⤹˚˖𝑫𝑱 𝑲𝒂𝒎𝒊 .ᐟ @djkami69 - Tumblr Blog

One way or another, I'm gonna lose ya

Part 1 of One Way Or Another <- masterlist Synopsis: finally bagging the hot maintenance man in your office, only to find out he's... a single dad? And he didn't tell you? Contents: (non-curse au) maintenance!toji x office worker!reader, kinda suggestive, Toji is an okay dad, angst, teen Megumi appearance (he also has lots of pets <3), Sukuna cameo, office gossip art!!

The office door creaked open slowly, an organized mess being revealed behind it. Paper was scattered everywhere, multiple devices open on several different tabs. Even the projector was on. But you didn’t seem the slightest bit stressed about it– happily typing away at the screen in front of you, resting on the desk alongside an IPad and a PC setup.

Toji cleared his throat, mind half away somewhere else– maybe in the gym that he had been yearning for all day, or maybe just the soft couch with a beer bottle in one hand, remote in the other. He lifted his arm, idly using his thumb to scratch at the stubble by his mouth before dropping his hand to his side.

“I brought the boxes down to storage.” He stated, breaking the silence. He watched as you turned your attention from the pile of work in front of you to him instead. Toji met your eyes calmly. “Need anything else done before I clock out?” He asked, subconsciously tilting his head to mimic you.

You appeared to think for a moment before shaking your head as you leaned back in your leather office chair, the fabric squeaked with the movement. “No.” A pause “Check with Nanami, though, I think he mentioned something about the printer–”

“It’s already done. I’m asking if you need anything else.” He interrupted, voice coming out a tad harsher than he had intended. Way to go, Toji. This was an often ritual between the two of you, before his shift ended he’d come up to your office, asking if you needed anything done before he clocked out.

You showed no sign of offence to his abrupt tone, instead shaking your head and repeating again that you didn’t need anything; “No, I think that’s all. Thank you, Fushiguro.” You smiled, resting your head on your palm.

He sighed heavily. “It’s Toji, how many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to call me Fushiguro?” he asked as he lifted a meaty hand to run over his jaw. Toji’s biceps strained against the sleeves of his shirt– “I’ll be in at the same time tomorrow. You can call me if you need anything else done.” Expecting the conversation to end he turned on his heel, ready to walk out of your door.

Your voice called out to him before he even got a foot off the ground “Toji?” You chirped, Toji paused, looking over his shoulder.

He raised an eyebrow “Yeah?”

Your head shifted to the side again as you straightened up in your seat.“Are you coming to the office party this evening?” you asked carefully.

The man shrugged. “You want me to be there?” He teased, ignoring the sudden clench in his heart that he was sure to come if you replied ‘no.’

You smirked back cheekily, leaning into the leather of your spinny chair. “Maybe.”

“Then perhaps I will,” Toji offered a wink, and with that, he was gone.

☔︎︎☔︎︎

Truthfully, Toji hadn’t even considered coming until you’d asked him if he was. He was completely sure he’d ignored all of the invites and hadn’t even spared a glance at his emails when they’d announced the party after a meeting. However, since you’d asked so nicely, he was more than happy to show face.

Only for you, of course.

It was relatively quiet at the bar your company had invited you all to– a small, dingy little place at the end of town. One fairly well known for its chaos on a Saturday night with the regular patrons. Generally, Toji avoided this kind of stuff; opting to drink at home and watch the races rather than get wasted in a place he was sure to end up in a fight in.

Though, with the suggestion of free drinks and food he surely couldn’t turn it down, could he? Having showered, shaved, and chosen an outfit that would look relatively decent, Toji was on his way to the “party.” The lingering smell of (Shiu’s) cologne clung to his shirt, one he had stolen years and years ago after the man claimed he “hated the smell of it.” only to go and buy one that smelt (in his not-so-humble opinion,) almost exactly the same.

Ducking under the low doorframe of the bar, Toji’s eyes immediately went on the look out for you, scanning through a crowd of people — some of which he didn’t ever recall seeing around the office — only to notice you were nowhere to be seen. What the hell?

If you had asked him to come only to not show up he was gonna be pissed. But, just as he was about to turn around to leave, he was stopped by the lightest of taps on his arm. Toji was just about able to feel it through the leather of his jacket. He looked down, bad emotions dissipating almost immediately at the sight of you.

Ashamedly, his eyes were immediately drawn to your figure. Your outfit seemed simple enough, some oversized sweater dress in a dark grey — the shoulder completely off — paired with tights and knee high loose leather boots. To pair with it was a leather bag thrown over your shoulder too, peeling at the straps from how often it’d been worn.

