Baby Steps [Satoru Gojo]

↳ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝

"You know exercising can help you induce labor." Is the first thing he says when he steps into the room. Of course he does, he wants to get rid of you as fast as possible. You sit up and you take the tray for him. You don't say anything. You never do. "The twins are sick so don't be too loud tonight. No one wants to hear your crying."

"Maybe if you let me–" You begin, and he knows exactly what you'll say so he cuts you off.

"We're going out tomorrow, you have to take a breath of fresh air. Enjoy nature before it's too late." He interrupts. You inhale and gulp. When he exits the room, you have to put the tray down elsewhere because you have no appetite.

This is all happening because you wanted to get back at Satoru. He warned you. You just assumed that he was jealous which is foolish of you.

-

Suguru takes you to the town that's near the house which is almost an hour away. He tells you that he'll buy you a dress because the only clothes you have barely fit you anymore; he'll then take you out to eat, the last time you'll ever go to a restaurant.

"Be out in fifteen minutes, we'll meet you here." Suguru says while the twins try to drag him somewhere else, and you end up nodding in response. You walk into the small shop to look for a dress that fits, which feels impossible. Especially with the little money Suguru gave you.

There's an older woman that walks around, most likely the owner of the shop. She smiles at you and you smile back at her. You get an idea as you walk over to her and you feel your legs trembling. Your voice is shaky as you speak up, "Excuse me... Do you have a phone I can use?"

She furrows her eyebrows but ends up agreeing before she passes her flip phone. You think of a number to dial, and you curse yourself for not having any numbers memorized but your own– No one has your phone. Suguru left it there, in the first house he took you. But your thumbs still input the numbers.

You bring it up to your ear and you're discouraged with every ring. And just as you're about to hang up the phone, someone picks it up. You feel so relieved to hear his voice, you've been waiting to hear it for weeks, and you almost burst into a cry when you hear it,

"Hello?"

"Satoru– Satoru, it's me. Listen, I don't have long but I'm with Suguru, we're in–" You begin, your voice low as you speak so the woman or anyone else in the store can hear, but you have to stop because you don't know where you're at. You have no idea. You ask the old lady where you're at, and you relay the message to the man that's on the other side of the phone. "If not, I'm in a small house an hour away. Please find me in time– If you don't... Please take care of our son."

Before he can say anything else, you hang up the phone. You can't risk Suguru walking in and seeing you on the phone. You give it back to the lady and begin to look for the dress. You begin to look for something your size.

Without noticing, the fifteen minutes go by and Suguru steps into the store. His eyes immediately land on you and he grabs your arm. He squeezes and then whispers, "I told you fifteen minutes, didn't I?"

"Well, I don't have a watch. Plus nothing here seems to fit." You respond. "Just give me a few more minutes."

"I told you fifteen minutes, didn't I? Why would I give you more time? Give me a reason."

"I'll cause a scene." You reply. "It's just a fucking dress, give me some more time."

"Why couldn't you find one in fifteen minutes?" He asks, and you bite down on your lip. Maybe because you're only thinking about Satoru, hoping that he'll save you in due time. Hoping that he cares enough about you to look for you. So you begin to cry, causing the scene that you promised.

"I'm so big, nothing fits!" You claim, and Suguru is almost embarrassed. The old lady looks at him and he sheepishly smiles before saying,

"Pregnancy hormones."

And while he hopes to calm you down, the little bell that indicates that someone is in the shop, rings. You both look at it, and while you were praying for salvation, you didn't expect it to come so soon. Suguru's plan was almost perfect, except that he left you alone while shopping. He couldn't take his eyes off you for a single moment.

"Step away from her, Suguru." Satoru says, causing Suguru's grip to get stronger. He comes at the right time, and you wonder how he got here so fast but at this moment you don't care. You dig your long nails into his hand and Suguru removes his hand as a reflex which allows you to break from his side. Maybe not being taken care of for weeks isn't too bad– At least not in this situation. You run to Satoru's side, and he grabs your hand. You squeeze his hand a little stronger than you intend as you feel a sharp pain on your lower abdomen for a minute.

You're about to let go of Satoru but he pulls you in, and in a blink, you're elsewhere.

"Satoru..." You say as you look around. You're on the outskirts of a completely different city. This feels like a dream, a fucked up one at that. "Where are we?"

"I have to explain a lot but... I have to go take care of Suguru. Ijichi will take care of you while I do that, okay?"