Archive of Our Own ^beta

Unlike most great stories of this genre, it did not start with Truck-kun. Yuuji thinks he would've liked it more if it did.

But no.

He had to get isekaied away by choking mid-laugh on a goddamn chicken mcnugget, of all things. It wasn't even the best he ever had.

One minute Yuuji was having fun with his friends from the occult club in a random fast food late at night after trying to hunt for some weird supernatural thing, and the next he woke up in some random forest.

So of course the first thing Yuuji thought when he woke up was that his friends tried to prank him. Then when he remembered choking he guessed that maybe they thought that he died and dropped him in the forest in a moment of panic. Sure. Happens to the best of us, or whatever. But then Yuuji took his phone out and saw that he had no signal, that even trying to call an emergency number did nothing. And then he walked for a few hours without seeing anyone. Or hearing any planes or cars or trains or anything. Nothing at all. Just birds and wind and stuff like that. And water.

Water's good. When lost, don't try the moss thingy cause moss grows on any side of the trees, not just the north facing one. When lost, try to locate water and shelter. Or at least that's what Yuuji remembers from that one tumblr post.

So that's what he does. He spends a good hour trying to find just where exactly the water sound comes from, and once there by the riverside he tries to see if there's any natural shelter close to it. When he realizes that of course there isn't any, Yuuji decides to sit down for a bit to rest for a few minutes. Just a few…

And he might've been just a tad more tired than he thought, because suddenly he's on the ground and a shoe kicks him to make him turn on his back.

“What'd'mhuh'fuck,” Yuuji sleepily mumbles, trying to swat away the shoe still pressed to his chest.

“That's my question.” a new voice says, and Yuuji freezes. New dude sounds mean. Like Yuuji accidentally pissed in his cereals this morning. No such thing happened, that'd be gross, so clearly that guy has no reason to be angry, right ?

But. Yuuji is scared. And for some reasons it's making him keep his eyes tightly shut. “Could you… Move your foot ?” he painfully wheezes, because it's crushing his ribs right now and he doesn't need that on top of everything else.

The foot stills, and then presses harder on him, moving a bit. Yuuji chokes on a pained cry, because choking is apparently now a theme in his life, and finally, finally the foot moves away.

Only to be replaced by a hand yanking him up.

“Who are you ? What are you ? Why are you here ? Look at me when I ask you questions.”

Well, okay, yes, disobeying now would probably lead to a lifetime of pain or some weird shit like that. So Yuuji slightly opens his eyes, hissing at the sunlight, and he notices the person slightly shifting in front of him. Oooh, perfect, dude is blocking the sun.

So Yuuji fully opens his eyes and—

What. What the fuck.

Was he dumped in some weird anime convention ? Is that guy kinda sorta a furry ?

Because the man in front of Yuuji right now has. Bunny ears. Long bunny ears, pointing up. And face tattoos, too.

How the fuck is that bunny man looking so threatening ?!

The man shakes him by his hold on his hoodie, because apparently Yuuji was taking too much time while his brain was short circuiting, and Yuuji blinks a few times before he's finally able to think again.

“W-what was the question ?” Yuuji mumbles, still staring at the bunny ears.

The man clicks his tongue and asks again. “Who are you ?”

“Hm, Itadori… Yuuji ?”

“Why are you here ?”

“Iiiii… Woke up in this forest ? Over there, I think ?” Yuuji answers, turning a bit in the stranger's hold to point behind him.

The stranger looks for all of two seconds in that direction before zeroing back on Yuuji's face, and Yuuji feels his shoulders slowly moving up the more that guy stares.

“What are you ?” he finally asks, and, huh, what.

“What.”

The man grabs his jaw in one hand, tightly holding him as he tilts it one side and the other. The hand holding his hoodie moves to poke his ears, somehow curious, and Yuuji just freezes in place there. “Tell me, what are you ? Are you some sort of little monkey ?” and then suddenly Yuuji is pressed to the man's chest as he starts to pat his backside. “Then again. You don't have a tail. Did you get it cut ?”

It's as the man tries to move his pants down to apparently search for a tail that Yuuji screams and pushes him away. He painfully falls back on his ass, but the pain is worth it to be able to put space between them.

“What the fuck, what is wrong with you ?! Stop with this cosplay and roleplay and whatever, it's getting really creepy.” Yuuji says as he continues to crawl back and away from the stranger.

Said stranger just stays unmoving, calmly looking at him. “Role play ? I'm not playing any role.”

“Wha–”

“I am asking one last time, because maybe those pitifully small ears of yours simply didn't hear me. What are you ?”

Well. Putting aside the insult to his perfectly normal ears. “What do you mean what am I ? I'm… Human ? Aren't you too ?”

The man freezes, eyes open wide.

And that's when Yuuji notices that the man doesn't have any human ears. That instead he just has short hair where they would be. Too short to hide any actual ears. Too flat to just be something like bits of wigs or something glued on top to hide them.

What.

“I am… Not human. Humans don't exist on this land, not anymore.” the man slowly says, and then he gets up from his crouching position. “I am Prince Ryoumen Sukuna of the Vernus Kingdom.”

“A… Prince ? A bunny prince ?” Yuuji asks. He kinda wants to touch those ears, but that feels like the best way to somehow end up decapitated.

“Are you looking down on my species, little human ?” the man– Prince— Sukuna asks, and somehow Yuuji didn't notice the sword attached to the man's waist until the tip of it is under his chin. tilting his head up.

See. Yuuji is very, very bi.

And this is very, very hot.

But also way too fucking terrifying.

“What, no no no no— Please don't kill me, I'm sorry, please,” Yuuji feels himself paling, shivering in place, and he is shaking so much that the sword nicks a little bit his skin, a few drops of blood immediately escaping his throat.

The Prince hums, and then sheaths his sword. “No blood shall be spilled at the hands of the royal family in the blessed forest. Or, well,” he says, and then grabs Yuuji up and close to him once more. “Not any more than that. Thank you for your offering, little human.”

“Offer—?”

The rest of the word dies in his throat as the man in front of him dips low enough to press his lips to the little cut.

And then licks the few drops of blood there.

Really, can you blame Yuuji for fainting then ?

Some unknown amount of time later, Yuuji wakes up in a big and fluffy bed, alone in a room that is just illuminated by one small lantern on a table just a few meters away from the bed.

Alright. This sounds like the perfect timing to think about what happened.

Clearly, Yuuji is dead. Or, well, dead in that one random McDonald's in Sendai. Rip Itadori Yuuji, third year student at Sugisawa 3 high. This place definitely isn't on Earth, too. Yuuji has never heard of some Vernus place or whatever Sukuna had said, and that word sounds kinda old, maybe even latin. And Sukuna mentioned a blessed forest, too.

So. While not the brightest, Yuuji isn't dumb. And he's watched enough anime and read enough manga and light novels at the library to understand what is happening.

Yuuji died, and he got yeeted (yote ?) to another world. That's right in the isekai genre.

Okay.

Alright.

Sure.

Better than being truly and completely dead because of a nugget.

But that doesn't explain why he woke up in such a pretty room. Yuuji sits up in bed to look around a bit more, and yeah, that's definitely not a cell. Usually you'd put in prison some random person who popped up in your blessed and holy place, no ? No ????

Before Yuuji can do anything else, the heavy door of the room is pushed open and in walks Sukuna, holding a pitcher in one hand and a glass in the other. What. A Prince doing that himself ?

“Good, you're up. Have a glass.” Sukuna says as he fills the glass with water and then gives it to Yuuji. He doesn't look at him while Yuuji slowly sips on it and instead slightly nudges open the heavy drapes in front of the windows, just enough for the room to not be too dark but not enough for Yuuji to cry in pain at the sudden light.

“Thank you, erm, how… am I supposed to address you ?” Yuuji asks once the glass is empty, and Sukuna plucks it out of his hand to put it on the bedside table before sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Have you never talked to any royal before ?”

“Well, we do have an emperor in Japan, but I've never even seen him for real ?”

“Then,” the bunny man starts to say. “I won't cut your tongue off if you only address me as Prince. But don't try your luck too much.”

“So not just your name ?”

“Not just my name.”

“What about Prince Sukuna ?”

“That's fine. You mentioned something called… Japan ? What is that ?” the man asks as he once more grabs Yuuji's jaw in his hand, much more lightly this time, turning his face to one side to study his profile.

“Uuuuh, the country I came from ? I'm from a… Planet called Earth ?” Yuuji says, trying to not move too much. That much curiosity is fine. Just getting a hand on his face like that is also okay. As long as there isn't any pain inflicted to him or any killing intent directed to him, Yuuji is fine with letting the strange Prince pet his ears or whatever.

“What a stupid name. So. You're not from here at all.” Sukuna casually says. “Let's see if we can find out how you came here. Then I'll decide on what to do with you.”

Oh. Huh. Yuuji still isn't out of danger, isn't he ? “Okay…”

Sukuna tips his head down, and Yuuji feels his fingers pet his hair, as if searching for something hidden in it. Like what ? Horns ?

“What were you doing before waking up in the forest ?”

“Huh, I was eating ? With some friends ?”

Sukuna clicks his tongue and scratches alongside the length of his ear on the… What's it called. The shell of his ear, or whatever ? “Before that.”

“Weeee… Went to some haunted place ?”

“You what ?” Sukuna says, voice flat. “You willfully went to an accursed location ?”

The Prince yanks on his face to bring Yuuji closer to him, and Yuuji ends up blinking directly in front of his nose. Huh, a very normal and human looking nose. “Well. Yeah. It's fun ?”

“Fun.” he spits out. “You got cursed there, boy. Is that still fun ?”

… God damn it. The one time they actually find something legit, and the one thing they find ends with Yuuji dying of a curse.

“You think my friends got cursed too… ?”

“Maybe, maybe not. Don't worry about people not with you now. You're cursed, who knows how that'll impact my kingdom.”

Oh. That's… Not good, isn't it ? “... Are you gonna kill me ?” Yuuji whispers. At least that'll be a more interesting death than by a mcnugget.

“But. Who knows what would happen if I were to kill you. A human sent directly in our blessed forest, in a land that hasn't seen any of your species in centuries.”

So… It could be good, or it could be really bad.

Sukuna pushes him back against the bed and puts his index right under his chin, tilting his head back to show more of his throat. Yuuji feels like prey right now, and it feels a bit ironic.

“I'll keep you alive, for now. We'll see how it goes, but if anything happens…” Sukuna drawls, his finger slowly tracing down Yuuji's neck.

“Then I'll die ?”

“Then you'll die.”

Yeah, alright. Makes sense. “Okay.”

Sukuna lifts an eyebrow up, and Yuuji can tell that he's surprised that he accepted it so easily. To be fair when you already died once…

“I'll have to keep you close to me. How else can I see the effects your presence will cause ?” Sukuna then says, and there's a bit more strength behind his touch now.

“Is that why I'm not in a cell ?” Yuuji asks, watching Sukuna's ears twitch.

“It is. You are in my wing of the castle.” Slowly, Sukuna's hand moves until it presses on Yuuji's shoulder, pinning him on the bed with enough strength that Yuuji almost feels his arm pop off. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. So far I haven't decided where you land on that scale.”

Sukuna's hand tightens even more, somehow, and all Yuuji manages to do then is whimper a small “Hurts–” before the Prince suddenly gets up and away from the bed. Sukuna stares at him, and then turns away.

“I'll get someone to bring you a meal. Don't leave the room.”

And with that the bunny Prince leaves, the heavy door loudly closing behind him.

It's been a few days since Yuuji's arrival in this world and just as long since Sukuna's last visit. And Yuuji is very, very bored.

He's pretty sure that he broke the weird lantern yesterday, too, after shaking it a bit too hard to try to figure out the rattling sound in it, but it thankfully was the full moon last night so it wasn't too troublesome. They could've at least given him a little thing to look at while he's in there, really. All Yuuji has to pass time is the windows, the meals silent servants (each with their own cute animal ears) bring him three times a day, and the bathroom attached to his room. Yuuji has taken hours long baths just to pass time, and it stopped being funny after the first one.

So it's not too surprising when Yuuji decides to disobey what the Prince told him and slowly opens the door, shyly poking his head out of the room.

Of course it happens right as Sukuna passes in front of the room.

The Prince stops mid step in front of him, ears straightening up.

Yuuji freezes, eyes open wide. And slowly steps back and closes the door, just as slowly, before running to bed to hide under the covers. Nope, nothing happened.

The door opens right as Yuuji puts his head under the covers, and he's pretty sure he hears his Royal Bunnyness chuckle before closing the door.

“I know you're here, little human.” he says, amused, as he walks to the bed to sit on its edge once more.

Yuuji stays silent, even as Sukuna snorts and his hand lands on the mountain that is Yuuji and the covers.

“Why is it so dark in here ? Did you break your light ?”

“Didn't want to,” Yuuji mumbles against his hands.

“What was that ?” Sukuna asks as he lifts up the cover, not moving them away, keeping Yuuji hidden.

“I didn't wanna break it, I'm sorry…”

Sukuna hums and lets go of the covers in his hands, and the heavy eiderdown flops back down on Yuuji's face with a loud sound, making him softly oof.

