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There is one week of every month that Satoru hates.
He hates it more than anything else in the world, in fact, and he's met a lot of hateable things — take, for example, the elders of his clan, the higher-ups in school, and the old woman on the street who cursed himself and Suguru out every single time she sees them. There's also a lot to hate in the world that Satoru was very shielded from in is early years; war, discrimination, not really violence or neglect but the whole idea of it was either brushed aside or treated so normally it took going to Jujutsu High for him to realise it wasn't, in fact, normal for parents to avoid their children.
So yeah, a lot to hate. Even personally. Morally. Objectively. In every way.
But there's nothing Satoru hates more than the last Monday morning of the month to the following Sunday night. It's not an exact date because that's not what they agreed on, but the aspect of it has become such a vexing time in his life that for the week before it, not only will he get clingy, he'll be aggravated and snappish. Not towards Megumi or Tsumiki, of course, but Suguru has kicked him out to the couch more than once during that week period.
It's just... hateful to see the house so empty. That's why he hates it, the house doesn't deserve to be empty, that's all. No other reason. He's not sad during it, no matter what Ieiri says when he bitches and moans to her.
"It's only one week, Satoru," Suguru sighs out, for what must be the fourth time that day. Glancing angrily down at his breakfast, Satoru shakes his head pitifully and pokes around at his cereal. Suguru hadn't bothered to make anything special for them today considering he's feeling a little too down to be eating anything proper right now and Megumi eats after he arrives at the coffee shop or when he leaves. If it's only Suguru eating, he doesn't try very hard.
"It feels like an eternity," he mumbles petulantly, dropping his spoon back into the bowl. He'll give himself five more minutes of moping before he calls Megumi and tells him to get ready to leave. Suguru, used to his attitude towards this situation by now, only shakes his head and continues to eat his breakfast while scrolling through his mission leaflet. On top of Megumi being gone, Suguru will too! On his own! They never send himself and Suguru off on missions without each other, not since the disastrous incident where Satoru stopped fighting a curse to text him back and ended up being thrown through a whole city by the special grade.
What a shit week it's turning out to be.
Tsumiki stopped going a while ago, for reasons he’s yet to divulge to anyone else at her behest (and it may warm his heart a little bit that she feels comfortable enough to share secrets like that with him, and only him ), and decided to move out entirely to go live with her aunt. Megumi misses her dearly, as does everyone else in the house, but Satoru and Suguru are in the process of applying to house two children from the suburbs whose family were killed by a curse. If Yaga was surprised with the application, he didn't mention it. Mimiko and Nanako seemed like two very sweet young girls, and Megumi seemed open enough to having them. He misses his sister, Satoru thinks. He’s been very clear that they're not trying to replace Tsumiki.
"I miss Tsumiki," he announces sadly. Suguru, who had been previously frowning at the tablet in front of him and zooming in on a picture, pauses. Processes what he says. And then looks up at him with more pity in his eyes than before, as well as some sadness as well. It must have been hard for him too, he supposes, but after they had that small break for a while (read; four years) and Satoru took in Megumi and Tsumiki, its undoubtable that Satoru knew her better and for longer, meaning he would miss her kind soul more. No matter how far she strays, even at thirteen and beginning to enter her “rebellious teenage years”, or whatever the hell Shoko calls it, she’ll always be his special girl.
"You'll see her during the summer," Suguru soothes in a much softer way, reaching across the table to take his hand. "Besides, the house will be full again soon. We should be getting the notification about the twins soon." Suguru was very confident they'd be picked to house them but he knows, through a few inside connections, that other sorcerers had also applied, as well as a few windows and civilians in the know but with no cursed energy.
"They prefer you," he whines, even if it is true. Setting his head down on the table, narrowly avoiding his sunglasses off to the side, Satoru closes his eyes. "Both Megumi and Tsumiki preferred me."
"I saved Nanako and Mimiko, you saved Megumi and Tsumiki. It makes sense they would prefer their respective saviours."
Satoru can't fault him there.
Sighing again, Satoru closes his eyes and rests his head on the table for the remaining two minutes before he promised himself he'd get Megumi and go. Suguru gets up to do the dishes and, to make himself useful when he's already mad enough at Satoru for not doing much around the house when he mopes, he gets up as well to dry the dishes that can't go into the dishwasher and need to be washed by hand.
