the lunch”.

You smiled. “What do you want to ask me?”. You asked.

Gojo chuckled, looking down, tracing circles on your calf. He looked at you, “You know me that well?”.

“Very well”. You retreated your feet and sat cross legged on the couch, facing him,

Gojo opened his mouth to say something but then closed it immediately. 

You placed your hand on his, “Satoru..”.

Gojo gulped harshly and turned towards you. You could see he was in pain. The kind of pain that couldn’t be fixed easily. 

“Was there any complications during your pregnancy?”. He asked. He crafted his words carefully, he couldn’t say ‘how dare you risk your life?’

You knew he knew. In that moment with the sadness in his eyes and his careful choice of words, you knew he knew. You didn't want to hide it anymore. You didn’t want to keep him in the dark anymore. 

“I…I don’t know how you find out but..yes there were complications. But nothing to do with Keisuke”. You squeezed his hands gently.

“What about you?”. Gojo asked, still looking down.

“Yes. There were”.

“When did you find out?”.

“Satoru..it doesn’t matter now”. You pleaded, scooting closer to him.

“It does”. Gojo nodded his head. “It does. To me. So please, tell me”.

You took a deep breath, “In my second trimester. The doctor told me that I was at a higher risk for hemorrhage and…it could be fatal to ..”. You bit the inside of your cheek, you didn’t have to complete that sentence. You didn’t want to. You still remembered receiving that news and crying the entire night. 

“What happened during your delivery?”. Gojo asked with tears in his eyes.

You didn’t want to answer. Knowing very well how triggering it could be for him. You remained silent.

“Y/n please…I..I need to know”. 

Your lips quivered and you intertwined your fingers with his. “Everything was fine until Keisuke was born but after that…it happened. They couldn’t stop the bleeding and I..-”.

“You had to be resuscitated”. Gojo finished the sentences for you. In any other case finishing each other's sentences is seen as a romantic gesture but the gesture was nothing but grim. 

Your silence confirmed everything about his worst fear. For the longest time Gojo cursed his mother for dying with his sibling instead of living with him. He needed to know why would you condemn him to the same fate. Was he that unworthy of love? Was he that rotten of a human being? Did he not deserve love? Why didn’t you choose him? Why didn’t you reach out to him if there was a threat to your life?

“You were given an option to terminate the pregnancy”. Gojo said, it was neither a question nor a suggestion. It was a reminder.

“I was”. You agreed. 

Gojo squeezed his eyes shut and let the tears roll down his cheeks. This was the first time he was openly crying in front of you.The ache spread across his body. “Why? Why? Why?”. He turned towards you. 

Your heart broke seeing him like this. You took both of his hands in yours, “I had to, Satoru. I …had to”.

“Why?”. 

You swallowed the lump in your throat harshly. “Because …you are you and I am me but..Keisuke is a part of both of us. I didn’t think we could ever be together again or if you even cared that I was alive, but Keisuke was the only way a part of me could ever be with a part of you and that was more important to me than my own life. For me just wanting to be with you was enough. It has always been enough. Even when I saw you with…Utahime I still hoped somewhere that one day I'd be with you and …someday you'll love me so…when the doctor told me of the risk, I was ready to accept it…”. 

Gojo’s heart skipped a beat. You didn’t have to say anything else. You loved him. You didn’t have to say it. Keisuke was proof enough that you loved him how he loved you. 

“I knew that even if I don’t survive, someday you will find him…and he will be proof that I..I ..love you…”. 

Gojo let out a shuddered breath. This was the first time you had openly confessed your love to him, “Why didn’t you reach out to me? I could have done something..anything…if you loved me then why didn't you trust me that I would come for you”.

“It wasn’t that simple, Satoru. What was I even supposed to say? I couldn’t just call your office and say ‘hi I am alive and I am carrying your child and I might die?’. No one even knew about us, who would have believed me?”.

“I would have..I..if you would have said one word I would have left everything and come to you”.

You remained silent. You put your arm on his shoulder and kneeled on the couch. “I promise I will call you next time ”.

Gojo chuckled and wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you on his lap with your legs resting neither side of his waist. "Next time? There will be no next time. I am not letting you go anywhere y/n Gojo. I have only ever loved one woman in my life and if she asks for my life I'd give it to her". Gojo tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. "Even when I was with Utahime, I only thought about you. Even when I didn't know you were out there I only thought about you. The thought of you kept me alive and kept me going through the day. It still does. When I'm at work all I can think about is coming home and lying in bed with you. So don't you ever think for a second that I'm not thinking about you. You occupy my mind, heart and soul y/n Gojo". 

You blushed, "Alright then. I will call you even if I don't need you". 

“You promise?”.

“I promise”.

“You’ll call me even if it’s for something small”. Gojo kissed the tip of your nose.

“Yes”.

“Even if you’re just missing me?”.

You cupped his face and wiped the tears off of his cheeks. “Yes”.

“Even if you need a massage?”.

You corked an eyebrow. “You’ll leave work to give me a massage?”.

“Obviously”. 

“Then, Yes. I’ll call you”.

“Even if you need help reaching the top shelf?”. Gojo asked, smiling.

“You’re pushing it now”. You pinched his nose and Gojo laughed.

"Just tell me if anything is bothering you. Even if it's the house temperature". 

You smiled and kissed the tip of his noses "Okay".

Gojo rubbed your arm as you lay next to him with your back pressed to his chest.

“Y/n..”.

“Yes?”.

“Aren’t you going to ask me how I..found out about..”.

“No”.

Gojo frowned. “Why not?”.

“I’m sure you have your ways”. You said flatly. 

“Are you mad at me for..finding out?”.

“No”.

“Why not?”.

You turned around to face him. “Do you want me to be mad at you?”.

“No”.

Gojo lay awake wondering if it was right of him to confront you. Do you really think that he can…he would find out whatever he wants to know instead of asking you about it? Sure he might have done that in the past but this was different. Gojo made a mental note to never do this again.

“Then stop asking stupid questions”.

"What you did for Keisuke....was really brave. He is lucky to have you as a mother"

-X- 

Gojo stood uncomfortably inside the closet, waiting for you to get done with dressing Keisuke. 

When you walked inside you saw Gojo standing between the rows of clothes. "Why aren't you ready yet?". You asked, putting away Keisuke's clothes in the laundry basket. 

"I want to talk to you about something". 

"What is it?". You asked, ruffling through the clothes, looking for your yellow dress. 

"Y/n..". Gojo called out. 

You picked out the hangar with the dress and turned towards him. "Yes?". 

"We are moving". Gojo said abruptly. 

Your arms fell by your side and you frowned, "What do you mean we are moving? Where are we moving to?". 

Gojo stepped forward and caressed your arms, "It's not that kind of moving. I am just shifting everything to the left wing of the house".

You looked up at him, "Left wing?". You didn't know what prompted Gojo to make this decision but you knew that something was going on.

"Yes".

"Why?".

"It's better".

"How?". 

Gojo chuckled, "I grew up there and it's ideal for a family. There is a nursery which we can renovate for Keisuke".

You bit your lip, "Satoru, that wing has been closed off for years. I wasn't allowed to go there and now you are asking me to move there? What is going on?". 

Gojo frowned and took a step back. "You tried to go there? Why?".

You cursed yourself mentally. "I was just….exploring".

Gojo studied your face and nodded slightly, "Yes it's true. I had closed it off because of-"

"I know". You admitted, shamefully.

"What… ". Gojo tilted his head, "...what do you know?".

You sighed heavily. There was no turning back now. "Everything. I think…. everything. You never spoke about your family and that wing was forbidden from me so I…I got curious and I asked around".

"To whom?!". Gojo frowned.

"Jerry". 

Gojo sucked in a sharp breath and looked away.Of course out of everyone Jerry would be the one to tell you. "Y/n….". He didn't care that you asked around. You had every right to do so. He wondered why you didn't ask him? 

"I know that it's something you didn't want me to know and I'm sorry that I went behind your back". You looked down, playing with the hem of Gojo's shirt. 

Gojo stepped forward and wrapped his arms around you, "No need to apologize". He kissed the top of your head and smiled to himself when he felt you relax. 

"But why are you asking us to move there? You don't have to. I am perfectly happy here". You said, resting your chin on his chest. 

"There are some security issues. I can't go into the details but I also don't want to keep you in the dark. It's for yours and Keisuke's safety. Please trust me on this".

"Safety?". You stepped back.

"Yes".

"Why? What's happening?".

Gojo could sense the fear rising inside you and put his arms on your shoulder,"It's nothing to worry about. Just a precaution".

"If it's nothing to worry about, then why are we taking precautions?".

"Because…I don't want to take any risk".

"But…. Satoru, that part of the house can be very…disturbing for you. I mean…it has some bad …memories attached to it".

Gojo smiled, "That's why I want to make good ones there. It's also closer to the office and much more secure".

You took a deep breath "Okay…. If it's for Keisuke's safety then sure". 

"Thank you. You don't have to do anything. Just call me if you need anything".

You nodded your head. "And you can also tell me if you need anything". You smiled.

"I need a kiss". Gojo said, immediately.

"I gave you a kiss this morning". You hit his chest gently and moved away. 

"Since when did we start counting kisses?".

You giggled and stood on your toes to peck his lips. "There you go".

Gojo wrapped his arms around your waist and didn't let you move away, "One for last night"

You rolled your eyes and gave him another peck. 

"One for this morning". 

"I kissed you this morning!".

Gojo raised an eyebrow letting you know that he could tell when the kiss wasn't genuine. 

You gave him a pressed smile and kissed him again but this time Gojo didn't let you break the kiss so easily. Instead he placed a hand on the back of your head and deepened the kiss. 

You moaned loudly when he sucked on your lower lip and ran his tongue across it. 

"Now that's how you're supposed to kiss your husband". 

"Are you my husband though?". You teased him.

Gojo looked at you, "You wanna get married again?".

Your laugh died down, "What?".

"Do you want to marry me?...again?".

