Moonshine

Elska hesitates to look at Satoru.

'What have I done?!'

She can smell his blood and it serves as a completely dismantling reminder of how she just attacked everyone she cares about. He's holding the bottle out to her while she remains motionless in Naoya's hold.

"Love, come on…it's okay."

Gojo grins widely with one eye closed as blood continues to drip over that lid.

"Who knows!? Maybe you knocked some sense into me!"

He's now subtly shaking the bottle near her ear as Naoya, in obvious relief, nuzzles her.

Elska's realizing that she can't hide her face forever.

"Sati…I'm so sorry!"

 When she lifts her head from Naoya's neck amber eyes are the first she sees.

"Naoya…"

"Baby, I don't know what the hell that was but it clearly wasn't you."

The Zenin bounces her once to reposition her better but then kisses her cheek and quietly chuckles.

"Everything is fine now though. I was against the alcohol before but I say go ahead. I am not about to tell you no again!"

Naoya's smile finally starts reflecting on her face as her eyes tear up in contradiction to her trembling smirk.

Itadori is taking a swig while kneeling next to Nanami.

"That was INSANE!"

He's staring at Elska while passing the bottle to Nobara.

"El...that energy was weird but impressive!! I nearly pooped myself!!"

Yuuji throws that famous thumbs up to her hoping to make her feel better.

Nobara's face twists at the mention of defecation.

"Okay...whyyyy do I like you again?"

This draws out a chuckle from Elska as she's still trying to gather the courage to meet eyes.

Toji is walking over to Choso who still hasn't moved.

"You alright bud?"

Choso feels like he's on the verge of a discovery but is missing too much information; Elska's still a complete mystery.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to think."

"Choso I really didn't mean to do that…I don't know where that came from."

Elska is finally taking the bottle from Satoru and tilting it back to drink. When the hairspray tasting substance hits her tongue, she's frowns.

"Oh my god, what the HELL is this, Nanami?! It tastes terrible!"

But as the words leave her lips she's jolted with a realization.

'Taste…'

Elska's eyes take to Choso again disconcertingly.

Nanami laughs wearily while taking another sip with pride. 

"Oh? This is my family's moonshine. It'll get the job done though so everyone drink slowly!"

He's still sitting on the floor, happily warming himself with the brew.

Elska's mouth is slightly parted but her brow furrows the longer her eyes linger on the hybrid.

"You guys...I've just realized that I don't know Choso's taste…"

"What?"

Toji and Choso speak in unison as they look to her.

 "You fed from him, right, love?"

Satoru takes a swig himself before wanting to offer it to Naoya but his arms are still occupied.

Choso is worried about that so he offers clarity.

"She definitely did." 

The being doesn't understand exactly what she meant but he's unnerved because the lowly voice said otherwise.

"That…other you said she knew it though."

Choso is now thinking back to the moment when she fed from him hours ago and how unusually aggressive her mannerisms were.

'I'm half curse so I wonder if that's a factor at all…'

Toji understands the complexity of her statement more than anyone else in the room. Sukuna hinted to knowing but left everyone else in the dark.

"Doll, what are we?"

"I…I don't really know…"

Elska's eyes have narrowed now as she stares into open space. She's starting to process all of the new, broken memories but is reluctant to share any of this until she understands them better herself. They're still quite jumbled.

There's a short-lived silence in the conversation before Naoya inserts his two cents.

"She's a princess of course!"

Grinning widely before jostling her around a bit. He goes to lower her to the floor so she can stand but he keeps an arm on her waist, which is when he looks to Toji with a devilish smirk. Everyone would like answers but he also comprehended that none were coming in that moment.

"You must be her stable boy."

Laughing loudly as the bass in his voice carries.

Megumi is rubbing his shoulder from where he hit the wall after Choso threw him.

"Couldn't you have been a little more gentle?"

He's viewing Choso, insecure that his dry humor wouldn't be understood. Choso clearly didn't catch the joke as the being's expression saddens.

"Well, I'm glad he did that! What the fuck are doing trying to trap all these high players in your domain, Megs?"

Toji is proud of his spirit but is also worried about how that could've played out.

"You got balls though, I'll give you that!"

He pats Megumi a few times roughly on that same shoulder and cackles loudly.

"MY boy!"

"Sati, you're still bleeding!"

Elska uses her sleeve to wipe away the blood over his eye as the guilt washes over. Her vision emotively blurs again as she gazes into him.

"I never meant to do any of that you guys, I'm so sorry."

"I'm already healing myself as we speak love, don't fret."

Gojo sighs.

"I'm really not used to getting my ass kicked like that though…"

His eyes dart between her and Toji.

"You two are going to be the death of me!"

He hoots wildly before understanding she finds less comfort in his words than he intended.

"Love I'm kidding…I am still the strongest."

His infamously smug grin reappears before glancing away and raking air towards himself.

"Choso, Toji…come have a drink."

