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Tsumiki screamed, Megumi hid behind a blanket, Satoru laughed, and Shoko sighed.
This was not the way she had predicted the movie night to go. Although, the kids did want to watch a horror movie and Shoko searched for the lightest horror movie she could find and thought Coraline was a good one. It was a kids’ show, yet it still had some creepy factors in it. She thought the kids would enjoy it
Turned out not. She suspected Tsumiki to get scared, but it was a surprise to see Megumi try to hide under the blanket as well a couple of times, as if the movie itself was scarier than the Curses he had seen in his life. Although the movie itself wasn’t that scary- said the 21-year-old adult- it did have some creepy moments in it.
Satoru, of course, laughed whenever the kids would flinch or get startled by a scene. At least one of them had fun. Although Shoko enjoyed the movie as well, she felt a bit bad for Tsumiki. Again, she wouldn’t have guessed she would be this scared by a kid’s show.
“I’m gonna have nightmares about this.” She told timidly, her voice wavering with slight fear, hiding her face in the blanket and snuggling her head into Satoru’s side, who chuckled with amusement and patter her back in reassurance.
“Come on, ‘Miki, it’s not that bad!” He replied right before a startling sound came from the TV, making her yelp in surprise, hiding more into his side. Truth be told, it probably did not help that the lights were off and it was almost their bedtime as well as it being a school night.
“Says the one who laughs at every scary scene.” Megumi mumbled, keeping his eyes on the screen.
He wasn’t scared of the movie per se, although he did get startled a bit when something popped up on the screen suddenly or when the lady with the button eyes appeared. Now that was creepy, it made his eyes sting slightly, and he did not like the thought of it.
“It’s not scary! And how are you scared? You’ve seen way worse.” Satoru grinned, lightly hitting his shoulder as he kept Tsumiki next to him, who still hid into his side.
Megumi, at that, looked at him with a death stare. Shoko looked at him as well. “I think you forget he’s a kid, Satoru. Kids get scared easily.”
“Not this sea urchin!” Satoru joked, getting a kick into his leg from the said sea urchin. “Hey!” He pouted slightly.
“But the lady is scary.” Tsumiki’s timid voice spoke up again as she pried the blanket away from her head to peek at the TV screen. “The one with the button eyes?”
“Hmm. I guess I could see that. I’m sure I don’t want my eyes to be buttons.” Satoru thought, putting a finger on his chin.
“I think no one does.” Shoko corrected before they continued watching the movie.
When it finally ended, it was way past the siblings’ bedtime, and the sorcerers put them to bed. Shoko took care of Tsumiki, while Satoru brought Megumi to his room.
“Do you want me to leave the light on?” He teased with a smug grin as he pulled the blanket over the kid’s body.
The kid just looked at him with a scowl. “No.” He told without a beat and turned his back towards Satoru and the room.
He couldn’t help but chuckle at the action and the expression. “Alright. Goodnight, ‘Gumi~!” He sing-songed and patted his head before walking away from the bed.
Pulling the rope of the lamp to turn it off, he gave one last look at the kid with a soft sigh and smile. He was sure Megumi wouldn’t have night terrors, he was a tough kid. Although, what Tsumiki told did stick with him, and he couldn’t help but feel worry build up in his chest.
Maybe, yeah, he was a bit inconsiderate towards them. After all, he was an adult and something like Coraline was honestly funny to him. Heck, even when he was a kid, he couldn’t remember being scared over something as silly as a kids’ movie. Not that he ever got to watch something like that, but still. The point still stands. He never remembered being scared of anything, now that he thought about it. Nothing could scare him, he was the strongest, after all.
Walking out of Megumi’s room and closing the door with a soft click, he trotted down to Tsumiki’s room. He raised an eyebrow in confusion when he heard someone humming quietly and peeked inside the room, seeing Shoko sitting at the edge of Tsumiki’s bed and humming a soft lullaby. Satoru thought the sight was cute.
“Didn’t know you could hum a lullaby, Shoko.” He told with a hint of teasing in his tone, walking into the room with a soft smile.
Shoko stopped her humming and looked at her friend. “It helps them to sleep, Satoru. You should try it sometime.” A small tease, Satoru noted, after seeing the gleam in her eyes shoving right back at him. He just rolled his.
“Yeah, yeah.” He rolled his eyes before kneeling beside Tsumiki and caressed her hair gently. “Hey ‘Miki, still scared?”
He only got a headshake in return. “Not really, not anymore.”
“Good.” He smiled and nodded. But before he could properly stand up, he felt a tug on he sleeve and looked back at his kid.
“Gojo, do you get nightmares?” Both Shoko and Satoru looked at her in surprise, not expecting her to ask such a question. Her tone was that of curiosity, although both of them could pick out a bit of uneasiness as well.