It's a bit easy to lose track of time, doing house chores. Stacking the dishwasher shouldn't take as long as it actually does, he feels, and sets the last mug down onto the top drawer. Suguru puts the tablet in and turns it on. Even if he hates doing them, something about chores make his life feel so domestic — far flung from how he grew up. Doing it with the person he loves, only more so.
Though, time does come back to him eventually when the shrill tone of his alarm reminds him they have to go otherwise they'll be overtly late. A little late is how he lives but when it comes to this, Megumi (who somehow, against all odds between himself and Suguru, has developed time anxiety) will throw a small fit before they leave and will be mad when they separate, something that will eat him up for the entire week. Overall, it only makes him more miserable.
"What're you doing?" He asks before leaving, watching as Suguru takes Megumi's water bottle and washes it. "Why not put it into the dishwasher? We could have found a way."
Suguru does that thing where he sighs and his shoulders drop. He makes a face, lips turning downwards and face looking skywards, as if he's asking God why he gave him Satoru and not anybody more competent. It does nothing but make Satoru feel stupid, every single time it happens, which is why he tends to avoid it as much as possible. He only panics a little at the sight of it now, mood too soured by the impending doom that's to come.
"How long does the dishwasher take?" Suguru asks, only to be met with a blank look on Satoru's face. He closes his eyes, sends a Hail Mary to God for everything apparently, and then looks at him tiredly. "If the dishwasher takes an hour, and Megumi leaves in around three minutes, why would we put his bottle in the dishwasher? It's the only one he uses."
"But we never wash it! He says he needs the bacteria to live!"
"Of course we wash it, Satoru! Don't be silly! We cannot let our child drink bacteria!"
If he's honest, the little black ring of dirt around the spout of the bottle does make him concerned but Megumi seems so proud every time he sees it, he can't help but feel grateful towards the line of disgusting germs. Seeing Megumi indulge in the nastier emotions other than anger or sadness is very rare, and pride in his dirt is something Satoru can accept if it leads to eventual pride in himself.
Rather than arguing about it, because he'll lose this battle on principle of being annoyed going into it, Satoru holds up his hands to signal peace and turns to go get said bacteria loving child. This early in the morning, the little snot is certainly still in bed. When he enters Megumi's room, truthful to his character, the urchin's room is still in darkness and his form is still huddled beneath the behemoth of a blanket he loves. It's got a weight added to it or something that Megumi loved immediately after being gifted it by Nanami, after Tsumiki left and he crawled into their bed more often than not.
He doesn't shake him awake or turn on the light, doesn't throw open the blinds or yell. He used to do that, used to be as obnoxious in the morning as possible as a way to try to uplift the kids in the morning. On Tsumiki, it worked well enough. On Megumi? It made him worse. Instead, he would be grouchy and yell back and throw himself onto the bed again just to spite him. Satoru then learned the gentle, quiet way was the best way to go.
Finding Megumi's thin shoulder underneath what is revealed to be three blankets instead of one seems impossible. The layers seem to keep going. When he finally grasps the silk pyjama shirt, Megumi doesn't stir at the touch. Rolling him over onto his back a little, he takes in his face. Scrunched a little from the curled position he prefers to sleep in, imprints from the pillow lining across his the left side of his face, cowlick angled straight up. It's very cute, very distinctly Megumi.
He runs a soft knuckle across his cheekbones, still hidden underneath baby fat. His nose is practically a button, eyebrows soft and relaxed from sleep. Funnily enough, he's gotten used to seeing them pushed together from the perpetual frown on his face. It only diminishes when they watch cartoons in the morning before they start school (for this year, he's being home-schooled, missing his sister a tad too much to go back to the school without her) or whenever Megumi deems him worthy of his happiness.
The cowlick remains stubborn, even as he pushes it down. It seems the gentle touches across his face, the soft circles being rubbed into his shoulder, and the general presence of Satoru has done its job and Megumi starts to wake up. This is definitely cutting into their "allowable" late time, but he can't find it in himself to rush the kid. In fact, he might slow it down a little by halting all movements for a second, just to watch. Every single time, without fail, he memorises Megumi's face — as if he'd ever forget it.
You'll see him again, Satoru! a voice suspiciously like Suguru rings out in his head.
