Chapter Text
Eventually, the week ended and the kids went home to their own houses for the weekend. Satoru and Suguru were forced to stay late for a meeting with the teachers going over how the week had gone, so by the time they finally made it to the apartment Yagi had arranged for them to rent after grabbing dinner from a convenience store, they were too tired to look around.
The streak continued in the morning when they were too busy rushing out of the house to pick up Mimiko and Nanako from the train station, but they didn’t mind.
They’d prefer the first time they looked around the place that would be their home for however long the mission took to be with their kids anyway.
The air was bitingly cold as they stood outside the train station nearest the Fushiguro residence. That was where they usually picked up Nanako and Mimiko on their weekends together, and because the Fushiguro’s lived relatively in the middle between the twins house and Mustafastu, they had decided to just keep it the same and Satoru would then teleport all 6 of them to the apartment.
Satoru shivered, pulling his coat around him tighter as he scowled at the early morning wind. He hated the cold. Always had.
Infinity could do a lot of things, but temperature regulation was not one of them, which resulted in him being bundled up in a way Suguru would call unnecessary but secretly find adorable.
In contrast, Suguru had always loved the cold, loved how clean and brisk the air tasted, how refreshing the wind felt. It made him feel more alive, more present than the stuffy heaviness of summer's heat.
Two shapes ran out of the train almost as soon as the doors opened, barreling headlong into Suguru’s arms, who didn’t hesitate to scoop them up and spin them around, grinning.
“Papa!”
Satoru laughed, their excitement infectious despite still being uncomfortable from the cold as he walked over and picked up the suitcases they had discarded in their haste to get to Suguru.
“What? No greeting for me?” He teased, setting the suitcases down near his feet where they were less likely to get lost and Nanako giggled, leaning back so her weight was on Satoru even as she continued to hold onto Suguru’s shoulders.
“Hi dada.”
“Maybe they just like me more, Satoru. Have you considered that?” Suguru asks, smile obvious in his voice.
“Impossible!” Satoru gasped dramatically, “Don’t they know I’m perfect!?”
Suguru hummed, “Don’t worry. I like you more~.” He leaned over the girls to kiss Satoru, which the other reciprocated immediately, the two ignoring Nanako’s exaggerated gagging and Mimiko’s wrinkled nose as the twins attempt to push them apart from where they’re squished between them.
Satoru’s lips were as soft as they always were, tasting faintly of strawberry from his lip balm, sweet and familiar and annoyingly addicting.
Because they were supposed to be acting all professional at UA, Satoru had not been able to kiss Suguru nearly as much as he wanted to the whole week, and he was really feeling the withdrawals.
“Gross!” Nanako exclaimed as Suguru finally broke the kiss and Satoru glared down at her playfully.
“Am I not allowed to show your wonderful papa how much I love him?” He questioned, pulling her out of Suguru’s arms to spin her around, causing the six year old to shriek with laughter as he tickled her sides.
Mimiko watched the interaction with shy amusement, always the quieter one compared to her sister, but Suguru could still see how happy and content she was in the gleam of her eye and the looseness of her shoulder.
And he’s so justifiably happy to see how comfortable she was around them.
The twins have come a long way from the anxious, paranoid girls they rescued from that village and Suguru could not be prouder of his daughters.
“How was your week?” Suguru asked her, setting her down so she could grab onto his hand with the one not currently holding her doll.
“It was good. We’re learning about ocean animals right now, and how they affect the ecosystem. So everyone’s doing their own project on an different animal and then we’ll present to teach the class-”
“Did you know that because jellyfish are mostly water, they can evaporate when they wash onshore?! Just poof! No more jellyfish.” Nanako exclaimed, having been set down by Satoru, who now took up the back of the group as they began to walk out of the station, carrying the twins overnight bags.
Nanako scrambled over to walk in front, walking backwards to face her sister and Suguru as she joined the conversation.
