Chapter Text
High school was only a month away from ending. You had been invited by Geto to come hang out with him and his friends to smoke after school. You’d only ever smoked a couple of times with your ex Kenjaku. That was several months ago at the beginning of senior year. He used you for sex and left town. What a way to make a girl feel special Ken—Ugh, I hope he rots in hell you thought to yourself.
You’d been a goody two shoes most of your life. To be honest you just stayed out of trouble in fear of hell being rained down upon you by your overbearing mother. Yet, you’d still try and push the limit. You had never been offered drugs until one day it happened when you were seventeen. You already lost your virginity to Kenjaku why not try smoking pot too?
Just like when you had sex for the first time this experience was new and exciting. So when Geto heard from his twin brother of what you had done with him, he was curious to see if this goody two shoes was what she appeared to be. Was she a suck-up or was she a rebel at heart?
At Geto’s parent’s house, you had gone to their shed to smoke the last bit of his stash. It was just you, Geto, gojo, Nanami, and Haibara. Gojo lit the joint and when passing it to you he tried to explain how to do it, but you brushed his comments aside and inhaled the smoke. Holding your breath until Geto took his first hit then you blew the smoke in Gojo's face smirking. “You were saying Gojo?” They all just stared at you astounded, what they heard from the twin was true. Looking around you should have known better than to be surrounded by four high school boys. You didn’t care, the need to feel high again was all you cared about. It felt nice to get away from reality. No one to comment on your misdoings. No one to be negative to you in any way. No one to expect perfection from you. You could go on and on about the things you were trying to escape from. Besides Gojo, everyone else was rather nice and welcoming asking you what you wanted to do after graduation.
After half an hour went by Geto got a text from his plug to come through. Everyone pitched in their share until he leaned over and said not to worry about it when he looked back up at you before you spoke up on not having a penny on you. You rang it up to being too adorable to charge. Getting in Geto’s car you eventually pull up to some guy’s house. You didn’t expect to know this guy which was perfect for you because you didn’t want anyone else to know these secrets about you. Then Sukuna came up to the passenger window to exchange cash for weed with Nanami. He then proceeded to look further into the car and when he saw you out of all people in the car he was instantly confused. “You smoke?” was all he could say to you.
With a straight face and barely any emotion you just simply replied, “Yeah?” You looked away quickly never having made direct eye contact with him before. His whole perception of you changed within 2 seconds. He started to question everything about you afterward. After driving away you would never have to worry about him in the last month of school. He had gotten kicked out over something or whatever, rumors were always so outrageous. You’d probably never see Sukuna again.
10yrs later
“Come on pick up, pick up!”
“Hey! What’s up?”
“Yuji! I don’t know what’s going on. I think I’m about to pass out. The doctor isn’t answering his phone. Do you know anyone you can call to get him here?”
“What?! I have someone on the way. I’ll tell them to hurry. Then I’ll try and call the doc.”
Feeling nauseous you slid the door open to let in fresh air. You barely heard what he said in the last part. At least he knew you needed help and would do everything in his power to get it to you. Lying on the wooden floor you slightly leaned over holding onto a column for balance and in case you needed to throw up.
Five minutes had passed when you heard footsteps running in the distance. Wow, you thought to yourself, that was quick. Looking forward out into the yard you thought you saw an animal before it got scared and ran away. Turning your head to the left you saw the owner of the footsteps, Sukuna was standing right in front of you. “Do..doctor… need… doctor.” Is all you could say before you passed out in front of him.
A black void had consumed you before what felt like a moment later finding yourself in your bed. Reaching out for your phone you heard a deep voice, “Been waiting all morning for you to wake up. How are you feeling?”
Wondering who was talking to you, you slowly stretched out before trying to sit up. A hand was then placed on your shoulder pushing you back down. “You need to rest. I’ll go make you something light to eat.” Turning your head you saw Sukuna walking out of the room. That was him then? Damn.
He returned with miso soup. Helping you sit up he then gave you the bowl. The silence after you finished felt awkward and you figured you knew why he was here and started ranting, “I figured this would happen. I’ve been looking at places nearby to rent. Once Yuji graduated he was supposed to move to the city with his dad to start learning the family business. I was only hired to watch over him and his grandparent's house til this happened. But now that he’s gone I gotta go too. I’ll just need some time to move everything if that’s…”
“What the hell are you going on about women? No one said anything about you moving. My brother loves you too much to do something like that,” Sukuna interrupted your rambling.
“Well, I can’t deny that,” you smile softly in agreement.
