𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐒 (𝓖𝓸𝓳𝓸 𝔁 𝓑𝓵𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻)

.｡*♡ Conflate .｡*♡

word count: 1071

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𝐆𝐨𝐣𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐨. A pang in his gut told him that this was the best action he could take in settling y/n. It had been about three minutes and he could feel her erratic breaths against his chest.

"Can you hear my heartbeat?" he tried in an even tone, thumbing her curls as he tried to soothe the poor woman. "Just focus on that..."

Y/n's h/c hair stuck to her face as she messily tried to push down the wild strands. His soothing tone comforted her. She breathed once, twice, before burrowing her head deep into his broad shoulder, smaller tears now running down her delicate features.

It took two additional minutes before she began to settle her panting breaths- matching them with his own- till he was able to close his eyes. The nightmare was over.

"You're safe," he found himself saying over and over again. "It's done... it's gone. I promise."

She stopped rocking for a moment, and it seemed that she didn't hear a single word of what he'd just said. Her eyes clouded over, looking once at him, and she began to weep. Not out of fear, no. Out of shame. Gojo sat still. Her frantic movements, her violent thrashing. Never had he seen this goddess become so wretched, so... fearful.

"I'm scared, Satoru."

Scared. She was scared.

God, how his heart ached for her.

He had nights of waking up with a hoarse throat, voice still screaming from relapses of that day. The day when he had to kill the remnants of what had been his own dear friend, Geto Suguru. He had no other option, though it felt horrifying all in itself. Cold murder. His screams grew inconsistent, but they never quite faded, always an agonizing echo in his mind. It tore at his chest and his eye sockets, threatening him with a feeling so violent and panic inducing he thought he would explode into a thousand pieces. He supposed that was what y/n was feeling right now.

"I knew this would happen... I've been sleeping way too well," she said, forcing a laugh. "I look gross, I know."

Her voice barely registered in the room. She was embarrassed, but not surprised. Gojo could tell that this was a common occurence.

Gently, ensuring he didn't overstep his boundaries, Satoru slowly brought his hands to the corners of her face, pushing back her h/c hair so that her beautiful features were brought behind that curtain of gorgeous curls.

"No," he whispered, their eyes meeting the others. "No, you don't."

His mind traveled back to his promise he had made to her in that cafe, about being better than her past man. The world was a cruel and unusual place for the both of them, it seemed. He could almost feel the horror and fear converge back on him as he woke y/n from whatever hell she had slept in. Subconsciously, he held her tighter.

"Satoru," y/n started after a moment of complete silence, besides an occasional gasp for air. She pulled away from him, though he wished she lingered. Her tears had wet his shirt.

The white haired man stayed silent, already knowing what was about to leave her lips. Both of their eyes were on the clock. "You've got wor-"

"No, y/n." He hated how selfless she was. Do something for yourself. Make this about you,

please.

"You're going to be late, I'm sorry."

Sorry. That seemed to be her favorite word. Gojo's blood boiled at the thought of a man harming y/n to the point he had her programmed to say that simple word when given the opportunity to. The man had even wormed his way into her dreams. He had traumatized her. It angered him.

Gojo dipped his chin. He kept his voice leveled so his sharp inflection towards her past man didn't seem like it was projected onto her.

"If I go to work, then I've failed you as a friend."

Friend. Another word he loathed. Were friends supposed to feel the way he felt?

Gojo readjusted his hold on her strong yet gentle body, his large hands cupping her tear stained face. The time was ticking, and even though Satoru couldn't give a damn about being late to his own teaching, he knew that y/n would grow restless, and he needed to keep her safe, if safe was the appropriate word.

His tongue swished around his mouth as he thought of what to do.

Y/n rubbed at her reddened face, her upper lip almost raw from tears. He wouldn't dare leave her here, still distraught.

"If you're so worried about my job-" Gojo tsked- "I suppose I'll have to take you with me," he lowered his gaze and gently tapped her nose, earning a small, awkward smile from her. "Just to keep an eye on you."

"I can't-"

"You don't have a choice." He gave her a hopeful smile.

The desire in his eyes made her sigh. She really didn't. Y/n paused for a beat.

"You'll get in trouble."

"Trust me, I won't."

Her head twitched with a flicker of consideration, but e/c eyes went to the backroom, where her unfinished sculpture presumably sat. It wasn't nearly done. She felt Satoru's thumb guide her face back to his.

"I promise it can wait. You've been holed up in here for too long. Get some fresh air."

Her gaze lingered on that backroom, her tongue and lips went to turn down the offer until she swiveled her head to his, looking him square in the eye. E/c to sky blue.

"If it doesn't get done in time, you'll regret it, Satoru."

Gojo gave her a look of suprise before his features morphed into a boyish grin. Partially flustered, he motioned a small salute, scooting to the edge of the bed with his feet resting on the floorboards. She shortly joined him, leaning her head against his shoulder as they watched the now bustling streets of Tokyo just outside the window.

"Yes ma'am~"

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"𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞."

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a/n: aw, i hope u enjoyed this chap! i have a guilty pleasure in writing "waking up in a cold sweat" thingys lmaoo >