𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 | 𝐉𝐔𝐉𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐔 𝐊𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐍

𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝗼𝐮𝐭 ✵ 𝐍𝐚𝐧𝐚𝗺𝐢 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐭𝗼

Warning/Disclaimer: angst + slight manga spoilers + wound/blood

Words count: 1.1k

•••

"I'll pierce my eyes"

"You're not gonna pierce your eyes, Y/N"

Sidekick, comrade, co-worker, or even long-time friend. These are the many names to describe this duo with a youth stolen and a maturity forced.

"Why not? No eyes mean no more curses which mean: freedom. It's a genius plan."

"Calm down, you're just tired"

Their work itself was often perceived as their destiny. After all, they had the gift of seeing these creatures, and so, the gift of helping poor, defenseless humans. They were heroes.

Heroes whose cape was simply too heavy.

"You're right, I'm tired. And it's because of this fucking job. Aren't you tired, Nanami?"

"..."

He was worn out. His back was killing him just as much as his legs, every inch of muscle was sore and even with all that, it was still his head that made him suffer the most.

"I want to sleep. Where is Shoko so we can get this over?"

"Shoko's not available until tomorrow."

He read the information on his phone. She grumbled in response, honestly, she was about to cry. The curse had left her a beautiful farewell present on her ribs that burned at every move.

"Why? Just-... fuck"

It had been her only hope of the evening, that the beauty would do her magic to relieve her pain, just enough for her to fall asleep for at least a few hours. A break before the mass of paperwork that would inevitably consume her morning.

"I'm going home then"

"You need to take care of your wounds, they'll get infected"

"I know. I'll disinfect them when I get home. See you tomorrow, Nanami. Sleep for me."

When the two left the Tokyo Jujutsu High campus, Y/N took out her phone to reserve a taxi. She put her hand on her sides to check that the bleeding had stopped since; she had to thank him for his emergency bandage.

"I'll come with you"

His announcement was sudden. Y/N turned to the blond. His eyes were fixed on her wound.

"I can handle it myself."

"You can't. I'm coming with you."

Co-workers would be the term many would choose to describe their dynamic. However, for those who work with them on a daily basis, this term would be ignoring the care they had for each other.

After all, they were in the same shit. They both knew that no, nothing was okay. No, they didn't want to be heroes. And no, watching your friends die doesn't harden you, it destroys you.

Y/N didn't question him and when the taxi arrived, she even let him help her settle in.

"I let you open the door because I'm about to fall"

Two turns with the keys, a small push with the hip because his hands were taken by her almost unconscious shape, Nanami pulled the young woman into her apartment.

"Eat this and don't move, I'll go prepare the bathroom"

Y/N looked at his thin and long figure running through her apartment. She was slowly chewing the sandwich she had prepared the day before; with experience, she had learned to prepare some kind of survival meal beforehand.

He came back to open a bottle of water and then, went back to the bathroom. From the kitchen, she could hear the drawers being slammed and the man's frustration.

"It's all in the bottom drawer. If you can't find the rest that means I don't have it."

"You don't have any aspirin?"

"Ah... I do. But I put it on the bedside table. It has to be close to me at night"

Being familiar with her apartment, he didn't need to question her to find the packet. He joined her again, but this time he put a break on his run to sit next to her.

"Swallow. It should ease your pain."

She felt dizzy with the action but at least the pills had passed.

"You should stop running around. You're as tired as I am and I'm in no condition to pick you up if you fall."

"I am not hurt."

His eyes were on her wound.

"I get it. Let's go to the bathroom. Have fun, disinfect this wound as much as you want!"

Nanami didn't comment on her attitude. He didn't have the head for it. He wanted to make that wound go away, make sure she survived, make sure she stayed by his side.

He took extreme care during the disinfection. His eyes swung between her face which kept grimacing with pain and the red which unfortunately had not planned to disappear anytime soon.

"It's awful your thing. It doesn't hurt that much when I do it to myself."

"It's because you do it wrong."

Her breathing was heavy, her head was spinning. Y/N had difficulty holding on to the edge of the tub. Nanami noticed it. He made her sit on the floor, at least until he finished her bandages.

"Done?"

"Yes. Done."

"Can I go to sleep now?"

"You need to eat something else first"

"I ate. You're the only one who didn't eat."

"I am not hungry."

His eyes were on her wound.

"Nanami?"

He looked up to meet her gaze. He was exhausted, all you had to do was look at his face to see it. To this was added the torment that troubled his pupils.

"Are you sleeping with me?"

He blinked. He didn't understand.

"Why would I do that?"

Y/N moved slightly to catch his hands. They were cold and shaky. It was a light shiver, that was all his mind had let himself exteriorize.

That idiot, keeping everything to himself. He was the one who wasn't going to survive the night.

"Because we both need reassurance after today"

His eyes widened, the torment dissipating to give way to the tears. Nanami let Y/N pull on his hands. Sitting on the cold tiles of her bathroom, she hugged him.

"I'm fine, Nanami... everything's fine."

The ball formed by their bodies rolled back, Nanami clumsily lying on the ground to place the woman on him. He didn't dare hold her too tight, yet he wanted it so badly.

He didn't want to let her go. He was feeling too good. Crying helps, but having her in his arms was a miracle cure. He felt his heart lighten and little by little a smile formed on his lips.

"You're lying. Everything's going horribly wrong."

The same light smile was formed on Y/N's lips. It was a smile of a torn youth to which nothing remained. One that pierced through the tears because there, pressed against each other, they had never felt so alive.

"In theory, it's going horribly wrong. But since we are together... everything is fine."