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Satoru thinks highly of himself, so naturally, he thinks he’s a good guardian.
Tsumiki seems to think so as well, because just last month she gifted him a ‘BEST TEACHER EVER’ mug; regardless of the fact that the one being taught is her petulant little brother. Satoru doesn’t even drink coffee, but he makes sure to give the cup use whenever he’s at their place. Tsumiki appreciates him. That’s why it’s easy to let his head swell with her constant praise and affection.
It’s a bit harder to get to know how Megumi regards his child-rearing though. The kid is quiet, and when he’s not quiet, he’s just straight up grumpy. It bothers Satoru slightly, but only because the less Megumi openly praises him, the more he wants it to happen. They’re making leeway though, oh yeah, they’re making so much fucking leeway .
Megumi actually talks to him now. Compared to last year when they’d first met and their conversations only consisted of ‘Hi.’ ‘Leave me alone.’ ‘Did you eat?’ ‘Leave me alone.’ it’s good progress. He sometimes asks Satoru for help on his homework, doesn’t kick him out of his room, and no longer refuses hanging out with him outside of training.
They do things together… that must mean Megumi likes him. To some degree. So yes, he’d say he’s a great guardian. A perfect one though? Well, no.
He can admit that because he’s currently standing in the middle of the school’s infirmary with a passed out Megumi over his shoulder. Shoko looks a little concerned at first, but Satoru’s nonchalance lets her know it’s nothing serious, so her face smoothes out into pure irritation. She needs to cut him some slack, he hasn’t bothered her in like three weeks.
He gently lays Megumi down on the stretcher, waiting patiently for Shoko to approach them. She does, eventually, after shutting her laptop down and taking a long sip of her cup of coffee. Megumi looks quite peaceful like this. He looks even cuter when he’s not frowning all the time. Maybe he should get knocked out more often.
Shoko blinks down at Megumi’s unconscious body. “What happened?”
“He hit the fuck out of his head…” Satoru shrugs, raising his hand to scratch the back of his own unharmed head while Shoko glares at him. “I would’ve taken him home but he’s not waking up.”
“I’m calling child protective services on you.”
“It was his fault!” Satoru whines, making Shoko cringe at his loud intonation. “I kept telling him to get off the damn roundabout and he wouldn’t listen.” Truthfully, he was the one who made it spin too fast in the first place but in his defense he had tried telling Megumi to go on a different ride, so. The blame was eighty-twenty. Eighty going to Megumi, of course.
“Why is his hair wet?” Shoko questions, running her fingers through Megumi’s slightly damp hair.
“I poured some water on his head. I figured it’d help with the bruise and wake him up maybe.”
“You couldn’t have gotten a cold compress?!”
“We were at the park, Shoko. The best I could do was a water fountain.”
“You… please stop talking.” Shoko clicks her teeth, moving her hand to reach Megumi’s forehead and activate her technique until she’s stopped by the boy himself. He blinks his eyes open as he rouses, wincing a little as he sits up a bit too quickly. Satoru perks up immediately.
“Megumi-chan!” He screams, cupping Megumi’s face with one hand and squishing his cheeks. “My poor sweet angel, I was so worried about you! How do you—“
Shoko smacks his hand away. “Stop yelling in his ear, dumbass.”
“Is he okay?” Satoru asks curiously, waving a hand obnoxiously in front of Megumi’s slightly dazed eyes. That seems to snap the boy’s attention, and when he looks up at Satoru he… smiles at him?
That’s weird.
He turns to Shoko to see if she noticed it but she doesn’t seem as disturbed as he is. She probably didn’t catch it then. Did he imagine that? That’s unlikely. Though if he didn’t imagine it then that makes it even stranger.
“Um,” Satoru begins, but is cut short when Shoko interjects.
“Megumi-kun, how are you feeling?” She asks him, looking him over.
“Fine, thank you.” He responds quietly. So well mannered! “I wanna go home.” He says then, shifting his focus to his guardian.
Satoru’s not too sure about leaving just like that, but Shoko doesn’t seem opposed to the idea. If the doctor-in-training thinks he’s good to go then that’s good enough for him. “Alright, sure.” He shrugs.
Satoru moves to make space for Megumi to hop off the table, but he’s halted when the boy pulls on his sleeve midway. He cocks an eyebrow at him, which only raises further when Megumi extends his arms towards him. It’s not often that Megumi asks to be held, and especially not so willingly.
The last time he’d held Megumi, was after a long hike he had taken him on so he could learn endurance. Nothing too crazy, but Megumi only held out for twenty minutes and then demanded he be carried the rest of the way or he’d throw himself off the cliff. Satoru didn’t want to risk it with that kid, he could be extremely determined when he wanted to, so essentially he was extorted into giving him a piggy back ride.
