Chapter Text
Your friends were truly amazing. Maki had helped you clean up, bringing out comfortable clothes for you and assisting you to the bathroom to wash your face. She served you a warm bowl of cream cheese pasta with chicken afterwards to munch on while you zoned out thinking about the events that had occurred earlier today as she minded her own business waiting for you to feel better.
And that's exactly what you were doing right now. Was throwing a drink really a good idea? But then again, he did insult you. Quite horribly might you add.
Yep, he definitely deserved it, according to you of course. If there was one thing Levi had taught you in life, it was to always defend yourself no matter what. Whether the situation was minor or major, you still had the right to fend for yourself especially against an asshole.
So no, you wouldn't really say you went too far, considering his presumptuous words. Him calling you a charity case and claiming that Nobara doesn't have to keep you around like community service was border line disrespectful. He crossed an imaginary line between you and him and it's only been the fourth time you both even met.
Every person you have met in your life so far has never butt-headed with you the way that spiky haired guy has. You seriously wonder how he was raised, his father was a really generous person. The fact that he didn't even know who you were, didn't care that you weren't Megumi's friend, and still welcomed you to join them for dinner honestly warmed your heart.
Maybe it was due to your trauma from your first "friend" Ruth, a girl you had randomly met on the streets and kept clinging on to until you met her parents.
From your faintest memory, Levi took you out one day to the front yard for some sunlight and to play with you to distract you from the fact that you guys were being heavily neglected by your uncle Kenny. While playing tag where Levi was purposefully letting you win, you noticed a brunette girl, who seemed to be around the same age as you, walking by with a football in her hands.
Naturally being the social butterfly you were as a kid back then you went up to her to ask if you could play with her before Levi even got the chance to stop you from approaching a random stranger. The girl had paused her motion as she took a good look at your disheveled form.
Your low, messy ponytail that Levi had tied up with a makeshift hairband from torn clothes, your oversized boy clothes that your brother forcefully put on you to cover you properly since you had outgrown your clothes better than him, a few dirt marks on your face and arms here and there after playing in the mud to tease Levi. She was carefully scanning you, deeming whether you were worthy to play with or not.
Finally letting out a reaction as she heaved what sounded like an unwilling sigh, she quietly nodded her head in agreement as she introduced her name. You squealed in excitement as you told her to wait for a moment before running towards your brother, hugging him tight and sharing the good news of making a new friend.
Oh poor little you didn't know what was coming for you back then. Had you only listened to your brother, warning you about the girl you had just randomly befriended, wouldn't you have been so heartbroken for months. He had a bad feeling about Ruth from the beginning, especially from the way she was analyzing your appearance during your first meet.
But your stubborn ass of course ignored Levi's words, just happy to even make a friend in the first place. On the day you guys met, you had gleefully played for hours until Levi had to drag you back inside and call it a day. Ruth seemed to have fun too, but after that day it just wasn't the same.
You both had agreed to meet up everyday in the evening to have playdates. This went on for only a few days until there were days where Ruth just wouldn't show up, leaving you waiting outside on the cold pavement while Levi pleaded for you to get back inside.
Her excuses were always the same, her saying she had tons of homework to do which left you wondering why you couldn't attend school just like her. But soon enough you realised that wasn't the actual reason.
One day you gathered up the courage to show up to her house, with Levi of course. No way in hell was he ever leaving you alone. He was always there supervising your playdates even when you said you didn't need him.
Ringing the doorbell, you waited patiently while hugging Levi's arm beside you. You suddenly felt shy, this was the first time you were meeting Ruth's parents. You had begged Levi to speak for you to which he grudgingly complied
When the door swung open, a brunette middle-aged lady, whom you assumed was Ruth's mother based off her appearance, looked at you both in confusion and was mildly off put seeing both your appearances.
Nonetheless, Levi as respectfully as he could, introduced yourselves and asked for Ruth. For a moment, there was silence before Ruth's mother told you both to scram off and shutting the door on your guys's faces.
If your look didn't express well enough of how heartbroken you were then you don't know what else did. Tears automatically built up in your eyes as Levi carried you away before you could breakdown at the doorstep.
Putting piece to piece you soon came to a realization that Ruth only played with you that day because her friends were unable to. You were able to come to that conclusion after hearing joyful screams of her and her friends from their backyard.
From that day onwards you stopped approaching people. Well, tried to. You still had that social butterfly in you, but decided to mask it with social anxiety instead after facing such humiliation.
And that was your first ever doomed friendship. Well, that's what you like to call it.
You were probably thinking for too long as your mind kept going from one memory to another when Maki suddenly snapped her fingers in front do you to gain your attention.
"Ash, you okay? You've been poking the bowl nonstop." Maki said, taking the finished bowl away from you and heading towards the sink to wash it.
Just how long were you doing that? You definitely look more like an idiot now. "Sorry, kept zoning out." You stated the obvious fact.
Maki just glanced at you as her hands were washing the bowl, her eyes showing a slight hint of worry. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I told Nobara to punch some sense to him or bring him here so I'd do it instead."
