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The sun is setting by the time he leaves his apartment, but if he doesn’t get these posters up today, Sukuna thinks he’ll never actually do it.
Besides, he’s been putting this off for too long. Ever since his idiot brother moved out, the other bedroom in his apartment has been vacant, and Sukuna’s fine living on his own, but Yuuji keeps recommending new roommates to fill his spot.
Although he disagrees with his twin on a lot of things, Sukuna isn’t exactly opposed to getting a roommate, but he’d much prefer choosing his own (because really, he doesn’t trust Yuuji’s judgment at all). He just keeps forgetting to put up posters advertising the vacancy. Sukuna jogs down the road as the sun sets beyond the clustered buildings, casting everything in a dull orange light. There’s a community noticeboard near the playground and a couple of street lights down the street; he’s just going to pin up a couple of notices and hope somebody decent answers back.
Thankfully no one’s at the playground at this hour, because Sukuna really can’t stand kids. He spies an empty spot on the board and starts pinning up his shoddily-made poster, when suddenly he hears a loud rustling somewhere close by.
Sukuna pauses. Then he peeks around the noticeboard.
Nope, there’s still no one in the playground. But there wasn’t any wind either, so what could’ve caused the rustling?
And then it happens again, followed by a soft squeak.
The noise seems to be coming from a nearby bush. Stuffing the poster into his pocket, Sukuna approaches the bush, looking for the source of the noise, and that’s when he notices something peering up at him with frightened green eyes.
It’s a rabbit.
A small, black creature huddled by the playground fencing, almost hidden by the thick bush. Sukuna didn’t even know that their neighbourhood had rabbits; he supposes maybe this was someone’s escaped pet, one that’s probably going to die in a couple days if left out here alone.
Welp. Not his problem. Sukuna is about to return to whatever he was doing when he sees the rabbit try to move, then fall back instantly as if held back by something. On closer inspection, it looks like the tiny creature’s leg is caught in the fencing, due to some of the thick wires having been cut and bent at a dangerous angle.
Sukuna ponders it for another moment, considering leaving the animal to its fate.
But then he groans, rolls his eyes, and reaches over towards the rabbit.
The small animal freezes, only its tiny nose twitching in fear, bright green eyes fixed on Sukuna. He could crush it in one hand, really, but Sukuna doesn’t know why he makes a sort of shushing sound as his fingers find the spots where the wire has eaten into the rabbit’s black fur.
He teases the coiled metal out gently, so as not to hurt the animal. It takes another minute or so for Sukuna to untwist the rest of the wire. He pulls the rabbit’s leg free once the wires are loose enough; it doesn’t look like the metal cut deeply enough into the flesh or left any wounds, which should be a good sign for the animal.
“There you go,” he says gruffly. “Run away now. Shoo.”
The rabbit seems to inspect its own foot for a moment, before glancing up at Sukuna.
Then quick as a flash, it turns around and leaps into the bushes, disappearing without another sound.
Sukuna just shrugs and stands up.
That rabbit will probably be dinner for the neighbourhood cat or something. Again, it’s not his problem.
By now the sun has sunk far below the horizon, and Sukuna decides that it’s time for his own dinner, so he jogs briskly back home. And it’s only when he steps into his lonely apartment that he realizes he completely forgot to put up his ads.
Sukuna smacks his own forehead. Stupid rabbit made him forget why he went out in the first place.
He hopes it gets eaten by the fucking cat.
Sukuna doesn’t give the incident much thought after that. He retires for the night, decides he’ll head out again tomorrow to put up the posters after a good night’s sleep.
But to his utter dismay, someone starts ringing his doorbell at 7 on a Saturday morning, and Sukuna is just about ready to strangle that someone.
He leaps out of bed, storming over to the door when the ringing doesn’t stop, and wrenches it open, unleashing a full-on glare on whoever it is.
“The hell you want, it’s like 7 in the fucking-”
A pair of green eyes peer up at him and Sukuna’s heart skips a beat.
There’s a pretty young man standing outside his door. No, not pretty, gorgeous. His spiky hair falls all over the place, in a naturally lovely way, his lips are pulled into a tight line, his gaze stern and sullen, but Sukuna has never seen a prettier sight than those deep, green eyes blinking curiously at him.
He’s dressed a bit weirdly though, as if his clothes are a size too large for his small frame. They’re also rather thick, almost woolen, but hey, it’s technically still spring, maybe he’s just someone who gets cold easily.
“Hello.”
Sukuna’s throat feels really dry all of a sudden. He swallows once, before mumbling back a “Hello.”
