Work Text:
It's a slow night.
Which is, all things considered, good. A slow night in a veterinary hospital means that there are no animals who need emergency attention. Since Megumi's shift has started, they've only had two patients, both of which were taken care of quickly by the rest of the team. That's why Megumi's out here, manning reception, even though he'd really rather not. He drums his fingers on the countertop and glances at the clock. Hm. He needs to figure out what to make for lunch tomorrow. He goes through his mental catalogue of his fridge and—
The doors slam open so hard that, for a moment, Megumi thinks it's a storm.
The man that comes bursting through the doors looks like if someone took all of Megumi's vaguest fantasies, put them in an oven, and baked them until done. He's tall, broad, buff but not too buff, and to top it all off he's got wide brown baby-cow eyes and a head of fluffy pink hair. Boyish. Cute. He is also, noticeably, bleeding from a nasty-looking cut right beneath his eye.
Pink Hair looks around wildly for a moment before locking eyes with Megumi and making a beeline for him. Megumi raises a brow as he heaves a cat carrier onto the counter, bracing both of his hands on top of it like he's trying to stop it from jumping off.
"Hi," Pink Hair pants, as the carrier gives a sudden rattle and lets out an ear-splitting shriek. Megumi takes a step back. "Do you guys take demon cats?"
The question is so stupid that Megumi's momentarily struck speechless. "...Demon—?"
"Gave me this," Pink Hair says, gesturing at the cut on his face. Yikes. Megumi sucks on his teeth. "He's such an asshole, and I understand if you won't treat him, but he's seriously hurt and—"
"Okay, stop there," Megumi says, holding up a hand. "Let me take a look at him first." He grabs the carrier and swivels it around, willing himself not to flinch when it lets out another screech. This cat's got some lungs. "What happened to him?"
"I, uh—I don't really know?"
Megumi looks up sharply. “You don’t know?”
Pink Hair holds up his hands. “Look, he’s not my cat,” he says. “I’m a firefighter. There was a pretty bad fire earlier and I found him at the scene.” He nods at the carrier. “He's burned, but I don't know if it was just the fire or something else."
Megumi leans down and peers through the door of the carrier, and—
"Shit," he breathes instinctively.
"Yeah," Pink Hair says grimly. "That's what I said, too."
It's hard to tell the true extent of the damage through the carrier, especially with how the cat's throwing himself against the sides like he's hellbent on breaking out, but—it's not good.
The right side of the face is entirely burned. Second-degree at best, third or even fourth-degree at worst. Megumi can barely make out the eye. Now that he's closer, he can smell the stench of burnt fur and skin, awful and acrid. This cat needs immediate attention, and Megumi's already grabbing the carrier in preparation to heave it off the counter when Pink Hair speaks.
"Also, if you can," he says urgently, "could you check for a microchip or something? It’s just—the building owner said she doesn’t have a cat, so we don’t really know who his owner is."
Megumi stares at him for a moment.
“You don’t even know who the owner is,” he repeats flatly.
Pink Hair shakes his head.
“...And you found him where in the building, exactly? Which floor?”
“Ground floor lobby. He was hiding under a bench.”
Megumi looks down, his eyes catching on the cat's flaming red fur, and bites the inside of his cheek.
Judging from the cat’s general appearance, severe burns aside, Megumi would say it’s fairly likely that he doesn’t have an owner. The fur is matted, and even though the cat's massive, he doesn't look particularly well-fed. There’s no collar, either. Plus there’s the fact that he seems to attack anything that moves, which isn’t behaviour that indicates he's a pet. He's almost certainly a street cat, one that wandered into that building at the wrong place and the wrong time, and…
“He’s probably a stray,” Megumi says, steeling himself. “So I have to warn you before we start treating him—it’s gonna be a pretty big bill. He’ll probably need to stay in the hospital overnight. And there’ll be check-ups afterwards, too. That’s not cheap.” He lifts his eyes to meet Pink Hair’s gaze. “If there’s no owner, you’ll have to pay.”
Pink Hair’s eyes go wide. “Ah, shit,” he murmurs, and Megumi feels something cold tighten in his chest. Just as he thought—Pink Hair didn’t think this through. He meant well, Megumi knows that, but if the cat is a stray and there’s no owner to pawn the bills off on, then…
It’s happened before. Not often, but enough to leave a bad taste in Megumi’s mouth. He’s had people bringing in strays off the road, cats and dogs that got run down by passing cars, only for them to balk on treatment when Megumi tells them the numbers. And in those cases, when people aren’t willing to cough up thousands for an animal that’s not even theirs, euthanasia’s really the only option.
Pink Hair reaches up to rub a hand over his nape, grimacing. He glances down at the cat, then heaves a sigh. Megumi curls his hands into fists on the counter and waits for the inevitable call.
“I guess…ah, fuck it. I’ll pay,” Pink Hair says, and Megumi blinks. “If we find the owner, I’ll ask, but—I’ll pay if no one else does.” He flattens his hands on the counter, leaning in to look right in Megumi’s eyes with a sudden intensity. “I don’t care how much it is. Just—treat the cat. Please.”
Megumi's mouth goes abruptly dry. Pink Hair stares at him, and fuck, those eyes—
"Okay," Megumi says, his voice miraculously steady. "If you're sure."
Pink Hair nods firmly. "I'm sure."
Okay. Okay. Come on, Megumi. There is an animal that needs his attention—he needs to be professional. He grabs the notepad on the counter and slides it over.
"Name and number, so we can contact you," he says, taking the cat's carrier into his arms and grunting slightly at the weight. Fuck, this thing really is huge. He's gotta be some kind of mixed breed. "We'll send an automated text, but come by tomorrow morning for an update if you can."
