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sweet tooth | ryomen sukuna

episode 4: expectations are too high

pairing: ryomen sukuna x fem!reader (university au)

summary: sukuna has a notorious reputation on campus of being terrifying, but it's hard to be too scared of the guy when he shows up to your family’s failing bakery every day to buy strawberry shortbread.

when your life feels like its falling apart you discover just how sweet he can be.

word count: 8k

content: 18+ mdni, eventual smut, university au, FLUFF, angst, humor, slow burn, idiots in love, miscommunication, parental illness/death, grief, toxic ex-bf, money issues, stress and overwork, introverted reader, both sukuna and reader are SO confused

a/n: sorry for the delay on this chapter I had some heavy life stuff to deal with but I'm back and should be updating regularly again! also sorry this chapter is so long lol

series masterlist | ao3 | previous chapter (ch3) | next chapter (ch5)

Friday rolled around in no time at all and you found yourself almost surprised at just how quickly the week had gotten away from you.

Between the day that you spent at your dad’s bedside and all the extra hours that you’d picked up at the bakery to account for the fact that he was completely bedridden right now, your schedule had been packed to the brim.

You’d managed to convince the uni to defer some of your deadlines to next week, which they were completely understanding of given your father’s condition, but you still didn’t feel like you had any time to just take a breath. It was like you were living your life constantly on edge, always waiting for the next thing to go wrong.

More and more had been falling through the cracks lately. You hadn’t spoken to your friends in weeks, generally not even finding the energy to reply to their texts; you’d been neglecting to take care of yourself too, skipping meals and often going days without showering - too tired to go through the motions when you’d return home late at night and exhausted.

You’d had more than a few breakdowns under the safety of your duvet, wrapping yourself in a blanket and sobbing until there were no tears left to cry. The stress of being majorly overworked was one thing, but more than anything you just couldn’t cope with the reality that your father was dying, dread tugging at your soul at every given moment.

It had been easier to pretend that things were okay with him before this week’s visit to the hospital. You’d always known that his death was inevitable, something that would find him sooner rather than later, but you’d always been able to push it to the back of your mind. You no longer had that luxury. You’d seen him there on that IV drip, witnessed firsthand how frail he was now.

Pretending that everything was okay wasn’t possible anymore.

Over the last few days you’d considered calling Sukuna when things got bad. It was an offer that he’d put on the table for you, after all. But you didn’t want to be a burden to him, didn’t want to lean on him with your problems when he was out enjoying life - that wouldn’t be fair.

Besides, his offer was probably just him being polite - something that he suggested because he cared about your father. You doubted that he really expected you to take him up on it. So each time you felt the urge and hovered your finger over the call button on his contact, you talked yourself out of it.

He didn’t really want to hear you sobbing again.

Although, sometimes you let yourself entertain the fantasy that his care for you was genuine, especially when he was sending you so many texts all the time. He’d message to tell you about his day, his thoughts on the Ship of Theseus, ask you for book recommendations and send you movie recommendations in return.

On one of the many late nights where you were sobbing in your bed watching sad edits synced to Let Down by Radiohead, Sukuna even sent you a message asking if you were okay and telling you to go to sleep, since it was so late.

It made your heart flutter that he must’ve noticed your online status and taken the time to check up on you. You’d really considered calling him that evening, wondering if he was lying in bed like you were, clutching his phone as he waited for you to respond.

You doubted it.

He was probably doing something cool, definitely not wallowing in his own suffering by watching sad things that were just going to make him feel worse. No, that was certainly an experience unique to you right now.

So you’d held off on ringing him, even if you did yearn to hear his voice. He was probably with his friends, maybe even with some other girl - you calling him would be a major inconvenience.

You’d shot him back a text telling him that you were okay, and that you were going to bed. At least his text had saved you from your doomscrolling, and meant that you woke up relatively refreshed on Friday morning.

