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Laying on his stomach across one of the chairs in the library, Gojo continued to complain about how warm it was. Geto was sitting across the table from him staring out the window, he hummed his agreement as he had done the past six times Gojo had complained. The bustle and noise of other students around them was almost overwhelming to the senses.
"Remind me again why I had to tag along?" Sukuna said with a practised tiredness to his tone.
Dragging the tip of her finger along the spines of one book after the other, Shoko responded, "You're the only one with a library card."
On a rare occasion where he wasn't rushing from school to something else that he had to do, Shoko had accosted him by the school gates. Gojo and Geto trailing behind as always, the library was meant to be an escape from the heat for them. The air conditioning shuddering on inside the building was barely doing anything though. There were also enough people inside with them that it felt sweltering.
"Can we at least get some ice cream afterwards?"
"You made me buy you ice cream yesterday, greedy."
"But the flavour I got yesterday wasn't my favourite."
"So, now you need to get your favourite today?"
The back and forth between Gojo and Geto was easy enough to push to the back of one's mind. Sukuna was occupied enough with Shoko who had stacked about eight books into his arms, which he doesn't remember offering as a way to carry them. She was muttering to herself. So, he didn't have it in him to distract her and hand them back over, nor did he have the energy to tell the other two to shut up.
Clearly reaching a peak in a disagreement Geto counters whatever had been said with, "Blue moon ice cream is the better choice! It's been my favourite since forever."
"Taro ice cream is clearly better. It's a pretty purple too! Just like your eyes." Was Gojo's response from where he had pushed himself up to argue better.
A little flustered from their exchange and at a stalemate, they turn their heads around to face Sukuna. Even though Sukuna wasn't facing them, he could feel their eyes on him unrelentingly. With a grim look on his face, Sukuna begrudgingly turned around and met their eyes which were too fierce to have resulted from an ice cream flavour debate. They were persistent though.
"Well, Sukuna? What's your favourite flavour."
"Of ice cream?"
"You must have one, it just can't be better than ours."
Squinting his eyes a little at the two of them, Sukuna shrugs and goes back to facing the bookshelf and responds half-heartedly with, "Never had any before."
"Any? Any ice cream?" Geto blurted out at the same time as Gojo responded with, "There's no way you've never had ice cream before!"
Mercifully done with scanning the bookshelf for books, Shoko simply started heading over towards the self-checkout section with a roll of her eyes. There was an easy smile on her face though, it was a warm day out and the thought of ice cream did sound good. Trailing these books around didn't sound that great on the other hand, it would come down to if she gave in to Gojo's whining.
"Now we have to go out for ice cream guys, we have to take Sukuna's ice cream virginity!"
"Why would you word it like that?" Geto said as he slapped him over the head. "But I do agree, ice cream does sound good, and it'll be fun to introduce it to Sukuna."
"If Sukuna wants to, we can, but we've already taken up a bunch of his afternoon already."
Now he had three sets of eyes staring at him with varying levels of urgent desire. Sukuna really did have time to spare today which is why he didn't fight being swept up and brought to the library, and it's not like he wanted to be difficult. Rain on their parade and tell them he had no desire to go out and get ice cream, but the thought didn't sit right with him.
"I'd feel bad getting to try ice cream before my little brother does."
Sukuna didn't actually really know what he expected the lot of them to say to that. Maybe huff and puff their disappointment about not being allowed to have ice cream, but he didn't expect any of them would really fight against him on it. He had no desire to go out and enjoy himself with something like ice cream, when he knows he's never had to cash to spare for it before for Yuji.
What he didn't expect was the excited, "You have a little brother? Since when?"
Followed by the equally as excited, "You've never told us about a little brother, just bring him along! This is so exciting; I've never seen anyone try ice cream for the first time before!"
Their overbearing enthusiasm was how Sukuna found himself making his way towards the street he knows Yuji should be going down around this time. He had set it up so that Yuji had what functioned as perhaps an extra class after school. Not only did it keep him out of that house for longer, but it was meant to help him develop a little further.