"I can," Pink Hair says instantly, scribbling down a name—Itadori Yuuji. Huh. Fitting. "Just tell me when and I'll be here."
Don't you have a job? Megumi nearly asks, but considering that Itadori's willing to drop thousands on a cat he picked up at work, he seems like the kind of person to call in sick so he can take care of that same cat. It makes a weird feeling bloom in Megumi's chest.
"If that's all, then I'll take him in now," Megumi says, adjusting the carrier. The cat yowls, and the carrier rattles. "Go home, Itadori-san. Get some rest." He nods at the still-bleeding cut on the man's face. "Make sure you take good care of that. I doubt this cat's paws are clean, so it might get infected."
"I will," Itadori says, looking right at Megumi with those stupid brown eyes. "But, before you go—just—can you save him?"
Megumi's breath catches in his throat.
The first rule of all healthcare: never, ever promise anything. Do not promise that you will fix it; do not promise that everything will be okay; and, above all, do not promise that you will save them. Megumi presses his lips together, looking down at the carrier in his arms, and finds that—for the first time in his career—he wants to break that rule.
He doesn't.
"I'll try my best," he says instead. A non-answer, but it seems to be enough for Itadori, who gives him a relieved smile.
"I'm sure he'll be okay, then," he says, his eyes momentarily darting down to Megumi's name tag. "You seem really reliable, Fushiguro-san."
Megumi's ears burn hot all the way to the end of the hallway.
Itadori's cat is a fucking pain to work with.
The very first thing that Megumi does is knock him out with the strongest cat sedatives they have, because the cat is so aggressive that he manages to claw up Miwa's arm to the point where she has to go home early to treat it. He's some kind of ginger or tabby, with flaming fur and prominent dark stripes, but he's huge, even though Megumi can tell he's got concerningly low levels of fat when he manages to press a hand against the cat's side. Just big-boned, apparently, and very muscular—which is an issue.
In the end, it takes four people to wrestle the cat to the table. They need one person for each limb, and Megumi's in the middle of it all to slip the needle in-between the shoulder blades. Then, once the cat flops to the table and everyone breathes a sigh of relief, Megumi inspects the cat properly.
The burns are—well. They're bad.
Muta has to turn away when he gets a proper look at the cat's face. Nitta mutters a curse word under his breath. Megumi can feel his lips turning downwards at the corners beneath his mask as he realises just how deep the damage goes. The eye is a lost cause, and the fur probably is too, and the skin is burnt to hell, and...well, to be honest, Megumi doesn't even know how the cat was conscious, much less energetic enough to attack them all. In fact, Megumi's surprised that he was alive. Even now, he might...
Can you save him?
Megumi puts his head down and gets to work.
It's a long process, and an arduous one, but—Megumi manages it, in the end. Itadori's cat pulls through, waking up groggy and none-too-pleased with the bandages covering half his face, and Megumi is so relieved that he can only laugh weakly when the cat half-heartedly swipes his paw at him.
He fires off the automated text to Itadori's number telling him to come into the hospital in the morning, then stays with the cat the whole night. He runs the basic tests on him and comes up empty—no chips, no vaccinations, no diseases. There is absolutely nothing indicating that Itadori's cat has ever had an owner. When Megumi performs a more routine examination, he finds old scars littering the skin, meaning that Itadori's stray is a regular fighter. Megumi didn't need the scars to tell him that—he glances at the cat, bandaged and one-eyed and incredibly disgruntled-looking, and snorts to himself.
Megumi takes to calling the cat Ryomen-sukuna in his head, or simply Sukuna for short. It's a silly joke, one that makes Megumi scowl because it's proof that he'll never be free of the influence of Gojo insisting that he learn 'the classics' from a young age, but it's fitting. The Ryomen-sukuna of mythology was two-faced, as the name suggests, and, well...Sukuna the cat certainly looks the part. He also acts the part. He seems to have a vendetta against every living being in existence, and a good handful of non-living ones, too.
He gets nicer throughout the night, though. Megumi tentatively feeds him, and it seems to finally click in his tiny cat brain that Megumi's trying to help him, because he doesn't even try to bite Megumi's fingers off. In fact, it's like a switch has flipped: he's perfectly docile. Megumi would even call him sweet if it wasn't for the fact that that sweetness only seems to extend to Megumi—Sukuna still goes ballistic on every other person who enters the room. As morning comes and Itadori sends back a text confirming that he'll drop by to pick up Sukuna, Megumi eyes the cat and worries.
Sukuna is a stray. If he goes to a shelter, then there's a decently big chance that they'll have to put him down. He's just—too aggressive. Too violent. Megumi can't take him in, not when he's got two huge dogs at home that Sukuna will almost certainly attack immediately, and even foster pet owners would probably hand him back after getting scratched up like Miwa. The only other option is Itadori, but he's already paying for Sukuna's treatment. It'd be a stretch to assume that he'd be willing to permanently take in a—in his own words—demon cat.
But he might. He might. He seems like he could be that kind of person. Megumi really, really hopes that he's that kind of person.
When Itadori comes by, he's got a new bandaid beneath his eye, and he's dressed in a casual shirt and pants. Maybe he did call in sick, or it's just his off day. Megumi meets him out front, trying to control the flutter that his heart gives when Itadori visibly lights up at the sight of him.
"Fushiguro-san!" He jumps to his feet. "How is he? Is he okay?"
"He's alright," Megumi says, which is an understatement. Considering the extent of his wounds, it's miraculous that Sukuna's so functional that he can already go home—wherever home may be. "Sukuna's pretty tough."
Itadori tilts his head. "Sukuna?"
"Like Ryomen-sukuna, from the Nihon Shoki. Because, you know, his face...ah, forget it," Megumi mutters, feeling his face heat slightly as Itadori remains clueless. "Anyway, the point is, he can be discharged today."
