#the only person he can turn to for advice is gojo and he would sooner kill himself than admit this to him

[heich0e]

teenage megumi develops a crush for the first time and every time he sees/interacts with you he keeps accidentally making rabbits appear w his cursed technique

[m3l0nfl0at]

don’t smile - s. gojo

satoru gojo x gn!reader ; angst, gojo is a bit ooc seeing he goes to the club, no y/n mentioned, swearing, 1.9k words

summary ; satoru feels himself slowly losing himself in being the strongest, what does this mean for your relationship?

melons recommended melody ; don’t smile - sabrina carpenter

Satoru heard you crying over the phone to Utahime when he walked into the room with Suguru. Feeling awful when Utahime shot him the deadliest glare known to man, “Oh, you’re in for it, Satoru.”, Geto laughs. Utahime hangs up her phone, “What did you do Gojo, are you really that shitty of a boyfriend that they can’t come to you anymore?” Utahime scolds him. Truth be told, he didn’t need Utahime to tell him how shitty of a boyfriend he was, he was aware. “Utahime, I didn’t take you as a person to give relationship advice especially since you're single, right?” Gojo shoots her his signature smirk before Utahime rolls her eyes. “Look Gojo, I’m just going to tell you one thing. One day, they’re going to realize how crappy you are and leave your sorry ass if you don’t change. As much as I hate you, they love you for some odd reason, don’t screw it up.” Utahime leaves the room grumpily leaving him and Suguru in complete silence.

“What a pain, imagine coming back from a mission just to get scolded by mom.” Gojo relaxes against the seating just to get rudely interrupted by Geto. “You know Satoru, she’s right. If you don’t want to take your relationship seriously then maybe you should break up, you can’t keep them bound to you forever.” Satoru grumbles. “I know, I know. Please no more reprimanding today, okay? If I hear another person scold me I might just chop my ears off.” Suguru rolls his eyes knowing the information he just told his best friend went in one ear and out the other, well he’ll learn in due time he thinks. Nevertheless, Gojo didn’t expect the day Utahime was talking about to be sooner than he expected.

Satoru comes home to find you sitting on the couch with all the lights turned off, “Love? Why are all the lights off?”. He goes to turn on the lights only to see your eyes puffy and your body frigid. He knew he was in for a scolding but he didn’t really want to deal with it at this moment, so he walked away to your shared bedroom. “Satoru?”, he hears you calling for him but he has no need to turn around. As he lays down he hears your angered footsteps stomping down the hallway, “Are you even listening to me Satoru?”. He nods, “I am, just wanted to relax while you scold me. After the day I had, I needed some time to relax.”. You were baffled, did he think this was a joke, were your feelings a joke to him? Shocked, you felt sick to your stomach not sure how to continue this conversation with someone who wasn’t enthusiastic to.

“Satoru, I’m sorry you had a long day but just because you had a long day doesn't mean you can brush off my feelings? We haven’t spoken since you left for your morning mission, did I do something wrong? Are you upset at me?” Satoru wasn’t upset at you, he was more upset with himself than anything but why would he place that burden onto you knowing there was nothing you could do about it? “Look, I’m not mad at you. So, can you just stop being so attached to me all the time?” Satoru didn’t think what he said was inherently bad but looking at your face he knew you took it harshly. “I’m sorry Satoru, all I want is my boyfriend to communicate with me? You think that wouldn’t be hard enough to ask for but yet here I am.”, Satoru closes his eyes rubbing his temples feeling his six eyes becoming overwhelming at this moment. “I get it, I’m a sucky boyfriend but can we please continue this conversation tomorrow?”, even though you didn’t want to pressure Gojo into interacting with you, you wanted to be selfish for the moment. Hoping that he would fight for you like you would for him, only to be met with dead silence.

You wanted him to stand up and say he wanted you, to take a stand for your relationship like he promised to all those years ago when you guys got together. Yet the boy you once fell in love with was now turning into a man who wanted nothing to do with you. Quietly you make your way near his side, whispering softly, “Satoru, do you even love me anymore?”. Gojo’s heart stops, of course he loves you. He thinks about you all the time, hell he doesn’t think he could get through a mission without thinking about you waiting for him at home. That doesn’t stop him from also thinking about how you must struggle, he’s rarely here due to higher ups being on his ass for stupid missions. Or how people just expect him to randomly appear because he’s “the strongest”, he doesn’t feel like it though.How could he be the strongest if he can’t even reassure himself or you? What even makes someone the strongest? What would people say when they found out “the strongest“ couldn’t even verbally communicate with his partner about his struggles.

