Lemon🌸

It felt wrong to admit to, but you were almost glad that things were definitively over with him. To some extent, you’d just been searching for a reason to end things, aware that you were never really going to feel that passion for him. 

Not when your passion always seemed reserved for someone else. 

You wished you hadn’t had to deal with a load of vile name calling in the process, but you’d blocked his number and what was done, was done. 

“Shit, I’m sorry. He seemed like a mostly good guy,” Yuki said, dragging the varnish brush slowly over her own nails, half focused on the task and half on you. She was the type of girl who liked to make a lot of eye-contact when speaking, and subsequently orange paint was getting all over her skin.  

“Mmm. Want me to do your nails for you?” 

“Nah, you’ll smudge yours. I’ll manage.” She waved you off. “So you’re not speaking with him at all anymore?” 

“No way. We’re done, I really wasn’t sure how into him I was anyway.” 

“I get that. It didn’t look like the chemistry was really there.”

That made sense, considering that you spent the whole reunion speaking to Yuki and Shoko rather than paying Kashimo any attention. Oh, and there was also the fact that you couldn’t take your eyes off Sukuna half the time that you were at the damn gathering. 

Somehow, seeing Kashimo and Sukuna in the same place only made you more certain that you’d never really feel anything for the former. The way that Sukuna stirred your heart with a single look was unlike anything that anyone else had made you feel. Kashimo would certainly never manage it - even the nice version of him that you’d originally known. 

“Yeah, it is what it is.” You shrugged. “Plenty of fish in the sea, I’ll find someone else.” 

You were pretty certain that you wouldn’t have to look very hard to find someone else - in fact, there was one fish in particular that was simply begging to be reeled in, but you’d keep him on the hook for a little longer. No point in making things too easy for him. 

Lately, your reservations about Sukuna had been dwindling. Kashimo had been one of your main excuses, and now that was all out of the way. The other excuse had been Ryu’s ghost haunting you whenever you’d look at the pink-haired man, but with all the time you’d been spending with him lately, you found that the guilt bothered you less and less. 

It had been four years since Ryu’s death, and he’d cheated on you in life. Why should you have to punish yourself forever just because of an unfortunate coincidence? Sukuna had made a very good point that Ryu would’ve likely died whether you’d been faithful or not. 

So why were you denying yourself happiness? 

You’d planned to break up with Ryu back then anyway, had planned to choose Sukuna before all hell broke loose. Now that time had moved on and things were calmer, it felt foolish to let a dead man stand in the way of things. Being with Sukuna was your choice alone, and the way that he’d comforted you outside the reunion had eroded away the last few shreds of doubt that you’d been hanging onto.

Not that you could tell Yuki any of that, because she’d absolutely kill you. 

“Honestly though, I almost thought that Gojo was lying - figured Sukuna had paid him to make Kashimo look bad or something,” Yuki said, “y’know, because he’s a conniving little shit.”

To be honest, you’d initially had some of the same suspicions, but Gojo was far too specific for it all to be lies. Sukuna didn’t know Kashimo well enough to provide Gojo with information about gigs and such - it had to be legitimate. 

“Sukuna definitely had no idea - he seemed so shocked when he found me crying. Besides, Kashimo's reaction over text said it all.”

Yuki’s eyes narrowed, and you cursed yourself for that idle slip of the tongue. As far as she was concerned you’d had very little to do with Sukuna recently. You hadn’t even told her that the two of you worked together. 

“When he found you crying?” She echoed, looking thoroughly unimpressed. “Was that at the reunion? Tell me that you walked away and didn’t bother telling him anything.” 

Shrugging, you stared down at your shiny nails. “We just chatted for a bit, it's not a big deal.” You must not have sold that line as well as you were hoping, based on the way that Yuki was staring at you with utter disbelief. 

“If it's not a big deal, what’re you blushing for?” 

“I’m not.” You lied, feeling suddenly defensive. You weren’t sure if it was better to deny any claims of association with Sukuna, or if you should just turn around and tell Yuki that you were a grown woman who could do what she liked. 

Neither option was all that appealing. 

“You are. If all you did was chat, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind telling me what you were chatting about.” Yuki’s voice was cold, tinged with disappointment. There had been only a few times in your life where you’d been the subject of her ire, and you always hated it. It made you feel smaller than being disciplined by your actual parents. 

Chewing on your lip, you wondered what would placate her most effectively for the time being, without it coming back to bite you in the ass one day. You certainly weren’t going to mention the kiss, nor were you going to share just how much talk of a potential future relationship there had been. 

However, it probably didn’t serve you to omit the fact that Sukuna was working for your dad, and that your friendship had been steadily growing over the last few weeks. If you were to keep that information quiet, it was likely that it would come out down the line and then Yuki would be really mad at you for lying. 

Better to face a little bit of her anger now rather than a lot of it later. 

“He was just comforting me,” you said finally. “He ran into me when I was leaving the bathroom all teary-eyed, and I was frazzled so I told him about what had been happening. He listened and gave some words of reassurance while I calmed down, that’s all.” 

Yuki didn’t look convinced. “Let me guess - did he wrap an arm around you and tell you about how you deserve so much better? Did he tell you about how there are plenty of guys out there willing to give you everything you deserve? Oh, oh, did he tell you that he’d never treat you the way that Kashimo did?”

“No,” you lied easily. 

So what if he said and did all of those things? You had faith that he was being honest about it, and it wasn’t like he had negative intentions for you. He’d been waiting patiently for a chance with you for over four years - that was more dedication than either Ryu or Kashimo had shown. 

He wasn’t the villain that Yuki believed him to be. 

But there was no convincing her of that fact, so it just felt easier to lie. 

“He’s been working for my dad,” you added. “We’ve had a few opportunities to talk since I got back into town. We haven’t discussed the past at all and he’s been nothing but pleasant - I don’t think there’s any need for you to hate on him like you are, he’s just a guy.” 

Yuki was silent for a while, avoiding eye contact. It had you feeling antsy, because she was clearly thinking about what to make of your statement. A deep sigh wracked her body, and she took her time screwing on the lid of her nail polish before looking at you once more. 

“If there’s nothing untoward going on, why are you only now telling me that you’ve been working with him?” 

A valid point, but you tried not to appear flustered by her response. The best course of action here was to make it look like she was blowing things out of proportion and acting ridiculous - which she kind of was. Sukuna’s only crime was sleeping with you while you were in a relationship, and it wasn’t like he coerced you into it - far from it. 

You’d wanted him as much as he’d wanted you. 

“Because I knew you’d freak out like you are right now. You act like he’s the damn antichrist.”

Yuki scoffed. “He manipulated you into cheating on Ryu.” 

“He didn’t, and I’m sick of pretending that he did. I’m capable of making my own bad decisions and that night was one of them. I shouldn’t have cheated, but it wasn’t Sukuna’s fault. I’m the one that was in a relationship, not him.” 

The roll of her eyes told you that Yuki didn’t accept that excuse for even a second. “He waited until you were most vulnerable to prey on you, and I’m pretty sure that you’re smart enough to know it.” 

“No, he-” you started to argue, only to catch yourself. There was no point in squabbling over this - Yuki had made up her mind about Sukuna long ago, and no argument would serve to change her mind. The only thing that would have an impact is seeing Sukuna’s positive treatment of you with her own eyes.

And that was something that she’d potentially have to come to terms with one day. 

“Look, let's just not talk about this, okay? I came over to hang out with you, let's not waste time talking about boys.” 

It was frustrating, because you could really do with talking about the Sukuna situation with someone impartial. You were attracted to him, you’d always known that, but it would be nice to have someone objectively tell you if giving things a go was a good idea. You’d get no objectivity from Yuki, and that made discussing it a waste of time. 

Perhaps you could talk it through with Shoko instead. She’d shown vitriol for Sukuna when in Yuki’s presence, but she wasn’t the type to get amped up about anything really. It was likely that she’d be able to give you a more honest opinion on how you should proceed. 

“You’re right.” There was something in her tone that told you that she didn’t really want to cut the conversation short, only willing to concede for the sake of avoiding any damage to your friendship. It was clear that she was eager to bring you over to her side, unsatisfied at the idea of you defending him or spending time with him in any capacity. 

It was fine for her to feel that way. She just needed to understand that it was your decision to make. Not hers. 

“Before we move on though - please tell me you’re not considering getting with him.” 

Yuki’s expression was pleading, the worried furrow of her brow painfully evident. For the last four years she’d desperately tried to talk down the concept of Sukuna whenever he’d come up in conversation, along with running interference to ensure that the two of you never ran into one another whenever you were in town. 

You imagined that she was seeing four years of hard work unravel before her eyes, and was desperate to cling on to some semblance of it. 

It was likely that you were going to have to apologise to her for your actions in the coming weeks, if you went along with the desires that were currently building within you. But you could cross that bridge once you came to it. 

For now, what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. 

“Me getting with Sukuna?” You asked, waving your hand flippantly. “Oh no, definitely not!” 

—

“Double cheeseburger, that’s mine. Here’s your chicken burger.” Sukuna was rummaging around in a paper bag that he’d picked up from Doug’s, distributing lunch out between the two of you. “Oh, they ran out of the strawberry flavouring so I got you a chocolate milkshake instead, hope that’s okay.” 

“Thanks.” Your fingers brushed his as you took the plastic cup from him, sending a pleasant shiver through your hand. You took a sip before placing the milkshake down on the world’s best dad coaster at your side, focusing your attention back on the ancient computer while Sukuna got started on his meal.

Your father was currently facing an audit, and that meant that you were working overtime to get his records in order. Subsequently, you couldn’t head out for lunch like you usually would, which had led to Sukuna bringing lunch to you instead. He seemed perfectly content sitting across from you in that little trailer, quietly watching you work while he enjoyed his break from manual labour. 

“Can I help?” He asked, after a period of silence, gesturing to the computer.

“Nah. This thing just happens to be the slowest machine in the universe, so organising everything is taking ages. It doesn’t help that my dad doesn’t bother putting anything into folders - there’s documents everywhere.” 

“Mmm. I saw Satoru’s desktop the other day and it was chaos. Icons all over the screen and some random popups and shit.” Sukuna said. 

“This one isn’t that bad. But I am gonna tell my dad to buy a new one - if I’m going to work with the damn thing everyday, I need it to run faster than this.” 

A chime of a text sounded from your bag, and you glanced over at it but didn’t bother to check. It was most likely just Yuki messaging with a plan for the weekend - one of Choso’s siblings was getting married and she wanted you and Shoko to go dress shopping with her in the city. You were considering faking a cold, still on shaky ground with her after your conversation the other day. 

So instead of reading her text and lamenting about it further, you turned your attention to your food, unwrapping the chicken burger and taking a big bite. You had to admit, it was nice to have Sukuna bringing you lunch - you probably wouldn’t have eaten all day otherwise, too focussed on the task at hand. 

“Heard from Kashimo again?” Sukuna asked, nodding his head in the direction of your bag. 

You were almost surprised that he was asking - you’d figured that the second your ex was out of the picture, Sukuna would wipe the name from his mind. After all, you imagined that he saw Kashimo as nothing more than an obstacle that had now been thoroughly removed. 

“No, nothing. Wasn’t expecting to though.” You said with a shrug. 

“No? You didn’t think he’d come crawling back to beg?”

You scoffed in disbelief. “I told you what he said over text, right?” 

Sukuna hummed. “The abridged version, I guess.” 

Your retelling of the story to Sukuna had been a little fragmented, since you’d been so enraged. The evening after the reunion, he’d called you to check that you were okay after your tearful day, only to get a full rant about the texts that Kashimo had sent you after the party. You probably didn’t explain it well, but you were sure he got the gist. 

Either way, you hadn’t really talked about it since then. You had no interest in bringing it up, and you assumed that he saw it as something of a touchy subject. 

“You can read the texts if you want.” You rummaged in your bag, pulling out your pink flip phone, ignoring the message from Yuki and opening up the texts from Kashimo, before handing it over to Sukuna. 

“Cute.” He mused, inspecting the Hello Kitty charm hanging off the side of your cell before turning his attention to the messages. 

“I mean- I can’t believe that I ever thought he was a nice guy. It was all just some dumb act. I really need to thank Gojo for giving me a heads up, because who knows how long it would’ve taken me to see this side of him otherwise. Imagine if I’d moved in with the guy only to find out that he was acting like this behind my back.” 

Sukuna hummed, carefully reading through the messages, his brows furrowed in displeasure. “He called you a whore? When he was the one sleeping with other people?”

“Yeah.” You rolled your eyes. “Called me a lot of other shit too. Guess he didn’t like being rejected.”

“What a jerk. Want me to kill him for you?” 

You stared up at Sukuna, unimpressed by his amused expression.

“Don’t even joke about that.” 

“Sorry, poor taste.” His grin didn’t drop, but you let it go easily. 

You knew that he’d never really been broken up over Ryu’s death - he’d never actually liked the guy. Making morbid jokes didn’t register in his mind in the same way that they did in yours, and the thought of Ryu’s death probably only came up for him when you’d bring it up. 

Besides, it had been four years. When were you going to get less sensitive about it? 

“Seriously though, I could track this guy down and give him a beating - if that’s what you wanted?” Sukuna’s expression was painfully earnest, not unlike a dog waiting for their owner to give them a command. 

Shaking your head, you offered him a soft smile. “He’s really not worth all that. Besides, I don’t want you beating anyone up.”

He shrugged. “Your choice. I would do it though.” 

“Noted.” 

You definitely believed him. Even though you’d never been witness to it, you heard all the rumors about fights he’d been in when you were back in school. He’d even punched Ryu once, before the two of you had started dating - not that Ryu had ever been interested in discussing it, apparently humiliated by his loss. 

Before Sukuna could make further promises of violence towards anyone who caused you strife, the door creaked open and your dad walked in. He was holding a paper cup from the nearby coffee van, but seemed to stop in his tracks at the sight of Sukuna and the food laid out on the table between you. 

