Chapter Text
“Say goodbye to Mr. Gojo now, Nanako,” you say, pushing your daughter gently towards her preschool teacher.
Nanako gives a cheerful, bouncy wave to Gojo with a bright smile, jumping up and down making her sparkly pink backpack with too many charms attached bounce up and down noisily. Gojo gives a laugh and waves back, not noticing his pink apron has been untied because of two snickering children behind his back.
“See you tomorrow, sweetheart! And don’t worry, I’ll share the bread you gave with Kento, (Y/N).”
You roll your eyes playfully, watching Gojo return his attention to another child who was waiting for their parent as he carefully takes out a piece of bread to snack on for the time being. He accidentally manages to attract a crowd of scrambling hungry children as they scurry around him, jumping up and down and demanding a piece of the bread to which the preschool teacher raises it above his head in defense and telling them to go back to playing.
Nanako stretches her arms out and scrunches her small arms repeatedly with a grin. “Up, Mommy! Up, up!”
You smile and bring up in your arms with a soft grunt. She’s getting bigger by the day and you can’t help but feel nostalgic about her infant days, despite her being only four. She giggles as she enjoys the view from your arms. Nanako plays with your hair gently as she’s cradled in your arms, inhaling your slight scent of sugar and coffee beans that people say you carry around with you at all times to your embarrassment.
Nanako is sound asleep shortly on the walk home, but begins to wake up to the sound of people chattering in the noisy cafe. It’s beginning to grow a bit busier now that winter has thawed and the May flowers have bloomed - almost all the tables and booths have been filled up with a wide variety of people. College students take up one booth, a group of businessmen hold the long table seated in the middle, and a group of the gossipy elderly ladies whisper about in the near corner.
“Do you want to take a nap upstairs?” you say and start heading go the elevator that leads to your apartment which sits above the cafe once you receive the sleepy nod.
The elevator dings, telling you that you’ve arrived on the eighth floor. You step out, only to nearly trip over because of the sheer amount of boxes that are set up in the hallway and almost let out a curse in front of your daughter. The boxes are scattered all over messily, with various labels scribbled in permanent, black ink written on the sides.
It was then you suddenly remember the landlady had said there would be a new tenant moving across the hall yesterday and you’re glad that the empty apartment across from yours finally has someone living in it. You figured you would say hello later in the day, but with the boxes that are placed like landmines, you aren’t too sure if this would be a good first impression.
The keys jingle in your hands and you let yourself into the apartment. Nanako is set down on her princess-themed bed and you pull the blankets over her as she snoozes herself away from the tiring day of running around and playing at preschool. You only had less than an hour to your shift and you pray that Nanako wouldn’t wake up before then, knowing how she hates to be alone.
You exit your apartment, only to see the door across from yours close suddenly. You clicked your tongue in slight annoyance. At least the neighbour was there. There were significantly less boxes than before, but you still had to hop around the ground to avoid tripping and landing face first; the last thing you needed was to combine your clumsiness and barb wires that took form in cardboard together. The least they could do was put the boxes to the side of the hallway… you mutter internally.
Your shift ends quicker than expected - the college students say they’ll take over for you and you thank them gratefully as you dash upstairs, only to hear the muffled sobs of your daughter through the walls. Panic starts filling your body and you sprint to your apartment door worriedly. The door slams open and Nanako comes crying to you with open arms and you spill out apologies, reassuring her you didn’t disappear. Her wails are even louder and you try your best to soothe her or at least decrease the volumes of her sobs.
You don’t realize the door is still open until there’s a cough over your shoulder. You pick up a sniffing Nanako in your arms as you loom up to a tall man. Very tall, at least six feet.
He’s dressed casually, with black sweatpants and a white hoodie with Adidas slippers. His long, black hair drapes over his face and shoulders in a messy yet stylish way. He looks tired and annoyed, disgruntlement plastered all over his face.
“Can you keep it down? My daughter’s trying to nap…” he groans, dragging a hand down his face. You take notice of the silver wristwatch that most likely would take you three months to save up for.
So he’s a parent, too apparently.
You stutter and gulp at the supposedly-new tenant.
“I-I’m sorry, I should’ve shut the door—"
“It’s fine,” he sighs, evident irritation laced in his tone. Who pissed in his coffee this morning? “Just… try and be a bit more conscious, yeah?” he mutters and closes your apartment door with a final huff.
Nanako hiccups and you realize she’s calmed down to your relief. “He’s scary!” she exclaims, pointing at the closed door from across your apartment.
Your lips form into a thin line in displeasure at the neighbor's greeting and you nod lightly. You might’ve had a bad first encounter with him, but you pray that maybe his partner is a bit kinder.
You sigh and stand up and walk to the kitchen while Nanako follows you like a golden retriever puppy.
“C’mon, what should we make for dinner tonight?”
The night goes by and you’re carrying Nanako to bed when you notice she fell asleep on the couch watching cartoons. A knock is cut through the air as you close Nanako’s door and you begin wondering who on Earth is knocking at your door at this hour. You open the door and find the same man who had given you a scolding earlier, scratching his neck - his sweater replaced with a large white t-shirt.
