Chapter Text
Finding a decent roommate should not be a challenge worthy of the gods. Somehow, despite going through the procedure several times before, Sukuna always managed to forget the struggles.
The demands they had were as simple as they were clear: be well-mannered and take care of your hygiene. It should be easy peasy lemon squeezy to find someone who lived up to that standard.
It was frightening how hard it was.
Sukuna listened to the door slamming shut after his brother Yuji followed yet another candidate to bid them goodbye. There were all kinds of people roaming around in the world, and somehow the candidates coming in hopes to rent the room in their loft were the weirdest of them all. Just minutes ago, they had politely listened to a musty-smelling alpha’s story about how his previous girlfriend had saved her pubes in a jar for him as an anniversary gift. If the decision to deny him the room had not already been made, it certainly was when he had pulled out the jar from his bag to show them.
And he wasn’t even the weirdest one.
”There’s one left, right?” Gojo, the loft’s other alpha, asked Yuji once he returned to the living room. He sank down on the couch with a huff.
”Someone named Megumi. Fushi-something, I think.” Yuji picked out his phone, and nodded after double-checking. “Fushiguro. Should be here any minute, we said five o’clock.”
“Wait.” Sukuna leaned back, one hand coming to rest behind his head as he knitted his brows. “I thought we said no girls.”
“When did we say that?” Yuji asked.
“Maybe we didn’t say it, but isn’t it sort of obvious?”
“How so? Might be your type.” Gojo tapped Sukuna’s shoulder with two fingertips. “It’s about time you get some action, don’t you think?”
Sukuna scoffed as he shoved Gojo’s hand away. “As if I would be stupid enough to bang a roommate to begin with. Whoever she is, it better not be worse than that guy, because I don’t think I can handle that.”
The knock on the door was right on time and Yuji was per usual sent to open it. As their doe-eyed beta, he was the best choice to give the possible new roommate the first impression, saving Gojo to be the second, and Sukuna with his tattoos and brooding appearance for last.
“Oh! Hi, you must be Megumi. Please, come inside.” The greeting Yuji gave the person he let in the apartment was chirpy, mixed with surprise, and very different from how he had sounded when greeting the past four people who had been there that day.
Sukuna’s eyebrows climbed upwards when he got to see why. Not only was the presumable Megumi-chick a young man, but also an omega. Dressed in simple, black slacks and a knitted, gray sweater, he looked the most normal of the candidates so far. More importantly, his scent was surprisingly subdued. The first that came to mind was peppermint. Peppermint, and cool, winter air.
Not off to a bad start, but an omega? Sure, omega-exclusive buildings were costly things to rent a room in, but what kind of omega would even consider moving in with only one, but two alphas?
Next to Sukuna, Gojo stiffened and sat up straighter in his seat. Sukuna fought the instinct to do the same, remained leaned back, and crossed his arms over his chest. Yuji came up behind Megumi, eyes wide when he pointed at the omega and mouthed an oh my god, as if Sukuna and Gojo for some godforsaken reason would not have taken notice already.
“Hi.” Gojo hid his surprise poorly. “You must be Megumi?”
“Yes.”
“Here, you can sit in the armchair.” Yuji dragged their checkered armchair closer to the coffee table for no reason at all before he hurried over to sit by Sukuna’s other side.
And so there they were, three men in a row, two alphas and one beta, all staring at the lone omega as he took a seat. A few seconds passed by with Megumi sweeping his gaze over the room. Their place was tidy, a lot more so than what could be expected from three bachelors living together. Eventually, Megumi broke the silence.
“The rent was very low. For being in this area.” He spoke softly, didn’t come off as uncertain, but on guard. Sane.
“Gojo pays half of the rent, and we split the rest.” Yuji pointed at the man in question, arm reaching past Sukuna when he did. “This is him, by the way. And this is my brother Sukuna.”
Sukuna ran his tongue over his teeth. Megumi so far fulfilled their requirements of manners and hygiene, which was to be expected because he was an omega after all, but he still had doubts.
Sukuna wasn’t some ancient asshole who didn’t believe omegas and alphas could hang out without being all over each other’s asses. It was however one thing to be friends, a whole other to be living together.
Megumi’s eyes lingered on Sukuna for a second before turning his attention to Gojo. Lastly, he looked at Yuji again. “How big is the room?”
“It’s enough to fit a pretty large bed and a dresser,” Yuji said. “You can probably also fit a desk as well. Your room is the biggest, actually. If you want it, that is.”
“And if we allow it,” Sukuna added. Both Yuji and Gojo turned their heads to him.
“Ignore him.” Gojo bumped the back of his hand at Sukuna’s chest. Sukuna pushed it away. “We thought we could ask you a little about yourself first. I must say that I am surprised. I didn’t think an omega would show interest in living here.”
A very good question, and Sukuna was relieved to hear that Gojo was smart enough to have at least some thoughts about it all. Yuji, with his severe scent deficiency, wouldn’t get it.
“Is that going to be an issue?” Megumi knitted his brows, moving his eyes between the three of them. “It didn’t say no omegas, so I thought–”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Gojo said. Sukuna parted his lips, a protest resting on the tip of his tongue, but didn’t get to speak as Gojo went on: “We took for granted none would be interested, that’s all. But it’s all good. If it’s okay with you.”
Megumi nodded, relief showing in how his shoulders relaxed. Sukuna raised an eyebrow.
“Why are you so desperate?” he asked. Everyone looked at him again, Yuji inhaled as if to chastise him, however, Megumi answered in a heartbeat:
“I got dumped.” The trio blinked. Megumi sighed and turned his eyes to the ceiling. “Or more like, I dumped him. I had been away, and I secretly rescheduled my trip back home so I could surprise him for our anniversary.”
“Oh,” Yuji said.
“He surprised me a lot more.” Megumi’s voice turned dry, and while it did not quiver or shake, there was no mistaking that it hurt to even think about what he had seen.
“Oh no,” Gojo said.
