Archive of Our Own ^beta

Rubbing your eyes with one hand, you padded over to the door out to the hall, wearing an old t-shirt and sweatpants of his from high school. Holes poked in the hem, the cotton faded from its original color, but comfy, nostalgic.

Back when he was your best friend and you were his. Without all of this other stuff blurring the lines.

It'd be easy to claim fame changed him. But it hadn't.

He was still the same person you'd always known - why should you hold him following the only thing he'd ever dreamed about against him?

You could only step back.

Slowly closing the door behind you, wincing at the creak of the hinges when it clicked shut.

“Hello?” You croaked into the phone, eyes half-closed and brain mostly-asleep while you leaned against the wall.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Gojo happily chirped on the other end.

You grimaced, brows furrowing as you asked yourself how the fuck you could forget to check who was calling before answering.

“What?” You huffed, preemptively pinching the bridge of your nose to massage the inner corners of your eyes, like it'd prevent the headache from forming.

“There's been a slight change of plans today, but-”

There couldn't be a change of plans.

You reluctantly agreed to picking up the stupid guitar pick from him this afternoon in the narrow time slot you had between watching Yuji and going to Sukuna’s show. You didn't have any other time to see him, not if you were going to return it before he knew it was missing, before you could add another item on the list of things for him to get pissed at you for tonight.

“Seriously?” You struggled to keep your voice quiet, not wanting to wake up the man passed out in the room behind you or alert the rest of the house. “I'm babysitting my friend’s toddler today. However important you think your schedule is-”

“Sorry, sorry,” Gojo immediately started apologizing, stumbling over his words to backpedal. “That actually might work even better, actually, you know that playground on-”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” You hissed, trying to wrap your head around what he could possibly be talking about.

“Wow, that sounded terrible,” He laughed, having at least an inkling of self-awareness. “I’m actually babysitting too.”

You didn't know who would trust him to take care of children.

“I'll send you the address, but I'll be there with them after lunch,” He casually said, your phone already buzzing tucked between your ear and your shoulder while you sighed.

“Fine, whatever,” You sighed. As irritating as it was, it'd give you more time to get ready before tonight, so it wasn't the worst thing in the world.

Through the wall, you heard the creak of the wooden floors inside the bedroom, your cue to hang up before you got caught conspiring behind enemy lines.

“I gotta go, see you, I guess,” You muttered, ending the call right as the door swung open and Sukuna stepped out. You were ready for the scowl, the glare he'd cut at you for disturbing his rest, but it wasn't there.

His eyes were dark, sure, but it was his pupils that were staring back at you, the color reduced to a thin ring around them, his face frozen in this weird expression that almost looked like panic, the way his bottom lip was barely parted and all the muscles were too taut, too tense.

“Sorry,” You apologized first, slipping your phone in your pocket before folding your arms across your chest.

“What?” The question was hoarse, thick with exhaustion when he stared down at you. He didn't offer a follow-up either, not demanding to know what you were doing or who you were talking to.

“For waking you up?” You couldn't keep looking at him when he kept watching you like that, his stare searing through you, studying you like he'd never even fucking seen you before. Looking down at the dirt stuck in the floorboards, the faint marker stains on the wall below knee level from where Yuji had colored that wouldn't come off all the way no matter how much Jin and Kaori scrubbed, glancing over your shoulder at the empty hall.

He didn't reply, just standing there unmoving.

“I’m, uh, just going to let Jin and Kaori drop me off at my place, by the way. Kaori said she'd get the carseat from her car and Jin can install it in mine, so, um, you don't have to do any of that,” You were almost rambling, talking too fast just to get through with saying it.

You’d gone back to the kitchen post-sex last night and bumped into her there making Yuji a bottle of milk before bed. Giving you the same sympathetic look you'd been receiving your whole life wherever Sukuna was involved. She offered their assistance before you even had to ask.

“No,” He grunted, his brows furrowed together. “I’ll do it.”

“It's fine, they already said they would, you don't-”

“I said I'll do it, okay?” He grimaced, finally ripping his eyes away from yours to look back in the direction of the living room, the sound of Yuji crying over something carrying through the hall.

Beads of sweat were pricking at his forehead, pink hair sticking up in odd places, a spot chewed raw on his lip as his attention shifted back to you, pinning you in your place against the wall.

“Did you have a nightmare or something?” You asked, frowning harder with each new detail you noticed.

“No,” He scoffed, his head immediately turning though, like he didn't want you to see his reaction.

