CW:Implied smut, pregnancy, Toji being feral for you
Thinking about how Toji loves when your pregnant.
He loves watching your belly grow weekly, constantly comparing it to the week before. Your small little bump in the first trimester drives him wild. “I just look fat” you complain anytime he’d come up behind you and rub on your little pooch that had formed, not yet a solid form distinguishable underneath.
“No baby it’s much different, you look so adorable, “ he’d softly pinch the skin, causing you to squeal.
Your breast started growing rapidly as you neared your delivery date, and toji adored how swollen they were becoming even though you were still complaining about your changing body
“None of my bras fit, they’re so heavy and sore,”
“I know baby,” he’d coo at night while he palmed your tender breast to relieve the aches. “But you’re still so sexy. Your perfect tits swollen with milk to feed our baby. Fuck you’re gonna be a pretty mama.”
You feared your changing body would make Toji less attracted to you. “Not at all baby, i think this is the most beautiful you’ve ever looked. All knocked up with my child,” he'd say from the couch as he watched you strolling around the house-more like waddling, in nothing but a large tshirt and panties.
“Real eloquent, Toji,” you roll your eyes.
The final weeks and days of your pregnancy were rough. Your stomach distended so big you worried if you breathed too heavily you would pop.
“Look at youuuuuu,” Toji would sigh, getting on his knees infront of you to kiss and rub your sore belly. “Our little guys gonna be big like his daddy.”
Sure enough, your little bundle of joy was in fact a large, bouncing 9lb baby boy. And sure enough, Toji was ready get you pregnant again as he watched you breastfeeding your little creation in the rocking chair.
“God that’s about the most beautiful sight i’ve ever seen,” he breathed while laying in the floor of the nursery, absolutely swooning over you and your child. “Let’s have another.”
“Toji! I just gave birth,” you half laugh half shout.
“Yeah?” he shrugged, reaching for your feet and massaging your achey ankles. “You’d look heavenly feeding my child while full of my other one”
You playfully kicked him in the chest.
Honestly, Toji would keep you pregnant 24/7/365 if he could. The pride he felt seeing you busting with his child. How your skin glowed from the hormones. Even how your nipples would darken and enlarge, leaking with milk near feeding time- hell he even loved rubbing nipple cream on your sore nipples and breast, always trying to soothe you.
And sure enough, not even a year after the birth of your child, Toji smirked as you showed him the 2 faint lines. “Mmmmm, get to see my baby all big again, fertile little mama.” You only half teased about getting him “fixed”, because you secretly loved being pregnant as well and watching the literal heart eyes pulse in his eyes. The massages were also a plus
A/N Thank you all for the continued support as I have been on hiatus due to some mental health issues. it means the world. As a thanks I'm posting this quick chapter. it's short, but I hope it whets your appetite a bit as I get back into writing more regularly.
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Chapter 14
“Are you sure you are alright?” Shiu repeats the question for the tenth time. And for the tenth time, you nod as you sit on your couch, nursing a glass of water he had offered you after you had come to.
Bits and pieces of what had led up to your collapse start to clear up in your mind: Connor coming to your house, seeming to wish to overpower you in some way with his words, Shiu aiming a gun at his head. Why Connor had come to your house, you still didn’t know.
Shiu registers the confusion on your face, that you are lost in thought, and attempts to reel you back to reality. “I got your voicemail. I’m sorry I didn’t answer. I was on my way to the airport with Toji and I—”
“Is he here? Is he ok?” you blurt out, hoping that somehow Toji was still within the area. Safe.
“He’s on a business trip, dear. But he’s fine,” Shiu assures.
You slump your shoulder, disappointed. You wish he were here. Both for protection and support. You wish it could go back to what is what before this stupid letter got passed to you. Oblivious to the double life Toji–and your grandmother– were living, enjoying his company and Megumi’s sweet voice greeting you—
“Where’s Megumi?!” you gasp. You have been so entangled with your drama and Toji that you forgot about Megumi. You don’t remember seeing him the night before when Toji had come by and you don’t remember seeing him in the car this morning with him and Shiu. Dread shivers down your spine along with guilt.
Shiu lifts a hand to settle you, “He is fine as well. Up at my estate within the community, doing his school work well, though he doesn’t like the other children there. Claims they aren’t fun and ‘clean’” He chuckles. “Living outside our network has turned him into a regular kid I guess.”
“You sound disappointed that he wants to be a normal kid,” you murmur.
“He wasn’t meant to be regular. He’s the son of one the most notorious assassins’ of the past 2 decades.” And there it was. That word: assassin . The deadly weight that comes with such a title causes you to cower more on the couch.
“So you want him to…” you refuse to finish the sentence. To connect that sweet, innocent boy with such a harsh word.
“It doesn’t matter what I want,” Shiu huffs a breath, a defeated look on his face.
“What does Toji want?”
He sighs and drags a hand down his face. “Toji wants him to be an ordinary child with an ordinary childhood and ordinary ambitions.”
“So? Seems like a safe and happy childhood”
“He would be safer within the Society walls.” Shiu snaps.
“What the fuck is this society you all keep saying?” you snap back. “Are you running some sort of cult raising child killers?”
“The Society of Keres has been a home for some of the most infamous killers and spies in history. We are a family of honor and duty to carry on the bloodline.”
“Sounds like a cult.” you snark.
“We don’t rely on religion nor do we promise a glorious afterlife. It’s not something one can join or be recruited for. All of which a cult uses to amass its followers.”
“Where does Toji fit it there? And my grandmother?” you pause as a more daunting question bubbles up. “Where the fuck do I fit into all of this?”
Shiu shakes his head, sighing, then joins you on the couch. “Might take a while.”
“I got time.” Finally, some answers.
“In that case,” Shiu pops a cigarette into his mouth. “May I smoke?
10 cigarettes later, Shiu finally stubs out the last in his pack. The sun has fallen behind the trees, leaving the living room in a golden glow.
“So, my grandmother left the Society and they killed my parents in return? Why did they never tell me? My dad at least? Did my mom ever know?” you couldn’t stop the onslaught of new questions.
Shiu holds up his hands, signaling for you to slow down. “Your father ran away from the Society after he met your mother at 19. Both were desperate to run away from the Society. They escaped, hid, and had you. He sent letters to your grandmother and pictures. I assume it saddened her to be aging alone without her family. She fought to leave, attempting what she thought was a safer route and asking permission to resign, the high-ups warned her it was a betrayal, but she didn’t care.
“Your parents were a unique pair. Your father excelled at executions while your mother was intelligent and could hack the most sophisticated computers and infiltrate security cameras in record time. With those strengths, they were able to reenter and retrieve your grandmother. She hid well,” he looks around the house, then sighs. “Sadly, as time went on and better methods of locating people came in, she was found, and as you know, after leaving here on Christmas they..--”
You hold up your hand, “I get it.”
