Gojo Satoru was a little irked when you did not show yourself to him in the onsen. After all, you said you would. He expected you.
Instead, after an hour or two, he threw the thin yukata back over his shoulders and stepped back into the building. The halls were long, a proper ryokan inn that housed many people from all over the country who knew him just by his hair. He acknowledged their deep bows with slight dips of his head, but his focus was elsewhere.
His feet slapped against the tile as he made his way to the special half of the estate they had cleared out specifically for Satoru (and yourself). Ceilings too low and hallways too cramped, he wanted nothing more than to just sit down and have an opportunity to properly speak with you.
Satoru's life was hard, but he supposed it wasn't like yours. He had been groomed as the eldest pureblooded Gojo child to be the next daimyo fit to rival the gods, with another, younger brother brought up to be his scribe. Unfortunately, that brother died and Satoru was all alone in a big world of politics and hatred. No matter where he went or what he did, his father and many other people always looked to him for answers that he was not supposed to know yet.
A man of twenty-eight was just as clueless as you.
You, who he knew had a harsh upbringing. All Zen'in women did, because all Zen'in men were cruel. However he didn't know you too well.
It was bad enough that he already betrayed himself by growing to like you, quitting the childish addiction that was Kamo Ira the moment you told him your vows and gave yourself to him. But still, the thought of you loving someone else, even years before you really knew him, made him sick.
Satoru was an actor, a performer, a thespian to his own immediate family, but he hated to be a false man in front of you.
Why will you not fully give yourself to me?
Your voice haunted him, and after stepping inside of his suite and seeing you wrapped up in the blankets about as snug as his unborn baby, he felt more guilt.
I cannot give everything.
He could not.
Being a man in this world was about being full of strength and courage, being uncaring of love and giving wrath with the cutting edge of a sword. He was not fit for anything except for that. He was all bouyant smiles and ignorant bliss, thinking that people were incapable of hating him before now, before you really did seem to hate him.
If Satoru could be transparent, he would. But he can't.
Still, he sat next to your legs on the bed and very gently pushed the blankets back to reveal the slight distention in your belly. Just barely noticeable, but he knew your body too well to not catch it. With a hand on the small, clothed bump and a sad sigh, Gojo Satoru felt a certain heaviness in his heart that may never alleviate.
If his child loved him, that would be a miracle.
If you loved him, he didn't know what he would do.
Would he be happy? For real this time?
"Husband?"
He liked you, and although he only showed this through teasing and the feeling of his mouth and cock rutting against you almost every night, he could not say the words properly. He liked you. He had to, didn't he? So you'd carry his heirs?
Suddenly it wasn't even about heirs anymore. It wasn't about allegiances or family rivalries, it was about you trying to make the best out of the situation. Being kind to him and his townspeople and his friends and servants and-
Gojo Satoru didn't have to like you, but he did.
And he hated it...hated being being visibly vulnerable in front of others.
I cannot give everything and I will not be the perfect husband or father or whatever else, but I will try.
Satoru is complex. He is good at anything he does and he knows how to problem solve, wether it be by malicious words or the edge of a katana, but he could never quite get genuine care from anyone. They always wanted something as opposed to knowing his heart.
Well, anyone, apart from you.
"My wife," he said, thin smile adorning his lips at the sight of your tired face, "you did not join me."
You seemed to abandon your dissatisfaction, because you put on a smile, a soft one, a smile that made your cheeks flush and your eyes crinkle at the corners. "I got tired."
"I know."
Satoru's voice for once was quieter, just above a whisper. Your skin burned under his hand as his thumb ran across the flesh and you stared at it for a moment.
"I'm sorry about our fight," he said. Suddenly he took his hand off you and propped himself up on the bed, "although I know you missed me far more than you care to admit." Satoru jabbed your neck quickly and you choked out a laugh before swatting his hands away, then rolling away on the bed with your back facing him.
"Falsehood! I dare say you missed me more."
"Only a small amount."
"Oh, you're admitting it?"
"Just this once."
You hummed, getting more comfortable on the mattress before letting out a sleepy sigh. "How was the onsen?"
"Hot," he said, "tomorrow I am making you join me."
"Okay," you laughed before looking out the window, "oh, it is sunset already?" You suddenly sat up and looked out at the orange and pink painting the sky just like the universe itself intended it to be. "I have missed the whole day."
"Luckily we have another week or so here, and you know, an entire life to enjoy sunsets, y/n. But I digress."
"Shush," Looking at Satoru's smile over your shoulder, he was even more beautiful than the day you first saw him. You would not be surprised if he stayed so gorgeous until the world ended and the gods took it back. "Ah, I cannot look at you for too long. You make me nervous." You chuckled into your hand as you lay back down and Satoru wore an offended look.
"Nervous?!"
"Yes!"
"Why, because I'm so handsome?"
You smiled again, one he could not see. "Yes," you said, "far too handsome for your own good."
"Awh, but you love it."
"I am going back to bed. I cannot hear you."
"No!" he whined, "let me sleep first. You snore."
"I do not!" shooting up out of your cocoon, you glared at Satoru only to see him rolling over the mattress and blankets rather slowly (he was just so big) just to get to his side. With a groan, your husband straightened out on his back and spread his limbs so far out across the bed that he nearly hit you in the face, but you were still stuck on the accusation. "I do not snore, do I?"
"You definitely do," he gave you a teasing smile while your mouth was slightly agape, "it's quiet, I promise."
"How quiet?"
"Like this-" Satoru then proceeded to make the loudest snore noise you'd heard in your entire life with his mouth falling open, forcing you to shove his shoulder to get him to stop as you lay on your side.
"Enough!" you begged, "stop it, Satoru!"
"Stop it, Satoru-sama!"
Your words from the wedding night rang in his ears. He could spend years teasing you if it meant you'd keep saying his name that way.
He finally quit after hearing you break down in quiet laughter, grinning from ear to ear as he watched. For a moment as you both calmed down, you stared some more at the man before you who was now facing the ceiling with a small smile. Beautiful. Utterly georgeous he was.
Someone could tell you that Satoru hung the stars in the night sky, and you would consider believing them. One would say Satoru defeated every foe or villian in this universe, and you would stare at him with marveling eyes.
"I was joking." he mumbled.
"Hm?"
"You don't snore."
"I'm glad." you murmured.
"Although if you did, I would not like you any less."
"How sweet," you hummed, "can I tell you something, Satoru?"
"What's that?"
"You actually snore. Quite loud."
"What?!" head whipping to the side to look at you with shock, he cried, "I do not!"