“So that’s why I am desperate.” Megumi fixed his gaze on Sukuna. Not pleading, but close to it. “I don’t have a job right now either. I have enough money to pay the rent for a couple of months so that is not going to be an issue. I just… Really need a place to stay until I can get back on my feet.”
Things got better and better, and by that, fucking worse. A newly dumped omega with no job was very far from an ideal roommate. Sukuna didn’t care how beautiful he was, how luscious his lips were, about his pretty eyelashes, how good he probably smelled without anything subduing his scent, how dumped his ass had been.
This omega was nothing but trouble.
“Excuse us for a moment,” Gojo said.
As he got up from the couch, he gestured at Yuji and Sukuna to come along. The brothers followed him to the large bathroom. The second the door was shut, Gojo turned and slapped his hands together in a short clap.
“I vote yes.”
“Of course you do,” Sukuna muttered. “I vote no.”
“I know you don’t like omegas but come on man.” Gojo threw his arm out in a bewildered gesture. “You are going to say no to him?”
“I don’t dislike omegas. I just prefer the dynamics around here not to become all wonky.”
“Would you rather go with that guy who was obsessed with knifes?”
“I still stand by that he seemed neat. And at least that was an alpha.”
Gojo folded his arms over his chest, pushed it out, as if that would do anything to intimidate Sukuna. “Don’t tell me you are going to go with the old-fashioned unmated alphas and omegas can’t be friends thing?”
“It’s not about that.” Sukuna scoffed. “I have omega friends.”
“Name one.”
“Don’t pretend like you didn’t get hard just by looking at him.” Sukuna copied Gojo’s gesture, folded his arms over his chest. Gojo grimaced, began to form a protest but Sukuna went on: “It’s one thing to hang out, but live together? It’s a bad idea. What do you think is going to happen when he goes into heat?”
“He is obviously a smart boy. He surely has a plan on how to manage it when the time comes. Why else would he even consider moving in here? Besides,” Gojo paused and gestured to Yuji, who was listening to them in silence, “we have a perfectly good beta here. It’s gonna be fine.”
“That’s not good enough. Didn’t you hear him? He doesn’t even have a job. Are you willing to let an unemployed, heartbroken omega move in here and live off your money? Because that’s what is going to happen.”
“If that happens, that’s my itch to scratch.”
Gojo was not going to change his mind, and the same went for Sukuna. They both turned to Yuji in unison, Sukuna scowling, Gojo smiling. If two were in favour of letting someone in, it was decided. All three of them agreeing simply would not happen, so it now all came down to their beta.
Yuji hesitated for only a moment before he raised his hand. “I vote yes.”
“Oh my god,” Sukuna muttered.
“He seems very nice and considering what other people we have talked to today, I say this is a very good candidate.”
“I agree,” Gojo said. “This is the logical choice no matter how you twist or turn it. You are going to have to suck this up, Kuna.”
Sukuna didn’t even bother to protest. Reasoning would not work, and he was outmatched because of his stupid brother. He considered himself a rational person, could adapt to new situations fairly easily, but this didn’t sit right with him.
“Fine,” Sukuna growled. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Just behave,” Yuji said. “At least give him a chance. He seemed sweet, and it wouldn’t feel good at all to send him away in the situation he is in.”
“You are too gullible. Both of you.” Sukuna yanked the door open to stomp away, only to nearly bump into Megumi, standing right outside the bathroom. Sukuna jerked back, nearly jumping out of his skin. “Jesus fuck .”
“Sorry,” Megumi said.
Behind him, Sukuna heard the poor attempts to suppress small laughs and giggles. He lifted his chin as he looked down at Megumi with narrowed eyes. Megumi showed no signs of how much he had heard of the conversation. Perhaps he had arrived just now. His large eyes stared into Sukuna’s, unblinking.
One good thing that showed was that he apparently wasn’t the slightest intimidated by a large, surly-looking alpha. For him to be able to live there, that would be a necessity.
“We have decided,” Gojo declared.
“Does that mean I get to see the room?”
“I’ll take you to it.” Yuji brushed past Sukuna and walked to the empty room across the hall.
Before Megumi followed him there, he looked at Sukuna over his shoulder. “I’ll do my best to not cause you any trouble.”
Gojo patted Sukuna’s shoulder after Megumi had followed Yuji into the room that was now going to be his. “Come on. What is the worst that can happen?”
“I guess we have no choice but to find out.” Sukuna shrugged Gojo’s hand away and went to fetch his gym bag from his room. Getting out some frustration was hopefully going to make him feel a bit less tense, and with a little bit of luck, distract him from the very unsettling thought of having an omega strutting around their apartment.
They really should have gone for the guy with a knife obsession.
*
As Sukuna expected, things changed the second Megumi moved in. Subtle changes, but changes, nonetheless. An orange bottle of grapefruit soap was standing next to Sukuna’s own lavender-scented one the very next day. A bottle of jasmine-scented fabric softener on top of the washing machine.
Megumi had not brought in many things at all, as far as Sukuna had noticed. The day after they signed the lease, he brought in a large suitcase, and then two mover guys arrived with a brand-new bed and a dresser. After that, the door had been closed at all times. Sukuna’s room was adjacent to Megumi’s, yet he still barely noticed his presence.
It was not a bad thing per se. If anything, he preferred a quiet roommate. The one that had rented that room prior to Megumi had not been unpleasant, but Sukuna had been relieved to see him replaced.
Never in his life had he heard of an omega being roommate with alphas. They were not savages, but undeniably there would be some risks involved. Sukuna sure hoped Megumi would do them the favor of staying away in time for his heats.
The biggest problem was not that, though. It was that their dynamics would change, and the biggest problem of all might become Gojo. That was proven when Sukuna was on his way back from the kitchen with his shaker in hand and he spotted Gojo outside Megumi’s door. It was not the first time he had done it; Sukuna had heard the creaks of his steps several times the past days, and Gojo had no business in that part of the loft unless it was to come to Sukuna’s room.
It had been only a couple of days, and their dynamics were fucked.
“Can you stop doing that?” Sukuna said. Gojo jerked around.
“What?”
