The Gift of a Lifetime (Gojo x GN!Reader)
Note: Of course I had to write a fic for Satoru's birthday and of course it had to be something sweet and extra fluffy like this <3 Truth be told, I got the idea of writing a birthday-themed fic from KefiTeria over at AO3, who writes amazing and adorable Gojo/Reader fanfics. After reading this one, you should go check out their stories!
Warnings: None
Word Count: 4,321
Summary: Accompanied by his students and you, Gojo celebrates his 29th birthday at home. He will be getting many gifts today but, after almost a year of preparation, you will be giving him one he can't see coming. One that will mark the start of an exciting and beautiful new chapter in your lives.
• • • • • • •
Attached by cords to their respective stands, bouquets of blue satin balloons swayed from side to side. They flanked a big “Happy Birthday” banner Yuji and Megumi hung on the wall a couple of hours ago while you, Yuta, Tsumiki, and Nobara devoted yourselves to tasks such as folding the ivory white napkins to make them look fancy, plating the food on dishes from Satoru’s best dinnerware set, framing them with matching cutlery… Everything had to be perfect.
The rest of Satoru’s students couldn’t make it to the dinner, but they, too, were in on what would happen there. After all, today wasn’t an ordinary day: it was his birthday. That alone was special enough, but there was a twist not even his Six Eyes would see coming, one that would add an extra layer of significance to the day.
Today, on his birthday, you would propose to Satoru.
It wasn’t something you had thought of on a whim, no. You wanted to do it from the moment Shoko finished patching you and your boyfriend up after the battle against Sukuna. You already knew, but looking at him lying next to you, with your hospital beds pressed together and your fingers tightly interlaced after narrowly escaping death, your certainty solidified. You wanted to spend the rest of your life with Satoru.
Originally, the idea was to propose on Valentine’s Day, but that concept was corny even to you. As you discarded it, the perfect date came to mind like a strike of lightning: his birthday, December 7th. Not only was it another special date, but it also gave you almost an entire year to prepare and make sure everything was perfect. To further ensure that, you asked the kids for help. They performed particular tasks each: Megumi and Tsumiki convinced Satoru to celebrate his birthday at home—you wanted the proposal to be an intimate moment; Tsumiki accompanied you for ring shopping; Nobara helped you pick your outfit for the occasion; Yuji took care of the decorations, and Yuta, of the cake. As for Panda, Toge, and Maki, they came up with the menu: miso soup, salmon, and tempura. It was a pity they couldn’t be there.
The kids could almost feel as their own the palpitations you hid behind your big grins and your giggles, all of them seasoned with a pinch of nervousness you beat yourself over in your mind. You knew you had nothing to worry about, and yet, a faint anxiety crept up your chest every time you took your hand to your pocket and pictured Satoru’s possible reactions to what you were hiding in there.
Laughter and friendly banter surrounded you. Okay, Megumi was as serious and stoic as usual, but you could tell he suppressed laughs every now and then.
“The sound Sukuna made when you stepped on him?” Satoru said, tapping Yuji’s arm, “I think of it every time I need a quick laugh. It was like one of those noise putties.”
“You mean the ones that sound like a fart? They’re gross.” Nobara scrunched up her nose.
“But you still know about them,” her teacher pointed out with a triumphant grin.
“With your past as a tomboy,” Yuji added, “I bet you’ve played with noise putties before.”
“N-no! I’ve never played with those.” The girl’s nostrils were all flared up, but Yuji and Satoru still laughed.
And you laughed with them. Nobara half-pouted at you and continued eating. Megumi shook his head and did the same. For her part, Tsumiki laughed under her nose. Her brother’s classmates were an interesting bunch.
Things were much calmer for sorcerers ever since Sukuna was dealt with, but moments that allowed for fun and peace were still more than welcome. Actually, the peace part could be scratched this time for you, anyway. You exchanged glances with the students every now and then. The food on the plates was waning and with it, the minutes until Yuta brought your boyfriend’s birthday cake into the dining room. The cake was something Satoru was curious about, by the way.
“Won’t you give me a hint on what it’s made of?” he asked Yuta, leaning forward.
The boy shook his head, pausing before picking a piece of tempura with his chopsticks. “I already told you it’s meant to be a surprise.”
