Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Satoru Gojo was renowned for a myriad of qualities: his handsomeness, competence, intelligence, considerable wealth, and occasionally, his incredible annoyingness.Yet, among all the characteristics that defined him,, whether good or bad, one tended to stand out prominently in his day-to-day life—his impulsiveness.

Whenever an intriguing idea came to mind, no matter how despicable or insane it’d be, he’d immediately move on his feet and try to accomplish it no matter what. He was an unstoppable force that people either ridiculed or admired him for—one always outweighed the other depending on the situation at hand. 

If Satoru had to guess, he’d say that a majority of people would be ridiculing him for the idea that led him to his current predicament: sitting in the office of a small orphanage in the outskirts of Tokyo, with adoption papers laid out on the table in front of him as a kind, middle-aged woman sat in front of him with a pleasant smile.

“I’ll just clarify again,” The woman named Tengen, cleared her throat as she organized a few papers on the desk. “You’ll be adopting Tsumiki Fushiguro, aged nine and Megumi Fushiguro, aged seven. Is that correct, Gojo-san?”

Satoru eagerly nodded, sunglasses sliding down the bridge of his nose as he flashed the woman a toothy grin. “Yup!” 

The mere thought of adopting two children at the age of twenty-two, just a year after graduating from university, would probably never cross the minds of normal people, but Satoru had set his sights on it the moment it came to mind just a week ago when he was in a boring business meeting with some equally boring people from his family’s company. 

The Gojo Corporation was on its way to become one of the biggest businesses in Japan, and Satoru was cursed of being the heir to the company the exact millisecond he was born. He lived his life to the fullest back during his adolescent years because he knew right away that right after graduation, he’d be working the nine to five under the company and be groomed into becoming the next CEO. Satoru thought he’d be able to stomach the mundanity of it all, but one year in and he was slowly tempted to just smash his head against a brick wall every morning. 

So to solve his simple dilemma of getting bored with life, he decided he’d adopt kids. 

Satoru learned early on in his life that he could be good at anything as long as he put his mind to it, which earned him an insane amount of academic awards, scholarships, trophies from sports—you name it, he has it, so parenting shouldn’t be too hard for him. Besides, he had a lovable, charismatic personality that he knew everyone adored, so getting along with children should be as easy as one plus one. 

There’s also the benefit of the Gojo company getting yet another heir, and his parents could finally stop hounding him on getting married, specifically with other business heirs from all around the world. 

Lastly, wouldn’t it just be really funny?

When Satoru entered the orphanage, he had only planned to adopt one child. However, the first thing that caught his attention as he stepped into the loud, rowdy backyard where all the children were playing was a young girl in a pink dress with charcoal hair tied neatly in a ponytail, sitting on the grass reading the book on her lap out loud. She was most likely reading it to the young boy sitting right next to her. Upon closer inspection, the two of them shared similar features, so it was a no-brainer that they were siblings. 

As Satoru approached them for a greeting, the young girl excitedly stood up at the sight of him and wasted no time introducing herself as Tsumiki, then she tapped on her younger brother’s shoulder, who simply stayed put and scowled at Satoru as if he was the ugliest thing he had ever set his eyes on before muttering under his breath. “Weirdo with sunglasses.”

Ah. Satoru thought as he smiled at the pair. This is gonna be absolutely hilarious.

“Alright, you can go ahead and start signing some of these while I go get your identity double-checked and get some more papers printed—they'll be for the city hall.” Tengen gently held up Satoru’s driver’s license that he gave a few moments ago before standing up from her seat. “Again, thank you so much for choosing to adopt these wonderful kids, Gojo-san.”

“It’s no problem.” Satoru gave a soft smile as he uncapped the pen in his hands.

As Tengen exited the room, Satoru's body shifted into autopilot mode, 

methodically signing his signature across multiple papers. His mind, however, wandered into the exciting prospects of the future. Vivid images unfolded—cooking a wholesome breakfast for his two new kids ( pancakes or waffles for them? ), meticulously preparing their lunch boxes ( sandwiches or bento boxes? ), and strolling to their bedrooms to wake them up with a warm smile. After a delightful breakfast together, they would all pile into Satoru's car, bopping their heads to his CD collection as they cruised to school. A quick goodbye kiss, and they would enthusiastically hop out, ready—

"Uhm...Gojo-san?” 

Tengen’s voice and the creaking hinges of the door interrupted his daydream, and Satoru had to blink himself back to reality for a few moments before turning his head and giving the old woman a quizzical look.

“What is it? Is there something wrong?”

“I had your identity cross referenced with the Metropolitan Government,” Tengen held up a few pieces of papers in her hand as she frowned. “These papers say you’re married. I’m sorry Gojo-san, but during this process, we’ll need both parents present in signing the papers.”

Satoru simply hummed as the gears in his head abruptly stopped and exploded into smithereens.

Huh. 

Married.

Him, Satoru Gojo, married.

What the hell.

It had to have been a mistake. Why on earth would Satoru be married at the ripe age of twenty-two?! He wasn't even seeing anyone. If anything, his love life was a total bust overall. He had only ever dated one person, and that was his old best friend Suguru Geto, whom he dated from his first year of high school until their last year in college. Sure, marriage had been a possibility for them—a big possibility even, especially a few months before they broke it off, practically getting drunk on the idea of holy matrimony alongside the alcohol present during the reception of Shoko and Utahime's wedding. They even left early, immediately hailing a cab in their drunken state to go to a drive-thru chapel and—

Oh. 

Oh no.

Satoru had always imagined that his worst nightmares might involve his family's company going bankrupt or facing some bizarre scandal due to his own actions. However, he was convinced that none of those experiences would be even half as devastating and hellacious as the moment he laid eyes on the big, bold words MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE placed prominently above the names SATORU GOJO and SUGURU GETO. 

A strange, dull ache made itself known in his temples, and his mouth had gone completely dry as he sifted through the rest of the papers, which were basically a bunch of documents that had his marital status as Married instead of the Single that he was always familiar with.

Once Satoru made sure that the papers in front of him were real and that he wasn’t hallucinating any of the words, he looked up at Tengen whose soft countenance was exchanged with a sharp, pointed one as she impatiently tapped her foot.

“Um… t-there seems to be a mistake, on my end at least.” Satoru could feel a lump forming in the middle of throat. He swallowed hard. “…Uh, is it a requirement for both of us to be here?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so, Gojo-san.” Tengen sighed. “Will Geto-san be able to join us anytime today?”

Satoru pursed his lips. How on earth could he even begin to explain that Geto-san wouldn’t be able to come anytime, ever , as he hadn’t even seen the man for more than a year already since they broke up just two months before their college graduation, and that they didn’t even have the slightest clue that they were married to each other?

He didn’t want to send poor Tengen into a stroke with a four-hour long explanation, so he settled for placing the papers on the desks and giving Tengen one of his well-practiced fake smiles that masked the absolute turmoil going through every single cell in his body. 

“Actually Tengen, I’m afraid my—uh,” Satoru breathed in sharply. “ Husband , wouldn’t be able to make it today. Actually, now that I think about it, I should talk things over with him again, just to be sure we really want to adopt kids. So, maybe we can call off the adoption?”

Tengen gave him a disapproving look as she crossed her arms, similarly to how an elementary school teacher would to a student who was caught cheating during an exam. “I’m sorry Gojo-san, but we can’t do that. You’ve already signed a good number of the papers on the desk, and we’ve already told the Fushiguros the exciting news of them getting a new family. We can postpone this meeting so Geto-san can be present, but please make sure that it can be sometime this week.”

“B-but, I—”

“Gojo-san, let’s not break these childrens’ hearts more than it already has.” Tengen sighed as she gave him a piercing look, one so intense that Satoru was almost positive she was staring right into his soul. “The Fushiguros have been through a lot despite their young ages, and this is the first time since they got here a couple of years ago that they were even considered to be adopted. Please, don’t back out now.”

Satoru was a strong, capable guy. If he had to list down his innate fears and weaknesses, he was confident that the paper would just be a pristine blank. However, as he continued to be on the receiving end of the middle-aged woman’s determined glare, Tengen’s name was slowly being written on that said piece of paper. “O-okay.”

With that, Tengen’s facial expression did a full one eighty as her eyes turned into crescent moons with her soft, comforting smile. “Then, I’ll be looking forward to meeting you and your husband soon!”

Satoru nodded, giving her a weak thumbs-up as he could hear police and ambulance sirens blending in with the choir of screams in his head. 

I am so fucked.

If Tengen’s piercing gaze on Satoru was the first thing on his new list of fears, then the sight of his phone screen showcasing the contact information of someone named ‘DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT’ in his phone book would be the second. With every passing second of him staring at the screen, Satoru was sure that the dread and apprehension coursing all over his system was making the old woman’s terrifying look seem like child’s play.

Despite nastily breaking it off with Suguru over a year ago— nineteen months and four days to be more precise, but who’s counting? —Satoru never had it in him to delete his number, or any kind of digital connection with Suguru for that matter. He was confident that his romantic feelings for the guy had long faded since their relationship became toxic, and he definitely didn’t enjoy the thought of conversing with him again since he knew it’d likely end up in a fight, but the mere thought of completely cutting off contact with Suguru would get his chest to feel heavy and clogged, making him genuinely forget how to breathe. Did Suguru afflict him with some kind of curse before he left?

Satoru shook his head as he knit his eyebrows together and stared harder at the phone in his hands, as if that’d be enough to actually call his ex-boyfriend and tell him the news of their accidental marriage, found out because of Satoru’s impulsive idea of adopting children out of boredom. He continued the staring contest until his peripheral vision caught on the time at the top left corner of the screen, which read 7:25 PM, and that’s when he realized he’d been burning his corneas into his phone for more than an hour already. 

Satoru clicked his tongue in frustration as he smacked the back of his head against the headrest of his bed. A part of him considered doing the action repeatedly until he gave himself a concussion that could maybe, possibly, miraculously turn into a coma crossed his mind for a minute, however a larger part of him decided against it and he brought his phone closer to his face again.

Then, Satoru closed his eyes for a while as he tried to better put the situation into perspective. Sure, he and Suguru hadn’t exchanged words since their heated argument that led to their break up, but they were together for a solid seven years, and Satoru knew all that time together must’ve counted for something —be it an ounce of friendship or simply being civil with the attitude of acquaintances. Besides, all Satoru was going to do was inform him on something important to both their individual lives. The earlier Satoru tells him about their marriage, the quicker they could get a divorce and it would be official that they had nothing to do with each other anymore. 

Then there’s the topic of the adoption, but hey, it’s Satoru’s own decision in the end. Why would he care about the opinion of some ghost from the past? 

Satoru opened his eyes and without a second thought, he pressed the call button on the contact information page and held his phone against his ear. 

The line rang once, then twice, then Satoru made a mental note that if Suguru didn’t pick up after the fourth ring, he’d just chuck his phone out the window, pack all his things, then move to a new country and get an entirely new identity. His name would be something cool like—

“Hello?”

Satoru’s train of thought was cut off by the sudden sound of Suguru’s familiar voice, deep but also strangely saccharine as it always was, and he immediately sat up straight on his bed as his heart was practically demanding itself to break free from his ribs with its fast-paced and incessant beating. 

There was a large part of Satoru who believed Suguru wouldn’t pick up at all, likely blocking his number after the breakup. Or if he didn’t, then Suguru would recognize his number and just decline the call. He didn’t really think things through if he got this far. 

Satoru licked his lips as he looked up at the ceiling, hoping for the solution to his current uncomfortable situation to be written there in plain sight for him to see. Unfortunately, there was nothing but his blinding ceiling light, and at that moment Satoru would’ve much preferred just burning his corneas with the light and going blind.

As he continued staring, the image of the Fushiguro siblings’ contrasting facial expressions upon meeting Satoru flashed in his mind, and Satoru took in a deep breath. If Satoru was going to be a foster father, he needed to get used to doing anything and everything for the sake of his children.

All Suguru needed to do was agree to sign the adoption papers with him, then they can get a divorce and Satoru can live happily ever with Tsumiki and Megumi. 

“Um,” Satoru gripped the bedsheets under him. “H-hi, uh, Geto-san ?”

Right as the words left his mouth and his hands went cold, Satoru could tell he had already messed up this call just thirty seconds in.

“Oh my god.” Suguru groaned, and Satoru could perfectly visualize the way he was cringing on the other end. “Okay, no , we are not doing that. Just call me Suguru like always, for Christ’s sake.”

Like always. Satoru thought of pointing out how Suguru forgot to use past tense, but he decided to shove that notion down the drain of his useless brain and just get the conversation going. The sooner, the better.

“Okay, yeah, sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” Satoru brought a hand to his face. “Anyway, uh, how have you been?”

“What do you want, Satoru?” Suguru asked swiftly, impatience and irritation lacing his words. “We both know better than to do small talk. The only reason why you’d be calling me again after a whole year is because you'd need something from me.”

“What the—Do you really think that low of me?!” Satoru raised his voice, the anxiety caught up in his throat bubbling into an entirely new emotion. “I’m not the heartless man you always make me out to be, you know!”

“What, are we playing some sort of lying game now? You may be able to fool all those elites and social climbers around you, but I know you and your terrible personality better than anyone else.” Suguru scoffed, and Satoru couldn’t help but roll his eyes. 

“And you’re proud of that?” Satoru quipped, a smirk forming on his lips. “It seems you’re still quite infatuated with the illustrious and irresistible Satoru Gojo!”

“In your dreams, asshole.” Suguru spat out. “Now seriously, what’s the point of this call?”

Satoru was about to answer with another retort to continue their little argument, but his old partner seemed to be one step ahead of him. “Satoru, if you don’t answer me seriously this time, I’m going to hang up and block your number permanently.”

Satoru gulped as he bit down his bottom lip and closed his eyes, bracing himself for what might be the worst exchange he’ll have with anyone in his entire life. There was no turning back now.

“Satoru?” Suguru asked, likely confused by his prolonged silence.

“Suguru,” Satoru exhaled, hoping to relieve some of the tension on his shoulders, but to no avail. “Um, remember Shoko and Utahime’s wedding?”

“Yes?” It was now Suguru’s turn to pause. “Is this about how we pushed Utahime onto her wedding cake and made a whole scene of it? She did say she'd spend the rest of her life cursing us and taking revenge.”

The memory of Utahime, eyes burning with fury at him and Suguru while being drenched from head to toe in salted caramel cake and white icing at the wedding reception hall flashes before Satoru’s eyes, and surprisingly, he finds his lips curving into a small grin. “No, but that was really funny, wasn’t it?”

“Don’t get sidetracked.” Suguru said sternly, as if he was the embodiment of the country’s law. Satoru used to find it one of his best traits back when they were dating as it would always ground Satoru from his rambunctious personality and strident decisions, but now it just pissed him off.

“Alright, alright.” Satoru sighed. “Just… don’t overreact when I tell you, okay?”

“No promises.” 

"Okay, so, I guess we were having too much fun at their wedding reception, and…" Satoru closed his eyes, and decided to just let whatever higher being there was to take the wheel as he vomited out all the words in a flurry, making it sound as if he was a shitty contestant's last performance on Unpretty Rapstar . "We got shit-faced drunk and decided to ditch the reception to get married at some drive-thru chapel, which turned out to be pretty legitimate, but we both completely forgot about it, and I only found out today because I was about to adopt two kids."

Once Satoru was finished, he was sure he was about to pant his tongue right off his mouth. He wasn't sure if Suguru was able to catch all that. Expectedly, the other line had gone completely silent, and Satoru had to pull his phone away from his ear to double check if the call was still ongoing. 

It felt like an eternity had passed until Suguru finally replied with a raspy "What… the fuck? "

"Did you get to understand any of that?" Satoru scratched the back of his head.

"No—I mean, yes. Well, uh—" Suguru took a deep breath, one that was usually accompanied by the habit of running a hand on his scalp. "I understood the words you said—I'm used to your shitty nervous rapping—but I don't, you know, understand ."

"Well, isn't it pretty simple? We just accidentally got married in the past." Satoru said flippantly, as if he were just explaining how water was wet, although he knew very well he was also trying to convince himself just as much.

"Okay, but how the hell did we never find out?" Suguru groaned. He was probably experiencing the same intense headache Satoru got back at the orphanage.

"Obviously enough, it seemed we were both way too drunk to remember any of it, and we decided not to tell anyone that night of our plans. Also, according to our marriage papers we decided not to take our last names or something." Satoru eyed the brown envelope sitting on his nightstand, and quickly made the mental note to send all the soft copies to Suguru. 

Suguru groaned again. "Alright, damn. Okay . Now onto the next part: what the hell are you doing adopting two children?!"

Satoru scrunched his nose. He had already anticipated this reaction, but he was still pissed off nonetheless. "It's quite literally none of your damn business."

"It might not be, but it doesn't mean I can't be concerned over the children you're gonna take in and how they're gonna have the worst lives with you as their dad." Suguru chided. "It's called having sympathy , although it seems you'll never learn to have it."

"Shut up! Don't talk as if you still know me!" Satoru was confident the volume of his voice was just a few decibels away from straight up shouting. 

"You barely changed all throughout the seven years I knew you." Suguru pointed out. "You want me to believe that you'd change so much in a single year that'll make you ready to become a dad?"

"Whatever! I don't need you and your lousy lectures. It's my life, you have absolutely no say in it." Satoru huffed. 

"Aw, but aren't I your lawfully wedded husband now? I think I have a say on whether or not you're being a complete idiot." Suguru's smirk felt tangible through the line.

"Well, not for long." Satoru said flatly, burned out from their short yet somehow substantial little argument. "We need to get a divorce, and we need it done as soon as possible. Once we file it and do whatever process is next, I can go back to living my life peacefully without an asshole of a demon always yelling at me."

"Yeah, and I can go back to not wasting my energy on a spoon fed, stuck up, absolute douchebag of a nepo baby." Suguru dramatically sighed. "That would surely be a dream come true."

"Yeah, yeah." Satoru bit back the urge to tell him to shut up for the nth time. "Are you free tomorrow? We can go straight to the city hall to file our divorce after the orphanage."

"The orphanage?" Suguru inquired.

Satoru wanted to punch himself in the gut. "Oh, right! I forgot to say that you need to… be there with me… when I adopt the kids, because apparently that's how the law works or whatever."

"So, technically, I'm also adopting children now?" Suguru's words slowly curled up to a question. "Isn't that adding more fuel to the flame? Just don't adopt the kids—at least not right now. We can wait for the divorce to be finalized, then you can adopt as many children as you want and I don't have to get roped up in your wannabe dad phase."

"Believe me, I would if I could but this old lady who works at the orphanage…" Satoru let out a mirthless chuckle. "I think she's ready to commit homicide—weapon, bodybag and shovel all in the ready if I don't pull through with the adoption." 

Suguru snorted. "Okay, you're definitely overreacting. Remember you said you were absolutely positive that Naoya Zenin was gonna kill you, but it turned out he just had a really weird crush on you?"

"That's a different story, Naoya's a freak." Satoru cringed at the memory of becoming victim to his old coursemate's ruthless, horrifying stare that was out of a psychological thriller whenever they were in the same vicinity. "You'll need to meet Tengen yourself to understand. So what, are you free tomorrow or not?"

Suguru hummed. "I'll be free after lunch. Just send me the address."

"Sure," Satoru swiveled his head and stared outside his floor to ceiling windows that showcased the enthralling and familiar skyline of the city. "Do you still live in Tokyo?"

"Yeah, in Sangenjaya." Suguru paused. "Let me guess, you're living in that large ass luxurious apartment your parents bought for you in Shirokane?"

"Oh no, I decided to use that apartment as a storage place and now I'm living in the dumpster behind a KFC in Shinjuku!" Satoru rolled his eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Then, Suguru bursted into a fit of laughter. It wasn't like the quick snickers and snorts that ran throughout their entire call. No, this time, it was a heartful laugh, pure and genuine from the pit of his stomach. It was a sound Satoru had grown accustomed to, like a musical piece he had memorized by heart. 

Hearing it again after a while made Satoru's mind go back to the first time he ever heard of it. On their first week of freshman year in high school, when the two of them were bickering over something trivial—probably on manga preferences—and Satoru walked right onto a concrete wall.

Satoru loved everything about Suguru's laugh, from the way it sounded, to the way Suguru's eyes would turn into crescent moons, and by the fact that it would only be Satoru who could get it out of him.

Satoru plopped his back onto the bed, dumbfounded as Suguru continued chuckling. The call wasn't even past the fifteen minute mark yet. However, that was all the time needed for Satoru's mind and heart to start buffering.

As Suguru's laughter eventually died down, Satoru cleared his throat. "So, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Please shower before you do so. Make use of the KFC bathrooms or something." Amusement was evident in Suguru's tone.

Satoru stifled a laugh. "Yeah, yeah. I'll make sure to smell finger-licking good."

"I'm surprised to see how quick it was to convince your spouse to pull through with the adoption." Tengen pleasantly grinned as she looked over the papers on her desk.

"Oh, it was nothing, really." Satoru dismissed with a wave of his hand. "He could never say no to me and my charm. Why else do you think we got married?"

"Maybe he only married you for tax benefits." A young, high pitched voice joined the conversation, and Satoru turned to see the mop of charcoal-black hair sticking out in all sorts of directions that belonged to the voice.

"Where'd you even learn that, Megumi?!" Satoru asked, fondness and a tinge of surprise lacing his words as he ruffled the boy's hair. "You're quite the smart one, huh? You're like me in that regard!"

"Sorry, I make him watch a lot of romcoms and dramas with me." Tsumiki, seated on the other side of Gojo, shook her head with a frown. "Megumi, don't make such comments! Apologize to Gojo-san."

"It's fine, Tsumiki!" Satoru assured her with a soft headpat using his other hand. "Don't worry, it's only the first day. I'll get Megumi to warm up to me somehow."

Megumi grumbled in annoyance, which just earned him more hair ruffling and a chuckle from Satoru. 

Tengen looked as if she had just won the lottery when Satoru stepped inside the orphanage again earlier that afternoon, confidently stating that his husband will be coming soon and that they'll be adopting the kids. She wasted no time in calling Tsumiki and Megumi over to her office and for her to unearth the adoption papers from the day before.

“What’s your husband like, Gojo-san?” Tsumiki asked out of the blue, catching Satoru off guard. 

“I guess you can say he’s… a handful.” Satoru averted his gaze over to the papers in front of them. 

After the signing of adoption papers, he’s gonna have to somehow break it to the children about the whole accidental marriage thing, which shouldn’t necessarily be a problem, right? It’s not like he and Suguru are an actual couple going through a heartbreaking divorce, and it wasn’t like Tsumiki and Megumi were going to grow any emotional attachment to Suguru in the twenty minutes they’ll spend together that day before they both filed for their divorce. 

“Is he handsome?” Tsumiki’s eyes sparked animatedly as she leaned closer to Satoru.

Satoru opened his mouth to firmly state that Suguru absolutely wasn’t, but as if on cue, the door to the orphanage office swung open behind them, and all eyes landed on a tall, well built, slightly tanned young man with long, luscious, dark hair styled in a half bun, wearing a simple graphic black tee and ripped black pants. 

Satoru hadn’t seen Suguru in over a year, and he had hoped, even prayed to whatever celestial being that existed that Suguru would have the worst glowdown known to man, unable to ever date anyone again due to being just straight up ugly.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the celestial beings out there simply hated Satoru and wanted him to suffer.

If anything, Suguru had become much more attractive than they last saw each other, with his muscles more toned, hair longer and healthier, and the kind smile he always wore on his face when meeting new people more kissable than ever. He was able to miraculously make the shitty, dim lighting of the office morph into his own personal spotlight to accentuate his facial features and physique, as if he were a model on a catwalk. 

Tsumiki seemed to agree as she whispered in astonishment. “Definitely handsome!”

“Good afternoon, sorry for being a little late.” Suguru greeted with a sheepish grin, and the difference of hearing his actual, raw voice in the same room instead of through a phone call wanted to make Satoru fall to his knees. 

However, Satoru knew he had a dignity to preserve so he simply bit his tongue before returning the smile. “Suguru, you made it! What took you so long?”

Suguru rubbed the back of his nape, and Satoru immediately recognized the tell: Suguru was about to bring in more trouble. “I arrived on time, but as I entered through the front door I saw two girls huddled together and...” He slowly looked to his side, where a pair of young twin girls in matching hoodies and bob cuts— their hair colors being their only distinguishable feature—shuffled over to hug each of Suguru’s legs. Judging by their height, Satoru mused that they were likely the same age as Megumi.

“We want to be with Geto-sama!” The twins declare in unison, eliciting a laugh from Tsumiki and scowls from both Satoru and Megumi.

“ Geto-sama ? What? Are you some kind of god now?” Satoru’s mouth hung open.

Suguru shrugged. “Once I told them my name, they just started calling me that. I'll correct them sooner or later.”

Tengen’s face lit up at the implication of Suguru’s words. “Mr. Geto, was it? Nice to meet you, I’m Tengen, the owner of this orphanage! Are you implying that both you and Mr. Gojo will be adopting four children in total?”

“Yes.” Suguru nodded as he walked in the room with the two girls, planting his feet right behind Satoru’s chair.

“Hi, Mimiko! Hi, Nanako!” Tsumiki enthusiastically waved, and the twins waved back with smiles.

Satoru turned his whole torso to shoot Suguru an incredulous look, which was a sentence of its own in the secret language the two of them had made long ago. The two of them always used it in their classrooms during a tough exam, or in a loud, crowded party that had them separated across the room. Satoru never imagined that they’d be using it in an orphanage, much less right after seeing each other for the first time in a whole year after a messy break up.

What are you doing? Why are you adopting your own children now?! Satoru slightly furrowed his eyebrows. 

Suguru shot back a kind smile, camouflaging as an infuriating smirk. I don't need you and your lousy lectures. It's my life, you have absolutely no say in it.

Satoru bit his lower lip, tempted to grab Suguru by the collar and toss him out the window. He raised his eyebrows. How dare you throw back my own line?! Aren’t you making things more complicated? 

Satoru's body tensed as Suguru's placed a hand on his chair, stopping just a breath away from touching the other's shoulder. It was enough to get the cogs in Satoru’s brain to stop functioning, simply staring at Suguru with his lips slightly parted as Suguru tilted his head, which he understood as It’ll be fine. I’ll just get custody for the two girls while you get custody for your own children when we get divorced . 

“Oh, I apologize for the lack of chairs, Geto-san.” Tengen cupped her mouth as she frantically stood up, interrupting their silent exchange. “I can go grab some from–”

“It’s fine, I just need to sign some papers, right? It won’t take that long.” Suguru placed his other hand on the chair, and Satoru slowly turned back to Tengen, lips pressed into a thin line as he grew hyper aware of the warmth of Suguru’s hands behind him.

“You can have my seat.” Tsumiki suggested, hopping off and gesturing to the free seat with a bright smile.

“Oh, why thank you!” Suguru’s countenance softened as he let go of Satoru’s chair, and Satoru breathed out a breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding through his nose. “Would you like to sit on my lap?”

Tsumiki politely shook her head. “I can sit on Gojo’s lap, so Mimiko and Nanako can sit on yours.”

“You’re really kind and thoughtful, Tsumiki!” Satoru exclaimed as he grabbed her by the waist and helped her up on his lap. “We’re gonna have to work together for your brother to be the same.”

Megumi responded by sticking his tongue out, and Satoru, ever the mature adult, stuck his tongue back at him. 

All of them shared a few more laughs over the kids before Suguru started leaning onto the desk and stamping his signature on paper after paper. With two more girls now in the picture, Satoru had to go and sign more papers too. With all the paperwork in front of them and the children squirming on their laps and talking to each other about cartoons, Satoru was almost able to completely ignore the fact that he and Suguru’s shoulders were bumping into each other with each small movement. 

After what seemed like an entire millenium to Satoru, all the papers were all duly signed and neatly stacked right next to the shabby computer on Tengen’s desk. Satoru heaved a sigh of relief as he set his stamp down on the table and leaned to hug Tsumiki with both arms. His brain didn’t even know what to focus on anymore, the mentally taxing fact of being in the same room as his ex-boyfriend, or the physically taxing fact that he could barely focus his eyes and feel his right hand anymore.