Not really. But the amount of information was becoming overwhelming. It all boiled down to 3 points.
Your parents had also belonged to this circus
Them along with your grandmother, escaped.
The death of your parents was in retaliation.
“Why didn’t they just kill her?” you ask.
“They sent someone to do it, but—” Shiu looks at his clasped hands. Waiting for a beat before continuing. “As he said, he couldn’t kill someone that was like his own mother. He himself had lost his parents young, basically orphaned. Your grandmother took him in, taught him—”
“Wow, what a fucking saint,” you clip sarcastically. “Don’t start trying to make me feel sympathy for some bloodthirsty piece of shit sent to my grandmother's doorstep.”
“That bloodthirsty piece of shit has been protecting you ever since you moved in,” Shiu shouts. The sound echoed through the room.
“Toji– he was,” you sputter as the realization finally hits you.
“Sent to kill your grandmother, yes.” he finishes.
I hope you enjoy this chapter! IDK I know toji isn't a big character in the franchise but I think that makes him so much fun to write.
AO3 link
Previous chapter
WC: ~2.5k
CW: Mentions of death violence and weapons
You pace the floors of your house to the point you're surprised there isn’t a groove left in your wake. It had been half an hour since leaving your message for Shiu. Now, you waited. For what? You didn’t know. A callback? A call saying you have the wrong number? Or do you call back, hoping for him to answer?
Your fingers bitten to nubs and legs exhausted, you slump down at the kitchen table. The letter is still where you left it. Face down, you couldn’t bother looking at the familiar handwriting that once crafted such lovely notes. Happy birthdays; Congrats on graduation; Just because I love you letter. Now she had spun a nightmare for you to read. The pages fluttered as the AC kicked on. It skidded an inch toward you. You watched it, glad you couldn’t read the blank page—
At that moment, you caught a faint line on the back of the letter. You hadn’t noticed it, more than ready to set it down and forget it. Or burn it. Your fingertips pull the letter closer to you. No, not a line. The script is small, only an inch across. And it wasn’t a word, it was numbers. 4 numbers.
Brows furrowing, you try to think what these numbers could mean. These numbers didn’t represent anything in your present knowledge. They weren’t a birthday of anyone in your immediate circle. Or their death days. Or phone number. It must be a code of some sort.
Audibly, you gasp and shoot up from your chair so fast you have to cling to the table until your vision clears. Once, the dizzy spell passes, you rush up the stairs 2 at a time and jerk the attic cord down. It lands with a loud clunk and you climb up, heart thundering in your chest, your head, your ear.
Once in the attic, you find the metal safe. The blink of the keypad luring you. Again, you didn’t know if you wanted it to work or not.
Your fingers tremble as you enter 3 of the numbers. Pausing to take a breath. This was it. You jab the last number, pressing the open button.
Nothing happens for a moment. Maybe it wasn’t a code to this after all. Oh, well I tried—-
Beep.
The safelock clicks, barely opening the thick metal door. You creep closer as if what lies inside is a snake about to strike. The air suddenly became too thick. Suffocating as you slowly open the door.
Nothing jumped out at you, both literally and figurately thank god. You take your phone from your back pocket and turn on the flashlight, shining it into the mouth of the safe. Lined with black cloth, the inside contains a neat file of folders, each with a date and a series of numbers written on the tabs. Beside those is a sheathed knife. Clearly not a cooking knife, you concluded. The handle was etched with a symbol you couldn’t identify.
A small black bag was in the corner of the case, knotted with a drawstring like one of your small shoulder purses. You untie the knot and reach inside, thinking it empty since there is no weight it.
Fuck!
You pull your hand back out of the bag quickly. The palm of your hand is slit and already starting to leak blood. Whatever you had grabbed had been sharp. Like small teeth had bit.
Gently, you upend the bag and dump the object onto the floor of the safe. A wire slips out, the ends of which have a wooden handle attached. Not just an ordinary wire. This was a garrote.
And not just a simple garrote. This one seemed to be made with a wire consisting of sharp barbs on it.
This was a weapon of torture. And it wasn’t just enough that this garrote was to be used to strangle its victims. With enough strength and tightening this wire could easily slit someone’s throat.
The thought makes your stomach churn. Had this very one been used before? On who? And by whom? Your grandmother. Bile rises into your mouth and you quickly swallow while pushing the garrote back into the bag and sliding it over.
The phone light again bounces off a metal object. No surprise, a gun lay in the back of the case. You use the tip of your finger to pull it towards you. Remembering the adage to treat every gun as if it was loaded. You take it a step further and treat it as an explosive.
Being sure it was aiming away from you, you hold the gun in your hand. The weight is foreign, you had never held anything more than a Nerf gun. Your heart rate quickens as you think about the damage this small object could do. The lives it could end. Had this too been used along with the garrote?
You remember the way Toji had handled his weapon with such abandon. Did he not know how dangerous these were? Or was he already so skilled at wielding a gun that the motion was like breathing to him.
Skilled Marksmen
That’s what the letter said. But you knew that was a more formal term for what you had teased Toji about being.
Assassin.
You mentally slap yourself on the forehead at the memory of it. It all seems so easy to piece together now. Leaving Megumi with your grandmother to ‘keep him safe.’ The child referring to people as ‘bad guys.’
It also explains the essence that is Toji. Big, brutish with his looming form. You imagine the fear his ‘enemies’ must have when they come face to face with him. And yet.
Yet, you also knew that though he had a threatening presence you never once felt afraid. Intimidated? yes. Flustered? absolutely. He was protective of Megumi, of course. And although he technically stalked you while on a date. He did seem to want to protect you as well from a dangerous man. But was that only because he was obligated— Contracted? Forced? – to protect you?
The doorbell quickly knocks you out of your daydream, almost dropping the gun still clutched in your hand. You shove it back to the far corner of the safe, shut the door, and head downstair.
A small part of you hopes it’s Toji. Coming back to explain more. But what if it’s someone else? You slow your steps to the front door. Now you were wishing you had brought the gun along with you.
The doorbell rings again, followed by a knock. By the front door table is a vase, you grab it intending to use it if it comes down to it. You take a steadying breath and unlock the door, cracking it ever so slightly while keeping your weight shifted forward in case you need to slam it.
A familiar voice greets you. “There you are.”
Connor stands on the other side of the door. You huff out the breath you were holding, relieved. But that relief is short-lived as you remember the files lying behind you in your kitchen. Now you are racked with fear.
“Can I come in?” Connor asks, subtly trying to push the door open. “I wanna talk”
You swallow, trying to clear the lump in your throat. “Uhm, I’m sick. I don’t want you to catch it.”
“Please,” he rolls his eyes. “If you're sick so soon after seeing me then I’ve already got it too.”
“Well—”
Before you can reply he shoves his way in, rocking you backwards.