Itadori instantly perks up. "What? Really?"
"Really," Megumi confirms. "He'll be blind in his right eye, and I doubt the fur in that area will ever grow back, but he'll be fine. Aggressive, but fine."
Itadori breaks out in a relieved smile, so bright that Megumi very nearly puts up a hand to shield his eyes. "That's good to hear," he says. "He's healthy? No diseases or anything?"
"Nothing." Megumi looks at Itadori meaningfully. "And no microchips or vaccinations, either. Looks like he really is a stray."
He lets the implication dangle in the air. Sukuna will be discharged today, but he has no owner to take him home. He'll go to a shelter, unless...
"Looks like I've got a new cat, then," Itadori says without missing a beat. Megumi exhales, feeling his shoulders relax involuntarily; something loosens in his chest. "Is he still mean, or was that just 'cause he was in pain?"
Megumi grimaces. "I think that's just him, unfortunately."
Itadori nods solemnly. "Good thing he got stuck with me, then," he says, lifting an arm and flexing. "I reckon I can handle him."
Under ordinary circumstances, Megumi would raise a brow at the implication that Itadori's going to fight the cat. As it is, though, his attention goes straight to Itadori's arm muscles, visible even through the sleeve of his tacky T-shirt, and he momentarily loses his train of thought.
Firefighter. Right. He obviously has to be in shape for that line of work. Megumi tears his eyes away from Itadori's arm and mentally scolds himself.
"I can take you to come get him," he says, turning on his heel and beckoning Itadori to follow. "There'll be a lot of follow-up care involved, but I wrote up the instructions, and you can just bring him in if he seems to get worse."
Sukuna purrs—actually purrs—when Megumi opens the door. "Woah," Itadori says behind him, and Megumi braces himself. "Fushiguro-san, are you sure that's the same—"
The second Sukuna sees Itadori, he pounces.
Megumi lunges forward and catches him midair, slinging his arm over the cat's middle and hugging him to his chest. Sukuna squirms and yowls, though he doesn't so much as scratch Megumi with his claws; all of his ire is directed entirely at Itadori. Megumi has to fight back a snort at the baffled look on Itadori's face.
"What the hell? He hates me!" he says, looking from Megumi to Sukuna to Megumi again. "He was so nice to you, and then he—" He gestures wildly at Sukuna.
"It's not just you," Megumi says. "Sukuna's like that with everyone except me."
"Oh, I see," Itadori says, leaning down to squint suspiciously at Sukuna. "You're trying to win the good graces of the cute vet, huh, you little demon? Too bad, buddy. I'm your new dad now."
Sukuna yowls in response, thrashing so hard in Megumi's arms that he has to put all his strength into keeping him contained. It's a good thing, in a way, because it gives Megumi something to focus on that's not what Itadori just said.
The cute vet?
No. No, he's sure Itadori's just joking. From the way Itadori's just moved on like he didn't say anything, it probably meant nothing.
He walks Itadori through the rest of the update. He gives him the instructions on how to take care of Sukuna, a list of supplies he needs to buy, how to figure out if Sukuna's getting worse. Then he takes Itadori out front to schedule the follow-up appointment, and to pay the bill. But...
He tallies up the price, and the number on the screen makes his heart sink.
He glances up at Itadori, who's trying to get his wallet out while Sukuna does his best to remake a spy action movie. How much do firefighters even make? Is it a lot? How big of a dent will this put in Itadori's wallet?
Megumi bites his lip.
Ah, fuck it.
"Okay!" Itadori says, triumphantly pulling out his wallet. "Just tell me where to tap and I'll—"
"It's already covered."
Itadori pauses. "Hah?"
Megumi clears his throat. "I double-checked our policy," he says. "There's a loophole for public servants who find strays while they're working. The Metropolitan Government covers it or something. So—don't worry about it."
It is, of course, a total lie, and a flimsy one at that. There is no such policy. But Itadori's clearly a good person, and Megumi...well. Megumi's got the money, technically.
Itadori blinks. "Woah," he says. "Really? That's so cool." He looks down at Sukuna. "Hear that, buddy? Me finding you at work was the best thing that could've happened to us."
Sukuna hisses in response. Itadori just laughs.
"Okay, then," he says, looking back to Megumi. "Thanks a lot for saving him, Fushiguro-san. I'll definitely ask for you when I bring him back for his check-up." He fires a finger gun at Megumi. "And I'll give you five stars online, too!"
Megumi coughs. "That's really not necessary."
"Nah, I think it is," Itadori says, giving Megumi another one of those blinding grins. How does he just do that? "Gotta let everyone know how great you are."
Megumi has to resist the urge to bury his face in his hands and scream.
Itadori leaves with a pep in his step and a jaunty wave thrown over his shoulder. Megumi watches him go, then looks at the number on the screen and sighs. He hates doing this, but...
He reaches into his wallet and pulls out Gojo's card.
Gojo Satoru: ?
Gojo Satoru: [photo]
Gojo Satoru: why did u pay ur own workplace
Gojo Satoru: r the dogs ok???? ꉂ૮(°□°'˶)ა
Gojo Satoru: megumi those r my grandchildren u have to tell me if theyre sick!!
Gojo Satoru: either that or ur boss is scamming u
Gojo Satoru: i told u i always knew that guy was suspicious (≖_≖ )
Gojo Satoru: megumi
Gojo Satoru: megumiiii
Gojo Satoru: if u don't answer i'll call the bank and tell them it was a fraudulent purchase and get u blocked from my card (◕ ◡ ◕)
Fushiguro Megumi: The dogs are fine. It was for one of my patients.
Gojo Satoru: oh so ur paying urself now????