“Hey.” You said almost breathlessly, snapping Toji back into his thoughts. Get it together, damn.

“Thought you’d abandoned me.” He laughed off almost nervously, stepping further into the establishment to join the rest of your co-workers.

You looked up at him, bee-lining directly to the spirits and food. “Now why would I do that? I asked if you were coming, did I not? Plus, I left the house late. I was on the phone with my friend.” There was a light snark in your voice, a sass about you that had hardly any malice behind it.

Toji smirked, letting out a petty scoff — more a scuffle of laughter — he allowed you to follow him through the venue, beelining for the drinks table. He reached for a beer, wordlessly offering you a glass of white wine. Your hand brushed his as you took it, taking a sip from the glass. Satisfied with the taste you military signalled to the food, Toji watched as you picked up a few mini quiches. He shook his head with a grin, opting to grab a small handful of salted chips from an open bowl.

The food certainly wasn’t anything fancy, although he wasn’t one to complain. Free food was free food.

“Well still, you seem like the kinda girl to stand a man up just for the fun of it.” He added to your initial conversation. You raised an eyebrow at him, doing nothing but smirking in reply. Well damn. “So, any specific reason that you’re attending today's ‘fine event’?” He added, putting on his best posh accent as the last words rolled off his tongue. Toji started leaning against the wall nearest to him, watching the way you gazed through your lashes at him.

“Looking for a raise.” You admitted, shrugging one of your shoulders and allowing the shoulder of your dress to fall down lower — just about revealing the edge of what appeared to be a lace, fuchsia, strapless bra — much to his dismay you pulled the fabric up almost immediately. “Y’know, what better way to do so than to make an appearance?”

Toji let out a low chuckle in reply. “Well well, who would’ve thought. Miss Hardworking is only here for a better paycheck.” He kidded, prompting you to laugh in reply, sweetness rung in the air around him. It was almost a mocking reminder of — no, no don’t be thinking about her now.

You stepped in closer to him, almost toe-to-toe. You gestured your head back to one of the other office workers— one whom he recognized as a guy named Dan. “You know that guy?” You asked, subtly jutting a thumb over your shoulder.

Toji lifted his chin tactfully to get a look. “Not personally.” he answered, looking back down to meet your gaze. “Why’dya ask?”

“You remember when the printer stopped working, right? When Nanami sent you out to buy several ink refills, even when it was your day off because no one knew what ink to get?” Toji nodded, not interrupting. You sipped your wine before speaking again, moving impossibly close to whisper to him. “Well, the day before that happened he closed– and everyone is saying that he made the printer run out and just didn’t tell anyone.”

“Now really, Dan did that?” Toji squinted, watching you continue your trivial one-sided beef.

“Yes! And, and, that lady on his hip is Barbara. Supposedly they’re married. However, Dan is always seen sneaking off with that lady from HR. What was her name..?” You batted your hand against his arm, way too much excitement in your tone for simple office drama.

“Helena?”

“Her! And, y’know, that’s so wrong. And Barbara is pretty too, I'm pretty sure she has a kid from her last marriage though.” You paused “Not that there's anything wrong with that, just kinda sad, she's a nice lady.” You clarified, eyes widening.

“Yeah well Helena is an ass. She’s always needing something fixed. It’s annoying, ‘cus I have a life too y’know? Surprisingly I do more around the office then slave after all of you guys’ broken objects.”

“Really?” You drawled, dragging the word out as you tilted your head to the side, giving him a once over.

Toji nodded, head shaking slightly to the side as he did. Raven locks of hair fell over the edge of his face– allowing the lighting of the bar to capture the scar on his lip perfectly. “Mhm… always whinin’ and hovering around whenever she calls me in for shit that don’t even need fixed.” There was a small part of him that took pleasure in the way you were clearly trying to conceal the faint trace of jealousy in your face.

You looked behind you, taking a long (and clearly needed) gulp of your wine. You turned back to him when the glass was empty. “What, it’s that easy to get a piece of you? All I need to be doing is continuously calling you in for ‘maintenance’? Bet you’re into that, huh? Having someone ogle over you?” You tantalized, cocking your head to the side innocently.

Toji damn near choked on his beer at your words, clearly brought up by the trusty liquid courage of alcohol. For a moment he considered spitting something snarky back, or perhaps taking faux offence. Though, after a thorough thought he decided to do neither.

The rest of the night flowed easy, drinks piled up as you requested he fill your glass more than twice, each to which he obliged. Toji himself stopped after a couple beers, choosing to not will a hangover on himself. You forced him to dance– dragging him into the crowd of people where he spun you to-and-fro to the beat of Blondie’s ‘One Way Or Another’ a song he was sure he knew all the lyrics to.