“Sniffing around his door like a dog. You look like an idiot.” Sukuna popped the lid to his shaker and took a chug. Usually, he didn’t mind the taste, but something was off about it, to the extent it made his nose scrunch.
“I’m not sniffing,” Gojo half whispered, half hissed. “It’s been three days, and we’ve barely seen him. What do you think he’s doing?”
“Hiding away from you probably,” Sukuna dryly replied. “Leave him alone.”
Sukuna walked past Gojo to head to his room. Gojo, who lacked the decency to stay away from his personal space, followed closely behind.
“He hasn’t eaten since he moved in.”
“So? He probably snacks during the nights.”
“Why are you playing it off like you are not dying of curiosity?” Gojo took a seat on the edge of Sukuna’s bed. Sukuna sat in his desk chair and swirled the bottle in his hand, drank another chug, grimacing.
“I’m not playing. I’m really not that interested. He’s going to get out of here the first chance he gets anyway. There’s no way an omega can stand living with two alphas in the long run. Especially not if one of them is you.”
“Still doesn’t hurt to get to know him a little.” Gojo raised his brows when Sukuna pinched his nose and gulped down the rest of the shake. “Does it taste bad?”
“Yeah.” Sukuna grunted and smacked his tongue.
“What is it?”
“Chocolate. I used to like it just fine.” Sukuna set the shaker aside. “If Yuji likes it, he can have the rest of it.”
“Well, he likes chocolate. Anyway, I think Megumi could use some company.” Gojo brought the conversation back to the omega again, to Sukuna’s dismay. He had hoped they were done. “Bet he is super sad after that thing that happened with his boyfriend.”
“What, you’re gonna comfort him?”
“What if I did?”
Gojo leaned back, supporting himself on his elbows, and tipped his head to look over at Sukuna. His white, ruffly hair was a stark contrast to his black t-shirt, snug over his chest. Sukuna wasn’t dumb, the man was attractive, and if Megumi happened to think the same, Sukuna would have to hear the noises from the adjacent room.
“Please don’t,” he settled with.
“By the way, is he using scent-blockers or something?” Gojo frowned. “I can barely smell him at all.”
“I can’t either,” Sukuna admitted. “I saw a jar of scent-neutralizing lotion in the bathroom, though.”
“Huh. Never heard of an omega using that before. You think it’s because of us?”
“Who knows?” Sukuna shrugged. “Maybe. If he is, it gives us all the more reason to leave him be. And if he is sad, let Yuji take care of that. He is better with that kind of thing.”
“What kind of thing?”
“You know. Talking. Offering comfort, what do I know? The stuff heartbroken, depressed omegas need.”
“What if the thing he needs is the comfort only an alpha can give?” Gojo grinned.
“So, you’ve finally given up on Suguru?” Sukuna asked in a dry tone. The way Gojo’s smile stiffened, if only for a very short moment, proved he very much had not. Sukuna clicked his tongue. “Good to know. Now, can you get out of here?”
Gojo huffed, got off the bed, and sauntered away, thankfully having the decency to shut the door after he left. Sukuna spun his chair to face his computer, and bumped the mouse with the back of his hand to wake it to life.
He had just typed his password, Gojo was a nosy bastard and Sukuna would not dare have anything without passwords with him in the same building, when he heard Megumi’s door open. There were never any sounds heard when he walked, Sukuna noticed. Never any small pats of his bare feet on the floor or shuffling of clothes. The little dude’s silence almost started to become unnerving.
The shower started running. Sukuna clicked around the desktop, making small squares with the cursor, and tried to make a perfect one around the icons, and various things on his background, which was a randomized picture of blue and red bubbles. So, perhaps he was a little curious. Not enough to loom around his door like some moron, but curious.
When Megumi’s door opened and then closed again, Sukuna swiftly got up from his chair, snuck over to his own, and peeked out. The scent of grapefruit and a very faint tingling of peppermint still lingered in the hallway.
Back in his seat again, Sukuna booted up Steam and put his headphones on. He didn’t consider himself a gamer, but enjoyed the distraction from time to time, and enjoyed chatting with people that were not his roommates or co-workers. Most of the guys he worked with was boredom clad in flesh and smelled about as good as expected with that description in mind. At least his job as an IT technician paid fairly well.
Sukuna ended up playing for longer than he had planned, groaned softly when he left his seat and went to wash his shaker before going to bed. It had gotten close to midnight, and he was as surprised as he was not to find the omega sitting in a bar chair by the kitchen counter. In front of him, a bowl of cereal. So, he left his room only to shower, and to eat some depressing meal in the middle of the night. Just like Sukuna expected.
“Evening,” Sukuna greeted.
“Hey,” Megumi answered around his mouthful.
Sukuna listened to the clinking of the spoon dipping into the bowl followed by small crunches of cereal getting chewed as he rinsed his shaker. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that the omega observed his work. Megumi averted his gaze when their eyes locked.
Sukuna turned to face him when he wiped the shaker dry with a kitchen towel. Megumi was dressed in a black shirt with white buttons, and the material looked silky. A pyjama, Sukuna guessed.
“That’s your dinner?” Sukuna’s eyes followed the movement of the spoon. Megumi hummed a yes as he scooped up a mouthful of cereal. “Cool.”
“Don’t know about that.”
Sukuna should follow his own advice and leave it for Yuji to take care of it all, but seeing how Megumi slowly chewed the cereal with his eyes cast down made him hesitate.
Sukuna knew sadness when he saw it and it didn’t suit Megumi at all.
He still rubbed the towel over the shaker, barely aware that it was already dry. After he set his things away in the cabinet, he lazily rested his hands in his pockets, still pondering what he could say. By then, Megumi was finished and rested his crossed arm on top of the counter.
“You are allowed to eat with us, you know,” Sukuna finally said.
“You sure you want a heart-broken, depressed omega by the table?” Megumi replied. He looked up, and Sukuna frowned when their eyes met. Megumi did not sound or look angry. Only tired. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Just so you know, when both of our windows are open, I can hear you rather well when you talk. And when you sneak outside my door.”
