#leopardvee

in general

🫐 leaves half empty water bottles everywhere; in the kitchen and in the car. but he insists they're all "still fine"

🫐 doesn't ever nap. that's not the weird part. it's that he's definitely falling asleep but insists he's just "resting his eyes".

🫐 once megumi left his infancy phase, toji stopped caring about how he handled megumi. picking him up by the tag of his shirt. he definitely picks him up by his legs too. when megumi grew up and he couldn't manhandle his child, he started trying to fight him (not for real, just to assert dominance)

🫐 doesn't really speak unless he needs to. mostly communicates in moody grunts.

🫐 constantly cracks his neck and his knuckles.

🫐 never wastes food, even if it's cold. also, always uses chopsticks; for fruit, fries, m&ms.

🫐 avoids standing or sitting with his back to doors or windows. if he's at a restaurant, he's taking the side of the booth where he can see the door and anybody and everybody who walks in.

🫐 when somebody texts him, he types a response and then never sends it. and when he's confronted about it and sees his message sitting in the queue, he sends it and says "i did respond".

🫐 always leaves lights off unless it's like pitch black outside. probably habits he picked up from having to be so stealthy.

relationships

🕷️ when there's a food you both like (pizza, cake, etc), he'll stash one piece away where you can't find but let's you have "the last piece", just so he can see your smile and make get a kiss on the cheek.

🕷️ will not tell you he's sick until he's pale in the face, doubled over and can barely walk. is confused when you're upset.

🕷️ always wants to be near you. every time you turn around, you smack into his chest. you're showering? he'll sit on the counter.

🕷️ definitely walks on the outside of sidewalks.

🕷️ when you're facing away from him in bed, asleep, he'll text you "you up?" but he's right next to you. just to wake you up with the sound of your phone buzzing so you will look at him.

🕷️ insists on using your towels because they're "softer". he wants to smell like you even though he has to hold it together with both hands because they are way too small.

🕷️ rubs the back of his neck or jaw when he's nervous.

🕷️ before you were together, he practiced asking you out in the car, but still fumbled it when it was time.

pairing: dad/dilf toji x female reader, and child megumi

notes: toji is in his 40s, i have reader aged about mid 20s, a megumi is in first grade. kinda sad, really cute and emotional, kinda angsty at the end.

about 3.4k words

chapter two - missing threads

chapter three - don't cry over spilled detergent

people your age aren’t doing laundry on a friday night. most people your age are out partying or clubbing — that’s just not who you are. i mean, you did had your clubbing phase, but you’d grown up a lot faster than your counterparts. 

under the neon glow of the OPEN sign and the slight buzzing of the tvs and the fluorescent lights, you shoved your dark clothes into your washer. 

it was an unspoken rule. everyone had their own washer and dryer. there weren’t that many that used the laundromat in the apartment, some of the more “wealthy” people had washer and dryer in unit. 

your washer and dryer were next to a stocky man. very quiet, always scowling. sometimes he had a kid with him. his son maybe? 

on the opposite side of yours, was an older woman who always needed your help and she always repaid your kindness in pastries. 

you were humming along to the song playing over the crackly radio when a tiny shadow was casted over your face. you were bent over at the waist, picking up your next few articles of clothing. you arched an eyebrow up and tilted your head up just enough to take in the sight of the child sitting atop your washer. 

“oh hello. you seem to be sitting on my washer.” you said unassumingly. he’s a cute kid. you tossed the bundle of clothes in, a t shirt catching on his foot. before you could grab it off of him, he swung his foot up, caught it, and chucked it in the washer for you. 

you clapped lightly and he bowed just a little. “very impressive”. he stuck his hand out to you, you held out two fingers to his small hand. he wrapped his hand around you fingers and shook it up and down. 

“i’m megumi. i live here with my dad”, he pointed at the large man beside you. he was none the wiser to the situation, headphones loud in his ears. 

you gave him your name and smiled just slightly at him. “okay megumi. do you think you can move just a little so I can finish?”

he scooted to the right, accidentally knocking your open bottle of detergent over. the blue liquid spilled all over the top of the washer and onto the floor. neither you nor megumi even tried to scoop it up before it spilled.

your jaw dropped at what happened and you looked at megumi. he seemed like he had retreated into himself, cheeks flushing a dark shade of pink. your heart filled with sadness at his expression. 

you let out a somewhat loud laugh. i mean, it was funny. the boy who had so much confidence before, knocked your stuff over and both of you just let it spill. megumi picked his head up. 

“i’m really sorry miss. i really didn’t mean to!”. tears threatened to spill from his eyes. 

“oh megumi, it’s okay! i don’t care that much, it’s just detergent.” you reassured him, rustling his hair. he repeated "detergent" to himself, learning a new word. you picked up the bottle and cap from its tipped over position. you poured enough for your load and started it. 

“i can help you! i just can’t get down by myself…”. he was a tiny boy. “my dad always puts me up here so i can’t run away”

you picked him up by his arm pits and set him down. you both got to work on cleaning up the mess. “thanks for your help kid”.

“hey! i’m not a kid!”

