Chapter Text
Your mama's crying
Your mama's crying for you
Your mama's lying
Oh, what's she trying to do, to you?
———
Megumi had been checking his phone obsessively for the past two days. Even though Ms. Ieiri told him that the call would come next week, he couldn’t help himself. By the time Saturday morning came, the teen had been rudely awakened by a whining sound coming from the other side of their room. As he pulled himself up from his blankets, he let out a much needed yawn before making his way down the short ladder of his bunk bed. He saw Tsumiki stir slightly, but otherwise stay cuddled under her covers. Another yawn forced its way out of his mouth as he padded over to their crib where he found Nanako staring right back at him. He quickly picked her up into his arms before her whining woke Mimiko up as well. It was always easiest if he could tend to one of them at a time instead of having to juggle both of their needs. It was obvious that Nanako was fighting the residual sleep in her as she was uncharacteristically quiet with her cheek laid against his shoulder. Though, he knew that if he laid her back down that it would cause a bigger fuss, so he just decided against it.
They made their way into the hallway to go to their shared bathroom. It reminded Megumi of a matchbox since six people were using it, but he’s gotten used to it in a way. He balanced Nanako on the vanity while he prepared her toothbrush. After running it under the water for a few quick moments, he shut the water off and turned his attention back to her.
“Open up,” he requested gently as he poked her toothbrush between her lips. It took a few tries, but finally she opened her mouth to allow him to brush her teeth— well, slightly. By the time he got to the back of her mouth, she started to pull away from his attempts. He did the best that he could back there before giving up entirely. There was only so much fight that he could possess this early in the morning. He rinsed off her toothbrush and put it away before grabbing his own and going through the same routine. Once they were finished, Nanako once again found herself in Megumi’s arms as they made their way back into their bedroom.
Megumi scanned the room for her tablet, finding it in the corner. Once Nanako had the tablet in her grasp, he sat her down on the floor. He hesitated slightly, ready to intervene if she started to fuss, however when nothing came, he headed over to their closet. Their closet was split four ways with Tsumiki’s clothes taking up the most space. Megumi had a few select pieces along with his uniform hanging up, but that was about it. Everyone’s underclothes and the toddlers’ clothes were in stacked bins to make storage easier. Their old next door neighbor gave the bins to him when she was moving out, stating that they probably needed them more than she did. He almost wanted to refuse them, but he knew that they really did need them with the lack of space that they had.
Megumi pulled out a simple shirt with a star on it, striped pants, and their diaper changing materials. It wasn’t often that Nanako liked to wear pants, but he would still try anyways. He didn’t need yet another person going pantless around here, especially with their CPS worker coming around. Shit, he was trying not to think of that for the time being. Focus, focus, focus. Other than the pants part of the routine, Nanako was normally easy to dress, just simply going through the motions and putting her hands where he wanted them to be.
The teen laid down the mat before maneuvering her onto it. She was practically enthralled in whatever game she was playing, so the process of changing her diaper was seamless. He had gotten her shirt on as well with no hassle either. The only hiccup, as predicted, came when he tried to put her leg in one of the pant legs. She refused him once by kicking him and that’s all he needed to just put the pants away. He’d try again later after they took their bath. He was honestly surprised that Mimiko hadn’t woken up yet, but it was still relatively early so he wouldn’t disturb her. Nanako probably needed to eat soon, but he hadn’t gotten a chance to go to the market to pick anything up yet to cook and it was too early to get take out too. He was about to start getting ready himself until he heard the familiar buzz of his phone going off.
Oh shit his phone is going off.
It could just be Yuuji calling him, but it’s not plausible. Yuuji is a chronic texter, only calling in absolute emergencies. He didn’t want to alarm Nanako either. Robotically, he moved towards the wall plug near their bunk bed where his phone was charging. He removed it from the charger and was half way out of the room when Nanako must’ve taken notice of his attempted departure. She made her way over to him with a furrowed look on her face.
“W’ere y’going?” Nanako questioned bluntly while grabbing at his pant leg.
“I’m just going to go outside for just a second, okay? I’ll be right back, I promise,” Megumi placed a hand on top of her head and rubbed slightly. It didn’t seem to satiate her, but she let go of his clothes regardless and he took that time to quickly make his escape through the bedroom door.
Before he could even get to the front door, he was fumbling with his answer button, finally pressing ‘OK’.
“Uh, hello?” Megumi hesitantly unlocked the front door as he slipped on his regular shoes and exited their apartment.
“Hello,” a deep voice flooded his senses, taking care of all sleepiness that still resided within him. “Is this Fushiguro-kun?”
Megumi cleared his throat before responding, “Yeah, this is him.”
“Ah, great. It’s Getou from Child Protective Services. I’m sure Ieiri already told you what my name would be, but I still wanted to reintroduce myself, ” the other, Getou-sama , chuckled as if this was just a simple call, as if the result of this call wouldn’t have major effects on his life going forward. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting your morning?”
