Work Text:
One moment Satoru was asleep, the next he was wide awake. Eyes open and heart pounding.
It wasn’t an unfamiliar situation but one he hadn’t experienced in over a year now.
Even after upgrading from the Fushiguro’s ugly couch to the nice plush futon that kids had helped him pick out, he didn’t have any issues sleeping.
He quickly scanned the room but found nothing out of place that could explain why he had suddenly woken up.
He ran a hand over his face, groaning softly.
Why was his body like this? Why couldn’t he just sleep like a normal person? Why-
He thoughts were cut off when he heard a sound nearby.
It wasn’t in the living room with him but possibly in the kids’ room.
The thought sent a wave of panic through him that made him hurry out of his futon and towards the kids’ room.
He ever so quietly pushed the door open, not wanting to wake either child if they were asleep.
Thankfully, he spotted Tsumiki’s sleeping face straight away. Her blankets were pulled tightly around her, leaving nothing but her face visible. Just seeing her calmed half of his panic.
His eyes slowly left the sleeping girl and moved across the room to where Megumi normally slept and the sight that greeted him wasn’t the one he was expecting.
Megumi was sitting up in bed curled up into a ball. Head between his legs and arms wrapped tightly around his knees.
“Megumi?” he called out gently while entering the room and moving towards the young boy. At his name, his little head of bed hair shot up and he was immediately greeted with a face full of tears and snot.
He couldn’t help but coo softly at the boy while taking a seat on the boy’s bed.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, keeping his voice quiet as to not wake Tsumiki.
He expected… he wasn’t actually sure what he expected.
But it wasn’t for Megumi to reach out for him. Megumi had what he could only describe as panicked look on his face as he reached out his tiny trembling hands towards him.
He didn’t hesitate, scooping the boy up into his arms and holding him tightly against his chest.
He felt Megumi bury his face into his shoulder, clinging to him tightly. He was going to ignore the fact that Megumi was currently rubbing snot and tears into his sleeping shirt because it was rare for the boy want physical affection, much less hugs.
Megumi honestly ignored most physical contact. The most contact he normally got from the boy was when Megumi leant against his side during story time.
He glanced over his shoulder towards Tsumiki once before slowly standing up with Megumi in his arms. The boy let out a small panicked sound but he was quick to hush the boy.
“It’s okay, I’m not letting go,” he promised while slowly making his way out of the room and back towards his futon. “Wanna talk about it?” he asked as he slid back under the covers with Megumi pressed against his chest. Megumi shook his head, hands not loosening from the fists clinging to his shirt.
Satoru closed his eyes as he began rubbing Megumi’s back in a soothing manner.
He felt awkward doing all this. Neither of his parents had been overly affectionate and had forbidden anyone from ‘spoiling’ him as they called it.
But these were also the same parents that gave him anything he asked for – within reason.
He could never understand this backwards logic his parents had, especially now that he was raising Megumi and Tsumiki as best he could.
He couldn’t give them everything they wanted but he could give them as much physical affection as they wished.
“I’m here, Megumi, I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered as he buried his face into the boy’s messy locks and waited for sleep to take them both once again.
“Geto-san?”
Suguru glanced up from the report he was writing at the call of his name and couldn’t stop the soft smile that rose to his lips as he looked towards the entry of his little office.
Mimiko and Nanako stood in the doorway, clinging to each other while looking at him with such wide eyes.
“Didn’t I put you two to bed?” he asked while setting his pen down and pushing his chair back and gesturing for the girls to enter.
They didn’t even hesitate, hurrying towards him in matching strides and throwing themselves into his lap.
“What’s wrong?” he asked softly while wrapping his arms around each one of the girls, securing them in place so they wouldn’t fall.
“Geto-san went away,” Nanako said ever so softly, hands tightly into his shirt.
“Geto-san didn’t take us with him,” Mimiko continued when her sister finished.
He glanced between the two girls, slightly confused. He understood they were twins but from his knowledge they didn’t share dreams – which was what he was assuming they were talking about.
“I didn’t go anyway,” he promised them.
“But you did!” They both whined, both of their eyes starting to get watery.
“Hey now, no tears now,” he said while tightening his arms around the girls and raising to his feet. He then shifted the girls onto either side of his hip and began the walk back to the girl’s room. “I would never leave you two behind.”
“Really?” Mimiko questioned.
“Really really,” he said with a nod, “We are stuck together now.”
Suguru had done everything in his power to keep the girls. Shoko and Yaga-sensei had helped but everyone made it clear that they would be his problem.
He would have to organise someone to watch them when he went on missions. He would have to teach them until they could be enrolled in school. He would be in charge of their food.
He had been given some help. Yaga-sensei had helped set him up in a small residence on the school’s property with room for not only himself but the girls too.
Shoko had rained parenting books down on him, why she had them he will never know but they had given him some insight on raising children.
He stepped into the girl’s room and moved towards the unmade bed in the middle before setting the girls down and tucking them under the blankets for the second time that night.
“Geto-san won’t leave then?” Nanako questioned while glancing around. He spotted her favourite teddy bear at the foot of the bed, most likely having been kicked there during their nightmare and forgotten about when they went on their search for him. He collected the discarded teddy and tucked it in bed beside Nanako.
“I’ll only leave when I have work, and I’ll always come straight back. I promise you,” he said while leaning down to press a gentle kiss against each of their foreheads.
“Now, sleep my little ones. You’ll need your energy for tomorrow,” he said, lowering his voice as he watched the girls fight the sleep that was slowly overcoming them.
“Stay, Geto-san,” Mimiko mumbled while reaching out and grabbing the edge of his sleep.
“Just until you go to sleep,” he mumbled, watching as the girls slowly faded off to sleep for the second time that night.