#Malevolent 01 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

muwapsturniolo · 2 months

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♱ 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 ♱

pt.01

IN WHICH…A virgin meets the new priest of her church, father Matt, and her world of all things holy begins to crumble.

WARNINGS… NSFW AHEAD! Religious figures, god is mentioned, Demons, slapping, sex, masturbation, parents being rough with their kids, mind fucking, orgasms, innocent!reader, slight asshole!matt. IF I MISSED ANYTHING PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!

APOLOGIZING NOW TO ANYONE WHO IS SUPER RELIGIOUS! THIS IS NOT MEANT TO DISRESPECT ANYONE, I JUST GOT THE IDEA FROM OTHER SMUTS I'VE READ, THE SONG BY PATD!, AND THE MOVIE MOTHER!

Matt has slowly but surely made a name for himself within the clergy and the church attendees.

He had a way with words that seemed to captivate any and everyone he was speaking to, whether it was male or female. His words gave hope, they soothed you, they made you want more, crave it. It wasn't long before the odds worked in his favor and Father Jon gave him a permanent place in the church, letting him jump from being a deacon to a priest. Some of the clergy members had a problem with it, claiming it was unfair for him to jump to such a high rank in a short period of time.

"Proverbs 14:30...A peaceful mind gives life to the body, but jealousy rots the bones."

The way Matt had stated the scripture sounded much more like a threat rather than a piece of advice. His eyes were dark, his posture firm, and a malevolent smirk plastered on his face.

It was that day the clergy knew they shouldn't speak down upon him, he radiated power, a power no one wanted to defy.

He would usually stand side by side with Father Jon, helping preach to the attendees of the church. Other times he was in charge of the confessional, listening to the people confess their sins.

Father Jon quickly became impressed with his knowledge of the righteous path and integrity, So impressed that he offered a teaching position to him.

Matt took the position by thanking Father Jon with a firm handshake, grateful for the opportunity to teach the young minds of the right way to live.

For the next few months, he taught the senior class. He wasn't strict when teaching, he was laid back for the most part, but he made it a point that he wouldn't tolerate disrespect toward him or Christ. Instead of tests, he opted for long lectures and presentations. His way of teaching made the students love him, they participated in class willingly and showed him the utmost respect. The girls in the senior class were ecstatic about having Father Matt as their teacher, swooning and whispering about him at any given moment.

They fell victim to his charm.

They would call him cute, bring him slices of pies and cake they made themselves, they even talked about marrying him one day and raising their children in the church.

The only one who wasn't following suit in the schoolgirl crush was Y/n.

Now don't get her wrong, she could admit he was attractive, but he was too attractive.

There was something off about him that she couldn't place her finger on.

She would hear whispering whenever she was too close to him, the voices sounding hushed and scratchy. She would see glimpses of shadow people in her peripheral. Most of the time they were standing in the corners, looming over students, or simply sitting at Father Matt's side.

And worst of all...she began to have impure thoughts.

Images of them kissing under the tree in the park would pop into her head, vivid glimpses of his hand trailing along her shoulder only to drop down to her breast...She would see brief glimpses of them rolling around in bed, naked.

It scared her and intrigued her all at the same time. She had never had an impure thought like this before, and she blamed him....But she also wanted to expand on these thoughts.

She knew it was wrong, if God even looked inside her mind she would be stricken down and laid to rest.

"Just like that Angel, so good f'me." He groaned in her ear as she took all of him, inch by inch. Y/n whimpered at the burning but pleasurable ministration that was happening between her thighs, craving more, feining for it.

He thrust into her harshly, her back arching as a strangled cry left her throat. He kept going, feeding off of her cries and pleas, gripping her sides harshly and leaving indentations into the soft supple skin

She felt something forming in the pit of her stomach, the pressure so large she felt like she was going to scream and pass out all at once.

"Let go Angel, let go for your god" He whispered in her ear, a wicked grin across his face. Her eyes clenched shut as she let out a loud and strangled moan.

"Y/N!"

She's snapped back to reality, blinking profusely as she tries to figure out what's going on. She looks around and notices all of her classmates staring at her, some snickering, others with judgment.

She feels the brown flesh on her face heat up in embarrassment, her eyes finally landing on Matt whose already fixed on her.

He's staring at her as if he knows what she was imagining.

"I-I'm sorry, what was the question?" She asks nervously. Matt crosses his arms and licks over his teeth, his eyes narrowing. "You should be paying attention in class Y/n. Spending your time daydreaming instead of learning about your God is disrespectful, and what do I not tolerate?"

She can't help but shrink in on herself from his harsh words, her gaze now cast downward, " d-disrespect towards you o-or God..." Her voice is meek, a clear indication of fright from being reprimanded.

He hums and stares at her for a few seconds before continuing with his lecture.

The day soon ends, the girl quickly making her way through the church to go home. However, she's stopped by Father Jon himself.

"Y/n."

"A-afternoon Father." He smiles at her polite words, but soon turns serious. "Father Matt told me about your little situation today in class. You're never distracted, is everything alright?"

She glances at him nervously before looking down at her shoes. Father Jon can see something is tearing the girl apart, he's known her since she was born and knows this is out of character for her.

"Do you need to confess?"

A barely seeable nod is given, her eyes still cast downward.

"Why don't you go confess? Maybe that will ease your mind and get you back on track."

That seems like a good idea to the girl. If she confesses her impure thoughts and asks for Gods forgiveness, maybe they will stop.

Father Jon sends her to the booth, letting her know someone will be in shortly for her to talk to. She sits on the cherry wood bench of the small box, waiting patiently and anxiously for someone to sit on the other side.

She stops the fiddling of her hands when she hears the door on the other side open and close, a loud thud being heard. She flinches at the sound and listens to the harsh ragged breathing on the other side.

"H-Hello?"

"Confess..."

The voice is one she's never heard before. They sound sick, as if there's a bunch of mucus in their throat.

"U-umm...I-I'm not sure where to sta-Free yourself of the shackles." The words spoken sound like they are being spoken through a sea of static. It's unnerving, but she blames it on her being nervous already.

"I... I have thoughts... sinful thoughts."

She's met with silence so she continues.

"They-They're thoughts of me...with a man...A man of the church... h-he's touching me and I enjoy it. T-they've been happening for a while now, every second of the day....They're worse when I'm around him. It's causing me to be distracted from Christ and I feel dirty, I don't like it. It's wrong and I- It's not wrong"

Her words get caught in her throat and her brows furrow.

"W-what?"

"Your thoughts, they feel good correct? Whenever you imagine him touching you in your most delicate...sensitive areas...it feels nice. You wish your own hands could give you the pleasure. Your skin feels like it's on fire, your breathing speeding up. Your thighs clench together, and you begin to pulsate, an aching feeling in between your legs. Your core aches, wishing that everything you're imagining is real-" As the voice begins to spew the erotic words, the images begin to flash through her mind, knocking the air out of her lungs.

She can feel them.

Her thighs clench together tightly, one hand gripping the bench while the other claws at the wall of the confessional to steady herself. Her skin feels hot, her clothes suffocating her. She feels the sweat forming on her forehead, dripping down the side of her face.

Unintentionally she begins rocking her hips, grinding down on the bench. The combination of her clenched thighs and rocking caused a knot to form in her abdomen, her movements getting faster. Faint whimpers fall from her mouth as she clenches her eyes shut, chasing whatever it is shes running after.

"That's it Angel."

The voice, Matt's voice, sounds so real, almost as if he's whispering in her ear instead of in her head.

"You feel it, that hot burning ball in your stomach? Let go, let it take control."

The back of her head hits the wall of the confessional harshly, her eyes rolling back as her thighs shake. She feels a liquid roll down the inner part of her leg and dripping on the floor.

Her once tense body relaxes, her mind in a state of delirium as she takes deep breaths.

Her eyes snap open when she hears the door of the confessional slam. She comes to her senses and quickly scrambles out of the booth. Her head turns both ways, analyzing the empty hallway. Once she figures no one was a witness to whatever happened a few seconds ago, she speed walks away from the booth.

On her way home, she kept replaying her moment in the booth. The words that were spoken, the euphoric feeling she experienced...

She loved it.

She wanted more.

She soon makes it home, immediately being met with her parents in the kitchen.

"Y/n, you're home late." Her father gruffs out. "Father Jon wanted to speak to me after class." She lies swiftly, not even thinking twice like she usually would about it.

"About what?" Her mother raises a brow, questioning her response.

"Me joining the choir."

Her parents become elated, glad their daughter might finally have a place in the church. They usher her out of the kitchen, telling her to go shower and get ready for dinner. She does as told, taking the time to lather her body in vanilla-scented suds.

she dries herself off and pulls on her satin nightgown, putting on her slippers and making her way to the kitchen by skipping.

She feels awake, she feels alive, she feels happy.

The family of three eats their dinner, mainly in silence. The only noise heard being the scraping of utensils against the porcelain plates.

As she eats dinner, her mind drifts back to the confessional booth, that aching feeling between her thighs returning.

She discreetly clenches her thighs, adjusting the way she was sitting. Her parents noticed but chose not to say anything, figuring the chair was just uncomfortable. Dinner is soon finished, Y/n helping her mother wash the dishes.

"Did you want ice cream for dessert? I picked up the vanilla one you like." A loud clap of thunder is heard as Y/n turns to her mother.

"No, I'm going to go to bed."

Her parents were shocked by her turning down the dessert. She loved vanilla ice cream, for her to turn it down was unusual. They watch as she retreats up the stairs.

The girl waltzes into her room, closing the door softly, and falling into her bed. Her body melts into the twin-sized mattress, some of her stuffed animals falling to the floor. She relaxes as she hears the pitter-patter of rain falling onto the roof, falling into a calm trance as she closes her eyes.

Her relaxation is quickly interrupted by the ache between her thighs returning. It causes her to become restless, her body twisting and turning.

She clenches her thighs hoping to soothe the ache, but she's unsuccessful. She huffs and sits up, sliding to the edge of her bed. She tries to recreate her actions in the booth, her bed squeaking as she moves back and forth.

But once again, she was unsuccessful.

She grunts and crawls back to the top of the bed, falling back into her pillow. As she does so, her nightgown slides up, showing her white panties.

She looks down and bites her lips, contemplating. She recalls a story from one of the girls at school whose older sister was caught using her hand to do what's called "masturbation". She claimed her sister did it every night until her parents found out.

Of course, the girl was sent away by her parents, but Y/n wasn't thinking about that. The only thing on her mind was satisfying the throbbing between her legs.

Her right hand shakes as she moves it toward to cotton material, hesitant to do what she believes is wrong

But It's not wrong... Right?

The clergy member who listened to her confession told her it wasn't wrong.

leading with that, she dives in.

She slides her hand under the band of her panties, flinching at the foreign feeling but continuing. She props her legs up, planting the soles of her feet flat on her mattress.

She slides a single finger through her folds, gasping at the new and exciting touch. She feels a thick wet mixture on her fingers, moving it around. As she does so, she touches a certain part of herself that makes her gasp softly, her back arching as another flash of lightning hits. Deciding that she likes the feeling, she circles that spot, her index finger drawing lazy shapes.

Her body twitches, her toes curling as her eyes roll back.

This was an all-new feeling that she quickly became accustomed to. She doesn't understand why masturbation is such a taboo,

It was euphoric.

As she draws lazy patterns, gasping and whimpering softly, her closet door creaks open...But she doesn't stop. In the back of her mind, she thought it was whatever shadow she's been seeing the last few months coming to get her.

But it wasn't the shadow...

It was Father Matt.

It seems as if the whole house shakes with the booming thunder, lightning striking once more as he moves closer to her.

Her jaw drops as a shock goes through her body, her eyes fixated on Matt.

"You look perfect Angel....Masturbating right under the lord's eye." His eyes fall on the cross right above the head of her bed.

The erotic words make her back arch.

She feels that hot coil in her abdomen again, her finger moving faster to reach that high from before.

"Oh God, Matt!"

Matt smirks at her, his hand coming down to grip her jaw, "You're so close Angel...and yet, you're not going to finish."

Before she could question his confusing words, her door was slammed open.

Her head turns and her eyes land on the baffled and enraged faces of her parents. She snatches her hand from her underwear, her eyes wide in fright. She yanks her nightgown down as she sits up, her heart thumping in her chest as her father marches toward her.

"Daddy wait I ca-" Her face whips to the side, her body falling to the floor.

"How dare you! You're a Sinner, a Jezebel!"

His voice echoes throughout the home, mixing with the sound of booming thunder. Tears form in her eyes as she looks up at him, "I-I'm not a Sinner! I'm not a Jezebel! What I did was ok, I felt good! It's not a sin!" Her parents stare at her with wide eyes, their ears ringing as they hear her words.

"S-she's possessed... She needs to be cleansed." Her mother murmured, her face pale and looking sick. Y/n turns to her mother in fright, "W-what? No no! I'm not possessed! I swear to God-You lie under God's name!" Her father shouts once more. He grabs her by her arm, yanking her to her feet and yelling in her face.

"I always knew you were a hellion, getting into trouble by claiming you would see shadows, and had an imaginary friend named Matthew!"

He scoffs in disgust, barely able to look at her.

"You're a liar, a sinner, an awful excuse of a daughter." He begins to pull her out of the bedroom, ignoring her cries and pleas to stop. He drags her down the stairs, not caring about the way she misses a few steps and falls.

He yanks her back up and pulls her out of the home, the harsh falling rain drenching their bodies.

"Daddy stop! Please! I'm sorry! I'll do better! I'll pra-PRAYING WON'T SAVE YOU NOW!" Just as his words fly out, lightning strikes a nearby tree, the branches falling into the street immediately.

"We need to get to the church!"

While soaking wet from the rain, her father shoves her into the backseat of the car. The two adults climb into the front of the car and fly out of the driveway, heading straight to the church.

Y/n sits in the backseat sobbing. She doesn't know what she did wrong, she was told it was ok.

"Please! I-it was an accident! It won't happen again!" she pleads hopelessly. "You're damn right it won't!" Her father shouts as he quickly parks the car.

He tries to pull her out of the car but she fights back, kicking and screaming at him to get away from her. In a fit of rage, he grabs a handful of wet curls, yanking her out of the car.

She yells in pain, her knees dragging against the wet and rough pavement.

The clergy was currently having a meeting, the main fathers' gathered around the podium, talking about Sunday service. They were in the middle of choosing what scriptures to read when suddenly the doors burst open, the family of three tumbling in.

"Oh my, what's going on here?" Father Marcus asks as everyone looks at the crying girl in her father's arms.

Y/n's father drags her towards the priests, "Forgive us for intruding, but we need your help! Y/n she's-she's possessed!"

The fathers gasp at their words.

"Possessed? What do you mean possessed?" Father Jon asks as he stares at the crying girl. " Tell them what you did!" her father sneers. She shakes her head, too embarrassed and frightened to even speak.

he throws her down to the floor, yelling at her to confess her sins.

"He told me it was ok! H-he told me sex and touching myself was ok!" she sobs once more.

The fathers gape in shock, this was new for her. She was usually so bright and innocent, always following the right path, but they have noticed a difference as of late.

"I have noticed a difference, she's not as bright as she used to be...Always looking off into corners as if she sees things." Father Garrison speaks lowly. "Please, help us! Do what you did before, she needs he-Dousing her in holy water won't help."

Everyone turns to Father Matt as he speaks, "What do you mean Matthew?"

"I mean that she needs more than just holy water."

The other fathers look at each other, then back at the new member.

"Then what do you suggest?"

Matt's eyes fall on the mess of a girl on the ground, staring down at her with hungry eyes as she looks up at him with tears.

"An Exorcism"

PT 2!!!! WHAT WE THINKING YALL?!?!?! SEND IN STUFF TO MY INBOX WITH YOUR THOUGHTS OR EVEN JUST COMMENT!!

𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 🍑: @mattslolita @thenickgirl @guccifrog @luverboychris @zayyluvz @mrsmiagreer @chrisssluttywaist @78yaz @hoesformatt @freshloveforthefit @3lizaluvs @mattsturniolosgirlfriend @jetaimevous @luxy-nyx @ts-is-my-spirt-animal @iihrtsturniol0 @idontexistman @katw4shereee @madisturn @starlace111 @zivall @adoreindie @imwetforyourmom @sturnsxplr-25 @sturncakez @theyluvme-2315 @moonk1ss3d @@babyalliah-777 @sturniololol @oliviasturniolo21 @ariithereyet @blahbel668

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brazilian-vampyra · 3 months

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꒰ ♡ ₊ ꒱ ⠀!⠀ AKAI ITO (01/02) ! ⠀"

(english)

₊˚⊹♡ synopsis: the feared king of curses Ryomen Sukuna is back among humans, and you didn't expect to get his attention.

₊˚⊹♡ trigger warnings: kidnapping, strong language, nudity, suggestive topics, Sukuna being slightly lovely with the reader, violence, Sukuna x fem!reader.

₊˚⊹♡ the song Sukuna keep playing is "Fantasia and Fuge in G minor, BWV 542 "The Great" by Johann Sebastian Bach.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 and reasonably comfortable, when I found myself waking up suddenly, surrounded by the gloom of my room. A shiver ran down my spine, as if an electric current had suddenly manifested itself, and my senses sharpened, catching an indescribable sensation of an ominous presence that filled the space around me.

I opened my eyes in the darkness, trying to understand the origin of this inexplicable shiver. I raised my hand to the back of my neck, feeling how my hairs were standing on end, and a mist of uneasiness hung in the air, as if something malevolent had penetrated the boundaries of reality and was now hiding in the shadows. My heart quickened, not out of fear, but in silent anticipation of knowing what it was about.

With cautious steps, I slid my bare feet across the cold floor of my apartment, approaching the half-open window. Outside, the distant lights of Tokyo seemed obscured by an aura that even I couldn't explain, and the pulse of the normally vibrant city was drowned out by a sense of expectation.

My cell phone rang, on the bedside table, and I ran to answer it. It was very late, it was already past midnight. Who could it be?

It was my older brother.

━━ Did you feel it too?

We both asked at the same time.

━━ Yes, I did — I said to him.

━━ I did it too… — Toji replied. ━━ Are you fine?

━━ I am... but this feeling is very strange… — I replied, placing my hand on my chest.

━━ Look, go to sleep, okay? You have to teach at Jujutsu High tomorrow, I promise you everything will be fine — my older brother sighed. ━━ Good night, little sis.

━━ Good night, big bro.

I really couldn't sleep that night. The sensation was bizarre, as if something was lurking, whispering in my ear and breathing heavily on the back of my neck.

The next day was cloudy — something very different for spring, which was being followed by sunny days with a beautiful blue sky. The skirt of my white dress fluttered in the breeze and I adjusted the sleeves of my denim jacket as I walked inside Jujutsu High. I saw Megumi talking to Itadori in the hallway, and I ran to the brunette, hugging him tightly.

━━ Megumi, my dear! — I hugged him tightly, bringing my hands to his face, holding his cheeks and making him look at me. ━━ Are you okay?

━━ Hi, auntie… — he was still a little embarrassed that I treated him like that in front of his friends. Because I look more like a sister than an aunt, despite being older, my appearance is youthful due to my nature. There are pros and cons of being a 22-year-old teacher. ━━ I'm fine and you?

━━ That's good, I'm fine too! — I looked to the side. ━━ Ah, good morning, Yuji!

━━ Good morning! — the pink-haired boy smiled happily. He thought the way I treated my nephew was cute.

Although Toji is not a present father in my little darling's life, there are two people he trusts immensely to take care of our little one: me and Gojo Satoru.

Talking about him, I heard the light-eyed sorcerer call me, adjusting his sunglasses.