He did. “You weren’t,” Megumi replied, hand still firmly on the doorknob since it’s still unlocked.
“Alright, good. Now onto the other matters at hand here. We’re already starting off a bit differently since I’m reaching out to you instead of your parents directly. Is there a reason for that?”
Megumi found the inside of cheek between his teeth once again as he mulled over his answer. There were no right or wrong answers, sure, but every answer is no doubt being recorded somewhere. He’d just be smart about it. Give as little information as possible. Yep, sounds good. “Toji’s the only one with a phone and he doesn’t answer numbers he can’t recognize,” he said simply.
“I see,” The sound of typing could be faintly heard through the phone, confirming his previous suspicions of this all being documented. He supposed it made sense, but it still made him wary of his words. “Alright, so the next step will be to schedule an initial home visit to assess the home and get more information on what’s going on. Normally in those visits, nothing substantial will occur like the removal of you or your siblings from the home. Think of it more as an information gathering session. I’ll have one on one’s with everyone who’s living within the home as well, which will obviously include your parents.”
“Alright,” Megumi agreed. Toji wouldn’t be able to decline without it being suspicious. Satoru wouldn’t be able to hide, because they would both have to be present for the one on one’s. Even without speaking, Satoru’s body should be enough to ring alarm bells by itself. He was doing the right thing. He knew he was doing the right thing by agreeing to do this. This will all work out. It has to. Fuck, it has to.
“Ieiri also told me that you work after school and that your sister regularly attends cram school, correct?” Getou-sama’s deep, yet oddly soothing, tone brought Megumi out of his thoughts momentarily with his inquiry.
“Oh, uh, yeah, that’s correct,” the teen didn’t know that information would get passed over too. He just thought his file included all of Tsumiki’s successes and his personal fuck ups. He didn’t even know that Ms. Ieiri knew, or remembered , the little insignificant details that he let slip during their countless meetings.
“So weekends would probably be best for your family, yes?”
“Yeah, weekends should be fine.”
“I can come as early as tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Megumi spit out in pure shock before he could stop himself. Geez, everything was moving so fast. “I mean, yeah, that’s— that’s alright, I guess,” his hand momentarily left the door knob to rub against his sleep shorts in a cheap attempt to calm his nerves.
“Alright, sounds good Fushiguro-kun. I’ll see you tomorrow around eleven o’clock in the morning.”
“Okay.”
Getou-sama ended with his pleasantries before hanging up the phone, leaving Megumi dumbfounded. This was really happening. This was really fucking happening. Nervousness started to settle deep within the pit of his stomach as the reality of the situation started to sink in. There was no going back now. He had to get a grip. If he went back inside looking green then all of this would be over before it even started.
Megumi re-entered their apartment with a false sense of neutrality on his features to find Satoru in the kitchen. His presence was immediately noticed by the other, unfortunately, but his mood seemed to be alright he supposed. His scent heavily represented this fact; the strong scent of cinnamon and vanilla flooding the living room and kitchen area, no doubt flowing into the rest of the house as well.
“Megumi!” Satoru called out to him, drawing out the last syllable of his name. A smile overtook his features as he rounded the corner of the kitchen, “Wanna go to the store with me?”
“For food right?” Megumi questioned.
Satoru hummed in agreement before pushing his fingers through his hair, “Toji needs more cigarettes and lighter fluid first but there should be leftover money for a few things that you want to get.”
A part of him wanted to say something about his priorities, but he just didn’t have the energy to fight him on it. It was a miracle that Toji was even allowing him to go out of the house without him, which meant that he’s probably going to watch the races today, which also meant that Toji would be gone for the entire day. The alpha would probably lose his bets, but he had to celebrate the smaller wins.
“I’ll go with you. Let me get changed first,” Megumi nodded before leaving the other to his own devices. On his way to his room, he could hear heavy snores still coming from the master bedroom which confirmed that Toji was still sleeping. Once he was in their room, he realized that everyone seemed to be awake and moving. Nanako barely acknowledged his appearance as Mimiko was now awake with her to entertain her.
“I’m going with Satoru to the store. Do you need anything?” the teen questioned while sifting through his clothes bin to find something decent to wear. As he sifted through his bin, he came to the horrible conclusion that he needed to do laundry soon as well. Great. That’s another problem for another day— or at least later today.
“I need shampoo and we’re running low on toothpaste—” Tsumiki listed off before looking Megumi right in his eyes as he turned around to face her, “—and you definitely need to get more deodorant.”
Megumi resisted the very large urge to sniff himself in front of the other, too focused on avoiding giving her the satisfaction of getting in his head. Instead, he muttered, “Ha, Ha, very funny. I’ll put shampoo and toothpaste on the list.” After his statement, he pulled out the first shirt, pants, socks, and underwear that he could find. It would do for now. “Toji’s still sleeping, so he shouldn’t be much of a bother to you. Just stay in your room, okay? I’ll bring back lunch too, so just stay put until then.” He asserted to the other.
