Turning, his body looms over you and for the first time in a while he realises how much space he now takes up. A natural frown appears on his face, questioning why a stranger like you would stop him in the street. Why would someone even bother him in the first place.

Again, people in this town don't really address or speak to him first but over the years he's learned to cope with being the town's outcast.

Sukuna's eyes linger across your face and your features and then it finally hits him, the wave of recognition smacks against his body with enough force to almost make his face light up. He remembers you now. You were that girl who sat behind him in that one class during high school. His brow rises in familiarity, the images of nostalgia almost enough to make him nauseous.

"You're back?" he manages to spit out, his voice rough. He hasn't said much all day, mostly mute at work, letting his manager at the garage do most of the talking with the customers. That's how he's learned not to piss people off these days, taking his mother's advice for once:

'Just shut the fuck up and do your job and maybe people will like you.'

Sukuna's eyes take you in, you don't look much different than what he remembers of you from high school. But simultaneously there are things about you that he doesn't recognise, a sense of maturity and experience that lingers over you, etched into your skin like a layer of perfume. It's clear that you've learned a lot from college. It's clear that you've evolved. A lot more than he has.

He doesn't miss the nervousness that comes from you, barely able to make lasting eye contact with him as you answer his question. "Yeah." Your voice is small and awkward but it all comes back to him when you speak. "And you…stayed."

Sukuna nods. "I did."

A lot has happened over the years.

Ever since… that incident, Sukuna was never allowed on the school campus again. He ended up moving to another town, far from this one to live with his grandfather. Sukuna ended up graduating in the middle of nowhere, in some rundown school with less than 100 pupils in its senior year. His mother didn't attend but his grandfather and Jin did at least.

'At least you managed to accomplish something kid.' Those were the words his grandfather grumbled as he congratulated him.

Since graduation the past four years have been…somewhat rough.

His brother managed to make it into that stupid Ivy league school that Sukuna chooses to forget the name of. In his first year out of education it was inevitable that Sukuna would mix up with the wrong people. He moved back home to live with his mother who had false hope that he was finally on good behaviour. Sukuna guesses it was his job to always disappoint her and prove her wrong whilst Jin would inevitably become her best child.

The following two years he became tied to a few people that he shouldn't have, touched and sold a few things that he shouldn't have which landed up with him in jail for over a year. Over the phone during his sentence Sukuna received a pretty angry phone call from his brother asking where he was whilst their mother was dying from stage four cancer.

Sukuna rarely heard Jin get this angry. Or frustrated. It's so rare that Sukuna ever hears his brother sound like this that it causes a lump in his throat that he fails to swallow down. By the time he got out, Jin was ready to graduate.

Sukuna remembers at his return his mother was screaming at him, demanding why he wasn't like Jin who obviously would get valedictorian. So Sukuna left again. He left with less than a hundred dollars to his name. He picked up random shifts with low pay in the middle of nowhere. He managed to stay in a hostel for a cheap price, just until he figured things out for himself. He would move to a different state. Get a house — no, a farm, and own all types of animals and make a fortune for himself.

But then his brother killed his fantasy by announcing over the phone that their mother was on her deathbed.

Sukuna didn't make her final moments. He's pretty sure that she wouldn't have wanted him there anyway. Not in her final moments. He doesn't like to dwell on it too much.

Jin would let Sukuna keep the house under his name. An act of kindness because he didn't make it to her last moments. It wasn't much. A shitty two bedroom house but Sukuna still keeps his mother's old room as a spare for when Jin visits.

The house reeks of Sukuna's childhood nostalgia. If it didn't mean so much to Jin he would've sold it a long time ago but as of right now Sukuna can't afford to live anywhere else so he has to suck up the rundown corners and the paper thin walls where he once heard his mother argue over the phone about his behaviour.

Sukuna still sleeps in the bedroom that him and Jin had shared since childhood. His single bed is too small but it's better than sleeping in a cold jail cell.

But of course, Sukuna can't admit all of this to you. Not right now.

You're staring at him too hard. There's a few more tattoos on him and Sukuna understands he looks a little rough by now after coming from work but has he really changed that much?

"Is there something on my face?" he asks, curious about your gaze.

"Oh no, I was just—" you change your mind, "never mind."

Sukuna wonders what you were going to say but another question is prompted in his mind. "Are you staying for long?" No matter what he knows, you must be doing better than him. Like his brother did, he figures you'll only be in town for a few months before going on your own way.

"Yeah, I'm just moving back home after college. I wanted to stay with my parents for a bit before I — y'know, fly the nest for real."

He hums. You sound like you have a better chance at life than he does. You actually have the potential to make it out of this shitty town. This is when it all weighs on him, the heaviness of his life and how unlikely it seems that he'll make something of himself. Unlike you, Sukuna doesn't have a degree or financial help from his family. He's stuck living on paycheck to paycheck all because he didn't take anything seriously and tried to do life the 'easy way'.

There's an awkward silence and Sukuna doesn't have anything left to say and neither do you. So he takes it upon himself to end the conversation here, accepting the fact that he probably won't see you again.

"See you around, yeah?" he lies but you nod anyway agreeing with him out of politeness.

Sukuna's quick to disappear, making it seem that he has places to be despite there being no one waiting for him at home. He didn't mean to end it so abruptly and he wishes he could say something more but his body forces him to keep walking, to keep moving away.

To keep far away from good things before he ruins them.

/

Sukuna returns to an empty house.

A lot of his mother's stuff is still lying around, there's still stuff to be packed away into the basement but Sukuna keeps procrastinating.

Jin said it was up to him whether he wanted to keep or sell the unimportant things but Sukuna can't imagine there would be someone wanting to buy his mother's antique teapot collection — at least not for a high enough price for Sukuna.

As soon as the front door's locked, Sukuna's boots come off and he's stripping out of his shirt, revealing his tanned skin and hardened body. His routine is simple: home, shower, eat, sleep. He wakes up, goes to work and repeats. There's rarely a day without a shift either at the garage or the store meaning that he doesn't get a chance to rest.

The only unique thing that he can add to his days are the new recipes he can make for dinner. Working at the store means he gets employee's discounts on certain products working to his advantage of making cheap but efficient meals. It's the only thing that he gets to look forward to at the end of the day.

To some the image of Sukuna sitting at the dining table and eating alone would be depressing but for Sukuna he thinks nothing of it. He's learnt from a young age to enjoy his own company, he doesn't need anyone else around him to keep him satisfied. It's been years since he's been in close proximity with anyone. He wouldn't even call himself close with Jin at the moment.

But he can't help but think about his conversation with you today. It was short and he's mentally cursing himself for not talking to you for longer. He should've asked about your graduation, your degree, what college you ended up going to, what it was like for the past four years, what are your next plans?

And do you have a partner?

Okay, maybe not that part. He doesn't care about that part.

