Work Text:
satoru had made it clear that he would no longer be taking missions that took him longer than a day. according to google, you shouldn’t leave children alone for long periods of time, and so he didn’t. he made sure that he was always there to wake them up in the morning for school, and to tuck them into bed. it was going on two months now that the kids had started living with him, which was honestly longer than he thought any of them would last, but he still wasn’t sure where they stood with one another.
tsumiki, though defensive and uncertain at first, was a huge softie that was quick to warm up. she seemed to realize that satoru held no ill intentions towards her or her little brother, so she was happy to be a little angel for satoru. she loved helping in any way she could, like helping* satoru with dinner (*read making dinner whilst satoru was given the very important role of supervisor) though thinking on it, satoru wasn’t sure if it was because she loved to do it, or because she felt she had to earn her keep. either way, gojo made sure she had fun too, sending her on playdates with her classmates and such. whatever parents would do, but worse in every way.
if tsumiki was a little angel, her little brother was the devil reincarnate. well, he wasn’t all that bad, it wasn’t as if he actively threw hissy fits at any given moment or anything, but if he could make things ever so slightly harder, he would. unlike his sister, he hadn’t quite grasped the fact that satoru didn’t have some sort of ulterior motive behind what he did, and was really just doing it because he wanted to. satoru couldn’t really blame him, but it wasn’t exactly the nicest feeling to have little eyes glaring daggers into your back at all times.
“i’ll be back by tomorrow!” he assured
well, there were no daggers today. in fact, neither of them were acting very normal today. it was unsettling.
“where are you going?” tsumiki asked meekly. she was many things that satoru could name off the top of his head, but meek wasn’t really one of them.
“the high school, just for some work. i think they’ll have me in kyoto for the day though” despite him making it clear that he would not be taking long missions with the higher ups, sometimes shit happened. shit that couldn’t be handled by anyone other than gojo satoru himself, which while it was a great ego boost, it totally sucked. the kids didn’t seem reassured. they were still quiet, uncomfortably so, and it made his skin crawl. “it won’t take longer than today and tomorrow! i’ll be back by friday morning at the very latest.”
he didn’t want to leave. well, he never wanted to leave if it meant he had to work, but he especially didn’t want to leave when it felt like the kids had been replaced by some weird amd quiet creepy kids from the twilight zone or something. he stood to put his now empty cereal bowl in the sink, rinsed it out, and turned back around just in time to catch the siblings sharing some sort of knowing look, as if they knew some secret, hidden truth to satoru’s words that he himself didn’t even know.
“okay,” megumi said, not looking at satoru and focusing instead on the homework he never did at night and saved for the morning instead. it wasn’t the best idea because, obviously, it led to him writing answers down at lightning speed trying to finish before they had to leave.
“good luck on your work trip,” tsumiki said with forced enthusiasm. satoru hated this. he had no idea what was going on, but he hated every second of it. she was usually so excited about just about everything! even at the annoying ass hour they had to wake up for school! there was none of that here. he wondered if the higher ups would accept sorry can’t come, i’m sick! as an excuse… again. it was usually his go-to.
“don’t be sad-”
“we aren’t sad,” megumi interrupted.
“don’t be sad!” satoru repeated. megumi huffed, but didn’t speak again. “i’ll be back soon! friday morning at the very latest! it won’t even take me that long! i’m very good at what i do!” he gave tsumiki a dazzling smile. she couldn’t help but smile back- it worked on most women, and even some men! megumi scoffed, which was to be expected, but one smile was good enough for him.
“well, now that that’s sorted, hurry up, let’s get you guys to school. can you walk home all by yourselves? i can probably have a friend of mine bring you home, and back today and tomorrow if you want me to,” he offered, ushering the kids away from their empty bowls, and towards the door where their shoes waited.
“we can walk home, it’s okay gojo-san!” he could hear tsumiki yell as he gave the bowls a half assed rinse.
“you have friends?” megumi asked in surprise as he sat himself on his ground to put his shoes on carefully (he’d only just mastered tying his shoes), completely opposite of his sister, who tugged her shoes on with such force that satoru was almost surprised her feet didn’t go right through! such a strong girl with such dainty arms! satoru was certain she could handle herself if she ever needed to.
“uhm, rude, of course i do! i have an amazing personality, and everyone loves me because i’m great.”
“amazing isn’t the word i’d use for your personality, i’d say bitch-”
“megumi!” tsumiki scolded, smacking the back of his head gently. “don’t you swear like that!”