Your laughter was soft and chiming like a handheld bell, remaining almost constant throughout the course of the night. When people started drifting home for the night, the party dispersed slowly and you ended up sitting on one of the bar stools, a few mini sausage rolls placed on a napkin in front of you– though you seemed more interested in him than the food itself.

Your eyes were hazy with the amount you’d drank over the evening. Toji was honestly surprised at the fact you hadn’t passed out yet. Though, with your incoherent mumbling filling the places where idle chatter stilled for a moment too long, he could tell you were only a drink away from doing so.

Toji leaned down just enough for you to get a whiff of his cologne. Did he always smell that good? “What was that? Didn’t quite hear ya.” he asked, voice rumbling low in his chest– echoing through your ears and buzzing on your skin.

“I said…” You started, straightening up to speak into his ear. “I think I’d like to go home with a smokeshow of a man.” There was a subtle raise in Toji’s shoulder at your words, when he pulled away he could see the smugness sitting across your lips in the form of a lazy smile.

“Really?” He replied, raising an eyebrow as he leaned back and to offer you a hand. Toji helped you up, the leather of his jacket moving under his broad shoulders. “Well, I can certainly take you home. What happens after is entirely up to you, Sugar.” he flirted.

Cold air hit you both like a freight train the second you stepped outside, Toji noticed it instantly as he felt you shivering from the lack of cover on your body. He lit a cigarette between his lips, taking a long drag as you hung off his arm for support— nimble fingers clutching his forearm with a vice-like grip to stop yourself from falling.

Frankly, you weren’t entirely sure you could still stand properly, and the trembling of your freezing legs weren’t helping. “Wait.” he voiced, stopping you at the traffic crossing while you pressed the button. Toji’s jacket was pulled off within moments,he handed it to you to pull over your dress. Sure– the off-the-shoulder dress felt slightly odd under a full jacket but it was nothing you couldn’t move past.

“You don’t have to-” you started to argue, Toji hushed you, shaking his head and zipping the leather up, fumbling with the zip as he did so.

“I know I don’t. I want to.” He grumbled, you met his eyes; though it didn’t take long for them to drift away, eyeing over the muscles straining against the black of his t-shirt. His back quickly turned on you before you could stare for too long, grabbing your wrist gently as he pulled you across the crosswalk with him to the other side of the pavement.

You let a small laugh escape your lips, smiling drunkenly to yourself at the sudden switch in attitude from the dark haired man. Your fingers slipped into his as you guided him back to your apartment, tripping a few times on some potholes that were definitely directly in your way.

Punching the code into the apartment’s opening door, you moved into the lobby, praying to God there was no one in the elevator. Much to your joy there wasn’t, the doors closed and you pressed the button to your floor while leaning against one of the walls, back to the mirror. Toji caged you against it, large hands settling on your hips, splaying across in a protective-type-manner.

You would've teased about it if it weren’t for the fact that you were desperate, aching that perhaps this could be something more than just a fantasy you may or may not have had since you met him. It wasn’t distinctly lewd, just not very “ladylike” per se.

You managed to get a slow kiss in before the doors opened– the two of you practically ran down to your flat, dragging Toji with such vigor that you likely seemed desperate if it weren’t for the fact he was striding behind you. His hands trailed over your waist and hips as you unlocked your door.

The moment wood hit the frame you hardly got time to turn on the lamp before he had you pushed up against it. Toji’s lips came crashing down onto yours, desperate to taste you. “Holy shit,” he muttered against your mouth, mouth moving leisurely to savor the moment. He pulled away, forehead resting against yours to take a breath of air before lowering his head again.

The next kiss was slower, more passionate than the last. One of his hands tangled with yours, holding it against the door by your leg as the other came to knot in your hair. Toji tasted kind of sweet, like the beer he’d consumed earlier that night and the small cupcakes he’d been eating throughout the evening — other tastes like the burnt tobacco of his cigarette lingered — though the sweetness was most prominent.

It felt like you were dreaming, as if you were floating in the middle of nowhere. Toji’s mouth moved from yours, his teeth grazing your bottom lip as he moved down your jaw, peppering light kisses through his words. “You have no idea how long I've been waiting.” He mumbled, “How long I’ve hoped your call would come instead of Helena’s, praying, wishing, g’damnit.”

“What, hoping I’d ogle instead?” You teased, letting out a breathy sigh as his lips moved over your collarbone, your free hand looped into the mess of his dark hair, illuminated by the pinkish tone from your lamp.

“Shut up,” He mumbled, though you could practically feel his sleazy grin. You pulled his head back by his hair, liquid confidence that lingered in your veins supplying you with more than you were capable of handling.

