Just A Phone Call Away
-ËË Ęá´á´á´ á´Ę ÉŞs É´Ę /Â á´á´3 á´ á´ĘsÉŞá´É´ / á´á´sá´á´ĘĘÉŞsá´ / á´Ąá´: 2584 ËË-
Warnings: Anxiety and panic, fear of being stalked/alluded stalking, work colleagues to friends, can be romantic/platonic
AN: Happy JJK day! I havent even watched the episode yet but i'm ready to sob HAHA theres gonna be another fic coming out in like 15 minutes of this one so be sure to check the masterlist if you dont see it <3
18+ Blog only! Minors DNI!
Thereâs something about tonight that has you nervous, on edge and looking over your shoulder for every little noise you hear. Maybe it was the random person you felt like was watching you as you ate dinner, the man who didnât seem too thrilled when you declined his offer you didnât let him finish telling you, or the person you accidentally bumped into and nearly knocked over when you were in your own thoughts and didnât care to take in your surroundings.Â
A gut feeling making itself known to you, aching in the pit of your stomach and telling you that youâre in danger. There are no street lights since itâs a residential area, so even when you do look behind you, thereâs nothing there. No weapons on hand to protect yourself, youâre alone and scared to be kidnapped or killed in the streets. Even the torch on your phone doesnât do much to help expose someone potentially following you, breathing heavily as you try to walk home as fast as possible, but you donât want to break into a sprint incase that sets off your predator.Â
Your first idea is to send your location to someone; Gojo is probably the best since heâs the only one who uses his phone semi-frequently. The message sends as delivered, showing your little blue indicator of where you are for him to see. Racking your brain for things to help, even if itâs just all in your head, you remember that people will call someone to discourage their stalker from attacking.Â
Once again, Gojo is the first you call as heâs the most likely to answer. His phone is typically on his person and you already know he doesnât often sleep, except the call goes to his voicemail and you hang up without leaving a note. Shoko, Utahime, Mei mei â fuck you even tried Ijichi before there was one last name on your list: Nanami.Â
Itâs not like youâve never spoken or even hate each other, but you would barely call him an acquaintance, really. Working at the school together is the only time youâll ever talk, and even then itâs typically short and formal before he leaves or ushers you off. His number is kept in your phone for emergencies and honestly, this is as good of an emergency as any.Â
Part of you hopes he doesnât answer and the other wishes he would. Thereâs another noise behind you thatâs picked up by your other ear, your head automatically snapping around to look over your shoulder and be met with darkness. Your legs are burning from the tenseness of your muscles in trying to walk fast, hands slightly shaking as you firmly hold the phone to your ear.Â
After three rings, thereâs shuffling on the other side before his voice âHello?â
âH-hey! Nanami, howâs it going?â
âWhy are you calling me?âÂ
Not exactly the response you wanted but itâs something you expected.Â
âI uhâŚâ Itâs clear to him youâre out of breath, pausing as you took in your surroundings for a moment. âJust wanted to talk to you, see how youâre doing.âÂ
Thereâs a pause. Your chest aches and thereâs almost a buildup of tears in your eyes. âWhatâs wrong? Are you in trouble?âÂ
A sigh and you quieten your voice, leaning into the phone impossibly closer. âI think someone is following me. I need you to talk to me so it discourages them.âÂ
Nanami sighs your name, âDo you think itâs a curse?âÂ
âI donât know,â you make a wrong turn and donât realise until it was too late and risky to turn back around. âI havenât seen anything, but I feel it in my gut.âÂ
âCan you feel its energy?â You pause and focus before responding ânoâ. âShould I come meet you?âÂ
âNo! No, no, no.â Nanamiâs mouth pressing into a line could be heard over the phone. âJust⌠Talk to me, stay on the call, please?âÂ
For a moment, you were scared he was going to hang up anyway; ignoring your pleading and the fear in your voice, hanging up the phone and wishing you well. Then he sighed through his nose, sharp in contrast to the relief you let out.Â
âWhat do you want to talk about?â
The uneasiness still sat in your stomach, but there was comfort from someone in your ear to ease the tension.Â
âDid you see the full moon tonight?â
