.

.

Double Time

six

.

.

You wake up in an unfamiliar place and have an adventure

.

.

.

A throbbing headache was there to greet you when your eyes opened, and as if the pounding in your head wasn't already bad enough it felt like you had a giant weight on your chest. Memories of the night flooded back into your mind as you attempted to rouse yourself up, quickly realising that your movements were restricted but before the panic could set in, you looked down and saw a most peculiar sight; you were wrapped tightly in a blanket… almost like a giant burrito. The fear was replaced with confusion as your eyes darted around the unfamiliar dark room, then you heard a quiet shuffle to your side and you looked over to see Megumi asleep soundly beside you. A wave of relief coursed through you when you realised that you must have been in Megumi's bedroom and he had taken you home after you had way too much to drink at the student function.

There were still questions floating in your head but the main point was that you were safe and with Megumi… The giant burrito you were in was definitely questionable but you imagined it may have had something to do with how touchy you usually got when you got inebriated and he might have been another victim of your overly-friendly drunken advances.

The blanket around you was wrapped surprisingly tightly and you couldn't help but wonder how he managed that as you shifted around so that you could look at him, struggling a little when your jumper got caught underneath you. You noted his handsome features as he slept peacefully, a part of his face illuminated by the moonlight peeking through the half open blinds. If the state you were in wasn't already a giveaway, the fact that he was fully dressed pretty much confirmed the fact that nothing had happened, in fact he was wearing an extra layer with the dark hoodie… and completely without a blanket.

Oh, he really was just too sweet for his own good, wasn't he?

Quietly, you unfurled the fabric off your body and gently placed it over his body. Just as you thought, you were still completely dressed underneath and wrapping you up in the blanket was probably his last resort. As much as you found the situation humorous in your dazed condition, it didn't escape you that he must had a difficult time and you had to apologise to him. But for now, you needed to nurse your headache and painfully parched throat before trying to sleep this off.

The room was small but tidy as you could expect from Megumi, in fact it was so tidy that it looked almost unlived in with how bare every surface was and it soon became evident that there wasn't any water left out nor were there any glasses you could use to get some from a tap.

It probably would have been a good idea to simply wake Megumi up and ask for his help, but in your altered state of mind, you decided to take matters in your own hands and meandered towards the door and headed out on a quest for fresh crisp water. Although you've never been in Megumi's room or know where it was even located in the shared house, you remembered enough of the layout so in theory you should be able to find your way to the kitchen without much issue. The only thing you had to keep in mind was to stay quiet so you don't wake the other occupants… Yuuji and Nobara would be bad, but Eri or one of her friends would be the worst.

If you were in a better state, you would have quickly noticed that you were in fact in a completely different house but for now you persisted through the empty house, determined not to wake the non-existent inhabitants as you bumped your way around in the dark wondering why the heck everything was so different from how you remembered it. You eventually found the stairs and headed down to find a foreign room, you were only just beginning to have doubts about your little expedition when you noticed the kitchen was right next door and all the uncertainty was cast aside as you ran in to claim your prize.

Megumi was fast asleep upstairs, you had escaped the burrito, and you desperately needed water now. The rest you could figure out later.

There were a pair of mugs on the drying rack and you quickly took one and filled it up. Water always tasted heavenly after you've had so much to drink, especially when you haven't had much water before sleeping, which you assumed you must not have with how dry your throat felt, and you eagerly lapped up the entire mug and did not hesitate to pour yourself another cup. You must have had about three cups when you let out a heavy sigh with a childishly self-satisfied smile on your face.

"… And who might you be?"

A deep voice filled the quiet room, sending a chill down your spine as you immediately spun around, almost dropping the mug as you did and you just about choked when you noticed a tall man standing in the shadow of the doorway.

If you had to guess, he had been standing there watching you for a while now and you felt a bit like a cornered animal, not simply because the fact there was a complete stranger standing in your way but there was definitely a dangerous air about him. The man tilted his head to a side as he walked into the room and you became incredibly nervous by the way he peered over you with mild interest, a ghost of a smile on his scarred lip as he quirked an eyebrow, beckoning you to speak.