“i think you are!”, you laughed saying it. you turned your back to him assuming he’d go back to his dad. you picked up your basket against your hip and went to the tv waiting area, when you heard a little voice beside you, you looked down at him, fake scowling. 

“y’know i charge a babysitting fee? you’re gonna have to pay up child” you joked. 

“what if i just kept you company instead! for free…” he giggled a little bit. you tickled his side and he squirmed beside you. 

megumi’s dad had finally looked up from doing his and megumi’s laundry. when he didn’t see megumi on top of the washers where he normally puts him, he panicked just a little. he looked around and saw megumi up in the hair held up by two hands. megumi was laughing harder than he had in a while. 

he stalked up to the two of you eyeing you specifically. “you just go around kidnapping kids in laundry rooms normally or is this a one time thing?”

his deep voice startled you and megumi stopped laughing. you set megumi down in the chair next to you. the hum of the lights and tv above you seemed to have gotten louder. 

you raised an eyebrow at him, crossing your arms, still looking at the boy beside you. megumi rested his head on your upper arm. “he came willingly. maybe he just wanted company closer to his age?” you asked sarcastically. 

a beat. 

megumi snorted. 

his father scowled.

you smirked, biting your lip, holding back a laugh. 

when megumi couldn’t stop laughing, you started laughing too. 

“tch. kid’s grounded.” your jaw dropped in time with megumi’s. 

“but you said i wasn’t grounded anymore yesterday!”

“consider it an extension brat”. 

you laughed at the interaction between the two. you turned to megumi, “don’t worry you’re not grounded if you’re with me!”

megumi smiled nice and wide and he laid his head in your lap. his father sat beside you picking up megumi’s legs and setting them down over his thighs. 

megumi reached up playing with a strand of hair that fell out of place. “so how old are you?"

“don’t fuckin ask her that” he scolded. he pinched the skin on megumi’s legs making him yelp. you laughed at megumi’s question. 

“whaattt…didn’t think it was a big deal” he muttered under his breath. 

he looked at you, expectantly. “well?”

you glanced at him, long eyelashes casting shadows on your beautiful features, a small smile flashed across your face. “old enough”. you offered a small wink to him. 

“dad, her name is y/n, really fun to say”. megumi said your name a few more times, all different ways, he growled your name, whispered it, said it in a funny accent. 

“oi kid, enough.” he pinched the bridge of his nose, slouching just slightly. 

peaking at you, he saw you tracing soft lines all over megumi’s face, megumi’s nose scrunching at the feeling. “i’m toji”

“it’s nice to officially meet you toji. no longer my brooding washer neighbor”

he raised an eyebrow at you. you heard your own washer go off and megumi piped up. “can i change it for you?”

toji didn’t step in. he felt like you could hold your own. 

“that’s a little odd, no?”

you could see megumi really thinking about it. “well, i knocked over all your blue stuff over earlier. and if i help you, i don’t have to pay you for babysitting!”

you sighed, looking at megumi intently. you furrowed your eyebrows and megumi matched your facial expressions. toji watched utterly amused. 

megumi’s face faltered a bit. “please?”. you smiled at his request. 

“okay fine,” you turned and grabbed your fabric softening sheets, strawberry scented because why not. “you have to put two of these in there and just press start”. 

megumi grabbed the sheets from you, sniffing it. “these smell like cake. do you smell like cake?”

toji rustled megumi’s hair again. “go on kid, hurry up and don’t look to closely at anything.”

you rolled your eyes at toji’s last comment as megumi ran to your washer. the washer and dryer were a bit too big for megumi to switch your laundry efficiently. 

you watched megumi struggling with a frowning smile, feeling a little mean for just watching. you went to stand up. 

“eh let the kid struggle a bit. he’s probably happy to have someone to talk to”

you sat down, shrugging your shoulders. as you sat down, it felt like the space between you and toji had closed just a bit. you were the slightest bit shy and intimidated.

“so… what’s your favorite color?” you asked.

“you always talk this much or am i just lucky?”

“ha ha, real funny. i didn’t even think you were a real person until four seconds ago.”

toji found it hard to talk to people. he preferred his life the way it was. just him and megumi. megumi went to school but didn’t love it, toji only made him go because megumi’s mother would want him to. 

“yeah whatever.”

a quiet moment passed. 

“m’favorite color’s black” he said casually. 

“ahh classic repression”

“the fuck does that mean?” he looked at you with stern eyes. 

“i think you know.”

“ok let me guess yours.” he stroked his chin as if he was pondering. “shit brown”

you were caught off guard by his comment, a way too loud laugh erupted from you. it wasn’t even that funny. it’s just the way he says things so matter of factly. 

“you’re funny” you said wiping a fake tear from your cheek dramatically. 

“i wasn’t trying to be”

while you and toji had been chatting, just getting to know each other, megumi was still struggling to get your clothes into the dryer. 

he was tired, he little bones wore out from the hard work. on his last trip from the washer to the dryer, megumi had dropped a few things. a couple of socks and a really cool t shirt. 

megumi threw the socks in the dryer, but not the shirt. really vintage, although megumi doesn’t know what that is, really cool. he liked it a lot. you wouldn’t notice if it went missing right?

he snuck it into the dryer cycle his dad’s laundry was already going through, hoping to wear it later. 

on his tippy toes, he pressed start on your machine and ran back to you and his dad. 