Megumi got down from the chair and brought his bowl to the sink. His legs were bare, and Sukuna quickly looked away after getting a glimpse of his asscheeks. A slight panic had lit up at the realization that Megumi overheard his conversation with Gojo earlier, and he quickly tried to replay it in his mind to remember if they had said anything out of line.
“Gojo’s the one sneaking,” Sukuna blurted out.
“I know.” Megumi rinsed his things and set them in the drying rack, wiped his hands over the chest of his shirt. “I’m going to bed. Good night.”
Sukuna parted his lips, felt that he should say something more, but what? He murmured good night, and Megumi disappeared from the kitchen without a sound. Sukuna pushed a hand through his hair, frowning so hard it hurt his forehead.
He was unsure what plan he had had, or what outcome he had hoped for, but whatever just happened sure had not been satisfactory. This was the exact reason he would have wanted this to end in Yuji’s lap. He knew how to handle things like this, while Sukuna, obviously, did not.
While Sukuna might be very unaccustomed to spending time with sad, little omegas, he wasn’t fucking stupid. He couldn’t leave things like this.
After pacing for a moment, Sukuna ended up standing outside Megumi’s door and gave it a soft knock. It had not been long enough for Megumi to have fallen asleep, but it still took a little while before it opened. Megumi peeked out with knitted brows.
“Hi?”
“Hey,” Sukuna said. “Listen. What kind of food do you like?”
“What?”
“Food,” Sukuna repeated. “I’m making you dinner tomorrow. What do you like? Any allergies?”
Megumi stood silent for a moment, eyes moving between Sukuna’s, left and right. Left. Right. Sukuna patiently waited.
“I don’t like bell peppers,” Megumi finally said. “Other than that, I like most things.”
“Okay, good. I work until four, so it’ll probably be done around five. Alright? Good night.”
“Good night,” Megumi said, with a hint of a question mark at the end of it. Before he shut the door completely, Sukuna quickly grabbed it. Megumi’s eyes flitted to his hand.
“Also,” Sukuna said. “One more thing. Don’t mind Gojo. He’s not actually going to try and bang you, you know. He’s just a moron.”
“I know,” Megumi said. And then, he smiled. A small smile, but still it softened his stoic face a lot. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
Megumi shook his head, simply bid him good night again, and shut the door. Sukuna went to bed after brushing his teeth, and mentally flipped through the recipes he considered for tomorrow’s dinner before falling asleep.
*
Yuji’s room had a very soothing scent and so far the one Megumi preferred to spend most of his time in. The room that was his had previously belonged to an alpha and he still struggled with the remaining smells. Even if he let the window stay open at most times, it lingered.
He had been prepared for being surrounded by alpha scents at all times since he had moved in with two, but he needed a space that wasn’t contaminated by a random alpha’s smells. As things were now, Megumi hadn’t even bothered to make a nest and wouldn’t as long as the traces of alpha lingered in the walls of that room. He should take care of cleaning the place out but yet needing to find the energy to make it happen.
The second he heard that Yuji was awake during the mornings, he snuck in to keep him company while he got ready for work. Yuji did not mind and was polite enough not to ask why Megumi simply didn’t take care of cleaning his own room out instead of coming to his and hide.
It was the same this morning as well. Megumi sat cross-legged in Yuji’s bed and watched as he packed his bag, preparing for his workday.
“Sukuna spoke to me last night,” Megumi said.
“Yeah?”
“He did not say much, but at least it’s something.”
“I know he can come off as brash, but he really is a sweetheart. Deep down.” Yuji stuffed a T-shirt down the bag and zipped it closed. “He might have a little bit of trouble expressing it with words, that’s all. He is more of a doing you favors kind of guy.”
“I noticed. He said he would make me dinner tonight.”
“See? That’s his love language right there.” Yuji reached to tug his shirt off by grabbing it in the neck and pulling it over his head. The way he came off as absolutely relaxed in Megumi’s company made it very easy for Megumi to feel the same way. The chair in the corner of the room was already full of clothes, and now the shirt was added to the pile. Yuji strolled to the built-in closet, slid the door open, and disappeared inside. “Is your appetite getting any better?”
“Not really.”
“Well, Sukuna is a great cook, so maybe that will help. Mm… Red or yellow?”
“Yellow.”
Yuji emerged from the closet, a yellow t-shirt in his hand that he swiftly put on. After ruffling both hands through his hair, he smiled at Megumi.
“Got any plans for today?”
That very thing was something Megumi would much rather not think about. Close to thirty with no idea what to do with his life, not even one single day. Hiding away from having to face that for one more day felt awfully tempting.
“I, uhm. I’ll try and get rid of the last of the smells in my room.”
“We have cleaning supplies in the bathroom you are free to use.”
“Thank you.”
“Alright, I’m heading out.”
“Okay.” Megumi hesitated, inhaled to speak, and Yuji patiently watched him, his eyes softening. They were still very newly made friends and the way he so quickly found comfort in Yuji’s company was almost unsettling. He asked anyway: “Do you mind if I stay here for a little longer? I won’t mess it up.”
“Of course not.” Yuji opened the door. Before heading out, he leaned back inside and said in a hushed voice: “Make yourself comfortable. Do whatever you need to get some rest. Okay? Bye.”
Yuji must have dealt with depressed omegas before, or he had very good instincts. Either way, Megumi was thankful that Yuji kept it a secret from the others that he stayed in his room for most part, and the underlying permission to use his things for nesting. For a moment he considered doing it but decided against it and simply crawled under the blanket to try and get some sleep. He hadn’t gotten much this night.
Living with the trio was so far not too bad. The room was cheap enough for it to have been worth living with cockroaches, but there were no signs of anything of the like. Gojo came off as a bit strange, but harmless. Almost like being a weird uncle.
Sukuna was harder to read. Though the one most opposed to having Megumi live there, and Megumi could not blame him for not wanting to mess up the dynamics in the apartment by taking an omega in, he was kind. A bit rough around the edges, but kind.
