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Satoru isn't.. used to this kind of thing. He's been an omega all his life, but he only really got to live like one after leaving his clan for Jujutsu Tech, so maybe that's his problem. Maybe, because he didn't get to grow into his instincts naturally, and had to play catch up for his prepubescent years when he turned 15, some things would never feel completely normal to him. That would kinda suck.
Suguru tells him it's only natural. He's been telling him that since he was 15 though, and Satoru feels spectacularly guilty that at 27, he's really not much better than he was back then. He feels… ashamed? Not because he has some kind of big idea about being a proper omega or anything, but more so because, even though he's the strongest sorcerer alive, a proper genius and a teacher to several pups he guides and nurtures as if they were his own – Satoru's rather hopeless when it comes to secondary gender stuff.
When Megumi presented, he had flown into a frenzy. Loads of frantic Google searches and several book purchases occurred, but it didn't bring him much solace. Megumi was grumpy, closed off, and he'd even started picking fights – and Satoru really had no idea what to do. It didn't really help that he was kind of a kid himself, and it certainly didn't help that his own presentation was dealt with by his clan, with the magic of pumping him full of suppressants and pretending it never happened.
Megumi was a menace of a little alpha too, chewing on his belongings to help with the ache in his growing fangs and growling – albeit entirely too pitchy and distinctly pup-like to be threatening – at Satoru whenever they got into disagreements. He was only 8 when it started, and it only seemed to get worse with time. Satoru felt helpless. He wasn't, though, thankfully, and Suguru helped as much as he could. With his own experience, and with what he'd learned from his own parents, he really did everything he could to help Megumi, and it did help, although Megumi would rather rip all his teeth out than admit it.
He grew a bit more sure of himself, and by the time he was old enough to enroll in Jujutsu Tech himself under Satoru’s care he was a young alpha with a much mellower personality (although Satoru would say he only got better self-control, and the unhinged little kid he knew was still hiding somewhere in there).
Tsumiki, blessedly, was a beta. It was a massive relief, and she seemed to be happy about it too. There were already three alphas too many in their home, and as much as Satoru loved them all, the mixed scent of Nanako and Suguru and Megumi was a bit much for a nose as sensitive as his. It also didn't help that the two pups liked to randomly fight for no particular reason other than because their instincts demanded it (or because they'd offended each other's pride somehow).
Mimiko, on the other hand, had already presented, as had Nanako, when Satoru and Suguru first met them. Nanako was like a textbook alpha – protective, brash, a little prideful – but at her core, Satoru knew she just wanted to keep her sister safe. Mimiko.. was an omega. Like him. And Satoru didn't know what to do about that. He'd been taking care of the Fushiguro siblings for a bit when the twins came into their life, but neither of them had presented yet, and Satoru was thrust into completely new territory. Nanako had Suguru to lean on. If something bothered her about her secondary gender, she could always talk to the older alpha and find solace in sharing the burden with someone who understood it first-hand.
Mimiko.. Mimiko should have Satoru. He was an omega, mated to her primary guardian and technically her secondary one, and so logically the role should've been his. But Satoru wasn't really.. good at being an omega.
And sure, as Suguru would tell him again and again – it's “not a competition” and, “nobody's grading you, baby,” – still, Satoru knows in his heart he isn't really good at it. Most days, his pups have to ask him to scent them, because he tends to forget with everything else on his plate, and his body doesn't remind him. His nests are pitiful. He's not very patient, or sweet, and sometimes Shoko absentmindedly complains he smells more like menthol than the sweet and creamy mint-vanilla mix Suguru loves to go on about.
Strangers usually assume he's an alpha (or, and he tends to feel a little relieved when it happens, they think he's a beta) and most of the people he knows agree he's not a typical omega.
Satoru knows this. Which is also why he kind of spirals when Mimiko comes to ask him something about omega instincts for the first time.