“Satoru, say something, say anything.”, you place your hands on top of his. At that moment Gojo felt his throat tighten restricting any words from coming out his mouth. He shuts his eyes, but it’s no use, he can still feel and see you sobbing. He hated this, he hated this stupid curse they called a power, he couldn’t find relief even with his eyes closed. He couldn’t be who you wanted him to be, “the strongest” can’t focus only on you, “the strongest” can’t always keep you safe, and “the strongest” definitely couldn’t do relationships. “I’m sorry.”, Your heart stops, Satoru didn’t need to say anything else. “I got it Satoru. Nothing else needs to be said, I’ll pack up some of my things and head to Utahime’s for the night.”

After that night Gojo never saw you again, you let Utahime grab all of your remaining belongings in the apartment. You left Jujutsu High, wanting nothing to do with being a sorcerer and wanting nothing to do with him. Utahime stills hates him to this day, she blames him everyday for pushing you away from everyone in this stupid society. For all he knows you could be dead and he wouldn’t even know, it wasn’t till the day Suguru left Jujutsu Society that he spotted you.

He spotted you across the room, colorful flashy lights glowing up the room, and the smell of alcohol floating through the air. Truth be told he didn’t know why he was here, he hated alcohol, and he hated sleazy people. Yet the overwhelming senses of being at a club may just allow him to not feel anything even if it’s just for a couple of hours. However, he could spot you from a mile away overwhelmed senses or not. There you were with a group of your friends showing off your beautiful smile, he hasn’t seen that on you in a long time. Memories of you, flashing in his mind, attacking him all at once. His breath starts picking up, chest suddenly feeling tight and a lump forming in his throat. You lock eyes with him, your eyes suddenly turning glum and damn it, he hates this. He hates that you’re pitying him instead of looking at him angrily like he deserves. He wants your expression to turn sour when you look at him, he wants you to get up and cause a scene, show some sign that you still think about him like he still thinks about you.

His ears were ringing, “Satoru, say something, say anything.”, no he can’t do this, not right now. He can’t be at the club trying to find someone to hookup with only to end up having a panic attack over his ex, what kind of pathetic loser was he? This wasn’t “the strongest” behavior, yeah right what a stupid title. He needed fresh air, now before he fainted in this club. Making his way through the crowd trying to lose sight of your apologetic eyes, finding the nearest exit. As Satoru makes it outside, he lets out a big breath feeling the cold air hit his flushed skin. Leaning against the brick wall feeling clammy and sick to his stomach as he hears the door near him open, “Is there room for one more here?”. He looks up to see your bittersweet expression, “I saw you from across the room, I wanted to see if you were okay? You looked like you were going to puke.”. Gojo wanted to throw up, if he didn’t want to soak up every detail of your appearance he would teleport anywhere but right here at this moment.

“How have you been doing Gojo? Have you been taking care of yourself? I called Suguru after everything happened, he just brushed me off. Figured that if Suguru wasn’t good then you weren’t either.”, Satoru laughed bitterly, sour at you mentioning Suguru after he decided to leave just like you. Satoru remembered Suguru mentioning you calling him but being the immature person he was, he had nothing to say to you. He wanted you to forget all about him and run away to find a nice person to settle down with, he’s just the person you date before you find the right one. “Now you suddenly care?”, he snarls. He wanted to hurt you, he wanted you to leave him alone, he didn't deserve you. “You didn’t care about me when we broke up, right? So why care now, I don’t need your pity.” You wish you could say that your heart broke hearing him push you away but it didn’t, all it did was remind you why you broke up with Gojo in the first place. “You’re a coward Satoru, I didn’t break up with you because I didn’t care about you. I broke up with you because I care about me.”

You scoff in his direction, “I’m not going to accept anything less than what I deserve, I, I wanted you so bad. I wanted you to lean on to me, I wanted you to want me as much as I wanted you but I can’t want someone who doesn’t want me back.”, you feel an ache in your chest remembering the feeling of him rejecting your affection. “Wanting you isn’t enough for me to stay and if you decide to hate me for that choice then I’ll accept it.”, Satoru wanted to reach out for you. Selfishly say don’t go, his heart ached for you even after all these years his heart still called for you, only you. It was easier to retreat than ever show you an ounce of vulnerability. Just as Satoru is about to say something the door opens interrupting you both, stopping him in his tracks. “Babe, are you ready to go?”, Satoru looks up in surprise to see a man with long slicked back hair and a line tattooed over his face. Satoru thinks to himself that he’s hallucinating, that this weird man didn’t just call you babe. However, when he looks over to see you speechless, cheeks flushed he knows the pain in his chest was anything but fake. As you start heading towards the door you look back to Gojo throwing one more sympathetic smile, “I hope when you look back at this moment you know I did what was best for me. I hope going forward you start doing what’s best for you too, Satoru.”