He will.
"Megumi-chan," he whispers, cupping a soft cheek in his hand. Grunting a little, Megumi pushes his head into it, valiantly keeping his eyes closed. "Sorry, your lordship, it's time to wake up." A small hand reaches up to grasp his wrist, the other still curled tightly around the plushie being held against his chest in a frighteningly tight choke-hold. The poor creature's neck has started to thin out from how tightly Megumi holds it to his chest during the night, in exactly the same position every night.
"No," he whispers back, eyes still closed, "five more minutes." His head starts to fall back down towards the pillow, almost slipping back into that lovely REM cycle that keeps him asleep in car rides or on the couch for a while longer while squished between himself and his partner. Unfortunately, despite the early morning, Megumi must get up.
"You said that five minutes ago," he lies and gives his shoulder a bit of a firmer rub. Megumi cracks an eye open, the small crusty there falling away and landing on his cheek, to glare balefully up at him. Rats, he knows it was a lie. Satoru pokes his cheek a little, almost fascinated with the way his Limitless falls away without a thought while he’s around Megumi when, at times, he's got to consciously take it down with Suguru. "It's time to go, chickee." Scowling even more at the nickname, Megumi sits up and rubs at his eyes.
Looking at him in his rumpled pyjamas and with pillow lines on the left side of his face, it’s less of a scowl and more of a pout, really.
Even if he's old enough to do it himself, like he loudly pronounces when he sees Satoru do it, he uses the Six Eyes to peer around in the dark, tracking the strongest remnants of his cursed energy from putting the laundry away yesterday, and picks out an outfit for him before turning on the light or opening the blinds. Downstairs, Suguru has started to pack his back with the stuff he leaves lying around. At least, that's what he assumes he's doing judging by the way his cursed energy is flowing along the whole of downstairs, dipping in and out of every room.
A nice blue shirt as well as some comfortable black pants, and then the jumper with the four turtles on it that Megumi has recently become obsessed with. He sees the box of Pokémon cards on the dresser and makes a mental reminder to stuff them into the little to-go pack they've made, reaching into the dresser to get socks. He does leave the room while Megumi gets dressed, poking around in the shoe rack by the front door to get his shoes. The tin goes into the bag, as well as his freshly washed bottle. Alongside his clothes, it's stuffed full.
Megumi pads down the stairs, hair still in disarray. Suguru only laughs a little when he sees it, behind his hand so that Megumi doesn't see, and gets the hairbrush. The cowlick protests being brushed down but does eventually go down, for a little while. Megumi lets him do it, still much kinder to Suguru because he doesn't want to stop getting the advantages of seeming like a small, genuine child, not the unforgiving little menace that he actually is.
"Tie my shoes?" He mumbles, looking up at Satoru after fitting his tiny ( tiny! ) feet into them. Shaking his head, Satoru crouches down to pick up the laces and do them up. Maybe not so evil after all if he needs help tying his shoes.
"One day, you'll have to tie these yourself, chickee."
"Why would I? You always do it for me."
Satoru might be developing early-onset empty nest syndrome.
Heart cracking only a little, he does the other shoe and then grips both feet in his hands, shaking them a little, holding them tight and thinking about how his hands encase them fully. Satoru looks at Megumi, fixes the collar of his shirt that had folded over somehow, and then grabs his shoulders. They do this every time and he's sure Megumi understands, but it's now necessary to tell him every single time before they leave the house and then again in the car and then a final time before they part. Suguru gets the car keys and goes to warm up the car for them, knowing Megumi doesn't like it when the car is cold as they get in.
So spoiled with them! Absolutely rotten.
"Okay," he starts and Megumi rolls his eyes preemptively, "no, don't do that! This is important. You know that if you need anything, you can call me, right? You still have the phone I gave you?" It's an old phone because Satoru read an article saying kids should have the least amount of screentime possible, and no phones till they're teenagers, and he took it to heart. He wants Megumi to be as normal as possible, and with parents like himself and Suguru he's already poised for failure. That’s without even mentioning the other guy.
Diligently, Megumi nods.
"Good. You charged it?" Another nod. "Need more credit?" A shake of his head this time. "I mean it, if you need anything at all, even if it's just a hug or a snack, you text me. Call me. And if I don't pick up, call Suguru. Hell, if neither of us pick up, call Ieiri or Nanami! They'll definitely answer. You need anything, we're right there." It takes a village, right?
