Chapter Text
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On Thursday night, Geto Suguru's residence smelled like incense and low music.
It wasn't a party like the weekend ones. It was one of those spontaneous gatherings that came up for no apparent reason, when Geto decided he felt like having company and sent a message to the group chat. That night, only the usual crowd was there: Geto, reclining in his favorite armchair with a gin and tonic in hand; Yorozu, sitting on the floor with her legs crossed on a cushion; Uraume, in a corner of the sofa with his cup of green tea; and Sukuna, who had arrived late and had dropped onto the other end of the sofa with a grumpy face.
—You're acting strange — said Geto, stirring the ice in his glass with a finger —. Lately you're always strange.
—I'm not strange.
—Yes, you are. — Yorozu looked up from her phone —. You used to be the first to arrive at every party. Now you don't even show up to half of them.
—I have things to do.
—Things? — Geto raised an eyebrow —. What kind of things? Because if they're school assignments, you disappoint me. You've never cared about school assignments. You just stand out because you do.
Sukuna didn't answer right away. He stared at the ceiling, arms crossed, jaw tight. He had been like that all week. Irritable. Distracted. As if his mind were somewhere else.
And it was.
His mind was at the chess club, Monday night, across from Megumi Fushiguro. At the game he had won by a hair. At the way Megumi had told him "you've learned" with that neutral voice that was neither a compliment nor an insult. At how his fingers had absentmindedly brushed the king piece before picking up the board.
—It's Fushiguro, isn't it? — said Uraume without taking his eyes off his tea.
Sukuna turned his head toward him.
—What?
—That you're like this because of Fushiguro. The same as always.
—It's not the same as always.
—Oh, it's not? — Uraume took a sip —. Then why have you been following him around campus for weeks?
Yorozu sat up, interested.
—Fushiguro? — She frowned —. And why would you be following him? Are you still on that?
She was annoyed.
—I'm not following him — said Sukuna, and his tone was drier than he intended —. We're just working on a project together.
—A project you could do alone in one afternoon — retorted Geto —. You're Sukuna Ryoumen. You don't need anyone's help for a Naobito assignment. — He leaned forward, his cat-like smile widening —. Admit it. You're interested.
—I'm not interested.
—You are interested — Yorozu insisted, and her voice had a new edge, sharper than usual —. I saw you the other day in the library. You were sitting next to him, staring at him like he was a plate of food. This is getting ridiculous.
—It's ridiculous exactly. Why would I do that? — He said, trying to make excuses —. I don't do those things.
—You were staring at him. For a long time. — Yorozu crossed her arms —. And I don't know why. He barely talks. He doesn't go to parties. He doesn't do anything interesting. He's just.. a little cute and that's it.
—He plays chess.
—So?
—And he won against me.
Geto let out a low laugh. Uraume looked up from his tea. Yorozu blinked, confused.
—And that made him your type or something? — asked Geto.
—Of course not.
—It seems like it did. — Geto nodded slowly, as if he had just understood everything —. So that must be it. He won against you in a game and now you can't stop thinking about him.
—It's not because of that.
—Then why?
Sukuna clenched his jaw. He didn't know how to explain it without sounding like an idiot. It wasn't just the game. It was everything. It was the way Megumi looked at him. It was how he answered him with sarcasm, without filters, without trying to get on his good side. It was how he could be so defensive with him and relaxed with his friends — and that last part made him jealous — it was simply how genuine he was, he didn't know how to explain it.
Megumi Fushiguro didn't give him what he wanted. And that, for Sukuna, was new.
—He's different — he finally said, somewhat abruptly —. He's not like the others. — He paused —. Even when he won against me, he didn't brag or anything, he didn't care.
And he's also quite pretty.
—And you like that — said Geto.
—I don't like it. It just makes me curious.
—It's the same thing. Sometimes.
—It's not the same thing.
—It is the same thing when you spend all day thinking about that person — Yorozu intervened, and her tone was slightly bitter —. You know what? If you're so interested, why don't you just win him over once and for all and get him out of your system?
Sukuna looked at her. Yorozu held his gaze, chin up, cheeks slightly flushed.
—Make him fall for me? — Sukuna repeated.
—Yes. You always get what you want, don't you? So get him. And then drop him. Like you do with absolutely everything.
There was a tense silence. Geto watched the scene with interest. Uraume drank his tea without saying anything. Sukuna stayed still, processing Yorozu's words.
