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They don’t really think about it. It’s never been an issue, that Uruame’s never met Sukuna’s older half brother. They’ve met Itadori Yuuji, a rather dimwitted boy with too much time on his hands, but good intentions.
But one day their work goes late, and Sukuna’s halfway through a blunt and Uraume’s already had one glass of wine.
Sukuna leans his head back on the couch, exhaling a plume of smoke that makes Uraume’s nose crinkle. The smell threatens to cling to their clothes and follow them home.
“You haven’t met Choso, right?” Sukuna asks, peering at them with sharp red eyes.
Uraume offers a shrug with one shoulder. Megumi’s been texting them for the last half hour, trying to figure out if they’re free over the weekend. Uraume doesn’t know if Sukuna has work for them yet, and when they tell Megumi that, there’s no reply.
It probably won’t be long before Megumi messages Sukuna to make sure they have a weekend free.
Uraume’s never sure how to feel when Megumi does that. It’s nice to get a few days off, but it’s also strange to think of him as a friend. Even if Uraume does enjoy his company.
“He’s nice, you don’t have to worry,” Sukuna says, misinterpreting Uraume’s discomfort. “He can be a lot, but the only person he cares about is Yuuji, he’ll probably ignore you.”
Uraume blinks, finding it hard to believe that Sukuna’s older brother doesn’t care about him. “Is he due home soon?”
Sukuna sighs, taking another drag from his joint. “Probably.”
Suddenly, the front door opens and closes with a slam. Uraume jumps in place, the wine sloshing in their glass and nearly falling in their lap. Sukuna groans and throws his head back, almost like a child.
And then Choso walks in.
He’s at least as tall as Sukuna, Uraume can tell that immediately. His hair is pulled into two messy buns, and like Sukuna, he’s got a tattoo on his face, across the bridge of his nose. He looks tired, with two dark bags under his eyes.
Their eyes meet for a second, deep rich brown so dark it almost looks black, meeting Uraume’s own pink eyes, and it feels like their stomach falls to their knees and rushes back up.
Uraume’s never felt anything like it before. It’s like they’re going to be sick, but not really. It hardly lasts a second, then Choso looks to his brother and the effect disappears.
They take a very large gulp of wine all the same.
“You shouldn’t smoke in the house,” Choso complains, taking the joint from Sukuna. “It makes Yuuji upset.”
Sukuna rolls his eyes, simply pulling another joint from his pocket. It was a little funny how he was completely prepared for exactly this to happen.
“It’s even worse when you have guests. You’re giving our family a bad name,” Choso continues.
Those dark eyes land on Uraume again, and once again it feels like the floor drops out from underneath Uraume despite the fact that they’re sitting.
Maybe Megumi knows what the feeling is? Their fingers dart toward their phone, but it would be rude to pick it up with company, so they don’t unlock it, not yet.
“Heaven forbid I give Yuuji a bad name,” Sukuna says dryly. “You know, you’re the one being rude. You haven’t even introduced yourself to my friend yet.”
“Yuuji says you don’t have friends,” Choso shoots back, not seeming to realize just what he’s saying. He looks back at Uraume a second later, nodding his head respectfully. “I’m Sukuna’s onii-chan.”
“I’m not calling you that!”
Uraume ignores Sukuna, as does Choso. “It is very nice to meet you. I’m Uraume, Sukuna’s friend.”
Choso doesn’t bother to introduce himself by name, not that there’s a need to. It feels kind of strange to name themself as Sukuna’s friend. But they suppose that’s as good of a word as any.
They feel the need to clarify that they’re not dating Sukuna. Not that Choso wouldn’t already know that, since Sukuna wasn’t shy about his relationship with Megumi, but they feel the need to make it perfectly clear.
Choso looks them up and down, contemplating a moment, before he turns back to Sukuna, an edge to his voice, saying, “Dinner’s at six.”
Without another glance back at Uraume or Sukuna, Choso disappears the same way he came in. Uraume goes to drink the last of their wine, only to discover that their glass is empty.
Sukuna lights the second joint as soon as Choso leaves the room, a small sigh leaving his lips.
“That was weird,” he comments, and everything in Uraume freezes for a moment.
Was it weird, were they weird? Why did they even care if Choso thought they were weird? They hadn’t even cared what Megumi thought of them when they first met, why should they care about what Choso thinks?
Sukuna lets out a long suffering sigh, going back to staring at the ceiling. Uraume pours themself another glass of wine.