“Are you looking for a roommate?”
He’s not awake enough for this. “A what?”
The young man glances aside, hooking one finger into his collar and pulling it up a little as his fair cheeks flush a slight pink. His other hand rummages in his pocket, before pulling out a folded piece of paper. When he unfolds it, Sukuna recognizes it as one of his roommate ads.
“I hear you’re looking for a roommate. And I’m looking for a place to stay. So… Do you still want one? I promise I’ll be very good.”
“How did you get…?” Sukuna gestures at the poster in his hands, brows furrowed. The man looks down at it, then up again at Sukuna, blinking innocently.
“I picked it up. You must have dropped it by the side of the road, maybe?”
“Huh,” Sukuna mumbles, more to himself than anything, but the cute guy is cocking his head to one side, casting a somewhat eager glance at him, and Sukuna can feel his heart race beneath that gaze.
Somehow, the young man looks oddly helpless. Defenseless even, and clearly lost. A runaway, perhaps? Something about him is off, but Sukuna doesn’t question it too much. He steps aside.
“Come on in. I’ll show you the place; if you like it then we can talk rent and all that.”
The young man steps inside, glancing around curiously, and Sukuna almost smiles when he sees those green eyes go wide, like he’s fascinated by what he sees. There’s an innocent sort of curiosity in that gaze, and Sukuna takes an instant liking to him already.
“So, you got a name?”
His visitor turns back to look at him. “Megumi.”
“I’m Sukuna. The spare room’s this way, if you want to have a look.” He cocks his head in one direction.
“Oh, that looks lovely,” Megumi mutters, poking his head around the doorway into the simply-furnished room. “Did someone used to live here?”
“My brother. We shared the place before he moved out. He’s the one who’s been pestering me to get a roommate; told him I’d do perfectly fine on my own.”
Megumi’s face falls at that. “You mean… So you don’t really want a roommate?”
Sukuna draws a sharp breath. Crap, he hadn’t meant to give Megumi the wrong impression. Sure, at first he wasn’t too keen on the roommate thing, but Megumi doesn’t look half-bad, and Sukuna doesn’t know why he’s finding it so hard to say no to those pleading green eyes.
“No, that came out wrong. I mean, that was before you-...” He coughs awkwardly, trying to regain his composure. “Look, I am looking for a roommate. I might not have been too keen on it before, but it would be great if someone could split the rent and take care of the place together. So if you’ve seen the place and you like it…”
“I do. And I promise I won’t cause you any trouble.” Megumi says earnestly. “If you don’t mind having me then…”
Sukuna smirks. “I could get used to this. Shall we discuss rent and other details then? You can move in as soon as you want after.”
At that, Megumi’s serious countenance breaks into a smile. It’s not a wide beaming expression of joy, but a shy little quirk of his lips, like he’s relieved or really happy. And Sukuna’s heart begins to race again at the sight.
Maybe this isn’t such a bad idea after all.
Turns out, Megumi is a surprisingly nice roommate.
He’s so different from what Sukuna’s used to, which is basically just Yuuji, since his brother was the only roommate experience he ever had. Granted, Sukuna usually argued and fought a lot with his own twin, so things were always a bit loud in their household. Megumi, however, is the complete opposite. He’s quiet, generally amicable, doesn’t give Sukuna trouble, and stays out of his way for the most part.
As an added bonus, he’s also really pretty to look at.
He is a little bit odd, Sukuna will admit. Megumi stays in his room a lot, venturing out only for meals or to leave the apartment, and Sukuna has no idea where he goes or what he does outside. (Sukuna genuinely doesn’t know if Megumi has a job, but he’s still able to pay rent somehow so… that’s all that matters, right?)
He also seems unusually insistent on doing things for Sukuna.
Starting from their first night living together, Megumi had popped his head into the kitchen and asked if Sukuna needed help making dinner. When Sukuna told him it was alright, he had then proceeded to ask if there was anything else Sukuna needed him to do.
Sukuna couldn’t really think of anything at that point, so he left Megumi to his own devices.
And the next morning, he woke up to find that Megumi had taken it upon himself to clean the entire apartment.
“Why’d you do that?”
Megumi frowns, like he doesn’t understand the question. “Why not? You helped me out, so it’s only fair I repay you, right?”
Sukuna sighs. He doesn’t know how letting Megumi move in counted as “help”, and he also doesn’t know if he should be complaining that his new roommate is so willing to clean the place (Yuuji was never a neat freak, and that had always gotten on Sukuna’s nerves).
