daylight

𝚂𝙰𝚃𝙾𝚁𝚄 has a nightmare and wakes up panicking. You hold him through all of it. 𖹭

𝑭𝒍𝒖𝒇𝒇. ꒰ 𝒇𝒆𝒎!𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 ⋮⋮ comfort ⋮⋮ canon jjk ꒱

It happens in the middle of the night.

The room is dark except for the thin spill of city light through the curtains. You wake to the sound of his breathing. It's ragged, uneven, the bed is trembling, and the air's charged like a curse has settled in the walls. You sit up instantly, still tangled in your sheets, and find him curled at the edge of the mattress, back to you, hands gripping the sides of his head like he’s trying to press a nightmare out of his skull.

“Satoru,” you whisper softly, already reaching for him.

He flinches when your hand brushes his shoulder.

“I—I can’t,” he gasps. “I don’t—fuck, I don’t know where I am.” His voice is smaller than you've ever known it to be. He sounds so scared.

You slide closer to him.

His whole body is shaking. Sweat clings to his back, and when he turns to look at you, his eyes have gone a pale blue, wide and frightened— not like those of Gojo Satoru, strongest sorcerer alive. But like a boy who’s just watched the world fall apart in his sleep.

The sight of him like this pulls something tight and aching under your ribs. You have seen him cocky, careless, and brilliant, but you've never seen him look this lost.

“It was you,” he says, like he’s confessing something unspeakable. “It was you, and you were gone, and I couldn’t— I couldn’t find you—”

“Hey,” you murmur, cupping his cheeks, trying to get him to steady his vision back on you. Slowly, his gaze focuses on your eyes. “Hey, sweetheart, breathe. I’m right here.”

Your thumbs stroke over the sharp lines of his cheekbones. His skin is damp and fever-warm, and he leans into your touch like it’s the first solid thing he’s felt in hours.

“I tried calling for you,” he whispers, his voice breaking, the more he tries to get it out. “But my voice wouldn’t come out. It was like— I was trapped in a dream where you never existed, and I was the only one who remembered you and fuck—”

The words crack open at the end. His breath stutters once. You feel the fine tremor running through him from shoulders to wrists.

You pull him tight into your arms, and this time, he doesn’t flinch. He clings to you with a desperation you’ve never felt from him before. His forehead presses to the curve your neck, arms wrapping around your waist like you’re all there's left to anchor him.

The weight of him settles against you. Heavy and real. You can feel every rapid beat of his heart where his chest meets yours.

“You’re okay,” you whisper. “You’re okay, baby. It was just a dream.”

His voice is wrecked. “But it felt real.”

Your hand slides up to the back of his head, cradling him. Fingers sink into soft white hair still messy from sleep. You hold him there, steady, while his breathing scrapes in and out against the side of your throat.

You rock him a little without meaning to. Small, slow movements meant to soothe. His grip on you only tightens.

“I’m real. I’m right here.”

He holds you tighter, his voice is more sound and clear now, “You’re the only thing that feels real.”

The rawness of his voice makes the words splinter something inside you.

You lie back against the pillows, tugging him with you, settling him over your chest. His hair is damp. His breaths are still uneven. But you keep running your fingers down his spine, whispering his name over and over like prayer.

The sheets have twisted around both of you now. One of his knees is hooked over your thigh. His cheek rests right above your heart, and you can feel the way he turns his face inward just slightly so he can hear the steady thump of it clearer.

You keep talking. Soft-nonsense. His name. "You’re here. You’re safe." Over and over until the worst of the shaking starts to ease.

His fingers curl into the fabric of your shirt and stay there. He doesn’t try to pull away. Doesn’t try to joke or brush it off the way he usually does when anything gets too close to the soft-soaked center of him.

You press your lips to the top of his head and leave them there. Just breathing him in. Laundry soap and warm skin and the faint salt of sweat.

Minutes stretch. The panic in his body slowly loosens its hold. His breathing deepens by degrees. The rigid line of his shoulders softens under your hands.

And he falls asleep like that— curled on top of you, cheek pressed to your heart, as if your pulse is the only thing strong enough to pull him out of whatever darkness still haunts him.