But compared to everyone else in this town you don't seem to hold any grudges against him. But that is also because you know nothing about his life after high school, although it won't be long before someone in this town runs their mouth about him to you.

Despite these thoughts there's a small idea that you could be Sukuna's first chance at making an acquaintance at least.

Maybe Sukuna should take the initiative for once and ask for a catch up. But when will he see you again? Or would you even bother to want to even see him anyway?

Sukuna pushes these thoughts away, distracting himself with what the next day will bring him.

Tomorrow, he has a shift at his second job because working part time as a mechanic still doesn't pay the bills. And despite Jin's willingness to help Sukuna, Sukuna would rather choke to death than to ask his brother for help or for money.

It was struggling to find a well paying job nevermind his criminal record. He had to go on probation for months at the store before they actually hired him permanently. And for the job at the garage, the owner was only doing him a favour because his mother was a 'sweetheart.'

Sipping on his beer, Sukuna's used to the silence around the house. He washes up and sets up his leftovers for tomorrow's shift. There isn't much entertainment apart from a shitty game show on the tv that Sukuna hate watches in the background.

With quiet boredom Sukuna switches off the tv and does his rounds to make sure the house is locked up. The stairs creek under his weight and he tries not to let the shadows of darkness get to him as he gradually switches off the lights. Reaching his childhood bedroom, the layout is the same. The blue paint is beginning to peel off and when Sukuna has the time (and the money) he'll make sure to repaint that.

The bed squeaks under his weight and he looks across the room at what once was Jin's childhood bed. The mattress is bare but Sukuna hasn't gotten around to dismantling the bed yet.

There's a lot of things that Sukuna hasn't gotten around doing.

Laying back in bed, his thoughts are bare. In jail, he learned the secret to spacing out. Whilst fights, shouting and screaming were happening in the background he's managed to learn how to ignore it, how to space out. Since then he doesn't give into provocations as easily as he did when he was younger. He can handle his temper and now approaches things with complete nonchalance. Unless someone swings first, he'll swing back and that's how he's kept himself out of trouble since.

The past few months have been uneventful and Sukuna feels like he's been living life on auto-pilot but that should be a good thing. He's sober, housed and steady with two jobs, something that his probation officer told him he should be proud of because many don't get the privilege of having the same experiences.

But why doesn't he feel satisfied?

Sukuna wouldn't even describe it as a type of anxiety that everything should be going wrong — he just feels…out of his own body. Numb almost. Since jail it takes forever for Sukuna to fall asleep, he doesn't need to pay a doctor to tell him that he might have insomnia and diagnose him with it — he already knows that.

Instead he stares at the ceiling hoping for tomorrow morning to arrive already, wanting to get this shitty day over already. But as he dwells first, for the first time in a long time there's a little hope inside Sukuna.

His thoughts are considered irrational at this time but his brain entertains it nonetheless.

If there's a chance that the universe has any way for making it feel like his current life is worth it then Sukuna only asks for one thing.

He hopes he sees you again.

taglist: @spectralpatronloremaster @donteveneorryboutthatbro @iloveshirleytempl3s @loijkiupo0 @pinkkookiedough @sanjiiil0v3r @cryostasiscrisis @man1cslut @mxchiii @rorel1a

Turning, his body looms over you and for the first time in a while he realises how much space he now takes up. A natural frown appears on his face, questioning why a stranger like you would stop him in the street. Why would someone even bother him in the first place.

Again, people in this town don't really address or speak to him first but over the years he's learned to cope with being the town's outcast.

Sukuna's eyes linger across your face and your features and then it finally hits him, the wave of recognition smacks against his body with enough force to almost make his face light up. He remembers you now. You were that girl who sat behind him in that one class during high school. His brow rises in familiarity, the images of nostalgia almost enough to make him nauseous.

"You're back?" he manages to spit out, his voice rough. He hasn't said much all day, mostly mute at work, letting his manager at the garage do most of the talking with the customers. That's how he's learned not to piss people off these days, taking his mother's advice for once:

'Just shut the fuck up and do your job and maybe people will like you.'

Sukuna's eyes take you in, you don't look much different than what he remembers of you from high school. But simultaneously there are things about you that he doesn't recognise, a sense of maturity and experience that lingers over you, etched into your skin like a layer of perfume. It's clear that you've learned a lot from college. It's clear that you've evolved. A lot more than he has.

He doesn't miss the nervousness that comes from you, barely able to make lasting eye contact with him as you answer his question. "Yeah." Your voice is small and awkward but it all comes back to him when you speak. "And you…stayed."

Sukuna nods. "I did."

A lot has happened over the years.

Ever since… that incident, Sukuna was never allowed on the school campus again. He ended up moving to another town, far from this one to live with his grandfather. Sukuna ended up graduating in the middle of nowhere, in some rundown school with less than 100 pupils in its senior year. His mother didn't attend but his grandfather and Jin did at least.

'At least you managed to accomplish something kid.' Those were the words his grandfather grumbled as he congratulated him.

Since graduation the past four years have been…somewhat rough.

His brother managed to make it into that stupid Ivy league school that Sukuna chooses to forget the name of. In his first year out of education it was inevitable that Sukuna would mix up with the wrong people. He moved back home to live with his mother who had false hope that he was finally on good behaviour. Sukuna guesses it was his job to always disappoint her and prove her wrong whilst Jin would inevitably become her best child.

The following two years he became tied to a few people that he shouldn't have, touched and sold a few things that he shouldn't have which landed up with him in jail for over a year. Over the phone during his sentence Sukuna received a pretty angry phone call from his brother asking where he was whilst their mother was dying from stage four cancer.

Sukuna rarely heard Jin get this angry. Or frustrated. It's so rare that Sukuna ever hears his brother sound like this that it causes a lump in his throat that he fails to swallow down. By the time he got out, Jin was ready to graduate.

Sukuna remembers at his return his mother was screaming at him, demanding why he wasn't like Jin who obviously would get valedictorian. So Sukuna left again. He left with less than a hundred dollars to his name. He picked up random shifts with low pay in the middle of nowhere. He managed to stay in a hostel for a cheap price, just until he figured things out for himself. He would move to a different state. Get a house — no, a farm, and own all types of animals and make a fortune for himself.

But then his brother killed his fantasy by announcing over the phone that their mother was on her deathbed.

Sukuna didn't make her final moments. He's pretty sure that she wouldn't have wanted him there anyway. Not in her final moments. He doesn't like to dwell on it too much.

Jin would let Sukuna keep the house under his name. An act of kindness because he didn't make it to her last moments. It wasn't much. A shitty two bedroom house but Sukuna still keeps his mother's old room as a spare for when Jin visits.

The house reeks of Sukuna's childhood nostalgia. If it didn't mean so much to Jin he would've sold it a long time ago but as of right now Sukuna can't afford to live anywhere else so he has to suck up the rundown corners and the paper thin walls where he once heard his mother argue over the phone about his behaviour.