“Dad’s not going with you guys?” Tsumiki inquired, her facial features clearly showing her confusion.
“No, I guess Satoru’s earned the privilege of fetching cigarettes without his owner,” Megumi stated cynically before heading to the bathroom. He didn’t feel like getting into a disagreement with the other right now about how talking about mom that way was rude , even if it was true. Or how Satoru wouldn’t have kept Toji around if he was truly that bad for him. Yeah, maybe in some crazy alternate universe, after the white haired male got smacked the first time, he would’ve grabbed Megumi and ran. Maybe in some alternate universe, if they got found, Satoru would turn Toji away and stand on his word instead of falling into bed with the alpha in that same hotel room and conceiving Tsumiki. Yeah, right.
Megumi quickly freshened up with extra deodorant before sliding on his clothes. They were slightly mismatched, but it’ll have to do. He took a few extra moments in the bathroom to recenter himself, to mainly return his scent back to his own baseline so that he wouldn’t spook anyone. After dropping off his sleepwear on his bunk, he returned to the living room to see a fully dressed Satoru for once . The other was dressed in a simple pair of skinny jeans that seemed to stop right above his pelvis and a simple white cropped tank top that could barely be seen under the heavy black jacket — Toji’s— that was practically hanging off of his frame. Decades of smoke permeated off of the jacket with the faintest smell of milk tagging on almost like an afterthought, probably serving as a warm hug to Satoru— not like he would know what one would actually feel like. His signature pair of sunglasses were perched on the bridge of his nose, almost hiding the darkness underneath his hues.
“Are you ready to go yet, Megumi?” Satoru whined like a child that couldn’t wait. Instead of giving the other an answer, Megumi moved towards his backpack that had been left by the door. He dumped the contents of the bag on the floor to make room for their groceries, mainly the big bottles of value water that they’d get. He glanced towards the worksheets that had yet to be done before turning away from them once again and focusing his attention on Satoru.
“I’m ready to go,” is all Megumi had to get out before he saw the other perk up almost instantly as he hurried his way over to the door as well. Both quickly slipped on their worn shoes in silence, Satoru, for once, not feeling the need to fill the space with his endless thoughts. It was warmer than usual, the tense heat overtaking Megumi’s body almost instantaneously as he cracked open their door. There’s no way that the other was going to survive in Toji’s jacket, the smoldering heat amplifying the years of cigarette smoke that were caked into every stitch.
Although, as they started on their trail to their local value market, quick glances towards the other made Megumi’s heart follow a familiar sequence of rhythmic clenches. Satoru’s hues were wide like a child’s, much like when Megumi would come home with the twins’ favorite candy to give them. Even with continuous rivets of sweat practically pouring from his temple, he seemed completely calm and in his element. Glistening, even . Almost as if he was taking in his surroundings for the first time in years, making sure to take in every weed and crack in the cement sidewalks. He’s not sure why the other’s acting like this. It’s not like he’s cooped up in the house all the time anyways. He couldn’t figure the other out, nor did he want to at this particular moment. If he didn’t turn sulky during their trip, then he would count this as a win.
It was because he was sober and he knew it. But maybe there was a smaller, child-like and naive version of him that wanted to cling onto the idea that his parent was mysterious in a way that he knew he would never be. Satoru wore his heart on his chest, practically leaving it open and pre-dissected for Toji’s convenience until the alpha would spare him a glance, a peck on special days, to give him some sort of affection that would last him for days.
“You used to love going to the market with me,” Satoru’s words were almost missed as they came closer towards the market. Megumi’s brows furrowed slightly before taking a quick glance towards the other. It didn’t seem like he was particularly upset or already in tears, there was no sudden change in the other’s scent either.
Something in him told him not to pry in memories that sounded too sweet to be included in. Satoru must be thinking of Tsumiki or something. If there was a tender moment spliced between the chaos of his memories, he would surely remember that, wouldn’t he? Even with everything in his mind screaming at him to just drop it, he took the bait. “Oh, yeah?” Very nice, Megumi. Way to keep the conversation going.
Though, his slight blunder didn’t seem to have an effect on the other as they entered the doors of the market. Satoru hummed in acknowledgement as he picked up a basket, “You would get so angry with me for trying to help you carry the water home, you know,” his lips curled into a smile, too rare to properly take in as Megumi turned his attention to where the eggs were located, “—Especially when I was pregnant with ‘Miki. You acted like something bad would happen to her if I lifted a finger. It made me feel real lazy, you know?” Satoru’s mellifluous tone was easily understood through the noise of the store, almost making Megumi’s own scent perk up in response to the other’s pleased mood. “The only way we could come to a compromise was if I bought a regular water bottle to occupy you with, so I could carry the liters without any interference from you ,” He snorted.