âNo.â
âOh,â a pause as you look up at the moon yourself. âYou should look out your window if you can, itâs very pretty and bright.âÂ
Even though it was your suggestion, you didnât think he would actually get up to look â yet you heard the shuffling of a couch and a breath of exertion, indicating he had gotten up to do as you suggested. Silence had you biting your lip for a moment, still periodically looking behind you.Â
âYes, I see what you mean.âÂ
âPretty cool, right?â He hummed in response. âI used to believe the moon was made out of cheese when I was a kid; did you?âÂ
You could already see him blinking incredulously. âNo.âÂ
âYeah, you wouldnât.â You thought in reference to his stoic and serious demeanour.Â
âHow far from home are you?âÂ
Good question. Youâd been roaming around on auto-pilot, fear taking over your mind as your body worked on muscle memory. The wrong turn you had taken led you the long way home, but you were almost there.Â
âWhy, bored of talking to me already?âÂ
Your question was playful, but there was another pause that made your chest hurt. âI have things to do.âÂ
âRight, yeah,â suddenly you donât really care if youâre being followed. âSorry Iâll let you hang up, I didnât realise you were busy.â You couldnât hear it but Nanami grimaced and was filled with regret hearing the way your tone suddenly changed. âI shouldnât have called we donât talk like that Iâmââ
âI used to hate vacuums.â Nanami cut you off and you almost stopped walking, confused and stunned at his confession.Â
âYouâ What?âÂ
He hums, âMy family would only use sweeping brushes to clean until I was twelve. They bought a vacuum and I had never seen one before.âÂ
âNanami,â you canât help but giggle, âThatâs really funny, I hope you know that.âÂ
For a moment, you were sure you could hear a smile as he responded, âYes, I know.âÂ
Before another topic, more childhood confessions or immense guilt over keeping him on the call could take place, you unlocked your front door and entered your home.
âIâm home now, thank you.â Nanami hums in lieu of âyouâre welcomeâ. You exhale deep, âYou can go and do the other things you need to do.âÂ
He considers it and thinks of what were those things that were so important he had to do; take out the trash later, read the rest of his book, contemplate if he needs a haircut. Very important things that he might be able to sacrifice to ensure youâre safe and comfortable.Â
âI can stay if you need me to.â You toe off your shoes, guilt wracking your body now that relief is sinking in. âThat is if you still feel unsafe.âÂ
Honestly, it would be nice to have his company still now youâre home, a faint thought of the stalker following you home and getting ready to break in. Itâs unlikely but you double check your door is locked and move into your living room.Â
âI thought you were busy?â
âI can move things around and make time,â he tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. âIf something happens to you, that means Iâll have all of Gojoâs undivided attention.âÂ
You laughed, âGod forbid Gojo bothers you more than he already does.âÂ
The conversation went on through the night, already late enough by the time you got home, you stayed talking to Nanami as you changed into some sleepwear and brushed your teeth.Â
âDo you mind if I talk to you until I fall asleep?â The question made his heart soften. He should probably go to bed too.Â
âNo, but Iâll hang up if I think youâre asleep.âÂ
âI wouldnât expect anything else,â you climb into bed and rest the phone against your ear, laying on your side and cuddling up into your blankets. âI wouldnât want you listening to me sleep anyway â not like some kind of pervert.âÂ
âPeople sleeping has never been an interest of mine.âÂ
âNo?â Nanami can hear your grin and he rolls his eyes. âWhat are you interested in, then?âÂ
âLetâs change the topic.âÂ
âNo, come on!â A giggle that has the corners of his mouth twitching ever so slightly, climbing into bed himself. âYou alluded to having other interests.â
âI alluded to nothing.â
With a scoff, you change the subject with a hum. âFine, can I ask why you left your office job and came back to Jujutsu society?âÂ
A pause. âNo.â You pout.
Eventually you found topics to talk about that werenât immediately shut down, though Nanami didnât help much in talking and keeping the conversation flowing. Answers were short, straightforward and difficult for you to work with; you made do and still fell asleep a lot faster than you normally do.