You moved back and tucked the strand of hair behind your ear. "I … I…guess...I mean …I was just…teasing you".

Gojo held your hand and walked over to the shelf with all the jewelry. "Whenever you're ready you can wear the ring". He spoke as he wrapped his arms around your waist and kissed the side of your head. 

Your smile dropped. "I don't want to wear that ring".

"Why not?". Gojo asked and turned you around to face him.

"Too many bad memories ". You smiled sadly and Gojo understood. You were right. You didn't have to start from where you left off. You can start from a new chapter.

Gojo smiled and walked around you to open the glass case. He looked at all the rings he had bought and smiled to himself when he found the one he was looking for. He picked out the carrier Trinity ring and got on one knee. "Y/n Gojo, will you do me the honor of marrying me again?".

You laughed and nodded your head. Gojo kissed your hand and slipped the ring in your ring finger. 

"But where is your ring?". You teased him. Gojo stood up and tugged your hand and walked over to his side of the closet. He opened the glass case with his watches and cufflinks and picked out the silver Cartier ring that he had bought along with yours. 

"There you go". He gave you the ring and you couldn't hold your laughter. 

"Are we really getting married in a closet?". 

"Yes ma'am we are". Gojo replied. Laughing along with you.

You slid the ring in his ring finger and while you were giggling the entire time, chalking this as another one of Gojo's playful tactics , Gojo almost had tears in his eyes. Yes you were wearing white, his white shirt. He was in his black trousers. Yes you two love each other and for him this was a wedding. 

"Congratulations, you are now my husband!". You smiled at him and Gojo chuckled before picking you up in his arms and carrying you out of the closet. 

He held his and your left arm in front of Keisuke and gloated ,"look your mum and dad are married". 

You couldn't stop giggling and Keisuke followed suit which made you laugh even more. You didn't remember the last time you had laughed this much or you were this happy. You tiptoed and pulled Gojo into a kiss which he happily returned. 

-X-

There had been no message from Yuri this morning and it relieved Gojo but also scared him. What if all this was a silence before the storm? He had questions he wanted to ask her but he knew he wouldn't get an answer. How far did she dig to find out about your pregnancy? What else does she know? What else can she find out? 

A team was already cleaning up the left wing of the house. Gojo had gotten a new wardrobe, one that was untouched by Yuri's filthy hands. He was sure you wouldn't know the difference given your lack of interest in those clothes. There were more cameras in the bedroom. Even more in Keisuke's nursery. Gojo was apprehensive about keeping Keisuke in a separate room under these circumstances but the architecture of the room made the nursery even safer. 

The master bedroom was big, almost twice the size of one he was living in. A semi-living room was at the entrance of the suite. The entrance to the bedroom was at the far end of the living room. No one could enter the bedroom without passing through the living room. 

Inside the bedroom, the bed faces the ceiling length windows that opened up to the balcony. On the left hand side, little further from the door, was the ensuite followed by the walk-in wardrobe. On the farthest end of the bedroom was the entrance to the nursery. Making it impossible for anyone to enter the nursery without crossing the length of the bedroom. 

The nursery possessed the ceiling length bulletproof glass window, a crib, a bed, wardrobe, toy shelf and a bookshelf. It had been Gojo's nursery when he was born. The walls were freshly painted baby blue with little clouds and carrots on it. All of Keisuke's toys were thoroughly inspected for any hidden cameras. All of his clothes had a tiny GPS tracker stitched under the collar. Gojo didn't tell you about this detail to retain your peace of mind. 

The only downside was that the kitchenette was farther from the bedroom than it had been before. But Gojo dismissed it as a tiny sacrifice.He needed to buy time to execute everything so he had told you this morning that he would take you and Keisuke to the left wing in the evening to familiarize you with it. So for now, to his annoyance, you were still in the same bedroom. 

Before leaving for work, he had told Jerry about everything that was happening. He had to know to protect you. Jerry was given strict instructions to not let anyone near you or Keisuke. Even limiting your movement inside the house to the bedroom and his office. Jerry understood of course and gave his word that he would do his best to protect the family. Gojo was grateful that you chose Jerry to help with Keisuke. It made everything a lot easier. 

"What do we know about her location?". Gojo asked, typing on his laptop. 

Yuta stopped up, balancing his laptop on his forearm and walked over to Gojo's desk, "We have zeroed it down to Japan and China". He said, placing the laptop on the table and showing Gojo the screen that flickers with red dots over the suspected areas. 

Gojo nodded. It was not enough but it was progress. It was only the second day. He had to track down Yuri at all costs. "Send me the list of places that are in and around Tokyo, we'll start from here".

Yuta nodded and took the laptop back to the conference table where he and his team were working. 

Geto walked in and gave a quick nod to Gojo before walking over to the coffee table and chugging down the entire jug of water. 

Gojo watched him intently, "What happened?". He asked. 

Geto walked over and sat opposite him and lit a cigarette. Gojo brought over the crystal ashtray he keeps in his office only for Geto and placed it in front of him.

"Did you talk to y/n? About moving to the left wing?"

"Yes. She agreed. I told her it was for security reasons". 

Geto nodded and took another drag. 

"What's up with you?". Gojo asked, frowning.

"Yuri..messaged me". Geto said and placed his phone in front of Gojo.

Unknown: Are you sure moving y/n to the left wing will save her?

Gojo's jaw dropped. How did she know? How could she know? You hadn't even moved yet? 

"Yuta, take everyone with you to the seco office". Gojo said, still staring at the phone.

He looked up at Geto and Geto nodded, confirming Gojo's suspicion. "It's someone on the inside".

"But we interrogated everyone!". Gojo said, slamming his hand on the table and walking over to the window. 

Geto rotated his chair to face Gojo, "Not everyone".

Gojo turned around, "What do you mean?".

Geto took a deep breath and ashed his cigarette. "Y/n… We didn't interrogate her".

"We don't need to interrogate her". Gojo said. 

"Look, all I'm saying is, isn't it suspicious how y/n has suddenly developed this trust in you? She ran away from you! She hid the baby from you! If you hadn't found her then maybe…she would have continued that way. For all we know she has conspired with Yuri and this is her way to get a divorce from you! She wouldn't even have to share custody!".

"Suguru!".  Gojo glared at him. "That's enough".

Geto scoffed, "You love her. You went insane because of her! That's the effect she has on you! I don't blame you for wanting to punch me in the face right now but I am just looking out for you!".

"Keep y/n out of this". Gojo warned, glaringly. 

"Satoru"

"Even if y/n is behind this, I can't let her go. I won't let her go".

Geto let out a heavy breath. "Fine. Can I at least talk to her?".

Gojo raised an eyebrow, "talk to her?".

"Yes". Geto smiled. "I swear I'll just talk to her".

"In my presence". Gojo added and walked back to his seat.

"Come on, you have to trust me on this. I swear I will just talk to her. I haven't even met Keisuke yet!".

"No. If you want to talk to her then either do it in my presence or don't ".

"20 minutes. You can come in after that"

Gojo groaned and closed his eyes. "Fine. You get 10 minutes, that's all. Meet Keisuke, talk to her, But not a second above 10 minutes".

"Perfect".

When lunch time rolled around Gojo and Geto made their way towards the dining area. Gojo had already told you that Geto would be stopping by for lunch and you were genuinely looking forward to seeing him. The last time you had seen Geto was years ago, before everything went down. You didn't even know what to say to him but good food is a universal language. 

When you saw Geto walk inside the dining room alone your eyes immediately went to the empty space behind him. Why was Gojo not here? 

"Hi, y/n". Geto Suguru said as he stood in front of you.

"Hi".

Gojo stood outside, at a distance from the dining room. He checked his watch every minute, waiting for the 10 minutes to pass by. He trusted Geto. But he knew you were smart. 

As soon as the 10 minutes were up he walked into the dining room, concerned, ready with explanation, but his worries faded away when he saw Geto holding Keisuke and playing with him while you watched them. 

"Sorry I'm late". Gojo said and walked over to you. He placed his hand on the small of your back and pulled you towards him gently. 

"He's so…..small". Geto said as he gently tugged on Keisuke's cheeks. "...and soft".

"Now you understand how tough it is to leave this and go to work". Gojo added.

The three of you sat around the table and talked like old friends catching up. But beneath the laughter and nostalgia, one of the three of you was hurting. 

"You okay?". Gojo asked as he stood at the doorway.

"Yes".

Gojo studied your face. It was blank. "Are you-"

"I need to change Keisuke. I'll text you later". You smiled and pecked his lips.

Gojo smiled, and kissed you back. Geto called for him from a distance and Gojo left you standing there at the doorway.

"Are you alright?". Jerry asked as he brought Keisuke to you.

"Yes Jerry. I am". 

"Your medicine ma'am". Jerry handed you the pills and you swallowed them with water.

"Thank you".

"What did you ask her?". Gojo asked Geto as soon as they were out of sight from the dining hall.

"Just questions". Geto shrugged.

"What questions?". Gojo stopped walking and stared at Geto who stopped two steps ahead.

Geto turned back and sighed, "I just asked her how she was adjusting to this life".

Gojo studies Geto's face. "She might look strong but she isn't. It's not easy uprooting your life every year and starting fresh. I hope you were…gentle".

Geto looked at the genuine concern in Gojo's face and bit the inside of his cheeks. "I was". 

-X-

The cool breeze of the evening brought you relief as you sat cross legged on the balcony chair.You didn't know what was going on but you knew you were a suspect. You twirled the tea spoon in the lukewarm tea and thought about your conversation with Geto. He was trying to get something out of you, trying to get you to confess to something, but what could it be? 

You also knew that Gojo was probably in on it. Did he not trust you? Why didn't he ask you directly what he wanted to know?  Could you confront him about this? Should you? Would it affect his and Geto's friendship? Or would it put you in trouble? 

