✿

It was night time, a few hours after my date with Yuuji. I was in bed, feeling nervous and excited about tomorrow. I tossed and turned, trying to sleep early so I would have energy, but I found that I was unable to.

Then I heard a knock on my door. It was probably Tsumiki so I yelled, "You can come in!"

And then I saw that the person that came in, was not Tsumiki. Instead it was Gojo. He walked into the room, closing the door gently behind him. 

"Gojo? Why are you here? Do you need something?" I asked him. 

He smiled at me casually. "I just missed being with you Megumi-chan. We haven't hung out together in a long time. So I missed you." He sat down on the bed, and his eyes turned a little sad. 

I noticed he called me Megumi-chan. But it was filled with affection this time. I looked down at my hands. "Yeah, I missed being with you too," I admitted. "We've been fighting a lot recently, and I'm getting tired of it. I want us to be okay again," I told him. I was proud of myself for saying that. It was normally hard for me to admit my feelings to Gojo, but it was easier for me now that I was with Yuuji.

He sat closer to me, "If only we could go back to the old days, where we could just cuddle with each other and spend time with each other," he said. "Or maybe we still can?" He suggested.

I thought about it a little bit. I wondered if it was a good idea to cuddle with him. My feelings for him might resurface. But at the same time, this would be good for closure. To cuddle with him just once more for old times sake.

I nodded. "Mmm, okay." I said, making some room beside me on the bed. He got under the blankets and laid next to me. "But on one condition. This is the last time we ever do this. Since I have a boyfriend now, and it would be weird for me to sleep with other men."

"Oh?" Gojo said. "Megumi-chan thinks of me as a man, and not as a guardian?" He teased.

It made me blush. "I-I didn't mean it that way! I meant it in the way that it's weird for me to sleep with my guardian now that I'm a teenager." I said as a lame excuse.

"Then why did you mention having a boyfriend?" Gojo inquired.

"I-I don't know," I lied. "I didn't mean anything by it. Anyways, this is the last time we ever cuddle like this, so don't make me mad." I warned him, which just made him laugh.

"Hey Megumi-chan, remember when you used to call me Satoru?" He asked me. I heard him let out a light cough. "Remember when you used to let me kiss you? Like on the forehead." He kissed me on the forehead. "And even on the lips." He leaned down, but I pushed him away before he could kiss me there.

"You can't kiss me on the lips," I refused. "I have a boyfriend." I repeated.

Just then, I started to hear him coughing. He kept coughing and coughing, I wondered if he was sick. It reminded me of the coughing fits I used to have. Then the coughing eventually got so severe that he hunched over the bed in pain, coughing continuously into his hand.

I got up and leaned over to see if he was okay, and my eyes widened once I saw the dark blue flower petals and blood in his hand.

"Y-you have it?" I asked him in disbelief. "The Hanahaki disease? But why? And for how long?"

He gave me a pained look. "Did you really just forget about me, Megumi-chan? Just like that? Even though I've loved you for so long?" he asked.

I was stunned momentarily. Then I grabbed his arm, making him face me, and I looked him straight in the eye. "But I thought you were the one who didn't love me!" I accused. "I thought this entire time my feelings were one-sided. You always brought people home, and I ended up getting the Hanahaki disease!"

"I guess that makes two of us." Gojo laughed painfully. He reached his clean hand up to stroke my hair. "I thought there was no chance we could ever be together. I started thinking it the time you told me that the red string of fate didn't exist and you said there was no way you could be with me. So I slept with different girls so I could forget about my love for you." He admitted.

He looked down, then he continued. "And when you started distancing yourself from me, I thought that my suspicions were confirmed; that you didn't love me back."

"No way," I responded. I felt tears welling up in my eyes. "I tried so hard to forget about you and to fall in love with someone else. And I almost did." I shook my head. "But I'm still in love with you. Satoru, I've loved you this whole time."

"Me too," Satoru told me. "I've loved you since the day I met you. I always have, and I always will."

Gojo pulled me into a hug, and I hugged him back. It felt so good, to know that our feelings were mutual, and that we loved each other. This is what I've been waiting for, for years.

Then I pushed him away, "Wait, just so you know I don't love you like family!" I clarified. "I don't love you like a guardian or in a platonic way. I'm in love with you Satoru. I'm in love with you in the way where I want us to get married!" I said.

He laughed. "Yeah, I know that. I'm in love with you in that way too. I've never thought of you like family. I've always thought of you as my beloved Megumi-chan."

I blushed a little. "Even when I was a kid?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Even when you were a kid. I've always been in love with you."

I can't believe I finally heard him say that he was in love with me. It was like a dream come true. And if it really was a dream, I never wanted to wake up.

"Hey," I said shyly. "Is it still true? That I'm still your most precious, favorite person?" I asked him, remembering the time when he told me that.

He laughed. "Of course. No matter how much time passes, you'll always be my most precious favorite person." This time, he leaned down to kiss my on the lips, and I let him. His lips were so warm.

When he pulled away, it was his turn to ask me something. "So you want to marry me, Megumi-chan?" He teased.

I blushed even harder. "Well, maybe not now because I'm in high school. But one day," I admitted. "But I'm not proposing to you! You have to propose to me!" I said selfishly.

He pressed his forehead against mine. "You're so cute, Megumi-chan. Of course I'm going to be the one to propose to you. But I need to get us some rings first. But for now," he held up his wrist, showing me his gold bracelet with my name engraved on it, "we have this."

I reached to my side and opened the drawer to my night stand, and I took out the bracelet with his name engraved on it. I took it off that way when I lost my virginity, and I didn't wear it since. But I always treasured it. I put it back onto my wrist, wearing it once again.

"Were you wearing that bracelet the entire time?" I asked him. 

"Ever since the day I gave yours to you, I've never taken mine off," he responded. "Not once. Ever. Even in the shower I kept it on, since it's tarnish proof."

"Even when you were with other girls?" I asked, and I couldn't help but get a bit jealous when I asked.

He laughed. "Of course. No matter who I was with, my heart would always belong to you. I only have one person I love. And it'll always be you, Megumi-chan."

I got so happy that I pulled him into a kiss. He reciprocated, kissing me back deeply. It felt so nice to finally kiss him like this. I wanted to kiss him like this everyday of my life.

I pulled away momentarily. "If only we talked about this earlier. Then we wouldn't have ended up fighting and we could've been together sooner."

He tucked some hair behind my ear. "Mmm, I agree. But look Megumi-chan, we have a whole lifetime to be together now. So let's just enjoy what we have now."

He was right. We could be together from now on, now that we knew we both loved each other. So he pulled me in close and went back to kissing me again.

And now he would always be my side. Forever.

✿