━━ Does my favorite sorceress have some time for an important matter?

━━ Of course!

Now we were in the teachers' room, gathered near the coffee machine, next to Nanami who looked tense. It was difficult to see that “wall” express something, just like my brother.

I took a sip of the coffee with notes of caramel and vanilla essence that he had prepared for me.

━━ Everyone felt that way yesterday, right? — Kento cleaned the lens of his glasses.

━━ I woke up in the middle of the night. That's strange... it never happened... — just remembering it made me feel cold.

━━ Well, I think we already know... — Gojo bit into a sandwich, how can he eat at a time like this… ━━ That if everyone felt the same thing, late in the morning... it's because something really, really bad happened... so, I think…

━━ No!

The blonde and I exclaimed at the same time. We already knew what he was going to say, it's almost like an intuition.

━━ You don't even know what I'm going to say!

━━ Yes, we know — Kento crossed his arms.

━━ It is not a hypothesis to be ruled out!

━━ It's impossible, Satoru! Impossible! — I said.

━━ The impossible is just a matter of opinion when it comes to magic, my dear — the white-haired sorcerer had an important point.

Ryomen Sukuna had been defeated during the Heian era, centuries ago. At first, the sorcerers had the idea of sealing the curse on twenty fingers, but they disregarded this hypothesis, as they were afraid that it would be easy to bring him back in the future.

Therefore, the king of curses was mutilated, completely dismembered. Then, the sorcerers cremated his parts, one by one, and sealed them in individual urns, which were spread across different parts of the world. How could anyone have gotten all these urns and performed the ritual to get him back?

It would be a lot of work for a huge disgrace. Many rituals had to be done, innocent blood had to be spilled so that the ashes would materialize in parts of his body again.

Who wanted Sukuna alive?

If he returned, he would destroy the sorcerers. And, our death means the death of everyone, the death of humanity.

Now, I walk along the winding forest trail, surrounded by the shadows of the trees in this late afternoon. My mind is still restless, and what Gojo suggested earlier is haunting my every thought. I don't care so much about what will happen to me, but I need to protect my nephew, my brother and my friends.

The sparkling crystals I sought out for the purification ritual were a welcome distraction. The city was as restless as my head, and I felt it in my core.

While collecting the crystals among the roots and mosses, a strange sound broke the silence. A thunderous cry for help. I immediately dropped the crystals and ran away as fast as I could.

I was immediately petrified by the terrifying scene that my eyes captured. There was a dead man on the floor; unfortunately I arrived too late. His lifeless and completely bloodied body lay with his chest open and empty. I went closer to look at the hole.

━━ It couldn't have been a bear, there are no scratches... it was just a fatal blow to the chest…

━━ Well now... are you looking for this?

I heard a booming voice behind me, and I looked back. He was identical to Itadori, even the color of his hair, and was more muscular. Furthermore, there was something different in his gaze: cruelty. There were two extra eyes just below the ones already on his face, and he was a little taller. But it didn't have four arms.

Gojo was right, really, the impossible in the field of magic is just a matter of opinion.

I looked at the hand he offered to me, there was the man's heart, and it was pulsing a little. My reaction was to run as far as I could, and even then I could hear his evil laugh.

━━ Run, run and hide, bunny! Just don't let me find you!

Fighting Sukuna would be suicide, and suddenly I found myself lost in the forest. How can I? How am I lost in the fucking forest I've been wandering through my whole life? I know this place like the back of my hand

I was on the verge of having a panic attack, I ran as if my life depended on it — and it did — if I died, I wouldn't be able to protect the people I love. I sneaked between some trunks and trees, until I got close to a stream, where I could hide behind some rocks. The only thing I heard now was my heartbeat and the sound of water, along with some owls.

When suddenly, I feel a hand touch my shoulder.

━━ Oh, what a shame... I found you!

Sukuna's hands went to my hips, squeezing tightly as he tried to hold me in his lap. I struggled and screamed, it seemed like my powers were useless now, because when your emotions are shaken, your magic weakens. He didn't even tickle that son of a bitch.

━━ I love skittish women, you know that?

The blood on the cursed palms stained my white dress, which was now practically scarlet, and also stained my skin. Despite all my efforts, nothing worked, he ended up throwing my body over his own shoulder, while I continued to struggle.

━━ Look, I'm trying not to hurt you, but you're making things difficult, bunny.

He laughed sarcastically, I was a complete joke now. A sorceress from the Jujutsu Academy who couldn't protect herself, unfortunately my emotions still shook me a lot and this made my techniques difficult.

I looked at the ground, seeing some footprints that the tallest one left. What would become of me now? Was he going to kill me? Swallow me alive?

My eyes were starting to tickle a little, as if an invincible sleep was ravaging my eyelids, which became increasingly heavy, until I sighed one last time, and fell into a deep sleep.

[...]

I woke up in a daze, with my senses deadened by the oppressive darkness that enveloped me. My mind tried to comprehend the situation while my body remained still, I felt something around my wrists, a cold material. The feeling of being captive, enclosed in darkness, left me with severe restlessness.

I then sat down, on what seemed like a very soft carpet, at the same time I heard the noise of the chains. I wish this was just a dream.

━━ Shit… — I sighed.

━━ Good morning, sleeping beauty.

I heard his harsh voice ring through the room, when the fireplace was lit, with its purple flames. Now the environment had become illuminated, and I could see better where I was. It looked like an old living room, perhaps from imperial times, with sophisticated furniture.

Sukuna was there, a few meters away from me, sitting in a leather armchair, wearing a black kimono and with his arms crossed. He smiled at me, like an idiot smiles when he knows he's won.

━━ What’s this? — I was still disoriented, it felt like I had hibernated. ━━ How long did I sleep?

━━ Just a few hours, relax.

━━ Where am I? What is this place?

━━ My palace. You're in my living room — he opened his arms and showed me the room.

I felt my head boil and whistle, like a pressure cooker, and if this were a cartoon, there would definitely be smoke coming out of my nostrils and ears. A tantrum was rising in me, and I could even feel my powers coming on, but it had no effect.

Instead, my left shoulder started to burn.

I groaned in pain and started panting. Until I looked to the side and noticed a mark on my skin, like a seal or something similar. Had he blocked my powers? For the love of the elder gods, someone kill me.

━━ Oh, my dear... you won't be able to use your powers, not here — he sighed, as if he was saying something completely casual. ━━ The more you try, the more the seal will burn, and as I'm sure you don't like feeling pain, I recommend stopping…

━━ You son of a bitch... — were the most sincere words I could come up with.

━━ Aww, this hurts... — he placed a hand on his chest after that insult.

━━ Honestly, I'd rather you kill me right away.

He laughed then, a strangely satisfying laugh, like someone who had just heard the best joke of the year.

━━ Kill you? No no. I have other plans! — He got up from the armchair and walked over to me. ━━ What would be the fun in killing such an adorable little creature like you?

━━ What are you going to do? Leave me here to decorate your living room? I'm pretty sure I'm not part of the decor.

━━ No, no... I just want company, you know? — he patted my head, as if I were a dog. ━━ I was gone for so many eras... and you were the first pretty face I saw. So I thought "why not bring her here?"

━━ That's ridiculous.

━━ Well, maybe it is. I don't care — he shrugged and walked to the room's huge door. ━━ We can play later, bunny. Now I have some important topics to solve as a king.

The moment he closed the door I started struggling and swearing. I was furious and felt like crap. How could I have fallen into his clutches? How did this happen?

Now look where I am! On the carpet in the living room of this huge palace where he lives, alone, chained, powerless and in the dark. If he swallowed me all at once, it would be a much more dignified death. But for him, it might be funny to see me suffer like this.

I tried to look at the windows, and saw that they were covered by long, thick black curtains.

The only source of light I had left was this fireplace with a purple flame. I stood up and noticed how dirty I was, with dried blood and the smell of iron that entered my nostrils. The chains were only attached to my wrists, and they were considerably long, they didn't keep me completely immobile.

I heard a voice whisper something inaudible.

I was surprised and remained silent, listening carefully to see if the voice said anything again. And so it happened, a shame I couldn't recognize it. However, I saw that the voice had come from the fireplace, so I approached it slowly. Were there any souls?

They said something again.

━━ What? — I whispered.

━━ Fresh soul…

By the gods, it's not possible.

━━ FRESH SOUL! — several voices said together, and then a hand came out of the fire and grabbed my ankle.

I screamed in surprise and tried to free myself, but to no avail, as another hand came to grab my other ankle. My body fell to the floor at the same moment, using as much strength as I had left so I could kick those hands and they let me go, while I clung to the carpet. I managed to kick some of them, however, then others came and grabbed my ankles, pulling me towards the fire.

I was being pulled by a legion of souls. Fighting was in vain, I no longer had as much strength as before.

━━ FRESH SOUL! FRESH SOUL!

That ghostly chorus scared me even more, so I had no other option:

━━ SUKUNA! SUKUNA!

I screamed, desperate, and in a few seconds he appeared. The door to the room was slammed against the wall when he stormed in and shouted at them.

━━ RELEASE HER NOW!

The souls obeyed and released my ankles, while Sukuna snapped his fingers and made the chains disappear. He bent down and picked me up, holding my legs and my back. He didn't hold me sloppily like he had in the forest, this time he was really careful, and that left me perplexed.

However, this experience was so scary that it made me cry with anxiety.

━━ Why didn't you just throw me in a fucking dungeon!?

━━ The palace is mine, I decide where I put you — he began to walk out of the room, heading into a vast hallway. ━━ Besides, there must be something much worse in the dungeon.

I remained silent, as I was in the grip of this powerful curse. The only thing I could do was accept my fate, and accept whatever it was going to do to me. I didn't have much of a chance to resist, because even though I'm without the chains, I still have the seal on my shoulder.

He continued walking a little further down the corridor, carrying me, until he reached a… room?

The walls were covered in dark velvet, in a shade of moss green and there were large crimson curtains, which adorn the large windows, leaving the light scarce and filtered, which gave me a feeling of seclusion. In the center is a colossal four-poster bed, ornamented with what I thought was gold and carved from dark wood.

Persian rugs covered the stone floor, and there was an ebony table next to it. In the far corner of the room was a fireplace that crackled softly, casting dancing shadows on the walls. After this experience with the cursed souls, I have a certain trauma, but apparently it's "common fire".

I also noticed one or two paintings on the wall, with images from Japanese folklore.

━━ Take a shower and it won't take long to go downstairs.

━━ Down the stairs? For what? — I questioned, as he placed me on the ground.

━━ You have to feed.

So, he closed the bedroom door and left me completely alone. I looked up from the bed and noticed a white kimono. I took it and went to another oak door, which was a bathroom.

There, I took a good shower to remove the blood from my body, and take a few deep breaths, while the warm water kissed my skin. I sighed heavily several times, thinking about how my family and friends were doing. Were they already looking for me? Does everyone already know that Sukuna is on the loose?

What if I never get the chance to see them again?

I should have had lunch with Toji more often, and I should have hugged Megumi harder and longer. A few tears rolled down my face when I thought about it, but I preferred to avoid dwelling on that thought. I dried my body with a red towel that was there and got dressed with my kimono, leaving the blood-stained dress on top of the marble sink.

Leaving the room, I paid attention to the large windows in the hallway. The sky was strange, like the end of a very cloudy day. I descended huge stairs that seemed to be made of ivory, adorned with red carpets that slid down the steps.

At the bottom of the stairs, he was waiting for me. His expression was friendlier than yesterday when we first met. He didn't have four eyes, nor a sarcastic smile.

━━ It is a little big, but from the looks of it, it fit — he said, looking at the kimono. ━━ Then I'll get you better clothes.

I nodded silently and followed him as he walked, heading to a huge dining room. All the rooms in this palace were certainly dark, with these chandeliers that provided very good lighting, but did not take away from the funereal air.

There was a huge dining table in that room, like those you see in huge banquets in medieval films. Sukuna felt on edge, and pulled out a chair next to me for me to sit on, and I did so.

━━ Then what you will do? Snap your fingers and make food magically appear?

He laughed softly and shook his head.

━━ You're smart, I appreciate that — he said calmly. ━━ What do you want to eat and drink?

I gave a description of some food and a drink, quite accurately, saying everything. And immediately, he snapped his fingers, making it appear on the table.

━━ Make sure you eat right, okay?

Was that a way for him to show that he cared about me or what? Because if he was trying to convey some credibility, he wouldn't succeed.

I thanked him shyly and began to eat quietly, while he remained next to me, with one elbow resting on the table, while one hand was supporting his face. His eyes watched me intently as I chewed and took subtle sips from the glass. It was then that I noticed a bracelet around the man's strong wrist; probably amethyst.

━━ Dessert time now?

He suggested, and in the blink of an eye, a slice of berry pie appeared on a small porcelain plate in his hand.

━━ What? Hm… of course, of course.

He picked up a silver fork and brought it to the slice, which was soft and juicy. Then taking it to my mouth. I was surprised and had no reaction for the first three seconds, until I finally accepted and ate it.

What's up with this guy? Is he doing what the witch did to Hansel? She fed him a lot until he was chubby so she could eat him.

Sukuna looked at me differently. I would say he didn't look at me as someone who would kill me, but with a certain appreciation. A certain compassion, perhaps. But, that silence was strange, so I decided to ask:

━━ Where did this bracelet come from? — I finished chewing some of what he had given me. ━━ I mean, it doesn't really fit your aesthetic.

━━ Not really, but I love it. I've been using it since the day I got it.

━━ Love? — I gently licked my lower lip, collecting the crumbs. ━━ I'm sorry, I can't imagine someone like you is capable of love.

━━ I didn't knew I had this ability either, until the woman in my life showed up — he said, taking another piece on his fork.

━━ Have you ever fallen in love? — now I was really perplexed.

━━ Unfortunately, yes.

From the tone of his response, I could guess that she had broken his heart.

━━ It must not have been a good experience, I'm sorry.

━━ It was a great experience — he gave me some more pie. ━━ But I fell in love with someone who was my complete opposite.

━━ Was that a long time ago?

He laughed softly.

━━ Since the Heian era. She was the sorceress of the imperial family — how strange to see him talking like that. ━━ Strong, smart, powerful, fucking beautiful…

As much as he kidnapped me and is harmful to humanity, I can't hate him. Why can't I hate him? It's all so confusing, he doesn't seem like the monster everyone says he is.

━━ Did she not return your feelings? — I ate the last piece that was left.

━━ It's a question I still ask today. Unfortunately, the doubt will be eternal, since she was killed and I couldn't declare myself.

━━ D-Dead? By the gods, by whom?

━━ For the damned Gojo clan... — I swear I heard his voice shaking with anger. ━━ They took her from me... all because of envy, since she was better than them in everything.

━━ Which clan was she from?

━━ Zenin.

Oh, an ancestor!

━━ It's my clan... — I ended up thinking out loud.

I didn't even have time to lose myself in my reverie, as I saw three young women entering the dining room. They were wearing very revealing clothes, exposing many parts of their bodies and they went laughing towards the pink-haired man, hugging him and kissing his face.

I cleared my throat in the most blatant way possible, making them look at me.

━━ Oh, these are…

━━ Concubines. Every king has them, and I know what they're for.

I got up from the chair and started walking away.

━━ Have fun with him, girls. Bye-bye!

I smiled at them without showing my teeth, they waved at me, while I turned my back and went as quickly as possible to the stairs. Why do I feel angry about this? It's something that goes beyond embarrassment, beyond simply thinking I'm getting in the way.

I was truly "upset".

I had a strange dream when I took a nap. This seal on my shoulder makes me "weaker" and makes me feel a little more drowsy, thanks to the damn restriction. During this dream, I was walking in a forest with beautiful Sakura trees, the cherry blossoms were blooming and it was night. The light of the full moon illuminated the place, it was peaceful.

I heard laughter in the distance and my feet guided me close to a beautiful stream.

I saw Sukuna from afar. In its original form. He was extremely tall, muscular and had four arms. His body was covered in a white kimono with some black patterns drawn on it. There was a woman with him, who had her back to me while I could see him... smile!?

━━ I think I should have made more bracelets, right?

The woman's voice was sweet, but I couldn't recognize it. Is this the woman of his life? The one he had mentioned in the dining room?

━━ Choose an arm for me to use, you have four options!

━━ I'll choose this right here!

And so I saw her putting an amethyst bracelet on him, the same bracelet he was wearing.

[...]

The next day, I woke up and opened the curtains in my room — the sky was cloudy and dark — and then went to make my bed. The kimono was a little wrinkled, since I only had that outfit.

The bedroom door suddenly opened, and it was him. Who else would it be, right?

━━ Good morning princess, I brought you new clothes.

He placed them on the bed, and I took a good look. The fabrics seemed to be of quality, but I had one condition to use them.

━━ If it's your concubines' clothes, I'd rather be naked.

━━ It's totally fine for me.

He crossed his arms and I froze. Did this idiot actually agree with this idea?

━━ What?

━━ Fine by me. It'll be even more fun that way.

As much as I don't like the idea, I can't show weakness. I immediately took one of my hands to the bow, which was on the back of the kimono, and pulled it so it could come undone. The bow came undone and the piece of clothing fell to the floor, leaving me completely exposed.

His eyes roamed over my skin, taking in every feature of me. Like he was taking a good look, to be able to memorize what I looked like naked. A gentle breeze came from the window, making me shiver, and I felt my nipples harden.

He laughed softly, a laugh of satisfaction that was extremely clumsy.

I curled up, dead with shame, trying to hide my body with my hands. Sukuna was only a few centimeters away from me, and I felt so vulnerable that it seemed like a lie.

━━ I'll get you some other clothes — he said, with a smirk, going to the bedroom door. ━━ Nice body, by the way.

I felt my face blush when he "breathed" this last compliment, before leaving the room. I sat on the bed and covered my body as best I could with the kimono, waiting for him to return with the new clothes.

He seemed to be ogling me at that time. My heart was racing, and my cheeks were still hot. I was a little shaky, due to the growing nervousness that was growing in me as I kept reliving this scene in my head.

Sukuna returned to the room minutes later.

━━ Here, I think it's your size — he handed me some folded black clothes. ━━ And, don't worry, it is not from the girls.

━━ Thank you... — I was going to get dressed, and I noticed that he was still there, but leaning against the wall and with his arms crossed. ━━ You can go, I'll be right there.

━━ Nah, I feel good here — he smiled mischievously. ━━ Don't worry, you have nothing to hide from me.

I swallowed, and went to get dressed, feeling his eyes on me. I had panties, a dress and socks that went up to just above my knees. I put on the panties, sliding the underwear down my legs and then picked up the dress. It looked short — and it really was — with a slightly more accentuated waist, like a corset, and delicate straps, and I also put on socks, since walking barefoot on that stone floor was horrible.

━━ Don't you think... the dress is a little short? — I pulled the skirt down a little, seeing that it barely covered my ass.

━━ No, I think it's perfect — he motioned for me to go through the door first, and so I did.

As we walked down the hallway, I heard him laugh softly and felt his eyes fixed on my ass as I tried to pull down my skirt several times.

Apparently I would be alone all day, as he had said he had "important tasks". He also said that I could freely walk around the palace, except for the fourth and fifth floors. I said that I understood everything and that I would not break any rules.

But when he left, I went up the huge staircase until I reached the fourth floor. Unfortunately, when I was about to go further down the corridor, I was stopped. There seemed to be an invisible wall that wouldn't allow me to proceed.

━━ It must be because of that restriction seal — I grumbled as I looked at my own shoulder.

With no other options left, I went down the stairs and "adventured" to the second and third floors. The first floor was where there was the dining room, the kitchen, the main hall, and what appeared to be a wine room.