“He normally talks to Yuuji’s friends, and he likes Megumi,” Sukuna muses.
Alright, so Uraume messed everything up even more so than they thought. They’re not even sure what they did mess up, only that they did mess it up.
“If I didn’t know any better,” Sukuna continues, completely oblivious to Uraume’s internal struggle, “I’d say he was a bit...flustered.”
Uraume’s not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It sure is something, they suppose.
They gulp down another glass of wine, and Sukuna tells them they’re spending the night so they don’t get into a car accident and kill someone.
Surprisingly, for the first time, Uraume’s okay with that.
Sukuna’s too high to go to bed that night, so Uraume helps him. They steal a pillow from Sukuna’s bed and make their way back downstairs.
They stumble a little on the way, tired and looking for the couch to sleep on, when someone’s there. Uraume thinks they crash into a wall at first, pulling back with a small groan as they rub their nose which stings from the harsh impact. Large hands grasp their elbows, steadying them as they stumble.
“What’re you doing up so late?” Choso asks, deep voice a quiet murmur. “It’s almost two in the morning.”
They look down at the pillow, still held in their grasp and stolen from Sukuna’s bed. Choso finally sees it too, in the dark, a small noise of understanding leaving his lips.
“Did he even get you a blanket?” Choso mutters.
Uraume doesn't know how to reply, so they don’t. They run cold anyway, sometimes blankets can be too much, especially in the middle of summer when it’s already hot.
A large hand presses against the small of their back, leading them through dark hallways until they’re at a room Uraume’s never been in before. Choso leads them to bed, and it takes a moment for Uraume to realize where they are.
It’s Choso’s room. The walls are covered in pictures of his brothers, Sukuna and Yuuji, and two others that Uraume doesn’t recognize. Before they can look around more, Choso’s leading them to lay down, taking the pillow from their grasp.
“You can sleep here tonight,” he says. “Get some rest.”
A blanket is pulled up over them, with the smell of smoke and the barest hint of metal coming from it, and Uraume finds themselves falling into sleep quicker and deeper than they ever have before.
And it doesn’t matter if they’re in a strange place, they feel safe.
“Dude, you’re being weird. Why did you make Uraume sleep in your room? They would have been happy on the couch.”
Choso grunts, ignoring Sukuna for a moment in favor of making sure Yuuji didn’t burn himself making breakfast. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”
He simply couldn’t handle the thought of leaving them to sleep out on the couch because Sukuna had been so irresponsible to get too high when he had company.
It’s not like it had been better this morning. As soon as Uraume woke up, they had left with bowed apologies and hastily made their way from Choso’s room and barely said good morning to Sukuna before they were out the door.
Choso hadn’t even had a chance to say good bye. A disappointing morning all around.
“Leave Choso alone,” Yuuji defends. “He’s just nervous because he’s got a crush on Uraume.”
The entire kitchen goes silent except for the crackle of bacon cooking on the stove. Sukuna’s crimson gaze snaps over to Choso before Choso can even think of a rebuttal.
“You have a crush on someone?” Sukuna asks. “On Uraume of all people?”
Is it a crush? Choso doesn’t even know. He’s heard Sukuna talk about it sometimes, when he talks about Megumi and how he feels, and how Yuuji talks about some of his partners.
There’s a small warmth that pools in his stomach at the thoughts of Uraume. Choso wants more of it.
“I don’t have a crush,” he says after a moment. Then he thinks, trying to put his thoughts into words so he won’t insult Sukuna about his best—and possibly only—friend.
“I just think they’re pretty.”
Sukuna chokes on his coffee and Yuuji bursts into laughter, clutching his stomach from the force of it. He isn’t really sure why Yuuji’s laughing, but Sukuna looks like he’d rather be anywhere else in the world than with him.
Well, Choso figures that it doesn’t matter. It’s not like he’ll see Uraume again anytime soon.
“How did you know you liked Sukuna?”
Megumi chokes on ginger tea, sputtering and coughing. Uraume hasn’t ordered for themselves, and has no plans to.
Okay, so it might be a question that Uraume’s had for ages now. Sukuna isn’t a very likeable man. He’s rash and rude and even cruel at times. But with Megumi, he’s calm, dare say Uraume, even nice at times.
It’s not like it’s a secret to everyone that Megumi can do so much better, but Sukuna had managed to charm him, and it remained a mystery to everyone just how.