His eyes shot up to yours– a groan escaping his lips as he dropped to his knees. A hand moved away from your neck, sliding down your body and onto your waist. “You’d like that, huh? Me needing you?” You sneered seductively. Toji’s eyes studied yours, green and sharp in their movement. He hummed, hand squeezing your hip. You scoffed a laugh, smirking as he looked up at you, practically begging.

He looked so… weak? Was that the word? Submissive, maybe. Whatever it was, it was sexy as hell, and you weren’t entirely sure if that was just the alcohol speaking. His eyes were half lidded, staring at you like a dog waiting for instruction. Toji’s chin rests on your stomach, he was blinking slowly, eyelashes fluttering against his skin. You loosened your grip on his hair and he stood with intent, mouth crashing against yours yet again.

This time it was more desperate than the last few, your teeth almost clashed against yours when he parted your lips with his tongue, awkward and rushed. Toji awaited your jaw to slack so that he could deepen the kiss further. You moaned, one of your hands slid down to his neck, the other snaking under his shirt– washing over the muscles that lay under the coldness of your fingertips. He hummed in satisfaction, hardly heard over the panting of breath between the two of you.

Eventually your fingers graced his waistband. You fiddled with the buckle of his belt, feeling him train against his jeans; but he stopped, pulling away with such speed that it alarmed you. You could’ve sworn you sobered up instantly, did you do something wrong? Your hand retracted as he took a step back, and instantly your body mourned the contact.

“Sorry,” He seemed to choke on the words, almost as if he was realizing something.

The look on your face crushed him as he gestured to the door, waiting for you to move so he could leave. You shuffled toward him and he took the chance to slide past you, leaving with a bang. Toji knew what he had almost done was flawed. He could feel Mamaguro looking down at him with disappointment.

Almost taking advantage of a girl? A drunk one at that? God, he might as well be the worst person alive. He should’ve explained something, at least told you “not tonight” Toji’s head was swarming as he ran down the stairs of your apartment complex, pressing the button to allow himself out. His arms prickled with goosebumps in the cold of the night, swallowing down all of his lingering thoughts of turning back around.

If he turned around now he wouldn’t be able to control himself. He knew that. He felt gross.

After making a call to Shiu he walked home– hoping to god he wouldn’t get a text from you anytime soon. He’d just left, poof, gone, just like that. What was he supposed to say? ‘Yeah, sorry I actually thought about my dead wife instead of you?’ This was bad, so, so incredibly bad.

☔︎︎☔︎︎

The next morning woke you unpleasantly. Rain splattered aggressively against the window, while winds whipped at the trees surrounding your complex. Your memories of the night before were hazy. Though you could vaguely recall bringing Toji back to your flat.

So where was he now?

Working through your splitting headache you managed to pry an eye open, checking around your room for any signs of discarded clothes or lingering reminiscences of the night before. Much to your dismay there was nothing – no signals of him being over – of anyone being over for that fact. Should you call him? Text him? Ignore him until you eventually bump into him at work? Did you have work today? Shit! Work! You sprung up in bed, head pounding with last night’s mistakes. A glance at the clock next to you brought joyous news – Friday, your day off.

You flopped back down on the mattress as you took it upon yourself to think over a plan of action, and also, to simultaneously fall back asleep. What had even happened last night? God, you hadn’t forced him into anything, had you? You didn’t even want to check your phone. But a part of you was just itching to see if there were any messages. That’d be an issue for you in a few hours – the first task of the day was to get more sleep.

Lucky for you sleep came relatively easy, your body allowing you to drift off as soon as you placed your head back down on the pillow. It wasn’t until around 11 that you were awoken again– this time to the sound of your phone ringing obnoxiously loud. Was it him?

Blindly reaching to your left you picked up the device, swiping on ‘Connect.’ “Hey?” You asked, voice groggy with sleep.

“So? How’d it go? Did you get a piece of that ass?” Shoko’s voice came through the speaker, almost sounding shrill with anticipation– it was likely the most emotion you’d heard in her voice for a while.

You pulled the phone away from your ear a little. “What?”

“Uhm… Toji? Are you still drunk? Y/n don’t tell me you forgot your mission last night.” she questioned, laughing softly. Oh crap.

“I mean… does taking him back to my apartment count as completing said mission?” You replied, shuffling under your duvet to sit up against the headboard. God you were so sore.

“Did you fuck?”

You raised an eyebrow, putting the phone on speaker and dropping it into your lap. “Why would I tell you that, Sho?”

“Because I’m your best friend? Obviously.” she muttered in reply.

“Right… Well, we made out. And then I thought things would go further but he kinda just– left? Like, he just stood up and walked out.” You explained, vaguely recalling last night’s events. Everything was kind of blurry, more in fragments rather than a full story.

