Chapter Text
It's not odd that Sukuna is able to sleep through every and anything, but the moment he's startled awake because of a loud thud in Mr. Spikezard's tank, he raises all of a sudden.
At first, he doesn't immediately realize why he's awake - and it takes a good minute for his eyes to get used to the new room. He looks around confused at first, slowly recollecting the events of the day before. Right, magic.
Once everything feels back in place in his memory, he pads across the room "You goof, you scared me." Sukuna whines, noticing how his dragon has slipped from the branch, landing with his hard back on the sunbathing rock. Sukuna takes the lid off the tank, taking his dragon in his hands.
"You hurt?" He asks, knowing he won't get a real answer.
Then, his stomach growls loudly. "Oh, right, I didn’t have lunch or dinner yesterday... I bet you're hungry as well."
As Sukuna cuddles Mr. Spikezard to his chest softly stroking his back, he takes a big sigh, returning to his bed to let the dragon play on the soft blankets.
"Satoru?" He calls, voice soft as he remembers the fae's words the night before.
Within three minutes, there's a knock on the door, and then it's creaking open. Satoru's head pokes through and he smiles brightly. He's not wearing his sunglasses today. "Good morning! How'd you and Mr. Spikezard sleep?" Satoru sweeps into the room and sits on Sukuna bed with them. He's wearing a different outfit, but the mothlike wing-sleeves are still present. It's a flowy outfit, dark blues and purples this time. The wings are a different colour too.
Sukuna raises his gaze towards the door as he hears the knocking. Mr. Spikezard is quick to jump in his owner's lap, and as Sukuna looks down at his playful dragon, he realizes he's only wearing underwear. Well, who cares.
"I don't even know what time it is, and Mr. Spikezard is on a suicide mission, apparently. I slept fine."
Satoru glances at Sukuna's body for a second and then he looks at the little dragon. He leans in. "Now why would you do that, Mr. Spikezard?" The fact the pet is in Sukuna's lap is most assuredly not the reason Satoru is willing to get close. "We give you a big tank and you're about to waste it all?"
Sukuna scoffs in amusement, tickling his finger under Mr. Spikezard's chin. "I believe he was just excited to explore it all. Ended up slipping and waking me up with the mess."
Satoru smiles and looks up at Sukuna's face, still sitting much too close. "How'd you sleep otherwise?"
"Good," He simply says, still playing with Mr. Spikezard's soft skin. "You?" He forces himself to ask, even if he doesn't really care.
Satoru resists the urge to snuggle on Sukuna's lap like Mr. Spikezard and he nods instead. "Good. Now, breakfast? Or a tour?"
"Breakfast, there's a hole in my stomach. I could eat you whole." He laughs, lifting the dragon and placing him on his naked shoulder.
"Oh, you could eat me, hm?" Satoru smiles, standing up and putting a hand out. "Are you going to get dressed for breakfast, or will you grace me with your presence as you are?" He has a coy smile, a twinkle in his eyes.
"Are you edible?" Sukuna asks with a raised brow, "Can I stay like this?"
"Anyone is edible at least a bit," Satoru jokes and then shrugs. "And I mean, yeah, you can, I won't stop you if you want to explore in your underwear." Hell, he likes it. The expanse of skin from Sukuna's nape to his tailbone is decidedly beautiful and Satoru wants to watch him sprawl out beneath him, back arched prettily. He blinks away the vision and smiles playfully. "You won't get cold, the temperature is always just right here."
"Yeah, good. I feel more comfortable like this. I'm never allowed to go around in my underwear at home." Sukuna sighs, looking down at his Superman cotton boxers.
"My father doesn't like it. I'm glad you think otherwise."
Satoru opens his mouth to defend himself, but when he sees that Sukuna isn't upset, he looks pleased. "Do you want to bring Mr. Spikezard, or let him stay in his tank?"
"I'll bring him with me. He always enjoys a good ride." Sukuna says, smiling fondly at his dragon.
He stands up from the bed, stretching his back and arms, "Let's go."
Satoru wonders what he's done to deserve such blessings, and then he sweeps to the door. "Perfect. Breakfast, since I'm not particularly in the mood for cannibalism today. You can swallow me down some other time." Sukuna is probably of the age where he gets sex jokes, but Satoru makes sure he sounds appropriately in jest.
"What did you just say?" Sukuna turns, an eyebrow raised and a half of a smirk forming on his lips.
"Nothin'," Satoru smirks playfully. "C'mon, do you like pancakes?" He prances out of the room, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Sukuna's following.
"Who doesn't?" Sukuna trots behind him, slowing his pace as they start walking down a new corridor. He looks around, wondering how much he's going to wander around in order to know the main corridors and rooms.