Fushiguro Megumi: Favour for a friend.
Gojo Satoru: i thought nobara didnt have any pets
Fushiguro Megumi: Not Nobara.
Gojo Satoru: ∘ ∘ ∘ ( °ヮ° ) ?
Gojo Satoru: who then
Gojo Satoru: ?
Gojo Satoru: megumi
Gojo Satoru: who
Gojo Satoru: megumi come back
Gojo Satoru: [sticker]
Gojo Satoru: [sticker]
Gojo Satoru: .·°՞(˃ ᗝ ˂)՞°·.
Gojo Satoru: megumi
[Fushiguro Megumi has silenced notifications.]
Gojo Satoru: MEGUMI
Itadori is true to his word: he requests to see Megumi, specifically.
On paper, it seems like a reasonable thing to do. Megumi is the only person who Sukuna's taken a liking to, and he'd probably attack any other vet who came to see him. But Megumi's heart still skips a beat when he reads the note saying requested Fushiguro Megumi next to Itadori's name. It's embarrassing how eager Megumi is for the appointment—he makes sure his schedule afterwards is clear, just in case they go overtime, and he gets this weird jittery feeling of anticipation in his gut.
When the day comes, Itadori arrives right on time, with windswept pink hair, a flush in his cheeks, and noticeably scratched arms.
"So," Itadori says, putting the carrier down on the table. "He definitely hates me."
Sukuna yowls in agreement. Megumi raises a brow.
"Is it really that bad?" he asks, eyeing the scratches on Itadori with trepidation. It hasn't been that long. If Itadori decides that Sukuna's too much work for him—
"Eh, it keeps things entertaining," Itadori says, waving a hand. "It's kind of nice to have so much chaos to come home to. It was really quiet before."
So he lives alone, Megumi thinks to himself, before giving himself a little shake. Ugh. This stupid—crush? Is it a crush? The very thought of it makes Megumi's cheeks flush red. "I understand," he says, unlocking Sukuna's carrier and offering his hand. As if by magic, Sukuna quiets and rubs his head affectionately against Megumi's knuckles. "When I moved out, I left my dogs at home, but it got so quiet that I ended up taking them with me anyway."
"You have dogs?"
"Mm. Two."
"What breed?"
"Shikoku mix."
Itadori nods. "Right," he says. "I definitely know what that means."
Megumi huffs out a half-laugh through his nose, hauling a docile Sukuna out of the carrier. "They're big dogs," he says. "Probably too big for my apartment. I try to let them out as much as I can."
Itadori tilts his head. "So...it's just you and them?"
Megumi glances at Itadori through his lashes. Is this a sneaky way of trying to figure out if Megumi's single, or is Itadori just making conversation? "Just us, yes," he says. "My sister takes care of them when I'm busy."
A subtle hint: Megumi's first point of contact is his sister, not a nonexistent partner. Itadori hums.
"I guess I should introduce my brother to Sukuna," he muses. "Just in case he ever needs to catsit. It's better if he knows what Sukuna's like, right?"
"Definitely." Megumi peels off the bandages around Sukuna's eye, then pauses when his gaze catches on something new.
There's a collar around Sukuna's neck. It's bright red, almost swallowed up by his fur, and there's a tiny gold paw-print medallion hanging from it. Hi! it reads, far too chipper for the cat it's attached to. I'm Sukuna!
Megumi can't help but snort. "You already got him a collar?"
"Obviously," Itadori says. "He's stuck with me now, right, buddy?"
Sukuna narrows his eyes. Megumi stifles a laugh.
"No one's gonna be able to get close enough to read this, you know," he says.
"No one except you," Itadori says back. There's an odd sort of undertone to it, like he wants it to mean something—or maybe Megumi's just delusional. He decides to cough instead of answering, leaning over Sukuna to give himself an excuse.
The healing is coming along well. Again, Megumi finds himself amazed at how good things are going. As expected, there's some dead skin that will need to be removed to prevent infection, but other than that...
"You're doing a pretty good job for a first-time cat owner," Megumi says, impressed. He looks up at Itadori, meeting his gaze over the table. "Sukuna's lucky it was you who found him."
Itadori promptly goes pink in the face. Cute, Megumi thinks. And then, immediately afterwards: ah, fuck.
Itadori's follow-ups quickly become the highlight of Megumi's work life.
It's embarrassing, how much he looks forward to them. It's gotten to the point where his coworkers have started teasing him about it. Nanako, the actual receptionist, always gives him this stupid eyebrow wiggle whenever Itadori books the next appointment. "Your boy's asking for you again," she always says, which is the absolute worst possible way of saying that Itadori's requesting that Megumi be the one to see Sukuna.
It's fine. It's nothing. Itadori's just asking for him because of the whole demon cat thing. But—but...
But Megumi always goes overtime when Itadori's there. Sukuna doesn't even interrupt, content to lounge around in Megumi's hands, and he and Itadori just—talk.
Megumi swears that it started out professional. Really, it did. He was just asking Itadori about how Sukuna's been adapting to house life. But then that spiralled into Itadori asking Megumi about his dogs, and then about how he got his dogs—a childhood gift from Gojo—and then Megumi turns the conversation to how Itadori got Sukuna, so Itadori regales him with a probably heavily-dramatised retelling of that day, and then Itadori tells him about what it's like to work as a firefighter and he asks what it's like to be an emergency vet and...
Well. They just always, somehow, end up talking. Megumi's never been able to talk to someone this easily before, except for Tsumiki, and she had to work to get to that point. Talking to Itadori just feels so natural, in a way that honestly kind of scares Megumi a little, because he's never found it so easy to lose track of time as he does when he's with Itadori.