Shoko looked at her friend expectantly, as if hoping him to tell the truth. Despite what anyone might see when looking at him, Satoru still, was only human. And even the strongest was plagued by nightmares. Now, whether he would admit it to anyone or even to himself was a different question entirely. Though Shoko knew the answer to that. She always knew. Sometimes she wished she didn’t, hoped, even.
The sorcerer kneeled back and leaned closer to Tsumiki, peaking over his glasses, whispering his reply, almost like not wanting Shoko to hear his answer, making it seem like a secret just between the two of them. “Of course I don’t. Nothing scares me, let alone that movie. That’s why I will be here and shoo your nightmares away when they come to scare you, okay?”
Tsumiki nodded eagerly. “Okay. Goodnight, Gojo. Goodnight, Shoko.” She told, before closing her eyes and snuggling herself into the blanket.
Satoru chuckled softly, rubbing her head softly. “Night, Tsumiki.”
He looked at Shoko with a grin and Shoko said goodnight to Tsumiki as well before the two walked out of the room.
Shoko sighed as she took the cups from the coffee table and walked into the kitchen, putting them into the sink, letting her gaze get stuck on the faucet as her thoughts raced in her mind. Satoru saw that look. He knew that look.
“Come on, what did I do now?” He slightly whined, crossing his hands and leaning towards the counter with his lower back.
Shoko turned to him with an expression that told him exactly what he did wrong. “You should be more considerate towards them, you know.”
“I am!” He shot back, looking at her with a hint of offended expression.
“Well, you don’t look like you are.” She replied, keeping her gaze on him.
Satoru scoffed. “What, it’s suddenly wrong for me to laugh at a movie that wasn’t scary for me?”
She sighed and shook her head. “I’m not saying that. I’m saying that Tsumiki was scared.”
“And I comforted her.” He cut her off with a hint of a furrow of brow. “I told her I’d shoo the monsters away. Isn’t that enough reassurance?”
Shoko sighed, feeling this went way over Satoru’s head and she was way too tired to even think about arguing with him. “Whatever you say.” She shook her head before starting to wash the cups again, her gaze still a bit distant.
Satoru pouted at her expression. “You’re mad at me.”
“I am not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Satoru. I am not.”
“Then why the long face?” He still pouted, although the question asked was genuine with a raised eyebrow.
Shoko put the washed cups in the cupboard as she stayed quiet for a second too long. “I didn’t think Tsumiki would get scared so easily.” She told softly, although it sounded like she wanted to say something else, but changed her mind at the last moment.
Satoru sighed, dragging his hand through his hair as his gaze went up towards the ceiling in thought. “Honestly, same. She always seemed so resilient towards everything. Guess horror movies, even kids’ ones, aren’t her strong suit. Heck, even Megumi hid under the blanket once or twice.” He finished with a grin, regretting that he couldn’t get a picture of how cute he looked.
“Well, they are still kids. And kids get scared easily.” Shoko replied, turning around to face him.
“Not me!” He told proudly with a wide grin, to which, Shoko only sighed.
“Of course. Anyway, I’m going to head back to the school.” She told as she started to walk away from the kitchen, Satoru’s grin faded.
“You’re not gonna drive, are you? Why not stay the night?” Satoru tilted his head as he hoped she would take up on his offer.
“I don’t have anything with me, remember?” She looked at him over her shoulder.
“You can borrow one of my shirts.” He offered again in hope.
At that, she stopped and turned towards him. “I’ll drown in it.” She told matter-of-factly. And even Satoru knew she was right.
“But at least you have something.” He grinned and it seemed he wasn’t going to give up on the thought. Shoko sighed, feeling this would go on all night if she didn’t accept his offer. “Please? For the kids? For Tsumiki?” He brought his glasses down his nose a bit, looking at her with puppy dog eyes, to which she rolled her eyes. Not affected, but nice try in any case.
She let the corners of her lips turn up in a small smirk at the act. “You are impossible. Fine, I’ll stay the night.” She gave up and Satoru beamed, bolting to the closet in the unused bedroom.
To be fair, she was feeling a bit tired, and maybe driving an hour or two wasn’t indeed the best solution when she was tired, especially at night. And she did miss the sleepovers the three used to have back in the day. Following where Satoru went, seeing him rummaging through a closet in search of a shirt for her to borrow.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in here before.” She told, words flowing over her tongue before she could stop them. “That seems like a comfy bed.” She walked towards it and sat at the edge of it, surprised that it did feel very comfy. “Wow, you sleep here?”
Satoru brought out a shirt and threw it at Shoko, who caught it in mid-air. “Nope. On the couch.” He told quickly and swiftly, like he didn’t want anything else to sprout up from this conversation.
With a slight look of confusion and doubt, Shoko raised an eyebrow, but let it go. “Thanks.”
“See you in the morning then.” Satoru smiled before closing the door.
He walked to the living room and lay down on the couch with a huff. He took off his glasses, putting them on the coffee table before sighing and closing his eyes, letting himself fall into a restful sleep.
