you stared at them, feeling your lips press together, tension building in your chest. normally, you'd brush something like this off with a "whatever." but today? your frustration with everything had piled up so high that this small detail, this insignificant mistake, pushed you closer to tipping.

"hey, you okay?" megumi asked, his eyes briefly flicking over to you before they dropped back down, like he didn’t want to pry but couldn’t help but notice the storm brewing.

you didn’t respond at first. you couldn’t. your throat tightened, and you could feel the quiver in your lips. you swallowed hard, trying to push it all back down. it’s just fries, it’s just fries, you told yourself, trying to breathe. but the more you tried to keep it in, the more you felt it bubbling to the surface.

megumi noticed the way your shoulders stiffened, the subtle way your hands gripped the food bag like it had personally offended you. he knew you well enough to see the cracks in your usual tough exterior, and right now, it looked like you were about to break.

“hey…” his voice was low, cautious.

you turned your head away, blinking furiously as if the sky had suddenly become incredibly interesting. crying over fries, you thought, how stupid is that?

but megumi, being megumi, didn’t say anything about how dumb it might’ve seemed. instead, he sighed softly, and then before you could protest, he reached out, gently pulling you closer to him.

you blinked in surprise, feeling his arm come around your shoulders, tugging you into his chest. his embrace was warm, not tight, but just enough to let you know he was there. it caught you off guard. megumi wasn’t the affectionate type not outwardly, at least.

and just like that, your resolve crumbled. you let out a shaky breath as your head rested against him, your hands clutching his shirt without even realizing it. a few silent tears slipped out, but you weren’t sobbing. just... finally letting go of everything that had been weighing you down.

megumi stayed quiet, staring ahead with that usual calm expression, though there was a hint of concern in his eyes. he wasn’t great with words when it came to situations like this, so he did what he could—he held you.

after a moment of silence, he spoke quietly, his voice as deadpan as ever. “it’s just fries. i’ll get you the seasoned ones next time.”

a small laugh escaped you between sniffles, surprising even yourself. leave it to megumi to try and fix things in the most literal way possible. you wiped your eyes, half grinning as you leaned back slightly to look at him.

“i’m not crying because of the fries, you idiot,” you mumbled, though the absurdity of it all made you laugh a bit more.

he raised a brow, the corner of his mouth tugging up slightly. "could’ve fooled me."

you lightly smacked his arm. “shut up.”

he shrugged, keeping his arm around you, his expression softening ever so slightly. “just saying. if it’s about the fries, i’ll go get panda and tell him he messed up.”

you snorted, shaking your head. "you’re impossible, megumi."

“yeah, well,” he muttered, looking away for a second before his eyes flicked back to you, “you don’t have to hold everything in, you know. it’s okay if you... need to let it out sometimes.”

you glanced at him, surprised by the sincerity in his voice. it wasn’t often that megumi said things like that, but when he did, they hit a little harder.

feeling a bit lighter, you nodded. "thanks, megumi."

he gave you a small nod, releasing you from his embrace but keeping his hand resting on your back. "don’t mention it."

as you both sat there, the air comfortable once again, you picked up a fry and ate it, side eyeing megumi with a smirk. “i’m still mad about the fries, though.”