“You could have just asked for a new one.” the Prince says as he gets up, and Yuuji shyly peeks out as he hears the sound of a chair being pulled away from the table. “Or someone could have fixed it for you, it's not hard.”

“It's fixable ?” Yuuji softly asks, watching Sukuna's silhouette as he takes off his sword to leave it on the table before sitting and grabbing the lantern.

“Of course it is.”

And then Sukuna silently opens the light by twisting and pulling on some parts of it, and Yuuji slowly sits up in bed to watch him do it. He feels the Prince's eyes on him, but damn it he's curious.

After a while, the man sighs and turns to face him. “Come here.” he says as he points to a chair close to him, and Yuuji immediately jumps out of bed to come closer to watch.

Once Yuuji is sitting, Sukuna slowly tips the lantern until the glass form in the middle is upside down and tiny little rocks fall out of it, all shiny little things not bigger than the size of his nails, glowing in shades of yellows and white.

“What are those ?” Yuuji whispers, hands on the edge of the table.

“These ? Basically nothing more than pebbles. At most a fragment of what power can be.” the bunny man says as he shakes the empty lantern once more and then tries to look into it. “... It's way too dark in here to see anything. Wait a minute and don't try to run away again.”

“I wasn't—!” is all Yuuji has time to say before Lord Bunny is out of his room.

Pouting, Yuuji spends the next few minutes poking the empty lantern until the Prince comes back, and said man stares at him for a few seconds before shaking his head.

“I leave you with a weapon and you don't even try anything ?” Sukuna asks, grabbing the sword to instead put it against the wall next to the door. “Are you really that stupid ?”

“I wouldn't have gone very far even with a sword anyways,” Yuuji pouts even more, putting more strength in his poke, and Sukuna slaps his hand away.

“Are all humans like you ?”

“And what am I ?”

“Naive. Quite stupid. Docile.”

“I'm not docile, I just know I wouldn't survive long out there in a place I don't know ! That's being smart and realist !”

“Ah, so you take offense on that one but not the rest.” Sir Bunny says as he puts down a little leather pouch and another light and then sits down once again. “Now let's fix this.”

Sukuna silently looks into the glass section of the lantern again for a few long seconds, tilting it a bit to study it more, and then hums.

“You took it out of its normal axis. Congratulations, that's not an easy thing to do.”

“Took what ?” Yuuji asks, moving forward until he's barely sitting on his chair to try to see more closely.

“You'll see. Now shut up, you don't want me to break this part.”

Yuuji does stay as silent as possible as the Prince starts to pull on the glass thing while he carefully holds the copper colored base of the lantern, and with a sound that makes Yuuji wince, the two parts finally separate. Sukuna slowly puts the glass part on the table and then puts the base closer to Yuuji to let him look at it, and Yuuji moves so close to look that his chin basically ends up on the table too.

“What's this ?” he asks as he stares at the clear octahedron crystal in the middle of the base. He kinda wanna poke it, but it feels like something he shouldn't put his fingers on like that.

“This is the catalyst that powers those little things.” Sukuna calmly answers as he pushes the little stones into one pile. “Do you not use this kind of things where you came from ?”

“We don't, no.”

Sukuna pulls back the base of the lantern to him and then carefully plucks the crystal out of it, humming in answer. “Ah, it's out of energy too.”

“Energy ?” is this like one of those weird stones that some people online say you must bathe in sunlight or moonlight to recharge ?

“Magic.” Sukuna answers like it's the most normal thing ever, and he looks at Yuuji weirdly when he suddenly sits up straight on his chair.

“Magic ?!”

“Don't make me repeat myself when you've clearly heard me.”

Magic !!! Magic exists in this world ! … Makes sense when you think about it. Bunny princes and blessed forests wouldn't exist in a world without any magic. But. It's a thing here !

“How long does it take to recharge ? Can you do it ? Do you have to chant a spell ?” Yuuji excitedly asks, smiling, sitting once more closer to the table.

“Of course I can do it, and no I don't need a spell for that.” answers the Prince, looking offended. “On average it takes around thirty minutes to do.”

Thirty minutes ? Yuuji doesn't know a single thing about magic, so he can't say if it's a lot or not, but compared to any electronics it's definitely not bad.

Sukuna cradles the crystal in his hands, and Yuuji watches amazed as light starts to glow from within them. The air feels charged, Yuuji feels the tip of his tongue tingle like when he used to put it against a battery, and it sounds like everything is clearer for a few blessed… Seconds.

And then Sukuna smirks at him. “I never said I was average.”

Yuuji feels himself blushing, and he turns to look away. What the hell. What kind of double entendre was that. Also, did he really just do in like thirty seconds something that usually takes most people thirty minutes ?! This… This man, this bunny Prince is… Crazy strong, isn't he ?

And he's here, fixing Yuuji's lantern for him. What.

As if it wasn't enough, he grabs the base of the lantern and looks into the place where the crystal goes, and then looks at Yuuji. There's some sort of glint in his eyes. Oh no.

“Here. Blow.” Sukuna says as he holds out the copper base in front of Yuuji, chuckling as the human sputters and blushes even more. “Blow on it. There's dust stuck in there.”

Yuuji does, refusing to meet the Prince's eyes as he carefully blows air in the little pyramidal space made to hold the crystal. Sukuna hums, tilts the thing in his hand a bit, and repeats the command.

It goes on like that for a full minute or two, and by the time Lord McThumpper deems it enough Yuuji feels like his cheeks are burning and his lungs are the emptiest they've ever been.

“What the hell,” Yuuji almost painfully wheezes. “You could've done this yourself.”

“Remember who you are talking to, little human. You wouldn't want to anger the crown prince.” Sukuna casually answers as he pops back into place the crystal and does something that makes it glow again.

Cr-crown… Prince…

… Hey you know what, fuck it. Yuuji already died once, might as well have fun this time.

“I'm sorry. His Royal Highness the Prince Bunny Rabbit the first definitely could have done this himself.”

Sukuna snorts as he grabs the glass part of the lantern, weirdly enough more amused by Yuuji's words than angered. Huh. “At least get your numbers right.”

“... Are bunny people like real rabbits ?”

“Meaning ?”

“You also have big families that grow very quickly ?”

Sukuna stops trying to put the glass back in the base and looks at Yuuji, and then smiles, showing honesty way too much teeth to not be creepy. (And Yuuji feels kind of sad to discover that the Prince doesn't have actual bunny teeth.)

“Want to find out ?” Sukuna asks, still smiling.

And it's only then that Yuuji realizes that he just asked the man if his people fuck and procreate a lot. Blushing bright red and groaning, Yuuji lets his forehead thump on the table. “No. I'm sorry. You're right, I'm stupid.” Yuuji says as he hits his head on the table a few more times.

“Yes you are. And of course I'm right. Now stop doing that or I'm leaving you without any light tonight.”

“Sir yes sir.” Yuuji mumbles directly against the table's surface and then covers his ears as Sukuna slides the glass back in the lantern's base. What a horrible sound.

“You clearly don't understand how much of a threat this is.” Sukuna hums as he starts to pluck the little rocks to put them back in.

Yuuji blinks against the table, and then turns his head to look at the Prince. “I'm not scared of the dark.”

Sukuna stops. “You should be.” he says as he looks at Yuuji, all traces of humor gone from his face. “Creatures lurk in the dark. Don't ever stay without any light unless you have a death wish.”

Loudly swallowing, Yuuji sits back correctly. “Even in here ?”

“Nowhere is safe.”

Oh.

Suddenly magic and bunny boys sounds much less cool.

“I–, can you–... Explain more about the lamp ?”

Welp. That's a coward's way out. But Sukuna simply nods and grabs one of Yuuji's hands to put some of the small rocks in it.

“Those technically are just weaker versions of elemental gems, usually useless by themselves, but put together in a jar with a catalyst ? That's one of the easiest ways to keep yourself safe.” Sukuna explains as Yuuji pokes the rocks in his hand. “The yellow ones are lightning based. They're here to act as a conductor between the crystal and the other gem fragments.”

“And the white ones ?” Yuuji asks as he tips his hand over the opened lantern.

“They're light gems. They have a holy element to them.” the Prince says as he grabs his leather pouch and starts to search for something in it. “The crystal needs to be put a certain way because the space made for it is coated with enchanted holy silver. Even just a single grain of dust can make it all malfunction.”

“I'll… Be careful, now.”

“Good.” Sukuna says right as he finally finds what he wanted, his hand coming out of the pouch with a bigger, spherical white gem. A marble ? An orb ? “We usually don't use such big ones in light sources.” is all Sukuna says before he drops it inside the lantern and then closes it once more.

Yuuji silently stares at his light. At the way it shines just as bright if not even more than the one Sukuna bought with him. It illuminates almost all of the room, and now that he knows the truth it suddenly makes Yuuji feel very… Safe.

"Thank you…” Yuuji whispers as he traces the shape of the base of the lamp. “Hey, Suku–, I mean, er. Prince, are there other elements ? For those gems ?”

Sukuna hums and grabs the pouch once more. “Yes, there are. Hold your hand out.”

Yuuji obeys, putting his hand palm up in front of him, and Sukuna drops a little marble in his hand, shaded in some sort of light lavender color that feels cool to the touch. Yuuji lets it roll around in his palm, smiling because the little rock doesn't warm up with the heat of his hands and instead stays at the same temperature. That's kinda cool, no pun intended.

Sukuna plucks it out of his hand and instead gives him a red one, and Yuuji chuckles at the difference in temperature, this one warm on his skin.

But. Huh. Those are magical items, no ?

“Is it fine to make me touch those ?” Yuuji asks as he pokes the one in his hand and then carefully gives it back to the Prince.

“It is. I don't feel any magical energy coming from you. Even if you somehow manage to activate one of them you shouldn't do anything too bad.” Sukuna casually answers, grabbing one more little marble in his bag and dropping it in Yuuji's hand, chuckling as Yuuji flinches from the lightning stone lightly zapping him.

“Isn't, owh, isn't it risky to put them all toooo-owh, i don't like this one– to put them together ?”

Yuuji puts it back in the bag himself, and Sukuna snorts before he turns it to him. “It's not. See this sign on the pouch ? It's an anti-magic sigil. It can't block extremely strong things, but this ? It definitely can.”

“Whaat, that's so cool !”

Yuuji follows the shape of the sigil with his index. It's a complicated looking thing, but it also looks really interesting. It's almost a piece of art, honestly.

“Ah, that's right, I have good news for you.” Sukuna says as he takes back the pouch to close it. “Nothing weird has happened around the castle since your appearance. So starting tomorrow you can get out of your room.”

By the time Sukuna has finished speaking, Yuuji is basically vibrating in place. “I can ? Really ?”

“You can. But so far I'll ask you to not go outside.”

“Not even one meter out ? Or sit on the stairs ?” Yuuji asks with a pout, and the Prince stares at him for long, long seconds.

And then he sighs and shakes his head. “Alright, the stairs are now included.”

“Thank you !” Yuuji flings himself to the man, arms going around his neck. It's as he feels the warmth of the Prince against his chest that Yuuji realizes what he just did. “Oh. I, uhm.” very, very embarrassed, Yuuji slowly untangles his arms and moves back to his chair. He feels eyes on him, but Yuuji keeps looking in another direction. Nope. Nope nope nope. If he pretends that Sukuna isn't here then maybe that guy will understand that he wants to pretend that nothing happened.

After a while, Sukuna gets up, grabs the pouch and his lantern both in one hand, and then walks around the table to stand next to him. Yuuji looks down, and Sukuna grabs his chin to make him look up.

They stay like that, silently looking at each other for a while, and Yuuji sees the Prince's ears twitch on top of his head and can't help but fear that he's able to hear how strong and fast his heart is beating.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Sukuna lets go of his chin. “Good night, little human.” he says, and then he turns, takes his sword and leaves.

And Yuuji is left alone to blush in his room.

The next few days are spent looking around the castle, and Yuuji discovers its huge library filled with books he can't read and a kitchen he immediately gets kicked out of. Yuuji isn't allowed to go to the underground levels where, from what he understands, an armory is located. Yeah, that makes sense. No matter how much freedom they'll give him they'll probably never trust him next to a weapon. To be honest, Yuuji also doesn't trust himself next to a weapon.

The people working in the castle now talk to him, even if it's just to answer when Yuuji says hello or to ask him if he'd like anything, but it's still much better than before.

So Yuuji starts to laze around outside in the areas he's authorized to stay at, like the terrace behind the castle that lets him look at the gardens and the training knights, or the stairs in front where he can greet people and watch the birds fly. It's not much, but it still feels much better than being forced to stay in his room all day long. And it makes the long baths in the evening much better, too.

Today, Yuuji is watching the knights train when his eyes are suddenly drawn to pink hair and big, soft looking bunny ears.

Sukuna.

Yuuji watches him train alongside his men. Watches the way the wind is blowing and moving the loose shirt the Prince is wearing, even if it's tucked in his pants, and Yuuji searches for a few minutes before he remembers that this is called a poet shirt. Probably. Maybe. Except without the jabot or frills Yuuji knows some of those shirts have.