“Gonna wack me over the head with that,” he laughs, gesturing towards the vase in your hands. He says it so coyly as though he knows you are no match for him. You scan his body, trying to notice any odd bulges in his pocket that would indicate he has a weapon.
“I just didn’t know who it was.” you stammer as you place the vase back on the table.
“You don’t have a security system? A camera?” he asks nonchalantly.
“No.” In that moment you knew you had fucked up. Knew you basically announced you were unprotected. An easy target.
“Hmmph,” Connor looks around. Is he casing the place? So unabashedly? “Should get one.”
“My neighbor—Toji. He has cameras outside his house and usually warns me of anything suspicious.” you try to correct your mistake. It wasn’t a lie. You had seen the cameras before, one points from the corner of his house and one near the back door.
“Hmm, good neighbor.” The sarcasm can be felt. “Still should get your own. Who knows? He could be the one to hurt you.”
“I trust him.”
“Yeah?” He cocks a brow. “And whys that, y/n”
“I just–do.” Is he trying to turn you against toji? Why?
Connor stands in front of you with his arms crossed and legs apart. The intention was clear. He wants you to feel small.
He tsks. “You women are so naive and so confusing.”
You raise an eyebrow in confusion. Connor stalks towards you, closing the gap. “Thinking men are going to protect you. One day you're shouting you hate all men, then you’re wanting them to save you.” He grasps a lock of your hair between his fingers. His touch sends chills down your spine.
“I think you should leave.”
“Why? Am I the big scary guy now? Do you hate me now?” he grips your chin, forcing you to look into his menacing eyes. “Who’s coming to help little old you?”
“I’ll scream, Toji will hear–”
“Nice try, darling.” he cuts you off, tapping the side of your cheek. “Mr. Fushiguro is out of town.”
How did he know?
“Don’t do this?” you plea. What you’re not wanting him to do you aren’t sure. Hurt you? Rape you? Kill you? You remember the long list of crimes you had read and a wave of nausea hits you.
“Begging suits you,” he says darkly.
“A bullet in your head would suit you.” a voice says from behind Connor, followed by a click of a gun. “I think it’s best you leave the woman alone.”
Your eyes widen as you stare around him. The man with Toji–Shiu–stands behind Connor, a gun pressed to the back of his head. Instead of flinching like a regular, sane person, Connor simply laughs. As if the whole ordeal is a joke.
He gives a hmph before turning to face Shiu, saying, “Well played.”
Shiu still has the gun raised. “The lady asked you to leave. I think it wise that you do.”
Connor glances at you sidelong, a sly smile on his face. After another look around the space, he slinks to the open door. At the threshold, he turns. “Forget what I said about security systems. Looks like an exterminator is what you need. Get rid of the varmints.”
You look from Connor to Shiu, the three of you standing in a triangle formation—Shiu beside you now, gun lowered, but finger still on the trigger. Connor by the door, now realizing no more words are going to be exchanged. With a crooked grin and a shrug, he turns to leave finally. Throwing a hand lazily over his shoulder as a goodbye. “Trusting the wrong people, y/n”
Shiu quickly rushes to the door, closing it before turning to you. His eyes are now soft. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah?” you whisper.
Before collapsing on the floor.
~Toji.~
Toji is standing in the doorway to the kitchen, sleep clouding his brain from a long week away. The haze quickly evaporates as he sees 2 forms in the kitchen. Both with their backs to him. One in a soft cotton dress, hair in a messy bun. The other is in an oversized shirt, standing on a stool, with familiar black hair poking in all directions. Both with their hands in the sink. Soft giggles coming from both mouths as they wash dishes. Toji steps forward, his footsteps announcing his arrival.
“Daddy!” Megumi squeals, stepping off the stool and rushing towards him. Toji bends and scoops him into his arms. The dense weight of his small child instantly comforting. He kisses his soft cheek. “Miss me?”
Megumi nestles into the crook of Toji’s neck, nodding. “We felt her!”
“Megumi that was going to be a surprise!” the other figure at the sink turns. Toji still swoons at the sound of that sweet voice.
“What surprise, y/n?” he asks as he drinks you in. The way you brush the stray hairs from your face, the softness of your barefoot steps across the tile. The small and growing bump around your middle and the way your hand delicately touches it. You are more than glowing, you are radiant. Breast heavy with nourishment, prepared to feed his child. Our child.
“We felt Little Bean kick earlier,” you beam. Reaching for Toji’s hand and placing it on your swollen belly.
Toji moves his hand around your stomach, trying to feel what position the baby could be in. Suddenly, he feels it. A kick. Hard. So hard it knocks you forward.
“Wow! That was—”
Megumi screams, his body scrambling in Toji’s arms. Toji looks up from your stomach, you are staring right at him with a glazed look.
“Baby?” he trembles.
Blood starts dribbling from your mouth, landing on the floor, on his hand, on top of your pregnant belly. Another kick—no a shot—jerks your body, a stain of red blossoming on your chest.
Toji’s vision blurs at the edges. He looks around, trying to find the shooter, but he’s glued to the spot. Forced to watch as blood continues to run out of you. “No, No, NO!”
He grips Megumi tighter, so tight that the boy's body disintegrates, collapsing into ash in his arms. Toji's blood-curdling yell shakes the very foundation of the world, the house, causing the ceiling to begin crumbling. His arms reach to touch you, to save you. But as soon as his fingertips touch your cheek, you crumble into dust like a statue. He bellows your name once again as the roof falls on all of you.
Toji jolts and gulps a deep breath of air. No house, or remains of a house surround him, just the bright lights of the inside of the private jet. The tires hitting the tarmac send vibrations up his back as the jet lands. He takes a few more steadying breaths. A dream. A sick dream. That’s all it was.
But Toji knows sometimes dreams can be omens. He has always relied on his intuition. It’s part of what made him such a skilled killer after all. He mulls over the dream and the details of it, storing it away in his memory to sort out later. Right now, he has a job to do and can’t be distracted with dreams of Megumi. Of you. Of you carrying his child. Of you being harmed…
This dream was a warning. Everything Toji loved and the life he longed for could go up in flames and collapse around him in an instant.
sorry this took a while to get out. And I hope this is long enough but not excessively. feedback is so appreciated. love you :)
Word count: 2.5k
Warnings: language, drugs a SA references, mentions of gun.
“Thanks for taking me out. I had a great time.” You say once outside the restaurant. “Maybe we can do it again sometimes?”
Connor helps you put on your coat, the night becoming chilly in the 2 hours you spent enjoying wine and delicious food. “Of course.”
You hadn’t expected to actually be asked on a date with him. And so quickly. But once your phone chimed with a message from him asking if you would like to grab dinner, you couldn’t contain your excitement. The restaurant was more high-end than you were used to—dim lighting, a wine list, and exotic foods with names you couldn’t pronounce.
The date had gone great, though you struggled to find out much about Connor.