But he did sit Megumi down and explain that it was perfectly alright to split the chores between them too, just like the rent.
Megumi seemed to struggle with himself a little before sighing. “Okay. Can I make us dinner then?”
“We can take turns,” Sukuna agrees. “But if you want to take over dinner duty for tonight, that’s perfectly fine with me.”
It soon becomes apparent that it is not perfectly fine with Sukuna for Megumi to make dinner.
While cleaning is one thing Megumi can handle, cooking on the other hand, is not. After a disastrous first night involving the fire extinguisher, Sukuna bans Megumi from the kitchen immediately and takes up cooking duty for the both of them.
They settle into a sort of arrangement, one that is not quite split down the middle, but plays more to their own individual strengths. Megumi clearly has zero cooking skills, and Sukuna values his own life far too much to put himself at the mercy of Megumi’s cooking (Also, he’s pretty sure Megumi might burn down the kitchen at some point, the way he handles the food). So meals remain his domain entirely.
Most of the cleaning soon falls under Megumi’s jurisdiction. He’s diligent in the way he keeps their apartment in order, always putting away things neatly, making sure the countertop and tables are spotless, and Sukuna swears he has a magic touch when it comes to doing the laundry, because his clothes always smell amazingly fresh and nice only if Megumi’s the one washing them.
It did take him a while to get used to living with someone else again, especially after Yuuji left. Still, Sukuna has never felt this comfortable with anyone else before, and the routine he settles into with Megumi very quickly becomes a familiar one.
It’s also strangely… domestic. Nevertheless, Sukuna refuses to admit he finds his new roommate attractive, or that he has on occasion entertained the thought of them as a couple.
Yet on mornings like these, when he wakes up late and walks out into the living room to find Megumi there, having done the laundry and carefully folding their clothes, Sukuna feels a soft fondness rising in his chest at the sight.
The sight of his grumpy-looking roommate furrowing his brows, holding up two mismatched socks, with the gentle morning light filtering in through the blinds and falling across his spiky hair.
“Don’t bother. I think my brother took the other sock by accident; that pair has been mismatched for ages.”
Megumi looks up at him, startled. “Morning,” he greets. “Had a late night?”
“Yeah. You’re up early.”
“Couldn’t sleep, so I figured I’d do the laundry. You have an abnormal amount of tank tops.” Megumi comments as he holds up a very loose, old, sleeveless shirt. “Also a frighteningly small number of shirts. Do you hate them so much?”
Sukuna gestures at his bare chest. “Case in point. I find it a hassle to throw a shirt on sometimes. What’s the matter, don’t like what you see?” He smirks.
He thinks he sees Megumi blush at that, but his roommate quickly averts his gaze and resumes folding the clothes steadfastly. “It’s not a problem for me. I was just making an observation. Don’t you get cold though?”
“I run warm,” Sukuna shrugs. “Always have, since I was a kid. You should see me in winter, I can go with just shorts, believe it or not.”
A visible shudder runs through Megumi. “I cannot imagine braving the cold in shorts.”
Sukuna chuckles. He crosses the room to sit on the couch beside Megumi, reaching for one of the neatly-folded shirts. He’s aware of the way Megumi’s breath quickens when he leans over him.
Fuck, why is he so adorable when he’s flustered?
“Have you eaten? I can make us both breakfast in a minute.”
“I’d like that.” Megumi says softly. He busies himself with the clothes, obviously avoiding Sukuna’s gaze, and Sukuna decides he’ll stop teasing his roommate for now.
Even if he enjoys it a little too much himself.
When all’s said and done, Megumi isn’t a terrible roommate.
But he does seem to be hiding something.
It all starts when Sukuna notices Megumi is beginning to stay in his room for increasingly long periods of time. He could go days without seeing Megumi, only for his roommate to emerge (usually in the evening) later in the week as if nothing’s happened.
He’ll never let Sukuna in his room either. Not even a peek. Sukuna isn’t worried that Megumi’s room is in a mess or anything; if he keeps the apartment this clean, there’s no way his room is in any state of disarray.
But he’s awfully protective of his personal space, going so far as to slip in and out of his room only when he’s sure Sukuna is occupied, or not looking. Sukuna’s never gotten a glimpse of what’s inside. He just hears a door slam, and will barely manage to look up in time to see that Megumi has already gone inside.
And then one day, while Megumi’s out, Sukuna spots something when he walks into the living room.
It’s a small thing, but it catches his eye nonetheless. He walks over to the couch and crouches down, squinting at the corner.