And Sukuna was right. Megumi didn’t plan on staying for longer than he had to, so there might not be a reason for them to work that hard on becoming friends. To get out of there, however, he needed to get himself a job. Reminded of that once again weighed heavy on his body and he was too tired to try to fight it off as things were now. Instead, he slept.
A knock on the door woke him up hours later. He had spent the whole day dozing off, head bleary and slow when he sat up in bed. Yuji’s bed, he remembered. The alarm clock on the nightstand showed that it was close to five. Somewhere in his sleep-drunken mind, he thought he might have heard comforting noises of food being cooked, but it had mixed in together with his dream.
“Hey, Yuji. You home? Have you seen-” The door opened, and Sukuna looked inside. When he spotted Megumi in Yuji’s bed, he didn’t seem surprised. Quite the opposite, in fact. “There you are. Food is almost ready.”
He didn’t wait for an answer before he left, the door ajar, his steps disappearing towards the kitchen. Megumi still wore the same pajama he had slept in yesterday, which he had to take care of first and foremost.
The worst of his drowsiness was taken care of with a quick, cool shower, and when he came to join Sukuna in the kitchen, the food was ready. Sukuna wore casual clothes, jeans, and a white t-shirt, showing off his toned body and peculiar tattoos. Megumi watched the curve of his biceps when he set one plate on the same spot Megumi had sat to eat his cereal last night. Sukuna remained standing on the opposite side of the kitchen counter.
Whatever Megumi had expected, the food looked even better than that. Fried salmon topped with black sesame seeds served with a roasted Brussels sprouts salad. The fish melted in his mouth with the first bite, the taste spreading in his mouth made his eyes widen. A purr vibrated in his chest before he knew it.
“Oh,” Megumi softly said.
Sukuna grinned in a way that made him look awfully kind, in contrast to his otherwise brusque manners. “You like it?”
“It’s really good.” Megumi rubbed a hand over his chest, swallowing down the rest of his purrs along with the food. “Yuji said you are a great cook.”
“But you doubted it?”
“No, not that, it’s just… It’s really great.”
Megumi took another bite. His hunger shook awake along with the savoury dish, something he had not felt in days. Sukuna remained standing as he ate. Megumi didn’t ask about it, and it might be better to have him in front instead of sitting next to him by the counter. Being seated by the kitchen table would be intimate in a whole different way. Especially with it being the only two of them. Megumi looked around while chewing on a Brussels sprout.
“The others aren’t eating?”
“Gojo and Yuji eat takeout on Mondays. Guess they decided to stay at the restaurant today.”
“You don’t eat takeout?”
Sukuna leaned down to shove salmon in his mouth, and Megumi’s eyes dipped. The shirt was loose enough to show the muscles in his chest, so it was hard to help it. A glimpse of his fangs showed before his lips closed around the fork.
“Stabbing me would hurt less,” Sukuna scoffed after pushing the food to his cheek with his tongue. He straightened. “The stuff they like to eat gives me tummy aches.”
“Oh.” Megumi smiled around his fork. “Cute.”
Sukuna’s eyes darted up from his plate. “What?”
“Nothing. Thank you for this. It tastes really good.”
“Mm, well. You can’t sit around and eat cereal.” Sukuna stabbed his fork through a sprout, and pointed at Megumi with it, eyebrows raised. “Don’t know how to say this in a good way, so I’ll just say it. Okay?”
“Okay.” It had not taken Megumi long to figure that Sukuna was a man who thought of himself as being bad with words, and though it might come as slaps in the face, sometimes harsh words were more useful than the ones wrapped in silk.
“It’s time you stop feeling sorry for yourself.” Sukuna took a bite of the sprout. Megumi huffed out a breath through his nose.
“I’m not feeling sorry for myself. I’m sad.”
“Because your boyfriend fucked someone else?”
“Yes?” Megumi raised his eyebrows. “Wouldn’t you be?”
“Course I would. But here’s the thing, as I see it. It doesn’t matter how good you are, or how perfect things seem to be, some people just won’t keep their paws away from the things they should not touch. And as far as I regard it, it’s in our nature.”
“Don’t make this about biology,” Megumi groaned.
“I will, because it’s true. Society can tell us that we are supposed to be with one partner and be faithful and all that, but you can’t take away the fact that we were born to produce offspring, and that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Temptation will get to us if we let it, and it’s probably more common that it happens that we know about.” Sukuna waved his fork around, paused to bite the rest of the sprout off. Megumi took a sip of water while waiting for him to swallow and go on: “The thing is that it doesn’t have anything to do with you. Doesn’t matter how much you ponder over things like; what if I had done this, what if I had pleased him more? He still would have run away to stick his dick in some other omega in the end.”
“Alpha,” Megumi corrected.
“… What?”
“He fucked another alpha. And before you ask, yes, he was the one getting dicked down. So please don’t try and make this about the nature of producing offspring.” Sukuna’s eyebrows slowly climbed closer to his hairline. Then, his lips twitched as he tried to hold back a smile, or even laughter. Megumi scoffed. “Go ahead. Laugh.”
“I won’t laugh.” Sukuna took a short moment to recollect himself and shook his head. “Listen, bunny. Why are you sulking if things were obviously not working out to begin with?”
Megumi stirred at the nickname, and at the harsh truth of Sukuna’s words. “What?”
“If that was what he wanted all along, you were obviously a bad match.” Sukuna stabbed his fork through another sprout and added, matter-of-factly: “There’s no need for you to beat yourself up over not being a good enough omega if your alpha is a bitch.”
Megumi pressed his lips together, a snicker rising in his throat, but he swallowed it down. He shook his head, dividing the last piece of the salmon with his fork. While he chewed, it settled more and more. Sukuna was right. Absolutely right.
Megumi had known for a while. The relationship had been broken. Not necessarily bad, they had not fought or anything like that, but it had not been something that would have lasted the rest of their lives. Deep down they had both known. It still would have been nice to get a more worthy ending to something than walking in on his boyfriend fucking someone else.
“Maybe you’re right,” Megumi finally said. “But it still hurts.”