Megumi stayed silent as he put a bundle of green onions in the basket. Apparently, the other took that as a sign to continue on, though, the teen wasn’t sure if he was okay or upset with that just yet. “I think you just liked getting outside of the apartment,” Satoru muttered. He’s not sure if he was supposed to hear that part though, as the adult’s back was turned away from him. He mulled over the various options for rice before pulling a ten pound bag out and quickly setting it in their cart. Without saying anything, Megumi shook Satoru’s grip off of their now heavy cart with little resistance. “You just really loved the outside, that's all, I think,” the white haired male concluded while slipping his hands into the heavy jacket.
Unsatisfied and now annoyed, Megumi led the two over to the instant ramen aisle. There had to be something more there, something that the other wasn’t telling him. Some sort of nice bonding moment that they shared that would result in some sort of laughter or a fond shaking of the head or something . A burning desire lit rapidly within the teen to turn to the other and shake him rigorously until the information came flooding out without barriers, to sift through the utter shit of his childhood to find the softer moments that his brain had somehow let go of. How could it do such a thing ? However, Megumi did nothing of the sort. The teen picked up a four pack of the cheapest chicken flavored ramen that was shelved before turning down another aisle. After picking out two reasonably priced liter water bottles, toothpaste, shampoo for Tsumiki, and a few sticks of deodorant for all of them, he was finally ready to leave.
Once they were through most of their items at checkout, Megumi said, “Can I get two packs of Seven Stars and lighter fluid please,” even though he already knew this routine like it was the back of his hand since a new person seemed to be working the register.
“I don’t know what kinda establishment you think this is, but we don’t sell to minors, kid,” Megumi resisted the very very strong urge to roll his eyes and simply turned to scan the area to see where Satoru had skirted off to. Luckily, this time he didn’t even need to leave the line to find him. He didn’t even have to call out to him either as the other cut right through the line with zero explanation and tossed a sucker onto their pile of goods as well. Of course that’s what he was looking for. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think Satoru was the smoker of the family trying to kick his habit.
“Did you get Toji’s cigarettes?” Satoru inquired while shifting his hands towards his back pockets, opening up the front of Toji’s jacket naturally. Knowing him it was probably intentional. It seemed like Satoru was completely ignoring the cashier who had suddenly taken a very obvious interest in what the white haired male was wearing . Megumi’s fingers flexed outwards once, then twice more by his sides in a quick attempt to calm himself down. Tsumiki’s words rang in his mind, ‘mom doesn’t care about it, so you shouldn’t fight about it,’ and yeah, it’s bullshit, but maybe if he believed the lie he could go on about life without getting caught on these little things. If Satoru didn’t want those eyes on him then he could easily just zip up his jacket.
Instead of cursing the old creep out, he simply stated, “I was trying to, but he wouldn’t sell to me.”
“Ah!” Satoru said as if it was just a silly mix up, as if that creep wasn’t two seconds away from probably banning Megumi from coming back or asking him to go out back with him, “I’m his mom. Sorry for the mixup, I was a little busy,” he bowed towards the other slightly before shimming out his thin wallet for his I.D.
Megumi hated this part. The part where once the revelation that Satoru was his— whatever — they’d look at Satoru, look at his I.D., look at the teen, then back at his I.D. once more before returning it without another word. It was as if they were trying to do the calculations in real time without looking too outwardly shocked once the realization fully hit. The pity always showed itself though. Pitying Satoru because they know that Megumi must’ve been some horrid mistake, misuse of trust, and constant reminder of the worst day of the other’s life. It hadn’t always been that way though. He could vaguely remember the stares of disgust at first, when he was much younger and Satoru used to hold his hand tighter. He’d shove his small body behind his own in some simbalance of protection, as if his own frail body could offer anything of the sort. He’s not sure if he could ever reach such a level of disconnection that Satoru must’ve to be able to filter out such loaded stares, questions, and stilted statements. If he drank as much as Satoru did then he probably could reach that level easily though.
By the time they were finished checking out, Satoru handed the cashier the money that Toji must’ve given him before apologizing once again. Of course Satoru exchanged pleasantries with the other as Megumi swallowed every remark that was itching to bully its way through his lips, especially once he realized that the other’s eyes were not angled at the omega’s hues again . Even after doing the calculations and having the fucked revelations, of course the other still viewed Satoru like a pin-up doll, he should be used to it by now. Instead, he focused on packing his backpack with the rice, green onions, and one of the liter water bottles. The white haired male had insisted on pocketing Toji’s cigarettes and lighter fluid in his pocket as if he couldn’t trust Megumi with the items, but he let him have it. He couldn’t bring himself to give a damn about what Toji wanted anyways. Although, he did care. He cared very much because he knew the consequences of his actions would hurt Satoru more than himself. Once Satoru was finished, Megumi handed him the bag that contained the egg carton to carry while he carried the bag of noodles and the other liter bottle of water within his own free hands.
