Work Text:
March, 2011
Tsumiki's scrunched up in the waiting room seat next to Gojo, talking with a bit of a lisp. Her mouth is still numb from having a few cavities filled, but she’s sure not letting it slow her down. “And, there’s rumors that they’re going to be releasing a new single in a couple months from now, too!”
Gojo watches with dismay at his own phone screen being held hostage in her hands. It's playing yet another music video of some boy band he really couldn't care less about, but he has to pretend to or else he's not getting his phone back.
The guys dance in sync, all of them with varying levels of eyeliner, hair gelled within an inch of their life, and in edgy outfits that would raise the eyebrows of the elderly but surely has teenage girls swooning.
Disturbingly, they're not much younger than Gojo.
In another life, that could be him up there. If he were blissfully ignorant to what curses were, he could do it. He has the looks for it, definitely. And the charisma. Well... sort of—enough of it to get him up there, anyway. He’d spend his days being dressed up and paraded around on stage in front of thousands of adoring fans, screaming for him. All he’d have to do is be pretty.
Oh, he’d be so good at it. No more slaving away to clean up everyone else’s messes. His free time wouldn’t be crammed full of endlessly planning or cooking dinners, and reading ‘Parenting for Dummies’ when he can fit it in. His afternoons would stop being eaten up by sitting in stuffy dentist’s offices waiting for his snot-nosed little—
Just then, there’s a muffled cry from further in the office.
The receptionist in the corner gives a concerned glance behind her. Gojo's head picks up, Six Eyes immediately scanning through the dividing wall into the space behind it. There’s five patients resting in dental chairs, four hygienists scattered between them, and every one of their heads is turned towards the large shape—the dentist, himself—doubled over at the very back of the office. Between them all is the small bundle of raging cursed energy that’s currently barreling towards the door.
Gojo barely has time to get the words, "uh-oh," out of his mouth before the door bursts open and Megumi, paper bib still clipped around his neck, comes flying out of it.
The kid comes to a screeching halt when he sees Gojo, a myriad of emotions crossing his beet-red face.
Gojo's on the edge of his seat on instinct but he freezes, too. It's unconventional probably, but he's learned through extensive trial and error that it's better to let Megumi take the lead in most situations. “...You all done, bud?” he asks hesitantly.
Megumi's mouth twists up. “I hate it here!” he spits and takes off for the front door, bursting through it and disappearing into the city street outside.
The receptionist is standing up now, slack jawed and looking at Gojo for guidance.
Gojo nervously chuckles. “Well, that can't be good.”
-:-
Once outside the dentist's office, Gojo squats in front of Tsumiki, squeezing her shoulders. "Are you okay?"
She nods, wiping a stray tear away from red eyes.
Moments after Megumi took off, the dentist burst into the waiting room and started going off on Gojo. Raised voices make Tsumiki cry on the best of days and today is not one of those. It took a lot of sweet talking and far more money than what Gojo was supposed to owe in order to get the guy to settle down.
"How are we going to find Megumi this time?" Her bottom lip trembles.
Gojo looks around the busy street behind them. There's no sign of the kid. Great.
But, for Tsumiki’s sake, he pulls on a smile. "That's for me to figure out, isn't it?" He winks and ruffles her hair. "How about I call Ijichi to pick you up and you two can go get ice cream for dinner?"
She frowns. "The dentist said I can't eat anything for another 30 minutes."
"He can find someplace 30 minutes away, then."
Gojo pulls out his phone and dials. Ijichi picks up after a few rings. "Ijichi! Say, we had a bit of an incident at the dentist's office... Yeah, again. No, Megumi bit him this time... I don't know, probably just a few stitches—the guy will be fine. Point is, the kid took off afterwards. Could you pick Tsumiki up while I look for him? ...Yeah, right now. Thanks, you're the best." Gojo hangs up.
Tsumiki gives him a skeptical look.
"What? Everything's going to be fine!"
-:-
Ijichi's car pulls up less than 10 minutes later. He was just around the corner apparently—something Gojo's not sure was strategic or not, but now's really not the time to think about that. He’s just glad for it, either way.
Tsumiki climbs into the back seat. “Mr. Gojo said we’re going to get ice cream for dinner,” She tells Ijichi without skipping a beat.