You leaned back in the chair and watched the birds fly against the setting sun. They were on their way home. But what about you? Could you ever be home? You had moved here with Gojo and yet he was doubting you. There was no right answer. No right way to approach this. You knew Gojo would come any minute now. He said he was going to come home early today. While he wanted to move to the left wing tonight, you had messaged him after lunch to move tomorrow morning because Keisuke was being fussy today and changing his environment seemed like a bad idea to you. But now you wondered if that put you under more suspicion.

Your head was spinning conjuring all these theories. But you had to look out for yourself. Gojo loved you, you were sure of it. But did he trust you? 

"Hey". Gojo walked in on the balcony.

You craned your neck back and smiled. "Hi".

"Why are you out here?". Gojo asked as he sat down next to you.

"Just…needed to be alone".

"Why?". Gojo asked, moving his chair closer to yours. 

You shrugged with your eyes fixed on the distant point on the lawn. You were human, you had your limits and you were tired.  

"What did Geto ask you?". Gojo asked, looking at your hands folded on your lap. 

"Just questions".

Gojo bit his lip in annoyance. "What questions?".

"Why don't you go ask him?". Your words came out sharper than you had expected. Maybe it was because you were reaching your tipping point.  

"Y/n... If there is something bothering you then I want you to tell me". 

You scoffed. "Why don't you tell me what's bothering you?". 

Gojo's heart dropped to his stomach. He was at a loss of words. 

"Nevermind. I'm going to bed". You got up but Gojo stood up and blocked your way. "Satoru, move. Please".

"Let's talk about it. Please".

You looked up at him, "I have nothing to say to you except that whatever it is that's…going on, I have nothing to do with it. You want to put me under surveillance then go ahead and do it. I don't care anymore". You tried to walk past him but his hand on your waist stopped you. 

"I know you have nothing to do with it. Geto just wanted to talk to you". Gojo spoke softly. 

"I know when I'm being talked to and when I'm being interrogated". 

"He didn't mean any harm. I'm sorry if he was harsh with you. He just wanted to be…safe". 

You nodded your head. "Okay". 

"No no no. Don't give me an okay ". 

Gojo's hands dropped by his side. He'll fix it later. When he has an answer or an explanation. 

"Just ….let me go. I need to rest".

"y/n.... please talk-".

"I don't feel good. I should sleep now".

-X-

There was a heavy silence at the breakfast table this morning. No morning kisses were exchanged. By the time Gojo had woken up you were already done getting ready for the day and so was Keisuke.

"The left wing is ready to move in. Let me know whenever you're ready". Gojo asked, giving you a short smile that was not reciprocated.

"Okay".

"I won't be coming for lunch". Gojo added. Hoping to get a glare from you but was meant with the same icy expression.

"Okay".

Gojo bit his lip. "You look beautiful today". He smirked. 

But your expression didn't change. You opened your mouth to say something but Gojo cut you off. "Please don't say okay". 

"Fine".

Gojo groaned and let his fork clank against the ceramic plate. 

"If you're mad at me then just be mad at me!". He whined. 

You kept your fork down on the plate and looked at him. "I'm not mad at you".

Gojo scoffed, "I can see that. All he did was ask some questions y/n! For your safety!". Gojo closed his eyes in regret as soon as the words left his mouth. 

You gritted your teeth and looked at him. "Satoru I uprooted my whole life! Moved here with you! Tried my best to give us a chance! And now I am being questioned by you and Geto?You...Who has always lied to me from the beginning! Why am I the one who is being questioned here when you were the one who left me for someone else, lied to me, drugged me, forced me to move here by threatening to hurt people I care about! Why?! Why am I expected to trust you when you can't even do the same for me!". Tears rolled down your eyes as you let out your pent up frustration. 

Gojo was frozen in his seat. He knew it was a bad idea. He should not have listened to Geto. "Y/n….".

"I'm fine. I'll be fine". You wiped your tears with your palm. "I'm sorry I got carried away. I didn't mean to bring up all that". You got up to keep the plates in the sink and Gojo followed you. 

He wrapped his arms around your waist and turned you to face him. "You have nothing to be sorry about. Nothing. You don't have to be fine with all of this. Complain as much as you want to. Demand what you want. But don't be …fine".

"Okay". You relaxed in his arms.

"Don't say okay".

"Fine". You replied, a smile tugging at your lips. 

Gojo looked down and shook his head. "Don't say fine".

"Alright". You chuckled.

Gojo smiled and kissed your forehead. "I'm sorry for letting Geto talk to you".

"No it's alright. He was just doing his job".

"I'll punish him, don't worry". Gojo winked at you. Trying to ease the tension. When you voiced out your frustration it dawned on him just how stupid and hypocritical the whole idea was. His eye drifted to your ring finger and his tension eased a little when he saw that you were still wearing that ring. Maybe this is what a secure life feels like, when even when you fight and disagree you still stay by each other's side at the end of the day.

You silently wrapped your arms around him and took a deep breath. "Promise me we'll be fine".

"I promise". Gojo hugged you tighter and kissed your forehead. "We'll be fine". 

You nodded your head and pulled back. "You should go now. You'll get late".

"I can stay with you today. Work can wait". Gojo said, studying your face. You looked shaken up. Tired. Your eyes were sunken in and your face looked pale. 

"I'll be fine". 

Gojo studied your face. You were not fine. He took his phone out, "I'm staying with you".

You kept your hand on his arm that was holding the phone and brought it down. "No need to stay. Why don't you go and stay after lunch? That would be better".

Gojo bit his lip nervously, "You sure?".

"Yes".

"I'll send in a doctor to check on you. You don't look so good".

You nodded your head. He was right. You had been feeling more tired than usual and your bones ached with every moment. But hopefully you'll get to rest with him after lunch.

"Okay". 

Gojo texted Jerry on his way. 

Mr.Gojo : Keep an eye on y/n. I want an update on her every hour. 

Jerry : Yes sir. 

Mr.Gojo : If she seems slightly distressed, call me immediately.

Jerry : Yes sir. 

Gojo glared at Geto the moment Geto walked inside the office. 

"I'm sorry". Geto said  firstly. "I ..I might have gone overboard but I didn't mean any harm". He raised his hands by his side.

Gojo remained silent. "You should be apologizing to her". 

"She should have fought with me". 

"She didn't fight with me. She was upset but she understood that we are doing this for some reason".

"She didn't ask you the reason". Geto asked, lighting a cigarette.

"No". 

"Why?". Geto smirked. You were still under his radar.

"Because she was saving me from lying to her". 

Geto hummed. "Did she tell you that?".

"She didn't have to".

"Right….cause couples have telepathy".

"She understood that you were doing your job. But I want you to remember that it's not easy for her either…living here with me. Dealing with all of this? She didn't sign up for this. You can doubt her if you want to but at least be gentle with her. She might look strong and collected on the outside but…she's going through a lot".

Geto hummed. "We'll if you put it that way…then you're right. I do owe her an apology. I'll meet with after lunch…in your presence of course and apologize to her..but she's still not in the clear*.

Gojo scoffed. If Geto hadn't been his best friend Gojo would have buried him six feet under yesterday. "Why don't we find Yuri first and then we can confirm your suspicion?".

"We can do both".

Gojo frowned, "How?".

"We send y/n to Yuri". 

Gojo's glare turned icy. The temperature in the room dropped and everyone was aware of the shift in mood. 

Geto straightened up. "Not alone. Obviously. We will be tracking her".

"No".

"Satoru".

"No".

"Alright. I'll find another way".

Gojo leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. No. There was no way he was going to let you go to Yuri.

-X- 

Yuri sipped on her coffee and twirled the phone in her other hand. She was waiting for the good news. If everything was going according to the plan then Geto must have confronted you somehow and that would have pushed you and Gojo apart. Little by little. 

Mr.Man : Didn't work 

Yuri looked at the text and her self reassuring smile dropped. Fucking Geto! She wondered whether the plan fell through because of Geto or because of Ms. Goody two shoes attitude. If exposing your pregnancy to Gojo didn't push you two apart, if Geto's suspicion didn't push you two apart then she knew none of her other minor plans would.  She had to pull out the big guns. 

She gulped down the searing coffee and slammed the mug on the table. The ceramic mug broke in her hand and sliced her thumb. She chuckled. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her throat burned and hands bled. She brought up the sliced thumb and smeared the blood across your photo on her desk. She brought up Gojo's photo and put her thumb on his lips. "I'll burn for you, I'll bleed for you…soon you'll be mine"

Yuri : Plan B. 

-X-

Gojo and Geto were going over different locations where Yuri could have been. Geto had a stack of paper in front of his hand which outlined every connection to Yuri. 

"What about the man at the hospital? The one that clicked the photo?". Gojo asked.

Geto shook his head, still flipping through pages, "He was picked up randomly on the street and paid to click her photo". Geto looked up at Gojo. "He thought y/n was a celebrity and the paparazzi wanted a photo of her. He had never seen the man who approached him and paid him for the job. We have his sketch and the police are still looking for him".

Gojo cursed under his breath. Geto was calm, he was moving in a calculated way but Gojo on the other hand was getting restless. There was no text from Yuri and it was not a good sign. He knew that Yuri was playing with Geto. He knew Yuri would do everything in her power to pull you two apart but Gojo was not going to let that happen. 

His phone chimed and both men exchanged nervous looks. Gojo carefully picked up his phone and frowned. 

Geto took his phone from his hand. "What does this mean?".

Yuri : Run.Run.Run.

Before Gojo could reply Jerry barged through the door, sweating, panicked, scared. 

The three men stood outside the bedroom,waiting for Shoko, as you lay unconscious inside. The medical team had left an hour ago  and Gojo was counting each  second pass by. He had asked Shoko but she refused to say anything until the blood reports were back.

Keisuke cooed in Gojo's arm, oblivious to the condition of his mother. The sun had set long ago and it had been over 5 hours. Gojo was going restless with each passing minute. Geto had been watching CCTV footage of the house the entire  day to see if there had been any intruder but he found nothing. Gojo hadn’t asked anything to anyone while Shoko and the medical team were here but now he wanted to know. “Jerry tell me what happened, exactly".

