Better? (Jujutsu Kaisen, Geto)

[SnzDreams]

Cross-posting this from my tumblr! I just created a new account here after deleting my previous one, and I figure this is a good way to bump up my post numbers. That, and the fact that it might reach a wider audience of this community- things are a little hard to find on tumblr because of the tagging system and such haha.

This was my first time writing for Geto, based on a prompt and headcanon discussions with a few friends- shoutout to them for the inspo and encouragement. ❤️ 

Contains: sneezing from illness, slight mess towards the end, character getting their hands restrained so they stop stifling

Spoilers: None

Pairings, AU: SatoSugu if you squint (not established but the potential is alluded to); College AU where nothing bad happens (I personally picture the normal college experience, but the characters still do jujutsu stuff on the side haha)

 

The nest of blankets on the couch shifted as Geto broke from a deep sleep. Immediately, he wished he hadn’t, as all the discomfort his body held from the neck up hit him like a truck. It was always the worst upon waking. God, he could barely swallow.

It became clear what- or rather, who had woken him when Geto tuned in to the sound of the faucet running, then shutting off. The faint noise of footsteps across the carpet followed.

“Hey.” Only when he felt a gentle touch on his arm did Geto crack open his eyes. Gojo stood before him, a glass of water in one hand. “Sorry, did I wake you?”

“S’fine,” he mumbled, voice heavy with exhaustion. Geto forced himself to sit up, immediately bringing a hand to his temple as the change in position further aggravated the pounding in his skull.

“Here, you probably need these.” The glass of water in his hand had been set on the end table, replaced by a couple of pills which Gojo held out to him. Geto took them with a grateful nod.

He glanced at the window. The sky was cloudy, dim, but it was still clearly daytime. “How long was I out?” Geto cringed at how he sounded. The sonorous tones of his voice were even deeper, but its rich quality was gone, edging on something more broken and gravel-like. He tried to clear his throat, but it only sent him into a short fit of barking coughs.

“Well, you were knocked out on the couch before I left for class this morning.” Gojo said over his shoulder as he retreated to the fridge. 

Geto glanced at his phone on the table. Half past four. Well, he’d gotten a lot of rest, at least. 

“When’s the last time you drank anything?”

“Dunno. Nothing since before you left, I guess,” Geto answered. He forced himself to swallow back the pills with the water Gojo left him. And then more water, until the glass was empty. The lack of hydration quickly overcame the pain of swallowing, and suddenly he couldn’t get enough.

As though reading his mind, Gojo re-emerged into his line of vision with a blue sports drink in hand. Always one step ahead on everything, as usual. “How’s your headache?” he asked as he settled on the opposite end of the couch.

“Better than yesterday, at least.”

Yesterday, ugh. 

He probably wouldn’t have been in such a sorry state now, had yesterday not occured. Geto knew he was sick the day prior. He should’ve bit back his stubbornness, let Gojo handle the mission. But no, unless he was on his deathbed, Suguru Geto would always save face and work through the pain, illness- anything that tried to weigh him down, really. He had to keep up with Gojo, after all. 

To say it had been an unpleasant experience though would be an understatement. What with his increasingly raw throat and blocked nose, keeping up with anyone or anything was a challenge. And the headache, the fucking headache. His head throbbed viciously if he dared to stand up, or even so much as bend forward. Running around in pursuit of curses didn’t exactly do him any favors. 

It eventually reached an extreme where even Gojo could see past any facade that hid his discomfort. The simplest of tasks were leaving him out of breath, until he was damn near dizzy. His headache felt like it was splitting his skull in half, and suppressing every cough and sneeze that breached his control was no longer feasible. Being the most audible- and in turn, obvious- of all his symptoms, Gojo’s suspicion that Geto had come down with something was confirmed.