You waited for him to stop being so fucking bizarre.

But he didn't, not even after you took a shower and got dressed, sitting next to you at the kitchen table like there wasn't a weird weight to his silence, the stares you picked up on out of the corner of your vision. Just picking at the pancakes Jin made for everyone, not making any rude comments when Yuji spilled his orange juice onto his plate or when he got poked in the eye trying to buckle him into his car seat after brunch.

“We're going to my place first, buddy, then I'm going to take you to the playground, okay?” You hummed, nudging Sukuna over so you could finish the job of wrangling him into the seat.

“Slide?” He asked, wide-eyed, just paying attention to the only word that mattered to him - playground.

“Uh-huh, you can slide, or swing, whatever you wanna do,” You smiled, ruffling his hair as the buckle clicked into place.

The car ride was still awkward, although you tried to occupy yourself by talking back to Yuji every time he babbled, just so you didn't have to address the man in the driver's seat.

By the time you made it back to your place, you felt like you were suffocating on the tension in the air, the drawn out way he kept glancing over at you that you couldn't begin to decipher. You were rushing to get out of the car first, walking around to get Yuji out of his seat before he started screaming or throwing a fit, cradling him against your hip right as Sukuna slammed the car door shut behind him.

“Wait,” He mumbled, huffing, a hand on your side before you could react. “I’ll get him. He's heavy as-”

You covered his mouth with your free hand.

“Language, remember?” You interrupted.

You weren't going to bring Yuji back repeating a few new fun words he picked up from his uncle on your watch.

“Sorry.”

It was muffled, okay, but he didn't bite or spit or slam his hand over yours in retaliation.

You might need to consult a fucking exorcist if he was going to keep acting like a man possessed.

Or if you wanted to be really optimistic about it, maybe it was just the universe sedating him long enough for you to sever the connection without blowing up your friendship in the process.

Still stunned, you were almost limp when he grabbed Yuji from you, taking a few steps towards your apartment building before stopping to wait for you to follow.

Running through the possibility of bodysnatchers and clones when he actually sat down in your living room to watch Yuji while you changed out of his old clothes and fixed your makeup to finish getting ready for the day. But no, when you stepped out quietly into the hall, he was scowling at Yuji, his typical frown and clenched jaw firmly in place while Yuji clambered all over him. No, it was just when he noticed you standing there that his face softened a little, just enough to be neutral.

“Took you long enough,” He grumbled, swatting at Yuji's hand when the toddler tried to yank his hair.

You tossed him your car keys, Yuji clapping when he caught them mid-air.

“Sorry,” You shrugged. “Mind looking at my tires after you put the car seat? They felt kind of slick when it rained the other-”

“Whatever,” He grunted under his breath, moving Yuji off of him when he stood up.

He'd check for you anyway.

By the time you packed snacks and juice boxes in a bag and wrangled Yuji down the elevator, Sukuna was waiting between your cars, scrolling on his phone and leaning against his driver's door.

“Thanks.”

He didn't move while you buckled Yuji in and tossed your bag in the backseat, staring at you with stoic, almost bored eyes. You didn't walk around to him, awkwardly waving.

“Guess, um, I'll see you tonight,” You forced a thin smile while you talked.

“Yeah,” It was hardly a grunt of acknowledgement.

But it clung to the corners of your mind while you took Yuji out to a quick lunch, even if the only food he ate off his plate was fries and he tried climbing underneath the table every few minutes until you finally managed to get him to sit still in your lap. Gojo had sent a few texts, reminders that he was already at the playground and asking when you'd be there. You stared at the screen, struggling to come up with a response when your brain refused to relocate any resources to anything other than the asshole invading your head even after you paid the bill and carried Yuji back out.

Leave it to Sukuna to find some new way to throw you completely off-kilter again, rearrange your thoughts so they were still circling around him even when you'd made up your mind to tell him you were done hooking up with him tonight.

Yuji made it a little easier to forget what was weighing you down with a chubby-cheeked smile, his hand in yours when you got him out of the car and he saw you arrived at your next destination.

“Slide!” He grinned, little sneakers hitting the pavement as he pulled away from you to stumble forward into the mulch.

Just to smack straight into a little girl clutching a stuffed animal to her chest.

“Yuji!” You called out, rushing over to check both of them out. Grabbing Yuji’s arm and gave him a quick lookover, uninjured, just blinking at you like he was confused why you even stopped him.