It was hard to ever really feel good these days, with so many worries pressing down on you at any given moment. But that morning you at least felt hopeful that you might have a better day than usual, excitement buzzing in your chest at the thought of spending time with Sukuna.

Perhaps you were more excited than really necessary, considering that it was just a study session, but you’d been thinking about him far more than you liked to admit lately, heart racing each time he popped into your head. You couldn’t stop thinking about how much interest he’d shown in you, how gentle he’d been with you on the phone.

You needed to be careful, couldn’t let your heart run wild with desire for him when Nanami had so clearly laid out his reputation. Not to mention, Sukuna had made it clear that he wasn’t interested in a one night stand with you - whatever he wanted from you, it evidently wasn’t anything greater than friendship.

But that didn’t stop you from feeling excited. Your body didn’t know that you weren’t meant to be feeling that way about him.

What did temper your excitement was you meeting with your friends that morning, shortly before you were scheduled to meet up with Sukuna.

Utahime had caught you in the library after one of your lectures and encouraged you to join her and your other friends in the cafeteria to hang out for a little bit, emphasizing just how little time you’d been spending with them lately.

Admittedly, her whole speech had made you feel a bit guilty, and you weren’t the sort of person who wanted to be responsible for the sadness of others, so you’d willingly gone along with her request despite having lots of work to catch up on. If you were willing to give up time for Sukuna, it was only fair that you’d give up time for your friends too.

But if you’d have known just how much the hangout was going to drain your social battery, you definitely would’ve stood your ground and told her that you really needed to study.

Things had started off okay, normal even, with Utahime bringing you over to the table and no one making a big fuss out of your unusual presence, simply bringing you in naturally to the big debate that they were having about Shoko’s love life.

It had made you feel calm, a little less shitty about the fact that you’d been avoiding these people for weeks. You’d been convinced that if you showed up again to hang out they’d start asking questions about why you’d been so distant lately and you’d have to lie out of your ass to avoid an awkward conversation.

But that wasn’t what happened. You were free to sit back, feeling completely welcome as you listened to Shoko and Yuki bicker, with Utahime, Nanami and Ino chiming in every now and then to take sides or voice an opinion. It felt almost like things were normal - as if you’d never left.

That was, until your phone chimed with a message.

[Sukuna]: my lecture finished early so i’m outside the main hall already

[Sukuna]: no rush though idk if you’re still in class

You didn’t think anything of it as you saw the notifications on the screen, heart fluttering a little at the sight of his contact name, excited at the thought of him waiting for you just outside. Fumbling under the table you reached for your bag, only for Utahime’s voice to cut you off.

“Sukuna?” She asked in disbelief, brow furrowed as she stared down at your phone on the table.

Hands faltering, you turned to her, a pang of anxiety shooting through you at the displeasure in her tone. You hadn’t expected Utahime to know Sukuna - you hadn’t known him until recently after all. Nanami was the only one who you’d assumed would know him thanks to his association with Satoru and that whole popular crowd.

Clearly you’d thought wrong.

“Uh, yeah.” You swiped your phone from the table, as if removing it from your friend’s view would lead her to forget what she’d seen.

“Ryomen Sukuna? Face tattoos, pink hair, basketball team? That Sukuna?” She asked, still clearly in shock. You weren’t sure of his surname, you’d assumed that it was Itadori like his father Wasuke, but the rest of her description lined up.

You nodded slowly, feeling a bit nervous under her scrutiny. Knowing that Sukuna was already waiting outside had you wanting to leave as soon as possible, desperate to prove to him that your absence the other day had been completely unlike you.

Unfortunately Utahime clearly wasn’t done with you, and her accusatory tone had drawn the attention of everyone else at the table - the last thing that you wanted right now.

“Why?”

You weren’t really sure what to say to that.

Despite being familiar with his reputation thanks to your discussion with Nanami, you weren’t sure exactly what Utahime or any of your other friends thought of him - clearly it wasn’t something positive though. You weren’t keen on telling them that you’d met him at the bakery, cautious that might lead to questions about why you were working there now.