He feels like a liar. He feels like he's wearing a mask, or maybe someone else's skin, reciting words he knows from textbooks and Shoko's advice and hardly any of his own experience. He feels like a farce. He curls up on his sad little nest and sits there for the rest of the day, until Tsumiki comes to check on him, assuming he'd been napping until dinner, and then she ends curled up in his arms while Satoru rubs his nose against her hair, taking that milky pup scent in to comfort himself. He hasn't failed them. He hasn't failed them. If he keeps repeating it to himself, he might believe it.
Satoru knows he's loved. He knows he's cherished, as an omega. As part of his pack. He's just.. not sure he deserves it.
-
At 27, he's a little more confident. He feels safer, like he's an important part of other people's lives and even if he isn't perfect, they'll want to keep him around. It's better. Things are better.
Satoru might not be your typical omega, but he's an omega, one who's loved by his pack and his pups – the ones he actually adopted and the ones he only adopted emotionally, the ones which he usually just refers to as his students. He spends his days watching over them, raising them up to be strong, powerful sorcerers, keeping them safe so they have a chance to really, truly blossom. He loves them. Not that he makes a habit of saying it, that would be weird. Totally weird.
Anyway, the great teacher Gojo Satoru has a duty to keep his pups safe. He wants them to grow big and strong so they can stand by his side as equals. He wants them to stand together against the rotten nature of the world of jujutsu. Until then, though, it's up to him to make sure they stay safe. And comfortable. And happy. And that they make the most of their youth.
(Well, maybe the last part isn't exactly necessary to his plan, but it's important to him, so it's basically the same.)
And of course, keeping them safe includes accompanying them on missions whenever possible. Satoru might not have a lot of free time (read: any), but he makes the most of what he does have.
“Gojo-sensei, are you sure it's okay for you to be here?” Yuuji asks, snapping him out of his thoughts abruptly. He's looking back at him from where he and his classmates are walking ahead of their teacher, a softly concerned look on his face.
“Hm? Of course, of course! Why wouldn't it be okay?” Satoru smiles as bright as he can, ignoring the way sweat drips down his neck under the long collar of his uniform jacket. This summer has been oppressive, but the heat today is actually abnormal. Satoru isn't sure why his students haven't ditched their own jackets by now, like they usually do when it gets this hot. He sniffs softly, frowning at how humid the air is.
“Well.. I mean,” Yuuji tries, giving Satoru a once-over he can't quite decipher the meaning of. Megumi steps closer to him and lays a hand on his forearm, gently shaking his head, and the pink-haired boy seems to hesitate a bit before giving up, turning back forward with a bit of a pout.
Hmm. That won't do. Once they're done with the mission, Satoru will pull him aside and ask what's got the younger omega so concerned. Yuuji has a bad habit of keeping things to himself, so it's best to nip the issue in the bud before it gets any worse.
Nobara spares him a glance over her shoulder, some rare, unreadable expression on her face, but she looks away before he can figure it out. Maybe Satoru needs to speak with all of them. It seems there's something they've all decided to keep from him.
He doesn't get much time to ponder that, though, because the curse they'd been looking for is rapidly approaching, and Satoru can already tell by the signature of its cursed energy that it's worse than what the initial report had made it seem. Satoru is immensely thankful he managed to make the time to come to this mission (bless Suguru, for taking some of his own work off his lap to help him out).
“Up ahead,” he warns, watching how all three of the teenagers in front of him immediately stand to attention, Megumi flexing his fingers and Nobara immediately reaching for the hammer and nails on her belt. Yuuji gives him one last worried glance before turning forward with sharpened eyes, and Satoru frowns. What's that about, really?
He can smell most of the things they're feeling, with his sensitivity to scents, but Satoru is no mind reader, so the concern and the aggressive urge to protect just feels a bit silly. His chest feels a little tight.
What could 3 pups possibly do to protect the world's strongest sorcerer? (Never mind the fact they're teenage sorcerers themselves, they're pups first and foremost.)
(Never mind the fact he's the one who has to protect them . )
The curse finally shows itself, crawling out of the soaked soil in the abandoned warehouse they're in slowly – a disgusting creature with several rows of arms and legs, half-heartedly attached to its writhing form, croaking and wheezing as it pulls itself from the dirt as if it's painful. It's fleshy, and the patterns on its skin remind Satoru of a toad.