On the second floor, there was my bedroom and three others, next to the living room in which I had been trapped at first, and a treasure room, with mountains and mountains of gold, jewels, chests, etc. That room was so bright that it seemed to have irritated my eyes.

On the third floor I saw a music room, a painting room and especially a huge library, which is where I entered without thinking twice.

The space is vast and lit by antique chandeliers, whose flames flicker gently, casting dancing shadows on the shelves full of books. The walls are covered in dark wood panels, decorated with intricate carvings that represent mythical creatures, or something very similar. The shelves are made from the same dark wood, displaying an impressive collection of perfectly aligned, leather-bound volumes, from the finest books to grimoires.

I noticed a reading table decorated with upholstered chairs. There were two or three grimoires on top of it, next to an old map made of yellowed paper.

At the end of the library there was a spiral staircase that led me to a mezzanine adorned with colorful stained glass windows, which filter daylight in hypnotic patterns throughout the room, what's more, the air is full of various incense. I think I could stay here for the rest of my life.

I didn't take any books from the shelves, I preferred to read one of the ones on the reading table that I had seen before. I sat comfortably in the chair, and the moment I opened it, a page fell out. It wasn't from the book, it was on cream paper that had something written on it.

He said "my greatest curse is being in love with someone I can't have."

That could only be Sukuna's handwriting, and deep down I felt sad for him. Just remembering the way he talked about her yesterday, I could imagine how broken his heart was. Was I really feeling compassion for him?

There could just be something wrong with me.

[...]

After spending the whole afternoon reading a book of spells and seeing which ones I knew, and which ones I wanted to learn, it was starting to get dark. He still hadn't come back, and I was starting to get bored.

Well, he didn't say anything about me not being able to cook, right?

I left the library and went to the stairs, hurriedly going down and going to the kitchen. It's incredible that he had so much stuff in that pantry, but he didn't cook. Was this all laziness or what?

I remembered something my mom used to make for me: cupcakes. When I was a child, it was very common for the house to always smell like these cookies. It was something I also did for my nephew and brother when I had free time.

Are they okay?

I didn't want to think too much about it and went to prepare the ganache first so I could let it cool while I prepared the dough. The dough was vanilla, and there were even fresh cherries for me to put on top, along with the whipped cream.

Almost everything was ready, the cupcakes were in the oven and the ganache was cooling.

━━ What are you cooking? — I felt Sukuna's cold fingertips slide down the back of my neck.

━━ You don't know how to arrive in a conventional way, do you? — I got goosebumps and complained, looking back and seeing him with a mischievous smile. ━━ It's a vanilla and chocolate cupcake.

━━ The smell is great.

━━ Thank you, wait until you eat. Or do you only eat humans?

He laughed, and I could see that I caught him by surprise.

━━ I eat normal things too.

The cupcakes were finally baked, and now I had removed them from the oven so they could cool on the counter. I sat on top of it.

━━ Now I have to wait for it to cool before I can fill it.

━━ Do you get burned by this? — he mocked.

━━ No, but the restriction seal leaves me vulnerable to these “ordinary human” problems.

━━ If you behave properly, I'll remove him.

He started opening the dumplings with the knife and holding them with his hand. I laughed softly.

━━ For what? For me to kill you?

━━ It depends, if it's to have you on top of me, I think it's worth it.

I felt my face heat up again, as it had earlier when he saw me naked. What is it about him that can disconcert me so easily? I even seem to like him.

━━ Aren't you going to fill it with me?

━━ Of course, I will.

I took a deep breath and got down from the bench, with an awkward smile, trying to hide how embarrassed I was.

If somebody told me that I was going to fill cupcakes and eat with Sukuna in the kitchen of his palace, I would bet all my money that it was a lie. But apparently fate had different plans for me.

━━ It tastes spectacular! Congratulations, cupcake! — he said, biting another piece of the cupcake he had in his hand.

━━ Why did you call me cupcake and not princess or bunny this time? — I looked up at the tallest one.

━━ Because you're not defenseless and fragile like a bunny — he continued. ━━ But, you're certainly cute, pretty and delicious like a cupcake.

I had nothing to answer. Now, I'm sure he realizes how he leaves me and does it on purpose.

━━ Then go upstairs and take a shower. I put pajamas on your bed, see if it fits.

━━ Don't tell me it's tiny and short like that dress.

━━ I think I've reached my perversion limits for today, relax, covers everything.

When I went to my room, I took a shower with that wonderful warm water and got dressed in the pajamas he had left for me. It was a delicate white nightgown, with thin straps and a low waist. The fabric was probably silk, judging by its comfort and texture.

The ends of my hair were a little wet, but my skin was fresh and I felt clean and light.

As I looked at myself in the huge mirror, I heard music. A melody coming from some instrument, I was sure it was coming from upstairs and it was probably Sukuna in the music room. Somehow, those notes were mesmerizing me and my feet guided me through the palace to there.

I reached the door of the music room and stood there, silently watching as he was engrossed in his melody. He was sitting in front of the majestic organ, with his skillful fingers dancing over the keys, producing an enveloping harmony that filled the space with powerful, funereal notes. The golden light from the chandeliers was reflecting on the polished keys of the instrument.

As I listened to the majestic music, I felt a strange wave of emotion and non-existent nostalgia invade my mind. The musical notes resonated inside my head, as if I had heard this melody a million times, but in reality it was the first time. I couldn't explain it, but it was as if this song was important to me, as if it had marked me.

Tears welled up in my eyes, sliding silently down my cheeks as I relived ghost memories. It was a feeling of belonging and knowledge. The melody Sukuna played was more than just a sound; it was like an enchantment that created a bridge between the present and a past that I was simply unaware of.

I stayed there until the end, listening note by note, and when he played the last one, he sighed and passed his hand over his face, as if he were thoughtful. He looked back and saw me, his expression went from relaxed to worried in a matter of milliseconds.

━━ Hey Hey! Princess, are you okay? Why are you crying?

He came to me because I just couldn't stop crying.

━━ You... you played this song for me, Sukuna... you played it... — I cried more and more, my mind was wandering, I felt out of my depth. ━━ I-I remember…

I felt his hands on my arms, holding me to try to calm me down while I only knew how to feel sad, and at the same time with this false nostalgia that hit me with the same force as a wave on the beach on a rough tide day. I was losing strength, feeling a strange headache.

If it weren't for him, I would have fallen to the ground, as I ended up fainting.

[...]

𑁍ࠬܓ 𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄¹: I adapted and changed many things in the anime's lore to adapt to this, but I hope it's understandable. By the way, Toji and the reader are brothers only on their mother's side.

𑁍ࠬܓ 𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄²: I'm already writing the second part and there will be smut.

XOXO, kisses that taste like blood o negative, see you next time little bats 💋

— brazilian-vampyra, 2024.

#jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen sukuna #ryomen sukuna #sukuna x reader #sukuna x you #sukuna smut #jujutsu kaisen smut #jujutsu kaisen oneshot #jujutsu kaisen fanfic #sukuna oneshot #sukuna x female reader #jjk sukuna #sukuna x y/n

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tojisun · 6 months

Text

call of duty masterlist - 02

01 mlist; 03 mlist; series mlist

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

all works belong to tojisun. all forms of reposting are not permitted; please do not translate, copy, revise and/or refine my works.

short legend:

❦︎ - nsfw

last updated: july 28, 2024

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

- SIMON (GHOST) RILEY

it won’t fit… - reader’s pov; simon’s pov ❦︎

acts of service

not a one-night stand guy ❦︎

pinky promise kisses

teasing you is his favourite thing ever ❦︎

tender touches

a little begging ❦︎

great malevolence ❦︎

kinda distracted ❦︎

mutual obsession ❦︎

you would not let me

full of him - 01, 02 ❦

something sacred

best friend simon

mercy

little liar ❦

obedience and patience ❦

older bf! - 01, 02 ❦

agonizing love

my love (mine all mine)

unleashed desires ❦

sweltering - suggestive

good pup ❦

little comfort

to be loved is to be changed

sub simon ❦

heavy love and ferocious hunger

sasha’s daddy

impatient (not so) little man ❦

use me whenever ❦

sweet princess; fucked stupid ❦

words are not needed

childhood best friend simon - 01, 02, 03

biting need ❦

blue collar (plumber) simon - 01, 02 ❦

unwilling cat dad

how he fucks - p link! ❦

teach me how to say goodbye

just mind-numbing sex ❦

pretty cam girl - suggestive

the lights are on ❦

> short ramblings - 01, 02, 03, 04 ❦

- KYLE (GAZ) GARRICK

good boy ❦

brat tamer ❦︎

breath play ❦︎

i find you in everyone

swipe right (dilf kyle) ❦

unplanned creampies ❦

- JOHNNY (SOAP) MACTAVISH

good boy (his ver) ❦

his little stress toy ❦︎

nasty in public ❦︎

makeup and cockwarming ❦

strap-ons ❦

- JOHN PRICE

got you cornered ❦︎

gentle love

cockwarming ❦︎

my ex-husband, 02 ❦︎

throat training (snippet) ❦︎

peanut

oral fixation - suggestive

disobedience and punishments - suggestive

in the silence, we find love

golf dilf price - 01, 02

his pickup truck - suggestive

little darling bimbo of his - suggestive

young love - 01, 02

- VALERIA

pretty mouth ❦

- MULTI (cod)

the loyalty of a dog - open character

little freak - tf 141 x reader ❦

his command (pt 02 of some sorts) - price x reader x simon ❦

sir and his dolls, 02- price x reader x gaz ❦

baby trapping - price/simon ❦

stuffed - simon (+ hinted tf 141) x reader ❦

frenzied addiction - ghoap x reader ❦

dog x lamb x wolf - simon x reader x price - suggestive

pretty cage - 141 x reader, established price x reader - WIP

orgasm denial, 02 - reader x simon x price ❦

through the viewfinder - 141 x reader - noncon ❦

hate sex - alejandro x reader x valeria ❦

little remote, 02 - johnny x reader; 141 x reader - noncon ❦

nosy neighbours and bird watching - 141 x reader

fervid obsession - 141 x reader

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

𐙚˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 this is a completed masterlist (i reached 100 links LMAO) so pls refer to 01 & 03 mlists for the rest of oneshots and the series mlist for ongoing works ^v^ ୨ৎ ˖ ࣪⊹

#sun rambles #cod masterlist #cod x reader #prev mlist reached 100 links 😭😭 oh my god #simon ghost riley x reader

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jiminjamms · 7 months

Text

sex therapy :: 27. missed me?

chapter tags/warnings: manipulative! naoya. therapist! toji. a very broken marriage (cont.). heavy angst but i am still not gege. infidelity/adultery. corruption. family drama.

word count: 3.0k

notes: i hope everyone has been swell! sending hugs to every corner of the world, and i hope my writing can be your little break from reality. i have also added more chapters to the fic since i cannot wrap up the story in the next few chapters, ha. enjoy! likes, comments, and reblogs are much appreciated. xoxo

fic masterlist | 01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33.

12:33 PM Toji called 12:33 PM He told me that my daughter collapsed in front of the twins? 12:34 PM And you got into a fight with her? 12:34 PM How did that happen? 12:34 PM Are you with her right now? 12:37 PM Answer me please, I need to make sure she’s fine (Missed Call) 12:38 PM Can you phone me back asap? Thx 12:38 PM I’m still in the office right now, wrapped up the weekly meeting with the operating committee 01:01 PM Hello? 01:01 PM Hey, are you there? (Missed Call) 01:12 PM Toji called again, he gave me a rundown, and I have to say… 01:12 PM I’m very, very disappointed in you

Perhaps the better word would be terrified, but Naoya was truly and genuinely astounded.

How the fuck did this happen?

Naoya could feel his breathing grow shallow and his body turn cold as he read through each message from his Chief Operating Officer once, twice, three times. For a while, he stared at his chat history, his shaking thumb hovering over the screen while his mind went blank.

What started as an argument between just you and him now had your father involved. Not only your father, though—but also Mai, Maki, and now Toji?! How bothersome. Of course, you had to drag everyone into this! The world always had to revolve around you.

Naoya could not think straight as his chauffeur sped him back to the office from Mari’s apartment later that day. Even when he returned to his CEO suite, he could hardly focus on his conversations with department heads or strategy discussions with the Board when Daisuke L/N’s messages haunted him like an omnipresent and malevolent spirit.

‘I’m very, very disappointed in you.’

Goddamnit!

Naoya did not miss how your father was absent from the afternoon’s meetings either (although he was not stupid enough to point that out aloud at work when Naoya himself was involved in why), nor did he miss his own father’s narrowed gaze which seemingly lingered on him longer than usual.

Oh goodness, did he know, too?

No, he couldn’t have. Otherwise, Naobito Zenin would have pulled him to the side by now and given him a long and stern lecture.

Yet, when the early evening arrived, Naoya ultimately decided he must talk to you directly.

Not because he actually cared about your well-being. (Ha, as if.) But because he needed to quash the possibility that the rest of his family, particularly his Board Chairman father, could get a whiff of his quarrel with you before all hell broke loose.

Moments like these warranted him to push aside his dignity before things could worsen.

His greatest fear would be for this recent argument to become a domino effect, as the downfall in this marriage would certainly place him in hot water.

With that, the current Zenin CEO then tapped his phone for your contact.

He needed to check up on you but ended up in voicemail.

So, he dialed once more.

Voicemail.

Again.

Why were you not picking up his calls?

You always found a way to irk him with how ungrateful you could be. Sure, there was no secret that you hated him. He would admit he was rude, belittling, and patronizing, treating you like a trophy to tote around, a doll to splay at his will, and a woman who needed to learn her place. He knew this and you knew this, because he exclusively tolerated this marriage as a means to accelerate his life.

Despite everything, he made sure his wife was well-fed and looked after, only for you to throw a tantrum and now get his extended family involved? Ludicrous. Why not focus on the good things about him? Could you not see how he had attempted to reach you at least thirty times throughout the day? (His ultimate reason admittedly was selfish, but that’s not the point.)

Anywho, since when did you think that ignoring him was acceptable?

In a frustrated fit, Naoya tossed his phone into his desk’s paper heap and huffed.

To set things straight, he had made many sacrifices in his life to get to his seat today, like how—back in the day—he had to watch TV anchors praise his older cousin while sipping champagne in the Maldives with…whatever girlfriend he had been with at the time. Life had been hard, but he at last had everything he should’ve been entitled to since birth. This position, this family, and this company belonged to him, regardless of what stupid fucking traditions dictated.

Unsurprisingly, when Naoya took the helm, everyone scrutinized him. Sure, he might have lacked in a few (or, more accurately, a lot of…) regards since he hadn’t been built into the position the way Toji Zenin had been, but having you as his wife made him look good in family conversations and public discourse.

He just needed a little more time to get people to trust him. Then, once all the pieces clicked into place, he resolved to toss this marriage to the side.

That ‘time,’ he hoped, would be soon.

For now, he just needed to keep you for as long as he sought fit.

Buzz.

Well, speak of the devil.

You must finally be returning his call.

The sky had gone dark in the windows behind him now, but Naoya practically leaped from his seat, scrambling and shoving papers aside to find his phone buried beneath several printed reports. He hated how his hands quivered as he held the device, not that he could control himself at this point, and he snapped the moment he swiped at his screen.

“Where the hell are you?” Naoya hissed, clipped and impatient.

He did not get an immediate response, which infuriated him even more since he taught you to acknowledge him on the phone.

But then, he learned why.

Because instead, Naoya heard a low and harrowing chuckle.

“I guess you missed me, kid.”

The end to a marriage, for obvious reasons, would never be as glamorous as the start to one.

Many would dream for years about a wedding, but far fewer would think the same about a separation.

‘I'm going to file for a divorce.’

Admittedly, you were nervous when you announced the decision aloud in a crowded room for many eyes to see and ears to hear.

After all, even if you recognized the need for a change in your matrimony, you feared the consequences. You didn't want to cause your families to grow apart or your fathers to resent you. In addition, Naoya had been such a dominating fixture in your life these past few months, and he had led you to believe your days without him would be meaningless.

However, no longer could you set aside your emotions for his sake, nor would you expend extensive effort to salvage your marriage for other’s desires. Your sole purpose henceforth was to live a satisfied life without sacrificing more than what you already have for a husband who hardly look your way.

As a result, when you acknowledged divorce as the best possible solution to your demise, you were grateful for the emotional support and relieved faces from your worried father, the younger teenagers, and your trusted therapists.

Especially Toji.

“Come with me,” the very man ordered once you stepped into his apartment’s corridor with him.

Everyone else had been brought down to the apartment’s lower level after the earlier discussion in the master bedroom, with Megumi forced to take on the role as host in his father’s absence. The younger Fushiguro might be aloof and sometimes awkward, but word had gotten around that he was a good chef with his aunts nagging at him to prepare dinner.

“C’mon, don’t you want to show us what recipes you have learned on TikTok?”

“...No, not really. Can we just order KFC?”

The other conversation that drifted upward was between your father and the other three therapists, which made sense given that they all used to be colleagues back when Toji had been the CEO.

There was laughter, chatter, and the entire brouhaha brought ease to your nervous heart.

“Ladies first,” Toji said at some point after you had trailed behind him. He had taken you several meters ahead, opening the door to invite you inside. “This is my home office.”

You did not yet see the point in him doing a House Tour 2.0, but you walked in upon his gesture anyway. The hardwood floor beneath you felt warm, your body heating up slightly despite the coolness in the air.

Toji kept his office space as tidy as the rest of his abode. He had a white leather couch situated by the doorway and a workspace configuration to the side with desk lamps, an expensive chair, and a dual monitor setup.

Above his screens, Toji probably had fifteen accolades in cherry wood frames, each to showcase his achievements as countless magazines named him the best leader, the top executive, and the most promising innovator.

What caught your attention, however, was the wall beside his workstation.

There was a corkboard.

At first glance, the tacked-on magazine cutouts and photograph snippings seemed like a messy litter on the brown surface, but thin red strings—which made this look like a detective movie prop—connected one piece to another and suggested an order to the chaos.

“What is this?” you asked, a question not directed to anyone in particular as you neared the corkboard without waiting for Toji’s permission.

Upon closer distance, the vague letterings and images became clear.

The newspaper cover story fastened at the very center read in big bold print: “Zenin Corporation Announces New CEO.”

As the realization dawned that this was what Toji meant to show you, the man’s measured footsteps came up from behind you. He stopped at your side, watching how you inspected each element on the corkboard as though his room was your laboratory and he was your professor.

“The World Economic Forum estimates that more than 5% of global GDP is lost to corruption around the world each year,” he began, crossing his thick arms firmly over his chest. “Many articles you see here had been published online only to be taken down not even a few hours later. I suspect that Naoya this year alone has spent hundreds of thousands, if not millions, bribing the Japanese media to curate the public image he needs.” He then pointed around. “Look for yourself.”

You would have called Toji out for being a total creep if the objective of this collection had not been obvious. With scarlet threads weaving together to reveal an elaborate web of deceit, Toji had been curating an exposé.

There was one photo from your wedding day. Standing at the altar with Naoya, you looked so happy and blissful back then, the vibrant bouquet in your hands a colorful contrast against the pristine white of your Vera Wang wedding gown, your face radiant with a smile oblivious to the heartache that would come.

This publication, you have seen before.

What you did not recognize, however, were the articles dated from nearly a year ago, well before your wedding day, with even more printed five months ago, two months ago, one week ago…

…and reading the titles made you feel sick.

