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Gojo wouldn’t stop knocking at Nanami’s door. It was 7 am on a Saturday and Gojo wouldn’t. Let. Up.
Gojo was insistent but not obnoxiously ringing the doorbell like he normally would. On the one hand, it wasn’t like him to knock, but it certainly wasn’t like him to beg — Nanami scoffed at the thought. He stood in the entryway, hand hovering over the handle like a moron.
The thing was. The thing was that they had already done this. A year ago right around Christmas, Gojo had knocked and Nanami had answered. One thing led to another, and. Well. It likely meant nothing more to Gojo than some long-awaited conquest, or worse, a temporary replacement. Either way, Nanami was done imagining other futures apart from the one where he dies fighting some grotesque curse. And he thought he made his peace with that.
“Kento, please. I need your help”
Nanami yanked open the door. Gojo stood in his doorway, carrying a bundle of blankets — no, a baby. He was curled around himself, looking just as much like the child Nanami met in high school.
“You’re carrying it wrong,” Nanami answered instinctually. He felt like he was on autopilot, like his brain could only process one input at a time. “You have to support its neck.”
“Got it.” Obediently, Gojo started to shift his grip as Nanami moved to let him in.
Gojo was well acquainted with his apartment, maneuvering around as carefully as possible to avoid waking up the baby. Nanami, on the other hand, felt entirely too exposed. He was still in his pajamas, feet bare. It was too early, too intimate for guests, let alone Gojo.
“He-Yuuji's not mine — not technically,” Gojo spoke up from the couch where he kept his eyes trained on the child. “It-He, he’s a curse or half-curse, or something like it. I got a letter from his, from someone who called himself Yuuji’s grandfather. Apparently, Suguru had found him or — well, I’m not too sure of the details myself.” He turned his gaze to Nanami.
“I need your help taking care of him.” There was something feral, desperate in his eyes. “We—I’m the only one he has. Please, Nanami.
Nanami knew he wasn’t suited for childrearing.
It wasn’t a matter of humility or even disliking children — it was simply by the fact that he chose professions that were hostile to the human condition. Money and sorcery were both shit, yet that was where he put himself. Nanami never had a problem calling a spade a spade. He had built a life where having a kid was impossible. Of course, he didn’t think himself a child hater or monster; he left those childish misconceptions about his own grandiosity and ego behind in high school. No, he was just an ex-salary man who valued financial freedom, privacy, and a healthy work-life balance.
But what choice did he have?
“Okay senpai. Okay.”
“Would you ever want kids?” Haibara whispered into his neck.
“What are you even going on about,” Nanami grumbled, although he didn’t pull out of his hold. “We have to get up early tomorrow. Sleep.”
Yu got like this when it was just the two of them in the dark. Even though they had been together for a while now, every night felt like a sleepover — there was still the thrill of staying up late and swapping secrets.
He giggled and Kento could feel it through his back. “I dunno, don’t you think it would be nice? You’d be an awesome dad.” He squeezed Kento tight against his chest. “We could have a house, maybe in, uh … Where was your granny from again?”
“Denmark. But you know I don’t speak at all, and I’ve only ever been there once when I was really little.” Kento ran his thumb over the ridges of Yu’s knuckles. “I’ve always liked beaches, though.”
“Haha really? I wouldn’t have pegged you for that. I always thought you were a cabin in the woods, off-the-grid kind of guy. Like, like Boo Radley or a hermit or something.” Yu paused. “Wait, y’know what, actually you’d die without a washing machine. Or a French press. Or hair gel — ow ow ow Kento don’t bite me, it was a joke!”
“Thin ice, Haibara.”
“Geez, Mr. Grouchypa-ow no biting!” Yu tucked his hands into his armpits, poised and ready for attack. “I know you’re ticklish here. Let’s put the chompers away.”
“… fine.”
“But really, like, what if we fight loads of curses, get promoted, and then build our own house on a beach with our hot shot salaries. Maybe, like, Okinawa? Or, oh! We could go international, like, umm…”
“Kuantan.”
“Hm?”
“It’s a beach. In Malaysia. We could build a house there.” Kento shifted a bit, self-conscious. “I went there once on vacation, when I was very little.”
“It’d be pretty cool to have our kids grow up in a different country than us. We would have to learn Malaysian, huh.” Yu smiled into the back of Kento’s head, breath ruffling his hair. “I’m thinking three. Two boys and a girl.”
“Malay, you mean. And two. Maybe a cat as well.” Kento could feel Yu vibrating with happiness behind him.
“Only two? OK fine, but then we have to get a cat AND a dog.” Yu jostled Kento until they were facing each other, beaming at him. “What do you think about names? And, oh, how far apart would they be? Twins would be cool, right?”
Kento lightly karate chopped his head. “Sleep. Now.” He shut his eyes and spun back so they were no longer face to face. “We can talk about this when we have an actual living wage that could support the four of us plus pets.” He muttered, his ears practically glowing red with embarrassment.