The Reservation (Nanami Kento || JJK)

Still Beating

It was really him.

Gojo.

Alive. Unsealed. As cocky as ever, bragging about his students who saved the day.

Nanami and I sat on the bathroom floor, shaking with part-excitement, part-fear, and part-disbelief that it was all over. That the students from Tokyo and Kyoto had really done it all.

Of course there had been many sacrifices made along the way. Nanami would have been among them had I not pathetically begged him to run away for me.

Sukuna was still kicking inside a student's body, and the imposter got away, but the threat of those problems was infinitely smaller since the jujutsu sorcerers got a handle on the situation again.

Apparently another student—another special grade like Gojo—had shown up right when he was most needed, and things were pretty much over from there.

Despite the destruction, all the havoc, and even the aftermath ripples that were still playing out, the city was quiet. Only sighs of relief and soft cries of mourners could be heard, seeing as how very few non-sorcerers survived in Shibuya.

As news trickled in throughout the day, it became evident that the terrorist story was going to stick. The devastation was widespread, but I couldn't help but feel selfishly grateful about the ones I cared about making it out alive. Not unscathed, mind you, but alive.

Even Nanami, who always had a gripe against his senior, seemed relieved to hear Gojo's voice.

I clung to Nanami like glue for a week after the news came. Nursing him even when he didn't need it, fussing like his life depended on it, I wasn't ready to let him go any time soon. Unfortunately, the day snuck up on me when he had to return to school.

I woke gently in our bed, blinking in the early morning light, lingering in the warmth and smell of him in my sheets. When I realized he wasn't in bed with me though, I sat up, finding him standing in front of the mirror, fixing his tie.

"You're going to work today?" I asked, chest tight with panic.

"I'm well enough now," he intoned. "Though I'm not looking to get right back to exorcisms. I need to see for myself what's going on and what the students need."

Of course... His students. His poor students who went through the same hell as him and needed their teacher back.

The problem was that I didn't want to give him back. I didn't want anyone to have him but me.

I twisted the sheets around my fingers in my lap, fighting the urge to whine. "I have to share, don't I?"

A wry laugh that was more like a scoff slipped from his nose. "Yes."

With a sigh, I clicked my tongue and grimaced. "Fine. If I have to."

Even more amused by my attitude, Nanami turned away from the mirror, stalked to the edge of the bed, and pinched my chin between his thumb and forefinger. Drawing my gaze up, he stole my lips for a tender, yearning kiss.

I melted under the softness of that kiss. As my fingers loosened in the sheets, my frustration ebbing, I reached for him. I tried to pull him into bed while being mindful of his collar he had just smoothed down over his necktie, but it would be pointless in a minute if I got what I really wanted.

Nanami pulled back slightly.

"Sorry," I breathed. "Are you hurting?"

My fingers grazed the edge of his black eyepatch, then pushed back tendrils of his hair that he had combed over to hide the scars along his scalp. I'd given him a buzzed undercut around the rest of his head, which helped to even out the symmetry.

"No," he whispered against my mouth. "Just fighting the temptation to let you have me all day in bed."

The corners of my mouth lifted. "Stop fighting it. Just give in."

"Not today, Mae. Tonight though maybe."

I fell back into bed with a dramatic, lamenting sigh.

"I promise to text you constantly today," he said, and I popped right back up. "I know you'll be worried, so I'll keep my phone on. Don't hesitate to text me first if you don't hear from me."

"Really? Even if I text you more incessantly than Gojo?"

"Even then."

I tapped my chin, pondering his offer. "You're going to be worried about me today too, aren't you?" There was no way this was one sided if he was allowing me to be even needier than the infamous Gojo Satoru.

"Very much," he said simply. No shame.

On my knees, I crawled to the edge of the bed, then sat up to pull him back to me. Just one more kiss. One more minute. I dragged it out as much as I could. Every time he started to pull away, I drew him back in with a lip bite or my tongue.

He caved every time.

We did that dance all the way to the front door. Kissing, pulling back slightly, chasing, and kissing again. I managed to stall him a full twenty minutes before his hand was finally on the doorknob.

"I have to go," he said into my mouth since I hadn't released him yet.

I hummed, not really giving him an answer, and refusing to let go of the back of his head as I stood on tiptoes to keep kissing him.

Nanami humored me another minute or two before he finally broke away. Pain and regret flickered in his eyes, like he hated this decision.

"I'll come home as soon as I can," he promised.

Home. My heart fluttered with warmth to know that he thought of me and this apartment as his home now.

After he left, I wandered listlessly through my apartment, debating if I should shower, or clean, or cook, or exercise, or call my grandma, or—

My phone dinged, and I picked it up off the counter where I left it to charge the night before. Scrolling through the notifications, I came across an email.

CONGRATULATIONS! Your art piece was selected as the grand prize winner for—

I couldn't believe it. No, really, I couldn't. I didn't even remember submitting anything.

Wary that it was a scam, I opened the email, then almost choked to see the logo of an art association I knew full well to be legitimate and prestigious. I scrolled fast, coming across a copy of my submission. A memory resurfaced as soon as I saw the black and white portrait of my brother.

It was the first inspired piece I had done in a long time. The first piece I really felt something for again. I didn't recall submitting it, but I must have one late night before the world exploded.

My eyes misted over as I read all the kind, complimentary comments from the judges. As simple as my piece was, so was the love I clearly had for my brother that shone through every pencil stroke.

I wiped away the tears, sniffling with a smile on my face. "I hope you're proud of me," I whispered to Yu. "And you better be happy for me and Nanami. He's the one who inspired me to draw again."

I owed everything to Nanami. He was the reason I did anything these days. He brought back my love for old passions. He encouraged me to do anything that didn't endanger my life.

But most of all, he was the reason my heart kept beating all those years ago. Ever since our first reservation.