Chapter Text
‘Is that your bike out front?’ Megumi pointed his pen behind himself.
‘Yeah, is there a problem with parking there?’
‘No that’s fine, I’m just wondering how you got him here on a bike…’
Sukuna pointed at his leather jacket pocket.
Megumi pursed his lips and nodded. Of course.
Sukuna was on his way out when he had found the little black cat under his car.
The weather was still on the colder side that early spring and there were many cats in the area. He preferred to look like a fool for two seconds and check for cats huddled for warmth over having the stain of a dead animal smeared on his nice parking space.
To his own surprise there actually was a dark lump underneath his car and it did not move when he tried to shoo it away. It just stared at him with its bug eyes. Eventually Sukuna had to resort to lying on the ground to grab the cat from under his car. Its bright eyes were huge and its black fur stuck out in all directions like a cartoon character that had just been electrocuted.
The little alien yowled once and Sukuna dropped it into one of his neighbour’s comfortable looking plant pots.
By the time Sukuna had returned the little cat was still where he had left it and looked even weaker than before. He had ignored it and returned to his apartment.
Sukuna had even made himself something to eat and sat down on his sofa before he turned the TV on.
An advertisement about animal welfare and a little girl adopting a cat.
‘Not on my day off…’ Sukuna pinched his nose bridge.
And that was how he ended up at the only clinic in the area that was still open.
‘Do you see how his skin tents when pinched? His eyes are a little sunken too, signs of dehydration. That would explain the lethargy and lack of appetite.’ The vet explained.
When Sukuna had graciously offered the cat food and water it did not respond, only blinking slowly before he was left with no choice. He had brought it to the vet on his bike to avoid rush hour traffic and to get there quickly before it closed.
‘It looks like he’s cold, dehydrated and hungry but he hasn’t been alone for too long. You found him at a good time.’ The vet moved around the examination room readying various things. ‘First I’ll give him an injection to replenish fluids and then once he settles he should want something to eat.’
Sukuna just nodded, he had his arms crossed and leaned his hip against the exam table. He wasn’t looking at the cat but the doctor.
The vet was really cute. He looked like he was fresh out of college but possessed the confidence of someone with years of experience, yet his wild hairstyle and pretty face contrasted with his serious countenance. He gave the aloof air of a prodigy, he didn’t smile excessively for people to like him despite his junior position. There was a natural sense of mystery around reserved people like that, as well as the instinct to tease them a little.
On the pocket of his scrubs a little name tag was clipped: Fushiguro.
Sukuna nodded again without listening, he took the opportunity to at least stare at the interesting vet amongst all this. He had assumed the clinic would handle the rest once he brought the cat to them.
‘I’m sorry but we can’t take him. I would like to help but my sister would kill me if I brought another animal home…’
What?
Sukuna ran his hand through his hair though he wanted to tear it out. He had to find somewhere else to deposit it.
‘If you decide to keep him yourself, we will support you however we can.’ Fushiguro offered. ‘I’d like to monitor his progress if it were possible, however the choice is ultimately yours.’
Sukuna paused. The vet was finally looking him in the eye.
Maybe it was because they were the only two people in the clinic. That the only sound that could be heard in the room was the ticking of the clock on the wall. If it were raining outside surely the raindrops would have been suspended in time. There was something magnetising about his clear green eyes. He found himself inexplicably drawn.
Sukuna made an impulsive decision.
‘I’d hate for him to end up alone and scared at a shelter...’ Sukuna shrugged, feigning the martyr. ‘I suppose he wouldn’t take up much space if I were to take him in.’
‘I’m glad to hear that.’ The younger man was pleasantly surprised by how readily the man adopted the little stray.
He was cute when his eyes lit up, even if it only showed for a moment. ‘I’d like to book in at your earliest convenience, perhaps for next week or in two if available and we’ll get started on his vaccinations. Please do visit any day during walk-in hours if you deem it necessary however.’ His expression seemed a little softer now.
Sukuna watched as Fushiguro began typing into the computer.
What the fuck did he just do?
‘He’s old enough to eat by himself so you won’t have to bottle feed him. I need you to be very meticulous with the feedings however, but it’ll be all written down for you of course. I’ll recommend some products. Everything you’ll need, we stock in our shop.’
The vet led Sukuna out of the exam room and Sukuna followed with the cat he came with. His cat, from that moment on. Sukuna felt a little numb in all of this but when he took note of the difference of their height and how graceful Fushiguro’s nape and shoulders were…
How bad could owning a cat be? At least he had an excuse to come back and even request Fushiguro again. It wasn’t even as if he disliked cats…
There was a shop area which sported a large section of goods and supplies within the same building, Megumi brought him to the cat food section. There really was no one else in the clinic. He had told Sukuna he was very lucky to have come when he did as Megumi was a few minutes short of locking up.
‘Just in consideration of his size, I recommend packets for convenience and storage. We have a deal on this one here -Wait, there’s only one left.’ He grabbed a sad lonely pack of wet cat food. ‘There’s more up there, one moment.’ Megumi thought nothing of shifting to the balls of his feet and reached up for another box of product on the higher stocking shelves.
The shelf was just shy of a comfortable height for him however and the cardboard packaging ripped from the force he used to pull it forward. A handful of aluminum packs begin to fall right into his face.
Megumi managed to catch a couple and thankfully none hit the floor. The biker had quick reflexes and caught the rest in his free hand. Much to Megumi’s chagrin.