“I was coming in to bring you a coffee but it looks like someone beat me to it!” 

To be fair, while Sukuna had bought you lunch, he hadn’t brought you a coffee, and you could really do with the caffeine. “I’d still like it! Thanks dad.” You smiled at him as he walked over, gratefully taking the warm cup from him and putting it down beside your half-drunk milkshake. 

He straightened up, hesitating for a second as he glanced between you and Sukuna. It was obvious that he’d expected to find you alone in the trailer, certainly not having lunch with his most rough-around-the-edges employee. You tried your best to ignore his unease, going back to eating your meal and pretending that your dad wasn’t fidgeting in your periphery. 

You couldn’t decide if his awkwardness was due to a dislike of Sukuna, or if he simply had something that he wanted to tell you in private.

“Are you done with that foundation, kid?” He asked, as Sukuna finished the final bite of his burger.

“‘Course.” 

“Good, good.” 

From what you could tell, Sukuna was an excellent worker, easily one of the most productive employees that your father had. It was likely a result of age - at twenty-two Sukuna was in the prime of his life where physical strength was concerned. The majority of your dad’s men were over twice that age. 

The silence stretched out for a few seconds as your father continued to awkwardly linger. “Everything okay?” You asked, eager for him to spit out whatever was sitting on the tip of his tongue. 

“Yeah, I’d really just dropped by to keep you company, but I guess I didn’t need to…” 

Your brow furrowed at the slight distaste in his tone. You weren’t sure if this was one of those typical overprotective father quirks - you’d never really seen him around guys that you liked before this interaction. He’d never met Ryu, because you’d kept the relationship a secret, and when Kashimo came to visit, he’d seemed largely unbothered. 

Probably because he’d seen how unbothered you were about the man. 

But there was something about his demeanour which felt threatened, or perhaps irritated, by the fact that someone else was here taking up your time. Perhaps it was about that person specifically being Sukuna - you didn’t really know anything about the nature of their working relationship. 

“I should probably get back to work anyway!” Sukuna chirped with a smile, breaking through the awkwardness. 

He tossed the burger packaging into the trash can at the side of the desk and stood up, stretching his arms above his head. He looked a little out of place in the tiny trailer - far too big for the space when drawn up to his full height. 

“We’re still on for tomorrow, right?” Sukuna asked as he drifted in the direction of the door. “For Misery at the drive-in?”

“Yeah, of course.” The way that he smiled back at you made your heart flutter desperately. He’d invited you over the phone a few days ago, and although he hadn’t said it outright, there was no doubt in your mind that he viewed it as a date. 

You’d almost turned him down, almost reminded him of your chat at the reunion in which you’d made it clear that any conversation about the two of you would take place exclusively on your terms. 

But the issue with that was the fact that you did want to go with him. 

You were sick of delaying, sick of having dream after dream of Sukuna’s hands on you, sick of your heart practically jumping out of your chest whenever he’d come by to grab you for lunch. You liked him, you’d always liked him. Knowing that was true, what was the point in wasting more time on silly games? 

The best way to find out if things would work was to try. If you kissed him properly and all you could think of was Ryu’s dead body, then you knew that it would never be possible. But if you kissed him and the horrible, soul-crushing guilt remained absent? Then you could have everything that your soul had been yearning for.

“Perfect, I’ll pick you up at eight.” 

You gave him a nod as he stepped out of the trailer, the door creaking and slamming shut behind him. Turning your attention to your dad, you caught the way that his brow was furrowed ever so slightly, a mix of curiosity and disappointment present on his weathered face. 

“I didn’t realise you guys were so close,” he said, waving his hand in the direction of the door. You supposed that made sense - the last time he’d seen the two of you interact was when Sukuna had been in here with his injured hand, and you’d shown an overall reluctance to even talk to the man. 

You shrugged, before moving to clean up the table a little bit, anything to avoid eye contact. “We’re friends.” 

“You know him well?” 

“Well enough,” you answered. “He’s the only person here even remotely near my age, so he’s kinda the only choice for someone to talk to.” That was a partial lie - because while there really weren’t any other employees in your age bracket, you would still be hanging out with Sukuna even if that wasn't the case. 

“You aren’t dating him, are you?” 

Balking at the straightforwardness of that question, you were quick to shake your head. “No, we’re just friends. God, dad, I only just broke up with Kashimo, what do you think I’m like?” 

He put his hands up defensively, clearly a little embarrassed by your response. “Sorry, sorry. I just had to ask. It's just- with him bringing you lunch, and going to drive-ins, it kinda seemed that way.”

You’d long since learned how to play the guilt game with your parents - you’d used it to hide your relationship with Ryu and get your way in other areas of life for years, so instead of accepting his apology, you pushed your advantage. You didn’t want him asking about Sukuna again anytime soon. 

“Well it isn’t. It's been so hard for me moving back to town, living with my parents again like some kind of failure, all on top of my boyfriend cheating on me. Sukuna is one of the few people who’s actually been a good friend to me. Besides, I’m going to the drive-in with him and several other friends, you don’t need to be so suspicious.” 

“I hear you-” 

“Plus, I’m a grown-up! You don’t get to come in here and dictate anything to me that isn’t work related. I can’t believe that you still don’t trust me to make good decisions, it makes me so upset.” You were sure that the look on your face was sufficiently frustrated, because this exact act had been working on your dad for at least fifteen years at this point

“Sorry, honey,” he said, looking dejected. “I was just being nosey. There’s nothing wrong with being his friend - he’s a good worker. But I was just hoping you weren’t dating a guy like him - you deserve better than spending your life in some shitty little apartment with a guy who can barely make ends meet.”

His tone was soft, disarming. It was clear that he was trying to make amends for upsetting you, inadvertently making you more annoyed in the process, because there was no reason to be so prejudiced against Sukuna for his financial situation or for anything else. He’d always been kind to you, and in your mind that mattered more than having a nice house and a fancy corporate job. 

“I think it's wrong that you speak about your employees like that,” you said. “He can’t make ends meet because you pay him minimum wage.” 

“Look, it's not just the money.”

Of course he glazed over that part. 

“I just don’t want any daughter of mine marrying some guy with face tattoos. It's unsavory - gives off the wrong sort of impression.” 

You could kind of understand the sentiment, but Ryu didn’t have face tattoos and he cheated on you. Kashimo certainly didn’t have face tattoos and he also cheated on you. You were pretty sure that outward appearance did little to dictate a person’s quality.

But your dad was old-fashioned, so that was unlikely to move him, and therefore not an argument worth making - especially not when you were in the process of trying to convince him that you weren’t interested in dating Sukuna. 

So you just held your tongue and rolled your eyes, deciding that you were done having this conversation. Just like with Yuki, if something happened with Sukuna, you could cross that bridge when you came to it, but you wouldn’t be having the argument now. 

“Well then,” you said softly, giving your father a pointed smile, “aren’t you lucky I’m not dating him?” 

—

Sukuna came to pick you up for your date at 8pm. 

You were already waiting outside for him, not eager for him to encounter either of your parents. Even if you were certain that your dad felt sufficiently awkward to not cause any further strife, you didn’t want to take the risk. 

Especially considering that you’d lied and said others were coming - when they clearly weren’t. 

Sukuna had openly looked you up and down as you hopped into his truck, doing little to conceal the desire glimmering in his crimson eyes. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t dressed up specially for him, meticulously planning your outfit to ensure that he took notice of the way it hugged your body. 

“You look pretty,” he purred. “Making me feel underdressed.” 

He was dressed pretty casually, wearing a grey Bullet for my Valentine hoodie and loose fitting black jeans. He looked incredibly good all the same, just as he always seemed to, no matter what he was wearing. Part of you pondered what it would be like to wear that hoodie, fantasising over the idea of him putting it on you if you got cold later in the night. 

It probably smelt great - just like he always did. 

You shrugged. “I just wanted to dress up for once.” The line was innocent, but the way you fluttered your lashes at him was not. He offered you a grin, shaking his head just a little before starting the car, driving you over to the drive-in on the edge of town. 

It was a nice little spot, albeit slowly dying now that so many people had flat screen TVs to rely on and an extensive collection of DVDs all in the comfort of their homes. Either way, you had great memories of swinging by as a kid, McDonalds Happy Meal clutched in your hands as you watched whatever family-friendly movie they were putting on that weekend. 

For some reason it was always your dad that used to take you - your mother would never go. You assumed that she used those precious two hours a week to get some alone time while your dad was watching you, considering that she did the majority of the child related labour. 

As you’d grown older, you’d started going along to the drive-in with friends, watching a number of classic teen movies like Grease and The Breakfast Club. The second that Yuki had gotten a car you’d all piled into it to come to the run-down place, enjoying that taste of freedom that you’d never had before, laughing at the sight of poor teens who were still tethered to their parents. 

You hadn’t been there since Ryu’s death. After that situation you hadn’t felt like doing anything in town, living in a total state of isolation until you went off to university, completely overwhelmed with the idea of how to deal with anything. 

Since you’d come back to town, you felt like you’d almost been reborn. You no longer lived in fear of doing things and going places, and could look at everything with a comfortably nostalgic view rather than one riddled with guilt and anxiety. Perhaps all you’d needed was time. 

To an extent, you wondered if some amount of your calmer mental state was due to Sukuna’s presence. So much of your fear and guilt had been centered around him, and perhaps your avoidance of the man had built those feelings up into a storm disproportionate to reality. 

Spending time with him could almost be seen as exposure therapy - a way of facing that fear and guilt you’d been running from and letting it all go. It was a practice in accepting your faults and choosing your own happiness. 

“So what’s this movie? Misery?” You asked as you parked up. There weren’t a massive amount of cars in the lot, maybe only a dozen others. It was likely that the drive-in wouldn’t keep running for many more years with the lack of patronage. 

“Yeah, based on the Stephen King book, y’know?” Sukuna’s voice was a little muffled as he reached behind him between your two seats, rummaging about in his bag for something. The action brought him in closer proximity to you, and your heart picked up slightly at the light scent of his cologne. “Here, brought you some M&Ms.”

You scrambled to catch the bag of candy as he tossed it over to you. “Oh. I haven’t read any Stephen King.” Somehow that felt like a crime to confess to considering how popular he was with so many people when you were in high school. You’d been assigned to read Salem’s Lot for one of your classes, but had ultimately just asked Shoko to give you a summary. 

Back then you’d been too invested in your fresh relationship with Ryu to focus on anything else, and that included reading. 

“Well, Misery is pretty good. I think you’ll enjoy it.” He leant back in his chair and popped an M&M in his mouth. “We should watch The Shining sometime, that one’s really good.” 

“No way. Too scary.” 

“Aw, if you get scared I can comfort you.” 

“Or we could just not watch the scary movie in the first place.” Horror movies had never really been your thing. You’d only agreed to watch Misery because Sukuna had explained that it was supposed to be more of a psychological thriller, but you knew that wasn’t the case with The Shining.

Sukuna hummed, gazing down at you with an amused glint in his eyes. “Don’t you think it's fun to be a little scared sometimes though? Gets the blood pumping.” 

While that statement might ring true for others, it certainly didn’t resonate with you. 

“I think I’ve had enough real fear to not want to be frightened by movies. I feel like you’re forgetting I saw my boyfriend with his guts all ripped out. I don’t need to watch shit like Scream when I literally had to live it.”

To some extent, the situation with Ryu had been more harrowing than the events in Scream, since they never caught the guy who did it to him. The police had concluded that it was some nasty drug related matter, since Ryu had cocaine on him, but you weren’t so sure. Some nights you wondered if the culprit was still living in your sleepy little town, going about their day like nothing ever happened. 

“Mmm. Point taken. What kind of movies do you like then?” He asked, keen to move the conversation away from Ryu. 

“Romance, I guess?” You weren’t really sure that you had a specific preference outside of disliking horror, but most of what you’d watched lately was romance. “I really like 10 things I hate about you.” 

“Haven’t seen it. You’ll have to show me sometime.” 

You giggled at the thought of Sukuna sitting down and watching a teen romance movie, but nodded anyway - mainly because you liked the idea of being huddled up next to him while watching Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles fall in love on screen. You wanted him to kiss you like the two of them kissed in that paintball field. 

“Sure, sometime.” 

The two of you fell quiet as the movie started, your attention dedicated to the screen in front of you. Sukuna was right to describe it as not really a horror, but he had neglected to point out how chilling a story it was. You felt all the fear of that poor man kept captive against his will by someone so insanely obsessed with him, your heart lurching anytime he failed to obey her ridiculous desires. 

During the scene where his legs were smashed by his captor, you found yourself covering your eyes, keen not to see the mess that she’d make of the poor man. Sukuna took that opportunity to wrap an arm around you, pulling you to his side and holding you there. His hand traced softly over the skin of your upper arm, comforting you. You stayed like that for the rest of the movie, enjoying the feeling of his warm body pressed against yours, his breath soft against the top of your head. 

You let out a breath of relief as the movie finally drew to a close, happy that the poor protagonist managed to escape the clutches of his captor, but deeply saddened by the way that the experience had messed with him mentally. In a way, you could relate - you understood what it felt like to have a traumatic experience colour your future. 

Sukuna didn’t let you go immediately, keeping you close as the credits rolled. Likewise, you made no effort to move away, even as cars started to vacate the lot. 

“What did you think?” He asked. 

“That lady was insane.” 

“I feel like she was just misguided,” Sukuna said with a laugh. “Sure, she needs therapy and stuff, but what she was doing was almost romantic.” 

You sat up then, staring at him in utter disbelief. The woman had held a celebrity author hostage in her house claiming to be his biggest fan, claiming to love him, only to smash up his legs and ensure that he could never be truly free of her. You weren’t quite sure where he was reading romance from that. 

“Wanna elaborate?” You asked, keen to see if Sukuna was just genuinely media illiterate. 

“Obviously not in a good way. I mean more that her drive felt almost romantic - to love someone so much to be driven to such insanity, it must’ve felt intense. I feel almost bad for her y’know? All she really wants is his attention but she can’t have it. It’s sad.” 