Sometime, in the middle of the night, his eyes shot open and he startled himself when he took a sharp breath. His eyes traveled across every ceiling panel as he felt his breathing be heavy, slightly shallow. He closed his eyes and forced himself to take a deep breath and hold it for a second, two, three, before letting it slowly out and opening his eyes again. He groaned as he sat up, hand on his head, rubbing his temple. What did he dream about again? Forgotten. Like always.
But his thoughts were thrown out the window when his Six Eyes picked something up. A flicking cursed energy, like someone was distressed. He stood up and walked quietly across the hallway. It wasn’t Shoko, nor Megumi, but- oh no.
Gently knocking on the door, he pushed down the handle and peeked inside the lightly dimmed room. “‘Miki?” He whispered in concern, hearing a soft sob as a response.
He opened the door carefully and walked inside, hearing sheets ruffling. “Gojo.” Out came a weak and wet sound. Satoru’s heart ached.
“Everything okay, Tsumiki?” He softly asked, looking at her with a sad smile and reassuring eyes as he knelt beside the bed.
Tsumiki turned towards him, eyes puffy and slightly red with tear streaks down her cheeks. “No.”
Seeing her like that, Satoru’s eyes widened in worry. “Aw, come here.” He sat at the edge of the bed as Tsumiki climbed out of the blanket and onto Satoru’s lap. He held her close, having a hand on her back and the other one gently caressing her head, pushing it against his chest, letting his heartbeat calm her down. “A nightmare?” He asked softly and got a small nod in response. “Want to talk about it?”
He saw her shift her gaze down and suck in her cheeks, almost as if she wasn’t sure if she should tell him or not. But in the end, she decided to. “I dreamt about my parents.”
Satoru stopped his hand movement on her hair and looked at her, a bit perplexed, a bit shocked and surprised. She continued. “That… they had button eyes.” She raised her head, looking at him. “And they took me away. Away from you, away from Megumi.”
Her tone got softer, more vulnerable, more shaky. Her lip trembled and her eyes were filled with tears. He pulled her closer to him.
“Hey, hey, it was just a dream, okay? I’m still here, Megumi is still here, okay?” Satoru spoke softly, almost in a whisper. “Everything’s okay. You’re with us.”
She snuggled into his arms and let out a shaky breath as Satoru kept saying comforting words and stroking her hair softly. He kissed the top of her head, before resting his chin on top of it. “No button-eyed people will take you away. I’ll scare them away if they try.”
She sniffled, looking at him. “You promise?” Her wide and teary eyes were staring right at Satoru’s light blue ones.
“I promise.” He told firmly, hugging her once more, tightening his grip for reassurance. “I told you the first day I wouldn’t leave. And I won’t. Never ever ever. Pinkie promise. Double promise. Okay? Alright?”
Tsumiki nodded once more and Satoru let out a soft sigh under his breath, feeling her calm down. With her still in his arms, he shifted his pose more onto the bed, so his back was against the wall. “You good now?” He asked, looking at her with hope.
To his reassurance, she gave another nod, with a small smile accompanied with it, making Satoru even more glad. “Did I wake you?” She asked, resting her head against his chest one more.
“No, you did not. But I got worried when I saw your cursed energy spiking.” He told calmly, bending his legs up a bit, making sure she was more comfortable.
“I’m glad. I didn’t want to wake you.” She yawned as her voice was growing more quiet.
A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he smiled. “You did not. Don’t worry about it, alright? Go back to sleep. I’ll stay with you, okay?” He kissed the top of her head again.
She gave a small smile before closing her eyes and letting his heartbeat lull her to sleep. Satoru kept his grip firm but gentle around her, making sure no nightmares got past his Infinity to scare her again, and kept caressing her hair. He then remembered Shoko’s lullaby. So, he did the same, humming a soft and quiet tune and he felt her breathing slow down in seconds. Huh, maybe it did help as Shoko said.
The door opened as Shoko exited the room with a yawn. She was fully rested as she had never slept so comfortably before. Maybe she should stay at Satoru’s more often, she humored to herself. But talking about Satoru, she did not see him, not on the couch, not in the kitchen. He looked into Megumi’s room, seeing the kid still asleep, limbs across the bed with the blanket turned vertically on the bed, barely covering the kid. She let out a soft chuckle at that.
Quietly opening Tsumiki’s door, she stopped in her tracks when she saw the sight. Satoru held Tsumiki in a very protective way, who was comfortably and calmly sleeping in his arms with a small smile on her lips. Satoru’s head was tilted away from Tsumiki and by the look of his posture, Shoko could already know his neck and back would be killing him when he woke up.
She took her phone, snapped a quick picture of the two, and smiled before closing the door. If she had any doubts about it now, they all faded in an instant upon seeing the scene. Satoru would do anything for these kids. His kids. Shoko could bet her cursed energy on it.