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“Fush- Fushi- Fsh-” Yuuji sighed, giving up on his friend’s name completely. “Megumin!”
The cat-hybrid, with his dark, raven hair and bright emerald eyes, slowly stepped into the daycare, clinging to his caregiver’s legs.
“Is this the friend you were talking about, Megumi?” The man with the weird fluffy hair and blindfold asked.
Megumin was talking about me?
Excitement buzzed beneath Yuuji’s skin and his long, striped tail swished back and forth.
Without making eye contact, his gaze still stuck to the floor, Megumi nodded before hiding away his face against Mr Fluffy Hair.
Gojou , Yuuji remembered was his name.
Gojou kneeled down, a long ways consider how tall he was, and looked Megumi in the eyes. “What’s your friend’s name?”
Yuuji bounced on the balls of his feet and wrung his hands on the hem of his shirt, trying to reign in his excitement and compulsion to answer. He didn’t want to step on Megumi’s toes, after all. People always talked over Megumi when he was quiet. But Yuuji liked to hear Megumi’s voice. He could wait.
“Yuuji,” his friend finally mumbled.
A grin spread across Yuuji’s face.
“That’s me!” he said, bounding over to where Megumi and his guardian still stood in the doorway. “Hi Mr Fluffy Hair. I mean, Gojou. I’m Yuuji!” Yuuji Itadori!”
“Hey, Tiger,” Gojou said as he ruffled the fluffy pink hair on Yuuji’s head.
He hated when people said that. Yes, he’s a tiger hybrid. He gets it.
“Have you been helping make sure Megumi here has a good time? I’ve heard good things about you.”
Yuuji beamed. His chest puffed out with pride and he put his hands on his hips. “Sure am! Megumin is the best! He’s my best friend!”
Megumi seemed to blush at this, which made Mr Gojou chuckle.
“Well, keep taking good care of him, okay, Yuuji? Megumi is very special to me. I’m counting on you.”
Yuuji put his hand to his forehead in an attempt to salute. “Yes, Sir!” he yelled enthusiastically. Surging forward, Yuuji grabbed Megumi’s hand, cupping their palms together and gently tugging him away from Mr Gojou—just enough to get Megumi moving but also let him know he’s not being forced. “Wanna go to the colors Megumin? We got new markers and the green is real pretty like your eyes!”
Megumi’s expression didn’t change, but Yuuji noticed a small swish of his fluffy, black tail.
Hand in hand, they walked over to the small table with the baskets of colors and dozens of coloring books and pages. Yuuji grabbed one of the fat yellow chairs and pulled it out. “For you Megumin! You can sit next to me.”
Megumi took his seat quietly, sifting through the pile of papers while Yuuji hustled into his seat, settling in with a wiggle. By the time he was comfy, Megumi was handing over a plain pad of paper that matched the one in front of him.
“Thanks,” Yuuji called, noting the way there was a slight tinge to Megumi’s cheeks. He wondered if maybe he was warm. His coat did look a little thicker than Yuuji’s. He wondered how long it took to brush.
They worked in silence, drawing their own separate pictures. Yuuji hummed a tune, something he must have heard Nanamin sing at one point, happily swinging his legs back and forth as he focused on his drawing. He worked fast and quick, picking colors at random and sticking his tongue out in concentration. Megumi, on the other hand, took his time. He was careful and slow; meticulous with his work.
“Whatcha drawin’, Megumin?” Yuuji craned his neck to look at his friend’s drawing.
“Animals,” he answered.
“Those look really good! Do you like aminals?”
Megumi nodded, his ears perking up.
“Wanna tell me about them?”
For the first time since he showed up at preschool, Megumi’s eyes met Yuuji’s. They really were pretty to look at. “Yeah,” Megumi said, a slight smile on his face.
Explaining his drawing and all the facts he knew about animals was the happiest Yuuji had seen Megumi. It made Yuuji smile to see Megumi smile, and he noticed that Megumi’s ears liked to twitch when he was excited and his tail never failed to give away just how content he was. At one point, their tails brushed as they flicked excitedly from side to side, and Megumi didn’t jump or get embarrassed like he usually did.
“What about your drawing, Yuuji?”
“Oh, I drew my family! Look!” He shifted his picture over so Megumi could see better, scooting his chair closer to his friend as well. “Here’s me and here’s Nanamin, he’s my dad! He looks grumpy but he’s actually really nice. Have you seen him?”
Megumi shook his head, his brows furrowed and his smile having faded.
“What’s wrong, Megumin?”
Megumi’s tail curled around on himself. His little hands smoothed out his fur, carding his fingers through it in long strokes. “You and your dad don’t look alike.”
Yuuji could tell there wasn’t anything mean behind Megumi’s words; it was more of a question than a statement.
“Nope, I’m adopted,” Yuuji said.
The corner of Megumi’s mouth curled into a smile and his nose did a little twitch. “Me too.”
“Wanna see the rest of my picture?”
Megumi nodded excitedly. Yuuji never liked it when people dwelled too long or asked too many questions about Nanami adopting him, so he figured Megumi would appreciate the same, which seemed to be the case.
“Here is my friend Toge and his friend Yuuta. And this is my friend Nobara!” he said, pointing at a poorly-drawn version of his friends. “Oh, and this is my half-brother Choso. He’s a lot older than me and he just presented. He’s a beta!”
“You have a whole lot of friends,” Megumi commented.
“Yep! And they’ll be your friends too, I’m sure. You’ll have to come over and play sometime and meet them.”
“I’ve never had very many friends. And I don’t like being around a lot of people.” Megumi hung his head again, his eyes darting across the multiple people depicted in Yuuji’s drawing.
“It’ll be okay. Here…” Yuuji grabbed more colors and quickly added another figure to his drawing. This time, he drew Megumi right next to him, holding his hand. “You have me! And as long as you have me you’ll be okay.”
This seemed to ease Megumi’s concerns. He gave Yuuji a small smile. “Okay.”
The two took turns drawing pictures for each other, sometimes even working in tandem to create a picture together. It helped the morning go by in a flash. It was like Yuuji blinked and it was already snack time and then, his favorite part of the day, nap time.
As usual, Megumi picked a naptime spot in the far corner of the room, away from everyone else. And, as usual, Yuuji felt the distinct pull to follow Megumi—to set down his mat between Megumi and the rest of the room, creating a protective barrier with his body.
This time, not as usual, Megumi scooted closer, his hand reaching out for a second before retreating back against himself and under his blanket.
Yuuji held out his hand, keeping it open and on the ground, giving Megumi room to take it if he wished, or leave it. Either way, as long as Megumi was happy, Yuuji would be happy.
“Hey, Yuuji?” Megumi whispered.
“Yeah?”
“When we get grown up, um…” Megumi chewed on his lip, thinking it over. “If you’re an alpha, will you still be my friend if I’m not? Like, if I’m a beta?”
Yuuji had been worried that Megumi would ask a tough question. But this one was easy. He answered with all the confidence of an excitable child. “Of course. No matter what, Megumin will be amazing. And I’ll be Megumin’s best friend. Foreber.”
That pink blush was back on Megumi’s face, his eyes going wide before he covered himself with his blanket. He turned over, but Yuuji could still hear him call out, “‘Night, Yuuji.”
Something warm and comforting wrapped itself around Yuuji’s heart. Like right here, next to Megumi, was right where he was supposed to be. “‘Night, Megumin.”