Sukuna still sleeps in the bedroom that him and Jin had shared since childhood. His single bed is too small but it's better than sleeping in a cold jail cell.

But of course, Sukuna can't admit all of this to you. Not right now.

You're staring at him too hard. There's a few more tattoos on him and Sukuna understands he looks a little rough by now after coming from work but has he really changed that much?

"Is there something on my face?" he asks, curious about your gaze.

"Oh no, I was just—" you change your mind, "never mind."

Sukuna wonders what you were going to say but another question is prompted in his mind. "Are you staying for long?" No matter what he knows, you must be doing better than him. Like his brother did, he figures you'll only be in town for a few months before going on your own way.

"Yeah, I'm just moving back home after college. I wanted to stay with my parents for a bit before I — y'know, fly the nest for real."

He hums. You sound like you have a better chance at life than he does. You actually have the potential to make it out of this shitty town. This is when it all weighs on him, the heaviness of his life and how unlikely it seems that he'll make something of himself. Unlike you, Sukuna doesn't have a degree or financial help from his family. He's stuck living on paycheck to paycheck all because he didn't take anything seriously and tried to do life the 'easy way'.

There's an awkward silence and Sukuna doesn't have anything left to say and neither do you. So he takes it upon himself to end the conversation here, accepting the fact that he probably won't see you again.

"See you around, yeah?" he lies but you nod anyway agreeing with him out of politeness.

Sukuna's quick to disappear, making it seem that he has places to be despite there being no one waiting for him at home. He didn't mean to end it so abruptly and he wishes he could say something more but his body forces him to keep walking, to keep moving away.

To keep far away from good things before he ruins them.

/

Sukuna returns to an empty house.

A lot of his mother's stuff is still lying around, there's still stuff to be packed away into the basement but Sukuna keeps procrastinating.

Jin said it was up to him whether he wanted to keep or sell the unimportant things but Sukuna can't imagine there would be someone wanting to buy his mother's antique teapot collection — at least not for a high enough price for Sukuna.

As soon as the front door's locked, Sukuna's boots come off and he's stripping out of his shirt, revealing his tanned skin and hardened body. His routine is simple: home, shower, eat, sleep. He wakes up, goes to work and repeats. There's rarely a day without a shift either at the garage or the store meaning that he doesn't get a chance to rest.

The only unique thing that he can add to his days are the new recipes he can make for dinner. Working at the store means he gets employee's discounts on certain products working to his advantage of making cheap but efficient meals. It's the only thing that he gets to look forward to at the end of the day.

To some the image of Sukuna sitting at the dining table and eating alone would be depressing but for Sukuna he thinks nothing of it. He's learnt from a young age to enjoy his own company, he doesn't need anyone else around him to keep him satisfied. It's been years since he's been in close proximity with anyone. He wouldn't even call himself close with Jin at the moment.

But he can't help but think about his conversation with you today. It was short and he's mentally cursing himself for not talking to you for longer. He should've asked about your graduation, your degree, what college you ended up going to, what it was like for the past four years, what are your next plans?

And do you have a partner?

Okay, maybe not that part. He doesn't care about that part.

But compared to everyone else in this town you don't seem to hold any grudges against him. But that is also because you know nothing about his life after high school, although it won't be long before someone in this town runs their mouth about him to you.

Despite these thoughts there's a small idea that you could be Sukuna's first chance at making an acquaintance at least.

Maybe Sukuna should take the initiative for once and ask for a catch up. But when will he see you again? Or would you even bother to want to even see him anyway?

Sukuna pushes these thoughts away, distracting himself with what the next day will bring him.

Tomorrow, he has a shift at his second job because working part time as a mechanic still doesn't pay the bills. And despite Jin's willingness to help Sukuna, Sukuna would rather choke to death than to ask his brother for help or for money.

It was struggling to find a well paying job nevermind his criminal record. He had to go on probation for months at the store before they actually hired him permanently. And for the job at the garage, the owner was only doing him a favour because his mother was a 'sweetheart.'

Sipping on his beer, Sukuna's used to the silence around the house. He washes up and sets up his leftovers for tomorrow's shift. There isn't much entertainment apart from a shitty game show on the tv that Sukuna hate watches in the background.

With quiet boredom Sukuna switches off the tv and does his rounds to make sure the house is locked up. The stairs creek under his weight and he tries not to let the shadows of darkness get to him as he gradually switches off the lights. Reaching his childhood bedroom, the layout is the same. The blue paint is beginning to peel off and when Sukuna has the time (and the money) he'll make sure to repaint that.

The bed squeaks under his weight and he looks across the room at what once was Jin's childhood bed. The mattress is bare but Sukuna hasn't gotten around to dismantling the bed yet.

There's a lot of things that Sukuna hasn't gotten around doing.

Laying back in bed, his thoughts are bare. In jail, he learned the secret to spacing out. Whilst fights, shouting and screaming were happening in the background he's managed to learn how to ignore it, how to space out. Since then he doesn't give into provocations as easily as he did when he was younger. He can handle his temper and now approaches things with complete nonchalance. Unless someone swings first, he'll swing back and that's how he's kept himself out of trouble since.

The past few months have been uneventful and Sukuna feels like he's been living life on auto-pilot but that should be a good thing. He's sober, housed and steady with two jobs, something that his probation officer told him he should be proud of because many don't get the privilege of having the same experiences.

But why doesn't he feel satisfied?

Sukuna wouldn't even describe it as a type of anxiety that everything should be going wrong — he just feels…out of his own body. Numb almost. Since jail it takes forever for Sukuna to fall asleep, he doesn't need to pay a doctor to tell him that he might have insomnia and diagnose him with it — he already knows that.

Instead he stares at the ceiling hoping for tomorrow morning to arrive already, wanting to get this shitty day over already. But as he dwells first, for the first time in a long time there's a little hope inside Sukuna.

His thoughts are considered irrational at this time but his brain entertains it nonetheless.

If there's a chance that the universe has any way for making it feel like his current life is worth it then Sukuna only asks for one thing.

He hopes he sees you again.

taglist: @spectralpatronloremaster @donteveneorryboutthatbro @iloveshirleytempl3s @loijkiupo0 @pinkkookiedough @sanjiiil0v3r @cryostasiscrisis @man1cslut @mxchiii @rorel1a

His locker door has been forced open, a clear refusal of his to give them the original key. And the spare from the office suddenly going missing only adds to their suspicion. The crane bar lies on the floor, its purpose already complete. It took less than a minute, only gathering more eyes to watch this spectacle. As much as the teachers try and move along the students, stating that there is nothing for them to see, the students continue to linger like an ominous shadow, eyes peering with both fear and wonder.