“You won’t even tell me what color it is?”
“He already told you it was a surprise,” Megumi droned from across Satoru.
The cake… You almost turned it into an actual surprise by hiding the ring in it, but you had heard enough horror stories about people nearly choking on their engagement ring to rule the idea out. Going down on one knee was special, too.
After taking a sip of his miso soup. Satoru turned to look at you. “Hey, babe.” His words made you jolt in your seat. “You good? You’ve been pretty quiet ever since we started eating.”
Oh, of course he noticed.
“Yes, I’m fine,” you told him with a reassuring smile. “I’m just… listening to you all.”
Satoru narrowed his cerulean eyes, a mix of disbelief and amusement glinting in them.
“Listening to us? It’s more like you’re lost in thought.”
Nobara gave you an alarmed look. You briefly shook your head at the girl, eyeing her out of the corner of your eye.
“I’m also wondering about what the cake will be like.”
“But you must have seen it while plating everything,” your boyfriend pointed out. He chuckled and patted your shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t press you on it.”
Your eyes landed on Yuta next. He let out a sigh just as your shoulders lost their tension. Satoru’s perceptiveness could be a problem sometimes.
You were that quiet because, in your mind, you were going over what you’d be saying when the big moment came. You had looked up ideas online and, while some of the suggested sentences were beautiful and loaded with emotion, going off something you had read somewhere would mean scripting your feelings. Satoru deserved to hear words born from your heart, not a repeat of what someone had written online.
In the blink of an eye, all of you were done eating. Yuji leaned back against his chair’s backrest and rubbed his stomach.
“Everything was great, but I’m so full! I hope I can still eat some cake.”
“Of course you can,” Tsumiki said, “there`s always room for cake.”
“You’re right.”
Meanwhile, your guts were so tight you couldn’t believe you ate everything on the plate. The food tasting so good must have played a part.
Yuta gave you a fleeting glance, then spoke, “When should I bring out the cake? If we eat it right now, it could be too heavy on our stomachs.”
Satoru leaned back, supporting his chin on his hand. “That’s true. I don’t think I want to end the last birthday of my twenties with indigestion.”
“Do we wait twenty minutes or so, then?”
“Yeah. That should do it.”
You exhaled. Twenty minutes before the proposal. You touched your pocket, making sure the small black velvet case was still inside. Satoru saw that. The first thing that crossed his mind was that you had your gift on you and that it must be something tiny. Not that it mattered; anything coming from you or the kids was valuable. What didn’t sit as well with him were your eyes, all fixed ahead, the fast-paced rise and fall of your chest, and the small nods you gave to yourself every now and then. Satoru was tempted to take you aside and ask if something was troubling you, but the smiles you shared with him and his students eased his concern somewhat.
Those twenty minutes passed by both in a blink and at a snail’s pace. When Yuta got up from his chair, a rush of heat washed over your back and you opened your mouth like a fish out of water. You had to reach for your glass and pour some soda into it because, at that rate, your mouth would become so dry the words to “Happy Birthday” would get stuck in your throat like they were in a traffic jam. The kids shot you sympathetic glances. You had this, they were sure of it.
Rising from her chair, Tsumiki said, “I’ll go turn off the lights.”
The girl flicked the switch and the dining room became illuminated only by the light coming from the kitchen, where Yuta lit the candles on the cake one by one. When he was done, he turned off the kitchen’s lights and the warm glow coming from the candles extended from one room to the other. You all stood the moment Yuta came into view through the door’s threshold and began singing the famous song.
You eyed Satoru as you sang. His gaze was both on all of you and on the cake, a two-tiered chocolate sponge cake covered in a generous coat of delicious, perfectly smoothed out icing of the same flavor. Of course, it was adorned with twenty-nine colorful candles, their flames flickering with each step Yuta took.
The boy placed the cake in front of Satoru, who quipped, “My birthday cakes are starting to look like concerts.” You and Yuji chuckled at the comment.
“What are you going to wish for?” Nobara inquired.
Satoru shrugged. “The kind of thing one usually wishes for on birthdays.” He put his hands down on the table and leaned in. “Alright, time to take care of these candles.”