“Is it finished? Do we get to go home now?” Tsumiki asked. 

“Yes, we can go home now.” Satoru breathed out, patting Tsumiki on the back. “But we’ll be stopping by somewhere first.”

“Is it Disneyland?!” One of the twins, the one with blonde hair, giggled excitedly as she bounced on Suguru’s lap.

“No, Nanako.” Suguru answered, holding her hips firmly so she wouldn’t fall off. “But I promise you I can take the two of you to Disneyland.”

“I can go to Disneyland?” Megumi joined the conversation after having kept quiet the entire time. Of course, the only thing that would interest the boy would be Disneyland.

“Yes, we can all go.” Satoru smiled at him, to which Megumi responded with a glare before turning his head to the opposite direction. Cute.

“You guys are truly one big, happy family now!” Tengen cooed as she clasped her hands together. “Aww, I can’t wait to see how homely it’ll be in your household.”

“The Gojo-Geto household will be one of excitement and love!” Satoru dramatically avowed as he put a hand above his chest and glanced over at his supposed husband.

Satoru could see a flash of shock flicker in Suguru’s expression with the way his eyebrows twitched ever so slightly before Suguru smiled and replied through clenched teeth. “Yes, the Geto-Gojo household will be something out of a happy, slice-of-life television drama.”

“What’s with the switching of last names?” Satoru narrowed his eyes. “Just because we switched in be—”

“Tengen, we’re done for today right?” Suguru cut him off as he turned to the elderly lady and side-eyed Satoru with a look.

Tengen nodded, seemingly oblivious to whatever Satoru was about to say. “You’re both free to go on and live your new lives. Ah, but I’d like to clarify.” She flipped through a few of the papers in front of her. “The address on all these papers is your residence correct?”

“Uh, yes.” Satoru leaned over to catch a glimpse of his handwriting. “Shirokane, Minato, Tokyo.”

“Okay,” Tengen sang, tapping the top of the stack of papers before dropping the bomb that tilted the axis of Satoru’s world and created a hollow crater. “Well then, I'll be visiting you guys monthly over the course of three months with a social services officer. See you all again in a few weeks!”

The silence that followed was heavy, heavier than the pressure in the deepest darkest parts of the ocean. Satoru and Suguru both stared at Tengen with nothing but pure shock in their eyes, as if she had just turned into an alien right in front of them and the men in black were on their way to handle the absurd situation. 

Surprisingly, Tsumiki was the one to break the silence with the question that was burning in everyone’s heads. “You’re going to visit us, Tengen-san? Why?” 

Tengen lowered her head to reply to Tsumiki. “As much as Geto and Gojo-sam seem like a loving couple— Suguru coughed, and Satoru pursed his lips. “—This has become a protocol for us after news reports of dangerous people adopting children for crimes and whatnot.”

“Is it really necessary? Visiting once every three months?” Suguru blinked in disbelief. “Tengen-san, Satoru and I are clearly harmless individuals! I think a single visit to our humble abode would be enough to convince you and social services.”

“There’s nothing I can do, like I said, it’s simply a protocol we have to follow.” Tengen’s gaze flitted between the two men before she raised an eyebrow. “It seems you’re both quite against the idea of the visits… why is that?”

Satoru and Suguru glanced at each other, two pairs of eyes both widening comically in trepidation. For a split second, Satoru felt like he and Suguru were back in their old high school classroom, getting scolded by Yaga over vandalizing school property. However, this time not only could they feel anger and frustration clouding the room from the older individual admonishing them; no, they could feel bloodlust .

Tengen leaned closer to them, her hazelnut irises glowing as if a storm were trapped behind it, matching her deadly aura. Satoru instinctively gulped as he tightened his hold on Tsumiki. He was sure Suguru was just as terrified as him, stiffening up beside him.

“They probably just don’t want you to visit while they’re both at work.” Nanako offered as she tapped her chin in thought. “In dramas the parents are always away at work!”

“Y-yes, exactly that!” Suguru ran his fingers through Nanako’s hair in gratitude. “You see, Satoru here is a busy business man. I would like you to come by when we’re all present at home.”

Mirroring what had happened the previous day, Tengen’s facial expression, once again, did a full one eighty as she directed a comforting smile to Suguru. “Ah, that’s no problem! I’ll go ahead and give you guys a heads-up one or two days before. Will that be alright?”

Satoru and Suguru gaze lingered on each other before answering Tengen in unison, hoping not to sound as defeated as they felt. “Yes.”

The children in the room resumed their chatter, becoming muffled background noise to Satoru as he and Suguru maintained their unwavering gaze, a seemingly cordial look that could easily be misconstrued as fondness. Yet, in their clandestine communication, it distilled into four succinct words:

We are so fucked.

If someone had told Satoru a week ago that his impulsive choice to adopt children would lead to him standing at his front door, ready to welcome his ex-boyfriend—who also turned out to be his lawfully wedded husband—who was going to move in with him for three months in an elaborate ruse to deceive an orphanage director and a social services officer into believing they were still a couple in love, Satoru would have simply laughed in disbelief.

Satoru had also informed Shoko of the situation through text and asked if she had any advice to offer, but all she replied was “omg are u serious… idk about u but i’d just kms LMFAOO,” which resulted in Satoru texting a string of question marks. Utahime had told him that the abbreviation kys meant Keep Yourself Safe, so Shoko made no sense saying she would just keep herself safe if she was in his shoes. Nonetheless, Satoru just let it slide as there were plenty of other things that weren’t making sense to him at the moment.

After a heated discussion in a cramped and deteriorated orphanage bathroom, the two of them decided it would be best for them to get the divorce papers already but hold it off, and for Suguru to move in with him until the visits finished so they could be in the clear. They both considered the idea of Suguru and the girls just visiting Satoru’s place for the scheduled visits, but there would be too many risks; They might notice the lack of items in the household that wouldn’t fit one that had four children, or they’ll interview the children about the relationship they have with both parents, and they wouldn’t know what to answer with one living in another house. Worse, they might interview Satoru’s neighbors or the staff at the apartment complex, and they’d spill about not seeing the family together outside at all.

Satoru repeated these facts in his head like a mantra to motivate himself to gesture for Suguru to come inside. Suguru rolled his eyes before walking inside with heavy footsteps and lightly shoving Satoru in the process.

“What? That’s all your stuff?” Satoru beckoned at the two duffle bags Suguru was carrying on each hand. 

“Yeah, the essentials.” Suguru plopped the bags down on the foyer before kneeling down to untie his worn down Doc Martens. “Figured I wouldn’t need to bring much stuff if I’m going to be living with the heir of the Gojo Corporation.”

“Gold digger!” Satoru kicked him in the shin, making him lose balance and stagger backwards, almost falling on his ass. 

Suguru calmy exhaled as he regained his balance and resumed removing his shoes. Satoru huffed, striding past him and into the apartment, only to be abruptly halted as a shoe came flying and struck him in the back of the head, hard . 

Satoru yelped before turning around and rubbing the back of his head with fury burning in his eyes as Suguru stood there with a victorious smirk. 

“You son of a—”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to swear in a home with four children!” Suguru theatrically gasped and brought two hands to cup his mouth. “What kind of father are you?!”

“And what kind of person are you throwing heavy duty shoes at your husband’s head? What if I got a concussion?!” Satoru exclaimed. Behind him, he could hear the shuffling of small footsteps, meaning they’ve garnered themselves an audience. 

“Oh honey ,” Suguru drawled out the pet name, which made Satoru grimace. The two of them had a deep hatred for callsigns and never bothered to have one for each other back when they were still dating. “I knew it wouldn’t hurt you because nothing could ever harm you and your thick skull.”

Satoru picked up the stray shoe on the floor and ricocheted it with his hand. “Gosh, that’s so kind of you, darling. Thank you so much for caring about me, now let me return the favor —!”

Satoru chucked the shoe back with as much force as his lanky arms could muster, hoping to hit Suguru square on his stupidly handsome face. Though instead, Suguru simply caught the shoe with a hand just inches before it hit his face, with the ease of a skilled baseball catcher. Which made no sense, really, since Suguru was only part of the basketball team in high school and he had the position of small forward. Why was he good at everything?!

Suguru smirked as he dropped the shoe onto the floor, precisely next to its pair. As Satoru’s mind went a million miles a second trying to think of a comeback, applause erupted in the apartment.

“Geto-sama, you’re so cool!” Mimiko cheered and she and the two other girls continued clapping. Meanwhile, Megumi seemed to be starstruck as his gaze fixated on Suguru with his lips parted in awe. 

“I’m the coolest person you’ll ever meet.” Suguru stated matter-of-factly as he walked past Satoru to give each of the girls a high five.

“I don’t think the coolest person in the world would be someone who only drinks black coffee.” Satoru retorted, wincing as the throbbing behind his head intensified.

“And I don’t think the coolest person in the world would be someone with an order so insane the barista serving you would resign right after each time.” Suguru shot back as he put his hands on his hips. “Now, which one is my side?”

“... In the hallway to your right.” Satoru grunted.

They decided to divide their living space in half: one side for Satoru and his kids, and the other for Suguru and his daughters. This arrangement posed no issue, given the exorbitant size of Satoru's penthouse apartment. Upon entering the apartment and passing through the foyer and lobby, you would find yourself in immaculate, elegant common areas encompassing a dining room and a living room, adorned with furnishings and decor that cost more than the average person would earn in a lifetime. 

Adjacent to it was a spacious kitchen equipped with state-of-the-art appliances. The opposite ends of the common area each have a hallway that leads to three bedrooms and a common bathroom. With this, they didn’t necessarily have to live together, they could just co-exist in one space, sharing the kitchen and the common area.

As Suguru went ahead to unpack his belongings with the help of the twins, Tsumiki helped Satoru ice the back of his head while Megumi shut himself in his own room, either to continue unpacking his own things or to avoid Satoru—Satoru has an inkling it’s latter.

By the time Satoru and Tsumiki exhausted all the ice packs from the freezer, the sun was beginning to set outside, painting the sky and apartment with warm orange and copper hues. Taking the hour into consideration, Satoru immediately took it upon himself to cook the most delectable and mouth watering meal for their first dinner together as a new family, with Tsumiki as his assistant. After a couple of hours, Tsumiki called Megumi, the twins, and Suguru to the dining table so they could all eat.

Satoru mentally patted himself on the back as he stared at the completed menu on the table: Tomato soup for the appetizer, American steak for the main dish, and lemon bars for dessert.

All of Suguru’s least favorite foods.

“Let’s eat!” Satoru sang out loud as he took off his Sanrio Cinnamoroll apron and tossed it over to a kitchen counter.

Megumi unenthusiastically shuffled to the dining table as Suguru emerged from his bedroom, with the twins trailing behind him. Satoru could barely contain his smirk as he watched Suguru’s countenance slightly shift from confusion, to disgust, and then resignation. 

“What do you think of my cooking tonight, darling ?” Satoru asked, batting his eyelashes innocently.

Suguru’s eyebrow twitched upwards, replying with his tone an octave higher. “Well honey , I haven’t even tasted it yet. Look at you, vying for my validation and opinion all the time. You truly are obsessed with me, aren’t you?” 

“Not as obsessed as you are with me, always wanting to get my attention.” Satoru dramatically put a hand on his forehead like some damsel in distress. “You hit me on the head earlier just so you could make me look at you! Modern romance really is something else.”

“Can we eat now?” Megumi interrupted loudly, taking a seat on the dining table with a deadpan look on his face.

As mature as they are, the two adult men stuck their tongues out at each other before complying and sitting opposite of one another on the table. They spent most of dinnertime letting the kids talk about themselves, their interests and their time at the orphanage. Be it coincidence or fate, the Fushiguros and the twins ended up at the orphanage around the same time a couple of years ago, and they played together enough to consider themselves all friends—save Megumi, who seemed to have only ever socialized with his own sister at the orphanage. 

Much to Satoru’s pleasure, Suguru took his time eating dinner, taking large spoonfuls and trying to keep a neutral face before forcing himself to gulp it all down. He was starting to warm up to the fact of spending the next three months living with his ex-boyfriend, and pretending to be his husband, as long as he’d be able to inconvenience said ex-boyfriend daily, or maybe even hourly if he could manage.

Somewhere along the conversation, Suguru commented on Satoru’s boring taste in decor, which launched them into another passive-aggressive verbal battle with the use of cringey pet names. To no one’s surprise, it was one of the kids that broke it up again.

“Gojo-san, Geto-sama, the two of you don’t seem like a married couple at all.” Nanako commented as she wiped her mouth of lemon square crumbs. 

“What?! No, we do!” Satoru and Suguru replied in chorus as they practically snapped their necks to turn at the child in alarm. Satoru also took a mental note on how the sama prefix was only exclusive for Suguru. Why did the twins love him so much? What on earth made him more special?

“I don’t think so. You guys have done nothing but fight weirdly today.” Mimiko shifted in her seat. “Plus, Geto-sama just kept calling Gojo-san an idiot while he was unpacking.”

Satoru gave Suguru a piercing look and opened his mouth to shoot him an insult, only to be cut off by Tsumiki. 

“Gojo-san was also mumbling the entire time in the kitchen that Geto-san was rude and stupid.” She added. “None of the married couples I watch in dramas were ever that mean to each other unless they really did hate each other.”

Satoru raised his eyebrows at Suguru, who, in response, simply shrugged. In that silent exchange, an agreement was reached.

“Alright, I guess you could say the cat’s out of the bag.” Satoru sighed as he let go of his fork, letting it clatter on his plate. “Suguru and I… we sort of broke up a year ago, but legally, we’re still married.”

“How’d that happen?” Nanako scrunched her nose in confusion.

“It’s a long story,” Suguru scratched the space between his eyebrows with his thumb. “But all you need to know is that Satoru and I aren’t a couple anymore. In three months, I’ll be moving out and I’ll be taking Mimiko and Nanako with me.”

“So basically, the two of you aren’t in love but are married.” Tsumiki knit her eyebrows together as she stared at the chandelier above them, deep in concentration. “Then, Gojo-san adopted me and Megumi, while Geto-san adopted Mimiko and Nanako separately. But because of our adoptions, Tengen will do visits for three months, so to make it easier we’re all going to be living together?”

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it. We aren’t going to be one super big family, so don’t get used to it.” Satoru felt like he deserved to be curb stomped with how harsh he sounded. The entire situation truly was a disaster, and the last thing the children needed was a dysfunctional foster family that would rival their biological ones. 

“Just think of it as all of us being roommates, or a really long, fun sleepover.” Suguru offered gently, trying to alter the conversation’s mood as he stabbed two lemon squares with his fork and placed one each on Mimiko and Nanako’s plates. 

“But you guys have to keep this a secret from Tengen when she comes to visit. If not, all of you will be sent back there to the orphanage.” Satoru glanced at each of the kids with his eyes practically flooding with solemnity. This was the lone risk with letting the children in on their situation, but they had no other choice but to take the gamble. “Can you do that? For us?”

Tsumiki finished up a lemon square as she held out two pinky fingers. “I can promise to keep a secret.”

Immediately after, Mimiko and Nanako placed down their own utensils and followed suit. Five pairs of eyes stared at the youngest on the table, who glared at everyone before reluctantly raising his own small fingers. Satoru eyes sparkled as all of them interlocked their pinkies around the table with amused smiles plastered on everyone’s faces.

“You guys promise to keep it a secret?” Suguru clarified, playfully tugging on Mimiko and Nanako’s pinkies.

"We pinky promise!" The girls giggled together. Despite their mischievous tone, Satoru could sense in his gut that the kids were genuinely committed to keeping the secret. He couldn't be more grateful for how he and Suguru had found such wonderful children.

“...I pinky promise.” Megumi mumbled belatedly, which earned him a pat on the shoulder from Tsumiki and a laugh from Satoru.

Everyone let go of each other’s fingers and finished up their desserts in peace—except for Suguru who didn’t take a single lemon square with the excuse of wanting all the children to have his share. Suguru stood up from his seat and offered to do the dishes, stacking up everyone’s plates on the table and collecting the used utensils. Just as Satoru was about to announce that he’d clean up the kitchen counters, Nanako posed yet another question for them.

“Gojo-san, Geto-sama, you said you broke up last year, right? How long were you both a couple?” 

It was a simple, benign question rooted from a child’s mild curiosity, but for some reason that Satoru couldn’t quite fathom, it resulted in a dull ache blossoming in his chest, and his blood going cold in his veins. 

“Seven years. We started dating in our first year of high school, then we broke up last year before we graduated college.” Suguru replied casually, as if he was just talking about the weather. The fact that Suguru was so unaffected by the inquiry made Satoru irritated while simultaneously causing the ache in his chest to throb even harder. 

“Wow, that’s a long time!” Tsumiki exclaimed. “You were both together for the same time as Megumi’s been alive!”

“Just because something lasts for a long time doesn’t mean it’ll work out though.” Satoru said, his voice surprisingly lower than usual. “Like some TV shows that drag out for too long.” 

“But that’s not always the case, some become even better as time passes by.” Tsumiki countered. “Like One Piece !”

“I don’t think you can compare real life situations to something like that, nee-san .” Megumi looked at his sister with something like exasperation written all over his features. 

Before Tsumiki could reply to her younger brother, Mimiko decided it was her turn to ask something. “Why did the two of you break up anyway?”

“Because he’s an idiot!” Satoru and Suguru yelled in unison as they pointed to one another across the table. They stared at each other in bewilderment for a moment before biting out, once again, at the same time. “Now, how am I the idiot?!”

“ Please , no matter from what perspective you look at it from, I was the rational one between us during our break up!” Satoru spoke promptly as he threw his hands up in indignation. 

Suguru scoffed, crossing his arms. "Satoru, whether it was before, during, or after the breakup, you were and will never be rational about anything. That’s why barely anyone can stand you!”

“At least I’m not some mindless robot who cares so much about rules!” Satoru gritted his teeth. “Keep living your life like that, and you won’t even notice how you’ve practically wasted your life away when you’re all alone and wrinkly at fifty!”

“Okay, both idiots.” Megumi said to no one in particular before hopping off his seat and looking up at Satoru. “I’ll be cleaning the kitchen.”

“What—Hey, I was planning on doing that!” Satoru frowned, swiftly standing up from his seat and going after the boy.  Shortly after, Suguru and the girls joined them in the kitchen with all the dishes. 

Their respective children wordlessly assisted them in their chores—or at least that’s what Satoru wants to say, but Mimiko and Nanako continued to prod about their foster fathers’ past relationship, to which they only received placid grins from Suguru and variations of “We’ll tell you next time.”

Once they were all done, they reconvened out in the living room. Satoru was holding Tsumiki and Megumi’s hands, while the twins were holding onto Suguru’s legs. A pregnant silence fell over them as Satoru and Suguru glowered at one another, the distance between them growing by the mile by each passing second.

“I think I’m gonna go tuck in the girls early tonight.” Suguru broke the silence, his gaze unwavering. As much as Satoru wanted to rip Suguru’s face apart at that moment, he couldn't help but notice how the other's violet eyes transformed into a captivating shade of periwinkle under the bright ceiling lights. Satoru also couldn’t help but recall the fact that they’d look even more enchanting under natural sunlight.

Satoru mentally punched himself in the face to shake his thoughts away. “Yeah, let’s call it a night.”

Suguru turned around with Mimiko and Nanako, and made his way down the hallway as he responded with a heavy sigh. “Goodnight, honey .”

Satoru resisted the urge to run up to him and karate chop the back of his neck and knock him out unconscious, and instead cursed under his breath before raising his voice and turning around to go down the opposite hallway. “Goodnight darling !”

The last time Satoru ever felt like he was blessed by the goddess of luck was when he miraculously got a 100 in his half-assed final essay for one of his major subjects back in his third year of college. Now, he felt as if he needed to vehemently start worshiping the deity with his entire being by how he was practically showered on the daily with her blessings by how easy it became to live with his ex-boyfriend-slash-husband.

Satoru and Suguru enrolled their children in a nearby elementary school, and they fall into an easy daily routine that has them avoiding each other as much as possible. 

Weekdays usually start off with Suguru waking up the earliest and cooking breakfast and the kids’ lunch boxes, which Satoru wouldn’t have a problem with except for the fact that Suguru made it his life’s purpose to serve Satoru undercooked eggs, borderline burnt toast and the most bitter coffee known to man each morning. After three days of horrendous breakfast straight from the depths of hell, Satoru declared he’d just buy himself breakfast while on the way to drop the kids off at school.

Satoru was in charge of driving the kids to school before he went to work, and then he’d leave work to pick them up and head home. As the son of the company’s CEO, who was still lively and passionate about his job, Satoru didn’t really have much to do at work other than accompany his dad at important meetings, which meant he didn’t have a strict work schedule. In actuality, Satoru could very much just stay at home and do whatever measly work from his desktop, but he’d definitely rather not, especially after learning Suguru’s nature of work. 

Suguru worked at the comfort of his bed, with his laptop, as a freelance writer, copywriter, editor—name any job related to words and typing, and Suguru was likely one of them. Being at home all the time meant he was in charge of cleaning the apartment, which Satoru thought would be a fun punishment until one day Satoru came home mysteriously bumping into all the furniture, and it took him two whole days to figure out that Suguru had moved all the furniture five inches to the left to fuck with him. Satoru retaliated by changing their WiFi password, and only told Suguru what it was under the condition that he’d stop making Satoru terrible breakfast. Then, Suguru got even by messing with Satoru’s shampoo and turning him into a blondie for a whole day.

Nonetheless, Satoru would take their petty, muted fights rather than loud, confrontational ones. Right after Satoru gets home with the kids, he either goes to Tsumiki’s room to play with her or shuts himself in his own room—he’s not allowed entry in Megumi’s room, unfortunately, similar to how parents aren’t allowed in rebellious teenagers’ rooms despite Megumi being only seven—until it’s dinner time, and right after that the kids play and watch TV together and he and Suguru alternate each day on who sits out in the living room to supervise while the other stays in his room. Finally, the day ends with the two of them tucking their children to bed and kissing them goodnight.

On weekends, the two of them would go out with their children separately. Satoru always took Tsumiki and Megumi out to the bustling streets of Tokyo, letting them look around the mesmerizing shops and try all kinds of foods and desserts, while Suguru liked taking the twins to different malls, letting them run around and buy whatever blouses and dresses they wanted.

Satoru was elated enough with their arrangement. If they simply continued to live the next three months of their lives like that, then he’d have no problem whatsoever with their situation. He could see himself narrating the whole thing as a funny story to tell at parties in the future.

That was, until the family tree assignment. 

It started out as a normal weekday and almost ended as one, until Mimiko, Nanako and Megumi announced that they needed help with their homework after they ate dinner. 

“Sure, no problem.” Suguru replied with a grin as he knelt down in front of the trio. “What’s it about? Would you like me or Satoru’s help?”

“Both.” Nanako rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. “We’re gonna need both your help. We have to draw a family tree and present it in class.”

“A family tree?!” Satoru and Suguru exclaimed in unison before making a face at each other.

Mimiko nodded eagerly. “Since Megumi is our brother too, the teacher said the three of us can just do one family tree and show it in class together.” 

Satoru sighed, walking over and taking a seat on their living room sofa. “Well, that makes sense. I guess we have no choice. You guys go get your materials and we can do it here on the coffee table.” 

In a matter of minutes, the coffee table was covered with blank sheets of bond paper and various coloring materials, and Suguru had taken a seat on the other end of the sofa as the kids sat in between them. Tsumiki offered to help too, and was in the process of drawing a large tree on one of the papers.

“First, it starts with you guys at the bottom.” Satoru pointed at the lower part of the tree outline Tsumiki was drawing, to a spot right on top of the brown bark. “You’ll need to draw yourselves side by side to show that you’re all siblings.”

Suguru took a piece of paper and a pencil from the table and started scribbling away. “Then you all connect each other to both me and Satoru who’ll be on top, like this.” He turned his paper to show his quick sketch of four boxes that had symmetrical lines connecting it to two boxes on top. “After that, you’ll connect the two of us to our own parents—your grandparents—then to their own parents, and so on. It usually gets complicated when siblings and cousins get thrown into the mix, but luckily for you guys, me and Satoru are only children.”

Mimiko and Nanako nodded as their lips parted in awe at their foster father while Satoru tried his best to keep his gaze on the table. Suguru always had an inherent talent for explaining and getting the entire room to have their whole undivided attention on him, the charming lilt in his voice, and his determined visage. Collectively, it made Suguru an otherworldly, captivating god. Jokingly, Satoru used to tell him to host his own TEDTalk, and in otherwise serious conversations, Satoru would tell him he’d make a great teacher in academia.

“The teacher said that when we present, we also need to tell everyone about each of our family members.” Megumi informed them as he picked up a pencil from the table and another sheet of paper. “You’ll have to tell us what our other relatives are like, since we haven’t met them yet.”

“Oh, right.” Satoru said dumbly. It occurred to him that he had completely forgotten to tell his family that he found out he was accidentally married to his ex, and then he adopted two children while his ex adopted another two, and that they had to live together and pretend to be a married couple for three months. Judging by the slight twitch of Suguru’s hands holding up the paper, it seemed he was running on the same train of thoughts.

“Let’s start with Geto-sama.” Nanako turned to properly face the addressed man and held out her fist, mimicking how one would hold a microphone. “What are the names of Geto-sama’s parents, and what are they like?”

“Their names are Junko and Ryuji Geto.” Suguru lowered his paper and his eyes curved upwards as he grinned, casting a warm, soft look. “They’re incredibly kindhearted people. Your grandma is really into hairstyling and makeup. Meanwhile, your grandpa likes to cook, so much that he made the first floor of our house into a ramen restaurant. I’ll take you guys there someday.”

“So, is Geto-sama’s hair long because of grandma?” Mimiko tilted her head.

“Pretty much.” Suguru nodded. “I really liked it when she styled my hair, whether or not she made it super straight or curly, or braided it with a bunch of clips. Even when she told me I was free to cut it to whatever length I wanted, I never did.”

“Didn’t you get made fun of for it at school?” Megumi didn’t look up from where he was jotting down his notes.

“I got made fun of a lot back in elementary and middle school, but I didn’t care. I’d just mind my own business, unless I had a particularly large clip on my head that day—then I’d throw it at them with no remorse.” Suguru’s shoulders bounced as he wheezed, and Satoru had to hold back his own laugh.

“What happened in high school then?” Nanako asked.

“That’s when—”

“I came along!” Satoru finished Suguru’s sentence, dramatically throwing his hands up in the air like he was the main character of a broadway show. “No one dared to bully Suguru as long as I was around. They were probably afraid that I’d beat them all up.”

“No, they just didn’t want to have bad blood with one of the richest students on campus.” Suguru corrected him, amusement tracing the lines of his face. “Although, you messed with my hair more than any of my old bullies did.”

“That was only because you let me!” Satoru replied defensively. “Besides, you secretly loved it because it meant Ma would style it again right when we’d get home.”

“We?” Megumi raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, Satoru came home with me almost every single day back in high school.” Suguru rolled his eyes. “He was freeloading off my dad’s restaurant for three years straight!”

Satoru’s mouth hung open. “Wh—We were dating ! Plus, your parents absolutely adored me, they always said I was free to come back whenever I wanted!” 

Satoru prepared himself for whatever rebuke Suguru would have in store, but instead the other man just averted his gaze to what Megumi was writing and replied a beat quieter. “Yeah… They have said that they miss you.”

Before Satoru’s brain could even register each of those words and string them up into a comprehensible sentence, Nanako shot him with another question. “So what’s grandpa’s cooking like?”

“The best in the entire world!” Satoru found himself answering the question, the memory of a simple ramen house sign in a small neighborhood house coming to mind as a faint flavor of nostalgia arose on his tongue. “It's easy to see why Suguru grew up to be incapable of eating anything except Japanese cuisine. He can whip up all kinds of awesome dishes, but his specialty is definitely zaru soba . I’ve tried to make him teach me how to make it a bunch of times, but mine never turns out to be as delicious as his."

"Yours was never that far off, though," Suguru admitted, earning a split-second look of surprise from Satoru. "Your cooking was good enough to keep me from driving back home every single day to eat at my dad's restaurant during our time in university."