The walk back was majorly uneventful. As they passed by their local 7/11, Satoru started whining about how he wanted to get something for his sisters to have for lunch. Megumi had tried to rebut, stating that they had just gotten food to cook at home, but Satoru quickly waved him off, all but skipping towards the 7/11 entrance without him. Megumi let out a frustrated sigh before slightly stomping after the other. He knew that Satoru had no money on him to be going through the aisles like he was, but he didn’t say anything. There was some sort of bright side to this though, he supposed. This would just make the food they got stretch a little more. It wasn’t the teen’s intention, but they ended up walking out of 7/11 with three egg onigiris, two ham egg and mayo sandwiches, and a bag of sweet rice crackers. Satoru had given him the promise of paying him back for what he bought as he twirled his sucker on his red tinged tongue, but as always, Megumi waved him off. He didn’t need the other tacking on something else to keep track of financially.
Megumi wouldn’t admit it outloud, but there was something warm that spread through his limbs as he watched Satoru walk beside him with a pep in his step through his peripheral vision. He did that . He would just blame it on the burning sun if anyone asked about the faint redness itching up his neck. He made him happy.
———
As soon as Satoru unlocked the door, the twins’ voices flooded his senses along with the sound of the main television going and even Tsumiki’s voice came through slightly. So Toji must’ve left a while ago then . How long had they been out? What was the point of getting the cigarettes if Toji was just going to leave before they got back anyways? Was it really a reward for Satoru? As soon as the twins registered that the two of them were at the door, their tiny legs had them barrelling towards their direction. Satoru handed off his bags to Megumi quickly before becoming completely enamored with the twins as he always did. It was only a moment later when those same bags were taken off of his cramping fingers by Tsumiki without a word spoken to him. That was only because her phone was cradled between her ear and shoulder, but he was still grateful for it.
After the actual groceries were put away as neatly as they possibly could be with their hilariously overstuffed kitchen; he got to the things he bought at 7/11. It hadn’t taken long before the twins realized that Satoru being home meant it was time for milk. After allowing Tsumiki to choose what she wanted from the pile, he settled for the onigiris for himself and the twins. He watched Satoru shrug off his jacket, only for a moment though, to pull off the small tank fully before sliding the jacket back on. Once the omega seemed comfortable in his normal spot on the couch, he positioned Nanako on his swollen nipple. As usual, it took mere seconds before the rhythmic sucking started. Since Nanako was currently drinking milk, he kept her onigiri wrapped for her before tearing open another one for Mimiko to eat while she was waiting for her turn.
Tsumiki easily folded herself on the other side of Satoru once she was done with her phone call, seemingly more interested in eating her sandwich. Although, with the way that she scooted closer to Satoru’s stretched out limbs, he knew that she was savoring the omega’s scent, pleased and sedated for once, just as he was. He just wasn’t so obvious about it.
Megumi stared at the open seat on the other side of Satoru with vague interest, but quickly decided against it as he turned away to grab the other onigiris. He opted for sitting on the floor with his legs spread comfortably. Mimiko naturally found herself in between them, laying her head down on his chest while nibbling on the seaweed surrounding her rapidly falling apart onigiri. He really should’ve given her a plate but it’s fine. He won’t disturb her. He won’t disturb this semblance of peace right now even though he knows that it’s all fleeting.
———
Megumi’s not sure how much time passed since they had lunch earlier. It had gotten a bit colder throughout the house, so it must’ve gotten a bit darker outside. Since he had nothing else to do for once, he found himself finally working on one of his past due assignments. It took longer than it usually did because he kept getting distracted by Satoru releasing an unusual amount of calming pheromones as he scented Nanako and Mimiko as they both fell asleep over his legs. It took multiple attempts of rewriting and rereading the same few paragraphs before he finally finished the first assignment. By the time that he was done with that, Tsumiki had joined him in working on school work as she pulled out her entrance exam prep work. Satoru hadn’t been much help towards their studies, just deciding to silently watch them work again. For as long as he could remember, that had been the routine. Even in his fleeting memories, he couldn’t remember ever seeing the other do any type of classwork, or even speak about school. Other than asking them how their day was, that was about as educational as Satoru got. He’s never even asked if the white haired adult had passed through school. Realistically, how could he? There’s no way that they could’ve had the childhood they did with no one from his school checking in on him, right? One pregnancy would be crazy enough, at thirteen no less, but two? That would’ve warranted some sort of investigation, right? Right?
A deafening slam jolted everyone out of the calm that the evening had brought. Barely after, the scent of rotting milk plagued the walls causing Satoru to hurriedly, yet gently, pull Nanako and Mimiko off of his legs all together so that he could move. Satoru didn’t spare any of them a second glance as he moved towards the door.
He barely closed the door all the way before the yelling started. Something about house rules, something about what Satoru was wearing, something about being a whore— it wasn’t anything new. It was never anything new.