It also meant he finished school after Sukuna did, and even with their added stop in the library. The process of scanning the books and borrowing them, of which had been rushed through as they all wanted to finally meet Sukuna's little brother. They managed to get there as Yuji was passing by with his bag that always seemed a little too big for how small he is.
"'Kuna?"
Such a small voice said with genuine, pure wonder as if Yuji honestly believed he was making this sight up in his own head. It took him only a moment of consideration before he was barreling towards Sukuna anyway. Clinging onto Sukuna's uniform excitedly as he asked what he was doing here. They didn't live together; Sukuna had been kicked out years ago so they didn't see each other as often as siblings might.
"Oh my god, he's like a littler version of Sukuna."
"Like twins except they were born like, a decade apart."
"The little one is far cuter though."
Peering around Sukuna, Yuji spotted the three that were trailing behind him. They were all taller than Yuji but not as tall as his big brother. He'd never seen them before, but he hadn't really seen many people around his big brother. It made him happy to see his brother was hanging around friends. Yuji knows how difficult it can be to make them.
"Kid, we are going to go get ice cream."
"Ice cream?" Yuji asked as if the concept was so foreign to them, "Do we have the money for that?"
"The rich kid over there is going to pay."
Gojo seemed to realize Sukuna meant him and sounded indignant, "I don't remember saying that."
He wasn't seriously upset though and the five of them made their way towards the nearest ice cream store. Shoko and Geto teasing Gojo the entire way about how the rich kid would be paying for all of them, how kind and benevolent he is. Despite his grumbling and fighting, he didn't hold out on them and bought them enough ice cream to make them feel sick afterwards.
The store was atrociously bright on the inside, and vibrantly colourful. At least the seats they were sat down on were comfortable, and Yuji looked excitedly at the different pictures painted onto the walls of the store from them. Ice creams of different flavours decorating the space. A musician he didn't recognize was playing a song over the radio, music filling the space around them.
Given Yuji had never tried any before, he was curious about the different flavours. Although he was hesitant at first, using someone else's money made him worried, but he finally got into it after trying the first flavour. Gojo kept going up with him for small portions of the different flavours he wanted to try out, before Yuji settled on one flavour, he liked the best and got a big ice cream of that.
Sukuna was content with just watching Yuji try it out but Yuji's imploring look that Sukuna joins in, had him getting one for himself too. A simple cookies & cream flavoured ice cream, one scoop in a normal waffle cone. It was nice though; sweet foods weren't something he often indulged in. Bitter and salty things were what he favoured, but this wasn't too bad.
After all their back and forth, Geto bought the flavour Gojo had been defending and admitted that it did taste good. Sticking by his beliefs and refusing to back down on his side of the argument that his favourite flavour was better. Shoko was quieter as she enjoyed her own ice cream, something bright pink and covered in sprinkles. She was talking to Yuji about something in low whispers, the conversation was hard to follow.
The day began to slowly bleed into evening time and the three first years went on their own ways home. While Sukuna made sure to get Yuji back to the apartment safely, though he didn't allow himself to go inside. He wasn't sure whether their mother would be home, but it was safer not to start something if she was. Yuji had been a mess of ice cream; Sukuna had used his shirt to clean him up.
Waving him off, Sukuna watched as Yuji let out one big final wave before disappearing through the doorway. Front door closing behind him and hiding him away from Sukuna's sight. Even though Sukuna didn't have any work he had to do tonight, he was feeling restless. Uncomfortable in his skin. With one final look at the apartment door, Sukuna walked away and decided to go find work for the evening.
That was the first time any of them had even met Yuji and it wasn't something they did frequently after the fact. Yuji was only about eight years old at the time, he probably barely remembers it besides it being his first time having ice cream. Yet that meeting put himself in Gojo's gravitational orbit. Whether you're in Gojo's care or in his debt, being dragged in never ends well.