Win him over. Get Megumi to let his guard down. Get him to look at Sukuna the way he looked at his friends. Get him to stop treating him like an annoyance and start seeing him as something more. The idea lodged in his brain like a thorn.
It wasn't that he wanted something real with Megumi. It was just curiosity.
—You're right — said Sukuna, and his voice regained its usual confident tone —. I can get him.
Geto leaned forward.
—Oh, yeah? How long will it take you?
—One month.
—One month? — Geto let out a laugh —. Fushiguro is colder than an ice cube. And you think you can win him over in a month?
—Of course I can.
—Want to bet?
The word hung in the air. Sukuna caught it mid-flight.
—Deal — he said —. One month. I have until the end of November. If I win, you take care of all my assignments for the rest of the semester.
—And if you lose — responded Geto, raising his glass —, you pay for dinner for everyone at that restaurant downtown. The expensive one.
—Deal.
They clinked glasses. Yorozu watched them with her arms crossed, her expression unreadable. Uraume set his cup on the table with a soft clink.
—This is stupid — he said.
—It's a bet — Sukuna corrected —. There's nothing wrong with it.
—There's everything wrong with it if Fushiguro finds out.
—He won't find out.
—And if he does?
—He won't find out — Sukuna repeated, and his tone allowed no argument —. This stays between us. The four of us. No one else.
Uraume didn't insist, but his expression still showed disapproval. Yorozu got up from the cushion and smoothed her skirt.
—I'm going to my room — she said —. I need to sleep.
—So early? — asked Geto.
—I have an early class tomorrow.
But Sukuna noticed something in her voice. Something tense. Yorozu looked at him for a second before leaving, and in her eyes there was a mix of frustration and something else that Sukuna preferred not to analyze.
When the door closed, Geto leaned back in his armchair.
—She's jealous — he said quietly.
—Yorozu? Oh really?
—She's been after you for months, idiot. Haven't you noticed?
Sukuna shrugged. Yes, he had noticed. But Yorozu didn't interest him. She never had. She was a friend, sometimes a distraction, nothing more.
—She'll get over it — he said.
—Sure. — Geto took a sip of his gin and tonic —. Well, back to the important stuff. One month, Ryoumen. Time is ticking.
—I know.
—And what's your plan?
Sukuna fell silent. His plan? He didn't have a plan. He just knew he wanted to stay close to Megumi. Keep provoking him. Keep earning his glances, his sharp answers, his exasperated sighs.
—The plan — he said slowly — is that by the end of the month, Fushiguro is going to be interested in me. And..
—That's a goal, not a plan.
—Doesn't matter, I'll figure it out as I go. — He paused, but let's be clear that I'm completely heterosexual.
In reality, Sukuna didn't care about those things, he wasn't closed-minded, but he knew perfectly well what he liked and what he didn't, and men definitely fell into the "no" category, so it was necessary to say it.
Geto laughed.
—Will you still say that when the time comes that you have to kiss him..? If he doesn't send you to hell first, of course.
Sukuna tensed and said nothing more.
Geto raised his glass in a silent toast.
—I toast to your failure — he said.
Sukuna didn't answer again. He looked toward the window, where the October night stretched out dark and cold. Somewhere on campus, Megumi Fushiguro would be in his room, reading one of his books, unaware of all of this.
For now.
***
On Friday afternoon, Sukuna was in the library when he saw Megumi walk by in the hallway. He had his backpack over his shoulder, his brow slightly furrowed, and he was walking quickly toward the exit.
—Fushiguro — he called out.
Megumi stopped and turned his head.
—What?
—Where are you going in such a hurry?
—To my room. I need to change.
—Change? — Sukuna raised an eyebrow —. For what?
—None of your business.
—Come on, tell me.
Megumi snorted.
—For the Halloween party. Yuuji and Nobara have forced me to go. — He paused —. Nobara found me a costume. I don't know what it is. I'm scared.
Sukuna smiled. Megumi, in costume, at a party. That was too good to miss.
—And are Kugisaki's costumes scary?
—She's not scary. Her ideas are scary. Once she made me dye my hair in our first year. I ended up with orange highlights. — Megumi shuddered slightly —. I don't want to repeat that experience.
Sukuna let out a short laugh.
—It might be fun.
—I'm sure it won't be. I plan to be in a bad mood all night.
—That's what you do all the time anyway.