Japanese Hotshot Shares Intimate Kisses with Rumored Girlfriend Photos Reveal Recently Married Executive’s Secret Affair? Exclusive: Zenin Corporation CEO Spotted in Mexico with Alleged Lover

The accompanying pictures had the same two subjects in plain clothes and baseball caps, showing off little skin to reveal their identities to prying busybodies. Yet, upon an immediate glance, you recognized Naoya Zenin as the taller figure and assumed his very precious ladyfriend must be the other.

Photographers had snapped the two embracing each other in a cab’s backseat, sharing a secret kiss after a luxury mall date, and holding hands while stepping into a private plane.

All to say, you were revolted.

The more you mulled on these printouts, the more you could feel visceral disgust build in your chest.

To think you once contemplated saving a marriage with a man like that. Whatever his plan was for him and this woman, did he intend to make you a side character to their romance until the day you would die?

Your gaze darted around, and the photo with the most unobstructed view of their faces placed you on pause.

All of a sudden, a hard lump formed in your throat because, Holy shit, she’s…stunning.

Seeing the woman who your husband had had his sights on immediately unlocked a whole new level of insecurities within you.

No wonder Naoya could not bring himself to be married to you when he had her.

The woman was exquisite, to say the least. Despite the picture’s poor quality, you noticed her bright elegant face, plump pink lips, and long full lashes—precisely the characteristics that would turn heads in a crowded room. In fact, you secretly wished that you possessed her overflowing pulchritude as well.

If she was an angel from your point of view, she must also be in Naoya’s eyes all the more.

You gingerly drew a circle around her with a finger.

“Is she his mistress?”

Why did you even ask that? You already knew the answer. But, you wanted to confirm the facts rather than satisfy your curiosity.

Meanwhile, Toji ran his index finger very slowly over his lower lip.

He answered a while later.

“Yes.” As you had expected. Then, he added, “But she’s also my ex-wife.”

What—

Your jaw dropped to the trenches.

If you thought tonight had been filled with enough revelations, this one really sealed the deal.

His…ex-wife?!

Unlike the man before you, hiding your deepest emotions had never been your forte. Instead, you had gone stiff as your mind reeled in shock.

“She’s…Tsumiki’s mom,” you said quietly at the realization.

Yes, you have heard a lot about her. However, to make the connection between the lady in the picture and the woman who owned currently Naoya’s (and previously Toji’s) devotion stirred awake a thousand emotions.

Anger. Bitterness. Resentment.

Megumi had told you plenty about her before.

‘Treated me like a bag of shit, spent all my dad’s money on her shopping sprees every weekend, and even neglected her own daughter—my stepsister.’

Her pretty face could only go so far in disguising her dark heart.

With this understanding, you finally grasped Toji’s bitterness when he first met you. How fickle fate had been to him. Comical, even! For his younger cousin to take his succession rights to the clan, his executive position in the company, and—to top everything off—his wife from his family. Only for you (of all eight billion people in the world) to show up at Toji Fushiguro’s office asking for sex therapy?

Now, you comprehended why Toji and Naoya despised each other.

In addition, you understood why Toji and his colleagues had been suspicious of you. Trust takes time to build yet a moment to shatter, and all of them have had this trust broken before. By Naoya, yes.

But also, by her.

“What’s her name?” you had to ask, ignoring the searing ache in your heart.

Your therapist, on the other hand, tried to play off his vexation by shoving his hands into his front pockets.

“Mari,” and also, “She still uses my last name.”

Wow.

The audacity that some people in the world have.

“Here let me help.”

“Hm?”

At first, you did not quite get what Toji was referring to until he started tearing the magazine photos and newspaper stories.

Wordlessly, you gawked at him, both in confusion and astonishment.

“Why—”

Before you could complete the thought, Toji had placed everything into a neat stack and thrust the pile into your hands. “There,” he said with finality. “If you are to file for a divorce, take these to Naoya. See what the bastard has to say. Staying with him any longer would be a fatal flaw.”

Toji had never seen a single interaction between you and his cousin in person, yet he could confidently say your husband was the hamartia in your life. Perhaps the signs had always been obvious. Or perhaps, his recent experience in a toxic marriage allowed Toji to notice the red flags in yours from miles away.

“If you give him too much time, he’ll come up with his offenses,” he went on. “We don’t need to outfight him, though. We simply need to outthink him.”

Something about Toji’s emerald eyes gleamed in a way you had not seen before.

It was a different side to him, one where he planned and strategized, a flickering core of the businessman he used to be.

“Hi.”

You and Toji froze at the sound.

Megumi’s voice had startled you two as the boy peered in from the hallway, waving a phone in his hand—your phone. “Sorry to interrupt but, uh, he called again.”

Interestingly enough, Megumi did not need to explicitly mention a name for you all to know who he referred to. As your screen flickered on, you noticed the numerous missed calls and text messages that had flooded your notifications, all from one particular culprit, no doubt.

Instead of embarrassment, your body surged with aggravation at how your husband suddenly seemed desperate to know your whereabouts.

So now he cared, huh?

Before you could retrace your steps towards the door, however, Toji had already done so. He retrieved the device from his son’s hands and started dialing a number from your phone.

You tried to stop him. “Hey, what are you—”

But Toji dismissed you, pressing your phone to his ear as the call began to ring, and his lips curled into a wicked grin when the other line must have picked up.

“I guess you missed me, kid.”

last chapter || next chapter

end notes: I am excited to show the interaction between Toji and Naoya—I have been thinking about their conversation for a long time! This chapter is less of a whirlwind and more of a setup for the rest to come. Thank you for your support!

taglist: @dissociatingdiva @httpsplanetmarsdotcom @nemoyr @huangfairy @shadowarchon @203steph @agentdedf1sh @cloudybabes @lynn-writes-things @illicitwriter @7oji @kikuchimi @chaoticjojofan @musicisme333 @kumocchin @s-guru @mwahilovemylife @hey-gurls69 @cloudsinthecosmos @moon-mumu-moon @kazscara @skilerfrostfairy @funicidals @nico707 @proteovaldez @tsukiyohanayome @marimoares @qirbys @puffaloxx @sakanoshitaa @arizzu @kissditrio @lewd-bunny14 @mistyheart @szired @supsii @yvy1s @lazyassfinals @katkbc @tokyometronetwork @downtown-roponggi @the-cosmos-network

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simply-whump · 5 months

Text

Exhuma (파묘) - Whump List

Whumpee : Yoon Bong Gil played by Lee Do Hyun

Synopsis : After suffering from serial paranormal events, a wealthy family summons a young rising shaman duo Hwa Rim and Bong Gil to save the newborn of the family. A dark shadow of their ancestor has latched on the family in a so-called 'Grave Calling'. In order to exhume the grave and relieve the ancestor, Hwa Rim seeks help from top-notch geomancer Sang Deok and mortician Yeong Geun. To their dismay, the four find the grave at a shady location in a remote village in Korea. Unaware of the consequences, the exhumation is carried out, unleashing a malevolent force buried underneath. (MDL)

Genres : Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Supernatural

Warning! Possible spoilers below!

Yoon Bong Gil

(52:00) - Possessed by an old spirit (on purpose), sweating, held back, vomiting blood, back to himself, heavy breathing

(01:17:30) - Stepped on, sweating, having a “nightmare”

(01:23:53) - Steps in front of a monster to protect someone, head grabbed and squeezed, weak, monster digs his hand into his body, collapses, bleeding out, spitting blood, dying, concern for him

(01:27:55) - In surgery, concern for him, doctor says he lost a lot of blood, has damaged organs and spine

(01:32:35) - Unconscious in hospital bed

(01:34:05) - Ritual performed, talking while possessed, sweating

(01:43:40) - Still unconscious in hospital bed, agitated, concern for him, wound treated

(01:53:42) - Possessed, eyes bloodshot

(01:59:40) - Still possessed, screaming in pain

(02:02:50) - Spitting a lot of blood

(02:04:30) - Finally freed from the possession, exhausted

(02:06:24) - Walking with a crutch

>> More Whump Lists

#exhuma #whump list #asian whump #whump #korean movie #lee do hyun

90 notes · View notes

rainforestakiie · 2 months

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Vacation Away Part 02

hello. this is the second part for @inubaki! of their request!

'Adam and Lucifer get the same idea to take a break on earth. Adam in heaven and Lucifer in hell, both take on human form and embark to earth only to stumble in to one another. Whether or not Lucifer catches onto who Adam’s first is up to you while Adam remains clueless or in denial. They spend the weekend together and basically just begin falling in love without labels or restraint. But they are on a time limit.'

i really hope you like it inubaki! i am working super hard on it! i think there might acturally be one more part or so! i hope anyway!

please let me know if you like it or not!

Vacation Away (Adam/Lucifer goes on vacation on Earth) = Part 01. Part 02.

At the break of dawn, Lucifer sensed it. He had desperately hoped Charlie was jesting, but the truth was undeniable. Sleep had eluded him after she departed, but then again, Lucifer rarely succumbed to slumber. His mind was a relentless whirlwind, always racing, refusing to be stilled. Rather than cocooning himself in his luxurious quilts and pillows, he had perched atop his four-poster bed, awaiting the inevitable.

Despite his reluctance, a flicker of excitement fluttered within him. He couldn't suppress the surge of wonder that welled up. As the first light of dawn broke, he felt it.

His skin tingled. His fingers twitched, and a long-forgotten hum resonated from the nape of his neck, creeping up to his ears, blurring his vision. Lucifer inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, and straightened, feeling his body lift from the bed. Smoky red magic coiled around him, his personal sigil glowing beneath his boot-clad hooves.

The air around him crackled and snapped like an egg's brittle shell. A haunting groan pierced his ears, and the atmosphere within the mansion shifted dramatically. Darkness swirled from all directions, and the sensation of being crushed, chewed, and then expelled clawed at him.

Lucifer's arms arched, his horns protruding from his head, while six majestic wings unfurled from his sides. His long, arrow-tipped tail lashed about behind him. A deep rumble emanated from his throat, and his fiery snake-like eyes flickered open. He was no longer in his dank, cold chamber within the desolate mansion.

He found himself in a quaint room adorned with sunflower wallpaper. The warm glow of the lamps highlighted the white ceiling, and the reddish-brown oak floors contrasted with a mustard yellow carpet. It was charming, yet utterly incongruous with the ritual altar beneath him. Six lit candles surrounded a bright-red painted pentagram directly below his hooves.

Lucifer's eyebrows raised as he surveyed his surroundings. Family photos adorned the walls, and flowers, numerous flowers in vases, filled the space. Bookshelves lined the room, exuding the essence of a cosy family home.

His gaze settled on the lone human before him. She was much older than he had anticipated, wrinkled and raisin-like. Small and hunched, she barely stood, relying on a sturdy walking stick for support.

Lucifer regarded her thoughtfully. Part of him wanted to believe the human seemed too...sweet to be entangled in demonic magic. Clad in a flowery oversized cardigan, long skirt, and a handkerchief, she appeared harmless. But Lucifer knew better than to judge a book by its cover. Humans were rarely as innocent as they seemed; they were corrupt, sick, and twisted. The old lady might look benign, but she wasn't. He could already smell the malevolence.

His stomach churned with revulsion. He harboured a deep-seated disdain for humanity. He detested scrutinising the fruits born of his actions too closely...

At first, they simply stared at one another. The little old woman, wrinkled and ancient, didn't utter a single word as she continued to gaze up at him. Lucifer hovered above her, his six wings awkwardly swaying up and down.

Lucifer waited and waited, and when it seemed she wasn't about to speak, he parted his lips. Only to find himself at a loss for words. How was he supposed to speak to humans again? It had been so long since he was summoned... he'd forgotten the intricacies of it.

There was supposed to be a contract between them, wasn't there? A give-and-take system. Retrieve and send. What had Charlie said again? She was doing this as a 'favor' to Bami. She was already in a contract with the radio demon and probably gained freedom by doing this. Which was insane to Lucifer, he couldn't see that grinning fool losing any soul, especially to help him, the King of Hell.

"I thought you'd be taller," the woman suddenly said.

Lucifer spluttered in surprise. Of all the things he suspected a human would say upon meeting the devil himself, that was the last thing he expected.

"Or less..." the little old lady began thoughtfully, "feminine."

Finally, Lucifer grunted. He curled his wings in, his horns dissolving back into his head, and landed on his feet before the woman. His lips twitched as he found himself practically looming over her. Ha! Finally! Someone shorter than him!

"That's rude," he grumbled dryly. "You should really watch your tone. I am the King of Hell, the—"

"The Devil, fallen angel, yes I know," she hummed, beginning to wobble around him. The old lady started blowing out the candles and gathering them up.

Lucifer watched her, feeling rather insulted. He had never been...so, what's the word? Disregarded? Rejected? Disappointed? Lucifer frowned deeply. The last time he was summoned, the silly humans had tripped over themselves trying to please him, offering anything they could. This little old lady was practically ignoring him as she cleaned up the summoning ritual altar. It left Lucifer standing awkwardly behind her, fidgeting with his claws and hooves. He felt rather put out, like a naughty child who had just been scolded.

How mortifying.

"If you are going to stand there like that, you can help me clean up the blood," the woman said, gesturing towards the mop beside him. "I had to sacrifice my finest goat for you. It was such a hassle."

Lucifer opened and then shut his mouth. He wanted to unleash his power, make the old raisin woman cower before him, but he didn't. His eyes flickered to the green mop and then back to the blood staining the wooden panels. It did look messy... humans generally do go through a lot to summon him.

"I could just snap my fingers and have it cleaned," he said, almost sulkily.

The woman scoffed. "Hard labour is good for the mind."

Once again, the devil wanted to snap in return. He had never been so disrespected by a living human before. The sinners, while displeased with him and how he had treated his role, were still fearful of him. But Lucifer found himself obeying anyway! Why he was doing what she wanted was beyond him, but he decided it was because he had nothing better to do.

His claws wrapped around the pole of the mop, and awkwardly, he began to wipe up the blood. He was supposed to be here for a break, for a vacation, not hard labour work.

"What?" Lucifer exclaimed, noticing the woman watching him with a snort. "What, what am I doing wrong?"

The old, hunched woman made a sound from the back of her throat. "You’ve never done a day of work in your life, have you? I can tell."

Lucifer's eyes widened as he looked at his hands, then the mop, and back at the woman. His face contorted with frustration, confusion, and a hint of reflection. But just as his temper was about to boil over, he reined it in, settling for a scowl instead.

"My name is Dorothy," the old woman said once the room was cleaned up. "This is my inn, and you are a guest here. I won’t tolerate any shenanigans."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "Do you know who I am? Seriously?"

"Of course I do. I’m not that naïve," she replied with a laugh. "Do you think I should be afraid of you? I’m nearing the end of my life. I’m probably going to Hell anyway, so what’s the worst that could happen?"

"I am the King of Hell," Lucifer said, staring down at the woman. "And since you’re in a contract with Bambi, you’re heading straight to my domain. I could make your afterlife ten times worse."

Dorothy shrugged. "You won’t be able to."

"What?" Lucifer asked, bewildered.

"My end of the bargain to summon you to Earth," she explained nonchalantly. "The demon holding my soul has agreed to take me once I become a ‘Sinner.’ I’m tired of life. I’ve lived long enough, and when it ends, I want that to be the end."

Lucifer stared in disbelief. So that was it? Alastor had agreed to end her life when she was reanimated as a Sinner? It was strange.

"Anyway, if you’re going to stay up here for a week, we need to draw up a contract," Dorothy said with an air of familiarity. It was a bit bewildering how she spoke, as if she had negotiated thousands of contracts before, which she probably had. "Contracts are about give and take. Your side of the deal will be to stay here."

Lucifer snorted and crossed his arms tightly over his chest. His eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I invented contracts. I know how they work. You don’t need to explain my own creation to me."

"Well, I wasn’t sure you did," Dorothy replied with a shrug. "You had this clueless expression on your face. Can’t blame a girl for assuming."

"You have some nerve to keep insulting me," Lucifer muttered darkly.

Dorothy laughed. "Nerve? My, you must be half blind too. I’m a woman, darling. I don’t have balls."

"I know that!" Lucifer snapped, his face flushing. "I just meant—never mind! Let’s get this over with. Clearly, you know better than I do!"

"Clearly I do," Dorothy said with a smirk. "My side of the contract is allowing you to stay on Earth for the week. Your side is simple. You will work for me at my florist. Only in the mornings, of course. I understand this is supposed to be a... vacation for the devil himself."

She laughed at the absurdity of it. "The devil himself needing a vacation—who would have thought?"

"Not that it’s any of your business, but I have my own problems to deal with," he hissed, his posture bristling like a cornered animal.

"Relax," Dorothy waved a dismissive hand. "We all have our secrets. Some are best kept buried, right?"

Lucifer puffed his cheeks out in frustration. "So, a florist?"

"That’s right," Dorothy confirmed. "I run a family-owned florist. My daughter usually helps out, but she’s a bit busy this week, so I need an extra pair of hands. I’m sure it won’t be too difficult for you, your Majesty," she said slyly, extending her wrinkled hand. "Do we have a deal?"

With a resigned sigh, Lucifer rolled his eyes and extended his clawed hand. He grasped hers, shaking it as golden light shimmered around their hands. Golden chains looped around their wrists, locking the contract into place until the end of the week, when Lucifer would return to Hell.

He supposed anything was better than Hell.

"Excellent!" Dorothy chimed brightly. "Let me show you to your room."

At least he had his own room…

“I would suggest altering your appearance. You definitely don’t look natural. Others will notice.”

The moment he was left alone in the room that would be his for the week, Lucifer dropped onto the edge of the bed. His head fell into his claws, and his top hat tumbled onto the bed next to him. He couldn't believe what he was doing. A vacation? A break? What was Charlie even thinking?

This was a bad idea. A terrible idea. Heaven was more aggressive than ever before. Michael was involved now, when he hadn't been in the past. God knows what his younger brother would do. Everything was wrong, everything was upside down, and Charlie was left to deal with it all. It was just one week, but a lot could happen in that one week.

Lucifer rubbed his face, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of his cheeks and eyes. He was tired, but he knew his brain would never allow him to settle enough to slumber. Lucifer tilted his head up, staring at the full-length mirror across from him. He shook off the alluring thoughts of having a mirror in such a position and stood up.

He stuck out on Earth. He looked too different from humans, didn't he? Dorothy was correct about that at least.

Inching towards the mirror, Lucifer leaned in close. His claws plucked at his shiny blonde hair, lightly twirling it around his claw. His face was cherry-shaped with bright red circles imprinted upon them, sharp teeth, and fiery eyes. Yeah. He definitely would stick out. He had no nose or ears. Too unhuman-like.

Closing his eyes, Lucifer snapped his fingers and felt his magic enclose around him. After a few seconds of his magic washing over his body, altering his form, Lucifer opened his eyes again to look upon himself.

He definitely looked different... more human-like.

His face was still cherry-shaped, with more human-like rosy cheeks and large sea-blue eyes. His hair was a strawberry blonde and appeared much more unkempt than the natural neat style he kept it in. Lucifer tilted his head, seeing a small curve of his fake nose and the ears poking out of the strawberry blonde curls. But most of all, his hands and feet were different. He had normal hands again, albeit fake, just a glamour hiding the monstrous claws he had. Lucifer's eyes trailed down to his boots, and with another snap of his fingers, his standard circus clothes vanished into a simple t-shirt and jeans. More human-like, he supposed, with sneakers instead of boots.

Lucifer kicked the sneakers off, raised a foot to touch it. It was a human foot. His magic had disguised his hoof into a foot.

He sighed deeply, the weight of his disguise pressing down on him. He looked back at the mirror, examining every detail of his new form. He was just a stranger now, a temporary guest in a quaint little inn. The King of Hell, reduced to this.