“i just finished up my master’s in social work, i’m working down at the county.” 

“that’s a perfect cover for your kidnapping ring you wierdo” toji argued jokingly. 

“oh shut up, what i’m doing is noble”, you closed your eyes, head high, hand over your heart like a king. “what do you do, wierdo?”

“work” he said flatly, breaking eye contact. 

“that’s not fair. i told you my stuff!” you whined. 

“s’nothing you gotta worry your pretty little head about”, toji grinned. 

“that’s a shit answer, and it’s not even really an answer…” you protested. 

“it’s not the kind of thing you ask someone you want to keep likin’” he shrugged, like it was no big deal. like he wasn’t casually flirting with you. 

“hmm so you think i’m pretty and you like me? wow, guess i’m just an angel on earth” you batted your eyelashes at him with a shy smile, hoping he couldn’t see you blushing. 

“you’re gonna ruin the moment, kid”

“i’m not a kid-" your sentence mirrored megumi’s from earlier. you rolled your eyes, but you were cut off by megumi jumping up into your lap. 

“i finished! it’s all there, but dad i think ours is done soon”. 

you pretended to knight megumi with your hand. “thank you, my knight in shining armor, what ever shall i do without you”

megumi cringed at your words, nose scrunching as he laughed. “do you live here?” megumi asked hopefully. 

“mhm i do. i’m in 202, you can come by whenever your dad gets annoying.” you offered megumi a wink and you could see the gears in his head turn. “ok! but you can’t charge me”

toji cut in, “she’s not gonna charge you brat. go get your stuff together, stop bothering her”.

you stood with toji. you felt megumi wrap his arms around your leg. “promise we’ll still hang out?”, he offered a pinky out to you. 

“i pinky swear we will hangout”, you intertwined your pinky with megumi’s. he ran off. 

you looked up at toji, really taking in his size. he was several inches and maybe a foot taller than you. “he’s a good kid. you seem like you’re doing a good job”, complimenting him. 

“oh yeah? is that what your degree is tellin’ ya?”

“take a compliment, would you?” you insisted. 

“tch. thanks i guess.” he turned away for a second to walk away. 

he paused, looked back at you. “don’t be stranger. the kid’ll be crying for weeks”. 

you smiled shyly and nodded. he walked away, carrying his son in one arm. he pressed a soft kiss into megumi’s forehead, his laundry rolling behind him. you couldn't deny how attractive he was. very gruff on the outside, but really a teddy bear otherwise.

your stuff finished drying about a half hour later. 

you’d collected your laundry hauling it back to your apartment. you knew you’d have to put it away as soon as possible or everything would wrinkle in the morning. 

as you sifted through your things, you noticed your favorite t-shirt was gone. the one your mom wore all the time before she passed. 

you loved your mom, looked up to her. she was everything you wanted to be when you grew up. she was a teacher for her entire adult life. she loved teaching and you loved her. 

she’d passed from leukemia just after you graduated college. it was sudden and unexpected. for your entire life, it was just you and her. she had you young and she left you young. 

she lived long enough to see you graduate, but not long enough to see you blossom into the young woman you were turning into. you missed her every day. 

you frantically searched your room for it, ultimately unable to find it. it really wasn’t a big deal — you tried to convince yourself of that, but you didn’t believe it deep down. 

with a heavy heart, you put the rest of your clothes away before climbing into bed. a quiet tear rolling down your cheek and onto your pillow. 

back at toji’s place, megumi was helping his dad sort through laundry, they did it together every week, the smell of linen filling the apartment. it was their quality time. neither of them spoke, just letting the sound of the air conditioning running in the background fill the space.

toji had walked away for a second. megumi took advantage of this, stealing your shirt from the pile and running into his room to set it down before returning. 

as they folded clothes together, megumi whispered into the open space. “i really like her dad.”

“yeah, she’s okay i guess”. toji didn’t want to let on that he liked you from just speaking to you. he’d always thought you were beautiful and polite, always helping the woman next you with a smile. always trying her baking even if it wasn’t good. he watched you. but couldn’t bring himself to want to open up to someone again. not after megumi’s mother.

“maybe she can be my new mom?” megumi asked innocently. “she smells and acts like a mom, right?”

toji froze at his son’s question. memories of megumi’s mother flashed through his mind. 

he was so broken coming into this world, but he found her. she brought light to his darkest days, fishing him out of the world he was born into. 

when megumi was born, his mom died. the stress on her body too much. but megumi looked just like her. 

it was hard to name him without having her there. when toji took him home, he would just stare at him, unsure of what to call him. toji struggled through megumi’s infancy and early childhood, but toji made it his own. megumi had turned out just fine. his blessing. 

shortly after his wife’s death, toji fell back into his old patterns. killing sorcerers. fighting. gambling. he was always there for megumi, but he had to do something to put food on the table. he had to do something to burn out his pent up energy and grief. the world was endlessly cruel to him, why can’t he be cruel back?

“i think you’re tired son. maybe you should go to sleep.” megumi didn’t protest. “i’ll put your stuff away”. 