You scrunched up your nose. “I guess. But she isn’t entitled to him. She’s a psycho.” 

“Not arguing against that, baby.” 

The pet name didn’t go unnoticed, and you felt a blush crawling up your neck. Sukuna still hadn’t released you, drawing slow circles against your shoulder. It had your heart fluttering desperately, your stomach filled with butterflies. You tried not to focus on it too much, eager not to show just how much of an effect he was having on you. 

Mainly because you liked this game with him, to some extent. Even though you did want him, you were also enjoying having the upper hand, knowing that he was doing everything he could in his power to gain your affection. 

“So, if I hadn’t agreed to this date, would you have gone all Annie Wilkes on me? Kidnapped me and kept me strapped to a bed in your apartment?” You asked jokingly, staring up at him. 

“Nah,” he said with a laugh, “but if I did, I definitely would’ve treated you way better than she treated him. I wouldn’t be breaking your legs, I’d be treating you like a princess. I feel like that’s where she went wrong - she should’ve been softer on him and then he would’ve wanted to stay. It isn’t that hard.” 

You giggled. “I feel like you’re just describing a relationship - captivity aside, obviously. But I don’t think what you're saying would’ve worked for Annie, because he would’ve left and never come back. Which, you know, is good for him but not for her.” 

“I think she was just looking too short term.” Sukuna said with a sigh, giving you a soft squeeze. “She should’ve let him go and given him some time, kept in contact and stuff and maybe things would’ve blossomed. She was too hell bent on that instant gratification and it fucked everything up for her.” 

You hummed, and for a moment the two of you sat in silence, reflecting on the movie. You were certain that Sukuna wasn’t the type of guy to give into obsession like the woman in the movie. Likewise, you were certain that he wasn’t the type of guy who would ever hurt you or restrict your freedoms. 

But his final line felt like it related more directly to what had transpired between the two of you over the last few years. 

“Is that how you feel about us? About what happened four years ago?” 

He tilted his head in question, peering down at you. You couldn’t help the way that your stomach flipped under the scrutiny of those crimson irises, still a little nervous under his gaze, just like you’d always been. 

“What do you mean?” 

“That we were too fixated on instant gratification and it fucked everything up?” 

He barked out a laugh. “I wasn’t insinuating anything by it, but now that you mention it, yeah, I guess that applies to us.” Softly, he reached out to you, his fingers brushing along the length of your jaw. You bit down on your lip slightly, drawing in a breath. “Fortunately, nothing between us is as dire as broken legs or captivity, so I think we can recover.” 

You blinked as he leant in closer to you, lips slightly parted. His breath fanned over your face as he searched your eyes, clearly trying to get a read on you. Your mind was going haywire, your body freezing in place beneath his touch. 

“At least, if that’s what you want? I don’t wanna jump the gun and spend four more years on your avoidance list.” 

You snorted, eyelashes fluttering as you peered back at him. Your voice came out as a whisper, and barely audibly you said, “It is what I want.” 

He wasted no time after that admission, pulling you in close and crashing his lips into yours, stealing the breath from your lungs. His lips felt surprisingly soft, almost tender against yours. There was none of the roughness that you’d felt the first time the two of you had slept together, instead it was pure, unbridled passion. 

His tongue traced your lips carefully, requesting entry that you gave him easily. Your fingers found their way into the fabric of his hoodie, pulling him closer to you. The centre console between the two of you was an annoyance, creating a space that neither of you wanted. Sukuna was quick to resolve the issue, breaking the kiss for just a moment to drag you into his lap. 

His lips were back on yours immediately, like he was making up for lost time, desperate for you like a man in the desert searching for water. It wasn’t like you were much better, overwhelmed by the feeling of him pressed against you, dizzy with how hard he was kissing you. You hadn’t been kissed like that in a long time. 

Not since Sukuna had you in that bathroom all those years ago. 

It was a while before you parted for air, your forehead pressed against his, both of you breathing heavily. It was nice and warm in his lap, with one of his hands curled around your waist, the other caressing the skin of your thigh where your dress had ridden up a little. You could feel the evidence of his arousal through his jeans. 

Although, that evidence felt unnecessary, as the longing in his expression said it all. He was looking at you like you’d single-handedly placed all the stars in the night sky - like you were something truly worthy of his unwavering reverence. 

He was looking at you like he couldn’t quite believe how lucky he was. 

And it made your heart race, because despite your two relationships, despite all your forays into one night stands during your first year at university, no one had ever looked at you like Sukuna was now, with an affection so overwhelming that you weren’t quite sure what to make of it.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this,” he murmured, planting a few kisses on your face, his fingers rubbing circles into your skin. 

“I have some idea,” you said with a giggle, reflecting on the many nights that you’d spent fantasising about him over the past four years. 

“No,” he said sternly. “You really don’t.” The way that he looked at you told you that there was more desperation from his side than there was from yours, and you decided that you might as well take his word for it. Your mother had always said that it was ideal to find a man who was even more into you than you were into him. 

Your breath hitched as he slid his hand higher up your thigh, a pulse of desire going straight to your core at the idea of stripping off right here in his car. You could fuck in the front seat, let him fill you up as you sat so nicely on his lap. 

However, your last sexual experience with Sukuna had been in some impromptu awkward location, and you’d promised yourself that if you were ever going to do it again, you’d do things properly - in a place where you could take your time, free from any prying eyes. The front seat of his car certainly didn’t fit the bill - especially not with a few other cars still dotted about the lot. 

It was almost as if Sukuna read your mind. 

“So, do you want me to drop you home, or…” 

The statement hung heavy in the air and he grinned at you, intentionally trailing off and letting you fill in the gaps. He wanted you back at his apartment, wanted you to keep doing this with him and more. There was a reasonable part of you that thought you should turn him down - this was a first date, just a test, you should go on a few more before making any rash decisions. Not to mention, you’d barely broken up with Kashimo two weeks ago.

And yet, you found yourself completely unmoved by any logical argument that you presented to yourself. You wanted to go to Sukuna’s place, wanted him to touch you even more than he currently was.

It wasn’t like this was some first date with a guy you barely knew - you’d known him for seven or eight years now, knew him well enough to be sure that this was what you wanted. So why should you waste any time? 

You went on this date with him because you were ready to admit that you wanted him. Why bother with hesitation now? Besides, it wasn’t like the two of you hadn’t had sex before - now that you weren’t in a relationship, there was absolutely nothing stopping you from doing it again. 

Sometimes it’s best to throw caution to the wind. 

“Let’s go back to your place.” 

—

Sukuna lived on the east side of town in a relatively run-down area. It was the type of place that your parents had always warned you against visiting throughout your teenage years, mainly because it was known to be a hotbed for drug-related activity, and they didn’t want you caught up in such affairs. 

You felt safe enough with Sukuna at your side. He’d lived in the area his whole life, and was more than intimidating enough to scare off anyone who might have unsavory intent. You wished that your dad paid him better so that he could move to a nicer place somewhere else though - it wasn’t a good neighbourhood to be in. 

He pulled up outside his building, shutting off his truck and turning his attention to you. There was a desperately giddy look in his eyes, one that had you feeling more than a little flattered because you couldn’t quite comprehend the fact that he was so excited to be doing this.

Wasting no time, he led you inside, his hand tangled with yours, pulling you along up the stairs and into his home. It was a surprisingly neat little space, one that Sukuna had clearly taken good care of despite its sub-optimal location. You’d half feared that he’d have one of those average male living-space type apartments, with no furniture except a camping chair, a TV and a floor mattress. 

On the contrary, it was decorated nicely, with hints of his personality shining through in the furniture and other carefully selected decor. He released your hand for a moment to turn on some lamps, illuminating the room. A little side-tracked by your new environment, Sukuna hovered semi-impatiently as you thoroughly assessed the place. 

You felt like Sukuna was someone that you knew relatively well, but that didn’t decrease your interest in snooping - there was a lot to be learned about someone based on the way that they had their living space set up. The main thing that drew your attention was how many bookcases he had lining the walls, filled to the brim with a mix of books and DVDs. 

The fact that he was an avid reader didn’t really come as a surprise to you, since he always seemed knowledgeable whenever literature came up, but you were surprised by how many beautiful versions of books that he had, with so many of them clearly being collector’s editions. They must’ve been a priority to him, considering his fairly limited cashflow. 

Scanning the titles, it seemed like most of the books were horrors or thrillers, with a few sci-fi novels mixed in. That fit in with your general assessment of Sukuna’s likes - you couldn’t really imagine him reading some flowery romance or epic fantasy, he’d always seemed much more interested in the gritty stuff. 

“Nice collection.” 

“Thanks,” he responded, lip quirking upwards ever so slightly. If this were any other day or time, you were certain that he’d take his time talking you through the books that he owned, telling you all about them, no doubt recommending you some, just like he had when you’d been discussing Stephen King earlier that evening. 

Right now though, there was obviously something more pressing on his mind.

A slightly devious scheme that popped into your head was to play with him for a little while before giving him what he wanted - you figured that you could drag out the conversation about books or some other feature of his decor, really test his patience to the limit to see how long it would take him to snap. You doubted he wanted to wait long now that he was right on the precipice. 

But he was so impatient that he didn’t even give you a chance to put your plan into action, because one moment you were considering the best question to ask about Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and the next he was grabbing you and smashing his lips into yours once more. You gasped against him and he took that opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth, picking up right where you’d left off in the car. 

Refusing to break the kiss, he walked you over to the couch, pulling you onto his lap as he sat down. The two of you made out for a little while, his hands roaming over your body, running tenderly along the skin of your thigh, beginning to play with the edge of the fabric, pushing it up your legs ever so slightly. 

It was then that you pulled away, a sly grin on your lips, still eager to tease him in some capacity. “Woah, straight to it with no conversation first?” You asked, with a cutesy tilt of your head. 

His face was a picture of disbelief and frustration, biting down on his lip softly as he stared up at you. The need in his crimson eyes was palpable, but he showed you restraint all the same. 

“What exactly would you like to talk about, baby?” He asked, in a clipped tone. 

He was painfully hard beneath you, and his fingers were digging into your thighs. You would’ve liked to have kept your act going a little longer, delay his gratification for at least ten minutes or so to really test his patience, but the desperation on his face was so cute that you couldn’t help but giggle at his question.

Besides, your own desire was bubbling in your gut, and you weren’t sure how much idle conversation you could hold without it turning into torture for you rather than him. 

“I’m just fucking with you,” you whispered with an airy laugh, leaning in to kiss him once more. He gave in for a second before pulling back, a devious glint in his eye. 

“Yeah? Think it’s funny to make me wait longer? Have your fun baby, I’ll put you in your place in due time.” You squealed with delight as he manhandled you down onto the couch, pinning you beneath his weight. His body felt warm on top of yours, skin tingling in his grip. It was the way you’d felt all those years ago, the first time he’d touched you. 

How could you have allowed your guilt to part you from this feeling for so long? 

Soft whines escaped your lips as he kissed down your neck, leaving a hot, wet trail of bites that he sucked so lovingly into your skin. You knew that he had a thing for leaving a mark - he’d done it all those years ago too, sucking a purple hickey onto your shoulder, claiming you as his own despite the fact that you’d belonged to another man. 

This time, there was no reason for you to stop him. There was no Ryu, no Kashimo, nothing to stand in the way of you letting Sukuna have exactly what he wanted. There was nothing standing in the way of you getting what you wanted. Because you did want it, you had for years. 

All of those nights picturing Sukuna on top of you like this weren’t some sort of mistake, they betrayed your deepest desires. Had Sukuna spent the last four years experiencing the same thing? Spending long nights imagining you beneath him, squirming in his grip? 

Perhaps he’d been imagining it for even longer than that. 

Either way, it felt foolish that you’d likely spent hundreds of nights in separate locations imagining being with the other. You and your foolish guilt towards a man who had shown you little to no respect. You should’ve never let Ryu come between you and Sukuna, should’ve never run after that terrifying night. 

If you’d simply had the courage to face Sukuna back then, maybe you wouldn’t have lost four years to your self-imposed suffering. 

A shiver ran through you at the feeling of Sukuna sliding the straps of your dress carefully down your arms. It wasn’t like he’d never seen you naked before, but you’d both been drunk that night in the bathroom. It felt different to be all exposed before him like this, completely sober, your nipples perky from all the attention he’d been giving you. 

Swallowing nervously, you watched him drag his gaze over your torso, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. “Aren’t you just an angel? Even prettier than I remembered.” The praise had your cheeks warm, your mind searching for the last time a compliment had been given to you so freely when having sex. 

It was probably the last time Sukuna had been with you. Ryu had never done anything to make you feel special, and Kashimo had largely kept quiet the handful of times you had been together. With Sukuna, the words seemed to come easily, like praising you was the most natural thing in the world for him. 

Throwing your head back, your fingers sunk into Sukuna’s biceps as he made his way down to your breasts, lips brushing against the sensitive skin until his mouth reached one of your nipples. His tongue was warm as it flicked against that hardened bud, teasing you for a few moments before wrapping his lips around it and sucking. 

The feeling went straight to your core, and you writhed beneath him in pleasure. One of his hands moved to your other breast, his thumb toying with the nipple, leaving you overwhelmed with the dual sensation. “Fuck, Sukuna-” 

“Feel good?” He asked, pulling back with a pop. He looked beautiful, looking up at you in the way that he was. You couldn’t understand why someone as handsome as him had been so deadset on your affection - four years was a long time to wait for anyone, and yet here he was, gazing up at you as if you were worth everything. 

“Really good.” 

He huffed, shimmying your dress further down your body, leaving a trail of kisses in its wake. “All your resistance, for what? Could've been making you feel good for years, dumbass.” 

You made an attempt to bite back, to point out that it hadn’t been quite that simple, because how were you meant to understand what the right path was after seeing your boyfriend murdered in cold blood? 

How could you have known that the man you’d been unfaithful with was the right person to seek comfort in after everything? 