"I uh…"

"Ehhh, what's the meaning of this, Toji? Don't tell me you had another girl waiting for you?!" a shrill feminine voice called out and a small woman appeared by the man's side, swaying a little in her steps as she clutched onto the man named Toji and shot you a dirty look. "Who the hell are you? Don't you know he's dating me now?"

"I-I'm uh- a friend of Megumi's…" it was pathetic how meek you sounded. "He's upstairs-"

"Ah, that so? Well, why didn't you just say so…" Toji appeared to have lost interest the moment you mentioned Megumi. He put his arm around the woman and gave her a small lopsided smile before turning back to you, smile still on his face and even while you're terrified you had to admit that he was inherently attractive in that devil may care kind of way. "Well, have fun then… what's your name?"

"[y/n]"

"Right… I'll be sure to remember that," he had the gall to smirk, causing the woman to let out a noise of protest as he led her out of the room with a dry chuckle. "See ya around, [yn]."

Okay, what the actual fuck just happened.

Who the fuck was that and why did he remind you so much of Satoru with that stupid flirty fuckboy attitude of his, but only this man was much scarier and he just felt… dark. Not in that blasé careless attitude Satoru lived his life, but it was definitely something more sinister; it felt particularly uncomfortable given that on top of his attitude, he had Megumi's gorgeous face.

The entire interaction felt like an out of body experience or maybe you were still asleep and this whole thing was just a fucked up dream your intoxicated mind cooked up to mess with you.

The only thing that you knew for certain was that you suddenly felt very unwelcome in this space and your skin was crawling after that unpleasant encounter. You hurriedly rinsed the mug in your hand and placed it back on the rack and you were about to run up the stairs when you heard something. It was only a moment but you swore that you heard it.

Another step. The voice appeared again…

The woman's voice.

Your mouth felt instantly dry again when you recognised what the noises were. They were so loud that the moans echoed through the hall and even down the stairs to where you were standing; you had to wonder if they were doing this on purpose because the noises only got increasingly louder with every second that passed. You stood there in shock as you became an unwilling participant, unable to take another step as you listened in near horror and just when you thought it could not get any worse, the sounds of flesh slapping reverberated off the walls.

It shouldn't have freaked you out as much as it did but you were undeniably disconcerted as you struggled to collect your thoughts and make sense of how you found yourself in this odious situation. It was very likely you were in Megumi's family home which meant that the man you met earlier have been his brother or some other relative that lived here, so it made perfect sense why he would come home with his girlfriend and get comfortable. But what you couldn't understand was why they would be so shameless about their fornication, knowing that Megumi was asleep and that you were standing right here.

The entire situation had really thrown you off and you knew there wasn't much point in you continuing to stress yourself over this without first speaking to Megumi. The harrowing experience has sobered you up greatly, and so you pulled yourself together and blocked out the noises as you headed back up the staircase.

Once upstairs, there was now a sliver of light on the floorboards coming in the direction of the bedroom on the far end of the hallway. Thankfully the door was only open a small crack and even though the room was only about two metres away, you could not see anything from the angle you were standing in, but it did mean that you could hear it all so well you might as well have been in the same room. The situation was seriously fucked and call it morbid curiosity or the pure adrenaline fuelling you this very moment, you found yourself stood there just listening in as you wondered if this was how Megumi felt when he found you and Satoru that afternoon.

A click from behind caught your attention and you turned around just in time to see Megumi's bedroom door opening, he stepped out slowly, his bewildered expression clear on his face when his eyes met with yours. It was apparent that he was just as distraught as you were, but his expression softened when something in his head finally registered.

"[y/n]," he called out softly as he closed distance between you and pulled you into a reassuring hug. It was nice being in his arms but little did you know that the hug was more for his benefit than yours as he attempted to calm himself down in your embrace. He took in a big breath, taking in your scent with his eyes closed, pushing out all the dark thoughts along with the noises.

