#strawberrycowsnuggles

[strawberry-cow-smut]

"It's always been there."

Character: Gojo Satoru, Jujutsu Kaisen

Reader: Gender Neutral

Exploring: First Meeting, Love at First Sight, First Date, Relationship Moments, Gaslighting (about small and inconsequential things), Awkward Moments, Lots of Fluff

Gojo Satoru is known for his boyish demeanor; full of fun, laughter, and a playfulness that rivals any other. Sure, he's possibly the most powerful sorcerer to have ever existed in the written memory of mankind and likely the closest thing to an actual god that humanity currently has on its side, but none of that really changes anything; at least when you look at him.

Satoru is like a mischievous cat. He'll mess with your hair and move essential items onto higher shelves then hide the stepladder just so you have to come ask him for help. He'll lurk around corners just to "casually" walk out just as you're coming around them to cause a crash of bodies in which he can ever-so-heroically save you from "certain death". To put it frankly, he's an asshole (affectionate).

But he's your asshole.

Gojo Satoru asked you out back when you were both in middle school. He'd decided to walk a different path on his way to the local convenience store after class had ended. For you, on the other hand, this path was your chosen way home from your own middle school.

It was a cold spring and the cherry blossoms had yet to bloom; decorating the landscape with trees that vaguely resembled themselves after the first powder of a chilly winter season. Some buds had already fallen and were floating their way down the stream next to his path.

He remembers seeing your reflection in the water of the river first, then moments later being awestruck as your figure popped out from a corner and began heading towards him. Normally, Satoru wouldn't think much of a person walking towards him, but something about you just had his heart in shambles the moment he laid eyes on you.

Is it really all that unusual for a middle schooler to hear wedding bells when he's barely even gotten over the idea of cooties?

The distance between you two was closing at a slow yet steady pace. He'd been frozen in place since the moment you'd appeared, but you hadn't stopped walking at all. Once you were roughly six or seven meters away, he couldn't hold himself back any longer.

"HEY!"

The sudden yell caught you off guard; bringing your own body's movements to a grinding halt.

"DO YOU WANT TO GO OUT SOMETIME?"

With a boyish smile and bright eyes, Satoru stared eagerly, waiting for an answer. Sure, the delivery wasn't the most impressive, nor had you ever seen this kid before in your life, but what did you have to lose?

"No."

Apparently, your dignity.

Not giving him another second of your time, you turned tail and walked away, leaving him frozen in the same spot, with a much sadder posture.

Satoru stayed still for a few minutes, processing what just happened and what he'd just done. What he'd just done was make an absolute fool of himself and blow what possibly could have been his only chance with you. He wasn't about to give up so easily, though.

For the next month and a half (or forty-three days, to be precise), Satoru walked that same route every single day at the same time, even on days when he didn't feel like heading to the convenience store, just hoping to see you again.

You, on the other hand, purposely walked a different path in hopes of avoiding a weird white-haired kid with a tendency to yell out his unfounded love confessions. On the forty-third day, you incorrectly decided it was safe to return to your normal path, and encountered the doofus once more.

Once again, he was awestruck. He did wait for you to approach a bit closer this time, though. Once you had passed by and were a few steps behind him, he stuttered out his name, accompanied with a rather charming voice crack. You muttered your own in response, and he lit up. He jogged a bit to catch up with you, abandoning his trip to the convenience store in favor of a conversation with you.

In all honesty, he was a bit of a pest. He was loud and a bit obnoxious with hardly any regard for personal space, but something about this weird kid with his sights on you seemed oddly right; maybe not a good idea, but right all the same. Reluctantly, you conceded and agreed to meet him for a movie after class next week.

Your first date wasn't all that great. He was so amped up about the idea of seeing you that he'd practically yelled every sentence he spoke. Whenever he awkwardly attempted to hold your hand, he'd squeeze a bit too tight.

But still, he'd opened the door for you, bought both the tickets and popcorn, made sure you had the best seats in the theater, and had tried his best to manage both the date and his enthusiasm.

Oh god, his enthusiasm.

You'd arrived to your first date exactly when you said you would, but Satoru had already been standing outside the theater gates for two hours before the movie would even start. He'd visited two different flower shops on his way there, trying to decide which ones were the perfect ones to get for a first date, then ultimately decided holding flowers during a movie wouldn't be all that comfortable and forgetting about that idea altogether.

He didn't plan on you ever knowing that, wanting to seem as cool as possible in front of his crush, but the box office cashier made sure to tell you all about it. Of course, Satoru was bright red by the time they'd finished, but so were you. It was a new feeling to have someone be so excited to see you, and even more new to know they'd been thinking of you so intensely beforehand.

Before you two parted after the movie, you did mention an ice cream shop you'd be at that Saturday. Despite all his annoyances, they were still charming annoyances; and he'd earned a second date.

Throughout the years, you two would go on hundreds of other dates where his annoyances would make themselves known time and time again, each of them becoming endearing and something you'd almost look forward to.

He'd tell you there's a cool bird outside to get you to turn your head, then steal a bite off your plate when you weren't looking. When you'd invite him over, he'd open your sock drawer the moment you left him unattended and would switch around all the paired socks with others that were very obviously not their mate. He'd leave cute notes that said "I love you" or something similar in places you'd undoubtedly find them: your glovebox, your dresser, the kitchen counter, inside the fridge; although they'd always have a silly little poorly drawn penis in the bottom right corner. He'd reenact the famous "Long Live the King" scene from The Lion King with your stuffed animals then flop back in your bed, claiming to be the only thing you need to snuggle at night.

With all this in mind, it's truly a wonder how willing you were to trust him when he started gaslighting you.