An all too familiar, dull ache made itself known in Satoru’s chest, and he felt as if his heart was going to spring out of his ears with how obnoxious it’s erratic beating was. Against his will, his mind immediately flashed back to when he’d surprise Suguru with his terrible copycat zaru soba back at their shared dorm. 

Whenever Satoru started listing the reasons why his cooking didn't turn out so well, Suguru would interrupt him with a chaste kiss on the lips before quietly expressing his gratitude and always adding that Satoru’s was the best in the entire world—second only to his father, of course.

“Okay, grandpa and his zaru soba . I think that’s enough information.” Thankfully, Megumi chimed in and snapped Satoru out of his stupor, bringing him back to the present in which Suguru was still an arm’s length away from him, but somehow was simultaneously a million miles away. 

“Now it’s your turn!” Nanako whipped around and shoved her imaginary microphone to Satoru’s direction. “What are the names of Gojo-san’s parents, and what are they like?”

Satoru cleared his throat. “They’re Akito and Eiji Gojo. They’re both passionate about working their jobs in the office, and they’re both into old American 80s movies and classical music.”

The children stared at him in anticipation, expecting him to say more, but he just stared back at them with a perplexed look. “What?”

“Is that all you can say for grandma and grandpa?” Mimiko knit her eyebrows together.

“Well, they were never home that much when I was a kid because they were busy working, and they aren’t as outgoing as Suguru’s parents.” Satoru explained with a shrug. “Don’t get it wrong though, they’re both really kind people! They just prioritize working, and because of that we’re all sitting in this amazing, wonderful apartment penthouse in the richest part of Tokyo.” He ended his sentence with his trademark smile that perfectly hid the slightest of blues that was rising from his gut.

The twins hummed in response, and for a moment the only sound in the room was the sound of Megumi’s pen scribbling on his paper and Tsumiki’s crayons scratching onto her artwork. Just as Satoru shifted awkwardly on the sofa and contemplated a change of topic, Suguru spoke up.

“Well, Aunt Akito’s really into jewelry.” Suguru's gaze was long, as if he was rummaging through the corners of his memories. “In the few times I got to meet her, she always had extravagant necklaces, earrings and bracelets. She even asked me about my own ear piercings once.”

“She asked you that? When?” Satoru raised an eyebrow. 

“When you first took me to your house—or, well, the first time you took me and your parents were there. I remember she even said I was the prettiest boy she had ever seen.” Suguru smirked, and Satoru couldn't resist mocking him with a gagging sound.

“Don’t get so full of yourself, she was just being nice to a guest in the house.” Satoru narrowed his eyes, but he knew that was a total lie. If anything, his mom probably called Suguru that because whenever his parents were at home, the only stories Satoru told them about school were always related to “the prettiest boy” in his class.

“That can’t be the case since she continued to call me that every time she met me afterwards. Your dad also kept trying to invite me to go play golf with him.” Suguru propped his arm up on the armrest and rested his chin in his palm. “It’s like I was the son they never had.”

“If you’re proud of being invited to play golf , you need to reassess everything about yourself.” Satoru sneered. “Besides, dad was only inviting you because I was always rejecting him.”

Nanako retracted her arm from Satoru’s line of sight and put her fist in front of her. “So grandpa and grandma Gojo both like old movies, classical music and working. Then, grandma’s into jewelry, while grandpa is into golf. Did you get all that, Megumi?” 

Megumi nodded, showing them the paper filled out in his surprisingly neat, legible handwriting. Satoru suddenly grew conscious of his own chicken scratch handwriting that anyone barely understood.

As Tsumiki finished coloring in the large tree, the three other kids scrambled to draw up the faces of their parents and grandparents. Satoru switched on the TV and allowed Disney Movie OSTs to fill the entire room as they all worked. Somewhere along the line, the three of them had gone off the sofa, opting to just sit on the floor to get a better angle at drawing on the coffee table, and as each of them asked kept asking help from their parents, Satoru and Suguru found themselves inching closer to one another, and by the time the children deemed their artwork was finished, their knees were almost touching from where they sat. 

A part of Satoru wanted to close their distance and wrap an arm around Suguru’s shoulder like how they easily did back in the day, while a larger part of him told that part of him to shut the fuck up.

“It’s finished!” Nanako cheered as she stood up and stretched out her arms. 

The plain blank tree on paper had successfully turned into a family tree with the kids each drawing their own renditions of their family members and putting their names in the best possible cursive they could do. As a final touch, they decided to include hearts between the married couples on the family tree, and Satoru couldn't help but keep his eyes glued on the large, vibrant red heart situated between the portraits of himself and Suguru.

“Isn’t it so pretty?” Tsumiki giggled as she clapped enthusiastically. “It’s the perfect family tree!”

“It’s great, you guys did a good job!” Suguru gave his own small round of applause, and Satoru quickly followed suit.

The girls were pleased with the praise as they all gave big, toothy grins. Mimiko and Nanako then straggled nearer to the sofa, stopping right in front of Satoru and Suguru’s legs and stretching out both their hands. “Let’s all double high five!”

And seriously, who in their right mind would ever refuse that?

Satoru gave each of the twins a high five, and they eagerly turned to exchange high fives with Tsumiki and a more hesitant Megumi. Expectedly, Tsumiki and Megumi made their way in front of the sofa with their hands stretched out afterwards, and as Satoru gave them each a high five, everyone in the room had celebrated the night’s victory—except for two people.

Satoru couldn't pinpoint whether it was the creeping feeling of sleepiness, the Tangled OST playing in the background, the heartwarming smiles of the kids in the room, the flood of nostalgia coursing through his veins as he reminisced about the past, or the fact that his proximity to Suguru was electrifying in where they almost touched, but the next thing Satoru knew, he was turning towards Suguru with both his hands up and a lopsided grin plastered across his face.

Satoru felt like the entire weight of the world was on his shoulders as he mustered up the strength to open his mouth. “Double high five?” 

For a moment, Suguru’s face flashed with confusion, and Satoru promptly wondered if it would be appropriate to just stand up and run out of the apartment building and dig himself a hole six feet underground. Before Satoru could delve any deeper in his thoughts, Suguru’s putting both his hands up and his expression softens as he smiles—a natural, heartfelt smile, the same one that had first captivated Satoru seven years ago, and one that he'd been fortunate to witness many times since.

Suguru leaned in and gave him a double high five, and Satoru swore he felt his entire body burst into scorching flames at the skin contact. As Satoru thought to pull away, he realized that Suguru was putting in no effort to, letting their hands stay clapped together in the air as calm, violet orbs met vivid, cerulean ones.

Satoru furrowed his eyebrows, but before he could ask what was happening, Suguru forcefully intertwined their fingers together.

“S-Suguru?” Satoru’s eyes darted back and forth from Suguru’s riveting gaze and their interconnected hands. He knew he probably looked like a total idiot with how he could feel his cheeks burning up.

Suguru’s sweet, genuine smile then morphed into his infamous, shit-eating grin as he started pressing his entire weight into his arms, pushing Satoru backwards, with the transparent goal of trying to push him off the sofa.

Satoru cursed under his breath, trying to regain his balance and pushing Suguru back with all the strength he could gather—which wasn’t much, thanks to his lanky, useless limbs. Still, he wasn’t going down without picking up a fight, and the next thing he knew the two of them were wrestling, trying to get one of them to fall on the cold, white, marble floor of the living room. 

Just as Satoru thought he was getting the upper hand with Suguru’s back hitting the armrest on the opposite end with a tenacious push, the other man had the absolute nerve to raise his right leg, and swiftly kick Satoru off, resulting to a high pitched screech escaping his mouth as his body slammed onto the floor.

“That’s not fair, you cheated by using your legs!” Satoru whined, glaring at Suguru as he slowly sat up from the floor. His voice was barely audible in the room with how all the children had erupted into a fit of laughter, even Megumi. Why was Satoru’s suffering always top class entertainment for other people?

Suguru, ever the kind and mature man, stuck his tongue out at him. “We didn’t even have any rules, what are you talking about cheating? You’re just a sore loser, honey !”

“I can’t believe you call yourself a father to four children.” Satoru jutted his lower lip out as he knit his eyebrows together. “You’re cruel!”

Suguru let out a soft chuckle. It wasn’t like the loud, boisterous laughter that he did back when Satoru first called him after a year, but it was pure all the same. Like before, the memory of hearing it for the first time flashed before his eyes before any other thoughts could form.

It was when the two of them were hanging out together during Christmas Eve on their first year as high school students. Satoru had gone out without a scarf, underestimating the snowfall that day, which led to Suguru buying him one. As Suguru wrapped around the new, azure scarf on his best friend and Satoru whined— “Seriously, why are you making such a big deal out of this?! You don’t need to do everything for me, you know!" —Suguru chuckled softly, so quietly as if it was only for Satoru to hear. Suguru then began teasing Satoru, calling him an idiot or a drama queen or something to that effect. Satoru can't remember the exact words, all of it becoming a blur as he can only recall pulling Suguru closer with his own red scarf, and he recalls cherishing the soft lips that met his’ for the first time, and how it tasted nothing short of heaven.

“You’re such a big baby.” Suguru complained, snapping Satoru back to the present. The first thing he noticed was a tall shadow looming over him, blocking the ceiling lights. When he looked up, he saw Suguru standing over him with an outstretched arm, his face harboring an annoyed expression. If Satoru didn’t know any better, he’d say that it held a few traces of fondness.

Satoru averted his gaze towards the floor, huffing out a sigh as he resigned to his fate and took Suguru’s hand, trying his very best to ignore how it was just as warm as it was seven years ago on that winter evening. 

Things get easier—or harder, Satoru couldn’t really identify the enigmatic feeling stirring within his core.

The Gojo-Geto slash Geto-Gojo—they never really settled that argument—household became a tad bit warmer. The two exes could now withstand being in the same room together for more than five minutes without getting into some kind of childish psychological warfare. In the morning, they’re able to greet each other in the kitchen without a hint of malice or derision in their words. When Satoru comes home with the kids after school, Suguru welcomes him back home and they both stay in the living room to talk with the kids instead of scurrying off to the childrens’ own rooms. 

Nevertheless, come dinner time where they’re forced to sit across from each other for an extended period of time, they break and continue their usual squabbles. They’re still a far cry from being properly civil with one another, but Satoru had no problem with that. He had no intention of being civil with Suguru out of pettiness in the first place, and the simple conviction he had that ex-boyfriends just don't deserve peace.

Sure, there might’ve been a few times where Satoru’s heart dropped to his ass whenever Suguru exchanged simple pleasantries with him in the same tone that he did back when they were still a couple, and suddenly Satoru would find himself in their old shitty university dorm, making a beeline for Suguru to give him a passionate kiss as a reply. 

However, Satoru also knew better that there exists a concept known as good ‘ol nostalgia, which tries to romanticize everything, as it often did. Satoru liked to believe his true feelings remained unchanged. 

Satoru gets a call one peaceful Saturday morning from a familiar, sweet yet shrill voice, telling him that they’d be visiting their home tomorrow for their first monthly check up. Satoru had the urge to put himself in a coma by smashing his head on the landline telephone, but he decided against it as he kindly bid Tengen goodbye and sauntered over to the dining table, where everyone was eating breakfast, to tell them the news.

The children, at the very least, seemed excited to meet Tengen again. Tsumiki proposed the idea of getting Tengen a gift, and Suguru offered to take all the kids to the mall in the afternoon for it since he was planning on going with Mimiko and Nanako that day anyway. Satoru thanked him, and said he won’t be able to join them since he had to make some arrangements for the apartment. Suguru raised an eyebrow at him, but Satoru just sheepishly grinned before telling the kids to go get ready.

When Suguru and the kids came back from their shopping trip, they all abruptly stopped in their tracks in the living room, gaping at Satoru’s hard work with a variety of expressions and subsequently dropping their shopping bags to the floor.

A wall that was once decorated with Satoru’s worldwide collection of exquisite, abstract paintings, was now plastered with framed pictures of Satoru and Suguru together in their youth. Most of them were small and medium sized, varying from milestone pictures like their high school graduation and varsity award ceremony photos to cute pictures that the two took during their many vacations at Satoru’s family vacation houses in Karuizawa and Okinawa. 

However, the biggest and most noticeable photo frame on the wall, which was almost the same size as their large flat screen TV, was a photo of both of them holding a bouquet of flowers in snazzy tuxedos that complemented one another against a gray backdrop. Unlike the rest of the photos on the wall, in this one they aren’t looking directly at the camera. They’re looking at each other, affection evident in each other’s eyes as they both laughed. It was taken during the photoshoot for Shoko and Utahime’s wedding, where it took them more than an hour to finally pose seriously with small smiles without cracking up and doubling over.

The more Satoru stared at it, the more he felt like throwing up.

“I wanna throw up.” Megumi grimaced. Well, good thing he wasn’t alone.

“Gojo-san, these are all pictures of you and Geto-san from the past?” Tsumiki ran up to take a closer look at the photos with a glint of fascination in her eyes.

“Yup, figured I needed to go all out for Tengen’s visit tomorrow.” Satoru leaned against the wall.

“Where… did you even get all this?” Suguru asked, and Satoru decided to finally make eye contact with him. Suguru was still standing at the entrance of the living room, eyebrows were drawn together in confusion, and Satoru found himself relaxing his shoulders. He considered the possibility of Suguru instantaneously getting mad at him and chucking the picture frames at him, so Satoru had his phone in hand in case he needed to call paramedics. 

Satoru shrugged, surreptitiously tucking his phone in his pocket.  “I found out that I had them still backed up on my laptop last week.” It was a lie; they were actually all still on his phone because he couldn't bring himself to delete any of them. However, Satoru would rather break his skull from a picture frame than admit that.

“Then you had them printed and turned to these just today?” Suguru, Mimiko and Nanako strided next to Tsumiki and scanned all the pictures. 

“Yeah, I have my ways.” Satoru wiggled his eyebrows. “Impressed by my hard work?”

“Well, you chose pictures where I look the most beautiful, so I guess I’ll give you that.” Suguru’s lips curled into a small smile as he took a step back to get a better look at the largest picture frame.

“What? That wasn’t on purpose, you always look—” Satoru cut himself off, accidentally biting his tongue at the horrible realization that his instinctive reply would have ruined everything. “I-I mean I , I always look a thousand times more beautiful than you, especially in these pictures. That’s the reason why I chose them! I could be mistaken for a demigod with Aphrodite as my mother.”

“Whatever you say, honey .” Suguru shook his head with a brief snicker before catching Satoru’s eye. “Still, thanks for putting a lot of effort into this, Satoru.”

Satoru stared back at him, momentarily taken aback and struggling to find words. After a few seconds, he managed to muster a smug smile. "I-it was nothing! I just thought we could use a cozier ambiance, not a big deal for the great Satoru Gojo!"

“You both look so happy, in this big photo, Geto-sama!” Nanako squealed, pointing right at Suguru laughing and shooting heart eyes at his then-boyfriend in the photo. “Why are you both laughing so hard? When did you take it? It looks like a wedding!”

“I’ll tell you guys some other time.” Suguru patted Nanako’s head before turning around. “For now, let’s unload all the things we bought, yeah?”

The kids chorused in agreement before picking up the bags they had left on the floor and set it on the dining room chairs. As Satoru observed Suguru unpacking various clothes, toys, and assorted knick-knacks from the bags, all the while sharing jokes and tender glances with the kids, his mind involuntarily kept going back to the words he almost said out loud earlier.

—

Tengen and a young person with striking white hair, adorned with a peculiar dark plum-pink streak horizontally across the back of their head—bearing the name Uraume on their ID, signifying their affiliation with social services—appeared at their doorstep precisely at 10 AM the next day. Clad in casual outdoor attire reminiscent of a Sunday outing, they gave off an impression akin to visiting relatives.

Satoru ushered them to the living room, where all the children were excitedly waiting on the sofa—Satoru noticed Tengen almost imperceptibly stopping her tracks for a moment in front of the wall of his photos with Suguru to get a good look at it, and mentally patted himself on the back. The children greet Tengen and the social services worker with smiles, and Suguru joins them shortly after, emerging from the kitchen with a tray of tea, chocolate milk, and butter cookies. Tengen, Uraume and the kids took up the sofa, while Satoru and Suguru squeezed onto the couch adjacent to it. 

With their builds on a relatively small couch, their thighs grazed against each other, and as time passed, Suguru had extended his arm out on top of the couch, brushing against Satoru’s neck. However, Satoru didn’t mind one bit. Whether it was a blessing or a curse, Suguru's touch no longer sent electric shocks through him. Instead, it only offered him a strange, familiar yet unfamiliar sense of comfort, and Satoru wasn’t in the right headspace yet to think as to why that was, so he just mercilessly chugged on his glass of chocolate milk. 

It was overall pretty simple, with Tengen catching up with the children individually about their stay so far with Satoru and Suguru, and they were nothing but enthusiastic to recount fun episodes that occurred at school, at home or during their weekend outings. Meanwhile, Megumi responded to Tengen’s questions with curt answers in a monotonous tone, clearly bored, and Satoru had to hold back from giggling at the sight of it. 

The social services worker appeared to be diligently transcribing the entire conversation onto their tablet while they indulged in Suguru's butter cookies. Satoru couldn't help but shoot them an irate glance for consuming more than her fair share of the sweets. In response, Suguru nudged his shoulder and gave him a pointed look.

Once Tengen had interviewed each of the children, she looked over to Satoru and gave a smile, one that could be interpreted as a double-edged sword. “Now, it’s time for the parents to answer some questions. Are you ready, Gojo and Geto-san?”

“Ready as we’ll ever be.” Satoru smirked, and tried his best to maintain it on his face as Suguru dropped his arm down to Satoru’s shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze. The sense of comfort was still there, though he worried his pounding heartbeat might drown out Tengen's question.

“I only have one question for you two, actually. After this we can wrap things up for today.” Tengen glanced over to Uraume to check if they were still typing everything down. “So here it is: After adopting children together, did your relationship as a couple have any significant changes?” 

Satoru stared at the almost empty plate of butter cookies on the table, deep in thought. It would be fine to just say nothing changed between them, right? Was that believable? Was that a popular answer for this question? Or was that the correct answer? Do these questions have a right or wrong answer? Maybe this last question was the ultimate deal breaker, and if they didn’t provide the response Tengen was expecting they’ll immediately take the children away and—

“I guess you could say that there were a few changes.” Suguru answered out of the blue, and Satoru whipped his head so quickly to the man beside him one might think he broke his neck. 

“Oh? How is that, Geto-san?” Tengen crossed her legs, propped her elbow on her knee, and rested her chin on the palm of her hand.

“I’ve known Satoru for eight years now, and he’s seriously a handful. In high school, he was always in detention and getting yelled at, and then in college he was an absolute wildcard. Putting up with him was always a chore.” Suguru sighed.

Satoru’s eyes widened, and opened his mouth to quash those claims and save their reputation as a married couple, but Suguru continued. 

“But then, after adopting children together, a new side of Satoru appeared. The high and mighty brat who used to skip classes now made sure to drop off and pick up the children from school at the precise time each weekday. The greedy kid who never shared his food with anyone at school now made sure to cook each of the kids’ favorite meals each week. The self-centered boy who barely cared about anyone or anything now was intent on learning the full names of the girls’ favorite idols.” 

Suguru's mirthful laughter filled the room, and Satoru tightened his grip on the armrest as he felt his heart drop to his ass. “I could list a lot more, really, but the bottom line is that Tsumiki, Megumi, Mimiko and Nanako were able to bring out the absolute best in Satoru, and that motivates me to do well too.” 

Suguru squeezed Satoru’s shoulder again as he scooted closer to him. Satoru theorized his brain must’ve disconnected from the rest of his body as he leaned in and rested his head on Suguru’s shoulder, driven by pure muscle memory. Suguru responded by moving his hand from Satoru’s shoulder to his hair, gently carding through white, snowy locks like he'd done a thousand times before. 

It was as though the two of them were relearning an old dance, synchronizing with an unspoken rhythm that resided deep within their souls.

“All these years, and you’re still so cheesy.” Satoru commented as his cheeks turned into a brilliant shade of pink. He’d usually be embarrassed by it, but it made their act all the more believable, so he placed no effort in trying to hide his face.

“That is absolutely heartwarming, Geto-san.” Tengen softened her look by placing a palm on top of her heart. “What about you, Gojo-san?”

Satoru hummed, closing his eyes for a moment, attempting to find the right words. It turned out to be one of the most challenging tasks Satoru ever had to deal with in his entire twenty two years of living thanks to the sensation of Suguru's fingers combing through his hair and the aroma of his familiar cherry blossom shampoo and sweet cologne that he knew was Suguru’s favorite brand bought from the convenience store, practically consuming him whole.

Miraculously, he persevered and exhaled quietly. “I’d say I’ve been feeling something similar, but not in a sense that I’m seeing a new side of Suguru. When I was getting to know Suguru back then, that’s when I truly learnt about the definition of kindness. He was always putting others first before him, and taking care of them with such a gentleness I never saw in anyone else. I already expected him to do well from the very beginning in becoming a dad, but he just keeps on exceeding my expectations.”

Satoru thinks back on the daily routine of Suguru with his bedhead and in his pajamas, cooking up a nutritious breakfast for the children, and later intently listening to whatever stories they have to tell when they get back home from school. Then, on weekends, he'd plan his outings with Nanako and Mimiko in advance and keep an eye on the weather to make sure the kids are dressed appropriately. 

"It's as if he's been completely redefining the meaning of kindness when he's with the kids," Satoru stole a glance at Suguru, who was facing the wall on the opposite side of the room. This angle allowed Satoru a perfect view of Suguru's chiseled jaw and the soft pink tint on his cheeks. "And in doing so, it's like I'm getting to know him all over again."

Suguru continued to avoid meeting Satoru’s eyes, and it took a few moments for Tengen to reply. She uncrossed her legs as her eyes wrinkled and her lips curved into an earnest smile. “That’s simply amazing to hear. I’m incredibly happy for the both of you, and the kids.”

The old woman turned to Tsumiki. “Tsumiki-chan, are they usually this sweet with each other?”

Tsumiki tried to mask her giggle by covering her mouth with both hands. “Always, Tengen-san. I’ve never seen a couple from TV or cartoons that’s as unique as them.”

Now it was Satoru and Suguru’s turn to stifle a laugh, noticing Tsumiki’s careful choice of words. 

Tengen bid each child goodbye before sitting up. Uraume tucked their tablet away in their purse and for the first time since Satoru saw them sit down, their other hand was empty of any butter cookie. The married couple wasted no time in untangling themselves from one another and seeing Tengen and Uraume out the door.

“I’ll see you both again in about a month.” Tengen said, slipping onto the flats in the genkan .

“Come on, Tengen-san, can’t you see that we’re already a happy family?” Satoru quickly went to stand beside Suguru to intertwine their fingers together in an attempt to further prove his point. Suguru's rugged, callused hands still perfectly complemented Satoru's slender, smooth ones. It was as though they were two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, intricately designed to be held by each other.

“Not to mention the orphanage is quite far from this area. I’m sure getting here took a while? We don’t want you tiring yourself with each visit, Tengen-san.” Suguru added as Satoru lightly swung their hands together between them, his muscle memory getting the best of him once again. 

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Tengen waved her hands dismissively at them. “You boys really are sweet. Getting here wasn’t much of a problem, and again, these visits are compulsory, so none of us really don’t have a choice.”

Uraume grabbed the handle of the front door, and Tengen gave them a final wave. “It was nice seeing you all again. I’m immensely happy that the two of you were the ones to adopt those four angels.”

Satoru and Suguru smiled and waved back with their free hands. Once the two ladies stepped outside and shut the door behind them, their hands parted as if they had been painfully scorched. However, Satoru would be lying if he said there wasn’t a small part of him that mourned the quick loss of touch.

The two of them chorused a groan, and Suguru leaned against the wall of the hallway, running a hand through his hair. “I deserve multiple Oscars after whatever the heck that was.”

Satoru rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall opposite of him, crossing his arms. “You? Come on, my explanation for that last question was far better than yours! It could’ve easily been mistaken as some dialogue from a romcom!”

“Yeah, a romcom with an average of two stars on Letterboxd .” Suguru chuckled. “Meanwhile, my answer would have New York Times best-selling romance book authors all over the world frothing at the mouth.”

Just like that, they were back to regular programming, and only then did Satoru realize how tense he had been as a profound sense of relief washed over him. He couldn’t exactly pinpoint whether or not it was the physical intimacy or the seemingly truthful opinions they had about each other that had his brain short-circuiting, but he concluded that it didn’t matter.

There were two more visits with Tengen-san, which meant there were only two more months to this whole charade, then the two of them can go back to living their individual lives without having to see each other ever again. As it should be.

It took everything in Satoru not to gaze at the direction of his and Suguru's photo wall as the two of them strolled back to the living room, far apart from one another.

Chapter Text

“It reads three nine point five.” Mimiko announced, handing the thermometer over to Suguru.

“Yup, that’s a fever.” Satoru sighed, scratching the back of his head, while Megumi frowned and held tighter into the doorframe he was standing under.

Their morning started off relatively normal, with Suguru cooking breakfast and Satoru knocking on all the kids’ doors and half-shouting at them to wake up before they become late. Mimiko, Nanako and Megumi trudged outside their rooms shortly after, and they all shared a look of confusion with one another at the dining table with how they’re one person short.

Megumi offered to go inside Tsumiki’s room to wake her up again, but instead of slowly emerging outside with his sister, he ran up to tug on both Satoru and Suguru’s sleeves while exclaiming that something was wrong with her.

Satoru retrieved a thermometer from their medicine cabinet as everyone scampered into Tsumiki's room, discovering her lying on her bed. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her breath shallow, and her bangs stuck to her forehead as it glistened with a sheen of sweat.

“Should we call Shoko?” Satoru asked Suguru, who was putting away the thermometer back in the small white plastic box where it belonged.

“What? No, she’ll be pissed if we bother her over something like this.” Suguru clipped the box shut before putting his hands on his hips and facing Satoru placidly. “So far, it just seems like the common cold, so we can just let her rest and help her recover. I’ll bring her breakfast inside here and monitor her for the rest of the day. If she doesn’t get better after a couple of days, that’s when we call for help.”

Not even five minutes had passed since they learned about Tsumiki's condition, but Suguru had already formulated a comprehensive plan, just as he always did when his parents or Satoru faced illnesses back then. It had Satoru’s stomach doing a few somersaults, and he resisted the urge to punch himself to dispel the weird feeling.

“Will nee-chan be okay?” Megumi bit the nail of his thumb, and Satoru could see Mimiko and Nanako’s eyes boring holes through him in his peripheral vision.

“She’ll be fine, Megumi.” Satoru walked over and knelt down in front of the boy to pat his shoulder reassuringly. “You heard Suguru, right? Tsumiki just needs to rest and recover, and we’ll do everything in our power to help her in any way we can.”

“How can we help?” Mimiko frowned, directing a concerned stare at Tsumiki. 

“Well for now, I think it’ll be best if we give her some quiet and you guys can start getting ready for school. We also can’t risk any of you catching her colds.” Suguru softly patted Mimiko and Nanako’s heads. “Do you think Tsumiki would be happy if you guys became late or absent because of her?”

The kids all slowly shook their heads, and they let themselves be escorted out of Tsumiki’s room to start eating breakfast. Suguru wasted no time in taking Tsumiki’s breakfast to her room, waking her up, and helping her eat her food. Once the three children were done blazing through their breakfast, they’d all take peeks into Tsumiki’s room, and Satoru had to carry all of them back to their own rooms and press them to start changing into their uniforms.

After what felt like an entire century, all of them were in the genkan, changing their shoes, fifteen minutes later than they usually do.

“Suguru, we’re off!” Satoru shouted into the apartment as Nanako opened the door.

As Satoru tapped his loafers on the floor, a door creaked open in the apartment, and sudden footsteps made its way to his direction.

Satoru looked up to see Suguru stopping his tracks right in front of him, hair slightly falling loose from his neat bun and cheeks slightly flushed from the run. 

“What’s up?” Satoru tilted his head, ignoring how his heart decided to start beating faster than the speed of light. “Why’d you have to run?”

“I-I didn’t want to yell all the way from Tsumiki’s room, it might have given her a headache.” Suguru panted and licked his lips. “Anyway, I just wanted to tell you to pick up some cooling patches on your way back from work. We only have two left.”