‘Thank you, I’m sorry to have surprised you.’ Megumi smoothed his scrubs down in embarrassment, he was red in the face and his eyebrows were furrowed. He pretended to be busy righting everything again.
So you can show emotion after all. ‘Not at all, I hope you’re alright.’ Sukuna offered him a grin which was nothing short of a smirk.
Sukuna was just peachy seeing the blush on the pretty vet's face. And he was exponentially more interested in getting to know Fushiguro-san now. When the cute vet caught the cat food in his arms he instinctively hugged them to his chest. For a split second Sukuna was sure he saw the shape of something soft hidden under those criminally unflattering navy scrubs. And when the good doctor habitually smoothed down the front of his chest Sukuna honed into the quick motion to see the outline of something small and soft bounce where he thought would have been a flat chest.
The vet was wearing nothing under that shirt and Sukuna was laughing maniacally inside his head.
This explained his young appearance, his soft voice and slender physique. Thank the heavens for lazy boys who didn’t bind, this vet had a pussy and Sukuna just knew it was pretty.
‘Can I make a follow up appointment now?’ Sukuna said at the register.
‘Of course, let me just ring this up first.’ Megumi was wholly concentrated on his task, he did not look up once in the ordeal.
Sukuna made a follow up with Dr. Fushiguro for a week from that day and left with more than he came with.
‘Thanks for today, I’ll see you then.’ The cat was back in his pocket and his bike helmet was under his arm, a plastic bag full of supplies in his hand. His tall figure took up the entire doorframe and Megumi had a proper view of how well built he was from the distance between them.
Megumi did not walk him out, he wanted nothing more than to go home. Megumi did not take any amount of embarrassment well and busied himself with beginning to lock up. But he deemed it appropriate to at least raise his head and wave.
He caught the man’s eye before he left. Itadori is what Megumi learned to be his name. A cool smirk before he was out the door. Megumi watched him load his bike and hop on before he drove away.
What an interesting cat owner he will become, Megumi thought.
The little cat followed behind the big scary man with its short legs. It worked tenfold to keep up with the big human’s long stride into the examination room. When Sukuna stopped it circled around his boots and sat between his feet.
‘Itadori-san, cats should be in carriers. Or at least be held.’ Megumi kept a straight face. Though internally he wanted to drop down to the ground with his head in his hands at the ridiculously cute image. This must have been what they called ‘gap moe’.
‘He’s fine, never leaves my sight.’ Sukuna did not want to be seen holding a cat carrier. He bent down and easily grabbed the cat by the body. Crane game style. Only its little head and legs were seen, sticking out from under Sukuna’s tattooed fingers. He deposited it onto the examination table and the kitten immediately yowled and retreated to its finder’s side.
Megumi was glad to see they were getting along well. Itadori-san seemed to be a good cat owner despite his unorthodox ways.
The strange kitten had become more cat-shaped since Sukuna had found him. Its wide eyes had developed in colour though it maintained a confused expression at all times.
‘Have you decided on a name yet?’ Megumi watched over his clipboard as the kitten began to scale up his unlikely owner’s sweater. The man himself attempted to remove the fussy cat but its sharp claws snagged in the yarn.
‘Mii.’ He answered simply.
Megumi paused from his writing, ‘Like… the little characters you can make on the Nintendo Wii?’
‘I don’t know what that is.’
Megumi half expected the man to have never even touched a TV remote before. Just lived on his motorcycle, a man of the outside world, only went home to sleep.
‘It’s because ‘mii’ is the only sound he can make.’
And the cat yowled with its small mouth to prove it when Sukuna dropped it into Megumi’s cupped hands. Their hands did not touch but it was a near thing. Megumi did notice how big Sukuna’s one hand was.
Mii… Megumi didn’t feel right about this for some reason. He set the cat back down on the table and began the physical examination, feeling its body for any abnormalities.
‘Unless you can think of a better name, I’m open to suggestions.’ Itadori gave him another smirk and eye contact with the imposing, sexy man made it very difficult for Megumi to resist scowling. Because he got very upset when he found people attractive.
Mii is small enough for the physical examination to go by very quickly.
Then the door swung open. Unprompted.
‘Mimi-chan~!’ And right on cue his boss burst in. ‘Hey! Sorry, I didn’t realise you’re with a patient.’ The white haired demon nodded to Sukuna briefly.
‘The ‘room in use’ light is literally on.’ Megumi shot back. ‘And stop calling me that.’
‘Yeah. Anyway, Suguru has surgery all day and we’ve just gotten an emergency case. I need you to take a few of my appointments. Nobara-chan has already taken care of scheduling.’
‘Okay, I got it.’
‘Atta’boy!’
The senior vet left the room as quickly as he entered it.
Sukuna beheld his cat like the monkey raising Simba up to the kingdom in the Lion King. ‘Mimi-chan…’
Megumi’s jaw dropped.
‘You’ve been bringing him in every week but he’s as healthy as can be. There’s no need to be this cautious.’ Megumi handed Sukuna’s cat back to him and Sukuna tucked him into his breast pocket like he was a packet of cigarettes. The little cat took it in stride and poked its little head out comfortably.
‘You’ve really helped me a lot since I found Mii,’ gratefully, Sukuna did not refer to his cat by his newly decided full name at that time. ‘I mean it. Medical attention, food, care, advice, everything. I want to thank you properly.’