“Where’s this coming from, Uraume?” Megumi asks, still coughing lightly as they mop up spilled ginger tea.
Uraume should order him another, but not before they get an answer for their question.
“I don’t know,” Megumi ends up saying, fiddling with the edge of his cup. “There’s the chemistry at first, you know? Sukuna put himself out there and I decided to give him a chance. Dating is just like that, you give someone a chance and take it from there.”
Uraume nods, trying to think of any time they might have dated before. They had one awkward kiss when they were in high school, from a boy who didn’t understand that they weren’t a boy or a girl, they simply were, and kissed them behind the gym.
Dating, though? They’ve never even been on a date.
“What brought this on? Did you meet someone that you like?” Megumi asks.
Uraume shifts uncomfortably, from side to side without speaking for a moment. It’s awkward to say, but they think if anyone would understand them, it would be Megumi.
Taking a deep breath, they force themselves to say who it is.
“I met Sukuna’s older brother, Choso, the other day.”
Megumi’s whole face lights up with delight. Uraume holds their hands up, frantic for a moment.
“You can’t tell Sukuna!” Uraume quickly says. “I don’t know what he’d think—”
“Oh who cares what he thinks? Sukuna will be fine,” Megumi dismisses. “So you like Choso?”
They’re not even sure that this feeling they have is like, they just know that the floor seems to disappear underneath them when they think of Choso, and they’ve never felt like this before.
“I think so?” Uraume answers after a moment. “What am I supposed to do about it?”
Megumi lets out a little laugh, taking a sip of his tea once more. “What do you want to do about it?”
What do they want to do about it? Megumi looks endlessly amused by it, even though Uraume doesn’t think that this is anything to be amused by.
“Choso’s a really nice guy. Just tell him how you feel and I’m sure he’ll feel the same, or at least go on a date with you. I’d be more worried about how Sukuna takes it.”
Uraume deflates a little before they can help it. Of course Sukuna wouldn’t want them to date his brother. It would be weird. “Do you think he won’t be okay with it?”
“No, that’s not what I mean,” Megumi corrects. “I think he’d be more worried that his brother would hurt his best friend.”
Uraume flushes, not exactly sure why, but before they can think of anything to say, suddenly Megumi’s pulling out his phone, texting someone that Uraume can’t see.
“Okay, Choso’s on his way. Ask him out and have fun! I’ll help you talk to Sukuna if you need me to.”
Uraume blinks, and blinks again, and before they can say anything more, Megumi’s already turning around, leaving the cafe with a wave and a promise that everything will work out.
Should they wait? Should they leave? They’re not really sure. It would be rude to leave and have Choso get stood up.
Half an hour, they resolve. Half an hour and then they’ll leave.
They order a slice of tiramisu cake from the server, and resolve themselves to wait patiently, in the hopes of Choso showing up.
Exactly eleven minutes later, the door to the cafe chimes with a new visitor.
Uraume glances up, a fork full of tiramisu cake halfway to their lips. Choso’s breathing like he’s run a mile, sweat on his forehead and clothes wrinkled. When he sees Uraume, his shoulders slump, relaxing all at once.
“Are you okay?” Uraume asks, unable to help themselves.
Without ceremony, he walks towards them, taking the seat across from them that Megumi had just vacated.
“Megumi said it was an emergency and that you need a ride home.”
Uraume blinks, knowing for a fact that their car is outside because they drove to meet Megumi here, and almost laughs. But Choso looks so frazzled that they think that it might be a bit too mean to do that.
“Oh,” Uraume says. “You came all this way for me?”
Choso doesn’t even blink. “Of course.”
A small blush comes over their cheeks. Maybe Megumi’s right. Maybe they just need to take that step.
Well, Uraume’s never been one for beating around the bush. Choso came all this way, they might as well get to their point.
“I think I like you,” Uraume confesses, “and I’d like to go on a date.”
Choso blinks, and before Uraume’s very eyes, Uraume watches a furious blush take over Choso’s face, from the tips of his ears all the way to his neck.
There’s a pause, and Uraume has so many butterflies in their stomach that they can’t even bring themselves to think about finishing their tiramisu.
“Okay,” Choso says after the most agonizing ten seconds of Uraume’s life. “I like you too.”
And it’s as simple as that. Megumi was right, they didn’t have to worry about anything. Choso gives them a smile, extending his hand across the table, and Uraume takes it.
They think their hands fit together quite nicely, but they might just be a bit biased.