Nothing more needed to be said as you left, you were happy and here he was near a panic attack on a brick wall. He didn’t need anyone to tell him he was in the wrong, he knew but getting smacked in the face with reality reassured him even more. Ugh whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore, you have someone now why should he care? Defiant, Gojo marched back in there and kissed the nearest person who wanted him. Part of him wished you were there to watch him make out with some nobody he’ll forget about the next day. He knew that you were where you wanted to be with a partner who deserved you. Whereas the said “strongest” was out here being a nobody, with nobody to hold, and nobody to belong to. Yeah, maybe he will consider doing what’s best for him and maybe one day he’ll finally know what it means to be the strongest not just for him, but for you.

divider credit to @/vase-of-lilies, @/bunnysrph, and @/thecutestgrotto

@m3l0nfl0at on tumblr. All Rights Reserved. Do not steal, copy, or translate any of my works.

[just-jordie-things]

[part six] to build a home - gojo satoru

word count: 5k warnings: !!manga spoilers!! swearing, jjk-verse style fighting series summary: when (y/n) (y/l/n) catches wind that the notorious sorcerer killer, toji fushiguro, has children, she makes it her personal mission to find them. the catch being she couldn't tell a soul about them- the risk of the zen'in clan learning about them was too great. keeping the secret isn't the hard part, it's lying to her friends, shoko ieiri, geto suguru, and of course gojo satoru, that she struggles with. especially when satoru has suddenly become so keen on keeping an eye on her lately.

series masterlist

[part six] : "I Held On As Tightly As You Held Onto Me" ___

The day after her little excursion with Satoru, (y/n) wakes up bright and early to get off campus before anyone else awoke.  The alarm that blares in her ear is harsh and unforgiving at nearly six in the morning, but she doesn’t waste a second getting herself ready and rushing out to the front gates to get to town as soon as she could.

To her surprise, she wasn’t the only one awake this early in the morning.

“Nanami,” (y/n) stops in her tracks as she sees the lone sorcerer jogging through the gates.  He seems just as surprised to see her.  “What’re you doing up this early on a day off?” 

“I could ask you the same thing,” He stops just a few feet before her, his head tilted to the side.  “You’ve spent quite a bit of time in Tokyo, huh?” 

“You don’t know that’s where I'm off to” She replies, and it’s meant to be playful, teasing, but Nanami’s bullshit detector might rival Suguru’s.

He eyes her up and down.

“Looks to me like you are,” He says bluntly.  “If you’re not, then where are you off to?” 

(y/n) remains silent, unable to come up with even a half-decent lie.

“That’s what I thought,” He chuckled.  “Don’t worry.  I’m not one to spill other people’s business to those they’re hiding it from” 

Taken aback, (y/n) scoffs, shaking her head awkwardly.

“I’m not- I’m not hiding anything from anyone” 

“You’re a shitty liar,” Nanami replies, and it sounds harsh, but he’s just blunt with his words.  “Lucky for you, I’m tired of Gojo sticking his nose in things that don’t involve me, let alone him.  So I won’t tell him I saw you,” 

She’s trying to keep up a clueless act, but the relief she feels at his words is obvious.

“But a little advice?” Nanami asks, and she nods her head in a small motion, eyes flickering over him.  “He’s going to catch on sooner or later,” He tells her.  “So whatever you’re doing, whoever you’re seeing…” He trails off, seemingly to find the right words.  “You better get your shit figured out.  I’ll keep this to myself, but I don’t need Six Eyes in my business the way he got into Yu’s just to protect you” 

She nods again, slowly processing what he said.

“Thank you, Nanami,” Her voice is barely above a whisper when she finds it.  “I wouldn’t ask any more of you.  Thank you” 

The blonde sorcerer is still and silent for a moment, lost in his thoughts.  He doesn’t consider this an act of kindness, more so an act of self preservation.  He knew better than to get involved in something that would inevitably have upset Gojo Satoru.  Nanami may have subtly despised the older sorcerer, but  he was smarter than to go out of his way to upset him.

After a long pause, he nods back at her, and turns to continue his jog.  (y/n) reaches out before he can leave.

“Wait, Nanami,” She calls.  “One more thing?” 

Begrudgingly, he stops in his tracks, giving her his attention once more.

“You said Satoru was bothering Yu?” 