“And that’s fine. But you can’t hide away from life and expect it to hurt less. If you are sad, you might as well sit and watch some dumb sitcom with Gojo, or go with Yuji for a run. It might be more comfortable to lay around and be consumed by nothingness, like… Let’s say you have a bookshelf, and it tips over. It might be easier to let the books lay around instead of taking the time and energy to put them neatly back on the shelf, but in the end, it will be worth the effort to do it. It always feels better when you have things neatly set away. It might not be the best analogy, but what I’m saying is that it’s okay to be sad and sulk for a while, but don’t let it last for too long. It gets harder to get back up the deeper you are. At least, that’s what I believe.”
Initially, Megumi was surprised by how much Sukuna spoke. He had assumed that he was a man of few words but realized he probably only spoke when he had something he wanted to say. Swallowing the last of his bite, he set the fork down on the empty plate.
“Sometimes you have to reach the bottom to have something to push from.”
“Or you simply learn how to swim before you sink. Stop making up excuses to have a reason to hide away in Yuji’s room. Clean your own instead.” Irritation mixed with embarrassment tickled in Megumi’s chest. Sukuna gestured to his plate. “Finished?”
Megumi hummed out a yes. It would have been easy to get angry at Sukuna for saying the things he did. It was the fact that Sukuna was right that he stopped him. Megumi had been making up excuses.
He watched the shifts of the muscles in Sukuna’s back when he took care of washing their dishes right away, how the shirt fitted tight around his shoulders and draped loose around the waist, the shape of his ass and thighs. The tattoo on his neck was Megumi’s favorite, at least from those he had seen, because he assumed there were more hiding under his clothes.
“Are you always this harsh, or is it only with me?”
“I’m always like this.” Sukuna set the plates on the drying rack, reached for the kitchen towel to wipe his hands. “You said you needed to get back on your feet, and no one is going to come and save you. So, get up.”
It was a rather cynical way of seeing things, yet Megumi found himself nodding. Support from friends and family was crucial, but in the end, he was the one who had to do the work. Get up, get out, get that job.
“Okay,” Megumi said. He slid off the chair. “Thank you for dinner. It was really good.”
“You owe me one. What are you gonna do now?”
“I’m going to clean my room.”
Sukuna turned to Megumi, folded his arms over his chest again, muscles in his forearms flexing. The corners of his lips curled into a smile. “Attaboy.”
*
After buying a strong scent-neutralizing detergent and borrowing the rest of the cleaning supplies needed from his roommates, he got to work. With music playing from his small Bluetooth speaker on the windowsill, the window open to let in fresh air, he scrubbed the walls and floors, crawling around to get to every corner. He even asked Gojo for help to clean the ceiling when he arrived home from his dinner with Yuji.
Sukuna passed by the open door when Megumi sat on Gojo’s shoulders, Gojo holding his legs to help him keep balanced as he walked around the room while Megumi sprayed and wiped the ceiling. Folding his arms over his chest, Sukuna leaned against the doorframe as he watched them work. Soon, Yuji turned up at his brother’s side.
“Hey,” Yuji greeted.
“Hello,” Megumi said. “Gojo, more to the right, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
Megumi resumed his wiping after Gojo had taken a step to the side. Every trace of the prior alpha was probably gone by this point, yet it felt good to really make the place his own, top to bottom. A breeze washed through the room, making the soft fabric in his shirt flutter over his back.
“It’s good to see you like this,” Yuji said with a smile.
“I agree. You are way too pretty to sulk around with such a sad expression, you know.” Gojo patted Megumi’s shin. Megumi returned the favor by gently bumping his heel against his ribs. Gojo leaned his head back and grinned at him. “What made you crawl out?”
Megumi glanced at Sukuna, who casually swept his gaze over the room. “I got some proper food. Gave me the energy I needed.”
“That’s good to hear. Did you know Kuna is actually a pretty decent cook?” Gojo let one of Megumi’s legs go to gesture towards Sukuna. “You should make him something.”
“I’ll consider it,” Sukuna replied. “Alright, have fun.”
Sukuna disappeared to his own room, shutting the door. Megumi lowered his arms as they started prickling from being held above his head for too long, shook them to get the blood flow back.
“It’s looking good,” Yuji said. “And it smells… Well, like nothing. Not that I would have been able to tell either way.”
“It smells like nothing,” Gojo confirmed.
“Good.” Megumi hunched over Gojo’s head to hand the spray bottle and cloth to Yuji. “Okay, you can set me down now.”
Gojo held Megumi by the waist as he lifted him off his shoulders with ease. It was hard not to notice that his hands reached almost the whole way around his waist as he did.
“Are you finished now?” Gojo brushed his hands over Megumi’s sides to fix his shirt. Megumi took a deep inhale through his nose and let it out through his lips.
“I am. Thank you for your help. It would have taken ages if I had to move a chair around and climb up and down.”
“No problem whatsoever. I’m just happy to help you get settled. Also, speaking of getting settled, if you ever need something belonging to an alpha for your nest, I am more than willing to–“
“Gojo,” Yuji groaned.
“What?” Gojo flashed a grin. “We are a pack now, and we look after each other. I’m merely offering.”
Megumi huffed out a short breath. The truth was that he would probably be tempted to ask for something once it was time for his heat, especially since most of his things still had not been brought here. He had only taken the most essential when leaving his ex, and that thought made him sigh so deeply that Yuji and Gojo shot him curious looks.
“I still have things at my old place,” Megumi explained. “I should probably go and get them.”
“Do you want help?” Yuji asked.
Megumi hesitated. He could make use of more people to carry the stuff, even though he didn’t like to be a bother. Yuji had offered, however, and the faster he got the stuff out, the better.
“I… Maybe. I don’t know if he is home, but I still have my key.”
“Let’s do it right away,” Gojo suggested. “We might as well get it over and done with. Is it a lot to carry?”
“No, it should fit in the trunk. It’s mostly clothes.”
“Let’s ask to borrow Sukuna’s car,” Yuji said. “It has more space than mine.”