Cue Gojo taking care of the worst of the mission before practically having to drag him home. Geto had thought, maybe once they were home in their shared dorm, it would get better. But even after a hot shower, ibuprofen, and whatever tea he could get his hands on, his suffering held out through the night. The pain in his head and his throat would only let him rest for short periods before he was rudely awoken. It took ages to get comfortable again, no matter what he tried. Geto was honestly surprised he had never registered as being feverish, despite how many times they both checked. It was just a cold, but a bad one, and surely a worse one now that he’d overexerted himself.

Geto plucked a tissue from the ever-depleting box next to him and blew his nose- or rather, he tried to. This was the kind of congestion that couldn’t easily be shaken. He resigned to tossing the crumpled Kleenex into the wastebasket with a stuffy sigh of defeat. 

“That sounded unproductive.”

Geto shot Gojo with a glare that was only partially sincere. “Still teasing me even though I’m sick? How cruel,” he shot back.

It made Gojo smile that stupidly intoxicating grin of his. Geto fell right into its trap, his eyes gleaming back in a similar fashion despite his current ailments.

But then, the other man softened, concern- or perhaps it was pity- surfacing across his features. “I could stop by that ramen place later if you want. They’ve got that spicy one you like- might help with uh, all that.” He made a vague gesture at the center of his face. 

“That’d be nice, actually,” Geto said, the prospect of a hot meal enticing after eating next to nothing all day. He had to admit, for someone usually so prone to goofing off, Gojo left no stone unturned when it came to ensuring Geto’s comfort. He never expected the guy to be the caretaking type, but here he was, planning out dinner with him in mind, not to mention giving him medication, water- anything that could remedy him really, before Geto could even think about getting it himself. 

And now that he looked, how many blankets had he dragged to the couch this morning? Surely not four… right, two, it had definitely been two. Gojo must’ve draped the extras over him before he left that morning, once Geto had fell asleep.

Jeez.

He wondered on occasion if Gojo saw him as more than what he was- a best friend. Never in his life had Geto met someone so attached to him, so attentive to him, and so in sync with him- or at least, in sync most of the time. Even when they argued, somehow his life still felt immensely balanced, like it was all meant to be.

Then he would wonder if he didn’t feel the same way, underneath it all. Gojo was naturally a touchy person, always had been. Grabbing his hand, his arm, leaning on him, hugging him- his sense of personal space was nonexistent, and especially so around him. Geto never minded it, except lately he felt a little too comfortable with it. He’d grown to crave it, in fact. If he just told him…

…But, no. That was a thought for another day, when the pressure in his head wasn’t already so immense. 

Geto flicked the TV on in an attempt to distract his thoughts. He didn’t get very far in flicking through channels before deciding it wasn’t worth his time. He didn’t have the energy to focus on it.

He opted to turn the volume down on a random movie that was already half over, until he could just barely hear it instead. Geto’s head rested back on the arm of the couch, his eyes closing. “How was class this morning, anyways?”

Gojo glanced up from his phone where he sat across from him. “Oh, the usual. Too long and not interesting enough.” Geto cracked a grin from where he lay.

“That’s the professor you keep bitching about, right?”

“Who else? I mean, if he’s gonna run a lecture he could at least act excited about it,” Gojo huffed, but there was amusement in his voice too. “I was happy just to get out of there and go to the store after. Oh-“ Gojo interrupted himself, sitting up. “I picked up some stuff I thought you might want. I got that tea you like, did you want any? I know you went through a lot of it last night.” 

He nearly stood before Geto lazily waved a hand in dismissal, reminded again how thoughtful the man sitting across from him was. “No, no, you’ve done enough. I’ll take some later.” The pain, both that in his head and throat, were starting to recede anyhow. It would serve him better later, once it started to wear off.

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, accompanied only by the just barely audible sound of the television. Still among the warmth of blankets, sleep threatened to take Geto again.

Before it really did drag him under, he sat up and took several more swallows of the sports drink for good measure. With the medication clearing his head finally, it was easier to tend his other needs, and hydration was still near the top of the list, right next to sleep.