Yep, those are undeniably scratch marks around the edges. Sukuna wonders why he’s never noticed them before. One corner kinda looks chewed, even.
Sukuna frowns, his brows furrowed as he searches his own memory of the past week or so, trying to remember if anything had happened that could’ve been the cause of this.
Fuck, they’d better not have a rat problem.
Just then, he hears the front door slam, a familiar voice calling out, “I’m back.” Without looking up, Sukuna calls out.
“Hey, Megumi? Just noticed there’s some scratches on the couch. Do you know how they got there?”
He can hear the footsteps behind him getting closer. Sukuna stands up, turning around in time to see Megumi walk into the living room, his arms full of groceries and an eyebrow raised. The moment he enters, his line of sight moves downwards to the spot near Sukuna’s feet, where the scratches are just visible on the couch’s corner, and Sukuna thinks he sees Megumi’s eyes widen a little in shock.
But the surprise is gone in a flash.
“I didn’t notice.” Megumi mutters. “I’ll get a new couch if you want.”
“What? No, it’s fine, it’s alright. They’re just a couple of scratches. I was just curious because I’ve never noticed them there before. Besides, I don’t think it’s not your fault.”
At that, a cloudy expression seems to fall over Megumi’s face, and he just hums an “okay” in response.
“I’m just worried it might be rats.” Sukuna continues. “I’ll make a call to pest control later, see if they can send someone in to-”
“It’s-not-a-rat.” Megumi blurts out a little too quickly.
“Wait, how do you know?”
Megumi isn’t meeting his eyes, which is usually a clear sign that his roommate is uncomfortable with something.
“I just… know. Don’t call pest control, I’m sure it’s not a rat, Sukuna.”
“Right.” Sukuna says slowly. He watches his roommate turn around without another word and go into the kitchen to restock the fridge.
That… was really weird.
Sukuna hasn’t seen Megumi in the past two days, and quite frankly, the increased frequency of his extended periods of vanishment is starting to worry Sukuna.
After their strange interaction the other day, Megumi seems to be avoiding him a little.
And honestly, Sukuna is beginning to miss him.
He wonders how long he’ll have to take his meals in silence. Perhaps he’s gotten too used to Megumi’s company, but it does feel a little lonely, far too empty in his apartment, whenever he has to eat alone or doesn’t see Megumi for too long.
And he returns home that day after a grocery run, mind heavy with thoughts of his green-eyed roommate.
“I’m home.” He calls out as he steps back into the apartment.
Megumi’s shoes are in the entranceway, so he too is home, apparently. That’s good. Sukuna thinks maybe he can make dinner for the both of them, include some dessert like apple pie perhaps, which will hopefully tempt Megumi out of his room from the scent alone. He’s never disturbed Megumi during one of these disappearing spells, ever, but perhaps today, he’ll knock on Megumi’s door and ask if he’s doing okay.
However, before he can enact his plan, a slight movement in the living room catches his attention.
Something small is sitting on the rug.
Something small and alive.
Warning bells go off in his head, and Sukuna squints at it. God forbid it’s a rat.
It’s… not a rat though. When he gets closer, Sukuna realizes it’s a rabbit.
“The fuck?” Sukuna mutters under his breath.
That is unmistakably a living, breathing, rabbit in the middle of his apartment. It looks a lot like the one he saved by the playground weeks ago. But then again, who can tell, all rabbits looked the same to Sukuna. Weak, fragile, stupidly useless. Why were there so many rabbits around here recently anyway? Did their neighbourhood have a rabbit infestation??
A small thought dawns on him then.
Megumi’s weird behaviour, his insistence that Sukuna stay out of his room, all the curious scratches and bites on the furniture…
Could his roommate be keeping a pet without his knowledge?
Honestly, that wouldn’t be a problem with Sukuna. He never told Megumi pets were off limits to begin with, but it does hurt a little that Megumi didn’t seem to trust him enough to tell him this. Sukuna would’ve been fine if he wanted to keep pets, as long as he didn’t let them get in his way.
And as small as this rabbit is, it is most certainly, right now, in Sukuna’s way.
The tiny creature sits, curled into a little ball, frozen in fear, and Sukuna glares at it for a good minute or so before taking a deep breath.
“Megumi!” He hollers. “I think you lost something!”
His loud voice startles the rabbit. It already looks terrified of Sukuna; now it attempts to leap away, but Sukuna is faster. He jumps on it in one fell swoop, picks it up before it can even escape.
At the same time his hands close around soft, fluffy fur, a sharp pain spreads from the tips of his fingers.