“bitch! who the hell is teaching you this shit?” he asked, then paused. was it him?? he looked at the kids, who were looking at him expectantly. he shook his head. of course it wasn’t him. “it was probably the cartoons you watch or something.” “get out of my house,” he said before the kids could say anything to disprove his statement. tsumiki giggled, helping her brother stand back up, and pulling him out of the house.
the walk to school consisted mostly of satoru reminding them to walk straight to school and straight home, to not talk to any strangers (“you mean exactly how we met you?” megumi had asked) to hold each other's hands when they crossed the street. megumi made a face at this as his sister grabbed his hand and gave it a good squeeze. he reminded them that they had his number, and to call him if they needed anything at all, and that he really wouldn’t mind. he emphasized this point, once, twice, then three times. finally, he made sure to remind them to eat their veggies, and to please not burn down the house.
when they got to the school and he waved them off, he wasn’t feeling any better, which was disappointing. he was hoping that by sending them off with a smile (well, tsumiki off with a smile, and megumi off with less of a frown than earlier) he would feel better about tis whole thing. this would be his first day alone for a whole two months after abruptly taking in two kids! he was twenty! he should be thrilled! he tried not to linger on the fact that he wasn’t for too long. (he wondered if the kids felt the same weird pit in their stomachs as he did.)
—
satoru should’ve known there was something more to this stupid mission than he’d been told. there was no curse that would need only him to handle it (probably) but the higher ups had sure been persistent about it. it was because they’d wanted him around for some lame and boring meeting.
that wasn’t to say there wasn’t a curse- there was. it wasn’t a special grade by any means, however. a low grade one, or a very high grade two, if he had to guess. that took maybe ten minutes max to deal with, and it was because the first nine minutes he was sending megumi a picture of a grumpy looking cat. and teasing him about how it looked just like him.
he’d dismissed himself to the higher ups, but was quickly called back. what. a. drag.
apparently, skipping school was highly frowned upon. they were displeased with his steadily declining academics and blah, blah, blah. he’d tuned them out when he realized that he wouldn’t be getting out of this, and that he was really just getting lectured. on the bright side, it wouldn’t take a whole other day! on the less bright side, they didn’t let him leave until late, because he was forced to attend some damn classes.
shoko looked surprised to see him, and his underclassmen nanami looked even more shocked. it would be amusing, if it wasn’t annoying. after being forced to catch up with at least some of what he’d missed, it was already late. too late to get home at a reasonable hour at least. he hadn’t even left damn tokyo, but the high school was much too far from his apartment to leave. he groaned, burying his face in his pillow.
he hadn’t considered his dorm his home in a long time. he hadn’t really considered anywhere his home in a long time. not since suguru left. he felt bad, because it wasn’t as if he didn’t care for shoko, or nanami. he cared for them both greatly. they’d definitely changed his life for the best, don’t get him wrong, but without suguru there would always be a gap. something that separated where he lived from a true home. it sounded lame when he actually thought about it. he pulled his blankets over himself- he didn’t even keep sleep clothes here anymore. he checked his phone.
hi gojo-san! hope work is going well! from tsumiki during the school day, then right after school we got home safely.
satoru smiled. she’d even sent a photo of their dinner which was ripe with vegetables.
good work! this mission was boring but i will definitely be home by tomorrow. i’ll see u after school!! he sent back. the message was read less than a minute after he’d sent it.
sorry it was boring! we will see you tomorrow! good night gojo-san!!
night, tsumiki-chan!!!
satoru missed that damn kid. the higher ups were the worst. he checked the other messages he had. there was one from megumi, one from shoko, and one from nanami as well. his finger hovered over the ones from his classmates before ultimately choosing the one from megumi.
bring back kyoto candies.
satoru grinned.
sorry kid, i didn’t have to go to kyoto after all. i can still bring back sweets if you want me to!
again, the message was read after only a few moments, but megumi didn’t answer. very typical megumi, he would never say what he actually wanted. the original message probably wasn’t about the candy at all. satoru didn’t want to think about it.
i’ll see you after you get home from school tomorrow, and i’ll bring back a sweet! behave for your sister, megumi-chan!
dont tell me what to do. i always behave for tsumiki.
he could practically hear the annoyance in megumi’s tone over text. he missed him too.
sleep well, megumi-chan!! see you soon!!
left on read again, as if he’d just kept the conversation open the whole time.
now for the other texts. ugh, being an adult was so hard.
didn’t expect to see you. from nanami. satoru wasn’t surprised, but also didn’t feel like answering. that seemed like a task for tomorrow satoru.
his finger hovered over shoko’s message, but before he could click it (or close the app and deal with it in the morning) his door, which he was certain he’d locked, swung wide open, and the woman herself was standing there, as if she’d known satoru was about to ignore her message and decided it would be easiest to just deal with him in person.
“oh!” he said.
“answer your phone,” she ordered.
“i was just about to,” satoru replied.
“you weren’t.”
satoru was quiet.
“you’re a real asshole leaving me here, you know,” she welcomed herself to his bed.
“please, make yourself at home,” he grumbled sarcastically. “i have two kids now! i can’t just come here every day, it’s forever to get here from where i live.”
“you know the higher ups would be more than happy to provide somewhere for the kids to sleep on the campus if it meant their best sorcerer coming to school regularly again.” shoko replied.