It sounded like it had already been decided, and it twisted in Megumi’s gut at the mere thought of heading back to that place. Before he could protest, Yuji was already on his way to his brother’s room and swung the door open. Sukuna barked at him to stop barging in without knocking, and then their voices lowered to murmurs. Yuji came back within a minute, Sukuna following close behind.
“Oh, you’re going be a gentleman and help our little omega as well?” Gojo teased.
“I’m not letting any of you drive my car,” Sukuna huffed. “Let’s go.”
“We don’t have to go now if you are busy,” Megumi hesitantly said.
“Oh, he isn’t busy.” Gojo nonchalantly waved his hand as they walked to the hallway. “Come now.”
The fact that Megumi arrived at his old place in the company of two alphas and a beta felt a bit strange. He shifted in the seat and spied up the window, hoping just as much to see something as he wished for it to be empty.
Once he had gotten the last of his stuff, that would mean the end. Megumi had not spoken to his ex-boyfriend even once since barging out from the apartment after finding him in bed with another man. With his number blocked, he had no idea if he had tried to reach Megumi or not. He did not know what would be worse, finding out that he had called over and over, or that he had not tried to reach him at all.
In the passenger seat, Gojo twisted to face him. “Want us to come along?”
“No.” Megumi shook his head. He appreciated the offer, but it would not feel right. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to bring another alpha there.”
“Want me to come?” Yuji asked. Megumi shook his head again.
“It’s okay. I think… Let me at least go up and see if he is there. If I need your assistance, I’ll wave from the window or something.”
It would not take him more than a few minutes, then it would be over. Years of his life, more or less the entirety of his twenties, over. Just like that. He fumbled with the handle, tugged it halfway until he heard a small click, then let go again. Repeated the motion. He wasn’t scared, but the tightness in his chest felt close to it.
What if the other alpha was there? Had he moved in already? Taken over Megumi’s seat by the kitchen table, sleeping on his side of the bed? He hoped the soft mattress broke that bastard’s back in that case.
“Well,” Sukuna finally said. “What are you waiting for?”
“Sorry.” Megumi sucked in a deep breath through his nose. He turned forward and reached out his arms, palms up, quickly looked between Gojo and Sukuna. “Can one of you…?”
Without asking the reason for it, Gojo pushed the sleeve of his shirt up and rubbed his wrist over Megumi’s. It was a childish thing, but Megumi wanted his ex to wonder why he came there and smelled like another alpha, wonder if Megumi already had gotten over him. Make him regret.
It really was childish.
He was right about to lean back again when Sukuna grabbed his wrist. “We can do better than that. Come here.”
Sukuna twisted and clumsily pressed his upper body between the seats, wrapped a hand around Megumi’s neck and urged him closer. Sukuna held him like that as he rubbed his cheek over Megumi’s, and his wrist over his neck. Megumi closed his eyes for a moment. Sukuna had a very alluring scent, not overwhelming, yet strong, even when subdued by suppressants.
Megumi caught a glimpse of Gojo over Sukuna’s shoulder, and his eyes were locked with Yuji’s, eyebrows raised, and he mouthed something Megumi could not make out. Next to him, Yuji let out a small, breathy laugh.
“There we go.” Sukuna let Megumi go when he was completely endorsed by his scent, leaving him slightly dizzy. “Now, hurry up and get your stuff back from that dipshit.”
“We’ll be right here,” Yuji said, and Gojo made an agreeing hum.
“Good luck.”
Megumi looked between the three of them, let out a sharp breath through his mouth, opened the door and got out.
It had not been many days since he went up the stairs last time. He had been anxious that time as well, but it had been a mix of warmth and nervousness. That morning he had shaved his entire body, put on new underwear and even skipped his suppressants in hopes of some sparks flying, since that had been sort of a rare thing for them lately.
Megumi had hyped himself up, convinced himself that it was what they needed, getting excited, even a bit horny as he hurried up the stairs. Right now, Megumi felt like he was about to throw up and shit himself simultaneously, walking up the very same stairs.
What if he walked in through that door to be greeted by the stench of two, highly agitated alphas again? Last time, he had known that he should have rushed out right away, yet he had walked straight to the bedroom. There had been no reason whatsoever to confirm what he had already heard and smelled, still he had, and now that image was burned into his memory forever.
Holding his wrist under his nose in hopes of gaining a little bit of courage, he reached for the handle. Slow. Agonizingly so. He couldn’t tell if he wanted his ex to be there or not, if he wished for it to be over for real or not.
The door was unlocked. Megumi stepped inside before he got a chance to change his mind and closed it harder than he had meant to. It did not smell like another alpha had been there for a while. At least that must mean that the bastard had not moved in there. Yet. For a second, he thought about taking his shoes off but decided against it. He wanted to get out of there as fast as he possibly could.
A rustle came from the kitchen, a chair scraped over the floor, followed by quick steps coming his direction. Megumi lowered his arm from his nose in time for his ex-boyfriend to show up in the hallway, eyes large and mouth agape.
Megumi did not even want to think about his name and decided to adopt Sukuna’s way of thinking about him as for now. Dipshit was, unfortunately, very much Megumi’s type. Tall with a boyish smile, dimples visible in his cheeks when he laughed, and eyes the most beautiful shade of brown. He looked at Megumi now, with wonder, and dared he think, worry.
“Darling,” Dipshit gasped. “I have been worried sick, where the hell have you been? Oh, you look awful, what have you done?”
“I came to get my stuff,” Megumi rasped.
“Your stuff? Darling, you can’t be serious. We have to talk about this. You can’t just throw what we have away.”
Megumi’s throat tightened. Throw away. He made it sound like Megumi somehow was at fault. As if he had been left with a choice, unless he chose to stay with an absolute insect of an alpha.
“ I can’t throw it away?” Megumi curled his fists hard and walked straight to the bedroom, steps following close behind. The bed was neatly made. Had the sheets been changed since that alpha had been there? Better not to think too much about it. “You make it sound like I am the one who is a cheating asshole.”
“That’s– no, it is not like you think.”