“Bothering is an understatement,” Nanami scoffs.  “Safe to say Yu’s terrified of him now.  If he wasn’t already.  But…” 

(y/n) waits impatiently for him to continue, hanging on to every word he spoke.  What business Satoru had scaring Yu, she wasn’t entirely sure.  But she wondered if it had anything to do with the last time he’d brought up the younger sorcerer’s crush.

“... I suppose Yu knew he was signing up for such treatment when he decided to pursue someone that already had a claim on them” 

(y/n) blinked, her mouth dropping open slightly, but no words came out.  No words even came to mind.  Nanami chuckled, smiling for maybe the first time she’s ever seen, before he gave her a small wave and jogged off.  She was frozen in place for a minute, and even when she finally brought herself to go on her way, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of their whole interaction.

She decides to pack it away in her mind for now, and keep her focus on the rest of her day.  She owed Megumi and Tsumiki big time for yesterday, and she planned to start the day off the right way- with apology donuts.

Last night (y/n) had called Tsumiki like she’d promised she would, and the little girl didn’t seem too bothered that she hadn’t made an appearance that day, but she’d said that Megumi wasn’t in the mood to talk.  Leaving (y/n) to believe the young boy held a little more of a grudge.  

Not that she could blame him.  She’d dropped the ball by not holding to her promise.  She hoped that some day, when they were older, they would understand why she had to keep them a secret.  It was for their own good and she knew that now, but they weren’t quite old enough for her to explain.

She just hoped that they could forgive her, this time.  And she hoped that she’d never have to go back on their word again. ___

Satoru strolled into the courtyard, finding his friends relaxed at a picnic table, their lunches and a pack of cigarettes between them.  They were laughing at something he hadn’t heard before approaching, clearly sharing their food and a cig.  There was just one thing missing.

“Hey,” The white haired sorcerer greeted, throwing one leg over the wooden bench, facing Suguru as he sat.  “Where’s-” 

“Before you ask, we don’t know,” Shoko cut him off, passing the cigarette back to the man across from her, and picking up a pair of chopsticks in exchange.  “Went to ask her if she wanted to have lunch with us, but she wasn’t in her room.  Again” 

“Again?” Satoru asked, brows furrowing.

“(y/n’s) absent almost more than you are these days, Satoru” Suguru commented.

“With what? Tutoring?” 

“Who knows,” Shoko hums.  “But she’s not on campus” 

Satoru gives her a hard stare from behind his dark shades.  The girl throws her hands up defensively, before reaching in front of Suguru’s plate to snatch up a rice ball.

“She’s been off having her own little adventures for the last few weeks,” Suguru says.  “We don’t know where she goes.  She likes her privacy” 

“So you don’t even know where she is-?” 

“Satoru,” Shoko mumbles through a mouthful of rice ball.  “You worry too much about her.  If she was in trouble, she would tell us” 

Suguru points a finger at her, silently agreeing with what she said.

“You’re both the worst” Satoru mutters, earning a laugh from his friends.

“You’re worried she’s with a guy?” Shoko muses, her eyes wandering over Suguru’s plate, trying to decide on what to steal next.

Suguru lets out a whistle, an amused smile on his face.

“Did she say something about a guy?” He asks before Satoru can.

“Maybe,” Shoko replies, eyeing a juicy looking piece of beef, and plucking it up before Suguru’s chopsticks can beat her to it.  “Maybe not” 

Satoru’s jaw is locked in place, and he feels his eye start to twitch like it had the day he approached Haibara.  Meanwhile, Suguru is laughing, like he’s excited to hear such news.

“(y/n) with a non-sorcerer?” He thinks aloud.  He’s laughing so much his shoulders are shaking.  Satoru thinks about smacking him upside the head.  “How fascinating” 

“She’s not seeing a guy,” The white haired sorcerer snaps.  “She would have said something” 

Shoko scoffs.

“Not likely” 

“What makes you say that?” 

“Because she’s always been private about her romantic interests?” Her voice tilts as though asking a question, as though it was an obvious answer.  “I swear I’ve had to pry it out of her” 

“Oh do tell” Suguru purrs, leaning over the table curiously.

“Or don’t,” Satoru grumbles.  “I’d like to keep my lunch inside of me, thank you” 

“Don’t be such a jealous bore,” Suguru waves a dismissive hand towards his friend, before turning back to Shoko.  “So, who has she been with? Because I would just love to hear about a few of those little underclassmen in the sack” 

Shoko giggles, reaching over to snatch the cigarette that had been ignored in his fingers for far too long.

“I wouldn’t be a good friend if I told,” She winked.  “You’ll just have to sleep with them to see for yourself” 

“You’re both insufferable, you know that?” 

“Speak for yourself” Suguru replies.