It wasn’t like there was a handbook for that. 

Sukuna didn’t give you enough time to formulate that into words before his hands reached the top of your panties, sliding his fingers beneath them with little hesitation. You jolted ever so slightly at the sensation of his warmth against your sensitive skin, flushing at the way he grinned as his fingers discovered the slick between your thighs. 

“And here I thought I was the desperate one.” 

“Shut up,” you mumbled. It was clear that he paid you no mind, suddenly attentive, as if he’d just had an epiphany. 

“Do you always wear these?” He asked, his hand pulling back and moving to trail along the pink, lacy panties you were wearing. They were the nicest pair that you had, and they weren’t particularly comfortable. Generally, you wouldn’t wear that at all, apart from for something like this. 

Sukuna cottoned on too quickly for your liking, practically beaming down at you. 

“Don’t tell me, you’d planned for us to do this tonight? Here I was, thinking that you were playing things all innocent, that you were genuine when you told me that this was just a test-run of a date.” His fingers toyed with the fabric a little more, watching your reaction carefully. “I guess you were just teasing me, huh? You always knew you were gonna come back here.” 

You shrugged as nonchalantly as you could. “I wasn’t sure, I just figured it was better to be safe than sorry on the outfit front.” 

“Mmm, sure.” It was clear that he didn’t believe you for even a moment. “These are so cute, I almost don’t wanna take them off you.” 

His fingers had moved slowly to your clit, rubbing softly over the top of the fabric. You wished that he'd go back to what he was doing before, eager to remove the thin layer of fabric separating you. 

“Gonna have to take them off though,” he continued, “I want full access when you sit on my face.” Your heart stuttered for a second at his words, not quite sure that you’d heard him correctly. 

“What?” You asked, dumbly.

“I want you to sit on my face,” he repeated, easily, as if it were obvious. You blinked at him, a little taken aback by the request. That wasn’t something you’d done before - Ryu hadn’t been all that interested in giving oral sex if he could avoid it, and everything you’d done with Kashimo had sat firmly on the tame side of things. 

“That’s- I- I think I’d be too embarrassed,” you choked out, cheeks flushing red. It was one thing to have sex with him - you were even comfortable with him giving you oral, but to do it in a manner like that felt insanely vulnerable, especially to do with a man that you hadn’t slept with in four years. 

He didn’t seem deterred by your statement, his face still lit up with that giddy, elated expression which had barely faltered since you’d kissed in his truck. “You know, if you’re gonna be with me, we’re gonna do far more embarrassing things together than just that.” 

Heart fluttering at the implication, you let your mind wander to what those things might be. Sukuna had always been the type of person who gave off the impression that he knew what he was doing when it came to sex - his penchant for one night stands had been the reason you’d never believed that he’d really wanted you before you’d gotten together with Ryu.

You were pretty certain that he had an expansive list of favoured kinks, and the idea of him trying them out with you made you shiver. It wasn’t like you’d ever ventured far out of vanilla with past partners, but Sukuna seemed like he’d be unsatisfied with basic sex alone.

“Come on, baby. Wanna see you up close.” The lust in his tone had your thighs quivering, and despite the embarrassment of it all, you offered him a little nod. You wanted him to make you feel good, wanted to feel that tongue piercing of his pressed up against you. 

You watched him lay back on the sofa, discarding his shirt and gesturing you over to him. His body was still as well-sculpted as you remembered, with sharp black lines cascading down his clearly-defined abs. He was the type of guy that you’d expect to see in a magazine, not working on some dingy construction site. 

Trailing your eyes down his form, you couldn’t tear your gaze away from the pink happy trail rising from his jeans, following it down to the prominent bulge practically begging to be freed from his trousers. Tentatively, your hand reached for it, squeezing gently through the cloth, pulling a restrained moan from Sukuna’s mouth. 

His reaction gave you an unprecedented surge of confidence. 

“If I’m going to sit on your face, perhaps we can kill two birds with one stone.” Your smile was sultry as you addressed him, wetting your lips slowly and giving him yet another squeeze to ensure that he caught your meaning. You’d expected him to jump at the idea, thrilled at the thought of you taking him in your mouth while he ate you out. 

Instead, his hand darted out and gripped your wrist, pulling your hand away from his still covered cock. You tilted your head in question, eyes wide with surprise at just how tightly he was gripping you. “No. I won’t last. If I’m gonna cum I want to do it inside you.” 

Most guys would feel embarrassed to admit to such a thing, but evidently not Sukuna. He didn’t care that you were aware of just how intense his desire was for you, on the contrary, he wanted you to know. You had to admit that it was flattering, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to control himself if you started touching him. 

You weren’t used to being in a situation where a guy wanted to focus on your pleasure first, before even thinking about chasing his own. Although, going by the enthusiasm in Sukuna’s eyes as you slowly got yourself into position above him, it seemed like he was deriving great pleasure simply from serving you. 

His hands ran slowly along your thighs, caressing your skin and tugging you down to sit upon his face. You felt a little nervous, shivering at the sensation of his hot breath against your exposed pussy. You weren’t sure what to do with yourself, having never been in this position before, uncertain on what to do with your hands as Sukuna licked a broad stripe up your slick folds. 

“Oh!” You let out a little squeak, legs trembling. Your hands flew to his hair, finding solace in the pink strands, no doubt tugging on his scalp as he set to work lavishing you with attention. You’d been eaten out before, Sukuna had done it to you all those years ago, kneeling between your thighs while you leant up against the sink. But this felt different - more intimate and special than it had before. 

The mix of embarrassment at being so vulnerable and the intensity of Sukuna’s optimal position had you fidgeting desperately, your body jolting ever so slightly at every pass of his wide tongue, leaving no part of you untouched. One of his hands released its grip on your thigh to move to your clit, rubbing that sensitive bundle of nerves in tandem with his tongue’s careful ministrations. 

The way that he flicked his tongue so precisely told you that he knew exactly what he was doing, understood how to touch you to elicit the strongest reaction. More slick was dripping from you, lapped up enthusiastically by his mouth, and you found yourself whining desperately at the sensation of that round piercing skimming your folds, contrasting against the soft texture of his tongue. 

“So sweet.” He murmured against your pussy, the vibration sending a pleasurable jolt right up your spine. You could feel the pressure building in your gut as he continued to lap at you, giving you no respite, feasting like a man starved. How long had he been waiting for this? Did he look at pictures of you when he was alone at night and imagine you sitting on him like this? 

If it was possible, the thought turned you on more than you already were. 

You could feel yourself growing close, the fuzzy feeling in your stomach growing to near unbearable levels, your vision growing a little blurry as you chanced a look down at him. The sight took your breath away - his eyes were heavy-lidded, watching you unfold on top of him while his tongue continued its onslaught, a heavenly expression on his face. 

You found yourself choking out his name, a little overcome by the evidence of his desire. 

It had you coming unexpectedly, letting out a soft little moan as you released on his face, causing a surge of embarrassment and pleasure to meld together in one overwhelming ball of sensation. Ultimately, the pleasure won out, because unconsciously you found yourself grinding down against his face, moving your hips with a desperate vigor to chase more of what he was giving you. 

If it was suffocating to him, he did nothing to try and stop you. Instead, he seemed to revel in your active participation, the movement of his tongue never faltering, letting you ride out your orgasm to completion. You couldn’t quite believe how eager he was, memories of Ryu’s general disinterest with eating you out flashing through your mind. Sukuna didn’t have to be asked to provide you with pleasure - he wanted to provide it. 

When he finally released you, bruises left in his wake from his grip on your thighs, your head was spinning. A sheen of sweat had summoned itself on your forehead, your pussy tingling from the overstimulation. You couldn’t find it in yourself to move on your own, your legs acting like they were made of jelly. 

It didn’t matter, because Sukuna was more than happy to lift you, depositing you down onto his couch for a second. He shot you an impish grin as he stood up, undoing his belt and shedding his jeans. “Still with me, baby?” He asked, taking note of your dazed expression. 

You were pretty sure you nodded, but you were too preoccupied to give him a proper answer, all of your attention focused on his hands, which were slowly dragging his boxers down his muscular thighs. 

The first time you’d done this, you hadn’t really gotten a good look at him - between the alcohol and the fact that he had you positioned facing the mirror, you’d only had the chance to feel his size rather than witness it. Now that you were staring at him, you found yourself swallowing nervously at the sight, wondering just how you’d taken that before. 

“Aw, don’t look so worried, baby,” he purred. His hand was stroking the shaft idly, red eyes heavy-lidded as he fixed them on you. “I’ll let you have it nice and slow. Nothing but the best for my princess.” 

No words came to your mind, you found yourself staring at him dumbly, lips parted as he settled down on the couch beside you, his thighs spread. He was watching you with a smile, patting his leg invitingly, encouraging you over. 

“Come here.” 

On shaky legs, you shuffled yourself over, letting Sukuna’s hands grip your hips and help lift you back into his lap. A soft whine fell from your lips at the feeling of his cock pressing up against you. He let out a low laugh at the way that you instinctively ground yourself against him, your body needy even after everything he’d already given you. 

“Aren’t you just the sweetest thing?” He hummed, watching your movements carefully. “You really want it, huh?” Gripping his cock, he responded to your movements in kind, rubbing the tip up against your entrance, smearing the pre-cum through your folds. 

“A-ah, condom.” You just about managed to regain clarity of mind to remember that little detail. Even though you were on birth control pills, you were intelligent enough to know that it wasn’t wise to fuck anyone without one if they hadn’t been tested for STDs and the like. 

Even if it was Sukuna. 

The flicker of irritation in his eyes was gone as soon as it appeared, replaced by a more pleasant look of total innocence. “I don’t have one,” he said easily. “I can just get you the morning after pill if you’re worried.” 

You shook your head. “I take contraception, it's more about- umm…”

“I haven’t fucked anoyone since I was with you.” 

You blinked at him a few times, struggling to comprehend that statement and instantly wondering if he was lying to you. The claim seemed unlikely, considering how much he got around before he’d slept with you for the first time, but his expression was unexpectedly earnest. 

And he’d been nothing but honest with you up to now. 

“In four years?”

“You’re the only one I want.” He was chewing on his lip, waiting to see how you’d react - if you’d believe him. The two of you hadn’t used a condom last time, you’d been so frazzled by everything going on that it had completely slipped your mind - if he really hadn’t been with anyone since then, it didn’t matter if you used one now. 

“You’re not just saying that so you can still fuck me tonight, are you?” 

“Come on, baby. Can’t you see how devoted I am to you?” He started pressing soft kisses along your neck, peppering the bruises he’d already left on your skin. “After I’d had you for the first time, there was no way I was ever gonna touch another woman again.” 

You weren’t sure what to make of that, once again caught off guard by how strong his affection for you was. You hadn’t assumed that he’d put his sex life on hold in the hopes that you’d one day come back, but now all of his neediness made sense. Not being touched for four years must’ve been tough for a guy like him. 

Who were you to keep him waiting any longer? 

Sliding your hand down between the two of you, your fingers found his cock, feeling it twitch in your grip. He relaxed a little, clearly relieved that you were proceeding, eagerly watching you line up the tip with your pussy. His hands came to settle on your hips once more, gently guiding you as you eased yourself down onto his cock. 

Containing a whimper, your nails dug hard into his shoulders. He felt bigger than you remembered, your body no longer assisted by the effects of alcohol to numb the pain like the first time you’d done this. “That’s it, good girl,” he murmured, bringing one hand up to your hair in a gentle caress. 

Leaning forward, he kissed you some more, his lips moving along your neck, up to your chin and finally capturing your lips, distracting you from the intensity of the stretch as he bottomed out within you. 

The two of you stayed like that for a few moments, losing yourself in the feeling of his lips on yours, the soft feeling of his chest pressed tight against your breasts. The pain slowly began to give way to pleasure, turning into a delightful feeling of closeness with the man you’d been more desperate for than you liked to admit. 

You were the one to move your hips first, lifting yourself experimentally, finding joy in the way that his cock dragged against your walls, before dropping yourself down once more with a soft whine against his lips. He took that as a sign of your comfort, repositioning his hands on your hips 

Considering the position, you’d assumed that you’d be doing most of the work. You’d thought that Sukuna had chosen it intentionally, eager to make you please him after all the pleasure he’d gifted you with his tongue. But instead of sitting back and watching you ride him, he made it clear that he was still very much in control of the situation. 

His grip on you was firm, taking care of moving you up and down his shaft like you weighed nothing to him. All you had to do was hang onto his shoulders. Pulling away from his lips, overwhelmed by the new, intense feeling of him thrusting into you, you buried your face into the crook of his neck, whining each time he brought his hips up to meet yours. 

The feeling was heavenly, better than anything you’d experienced before. It felt like you were moulded just for this, made for him to fit inside you so snugly, like you were always meant to be together. 

“Fuck, been waiting so long for this-” The way that he groaned was insanely sexy, filling you with a sense of pride. Based on gossip that you’d heard before doing anything with Sukuna, girls he’d been with had claimed that he was quiet during sex, that he opted for positions where he wouldn’t be looking at their faces. 

And yet here he was, all vocal for you, gazing at you with round eyes. 

It was definitely an ego boost. 

“You’re so hot, I wanna have you like this all the time, shit- I’m not gonna last long.” 

A mewl of agreement escaped you. You were already so sensitive from him eating you out, your pussy squeezing needily around him with each stroke of his thick cock. You were pretty sure that you’d never cum this fast in your life, not without external stimulation at least. And yet, Sukuna’s cock felt good enough to get you there all on its own.

“Please, Sukuna-” you whined against his shoulder, sinking your teeth into his skin at one particularly deep thrust, keeping yourself from wailing out his name. You couldn’t think of anything but how good he felt buried inside you, desperate to do this over and over again. 

But Sukuna was reaching his limit, and your little love bite was what tipped him over the edge. 

