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It's a well known fact throughout the hospital. Dr. Ryomen, alternatively titled Tall-Dark-and-Brooding amongst younger nurses, is married. He is also very scary, rarely smiles, a don't-take-shit kind of person. But he does his job excellently, and looks hot while doing it, and also he occasionally buys donuts for people. So everyone likes him enough.
Only God knows who he’s married to, though. Dr. Ryomen has been working in the hospital as a cardiologist for about two and a half years now, and the only indication of his mysterious partner is the wedding band on his left ring finger. He shows up to parties and get togethers alone, and never talks about anything outside his working life.
Some of the younger nurses, the same ones who’s labelled him TDnB, suspects that he isn’t actually married, that he’s wearing the ring for show. As a result, in the first year Dr. Sukuna was working at the hospital, many girls tried to throw themselves at him. It ended mostly badly. They stopped trying.
A year after Dr. Ryomen joins and after tales about his muscular biceps die down, new gossip arises. A block away from the cardiovascular clinic, in the ER, there’s word of a new pretty nurse. Fushiguro Megumi is the name that flits through various break rooms and hallways. He’s young but serious, gentle and awfully efficient, taking care of patients and assisting surgeons in the ER. not only that, but he’s also beautifully tall, with inky black hair, gorgeous facial structure, and apparently, the hands of a god.
He’s every nurse's dream and rumours have it that he’s single. No wedding rings on his fingers or girlfriends waiting in the lobby. The nurses who missed their shot with Dr. Ryomen will seek out a chance with nurse Fushiguro instead, and find that they’re actually facing an equally tough wall. Fushiguro, however sweet with patients and his older nursing seniors, is also sometimes curt and blunt. But at least he is able to hold up a conversation easier than dr. Ryomen, so that’s a win.
The two pretty faces of the Tokyo General Hospital. There is not one who wouldn’t kill for a chance with them.
--
“Happy Valentine's Day, Megumi. You're the light of my life, the moon to my stars, and the sun to my sky. Bless me forever, with your sweet hands, gentle smile, and huge tits- no wait- no no-, your big dick-”
“That’s enough, you fraud.”
Sukuna looks up from his phone where he had been reciting valentine’s messages found from the internet with a deadpan voice and tilts his head, shit-eating grin crawling up onto his face. “You didn't like it, my beautiful round moon to my stars?”
Megumi glares at him in the reflection of the mirror, his hands fiddling with his scrubs, “despised it. You can shut up now.”
“Hey, is that any way to treat your valentine?” Sukuna gets up from where he’s sitting on the bed and saunters over to wrap his arms around Megumi's waist.
“Who said anything about you being my valentine?” Megumi snaps back, but despite himself, he leans back into the embrace.
“I'm your husband. Obviously I'm your valentine.”
“That’s my misfortune.”
“Oi.”
Megumi sticks his tongue out childishly and is met with a bruising kiss, Sukuna sucking his tongue into his mouth, biting it and then fucking his own tongue into Megumi’s parted lips. They part with a gasp, leaning their foreheads against each other.
7am on valentine’s day, and Megumi already doesn’t want to go to work. He wants to stay home, make his husband stay home too, so that they could finally spend some well needed time together again. Sukuna as a doctor and a surgeon results in him having absolutely horrendous schedules. Megumi, as a part-time ER nurse, isn’t any better. And as if the world wasn't done playing with them, all their off-days are misaligned. They rarely see each other.
They make do, however, push each other forward with fleeting glances across the cafeteria, when they just so happen to be there at the same time. Sometimes Megumi will send coffee up to Sukuna’s clinic, and in return, Sukuna will drop by to treat the nurses of Ward 62 or the ER team to donuts, but he purposely buys them all in Megumi’s favourite flavour. They text, of course, checking up on each other, sending random texts of pictures throughout the day, or just plain ranting ( its raining. (I told you to bring an umbrella, s.) fuck you gumi i do what i want. (okay) pick me up i miss u (comin in 10) ily ).
For the sake of keeping personal stuff and work separate, they do not make their relationship known. There’s no need to either, and they both don’t like people prying into their lives anyways. The only thing the hospital staff may know is that Megumi and Sukuna were from the same college, that's it.
But it's hard, when they see each other so little.
Sukuna presses one more closed-mouth kiss to Megumi's mouth and Megumi makes a happy noise somewhere in his throat. He rubs his nose against sukuna’s, noting with amusement when the other scrunches his face.
“It's valentine's day. Do you think the hospital did anything?” Megumi asks quietly into the space between them.
“They gave roses to all the patients last year. Maybe they’ll do that again this year,” Sukuna says, thoughtful.
“That’s nice.”
“It was. What time do you get off?”
“Supposedly 6. But I can't guarantee that.”
Sukuna sighs heavily and moves to tuck his face into Megumi’s shoulder and Megumi instinctively brings up a hand to run through Sukuna’s locks. “I have an appointment at 8.30pm. I have no idea when I'll be done.”
Megumi ignores the slight disappointment that weighs in his chest. As much as they want to, the world doesn’t stop moving for them, even if it is valentine’s day. “That's alright,” he says, “I'll wait for you at home. We can celebrate then.”
“...Okay.”
With one last soft kiss, they part unwillingly to grab their things and get ready for the day.
They have to walk past Megumi's assigned wards in order to get to Sukuna’s clinic. Usually they part in the lobby for Sukuna needs to rush off to prepare for early morning appointments. But a small joy of today is that Sukuna’s first appointment isn’t until 10am. So Megumi gratefully accepts his offer to walk Megumi up to his ward, holding his hand the whole time in the lift.
They release each other as soon as they step out of the lift and round the corner to the staff room where it’s… oddly noisy, much to Megumi’s confusion. Megumi is one of the few nurses who arrive early, there’s rarely this many people who make it earlier than him.
Megumi pushes open the door curiously, Sukuna still at his shoulder and finds the whole team of nurses from Wards 61 to 64, the doctors and nurses of Sukuna’s cardiovascular clinic, as well as the psychologists from the opposite building. The room is swollen with people.
The group of psychologists nearest to the door turns their head as Megumi enters, drawing the attention of the rest of the room, and they all cheer as they see Megumi and Sukuna standing there.
“Ah! Our princes are here! And they came together!”
“Visual overload!”
“Good morning, Ryomen-san, Fushiguro-san. You guys are just in time,” the head nurse, a kind, middle-aged lady called Maria said.
Megumi, who was frozen, unfreezes with a warm hand on the small of his back pushing him forward as sukuna closes the door with his other hand.
“...good morning? What are we… in time for?”
Sukuna drops his hand and comes to stand next to Megumi, a carefully measured distance between them. His nods in greeting but the confusion in his eyes mirrors Megumi's.
“This year’s valentine’s activity!” a nurse from Megumi’s team, Miwa, squealed.
Megumi hears Sukuna make a small huff beside him and he blinks. “What is the activity? Exactly?” he asks.
“Spin the bottle!”
“Excuse me?”
“It is not Spin the bottle, Miwa.” Maria chides but she shoots them a quick smile and turns back to the room. “Alright, now that everyone is here, let's begin. This year, for valentine’s day, the staff of Tokyo General Hospital will play a lovely game of ‘Mix and Match’.”