“Ouch!” Sukuna snarls, nearly dropping the rabbit. “Ungrateful creature, how dare you bite-... Fuck!!” He actually does drop the animal as he gets bitten a second time. The rabbit lands on its feet and hops a couple steps away before it turns back and seemingly glares at Sukuna.
Sukuna storms after it, pouncing on it and holding it aloft, making sure it’s unable to turn its head to bite him again.
“Oi, what are you, some kind of demon bunny??”
The rabbit squirms frantically in his hands. Good grief, it’s so vulnerable. Sukuna can feel its tiny little heart beating underneath the warm fur, rabbiting a million beats per minute, its paws trying to gain purchase on his forearm as it struggles for freedom.
“Look, I’m not going to hurt you. What are you doing out here in the first place? Did your owner forget to lock your cage?”
What is he doing anyway, talking to a stupid rabbit?? Sukuna walks over to Megumi’s room, gingerly places the bunny in front of the door, then knocks on it.
“Hey, Megumi, you in there? I think this belongs to you.”
There’s still no answer.
Only a scraping sound coming from near his feet, and Sukuna looks down to find the rabbit scratching at the door like it’s trying to get in.
“You wanna go back inside?” Sukuna asks quietly.
The rabbit paws at the door a few more times, before leaning back on its hind legs and glancing up at Sukuna, a pleading look in its eyes.
It’s a look that’s awfully familiar, and reminds Sukuna so much of Megumi. Perhaps it’s true then, that they say pets resemble their owners. Sukuna just sighs before testing the door knob. Miraculously, it’s unlocked, so he opens Megumi’s bedroom door just a crack so that the small animal can slip inside.
It enters quickly, and Sukuna closes the door again. And then he bangs his head on the closed door and groans.
Did he just try to babysit his roommate’s stupid pet rabbit?!
Megumi emerges a full day later, looking absolutely terrible. Sukuna doesn’t have the heart to drop the bomb on him during breakfast, but after they’re done eating, he decides to address the elephant in the room.
“So when were you planning on telling me about your pet?”
Megumi glances up from his coffee. “My what?”
“Your rabbit. I’m not stupid, Megumi, and look, I really don’t care if you want to keep a pet, just… you don’t have to hide it from me.”
The silence that follows is long and awkward. Sukuna glances over to see that Megumi has returned to his drink, stirring the dregs absentmindedly. There’s a conspicuous blush high on his cheeks, and he’s stubbornly avoiding Sukuna’s line of sight.
“It’s not what you think,” he mutters. “I don’t have any pets, Sukuna, that’s not…”
“Megumi, look at me. I’m serious, you don’t have to hide your pet, I’m not going to make you get rid of it, but at least come clean with me on whether or not you’re hiding a demon bunny in your room.”
Megumi glances up at him then, fixes him with a stern gaze, and responds with the most deadpan delivery ever.
“I don’t own a rabbit.”
“You’re a terrible liar, you know that?” Sukuna replies exasperatedly.
It’s the first time he’s gotten anything close to mad at Megumi.
Sukuna doesn’t know why he cares so much about Megumi lying to him.
Actually, he doesn’t know why he cares so much about Megumi. Period.
His roommate definitely feels bad about it though. He wandered into the kitchen last night despite Sukuna’s ban, attempted to make Sukuna’s favourite meal, it seems (Sukuna discovers the charred remains later; he’s not sure if he’s more relieved that he didn’t have to eat that, or that Megumi didn’t burn down the kitchen).
But he still hasn’t come clean to Sukuna, and is clearly still avoiding him.
Sukuna has half a mind to bang down Megumi’s door and drag him out so they can have a talk, when he suddenly hears the bedroom door open and his roommate emerges.
Fucking finally.
However, the sight of him gives Sukuna a shock.
Megumi looks pale. His green eyes are dull and faded, and Sukuna swears he’s lost weight since he last saw him. It’s hard to tell though, with those baggy, oversized clothes Megumi’s always wearing.
“Hey, you alright?”
Megumi jumps. Apparently he hadn’t noticed Sukuna sitting at the table.
“Oh, hey. I’m alright.” He nods sleepily.
“You don’t look so good.”
“I’m tired, that’s all. Just need to sleep it off.”
Sukuna narrows his eyes. “You haven’t left your room in days. Is that all you’ve been doing in there, sleeping?”
Megumi shrugs. “I get like this sometimes. Really, Sukuna, don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine in a couple days.”
‘No, you’re not fine.’ Sukuna thinks. ‘Goddammit, Megumi, why do you insist on hiding so many things from me?’