Megumi shook his head, ‘It’s my job.’
‘Doesn’t change the fact that I’m grateful.’ Sukuna shrugged. ‘Can I treat you to a coffee or lunch sometime? I really want to show my appreciation.’ The sincere look on his face was arresting.
Megumi opened his mouth to say something but the scenario was so unexpected nothing left his mouth. ‘That’s… very kind of you but it is wholly unnecessary. I fear it would be unprofessional to accept any extra payment.’
‘Come on, just accept my feelings of gratitude. It's nothing to do with money.’ Sukuna’s eyes were warmer when he smiled like a normal person. Was he always that charismatic? Megumi was troubled.
‘Even if so I don’t have a lot of time out of the clinic…’
‘How long is your lunch break? At least 45 minutes, right?’ Sukuna was persistent. ‘Just give me a date and a time, coffee or lunch, nearby is fine. I can even bring Mii with us if it makes it less awkward.’ He patted his cat pocket and the little cat turned its head with a miiiii~.
Megumi was awkward with conversation outside of professionalism and Sukuna took hard advantage of this fact until Megumi was forced to give him a suitable time.
‘Fushiguro Megumi…’ Sukuna found out his given name when he scanned Megumi’s Line QR. He had been insanely curious what ‘Mimi’ was diminutive of. Amongst his guesses, such as Taku-mi, Mi-yuki, Mi-o, Mi-yabi… And he came up with a lot of guesses, including Ku-mimi, none of them had been: Megu-mi.
For some reason, having not been able to guess made him like the name more.
‘….’ Megumi was subtly frowning as he retracted his phone. He never used his phone at work but kept it nearby on the off chance of an emergency. This man had the luck of the devil.
Megumi was boring and his display name was his full name in kanji and his profile was a picture of his dog.
Cute, Sukuna thought.
Sukuna texted him a rudimentary yoroshiku onegaishimasu to open a chat.
The biker did not have a profile picture and his display name was spelt in katakana. Even his Line is suspicious, Megumi sneered internally.
‘Sukuna…’ Megumi read. Huh. Itadori had a girl's name too. He had only taken Sukuna’s last name when registering him at the clinic to get him out the door faster. ‘What are the characters?’
‘Suku as in lodging, Na is the on-reading for exorcism.’ Sukuna ghost wrote the uncommon character on his own palm to show Megumi. ‘My old man was into the occult at the time. It took me until third grade to write my own name. 21 strokes is lethal.’
Megumi was relieved Sukuna didn’t point out his overtly feminine name. ‘If it’s any consolation, mine named me after the yogurt brand.’
‘Megumi ', the yogurt, was one of the cheapest tubs on the shelf but for its quantity the cost performance was excellent. If there was yogurt in the Fushiguro house it was ‘Megumi’ with its big red kanji identical to his name and Megumi hated it.
‘No way he named you after the yogurt.’ Sukuna disagreed. ‘Megumi is a name you would only give to a child you anticipated the birth of. Like ‘Nozomi’, I’ve never met a Nozomi that wasn’t spoiled rotten. What age are you? I know you came before the yogurt.’ He took out his phone again to google the yogurt’s release date.
‘I’m twenty-four.’ Megumi raised his eyebrow. Well, he had only asked his father once on a shopping trip many many years ago why he chose the name and Toji had only pointed to the dairy aisle and grunted.
‘You predate the yoghurt.’ Sukuna showed Megumi his phone screen.
‘Huh…’ Maybe his father deserved a little more credit. Megumi then realised Sukuna had gotten his age out of him without telling Megumi his own.
‘What age are you?’ He did not see the point in beating around the bush.
‘I’m twenty-seven.’ Sukuna looked pleased to have been asked.
Megumi hummed and stared at Sukuna with nothing to say.
Sukuna’s eyes widened. ‘Do I look older?’
Megumi saw Mii and his owner out this time because he inexplicably wanted to see Sukuna in natural lighting. Megumi held the door open for the large man and he ducked instinctively to avoid hitting his head. Showoff….. Megumi was not jealous.
Sukuna looked over his shoulder and grinned, he raised his hand as a courtesy and Megumi returned it with a lazy wave. Megumi began to close the door but leaned out again once Sukuna had turned around. He looked much less imposing in the daytime. Nobara, their nurse, rang up his total and Megumi retreated back into the exam room before his time spent observing was socially unacceptable.
Sukuna recalled this as their first date. It was 7am at the biggest local park and Megumi chose it because he thought surely no man like Sukuna would agree to waking up before 7 for a coffee. Megumi was sure to also tell Sukuna he was fitting this appointment into his ritual morning dog walk to remove any romantic sentiment.
Did that deter Sukuna? No.
[I’ll see you there.]
Was his cool response.
The dog Megumi showed up with dwarfed its owner. And Megumi wasn’t even that small. Sukuna had never seen a dog that big in his life.
‘This is Kon, he’s an Alaskan Malamute.’
‘That is an entire man in a fur suit.’ Sukuna couldn’t help but say.
‘Did Mii outgrow his pocket?’ Megumi pointed to the cat on Sukuna’s shoulder.
Mii stuck his head out from the inside of Sukuna’s hood. He had opted for a hoodie today, for a casual, nonchalant, I-am not-desperate vibe.
‘Yeah, at this rate I’m gonna have to get that carrier like you keep saying.’
‘You can get him a harness and lead. Some people walk their cats.’