"Right?" Satoru agrees. "Who wouldn't like them? Sweet and fluffy and perfect with syrup and fruit and whipped cream and powdered sugar, and chocolate sauce, and chocolate chips, and-"
"No, no- no. Slow down. I like them plain. Maybe some cream, but- God, are you diabetic or something?" Sukuna makes a face.
"No, why would I be?" Satoru questions. "You can have plain ones I guess..."
"Because..." Sukuna scrunches his nose, deciding on nodding about the plain ones.
"Yeah you better not make them a sugar bomb."
"You can put your own toppings on it I guess. I'll have my own. This means you won't try to steal mine, so that's nice." Satoru brings them down the stairs, passing some other fae folk on their way. They titter and wave at Sukuna as they pass, eyes filled with mirth.
"If it's me stealing your pancakes that you're worrying about," Sukuna mumbles, not even sparing a look to the other creatures, "You're safe."
"Good, we won't have to worry about stealing each other's food. Whatever you want to eat is all yours, don't worry about taking seconds. I'd feel bad if my guest was hungry." Satoru turns and brings Sukuna down a new hallway, and then into a fancy dining room. It's not huge, but it's beautiful and Satoru gestures to a spot at the head of the table. "Take a seat."
"Hm," Sukuna hums, and as he enters the dining room, he is surprised to see how elegant and spacious it is, looking around trying to hide how he feels excited to live in such luxury.
"This is cool."
"Better than that dingy human town, that's for sure. They were rude too." Satoru walks himself to the opposite head of the table. "You can stay as long as you want by the way. And you don't need to worry about wearing pants, I guess."
The corners of Sukuna's lips turn slightly upwards, "Yeah, I won't be wearing pants at home ever again."
"Oh really?" Satoru sounds amused as small humanoid creatures come out with their plates. Satoru's has plates and bowls with toppings to add, while Sukuna's has a small platter with butter, and a bowl with whipped cream. The creatures look like small elves, with shining eyes and flirty smiles. They put the dishes down and then leave the room in a fit of giggles.
"I mean, I'm not complaining," Satoru jokes as he starts loading up his pancakes.
"I don't like them." Sukuna sneers at the giggling creatures, frowning as he takes a pancake in hand and bites it down aggressively.
"Why are they laughing? It's annoying."
"They think you're handsome," Satoru explains as he takes a loaded bite.
Sukuna scoffs loudly and obnoxiously, "Yes, and? Do they want a picture?"
"Do you like when people flirt with you? Or show interest?" Satoru chuckles.
"No. I like being left alone." Sukuna speaks with his mouth full, but his tone is harsh - maybe more than he intended to.
"Then you might want to put on pants..."
"Ugh-..." Sukuna groans, almost exasperated. "Perverts."
He's not quite happy, as he munches on his pancake and takes a separate part of cream with a spoon. "I'm fourteen."
"You're really mature though, so that might be it," Satoru offers as he takes another bite.
"Of course I am." Sukuna says flippantly, before leaving the spoon on the plate, the last pancake set for later.
"You enjoy seeing me half naked as well?" He asks with a raised eyebrow, a judging look in his eyes. He might be ready to flee from the dining room at the first hint.
"What?" Satoru blinks at him. "I think you're handsome, I guess, but I think I'd prefer you wearing clothes."
"What, are you a prude or something?"
"Dude, what do you want me to say? If I say stay naked, I'll be a pervert. But now I'm a prude?" Satoru sulks, blowing a strand of hair out of his face.
Sukuna smirks, satisfied with Satoru's reaction. "There's no right answer."
"Fine," Satoru huffs. "I'll keep my thoughts to myself."
Sukuna hums, finally enjoying his last pancake full of butter and the remaining whipped cream.
"What are we going to do after the tour?"
Satoru's still pouting as he finishes his pancakes. "I was thinking I could test your magic. But maybe that makes me a pervert." He stabs a piece of food with his fork petulantly.
"And I’m supposed to be the child here?" Sukuna scoffs, rolling his eyes.
Satoru looks at him through his lashes, making sure he gives him puppy eyes. "I'll test your magic, but can I pick an outfit for you? So that the sprites and elves don't ogle you?"
"Fine, just—" Sukuna shrugs, licking the spoon clean, "Don't wrap me up in one of those weird clothes of yours."
"But—"
"I knew it. " Sukuna groans, "Let it be comfortable at least."
"I'll make sure it's as human as it can be," Satoru vows, still trying to look cute. "If you blend in more, not as many creatures will try to take you, or stare."
Sukuna can only sigh, defeated as he finishes his pancake, fully satisfied with the taste.
"Okay, I'm done here. It was good."
"Glad you liked it. Now-" Satoru claps his hands and stands up. "Let's get you some clothes and then start the tour. We should leave Mr. Spikezard in his tank for it, it might take a while."