“Oh?” He starts, a smirk appearing on his lips, ready to tease but it dies down in his throat immediately when Megumi pouts, lifting his arms higher. “Okay, okay.” Satoru relents, grunting as he picks up Megumi from the table and keeps him against his chest.
Megumi rests his cheek on Satoru’s shoulder, both arms moving to circle around his neck. “Guess it wasn’t that serious.” Satoru says to Shoko, using one hand to wave goodbye with a smile.
She looks unamused at the complete waste of her time, but she bids them both goodbye.
After stepping out of the infirmary, he considers just teleporting back to the apartment, but that would probably overwhelm Megumi’s senses right now. So they’ll have to take the boring (and long) route home — the train.
Satoru carries a very quiet Megumi in his arms as he walks along the sidewalk. He’s used to Megumi’s quietness. What he’s not used to however, is this amount of prolonged physical contact with him, and how little Megumi seems to care about it. He’s not even complaining one bit, not like the other times he’s carried him. So his brain itches to do something, say something, to distract himself from the newness of the situation.
“Your head still hurts?” He decides to ask, turning his head a little and being met with Megumi’s spiky hair. It smells like Tsumiki’s shampoo, and he promptly makes a mental note to buy him some more of his own.
Megumi makes a noise, something like, “Nn,” and then goes quiet again.
“Uh, does that mean no?” Satoru asks, trying and failing to get a peek at Megumi’s face. It’s impossible at this angle, and Megumi doesn’t seem like he’ll start talking anytime soon, so he just sighs. “M’kay, that’s fine.”
Satoru decides to just not think too much into the situation. Megumi’s probably just groggy from waking up, and that’s why he’s letting Satoru carry him. That’s the only reasonable thing he can think of anyway. Their walk extends for another fifteen minutes until they reach the train station.
Which just happens to be absolutely swarmed today.
It wouldn’t usually bother him, since his technique saves him the discomfort of having a bunch of sweaty people brush and press against him, but it probably isn’t the best place to be for a little boy who just woke up from getting knocked the fuck out. So much for not wanting to overwhelm him. He sets Megumi down to stand beside him, and he feels a little bad when he looks down to see him clinging to his pantleg as people move around.
Due to his god-given good luck, and perhaps also his ridiculous height, Satoru spots an empty seat and holds Megumi’s hand as he hurries to it. People grunt and complain under their breaths as Satoru makes way between them, striding until he finally nears the seat.
He notices there’s also someone else trying to get the spot, but Satoru is not about to lose to some lame middle aged guy. He refuses to. He lets go of Megumi’s hand, and in a matter of seconds he throws himself down on the chair, disturbing quite literally everyone else sitting on that row. The man stares down at him, probably awaiting Satoru to give up his seat for his elder.
He’s expecting way too much from him.
“I am with child.” Satoru explains with a kind smile, manspreading to the nth degree. The man is already irritated, but his face contorts to pure indignation when his eyes land on Satoru’s very flat stomach.
He laughs, tries his best not to be obnoxious but it’s simply in his nature and so the man is even more offended at that. It looks like he’s about to say something very nasty, so Satoru knows he needs to act. In a swift motion, he pulls Megumi by the arm and settles him onto his lap.
“I’m not lying, see!” He chuckles, hugging Megumi tightly and practically using him as a human shield. The man, absolutely done with Satoru’s shit, rolls his eyes and moves further away to hold onto the pole for the rest of the ride.
He expects Megumi to complain about how he’d man-handled him, or how he doesn’t want to sit on Satoru’s lap, or literally anything else. He just always expects Megumi to complain, really. But Megumi is just quiet, his eyes shut as he lets his head fall back on Satoru’s shoulder.
He must really be out of it, then. Satoru decides to grant him some peace. The train starts moving and he leans towards Megumi, letting his cheek be squished against his head and tickled by his soft hair. The train is still bustly and filled with people’s chatter, but he feels relatively calm like this.
After some time, the train stops, letting out a stream of people. It’s still not their stop though, so Satoru remains seated. A couple seats next to him empty out, and he waits for Megumi to move off his lap but he doesn’t. He checks to see if he’s sleeping but Megumi’s awake, and seemingly content in the spot that he’s in.
Strange, but okay.
Most of the people who’d been standing have dispersed, and Satoru locks eyes with an older lady smiling warmly at them from a few seats away. He and Megumi must be a sight to see. A handsome young man taking care of an adorable kid? Yeah, you could frame this. He can’t blame her for staring.
Satoru pokes his cheek to grab his attention, “See that lady there, Gumi? She wants to take you away,” He teases, making the boy lift his head to search for the mentioned lady. When their gazes meet, the woman smiles wider at Megumi, waving her hand. “Whaddya say, should I let her have you?”
