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“Yuuji!” You scream as your boyfriend finally loses consciousness.
Sukuna isn’t surprised, in fact the damn brat had actually exceeded his expectations and lasted longer than he thought, though it meant that he was in terrible shape. Well, he’ll get healed up later by that girl anyway, so Sukuna just sat back and watched as you defended his vessel from being eaten by the curse. It was a nasty curse, a particularly tenacious vengeful cursed spirit that appeared to learn their moves the more they performed it. You had caught on this pretty quickly, and figured out that it was a new curse only just starting to learn its capabilities, and you were its test dummies. Not that Sukuna cares, but it would mean bad news if it escaped with all the knowledge it has just accumulated. Not that you would let it.
Sukuna’s smirk grew as he saw that switch flick in your head, your gears changing from calculated moves and intelligence to pure strength and instinct, your eyes seeming to glaze over. He loved it when that happened.
Since you entered his vessel’s life, he rarely had to raise a finger because you would always finish the job for him and often stopped his vessel from nearly killing himself. He still took over if and when he felt like it (if Yuuji wasn’t actively suppressing him), and had spoken to you more than a few times. Yuuji would let his guard down when he was tired or sleeping, which was the perfect time for him to talk to you, especially since you stayed up late the majority of nights in a week.
You were interesting. He wanted to know how you were so strong, but you never gave him the answers he wanted. You were usually studying, and he often heard the line ‘if you aren’t here to help me study then please be quiet.’ with a heavy sigh, though you always used polite language when speaking to him. Some nights if he was especially stubborn, he would manage to annoy you enough to have a proper conversation with you, but you were just as stubborn as him when it came to hiding your secrets. You never told your boyfriend about any of your conversations though. Sukuna had considered exposing you to his vessel, but then he probably would never get to speak with you again.
Just as Sukuna had predicted, you dealt with the curse. He almost moved from his throne when you had stumbled over your own feet for crying out loud and nearly lost an arm, and probably your life if you didn’t react as quickly as you did after catching your footing. Sukuna had overheard you throwing up yesterday evening, but he didn’t say anything. Why would he? You insisted it was just exhaustion from doing back to back missions and went to bed, flopping next to Sukuna and promptly going to the land of nod before he could tell you he didn’t care.
Currently you were laying on your back, hand clasping the front of your shirt while gasping for air after finally exorcising the curse. After a minute of catching your breath back, you hauled yourself up, knuckles kneading your temples.
“Ugh... Let’s get you to Ieiri.” You sighed as you looked over at your boyfriend’s body. You shuffled over and ripped up your camisole under your shirt to make bandages to wrap around his head while calling Ijichi requesting a lift to the HQ. You looked beyond exhausted and your cheek was fast blooming into a bruise from when the curse has backhanded you. Ride home confirmed, you let your head hang lowly with a heavy exhale. “I just want to go home.”
After a visit to Ieiri, resulting with the vessel regaining consciousness and fussing over your vast collection of small injuries, nearly 4 hours later, you both arrived home. Sukuna’s vessel was still exhausted and you both had a simple soup which you had the foresight to make last week in anticipation of this week being busy (you somehow could always sense when you were both going to be busy and prepared in advance). Yuuji had wanted to stay up and wait for you to finish your nighttime routine, and he put up a good fight, but lost as fell asleep before getting to wrap you up in his arms.
When Sukuna decided it was safe to switch, he opened his eyes to an empty bedroom, a line of light coming from under the bathroom door where he could hear your strangled sobs and gags. He waited. There was a flush, the sink running, then a gruesome thud. The tap continued running. He waited. You weren't moving. Heaving a sigh, Sukuna rolled out of bed, carpet soft under his feet as he stopped in front of the bathroom. He kicked the door open with his foot, the door stopping as it hit a hand laying on the floor. Stepping in, Sukuna found you laying on the cold tiled floor.
“Human, wake up.” Sukuna nudged your limp body with his foot. Thankfully your eyes fluttered open.
“Huh?” You asked dumbly, watery eyes clouded with sickness, “How did I get here?”
“You passed out. Now get up.”
“I can’t move.”
“Why not?”
“Everything is broken.” You huffed, voice wobbling dangerously, “I feel really wrong.”
“Wrong?”
“I don’t know. Something’s wrong with me,” You stifled a sob, Sukuna rolling his eyes.
“Only now you realise? There are many things wrong with you dumb creature.”
“Sorry...” You rolled your head to the side as your lip quivered, “You’re such an asshole Sukuna.” You hiccuped, tears now falling which only increased Sukuna’s urge to kill you. He hated weak creatures. “Am I dying?”
“No you’re sick. But I might kill you if you don’t stop crying.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to die. Can't stop crying.” You wailed.
“You really have a death wish don’t you?”
Sukuna had enough and straddled your unmoving form, wrapping his hands around your neck, but not squeezing just yet. You looked so small in his hands, and now he was close enough, he could feel heat radiating from your frail body. You bit your bottom lip and sniffled like a child, eyebrows knitting together.
“I’ll beat you first.”
“Oh is that so? Not if I kill you here and now.”