Sukuna almost forgot about his dragon, curled up on his shoulder - too used to the small weight usually clinging to him. "Okay, I'll follow you."
Satoru hums and nods, walking over to lean down and see the little dragon. "He's quite well behaved, I can see why you wouldn't want to leave him behind." He turns and leads Sukuna back out of the dining room and to the staircase.
"He's just a lazy little shit, he wreaks havoc from time to time, but it doesn't last long because he gets bored." Sukuna chuckles, lifting a finger just to caress his spikes on the side of his face. "You'll learn soon enough that it's better if he stays on my shoulder or on my head, if you don't want to have a new tank every week. Oh, and also, I think he suffers my absence a lot when I go to school, my parents don't even want to feed him treats. They say he's ugly and it sucks to feed him roaches."
It's the first time Sukuna has talked this much, it looks like he needs someone to talk to even if he doesn't want to or he's not used to.
Satoru smiles fairly genuinely at the yapping. "Now for dressing you, do you prefer short or long sleeves? And pants, shorts, cropped pants, or skirts?"
"No. Why would I wear a skirt? I'm not a girl." He pouts, lifting Mr. Spikezard from his shoulder and hugging him to his bare chest. "Short sleeves and shorts is more than fine."
"You don't have to be a girl to wear a skirt, but I digress. We'll make sure to give Mr. Spikezard a lot of attention, and feed him a lot of roaches." Satoru nods once and then leads the boy to Sukuna’s room. "Now, can I get you shoes too? Or would you like to keep yours. I just don't think they'll match..."
"You're going to turn me into a small version of yourself, aren't you?" Sukuna asks in a sigh.
"Also. Not too many roaches, he's already fat."
"He's not fat... he's just lazy." Satoru coos, gently scritching Mr. Spikezard's cheek. "And no, I would wear a skirt, and you wouldn't. So you won't be dressed like me. You'll be dressed like you, but more... fae."
Sukuna can feel how Mr. Spikezard seems to like Satoru's attention, and he almost jealously snatches him away. "Mphf, okay, let's see what happens."
Satoru notices Sukuna's little huff, but he doesn't comment on it. They make it back to the room and he waits for Sukuna to put the dragon in his tank. Satoru opens the walk-in closet and gestures for Sukuna to follow him.
As Sukuna puts Mr. Spikezard in his tank, he watches as the dragon crawls over the thick branch to enjoy a ray of sunlight hitting the wood.
"Behave, Judas." He warns in a whisper, closing the tank with the lid.
"Woah, where did this come from?" Sukuna asks, following Satoru inside the closet.
"I made it," Satoru answers as he spins with his arms out. "You can look through everything and see what you like. I don't like being rejected, so I just made a whole bunch and you can grab what you want. I think you saying no to everything I dressed you in would break my heart."
Sukuna is trying so hard to hold back a laugh, the corner of his lips turning upward just in the slightest.
"So what if I say I hate everything in here?" He asks with a smirk, not even trying to look through the myriad of clothes ready for him, yet. "Are you gonna cry?"
"If I do, will you comfort me?" Satoru grins, unable to hide his excitement at Sukuna playing along.
"Absolutely not, I'd laugh at you." Sukuna grins, turning his back to Satoru to start taking a look at the different fabrics, the designs and whatnot.
After too much time -for him, in reality it's been only a couple of minutes-, Sukuna takes his top, convinced that it's the least offensive option among all those extravagant pieces of clothing.
It's a white sleeveless kimono jacket, definitely loose and decorated with a stark blood red tribal design on the back.
"This is too hard, now I understand my mother when she goes shopping. It takes forever!"
"And you haven't even gotten pants yet. That looks nice, the red matches your eyes. And the white is flattering." Satoru hovers around him, not close enough to be in the way, but close enough to be a bit of a pest. "White loose pants or black tight ones would look good."
Sukuna is concentrated on scanning the rest of the pants, having mentally discarded a lot, already. He taps a finger on his chin, "I don't like tight pants, I feel stupid."
"What do you mean? I don't mean like tights. I mean like... fitted."
Sukuna sighs, shaking his head. "Depending on what we're going to do. I'd rather be comfortable anyway, so loose pants is good."
Satoru makes a noise of agreement and wobbles his head. "Whatever you'd like. At least this means you don't have to wear the stuff your parents picked out for you."
"Sure." Sukuna agrees as his eyes finally spot the perfect match for his top.
It seems like it's the same fabric, loose, white kimono pants with a red gradient starting from the bottom.
"This is perfect. Looks like I bathed in blood." He snickers.
Satoru huffs laugh at how utterly fourteen Sukuna is. "Nice. You might want different shoes to match that. Your running shoes don't really work with the outfit, no offense..."
"Hey, don't speak a word about my running shoes, I chose them for my birthday."