In your mind you can already see the headlines for the upcoming school paper, no— even in the local town news you can see it. Titled in bold, the question on the tips of everyone's tongues, threatening to spill across their lips: Was the son of a killer really holding guns in his locker? You can imagine now that when these kids go back home fro the day this will be the first piece of news told to their parents and it'll be the news of the town for the next coming weeks.

People will say that they knew it all along. That blood is thicker than water will ever be.

Like father like son.

Hands search his locker without any care, pulling all the contents out, mouths moving to tell people to step back. Endless scraps of paper and old notebooks flop to the ground in a heap. A gym bag and a pair of sneakers come tumbling out without any thought. An old leather jacket falls out and other dishevelled notes join the items on the floor.

The gaping black hole of Sukuna Ryomen's locker meets the irate gaze of the principle.

"See." He mumbles. "I told you idiots I didn't have a fucking gun."

Standing with his arms crossed, his composed act is never dropped. He looks bored. Not even breaking a sweat as they search every dark corner of his locker. The principal lets out a sigh, evidently disappointed that he couldn't find anything to incriminate the boy who has given him a headache over the past academic year.

For months everyone knows that the principal has been subjected to complaints by teachers who have taught the infamous Sukuna Ryomen. There was even the incident leading to a fellow group of teachers who refused to teach him in their class altogether.

Why hasn't he been expelled yet?

Only God knows.

Each and every meeting with his mother only entails any promise that he will be well behaved and keep his head down. But he never does. The only thing holding him back from expulsion is the consideration that this is his final year. Just a few more weeks and he'll be out of the system. He's not heading for college. That's for sure. But everybody hopes that he lives up to his word of leaving this town as soon as possible.

You try to strain your hearing to hear the words of the principal before he walks away. You can't hear the words exactly but reading the lips 'welfare check' you predict that he's suspended for the rest of the day.

The students scatter, the climax is now over. Some are evidently dishearten that their school won't make it on the local news, others are texting their parents that it was a false alarm whilst a small majority of students swear that they saw a glimpse of a firearm.

"I swear I saw it! I'm not kidding."

"Me too!"

You linger a little longer than you should, aware that you'll be late to your next class but you choose to stay. Just a little longer. Watching, Sukuna kneels on the laminated floor.

He doesn't make eye contact with students that are brave enough to walk past him. They don't say anything but their fleeting glances say enough. His hands shove everything back inside his backpack and locker without any care. You study his face tattoos, black markings that imitate his father's own tattoos. It was a huge scandal when he came to school with those. An investigation discovered that he forged parental approval before heading to a tattoo artist that wasn't even licensed.

The topic of his father was a whole other discussion. He's been scheduled for death row for the past decade for multiple killings carried out in the early 90s, a local tragedy in the neighbouring state. It was the whole reason the family moved so that it was easier for visitations. His date isn't upcoming for another nine years.

It's hard to look at Sukuna's twin brother and think that the two have any relation. Sukuna changed his last name to his father's whilst Jin still takes his mother's surname of Itadori. Appearance wise, they look similar. Identical pink hair and a sharp jaw but there are still some outstanding qualities between them.

Sukuna's eyes glare at everyone who dares look at him and it's obvious that the tattoos don't help his reputation. He's a direct foil to his brother, Jin Itadori who is the known golden child and top student of the school. You've heard that he's capable of aiming towards Harvard, Columbia and Stanford, teachers betting on which one will give him an offer first.

You can see it already: Harvard acceptance offer given to the second generation American-Japanese Student from the small town of — yeah, this headline is worthy enough for the school to brag for the next decade of students.

Your thoughts are interrupted when Sukuna, dressed in all black, shuts his locker with a slam before chucking his hoodie over his head.

You don't stop watching until he turns the corner.

/

Your drama club ended a little later than usual.

The squeak of your sneakers on the laminated floors of the hallway accompany you as you make your way outside. Being at school whilst it's empty and deserted as always managed to give you the creeps. The stench of bleach and cleaning products almost makes you think you're at a pool, the cleaners probably working overtime to get rid of the graffiti stains in the toilets.

It's a little late but there is still light outside, a little glimpse of the transition into Spring. At least that's one of the more positive things that you can look forward to after today's events. Pushing the heavy entrance doors open, it doesn't take you long to notice a figure sitting on the curb at the front of the school. Your other drama friends must have already been picked up by their parents leaving one figure waiting.

Approaching, you wonder who the hooded figure could be but it's not until they hear you coming closer that they turn around. All it takes is a glimpse of that pink hair and a black tattoo on his face for you to realise who you've bumped into.

You've never spoken to Sukuna directly. The two of you share the same English class and he sits in the row behind you but you have never made any attempt to have a conversation with him. You can only recall the one time you passed him a book and he said 'thank you' without even making eye contact.

You're…curious about him. There's always been something about him which keeps you intrigued and on the contrary to everybody else it's not about his family history. Your eyes can't help but fall upon him. You study his facial features, the curve of his nose and the plumpness of his lips. Despite his exterior roughness there's something pretty about him.

But you don't know what.

"Oh sorry." you say immediately when he turns around to look up at you. "I didn't know it was…" your sentence remains unfinished. There's a breeze in the air and the rustle of leaves fills up the silence. It's a little awkward but you're not panicking coming face to face with him. You thought that he would have stormed off by now or tell you to leave him alone but he does neither. The silence is almost inviting and instead of heading home there's something inside you which makes you sit next to him.

Sukuna doesn't move or shuffle away from you, nor does he question why you're sitting next to him. Weirdly enough, he lets you sit next to him. Sukuna has seen you around before, mostly in his English class, but he's never been face to face with you before. He knows you're not a threat and somehow he knows you're not the type to pester him about what happened today. You're pretty quiet and you keep yourself to yourself — unlike everyone else in this school you don't engage with the gossip and rumours and that's something Sukuna has noticed about you.

"Have you been sitting here this whole time? I thought you got suspended."

"I had to come back for something."

"Right."

The silence intervenes between you guys again but it's less awkward than before. You don't know what it is that makes you stay in this position, that makes you stay and continue this conversation with someone you'd never thought you'd ever speak to.

Maybe it's the fact that after this final year you'll never see Sukuna again. You'll be going your separate ways in a few months and probably never see each other again.

After a few minutes of silence Sukuna speaks up again, this time to ask you a question. "Have you ever tried dope?"

"Dope?" you question.

"The drug?"

You'd only ever heard about dope when you'd secretly stay up and overhear your mom playing her favourite cop and crime show late at night. Or even during that health lesson when the local police came in to do their annual talk about staying away from drugs.

Sukuna turns away slightly and mutters something under his breath. Just from this action it makes you think that you've done something wrong, like you've picked the wrong answer. You wonder what he would have said if you had said yes to him. Regret churns deep in your lower abdomen, cursing yourself.

You don't say anything. Not for a while. The gravel crunches loudly underneath your feet as you shuffle awkwardly. The next question comes from you. Your tone isn't interrogative just curious, and it's clear that there isn't an ounce of judgement coming from you. "What made them think that you had a gun?"

