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Accidents happen, Megumi realizes. It never does stop him from being scared, especially now when he stands in front of the ceramic shards of what was Gojo’s cup of hot chocolate before he broke it.
Gojo stares at him, and he stares right back for what is a split second before he bursts into tears.
He knows Gojo won’t yell at him, but he still braces himself for it, flinching immediately and bending down to tuck his face into his knees. He can’t believe he broke that cup- that was Gojo’s favorite cup- but he receives not a single word as he feels two hands tugging him in.
Gojo knows accidents happen- watching Megumi freak out reminds him of his own childhood days.
The improper Gojo Satoru with his broken teacups, the look of disappointment in his mothers eyes as she ripped his stained kimono off of him and told him he was failing his family at only six years old. He didn’t cry, but part of him felt so numb, he thought he’d never smile again.
His mother is a beautiful woman, he looks just like her. He doesn’t know what his father looks like, but he knows he looks nothing like him because he’s a spitting image of his mother.
His father was more busy than she was, and he only spent time with his mother when she was taking him to clan meetings, expecting a little kid to sit still for hours at a time.
He’d get antsy, bump the table, spill a drink, break a cup.
And he was a failure to his family.
He was the type of brat to pretend to not care when she said that, push her away and call her a meanie and run off into another room without his clothes on. Not Megumi though, he’s a good kid.
He couldn’t imagine saying such words to Megumi who is that young now. “Did you burn yourself?” He pulls him back and looks him all up and down, checking to make sure he hadn’t spilled it on himself.
He must’ve been trying to sneak a sip of his chocolatey drink, like any child would. With the loud sound of the cup breaking, Tsumiki rushed in, grabbing the hem of her dress nervously.
“No- I’m sorry, sensei-“ He interrupts himself with a sad hiccup, wiping his face of his tears and snot with his sleeve.
He knows it wasn’t Fushiguro Toji that made the poor kids so nervous, because Toji was never around. That’s what makes him sick, that he’d leave these kids alone with god knows who- they certainly didn’t stick around. Sure, Tsumiki wasn’t his, but any sane person would have known better than to leave any child alone.
“It’s no biggie!” Gojo stands up, picking him up so his little bare feet don’t accidentally step on the broken ceramic. “I just didn’t want you to get hurt! Here, sit here and I’ll clean this up!” He sets the little boy on the counter, watching him sniffle and rub his face.
Tsumiki hands him the broom and a towel with a shy expression and he pats her head thankfully. “I should’ve asked if you guys wanted some. Actually it was my best friend's recipe.” He says, trying to lighten the mood for the two anxious kiddos.
“Why didn’t you yell at me…” Megumi says weakly, and Tsumiki ducks her head. Gojo just giggles to himself.
“It’s just a cup. I can buy a new one.” He says, and Megumi and Tsumiki both look at him with wide eyes as he wipes up the hot chocolate and then sweeps up the shards of ceramic. He wipes the floor with some cleaner too, then smiles at them both.
“Would you guys like to help me make some more?” He asks, grabbing two plastic cups and another ceramic one for himself, and Megumi nods softly as he wipes his eyes again, his little cheeks a splotchy red and Tsumiki hops excitedly, her eyes sparkling, content with Gojo’s reaction.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” She chants, giggling, and Gojo just grabs the marshmallows from the counter and sets them on Megumi’s lap.
“Eating the marshmallows is your guy's job, okay?” He pats Megumi’s head and Tsumiki tries to crawl her way onto the counter as well. He picks her up, and she lets out a happy squeal and immediately grabs a couple of marshmallows.
“Alright, just leave enough for the hot chocolate!” He teases, and Megumi nods, grabbing one hesitantly and popping it into his mouth, his green eyes still watery with little tears. Gojo smiles happily when Megumi stops frowning. Even if he does let a few sniffles out.
Gojo will never be upset that Megumi makes mistakes. He just hopes he’ll always be around so he can teach him how to fix them.