“I’m a little curious about Ijichi, though.  What do you think?” Shoko ponders, to no one in particular.

Suguru hums thoughtfully.

“So you have no idea where (y/n) is, or what she’s been up to, but she’s been sneaking off for the last week?” 

“We never said she was sneaking off” Suguru shrugs a shoulder.

“Oh, I would,” Shoko speaks up, blowing out a plume of smoke.  “Saw her sneaking back in on Friday” 

Suguru raises an intrigued brow.

“Late?” He presumes.

She nods, a small smirk on her lips.

“Almost midnight” 

Suguru whistles again.

Satoru was getting tired of their gossip that led nowhere.  They could both tell that he was annoyed, they just didn’t care enough to drop the topic.  It was fun after all, getting him riled up.  It was also fun to chat about what they thought she was up to.

“Definitely a booty call, then,” Suguru decides, snatching a piece of beef off his plate before Shoko could.  “Why else would she be slinking around so late?” He ponders.

Satoru can’t wrap his head around (y/n) sneaking out to hook up with some nobody in Tokyo.  How would she have even met this person? And she didn’t seem the type to have some meaningless fling.  But perhaps that was all the more reason for her to have one? The secrecy of it all gnawed at him, made him queasy.  He ran a hand through his hair stressfully.

“Come to think of it, a few weeks ago I also saw her get in pretty late.  Not that late, but it was probably around ten o’clock” Suguru pursed his lips as he thought about it, knowing full well that she had in fact been sneaking around.

But he didn’t have to share that information just yet.  Making Satoru squirm was far too entertaining.

Satoru suddenly stood from his seat.  Both of his friends watched him curiously, wondering if he was going to blow up or just storm off.

He turns to walk off, but before he can get too far, Shoko speaks up.

“I wouldn’t go after her”

Satoru turns around, crossing his arms over his chest.

“And why shouldn’t I?” 

“Tch, isn’t it obvious?” Suguru scoffs.  “If you go after her now, and catch her in- well whatever or whoever she’s up to, she’ll be pissed” 

Satoru grinds his teeth, not wanting to admit out loud that his friends were right.  Even though they all knew it.

“You don’t want to piss her off,” Shoko chuckles, stumping the embers off the butt of her cigarette on the wood table.  “(y/n’s) fiery when she’s angry,” She lets out a short chuckle as though she were recalling her own experience with upsetting the girl.  “But, maybe you’d like that” She adds with a little smirk.

Suguru snickers across from her.

Satoru’s jaw finally relaxes.  And then in a blink, he was no longer standing before them.  They don’t know where he teleported off to, but their focus shifts right back to the lunch before them.

“You really think (y/n’s) got a hookup in town?” Suguru asks.

Shoko shrugs.

“Don’t have another explanation for it.  You?”

“Yeah.  Me neither,” He agrees.  “You think Satoru’s gonna go track the poor fucker down?” 

“Yep” 

“Yeah.  Me too” ___

In fact, Gojo Satoru hadn’t teleported himself into Tokyo.  His friends had gotten too in his head for him to go searching for (y/n).  No matter how much his curiosity was eating him alive wondering what she could be up to, he was more afraid of losing her in the long run if he stuck his nose in her business.  He’d have to figure out some other way to get her to fess up.

He’d just gotten too annoyed with his friends, so he’d teleported himself into the school, and as soon as his feet touched ground, his fist was launching into the wall.  The wood splintered and cracked, but luckily he hadn’t fully punched through it.  Yaga would probably be upset.

Shaking out his now sore and bruised hand, he looked over, realizing he hadn’t chosen an empty hallway to punch out his frustrations.

Nanami Kento stood there, just a few feet away.  His face expressionless, but still staring at the sight before him inquisitively.

“Something bothering you?” He asked, his voice monotone.  Satoru sneered back at the sarcastic remark.

“Mind your business” 

“You’re the one that showed up in front of me and started punching” Nanami scoffed.

Alright.  That was true.

“Whatever” He muttered.

“Why would you punch something without your infinity up?” Nanami asks, his head nodding to the bloodied knuckles of Satoru’s hand.  “Doesn’t that hurt?” 

Satoru wants to repeat himself, tell him to mind his business, flip him the middle finger and storm off, but for some reason, he chuckles.

“Yeah, it does,” He answered.  “Guess I was too angry” 

The blonde sorcerer hummed, tucking his hands into his pockets.

“You’re going to leave Yu alone, right?” He changes the topic, taking a few steps forward.

Satoru looks him up and down, raising a brow curiously.

“What, you got a reason why I should?” He asks.  