And before he slips under again, you hear him murmur—

“Don’t ever leave.”

You press a kiss to his temple.

“Never.” You whisper assuringly.

You stay awake a little longer just to be sure. Watching the slow rise and fall of his back. Feeling the way his weight sinks heavier into you as sleep finally takes him all the way under.

Outside the window, the city keeps its usual restless rhythm. Inside the room, everything has gone quiet again. Soft and a little bit safer.

You keep one hand moving in slow strokes along his spine. The other rests lightly over the back of his neck, fingers intertwining with the short fluffy strands of his undercut at the nape, gently twirling and petting it.

He sleeps without dreams this time. Or if he dreams, they don’t reach him hard enough to wake him.

You close your eyes only when you’re certain he’s truly settled. The last thing you feel is the steady press of his cheek against your chest and the quiet certainty that neither of you will be apart from each other.

satoru gojo x reader. snippets of you and your fiancé raising megumi fushiguro.

warnings! none :)

note : inaccurate ages, ooc probably

wc : idk

you awoke to the sound of a small knock on the door, no doubt belonging to the little spikey haired boy you and satoru were now raising.

“come in, gumi,” you called out sleepily, eyes bleary as you attempted to blink away sleep. you heard the door softly creak open, revealing the small 5-year old’s body, clad in wolf pajamas. his tear stricken face and soft cries had any remnants of sleep leaving you immediately, sitting up straight.

“oh, come here baby,” you cooed, pushing back the heavy blankets so he could feel encouraged to climb into bed with you. megumi quickly accepted the invitation, small feet tumbling over themselves to jump into bed with you as fast as possible.

once he had climbed up the mattress with your help, your hands under his armpits to lift him into your arms, the waterworks began flowing. you clutched his little head to your chest, his hand gripping the midsection of your nightgown tightly. rocking him back and forth, you ran your hands through his unruly hair that never seemed to be tamable.

“do you wanna talk about your bad dream, megs?” you asked softly, putting on a nurturing voice that oddly came natural to you during the heartbreaking moment.

his quiet cries simmered down enough to allow him to speak, though he didn’t let go of the tight grip on you, “i d-dreamed that yo-you were g-gone!” the 5 year old sobbed, resuming into his emotional state. it was unsettling to see the usually quiet and serious boy be so vulnerable.

your heart constricted at the words, “oh, my gumi bear. i’m not going anywhere, i’m right here,” you shushed him, pressing small kisses to the crown of his head, arms tightening around him as you rocked him gently. megumi had a much easier time accepting your affection versus other’s, though you never knew why, it wasn’t something you’d ever question.

“b-but ev-everyone leave me alone! w-why do i h-have no m-mom or dad?”

you felt your own eyes well up with tears at his words. it had been 6 months since your fiancé, satoru gojo, had assumed custody of the boy. in the short amount of time, you had formed a strong bond with megumi. unfamiliar maternal instincts had kicked in for you instantly at his presence in your shared residence. while you never wanted to impose your own feelings on him, you couldn’t help but feel a deep love for the child as if he were your own.

“i’m so sorry, megs. sometimes our parents leave us and we don’t know or understand why. but one thing i want you to understand is that im not going anywhere. neither is gojo. he’s out there fighting bad people so that other kids don’t have to lose their moms and dads,” you explained.

“y-you’re my new mama, i d-don’t want you o-or goj-jo to leave m-me,” he hiccuped. your heart swelled at the realization that megumi now viewed you as his maternal figure. you and satoru had never wanted to force megumi to identify you as his “new” parents, leaving the consideration up to him. you had never expected the child to outright state and confirm that he did indeed consider you his mother.

“we’re never leaving you, megumi. we love you so much,” you whispered softly, letting his cries fade out until you heard his slower and deeper puffs of breath, signaling his slumber. you turned to the side, allowing yourself to slip back down into a comfortable sleeping position with the urchin-haired child contently sleeping in your arms.

“demon dogs.”

little megumi had an intense look on his face, clearly trying his hardest to make his first shikigami appear. unfortunately, nothing came of the words spoken. at the realization, the little boy had a disappointed look on his face, staring up at the white haired sorcerer.