He looks truly magical, really, with the thin flowy material of his shirt letting Yuuji guess just how muscular he is, with the grace and strength of his movements as his broadsword cuts through the air, and it almost feels like watching ballet and fencing at the same time, somehow. Estoc, arabesque and balestra, and all those other words Yuuji only vaguely knows mix together to create a deadly dance, and Yuuji loses himself to the beauty of it. He's not even sure if he's correctly using those words, but whatever.

Yuuji whispers his amazement, only letting the wind hear him.

And down below, Sukuna's ear turns in his direction before his eyes and head follows.

They stare at each other for long seconds, and then Yuuji flushes and turns, running away. Laughter from the knights accompanies him, and it rings in his ears even long after Yuuji has closed the door of his bedroom behind him.

The lantern glows in front of Yuuji as he walks in the empty corridors before the sun even rises. Everything is too calm and his skin feels too tight, his bed too suffocating. So Yuuji walks and walks, until he feels like he's gonna fall and pass out.

Or, well. It's usually what he does.

This night, this morning, Yuuji stops in front of a window and watches, curious, as a part of the garden glows. Yellow, orange and other warm hues twirl in the air, little glowing dots moving to a music only them can hear.

He stays there for long minutes, eyes open wide in awe, a small smile on his lips, and suddenly he's not alone in the reflection and Sukuna stands behind him. The Prince steps forward, until he has Yuuji caged between his arms and the window, the human's back against his chest, and weirdly enough Yuuji doesn't feel scared.

“What are you doing outside of your room ?” Sukuna calmly asks.

“I can't sleep, so I'm walking.” Yuuji answers just as calmly, almost whispering it, and the Prince hums.

“At least you took your light.”

They silently watch the dancing lights for some time together. The sun should start to rise sometime in the next hour, now.

“What are those ?”

“Come with me, I'll show you.” Sukuna says after a long pause, and just like that he steps away from Yuuji. “Take your light and stay close. It's dangerous outside at this time.”

Yuuji stares and blinks a few times before he grabs his lantern and runs to catch up on the Prince, keeping one step between them even as Sukuna leads him down the stairs and into the gardens Yuuji still hasn't been authorized to explore.

The smell of the calm night feels soothing, somehow. Flowers, grass and trees all have their own smells that feel so different when the sun is down, and Yuuji lingers a bit to look at the plants, at how the wind ruffles the tiny leaves.

It's as Yuuji lifts his eyes up from the bushes that he sees it for the first time. Shadows, moving out of the corner of his eyes.

But before he can turn his head to really look, Sukuna puts his hand in front of his eyes, blocking his view.

“Don't look. It's best to ignore them.” the Prince says, voice calm and leaving no room to argue as he pulls Yuuji close to him, close enough that Yuuji's shoulder touches his ribs as he keeps his hand on the side of the human's face, making him unable to look anywhere but straight ahead.

“What are they ?” Yuuji asks as his empty hand clutches the Prince's shirt.

“Shadows. The creatures that I mentioned before. Don't ever let them come to you.”

“I–… Okay.”

This… World sure does host some pretty freaky stuff, huh. Yuuji somehow manages to step even closer, and Sukuna's hand falls from the side of his face to his shoulder. Yuuji keeps looking straight ahead at the dancing lights, not even giving a single glance over his shoulder to the Shadows. There's something off about them. About how the air feels behind him, now, how it clings to his nape and feels like it stilled. It feels… Upside down, somehow. It shouldn't make any sense, but weirdly enough, it does, and Yuuji feels himself shiver at the feeling of thousands of eyes glued to him.

But Sukuna guides him deeper in the gardens, keeping him just as close to him, letting Yuuji cling to his shirt without saying anything about it. And Yuuji lifts his lantern just a bit higher, listens carefully for any weird sound.

Sukuna's fingers tighten around his shoulder. “You'll be fine as long as you stay close to me.” he reminds Yuuji, and then he lets go of him. “Now don't speak too loud, or you'll scare them.”

“Who ?” Yuuji asks right as they turn, and there it is. The glowing garden.

“Them.” Sukuna smiles, and he moves away to hook his own lantern to a post close to where the first flowers grow.

Hesitantly, Yuuji walks to the flowers. Deep purple and roughly as big as his palm, their shapes almost remind him of lilies, except with less wide and more numerous petals. They'd be pretty even if their description stopped there.

But the prettiest part of those flowers has to be their glowing center and the light particles that fly away from it, almost like they serve as houses to fireflies.

Yuuji watches as the lights move, circle him and dance around him. As they flutter to Sukuna, close enough to caress his cheek, and then waltz with the stars above their heads. It's the most beautiful thing Yuuji has ever seen, the most peaceful one, too, and he silently blinks back tears as their movements repeat again and again, like a ballerina's routine.

“They like you,” Sukuna whispers, and when Yuuji turns to look at him he sees a soft smile on his lips.

Lights move to wipe away his tears, warm presences that makes him think of gentle hands, tenderly touching him and then flying away. Yuuji doesn't even have to ask this time before the Prince starts to explain.

“They're spirits, we think. Of the benevolent kind. These flowers are sacred, little human, so make sure to never cut or crush any.”

“They're beautiful…”

“They are, aren't they ?” Sukuna says as he steps closer to Yuuji and then ruffles his hair. Startled at first, Yuuji can't help but chuckle as he notices all the little lights floating away from him, no doubt knocked out of his hair by Sukuna's hand. “It's a good sign that they're glowing so brightly. Maybe you truly won't bring any harm to the kingdom in the end.”

Crouching, Yuuji puts his hands on his knees and looks more closely at the flowers. A tiny little light shyly floats to him and lands on the tip of his nose. “Why ?”

“They're said to be our Goddess' last present.” answers Sukuna, voice so soft that Yuuji barely recognizes it. “Their lights never come close to people with ill intentions.”

Humming, Yuuji carefully moves just a little closer to breathe in their scent. It's a soft, sweet and comforting smell, one that reminds him a bit of vanilla with a hint of citrus mixed to it. It's calming, and somehow, even if it is the first time he ever smelled those flowers, that scent manages to feel nostalgic.

After a few more minutes spent in calm, the Prince holds his hand out between them. “Come now, little human. We should head back to rest a bit before our day truly starts.”

Shyly, Yuuji takes hold of the offered hand and gets back up, making sure to not forget his lantern.

“Can I see them again, one day ?” he asks as he keeps looking at them from over his shoulder, his little companion light still on his nose.

The hand holding his own tightens, just a bit. “You can, yes.”

Sukuna walks him back to his room, still holding his hand the whole time. The Prince only lets go to open his door for him, and Yuuji steps into his room and watches as the man looks down the hallway they just crossed.

“The nights are starting to get cold.” he states, and suddenly he's back to looking at Yuuji, his empty hand moving until he can wipe with a careful knuckle the small light still on Yuuji's nose. “Good night, little human.”

“Rest well, Prince Sukuna.”

They share a look for a couple more seconds, seconds during which Yuuji finally truly feels calm and serene, and then Sukuna turns and walks to his own room, his steady footsteps keeping company to Yuuji for just a bit longer.

The next early evening, Sukuna visits him. The sunset is painting his skin gold, making his eyes look like glittering rubies and his hair and ears look even softer than usual.

“May I ?” he asks, and Yuuji steps away to let him in, noting that the Prince is holding something in his hand.

Sukuna walks in and to his table to put down a box with a little blanket covering it, a little ring to hold it being the only thing uncovered, and Yuuji closes his door and gets close to his table, sitting when the Prince asks him to.

“What's this ?” Yuuji asks as he sits on his hands to stay still.

“A little present for our little human,” Sukuna answers as he turns the box to Yuuji and lifts up the cover. “A companion to keep you warm.”

Yuuji is about to ask what he means by that when he notices the light coming in from what he discovers to be a little cage.

In the middle of it sits a little humanoid creature that almost looks to be made of fire, gently moving flames forming shapes that remind him of shoulder-length hair and little buns on the sides of its head. More flames form a little dress on its body, and Yuuji sees that the little thing has a tail that reminds him of a lizard's.

Yuuji gasps and reaches out for the little cage, only now noticing its glass panels. “She's so cute,” he whispers as his index presses against the glass.

“This is a young fire fae, it'll warm up the room simply by being there with you. Don't worry, its flames won't burn anything or anyone unless it gets ordered to do so.”

“Can she talk ?” Yuuji asks as the little fae crawls forward to put its tiny, tiny little hand on the other side of the glass panel, right where Yuuji's fingertip is.

“Not at such a young age, this is still a baby.”

“And you took her away from her parents ?”

“Fae of this kind don't stay with their parents for long, this one was already alone when I found it. This little one is under contract with me for now but will stay with you.”

A magical contract ? Like with familiars in games and such ? Huh, makes sense.

“Keep it in here tonight, that's the first step to let it get used to your presence.” Sukuna calmly says as he folds the little cover and then pushes a book in Yuuji's direction. “Read this, you'll learn about fae and how to care for them in it.”

“Erm, I'd love to, but…”

“Don't you know how to read ?”

“I do ! Just not your language… I've never seen letters like that before coming here.” Yuuji shyly answers as he moves his finger against the glass panel and watches the little fae try to follow it.

“I… Didn't think about that. I'll get you a tutor.” Sukuna says, and chuckles as Yuuji suddenly lifts his head to look at him. “We can't have you stay illiterate.”

“Illi– I'm not ! You wouldn't be able to read my language either !” Yuuji sputters, pointing a finger in Sukuna's direction. “Stay here !” he says, and then goes to rummage by the side of his bed in all the things he still had on him when he appeared in the forest.

He grabs his phone there and turns it back on, pouting at the little battery sign that shows that there's only 34% of energy left in it, and then turns back to the Prince as he taps on his screen to open a pdf in it.

Sukuna flinches away from the bright screen. “What–”

“That's a phone ! Or, well, a smartphone, but that's not important. Look, that's what my language looks like !”

Sukuna squints and moves closer to the screen, and Yuuji has to fight back a laugh at that. He looks like an old man, heh.

“It does look… Complicated.”

“And we have other ways to write, too ! And I know how to do it, so I'm not illiterate.”

Sukuna chuckles and then moves away, rubbing at his eyes. “I'll still get you a tutor to at least teach you the basic things.”

“Thank you.” Yuuji says with a smile, and the Prince lightly smiles back at him.

“If anything, learn for this little one. It deserves someone who'll correctly care for it, doesn't it ?” the Prince softly asks as he also lightly poke the glass panel of the cage, chuckling as the little fae jumps to scratch where his fingertip is.

“She doesn't like you, huh.” Yuuji laughs, and the little fae perks up at the sound and floats back closer to him, smiling.

“Good, it's better if this one gets more attached to you. It'll help keep away the shadows, too.”

And with that, Yuuji now has a little friend by his side.

Sukuna does end up getting him a tutor: a man with blond hair and feline ears, a smart looking suit and a pince-nez with tinted glass who introduces himself as Nanami Kento and doesn't even bother correcting him when Yuuji decides to call him Nanamin, only sighing and taking off his glasses to clean them with the handkerchief of his breast pocket.

Together they start working on the alphabet and on simple words until Yuuji can proudly write a little introduction, and they both decide to never really think about how Yuuji speaks and understands the language of this land but isn't able to read or write it.

Nanamin puts down his pen and studies Yuuji for a while, his tail slowly moving behind him. “Tell me, Itadori, when you are speaking to the Prince… How do you address him ?”

“Huh ?” Yuuji very intelligently says as he lifts his head up and away from his paper. “Uuuh, just… Prince ? Or Prince Sukuna ?”

“That's what I thought.”

“Wha– have I been, like, super impolite the whole time ? Or improper ?”

“Not exactly,” Nanamin reassures him. “Or not a lot. The correct way to address him would be Highness, or even Royal Highness.”

Slowly, Yuuji blinks as he stares at his paper. “I… see. I'll remember it.”

“Good.” is all Nanamin says, and then they go back to the usual exercises.

One day, Yuuji walks to his lessons with a little idea in his mind. “Nanamin~~!” he greets his tutor, and the man smiles at him. “Say, do you think I could write a small letter for the Prince ? Would that be acceptable ?”

Nanamin thinks about it for a few seconds and then nods. “That's a good idea. Show him your progress.”

So Yuuji spends the next few lessons trying to think of what to write, his little fae snuggling to his neck and playing with his pen when Yuuji smushes his face to the table, Nanamin clicking his tongue next to him and trying to clean the ink stains on the human's skin as good as possible with only an handkerchief and a glass of water.

“You don't have to write a lot. Even just a single line can be enough.”

Just… One line… ?

Yuuji grabs a new piece of paper, and then carefully writes.

« Thank you for everything. »

Watching the drying ink, Yuuji chews on his lips and considers crumbling that one too. His penmanship is shaky, almost looking like a child's, and his choice of words is awful…

But Nanamin stops him with a smile. “I know that it doesn't seem like much, Itadori, but this is sincere.”

“That's good enough ?”

“It is.”

Smiling, Yuuji folds the little paper in two. If Nanamin thinks so, then he'll trust him.

A few hours later, Yuuji runs into a white haired floppy-eared bunny person with a red spot in their hair. He remembers that description.