It's nothing. It's nothing. Itadori's the kind of guy who makes conversation with everyone. Megumi has seen him in the waiting room, charming old ladies and little kids alike, even with the hissing demon cat on his lap. And he's undeniably attractive—some of Megumi's own coworkers stare at him when he walks past, which makes something unpleasant curdle in Megumi's gut until Itadori inevitably sees him and gives him that bright, bright grin that he never seems to show anyone else.
It's nothing. But—what if it's not?
Megumi wouldn't ever admit this to anyone, but he starts to let himself hope. Itadori is just...so warm, and he's such a good person, and he attends to Sukuna with so much care, and he's always throwing out these tiny little comments about Megumi being reliable or smart or cool or cute and it's just—well. Megumi thinks there could be something there. Maybe. Maybe.
Then Itadori misses his appointment.
It's the first time he's ever been late. Megumi frowns, double-checks the calendar and sees Itadori's name there—complete with a kissy face, courtesy of Nanako—and looks to the door.
Nothing.
Nanako smacks her bubblegum. "Maybe he's just caught in traffic," she offers.
Itadori lives within walking distance of the hospital. Megumi knows this because Itadori had once come in right after a run, dressed in a tank top and red in the face and sweaty all over, and it had made Megumi want to keel over and die. "Yeah," he murmurs. "Maybe."
The minutes tick by. Itadori does not show.
Megumi waits.
Ten minutes turn to twenty. Twenty turns to thirty. Thirty turns to forty, then fifty, then an hour, and then suddenly Megumi's almost at the end of his shift without so much as a glimpse of Itadori. When Nanako tries calling him, it goes to voicemail.
Something's wrong. Itadori's not the type to go off the grid like this, especially not when he adores Sukuna as much as he does. He's always been five minutes early to every appointment.
An awful suspicion sneaks into Megumi's head.
He pulls out his phone and searches, with fumbling fingers:
tokyo fire
When the news headlines pop up, Megumi feels his heart stop.
A fire, starting this morning, at a detention centre in the west of the city. A bad fire—really bad. There was an explosion. Megumi clicks on the first article he sees; it's still tagged with the bright red ACTIVELY UPDATING heading. His eyes skim over the casualty numbers. Five civilians, and...
One firefighter has died fighting the blaze.
Megumi grips the phone with trembling fingers and prays that it's not him. Please. Please. Please, please, please—
"I'm looking for a Fushiguro?"
Megumi snaps his head up.
There's a woman standing in the doorway, dressed in casual home clothes. She has long blonde hair, tied back in a ponytail that looks like it hasn't been brushed in a while, and she's scanning the room with an analytical eye. And in her hand...
The cat carrier shakes and lets out a very familiar yowl.
"That's me," Megumi says, straightening up. Something cold is spreading in his chest. "Are you standing in for Itadori?"
"Yep." The woman strides in, heaving Sukuna's carrier into her arms. Sukuna lets out an even louder yowl, louder than Megumi's heard in weeks. "He said he had a check-up scheduled for this little guy."
He said. He said. So—Itadori has to be alive, right? If he could tell someone else about Sukuna? Unless he told them before he—
Megumi takes the carrier from her with slightly shaky hands. "Yes," he says, his mouth dry. "If you'd just, ah...follow me."
As he leads the woman down the hallway, his mind races at a million thoughts an hour. Who is she? Where's Itadori? He must have told her to come take Sukuna to his appointment, but—why? Why couldn't he make it here himself? That one firefighter, was it...
He performs the check-up in total silence, the only sound the ticking of the clock. The woman stands there with her hands in her pockets. She must know Itadori in some capacity, and she seems entirely at ease, so that must mean that Itadori's okay. Right?
...Right?
Sukuna rolls over onto his back, exposing his belly for Megumi to rub. Megumi swallows. Wets his lips.
"Is he—" His voice cracks slightly. He clears his throat and tries again. "Itadori, I mean, is he...okay?"
The woman sighs. Megumi's heart drops.
"Based on what I heard, he should be fine," she says, and Megumi has to try very, very hard to keep from collapsing with relief. "Did you see that fire on the news?"
Megumi nods numbly.
"Yuuji-kun was off-duty, but he ended up getting called in for it," she says, and the name sends an electric shock down Megumi's spine. Yuuji-kun? How close is she to Itadori? "I'm sure you saw the explosion."
"I did," Megumi says, his voice coming out slightly strangled.
"Mm. It wasn't pretty. They had to take him to the hospital."
Megumi jerks his head up. "What?"
The woman holds her hands up. "He was still conscious, at least," she says. "Nothing too bad. Still had all his limbs and everything. He just kept on babbling about how he was late." She nods at Sukuna, all stretched-out on the table. "He seemed really stressed about it, and I was the only one who had a spare key to his apartment, so I ended up taking the little guy in."
...She has a spare key to his apartment?
Megumi presses his lips together, glancing at her again. Tall. Attractive. She has the kind of confidence that comes with being sure of who she is. She doesn't look anything like Itadori—and besides, Itadori's never mentioned a sister, only a brother. So, logically, this woman is probably...
"You and Itadori are close?" he manages to get out, and the woman blinks.
"Hm? Oh—oh!" She barks out a laugh, reaching up to rub her hand over her nape in a way that's not too dissimilar to Itadori. "Sorry, that's my bad. I always forget to introduce myself." She flashes Megumi a wide grin. "I'm Tsukumo, Yuuji-kun's sister-in-law."
...Oh.
His sister-in-law. Yeah. That—that makes sense. Megumi tries his best not to look too relieved, looking down at Sukuna instead.