"Megumi…? Are you okay?" you whispered, patting his back gently as he noticeably relaxed under your touch. "Should we go back in your room?"

"Yes," he slowly began to guide you back into his bedroom but not without first throwing a glare in the direction of the culprits. Megumi closed the door behind you which dampened some of the noise but not entirely and his expression was still rather sombre as he stood by the door, contemplating what he could say. "… I'm sorry about this. I hope it didn't scare you too much."

"No, I'm fine. I guess it was just a bit unexpected," you shook your head with a comforting smile and reached for his hand when you saw how much the situation had upset him. "I shouldn't have wandered off myself… I thought we were back in your accommodation."

"I couldn't take you back there after you had so much to drink and I didn't know where you lived so I brought you here…" Megumi sighed and you knew exactly where he was getting at. Without knowing where you lived, if he had taken you back to his shared house then he would risk his housemates seeing you in such a state and rumours would fly without check. It was something neither of you needed when you were still… figuring things out between you. Coming here was a last resort for him. "I should have been more careful though… I texted ahead and didn't get a response and he wasn't home when we arrived so I thought he might not come tonight."

"Is Toji-san your brother or something? I spoke to him a bit-"

"You spoke to him?" his jaw visibly tightened at the sound of your voice speaking his name and you nodded back. "Right… I suppose he's more in the category of an or something… He's my dad."

"Oh."

"Yeah…" he trailed off. The pause in your conversation made you remember that there was a grown man, no, Megumi's father was having loud sex right across the hall. The silence between you two were quickly filled with vulgar sounds again and Megumi cleared his throat. "Let's get out of here."

"Now?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? It's late and-"

"Please," he gripped your hand. "Can we go to your place instead?"

"Yes, of course."

Your exit from the house was quick. There were only a couple of your things strewn about and you were able to easily find and collect your purse and coat, meanwhile Megumi went ahead and ordered a car and he passed the phone over to you so you could type in your address. Once the order was made, Megumi grabbed his own things, mainly comprised of a jacket, and his wallet and keys which he fished out of the dark jeans he had worn earlier. A notification popped up on his phone while he was slipping his trainers on, you quickly glanced over the screen and saw the alert informing you that a driver was now inbound and near.

It was both a blessing and a curse that the couple next door were slightly quieter now than they were earlier, one hand it was great that you didn't hear every detail of their intimacy, but now you had to gently trudge across the wooden floor and you cringed as your Chelsea boots clicked with every step you took down the stairs.

"Shouldn't we at least leave a note or something?" you whispered when you followed Megumi straight to the front door. It didn't seem like he even took a moment to think about it before he curtly shook his head as he opened the door. "I feel kind of rude for intruding and leaving like this… it's his house after all-"

"It's fine, [y/n]."

"Okay," you clutched onto the collar of your coat as you took the first step out into the wintery cold night. Behind you, Megumi began to lock up and you took this moment to take in your environment. From the inside of his house, you could already tell that Megumi's home was quite substantial for a house in the capital but it was only when you were outside did you realise he lived in a seemingly affluent area judging from the other large gated properties surrounding you. It wasn't something you had thought about because he rarely spoke about himself, but it actually made perfect sense that Megumi came from a well-off background.

"Car's here," he nodded towards the direction ahead and sure enough there was a car parked right outside the gate. You followed him down the stone path and he helped you into the car first before shutting the gate and entering the vehicle after.

Thus concluded your hasty escape from the Fushiguro home. The driver gave you a short greeting and confirmed the destination before you began on your way. A quiet sigh escaped your lips and you were now beginning to feel the effects of the evening's wear as the remnant adrenaline from the alcohol all but wore off.

The small light up clock on the dashboard indicated that it was almost half past three in the morning. You weren't sure how much sleep you had earlier in the evening and it could just be the effects of the alcohol but you found yourself being gently lulled by the rocking of the vehicle under you.