“Excuse me !” Yuuji says as he quickly walks to them. “Are you the Prince's, uhm, his Highness'... Attendant ?”

The person stops and looks at him, face completely neutral. “Indeed.”

Nervously, Yuuji hands them his little note. “Could you give him that ? If that's not too much ?”

“I can, yes.” they calmly answer, thin fingers taking hold of the folded paper.

“Thank you !”

This time, it's very early when Sukuna comes to visit him. So early in fact that the sun is only starting to rise and Yuuji still is in bed, his little fae curled on one of the pillows next to his head.

The Prince lightly knocks on his door and then pokes his head in, and Yuuji sleepily looks at him as he rubs his eyes.

“Sukuna ?” he asks with a yawn. “Ah, I mean–”

“It's alright.” Sukuna assures him as he walks in and comes to sit on the bed, and he pushes Yuuji back down when the human tries to sit. “Stay in bed, I won't keep you up for long.”

The Prince then silently puts his hand on Yuuji's cheek, thumb slowly caressing him, and Yuuji is too sleepy to really think about it aside from moving to nuzzle into it. That feels… Really nice and comforting.

“You've been working very hard.” Sukuna whispers, and somehow Yuuji knows what he is talking about.

“You got my message ?”

“I did. You're very welcome, little human.” he answers, a soft smile on his lips, and Yuuji moves until he can hold the hand cupping his face. “Now go back to sleep before my presence wakes up your little fae. I don't want my eyes to get clawed out so early.”

Yuuji smiles, and as if on cue his eyelids droop. “Mmh, good night…”

“Sleep well, little human.” whispers the Prince, and Yuuji feels a caress to his forehead before he falls asleep once more.

So. Yuuji is very, very bored.

And Sukuna is very much away, today. Nanamin had told him that the Prince was to go to a nearby town for one thing or another.

Sooo… Yuuji watches the knights train in the gardens.

And, well, it won't hurt to disobey just a bit, right ? Or at least that's what Yuuji thinks as he slowly goes down the stairs to watch them from just a bit closer than usual.

That much… That much is fine, right ?

At least none of the knights signal to him to come back up to the terrace, and some even smile at him. So Yuuji stays there to watch… And then comes closer.

And closer.

And just a bit closer again.

Until some of the younger knights come to him during their break, and Yuuji can't help but think that they'll get angry at him…

But instead they… Smile ?

Yuuji looks at them. At the young spiky haired man with dog ears and his lazy smile. At the young woman with orange hair and cute red panda ears and a proud smile. They seem… Nice.

“You're his Highness companion, aren't you ?” the woman asks, and all Yuuji can do is blink for a few seconds.

“... Companion ?”

“Don't mind her,” the young man says as he pushes away his friend. “I'm Fushiguro Megumi, she's Kugisaki Nobara, we're both training to be knights.”

Knights in training !!! That's so cool ! Yuuji kinda wishes he could say the same. Instead, all he has to say is his name. That's much less cool.

“I thought you weren't authorized to leave the castle.” the young man asks.

“Weeeeeeell…” is the only thing Yuuji manages to answer, scratching the back of his head.

“He's not even two minutes away from it, it'll be fine !” the girl says, and then she smiles at Yuuji. “Hey, have you ever held a sword ? Do you want to ?”

As if sensing his excitement over that idea, Yuuji's little fae floats out of her hiding place and chirps happy sounds as she dances between the three of them. Yuuji laughs, and the little creature flies to him to nuzzle his cheek and sit in his hair.

“Sounds like a yes,” Fushiguro says with a smile, and then Kugisaki hands Yuuji her sword.

They spend some time like that, with the two knights in training showing Yuuji how to properly hold a sword, and before he knows it he's in the middle of all the knights as they guide him to attack a training dummy, cheering for him and hyping him up.

And then he's given a training wooden sword, and the others there decide that it'd be a good idea for them to fight him.

Anyways, that's how Yuuji ends up spending a couple of hours sweating and laughing, getting scraps on his knuckles and knees and probably one or two splinters in his palms. It's the most fun he's had since he got here, and it's the most he's talked to people other than the Prince and Nanamin.

So it takes him a few seconds to realize the sudden silence around him. And how all the knights ended up lining up.

Uh-oh.

“Oh no.” Yuuji whispers as he still tightly holds the wooden sword.

“Oh no indeed, little human.”

Yuuji searches for the eyes of the knights he had just been having fun with, but all of them are looking straight ahead, even as Yuuji squeaks as he suddenly learns how kittens and puppies feel like when they're being held by the back of their necks, Sukuna basically doing the same to him with the back of his shirt, and huh, damn, that's some strong fabric, because Yuuji's feet aren't even on the ground anymore.

“Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I still haven't authorized you to go so far out.” Sukuna calmly says, and it's almost scarier than if he was angry.

“You're right—” Yuuji squeaks, and he doesn't resist when the Prince takes his wooden sword away and turns back to the castle while still holding him. “I'm sorry.”

Sukuna hums before hoisting him up on his shoulder, holding him like a bag of potatoes. That's even worse and so humiliating, oh no. “At least you know how to apologize.”

“Am I in trouble… ?”

“Room arrest for one day.”

“Awwwwh, can I at least get a book ?”

“The only book you get is the one I already gave you.”

“But I've already finished it !” Yuuji pouts, face roughly at waist level with the Prince.

Said Prince stops in the middle of the stairs, uncaring of Yuuji's panicked squeak. “You have ? Already ?”

“Yep, Nanamin helped me with the more difficult words !”

Sukuna hums and then starts walking again, still keeping Yuuji on his shoulder, and Yuuji's little fae decides to fight for his honor and goes away to bite the Prince on his nose. Sukuna only chuckles, and Yuuji feels more than he sees the fae sadly float back to him and land on his nape. They both stay like that, pouting as the Prince walks back to Yuuji's room and finally drops him on his bed.

And Yuuji is about to ask questions when Sukuna kneels in front of him.

“Wha– no !! Up ! Don't do that !” Yuuji panics, because surely you shouldn't let a Prince do something like that.

“Hush, little human. Let me see your wounds.”

… Wounds ? That's nothing more than scratches !

But Yuuji bites his lips and lets Sukuna look at his hands, watching in awe as the man heals him with just a swipe of his thumb and a faint light. It feels a bit tingly, kinda warm, and it's definitely not unpleasant, but it still feels a bit… Embarrassing for him to be like that. Couldn't he have sat on the bed with him instead ? Or gone to the chairs ?

Yuuji is blushing as Sukuna then softly touches his knees to heal them too, his touch lingering just a bit longer before he looks up at the human, and Yuuji blushes some more yet finds himself unable to look away.

“Did you have fun ?” Sukuna softly asks him, his hands caressing down Yuuji's calves.

“I did…” Yuuji whispers.

“Good. You're still punished tomorrow.”

“Okay…”

Sukuna squeezes his legs, just once, and then gets back up and silently leaves the room, and Yuuji stares at the door and hugs his pillow to his chest…

… Until Sukuna walks back in with another thin book with a tinted leather cover, and Yuuji would complain about it obviously being a children's book if he didn't recognize the flower drawn in gold on its front.

“There, for tomorrow. You can keep it after that.” the Prince says as he carefully puts the book on Yuuji's table.

“Thank you.” Yuuji says with a smile, and Sukuna studies him for a few seconds before silently nodding and then leaving.

“Say, Nanamin, do you know things about fae ?”

Nanami looks up from his book. “Everyone here does, Itadori.”

Yuuji hums as he zests a lemon. Somehow the kitchen staff authorized him to use the kitchen, but maybe it's only because his tutor is with him, huh. “Yeah, makes sense.”

“What did you want to know ?”

“Well,” Yuuji starts to say as he taps the little grater on top of the bowl and then mixes it in the batter. “Why did Sukuna, I mean, the Prince, why did he keep using "it" to talk about her ? I'm kinda scared that I used feminine pronouns just because of her appearance.”

Nanami hums, and then closes his book. “No need to worry about such a thing. Young fae find their own ways to communicate without words, and this little one probably wanted you to know that she is a little lady.” he says with a soft smile, and Yuuji's fae floats to him to sit on his shoulder with happy chirps. “See ? She's happy.”

“What about her name ? How does it work ? Should I name her or does she already have one that she'll say later ?”

After all, he can't keep just calling her his little fae.

But Nanami shakes his head while Yuuji pours the batter in the cake mold.

“She's under contract with his Highness, so he should be the one to name her.”

“Eeeh, but she hates him…” Yuuji mumbles, making his tutor chuckle. “Do you need magic to have a contract with a fae ?”

“There are some old texts saying that an individual without magic could do it too if they have a strong bond with the fae,” Nanami gently explains as he offers the little fae his index, smiling as she goes to sit on it. “I think this is his Highness' plan. He'll probably break the contract when he'll think that you both have grown close enough.”

“But why the contract then ?” Yuuji asks as he opens the oven and puts the cake mold in it.

Behind him, Nanami checks the time on his pocket watch and tells him what time it is. “He is feeding her magical energy through the link created by the contract to let her grow healthy and strong.”

So Sukuna basically is a magical mama bird for the little fae ? Oh, that's cute. It doesn't explain why she hates him so much, but maybe she simply doesn't vibe with him, huh.

“Now come here to study the names of the things you just used.”

“Okay !”

A bit over an hour later, Yuuji runs out of the kitchen with a little plate, a dessert fork and a slice of cake, and goes on a search hunt for Sukuna. Luck is on his side, somehow, and Yuuji runs into him after only a few minutes of walking.

“Highness !” Yuuji calls for him, a huge smile on his face, and Sukuna turns to him with twitching ears.

“Little human ?”

“I baked something ! Here's for you !”

Yuuji stops right in front of him, and Sukuna stays frozen in surprise. Huh. Why ?

Frowning, Yuuji grabs the little fork and cuts a small corner of the slice to then lift it up to the Prince's lips. “Here !”

… Wait a minute–

Before Yuuji can apologize for doing something so disrespectful, Sukuna chuckles and steadies the fork to eat the offered piece.

“I, uhm, I tried to make it taste a bit like how the glowing flowers smell ?” Yuuji says with a blush, his hand shaking under the Prince's.

“It does seem similar,” Sukuna smiles as he accepts the plate. “Thank you, little human.”

… And then…

And then he cups Yuuji's face in a careful hand and presses a soft little kiss to his forehead and casually walks away, as if he didn't just make Yuuji bluescreen.

Was– is he- is the Prince—

Is Sukuna… Interested in him ?!

Wait, no, hold on. Maybe it's just familial or something like that.

… Nah. You don't caress someone's legs the way Sukuna did the other day when you just see that someone as family.

Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. Yuuji's mind is replaying all their interactions now but from a different angle, and—

Fuck.

The way Sukuna has been carefully explaining everything to him right from the start. His playfulness while he fixed his lantern. The entire night with the flowers, the hand holding. Going out of his way to get him a little fae to keep him warm and to not let him be ever alone…

Oh.

Oh.

He really does, doesn't he… ?

Is… Is Yuuji against it… ? … No. It's flattering, but more than that it's making him happy, and he himself knows that something is pulling him to Sukuna, that it's a pull that he isn't fighting. It's a feeling that just… Feels good. The Prince makes him blush, keeps him safe, he might be a bit strict sometimes but always just, always doing the best for both Yuuji and the kingdom.

Yuuji's sure that if he was still in Japan there'd be a few people screaming that it was just something like Stockholm syndrome or something that feels equally dumb. That Sukuna is taking too much of his freedom away and then putting himself as the pillar of Yuuji's life. But. Yuuji knows that Sukuna is just taking time to see if anything weird happens that could be linked to him, to the curse that brought him here. Honestly, Yuuji is fine with that. It gave him time to get used to seeing people with animal ears, to question things without feeling shy about it.

… His train of thoughts derailed a bit there.

So. He's fine with the Prince being interested in him. More than fine. It's kinda mutual, honestly. Alright.

… Wait. How does one flirt with a Prince ? Awh, damn it, now there's even more questions in his mind.

A few days later and while Yuuji is still wondering just how he should flirt with Sukuna, said Prince just– almost slams into him and firmly grabs him by the shoulders.

“Stay in your room today.”

“Wha—”

Sukuna, after taking a second to catch his breath, steps ever so slightly closer. “We're getting a surprise visit, and I am not letting this bastard get close to you.”

A surprise visit ? A bastard ? What. “Who…?” is all Yuuji manages to ask because of his confusion.

The Prince sighs, and one of his hands moves up to cradle Yuuji's nape. “The imperial Prince of Hibernalis.” he says, his hand slightly squeezing, just a bit, and Yuuji tilts his head back to look at him. “He does as he pleases and is absolutely unpredictable. I don't know if he'd hurt you or anything like that, but I don't want him to even just see you.”

“Alright, I trust you,” Yuuji smiles. “I'll stay in my room today.”

There's a pleased look on Sukuna's face at that, and Yuuji shyly shuffles just a bit closer. He'd hold the Prince's shirt in his hands, too, step even closer and all of that, but it sounds like it'd cross a line he shouldn't cross with, well, a Prince.

