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“What?” Satoru had said between soft laughs, looking down at a certain head of spikes that just so happen to be the hair of Megumi. The seven year olds cheeks were puffed out and his arms were crossed over his chest. He’d been trying to convince Satoru he'd be taller than him.
“You’re not deaf. I said what I said! When I’m older, I’ll be taller than you!” He was so certain about it. Had his little heart set on the truth. He might be little now but he won’t be forever! Tsumiki told him all the time that he’ll be big one day.
“How are you so sure, Gumiii?” He dragged on the vowel within the nickname, knowing just how much it ticked off Megumi. Man, Satoru did not know how fun it was to tease a seven year old just years prior to this. He might have been a kid, but man was he unaware. He just had to watch how much he teased the boy. It was fun, but this kid had such a habit of snapping. Satoru was convinced that this kid was actually just a grown man trapped in a kid's body.
Megumi’s puffed cheeks turned into a pout at the nickname. He had half a mind to say never mind and go away. Satoru was so annoying at times… but he felt safe. He can’t really do much there. For the longest time, when he only had Tsumiki, no one else felt safe. But… It was different now. It may have taken two years, but he warmed up to Satoru and his annoying antics.
“I just am!” he said—no insisted. He knew it’d happen. And he knew the day it came, he’d shove it in Satoru’s face with a proud grin— silently telling him ’suck that!’ just because he had been right. He dropped his arms to his sides before his head crammed down.
Another reason why he wanted to be tall like Satoru.
It always hurt to look up at him whenever he didn’t crouch to Megumi’s level.
He wanted Satoru to deal with the strain one day.
The brief silence was shortly broken, Satoru having fallen into thought. He grinned down at Megumi before finally crouching down to the boy's level.
“Well, I have an idea. Get me a pen and then go to the doorframe of… let’s do it in the hallway one.” Megumi just looked at Satoru like he was dumb– confused as to why he asked him to do such a thing. Despite being smart and probably more perspective than a kid his age should be, he still had his moments.
He decided against arguing it and just huffed before he turned around and disappeared down the hallway. He’s gone and back within three minutes, marker in hand as he made beeline for where Gojo had told him they’d measure at. He handed the marker over, looking up at the white haired man.
Gojo had just smiled, uncapping the marker.
“Stand against the frame.. Yeah, like that.” He had said as he helped Megumi. “Heels— yup yup.” His hand then came out and he flattened the hair atop his head. He smoothed out the hair down the top of his head before his fingers hit the frame. Then the marker came out and he marked the wall.
“There we go! Look at that!”
As Megumi had pulled his head back, he watched Gojo come in and write Megs, 7 beside the line. Megumi watched it all and then turned to look at Gojo.
“You do it.”
Gojo let out a chuckle, eyebrow raised as he had turned to look at the smaller boy. His head tilted down, and his blue eyes came out from behind his glasses, meeting Megumi’s eyes.
“You’re that persistent on this, hm?” Megumi just nodded. Gojo shook his head and then stood up. Megumi watched as he did the same thing to himself as he did Megumi. He watched as Gojo stepped back and wrote his name and age beside the line as well.
The line was so so much higher than his.
He would pass it one day.
That determination never left.
Five years ago, Satoru Gojo died.
It had been five years since.
Five years that Megumi refused to step into his childhood home.
Not when Yuuta tried to tell him, not when Maki, or Shoko, or Nobara, or even Yuuji. He refused to do it. Not when clearing out that house meant reliving childhood memories that still hit hard on random days.
By no means was he fully healed after everything that happened, but he had made progress. He had worked on himself in the last five years— had fixed relationships he almost ruined when Sukuna was defeated and he first woke up.
Despite everything, he refused to step into that house or clear it out.
But now he knew he had to.
He was twenty one and already stepping into new bits of his life.
He started therapy. He graduated. He started taking veterinary medicine classes. He started healing after everything, even if he still had PTSD episodes. He and Yuuji confessed; they started dating.
Here they were, now. They were finally going to move in together, and with that, he was finally going to get rid of the house. He needed to clear it out, and Yuuji had finally convinced him to do it. He had offered they move into the house, but Megumi declined; saying that they needed a fresh start.
Yuuji had just nodded, told him it made sense, and then they went house hunting. They had yet to find a place, but that was the least of their problems right now. Right now, Megumi was focused on driving to the small town just on the outskirts of Tokyo, listening to Yuuji talking in the passenger seat.
Megumi hadn't really been paying attention, focused on driving and any background noise muted in his brain. Yuuji's voice tuned out, the soft music on the radio tuned out, the sounds of the outside world passing by barely registering.
When he snapped out of it, he was two houses down. The buildings surrounding the oh so familiar apartment of his childhood were more worn down— his old home included.
It wasn't the nicest and it never was. When he pulled the car to the curb and parked, he turned his head and looked out the window. Inhaling deeply, he turned to look at Yuuji on his left.
