Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ever since Gojo moved into an apartment alongside Megumi and Tsumiki, one thing Megumi had always failed to understand was why this odd-white-haired guy was trying so hard to be involved in their lives. He was their benefactor, he had no reason to put this much attention on to them. Megumi could only reason that this was because he wanted him to grow up properly and ensure his enrollment into Jujutsu High once he was eligible; to fulfill his part of the deal and become sorcerer. After all, it was his purpose right? To be of use just like he was to his father for the money. 

Every time he was available to make lunch, he'd make sure to at least attempt making a healthy meal for them. Every time he could pick them up from school, he'd walk home with them, asking about their day. Every time he came home from long missions, he'd bring them a lot of gifts and toys. Why? Why was this man giving this much to them? The deal ended at being their benefactor and the money he provides is more then enough for the two of them to get by. Megumi couldn't understand.

Amidst lost in his thoughts, he heard the front door of their apartment open up. 'Must be Gojo.' he thought, so he walked off from his room to the living room to check.   

"Megumi~ I'm home! How was your day?" he was immediately greeted with that, loud, annoying voice. 

"Why are you here?"

"I live here, remember?" Gojo responded in a feigned offense. "Anyway I know it's early, but I thought I'd come home as soon as I could."

Gojo moved over to the kitchen counter to put some groceries. He stopped by the store buying actual food for the kids instead of his usual dose of sweets.

"I'll take care of the cooking tonight. I know Tsumiki isn't home yet so I'll tell her when she's here. You finished your homework?" Gojo questioned casually.

"Yeah."

"Great! Now you have some free time in your hands gumi~ go do something fun." 

Megumi walked away, not even bothering to respond. 'That man obnoxiously childish, but he sure did get actual work done.' was all he thought off as he closed the door of his bedroom.

Megumi sat there, contemplating on what he should do. He had 3 options: one of his video games that are all over the cabinet, his coloring books Gojo bought that he barely touches, or to simply lie in bed and do nothing. He chose the third option, as he didn't really feel like doing much at that moment.

Out of boredom, he suddenly felt kind of bad for leaving Gojo as he was being productive and Megumi wasn't. But there was no way he was going to get back out there and offer help right? It would only make that giant of a child aggressively ruffle his hair and jump in excitement. 

Still, sometimes he felt like a burden to Gojo, although he would never admit that. He knew that that teen was just 19, yet he's taking on responsibilities that adults were supposed to take, such as his father. Megumi was only a child but his intuition tells him that someone who's only fulfilling a deal as a benefactor for a child of a future sorcerer wouldn't go this far to take care of someone. Yet his heart denies him of that thought. 

He sits up, finally deciding to do something, whatever it maybe, he didn't care. He simply does not want to spiral down his thoughts.

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"Megumi~ Dinner is ready!"

That night, Tsumiki had a sleepover at her friend's house, so she didn't end up going home. Megumi came out of his room and sat on the dinning table chair with a little bit of struggle due to the height difference. 

Gojo found it amusing, but decided against teasing him about it, at least for now. 

"I made some vegetable soup alongside some chicken and rice. I hope you like it." Gojo says as he passes the plate.

'Vegetables? Ew.' Megumi looked at the soup is disgust.

"Cmooon, it's not that bad! Try it first." Gojo said encouragingly.

Megumi sighed, not wanting to complain much, so he took a zip. Before he spit it all back out.

Gojo looked at him with concern before sitting beside the smaller boy and taking the spoon from him.

"I guess you need a little help." he says, as he took a bit of soup and fed the spoon to Megumi as if it was an airplane. "Say aaaah."

"I'm not a baby."

"You practically are if you're refusing to eat your vegetables." 

"They taste bad."

"I thought you'd like them knowing how much of a weird kid you are."

"I'm not weird."

"You are! Every kid out there likes sweets, even Tsumiki. Yet you hate them, so, sooo much." 

"And you're too much of a sweet tooth." 

"Don't say that. At least I eat my vegetables!"

"You never even serve them for yourself."

"That's because I don't need them! You are a growing kid Megumi, you need them."

Megumi kept silent, accepting the spoon fed despite the shame and embarrassment he felt deep down. He chewed the food with visible disgust and eventually swallowed it.

"That's it! Just a bit more, yeah?" 

Megumi does not remember the last time he was being spoon fed like this, neither by his own father. It felt weird to be treated so childishly, while all his life was about being independent when Tsumiki was not around. Besides, what did Gojo get out of this? A 'healthy and strong Megumi?' He doubts eating vegetables does that much.