Besides, if Sukuna valued a certain reputation he probably didn’t want you telling anyone that he ordered strawberry shortcake and read thought-provoking literature.

“I’m helping him study.” You said simply, figuring that was the easiest answer without going into any details. And that likely would've been enough for Utahime if not for the fact that Nanami was frustratingly observant.

“Oh, what class do you share?” The blonde asked, pushing his glasses up his nose as he surveyed you, clearly not content with that answer.

It didn’t help that you’d lied when asking him about Sukuna the other day, approaching him after class and asking if he knew anything about a scary-looking pink-haired man, claiming that you’d happened to run into him in the hall and were simply intrigued with who he was. Now that he was sending you texts, it was clear that you’d already known Sukuna’s name long before Nanami had told it to you.

Feigning ignorance to your friend probably hadn’t been the smartest idea.

“We…don’t. He’s taking a class I did last year and asked me to tutor him.”

Not technically a lie.

“How did he find out you’d taken that class?” Shoko asked, deciding to throw her hat into the ring on questioning your current life choices.

“The lecturer recommended me.” The lie spilled from your lips easily. “I got full marks on all the assignments last year, she suggested Sukuna talk to me since he was struggling.”

Most of your friends seemed to buy that response. You were one of the most diligent students out there, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched for a lecturer to suggest that someone seek out your help. But it was clear that Nanami didn’t buy it, his expression filled with skepticism.

“Even so, you shouldn’t get involved with him.” Utahime said quickly. “You probably don’t know because you haven’t been very social lately, but he’s not the sort of guy you want to be spending time with.”

“I think I can make my own judgments.” You said, trying not to sound too bitter. You knew that Utahime meant well, and that she was just trying to look out for you, but with everything going on lately you weren’t keen on hearing a lecture from her right now.

“I just think you don’t know what you’re getting into.”

You shrugged. “He’s been pleasant enough, it's just studying.”

“Yeah, but he’s probably only doing it so that you’ll fuck him.” Shoko said plainly, voicing the words that Utahime seemed to be struggling to say. “He’s fucked half the girls on campus at this point.”

The way that your chest tightened at her words was unpleasant. You shouldn’t care about that - who he was having sex with was totally irrelevant, it had nothing to do with your friendship with him. And yet you found yourself feeling a little worse than you had just moments before.

“I don’t think so. And I’m not going to do that with him anyway.” Your tone was growing defensive, a little offended that they were treating you like some naive child who couldn’t think for herself.

Shoko shrugged, clearly not invested enough in the matter to fight you on it. She wasn’t the type of woman who liked to put too much effort into things, much more interested in the fun things in life rather than arguing with her friends. Thankfully Yuki and Ino were the same - listening, but clearly unwilling to take a side.

The same couldn’t be said for Utahime and Nanami, who still didn’t seem to be done with their anti-Sukuna rhetoric.

“Fine, but even if you won’t sleep with him he’s bad news. That whole little group sucks, I hope Satoru chokes to death one day. You shouldn’t be associating with the likes of them.” Utahime continued.

“They’re not all bad actually.” Shoko chimed in. “Suguru lends me cigarettes sometimes in our design class.”

“Yeah, I’ve slept with Choso and he treated me sooo nice.” Yuki agreed with a proud grin.

“Regardless.” Nanami said, swiftly moving the conversation back on track. “Sukuna isn’t someone that you want to be dealing with. He was a menace back in first year when I was roommates with Satoru. One time I went to get a snack from the common space and he was fucking some girl on the couch.”

You were quick to dismiss the intrusive thought that popped up in your mind yearning to be that girl, wondering what it would be like to have his attention like that. It wasn’t in your best interest - that was exactly what you were being warned against right now.

“I mean, that was years ago. People change.” You pointed out.

“Maybe, but I’m sure he hasn’t.”

“It’s true.” Yuki interjected. “This cheerleader, Yorozu, is in one of my classes and it sounds like he treats her like shit but she’s still obsessed with him for some reason.”