Suguru raised his eyebrows, “I did not. Is that the animal you’re studying?”
“Yep!” She nodded, “Did you know that jellyfish also don’t have a brain telling them what to do? They’re controlled entirely by their nerves.”
Suguru hummed, “I think Satoru could relate to that.”
Satoru spluttered from behind him, “What’s that supposed to mean!?”
“I think he’s calling you brainless, dada.” Mimiko piped up helpfully.
“Thank you.” Satoru clicked his tongue, shaking his head at Suguru after thanking Mimiko, who looked proud to have helped, “See what I have to put up with on a regular basis? Bullying from my own partner!” He appealed to the twins dramatically, Mimiko patting his hand commiseratingly while Nanako only giggled.
Suguru turned to the dark haired twin, “So, what animal are you researching for this project?”
“Anglerfish.”
Suguru blinked, “The deep sea fish… right?”
Mimiko nodded, “They are carnivorous and lure other fishes they can eat with their bioluminescent lure.” Mimiko explained matter-a-factly before her voice dropped ominously, “Can you imagine how spooky that’d be? It’s completely quiet and you’re in pitch darkness, when suddenly you look over and there’s just this glowing light shining at you. Creepy.” She giggles like the idea is not creepy at all but rather highly entertaining.
Suguru hums, side-eyeing Satoru, “I can actually imagine that rather well.” He cannot count the number of times he’d been jump-scared by Satoru’s glowing eyes in the dark, or the number of times he’d been blinded as he woke up because Satoru was staring at him. It could be rather annoying, though they did double as a helpful flashlight when necessary.
Satoru catches him staring despite his squabbling with Nanako and winks shamelessly, “Like what you see?”
Suguru rolls his eyes, holding back a smile, “When it’s you? Never.”
“Yeah? Didn’t seem that way last night.” He leans closer, eyes running down Suguru’s chest before sliding back to his face, “You really seemed to enjoy that view~.”
They always seemed to end up like this, no matter where they were or who was around, orbiting each other like they were the only two people in the world.
“No! Stop flirting!” Nanako complained, trying to tug them apart, “Do it later, we need to get to Miki’s house!”
“Alright, alright.” Suguru laughed, leaning in to quickly kiss Satoru’s nose just to watch him pout adorably before allowing himself to be pulled along down the street, “We’re going.”
The Fushiguros lived in a small apartment in a little brick apartment complex, shabby and a little run down, but stable. The kind of place that has cheap rent and running water, but not much else going for it.
Satoru had offered a million times over to get them somewhere nicer even if they didn’t want to live with him and Suguru, but Tsumiki, sweet Tsumiki who couldn’t accept that much help even if they were begging her to let them help, had never allowed it.
It was an ongoing battle.
“Where’s my favorite grumpy child?” Satoru cheered as he stepped through the door into the Fushiguros’ apartment, setting down the twins’ bags to grab later, and walking over to ruffle the hair of an, in fact, very grumpy looking Megumi, curled up on a chair with a Beginners Guide to Japanese Folklore balanced on his knees that Suguru had gotten him last year.
“Gojo-sama! Geto-sama!” Tsumiki greeted, looking up from where she was packing two suitcases on the living room floor.
“Miki!” The twins yelled, running over and throwing themselves into her arms, the older girl laughing but allowing them to topple her over as she hugged them back.
“Hello, Tsumiki.” Suguru greeted, heart warm as he watched them. He loved seeing how much his kids loved each other, seeing how far they’d come from being hesitant and wary of the other group of siblings to accepting each other as family, “Remember, you can just call us Suguru and Satoru.”
The twins had taken quickly to referring to them as ‘papa’ and ‘dada’, which Suguru almost still couldn’t believe, every time they called him that filling him with so much joy and a desire to be deserving of it, but Tsumiki and Megumi usually stuck to their names.