“What, he didn’t say anything? Just upped and left you?” She sounded confused, like she was suspicious of you leaving out any details.

You thought for a moment, flinging the duvet off and swinging your legs off the bed, trying to recall anything that’d happened. “Sorry.” Toji’s words echoed.

“Erm, I mean, he apologized. That was about it. Other than that he just grabbed his jacket and –” You stopped mid sentence, on your feet within moments and running to the hallway to check. “Shoko, oh my God he left his jacket. No, no, no! This means I'm going to have to talk to him…” the sentence came out in the form of a whine, a protest against the suggestion you already knew was going to come out of your friend's mouth. “I’m not going down there.” You stated.

“Just go see him!” The two of you were in perfect sync, bursting out into a fit of laughter; but it was short lived, Shoko interjected before you could get another word in. “Look, baby. You can’t ignore him forever, sure, I know you probably feel like crawling into the nearest hole and dropping dead right now but you two work together! You’re gonna have to face him eventually.” There was a pause and a light exhale, presumably from a cigarette. “You should clean up, go to Sukuna’s cafe and get his address and then at the very least drop his jacket at the door.”

Your mind was whirring with hundreds of outcomes; however, only two seemed to be the most likely. Either things go well and you end up talking it out. Or, he never speaks to you again. It’s not like he’s going to set out to kill you, right? Right? “Okay.” You gulped down, still staring at the jacket on the floor by your front door. “Okay. I’ll go.”

Shoko squealed on the other line, giggling to herself. “Yay! Okay, great. Go shower, get cleaned up and eat something, give me a text when you leave the house– I’ll let Sukuna know you’re coming.”

“Allright.” You nodded despite knowing she couldn’t see you. “Love you, bye!”

“Love yo-” You hung up the phone before she could finish, swallowing down the bile that sat in the back of your throat. Nasty and bitter against the remnants of last night’s sickeningly sweet wine.

In, out. Breathe, Y/n, breathe.

You put on a brave face as you headed for the shower, washing away the ugly stench of whatever had clung to your skin last night, simultaneously washing away any regrets you had about the evening prior. You’d be lying if you said there wasn’t a small spark of excitement at the thought of seeing Toji again.

But that was pushed away by the lingering thought of him not reciprocating those feelings– the off-chance that he might decide he hates you and quit his job, disappearing from town completely. You were out of the shower within 20 minutes, drying off your hair and changing into something weather appropriate.

Sure, maybe getting dressed up was a little excessive– but if you were going to embarrass yourself you might as well look sexy doing so. Smoothing down the denim of your low-rise bootcut jeans you took a breath, lifting a hand to adjust at the collar of your long sleeve t-shirt. A quick glance behind you told you you’d need a jacket, and a brief search through your wardrobe led you to pull out a grey sweater with a fur hood, clinging to your waist and creating the perfect silhouette.

Pfft, I’m so hot. You thought, grinning to yourself. Sometimes you really do need to be your own hype-man. You picked up a black scarf as you left the house, ensuring Toji’s jacket was secure in your bag. You text Shoko to let her know you’d left the house.

The walk to Sukuna’s cafe was a relatively short one, though you had made sure to pack extra money in case the walk to Toji’s house wasn’t. Sukuna’s cafe was beautiful– a place decorated with burgundy tiles. It was soft, cozy with a bakery counter at the front. A bell chimed as you walked in, two heads rising from behind the register. “Quicker than I expected.” The man snickered, ruffling a hand through his hair.

“Ryomen.” You greeted, leaning against the wall nearest to you, looking through the glass casing at the array of treats.

“Wha’ddya want?” He asked, raising an eyebrow as you pointed at a strawberry cupcake, finger jutting against the barrier.

The girl next to him scoffed, tucking a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “Be nice, Ryo.” There was a faint Thwak! As her pink tea towel smacked against his arm.

“Ow, damn okay.” He looked over at you again, eyes tracing down to your finger. “So… what brings you here?” He questioned again, using a pair of cream coloured tongs to grab the strawberry cupcake for you.

“I want Toji’s address.” You deadpanned, picking up the small cake before it could even fully touch the counter. Sukuna looked at you with a jeer, eyeing you over.

“And why would that be?” He questioned, raising a pierced eyebrow, ripping off some paper from his notepad.

“Well… Uhm, something happened last night and — well, — he kind of left his jacket at my place so I was just gonna leave it at his doorstep; Y’know, just in case he needs it. And I’m not back at work until Monday so –”

“Here.” A paper was slid across the glass, landing straight in front of you. Your words cut off, dying in your throat as you read the address. “Just– make sure to be quiet. His neighbor is an old bat, she’s fuckin’ crazy.” He muttered, appearing to be reliving some sort of traumatic memory.