“i want her to be my new mom”. toji didn’t respond.

megumi got ready for bed, brushing and flossing his teeth, and fixing his hair. he pulled on his favorite pajama pants and your shirt before snuggling in bed. the shirt dwarfed him, many sizes too big, still wet from the washer. you smelled like strawberries or was it cake? it didn't matter. megumi liked that. he fell fast asleep. 

a while later, toji brought megumi’s clothes into his room, turning on the lamp so he could see. megumi had tossed and turned so much that he wasn’t even under the covers, snoring away. like father, like son. 

he put his clothes away and before leaving megumi’s room, he want to tuck him in. toji noticed megumi’s shirt. you had worn that shirt more often than not. 

toji’s face was laced with dread. he woke megumi up. 

“that’s not yours. you stole her shirt.” toji said fuming. 

megumi, still groggy from sleep tried explaining. “i just liked it, it smells really good, like a mom!”

toji had enough of the mom talk, of hearing about the smell of you. 

“she’s not your mom. you had a mom.”

megumi felt tears welling up in his eyes, his throat felt thick. “i’m sorry, i just like her a lot. you like her too!”

megumi had always been an observant kid, but this kinda shit he’d pull, meddling in toji’s business got him in trouble. 

“you don’t worry about me.”

“you don’t apologize to me”

“i’m taking you there now. you’re gonna give it back and that’s the end of it”

tears fell from megumi’s eyes fast. he didn’t understand what he did wrong. you did act like a mom. you acted like everyone else’s mom at pick up or at the park or at the store. how could he know differently?

it was early in the morning when you heard a hard knock outside your door. 

you starfished on your bed. “who could it possibly be right now?”

a few more knocks sounded and you rushed to the door. you opened it. 

toji with a scowl. megumi crying. and in your shirt. in your mom’s shirt. 

chapter two - missing threads

@evnyy @getofanclub @audreytoru

comments, likes, reblogs, and feedback always appreciated! i'm gonna try and get through these next chapters before uni starts!

HAAAIIIII 😛😛😛!! okay so lowkey i didn’t even know that was a trend but i looked it up and hopefully i got the right idea lol! this is the tiktok i found! send more reqs lol

there's a few ways i think this particular scenario would go down.

toji pretending not to care (but he totally does)

you set up your phone, set the timer and you started rolling your hips, slowly and seductively. you expected toji to either tease you or shut it down but he doesn't.

instead, he glances up at you from his spot on the couch where he's manspreading and takes in the sight of you dancing. you could feel his eyes on you.

but he just goes back to scrolling on his phone. not a smirk, not even a raised brow.

when you finished dancing, you huffed. "nothing to say?"

he still doesn't look up. "you're in my way. turn around and move your ass to the left"

you do it, muttering under your breath, only to notice the slight tilt of his phone, his camera pointing right at you.

"are you recording me?"

"maybe," he says, still not looking up. "finish it. 'm gonna watch later."

"and don't post that shit either."

toji fully encouraging you (assuming toji's old ahh knows how to use tiktok)

from the second you started, toji has been leaning on the doorframe behind you, watching you like you're his favorite show. you were moving your hips in the most seductive way you could, hands lightly tracing your body.

you don't notice he's there until two large hands grip your waist from behind. you yelped, scared at the contact. toji spoke low in your ear. "damn, ma," he started, "you better put your back into it."

you rolled your eyes, but couldn't suppress the smile tugging at your lips. he kissed your cheek and then walked over to where your phone was recording. he shifted the camera to get a better angle of your ass.

he stood by your phone, restarting the sound. "do it again," he says, grinning low and wide, his infamous smirk showing. "slower this time."

you thought the second take would be the last but... no. toji made you do 7 more takes. when you're done, you're a bit breathless. you held out your hand for your phone.

he tucks it in his pocket. "toji, give it back" you whined.

"nah baby, need 'em for later."

toji instant shut down

you set the timer for your video, backing far enough away that the video captured your entire body.

once the timer reached zero, you barely made it through the first roll of your hips when a large hand gripped your waist.

"what the hell are you doing?"

"filming," you answer, shooing him away.

you went back to your dance. you blinked and then you were over his shoulder. "yeah? film this."

you squealed. "toji! put me down!" you smacked his back as hard as you could, your voice half-out rage, half-laugh.

"nope." he's already walking towards the bedroom, each step jostling you.

he tosses you on the bed, yanking you by your ankles down to him. "toji, let go of me!" you giggled.

he kissed you a few times before yanking his shirt off. "you wanna dance?"

"you can dance for me." a dangerous glint in his eye.

when you drove over to toji’s place for your date, you didn’t expect his son to open the door. you raised an eyebrow at megumi and he sighed. 

“he’s a mess,” he started. “he’s changed like…four times. he told me not to open the door, but…” he shrugged. he stepped to the side, letting you in. toji didn’t hear you arrive or hear megumi talking to you.

you could hear the clattering of hangers on the bedroom floor and muttering from toji. you pushed your way into his room and from the doorway, you could see him in the bathroom mirror adjusting…readjusting…adjusting…readjusting…and then just completely ripping the shirt he’d chosen off. 

on his bed, different colored dress shirts were thrown everywhere, some jackets laying on the ground. looking back at toji in the mirror, you could see him scowling at his own reflection. he met your gaze, turning around, his eyes wide. “am i late? what time is it?” he ran a hand through his hair, trying to ground himself. 

