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“It’s been a while, isn’t it, Toji-kun? Let’s eat hotpot for a small celebration.” Jin beams upon arriving at their apartment, hurriedly opening the door to let the taller man and their respective kids in. “My treat for having you carry Yuji too.”
Toji only snickers, “It’s no problem. He’s a tad bit heavier than my kid, but nothing I can’t handle.” The pink-haired infant slept soundly on his back, seemingly comfortable even with the restraint of the safety straps around him.
“Is that so?” Jin chuckles, looking at the boy that held the powerfully built man’s emerald eyes with a twinkling gaze. “Right. What is his name? He’s such a sweet miracle.”
Toji glances down to the utter admiration that Jin displayed upon looking at his child — meanwhile, the brat seemed to be entranced by the older man’s hazels.
“Megumi.” He mutters under his breath. “His name is Megumi.”
Jin’s eyes lights up in awe, reaching out his large digits to Megumi’s significantly smaller ones. “Megumi,” he coos. “Toji-kun’s blessing.”
His son giggles as his small hand latches on one finger. “Goo-mi!”
Both of them flush at the gentle sound of his voice. Toji’s never really heard him babble like that, especially when the most that this kid does is maintain a resting bitch face and glare at him in random timings.
“G-Goo… mee.” Another voice peeks from Toji’s back. It was Yuji.
“Oh shit.” Toji mumbles, fumbling on the straps to undo Megumi’s carrier so he can get Yuji down as well ‒ he was probably feeling out of place from the change of environment, seeing nothing but the doorway of their residence.
The older Itadori chuckles as he takes Megumi into his arms, tender hands securing him into his chest, “Language, Toji-kun. We have kids around.”
“Toh-gee bad!” Megumi points an accusing finger towards his father, clinging on Jin’s arm.
He sighs as he hears Yuji repeats the same syllables from behind him. Jin only chuckles nervously. “… I’ll remember this, you brat.”
The preparation of dinner goes on with Jin being the cook, and Toji offering help by chopping the vegetables.
Megumi and Yuji are getting along very well, in which the pink-haired boy is quite captivated by the dark-haired child’s cheeks, often sucking on them and leaving bite marks on them.
For now, they’ve managed to stop Yuji from continuing to abuse Megumi’s cheeks — both having their play time together in the living room that Jin especially set up so that they they would be safe from anything potentially dangerous item.
The kitchen is filled with the quiet simmer of the hotpot, the skillful techniques of Toji with slicing ingredients and Jin’s humming.
The latter seemed to enjoy cooking very much, Toji notes to himself as he finds the pink-haired man’s hips shifting in small dance movements in tune with his soft song.
“The kids get along really well, don’t they,” Jin beams upon hearing the baby giggles coming from their sala.
Toji blinks once, twice, as though he couldn’t believe what was happening right now, even though there wasn’t even something to not believe in the first place. “Yeah…” He finally responds.
“Megumi-kun,” Jin’s voice comes out as a shuddering breath. “He really takes after you.”
“Of course he does,” Toji mumbles in reply with a snicker, “He’s my son.”
Yuji really looked cute as well, didn’t differ that much from his father other than the style of their hair, and the roughness of their features.
“Mhm.” A small silence pauses on Jin. “How’s your wife?”
“Passed away not too soon after ‘Gumi popped out the belly.” Toji was straight to the point, voice never wavering upon the thought.
“Ah… Well, I-” The dark-haired man shakes his head: he refuses to accept what he was to say next.
“Don’t apologize.”
He knows the tone of Jin’s feelings all too well just through his eyes and voice. Annoyingly courteous and kind… An honest young man — both to people and to himself.
“It’s okay.” He softly reassures, and Jin nods in response,
That’s probably why he was somehow easy to read but at the same time, not.
His mind existed on the same plane and at some times, it flies off to the outer space that it’s too far to be brought back to reality.
As much as Itadori resembled the sun, he is the Moon; glowing serenely and lighting up the skies for those in the dark.
It doesn’t take too long to rise him from the shadows.
The dinner was great, Toji thought to himself.