 They walk over towards everyone else as Toji drinks some down first. His wings start flailing into Choso from his excitement of the taste. To everyone's surprise Choso ends up giggling.

"That tickles!"

The hybrid is playfully swatting the dark grey feathers out of his face but is enjoys how soft they are.

"Cho…SUCH a strange dude."

Naoya laughs to the foreign noises leaving his friend, they're simply infectious.

"Put those away big bird...before Cho here dies of laughter."

Toji's face is in a pout upon hearing the nickname but releases the large feathers anyways.

"Heyyyy...at least I didn't ruin another shirt! Topless might work after all..."

Toji takes another sip and passes it to Choso.

"I've never had this stuff before…"

Choso is holding the bottle up to eye level before bringing his nose to the opening for a whiff.

"OH…HELL-ON-EARTH…"

He turns his head away reflexively as his eyes water.

"Are you guys sure this is drinkable?!"

He looks so confused as everyone else casually sips.

Naoya removes his hand from Elska to grab the bottle from Choso.

"Here I'll go first. It's a man's drink!"

Naoya tilts the bottle back and gets a whole mouthful before almost spitting it out everywhere. His amber eyes are wide with shock and betrayal but the Zenin somehow forces himself to swallow it before coughing relentlessly.

 "HAH!"

Toji cackles immediately.

"SOME MAN!"

The giant slaps his thigh in amusement.

"Shut up! I wasn't expecting it to dissolve my fucking teeth!"

Naoya keeps his eyes adverted away from Elska as he's embarrassed now, even more so when she laughs too.

"I told you it tasted horrible my prince!"

When Naoya pout fails to fade she cups his reddened cheeks.

"You are still very much a man in my eyes."

She winks to him and a prideful smirk uplifts Naoya's chin until he's side-eying Toji and reciprocates his "HAH" right back.

"Hmm…perhaps I'll try it anyways. Everyone else seems to be happier now...that sounds nice..."

Choso receives the bottle from Naoya and throws it back but ends up taking three huge gulps as everyone watches in amazement. On the last mouthful though he chokes and ends up spraying the contents all over Naoya across from him.

The laughter ensues as Naoya stands there with a deadpan face, wiping the liquid from his neck and robes.

"I… I fucking hate alcohol now…"

"AHH NAOYA! I didn't mean to do that!"

Choso's eyes are widened with regret as Naoya continues shaking the fluid away.

"You almost need a bath now!"

Elska uses her other sleeve to assist in drying Naoya, still tittering over the comical scene.

"Poor thing!"

Naoya perks up and smirks to Choso.

"Do it again Cho! Quick!"

To which her and Choso laugh since they're aware of Naoya's love for bath time.

"Such an odd prince…"

Nanami stands up and looks around the room, feeling slightly buzzed by this point.

"This one is destroyed now too…"

He turns to face Satoru, Toji and Elska.

"We're running out of ones that are still intact…you three are also dys-functionally disastrous I swear!"

Nanami is indeed annoyed by all the damages but he's also is trying to add to the good vibes, not take away.

"Maybe we should take this to the cafeteria where there's more room and less debris."

 "I'm going to change first."

Elska isn't going to say it out loud but she's dealing with a mess of a situation still between her legs from when her and Naoya performed in front of Satoru. Her jacket and shirt underneath are also torn from calling on her wings while in that rage.

"I'll go with you love, I'm a wreck as well."

Gojo holds out his hand as he wants to escort her after using his other hand to display the blood that's all over him now.

"Yea right perv, you need a damn chaperone."

Toji huffs as he's serious about keeping Satoru off of her. Gojo's bottom lip juts out in a pout as he whines in response.

"I'll go with them then, I'm a neutral party."

Nanami holds out his arm in the direction of the door.

"Ms. Oda?"

She smiles and nods being extremely grateful that no one is treating her any differently now. Before turning to leave she squeezes Naoya's hand.

"I'll be there in just a few, I'm literally just going to switch clothes…we'll bathe later, okay?"

Toji is curious about this comment but chooses to say nothing in the moment.

'Me and that boy need to have a talk.'

He folds his arms protectively while watching them.

Nanami claps his hands.

"Alright! Grab the drinks you guys. We probably need a bit of a break, a chance to relax."

The manager's wishes become reality as everyone gathers themselves to relocate and Satoru and Elska head in his direction so he leads them out into the hall.

Naoya is the last to filter out of the room behind Choso which is where he watches Elska, Gojo and Nanami leaving in the opposite direction. He's not necessarily worried but is wishing he could join them until he feels a harsh slap on the back of his neck snapping him out of his daze.

"OW!" 

Toji's aware with how taken Naoya is by her and is worried about her being suffocated emotionally.

"Look boy, she's got a lot going on right now, maybe you should cool your jets."

"I'm going to marry her Toji."

Naoya's rubbing the back of his neck while giving a childish glare.

"As long as she'll have me, I won't let anything get in the way of that."