“do you want some help?” you asked. 

“is it that obvious?”. toji pinched the bridge of his nose. 

you giggled and set your purse down. you rummaged through the pile of shirts on the bed, picking up one that matched your outfit. you waved toji out of the bathroom so you could dress him. 

as you undid the buttons on the shirt toji has on, he tried filling the quiet space. “i don’t know why i’m making such a big deal out of this. it’s just… a date.” he exhaled loudly through his nose. you helped him shrug off his shirt.

you handed him the shirt you picked out. “you’re cute when you’re nervous” you giggled. helping toji put his arms through the sleeves, you pulled the shirt together, buttoning from the bottom and making your way up. 

he scoffed, then mumbled “cute? i’m not…i just…whatever.” he rolled his neck, cracking it to try and relieve some nerves. you could see the slightest hint of pink showing on his ears.

you finished buttoning and worked on his arm cuffs. “fix your collar.”

toji doesn’t take instruction from anyone, but for you? he might listen from time to time. 

you smoothed the fabric over his muscly arms, rubbing his arms to try and soothe him. you stepped back, giving toji a once over. 

you clapped your hands together and smiled brightly. “you look perfect!”

looking in the mirror, he saw himself and meeting your eyes in the mirror he spoke gently to you, smirking. “not bad”

he walked over to you, placing both hands on your face. he kissed you lightly a few times. he pressed a kiss to your temple before grabbing your hands leading you to the door. 

on the way out, he opens the door for you without comment, but you catch the faint smile on his face. you definitely just made his night.

chapter one - delicates and disasters

chapter three - don't cry over spilled detergent

fairly angsty, good ending! hoping to add another chapter or two to this! i know it seems like things are moving fast, but 'tis a short story so!

warnings/notes: some swearing, mentions of death, megumi is so cute. proofread to the best of my abilities. i write late at night...my eyes don't move as fast as i type.

about 3.1k words

a few more knocks sounded and you rushed to the door. 

you opened it. 

toji with a scowl. megumi was crying. and in your shirt. in your mom’s shirt. 

your eyes adjusted to the hallway light, you blinked a few times. you first took in toji. you watched his chest rise and fall faster and then it slowed as he watched your sleepy frame. his eyes raked downwards. your sleep shirt was way too long and toji wasn’t sure if you were wearing pants or not. 

toji covered megumi’s eyes quickly. he raised an eyebrow at you. even half asleep and eyes barely adjusted, you whispered to him. “i’m wearing shorts asshole”

he uncovered megumi’s eyes. you heard a few sniffles. once your eyes adjusted, you knew it wasn’t toji. a few more sniffles came from below. 

megumi was in your shirt and was crying. your eyebrows knitted together in concern. you compartmentalized the scene in front of you. megumi crying was your first priority, then toji’s feelings, then your shirt. that was using your degree. 

“oh megumi, what’s wrong? did you have a bad dream?”

“no he didn’t.” he said coldly. “he has something to say to you.”

you stuck your hands out to pick megumi up. megumi looked at his father, who wasn’t looking at him, but at you. you wiggled your fingers for him to come to you. he walked through the threshold your door with unsure footsteps. you reached forward and scooped him up swiftly. he wrapped his tiny legs around your waist and his arms around your neck. you felt his tears immediately soak your shirt. 

when you turned with megumi in your hands, toji invited himself in, closing the door behind him quietly. you paced between your living room and kitchen, bouncing slightly megumi hoping to calm him. 

toji sat on the barstools at your counter, his weight making them creak in the quiet room. he watched you with megumi. 

once megumi had calmed down, you stroked his hair. 

“umm…i-i’m really sor-sorry for taking y-your shirt. i just really liked it. i kn-know i shouldn’t have stolen it.”

megumi tilted his head, a fresh set of tears wetting another spot on your t-shirt. “if you don’t want to be my friend anymore, i-i get it”. megumi hiccuped a few times between words. 

you felt your heart break at his words. you pressed his head into your shoulder softly. you rested your head on his. one tear escaping your eye. 

“megumi, it’s okay you don’t have to cry, honey” you whispered. 

“i did something wrong” he argued with a sad voice. 

you moved megumi in your arms so he could look in your eyes. he hugged himself but couldn’t meet your eyes. that was okay. 

“stealing isn’t okay, yeah?” megumi nodded softly, wiping a tear with the back of his hand. 

“i know you didn’t do it to hurt my feelings. but you can’t steal something just because you like it, okay? if you’d asked, i probably would’ve let you have it anyway” you said honestly. 

megumi looked up at you with tired, sad eyes. a tiny glint of hope his eyes. “really?” megumi had the cutest voice, your heart broke even more than before. 

“duh. you’re my new best friend!” you smiled. he rested his head on your chest. 

“you tired?”