Sukuna shrugs again and you notice that he has a pretty good habit of shrugging all the damn time. "Rumours. You know all that shit though. I'm not stupid enough to shoot up a whole fucking school."

You hum. You know that Sukuna slacks off school from time to time and he doesn't get the best grades in the class but you know that he's smarter than he'll ever let on. Maybe academics isn't his best fit but you know that he's somewhat intelligent enough to trick the school and the cops into getting tattoos. He says all the right things in the end, after all he's done. You've seen how he throws teachers all on edge but then pulls back — it's emotional manipulation but he's so damn good at it.

As soon as you get the idea to leave Sukuna prompts another question. And from his tone you can tell the conversation has dipped into something serious.

"If I show you something do you promise not to tell?"

If the question about the drugs threw you off, you're even more confused by this question. There's a shiver that runs up your spine at the thought of having to be sworn to secrecy.

Sukuna doesn't wait for your reply or for your confirmation of your secrecy before showing you, again there's something that tells him that you're trustworthy. There's something about you which convinces him that you'll never tell anyone even if he gave you permission to go out and tell people.

Sukuna pulls his hand out slightly from his pocket, just enough to show you a glimpse of a handgun. Your brows are raised but your mouth runs dry. You can feel your heart thud in your ears at the sudden realisation.

"Where did you keep it?"

"I hid it somewhere else when I heard that the principal was looking for me. A hole behind the boys toilets."

"Holy shit." you say and you move your gaze away from Sukuna to the road ahead that leads out from the school's car park. You wonder what today's events would have looked like if they did find the gun on him. The school would have been put into lock down and armed police would have arrived, your mother would probably would have left work early to come and get you…

and what would have happened to Sukuna?

well, this would damage his entire record and prove that what everyone in town has been saying about him was right. He'd be local — no, national news at least.

"I'm not even gonna ask how you got that without a license." you mutter, staring down at your shoes.

"Good." he says, bringing his hand back into his pocket for concealment. "I wasn't gonna do anything with it. I just wanted to carry it."

You don't respond back to him. You don't want to talk about it anymore, there's something heavy in the air and it makes you feel a little nauseous, your stomach's been churning too much around him and you don't like it.

You let a beat pass by before changing the subject. "What are your plans for after high school?"

"What are your plans?" he throws back at you.

This time you're the one shrugging. "You know, I have a basic college plan. Get away from here for a bit."

"Holy shit." Sukuna says in a deadpan tone. He pulls out his other hand from a pocket, flicking the cap of a lighter. "Got any offers yet?"

"Not yet. What about you?"

"I'm getting out of here as soon as possible."

"How soon?"

"Once I get enough money to afford some place far, far away from this shithole."

"So by the time I come back from college you'll be gone?"

Sukuna knows, "You can count on it…or better yet I'll make you a special promise."

You sit up a little taller, the heaviness of the previous conversation now long gone. "What's the promise?"

"If you come back here once you've graduated and find me still around this hell of a place then I guess you can give me a black eye and two kisses."

"A black eye and two kisses?" You tilt your head to the side. "I've never heard of that, you know, normal people usually do a pinky promise and then call it a day."

Sukuna looks down at the lighter for a moment before he speaks again, his face turning pensive. "It's just something my dad used to say to my mom if he ever broke a promise." He flicks the lighter, a small flame spurting out. "But I guess he broke that by landing in prison."

"Did she give him the black eye?"

"Worse." Sukuna mutters, staring at the ground. "She cried. For days."

The words leave his mouth in a soft tone, almost like a whisper. You've never heard him speak like this before. You have to admit that you don't know the ins and outs of his family life but you know it must be overwhelming for him to grasp.

Again, you're curious about him. You're curious about him because you see past his 'bad' facade that he puts on at school for the teachers and for the rest of the students. You see past his acting out, rudeness and impulsivity. You've noticed that the english class you share with him is the only class where he actually sits down and pays attention. Sure, he's not writing anything down but you've seen him get through an entire book in just an hour.

Once you've said your goodbyes and you're on the way home, you can't help but think over your entire interaction with Sukuna. You reflect on all the things you've said and all the things he's said to you, trying to figure out what to make of what he's trusted to tell you. You wonder why he's trusted you with the secret of the gun or why he made that stupid promise.

Reflecting on everything on your walk home, you've come to another realisation.

You think you like him.

Or worse…

you have a crush on him.

/

After the gun fiasco you saw never Sukuna again at school and the rumours were spreading.

They jumped from him finally landing in Juvie to him being sent out of the country or that he ended up in hospital. Thankfully, your english teacher put these rumours to rest and brought everyone back into reality. Sukuna was just sent to stay with his grandfather in another town for the rest of the school year.

You would be lying if you said that you weren't a little disappointed that Sukuna wouldn't be coming back. Each and every time you came to class you immediately looked towards the empty desk hoping that he would somehow appear for the final time.

But he never did.

He didn't even show up for the high school graduation but you guessed that he probably wasn't allowed to. You think back to the promise you had made with him, 'a black eye and two kisses.'

You wonder what his lips would feel like on your own. Often before you drifted off to sleep you would hyper fixate on how you would kiss him or maybe even how he would kiss you. Would he be gentle? Or would he be a little rough? Would his lips be soft or suffocating?

You thought about this more than you should ever admit but you'd cross your heart and hope to die before you told another living soul that you fell asleep thinking about kissing Sukuna Ryomen.

You can only hope that somehow he'll still be around in four years. Just so you can put your mind at ease.

/

College was different.

So much had happened in the span of four years.

Heartbreak, friendships, friendship break ups, rejections, internships, 9am lectures, never ending assignments, partying, hangovers, travelling, discovery, arguments, make ups, drunk makeouts and so much more that could never even be put into words.

You never really thought about what kind of world was out there beyond your hometown and you're more than grateful that you had the opportunity to leave and grow. Each and every time that you returned to your hometown for the holidays you always had the idea that you had outgrown everything. And it was true, you've grown more confident in your skills and thinking, your dreams have gotten bigger and you know what you want out of life.

The only thing stopping you from continuing this independence was money.

It's only natural that you have to settle down back with your parents and save some money. It doesn't feel right to continue your academic journey nor does it feel right to jump straight into corporate life. If you were being honest with yourself that kind of life scared you. You weren't ready to jump into adult life so permanently.

So you're returning back home, just for a year or two, until you get your money together and land a graduate job that feels right.

You're not really fixated on the characters that remain from your high school. Sure you see a person from the year above working at the local grocery store or the couple you used to see making out in hallways before your afternoon math class finally settled down and somehow rent a house together. Most people you know have remained in their university cities or decided to travel the world or at least were successful in their attempt to never come back here again.

As you're walking down the road with your suitcase rattling on the cobble behind you, you don't really see anyone sticking out.