“Ew, gross.” Yuuji mutters half-heartedly as the thing finally stands, towering over the four of them with its huge body.
“Gross is right,” Satoru agrees, and as if it were a cue, immediately all of them are on the move. Yuuji goes for a series of kicks and punches, making the thing groan, a horrible, distorted noise with no exact discernible origin, seeing how it lacks a mouth, and Megumi lifts his hands to summon Nue, the bird grasping at one of the limbs near the top of the body and tearing it away, dropping it right into Megumi’s waiting hands. He doesn't spare it a glance before tossing it Nobara’s way, ignoring the way she huffs at him for almost getting her in the face as he leans into his shadows to pull out a cursed tool for him to use. Nobara nails the arm ( leg ?) onto a straw doll with a little too much energy, clearly infuriated by Megumi's indifference, and the cursed spirit writhes in misery as her technique activates, flailing its limbs uncontrollably in a desperate attempt to defend itself, almost hitting Yuuji in the process, but the boy dodges with a soft ‘woah!’.
It's.. odd. Satoru can tell the thing isn't the strongest, but isn't this a little too easy for the amount of energy it possesses? So far, it seems like the only thing it has going for it is that it's big.
Satoru usually tries to stay out of the way. He can step in at a moment's notice, so it's better if he gives the kids a chance to beat the thing on their own – he knows they're strong, and he knows they're smart too, so he keeps his observations and ideas mostly to himself, unless he thinks they genuinely need to hear it in the middle of battle. Not this time. Something about this curse’s behavior has him a bit jittery, eager to get this thing killed so they can head back to the school and talk. Maybe he'll take them out for ice cream. Or cake. He really wants cake right now. Strawberry chiffon.. His head aches a little, and he jumps into the fight while going through his mental list of pâtisserie locations around them.
He kicks the thing in the back with a loud, wet thwack! echoing in the space, not giving it a second to react and immediately hitting it with a flash of Blue, watching with a furrowed brow as it crashes back onto the ground, writhing. Some of its limbs have been blown off in the process, and it's unable to do much more than wiggle, like some sad, fat worm with a few arms randomly attached to its body, and Satoru might pity it if he wasn't so damn suspicious. What the hell is this thing, anyways? He finishes it off with a blast of red, ignoring the way his students whine about him taking their chance to fight away – but the thing is exorcised, and Satoru can still sense its energy. It's.. exorcised, and he can still sense its energy.
Ah, fuck .
Satoru turns around, but even with his speed it would be hard to react in time when something shoots out of the ground once again, this time much, much faster. Another curse. The real one? It's smaller, less blobby, with something like a hard shell covering its body, 6 long legs sticking out along with a face that's far too humanoid for the rest of it, and it reminds Satoru a bit of a hermit crab, if hermit crabs were really ugly and covered in open sores, instead of cute little things. It's heading straight for him like a missile, but he's got Infinity, so he's not particularly worried–
He realizes a little too late that since this curse possesses all that energy, it also possesses some level of intelligence , and it shoots right past him to rip through the metal beams above them. His eyes widen minutely, because it's not attacking directly, it- it's trying to kill them by collapsing the building on them.
He lands on the ground as fast as he can, ignoring the way the packed dirt shatters under his feet, and grabs his students by their collars, ignoring the choked sound Megumi makes when he pulls a little too hard, and he's intent on warping them all out before the whole place falls apart on top of them, but he doesn't get the chance-
It all comes tumbling down. It's dusty, and dark, but Satoru can see beyond sight, so he knows all three of his pups are safely tucked inside his barrier of Infinity, unharmed. That doesn't mean he isn't mad, though. No, he is infuriated. Infuriated at the higher-ups for sending his kids on a mission with a curse of this level, capable of trickery and of hiding behind something weaker, infuriated at the curse, for tricking them, and for trying to hurt his students – and most of all he's so, so mad at himself for letting any of it happen, because it really isn't like him. He's off his game, and it's embarrassing, and infuriating, and he's so glad the worst he got was a scare and some emotions, because he really wouldn't know what to do if this ended differently. The debris piled on top of their little bubble gets thrown away, pushed with a wave of his hand like dust, and he resists the urge to growl when he spots the curse, practically delighted in the energy it exudes, grinning a horrifying smile with that almost-human face. Too bad. They're all still alive. Satoru carefully aims a slightly overkill blast of Red, and then it's gone. It's over.