A round of cheers go around the room and Maria graciously waits for them to die down before continuing, “through a game of spin the bottle, each staff member will be paired up with another person, and as a pair, the two must carry out their daily activities according to the theme given to them. For example, if the theme of your pair is ‘Married Couple’, you must go through your day with your partner acting like a married couple.”
The room breaks into chatter. Megumi is surprised. He had not been expecting something this big to occur when Sukuna said that last year they just gave roses to the patients. But, didn’t that mean he and Sukuna had to take part too? Was there any way to opt out of this fake dating scheme? The thought of Sukuna pairing up with another person to act like a goddamn married couple together shoots a strange jolt of jealousy down his spine.
Sukuna must have similar thoughts because they both wordlessly turn to each other, wordless but it's clear what they’re thinking about.
Before they can say anything, Maria clears her throat for attention and the room quietens down again. “Fret not, for we have put everyone in specific groups such that whoever you’re paired up with would not hinder your overall job. The executive board has also given us permission for this activity as long as we behave. Furthermore, we would have ‘cupids’ wandering around to act as judges and the couple who is the most believing will win a prize!”
“The activity will start promptly at 10am and will come to an end at 5pm. In these 7 hours, may you find in your partner love and affection like never before! I will now pass out the list of groupings, please come take a look and then divide yourselves accordingly.”
Maria curtsies playfully as she finishes announcing instructions. Noise levels climb again as everyone discusses the game details, ponders what group they're in and speculate who they could possibly end up with.
Following the direction of the crowd, Megumi gravitates towards the front of the room, where the grouping paper is. Sukuna follows him, taking advantage of the disruption to walk close enough to Megumi that their fingers brush. The worry has not been erased from their minds, but they have been dating since university, married for about 2 years now. They’re uncomfortable, but they’ve long established a deep level of mutual trust between them. They’ll return to each other at the end of the day anyways.
However, Sukuna, who’s always been on the more possessive side of things, has a frown playing on his lips but he hums and says nothing still.
Miraculously, they’re in the same group, along with some 3 other doctors from Sukuna’s clinic as well as 5 nurses from Wards 61 and 62, all together forming a group of 10.
The young female nurses gasp as Megumi and Sukuna walk over to them, Megumi doing his best to keep his face pleasantly neutral while Sukuna's displeasure has morphed to look more like boredom than anything.
“Good morning, Fushiguro-san! I hope we become partners!” The nurses right next to him greets with a wide smile and Megumi smiles back, avoiding answering her by giving a half hearted shrug that means we’ll see .
The girl gasps and her friend slaps her hard on the arm before both of them dissolve into hushed giggles.
From the corner of Megumi’s eye, he sees Sukuna greet his own colleagues with a nod and a muted good morning .
“Shall we begin, then?” Maria appears out of nowhere, holding a half filled plastic bottle in her hand.
The group of 10 people find a spot in the corner of the room to spin the bottle. Megumi and Sukuna drop their bags on a nearby table before bending down to join the activity.
The groupings go as follows: Miwa with Dr. Iwaizumi, the girl who spoke to Megumi with Dr. Shirata, the girl’s friend with nurse Yuuji, another nurse with another doctor and… Megumi with Sukuna.
The girl next to Megumi and her friend has disappointment written very clearly across their faces but it takes every cell in Megumi’s body not to throw himself into his husband’s arms in absolute joy and relief. Thank fuck he doesn’t need to watch each other act lovey-dovey with another. And he actually gets to spend a day with Sukuna, which is so much more than he had bargained for.
Sukuna is equally relieved, exhaling a small laugh of amusement before the corners of his mouth curve into a smirk.
“Well,” he drawls very purposely, looking innocently at Megumi, “i look forward to being your partner, Fushiguro-san.”
Megumi resists the urge to scoff, “likewise, Ryomen-san.”
“Please, call me Sukuna now.”
Megumi can't help it. He rolls his eyes.
Maria laughs cheerfully at the banter. “Already a natural at this, you two!” she exclaims. The rest of the group is not as upbeat, expressions ranging from displeased to apprehensive to downright dreadful.
“Alright, now please reach into the bag and draw out a theme for your pair!”
In the same way Sukuna gestured for Megumi to step forward and choose their wedding rings for them so many years ago, Sukuna inclines his head forward and Megumi reaches into the bag and pulls out the first slip of paper he touches.
The couple that just started dating.
Megumi’s eyebrows go sky high. Sukuna reads the slip of paper from over his shoulder, his body pressing close to Megumi’s and Megumi marvels in the familiar comforting touch. He hears Sukuna stifle his laughter, “the fuck does that mean? Awkward as hell or touchy as hell?”
Maria has the same smile on her face as she did since the moment they entered the room but Megumi starts to suspect it isn’t very kind and borders more on evil . “That's up to interpretation, Ryomen-san! It would be up to you two to give us a convincing act of,” she peers at their slip, “the couple that just started dating!”
Sukuna takes the paper from Megumi’s hands, Megumi letting go of it easily as he looks up, distracted by what the other pairs got. Two people got the married couple slip, another person drew an aggressively in love slip, and there’s also a pining one.
“Has everyone gotten into a pair and received their slips? If so, let the games begin! Happy Valentine's Day everyone!”
--
Dr. Ryomen and nurse Fushiguro are absolutely killing it at the game, all the cupids are either horrified or impressed.
The moment they left the room, the doctor immediately reached out for the nurse’s hand, holding it with absolute ease and the nurse didn’t even flinch! Only laughed and held on tight and followed his ‘boyfriend’ to the cardiovascular clinic.
Because Fushiguro was a nurse, it was easier for him to switch over to work in the clinic rather than have Dr. Ryomen fumble around the wards instead, where he was barely needed because not every single patient there was passing out from a heart attack.
The cupids watched with great interest as Fushiguro blended into the cardiovascular clinic seamlessly, his knowledge on nursing attuned to what every patient needs, even in a different specialisation. He was truly wonderful, in all aspects, and adaptable too, it seems.
Not only nursing, he was also excellent at being Dr. Ryomen’s assistant, working around him, bringing him coffee, always staying close to him, ready to help.
And gosh , their acting for the game was top tier.
They held hands everywhere they went, down the hallways, to the cafeterias, to the wards, to the storeroom. They chatted easily with each other too. The cupids are usually not close enough to hear what they were saying, but based on judgement of their facial expressions alone, they seem incredibly comfortable with each other. Every now and then, Fushiguro’s face would light up and blush a pretty pink as well while the smirk on Dr. Ryomen’s face would only grow.
Somewhere during lunch, one of the cupids had reported in the group chat a sighting of Dr. Ryomen pecking Fushiguro’s cheek.
*image attached* fuck i missed it.
He kissed fushiguro san, i swear.
Idt dr ryomen wld go that far for a game.
He doesnt seem like it
Besides, aint he married.
He’d b cheating on his wife
Ik what i saw
fushiguro san dont seem like the type to let himself get kissed too tho!
Maybe trick of light, u saw wrong
I-
Another cupid found the couple in the break room. “Ah! Fushiguro-san! Paired up with Dr. Ryomen?”
Fushiguro, known for his straight-to-the-point replies and serious demeanor, was smiling slightly, looking, quite surprisingly, very okay about the whole situation. “Yes.”
“Megumi-chan is the best boyfriend I could ever ask for,” the doctor cut in, opening a packet of biscuits and offering them to Fushiguro.