"Sukuna's coming along well," he says quietly, reaching over to run a hand over Sukuna's head. The cat lets out an affectionate purr, so loud that Megumi can feel the vibrations running up his arm, and something in Megumi's chest goes tight. He always knew this would happen, but it still sucks. "I think...one more check-up, and then Itadori can stop bringing him in."
Tsukumo hums. "Yuuji-kun's gonna be pretty disappointed to hear that," she murmurs, and Megumi looks up.
"Hm?"
Tsukumo gives him a crooked grin that he can't quite decipher. "Well, he's been talking me and my husband's ears off for a while about this cool emergency vet," she says. "I think he'll be pretty bummed when he finds out he won't have to see you anymore."
She leans down, wrestling Sukuna into his carrier with the grim face of a warrior in battle, and leaves Megumi to gape.
When Megumi arrives at work the next day, Nanako meets his eye and lets out a giggle.
Megumi stops in his tracks. "What."
"Hm? No, nothing."
Megumi sighs. "Nanako, please." He reaches up a hand to touch his face, just in case he's got food stuck around his mouth or he missed a spot while shaving or something. He finds nothing. Nanako just shakes her head.
"Seriously, it's nothing," she says, as Megumi approaches the counter. Then she squints up at him. "You look tired, though. You sure you don't want some coffee?"
...Nanako has never, in her life, offered Megumi coffee. Megumi furrows his brow.
"No?"
"Well, how about tea?"
Tea is more of Megumi's vibe, but he's still suspicious. He steps right up to the counter and peers down at Nanako. "Why are you—"
"SURPRISE!" Itadori shouts, bursting up from behind the counter, and Megumi—
He swears and slaps him in the face.
Itadori jerks sideways with an 'urk', only just managing to avoid crushing Nanako by grabbing onto the countertop. For a second, there's nothing but silence.
Then Itadori laughs.
"Dude," he says, straightening back up with a hand held to the side of his face. "Your first instinct is to slap me?"
Megumi stares at him. "What are you doing here?"
"He brought you tea," Nanako pipes up.
"I brought you tea," Itadori agrees, reaching down under the counter and bringing out a takeaway cup. "Green tea, right?
Megumi takes the cup numbly. Yes—yes, he'd mentioned to Itadori once that he liked green tea. And...
And Itadori remembered? No, scratch that—Itadori came in, right before Megumi's shift, and hid under the counter to surprise him with it?
"But..." Megumi opens his mouth, then closes it, then opens it again. "Why?"
Itadori grins sheepishly. "Ah, take it as an apology," he says, swaying forwards on his heels. "Since I kept you waiting yesterday." He gestures at his face, which is bandaged diagonally across his nose bridge and at the corner of his mouth. "Yuki said she already filled you in, but...still. I felt bad."
"You didn't have to," Megumi says faintly. His eyes linger on the bandages, on how Itadori's moving a little more gingerly than normal. He doesn't want to admit just how relieving it is to see Itadori again, alive and okay despite his wounds. "Should you really be out and about already?"
"Ah, it's fine. My brother's an EMT, he'll make sure I don't die." Itadori's mouth crooks up in a grin. "Also, my phone kind of got smashed to bits last night, so I just wanted to schedule our next appointment now so I don't forget."
...Ah. That explains why he wasn't picking up calls, then.
They schedule the appointment. Itadori writes it down on a piece of paper and carefully tucks it into his pocket, which makes something warm grow in Megumi's chest. That is, until...
Megumi clears his throat. "Did your sister-in-law tell you that it'll be the last appointment?"
Itadori stills for a moment. Just a moment—but Megumi sees it.
"Yeah, she did," Itadori says, looking up to meet Megumi's eyes. He gives him another one of those signature blinding smiles. "So I...guess I'll see you then, Fushiguro."
"Yes," Megumi says back, curling his fingers around his cooling tea. "I'll see you then."
For the first time ever, Megumi dreads Itadori's appointment.
From the moment Itadori walks in, it feels like something's off. They're both quieter than usual. Even Sukuna seems more complacent, quietly flopping around in Megumi's hands and letting him inspect him. And, in the end, Megumi finds that Itadori really has taken good care of him—Sukuna is free to go.
"You don't have to come here anymore," Megumi says quietly as he rings Itadori up. "He doesn't need specialist care at this point, so just bring him in for his normal check-ups at a regular clinic. I can refer you to one nearby."
Itadori clears his throat. "Right, right," he murmurs. "And, um—I changed my phone number, since my old phone got smashed on that last call. Do you...need me to change it in your system?"
Megumi swallows. Looks at the counter.
"That won't be necessary," he says. "You can just give it to the new clinic."
Itadori is silent for a moment.
"Oh," he finally says, more subdued than usual. "I see."
Megumi, fool that he is, silently adds his employee discount to Itadori's total. "There," he says, gesturing at the card reader. "Just tap, and then...you can go."
Itadori nods, pulling out his card. He holds it out, and Megumi hardly dares to breathe, because after this—after this...
"Fushiguro," Itadori says. "I have a question."
Megumi looks up at him. "Hm?"
Itadori takes a deep breath. "That first day, when you saved Sukuna," he says, looking up to meet Megumi's gaze. "There's no policy about the government paying for that kind of thing, is there?"
Megumi's breath catches.
"I looked it up," Itadori continues. "And I couldn't find anything about it. So—Fushiguro, please, just tell me—did you pay for it yourself?"
He's looking at Megumi with those stupid baby-cow eyes, and—well. Megumi can't very well lie to his face, not when Itadori already knows the truth. So he sighs, looking away.
"I did," he admits, and Itadori sucks in a sharp inhale. "But it's fine, Itadori. It wasn't a problem."
"It was so much money, Fushiguro, you can't seriously say that—"
"I told you, it's fine," Megumi says. He hates to bring up Gojo, but in this case, it's necessary. "I used my guardian's card, and he's got more money than he knows what to do with. He was happy to spend it on something useful for once. Seriously, Itadori, don't worry about it."