He doesn't sigh, although he kind of wants to. Instead, he tries to plaster a smile on his face and turns to look at his students-
Who are all unconscious.
He–
He's on his knees before he can process it, but they're all breathing, their hearts beating steadily. It might've just been the scare, or maybe the curse had some other effect Satoru didn't get hit by, but-
He pulls them up carefully, Yuuji thrown over his shoulder and Megumi and Nobara held under each of his arms, and he warps them all into school grounds.
..The cake can wait.
-
Megumi comes to slowly. He should probably be more alert, considering where he'd been when he passed out, but it's not possible in the situation he's in at the moment. He's warm, impossibly so, probably because of the several blankets piled on top of him, and there's two other people next to him, who he eventually identifies as his classmates – their scents are thick in the space, but there's one more overpowering than the rest, one that's been rubbed against Megumi's own glands so many times it's so familiar it's almost painful-
Satoru's, strong, sweet scent is almost suffocating with the way it surrounds him, and Megumi realizes he's probably in his nest.
Speaking of, where is-
His eyes shoot open.
“What,” he croaks, his voice terribly rugged from sleep, and he tries to sit up, but suddenly he's hit in the face by that scent again, and hands gently push him back down as he looks up to see Satoru's face. He looks.. a little desperate. His hair's down, a mess, and his eyes, uncovered by his blindfold, are carrying way too many emotions for Megumi to feel comfortable looking into them.
“Gojo, what-” he doesn't even know where to begin. The curse? Right.
“What happened to the curse?”
Satoru blinks down at him and continues staring. His brows are furrowed. No answer comes. Megumi's almost convinced he's doing that thing where he drifts off into thought while staring directly at someone, but then he moves, shifting on his seat at the edge of the nest to fuss over them, moving the sheets around and running his fingers over their hair – Megumi blanches when those thin fingers start petting his cheek, and he wiggles uncomfortably under the duvet while Satoru sighs softly.
“Um, Gojo?” It's not that Satoru's not affectionate with him. They've been together for a long, long time. Satoru's something like a really unconventional mother-father-something figure to him. Not that he would admit that. It's not like they never scent each other, or like Megumi's never been in his nest before, but this is..
Also, why are Yuuji and Nobara here?
Satoru shushes him, gently, nothing like the way he'd usually whine and moan about Megumi's inability to “go with the flow”, and his eyebrows shoot to his hairline with his utter disbelief. Maybe he hit his head or something.
Megumi wonders if there's any point in resisting. He wonders a little more, and then he sighs and closes his eyes instead. Well, it's still comforting, and he is a little tired. Let Satoru.. get it out of his system. Whatever it is. He falls asleep to fingers running through his hair, the soothing motions reminding him of days when he got sick as a child.
-
Satoru feels like a frayed nerve. He's tucked his pups into his nest, the one he spent several minutes building and rebuilding earlier that morning, so it would be perfect – he's piled so many blankets around them, it kind of looks like they're sleeping under a giant folded omelet, the cutest little omurice he's ever seen – but still, he feels.. he feels..
He's feeling too much, really. He's worried, and guilty, and he wants to hold all of them close and never let go and apologize for letting the mission go as it did, and he wants to scent them so thoroughly that it'll ward curses away like their own little infinity. He knows that's not possible, but still, he wants to do it. He runs a finger over the scar under Yuuji's right eye, and his heart throbs a little. He wants them to be safe. He needs them to be safe. He might actually lose his mind if something happens to these kids.
He knows his eyes are watering, but he doesn't care enough to do anything about it, so he keeps fussing over the three on his nest while water drips from his eyes onto the sheets. His hands tremble almost imperceptibly, and he realizes belatedly he hasn't let them out of the bubble of Infinity since it happened. His head throbs a little bit.