He focused on the twenty-nine flames in front of him. Despite the vagueness of his response to Nobara, your boyfriend had two specific wishes in mind. He wanted everyone he cared about to be safe. He thought of you, his students—including Tsumiki—and his colleagues. He hoped a threat on Sukuna’s level would never arise again, but that, if it did, he’d be able to ward it off the same.
And right before blowing out the candles, Satoru also wished for being able to keep aging by your side.
All the flames went off in one go, leaving behind the characteristic scent of their charred wicks. Clapping and hugs followed as Tsumiki rushed to turn the lights back on. You were the first to embrace Satoru, but you angled your body awkwardly at the last second so the jewelry box in your pocket wouldn’t poke him. Your heart broke a little when you saw the confusion in his narrowed eyes, but it was fine. He’d find out why you had been acting so off soon enough. Too soon for your comfort. If those already shaky hands of yours managed to drop the box when the moment came, you’d curl into a ball in a corner of the room and cry.
“Time to go get our gifts,” Yuji announced, giving you a side glance as he did. He then addressed Satoru, “Stay patient, okay?”
“I’ll try, I’ll try.” He sat down on his chair and dragged it back, stretching his long legs.
You and the students headed towards the living room, where the gifts awaited inside a cupboard. Megumi opened it and everyone took their corresponding packages. You watched from a few steps away, taking deep breaths and trying to visualize a circle expanding and shrinking with every breath. You kept telling yourself you were ridiculous for being so anxious over proposing to your boyfriend after months of preparation, but you couldn’t help it. Asking the love of your life to marry you wasn’t like asking them what they wanted for dinner.
Megumi put a hand on your shoulder. “Hey.” His voice and sudden touch startled you. “You don’t need to worry about anything. It will be alright.”
“But…” You put your hand into your pocket, grasping at the box inside. “What if he says no? You know how Satoru is. He could say he doesn’t need to marry me to know he wants to be with me. I wouldn’t complain, mind you, but still…”
“Have you two ever talked about marriage?”
You two had, in fact, talked about the possibility of marrying someday and, in fact, Satoru told you he liked the idea, but that there was no need for a wedding in his eyes. He loved you with or without a ring.
“Yes,” you answered. “He is… ambivalent about it.”
Nobara, who had heard the exchange, approached you with a hand on her hip. The other held the gift she got for her teacher. “If he dares say no, I’ll ‘accidentally’ ruin all of his favorite shirts.”
“Come on, Nobara, don’t be petty,” Yuji scolded her before addressing you. “Besides, Gojo would never say no to you.”
“You know you have him wrapped around your finger.” Tsumiki gave your back a couple of comforting pats.
“It’s unnerving because you care,” Yuta said, taking a step towards you, “but it will be a beautiful moment. Your proposal will make him happy.”
You took another deep breath and placed your hand over your heart. Its beat was so strong you could feel it by just grazing your chest.
“Please, I hope so.”
The six of you left the living room and returned to the dining room, where Satoru awaited, seated on his chair, arms and legs crossed. As soon as he saw Megumi—the one who led the group—cross the threshold, he got up and approached all of you.
“This is my favorite moment in birthdays besides the cake.” He had a big, almost childish grin on his face. He was going to make you melt. “Let’s see what you all got me.”
Megumi was the first to give Satoru his gift. It was a copy of Frankenstein; Satoru had resolved to read more, but he wanted to start with something he was already familiar with thanks to movies and, to him, that was a perfect option. Next was Tsumiki, who got him a cotton candy machine. Satoru’s eyes all but sparkled when he unwrapped the box and saw the gadget’s image on its colorful front. You knew he was thinking of all the cotton candy he’d be making day in and day out.
Everyone else’s gifts were just as amazing: Yuta got him a sleek black smartwatch—on the cheaper side, but Satoru didn’t mind that at all. He praised its wearability and even put it on. Nobara’s gift was a men’s cologne that had been widely advertised lately and that she thought Satoru would like. Indeed, he proclaimed it as his new favorite after the first whiff. As for Yuji, he gifted his teacher a box that contained a selection of the most iconic movies of the 90s. Satoru thanked the boy for giving him so much great material for future movie nights.
