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When Gojo had told Megumi that he’d “take care of the rest”, he wasn’t quite sure what that meant. After telling Tsumiki about the odd interaction over dinner (if you could consider some leftover rice dinner), the two waited, unsure of whether they should be expecting the stranger to return. The rest of the night passed uneventfully so they resigned themselves to going to bed without giving it much more thought.
Quite frankly, Megumi had assumed that perhaps Gojo had simply forgotten about them or realized what he had proposed would be much too complicated or inconvenient to handle. After all, Gojo looked like he couldn’t be older than eighteen or nineteen; didn’t he have better things to do than concern himself with some random kids living in a dinky alleyway apartment?
To his surprise, when he got home from school two days later, the white-haired young man followed closely behind with his hands full of envelopes and take-out containers.
“Yo, Megumi~!”
Megumi stared up at Gojo, who towered above. He blinked a few times before letting his trademark scowl take its usual place.
“What are you doing here?”
“I see your face hasn’t changed one bit since we met.”
“What are you doing here?” the six-year-old repeated, his scowl darkening.
“Bringing dinner to my new wards! Could you open the door for me please?”
Megumi hesitantly unlocked and opened the door, allowing Gojo to saunter inside with a hum and a bounce in his step. As soon as he set foot inside the small abode, Megumi could feel the stutter in his peppy attitude. He took in the state of the apartment - mold crawling across the ceiling, light fixtures flickering, and the temperature echoing the same stifling heat of the outside. Gojo hummed under his breath before straightening his posture and continuing on toward the kitchen without a word.
Gojo began unpacking the containers and snooping through the fridge and cupboards. The shelves were mostly empty, save for a few eggs and some carrots.
“New wards…?” Megumi questioned suspiciously, shrugging off his backpack and placing his sneakers near the door.
Gojo shut the fridge and turned to face Megumi, tipping his tinted round glasses down his nose, opening his mouth to explain the situation further. Megumi couldn’t help but tilt his head slightly; they were the clearest, brightest, bluest eyes he’d ever seen. At this, Gojo smirked a little, happy to have gotten some of the kid’s interest.
He was about to continue with his explanation when Tsumiki popped out of the siblings’ shared room, stopping in the short hallway when she caught sight of Gojo.
“Oh, hello,” she greeted softly, offering a small bow. “I don’t think we’ve met yet. Are you Gojo-san?”
“You can call me Satoru! You must be Tsumiki,” he replied, setting the udon on the small wooden table and gesturing for the children to join him.
“Ah, yes, I’m Megumi’s older sister. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you would be coming today. Otherwise I would’ve cleaned up a little more and brought you something to drink…”
“No need! It’s really my fault for dropping by unannounced. Come join me!” Gojo waved off her concerns.
The Fushiguro children made their way to the table, sitting in their usual seats. Gojo happily dug into the dessert, only pausing when he noticed the kids looking down at the bowls of udon and boxes of sweets with some sense of awe.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Y-yes everything is good!” Tsumiki quickly responded, snapping out of her daze and beginning to eat. Megumi stared at the udon for a second more, then followed after his sister’s actions.
Gojo asked about their days at school in between bites of strawberry filled pastry before he switched to his own bowl of udon. Megumi opted for one-word answers, while Tsumiki tried to be a little more forthcoming. As Tsumiki gave a brief explanation of what she had learned in her math class that day, Megumi set his chopsticks down, pushing his bowl toward her.
“You can have the rest,” he stated, although it looked like Megumi had barely eaten.
“Oh, it’s okay, Megumi. I’m not hungry anymore, but thank you. How about we save them for the rest of the week?” she suggested. Gojo’s eyes shifted to her bowl, also barely touched, with his heart dropping ever so slightly at their acts of consideration for each other.
“For the week? But then how will you have enough room for the rest of the snacks and dinners I bring?” Gojo interrupted their little interaction.
The kids turned to look at him, perplexed.
“You’re coming back?”
“Of course! I know I was gone for a few days, but that’s just because I was sorting things out. You are now both officially under my care! Which reminds me…” Gojo leaned back in his chair, using his long arm’s reach to snatch some of the envelopes he’d placed there earlier. “I sorted these into envelopes so it would be a little easier to keep track of, but it should be more than enough to cover your rent, bills, food, and whatever else you need.”
Tsumiki stared at the envelopes he had set on the table, hesitantly opening one. Her eyes widened and she immediately opened her mouth to refuse.
“Ah ah, no denying! I am the adult and your official legal guardian now. Think of this as part of my responsibility, okay?” he reasoned, trying to ease the guilt on Tsumiki’s face.
“I… Thank you Gojo-san…This will help us so much.”
“Satoru!” he corrected.
“...Satoru,” Tsumiki reaffirmed shyly. She elbowed her brother in the side, gesturing toward Gojo with expectant eyes. Megumi let out a huff.
“Thanks,” he said shortly, averting eye contact.
Gojo smiled, “No problem! Now, let’s keep eating and then have dessert!”
The trio returned their meals and, although it could’ve been his imagination, Gojo thought the Fushiguro siblings seemed to open up a little more about their days after that. He wasn’t expecting them to warm up to him over one dinner, especially with their history of abandonment.
Still, he let himself feel a faint sense of victory when he made Tsumiki laugh a little, drawing out a surprised and affectionate gaze from her grumpy little brother. It was a brief show of warmth, but it was there nonetheless.