“Don’t even try,” Megumi muttered.
He dug out his duffel bag from the bottom of the closet. When he had thought about how it would play out when he got here, he had imagined himself being cold. An ice queen sauntering in, gracefully packing his things and disappearing, leaving nothing but a chill behind. All he felt now was frail, and overheated, blinking rapidly to not allow the tears to blur his vision.
A hand wrapped around his arm, urged him to turn around. There was no fight in Megumi as he let it happen. Dipshit leaned in and sniffed the air.
His voice lowered an octave. “Why do you reek of alphas?”
“None of your business,” Megumi mumbled. Dipshit frowned, and then a confused, strange smile took form, one that made his lips tremble.
“Are you serious?” He sniffed the air again, deeper now, leaning in close enough for his hair to tickle Megumi’s cheek. Megumi’s hands twitched with the urge to wrap his arms around his neck, pull him close, press his chest against his, and feel his arms around his body in that tight kind of hug he liked so much. “There’s… two of them? Are you serious? ”
“They are my roommates.” Megumi took a small step back and crossed his arms over his stomach.
“Roommates?” Dipshit’s eyes narrowed, and he straightened to his full length. They had their fights from time to time, as any other couple did, but something was different now. There was a rawness in Dipshit’s tone he could not remember ever hearing before when he spoke again. “Tell me you are kidding. Alpha roommates?”
“What about it?”
“I don’t have to tell you why that’s a bad idea. Be reasonable.”
“They are perfectly reasonable, and so am I.”
“Look, I get that you are pissed. I get it, darling. But you can’t do that. Why would you move in with someone who only wants to fuck you? They might hurt you. You deserve better than that.”
“I deserve better?” Megumi hissed. His face scrunched to a grimace, baring his small, sharp fangs. He rarely did that, had always thought of his fangs being silly since they were so tiny, but with his head spinning and pulse throbbing in the side of his neck, there was no helping it. “You think it is a better alternative for me to stay here with you? You have hurt me way more than they will ever do. And what if I let them fuck me? At least I will get something then, because I was sure not getting it from you.”
Dipshit's eyebrow twitched. His fangs showed, and his scent shifted in a second. Sour, burnt. Megumi wrinkled his nose. “If you weren’t so fucking bad at it, maybe it wouldn’t have turned that way. You should get your pussy checked, by the way. You taste like the bottom of a river.”
Megumi nearly flinched, and a hard stone sank into the pit of his stomach. Had this side of the man he thought he would convince himself to share his life with always been there? Had there been signs he should have seen prior to this? Had he been deceived by charms and good looks? Megumi involuntarily inhaled sharply when tears spilled over his cheeks.
“Bet it tastes bad because you are a fucking bitch ,” Megumi hissed.
Dipshit growled at him then, and Megumi growled back, louder, vibrating from deep in his chest. He had never been afraid to growl at anyone, alphas or not.
“Can’t believe I’ve wasted years with a stinking omega.”
“Get the fuck out.” Megumi would have wanted for his voice to sound more threatening, but his chest cramped from a withheld sob, resulting in a whimper. “Don’t ever talk to me again, you fucking piece of shit.”
His breaths came out like stutters when he turned to the closet and started to yank out clothes at random, stuffing them down the bag with jerky movements. Not everything would fit, not even close to it, and after this, he definitely was not going to come back again. It would have been better if he chose wisely among his things, but all he could think of now was to get out of there.
He sloppily wiped his face before forcing down his favorite pair of jeans into the already full bag. Warm fingers wrapped around his arm and Megumi quickly spun around, baring his fangs again, ready to snarl.
“Shit.” Yuji quickly raised his hands in an averting gesture. “I’m sorry.”
“Oh.” Megumi sniffled and hurriedly wiped his cheeks again. Dipshit was nowhere to be seen. Megumi had not even heard him leave. “What…”
Yuji reached for the bag and Megumi let it go without thinking. Gojo emerged in the room next, quickly scanning the surroundings.
“Do you have more things?” Gojo asked.
“Some,” Megumi mumbled. “But I need something to carry it in.”
“Do you have any large trash bags or something like that?”
“There should be some in the kitchen.”
Gojo disappeared again. Yuji lingered with Megumi, and squeezed his shoulder with an assuring smile. Megumi despised crying, hated the vulnerability and the visible display of his insides, but if there was anyone he could live with seeing, it was Yuji.
“We are a pack now, okay?” Yuji carefully moved his hand to Megumi’s neck, silently asking for permission. Megumi dipped his chin to his chest, allowing Yuji to soothe him with gentle rubs, the worst of the tension in his body melting away with the touch. “Don’t worry about your guy. He is not coming back, and even if he is, Sukuna is guarding the door. Take your time.”
If Megumi had not already been crying, he would have then. “Thank you,” he mumbled.
Once all of Megumi’s things were packed, Gojo and Yuji carried it to the car. Sukuna was still in the apartment somewhere as Megumi turned the key in his hand before he simply set it on the kitchen table. Not much else to do.
His sadness had slowly melted to leave room for resentment, which he would much rather feel. At least that kind of anger might work as fuel. Sukuna emerged in the doorway and pulled Megumi back to reality by knocking on the frame.
“You got everything?”
“I think so. I guess I could take my toothbrush.” Megumi had bought a new one, but leaving a perfectly good one here would do him no good. He didn’t want to leave any traces of him here, no matter how small.
Sukuna cocked an eyebrow. “Actually, you might want to leave it. I didn’t know which one was yours, so I fucked up both.”
Megumi stared, needing a second to process what that meant before he snorted out a laugh. “What? Fucked up how?”
“Better if you don’t know. Come now, bunny. Let’s get out of here.” Sukuna smirked as he urged him to the door, and Megumi let himself be led out.
During their drive back home, Sukuna turned the music up loud, Yuji and Gojo both singing along to The Corrs Breathless. Megumi saw that Sukuna mouthed along, but he didn’t hear his voice. When their eyes met through the rear-view mirror, Sukuna winked. Megumi blinked back.