Any other day, Megumi would have either completely ignored Satoru, or straight out told him that yes, he’d willingly go with anybody to get away from him. Today is different though.
“Huh? No way,” Megumi says, in such a childish way that Satoru has to look down to make sure that yes, that is Fushiguro Megumi that he’s carrying on his lap.
“You’re being so weird.”
Megumi weakly punches his shoulder, probably the most normal thing he’s done since waking up. “I’m not.”
“Yes you are, but lucky for you I don’t hate it.”
They eventually reach their stop, and they exit the train. Megumi actually walks this time, but he holds Satoru’s hand. He holds his hand the entire way . It’s a strange sensation, he doesn’t think he’s held Megumi’s hand before this. But it’s strange in a good way. It makes him want it to happen again and again.
Megumi only lets go until they’ve reached the front door to the apartment.
The boy steps in first, making a beeline for the kitchen. He must be hungry. Satoru walks over to the table, where he finds Tsumiki at, and smooths a hand over her hair as she gives him a sideways hug. Her schoolbag is slumped near the leg of the table, and there’s multiple books and papers strewn out in front of her.
“Watcha doing?” He asks for the sake of asking. He does that a lot, ask things that are quite obvious. Megumi hates it, but Tsumiki doesn’t really mind.
“Just homework.” She responds, but lets her pen rest for a bit when he sits down next to her.
They start talking while the sound of pantry doors opening and closing come from the kitchen. He should probably see what Megumi’s doing in there, but he can’t bring himself to care that much. Besides, Tsumiki’s started catching him up on all the third-grade drama. Priorities .
Unlike Megumi, Tsumiki can’t see curses, so conversations with her are always pretty mundane. Satoru has come to enjoy that. She’s like a breath of fresh air, and she’s fun , so he always tries to make time to talk with her before he leaves for the day.
Megumi emerges just as Tsumiki is about to shed some dirt on her upperclassmen. She immediately goes silent when Megumi sits down at the table. It’s a little ridiculous that she trusts Satoru with her school gossip more than she does her brother. He’s about to complain and ask Tsumiki to just ignore Megumi so she can keep going, but then he notices what Megumi’s eating.
The dorayaki that he bought yesterday and decided to put away for another time. His dorayaki.
“Those are mine.”
Megumi takes a bite of one of the fluffy pancakes. “I know.”
Satoru’s brows furrow, he’s a little peeved. He would teleport to the moon and give Megumi a chunk of it if he’d ask, but giving him his sweets? That’s just a level they haven’t reached yet.
“You don’t even like those.” He points out.
“Yeah he does. He just doesn’t let you know he likes the same stuff you do.” Tsumiki explains, rolling her eyes before promptly plugging in her headphones and picking her pen back up.
“Do you wan’ some?” Megumi asks between mouthfuls, waving a pancake in the air.
“I…” Satoru exhales through his nose. “No, Megumi, you can have all of it.”
Megumi eating his things to try to annoy him is more his speed, so maybe this is a good thing. Maybe he’s back to his usual self after all. If he is, then that means Satoru doesn’t have anything to worry about. Which is great, cause he was really starting to get creeped out.
He’s definitely bummed out about the dorayaki though, so now he’ll reasonably go splurge at some cafe to make up for what’s been lost. He debates staying for a bit longer, but quickly discards the thought when he remembers the three for one special the place down the street was promoting the other day.
He gets up from the table, walking towards the foyer to take off his house slippers. “Well, I’m off then. Call me if you need anything.” He directs to Megumi, since Tsumiki is probably blasting some pop song by now.
He’s about to put his sneakers back on when he hears, or more so feels, Megumi coming up behind him. He turns around, and Megumi tries to grab a hold of his hand. Infinity blocks him, but he lets it down in a split second. His hand is warm and soft, just like it felt earlier, but now Megumi squeezes a little tighter.
“Don’t leave.” Megumi demands . Very seriously too, with his lips set in a line.
Satoru stills, eyeing the boy with a dumbfounded expression. “Why not?”
“I don’t want you to.” Megumi says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world and Satoru is the most stupid person in it. “I miss you when you leave.” He admits, not even shying away or becoming embarrassed at what just came out of his mouth.
Instead, it’s Satoru who becomes embarrassed, with his cheeks turning pink as something warm washes over his chest. Satoru is always everywhere and then nowhere, all at once. No one ever seems to mind that. To think that Megumi sees him as someone he can miss, someone whose presence he longs for – it’s overwhelming.
Tsumiki, who has noticed her brother’s absence from the table, unplugs her headphones and swivels her head around to face them. “Is Megumi okay, Gojo-san?” She asks, clearly confused by Megumi holding hands with the person he claims to find the most annoying in the whole wide world. Her pen stays suspended mid air as she looks between her brother and their guardian.