Megumi had woken up about an hour ago, but he was too tired to pick much of a fight, and went right back to sleep, which was feeding Satoru's fear that this might be an effect of the curse. He knows what he has to do. He does know, but..
He bites his lip as he reaches inside the pockets of his jacket for his phone. He worries the skin between his teeth as he scrolls through his contacts – as he holds the phone up to his ear and tries not to wince at the loud dial tone.
“Satoru?”
He bites so hard his fangs draw blood.
“Ah- Shit, um-” he licks his lip, wincing at the sting, but it pulls him a bit closer to reality, so maybe it's for the best.
“Is something wrong? Somebody hurt?”
“No, no.. I mean, I don't think so. Just.. um, can you come here? Teacher's dorms, my room.”
There's near silence on the other side, but Satoru can hear Shoko moving, soft curses leaving her lips.
“I'll be right there.”
She hangs up.
Right. Well. He did it. He sinks into the nest without a second thought, draping one of his arms over his pups – his chest still hurts a bit, and he feels spectacularly weak, but he needs to keep them safe. Infinity continues to surround them.
There's a knock at the door. He should–
He should move. Open it. Maybe tell Shoko it's unlocked, because he knows it's her. He tries to move and-
He growls.
He hasn't.. done that in a really long time. Like a really, really long time. He thinks the last time he did that, he was fighting Fushiguro over a little girl's life. His chest tightens further at the memory.
“Satoru?” Shoko's voice comes, muffled behind the door, and he can sense the worry in it.
“Sorry. Sorry, come in,” he manages to rasp, fighting against his instincts like pulling teeth.
The door opens, and Shoko immediately freezes in the doorway at the sight that greets her. Satoru's draped over his students, probably looking an absolute mess. His hair’s askew, because he'd been pulling at it while he stressed, his eyes probably give away the fact he'd been crying, and his lower lip is visibly bleeding, but she takes a deep breath and walks closer, pausing when Satoru tenses up, his hackles threatening to raise.
“Satoru, I have to look at them if you want to know if they're fine.” She clarifies, having already figured out what he wanted, and Satoru bites his lip again as he tries to find the strength inside him to trust someone with his students right now. It's just Shoko, he tells himself, trying to ignore how much that doesn't really help at all, but his arms just curl tighter around the kids in his nest.
“Satoru.” Shoko tries again. He's probably testing her patience, but he can't help it. Even if she got close, he probably couldn't let down Infinity to let her touch them anyways, so it would be pointless.
She sighs. Before he can say or do anything else, she steps back out of the room, leaving the door ajar. He hears her speaking to someone, but he doesn't know who it is. Can't bring himself to pay enough attention. For the first time since the door opened, Satoru allows himself to blink. He looks down at his pups, and nuzzles his cheek against Megumi's spiky hair. It's fine. Everything is just fine.
He doesn't know if it's minutes or hours that he spends like that, watching over the three and wondering absentmindedly if Shoko would come back or if she had given up on him, but eventually the door creaks as it opens again, and Satoru immediately snaps his head towards it, because he can smell-
It's Suguru. His Suguru, his mate.
Suguru looks worried. His brown eyes keep scanning over Satoru's nest, as if he's looking for something, and Satoru takes the initiative to beckon him closer with a wave of his hand.
“Hey, honey,” Suguru coos, once he's close enough. Infinity falls for him like it always does, and Satoru can suddenly smell him, warm and woody and a little spicy, like ginger. He takes it in with a flutter of his lashes, pleased as he always is to be around Suguru.
“Hi,” he whispers, not keen on waking the kids up quite yet.
“What's going on here?” Suguru tilts his head, and the question isn't unkind, but if it weren't coming from him Satoru might've gotten defensive again.
“Mission.. I..” words fail him, like they always do when he needs them. He bites his lip again, but Suguru finally reaches out and gently pulls his lower lip from his teeth with a soft tut, always upset to see Satoru hurting himself.
Suguru's gaze shifts to the pups, and Satoru–
Fuck him, he immediately hates himself for it, but he raises Infinity right back up, pushing away the love of his life.
