Chapter Text
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The boy grabbed another sanitizer wipe, wet in his hands and the smell of alcohol strong. He picked up the lamp on the nightstand and wiped the wooden surface one more time.
There was a dull thud on the other side of the room and Megumi turned, making eye contact with the other teenager in the room.
“Oops.” Yuuji gave a sheepish smile, grabbing the book from the floor before putting it back on the shelf near the door.
Rolling his eyes, the dark haired boy turned away again. He placed the lamp down, glanced at the neat bed, then towards the dusted dresser and shelves. The room was clean. Empty mostly, just with minimal decorations. Ready and perfected enough to be claimed as someone’s own.
It didn’t feel like a part of their home. More like a hotel room prepared for some stranger that would just interfere in the calm lives that Toji and Megumi were already living.
“Wow, we did a good job.” Yuuji interrupts again, standing triumphantly at the entrance of the room.
Megumi hums. “Yup. He better not mess it up.” The boy turns, making his way out of the room.
Yuuji hobbles after him. “What kind of person do you think he’ll be?”
They make it to the kitchen and Megumi glances at Yuuji before opening the refrigerator. Maybe they’ll be like the old helping hands his father used to hire. The ones he barely remembered from when he was just a toddler and his dad had recently lost his wife, with not enough strength to take care of this place on his own. “He’ll probably be old.” Megumi shrugs.
His friend giggles at the table he’s made his nest in already. “Smelly?”
Megumi snorts, taking out the jar of lemonade he had made earlier that day. “Probably.”
“What if he has back problems and cant– oh, thank you!” Yuuji interrupts himself, gratefully taking the glass of lemonade offered by his friend. “Can’t even lift things so you’ll end up having to do the chores anyway?”
Megumi makes a face. “My dad would probably keep him anyway as a ‘baby-sitter’.” He rolled his eyes as he made quotation marks in the air.
Yuuji snickered. “That’s true.”
It’s a nice distraction, talking with Yuuji, always sharing his thoughts enthusiastically. His friend ended up having two more glasses of lemonade before he was picked up.
“Good luck!” Yuuji encouraged, with a thumbs up and a wide smile.
Megumi nodded, a small smile gracing his lips. “Thanks.”
He watched Yuuji’s car leave through the long dirt road of their land. Megumi’s eyes flickered over to the pile of boxes and junk they had needed to remove from the-- previously known as– storage room.
The sun was on its way down the sky, covering everything in its golden orange hue. The temperature was very slowly falling as the heat from the sun descended with the yellow glowing orb.
Megumi headed inside. With Yuuji gone and his father having gone to buy some ingredients for the dinner they would have once the helper arrived, the house was empty. Eerily so.
On his way up the stairs, his eyes caught the room Yuuji and him had to clean. His stomach did an uncomfortable little twist, but shaking it off he hurried up the stairs. Toji had told him to make sure to be ready by the time he came home with the groceries.
🝮
That very evening, Megumi sat on the old green armchair in their living room. Feet propped up and a book in his hands as Toji worked on making dinner. It smelled delicious.
Megumi almost had the feeling of sweet nostalgia. Of a peaceful and familial evening, with the smell of the steak cooking in the oven and the soft domestic sound of the utensils hitting against the pan.
But he could see his dad whenever he stepped away from the stove to look at the big grandfather clock that stood next to their front door. The way he kept wiping his sweaty hands on his pants. His eyes flickering to the window showing the open driveway for merely a second and the little curses he’d say under his breath as if he’d been distracted enough that he messed something up in the kitchen.
Megumi lived his whole life with the man, he could tell when his father was nervous though he tried to hide it. And of course that nervousness was contagious and even though Megumi could probably care less about the old man that would spend a few months with them so Toji could make some money, the clock slowly ticking on the wall drummed in his ears like a countdown for doom.
His eyes glanced at the words on the page but nothing was making sense and he kept having to reread the same line, over and over again in a futile attempt to make something stick.
A huff from Toji caught his attention. The man had his hands on his hips, facing Megumi though his eyes weren’t on the boy just yet. “He’ll be here any minute now.” His voice was rough, eyes falling on Megumi for a second before he turned away to the kitchen again. “Go put some pants on.”
Megumi huffed looking down at his shorts. That he was wearing. Glaring at the sliver of the kitchen he could see he slammed his book shut. But winced when it made a sound louder than he meant it to, murmuring a small apology before Toji could return and reprimand him for his brattiness, he shuffled up the stairs.
Tension in the house felt so thick, he could cut it with a butterknife. Megumi chose some random khaki pants he threw on before heading downstairs again, jumping two steps at a time.
Glancing at his father from the stairs and then at the clock, his heart skipped a beat. It was about to be four. His eyes darted towards the driveway that still only held Toji’s old red truck.
“Here,” Toji said from the kitchen, voice low. “Help set the table.”
Megumi gave a short nod, walking to the kitchen to grab the plates, cups and jar of lemonade.
It felt odd, setting the table for three people when the third person wasn’t Yuuji. His mind wandered again, as he fixed the forks on the table, making sure they were all straight and the plates centered. A stranger in their house again.