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The next time he met Gojo was went he took him out for some training. Even if Megumi was only 6, the boy was already starting to possess some abilities or two, and Gojo wanted to start as early as possible. Of course, he didn't want to pressure Megumi to much to it too, as he wants him to be able to enjoy his childhood.

"Hm, Megumi, try shaping your hands like this." He demonstrated a puppet of a dog, and with a little struggle, Megumi eventually copied.

"Great! Now how do we summon them..." Gojo thought to himself, as he didn't know how it worked either.

An idea suddenly popped up. "Say, do you feel a weird energy going through you?"

"A weird energy?"

"Yeah! Like, something.. strong and powerful."

"Kind of?"

"Could you try using that to summon your shikigami?" 

Suddenly, two dogs were summoned. One white, the other black. Gojo was surprised himself at how easily it worked out.

"Good job Megumi!" he ruffled his hair affectionately, before standing up. "I guess we're done for today"

'Huh? We're done. But we just came here like 10 minutes ago...''Megumi thought.

"Shouldn't we practice a little more? We just came here." he then asked confused.

"No, I think we've done enough for today. Besides, we still have a lot of time before we enroll you to Jujutsu High, and even then, you'd spend your time training while being assigned to missions. There's no rush."

"But I've finished my homework early to make time for this-"

"That's great! Why don't we go to the park then?"

Megumi was utterly confused. If all this man wanted was for him to become a sorcerer, why are we wasting time on some park? He knew it wasn't gonna do him any good when it comes to becoming a strong sorcerer. 

Regardless, he followed Gojo's footsteps and headed for the park. 'This man is weird.' 

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That night, when he went home, and Gojo tucked him to bed, he couldn't sleep. He was wide awake, thinking of the events that occurred within the day. 

If Gojo was simply his benefactor, and had the goal of making him the a strong sorcerer, why did he insist on taking Megumi to the park? It did not make sense. 

By logic, Gojo would constantly push him to train and exert excessive amounts of hours doing so. He also expected to be taken out on missions the moment he had at least mastered some level of ability. After all, that's what being a sorcerer meant right?

Yet here he was, always encouraging Megumi to have some 'fun'. Always making sure that he was well fed, always trying to make him happy. Why? It shouldn't matter to him, he wasn't dumb enough to not know that.

Perhaps it was Gojo's sense of intuition, or something else, that led him to the door of Megumi's room that night to simply check on him. He knew Megumi would normally sleep anyway, he wasn't the type of kid who'd stay up late. So it was a surprise to him when he saw the boy wide awake, staring at his ceiling, before turning to face him as he realized that the door opened.

"Megumi, why are you not asleep?" Gojo questioned softly, voice with a hidden layer of concern.

"I'm just not sleepy." It wasn't a full lie, he thought.

"Do you want some milk to help with that?"

It was exactly moments like this that made Megumi even more confused. Why did gojo care? What did he get out of this? Nothing, and he knew that too.

Megumi sighed, sitting up. "Why do you care so much?" 

"What?"

"Why do you care so much?" Megumi repeated.

Gojo was a little stunned at the sudden question, but quickly gained his composure to think of an answer.

"Because your a kid, Megumi, and you need someone to take care of you."

"But you don't have to be the one responsible for that."

Gojo's expression turned soft as he sat beside Megumi on the bed.

"I know, but I want to."

"Why?"

Gojo didn't know why too. He just had the instinct to, a soft spot for them, he could say.

Megumi then continued, "You get nothing out of this. And I'm not dumb enough to think that this is simply because of the deal we made."

'Ah so that's what the kid is thinking' Gojo thought.

Softly, he responded, "Yes, it's not. It's more then that." He took a breath before continuing. "I care for you not because of what you can give to me, but simply because you're the person you are."

The silence of the room spoke volumes, emphasizing Megumi's confusion further.

"I care for you because I see a lot of good qualities in you Megumi. I don't pity your past, but I want to be the person to help you grow and bring out those good qualities in yourself. I'm happy enough knowing that you are."

And maybe, the silence turned into something else. Silence, that embraced the gentle atmosphere of the room. Soft tears broke into Gojo's ears.

"Megumi, why are you crying?" he was a little worried. Did he say something wrong?

The boy on the other hand was under a heavy inner turmoil. Did he hear that right? Would he even allow himself to believe what Gojo said? Maybe not, or at least not yet. But for some reason, he felt a sense of relief, knowing that Gojo wasn't doing this for a form of barter.

Gojo scrooped the boy into his arms, placing him on his laps comfortably as he hugged him and rubbed gentle circles on his back. It was a soothing motion, one strong enough to calm down Megumi's cries.

He did not say much, but it was now a mutual understanding between the two. And maybe, just maybe, he could eventually learn that, “to be loved is to be cared for regardless of what you can give in return.”