Your name left his lips in a soft groan, his grip on your hips tightening as he filled you up. The last time you’d done this, you’d asked him to pull out, but no such thought had crossed your mind this time around. The sensation of warmth flooding inside you all while he kept up his rhythm was too much for you. 

“Cum for me, pretty girl,” he rasped against your ear. One of his hands shifted down from your hip and pressed softly against your clit, the feather light touch sending you right to your peak along with him. Your vision turned white as your orgasm washed over you, your thighs tensing against his, milking his cock for all it was worth. 

Riding out your high, you slowly came to still on top of him, gaping for breath against his shoulder. He recovered faster than you did - one of his hands was already steadily tracing your back, the other stroking your hair comfortingly. He was softening ever so slightly inside of you, but you weren’t eager to pull away just yet. 

The intimacy of being connected like you were just felt too pleasant. 

Sukuna seemed to feel the same, making no effort to rush any further movement, enjoying the sound of the two of you breathing softly, clinging tightly to the other. You’d never felt so safe in someone's arms after making love, had never wanted to stay tangled up like this. Sukuna was special - he always had been, you’d just been too scared to admit it. 

You’d wanted him to hold you four years ago, and unfortunate events had dictated otherwise. This time, you’d let nothing tear you apart. 

“Doing okay?” He asked, brushing hair out of your face and tilting your chin up to meet his gaze. 

“Mmm, just a little tired.” You felt downright exhausted, and even though you knew that you should probably go home to prevent any suspicion coming from your father’s direction, the last thing you wanted was to be parted from Sukuna’s comforting grip. 

“Let's get you to bed then.” 

He didn’t wait for your answer before standing up, keeping you wrapped around him as he walked over to what you assumed was the bedroom, pushing the door open and depositing you gently on the bed. It was only then that he pulled out of your warmth, dragging a soft whimper from you at the cold emptiness he left behind. 

You remembered zoning out for a while after that, while Sukuna went through the process of tenderly cleaning you up with a warm cloth before bundling you up beneath the duvet on his comfortable bed. He went to the bathroom for a while to get himself cleaned up before joining you, huddling his body up close against yours. 

“Are you gonna avoid me for another four years now?” He asked quietly, a teasing lilt to his voice. Even if it was a joke, you were almost certain that there was some level of fear hiding within him that had prompted him to ask the question. You didn’t know how he’d react if he woke up in the morning to find your side of the bed cold and empty. 

“No, not after that.” 

“Oh, so you would’ve done it if the sex was bad?” 

“Maybe.” You let out a giggle, gazing up at him with amusement. 

He rolled his eyes but there was no malice behind it, a lazy grin lighting up his tattooed face. “I guess I’ll have to make sure I always please you then.” 

“I guess so!” You chirped, as if Sukuna was capable of anything less than that. It was apparent that you were not seeing him at the top of his game right now with how needy he was for release, and you could only imagine the type of things he would do once you were having sex all the time. 

He huffed humorously against your ear, tightening his grip on you. He had one arm resting beneath your head while the other snaked firmly around your waist, pulling your face into his chest. It was hard to think about anything but him with the way that his scent was overpowering your nose. 

You could get used to being pressed up against him like that. 

Things just felt right with you there, snuggled up in his arms. His body felt so warm against yours, curled around you in a deeply protective grip, like he was ready to fend off the world to keep you there at his side. You were relatively certain that he’d have to do no such thing, but you liked the sentiment regardless. 

You’d been wrong in your judgement, in your decision to wallow in guilt after Ryu’s death. You hadn’t felt this happy in years, since long before you were ever even with Ryu. Sukuna was the person you were meant to be with, this was exactly where you’d been destined to be. 

Everything that had happened, it had all been for a reason. All the horrible things that you’d gone through had been the world’s way of helping you along to this moment, leading you into the arms of the person you were meant to be with. 

And as you drifted off in the arms of the man who had loved you for years, you felt like you’d found a place of peace, a place where you’d be safe from the horrors that you’d encountered throughout your life. 

You’d drifted off too quickly, too soundly, to see the glint of victory in Sukuna’s eyes, to feel the way that his nails dug so possessively into your delicate skin. For now, he had what he’d always wanted - his object of affection tangled up so intimately with him. 

All he needed to do was ensure that he kept you there. 

And he wouldn’t be taking any chances. 

a/n: isn't he so fine!? I'm sure he'll be a totally normal boyfriend!! there's no way that he'd immediately start crossing boundries and acting insanely possessive haha!!

(we'll be going back to sukuna's pov for the next chapter where he will immediately start crossing boundries and acting possessive 😭)

hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you for the support! comments and reblogs are appreciated as always! <3

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He was aware that he’d really fucked things up with you in high school - mainly because he hadn’t quite comprehended the idea that someone else would stake a claim on you before he could find the chance to do so himself. 

In his mind, his affection for you had been obvious, and yet, Ryu still decided to get in the way. 

He couldn’t really blame you for basking in the attention that Ryu provided you with back then - not when he’d overheard you explain your reasoning to your friends. You hadn’t believed that Sukuna was serious, had thought that he was just playing with your heart with the intention of one day breaking it. 

Like he’d ever do such a thing. 

So you’d settled for the next best thing, someone who was clear about their intentions, someone who had offered you more than noncommittal flirting. And while Sukuna understood that, he was by no means willing to sit idly by and let Ryu have you. 

He’d spent weeks planning it out - picking the perfect night, the perfect weapon, the perfect words to say as Ryu bled out on the floor. He’d pictured himself as the caring friend, a shoulder to cry on when you discovered your boyfriend laying dead in the garage. 

What actually transpired that night wasn’t really what he’d planned. 

He’d killed Ryu just as he’d intended to, but after he’d cleaned himself up and gone to find you amongst all the bodies at that party, he discovered you in a state of total despair. Apparently your boyfriend, the boyfriend that was lying dead in the garage, had cheated on you. 

With Yorozu no less. 

Your distressed state changed things. You were already clinging to him, more malleable than he was used to you being, clearly a little drunk and sobbing about how you weren’t good enough. It wasn’t an opportunity that he could pass up, forgetting the murder he’d committed in favor of placating you, purring all the right words in your ear until you were putty in his hands. 

He had you in that bathroom without a single thought to how it might complicate the discovery that would be coming your way later in the night. It was short-sighted, he understood that now - a little more patience could’ve earned him four years of bliss with you.

Instead, he had to suffer you avoiding him like the plague all because of your misplaced guilt. If only you could understand that you didn’t technically cheat on your boyfriend, since he was already dead by the time Sukuna sunk into you. 

Not that he could ever tell you that. 

He’d killed Yorozu for the part that she played in the whole mess. If she hadn't thrown a spanner in the works, Sukuna’s plan would’ve played out just as he’d intended, and you wouldn’t be so anxious and cautious around him like you were now. That woman always seemed to find a way to make Sukuna’s life difficult, and he didn’t want to risk any more hiccups when it came to you. 

Besides, he’d seen the way Yorozu spoke to you, you’d probably be happy if she simply disappeared from the world. He did you a favour. The same was true of Ryu’s death - you deserved better than someone who would cheat on you. Sukuna would worship the very ground that you walked on - why couldn’t you understand that already?

But as frustrating as it was, he knew that he just needed to be patient. 

Now that you were back in town he wasn’t going to pass up his chance. Even through all your guilt and your weak protests about some boyfriend back in the city, there was nothing that would stand in his way this time. 

You were always meant to be his, and he knew that you wanted it just as much as he did - you just weren’t quite ready to admit to it yet. But that was okay, Sukuna was more than happy to help nudge you in the right direction. 

First and foremost, he needed to make sure that something was done about that boyfriend of yours or he’d get nowhere - not now you were so touchy about the idea of cheating. 

The day after Toji’s party, Sukuna found himself at the door of the office trailer on the construction site, knocking on it softly and waiting until he heard your soft voice calling out for him to enter. 

It was fortunate that he had such a clear line of access to you, able to apologise face to face rather than waiting for things to be on your terms. He was sure that you’d chalked it up to pure luck that he happened to work for your father, but there was no luck involved - he’d chosen that job out of desperation, hoping that it might one day open an avenue to you.

He just hadn’t anticipated how excellent an avenue that would be.

Likewise, he imagined that it looked like pure chance that he’d cut his hand on some glass the day before, happening to run into you in some kind of meet cute scenario that neither of you could’ve foreseen. Unfortunately, that was all artificial too. Once he’d found out that you were working in the office, he’d cut across his palm with a knife to give himself a reason to go in there and see you. 

It had all worked out great, considering how tenderly you’d held his hand in yours, patching him up like some kind of cute little nurse. 

He’d almost thought things would be easy after that. He’d heard the tremor in your voice, seen the flush on your cheeks, and had figured that you’d succumb to him immediately. But the way you’d reacted at Toji’s party had really put a damper on things. 

Hitting him with an outright rejection all because of fucking Ryu and this new guy was not what he’d been anticipating.

He bet that those damn friends of yours had something to do with it. Yuki had always hated him, taking steps to make sure that he got nowhere near you as long as she was around. He was itching to ensure that she meet the same fate as Ryu, but he was smarter than that - he couldn’t go killing people that you knew indiscriminately or you’d start to suspect something.

Unless Yuki became an insurmountable barrier to the success of your relationship he’d let her live. 

Besides, it was probably better that he avoid putting you in a position where you’d become overwhelmed with grief and trauma - that just wasn’t conducive to a healthy relationship. 

Dealing with your emotional state after Ryu’s death was hard enough as it was. 

Pushing his way into the trailer, he picked up on the way your eyes widened in surprise for a second before you took control over your expression. You looked cute, propped up on a comfy swivel chair, wearing some oversized baggy hoodie that he wished was his. The idea of you wearing his clothes sent him into overdrive. 

There were dark shadows under your eyes, unsurprising considering how late it was by the time you ditched him in the garden the night before. 

“Cut yourself on some more glass?” You asked cautiously. 

He wasn’t quite sure if you knew that he’d been lying about the nature of yesterday’s incident. He didn’t think so - you’d always struck him as mostly naive, opting to see the good in people and believe that they were generally telling the truth. It was a feature that he admired about you, a worldview that differed so significantly to his cynical mindset. 

“Not yet. Maybe later though.” 

He wasn’t going to shut down the opportunity to have you bandage him up again if he could get away with it. 

You pursed your lips. “Why are you here then?” 

“I wanted to apologise.” He had to bite down on his lip a little to stop himself from grinning at the way that your eyes widened in shock, clearly not expecting him to say anything akin to that. To really sell his words, he ran a hand through his hair, almost bashfully, acting all embarrassed to be showing up and saying such things. 

He wasn’t embarrassed - he wasn’t even really sorry, but you didn’t need to know that. 

“You were right, what we did that night was wrong. It shouldn’t have happened, not like that at least. Ryu deserved more respect - I just liked- like you so much, and I got carried away, both then and last night. Sorry.” 

The majority of what he was saying was a lie, outside of the part where he said that he liked you. It was what you wanted to hear though - if he was going to disarm you he had to placate you first, tell you all the sweet things that would bring him back into your good graces. He certainly couldn’t go around telling you the truth, which was that he had no interest in showing Ryu any respect - before or after his death. 

In fact, knowing that Ryu was dead in that garage, picked apart by Sukuna’s own hands, had probably turned him on even more than usual on that fateful night. 

Maybe one day you’d be receptive to hearing such a thing, after he’d corrected certain flaws in your manner of thinking, but that was a long way off. He needed to take it one step at a time and eventually he’d get everything he’d ever wanted. 

“Oh. Uh- thanks, I appreciate that.” 

You were fidgeting with your hands, eyes darting about as if you were too nervous to look at him properly. It was annoying, because he’d spent so much time in high school working on your relationship, building your confidence up until you finally slept with him. Now here you were back at square one, avoiding eye contact with him just like you had when you’d first met. 

“We should start over,” he said, placing a hand down on your desk, encouraging you to acknowledge him. “Let me take you to lunch today.” 

“I don’t know-” 

“As friends. I’ll pay, as an apology for last night.” 

You glanced up at him then, an almost defensive look in your pretty eyes. He’d come on too strongly yesterday and it had really put your guard up around him. It was his own fault - he should’ve taken a more lowkey approach, but knowing you were back in town after years apart had him acting a bit crazy. 

“Just as friends?” You confirmed, the words coming out slow. 

“Yeah. I’ll get you those pancakes that you like at Doug’s and you can tell me all about that little boyfriend of yours.” 

—

Kashimo was mind-numbingly boring. 

You’d been talking about your boyfriend, if he could even be called that, for about five minutes now, and there wasn’t a single thing about him that convinced Sukuna he was even remotely deserving of your time. 

Sitting across from you in a comfy booth at the back of the diner just felt right, and from the way that you were speaking about Kashimo, he couldn’t really imagine that man is his position right now, gazing at you affectionately as you scoffed down your pancakes. There was no way your new boyfriend would appreciate it, appreciate you, in the way that Sukuna did. 

The only reason that he hadn’t voiced that opinion aloud was because he wanted you to keep talking. This was the most he’d heard you speak in a long time without your tone affected by an edge of caution, and he was enjoying hearing the angelic timbre of your voice - even if he was less than moved by the content itself.

From what he could figure, you weren’t really that interested in Kashimo yourself. He’d heard you speak more excitedly about Ryu than you currently were about this university fling of yours. It all sounded very safe and nice - the usual story of meeting in some elective class, with him asking you out on a couple of dates, which you of course said yes to because you’d never been very good at saying no. 

It wasn’t like things got more exciting from there. He took you on the classic dates to independent coffee shops and artsy cinemas, trying to impress you and trick you into believing that he was some deep, free thinker - as if every other university boy wasn’t doing the exact same thing. 

There was no passion in your voice, nothing that moved Sukuna to believe that Kashimo was a genuine threat in the way Ryu had been. As far as he could tell, you were only dragging the whole thing out because it was comfortable, and perhaps out of fear of having to turn the boy down. 

Sad really, how unwilling you were to chase after your own happiness when it was right there in front of you - content to settle for mediocrity just to make some irrelevant person happy. That was another trait of yours that he desperately needed to correct one day. 