You practically lit up with excitement, tucking the paper away into the pocket of your hoodie. “Thank you, thank you!” You picked the jacket off of the counter again, tucking it under your arm. “Buh-bye!” You practically ran out of the shop, cupcake clutched tightly in one hand.

“Are you gonna pay?!” You heard Sukuna shout behind you. A conscious decision was made not to turn back.

Luckily, just from one glance at the address you knew exactly where the apartment block was. And what was even better is that you were sure it was on the ground floor.

Toji’s place was hardly a five minute walk before the electric doors opened before you – straight after you’d typed in the small four digit code Sukuna had (so kindly) supplied you with. It was a nice place, old carpets, clean enough walls with a distinct smell of bleach and antibacterial products. You scurried down hallways and doors until coming across number 4, rapping thrice on the small knocker.

Dogs were set off barking, loud and obnoxious. And all of a sudden a wave of nervousness fell over you– like the clouds from the morning rainfall had cursed you. The dark wood creaked open, “Kuro, get back.” a black paw reached around the frame before it was swiftly moved. In its place was a boy, spiky hair and thin, almost swallowed by a baggy My Chemical Romance t-shirt.

You shifted the leather in your hands, clutching it tightly between fingers as your mind whirred to make sense of what was happening. The boy in front of you looked like toji, same eyes, nose – hell, even his hair was that same jet black. “Can I help?” His tone was flat, patient as two white rabbits in his arms snuggled closer.

Who the hell was this? Was Toji married? Shit, had you kissed a married man? A married man with kids at that?!

You snapped away from your ever consuming thoughts, glancing again at the number on the door, then back to the two big black and white dogs behind him. “Erm… No, it’s okay. I must’ve gotten the wrong–”

The boy shook his head, cutting you off as he strategically moved his leg behind him to push the black dog back. “You’re here for Toji, right?”

With a pause, you nodded, holding up the jacket in your hands; signalling to it. “Yeah, I uh – he left his jacket with me yesterday. I thought I’d–”

Again, the boy shook his head. This time with a sigh, adjusting the rabbit in his arms he extended one of his hands out toward you. “I can take it, Dad’s not home right now.”

…Dad?

You brushed it off, attempting to feign ignorance as you handed the jacket over to the boy. Silence fell between the two of you, no one knew what to say and things were quickly becoming awkward. Though, you stepped back from the apartment’s door, offering a light smile. “Thank you.” You swiftly ended, nodding and turning your back on him.

A part of you felt mildly sick, though, you were sure you’d never seen a ring on Toji’s hand before. And he definitely wouldn’t have initiated things with you last night if he’d been married… right? Surely he wasn’t that much of an ass.

☔︎︎☔︎︎

By the time afternoon had come around, rain had started to fall again. Pouring from the sky like someone had personally offended it. Toji didn’t mind the rain, it reminded him of his younger days. Running around with his late wife – holding her close as they spun in her favourite flower field together. Though, ever since her passing it’d become some kind of bitter reminder of what could’ve been. Toji shoved his keys in the lock, shaking his hair off before he entered the house; messy raven strands dripping with rainwater.

“‘M back.” He announced, closing the door behind him with one foot– already bending down to unlace the boot from the other. A white dog came bounding up to him, large white paws jumping up onto his shoulder. “I see ya, I see ya. Hiya, Shiro.” The beast yipped in reply, pushing itself down and bounding in circles before sitting and waiting for Toji to finish undoing his shoes.

When he was done he patted the dog's head. Calling out again to the oddly silent house. “Megs, are you home?”

“Yup, just re-filling the bird feeder.” He shouted back. Toji followed the sound, hovering in the doorway of the kitchen, watching silently as his close-to-carbon-copy worked diligently with the grain.

“That fuckin’ owl ain’t eating that, kid. Dunno why you still feed the damned thing.” He scoffed, looking down at his feet as a fluffy creature passed by them. “Oh, cm’re Megumi.” The purple cat jumped into his arms gently, moving over his arm and resting over his shoulders.

Megumi sighed with annoyance, looking back at his father. “Oh, the cat. And, yes it does. How many times do I have to tell you? Kuro, get down. Jesus Christ.” He sassed, huffing ignorantly. “Can’t believe you named that stupid cat after me.”

Toji squinted. “No, I did not name it after you. If anything, you were named after him.”

“Oh my God. The thing’s ancient, it shouldn’t be alive.” The teen huffed, screwing the lid back on the feeder cage, brushing past his father to go and re-hang it in the garden. Toji watched carefully as various animals followed at Megumi’s feet. Both dogs, even one of the bunnies lingered behind.

Fuckin’ disney princess.