Fushiguro said nothing in response to that, but he did very obviously roll his eyes and take a biscuit from the offered packet, pink back on his cheeks.
“Ahaha!” The cupid was so amused at the interaction. Many girls had been disappointed at the prospect of not getting a chance with both of them, and the cupids as well had expected for Dr. Ryomen and Fushiguro to be uncomfortable during the game. They were performing beyond their expectations. “What a perfect pair, you too! If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't even be able to tell that it’s fake!”
The cupid trotted out of the room soon afterwards, reporting the interaction into the group chat.
No one was doing as well as the Ice ‘Visuals’ pair, as the group chat had started to call. No one else was as natural, as smooth as they were. Everyone else had an air of forcefulness around them, which, of course, was to be expected. Many nurses found it hard to adapt around their doctors, while nurses who were paired up with other nurses worked hard to keep up their act while paying attention to patients. The psychologists were reportedly doing okay, doing the bare minimum to stay participated in the game, but they were always a busy bunch.
Nearing 5pm, Maria sent a text to all participating members of the game, reminding them that the game was coming to an end, and if there was anything they wanted to do to increase their points, they should do it now.
The cupids thus got busy in the last hour as pairs all around the wards and clinic suddenly became more energised, desperate for the prize. Awkward hand holding, an arm slung around another’s shoulder, standing way too close than necessary when checking up on a patient. However bizzare it was, it still reached their intended effect of making everyone laugh and have a good time, either from the situation itself or the antics of their fake partners.
Dr. Ryomen and Fushiguro were no exception, actively participating. Dr. Ryomen had taken to boldly wrapping his arm around Fushiguro’s waist as he walked the nurse back to the ward building, his hand occasionally falling a little bit too low to be considered friendly.
Within the 7 hours, the cupids, however busy with their jobs, were not busy enough to not notice that today was the most they had ever seen the two ice beauties of the hospital smile, or look so open. It made them look brighter, livelier. It was a lovely sight to behold and the combined looks of Dr. Ryomen’s hotness as well as Fushiguro’s prettiness were unmatched.
At 4.45pm, Dr. Ryomen had made direct eye contact with a cupid and pressed a chaste kiss to nurse Fushiguro’s mouth.
The cupid gaped, eyes popping out of their sockets. Was the doctor not married already? How ballsy! A kiss, on the lips, no less, for a game?
Fushiguro had pulled back slightly, following Dr. Ryomen’s line of sight to the cupid, and then harshly slapped the doctor’s arm in reprimand but the doctor only laughed, pulling Fushiguro along.
The cupid was flushed red now. This was certainly interesting, seeing such a daring, romantic side to the typically scary cardiologist. Oh, wait till the rest of the hospital gets their hands on this piece of information, they’d go crazy, for sure.
--
They win the game without a hinch, and are awarded with food vouchers for a popular korean BBQ restaurant, as well as a large bouquet of red roses. Sukuna presents the bouquet to Megumi, who accepts, his chest warm because even after all these years, his heart will still race at such acts of affection, even if it's half fake.
In light of Valentine's Day, as well as being the winner, Maria allows Megumi to get off at 5.30 instead of 6. Megumi secretly wishes so desperately that she could extend this to his husband, but Sukuna is not under her care and is not so lucky.
ill wait for u at home
come back soon plz
please do.
but also there’s nowhere else u cld possibly wait
so thats a given lol
I take it back
Welcome home, Cheater.
megumi.
Ill rush home when im done
wait for me love
However tired Sukuna is, he’ll never be too tired to fuck Megumi. He’s back by 9.45pm, takes a quick shower, has a glass of water and a small bread bun, and has Megumi tied to the bed by 10.30pm.
He edges Megumi mercilessly, because no matter how much Megumi cries or begs or moans, Sukuna knows he loves it. And even if he doesn't, they have a safeword anyways. Sukuna fucks Megumi through his orgasm, doesn't stop then and fucks him into the next before pulling out to cum on Megumi’s tired and overextended body.
“You’re mine, always,” he whispers into the juncture of Megumi's shoulder before biting down harshly, relishing in Megumi's pulled out whine and the way a shudder wrecks his whole body.
“Yours. I’m yours,” he blabbers, and Sukuna kisses him and swallows his moans.
Aftercare is gentle, more so than usual after a particularly rough night, built up from weeks of pent up sexual tension. Sukuna methodically cleans up Megumi, feeding him bits of fruit and sips of water until Megumi regains energy in his limbs to reach up and cup Sukuna’s face.
“Today was so weird,” is the first thing Megumi says and Sukuna chuckles fondly.
“I agree. Go to sleep now, my love.”
“I was happy to spend the day with you.”
“And I, you.”
--
“Did you hear? Dr. Ryomen is so romantic! I can't decide whether or not to be jealous of him or Fushiguro-san.”
“Don’t you think he’s going a bit too far though? I mean, he is married.”
“What if they’re having a secret affair?”
“Don’t be stupid. They aren’t that kind of people”
“No, but, what if?”
“Fushiguro-san looked really pleased that day… it isn’t entirely impossible.”
“Dr. Ryomen seems like the loyal type to me; I don't think he’ll have an affair. He was probably just messing around.”
“Man… I wanna kiss Fushiguro-san too!”
“Don’t be creepy.”
“You want it too.”
“I wonder who Dr. Ryomen is married to, though.”
“Lucky woman…”
--
The hospital resumes its usual work after Valentine’s day, and Megumi and Sukuna are instantly thrown back into tight, unrelenting schedules that seem to purposely keep them from each other again.
As healthcare workers, there is almost never a boring day in their jobs. One or twice, they even had to stay overnight in the hospital, this happening more often for Megumi due to his ER duties. They miss each other dearly, the sole bit of comfort is sleepy kisses in the morning, hand holding in private, and little rare dinners they manage to grab together when they get off around the same time.
As much as they want to, they don't have sex very often either, or at least not as elaborate as the one they had for valentine’s. It reduced to hot and heavy make out sessions in the shower, or cornering the other the moment they got home from work to suck them off.
Everything is packed and they barely have enough time to catch a breath. But they love each other, they find solace and home in each other, and it pushes them to do more, be better, keep going. The marriage band on Sukuna’s hand and Megumi’s in the drawer (he doesn’t wear it because it catches on the gloves he wears) only further proves it.
That’s enough for them for now. They are happy.
Gossip spreads like wildfire, however, when Sukuna slips up one day and reveals that his mystery spouse works in the hospital as well.
It was a particularly good day for Sukuna. He fell asleep holding Megumi at night, woke up to Megumi's head pillowed on his chest, got to walk Megumi up to his ward again, and even pressed a sneaky kiss to his cheek in the empty lift. Megumi hadn’t scolded him out right, even though he did shoot a slightly accusatory look, and turned his head to ask for a proper kiss just before the lift reached his floor.
All his appointments had been going well too, mostly check-ins on previous patients and a father-daughter duo who were very polite and answered Sukuna’s questions clearly. No screaming children, or middle aged women who liked to claim he was diagnosing wrongly and that she couldn’t possibly have high cholesterol because she's half vegan, for god’s sake!
So, yeah, he was having a good day and he felt extra relaxed.
“Say, doctor, where’s your spouse working?”