“yeah, but then they wouldn’t be able to go to school! i know you’re just gonna say they’ll be able to get tutors or whatever, but school is an important experience! it’s good for them! a tutor isn’t the same.”
shoko stared at him, inspecting him suspiciously.
“you’re serious about this,” she realized after a moment.
“of course i am, i wouldn’t have taken them in for shits and giggles.”
shoko stared again. satoru hated it. it was like she was staring right into his soul. he turned his face away. he’d taken his glasses off for the night, but he was beginning to regret it, he felt revealed.
“i don’t really mind that you stopped coming.”
“i know.”
“i understand you’re upset. about suguru.”
“i know.”
there was quiet. it wasn’t uncomfortable though. satoru kinda missed this.
“he’s not… dead.. ya know?”
“i know that.” satoru made a face. “it’s just… weird without him. like something is missing.”
“yeah. haibara too. we were a group before, and now it’s just us.”
“yeah.”
silence again.
“i’ll come by more often. i can bring the kids, if you want to meet them,” satoru offered. shoko smiled at him.
“okay,” she agreed, moving from her spot on the edge of the bed up towards the pillows. “i’m staying in here tonight. you’ve abandoned me for two whole months. it’s the least you can do.” satoru grinned.
“fine, but you better not steal my blankets or i’ll kick you off the bed.” he threatened. “you think we should invite nanamin?”
“oh, yeah, i did tell him to wait outside. you weren’t going to answer him either.” shoko said. “oi! nanami!” she yelled.
“i don’t want to be here,” nanami made it clear as soon as he came in. “shoko held me at scalpel point. i don’t care if you come here or not.”
“aweeeee, nanamin, i missed you too!” satoru opened his arms for a hug, which nanami obviously didn’t accept.
“don’t call me that. i didn’t miss you.” he grumbled, but he still did squeeze himself onto the bed with two other grown ass adults, so that spoke much louder than his claims.
the three of them woke up to uncomfortable cricks in their necks, and sore everythings, but satoru, for one, didn’t mind, and no matter how much the other two complained (and trust, they complained) they didn’t mind it too much either.
the nice moment aside, satoru was ecstatic to get home. (since when was his apartment home??) the drive felt like forever- even after he made a stop to grab some kikufuku mochi- he had promised a surprise, after all, but then waiting for the kids. every second ticked by slower than the last! until finally, FINALLY, the front door opened. he could hear tsumiki and megumi chatting amongst themselves.
“megumi, we aren’t having ice cream for dinner,” tsumiki scolded. “say something or i will choose.” megumi grumbled. “and line up your shoes!” she added. megumi grumbled again but satoru heard shuffling that he could only assume that was megumi obeying.
“curry,” he finally said.
“curry sounds good!” tsumiki agreed as the two made their way down the hall and to the dining room to do their homework. they both stopped upon seeing satoru sitting there with a grin.
“i’m baaack!” he said.
“...”
“...”
oh, well this was awkward. neither of them were saying anything.
“i’m.. back?” he repeated.
“oh,” megumi said slowly. “you came back.”
“of course i did! i promised, didn’t i?” he stood.
“huh.” megumi said.
“you don’t seem thrilled,” satoru teased.
“i think he’s surprised is all,” tsumiki amended. “we didn’t expect you home so soon,” she explained. “when toji-san left for work, he was usually gone for a few weeks. or months. or, uh, years.”
oh, satoru was a complete fucking idiot. no wonder they’d been acting so weird before he left, they didn’t expect his ass to come back! they’d just expected him to disappear like toji had, or, more appropriately, like tsumiki’s mother, since at least toji had a… valid reason to disappear.
“don’t be silly, i’m nothing like that guy! if i say i’m leaving for a day, i’m only leaving for a day, i promise it on my soul!” he held up two fingers in a scouts honor-esque promise. megumi still seemed skeptical, but different than usual. as if he didn’t quite understand. not as if he was distrustful like he usually was, but just… confused. it must be hard being six years old. tsumiki, on the other hand, dropped her school bag and rushed to give satoru a hug.
“welcome home, gojo-san!” she said.
home. was this home? he knew that home is where the heart is (a cheesy notion, but not one he necessarily disagreed with) and before his heart was at tokyo jujutsu high, with suguru, and shoko, and nanami, and haibara. and now they weren’t whole. he couldn’t rightfully call that place home, but here he had megumi and tsumiki. shoko and nanami could come over if they wanted to as well. it wasn’t like they would’ve stayed there forever, no matter how much he would’ve wanted to. this could.. yeah, this could be home. he nodded.
“right. home.” he crouched to hug tsumiki back.
“you’re so weird,” megumi stuck his tongue out from the few feet away where he stood. it took all of two seconds before he too was yanked into the hug, and despite his protests, he never actually tried to pull away.
apparently, home was where your two bastard children stayed, and where your heart missed whenever you were too far, and that your asshole friends could come and visit too. satoru smiled, hugging them close.
“okay, who wants kikufuku?” he asked with a grin. the sound of the two kids cheering settled the weird little feeling in his stomach for good.