‘I am not walking a cat.’
Sukuna came with two coffees. He said he drove to make everything easier. Megumi picked up on the fact that Sukuna had both a bike and a car. He internally rolled his eyes at the flaunting of the older man’s disposable income. Megumi had a mountain of student loans to repay. He rode a bicycle.
‘Sugar? Milk?’ Sukuna took out a handful of cream, packet sugars and even stirrers from his pocket. When in doubt, bring five of each.
He was… kind of considerate, Megumi had to admit.
‘I actually like coffee black, but thanks.’ Megumi offered a small smile.
‘Don’t worry about it.’ Sukuna looked down at his handful. He stuffed his stash back into his pocket.
‘You brought all that for me?’ Sukuna had already beaten all Megumi’s previous failed dates out of the water. But that wasn’t to say that it was a date.
‘If that's what it takes to make you smile I’ll bring the whole self service counter next time.’ Sukuna’s smooth reply rendered Megumi awkward and pink.
‘Can I pet Kon? I've never seen a dog like him before.’ He generously saved Megumi from his lack of response.
‘Go ahead.’ Megumi motioned Kon over and the dog sat back on its haunches obediently. ‘I’m sorry to have made you get up so early, people are usually apprehensive about dogs his size so I only walk him when it’s quiet.’
‘I leave early for the gym anyway, I would have been up.’ This was a lie. Sukuna went to the gym after 10am when it was the quietest. And if it were an acceptable time of year he would have shown up in a t-shirt much too tight to be comfortable to show Megumi his nice physique.
‘But that’s a shame you have to avoid people, he’s so well behaved.’ Megumi’s heart was warmed by Sukuna’s lack of reservation when he kneeled down to give Kon’s thick mane a good scratch. ‘Nothing we can do about looking scary, right boy?’ And perhaps he was right. Maybe Megumi was too cautious around people. Sukuna seemed to like animals and treated them well. That was already like, half of Megumi’s requirements met.
Kon was a regal animal, a certain wisdom in its serious mein. He had a face which inspired one to entrust him with one’s secrets. I need to know what colour your owner’s lips are, will you help me? Sukuna tried to telepathically convey to the dog.
Megumi could see Mii snug in Sukuna’s hood, the kitten’s eyes were mostly closed, too drowsy to care about its surroundings.
‘This little guy's nothing but trouble on the other hand,’ Sukuna noticed Megumi’s gaze and pointed his thumb behind himself as he rose. ‘You didn’t warn me cats stay up all night knocking shit down and running all over the place.’
Kon rose when Megumi began to walk. Megumi sipped his coffee, it warmed him in the morning chill. ‘You should experience the joys of parenthood yourself for the first time, I’d hate to spoil it for you.’
Then would you let me put a baby in you? Was Sukuna’s mental response. ‘Have you ever had a cat? You say as if you know.’ But I know you definitely have a different kind of cat.
‘Not my own, no.’ But Megumi was a vet at the end of the day.
‘You mentioned your sister gets upset when you bring back animals.’
‘Sometimes people leave animals with us, outside our door or just never pick them up. I’ve already taken in rabbits, frogs, snakes… Once a bird.’ And Megumi would be lying if he said he didn't presume Sukuna was going to leave the cat with them if had known vets did not take in strays.
‘I’d like to see this zoo you’re working on.’
‘Hm, maybe.’ Megumi didn’t want to make any promises. ‘Do you have any siblings?’ He opted to change the subject.
‘Two brothers. One younger and one older.’
‘Do you not get along?’ Megumi noticed the shift in Sukuna’s expression. He also didn’t expect Sukuna to be a middle child. He couldn’t imagine Sukuna as a child at all to be honest. As if Sukuna just appeared in the world one day as a full grown man.
"We get along fine, but we work together so it’s as if it wasn’t enough to have spent most of my life with them. I still have to see them most days.’
‘So you want space from your brothers?’
‘Yes, my little brother loves to bother me because he doesn’t have his own car and my older brother is insane like a middle aged woman experiencing menopause.’ Sukuna didn’t usually like talking about his personal life and yet…
‘Yuuji, the younger one, he’ll come over to my place when he needs space from Choso, our older brother. But then what about me? Eventually Choso shows up too and I wouldn’t have wanted to see either of them.’
Megumi had relaxed enough to enjoy his daily walk again. He liked hearing about Sukuna’s personal life, as if he was a relatively normal person.
‘You’re actually the same age as my younger brother, I wonder which one of you is older. He turned twenty four in March.’
‘I’m older by about three months then.’
‘You’re a Capricorn right? You don’t seem like a Sagittarius.’
‘I’m a Capricorn but I don’t know what that may entail.’
Wait… Did Megumi intend for Sukuna to know approximately his birthday?
‘Capricorns are said to be goal-orientated and value privacy.’ Which did sound like Megumi.
‘What’s your sign?’ Megumi decided to ask back. He wasn’t good with conversations about himself.
‘I’m a Scorpio, I was born on Halloween.’
‘Is that why your father gave you such a name?’
‘Hah, maybe. I didn’t have a chance to ask him.’
Megumi was about to apologise but Sukuna didn’t give him the chance.
‘You know Capricorn and Scorpio happened to be very compatible.’
‘You seem to know a lot about astrology.’ Megumi didn't pursue the topic of his father since Sukuna breezed past it, instead he worked hard at deflecting Sukuna’s advances.