Until a figure catches your eye.

And that figure just so happens to have pink hair and unique tattoos drawn all over themselves. If it wasn't for those features, you'd think you would have walked straight past him.

"Sukuna?" you say before you even realise the words have left your mouth.

The tall figure looms over you and stops in his tracks. It's clear he was deep in his thoughts, barely paying attention as he walked by.

He's gotten…bigger. In a bulking way as if since the last time you saw him he's been doing nothing but going to the gym everyday. He's no longer the scrawny kid you remember from high school but he moves with a different type of authority and confidence. He looks like he works with his hands and smells like Marlboro reds.

He frowns at you as if trying to place where in his life that you fit. A lot of people don't reach out to him in this town unless absolutely necessary.

There's a sex appeal about him that catches your attention. All of a sudden that little stupid crush you had near the end of high school hits you like a slap to the face. You can feel your face burn up as if someone actually did hit you.

You watch his eyes scan your face for any familiarity, you think he won't remember you until a few seconds pass and you watch his eyebrows release the tension they've been holding in and notice his jaw drop slightly. The recognition hits him, you're the classmate that spoke to him before he left high school for good. He doesn't remember much of the conversation. A lot has happened since then.

For a minute you think that you'll have to introduce yourself again, jog his memory of being the quiet girl from his english class. Your mouth opens to do so but the sound of your name falls from his lips before you even get the chance to.

"You're back." His voice is rough and coarse like he doesn't get the chance to use it much.

A shiver travels across your body in hearing him for the first time. "Yeah." you say and you don't realise how nervous you sound until you croak that word out. You take a moment to cough and gain back your confidence before speaking to him again. "And you…stayed."

Sukuna nods. "I did."

All of a sudden it hits you like whiplash. The last remnants of your conversation. You and him made a kind of bet. Or was it a promise?

But it wasn't just any kind of promise…it was a special one that stuck with you. That left you daydreaming about him for longer than you should've been, even when he was long gone. Your eyes fall to focus on his lips, more plumper than you imagined before.

"Is there something on my face?" He frowns again, picking up at your stare.

"Oh no, I was just—" you trail off. It's stupid, he would never have remembered the promise you guys made as kids. "Never mind."

Sukuna pulls a confused face but he prompts you with another question. "Are you staying for long?"

"Yeah, I'm just moving back home after college. I wanted to stay with my parents for a bit before I — y'know, fly the nest for real."

Sukuna hums, not really having anything more to add. The awkwardness picks up a little. He takes it as his sign to leave you alone, unbeknownst to him that you're dying to speak to him for a little longer. "See you around yeah?"

"Yeah…" is all you can say as he begins his pace. "I will."

You begin to move too, continuing your journey. Sukuna's long gone round the corner but you can't help yourself to keep turning back to see if he's still there.

shoko and utahime hum, ready to hear your story.

"so yuji made me do this prank call on sukuna, i don't know where he got this idea from maybe from a youtube video or his friends whatever, but yuji wanted me to call sukuna to say something stupid, like to say goodnight randomly to him right?"

the women at the table nod, listening along to you.

"and so i did it and-"

"wait you did it?" utahime interrupts with shock.

"yuji wouldn't stop going on about so i just thought 'fuck it' and, well i thought sukuna would understand that i wasn't serious about it but..." you trail off.

"but?" shoko chimes in.

"and then the next time we saw each other in person he was like weird-"

"a good weird or a bad weird?" utahime asks.

"i don't know, but like- he told me that i could call him anytime and to remember that. i don't know if he was serious but i can't stop thinking about it."

the reactions of the girls aren't surprising but they do raise a brow. they pause to take a sip of their drinks, collecting their thoughts and judgements. you shuffle awkwardly in your seat trying to regulate yourself in front of them.

utahime finally lets out a sigh, "oh i think he wants you back."

"what?" and almost immediately you can feel your face burn up just at the thought of sukuna still having feelings for you.

utahime nods, "trust me girl, you gave him a small opening and he's going for it."

"but it was a joke, i only called him because of yuji- without that i wouldn't have any motive to call him."

"but that's why he's going for it. who knows when his next chance to stir you up will be." shoko murmers.

your shoulders drop, your gut feeling anxiety from this conversation. "it's been years since we've been together..."

"so you don't want him back?" shoko questions.

"god no."

"are you 100% on that?" utahime asks, and at this point it feels like you're being interrogated by these two.

"yes?" your tone betrays you, not feeling confident in your answer.

"you have no feelings whatsoever for him?" shoko strikes again, asking for clarification.

a pause follows her question and there's no immediate answer that comes from you. the two women stare at you, expectant for an answer that you can't confidently give which tells them all that they need to know.

"i don't know." you finally admit, staring down at your lap. "i don't know if he's just playing and teasing me or if he's being serious."

utahime reaches out to you, placing a hand on your knee. "to me, it sounds like he's starting to win you back or at least he's introducing the idea. at the end of the day the heart wants what it wants."

shoko speaks up, fingers picking at her pack of cigarettes " all i do know is that you look like you want to pick up that phone and call him. you better do that soon girl."

/

you return back to a quiet house with yuji being at sukuna's for the weekend. you make a mental reminder to pick up after yuji's toys and clothes scattered everywhere but you'll do that tomorrow.

you're not completely drunk but you would be lying if you didn't admit that the alcohol has you tipsy. and when tipsy suddenly all decisions get the green light from your brain.

your first immediate thought is to head to the couch and pull out your phone, thumb clicking on the contacts app.

scrolling through your alphabetical list of names you reach 's' and your eyes search for sukuna. you know you really shouldn't but the devil on your shoulder - which is the alcohol - keeps prompting you to continue.

'call him. call him. call him. he'll pick up, watch. watch. call him.'

with your heart in your throat, your thumb immediately presses on the phone icon and before you know it the line is ringing. placing the phone on speaker, you bite down on your bottom lip in anxiety.

for a moment you think he won't pick up. for a moment you think you're a fool for even trying. for a moment you think you'll wake up with all this regret and the embarrassment that he'll have a notification saying 'missed call' from you. for a moment-

he picks up.

there's a shuffle for a split second before you hear his voice. it's low and raspy, his tone evident of the late hour that you're calling him.

"that was fast." he says and again you're confident that there is a smirk right there on sukuna ryomen's lips.

for a moment you're almost afraid to respond but the alcohol keeps you talking. "what was?"

"you calling me." sukuna sounds like he's been by his phone all evening waiting for you to call. his tone is expectant and unfortunately a little teasing.

"i just wanted to check up on yuji." you spill out, thinking about an excuse, any excuse.

sukuna lets out a pitiful sigh, "just missed him. he's sleeping. he's been fine though."

unbeknownst to you, yuji is wide awake in his room probably playing video games or watching cartoons. fortunately for him there's no real bedtime when it comes to staying at his dad's house.