He watches as his roommate wanders into the kitchen and rummages in the fridge for an apple. A strange, protective feeling surges within him, and Sukuna has the sudden urge to cook him an enormous feast.
He swallows down that urge angrily.
They’re just roommates, he reminds himself. They may get along nicely, but he hardly knows anything about Megumi’s life. Why should he bother about Megumi’s well-being anyway, especially if his roommate doesn’t seem to want him to know details about his life?
Why should he care if Megumi lives or dies?
He’s so busy struggling with his stupid feelings that he doesn’t notice Megumi come closer and sit at the table across from him.
“Hey uhm… Since you’re here, I got a little something for you.”
Sukuna looks up, blinking in surprise. Megumi slides a small box across the table, and Sukuna opens it to find a pair of socks inside.
“You got me… socks.”
“Mmhm.” Megumi hums.
Sukuna pulls one out. “They’re… black.”
“Yeah, so?”
“And… soft. It’s very soft.”
Megumi nods, looking a little bit proud somehow. “Do you like them?”
“I, uh…” Sukuna is dumbfounded. The material feels high quality, expensive, like cashmere or genuine wool. He doesn’t want to know how much Megumi spent on it. “Thanks, I guess? You didn’t have to though.”
“I wanted to.” Megumi stares off into the distance. “To thank you for your help. And for putting up with me.”
Sukuna’s expression softens. “You’re not a nuisance or anything. Frankly, I quite enjoy your company. The only thing is, I don’t understand why you don’t seem to trust me enough to tell me the truth sometimes.”
Megumi pinches the bridge of his nose, looking extremely pained. “There are some things I can’t quite share with you yet. And no, it’s not because I don’t trust you, Sukuna, but it’s just… I need a little more time before I’m ready to talk about it, okay?”
‘How much more time do you need to talk to me about a pet rabbit?’ Sukuna screams internally. ‘Or your health, for that matter?’
Unless it’s worse than it seems. Which would really worry Sukuna more, actually.
Megumi stands up then, pushing his chair back. “Anyway, I think I need more rest. I’ll see you later.”
And with that, he wanders back into his room and shuts the door behind him. Sukuna stares at the closed door in silence, before dropping his head onto his hands.
“Oh Megumi, what am I going to do with you?” He wonders aloud.
“You? Caring about someone else?” Yuuji gasps in disbelief. “Who are you and what have you done with my twin brother?”
Sukuna shoots a glare at him. “Shut up. I just think it’s odd, that’s all. Don’t want to enter the room one day and find my roommate’s dead body inside.”
He’s at Yuuji’s for dinner, because his stupid twin wanted to have a family get-together. Even their older brother Choso is here, which Sukuna is slightly grateful for because that means someone else will be doing the dishes, not him.
“Is he anemic, perhaps?” Choso suggests. “Could explain why he’s tired and weak.”
“Maybe he’s having a severe allergic reaction! What if he’s allergic to that rabbit he’s secretly keeping in his room, and he’s embarrassed about it somehow?”
“I don’t know. He’s just behaving strangely, and frankly it’s a little concerning.”
“Wow, you really do care about him.” Yuuji says, ducking as he dodges a swipe from Sukuna. “Hey, knock it off! If you asked me, I’d say this is an improvement for you. Maybe you’ll finally get a date this way.”
“I don’t want to date my roommate.” Sukuna hisses despite himself. Despite the fact that he knows, secretly, he wouldn’t mind dating Megumi. His roommate’s really cute, and he’s always nice to Sukuna, even if he is an oddball.
But Sukuna would much rather die before admitting to Yuuji that he might have feelings for someone, for the first time in his life.
“Well, either way, I think he should go see a doctor. What if he’s suffering from malnutrition, or something worse?”
“My thoughts exactly.” Sukuna agrees. Choso reaches over to begin clearing the dishes away.
“Who knows? Some people just have a more delicate countenance. I mean, I thought my roommate was a zombie for the first two months of him moving in but turns out that’s just how he always looks.”
Sukuna does remember the scrawny, tired-looking guy who’s been sharing Choso’s apartment for a year or so. “That college kid with the eyebags? Yeah, I still think he’s a zombie. Or a vampire.”
“He’s neither.” Choso shoots him a glare while stacking the plates together. “He’s actually on his college’s track team and the kendo club. Kid’s surprisingly more athletic than you’d think.”
Yuuji interrupts. “Oh, you could invite him over to dinner maybe? We could feed him, Sukuna.”
“Like hell I’m letting you meet him. Never mind, forget it, pretend I never brought this topic up.”