That last part is blatantly untrue—Gojo doesn't really give a shit what Megumi spends his money on, since it would take a lifetime for Megumi to actually make a dent in his fortune. But if Gojo doesn't care either way, then it's basically all the same, so Megumi thinks it's fine to tell Itadori a white lie to make him feel less guilty.
Itadori runs a hand through his hair, looking frazzled. "Okay, but still," he says. "I...I really can't accept this, Fushiguro. It's just...you're way too kind. Seriously. Can you please just let me pay you back?"
Megumi shakes his head. "There's no point. Itadori, I swear, my guardian really doesn't care. The money's already made itself back by now. If you pay me back, it'll just put you in a bad position."
Itadori groans. He looks truly pained by this, the idea of owing someone else and not being allowed to pay them back. "Okay, fine," he says. He takes a deep breath; his eyes are darting all over the place now, his face oddly red. "I get that you're not the kind of person who'll let me pay you back. But I still feel bad. So—so maybe I could, uh...take you out? To make up for it?"
Megumi must have died. Either that or he's hallucinating, because there's no way Itadori just said what Megumi thinks he said. Megumi surreptitiously pinches his own wrist, a sharp pinpoint of pain.
Not a dream. This is real.
"...Take me out," Megumi repeats slowly.
Itadori's face flushes even brighter. "Yeah," he says, glancing at Megumi before quickly looking away again. "Uh. Like...a meal. Or something. Somewhere nice. Would that be something you're, uh...interested in?"
A meal. A meal, somewhere nice, with Itadori. Because Itadori wants to take him out.
"Yes," Megumi breathes, and the smile that breaks across Itadori's face is so bright that Megumi nearly checks the window to see if the sun has defied the laws of physics. "Yes, I—I'd be interested in that."
Itadori reaches up to rub a hand over his nape. "Sounds good," he says, his face so red that Megumi is half-tempted to reach over and touch his forehead just to see if he's running a temperature. "Oh, since I changed my number, you should—"
Itadori's pulling his phone out of his pocket when it starts ringing.
Megumi blinks, but Itadori freezes. He stares down at the screen, all of the colour draining from his face. Megumi frowns.
"...Itadori?'
Itadori looks between him and the phone. "I—sorry, just a second." He swipes the screen to accept, then holds the phone up to his ear. Megumi can hear the faint murmur of someone on the other end—they're speaking pretty loudly, kind of snappy, and Itadori gets more and more pale with every word. He starts shifting his weight restlessly from foot to foot; Sukuna gives a quietly displeased meow at the slight swaying.
"What?" Itadori says, glancing at Megumi. "You mean—right now? Okay. Uh. Okay, yeah, I understand. Where...? Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can." He ends the call, then looks up at Megumi with something like desperation in his face.
"Fushiguro, I'm so sorry, but I have to go," Itadori says, an anxious edge to his voice. "That was my chief—there's a fire on the other side of the city, and it's really bad, and they need backup. But about our dinner—"
The clinic doors burst open.
"Help!" a man shouts, frantic. He's carrying a bloodied dog in his arms, and Megumi feels himself go pale. "Please, help! He got hit by a car!"
"Shit," Megumi swears under his breath. He and Itadori look at each other, wide-eyed, both with their respective emergencies to handle—
Itadori grabs a pen from the counter with one hand and Megumi's wrist with the other. Megumi gapes as he yanks Megumi's hand forward, scrawls a hasty set of numbers on his palm in black ink, then drops the pen.
"That's my new number," he says quickly. "You can—text me or something—uh—fuck, I need to go, and you should handle this—"
Megumi nods, barely registering what Itadori's saying. Itadori trips over himself in his haste to get out, Sukuna's carrier hugged tight to his chest; the man with the dog rushes forward, his eyes wide, and Megumi gets to work.
It's bad.
The dog pulls through, but only just. The man tells Megumi that it was a hit-and-run; Megumi clenches his hands into fists and breathes through his mouth to calm himself down. It's such a close call that Megumi can feel himself sweating, his gloves sticking to his skin and rubbing against his palm and—
His palm.
A flash of panic goes through Megumi's head. Fuck, with the way things are going, he's going to sweat Itadori's number off. But it's not like he can just stop, so all he can do is focus on the poor dog in front of him and hope that everything works out.
By the time Megumi's done, frantically peeling off his gloves to check his sweaty hands, the damage has already been done. Itadori's number has rubbed clean off his skin. The only evidence that it was ever there is a Tokyo area code and a few smears of illegible black caught in the creases of his palm.
It shouldn't feel as devastating as it does.
Itadori was nothing, in the grand scheme of things. A cute face, a good heart, a brief firework in Megumi's usually-dull life—but ultimately nothing. They weren't anything. They were barely even friends; it's not like they'd ever seen each other outside Megumi's workplace. But still. Still.
It had felt like the beginning of something. And Megumi has this nagging feeling that it would've been something great.
He breathes out, throws his stupid relationship-ruining gloves in the bin, and squares his shoulders.
It's fine. He's fine. He's not usually one to believe in fate, but if it wasn't fated, then it wasn't fated. Just an unfortunate set of circumstances that led to them not going anywhere. Megumi washes his hands, watching those last remnants of Itadori's number disappear down the drain, and decides that that's that.
Life goes on.
One of the cons of having dogs since childhood, Megumi has discovered, is that if one of them breaks their favourite chew toy, it might be so old that no pet store sells it anymore.
I dunno, Megumi, Gojo had said over the phone when Megumi called. I didn't even buy it, really—just got it off a friend. Don't even remember the brand.