“My spouse? In the hospital too,'' Sukuna answers distractedly, thumbing through the medical reports of his various patients, trying to find one patient’s report to get ready for his appointment. It's only when the nurse next to him, Nitta, goes incredibly still does he realise what he just said and he freezes too.
“Ah, Nitta-san, please keep that to yourself.”
“Of course, doc,” Nitta all but lies through her teeth.
The next day, all the break rooms across the hospital are noisy with the fresh, piping hot gossip.
“Dr. Ryomen? The hot cardiologist? His wife is working in the hospital as well?”
“Oh my gosh! Who do you think it is?”
Megumi hears the gossip too and he panics the first time he does. How did that news get out? Does anyone know it’s him? Does Sukuna know about it too?
He continues to eavesdrop on the group of nurses who are standing around near the coffee machine as they try to narrow down the scope of people who could be the mystery wife.
“Hey, do you think it's Maria-san? I wouldn’t be surprised if it is actually, she seems like the type who could be a wife to someone like Dr. Ryomen.”
“I think Maria-san is single though. She once said she didn't want to marry, like ever.”
“Maybe she was lying… is it Nitta-san? Nitta-san is the doc's assistant nurse, no?”
“Nitta-san… no. She's too loud for him, don't you think?”
As relieved Megumi is about the fact none of them are suspecting him, or anything close to him, he is also very overwhelmed by the childish urge to jump up and reveal himself, claiming his husband as his. He knows he can't do that.
“Hey, Fushiguro-san,” one of the nurses called.
Megumi turns to find that it's Miwa. “Hmm?”
“Who do you think Dr. Ryomen’s wife is?”
Megumi bristles at the question, partly from panic, partly from the irony of the situation. “I don't know. But, it’s his personal life, we shouldn’t pry.” Megumi states with a straight face, and the girls all look away guiltily.
That night, Sukuna is already home when Megumi comes back.
Megumi had to work overtime today in the ER today, and by the time he reaches home, he finds Sukuna lounging on the couch, shirtless and wearing sweatpants. He secretly admires the view of lovely chiseled abs but he doesn’t say anything as he enters the house, dropping his bag at the door.
He’s fully aware of Sukuna also silently watching him, probably equally knowing, or not, of the gossip regarding him that had been flying around today.
Megumi comes over to Sukuna, maneuvering his shoulders till he’s sitting up, leaning against the pillows, and then straddles him. Sukuna’s face relaxes infinitesimally and his mouth curls into a small lazy grin, hands coming up to circle Megumi's waist.
Megumi just sits on Sukuna’s lap for a moment, analysing the man beneath him. “How did they find out?” he finally asks.
Sukuna sighs. He knew it’d come, he just didn’t know how. “Let it slip on accident. Wasn’t my intention but, hey, they don't know it's you.”
It’s true, no one knows it’s Megumi. The biggest suspect right now is Nitta, which makes Megumi's skin crawl uncomfortably. He drops his head onto Sukuna’s shoulders, inhaling the clean smell from his husband and allows it to wash over him and dispel the uncomfort.
Sukuna wraps Megumi closer to him, “go wash up, my dear. Have you eaten? I'll heat up something.”
Megumi pulls away and kisses Sukuna's cheek, nodding as he slides off Sukuna's lap and wanders tiredly in the direction of their bedroom.
It’ll be fine. No one suspects them. And no matter how much people think Nitta and Sukuna would be an adorable pair (because something about even though Nitta is loud, Sukuna maybe secretly adores it), Sukuna is his husband, his to keep. It’ll be fine.
--
It is not fine.
Megumi walks past Nitta two days later and finds her positively shining from all the attention she’s getting for being the Mystery Ryomen Wife. She doesn’t even try to do anything to stop those rumours.
His teeth do not grind. He's Not that annoyed by it all. And neither is he that much of a possessive asshole, thanks, that’s his husband’s job. He is so not frowning.
He carries out his responsibilities as usual, fulfilling them diligently and efficiently. Then, when he’s done with his rounds, earlier than usual, he uses the time he has to trot down to the cafeteria and orders a black coffee. Not for himself, for Sukuna.
He pays, carries the styrofoam cup in its little paper holder and makes his way to Sukuna’s building.
“Ah hi, could you send this up to Dr. Ryomen’s office please?” he tells the receptionist.
The receptionist recognizes him, smiles warmly with rosy cheeks and tells him, “sure! Nitta-san sent him coffee too. Dr. Ryomen would be grateful.”
...Seriously? He had felt lighter than he had after seeing Nitta this morning during his coffee trip, looking forward to bringing a small cup of thoughtfulness to Sukuna. But the news of Nitta, for whatever reason, doing the same, sets his blood on a low simmer.
Megumi nods and bows to the receptionist, then leaves as quickly as he can.
It is not fine.
When he returns to his wards, he asks if Maria needs any help, and takes over her stock check duty for her, keeping himself busy until 6pm rolls around. He lingers in the storeroom even after he’s done, staring at the boxes of syringes and needles and gloves, lost in thought.
He misses Sukuna.
He checks on his patients again as they have dinner, taking their blood pressures and temperatures.
“Megumi-kun?” one asks feebly, Hoshino-san, suffering from dementia and recently hospitalized due to a nasty fall accident he had at home.
“Yes? May I help you, Hoshino-san?”
“Don't frown so much, Megumi-kun. It attracts bad spirits, then your flowers won’t bloom.”
Megumi blinks, then laughs softly, rearranges Hoshino-san’s blankets for him and places his hand over the elderly’s gently. “I'll take note of it,” he says politely, “thank you for looking out for me.”
Hoshino-san beams at him.
He finds Sukuna waiting in the lobby when he exits the lift. Megumi’s whole body tenses and relaxes again when he doesn’t find anyone approaching him, Nitta or otherwise. He speedwalks over, smiling as wide as he can without looking like an idiot when Sukuna looks up to meet his eyes.
“Hi,” he says, stopping right before Sukuna, a space between them again.
Sukuna smiles back, “thanks for the coffee. Made my day lots better. Look, I even waited for you to get off.”
Megumi huffs, casually ignoring the fact they had already made it clear earlier in the day that they ended around the same time and therefore could go home together.
“Nitta-san gave me coffee too,” Sukuna continued and coldness washes over Megumi again, “but she gave me a latte. It was so milky, so I secretly gave it to iwaizumi.”
Oh. Sukuna doesn’t like lattes, he prefers black coffees. Megumi knows this, Nitta does not. Then he feels his shoulders and back muscles go lax again.
“Let’s go home.” Megumi says and Sukuna hums and follows him.
The moment they’re out of sight of the hospital, Megumi latches onto Sukuna’s hand, stubbornly holding it all the way back, over the armrest in the car, never releasing. If Sukuna notices anything wrong, he doesn’t say anything, but just presses a kiss to the back of Megumi’s hand and tightens his grip.
--
A week later, Megumi is convinced he’s going to die. Or get hit down by a bus. Lose his job in the process as well maybe. Even Sukuna filing for a divorce wouldn’t seem so impossible right now, if not for the fact he was currently sitting on the floor of Sukuna’s office, his head downcast and placed neatly in his husband’s lap while Sukuna kept working, his body angled carefully out of sight of the door.
Sukuna’s hand is gently petting his head, soft and comforting and Megumi buries himself into Sukuna’s abdomen as much as he can, pressing himself into Sukuna’s legs.