But with a defeated sigh, he looks around, "What do you recommend? Please don't make me look stupid."
"I was just going to recommend flat soled shoes that would match the hakama and kimono look." Satoru finds a pair and shakes them at Sukuna. "Nothing fancy, but I think guys who do martial arts wear shoes like these."
Sukuna takes a closer look at the shoes Satoru chose, and only after a couple of seconds of examinations, he agrees with a shrug.
"Not bad."
"Really?" Satoru sounds hopeful, perking up considerably.
"Yeah, I just told you 'not bad', didn't I?" Sukuna smirks, looking up at Satoru.
"It's funny you're afraid of my sarcastic answers."
Satoru pouts at him. "You're mean... You should be nicer to your elders."
"You said I'm special, so take it or leave it. I guess." Sukuna grins, taking his shoes from Satoru's hands and turning to the door of his closet.
"Oh, if this is gonna be my closet, can you at least make it a little bit more of my tastes? I'm not gonna wear anything else from that bunch."
"I... don't know what your tastes are..." Satoru sounds defeated. "Maybe you can talk to a clothier and they can make you clothes you want... They probably know more about clothes than I do and they can make stuff you like." He follows Sukuna out, close behind him. "With magic, we don't need to sew or anything."
"Yeah. I think I'll do it. Just so you know, I like superheroes. And super villains, of course."
As Sukuna sits on his bed, he notices it's already been made, even if he left the blankets all messed up. "Someone made my bed... Cool."
"Yeah, they'll clean stuff unless you want it to stay a certain way. And they won't interfere with Mr. Spikezard. But! Tour. Are you ready to come along?" Satoru prances to the door and smiles back at the boy.
"Wait-..." Sukuna says, shuffling with his new clothes to wear everything already, so they don't have to come back to his bedroom.
"Lemme just-..." Luckily he's already in his underwear, so he just has to jump in his new robes, which he finds soon enough are way too large for him.
"Uhhh- help?" Sukuna asks, holding his pants up.
Satoru laughs and flicks a finger at him. His clothes shrink and adjust to fit him perfectly. Almost unnervingly well fitting. "That better?"
"Oh." Sukuna squeaks, arms wide and chest puffed up.
"Better, yeah." He muses, playing with the fabric of his pants. "Too tight, maybe?"
"I only adjusted the waist, don't be silly." Satoru steps up to him and fixes the kimono shirt. "And this is still loose as it's supposed to be. Don't hide behind ill fitting clothes. You're lovely."
"Yeah okay, whatever, mom." Sukuna huffs, rolling his eyes to avoid Satoru's gaze. It's unnerving without glasses.
Satoru laughs and steps away. "I'm not your mother, promise." A mother wouldn't think of her son the way Satoru thinks about Sukuna. Or at least one shouldn't.
"You look cool, kind of like a super hero."
"Do you really think that or are you just saying it cause I like superheroes?" Sukuna squints, suspicious.
Satoru looks at him, up and down and he shrugs. "I think you do. Maybe one that punches and kicks or uses fire or something."
"Will I be able to use fire?! I wanna throw fireballs and flaming arrows!" Sukuna tightens his fists in excitement, "I wanna burn down my village."
Satoru's eyes light up and he laughs, "Maybe you'll have fire, let's do the tour and then we can check." He doesn't say anything about his village, not condoning it or dissuading him.
"Will you teach me how to use magic, if I have any in me?" Sukuna asks hopeful, his shoes on as he's ready to follow him.
"Absolutely, but it might take some time. It takes a lot of practice... Are you sure?" Satoru leads him out of the room and starts heading down the hall.
"Of course I'm sure!" Sukuna scoffs, by now familiar with the corridor outside his bedroom.
Satoru heads down the end of the corridor instead of toward the stairs. "Good! Then, yeah, have no fear, I'll teach you everything you need to know." He stops in front of a grand doorway and pats on the wood. "This is my room."
Sukuna peeks inside with curiosity, and as he takes in the details of Satoru's room, he chuckles. "If I ended up here by mistake, I'd know for sure it was yours."
"I like it, there's so many pillows on the bed I could disappear for days. And the drapery is fun to play in. You can come see me whenever you want, but there's no guarantee I'll be there. I do have other duties sometimes. But you can go in whenever you want. There's a magic barrier on the room that protects it. I can make it accept you, and then nothing else can get in with you." Satoru yaps.
"I bet Mr. Spikezard's gonna love climbing up your drapery. He'd most likely tear everything down, though." Sukuna snickers, already missing his dragon.
"What kind of duties?"
"Uh... like, job stuff. Deciding things for the other fae around, and stuff..." Satoru lamely tries to avoid answering.
"Huh-? You have a job?" Sukuna deflates, "I thought no boring stuff here."