“So, what do you actually like about him?” Sukuna asked, interrupting your spiel about some music charity that Kashimo was currently working for.

He’d noticed that you were talking a lot about Kashimo’s jobs and hobbies, and saying very little about your actual relationship. Your descriptions of Kashimo sounded more like you were reading off a wikipedia page rather than dating the guy.

You blinked a couple of times, as if caught off guard by his question. “Oh- uh- well, he’s really nice. Like, such a genuinely kind person.” 

Sukuna frowned. “Nice? Come on, that’s the first thing you thought of? There’s gotta be something more than that, right? Is he good in bed or something?”

“I’m not gonna talk about that,” you said defensively, cheeks warming. To Sukuna, that response was a pretty conclusive no - if he was something special then you’d probably be willing to discuss it. “I mean, I admire how creative he is. He’s the lead singer in a band and he’s really good. Plus I like how dedicated he is to his work and stuff…”

It wasn’t convincing, he was pretty sure that you weren’t even that convinced. You still hadn’t mentioned anything about how he made you feel, or the things he did for you. Everything just felt impersonal.

“Right. So are you guys gonna get serious then?” He asked, enjoying the way that you grew noticeably frazzled, taking a long sip from your cup of coffee to buy yourself some time before responding. 

“I don’t know. We live so far apart now, and he’s always busy with stuff, we’re not even uh- super official so, yeah… I don’t know.” 

Sukuna grinned, glad that you’d finally come clean about the status of your relationship, or perhaps situationship, just as he’d suspected it to be from the start. That made things simpler, how hard would it be to break you up with someone that wasn’t even really your boyfriend? 

“It kinda sounds like he’s stringing you along.” 

You giggled softly and shook your head. “More like I’m stringing him along. He asked me to move in with him when I left town but- yeah, I don’t know. After everything with Ryu, and some other stuff, I just don’t feel like I’m ready for something that serious.” 

Sukuna hummed. He suspected that the ‘other stuff’ that you referred to had something to do with him. It wasn’t like you were doing a good job of hiding your desire for him, putting up something of a fight whenever he’d approach you but ultimately faltering under the smallest amount of pressure. He knew that you still wanted him, held back only by your own morals and guilt. 

There was a reason that you still agreed to go out to lunch with him, and it wasn’t really because you just wanted to be friends. You were no better at resisting him than he was at resisting you - you were just better at pretending. 

“That’s fair enough. It’s smart to take some time to think about what you want, no point rushing into anything.” 

Unless you were rushing into his arms, of course. 

“Exactly,” you said with a smile, turning your focus back to the plate in front of you and scooping up the final few mouthfuls of pancake, smearing syrup over the corner of your mouth in the process.

Sukuna couldn’t help but think how sweet you looked. He’d love to lean over the table and lick the mess from your face, taste the sugariness of the syrup paired with your enticing lip gloss. Though he assumed you probably wouldn’t appreciate such an action, not right now, at least. Instead, he pointed to the corner of his own lips, alerting you to the presence of the sticky substance. 

Your tongue darted out to clean it, failing miserably. Rather than allowing you a second attempt, Sukuna picked up his napkin and reached over to you, softly dabbing up the liquid. You froze beneath his touch, watching him cautiously, your shoulders only relaxing when he pulled back without further incident. 

“There you go,” he said with a smile.

“Thanks.” It was a shy, bashful response, leaving your cheeks ever so slightly flushed. A heavy silence hung in the air between you for a few seconds before Sukuna decided to fill it with more of his bullshit apology, now that you were done with all the Kashimo talk. 

“I really am sorry, you know. For what happened that night with Ryu, and for coming on too strong lately. I get that you have a boyfriend, and still feel guilty about what we did. I respect that you can’t just move on and pretend like nothing happened.” 

You offered him a small smile, nodding along at his apology. “It was just- that was the worst night of my life, you know? I can’t look at you and not think about it.” 

“I know, I get it.” 

“Maybe one day, maybe after a bit more time, but right now I still find it hard to live with myself.” 

The sad little smile marring your pretty face didn’t sit well with him. You were such a good, kind person, always worrying about how your actions affected others. It wasn’t like you were responsible for Ryu’s death - no one was, with the exception of Sukuna alone. Besides, Ryu had cheated on you first, you deserved to get your own back for that. 

“I’m not saying this just to get my way, but you know that it wasn’t your fault, right?” 

“I know that, I just-” 

“I get that you can’t really see it, I just wish that a horrible coincidence wasn’t the thing that stopped…this.” He gestured vaguely between the two of you, mirroring the sad nature of your smile. 

“Me too.” He barely heard you, your voice a whisper. He watched the way your fingers twitched nervously, as if contemplating whether you should be having this conversation with him at all. 

“To be honest, I’m just still kind of angry with myself. I wish I’d told you how I felt before Ryu did. Or at least, I wish we hadn’t had sex that night, maybe that way I wouldn’t be tainted for you? I know you’re with Kashimo now, and I’ll respect that, but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t wish we could be together.” 

He was putting on his best ‘I’m so sad and I’m so sorry’ face and hoping that you’d eat it up. You were the type of girl who had infinite empathy for those around her, the kind of girl who would cry when an animal died in a movie. He was sure that you’d be easily moved by his sorrowful expression. 

“Sometimes I wish that too,” you said honestly, eyes flitting between him and the table. “Everything just ended up getting too fucked up - maybe we just weren’t meant to be.” 

“Maybe,” he hummed in agreement, despite his brain screaming about how you were dead wrong on that front. “But who knows what life holds. I think that if we were meant to be, one day we’ll find a way to each other. Just like how we stumbled across each other again working for your dad, nothing is certain.” 

Boldly, he reached out across the table, his fingers grazing the back of your hand. You didn’t pull away, eyes dropping down to his fingers but making no further acknowledgement of the action as you raised your head once more, staring evenly back at him. 

“Yeah. Maybe.” 

He wished he could read your mind, eager to pick apart what you were thinking. Were you moved by his desire to be with you? How much pushing would it take for you to give in? You’d literally said that sometimes you wished you were with him too, how hard would it be to get you to take the leap? 

Once again the silence felt heavy, gazes focussed on each other. You were fixing him with an odd sort of look, lips parted like you wanted to say something but couldn’t quite get the words out. He wondered if there was a part of you calculating what would happen if you were to throw caution to the wind and give him what he wanted.

He certainly hoped so. 

But you seemed to realise your mistake before you could quite get there, swiftly scrambling to fill the silence, pulling your hand away gently and turning the conversation back around to Kashimo, as if that would obscure your flustered reaction to his touch. “My- my boyfriend is coming to visit in a few weeks.” 

Sukuna’s gaze darkened in annoyance for half a second, frustrated to be shut out again, only to quickly conceal it. He needed to stop viewing this as a short term game - if he started getting angry that you weren’t being more receptive more quickly, he’d be at risk of getting shut out completely. He couldn’t act like some needy incel, he needed to act like your genuine friend and wait until the perfect opportunity arose to pull you to his side. 

Besides, Kashimo’s presence could be a good thing - he could use it as an opportunity to sabotage your relationship, to make that man look bad and make himself look good. If push came to shove, he could use it as an opportunity to deal with Kashimo in the same manner that he dealt with Ryu. 

“Oh yeah? You should introduce us.” He offered, as if he hadn’t been telling you how much he wanted to be with you just moments prior. 

You bit down on your lip, folding your hands carefully beneath the table, firmly out of his reach, as if recovering from the spell you’d temporarily been under. “I- um- don’t know if that’s a good idea.” 

“Aw, come on.” He leaned forward, propping his chin up on his hand. “We’re starting fresh, remember? I won’t mention any shit from the past, we’re just friends. I can be perfectly civil with him, just like I always was with Ryu.” 

That wasn’t a lie - he’d be outwardly friendly and he wouldn’t outright mention your past entanglements because it wouldn’t serve him well to do so. 

Should you let him meet Kashimo? Probably not, because he was certainly going to venture out of his way to twist the situation in his favour, but you’d absolutely never know that. You’d always been far too trusting. 

As far as you’d see any interaction between them, Sukuna would be the perfect friend, displaying kindness and interest with absolutely no ulterior motives at all. He’d been good at acting that way with Ryu, and he was certain he’d find Kashimo just as easy. 

People really weren’t all that complex. 

“He’s coming just in time for the reunion, so you’ll probably see him anyway,” you said with resignation, as if you’d spent the previous few seconds considering all the ways that the meeting could fall apart. 

Sukuna practically beamed. “Great. Can’t wait to meet him.” 

—

In the weeks leading up to Kashimo’s visit, Sukuna made sure to utilise his time to the fullest extent, preparing for what he knew would be his best shot at effectively drawing you to his side. 

Part one of his plan went off without a hitch, as it involved maximising the time spent with you over those weeks. That had been pretty easy considering your shared employment - he’d eat lunch with you every day without fail, be it in your office trailer or out at Doug’s. At first you’d shown something of a reluctance towards those daily meetings, but it only took around a week for you to come around. 

You’d always been at least a little fickle where he was involved - he just needed to push the tiniest amount for you to be all pliable, even if you desperately wanted to pretend that wasn’t the case. 

So by the time Kashimo arrived, you and Sukuna seemed to be the best of friends. You’d opened up to him significantly, giggling freely at his jokes, openly seeking him out for your lunchtime hangouts, and even letting slip vital information surrounding your true reservations about your relationship. 

It was ideal for him, it felt almost like how you’d act with him back in high school - back when you’d go running to him to complain whenever Ryu would upset you, as if he wasn’t supposed to take that as a sign of how much happier you’d be with him. 

You’d confided that you weren’t passionate about Kashimo - you were sitting on the fence, wondering if you’d ever feel genuine love for him beyond simple comfort. Words that came as music to Sukuna’s ears - even if he was sure to hide how happy it made him. 

In his time with you he’d done an excellent job of playing friend, and with the exception of your first lunch together, he didn’t bring up his love for you again. He needed it to look like he had your best interest at heart whether it involved him or not. Otherwise it would be hard for him to seem genuine when all his scheming came to fruition at that stupid reunion. 

So, dealing with you he had down - he was proud of it, it felt like he was halfway to success. However, the second aspect of his plan, which had little to do with you, was a little trickier to pull off in the way he was hoping. 

His original idea had been to dig up dirt on Kashimo, figuring that most people had at least some skeletons in their closet - Sukuna certainly did after all, though likely in a more literal sense than most. 

Subsequently, he’d gone online and stalked the guy to the greatest extent possible, which was minimal, because Kashimo had one of those stupid private Myspace profiles where only friends were able to see your stuff. That was annoying, and led to Sukuna making a fake account, with some stolen picture of a hot girl. 

Kashimo accepted the friend request from ‘her’, which meant Sukuna had access to his posts and photos, but was dismayed to find nothing sinister at all. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised, considering that Kashimo had you as a friend on the platform - if he was up to anything weird, he probably wouldn’t be sharing it in such a public place. 

That led Sukuna to make an attempt at chatting with Kashimo online, figuring that he could send a few flirty messages and have the man gagging for the fake woman that he’d so painstakingly created - spending an ungodly amount of time curating her profile to make her seem so real and interesting, all artsy like the type of girls he’d imagine Kashimo to be ideally into. 

And yet, that asshole shut things down instantly, replying to messages with cool responses, even pushing back with an ‘I have a girlfriend’ message when Sukuna started to come on too strong. Unlike you, Kashimo seemed steady in his affection for you, already loyal to a fault, which was really fucking annoying. 

Since the guy wasn’t engaging with anything obviously shady, and was unwilling to be pushed to cheat, which would’ve provided clear evidence of the man’s rotten nature for him to share with you, Sukuna decided that he needed to take matters into his own hands. 

If Kashimo wasn’t going to do it himself, Sukuna would do it for him. 

Wasn’t he fortunate to have a friend that was so good with photoshop? 

“Alright.” Satoru said, flicking through the pictures on his computer screen, scrutinising each incriminating image of Kashimo that he’d so painstakingly edited. He was sitting cross-legged on his swivel chair, while Sukuna lounged on his bed, waiting for him to finish up before passing judgement on his creations. “This’ll probably work.” 

Sukuna sat up, peering over Satoru’s shoulder at the screen, grin widening with each image that he observed. Satoru had really put his graphic design degree to good use, because Sukuna totally bought that the images were real. So many of them were awful for Kashimo, displaying him engaging in all manners of debauchery: snorting coke, getting in fights, touching girls who certainly weren’t you. 

Perfect. 

This was one of those rare times where he was actually grateful that he had Satoru as a friend, and he was equally grateful that the man had such a low moral compass for most things. Some friends would stop their buddies from trying to sabotage the relationship of a girl they liked - not Satoru though. 

He’d known for years how much Sukuna was into you, and was more than happy to help the relationship along for the sake of the boy he’d been friends with since birth. 

Obviously, Satoru didn’t know everything. The murders were something that Sukuna would be keeping to himself, since he wasn’t sure that his friend would be as willing to abide by that. But what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. 

“So, what’re we doing with the pictures now?” Satoru asked, twisting around to look up at Sukuna.

That part of his plan wasn’t really in place yet. He knew that he wanted to dig up dirt on Kashimo, or in this case - invent it, but he wasn’t sure how to go about presenting it all to you without him looking bad. You couldn’t see him as having any nefarious intent or the whole thing would collapse. 

“I guess I just show them to her after the reunion? Tell her Kashimo confided in me or some shit. Tell her he added me as a friend on that private Myspace we’re making for him, I don’t know.” 

Satoru frowned. “No, no, no - it can’t be you telling her dude, do you think she’s stupid? She knows that you’re into her and she also knows that you’re kinda a jerk. If you show up with a load of printed images of her boyfriend she’ll smell bullshit from a mile away.”

He had a point. 

“Then what? I play the long game? Pretend to make friends with the dude and then bring out the photos when she wouldn’t be expecting it?” 