It's an awful position, and it's an awful place to be while in this position.
Megumi feels awful.
The previous day, Megumi worked a full day in the ER and had to deal with the consequences of a horrifying car accident due to drunk driving. They just barely managed to save the driver, a 19-year old male, but he had suffered numerous 3rd degree burns and 80% of his ribs were cracked.
The victim’s mother came rushing to him the moment Megumi stepped out of the ER’s doors, demanding to see her precious son, and Megumi, who was already starting to feel tired from the whole incident, had to patiently explain to her that she wasn’t allowed to go in yet. Outraged, the mother started to throw a fit, exclaiming about the poor service of the hospital, how bad of a nurse Megumi was, and that he was doing this on purpose to make her suffer.
In some twisted, wicked way of fate, when the victim was discharged from the ER, he was put into Ward 61, Megumi’s ward.
Earlier this morning, Megumi had run into the mother again, who recognized him in an instant and then threw another fit. Megumi had done this on purpose, she claimed, disfigured her son, had not helped her son properly and left him broken. Megumi didn’t know how to respond. The 19-year old brought this upon himself! One is not supposed to drive when they have been drinking.
Miwa had stepped in, doing her best to calm the mother down, distracting with overly long and intentionally overly detailed reports of her son. Megumi shot Miwa a grateful look and stepped away as quickly as he could.
Megumi knows to expect this, that there will definitely always be unreasonable patients. But that mother had shouted really loudly in his face, to the point everyone was staring at them and all his attempts of placating her were shouted over. A headache was steadily starting to form, throbbing in his temples as he moved to a different ward to check on the patients there. He was slowly spiralling, unable to get it out of his head.
He ran into Maria, who took one critical look at him and told him to take a rest until afternoon. “Go to the breakroom and take a nap, Fushiguro-kun,” she had said with a hand placed on his shoulder, “you’ve worked hard.”
He didn’t have the energy to decline. So he bowed, muttered his thanks and let his legs carry him out of the wards.
Instead of the break room, he went to the lift landing, went down, stepped out the lobby, and walked swiftly over to Sukuna’s clinic building, brushing past the receptionist, straight up to lifts and to his husband’s office.
He knocked, heard Sukuna shuffling, and then a “come in”, and pushed the door open.
Sukuna eyes lit up in surprise at the sight of him, but then he took a second glance at Megumi’s tight posture, the way his eyelids drooped, refusing to meet his gaze, his shoulders slumping forward and the way he chewed the corner of his bottom lip, like how he did when he was stressed and tired. “Oh, baby, you poor thing. Come here.'' Sukuna breathed out and pushed his chair back and opened his arms in invitation and Megumi went forward instantly, crumbling to his knees and folding himself into Sukuna’s lap.
A few stray tears escaped as Sukuna pulled him closer, tighter to him. The tension eased out of him, trickling bit by bit onto the floor.
Sukuna kissed his forehead, pushed his bangs carefully to the side, then kissed his hairline again. “What’s got you down, sweetheart?”
Megumi explained in small chunks, pausing every now and then to sigh loudly. It was such a stupid thing to be upset over. He was stronger than this, he knew, but he had no idea why he was breaking down so easily now.
Sukuna recognized Megumi’s bad days easily and had been around him enough during them to know how to deal with it. Megumi wasn’t someone who responded well to useless, patronising sweet talk. Instead, he usually just needed to sit with someone while he recharged, to get himself in check with the help of a comforting presence.
Sukuna placed two fingers under Megumi’s chin to tilt his head up and kiss him on the lips. “When do you need to go back?”
“...Afternoon?”
It was 11am now, Megumi could afford to stay with Sukuna for more than an hour. “Alright. Wanna stay with me then? I don't have appointments until 2pm, just need to revise these reports.”
Megumi could cry again. Sukuna was so fucking thoughtful when it came to him. He nodded gratefully, and used all his energy to push himself up and kiss Sukuna again, trying to convey his gratitude.
Thus, that’s how Megumi has spent the past 45minutes, sitting clumsily at Sukuna’s feet, pressing himself into Sukuna’s legs and abdomen, occasionally whining for attention when Sukuna stopped petting his hair for too long.
Distantly, he wondered if he was intruding on Sukuna’s work, but they’ve had this conversation before. “Take what you want, Megumi,” Sukuna had said, “I'm yours. And in return, you’re mine.”
He did feel a little better now, better than he did when he first stepped into the office. He could probably push himself up now and force himself back to work on pure willpower alone, but, why would he do that, when there’s a perfectly good pair of muscular thighs he could rest on instead for at least another 30 minutes?
Then came a knock on the door. Megumi’s head shot up in panic, as well as Sukuna’s eyes. He wasn’t supposed to have any appointments, so, who-?
“Who is it?” sukuna raised his voice a bit at the door, the hand in Megumi’s hair slid down to his shoulder.
“It’s Nitta, doc.” came the reply.
Great. Just fucking great. Why was she here?
Megumi blinked in annoyance, before wordlessly moving a small distance away from sukuna to sit cross legged against the wall behind sukuna’s desk. Sukuna’s eyes followed him as he moved, an eyebrow arched to ask you sure you’re okay? Want me to let her in?
Megumi nodded minutely at him, go ahead.
“Come in.”
Nitta walked in, instantly catching sight of Megumi, and her eyes widened before they narrowed suspiciously, but in the name of professionality, she ignored him first. “Dr. Ryomen, your patient has requested to push forward their appointment to 1.30pm. It’s rushed, they know, but they said it's urgent.”
Sukuna froze, hyper aware of Megumi behind him. He didn't have any problems with pushing the appointment forward, but was Megumi okay with that? If his appointment was at 1.30 instead of 2, then Megumi would need to leave earlier.
He turned his head back a little to let Megumi into his line of vision and saw Megumi already looking at him. Then Megumi stuck out his leg and nudged his chair gently with his foot twice. I'm okay. I'm have enough energy to nudge your chair, so I'm okay.
“Tell the patient that’s okay. I'll see him at 1.30.”
“Yes sir.” Nitta said, but she didn’t leave, shifting her gaze to Megumi on the floor instead. “Fushiguro-san,” she said after a pause, “maybe you should go back to your building, hm? I don't know what you’re doing here, but I think it’s best not to disturb Dr. Ryomen.”
Megumi blinked, his mind whiting out, because did she just try to chase him out of his own husband’s office? He looked up, astonished and-
“Nitta-san, please leave my office.” Sukuna’s voice cut through the air, deadly thin and rough in the way Megumi could recognize he was holding back. Sukuna was glaring at Nitta, his hands tightly clenched into fists and Nitta flinched, “doc, I-”
“Close the door on your way out.” he interrupted her, his demand clear and blatant, giving no room for negotiation. How dare she say that to Megumi? Who did she think she was?
Megumi watched, unmoving still as Nitta bowed and with one last look at Megumi, excused herself, shutting the door behind her.
Sukuna exhaled the moment she was gone. Megumi was stunned. It had been quite a while since he had seen his husband that angry, past the point of violence and straight to threateningly scary. He was kind of touched by it.
Megumi got up from his position and went over, putting his arms around Sukuna’s shoulders and hugging him into his chest.
“I'm sorry she said that.”
“It is not your fault. Thank you for letting me stay here.” Megumi whispered.