“Are we now?” Ijichi turns around in his seat to give her a smile. “Ice cream for dinner. Right after the dentist. Interesting choice.” His eyes flick to Gojo then, sharp.
Leave it to Tsumiki to put him on the spot like that. Gojo freezes and gives Ijichi a tense grin. “Just charge it to my card.”
Ijichi rolls his eyes and settles back into his seat. “How about as dessert after a proper dinner?” he asks Tsumiki in the mirror.
“That’s fine.” Tsumiki shrugs, moving on already. “Have you heard of the band Hey! Say! JUMP? They’re going to release a new song soon.”
“Um… I don’t think so?” Ijichi tells her.
“Can I see your phone?” She asks, already leaning into the front seat.
That’s Gojo's glaring red sign to step away. He pats the car. “I’ll meet you guys back at home, okay?”
It’s only been a few months since Ijichi’s started coming around, but he’s fallen into the babysitter role seamlessly—which includes being called on on a moment's notice and being subjected to Tsumiki’s latest obsessions, too.
Ijichi gives Gojo a pleading look and Gojo mouths ‘good luck’ at him before closing the door.
The car pulls away a moment later and, when it fades into the rest of the city traffic, he finally lets out a heavy sigh. That's one kid taken care of. Now, for the other...
It’s not like this is the first time Megumi has run away, and Gojo knows it’s definitely not going to be the last. It’s annoying, but he’s not too worried. Besides the very first time, he’s never tried to get on the train or anything and Gojo’s always been able to find him eventually.
The paper bib Megumi was still wearing when he ran out lies crumpled on the ground only a few hundred feet to the west of the dentist’s office. That gives Gojo his heading and, from there, he finds a secluded alley to privately teleport to the top of the buildings around him from.
With a birds eye view, he’s able to canvas the city streets much quicker and, soon enough, his Six Eyes pick up on the bright spot of a small kid and two large dogs wandering down a side street.
Megumi senses him approach and shoots a glare directly up to the rooftop. Gojo prepares to have to make quick pursuit now that he’s been detected but, for once, the kid doesn’t take off again. He just ducks his head and keeps walking. So… that's all that Gojo does, too.
The sun grows lower in the sky. The street Megumi walks down grows less urban and more neighborhood-like, until finally it ends at a clearing with a playground.
The place is empty, thankfully. Everyone is probably at home for dinner right about now. It allows Megumi the privacy to be comfortable enough to pick a swing and start rocking himself back and forth on it. The dogs lie on the ground on either side.
Gojo’s not exactly sure what he should do now, but he looks at all of their backs turned to him and thinks maybe he should leave him alone for a while. It’s a nice enough evening for it.
So, Gojo takes a seat on some family’s rooftop and sprawls out, taking advantage of the opportunity to do absolutely nothing at all for a while.
The gamble seems to pay off because, after about half an hour, the white dog sits up and turns around, staring directly at him. That’s a clear enough sign as any, in his book.
He hops down from the roof and makes his way to the playground, quietly taking a seat on the swing beside Megumi. To no one’s surprise, Megumi doesn't acknowledge him so Gojo lets them sit in silence for a few minutes, softly swinging.
The sun creeps towards the horizon when Gojo finally speaks up. "What happened?"
Megumi tenses, knuckles going white around the swings chains. "He hurt me."
"How?"
Megumi doesn’t seem to know how to answer that. He twists in his seat. "I don't know,” he says, scowling. “Whatever he was doing to my teeth. It hurt."
Gojo sighs. "Getting your teeth all fixed up is going to hurt sometimes, bud."
"Why do I even have to go to the dentist?" he snaps. "Aren't my teeth falling out anyway?"
The kid glances toward him just enough for Gojo to get a good glimpse of him. Both his front teeth are missing and one of his bottom lateral incisors, too. Megumi hates it, and it gives Gojo more than enough ammunition to tease him over but, if he's being honest, it's actually pretty cute.
"Yeah," Gojo slowly nods, "but, your adult teeth are coming in and those need to be looked at. Plus, when was the last time you went?"
Megumi shrugs, which means never.
"Exactly. It's a part of life. If you want to keep the new ones then it has to be done."
Megumi pulls a pissy, annoyed scowl over his face. "I told him to stop twice and didn't. He called me a baby."