Jerry wiped the sweat off his forehead and took a deep breath. "Mrs.Gojo had just finished with master Keisuke's bath and she was going to dress him up. She walked out of the wardrobe but master Keisuke started crying so she picked him up and asked me to get his bottle from the kitchen. But before I could reach the kitchen I heard her call for me so I came running inside. She looked ..pale. the color drained from her face and she was gently swaying. I sensed something was wrong so I rushed to where she was standing. She asked me to hold master Keisuke and call for a doctor and then…then she collapsed on the floor. Then I called for the medical team before calling you".

Gojo gently rocked Keisuke in his arms. "Did she take her medicine?".

"Yes sir". Jerry replied.

"Did she ever skip a dose?". Geto asked next.

"No sir. Never".

Geto turned towards Gojo and he knew by the look on his face that Yuri had hit her mark. "Maybe it's because of stress or fatigue".

Gojo took a deep breath, "Do you really believe that?".

Geto closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. Keisuke stared at him over Gojo's shoulder and smiled. Geto returned the smile and winked at him. 

"Satoru, can I talk to you?". Geto asked standing upright, "Alone?". 

Gojo nodded at Jerry and Jerry took his leave. Gojo put down Keisuke in the pram carefully and covered it. 

"You said, there were cameras in the room?".

"Yes". Gojo replied and handed Geto his phone which showed the camera feed. 

Geto watched it carefully. Then, he replayed it again. "Interesting…" he hummed.

"What?". Gojo asked, looking at the phone screen. 

"Everything happened just as Jerry had described it". 

"He was there. He saw it all".

"It's still weird that he was able to describe it scene by scene. Usually when people go through such an experience, their recollection varies slightly from the reality but he was spot on".

"Suguru, I trust you, but you suspected y/n and we know how that turned out. Now you are suspecting Jerry? He has been with my family forever. He was the one who alerted us and the medical team. If he was involved in this then he could have run away".

Geto listened to Gojo carefully. "He stays with them everyday?".

"From  9 am to 9 pm".

"Is y/n close to him? Do they discuss her problems?".

Gojo bit the inside of his cheeks. "Yes".

"Has he ever interfered with your…". Geto shrugged for the lack of words, "..marital issues?".

Gojo scoffed, "Not in a bad way".

"But he has?".

"Yes. He has".

Geto nodded and looked down at the pram, "Who chose him to be with them?".

"Y/n did" 

"Interesting. Why didn’t she choose anyone else from the staff?”.

Gojo sighed, “Because she was not close with anyone else. We both trusted Jerry and decided it is best to have someone like him to stay with them”.

Geto sensed Gojo’s frustration and refrained from talking further about it. It was best to wait for  Shoko’s analysis.

“Y/n will be fine”. He put an arm on Gojo’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

Gojo nodded. “She has to be”.

Shoko walked in, glaring at Gojo. The two men immediately straightened up in her presence. “How is she?”. Gojo asked.

“You knew she had anemia”.

Gojo frowned and looked at Geto, “Of course I did. I called you ..remember?”. He added.

“I do. I also remember looking at her reports and prescribing her medicines which she had to take daily”.

“She was taking them daily”.

Shoko looked at Geto, who corked a brow. “No she wasn’t”. 

Gojo’s pulse raced. “What..what do you mean?”.

“Her reports are back. Her anemia has worsened”.

Gojo’s world stood still on its axis. “That’s..that’s..not possible. She was taking her medicines daily”.

Shoko shook her head. “I had my suspicions so I sent her medicines to the lab and they were not the ones I had prescribed. Well one of them was. The others were Dapsone”.

“Shoko I don’t understand….what do you mean?”.

Shoko sighed. “Satoru, let's sit down”. 

Gojo pushed the stroller and sat down opposite her and Geto. “Shoko what’s going on? Is she going to be fine?”.

“I have my suspicion that someone switched her medicines. Her blood count was too low so I sent the medicine in the lab and out of five only one was the medicine that I had given her and the rest were a drug called Dapsone. Dapsone is used to induce Anemia, not cure it. I can estimate that she was administered this drug for no more than five days but given her condition it could have been fatal”.

Gojo’s mouth ran dry. “Fa..fatal? You mean…”

“Life threatening”.

Gojo’s shoulder dropped. “Is she going to be fine?”.

“Yes. But she needs rest and care”. 

“Who gave her the meds everyday?”. Geto asked,Gojo looked at him . The two men exchanged nods and Geto was already on his phone. 

Gojo nodded his head. Had Yuri continued to torture Gojo, he would have beared it all. Had she asked for all his wealth, he would have given it all to her. Had she asked for his life in return of yours, he would have given it to her. But she made the most fatal mistake of her life by going after you. No one was safe now. No one was in the clear now. No more interrogations. No more suspects. Yuri had declared a war and now she would have to fight it. 

Gojo thought about the fight last night and how this morning he didn't even tell you he loved you. He made the same mistake he made last time, leaving you when his gut told him to stay.

"I don't care who gave her the meds..I can't hurt her anymore. She deserves to live a happy life". Gojo picked up his phone and called Yuta, "Get me the divorce papers".

The man on the other side of the wall listened to the conversation. He smiled. The plan had worked. 

-X-

Yuri : I need updates!

Yuri : Why are you ignoring me?!

Yuri : Is  that bitch dead?

Yuri : Where the fuck are you? Pick up my call!

Yuri : Did they move her to another location?

Mr.Man : Things might have gone out of control. 

Yuri : I told you we should have gone for a lighter dose!

Mr.Man : Have faith. 

Mr.Man : He might reach out to you. I overheard him talking to the detective.

Yuri : What should I do?

Mr.Man : Strike when iron is hot. 

Yuri : What does that mean? Should I meet him? 

Mr.Man : Yes. But ask him to meet alone. He might come with a backup. He has agreed to the divorce. 

Yuri : What? Really?! Why hasn't he texted me yet?!

Mr.Man : Have patience. 

Gojo finished typing the last text and locked Jerry's phone and stared at him. Jerry's gaze remained fixed on the floor. Five men surrounded him as he sat in handcuffs. 

Gojo kept the phone on the table and pulled a chair to sit opposite to him. He stared at Jerry, the man that he respected like a father, the man that he trusted enough to be around his wife and son, the man that took care of him in the darkest days, but he was no longer any of that. Now, to Gojo, he was the man that tried to kill his wife. When Gojo saw the messages between him and Yuri he wanted to put a bullet through Jerry's brain. But he knew he needed him to reach Yuri. 

"Why?". Gojo askedz crossing his one leg over the other and folding his arms over his chest. 

Jerry remained silent.

"Why did you try to kill y/n?".

Jerry looked up at him with anger in his eyes. "I didn't try to kill her".

.

.

.

"You drugged her. Knowing well that it could be fatal to her". 

"She wouldn't have died. I wouldn't have let her die".

Gojo bit the inside of his cheeks. "Why help Yuri?".

.

.

.

Gojo scoffed at the silence. "I know where your family lives. Your daughter is at Ginza, waiting for her train to Ueno. Your son is 300m away from your home. Your wife is at the neighbor's house and she will be leaving in the next 5 minutes when a man will tell her that her son has been hit by a truck and her daughter fell on the train track. Do you think given her heart condition she would survive the news?". Gojo smirked.

Jerry had tears rolling down his eyes. His chest rose and fell with each breath. "No. You can't hurt my family!". Jerry yelled.

Gojo let out a chuckle. "Are you really in the position to ask for that? Fine. You're right, you have served the Gojo house for a long time and I should honor that. How about…I get you convicted for pedophilia? The word would spread around quickly, I'll make sure of it, your daughter will be ostracized  at the college and your son will probably kill himself. Your wife…dies anyway". 

Jerry was sweating and shaking. He hid the details of his family from Gojo and yet he found out. Gojo smiled and got up to get his phone. He stood in front of Jerry and showed him the live video of his family members. The first video was of a man moving through the crowds at the station and standing just behind his daughter. "What are the chances that the safety door in front of your daughter malfunctions and the crowd pushes through?". 

Gojo played the second video, it showed another man walking behind his son on the bridge less than 300 m away from his home. "I have heard that this bridge is quite dangerous. You see the speed with which these cars are moving? It would hurt so much if he got hit by one of them".

"Please…not my kids. Please". Jerry begged. 

"Hmm okay. I won't kill them. Just injure them enough so they spend their entire life in a wheelchair, unable to talk, walk, react.."

Gojo chuckled and played the third video which showed a man standing outside a neighbor's window and Jerry could see his wife on the couch talking to her friend.

"Imagine when your wife's friend finds out that you are a pedophile! They would be so disgusted".

"No no no. Please". Jerry cried. His tears fell on Gojo's ostrich leather shoes. 

Gojo walked back to his chair and assumed the same position. "Then start talking. You have 3 minutes left to save your family".

Jerry shook his head. "I didn't want to hurt Ms.y/n. I didn't. But I couldn't let her stay with you. You don't deserve her! You're just like your father! I…". Jerry paused. "....I couldn't save your mother. I wanted to. I even helped her run away but you monster of a father brought her back!".

Gojo gritted his teeth as he listened to the sick man. 

"I loved your mother. I wanted to help her…but I couldn't". Jerry looked up with a frenzied expression. "...Ms.Y/n reminded me so much of your mother. She is kind. A good mother. Doting wife…and you". Jerry's gaze darkened, "…a monster. A selfish man who is only capable of thinking for himself…the day you made her cry, I knew that this time I will save her!". 

Gojo swallowed the lump in his throat. "So you tried to kill her?". 

"No no no no. I would neve hurt Ms.Y/n. I just wanted you to realize that the life you live puts the life of others at risk".

"You were there with me! You raised me! You out of all the people know what I went through!". Gojo screamed, making Jerry flinch.

"I pitied you as a child. But as you grew up you became his splitting image and as much as I wanted to help you, I felt disgusted by you! You were treating her the same way you dad treated your mother"

"Y/n trusted you. She was the one who suggested that you should be the one to help her with Keisuke".