“Hi?” you quirk a tired brow. You pray he doesn’t continue his scolding from earlier today.
“Hey… I just wanted to say… uh sorry for earlier,” his voice is a lot more soft and gentle than before. “The stress… of moving is kind of… a lot, y’know?”
You give a soft laugh and nod, waving your hand, understanding his situation. Maybe you shouldn’t have drawn to quick conclusions, he did seemed as if he had just woken up earlier.
“Don’t worry about it. Are you the new neighbor Mrs. Obashi was talking about? The one with a kid?”
“Oh, most likely. Unless there’s another single father with a kid here then probably.”
You raise your brows in acknowledgement. Ah, so he doesn’t have a partner. The stress of moving and taking care of a child by himself, you cut him some slack.
“Welcome!” you smile, despite your fatigue. “I’m (Y/N). (L/N) (Y/N), I run the cafe downstairs.”
The man raises his brows. “No wonder it smelled so much like coffee earlier.”
You feel a deep heat creeping upon your neck. “Oh, i-is the scent really that strong…?”
It was his turn to blush. “No! No, I was just saying that it smelled like coffee, but not in a bad way. I mean, I like coffee so I guess it works.”
You sigh in relief. “A lot of people tell me I bring the cafe wherever I go, but I didn’t expect for it to be that strong.”
“If it makes you feel better, there’s a small hint of freshly baked bread in there somewhere.” he mentions, gulping.
You chuckle at this, a sleepy rasp soothing itself into your tone. “That does, thanks. I should get going, it’s pretty late and we probably both have work in the morning.”
He nods and you both bid each other goodnight with the unison of the door latches clicking together.
You groan at your fatigue and basically flop into bed, letting your eyes and sleepiness take over when you shoot up in bed suddenly.
“I forgot to ask for his name!”
—
“Nanako, hold still for me, please.”
“Mommy, it hurts!”
“I know, honey. Just a bit… more…” you struggle with the last hair tie, its two glittery charms getting stuck in Nanako’s thick blonde hair. You sigh in relief as the hair tie binds itself together with a snap.
“There we go. How’s that?” you hold her up to the bathroom mirror and she giggles at her reflection. She’s wearing a long sleeved white shirt with a collar and a light beige corduroy skirt. Her pigtails swing from side to side as she twists her head to admire the clicking sounds the charms give.
“We’re matching! We’re matching!” she chants, pointing to your attire.
You look down and see your attire is similar: a short sleeved white button down with high waisted, beige pants and you both laugh heartily.
After helping Nanako into her mary janes, you slip into your flats and take her out the door, where you’re met with the man from yesterday with his mentioned daughter in one arm while her black and pink with a teddy bear stitched on it in another.
She looks almost like him, with long black hair that’s in a hime cut which reached the end of her back which complimented the same onyx eyes her father had. She ruffles her face into his black button down at the sight of you and Nanako shyly.
“Oh, good morning, (L/N).” You notice his hair is half up and done neatly into a small bun instead of splayed everywhere like yesterday.
“You can just call me (Y/N), I don’t mind,” you say. “I forgot to ask your name yesterday, sorry.”
He smiles and tells you his name is Geto Suguru. Lovely name for a rather lovely man. You suppose the voice he tended to you the night before is his neutral tone and you’re thankful for that. The pissed-off face and gruff tone of voice had frightened both you and Nanako.
The boxes are gone in the hallway as you and him and both your children enter the elevator, nodding at how he looks over to you when he hovers over at the lower level button. He crouches to Nanako’s height, who shrinks behind your legs at the sight of him.
“Hi, what’s your name?” he asks your daughter gently, placing his own daughter on the ground and she grasps his hand tightly to the point where his fingertips turn a harsh red, but Geto doesn’t seem to mind.
Nanako smiles and pops up from behind your legs. “Nanako! I’m Nanako! What’s your name?” she exclaims to the quieter child.
“...Mimiko…” she whispers out and hides behind her father again.
Geto gives a gentle smile towards Mimiko. “Don’t be shy, darling. Can you tell her how old you are now?”
Nanako waits in anticipation and cheers when Mimiko shows four of her fingers. She points to herself.
“Me too! I’m that many too!” she cheers happily.
Mimiko gives a soft smile towards her before hiding completely behind Geto’s body. He stands up and chuckles at the excited Nanako who now bounces up and down in the elevator.
“She’s a bundle of energy.”
You sigh and nod. “I’d need a couple of cups of coffee to match hers. Too much energy for me in the morning.”
Geto nods, understanding the tiring beginning-day struggles of being an adult. “I’m sorry if Mimiko’s a bit shy.”
“That’s alright, she’s very pretty. I bet she takes after you a lot.”
You can’t help but catch his slight grimace and you start wondering anxiously if you had said something to offend him. The muscles inside you relax at his softened gaze and tilt of his head.
“Maybe. She definitely got my hair though,” he says and strokes his fingers through his daughter’s long hair.
The elevator dings and lets the doors open. The four of you get out and you both stare at each other when you don’t part ways.