Toji grunts.

"You little shit…"

The giant is soon pushing his cousin down the hall to follow the others as Choso watches them curiously.

"I'm trying to say that she's a little overwhelmed in the male department right now. She doesn't need you clinging to her like a wet rag."

Toji's lifting an eyebrow, waiting to gauge Naoya's response as they walk.

Naoya turns his nose up defiantly while Toji halts in his tracks.

"We're supposed to be together Toji, I don't know how else to explain this."

But then the Zenin spins around to check on the anchoring man; he doesn't want to hurt Toji's feelings but he's also not going to back down.

"What did I do now?"

Toji unfortunately knows that this is likely true; her and Naoya both have stated this to him now. He looks over the blonde from head to toe as he unenthusiastically accepts the words, frustratingly or not.

"What are you going to do when her and I feed from each other, Naoya? You know that has to happen right?"

Naoya doesn't like the sound of that at all. He refrains from having a small fit though and comprehends that Toji wouldn't just be trying to rile him up, he's warning him of the future.

"If she needs to do that...if you need to do that…then I guess I'll just have to come to terms with it…"

The Zenin's eyes give him away as they fill with a slight sadness but he recovers his conduct.

"It's not just about me…"

Toji is surprised to hear this as Naoya has always seemed self-centered and arrogant. He sighs deeply while reeling through the absolute contrast of who the Zenin used to be.

"You're making this really hard for me kid…"

Naoya is confused and glances to Choso for reinforcement that he's not missing something here.

"HOW? I'm trying to be understanding!"

Toji runs his hand through his black hair, groaning.

"Exactly…I wasn't expecting that. You've matured. I can usually stake my stance with Gojo because his reasoning is all wrong…but yours is, you're being sensible."

The three of them have stopped moving now.

"Wait so she'll be feeding from both of you?"

Choso's eyebrows are raised as he recalls how intimate that process is. He accidentally pictures something explicit while imagining her drinking from the two men. Embarrassed, the being shakes his head and rapidly blinks as if he can filter the thoughts away.

"Isn't it arousing though?"

Naoya takes a deep breath as he gathers the honesty in Choso's question.

"Yes, very much so."

He now looks Choso in the eyes and narrows them.

"Wait a minute...did you try something slick when she bit you?!"

 "No! I swear! My body was just reacting…and her sounds…"

Choso seems to think it's best to stop there as he catches Toji staring him down.

"I-I'm very aware of your affections for her Naoya and I would never do that."

"That must have been difficult then. You're totally a perv Cho but that aside, not many men would have resisted, thank you."

Naoya didn't need the knowledge of Choso's side of the experience but he feels even more sure that Choso is a trustworthy man.

Toji is finding himself uncomfortable at the thought of her feeding from both of them but only because it is enticing. His mind takes itself to possibilities that he's not quite sure of yet because he feels uncomfortable about most of them and how they proliferate naturally. He doesn't want to create a situation where she's caught between them again…literally. The last time they were in a situation like that it went pretty poorly overall. He grunts and begins walking again, mystified as to why he's not fouled by the idea.

"Come on you two, we're falling behind…"

"Tch, you stopped in the first place!"

Naoya quickens his steps to catch up after to waving Choso to follow.

———————————————————————————-

 Once they open the door the night air chills them immediately.

"UGH…I forgot Toji put a human sized hole in the wall!"

Gojo cries as they can almost see the stars from the doorway but then turns to Nanami.

"He's much more destructive than me!"

"No, Satoru, you both are pretty bad…"

Nanami luckily has the cover of his suit so the cool air isn't bothering him as much. He sees Gojo smirk.

"I'm glad you think it's so funny since you still owe for tons of damages."

"Well, we're not sleeping in here tonight!"

Gojo smiles to Elska, swiftly changing the topic.

"Will you let us sleep with you Nanamin?!"

"Oda can."

Nanami jokingly mumbles it under his breath but couldn't help since Satoru left himself wide open. He was expecting a rebuttal but the breeze saves him from the nonsensical spat.

"It's so cold!"

Elska shivers in her skirt uniform as she moves her rigid body to find clothes as quickly as possible. She scuttles to the dresser and searches frantically for some sweat pants and a clean pair of underwear but can only find the undergarments.

"Sati?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Where on this earth are all of my clothes?"

She moves to the other dresser and at least finds some of her slips and her silk black robe.

"Well you see…about that…"

He puts a hand behind his head and raises the pitch in his voice.

"Those were kind of destroyed by my domain in the last room…remember?"

 "What?!"

Elska recalls most of their room being swallowed up then.

"But…"

Lost for words, she sighs disapprovingly before looking over to him.

"We moved the clothes and everything we owned to that room. I just never let this one become vacant."

He smiles nervously when Elska's eyes shut as if she needed a moment before becoming angry.

"Sorry love!"

"Well damn..."

She's standing there freezing as she copes with the fact that she will have to change into a slip and use her robe for modesty.