“Too late,” Yuuji chirps happily. “I’m kinda excited to meet your new roommate already. Must be someone really cute if he’s managed to make you fall for him.”
Sukuna chucks his empty beer can at his twin brother’s head.
Megumi will probably never forgive him for this, but Sukuna’s levels of curiosity and concern have gone through the roof, and if he doesn’t get to the bottom of this by tonight (or force Megumi to go see a doctor), he doesn’t think he can live with himself.
It’s been three days. Three. Sukuna had stayed home on purpose over the weekend, carefully observing his roommate’s door, Megumi’s shoes are still at the front entrance, so no, he hasn’t left.
He had knocked gently at various intervals, called Megumi’s name and asked if he was doing okay, to no avail.
So here he stands, right outside of Megumi’s bedroom door, holding the master key in his hands. And before he can talk himself out of it, Sukuna’s jamming the key into the keyhole, turning the lock, and barging into his roommate’s room unannounced.
The sight that greets him is exceedingly normal.
Okay, so maybe Sukuna didn’t really know what to expect. The bedroom looks exactly like how it was when he first rented it to Megumi, everything neat and tidy and in its place. Megumi’s apparently done his best to keep it clean, the only sign of the room being lived in is the messy pile of blankets under which he is now sleeping, on the single bed.
There’s also no sign of a rabbit, or any pet at all.
Sukuna walks over to Megumi. So it would seem that his roommate was telling the truth after all. Sukuna begins to feel bad about getting annoyed at Megumi earlier, when he notices something really strange about the sleeping man under the blankets.
He blinks. And then he rubs his eyes and takes a closer look.
Yeah, no, there are two long, furry ears sticking out of Megumi’s head.
Sukuna inhales deeply.
Is he imagining things? He reaches out carefully to touch them, and to his surprise, they feel extremely real.
But at his touch, Megumi stirs, and his green eyes flutter before focusing on Sukuna.
And then he bolts upright, startled, and Sukuna blinks again, and the ears are gone.
“Sukuna?!” Megumi gasps. “What are you doing here?”
“Are those… Megumi, are those rabbit ears?”
Megumi looks livid. “Get out. I never said you could enter my room, what are you doing here?!”
“You’re worrying the fuck outta me, alright?” Sukuna nearly shouts. “You haven’t left your room for three days straight, you’re getting skinnier every time I see you, and you weren’t answering the door when I knocked! What else was I supposed to do?!”
Megumi’s eyes are flashing angrily. Or anxiously, Sukuna can’t tell. Either way, he seems a little worked up, and now that the blankets have fallen off him, Sukuna realizes he’s not wearing anything underneath.
He’d be extremely turned on by the view if he wasn’t also shocked by the visible proof that Megumi has indeed been losing weight. His roommate looks worse for wear, and Sukuna’s heart squeezes painfully at the sight.
So maybe he does care about Megumi. Maybe he doesn’t want Megumi to die on him after all.
Sukuna makes up his mind there and then to drag him to the doctor.
He grabs an oversized shirt from a pile of folded clothes nearby, tugging it over Megumi’s head. Megumi yelps as Sukuna pulls the shirt over him, before reaching beneath his legs and lifting him neatly off the bed.
“Sukuna, put me down!”
“You can hate me all you want, Megumi, but I’m not about to let you die on me. We’re going to see the doctor, if that’s the last thing I do.”
Megumi struggles uselessly in his arms. “Put me down, idiot! You can’t… Please, put me down, I can’t keep this up for much longer.”
“No shit you can’t,” Sukuna snaps back. “I’ve never met someone as stubborn as you, I swear. Why do you insist on suffering on your own? Don’t you know how much it hurts me to see you like this?”
Megumi stops squirming. He’s breathing harshly, like he’s in pain, and he leans his forehead against Sukuna’s neck.
“Sukuna, please… I don’t want you to see me like this.”
“Then let’s go get you checked out. We can find out what’s wrong, if you need any meds or supplements, we can help you get better-”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Megumi shakes his head. “I’ve just been exhausting my energy levels, trying to maintain this form. That’s all. Aahhh fuck, I really didn’t want you to see me like this.”
Sukuna stops at the doorway. He stares down at Megumi, whose face is now very red.
“When you say ‘this form’...” He repeats slowly. “Megumi, does this have anything to do with those rabbit ears I saw just now?”
Megumi doesn’t answer immediately. A moment passes. Then he sighs and opens his eyes to look up at Sukuna.
“Promise you won’t tell anyone else, okay?”