“mhm”. you carried megumi into your room, grabbed the biggest pillow you had and walked back into the living room. you gave megumi to toji in the kitchen. toji’s anger had subsided just a bit. you heard him speaking lowly with megumi. a big hand rustled his hair and megumi giggled just a little. 

“okay megumi, here’s your bed!” you announced proudly. a light pink pillow and a purple throw blanket made up his “bed”. you assumed megumi would make a comment about it being girly, but surprisingly? he just walked over and passed out. 

you walked back over to the kitchen where toji was. “i know you should be sleeping right now, but do you want some coffee?” 

“sure, doll, why not”. you shuddered a bit at the pet name. 

as you started up your coffee machine, you could hear toji shifting on his barstool uncomfortably. 

“you’re not his mom”. toji said pointedly. 

you paused. “he said he wants you to be his mom”. 

“i-i’m not trying to be his mom, he’s just a good kid” you tried explaining. 

“you know he’s not your responsibility. you’re not his mom” he said again. “you act like it”. 

you felt yourself getting upset with him, forgoing making the coffee. you looked him dead in the eyes. “he was crying, toji. what did you want me to do? just walk away?”

toji looked away, his jaw tight. “he cries. kids cry. doesn’t mean you have to step in like you know him.”

you scoffed. turning your back to him. “maybe i don’t know him, but i knew enough to stay with him” you bit back underneath your breath.  

he heard you. toji stood to his full height. he walked up behind you, his shadow over your body. maybe to intimidate you, maybe not.

“you think i don’t care?” he asked quietly, but pointedly. 

you turned around to face him. you craned your neck to meet his gaze. “i think you’re scared he needs more than you’re ready to give. and i think you’re scared it won’t be enough.” 

he closed the distance between you two. you didn’t back down. “you think you’re doing him a favor. you’re not.”

“you aren’t his mom. he’s gonna think you’ll stick around and you won’t.” 

you tried arguing with him, but he walked away. “you don’t know that. you don’t even know me”. he took your shirt off of megumi, careful not to wake him. 

“toji, stop. you can’t just do that.”

he placed the shirt on the arm rest of the couch. picking up megumi. he started walking to the door. 

“stop acting like i’m doing something wrong!” you tried fighting, grabbing at his shirt. your words land sharp in his head. he still ignored you. you felt your voice raising but didn’t want to upset megumi.

“do you think it’s better if he cries and nobody comes to him? a child needs-"

toji turned to you fast, almost knocking you off balance. he got in your face, the faint scent of cologne and detergent hitting your nose. 

“you don’t know a damn thing about what he needs. degree or not, y/n”. he waited for your response. when you didn’t respond, eyes wide, mouth open. he scoffed in your face, turned and walked out of your home. 

you stewed for a bit. how condescending. how rude. you only had good itentions. you weren’t trying to be his mom. 

right?

you’re not trying to be the parent you don’t have anymore. 

right?

your head swam with rambling thoughts bringing on a migraine. you went to bed, heart heavy. 

you called on your mom. “i don’t know what to do…”. you picked up her shirt and hugged it close to your chest.

it’d been a week.

on friday, you did your laundry. you’d hope to see toji and megumi, but you didn’t. you were met with stale pastries, eating them to appease your neighbor. 

you’d gone to work at the county. you watched orphan kids, tried setting them up with families; sometimes you were successful, other times you weren’t.

every kid reminded you of megumi. every cup of coffee reminded you of toji. especially the conversation you’d had — or tried to have. 

all week you’d just gone through the motions. your morning routine. work. three meals a day. shower. sleep. repeat. 

you always knew you had to be able to detach yourself from the children you met through your job. you expected a few to get past the boundary you set. you never thought your neighbor’s kid to have the biggest impact on you. 

it was a saturday morning. you didn’t have work. but you didn’t have anything to look forward to. no real friends to do anything with. 

you settled on your couch, hoping your comfort shows would distract you when you heard a soft knock at your door. “who could it be?” you thought to yourself. 

you looked through your peephole but didn’t see anybody. ding dong ditched maybe?

you opened the door to look down the hallway when, “miss y/n! do you remember me?” a young voice asked you. 

it was megumi!

you were happy but you were immediately concerned at the situation. “megumi, where’s your dad? why are you by yourself?”

he hugged your legs and answered. “he’s still sleeping.”

“okay okay, come in, you can sit on the couch” you said sweetly. 

megumi walked over to your couch. he sat down in  the spot he fell asleep in a week ago, his purple blanket still there. 

you sat down across from him, megumi’s feet dangling off the couch. 

“you know you shouldn’t leave your home without your dad.”

“mmmm yes i know. i’ve been bored all week”, he crossed his arms, sporting a pout. 

“well, how was school? did you make new friends? do anything fun?”

“oh i didn’t go to school last week, i just stayed home and played with my toys”. your eye twitched. you mentally noted this to bring up to toji when you caught his sorry ass next. neglectful. 

“megumi that’s not good, you need to go to scho-", you stopped yourself, remembering toji’s words. 

“you don’t know about a damn thing he needs”

“mmm, okay! well, maybe next week right? where’s dad been?” you asked, trying not to set off any alarms in your own head or megumi’s. 