Satoru hummed, scratching his chin as he stared up at the ceiling. For a moment, Sukuna thought he’d zoned out entirely, gaze fixed on the plastic stars that had decorated his room since childhood. Sukuna had spent many a sleepover staring at those stars, wishing that he lived in a house as nice as Satoru’s. 

“What if I tell her?” Satoru suggested. 

“Huh?” 

Sukuna didn’t love the idea of Satoru talking to you. Despite the fact that the two of them had been best friends their entire life, it didn’t prevent jealousy from taking root where you were involved. He knew that Satoru was handsome and charming, knew that girls tended to like him. Sukuna didn’t want you falling for that trap off the back of Satoru revealing your boyfriend to be rotten.

Satoru rolled his eyes, well aware of Sukuna’s tendency to be possessive. “Its more real if it comes from someone other than you. She can hear it from me and then go running into your arms for comfort later, and you can be all clueless. Isn’t that your ideal scenario?” 

It was. 

“I can go up to her, and talk about how I think I’ve seen her boyfriend before. I can ask her if he was at- what gig was it that we saw on the website for his charity? Green Clover? I can ask if he went to a Green Clover gig lately and when she says yes, I can act all weird until she asks me what’s up.”

“Act weird?” Sukuna asked. 

“Yeah, I can act like I just realised something that I feel a bit awkward to say, then when she pushes, I can spill that I saw him doing some unsavory things, and that I have him on a private Myspace account where he posts all of his partying stuff. Oh! On the fake Myspace profile we created, let's make some phoney emails from escorts and stuff!” 

“Sure.” Sukuna liked that idea. He wasn’t great at this side of things - he barely bothered with technology himself, and couldn’t profess to understand it. His flip phone was mainly used for the sake of texting you and his friends, he wasn’t bothered with all the new online shit like Myspace - making a fake account to befriend Kashimo had been pushing the extent of his skills. If Satoru hadn’t been willing to help, perhaps he just would’ve jumped straight to dealing with Kashimo the old fashioned way, which probably would’ve backfired significantly. 

All this build up was necessary. Your view on the man needed to be shifted before anything unfortunate could befall him. 

“Cool, I’ll start on that now. Man, this is so fun, I wanna build more fake profiles. Maybe your girl will get another boyfriend after this one and we’ll get to do this all over again!” Satoru’s voice was cheerful, and it was fortunate for his mood that his blue eyes were fixed on the screen again and not on Sukuna, who was positively glowering at that statement. 

“Don’t even joke about that shit,” he snarled. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Satoru dismissed him with a wave. “You guys are destined or whatever, I’ve heard it all before. Let me focus. Once I’ve done this we can go over all the details to make sure there’s no holes in the story.” 

Sukuna nodded, laying back down on the bed, shoving several of Satoru’s plushed animals to the side. He couldn’t understand why the man had so many, he was in his twenties for fuck’s sake, did he really need thirty teddy bears to cling to at night? 

“One thing I’m concerned about,” Satoru said after a bit of silence, “what if, after I tell her, she straight up confronts Kashimo and he denies everything?”

Sukuna shrugged. “You say he’s just lying to save his skin. We’ve got proof after all.” 

“Not really though.” 

“I’m not worried about that part.” Sukuna said honestly. “She hates attention, so I don’t think she’d confront him at the reunion, plus she said he had to head home right after. Besides, she’s the type of girl who likes to think things through - especially after everything with Ryu - it's more likely that she’ll shut down and give it some thought before confronting him at a later date. She might want to wait until after she’s had a chance to see your evidence too.” 

Satoru hummed. “That doesn’t solve the issue though, does it? She’ll still confront him eventually.” 

A smile curved up on Sukuna’s lips, one that Satoru didn’t quite catch, his focus still fixed on the glow of the computer screen. 

“You just work on getting these fakes right. Let me worry about the rest.” 

—

The reunion was being held in the gymnasium of the high school, all set up with dozens of big tables, with a massive banner in school colours reading ‘welcome back, class of 2003’. It didn’t look unlike various school dances that Sukuna had attended during his time as a student, albeit there were bottles of wine on the table at this particular function, and the attendees all looked significantly more grown up than they had back then. 

He supposed he’d probably changed too - although he’d always been big, and he’d gotten the first of his many tattoos at sixteen, so perhaps his transformation hadn’t been as significant as other people’s. 

The room was already filled with people, some sitting at tables while others mingled around the room, holding glasses of wine or bottles of beer. He’d arrived fashionably late, not the least bit eager to be one of the first ones at the event, only really attending at all because he knew that you would be here. 

He couldn’t care less about most of these people, didn’t even know half of them - a reunion was something that he was wholly uninterested in. He couldn’t give less of a shit if Kusakabe was married now, or if Nanami had started up his own business in the city - the only person who mattered was you. 

It was easy enough to spot you as he pushed through the sea of people. You were sitting at a table towards the edge of the room, with Shoko and Yuki to the right of you. The three of you were giggling about something or other, and he felt his heart pick up with joy at the sight of you. Your smile was so radiant - he loved the way that it lit up your whole face, crinkling the corners of your eyes. 

If only you could smile at him like that everyday. Waking up to that sight each morning would probably send him straight up to heaven. 

You were his angel. 

Thoughts of your beauty almost had him forgetting his current situation, only brought back down to earth as he scanned over to your right, all of his joy quickly dissipating at the sight of the man sitting beside you. 

He’d spent enough time stalking the guy and forging imagery to recognise Kashimo on sight, with those shiny cerulean eyes of his and obnoxiously dyed hair styled in a stupid half bun. He looked even more ridiculous in person than he did in his pictures - what you saw in the guy was absolutely beyond him. 

Much to his chagrin, Kashimo seemed to be chatting away to Choso, who was supposed to be Sukuna’s friend. He was going to keep that betrayal tucked away in the back of his mind for the future, but he supposed Choso probably didn’t have much choice - Yuki had no doubt encouraged him to play nice, and the boy had no backbone when it came to her. 

She really was the worst. 

Either way, there was no point in contemplating things. He was prepared for all this - of course he was going to see you and Kashimo together, that was normal, you’d come here together, he just needed some time for the reunion to get rolling, then Satoru would swoop in and kick things into motion. 

But first, he needed to make himself as friendly as possible. 

“Got space for me here?” His crimson eyes were fixed on you as he approached the table. “You guys are the first people I’ve seen that I actually know, I mean, did these people even go to our high school?” He jabbed a thumb in the general direction of the other tables. 

“I’m certain you have other friends you can sit with.” Yuki deadpanned, her expression less than pleased with his presence. He’d anticipated such a response, so he ignored her entirely, keeping his gaze set on you. 

You wouldn’t cast him aside, not after all the time you’d been spending together over the last few weeks. You were friends, and what kind of person would turn away a friend? Definitely not a kind soul like you. 

“Of course you can sit with us.” You chirped with a smile, gesturing to the empty seat next to Choso. “We were just talking about that time that Gojo got really drunk before a school dance and then got up on the stage and confessed his love to Shoko.” 

“Humiliating.” Shoko said, covering her eyes, “I still get nightmares about it.”

“I think Satoru does too.” Sukuna said with a laugh. 

He could remember that night well - him and Satoru had drunk a shit ton of absinthe before the dance, and unlike Sukuna, Satoru had no skill at all in holding his liquor. Shoko had tried to help get him in a car and safely home, only for him to escape her grip and tell her that he loved her. 

He couldn’t remember anything the next day, and considering that he’d been dating some other girl at the time, she wasn’t best pleased at hearing her boyfriend profess his love for someone else. 

It was really funny though. Even Satoru could laugh about it now that the humiliation had worn off a little. 

“Oh, Sukuna, this is Kashimo by the way,” you said as the laughter died down. “Kashimo, this is Sukuna, he’s an old friend of mine.” 

“Hey man,” Sukuna said politely, holding a hand out for Kashimo to shake. He ensured that his grip was strong, almost testing the other man’s strength and finding him to be inferior, just as Sukuna had expected. 

“Damn, you’re pretty bulky. Do you live at the gym?” Kashimo asked, pulling his hand back and shaking it ever so slightly, as if trying to hide the extent to which the handshake had bruised him. 

“Something like that. Working construction keeps me strong.” 

“Oh, do you guys work together?” Kashimo asked, glancing between the two of you. 

“Kinda.” You shrugged non-comittally. “I mostly work alone because I’m inside the office all day while he’s out doing the actual work.” 

Sukuna sucked on his lower lip, very interested in the way that you’d effectively just lied. Considering that Sukuna was in your trailer every day without fail, your response didn’t make a whole lot of sense - it was clear that you didn’t want Kashimo to know how close the two of you actually were. 

That was fine. It just reassured him that you definitely still had feelings for him. If you had nothing to hide, you’d be more upfront about your friendship. 

“What do you do Kashimo? Something creative? You’ve got that cool look about you,”

Kashimo practically beamed at the praise, completely disarmed as he launched into a whole spiel about his music charity thing, which Sukuna had no interest in listening to because he’d already heard it all from you. Not to mention, he could probably recite that man’s whole life story after all the internet stalking he and Satoru had engaged in. 

Some people were just so easy to play - give them the smallest compliment and they were really ready to believe that someone had their best interest at heart. Thank god for fools like him making Sukuna’s life so much easier. 

Largely zoning out Kashimo’s words while he droned on and on, Sukuna’s gaze flickered momentarily over to you, satisfied at the realisation that you were already staring at him with wide eyes. It was almost like you were seeing him for the first time, comparing him to the man at your side and finding yourself captivated by your old flame. 

He offered you a smug smile, meant only for you, appearing and disappearing in the span of a couple of seconds. He then turned his attention back to Kashimo, and proceeded to slip into his role. Until Satoru came to drop his bombshell, Sukuna would be nothing less than perfect. 

It was after food had been served out on the tables that the part of the plan he’d been awaiting finally fell into place. 

Sukuna had headed away from the table for a while, under the guise of wanting to speak with Toji, but really because he wanted to give Satoru a window to speak with you without him being there. 

They’d discussed it beforehand - Satoru was to wait for Sukuna to leave the table and that was his cue to go and deliver the news to you. 

Away from Kashimo, of course. 

And his blue-eyed friend seemed to play the role perfectly, heading up to your table and engaging in excitable small talk just like he always would, making all the girls laugh raucously. He spent almost five minutes building rapport at the table, before turning to you and saying something with a serious expression, having you follow him over to a more secluded part of the room. 

From there, you were out of Sukuna’s line of vision, and he just had to hope that Satoru would deliver the message like he was supposed to. He should really have more faith in the man, but he felt jittery about the idea of anything going wrong. He’d already destroyed one chance with you and it had cost him four years of time at your side. 

He didn’t want to fuck this chance up. 

“Hey, who's the hot guy at your table?” 

He’d been so preoccupied with his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed Uro sidling up to him, swirling wine in her glass. Her eyes were fixed on Kashimo, who was still locked in conversation with Choso.

Shrugging, he mumbled an answer about how Kashimo was your boyfriend, uninterested in really engaging in conversation with someone as annoying as Uro.

“Really? He’s so hot, better looking than Ryu. How does she even get these guys?”

Sukuna was moments away from telling her to fuck off, potentially proceeded by a long rant about how Uro couldn’t even begin to compare to your level of beauty, but he held himself back as a sudden thought popped into his head. 

How would you feel if you came back from your harrowing conversation with Satoru, only to see your boyfriend chatting with Uro? 

He shrugged. “Dunno. I’ve heard this guy is rich as fuck too. Apparently he gets into all the best clubs in the city. He’s a real catch. I feel like he’s probably on the fence about their relationship too right now.” 

Shooting a sidelong glance at Uro, he caught the way that her eyes practically lit up at his words. It was an insane reaction since she was currently dating Toji, who was only two metres away, but she’d always been a shameless little golddigger. 

She ran a hand through her long pink hair, pulling a compact mirror from her purse and quickly applying a new layer of lip gloss before making off in the direction of the table, swinging her hips seductively as she walked. Sukuna wanted to roll his eyes at the corniness of the display, but he wasn’t going to deny that Uro was effectively doing him a favour, so he wouldn’t ridicule her too much. 

Taking another sip of his drink, he watched the scene play out. Uro pulled out a chair next to Kashimo, giggling and leaning in close as she introduced herself. Her body language couldn’t be more obvious, but Kashimo seemed to indulge her all the same, clearly giving her the same speech that he’d given Sukuna, as if she was there with friendly intent. 

You clearly didn’t take it that way, because as you stumbled back into Sukuna’s field of vision, your expression already stormy, you stumbled to a halt mere paces away from your table, lips parting in shock at the sight. 

Uro had moved on to touching Kashimo’s shoulder when she laughed, and that happened to be the position they were in when you saw them. Sukuna watched the hurt and betrayal cross your pretty face, eyes shimmering with tears as you turned away silently, walking off down the hall and abandoning Kashimo to his conversation. 

Perfect. 

Things literally couldn’t have been working out any more perfectly than they were. 

He gave it a couple of minutes to not make things look obvious before heading down the hallway after you, pushing through the double doors and into the dark corridor beyond, heading to where the toilets were located. He hoped that was where you were, it would be annoying if you’d just up and left, but he supposed he could always drop by your house in that case. 

About ten minutes elapsed before he started to get fidgety, wondering if he should go and look for your car outside. Fortunately, the bathroom door swung open before he could make the decision to leave. 

You stumbled out into the hallway, your eyes and cheeks red from crying, eyes widening in surprise as you practically stumbled into him, steadied by his hands gently gripping your shoulders. 

“You okay?” He asked, eyes taking in your disheveled form. You still looked beautiful, even with your dress all crumpled, your make-up smeared every so slightly. 

“Yep. Peachy!” You said with a shuddering breath, fresh tears gathering at the corner of your eyes. 

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” He asked, hands soothing your shoulders softly, playing the perfect role of concerned friend as if he didn’t already know everything you were about to tell him. 