That was not the only thing the medication was helping clear, however. The congestion in his nose was shifting too. He would have welcomed this, except it made his nose tickle suddenly and incessantly.

The bridge of his crinkled in anticipation. Not again. Geto brought his sleeve up and tried to rub the building urge away, but that only seemed to make it worse. The skin along his septum and around his nostrils just burned, chapped and angry from all the prior rough treatment.

He resorted to crushing a fist beneath his nose instead. His breath snagged, lip curling back in an irritated snarl. “Hih…hH-!” And then he ducked forward, body rigid as he managed to stifle the sneeze into silence.

He hoped that was it. Sometimes he was lucky, and one was enough.

“Hih…” But of course, not this time.

Geto’s expression never quite relaxed from one of uncertainty: brow knitted, eyes hazy, and jaw slackened. His fist remained at the ready, beneath his nose. That awful buzzing never quite backed off, lingering deep in his sinuses until it made its way forward again, dragging another shivering inhale past his defenses. “Hh-GNxt-!” 

That one did not go unheard. “Bless you,” Gojo offered distantly. Eyes glued to his phone, he was only giving Geto half of his attention.

Geto, meanwhile, hoped to keep it that way, but the chances were all too low. If he couldn’t silence this one, he wouldn’t be able to with the next one, or the one after that, and so forth. They would only get a little more loud, a little more troublesome as the fit went on.

“Hih-GNXt-!”

A minute passed.

“hH-NXTt-! Hah…” 

And another. 

“hIH-NGXtT-!” The itch had him in a white knuckle grip, and Geto couldn’t shake it. He tried to sniffle with the hope it would quell the sensation, except he couldn’t. Every sneeze he so stubbornly contained swelled his sinuses until he was just as congested as before, if not more. And the pressure made his head pound all over again; the pain was especially concentrated right under his brow, and behind his eyes.

“NH’GXT-!” But he was all too determined to keep holding them in. 

From Gojo’s end of the couch, the vocalized blessings had died away, replaced by ever increasing glances away from his phone. He’d put it down entirely now, wondering just how long Geto intended to keep it up. 

Gojo watched closely as Geto’s expression so subtly contorted around another nagging tickle. “Hih-!“ He had a perfect side view of Geto’s face, the way his bangs fell in his eyes, and how pink his nose was compared to the rest of his profile.

“Huh-!“ It seemed to be teasing him, or perhaps he was fighting it. Gojo kept his eyes on him, half amused, and a touch concerned. Geto finally raised a hand, hovering, before pinching his nose shut again- an act that they both knew guaranteed this one wouldn’t be the last, although Geto seemed hesitant to accept that. “HH’GNXxt-! Hah…”  A stuffy, tired sigh followed. 

“Why do you keep doing that?” Gojo finally asked.

It took a second for Geto to find his composure. When he did, he shot Gojo a look through bleary eyes. “Because I’m sick?” He raised a brow as though he had just asked him the most obvious question in the world. 

“Well, duh. No, I mean, why do you keep holding them in like that?”

Suddenly the rest of Geto’s face was a tint closer to matching the color of his nose. “That’s just how I sneeze. You know that…”

“Yes. I also know you’d be done if you let them out.” Geto said nothing.  “And those little kitten sneezes just don’t suit you~” Gojo added, eyes glinting with amusement. While a tad too violent to truly be kittenish, he knew it would get a reaction out of him.

And that it did; now the color of his face did match his nose. “But I don’thih-!” Geto paused and buried his face into his shoulder in a panicked fashion. Several seconds passed before he sighed, the sneeze held at bay. “I don’t want to get you sick,” he finally finished.

“Ah, but we’ve been around each other the last couple days. It’s a little late to worry about it, don’t you think?” Gojo sat up, hovering a little closer to the other man. “I mean, do you need more tissues or something-?”