For a moment, he allowed himself to wonder what this week might bring. Perhaps it was a chance to escape, to breathe, to be something other than the ruler of damnation. He shook his head, dismissing the thought as quickly as it came.

With another deep breath, Lucifer turned away from the mirror. He had a role to play, and for now, he would play it. He stepped out of the room, ready to face whatever this strange human world had in store for him.

“I’ll call my Samuel. I doubt humans would take it well if I call myself Lucifer…”

~#~

“Samuel, this is Graham. You’ll be working together in the mornings.”

Lucifer felt stiff all morning, his weariness heavier than ever. He hadn’t slept as he expected and dragged himself to the florist. He knew he was basically running late, but who cared? What would Dorothy do? He snorted at the thought as he shuffled out of the inn. The florist wasn’t hard to find; it was directly across from the inn.

Where was he? The air was sweet, reminiscent of Eden.

Flowers were everywhere.

Soon enough, Lucifer found himself inside the florist, standing in the doorway to the workshop. He squinted, staring at Dorothy and the young man beside her. His eyebrows knitted together as he observed the man, watching him squirm under his gaze. It sent a thrill through Lucifer, something he hadn’t expected and had almost forgotten how it felt.

His lips curled into a wide smile as he stepped toward the man. Lucifer’s eyes roved up and down the man’s body, taking in his rich red hair, caramel amber eyes, and pale skin. The freckles across his face were delightful, and Lucifer had the urge to reach up and count them.

What had Dorothy said his name was again?

Ah. Graham.

Graham? Lucifer’s smile widened, becoming somewhat predatory as he eyed the man. He was lovely. He appeared rather delicious. Lucifer had the urge to strip him, just to see if he had freckles in other places.

Lucifer slid a delicate pale hand out. “It’s lovely to meet you, Graham. I hope we can get along.”

Graham. The name sounded odd on his tongue. Lucifer felt a shiver run up his spine. Graham? Graham. It wasn’t right. It was a fake name. His mind swirled as he stared into the man’s amber eyes.

Oh!

This wasn’t Graham.

Cute disguise, he almost said but swallowed it back down. Immediately he felt lighter, more relieved as he gazed upon the form of Adam. It was one-hundred percent Adam. There was no denying it. Lucifer recognized the soft curl of the lips pinched crookedly and the way his eyebrows twitched, all signs Lucifer had only ever seen in Adam.

Adam stared at the hand and quickly wrapped his own around Lucifer’s. If Lucifer had been unsure before, he was definitely sure now. A spark of electricity coursed through their skin at the contact. Lucifer’s eyes were unmoving as he stared into Adam’s, checking to see if he noticed the spark.

It was disappointing to see not even a wince.

“Nice to meet you too,” Adam mumbled quietly. “Um… Samuel.”

Lucifer’s lips formed a smirk. “I’m sure we’ll be spending a lot of time together.”

Lucifer's presence in the cosy, floral-scented workshop was both unsettling and exhilarating. The morning light filtered through the windows, casting a warm glow on the vibrant blooms and adding an almost ethereal quality to the scene. Despite the brightness, an undercurrent of tension thrummed in the air.

Dorothy, seemingly oblivious to the charged atmosphere, busied herself with arranging flowers, her movements precise and practised. She glanced up occasionally, her eyes sharp and knowing, but she said nothing. The old woman’s silence spoke volumes, leaving Lucifer to navigate this strange encounter on his own.

Adam shifted nervously under Lucifer’s intense gaze. The young man’s discomfort was obvious, yet there was a familiarity in his eyes that made Lucifer’s heart race. A sick satisfaction churned inside him upon seeing he could still arise the same reaction after so many years. He knew this soul, this presence. It was like a melody long forgotten, now playing softly in the background of his mind.

Lucifer's thoughts raced as he studied Adam. His disguise was nearly perfect, but Lucifer saw through it. The subtle nuances in his expressions, the way he held himself—it all screamed Adam.

The initial tension between them began to ease, replaced by a simmering curiosity. What was Adam doing here, in this quaint little florist shop, masquerading as someone else? And why had Dorothy involved him in this charade?

Lucifer’s mind was a whirlwind of questions, but he kept his composure. He couldn’t afford to reveal his hand too soon. Instead, he decided to play along, to see where this unexpected encounter would lead.

“Well, Graham,” Lucifer said, savouring the name on his tongue, “It looks like we’ll be working together. I hope you’re ready for an interesting week.”

Adam nodded, his eyes flickering with something that might have been recognition. “Yeah, I guess so. Just… don’t mess up the arrangements, okay?”

Lucifer chuckled, a low, melodious sound that seemed to fill the room. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a good eye for detail.”

As they began their tasks, Lucifer couldn’t help but steal glances at Adam, marvelling at the strange twist of fate that had brought them together. The week ahead promised to be anything but ordinary, and for the first time in a long while, Lucifer felt a spark of genuine anticipation.

The King of Hell, working in a florist shop, reconnecting with an old acquaintance under the guise of a simple human. The irony was delicious, and Lucifer intended to savour every moment of it.

For the first time in almost a century, Lucifer felt a bit better.

~#~

Adam struggled to find the words to describe the feeling. He was undeniably uncomfortable. Working with Samuel was an overwhelming experience. The short, blonde man seemed to have his eyes glued to him, always watching, always staring. Even when they were supposed to be working together to create the bouquet, Samuel's intense gaze never wavered. Adam couldn't concentrate properly, and it was only his first shift volunteering. He didn't want to quit just because this guy was creeping him out, but Adam really wished Samuel would stop staring at him like that.

Suddenly, a gentle chime emanated from the small machine beside them, and Adam exhaled with relief as Samuel's intense blue eyes finally shifted to the device. A delicate, pale-pink piece of paper emerged, and Samuel plucked it with careful precision.

"Sunshine Happiness?" Samuel read aloud, his brows furrowing in perplexity. "An order for a Sunshine Happiness bouquet?"

"Oh, that's straightforward," Adam replied, his cheeks flushing crimson as Samuel's gaze returned to him. Adam took a deep breath, wiping his gloved hands on his apron and moving around the shorter blonde. "We need yellow tulips, orange gerbera daisies, and white lilies."

Like a loyal companion, Samuel followed closely. A shiver danced down Adam's spine as the strawberry-blonde man trailed behind him to the main florist area, bursting with a kaleidoscope of flowers. Adam couldn't help but find them breathtaking.

"What's wrong with your foot?" Samuel asked softly, his eyes lowered as he noticed Adam lightly dragging his left foot. "Did you hurt it?"

Surveying the blooms, Adam crouched by the bucket of yellow tulips. He lifted his right hand to pick one, but it slipped from his fingers. Adam grimaced and used his left hand instead.

"I had an accident," he said tersely. "It's personal."

"Oh." Samuel blinked slowly, his gaze now fixed on Adam's right hand. "What happened?"

Holding the tulip, Adam twirled it between his fingers and inhaled its sweet fragrance. Yes, these were the right ones. Carefully, he gathered more, cradling them in his left hand.

"I said it's personal," Adam grumbled. "Help me out. I can't use my right hand properly, so you'll need to carry the rest."

Samuel's face clouded with concern as he moved closer to Adam, bypassing the flower buckets. "What happened to your right hand?"

"Hold these," Adam instructed, thrusting the tulips into Samuel's arms. "Stop being nosy. We barely know each other."

Samuel seemed poised to protest, but Adam's raised eyebrow silenced him. With a shrug, Adam stepped around him and zeroed in on the bucket of orange gerbera daisies, moving to gather them too.

"Now we just need white lilies," he said, trying to steer the conversation away. "Each flower has a meaning. That's why it's called Sunshine Happiness. Yellow tulips signify cheerfulness and sunshine. Orange gerbera daisies represent happiness and friendship. White lilies symbolise purity and commitment."

Samuel continued to shadow Adam around the florist. "Is it nerve damage? How did it happen? Have you had it long?"

Adam's lips twitched in irritation. Samuel's persistent questions were grating on his nerves. He wanted to stomp away and shut himself off from the barrage of personal inquiries and that incessant stare.

"Ah, there are the white lilies," he breathed, eagerly moving to the bucket. The faster he gathered the flowers, the better. Adam's amber eyes flicked to the clock; it was nearly eleven, meaning he wouldn't have to endure Samuel's company much longer.

"You can't feel anything in your right hand?" Samuel continued to prattle. "How bad is it?"

"It's personal!" Adam snapped, standing with a few white lilies in his arm. He spun to face the shorter man, glaring down at him. "How many times do I have to say it's personal? Stop asking about it!"

Samuel's expression shifted oddly. Adam couldn't fathom what was wrong with him, but his curiosity was infuriating. Weren't people taught manners anymore?

"We hardly know each other, so back off." Adam sighed, running a hand down his face in frustration. "I'm sorry. It's just a very personal and sensitive issue for me, okay? I don't want to talk about it."

Blinking slowly, Samuel nodded, his head bowed. Adam felt a pang of guilt at Samuel's crestfallen expression, but he couldn't retract his words. His injury was a sore, private matter.

"Anyway, the Sunshine Happiness bouquet is meant to radiate joy and is perfect for celebrating happy occasions or brightening someone's day," Adam explained, turning sharply to return to the workstation. "It's our last bouquet for today. Let's hurry and finish it. I'm tired and just want to lie down."

Adam was indeed exhausted. He longed to lie down but also yearned to explore Lesse. He wanted to visit the Keukenhof Forest, the historic Ter Specko, and the Black Tulip Museum. He had plans, whether people believed him or not. There were places he wanted to see.

"Okay," Samuel mumbled quietly, sounding genuinely upset.

Adam sighed to himself.

~#~

Did he do that?

Lucifer swallowed thickly as he stared after Adam, watching him limp and drag his foot behind him. His chest ached, and his stomach churned. His lips pressed together, tilting downward with a small quiver. No matter what Lucifer did, he couldn't tear his eyes away from Adam's feet. Adam hadn't been limping before, had he? No, he definitely hadn't. Lucifer would have remembered. His heart pounded as he fiddled with the next bouquet order. He'd been too pushy and Adam had snapped at him, Lucifer had tried to rein himself in. He knew he was being overbearing, but... but...

There was no excuse. Lucifer couldn't understand what was wrong with him. The sight of Adam struggling to walk, struggling to hold things with his right hand, sent his heart leaping into his throat in horror. The first and only thought that stuck was: I did that.

Lucifer did that.

Was that why Adam wasn't at the Heaven meetings? Is this why Michael and Sera seemed furious with him? Had... had Lucifer really gone too far? He hadn't meant to hurt Adam so badly. It was just supposed to be a scare tactic.

Lucifer bit back a grumble. Two full days had passed, and both days he had failed at striking up a meaningful conversation with Adam. It felt as though the man was purposely avoiding him, yet they were both 'volunteering' at the same time, in the same place!

He glanced at Adam again, making sure he wasn't about to run away this time.

"I'm sorry," he finally said after two long hours of silence. "I-I'm sorry... for yesterday. I was rude. Insensitive. I shouldn't have... done that."

Adam paused in arranging the pink and red tulips for their newest bouquet. He blinked in surprise and looked at Lucifer. "I knew you were being too quiet."

"I don't normally talk that much," Lucifer said weakly. "I just... I don't know. I was rude, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay, really. I was rude too." Adam shrugged and sent him a half-smile. "So stop beating yourself up over it, okay, Samuel? It's fine."

Samuel?

Oh right. That was his fake name.

Lucifer nodded, and silence seeped between them once more. His eyes lowered, gazing at the mess of stems and leaves scattered before him. His fingers twitched, fiddling with one of the stems.

"Um, so... do you have any plans today?" he sheepishly asked, desperate to keep the conversation going.

Adam clicked his tongue. "Yeah. I want to go to the Keukenhof Forest. It's the main reason I came all this way... I was supposed to go yesterday, but I was too tired."

"Oh." Lucifer deflated. There went his clever plan of spending more time with Adam. He had come to the realisation that the few hours they spent together weren't enough.

"You... you can come with me if you want?" Adam awkwardly suggested. “I mean, if you’ve got nothing else to do and if you even want to…”

"Yes!" Lucifer exclaimed before blushing and composing himself. "I mean, yes please. That would be great."

Adam eyed him before shrugging. Lucifer let out a sigh he didn't realise he'd been holding. At this rate, Adam would think he was a real weirdo...

Maybe he already did.

~#~

The forest was a verdant tapestry, rich with ancient oaks, stately beeches, and towering conifers, their intertwined branches forming a lush, emerald and golden canopy overhead. The forest floor was an artist's palette, blanketed in vibrant hues of bluebells, wild hyacinths, tulips, and buttercups, creating a magical mosaic of blues, purples, and yellows. Every conceivable flower found a home here, transforming the ground into a living, breathing masterpiece. Well-maintained paths wound gracefully through the trees, inviting visitors to lose themselves in the forest's serene and enchanting embrace.

On the west side, pink and purple tulips danced together in the breeze, creating mesmerising waves of color that captivated the eye. A sea of blue flowers extended from the south, merging seamlessly with patches of orange, white, and green blooms, a symphony of colours that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"It's so beautiful," Adam exhaled, his voice filled with awe. Gratitude swelled in his heart for Emily, who had insisted on this break. The sight before him was one of the most exquisite he had ever witnessed, warming his chest with an emotion he hadn't felt in centuries.

The scene was Edenic, stirring memories of the paradise he once knew. As a warm summer breeze tousled their hair, Adam's gaze lingered on the blossoms. Woodpeckers rhythmically tapped the trees, rousing the dozing owls, while songbirds filled the air with their ceaseless melodies. Squirrels darted playfully among the branches, and rabbits ventured shyly from their burrows. Even a deer or two could be seen gracefully passing through.

"So beautiful," Samuel echoed softly, his blue eyes reflecting a quiet, almost pained admiration as he watched Adam. Every subtle shift in Adam's expression, every minute tremor, was absorbed by Samuel's attentive gaze.

Adam hummed, lost in wonder, his lips curling into a breathtaking smile. Sensing Samuel's intense stare, he turned, eyebrow raised in silent inquiry, questioning yet comfortable in the shared, profound moment.

Awkwardly, Samuel rubbed the back of his neck and tilted away. "It's pretty warm. Do you want ice cream? Let's get some ice cream!"

"Oh, um, okay." Adam watched the shorter man hurry toward the ice cream stand nearby, eyebrows raising further. Samuel was a peculiar human with a penchant for staring. In Adam's opinion, he stared far too much. Since their less-than-pleasant first meeting, Adam had noticed Samuel seeking opportunities to talk to him over the past two days. Adam had done his best to avoid it. He didn't know why. He didn't think Samuel had any malicious intentions; he was just curious. But something inside him kept whispering not to trust Samuel.

Still, Samuel looked so innocently cute. Adam couldn't decide. Perhaps it was his trust issues acting up again. But maybe he had been too harsh. Maybe Samuel was just like him—lonely and looking for a friend. Adam could handle that. It might even be nice to have a friend outside of Heaven and Hell.

"I don't know what flavour you'd like, but I got you a simple mini-chocolate. Can't go wrong with that!" Samuel gasped, returning with the cone. "Here!"

Startled when Samuel thrust the ice cream towards him, Adam's eyes widened as he took the cone bashfully. "O-Oh, you didn't need to buy me one. I was about to come over and get one myself."

The red flush that coloured Samuel's face was unexpectedly endearing, adding an extra layer of sweetness to his already charming demeanour. Adam found himself charmed by it, thinking it made Samuel look even more delightful.

"Um," Samuel stammered, shifting awkwardly, his social discomfort mirroring Adam's own. Maybe Samuel really was like him after all. "I wanted to. You invited me, so I figured it would—um, it would...even things out?"

Adam chuckled as Samuel winced at his own rambling. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

As if a switch had been flipped, the strawberry-blonde man’s face lit up with a radiant, blinding grin, showcasing his perfect teeth. Adam couldn’t help but return the smile, and together, they continued along the trail, savouring their ice cream—Adam with mint chocolate and Samuel with strawberry.

"So, um, why did you come to...Lesse?" Samuel asked quietly, wincing as if he had made a mistake. "I’m sorry if I’m prying. Feel free to tell me to shut up if you want."

Adam snorted, tilting his head and peering at Samuel from the corner of his eye. "I needed a break from the stress back home. Just needed some time away."

"Really?" Samuel straightened, looking up at Adam with newfound interest. "I-I mean, cool, me too! We have so much in common! We both have stress back home! Um..."

A laugh bubbled from Adam’s lips. "You’re so strange."

"Ha-ha-ha..." Samuel chuckled sheepishly, his forced smile melting into a genuine one as his shoulders relaxed. "I’m sorry. I’m not used to... this. Talking to people. I’m typically... alone. I don’t, I’m not around people often."

"You don’t need to explain yourself," Adam said, his tone warm. "I get it. We all have our struggles. I’m not exactly a social butterfly myself. I’m probably just as bad at it."

A weak, uncertain chuckle escaped Samuel, his shoulders slumping slightly. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "A-Anyway, you were saying? Y-You needed time away from home? Bad stuff happened?"

"You could say that," Adam replied, glancing down at the ice cream in his left hand. It felt odd using his left hand now; he had always been right-handed. The switch felt awkward and forced. "A lot of things happened with my...family. My head wasn't in a great place to begin with, but then some drama happened, which just made everything worse."

Samuel's gaze softened as he watched Adam’s feet, noticing the way he dragged them slightly. He winced, sensing the weight of Adam's words. "Did... did it involve your accident?"

Adam was silent for a moment, his eyes dropping to his own feet before he released a deep sigh. "Yeah, there was a lot of family drama surrounding my accident. I needed to get away, hoping some distance might help me, you know, feel better."

"I see." Samuel bit his lower lip, his expression full of genuine concern.

It was odd but endearing—Samuel seemed more genuinely empathetic than anyone Adam had encountered in a long time. It was strange, considering how little Samuel knew him, yet he showed more compassion than he’d ever received from Heaven. Adam inhaled deeply, savouring the sweet fragrance of the surrounding flowers.

"What about you, Sammy?" Adam teased playfully, his smile widening as Samuel looked at him in surprise and a touch of confusion. "Why are you in Lesse? Did you travel all the way here just to see the blossoms too?"

Samuel seemed to ponder for a moment before arriving at a decision. It was oddly charming how he bit his lower lip and scrunched up his tiny nose in thought, a lock of strawberry-blonde hair falling across his forehead and brushing his delicate blue eyes.

"For similar reasons, I guess," he said softly, his voice gentle. "I... haven’t been in the best headspace either. I've been pretty sick—yeah, sick for a while now. I wasn’t helping myself; I was making myself worse and…"

Adam's heart ached as he saw the pain etched on Samuel’s face.

"My daughter practically forced me out of the house," Samuel continued weakly. "She said it was unhealthy for me to stay locked inside like I had been. My... ex-wife left me about eight years ago, and it hit me hard. I was already sick before she left, but I guess she just got tired of watching me deteriorate."

"That's terrible," Adam said, disbelief coloring his voice. "She just left you because you were unwell?"

Samuel shrugged meekly, his gaze drifting to the beautiful flowers around them. "I guess she grew tired of trying to help me or something. She wasn’t the most loving person; in fact, she was pretty cold. One day, she just up and left. Sent me divorce papers the very next day."

Frowning deeply, Adam felt a surge of anger but managed to keep it in check. "I'm really sorry to hear that. If it means anything, I think it's her loss. She’ll regret it eventually. I believe you’re a better person than she ever was."

Samuel’s eyes widened in astonishment, as if Adam had handed him the moon. "You really think I'm a better person?"

"Well, yeah," Adam replied with a smile. "I think you are. Everyone makes mistakes and faces uncertainty. It’s the good people who try to make amends and move forward."