“It's nothing, just stupid stuff. I think I’m just gonna go home. I just realised that high school actually sucked for me so I don’t know why I thought it would be fun to be reminded of it.” 

Sukuna tilted his head sympathetically, thumbs rubbing circles into your soft skin. “Is this about Uro?” 

You barked out a humourless laugh. “So you saw then? I bet everyone did.” 

“Yeah, she’s pretty shameless.” 

“It wasn’t like he was stopping it either,” you shot back, lip wobbling ever so slightly. “I’m not really surprised after everything I heard from Gojo earlier, but I feel like I just got overloaded with information and its fucking me up. I feel like I’m sixteen again finding out that Ryu fucked Yorozu.” 

“Everything you heard from Gojo?” He pressed, his face a practiced picture of confusion. 

You shook your head. “Don’t get me started. Turns out Kashimo wasn’t really who I thought he was, so now I just feel like a big idiot.” He could feel you shaking beneath his grip, completely blindsided by everything that was happening so quickly. 

He hummed, pretending to think that over, before dropping a hand down to your wrist. “Come on, let's get you some fresh air. Sounds like you need it.” He softly tugged you down the corridor, and you followed with little resistance, letting him keep your wrist firmly in his grip as he led you out the back of the school. 

The two of you ended up on the field out the back of the building, and Sukuna dragged you over to a bench, sitting you down and making it clear that you had his rapt attention. 

“Tell me what happened, I feel like everything’s a bit too fragmented for me to piece together.” 

“Gojo knows Kashimo. He met him at one of those gigs that Kashimo runs. He said he saw him doing drugs and publicly touching other women.” You took a deep breath. “I know we aren’t exclusive, I chose that, but Kashimo was always telling me that he wanted to be exclusive, that I was the only one he was seeing. He always said he never did any of that partying stuff too. Guess it was all lies.” 

Sukuna stayed silent for a moment, red eyes fixed on the field before him as he contemplated what to say next. He figured that to really put himself in your good graces, he might as well take a gamble. 

“Are you sure? Maybe Satoru was talking about someone else.” 

You shook your head, offering Sukuna a little smile as thanks for his optimism. “I don’t see why Gojo would bother to lie about it. It's not like Kashimo is easily mistaken for someone else, and this happened at a gig for one of the bands that Kashimo manages - there’s no mistaking it. Satoru said he could show me some private Myspace profile Kashimo has, but to be honest, I’m not sure I even want to see.” 

Your lack of interest would spell a serious waste of several hours of Sukuna and Satoru’s time, but he supposed he could live with that. 

“Seeing Uro all over him kinda just affirmed everything Gojo had to say. I was on the fence about him anyway, so this is just a sign I guess.” 

“Mmm.” Sukuna started down at the daisies surrounding his feet, giving you the space to continue if you wished to. When you offered him nothing but silence, he opted to fill it. “If you were on the fence anyway, why do you seem so upset?” 

His question was tender, expression soft as he gazed into your teary eyes. Instinctively one of his hands found its way to your cheek, carefully wiping away a stray tear with the pad of his thumb. You let him do it, taking another deep shuddering breath. 

“It's not really about Kashimo, I guess.” 

“Then what’s it about?” 

You shrugged. “I don’t know. I just- I feel like this is how it always goes for me. Guys who seem nice make me think I can trust them, only for the rug to be pulled out from under me. Ryu seemed lovely until he fucked Yorozu, Kashimo seemed perfect until I found out he was doing all this shit behind my back. Do I just have a terrible judge of character?” 

“Maybe.” He hummed, a soft smile spreading over his face at the way you pouted up at him, clearly not in the mood for jokes. “Men tend to be pigs.” 

“You included?” You asked. 

Oh, definitely.

“I mean, I took the chance to sleep with you the second things went wrong with Ryu, so yeah, I guess it includes me. I’d never pull any of the shit they pulled with you though, I can guarantee that.” 

You nodded thoughtfully, eyes glancing down at your hands in your lap. Sukuna’s hand was still gently caressing your face, stilling tears in their path. He wasn’t sure why you hadn’t pulled back yet, but he’d gladly push his luck as far as it would go. 

“If Uro so much as looked at me I’d tell her to fuck off. Yorozu too. Any woman, actually.” 

You huffed softly. “I believe that.” 

“Yeah?” He’d almost thought that you’d hit back and call him just as bad as everyone else that you’d dated. He was arguably worse - not in his treatment of you of course, but fundamentally as a human being. 

“Yeah, I saw how you treated Yorozu back in high school. You never gave her the time of day.” 

He scrunched up his nose. “Obviously not. She’s annoying as hell. I’m glad she disappeared.” 

“Me too.” 

That caught him off guard, because he’d always thought that you were just too kind to really admit to such a thing out loud. Apparently not. That was a good sign, it meant that one day, in the distant, distant future, you might be receptive to hearing about all he’d done to have you at his side. 

“Honestly, I wish Uro would just disappear too,” you added. 

“Never say never. Maybe she’ll fuck off to be a star too.” 

“Maybe.” You said with a soft giggle. 

If only you knew how willing Sukuna was to make such a thing happen if you really wanted it. For now he was keen to keep Uro alive, because she could certainly serve a purpose just like she had today, but perhaps one day, when he could be more honest with you about his actions, he could kill her for you as a big profession of love. 

Wouldn’t that be romantic? 

“I’m being serious though, you know. I’d never do anything but treat you with the reverence you deserve.” Slowly he pulled his hand back from your face, before sliding his arm around your shoulders. It was a cautious action, allowing you ample time to shuffle away. But you stayed perfectly still - just like all the other times he’s reached for you. 

Your lips parted in surprise, a soft smile gracing your features as you nodded, leaning into his side ever so slightly. “Noted.” 

“I know you’ve got all these reservations about us - the guilt and all that shit. But twice now your choices have failed you. Perhaps it's time to start doing the opposite of what you believe the best path to be.” 

He wasn’t sure what to think of the way that you giggled.

“You really want me huh?” You wiped tears from your cheeks as you gazed up at him, a mischievous sparkle in your eyes. “Spouting all this deep thought nonsense just to try and make me give you a chance.” 

He smirked down at you, giving your shoulder a squeeze. He could’ve backed down, argued that everything he was saying was genuine, but you didn’t seem unhappy, so he figured it was best to go along with the flow. 

“Yeah, you got me. But I don’t think you’re opposed to it. I can see it in the way you look at me when you think I’m not watching.” 

The way that you bit on your lower lip was painfully sexy. You made no effort to deny his words, and that might as well have been an admission of love in his eyes. 

“You’re so infuriating,” you said.

“So I’ve heard.”

“And incredibly persistent.” 

“Some would see that as a positive,” he pointed out with a smile. You seemed more at ease now, your tears having stopped entirely. You shook your head with amusement, his heart fluttering in his chest at the action. 

“Look, I’m not having this conversation right now, outside of some stupid reunion where I’ve just found out my boyfriend has been lying to me for months.” 

“So you’re saying you’d be willing to have this conversation another time?” 

You rolled your eyes, shooting him an incredulous look. “You have really selective hearing.” 

“That’s not a no.” 

You snorted. “You’re right, it's not. I just need some time, gotta deal with this Kashimo thing, and figure out if I could even forgive myself for what we did all those years again. Then maybe we can have this conversation.” 

“Mmm, so you do really like me, huh?” 

Letting out a deep sigh, you slipped out from under his arm and stood up, stretching a little. “If Ryu hadn’t died that night…I don’t know. Things might be different - I guess they still could be. Of course I like you, I’ve always liked you.” 

“Me too-” 

“But, like I said, that’s a conversation for another time. I’ve been running from those feelings for four years and I’m not going to jump into your arms the same night that I find out my boyfriend’s been fucking me over. Be patient and maybe good things will come your way.” 

His eyes were shiny with joy, staring up at you eagerly. He sort of enjoyed the way that you were tugging at his leash, laying down the law with him. It was the most you’d ever given him outside of that night that Ryu died. 

He was fucking ecstatic. 

“For now, I’m gonna go back inside, I’m gonna tell Kashimo I feel ill and get the fuck out of here. Then I’m gonna berate him over text message and tell him we’re done.” The initial shock of the situation seemed to have worn off for you, tearful expression giving way for something more hardened. 

You’d grown up a lot from the girl who’d crumbled upon finding out about Ryu’s cheating. 

“And you’re gonna wipe that stupid smirk off your face and go back in there, and you’re gonna act like none of this happened. When I’m ready to talk to you about what I feel for you, I’m gonna let you know. Is that acceptable?” 

He was really struggling to wipe the grin off his face, such an action wasn’t inherently in his nature. But he did give you an affirmative nod - he’d take a few moments before rejoining the reunion to try and stop himself from looking too excited. 

It wouldn’t do to have Kashimo suspecting anything. 

“Whatever you want, sweetheart,” he purred.

You stared down at him for a moment, nibbling on your lip for a second before leaning down and planting a quick kiss on his lips. It happened so fast that he hardly had time to register it, failing to kiss you back in any capacity. That was probably for the best, because if he’d had time to do anything, he would’ve pulled you into his lap and kept you there. 

Before he could speak, you were gone, stalking back towards the doors to the school, a slight blush warming your cheeks. He was practically frozen, basking in the feeling of affection that overcame him at the contact, savouring the taste of your lipgloss. 

He needed more of that.

And soon he’d get it. 

—

The rest of the reunion passed without issue. You disappeared off home, and Kashimo stayed for about half an hour before calling it quits himself. 

Sukuna couldn’t quite decide if Kashimo sensed something amiss with your behaviour when you stopped by his table to say goodbye. He didn’t think that it really mattered. As far as he was concerned, his gambit had paid off and his position with you was finalised. You were going to break up with Kashimo and everything would work out in Sukuna’s favour. 

And to make sure there was no chance of anything getting in his way, Sukuna had some matters to take into his own hands. 

He needed to make sure that you and Kashimo had no opportunity to talk about the accusations, and that meant dealing with Kashimo, before he could start asking questions around the specifics of why he was being broken up with. 

He’d be more careful than he was with Ryu, he’d learned from that experience. You couldn’t find out that Kashimo was dead - this time Sukuna was going to make sure that the man disappeared. You already believed that he was a piece of shit who’d been cheating behind your back, it wouldn’t be too far a reach for you to believe he’d simply gotten tired of you and ghosted. 

It would be even easier for you to believe if Kashimo were to send you a shitty text from his phone. 

Yeah, Sukuna would do this in a much better manner than he did with Ryu. There was no space for sloppiness this time around. 

“Car trouble?” 

Sukuna had pulled his car up next to Kashimo's, leaning out the window as he observed the blue-haired man. Your boyfriend was pulled over just outside of town, the hood of his car open, with him bent over it with a look of defeat creasing his brow. 

A flicker of relief registered in his blue eyes at the sight of Sukuna, grinning at him from his own perfectly functioning truck.

“Yeah, something’s fried. Don’t know what. I only took this thing to the garage recently, can’t believe it's breaking down on me already.” 

“I can take a look, I’m pretty good with cars,” Sukuna said with a friendly smile. 

“That would be a big help.” 

Sukuna shut off his truck and leapt out, rounding the car to take a look at the engine. He wasn’t really looking at it, since he was already well aware of what the issue was, having caused it himself. It was easy to sneak into the carpark during the reunion when no one was around, giving him ample opportunity to fuck with Kashimo’s shitty little car. 

“Alternator’s clearly fucked,” he said finally. “I could hit it with a hammer and you might get a few more miles out of her, but you’re gonna need to get that shit replaced as soon as possible.”

“Think it would manage seventy miles?” Kashimo asked, sounding defeated. 

“Doubtful.”

“Shit.” 

“My dad’s got a garage though, I could go and see if he can help out? I should even be able to get you the friends and family discount, although he’s a stingy asshole so we’ll have to see what mood he’s in.” Sukuna stepped back, slamming the hood of the car closed and walking back to his own truck. 

So far this was going exactly as he’d hoped - part of him had been worried that the alternator would hang on for longer than he ideally wanted, and he’d have to follow the fucker halfway home. Running into him out on the highway would be much harder to explain than meeting him just outside of town.

It seemed like it was his lucky day. 

“Hop in, you might as well come with me rather than hanging out around here. There’s weird folk about.” He had to bite down on his lower lip to not chuckle at the irony of his statement, since Kashimo would be far safer if he remained in his car. 

Kashimo gave him a grateful smile, clearly sensing nothing amiss. He rummaged around in his car for a few moments and grabbed his backpack before jumping into the passenger side of Sukuna’s truck. “Thanks man, I owe you one. You’re a good guy, can see why my girl gets along with you.” 

“Yeah?” 

He started up the engine, taking a glance over his shoulder before doing a U-Turn and heading back towards town. He imagined that most people would feel stressed if they were in his position, going back and forth in their minds about whether they should go through with their plan. Perhaps their hearts would be thumping, blood rushing in their ears. 

Sukuna felt none of that. He was completely calm, his heart rate steady, his mind clear. Now that he had Kashimo in his car he felt secure, because he knew with certainty that he could carry out the next bit with flawless efficiency. 

He’d done it before - more than once. In this sort of field, that practically made someone a professional. 

All he’d felt when he’d killed Ryu was satisfaction. The same when he bashed Yorozu’s head in. He’d feel no more remorse over Kashimo. He’d do anything if it meant that he could be at your side, with all potential threats thoroughly eliminated. 

Could anyone really blame him for doing such a thing? He was in love.

“Yeah, not many people would bother helping some guy they barely know - I’m just the new boyfriend of your buddy, it's not like you have any obligation!” Kashimo said fondly. Sukuna had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at how thickly the man was laying on the praise. “You’re a pretty cool dude, y’know?” 

Sukuna chuckled, eyes locked on the road ahead of him. 

“Don’t sweat it. I’m really just doing her a favour.” 

a/n: reader be folding for him so easily :(

hope you enjoyed the chapter and thank you for the support! comments and reblogs are appreciated as always! <3

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