“Good. I've already dropped a few more books in your room, I'm sure there'll be one that'll be interesting to you.”

“Thank you, your Highness.” Yuuji happily says, and Sukuna's ears move again.

“You–” is all Sukuna has time to say before a butler runs to them, panicked. The Prince pushes Yuuji away with a pat to his back, and Yuuji easily goes away and to his room.

It's not like spending a day in his room is difficult, or annoying, or even boring. Like, yeah, Yuuji prefers staying outside and under the sun, but he's fine with spending a few hours reading and playing with his fae. And Sukuna gave him an interesting book about magical items like the elemental gems, so. It's a bit hard to read, the words are a bit difficult, but from what he still understands it's enough to actually keep reading it. Especially the part that talks about the link between all that is alive and the elemental gems.

He's watching his fae play with a light gem on the table when it happens. When his door suddenly opens. And someone unknown walks in.

White hair, snow leopard ears.

Yuuji doesn't need to think about it to realize that this is the imperial Prince that Sukuna mentioned.

“Oh, I found something interesting !” says the man as he walks further in Yuuji's room. “I knew that there was a new smell clinging to Sukuna, but to think it'd be something like that… Do you think he'd notice if I… played with you for a bit ?”

Oh. Yuuji doesn't like this. Not at all.

“What a cute new little pet, where did he buy you ?” he keeps saying as he walks closer and closer, and Yuuji gets up from his chair to walk back and away from him. “Such interesting features. I've never seen ears like yours… Outside of books, that is.”

Yuuji's fae flies to stand between them, angry chirps coming out of her. The white haired man looks annoyed as he swats her away with the back of his hand, and Yuuji freezes at her pained cry, at how she trembles on the floor where she fell.

“He should learn to not give his pets such annoying toys, that Prince.” the man says with a shake of his head, a click of his tongue, and he walks even closer, his hands landing on Yuuji's shoulders.

Fuck no.

Yuuji might be bashful and might blush a lot when with Sukuna, but he fucking knows how to fight.

So he doesn't feel bad at all when he punches the guy in the stomach. Imperial Prince or not, that guy is a creep. … A creep who only chuckles from his punch and brings Yuuji close to him. What the hell.

“Feisty. Are all humans like that ?”

Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope

Yuuji reaches up. Grabs a handful of hair and yanks, hard enough that the man ends up tilting his head down. Low enough that by just going on the tip of his toes Yuuji is able to reach that guy's ears.

And he bites down on one of them before he has time to rethink this idea.

The man screams, no, yowls, tries to force Yuuji off of him, but Yuuji clamps his arms and his legs around the man to bite even more, to bite until the metallic taste of blood fills his mouth, even as he feels claws tear clothes and skin alike on his back, blood seeping into his tattered shirt and dripping down his back.

But. The air changes. Something tilts. And suddenly Yuuji's back and head hits the wall on the other side of the room, and the man stands with light still clinging to his hands and eyes. Yuuji can't even cry in pain, the air completely punched out of him by the shock, but it doesn't stop him from trying to get back up even if his vision is all blurry and his ears keep ringing. He has to. He can't stay on the ground.

Yuuji takes one shaky step, spits the blood still in his mouth and drops to a low fighting stance, knees bent and arms up to guard his chin. He can protect himself. He can protect the crying little fae.

The man shakes his head once more and then lifts his hand between them. Purple light starts to glow in the center of his palm, and Yuuji knows that he is totally and utterly fucked.

Welp. At least this time he'll die standing.

The light grows. Yuuji closes his eyes. Even like that he can see purple…

“Yuuji !”

Eh ?

Why's the purple gone ? Slowly, Yuuji opens his eyes. In front of him. shielding him there's… Sukuna ?

Someone else walks in, a man with long black hair and big pointy ears. Maybe a fox ? “Satoru.” he says as he grabs the imperial Prince by the collar of his shirt, yanking him away.

“What ?!” the man apparently called Satoru says.

“Get out of here,” growls Sukuna. “Imperial Prince or not, I'm kicking you out of my kingdom.”

“It's not yours yet !” the snow leopard smiles, all teeth.

“Satoru, we are leaving. I'm sorry, Highness. And to you too, young man. We'll send you compensation for what happened today.”

“He hurt her !” Yuuji cries as he walks forward. He wants to hit him again for what he did, that bastard deserves it, and much more. But Sukuna grabs him by the waist and brings him close to his chest. “He hurt my little fae ! She's just a baby, Sukuna…”

Sukuna cradles him close, cages him in his arms, and Yuuji doesn't need to see it to know that there's a glare on his face. “You'll regret all that you've done today.”

“Careful !” Satoru says in a sing-songy voice. “Just a bit more and I'll take it as a declaration of war.”

“Your people would be easy to crush. One person for each drop of blood out of this boy's back.” Sukuna squeezes him even closer, closer and closer, and only stops at Yuuji's pained yelp. “I'm sorry, little human,” he whispers just loud enough for Yuuji. “I'll take care of you, and of your fae too.”

“You're awfully fond of him.” the imperial Prince muses.

“Get out of here before I let go and make you bleed more than he did.”

Sukuna's hand, probably covered in blood, moves up to cradle the back of Yuuji's head, effectively making him absolutely unable to move his head to look anywhere, and he can only listen as the imperial Prince protests and gets apparently pulled away by the back of his shirt. Sukuna keeps him close to him, even long seconds after the door to his room closes again.

“Hm, Highn–”

“Don't. Don't call me that.”

“But–”

“Please.”

“... Sukuna…” Yuuji whispers, his own arms circling the man's waist, giving himself a few seconds to feel a bit warmer.

“I'm sorry, he sneaked away when I had my back turned,” Sukuna answers, whispering it too as he brings Yuuji even closer, somehow. “I felt that something was wrong from your fae. She alerted me.”

Right ! His fae ! He can check up on her now ! Yuuji pushes Sukuna away with a gasp, the Prince moving in surprise and then understanding, and he watches as Yuuji limps to the tiny little fae and carefully cups her small body in his hands.

Even now, trembling and obviously in pain… Even now she reaches for Yuuji with her minuscule hands, small half pained, half happy chirps coming from her, and Yuuji doesn't even think of stopping his tears as he lifts his hands up to ever so softly kiss her, the flames of her hair tingling his lips.

Just that is enough to make her cry out in pain, and Yuuji flinches. “Sukuna !” he cries as he turns to face the Prince. “Please help, she's hurt and I– I don't—”

“But you–”

“I can wait ! Please,” he feels the tears sliding down his cheeks, the weaker than usual warmth of the little creature in his hands, sees the pained look on Sukuna's face. “Please, I don't want to lose her,”

The Prince nods, walking to them. “That's–, wait.” Sukuna looks around, and then walks to the table where the light gem from earlier still is. He gives the gem to the fae when he comes back, softly speaking for both Yuuji and her. “There, hold this, little one. Now don't move.”

He then puts his hands over Yuuji's, covering the little fae, and it feels like the world is back on its normal axis when they start to glow, stronger and stronger, and Yuuji realizes then that the light gem is probably there to help the healing. Or maybe it's just a needed element to heal creatures like her. He doesn't really know, but he still understands that it is beneficial right now.

It takes a few minutes before Sukuna talks again and moves his hands, lowering them to cup Yuuji's as they both watch her stop shivering and instantly fall asleep. “She'll be fine now. She's going to need a lot of sleep and energy, and she'd heal better if she was with othe fire fae, but she'll recover.” he says, his thumbs slowly and reassuringly caressing Yuuji's hands.

“Thank you,” Yuuji says with a smile between sniffles. “Thank you so much.”

“Can I heal you now ?”

Ah, he looks so worried. Yuuji can see his own blood under the Prince's nails, on the sleeves of his shirt… So he nods and let's Sukuna take the fae away, even if he follows and refuses to be let away from her.

“Don't worry, I'm just putting her on your pillow.” Sukuna reassures him and he does put her on the pillow, as gently and carefully as possible. Once that is done he walks back to Yuuji and then wordlessly takes off his shirt, letting the torn and bloodied fabric fall to the ground, and soon enough his hands are on Yuuji's skin, making him turn his head to one side and then the other to assess his injuries.

And Yuuji can't help but think of how different it feels to have Sukuna's hands on his shoulders compared to earlier, how it just makes him want to step even closer to him.

“Your chest is bruised and slightly burned, but it's not as horrible as it could have been.” he says as his hands start to glow, and the feeling of too tight skin gets replaced with the pleasant tingles of Sukuna's healing magic. “If it ever happens again, don't fight back and run.”

“I'm not weak, I can–”

“Physically ? You aren't, I'll give you that. But against a foe that uses magic… You're about as strong as an insect.”

“There are insects that can kill a grown man.” Yuuji pouts as Sukuna's hands caress down to heal the burns on his abs too.

Sukuna snorts. “Ideally that'd be your power level, yes. Maybe on an anti-magic field and after proper training. Now turn.” he says, even if he doesn't give Yuuji the choice as he grabs him by the shoulders to turn him, his big hands freezing as he finally sees just how Yuuji's back looks, and Yuuji hears him growl behind him, feels him move until he presses on his back, and Yuuji can't help but wince and yelp, the Prince swearing under his breath behind him.

Immediately after that, Yuuji feels warmth spread over his back, feels the tingles of the magic and the carefulness behind Sukuna's hands, and he breathes a sigh of relief as the pain ebbs away, as Sukuna's hands go lower and lower and then back up and in his hair, gently applying pressure and healing magic alike from his fingertips until Yuuji realizes that the ringing in his ears is now finally gone.

Sukuna's hands sneak around him, his arms circling his waist and bringing him back against him, his chest warm against Yuuji's bare back.

“Wait, Sukuna, I still have blood all over my back–”

“That's fine.”

“No it's not !”

“Let me hold you, Yuuji.”

Oh.

Yuuji stills, his hands going to cling to Sukuna's arms. “You know, I was starting to think that you didn't remember my name.” he softly says, smiling as Sukuna holds him even closer.

“Stay in my room tonight.”

Wait, what.

Biting his lips, Yuuji considers it. He doesn't really want to stay alone, and his room does have traces of what happened, drops of blood on the ground, red splatters on the wall…

“Okay,” Yuuji murmurs. “You'll stay with me, right ?”

“I will.”

Sukuna squeezes him closer once more and then moves away, stepping back. “Go grab your fae, we'll put her with mine.” he says, patting Yuuji on the ass to push him to the bed, and Yuuji obeys and cups her in his hands, going back to Sukuna the moment he's sure that he's safely holding her. “Let's go.” he says as he puts a hand on the small of Yuuji's back and guides him out of the room.

Sukuna walks down the corridor with him until they reach a bigger door that the others, and suddenly Yuuji stupidly feels bad about stepping in the Prince's room while shirtless and bloody. Never before has stone walls looked so intimidating. But Sukuna doesn't care and opens the door for them, softly pushing Yuuji in and then closing the door behind them.

As expected of a Prince's room, it's much bigger than Yuuji's. There's a huge canopy bed on one side of the room and a seating area on the other with the most comfy looking sofa Yuuji has ever seen in front of a pretty coffee table, gorgeous plush rugs under both the bed and the sofa area.

A weird sound makes Yuuji jump in surprise and turn to look behind him, where he finds…

“What the fuck. A dragon ?” Yuuji gasps, eyes open wide. And then he notices something else. “A phoenix ?! What ?!”

“Don't act so surprised, it's just a miniature dragon.” Sukuna chuckles as if it changes anything. “They're not as strong or rare as actual dragons. They're actually more closely related to salamanders than to their big cousins.”

“Salamanders ? Like newts ?”

“Like the fire amphibian ?” Sukuna answers, apparently very confused by Yuuji's questions for once. “... Is this one more thing that you don't really have in your world ?”

“They're part of mythologies there. Like those two.” Yuuji says as he points to the tiny dragon and the phoenix. “Won't the room feel too hot with those three here ?”

“Mmh, no, dragons like this one aren't really that warm, and phoenixes that age can regulate their temperature. Bring your fae to them, keep her in your hands while they look at her and smell her.”

“Like with puppies,” Yuuji laughs as he walks to the two bigger creatures, laughing even more at the tickly feeling of the tiny dragon's breath on his hands, and the dragon slowly blinks and goes back to lie down.

Yuuji walks to the phoenix, and he watches in amazement as the fire bird chirps and nudges Yuuji's fae with its head, nuzzling against her.

“Good, they like her, it'll be much easier for everything. Put her with them.”

Yuuji obeys, putting his fae right next to the dragon, smiling as it immediately moves to let her be more comfortable, its tail curling around her to keep her safe and warm, and Yuuji feels some of the tension in his shoulders go away at that view.

“Are dragons protective ?” Yuuji whispers, petting his fae's fiery hair with the pad of his index.

“Very. And possessive, too. The both of them are, really, and no one else but us both will be able to take her away.” Sukuna gently answers, stepping closer until they're standing like before, with Yuuji's back against his chest. Warm and strong and steadying. “She's safe now. And you too.”

“I'm fine, you know ? I'm not traumatized or anything like that…”

“You could have died.”

“But I didn't !”