The girl was sniffling, rubbing her nose when you glanced over.

“Hi, sweetie. Are you okay?” You asked, searching her face for any bumps or bruises.

She shyly nodded, holding her stuffed animal tighter.

You looked around for a parent, anyone who might be responsible for her before she started to cry.

You just hadn't expected who you would find.

Almost didn't even recognize them.

Suguru had another little girl perched on his hip, dark eyes scanning over the playground until his eyes landed on the toddler in front of you and then to where you were squatting down next to her. Gojo was a couple steps behind him, a dark pair of shades covering his eyes, a hoodie barely concealing his stark white hair, like they were trying not to stand out.

A hint of surprise flickered across Suguru’s face before he turned to grumble something back to his friend, the muscles in his face pulling rigid before he started walking over to you.

Yuji started tugging on your sleeves, whining something you couldn't understand while they approached.

“Yours?” You tentatively asked whenever Suguru was close enough, the way the girl immediately started clinging to his leg and mumbled daddy confirming it for you before he could.

“Yeah,” He nodded, searching your face for something. Disappointment, maybe? Shock? You were surprised, sure, but it's not like it was information you were entitled to. Seeing someone naked didn't mean you knew them. “I, uh, adopted them when they were babies, their parents weren't exactly great.”

Suguru grimaced when he explained, his narrowed gaze waiting for you to react with the judgement he clearly expected.

“Yuji, can you say hi? Tell her sorry for running into her?” You nudged him, and the toddler reluctantly waved, throwing big eyes towards the playground he so desperately wanted to play on. You tried to put on your most comforting smile when the one with the stuffed animal peeked out at you. “I’m just babysitting for a friend.”

“Sowwy,” Yuji mumbled, just as Gojo finished striding over.

“Who wants to go on the big slide?” He grinned, the girl in Suguru’s arm stretching her arms out to get carried by him instead.

“Me!” Yuji smiled, running over to grab the leg of his pants, apparently possessing absolutely zero concept of stranger danger.

“You coming, Mimi?” Gojo bent over to poke the other girl’s nose, jutting his head towards the playground.

“Yeah,” She reluctantly nodded.

You threw a cautious look at Suguru, silently asking for confirmation that Yuji would be fine with him.

“He's not as bad as he seems,” Suguru nodded, giving his daughters permission to go with him. “Most of the time.”

“Very reassuring,” You held back your laugh, watching the way Yuji was already trying to drag him over to the steps.

“l won't let them leave your sight, alright?” Gojo offered with a wink directed at you. “C’mon, kids, let's leave the lovebirds to chat.”

“I'm sorry about him,” Suguru murmured once he was out of earshot, stepping closer to stand next to you. It felt kind of silly to watch the four of them make their way across the playground platform, the manchild helping the little ones up the steps to the slide.

“I, uh, didn't realize I'd be seeing you, too,” You admitted, stealing a peek at him. You probably would've picked a cuter outfit at least.

“I didn't know you'd be here either,” Suguru echoed, reaching over his shoulder to rub the back of his neck, half his dark hair swept up out of his face, a thin pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. Seeing him in a more natural setting, sunlight filtering through the trees and offering a subtle warmth to all his features, watching him with his daughters, the small smile on his soft lips achingly real, started to shift the perception of him you'd let Sukuna color.

“You didn't?” You couldn’t help the pull he had over you, your attention drawn back to him every time you tried to focus on watching Yuji go down the slide, laughing and babbling while he chased the other two back up the stairs to go again.

“I told him I’d return your pick to you myself when I found out he stole it,” He explained, his focus starting to soften, his arm brushing against yours when he moved closer again. Gojo's phone call this morning came to mind, the change of plans he mentioned and you'd interrupted before he insisted on you meeting him here instead. He wanted you to know about the girls. “But he likes to meddle.”

“I kinda guessed that,” You muttered with a light laugh, sticking your hands in your jacket and watching the subject in question pull the beanie over Yuji’s hair down to his eyes, laughing at whatever the toddler was babbling at him while his clumsy little fingers tried to fix it. The little girls were holding hands, whispering something to each other. Even though they weren't identical, you were pretty sure they were still twins. You nodded towards them before hesitantly asking your next question. “How old are they?”

“They just turned three. Mimiko’s the one with the doll,” Suguru answered, an automatic smile curling up just from talking about them while he gestured first to the one Yuji ran into. “And then there's Nanako.”