I just moved here.
No, no family.
I’m an independent contractor.
I like all music.
He seemed more interested in learning more about you. You feel like you went through your whole biography—which was a problem you had. The moment a man seemed interested, you went all in, saying things too quickly or delving into too much detail. So sue me? I’ve been single for too long! So what if i may talk a bit too much.
The topic later turned to talk of your grandmother. Though they weren’t the usual questions a regular person might ask. His were more…precise. Blunt
What all did she leave you within the will?
How much money did you inherit?
Any family heirlooms left behind?
Luckily, you kept that pretty close to the chest. Not doling out much except that you have moved into her home.
Now, the two of you stand on the sidewalk facing each other. “Whenever you're free, just let me know” He steps forward, pulling your jacket closer around your neck against the wind. It was a sweet gesture.
“Yeah,” you squeak, looking up at him. The moment is both exciting and scary. Is he going to make a move to kiss you? Should you go for it?
You catch him looking at your lips and think—to hell with it. You lean forward, closing your eyes. He does the same. Yes! You cheer to yourself
But before your lips can meet, he suddenly pulls away, clearing his throat. “Sorry, just—a lot of people around.”
You look around. No more than 5 people walk around. All of them lost in their own lives, not paying any attention to you. Heartdropping and suddenly humiliated, the moment turns awkward.
“Yeah, you're right,” you try to act nonchalant.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, your phone chimes alerting you that your Uber has arrived. Thank fuck. You stare out the window as you're driven home.
~
The glow from the laptop is the only light illuminating the room.
“Maybe we can do it again sometime.”
“Of course.”
The video feed is distorted. The camera is not quite centered but enough for Toji to make out the 2 figures it is aimed at—you and Connor…or Dmitri. The person, whom Toji acquired through Shiu, pretends to be on his phone while the camera hidden within his watch is pointed in y/n and Dmitri’s direction.
The feed goes silent as the two of you shuffle awkwardly. Toji’s eyes grow wide and he moves closer to the screen as he sees you lean forward, preparing to kiss him.
“Sorry, just—alot of people around.”
Toji releases the breath he was holding. The video may not be the best quality but there was no denying the slump of your shoulders. He can imagine the confused look on your face; he had seen before. It was cute how your brow furrowed and a slight pout crept into your lips. As happy as he was that you hadn’t kissed this sleazy dick, he knew that you’d still feel hurt. Knowing you were hurt, regardless of the cause, sparked a flame of anger deep in Toji’s chest.
The feed showed you then getting into a Uber. Looking at his watch he assumed you’d be home in about 15 minutes. Tonight he would—
A knock at the door shakes his thoughts. He opens it to reveal his guest is the hacker from earlier holding a stack of folders.
“Uhm, here’s a printed copy of the information I gathered today.” He hands them over.
“Great, now go,” Toji closes the door in his face. He couldn’t risk being held up by his nerd talk. The folders contained, as promised, multiple government documents of Demetri Solokolov including mug shots, court testimonies, international IDs, and passports under different names. A part of him feels guilty for dropping this massive amount of information on you, but he would feel more guilty if something happened to you.
~
You thank your driver and exit the car. The streetlights glow overhead and illuminate your humiliating walk to your porch. Your cheeks burned with the embarrassment of being rejected. Luckily, no one was around to see you—-
“Hey, neighbor,” you hear from behind you. Turning, you see Toji leaning on his porch railing.
“You know I have a name.” You bark, not wanting to deal with him and his dumb quips.
“I know,” he walks down the steps towards you. “Just fun seeing you get all sassy with me.”
“What’s that?” you gesture to the thick folder he's carrying.
He shrugs, “My lines, been practicing all day.”
You roll your eyes and continue walking up to your door, unlocking it and stomping inside. “I’m not really in the mood to deal with your shit, neighbor .”
Toji stands at the threshold. The streetlights cast his enormous form in shadow. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, i said I don’t want to deal with you,” you toe off your shoes.
“Yeah?” he goads, a little smirk ticking his lip up.
“Yeah!”
He leans against the doorway, “Then why’d you leave the door open?”
Damn he’s good. You consciously/subconsciously left it open. No you didn’t want to deal with him, yet…you wanted him around. Why? Who the fuck knows.
“You want me to leave you alone? Come slam the door in my face?” He drops the folder on the table beside the front door and braces his arms against the top of the door frame. His shirt rides up, his pale skin stark against the tight black shirt he’s wearing. “Show me that sass.”
You slump, giving up. “Toji, please. I’ve had a bad evening. I’m going to bed.”
“What happened?”
“Like you care?” you snap, tears of frustration lining your eyes.
Toji must notice and drops his arms to his side, narrowing his eyes. “Yeah, i do.”
You wave him off with your hand. “Whatever.”
“No whatever, tell me, y’n.”
You look up at the ceiling as if looking for what to do. Confide? Lie? But lying never seems to work with Toji so you give him the truth.
“Fine. I had a bad date.”
“Date huh?”
“Yes a date. I’m not a nun.” you fight back. “I do have a life.”
“So what happened? He stand you up?” Toji goes on, still standing at the threshold of your front door.
You groan in frustration, “Look, it just didn’t go how I wanted ok?”
“You didn’t hook up,” he says bluntly.
“NO!” you screech. “That was even on my mind!”
“Ok, fine” he chuckles. After a beat, he says, “Well maybe it was for the best, then.”
You scoff. He’s seriously trying to throw platitudes at you. “Whatever.”
“He was no good for you. Fuck him.” Toji says nonchanlatly.
Now his lack of emotion was pissing you off. This time you snap. “How the fuck do you know? You don’t even know him! How do you know what's good for me and what isn’t.”
“And you know him so well already?” Toji finally steps into your house, now he is in your space.
“Yes,” you bluff.
Toji retrieves the folder he had thrown on the table, stomping towards you. “Yeah you know he’s a hired gun with ties to some of the worst crime lords in the country? Or that he’s involved in multiple trafficking rings? Both human and drug?”
You move around the dining room table to put space between you. You don’t know if you're scared because of what he’s saying or the menacing way he’s stalking towards you.
He slams down the folder on the table. “Oh, and I’m guessing you know he’s been accused of sexual assault, rape, blackmail? But you must’ve looked past that right?”
“You looked him up? How did you even know his name, you fucking psycho?” you shout and your eyes are the size of saucers as you flip through the folder laid in front of you. Indeed, pictures of Connor—though on these papers there are multiple names associated with him— some mug shots, passport photos, driver's licenses, even CCTV footage. The handsome face you were used to seeing was nowhere to be seen. Now, you stared at a man with dead eyes that held nothing but contempt and evil in them.
“That—” Toji blinks, dumbfounded. “I just gave you a list of shit this fuckers done and your mad at me? I’m the psycho?”
“Yeah”
“For looking out for you?”