"Sure, sure. I'll swing by the pharmacy on my way home." Satoru replied, turning away to avoid the mixture of concern and dishevelment in Suguru's expression. Satoru was sure he would catch serious heart problems if he had to face it any longer.

“Stay safe!” Suguru called out right before Satoru closed the door behind him. 

It was a harmless, casual bid of goodbye that Suguru had always told Satoru and the kids before he left the house, but given everything that had transpired so early that morning, the words made Satoru trip on thin air, face-planting into the wall. At the very least, it made Mimiko, Nanako and Megumi’s lips twitch upwards for the first time that day.

—

Upon reopening the front door, Satoru was enveloped by the sweet, bewitching voice of Junko Ohashi, complemented by 80s synths, and a tantalizing aroma that felt hauntingly familiar. His stomach performed an encore of somersaults as he recognized the atmosphere, saturated with the essence of Suguru—his favorite song and his signature cooking. If Satoru didn't know any better, he might have believed he had stepped back into his shared dorm with Suguru from their past.

“I’m back.” Satoru said, a few decibels higher than usual to make  Suguru could hear it. It didn’t take long to spot him in the kitchen, sporting a Kuromi apron as he stood in front of the stove with a wooden spoon in his hand.

Suguru jolted and his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Satoru, as if he had just seen a ghost. “W-Why are you back so early? Did you skip work?”

“Yeah.” Satoru dropped two plastic bags on the counter and started taking out its contents, starting with two bottles of cough syrup. “Once I dropped the kids off at school, I texted my dad to let him know I’ll just be doing my work at home today. After that, I had a little shopping spree at the nearby pharmacy.”

Suguru inched closer, and his mouth hung open. “Satoru, how on earth is that a little shopping spree? It looks like you bought out the whole store!” 

“Hey, it’s better to be safe than sorry!” Satoru raised up his hands, holding two boxes of kids' vitamins. 

“Well, you’re right about that at least. It’s a good thing you’re rich.” Suguru sighed, walking back to his place in front of the pot on the stove. “Still, you shouldn’t have skipped work. What, do you not trust me with her?”

“It’s not that.” Satoru stared at the pot. “You’re making her your world famous mushroom soup, right? I know she’s in good hands. I simply skipped work because I wanted to be with Tsumiki.”

Satoru doesn’t say that during the entire drive to drop the kids off at school, he felt a hollow ache in his chest. There was no one in the passenger seat to sing along to the pop songs on the radio, and he found himself mentally preparing what to say to Shoko if her condition deteriorated. What if it wasn't just a common cold? If he could, he would have called his med student friend by now for a check up.

However, with the small, reassuring smile Suguru gave him, it seemed he had been seen right through, as was always the case with Suguru. “Satoru, she’ll be fine. Besides, I wouldn’t want Shoko’s first meeting with one of the kids to be when she’s sick.”

Satoru just hummed in response, focusing on sorting through the new medicines he bought. Back then, when Satoru would inadvertently start rambling about his worries, Suguru would sit him down and they’d talk it out over a cup of flavored milk. Satoru wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he found themselves reenacting that same scene, wouldn’t know the kind of confusing feelings would stack upon the already confusing feelings he had stirring in his gut.

“Also, my world famous mushroom soup?” Suguru asked with a lilt of amusement in his voice. 

Satoru’s cheeks burned. “W-Well it only deserves to be world famous as some kind of conspiracy theory, because despite its lack of flavor, whichever sick person you give it to instantly gets better.”

“Right.” Suguru snickered, slowly stirring the soup. “I hope in a few years my silly soup ends up on Watcher .”

“Haha.” Satoru laughed dryly, although he could barely contain his smirk. He flattened the empty plastic bags on the counter and grabbed a handful of gauzes, band-aids and medicine. “I’ll just go store these in our medicine cabinet.”

Suguru hummed, and then citypop music filled the apartment once again as Satoru made his way to store everything in the medicine cabinet. On his way back to the kitchen, he slowly stopped in front of the white door that had a wooden plate decorated with the letters tsumiki and a bunch of floral stickers on it. It was Tsumiki’s idea to give all of them nameplates in front of their doors one day when she saw the wooden plates on sale in some store around Harajuku, and she encouraged Nanako, Mimiko and Megumi to make ones for their own bedrooms too.

Satoru found himself pouting as he slowly creaked the door open and poked his head inside the room. Tsumiki was sleeping again, although this time she had changed from her pajamas into a thinner shirt, a cooling patch was pasted on her forehead, and her iPad was right next to her on the bed.

Satoru felt a presence appear from behind him, and unsurprisingly a voice whispered. “Let her rest, she only fell asleep again half an hour ago.”

“I wasn’t planning on waking her up, I just wanted to check up on her.” Satoru whispered back as he whipped his head around.

“Look at you, being such a doting parent.” Suguru teased, and proceeded to take out his phone that was inside the front pocket of his Kuromi apron. “Don’t worry, I gave her her iPad and told her to call or text me if she needed anything.”

“I could say the same for you, you know.” Satoru narrowed his eyes as he quietly shut the door. “Has it occurred to you have already finished cooking your mushroom soup when it isn’t even close to lunchtime yet?”

Suguru glared at him before making his way back to the kitchen, and Satoru followed behind him. As they reached the living room, Satoru uttered softly. “Thank you, though.”

Suguru came to a sudden stop, causing Satoru to nearly collide with his back before he, too, came to a halt.

“What?”

Satoru wanted the floor to swallow him as he cleared his throat and started picking on his nails by his side. “I said thanks for, you know, taking care of Tsumiki. I mean, you really didn’t have to do this, since technically I was the one who adopted her. She and Megumi should be my own responsibility.”

“Satoru, there's no need to thank me," Suguru said as he slipped out of his apron, retrieving his phone from its front pocket and placing it in his sweatpants' pocket. “I’ve been living with Tsumiki and Megumi for more than a month now, and it was inevitable that I’d grow a soft spot for both of them. Besides, knowing you, I’m sure you’d be just as concerned if Mimiko and Nanako got sick.”

“I guess you’re right.” Satoru softly chuckled, his gaze fixed on his slippers.

“And taking care of the sick is just a simple walk in the park for me.” Suguru added, leaning the small of his back against the back of the couch. “I’m sure you know that better than anyone else.”

Satoru’s mouth twitched upwards. “Is that a jab towards my immune system?”

“Hey, I wasn’t implying anything.” Suguru raised his hands up in defense, but his shit-eating grin made its comeback on his face. “Although it is a simple fact that you ate my mushroom soup on an average of, like, twelve times per year. It was almost like your body never liked the thought of you being healthy.”

“Whatever, it’s normal for humans to get sick, you know.” Satoru rolled his eyes, and stood opposite of Suguru, leaning against one of the dining room chairs. “It would be weirder if they were always healthy, like you.” He paused for a moment as he licked his lips. “You know, now that I think about it, I never really saw you sick in all those years. I never got the chance to take care of you.”

Satoru’s mouth moved faster than his logical thinking did, and he certainly wasn’t supposed to say the last part out loud. He quickly scanned Suguru’s face for a reaction, ready to run and lock himself inside his room if he was grimacing in confusion or disgust, but instead his ex-boyfriend remained the same calm countenance. 

"Well, you took care of me in your own unique way," Suguru replied, his lip imperceptibly curving upward, a change Satoru wouldn't have noticed if they hadn't spent all those years together. He continued in a voice as low as a whisper. "Like chucking Ibuprofen at my face when I was distressed from studying—that counts as caring in my dictionary, at least. And there were all those other little things you did, like cooking my favorite food and brewing my favorite coffee when I was down."

Satoru ran a hand through his hair and exhaled. “Y-Yeah, but still, you never got physically sick, like high fever and stuck in bed sick.”

“I did get sick once actually,” Suguru pursed his lips. “Right after our breakup.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t do anything but cough and sneeze into my blankets for like a week.” Suguru shakily laughed, rubbing his nape. “Good thing Shoko was there to check up on me from time to time. My mom was totally freaked out too—she sent me way too much food. It took me almost a month to finish them all.”

A feeling that Satoru immediately recognized as guilt settled in his gut, though he didn’t want to consciously acknowledge it. Despite Suguru's dipshit behavior—as how Satoru had described countless times before when asked about how he and Suguru had split—in the week leading up to their breakup, he found himself experiencing mixed emotions about Suguru getting sick. Part of him felt that Suguru deserved it, but another part wished he had known. He could’ve been there to take care of him, feeding him his own rendition of mushroom soup, softly brushing his bangs away to put cooling patches on his forehead and giving him towel baths.

Then there was yet another part of Satoru, who just wanted to get body slammed into the next dimension so he wouldn’t have to think a single thought ever again.

“That’s good.” Satoru struggled to meet Suguru’s eyes, his brain going a thousand miles a minute to try and steer this conversation to a good direction that doesn’t have him accidentally spilling his guts. “I mean, it would be embarrassing for people to find out a fresh college graduate randomly died in his bed from a fever.”

Suguru stretched his leg out and hastily kicked Satoru’s thigh, although it had no bite. Satoru responded with feigned shock, and kicked the other’s side playfully in retaliation.

“I’m gonna tell Mimiko and Nanako they're being raised by an absolute meanie!” Satoru exclaimed, dodging Suguru’s next kick.

Suguru threw his next kick using his other leg, catching Satoru off guard and lightly hitting his hip. “And I’m going to tell Tsumiki and Megumi they’re being raised by a sickly man who can’t even shower by himself whenever he gets a fever!”

“That’s only because you wouldn’t let me!” Satoru corrected him, and his toes barely reached Suguru’s stomach with his next kick. “You just used it as an excuse to wash my divine locks of hair and stare at my well sculptured naked body!”

“You could barely walk to the bathroom, change out of your clothes, or even stand long enough under the shower head. I really had no other choice but to help you.” Suguru grimaced, hopping from side to side to dodge Satoru’s next array of attacks. “And why on earth would I ever find you attractive while you were sick? You had snot constantly on your face and your whole body would be completely drenched in sweat! You were a total handful and it was disgusting!”

Unexpectedly, Satoru found himself frozen in place, his leg faltering mid-kick, and his face losing all expression as if the final part of Suguru's statement was a bullet that went straight for his heart. Slowly, he retracted his leg, biting his lower lip, and his gaze returned to his slippers. 

Why did Satoru find himself so deeply affected by Suguru's words? They were undeniably true, and Satoru was fully aware of it. People, no matter the time or place, often described him as a handful and he’s heard comments from his other friends on how he looked like the embodiment of death when he fell ill. However, when these words came from Suguru, they carried a different weight. It was the very reason their heated arguments during the final days of their relationship had escalated beyond repair.

“Sorry.” Satoru blurted out.

Suguru furrowed his eyebrows. “Huh? Satoru I–I was just joking.”

“No, it’s okay to be honest, Suguru.” Satoru blinked swiftly, his hands getting colder by the second.  “We’ve broken up already, anyway.”

“What? No, listen to me, Satoru.” Suguru’s voice softened, pulling even harder on Satoru’s heartstrings. He took a step forward, and Satoru briefly looked up only to instantly regret it as he found Suguru’s face right in front of his, captivating shades of violet and periwinkle dancing in the wondrous eyes that stared right into his. “So what if I was being brutally honest? That doesn’t mean I didn’t like taking care of you. It didn’t matter when you were demanding to be with, or that you’d looked absolutely terrible at times. None of that ever mattered, simply because you’re Satoru Gojo, and I… I genuinely cared for you, and I enjoyed taking care of you.”

Satoru, for a second time during their conversation, was only able to manage a single, one syllable reply out of shock. Maybe he should follow Shoko’s advice and work on his conversational skills. “Oh.”

Suguru gulped, averting his gaze. “Yeah, and I guess there were times where I’d find myself still caring for you over the past year. There would be some slow days where I’d randomly wonder about how you were, and I’d find myself getting concerned about whether or not you had someone to be there with you when you got sick. I had to stop myself from calling you a couple of times.”

Satoru’s brain must’ve had a complete shut down, because he just said whatever first came to mind like the absolute idiot he was. “So… that’s why you still had my number saved when I called you about the marriage and the adoption?” 

Suguru stared at him in disbelief before scoffing. “After everything I said, that’s what you focused on?”

A small smile crept up on Satoru’s face as he lightly punched his shoulder. “Suguru, you know me! I’m not good whenever we get all serious!”

“You seriously never change, huh?” Suguru rolled his eyes, hues of violet glinting with mirth.

"Unfortunately so," Satoru replied, his body moving involuntarily, inching a bit closer. "Also, for your information, I've only gotten sick a couple of times over the past year. My dad would make our family doctor come by and give me a check-up to make sure it wasn't anything serious, while Shoko would visit with thirty-minute sermons on why I need to take better care of myself. She also brought some food, but none of it came close to your mushroom soup, though."

Suguru's features softened briefly before a mischievous grin curled on his lips. "Really? That's good to know. Then I hope you get sick sometime in the next two months so I can feed you nothing but my soup, which definitely wouldn't be poisoned or anything."

“Look at you, always plotting and scheming.” Satoru pointed out with a glare. “It seems you haven’t changed much either.” 

“Unfortunately so.” Suguru parroted, earning him yet another punch to the shoulder.

The two of them erupted into laughter, their breaths mingling within the confined space between them. A surge of warmth bathed Satoru as he willingly surrendered to Suguru's company, enjoying both the sound of his laughter and his familiar scent similar to when he rested his head on Suguru’s shoulder a week ago. The contrast this time was that there was no one else to witness the moment.

Lamentably for Satoru, the unbelievable moment was abruptly interrupted by Suguru’s distinctive ringtone of a Radiohead song. Suguru promptly pulled away to fish his phone out of his pocket, and swiped to answer the call. Without checking the caller ID, he answered the call, tapping the speaker button, and putting the phone in between them, which revealed the screen displaying 'tsumiki ♡'. 

"Hello?" Tsumiki said in a dry, groggy voice.

“Hi, Tsumiki, what do you need?” Suguru asked, maintaining his soft lilt for the young girl.

“Well…” Tsumiki drawled. “I’m bored. Can you come here and play Mario Kart with me?”

The two young men exchanged a meaningful glance before breaking into laughter once more, and their mirth filled the entire apartment in tandem with Junko Ohashi’s assonant voice as they rushed towards Tsumiki's room.

—

Satoru and Suguru spent the rest of the day taking turns assisting Tsumiki. Suguru was in charge of feeding her food, while Satoru replaced her cooling patch regularly and gave her a towel bath. They played video games with her when she asked, then when Tsumiki was sound asleep, the two of them would migrate and comfortably lounge in the living room. They did their individual work on their laptops with their feet propped up on the coffee table, bags of snacks next to them, and reruns of Ouran Highschool Host Club playing on their TV as background noise.

When Satoru went to pick up the other kids from school and saw that he was in his casual, home clothes instead of his lame corporate suit, they bombarded him with questions about Tsumiki, and once they got home, Satoru and Suguru had to engage in a game of chase around the apartment to prevent them from sneaking into Tsumiki's room. Eventually, their foster fathers convinced them that it would be better for everyone to just video call Tsumiki, and once the call began, the three seven-year-olds spent hours enthusiastically recounting the events of their school day while Tsumiki listened intently.

The next day, Satoru woke up to see Megumi, Mimiko and Nanako already awake, doodling on various construction papers on the dining table. The twins explained that they were making ‘get well soon’ cards for Tsumiki, and then Megumi threatened him, saying that if Satoru and Suguru failed to give the cards to Tsumiki, he’d never talk to them ever again in his whole lifetime.

The children put their cards inside colorful pastel envelopes and taped them onto Tsumiki’s door with Hello Kitty washi tape, and Suguru was able to give her the cards as he gave her breakfast, which allowed the kids to leave for school with satisfied smiles.

Satoru stayed at home again, so he and Suguru had a repeat of the previous day’s duties when it came to Tsumiki. To Satoru’s surprise, whatever transpired the day before wasn’t some kind of fever dream. Citypop softly played in the apartment throughout the day again, and he found himself being able to stay at the same room with Suguru for an extended period of time, engaging in random conversations that had no feisty or petty remarks. When they ran out of stuff to talk about or they needed to start working, they’d sit in a comfortable lull.

As crazy as it sounded, Satoru was now on civil terms with Suguru, and they had even started to become friendly. While they were still a longshot from how they used to be as best friends, Satoru was content with the current state of things. He felt comfortable with how they acted with each other, and if he was being completely honest, he was uncertain about how his heart would handle it if their newly restored friendship developed any further.

Additionally, the cards the kids made must’ve had some sort of magical spell on them, because simultaneously Tsumiki’s temperature gradually got lower, and her energy was slowly coming back. The next evening, Satoru and Suguru shared a look of surprise as the thermometer in Suguru’s read 36.7°C.

“I’m all better now, right?” Tsumiki smiled, standing up on her bed with her hands on her hips.

“Yup!” Satoru exclaimed, grabbing her from her underarms and raising her close to the ceiling. The two of them cheered together as Suguru stepped out of the room, and it didn’t take long for them to hear a series of footsteps dashing towards them. As Nanako, Mimiko and Megumi emerged in the room, Satoru put Tsumiki down and let the four of them hug, shout and catch up with each other.

“We need to celebrate that you got better already, nee-chan !” Nanako tugged on Tsumiki’s sleeve. “This calls for a mega celebration! We should all be in pretty gowns in a big ballroom, like in the movies!”

“That sounds good! My honey over here would definitely be able to afford that.” Suguru interjected, leaning against the doorframe, which earned a scoff from Satoru.

“I think that would be too much.” Tsumiki shook her head before grinning. “I’m okay with just being with everyone. Maybe we can all watch a movie together while eating really delicious food. I’ve eaten nothing but mushroom soup for the past three days!”

“You heard that, darling !” Satoru gasped. “She doesn’t like your mushroom soup!”

“She literally didn’t say that, at all.” Suguru snorted. “Why do you keep twisting childrens’ words? Has it become a hobby? I’m sure Tengen and Uraume-san won’t be happy to hear about that.”

“We should eat sushi.” Megumi asserted as he still hugged his older sister by the waist, uncaring for the two adults’ conversation. “I want sushi.”

“Oh, I’d like that!” Tsumiki ruffled Megumi’s sea urchin hair.

Without any delay, Satoru promptly placed an order for two sushi platters from an upscale restaurant over the phone. Once the food arrived, the kids made themselves comfortable on the sofa with a large blanket on their laps, wielding their matching kiddie chopsticks, while Tsumiki scrolled through the available movies on TV. It didn't take long for her to decide on Spirited Away , and everyone enjoyed their meals in contented silence as they watched the movie. 

Satoru and Suguru occupied the couch, and Satoru intentionally refrained from indulging in too much sashimi, knowing that it was Suguru's favorite.

After the movie finished and their coffee table was sushi-less, Satoru wandered off to the kitchen to grab bowls of ice cream for everyone to eat for dessert, while Tsumiki picked their second movie, Howl’s Moving Castle .

The second Howl appeared on their TV screen, Satoru swiveled to the sofa and talked with a mouth full of neapolitan ice cream. “Hey, I’m handsome and cool like Howl, right?”

“What? No.” Suguru lowered his own bowl. "Shouldn't I be more like Howl? We both have long hair and similar voices. Your voice is too deep."

“I wasn’t asking you!” Satoru sneered at him before drawing his attention back to the children. “Come on, guys, tell Suguru that I’m more like Howl.”

The four of them shared a look, and then Mimiko replied bluntly. “You’re both too weird and mean to be Howl.”

Satoru's jaw practically hit the floor, and Suguru deflated into the couch upon hearing those words. Megumi seemed determined to add insult to injury. "Not to mention, you're both total idiots. I don't think either of you are capable of doing Howl's job, like fighting in the war and stuff."

Satoru pouted petulantly. “I’ll have all of you know that—”

“Ugh, just be quiet already! I can barely hear the movie!” Nanako shot the two men with a piercing glare as she grabbed the remote from the coffee table to raise the volume of the TV up.

Satoru pursed his lips as he glanced at Suguru, who was covering his mouth with his free hand and had his shoulders shaking, barely able to contain his laughter from spilling out. Satoru furrowed his eyebrows and stepped on his foot.

Miraculously, they were able to make it through the movie without any more long conversations. As the credits began to roll, Satoru realized he was the only one left awake in the living room. All four children lay together, cuddled under their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle blanket, and Suguru was by his side, snoring softly, his head tilting dangerously toward Satoru's shoulder. Satoru wasted no time leaning in closer, wrapping an arm around Suguru, and allowing him to rest on his chest.

Promise of the World by Kimura Yumi played softly, and the gentle snores of everyone in the room continued. Satoru ran his hand up and down Suguru's arm, muscle memory guiding his movements once again—Satoru realized it would be a fun drinking game to take a shot every time his muscle memory kicked in with Suguru. As he gently stroked Suguru's arm, he felt as if his entire being were a serene ocean wave, washing up on an empty beach under the moonlight.

Satoru's gaze drifted to his and Suguru’s fake marriage picture wall, where their affectionate, smiling faces were barely visible in the dimly lit room with only the TV providing illumination. He continued to stare at it absentmindedly until his eyelids grew heavy.

As he reclined on the couch, feeling Suguru's hair tickle his chin, and the music gradually faded into silence, he had one final thought before drifting off to sleep.

This… isn’t so bad.

Usually, a location teeming with nothing but clamoring children, agitated teachers, anxious yet prideful mothers trying to snap photos of their kids, and smug fathers lounging in the shade of trees on a sweltering day would typically be Satoru's idea of hell on Earth. He might even go so far as to say he'd prefer to relive his entire final year of college than endure such an environment, and that's certainly saying a lot .

Nevertheless, at the quick glance of Tsumiki smiling brightly in her PE attire among the sea of children at the school field, all of the bad qualities of the day withered into nothingness, and Satoru’s lips would be curving up, likely reaching his eyes in spite of himself.

It was the annual sport’s day festival in the childrens’ school, in which all parents are highly recommended to attend so they could watch their children participate in the many events happening. Tsumiki had signed up for the athletic competitions, namely the tug-of-war and the relay race, Mimiko and Nanako opted for the school’s talent show, while Megumi decided not to join anything. He didn’t even want to attend the festival, mumbling about how “Being seen with two grown-up idiots in school would be the most embarrassing thing in the world,” but he immediately changed his mind after Tsumiki whispered something in his ear. Satoru wanted to prod, but he decided not to take the risk of angering Megumi and getting them back to square one.

The three boys were now standing outside on the well trimmed grassy field, waiting for Tsumiki’s relay race to start which was a few feet away on the running tracks. Mimiko and Nanako were inside the school auditorium, getting ready for their number. Thankfully, Tsumiki’s competitions ended before the talent show, so Satoru and Suguru wouldn’t be missing out on anything. 

The only other pro in the sports festival was all the food stalls and booths out in the field. There were countless of them, either selling a variety of foods that ranged from sweet to sour or hosting fun games that the children can play to win prizes of plushies or random coupons. Satoru had his eye on one of the stalls that had some kind of shooting game, and the prizes were an assortment of Sanrio plushies to choose from. He wouldn't mind a Cinnamoroll or two on his bed. 

"Do we have time to check out the stalls after Tsumiki's competitions?" Satoru inquired, relaxing his grip on the mint green tote bag slung over his shoulder. Inside contained most of the childrens’ things, such as water bottles, spare clothes, powder, and a variety of hair accessories that belonged to the girls.

"Most likely. We'll have thirty minutes of free time before the talent show starts." Suguru answered, turning on his phone for a second to check the time. 

Suguru had his hair in a well kept bun, and was wearing an oversized white graphic band tee with baggy black pants, which complemented his black gauges and black nail polish—courtesy of Mimiko and Nanako—and olive skin that glowed under the sunlight. He raised an eyebrow at Satoru, and that was only when Satoru realized he had been staring like an idiot.

"Right, right." Satoru cleared his throat, glancing over to Megumi over the rim of his sunglasses, who was staring blankly at the field. "Megumi, did you see any interesting booths that you'd like to visit?"

Megumi whipped his head up at his foster father with another scowl on his features. Satoru's gonna have to tell him about wrinkles and aging soon.

"Not really." Megumi replied monotonously. "I'm sure you want to visit that shooting game with all the plu—"

Just then, a pink haired boy wearing a PE uniform ran into Megumi, cutting him off and attacking him with a hug. "Megumi, you're here!" 

"Y-Yuuji! What the—Get off!" Megumi yelled, his cheeks suddenly rivaling the color of the other boy’s head as he tried to pry the sturdy arms off of him.

Oh?

“Megumi, I’m so glad you came!” The boy, apparently named Yuuji exclaimed, squeezing his peer even tighter. “There’s so much I want to do with you today! First, I want to introduce you to my parents. Second, I want to go explore the booths with you—Oh! But I also want you to watch me in tug-of-war, soccer and basketball.”

“Woah, you signed up for a lot of events today, kid.” Satoru interjected, kneeling on one knee to reach the kids’ eye levels. “Quite the opposite of my Megumi over here.”

“I’m not yours !” Megumi protested, arms flailing around as he continued to struggle in Yuuji’s grip.

“Oh!” Yuuji jolted in surprise, as if he completely forgot he and Megumi weren’t the only people in the universe. He swiftly let go of Megumi, who staggered backwards for a bit before turning on his heel and covering his cheeks with his palms.

“I’m sorry, I forgot my manners.” Yuuji held out an arm as he smiled widely, with one of his front teeth missing. “I’m Yuuji Itadori, Megumi’s best friend!”

Oh. Satoru could barely contain his amused grin as he gently shook the boy’s hand and stared at him over the rim of his sunglasses. “Nice to meet you, Yuuji! I’m Satoru Gojo, Megumi’s foster dad.”

Megumi groaned as Suguru bent down to meet Yuuji’s eyes as well. “I’m Suguru Geto, Megumi’s foster dad too.”

“Wow, nice to meet you both!” Yuuji stretched his other arm out to shake Suguru’s hand, so now his arms were criss-crossed. “Megumi has such cool parents!”

“He sure does!” Satoru said loudly with a smirk, glancing at Megumi who looked like he wanted the dirt beneath their feet to just swallow him completely. 

“My own parents are eating at one of the booths since I still have time before my games. Would you like to meet them?” Yuuji tilted his head inquisitively. 

Suguru hummed. “We’d love to Yuuji-kun, but we’re about to watch Megumi’s sister, Tsumiki-chan, in the relay race.”

“Oh, I understand.” Yuuji let go of both their hands and shifted his gaze towards Megumi. “Then, can I watch with all of you?”

Satoru opened his mouth to reply, but he was quickly interrupted. “ No – no, don’t watch with us!” Megumi bursted out, holding Yuuji by the shoulders, his entire face now the shade of a cherry tomato. 

“Why not?” Yuuji pouted. “Also, are you okay Megumi? Your face is really red. Is it because it’s really hot?” 

“I-I don’t want you to watch with us because…” Megumi furrowed his eyebrows as he averted his gaze to the grass. “I… I’d rather go to the booths with you! I can meet your parents first. And yes, my-my face is like this because of the heat.”

“Ah, then you two boys should go buy some refreshments there at the stalls too.” Satoru stood up to his feet before removing one bag strap from his arm and taking out his wallet from his tote bag. He handed Megumi a few paper bills. “Here, you can use the extra money to play or buy whatever you want from the stalls.”

Yuuji beamed as his smile grew impossibly wider. “Thank you so much, Mr. Gojo!”

“No problem, kiddo.” Satoru winked as Megumi dragged Yuuji by the arm towards the direction of the stalls.

“See you later, Gojo and Geto-san!” Yuuji called out as he enthusiastically waved goodbye while Megumi trudged onward, grumbling under his breath.

“It seemed like Megumi didn’t want us anywhere near Yuuji-kun.” Suguru tapped his chin.

“Come on, Suguru.” Satoru rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you grew dense? It’s obvious why Megumi doesn’t want us around Yuuji!”

Satoru could almost see the big red question mark pop on top of Suguru’s head. “It is?”

Satoru stifled a laugh as he wiggled his eyebrows. “Did you want me anywhere near your parents when you had a crush on me?”