“you’re thinking too hard, megs. you need to relax and feel the cursed energy flow through you. make sure you’re picturing it in your mind. visualize them, then speak,” the man encouraged.

“but i don’t know what they look like!” the boy retorted, his usually serious expression replaced with one of frustration.

“you do know, you’re just thinking too hard like i said. they’re a part of you, don’t question it. just do the sign, look at where you want them to appear, and say the words. your mind already knows what they look like,” satoru explained in an encouraging tone.

“…okay.”

the boy took a deep breath in, put his small hands into position and stared intently at a spot within the jujutsu high’s open field before speaking in a firm voice,

“demon dogs.”

black clouds of smoke appeared suddenly, clearing to reveal two small puppies, one white and the other black. they had small triangle engravings on their foreheads, fluffy fur making them appear adorably harmless.

“i did it, gojo!” megumi shouted, running up to the puppies and instantly crouching down to pet them. the animals immediately leaned into his caresses, barking loudly as they surrounded him.

gojo was always taken aback when he’d see the child express his emotions, always knowing the boy to constantly be stoic and composed. but he knew at the end of the day, megumi was still just a child who felt as any other did. he too craved praise, love, and affection.

“you did it, buddy! i’m so proud of you!” gojo laughed as megumi was tackled to the floor by the puppies, squealing with laughter and excitement as they licked his face.

the sorcerer felt a pull in his heart at the sight, a feeling that had become common since the young child came into yours and his life. it felt healing in a way, to see the boy so carefree and happy, and to know that his support and encouragement was beneficial to megumi’s growth as a sorcerer. it was something satoru had longed for as a child himself.

later in the day, your office’s door swung open to reveal your fiancé and megumi, who was clearly bursting with excitement. the loud noise startled you, casing you to jump and turn quickly.

“mama, mama, guess what! look what i can do!”

your fiancé’s eyes met yours, his striking gaze softening at the term of endearment that megumi had gifted you with clearly causing an emotional reaction in him just as it did for you.

“what is it, gumi bear?” you smiled widely in anticipation.

you saw his little hands clap together to form a sign, recognizing it as part of his technique. he stared ahead at the floor of your office and chanted,

“demon dogs.”

you gasped as you watched as two pups emerged from the dark clouds of smoke, both of them running up to megumi and jumping up, their paws petting his little body. he laughed loudly at the ticklish feeling, then looked at you for what you could assume was validation.

you stood from where you were seated to walk over to the little boy, crouching down to his level to embrace him in a hug, the puppies now trying to get both of your attention. yours however, was solely on the child in front of you.

“i’m so proud of you, baby! you did so good, your first shikigami!” you squeezed him tightly, feeling his arms wrap around your neck.

satoru watched the scene from a distance, again feeling that formerly foreign feeling in his chest at the sight. he knew that for both of you, megumi’s presence was healing the yearning you both had felt as children, your inner child.

“i’m home!” the recognizable voice of satoru gojo rang throughout the house.

“gojo!” megumi paused his imaginary fight between his stuffed animals to run out of his room, meeting the sorcerer in the living room.

“hey megs! what’ve you been up to, buddy?” satoru crouched down to lift the boy into his arm, holding a couple of bags in the other.

“we went to the park today and there was dogs! i wanted to have kuro and shiro there but mama said no,” he frowned lightly at the memory.

“you need to listen to her, she’s right—hey, don’t give me that pout. you know you can’t be summoning them in public areas and she doesn’t want you to drain your energy. understand?” gojo spoke in a light hearted yet stern voice, and megumi knew there was no room for argument.

“i understand,” he nodded, but satoru could feel the slight disappointment from the boy. it caused a small feeling of guilt in him, though he knew it was the right thing to do.

“hey, i know something that’ll cheer you up. i brought you that mochi you like from kyoto!”

the little boy suddenly looked at the bags in gojo’s hand, a small smile forming in his previously dejected face. he gave the man a quick hug, not lingering too long.

“thank you, gojo,” megumi spoke in a small voice, clearly feeling shy.

gojo understood that you were the only person the boy felt comfortable enough to blatantly show and receive affection from, though he never took it to heart. he was grateful for any form of tenderness from the boy.

“you are very welcome, megumi.”

gojo between work