The Messy Science of Attraction and Repulsion

23. What Have I Done to Deserve This?

Storm clouds were gathering on the horizon around the school and Nanami cursed the fact he had forgotten to bring an umbrella with him today. Flashes of heat lightning were already in evidence, jagged strands streaming and streaking overhead like the lines inside an etch-a-sketch. There was a distinct drop in barometric pressure as the sky grew dusky and more threatening. Nanami swiftly moved from the area of the vending machines and the safety of their awning, marching across the grounds in the direction of Gojo's office. He hoped to make it inside before the inevitable approaching downpour. It was the end of the school week and Nanami was on a mission to get Yuta out of the dorms.

Luck refused to hold out for him and the rain started coming down in slanted sheets as Nanami took the steps leading up to Gojo's office two at a time. Despite his haste, he was still thoroughly soaked by the time he reached the door, his hair dripping wet and his braces uncomfortably stuck to a now completely drenched button down. He raised a fist and banged on the door three times before flinging it open.

Empty. It was dim and the desk was unoccupied. Nanami sighed in annoyance. When Nanami had texted him earlier Gojo had responded with a message saying that he would be here. Had he gotten distracted and simply wandered off? Had there been some sort of emergency? Like an irresistible need for some strawberry mochi? Nanami pulled his phone from his (now soaked) back pocket and pulled up his messaging app.

"Over here, Nanamin."

Nanami nearly dropped his phone. As he squinted into the semi-darkness, he finally caught Gojo's dark outline, sitting in an equally dark and overly large futon-like chair. He was still wearing his full black uniform and had his blindfold on, and was doing an admirable job of silently blending in with the shadows. His hair was the only point of light, shining bright beneath a double flash of lightning that filled the office windows with a white strobing effect.

"Were you asleep just now?" Nanami asked as he approached the chair and its current occupant.

"Hmmm, more like trying. My head doesn't like all the pressure outside."

"Want me to massage your temples again?"

"I don't know. Is it gonna be another line on an itemized receipt?" Gojo answered testily.

"I might be persuaded to throw in a freebie," said Nanami as he leaned over the back of the chair. Gojo was still sitting with his arms crossed, unmoving. He hadn't bothered to look up at Nanami at all.

"Is there some reason you're here today?" asked Gojo, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Yes, actually," said Nanami. "I want you to let Yuta come stay at the house for the weekend—"

"—nope. That's a definite no—"

"—why not? Are you doubting my ability to look after him—"

"—you're a fine first grade sorcerer without a doubt. But there are other issues. As you well know."

"It's not just for Yuta. It's for Megumi as well. The two of them get along great together, and I don't like Megumi spending all his time in that enormous house by himself. It would also build Yuta's confidence if he could make a real friend. I've actually been rather impressed by how much he's improved lately. Yuta's so kind and soft spoken that I didn't initially expect much from him, but I think he has it in him to really live up to the title of special grade someday. But both of them need more than just physical training, Gojo. I know you don't see these things as necessities—"

"—the only necessity I require is that he stay alive and that'll be much easier if Yuta stays put at the school—"

"—if you're so worried about his protection then why don't you come too? It is your house, after all, and with you close by, there won't be any problems—"

"—Megumi doesn't care for my company, so I don't think I will—"

"—it's because you're too harsh with him. But if it helps, I can come by and play referee—"

"—how generous of you. I suppose you're going to bill me double for it since the weekend falls well outside of business hours—"

"—or I could just come by as a friend? If you ask me to?" At this last statement, Gojo pulled off the blindfold and craned his neck to look up at Nanami. Instead of answering his question he said:

"You do realize you're dripping water all over my 2,000,000 yen chair?"

Nanami cocked an eyebrow at him. "I'm frankly shocked you know that—"

"—it's my favorite nap chair! Also, why are you so wet?" Gojo was really staring hard at Nanami right now. Nanami stopped leaning over the chair, since it was apparently the one expensive item in Gojo's life that he actually gave a damn about.

"I got caught in the downpour. You know it's raining now?" As if to emphasize this fact another lengthy lightning flash flared across the windows, briefly bathing both Gojo and Nanami in a sheen of pure white. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to have a towel or something around here?" Gojo just tched at this, because with his technique, raindrops didn't dare touch him unless he expressly allowed it, making this request patently absurd.

Gojo abruptly hopped up from his ridiculously expensive chair and he went around to his desk, which Nanami noted was mostly empty and seemed pointedly unused (minus the remnants of some snack wrappers). He plopped down in a less comfortable swivel chair and started spinning it from side to side with nervous energy. "So…" Nanami ventured, approaching the desk, "I take it that's a 'no' about Yuta, then? What are you going to do all weekend? Just sit here in the dark?"

The swiveling suddenly stopped. "Why do you care about how I spend my weekends?" Gojo asked with narrowed eyes.

"I don't think it's healthy for either you or him." Nanami planted both hands on Gojo's desk, ignoring the water marks he was no doubt leaving on its sadly neglected, wrapper strewn surface.

"You seem awfully concerned about my health all of a sudden. When just a few weeks ago you were telling me how we were never friends and that you never wanted to talk to me again—"

"—and yet you pushed me to come back into this. And you were ridiculously persistent about it too, I might add. Why? Are you having second thoughts about it—"

"—what if I am?" Another lightning flash fell over Gojo's face, briefly turning his eyes a bright amethyst as he stared challengingly at Nanami. Nanami leaned over the desk, his stance growing rigidly taut as he tried to understand what was going on behind this sudden unexpected confrontation. Had he overstepped his bounds? Pushed too far in demanding Yuta's release for the weekend? Did he need to pull back a bit? Looking at Gojo's eyes glowing in the semi blackness, Nanami felt more threatened by the apparent storm that was happening inside this room than the one outside.