'Naoya is going to FREAK when I show up in just this…'

She laments but grabs the clothes up.

Nanami leans quietly in the doorway until this moment.

"See? Just as destructive…"

Gojo darts his eyes over but playfully narrows them.

Feeling guilty, Satoru now rummages through for some clothes as well.

"I at least have stuff but I don't think they'll quite fit you love."

He chuckles as he unfolds his long-legged sweatpants next to her, the waistband would likely go to her breasts. They both laugh as it's clear she's already made peace with her outfit choice.

She grabs the purple slip, black robe and underwear and scurries into the bathroom.

"I know I already said this but IT'S SO COLD!"

Her complaints can be heard through the door along with shifting and a closing toilet lid.

Gojo drops his pants causing Nanami to make a troubled grunt and snap his neck in the opposite dieciton.

"Seriously Satoru…how many times are you going to show me that thing?"

"As many times as you want to see it Nanamin!"

This generates depletion and causes Nanami to lose all the kindness from his face.

"You're lucky I'm buzzed otherwise I would cut it…"

Gojo finds a black shirt and holds it up.

'This wouldn't cover much of her where it counts.'

He purses his lips while in thought until he hears a loud thud,

"Love? You good in there?"

"Yes!! Just trying to figure out how I'm going to not freeze to death when I come out!"

"Hmm…"

Satoru looks through her underwear drawer and begins pulling out different panties, to which Nanami blushes and again redirects his vision.

"Are you TRYING to show me those Satoru?! Christ…"

Gojo shrugs but finally finds what he was searching for and brings them to the bathroom door.

"Love you still had a pair of thigh highs in there, do you want them?"

"I'm going to look like a damn concubine…"

The regret is obvious in her voice but she opens the door to grab them.

"It's better than nothing. I'll wear them until I at least warm up, I guess. Thank you, Sati…"

She places one leg up on the tub's ledge while shimmying the fabric up her calf and thigh, repeating the same for the other. It takes a second before she notices Satoru watching her do so intensely and with a loving smile.

"It's funny, love, how much we take for granted..."

He figures Elska must not have heard him since she's still focused on changing, so he wades in his thoughts that fill with how he'll never miss a moment with her again. Darker thoughts funnel into his psyche however as he's simultaneously reminded of how fucking hopeless and pathetic he felt when she was gone.

'The entire world could not equate to you, my love...'

Murderous temptation stings his veins and his hand twitch into a fist instinctively.

'I'd fucking kill everyone for you...'

"Alright! Let's get out of this tundra!"

Elska bolts out of the bathroom past Nanami and into the hall, shuddering as the warmth of the rest of the building comforts her.

Nanami and Satoru have now shut the door and are out there with her but Gojo can't help himself so he deviously smiles.

"You look great actually."

And lets his eyes rake over her completely as he's remembering what's underneath.

"I'm sure…"

She replies sarcastically knowing that he's just being his usual self but that also makes her smile; they almost feel normal again.

Nanami is leading the way.

"Alright you two, let's go enjoy this brief reprieve and hope it doesn't get us all killed, yeah?"

He chuckles as he knows they definitely should not be having a party or whatever this is turning into but he also acknowledges how frazzled they all are. Everyone needs a break.

 —————————————————————————————————-

"I found the cups!"

Nobara is counting out some so that everyone could have their own. She stacks them and walks them to the tables they've pushed together but blushes when she hands Itadori's his. They have a moment of locked eyes and she finds herself edgy from his gentle expression. Swiftly rotating her head out of embarrassment, she shouts, "Megs, here's yours!"

Toji is now holding a cup but still swigs the bottle.

"We need to find you a woman, Megumi."

 He laughs at his son's scorned expression and continues, "Or a man?" to which Megumi's annoyance is brought to a new high.

"Love is love my boy, no one will look at you differently for your preference."

"I do like someone for the record but they're not available…"

Megumi glares at Toji as an annoyed son would to the father that teases him.

One of the plastic cups slams down into the particle board table.

"WHO!?"

Nobara is immediately interested.

"You have to tell me!"

She squeals in excitement again while bringing her hands together.

"It doesn't matter…like I said, they're unavailable. Besides, she wouldn't be interested anyways..."

Megumi sighs defeatedly but narrows his focus to Toji.

"22 doesn't mean shit, remember?"

Toji was in the process of swallowing another gulp but nearly spews his beverage everywhere. His eyes widen to the reference but he mumbles all the same.

"You're fucking kidding me…"

Toji told him he was basically too young the day he caught him staring at Elska. The giant wallows in disbelief as he doesn't know what to say; he's stuck on wrapping his mind around it.

 "WHO DAMN IT? DO I KNOW HER?!"

Nobara is annoyed that Toji seemed to figure it out but she hasn't a clue to what he meant when he said that.

"Is that a song lyric or what?"

Megumi's eyes threaten Toji as if to say Do not mention anything but he soon glances to Nobara.