Suguru didn’t mind. He understood the Fushiguros already had parents they knew and were raised by, even if for only a couple years, and not matter how much Megumi might hate his parents and Tsumiki feel sad and abandoned by them, that relationship still meant something and neither Suguru or Satoru had any intention of trying to replace that.
Besides, it’s not like Tsumiki or Megumi never referred to them as ‘dad’. It was rare, but when they were tired and out of it, it had a tendency to slip out. Suguru treasured those moments, proof of how much his children have accepted him into their lives.
“Ah, Megumi.” Tsumiki manages to wiggle out from under the twins and turns towards her brother, “Why don’t you go grab the project you made in school to show them?”
Megumi’s shoulders hunch, quickly shaking his head no.
“Please?”
Megumi’s resistance shatters in the face of his sister's plead, grumbling as he retrieves a piece of paper from his room, shoving it into Satoru’s hands unceremoniously.
Satoru looks down at it and Suguru can see the way he visibly melts, eyes softening into something terribly fond and overjoyed. Suguru pads over to peer over his shoulder, feeling the same emotion well up in his throat.
There, penned in colorful ink, each line precise in Megumi’s careful way, even if they’re not exactly neat as he is still a five year old and his motor control isn’t the best, was a family portrait. There was Satoru, with glasses over his eyes and a smile so big it was almost falling off his stick figure face, Suguru next to him with his bangs emphasized by a dark line, holding on the hands of little stick figure Nanako and Mimiko, a yellow and brown bob of hair framing their heads. Megumi and Tsumiki were on the other side holding onto Satoru’s hand, and even in his own artwork Megumi had drawn himself scowling in contrast to the rest of their grins.
Each person was carefully labeled in Megumi’s blocky handwriting, and a header over the top announced the drawing as ‘My Family’.
It was the most beautiful piece of art Suguru had ever seen.
“Did you make this?” Satoru asked, voice shaky as if he was holding back tears, and Suguru was sure that if his glasses were off everyone would be able to see that he was.
Megumi nodded, “It was a school project. We had to draw our family so I made that. Don’t make a big deal out of it.” He was refusing to make eye contact.
“Aww, Megumi, I love it.” Satoru coos, passing the paper to Suguru and walking over to engulf Megumi in a hug.
“Ahh! Getoffme!” Megumi screeches, kicking and squirming as he attempts to get out of the hug before allowing himself to be held, but Suguru can see how the tips of his ears are faintly red, betraying how he doesn’t really mind as much as he pretends.
“I want to see!” Mimiko insists, tugging on Suguru’s arm until he holds the paper down so she and Nanako could look at it, Suguru looking over at Megumi as he does so.
“Can I keep it?”
Megumi blushes, but nods, grumbling but secretly pleased by the reaction.
Jesus, what a dramatic moody kid. Suguru fears the day he becomes a teenager more than he fears death itself.
“Megumi,” Tsumiki calls, having gone back to looking through the suitcase, “Did you remember to pack your toothbrush?”
“Yeah.” Megumi responds, still smushed against Satoru, “I put it in there.”
Tsumiki holds up a toothbrush she had fished out of the suitcase, blinking between it and the suitcase confused, “...then did I forget?”
“Do you want some help, Tsumiki?” Suguru offers, kneeling down beside the 7 year old, tucking the drawing away for safekeeping as it was currently his most valuable possession. She smiles at him sheepishly and nods.
Eventually they manage to get everything packed the way it should be, including both sets of toothbrushes, and everyone gathers in the living room with the bags, clinging onto Satoru as he warps them to the apartment in Mustafastu.
It’s pretty small, with a rectangular living room and two windows framing the TV on the west wall. On the right wall, an archway leads into the dining room/kitchen, an east facing window on one wall to bathe the small dining table in the morning sun and dark wooden cabinets that match the table. The appliances are nice, but not high-end, and though the kitchen has potential to become a cozy gathering place, it is currently quite bare.
A doorway on the back wall of the living room leads to three bedrooms, with a bathroom on the far end that mirrors the position of the master bedrooms en suite, and a tiny little laundry room next to it.