“That’s cheating, I told you I can’t move. What’s the fun of killing something that doesn’t move?”
Sukuna’s brows raised as you pouted, serious in what you said. He whipped his head back in hearty laughter, “Oh you know don’t you?”
“I don’t, I just thought you might spare me if I said that because it seems like something you would say.” You were exceptionally chatty tonight, and refreshingly honest with your reactions, though you still kept the polite language. “Can you get off me, I can't breathe and it hurts. I’ll fight you in earnest if you get off me.”
“Will you now?”
“I can try my best King of Curses.” You smirked, though it looked strange when you had fresh tear tracks on your cheeks which were flushed a deep red. This was certainly amusing.
“Fine then. Show me your true self Y/N L/N!” Sukuna strode back to the bedroom, waiting for you to follow. He watched as you shuffled out the bathroom after him, eyes almost shut as you leaned on the doorframe, cursed energy surrounding you and swelling. “That’s more like it- ?!”
Sukuna rushed forwards as your body slumped forwards, a deadweight in Sukuna’s arms.
“S’kuna, can’t see. Sorry. Feel wrong.” You slurred.
Sukuna easily picked you up and unceremoniously dropped you on your shared bed, “If it’s not one brat dying, it’s the other...”
“Sorry.” You huffed, lifting your hand in front of you and slowly closing your hand into a fist, “Fight me...”
“You can’t even stand up.”
“Can too.”
You began to wiggle your arms under yourself to lift yourself up until Sukuna growled, “Don’t you dare.”
“Sorry.”
“Do you ever shut up?” Sukuna growled.
“Sorry...”
Sukuna pinched your cheeks painfully between his fingers, amused as you squirmed in his grip, whining about your bruised cheek, “Apologise one more time and I will rip your little mouth off.”
“No! Don’ do dat! How else am I s’posed to talk to you o’der’wise?” You cried out.
“Hah? That’s what you’re worried about?”
“I like talkin’ to you a’ night. E’en if you are a jerk sometimes.” Sukuna squeezed your cheeks tightly for a second before releasing you. You grabbed onto his wrist before he could walk away and lightly kissed the back of his hand, “Thank you.”
Sukuna snatched his hand out of your grip, “What do you think you’re doing?” He snarled.
“You said I can’t apologise. And I’m thankful to you.”
“Stupid human...”
It was silent for a moment as Sukuna glared at your panting form, sweat rolling down your temples. He wet a towel and slapped it on your face, startling you out your probably delirious thoughts. He then went to get you a glass of water when he heard another heavy thump from the bedroom. He growled to himself as he swore he really would kill you. Just as he anticipated, you were collapsed in a heap next to the bed, one hand gripping the bedside table and the other squeezing your temples like a lemon.
“I should leave you to die seeing as you’re so keen.”
“Where’d you go?” You panted helplessly, unseeing eyes briefly scanning around the room, cursed energy flickering around you, before you gave up and hung your head in defeat.
With a sigh, Sukuna set the glass of water on the bedside table and hoisted you back onto the bed.
“Just lie down and go to sleep, idiot.” He sighed, putting the wet towel back on your forehead. You were really in a terrible state, he couldn’t deny it anymore.
Just as Sukuna moved to go back on his side of the bed, your hand gently caught his wrist.
“Are you going now?”
“I was going to lay down. I’m tired from making sure you don’t die.”
You interlaced your fingers with his, “Oh okay. Thank you.”
“Let me go, I want to lay down.” You wordlessly released his hand, albeit hesitantly. But the moment he crashed next to you on the bed, you clung to his arm and began to trace the marks across his chest.
“What are you doing?”
“Thank you for the towel.” You hummed quietly. A smirk grew on Sukuna’s lips, leaning over and caging you between his arms, closing the space between your faces,
“If you wanted to thank me, you should’ve just-” Sukuna found his lips pressed to the back of your hands as you covered your lips. “Hah..?”
“You’ll get sick.”
“I’m the King of Curses.”
“In a human vessel susceptible to illness.”
Sukuna glared at you but couldn’t for long with you looking up at him with big innocent eyes. Your hands moved from your lips to Sukuna’s face, cupping his cheeks and tracing his marks with your thumbs.
“Thank you.”
Neither of you spoke for a while, Sukuna paralysed in place as you gradually weaved your hands into his hair, gently carding your hands through, watching intensely as your eyes watched him lovingly through the growing sleepy haze.
“Thank y-”
“Shut up and go to sleep.” Sukuna finally moved away and lay down next to you. He had expected you to say something, so looked over, only to find you asleep. You did listen to him. He stretched his arm over to rest the back of his hand on your cheek, freezing as you placed your hand on top.
“Love you.” You murmured into his fingers, rolling over to face him, the wet towel falling onto the pillow.
Sukuna rolled closer to you and put the towel back on your forehead before snaking an arm over your waist and pulling you closer to him. If he was going to be stuck sharing this body, he might as well enjoy the perks it came with.
(If anyone asked though, it was because that brat Itadori would usually sleep holding you in his arms, so if he did the same, Itadori wouldn’t suspect a thing when he switches back and wakes up.)