"how was your girls night?" sukuna asks, "did you drink much?"

"good." you say, raising a brow. "and not a lot."

"that's good." he murmurs, "now you can't say calling me was a mistake and that you were drunk out of your mind."

"i mean, you did offer me to call you."

"i didn't think you would take me seriously."

"you were right in thinking that."

"but you still called."

"yeah, for yuji." you correct.

"but you're still on the line."

"oh, so you want me to go?" you tease and it's obvious bait but he takes it.

"no. talk to me." his tone is firm and sultry, enough to make you giddy, enough to put a smile on your face that you keep trying to hide with your hands.

"about what?"

"anything, enlighten me."

so you begin telling a new and updated story about that one co-worker at your job that seems to cause nothing but headaches. sukuna remembers your stories from your marriage, how you would come to bed some nights just ranting about them.

and before you know it an hour has passed and the two of you are still talking. well it's mostly you doing the talking because you're tipsy and your mouth can't stop running but sukuna throws in little hmms and grunts here and there to show that he's listening.

sukuna's raspy voice is almost enough to send you sleep and it deeply reminds you of the past and how it used to be, how you were feeling those vibrations physically as you laid on his chest telling him about your day.

but now you're doing it over the phone and your entire body gets overtaken by feeling of nostalgia, a small part of you wishing that you were on his chest talking about everything and anything.

your rambling comes to an abrupt end due to your emotions and your voice is a little quieter. "are you still listening?"

"course'" he says, and he lets out a breath before speaking again. "but i gotta go soon, the baseball game's early tomorrow."

"right, sorry, sorry, i'll let you go to bed." you internally curse yourself for getting a little too ahead of yourself.

there's an awkward pause before sukuna speaks again.

"you should come tomorrow. i'll buy you a ticket."

you freeze, "uhhhh i-" on defence your mind immediately searches for an excuse, "i'm busy..."

"doing what?"

"things." you lie knowing the only thing you have to do is clean up the house.

"hmmm things." sukuna says, his tone is evident that he doesn't believe you. there's another pause before he speaks and just when you think you've avoided anymore contact with sukuna his next sentence is enough to give you whiplash.

"well, if you're busy tomorrow then maybe some other time this week we could- uh- go for drinks or something..." if you were more sober you'd pay more attention to how nervous sukuna sounds right now, finally spitting out his words.

"drinks?" you repeat.

"casual. parent to parent. talk about yuji's behaviour or whatever."

"right, as if it's something that you couldn't tell me right now? you just told me he was fine."

"should definitely be said in person. i can get jin to watch him in the meantime."

"are you sure?" you ask, immediately suspicious.

"positive."

even though you know you shouldn't agree to this and the sober you in the morning will regret your response you can't help but agree to sukuna's plans. you know what he's trying to do and you can't help but fall for it. there's a long pause before you speak again.

"alright then. text me the details. goodnight sukuna."

"goodnight baby."

and before you could even reprimand him for calling you baby when he shouldn't be, he's hung up the phone. smooth fucker, you think to yourself but deep down in the pit of your stomach you feel giddy as a teenager.

"i need to pull myself together." you mutter to yourself, gathering up the energy to finally go to bed. throughout your bedtime routine you can't help but reminisce on your conversation with sukuna, you spent an hour on the phone talking to your ex-husband that you previously wouldn't spend ten minutes minutes talking to.

your thoughts, even whilst tipsy confuse you. you get a rush of adrenaline to keep the giddy feeling going.

and that's when you remember the box.

in the closet, sits a box in the top corner that you've been ignoring for years. today out of all days, this tipsy version of you chooses to go down memory lane. it's a small box, previously used for yuji's old school shoes but now it holds the sentimental things of your previous marriage that you didn't have the heart to throw away.

a few photographs. a letter. but the most important of them all, your wedding ring.

you hold up the ring in the light and it still glistens like brand new. at that moment everything comes back to you - all the worst memories that your ring has witnessed. arguments and fights and spilled tears.

it's a miracle that you and sukuna get along as exes despite the past as you know other divorced couples wouldn't have the same privileges.

as you place the ring back and close the box, you remind yourself of the person that you are now not the person that you were back then.

you won't ruin this current dynamic because of the slight chance of old feelings. you won't do that to yourself.

and most importantly, you won't do that to yuji.

you can't go back.

a/n: thank you for reading!!! part 4 i expect to dive into sukuna's pov more before their 'meet-up' and sneak peek into their backstory!

taglist 1/2: @strbrysherriez @pinkpookiebear @ryomensrealestrider @rllyobsessedgirlie @p3talswayingindesun

@satorugirlie @your-nightmaredoll @b-bitter @megxmixtm @sukunastrash

@linearrr @iluvmywives @5seos @cupidiylvia @sterzin

@norahlolzz @brethebomb2 @megumiandyou @hyeon3y @pawwwginaaa

@madibookmarks @prettypinkvenom @ineffabl-y @riikisworld @avaawritess

@harryitadori @elrashomacuin @seedlessgrapesyummy @bettaasposts @iamarealmicrowave

@mangourhearts @wien-tersnow @evii24 @kriitee @silversteinn

@grrrlidk @duckie3801 @sevikasblackgf @bam-boozledx

shoko and utahime hum, ready to hear your story.

"so yuji made me do this prank call on sukuna, i don't know where he got this idea from maybe from a youtube video or his friends whatever, but yuji wanted me to call sukuna to say something stupid, like to say goodnight randomly to him right?"

the women at the table nod, listening along to you.

"and so i did it and-"

"wait you did it?" utahime interrupts with shock.

"yuji wouldn't stop going on about so i just thought 'fuck it' and, well i thought sukuna would understand that i wasn't serious about it but..." you trail off.

"but?" shoko chimes in.

"and then the next time we saw each other in person he was like weird-"

"a good weird or a bad weird?" utahime asks.

"i don't know, but like- he told me that i could call him anytime and to remember that. i don't know if he was serious but i can't stop thinking about it."

the reactions of the girls aren't surprising but they do raise a brow. they pause to take a sip of their drinks, collecting their thoughts and judgements. you shuffle awkwardly in your seat trying to regulate yourself in front of them.

utahime finally lets out a sigh, "oh i think he wants you back."

"what?" and almost immediately you can feel your face burn up just at the thought of sukuna still having feelings for you.

utahime nods, "trust me girl, you gave him a small opening and he's going for it."

"but it was a joke, i only called him because of yuji- without that i wouldn't have any motive to call him."

"but that's why he's going for it. who knows when his next chance to stir you up will be." shoko murmers.

your shoulders drop, your gut feeling anxiety from this conversation. "it's been years since we've been together..."

"so you don't want him back?" shoko questions.

"god no."

"are you 100% on that?" utahime asks, and at this point it feels like you're being interrogated by these two.

"yes?" your tone betrays you, not feeling confident in your answer.