The walls are grey, pale and blank, and the sparse furnishings are similarly depressing, a low grey couch and a handful of wooden shelves and side tables.
“It’s… nice.” Tsumiki comments, looking around.
Nanako winkles her nose, glaring at the apartment like it’s offending her, “It’s boring.”
Suguru laughs, “No need to be polite Tsumiki. Nanako’s right, it is boring.”
“But we’re going to fix that.” Satoru proclaims with a flourish.
Mimiko cocks her head to the side, “What do you mean?”
“Well,” Suguru begins, gesturing for the kids to begin exploring rather than standing awkwardly in a huddle, “Satoru and I were thinking that today we all could go out and get some decorations and furniture to put in here to liven it up a little.”
Nanako’s head whips around to face him, eyes sparkling, “You mean like shopping?”
“Exactly,” Satoru laughs, “Really make the space our own.”
It might seem like overkill to go out and actually buy furniture when they didn’t even know how long they’d be living here, but it would be nice to have some stuff to fill their own little house once they graduate, so it’s not like it’d go to waste.
Besides, what was the point of having as much money as he did if not to spoil his family rotten with whatever they could possibly want?
Nanako squeals, grabbing onto her twin's arm as she begins chattering a mile-a-minute about all her ideas. Suguru is pretty sure he catches the words ‘bright pink’ and ‘slide’ somewhere in there and wonders if they should have added some specifications as to realism.
One look at Satoru’s beaming face and he dismisses the idea. If the twins really want a pink slide, he has no doubt Satoru will get them a pink slide, realism be damned.
“Why don’t you go claim a room and settle in a bit first, then we can discuss house plans.” Suguru suggests, shooing them towards the hallway.
“Dibs on the bigger room!” Nanako shouts, darting towards the bedrooms and pulling her sister behind her.
“Hold on!” Tsumiki calls after her and then she and Megumi are gone as well and Suguru can hear the faint sounds of squabbling from the direction they’d gone in.
“We’ll have to intervene if they’re getting too upset.” Suguru warns as he feels slender arms wrapping around his waist from behind and pulling him towards Satoru’s chest.
“They’ll figure it out.” Satoru dismisses, pressing featherlight kisses into the back of his neck.
Suguru shivers, relaxing in his hold and letting his head fall back, eyes slipping shut, “We have spent all week with energetic hero students and they still are somehow more exhausting.” He bemoans.
Satoru hums against him. “You missed them.” He accuses, laughter in his voice.
“Yeah,” Suguru sighs, gazing in the direction of the hallway with a fond smile on his lips, “Course I did.”
“So, where do we want to go first?” Suguru asks, looking around at the Musafastu Mall.
The kids, who had been so enthusiastic a moment ago, now look around the crowds of people filling the building anxiously. But a reassuring smile from Suguru soothes Mimiko enough to speak up.
“You said we could get a new couch? Can we do that?” She suggests, and Suguru nods.
“Of course.” He ruffles her hair proudly and Mimiko’s eyes light up with a subtle but present joy. He leads the way towards the first furniture store he had seen when they came in, weaving through the crowd with Megumi and Mimiko’s hands held in his, Nanako holding onto her sister's other side.
Satoru is about to follow them when he notices Tsumiki hesitating, hands clutching at the hem of her shirt. He gestures for Suguru to go on, the dark haired sorcerer pulling their other kids along as Satoru kneels in front of Tsumiki.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asks, voice soft, and Tsumiki looks up at him, hands still twisting the fabric of her shirt.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t give me that. You’re making your ‘I’m worried about something but don’t want to bother anyone’ face.” He teases lightly, voice still quiet and gentle, so different from his usual persona.
“I don’t have that.” Tsumiki pouts defensively.
“Yeah, you do.” Satoru smiles, tilting his head to the side slightly, “You furrow your eyebrows and gnaw on your lip like that.”