He was older now, and found out he didn’t particularly like people. Strangers. Or maybe it was that they didn’t like him. His only friend? Yuuji. Somehow.
There was a sound in the distance growing louder and Megumi looked up just as his father did. The loud sound of an engine startled them and Megumi’s hands suddenly felt sweaty. He swallowed, his throat dry, as his eyes glanced towards his father.
Only when the loud engine cut off with a deafening silence did Toji start moving. He walked over to the kitchen, hurriedly wiping his hands with a kitchen towel. Then grabbing a gun that sat on the counter that Megumi hadn’t noticed before, he slipped it into his belt under his shirt.
“Stay inside until I call for you.” Toji demanded, not sparing Megumi even a glance.
The boy stared out the window as his father stepped down the porch. The car door opened. A big boot could be seen landing on the ground behind it.
Megumi held his breath.
The car door closed with a loud thunk. The man that had come– he couldn’t even be in his late twenties. He was a tall, broad thing. All confident posture and low voice. Megumi heard his fathers words of greeting but when the man replied all he heard was a deep rumble.
It was hard to see from the distance and the falling sun highlighting their silhouettes but his smile seemed too sharp. Handshake too firm as if a performance he had practiced a million times. It left an uneasy feeling in his stomach.
He could make out his eyes and features just barely. But the sudden way the man’s eyes glanced over the porch then the door, until they landed on Megumi, startled the boy and he took a sudden step back. His lungs froze, tingling at the tip of his fingers.
After what felt like an agonizingly long time, he slowly returned to his place in front of the window, his breath caught in his throat. The eyes stayed on him. His initial instinct was to run, the stare intense, sending a shiver down his spine even with the distance and glass between them.
Megumi’s eyes flickered over to his father, Toji, and only then did he realize they both were looking at him. The boy let out a shaky breath, nodding once at his dad. He swallowed heavily, breaking the spell and turning away from the window to quickly put some shoes on and head out the door.
His heart was at his throat as he took a step outside. The air felt heavy. Hard to inhale.
He walked up to them, keeping his eyes, whenever he’d look up from the ground, on his father.
“This.” Toji spoke, firm hand clapping on the startled boy’s shoulder. “Is my son, Megumi.”
When the boy looked up, and met the intense gaze of the huge man in front of him, words got caught in his throat. The man’s smile didn’t falter; if anything, it sharpened. He tilted his head, a gesture that was deceptively casual.
“Megumi,” He rumbled, the name a low vibration that seemed to settle deep in Megumi’s bones. It wasn’t a question. And the boy didn’t like the way it sounded coming out of the man’s mouth. He held out a large, calloused hand. “A pleasure. I’m Sukuna.”
Megumi stared at the offered hand, his own feeling small and clammy. Toji’s grip on his shoulder tightened, a silent request. Hesitantly, Megumi reached out and placed his hand in Sukuna’s. The man’s grip was firm, enveloping his completely, and he held it a beat too long before releasing him.
“Well,” Toji said, his voice a little too loud as he clapped his hands together. “Let’s get a move on, shall we? We wouldn’t want the food getting cold.” He smiled, Megumi catching the way his eyes crinkled too hard with the way he had to hold it in place. “Megumi, why don’t you take Sukuna’s bags to his room while I show him around the house?”
Megumi swallowed. His gaze had fallen to the man’s shoes. Big brown combat boots that would soon- no doubt, get scruffed up and dirty.
“Oh, there’s no need for that.” Sukuna waved his hand, shaking his head.
But Toji insisted, shooing Megumi towards the car as he led Sukuna in the direction of the house.
The air was already becoming more breathable as the two adults stepped away. When the coast was clear, and both were inside, Megumi took in a deep breath, his limbs relaxing and a small shudder running through his body. He swallowed, looking at the shiny black truck. The windows were slightly tinted and he could see his reflection on them.
With a huff he turned away, not liking his wide eyes and pale face at the moment. Finding the bags in the back of the truck was easy. Carrying them inside– not so much. But he made it in the end.
Joining the adults at the table was a little awkward. He didn’t know whether he should just walk to the table and sit down or if he should announce himself or–
“Did you finish, Gumi?” Toji looked up, empty plate in one hand, a large spoonful of rice in the other. Another pair of eyes also looked towards Megumi, but the boy didn't dare meet them. His feet felt glued to the ground under the heavy gaze.
“Yeah.” His voice came out too quiet. Almost a choked sound escaping his lips.
“Come join us then.” Toji tilted his head towards the free chair next to himself and across from the stranger.
Megumi nodded his head once again and avoided eye contact as he sat on the chair. The small sound of the chair scraping against the wooden floor as he pulled it out was the loudest thing in the room.
Then as he sat down, muscles still stiff as he could feel eyes on him, Toji continued to serve the rice onto the plate. The mundane clank of utensils and plates, a familiar pleasant sound.
“Don’t mind the food too much, I’m no chef.” Toji’s voice cuts through the silence.