"I'm just kidding, I don't like anyone right now."

While anxiously pouring himself a drink, the younger Fushiguro forces an awkward smile for Nobara.

"Now I know you're full of shit, what's with that creepy face!?"

Nobara laughs shamelessly but decides to drop it as he clearly doesn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Here's a cup for you too…Zenin."

She says it with disdain but only because she's heard horror stories about Naoya from her friend, Maki who is also a Zenin and his cousin.

Toji chuckles at the animosity in her voice and waves Naoya over.

"Come on punk, join us…they'll be back any minute now."

Naoya was waiting by the door with Choso but reluctantly heads to the tables with him.

Nobora smiles when handing Choso his cup.

"You seem really nice though…I have no idea why you hang around him."

She darts her eyes to Naoya who's obviously picked up on her hostility but it would seem as though the Zenin isn't wanting to cause any drama.

"Naoya's really nice! He's the first friend I can remember ever having!"

Choso's words are cloaked in genuine honesty as he defends Naoya with diplomacy.

"He's a good man."

"Not from what I've heard…Maki wouldn't lie to me…"

Nobara huffs and blows a stray bang out of her face.

"I thought the same but he really isn't that bad."

Itadori throws an arm over Nobara's shoulders after she sits next to him, her demeanor changing instantaneously to their new dynamic. He rolls his shoulders when he realizes his affect on her.

"El trusts him."

"Maki?!"

Naoya groans as it all makes sense.

"Yes…I understand where you're coming from. I imagine she has all sorts of things to say about me since I haven't always been the nicest to her…"

Toji chimes in.

"It's the Zenin way."

The giant places his empty cup down to pour some more, still trying to shake what Megumi basically confessed a few moments ago.

"I've always hated how they treat their women…how they treat people in general. They're fucking hopeless."

"I used to an asshole, I'll admit it."

Naoya is now reaching for his cup before reluctantly forcing it down.

"But I would like to reform the clan though. Let any one of those fuckers disrespect Elska and I'll hang them by their genitals."

He coughs briefly after taking a drink.

"Maki is incredibly capable as a shaman, even without having loads of cursed energy. I think that always bothered me because she wants to be the head too but she doesn't have the techniques. I can't ignore that she is still fierce however. I'll never admit this again but she's definitely one-upped me a couple times when we were kids."

Naoya takes another sip, a small smirk treading on the corners of his mouth.

"When I'm in charge though the women will be realized in equal partnership. All of them have just as much to offer as the men, some probably more so than. It's an injustice to my entire clan to have capable and talented members who are overlooked simply because of what lies between their legs."

Nobara is stunned by that response and is left speechless for a bit. She's watching Naoya swirl the contents of his cup while staring into the table and finds herself not as repulsed by him as before.

'That's not at all what I was expecting…I wish I had that on video to send to her! She's not going to believe this!'

Her and Itadori are facing the entrance so when Nanami, Gojo and Elska arrive they see them.

"Hey!! We have cups for all!"

Nobara smiles and waves excitedly.

Naoya stands and turns around but frowns at what she's wearing.

"Baby, what… where are the rest of your clothes!?"

He rushes over to her protectively to try and shield her from everyone's eyes.

"I think she looks great!"

Toji chuckles as he would prefer her to be dressed heavier for sure but the alcohol leaves him with only the ability to admire the ensemble. He quickly looks over to Megumi and sees him gawking so he places his hand in front of his son's eyes but Megumi slaps his hand out the way and orients himself to face Nobara and Itadori again.

"Are you even wearing anything under that robe?"

Without thinking, Naoya opens it and sees the purple slip underneath. His voice squeaks in his throat as he quickly closes it and fastens it tightly, almost leaving nothing but her neck exposed. He glares to Gojo thinking this was his idea.

"I KNEW you'd have this reaction!"

Elska hoots loudly to his frantic maneuvering of her clothing and sighs as he looks to her with confusion.

"It's a long story but it would seem I need to go shopping…"

"Well then we go tomorrow, princess!"

But this is when Naoya's view now takes to her legs. He feels his visible irritation fade as he positions himself more in front of her. He looks her in the eyes then down at her thighs with a curiously raised eyebrow. He moves the robe and slip up slightly as his breath is hitched, only to find that yes…she is indeed wearing black thigh highs.

"Baby…"

It was far more salacious than he meant it to be, at least in front of everyone but a grin now appears on his face as his eyes dart back up to hers.

"HEY now!"

Gojo grabs his wrist.

"Don't you want to check out mine too Zenin?"

He forces Naoya's hand on his abdomen under his shirt and enjoys watching Naoya retract in disgust. Nanami is unexpectedly the first to belt out a laugh in reaction, probably being glad that someone else has to put up with that shit now too.

"God damn it, I hate you."

Naoya wipes his hand off on his pants as if Satoru is dirty.

"If you two don't give her some fucking space I'll pummel you both."