"I know," Megumi intones, dry and bored. They'll do this again and he knows it. He's probably not even listening to him.
"Do you have David?" David the Dog, Megumi's little plushie that he can't sleep without. It resembles a wolf more than anything, but it's got blue fur and pink eyes and is amazingly cheesy. Megumi nods and lifts up the bag he packed himself, unzipping it to show David as well as Fred the Frog. There's a running theme among the names of Megumi's plushies.
Okay. Okay. "Time to go." Megumi nods again, a little more animatedly, and hops down from the bench he'd been sitting on. He walks out the door and meets Suguru in the driveway, leaning against the rumbling car. Tucking his phone away, Suguru bends down to tuck a piece of hair behind his ear and give it a small hug, mumbling that he'll see him when he comes back and that he'll miss him dearly. Megumi, smiling softly, reaches forward and wraps him in a hug. He says something back, too low for Satoru to hear.
Sometimes, in the back of his mind, Satoru wonders what his life would be like without Megumi and Suguru. Without Tsumiki, even. Surely, it would be very dull. No kids running around and stepping on his toes, tripping him up in the morning after they moved in with him. No pictures on his fridge or in his wallet or beside his bed. No Thursdays squared away for parent-teacher meetings every semester. No Suguru to make hearty dinners and breakfasts with all the nutrients they need for growing kids and one man-child, no lovely dates every Friday, no one there to calm him down when he's mad at the higher-ups or his situation with the kiddos. No love in his life, at all.
Megumi wouldn't be as soft, he thinks, without the ease at which Suguru brings out the best in him. He was a little stand-offish when they first met, he knows, and kept the kids at a distance. The wound of Suguru leaving was fresh, still a gaping hole in what he thought to be impervious armour despite it being two years. He left them in the apartment for too long, left Tsumiki in charge of them for too long, did a lot of bad things for too long.
The realisation of that was swift and came in the form of Ieiri slapping him upon finding out. Nanami, too, was very disappointed in him upon hearing of the kids' living quarters even while having him around to look after them and, despite leaving the jujutsu society, used the Black Flash on him to display that before turning and leaving again.
"Be good, chicken!" Suguru says, finally, and stands up. He swings Megumi up with him, and a shrill laugh gets cut off as quickly as it came. Embarrassed, Megumi slaps a hand across his mouth as Suguru tosses him around, before tucking him in close. The physical affection has risen very much since Tsumiki left. Satoru already felt it, the small urge to grab Megumi's head and shake it or crush it, but when faced with only one kid — the much pricklier one — it only increased tenfold.
He doesn't need to be but Suguru buckles him in and gives him one last searching look. For Suguru, the chance of not seeing Megumi has increased immensely with his mission. While Satoru is guaranteed to see him again, for Suguru (depending on how special the special grade is, of course, because Suguru is the strongest alongside him) it's been tossed up into the air. Megumi, of course, doesn’t know about the mission and only scowls back when Suguru has been looking at him for too long. His cheeks scrunch and his eyes crinkle, but they still shine with youth that Satoru never thought he’d see in Megumi’s eyes after they met in that alley and found them hollow.
Satoru walks over to the car, places his sunglasses on his face and immediately the world takes a lighter, less-painful shift. The Six-Eyes is a blessing and a curse at times. Suguru leans into the car to make sure Megumi's seatbelt is fine and he clambers into the driver's seat, painfully aware that when he was a kid he wanted a nice, sexy sports car and has now ended up with a mom car. The door closes after him and then another thump reveals that Suguru has closed Megumi's, a knock sounding at his window.
Rolling it down, Suguru pokes his head in to give him a short, chaste kiss. Even if there was no tongue (not even a little!), Megumi still exaggeratedly gags in the back. Huffing a little, he pulls back and cups Suguru's face with his hand. His ring is no doubt cold against his face. Suguru gives him a smile and they don't have to say goodbye, never do anymore, but rather he gives his palm a kiss and mumbles silently that he'll see him when he gets back. They'll have around an hour before he's got to leave for the mission.