You turn away, unable to face him any longer. The anger you now felt at both Toji and Connor–Dmetri, John, Frank, whoever the fuck he was—is threatening to crush you into a million pieces.
After a full minute of silence, Toji realizes you aren’t going to say anything else. “Fine.” He turns on his heel and everything in you wants to tell him to stay, but the lump in your throat prohibits you.
You watch him storm to the front door, pausing, then turn to you. “I’m going out of town tomorrow. I’ll be gone for 3 weeks.” He reaches into his pocket and lays a scrap of paper on the entrance table. “Here’s a number. Call it if you need it or something—happens.”
Again you don’t respond because now the thought of Toji not being next door while a known killer can easily access you makes you uneasy.
“Please be careful, y/n” Toji closes the door, leaving you to stand there while a million emotions flood around you. Hate, anger, fear, shame. How could you so easily have fallen into the trap of going out with a man who was pure evil? Killer, rapist, stalker.
An hour later, after many tears and many lock checks, you finally crash on your bed, curling around your cat to feel some semblance of comfort~
~
The sound of a car door closing snaps you awake. You slept lightly anyway, any noise startling you. Climbing out of bed on weak limbs and going to the bathroom. Quickly, you brush your teeth and rush to the door, throwing it open. The clothes from last night were now wrinkled on your body since you hadn’t bothered to take them off.
A black sedan sits outside Toji house with its trunk open. A man—the man you had seen before–lighting a cigarette while Toji loads his suitcase. You refuse to leave on the note you did last night. Throwing open the door you march to the vehicle, intent to say—well you didn’t know what to say. Perhaps you just wanted to see him again.
“Ah, miss y/n. How are you dear?” The man says, cigarette dangling out of his mouth. “Forgive me for being late but my condolences on Mrs. Ruth. She was an extraordinary woman.”
Once again, you are too stunned to speak. How the fuck did he know your grandmother. You stare at the man, trying to match his face to someone you might know from days past. Nothing.
He narrows his eyes at you, assessing you, before smiling. “My, you look just like her.”
I’ll deal with this later. You shake your head, ignoring him, and walk closer to toji. “Hey.”
Now, it appears he’s ignoring you. Not even looking at you as he continues loading his things into the car.
“Be careful,” you repeat the words he gave you last night.
Still avoiding you, Toji unzips the luggage bag now loaded in the trunk. He reaches behind him and pulls out—
“Fuck,” you stumble back as he pulls the handgun from his waistband.
He flips the safety on and removes the magazine, the glint of the loaded bullets shines brightly in the morning sun. The two pieces are placed in the luggage before he re-zips it. All the while you stand, mouth hanging open. How could he so brazenly pull a gun out?
Toji slams the trunk closer and steps by you as if you were nothing but a tree to maneuver around. He opens the passenger door and folds his large body in. Shiu tips his head at you with a simple goodbye before getting behind the wheel. He starts the engine and you realize then that Toji isn’t going to give you the time a day to say goodbye or whatever you wanted to say.
Dipping your head, you walk back towards your house. The sound of the engine still idling at your back when you get to the bottom of your steps.
“y/n”
You turn at his voice, your heart kicking up. Toji has gotten out of the car, gripping the door in his hand. His mouth is set firm. You both stare at each other a beat.
The next few moments happen in such a blur you can’t register what is happening. Toji rounds the car door and walks briskly to you, cupping your face and kissing you harshly.
The heat of his mouth is intoxicating. As if sweet venom is laced on his lips, paralyzing you to the spot. Like a drug, you knew, in that moment, that you’ll forever be chasing the high of his kiss.
He pulls away sharply, still holding your face in his large calloused hands. His eyes are filled with lust and almost something like angst as he stares into your widening eyes.
“A real man will kiss you. No matter who’s looking.” He pushes something against your stomach and without looking you take it from his hands.
With that he turns and marches back to the car, closing the door. The moment is over and you watch the vehicle drive past and up the road.
You look down at the item he placed in your hand.
An envelope. With the script you could find on every birthday card, Christmas tag, and celebratory letter you had. The familiar slant and flourish of the writing make your knees weak as you trace the ink with your hand.
il mio agnellino
~
Toji eyes your shirking form in the passenger side mirror. A million things wanted to say still buzzing in his head.
“At least she will finally know.” Shiu breaks the silence.
“Yeah,” he replies, watching you sliding your thumb into the envelope and prying it open. “She will.”
“So what exactly are you wanting me to do, sir?” the lanky male asks Toji. The computer opened and reflected in his oversized glasses.
“I am curious myself,” Shiu sits with his ankle over his knee, staring at Toji from across the kitchen table. “Your text from last night was quite unexpected”
Toji is seated with his forearms braced on the table, a slight frown on his face and a tiredness in his eyes. Which was to be expected since he hadn’t slept a wink the previous night. His mind spun from thoughts of you and this mysterious guy that had interrupted his owning up everything to you. He battled back and forth with his mind–should he really try to find out who this was or should he allow you to live your life and make your own choices? As the sun peaked over the horizon, he came to the middle ground, sorta. He’d find out who this guy was, but that was it! No background checks, no sending out people to his house, and definitely not wiping him off the planet and out of your life. Just a normal hacking of a phone.
“I need to see messages on y/n phone.” Toji answers.
Shiu’s eyes widen, taken back for a moment. Then, his face turns to one of joy. “Ah, already? The agreement must’ve been–”
“This isn’t about the agreement,” Toji interrupts, brusquely. He turns towards the hacker. “Just tell me you can do it.”
The hacker wrings his hands over his keyboard, clearly nervous in the presence of the infamous Toji Fushiguro. “Uhm, I can put spyware on it? Do you have the phone?”
“No, do it remotely. She uses an Apple phone and computer. I’m sure she has messages coming through her computer on the messaging app.” He demands.
“If we are in the range of her wifi, I can crack through her password, and then the software can gather all her credentials–logins and passwords. Then, we just enter those into the messaging app.” The hacker spoke quickly, clearly excited to show off his abilities.
“Do it,” he orders.
~
A day off work was never really a day off. Being so busy with work and honestly being lazy, the house chores had fallen behind. Though you have been living here for a few months now, the house still screams “Grandmother’s house.” You just hadn’t had the heart or the mental strength to get rid of things. Grief made you hang on to it as much as possible Until the smell of her house was replaced with your soft vanilla and lavender smell. You started in the bedroom, packing away old clothes to take to donation centers and replacing the bed sheets with ones that were more you—A soft purple comforter and an overabundance of pillows.
After folding the new bath towels and placing them in the upstairs hallway closet, you look up at the ceiling and the hatch to the attic ladder. You had been dreading going up there for a few reasons. Spiders, dust, dirt, mold, and the wild idea that someone might be up there living for all you knew. Another reason was what you DID know was up there. Pictures, memories of people you would never see again, and memories of moments you’ll never experience. But, today was the day. It had to be done.