Tsumiki releases her lip from where she had been biting it with her teeth, blushing as she looks down again.
Satoru leans down further, forcing her to look at him again, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but if you do I promise I’ll try to help. Contrary to popular belief, I am just as good at solving problems as I am at making them.”
Tsumiki giggles, mood lifting, just as Satoru hopes it would, before becoming serious again.
“Is it really okay to do this?” Tsumiki asks tentatively, Satoru waiting patiently for her to finish, “Letting us go out and pick out furniture and everything? It just seems like a lot of money and…”
“You’re worried you're taking advantage of us?” Satoru guesses and Tsumiki nods, looking so guilty it hurts.
This is not a new fear of Tsumiki’s and it’s one they’ve discussed many times before, and will probably discuss many times in the future. But Satoru will repeat himself without complaint over and over again until it finally sinks in for her that nothing she could do would ever take advantage of him, not when everything he could offer was willingly hers for the taking.
“Tsumiki,” Satoru reaches out to grab her hands, squeezing them reassuringly, “You could never be a burden to us, you could never take advantage of us, you could never be anything less than deserving of absolutely everything we want to give you. We do things like this because we want to spoil you as much as you are comfortable letting us and nothing will ever change that, okay?”
Tsumiki blinks, looking like she was trying to hold back tears as she nods, but still looked hesitant.
Satoru sighs, reaching out to wipe at her wet eyes with his thumb, “For now, think about it this way. Even if you aren’t willing to pick out all the best furniture for yourself, can you do it for me? Make sure I have a house fitting for the incredible coolness that I am?”
Tsumiki giggles again, smiling for the first time during the conversation and Satoru beams. She nods, a determined look now shining in her eyes, “I can do that.”
“Good.” Satoru stands up and dusts himself off, offering a hand for Tsumiki to grab, “Now let’s go find your siblings.”
Together the family picks out a new couch, soft and plush and made of a lovely dark blue fabric, as well as a matching armchair to go with it. Nanako insists on getting a giant beanbag as well and Megumi finds a nice shag carpet that feels like walking on a cloud.
Mimiko finds a wall mirror with colorful lights built into the frame for the hallway and Tsumiki picks out a collection of tasteful wooden bookshelves and a coffee table that matches the ones already in the apartment, surveying everything with the critical of eye of someone who’s been handed a mission, only for her aesthetic to be ruined when Nanako finds set of hideous ceiling lights that look like jellyfish.
They picked out yellow curtains for the kitchen windows and blue for the living room and a small army of cushions and pillows to cover every seat in the house, all mismatched and clashing horribly as everyone picked out the ones they liked the best.
Satoru finds a wooden coat rack shaped vaguely like a person and promptly wraps a blindfold around its head and declares it ‘Gojo jr’ and Suguru bemoans and complains only to immediately prove himself worse when he finds and even uglier side table shaped like an elephant and declares that he will die if they do not take it home.
The kids pick out new bedspreads for themselves, blood red with carnations on it for Nanako, and black with a bat design for Mimiko. Tsumiki picked out a tasteful light blue with pale pink flowers on it and Megumi found a dark blue bedspread with little white pawprint details, trying to subtly slip it into the cart like no one will notice his deviation from his usual ‘I don’t like anything’ attitude.
(They all notice, but Suguru is kind enough not to comment on it.)
In the end, Suguru looks down at the eclectic mix of styles filling the cart and knows that this apartment is going to be a mess.
He already loves it so much.
They move onto the next store, picking out decorations and extra details for the children’s rooms. The twins ran off, dragging Megumi behind them, in the direction of the dolls. Apparently, there was this special edition one they really wanted.
“This is stupid.” Megumi groans, dragging his feet as he trails behind them, the three of them weaving through the maze of shelves in the right direction.
“Come on, Gumi! Don’t you like hanging out with us?” Nanako teases, slinging an arm around his shoulders and poking a finger into his cheek.