With every gift he received, your mouth grew drier and your breathing shallower. You reminded yourself to visualize the circle, to trust yourself and, most of all, to trust Satoru. He glanced at you after each one of the presents, hoping you’d be next. When he placed the box Yuji gave him down on the table, Satoru’s gaze stayed on you. Everyone’s gazes were on you, actually. The kids moved aside to give you space and stood side by side, ready for what was about to unfold. Nobara retrieved her phone from her purse in a discreet movement; you had given her permission to record the moment, which only added to your fear of messing this up somehow.
You took a sip of soda and approached your boyfriend. He didn’t eye you from head to toe, hoping to guess where you hid your gift, nor did he ask you where it was. He stood there, waiting as you got choked up without even having said anything yet, as you blinked back the tears you knew were coming. You looked over at the kids for reassurance one last time, and then, your attention was all on Satoru.
“You might be wondering where my present is,” you began. “I don’t blame you, it must be weird for you to see that I’m the only one without anything to give you, but the truth is that I’ve had it on me all night long.”
Satoru nodded, letting out a soft snort. “I thought as much.”
You expected him to make a humorous comment or try to take a guess at what it was, but he remained silent instead, allowing you to continue. His natural perceptiveness must have told him this was important. You extended your hands towards him and he took them in his own.
“You’re shaking,” your boyfriend noted.
You squeezed his hand to reassure both him and yourself. “It’s okay, I’m fine.” Your shuddering breaths said otherwise, but you continued, “We’ve been together since we were just two teenagers. Remember the face I made when I confessed and you said you liked me back?”
“Of course I do.” Satoru chuckled at the memory with fondness. “You thought I was joking.”
“Because it was too good to be true… And it still is. Sometimes I still can’t believe we’re together.” You rubbed your thumb over the back of his hand. Your other thumb soon mirrored the action. “I can’t picture life without you in it. The nineteen days you spent inside that damned box gave me a glimpse of what that would be like and I didn’t like it one bit.”
Thinking of those lonely nights where, full of anguish, you wondered if Satoru would get to come out of the Prison Realm during your lifetime made the lump in your throat even heavier. He was the one caressing your hands now.
“Not to mention the battle against Sukuna. Despite my faith in you, I was terrified that you’d—”
You pushed your lips together. Even thinking of the word that would finish the sentence put a bitter taste in your mouth.
Another breath. You leaned in, your gaze fixed on his. “In a world full of chaos, you’re my peace. You’re my home. My life is brighter and better because you’re in it, stopping at nothing to cheer me up, making me smile even when I feel like I can’t, reminding me that I’m worth loving and being patient about it despite how self-doubt makes me go in circles sometimes.”
Satoru’s lower lip quivered, but he tried to hide it by smiling at you. Tears gathered in your eyes and you blinked so they wouldn’t blur your sight. That was the last thing you wanted right now.
You took your hand to his cheek, brushing it with the backside of your fingers like it was made of the most fragile porcelain. The moment had arrived.
“Because of how much I love both you and the life we share,” you said, letting go of Satoru’s hands and taking a couple of steps back, “there’s a question I need to ask you.”
One final deep breath before reaching for the box in your pocket. When you were certain your grasp was firm, you pulled it out and went down on one knee. His hands were already covering his mouth.
“Satoru Gojo‐” you opened the black velvet box, revealing a beautiful platinum band with an octagon cut aquamarine embedded in its center “‐will you marry me?”
For once in his life, the talkative and charismatic young man was at a total loss for words. All he could do was dart his gaze from the ring to your loving and hopeful expression. He, too, had to blink a few times so the tears he was trying to hide wouldn’t obscure the scene before him.
“God…” Satoru lowered his hands to his chest, over his pounding heart. “God, babe… Yes. Of course I want to marry you.” He held out a trembling hand towards you to help you up. “C’mere, sweetheart.”
You chuckled, then looked over to the kids with the box still open in your hand, then back at Satoru with your eyes drowning in tears. The moment you took his hand, your body shook with a quiet sob that turned into more sobs as soon as you buried your face into his embrace. Satoru was quick to squeeze you between his arms and cradle the back of your head in his hand. He lowered his face to rest it against your hair and only then did he let his tears fall.
The kids—excluding Nobara, who was busy recording the scene—cheered and clapped at the beautiful moment they were witnessing. Yuji gave Yuta and Megumi loud pats on the back that earned him a flinch from Yuta and a glare from both Nobara and Megumi himself. Meanwhile, Tsumiki wiped her tears away with the back of her index finger.