Nanami shook his head, causing more raindrops to spatter the desk. "Why are you being like this?" he asked in a low voice.

"You really wanna know?"

"Yes?"

Another electrified flash lit up the room as Gojo lunged across the desk and pulled Nanami to him. Their lips crashed together and Nanami felt hands clinging to his neck, desperate and searching. In response Nanami grabbed Gojo by the shoulders and an awkward tussle ensued as they each tried to negotiate their way around/across/over the width of the desk without breaking contact. After a slight struggle/impromptu game of tug of war, Nanami gracelessly allowed himself to lose, with the back of his legs hitting solid oak as Gojo practically threw himself on top of him. He braced himself on one elbow against the desktop as he bent under the weight of Gojo's amorous assault, their lips meeting and melting into each other again and again as Nanami struggled to maintain a sense of control that was slipping, failing, unraveling. How could it not, when confronted with such aggressive and demanding desire, with his breath being stolen away with each and every insatiable kiss, leaving his brain oxygen deprived and reeling? As Gojo climbed on top of him, awkwardly half straddling him and pulling at first his braces, then his tie, Nanami slapped a hand against his chest and he managed to gasp out a throaty, "Wait!"

They both froze in what he knew had to be an utterly ridiculous tableau, their faces mere inches apart. Gojo had Nanami's tie wound around his fist like an improvised dog leash, and Nanami wanted nothing more than to let this little tableau unfreeze, to let it play out to its natural lusty conclusion. But Nanami really needed to clarify something first:

"What exactly is happening here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, you basically just threatened to fire me? And now suddenly you're all over me? I can't tell if I'm in the middle of a business negotiation or a sex negotiation—"

"—do we have to negotiate anything?"

"—considering all the mixed signals you're throwing out right now, I'd say yes—"

"—or we could just table all the negotiations for now and have a little bit of fun? If you're up for it?"

Oh, things were definitely 'up', thought Nanami. His brows knitted together in a distinctively disapproving frown and he testily unwound his tie from Gojo's hand, gently pushing him off his lap. "I don't think I like the way this particular 'negotiation' is going, it feels more like manipulation, or even worse, blackmail—"

"—I'm being manipulative? What about you—"

"—what about me?"

"—you're the one who came in here looking like you just got back from winning a wet t-shirt contest, all see through and looking like a snack, and you start demanding I let Yuta out for the weekend, I would call that being manipulative—"

"—that was NOT me being manipulative! Also I am NOT a snack!"

"—only because you had to go and stop me from devouring you—"

"—because you're talking about firing me like some insane person! Do you even know what you want? Just how much baggage is in that clown car of a head of yours?"

"Clown car? Baggage? Has Megumi been talking about me? That backstabbing little traitor—"

"—leave Megumi out of it! It's not his fault! I may have overstepped a bit, asking him about that remark from the car—"

"—Ha! See, you are manipulative! I knew it!" Gojo looked triumphant as he plopped back down in the swivel chair and crossed his arms defensively.

"—but I wasn't just now! I can't believe you'd think that I'd actually do something like that! Or rather, I can, because it sounds exactly like some ridiculous stunt you would pull."

"—the only thing I've pulled so far is your tie, but then you had to go and put a stop to that too. See, this is why it's a bad idea to mix business and pleasure. Things tend to get…weird."

"Only because you were acting weird! First, you were all tense and verbally attacking me and then you were…not tense and not verbally attacking me. Can you please enlighten me on what the hell is going on?"

"That's it, you're fired!"

Nanami's mouth fell open. "You are unbelievable! I can't fucking believe this! The last few weeks I've done nothing but make your life run like a well oiled machine and—"

"—maybe I don't want my machine well oiled? You ever think of that? Huh? You and me—we're just too different. You're far too strict and regimented! And I'm too…me. It always turns into some stupid conflict between us, like right now, and my head's fucking killing me!" Gojo jumped up from the desk chair and headed for the door.

Nanami immediately fell into pursuit. He followed after Gojo, his face turning bright red with anger, "Don't you dare leave! Is this really about some sort of personality conflict? Or is this something more personal?"

"—I don't know! Possibly both? Either way I want you gone by the time I get back!" Gojo yelled childishly before flinging open the office door and stalking right out into a torrential downpour. As expected, the rain stopped just short of hitting him, a fact which just pissed Nanami off even more as he hesitated in the doorway. The grounds outside looked ominous and dark like it was full night and all the surrounding trees were swaying violently. Rain fell sideways through the open door in undulating ripples, resoaking Nanami's already thoroughly soaked oxfords.

"You can't fire me without just cause you know!" he yelled at Gojo's retreating figure. "I had that contract worked out to the smallest detail, so unlike you, I know exactly what's in it! This is an act of blatant self sabotage on your part! And I refuse to accept it! Do you hear me! I'm not leaving! I! Fucking! Refuse!" Another lightning flash scrolled across the school grounds, briefly infusing the landscape with false daylight, enough for Nanami to catch Gojo silently giving him the bird over his shoulder and he headed off to heavens knew where.

Nanami angrily slapped the doorframe in frustration. Fuck him and his hot and cold behavior, thought Nanami. True to his word though, Nanami went back into his office, intending to wait him out—all day and all night if necessary. He could do it too, because unlike Gojo, he had the discipline. So Nanami flopped down on Gojo's stupid 2,000,000 yen chair, gleefully soaking it with rain water, making this his one vengeful, childish act of rebellion. He blamed this random decision on Gojo as well, for having turned what he thought was going to be a normal office visit into some kind of weird contract negotiation/aborted make out session/job firing.

Because Nanami knew if there was one thing that Gojo Satoru excelled at, it was his unparalleled ability to completely ruin a perfectly good thing for himself…

To be continued…