Satoru starts the car. They pull out of the driveway, Megumi opening up his new book about the ocean in the backseat and reading it silently to himself. Luckily for them, unlike Tsumiki (and Nanako as it turns out), Megumi doesn't get car sick. The drive is short and convenient because Satoru refused to budge on them being close to him, despite being literally able to teleport. Grand total, it should take thirty minutes.
"If you need me—"
"You're only a phone call away. If I need 'Guru, he's a phone call away. If I just want a hug or to talk, I can call you. If I need anything, I can call you, I know . Gojo, sometimes I think you're more nervous than I am." He definitely isn't because he's not nervous. Why would he be nervous? It's not like he had a second, ulterior motive of giving Megumi a phone (being able to track him) and the paralysing fear that Toji will realise what a precious child he's missing out on and run away with him, lost forever.
No, that's not a deep rooted fear of his at all.
"No need to be cheeky!" He chirps. "Just because you're a chickee, doesn't mean you need to squawk at me." Megumi, now insulted, frowns and holds his book up higher. Shit, wait, they can't be snippy at each other before he leaves! "Sorry, Megumi-chan, Gojo is worried about Suguru! He's leaving me as well!"
"Forever again?"
"No."
"Damn. Thought he finally got some brains."
"Hurtful." Satoru frowns mockingly at him through the mirror, shaking his head in a mock-scold. Megumi, probably against himself, smirks a little. Okay, lightness returned to the conversation. He's happy that they haven't lost the snark, to be honest, because it's a part of the reason he enjoys talking to Megumi — he's not aware that Satoru is the strongest person in his bubble, in the whole world, and treats him like the worms beneath the dirt. It's refreshing and a little funny for a kid to call him a bastard four times a day, every day.
Pulling into the parking lot, Satoru grips the steering wheel a little harder. Toji has a different car every time, meaning it's impossible to tell if he's here or not. Most of the time, he's not, but they're later than they should be. Megumi, having glanced at the clock and growled angrily (not unlike his shikigami, Kuro and Shiro), unbuckles his seat belt and aggressively starts to pull at the door handle. It's child locked.
"Megumi. I'm serious." Sensing his tone, Megumi stops his angry struggle and looks at him curiously. The assumption that Satoru isn't being serious a hundred percent of the time, being silly or stupid or too happy for his own good, is automatic for Megumi who hasn't seen him any other way. "Call me if anything goes wrong or you want me. I'll be there before you've hung up the phone, all the time, every time. No matter how small or big, I'll be there. I promise."
He gets two slow blinks in return. No shift in features, no brilliant smile like Tsumiki used to. Instead, something swirls in his eyes, the slight widening of them betraying how shocked he is at Satoru's promise. The seconds tick by, falling into the minute mark before Megumi nods.
"I know," he murmurs, hands still on his lap. He blinks at Satoru again, allowing the moment to continue before his usual demeanor takes back over and he bodily throws himself against the door. "Now, open the door, you big lug!"
He opens the door. Takes the bigger of Megumi's bag, swings it around his shoulder (with the zip facing skywards, they won't have a repeat of the School Bag Incident) and holds his hand out. On instinct, Megumi reaches up and takes it. When he gives it a small squeeze, feeling the soft press of Megumi's baby bones shifting a little underneath his much larger hand, Megumi shuffles closer and gives a much clumsier squeeze back.
They cross the parking lot and walk into the cafe, Megumi pulling his jumper a little closer around him as a brittle wind rushes past. Damn it! He knew he was forgetting something and now poor little Megumi doesn't have a coat. It shouldn't be that cold this week and if Toji does exactly what he says he does (and Satoru demands of him), then he should have a coat for Megumi in the little apartment he's got. Still. Megumi likes his coat at their house. What if he doesn't like the one Toji has for him?
The heat inside the shop is welcomed and he scans the area, either out of instinct for a threat or looking for Toji ( not that there's much of a difference, he thinks sourly), but he doesn't get the chance to spot him properly by himself given he stands up and sends a small wave to Megumi, completely ignoring Satoru. That's fine with him. Megumi, however, brightens considerably and takes off in a mad dash across the shop.
"Dad!" He squeals, much different from their first interaction where Megumi had no idea who Toji was. At the time, himself and Suguru had responded rather violently to seeing Toji Fushiguro, a supposed dead man, standing on their front porch and demanding his kid back. It makes sense that Megumi would have been weary around him at first. But it's been nearly four years since little Megumi came into their lives, and just under two since Toji barrelled in as well. He's gotten used to him.
