#nylu has written

[ratatoilett]

"what the hell is wrong with you-"

maybe in another universe you won't be having this conversation with him. maybe in another universe satoru would just tease you and make smartass comments about how you're so pouty after he ate that one last slice of cake you saved up just to savor the taste. maybe this will all just be an ordinary day but this wasn't that universe.

no this was now.

he stopped his tracks, dragging his hands through his snow-white hair, his face unreadable. "you knew i had to make this choice right? all those plans, those chances, those what ifs-"

your nostrils flared, "and you didn't stop for a second to think about how i would feel about any of this?"

the silence that followed was deafening. he just stood there, staring, the weight of his words pressing down on this godforsaken room like an iron shroud. finally, he broke it, his voice a whisper, trembling at the edges, "this is the only—this is the only way i could see you having a good life."

bewildered was even the word. you barked out a laugh—sharp, bitter, more like a scoff—"a good life? and you can't be in it? so you've decided to make—this twisted, fucked up version of reality—where i could have a 'good life' without you in it?".

your pacing grew erratic as you fought the tears that stung your eyes, biting them back with all your strength. "tell me, did you planned this all along satoru? from the very beginning—"

he closed his eyes, a pained grimace crossing his face. "yes."

and that one word shattered something in you.

"so you think by giving up your body —letting them use you like some goddamn ragdoll to beat sukuna— is a bright idea? and then what? you just—what—throw yourself away like trash?"

you stopped pacing, your breaths coming out in uneven bursts. the plan you overheard, not from his lips, no. the moment you'd learned about it, something inside you had snapped, every nerve in your body screaming in protest.

satoru swallowed hard, stepping toward you cautiously, as though afraid you might vanish if he got too close. his hands cupped your face, warm but trembling, like he was holding on to something slipping through his fingers. "do you remember?" his voice cracked, low and rough. "do you remember what i told you? before all of this— the curse, the missions, all this shit—how i always said—"

you choked on your own tears, already knowing the answer. "that you'd come home soon."

he nodded, his forehead brushing against yours as his own tears began to spill. "and i always meant it."

your hands gripped his wrists tightly, desperate, like holding on to him could somehow change this, change everything. "don't. don't say it. i don't want to hear it."

he pressed a kiss to your hair, pulling you into his arms, holding you so close it felt like he was trying to merge your souls. his face buried in your neck, and you could feel his tears hot against your skin. he was trembling—this unshakable man, this immovable force, was breaking apart in your arms.

and it was funny, in the most tragic way imaginable, how the two of you were crumbling together. one fighting so desperately to keep the other from slipping away, and the other fighting to let go.

his voice came again, breaking the silence like a cracked whisper. "i need you to promise me something. promise me you'll be ok."

you shook your head violently, the words tumbling out of you like a broken glass. "no. no, i can't—don't ask me that satoru, don't—"

his hands framed your face again, his eyes searching yours with desperation that cut deeper that any curse ever could. "promise me," he said, his voice stronger now, even as his own tears refused to stop. "promise me you'll be strong, promise me you'll never forget me. that you'll think of me, even just from time to time. promise me you'll remember how much i love you, how grateful i am of you. and promise me—"

his voice cracked, and the rest came out in a rush. "promise me you'll remember that i didn't want to go."

your grip on him weakened, and something in his eyes changed. he knew. he knew.

he planted one last kiss on your forehead, lingering as though trying to pour everything he couldn't say into that single moment. then he stepped back, his hands falling away like leaves in the wind.

and just like that, he let go.