Straightening your shoulder, you pull the string and allow the ladder to unfold to the floor. Surprisingly, no dead bodies tumbled down and no clouds of dust poured. You climbed the stairs, holding your phone as a flashlight. Once at the top, you notice it’s not the crypt you expected. It could be a spare room, the floors barely showed signs of neglect, neat stacks of books in the corner, and enough room to stand. Another string hung from the rafters to a light that still worked.
Getting to work, you pull dusty boxes from the corners, carry them to the floor below, gather the books to sort through and sweep the floor. Once satisfied with your cleaning, you gather your supplies and turn off the light. You switch all the supplies to one hand as you shuffle to the ladder.
The canister of furniture polish slips from your arm and rolls to the side of the attic. You chase after it, using your phone light again in the dark. The light bounced off the can and another glint of metal on the wall you hadn’t noticed.
Upon further inspection, you see a small gap in the wall, metal peaking out behind it. Using your phone light, a two-foot by two-foot section of the wall seems to be cut into the wall. YOu dig your finger into the exposed groove and gift it a sideways push. After getting stuck a few times, the panel recedes into the wall at the right, and the content behind it is revealed.
A silver safe about the size of a mini fridge sits behind the wall, a thin layer of dust coating it. A keypad blinks in the upper corner. You take a chance and attempt to pull the handle, hoping it would open—another part of you hoped it wouldn’t. Scared to see what was in it.
After 3 more tugs of the handle, you give up. It clearly needs a passcode. You try a few—1234, 11111, 2222 —-- before again giving up in case it had a system that locked it completely for an undetermined amount of time.
Finally, you climb back down the ladder, Confused, which seems to be your everyday emotion these days. You might as well have a giant question mark above your head
What the fuck is going on?
Toji
“I was able to hack into her cloud and find her contacts. I reverse-searched the number of the last message she received. It comes back to a Connor J. Falco but it appears he’s gone by a multitude of aliases. Here are some of the text messages I was able to—”
“I’m not going to read her messages, just give me what info you have on the guy,” Toji interrupts, slightly closing the laptop that the hacker had rotated around for him to see.
“Isn’t your concern that she is…involved with this man? Romantically?” Shiu chimes in from the living room where he is sitting on the floor with Megumi, playing with action figures. “ I believe I’d want to know what they were discussing, hmmm?”
“That’s—her business,” Toji replies, knowing how ridiculous it sounds.
“Doesn’t hacking into her phone inadvertently—”
“Just give me info on the guy,” Toji says to the hacker. He knows it doesn’t make sense. He tries to ease the guilt of spying by telling himself it’s only half spying. And it’s not spying on you, you were just the obstacle to get to the real prey. He wouldn’t read any of your messages or look through your photos and social media. That’s where he drew the line—the very thin one.
“Connor J Falco is an independent contractor, though I can’t find anything about what exactly he is contracted to do. Small online presence, just moved to town from overseas. No criminal records, no past traffic infractions.”
“See? An upstanding citizen.” Shiu laughs. “Completely harmless.”
“However,” the hacker clears his throat. “That’s just for Connor.”
“What do you mean?” Shiu stands behind the laptop.
“His other alias,” Toji answers. He knew this was what would happen. Whatever persona this guy was showing y/n was no doubt clean. It was his other personas that worried him.
“Correct. And Dmitri Sokolov?” The hacker nods and turns the laptop around for Toji to see. “He has quite a disturbing criminal history.”
Toji slides the laptop closer, clicking through the pages of court records and mugshots both international and domestic. From white-collar to violent crimes. His heart hammers in his chest. These weren’t petty crimes, this guy has experience.
an: I hope to get this onto AO3 so I can't write longer chapters. I hope those that read it are enjoying it. Thank you for the likes. :3
CW: suggestive language
After the ordeal with Toji, you concluded that, for the time being -- and the sake of your mental health, it was best to avoid him- even more so than before. That meant checking before leaving your house to keep from running into him or Megumi. Picking up extra shifts at work was also another way you intended to steer clear of him. Which is how you ended up today working a 12-hour shift.
You didn't mind, the monotony of the work was more comforting than if you had been sitting at home mulling over what had occurred at Toji's house.
It's 9pm on a Saturday. After finishing restocking the bookshelves and clocking out, you head for your car.
"Hey y/n! You up for a drink?" you turn at the voice, seeing your co-worker Valerie, skipping up to you as if you both didn't work long shifts today.
As much as you want to refuse due to tiredness, you remember what awaits you at home. Nothing except the film in your head of Toji saying "il mio angellino" on a loop. After a moment you say, "Yeah sure."
The bar is a dank, hole-in-the-wall establishment. Scuffed wood and the overwhelming smell of tobacco. Valerie orders you both coke and rums from the bartender. The taste instantly perks you up and dulls your senses. It had been a long time since you had drank. Never really needed it, but with the grief, the moving, the neighbor, and the hard hours of work, tonight seems a perfect opportunity to indulge. Maybe a little more than you should.
Three drinks later, the alcohol has completely turned your mind to mush. You reach into your pocket, grasping your phone. A text has come in since you've been here.
Toji: You ok?
Even though your heart does a little skip at the text - though that could be from the alcohol coursing through you- you can't help but roll your eyes. Why does he care? How could I be ok when he dropped so much shit on you in less than 15 minutes?
Focusing hard, not wanting to sound drunk you respond "Yeah? W hy?"
Ok, maybe you weren't focusing hard enough.
Toji: You're usually home by now? Your car's gone.
Oh, so now he wants to be all obsessive and know everything when he wouldn't tell you anything? Fuck that. You're quick to fire back. "Uhm? It's Saturday? You're not my keepr? You spying on mer now? Why do you care what iam doing?"
After hitting send you realize that on top of being drunk, the anger you now felt from his possessiveness didn't help the construction of that text. So, to not face any more embarrassment, you shove your phone back into your pocket. Not caring if he replies or not. You want to enjoy the night.
Enjoy the night indeed. A few drinks later and dancing with strangers in the corner of the bar, Valerie finally shoves you both into an Uber. The ride is a blur of giggles and focusing hard on not throwing up. Somehow you make it home, well close to it. Unforntaly you told the driver the wrong house number and ended up half a block from your house. Oh well, some fresh air would be nice. After saying bye to Valerie, you staggered along the sidewalk towards your door.
Because you're too busy concentration on putting one foot in front of the other, you don't realize that the walk passes right by Toji's house. You attempt to count your steps, losing count every three steps due to stumbling. A particular hard stumble sends you pitching forward onto the concrete which sends you into a fit of giggle. "Oh my," you say to yourself.
You sigh and roll onto your back. The night is cool and refreshing. Taking deep breaths and smiling, you close your eyes as the breeze hits your flushed cheeks.