“Yuji’s two. And a half, I think,” You replied. He was tall for his age, though, the same height as the twins.

There was a pause while he studied your side profile, your arms folding across your chest when you finally turned to face him.

“What?”

“You don't mind?” He asked, and you weren't sure what he was really asking. You didn't mind that he had daughters? Or that he concealed it?

“Why would I?” You shrugged. Jin had quit the band for Yuji, at least partially because of how hard it'd be to provide privacy and shield him from all the harsher sides of life the spotlight came with. How Suguru managed to keep so much of his life under wraps under the scrutiny of their rabid fan base was more impressive than anything else.

Just having sex with him didn't mean you were owed anything more than aftercare.

Although, you did appreciate his choice of hotel a little more now that you knew he couldn't exactly bring you home to where his toddlers were sleeping.

“Kids aren't a dealbreaker for you?” He murmured, his hand grazing against your own, his thumb ghosting over your knuckle.

“A dealbreaker?” You repeated, eyebrows actually arching up in surprise this time. “No, but um, you know, I might get the wrong idea if you say it like that.”

“And what would that be?” He hm-ed, familiar amusement returning to his voice as he slipped his fingers in-between yours, and even though his hand was cold, his palm pressed against yours was nice, comforting.

“That you might actually like me.” Holding your hand like he was your boyfriend instead of someone who just wanted to warm your bed.

“Then you have the right idea,” He shrugged effortlessly.

You didn't know how to respond to his open admission.

He made everything sound easy. Running the pad of his thumb back over your knuckle, casually looking back over at Mimiko letting Yuji go down the big slide first, while Gojo waited at the bottom to catch him.

“What are you going to do about it then?” You tentatively asked, hope you hated inflating in your chest at the thought he wanted the more he made you crave.

“Would you like to go on a date with me?” His voice was so soft, so serious, you had a hard time believing anyone would tell him no.

“You have something in mind already?” You hummed, biting down on the inside of your cheek so he wouldn't see the stupid smile trying to spread across your face.

“Depends. Are you free tonight?” His question was laced with a subtle sort of sensuality, but maybe it was just because it was him. The low pitch of his voice and the intensity in his stare didn't exactly make things sound innocent.

“Sorry, I have plans,” You pouted, waiting for him to react, waiting to see if he thought you were worth rescheduling.

“Next Friday then?” He didn't falter though, his fingers pressing down lightly against the back of your hand when you nodded. “There’s a little drive-in theater not too far from here, if you like movies.”

“Sure.”

You probably would've said yes to anything he suggested.

“I’ll get a babysitter for the girls,” He murmured, glancing back at where they were all still playing, although Gojo was still acting closer to their age than he was a responsible supervisor.

“Guess you're lucky I think you're even hotter as a dilf,” You attempted to crack a joke, chewing on your bottom lip when you made him chuckle, the faint lines by his eyes crinkling.

“Yeah?” He cocked his head to the side, the tension starting to release from his body at your acceptance.

“Yeah,” You nodded, shrugging the bag over your shoulder higher as you tried to subtly shift so your arms were touching, your hip bumping into his side.

The sound of someone crying snapped you out of it, looking up to see Yuji had tripped walking back over to you, scraping his hands trying to catch himself.

“Shit,” You muttered, hurrying over to comfort him, getting down on your knees to pull him into a hug with one arm while you pulled down your bag so you could rummage through it for the bandaids you usually kept in there. “You alright, Yuji?”

“Ouch,” He whined between sniffles, holding his hands out for you to inspect. They were barely even scratched, not even bleeding, but that didn't really matter to a toddler.

“I have bandaids if you need them,” Suguru offered behind you, a hand on your shoulder before he squatted down next to you.

“Could've sworn I had some in here,” You muttered, flustered as Yuji’s tears kept falling, knowing they wouldn't stop until he had something cute to cover it up and convince him it was all better.

“Here,” He insisted, producing one out of his pocket, complete with some colorful puppy characters that made Yuji's eyes light up, all the tears immediately drying when you peeled the back off.

“Thanks,” You exhaled a sigh of relief, putting it over his palm. He still grabbed onto your jeans though, rubbing the back of his eyes like he was sleepy already, ready for an afternoon nap even though it'd barely been a few minutes.

“Hey, Suguru!” Gojo called out, Mimiko in one arm and Nanako in the other, the latter yawning. “Think the girls are about done playing. I'm gonna take them back to your car.”