A flash of surprise crossed over Suguru’s features before he tightened his jaw and narrowed his eyes. “Well, in retrospect, I shouldn’t have had you anywhere near my parents in the entirety of the seven years we knew each other.”

“You can’t say that when you just told me not too long ago that they both missed me!” Satoru retorted, crossing his arms. “Now that I think about it, I should give them a call…”

“Don’t .” Suguru lightly shoved him, eliciting a yelp from his fake husband. “Don’t even think about it, unless you want me to go call your parents too and tell your dad that I’d go golfing with him.”

Satoru winced as if he got physically punched in the gut. “Okay, yeah, no thanks.”

Suguru shook his head as he exhaled, breath coming out in an unmistakable low chuckle. “Whatever. I’m gonna go to the bathroom real quick. If Tsumiki’s race starts while I’m gone, just tell me whether or not she’s losing once I come back.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Satoru waved him off dismissively, turning back to the field where the children were still dispersed and talking amongst themselves. “Don’t take too long or else Tsumiki would think you abandoned her.”

“Oh, she’d never think that of me. You, on the other hand…” Suguru flashed his trademark shit-eating grin before swiftly turning on his heel and walking away, skillfully avoiding Satoru's attempt to smack his head.

Satoru grunted in defeat before taking a deep breath and walking closer to where the relay race was. He might as well try and get a better spot for him and Suguru to take cute pictures of Tsumiki. Navigating through other parents and kids, he found himself just a few steps away from where the grass deviated into synthetic rubber. He slowly raised his hand to wave to Tsumiki, only to reluctantly lower it back down as the teacher blew her whistle and gathered all the children on the track before her.

“Sports day festivals like these are so exciting, right?” A sweet voice asked. Satoru slowly spun to the owner of the voice as he propped his sunglasses on top of his head, cerulean eyes meeting a strikingly similar shade. The woman beside him had long, peach-colored hair that adorned her blue eyes. She was also wearing a long, tight, sleeveless purple dress that didn’t seem comfortable to wear in the weather they were standing in. 

“Oh, well, it’s my first time attending one of these actually.” Satoru replied with a small smile. 

“Really? Is your child a new student here?” The woman’s gaze fell on Satoru’s fingers wrapped around his tote bag.

“Yeah, they started out here just a couple of months ago.” Satoru rubbed the back of his nape with his free hand. “What about you? And what grade is your child in? I have children in the first and third grade.”

“My daughter has been enrolled here since the first grade, and now she’s in her sixth, so I’ve been to plenty of these.” The woman shuffled closer to Satoru. “I’m Manami Suda, by the way.” She smiled—lips decorated with intense red lipstick—almost reaching her eyes as she extended her hand.

“Satoru Gojo.” Satoru extended his arm, and to his surprise, Manami wasted no time in grabbing it and shaking it with absolute vigor. 

“You have a nice name, Gojo-san.” Manami flipped her hair over her shoulder, her eyes wandering over to Satoru’s chest. “Also, did I hear that right about you having multiple children? It must be tough for you.”

“Well, not really?” Satoru stared at her, puzzled. “I mean, I have the help of—”

“Satoru, I’m back!” Suguru sauntered over, immediately wrapping an arm around Satoru with absolute disregard that he was in the middle of a conversation. 

“W-Welcome back.” Satoru tried not to think about how his heart fell to his ass once again at the sudden close contact. He decided to focus on internally questioning why Suguru was initiating this close contact all of a sudden. Still, he decided to play along, and wrapped an arm around Suguru’s waist. 

“Why’d you take off your sunglasses? Your eyes are gonna start hurting sooner or later.” Suguru angled his head to peer into Satoru's eyes with concern, and Satoru felt as if the stare was igniting his skin in flames far hotter than the sun ever could.

“It’s o-okay, Suguru.” Satoru cleared his throat, gesturing over to the woman. “Anyway, I was just chatting with Manami Suda over here. Suda-san, meet Suguru Geto, my—”

“ Husband ,” Suguru finished for him and promptly shook hands with the woman. “I’m Satoru’s husband.”

“Oh?” Manami Suda stood wide-eyed, her words curling up in the end in what seemed to be confusion, which made Satoru all the more confused. “I’m Manami Suda. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

Suguru flashed her a quick grin—one Satoru recognized right away as one of his fake ones that he uses when he doesn’t want to deal with the person—before turning back to Satoru, with his lower lip jutting out, as if he were— Oh god, he's actually pouting. 

"Satoru, you should wear your sunglasses at all times while outdoors." Suguru spoke ever so softly, with so much care and tenderness in his lilt as if he was talking to the most fragile, precious thing in the entire universe at the palm of his hands. He slowly brought Satoru's sunglasses back down to the bridge of his nose. "I don't want you getting migraines."

Satoru was suddenly finding it hard to breathe despite being surrounded by nothing but greenery giving off oxygen in the vicinity. "Suguru, it's no big deal."

" Yes, it is ." Suguru squeezed Satoru's shoulder before turning to Suda-san again. "Sorry Suda-san, but please excuse me and my husband. I'm gonna bring him under the sun for a while just to make sure he's okay."

Suguru didn't even wait for the woman's response as he untangled himself from Satoru and quickly grabbed his wrist. The next thing Satoru's brain could register, Suguru was hastily dragging him across the grass field, onto the direction of where the indoor bathrooms were.

"Wait, what about Tsumiki?" Satoru questioned, trying to wiggle out of Suguru's grasp. However, with Suguru's history in sports and martial arts, all efforts seemed to be in vain.

"Don't worry, we'll go back right away. But first, I need to talk to you." Suguru's tone was resolute, taking a turn so that now they were right in front of the bathrooms. The area was unsurprisingly secluded, as everyone else was preoccupied with the competitions that had just begun.

" You need to talk to me?" Satoru widened his eyes. " I should be the one talking to you! What was that all about?! You were like a leech on me then you started going off about my eyes!"

"First of all, your eyes are an actual problem. You'd literally be having a migraine at this very moment if I didn't interfere, so don't fight me on that." Suguru flicked his forehead, causing Satoru to shriek. "Second of all, you're insanely stupid if you had no idea what that woman's intentions were!"

"What?!" Satoru rubbed his reddening forehead. "Are you out of your mind? She was just a kind lady who was striking up a conversation with another parent!" 

"I really should've expected you to be insanely stupid." Suguru sighed, exasperated. "Satoru, when I spotted you, you were practically shoulder to shoulder with her. It was clear as day that the two of you were flirting !"

Satoru swore he could hear the Windows XP error sound go off in his head as he tried to make sense of Suguru’s words. His jaw dropped to the floor. "F-flirting?"

"I wasn't born yesterday, Satoru. That woman’s voracious gaze should be self-explanatory unless you’re legally blind. But what was with you removing your shades? And not to mention, this ." Suguru grabbed a handful of Satoru’s blue button up, and pulled him even closer. 

Suguru's callused, yet delicate fingers began fastening the three unbuttoned buttons leading up to his collar. Satoru couldn’t do anything but stare dumbfoundedly at Suguru’s annoyingly attractive face that was too focused on his buttons. It was a sight Satoru had seen many times before, especially when they were both in college and Satoru refused to dress properly. In those instances, Satoru would usually lean in and steal a kiss from his then-boyfriend. Satoru’s lips tugged into a frown at the memory and decided to just block out any more bothersome thoughts from entering his head by shifting his gaze down to Suguru’s shirt. Satoru made a mental note to make fun of it later.

It felt like eons had passed before Suguru pulled away and dusted his hands, taking a few steps back. “Walking around with almost your entire chest out in the open during an elementary school sports day? You’re practically begging for someone to ask you out.”

Satoru blinked a couple of times in an attempt to slowly regain sanity, and he took a deep breath. "First of all, I only removed my sunglasses to get a good look of who I was talking to. Second of all, I didn’t fully button my shirt because I didn’t want to die of heat stroke! If anything, you should’ve buttoned up my shirt before we left the house if you wanted me to be some kind of prune to save our marriage. Also, aren’t you being too presumptuous?”

"I'm not being presumptuous, I'm being careful ." Suguru glared at him. "Did you forget that I'm your lawfully wedded husband? And that that kind of information is in all the school records of the kids? Do you want to become the subject of gossip in the next PTA meeting?"

Satoru grimaced at the image of middle-aged men and women all huddled together in some dingy elementary classroom giving him a side-eye. "Okay, yeah, I see your point."

Suguru’s lips twitched upwards, threatening to turn into a smirk as he had won the argument. “See? So unless you want to unnecessarily make our situation worse and invite some homewreckers, please just wait a couple more months before getting back into the whole dating scene.”

The gears within Satoru’s head were still under maintenance, and it felt as if he needed a whole cerebral transplant given by a Harvard scholar to articulate how he absolutely wasn’t, and probably never will, look for someone new anytime soon because of reasons he wasn’t sure of himself. 

Just then, a loud snap! interrupted Satoru’s frenzied thoughts, and it took him a few moments to process that Suguru’s raven hair, previously tied in a neat bun on top of his head, now messily fell on his forehead and shoulders. Suguru mirrored Satoru’s stunned expression as he looked down at his hair. 

“Ah, really? Now?” Suguru muttered under his breath as he ran one hand over his hair, and then extended the other towards Satoru. 

Satoru looked at the hand quizzically for a few beats before what felt like a jolt of electricity zapped through his head. Instinctively, he moved his hands over his wrists, only feeling his Rolex. Clicking his tongue, Satoru frantically opened his tote bag and rummaged through one of the side pockets, which contained the girls’ hair accessories, until he found a black hair tie.

“Here.” Satoru dropped the hair tie on Suguru’s palm, and it was only by the split second that their skin touched one another that Satoru realized what they were doing.

It was early on in their friendship and budding romantic relationship that Satoru noticed how most of Suguru’s hair ties never lasted due to how thick his hair was. It didn’t take long for Satoru to start buying hair ties for Suguru and keeping them on his own wrists. Whenever they were together and one of Suguru’s hair ties snapped, he only needed to wordlessly extend his hand out and Satoru would be there to the rescue.

The sweet, romantic habit between them was still familiar yet also unfamiliar and new to Satoru, as was always the case concerning anything related to Suguru recently. It must’ve dawned on Suguru as well as he averted his gaze and mumbled. “Uh, thanks.”

Suguru pivoted his heel to tie his hair, while Satoru feigned interest towards the crowd of people in the distance. He bit his lower lip as the silence stretched out between them. Maybe we shouldn’t have let Megumi and Yuuji leave us alone together. 

“Okay.” Suguru exhaled, facing Satoru again as he finished tying back his bun, a few loose black strands falling over his face. “Now, where were we?”

Satoru scratched the back of his head, his gaze flitting between Suguru and the pavement. “Um, something about homewreckers?”

“Right.” Suguru sighed, slightly shaking his head. After a brief pause, he extended his hand once again. "You know what? Just stay with me for the whole day, and don't do anything idiotic alright?"

“You can’t deny that you can be just as idiotic as me.”

“ Satoru. ”

“Alright, alright!" Satoru pressed his lips into a thin line before heaving out a sigh and slapping his hand on top of Suguru’s. “Whatever you say, darling .”

Suguru intertwined their fingers together, and although they’ve already held hands in the past few weeks, it felt different this time. The two of them stood there alone, hand-in-hand, without the intention of pulling pranks or fooling anyone. Satoru stared absent-mindedly at their joined hands, letting his body wash in that same strange warmth it always finds itself in with Suguru’s touch, until a thought popped in his mind.

“Oh my god.” Satoru’s eyes widened comically. “Tsumiki.”

Suguru cursed under his breath, and then the two of them sprinted hand-in-hand in the blistering heat of the afternoon, deftly weaving through other parents and children to return to the running track as if they were college students about to miss a class that had attendance as part of its grading criteria.

Luckily enough, Satoru and Suguru didn’t miss out much on the relay race, and they watched Tsumiki with pride and mirth covering their features as she zealously participated, flashing a smile to her two guardians whenever she passed by quick enough. Her team ended up winning second place, and if it weren’t for Suguru holding his hand, Satoru would’ve ran towards Tsumiki to give her the biggest hug in the universe and raise her up to the sky to boast about his amazing daughter.

Once the relay race ended and everyone started getting ready for the tug-of-war, Megumi and Yuuji returned to them with popsicles in their mouths. Yuuji gleefully retold the events of Megumi meeting his parents, and how they used up Satoru’s money to buy snacks and participate in some booths, where they were able to win matching sun and moon keychains before he had to run off and compete in the tug-of-war. Satoru tried to get more stories out of Megumi about their little date, but the sea-urchin haired boy wholeheartedly ignored him.

The tug-of-war ended with Yuuji’s team winning instead of Tsumiki’s. Nonetheless, everyone continued to be in good spirits, and Tsumiki sprinted back to her family with a blinding smile, showing no ounce of fatigue despite the back-to-back athletic activities.

“I’ll just change clothes, then let’s all go around the stalls!” Tsumiki jumped up and down, gripping onto Satoru’s tote bag.

“Okay, okay! Hold on.” Satoru laughed, opening the tote bag to get the spare clothes they brought. 

“Since I already looked at all the stalls with Yuuji earlier,” Megumi rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. “I think I’ll just stay here and watch the soccer game coming up.”

“Oh, I knew you were gonna say that.” Tsumiki chuckled as she let go of the tote bag to ruffle Megumi’s hair. “You know, you’re super obvious about your c—”

“That’s enough, Tsumiki.” Suguru butted in with a serious tone, contrasting the smirk on his face. “Don’t tease your little brother.”

“Ugh, you all need to mind your business!” Megumi exclaimed with flushed cheeks. “Whatever, I’m going to go to Yuuji’s parents!”

Satoru, Suguru and Tsumiki collectively erupted into a fit of giggles as they watched the youngest boy in their family animatedly stomp away. 

“We’ll come back to get you later so we can watch Mimiko and Nanako together at the talent show!” Suguru hastily called out, resulting in Megumi stomping away faster. They saw him stop in front of two young men, the taller one being slender with blonde hair, and the shorter being a brunette with a buff build. At the instant amicable smiles they directed at Megumi, Satoru immediately concluded that they were Yuuji’s parents.

After Tsumiki’s change of clothes, the trio wandered around their booths, and Tsumiki didn’t hesitate to pull Satoru and Suguru in whichever direction that caught her attention. The two of them allowed her to buy whatever food she wanted and joined her in the games she wanted to try out, and with Satoru Gojo being Satoru Gojo, he was able to win every single game, including the shooting one which involved a prize of a Cinnamoroll plush. It was an incredibly cute one too, where Cinnamoroll was sitting in an ice cream cone which matched his blue ice cream hat that even had a cherry on top.

Suguru ridiculed him the entire time he was playing, saying how he looked insane as a twenty two year old man with a corporate job intensely playing a children’s game for a plush toy. However, when Satoru won, Suguru offered to carry the plush toy, and Satoru caught him squeezing the plush fondly a handful of times as they continued walking.

They finished exploring the booths with a good amount of time to spare, so they headed back to where the soccer game was being held in the field. The game had just finished once they reached its venue, and it wasn’t hard to spot Megumi with the crowd dispersing. He was still with Yuuji’s parents, and they seemed to be waiting for Yuuji who was still talking to a teacher on the field.

“We’re back, Megumi!” Tsumiki waved her cotton candy high in the air, catching her younger brother’s attention. 

“Did you have fun at the booths, nee-chan ?” Megumi asked as the three of them approached.

“I had so much fun!” Tsumiki exclaimed, pointing her cotton candy at Satoru. “Gojo-san kept winning all the games!”

“And now we have a new friend!” Satoru patted Cinnamoroll’s head, who was still sitting snugly in Suguru’s arms.

“You must be Gojo and Geto-san! Yuuji talked about you both for a bit a while ago when we went around the booths with Megumi.” The brunette smiled, and Satoru couldn’t help but think that he’d seen that same smile before somewhere.

“I’m Yu Haibara, by the way.” He extended his arm before quickly tilting his head to the side. “And this over here is my husband Kento Nanami. We’re Yuuji’s parents. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you!” Satoru returned the smile as he shook the couples’ hands, and he didn’t fail to miss how the blonde man Nanami slightly winced at his booming voice, as if annoyed.

Satoru had to stifle a laugh as he watched Suguru carefully shift Cinnamoroll over onto one hand so he could shake Haibara and Nanami’s hands. 

“You must be Tsumiki, Megumi’s eldest sister, right?” Haibara enthusiastically waved at her. “We’ve heard a lot about everyone from Yuuji!”

“Hah?!” Megumi exclaimed, shooting Haibara an incredulous look. “How much does he talk about me?”

“A lot.” Haibara stated, putting a hand on his hip. “You have two younger sisters named Mimiko and Nanako who’re participating in the talent show, right?”

Megumi nodded, refusing eye contact with Haibara as Suguru commented. “We’re actually here to steal Megumi back so that we could go catch them perform together.”

“We can all go together actually! If you don’t mind.” Haibara’s eyes sparkled. “Yuuji’s basketball match doesn’t start until after the talent show is over.”

Megumi whipped his head up with knit eyebrows, concern etched on his face. “Shouldn’t Yuuji rest before his basketball match?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Megumi!” Haibara chuckled and ruffled Megumi’s hair, earning a grunt from the younger boy. Satoru suddenly wondered if there were any long term negative effects to having your hair messed up constantly.

As if on cue, a pair of fast footsteps approached the group, and Satoru could see Yuuji sprinting towards them with full energy, his perpetual smile on his face. Satoru’s eyes darted to Haibara, who was still smiling as well, and that’s when he connected the dots.

“I’m back!” Yuuji cheered, tackling Megumi once again into a hug from behind. Megumi’s eyes flitted between everyone who had their eyes on them before scowling and bringing up the collar of his shirt to cover his beet-red face.

“That was a good game, Yuuji.” Nanami’s stiff poker face finally broke out into a small grin.

“Thanks, dad!” Yuuji held up his hand, and Nanami didn’t hesitate to give him a high-five.

“You aren’t tired yet, right, Yuuji?” Nanami bent his knees to meet his son’s eyes.

“Nope!” Yuuji popped the ‘p’ as he shook his head. “Are we heading to the talent show? We need to watch Mimiko and Nanako perform!”

“See? I told you.” Haibara wiggled his eyebrows at Megumi, although the boy couldn’t see it with his shirt on his face.

Everyone walked to the auditorium together, with Tsumiki, Megumi and Yuuji leading the way and chatting amongst themselves. A few steps behind them were the four adults having their own conversation—or rather three, as Nanami only provided affirmative nods when Haibara addressed him or grunts at whatever joke Satoru would throw in.

Satoru learned that Haibara and Nanami were both a year younger than him, being fresh graduates from college. Similarly to Satoru and Suguru, the couple first met in high school, then got married the month right after their graduation. However, taking five-year old Yuuji into their care happened during their third year of college, when their apartment landlord suddenly passed away, leaving his grandson alone as he had no other relatives. Haibara and Nanami took him in, and then legally adopted him once they got married.

Suguru explained his and Satoru’s story similarly, stating that they were high school sweethearts who decided to get married in their final year of college, wholly omitting the fact that the marriage was purely accidental and that they had no idea of it until recently, and of course how they had broken up already as a couple. 

As they entered the auditorium, which was nearly filled to capacity, the group had to separate since there were only a few seats left. When Yuuji departed with his parents, a frown etched itself onto Megumi's face, and it seemed poised to linger throughout the remainder of the talent show.

They were able to find seats near the stage, while Yuuji’s family sat a few rows behind them. They arrived just two minutes before the talent show was scheduled to start, but five minutes later the curtains of the stage were still drawn together, and murmurs were starting to go around the crowd. A voice suddenly erupted from the auditorium speakers, announcing that the talent show would be delayed for fifteen minutes due to technical difficulties.

Satoru thought nothing of it, pulling out his phone to scroll through social media and kill time. He didn’t know how much time had passed when he felt a tap on his shoulder. “Satoru.”

Satoru looked up to see Suguru’s palm in front of him, holding one of his favorite candy flavors, wrapped in its all too familiar pink packaging.

“Oh, thanks?” Satoru accepted it with his free hand, gripping the candy between his thumb and forefinger. It wasn't until his thumb glided across the plastic wrapping that he realized something was off. He blinked at the candy, then at the strangely sparkling pad of his thumb before his throat restricted at the realization that dawned on him. 

Satoru had a persistent habit of biting his thumb nails whenever restlessness crept in, a behavior he remained blissfully unaware of until Suguru started reprimanding him for it. In an attempt to break this habit, Suguru devised a solution—whenever he caught Satoru in the act, he would offer him his favorite candies, providing an alternative to keep his mouth occupied.

Yet another silly, romantic rhythm the two of them had in their past relationship. Just how much did the two of them still remember of each other? Satoru whipped his head to Suguru, who was now engaged in conversation with Tsumiki, still clutching Cinnamoroll to his chest. Satoru wanted to pry the plush toy from his hands and be in its place instead—

Before Satoru could finish whatever inane thought he had, the stage curtains opened, revealing a blonde woman in a sparkly, bright dress holding a microphone. Satoru tucked his phone away and popped the candy in his mouth, and he couldn’t help but notice that it tasted sweeter than it usually did over the past year. 

Satoru tried to keep his attention on the stage and at whoever’s child was performing, but his gaze kept wandering back to the man beside him, and at one point he was caught accidentally staring.

“What? Do you want Cinnamoroll?” Suguru tilted his head, talking a bit louder than usual over the booming speakers. 

“No, it’s nothing!” Satoru shook his head, waving his hand dismissively and darting his eyes onto his lap. Wow. Satoru couldn’t help but think he really was insanely stupid.

When Mimiko and Nanako finally took the stage, they performed a pop dance together in matching white pleated skirts and red striped knit short sleeves, their eyes and smiles remaining fixed on their family in the audience all throughout. Suguru recorded the entire performance on his phone, while Satoru and Tsumiki hollered and clapped like their life depended on it. If he had lightsticks on hand, Satoru would have surely indulged in some embarrassing otaku dance like how a die-hard fan would in an idol concert.

It was a no-brainer that they were the showstoppers, and it didn’t really surprise Satoru when their names were announced as first place at the end of the show by the emcee. The twins’ foster fathers cheered and immediately sprung out of their seats, leaving Cinnamoroll behind and running towards the stage with Tsumiki and Megumi trailing behind them. Satoru and Suguru excitedly enveloped the twins in an embrace on stage, and Tsumiki and Megumi joined them shortly after, even if Megumi still had a frown on his face.

“You girls did amazing!” Suguru exclaimed as they pulled away from each other. “I knew from the very beginning that you girls would win!”

“This win gives you guys bragging rights for the whole school year.” Satoru gave them a thumbs up. “Be sure to always talk about it! This also applies to Tsumiki who placed in the relay race, by the way.”

Suguru smacked the back of his head, and Satoru recompensed by stepping on Suguru’s foot, eliciting a hiss from his husband. The children burst into laughter, joined by some members of the audience before them.

It takes a few moments for them to all calm down and take a commemorative photo with the emcee on stage. The twins were at the center, holding their trophy together, while Tsumiki and Megumi stood at opposite ends and Satoru and Suguru stood behind them. Satoru wrapped an arm around Suguru and Suguru placed his head on Satoru’s shoulder as they smiled for the camera with the intent of looking madly in love with each other for the whole school to see.

“Congratulations once again, Mimiko and Nanako!” The kind emcee said directly to her microphone as the photographer left the stage. Mimiko and Nanako beamed and expressed their thanks before the emcee turned to the audience and announced the conclusion of the talent show. 

The crowd of parents and students started filing out of the auditorium while everyone onstage continued talking to each other. Mimiko and Nanako were narrating some story that happened backstage to Suguru, while Tsumiki and Megumi admired the trophy that they snatched from the twins’ hands. The emcee turned off her microphone, and unexpectedly, headed towards Satoru instead of going backstage, her high heels making a distinct sound on the glossy wooden stage.

“You know, you’re such a warm, ecstatic family.” She said, sincerity in her lilt as she glanced over to everyone else on the stage. "I can tell you and your husband built that strong foundation with the love you have for each other as a couple.”

“Huh?!” Satoru stared at her in bewilderment over the rim of his sunglasses.

“Yes, I’ve seen it occasionally before with other families.” The emcee chuckled. “Why do you look so surprised?”

“I-I just never heard that before, is all.” Satoru shrugged with a sheepish smile, making the woman laugh even harder and pat him on the shoulder.

“Well, I wish you all the best.” She winked at him before making her way backstage. “I also can’t wait to see all of you again in future school events!”

Satoru watched her retreating form in absolute confusion. What the hell was all that about?

He furrowed his eyebrows at her one last time before pivoting his heel to join everyone else. He walked over to Suguru’s side, who was snickering at something Mimiko said. His electrifying laughter filled the auditorium, and he briefly smiled at Satoru before looking at the twins with compassion and fondness spilling all over his features.

At that moment, Satoru couldn’t help but think that Suguru was just… everything . 

It felt as though the universe itself had conspired throughout the eons to mold its existence around Suguru's celestial essence, allowing him to bestow his grace upon their mundane planet. Yet paradoxically, it seemed as if Suguru was the entire universe, embodied the entirety of the cosmos, captivating and mysterious, much like the celestial bodies that adorned the night sky, guiding every lost, wandering soul to their destined paths.

Oh. 

Satoru swallowed thickly as his stomach churned and his hands grew cold. 

Oh no.

As if a dormant volcano suddenly decided to erupt without warning, Satoru's emotions surged forth, finally breaking through the planet’s old, thick and staggering crust. A flood of intense feelings engulfed his entire being, seemingly boundless in their depth and immeasurable in its intensity. It was a hauntingly familiar sensation, one that Satoru recognized all too intimately—a replay of seven years ago, a déjà vu of overwhelming emotions sparked by Suguru once again.

He needed to do something— anything to prevent the sensation of imminent explosion that threatened to ruin everything. Satoru wanted to avert his gaze from Suguru, but it felt impossible, as if it were sacrilege not to admire the beauty of a god. His eyes shifted to his ex-boyfriend slash husband’s graphic shirt, triggering a sudden recollection of the mental note he had penned earlier that day.

“Suguru.” Satoru blurted out, his voice feeling foreign to him. “Your shirt’s really tacky. And ugly.”

Suguru's laughter subsided as he shot Satoru a piercing, albeit non-threatening, glare. “Seriously? Is that why you kept staring at me the entire day?”

“Uh, yeah.” Then, Satoru muttered under his breath. “Let’s go with that.”

Suguru rolled his eyes, playfully shoving Satoru’s shoulder. “At least I don’t look like some thirty-year old businessman.”

“Hey!” Tsumiki scolded, shooting the two men with a disapproving look. “Quit the lovers quarrel, we need to be celebrating Mimiko and Nanako’s victory!”

“Actually,” Megumi pointed his forefinger to the ceiling, matter-of-factly. “Yuuji’s basketball game starts soon, so we need to stop celebrating to go to the gymnasium right now .”

Megumi says the last part with a threatening undertone, gritting his teeth as if the prospect of missing his crush's basketball game was unforgivable. The remark triggered another round of laughter from everyone else, and Megumi appeared like he wanted to start a gruesome fight.

“Alright, kiddo, don’t worry!” Satoru said through his laughs, lifting his sunglasses to wipe away a stray tear from the corner of his eye. “Let’s get going to the gymnasium then.”

“Oh, wait, we almost forgot Cinnamoroll!” Suguru exclaimed, looking over at the seat where the plush toy sat lonesomely.

Satoru watched as Suguru hurriedly, yet also gracefully, descended from the stage to retrieve the plush toy that Satoru had won with a grin on his face, with the children following closely behind him. Satoru concluded himself to be Japan’s dumbest man as his mind found itself trapped in a loop, akin to a broken record the more he looked at his infuriatingly otherworldly, divine ex-boyfriend slash husband.

I am so, absolutely, horrendously, fucked.

Satoru wouldn’t say he had a crush on Suguru again. 

That would just be weird.

For the past two months, Satoru had been playing off his strange yearning for Suguru as nostalgia just messing with him—which was a good explanation for his occasional impulsive and unwarranted thoughts concerning his ex-boyfriend, until they weren’t occasional anymore and became persistent throughout this entire day. He found himself engaging in more conversations with Suguru—even when their subject matter would most likely be mundane work-related affairs. 