"[y/n]?"

"Hm?" you glanced over to Megumi, eyes lidded as your head bobbed to the movement of the car. Pretty sure you could have fallen asleep right there and then if he hadn't spoken up. "Yes, Megumi?"

"I'm sorry for dragging you about," he whispered, his dark eyes meeting yours sombrely. "I know you must be tired."

"S'okay," you murmured. "It's my fault anyway. We wouldn't have had to go to your house in the first place if I didn't get so wasted... I'm sorry."

"That's alright, no harm done."

"… About Toji- your father, I mean…" you began, your gaze dropping to your lap momentarily as you considered your next words. "I'm sorry for leaving the room without saying anything… I felt like I may have upset him or something."

"Please don't concern yourself with that bastard. The man has no consideration for anyone but himself…" he trailed off as he appeared lost in thought. "I know what you're thinking… he's like Gojo-sensei."

"He's the one you were referring to then…? That night."

"Yes."

"… Has he always been like that?"

"Apparently not but he has for as long as I can remember."

"… I'm sorry to hear that…" you pondered on the weight of his words. Without even knowing about his history or how his mother fit into the picture, it was disheartening when you thought about how Megumi had to grow up with such an offensive figure in his life and how that's potentially warped his outlook on life and relationships. The first words you heard him speak at the lecture made more sense now more than ever. "Families can be complicated… but we, as people, are inherently complicated creatures, aren't we?"

"I try not to be," he turned to face you as he reached for your hand, his large warm one engulfed your small one and he gave you a little squeeze. "… Can I ask you something?" you nod as you squeezed him back. "You and Gojo-sensei… you two were in a serious relationship?"

"… Yes."

"And you aren't now?"

"No," your gaze wavered ever so slightly as you tried hard to remember what you wanted to tell him. The small speech that you had rehearsed to yourself in front of the mirror over the weekend was coming up completely blank, but you knew that you had to say something. Anything! It was now or ever. This has been eating away at you for days now, fuck sake. "… Our relationship ended a long time ago and while we have slept together sporadically since, I've made it clear to him last Friday that it will never happen again."

"It's okay, I believe you, [y/n]. I only wanted to check, you don't have to explain yourself to me."

"But I do, Megumi! I don't want you to think that I'm the kind of person that would try to date two people at the same time," you kicked back uncharacteristically as you stammered out your next words. "I-I was mortified when you said you saw us that day… that you may have thought I was leading you on or-"

"Hey, hey… it's fine, really."

"… I just didn't want you to think I was a bad person."

"The thought never even crossed my mind, [y/n]," he reassured you with another squeeze of your hand. "I gave it a lot of thought over the weekend and I'm honestly ashamed at myself for not telling you I knew about what was going on straight away… but I just didn't know how to bring it up, so I really should be the one apologising."

"That's okay, I know what you mean."

"No, it's not and you shouldn't let me off that easily," he grumbled back. "That whole night you were going on about how honest and upstanding I am but the truth is I knew the entire time and I didn't want to say anything that might ruin my chances with you… Really think about it. While we were kissing and even if we had ended up sleeping together, I'm not sure I would have said anything afterwards. So you're not a bad person at all [y/n], I am."

"… Like you said before, it wasn't the finest moment… for either of us but I don't think that makes us bad people, right?"

"… No," he eventually accepted your argument, his gaze landed on your hands entwined and his heart was clearly still weighing heavy. "I am still sorry. We were both essentially keeping the same secret but you had legitimate reason to keep quiet but I should have just told you and made my intentions clear from the start."

"And what were your intentions?"

"Then?" he asked and you nodded back. "That I've had a massive crush on you ever since I met you and I've wasted enough time pretending I didn't."

Your heart skipped. "And now?"

"… Isn't that up to you?"

For someone who had just bared his soul to you, he looked no different than usual as he looked back at you with calm steely eyes, his hand still clutched around yours as he patiently awaited your response.