You hear shoes scuffling towards you, but you are so comfortable you don't let it bother you.
"Not really the best place to stargaze," a sultry voice says, causing you to open your eyes.
Toji stands over you, his arms crossed and a pissed-off look on his face.
You roll your eyes before closing them again. Your drunk mind thinking if i can't see him then he will go away.
"This how you have fun? Get drunk and wake home alone at 3 am." he scolds.
"How i have fun is my own business," you bite back, brattily.
"Yeah, laying on the sidewalk looks like a lot of fun." he retorts.
"Why the fuck do you care."
"Your in front of my house." he laughs. "Kinda not a good look for me and the house's curb appeal."
"Whatever," you mutter.
"Get up off the sidewalk, y/n" He orders.
"Make me." your eyes are still closed.
You hear him groan then feel him bend towards you, scooping you up easily in his arms.
"Fucking put me down," you snap, though your not entirely fighting him, a pathetic slap to his shoulder that hits a wall of muscle.
"No wonder Megumi likes you so much. You're both brats when it's bedtime."
Finally exhausted with bickering you resign to be carried like a child to the front door.
"Where are your keys," he asks, setting you down on the porch but keeping an arm around your waist to keep you steady.
"Pocket," you groan, eyes becoming heavy.
Toji's hand that isn't braced around your middle slides into the front pocket of your jeans. The combination of the alcohol, his closeness, and now his touch so close to an intimate area sends even more heat through you, but now more concentrated between your legs. He quickly removes your keys and unlocks the door.
"Alright let's go," he scoops you back up, crossing the threshold. You're excessively dizzy from all the feelings rushing through you that you can do nothing but rest your head against his shoulder as he carries you to your bedroom.
Somewhere, the not-drunk you perks up. How did he know exactly which room out of the three was yours? He didn't even pause or ask once inside.
Laying you gently on the bed, he tosses the throw blanket that sits in the reading chair beside your dresser over you. "You've been rolling on the ground, I'm not tucking you into bed…or putting you in pjs."
You can only groan sleepily, happy to be in bed. You peer at Toji through half-shut eyes and notice he's smirking at you.
"Goodnight, y/n" he shakes his head, softly laughing. He turns to leave but pauses by the dresser. "This was the first picture your grandmother ever showed me of you."
He picks up the framed picture of you that your grandmother had placed there. This was her bedroom after all. The mention of her makes a wave of sadness wash over you. "This picture doesn't capture your eyes though. They're more vivid in person.."
You blush, not knowing how to respond
"Doesn't capture how short you are either," he looks over his shoulder at you, smirking.
"Screw you," you say, though it's muffled by the blanket you've nestled into.
With another laugh, he leaves the room. Before you finally succumb to sleep, you hear Toji close the front door.
Fun for Megumi turned out to be more exhausting than you imagined. The afternoon was spent mostly outdoors. Hide and seek, tossing a Frisbee, and even walking down to the small lake at the end of your street to feed the ducks. Now, sitting under the tree, the sun descending Megumi seems to be slowly losing his energy. Much to your delight. You didn’t know how 2 parents were able to keep up with a child, much less how a single father like Toji could. Which made you curious…where is his mother? Is she still involved? Are she and Toji still together? You don’t remember any mention of another woman either from him, Megumi, or even when your grandmother mentioned him. It was always just Toji and Megumi. As much as you wanted to ask, you knew it wasn’t your business. You don’t really know them. But it didn’t keep you from wondering.
Now, Megs sat up next to you, lazily swishing a cat toy back and forth while Mewsy chased it, your arms casually cradling him against your side.
'`Is your grandmother not coming back?” he softly says. You’re shocked by the question. You didn’t even know he was aware of her not being there.
“No,” you choke out. “No she’s…not coming back.” you didn’t know how to answer it. How do you talk to a child about death…a child that isn’t even your own? It wasn’t your place, so you kept it as ambiguous as possible.
“Oh,” he says, almost sad. “I liked her. She made good food.”
You stroke his dark hair, smiling. “Yes, she did. You know she might have left some recipes behind. I could try to make whatever you liked?”
“Chocolate cake!” he quickly answers.
“I’m sure i can find that for you,” you laugh.
“She let me help her make it one day when I was hiding at her house while dad was gone. She let me lick the spoon but promised not to tell him,” he whispers.
Hiding? Was he serious?
“What do you mean hiding? And where had your dad gone?” you ask, casually.
“His work. He took me over to Miss. Ruth's house and told her I needed to hide out there and not to leave the house til he got back.”
You can't remember ever hearing your grandmother mention Megumi staying at her house. “Who were you hiding from?”
He shrugs, “Bad guy. That’s what daddy says.”
You stay silent. Is this factual? Or just the wild imagination of a kid? How could you even approach Toji about it–about something that isn’t even your business. But bad guys? And what did your grandmother think about this?
“I’m hungry can we make dino nuggies,” megumi stands up, shaking you from your thoughts.
You both walk back into the house, using the key Toji provided to unlock the front door. The house is simple, clean, almost like no one lived there, except for the various toys scattered in the living room and a few dishes in the sink.
Once the food is cooked you both sit on the living room floor, the tv showing cartoons, a pile of crispy chicken nuggets on a plate between the two of you. You hated to admit how fun this was. You never thought of yourself as a motherly person, but you were easily becoming attached to Megumi.
Your phone pings with an incoming text
Toji: Has he driven you crazy yet?
You smile before replying
You: Plz, he’s an absolute angel.
Toji: Lol, only bc he’s got a crush.
You blush, unsure how to respond.
Toji: I’ll be home in about an hour.
After finishing dinner and sneaking Megs a cookie from the cabinet, the two of you curl up on the couch underneath a blanket. A movie plays on the tv but his eyes are slowly closing as he curls up against your side. It's a comforting weight, his little body, you can’t help but feel your heart warm, your eyes also struggling to stay open…
You feel a warm hand on your shoulder, gently nudging you.
“Hey I’m home,” a soft voice says.
You finally register where you are, shooting your eyes open. Toji is leaning over the couch, hand still resting on your shoulder and Megumi is not next to you.
“Shit! Where’s—” you start to panic.
“Relax, I already took him to his room, I’m sorry I'm so late..I got…busy,” he says hesitantly.
“God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” you apologize, earning a laugh from Toji
“I told you, he’s not an angel. He will tire you out.”
“No, he was great. We had a lot of fun.” You wanted to ask about what Megumi had mentioned earlier–the hiding, the bad guy, but you couldn’t bring yourself to. Not right now anyway.
“I appreciate it,” he says. “Here.” He holds out a thick stack of twenties, a currency strap around it reading 300 dollars.
“Toji! No! This is entirely too much I really didn’t mind.” you say, shocked. Not even daring to touch that much money.
“I insist.” He waves it in front of you.