Chuckling, you got up and went to hug Maki from the back. "Thank you, means a lot to me." You rested your head against her shoulder as she shrugged, not making any attempts to push you off like she normally would.
"Can't believe that prick said all those to you. I should've expected better from him." Maki sighed and shook her head in disappointment while putting the bowl back onto the rack. Her last sentence left you confused as you gave her a puzzled look.
You detached yourself from the hug as you stood beside her, "What do you mean you expected better from him? You know him personally?" You interrogated her, meeting her eyes. Were they friends too?
"Right, I didn't tell you. Well-"
The door abruptly swung open with Nobara rushing inside. She stood in the kitchen for a second, staring at you both before she ran over to you and embraced you tightly in her arms.
"Ash, oh Lord. I'm so glad you're okay!" She pulled you back, checking your face like a mother checking their child for wounds. "I'm so so so sorry that happened! I would've never thought Megumi would say something like that ever!"
You could tell from her eyes that she was indeed really apologetic. Besides, it wasn't her fault for her friends behaviour. All the fault was solely on him.
"I'm okay, I promise." You reassured her even if it was partially a lie. You were okay now, but still thinking about his words. It really triggered you in many ways you couldn't explain.
"Are you sure? Again, I'm really sorry! I'll talk some sense to him tomorrow. The moment you left I asked why he said all that but he just wouldn't say anything at all. I really don't know what possessed him to say something like that, that's so unlike him." Nobara claimed unhappily. She herself wasn't so sure why Megumi would even say anything like that. This wasn't like him at all.
You took her hands and gave it a slight squeeze, offering a small smile to ease her guilt. "Don't think too much of it right now, let's talk about this tomorrow. I really am fine, trust me."
Nobara just heaved a sigh and decided to trust your word. She gave you one last bear hug before wishing you goodnight, reminding you that you guys will talk about this again when you both aren't tired out of your minds.
☆☆☆
You came back to your room to see at least 15 missed calls from Levi on your phone. You hurriedly called back the second you saw the notifies and Levi answered within a second.
"Hello?" You started.
"Where were you?" Levi demanded to know almost immediately. He didn't sound angry, but rather relieved. Maybe he isn't planning to cook you?
You had to give an excuse though. You had told him you were going out with Nobara and would've been back hours before. "Sorry, today Nobara wanted to do some extra shopping so it took us a while."
"This long?" He asks, "You said you wouldn't take long, and where was your phone? Was it not with you?" He continued to interrogate you from the other side of the screen.
Shit, you had to think of another excuse. "My phone battery was dead when I was out! I charged it when I came home and I just finished dinner with Maki! I came back earlier, trust me."
"Bullshit, I know you're lying to me."
Fuck, how does he know? Oh you're so dead. "I'm not! I came home early, I was just having a long chat with Maki and ate a lot." Your excuse was terrible. Maybe you should just tell him what really happened.
"We can get over with this stupid game once you tell me what you were actually doing. Did you forget, I have your location?" Right, the tracker that you yourself had suggested. How could you forget.
"Do I get to explain first?" You ask first.
"No, absolutely not. What in your right mind made you think it was okay to go to such an expensive restaurant? Is this how you're spending your hard earned money?" Levi started his lecture and was clearly not happy with what he saw judging by his tone.
"Well if you don't let me explain then you won't know my reasoning." You say mindlessly, trying to sound nonchalant. You were honestly a bit nervous to tell him what really happened. He obviously won't be mad at you considering how you were actually in the right this time, but he might reprimand Nobara for what happened.
"Go ahead," he finally grants you permission to explain yourself and that's when all the words just kept pouring and pouring in.
You started from the beginning, telling him how much fun you were having with Nobara until that jerk decided to show up and ruin everything. You mentioned how nice and jolly his father was then got to the serious part. You didn't know what Levi was thinking throughout your entire venting session. Did he think this was just simply stupid? Or was he offended with you as well? Either way you were fighting back tears just remembering how badly insulted you were.
After you were done you didn't hear from Levi for a moment which got you a bit scared. "Rivaille?" You called to make sure he was still on the line and didn't hung up on you.
"I'm alive," he confirms he's still on the call. "I'm coming over right now."
"What?" You sat up from your bed surprised. "Now hold on, what?"
"I said I'm coming over and meeting that fuckass who said all those to you." You could hear some shuffling in the background. Oh he was actually dead serious.
"Wait wait wait, calm down. You don't need to come over." As much as you'd like Levi to beat Megumi's ass, now was just not the time. "Nobara said she'll talk to him, you don't have to worry at all!"
"Like hell I'm not going to worry at all!"
"It's really not a big deal, trust me!" You tried to reassure him but Levi was not having it at all.
"He called you a charity case, you think I'm going to let that slide? Who does this boy think he is? Spoiled brat." You could hear him scoff in anger, but him coming over right now to "talk" to Megumi really wouldn't end well.
"Rivaille, calm down! It's close to midnight, this isn't the time to get worked up now.." You pleaded, knowing the outcome of this situation wouldn't end well. As much as you'd like for Levi to knock some sense into that dude's emo ass, your reputation could possibly be on the line once again. "You remember what happened with that orange dude, don't you?"