Samuel was quiet for a few moments, absorbing Adam’s words. His blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight, the redness in his cheeks softening as he processed the compliment. After a few seconds, he looked up at Adam and gave him a real, genuine smile—a smile so warm and heartfelt that it nearly brought Adam to his knees. It was a smile Adam had only seen once before, centuries ago in Eden.

His heart skipped a beat, and Adam swallowed hard, feeling his cheeks flush warmer than they should.

“I really hope that someday I can become a…good person.” Samuel said warmly.

“I’m sure you will be.”

#hazbin hotel #fanfic #au #adamsapple #fanficiton #lucifer x adam #guitarduck #adam x lucifer #vacation #vacation away

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sukunasweetheart · 1 year

Text

Where the Petals Cascade - Chapter One

Synopsis & Masterlist

Tags; slowburn, eventual smut, eventual romance, contract marriage, lots of sexual tension, manipulative & womaniser sukuna, potential angst, mentions of alcohol and drinking, mentions of gambling, lots of flirting, fake relationship trope.

Word count; 12k

01. Chapter One.

Malevolent Casino - a brand easily recognised by the public. The rising popularity of this casino company is no secret to the world. And the way they’re topping the casino industry only adds to the wealth held by the man that possesses this establishment that’s tainted with the misery of others. Gambling– everyone loves to shun the topic of it out in the open, but when times are tough and a good rush of adrenaline is needed, guess where people drift towards?

Sukuna put out the light on his cigar as he gazed upon his company’s revenue from last year, printed out on the document he held up in his hand. The incredibly significant numbers put a smile to his face. Earning money off of the pathetic men and women that have crippling addictions - all of them being regulars at his facilities - there is no better source of income for a person like Sukuna than this.

But still…he felt as though he was always missing something.

Though the amount of money being raked in was quite remarkable, there was a lack of exponential growth seen in the company’s annual revenue in the past few years. In some, there had even been a slightly concerning and noticeable decrease.

It had taken Sukuna a little bit of pondering to realise what it was that his company lacked - a good public image. Perhaps it was due to how his business emerged from the darker part of society; a flawless reputation had been something that was the least of Sukuna’s concerns back when he’d began making his way to the top.

He definitely wasn’t about to let his business flicker out like a dying flame in a decade or so. A plan was to be devised.

…And thus, this finalised plan of his brings him to this small, yet refined bar in a more remote and quiet part of the city.

Sitting at the bar counter alone, you bask yourself in the slow music that echoes around, taking the final sip from your almost-empty glass. There are very few customers around in your vicinity, and perhaps only a little bit of muted chattering can be heard in the distance from where you remain.

Just as you’re about to ask the bartender for another, he brings you a drink that you have no memory of ordering.

“The gentleman over there requested this for you,” he voices, noticing your expression of inquiry. You turn to see a man wearing an expensive looking crimson suit, giving you a small smile from across the room. Ominous looking tattoos adorn his face, but they compliment his pink, gelled up hair quite well. You politely smile back at him, and turn to the front again.

Judging from its colour and scent, you can guess what kind of drink it is. You can’t really say that it’s your favourite.

A few minutes after, footsteps resound from behind - and a deep, velvety voice calls out to you.

You look up and meet the man’s eyes.

“Not a fan of whiskey?” he asks, smoothly taking the empty seat beside you.

“Unfortunately not,” you respond, swirling the glass cup’s contents around mindlessly with your hand.

“Apologies for that. What kind of drink do you prefer?”

“...A dry martini would be nice,” you tell him, reflecting his flawless falsified smile.

The pink haired man gives a little nod to the bartender, and he is soon on his way to mix up another drink for you.

“And I’ll help myself with this one, in your stead.”

He reaches out for the glass in your hand, and as he closes the distance between his and your body, the scent of his cologne seems to disperse into the air around you. You watch his fingertips graze your hand ever so slightly, while he takes the whiskey away.

“Would you believe me if I said I’d fallen in love at first sight?” he responds with a humorous undertone.

“You’re quite the fine gentleman. What business would you have with a lady like me tonight?”

Sukuna lets out a boyish chuckle - the only genuine reaction you’ll be getting out of him today.

It was your turn to let out a small laugh.

He faces you with a smirk, and you notice the way he taps his finger against the surface of the counter.

“Certainly not. You don’t seem like the type,” you tell him.

“Oh? And why is that?” He takes a sip from the glass of whiskey.

“You don’t strike me as a very sentimental man.”

“I wouldn’t say that you’re entirely incorrect. But I’m not as emotionless as you may think.”

You meet his eyes once again. It’s incredibly difficult to tell when this man is lying.

“Is that so,” you say, giving him a look of intrigue.

Moments later, your martini finally arrives, which you’re quite happy to see.

“I don’t believe so. The Golden Rose Enterprise has been a vastly successful business, ever since you took over.”

“Malevolent Casino, is it? The name of your company,” you ask as you take the drink into your hand.

“An honour that you know of it. Especially from someone of your calibre,” Sukuna says, unsurprised that you’d caught onto him.

“You flatter me.”

You force out a courteous smile.

“I’ll assume that we’re skipping over the self introductions,” he continues speaking.

“Feel free to contact me when you’re ready. I’ll be happy to take you out for dinner.”

“It’s true that I approached you with an offer in mind that you may find interesting,” Sukuna informs, eyeing your reactions carefully.

“Apologies, but I don’t usually tend to talk about business when I’m around alcohol.”

“That’s fine by me,” he says, reaching into the inner pocket of his suit. What he pulls out is a business card.

He then finishes up the remaining whiskey in his glass in one go and stands up to pay for the both of you. Before he excuses himself however, he comes over to you one last time.

“Business is business, but…”

Sukuna leans down closer to you, his face being inches away from yours.

“I’m not fuckin’ around when I say that I’m interested in you too. I don’t just buy drinks for anybody,” he tells you in a low voice. The sudden tonal shift from being overly formal to the crude language is indeed something you weren’t expecting. An unexplainable shock runs down your spine. Seeing your widened eyes grant him satisfaction, and he smirks as he gazes down at you while still hovering close to your face for a few more seconds.

He moves back away, and puts his hands into his pockets.

“It would be nice to get to know you better. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you again,” Sukuna tells you, as he begins to walk away.

“Have a good evening.”

You’re left alone with the drink that he’s bought for you, and the black business card that still holds the scent of his cologne. You chuckle cynically at yourself, looking at the number that's printed on it.

The man sure knows how to linger in someone’s thoughts.

Meanwhile, outside of the bar, Sukuna hums as he walks over to his car. Easy. A bit too easy.

He’s casted out the bait - now all he shall do is wait for you to bite onto it.

A little over a week has passed since then - and frustratingly enough, he has heard nothing from you as of yet. He spins the pen in his hand at his desk, while he rests his chin against his other palm lazily. He’s certain that he had indeed grabbed your attention that night. What could be the reason for this radio silence? Are you shy? Overly cautious? Too busy?

That last possible reason ticks him off a bit. You’re not the only one running a successful business here. You think he’s not busy?

His thoughts are interrupted when a knock comes at his door.

“Come in,” he states firmly, not moving from his current position. Uraume, his secretary, enters the room shortly after. They walk up closer to where his desk is, and stops to stand a few metres away.

“What is it?” he asks them, continuing to fiddle with that pen in his hand.

“I’ve received a report saying there’s been a bit of a dispute between an employee and a regular customer, sir. The customer is giving threats to sue the company, and the employee sustained an injury from an object that was thrown at him. I thought it’d be best if you knew about it.”

“Is he a VIP customer?” Sukuna asks immediately.

“No, sir.”

“Then he’s nothing to worry about. If he takes it to court like an idiot, send one of our lawyers to the case. He’s injured one of the staff - he’s unlikely to win.”

“Yes sir.”

He stops fidgeting with the pen.

“How’d they end up dealing with him?”

“He was escorted outside by the security guards - by force.”

“By force, huh…”

That’s right…

If you won’t look his way, he can just force you to.

“Uraume. You wouldn’t mind if I went on a little break, would you?”

This is your favourite part of the day.

Sitting down at your large desk, signing off a few papers quietly whilst the steam rises from the piping hot cup of tea that rests close to you. Right after finalising these few documents, you’ll get to sip on it and take a little break from your work…Or so you thought. Three sharp knocks resound from the door.

“Yes? Please come in,” you call out.

The person that emerges from the entrance is Nanami, your most competent secretary.

“It seems there’s a significant guest visiting the hotel today, ma’am. The manager requests your presence in greeting this person,” he informs you.

“Significant guest? I don’t recall there being any VIP bookings today,” you respond, standing up from your seat and walking over towards him.

“He booked in moments prior, and also applied for the VIP membership today. Paid on the spot.”

“...Impressive,” you relent, already having an educated guess on who this person may be.

The two of you make your way down to the hotel lobby, where you’re faced with a few slightly panic-stricken employees of yours, all of them making way for you to approach this new “significant guest” of yours.

Sukuna smiles triumphantly as you make your appearance, being blatant about his pride in his presence that requires a personal greeting from the CEO herself.

“Good afternoon, sir. To what do I owe this pleasure?” you say, standing before him.

“There’s no need to be so formal. I just thought it’d be nice to spend my day off somewhere… extravagant.”

He scans his surroundings, pretending to be interested in the interior decoration and furnishing of the lobby.

“I see. Then allow me to accompany you to your VIP suite,” you tell him with a polite smile. Nanami receives the key for Sukuna’s room while you dismiss the employees that are gathered around the front desk - getting them on their way to greet the other guests coming in.

“Nanami - you can head back up and finish your paperwork for the day,” you instruct the man as you take the key from his hand, “I can guide him by myself.”

“Yes ma’am.” He makes a short bow and excuses himself first.

You turn to look at Sukuna, who seems to be pleased with your decision to send everybody else away.

“Well then. Shall we be on our way?”

“Certainly.”

He follows you close behind all the way to a private elevator that is separate from the ones taken by regular guests.

The elevator arrives with a ding, and both of you step inside of it once the doors slide open.

“From my understanding…you’re not here simply for a nice hotel experience, are you?” you ask Sukuna, who is watching the floor numbers on the monitor go down as the two of you wait for its arrival.

“Such keen observation, as usual. You are correct.”

Bullshit, Sukuna thinks.

“I assume then, it’s got something to do with my lack of response to your proposal that other day.”

“So you’re aware. I thought you’d forgotten all about me, with the way I was left waiting.”

“I do apologise. The week has been rather busy for me, but I promise to come by soon enough.”

“Very well,” he replies, turning to you with a pretentious smile.

“In the meantime, it would be nice if I could show you around - especially since you came all the way here,” you suggest to him. “Please let me treat you to some lunch.”

“I look forward to it.”

Upon entering the suite, you make a quick tour of the room for him, ignoring the couple of underhanded compliments he gave every now and then regarding the interior design. A very particular person, he is. Though a large majority of it was done out of spite; he was, truthfully, quite impressed by the quality. There was no luggage that he’d brought with him today, considering how he was only spending one night here, so the room tour ended pretty quickly and you were soon bringing him along to the restaurant, down the building.

As the name of your company suggests - the colour gold seems to linger around at every turn they take, being draped over a lot of the furnishing and architecture. He can’t shake off the feeling that it might be a little excessive. After passing through the hallways, the two of you finally get to the hotel’s dining room. A waiter comes around and formally introduces themselves, before handing over two menu lists after leading you to an appropriate table for two.

“What would you like to eat? We have quite a broad list of options that you can choose from.”

He skims over the various dishes listed on the laminated sheet before making a quick decision on the Filet Mignon, with tomato soup and a bread roll as the appetiser. You decide to have the same thing.

“You seem pretty excited,” you comment, gazing over at him with an amused look on your face.

“Of course. Eating is one of the greatest pleasures of life,” he states with confidence, eyeing the perfectly polished cutlery on the table, “don’t you agree?”

“Undoubtedly. Which is why we only hire the best chefs for our hotel dining.”

“I’m not too difficult to satisfy when it comes to food, so you don’t need to get too nervous,” he tells you. This evokes a genuine chuckle out of you. He really likes eating – is a mental note that you make in your head quietly.

Sukuna eats in a very satisfying way-- he eats tidily, but is not shy to clean everything off the plate. You can’t help but appreciate his table manners. You pour a glass of the tropical fruit juice for him. When questioned ‘Why not wine instead?’ - he’d replied with ‘It’s too bright outside for alcohol,’ which came off as a surprise to you.

What he notices from you, is the way you seem to be closely analysing him. For what purpose? A few ideas do come to mind. But he can tell you’re not doing it with malicious intent. He accepts the juice that you offer him.

“Do you have a lover, Mr. Ryomen?” you ask him, out of the blue. It even takes him aback, a little bit.

“...Would it please you if I said no?” Sukuna shoots back, having his interest piqued from your sudden query.

“It most certainly would,” you say with a small smile. He can’t really read into what you’re trying to do here.

Outwardly, there is little change in his demeanour. Continuing to cut up his meal, he watches as the blood oozes out from the pink and tender meat inside– something that he most appreciates, when it comes to having his steak rare.

“Would it be alright for me to visit you at your room tonight?” you say.

Your abrupt assertiveness is nothing less than…puzzling. But it wouldn’t really hurt to play along with you for now.

“A rather…sudden initiative, on your part. Can I ask why?”

“There’s no need to read too deep into it. I’ve been meticulously planning something for a while now,” you put your cutlery down onto the table, “and I think you might find it appealing.”

It’s not often that Sukuna gets curious about something, or someone.

“I’m happy to listen to your proposal as well, of course. I’m confident it will fit well into mine.”

Sukuna takes his last bite of the steak and also puts his knife and fork down.

“Quite a bold claim to make, considering how I haven’t told you what I want yet…” he wipes his lips down with a serviette and neatly folds it up. “...But sure. I’m eager to hear what you have in mind.”

He just hopes it won’t be a waste of his time.

The two of you continue to make aimless small talk as dessert comes around, before you have to eventually excuse yourself to continue your office duties.

“I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, Mr. Ryomen. I’ll come by at around 8pm, tonight,” you tell him, standing up from your seat and making a quick glance at your wristwatch.

“Right. I’ll see you then,” he replies, and proceeds to watch as you walk off, each elegant step followed by another.

Sukuna knows - it won’t be easy work manipulating you, from the looks of it. He plans to start off small; offer to work in collaboration with you, only to slowly start making his way further into your prized possession– Golden Rose Enterprise– like a poison that spreads through the veins. Whether it’s through seizing your love and affection, or grasping tightly onto a weakness of yours - he’ll let you decide on that.

For now, all he needs to do is find a way to kill the time before 8pm arrives. Perhaps he should call for an in-room massage later?

By the time you reach your office once again, your pitiful cup of tea has gone terribly cold. You get someone to dispose of it for you.

Ryomen Sukuna… the man seems to be plotting something. You knew from the very moment he reached out, that he was up to no good. Him and his company are both quite infamous - just as your hotels are known for their flawless reputation and transparency, Sukuna’s business is known for their questionable public image. Though there hasn’t been any real trouble that’s arisen as of yet, the rumours that they’re roped into aren’t pleasant at all.

And not to mention the CEO himself…

Eccentric, temperamental, yet also intelligent and charismatic; this is what your research on him tells you so far. A long history of scandals involving various female celebrities, the man has lived through quite a dramatic love life if what the articles say are true.

But, well, you’re not that particularly worried. You finish signing off the remaining papers at your desk.

You’ll put him on a leash, before he puts one onto you. You print off a copy of your well put together, finalised contract, and slide it into an A4 envelope, sealing it shut. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

At ten minutes to eight, you’re ready to head into his room, where you shall reveal your cards to him.

Meanwhile- Sukuna, in his VIP suite- has just finished up his shower and makes an effort to dry his hair with a towel taken from the hanger. He then hums as he feels up the material on the pitch black bathrobe he finds on the sink counter, neatly folded and ready for use. After donning the robe, he emerges from the bathroom at good timing as he hears someone at the door.

It hardly seems surprising to you, when he opens up shamelessly wearing the hotel’s bathrobe that presents his collar bones in a lascivious way, still looking a little moist from his shower. You ignore all of that, and look up at him, who smirks down at you, in all his arrogance.

“Good to see you. Come on in,” he tells you with nonchalance, stepping off to the side to make way for you.

“It’s good to see you making yourself comfortable. How do you like this room?” you ask, sitting down on one of the sofa seats at the coffee table.

The two of you exchange polite smiles. He notices the envelope in your hands.

“Nothing less than what I’d expected, from a five star hotel,” Sukuna says as he takes the seat on the other side of the table.

“That’s great news.”

“Well then. I’ll get straight to the point,” you begin.

“Why don’t we get married, Sukuna?”

You call him by his name, for the first time. And additionally, you see his expression of surprise for the first time as well.

“...What?”

You give him a look that makes it obvious that you were expecting this kind of response.

Sukuna seems to still be processing the idea, hanging his head as he leans back against the sofa seat.

“...I understand that reaction. But I’m not saying this as a joke,” you tell him, holding back a chuckle from seeing his dumbfounded response.

“Have you ever heard of what a marriage of convenience is?” you ask.

“And? On what grounds are you asking someone you met a week ago to marry you? Even if it is out of convenience,” he questions, his real personality beginning to show itself to you.

“You’re like the last puzzle piece for my final picture. There’s a lot that I’d like to gain from you and I’m sure there’s a lot you want from me – isn’t that why you approached me at the bar?”

Sukuna regains his composure and narrows his eyes at you.

“Putting aside your needs for now…how can you be so sure about my demands? Enlighten me.”

“I did have a couple of guesses on what they could’ve been. A company that’s already at the peak of the casino industry. What exactly could you be missing?” you speak confidently.

“And my answer ended up being…reputation. Your numbers are consistent, but they’re not accumulating as much as you’d like them to, are they? Perhaps due to a lack of new members at your casinos. The ones that are already hooked may continue to spend money, but a flawed public image is preventing you from gaining new customers. Even a small shortcoming like that is enough to cause problems in the future.”

Sukuna has a fascinated grin that he covers with the palm of his hand. You’re… interesting.

“Which is presumably why you’d want to work with a company that is known for having a perfect reputation. I’m sure partnering up with me would improve it, albeit a little, just by association.”

“You have me backed into a corner,” Sukuna lies, running a hand through his hair at a languid pace.

“But that still doesn’t explain why we should have to get married does it?” he voices carefully.

"We recently finished remodelling our hotel wedding venues. I want to promote it in a more flamboyant manner. What better way than to get married myself?"

An unlikely couple such as yourself and Sukuna would gain a lot of attention; especially from how he’s already well known by the public. You’ll create the grand facade that he’d ‘changed for the better’.

"You’re able to go as far as marriage for the sake of your business?" Sukuna asks with a raised eyebrow.

You look at him straight in the eyes, mouth set in a straight line, and arms crossed.

"Yes, I am."

Witnessing your sincere determination, Sukuna goes from slightly doubting your plans, to acknowledging that you have ambition worth recognising. You’re not very sane at all.

“Alright. Let’s say that’s fair enough. What else would you want from me beyond that?”

A glint shows up in your eyes, as if you’d been waiting for this question this whole time.

“...As the CEO of a casino company, you’d have a long list of top secret VIP customers.”

Sukuna immediately understands where this is heading towards.

“That I do.”

“Our hotels have been doing perfectly fine with our usual guests, but there’s been a bit of a decline with attaining new VIP members recently. My main goal is to snatch up a few from your list using, hopefully, a bit of your influence.”

He crosses his arms and falls silent for a few moments.