Gojo takes a deep sigh and stares off into the horizon.
Nothing’s ever quite as simple as Megumi makes it out to be. The first three dentists Gojo took him to Megumi threw a fit over and refused to go back to for increasingly ridiculous reasons ranging from saying they smelled to calling them weird. When Gojo talked to them, only then did he find out the kid was being uncooperative the entire time. The next two dentists Gojo dragged him to, Megumi got himself kicked out for being combative. Gojo interviewed around until he found the calmest, most patient doctor he could find. Tsumiki even said this guy was super gentle with her but, at the end of the day, when it comes to Megumi, that doesn’t really matter does it?
The kid is not always honest, and when he makes his mind up about something he absolutely will lie to get his way. Just look at his track record with Gojo for proof. Right now, though…
Gojo glances at the kid. He’s wound up tight, fists clenched, shoulders hunched and body rigid in a way that screams of discomfort. He gives Gojo a quick, apprehensive look out of the corner of his eye.
All at once, Gojo's reminded of a skittish, black cat with green eyes that he met last summer. Much like he did with the cat, Gojo pretends he doesn't see.
Back then, someone else had to talk Gojo through what to do with the cat. He didn't know it at the time, but it ended up being an invaluable first lesson on how to handle Megumi.
Back then, Megumi was a complete mystery to him. When it came to how he was feeling or what he wanted, Gojo was sure the kid was giving him absolutely nothing at all, then taking delight in it when Gojo was confused as hell.
The more time passes though, the more Gojo is learning just how untrue that is. In reality, the kid's practically screaming how he feels all the damn time. He just doesn’t say it with his words, is all.
He may yell at Gojo all the time, but what he really means is all in his body language. When he gives Gojo the silent treatment, it's in his assortment of scowls that he has for every occasion. His true feelings lie in the way he chooses to linger, or not, in a room. In where he stands and who he looks to. When he looks at them. At Gojo. It's all in the little things that Megumi doesn't say but is screaming in every other way he can.
Gojo just didn't know how to hear him back then.
If Gojo knew then what he knows now, it would have saved the both of them a lot of time and frustration. That's on Gojo, but it's not like he can go back and change the past. All he can do is move forward with his new found knowledge.
So, whether what happened with this dentist went down exactly how Megumi said it did or not, it doesn’t really matter. Gojo knows that this time, out of all of the others, something bad legitimately happened.
"Okay,” Gojo says softly. “We won’t go back to him, then. We’ll find someone else."
Megumi’s eyes flash wide at him for a split second, then he sharply turns away, hunching into himself. But, his hands slowly start to loosen around the chains and, bit by bit, his shoulders start to ease up.
Gojo has learned that this is when he needs to leave the kid be, so he watches the sky grow darker. They swing in silence for a little bit longer.
Eventually, Megumi relaxes enough that he begins to toe at the mulch underneath them, and that’s when Gojo knows they’re in the clear.
Something else Gojo has learned recently is that, so long as it’s at the right time, and in just the right way, the kid does like a little poking and prodding every once in a while. Not a lot. Just a little. Nothing too over the top.
Gojo’s not always great at determining where that line is, but he thinks he’s starting to get the hang of it. Right now seems like a pretty good moment. Gojo leans over, wiggling his eyebrows. “Want me to give you a push?”
Megumi freezes and, for a moment, Gojo thinks he got it wrong. Then, the kid rolls his eyes. "Let's go home," he says, shaking his head, and hops off the swing. As he walks away, he doesn’t look back.
The dogs have been lying on either side of the swing set. As Megumi leaves they sit up, but neither take a step to leave until Gojo does.
Gojo can't help the small smirk that breaks out over his face.
The three of them catch up to Megumi moments later and, once Gojo’s at his side, the dogs disappear all together.
Gojo tests his luck a little further and reaches over to ruffle the top of Megumi's hair. Megumi jerks back, pushing Gojo’s hand away, and makes a sharp, annoyed sound.
Gojo gives him a ‘tsk’. "Got to get quicker, squirt."
"I’ll bite you, too.”
Gojo laughs. "I'd like to see you try. It might even help loosen that other tooth of yours, actually."
Megumi glares at him but Gojo can tell now that there’s no real heat behind it. There is in fact, maybe, just maybe, the tiniest hint of a smile.