"I know. I would rather die than let anything happen to Ms.Y/n. That's why when Yuri asked me to kill her, I made this plan. I was going to kill Yuri after you divorced Ms.y/n". 

"And then?". 

"Then then…I would have asked Ms.Y/n to stay with my family. So I could care for her like she deserved to".

Anger rose inside Gojo. "You're a sick man".

Jerry chuckled. "Love makes us sick, Mr.Gojo. I used to wonder how a man could go insane because of a woman..who was this woman that made the great Gojo Satoru lose his mind. But then…I met her and I got to know her. It all made sense. Anyone would go insane over-".

Gojo stormed out of the room wiping the blood off of his knuckles. People stopped in their trail as they saw him walk past. No one had seen the Ice Prince in the last one month but now he was back. Gojo didn't care if Jerry thought that he was just like his father. Gojo didn't care that Jerry called him a monster, maybe he was a monster. But he loved you. If he was fated to love you as a monster then so be it. He will become the monster that will protect you, avenge you, love you. 

Before Jerry could finish a sharp blow landed on his jaw. Jerry fell on the floor with his hand cuffed in front. Gojo grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground, "That's my wife you're talking about you sick bastard!". Gojo threw him across the room and Jerry's head collided with the wall as he fell on the floor leaving a red streak in the trail. Jerry thought about all the times he saw with Gojo, like you were a happy family when you were nothing but a trophy for him. He remembered when he first heard yours and Gojo's moans mixed together it made him throw up. Gojo didn't deserve a woman like you. Every time he looked at Keisuke he was reminded of the love you had for Gojo and he would have killed Keisuke first if it hadn't been for you. Losing Keisuke would have broken your heart, especially when you risked your life to save his.

Gojo sat on his toes and glared at Jerry. "Did you kill my mother?".

Jerry chuckled, coughing out blood. "I didn't mean to kill her. I just wanted that child of hers to die".

Gojo gritted his teeth. He felt sick. He got up and kicked Jerry in his guts. "You are going to pay for what you did".

He took his phone out and texted Yuri, 

Gojo : You win. I have the divorce papers. Where should I meet you? 

Yuri stared at the text and bit her nail. She was scared to face Gojo. Maybe she can ask him to drop the papers somewhere. Instead of texting Gojo she texted Jerry.

Yuri : Gojo texted me. Where should I meet him? Does he really have the divorce papers?

Gojo unlocked Jerry's phone with his other hand and replied,

Mr.Man : Call him at the warehouse near the pier. He has the divorce papers. 

Yuri : How did y/n even sign it?

Gojo rolled his eyes and huffed. 

Mr Man : She was slightly conscious. She doesn't know yet that she had signed the Divorce papers.

Yuri : Serves that bitch right. I'll call him tonight at 12.

Yuri took a deep breath and texted Gojo, 

Yuri : warehouse number 12 near the Pier. 12 am. 

Gojo : okay.

Yuri : come alone. If I see another guard or officer with you, y/n will be dead before you even reach home.

Gojo looked at her text and chuckled.

Gojo : Okay.

He walked over to where Geto and Yuta were sitting with Keisuke. Yuta gently rocked Keisuke in his arms and walked around the room but as soon as Keisuke saw Gojo he started crying and stretched his hands towards his father. Gojo's icy exterior melted as he smiled sadly and took Keisuke from Yuta's hand. "Thank you for looking after him, Yuta".

"No problem. He seemed to like more than his uncle Geto" 

Geto, who was sitting cross legged, rolled his eyes. "He would only calm down with Yuta".

Gojo chuckled and rubbed Keisuke's back. He immediately calmed down as soon as he took in the scent of his father. Gojo kissed the back of his head as he sniffled. "Any update on y/n?".

Geto and Yuta shook their heads. 

"I called Shoko and she said y/n might be unconscious for the next 12 hours. Something about her body needing time to recover. They are changing her drop every hour".

Gojo nodded his head. "Can I go see her?".

Geto and Yuta exchanged looks, Yuta hesitated but spoke first, "Ms.Shoko didn't say you can't but she didn't say you can either..so I guess you can".

Gojo handed both the phones to Geto, "I'm meeting her at 12 tonight. Yuta go through the texts and see if we can find anything else on her".

Gojo rubbed Keisuke's back and walked inside the guest bedroom where you were lying unconscious.

He let out a shuddered breath as he saw you lying still with tubes going into your arms. Your face pale like a ghost, cheeks sunken in, he swallowed his tears as he moved slowly towards your bed.

"Hi, love".

Keisuke turned around at the mention of your nickname and moved in Gojo's arm, stretching his arms towards you. "No baby. Mumma is sleeping". Gojo gently put his arms down but Keisuke fussed in his arms and continued to get out of his grasp and into his mother's. 

Gojo kneeled by the bed and gently put Keisuke next to you. Keisuke stretched his arm out and grabbed your dress and tugged it to have you turn and face him. Gojo pressed his lips together and hung his head low as he let out a silent cry. How can he explain to Keisuke that you can't play with him now? If anything were to happen to you how can he explain to him why his mother is not there with him? He prayed to God that if he wants a life then he will hand over his only for you to live. Gojo cried as he watched Keisuke pout trying to get you to turn to him. He sucked in a sharp breath and mustered his strength. He had to be strong for him. When you wake up, you will be so proud of him for being a good father. A strong father.

"Mumma's sleeping. You want to give her a kiss?". Gojo asked and picked up Keisuke so he could softly kiss your cheek. Keisuke tried to grab your face but Gojo picked him up immediately "no no no. We can't disturb mama".. Gojo leaned down and kissed your forehead softly, "By the time you wake up, this will all be over. I promise".

Keisuke cried as he hopped in Gojo's arms to be free and lie next to you. It didn't make sense to him as to why his mother won't play with him? Why won't she hold him? Why won't she feed him? 

Gojo walked out before Keisuke's cry could disturb you. "It's okay baby. She will be up soon. Then we'll all stay in bed all day". Gojo cooed as he rocked Keisuke gently. 

It was around his dinner time so Gojo walked straight to the kitchen, he tried to prepare the formula while carrying Keisuke in the baby carrier.  It was evident that Keisuke missed his mother as he would start wailing every half hour. Gojo struggled to make a formula while talking to Keisuke at the same time. He was too scared to let anyone either hold his baby or make his food. He could only trust himself. A task that usually takes about ten minutes took him 30 minutes to complete. Gojo sat down on a couch, draped a towel over his shoulder and held Keisuke in his arms as he tried to feed him with the bottle. But Keisuke refused and continued to cry. Gojo sighed and looked around the empty kitchen. He didn't know what to do. He had tears rolling down his cheeks.

His wife was unconscious, his baby was crying and he didn't know what to do. But then, like a message, he remembered your advice. Gojo carried Keisuke and the bottle to yours and his empty bedroom and sat down on the bed. He put Keisuke on the bed gently and ran inside the wardrobe to fetch your cardigan that you were wearing this morning. 

"A baby recognises the mother by scent". Your words rang in his ear. He wrapped your cardigan around his arm and went back to hold Keisuke. Almost like magic, Keisuke stopped crying immediately. He sucked on the bottle gently and looked up at Gojo with wide blue eyes. 

Gojo chuckled, "you're a mama's boy". Gojo shook Mr.Carrot above gently and continued to talk to Keisuke while he drank. When he was done Gojo put the cardigan on his shoulder and Keisuke smiled when he put his head on the cardigan. Gojo breathed a sigh of relief as Keisuke burped twice and dozed off happily. 

Gojo walked around the bedroom with Keisuke in his arms. He thought about his own childhood, how when his mother had run away his father did not even bother to check on him. If it wasn't for the help he would have gone to bed starving.  He would never let Keisuke feel that way. In a way he was glad that Keisuke is too young to remember any of this. 

Shoko stood by the door and gestured to him to come out. Gojo walked out and gestured to her to be quiet as Keisuke was asleep. Shoko simply rolled her eyes. 

"Is everything okay?". Gojo whispered.

Shoko nodded her head. "Y/n's vitals are fine. I am here to look after my godson". She nudged her chin towards Keisuke.

Gojo smiled. It was a relief that he had someone he could trust to look after Keisuke as he goes after Yuri.  "Thank you".

Geto walked in with his hands in his pocket and smiled at Gojo. "Looks like he is finally asleep". He whispered.

"Yeah. It was quite hard".

"I am looking after him so you two be safe out there". Shoko said as she gently took Keisuke from Gojo's arm. Keisuke,wrapped in your cardigan, cooed in his sleep and grabbed her hair strand. Shoko remained still for a moment. She has always been the stoic one, the sassy one, but now as she held Keisuke in her arms she glared at the two men in front of her. "If anything happens to this baby I will burn this world down with my lighter". 

Gojo chuckled and nodded. He leaned in and kissed the top of Keisuke's head and when he pulled back Geto leaned in and kissed the top of Shoko'a head. "a kiss for my baby".

"Thanks". Gojo smiled at Shoko. 

"If you do something stupid I will steal your baby". 

Gojo chuckled and nodded. In her own twisted way it was Shoko's way of saying she wanted him to be safe and that she loved Keisuke.

"Do I really need this?". Gojo asked, holding the bulletproof jacket in his hand. 

Geto fastened the jacket over his black shirt and tied his hair in a neat bun. 

"Obviously! Y/n would kill me if anything happened to you!". 

Gojo chuckled and took his shirt off to put on the jacket. It was better if Yuri didn't know that he was prepared. He felt like he was going on one final battle of his  life and on the other side a good life awaited him. 

He buttoned his shirt and turned towards Geto, “Hey..”.

Geto, who was tying his shoelaces, looked up at him and crooked a brow.

“If things go south and if anything were to happen to me..there is a letter for y/n in the first drawer of my desk, give it to her”. 

Geto chuckled, “Fuck off”. 

-X-

Gojo had never felt so sure of his destiny. But now he knew. He knew as he kissed you and whispered his promise in your ear. He knew as he checked his gun. He knew as he walked out of the estate with Geto. He knew as he drove his black lamborghini huracan. 