When the two of you calmed down, Satoru pulled away and held your face between his hands. He wiped your tears away with his thumbs and pressed kisses to your forehead, nose, and lips. He didn’t care that his students were seeing this side of him; Megumi and Tsumiki were well acquainted with it anyway.
“Damn…” he said. “I suspected you were up to something, but I had no idea it would be this big.”
You grinned, reaching out to wipe his tears away yourself. “The biggest surprises come in the smallest packages sometimes.”
“Indeed.” He then looked over at the kids, dramatically arching an eyebrow. “Did any of you know anything about this?”
“N-no…” Knowing he was a terrible liar, Yuta gave him a sheepish smile.
“No, not at all.” Yuji whistled.
“Hey, Megumi,” Tsumiki said, “now we can say we had the privilege of watching our parents get engaged.”
Megumi, who was totally not using his shirt’s cuff to make his tears disappear, cleared his throat. “Yeah, not everyone can say that.”
“Don’t forget the most important part!” Nobara called from behind the phone.
Right. You opened the box again; you had closed it before hugging Satoru.
“I think I have something of yours,” you told him, carefully taking the ring out of the case. Now empty, the black velvet box went back to your pocket.
He extended his left hand towards you. “You’re right. It’s time you give it to its rightful owner.”
Gently, you took Satoru’s hand in yours and slid the ring onto his ring finger. You admired the way it looked now that it was there. It felt like it had always been in Satoru’s hand, like it was meant to be worn by him and only him. He, too, gazed down at the meaningful piece of jewelry with a warm glint in his eyes that threatened to bring tears to yours again. You couldn’t believe you had the luck and privilege of being the one putting that look on his face.
You lifted his hand to your lips and pressed a gentle kiss to its back, giving the aquamarine in the ring a glance before connecting your gaze to Satoru’s. Nobara stopped recording at that point. Your now fiancé and you, looking at each other like the world had narrowed down to just the both of you, was the perfect closure for the video. However, neither she nor the others said anything. They could tell the moment wasn’t over yet.
“Thank you,” you murmured.
“What are you thanking me for?” Satoru asked, tilting his head to the side.
“For saying ‘yes’ to me. I know you’re supposed to be the one getting all the gifts today, but you just gave me a huge one.”
Your fiancé would have joked about how he was indeed a huge gift, but you and the new status of your relationship were so amazing of a present to him that it would have felt wrong to say it. He held your other hand and, leaning in, he answered, “Babe, if there was a multiverse, I’d say ‘yes’ to you in every single alternate reality out there.”
You got even closer, until his torso touched yours. “I would do the same in a heartbeat.”
Satoru’s lips and yours met as he took you back into his strong arms. You melted into the kiss, cupping his cheek with your hand and holding him as close as you could with your free arm. The thought that the kids might get scandalized at this display of affection lingered in the back of your mind, but you made yourself forget about them for just a moment. Satoru was your priority.
Yuji leaned towards Nobara and whispered, “It’s like watching a romantic movie happen right in front of us.”
“Then, it’s more like a romantic theatre play,” she said.
“Except this is very real.” Megumi sported a faint smile he didn’t bother hiding.
You pulled away after what felt like the sweetest of eternities, but Satoru kept his forehead on yours. You looked into his eyes, tracing the perfect contour of his cheekbone with your thumb. He brought his hand up to give you the same treatment and placed another kiss on your forehead. You both knew you’d be doing a hell of a lot of cuddling and kissing later.
“I want to stay like this forever,” Satoru whispered into the tiny space between your faces, “but I’m sure the kids would like to congratulate us.”
You glanced at them, your gaze warm and grateful. “Yes, I’m sure of it.”
And just like that, you saw yourselves surrounded by the excited teenagers, hugs and well-wishes going round. You felt a little bad that Satoru was no longer the sole focus of their congratulations, but you knew he didn’t mind; the radiant smile he gave you after hugging Tsumiki—one that crinkled his eyes in the most adorable way—confirmed it for you and, right that instant, you made it your life’s mission to ensure you put a smile like that on Satoru’s face every day for as long as you lived. He deserved it.