He shifts his weight in Sukuna’s arms, and Sukuna lets him down gently. Megumi wobbles a little, leaning on Sukuna for balance, then takes a deep breath.
And right before Sukuna’s eyes, his form begins to shrink.
Sukuna can only stare, his jaw dropped, as his once-human roommate transforms into a small, black rabbit, the same animal he had encountered in this very apartment not too long ago.
“I must be dreaming.” He mumbles to himself.
The Megumi-rabbit pokes its head out of the oversized shirt that now lies crumpled on the floor, before closing its eyes and transforming back into a human. The instant he’s back in human form though, Megumi’s legs give way, and he topples over into Sukuna’s arms again.
“I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know how I was supposed to tell you that I’m not entirely human.”
“That sure is one way. So all this while, I’ve been thinking you were hiding a demon bunny, but you were actually the demon bunny itself?”
“I’m not a demon bunny,” Megumi snaps irritably. “But yes, I wasn’t lying when I told you I didn’t own a rabbit!”
“Then the furniture…” Sukuna’s brain is scrambling to process everything. “You’ve been chewing the furniture?”
“I’m not too proud of that, can we move on from-”
“Also, hang on… You bit me! Twice!”
“I was terrified you’d throw me out! I panicked, okay?! My survival instincts kicked in!”
“If you had bitten me a third time, I most definitely would’ve,” Sukuna says bitterly. But he does pick Megumi up bridal-style and carry him over to the couch so he can lie down.
“So what are you?”
Megumi sighs.
“I’m a shapeshifter. My true form is a rabbit, but I’m able to take human form for extended periods of time. It uses a lot of energy, so I need to recharge it in one way or another. The moon holds a lot of sway over my energy levels; full-moon nights are when I’m weakest, so it’s also the best time for me to recharge while in my rabbit form. That’s why I’ve been hiding in my room so much.”
“So… you’re a were-bunny.”
Megumi splutters indignantly. “That’s not…”
Sukuna manages to hold it in for two more seconds, before exploding into peals of laughter.
“Shut up! It’s not funny!”
Sukuna’s doubled over, wheezing, gasping for breath as he chuckles. “I didn’t say it was funny,” He retorts, even as he struggles to stop laughing. “I think it’s adorable.”
When Megumi’s face turns redder, Sukuna pats his head, ruffling his hair fondly. “Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing. I still think you’re adorable though.”
“I didn’t mean to hide it from you,” Megumi admits miserably. “You saved me at the playground, remember? So I followed you home, I wanted to repay you in any way I could, and you dropped one of those posters you were trying to put up, and I thought, if I could move in with you…”
“That does explain a lot. It also explains why you were so insistent on doing me favours.”
Megumi draws his knees up to his chin, wrapping his arms around himself.
“I wasn’t very good at it, was I?”
Sukuna chuckles, reaching over to stroke his cheek gently. This is the strangest turn of events ever, but he’s quite relieved that Megumi isn’t actually dying or anything. Explaining this to his brothers is going to be fun though, if Megumi ever lets him tell them.
“Megumi, you’re not the worst roommate ever. I told you before, I quite enjoy your company. Your secret’s safe with me, on one condition.”
Megumi shoots him a questioning glance.
“Promise me you’ll tell me the truth next time. Don’t worry me like that again, alright?”
Megumi smiles shyly. “Okay.”
“And tell me what you need to recharge or get your energy levels up. I’ll know not to bother you if you need to go into hibernation mode, just give me some head’s up to prepare things. And if keeping your human form drains you, I’m perfectly fine if you want to hop around the place as a rabbit. Just be careful I don’t squash you by accident, and stay out of the kitchen.”
“That’s a lot of conditions. But okay,” Megumi tilts his head to one side, still smiling as he observes Sukuna, his cheeks flushing pink. “Does this mean I can stay?” He asks hopefully.
“Of course. I’m not going to throw you out, Megumi.”
Megumi sighs happily. “Thank you. I’ll continue to do my best then.”
“Besides, if you left, who’s going to fold my shirts for me?”
Megumi huffs irritably, but he does bury his face into Sukuna’s chest and stay there, allowing Sukuna’s laughter to reverberate through him warmly. Sukuna gathers him up in his arms, nuzzling his hair softly.
“By the way… those socks you gave me. Are they made from rabbit fur?”
“... Yes?” Megumi answers hesitantly.
“And the fur… did it come from you?”
“... No?” Megumi replies, even slower this time.
Sukuna thinks to himself, once again, that Megumi is a horrible liar.
It’s a good thing he’s so fucking cute.