‘My friend’s girl will yap your ear off about it if you get her going.’ He tried to pass it off. ‘It's a bit addictive, she even turned my friend over to it.’ Though Hakari was the type of person to get absorbed into things like that. He was a simple guy, say if he had found a tv show he liked, he’d binge it completely and then demand everyone to watch it after.
‘I suppose I can understand that. My sister and I used to read a lot about the stories behind constellations and go star gazing to try to find them.’
‘Are you still into that sort of thing? Kirara is obsessed with stars. Would you be interested in a double date?’ Kirara would also be obsessed with cute little Megumi.
We haven’t even gone on a ‘single’ date yet…. Megumi rolled his eyes.
‘What do you do? You said you work with your brothers.’ He chose to not respond to the previous question.
Not one to take rejection poorly, Sukuna allowed Megumi to dictate the conversation. ‘I make sushi.’ Sukuna said as if he himself also found it funny.
‘Where do you work? I wonder if I’ve heard of it.’ Megumi mused if he could go disturb Sukuna at work as payback for disturbing him during his working week. It was a thought very unlike himself.
‘Mizushi, it’s one of the restaurants in the izakaya district near the station.’
Megumi mulled over the name for a moment and wondered where he had heard of it before. ‘Is it the modern sushi restaurant that always has a long line outside?’
‘Yeah, you heard of it?’
Yes, Megumi had heard of it. Every woman in town knew about the modern sushi joint in town that had gone viral on social media for the unconventional young chef that owned it.
It was said only hot guys worked at that sushi restaurant and every one who went recounted the details of a completely different hot guy. An energetic golden retriever boy with the warmest smile according to some. A charming older brother type with long hair, kind eyes and killer style according to others. And sometimes a wild looking man with tattoos and few words, something about quiet tall men having the biggest….
Megumi choked on his coffee.
According to urban legend, the man you think is the fabled hot chef revealed your soul and your type of types. Though the restaurant was a strictly no photos establishment a shakily taken video of the cute chef with big arms and long hair went viral and brought local news to the sushi restaurant that had been there before since Megumi's father was born probably. There was a touching story about an alternative young sushi chef whose only wish was to revive the restaurant and continue the family legacy. But anyone with eyes could see why the TV station chose to cover him.
‘God, no one is looking at that pizza….’ Nobara had muttered under her breath as she scrutinised her smartphone during their lunch break.
‘Your brother’s restaurant is viral.’ And you are a figure of urban legend, Megumi cringed internally. Though evidently Sukuna had no problem with conversation around Megumi.
‘I can’t complain if business is good.’ Sukuna shrugged though the smug grin was unmissable.
Scratch that, Megumi didn't want to go anymore. Not that he could even get into Mizushi unless he waited over an hour outside or for days for a reservation.
‘I've been meaning to ask, do you do something to maintain your hair? Is it a perm?’
‘No, it’s natural...’ Megumi was old enough to not get defensive when people mentioned his hair now. And Megumi had been learning social skills! He tried not to let conversation die awkwardly. ‘But it wasn’t always like this, I shaved my own head when I was a child and didn’t know about clipper guards. This is just how it grew out.’
Sounded about right. Sukuna wondered if Megumi had straight bangs and a fuckass little bob before he shaved himself bald.
‘Do you like pink?’ Megumi remembered to ask a question back.
Sukuna snorted, ‘This is just what remained from when I went red a while ago. I can’t get rid of it.’
Megumi could certainly visualise Sukuna with crimson or even bleach blond hair, it would match his motorcycle yankii persona. ‘Pink is better.’ It made Sukuna more approachable.
‘Yeah? Then I’ll keep it as it is.’ Sukuna would’ve preferred if Megumi was making a subjective statement rather than an objective one. Oh, because you like it? Then I’ll do it for you.
Unfortunately for him, Megumi was very good at avoiding situations.
When they reached the end of their walk and it was time to say goodbye, Sukuna leaned down again in front of Megumi’s dog. Sukuna held his cat out like a phone. He offered Kon to smell Mii and the little cat looked utterly perplexed. Mii turned his little head and searched for Sukuna as a dog 100 times his size sniffed him.
‘You really need to work on how you handle cats.’
‘I’ll show you how I handle cats…’
‘What?’
‘Nothing, I was just thinking how I’d like to walk Kon with you again sometime.’ Sukuna put the cat back into his hood and stood to properly face Megumi. He understood that the vet was not someone he could woo easily by his usual means.
‘Thanks for the coffee.’ Though it was not the worst experience, Megumi was glad to be done with it.
‘Not at all, I’m just glad that you humoured me. Can I see you again?’ Sukuna loomed over Megumi when they faced each other.
Megumi did not want to make false promises though he did not hate the experience enough to flat out say no.
Sukuna saw Megumi’s internal conflict and grabbed Mii from his hood again.
‘Can we see you again?’ He held out his cat, like a phone, to Megumi. Miiii~ the little cat yowled.
God, this man was so stupidly endearing in his own strange way. Megumi couldn’t help his expression melting. ‘I’d like to keep posted about Mii.’ Megumi petted the cat's little head with his index finger.
Sukuna grinned, he could count that as a victory.
Megumi was uncharacteristically perky that morning at the clinic.
‘Mimi-chan, you’re glowing!’ His boss was not one to let things go unnoticed in his clinic. ‘Let me guess, you found 500 yen on the ground this morning orrrrr you saw a man getting hit by a car!’