You nibbled anxiously on your lip, feeling completely ganged up on. You really didn’t feel like explaining yourself, or outlining just why you felt they had the wrong idea about Sukuna and his intentions with you.

“I think you should go back to Hiromi.” Utahime said matter-of-factly. “Nanami was talking with him recently and it seems like he’s keen to give things another try.”

You instinctively scrunched up your nose at the mention of your ex-boyfriend. Your friends hadn’t been aware of the details around why the two of you broke up at the end of your first year in university, but you certainly wouldn’t be taking Utahime’s advice and going back to him.

Not when he was largely responsible for how antisocial you’d become.

“I’m good.” You muttered.

It wasn’t her fault that she didn’t know just how badly the relationship with Hiromi had impacted you. It was something that you’d always intentionally kept to yourself, not big on your friends prying into your life and trying to offer you sympathy. But there was a part of you that wished they did know so they’d stop bringing him up to you as a romantic prospect every five minutes.

“I don’t think you’re good if you’re hanging out with Sukuna.” She shot back.

You ignored that, getting to your feet as you pulled your bag out from under the table. The morning hadn’t really gone the way you’d wanted it to. Considering that you’d been feeling pretty good when you woke up, you were really regretting letting Utahime pull you over here.

Even if they did have your best interest at heart, spending time with Sukuna today was one thing that you’d actually been looking forward to, and now it felt like all the excitement had been sucked from you.

“I appreciate your concern. I’ll catch you guys later.” Your voice was flat as you glanced over at your friends.

Utahime and Nanami still looked frustrated, but the expressions on Ino, Yuki and Shoko’s faces came across as more sympathetic, perhaps guilty that you’d ended up feeling singled out at the first lunch that you’d attended with them in ages.

“Babe.” Shoko called out as you turned to leave. “Let's have a spa day soon, yeah? I miss hanging out.” Her soft brown eyes were fixed on you, clearly making an attempt to make amends, not quite sure when she’d next see you considering how illusive you’d been lately.

“Sure.” You gave her a nod and a half smile, knowing that you wouldn’t be free to attend a spa day anytime soon. You were barely balancing everything as it was, there just wasn’t enough time for you to go and relax with your friends. Perhaps once summer break rolled around things would be different.

You’d just have to wait and see.

It felt like a relief to escape the overbearing presence of your friends as you made your way out of the cafeteria and to the front of the main hall, heart thumping against your ribcage as you noticed Sukuna on the sidewalk.

He looked good, wearing an oversized red t-shirt with the name of a band you didn’t recognise, and a pair of black cargo trousers. His hair was a little messier than usual, as if he’d been running his hands frequently through his messy pink locks. A cigarette was hanging loosely between his lips.

You began to make your way over to him, his red eyes shooting up to look at you with interest as he noticed you approaching. But before you could get too close Nanami’s voice was calling out your name from behind you.

You weren’t keen on tearing your gaze from Sukuna, not when laying your eyes on him had butterflies swarming in your stomach in such a pleasant manner. But you and Nanami went way back, and you weren’t going to straight up ignore him even if he had frustrated you earlier.

“Sorry.” Nanami said, bowing his head apologetically as you turned to face him. “That ambush wasn’t what you deserved, especially when I know socialising has been difficult for you lately.”

Nanami was the only one in your friend group who had a deeper understanding of you. You’d known each other since middle school, and while he wasn’t aware of a lot of things like your father’s condition, he knew you well enough to understand that something wasn’t right at the moment.

“Yeah, it was a bit intense.” You agreed, shooting a glance over to Sukuna whose fingers were wrapped around his cigarette now, brow furrowed as he watched you speak to Nanami. He was probably slightly too far away to hear what was being said, a fact that you were grateful for considering that the conversation was indirectly about him.

“We’re just looking out for you, but you’re right - you’re not a child, and you're perfectly capable of making your own decisions.”