“i don’t really know. he leaves a lot, but then he comes back! i just play with my toys, or sometimes my dogs, or just watch tv” he said innocently. you eye twitched harder. you swore it made a noise. 

“wow buddy. that’s…something!”, you smiled, maybe a little scarily. “okay and what about mom?”

“oh i don’t have a mom”, megumi admitted casually. your eyes went wide. maybe that’s why you took to him so much. you pressed your lips into a flatline, trying not to show any negative emotion, a skill you'd picked up recently from working.

“ah. right. sorry, i didn’t mean to-”. you felt awkward even though he was only six. 

“that’s okay. dad told me a while ago. i kept asking about it and i think he got mad at me.”

your mouth twisted into a frown. “he said she died. she’s in heaven.” megumi kept smiling, like what he was saying was no big deal. 

your mouth moved before your brain could stop you. “my mom is in heaven too”, you shrugged your shoulders. “i miss her sometimes”.

“that’s okay y/n. maybe my mom and your mom can hangout like we are”, megumi giggled at his own comment, you laughed too. 

“i think she didn’t like dad very much”. 

you poked megumi in his side. “don’t say that kid”. he giggled again. 

you and megumi hung out for the rest of the day. you built pillow and blanket forts, played games, until megumi was wore out. 

“alright dude, let’s get you back where you should be”.

megumi had fallen asleep in your arms on your way to toji’s apartment. it was dark outside.

you knocked once. no response. 

you knocked again. no response. you were starting to get ticked off. 

you knocked a third time and the door flung open. a drunk toji stood in the door way, one arm on the door, the other on the doorframe. 

you turned your nose up at scent of the man in front of you, pushing past him. “where’s megumi’s room?” you asked. you were pissed. 

toji closed the door, pointing a weak thumb to the left. 

megumi’s room was surprisingly colorful. comic books and toys everywhere. it was neat too. maybe you judged toji to harshly? 

no. you didn’t. 

you tucked megumi into bed, rubbing his back and cooed him to sleep. he fell asleep with a smile. you smiled at him one last time. 

when you turned away from him, a scowl replaced the grin that had graced your face two seconds ago. walking out of the room, you spotted toji on the couch, damn near half asleep, drunk off his ass. you ran your eyes over the layout of his apartment. the same as yours, the model just a flipped version of yours. 

you stood in front of the tv, staring toji down. “ah jeez princess, you’re blocking my v-" 

“shut up” you said lowly. it was quiet but enough for toji to listen. 

toji sat forward, elbows on his knees, his fingers cording through his hair.

“tch. what is it now?”

you didn’t move. didn’t yell. 

“you left a six year old alone for a week. that’s neglect y’know?” your lips were pressed in a straight line. you took several steps forward. toji looked up and you looked down at him. 

he stared at you. his brow knit, like he wanted to defend himself. he tried to remember. nothing came. 

you pressed forward, a finger pressing into his chest. “you don’t answer your door. he’s not going to school. you’re getting drunk, sleeping in, coming home late.”

toji grabbed your wrist, a light grip, like he wanted to stop you. but he didn’t.

a tear rolled down your cheek. “i don’t care how fucked up you are. he is six”, you choked out. you pressed him hard enough that his back hit the couch. he wouldn’t meet your eyes, he slumped lower. 

“i didn’t ask you to play hero. didn’t ask you to play house. didn’t ask you to be his savior.” he finally found the strength to straighten his spine. he started sobering up.

“no you didn't, but he did.” toji tried standing up, you pushed him down again. 

“he came to me. because you weren’t there. and when you were, you really weren’t”

silence. 

you felt anger bubble in his stomach. “you’re lucky. my god. you’re so damn lucky he came to me and not someone else.” you were furious. 

toji groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “jesus christ, you like act like you're a fuckin’-"

you rolled your arms, flailing your arms in exasperation. “oh, what? like a mom?”

“don’t worry. i’m not” you bit at him, taking a step back. another tear down your cheek. 

toji tried butting in, but you wouldn’t let him. 

“nobody is coming to save him. that much is clear.”

that got him. the twitch in his jaw, the flicker in his half-drunk eyes. 

you moved further away, toji watching you. he wanted to stop you — he did. you wanted to stay. you weren’t going to be a stranger. you were going to stay. at least for megumi, but selfishly, he wanted you too. 

“the next time he shows up at my door, alone. i will call someone. i don’t care”. you were tired, not even angry anymore. 

you turned and walked away. toji stumbled as he stood, grabbing your wrist. “y/n wait”.

your back was still turned. you tried steadying your breathing. more tears formed in your eyes. toji gently tugged your wrist, the anger he felt earlier, gone. “look, i’m not good at this kinda thing”.

you turned around to meet his bloodshot eyes. yours were red with tears. “i know i messed up” he continued, “left him alone too long. didn’t think he go running off like that”, he sighed like the world’s heaviest weight was lifted off his shoulder. “that’s on me”

you paused for a moment. you shook off toji’s grip on your wrist. he felt heavier. 

but you took his hand in yours. soft against his calloused hand. “he told me about his mom” you said gently. 

toji flinched. just slightly, but you caught it. he exhaled through his nostrils, his shoulders tensing slightly. “she died giving birth to him”. 