Suguru's eyes widen. God, Satoru just wants to restart this day. How many times can he possibly fuck up?
“Baby,” Suguru huffs, seeming almost a little amused, fondness dripping off of him, “it's okay. Nobody's gonna hurt them.”
Satoru wants to believe that. He'd also like to believe that if someone did, he could protect them. But…
“We just want to help you. Can't you let us in? Shoko needs to see if they're sick, ‘Toru.” Suguru is so patient. He's always been like that. Satoru's eyes suddenly fill with tears.
Suguru looks alarmed now.
“You can't take them!” Satoru exclaims suddenly, and the tears threaten to start flowing. “You can't..”
Suguru blinks at him, bewildered. Yeah, Satoru's shocked too, has no idea what the hell overcame him, but he just can't stop now that he's in it. His eyes burn.
“Satoru, baby, nobody's gonna take them anywhere..”
“Or from me.”
“…or from you,” Suguru agrees, and he reaches out a hand with a soft, gentle smile, “I won't let them. Promise.”
The tears overflow again. Infinity comes down.
The first thing Suguru does is hug them. All of them. He's broader than Satoru is, so he can pull all the pups close along with the omega, and he holds them tight for a bit before pulling back to look Satoru in the eye.
“Can Shoko take a look at them now?”
Satoru just barely nods, and Suguru smiles at him gratefully as he wipes off the tears flowing over his cheeks with warm, rough hands.
Shoko rules them as healthy, just tired and taking advantage of the nap, possibly a little drugged on pheromones (Satoru's fault). Satoru is relieved, so relieved he could cry again, but then, the alpha turns to him instead, her eyes narrowing.
“Your turn.”
He blinks. “My turn?”
“Your turn, because you're acting really, really weird.”
He squawks. How rude! Not that she isn't right, but some things don't need to be said so explicitly. Suguru, by his side, seems mildly amused by the entire interaction, and Satoru kicks his ankle for it.
He lets Shoko look over him, both to pacify the two alphas currently surrounding him, and also to satiate his curiosity, but her face suddenly twists into something odd.
“..Satoru, when was your last heat?”
“Uh, like 2 months ago? I'm not due for another this soon.”
“Satoru, you..” her gaze flicks over to Suguru for a second.
“You're pregnant, you fucking idiot.”
“Oh.” Is the only thing that leaves his mouth, because he doesn't quite process what that means, but then Suguru grabs him by the cheeks to look him in the eyes, and it starts to sink in.
“Wait, I'm-”
Suguru looks absolutely delighted.
“I'm pregnant?” He asks no one in particular.
“Yes,” Suguru and Shoko answer together, and they both blink at each other before smiling, the man letting out a breathless laugh.
“How-”
“Satoru, I'm pretty certain you know that.” Shoko interrupts, which, yeah , but still.
It doesn't feel real. “This doesn't feel real.”
“It is real,” Suguru whispers softly, planting a kiss on his temple, “we're gonna have a baby.”
“Aren't you too calm about this?” He asks, baffled by Suguru's quick acceptance.
“Well, you have been smelling and acting a little different lately, and this today..”
Satoru laughs. He laughs until his eyes water and his stomach hurts a little, Suguru watching him with a fond smile the whole way.
“What the hell, ha..”
The three of them sit in the silence, warm and comfortable and loaded with soft pheromones with varying degrees of joy. Satoru leans his head against Suguru's shoulder, so relieved he suddenly feels exhausted.
“Um.. sorry,” a meek voice interrupts, and three sets of eyes turn to the bed, where Yuuji is sitting up, rubbing at his eyes sleepily, “but did you just say you're pregnant, Gojo-sensei?”
“Yeah, what the hell?!” Nobara exclaims, suddenly sitting up as well, the tiny omega already glaring at Satoru accusatorially.
Megumi shifts around in bed, groaning, but he eventually sits up with a huge frown when Yuuji shakes his shoulder with enough strength.
Aww, that surprise is spoiled.
“Well, Yuuji..” A smile stretches his lips. He has news to tell his pups.