megumi learns how to walk on a quiet afternoon when the light is soft and the apartment smells faintly like soap and warm laundry

toji is on the floor with his back against the couch andhis legs stretched out. he pretends hes not watching, he pretends real hard. his eyes half lidded like this is just another day

megumi toddles towards him anyway

his steps are clumsy, knees wobbling and his arms stretched out like hes trying to grab the air itself. every few seconds he stops, steadies himself and babbles something that sounds important. like hes narrating the whole thing

toji finally looks down.

his chest tightens in that way he still doesnt have a name for

"cmon" he mutters, low "ya got it"

megumi makes it the last few steps and immediately tips forward, face first into tojis chest

toji catches him without thinking, big hand splayed over megumis back, solid and sure. megumi squeaks and then laughs, clearly delighted with himself

"yeah" toji huffs, a smile pulling at his mouth. "walkin' already, huh"

megumi babbles again, louder this time, hands grabbing at his dads shirt. and then, very deliberately he reaches up.

both hands on tojis face.

megumi presses his cheek against tojis, rubbing clumsily, mouth open in a soft little sound. its not quite a kiss to be honest. just warmth and trust and the way a baby says i love you without knowing the word.

toji doesnt move for a second

then he hesitates, just once.

he leans in, pressing a kiss to megumis cheek, soft and careful like hes afraid he might break something just by loving it wrong

megumi freezes, his eyes wide and brain clearly rebooting

then he explodes into the loudest happiest babble yet, arms flailing as he giggles, cheeks scrunching up as he tries to mash his face closer again

toji lets out a low laugh, surprised by it

"yeah?" he murmurs, brushing his nose against megumis temple.

megumi babbles back like hes answering, his hands gripping tojis shirt tighter, grounding himself there.

toji kisses his cheek again, once and twice.

megumi squeals.

toji smiles into it while holding his son a little closer, like the world outside can wait. like for once, he doesnt need to be anywhere else

just at home with his blessing.