Archive of Our Own ^beta

Gojo should be eternally grateful for the people who work at his children's school. Since the trip, his relationship with Nanami had become even more intense, it was a fact that there was tension between the two of them. Both had also become more frequent in each other's lives, and it was normal for Nanami to come on weekends for dinner and to have fun with the children.

His friends made it clear that Gojo was in love with his neighbor, and even if he denied it, he knew this was true, but he didn't want to end what they had. What if Nanami didn't want to be with him? After all, he has two small kids, and it wouldn't be unusual if he didn't want anything because of them. However, Gojo knew how much Nanami loved the children, so it was hard to imagine that this would be a burden on their relationship.

As the days pass by, the blonde’s presence was even more noticeable in his home. Today, on a cold Saturday, he was there. The children were playing in the bedroom, right after a nice mug of hot chocolate, while the two adults curled up on the couch. The dogs were sleeping on the living room rug.

"We are getting domestic very fast." Nanami said.

"Is that bad?" Gojo asked, resting his head on Nanami's shoulder.

"No, I don't think so."

Gojo laughed, before placing a kiss on Nanami's cheek. They could have started a long kissing session, if Gojo's phone hadn't broken the mood.

"Hello? Yes ... are you sure about this? Okay, I'll get in touch with you." Nanami didn't like Gojo's tone on the phone, but he didn't know if he could intrude on the other's business.

Gojo noticed the other's face and sighed, now that their relationship was progressing, it was necessary for both of them to be aware of each other's lives, he had already thought about it and practiced what the conversation would be like, but having to talk face to face was very different from talking alone.

"Nanami, you are someone very important to me, you know that, don't you?" he asked.

"I know that, you are also important to me." he intertwined his hands.

"You must have noticed that the children don't call me "Dad," don't you?" his tone was slightly melancholy. Nanami nodded. "Biologically, they are not my children." he frowned uncomfortably.

"You don't have to talk if you don't want to."

"I have to." he replied, smiling slightly. "I was a detective, I worked on a lot of complicated cases, some of them very complicated. I had a case, not too long ago, it was kind of a hit man, you pay, he gets rid of the person, and that's it." he sighed. "We were after him for a long time, but we finally caught him. The day he was arrested, he asked to talk to me before he was taken away, and then he told me about his two children and asked me to raise them."

"Megumi and Tsumiki."

"Yes... And not only that, he told me about his family, he basically begged me to take the children. I won't lie, I didn't intend to adopt them, I committed to just help them, but then I went to visit them and Megumi called me an "old stranger"." he laughed. "But that didn't shake me, I guess that's when I decided to adopt the kids."

"Your attitude was beautiful, you are perfect to take care of them." Nanami said.

"I try my best." he blinked. "The reason we moved was basically their father's family, I never thought he was serious about it until the day I came back from the grocery store and found three people trying to take Megumi away. It was horrible, they almost took him, but I managed to save him, so I decided to move out, got retired and have been devoting my time to take care of them."

"You are amazing." Nanami said seriously. "You saved those children."

"Sometimes I think they saved me."

"Gojo, I know how important they are to you, but they have become very important to me too... you have become important to me." he gently touched Gojo's face. "And if you allow me, I would like to be part of this family too."

Gojo looked surprised. Obviously, he hoped that their relationship would go forward, but he didn't imagine that Nanami was ready to be in a relationship.

But Nanami's gaze conveyed such confidence that Gojo couldn't be unsure; he knew that together they brought out the best in each other.

"Are you trying to date me, Nanami?" he asked, smiling. Maybe it wasn't the best time to joke, but neither of them cared about that.

"Yeah, maybe I hit my head and wasn't thinking straight." he said jokingly, giving him a small smile.

Gojo straightened up, bringing his face closer to Nanami's.

"I would love to be in a relationship with you." and kissed him.

So passionately, the way they both had dreamed. They stayed like that, together, while enjoying the comfortable silence.

It was amazing how, in a short time, his neighbors had become an important part of his life. Silently, Nanami promised that he wouldn't let anything happen to any of them, he would do everything he could to protect them.