-
It became a nightly ritual after a while.Â
At first you hadnât called him in three weeks, going back to normal in barely speaking at work unless necessary and pretending like it never happened. You almost considered going out again after work and walking home to have an excuse to call him.Â
Instead, you called him late one night when you were already in bed. Without any danger it wouldâve made more sense to text him first and ensure he was free, but you were lonely and couldnât sleep. It wasnât even that late when you called, either; but Nanami, even with a tired sigh in his voice, agreed to talk to you until you fell asleep again.Â
It was once a week, then twice, now it was every night you call him around the same time and fall asleep first.Â
He was still closed off even talking everyday, but you learnt pretty quickly to just say anything that comes to your mind and Nanami is happy to indulge you.Â
After two months since your first phone call, Nanami finally asked âWhy did you call me?â
âNo one else picked up.â
âYes, I assumed that â I mean why did you call me at all? We didnât speak then.â
âYouâre right,â you bite your lip, eyes closed and sleep creeping up on you already. âBut I trusted you to help me. We work together and I still trusted you even without speaking â beyond your worry of Gojoâs attention.â A tired giggle followed by a deep inhale. âI trusted and cared about you.â
Thereâs silence for a long moment, Nanami feeling a lump in his throat at your oddly casual confession.Â
âI still do trust and care about you, just a little more I guess.â
Nanami has a wall. Itâs built high and wide in front of him, indestructible to everyone. Even when he lost one of his only friends as a teenager, there was still that wall of cynicism that he had. Impenetrable for years by anyone and even you still canât get past it, but the fact you havenât given up and youâre metaphorically talking to a brick wall with him, it makes the wall crumble. Trusting and caring for people in this world is stupid, although Nanami canât bring himself to call you stupid for trusting and caring about him.Â
-
It was a week after that when Nanami finally pulled a brick out of the wall he had built for so many years, cautiously holding onto it and ready to put it back depending on how you react.Â
He texted you hours before your intended phone call, informing you he wonât be able to talk that night due to sickness. Of course you were disappointed as youâd found a routine with him, though you text him back well wishes and a heart emoji.Â
To your half asleep and confused surprise, your phone was ringing and Nanamiâs name highlighted on the screen, buzzing in your hands as the time read two in the morning.Â
Answering quickly and fearing the worst, your voice was rough from sleep, âNanami? Whatâs wrong?âÂ
âI left my office job because it was shit.âÂ
âWhat?â Even more confused than before, you groan and rub your eyes. âNanami, are you okay? What are you talking about?â
âYou asked me before why I left my office job; it was shit.â You donât respond, clearly still trying to wake up and the guilt sits in his chest but Nanami needs to hear you, talk to you like you normally do. âNo one cared about each other, everyone was just working to look good for their boss and hope to get their position.âÂ
Vague memories of you asking were coming back to you, but there had been so many one sided conversations since then.Â
âPeople would help each other but only out of necessity. No one trusted or cared for each other â not like you and Gojo do.âÂ
Oh, the pieces are beginning to fall into place so very slowly and youâre grateful to start seeing more of what makes up Nanami Kento.
âThe higher ups of Jujutsu society donât care about us, but having people closer to me who do and have good hearts is more important.â He inhales a deep breath, voice strained. âItâs the lesser of two evils and makes me feel more accomplished.â
When you donât reply after a purposeful pause, he releases the tense breath and calls your name softly.
âIâm still here,â and youâre still half asleep, âAre you drunk?â
âDonât make a big deal out of this.â
-
He wasnât drunk but he did talk to you more that night, forcing yourself to stay awake until the sun rose to relish in the development. Youâre unsure if he would ever be this talkative again, answering most of your questions about him no matter how personal they were into his background.Â
It was nice.
The next day you were tired and half asleep eating lunch youâd brought in, barely realising that Nanami was the one to sit next to you with his own meal.Â
You watch with wide eyes as he casually digs in, not intending to make a big deal out of this either. He had a sandwich, something that looked homemade and very delicious.Â
âThat looks good,â you comment before taking a bite of your own meal. He hums and finishes his bite before you continue, âDid you make it at home?âÂ
Nanami nods, âI buy the bread from a local bakery but build it myself.âÂ
âA local bakery huh? Look at you,â your teasing is met with a side eye, his glasses stored away and giving you a full view of his non-threatening look. You only giggle and go to take a bite of your own food. âI might have to ask you to make me one sometime, or even show me where this bakery is.â
âOnly if you donât make a big deal out of this.â By âthisâ you know he means talking to each other at work and off the phone.Â
âWould I ever?â Your grin and nudge of his shoulder with your own was endearing, biting back a curl of his lips. Itâs a lot easier to hide when you canât see him.Â