Satoru, on the other hand, will never get used to handing his Megumi over to someone else for a week, biological relation or not.
"Hey, dumpling!" Toji says, a little brighter than he speaks to everyone else. There's a noticeable shift, Satoru has to give him that, for when he talks to Megumi and when he talks to everyone else. Megumi gets lifted into his arms, giving him only a second to ponder just how much walking Megumi actually does between Toji, himself and Suguru picking him up at all times. Throwing his arms around Toji, Megumi embraces the small emotional moment. Satoru is not mad that Megumi is much more willing to be emotional around Toji (and Suguru) and not him. He's not .
Strolling over to them, Satoru gives a cursory glance around the room. A fair few people have given them the odd look, some of them whispering behind their hands, but he's used to it by now and ignores it. Toji has got a coffee in front of him, as well as a small hot chocolate for Megumi, and then nothing for Satoru. He sits, decides he doesn't want anything. He can make a coffee at home, or go to a drive through and buy one.
"How've you been?" Toji asks, sitting down. Megumi squirms a little, drops down onto the ground from where he'd been on his lap, and takes his own seat. Such an independent kid, he thinks, staring at the woman who's toddler demands to be sitting on her lap and rubs their face along her neck before settling. Though, Megumi is nine, almost ten. He wouldn't dare act so childish, not even when he was six. Sitting on laps, public cuddles (even private ones), kisses and anything you'd expect from a parent or family member is strictly prohibited with Megumi.
They're lucky they get to hold his hand and pick him up every now and then, to be honest.
"Good," Megumi replies, putting his bag on the floor beside him, "Suguru took me to the zoo the other day."
"Yeah?" At least he's interested, Satoru supposes, staring at Toji behind his glasses. The blindfold would have been easier to hide his scowl but would have brought more attention to them. "Did you like it? See anything interesting?"
It really was enjoyable to fire Hollow Purple through him.
If only it stayed permanent.
Megumi takes slow sips of his hot chocolate, holding the mug close to himself. His feet don't touch the ground. They don't swing, like Tsumiki's used to, but they hang loosely and Megumi blows his fringe out of his eyes a few times during the conversation. When he comes back, they'll take him to the hairdresser. Maybe Nanami, actually, given his general distaste to the hairdressers. The last time they went he almost had to be strapped to the chair, only to stop struggling when Satoru made the deal that he'll get one too so they'll match.
"How's your training coming along?" Toji asks. Satoru narrows his eyes. Privately, he's got the belief that while Toji might want to be around his son, he's also got the ulterior motive of having a connection to the sorcerer world — especially to someone as powerful as Megumi will no doubt grow up to be. Having a kid with connections to the Zenin clan and the Gojo clan, as well as to someone as powerful as Suguru. Really, Megumi is at the top of the food chain.
Toji never expresses an explicit interest in Megumi's training or powers. He knows about the Ten Shadows, of course, but Megumi is vague enough about the amount of shikigami he's trained (either he's embarrassed or has gained the awareness that their historical family wasn't too nice to his dad because of sorcery and is being, surprisingly, delicate about it). The discussions of training never go past if it's hard or strenuous on him, and if he's proud of himself. Toji knows all about pride, at least, and is driven towards inserting the feeling in his son as well.
"Good. Satoru helped me with a problem last week, but good." The problem being Megumi summoned too many bunnies at the same time and got overwhelmed when they all swarmed him, happy to be around their master. Satoru lifted him up off the ground and floated a few feet in the air, away from the flock of bunnies squirming to get closer to him, until he'd calmed down enough to send them back into the shadows. They've got bunnies and dogs so far, as well as a croak of what sounds like a frog from the shadows every now and then. Good progress for a kid.
"I'm glad. You proud of yourself?" Shyly, Megumi nods and finishes his hot chocolate. Toji had finished his drink a while ago, sitting and waiting for Megumi to be done. Satoru becomes more of a spectator during these moments, semi-content to sit back and watch them interact. The agreement is fragile, even after all this time, but it works and he tries not to shake the boat too much. Insults flew the whole time during the first few meetings, and Megumi got uncomfortable. They are the most important people in his world, right alongside Tsumiki and Suguru.