"You told me you're kinda important here? What's your job?"
"King..." Satoru mumbles as quickly as he can, closing his bedroom door and sweeping Sukuna into the halls. "It's pretty boring, and I only have to work sometimes, because fae are remarkably self sufficient, and we don't do rules that strictly, and-"
"A k-... A King?!" Sukuna eyes widen in shock, "Are you kidding me? I don't believe you, you don't look like a king- like... At all."
Sukuna laughs, "I'm not going to bow before you, just so you know."
"Wouldn't want you to, honestly. I'm really just a guy. I just have a pretty important job. Y'know?" Satoru gives Sukuna a small smile, hopeful.
Sukuna was definitely ready to throw a fit, fight tooth and nails, standing by his idea of never bowing to Satoru...
But then, "Oh, it was easy. I guess."
"What was easy?" Satoru questions with an innocent head tilt.
"Nothing, let's get going." Sukuna snickers, letting Satoru lead the way.
Satoru shrugs at him and then brings him to the next floor down, showing other rooms, peeking in to wave at a sprite at one point. Then he's bringing Sukuna down again. To meeting rooms, a room with a pool of water so deep it couldn't possibly be on the fifth story of a palace. "Don't go in there without me," Satoru warns as he points at the peaceful looking spring. There's flowers growing all around the room, a canopy of vines and leaves. And the water is crystal clear until it turns black in the depths.
"Why, it looks fun!" Sukuna whines. The rooms are boring, and the first one that catches his attention is kinda forbidden.
"I can swim."
"We can go together, but if you go by yourself it'll drown you. And then you'll end up being one of these flowers." Satoru gestures at one of the flowers that's blooming near the water's edge. It almost looks like a crying face.
Sukuna frowns, shock and confusion on his face as he looks around. He takes an involuntary step back.
"Why..."
"Because the nymph in the pond likes to lure stupid humans in. And humans who go into her pond alone are stupid. If you go with me, she won't try to kill you."
"I don't like this nymph. This looks like a cemetery rather than a pond." Sukuna scoffs sourly.
"Have you brought humans here before me? Were they killed here?"
"Oh I haven't, no." Satoru waves a hand. "Remember when I said other fae like to trick people and kidnap them? Some of them end up pond flowers, but that's only by this nymph. I just think the people who climbed into the very obviously creepy pond alone aren't really that innocent, y'know? Not a smart move, honestly..."
"What happens to the other humans that were kidnapped?" The thought of being exactly one of them doesn't even remotely cross his mind.
He came here because he wanted to.
"Most live here now, but they have enough magic that they are kind of just fae now. A very small percentage die, most fae aren't fond of killing humans. No fun." Satoru brings them out of the pond room. "A lot of the time they end up being the fae's new family. Children, parents, siblings, etcetera."
Sukuna nods slowly, "Is there a reason a human would die, other than because of the pond nymph?"
"Hm, probably murder. Like humans. But like I said, it's very uncommon," Satoru looks at him. "And they know you're not weak and they know you're not prey, so they won't even try. Other than the pond nymph. She's like that. She kills lesser fae too. Naughty..."
Sukuna smirks, raising a brow at Satoru, looking at him from below.
"And why would a king allow such things?" Sukuna's tone is clearly teasing.
"Because I think her pond is beautiful, and it's lovely to relax in. The flowers are pretty and I know that to keep her beauty, she must consume. It's a delicate balance."
"Hm.." Sukuna is thoughtful for a moment.
"Just like I keep Mr. Spikezard in my room cause he's cute and then I feed him roaches... Humans are like roaches."
"Well... kind of? I don't think you're a roach, but you're not like regular humans." Satoru rubs his chin and he looks back at Sukuna as they walk. "But yeah, it's kind of like that. I want to keep her happy and beautiful and healthy, so I let her eat stuff that she catches. I just keep everything that I don't want to die away from her."
Sukuna shrugs, tilting his head. His lips curl "Sounds about right."
"Will I ever see her? You said she's beautiful."
"If you want to see her, you would just need to come into the pond with me. She likes to... swim with people. I'd just need to be there to stop her from flowering you. Ha, deflowering..." Satoru snickers at his own joke.
Sukuna tilts his head, confused at first - then, the realization, "Wait, she's gonna have s-e-x with me?!"
"No, she'd kill you and turn you into a flower. I made the deflowering joke because it's funny. Have no fear. Unless you want to try having sex," Satoru shrugs. "Your parents aren't around to tell you no, or get mad at you. But I don't suggest her."
"Hah, and who would you suggest?" It's a trap, and Sukuna raises his brow, a teasing smirk upturns the corner of his mouth.
"You're old enough to pick whoever you want," Satoru gives him a cheeky smile.