“No I refuse,” You stand up, heading to the door to put on your shoes. You knew babysitting could come with good cash but never THAT much and just for an afternoon, you’d feel too guilty taking that much from him. You attempt to change the subject. “Uhm he ate dinner and fell asleep not long after you texted. I didn’t let him nap or anything…”
You look up and see toji staring at you with a slightly annoyed expression for not accepting the money. “Uhm, I guess i’ll go–”
“Wait,” toji grasps your upper arm before you can open the door. His big strong hand sends heat down your spine. “Go tell him bye, before you leave.”
“Huh?” you ask confused.
“Go tell him that you are leaving and you'll see him later,” he says, softly. Almost pleading.
“Of course I’ll see him again. Let him sleep.”
“No,” toji shakes his head, his grasp still firm on your arm. “If he wakes up and sees you're suddenly gone and didn’t tell him bye he will freak out…just—please.”
Your heart breaks at the thought of Megumi being upset. In his room, you sit on the bed, his small body curled beneath the covers. You lean over and whisper, “Hey little man, I’m going home.”
He shifts under the covers, a small whine, “no stay.”
“I gotta go feed Mewsy,” you say. “She gets really grumpy if she’s not fed.”
Megumi sits up, rubbing the sleep out of his eye before embracing you. You hug him back, now hating that you did indeed have to go. You look at toji, leaning against the doorframe, a soft smile on his lip “I’ll see you later ok?”
He releases you and shakes his head before lying back down. Once you tuck him in, you pass by toji’s looming body by the doorway and walk to the front door. You pause not wanting to leave without asking your questions. Turning back around, Toji is standing behind you. How did you not hear him approaching? You jump back, a little startled at his silent approach.
“I–I should go,” you stammer but don’t move towards the door. Toji removes the stack of money from his pocket and reaches it forward, sliding it into your jacket pocket.
He’s so close you can smell his manly scent, arousal creeping into your veins.
“Thank you.” he whispers.
Before you can do something stupid, you whirl to the door and throw it open. Rushing down the steps without saying goodbye.
Those 4 words rattled in your brain as the days and weeks passed. You kept busy (and subtly avoided toji) by finishing up moving in and picking up a job at the local bookstore. The hours weren’t great but it kept you away from your house and your neighbor. Yes, you felt kinda shitty. He was only trying to be nice. But the look on his face as he purred, “Don’t be a stranger” with a smirk on his face made you ten times more intimidated by him. I can NOT get involved with him…wait he probably didn’t even mean it like that… I’m looking too much into it…still…no not I can’t do it. I don’t know him and he has a child I’m sure he’s not even interested. These thoughts consumed you.
As much as you tried to avoid confrontation with toji, it was practically impossible seeing as your houses were so near. Luckily, the interactions were in passing, a quick wave. A smile from you…a smug grin from toji. It seems Mewsy wasn’t one to avoid them, you would catch her strolling across the yard between your houses when Megumi and Toji would arrive home in the evenings. Megumi would light up and giggle as she'd once again perform her act of rolling around.
Although you avoid one one-on-one confrontation with Toji, you don't avoid…looking at him… especially when he is outside with the garage door open, music blaring as he does pull-ups in his make-shift gym. Sweat streams down his rippled abs that contract with each heavy breath. It makes your mouth go dry. God, what it would be like to lick up those chiseled muscles, to cling on to those broad shoulders as he'd thrust— stop no bad bad bad, you scold yourself every time you started fantasizing, shaking your head as if it was an etch-a-sketch and could erase the images.
You knew you couldn’t avoid him forever, the time would come that you would have to speak to him…and this evening seemed to be just that day. As you sit on your porch reading your book, Mewsy on your lap, you hear that sensuous voice that makes your knees quake.
“Hey, neighbor.” toji stands at the bottom of your front porch steps. Megumi toddling up the stairs, excitedly, “Y/N!,” he climbs onto the wicker lover seat with you, Mewsy perking up and stretching.
“Megs,” toji sighs, shaking his head. “You have to wait to be invited onto a girl's porch, son.”
“It's fine,” you say, patting megumi's leg as he settles beside you like.
“How’ve you been,” toji asks, shoving his hands in his pocket. “Not seen ya much. You avoiding me?”
Shit! Was I that obvious?
“Oh…n–no just been trying to work as much as possible,” you stammer, wringing your hands in your lap.
“I see, “ toji responds.
“Yeah…” god, you wanted a hole to swallow you up, he clearly wasn’t convinced. “You can come sit if you want.” you try to change the subject.
“Nah, we gotta get going I'm about to drop him off at my boss’s house while I run some errands out of town .”
What kind of boss watched their employee’s kids? You didn’t know it you were relieved or bummed that he couldn’t stay.
“Ohh, dad let’s stay with y/n pleaseeee,” Megumi whined.
“No bud we gotta go,” Toji replied firmly.
“But Shiu’s house is so BORING, UGH” he groans.
“Ugh,” toji mocks. “You’re not even a teenager and already giving me such attitude.”
You can’t help but laugh at the back and forth, how similar the two were, how good of a father Toji seems to be….what a dilf.
“Blah blah blah,” Megumi teases, causing you to laugh harder.
“For real, Megs we gotta go. It won’t be for long. I promise.” Toji says.
Megumi starts groaning, “But I wanna stay with y/n.”
“Im sure y/n has things to do.”
Megumi curls his little arms around yours, clinging to you.
“I don’t mind,” you suggest. “He can stay.”
“YAY!” Megumi cheers.
“Y/N you don’t have to. I don’t want you to think I came over here just to drop him off on you,” toji stammers, clearly thrown off by your offer.
You shrug. “I don’t have anything else to do. I’ve babysat before. As long as you trust me with him.”
“Well,” toji sighs, running his hand through his messy hair. “AS long as you ok with it. I won’t be back til after dark.”
“Thats fine,” you assure.
Toji stalks up the porch steps, squatting in front of Megumi on the seat beside you. “Listen you, little man. Behave for y/n. I mean it. Do what she tells you to do.”
“Ugh ok dad,” megumi rolls his eyes.
“Again with the bratty attitude,” Toji sighs standing up before leaning forward, bracing one hand on the back of the seat by your face to kiss his son’s forehead. “Love you.”
You swallow at the closeness, his scent dancing around you. Pure male a hint of aftershave. He reaches into his pocket, handing you a set of keys.
“Here’s the house keys. It’ll be after his dinner before I get back and I doubt you have the right kinda dinosaur chicken nuggets for him to eat.” Toji laughs. “His bedtime is 9, but nothing strict.”
“OK,” you say. “Uhm what’s your number in case I need to contact you.”
“Ha, so this how I get your number, huh? My son. Jeez, he’s got more game than me.” he shakes his head, getting his phone out and swapping numbers with you.
“I’ll text when I’m on my way back. Thanks for this,” he says as he makes his way off the porch towards his car parked on the side of the street.