Besides, the deadbeat jokes got old the more effort Toji put in to spite him.
"You should be. Ready to go, dumpling?" Megumi shakes his head, says he’s got to go to the bathroom, and wiggles off the tall chair to walk over to the bathroom. Toji points it out to him and then, with Megumi gone, they descend into silence. Satoru doesn’t say anything first, he never does, but Toji enjoys poking at him.
“Getou-san still hasn’t grown a brain, I see,” Toji remarks, sending him a sharks grin. Satoru curls his hands into fists, unhappy that Toji is talking about Suguru. For as much as Satoru hates Toji, Suguru might hate him a bit more. He doesn’t come to these meetings for a lot of reasons, mostly because it always devolves into a physical fight between himself and Toji and Satoru is all too willing to let them fight it out, distracting Megumi by making him look the other way.
“Easy to see you guys are related,” Satoru mumbles, remembering Megumi’s remark in the car. Megumi might not want to see Suguru gone, definitely now that they’ve settled into a lifestyle together of Megumi getting an actual lunch instead of whatever Satoru scrounged together, but he still bullies Satoru about him. Nothing gets held back from the little devil, his relationship the primary subject.
“Easy to see you don’t belong.”
Bristling, Satoru sends a venomous glare his way. “Watch it. Who won our last fight again?”
“Want to see who’d win a rematch?” The urge to give in is deadly, a viscous thing that grows more and more in his gut. He was on edge before arriving, but getting such a snarky attitude from Toji has only pushed him further.
“Going to deprive poor Megumi from his father? Again? Or are you used to disappointing him by now?” Similarly, Toji’s feathers get ruffled by the comment, and he sits up a bit straighter. No longer lounging in his chair confidently, he leans across the small table between them and sets his palms on the table. Satoru mimics him, feeling his cursed energy flare up around him. It’s pooling around him, flying off in waves, and if he was here Suguru would kick his shin. Megumi doesn’t like it when their cursed energy starts to fly off the handle. Limitless gets pushed further away from his body, encroaching on Toji’s space, subtly enough that he’s not being pushed back but judging by the narrowing of his eyes, he can tell Satoru is trying to push him out. In more ways than one.
“The only time Megumi feels disappointment is when you fail him as a caretaker and a teacher.”
“Really? Out of the both of us, only one person here left him alone and homeless,” Satoru snaps, getting ready to throw a punch in broad daylight. Legally, in the civilian and sorcerer world, Megumi “belongs” to him. He’s his legal kid, no matter how Toji paints it, and if anything happens and a sorcerer gets called to calm them down, Megumi will be leaving with him. Toji looks just about ready to fight as well, table creaking underneath the iron grip he’s got on the edge of it.
Megumi walks towards the table, ignores the animosity, and asks if they’re almost done so they can go now. The tension fizzles away quickly, both Toji and Satoru leaning back and forcibly relaxing for Megumi’s sake. Tengen, his shoulders were basically up by his ears. He hasn’t gotten so riled up because of Toji in a while. Despite his lingering irritation, Toji nods. Satoru doesn’t say anything. Megumi puts his bag back on, twiddles with the straps a little. Toji stands up as well, and hesitantly Satoru hands over the over-night bag full of all his clothes and stuff. Toji takes it, face turning a little bit more murderous now that the chance for a fight is gone. Without a thought, he returns the look, lips curling a little bit. A string of hatred fires between them, unspoken but felt nonetheless.
Walking out of the cafe, Satoru begins to feel the ache settle in his chest. Here comes the hardest part.
Crouching down again, Satoru slides his sunglasses on top of his head and places his hands on Megumi's thin shoulders. The swath of cursed energy around Megumi is faint but a constant pulse as well, a line of protection around him that's present much stronger than the typical kid because of his bloodline. Megumi is so important to him, it's surprising. He loves him more than anything, more than Suguru, more than himself. He'd do anything for him.
"Be safe, okay?" Satoru says, needlessly because if Toji is guaranteed to do one thing, it's to protect his kid from the dangerous life he lives. The man allows them this, a small goodbye outside the cafe every time, and stands back. It's his own version of being the spectator, he guesses, and feels an unusual appreciation grow in him. Megumi doesn't grant him the privilege of a response but stands still and lets him grab him. "One more time — you have everything you need?" A nod this time. "Okay."
