fake marriage

[mahoraga]

[ It's the expected thing, and long time coming. Gojo Satoru, the most eligible bachelor in the world with his beauty and power and status and money, could have anyone he truly wanted. He should have by now, the elders in the Gojo clan would gripe, given that he's closely approaching his thirties with no spouse or talk of arranging an heir. We are worried about you, young master, Under the elders' directive, the little old ladies who served as the housekeepers and head servants would fuss. You need to make plans to find a mate.

By 'mate', what they do mean, of course, was an omega with decent social standing, pedigree and decent good looks. While they did not have to have an inherited technique, they certainly needed to come from a lineage possessing some powerful techniques - and have cursed energy, at the very least. Marrying for love was simply never an option those traditionalists would accept, unless your lover happened to meet all those other criteria.

Of course, there's no one who can really make Gojo do anything he doesn't want to do. He's the strongest, after all. However, they were hoping that with enough fussing and pestering, their leader would finally bend.

Those were the gripes Megumi's lent an ear for today, and he's been quiet throughout his guardian's complaints. If there's anything he's good at, it's listening, really. It's only after the older man makes some joking, teasing remarks about marrying Megumi instead, that he suddenly sits up straighter, the air around them thickening as he gives his serious response. ]

Okay ... [ There's a hesitance and shyness to his tone, like he really doesn't know how to propose such a thing, but he's trying. ]

Let's get married. [ Is there really a need to sound so serious about it? Megumi knows his mentor was just being his flippant self, but there's a part of him that finds this a clearly logical solution. He fit the bill, after all - an omega of apparent pedigree, with a sought-after cursed technique. While he would need to get off suppressants, it seems like a fickle thing in the face of everything Gojo has done for him.

If it's logical, it's odd that it's making his heart beat so quickly, but he tells himself it's simply the nerves. ]

Comments

[takumina]

( there is honestly nothing more annoying — in his book, at least — than being constantly fussed after for having reached the age he has and not taken a mate; he's well aware that it's expected of him, and he's well aware that it's an unavoidable part of his future but he's just. had zero interest in anyone that has been presented to him as a viable option, let alone the latent disgust at having potential mates presented to him in the first place.

that … is a part of their culture that he's never cared for, especially if you find yourself within the confines of a clan as powerful as the gojos. with each passing day he comes closer to time running out and having a mate selected for him, and regardless of his hesitance to bind himself in that manner in the first place, he isn't about to subject some other poor soul to a future of potential misery because he's going against what's naturally expected of him.

he should feel worse than he does, complaining to megumi about all the woes and blah blah blah he's expected to endure as someone with his standing, and with all his blathering on he almost misses it — that quiet, serious okay — but he doesn't, not entirely, though he pauses so quickly in whatever he'd been about to follow up with that it almost looks as though he does a double take. )

—Huh? ( eloquent, sir, but megumi has caught him off-guard so sharply that it's going to take him a moment to get his thoughts back in order and. uh. process that seemingly effortless agreement. he was kidding. )

Megumi … you know I'm only joking, right? ( he says once he manages to remember what letters are and how they fit together to form words, coming to plop down next to him. ) You look so serious—

( hold up. ) You don't feel obligated, do you? ( because they might be somewhat following the same train of thought, the same line of logic, and he can't help but to reach out and squeeze the boy's thigh in what he hopes is a reassuring way. )

Much as I would prefer you to … literally anyone else, in any circumstance. ( that much is more true than anything else ever could be. ) You don't owe me anything.

[mahoraga]

[ That response is just about expect. He knows it was a joke - he's spent enough time with the older man to tell when he's being his flippant, nonsense-spouting self and when he's actual being serious. It's just that, when Megumi thinks about it, it felt like such a logical thing that he can easily justify his agreement. ]

As if I would do this out of obligation ... [ Actually? Actually, maybe he would, now that he thinks about it, so it's probably a fair assumption. This doesn't feel like just that, however. He doesn't feel put off or disgusted by the idea, for starters. Marrying someone comes with the unspoken agreement that there would be intimacy of both the physical and emotional nature (in most cases). Megumi doesn't usually do well with that. In fact, the attention he would get from the alphas around while first presenting was what had spurred him to go on suppressants in the first place, just the thought of the act an unappealing thing.