"Remember, I have no friends." Sukuna points out, "Back at home, or here. It's not easy, you know. But anyway, I don't care now, I'm sure I won't even like it. I just want to become powerful."
"You're sure you won't like it?" Satoru questions. "It's way better than alone, insanely better, honestly. But, yeah we'll focus on becoming powerful. Sex stuff can wait until you're older."
"Hm, if you say so." Sukuna shrugs, trying to avoid the embarrassment creeping up his cheeks.
"Anyway, powerful. After the tour. Oh! If you become powerful enough, the pond nymph won't be able to drown you. So you can go for a swim with no fear." Satoru spares Sukuna more embarrassment, but he stores the information for later.
"Just like she can't drown you?" Sukuna nods, a grin spreading across his face. "No. I'll become even more powerful than you."
"You can try," Satoru laughs. "Outgrowing the teacher or something. I'd be proud." He takes Sukuna's hand and leads him toward the next room. "You might be able to do it."
"Of course I will." Sukuna scoffs, amused by the fact Satoru's indulging him.
He doesn't say anything about their hands, but there's a strange feeling in him, just like the night before, when Satoru's hand touched his bare skin.
"Is it weird to touch a fae?" Sukuna suddenly asks, his hand tingling as he wiggles his fingers.
Satoru glances back at him with a hum. "I don't think so. Why, does it feel weird to you?"
Sukuna stops walking, halting Satoru as well.
"I feel weird when I touch you, or you touch me." He tries to explain, putting the right words together, "Almost as if I'd touch a live wire."
Satoru looks amused. "Do you think that maybe you just like when I touch you? Or does it feel bad?"
"Like?" Sukuna asks like it's a foreign concept to him.
"I don't think it feels bad, but it's weird. Nobody touches me like that." He admits, looking at their hands still holding.
"I think it's because your body likes mine. The magic in it, maybe," Satoru offers, squeezing his hand. "Maybe it's your body getting excited to be touched, since it hasn't been before."
"Why are you so gentle with me?" Sukuna raises a brow, almost suspicious. "Even if I'm not nice to you?"
"Should I smack you when you're mean?" Satoru teases. "I like you, so I'm gentle. I don't want to hurt you, and I like making you feel nice."
Sukuna glares at him for the smacking comment, but then shrugs, still not sure of Satoru's words.
"Okay, I guess."
"So I can keep holding your hand? I like how it feels. You're warm and soft, and I can feel your magic coursing through you." Satoru says with a, hopefully, charming smile.
"You can, but not for too long." Sukuna smirks, testing his squeeze onto Satoru's hand.
It's soft and Sukuna finds himself thinking it's fun to squeeze him.
Satoru smiles and gives him a cheeky look. "How gracious of you. I'll be sad when I have to stop, y'know. Are you sure I can't stay like this?"
"You're not gonna die if you don't touch me, I need my space." Sukuna rolls his eyes, taking a step forward.
"How long till we get to the fun part?"
Satoru groans dramatically. "Fiiinneee," he swings their hands as he brings him forward. "I'll show you the rest of the palace another time if you want, and we can go directly to see what magic you can do?"
"Yesss!" Sukuna hisses sharply and excited, just as if it's what he was looking forward to the whole time.
"What are we gonna do?"
"Come on, we'll go to a grove to test, just in case you can do destructive stuff." Satoru starts dragging him down and out of the palace. They pass a slew of people, more fae looking creatures, and some that look like Satoru. Some look almost like Sukuna.
Sukuna notices everything that surrounds him, and he looks around to gather every bit of information as he almost struggles to keep Satoru's pace.
"Hey- hey, slow down. My legs are short." He points out, "Who are those people?"
Satoru barely slows down but he glances at Sukuna, "Who are what people?"
"Huh-?" Sukuna raises his eyebrows, turning. "Those people."
"Oh, just the people who live here. Subjects I guess you could say." Satoru finger waves at a woman he catches eyes with. She waves back before walking past them.
"Subjects? I don't understand..."
"I already told you I'm the king," Satoru rolls his eyes playfully.
"Ah, yes. Right- right..." Sukuna laughs, air quoting with his fingers, referring to the woman."The king."
"How many times do you have sex" and his tone goes down to a whisper, "with these people?"
"What...?" Satoru looks baffled.
Sukuna snorts, trying to hold back a loud laugh.
"I saw how you waved at that woman," he smirks "You're telling me you're not doing the nasty with some of them? Maybe the hottest ones?"
"Well, I have, but I was just waving that time," Satoru shakes his head fondly. "Usually I don't wave at people to get in bed with them."
"So I was right." Sukuna grins. "Okay, how long till we get there?"
"Longer now that I had to explain that sex is not initiated with waving," Satoru teases.