“No.”
The twins pout at him in unison, Nanako’s more exaggerated but not less effective.
“Fine.” He huffs, looking away and avoiding eye contact, “I like it a little.”
They round the corner, finally seeing the shelf with the boxes of the limited-edition doll. Sadly, a group of kids is already standing there, completely blocking the shelf from being reached. They seem a couple years older, talking to each other in loud voices.
Both Mimiko and Nanako freeze, hesitating at the entrance to the isle. They’ve gotten a lot better at being around other people, at interacting and talking to them when necessary, but the fear never really went away.
That flash of terror that they will be hated and hurt and locked away in a cage that comes with every stranger.
School is fine, they know those kids now and can enjoy themselves, and being out with either their foster parents or Satoru and Suguru is good as well, it’s reassuring to have that person they can rely on there, but they still have a tendency to avoid interaction when they can.
“Come on.” Megumi nudges them forward, not understanding the sudden hesitation, “That’s what you wanted right there, isn’t it?”
The girls share a glance before nodding silently and beginning to walk forward. They could handle this.
The group of kids notices them approaching, a girl with pink skin and hair that looks like bubbles attached to her head leaning towards the rest of her friends and murmuring something that makes them all snicker.
Nanako and Mimiko’s approach slows, shoulders hunching. That would happen all the time back in the village (at least, before the cage). All the kids would start snickering and laughing as soon as they walked by, shunning them for something that wasn’t even their fault. Sometimes, when they were feeling especially mean, they would even go and shove them to the ground.
And logically, they understand that's not going to happen here. They aren't in the village anymore and even if these kids did try to hurt them Satoru and Suguru would never let anything happen to them.
But that doesn't take away the fear, dripping down their spines like lead, creeping up around their throat and suffocating them until it's hard to breathe.
“Who even likes these dolls, anyway?” Another of the group announces, grinning cruelly, “They’re so childish. Embarrassing, really.”
Megumi glares strongly enough to make the group flinch back, stalking forward towards them.
He is five years old and full of enough rage to power a factory, and these kids are making fun of his sisters.
He pushes past them to grab one of the boxes with the doll off the shelf, shooting the group the most disdainful look he can muster, “What’s embarrassing is your inability to even mock someone creatively. Shame your heads seem to be as empty as your hearts.” He’d heard Suguru say that once, raging at the characters in the TV show he was watching, and it had seemed cool so he had remembered it.
He turns around and marches back towards the twins, shoving the box into their hands and walking out the aisle as they rush to catch up. Only once they were sufficiently out of earshot did a grin spread over Nanako’s face, touched by Megumi’s defense of them even if she didn’t know how to express it, “I thought you said it was stupid.”
Megumi blushes, the tips of his ears turning red, “Shut up.” He mutters, walking faster.
“Thank you.” Mimiko murmurs, clutching the box holding the doll close to her chest and Megumi relaxes slightly, looking over to check that she isn’t making fun of him.
“...whatever.”
They make it back to Suguru, who immediately ascertains that something happened with his ‘papa sense’ or whatever. At least, Megumi assumes that’s what it is, that or he’s just a mind reader.
“What happened?” He asks worriedly, scanning over each of them for signs of injury or trouble.
“Nothing. We’re fine now.” Mimiko assures, Nanako nodding along as she pulls Megumi into a half hug and squeezes as if to confirm the story.
Megumi allows it. Such is the curse of being the baby of the family, doomed to be picked up and squeezed and cuddled by the others.
On the other side of the store, Satoru and Tsumiki had been sent to pick out napkins and towels for the apartment. Instead, they get sidetracked.
“Tsumiki!” Satoru gasps like he has just found the most incredible thing, pulling her over to show her the display area set up like a little tea party, with lacy tablecloths and fake pastries on platters to entice people into buying tea sets.