“So…” Toji started as Megumi walked back in, closing the glass door. “Anything happen while I was gone?”

Megumi shook his head, though he paused in the lounge to pick up the bunny trailing at his feet. “Oh, a woman came over. She had your jacket– I left it on your bed.” Toji paused at the words, heart jumping up his throat. Shit, shit! He forgot he’d just abruptly left last night.

“Really?” The words almost got stuck in his throat, high pitched as the muscles in his shoulder tensed despite the animal on them (the cat remained unbothered, lazily purring away in his ear.)

“...Yes? Why’re you being weird about it? Is she another one of your hoes? What you’re gonna introduce her to me and then she’ll leave when she realizes you’re a –”

“Don’t.” Toji’s voice caught a sharper edge, head cocking to the side to directly look at the scrawny teen. “You don’t get to speak to me like that. Or about her like that – matter of fact no woman should be spoken about like that. So I don’t want to hear it from you.” he deadpanned, briefly taking a moment to recollect himself before he spoke. “And no, I made a promise I wouldn’t bring anyone home unless I was 100 percent sure they were the one. You know this, kid.”

Megumi’s shoulders sagged, the white rabbit in his arms nuzzling closer. The air was thick with the tension of unspoken words. Both parties wanted to say more despite knowing it’d be wrong too. “Yes.” A small frown settled onto his lips. And for a moment he almost looked defeated, small and fragile like he looked when his mother had passed. “Sorry.”

“You don’t gotta be sorry, Megs. Just know it ain’t right ‘ta talk like that.” Toji let out a deep sigh. “Did she say anything?”

Megumi thought about it before replying. Only to speak softly. “No, only that you’d left your jacket with her.”

Toji nodded, content with that answer. “‘Kay. I only walked her home, ain’t nothing happened that you gotta concern yourself with.” Conversation fell flat, awkward, almost. Something the Fushiguro house hadn’t felt in years. The cat on Toji’s shoulders shifted, slipping for a moment– though he was quickly caught, cradled like a baby in Toji’s large arms. “D’ya want anything specific for dinner?”

“No. I thought we were having sushi, though.” Megumi muttered, leaning against the counter.

“If you want sushi we can order some, saved up some extra cash.” Megumi nodded, and finally, Toji felt like he was able to breathe.

☔︎︎☔︎︎

The following day at work was like a game of hide and seek— some knock off game of cat and mouse around the office building. You'd hardly left your desk all day and Toji had attempted to conceal his glances every time he walked past your door. It was getting tiring, to say the least. But he could understand why you didn’t want to see him.

You on the other hand were wondering why he’d been avoiding you all day. You were sure that if you just gave him a chance to explain himself he could; and that this all could be put behind the two of you as quickly as possible. You finished work at three, going in search of Toji, hoping that he hadn’t left already.

Much to your luck (and surprise) he hadn’t. You found him halfway up a ladder, head in the attic space of your building. You opened your mouth to call his name but decided against it in case of startling him, you wouldn’t want him to fall now, would you? It was daunting to say the least, trying to think of words to explain how you felt without seeming dramatic or controlling.

Sure, you’d been pining over him ever since he’d started working for the company. But what you had at the bar that night wasn’t special nor exclusive. If anything, it could’ve just resulted in a one night stand — maybe he would’ve left straight after he got what he wanted — or… there was always the off chance it could’ve developed into more.

You shook your head to rid yourself of the guilty thoughts, instead deciding to lean against the wall beside you, waiting for Toji to emerge from the roofspace. It really didn’t take long, just a few extra minutes until he crawled down the ladder, landing on the floor with a grunt.

The dark haired man spun on his heel, shoulders tightening a little when he met your eyes. You saw his Adam's apple bob. “Y/n.” he spoke, almost void of emotion if it weren’t for the tremor in his voice.

“Can we talk?” You asked, your hands connecting nervously. Toji ran his fingers through his hair, nodding and checking his paint-covered watch.

“I finish work in twenty. Can it wait until then?” he questioned, cocking his head to the side.

You nodded, offering him a polite smile. “I’ll meet you outside? Maybe we can go to a cafe?” You offered, clutching the strap of your handbag. Toji agreed with a thumbs up and you scuttled away instantly. It was true that you were nervous, but really, this couldn’t be as big a deal as he’d made it out to be.

The two of you met outside the building twenty minutes later, with an awkward greeting and a signal of his head– the two of you got walking. You decided to let him speak first.

“I’m sorry I left so abruptly.” Toji apologized, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. He sighed, looking straight ahead as he walked. “It was wrong, but I knew that you weren’t fully with me, and I thought it’d be incorrect to initiate anything with you in that state.” Your head turned to look at him.