“I’m here to keep an eye on you. That’s all,” he said curtly.
“Why are you keeping an eye on me?” you asked furrowing your brows.
Sukuna had changed some since you saw him last. He was a gym rat back then but now the man was a tower with muscles. The tattoos were also new. His serious demeanor, however, was still the same.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be moving back into my old room. If you need anything let me know and I’ll go out to get it for you.” Leaving soon after a vague response had you reaching for your phone texting Yuji.
You
-Why is your Uncle here?
Yuji
-He upset my dad so he sent him there to cool off. Whatever excuse he made up is just to maintain his pride. Just ignore him and it’ll be like he’s not there at all. Btw, he said you must have gotten a 24-hour cold and that’s why you felt so bad. Should be feeling better soon! I’ll visit when I can.
You
-Don’t worry about me; I’ve got a wild watchdog on the loose here. He may be prone to biting. Plus I’m sure Megumi would want to see you in your spare time. Have fun in the city.
Yuji
-You know I’ll still show up regardless. I’ll see you when I can!
What a nice kid he grew up to be. His last nanny passed away 4yrs ago. When an ad about nannying was posted near your shop in the city you decided to call. No rent, bills, and food paid for, plus you could work from this house? Could anything be more perfect? As long as the kid wasn’t annoying it was very doable. Moving back to your hometown was nice. Everyone welcomed you back home and made sure to pack your new home with local treats and food. You and Yuji had become close throughout your time together. You became his big sister in a sea of older brothers.
He had friends in the city from spending a year at a private school who would come and visit on holidays. Nobara and you would always take a day to go shopping while Yuji and Megumi would play video games. The rest of the time you would make huge meals for them, sing karaoke, and watch an array of movies until everyone passed out under the kotatsu.
Yuji was easy to look after and some days it seemed he would look after you instead. If you ever had to go into the city he’d help you from being harassed. If you forgot to eat lunch he’d make you a meal to eat after getting home from school. He was like the little brother you wish you had. When he left a week ago the house felt empty and you felt that old feeling of being watched. Keeping the TV on made you feel better, but ever since from a young age you felt like you had eyes on you.
When Sukuna arrived it filled the empty space around you. Too bad he had been distant since his arrival which made you feel glum. After a month of living with him, the only things you knew about him were he worked out a lot, played a lot of video games, and ate even more than Yuji did. If it weren’t for the TV on at your shared dinners it would be completely silent. He’d take the first bath and then disappear into his room. After your bath you’d crawl back under the kotatsu and pour yourself several drinks until it made you properly inebriated; anything to help you go to sleep and quiet your mind.
You were taking the day off tomorrow to go into the city. Yuki called you this morning needing you to come sign a few things that needed your attention. When you woke up you put on a long skirt and a turtleneck to help keep you warm from the chill air.
“Where are you headed off to?” You were startled when Sukuna spoke up from behind you when you walked into the living room trying to find your bag.
“Yuki needs me to stop by the storefront in the city. I’ll be back by the end of the day,” you said picking up your bag and avoiding his eyes. You were trying to head out of the room when he grabbed your wrist.
“I’ll go with you,” he said stopping you in your tracks.
“That’s alright. I should be okay on my own,” you retort trying to release your wrist from his firm grip. Turning your head to stare at him you quickly looked away still having trouble making eye contact with him. “Seriously I’ll be okay. You can do what you usually do-ignore me and go play video games in your room. Now let go of me,” you say coldly staring down at your feet frowning.
He let go of your wrist as he noticed your nervous behavior. “Look, Yuji said if you go into the city you need someone to look out for you. So, I’ll watch out for you,” he spoke earnestly. “I didn’t know you could speak so coldheartedly. You’re usually so…”
“So what? Nice, sweetly, pleasant? I give back what I receive. It-It’s a new thing I’m trying out. You ignore me I ignore you. I know we went to school together but we don’t know each other. You’ve made it clear you’re not interested in making conversation with me so why would I want to hang out with you all day in silence?” you question him and finally look into his shocked eyes.
Taken aback he thinks before saying, “I just don’t know how to approach you. You’re like a mystery to me. I haven’t figured you out yet.”
You laughed after he finished talking. “Well, you know how to figure someone out? You talk to them,” you paused pondering a thought. “I’ll let you join me on the one condition. You can ask me whatever you want. I’ll even answer sincerely, an open book as they say. Do we have a deal?”
There you were five minutes into your drive when he finally spoke up, “How’d you get into carpentry?”