“I'd keep you here if I could, chain you up so you don't need to go back, ever. Fuck Nitta. What the fuck was she on?”
“Now that’s just too much.”
Sukuna untucked himself, resting his chin on Megumi while he looked up, “better now?”
Megumi smiled down at him, small but genuine, “yes, I’ll be fine. Thank you. I'll see you tonight, okay? Try not to chew out your patient.”
Sukuna reached for Megumi’s hands and kissed them, never breaking eye contact. “I love you,” he said seriously.
“Love you too.”
--
After that incident, Megumi noticed Nitta steadfastly ignoring him. Sukuna had told him about how she had tried to give him cups of latte many more times after the first and every time, he had passed them to Dr. Iwaizumi instead. It made Megumi snicker.
Miwa took over the duties of the 19-year old, and Megumi also made an effort to avoid his mother whenever he knew she was visiting. Every now and then, she’d still see him walking by, and make a big, overexaggerated show of looking away and haughtily turning her nose up. Megumi was fine with that, as long as she didn’t bother him again.
The ER didn’t have any more weird parents either. It was just as hectic as ever, but the surgeons he worked with were kind people who had heard about the outburst and came to ask Megumi if he was okay afterwards.
Things were starting to calm down. The question of Who Was Dr. Ryomen’s Wife had gradually fizzled out too now that it had mostly been “answered”, narrowed down to Nitta and another nurse Megumi hadn’t remembered the name of. It’s still as nerve grinding as ever, but Sukuna mentioned have been extra cold to Nitta ever since that time, and he rarely actually ever sees the other nurse.
It was peaceful, and their lives mostly resumed to normal.
Hoshino-san was getting discharged. He had gently pat Megumi's cheek before leaving the ward that day, “don't frown so much, Megumi-chan. It’ll make your legs go weak!” Megumi then laughed and thanked him again.
He texted Sukuna about it afterwards, and 2 hours later, found a drink waiting for him in the break room, labelled from Sukuna. He chewed back his smile as he picked it up, aware of Maria looking at him carefully from the side.
“Fushiguro-kun, come here?” she called, and Megumi turned and went over curiously.
“What is it, Maria-san?”
Maria looked uncomfortable, which was rare, because she was like a mother hen to all the nurses, an immovable wall of assurance and hospital experience. She studied him closely, and then the cup he was holding. “Say, Fushiguro-kun, that’s from Dr. Ryomen, isn’t it?
“...Yes. What about it?”
“Fushiguro-kun… as your senior, I wish to protect you. I don't want your heart to get broken, my dear.'' Maria said, saturated concern colouring her tone.
What?
Megumi’s confusion must have been written all over his face because then she said, very jerkily, “he’s... married, you know that, don’t you? Don't get too close to a married man, dear. The last time I told you to go rest, and you went to find him too, right? I don’t know what he’s like, but for the sake of your young heart, Fushiguro-kun, don’t attach yourself to him, hm?”
Oh. She thought he was having an affair with a married man and was thus going to get his heart tragically broken by the end of it due to legally forbidden romance.
It took him everything not to burst out laughing or spill the truth right then and there, because, ah well, and also Megumi and Sukuna were the same age, Sukuna was not some old man who cheated on his spouse for sport. “I- ah- thank you for your concern, Maria-san. I’ll… I'll keep that in mind.”
Sukuna had scoffed when he heard about it later that night. “You’re my secret lover, Megumi. How exciting. We must hide you from my shitty imaginary wife. Or would you rather I call for a divorce so that I can be with my true love now and forever?” He kissed a giggling Megumi, “I'd do that for you, my dirty little secret.”
Megumi blew him, then Sukuna fucked two orgasms out of him in return, one after the other.
It was good and calm for a while, and then it wasn’t.
--
Things got busy as summer rolled around. As the heat climbed, the number of patients who came in due to heat strokes and dehydration climbed as well. Summer holiday also meant teenagers were going to do stupid things that resulted in stupidly severe accidents and the hospital tended to that as well.
All the nurses were like little ants, scurrying busily through wards and counters and hallways, looking after their patients. The doctors too, each got a new wave of different patients, each one’s condition unique to themselves and requiring their own in-depth check-up and analysis.
Not to mention, the scorching temperature of the season also made work move slowly and sluggish, and more than once, the nurses who worked in non air conditioned wards could be heard complaining about the sweat and stickiness after a whole day’s work.
However, the two beautiful, hard workers of the hospital seemed to be invincible. Nurse Fushiguro and Dr. Ryomen worked tirelessly, never once heard to lament about their respective workloads. The hospital staff all looked up to them, and fell deeper in love with them.
It was like this for a long while, working through the heat, catching glimpses of cute staff members and patients every now and then, escaping into the cool break room during rest times. The hospital persevered.
Then, much to the dismay of many, there were two days, where both the cute nurse in the Wards building and the cardiologist in the opposite building didn’t show up for work.
People timidly came to Nitta for information but even she herself had no clue why the doctor would suddenly take two days of leave. “Maybe he’s taking a break?”
“Eh? At the same time as Fushiguro-san? That’s awful, I miss them both.”
“How could they be taking a break when the hospital is this busy though? Isn’t that a little irresponsible?”
“Maybe they’re sick.”
“Both of them? At the same time?”
“Nitta-san! Dr. Ryomen didn’t say anything to you?”
“What about you, Miwa? Have you heard from Fushiguro-san?”
“Time seems to pass so slowly when there aren’t any nice things to look at, don't you think?”
“I hope they come back by Monday. The hospital really needs Fushiguro-san.”
“Dr. Ryomen’s patients too. I wonder what happened to them…”
--
Megumi overworked himself. He fell sick. Which was probably the most ironic thing that has ever happened in his years of studying nursing .
Sukuna had felt his skin burning halfway through the night and woke up in confusion. A hand to his forehead and a thermometer shoved under his tongue, they then found out Megumi was down with a fever. The first fever he’s had since young.
This is a really bad time to have a fever , Megumi thought through the fog of his headache. The hospital was so busy. He couldn’t afford to stay home right now. There were patients he needed to check on patients that were getting admitted and discharged, and they had to prepare for nursing interns to join them.
Sukuna studied his sickly flushed face. “Yeah, don't even try to go to work, Fushiguro Megumi.”
Megumi tried to protest, he really did. He had a whole speech prepared. He took a breath and steeled his (incredibly weak) gaze, opened his mouth and wheezed and started coughing.
Sukuna, who watched this whole display with an unimpressed look, allowed himself one scoff before reaching out to soothingly rub Megumi’s back.
“The hospital will do fine for a few days without you, ‘Gumi,” Sukuna murmured, “how do you feel?”
Megumi calmed his coughing fit and swept a shaky glance over the room. The digital clock on the wall told him it was 4am. “Bad,” he croaked, “I can't not go to work.”
“You can't go to work like this, Megumi. It's a hazard not only to yourself, but also to your patients.”
Fuck, he had a point.
Sukuna guided him to lie back down, pulling the covers up to his chin. “Rest first. I'm going to go get some drugs, okay? I’ll be back in a moment.” Megumi couldn’t disobey even if he wanted to. It felt like Sukuna was gone for years as he drifted in and out of consciousness, the only constant being the growing ache in his bones and head.