Speaking of work, Satoru was also working from home a lot more often, and he told his family it was because it wasn’t a busy season for the company. However, he knew deep down that he simply looked forward to the shared, silent moments of working side by side with Suguru in the comfort of their living room throughout the afternoon.

He would also find himself staring at Suguru a little too long when he was smiling or laughing with the kids, the happiness radiating from him being a magnetic field dangerously drawing Satoru in the same way it did all those times before. 

Additionally, it’s safe to say that their apartment had gotten a lot warmer—and louder—since the sports day. All six of them spent a lot more time together, playing or watching TV or listening to each other tell random stories. Satoru had even gotten closer to Mimiko and Nanako; the two girls now paid attention to him nearly as much as they paid attention to Suguru, and would become the victim to their kiddie nail polish and make-up whenever the twins saw an opening. “You and Geto-sama have very different facial features, so it’ll be helpful for us in the future to learn from you both.” The two of them had told him in unison.

On weekends, instead of having two separate excursions, they ventured out together, exploring malls or navigating the bustling streets of the city as a united front. It was an entirely different feeling for Satoru, to be in the company of people he cared for all throughout the day, basking in the sheer joy of simple shared moments like eating ice cream while on a stroll or pointing out funny looking things on the road. 

Satoru also took his outfits during said outings very seriously, donning exclusively the finest and most lavish pieces from his wardrobe to captivate the world's attention. Deep within his thoughts, a subtle realization lingered—that the world, in this context, revolved around a singular person—but that shouldn't matter.

Despite all that, Satoru knew that he did not have a crush on Suguru, his ex-boyfriend, again. That would just be weird. Way too weird. The whole fake marriage thing was already weird to begin with, and he certainly didn’t want to add anymore unnecessary layers to it like how a digital artist would with their illustration. 

However, what wouldn’t be weird—by Satoru’s standards—would be yearning for a plain, simple friendship with Suguru again, and Satoru liked to think that was a way better explanation for his recent annoying and extremely consistent thoughts regarding his fake husband. Being friends with your ex again with no more romantic feelings involved was a common occurrence that Satoru saw in shows and movies, so there wasn’t any problem with that, right? Being Suguru’s friend again would be enough. Satoru was simply confusing his feelings, and making a big deal out of nothing.

Nonetheless, two weeks after sports day, he received the inevitable call of Tengen’s second visit to their place to check up on their very real family household. Similarly to the first time he got the call, he ran out of his room to tell everyone immediately, also adding that the kids should clean up all their toys from the living room.

“Time sure flies by fast.” Suguru stood up from his seat at the dining table and glanced over to all the children scurrying around the living room, snatching their things left and right from the floor. “Aren’t you relieved?”

“Relieved how?” Satoru softly stepped a miniature basketball rolling towards him on the floor, and a moment later Megumi was grumbling under his breath and snatching it from below his heel.

“We’re already halfway through this mess.” Suguru strolled over to stand right in front of Satoru and flashed him a smile, letting his eyes crinkle into crescent moons. “By next month, the twins and I will move to my place, we’ll get a divorce, and I won’t ever have to see your face again.”

Satoru decided to wholeheartedly ignore the way his heart fell all the way to his ass, and how his skin became icy cold despite the humid weather, which definitely weren’t signs of relief in his book. Instead, he scoffed and crossed his arms. “Oh please , I bet you’re gonna carry a locket around your neck with a picture of me because you wouldn’t last a day without looking at the most charming man in Japan.” 

Suguru stifled a laugh as he walked past Satoru, patting him in the shoulder before making his way to the kitchen. “Sure, I’ll use that picture of you puking your guts out on the toilet during one of Utahime’s parties back in high school.”

“Wh—Hey! You didn’t deny the most charming man in Japan part!” Satoru turned around with a smirk, and although Suguru’s back was towards him, he could tell that Suguru was rolling his eyes so far into the back of his head he could see his own brain.

Satoru’s smirk morphed into a genuine smile, a warmth spreading across his chest and lingering on the skin of his shoulder where Suguru's touch had grazed him just moments before. It didn’t take long before that smile then disappeared and his expression turned into that of horror as realization dawned on him. 

No. No, it was absolutely nothing to think about. He was simply making a big deal out of nothing. As usual. Satoru needed to put that statement on loop in his silly excuse of a brain before his stupid thoughts consumed him whole and made him conclude something irrational and stupid.

For the second time, Tengen and Uraume arrive at ten in the morning sharp, and for the most part, they just hit the replay button on their meeting a month ago. The same greetings and pleasantries were exchanged by the genkan , the children were ecstatic to see their old orphanage director, and Suguru was serving them brunch again, but this time it was pinwheel cookies, which Satoru always liked better than his butter cookies.

In the living room, the scene repeated itself, with Satoru and Suguru snugly squeezed onto the couch while the kids conducted their interviews with Tengen and Uraume on the sofa. This time, however, Satoru and Suguru had seamlessly melded together, becoming almost like a singular entity. They intertwined arms the moment they settled on the sofa, taking turns resting their heads on each other's shoulders and mindlessly playing with each other’s hair. The only shifts in their positions were to lean down to the coffee table for another cookie or to sip their beverages.

Satoru could feel himself melting over the comfort and familiarity with Suguru by his side, letting something akin to fondness take over most of his senses as he continued touching whatever part of Suguru whenever he could. The feeling did have sirens going off in his head, but he chose to, once again, ignore it. It didn’t really mean anything. Satoru made sure not to make a big deal out of nothing. Friends touch each other like this all the time, right? 

The girls went on to tell stories about their eventful sports day and fun family outings during the weekends, and although Megumi continued to have his trademark bleak, monotonous tone while speaking, he did offer more stories and descriptions compared to last time. Expectedly, Uraume was busy tapping away on their tablet, but now they were barely eating the cookies Suguru offered, which made Satoru’s blood boil to a simmer under his skin. How dare they be picky with Suguru’s baking?! 

Before they knew it, Tengen finished interviewing the children and faced the wedded couple on the couch. The two of them immediately straightened their postures, ready for whatever kind of answer that they’ll have to bullshit—well, Satoru didn’t really bullshit his answer last time since it had some truth in it.

Tengen eyed the two of them for a couple of moments, and Satoru’s entire body froze under her scrutiny, as if he were prey about to be eaten by its predator. What kind of powers did that old woman have to get people shaken up like this with her stare?! 

Unexpectedly, she turned back to the children, specifically to the twins. “Mimiko and Nanako, how would you describe Gojo and Geto-san’s parenting so far with just one word?”

Mimiko and Nanako were taken aback with the sudden question aimed at them, eyes darting between each other, Tengen, and their foster parents on the other couch. Suguru offered the girls a small grin, and almost instinctively, a smile formed on Satoru’s lips too. 

Consequently, Mimiko and Nanako relaxed their shoulders, and it was Nanako who first answered. “Awesome. They’re simply awesome parents who are fun to be with.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Tengen ruffled Nanako’s hair with a soft smile. “Now, what about Mimiko? Do you agree with your sister?”

Mimiko nodded. “I-I do, but I had another word in mind. To me, they’re simply ‘caring’. They care about us a lot, just as much as they care about each other as a couple.”

“Yeah, I agree!” Tsumiki butted in the conversation with her eyes filled with mirth. “You know, when you say it like that Mimiko, I think it perfectly describes what a family is.”

In that moment, Satoru could feel his heart burst into a million pieces of sharded glass. What began as an impromptu visit to a nondescript orphanage in Tokyo nearly two months ago had transformed into Satoru and Suguru offering the solace of a family to four orphans who had longed for it throughout their lives. Despite the absolute mess it introduced, its magnitude was dwarfed by the sense of fulfillment and pride in caring for Tsumiki, Megumi, Mimiko and Nanako.

He would’ve probably imploded if it weren’t for Suguru absentmindedly picking lint off Satoru’s shirt sleeve and humming a familiar video game OST, which contrastingly made him want to stay in that position for eternity and become one with the couch.

“You’re right, that is what a picture perfect family is.” Tengen smiled at them one more time before looking over to Satoru and Suguru again, and it took all of Satoru’s willpower to not have his mouth hung open, still processing the answers of the girls. “Well, we can conclude our meeting here for today.”

The words didn’t fully register in Satoru’s head until Tengen stood up from the sofa. “W-wait, really?” 

“You don’t have any questions for us?” Suguru raised his eyebrows, swiftly standing and pulling Satoru up as well in the process with their arms still linked together.

“Well, I’m more than satisfied with the answers the children gave me.” Tengen replied, glancing at Uraume and motioning that they were leaving. “It seems the two of you have it all under control here.”

“We certainly do!” Satoru huffed his chest out with a smirk, sliding his arm off of Suguru’s so he could entwine their fingers together instead. 

“We check out, right, Tengen-san? I’m pretty sure we don’t need that third visit.” Suguru supplied, and Satoru was hit with a sense of deja vu as he began to swing their hands together between them. “Wouldn’t that be more helpful to you? We really don’t want you tiring yourself out by traveling here again.”

“What do you boys take me for? I may have some numbers for my age and I’m not as fast as I used to be in my movements, but I’m stronger than you think.” Tengen winked at them as she made her way to the hallway. “I’ll have no problem seeing you all again next month. Besides, it’ll be the last one anyway.”

The last one. Satoru glanced at Suguru next to him who had a placid aura to him. Satoru knew Suguru was relieved by the fact their charade only had one month left, but how come he couldn’t figure out what he was feeling about it? 

How come whenever Satoru thought of the inevitable day of their family parting permanently, he could only feel a murky sensation in his gut, spreading across his body and running along his bloodstream as if he were getting possessed by some curse?

Whatever. I’m seriously just making a big deal out of nothing again. Satoru concluded and sighed internally as they all saw Tengen and Uraume out the door.

The children bid farewell to the orphanage director and the social services worker, while Satoru and Suguru waved them goodbye as Tsumiki opened the front door for them. As the two of them left the apartment, Satoru could feel his shoulders go lax as he let out a breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding.

“Great job, guys!” Satoru exclaimed, giving the children a thumbs up as they all walked back into the living room. “This meeting went a whole lot smoother than last time. Let’s order pizza!” 

“You girls also gave Tengen-san a really interesting answer during the last question. It was really nice!” Suguru marginally bent down to ruffle the twins’ hair, which was already ruffled up to begin with because of Tengen earlier.

Nanako let out a noise of gratification at the praise, while Mimiko shrugged. 

“Well, it wasn’t too hard to come up with an answer.” Mimiko blew on the bangs of her forehead in an attempt to fix them. “It was the truth anyway.”

Mimiko’s words rang in Satoru’s head. They care about us a lot, just as much as they care about each other as a couple.

“But Mimiko,” Suguru knitted his eyebrows together as he put his hand back to his side. “Satoru and I aren’t a couple?”

“Oh.” Mimiko glanced at the space between Satoru and Suguru before looking back up to their faces, shrugging again. “I guess I just forgot?”

“How do you forget something like that?” Satoru put a hand on his hip.

“I just did.” She answered simply before abruptly nudging Nanako’s side. “Oh! We should finish that Smash Bros match with Megumi before lunch arrives.”

Nanako gasped before grabbing her sister’s arm and leading her down the hallway towards Megumi’s room and shooting the boy a glare to where he sat on the sofa. “Hey, Megumi! We aren’t done with you yet!”

Satoru wheezed as he watched Megumi belatedly follow them to his room with a scowl on his face, while Tsumiki took over his place on the sofa and turned on their TV.

“Well, I’ll go order the pizza then.” Suguru glanced at Satoru. “The usual pepperoni and four cheese?”

Satoru hummed non-committedly. However, as a certain warmth dissipated from his right hand when Suguru walked away, it felt as if he had gotten into a collision with a sixteen-wheeler truck, a bustling train, a speeding double-decker bus, and a threatening motorcycle gang converging from all angles. The aftermath was nothing but confusing pain, reminiscent of the molten lava that burnt through his whole body back during sports day.

Satoru and Suguru had been blissfully unaware of the fact that they continued holding hands even after Tengen and Uraume left their apartment.

Satoru took a deep breath. 

Okay.

As Satoru stood there in the living room, with his feet seemingly stuck to the floor, a Sailor Moon opening theme song played from the TV, and Tsumiki shooting him a strange look, he realized that, perhaps, he was making a big deal out of something after all.

—

“Gojo-san and Geto-san,” Tsumiki cut into the comfortable silence of the living room like a sharp knife. “How did you two meet?”

Satoru’s hands in Suguru’s hair came to a halt. “What’s with the sudden curiosity?”

“It’s not really sudden,” Tsumiki continued to put clips on Nanako’s hair. “I’ve been wondering for a long time now.”

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon; they were all sitting cross-legged on the living room floor, arranged in a straight line due to Mimiko and Nanako's persistent request to try a braid train with everyone. They were arranged by height, with Megumi being at the front, with his short hair being braided by Mimiko, followed by Nanako, then Tsumiki, Suguru, and finally, Satoru at the very end. Sprawled on the floor surrounding them was a bunch of hair accessories and clips from the girls that they could all use to style their hair towards—what the twins wanted to call—perfection.

Satoru allowed his muscle memory to take over as his hands carded the smooth, soft and alluring raven locks of Suguru’s, and his mind kept wandering to all the times Suguru’s mom had lectured him on how to style Suguru’s hair in the way he liked it.

Suguru slowly shifted his head to the side, looking over at Satoru and asking a question with a simple quirk of his eyebrow. Satoru responded with a twitch of his lips, which resulted in Suguru turning his head back and replying. “Well, you all already know that we met eight years ago, right? We met on the first day of high school. Satoru was seated next to me at the back of the class because of our heights, then he suddenly picked a fight with me over my custom-made uniform pants.”

“You guys should’ve seen it!” Satoru resumed putting Suguru’s locks above one another with a dumb smile plastered on his face. “It was weird ! He had them made really baggy. Good thing it was high waist, or else those pants wouldn’t have had any redeeming qualities at all.”

“Then I punched him in the face,” Suguru continued, ignoring Satoru. “And we both landed in detention on the first day.” 

“I expected that from the two of you.” Megumi said, which led to Satoru theatrically gasping loud enough for him to hear from the front. 

“Then you guys made up and became the bestest of friends right?” Nanako asked. 

“Not really.” Satoru answered, getting a purple Kuromi clip from the floor and using it to tuck a braid. “We continued fighting and getting detention together for months, but I guess here and there we’d have casual conversations, and that’s what led us to becoming… something like friends?”

Suguru nodded despite the children not being able to see him. “We were seatmates in class, then we’d always walk home together after school because of detention, so it was unavoidable that we’d have some sort of bond after being stuck together eight hours a day, five times a week.”

“We also joined the basketball club together, so seriously, we were always together.” Satoru added.

Suguru’s shoulders lightly shook, and Satoru could tell he was holding back a laugh. “Didn’t I join the basketball club first and then you followed? You were clearly obsessed with me.”

“Wh—I was not!” Satoru protested, tugging on a strand of Suguru’s hair, which earned him a low hiss and a quick glare thrown over the shoulder. “If anything, weren’t you the one obsessed with me? Helping me with my homework and inviting me over to your house after school?”

“I only helped you with your homework because then you’d be pouting and whining about not being able to understand it.” Suguru sighed. “Also, my house? I only invited you to my dad’s restaurant with the goal of draining the wallet of the wealthiest boy in my school for the benefit of my family's business.”

Satoru clicked his tongue in annoyance as Nanako gaped in awe. “That’s really smart of you, Geto-sama!”

“Right? I’m arguably the smartest man in all of Japan.” Satoru could perfectly envision the shit-eating grin on Suguru’s face, which led him to tug another strand of his fake husband’s hair.

Before Suguru could fully turn around and give Satoru an uppercut, Mimiko brought up another question. “So, how did the two of you fall in love?”

Suguru rapidly straightened up his posture, and Satoru’s fingers faltered in Suguru’s hair as the living room enveloped in a heavy silence that threatened to suffocate Satoru. Most of Satoru’s brain functions had screeched to a halt, and all the words he thought of saying seemed to wither on his tongue.

Although it took a few more moments, Suguru mercifully shattered the silence with a throat clearing. “Well, that depends. There are two perspectives on it anyway.”

“Then you first, Geto-sama!” Nanako exclaimed, and with the shuffling of fabric, Satoru could guess she had turned around to face her foster father. “How’d you fall in love with Gojo-san?”

“Go face front, Tsumiki’s still not done with your hair.” Suguru's shoulders and arms shifted as he gestured for Nanako to turn back around.

“Don’t ignore my question!” Nanako whined, slamming her hands onto the wooden floor. 

“Alright, alright!” Suguru exhaled a breathy chuckle as he shook his head, and Satoru hoped that if he stared and focused hard enough on styling hair, he’d be able to drown out the rest of the family’s conversation. Unfortunately, what came out of Suguru’s mouth next was crystal clear to him. “Well, I guess my crush on Satoru back then was gradual? I didn’t really decide one day that I had feelings for him.”

Satoru tried to calm his increasing heart rate by slowly combing a section of Suguru’s hair with one of the twins’ pink hair brushes. Why was he even getting flustered by this? Suguru had told him his side of falling in love with Satoru countless times when they were still in a relationship. 

“ What? There must’ve been something!” Tsumiki, the romcom connoisseur of the family, sounded absolutely distraught. “You guys didn’t like each other at all at first right? There must’ve been one friendly conversation that made you think Gojo-san wasn’t all that bad.”

“Well, when you put it like that…” Suguru hummed in contemplation. “I guess there was this one time, just two months before we became a couple.”

Satoru had an inkling on what his answer would be. The detention over a hair bun.

“We both got into detention over my hair bun.” Suguru said, and Satoru just wanted some kind of fighter jet to crash into their apartment and take him out. “We were walking down the hallway, then Satoru tugged my hair bun loose out of nowhere, so I started wrestling him and we got in trouble.”

“What on earth is romantic about that?” Megumi asked, incredulous. 

Suguru snorted. “I wasn’t done yet! Anyway, while we were in detention, Satoru was super quiet, and I was starting to get worried because obviously, Satoru’s annoying and never quiet—” Satoru made the effort to hastily brush Suguru’s hair over some tangled ends, cutting off his sentence with a yelp.

“Satoru…” Suguru grumbled, stiffening his shoulders.

“What?” Satoru feigned innocence with pout. “Go on, continue your story!”

“As I was saying ,” Suguru huffed. “Satoru just wasn’t acting as himself. After a while, he suddenly faced me with the most serious expression I’ve ever seen him wear, and he apologized for taking my hair tie. As if that alone didn’t shock me enough, he climbed onto the table right behind me and offered to tie my hair for the first time. Of course, he absolutely sucked at it, so I made him redo it a bunch of times until he got it right. He handled my hair with such care and dedication back then, as if I was Rapunzel with her glowing, magical long hair. That’s when I realized that he was capable of caring about other people rather than himself.” 

Suguru paused for a moment before adding some venom in his tone. “It’s a shame that now, all he does is tug it as if he wants to rip all of my hair out of my scalp.”

“You have no proof of that. I’m literally putting cute hair clips on you right now!” Satoru made his point by hastily clipping parts of Suguru’s hair with whatever accessories were closest to them on the floor.

Suguru wheezed, reaching over and removing any hair clips that were within his reach. “You’re literally terrorizing it right now with your horrible sense of style!”

“Gojo-san doesn’t deserve to play with Geto-sama’s hair.” Nanako’s pout was practically audible with her words. “It should’ve been us, right, Mimiko?!”

“Gojo-san, if you don’t do Geto-sama’s hair properly and seriously…” Mimiko paused for a moment, contemplating. “... I can’t really think of any sort of punishment right now, but you’ll definitely get one.”

“You heard the girls, Satoru.” Suguru flicked one last strawberry clip out of his hair. “Treat me properly and seriously .”

"Alright, fine!" Satoru rolled his eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Whatever you say, oh great and mighty, Geto-sama!"

Suguru shifted his position, most likely to stand up and finally smack the living daylight out of the man behind him, but he stopped at the sound of Tsumiki’s voice.

“So what about you, Gojo-san? How’d you fall in love with Geto-san?” 

Despite the fact that Satoru already knew he had that question coming, he couldn’t help the shaky exhale that escaped his mouth. Suguru, who undoubtedly heard it, was nothing more than amused as he slightly leaned back and relaxed his posture.

“Go on, Satoru.” The shit-eating grin was evident in his tone. “Tell them how you fell head over heels with me.”

Satoru suppressed an annoyed groan as he threaded his fingers in Suguru’s hair again, dividing them into thick strands for braiding. “Well… my side of the story is more romantic! It happened on Christmas Eve, when I forgot my—”

“Come on, you don’t want to lie to your children, do you?” Suguru cut him off, speaking with a cadence of an evil king ready to jest or gloat at his peasants. “Tell them the real story, Satoru.“

For the first time that day, Satoru genuinely contemplated ripping all of Suguru’s hair out of his scalp. He also wondered if it would be considered a criminal offense to make someone bald. How would the trial in court even play out? Satoru regretted not playing Ace Attorney more seriously.

“Real story?” Nanako got a handful of clips from the floor, disrupting Satoru’s ruminations of legal proceedings.

“Satoru goes around telling people about how he fell in love with me in the most romantic way possible: on Christmas Eve, getting drawn together by our scarves with snow sprinkling our heads.” Suguru explained. “However, that’s not the actual time he started liking me. He only told me the truth years later.”

“Yeah, and in hindsight, I should’ve just taken it with me to the grave.” Satoru tugged on Suguru’s hair again, but this time he seemed to have expected it, as Suguru minutely lunged forward at the same time, getting even with the sudden force.

“Not my fault you get uncharacteristically honest after just a single shot of alcohol.” Suguru countered, and Satoru started wondering how many more tugs he’d have to do to get Suguru bald.

Before he could even get to the statistics of his plan, the children erupted with their curiosities piqued to its limits. “What is it then? What happened? Did it also have something to do with detention?” Tsumiki prodded.

“I bet it was just a really plain and simple day.” Nanako said. “Geto-sama looks handsome all the time anyway.”

“Or there was something embarrassing. That would be a good reason as to why Gojo-san would always lie about it.” Megumi pointed out, and Satoru could tell that everyone was a bit startled by his sudden involvement with the conversation.

“Bingo!” Suguru cheered, snapping his fingers. “Megumi, I’ll treat you to ice cream later.”

Satoru clenched his teeth. “Make sure you use that smart brain of yours for your studies too and not on nonsense like this all the time, Megumi!”

“Come on! If you’re not gonna tell them Satoru, I will.” Suguru threatened, as Satoru knew he’d twist the story to make him more of a loser than he already was.

“Okay, okay!” Satoru sighed and slouched, completely defeated. “Alright, I’ll tell the story, but you’re ,” Satoru forcefully put a frizzly white ribbon clip on Suguru’s hair. “Not allowed to butt in.”

Suguru clicked his tongue. “Fine.”

Satoru took a deep breath as he started braiding Suguru’s hair. “It happened during one of our PE classes, probably around a month before we got together. We were playing volleyball—which I’m really good at, by the way. I could’ve easily been captain of the volleyball team the same way I was for basket—”

“Don’t change the topic!” Mimiko exclaimed, and Satoru swore he could almost see the fumes leaving her ears from the back.

“Okay! Calm down, I’m getting there.” Satoru furrowed his eyebrows. “So, the match was boys versus girls, and then it was this one classmate of ours, Iori Utahime’s, turn to serve. She was part of the volleyball varsity at the time, so she was really good. She decided to do a jump serve… aimed directly at my precious, beautiful face.”

Suguru snorted, while all the other kids bursted into fits of laughter.

“I need to meet Aunt Utahime!” Megumi exclaimed, and Satoru could tell he probably had sparkles in his eyes. For the first time ever since Satoru adopted him, Megumi finally showed an emotion other than frustration or difference, and it was all for Satoru’s embarrassing past.

“You and Aunt Utahime would get along very well, Megumi.” Suguru struggled to swallow down his chuckles. “The two of you share the same sentiments when it comes to that idiot.”

“ Anyway ,” Satoru distinctly cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention back to him. “I fall hard on my back, and suddenly everyone’s crowding around me and shouting. I was pretty sure I was losing consciousness because I had literally no idea what was going on and my head was hurting really bad. The next thing I knew, I was being carried on someone’s back, and I could barely breathe because something was clogging up my nose.”

“He got a nose bleed.” Suguru explained. “So we just shoved tissues up his nostrils and I carried him to the infirmary.”

Satoru wanted to chide Suguru for butting in, but he decided to just continue talking to get it over with. “Then, Suguru stayed with me in the infirmary while waiting for the school nurse. I asked him if it was a bother to be around my ugly, bruised, and bleeding face, and why he couldn’t just go back to class… but he just told me that I always looked handsome to him, and that he’d always prefer being with me.”

Satoru could vividly recall the school infirmary's bland, white walls and white bedsheets permeated by the scent of menthol. In stark contrast, there was Suguru, seated beside his bed, wearing a grin that seemed to inject color into their bare surroundings. In that moment, as Satoru realized his heartbeat turning erratic wasn’t related to his head injury, he recognized that, for the first time in his privileged yet monotonous life, he wanted something he wasn’t one hundred percent sure he’d ever get.

“I had to,” Suguru butted in, again . “Or else you would’ve thrown a fit if I just straight up called you unattractive and unwanted.” 

“How could I have thrown a fit in that condition?!” Satoru nudged Suguru’s back with a light kick. “Also, you were the one that reached out and held my hand the entire time we were in there.”

“So? You were the one that refused to let go of me even when the nurse was already there!” Suguru fought back.

“You two really are a match made in heaven…” Mimiko mumbled.

“Just a couple of idiots, really.” Nanako added.

“Absolute idiots.” Tsumiki and Megumi agreed in unison.

“Whatever!” Satoru grumbled, completing a braid of Suguru’s hair with a ribbon. “Anyway, there, we answered your questions.”

“Wait! I still have more!” Nanako exclaimed. “How and when did you both get married?

“Now, that’s, uh…” Suguru cleared his throat. “I think Satoru should tell this story.”

Of course you’d make me take the fall. Satoru communicated by typing up the braid on his head tighter than it should be. He furrowed his eyebrows and exhaled, recalling the night of Shoko and Utahime’s wedding and trying to come up with a child-friendly version of it. 

“It was during our final year in college together.” Satoru grabbed another portion of Suguru’s hair and started separating the locks for another braid. “I guess you could say we got… inspired? After seeing our two good friends Shoko and Utahime have their marriage ceremony.”

“So, what was your ceremony like?” Nanako added.

“W-we decided not to have a marriage ceremony.” Satoru lied, as the unfiltered truth of their spontaneous, intoxicated drive-thru chapel marriage with only a hazy memory of the entire night didn't sound quite appealing. “We just had it done legally, at the city hall.”

“Because the most important thing in a marriage is the love between the couple, right?!” Tsumiki exclaimed. “I’ve seen it in dramas. No couple needs an extravagant wedding as long as they really love each other.”

Satoru silently thanked whatever higher being there was out there that no one could see his face at that moment, because he was sure his cheeks were heating up. “R-right!”

“I bet you two were a very lovey-dovey couple.” Nanako commented. “That explains why your stories together are cute and funny!”

“They might be cute and funny stories, but let me remind you all that we still broke up after all of that.” Suguru stated matter-of-factly, and Satoru itched to see the facial expression he was making. “Just because something started out well doesn’t guarantee that it’ll last forever, or that it will end well.”

Mimiko hummed and chose to be the courageous one, asking the million-dollar question that lingered in the minds of all the kids in the room. None of them had dared to bring it up again since their first day of moving in. “Then… how and why did you guys break up?” 

Satoru should’ve seen it coming. Considering the flow of the conversation, it would just be natural for the kids to ask that. However, Satoru couldn’t help but freeze in place, and for the second time that day, suffocating silence blanketed the living room. If Satoru was being honest, he’d be better off dying from said metaphorical suffocation than ever talking about his break up with Suguru.