“No, I’m quite-hih, quite f-fihne-!” The pitch of his voice wavered dangerously. Geto turned and squelched another sneeze into submission between his thumb and forefinger. “HH-GNXT-!… I’m quite fine.” Everything about his appearance said otherwise; tears pricked the corners of his eyes, aggravated by the sheer force he withheld time and time again, and his nose was a painful shade of red now. 

“You don’t look fine to me. Jesus, Suguru, you’re gonna hurt yourself if you keep doing that.”

“No, I’m really fine,” he insisted, knuckling his septum.

Gojo wasn’t sure whether he was sincerely that stubborn about it, or if he just saw it as a challenge now to prove him wrong. A little of both, maybe. It wouldn’t be the first time Geto’s competitive side had been motivated by something so trivial.

Apparently, Gojo would just have to take this into his own hands, literally speaking. He didn’t have to wait long for that telltale flare of Geto’s nostrils, and the catch of breath that followed suit.

“Hih…HHh-!!” His hand drifted towards his nose, and Gojo took his chance then. Eyes fluttered shut, Geto never saw him coming, and his next gasp was one of surprise. 

“HH-?! Gojo, whhhat are you doihH-! doing…?” He was so painfully close to sneezing, that tingling, feathery sensation clinging to the very tip of his nose. The only thing that prevented him from falling over the edge was the shock of Gojo grabbing his hands and restraining him at the wrists. 

“Just helping you out,” was Gojo’s answer, his grip tightening when Geto struggled in his hold. 

“D-damn ihH…Damn it, just leht me-!” He thought about twisting away, hiding his face in his shoulder, except by now, fully pinching his nose was his only defense. Geto’s only other option besides succumbing in full was to hold it back. Damn Satoru… He didn’t think he was this bold.

“Come on. Just sneeze, you’ll feel better.” His encouraging voice was distant in Geto’s ears, the current predicament of his sinuses requiring his full attention. His breath hitched wildly, red-rimmed nostrils twitching and spasming as they rebelled against his efforts. The tickle evolved into an awful burn, one that made his eyes water and nose run. 

“HDT-! Huh…” It was a raw, vulnerable display, one that Gojo was sure he would never see so closely without force. Geto was incredibly close to the edge, but his stubborn nature held out. He was determined not to let Gojo win out on this one. 

Gojo, on the other hand, had seen enough of Geto torturing himself. With his head titled back, Gojo had unobstructed access to his nose, an opportunity he couldn’t ignore. He pushed Geto’s hands down into his lap, leaned in, and blew ever so gently on the underside of his twitching nose. 

That was all Geto needed. More than what he needed, really, to succumb at this point. The added stimulation forced his chest to swell with a breath much sharper and deeper than the rest, and Gojo leaned back just in time to avoid the line of fire.

“hUH’SHEUGHh-! Hah-!” The first sneeze was a wrenching, full body effort. If he’d been standing, it surely would’ve bent him in half. He twisted away from Gojo, sneezing towards the floor as best he could manage. “HEH’DSHEUHh-! Ah, heH-!” One wasn’t enough, and neither was another. Geto tossed his head back for the next one, nostrils flared out and aching with need. 

“Heh… HH-!… Fuck…” Nothing. Just his luck that the final sneeze got stuck. Geto shook his head, making a noise akin to a whimper. “I, hih… I can’t, fuckihn, hiH-!” His hands went totally slack in Gojo’s, a plea for mercy.

“Need help?”

“Puh-! PleasehH-!” Freeing one of Geto’s hands, Gojo reached up to his tortured nose and ever so lightly flicked the bridge.

His response was immediate. “HADH’SHEUhh-!… fuck…” Relief, finally. Geto remained in place, hunched over the edge of the couch. His lips hung parted as he caught his breath, face flushed in a mix of exertion and embarrassment. 

“Better?” Gojo said. His fingers gently squeezed around the wrist he still held, betraying any smugness Geto thought he might have heard in his voice.