"Ugh, so now it's my fault." Sukuna rolls his eyes, groaning loudly. "Next time I'll teach you how to keep your focus on walking while explaining something." With a smirk, Sukuna teases back with the same tone.
"You're going to teach me to keep my focus just on you?" Satoru says with a coy smile. "I think I can manage that."
"T-that's not what I meant!" Sukuna stutters, cheeks suddenly burning in embarrassment.
"Too bad, I promise I won't look away anymore." Satoru squeezes his hand and even rubs his thumb on his skin. They walk under a beautiful flower archway and start to follow a cobblestone path.
Sukuna huffs, feeling the heat rising to his cheeks.
That small display of affection actually feels good, but he'll never admit it. So he just relishes in the comfortable silence.
Satoru swings their hands absently as they walk and then he starts humming. They break through a small batch of trees and then emerge in a clearing with a dirt arena and a small pond. There are dummies and stumps with obvious char marks.
"Okay, we've made it."
"Woah." Sukuna smiles, surprised by the training grounds.
"So, what now?"
"Now," Satoru claps his hands, reluctant to let go of Sukuna, but knowing it's a necessity. "I'm going to first ask a silly question, and then I will put a bit of magic into your new markings to see if there's a reaction." He steps a bit away, leading Sukuna into the center of the arena. "Do you feel any different? A warmth inside? A new buzzing in the back of your skull, the itch to do something new right at the tips of your fingers? Something that you wouldn't notice casually, but if you think about it, there's something nagging in the back of your mind or body that says it needs to be unleashed?"
Sukuna stands in the center of the arena, around him the air feels light, there's something that courses through and around him.
He listens carefully to Satoru's words, and he hums thoughtful for a moment.
"I can't explain it, the way I feel is normal, maybe? Kinda- but there's something under my skin that..." Sukuna tightens his fists and if he thinks about it, he feels a deep rage burning inside him.
"That wants to-" destroy "-explode..."
"Can you focus on that dummy right there and try to imagine it exploded?" Satoru perks up, interested to know what Sukuna is capable of. His mark is coming to fruition.
Sukuna doesn't speak, he only shifts his gaze from Satoru to the dummy.
He frowns, brows furrowed in concentration. Nothing happens, even if he feels his hands itch for violence.
"I can't-... Why can't I?"
"You might need to be here for longer. The marks only just appeared, and the longer you metaphorically soak in the fae essence, the more likely you'll be able to use your magic." Satoru points out.
"I want to try something else. Anything else," Sukuna says, still trying to understand why the dummy is still intact. "I can't accept a failure."
"Anything?" Satoru questions as his head quirks like a bird's.
"Yes, anything!"
"Then don't be scared," Satoru slides up behind him and wraps his arms along Sukuna's. He holds the boy's wrists and pours his own magic into him. He looms over him, leaning to line them up. "Try again now that your cup is overflowing."
Sukuna almost wiggles away from Satoru's embrace, body stiff under his touch.
He takes a deep breath, hands shaking and fingers twitching, pointing at the dummy. He cracks his neck, head tilting both left and right.
It takes everything in him to steady himself, his veins burning from the inside - he can feel Satoru's power coursing through him.
But nothing happens, once again. No matter how hard he tries, no matter how much it hurts to feel Satoru's magic flowing through his every fiber.
He just can't.
When he turns, eyes burning with frustration, a new mark has appeared on his forehead. "It hurts! And it doesn't work!"
"Oh how pretty..." Satoru mumbles and he slides his hands back over Sukuna's arms and he rests on his shoulders. "Maybe you just need more time. We can try again later. It seems like something's blocking you now."
"Pretty? Do you think I'm some sort of fool?" Sukuna steps back glaring at him.
"I don't need time, I need to get something done now. Your magic is painful."
Satoru sighs, "Sukuna..."
"No." Sukuna interrupts him, turning his back at Satoru so he can face the dummy again.
"You said that I could."
"Maybe I was wrong-" Satoru says without realizing.
Suddenly the air quiets, and even the soft wind is still now. Sukuna clenches his fists, teeth gritted almost painfully.
"Yes, of course you were. Every ounce of trust people put in me is always wrong. Because I'm meant to do nothing. Is that right? That's what you've come to think of me as well?"
Sukuna then takes a step back, the earth underneath his feet shakes as his eyes burn with rage. "I'll fucking prove you wrong-"
A crack opens deep into the ground, a cleave fractures the space between them as a barrier of dust raises with the force of his rage.
The Earth is split open.
Satoru gapes and then claps excitedly. "That's amazing!"
Sukuna gasps, taking another step back. He looks around with his mouth open, energy flowing through him as his eyes widen in shock.
"Did I do it?!"
Satoru slides up to him and cups his cheeks happily. "You did. How wonderful. That was an immense show of power. I knew you would be strong," he coos with a wide smile.