He stopped the car at a distance from the warehouse. He stared at the silver band on his finger. There was no set plan to follow. There was nothing to talk about. He got out of the car and glanced at a distance where Geto’s car was ready with the back up. He grabbed the papers and made his way towards the warehouse.

Yuri paced around the warehouse. She had kept it simple, at least tried to. A metal table at the center. Two chairs on either side. She had tried to keep her attire simple but sexy. Leather pants and a leather corset top. He knew Gojo hated loud makeup and stuck to her no-makeup makeup look. Her heels clanked on the ground as she paced from one end to the other. Jerry had texted her a while back, assuring her that Gojo had left alone. 

Yuri stilled as she heard the approaching footsteps. She went and sat on one end of the metal table with her legs crossed, like a tigress waiting to pounce on her prey. The rolling doc doors opened, revealing a silhouette of a man. Yuri recognized Gojo right away. Gojo stepped in and the doors closed behind him. 

Yuri took in a deep breath and shifted in her seat as Gojo walked towards her. Her breath hitched when his face became visible. Sunken red eyes, disheveled hair, tense jaw, arms flexing by his side. 

Gojo didn’t say anything. He walked over and sat on the other side of the table. 

“Hello, Satoru”.

“Hello, Yuri”.

“I’m sorry to have done this to you. I hope you know that I didn’t mean to hurt you”. Yuri spoke softly. “None of this was meant to hurt you”.

Gojo smiled. He wanted to get up and bash her head against the metal table but he held his ground. “It’s alright. It was best for both of us anyway. Y/n does not fit in my life”.

Yuri smiled, ear to ear. “Exactly! That’s exactly what I wanted you to see!”. Yuri took a breath of relief and relaxed in her seat.

Gojo smiled and nodded. “How did you get Hiro’s video?”.

Yuri chuckled. “Satoru..you are too innocent for this world! You see, I knew you way before Geto introduced me to you. Or should I say I introduced myself to Geto”. Yuri laughed.

“What do you mean?” Gojo asked. Trying his best to keep his demeanor pleasant enough.

Yuri took a deep breath. "You see.. I saw you for the first time the day you killed Naoya Zenin. I didn't even have to ask around much to find out about the history between the two of you". Yuri chuckled. "I just knew I wanted to be with you. You were strong, so sure of yourself. But I couldn't just approach you right?".

"Right…".

"With Naoya's death the clan was in pieces and I gathered all the important information I could. That's where I found the security footage of his townhouse and I was going to delete it. It seemed useless until I saw your face in one of those. So I kept it with me. I didn't know who Hiro or y/n were but I knew who you were".

Gojo stared at her blankly. "So you used the information you had on Zenin to gain Geto's trust?".

"Bingo! When I saw what you had become it broke my heart. I thought to myself whoever this dead woman was, she should not have this hold on you! But it turns out the dead woman was alive!!!!". Yuri threw her head back and laughed. 

Gojo didn't want to hear your name from her mouth anymore. "Give me Hiro's video and I'll give you the divorce papers".

Yuri took out a phone and played the video for Gojo. "There you go". She slid the phone across the table. Gojo picked up the phone and sent the video to Geto, as a backup and to let him know that it was time to move. 

He smiled and slid the papers across the table to Yuri. Yuri grinned and picked up the stack of papers. She flipped and her smile dropped and pulse picked up. These were not divorce papers. They were photos of Jerry, handcuffed and tied to a chair. Yuri blinked and looked at Gojo who was smiling at her. 

"You made a huge mistake going after y/n".

"I…I…Satoru…Satoru..I..". She fumbled with the words and stood up immediately letting the metal chair fall to the floor. "..nno…this was all his idea!". She yelled, pointing at the photo of Jerry. 

Gojo smiled and stood up with his hands in his pocket. He took out Jerry's phone and tossed it on the table. "Regardless of whose idea it was…". He walked around the table and Yuri took a step back for every step towards her. "...you should not have even thought about hurting my y/n".

Yuri trembled with fear. "I didn't want to! I swear I didn't want to hurt her!".

Gojo pouted and bent down to her eye level, "Right, you wanted to …kill her. You wanted to kill my y/n".

Yuri shook her head and stepped back. "No no no I…I didn't. You…you can take the video. I…I swear I won't ever hurt her again…please…please let me go". Yuri fell to her knees and begged. 

Gojo sat on his toes and cooed at her. "Come now Yuri…where did your confidence go?".

"Please Satoru…please…don't kill me".

"Kill you?". Gojo clicked his tongue. "Why will I kill you? You didn't kill my y/n did you?".

"No no I didn't!". Yuri shook her head and swallows her tears. 

"Exactly..you hurt her!" Gojo grinned in her face. "So now I will hurt you". Gojo said, pushing her forehead back with his index finger. He stood up and walked over to the table and pressed the button opening the rolling doors. "You're terrified of water right?". Gojo asked, tilting his head. 

"Satoru please! No no! I saved your life! Do you not remember any of that?".

Gojo's smile dropped, "You're right". He said glaring at her. "You saved me. Then you drugged me. I can still forgive that. But you hurt y/n. I will never forgive you for that". He smiled as men rushed around him and stood in a semi circle around Yuri.

"As much as you love surprises, let me tell you what's going to happen to you. I owe you that much". Gojo cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck. "You are going to be taken to the middle of the sea. Then your arms and legs will be tied and you will drown in a metal cage…not killed. Of course not killed. I cannot kill someone who saved my life right?". Gojo shrugged. 

Yuri stood up with trembling legs. She regretted telling Gojo about her worst fears. 

"And this will continue the entire night, or till my y/n wakes up. Whichever comes later. Then you'd be given a choice…to either shoot yourself in the head or drown to death".

Before Gojo could turn and walk away, Yuri grabbed a gun from the holster of the man standing to her right and fired in Gojo's direction. 

As soon as the noise rang every gun around her was pointed in her direction. Gojo stared at her blankly. His right hand went over to the left bicep and touched the wound. Gojo brought his hand forward and looked at the red coating his fingers. "You missed". He smirked devilishly. Yuri watched in horror as her shot missed the mark. Bullet that was aimed for his heart simply scratched his bicep. A wound that would recover in a few hours. 

"You know salt water really stings on wounds? How about a wound for a wound?". Gojo smirked and took out his pocket knife. He held Yuri's trembling hands and made a long diagonal cut on both of her palms. 

"That should do. Enjoy your night Yuri. It's your last one". Gojo winked and walked away as Yuri's screams faded in the background. 

Gojo sat at the back seat of the G wagon  with doors open as a medic patched his wound. Geto, who stood outside, glared at him with his arms folded over his chest. 

"Fine you were right! I am glad I listened to you and wore the vest!".

Geto shook his head and lit a cigarette. The air was cool and this wasn't their first post fight banter. He watched as the men took Yuri away in a blacked out car at a distance. 

"Why drowning?". Geto asked, staring at her flailing silhouette.

Gojo chuckled, "Because it's her worst fear. She can't swim and has been terrified of the open waters since she was a kid".

Geto nodded his head. It was fair game. She played with Gojo's worst fear and he played with hers. 

"Any news on y/n?". Gojo asked.

Geto shook his head. "Shoko said she's stable and Keisuke has been sleeping well". 

The medic was done wrapping a bandage around his bicep and Gojo got out of the car and stood next to Geto. 

"Does it hurt?". Geto asked.

"Why? Are you going to kiss it?".

"Do you want me to?". Geto smiled and looked at Gojo through the corners of his eyes. 

The van carrying Yuri went past them and Gojo finally felt free. 

"How are you going to show y/n the video?".

Gojo sighed. "Maybe when she is awake and a bit more stable, I will tell her that you helped me find the video and that can also help justify your interrogation".

"I owe her an apology".

"She'll understand".

Gojo checked his watch, it was 2 am. "We should head home".  

-X-

Yuri screamed and shouted as the guards locked her in a 6ft metal cage. By the time the cage was suspended in the air above the vast black ocean, she had accepted her fate. These men won't listen to her. She offered them money, sex, power but they wouldn't dare go against Gojo Satoru. 

"Oh god of god of god". She muttered as the cage was slowly lowered to the ocean. She closed her eyes and held her breath as it completely submerged in the dark water. She flailed around in the cage like a fish. Her lungs burned and the scars on her palm stung badly. As soon as she thought she was going to drown the cage was lifted  in the air. She fell on her knees and coughed out the salty water. Her wounds burned even more now as she tried to wipe them on her pants.  She hissed and cried but her eyes burned with every tear that rolled down her cheeks..this was worse than hell and it was only the beginning of her long night.

As soon as she caught her breath the cage was dropped in the ocean again. Unlike last time when she was given a moment to catch her breath, this time the impact had her screaming under water. She grabbed on the rails on the roof of the cage and tried her best to stay above water but her palms hurt so bad that she immediately let go of the rods and floated in the cage, screaming, crying. Once again, as soon as water began to fill her lungs, she was brought up again.  

The cage was brought up and Yuri looked down at the vast black ocean. Open water bodies terrified her but open water bodies at night was a whole other ballgame. She felt dizzy and disoriented. All she could taste was salt. All she felt was pain. 

She remembered Gojo's words, "Don't worry Yuri. When you reach hell, the devil will pity you". Yuri smiled. Gojo always stood by his words. She looked up at the sky and prayed to fall unconscious so she wouldn't have to feel anything. Ironic, she thought to herself, how she wanted your fate right now. She laughed and then the cage fell again….

-X-

As soon as Gojo reached home he rushed through the doors to see you. It was around 3:00 am and though he was tired, mentally and physically he needed you. He was hoping that when he sees you you'd be up and waiting for him to get into bed but as soon as he reached your room, his heart fell. 

You were still asleep. 

He walked silently and kneeled by your bed and held your hand gently. "It's over. It's all over". He kissed your knuckles and smiled.  