A coworker once told Satoru that discussing breakups was as painful and unnecessary as removing stitches from an unhealed wound. However, Satoru knew that his and Suguru’s breakup didn’t even have stitches in the first place; they had simply left the wound exposed, furiously bleeding, and excruciatingly painful while the two of them attempted to walk it off on their own. There was barely any closure, just glares from across the living room and boxes filled with Suguru’s things clogging the hallway, which disappeared alongside its owner in just a couple of days. The next time Satoru saw him was during their graduation, where he felt miles and miles away, completely out of reach.

The silence persisted, stretching into what felt like centuries for Satoru. Mimiko was the one to break it. "I-I'm sorry. I guess I asked something I shouldn't have."

Suguru seemed to have found his voice again. “No, no! It’s okay Mimiko, it’s just—A lot happened. It’s difficult to talk about it. We’re not really sure where to begin.”

“Then, when was the last time you guys talked as a couple?” Nanako specified.

Satoru ran his tongue across his front teeth. “I guess that would be on the day of our break up.”

“What did you talk about?” Tsumiki asked, and Satoru had an inkling the young girl knew what she was doing with her questions.

“Well, I brought up how I barely saw Satoru around those days.” Suguru replied, gently brushing Tsumiki’s hair. “And when I did see him, we’d both get irritated easily and just start bickering over random stuff, like how dirty our surroundings were, or how we didn’t like the other’s clothes.”

"Well, it was our last year of college, precisely during the thesis semester, our equivalent of a final exam. We were both really tired that time." Satoru's words carried a hint of remorse, and he unconsciously bit his lip while reminiscing about the dimly lit dining table, cluttered with unwashed breakfast bowls and utensils.  

They were both fatigued, mentally and physically, sporting eye bags that had become an unfortunate accessory. What started as a conversation escalated into a full-blown argument for the nth time that week, culminating in both of them yelling that it was time to call it quits. Suguru retreated to their room, began packing, and that marked the ending of their story—well, supposedly.

“So, in the end, we both just grew tired of one another.” Suguru shook his head with a hollow, bittersweet laugh. 

No, only you grew tired of me. Satoru bit his tongue, hard , to keep those words to himself.

“Since it ended badly, does that mean the two of you regret dating each other?” Tsumiki asked, her tone resembling that of a detective in an interrogation room.

“No.” Satoru and Suguru answered in unison. Satoru felt a flush of heat in his cheeks at the swift response, and it burned to even worse temperatures when he realized Suguru’s equally swift reply.

“I-It may have ended on a bad note, but I did make some nice memories with Satoru. He was my best friend too after all.” Suguru coughed, moving his head slightly to the left, where their fake marriage picture wall was. “I wouldn’t trade those moments for anything else.”

Oh. Satoru was sure he was going to burn his entire face off at that point.  

"Honestly, if I could go back to when I first realized I liked Suguru and tell my past self how our relationship would end, I wouldn't care," Satoru admitted, the words escaping before he could stop them. “I’d still do it all over again.”

It didn't take long for Satoru to mentally slap himself, and while his mind raced through various options on how to play it off as a joke, Suguru spoke up ever so softly, "I guess the same goes for me.”

Satoru’s jaw dropped to the floor, along with the clip he was holding. He wanted to ask Suguru to repeat his words, fearing that he had just misheard, but his mouth and mind seemed embroiled in an ongoing conflict, refusing to cooperate for what felt like the hundredth time that afternoon.

“Ah, I see.” Tsumiki said, her knowing smirk practically audible in her words, as if she had just solved a cold case. 

Before Satoru could question her, Mimiko chimed in. “I remember Miss Tengen once told us that it’s good for people who are mad at each other to be apart for a while. Then, when you’ve both calmed down, you can talk properly and be friends again. So that’s what happened with the two of you, right?”

“That’s true, to an extent.” Satoru exhaled, relaxing his shoulders. “Suguru and I are here right now, together.” He chose to omit the fact that this was the first and only time they had talked properly about their past relationship, and that for the past two months they’ve just been avoiding the topic like it was the plague. They didn’t need to know that.

“You guys are here together, braiding each other’s hair!” Nanako brightened up. 

Satoru snorted. “But no one’s braiding my hair though? There’s no one behind me.”

Nanako sharply turned her head around with comically widened eyes, in a speed that made Satoru concerned on whether or not she had snapped her neck. “Oh, yeah!”

“I don’t think that’s fair.” Suguru theatrically sighed, dropping his hairbrush to the floor. “All of us are going to look so pretty while Satoru will just have his plain old hair.” 

“Then we've got to do what we must.” Megumi stood up abruptly, clutching a comb in his hand. He exuded an aura reminiscent of a samurai preparing for battle, a stark contrast to his brilliantly colored hair clips and unruly hair tied in various directions.

“To Gojo-san! Attack!” Tsumiki exclaimed, stretching out her arms to the sky, carrying multiple hair accessories. 

“What?! Wait—” Satoru crawled backwards on the floor using his hands as everyone stood up and approached him with adorable clips on their hair and mischievous grins plastered on their faces. Nevertheless, he knew his attempt at escaping was futile once his back hit the wall. “None of us are done with each other’s hair yet! Why are you guys suddenly— Hey !”

Satoru yelped helplessly as Megumi snatched a portion of his smooth, silver hair and attempted to tie it. The others gathered around him, grabbing at whatever locks of hair they could get, all in good-natured laughter. Satoru wasn't sure when he had joined in, his shouts transforming into genuine laughter. He also wasn’t sure how it ended up with Suguru sitting right in front of him, clipping his bangs with a Cinnamoroll clip, his smile as radiant as a thousand suns.

“Am I pretty now?” Satoru dramatically fluttered his eyelashes and cupped his cheek. 

Suguru scoffed, rolling his eyes with an amused look. “Not as pretty as me though.”

Satoru couldn't bring himself to refute that claim, especially as the children shortly gathered around Suguru, laughing and playing with his long hair—its upper half styled into space buns, and the lower half meticulously braided into two French braids, adorned with purple and pink accessories, all courtesy of Satoru.

Captivated by the priceless scene unfolding before him, that same eruptive, intense feeling coiled around Satoru’s gut, his heartbeat blaring in his ears as he kept his eyes on his ex-boyfriend. Satoru pursed his lips, completely defeated, knowing that there was no longer any chance of averting that catastrophic explosion—much like how he didn’t eight years ago, in a cold school infirmary.

Perhaps, Satoru did have a crush on Suguru again.

Chapter Text

When asked to describe Satoru, his friends would often use terms like 'dramatic,' 'over the top,' or 'loud'—labels that Satoru never really understood. While there would be times where Satoru would overreact or be theatrical in certain situations, it was always within reason . His extroverted nature and expressive demeanor were deliberate choices, grounded in meaning and purpose.

However, as he sat on the living room couch, clutching his laptop with a furrowed brow and a frown, Suguru engaged in a conversation on his phone down the hallway, he couldn't deny that his current demeanor surpassed reason.

It was another typical afternoon for them, both working side by side in the living room with city pop providing a soothing background melody. 

However, Suguru had been getting calls nonstop, leaving Satoru to his own devices for at least fifteen minutes with each call—not that he was keeping track or anything.

Intellectually, Satoru knew it was just work, nothing but harmless exchanges in the name of employment. Yet, an inexplicable sense of irritation crept in as he could overhear Suguru laughing or raising his voice in excitement at whatever kind of topic with the stranger, leaving him feeling somewhat abandoned. 

It felt reminiscent of his high school days, the days of overthinking whenever Suguru interacted with a conventionally attractive schoolmate for more than ten seconds. Yet, in those days, Suguru was rightfully his boyfriend, and Satoru's possessiveness felt justified. Now, he was nothing but an ex-boyfriend , and Satoru knew he had no right or reason to be jealous, but he unfortunately was. Like a total loser. The idea of smashing his head against the laptop crossed his mind, and he contemplated whether it would result in a cracked skull or a shattered screen.

As he heard Suguru hang up and make his way back into the living room, Satoru pretended to be heavily invested at his laptop screen and started typing gibberish in his word file. 

“Was that still the same client?” Satoru continued to have his eyes glued to the screen as Suguru grabbed his own laptop from the coffee table.

“Yeah, he just wanted to double check a few things with what I’m editing.” Suguru settled onto the sofa, and Satoru attempted to disregard the mental burst of imaginary confetti popping at the familiar warmth returning next to him.

“That’s like, the fourth time he called this afternoon.” Satoru commented, making a conscious effort not to jut out his lower lip into a pout. “Are you guys still even talking about work?”

“We are, he just likes to talk and lose track of the conversation.” Suguru turned his head towards him with his trademark, shit-eating grin. “Much like someone I know.”

“Whatever.” Satoru shifted through all his opened browser tabs. “You’ve always been a bit dense. The next thing you know, he’s asking you if you’re single and available next Saturday evening for a dinner reservation for two the next time he calls.”

“Then I’m gonna have to decline, because next Saturday evening, we’ll be going to the cinemas with the kids.” Suguru’s smirk only grew wider. “Don’t worry honey , I’ll still have time for you.”

“Haha .” Satoru laughed sardonically as he rolled his eyes. “How very sweet of you, darling .”

Suguru stifled a laugh. “You know Satoru, you’re not—”

For the fifth time that day, Suguru’s ringtone of a Radiohead song blasted out from his pocket, and this time Satoru didn’t even try to hide his dissatisfaction.

“Seriously? It hasn’t even been five minutes!” Satoru stared in disbelief as Suguru pulled out his phone and plopped his laptop back on the table.

Suguru ignored him as he stood back up and answered the call, immediately walking down the hallway and talking.

Unintentionally, like how it was for the last four calls, Satoru eavesdropped on their conversation. He expected Suguru to start laughing over something again or talk about a part of their writing, but instead Suguru just calmly spoke. “Hi.” “Yes.” “Of course.” “Okay.”

Then, instead of fifteen minutes, Suguru was back in the living room after only two short minutes, with a tense jaw and furrowed brow that matched Satoru’s. 

“What’s wrong?” Satoru hastily stood up, letting his laptop drop onto the sofa as he approached Suguru, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

“That was the elementary school that called.” Suguru took a deep breath as he met Satoru’s eyes. “It seemed Megumi got into a fight with his classmate, so we’ll need to meet with the school’s guidance counselor and that classmates’ guardians after school later.”

“Oh.” Satoru dropped his hand as his mouth hung open. “Wait, what?”

“Yeah.” Suguru pursed his lips.

“Um…” Satoru ran his fingers through his hair, trying to process all the words he just heard to make a coherent thought. “Did they say whether or not Megumi won?”

Expectedly, that earned him a smack on the head, and a disapproving, heavy sigh from Suguru. “Just start getting ready.”

—

The reality of the situation didn't truly hit Satoru until he and Suguru passed through the elementary school gates, finding only the girls waiting for them, each sporting matching expressions of worry.

Satoru gave Tsumiki the car key and told the three of them that they had fast food takeout waiting for them in the car, and Suguru apologized to them in advance if they took too long in the meeting. Not long after, the two of them made their way to the guidance counselor’s office, and it wasn’t much of a surprise to see Megumi seated on a child’s chair opposite of the counselor's desk, with his eyebrows furrowed, fists balled on his lap, and his small frog backpack hung over his shoulders.

Beside him on another child's chair sat a boy with a shaved head, donning a Spiderman backpack. Adjacent to the boy was a pale elderly man wearing a white sweater, his face adorned with horrendous wrinkles that seemed to sag as if he were melting. Satoru couldn't help but wonder if that senior citizen had lived among the prehistoric dinosaurs.

Sitting across from them behind the desk was a familiar, charming blonde woman in a suit. Satoru immediately recognized her right away as the amiable emcee during the school’s sports day.

“Oh, good afternoon!” She stood up and bowed her head right as the two appeared in the doorway. She gestured to two chairs next to Megumi. “Please, take a seat.”

As Satoru and Suguru sat down, Satoru couldn’t help but feel how heavy the atmosphere was with the Spiderman boy and living fossil bore holes onto the two of them with their stares. 

“Before anything else, I’d just like to introduce myself. I’m Yuki Tsukumo, the school’s guidance counselor.” Yuki smiled, sitting down and putting her arms on her desk. “Right now, we have Megumi Fushiguro with his parents, Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo. Then, we have Minato Gakuganji, with his grandfather, Yoshinobu Gakuganji. Now to get to the reason why we’re all here, it seems… Megumi-kun and Minato-kun had an argument.”

“It wasn’t an argument.” Megumi exhaled, as if he were an adult man correcting an adolescent. “I was simply trying to talk to Mina—”

“No, you started yelling at me!” Minato interrupted through gritted teeth, facing Yuki. “Ms. Tsukumo, Megumi was yelling at me and getting all angry!”

“For a good reason!” Megumi exclaimed, his eyebrows knit together and shoulders almost imperceptibly shaking. “You shouldn’t talk about Yuuji like that! Never talk about Yuuji like that!”

“That’s enough!” Yuki clapped her hands, instantly making the kids close their mouths. She sighed. “As I was saying, Megumi-kun and Minato-kun argued over something Minato-kun said about their other classmate, Itadori Yuuji.”

“Minato called Yuuji annoying behind his back, so I was only trying to defend Yuuji!” Megumi interjected. “I wanted him to apologize!”

“Sounds like a self-righteous brat.” The senior citizen mumbled, causing Satoru and Suguru to whip their heads at him with widened eyes.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Suguru slowly tilted his head with a bright, plastic smile plastered on his face.

“You heard me.” He refused to make eye contact with them as he continued to grumble, only looking straight ahead at Yuki. “Just a self-righteous brat likely raised by thoughtless parents.”

“Thoughtless?” Satoru scoffed, his eyebrows raising and sapphire blue eyes burning with fury, threatening to turn into crimson red. He started to raise one of his hands, but Suguru was quick to grab his wrist and shoot him a look. Calm down.

“Absolutely thoughtless, and perhaps even immature.” Gakuganji crossed his arms, and Satoru wished he could just duct tape his mouth shut. “It’s obvious the boy lacks discipline and has been taught inane values. This is why people shouldn’t have children at such a young age!”

And in that moment, a thread in Satoru's patience unraveled, snapping audibly in the quiet room. “Hey, we may be young, but you don’t have the right to judge us or Megumi. Were you even listening? Megumi was defending his friend . He’s a smart and kind kid, who meant absolutely no harm. Meanwhile it seems your grandson has a knack for being mean towards other people. Do you even know how ethics work? Or have you gone senile—”

A thundering clap from Yuki gets the room to fall completely silent again. She shot everyone a piercing look, as if she was about to devour everyone, before calmly exhaling. “Okay! From this moment forward in the meeting, only I will talk. If anyone dares to utter even a single word, you will all be kicked out of this office and the children would get something in their disciplinary records. Is that clear?”

Satoru promptly lowered his head as he bit his lip. God. He fucked up.

He wasn’t entirely sure how the rest of the meeting went as his thoughts incessantly circled around his outburst. He managed to piece together that Yuki was recounting the entire scenario, and that neither Megumi nor Minato stirred up trouble in the classroom before, nor was anyone really physically hurt, so it wasn't evolving into a major disciplinary issue. Yuki simply aimed to issue a cautionary warning to the children and ensure their guardians were informed.

The next and final time anyone other than Yuki spoke was when they were all bidding goodbye, ready to leave the meeting. Satoru pointedly ignored the grandfather glaring at him as he ushered his grandson out the door, and instead focused on Suguru ruffling Megumi’s hair, whose face was still adorned with a pout. Cute.

Just as Satoru found himself wrinkling his eyes with a grin, the living fossil's words echoed through his head. Absolutely thoughtless, and perhaps even immature.

“I’ll just go to the bathroom real quick.” Satoru blurted out, glancing at Suguru and Megumi. “You two can go wait in the car.”

As Satoru stepped out into the hallway, Suguru’s voice called from behind him. “Wait, I’ll go with you! Megumi, just wait here for us, okay?”

In a matter of moments, Suguru was sprinting to walk alongside him, and this time, Satoru was unable to hide his emotions from his face.

“That old man’s words got to you, huh?” Suguru bumped their shoulders together, the same way he did back when they’d walk back home together during high school.

Satoru sighed, stopping his tracks at the door right below the restroom sign. He walked inside the empty restroom and held the door for Suguru, averting his gaze. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Don’t listen to him!” Suguru leaned against the white tiled walls and crossed his arms. “Didn’t you say it yourself? He was going senile and—”

“But what if he’s right?” Satoru interrupted, pressing a hand to his forehead that was threatening to ache. “What if I really do suck at parenting? I mean, it’s true I can’t really discipline Megumi, he doesn’t like me that much. It’s been almost three months, but I don’t think I’ve even done much as their foster father. What if Megumi continues to get in trouble? Or even Tsumiki in the future? All because I’m irresponsible and—”

“Hey, hey .” Suguru’s voice was soft as he approached him, getting incredibly close before gently grabbing Satoru’s wrists and guiding his arms down. “Satoru, look at me.”

“I’m pathetic, aren't I?” Satoru's voice cracked as he fixed his gaze down on his shoes. “I kept pushing through with adopting the kids back then, but maybe his whole thing just wasn’t meant for me from the start. The kids would be better off growing up at the orphanage rather than being with a guy who has no idea what he’s doing.”

“ Satoru ,” Suguru let go of one of Satoru’s wrists, grabbing hold of Satoru’s chin and compelling him to look up. “I said, I need you to look at me.”

Calm, violet orbs painted with concern met shaking yet lucid, cerulean ones. Even in the middle of a breakdown, Satoru couldn’t help but find Suguru’s eyes absolutely mesmerizing. 

“Okay, now I need you to just breathe properly.” Suguru’s fingers moved from his chin to gently cup his cheek. “I’m gonna breathe in and out, and you’ll do it with me, okay?”

Satoru nodded, proceeding to do breathing exercises with Suguru, which proved to be a bit difficult with one hand caressing his cheek and the other rubbing soothing circles on his wrist. For a moment, Satoru was able to forget about his anxieties as his heart threatened to burst out of his ribcage. 

“Good, that’s good.” Suguru whispered, getting even closer into Satoru’s personal space that Satoru didn’t even know was possible. “Can you listen to me for a bit?”

“Okay.” Satoru licked his lips, and tried continuing to pace his breathing.

Suguru took a deep breath, meeting Satoru’s eyes with an unyielding, steely gaze. “You spout a lot of nonsense, but whatever you just said a few minutes ago has got to be the craziest thing your smooth brain has ever come up with.”

Satoru squinted at him. “What?”

“You heard me.” Suguru grinned. “Satoru, I’ve witnessed how you’ve taken care of Tsumiki and Megumi, and even the twins by extension for the past few months. All I can say is that you're an extraordinary father figure for them. Your genuine care for them, despite the relatively short time you've known them, is evident in all your actions. You drive them to school every day, ensure they have three square meals, and make sure they have fun everyday. Never say they're better off in the orphanage, because it's crystal clear they need you as much as you need them."

Satoru felt the back of eyes start to burn, so he blinked profusely. There was no way he was about to cry in front of his ex-boyfriend turned lawfully wedded husband turned crush in an elementary school restroom. The scenario was embarrassing enough as it was.

“There might still be room for some improvement here and there, but you’re an amazing father figure, Satoru. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I’m sure the kids think the same thing.” Suguru affirmed, slithering his grip from Satoru’s wrist to his hand. “Even Megumi, despite how he looks at you and what he says.”

Satoru stifled a laugh. “Yeah, he’s just a teenager going through a rebellious and emo phase at the ripe age of seven.” 

Suguru emitted a gentle chuckle, and Satoru responded with a comforting, soft smile. A warmth settled over his face, reassured by the presence of Suguru. No matter the dilemma, Suguru proved to be the person who could provide solace, knowing the right words and actions. Suguru cared for Satoru as if he were a delicate, one-of-a-kind whimsical blue rose that only existed to be cherished. It had always been this way—and oh, how Satoru yearned for it to remain that way until the day he died.

I need you. I need you with me. Satoru pleaded in his mind on repeat, as if he were imploring a celestial force beyond the realm of his reality. Would it be an unforgivable sin if Satoru said it out loud? Would this become a curse between them? Fear knotted in Satoru’s chest as he knew the risk of it all would just be too grave. He already lost Suguru once, he’d rather not experience it all over again even just as a friend—and, well, temporary fake husband.

They stayed like that for a while, giggling softly over virtually nothing before Suguru unexpectedly let go of Satoru. “Are we good to go? I’m worried Megumi’s cursing at us now or the girls figured out how to drive the car.”

Satoru tried not to dwell on how he mourned the quick loss of touch by animatedly nodding and giving a thumbs up. “Yeah, I’m okay now.”

The two of them made their way back to the guidance office, shoulder-to-shoulder. Megumi was standing right in front of the door, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

“Hey kiddo,” Satoru waved at him. “Sorry we took a while.”

“It’s okay.” He replied mildly, which led to Satoru and Suguru shooting a glance at each other.

“Let’s go home then?” Suguru extended out an arm.

“Uh, before that.” Megumi cleared his throat, staring down at his shirt. “I wanna tell you guys… something.”

“Why? What’s up?” Satoru knelt down on one knee to meet Megumi eye-to-eye, a puzzled look on his face. Suguru followed suit right next to him.

“I just wanted to say…” Megumi closed his eyes as his voice grew quieter. “I’m sorry for getting in trouble, and I’m sorry you had to hear such bad things from that old guy. I’ll try to make it up to you guys.”

Satoru wanted to explode into a million pieces out of fondness. “Megumi, you heard what I said to that grandpa, right? You were only doing the right thing in defending Yuuji. Also, that old man was definitely crazy. None of it was your fault.”

“But still,” Megumi scratched the back of his head. “Thanks, I guess. For what you said there about me.”

As Satoru fully registered those words into his head, he blinked and pursed his lips in an attempt to keep the waterworks at bay. Just how many times was he going to cry today? 

“I only told the truth as your awesome guardian, of course.” Satoru ruffled his hair before spreading out his arms. “Come on, group hug! Group hug!”

Megumi groaned as the laughter of Satoru and Suguru echoed through the corridors, and he found himself squeezed tightly in their embraces. However, he didn’t seem to be trying to escape their hold.

Once they pulled away from each other, they wasted no time in walking outside to their car, with Megumi holding onto both Satoru and Suguru’s hands.

“Megumi,” Satoru smiled. “Do you finally think I’m cool? Cooler than Suguru?”

“Hm…” Megumi grimaced for a couple of seconds before he sighed, looking defeated. “Fine, yeah. But only for today.”

“I’ll take that as a win!” Satoru cheered, swinging Megumi’s arm back and forth.

They squeezed into the sedan together on the ride back home, the radio belting out Satoru and Suguru's playlist of favorite songs from high school. Amidst the laughter and smiles, an unsettling dread gripped Satoru, refusing to loosen its hold.

The dread of sensing it was the calm before the storm.

—

Satoru never hated the flow of time more than he did in the coming weeks.

It was the most relaxed he had ever been, just playing with the children and chatting with Suguru whenever he could, then all of them watching movies at night and going out together during the weekends and just having fun as what you’d expect from a real family. There were also times where they’d take the kids to a nearby playground and meet up with Haibara, Nanami, and their son Yuuji.

In the meantime, Satoru and Suguru had completely slipped back into their familiar dynamic, as if they were reliving their high school lives. This meant their interactions involved invading each other's personal space and engaging in discussions about the most random topics at any given moment. With Suguru around, being his best friend again, Satoru felt like his life was seamlessly back on course after derailing for a year—with Suguru sharing tales of frustrating clients and scolding Satoru for indulging in raw dough whenever he was baking.

However, there were a few things between them that were inexplicable, unusual and new. One was their frequent lingering stares at one another whenever they sat together at the table or sofa, as if the two of them had something to say, but just couldn’t get the words out of their mouth. Another was that they’d be strangely awkward at times in public whenever they were addressed as a couple, suddenly becoming conscious of whatever proximity they had and stuttering their sentences, as if their minds just collectively blew a fuse. 

Still, time flew by as it always did, and the next thing Satoru knew, he was realizing he never hated his telephone’s ringtone more than he did on one fateful Saturday morning. He also never hated hearing Tengen’s voice more than he did as he reluctantly picked up the phone. 

“Good morning, Gojo-san!” Tengen greeted, and Satoru found it ironic how his morning was going great until she called. “I’m sure you’re aware what day it is today?”

Satoru gulped as he closed his eyes. “Yeah, I know.”

“I haven’t even gone there yet, but I find myself already being emotional.” Tengen chuckled. “Well, Uraume and I will see you at ten in the morning like usual.”

“Alright.” Satoru nervously laughed as he rubbed his nape. “S-see you!”

A few moments right after Satoru hung up and walked down the hallway, Suguru’s voice called out from the living room. “Satoru, was that Miss Tengen?”

Satoru had half a mind to lie and say it was some marketing agent, and then persuade everyone to move out of the country with him so they’d never have to see Tengen for the last time again. Unfortunately, his other, more realistic half of his mind won over him. “Yeah, they’re coming at ten.”

“I can’t believe it’s been three months!” Tsumiki looked up from the book she was reading with Megumi at the dining table, reading a book together. “It’s our last time seeing Miss Tengen, right?”

“Oh, yeah!” Nanako turned to Suguru, who was next to her on the living room sofa. “Does that mean we’ll be moving out soon?”

Satoru was definitely not ready to hear whatever Suguru was going to answer. He turned a full 180 on his heel and headed back into his room. “I’m gonna go get ready in advance. Make sure you guys clean up!” 

“No problem, honey !” Suguru shouted, and Satoru was relieved his fake husband wasn’t there to see him trip on air at the sudden callsign, missing its usual sarcastic tone—or perhaps Satoru was simply being delusional, filtering it out in his mind.

The next time Satoru emerged from his room was when the doorbell chimed. Soon enough, Miss Tengen and Uraume were walking into the living room, accompanied by the children who were beaming as they animatedly told them about recent events. It wasn’t long before Suguru came out with a tray of their brunch, which were the usual beverages and this time, caramel cookies that Suguru had baked two days ago—Satoru was impressed with how there were still some left despite the entire household having it as their snack whenever they could.

“It’s good to see everyone again!” Miss Tengen sat down on the sofa and exhaled. “It feels like just yesterday Gojo-san came to our orphanage looking for children to take in.”

“Well, they do say that time flies when you’re having fun.” Satoru sat down on his usual spot on the couch, and Suguru followed after putting down the glasses of beverages on the coffee table. Just like the previous meeting, it felt automatic for them to intertwine their arms together the moment they settled on the couch, and Satoru wasted no time in resting his head on Suguru’s shoulder. That day might’ve been the last time they’d ever be squeezed on that couch together, and he was determined to make every moment count .

Miss Tengen didn’t have to say anything else as the children went on to narrate the events of the past month. Tsumiki complained about upcoming exams being difficult, Nanako and Mimiko talked about the braid train they organized, and Megumi surprisingly told her about his visit to the guidance counselor with Satoru and Suguru—which got Satoru a bit emotional, and if Suguru noticed him hugging his arm tighter, he didn’t say anything.

While the children chatted, Tengen kept a warm, satisfied smile on her face that Satoru found himself mirroring from time-to-time, which would only break whenever Uraume reached out to get a caramel cookie. They had the audacity to dislike Suguru's pinwheel cookies last time, and now they were indulging to their heart's content?! Satoru needed to tell Suguru to start gatekeeping his cooking and baking.

Once Tengen finished the small follow-up questions she had with the children after their recounting, her scrutinizing gaze fixed upon Satoru and Suguru and her smile disappeared. Under her watchful eyes, Suguru unlaced their arms and instead grasped Satoru's hand, intertwining their fingers. For a fleeting moment, Satoru entertained the thought that the gesture wasn’t an act for once, but unfortunately, he knew otherwise.

“I have one last question for this session,” She turned to the children next to her. “But I want everyone to answer this one. Is that okay?”

Everyone nodded, and Satoru held his breath as Tengen cleared her throat. “Now, what are you most excited for in the future? It’s a personal question to each of you. Who would like to start?”

Wow. Satoru felt like that was too much of a loaded question, and he could tell by the way Suguru tensed his shoulders that he had the same sentiments. After a few moments of stillness, Tsumiki vigorously raised her hand. “Me!”

Tengen gestured for her to continue, and Tsumiki beamed. “I’m most excited to try new things in the future. I’d like to get into a lot more hobbies, like sports or music!” 