Apparently deciding that he doesn't want to hear more, Sukuna puts his hand over Yuuji's mouth. “Had I arrived even just a minute later… I wouldn't have even a single of your hair left to hold. All that because he is a petulant child who throws tantrums when not given the toys he wants.”

Yuuji can't help it, and he immediately hates himself for it, but he feels himself flinching at the word "toy". He knows that it doesn't really mean him, but… It still feels dehumanizing. And of course Sukuna feels it, what with how they're basically stuck together now…

“Yuuji ?” he whispers, his hand lowering until he's holding the human by the shoulders, tugging him into a hug.

“Am, am I just… Your toy ?”

“What–”

“He, that guy, he called me your pet, so…”

“He what.” Sukuna growls, and Yuuji freezes at the pure cold fury in his voice. “How dare he.”

“Well, I mean, it makes sense…” Yuuji can't help but mumble. “You're… A magical bunny crown Prince. And I'm just a normal human. I don't think I even just qualify to be your friend.”

“You're more than qualified to stand by my side.” Sukuna answers with his nose buried in Yuuji's hair.

“But I–”

“Are you really going to argue over this with your future King ?” he says in a way that makes Yuuji know that nothing he could say would change it. … All the while simultaneously tucking him under his chin and hugging him even closer. Man, the contrast between the softness of that act and the strength of those words… They're making Yuuji feel something, alright.

“... Alright, I won't.” Yuuji agrees, because it's far easier that way. “By the way I still feel bad for my blood on your shirt.”

Sukuna snorts and squeezes him some more, because apparently that's his go to nonverbal answer of the day. “Do you still have any pain ?”

“Nope, just soreness.”

“Mmh, then a bath will help. Will you be fine by yourself ?”

Yuuji… Takes a second there. A second where that line replays in his head one more time before he finally reacts, sputtering and blushing. “What– of course I will ! I've showered while feeling worse than that !”

But his reaction only seems to amuse Sukuna, and even without seeing him Yuuji knows that the Prince is smiling. “Good, I have some things to take care of, so I'll do so now. You can use my bathroom. Take as much time and use anything that you want to, little human.”

“I'm gonna use all your hot water.”

“Good luck, the gems were changed yesterday.”

“Waiiiit, is that how they work ?!”

“It is. Now be good and go bathe.”

And so that's how Yuuji ends up being pushed into the Prince's bathroom, Sukuna closing the doors before he can react. Not like he would've, anyways, what with how distracted the room immediately got him, because really : what. Why's this room so fancy ?! … The answer, of course, is that it is the crown Prince's personal bathroom in the royal family's castle, yes, sure, but still !

It really says something about a room when mirror the length of the wall is the most normal thing, really. And Yuuji is only slightly exaggerating, because the mirror is probably only missing fifty centimeters to be the same length. Maybe the two wash basins under it would also be normal if they weren't made of some glittering material.

But really, the most incredible thing about that room is the bathtub in its middle.

Big enough for multiple people to use at once and deep enough that Yuuji knows he could easily have water up to his shoulders in it. That's already really cool. But it's also surrounded by stairs to get in it. From all four sides. The last step large enough to put all your toiletries and towels on. Yuuji feels like he just stepped in one of those super fancy and expensive hotel room's bathroom.

Alright. It looks super cool and fancy and all of that, but Yuuji can't help but think that this is a slipping hazard. He's definitely gonna slip and break his ass because of those stairs.

… Wait, is there anything like a bubble bath thingy in here ? He's never taken one before, so might as well, right ? Right now this sounds more interesting than anything else, and Sukuna had said that he could use anything he wanted. So Yuuji goes on a little hunt, opening all the drawers and doors that he finds, grabbing some towels while he's at it (and how do they even have fluffy towels in such a world ?) until he does find something like that.

Rows upon rows of colorful products inside jars made of glass or maybe crystal, flowers that somehow still look fresh, little bottles of carefully labeled essential oils, there's everything he could have wanted and then more. It looks like a shop inside a closet, colorful and fragrant and beautiful, and Yuuji hesitantly reaches for a pretty jar filled with pastel blue powder and looks at its sign. Bubbles, not more than two spoons, it reads, and Yuuji is only momentarily surprised to find it in a powdered form.

So Yuuji walks to the bathtub with the jar in his hands, carefully goes up the stairs and turns on the water, and waits for it to start filling the tub. That takes much less time than he thought it would, but well, magic, and he quickly sprinkles a spoonful of powder in the water, and then another, letting the water do its magic as he goes back to put the jar where it was before. There he eyes the flowers and decides that hey, why not, and grabs a handful to add to his bath. Damn, this looks like something he'd see on pinterest. … Now he feels bad about getting in it still bloody. Aw. … That's when you turn to the sink with a washcloth. Time to do his best contortionist impersonation.

But there's one little problem that Yuuji realizes when he's ass deep in the water a few minutes later. And it's that he doesn't have a change of clothes with him. Oh, well, that'll be a problem for future Yuuji and not him right now. So he slips in until the bubbles touch his chin and closes his eyes, savoring the warmth of the water and how it soothes the pain in his muscles. Damn that's a good bathtub. And bath.

Mmh, now that he thinks about it, it's kinda funny to imagine Sukuna taking a bubble bath.

…

… …

Sukuna. In a bathtub. Oooohhhh…

Wait, no, bad Yuuji ! Don't thirst for the Prince ! Not like that and especially not in his bathroom !

Yuuji firmly closes his eyes and slips even lower in the water, letting it cover his eyes. “Blblblblbl !” is all he says while underwater, and it means something like “Don't get horny now, you idiot !” or whatever, and he immediately regrets doing that when his eyes start stinging the second he gets back to how he was sitting before, blindly reaching for a towel to wipe the bubbles away from his face.

“Here.” someone says as they hand Yuuji a towel.

“Thanks.” Yuuji answers as he grabs it and dries his face.

…

Wait a minute.

Yuuji lowers the towel.

And finds a smirking Sukuna sitting on the steps next to him.

… Honestly he doesn't even have it in him to be surprised. So all he does is stare for a few seconds and then go back to drying his face some more, trying to get the bubbles clinging to his lashes.

“You already finished what you wanted to do ?”

“I did, yes.” Sukuna says as he reaches to pluck a little flower out of Yuuji's hair. “That's a nice looking bath, maybe I should join you.”

“What–”

“There's certainly enough space for us both.”

“Wait what–”

“You would not refuse a Prince access to his own bathtub, would you ?” Sukuna smirks.

“Hm, I, well–” Yuuji stutters, red high on his cheeks. “It's just…”

“It doesn't have to be sexual if that's what is worrying you, little human.”

… Doesn't have to be. That means he wouldn't be against it if it was, no ? Yuuji… Also probably wouldn't be against it. But… It's a bit fast for him. He only just realized that Sukuna is interested in him like, what, four days ago ? He needs just a bit more time. And maybe to not think that it'd just be because Sukuna thought that he'd die, or something like that.

Sukuna starts taking off his shirt, and Yuuji yelps and covers his eyes with his hands, making the Prince chuckle. There's the sound of the shirt hitting the floor, then his pants too, and soon enough it's followed by Sukuna stepping in the tub, sitting on the opposite side and far enough that they aren't even touching. This bathtub is way too big.

“Is this… Normal ?” Yuuji asks still against his hands. Alright, he has gone to public baths before, but this feels very different.

“Not really. You can look now.” Sukuna casually says, his arms resting on the bathtub's edge, head tilted back a bit, half-lidded eyes on Yuuji.

Oh. Hm. Welp. Before Yuuji can even just think of stopping himself he lightly bites his lips and loudly swallows, and then turns his head to look away from the pleased smirk on the Prince's face.

“His Highness should probably follow the protocol more, no ?” he shyly says, and he can't even tell if the warmth he feels is from the bath or from his blush.

“Who cares about the protocol. And I told you already to stop calling me like that.” Sukuna answers with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice, one of his hands going underwater to land on Yuuji's ankle.

“You said you'd cut my tongue if I called you by your name.”

“Things have changed since then.”

“What things ?”

“Things.”

Uuuughhh there's no use arguing with this man ! “Just gimme an explanation–” Yuuji groans as he kicks some water to the Prince's side of the tub.

But all Sukuna does in answer is lightly squeeze his ankle. “I want you to address me by my name.”

“... I won't get hurt if I do ?”

“No.”

“Never ?”

“Never.”

… Well. Alright. Yeah, he can probably do it, then, but…

“Even if I do it in front of someone important ?”

“You won't get physical or emotional harm over something as small as that.” Sukuna sighs.

“... Okay then.”

“Good.”

Silence stretches between them, and Yuuji sinks just a bit lower in the water, hiding behind the bubbles and flowers. Sukuna studies him for a while and then closes his eyes, tilts his head back a bit and squeezes Yuuji's ankle once more, and Yuuji uses that opportunity to look at what he usually can't see, like the tattoos on the Prince's shoulders and torso.

“They mimic our war paints from long ago.” Sukuna explains without even having to open his eyes. “It's tradition for the kingdom's ruler or ruler to be to get them on their twentieth birthday.”

“Do you all have the same ones ?”

“We don't, they all have different meanings, but the bands are always there.” Sukuna lifts a foot up, and Yuuji realizes that his ankles are also tattooed with twin rings. “These represent many things, like how we'll become immortal through history and how the kingdom will never fall.”

Yuuji kinda wants to trace the ink with his fingers. “Is the number of them important ?”

“It's not. My grandmother, the previous Queen, had them around her fingers. Her father only had one on both wrists.” Sukuna says, and then smirks. “There is a rumor about an old King many generations ago who only had one. I'll let you figure out where.”

“What–” is all Yuuji manages to say in the middle of his surprised laugh. “No way !”

“We don't have proof,” he shrugs. “But we also have records that no one ever saw any bands on him.”

“This world is crazy.” Yuuji laughs. “A bunny King with war tattoos on his dick. Incredible.”

Sukuna snorts and caresses up Yuuji's leg, petting up to his knee and then back down. “What tells you that I don't have one too ?”

“Please don't talk about your dick.” Yuuji groans. He doesn't need to think about that right now.

“We're in the same bath, just by being in the same water you're indirectly touch–”

“Nooooooope I don't wanna hear it !” Yuuji puts his hands over his ears, and Sukuna yanks a bit on his ankle. “Oh my god please don't–”

Sukuna chuckles, and Yuuji has to swat away the bubbles to not eat and breathe them, and he throws one of the flowers at the Prince, watching it land on his hair right next to one of his ears. … Cute.

“Your limits are quite weird, little human.”

“You already crossed the first one when you got in the tub with me.”

“Ah, is that so ?”

Yuuji hums and twists his torso to the side to cross his arms on the tub's edge. This whole situation is a bit weird and embarrassing, but still pretty nice, somehow, and the bath is still more than warm, so it kinda feels comforting. And, well, he definitely doesn't hate the Prince's hand still on his ankle. So he contentedly sighs and drops his head to rest against his crossed arms, closing his eyes, a small smile on his lips.

“Don't fall asleep now, little human.” Sukuna says after a while, seemingly amused. “We don't want you to drown in your bath, do we ?”

“Mmmh, I won't…” it just feels… Really, really nice…

“Right.” snorts the Prince. “Ah, hold on, don't move.”

There's movement behind him, the sound of water loud in the otherwise silent bathroom, and Yuuji blushes as he realizes that Sukuna is moving closer to him and hides his face in his arms as the Prince's hand lands on his back.

“There's still some blood dripping, I somehow missed one…” he whispers as his magic flows out of his hands and knits back together Yuuji's skin, and Yuuji holds his breath as he then hears him move just a bit closer, as he feels both of his hands caressing his back and sides. “Such a pretty body, it'd be a pity to have it scarred.”

His hands dip in front, touching abdominal muscles and ever so slowly lower, and Yuuji's voice is a bit shaky when he speaks. “... Sukuna ?”

“Yes ?”

“Can I safely say no to a Prince… ?”

Sukuna stills right as one of his thumb catches a bit on his belly button. “... Yes, you can.” he says before lightly moving back, and Yuuji finds himself breathing in a bit easier.

“I'm sorry…” he stills whispers, because he still feels a bit bad about it.

“Don't. I am not interested in you fearing or hating me, Yuuji.”

The Prince then dips in to kiss Yuuji right between the shoulder blades, light and soft, and Yuuji smiles against his arms and blushes some more.

“Well then,” Sukuna says, and then gets up and out of the bathtub.

“You didn't even wash up.” Yuuji mumbles, peeking just a bit this time and getting an eyeful of tattoos and ass cheeks, woah, until Sukuna ties a towel around his hips and Yuuji looks up and finds the man looking at him, amused and smirking. “I–”

“Mmh, you're less innocent than you're trying to pretend,” Sukuna says with a smirk as he walk to stand in front of Yuuji, one hand resting on a step and the other hooking under the human's chin to lift his head up and away from his arms a bit. “Aren't you, little human ?”

“I'm– !”

“Oh, well, looking a bit is a fair payment for all I just did.” he says, bending just a bit more, and Yuuji's eyes are immediately drawn to his pectorals, making the Prince laugh. “I won't have to wait long, huh.”

