Chapter Text
It would figure that the single day Shoko has off this week, is the day it rains. Not just lightly either, but the kind that falls down like waves, washing away all sound and light in almost a biblical amount. Shoko watches passively as the world vanishes from the safety of the awning she had been smart enough to be under when it started; she quit smoking, but other old habits remained. The need to take shelter from the elements, to pause outside a door -to be outside but doing your best to pretend otherwise. It was every smoker’s plight, a shared misery they took with every exhale.
Shoko sighs and wishes she hadn’t given up smoking.
At least it would have given her something to do, other than wait around with her arms laden with bags of food she was probably going to forget to eat. Again. It was a cycle she never seemed able to break. She put most of the blame on her work hours, but realistically Shoko was a shit cook and most of all lazy.
Plus, if she was honest, cooking was a tedious task.
-still she tried. Deep down knowing at some point even she could get sick of convenient store rice balls or deep-fried take out. Her powers only worked on so much, eventually even her body yearned for real substance.
From the depths of her coat pockets, her phone trilled. A delightful bouncy tune that did not match the atmosphere whatsoever. Fitting considering she did not choose it. That would have been the idiot who changed it to a personalized style when she wasn’t looking.
“Hey.” She answered unhappily.
“Heeeeeey.” Gojo sang back, drawing out the single word for a solid minute. “What’s with the attitude? I haven’t even done anything yet!”
“You changed my ringtone again.”
“I changed my ringtone.”
“In my phone.”
“Hey, wait till you get a call from Yaga, that one is fun.”
“Hm, yeah just wait till you get a call from him too.” Shoko replied meaningfully, out of the pair of them, she knew more music. She had more than one playlist at the ready of ‘terribly embarrassing songs to play in public’.
“Where the hell are you at, sounds like you are near a waterfall.”
“I was grocery shopping.”
“In this weather?”
“It wasn’t raining when I got here.” She points out mildly, before adding her address. Shoko only has to wait a handful of seconds before she spots his lanky figure walking up. There is not a single drop on him, all of it disbursed and bounced off his barrier. Shoko would be jealous if she could muster up the energy.
As it is, the second he’s in reach, she’s handing him her bags. He takes them with a clear frown.
“I don’t remember agreeing to this manual labor.” Gojo whines, while at the same time extending his barrier towards her until it’s safe for her to walk beside him.
“Oh, are two grocery bags too heavy for you? I can take them back if they are too much.” Shoko mocks, voice gentle and sweet so he knows without a doubt she is fucking with him.
“You better have some snacks in here to pay me with.”
“Maybe.” She did.
They walk the rest of the way to her place in silence. It isn’t a long walk by any means, Shoko only ever shops when it is convenient -but they take their time. This too is an odd habit she has developed over the years. Silent walks with each other happened more frequently than their dinners. He would find her on campus, on her way home or after a bad date. Sometimes they talked, but most times they didn’t.
Today was no different, neither said a word as she opened her door and he followed her in. Kicking off his shoes to rest in the place they always did. Right next to her heels, but further to the left. If she was not careful, she would trip and break her neck in the morning.
Gojo unloads the bags, better him than her. He knew where things properly went, Shoko was more likely to just shove it where she could. When all is said and done, Shoko is curled up on her couch with a bag of her favorite chips and searching for something to watch. She watches patiently as he putters around the kitchen, getting his snacks -all three into a massive bowl big enough for at least several people- and then flopping down against her. Skin against skin, as if there is nowhere else to sit. Shoko sighs like it bothers her.
“Staying?”
“Yeah. I figured I’d stay till it stops raining.”
Shoko kept her smug smile to herself.
They both knew he would stay long after it stopped.