The answer was obvious, so obvious you wanted to scream it from the top of your lungs but you were stunned silent and your chest felt like it was about to implode from his confession. There were no longer any hidden agendas and there wasn't a doubt in your mind that he spoke every word from the heart.

And once again, he's given you the choice.

Unlike the previous difficult conversations you have had with your partners, mainly just the one, there had been no manipulation or coercion at all. Megumi simply wanted your answer and it appeared that he would respect whatever you decided on.

The car came to a sudden halt that moment, snapping you two back to reality and you saw that you had arrived at your destination, or a block away given that your building wasn't near the main roads. The driver cleared his throat as he apologised for interrupting and Megumi cursed lightly under his breath, quiet enough to only be heard by you two, and quickly thanked the driver before he opened your side of the doors first and helped you out of the car.

It was almost four in the morning now and the already quiet residential area you lived in was unsurprisingly dead silent and there wasn't a soul in sight. Megumi climbed out of the car and shut the door with a soft thud, the car then drove off leaving you two standing in the cold.

"[y/n]?" he called out to you as he rubbed his hands together in an effort to keep warm. He was waiting for you to lead the way and you were pulled out of your thoughts when you remembered that he grabbed very little on his way out. Only wearing his tracksuit bottoms and a thin jacket over his hoodie.

"Yes, sorry. It's this way."

The building's entrance was just around the corner from where the car dropped you and you stomped ahead awkwardly, wondering how you were going to follow up the conversation you were just having.

That moment earlier felt as right as it could've ever been, sitting in the back of a moving car in the early hours of the morning, feeling as if you were in your own little world together with him. Then so suddenly you were thrusted back into the cold reality, and if it was difficult for you to find the words back then, now it felt near impossible to bring it up again even when you did know what you wanted to say.

"Megumi?"

"Yeah?"

"In the car… you said it was my choice… I just wanted to say for the record that I liked you too… from the moment we met, I mean… Wait, that didn't come out right…" you began your maundering, thinking how it all sounded so much better in your head and you felt like you were making an ass of yourself. Thank goodness you were walking ahead and he couldn't see how embarrassed you must have appeared. "Sorry, I know it sounds underhanded when I was still sort of with Satoru but-"

"[y/n]!" he said your name so abruptly that you actually squeaked into silence and before you could say anything back, he reached for your wrist and pulled you backwards, turning you around so suddenly that you almost fell into his arms. That immediately shut you up and you pretty much lost your train of thought as you stared back at him with wide eyes. "… Stop beating yourself up over the terrible circumstances he put you in. Don't you ever apologise to me about him again, okay?"

"… O-Okay."

"Promise."

"I promise…" you nodded back sheepishly, stopping yourself before you uttered an apology again. His hold on your wrist loosened as he let out a long sigh, dropping his head slightly.

"So…"

"So?"

"… So can I kiss you already?" his eyes met with yours again and it was an expression you recognised well from the brief tumble you had with him days ago. His other arm came around to hold your waist and he pulled you close against him.

"… Yes, please do," you whispered back.

The last thing you saw was the corner of his lips curled up ever so slightly before his soft lips touched yours. You closed your eyes as electricity shot through your body, and it felt like a slow burning fire was beginning to spread through your body starting from the fluttery feeling growing in your abdomen.

You almost whined when he broke the kiss. His eyelashes looked even darker than usual as peered down at you, the crooked smile was now evident on his face as he began to lean to your ear.

"Come on, let's get inside and get ourselves warm, hm?"

The flutter in your belly just about imploded when you pulled him into another hasty kiss, completely uncaring about the fact that you were standing in the middle of the street near a lit lamppost and that you were in clear view if any of your neighbours were to look out their windows, but fuck it; at this point all you cared about was Megumi and all the wonderful ways he has made you feel tonight… and you were determined to return the favour with the wonderful things you were going to make him feel tonight.