“Oh,” The man huffed out a small laugh. “No, it smells amazing.”
Toji chuckled, shaking his head.
They spoke quietly over the food. After Toji finished serving Sukuna, he served Megumi. The boy murmured his thank you, not wanting to interrupt their adult conversation or unintentionally place himself into the conversation.
The food was good. The conversation the two men were having about the horses and the chickens and the people in town was a comforting background noise. Also distracting enough that Megumi felt at enough ease to finally look up.
First he looked towards his dad. He seemed calmer. That appeased Megumi a little bit.
Then hesitantly, just as he spoke, Megumi’s eyes glanced over at the man. Sukuna.
“Yes, sir, one of my colleagues suggested getting some experience in that field and took me to his farm a few summers back.”
The man’s voice was a slow, low rumbling and when he spoke it was as if a black hole had opened up and sucked all the air and attention in the room towards him.
His eyes were brown. Such a peculiar color that when the light hit them just right, they looked almost red. The muscles on his arm could be seen under his shirt when he moved to grab the glass of lemonade. The visible veins in his hands had Megumi gulping.
The stranger’s gaze wasn’t as terrifying when it was directed elsewhere.
Megumi looked down to his own plate, grabbing another spoonful of rice to keep his mouth occupied.
But his whole presence still brought a heavy unease to the boy’s shoulder. He could literally feel the eyes of the man on him whenever he’d look at Megumi without having to look up.
But thank goodness the conversation with his father kept the man mostly occupied.
Megumi glanced up at his dad, chewing slowly on the last bit of food he’d had on his plate. He looked… open. Calm.
But he supposes it wouldn’t be wise to show it if there were a reason to be wary of Sukuna. Red-brown eyes met green and Megumi almost choked mid-swallow.
Toji stood up quickly, patting his back a tad too aggressively. His coughing fit didn’t last long, face pointed down, a warm flush of embarrassment making its home on his cheeks.
“You good, kid?” Toji asked, a firm hand still on his shoulder.
Megumi wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Yeah.” Cleared his throat a bit, “May I be excused?” His knuckles turned white as he gripped the plate with one hand and his cup with the other.
Toji hummed, the hand on his shoulder moving to ruffle his hair a bit. “Yeah, why not.” He moved back over to his own chair not yet sitting down again but giving Megumi some space. “It’s getting late anyway.”
The boy didn’t know what time it was. Barely bed time, but it was getting dark out, and he wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to escape this awkward dinner.
“Okay, thanks.” He stood up, pushing his chair back. The scrape against the wooden floor, a familiar little sound. Out of courtesy and a burdensome feeling of obligation, he looked up at the man, whose eyes were already on him. “Goodnight to you, mister.”
He nodded and looked away before those eyes could burn holes into his head. Then standing up he brought his plate and cup to the sink and turned the faucet on, letting the water fall on them for a minute.
He pursed his lips and turned it off. Only when he turned around did the tingling feeling at the back of his neck subside. The man had returned his focus to the food still on his plate.
The boy walked past Toji, a gentle hand on his father's shoulder for just a second. “Goodnight, dad.”
“Night, Gumi.” Toji returned with a small smile and nod.
The boy hurried up the stairs, the prickling at the back of his neck disappearing only once he was out of sight.
“The kid okay?” The man’s voice spoke quietly, all in vain against the silence of the night.
“He’s fine.” Toji dismissed. “Tomorrow I’d actually like to-” Megumi stopped listening.
He washed up after using the toilet and then made his way to his own room. One door down from the bathroom.
He locked the door after a moment of quiet hesitation. Normally he wouldn’t. Toji found no reason for him to have to… but he also supposed there was a valid reason today. In fact in the back of his mind, he remembered a vague suggestion to do so whenever the stranger arrived, at least for the first few nights.
Changing into his pajamas, Megumi got into bed, pulling the thin blanket over himself.
The whirring of the fan wasn’t loud enough to drown out the crickets and the sounds of outside but that had never kept him up at night. His mind was racing and heart beating loudly against his chest.
He really hoped Sukuna wasn’t some evil guy sent over to kill them. But he also shouldn’t doubt his dad. First off, he could definitely protect them if it turned out Sukuna was evil… secondly he would probably have done a background check on the guy before allowing him to step foot on their land.
Toji was a tough guy but there was no denying he was a protective father.
Remembering that, Megumi felt a little more at ease. He wasn’t sure how long the guy was planning to stay, but he hoped it wouldn’t be for too long.
His eyes were slowly closing, sleep wanting to overtake him, but a sudden sound down in the kitchen made him jolt. The boy held his breath and listened.
There were murmurs exchanged. Quiet words he couldn’t make out at all. After another moment he heard his fathers footsteps coming up the stairs. He listened intently, heart in his throat.
Toji closed the door to his own room. Silence followed.
Seconds passed, then minutes.
His heart was slowly returning to normal and his eyes drooped again. But then the creak of the downstairs door as it clicked shut was heard.
…
Why did the man just head to his room?
Hadn’t Toji already gone to bed?
What was he doing unattended down in their house for all those minutes of silence??