He distantly notes Sukuna helping him up, the pain of swallowing the pills and the water down his throat, and then the chill of a cold towel being laid across his forehead.
Megumi’s fever was pretty bad. He had spent the whole day in bed, drifting through wakefulness and slumber. A few times he had sat up to let Sukuna feed him bits of food but every time he did, he would be hit with terrible dizzy spells and have to lie back down.
Sukuna took a leave to take care of him, of course, for the two days that Megumi was unwell. As much as he was a doctor and Megumi was a nurse and he was perfectly aware that Megumi would be fine because he knows Megumi takes good care of himself and his immune system, he still worried at the sight of his pale, shivering husband every time. It hurt him to see his husband in so much bodily pain and yet, despite this being the very subject he devoted almost half his life to, was unable to help more than he already has.
He was mad at himself too, for not noticing the signs when Megumi had started overworking himself, or convincing him to take a break sooner.
On the second day, Friday, when Megumi was feeling better, Sukuna had helped him into the bathtub and washed him gently while Megumi whined about the coldness. “Everything hurts,” Megumi pouted.
Sukuna kissed his lips gently, saying nothing in return, letting Megumi rest his sopping wet hair on his shoulder while he soaked in the water.
Megumi got better over the weekend, his temperature falling back down to normal and regaining his energy. He phoned Maria, informing and reassuring her about his absence and that he was okay now and able to return on Monday. The only thing that didn’t stop was the sudden bouts of dizziness and chills that hit him unexpectedly.
Though he was plagued with sickness, Megumi enjoyed the company he got with Sukuna. Sukuna was a lot more pliant to Megumi's requests when Megumi was sick, hugging and rubbing Megumi's back to sleep, giving him numerous gentle kisses, and always staying by Megumi's side, ready to aid him. It warmed his heart. He felt so grateful.
He kissed Sukuna as forcefully as he could with what energy he had on a misty Monday morning, holding Sukuna’s arms for support. They kissed deeply, slowly. “Thank you for taking care of me,” Megumi whispered against Sukuna’s lips.
Sukuna kissed him again, just as deeply and left Megumi gasping when they parted. “Always, my love.”
Sukuna drove them to work, not letting Megumi out of the car until he promised Sukuna that he would take it easy today. “Rest if you feel dizzy, okay? If it’s really bad, tell your seniors, then come find me.”
“I'll be fine. Don't worry so much, Sukuna, please. I really am better today.”
Sukuna eyed him for a moment, searching his face for traces for signs of discomfort before he sighed. “Take care of yourself.”
“Mm.”
Sukuna walked Megumi up to his ward either way, even if he was cutting it close to his first appointment’s timing. The nurses lit up at the sight of Megumi walking back into the ward, instantly swarming him, asking where he’s been. Maria came over too, assessing Megumi with a sharp eye, and then she noticed Sukuna still at the lift landing and shot a glare at him.
Sukuna sighed as he got the message and walked away. Megumi was in the good hands of equally talented nurses. He could relax a little.
Megumi pursed his lips when Sukuna left. He already missed him. Get taken care of by your husband one time when you’re bed-ridden and sick and suddenly you can stand to be away from him for 8 hours it seems.
However, Megumi smiled easily and accepted the words of concern graciously. He didn’t tell them about the dizzy spells, just so that they wouldn’t hang around him like worrisome flies. He didn’t want to sit out of work today, wanted to jump back into the routine of checking in on the wards and patients as soon as possible.
It was just as hot as the previous week, and yet, Megumi found himself shivering every now and then as he went around the hallways, carrying out his duties. By the time afternoon rolled around, the same cold sheen of sweat blanketed his skin again and the back of his eyes were starting to throb. Fuck, he should probably go sit down or something.
This was irritating. Megumi was irritated. He did not enjoy being sick and helpless, having to sit by a side to catch his breath like some child. He breathed deeply, tried to get his body under control and hopefully stable enough to walk out of this ward and back to the break room.
Using the wall as support, he made it one, two, four steps, before his vision was spotted with blackness and his ears started ringing. Fuck. He tried to move again, but it was as if someone had poured heavy concrete into the soles of his shoes. The ringing in his ears got louder and more faraway at the same time. He blinked rapidly.
He was on the floor now, someone was holding on to his arm. It burned where they touched. He tried to shake his head clear. Everything was foggy, and cold, really cold.
“-guro-san. Fushiguro-san, are you okay?” Miwa. That's Miwa’s voice. Megumi tried to answer her, but he couldn’t hear himself speaking.
“Miwa-chan, step back.” Oh, now that’s Maria. “Fushiguro-kun, can you hear me?”
“Ughh… I-”
“Miwa-chan, could you help me help him up? Let’s bring him to the break room.”
“Yes, Maria-san.”
Megumi’s breath was coming in pants now. He felt his legs forcefully straighten out beneath him and take his weight as he was moved to stand. His head was swimming, it hurt everywhere he was touched. No matter how much he tried to blink the black spots out of his eyes, they remained, sometimes consuming his vision entirely. Fuck fuck fuck, this was fucking horrible.
They made it into the breakroom, shakily. Megumi doesn’t know how they did it. But he instantly collapsed into the nearest sofa, curling painfully into himself. He thinks he’s whining, he’s not sure, he can’t hear it anyways but he wouldn’t be surprised if he was.
“Maria-san, shouldn’t we call Fushiguro-san’s emergency contact? They could come pick him up right?”
“Mm. we should. Fushiguro-kun, where’s your phone?”
Megumi’s brain is working at a quarter times its usual speed. He doesn’t instantly reply to Maria. His emergency contact… well… that-that would be his husband, who’s in the next building.
“S-sukuna,” he tries to say, but it comes out as a puff of air instead.
“Hmm?” Maria caresses his arm gently, a face full of worry.
Megumi really hates making people worry.
“-kuna...S-Sukuna...Sukuna.” he whimpers, as loud as he can, hoping his dear head nurse can get the message and call for him. The black spots have stopped now that he’s not being dragged across the hospital floors, but the ringing in his ears are still as loud as ever.
Instead, Maria frowns, and looks at him sternly. “Fushiguro-kun, this is not the time t-”
Maria doesn’t get to finish her sentence as the door is thrown open and Sukuna bursts in, his eyes wide with panic and stops in his tracks at the sight of Megumi slumped into himself on the sofa.
Oh , his requests were heard. How Sukuna got here so fast, he doesn’t know but his whole body floods with relief despite the numbness that was starting to settle in his limbs.
Megumi looks up slowly, making eye contact with his husband, trying to convey his relief but suddenly Maria stands up from where she had previously been squatting next to Megumi and stands firmly in front of him, blocking his view.
“Megumi-” Sukuna starts.
“Dr. Ryomen, good day. May I know what you're doing here?”
“My- Megumi, what happened? Is he okay?”
“I don't believe that’s any of your concern, doctor. We have Fushiguro-kun in good hands here.” then, to Miwa, “could you go find and call Fushiguro-kun’s emergency contact please?”
Sukuna looks taken aback. He isn't wonderful at reading social cues, Megumi has told him that before, but even he can sense the curtness from the head nurse. “Th-that won't be necessary, I can bring Megumi home.”
“Dr. Ryomen, I do not know what relationship you may have forced my nurse into but this is not the time to play around.”