Sukuna can't help but smile, a little smug, even. He almost flinches as Satoru comes this close to his face, "You sure know how to piss me off." He jokes, now his rage slowly subsiding.
"Will I be able to do it again?"
"Probably when your magic settles into your body. You have a new mark on your forehead. So that means it's getting more potent. Soon you won't need my power to supplement you. You'll do it all on your own!" Satoru looks pleased. "Also, that's rude, I didn't try to piss you off."
Sukuna instinctively brings two fingers to his forehead, "A mark?" He asks.
"Another one?"
"Yeah!" Satoru smiles. "It's a bit different, but it looks like it matches the ones on your neck. I think you'll get more the more successful you are at harnessing your power." The crack in the earth is fun, and Satoru realizes he'll probably have a lot of messes that he'll need to clean up in the future. He puts a hand out and the ground begins to meld itself back together.
"Will my body be like... full of marks? I mean, once I get hella strong?" Sukuna asks, attentively watching Satoru fix the damage.
"Maybe," Satoru answers honestly. "I'm not sure what will happen, it's different for everyone, and you seem to be in a class of your own anyway. Usually humans can like... make a flower grow, or make lights float around them. You split open the earth on your first try. How exciting. But it means I don't know what will happen next."
"Do I seem like the type to make flowers grow to you?" Sukuna jokes, making a face and scrunching his nose. "Too boring."
"Well no, but I didn't expect this. Most fae magic isn't that destructive," Satoru points out.
"Is it..." Sukuna suddenly looks around, unsure, "...A bad thing?"
"No, it just makes you cooler."
It makes Sukuna grin, his chest puffing proudly.
"Can you show me how powerful you are?"
"Hmm," Satoru taps his chin. "Do you mean in destructive power? Because I have the feeling you don't mean the other types of magic."
"Whatever type of magic you want to show me." Sukuna huffs excitedly.
"You said you can make people do what you want, that you can control them. Show me!"
"Well I just fixed all of the damage you did within seconds, is that not enough?" Satoru teases. But he puts a hand out, palm facing the trees and the poor dummy on the other side of the dirt arena.
Before Sukuna can answer, a blast of red energy surges from Satoru's palm and destroys everything in its path. The gouge in the ground, the empty space between trees, and the settling of dust is all that's left for at least fifty meters. It's five meters wide, and the dummy is nowhere to be seen.
Satoru smiles brightly at the teenager. "Better?"
Sukuna's eyes are as wide open as his mouth, his jaw almost unhinged in surprise.
"Amazing!" He says, his gaze ping-pongs between Satoru and the destroyed path in front of him. "Woah..."
Satoru looks at the path and he winces. Slowly it starts weaving itself back together. "Yeah, I could do more, but I'd end up accidentally killing people."
"Have you ever killed?" Sukuna asks, interest suddenly perking up.
"Yep," Satoru answers honestly.
"How did you feel?" Sukuna doesn't seem too shocked, his curiosity rising. "Did you intend to do it?"
"I felt fine, and yes, I did," Satoru gives him a little smirk. "Why are you so interested? Fascination with death?"
Sukuna only shrugs, but a smirk curves his lips. "Yeah, kinda."
"Cute," Satoru sighs wistfully. "You're so cute..." He claps when everything is fixed from his burst of damage. "Most people your age are lame about stuff like that. You seem a bit more... Well, I think you'll fit in really well here."
Sukuna makes a face, almost pouting.
"I'm not cute, and I'm not like 'most people'."
"You aren't, you're right. It's why I like you. You attracted the eye of a king, so of course you're not normal," Satoru comments with a sly smile. "Should I use a different word instead of cute?"
"Heh, you definitely should." Sukuna smirks back, eyes almost shining in a new light.
"Are you sure you won't be mad?"
The smirk falls off of Sukuna face, faster than a blink of an eye.
"Not anymore, try your luck?"
Satoru sticks his lips out as he thinks and then he shrugs. Sukuna will probably get over his anger. "Hot. I think it was attractive. But I didn't want to scare you."
Sukuna takes his time to think about it, and he comes to the conclusion that it could have been way worse.
"You think I'm hot? Because I'm curious about death?"
"I think the way you said it and admitted it was hot. The fact you feel it and not like.. fear or shame is kinda hot too. But y'know..." Satoru wobbles his head. "I didn't know if you'd want that kind of compliment."
"Hm..." Sukuna's tone is thoughtful, "You're weird, but I suppose you gave me more compliments in these two days than anyone has ever in my entire life, so I'll take it."
"I'll take being weird," Satoru laughs with a wide smile. "They don't know what they're missing."
With a small smile, Sukuna shrugs. For but a fleeting moment, he distantly thinks Satoru's laugh is lovely.