Megumi shoved past him to put his lunch into the shared fridge. ‘What exactly do you think of me?’ Something between being impoverished and a misandrist most likely.
‘Then could it be that…’ Satoru flicked his glasses lower down his nose bridge to peer at Megumi over the frames. His grin began to spread into something Megumi could only call sinister. ‘You went home with someone last night?’
‘I’m calling Suguru-san. On grounds of sexual harassment.’
Despite claiming to hate his boss, Megumi was at his boss’s house for dinner later in the week. Satoru and Suguru had two kids, a cat, a big lizard and a very nice and spacious house. Suguru often invited Megumi over for dinner, he had a soft spot for him. Something like seeing himself in Megumi. It was a well-known clinic secret that Megumi was Suguru’s favourite.
Mimiko and Nanako had not started elementary school yet, they attended a private kindergarten and their parents spared no expense on their education. They intended to send the girls to international school to broaden their minds and horizons. Today Suguru was teaching them English vocabulary and Megumi was his assistant.
Megumi was Suguru’s back up dancer and vocals and he told himself he had no choice because Suguru was his boss. It was somewhat of a bizarre image because Suguru did not look anything like a conventional ‘mom’. He was tall, muscular, androgynous and below the arm covers he wore at work were bold black tattoos of dragons and demons.
Satoru had dinner cooking on the stove and joined them for musical chairs. Megumi was the first to be left standing and chairless because he could not justify trying to win against literal children or his bosses. Satoru had something deeply wrong with him and pushed his own flesh and blood out of his way or tossed them off the chair if they were even a second too slow. Suguru naturally wanted to avenge his daughters and had no aversion to violence. When eventually Satoru and Suguru were the only two left in the heated finale of musical chairs they were pushing each other off a child sized chair until the alarm Satoru set went off.
Megumi feared the children had already inherited their parents’ competitive spirit.
‘Mimi-chan can you pass papa the salt?’ Satoru held out his hand.
Megumi and Mimiko both reached for the salt shaker in tandem.
‘……..’
Megumi turned bright red. He dropped his spoon.
Satoru had the most insufferable expression on his face as his daughter handed him the salt.
Suguru was the first to start laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world. This couple was the worst, they cackled like hyenas at other people’s expense. Their children didn’t know what was so funny but laughter was quite infectious.
Megumi buried his face in his hands and wished for a petite meteor to fall out of the sky and specifically kill only himself. ‘Why would you give us the same nickname….’ He was so accustomed to Satoru’s antics he really thought nothing of it.
‘Gomen, gomen, Megumi-chan~’ Satoru couldn’t breathe. ‘I honestly slipped up that first time. I just couldn’t help teasing you because of how you react, then it became a habit.’
Perhaps Megumi did also have black hair, pale skin and bright eyes but to go as far as to say he looked like a child was a difficult blow to his masculinity.
‘Isn’t that nice, Mimi-chan? You’re so pretty like Megumi nii-chan!’ Satoru petted his daughter’s head.
‘Mn!’ Mimiko beamed.
‘What about Nana?’ Nanako pouted her lip and looked up at Suguru expectantly.
‘Nana-chan is lovely too, just look at your hair! Pretty like snow, just like Satoru’s.’ They were very modern parents and allowed their children to call them by name.
‘But I don’t like Satoru….’ Nanako’s face fell.
Satoru’s jaw dropped. ‘Nana-chan doesn’t like papa?!’
‘Satoru never lets us win games, even though we’re only five.’ She turned to Megumi and raised her little hand with her fingers spread out.
Suguru looked at his husband with an ‘I told you so’ expression.
‘It’s okay, Nana looks like Ao.’ Mimiko pointed to their Turkish Angora, a regal longhair cat with shocking white fur and blue eyes. He lounged on a console table while watching them eat.
‘Nana likes Ao!’ The little girl was happy again.
‘Nana-chan likes Ao more than papa?!’ Satoru gaped.
‘So, Megumi-kun,’ Suguru handed Megumi a mug of caffeine-free tea on the sofa after dinner. Satoru had already gone up stairs to bathe the twins and put them to bed. A bedtime story amongst all of that meant Megumi was unlikely to see Satoru again for the rest of the night.
‘The biker who brought in that stray kitten.’ Suguru let the question hang in the air because he was omniscient of all which went on within his clinic and a mile radius.
‘What about him?’ Megumi tried to play it cool.
‘Well, it's not unusual to want to see the same vet for check ups but it’s not typical for owners to bring their perfectly healthy pets to see the same vet every week.’ Suguru put his finger to his lips inquisitively. ‘If I didn’t know better, I would say he likes you.’
‘I think it's great to see new pet owners take their responsibilities so seriously these days.’ Megumi shrugged and tried to drink his scalding tea nonchalantly. It burned.
Suguru hummed. ‘But Megumi-kun is not someone who likes to waste his time if nothing is wrong. And yet he continues to humour this responsible new pet owner every time. One might assume Megumi-kun knows he is being pursued and likes the attention.’
‘I do not like attention.’
Ah, he just acknowledged he knew Sukuna liked him.
‘Then could it be that…’ Suguru grinned in that sly way that made him look foxlike. ‘You like him?’
Megumi saw that he was not going to get out of this without telling Suguru all the details he wanted to hear. He told Suguru about their walk in the park and Suguru stared at Megumi like the younger man was an idiot.