The other was looking out the same window, a more solemn look in his eyes.
"You… grew up here?"
Megumi nodded.
"This run down place?"
Megumi sighed.
"Wasn't very pleasant, I know. But it was all we had, so."
Megumi watched as Yuuji's lips tugged down into a small frown. Megumi nodded and then turned the car off, undoing his seatbelt.
"We didn't have much growing up, so it shouldn't take long." He said and then watched as Yuuji mirrored his previous action— seatbelt off that is. Megumi then opens the door and gets out, Yuuji following suit.
The walk up to the building, then apartment was relatively quick but also silent. Megumi had an almost tight expression— suddenly having second thoughts on doing this. They went up the stairs silently and down the hallway in that same silence. It looked the same— the people who lived here when he was a kid long since moved out.
It had been five years since everything happened— since his and everyone he knew lives had done a complete 360 and changed for the better or worse. He was long overdue for clearing this place out before taking the next step. It was almost like clearing out this chapter of his life, but not. It was also like finally accepting everything that happened to him happened. It was a clean slate he could start his new life with.
Yuuji stayed at his side as Megumi… well he wasn't really following his actions, just his face because before he knew it, Megumi was opening the door. He had to jiggle the knob a few times— push the door a bit hard but then it finally budged, squeaking as he got it open. It creaked slightly and then opened.
The sight of the house had a strange feeling wash over him— something akin to nostalgia but not because.. what good from his childhood years did he have to yearn and miss? Miss the feeling of having no food for days on end, or the guilt he felt watching his sister stress over the fact they didn't have enough money for dinner that night, let alone rent for the month.
He knew he didn't miss the feeling he felt sitting at this very door— very mat he stood on now, hoping and waiting for the shadow of a man he once knew to come back. The disappointment he felt when another day passed of no show. No show from his father or Tsumiki's mom.
"—umi. Megumi."
He snaps out of it, and standing right in front of him is Yuuji, hands on his shoulders trying to bring him out of it. His eyes widened slightly and the tension he barely noticed, lessens with a deep breath.
"You okay?" When Megumi said nothing in turn, he added on. "If it's too much on you, we can come another da—"
"No. No, it's fine. I'm fine, just.. just lost in thought."
Yuuji gave him a skeptical look. He knew him. He knew that nine times out of ten, if he said he was okay, he was pushing away. It wasn't anything new, but it was something he knew Megumi was working on. Instead of pushing, he sighed and nodded.
"Okay. Where should we start first?"
Megumi swallows thickly and then nods down the hall.
"We can start in Tsumiki's room."
Yuuji nods and then they walk further into the apartment, closing the door. The entire room seems to be frozen in time— forgotten the moment Gojo moved Megumi and his sister into a penthouse. A rather wealthy one. It was a weird change, but they were able to live after that.
Megumi breathes in deeply, calming his emotions. Yuuji's hand rubs his back in reassurance and then Megumi moved. He passed down into the hallway and stopped outside the door that used to be Tsumiki's room.
When he pushed open the door, the room was frozen in time. A pit in his stomach opened as his eyes scanned the room. He hates that she never got to grow up in here. It was frozen in time— nothing had been touched in almost twenty years.
Which is funny to think about, because someone should have cleared this apartment out the moment they left. But it almost seems like they forgot— this place was mostly forgotten by now.
Still, the sight broke his heart. Seeing the room, it really put into perspective on how young she was when they lived here. She was only seven. Seven and the responsibility of an adult was on her shoulders.
It also made Megumi hate someone he doesn't even remember— never thinks about. How could two grown adults leave children behind with the responsibilities that they were in charge of.
Megumi falls out of his thoughts again, though just barely, and moves into the room and towards the bed. He stares down at the messed up pink sheets and blankets, reaching for a forgotten bunny stuffed animal. The sight made him let out a small snort, brushing off the dust and picking it up.
"She was so upset when she realized she left this behind. We were never able to come back to get it, though."
Yuuji appeared behind him, looking over his shoulder. His eyes trailed down to the teddy, and he frowned as his chin propped against his shoulder.
"So keep it. Something like a keepsake of her?" Megumi just nodded, and they said nothing as he stared down at it— thumb running over the ear. He was so lost for a moment, he barely picked up on what Yuuji registered— barely had it click.
"Or, you know.. We could also keep it for our future kids?" At that Megumi just clicked his tongue and rolled his shoulders, but the smile that curled his lips went against the way he pushed him off.
"Yeah yeah." He muttered before moving around the room.
They had spent some time, Megumi moving at a slower pace as he took in everything. Every here and there, he found a small object with so much meaning, and he told Yuuji that meaning the same way you easily told someone the colof of the sky. All these years later, he still remembered such small details about someone he'd lost so long ago.
They work their way down to Megumi's old room, and the cycle repeats. Even if these were small details Yuuji had known, he still listened as Megumi retold the stories of each object he had relocated after all this time.