This time, Megumi groans from his spot on the couch because what the fuck is he hearing? And also a wave of nausea has just risen and w ow he really wants to go home now.
“With all due respect, Maria-san, I did not force Megumi into anything. Please be careful of what you say. Now, let me see Megumi.” Sukuna tries to brush her off, advancing forward but Maria raises her hand and stops him firmly.
“Dr. Ryomen. No. We will wait for his emergency contact to arrive.”
With every sentence the two of them say, it seems to be louder than the previous one. Megumi has started to release cold sweat again. Everything hurts, everything is too cold and too hot all at once. He desperately wants his husband here, with him, right now. “Ah- Maria-san,” he wheezes and Sukuna’s eyes shoot to him instantly.
“Megumi, don't talk.” Sukuna calls from where he’s stopped. He could, of course, very easily break out of Maria’s grasp, but he would rather not make a scene with someone who’s essentially Megumi's boss.
Megumi blinks at him. He feels a little like crying, he has no idea why. “Maria-san, Sukuna is my-”
“Dr. Ryomen, please leave. Your presence is not helping. Miwa! Have you called them yet?”
Miwa rushes back into the room, indeed holding Megumi's phone to her ear. “Calling now,” she responds and waits and-
Sukuna’s phone rings.
If Megumi was not rotting away on the sofa of his hospital’s break room, looking like the saddest motherfucker on the planet, he would have laughed.
Maria looks outraged, as if Megumi had truly plunged himself so deeply into this love affair that even his emergency contact is the one of his already-married lover.
Sukuna pulls out his phone and shoves it in Maria’s direction, his patience thin and waning. “Oh look, there’s me. I'm Megumi's emergency contact. Now let me go.”
“Dr. Ryomen-”
“M-maria-san” Megumi starts.
“I am Megumi's emergency contact because I am his husband.” Sukuna flares, turning to glare at Maria while forcefully shaking free of her grasp. He rips his ring off his hand and presses it to her. “Look closely, there, on the inside. Those are Megumi's initials.” Then, without waiting for a response, brushes past her and kneels by Megumi.
Megumi, partly out of desperation and partly out of pure instinct, immediately reaches out for him. Sukuna meets him halfway and helps Megumi up a little so that the end product is Megumi curved around Sukuna, Sukuna holding him securely to his chest, pushing hair away from his forehead to look him in the eye.
Megumi uses the last bit of his strength to burrow even closer, as close as he possibly could and Sukuna responds by hugging him tighter and Megumi feels the shivers finally start to calm down.
“Hi,” he says hoarsely.
“Hi baby. How do you feel?”
Megumi exhales slowly, too tired to respond and he lets his body weight sag into Sukuna, closing his eyes.
Sukuna pets his hair in understanding. He’s drowning in the remorse of letting Megumi go to work when he was so clearly not entirely well yet and now his husband is on the verge of passing out again.
Maria finally unfreezes from the spot she remained at. Maria’s face is an uncomfortable painting of guilt and realisation. Sukuna eyes her and holds his hand out expectantly. Maria drops the ring into his palm and he slides the ring back on, glaring slightly. She opens her mouth to speak but Sukuna beats her to it.
“I’ll take him home now… thank you for looking after him,” he adds politely, then he whispers to Megumi for a moment before shifting to swing his arms under Megumi’s knees and behind his back, lifting him into a solid bridal-carry.
The rush of momentum leaves Megumi giddy again and he whines, tucking his face into Sukuna’s neck, their audience promptly forgotten.
Wordlessly, Miwa follows them down to the car while Maria stays, holding Megumi’s bag and phone in her hands. Once Megumi is safely sat in the car, drowsy and heating up, Sukuna takes his belongings from her, murmuring his thanks.
Miwa had been quietly shocked the whole time and she finally turns to Sukuna, stars in her eyes, “wow,” she tells the doctor, who raises his eyebrows suspiciously, “I did not know you guys were married. Y’all are so… cute. That was so cute. Now the… valentine's day event makes a lot more sense, haha.”
Sukuna blinks owlishly at her, not expecting 90% of the things that just came out of her mouth, and with lack of better things to say, simply nods and turns away, starting the car.
“Sukuna…” Megumi mumbles feebly and Sukuna reaches over to hold Megumi's hand.
“I got you. Rest now.”
--
Megumi takes a whole week more to recover fully. On the last two days, he had enough energy to chase Sukuna out of the house and back to the hospital. “Go back to work. Your patients miss you.”
“But, Megumi-chan, I miss you.”
Sukuna worked for only half-day on the two days, coming home early to look after his husband, although Megumi had said very valiantly that he was fine now.
They had spoken as well, regarding what happened on Monday. Turns out that Sukuna had only been able to get there as quickly as he did because he had intentionally walked over during his lunch break to visit Megumi. How sweet.
Sukuna was mad at Maria, Megumi could tell he was holding it back, Megumi’s respect for her as well as Megumi’s sickness kept in mind.
“Don't be mad,” he chided softly one night, cupping Sukuna’s cheek. “She was just trying to protect me.”
“Yeah. From your own husband.”
Megumi didn’t tell him, but Maria did text him the next day. Fushiguro-kun, im so sorry i misunderstood ur relationship with ur husband. I was very rude to Dr. Ryomen. My deepest apologies. Hope u get better soon
dont worry about it. ill convey ur msg to him :)
i'll take care of myself thank you
Only when Sukuna deemed Megumi healthy enough to go back to work (“I'm a doctor, you’re a nurse. I outrank you.” “Okay, rude. I shouldn’t have married you.”) did they return, boldly holding hands all the way up to Megumi’s ward.
Gossip, it seems, rose just as quickly as it fell. Hushed whispers of “it's true! They’re holding hands!” and shocked gasps followed them all around. Some people looked oddly disappointed, pouting at the couple from a distance away. However, many doctors and nurses alike came up to them to congratulate them, tell them how cute and how fitting of a pair they were. It made them glow, Sukuna’s chest puffed out with pride every time, next to Megumi’s cutely flushed cheeks.
Maria also came up to both of them, apologising profusely. Sukuna regarded her stiffly, keeping his arm firmly wrapped around Megumi the whole time.
On the other hand, Nitta continued to ignore Megumi, but it seemed to be borne out of shame rather than arrogance this time, and she always darted her eyes away whenever speaking to Sukuna. Megumi would never admit it, it brought him a great sense of pleasure.
Being out about their relationship came with a fair share of pros and cons, however. Pros being they could be open about it now. Everyone knew Megumi was Sukuna’s, knew that they were married, and both were taken. They no longer had to hide their relationship, it was great. The cons were that they had not foreseen the horde of overly intrusive questions that would swamp them, asking about how they met, who proposed and whatnot.
At the end of the week, Sukuna rolled the car over to the pick-up point of Megumi’s building, picking him up.
“You know,” Megumi said, sliding into his seat, “I didn't expect this . For us to come out like this , receive this kind of response- I'm not saying it’s bad! I'm just… pleasantly surprised?”
Sukuna looked at him weirdly, “was there some other way you envisioned coming out about us?”
“...No? Yes, but also no?”
Sukuna laughed, braked the car to a stop in front of the red light and leaned over to kiss Megumi’s cheek. “You sound so dumb right now,” he said, voice full of fondness.
“Fuck you,” Megumi returned kindly.
Sukuna punished Megumi for his rudeness later that night.