It wasn’t much surprise with Jin’s excellent home cooking, but it was much more fascinating than most evening meals he and Megumi had alone.
They’ve fed their sons, got to interact with one another and had fun. For once in a while, Toji feels content somehow. Seeing Megumi’s smile from being with a friend.
He just hopes he can see them grow up together, and not forget about the times they were with one another.
“It’s really cold outside.” Jin notes as he looks to the piling snow and fog outside. “Would you like to stay in for the night?
“Sure.” Toji isn’t too keen on declining, especially when Megumi easily gets cold, which is why he dresses him in black most of the time. “You don’t have spare rooms here, right? We can just sleep on the couch.”
“Alright.” Jin smiles sweetly, “I’ll get some blankets for you.”
“Thank you.” It’s been a while since he’s heard Toji utter such evidently genuine words.
The wistful expression that paints on the pink-haired adult’s features doesn’t waver - he only nods before heading off to their bedroom.
He finds Yuji sound asleep in his cradle, knocked out by the drowsiness that the cold temperature induces. Jin makes sure he has his bottle nearby and that his blanket is draped over him.
He then goes off to the closet, picking out a thick quilt and carefully taking it from the pile of fixed covers. When he returns to the living room, Toji is right there, lying on the couh with arm placed over his eyes, Megumi secured right on his chest with his other arm.
Unraveling the fixed quilt, he places it over them, making sure it doesn’t overlap with Megumi’s head so he can breathe.
As quiet as he can, he walks over the lamp shade to turn it off but when he looks over the Fushiguro dad and son, he couldn’t stop himself from taking the drawing pad from the table.
He starts with hesitant lines before tracing them out into finer sketches, eyes peeking to his two subjects then back to the paper. He had to adjust his glasses from time to time from how much he nodded his head up and down while drawing.
It’s been a while since he’s used this sketch pad, having it ever since high school, still having a lot of unused pages left. He notes to himself to draw his son sometime as well.
The time felt slow, felt like infinity, but the process isn’t as long as he thought. He puts the pencil down as soon as he made the piece out to be a decent work before closing the pad quietly.
Even then, the scenery of the Fushiguros sleeping in their living room is a picture he seems to love.
It’s the last thought that comes in mind before he goes to sleep, drifting to a fluffy slumber.
__________________________
It started from there that the two Fushiguros frequented in the Itadori’s apartment.
And as time went by, the sketches in Jin’s pad piled up — containing the small moments that they shared together.
Toji trying to decorate cookie with icings, Yuji and Megumi putting Christmas decor on the lower part of the tree they put up in the living room, and eventually, sketching some sceneries by memory.
‘His style’s improved,’ Toji notes to himself while peeking over the man’s piece, casually sipping from his paper cup of hot chocolate while doing so.
Megumi and Yuji were on the sandbox, playing with the snow and piling them up to an unrefined castle.
“The kids sure are lively today.” Toji says out loud, slumping on the swing set.
A small pause. Jin closes the drawing pad, and turns to Toji with a soft smile, then back to looking at their children.
“Do you think we’ll get to see them grow up together?”
“Of course.” Toji is not contemplative on it. “That’s what we’re doing at this moment, right?”
“Yes, of course, but…” His hazel eyes blur from behind those glasses with a glint of sorrow and dread.
Toji only sighs, standing from the seat to pull Jin from his, their hands locking together - much just like in their youthful days as well.
Toji’s other hand cups at the side of Jin’s neck, his thumb brushing near the lobe of his ear. Shivers run down his back from the warmth that his palm brings.
“And we’re not getting younger either. You should enjoy these moments while we still have the time.” The smile that quirks on Toji’s lips is wistful.
And now that it reminds him of the time when he was often bullied by others as a weak target, Toji was there to stand up for him, having earned the scar on the corner of his mouth from doing so.
The soft pastel pink lingers across Jin’s cheeks. He leans towards Toji’s touch like a lovesick cat pleading for more attention. “You’re right.”
Toji grins, showing off a pearly fang, before dragging them together towards the sandbox where their children were playing together.