Work Text:
“I’m home.”
“Welcome home.” Megumi’s voice was loud enough to carry through the home and the acoustics of the interior carried it through to her ears. He also didn’t want to wake up the girl that slept nearby either. The volume of the TV was slowly tempered before the remote was placed upon the coffee table.
Their daughter of nearly one year had been lulled to sleep by the noise of it and had situated herself against the black hound. Megumi met eyes with the dog, who only looked even more betrayed when his summoner left him. Now he was stuck there, though the hound patiently laid its head on the small girl’s lap.
Megumi met Nobara quietly, kissing her forehead as he noticed the shadows under her eye. “You look terrible.”
“Married for this long and you still lack tact.” Nobara gently pushed his grinning face away with her hand. “Gojo is wearing on me.” She didn’t relent to the hug he delivered, something that remedied the lengthy day she had out in Edogawa today.
Her arms wrapped around his broad form, he was always like this when she came back and she found it endearing. “Glad you’re safe. It wasn’t too high of a grade this time, was it?” Nobara shook her head against the fabric of his gray sweater, she leant forward just a smidge. “Only a First.”
Beyond the harsh teasing and sweet words, Megumi could tell she was tired and he pulled back to give her some space. “I have dinner ready, I can bring it to the couch?” She nodded as her hand came up to rub the growing bags underneath her eyes.
“I know you wanted some items from the grocery …” Nobara trailed. She let out a heavy sigh as she plopped onto the couch, she had taken off her coat. “It’s fine, I wasn’t sure if you were going to be too busy. It was worth a shot.”
She stretched her arms over her head and felt something pop; that felt good. “I can get it tomorrow.” There was some shuffling from the kitchen before the microwave’s hum joined the TV’s murmur.
“Don’t worry about it, I’m going to be out tomorrow. I’m leaving her with Gojo since I took on his mission at Ibaraki.”
“Ibaraki? That’s pretty far.” Nobara worriedly remarked. “You don’t need to get groceries if you’re going all the way to Ibaraki.”
Megumi came out from the kitchen, trying to hide the amusement on his features. “Nobara. It’s fine.” She didn’t look amused, he could tell she was about to start debating him on this with how her brows had creased. “Just rest, okay?”
“How come I’ve become the one who stresses now and you’re more laid back?” The orange haired woman sunk into the couch as the lap table was set up.
Megumi scoffed as he placed the set of three bowls atop of it with a pair of chopsticks sitting beside it. “I just hide it better.” The two of them made light conversation on the couch, minding their voices to make sure their daughter didn’t wake up.
“You didn’t eat?”
“Not really. I didn’t want to eat any more fast food, my stomach was getting upset.” Megumi took a small piece of the karage chicken he made for her. She fed him some rice with her chopsticks before she continued feeding herself the rest.
“You’re not young anymore, that’s why.” Nobara rolled her eyes and poked his shoulder with the chopsticks. “Neither at you.”
“Mmm. Still a few months younger.” She was way too tired to fight his antics and occupied her time with better things like eating. “I’ll go get the bath ready for you. It shouldn’t be too hot by the time you finish eating.” Megumi got up and was about to fully leave before she tugged his sleeve.
He turned around and leaned over instinctively once their gaze briefly met, he met her lips in a chaste kiss. “Thank you.”
The dark-haired man chuckled and swiped a grain off her features, "Mhm. Got some rice on your lip.” Nobara touched her face as he walked off.
She was left to finish the program and her dinner while Megumi ran the bath for her. The domesticity of their married life was a surprise to a lot of people, it seemed out of the realm for the both of them. The kid was one thing, but to see Megumi Fushiguro be so ‘normal’ was another.
The running gag through his days at Jujutsu Tech was that he was a heartless little bastard, but of course his closest friends saw him differently. There was an almost childish tenderness that Megumi exhibited in small moments and passing conversations. Nobara learned to cherish it more when they began dating.
That tenderness matured once they got their daughter, he gave himself the benefit of the doubt that he could be more than a jujutsu sorcerer. There was more to life and he wanted to fight for that ‘more’, whether it was expelling curses after dropping his daughter off at daycare or doing the dishes when Nobara was tired - he knew they both deserved more.
Though what he didn’t realize was how much more tiring being a husband and a father was to being a sorcerer. He wasn’t going to die, but he was always sound asleep by the end of each day. It was the accumulation of minor despairs in his day to day life that heralded his entrance into adulthood.
One of those despairs was realizing that he had forgotten to put the laundry in the dryer, thus Nobara wasn’t going to have a towel to use. “Aghhhh.” the man groaned.
“Megumi? What’s wrong?” she called.