Megumi shot him a look that wasn't exactly anger. It was more like annoyance mixed with resignation, as if Sukuna were a pebble in his shoe that he had already gotten used to.
—You're going too, aren't you? — Megumi asked.
Sukuna blinked. He hadn't expected that question.
—I hadn't thought about it.
—Whatever. Kugisaki likes having an audience. — Megumi adjusted his backpack —. And now let me go, because if I'm late she'll pick something ridiculous for me.
He left without waiting for a reply. Sukuna stayed in the hallway, hands in his pockets, a slow smile spreading across his lips.
Megumi had asked him if he was going to the party. On his own initiative. Without Sukuna having to provoke him.
It was a small step. Almost insignificant. But Sukuna felt it as a victory.
One more victory on his path.
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That night, the Halloween party was held in the main hall on campus. The lights were tinted orange and purple, and plastic cobwebs and pumpkin garlands hung from the walls. The music was too loud, as always, and the air smelled of fruit punch and sweat.
Sukuna arrived late, with a costume he had improvised in his room: a black shirt, some prop horns Geto had lent him, and a smile that came factory-installed. He hadn't tried too hard. He didn't need to.
He scanned the hall, looking for a familiar face. He saw Geto by the drink table, dressed as something that could only be described as "elegant vampire." He saw Uraume in a corner, drinking what appeared to be green tea even at a Halloween party. He saw Yorozu, who had dressed as a fairy, and who was looking at him from a distance with an expression Sukuna didn't want to decipher.
And then he saw him.
Megumi Fushiguro was standing by the dance floor, arms crossed, with an expression of absolute suffering. He was wearing a cat costume: black ears, a collar with a bell, and a tail hanging from his waist. The rest of his clothes were normal: dark t-shirt, jeans, sneakers. Clearly, Nobara had done the bare minimum to make the costume recognizable without Megumi refusing completely.
Next to him, Yuuji Itadori was dressed as a mummy, with white bandage strips wrapped around half his body. Nobara Kugisaki wore a witch costume that suited her surprisingly well.
—This is ridiculous — Megumi was saying, touching the cat ears with annoyance —. I look like an idiot.
—You look like a cat — Nobara corrected him —. An angry cat. As always.
—Normal cats don't wear bells.
—Normal cats don't. You do. Because you're special.
—I don't want to be special. I want to go to my room.
—No way. — Nobara patted him on the shoulder —. You came. Now you deal with it.
Megumi muttered something under his breath that Sukuna couldn't hear, but his expression was so comically miserable that Sukuna couldn't help but approach.
—Fushiguro — he said, appearing at his side —. Nice costume.
Actually, the nice one was him.
Why did he look cuter now?
Megumi turned his head and saw him. His eyes ran over Sukuna's horns, his black shirt, his smile.
—You look like Maleficent — he said.
—Thanks.
—That wasn't a compliment.
—It was to me.
Megumi snorted and looked away. But Sukuna noticed he didn't walk away. He didn't tell him to leave. He didn't put distance between them.
—Are you going to stand there all night? — Megumi asked after a moment.
—Does it bother you?
—A little.
—Just a little.
—Just a little.
Sukuna smiled. He leaned against the wall, next to Megumi, and stayed there, watching the party in silence. Yuuji and Nobara had gone to the dance floor and were now jumping clumsily to the rhythm of an eighties song.
—You don't dance — said Sukuna.
—No.
—Never?
—Never. — Megumi paused —. Do you?
—Sometimes.
—Then go dance and leave me alone.
—I don't feel like it.
Megumi turned his head toward him. Under the party lights, his eyes seemed darker than usual. The cat ears made him look ridiculous, but there was something in his expression that Sukuna couldn't decipher. Something between curiosity and caution.
—Why are you here? — Megumi asked.
—You invited me.
—I didn't invite you. I just asked you and that was it.
—Well, I thought about it. And here I am.
Megumi shook his head, but he didn't seem angry. More like confused. As if Sukuna were a math problem he couldn't solve.
—You're weird — he said, for the umpteenth time.
—You too.
—I know. But I admit it.
Sukuna laughed. Megumi didn't laugh, but his jaw relaxed a little. And they stayed there, shoulder to shoulder, watching the party without participating in it. Two pieces on a board that still didn't know how they were going to move.
Although Sukuna was thinking quite a bit about how to do it.. but something inside him knew he wasn't doing it because of this silly bet.
But he didn't know how much he would regret having started it.
***