“Objectively speaking, having our companies collaborate would create a rift in Golden Rose’s image. But that’s something I’m willing to sacrifice if everything goes smoothly.”

“Is reputation the only benefit I’m getting from this marriage?”

“Why, of course not. Since it’s not new for hotels to have casinos near, or even inside them, I thought it’d be nice if we made a collaboration. As you would know - next to my main hotel, I own another building. We can renovate, and insert new slot machines as you see fit. Funded entirely by me.”

A spark of intrigue gleams over his eyes. Tempting offer indeed.

“I’ve written up a contract as reasonable as I could make it, outlining the details of our marriage, including a few rules and regulations, and what to do if we end up wanting to divorce, for whatever reason,” you say as you slide over the envelope towards him on the coffee table.

So she meant it when she said she was preoccupied this week… Sukuna thinks to himself. Writing up a contract takes quite a lot of energy, after all.

"I'll look forward to hearing back from you again."

"...Give me some time. I'll consider it," he finally tells you, leaning back and crossing his legs after much contemplation.

"Wonderful." You stand up from your seat and look down at him with a smile.

When you're a few steps to getting to the door, Sukuna speaks up again from behind you.

"Aw, leaving so soon? I wouldn't mind if you stayed the night here with me," he teases - with a smirk that you can hear in his voice.

"...Thank you for the offer, but I'll have to decline. Have a good night."

He hears you leave, with the sound of the door opening and closing.

“Tch. What a prude way of saying no.”

Aren’t you a little too cold for someone who aims to be his lawful wife?

No matter - he’ll find one way or another to get under that awfully polite attitude of yours.

The contract is actually quite reasonable and fair for both parties, and Sukuna hates to admit so. You worked on this alone? Or maybe you had that stuck up of a secretary helping you behind the scenes.

Either way, upon having his own lawyer review it for him after carefully reading through it himself, he has decided that he will take you up on this offer - and participate in this marriage of convenience.

It makes things easier for him, after all. This will skip him a lot of steps, and you’ll be closer to his reach, making it simpler to play around with you as he pleases. Not to mention; the contract states that if the wedding doesn’t happen, all negotiations are off the table. Clever of you to make it an ‘all in or nothing’ type of agreement.

Today’s the day where he’d already arranged another meeting with you at one of his private restaurants, where he anticipates seeing your pretty face again, since it’s been a little over a week.

Uraume opens the car door for him, and he steps outside without a hitch.

He’s a little elated to find you already sitting inside, gazing out the window as you’re at the fancily decorated table. You’re dressed in a quite eloquent outfit, perfect for a day like this, where the petals are carried away from cherry blossom trees, even by the gentlest of breezes.

“How impolite of me to keep a lady waiting,” Sukuna says as he approaches you, “apologies for the late arrival.”

“Not at all. It’s a habit of mine to show up at least ten minutes before any appointment. You’re actually on time,” you tell him, looking at the watch on your wrist.

“...Quite the courteous habit to have.”

Sukuna’s private restaurant specialises in Japanese cuisine, which explained the various platters of sushi and sashimi that were soon getting placed onto the table, shortly after his arrival. He lets you take the first mouthful, and appears to be awaiting your opinion on the taste.

“This…is really good. I can tell the fish is fresh, and there’s a perfect amount of vinegar in the rice,” you comment, your chopsticks going for another one.

“I’m glad it’s to your taste. Nothing but the best for my fiancé.”

The term he uses catches you a little off guard, but you manage to laugh it off. Sukuna is very satisfied by the millisecond of a pause in your reaction. Perhaps you should’ve added the rule of no unnecessary flirting with the other party into your contract?

After the hearty meal, the table is cleared, and the contract is taken out and placed upon it, resting between the two of you.

“We’ve both come here to sign this, am I correct?” you reconfirm, pulling out a pen of yours, ready to draw up your signature.

“Indeed. We’ve reviewed it multiple times back and forth between us, I doubt there’s anything more to worry about.”

You pass it on over to him, after signing it swiftly. He does the same.

The both of you are now officially bound together, by law.

There’s a beautiful shade of pink outside that grasps your attention, every now and then. You’d forgotten the current season was spring – and like in every other year, the cherry blossoms are always there to remind you. This is a nice restaurant indeed.

“I hope you have the time to enjoy some tea with me, Y/N,” Sukuna says as he puts his pen away. It feels nice to hear someone call you by your name like that.

“Fortunately, I do have a few minutes to spare.”

“Enjoying the outside view?” he asks - placing his focus on you, rather than the window.

“Yes, actually. This view is…very lovely.”

You say it in a soft spoken voice, and your eyes mellow out in a way he doesn’t expect when you look out the window once again. He takes a mental note to bring you here a second time, once the next spring season arrives.

This tea time is spent very delightfully (to your surprise), for maybe the next ten minutes before the both of you need to eventually leave due to your busy schedules. Once standing up, you offer your hand to the man before you, with a smile. He takes your hand, that is so dainty and soft compared to his, and shakes it.

“Your hair is the same colour as those petals,” you say without thinking.

“I do get that a lot. I’d argue that I’ll always look better than any of those trees, however.”

“That’s some impressive confidence you have,” you retort, with a chuckle.

As you’re walking out of the restaurant alongside him, you remember something you’d forgotten to mention to him.

“The wedding will be in a month’s time. We’ll see each other a couple of times before then,” you state, looking up at him in the eyes.

“Excellent. Feel free to contact me whenever.”

“I actually prefer your normal attitude, rather than the one you’re using around me all the time,” you tell him truthfully.

“You mean my flirtatious advances on you?”

“No, you already do that now. I mean when you use your crude language, and speak in shorter sentences.”

You nonchalantly walk out of the door that he’s still holding open for you.

“Oh? ...You’re into that shit? Very unexpected, coming from someone like you,” he retorts with a smirk as he holds the door open for you.

“Yes, that’s much better. I’m happy to see that my future husband is the obedient type.”

Obedient–

He catches you giving one last glance at him, before getting inside of your car, with a cheeky smile on your face. Sukuna is stunned in an amused way, having been called obedient for the first time in his life. It should be making him angry, but he’s grinning instead. The urge to get back at you rises within him like wildfire.

This whole marriage thing with you is bound to be one hell of a ride.

“How are the wedding preparations going?” he asks on the phone.

The question comes while you’re inspecting the various invitation designs before you. You pick one of them up and flip to the other side.

“Very smoothly. You won’t have to lift a finger, as we promised.”

“That’s good to hear. It’s a shame, really. Would’ve liked to help pick out a wedding dress for you,” he says humourously.

“Certainly not. I imagine you’d pick an atrocious dress,” you tell him, listening to him chuckle.

“Not possible. All wedding dresses look the same anyway,” Sukuna dismisses.

You furrow your brows a little at his ignorance. Of course he’s the type to say that.

“I’ll have to disagree. But pushing that aside for now,” you say, putting down the sample invitation card, “have you prepared the list of guests you’d like to invite for the ceremony?”

“I have. I’ll get Uraume to send the list to you soon.”

“Thank you. Well then, I wish you a good afternoon.”

You end the call sharply.

Mildly irritated as he sits at the back of his car, Sukuna removes his phone from his ear and looks down at the screen with a raised eyebrow. He wishes you wouldn’t cut calls so abruptly like that. What is wrong with you?

“Pretentious,” he mutters, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He looks out his window, expressionlessly.

Amongst the number of people Sukuna plans to invite to the wedding, his mother and father aren’t a part of the list. But, surprisingly so, it’s the same for you too. They’re excluding the whole ‘walking the bride down the aisle’ as a result. He doesn’t care enough to ask you what happened to them – it’s none of his business, after all. It’s just a little strange to think about how both the bride and the groom will have absent seats for parents.

The car suddenly feels a little stuffy for him. He rolls the window down a little bit, letting the outside breeze swirl inside, carrying the scent of the city.

And as for you – after having completed a large portion of the work needed to be done for the wedding, you’re now happily sitting at home with a glass of wine in your hand. In maybe around two weeks’ time, you’ll be a legally married woman. It feels a little surreal to think about.

Looking over at the wedding invitation card that has his and your name printed over it, your mind brings up the image of your parents. Oh, how they would’ve never approved of a man like him. You can’t help but let out a small, dry laugh.

…It’s all for the sake of the business. You promised them to do well.

And you shall execute it– flawlessly.

Little inklings of dating rumours have already dispersed amongst the employees at both Malevolent Casino and Golden Rose Enterprise, having grown all the way back from the moment when Sukuna applied for the expensive VIP membership all too suddenly. That, and alongside the frequent ins and outs both you and Sukuna have been doing at each others’ offices have raised the suspicions of many. Countless friends and acquaintances have reached out, asking if it’s actually true. And to each one of them, you replied with a ‘yes’.

This is a perfect chain of events leading up to the marriage announcement. For someone who has quite a bit of media attention on him already due to past affairs, he is indeed the ideal candidate for the promotion of the hotel’s wedding services, as he’s bound to draw the gaze of a wider audience.

It’s rather amusing how many of them warned you, and discouraged your ‘relationship’ with Sukuna.

“He’s not like that at all. He treats me very well,” you responded to them, the best you could.

And then, you sent out the wedding invitations, not long after.

You become terribly busy in the final week before the ceremony. Giving instructions to employees during the setup process of the venue, arranging the rings, selecting the perfect dress and suit, establishing a script for the vows, and organising the food for the event. Not to mention, there needs to be professional photographers present to capture everything beautifully, so the photos can be uploaded to the hotel website.

For the honeymoon – you reckoned it’d be best to go somewhere overseas, even if for only a few days – in order to prevent speculations that the two of you may not actually be in love. When asked if there was a particular country he wanted to go to for the honeymoon, Sukuna replied with “I couldn’t care less where we go.”

So you took it upon yourself to select somewhere most convenient for you.

Ironically enough, you barely met the man during this final week, as you were too preoccupied with running around and making sure everything was perfect.

And now, here you are, dolled up in a stunning wedding gown, waiting for Sukuna to finish getting dressed up. You can hear the guests buzzing outside, anticipating the appearance of the bride and groom.

A whistle resounds in front of you. Looking up, you see him in the polished suit that you had picked out for him. Alongside that, his appropriately slicked back hair makes him look like quite the handsome gentleman.

“You look ravishing, my dear wife,” he comments, giving a smug, lopsided grin.

“Not your wife quite yet. We’re yet to be officiated,” you respond back with a smile.

“No need to mind the details. We’re about to be, anyway.”

He offers up his arm, and you’re quick to put your hand around it.

The two of you stand underneath an opulent arch, decorated with countless delicate roses. As the officiant makes his speech, you and Sukuna face each other hand in hand, exchanging gazes that contain nothing but false affection.

“The Bride and Groom shall now make their vows.”

The crowd watches intently, falling under a noticeable hush.

“On this joyous day, I, Ryomen Sukuna, will take you as my one and only – my lawfully wedded wife,” his voice booms brilliantly around this almost ethereal-looking wedding venue.

“I vow to bring forth happiness and fulfilment to our most tender, yet unshakable connection we share – and offer up my whole heart to you – as I shall be the valiant protector of our betrothal.”

He executes the speech with great accuracy and enthusiasm, which you are fairly impressed by. You almost let out a giggle from it, knowing that he is most undoubtedly rolling his eyes internally at the words that had just come out from his mouth.

“And I, (Y/N) (L/N), take you as my one and only – my lawfully wedded husband,” you mirror, letting your voice ring out just as he had let his.

“I vow to wholeheartedly embrace and value you as my other half, devoting myself to our most cherished relationship – where I shall tend to the light that our love emits, and treasure it endlessly.”

All of these fancy words - if only everyone knew that they were nothing but empty promises. Nevertheless, finally being able to say them aloud relieves a great weight from your shoulders. It’s almost over.

“You may now seal those promises with a kiss.”

Your eyes widen for a moment.

…You’d forgotten all about the very highlight of all wedding ceremonies. The kiss.

Looking to Sukuna with slight uncertainty, you wonder if you should be the one to initiate it–

He flashes you a gentle smirk. You’d overlooked this part, hadn’t you? He seems to ask.

He pulls you closer to him by snaking his arm around your waist without hesitation, and firmly presses his lips against yours. Having your worries been alleviated, you close your eyes during the kiss. The crowd cheers and a thunderous clap takes over the air around you.

The tips of your tongues brush up against each other, before he pulls away at the appropriate timing, leaving behind a very miniscule and delicate sense of disappointment from having it end so quickly.

The two of you make your way down the steps and walk through the aisle for the grand exit - stepping on the extravagant white carpet that leads to the outside world. Beautiful pink petals are showered down from the ceiling at this perfect timing - and the crowd continues their cheers tirelessly. From the corner of your eye, you inspect that the photographers are doing their jobs in a satisfactory manner.

From the way you and Sukuna bring up your smiles, it wouldn’t be an understatement to say that the two of you are excellent actors.

The path leads all the way to the sleek limousine that awaits the new couple.

You’re mildly surprised to see that it’s raining outside. The weather forecast this morning hadn’t said anything about rain this afternoon. Different hues of grey adorn the sky – the clouds are seemingly vehement on concealing its true colour today. As each of your respective secretaries open up a large umbrella to shelter the two of you, you wonder in dismay. Is this supposed to be some kind of omen?

Getting inside the vehicle, you confirm that the driver is Ijichi, and feel the tension from your body disappear in an instant, now being able to settle down a little more naturally.

“My face hurts from all that smiling,” Sukuna grunts beside you.

“I can say the same,” you agree, caressing your own cheek with your hand.

The limousine will drop by both of your homes, where each of you will get changed into more comfortable clothing before taking off for the airport. Luggage had already been packed prior to the wedding. You’re exhausted, and you could say that you’re pretty envious of Sukuna’s relaxed state that you see once you come back down after changing.

“You must be tired,” he suddenly comments, eyeing you up once you’ve seated yourself comfortably, putting your seatbelt on.

“What makes you say that?” you ask him.

He reaches his hand out to your head, where he gingerly takes something up. When he opens his palm for you to see it, you realise that it’s a petal from the wedding.

“Forgot to check the mirror?” Sukuna asks rhetorically with a cocky undertone.

You let out something like a helpless laugh.

“Thank you for picking up on it.”

The ride to the airport is entirely silent, with you and Sukuna quietly staring out into the windows, watching the scenery outside. As much as you would’ve liked to fall asleep to the softly orchestrated patter of rain against the car’s exterior…you just couldn’t seem to.

After arriving at the airport, you thank Ijichi for his extra service, and promise that his bonus will be sent to his account very shortly. Then, the two of you are guided to the boarding entrance, where you’re seated in the elite economy class.

The plane is headed for Paris, France. A little cliche and overdone, but it’s a place you’d been to most frequently, as your parents had taken you there often for business purposes. The ride goes without any issues, as Sukuna had let out the occasional yawn beside you, before slipping on a silk eye mask and going for a nap. He managed to wake himself up a little before the plane landed.

Upon your arrival at the grand hotel in the bustling city of Paris, the two of you are booked into the same room but with separate bedrooms. The luggage is handled carefully, as the bellman guides both of you to the room.

“I was thinking we could use this opportunity,” he says as he walks close beside you, “to spend the night like how all newlyweds do.”

The fatigue has worn your usual polite attitude off, and you have to roll your eyes at him.

He thoroughly enjoys getting under your skin.

“Quite the charming suggestion. Too bad that I have no energy for that right now.”

“Are you implying that you might in the future?”

“...Think of it as you will, Sukuna.”

The moment you enter, you drag your feet over to your own room.

“I’m going to sleep straight away. Feel free to spend the day how you wish,” you tell him, before going inside and closing the door behind you.

Sukuna has a little bit more energy to burn off, since he took a long nap on the plane – so he decides to step out and enjoy the outside city while he’s here.

It’s not as if it’s his first time in Paris - he’d done a lot of travelling back in his younger days, when he used to be absolutely drunk on the amount of money he was making. He already knows which restaurants and shops are to his taste, and since it’s been a while, he decides he’ll pass some time by revisiting those same places.

He very much enjoys his independent shopping – particularly that feeling of satisfaction at the end, when he’s gained a handful of carefully selected goods. The first place he drops by is a luxurious shoe store, where he picks the pairs that fancy him most, and an employee is immediately ready to come down and help him with fitting them on.

By the end of his little trip, Sukuna’s accompanying assistant has his arms full with various shopping bags, filled with new suits, shoes, expensive cologne… let’s just say that he’s very keen about maintaining his appearance for self satisfaction. And each item was carefully chosen from the designer brands that Sukuna favours greatly.

His bags are dropped off to his room by that same assistant. Before he goes back, Sukuna heads off to the hotel’s bar, where he plans to spend some quiet time with a drink to finish off the day.

This hotel’s well established bar is quite suited to his liking, he thinks, as skims his surroundings, languidly making his way through the dimly lit, atmospheric area.

What he orders tonight at the bar counter is a boulevardier cocktail – being in the mood to have something bittersweet on his taste buds. He’s barely had a chance to take a sip of the drink, when someone all too abruptly claims the empty seat to his right.

“I’ll have a dry martini, please.”

The phrase makes Sukuna whip his head to the side, being mildly pleased to think that it might be the person who he assumes it is.

…He finds that it’s a woman he doesn’t know of at all, staring back at him with a sly smile. He doesn’t visibly show any disappointment, but he does face the front again, before taking a gulp out of the crimson-coloured liquid that resembles the hue of his eyes.

“What, am I not pretty enough for you?” the girl asks in a playful manner.

“...I wouldn’t say that. You’re not too bad to look at,” Sukuna responds honestly.

He entertains her for a little while, doing the bare minimum to keep up with the conversation. She seems so eager to escalate things with him, and he considers it, seeing as he’s got nothing better to do. The contract does state that such relations are permitted for both parties, so long as it’s outside of the media’s attention.

There’s lots of casual touching going on, whether it’s brushing her hand over his, or placing them onto his shoulder or arm, being very blatant in the way she flirts.

The woman hovers inches away from his face, and he stares down at her while he makes some last minute decisions. His gaze falls down to her lips.

“Well? What do you say?” she urges him for an answer, leaning closer to him.

“We could head up to my room and…keep each other some company.”

Just as she thinks she’s gotten him on board, Sukuna grabs her face and pushes her away, deeming that it’s too bothersome for all of that tonight. She pouts right after he lets go of her.

“And I thought we were on the same page… can I ask why?”

He downs the rest of his drink in one go before showing the girl the ring on his left hand.

“At least pay for my drink!” she exclaims as a last resort.

“I’ll be taking my leave, then.”

“Wha- are you going already?!” she questions, thoroughly disappointed. He ignores it, and is already taking steps towards the exit.

With a hand in his pocket, he stops in his tracks, and turns slightly to the side to give her one final glance.

“Too bad. I don’t buy drinks for just anyone.”

Sukuna then heads back up to his room, wondering if you’ll be awake by the time he arrives.

When he’s back inside however, you seem to still be in your deep slumber, seeing as there’s no sign of life around the lounge and no sounds coming from your room. Even for someone as capable as you, managing to prepare everything for that extravagant wedding must’ve been arduous work. He’s in no place to feel irritated at you. It impresses him – how you arranged everything within a limited amount of time, while also fulfilling your duties as a CEO.

Sukuna takes his jacket off and then begins to loosen his tie. After a day of shopping, nothing is better than taking a hot bath to relax the muscles. He can make use of that built in jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, and freshen himself up.

It doesn’t take long for the steam to begin rising from the water as the tub slowly fills up, bubbling up at the sides. He makes himself comfortable towards the edge of the tub, where he lets out a sigh and leans back - the water stopping at the comfortable level, being his chest. He slicks his moistened hair back, and something gets caught in his fingers as he does so.