‘I don’t know what he wants from me…’ Megumi gave up on drinking the extremely hot beverage. ‘He doesn’t look like the type to want a relationship but even if he just wants to sate some curiosity it wouldn’t be good to get involved professionally speaking.’
‘You know Satoru and I wouldn’t care about that kind of thing, I mean look at us, we literally work together.’ Suguru rolled his eyes. ‘If that is the only reason you’re hesitant don’t you have some ‘curiosity to sate’ too?’ Suguru quoted back to him.
‘But I don’t know if I can trust him…’ Megumi wanted to shrink into his bosses’ expensive settee.
‘You know, Satoru and I had been best friends since high school.’ Suguru tucked his knees up on the couch and bodily turned to Megumi. ‘If you think he’s annoying now you should’ve been there when he was fresh out of middle school and considered himself a god- I digress.’ Suguru stopped himself.
"We always had a thing for each other but it took years to make it official. Even when we started dating it was completely vague and half-assed, neither of us knew if the other person was taking it seriously.’
Megumi didn't expect that to be the case considering how the married couple was obsessed with each other. They were perfectly professional at work, both brilliant at their jobs, but small things one would notice. Lunch breaks taken together, notes and snacks left for each other in the break area, inside jokes when it wasn’t busy. They never seemed to get tired of each other.
‘As I’ve gotten older I’ve come to realise everything boils down to communication or the lack thereof.’ Suguru said sagely. ‘If you don’t know, then you just need to have the courage to ask. You can’t let everything pass you by, there’s good things reserved for Megumi in this world too.’
As much as he appreciated having an older successful trans role model in his life, sometimes Megumi hated how Suguru seemed to understand his insecurities deeply.
‘Thank you for having me and dropping me home again. Please give my thanks to Gojo-sensei.’
‘Megumi-kun, you’re too formal.’ Suguru waved dismissively. ‘You don’t have to call him that outside of work.’
‘Gojo-sensei has helped me a lot since I was a student, it’s hard to forget those times.’ Megumi shook his head.
When Megumi was in vet school Gojo was unfortunately his most memorable and influential mentor. He had advocated for Megumi every time he was treated unfairly in the early years of his degree until he eventually left the university to start up his own clinic with Suguru. Megumi did think highly of Satoru, he had quit teaching at the university due to the bureaucratic discrimination against his partner. They started up their own veterinary clinic and trained a lot of students in need of clinic hours. Eventually Satoru had even reached out to Megumi after he had graduated with his first job offer.
‘Good night.’ Megumi waved as Suguru drove away. He could have much worse employers, all things considered.
It was not until a week later he saw Sukuna again. The tenacious bastard had stopped making his unnecessary vet visits since he landed Megumi’s Line contact and they began to text on and off.
Mostly Mii updates and pictures of Megumi’s aspiring zoo but it became strange to not receive a good morning text from Sukuna. Was that strange? Megumi had never texted someone so consistently before but he was the type to put something back in the same place immediately after using it, and in the same manner: If Megumi received a text he had a compulsion to answer it.
And their next meeting was by complete chance.
‘Fushiguro?’
Megumi froze. The supermarket after work was neither the time nor place he ever wanted to be seen by that person.
Megumi mechanically turned and there Sukuna was with his knowing grin. God why weren’t the contents of his shopping basket sexy and mysterious right now?
‘Itadori-san…’ Megumi casually held his basket behind himself.
‘You’re not eating that for dinner are you?’ But Sukuna was very tall and he could easily see what Megumi tried to hold away.
A half price pack of chicken livers, a 20% off pork cutlet bowl and a carton of strawberry milk.
‘The livers are for Kon.’ Megumi hated it here. ‘I’m home alone tonight so I just wanted something quick and easy.’ He tried to pass it off nonchalantly.
Megumi checked for anything incriminating on Sukuna’s person but all he was holding was a bag of cat litter.
‘After a long day's work don’t you want to eat something substantial?’ Sukuna teased. ‘I was just about to get started on dinner myself till I noticed Mii was almost out of litter. How about dinner with us since I’m cooking anyway? Do you like pasta?’
‘Thank you for the offer but it’s rather sudden…’ Megumi mentally prepared a hundred ways to say no.
‘Are you worried about Kon? I’ll give you a ride home and let you walk him first if that’s your concern.’ Sukuna already had a hundred counters ready.
‘I couldn’t inconvenience you like that.’ Though his sister already took Kon out before she left.
‘It wouldn’t be an inconvenience, I’d like to see him too.’ Sukuna was truly a clever man taking advantage of Megumi’s love for animals.
Because Sukuna was insistent and Megumi was weak and silly, he relented. ‘As long as I’m home by 8:30, I’ll need to feed everyone by then.’ Megumi habitually looked at his wristwatch.
‘I’ll drop you home.’ Sukuna grinned victoriously and it was the first time Megumi had seen him smile wide enough to show his teeth.
Mii was absolutely confounded when the door opened to Megumi. Perhaps it was every pet’s worst fear that the vet would follow them home.
‘So Itadori-san lives in one of the new apartment blocks.’ Though Megumi had taken down Sukuna’s address, he wasn’t expecting a place so… pleasant.
‘I’m the first person to live in this unit, I applied just in time. Just call me Sukuna, you’re already standing in my house.’ He said naturally as he put his keys on the stand next to the door.
‘That’s a bit...’