Honestly, Satoru had no intention of going after the younger sorcerer anymore than he already had.  Even if by some landslide (y/n) decided he was her dream man, he would leave him alone.  But Nanami’s question sparked an interest in him. 

“Besides the fact that he hasn’t done anything wrong?” Nanami quips back, his voice never wavering above it’s steady tone.

Satoru chuckles, and shakes his head.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna kill your friend just cause he sticks his business where it doesn’t belong” 

“Hypocrite” Nanami bites back.

“Me?” Satoru laughs again, but this time it’s humorless.  Irritated.  “I’m the hypocrite?” 

“You’re the one that barged in on us, demanding him to tell you about his encounter with her.  You’re the one that was acting like a dog marking it’s territory” 

Satoru’s interest in this conversation was quickly turning to rage.  He should have just told Nanami that he had no qualms with Haibara Yu, but now it was too late, and he was getting pissed off.  

He takes a long stride forward, his eyes hardening.

“Are you calling her my territory?” He asks, voice losing it’s playful tone as it lowers.

Nanami knew that if they were to get into a fight right now, he was bound to lose in a mere second.  But he was protective of his friend, and this conflict was pointless.

That said, Gojo Satoru was starting to get on his nerves, walking around like he could act however he wanted, treat people however he wanted, Haibara and (y/n) alike.  Yu hadn’t crossed any lines, and despite how the Six Eyes user may feel, (y/n) wasn’t spoken for.

“I’m saying (y/n) isn’t spoken for,” Nanami voices his thoughts, even though deep down, the instinct in his blood told him to back off before this got ugly.  “She doesn’t belong to anyone,” 

Satoru is all but oozing his jealousy.  He’s glaring at him, his chest puffed, his hands in fists at his sides.  Nanami would have laughed had he not been completely serious.

“And if she were here, she’d probably tell you so” He finished.

They stand in silence for a minute.  

One of them glaring, huffing in annoyance.  

The other is calm, collected, unwavering in his stance.

The silence is long, and deafening.  Until Nanami finally walks away, without a word, without a second glance back, he leaves Satoru alone in the hall.  His work feels completed.  Haibara Yu shouldn’t have any issue with the older, more experienced sorcerer again.  He’s not sure if he’s solved any conflict for (y/n) (y/l/n) or made it worse, but he feels little to no care if he’s disturbed her relationship with Gojo Satoru.

However, as he leaves, there’s a slight nag in the back of his mind.  A worry that he’d done her a disservice by speaking on her behalf.  He tries to brush it off.

Suddenly he’s reminded of the way she’d thanked him that morning, for keeping a small secret for her.  If he could even call it a secret, it’s not as though he’d known what she was up to at the crack of dawn, and he’s not even sure why he cared to keep that to himself now, even when he could have used it to get under Gojo’s skin.  Something told him not to bring it up, for her sake.

Nanami Kento didn’t know (y/n) well, she was a year above him after all, so the only time he’d spent any time with her at all was during the Exchange Event with the Kyoto school.  Even then, all he could gather on her was that she was a very skilled, very thoughtful fighter.  It wasn’t like there was any spare time to get to know her better.  So he doesn’t know why he’d chosen to keep her secret.

Perhaps Yu had spoken too fondly of her as of late, and it had gotten to his head. ___

(y/n) had spent all day chatting with Tsumiki, about anything and everything she’d wanted to talk about.  They talked about school, what manga she was reading, what friends she had hung out with as of late, the conversation seemed to flow with ease.  (y/n) was grateful that the young girl had forgiven her, seemingly easily, and she made sure to assure her that she would never go back on her word again.

They’re sitting on the couch in the living room together when (y/n) tells her this.

“I know, (y/n).  It’s okay” Tsumiki had said.

“I know you say that,” (y/n) had spoken seriously, the light mood in the living room suddenly warping.  “But I want you to know that I mean it.  When I make a promise about something, I won’t ever go back on it.  Not with you.  Not again” 

Tsumiki nods, giving her a small smile.  She seems to understand how important it was for (y/n), so she decides to treat it with importance too.

“I think Megumi was a little upset,” She admits, quietly.

(y/n) nods in agreement.  She’d already gotten that feeling, since he hadn’t left his room, even when she’d brought him a donut for breakfast.  It had been hours since she’d arrived at the Fushiguro house, and he was still holed up in there.

“He didn’t say anything,” Tsumiki continues.  “But he gets quiet when he’s upset.  Even though he’s always quiet”

(y/n) chuckles softly.