"Okay."
"I'll see you next week." Megumi looks at him, face missing his trademarked scowl, and then nods. The air only feels colder around him as he stands up, aware that a hug won't be well received even if he wants one. Satoru takes a step back, watches as Toji replaces his hand on Megumi's shoulder and starts to steer him towards the car park. He'll wait around on the sidewalk for a second, giving them the time to leave. If Satoru knows what car he drives, he'll have Ijichi follow him around.
Megumi and Toji start to walk away, Toji never bothering to say goodbye. They don't talk casually. The only reason they do is about Megumi, only when need be. Last month, Tsumiki had a dance recital she wanted Megumi to be at but it was far away from the Tokyo region and it was during the week Toji had him. They agreed to send him a week earlier. That was the only conversation they had all year.
This always feels like being on that busy street, watching Suguru walk away from him. He'd been so mad, so betrayed, and some of that has started to associate itself with this. He's angry that he's got to share Megumi, definitely, because he forgets he's not just his. Sometimes, it's irritating watching him with Suguru, even. Megumi is priority number one, all the time.
He can't be too mad though. Megumi comes back, much quicker than Suguru, every single time. He's always whole, happy, practically bouncing around the place from staying with Toji. And it's good for him to spend time with his father, even if himself and Suguru are Megumi's parents in his eyes. As well as that, if Satoru gets too mad or frustrated it tends to leak out into his cursed energy which alerts Megumi to it, making him tense and confused. He doesn't want Megumi to feel like he's got to choose between them in the future because of these feelings Satoru harbours.
Just before Megumi is out of sight, he tilts his head up to Toji and they stop walking. Satoru, confused, frowns and fights the urge to walk over and see what's wrong. Is it the coat? Did he forget his toothbrush, his plushies, a pair of pajamas? Decided he wants something else from the house that he never told Satoru? Toji nods, seems unhappy about it, and lets go of Megumi's shoulder to take his bag from him.
In a mad dash, Megumi comes running back towards him. Satoru bends down to catch him once he sees the trajectory of where he's running, arms outstretched and ready to pull him in. Megumi collides with him harshly, a soft "oof" leaving him when his thin chest collides with Satoru's. His spindly arms wrap around his neck, feet pulled up to rest on top of his knees and ankles crossing behind his back. Satoru stands, places a hand on his back to steady him, and cradles his head against him.
"Everything okay?" he whispers, not looking towards Toji but feeling like he should. If anything happened to make Megumi uncomfortable with going, he'll kill Toji again. "Is anything — do you want to come home? You don't have to go."
"No, I..." Megumi trails off, clinging a little tighter. "Shoko-san said that hugs are important for goodbyes. And you hug Suguru goodbye."
Oh.
Oh . Swinging them around a little, swaying on his feet, Satoru closes his eyes and presses his face into Megumi's. Their cheeks squish together, baby fat so soft underneath his harsh cheekbones, and the lavender scent of his shampoo gets inhaled every time he breathes in from how close he is to his hair. So prickly, his kid, like a cactus. Although, he's got a gooey centre to him.
"Okay," Megumi announces after a second, loosening his hold on him a little, "put me down now." Satoru squeezes him once more, holds him closer and wishes his ribs would open up so he could stuff Megumi in there forever, allowing them to close around him and protect Megumi for life. Satoru is the strongest in the world and he's got few people he'd desperately try to protect but Megumi is at the top of that list, miles above everyone else.
"Hey! Old man! Put me down! I'll scream ‘pervert’ !"
"Okay, okay," he mumbles and sets Megumi down, wiping an eyelash from his cheek. "Make a wish." Megumi, eyes so watery no matter what and face holding onto that malnourished look he had when he was found, leans forward and blows the eyelash off his thumb. He gives one final wave, and then runs back off towards Toji, sneakers lighting up as he goes. The bag remains in Toji's hand and, for the first time, Toji waves back at him.
Satoru waits and watches them leave, deciding that this week doesn't have to be terrible. It'll still be the worst week of his life, topped only by the anxiety for the next month's goodbye, but the light is at the end of the tunnel. It's only a week. Seven days. Suguru is right.
That doesn't mean Satoru won't go home, stuff his face full of ice cream, and sob on the couch for a while.