“Thank you.” You said cautiously, fully aware that Nanami wasn’t finished yet.

“But, I do just ask that you consider the things that we’ve said about him.” Nanami threw a stern glance over your shoulder in Sukuna’s direction. “I won’t try to make you stop hanging around with him if that’s what you want to do, but he’s not a nice man. He’s crude, he’s violent, and I don’t feel that he has any real respect for women.”

“Right.”

That wasn’t the impression that you’d gotten from Sukuna at all in the time that you’d spent with him so far. He’d stopped you from being harassed by those guys, showed interest in the book you were reading, and had spent the last couple of years entertaining your dad and his rambling stories.

It just didn’t line up with the warnings that people were giving you.

“Utahime was right about Hiromi, by the way. We’ve been chatting a lot in class lately and he’s been asking about you. I know things didn’t end well but he really misses you.”

“Mmm.” You didn’t dignify that with a response.

The story that you’d fed your friends was that the two of you had grown apart and he’d ended things and broken your heart. There was much more to it than that but you didn’t think they needed to know the details. When things had ended you’d assumed that you wouldn’t be seeing Hiromi again.

You certainly didn’t think he’d be popping up again over a year after things had ended.

“Just think about it?” Nanami offered. “You guys made a good couple, and I know he’d treat you much better than Sukuna, if you’re even remotely thinking of heading down that road.” You had to hold back a scoff, knowing that even with Sukuna’s reputation you doubted that he’d cause you the mental anguish that your relationship with Hiromi had.

“Sure.” You replied passively, knowing that arguing with Nanami was pointless, it was wiser to just listlessly agree until he felt his point had been made.

His brown eyes narrowed, clearly not sure that you were really taking in what he was saying. Your gaze kept straying over to Sukuna who’d finished his cigarette now and had stuffed his hands into his pockets, watching you carefully, his expression unreadable. For a moment you thought you saw a flicker of frustration, but you couldn’t be sure.

“Thank you.” Nanami said simply, an awkward silence settling over the two of you.

“I don’t want to keep him waiting.” You gestured over to Sukuna, figuring that this was your cue to leave. “I’ll catch you later Nanami.”

“Later.” You could feel Nanami’s judgemental gaze burning a hole through your back as you walked away, but you found it hard to care too much when Sukuna was smirking at you like he was right now.

“Hey Angel.” He purred as you approached, red eyes flickering over your form and leaving you blushing.

“Hey.”

“Everything okay?” He asked, momentarily glancing past you to where Nanami was still watching from a distance. “He seems unhappy.”

You shrugged. “Like I said before, he’s overprotective. It's no big deal.”

Despite your reassurance, Sukuna seemed a little skeptical. His gaze lingered on the blonde for a while as he let out a hum of acknowledgement. It was clear that Sukuna didn’t like Nanami any more than Nanami liked him. Not like it was particularly surprising - they seemed to be complete opposites.

“You ready to go?” Sukuna asked, returning his attention to you.

“Sure. Do you have somewhere in mind?”

“There’s a great burger place not far from here, been meaning to try it for a while.”

That sounded like a good suggestion as far as you were concerned. Lately your meals had consisted of pre-made sandwiches or onigiri from 7/11, and you were certain that those items weren’t providing you with all the nutrients that your body actually needed. Something with actual substance would do you good right now.

“Can we walk? Or do we need to get the train?”

“I can give you a lift.” He gestured to the black motorbike parked on the side of the road behind him and your eyes went wide with surprise, not realising that belonged to him. You’d never been on a motorbike before, and the thought of riding on one made you feel a little unnerved.

Before you could protest Sukuna was grabbing the red helmet that sat on the seat and pressing it into your hands. “Put it on.” He said softly. You turned the object over in your hands, admiring the stickers that adorned the shiny material. They seemed to be stickers for various metal bands, but just like the one on his t-shirt, they weren’t names or logos that you recognised.

“What about you?” You asked, noting that he only seemed to have one helmet.