Toji is bringing a cup to Elska as he enjoys the view of her like that. He inhales deeply as he nears her, taking in her natural scent.

"Thank you, my beloved."

She smiles and then drinks, still not enjoying the taste but notices that it's not as harsh as the first try.

"Let's just all sit down and relax."

Elska moves to the table to an open seat while Satoru and Naoya sit on either side of her across from Itadori and Nobara. Toji and Megumi sit at the end still but now across from Nanami. 

Choso sips from his cup and gleefully leans in front of Naoya and smiles to Elska.

"You look very nice!"

Which causes Naoya to snap his head to his direction and place a heavy hand on Choso's shoulder.

"What? She does!"

Choso might be feeling a little buzzed too.

"Cho…I don't know if I'll ever get through to you."

Naoya finds himself chuckling as he has to remind himself that the being doesn't understand the meaning of a filter, he probably doesn't understand that you should have one with this category of topic…nor does he mean any harm.

"I remember when we were younger, I thought adults were weird. Now that I'm one myself, I think you guys a super weird."

Itadori slaps his hand on the table as he found himself to be hilarious. Megumi and Nobara laugh with him though since they feel the same.

Nanami sits next to Gojo after removing his suit jacket. He's watching everyone interact again as if they weren't all at each other's throats just hours before.

"Complete dysfunction now!"

He's happy to see everyone smiling and getting along though while he tries not to worry about the pending danger they're likely to face soon. This wonderful get together though strikes him as somewhat lacking for there's someone particular he wishes were here as well.

"Has anyone seen Shoko lately?"

"No actually."

Gojo immediately pulls out his phone as he plans to call her.

Toji sets his cup down to pour more, being disturbed that no one's spoken to her.

"Last I knew she was working on making a synthetic kind of blood for us to feed on but that was days ago."

"We should probably inform her about the fight coming."

Nanami would've called himself had Satoru not beat him to it. He always finds himself so nervous around Shoko though so it's probably best if it's not him.

Gojo stands from the table to walk back toward the kitchen as the phone dials through.

Naoya watches him walk away and grins widely as he feels he can finally rest his hand on Elska's leg without issue. He doesn't even mean to but while taking another sip of his drink his fingers end up snapping the elastic of her thigh highs through her robe.

"Such a handsy prince!"

Elska jumps from the small sting his manipulations caused but he bashfully flattens his hand. She smiles at him as she can read through his eyes that he's getting tipsy and is discovering that Naoya might become a huge flirt because of it. He bites his lip momentarily and grips her thigh playfully.

"I really didn't even realize I was doing that."

Naoya laughs nervously as he avoids the judgements of everyone else at the table. Him and Elska stare into each other for a moment though and he brings his free right hand to the back of her neck to pull her in for a kiss.

Choso eyes are wide and glued to Naoya's hands as he swallows down some more moonshine, wondering if this might become inappropriate quickly. The being quickly glances over to Toji who's expression is of anger but it doesn't seem like he's going to try and stop them.

'I don't understand them AT ALL…'

Elska feels her body heating up and the rapid budding pheromones so she pulls away abruptly, heavily breathing with a shocked face.

Toji slams his fist down.

"WHAT?!"

He can smell a trace of the scent exuding from his doll and it causes his eyes to glow.

"How…how are they already triggered?"

He sees Naoya filling his lungs next to her and becomes irritated by how easily the blonde was able to bring them out of her.

Elska turns to Toji, feeling ashamed for already giving in to Naoya. Her eyes fold down, looking at the table.

"I'm still unsure as to why but he sets them off randomly…"

"Then you need to be more careful Naoya, what the fuck!?"

Toji is pissed as he keeps getting their connection shoved into his face. It wouldn't be so bad if it were a seemingly temporary thing but he feels like every time he turns around there's more proof that Naoya belongs.

"There's other people here too you know…"

He's comprehending that there's going to be new norm.

"I was careful! You have no idea what it was like refraining, ignoring, rejecting all of that…just to keep her safe."

Naoya takes another drink.

"It was maddening you old fart, don't talk to me about being careful."

Naoya snaps his wrist as if to brush Toji's comment away.

"Your taste in men is interesting Elska, I'll give you that…"

Nobara was flustered by their kiss but not for the same reasons as the others. It made her want to kiss Itadori again but doesn't feel like this is the right time.

"Leave me alone, will ya? I respect women now…shit…I actually love one!"

Naoya smiles widely as it's clear he's intoxicated.

"Never thought that would happen!"

He giggles as he grabs Elska's hand, laces their fingers and turns to her.

"She is going to be my wife."

Elska lost her breath to the mention of marriage again.

"Na-Naoya…let's not talk about this right now!"

She's awkwardly attempting to change the direction of conversation while squeezing his hand.

"We will discuss this when we bathe…okay?"

"And what's up with that? I wanted to say something earlier and refrained but little Naoya here has opened this can of worms."

