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“Why are you being like that?”
You pulled your forearm off of its resting position on your eyes, staring up at the curse standing over you. “Like what? Also, when did you get here?”
He ignored your second question. “You’ve been laying on the floor of your bathroom with Malice for two hours.”
“Astute observation.” You reached up to pet the aforementioned kitten, who was comfortably asleep on your stomach.
Sukuna delivered a kick to your ribs, not hard enough to hurt you or disturb Malice, but hard enough to make a point. “Stop being difficult.”
You sighed, taking Malice in your arms and forcing yourself to sit up. “It’s whatever. I’ll get over it.” You pulled yourself to your feet and shambled past him into the living room. You didn’t exactly feel like troubling someone as powerful as Sukuna with your dumb human problems.
You heard footsteps behind you. Sukuna grabbed your shoulders, whirling you around to face him and glaring into your very soul. “Talk. Now.”
His aggressive concern was super cute, but still… No. If he was making this much of a point of making sure you were okay, you could trust him. Probably. You sighed once more. “I’ll tell you if you really wanna know but you have to promise you’re not gonna ridicule me.”
His eyes twinkled mischievously. “Now, whatever gave you the idea that I would do a thing like that?” He pointed at your couch, growing serious once more. “Sit.” You obeyed, not meeting his eyes. He knelt down in front of you. “Now tell me what happened.”
You swallowed your apprehension and forced yourself to open your mouth. “Nothing happened, really. I just- uh…” Fuck, this was harder than you thought it’d be. You sought comfort in scratching Malice under her chin, gathering all the courage you could muster to put your feelings into words. “When I was younger, I was diagnosed with depression. I don’t know how much you know about human mental health, but that basically means-”
“I know what depression is,” Sukuna interjected.
“Oh... Of course- sorry. I should have-"
"Don't bother with that. Just tell me what happened."
You still didn't look at him. For some reason, you just couldn't bring yourself to. "I guess... I’ve just kinda been having a rough time recently and there isn’t really a reason, so I don’t know how to fix it. I can’t fix it. There's nothing really going wrong right now, so I know I shouldn't feel like this, but it just won't go away. The meds I’m on are definitely helping, but they don't exactly just magically fix everything, you know? I just don't really know what to do.” After a moment of silence, you glanced up at the curse. His eyes were narrowed, a strange expression on his face. “What is it?”
He stood up. “Wait here.” And without another word, he turned and walked out the front door.
You sighed, unsure of what he was planning but mostly just disappointed he had left. It had been a while since you had trusted someone enough to open up to them like that, and you just wanted the comfort of knowing you weren’t alone. Well, you weren't completely alone. You smiled and stroked the black cat in your lap, who purred in response. Leaning back against the couch, you decided that you were going to try not to think about how you felt for a good long while. It was probably better that way, right?
Your somewhat depressing musings were interrupted by the sound of your front door swinging open with a loud bang, startling Malice from her curled up position. Sukuna stood just outside, covered in someone else’s blood and carrying a duffel bag in one of his hands.
“Put on a coat,” he demanded.
“What? Why? Also, whose blood is that?”
“Doesn't matter. Just do it.”
You stared at him for a second, then shrugged and went to your room to grab your favorite hoodie. It was merch from your favorite band, was ridiculously comfortable, and never failed to make you feel a little better when you were having a bad day. “How’s this?” you asked once back in the living room.
Sukuna nodded in approval. “Come on, then.”
“Where exactly are we going? And whose blood is that?” You stooped down to pet Malice, letting her know you would be back soon.
Sukuna ignored your question for the second time. Once he could tell you were done petting the black cat, he scooped you up in his arms, carrying you princess style. “You’ll see.” He shot off in the direction of a nearby woods. You had forgotten how powerful he was, and how fast he could move. Honestly, you weren’t sure whether he was running, jumping, flying, or some strange combination of the three, but all you could do was cling to his neck for dear life and marvel at the gorgeous scenery whooshing past you.
It had hardly been five minutes before Sukuna stopped, gently setting you down on a hard, rocky surface. He set the bag down, too, giving you a moment to reorient yourself. As you stood up, you took in your surroundings. You were in the middle of a lush green forest, perched on the edge of a cliff that overlooked a mid-sized waterfall. It was beautiful enough to take your breath away.
“Sukuna-” you stammered. “This is incredible!”
Instead of answering, he shoved the duffel bag into your arms.
“What’s in here?”
“Take a look.” He gestured in the bag’s direction.
You slowly unzipped the top, peering inside. It was full of snacks. Cookies, chips, crackers, pocky, grapes, and a- a human hand? You lifted it between a forefinger and thumb, raising an eyebrow at Sukuna.
“Ah.” He grabbed it from you, admiring what he had done. “Some impudent fool tried to stop me... aquiring the contents of that bag for you. Bad move.” He smirked at you as he tossed the severed hand off the cliff.
You couldn’t help but laugh. So that was where all the blood came from? “Sukuna, I- I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
“Don’t get used to it.” He sat down, patting the ground beside him. You seated yourself beside him, hesitating only a moment before leaning your head on his shoulder. Neither of you said anything for a few minutes; you simply watched the waterfall and munched on the snacks Sukuna had amassed.
“Nobody’s ever done anything like this for me before,” you whispered.
Sukuna huffed. “Then you’ve been hanging around the wrong people.” He turned to look at you, gently cupping your cheek in one of his hands. “If they don’t give you the respect you deserve, they aren’t worth your time.”
You chuckled lightly. “I never said that, it’s just that nobody’s gone out of their way to make me feel this special before. It’s nice.”
“Ah, same difference,” he said, planting a kiss on the top of your head.
You let out a contented sigh. You hadn’t felt this good in ages. “How did you find this place?”
“Don’t really remember,” he answered, staring out at the waterfall. “But I come here when I’m upset and don’t feel like killing to blow off steam. Which isn’t often, but it does happen.”
You snickered, wiping a bit of leftover blood off of his chin. “Thank you for sharing it with me.”
“Anything for you.”
You were about to laugh again, but then you realized that he wasn’t joking. “Oh.”
He held your face in both of his hands, stroking your bottom lip with a thumb. He glanced up at your eyes and you nodded, giving him permission. And then he kissed you; no teasing, no avoiding, he just kissed you. And for a moment, you felt like everything was going to be alright. Everything was going to be alright. Right here, right now, you were safe. You were loved. And you were going to be okay.
You never wanted him to pull away, but the pure wonder in his eyes when he did made you lose your breath far more than the kiss had. He shut his eyes and touched his forehead to yours. “You can’t do that again.”
“Do what?”
“Not tell me about stuff.” His hands wandered down your back, resting comfortably on your waist. “It’s annoying when I can’t do anything.”
You sighed. “I wish I could promise, but I just can’t. I’m not good at talking about this kind of thing. Being vulnerable really scares me.”
“Well, then at least say you’ll try.” His eyes met yours.
You smiled. “I’ll do my best.”
“Good. You just say the word, and anything you need is yours.”
Your cheeks flushed a little. "Thank you. It- it means a lot. Really."
Now, Sukuna's cheeks grew red. "It's nothing."
You yawned suddenly, not having realized how tired you were. Sukuna leaned back against a tree and pulled you close to his chest. “Get some rest. I’ll watch over you.”
You happily obliged, cuddling closer to him. “Thank you.”
You didn’t hear a response, only felt gentle hands stroke your hair as you drifted off to sleep.