Old Habits

Maki was practically falling over by the time she decided her days worth of training had been enough. Her knees felt weak and sweat beaded across her forehead. Her head throbbed a bit, presumably from the tight ponytail she'd been wearing that day like every other day, so she decided to let her scalp breath for just a moment. Weakly lifting her arms, the hair band was yanked from her hair. She shook her head, letting the green strands that fell from the ponytail completely cover the back of her flushed neck. She sat down on the floor before eventually flopping backwards, too exhausted to even sit up. It wasn't long before footsteps could be heard down the hall.

"Long day huh," he chuckled. Sliding open the door, Gojo stepped in and leaned against a support beam, staring at the young girl sprawled out on the floor.

"Feel like I'm about to pass out," she huffed, still panting from her training.

"I can tell. You worked hard today. I'm proud of you." It was strange for Maki to hear praise from others. Growing up in the Zenin house meant that she was constantly told she was a failure so Gojo's encouragement made her feel like she was good enough, like she was loved. Gojo knew this as well. He knew what kind of family she came from so he tried his best to make her feel worthy of being a student at the high school.

"Thank you sensei," she replied, forming a genuine smile.

She sat up, having been on the hard floor for too long. She grunted as soon as she did however, her body already starting to feel sore from the day's work. Her muscles felt tight and if she moved too fast she felt like she might pull something. The black hair band came off of her wrist and as she lifted her arms to put up her hair, her arms felt like they were on fire. Gojo noticed how exhausted the girl was and before she could process what was happening he was sitting behind her with his legs crossed, extending his hand out to her hand holding the elastic. She stared at his outstretched hand beside her and cocked her head back to see a small smile on his face. He didn't say anything but took the hair band from her hand and slid it onto his wrist. He gently took her hair in his hands and with a few swift motions he had her hair up. Her mouth was open, unable to say anything. The situation was so strange and yet she felt comfortable with his presence and him doing her hair. It felt so natural for him. It felt like this was something he did regularly. But before she could thank him she realized her neck felt bare. It felt colder. There was a feeling of emptiness that wasn't there previously.

He stared at her hair through his blindfold. Sometimes he often found himself grateful for his mask, as the most expressive feature Gojo Satoru had were his eyes and Gojo was a man who loved to hide how he truly felt. The big, bright blue eyes everyone around him treasures, but he's grown to hate, stayed wide as he stared at the bun he'd made in record time. He knew very well Maki only wore ponytails but he knew exactly why he'd done it. It was a habit. It was a dirty old habit that caused his hands to get to work before his mind had time to stop himself. It was a habit that he didn't know if he'd gotten rid of because it had been years since he'd last put someone's hair up. And it was years of putting up his hair that had caused him to form this habit in the first place.

Gojo thought of Getou's hair at that moment. He thought of how he loved to run his hands through it and twirl it between his fingers. He thought of how he would braid it if he got bored and how he would go into the girls dorms giggling, stealing their cute little hairpins to put in Getous hair. Oh how Getou hated the way Gojo would gawk at him with pins in his hair. Gojo couldn't help but find him so pretty. He remembered the feeling of waking up and feeling strands of hair tickling his exposed skin. The feeling of Getou's hair just barely brushing at his shoulders reassuring him that the man he loved was still right beside him, sleeping peacefully in his dorm room bed. He remembered how beautiful he looked in early morning light.

"Gojo Sensei?' Gojo whipped his head from the space he was staring off into and turned to his student.

"Ah, sorry Maki-san I know you only wear pony-tails," he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. She stared at him trying to understand what caused him to stare off like that. It wasn't like him.

"No, it's okay. I don't mind," she replied. Her mind scanned for a reason behind the hairstyle and his behavior until she fell upon a memory she hadn't surfaced for a while. A memory of someone she'd rather not think about. It had been a while since Getou Suguru had appeared in her mind but right then and there she knew he had entered Gojo's mind too. It was only when Getou was brought up did anyone ever see Gojo look like that. Everyone knew Getou wasn't a subject to bring up around Gojo unexpectedly, but when the topic was brought up it was the only time the students were able to see him visibly upset. He didn't look sad, but he looked out of it, always staring off thinking about the three years he spent with Getou that he'll cherish until the day he dies.

Gojo stood up to leave and right before he could walk out the door Maki turned and called to him.

"Gojo Sensei," she called stopping him in his tracks.

"Yes?"

"You used to do his hair didn't you," she questioned, knowing it was a sensitive subject but curious anyways. His smile he put on for her faltered and he looked at the floor for just a moment before looking back at her.

"I did."