“Oh.” Tsumiki breaths in wonder, walking over to run her fingers along the delicate porcelain reverently. She used to have a tea set, a little toy one her mother got her back when she and her father were still around, before they left and she was forced to sell it, unable to afford luxuries such as toys in that little couple month gap before Satoru and Suguru found them and started supporting them.
She could afford such a luxury now.
She’s pulled out of her musing by Satoru, who had sat himself down and was now holding a teacup, balancing it between his thumb and forefinger with his pinky up. “Ah, Lady Miki. It is lovely for you to have invited me this afternoon.” He begins dramatically with some unidentifiable but nevertheless posh accent.
Tsumiki giggles, taking the seat across from him and grabbing a cup of her own, pretending to take a dainty sip and miming dabbing at the corners of her lips with a napkin, “But of course, Sir Gojo. I admit I was a little worried when I heard the king called you in personally for a meeting.”
Satoru dismisses her with a wave of his hand, “No need. I am not considered the finest for nothing.” He takes another fake sip of tea before leaning forward conspiratorially, “But it was curious…”
Tsumiki stifles her giggles, also leaning forward, “Do tell.”
“He was asking as to the state of things on the eastmost frontier. In fact, he insisted more forces should be gathered there. For the life of me, I cannot fathom why.”
Tsumiki recognizes her cue, dropping her voice low like she is sharing the most interesting gossip, “Well, surely you’ve heard the rumors…”
Satoru’s lips quirk up like he’s holding back a laugh before his expression schools once more, matching her dramatic tone with ease, “I can’t say I have.”
“Supposedly, the queen of the neighboring kingdom has fallen gravely ill, and all of her troops have returned to the castle to defend her. I imagine he plans to use the opportunity to seize more land.”
Satoru gasps, dramatically placing a hand to his chest like an old Victorian lady, “That war-mongering brute!”
Tsumiki nods sagely, trying to force down her giggles, “If he’s taking such drastic action, we might have to move the plan up sooner.” She shoots Satoru a pointed look.
He laughs, delighted by this turn in the story, before managing to pull himself back into character, eyes still sparkling with amusement, “It’s way too early. We haven’t prepared nearly enough. Are you sure we’re ready?”
“We’ll have to be.” Tsumiki sets down her teacup, “We cannot let this kingdom fall to war.”
Satoru nods, “I’ll inform our people. The king will be dead by nightfall.”
“Only you two could turn your pretend tea party into a political coup.” They hear a voice sigh, and Tsumiki looks over to see Suguru leaning casually against a nearby shelf, a fond but exasperated smile on his face, “I take it you didn’t get the napkins?”
“Completely forgot about them, even.” Satoru grinned back cheekily and, despite himself, Suguru laughed.
“I expected that. The twins and Megumi are grabbing some right now.”
Satoru gasps, “Are you saying I have a penchant for getting distracted? I can’t believe you would trust me so little.”
Suguru only raises an eyebrow at him and Satoru rolls his eyes, sliding off his chair and standing up with a shrug, “Yeah, that’s fair.”
Tsumiki laughs, following him as she stands up and walks over to join them. Satoru reaches over and ruffles her hair as she gets close, “You were good at that.”
Tsumiki blushes at the compliment, ducking her head, “It was fun.”
“Is there an acting class or anything at your school?” Suguru asks, “I think you might enjoy it.” Satoru nods from beside him, giving her a lopsided grin.
“Yeah!”
Tsumiki blinks, looking between the two of them before a small smile forms on her face, “I’ll… consider that.”
“Good.” Suguru smiles as the three of them begin walking in the direction of where the napkins are kept to meet up with the rest of their family, pushing their giant cart in front of them, “Now, the twins are getting a little hungry, so we were thinking of stopping for lunch soon. Is there anywhere you’d prefer?”
Tsumiki hums slowly, “Not really. I’m happy with wherever everyone else wants to go.”
Suguru laughs, “That’s exactly what Megumi said you’d say.”