Toji's eyes narrow and glow as he glares at Naoya who returns the expression but only for a second.

"Tch! Wha...ugh...I just like bathing with her!"

The Zenin throws his other hand up in the air like it should already be common knowledge.

"Do I need to explain why?"

His cheeks are rose in color as he somewhat brutishly defends himself.

Elska cautiously glances to Toji but is surprised to see that he's not about to flip the entire table over. She sighs in relief before looking to Naoya.

"I'm taking your cup away now."

She laughs shakily as she slides it away towards Nanami.

"Baaaaby! I'm just getting started!"

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of."

She laughs while he kisses her hand, adoring how amorous his is when tipsy.

"My prince, we just need to slow down though…on all fronts."

"Who said you could marry my woman, Zenin?"

Gojo is now back in the room and calmly heading toward the table.

"It was surely just a joke Satoru."

Nanami is trying to smooth this over.

The silver shaman keeps his eyes on her and Naoya as he thinks but deviously shoots them to Toji and smile.

"We can both marry her!"

Gojo doesn't seem to be joking though.

"For fucks sake…"

Toji isn't sure if he should be angry or entertained by this whole exchange.

"Gojo, he almost set off her pheromones by kissing her."

The giant huffs.

"Now tell me, what kind of shit is that?"

"Oh really?"

Satoru is definitely buzzed as well but is openly too excited about that bit of information. He bites his lip while looking at the pair in question.

"Mmm...I kind of like that…"

The convoluted glint reappears in his bright blue eyes.

"OKAY THIS IS GETTING WEIRD."

Itadori wide eyes Megumi while bringing in Nobara closer to himself instinctively.

"I still respect you Gojo sensei, I don't need to know all of this stuff that could ruin it."

"I second that…"

Megumi folds his arms and leans back in his chair broodingly.

"Gojo, I always knew you were a freak!"

Nobara belts out such a loud and infectious laugh that everyone is eventually drawn in to join.

Choso is smiling but is also genuinely confused.

"I have no idea what's going on here…"

"Gojo probably wants to have a threesome Cho but he's failing to understand that I'm not sharing."

Naoya's bluntness is met with raging hollers from Nobara and Nanami as they were quite enjoying the awkward conversation.

"A threesome?"

Choso looks like he's trying to decode what that word means by using the context of the conversation but his eyes unfasten completely as he thinks he has an idea.

"OH MY!"

His face roses over along with the stiffening of his body.

"OK I'm right here guys…no need to worry about my feelings though, right?"

Elska is beyond embarrassed.

"Can we…you know…not talk about this right now?"

She sighs as the topic is completely inappropriate and shouldn't be discussed in front of others so casually.

Could they really be impartial to the thing that makes her feel the worst about herself?

"I'm going to fly away with her again if you two don't fucking cool it."

Toji is pouting as he's forced to picture everything that's being discussed.

"You guys are relentless…"

"On that note! Shoko is fine and now updated on everything going on."

But Gojo looks at Nanami with a face that says there's more.

"It sounded like she had company though, I think you may have missed your chance my friend."

Nanami furrows his brow and clears his throat but snaps back regardless.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Satoru…"

"And that's why another man is about to take her."

He mocks as he's only wanting to give Nanami the push he needs.

"You should call her."

"You just said she had company Satoru…"

"Yeah but fuck that guy! Come on man!"

Gojo reaches down into Nanami's pocket for his phone to which Nanami violently struggles against.

"Stop touching me like that!"

Nanami bickers but fails to stop Gojo.

"It's facial recognition dumb ass you can't unlock it."

Nanami is forced to eat his words though as Gojo holds the phone in front of his face, unlocking it. Nanami stands up.

"You're such a dick!"

"I'm the best dick around!"

Gojo grins cunningly as he sets the phone down.

"It's ringing Nanamin, don't keep a good woman like her waiting!"

"I-swear-to-god-I'm-going-to-kill-you-one-day."

Nanami rushes into the kitchen as he knows he has no choice but to talk to Shoko now.

Everyone snickers to the way Gojo forced his cupid's arrow. Nanami is so uptight and cautious in general so its unanimously understood that he definitely needed that nudge.

"That was kind of sweet, Sati! In maniacal way of course…"

Elska is still dealing with her remaining giggles after watching how quickly Nanami ran into the kitchen, she's never seen him so uncollected.

"My love! You already know that I am sweet!"

Gojo playfully challenges her before sitting down. He sees Naoya's still holding her hand so he rests his own right one on her lap now.

Elska sighs heavily as she can feel the two men on either side of her both vying for her affection. She looks to Toji who seems completely lugubrious and decides to stand up to grab another bottle that sits on the tabletop behind Itadori and Nobara. When she stands though, the chair slightly lifts and tugs on her clothes before she hears fabric tearing and closes her eyes in complete frustration.

"You've got to be kidding me right now…"

She remains in place to collect herself as it instantly pissed her off.