Yet, his heart races in that unexplained way when his teacher mentions that he is the preferred option. He doesn't know why that is so, and he tries to suppress the nervous, fluttering feeling. ]

It's logical, isn't it? I've got an inherited technique, and I'm -- [ an omega. ] I can come off suppressants.

[ It would just be an irritation process that will take getting used to. ]

It'll get them off your back for a while.

[takumina]

( he never expects megumi to take him seriously — at least, not after a bit of prompting, if he really is being serious — and something like this could only have been in jest from the start. that the younger even humors him for longer than a handful of seconds is a bit suspect, but whatever he has to say … of course he's going to hear him out.

he peers at him quietly, waiting for him to follow through with his train of thought, his logic behind even going along with such a suggestion in the first place. it's true they've spent so many years together by now that they essentially know one another inside and out, and really, no one could know him better than megumi at this point and he is the preferred option for so, so many reasons —

it could be mutually beneficial, while he's thinking about it in those terms. megumi has never been the sort to accept the role set upon him when he'd presented, opting to go on suppressants and gojo can't blame him for wanting to keep biology out of his everyday life, especially when he had so many other things going for him. this … would be one more way to protect him, to keep him safe and away from other alphas, and if he's honest with himself, the thought of another alpha or anyone touching him for any reason sets the small, fine hairs at the back of his neck to standing upright and has a low growl building in the back of his throat.

he listens, and his hand stays resting lightly on his thigh, and everything he says does make sense from an objective point of view but the fact that he would do such a thing willingly … it fills his chest with a certain kind of warmth that nothing else could touch even if it tried, something that could only ever be tied to his affection for the boy next to him, and he doesn't think he's ever been so fond. or so endeared.

he asks, even more quietly than he'd sat and listened: ) You'd do that for me? All of it?

[mahoraga]

[ Megumi does wonder if he's truly ready for such a thing. When that large hand rests casually on his thigh, easily enveloping the span of it, he can feel his face heat up already, heart racing from just that friendly touch. It's strange that even that can have an effect on him - the usually unmovable personality that he is - but he's already noted years ago that how he felt around his teacher wasn't the same as how he felt around most other people. The familiar affection, like he had with Tsumiki, was one thing, but this drumming in his chest was something entirely different. He doesn't understand it. Whether or not it's normal to feel this way around the person who was your guardian, or if this was completely unnatural after all.

I'd do anything for you. The words come too easily in one coherent notion, but he doesn't voice them, matters dear to the heart often so difficult for him to vocalize. ] I'm just ... being rational.

[ He would do it all. Sign the papers, come off those pills and accept his hated biology, and spend the entirety of his likely short life with this man, if permitted to. Maybe there's an aspect of this that's a bit selfish. Maybe he wants this, and it's not just a favour. Megumi doesn't dwell too much upon it.

A glance down at the hand on his thigh, face blossoming pink, and he looks away. ] Anyway, if you're too annoying, I'll just divorce you once they've stopped caring.

[ He wouldn't do that, but it's a bit of a mean joke. Or as much of a joke as Megum is capable of. ]

[takumina]

( he's cared about megumi since the first day he'd met him, since he'd first laid eyes on that unfathomable face that he's come to know so much better over the years; there are times in which he still comes across as unreadable, but when he's open, when he's honest about how he's feeling he's about as easy to read as a well-loved book, and gojo genuinely doesn't think he would be able to have that sort of thing with anyone else. not even close.

it … is probably not so natural to feel a certain way about your benefactor, or your student for that matter, but if he's going to make this sort of commitment for the ( seemingly ) sole purpose of getting literally everyone off his back as far as taking a mate is concerned, he can't think of a single person he would rather spend his days with.

i'm just being rational.