Megumi had barely gotten a chance to turn Nanako and Mimiko’s tablet on, thank God it had been charging since they went to sleep, and turn it to full volume before the twins fully woke out of their sleep. They were already fussy due to the lack of warmth that they felt with their main heat source gone. The yelling coming through the walls and the mix of rotting scents added to the perfect storm of the both of them bursting into tears. Mimiko’s loud wails were shrill and deafening while Nanako’s were silent, but her cheeks were reddened with fat tears rolling down them. The second slam of a door shook throughout their room which meant that they must’ve moved to their bedroom, which meant that the fucking part of the cycle would be coming soon.
Once Megumi, and the others , heard the omega’s pleas to stop , it had been enough. The black haired teen momentarily left the twins on the floor to quickly sift through their closet to find all of their coats. Megumi just had a hoodie for himself, but the girls had coats for the more chilly nights. He threw Tsumiki her coat, which she hurriedly put on, already understanding what his plan was. She’s been through this routine too many times for him to count. He often forgot that she was there too, that she understood the gaps in his memory in a sense that no one else did. It sickened him. He knew that he was being slightly rough with Nanako and Mimiko, but the more that they heard, the worse it would be to calm them down.
At least the twins had others to lean on who understood what was happening. Tsumiki and he had to figure the shit out by the age of four and five respectively and have a plan on how to avoid it the best that they could. How to deal with the whiplash of seeing Toji backhand Satoru in the face but then have the omega in his lap thirty minutes later; kissing him far too gently while one of his girthy hands occupied between his legs.
Once everyone had put their protective gear on, he watched Tsumiki turn off the twin’s tablet and shove it into her backpack along with grabbing her phone, his phone, and her earbuds. Megumi made sure to grab his wallet and shove it in his sister’s backpack as well before helping her zip it up. He pulled the bag on his back to take the weight off of her, since she’d have to carry one of the still crying toddlers too. He had her pull Nanako into her embrace while he took Mimiko into his own before they made a B-line towards the front door. They didn’t need to hear anymore of this, himself and Tsumiki included. This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to end, they were having such a good day.
After locking the door to the best of his abilities, Megumi quickly realized just how dark it had actually become. “We’re going to 7/11,” he decided. It shouldn’t be too long of a walk from here if they hurried. The normal worker that’s always on graveyard shift should be working; he always allowed them to stay longer than they were technically allowed to.
“Can we get food?” Tsumiki questioned as if this was all normal. As if this was all just a part of a normal kid’s night. Still, Megumi hesitated. He had already spent money on food today, but of course in their hurry, he hadn’t thought to grab anything. He probably would have quieted Mimiko down by now if she had something to occupy her mind, but her shrieks have turned to regular cries so it’s progress. He tried to release his own calming pheromones— like he had a calm bone in his rage-ridden body, especially not now— , but that didn’t seem to be doing much of anything.
Her question lingered in the air for a few more moments before he nodded his head, “You can get something to eat and drink. I’ll probably get them something sweet and water— oh shit, I didn’t get any diapers for them,” Megumi huffed, annoyed by his own incompetence. This wasn’t his first time doing this, how could he forget something so important? There was a small diaper section at 7/11, but it would be overpriced and dig steeply into his pockets because of it. They did have small five packs of them, so maybe it wouldn’t be too expensive. He would just have to cross that bridge once he got there. As they crossed the 7/11 entrance, he made eye contact with the cashier who nodded in acknowledgement towards him. Acknowledgement and pity .
As the two eldest made their way towards their normal spot, a table in the very back of the store, Tsumiki set Nanako down, much to her displeasement to assist Megumi in shimming off her backpack. He watched his sister pull out his wallet and slip it into her coat pocket before pulling Nanako up and setting her onto Megumi’s other open leg. His hues focused on her ponytail swishing back and forth as she went down the food aisles to pick out something for herself and the twins. His attention was quickly pulled back to the two toddlers on each of his legs and trying to balance and calm the both of them at the same time. This may not be the first time that he’s done this, but it never got any easier. Truthfully, he’s not sure how Satoru did this all the time when he would take them out on those little walks when Toji would beat him a little too much for even him to handle. Though, that last part would never be said.
Those times came more often than not. Tsumiki seemed to always fall asleep so easily in Satoru’s arms, but Megumi would always stay awake and alert by the adult’s—“ adult’s ”— side as they walked aimlessly after those bad nights. Satoru would talk about the stars and how endless the sky looked, only looking down and watching where he was going when Megumi would tug at his pants-leg to pay attention. The memories were fuzzy, maybe he was three, maybe he was five, maybe he was six, he’s not sure.
“Your dad’s just a little too mad right now. It’s good to give him space,” Satoru would say evenly, even though that wouldn’t explain away the fact that Toji slammed Satoru into the wall in front of him. “He just needs some time to cool off.”