Tsumiki smiles, a little sheepish but mostly just happy, the same happiness that had pervaded her life for a while now, the happiness that came from knowing she didn’t have to be alone anymore.
She doesn’t notice Satoru slipping a tea set into the cart. He knows she’d never pick one up for herself, but also saw how much she wanted one.
And this was something he could do for her.
They pay for their stuff, Satoru paying extra to get it all delivered to the apartment, because really, it was barely a drop compared to the Gojo funds, and all 6 wind up in a little cafe to get lunch.
“So… how was your week?” Tsumiki asks Satoru and Suguru as they’re all waiting for their food, “You’re working on a mission, right?”
Suguru nods from where he’s sitting across the table, leaning against Satoru’s side, the white haired man's arm wrapped loosely around his chest, “Yeah, but it’s barely a mission. Right now we're basically just working at a hero school.”
Satoru snickers as all of their kids grimace in unison at the word ‘hero’, “They’re not that bad. Sure, they’re annoying little shits so drenched in hero worship it’s blinding, but they’re good kids.”
“So… you like teaching them?” Nanako asks, cocking her head in confusion.
“Absolutely not. I hate babysitting.” Satoru grins teasingly, reaching over to ruffle her hair as Nanako shrieks and tries to swat his hand away.
“Can we meet them?” Mimiko asks, voice soft but interested, and it’s so rare for her to ask to meet people, but Satoru vouched for them and she trusts him.
Suguru considers that, picturing Tsumiki and Momo talking together the only spot of peace in a minefield of nonsense, Megumi and Todoroki just staring at each other in peaceful silence, Dark Shadow playing with the Divine Dogs, the twins causing chaos with Mina, Tsu and Mimiko bonding over being the only ones with some common sense, Uraraka and Sero teaching Nanako how to scam people-
“No.” He says quickly, “Definitely not.”
For the sake of his sanity, that must never happen.
Nanako pouts at him, “You’re no fun.”
“Excuse you?” Suguru laughs, “I’m plenty of fun.”
“Mhm.” Satoru hums, head on his shoulder and face half buried in the crook of his neck, “Can confirm~”
Suguru laughs softly, twisting to face him, “What exactly do you mean by that?”
Satoru’s eyes trail down to his lips before flicking back up to his face cheekily, “Want to find out?”
Suguru chuckles indulgently, leaning forward in response to Satoru’s challenge and brushing their noses together with a gentle smile only to pull back a moment later, winking as Satoru whines like a wounded animal.
They finish their lunch and head back to the apartment, spending the rest of the day unpacking and decorating the apartment.
And it was messy and chaotic and loud and Suguru loved every moment of it, every single second of proof that they were building their own little lives together in spite of everything jujutsu society demanded they be.
He loved it even as Megumi and Nanako argued the ideal placement for the single houseplant they had gotten in terms of sun maximization, and he got bullied for suggesting the corner near the window because ‘obviously that’s a terrible option’.
He loved it as Satoru started dropping the most awful puns he could think of just to watch Mimiko groan every single time.
He loved it as Tsumiki listened patiently to Mimiko explaining everything she had learned about angler fish as they folded the new towels and he loved it as the twins found Megumi’s dog themed decorations and teased him mercilessly for being sappy.
He loved it as Satoru cooked dinner in the kitchen, humming a silly little song under his breath as he did so, the kids out in the living room arguing over who gets control of the remote until Suguru threatens to put on a history documentary and they come to a consensus real quick just to avoid it.
And he loves it most of all in the evening, curled up against Satoru in their bed, knowing the kids are sleeping in the rooms right next door, safe and happy and warm. Their breaths mingle together as they exchange slow, gentle kisses, legs tangled together under the covers and murmuring to each other in soft voices about the day, about things they could do with the kids in the future, about everything that comes to mind and at the same time nothing really at all.
Because they have all the time in the world together.
On Monday, when they return to the school, there will be a new drawing hanging on the wall of their dorm room, crafted in crayon and love, and treasured for it.