he grins. ) Of course you are. You always have been. ( the rational one of the two of them, to be sure, even with gojo being the adult in this particular equation. megumi has always been older than his short years, something that he's always appreciated for what it is even if it meant getting bossed around and policed about what he wanted to put into his body when they went shopping for groceries. it's just how they've always been, and he assumes how they will remain if they actually do go through with this —

but, ah. megumi is blushing and that is always going to be one of the sweetest things he's ever seen in the whole of his life. the sort of thing he wants to see more often, the sort of thing he wants to know every single cause of —

he can't help but to close some more of the distance between them, humming a teasing little note in the back of his throat. ) I guess I'd better make sure we draw up prenup papers, hm? So you can't take me for everything I'm worth once you've gotten too annoyed? ( he doesn't mean it, because of course he doesn't, and he seeks to push that point home with the slightest brush of the tip of his nose over the pink rise of a cheekbone. )

[mahoraga]

[ Though he isn't looking at him, Megumi can feel the older man drawing close, his flippant and singsong voice barely an inch from his ears. With the proximity, the sweet and compelling scent of his alpha is more than apparent, permeating through the pocket of space around them. Even on suppressants, it's difficult to completely deny his instinct. Just that is enough to make the hairs at the back of his neck stand, his throat becoming dry as that blush remains on his cheeks. He has to get used to this. Especially if he's committing to marrying him. Even if they never share physical intimacy, they had to at least put up a farce.

The note about prenups has Megumi blinking, a delayed realisation settling in. There are too many people who would marry the strongest man alive for his prestige, beauty and bounding wealth. Megumi, however, hadn't even considered that those assets would be shared with him also. ]

That's right ... Your assets would usually be split.

[ Though he knows that's how marriage works, it hadn't crossed his mind at all. Megumi is grown up in many ways, but on the rare occasion he can regress to a more childlike mindset. It's just like a teenager to marry for love and personal feelings and not consider all the other practical aspects of marriage.

He turns now, face still pink at the proximity of the older man's face, but rather than fall into his usual fluster, his look is that of sincerity and seriousness. ]

I wouldn't take anything from you. But we can, if you need to be sure.

[ There is really no need to be so serious. ]

[takumina]

( he doesn't mean to catch him so off-guard, thinking that his suppressants might be enough to keep a barrier between them for the moment's sake, but still; it may just be because he's an alpha, or it may just be because they have spent so many years together up to this point but this close, this damned close< he can smell him, more than the sweetness of everything he's been trying to suppress but megumi as he is as a whole, and while he's always been protective of him up to now, something surges up in the back of his throat that ends up emerging as a bit of a growl that he tries to bite back. because this is not the time or place for it, but that beast is always going to be at his center, isn't it?

the one that wants megumi all for itself. like he hasn't been aware of it all this time, and been pushing it back and back and back still, because it had never been his right, and there is a part of him that still thinks it shouldn't be.

but.

it takes everything in him to not fold that younger body in against his own, to hold him close as he might have when megumi was younger even though he wants to, he stops just short of tugging him in when an arm slips around his middle, that hand that had been nestled against his thigh seeking warmth against the small of his back and it's purely for the sake of holding him because he wants to.

because even if he's taking this so seriously, gojo can't help but to read into all the little things they might be allowed, should megumi himself allow them. )

I know you wouldn't. ( he says softly, quietly, reaching up with his free hand to brush the pad of his thumb over his cheek. ) You're too sweet for that. I'm only joking.

[mahoraga]

[ Even while on suppressants, the scent of the other man is compelling, easing him into a sense of safety and a lingering desire. Megumi's often around alphas while at school and when just roaming around the city. He can pick up their faint scents, so it isn't like they don't know. He's never felt this same compulsion while around anyone else, however - this desire and need to belong, to nestle into that warmth and safety and just exist there. It's probably because of their history. The older man's draw goes beyond their physiological chemistry. Toward Gojo, he feels nothing but affection, care, and a desire to stay close. When that hand goes trailing along his side, resting against the small of his back, he doesn't find himself hating the attention, like he would if it were someone else. ]

We would need to do ... things like these. [ Holding, cuddling, and perhaps more - especially if he'll start to have his heats. The thought of that makes Megumi's heart thump in his chest; he isn't used to it, but he also doesn't find himself hating it. In fact, in some strange way, a part of it was exhilarating, awakening sides of him he was not aware were there.