"When you wake up, you'll be in a new world. Where we will live happily. I have so much to tell you but all of that can wait. We have all the time in the world now". He kissed your cheeks and whispered three little words that he hoped you'd hear. 

"Satoru?". Geto called out in a whisper, standing at the doorway.

Gojo kissed your forehead and walked out. 

"Did Yuri tell you anything about how she got the video?". Geto asked. 

Gojo walked alongside him with his hands in his pocket, "She used to work for Zenins and when Naoya was gone, she stole information from them to gain our trust. Somewhere in that pile of information she found the video…pure stroke of luck".

Geto cursed himself for not running a thorough background check on her. Had he known she had worked for Zenins he would have never employed her. How could he let that go under his radar?

"Drop it already, will you? It's not your fault".

Geto nodded. 

"Why don't you and Shoko take the guest room? It's been a long day and I am sure she's tired too". 

Geto smiled and nodded his head. He too was tired from everything that had happened. His added guilt only amplified his need for a good sleep. 

-X-

You let out a heavy breath and suddenly were conscious of every muscle in your body. You felt awake but in a dream. Your arms felt heavy by your side. Your legs felt heavy. Your head felt heavy. You tried to raise your hand but could only manage to twitch your fingers. Was it night? Was it noon? Where was Keisuke? Where was Satoru? You opened your eyes slowly and saw the darkness around you. Something was attached to your arm, you moved your eyes to the side and saw a tune going into your wrist. Then it all clicked. 

Your heartbeat picked up, you remembered feeling dizzy, you remembered calling for Jerry but you didn't remember whether he came or not. Shit did you faint with Keisuke in your arms? Did you hurt him? Was he okay? You tried to call for help but your throat felt painfully dry. 

"..toru". You managed to whisper. Your vision was still clouded and the lack of visible light only added to your paranoia. 

You took a deep breath and swallowed painfully to muster up courage to call for help.

"Satoru!". You managed to call in a hoarse voice. 

You felt someone's hand on yours. You looked down and saw the tuft of Arctic hair. You smiled. Of course he was here. 

"Satoru..". You called with tears rolling down your cheeks. 

Gojo woke up with a jerk. He heard you call for him. He looked up and before the single tear could reach your jaw he was on his feet and leaning over you. "I'm here. I'm right here, love!". 

Gojo pressed the button and was about to run out to get help but your feather light grip on his band stopped him.

"Stay". You whispered and Gojo relaxed. 

"You're alright. Everything is fine". He assured you as he kissed your forehead.

"Ke.. Keisuke..".

"He's fine. He is sleeping right now. He's fine. You're both fine".

You smiled as you let out a sob. 

The nurses rushed in and Gojo kneeled  on the other side of your bed and held your free hand. "It's going to be alright". He assured you again. 

A part of you felt like he was assuring himself. Like he was trying to convince himself that you were alright.

Shoko walked in rubbing her face and stood by your side and smiled. "This is not the reunion I had expected but good to see you y/n".

You smiled. "Can't…move".

Shoko smiled. "It's alright. You have just woken up and the dose I gave you was quite high. It'll take some time". She sat down on the chair Gojo had been on and checked your pulse. "Low but good". She stood up and gently helped you sit up slightly. 

She helped you drink water with a sipper and wiped your face with the towel that Gojo handed her. 

"What happened?". You asked meekly. Your voice lacked strength but at least you were able to talk now. 

Shoko and Gojo exchanged looks and before Gojo could start she turned towards you and smiled. "You fainted. But luckily we were able to get you the help that you needed and you are stable now". 

You frowned at her. "I..took meds".

Shoko's smile dropped and it concerned you. "Someone…Jerry switched your meds".

You tilted your head to register to what she just said. Jerry switched your meds? Was she talking about the same Jerry? You turned your head towards Gojo and his guilt ridden face confirmed your suspicion. 

Gojo turned to Shoko, "Can I talk to her alone?".

Shoko nodded and got up. "Call for me if you need anything".

You turned to Gojo and fear in your eyes made his heart drop to his stomach. Gojo held your hand with both of his and explained everything that conspired in the past 24 hours. You listened with your heart on the edge as Gojo showed you the texts between him and Yuri. 

Anger rose inside of you when you saw the video but it was soon replaced by sadness knowing that Gojo was in such a state where people like Yuri took advantage of him. Yet here he was, more worried about you than what could have happened with him. You wanted him to be angry for himself but instead he was worried about how you'd look at him. 

Anger rose inside of you when he showed you Hiro's video. How could you let that happen? Had you stayed for a minute more then Gojo would have witnessed the birth of his son. You were angry at Hiro for taking this one thing away from you. Sure he wanted Gojo to suffer but what about you? What did you do to deserve not having the love of your life by your side? How could Hiro disregard your feelings? You were thankful to him for giving you an escape but did you even need one? You needed to have Satoru by your side. You needed a peaceful sleep. You needed to feel loved. You needed to hold Gojo's hand when you thought you were dying…and Hiro took all of that away from you.You sobbed as the video finished playing. "I'm so sorry". You sobbed in your hand. "Oh god…what  have I done….I'm so so sorry". 

Gojo stood up and wrapped his arms around you as he let you sob in his chest. "It's not your fault y/n. It's not your fault". Gojo let out a shuddered breath when he felt your body tremble in his arms. He sat down on the bed and rested your head on his chest. "It's going to be fine. We are going to be fine. Breathe, please". 

"No no no no…I…I'm so sorry". You clenched his shirt in your hand. “I..shouldn't have listened to Hiro…I..Oh god..I’m so sorry Satoru. I..I am so sorry”

"No love. You have nothing to apologize for. You did what was best for you and our son. You did a good job".

You looked at him, “But…you..you couldn’t be there because of..If only I would have stayed for a minute longer..”.

“Y/n…You didn't do it with the intention fo hurting me, okay? You were just protecting yourself and our son”

"What about Jerry? I let a man like that near Keisuke and …if only I hadn't…".

"No no no. It's not your fault that people are bad".

"Satoru , he could have hurt Keisuke…oh god ..He could have hurt my baby!". 

Gojo sighed. "It's my fault y/n. I told you I'd take care of you and Keisuke and I…couldn't".

"It's not. You did everything right. It just happened to be Jerry. Nobody …could have expected it”.

Gojo kissed your head. "Okay".

"Where is…Jerry?".

You closed your eyes, and Gojo cupped your face with one hand and wiped the tears off your face.

"Why didn't you tell me about this? I would have believed you".

Gojo was at a loss of words. He looked down, ashamed and shook his head. "What was I supposed to tell you? I know the look on your eyes y/n. You love me but I know a part of you is also scared. I see that. I wanted to tell you about Hiro but I had no memory of that video. I ...I told you there was nothing between Yuri and I and then....this...I couldn't do that to you. I couldn't let you go"

You looked down. You had been too harsh on him and you felt bad for making him feel that he had to hide things from you and Jerry used it against him. He knew Gojo would not confess to you. He knew Gojo would be scared of the video and that's why they sent both the videos together. You were so angry at everyone for hurting him.

Gojo shook his head, "You don't have to see him, love".

"I just… How could he even think when you would be anything like your father when he has practically raised you? Satoru, you are nothing like your father…You are kind and attentive and you always prioritize us over your work …. Keisuke is so lucky to have a father like you…I am lucky to have a son with you".

Gojo looked at you and smiled sadly, “Do you mean it? Really mean it?”

“Yes!”. You said, immediately. “I mean it with every fiber of my body”.

“Thank you”. Gojo kissed the side of your head.

“I hope Jerry rots in hell for everything he has made you and Keisuke go through”.

Gojo smirked, "As you wish". 

"And Yuri too..but where is Yuri?".

Gojo took a deep breath, "She's there. Do you want her to live?".

You remained silent. You didn't know whether you had it in you to kill someone. But Yuri threatened your son, drugged Satoru…"No. I don't think she deserves to live". 

"Okay".

Your eyes drifted to the white band under his shirt. You sat upright and touched it gently. "What happened?". You looked at Gojo.

He sighed. "It's nothing" 

"It doesn't look like it's nothing. What happened, Satoru?".

"Y/n ..You need to rest right now".

"No…no I need to know what happened to you?".

Gojo sucked in a sharp breath. "Yuri…. shot me".

Your mouth hung open as you tried to get up but Gojo put his hand on your shoulder and calmed you down "What…what do you mean she shot you? …why are you not in a hospital?".

Gojo smiled sadly and pulled you into him."Because it wasn't serious and I wanted to spend time with my wife".

"Satoru…it’s not ..corny. It can be serious and It can get infected or something". You glared at him.

Gojo smiled. It was adorable how your knowledge of getting shot comes from movies and his’  comes from his experience.."Y/n…It's just a scratch.I am more than fine. I'm here and you're here and that's all that matters".

You shook your head disapprovingly. What happened to all the safety and security when he was almost shot? “No no. You should still get it checked once again”.

“Okay, I will but not now. I need to be with you now”. He grinned.

"Did you have a hard time with Keisuke?". You asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Gojo took a deep breath and thought about how he had never seen Keisuke cry this much. How clueless he felt every moment you were not around. "He missed his mom for sure". 

"Did you feed him?".

"Yes".

"Did you bathe him?".

"No. He was too fussy and I didn't want to risk it".

"Where is he now?".

"With Suguru" 

You breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Are you mad at Suguru?:. Gojo asked.

“No. I understand now. I am glad you had him”.

You yawned and groaned, feeling the tiredness creep in.

"You should sleep now y/n. It's been a tough day". Gojo got off the bed and helped you lie down. He pulled the duvet and tucked you in how you do for Keisuke.

"Can you…. stay with me? …..Please?". You bit your lip nervously. After hearing everything that happened while you were unconscious a part of you was scared to be without Gojo. You needed him to feel secure. You needed him to tether you to reality and save you from spiraling into your what ifs.

Gojo nodded "Of course I will", and got in bed with you. He winced as he lay on the arm that was injured and you glared at him. "just a scratch?".