A stuffed dog he had forgotten— one that Tsumiki's mom had brought home one day after being gone for longer than twenty-four hours. A rolled up poster to some emo band— something his sister had found and given to him, which him and Yuuji snorted at when he pointed out it had become his favorite band with time.
The entire processes is nostalgic— hurts even. But it had to be done, and he knew that much. It took a good three hours of their time, Megumi wanting to make sure they missed nothing. He collected things from his sisters room he wanted to keep and dropped it into his shadows— did the same for things from his own room.
Other things were thrown out, things like trash or old clothes. And while his thumbs brushed over the clothes, recalling when he or his siter could once fit in them, there was no purpose in keeping them. They were old, ragged, dirty, and extremely dusty from years and years of no use. Just sitting here stuck in time.
Slowly, the house emptied out. From Tsumiki's room, to his own, to the living room and kitchen, thing after thing was thrown out. And slowly, it felt like he was closing the door on a part of his life he was ready to move on from.
But as they cleaned, he failed to notice something. As he was staring at a mug, getting ready to toss it out, Yuuji called from the entryway of the hallway.
"Holy shit. You were a short kid, Megs."
His brows furrowed as he registered that— what? Where did that come from.
He tossed the mug out and then crossed over to where Yuuji was. Appearing behind him, he raised an eyebrow in confusion at where Yuuji was squatting. Why was he staring so hard at the wall.
"Huh?"
"Look!" Yuuji exclaimed, finger pointing out. It wasn't until he looked over his shoulder that he saw what exactly his boyfriend was looking at.
Two lines marked on the doorway. One blue and one purple. Next to the blue line was written Megs, 7.
Suddenly, the memory hit him and his eyes widened.
He had forgotten this even happened.
And yet.. It almost felt like it happened yesterday.
"You’re not deaf. I said what I said! When I’m older, I’ll be taller than you!”
Gojo had just laughed at him, the confidence in his attitude was adorable. Megumi doesn't remember what he said, he just remembered it annoyed the absolute hell out of him. Gojo had always been cocky, and as they got older, it never changed. He never changed.
One could say he never grew up.
Suddenly, another memory hit.
"You do it.”
Gojo had let out a chuckle, his eyebrow raised when he turned to look down at Megumi. As his head tilted down, Megumi stared up at his big and definitely scary, blue eyes as they appeared from behind his glasses— staring right into his own green ones
“You’re that persistent on this, hm?” Megumi had just nodded.
He had given him the same blue marker and watched—
His eyes raised up, but there was nothing.
No, instead, he had to tilt his head down slightly and—
Sats, 19 >v<
Megumi's breath caught in his throat.
There was no way.
His body froze, and then his line of sight was cut off by Yuuji's face when he stood. His eyes were wide in shock, staring right into Megumi's eyes.
"Baby? Woah— Are you..?"
What the fuck?
Why did this wave of emotion just hit him?
He barely moved when he felt Yuuji's hand on his cheek, much less when his thumb wiped under his eye. It was only when his other hand touch his cheek that he moved, not flinching back but grabbing his wrists.
"Hold on— check something for me." He said, ignoring the way a sudden lump in his throat formed and made his words sound more choked than intended.
Or expected, really.
Yuuji took a second but when he got the message, he stepped aside. From there, Megumi pointed at the mark of Gojo's name and then stood to the side of the frame.
Back then, Gojo had to be no more than six foot one. Megumi wasn't that. Megumi was nearing something akin to six foot four, so instead of the mark being at the exact height of him, it was to his temple.
It was a small difference but it meant so much to him when he remembered what he had promised all those years ago. He watched as Yuuji's eyes darted about from the mark to Megumi, and slowly, it registered.
"I had told him I'd end up taller one day. I didn't.."
"Didn't expect to actually meet it?"
Megumi shook his head, hand coming up to wipe his nose. He turned back around, standing beside Yuuji and staring at the mark. He bit his lip and they both stood in silence.
After a long moment, Megumi spoke again as he wiped at his eyes.
"I can't rub it in his stupid face." He mutters, breaking the silence. Yuuji from besides him lets out a quiet snicker— one that Megumi ends up mirroring after a second. When he stops laughing, his shoulders drop and he lets his head fall onto Yuuji's shoulder. The others arm wraps around his waist and he closes his eyes.
"I can't believe it's been five years."
"Me neither. Sometimes it feels like it was yesterday."
There's a pause after Yuuji hums at that inn acknowledgment. Megumi waits for him to say something, or maybe for something to come to mind for him to say. Eventually, Yuuji breaks that silence.
"I think he would be proud of you— how you've grown since then."
It shouldn't, but his words hit Megumi somewhere close to home. He's not going to cry again, but his eyes do end up stinging at his words and the pure honesty in them. Megumi knows for a fact that he's right— on the nose type of right. He just nods, turning his face into the side of Yuuji's neck.
"He'd be proud of all of us."