Megumi looks down at the ruined toy in his hand and sighs. It really was Shiro's favourite—it was his very first chew toy, given to him by Gojo, and he's loved it ever since. The downside is that, by the time the toy finally gave out, it was already so old that Megumi barely remembers what it originally looked like. He looks between the old toy and the array of shiny new toys in front of him and clicks his tongue. This is the third pet store he's tried in an attempt to find a decent replica, and so far, he's coming up empty.
He's just about to turn and leave when he hears a cat go absolutely crazy in the next aisle over.
The sound stops him in his tracks. It's been a while since he heard a cat hiss as violently as that, and he can't help but frown in disapproval. If a cat's hissing that loud, then it's probably very stressed. The owner should know better than to put it in uncomfortable situations. Megumi chews his lip, debating on whether or not he should head over and give the owner some unsolicited advice, when—
"Look, I know the cute little sakura tree isn't your vibe, but you gotta pick one of them, man. I'm not gonna let you keep on destroying my chairs."
Megumi blinks.
That voice—
No way. It can't be. The chances of it happening—the chances of the two of them being in the same pet store, at the same time, weeks after what was meant to be their last meeting—
Megumi's feet are moving before he can even think.
He practically sprints to the end of the aisle, flinging himself around the corner so fast that his shoes skid on the floor. He stumbles to a stop in the cat supply aisle, hardly daring to believe it, but—
There's a man standing there.
Pink hair. Broad build. Those stupid, heart-melting baby cow eyes. And, held aloft in his hands, a very familiar one-eyed cat.
Megumi's voice scratches his throat on its way out. "Itadori?"
Itadori whips his head around so fast Megumi swears he hears a crack. "Fushiguro?"
For a second, they just stare at each other. Megumi's heart hammers in his chest. This—this is crazy. What are the chances? He thinks, distantly, back to that day where Itadori left his number. He'd thought back then that it could've been a sign from the universe: that, since everything had aligned for them to miss each other, it wasn't meant to be. But now—now that they've somehow run into each other by pure coincidence—then, could that mean...
Sukuna lets out a loud, impatient mroww. Itadori jerks out of his stupor, shaking his head like a wet dog.
"Woah," he breathes. His eyes are still fixed on Megumi like he can't believe what he's seeing. "You, uh—d'you come here often?"
"No," Megumi says automatically. "Do you?"
"No," Itadori says back. He lifts Sukuna up higher. He's holding the cat under the armpits, so Sukuna's body dangles down like a long noodle, and Megumi has to resist the urge to snort. "We, uh. Needed a cat tree."
Megumi's eyes drift to the shelf in front of Itadori. Sure enough, it's full of cat trees, though the only ones left seem to be garden-themed—bonsai and sakura and the like. Megumi clears his throat.
"I needed a chew toy," he offers lamely. Itadori's eyes flicker down to the ruined toy in Megumi's hand.
"Huh," he says. The corner of his mouth crooks up in a smile, but there's something oddly strained about it. "What are the chances, huh?"
Megumi swallows. "Yeah," he says. It's so awkward. Why is it so awkward? Conversation's always flowed easier with Itadori than anyone else. "Small world."
Sukuna squirms in Itadori's arms, letting out a disgruntled meow. He strains towards Megumi, and Itadori laughs.
"Aw, look, the little guy missed you too," he says, and Megumi's brain snags on that word: too. Does that mean that Itadori's missed him? "Do you wanna, uh.."
"Oh—yes, I can..."
They do an awkward little shuffle to hand Sukuna over to Megumi. The cat settles once he's in Megumi's arms, letting out a low purr, and Itadori sticks his tongue out at him.
"You never purr like that for me, you little traitor," he says. Sukuna, clearly, does not care. There's a second of silence before Itadori sighs, straightening his shoulders and looking up to meet Megumi's eyes.
"Listen, Fushiguro, I just wanted to apologise," he says. Megumi frowns, petting Sukuna absently. "I...if I made you uncomfortable or something, with the whole phone number thing..."
"What? No," Megumi says sharply. Perhaps too sharply, based off how Itadori jumps a little. "After you left, I had to go straight into surgery with that dog. I was wearing gloves, and my hands were sweaty, so..." He shrugs, the motion slightly hindered by Sukuna's weight. "Your number rubbed off before I could put it into my phone."
Itadori blinks. "Oh."
"Yeah."
"So...the dinner we were talking about..."
Megumi can feel his face heating up. "I'm still open to it," he says, focusing on the stripes in Sukuna's fur to avoid having to make eye contact. "If you are."
"I am!" Itadori practically shouts, before flushing bright red and clapping a hand over his mouth. Fuck. He's so cute, Megumi thinks despairingly. They haven't even gone on a date yet, and Megumi's already in dangerously deep. "I mean—yes. Yes, I'm open to it. Dinner sounds good. Can I, uh—can I get your number? So we can, you know, plan it?"
Megumi nods, too afraid to speak in case he says something monumentally embarrassing. Itadori gives him another one of those blinding smiles—fuck, Megumi hadn't realised how much he'd missed those smiles. Itadori fumbles for his phone, nearly drops it, then fiddles with it for a second before holding it out to Megumi. "Here."
Megumi blinks. The screen's set to the new contact page, Itadori's already filled out all the other contact information. He's put the name as Fushiguro <3.
(Megumi is so completely, utterly done for.)
He takes a moment to breathe and steel himself. Then he hefts Sukuna over to one arm, takes the phone with the other, and swiftly puts his number in.
This reviewer has rated this business 5/5 stars.
Itadori Yuuji
only vet i've ever gone to and i don't plan on ever switching. fushiguro-san saved my cat's life and he's the best vet you could ask for. both me and the cat are looking forward to seeing him again :)