“I don’t blame him for being upset with me,” She replies.  “If he doesn’t want to talk to me, that’s alright.  It won’t bother me” 

It’s quiet.  Tsumiki plays with the hem of her dress while (y/n) pensively glances out the window.  She means what she said, but she hopes that Megumi would crawl out of his shell soon, so that she could properly apologize to him.

“(y/n)?”

The sorcerer hums, looking back over to the child.

“It’s been really nice… having you around,” Tsumiki says, so soft that she’s almost whispering.  She’s still staring down at the skirt of her dress, held tightly in her small hands.  “I’m really glad you found us” 

Her heart swells with so much love that (y/n) can’t help but grin.  She reaches out, tucking a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear, before smoothing her hand over the back of her head.

“I’m glad I found you too, Tsumiki,” She tells her.  “I hope you know you can always ask me for anything.  Whatever it is, I’ll do anything I can to do it for you.  Okay?” 

Tsumiki nods, her cheeks blossoming with pink as she smiles back at her.

“I should probably go bug your brother,” (y/n) sighs, dropping her hand and leaning back in her seat.  “He’s not going to be happy with me, is he?” 

Tsumiki giggles, shaking her head.

“If you hear me screaming for help, come save me?” 

Still giggling, the nine year old nods this time, and (y/n) smiles playfully back at her, before standing from the sofa.

Making her way down the hall and to the front of Megumi’s closed door, she takes in a deep breath, knowing he will be harder to crack than his sister.  Megumi had always been more reserved, even when he opened up to her it was always by handing out scraps.  She wanted to make this right.  He deserved that much.

She knocks gently on the wood.

“Megumi?” She calls, before knocking again.  “Can I come in” 

It’s quiet for a beat.  Before she hears a small, “Fine” 

Still, as she opens the door, she’s slow, and she doesn’t step inside right away.

Megumi is sitting on the floor with his back against his bed.  He’s reading Charlotte’s Web again, the book propped open in his lap.  (y/n) wonders how many times he’s read it now, and her heart weakens a little at the realization why he held such an attachment to it.

But she can’t cry for him, not right now.  Right now he needed to see that she was strong, and she was here because she wanted to be strong for him, for both of them.

“What have you been up to today?” She asks, leaning against the doorframe.

The boy doesn’t answer aloud.  He simply holds his book up, before placing it back in his lap.

“Reading?”

He blinks at her.

“That’s good.  I was too much of a brat as a kid to enjoy reading.  But it’s a good hobby.  For smart kids” 

“You’re saying you weren’t a smart kid?” He asks.  (y/n) chuckles, shaking her head.

“Absolutely not,” She admits.  “I was a troublemaker.  I get the feeling you wouldn’t have liked me if you’d known me back then,” She tells him.

Young Megumi’s eyes are wide.  He’s shocked to hear someone say such a thing.  He’d never thought an adult would admit something so silly.  Usually adults always acted like they were perfect, and they knew best.  

He supposed he already knew (y/n) was different.  She wasn’t like other adults, probably because she wasn’t quite yet a real adult herself.

“Not that I assume you like me now,” She continues, only half teasing.  “But I think you would, if you got to know me better,” 

Megumi drops his head, staring down at the pages of his book.  He picks at the edge of it’s worn spine.

(y/n) tilts her head to the side, watching him thoughtfully for a moment, giving him a minute to take in everything she’d said before she continued.

Megumi and his sister were vastly different, for as close as they were.  Tsumiki was bubbly, chatty, happy to get to know anyone and happy to let anyone get to know her.  Megumi was quite the opposite.  He wasn’t shy, but he was more reserved than any other eight year old (y/n) had met.  He didn’t want to open up, seemingly ever, and he also didn’t show much interest in other people opening up either.

“Megumi, if I ask you something, do you think you could be honest with me?” Her question is carefully worded, hoping that he could see she was trying to present an olive branch.

He looks up at her, thinking for a moment, before nodding his head.

“Are you upset with me for not coming by yesterday?” She asks, tilting her towards her shoulder.

“You don’t owe us anything,” Megumi answers, dropping his eyes to his book again.  “You don’t have to come here.  You don’t know us” He pauses, his fingers tugging roughly at the spine of his book now.

(y/n) steps inside then, crossing the room to kneel down in front of him.  Her hands gently wrapped around his, stopping him from damaging his book further.

Megumi freezes, but he doesn’t push her away, and doesn’t snap out of irritated protest.  (y/n) realizes she’s never touched him before, and she wasn’t sure when the last time someone could have touched him gently, affectionately.  His father surely wasn’t the type, and she didn’t know how long his mother had been out of the picture.