“oh”

you didn’t know what to say. you and toji just stood in silence. you’d think it would uncomfortable, but it wasn’t. it felt like, for once, toji wasn’t putting on a front. 

“i know i haven’t been father of the year” he admitted bitterly. “but i really, really, didn’t mean to leave him alone. i didn’t mean to drag you into it either”. 

you looked at him now — really looked at him. you squeezed his hand firmly. “you didn’t drag me into anything. he came to me.”

toji gave a crooked, almost sad smile. the scar on his mouth stretching alongside his expression. 

“kid’s got good taste i guess”. 

you laughed, the rest of the tears you were holding onto spilling. toji caught them with his strong hands, thumbs pressing into your face. 

“way to ruin the moment, you old fuck” you punched his chest. a few seconds passed.

“you always give a good performance like that to those parents at the county?” he asked seriously.

“like what?”

“like you know it all. like you just see through people?” he said unsure of himself.

“only the ones who think they’re invisible. or the ones who think what they doesn’t hurt anybody else”

he chuckled, quiet and tired. “yeah, maybe i deserve that”

“oh you definitely do” you joked. 

“doesn’t mean you can’t fix it”

“are you gonna let me try?” he asked seriously. 

you paused, thinking. 

“that depends. you planning on staying this time?”

for a while, you helped toji tidy up his place. pushing chairs in, throwing things away.

“i’ll come back in the morning to make breakfast for you two.” you said, breaking out of toji’s grasp. 

“or you could just stay?” he paused, panicking for a second. “u-uh because megumi would probably like that.”

you bit you lip trying to stifle a quiet laugh. “are you sure for him or for you?” you pried further. 

“you know you want me, too” he said teasingly. 

“i never said that”, you dragged out never to get your point across. as well as you saw toji, he saw through you too. two big grabbed your waist, toji pulling you closer to him. 

he looked at your lips then back at your eyes. you were staring at him, small smile playing at your features. “so…are you gonna…?”, you rolled your eyes.

“maybe if you’d shut up for a second”

toji gently pressed his lips against yours, craning his neck down to meet you. you raised on your tip toes, arms wrapped around his neck. 

toji deepened the kiss, one hand pressed against the back of your head, pulling you closer to him. 

you broke the kiss. toji, a grown man, six feet and two inches, whined as you backed away. 

“hey i’m still mad at you” you pouted. 

“okay. i’ll make it up to you.” you raised your eyebrows looking for more from him. 

“aaaaannnnd memgumi. tomorrow?”

you smiled. “you’re still gonna stay right?” he asked. 

“yeah, just don’t try anything funny, weirdo”. 

“no promises”. 

chapter one - delicates and disasters

okay guys, wrapping this up hopefully by the end of the week! how do we feel about it?? i hope you love it <3, this is the first time i've written longer fics

comments, likes, reblog, and feedback always appreciated!

@evnyy @getofanclub @audreytoru @freakaszoyd @anything4yoongi @sugarrushbell

ok so i have some fics ideas!! i’m probably biting off more than i can chew, but where’s the fun in playing it safe!! these will both be toji fics

the first idea is called spin cycle and it’s gonna be shorter (3/4) chapters but it’s gonna be fluffy and cute!

synopsis: when your apartment laundry room becomes your friday night escape, the last thing you expect is to form a bond with a curious young boy who keeps asking if you live there. you also don’t expect for his father — gruff, cold, and believes you’re too good to be true — to take a liking to you as well. when megumi steals your favorite shirt out of your dryer, he and his father show up at your door, tides begin to change. between vending machines snacks, lost laundry, and late-night confessions, you find out that spin cycles don’t just clean.

AGH SO CUTE I CANNOT WAIT TO WRITE THIS 😋

okay the next one is gonna be way longer and will probably take me longer, maybe 6-8 chapters. this one will be called the house on higan street. (higan is a chinese/japanese word that translates to death and rebirth circles)

the realtor says no one stays on higan street for long. you move into one of the houses on the block, directly across from the only people living there — you soon find out why.

toji fushiguro lives next door, and he’s made it his personal mission to keep everyone away. but when you refuse to scare easily, his son starts showing up on your porch asking you about every little thing. toji doesn’t get mad. he panics.

when he sees you for the first time, you look just like the woman he lost. he’s not ready to face the past, let alone relive it. you look like her, but you’re not her, and that’s the problem. and his son’s affinity for you doesn’t make it better.

with this fic, you as the reader have to be under the assumption that mamaguro and you look eerily the same even if canonically, you don’t. #use your imagination, that’s the only way this will work!

not sure when I’ll start writing because I’m doing rush week at school and then school starts shortly after!

hi omg! thank you so much! i had only planned on making it three parts but if you have any other ideas to continue it i'd love to hear it!

i'm also planning on writing a few more series, my life has been so busy recently that i haven't gotten to write so hopefully i'll get into writing again soon! i had an idea for like a toji x reader and its set in The Bear kinda vibe, like toji is an asshole chef and reader is the best server the restaurant has and they're lowk enemies but yeah!