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Jujutsu Tech will be holding a small formal dance in one month at Kyoto, and Yuuji is struck with the realization that he can’t dance for shit. It wasn’t something he had considered until Kugisaki dragged him out to the mall to help buy her a cute dress.
“So,” she starts, flicking through the racks for whatever catches her eye, “Can you even dance?”
Yuuji blinks. “Huh?”
Kugisaki squints at him. “I asked if you can dance since, you know, there’s a dance coming up.”
Can he dance like a fool in his room while jamming out to some tunes? Absolutely. He could dance all day like that. But can he formally dance at a fancy party without tripping over his own feet? Absolutely not.
“Yes,” he lies. “I can dance.”
“Good. Can’t have you embarrassing us,” Kugisaki hums. She pulls out a short dress with a flared bottom and a gray top. “What do you think of this?”
Yuuji gives her an approving smile and a thumbs up. Inwardly, he’s dying because he will embarrass everyone by stepping on all of their toes and falling flat on his face. And with this realization comes Sukuna laughing at him.
It’s an unpleasant surprise when he goes to sleep that night and finds himself in Sukuna’s domain. Said curse is lounging on his throne of bones, smirking down at him like usual. Yuuji huffs.
“What do you want?”
“A little birdy told me you can’t dance,” Sukuna teases.
Yuuji crosses his arms. “You brought me here just so you can mock me? Get a better hobby.”
He hears Sukuna tsk before suddenly appearing in front of him. Yuuji takes a step back and readies himself for a fight, fists raised.
“Relax, kid,” Sukuna says, waving him off. “Look, as hilarious as it would be to watch you make a fool of yourself, seeing my vessel fail at something as simple as dancing would just be too embarrassing to witness.”
Yuuji frowns. “And your point is?”
“My point,” Sukuna huffs, “is that I can teach you.”
Yuuji balks at that. He’d rather fall down a flight of stairs than have the King of Curses teach him how to dance of all things. Yuuji crosses his arms again and turns away. “No thanks. I can manage on my own by watching a few tutorials on youtube or something.”
Strong hands spin him around and grab at his wrists before he can throw a punch. Yuuji seethes at him but Sukuna just looks amused. “Those videos will only get you so far, brat. The best way to learn is to practice with someone else.”
Yuuji disagrees, if only because he doesn’t want to touch Sukuna and he certainly doesn’t want Sukuna touching him. But he forces himself to follow along as Sukuna places his left hand on Sukuna’s hip, keeping a loose hold on his right, and then placing his own hand on Yuuji’s shoulder.
“You try leading.”
“Huh?”
“Lead,” Sukuna orders. “Move your feet.”
Yuuji looks down and—when did the water disappear?—takes a shaky step back. Sukuna follows with fluid ease. Yuuji swallows the nervous lump in his throat and reminds himself to keep his hold on Sukuna as loose as possible for risk of losing his limbs. Another wobbly step back, another smooth step forward.
This repeats a few more times before Sukuna sighs loudly. “You can’t just keep going backwards. Step to the side.”
Yuuji does and nearly trips over his own feet. He makes a pointed effort to ignore Sukuna’s snickering, eyes still trained on his feet, and tries again. After a few more haphazard steps to the right, Sukuna tells him to step toward him. Yuuji jerks his foot forward and steps on Sukuna’s toes.
“Sorry,” he mumbles, readjusting himself.
“You need to look at your partner more,” Sukuna says.
Yuuji finally glances up at him. “Huh?”
“You’ve been staring at your feet this entire time,” Sukuna points out. His eyes are piercing, and his face is too close for comfort. Yuuji looks away. He suddenly feels way too aware of where his hands are, and he wants nothing more than to leave the domain and pretend this never happened. But Sukuna clearly has a different idea in mind.
Right as Yuuji attempts to pull away, Sukuna grips his hand tighter and slides his own hand from Yuuji’s shoulder to his hip. A shiver runs down his spine at the contact and his face burns at the smirk Sukuna is giving him.
“Put your hand on my shoulder,” he orders. “I’ll lead this time.”
Yuuji hesitantly does as he’s told, barely touching Sukuna’s shoulder, before he’s abruptly tugged closer and dragged along in Sukuna’s dance. Sukuna moves much faster than what Yuuji is prepared for, and he ends up tripping over his own feet and stepping on Sukuna’s toes far too often. All the while, Sukuna never lets Yuuji’s gaze leave his.
“You should look your partner in the eyes,” Sukuna says, stepping back to twirl Yuuji before drawing him closer. Yuuji’s footing is all wrong, somehow stuck with one leg between Sukuna’s and the other bent slightly behind him.
The hand on his hip moves to his back, the sensation making him flush as he’s dipped. Sukuna continues, voice low, “Never let them out of your sight. They are your world just as much as you are theirs.”
A mess of emotions flutter inside his stomach, and Yuuji feels lost within himself. The moment feels surreal as Sukuna pulls him back up, still smirking but something vulnerable swimming in his eyes. Their faces are too close again, and Yuuji’s breathing too hard.
“And sometimes,” Sukuna sighs, “You let your worlds crash together.”
It sounds like confession.
Yuuji hesitates for a split second before moving—before crashing, and crashing hard against Sukuna’s lips. He’s probably wrong, and Sukuna’s going to slice him to ribbons. When the hand on his back leaves, Yuuji pulls away, expecting to death. Instead, Sukuna grabs Yuuji’s face and brings him in for another kiss, deeper this time, leaving Yuuji winded by the time they pull apart.
“Anyways,” Sukuna starts, licking his lips. “You’re a terrible dancer. Try again.”
Yuuji can only sigh in defeat.