Jujutsu Kaisen.
SatoSugu.
AU. Reincarnation. Kinda. Where Suguru Geto has been dreaming of Satoru Gojo on a beach for years and finally gets to meet him one day.
Beaches and Dreams.
There is a strange emptiness inside Suguru Geto. He is pretty sure that there is a void where his heart is supposed to be. Suguru does not mind though. He has lived like this for years. He is used to it.
It's been like this, he muses, since high school ended. Since his dreams first began...
No.
He shouldn't think about him. He promised himself he wouldn't.
Satoru. Satoru. Satoru.
Fuck.
At 23 years old, Suguru isn't sure where to go. He has no job, no home and no family.
There are only endless stretches of feeling empty inside and curling up in a rented room in a cheap motel and pretending to sleep.
He has no dreams left.
No.
He has one dream. A really old one.
It is a brightly shining one, where he and Satoru are running on the beach. The setting sun creates shadows across their faces. Making it hard to see Satoru clearly. When he moves, the sun reflects on his white hair. Satoru's startlingly blue eyes shine like stars. Satoru and Suguru are smiling, marked with worry and tension. There are two more people too. Women. One a teen and the other one older. He has never been able to see their blur faces clearly, for they do not stand out as brilliantly as Satoru Gojo does.
Suguru has no idea who Satoru Gojo is. He doesn't think that the man actually exists.
He waits to dream and see him anyway.
His dream is so vivid in his head that he isn't sure if it's true. Maybe it's something his mind conjured up in one of his drunken states. Maybe it actually happened in another lifetime.
He doesn't know. Doesn't care. He only cares that Satoru is there with him. And they are happy. The dream washes over him and keeps him warm in the December cold.
It's Christmas in a few days.
He has a job interview tomorrow.
He hopes it goes well.
He wants to get out of these tiny rooms with the roof leaking on the rugged carpet. He wants to live a better life where he has a kitchen with a fridge and a cookstove and oven and actual cutlery instead of just disposable chopsticks and nearly expired cup noodles. He wants to sit on his balcony and read to his heart's desire. He imagines lying down on a soft mattress on a bed that is made for his height instead of a thin futon with a blanket that barely keeps him from freezing to death.
He hopes that the interview goes well.
.
.
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.
.
Suguru Geto hardly has time to eat. There is a roar of clients waiting at the door. His secretary is trying her best to calm them down. But they can't enter the office. Not yet anyway. He's on a break for 5 minutes so he can slurp down cup noodles that have gone soggy and cold after sitting for over half an hour.
He doesn't mind. He has a roof over his head. A really good one. He earns seven figures a month. At 27 years old, he has been to America thrice. Last week, he returned to Japan after his second trip to Europe that month.
Suguru is earning well and successful. He no longer sleeps on hard floors. He no longer dreams vivid dreams. In fact, Suguru hardly dreams at all.
He has a handsome house with a backyard. It has three bedrooms, one on the ground floor and two on the first. His kitchen has all sorts of modern appliances, even though he doesn't eat at home. He has a small library in his office at home where his books are collecting dust. He hasn't been home in three days. He is stuck at work but that's an excuse. He hates going back to an empty house. He hates the cold feeling that seeps into his bones whenever he sees the lack of life in the house.
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.
.
Suguru has quit smoking. His doctors called him out on it taking a toll on his body. He has fainted twice in the last week. He is forced to take weekends off. He is also forced to go home on time. He eats lunch boxes for all his three meals. He has a nearby diner those over. They taste good. He likes the owner too, she's kind enough to ask him about his day whenever he pops by there.
His dreams return when his body relaxes. He is, once more, walking on a beach with the sand under his bare feet. He should find it annoying. He hates getting sand everywhere, whereas Satoru loves the sand. And Suguru loves him -loves him? Yes, he does. He loves him. He has loved the boy in his dreams for as long as he can remember. So he relaxes and holds Satoru's hand. He pulls him closer, close enough to feel Satoru's breath on his face.
Then he wakes up.
On Saturdays, he walks around the neighbourhood. There's a kindergarten nearby.
A few days ago, he patched up a little girl after she fell and scraped her. Mimiko. And her twin sister, Nanako. Suguru has taken a liking to them. They are adorable with their little pigtails and matching smiles. He makes sure to wave at them whenever he leaves for work.
Today he strangely misses the two girls. His feet end up taking him outside their kindergarten.
That's when he spots a mop of white hair and bright blue eyes that carry galaxies in them.
His breath catches.
Satoru Gojo is standing there in the flesh. He's wearing a blue sweater and beige trousers. The neck of his sweater tugs down under the weight of round sunglasses
Satoru is talking to a couple with a small boy with pink hair. The boy is pouting while the mother talks to Satoru and the father bends down to whisper something to the boy.
The boy then tugs at Satoru's trousers, "Sensei, I promise not to do it again." He says, loudly with determination.
Satoru chuckles and everything in the world stops.
He ruffles the boy's pink hair, "Yuji, you are a good kid."
The parents say goodbye and pass Suguru who remains frozen.
Satoru finally notices him.
His mouth slightly hangs open. He blinks. There's a small smile on his face, a little shy, a little confused at first. But but... Satoru looks delighted. That's impossible. Satoru shouldn't look at a stranger like that.
Suguru abruptly wonders if Satoru dreams of him too.
Satoru is now in front of him.
He should say something. Talk Suguru. Say something, anything.
"You are not a dream."
Way to go, Suguru.
And Satoru laughs again. This time it's even better when it's directed at him.
"Nice to see you too, Suguru. I'm glad to finally meet you."
.
.
.
.
.
Suguru has never seen a more mismatched bunch of people at once.
They stand in the backyard of Suguru and Satoru's house. It's decorated in black and white. It's difficult to say if it's beautiful or not. It's imperfect and messy. There's no particular style to the decorations. But Suguru likes it. Satoru does too.
Suguru stands under an archway made of leaves and flowers. He tries not to tug at his collar again. The tie is a little tight. A moment ago, it was a little loose. Suguru has donned a white suit to match Satoru's hair. There's a blue handkerchief in his breast pocket too.
Satoru's kids from work throw petals on the grass. Little Yuji trips while tiny Megumi kicks the grass for making his best friend trip. Mimiko and Nanako argue over their flower crowns. Nobara has already managed to kick one shoe off that now sits atop a flower vase on a table.
Then there are some other people. Shoko from work with whom Suguru is friends. There's also Toji Fushiguro. Suguru doesn't really get along well with him, but Satoru insisted that the kids need a babysitter, no other candidate was better than Satoru's old senior from junior high and Megumi's father. Yaga, the principal of the kindergarten, is also in attendance along with a handful of people that the two of them know.
Music flows all around them.
Suguru discreetly rubs his palms on his suit.
Satoru wanted an entrance.
That's what he got.
Suguru feels tears on his face as he glimpses Satoru, dressed in a black suit, with a purple handkerchief in his pocket to match Suguru's eyes.
Suguru isn't sure how the rest of the ceremony goes. He has Satoru's hand tightly in his own. He's smiling so wide that his cheeks hurt.
Satoru is kissing his cheek, his temple, his face every few minutes.
The kids have mud on their clothes and Toji is running after them. Shoko is a little tipsy and talking to a balloon with a face drawn on it.
But all that matters to Suguru is that Satoru is with him. And he's happy.
He has a new dream now.
A dream where Suguru and Satoru get to grow old together.
Thank you for reading! This one-shot can also be found on AO3.
Sacraa.