Looking down at his hand, he sees that it’s a small, pink petal. It must’ve blended in well in his hair from the wedding, this entire time. Thinking of you, a sinister smirk makes its way upon his features.

How reassuring it is, to have a wife so capable. You’ll certainly be a useful asset for him to utilise in the future.

Perhaps a little difficult to crack open, but that’ll only make the end result all the more rewarding.

In the following morning, Sukuna wakes up to some noises outside of his room, and he figures that it’s you walking about after sleeping for almost a whole day, if that’s even possible. Doing a great yawn, he does a quick self-check in the mirror, and proceeds to step out of his room.

You’re latching a watch onto your wrist when the door to Sukuna’s room opens up, revealing the man with his hair down, wearing some loose, comfortable clothing. Having woken up very early, you had taken the time to get dressed after that well-deserved sleep you had.

“Good morning,” you tell him, while checking the tightness of the watch on your wrist.

Damn right he is. After sleeping for a day straight, you’re gonna ignore him again and go about your own business?

“Going somewhere?” he asks curtly, without greeting you back.

“Yes, in about two hours or so,” you say, wondering why he seems mildly irritated towards you today.

“I’m going to a piano concert. I doubt you’ll be interested, but you're welcome to join me.”

A piano concert? Shit sounds boring as hell. Of course you’d be interested in that.

Being invited under these premises… like being offered leftovers… he can’t help but feel a little displeased.

“You have a spare ticket?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

“I always buy the seats at either side of mine. I’d rather not sit next to strangers.”

“I’ll go. I have nothing better to do around here anyway,” Sukuna says, with a voice that sounds like he’s doing you a big favour. Maybe he’ll take this chance to learn a thing or two more about you.

“Wonderful. I’ve also ordered room service for us, so we can have breakfast together if you’d like?”

That seems to have appeased him a bit, which forms a little smile on your face.

Perhaps around an hour and a half later, the two of you leave the hotel to head over to the auditorium, which requires only a short walk.

Sukuna trails behind you as you stride over towards your seats, where you’re able to make yourself comfortable. From this location in the auditorium, you catch sight of people clambering around towards their seats below. There’s still a bit of time left before the show begins.

He falls quiet for a few seconds, which makes you give him a discreet little glance.

“I’m surprised you actually came all the way out here with me,” you tell him, in order to strike up some sort of conversation.

“I figured that even a dull piano recital would be better than being stuck in my room all day,” Sukuna responds with nonchalance, crossing his legs.

“You wouldn’t know that it’s dull yet, would you? It hasn’t even started yet.”

“I guess you’re correct. You did prove me wrong before, after all.”

You make a quizzical expression at him, and a sly smirk creeps up onto his features.

“Your wedding dress. It was unique. Beautiful, even,” he admits.

A moment of realisation later, you let out a small chuckle.

He’s a little disappointed by that response. He’d like to catch you looking all flustered, one of these days.

“I’m glad you were able to learn something from our wedding,” you tell him.

“And of course,” he continues, “the one wearing it, even more so.”

“Why, thank you very much. You looked quite stunning as well. I knew that suit would compliment you nicely.”

The conversation is cut off when the concert begins with the lights dimming, as a pianist makes their way onto the large stage.

More than the music itself, Sukuna was finding that his attention was garnering towards your reactions more. You seem to be enjoying yourself.

…Though it wasn’t long before he was beginning to zone out a little, being easily disengaged with the concert, as he isn’t exactly one for piano music.

By the end of the show, you see that he is very eager to leave the auditorium. You can’t help the childish way the corners of your lips rise in response. He’s quite easy to read, at least when it comes to these smaller moments.

“Why don’t you get up on stage yourself next time? That’d be something more worthwhile to watch,” he says, bringing an image of you sitting before the large instrument up in his mind.

“You must be an avid fan of the piano,” Sukuna says with a grunt, as they leave the bustling area.

“Only casually, every now and then. Out of everything I was required to learn as a child, I liked the piano the most.”

“I’m flattered that you think so. But I prefer listening over playing it myself.”

Your words erase the image out of his mind.

The rest of the “honeymoon” goes by without much happening between the two of you, only quietly sharing meals together or the occasional drinking session; though neither of you were able to get drunk - due to being a tad too cautious around each other.

Your first day back at the office felt quite refreshing.

Everyone was busy, and the hotel’s wedding venues especially; as you had predicted, there was an overflow of requests coming in from couples who had seen the photos of your marriage on the website. They did come out very beautifully - almost like something out of a scene in a film. It was worth paying those photographers the good money.

At your desk, you scroll through the various article titles that have been published on several gossip sites – featuring the topic of your wedding mainly focusing on Sukuna.

[Sukuna, a CEO notorious for breaking the hearts of many actresses, gets married?]

[CEO of Malevolent Casino settles down for owner of Golden Rose Enterprise. A match made in heaven?]

[A womaniser reformed, CEO of Malevolent Casino enters wedlock!]

Oh, how you laughed until your stomach hurt. You can imagine the kind of face he’d make if he read any of these titles. The overwhelming attention is even better than you had expected. You even have a few interview requests from some of these gossip magazines. Doing a few of them wouldn’t hurt, would it?

The two of you have even set up a shared home, put together by Sukuna himself, just in case there comes a moment when you need it. Though you weren’t very happy about the design choices he’d made, when furnishing the place. For now, an agreement was made that living under the same roof together was not necessary.

Later in the day, you receive a call from the man himself.

“So, are you enjoying the fruits of our labour?” he asks as soon as you pick up.

“Yes, it truly is satisfying. Getting married at our venues seems to have become a little trend now,” you tell him proudly.

“Good for you. I hope you’re remembering your part of the deal, however,” he states with warning, “I’m yet to see any of those fruits growing on my end.”

You chuckle a little at his words.

“Of course I do. I have something in mind that will help with that,” you reassure him.

“But before we go into any detail for it…” you say, as you read over the email for an interview request on your computer screen, “let’s do one interview, about our marriage.”

You smile as you hear Sukuna make a little noise of grimace from his end.

“This better be worth doing,” Sukuna mutters, as he walks alongside you in the corridor, towards where the interview will take place.

“I wouldn’t suggest doing anything that’s a waste of time,” you tell him with confidence.

His expression of indignance doesn’t change.

“After all, it’s a good opportunity to have this attention on us last a little longer,” you add on.

“I already figured. Aren’t you mooching off of my image a bit too much?” he narrows his eyes at you.

“Oh, don’t be like that. I was thinking we could start the planning for that collaboration of ours soon. Wouldn’t that be to your liking?”

That seems to quell his discontent, for now. You open the door at the end of the corridor.

“The two of you have stirred the media up quite a bit through your sudden marriage! Please tell us your story on how you first met each other.”

The interviewer speaks to you and Sukuna with a bright smile, gesturing politely towards the vague direction between you both. Of course, you had prepared a little bit of a script for both yourself and him, but he’d brushed it off, saying that he was able to wing something like this easily.

“Well, our first meeting was-”

“It’s rather cliche, but we met at a bar,” he cuts you off abruptly. It catches you off-guard. You only hope that he won’t say anything unnecessary.

“I was the one that approached her, after catching her gaze from across where she sat,” he continues, crossing his legs. The excited interviewer types away on her laptop, recording his words.

“My! That does sound romantic. Please do give us more details.”

Sukuna does an excellent job at mixing the truth with his lies, and surprisingly enough, you’re the one sitting in silence as he does most of the talking while you act as backup to his story. It’s even better than the script you’d made up originally. He’s clearly picked up the skill to smoothly manipulate his stories.

“Our last question in the interview is directed towards the both of you. What compelled the two of you to choose each other for marriage? What do you love most about one another?”

A question that wasn’t on the damn script. They always love to sneak a few extras in like this. And technically that was two questions, not one. Sukuna is about to express his displeasure towards the interviewer, but you speak up before he does.

“I appreciated his very forward way of approaching me. How he’s difficult to read, granting him a more mysterious appeal. Arguably arrogant at times, but rightfully so, considering how clever and charming he is. For one second I was only a little intrigued by him, but then in the other…he’d suddenly become the apple of my eye.”

How do you say all of that without batting an eyelash? Part of him wonders if you perhaps meant any of it, even just a little.

“That is wonderful! I understand why you’d be infatuated. What about you, Mr. Ryomen? Did you also feel equally as captivated?”

He certainly won’t lose to you.

“...But of course. Her strong sense of independence. How competent she is. She mentioned that I’m difficult to read - but that hardly seems to be the case. She reads me like a book, and I find that so interesting,” Sukuna looks at you with a smirk and naturally places his hand over yours, squeezing lightly.

“It had been a while since I’d chased after someone rather than be chased – but that only made our relationship all the more sweeter.”

You’re impressed with how willingly he shot back at you, with his impromptu speech. The interviewer, oblivious, swoons as the two of you exchange smiles.

“There were nothing but satisfying answers during this session. Thank you so much for your participation!”

The interview is wrapped up nicely, and the two of you walk out after shaking hands with her.

Your insincere wordings are sickeningly sweet, like caramel, clinging onto him with its viscous texture.

“The apple of your eye, huh?” he goads, eyeing your response.

“Yes, my dear husband. The apple of my eye,” you repeat, with a relaxed demeanor.

“Very endearing,” he says – with venom in his tone.

A car awaits outside for the two of you, its engine already on and ready to drive off.

“While we’re here, perhaps we should talk about the event I’ve set up for us,” you tell him, fastening your seatbelt.

Sukuna opens his eyes instantaneously. He’s going to do… what?

“Go on, I’m listening,” he says, crossing his arms and resting his head back with his eyes closed.

“We’re going to do some volunteer work at an aged care facility,” you say bluntly, paying no mind to his dismissive posture.

Judging from that reaction, apparently not.

“Are you fucking around with me?”

“No? Actually, I was half expecting that you would’ve seen this coming.”

“This is still only phase one – improving your reputation. I’m even organising a few journalists to publish an article for us,” you tell him unapologetically.

He looks comically displeased.

“There’s a lot of guilt that follows when it comes to a hobby like gambling. It’s already considered a taboo, but with a company holding an unfavourable image like yours, newcomers are hesitant. Our partnership isn’t enough to put all of that behind,” you explain.

“And if I said no?”

“This isn’t for me more than it is for you.”

“You must be joking. How is taking care of some old fossils beneficial to me?”

“Let’s just say that it’s a ploy,” you start.

Sukuna rolls his eyes, despite knowing that you’re correct on that.

“I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

“Addicts are constantly looking for excuses to be addicted. What’ll happen if they believe you made this company for a good cause?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” he scoffs, returning to his former attitude. “And I’m guessing you expect me to throw in a donation there too.”

Sukuna grunts with annoyance.

His aloofness resembles the behaviour of an unhappy child – but you don’t dare tell him that aloud.

“It’ll only be a few hours of work. Get a couple of good photos in and we’ll be done,” you say, sympathetically.

“How reassuring.” He doesn’t bother to look your way again.

Sukuna is used to doing things forcefully. If there’s something that he wants, he’ll pluck it out of the hands of another, regardless of if it’ll affect that person or not. If there’s a crowd of people around him, he’ll push and shove them out of his way, not caring whether someone gets trampled or not. And if there’s anyone that inconveniences him… he doesn’t hesitate to kick them down, until they’re crying on their knees for forgiveness.

And yet…. And yet…

Here he is, standing behind a table, wearing a tacky apron over his dashing suit as he dishes out soup for an old geezer, using a ladle. There’s a smile on his face, but a vein popping out on his forehead. The littlest inconvenience could make him lash out at somebody here.

He pours soup into the tray for the next elderly woman that is in line.

He wordlessly gives her a third scoop.

“More please,” she asks of him.

“Alright, sure,” he tells her, doing his best to sound friendly. Another scoop.

“Again,” she says.

“I want more!”

Her tray is already filled to the brim with soup, any more and she’ll end up spilling everything on her way to a table.

Sukuna is about to lose it.

She complacently walks off to find a seat somewhere, holding her tray.

“Ma’am, if you get any more, you’ll end up spilling it over. You can always come back for seconds. Promise we’ll still be here,” you butt in, before he blows over a fuse.

“Oh… alright then.”

You can barely contain the sigh that nearly spills out of your lungs.

“If you explain it to them clearly, they usually listen,” you tell him with a low voice, after she’s gone.

“Too bad I don’t wanna explain shit,” he very graciously responds.

Shortly after, you and Sukuna get your own portions of the same meals given to the elderly for lunch.

He kisses his teeth loudly and chucks his spoon down onto his tray, before getting up abruptly.

“Everything is lukewarm,” he comments, frowning.

“Can’t be helped. It’s a safety precaution, in case they burn themselves.”

You clearly note how the direction he heads towards is not where the restrooms are.

“Where are you going?”

“To the bathroom,” he lies without hesitation.

Fuck this whole event. Fuck this place. He considers leaving for a moment, but is quick to discard that idea, knowing he’ll hear no end of it from you afterwards. Only a few more hours to go, anyway. He steps outside, taking a quick scan of the area to make sure nobody is around before pulling a cigarette and lighter out from his pocket.

Lodging it between his lips, he uses his lighter against the end, but it seems to fail at producing any flames, adding on to his frustration.

He ignores you, because at this point, he knows nothing nice will come out of his mouth if he starts talking now. Why isn’t this goddamn thing working?

“Useless piece of shit,” he mutters, continuing his frantic attempts at the sparkwheel.

“Smoking is prohibited in this area,” a voice that he knows all too well comes from behind.

You stand beside him and hold something up with your hand. He sees that it’s a lighter.

He lights his cigarette, returns your lighter and then takes a big puff. He looks more noticeably relaxed.

“...You smoke?” he asks, taking it from your hand.

“Used to,” you tell him, crossing your arms.

“Just this once. Make it quick,” you tell him, looking around for people.

He lets out a short, curt hmph and blows another gust of smoke out.

“So what did you follow me all the way out here for? To babysit me?” Sukuna asks, still being quite moody about the situation.

“Looks like you already know. I thought it’d be best to keep an eye on you.”

He was going to shoot back with another snarky response, but a couple of voices could be heard coming from somewhere nearby. Before he can say a word on it, you’re suddenly grabbing his hand and dragging him away, elsewhere. The two of you end up in the area behind the building.

“Feel better now?” you say.

“Barely. Let’s finish this and go home already,” he grunts, dropping the cigarette butt onto the ground and putting it out with his foot.

“You should probably pick that up.”

All because of that… he thinks. Sukuna watches as you peer around the place, seeing if anyone is around again. A smirk slowly crawls up onto his face.

“Why the hell did we need to run? We could’ve just gone back in,” he says, raising an eyebrow.

“If they approached us, they would’ve smelled the smoke. You still reek of tobacco.”

“You sure that’s the only reason? Dragging me all the way here. By the hand, not to mention.”

He corners you against the wall behind you, trapping you between his arms.

“Who knows, I might even behave a little more if you help me relieve some stress,” he continues, looking down at you with sultry eyes. You don’t look flustered in the least, which kind of irks him.

To his confusion, you grab something out of your pocket. It’s packaged in plastic, and you make quick work to unwrap it.

His eyes then widen, when you grab his face and slip something inside his mouth, pushing it past his lips. Swiping his tongue over it, he realises it’s a mint lolly.

“Stop joking around, and chew on this instead. Maybe that’ll pipe you down,” you tell him, as you slip out from his trap by ducking underneath his arms. “And it’ll help get rid of the smell, while it’s at it.”

“Come. We’re going back inside.”

His eyes follow you as you begin walking back already without him. He even considers spitting this lolly down to the ground. But he doesn’t.

Sukuna was very dismayed once they had gotten back. They found that lunch break was over and there were dishes to be done. By them.

He gnaws on the lolly as he shoves the last tray into the dishwasher. It gets shut, and with the press of a button, it begins its work. Turning around, he sees you at the sink, manually washing some dishes up, because there’s only so much that a dishwasher can contain.

“Look at you, doing such a good job. You should do this professionally,” he comments, coming up from behind. He really has nothing serious to say today.

Your flat reply kills his playful banter immediately, and he can’t help but narrow his eyes as the last of the lolly melts away in his mouth. He aggressively puts on some rubber gloves and pushes you aside at the sink.

“Mind lending a hand?” you ask him, without looking back.

“I don’t know if I feel like helping.”

“Alright - don’t, then.”

There’s a smile that blooms on your face when you look at him in this moment, and it’s genuine, which is kind of rare, coming from you. Your reaction makes the dishes worth doing for just a bit, at the very least. He thinks.

“We’ll take years to get back home at your pace. Not doing it for you, so don’t misunderstand.”

“...Yes, I’m aware.”

Not long later, someone comes along inside – the same old lady that had asked for extra soup from Sukuna earlier on. He’s never been more appalled to see someone again.

“You missed this one!” she says, holding up a dirty spoon.

She approaches slowly, but somehow misses a step and stumbles a little, causing the spoon to smear over Sukuna’s suit, just below the shoulder area.

“Oh… dearie me. My legs don’t work the way they used to,” the woman mutters, looking down at her limbs. After dropping the spoon off in the sink, she pats him on the back.

“Sorry, young man,” she says, before trudging away again.

The two of you stand in silence, with Sukuna having a darkened expression on his face.

Your stifled laughter breaks it, and he whips around to see you enjoying this shitty situation.

“That hag…” he mutters, popping out a vein again on his forehead.

He hears another chuckle from you.

He’s left alone with his simmering anger for a few moments, until you come back holding a packet of wet wipes. Adjusting his position by grabbing his shoulders, you begin wiping away the…remnants of what was on the spoon from his clothes. He grimaces with disgust.

“Quit laughing! Fuck’s sake, I’m gonna leave-”

“Wait here,” you cut him off, degloving yourself.

“Alright then, as you wish.”

“You wore a dark colour today, so it should be fine.”

“Fine? Nothing will be fine until I get back at that old witch.”

“Don’t be like that to a frail old woman. I’ll buy you a new suit if it bothers you so much.”

“...Forget it. I can buy my own suits without your help,” he grumbles, getting back to the dishes.

After wrapping up the day with the remaining formalities, you and Sukuna exit the facility, into the car park. You crack another smile when he immediately takes his jacket off and chucks it at Uraume, who catches it gracefully, being accustomed to this sort of behaviour.

“Get it cleaned thoroughly. For now, I want it out of my sight,” he says sternly, loosening his tie. He wants to go home and shower. Never coming back to this godforsaken place again.

Just a few days later, the finalised draft of the article that is to be published online is sent to your email. It mentions the volunteer work you and Sukuna had done during the day, and also talks briefly about the generous donation that was given to the facility – just the way you’d requested them to. Sukuna won’t be too happy about the photos that show him wearing that apron, but it’s a well worth sacrifice to make. It's during these times, where you’re grateful for the connections you have with the media. You send them the approval email in response.

Once the article is published, you forward the link for Sukuna to see.

He skims through the blocks of uninteresting text on the site, and abruptly stops scrolling when he gets to the photos that have been added in.

There are key moments that had been photographed; when they were serving the food, when they were helping with the dishes, and when they shook hands with the one in charge of that facility. But the image that stands out to him the most, is the one taken when they were manually washing some trays together.

His own face isn’t visible because he has his back to the camera, but your genuine smile, as you’re looking at him, can be seen clear as day.

“The photographer deserves a raise,” he speaks to himself.

When’s the next time he’ll ever get an expression like that out of you again?

…He shuts his laptop screen down. It doesn’t matter, anyway. He’s not here to try and make you happy, after all.

-- To be continued --

Masterlist

#sukuna #sukuna x reader #sukuna x you #sukuna x y/n #ryomen sukuna x reader #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader

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