“Yes…” The blush dusting his face deepened as he mumbled the response. Geto’s nose dripped profusely, right down to his upper lip. He sniffled thickly, and while he could finally breathe again, it did nothing to re-contain what had already leaked down on his face. He was glad he’d been able to turn away, lest he showered Gojo with any part of that… production. 

God, he felt disgusting.

He pulled his hands away from Gojo when he couldn’t stand it any longer. Geto turned, reaching pathetically for the tissue box that was just out of reach at this angle.

Gojo got the memo and did the work for him, plucking a handful from the box. He pushed them into Geto’s open palm. “Thanks,” he said hurriedly, pressing the tissues to his face with relief. He wiped away the worst of it, and while he definitely needed to blow, he didn’t want to lose another ounce of dignity in such close proximity with Gojo. 

Well, assuming he even had any dignity left to lose after that stubborn display.

Gojo broke the silence. “Hey.” Geto turned to him but avoided Gojo’s eyes, bracing himself to be lectured. The voice he heard was far softer than one that should’ve been frustrated with him, however. “Sorry. I can’t let you suffer on my account when you don’t need to.” 

“Yeah, I… I get it,” Geto said sheepishly. 

“Really, though. I know you’re all about politeness or control or whatever, but don’t worry about me if it’s just the two of us.”

Geto was briefly distracted by Gojo’s hand resting over the top of his own. There was that touch he craved. “Yeah, yeah. I know-” He lost his words when Gojo reached up with his other hand and brushed Geto’s bangs out of his eyes. His touch was gentle, lingering at his temple with something unsaid.

And then, like that, his fingers left nearly as soon as they had landed. Gojo sat back. “Good. How about that tea now?”

Geto blinked, still stuck on that touch. “Yeah, actually…”

Always, always one step ahead.

Geto settled back into the couch, letting his head lull on the arm again. He loathed the dull throbbing that had settled into his sinuses now, even if it was his own fault. With Gojo a little more out of earshot, he reached above from where he lay and grabbed another tissue. He blew his nose, and it was embarrassingly productive considering how softly he was blowing. 

He barely had the chance to roll on his side and toss it before Gojo had returned, ceramic mug in hand. “Here. I made sure to add honey.”

“Thank you, Satoruhh, hiH-!” Whether it was the change in pressure when he lifted his head, or the vibration of his voice rising into his nose, the tickle had suddenly come back for vengeance.

The hand reaching for the tea rerouted for the tissue box. Gojo had stepped back to give him space, but his brilliant eyes remained expectant on him behind his shades. Geto’s fingers twitched where they held the tissue to his face as though knowing he was being watched, fighting the instinct to squeeze his nose shut. “ehH-! hH’DSHHeuh-!” 

One was enough, this time. He knew it would be, of course.

Gojo’s lip curled with amusement. “That’s more like it. Bless you.”

[Catsgotyourtounge]

I absolutely love this please keep going!!

[SnzDreams]

11 hours ago, Catsgotyourtounge said:

I absolutely love this please keep going!!

Thank you! ☺️ I never ended up continuing this one, but I’ve written lots of other things with these guys haha. Hoping to share those here at some point too! 

[Sarah Hall]

God I’m obsessed with these two! I love this it’s just way too cute!! 🥰 More SatoSugu please and I’d like to mention you are a very descriptive writer. Keep up the good work very enjoyable. 

[isthik]

So glad you posted this here! I lurk on tumblr but haven’t bit the bullet for a kink account yet. The way you write them is amazing, and I am such a sucker for when stifling only makes things worse 😌

[SnzDreams]

11 hours ago, Sarah Hall said:

God I’m obsessed with these two! I love this it’s just way too cute!! 🥰 More SatoSugu please and I’d like to mention you are a very descriptive writer. Keep up the good work very enjoyable. 

AWH thank you thank you!! I’m so happy you enjoy it!! Aren’t they just so good together? Ahhh my heart 😭🩷 I will def share more stsg stuff here in the future!

