blessed - jjk fanfic

018- pride & remembrance

instantly, you turned your face to avoid eye contact with your adoptive father, biting your lip to stop the stubborn tears that welled up. you were so tired, but somehow, you didn't feel like you deserved the rest.

"he'd be proud of you, you know."

"nanami, are you trying to make me cry?" you chuckled. "cause that's what it feels like."

"i'm serious." he smiled, looking back out to the sky, "you never told me you had mastered domain expansion."

you cringed, scratching your head. "it was kinda on a whim, i wasn't really... in control."

"i see." he once again let a hush pass before noting, "i'm still proud of you."

but you were already nodding off to sleep. you kept fighting the inevitable slumber that would wash over you. nanami assumed you never heard what he said. he took your head and laid it against his chest so you could sleep comfortably. but you did hear, and before you lost the battle against sleep, a single, happy tear slid down your cheek.

"so proud." he whispered, kissing your forehead.

"(Y/N)!!!" megumi yelled as he ran up to nanami's front patio. his eyes were bloodshot red and had just as many eye-bags as you. his hair was a mess (more than usual) and he was completely out of breath. he nearly tripped while running once he saw your face.

"are you okay?" nanami asked, stroking your hair to ensure you wouldn't wake to megumi's frantic screaming.

"where was she? where where you? is she okay?—"

"slow down, casanova." nanami held out an arm to stop megumi from shaking you awake. for the first time, nanami was grateful that you were a heavy sleeper. "details."

"uh," megumi started, finally catching his breath. but his eyes never left you, worried that if you left his sight, you'd disappear again. "she left to go find you around nine, and she said it would be quick, but when she didn't come by midnight, i got worried so i called her a bunch of times and she didn't pick up and that got me even more worried because...

"she's always has her phone on her..." nanami and megumi said unanimously.

"so i started looking for her everywhere, starting here since she said she was looking for you, then gojo's big ass house, then i searched the school—"

"the whole school?"

"the whole school, including the upperclassman areas—"

"so you've been looking for her since midnight... and it's nearly seven in the morning." nanami deadpanned.

"...yes sir." megumi said confidently, eyes still flickering from nanami to your sleeping body.

the older of the two sighed for the hundredth time that day. "just... just take her, son."

and without hesitation, he did. he picked you up to hold you in a fluid motion, as this wasn't the first time he had to carry you to bed. his frantic heart beat only settled once you were safe in his arms, and he was finally able to take a full, deep breath. "thank you."

"yeah, you can stay here and get some sleep too." with a curt nod, megumi walked into the house with you in tow.

°°°

he gently placed you on your bed, and squatted to be eye level with you. through the orange glow of the sun illuminating your room, he was able to see some dirt on your face, so he licked his thumb to remove it. a distant echo of you saying "ew." played in his head as he realized that probably wasn't the most sanitary option, so got up to get a clean rag from your bathroom.

as he dampened the small towel, he finally saw his own reflection in the mirror. 'you look more like shit than usual.' he thought. 'she's really making you go crazy, huh?'

subsequently insulting himself and properly cleaning you face, he dropped the rag on your bedside table near an old framed picture of you, your dad, and megumi, and slid into your bed. he stayed a respectful distance away from you while admiring your features.

you started to stir in your sleep. was it a nightmare? should he wake you up? before he could make a decision, your eyes fluttered open. through blurry vision, you saw the boy's figure.

"megumi?"

well, he can definitely get used to that.

"hUh?" his voiced cracked as the butterflies in his stomach went crazy. he cringed before holding his arms out to invite you into his arms. it was a last defense to save his dignity.

too tired to even question where you were, you shuffled closer to him, quickly falling asleep to the lullaby of megumi's heart. he held you tight as you nuzzled your head into his shoulder.

the two of you have slept together (PLATONICALLY, YOU HOME WRECKERS.) multiple times as a result of the various sleepovers you both had throughout your childhood. but something about this felt different. he felt closer to you than before. maybe he has yesterday's kiss to thank for that.

so, while holding you in his arms, he replayed that kiss in his head like a bedtime story, aiding him to a peaceful sleep.

"the world could wait for a bit."

*