“That’s amazing to hear, Tsumiki.” Tengen patted her head. “I’m sure you’d excel in anything you try as long as you give it your all. Anyone else?”

“Nanako and I are looking forward to shopping more during the weekends in the future.” Mimiko swung her feet back and forth against the sofa. 

“Yeah! I want Mimiko and I’s closets and vanities to become completely full.” Nanako giggled.

“You’re gonna have to work hard to afford all that.” Satoru teased, whispering into Suguru’s ear, which earned him a scowl and a playful pinch on the hand.

As Satoru quietly hissed in pain, Nanako and Mimiko started listing down the next articles of clothing that they wanted to own.

“It’s nice to see the two of you passionate about fashion.” Tengen smoothed out the matching pink and purple blouses the twins were wearing. "Seeing you both in lovely clothes is a welcome change from the hoodies you both consistently wore back at the orphanage."

The room went silent again, and Satoru took that as a cue to start wracking his brain for his answer. The future? Satoru wasn’t even sure what was going to happen to him tomorrow. If anything, he only dreaded the future, knowing that it was full of uncertainty—Suguru leaving with Nanako and Mimiko, then the two of them getting divorced.  Was there anything to look forward to in that?

Unexpectedly, someone decided to answer before him, giving him more time to think.

“For me…” Megumi casted his eyes downwards, voice quiet as usual. “There’s still a lot I don’t understand or know, so I guess I’m excited to learn new things.” He glanced over at Satoru and Suguru on the couch, and his lips curved into an almost imperceptible grin. “I’m excited about learning and growing as a person with my new family.”

Satoru and Suguru’s mouths hang open, and Satoru was absolutely certain that he was going to sob like crazy over this moment later during the day and also tease Megumi about it for the rest of their lives.

“You’ll definitely learn a lot in this amazing family, Megumi.” Tengen replied. “You’ll grow up to be an amazing person.”

Satoru was tempted to jump off the couch, seize Megumi, and twirl him around with glee, but all hope of that was lost as Suguru spoke up next.

“Well then, I guess my answer is similar to Megumi’s.” Suguru chuckled with a sheepish smile. “I was thinking of how excited I am to see the children grow up. Despite their young ages right now, I can tell they’re all brilliant and skillful. I can’t wait to see them grow up and achieve their dreams. Whatever they may be, I’ll be supporting them no matter what and they’ll be making me proud.”

Satoru stared at Suguru in awe. Suguru glanced at him for a moment, flashing him a grin before turning back to Tengen. 

“As expected from such a wonderful parent.” Tengen nodded with radiant satisfaction, and then her eyes landed directly on Satoru. “That leaves us with our last answer, from you, Gojo-san.”

All eyes turned towards him, who momentarily lifted their gaze from the tablet, and Satoru just wanted to evaporate into thin air. Whenever Satoru tried envisioning the future, his mind resembled nothing but chaotic television static. The idea of a future where Suguru and the twins were living somewhere else, without Satoru, Tsumiki and Megumi, simply felt unfathomable. 

Then, a comical light bulb flickered to life in Satoru's mind.If he couldn’t imagine a future without Suguru, he’d just imagine a hypothetical one with him. 

“Honestly? I think I’ll be excited for every single day that’ll happen.” Satoru’s countenance softened, glancing at the children and Suguru briefly. “All my life, I always thought my only meaning and purpose was to just study and work hard for my family’s company, but all that has changed. Now I have a loving husband and lovable kids,  who I’ll be dedicating my whole lives to. The thought of spending every waking moment with them is just—no, I think ‘exciting’ is an understatement for it here, but I hope you get it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

With all the words finally out of his system, Satoru quietly exhaled a breath he wasn’t even aware of holding. 

Suguru squeezed his hand as he whispered in his ear. “I’d have to admit, that was an upgrade from last time, from talking like you were in a romcom with an average of two stars on Letterboxd, I’d say now it’d be three stars.”

Satoru knew better than to face Suguru at that moment, aware his expression would probably show how much truth was in his statement, so he opted to rest his head on Suguru’s shoulder as he whispered back. “Thanks, I guess, cinephile.”

“Those answers were even better than what I wanted to hear.” Tengen applauded as she shifted in her seat, ready to stand up. “That wraps up our final meeting together.”

The children started whining, and the twins' eyes slowly turned glassy. After some farewells, reassurances from Tengen that she’d call from time-to-time, and promises from the children that they’d visit the orphanage whenever they could, everyone made their way down the hallway to the genkan . Satoru wished, hoped, prayed, and manifested as hard as he could for time to freeze, because the minute Tengen and Uraume walked out that door, their charade would officially be over.

Satoru tried to slow down his steps to delay the inevitable, but Suguru decided to walk alongside him, and unexpectedly, wrapped an arm around his waist, unaware that he was making things a million times worse for Satoru.

“Is there something wrong with your feet?” Suguru asked, eyes examining him in concern.

“Oh, I just got pins and needles.” Satoru shrugged, averting his gaze and clearing his throat. He wrapped an arm around Suguru’s shoulder, trying not to dwell on the thought that the next time Suguru would experience such physical contact, it would likely be with someone else.

Tengen gave each of the children a final hug before putting on her shoes. This time, it was Megumi who opened the door for them, but before Tengen stepped outside, she turned back to Satoru and Suguru.

“I’m glad the children were adopted by such a lovely couple like yourselves, I really am.” Tengen held onto the door frame with one hand, and waved with the other. “I’ll be looking forward to the future your family will create together.”

Satoru faked a smile as he and Suguru waved back, the sirens in his head blaring louder and louder with his movement Tengen and Uraume did as they left the apartment. As the door softly clicked shut, Satoru bit his lower lip. 

“That’s the end of it, huh?” Satoru glanced at Suguru, whose gaze was on the floor.

Suguru inhaled, while Satoru held his breath in contrast. Please say it’s not the end. Please change your mind. Please please please please please please—

Suguru swiftly detached himself from Satoru, and Satoru’s heart immediately shattered into pieces.

“Yup, it’s finally the end.” Suguru exhaled as he turned around, not letting Satoru catch a glimpse of his expression. 

“I—”

“The divorce papers are with you, right?” Suguru patted the back of his shoulder. “You can go sign it first, then give it to me. I’ll go ahead and start fixing my things and tell the twins to do the same. I probably won’t have lunch, but you and the kids can go order food if you want.”

“Okay.” Satoru replied mildly as Suguru’s footsteps grew fainter and fainter behind him. The children scampered excitedly toward the living room, voices echoing their lunch preferences, yet to Satoru's ears it was nothing but fuzz and noise. His mind had halted to a complete stop, and his heart persisted in its shattered state.

As the sunset outside painted the apartment in an otherworldly splash of orange and yellow, and the ending credits theme of Diamond no Ace played for what seemed like the fiftieth time, Satoru stretched his arms out and yawned. Upon dropping his arms back on top of his blanket, his eyes caught sight of the paper on the coffee table right in front of him, which read DIVORCE AGREEMENT , prompting him to groan and shut his eyes.

Right after lunch, Satoru got their divorce papers out after a scavenger hunt in his room—it was in a long forgotten brown envelopment under his bedside table—and got his nearest pen to finally sign the papers before handing it over to Suguru, who he will divorce and never see again for the rest of his miserable life. With all that in mind, Satoru’s hand kept freezing right before the pen’s ballpoint could even reach the paper. 

After a painstaking thirty minutes of just staring at the paper and pen in his room, he gave up and decided to just kill time and throw himself a pity party in the living room. Maybe once Satoru witnessed Suguru come out of his room with his two duffle bags firsthand, he’d finally accept reality and sign the stupid papers.

However, Suguru never came out of his room the whole afternoon, nor did any of the children. He’d hear shuffling and muffled voices every now and then down the two hallways, but no one ever came out to the common areas. Satoru figured that Suguru was likely serious about moving out right away, so he was spending every minute packing all his and the twins’ things while the children were busy playing only god-knows-what, oblivious to Satoru’s agony.

Satoru sluggishly grabbed an Oreo from his plate on the sofa and tapped on his remote to play the next episode of the anime. Shortly afterwards, a click of a door opening rang through the apartment, followed by footsteps approaching the living room. As Satoru turned his head, he was met with Tsumiki and Megumi walking up towards him.

Satoru lazily waved at them, mustering a forced grin. "Oh, hey. I was wondering where you guys were. What were you up to this whole afternoon?"

“Just something.” Tsumiki dismissed, placing her hands on her hips. It was only then that Satoru noticed the stern expressions on the faces of the two siblings.

“Um, what’s going on?” Satoru’s eyes flitted between them, puzzled. 

“Sunglasses, I knew ever since I first saw you that you were a complete idiot.” Megumi sighed, crossing his arms. “But I didn’t think it’d be to this extent.”

“What?”

Tsumiki elbowed her younger sibling’s ribs. “What Megumi meant ,” She looked at Satoru with a firm resolve. “Was that you needed to come with us.”

“What?” Satoru repeated as the two kids moved over to each of his sides. “What? What are you two doing?”

“Get up.” Megumi ordered, grabbing into his left arm while Tsumiki grabbed for his right. “You need to get ready.”

“Ready? Ready for what?” Satoru sighed. “Look, I’m not really in the mood right now to play—”

“We aren’t going to play.” Tsumiki grunted as she tried pulling Satoru up. “This is serious!”

“What’s so serious?” 

“Stop asking questions,” Megumi growled. “And just get your butt up!”

Satoru's confusion intensified, but faced with the determined looks on the children's faces, he decided to just give in. He let himself get pulled up from the sofa and get dragged down the hallway, until they reached his bedroom door. Tsumiki had no hesitation in swinging the door open, and Satoru widened his eyes at what was in front of him.

His bedroom’s lights were on, and this entire closet had been emptied onto the floor. However, a few pieces of clothing were noticeably sprawled on his bed too. 

“What the—What— Huh ?!” Satoru sputtered. “Didn’t I tell you guys you weren’t allowed in my room without my permission? What did you guys do to my clothes?!”

“This is all for a good cause, just trust us.” Tsumiki assured as she led him to the foot of his bed. “Now go get changed so I can do your hair already.”

Satoru furrowed his eyebrows at the plain white collared shirt, baby blue sweater vest, navy blue pants and matching blue beret on his bed. Satoru recognized the outfit was one that he wore recently during a weekend outing with everyone.

“Why do I have to get changed into this specifically?” Satoru held up the sweater vest. 

“Because that’s the outfit you were wearing when Geto-san stared at you the most during our outings, so that’s obviously his favorite outfit for you.” Megumi explained nonchalantly, as if he were just talking about the weather. 

“W-What?!” Satoru screeched as his cheeks flushed, dropping the vest back onto the bed. He felt as if he was a cartoon character that had an anvil dropped onto his head.

“What?” Megumi raised an eyebrow. “It’s not like he was even discreet about the staring.”

“Hold on—” Satoru massaged his temples. “Can you two please directly explain what’s going on? What am I getting ready for and why does Suguru’s preferences matter?”

“Gojo-san,” Tsumiki patted his back. “We’re giving you both the chance to be completely honest with one another.”

Oh. “Was I that obvious about my feelings?” Satoru nervously laughed as he rubbed his nape. “Look, I appreciate what you’re both trying to do but—”

“I said,” Tsumiki interrupted, clearing her throat and raising her voice. “We’re giving you both the chance to be completely honest with one another.”

Satoru struggled to connect the dots. “Huh?”

“Enough questions, old man!” Megumi pushed him towards the door. “Now go get changed in the bathroom, we’re losing time!”

Utterly defeated for the second time that evening, Satoru shut his mouth and changed his clothes. Once he went back to his bedroom, he noticed only Tsumiki was there, sitting by his vanity.

“Come on, let’s do your hair!” Tsumiki tapped her foot impatiently as she gestured to the chair next to her.

“Where’s Megumi?” Satoru did as he was told, having a staring contest with his reflection in the mirror in front of him. Suguru stared at him the longest with that outfit, huh? Was he always staring at him? Did that mean—

“He’s doing the preparations with Nanako.” Tsumiki replied, grabbing a comb and fixing his fringe. “Just wait and see.”

Tsumiki meticulously styled his hair with whatever gel, spray and hair dryer was there. When Satoru looked at his reflection again when she said she was done, his jaw fell down to the floor.

“Tsumiki, when did you learn how to do this?” Satoru gasped. His hair was styled similarly to when he got it done for formal events like high school prom and Shoko and Utahime’s wedding. However, that was all done by professional salons—he didn’t expect a nine year old to have the same skills.

“I’ve been practicing for a long time now.” Tsumiki shrugged with a smug smile that looked eerily familiar. “Anyway, I’ll just go check something. I’ll tell you when you can leave the room.”

“Am I being held hostage right now?” Satoru playfully asked, but Tsumiki was too occupied to reply as she was already on the other side of the room, tapping away on her iPad.

Minutes of silence passed before Tsumiki put her iPad down and looked at Satoru through the mirror. “Okay, everything’s all set!”

As if on cue, Megumi walked inside the room. “Alright, Sunglasses, the dining table’s ready for you.”

“Only me? We’re not having dinner together?” Satoru frowned as he stood up.

Megumi made a face. “I’d rather not be at the same dining table as the two of you tonight.”

Now what does that even mean?!

Satoru learned that he wasn’t going to get any proper answers from them tonight, so he just obediently walked towards the door.

“Good luck, Gojo-san!” Tsumiki brought up her two fists and smiled. “Remember, be honest!”

Satoru grinned at them before stepping out the door, and he was taken aback by the sudden shift in lighting. Only the ceiling lights in the hallways were switched on, leaving the living room and dining area in near-complete darkness. As he approached, Satoru noticed the kitchen lights were on and there were flickering lights on the dining table—candles, and by its scent, Satoru could tell they belonged to Suguru. 

Heading towards the table, Satoru's surroundings seemed to grow increasingly peculiar. Positioned at opposite ends, respectively, were two juice boxes and two bowls of cereal, and in the center, close to the candles, was a carton of milk. He observed that the cereals were Froot Loops and Koko Krunch , the respective favorites of Satoru and Suguru. Completing the picture was the tablecloth—Megumi’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle blanket.

It was only when Satoru heard a door opening from the opposite hallway that all the puzzle pieces had fit together.

Oh no.

He was definitely going to have Tsumiki and Megumi grounded for—no, until college. He couldn’t believe the situation he was in and he couldn’t believe how stupid he was for not catching it sooner. Still, he had the chance to run all the way back to his room before—

“Satoru?” Suguru’s voice rang out, and as Satoru looked up, he found Suguru with his hair down, flowing gracefully over a chic black turtleneck. The turtleneck seamlessly complemented the high-waisted white pants it was tucked into. Instantly, Satoru instantly recognized the ensemble—it was the same outfit Suguru had worn over a month ago during one of their family outings. While Satoru was fond of all of Suguru’s entire wardrobe, this look stood out as a departure from Suguru’s usual style, making it a favorite for Satoru.

Ah. The children must’ve noticed him staring that day, huh?

“H-hey.” Satoru, miraculously, managed to speak. “So, uh, do you know what’s going on?”

“Not really. Nanako and Mimiko just forced me to change my outfit and come here.” Suguru strolled to his chair and scrutinized the table. In a matter of seconds his expression mirrored Satoru's. “But this seems…”

“Yeah.” Satoru preferred not to verbalize it. By the looks of it, it was too late to back out now. The chair emitted a soft creak as he pulled it back and sat down. “Anyway, it seems like they put a lot of thought and effort into this though, so maybe we shouldn’t make it all go to waste.”

Suguru paused for a moment before sitting down. “You’re right. It looks like they did their best to get the ambiance right.” 

“It’s cute.” Satoru’s lips curved as he looked at the ninja turtle Leonardo on the tablecloth. “We never really had—er, a date like this, right? Like, in a fine dining setting.”

Suguru shook his head. “No, because someone always preferred fast food, convenience store food or ramen houses.”

“Don’t blame it all on me!” Satoru stifled a laugh. “You would’ve never enjoyed fine dining either, right?”

“I guess.” Suguru propped up an elbow on the table and rested his chin on his palm. “But as long as you were there, I would’ve enjoyed it.”

Satoru’s stomach did a somersault. He was not in the mood for any of Suguru’s teasing, but it was better than not having him there at all. “Really? You sure have a way with words, darling .”

A beat or two passed before Suguru managed a smirk, although it felt a little off to Satoru. “Oh honey , did you forget I graduated magna cum laude with a degree in creative writing?”

Satoru rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to retort, but he noticed Suguru was squinting at him.

“What? Is there something on my face?” Satoru started tapping his cheeks.

“No, it’s just,” Suguru pointed to his head. “Your hair looks really nice. Did you style that?”

“It’s awesome, right? Tsumiki did it!” Satoru bragged, leaning over the table. “I think that girl has a talent for everything.”

“Who knows, maybe she’ll actually pursue hairstyling as a career and end up marrying a man who runs a Japanese restaurant.” Suguru wheezed.

Satoru’s eyes glinted with amusement. “Then, I assume they’ll name their kid Suguru Jr.” 

“Oh, no, thank you.” Suguru cringed, making the exact expression Satoru was hoping for as he leaned back on his chair. “I’ll have to make their wedding gift a book full of baby names.”

They shared a chuckle before descending into an uncomfortably awkward silence—a level of awkwardness Satoru never thought was even possible. He couldn’t believe that just a few hours ago they were practically cuddling with each other on the couch—well, as a fake married couple, but still .

“So, uh,” Satoru fidgeted with the spoon in his cereal bowl. “What’d you do the whole afternoon? Pack your things?”

“A little bit, yeah.” Suguru slowly nodded. “What about you? Did you sign those papers already?”

Satoru glanced over to the dim living room, where the divorce papers were still on the coffee table, under his plate of Oreos. “N-not yet, I got a little busy in the afternoon.”

“Oh, I see.” Suguru kept his gaze on the flickering candles. “Well, just give them to me right after you’re done signing it. We can go to the city hall on the day the twins and I move out.”

Satoru clenched his jaw, each word in Suguru's sentences feeling like venom surging through his entire being, poised to consume him entirely. Was this really the end?

Tsumiki’s words reverberated in his mind, playing on repeat like a broken record player. This precise moment had been orchestrated by her and the other kids, all betting on the possibility of them actually talking and being completely honest. It was a lofty expectation, but Satoru held steadfast to his principle of never letting the kids down. He had no intention of breaking that promise now.

“Actually, Suguru,” Satoru closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I-I don't want to get a divorce anymore.”

Suguru remained quiet. Satoru’s eyes remained shut.

(There is only so much he can take after the proximity and the intimacy between him and everyone under this roof—especially Suguru.)

There is only so much he can take after being exposed to an oppressive silence, so he fills the silence in the room. He doesn’t allow himself to witness whatever expression Suguru has on, whether out of fear or cowardice.

“Look, I know our relationship ended for a good reason back then, and I was honestly ready to live the rest of my life without you. But these past three months made it look like our breakup was just a little speck of dust, you know? At first I thought spending three months with you would be horrifying, but living with you again and raising the children with you made me realize how much I… I still like you, and I seriously don’t know how I was able to live the past year of my life without you. I probably never really stopped liking you even after our breakup.”

The chair across the table screeched against the floor. Shit, was he going to leave? Was this going to be the last ever interaction between the two of them? With Satoru confessing his heart out with his eyes closed?

“I know you're the rational one between us,” Satoru continued rambling, resolved to pour out his feelings until he heard Suguru's footsteps retreating down the hallway. There was an unusual determination in him to lay bare his heart at that very moment. “And you probably think it's much better for us to just get the divorce or you don’t feel the same way about me. You probably moved on a long time ago, right? That’s totally fine! I just wanted to let you—”

Satoru was abruptly cut off as callused yet delicate fingers cupped his chin, turning him and tilted his head sideways. Before he could open his eyes and process what was happening, the aroma of cherry blossom shampoo and sweet cologne filled his lungs and soft, all too familiar lips pressed against his. 

Satoru cracked an eye open to ensure he wasn't hallucinating. As he caught a glimpse of Suguru leaning down, his black raven hair obstructing most of Satoru’s view, he kissed back like his whole life depended on it.

The kiss felt akin to finally coming back home after being lost for an eternity. Satoru stood up without daring to break their lips apart, and muscle memory took over as he wrapped his arms around Suguru's waist, while Suguru's arms encircled his shoulders. Suguru's lips still carried their familiar taste, a hint of sourness from the lip balm he always used, and Satoru relished every nuance of that flavor. After what simultaneously felt like a millisecond and an entire millennium, they pulled away from each other to catch their breath. 

Suguru appeared ethereal, his cheeks painted a rosy pink, and his bangs clinging to his forehead under a sheen of sweat. Satoru couldn't believe he had just kissed the most attractive man in the whole wide world.

For a few moments, the only sound in the entire apartment was their breathing until Suguru licked his lips and pulled Satoru close again, his eyebrows knitted together. "I don't want a divorce either, dumbass."

“A-are you sure? You’re not joking?” Satoru eyed him suspiciously, needing to make sure he wasn’t just jumping into conclusions. “Are you teasing me or something?”

In response, Suguru kissed both his cheeks.

Satoru’s face flushed and he wanted to start shrieking from giddiness, but for the fun of it, he pouted and attempted his best puppy eyes. "That doesn't answer my question."

Suguru rolled his eyes and sighed. “Yes, I’m sure, Satoru. I’m being completely serious when I say I don’t want to move out or sign that stupid divorce agreement. I wasn’t even packing my things in the afternoon, I was just watching romcoms on my laptop and throwing myself a pity party. I figured I’d only start packing when you handed me the papers.”

Despite how Satoru wanted to fall to his knees right then and there, he tried his best to maintain his neutral expression as he raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t just staying because of my money, right?”

“Damn, you figured me out! What gave it away?!” Suguru dramatically gasped before chuckling. 

“I know you better than anyone else, of course.” Satoru smirked, pulling Suguru closer. 

“If you knew me better than anyone else, then you would’ve known earlier that I still like you.” It was now Suguru’s turn to pout, but Satoru wasn’t given the chance to admire the view as Suguru closed the distance between them again, this time with an embrace.

Satoru's chin found a resting place on Suguru's shoulder, while his hands settled on Suguru's back, guided by muscle memory. Suguru just felt right to be in Satoru’s arms, although he was silently praying fervently that Suguru couldn’t feel his heart madly drumming against his ribcage.

“I just wasn’t sure of what was fake and real between us.” Satoru turned sideways and buried his head on the crook of Suguru’s neck. “In my case though, everything I said and did romantically was real.”

“Me too.” Suguru pulled away to meet Satoru’s eyes, and Satoru was sure that if Suguru wasn’t holding onto him, he’d have collapsed on the floor already. “With you, I was and always will be sincere.”

Laughter welled up inside Satoru, a delightful blend of joy and astonishment, yet simultaneously, a sense of unease settled in the pit of his stomach. “Are you really sure about this? What if something happens, and we fight again?”

“Then we’ll fight if we have to, but we won’t break up.” Suguru cradled both of Satoru's cheeks, playfully pinching them. “We’ve learned from the past. If anything comes between us, we'll talk it out and work things out together, no matter how irritated we are with each other.”

“You won’t move out a couple of days after an argument?” Satoru teased, earning him a scoff.

“Well, no.” Suguru inched closer and planted a kiss on Satoru’s forehead. “I'm committed to making it work this time no matter what, because you're not just my best friend, Satoru, you’re also the love of my life."

Satoru couldn't help but break into a wide smile. "So… you have a crush on me?"

Suguru groaned, burying his face in Satoru’s chest, sparking a chorus of laughter from Satoru.

Satoru lost track of time in their shared laughter and the tenderness of their kisses, the warmth of their emotions filling the room and extending into every corner. They both still had that same, unwavering, pure love for each other that they had eight years ago. 

Satoru realized that, deep down, his love and care for Suguru Geto was bound to last a lifetime and beyond, transcending death and reaching into whatever existence awaited beyond life's end. Staring into Suguru's captivating violet eyes, it felt as if their shared thoughts were etched into the very fabric of Satoru's soul.

Eventually, Suguru pulled away from him and gazed towards the kitchen. “Alright, should we cook dinner? I don't think having cereal is the most nutritious option for us right now.”

“Yeah.” Satoru walked over to the light switch on the wall. “We also have to feed the kids. Were they seriously considering not eating dinner for our sake?”

“You gotta hand it to them though, they’re pretty smart for their age. We should be proud.” Suguru made his way to the kitchen.

Satoru trailed behind him, a grimace settling on his face. “If anything, I find that a bit terrifying now.”

The rich scent of Japanese cuisine enveloped the apartment penthouse. Each individual on the table had a serving of zaru soba placed before them, accompanied by side dishes of gyoza , tofu, and a medley of vegetables neatly arranged at the center of the table, all expertly prepared by Satoru.

Despite the alluring presentation and the enticing aroma wafting through the air, the children seated at the dining table had hardly made a dent in their food due to the scene unfolding right in front of them. Their attention was captivated by the sight before them—Satoru and Suguru, side by side, sharing a zaru soba bowl and playfully participating in a cheesy act: connecting their lips by sharing a single noodle, reminiscent of the iconic Lady and the Tramp scene. 

“Are they gonna be like this forever?” Megumi groaned as he buried his face in his hands. “I honestly just wanted them to act like that for like, I don’t know, two days at least?”

“Don’t be so mean, Megumi!” Nanako chided as she elbowed his ribs. “Besides, it’s only been more than a week since they confessed their feelings.”

“Okay, and?” Megumi mumbled. “They’ve known each other for eight years, and they’ve dated for seven. That’d be enough time to be all lovey-dovey!”

“You know what, Megumi?” Satoru swallowed a mouthful of noodles and pointed his chopsticks at his beloved son. “I bet you’re just jealous because you wish you could be this lovey-dovey with Yu—”

“If you dare mention his name, I’ll make it so your face is so insanely ugly that Geto-san would dump you again!” Megumi shouted with venom despite the apparent flush of pink on his cheeks.

“Well too bad, kid! Suguru’s never leaving me again!” Satoru slung an arm around Suguru and pulled him close, then like a mature adult, stuck his tongue out.

“But that only means we’ll all be together for a long, long time.” Suguru commented, wrapping an arm around Satoru as well.

Their eyes met, and in an unsurprising move for those in the room, they exchanged a brief kiss. The twins cooed at the public display of affection, and Megumi, feigning interest, turned to admire the kitchen's ceiling lights in a feeble attempt of burning off his eyesight with the illumination.

“What did I tell you guys!” Tsumiki whispered excitedly to her siblings. “They’re like One Piece ! They only get better when time passes by!”

After some more playful banter, the family concluded their Japanese dinner and cleaned up the kitchen and dining table together. Since it was a school night, the children settled in the living room to do their homework, with Satoru and Suguru assisting them in whatever way they could. As bedtime approached, the children tidied their surroundings while the parents reminded them to brush their teeth before heading to bed.

“Would you like us to tuck you guys in, tonight?” Satoru asked as he approached the living room’s light switches.

The children shook their heads together. “Nah, we’ll be okay.” Tsumiki replied.

“Sleep immediately, okay? I don’t want you all to be late tomorrow morning.” Suguru crossed his arms, and he waited for all the children to nod before looking over at Satoru. “So, let’s call it a night?”

Satoru smiled. “Yeah, let’s call it a night.”

The children chorused their 'goodnights’ as they hurried off to their respective bathrooms. Satoru and Suguru lingered, waiting for the sound of doors clicking shut. Once the echoing footsteps faded, Satoru switched off the living room lights before heading towards the hallway leading to his bedroom.

“Goodnight, Satoru .” Suguru murmured softly, his trademark smirk playing on his lips as they walked side by side.

Satoru chuckled, reaching for Suguru's hand and seamlessly intertwining their fingers, like puzzle pieces destined to stay connected. “Goodnight, Suguru .”

As the two made their way to their bedroom, Satoru launched into his repetitive argument on why they should have Pokémon and Digimon soundtracks play at their upcoming wedding.

Satoru Gojo was renowned for a myriad of qualities: his handsomeness, competence, intelligence, considerable wealth, and occasionally, his incredible annoyingness. Yet, among all the characteristics that defined him, whether good or bad, one tended to stand out prominently in his new day-to-day life—his love for Suguru Geto.