Uraume smiles down at their phone, thumbs sliding over the keys.
Sukuna watches them, brow quirked, slightly amused by it. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen them look down at their phone with such interest. Nor has Uraume ever skipped work to do so.
But they work hard, so Sukuna waits. Plus, he’s never been the biggest one on working hard. He’d rather just relax and message Megumi or get some food.
“Uraume,” he eventually says, and they jump, phone nearly falling from their hands. “Who’re you messaging?”
Pink eyes widen, staring back at Sukuna. He’s not upset , but it’s kind of funny to watch Uraume act like a deer caught in the headlights. Sukuna’s never seen the reaction before, Uraume doesn’t seem to have any secrets.
“Uraume, are you seeing someone?”
They flush deeply, moving awkwardly in place, and Sukuna’s managed to hit the nail on the head, didn’t he?
“You are!” Sukuna laughs. “Who is it? You’ve never wanted to date anyone before.”
Uraume holds their phone in their hand, actually looking a little distraught. Sukuna normally wouldn’t push with Uraume, but his curiosity is getting the better of him.
So he waits, until Uraume looks ready to bolt, and finally blurts out the last name that Sukuna expects to hear.
“Choso.” Uraume looks down at their phone again. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Sukuna’s eyes widen minutely before he settles. He knows his brother, no matter how annoying he gets, and he knows that Choso will treat Uraume well.
No matter how weird it is. But it’s fine right? His older brother is dating his best friend.
Totally not weird.
“It’s fine,” Sukuna dismisses. “You’re too good for him though.”
Uraume gives him the smallest smile, one that Sukuna normally sees directed at Megumi or the rarest of occurrences.
“I don’t agree,” Uraume murmurs after a moment. “I think he’s too good for me.”
Yeah, this totally isn’t weird. The next thing Sukuna’s going to be thinking of is them having sex and—
And he’s already picturing it. He cringes, standing to get a glass of water and pretend that he isn’t filled with disgust at the thought of his best friend and brother having sex.
Just then, the door opens, and Sukuna could recognize the thump of Choso’s boots on the ground anywhere. He looks up, just in time to see Choso freeze at the door, and Uraume offers a small wave.
The tension could be cut with a knife. Sukuna revels in it, especially in the way Choso awkwardly shifts in the doorway, seeing the two of them together.
“I told him,” Uraume says simply. “I should call Megumi.”
Sukuna knows that if anyone would treat his best friends well, it’s Choso. And there’s probably no one better for Choso than Uraume as well. They compliment each other well.
That doesn’t mean that Sukuna has to like it.
Choso stiffly nods, eyeing Sukuna warily before he walks past him, up to Uraume. The touch between them is casual, intimate. Choso places a hand on Uraume’s shoulder, that Uraume leans into, and Sukuna’s never seen them like this before.
He doesn’t even think Choso’s ever dated someone, and Sukuna knows for a fact that Uraume’s never dated someone before.
Uraume says something quietly that Sukuna can’t hear, and Choso leans down, pressing a soft kiss against their forehead, and that’s enough —
Calmly, he sets his glass aside, cracks his knuckles, and pounces on Choso to tear them apart. “You weren’t going to tell me? What do you think you’re doing with them?”
Choso doesn’t even look bothered, a small sigh leaves his lips. “Dating them?”
Behind them, Uraume lets out a snort of a laugh that Sukuna’s never heard before, not even trying to pull them apart.
“Oh, that’s it,” Sukuna growls, grappling Choso to the floor.
They haven’t wrestled since they were kids, since Choso was always afraid of hurting him or Yuuji, but they grapple now, each trying to get the upper hand, torn between being amused and actually being angry with each other.
Uraume sighs, picking up their phone to call Megumi. They need another sane person here to deal with this.
Megumi arrives barely five minutes later, knocking before using his spare key to walk inside. The first thing he sees is Uraume, offering him a glass of red wine.
The second thing he sees is his boyfriend, wrestling on the ground with his brother.
“What are you two, twelve?” Megumi mutters, taking the glass from Uraume. He rushed over here for this?
The pair on the ground completely ignores him, continuing their wrestling like nothing else matters.
“We’re dating two idiots, you realize this right?” Megumi asks, turning to Uraume.
A small, fond smile covers Uraume’s face. “Yes, but they’re our idiots.”
Watching Sukuna and Choso knock over a lamp in their wrestling match, Megumi can’t argue with that.
He’s more upset by the fact that he doesn’t even want to.