“Nothing, just forgot to run the dryer.” The man hurried out of the bathroom and made a beeline for the machines, not a moment later did the drum begin to spin. He came back to the living room and sat beside Nobara, he then stretched his arms over his head.
A pair of socked feet landed on his lap. “My feet hurt ...”
"Okay ..." Megumi slowly pushed her feet back to her, his scrunched expression said it all. “I love you but your feet stinks like hell.”
He suddenly moaned in pain as she punched his bicep. “You’re so damn rude, I swear. If you loved me, smell wouldn’t matter.”
The bruised arm was held with a bitter grimace at the woman. “Uh, I’m pretty sure if I did that, you’d chop my feet off.” he deadpanned.
“I’d nail them too with that attitude you're giving me.”
"You call me rude?"
"You know I'm losing my appetite the more you talk?"
Megumi made a brief kissing face at her; she was tempted to wrestle him to the ground at this point and allow their daughter to watch. “I’m going for that bath.” Nobara got up and Megumi held his hand out for her plates, yet she rejected the offer.
“I got it, lover boy.” He shrugged and turned back to look at their daughter, who was still using his black hound as a sleeping arrangement. One day, he hoped she'd like animals as much as he did and he wouldn't mind if it was a cat either.
Eventually, the pair ended up in bed and Nobara didn’t even end up asking for that feet massage she pried him for. Their daughter was dozing off in her crib and his hound was released from his earthly duties for now. Nobara’s back was pressed against Megumi and the two of them talked for now until one of them fell asleep.
“More work tomorrow?”
“Mhm. Edogawa.” she mumbled.
“Why Edogawa again?”
“Not sure, high curse activity.”
“Be careful, please.”
He felt a pair of lips pressed against his knuckles and the hand that held them in between squeezed rather tightly. “You too. I probably won’t see you for at least two days.”
Even if it was just two days, Megumi didn’t like being away for so long. It began to remind him of his youth and how stretched the weeks felt when his dad wasn’t around. He didn’t try to apply that mindset to Nobara, he knew how diligent she was with her work. But she tried to come home just as quick as he did, she understood his urgency.
“... Yeah.” His voice was muffled against her hair as they laid in the cool darkness, the only light was coming in from their uncovered window with the moon high above. He thumbed her hand and noticed how rough they were but he didn’t mind.
Megumi knew how she gripped those nails and held that hammer, her hands told stories he wouldn’t know. They weren’t soft and delicate like a good amount of the women he’s seen, they were violent and wild, but they also held their daughter and his hand.
“Where in Edogawa?” The man peaked his eye open as there was no response after. Megumi craned his head back slightly to wait, wondering if she was asleep. After a while, he noticed her breathing had changed and he didn’t speak anymore after that.
For a few minutes, he tried to sleep, but something was nagging him in the back of his mind as he laid with her. She didn’t like eating the fast food for now and she seemed to be fine with his home cooked meals, so he deduced she might not eat tomorrow. Luckily for him, Nobara moved enough to allow him to break free without rousing her.
Some careful movement and knowledge of which floorboard creaked when stepped on allowed him to exit their room and head down the hall. He turned the kitchen light on and slipped a bud into his ear to listen to some music.
The movement in the kitchen was deliberately meticulous, he didn’t want to wake up any of the members of their household as he was cooking. Even if his eyes felt a little heavy, there was a need to prevent the problem of Nobara possibly not eating lunch. After living together for so long, he knew what she liked and what she didn’t.
The bento was arranged neatly, it had the right portions and some extras if she wanted them. In their early days of dating, Megumi often found that he didn’t show his appreciation for her enough. She didn’t need gifts, though he got brownie points, but she had brought it up to him during a heated argument.
He didn’t wrap his head around the idea that quickly until he began doing things for her, he was so caught up with doing things for himself that the selfish mentality was jeopardizing his relationship. Nobara wasn’t a curse he was battling, she was his girlfriend and him trying to rationalize his harsh exterior was damaging.
So he put in the work and even when she didn’t expect anything, he gave it. This was his training now, he knew he’d have to do this with their daughter eventually. On top of that, he’d eventually have to buy a second bento box for her. Meanwhile, one he made was wrapped up and within the box was a little note for the owner.
‘Let’s do our best, be safe. I love you. - Megumi.’
The following two days were connected with short phone calls and long text conversations when that wasn’t possible. Megumi eventually came home to the hands he was so familiar with and the smaller ones that he knew that held both of theirs. He earned a verbal love letter from Nobara over the seemingly trivial gesture he did, so he swore he’d make a bento for her from now on. Though both of them forgot the groceries again and ordered take out for that night.