“Sure, thanks, I'll be there in a few,” Suguru nodded with a wave, while Gojo continued carrying them back to the parking lot.

“So, uh, next week?” You swallowed hard, hoping you didn't sound as giddy as you felt at the prospect.

“Yeah, I'll pick you up,” He smirked, and you knew he knew anyway.

“Great,” You softly said, resisting the temptation to bite your nails in front of him or let something idiotic come out of your mouth next.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” He muttered, glancing down as he dug something out of his pocket.

You were almost convinced this whole thing was a dream, or maybe a really weird hallucination when you realized it was a small jewelry box.

But then, he opened it, Sukuna’s pick sitting in the velvet inside instead of a bracelet or a necklace, and you couldn't help but laugh.

“Was that one of Gojo’s ideas too?” You grinned as he closed the lid and passed it over to you, slipping it into your bag before you could lose it again.

“How’d you know?” He wryly replied.

“Thanks,” You giggled again, a honk from the parking lot reminding you he was supposed to be leaving soon. “It was good to see you.”

“Yeah, you too.” He let his eyes drift back over you one more time, like he wanted to make sure he captured the image in his brain, subtly studying your smile.

You waited for him to turn and go, but he stepped forward, one hand gently cupping your cheek.

“You know, you left before I could kiss you goodbye last time,” He murmured, sounding almost disappointed about it.

“You really wanted to kiss me?” You couldn't hide your surprise, still struggling to figure out what slot he had placed you in, where his feelings for you fell.

“Almost as much as I do right now,” He hummed back.

“Then do it,” You teased.

It was soft, pure.

A chaste kiss barely pressed on your lips, nothing that would make any of the parents or anyone glancing over bat an eye, but it felt life-changing. Like the whole world had found a new center of gravity, revolving around the thought of kissing him again, seeing him again.

You wanted it to be real more than you ever wanted anything else before.

“Ew,” Yuji whined, a little fist hitting your leg to interrupt the moment. Where did he even learn that?

“Drive home safe, okay?” He pulled away, squeezing your arm before he glanced back towards the parking lot.

“If you want me to text you, you don't have to ask me to let you know when I make it back home just for the excuse.” It was only half a joke, barely managing to sound coy when excitement was still rippling through the cool surface you were clinging to.

“I’ll be waiting then,” He chuckled, pushing a loose bang away from his face.

“Bye, Suguru,” You murmured, waving as you watched him leave.

It wasn't the same car he'd driven you in before - this one was big enough to fit the car seats in the back, a family-sized sedan, the windows tinted enough you couldn't really make out much of the inside.

You bent down to pick up Yuji properly, hoisting him up until he was sitting on your hip. If Sukuna was right about anything, it was that he was fucking heavy.

“You wanna go take a nap? Or play some more?”

“Mm’ sleepy,” Yuji yawned again, rubbing his eyes. You fixed the strap of your bag over your shoulder, readjusting as you started back to your car while Suguru’s pulled out of the parking lot onto the street.

It was only then that you noticed him.

Sukuna’s car was parked close to yours, the engine still running.

Did he follow you?

You clenched your jaw, walking towards it instead, Yuji’s head resting against your shoulder snapping up when you banged on the driver’s window.

“Roll this stupid fucking window down,” You gritted your teeth.

But he was incapable of listening, opening up the door instead, forcing you to move before it hit you. The scowl you'd been searching for all morning was there all right, disdain scrawled all over his face.

“And you told me not to curse in front of the brat?” He scoffed.

“Do you think I can't take care of him or are you just here to be an asshole?” You hissed under your breath. You felt like you were being strangled - torn somewhere between embarrassment and hurt, guilty like you'd been caught doing something you shouldn't and anger that he shouldn't even be here in the first place.

“Your location is still on, idiot,” He flicked your forehead, towering over you as he glanced around the playground’s parking lot. “You didn't answer my text. Figured the thing was giving you trouble.”

You were turning your location off after this, if he was going to keep using it like this to show up whenever you didn't expect it. Had he seen Suguru too?

Probably not, you reluctantly decided, the momentary panic starting to subside. He would've made a scene if he had, or gotten into some stupid pissing contest just to prove he possessed you first or something equally idiotic.

“We’re fine,” You grumbled, walking back around him to go to your own car.

“Hey, brat.” You were two seconds from snapping at him that he couldn't call you that either, but then Yuji's head popped up, butchering something that sounded like a yeah before you realized Sukuna was actually talking to his nephew. “Wanna get some ice cream?”