‘Seriously, everyone calls my brothers and I by our names since there were three of us going to the same schools, hanging around the same areas.’
‘Alright…’
Megumi occupied himself with the cat.
'You've become much bigger since the last time I saw you.' Megumi picked up the steadily growing Mii.
Sukuna’s apartment was much nicer than Megumi expected. Way less cluttered than his family home. It was what he expected- or hoped to expect from a grown man. Clean, fully furnished, not much going on in terms of decoration but Megumi noticed a record player stand and a collection of vinyls.
‘What do you listen to?’ Megumi approached the stand which appeared to be vintage and ran his finger over the vinyl sleeves.
Sukuna turned his head, he had been fiddling with the aircon to figure out the perfect temperature to justify only wearing a t-shirt in the kitchen.
‘Mostly rock, Prince, Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones.’ He was so cool and mysterious.
‘You’re old.’
When Sukuna whipped his head around to quip back he saw Megumi was crouched before the record stand with Mii sat neatly beside him. When Megumi’s messy head of hair turned towards him, as did the little black cat’s. Both the boy and the kitten regarded him with their green eyes and Sukuna realised: Megumi looked exactly like his little alien cat. He couldn’t even be offended anymore.
‘Green Day, Linkin Park, The White Stripes… you have some stuff from this century too.’ Megumi noticed. ‘Oh, I like this album.’ He pulled out a lime green record sleeve.
‘You like Weezer? Put it on.’ Sukuna set down the aircon remote.
‘Do you think people my age know how to do that?’ Though he did peer at the record player curiously.
‘I’m not that much older.’ Sukuna leaned over Megumi in his crouched position.
‘You’re pushing thirty.’ Megumi was very well-adjusted and did not push people away as a defence mechanism.
Sukuna took the album from Megumi and gingerly removed the vinyl from the outer then inner sleeve, only holding the disc by the edge or the record label to avoid the playing surface. This uncharacteristic care was not unnoticed by Megumi. Sukuna certainly handled his cat and his wax discs differently.
‘Here’s the on switch. This is an LP so the right speed is 33. Singles are 45, the vinyl is smaller so you’d know.’ Sukuna’s fingers flicked the buttons and levers around quickly as he had done so hundred of times. ‘Just push this lever down and the stylus will catch onto the grooves.’
Megumi did as he was told and quickly the record player began to sing.
‘Ooh oh oh
Ooh oh oh
Any time that you want
I’ll be here in your arms…’
‘To change the record, just turn it off and lift the lever.’ Sukuna suddenly took a knee right next to Megumi. He ran his thumb over his record collection and pulled out some albums, decidedly albums released after Megumi’s birth. He put them on the display compartment right beside the player and that sequence of movement brought them very close. Close enough for Megumi to feel Sukuna’s body heat and to smell his aftershave when he reached across him. Megumi’s heartbeat quickened.
He swallowed subtly, ‘I'd like to listen to the album through.’ He also didn’t want to accidentally scratch any of Sukuna’s vinyls.
Once Sukuna began cooking Megumi relaxed a little. He browsed through the rest of Sukuna’s records and read the track lists of some, occasionally adding albums that caught his interest to his library. Artists or albums he had heard of but never given a chance. He took them down, finding it convenient Sukuna also had a taste for rock music, though of the century before Megum’s preferences.
Once he was done with that Megumi turned his attention to Mii again. He looked around for a cat toy to find nothing for the little cat.
‘If you get Mii something to play with he might stop waking you up at night.’ Megumi picked the little cat up and sat them down on the couch.
‘Is that all it takes?’ Sukuna looked up from his cooking. It smelled good. And he had taken off his layers and stood there in just a t-shirt.
Megumi could see how big Sukuna’s arms and chest were. His side profile and focussed expression was handsome. Megumi looked back down at Mii and lamented.
The little cat was oblivious to the vet’s woes, he purred contently when Megumi pet his little head.
‘Open your heart and let the good stuff out
Water me, girl, and let me ease the drought
'Cause you wanted some love
I'll make it happen…’
Megumi did end up changing the record because the green album was only half an hour long. He did as Sukuna did, careful to avoid damaging the disc and flipped through the ones his host had chosen earlier. He put on a remastered Fleetwood Mac because that seemed like good music to eat to, and to appease Sukuna’s apparent old soul.
Megumi came to lean against the kitchen island and to see what Sukuna had been up to for so long. The chef insisted Megumi need not help; pasta didn’t require much effort, he had said.
‘All it took was a special look and I felt I knew you before…’
It seemed he had come at a good time because Sukuna was setting a hot skillet of piccata chicken onto a wooden board. The spread was gorgeous in colour between the roasted tomatoes and lemons, then he garnished the dish with fresh parsley to give it an extra pop of green. He had made a small side salad with a citrus vinaigrette to match the lemon too.
The sauce was bright and lemony, a zesty flavour Megumi didn’t know he loved and the fried capers were a delightful addition.
It was really good.
‘How is it?’ Sukuna was leaned back in his chair and looked right at Megumi in a way that made him want to hide.
‘I was kind of expecting you to only cut up raw fish.’ Megumi looked back down at his quickly diminishing plate. ‘You’re a really good cook.’
Sukuna rolled his eyes but his smug grin betrayed any semblance of annoyance. ‘Yes, I can make things other than rice and fish.’
‘I believe that you really want me, but it's not easy just to give in
So let yourself go and let love begin…’