She wraps her hands around his small one more securely, pulling it away from the book.  He’s staring at her hands as though it was his first time seeing them.  When she looks at him, she can see his eyes have a gloss to them.

“That isn’t what I asked,” She reminds him.  “It’s okay if you’re upset with me, you know.  You’re allowed to be” 

He looks at her now, his little eyebrows pinched together as he tries to figure out what he’s supposed to say.

And then he remembers that she asked him to be honest, and he supposes he has no reason not to be.

“I shouldn’t be upset,” He huffs.  “You’re not our family.  And I should have never expected you to stick around anyways.  No one sticks around” 

(y/n) shuffles to sit beside him, with her back pressed to his bed.  She lets go of his hand to take his book away, marking the page before setting it down on the floor in front of them.

“You’re right,” She hums, thoughtfully.  “I’m not your family, and I don’t need you to treat me as such,” She adds.  “But Megumi, I want you to know, that I will always come back,” 

He blinks at her, his eyes filling with more tears.

“I’m not going anywhere.  I’m sticking around whether you want me to or not.  And I need you to believe me when I tell you that,” 

(y/n) feels herself get choked up as well, but she clears her throat and wills her eyes to dry.  This wasn’t about her.

“If only you knew how long I looked for you,” She confesses, placing a hand on his unruly head of hair, ruffling it playfully.  “Once I knew you guys were out there somewhere, on your own, I didn’t stop.  I never rested.  And to be honest, I still don’t.  I probably never will,” 

Megumi sniffled, and wiped his eyes on his arm.  (y/n) dropped her hand from his hair, smiling softly at him.

“You’re important to me,” She tells him.  “Even when you’re being a little shit,” She adds in a teasing voice.

Megumi’s eyes widened at the curse word, in disbelief she would say such a thing to a kid, even if it was true.  She chuckles at his reaction.

“I’m so sorry that I didn’t come yesterday,” She hums.  “I should have been here.  I told you I would be, and I should have.  It’s not okay that I lied to you.  And I will never lie to you again, alright?”

He nods his head in a small action.  A tear slips down his cheek.

“I’m really proud of you for getting all of your schoolwork done,” She says.  “I’m really proud of you for being so grown up, and taking care of yourselves all this time,” She adds.  “You’re a brave kid, Megumi.  Probably the toughest I’ve ever met,” 

More tears pool out of his eyes, dripping off his eyelashes and splashing down his cheeks, staining his shirt.  He’s sniffling as he cries, and he’s given up on trying to wipe away all of his tears.  They’re falling too fast for him to catch them all.

“And I promise I’ll always be here for you,” (y/n) reaches a hand out, cupping his small face and wiping away his tears with the pad of her thumb.  “Always.  Okay? For anything you need.  You understand?” 

“Okay” Megumi’s voice cracks.

His eyes shut tight, and before (y/n) can reach her other hand out to dry his other cheek, he launches forward.  His arms reach around her back, grabbing the back of her shirt as he hugs her tightly, crying into her sweater.

(y/n) looks down at him for a second, taken aback by the sudden action.  But she snaps herself out of her surprise, wrapping her arms around his small frame, and hugging him closely.  She held on as tightly as he held onto her.

He’s shaking slightly.  She rubs his back in smooth, slow circles, resting her chin on the top of his head as she soothes him quietly.  

It’s several minutes before he stops crying, but even still, he remains in her hold for a little longer.  (y/n) doesn’t mind.  She’d sit here with him for the rest of her day if she had to.  She’d do anything to put him at ease.

She’d do anything to build a home for these kids.  It dawns on her now, something Megumi had said about her not being family.  Perhaps they weren’t by blood, but still her heart grew and ached for these kids. They were like family to her.

They spend the rest of the day together relaxing, watching funny movies and eating snacks.  (y/n) makes them a big dinner, with plenty of leftovers for them to heat up throughout the next few days if she can't stop by.  She makes them promise they’ll eat the vegetables even if she’s not around.

That night when she puts them to bed, Megumi crawls into Tsumiki’s bed, happily listening to (y/n) read the next chapter of Charlotte’s Web, even if he’d already read it countless times.  He falls asleep in Tsumiki’s bed.

(y/n) brushes their hair from their foreheads so it wouldn’t tickle them in their sleep.  She leaves the room silently.  When she gets outside, she says the incantation to lower the protective curtain.

Her walk home feels more quiet than usual.  Her thoughts aren’t buzzing with paranoia of getting back so late, or worry that she was overstepping in the Fushiguro’s lives.

She felt content.  Calm. All she could hope was that her kids had a good night’s sleep, and that the next time she saw them they had nothing but good things to share with her. ___

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xoxo - jordie