He doesn't only allow the touch. Megumi shifts close, fingers tugging Gojo's so they rest on his hip instead, and with a great manner of courage he shifts close enough that he's by Gojo's side and able to rest his head against his shoulder. It's practice, right? If they are going to make this convincing. It doesn't at all feel safe and comforting. Absolutely not. ]

[takumina]

( there is no denying that he has never felt this way around another omega, whether or not they're on suppressants and he can scent them fully — it's all megumi that has him wanting to press closer even though he's trying to be respectful, it's megumi that makes him want to touch and nose his way into the side of his neck, breathe him in and commit him to memory even more than he already has.

he's been around this smell for so long, even before he'd presented, there's no way in any heaven or hell anywhere that he could forget it, but knowing that they're going to have a different sort of future ahead of them means he's going to be able to memorize a whole slew of new things about him and his scent.

like … how he smells when he's wanting, but no, he isn't going to think about that now. not when it's still so tentative and he's choosing his every movement so carefully. like he never has with anyone before him, and never will again.

the younger shifts closer, places his hand on his hip and leans into him like he might have done when he was a child, close just for the sake of being close and gojo goes with it without a single thought to anything else, leaning down to press a soft, sweet kiss to the very center of his forehead beneath the fall of his unruly hair. )

For a start. ( he muses, a chuckle sitting in the back of his throat as his thumb strokes over the sharp rise of his hipbone. ) Megumi …

Would you let me kiss you? Now? ( the words come out of his mouth so softly, so adoringly that it almost doesn't sound like him at all, save for the fact that he has always been soft with this boy … and he isn't about to stop now. in fact —

it might just get worse. )

[mahoraga]

[ It wouldn't be the first time his teacher has tried to show him affection. That same affection is more often than not met with embarrassment, and a bid to refuse it when it becomes too overwhelming. This time, however, he allows it, pushing through that feeling of embarrassment and how stimulating the affection feels. He's always been someone who gets stimulated a little too quickly, given how unused he is to being touched. This ... feels good. The scent of the older man is compelling, especially while they are nestled so close. It makes him quite dizzy. Without much thought, he has their fingers entwining over his bony hip, his hand rested over Gojo's.

The request for a kiss is so gentle and considerate. There probably won't be anyone else who treats him with this consideration - let alone an alpha, who could so easily claim him.

Megumi's never thought about it, but he's realising now that he's never actually been kissed before, so this would be the first. It makes his face heat up in warmth and his heart race, but he doesn't hate the thought of it. ]

If ... we're married ... you don't have to ask.

[ Gathering some courage, he closes his eyes, clutching Gojo's hand as he tilts his chin higher, going in for an attempt at a very shy kiss. ]

[takumina]

( gojo has always been the affectionate sort, with those he considers himself close to even on a professional level — how many times has he put himself in nanami's personal space before? — but with megumi in particular, coercing him into hugs and cuddles and the like when he was much, much smaller, much younger, but it's already so different now that it … this, doesn't even come close.

even on suppressants, this close, megumi smells wonderful; something that he wants to both devour and protect, something he wants to keep close and not let anyone else touch, but he's always been that way, hasn't he? always protective of him, even before he'd presented.

this close, he wants to bury his face in the side of his neck, he wants to pull him into his lap but he doesn't because he doesn't want to come across as too much, too soon. megumi has agreed to something he doesn't have to, and even if it's true that this one has loved him for years —

i love you, i love you, i will love you—

he wants to do this properly.

gojo chuckles, nosing at him again. ) But we're not married yet … and I like to think myself a proper gentleman. ( to that end —

that attempt at a very shy kiss is met with the warmth of lips against lips, not quite hesitant, but. respectful, even as he presses closer to taste him fully, a small flick of his tongue over the other's bottom lip before it recedes. )

[mahoraga]

[ It feels a lot like a dream, like things are happening too easily as they so rarely do, and there's a part of him that's preparing for the worst. It doesn't make sense that the man who's felt affection for since childhood would return that affection this way, that they would get married -- even if it's just a self-serving farce on Megumi's end. He's long known that the way he felt toward his mentor was not normal. At first, he chalked it down to the physiological reaction of being near an alpha for as long as they spend time together - just his hormones getting him twisted up and wanting him to mate. After he started school and become exposed to other alphas, however? He noted then that how he felt toward Gojo was unique.