Gojo smiled and rubbed your back. "Yes, love. Just a scratch". 

-X-

When you woke up again you were no longer ridden with anxiety. Instead you felt even more relaxed when you saw Gojo walking around the bedroom with Keisuke in his arms.

"Good morning". You said, sweetly.

As soon as Gojo turned towards you Keisuke started crying and stretching his arms out to you. Gojo brought him to you immediately and you took him in your arms.

"Did you miss me, munchkin? Sorry mummy took a long nap". You cooed as you wiped his tears. Keisuke buried his head in the crook of your neck and wrapped his tiny fingers tightly  around your necklace. His wailing stopped the moment you kissed his chubby cheeks. "I'm so sorry. I promise I'll never leave you again". You kissed his head as he sniffled. You peppered kisses on his face and it made him relax in your arms. "Were you a good boy? Did you give daddy a hard time?"

"Did he give you a hard time?". You asked, looking at Gojo. 

Gojo sat down next to you and stretched his legs, wrapping one arm around you and resting the other one on your lap. "Not at all. But he missed you. I was so scared for him. I couldn't even explain anything to him". 

You smiled sadly and pecked Gojo on the lips. "You did a great job". 

"You think so? It took me over 30 minutes to make the formula".

You chuckled at him. Sure that was surprising but you didn't blame him. "That's alright. You still did a good job". You understood that it wasn't easy to take care of a baby when everyone around you was a possible threat, when your wife was lying unconscious, and there was a psychopath out to get you.

"I'll call Shoko. You still look weak".

You kept your hand over his and looked at him pleadingly, "Few more minutes.. please".

Gojo smiled and sat back down pulling you into him. 

You rested your head on his chest, brought his hand up and kissed his scarred knuckles. You felt safe in his arms. Somewhere in your heart the last crack closed up and you finally…after four years…felt like you were home. 

-X-

1st August,

You stared at yourself in the full length mirror and smiled. You looked like those dolls on top of the wedding cake. The lace veil draped behind you and the white silk gown fit you like a glove. The diamond earring that Gojo sent for you this morning casted a kaleidoscope  pattern on your collarbone. Your eyes drifted towards the calendar on the wall. August 1st. The weather outside wasn't gloomy. It was surprisingly pleasant. Not too windy, not too sunny. Gojo had wanted a grand wedding but you insisted that you get married in the lawns of the estate that you had spent months taking care of. You didn't want a grand ceremony. You wanted to get married at a place that you called home. 

Contrary to advice of the wedding planner, you had decided to do your hair and make-up yourself with help from Shoko. You wanted to keep it all very minimal. You looked at your hands and smiled at the imperfect white nailpolish painted by Gojo. He wanted to add his own touch to your look and you couldn't say no.

You picked up the sapphire brooch and pinned it on your left, your something blue belonged to Gojo's mother. Your something old was your own mother's hairpin that you had treasured for years. You wondered if your parents were her would they be happy? You hope that wherever they were, they were smiling for you.

You needed this time alone in your bridal suite to gather your nerves. The last few months passed by like a gust of wind. Keisuke was not almost 7 months old and Satoru decided that it was the right to get married for the second time…or third. Though you didn't demand for one as you were already officially married, Gojo insisted that you have a ceremony. You agreed. 

Though he didn't need to propose, Gojo still went on a knee when the three of you took your first family vacation to Ginzan Onsen. It was your Ghibli dream come true and you said yes to the ring once again. You still remembered being so in love as you walked along the streets with Gojo’s one hand in yours and the other pushing the stroller. You were no longer with Gojo because you had to be. You were here because you wanted to be. You wanted to welcome him home and make his lunches. You wanted to write notes for him and pack it in a bento box. There was something adorable about the most feared man in Tokyo blushing over a note in his bento box. 

Now you stood here, on the 1st of August, thinking about how a year ago you were pregnant with Keisuke and had just found out about the risks of pregnancy. In the August before that you were sitting in a bus, on the way to the office where the love of your life was engaged to another woman. Now you are about to get married to the man you love .Funny how life changes in three Augusts. 

As you walked down the aisle with Mr.Itadori on your right  and Mrs.Itadori on your left , with your bouquet of orchids in your hand, you saw the man you had loved for the last five Augusts stand on the other end. Everyone was looking at you and you were sure you should have acknowledged them and smiled at them but you couldn't tear your eyes off of the man in the deep blue tuxedo. Handsome as ever.  

Gojo felt like someone punched the air out of his lungs as soon as he saw the doors open. The wedding march faded in the background and his world stopped moving. This is what he lived for. Everything that he had endured till now led up to this moment and he would do it all again just to see you smile at him as you walked down the aisle. You were his sun, his moon, his star. 

“You look beautiful”.

“Thank You”. You smiled and took his hand.

Gojo had boasted that he would not be the one to get emotional but here he was, fighting his tears as he read his vows. He lost the battle when you read yours and you chuckled as you wiped the tear off of his face. You cried a little too when he kissed you. But Gojo was quick to wipe it away with his thumb.

Geto stood next to Gojo with Keisuke, in a matching blue tuxedo, in his arms. He looked at Shoko and they exchanged smiles. 

Instead of a flower girl you had Yuri happily scattering flowers for you. It was  surprising how quickly he bonded with Satoru. During the reception Yuji ran up to you and introduced you to another kid, who Yuji claimed to be his best friend even though they had met an hour  ago. Megumi,whom you recognized to be Toji’s son. He seemed like a quiet kid, opposite Yuji. You  smiled and patted both of their heads as they ran away hand in hand. You turned and continued to talk to the man who was taking over part of Gojo’s business so Gojo could spend more time with you. Nanami Kento. Few minutes later you saw Megumi and Yuji being scolded by a girl, about their age, and smiled. You wished that these three retain their youthfulness even when they grow up.

Months later when you and Gojo took Keisuke to Gyoen park. The lake smiled. Years ago two hearts broke by its shore and now they had found their way to each other like waves to shore. Gojo smiled as he saw you show different flowers to Keisuke. It was surprising that his first word was "addada" and Gojo rubbed it in your face for weeks. He claimed that he had won the bet but you only rolled your eyes at him. Even now as you point to a flower Keisuke looks at Gojo and calls him in a come here motion. "Addada", Gojo gave you a smug grin, reminding you that he had won the bet. Gojo smiled and walked to his son. In that moment Gojo was grateful that he never stopped fighting for you. If there was anything worth fighting for in this world, to him it was you. 

A.N : Thank you to everyone who has supported this story. It's been a long and happy journey and I hope you enjoyed your time with the story. I hope it brought you comfort and happiness when you needed it.

It's 2 am as I write this and I can't describe how emotional I feel having completed this story. I hope it was everything you had expected and that you are happy with how things turned out. Thank you for supporting me so far and I promise that I will continue to do my best for you 💗

With lots of love, 

Your Priestess.

@hiqhkey @chemtrails-club @simplyrosesxr @foggyperfectiondragon @sofi786 @vesta-ro @kimvmarvel @mykyoon @shintin @attackonsimpp @pyschopotatomeme @lilith412426 @shuxjodie @sagejin @cloudsinthecosmos @hecateria @froggylust @lightblueexorcist @watyousayin @creolequeen11210 @s13nnnna @shartnart1 @the-crane-wives @musababy @loquia @ackerstain @allofffmypeaches @regalillegal @erintaro @commandertorinshepard @gojo-sunglasses @tspice283 @iam-mia9 @screwyou3 @denypipa @smolkazumi @winter-bearv @mc-reborn @pangolynnn @sindela @daintyazra @purpleguk @iam-mia9 @sammyiguess @ritsatoru @5seos @kirby-star @vr00m-vr00m @qualitygiantshoepsychic @littlemochabunni

Azris Week Day 5: Slice of Life

The bats put on a show for their judges. One of them earns their punishment, the other simply ends up punished.

This is chapter 2 of a fic I started for @polyacotarweek "Return to the Hewn City", which is a spin off of "3 Jewels in the Hewn City". For full context you should read the previous works/chapters before this one.

Have some more smut for @azrisweek day 5. Who doesn't swing with their best friends to fulfill their kink dreams? It's part of these couples' daily lives in Prythian.

Read the snipped below the cut, or you can read the full chapter on AO3!

The challenge in his mate’s eyes was something that Azriel knew all too well, and he relished it. His smile grew wider as he watched Eris’ hand caress the subtle swell of Nesta’s stomach. Without a word, he slipped out of the chair and onto his knees. One by one, he began to undo the buckles on his leathers, letting his fingers drag across the fabric as he moved from one to the next. He heard Nesta’s slight intake of break and shifted his gaze from Eris’ to hers.  Her hands were behind her head, tangling in Eris’s hair as he continued to subtly tease her. A brush of his hand, the nip of his teeth, a soft breath of air across her flushed skin. All the while her eyes watched Azriel, pupils dilated and cheeks flushed. When the last buckle of his shirt came undone, Azriel slipped out of it easily and threw it toward the bed. Cassian’s soft, “oof,” told him two things. One, he’d hit his target. Two, his opponent was just as distracted by his display as the judges were.  Azriel licked his lips as he leaned forward, falling onto his hands and knees. He crawled to Nesta’s feet before pressing soft kisses on the insides of her ankles.  “I don’t believe we gave you permission to touch, dog.” Eris’ chastisement was stern but enthralled nonetheless.  “And I don’t believe you told me I couldn’t, sir .” 

Keep reading the full chapter on AO3!

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AHHH yes! most beautiful AU series everrrrrr!

Falling in Love on the Fourth Floor (Azriel x reader) Masterlist

Summary: Out of an act of desperation, you move in with a guy you kind of know who happens to have a really hot brother who lives next door.

Author’s note: this is an Azriel x reader fic, however there will be a ton of Cassian and Rhys interaction because found family! Besides they’re so fun to write for.

*banner by @milswrites

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13 (update: 5/29/24)

Part 14 (coming soon)

Part 15 (coming soon)

Part 16

Part 17

Part 18

Part 19

Part 20