That orange dude in question was a random guy-that looked like Trump's brother-who thought it'd be funny to lift your skirt up in front of everyone during a festival that you attended. You were a crying mess, humiliated by such disgusting actions. After Cookie stalked him well enough, you were able to find out that he attended the same college as you and was a senior. As if Maki beating his ass wasn't enough, Levi came the next day and quite literally broke his jaw. It was quite a scene to witness and ever since people recognise you as the girl with a crazy, strong brother.
"So what? He disrespected you and you expect me to let that pass? Levi retorted, but seeming a bit calmer than before. Perhaps he finally came to a realisation that showing up at almost 1 am and beating the crap out an unknown person wouldn't be the best idea.
"Trust me, I'll manage this situation without violence." You reassured him once more, hoping that the decision to pull up to your crib ends here.
Levi heaved out what seemed like his 100th sigh of today before trusting your words. Now that the discussion of Fushiguro Megumi was over, you began your rant about the load of assignments you have pending while Levi just listened and listened
☆☆☆
Megumi's POV
Tomorrow was Megumi's birthday, 3 day after the incident with you. After such catastrophe had happened, he couldn't get you off his mind. Sure, he definitely went too far with his words. But one thing Megumi didn't play about was his friends. They all mean a lot to him the way your friends mean a lot to you as well.
22nd December, 2002
It was just a date, month, and year. It wasn't anything special. Yet, Megumi loathed it with his entire heart. It was the day he was brought into this world, and it was also the day he also lost both of his parents. Yeah, that day really wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for him. He lost the most important figures in his life before he could even memorise their faces. That thought alone was enough for Megumi to question his own worth for the rest of his life.
But hey, at least he had someone to answer that question. Ever since Gojo adopted Megumi, his life had drastically changed. He made sure to remind him that just because his parents left him doesn't mean there aren't other people out there ready to love him. What started out as the white-haired man adopting a random kid as a joke turned to pure fondness and love for him, something he didn't really expect to happen.
Yes, Gojo had adopted Megumi for the sole purpose of fun in his life. But that exactly wasn't the point right now.
Megumi was inside his father's expensive, black Rolls-Royce, listening to the playlist the older man had set up. "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift was playing as Gojo sang his heart out, acting like he wasn't in a perfectly loving relationship. Megumi mentally groaned to himself, setting his phone down after a few minutes of scrolling. After the song had finally died down and another upbeat one began, Gojo decided to say something that wasn't lyrics this time.
"So, who's finally conquering your mind Gumi?" Gojo suddenly blurted out the random question, which left Megumi a bit confused. He remained his nonchalant facade and raised an eyebrow instead at the man sitting beside him who just let out a loud laugh. "I can tell when something's going on in your mind. I gave birth to you after all!"
"Firstly, that's not biologically possi-"
"No one cares!" Gojo interrupted, earning a glare from the spiky haired boy. He just continued to laugh and urged him to resume what he was saying.
"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, how'd you know?"
Gojo just shrugged, making a U-turn. "Well, besides the fact that I quite literally gave birth to you and how I specially have six eyes, your expression says it all. You're not as nonchalant as you think you are."
Megumi just cursed under his breath while Gojo giggled for the 50th time. "Alright Gumi, spill them beans out!"
"Stop calling me that," he muttered under his breath before revealing the actual truth. "That day at the restaurant.. the one we went to with Nobara and her friend.."
"Mhm, what about it?"
Megumi took a huge breath to prepare himself. He began his vent, telling his dad what exactly happened after he had left them alone. For half an hour straight, Megumi just kept talking and talking while Gojo remained silent. It was almost like the black-haired boy was talking to himself instead which was pretty unusual since the other always had something to interrupt him with.
After he was done, he was expecting a response. When receiving none, he glanced at the man beside him and noticed that he didn't have a jolly expression on his face anymore. Megumi frowned like he expected Gojo to take his side. He was even more confused when Gojo slowly turned off the music radio and took his phone to make a call.
"What are you doing?" Megumi questioned to break the silence, but still received no reply. He noticed that Gojo was dialing Itadori's number and before he could say anything else, Gojo was already on the line telling the pink-haired boy to cancel the "surprise".
"You heard me, right? Cancel the surprise." Gojo said, his voice strict. Neither Megumi nor Itadori have heard his tone this stern, and it was kind of scaring them in a way...
"W-why is that..?" The boy on the other line stumbled over his words, confusion visible in his tone.
"I'll explain later, tell Nobara to stop what she's doing." Gojo's voice remained flat and cold, no one was able to tell what was going through his mind right now. Itadori complied without any further words and hung up the call. Finally, he turned to Megumi with a disapproving look and just sighed like 50 years of life was taken away from him.
"Megumi, I did expect that from you at all." Oh fuck, why was he going on his first name basis? Yeah, Megumi was doomed. "I don't think you deserve the birthday surprise that was coming for you, this is unacceptable behaviour." Oh, Gojo was dead serious. Him being this solemn was something that happened once in a blue moon...