"you have no feelings whatsoever for him?" shoko strikes again, asking for clarification.

a pause follows her question and there's no immediate answer that comes from you. the two women stare at you, expectant for an answer that you can't confidently give which tells them all that they need to know.

"i don't know." you finally admit, staring down at your lap. "i don't know if he's just playing and teasing me or if he's being serious."

utahime reaches out to you, placing a hand on your knee. "to me, it sounds like he's starting to win you back or at least he's introducing the idea. at the end of the day the heart wants what it wants."

shoko speaks up, fingers picking at her pack of cigarettes " all i do know is that you look like you want to pick up that phone and call him. you better do that soon girl."

/

you return back to a quiet house with yuji being at sukuna's for the weekend. you make a mental reminder to pick up after yuji's toys and clothes scattered everywhere but you'll do that tomorrow.

you're not completely drunk but you would be lying if you didn't admit that the alcohol has you tipsy. and when tipsy suddenly all decisions get the green light from your brain.

your first immediate thought is to head to the couch and pull out your phone, thumb clicking on the contacts app.

scrolling through your alphabetical list of names you reach 's' and your eyes search for sukuna. you know you really shouldn't but the devil on your shoulder - which is the alcohol - keeps prompting you to continue.

'call him. call him. call him. he'll pick up, watch. watch. call him.'

with your heart in your throat, your thumb immediately presses on the phone icon and before you know it the line is ringing. placing the phone on speaker, you bite down on your bottom lip in anxiety.

for a moment you think he won't pick up. for a moment you think you're a fool for even trying. for a moment you think you'll wake up with all this regret and the embarrassment that he'll have a notification saying 'missed call' from you. for a moment-

he picks up.

there's a shuffle for a split second before you hear his voice. it's low and raspy, his tone evident of the late hour that you're calling him.

"that was fast." he says and again you're confident that there is a smirk right there on sukuna ryomen's lips.

for a moment you're almost afraid to respond but the alcohol keeps you talking. "what was?"

"you calling me." sukuna sounds like he's been by his phone all evening waiting for you to call. his tone is expectant and unfortunately a little teasing.

"i just wanted to check up on yuji." you spill out, thinking about an excuse, any excuse.

sukuna lets out a pitiful sigh, "just missed him. he's sleeping. he's been fine though."

unbeknownst to you, yuji is wide awake in his room probably playing video games or watching cartoons. fortunately for him there's no real bedtime when it comes to staying at his dad's house.

"how was your girls night?" sukuna asks, "did you drink much?"

"good." you say, raising a brow. "and not a lot."

"that's good." he murmurs, "now you can't say calling me was a mistake and that you were drunk out of your mind."

"i mean, you did offer me to call you."

"i didn't think you would take me seriously."

"you were right in thinking that."

"but you still called."

"yeah, for yuji." you correct.

"but you're still on the line."

"oh, so you want me to go?" you tease and it's obvious bait but he takes it.

"no. talk to me." his tone is firm and sultry, enough to make you giddy, enough to put a smile on your face that you keep trying to hide with your hands.

"about what?"

"anything, enlighten me."

so you begin telling a new and updated story about that one co-worker at your job that seems to cause nothing but headaches. sukuna remembers your stories from your marriage, how you would come to bed some nights just ranting about them.

and before you know it an hour has passed and the two of you are still talking. well it's mostly you doing the talking because you're tipsy and your mouth can't stop running but sukuna throws in little hmms and grunts here and there to show that he's listening.

sukuna's raspy voice is almost enough to send you sleep and it deeply reminds you of the past and how it used to be, how you were feeling those vibrations physically as you laid on his chest telling him about your day.

but now you're doing it over the phone and your entire body gets overtaken by feeling of nostalgia, a small part of you wishing that you were on his chest talking about everything and anything.

your rambling comes to an abrupt end due to your emotions and your voice is a little quieter. "are you still listening?"

"course'" he says, and he lets out a breath before speaking again. "but i gotta go soon, the baseball game's early tomorrow."

"right, sorry, sorry, i'll let you go to bed." you internally curse yourself for getting a little too ahead of yourself.

there's an awkward pause before sukuna speaks again.

"you should come tomorrow. i'll buy you a ticket."

you freeze, "uhhhh i-" on defence your mind immediately searches for an excuse, "i'm busy..."

"doing what?"

"things." you lie knowing the only thing you have to do is clean up the house.

"hmmm things." sukuna says, his tone is evident that he doesn't believe you. there's another pause before he speaks and just when you think you've avoided anymore contact with sukuna his next sentence is enough to give you whiplash.

"well, if you're busy tomorrow then maybe some other time this week we could- uh- go for drinks or something..." if you were more sober you'd pay more attention to how nervous sukuna sounds right now, finally spitting out his words.

"drinks?" you repeat.

"casual. parent to parent. talk about yuji's behaviour or whatever."

"right, as if it's something that you couldn't tell me right now? you just told me he was fine."

"should definitely be said in person. i can get jin to watch him in the meantime."

"are you sure?" you ask, immediately suspicious.

"positive."

even though you know you shouldn't agree to this and the sober you in the morning will regret your response you can't help but agree to sukuna's plans. you know what he's trying to do and you can't help but fall for it. there's a long pause before you speak again.

"alright then. text me the details. goodnight sukuna."

"goodnight baby."

and before you could even reprimand him for calling you baby when he shouldn't be, he's hung up the phone. smooth fucker, you think to yourself but deep down in the pit of your stomach you feel giddy as a teenager.

"i need to pull myself together." you mutter to yourself, gathering up the energy to finally go to bed. throughout your bedtime routine you can't help but reminisce on your conversation with sukuna, you spent an hour on the phone talking to your ex-husband that you previously wouldn't spend ten minutes minutes talking to.

your thoughts, even whilst tipsy confuse you. you get a rush of adrenaline to keep the giddy feeling going.

and that's when you remember the box.

in the closet, sits a box in the top corner that you've been ignoring for years. today out of all days, this tipsy version of you chooses to go down memory lane. it's a small box, previously used for yuji's old school shoes but now it holds the sentimental things of your previous marriage that you didn't have the heart to throw away.

a few photographs. a letter. but the most important of them all, your wedding ring.

you hold up the ring in the light and it still glistens like brand new. at that moment everything comes back to you - all the worst memories that your ring has witnessed. arguments and fights and spilled tears.

it's a miracle that you and sukuna get along as exes despite the past as you know other divorced couples wouldn't have the same privileges.

as you place the ring back and close the box, you remind yourself of the person that you are now not the person that you were back then.

you won't ruin this current dynamic because of the slight chance of old feelings. you won't do that to yourself.

and most importantly, you won't do that to yuji.

you can't go back.

a/n: thank you for reading!!! part 4 i expect to dive into sukuna's pov more before their 'meet-up' and sneak peek into their backstory!

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