“I talk too much sometimes,” Satoru would state simply, as if that would excuse what Megumi just witnessed with his own eyes. “Ah, don’t worry about it, ‘Gumi. I’ll learn one of these days.”
“Your dad took me away from some really bad people, Megumi. I don’t expect you to understand, but he really does love me, you know,” Satoru exacerbated towards a nine year old Megumi. Suddenly, the memory crystal clear. “Even though I kept messing things up, he still kept me around. Not many omegas can say that,” he pouted slightly towards the other. “When you find someone who’ll stay with you and help you learn then you don’t just give that up over a bad fight. He really loves me, Megumi. One of these days, you’ll see that—”
Tsumiki scraping her chair back jolted him out of his own thoughts. His hues raked over the food being dumped on the table in front of him. A two pack of maple syrup flavored pancakes for the twins, a noodle salad with chicken egg and some greens for herself, and two tuna onigiris. He stared at the two triangles wrapped in nori as Tsumiki easily removed a now sniffling Nanako from his grasp and set her in the chair next to her.
“You need to eat something too you know,” She stated without giving him even a glance, “You’re not mom,” she muttered the last part as she pulled out her own phone and started propping it up weirdly against her bag for Nanako to watch her shows to calm her down more while she ate her pancake.
Megumi could feel the heat rising to the tips of his ears, but instead of acknowledging her statement at all, he too started fiddling with the twins’ tablet to get it on and to another episode of their favorite show. Once he got their tablet set up, he easily shifted Mimiko into her own seat. Much to his surprise, it didn’t lead to another meltdown thankfully. He took two paper towels and laid them down as makeshift plates. He tore open their pack of pancakes before tearing both of them in little bits that would be easy for the both of them to grasp. With both of the toddlers eating and preoccupied, Megumi felt like he could finally let out a breath of relief. As Megumi tore open one of his tuna onigiris, he found his mind wandering once again.
It had always been something sweet for Satoru, normally a cherry sucker, an egg salad sandwich for Tsumiki, and a tuna onigiri for himself. It was only supposed to be just enough to keep the two of them satiated enough to fall asleep for a little bit, even if it was against Megumi’s will. Megumi can’t recall the last time that he saw Tsumiki anywhere near an egg salad sandwich, as she routinely claims that she’s gorged out on them. Though, it wasn’t a hard statement to believe. The same cycle would repeat over and over again, multiple days a week in their worst weeks. Yet, Satoru always seemed hopeful about the end of the cycle coming sooner rather than later. Speaking of the alpha with damn near stars in his eyes, scent flaring and bursting at the seams, filling the whole room with warmth and vanilla. It never mattered where they were.
Truthfully, the teen couldn’t really remember if he ever believed Satoru or if even then he was just nodding along to save his feelings in the moment. He’d go on about how Toji wouldn’t do what he did again if he would stay in line. Sometimes, Megumi would ask what that actually meant, if anything at all, to which Satoru would reply that he’d know when he got older. Even though he’s old enough to know that everything was and is utter bullshit, he still can’t find it in himself to understand how Satoru could choose to stay with someone who beats and degrades him on a regular basis.
They had fallen into a nice lull after the hassle of suddenly moving at this time of night. He had practically demolished the two onigiri that were once in front of him. Although, even in times of peace, his mind still raced with the possibilities of what could be happening at home. If it was over yet or if Satoru was still facing his punishment. Would they get in trouble for leaving? Would that lead to another beating? Megumi could feel the on-comings of a killer headache start to build in the left side of his temple. Great, exactly what he needed. He’s not sure how much time had passed once he realized that the twins were done with their little snack. It’d probably be best to get them on their way to sleep so that when it’s time to leave, they’ll hopefully sleep through it all. By the time he shuffled Mimiko back into his arms, it seemed like Tsumiki had already been on the same wavelength as himself. Nanako had already been situated in her arms and well on her way to being asleep. He wants to be grateful that in times like this he doesn’t have to vocalize everything to the other, but her familiarity with the routine just filled him with simmering anger. He needed to be careful with his scent though, not wanting to spook any of them after they had just gotten close to falling asleep again.
“Is mommy g’nna be a’kay?” Mimiko questioned suddenly, her deep brown hues staring directly into his own. If there had been anyone else in the store, he would’ve missed her question with how low her volume was, almost as if she was nervous to ask him.
Megumi found himself hesitating. He didn’t remember Satoru hesitating when he used to ask the same thing, just blurting out quick satiating statements to stop the influx of questions. Before he could find his words, though, Tsumiki had jumped in to save him.
“He’ll be fine. He’s always fine. Mom’s strong. It’s just how mom and dad handle things,” She stated with a small smile. “Don’t worry about it, okay? Do you want another pancake?”