“Oh… are you…?”
“Same preschool?” he asks, smiling softly.
“Jujutsu Child Care?”
He nods and you both chuckle as your daughters begin making small talk with each other in front of you - mainly Nanako does the talking by blabbering on about puppets while Mimiko listens with her doll in hand, the body of it dragging against the sidewalk.
He opens the door for you three and lets himself in, blinking at the sight of a giggling child running past him and out the door.
“Yuuji, no!”
Gojo’s running towards you both and accidentally pushes the two of you out of the way while trying to capture the excited boy.
Gojo turns to you quickly, ignoring Geto’s presence. “(Y/N), help! He’s trying to tag along with Kento to work!”
You tell Nanako to stay put and follow Gojo, where both you and him race out the door as you try to find his son amidst the crowd of bustling people.
You sigh in relief as Nanami returns to the preschool with Yuuji in his arms and a stern look on his face.
“What ever happened to morning story time, Satoru?” Nanami scolds, putting Yuuji down who escapes back into the classroom.
“I don’t know where Utahime is! She’s the only one that Yuuji will pay attention to,” Gojo insists as he ties his apron that you never know how manages to drape over the entirety of his tall frame.
While the two start their bickering, you head back inside, apologizing at what happened.
Geto shrugs it off. “Toddlers are strange creatures.”
The both you lead your daughters, who seemed to be more well-acquainted with each other now, to Gojo’s classroom. It was empty except for Gojo, Yuuji, Megumi and his dad, Toji. Megumi seems too reluctant to go anywhere near Gojo, despite sticking with him halfway through the school year.
“Jeez, what’d you do to my kid?” Toji asks as he tries to pry the latching Megumi off of his leg. The kid is stuck like glue.
“Nothing!” Gojo exclaims. “I swear, I didn’t do anything to him!”
Toji scoffs, unconvinced of his stance. “Gumi’s got a radar for bad people, I don’t trust you, let alone with my son.”
Gojo begins to protest and he catches sight of you. “I’m totally trusted! Here, watch. Nanako, good morning sweetie!”
Nanako smiles and rushes to Gojo, jumping up and down with Yuuji at the sight of him. He picks her up and smirks at Toji as she gapes at the view from his height.
“See?”
Toji grimaces. “Still don’t trust you. C’mon Gumi, Papa’s gotta go to work.” he crouches down and pulls at Megumi’s shirt. Megumi shakes his head furiously, his messy blue-black hair becoming even more spangled. Toji turns to you in desperation. “(Y/N), help a guy out here?”
You laugh at his actions. “Megumi, I’ll give you an extra strawberry croissant if you say goodbye to your papa.”
At this, Megumi retracts one of his arms instantly, looking up at you with a blank stare and narrows his green eyes that replicate his father’s venom in them. You’re almost intimidated by the kid.
“I promise.”
He lets go of Toji’s pants with his other arm and whispers a faint “bye bye” into Toji’s ear, who ruffles his head and nods to you in acknowledgement. Megumi joins Yuuji and Nanako, who was now placed down, silently. You turn to Geto and find out he’s trying to coax Mimiko into joining the other kids, but she shrinks into his shirt more when more kids begin to enter the classroom. Mimiko looks like she’s ready to burst.
You call Nanako over in an attempt to help ease her nerves.
“Hi Mommy!”
“Hi sweetheart. Do you think you can take Mimiko to play with you and your friends?” you ask.
Geto looks up at you at your words and silently thanks you and you nod back. Nanako says yes and takes Mimiko’s hand and both you and Geto sigh in relief.
“She’s very shy,” you mention with a small smile, watching as Nanako shows Mimiko how the fake oven works in the make-believe bakery set.
“Very… I’m working on it though.”
“Don’t be too hard, sometimes it’s just their nature.”
Geto hums and shrugs, taking in account of your words. You bid your daughters goodbye and exit the preschool together to go back the apartment complex where the parking lot is connected.
“Can I ask what you do, by the way?” you ask him, smoothing out your pants.
“Ah, I manage a restaurant. Tamamo no Mae?"
You bulge your eyes at this - that restaurant was stupendously luxurious from what you’ve heard; with three Michelin stars and nearly impossible to get a reservation unless you were a part of an elite social class, you gasp in astonishment.
“I’m guessing you’ve heard of it, then.” Geto says, amused at your reaction.
“Y-yeah! I mean… it’s that kind of restaurant, you know?” you sputter in astonishment.
“You’re welcome to come, you can just ask and I’ll make a reservation.”
You shake your head and hands, feeling the sweat start to form on the back of your neck. “I couldn’t, it’s a bit out of my price range.”
Geto gives a gentle smile. “That’s alright. Oh, I hope you don’t mind, but I might stop at the cafe later.”
You perk up at this. “Of course! Just text me and I can even prepare your order.”
You two parted ways with waves and you begin to make your way back to your counter once you enter the cafe.
You were placing back the baked goods that didn’t sell yesterday back into the shelves and nearly drop the baking pan as you realize something, letting out a groan of frustration.
“I didn’t get his number!?”