He doesn't know how to put a name to what that feeling means, but at this point it didn't matter. He's kissing him, and Gojo is kissing back. His lips taste as sweet as Megumi's most shameful fantasies and his scent is compelling, putting him in a dizzy, touch-starved mood. Even on suppressants, it feels like his true nature is breaking through, making him want more - the other man's hands on him, lips on him, exploring him and claiming him. He's always feared succumbing to those hormones, but with this man, he feels safe.

Safe enough to explore, albeit cautiously and bashfully so. Megumi moves against the other man's lips, trying to figure out how this worked - how they worked together. He doesn't know what he likes just yet, but he definitely likes all of this. He parts his lips slightly, allowing that tongue to against his mouth and feeing his face heat up in response. His hands eventually reposition themselves, snaking higher around Gojo's neck as the rest of him shimmies closer, almost like he wants to take his place in his lap. ]

I didn't ... I didn't think you were the type. [ Even bashful and needy, he still has time to roast the other man a little. ]

[takumina]

( things never go very easily for them, do they? especially not with the way their hierarchy works, how omegas are sometimes not treated very well, just because of how they'd presented. like third-class citizens in some cases, and while this arrangement is going to be beneficial for him, to be sure, it also means he's well within his right to do everything in his power to keep megumi safe.

not that he wouldn't have done that anyway, but that isn't the point.

the point is that pulling the younger in close, tasting his lips feels as natural as breathing and he doesn't want there to be any space between them at all, already getting a bit too far ahead of himself when they've only just started this level of intimacy. they've always been close, he's always managed to wrangle a hug or a brief cuddle out of him when he was younger —

so he doesn't think much about pulling him into his lap when hs squirms closer still, arms curling around his slender waist and sighing into the kiss; it's a soft thing, a sweet thing, the scent of him filling his nose and making him feel practically drunk on it already, even if his suppressants are still in effect, maybe it's just the fact that they've taken this first step forward that have them both so sensitive.

he leaves a small nip against megumi's bottom lip for his comment as he leans back to take a breath, brows quirking upward. ) The type for what? ( he asks teasingly, nosing his way down along the line of his jaw, continuing to breathe him in. ) Asking for consent? ( he dips his head lower, leaving a small, soft kiss against the flutter of his pulse. )

You smell so good …

[mahoraga]

[ Whether it's the hormones or not, he doesn't know, but being gathered into the other man's arms like this brings about a sense of safety and belonging. He's comfortable here and there's a warmth that he feels inside. It's a foreign thing for someone who usually shies away from the touch of others. Plus, the scent of the other man was just so sweet and overwhelming, it feels like he can sink right into it.

As their lips move, he's basking a little in the pocket of warmth, a contented bliss settling within him. He's always been fond of this other man, always cared about him and felt drawn to him. He's realising now that those feelings weren't normal in the slightest. ]

You know what I mean... [ Being a 'gentleman', of course. His impression of the older man, stemming from their shared history, is that of a guy who pushes whatever buttons that he can. The annoying sort who teases and teases and pushes his affection on others. (Yet, he's also so kind, doting and giving, and he's always going to owe him everything).

There's a shudder at the lips that press against his jaw, going down that sensitive skin. So close to the place where one would usually be marked. He can already feel his nerves firing up, that heat stirring up the pit of his stomach as he starts to become wet. With what they're doing, not even the suppressants can stop his natural hormones. ]

Gojo-san ... It's -- um. Kind of risky.