“Here I was planning my escape to ditch you when you dropped me off if you didn’t say anything,” you chuckled to yourself. “It was soon after graduation… I got upset about something and needed a new creative outlet to delve into. I blew all my graduation money into woodworking and it just stuck. Helps me zone out and not think about my problems.”
He made a mental note to come back to what you meant about being upset over something. “You have a lot of problems? I don’t remember you getting into trouble,” he queried remembering your time in school.
Taking in a deep breath you recalled a time when you could do everything right, yet wrong at the same time. How your mother would be pleased with your test scores and then complain they could be better. “I guess graduating with honors wasn’t enough for my parents. They moved into the city after I graduated. My mom got a high-paying job at a big firm so they left me the house until I could find a place of my own. We all have something going on. That was one of them”
He nodded in agreement then asked, “Do you still talk to them?”
“Only when they call. Must be busy though because it’s been a few years. Other than that I’ve got nothing to say to them,” you say smiling softly having gotten over that pain some time ago.
The rest of the car ride you discussed lighter topics such as favorite movies, music, and foods. He listened to you laugh when you found something funny. You watched him smile when he got passionate about a certain story.
“See wasn’t that easy? We could have been having fun instead of eating in silence this whole time,” you laugh lightly punching him in the arm playfully. With a smile, he just shook his head.
“I didn’t know you could be so chatty. You used to be so quiet,” he answered revealing past observations of you.
“When no one hears you the first time or the second… or the third… You eventually don’t say anything at all, which sucks because I didn’t have many friends to begin with. It was better than being completely alone during free periods. At least I was surrounded by people who kinda liked me,” you say trying to hide the pain through a smile.
He parked outside your shop and turned to face you. You were looking at your shop trying to hide your now frowning face. It shocked you when you felt his fingers under your chin pulling your attention to him.
“You don’t have to fake being yourself around me. They missed out.” Your faces were so close to each other that you could see the imperfections of his handsome face making him more human than statuesque.
What felt like an hour later he pulled away. Before you left the car you assured him, “I’ll be quick.” Then adding, “After this, I need to go Christmas shopping so if you just want to go and do whatever you don’t need to hang around.”
“You’re not getting away from me that easily. Just hurry up, I’ll be waiting right here.” He turned the car off and watched you walk inside.
Every time you see Yuki you apologize for leaving her here alone. “Don’t worry about it. Choso gives me plenty of attention when he’s not doting on his kid brothers. We went to the beach this summer. I never got to show you the pictures,” she said tilting her phone screen to you.
“What?! Let me see!” You scooted over to her and saw the pictures they took together.
“I’m so jealous, I shouldn’t have taken on so many new clients this summer. Yuji and I never made it to the beach this year,” you pouted going back to signing paperwork. “Here I am still all alone. The only ones who come my way are creeps when I visit here or my dumbass ex who still keeps messaging me. I’m hopeless.”
“So you aren’t with that man outside? Isn’t that Sukuna? Y’all went to school together didn’t you?” She pointed to Sukuna who had his back turned to the both of you. He had gotten out of the car to smoke a cigarette.
“Yeah, that’s right. He came back to live at the house to keep an eye on me. I asked Yuji and he said he upset Jin and he’s just making up that excuse to seem more manly—I don’t know. We eat dinner together in silence and do separate things the rest of the day.” You ramble getting to the last few pages. “Then when I said I was coming here he wouldn’t let me leave the house by myself. So I made him compromise that he could come if he talked to me on the ride here. Then just now he said…” you started saying but cut yourself off before revealing a moment you found you wanted to keep to yourself. “Something cheesy—but nice.”
Finished signing everything you were both now staring at him. He must have sensed you two burning holes into him when he turned around and walked towards the door.
He opened the door and asked, “You ready?”
Looking back at Yuki she said that was everything she needed from you and you hugged her. She whispered in your ear, “I bet 100 bucks he’ll take you out to dinner tonight. I still have the keys to the bedroom upstairs if you need it.” Your blushing face told her everything she needed to know. Of course, he was hot and everything about him made you want to know more, that’s why you made him talk to you, so maybe you could gauge his feelings about you better over dinner—no out of the question.
Leaving the car parked at your shop you headed to the shops around you buying things for Yuji, his friends, and his dad. Once you were overflowing with bags Sukuna took most of them off of your arms afraid you’d be crushed by gifts and new clothes if you were to fall over. The sun was starting to set when you got back to the car. “Let’s eat at a place nearby,” Sukuna spoke up casually.