Yuuji bites his lips, not answering, and Sukuna shakes his head and laughs a bit more before stepping back away to dry himself and get back to his bedroom.

… What the hell just happened.

… Well at least now he's a hundred percent sure that Sukuna is indeed interested in him. Probably only for his body but oh, well, if that's the price to pay to live a safe life and to get food in a world he doesn't know… Eh, that doesn't sound horrible. He doesn't really want to think about what that'd make him if he gave, hm, sexual favors in exchange of protection… A concubine or something like that, maybe ? That's definitely the less horrible word he can think of…

Pouting, Yuuji starts to pluck the flowers out of the water and puts them in a little pile on the steps, struggling with the lone petals stuck to the tub so much that he doesn't even notice the Prince walking back in the room.

“What are you doing. Leave it, the maids will take care of it.”

“No way ! I made that mess so I'm the one taking care of it !” God damn it, grandpa didn't raise him like that ! If anything that just makes him more determined to get them all out before tugging on the plug, and it's with a renewed vigor that he goes fishing for the flowers.

But Sukuna just sighs from the doorstep and gets back to the bathtub, his steps weirdly loud, and his hands sneak under Yuuji's arms to yank him out of his bath before the human can even just realize what happened, pulling him to his still unclothed torso. Yuuji belatedly screams, just a few seconds late, making the Prince laugh and press him even closer, and Yuuji is feeling someone else's skin on places he never did before, holy shit—

“Please put me down…” Yuuji whispers with a voice so little that he himself has trouble hearing it.

“Ah, but why should I ?”

“... Please.”

Sukuna pauses. Yuuji can almost hear it click together in his mind. “Ah, I did it again, didn't I.” he says in a way that just sounds so tired, slowly letting Yuuji back down. “I completely disregarded your limits, and not even five minutes after the last time.”

“Well… You're probably not used to being told no—”

“That's no excuse. What kind of King will I be if I can't even respect such a simple thing.” Sukuna sighs as he steps back and leans against the sinks, throwing a towel at Yuuji and then crossing his arms. “I can't be the kind of King who goes to war for petty reasons. We've been at peace for so long, too.”

Wait.

Hold on.

Yuuji stops drying himself for a few seconds. Earlier, Sukuna had implied that he'd… Be fine with going to war, no ?

“Having you by my side might actually teach me to be more reasonable. Good.” the bunny man declares, and Yuuji can't help but immediately doubt it. “Don't look at me like that, I can still go back on my words and be horrible to you.”

Sukuna slowly walks back to him again, an air of power clinging to him even here with a still full bubble bath a few meters away, and Yuuji swallows and stops himself from stepping back.

“After all, no one would bat an eye if a Prince took in a little concubine chained in an ivory tower.” he says as he grips Yuuji's chin to make sure that he's looking at him. “But I'd really rather have you by my side willingly and because you want to stay with me.”

“When… When you say by your side…”

Sukuna only smiles, a flash of white teeth, a predator hiding behind prey ears.

And then he sighs, predator gone and replaced with the same tired looking Prince from earlier. “But, well, if it really repulsed you I guess I'd take you as my squire for now. As long as I can have my eyes on you…”

Oh. That's… oh.

“... Can your eyes stop being on me while I'm still naked for like, two minutes ?” Yuuji asks, because it was getting a bit too serious and he'd like to dry his ass without being stared at.

Surprisingly enough, it only amuses the Prince who laughs and straight up facepalms as he leaves the room once more, letting Yuuji dry himself completely this time. And Yuuji does so as fast as possible (even if it still takes quite a few minutes to be comfortably dry. The bathroom is pleasantly warm, even with the door opening and closing a few times, and Yuuji is pretty sure that the bedroom on the other side of the door won't be as warm), tying a towel around his hips before leaving the bathroom on a quest to find some clothes.

He's eyeing the door and thinking of going back to his own room when Sukuna passes a shirt over his head, making him stop mid-step and look down, his arms still against his side and not in the sleeves. The thing is so big on him that it almost reaches his knees, what the hell.

“Your shirt ?” Yuuji dumbly asks, slipping his arms in the sleeves.

“No, my father's. Of course it's mine, do I need to heal your head once again ?”

Yuuji pouts, Sukuna smirks and someone knocks on the door and then opens it, and in comes a squirrel maid with a serving cart, bowing and then pushing it in to yet another table that Yuuji somehow didn't notice earlier. Various plates, bowls and cups are put on the table alongside pretty crystal jugs of wine and water and silverware, and Yuuji stares for a few moments before Sukuna gently pushes him to the table with a warm hand to the small of his back as he nods to the maid who turns to the bathroom to take care of the bath. Yuuji still feels a bit guilty about that.

The Prince pulls a chair for Yuuji, pushing it a bit the moment the blushing human is correctly sitting, and then he goes to the opposite chair to sit too, elegantly grabbing his napkin and draping it on his knees.

Wait. H-having a one-on-one diner ?! Yuuji has been here for a few months now and can count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times Sukuna joined him to eat, and half of those were just having tea together and with Nanamin as the tutor went over Yuuji's progress and such ! One of the other times only lasted ten minutes before Sukuna had to leave to attend to something urgent, and the last one was just when Yuuji was snacking on some fresh berries and Sukuna stole some of them as they chatted a bit about his fae. But… Having what would be a full meal… And on a much smaller table than any other time… Oh, Yuuji can't help but feel shy.

Wait, hold on, there's probably some sort of etiquette and protocol that goes with this kind of situation that Yuuji doesn't know. And wait, did movies lie ?! Aren't there usually maids or butlers or whatever there to serve the royalty their wines and drinks ?! Should, should he do it ?

At that exact moment, Sukuna reaches for the wine. By absolute pure (bad) reflexes, Yuuji slaps his hand away. And freezes.

Sukuna stares, and then laughs. And Yuuji blushes bright red as he grabs the jug with shaking hands and serves the Prince in the cup Sukuna simply pushed to him with his index. His hands shake so much that some spills away, drops clinging and slowly sliding down the glass, and it only seems to amuse the Prince more. Oh, suddenly Yuuji wishes he knew magic to make himself disappear. Or that some random god out there would take pity on him and obliterate him on the spot.

“Well, I can't say I've ever been served like that before, but thank you.” Sukuna chuckles. “Join me ? Just enough to dip your lips would be fine.”

Yuuji considers it. He's never had alcohol before, but… A single sip shouldn't be so bad, right ? So he slowly nods, but before he can fill his glass Sukuna steals the jug from his hands and serves him just a little wine, not even half what he has in his own glass, a small smile on his face.

“There. You don't even have to drink it all if you don't like it.” the Prince calmly says as he sets the jug back on the table. “Now eat.”

He… Seems back to his usual self ? “Your mood swings are creepy…” Yuuji mumbles without really thinking about it.

“They are, aren't they ?” Sukuna easily agrees even as Yuuji covers his mouth to stop himself from saying something dumb again. “I'm really trying to not scare you, Yuuji, but it's a little hard when you almost died by my own fault.”

“Not your fault…” Yuuji whispers as he cuts a piece of meat and brings it to his mouth. The taste is rich, a bit different from anything that he knew back on Earth but not unpleasant.

“This wouldn't have happened if I had been more careful, or if I at least left you with some knights.”

“Still. You're not the one who attacked me, so it's not your fault.”

“Agree to disagree.” Sukuna shrugs before taking a sip of his wine.

Poking around what seems to be a piece of honey roasted carrot, Yuuji hesitates a bit. “You, uhm, earlier…”

“Ask. Don't worry about anything else.”

“Earlier, you were serious ?” he asks, and then stuffs his mouth with some food to not have to speak for a while. Oh damn, this carrot is perfectly cooked. Wait, no, not the subject here !

“I was. I've never lied to you.” the Prince calmly answers as he carefully folds his salad before eating it. God damn it that's a thing in this world too—

“But why say it now… ?”

Sukuna stops with his fork halfway to his mouth, looking at him. “Because I realized I could have lost you before saying anything.” he says as if it was the most normal thing and pauses as Yuuji takes a very small sip of his own wine and huh, it's better than he feared. “That's what is bothering you, isn't it.”

“Yeah,” Yuuji agrees. “The whole bath thing ? It, huh, felt like you realized I could've died before you got to, uuuh, fuck me ? I guess ?”

… Wait a minute he probably shouldn't have said that—

It sounds like Sukuna's fork clatters to the table even if he calmly puts it down on it. “That isn't– damn it, I can see it.” he groans, one hand now actually rubbing at his eyes. “That wasn't the goal, little human, but it might have accidentally passed in my mind.”

“Yeah. Bad timing, though.”

“Extremely bad.” Sukuna says, and then gets up from his chair and kneels by Yuuji's, turning it a bit so that Yuuji would face him more, and it still leaves him feeling panicked to see him like that. “Let's pretend that this all never happened, Yuuji.” he says as his hands gently cup his knees, warm and somehow not weird even on his naked skin.

“It was just… The shock catching up to you…” Yuuji whispers, his hands going to cradle the Prince's face. Oh, how he wishes that what he's saying is true. “You won't hurt me, or force me, right ?”

“I really don't want to.” Sukuna answers, whispering it too, and it's not exactly the answer to the question Yuuji asked, but. He seems sincere. “Let me do this properly, please.”

“Yeah, alright.” Yuuji agrees, voice small. “... Where does sharing a bedroom fall in the whole doing it properly thing ?”

Sukuna huffs a little laugh, his thumbs pressing in Yuuji's knees a bit. “It's definitely not normal. But will you allow me to stay with you ?”

It… Probably should be the other way around, no ? But Yuuji nods, slowly but not really unsure, because even if Sukuna pushed and played a bit with his limits he still stopped when Yuuji asked him to. He's not sure if he's just dumb, or really naive, but Yuuji wants to believe and trust him.

Yuuji lets his hand caress down until he's holding the Prince's shoulders instead of his face, his thumbs playing just a bit with the shirt's neckline. “Sukuna ? If my fae still hasn't healed when I'll go back to my room… Can I let her stay with yours during the day ?”

“You can,” Sukuna smiles, suddenly looking so gentle that Yuuji kinda wants to tear up a bit. “I'm rarely in my room during the day, but you can come here anytime. Even when she'll be healed.”

“Even if it has nothing to do with her ?”

“Even if all you wanted was to see the view out of my windows, little human.” the Prince says, his voice feeling like a caress, and Yuuji finds himself closing his eyes and nuzzling against the hand that comes to cup his face. “Even if you decided that you just wanted to hide away from your tutor. He'll never get in here. Rare are the people who walk in my room, and rarer are the ones who do so without valid reasons.”

… And Yuuji was just granted access to that last category.

“... Do you think you could also tell the kitchen staff to let me cook a bit ?”

Wait, he just ruined the whole thing, hasn't he ? … But then again baking last time really was fun.

“Only if you let me taste it.”

“Deal.”

“Then I'll talk to them about it.”

Sukuna pets his cheek and caresses just a bit higher on his leg, not even two centimeter higher but still enough for Yuuji to feel it, to feel the hem of his shirt touching the man's fingertips, his nails scratching his skin just a bit. It feels teasing, feels like a slight nudge to Yuuji's limits without overstepping them. That's nice. Yuuji likes when it's that much. It makes him feel like Sukuna is using healing magic on him even if he's not, tingly and warm, suspended time between them as Yuuji opens his eyes and their gaze meet and lock.

Sukuna blinks and looks away from him, and Yuuji jumps as he hears the bedroom door closing. Right, the maid, he forgot about her.

Welp, now the mood is ruined, and Sukuna gets up and back to his chair. Yuuji turns his own back to how it should be, and they both go back to their (now quite cold) meal.

They eat in silence, but it doesn't feel weird or bad or anything, and there's an air of amusement that clings to the Prince every time their eyes lock. It makes Yuuji blush and tremble a bit, makes him finish his wine and consider getting more, but that sounds like a bad idea. And Sukuna moves the jug out of his reach anyway, a knowing look on his face, and instead the Prince gives him a glass of water.

Eventually, the plates are emptied, likewise with the small bowls filled with fresh fruit slices and berries, and Yuuji uses a moment Sukuna spends with his back to him to stack them in a way that'll make it easier and faster to get them out of the room.

The Prince turns back to him right as Yuuji finishes putting all the silverware together and stares for a few seconds. “Is that why the maids like you so much ?”

Yuuji just stares back. “They do ?” he asks, because he seriously had no idea that they did.

Sukuna hums in answer at first. “The head maid who's known me since I was a newborn says you're a pleasure to help and take care of, even if you're a bit stubborn.”

“I don't need help clothing myself,” Yuuji pouts, and then sputters when Sukuna only stares at his shirt. “I didn't need your help, I could've put it over my head myself !”

This just makes the Prince laugh and suddenly Yuuji is getting tugged to bed, Sukuna only momentarily pausing in front of the three faes to allow Yuuji to gently pat his own on her little head. It's only been a few hours and she already looks much better, and it's with a lighter heart that Yuuji lets Sukuna take him to bed.

… Until he realizes that they haven't brushed their teeth yet and Yuuji becomes the one tugging them to the bathroom. The necessary things are already prepared on the counter, and Yuuji hops to sit on it and lets Sukuna rest one of his hands on his knee as they both silently brush their teeth.