It started small, and it certainly wasn't intentional the first time. As far as you know, the first instance was when you noticed a large stash of your favorite snack sitting in your shared pantry. Not wanting to lose his cool like he'd done so many times before, Satoru played dumb and acted like he hadn't ever seen the snack before in his entire life. You held firmly to your suspicion that he had something to do with the tiny mountain on the shelf, but it's not like it mattered, nor could you prove anything... and you did really like the snack, so you just shrugged it off and went with it; genuinely considering the possibility that you'd forgotten accumulating so many treats for yourself.

He really didn't think it'd be that easy to convince you. He turned the situation over in his head a few times that night, thinking about what your gullibility meant for the future of your relationship, but he didn't see many downsides; at least with how he planned to take advantage of it.

"Yes dear, the TV was always that big. No, it certainly didn't grow overnight. Are you imagining things?"

"Oh, you really like the fabric of our bedsheets? It's your favorite texture? What do you mean they're new? Oh, Honey, we've had these sheets forever and you're just now telling me about this?"

"You haven't worn that outfit in a while. What do you mean you've never seen it before? It was always in the back of your closet. It was just behind that old shirt you stole from me when we first moved in together. Yeah. You mentioned it was your dream outfit, but you've always had that."

"No, a jeweler didn't call today. You must be going crazy. I didn't even hear the phone ring and I've been home all day long. You're so silly."

One morning, the sun started shining a bit brighter than usual, or at least it appeared to since Satoru had forgotten to close the window before bed last night. He said he would before he laid down to sleep, but apparently forgot to keep his promise. While you slept peacefully. he'd been up the majority of the night. He'd been stirring about the house the entire night; sitting in every chair, making a thousand Google searches, playing Jenga by himself, and debating on whether or not to crawl into bed with you. Eventually, he would give into this little desire, but not before tending to another small task first. Satoru completed his little task before climbing into his side of the bed and snuggling up to you as per his usual.

You woke the following morning with the sun's rays leaping through your window and assaulting your face as it rose on the horizon. The arm around your waist kept you cemented in place. As you attempted to roll over to escape the warmth of another day, tired grumbles sounded from the face hidden from the same criminal in the small of your back.

"Five more minutes."

Given how he towered over you in both strength and stubbornness, you sighed and gave in to his grumbling without much of a fight. If you're going to be stuck here, you might as well make the most of it, right? Five minutes for him can at least mean four more for you too. As you lay your head back down on your pillow, a sudden and bright sparkle from your bedsheets caught your eye.

What the hell could that be?

In your sleep-drunken state, you attempted to reach out and grab the object, only to realize the shimmering object moved at the same pace as your fingertips... or did it?

The mysterious twinkle seemed to be attached to your hand; your left ring finger to be precise.

The extra heft was surely noticeable once you'd awakened enough to gain some form of higher thinking. There is absolutely not a single logical reason as to why this giant ring, almost gaudy in its presentation and glittering enough to make oncoming cars swerve, would be on your finger. Sure, Satoru had made some jokes in the past, but you swore he'd never proposed to you.

He stirs and grumbles again, obviously disturbed by your refusal to lay back down.

"Satoru? What's this?" you inquire without breaking your gaze at the ring. Satoru sits up slightly and yawns; blinking a few times before waking up enough to respond properly.

"... Oh! I know this one! It's a ring!"

Wow. So intelligent.

"Of course it's a ring, dumbass. What's it doing on my hand?"

"It's your engagement ring, silly. Don't you remember? I proposed like a month ago."

"......... Are you sure you did that?"

"Absolutely positive. Never been more sure of anything in my life."

"I think I'd remember something like that."

"Hmm... I don't know if you would. You've been forgetting a lot of things lately. Good thing I can remember it enough for both of us. We were in that cafe you like with those cute plants on the windowsill and it was snowing outside. You ordered a hot chocolate in their signature seasonal Santa mug and I had my glass of steamed apple juice to go with it. I got down on one knee and you said yes before I even had a chance to ask the question. It was so cute how eager you were." Satoru took a deep sigh and gave your body a slight squeeze, burying his face in the small of your back once more.

You're immediately calling "bullshit" in your head, but the slight tremble in his breathing makes you go along with it this time, fully understanding exactly what he's trying to do. With a sigh, you lay back down as well, rolling over to face him and cup his cheeks. Looking into his cerulean eyes, you give a soft smile and a gentle peck on his lips.

"I'm so glad you remember. I'm sorry I don't, but maybe you can do it again so I can remember this time?"

Satoru froze for a moment; taking the time to think through his next words carefully.

"Of course, my love." He cupped your cheek with one of his large hands and pressed his nose to your own; bright eyes peering directly into your soul.

"My beloved dove, I have loved you with everything that I am, and, if you'll allow me, I'd be honored to love you with all that I will ever be for all eternity. For the rest of our lives, I want to wake up next to you, just like this, and hold you in my arms, just like this. Whether we're fighting the clock and rushing out of the house after another 'Just five more minutes' or taking it easy and sleeping in until noon, I want that to be our every day together. I want to stay with you as long as you'll let me, as close as you'll have me. When I'm with you, the days turn into hours and the hours into minutes and minutes into seconds. I fear that forever may not be long enough to truly show you how much I love you, so I'm afraid I'll have to cut my little speech short. What I'm really trying to say is... Will you marry me?"

~~~~~~~~~~~Author’s Note~~~~~~~~~

Happy holidays to @saintsugu!! I'm your Secret Santa! This one's written especially for you, Ezra! This is the first JJK piece I've written so it might seem a little funky, but I sincerely hope you enjoyed getting to experience this little love story with Gojo <3

Heart dividers made by @/cafekitsune