She's never asked Satoru a question he can’t answer, but today is proving to him that there’s a first time for everything apparently. Still, he can’t tell Tsumiki that no, Megumi isn’t okay because he’s been acting completely different ever since he got catapulted from a playground ride. What if she took his best teacher mug away? He just can’t have that.
So he reasonably goes with, “He’s perfectly fine Tsumiki-chan! I think he’s seen the light!”
Tsumiki doesn’t look too convinced, but her homework seems to be more important than her brother’s behavior for now. “If you say so.” She shrugs, plugging her headphones in her ears and resuming her work.
Satoru quickly grabs Megumi’s hand and practically drags him to his room, closing the door behind them and quickly crouching down to his eye level. He brings his hand to the bangs across Megumi’s face, pushing them back and frowning at the sight of the swollen bump on the boy’s forehead that would surely bruise in a few days.
He keeps his hand there to give him a clear view of Megumi’s face. “Okay Megumi, blink twice if you’ve been possessed.” Satoru instructs him, eyes peeled for any reaction, but all Megumi does is stare blankly at him. “You’re starting to scare your sister and honestly I’ve been scared since the train ride so—“
“Stop, Sensei.” Megumi says abruptly, moving his hand away and stepping back. “You’re the one that’s being weird. I just wanna spend time with you.” Satoru wants to reiterate to him that he’s been acting totally out of character for the past four hours, but he can’t. Not when Megumi is pouting and his eyes look so sad.
He doesn’t ever want Megumi to be sad because of him.
“You know what, okay.” He sighs, removing his hand and letting Megumi’s bangs fall back onto his face messily. He tries tidying them up a bit, combing his fingers through it as he smiles apologetically, “I’m sorry for being weird.”
“S’fine.” Megumi says. He motions towards the door with a smile of his own, “Can we watch a movie?”
“Sure.”
They leave the room with two blankets, and an extra pillow. Megumi is excited, rushing towards the couch as they skip past a concentrated Tsumiki. Satoru can’t recall a time he’d seen Megumi giddy or excited, not in such a pronounced way as this. Everything about Megumi is beautifully subtle, but that’s never been a problem because Satoru sees even the smallest of things.
He lets Megumi pick the movie from their assortment of CDs. It’s a new kids movie that he bought recently, he’s not sure what it’s about but there’s a fish thing on the cover. He’s a bit thankful Megumi picked this one out because he usually just likes watching the same three movies in rotation. Tsumiki and Satoru hate it when he picks on movie nights.
They start the movie just fine, but about halfway through Megumi grows sleepy again even though it’s not even near dusk yet. Does getting knocked unconscious make you tired later on in the day? He’ll web search that whenever he gets his computer to boot. It kind of shut off on him ever since he accidentally kept clicking pop-up ads out of boredom. Guess viruses are real or whatever.
Somehow, Megumi’s drowsiness rubs off on Satoru, and they’re both struggling to pay attention the the brightly coloured film playing in front of them. Megumi falls asleep first, right against Satoru’s side. He can tell it’s a bit of an uncomfortable position for him, so Satoru shifts the boy so that his head is resting on his lap. Once he knows Megumi’s settled, he leans his own head back against the couch and falls asleep to the sound of the running movie.
Not even ten minutes later his eyes snap open at the sound of a loud thud. The first thing he notices is the lack of Megumi’s presence on his lap, but he’s easy to find, given that he’s fallen right on the fucking floor in front of him.
“Wow,” Satoru rasps, genuinely stunned.
Seriously, this boy’s head is sturdy as shit. He’ll make a good sorcerer, he could probably withstand crashing through a few walls with that head of his. Some sorcerers don’t survive blunt head trauma, but Megumi and that iron cranium of his might just have a chance.
He helps Megumi stand up straight, fanning his hand in his face to provide some breeze, “Okay, you’re fine, just breathe in, count to ten—“
“Can you give me some space?” Megumi huffs angrily, rubbing at his temple. His pudgy cheeks are flushed red, he must be embarrassed as shit that he rolled off the couch in his sleep. Satoru would laugh if he weren’t so surprised.
“Oh!” Satoru exclaims, bouncing up from the couch like a spring. “Are you back to normal?!”
Megumi rolls his eyes. “ What are you talking about?”
Satoru’s grin is instant, all of his earlier worry fading away to nothingness. “You are! You are!” He yells joyfully, picking Megumi up by the armpits and throwing him up in the air. He’s probably going to make the poor boy’s head ache worse but he just can’t help his excitement.
“Put me down!” Megumi yells back. Satoru does put him back down, but not before giving him a tight hug that Megumi promptly tries to squirm out of. He can admit that Megumi’s change in behavior had been nice in a way, but he was slightly uneasy all throughout. It’s because he really only ever wants Megumi to be himself.
That’s the way he likes him the most.