[SnzDreams]

2 hours ago, isthik said:

So glad you posted this here! I lurk on tumblr but haven’t bit the bullet for a kink account yet. The way you write them is amazing, and I am such a sucker for when stifling only makes things worse 😌

Awww thank you! The tumblr side of the community is really nice isn’t it? 🥰 But I’m glad I’m cross-posting some stuff too finally! I procrastinated way too long on deleting my previous account here so I could start fresh haha 😂 and OMG, it might be my favorite trope ever if I’m being honest… 😍

[nova_592]

Ahhhhh I’ve been waiting to find this pairing on here😍 The way you write them together is so adorable, hope you continue! 

[SnzDreams]

6 minutes ago, nova_592 said:

Ahhhhh I’ve been waiting to find this pairing on here😍 The way you write them together is so adorable, hope you continue! 

Oh yay, that makes me so happy to hear! 🥰 I’ve had this on my tumblr for a while but things are just so hard to find over there; I figured posting here might reach new people and I’m glad to hear that’s the case! 😁 I’ll be sure to post more stuff with them in the future! 

[Sarah Hall]

Oops not sure how I did that, I accidentally have the same post up on here. Those two make my heart melt any time they get together! I can see like a cute scenario where Satoru is suffering from allergies and Suguru gets distracted by his pretty blue eyes blinking away unwanted tears. No matter what Satoru does he’s just so hot and Suguru gets like an issue from it wink wink. 

[SnzDreams]

6 hours ago, Sarah Hall said:

Oops not sure how I did that, I accidentally have the same post up on here. Those two make my heart melt any time they get together! I can see like a cute scenario where Satoru is suffering from allergies and Suguru gets distracted by his pretty blue eyes blinking away unwanted tears. No matter what Satoru does he’s just so hot and Suguru gets like an issue from it wink wink. 

Oh myyyy, I like the way you think 👀 Those eyes of his are too hypnotic for his own good 😍 I did write something similar to what you described a while back actually, although it was with the characters reversed…I’m not totally sure it’s clean enough to share here though- might have to wait for the adult boards, whenever I get access haha. 😉 I’ll have to give fet!Suguru a try sometime! 

[Sarah Hall]

I would love to maybe roleplay Satosugu with you sometime if you were okay with that? it’s hard finding people that actually love the same ship especially with JJK being so new to the anime world. It made me super happy, but yeah if that’s something you would like to do sometime let me know 

[SnzDreams]

1 hour ago, Sarah Hall said:

I would love to maybe roleplay Satosugu with you sometime if you were okay with that? it’s hard finding people that actually love the same ship especially with JJK being so new to the anime world. It made me super happy, but yeah if that’s something you would like to do sometime let me know 

Hi! Omg this is so sweet of you to ask 😭 Unfortunately I don’t feel I have the time or headspace to dedicate to roleplaying, at least at this current time; the last time I tried roleplaying with someone it would usually fizzle out bc I just couldn’t find the energy or time to reply, and then I always felt a little bad even though I know it just happens sometimes 😅 I wouldn’t want to role play with someone unless I know I can really 100% dedicate myself haha. I hope you don’t take it personally! Again, I’m really flattered that you asked! 🩷

[Sarah Hall]

 I understand honestly life does get busy. I’d be willing to wait once you are ready to roleplay? Maybe message me sometime and we can get one started. if not that’s okay too ~ I’ll still enjoy your stories of these two very much 💕 

[SnzDreams]

6 hours ago, Sarah Hall said:

 I understand honestly life does get busy. I’d be willing to wait once you are ready to roleplay? Maybe message me sometime and we can get one started. if not that’s okay too ~ I’ll still enjoy your stories of these two very much 💕 

Thank you for understanding! I will absolutely keep that in mind! 🥰

[Lupe]

I love this too 😆

[plantqueen]

Same 😅