He appeared too polite, uncanny for a man as rough as himself. Though you weren’t going to complain. You searched for words that could possibly put how you were feeling into perspective. “I– It’s okay.” You spluttered, burying your nose into the fur of your jacket hood. “I think I might have come along a little… well, desperate.” You admitted, facing forward again as the two of you strolled.

Toji let out a soft chuckle beside you, he shook his head. “No– no. I was into it, you don’t need to apologize. I’m supposed to be saying sorry right now.” You felt his arm brush against yours. “I just think that I could’ve approached it better.” Just as you rounded a corner Sukuna’s cafe came into view– It was still open, but you could tell they were closing soon. “Come.” Toji muttered, clasping your hand in his own and jogging ahead.

You stumbled a little, following closely behind. Toji dragged you into Sukuna’s shop, announcing his presence by moving a chair for you to sit down on. You watched him pull away from you, disappearing behind the counter and into the back of the shop instead. A low grumble of conversation was all you could hear, ending with Toji walking out and saying “I owe you” as he grabbed two strawberry-cheesecake muffins from in the glass.

Upon his return he sat down opposite you, placing down the muffins on the table. You reached out to take one, starting to unwrap it as soon as it was in your hand. Toji watched you idly for a moment. Seemingly looking for the right words. Silence fell between you as you ate, the only sound being the sound of cleaning bottles hitting against metal counters in the back.

You knew he was about to speak when he took a deep inhale. “My wife died. Uhm… twelve years ago. And– well, I still struggle with it a little bit. She said to me that she wanted me to find someone. Find someone that makes me happy. But I can’t help but feel guilty whenever I start to like someone.”

Your heart dropped at his words. You slowed your chewing, daring not to interrupt him during a conversation that was clearly very deep to him. Toji continued speaking, “for a while I really struggled with raising Megumi — my son — who you met. Because he was only four and he had a lot, and I mean loads of questions.” The dark haired man seemed to choke up a little. You stretched your arm across the table and he took your hand in his, your thumb tracing patterns over the rough skin. “He just kept asking where his Mum had gone and damnit– It was difficult.”

“I’m sorry.” You whispered, unable to think of something else worthy of this conversation. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Or even about Megumi?”

Toji shook his head in reply, swallowing thickly. “I didn’t want you to leave.” He replied. “This is so stupid, I just hid away from telling you anything because we weren’t close. Sure we spoke at the office… but aside from that…” He avoided eye contact with you, sighing softly.

“Look at me.” You said, squeezing his hand gently. He lifted his gaze to meet yours, the once sharp, green eyes no longer bore back at you. Instead they were moss-filled lakes, swimming in circles of doubt. “You should’ve spoken to me sooner, silly. I would’ve asked you out months ago and you could’ve finally told someone how you were feeling.”

The man opposite you squeezed your hand in retaliation. “You wouldn’t be the one asking me out, Sweetheart.” He chuckled carefully.

A blush rose to your cheeks almost instantly. A part of you felt a little guilty for changing the topic so quickly, but you could tell he needed that distraction. You maintained eye contact with him, only breaking it to shove the last of your muffin in your mouth. Toji let go of your hand, chuckling heartily.

“Nice?” he questioned, picking up his own muffin and unwrapping it, taking a large bite. “Mm,” he hummed, nodding approvingly. If there was one thing you’d learned about Toji over the last few days, it was that he was a sucker for small cakes. You’d watched him practically hoover up at least five at the office party, but jeez, something about a man demolish a muffin in two bites was hilarious.

Giggling to yourself you watched the dark haired man lick the cheesecake filling off his fingers. “I get the feeling you like cake.” You laughed at him.

Toji raised a shoulder. “Eh, it’s alright.” He replied sarcastically.

The pair of you laughed, lost in your own little world. Before Toji broke the spell. “So… a date, would you like to go on a proper date with me? We can take things from there, but I’d like to take you out to somewhere nice first.”

A smile tugged at the corner of your lips as you shifted your legs under the table, your foot brushed against his shin as you nodded, agreeing with him. “I’d love to go on a date with you, Toji.”

Toji grinned widely, the scar on his lip shifting with the movement. Your hand came to rest next to his again, the two of you gazing into each other’s eyes. You were so happy– ecstatic that everything had worked out. And now, you finally had the excitement of looking forward to a nice date.

It was perfect.

Sukuna’s presence broke the atmosphere like a bull walking through a china shop. He cleared his throat heavily, Toji and you moved your heads in sync, both looking at him. “Can you get out my cafe now?” He asked. The pair of you nodded, already making way for the door. Just as you escaped you heard the pink haired man shout after you.

“That’s two muffins you owe me now, missy!”

── ⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆ ──

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