Yuuji has absolutely no idea what time it is when he wakes up, but he's still in Sukuna's bed with one hand under his pillow and turned in the Prince's direction when he does. There's the pleasant light of the lantern shining a few meters away from the bed, the phoenix is also adding its own warm glow to the room too, and with all that light it's not hard for Yuuji to sleepily study the Prince.

The first thing Yuuji notices is that Sukuna is currently sleeping on his stomach. The second is that he kicked his covers off of himself at one point (and that explains just how toasty Yuuji feels on his side of the bed). The third is the little opening at the back of the bunny man's pants for his tail.

Oh no. It looks so cute and fluffy and absolutely adorable, and Yuuji has to bite his knuckles to stop himself from squealing. Cute cute cute cute– wait. Sukuna… He's sleeping… Now the perfect time to just… Gently poke his tail just to know how it feels. Right ? Right. Just a bit… Just a little poke, nothing more…

Yuuji reaches between them and so, so lightly touches the little ball of fluff with the tip of his index. Oh, holy fuck, it's even softer than he thought it'd be, and before he can really think about it he's petting it with the pads of his other fingers too.

The tail twitches under his fingers.

Yuuji freezes and ever so slowly looks up, eyes following the Prince's spine and tattoos, the length of his neck, the shape of his jaw. The long lashes. The red eyes, looking at him.

With a yelp, Yuuji grabs the covers and throws them over his head. Ooooh he's an idiot ! A total idiot !

Sukuna sleepily chuckles, one of his hands resting on Yuuji's covered head. “Good morning to you too,” he says before moving the covers away, just enough to uncover the human's head. “What a nice way to wake me up.”

“I'm sorry…”

“What for ? You did nothing wrong.” the Prince answers, his hand slowly moving to play with Yuuji's hair, softly petting it. “Your curiosity is like a child's, it's adorable.” he hums at Yuuji's shy look, and he caresses down until his hand slips under the covers and reaches Yuuji's, grabbing it and tugging on it a bit. “Do you want to touch my ears too ?”

Oh ! Hell yeah ! Now that he's been given permission to do it Yuuji definitely doesn't feel bad about it, and he sits to more easily reach the ears, his touch careful because those are probably still fragile. They're so soft, the softest things Yuuji has ever touched, and he pets up and down their entire length with a smile on his face, rubbing little circles on his scalp next to where they start.

Sukuna closes his eyes, and Yuuji starts petting his hair too while he's there. The Prince smiles and moves a bit closer to him, tilting his head in a way to let him have better access, and before Yuuji knows it Sukuna's arms are around his waist and his head on his lap, and Yuuji is caressing down his back and up to the tip of his ears, and that's probably the best morning Yuuji has ever had.

“Sukuna ?”

“Yes ?”

“If you're just a Prince then why are you taking care of such big things in the kingdom ?”

Oh that's horrible phrasing. Maybe Sukuna won't really think badly of it.

“The King and Queen, my parents, are away for personal reasons and left me to attend to the kingdom. Or, well, not exactly. The biggest decisions still need to be approved by my father.”

“Oh, so it's like a test run before you become King ?”

“Mmh, you can say that.” Sukuna answers, snuggling closer, so warm on Yuuji's lap.

Yuuji pets him, caresses his back and traces over the tattoos there. “Do you think that'll happen in a long time ? Your coronation, I mean.”

“Probably not. Mother's health has always been frail, and my father would like to spend time by her side, so it'll probably happen sometime next year.”

Oh, that'll be much sooner than what he thought it'd be. “Is she alright ?” Yuuji still asks, gently playing with the shorter hairs on the back of Sukuna's head.

“She is, don't worry, it was just decided that it'd be better for her to live by the seaside.” Sukuna answers, voice calm and light. “How about you ? What was your family back in your world ?”

“Mmh, I have no one left.” Yuuji easily says. He's used to it by now, so it's not like it really hurts to say. “That's why it wasn't very hard to accept living here.”

“I… Was wondering why you never asked if there was a way to send you back to your world…” Sukuna whispers, now tense, and Yuuji pouts as he starts petting him again, trying to make him go back to how soft he felt just a few seconds ago.

“Would that be possible ? Wait, no, don't answer.” petting Sukuna's ears, Yuuji shakes his head. “I'm sad for my friends because maybe I only disappeared for them, but I'm replaceable, they'll be fine.”

Sukuna tenses even more and then moves his hands to lift up a bit to face him, looking way too serious if you asked Yuuji. “Don't ever say that again.”

“But–”

“No.”

They look at each other for a few long seconds, Sukuna unwavering, and it's Yuuji who looks away first, biting his lips. Sukuna keeps looking at him for a few more seconds and then flops back down on his lap, apparently deciding that Yuuji's reaction was enough for now, and the human hesitantly goes back to caressing his hair and back.

“... I feel like this also isn't part of the whole "doing it properly" thing.”

Sukuna laughs and then moves away, getting out of bed. “Let's agree on doing it almost properly, then.”

“Yeah, let's.”

Even after Sukuna's healing and the beneficial presence of the dragon and phoenix, Yuuji's little fae doesn't get better after only one night. The Prince reassures him that it's normal and that she's definitely much better, but Yuuji still feels really bad to leave her alone during the day while he goes to his lessons and such.

And it's even worse when he learns that his room is now clean and that he'll be able to go back there to sleep. He doesn't want to leave her in Sukuna's room, wants her on his pillow like normally, but that's selfish. She needs the fire aligned magic energy to heal well, not a cold pillow and a magicless human.

So Yuuji pouts, just a bit, already preparing himself to spend a bad night. Maybe he could ask Sukuna to stay with him one more night, but that just sounds like a bad idea, somehow. Or maybe he could just find something to do during the whole night instead of sleeping, he's pretty sure that it'd be doable, but that's also stupid.

So yeah, bad night and pouting about it. Pouting more than what he thought, because the maids have clearly been trying to cheer him up during the whole day, secretly giving him snacks and stopping whenever possible to chat with him. It's sweet, really, but Yuuji's pout only becomes stronger the more time passes.

Until Sukuna comes to him with the little fae in his hands, his attendant following him with something in their hands.

“This little one needs your presence too.” is the Prince's greeting as he walks, uninvited, in Yuuji's room. “So we prepared a little something to let her spend the night in your room and heal her up.”

Sukuna gives him the fae, smiling as Yuuji immediately nuzzles her and kisses her fiery hair, and the Prince then accepts what his attendant gives him and then walks to Yuuji's bed, the human following him, curious.

“This… I honestly don't even remember what it is called, but it's an old…” Sukuna pauses, trying to find a way to explain it to Yuuji. “... Healing bed for fae. Let's go with that. It's not as powerful as just staying with other faes, but it'll speed her recovery up.”

“You think she'll wake up faster if we use this ?” Yuuji asks as he steps close to Sukuna, probably too close for what would be acceptable with a Prince, but oh, well.

“Compared to staying with you at night without it ? Definitely.”

Sukuna then takes a little thing out of his pocket, and Yuuji recognizes it as one of those marble-like gems, fire red and faintly glowing. The Prince then puts it in a hole in the little frame of the bed thingy, and Yuuji doesn't need magic to feel and see how the energy of the gem starts to flow around the bed.

“Take the gem out when you'll be ready to bring her to my room, alright ?” Sukuna gently says, guiding Yuuji to let her on the pillowy surface of the magical bed. “And then put it back in when you'll bring her back here. We'll probably have to change the gem in two or three days, but that isn't a problem.”

Oh, that means Sukuna thinks it'll take that long for her to wake up… Was she really that badly injured ?

“What if it doesn't activate if I'm the one doing it… ?”

That'd be horrible, really, if there really was nothing Yuuji could do to help his fae.

“It shouldn't happen, you don't need magic to activate it.“ the Prince reassures him, his thumb gently wiping under Yuuji's eye even if there's no tears there.

“But–”

“If it does, you can ask anyone to help you. The maids, butlers, your tutor if he's still here, Uraume, or even me.”

“Even you ?”

“Even me. I'll do anything to make sure that you're happy again.”

Yuuji blushes, and then smiles, his hand reaching for Sukuna's to gently squeeze it in a silent thank. They silently look at each other for a few long seconds, sharing small smiles and gentle caresses of thumbs instead of words, and Sukuna steps in just a bit closer, his hand slightly shifting to properly cup Yuuji's face.

“Good night, little human.” he then says, softly, whispering it so gently that Yuuji feels hugged by those words.

“Sleep well, Sukuna.” Yuuji answers, bringing the Prince's hand to his lips to press a small kiss to its back.

When Yuuji goes to sleep that night, it's with a small smile on his lips and an arm around the small bed there for his precious little fae.

The next day, Nanamin hears him call the Prince by his name while talking to him and flinches so hard that his glasses fall from his nose.

And then he accidentally steps on them.

Sukuna laughs so hard that he has to be ushered out of the room by his attendant.

Yuuji doesn't even need more than one second to realize that something has been changed in his room when he gets back to it. He takes the few seconds necessary to put his fae back in her bed and then the gem in the frame, and then turns to look around.

It's easy, then, to spot what changed. Or, well, what was added. After all, it's a bit hard to miss a glowing flower.

Yuuji walks to it, smiling as the little lights come greet him, and reaches for the little note resting against the flower pot. The paper is much more fancy than anything Yuuji is given for his lessons, and the handwriting is much more beautiful than what he'll ever do, so it's absolutely impossible for him to not realize that it comes from Sukuna.

«May Her light shine, guide and protect you, my little human.»

Yuuji smiles so much after reading this note that his cheeks hurt, and he spends the next few minutes searching around in his room to find a safe space to keep it, somewhere where no one would look without his authorization.

The next morning, a maid comes to bring him his breakfast as usual and freezes upon seeing the flower, stuttering for thirty whole seconds before Yuuji manages to understand what she's saying.

“That's a courting gift from his Highness !” she finally says, and Yuuji spends the rest of the day flushed bright red.

And then, a small miracle happens.

In the form of tiny little warm hands pressing to Yuuji's cheek and happy chirps ringing in the room.

Yuuji sleepily opens his eyes and immediately starts crying the moment he sees his little fae awake, a huge smile on his face as he brings her close to rub the tip of his nose to her sweet little cheeks, laughing at her delighted giggles that sound like the most pretty little bell.

She's awake. She's fine. She's happy.

And Yuuji loves her, and this world. And someone else, too.

The sun is barely peeking out of the horizon when Yuuji jumps out of bed, the fae cradled to his chest, and he doesn't even take the time to put on slippers before he runs out of his room and to the bigger one at the end of the hallway. He opens its door as quietly as his excited state allows him, and he walks to the canopy bed where Sukuna is sleeping.

Or, well, was, because one of his eyes slowly blinks open and then close, the sound of the door probably enough to wake him up.

“Yes ?” the Prince sleepily asks.

“Sukuna ! She's awake !” Yuuji happily answers, barely waiting for Sukuna to turn and sit in bed to go and join him. “Look !”

Yuuji brings her up to let Sukuna see her, and the Prince softly smiles. “Ah, welcome back, little one. Our little human was very worried about you.” he gently says, and the fae looks at him for a few long seconds before she floats to him.

And leaves the tiniest little kiss to the tip of the Prince's nose.

Yuuji and Sukuna both look at her with wide eyes as she floats away, no doubt to the Prince's faes, and her little chirps are soon joined by the deep huffs of the dragon and the elegant cries of the phoenix. It's a happy song, one that gives Yuuji strength and joy.

And courage, too, as he looks back to the Prince and takes in his warm and gentle smile. the relaxed line of his shoulders, the cute way his ears twitch, unsynchronized in a way Yuuji already knows is linked to his sleepiness.

Yeah. Alright. He fell in love with this Prince from another world, now he's sure of it.

“Aah, to hell with doing this properly !” Yuuji says as he moves to straddle Sukuna's legs, sitting on his lap.

Sukuna smirks, just a bit, but it still looks gentle, especially as Yuuji cups his face, and wow, look at that, not having human ears in the way makes it much easier.

Yuuji moves in closer, closer and closer until their breath mingle, until their lips brush against each other.

“Sukuna…” he whispers there, right against the Prince's lips, slowly closing his eyes.

Hands reach for him, one on the small of his back and the other on his nape, and Sukuna is the one to move the last millimeter, the one to fully press his lips and kiss.

Yuuji feels warmth and tingles, sparkles and softness. It feels like kissing the sun, the stars, the entire galaxy, and everything feels right and perfect as Sukuna brings him even closer and deepens the kiss and steals the breath away from his lungs. Yuuji is pretty sure that a kiss isn't supposed to feel so nice and magical, especially not just a few minutes after waking up, but since when has this Prince followed what's normal ?

The happy symphony continues around them, a much more magical song than any other, soon joined by the happy laughs of both human and bunny Prince as both separate only long enough to instead cuddle under the covers, holding each other as close as possible. Yuuji is happy and warm, feels like he belongs there, in this world, in the Prince's hold.

Yeah, great stories can happen, even to some random student. Turns out sometimes they just start with a nugget choking you to death.