Toji's eyes widen as he has a full view of the tear and how it's exposing her.

"DOLL!"

Elska takes a step away.

"I don't know why the universe is messing with my ability to keep apparel lately but I'VE HAD IT!"

Nobara is covering Itadori's eyes as she gathers Elska doesn't understand how bad the rips in her slip and robe are.

"Ummm…Elska?"

She looks over to Megumi and Toji to see their jaws dropped.

Naoya is just now noticing the change in the atmosphere when Choso rapidly taps his shoulder and points with wide eyes.

"BABY! YOUR ASS IS HANGING OUT!"

Naoya sends his hand up to cover it immediately before jumping to his feet to shift her body into the opposite direction.

"Such a fine ass!"

Satoru now has the best and only view but he doesn't seem concerned with covering her since he's instead enjoying seeing the tattered outfit all together.

"That's it! I can't take this anymore!!"

Naoya unties his robe and then his pants.

"WOAH! What the fuck do you think you're doing Naoya?!"

Toji launches to his feet with the wrong idea.

Naoya tries to keep his pants up but they fall, exposing his own ass.

"AHH!"

But he dutifully continues his mission so he can drape her with his robe.

"SHIT!"

Before he knows it, he's left looking like a medieval drunk in a simple white night shirt. He throws his robes over Elska though and then struggles up his pants.

"IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?"

Elska is mortified as she turns to face everyone slowly.

"Black lace to match love?"

Gojo grins devilishly as his presence intensifies.

Elska screams.

Now that the crisis has been averted, the small portion of nudity begins to eat at Naoya as well.

"Baby…it seems like you were prepared for…"

Naoya bites his lip again in his intoxication as he feels he can now enjoy that image since she's covered.

"…Me."

He finishes tying the oversized robe around her but sends his hand to roam down her until he's able to grab that same cheek. She jumps to his caress but when he looks at Gojo behind her, he can tell the silver shaman was way too into it, throwing him off so he sighs and sits back down.

"What's with you Gojo? What the fuck happened to you to make you this weird?!"

Irritated, Naoya tries to grab his cup but frowns further when its out of reach.

Elska is still standing with embarrassment as she feels she can not escape the fate of everyone knowing her bareness. She scrunches her face as she can feel eyes on her.

"This has been far too long of a day…"

She reaches for Naoya's cup and gulps down the remainder of his pour.

"B-baby!"

"I think I'm going to call it a night."

 Naoya stands again.

"Right. Let's get you ready for bed then."

Her eyes meet his now.

"I guess I did promise a bath…"

Naoya's flushed face beams brightly but he calms himself as he doesn't want to be selfish.

"Yes but if you're not in the mood then I'll just help you prepare for bed baby, it's alright."

Toji doesn't understand what's happened to his cousin. Naoya used to be such a spoiled brat but he's finding himself surprised as time passes. He chooses to say nothing about the bathing topic again, knowing it'll probably just kick up a drunken argument.

"Which room are you going to love?"

Gojo isn't moving to stand but wants to know where he can find her.

"You can shower in mine doll. I know it's messy but it still has all of the walls at least."

Toji feels relief knowing that her and Naoya couldn't fit in the tub together there anyways. When looks to her and tries to read her mood, he discerns that Elska's simply tired.

She walks around the tables to lean over and hug Toji from behind. She wraps her arms around his shoulders and neck, resting her cheek into the top of his head. "Thank you, Toji…so much…"

She feels his calloused hand drape over her own as he seems to understand everything she's thankful for.

"My beloved."

He gently squeezes her hand to show his appreciation for the acknowledgement.

"Anytime doll."

She stands back up and says goodnight to everyone around the table.

"I am sorry again for all of the chaos earlier but I need to say that I appreciate you all for still accepting me…"

She turns to walk with Naoya out of the cafeteria but meets eyes with Satoru.

"Love?"

"Sweet Sati..."

She walks over to him now too for an embrace that seems to satisfy his need to touch her. He keeps it brief and she's caught off guard by that but kisses him on the cheek before finally exiting the room with Naoya.

Gojo's watching her walk away beside himself that he let her go so easily. He glances over to Toji who's already looking at him as if to inquiring with that same thought and answers the expression.

"What? I don't have to hover all the time…she's had a long day…we all have."

"Wow…yes Gojo, this is, again, true."

Toji can't believe that exchange went so smoothly.

"If you have the ability to think sensibly then why don't you do it all the damn time instead of making me babysit your ass?"

Satoru grins but looks to Megumi as he knows its going to be a zinger.

"I have daddy issues and sometimes you make me feel better about them!"

Megumi frowns though and is followed by Toji's verbal disappointment.

"Gojo, you weird fuck."

Satoru sighs though as he deliberates on how the future will play out. Naoya's deep laughter can barely be heard off in the distance of halls which is when Gojo purses his lips and raises an eyebrow to Toji.

"See? I told you Naoya wasn't going anywhere…"