He’s not sure what did it, either Tsumiki’s answer or the thought of having more pancake pastries. Although, it seemed like the thought of having another pancake interested the little one in his arms for a moment before she shook her head and settled deeper into his arms. Both he and Tsumiki started rocking slightly in slow motions to coax the twins further into their slumber. It didn’t take long for Mimiko to succumb to her tiredness as she normally always did after her crying fits. She didn’t have them often, so once she did, it was enough to keep her down for quite a while. Nanako was on the slower end regardless of what her previous activity had been, but sure enough, her chest fell to a familiar rhythm with her eyes closed not much later.
Megumi felt a need to address what Tsumiki had said, to tell her that Satoru is the farthest from fine that he could be and that their parents are fucked. She wasn’t stupid, much like himself far too observant for their own age, so that statement was the last thing that he expected her to say. He’s probably just looking too deeply into it, sure, he’d write it off like that. Although the twins were young and most likely wouldn’t remember a lot of what was going on, he didn’t want those thoughts even being introduced to them. When they were younger, Tsumiki didn’t have a chance to be protected from such thoughts, but at least Megumi was there to break the illusion and tell her that it was all utter shit. Or at least, he thought he broke the illusion, now he’s not so sure.
On their way home, it was a miracle that the twins hadn’t woken up. It felt like the temperature dropped a few more degrees with the wind not doing anything in their favor. They spared a few minutes due to their speed, making it back to their apartment in record time. By the time that they made it to the door, they shuffled through, kicking their shoes off quickly before shutting the door and securing all of their locks. It was silent for the most part. He realized as he scanned the living room and kitchen that not much seemed to be messed with, so it must’ve not been too bad he supposed. As they passed through the short hallway to their room, the scent of sex was practically rolling off of Toji and Satoru’s bedroom door through the open wedge of their door. Now, he could clearly hear the heavy snores coming from the other alpha and slow purrs coming from the omega signifying that they were both in deep slumber. After Tsumiki stepped into their room, he gently closed their door behind himself, letting out a huff.
Part of Megumi knew that they probably needed to brush their teeth and shower, but the tiredness seeped into his limbs out of nowhere. That would just have to be another issue for future Megumi to deal with. He slowly made his way down to the floor, careful of the toddler in his arms, with his back against the side of Tsumiki’s bunk bed.
“Do you want to change your clothes?” Megumi questioned as he tried to maneuver Mimiko out of her coat and pants so that she’d be comfortable throughout the night. “I can put Nanako down while you get changed if you want?” After he was done with Mimiko, he haphazardly shrugged off his own hoodie before turning his attention off to his sister once again.
Tsumiki hesitated for a moment before nodding, removing Nanako’s grasp from herself to transfer her down by Megumi’s body. “I’ll only take a few minutes,” she stated while moving gracefully throughout the room to grab her change of clothes and her beauty products.
Megumi hummed in acknowledgement before he started pulling off Nanako’s coat and pants too. He found a little bit of solace in the fact that his sister still would take care of whatever skin routine she was trying out, even if the products she was using probably were nowhere near what her friends’ used. It allowed her to have some type of alone time , which seemed like a foreign concept in this household.
By the time that their bedroom door reopened, the faint scent of strawberries flooded his scenes, slightly jolting the teen awake. He hadn’t even noticed that he had dozed off. His head immediately snapped down to the twins, who hadn’t moved from their position over his legs, cheeks squished against his thighs.
“Sorry I took longer than I thought I would,” Tsumiki whispered as she gently closed their door behind her. A towel adorned her head, covering all of her hair. It was only then that he realized that she must’ve showered.
“Don’t be sorry,” Megumi quickly rebutted, “It’s not like we were doing anything obviously,” he snorted lightly.
“Do you wanna go next?”
“I’ll just shower tomorrow, it's fine,” The black haired teen stated before letting out yet another yawn.
“Do you want me to take either of them?”
“I want you to go to sleep,” Megumi stated which caused the other to raise her hands up.
“Fine, fine. But if you keep on sleeping like that, you’re going to wake up with a crooked neck one of these days,” Tsumiki stated under her breath before easily pulling her covers back to make herself comfortable.
A couple of moments had passed before the silence was broken once again.
“Megumi?” Tsumiki questioned lowly, still afraid of waking the twins he presumed.
Megumi hummed in response.
“Do you think mom and dad will actually be okay one of these days?” Tsumiki murmured. He could feel her hues burning holes in the side of his head, yet he refused to turn back to look at her. Question answered then.
“I—” The black haired teen hesitated before letting out a sigh. “Sooner or later, they’ll have to get better—” or else they’ll get taken away goes unsaid, but he knows it’s fully understood.
Soon after that, they fell into a silent lull once again. It had taken a little longer than usual for Tsumiki to fall asleep, but once she had, he felt the tension in his shoulders fully release. By the time he felt himself start to doze off once again, a very loud thought bombarded his relaxed state.
Getou-sama is still supposed to be coming tomorrow to do his assessment.
Ah, fuck.