He shrugged. “I’ll drive slow, more important I keep you safe.”

You desperately tried to stifle the swarm of butterflies fluttering in your chest at those words, reminding yourself that after all the warnings from your friends, you should at least make half an effort to not let Sukuna completely hold your heart in his hands.

Pulling the helmet over your head, you looked up at him for guidance, not sure what he wanted you to do next. It must’ve been a source of amusement for him because he let out a short chuckle as he looked down at you. Perhaps you looked a little ridiculous wearing his helmet.

He swung one leg over the motorbike, settling down on the seat before turning to look at you. “Climb on behind me and hold on.”

Blinking a couple of times, you tried to process those words. He wanted you to hold onto him? You really hoped Nanami wasn’t still standing there watching because he’d probably throw a fit if he saw you gripping onto Sukuna on the back of his motorbike.

But you weren’t about to turn the opportunity down with Sukuna looking at you the way he was.

Carefully, you clambered onto the motorbike behind him, almost stumbling as you swung your leg over and tugging instinctively on the back of his shirt to regain your balance. He was laughing at the effort that you were exerting, encouraging you to wrap your arms around him once you were finally settled.

You were grateful for the helmet hiding your face as you did as he asked, your cheeks burning a deep shade of crimson as you slid your arms around his mid-section, holding on to him tightly. Where your hands were resting you could feel the hard plane of his abs beneath his baggy shirt, and you tried to stay as still as possible, not wanting to seem like you were feeling him up.

Even if you sort of did want to touch him more.

He chucked once more, the sound rumbling through his body. “You don’t have to be so stiff. I don’t bite.”

Those words did nothing to really get you to relax, now just more anxious about the fact that Sukuna was aware that you were acting a little weird in this situation. But he said no more on the matter, offering you one more reminder to cling on to him tightly before speeding off down the road.

As you headed off you caught one last glimpse of Nanami, still standing outside the hall. He was watching you and Sukuna with a tightly clenched jaw, clearly not happy with what he’d just seen but powerless to really do anything. There was no doubt in your mind that you’d be receiving a strongly worded text message from him later.

But that was a problem for another time.

It was exhilarating being on the back of Sukuna’s motorbike, the wind whipping against your skin as he sped through the streets of Ueno. He’d said that he’d take things slow, but to you it felt like you were moving very fast, and you weren’t quite sure if you were enjoying it or if you felt a bit like you wanted to throw up.

Either way, Sukuna got you there in one piece, pulling up at a cute little place tucked away down a side street. He pulled up outside and hopped off the motorbike, holding out his hand to help you climb off safely. Electricity pulsed through your veins as his fingers brushed against yours, and you sucked in a deep breath to try and steady your racing heart.

If Sukuna noticed, he said nothing, smirking at you as he released your hand, softly pulling his helmet from your head.

“Exciting, right?” He asked, gesturing to his bike.

“Kinda scary actually.” You said nervously, head spinning.

“That’s what’s fun about it.”

You gave that some thought as Sukuna led you into the restaurant. It didn’t come as a surprise that Sukuna was a thrill-seeker, he definitely seemed like the type. But from a personal perspective you weren’t quite sure that you equated scary to fun. Your life felt plenty scary lately and you certainly weren’t having fun.

The burger joint that Sukuna had led you to was cozy, and quiet enough in the middle of a weekday to feel quite intimate as the host led you to the back of the restaurant, sitting you down in a nice, secluded booth with a metal table between the two of you.

Studying the menu you let out an internal sigh of relief at the sight of the prices, grateful that Sukuna had taken you somewhere that wasn’t too expensive. Even though he was paying for your meal, you didn’t want to feel like you were massively indebted to him, it wasn’t like you had the means to pay him back any time soon.

The two of you sat in silence for a few moments as you decided what to pick, opting for a simple cheeseburger when the waiter returned, with Sukuna asking for a double bacon burger, insisting that it was the best choice since he needed to keep his protein intake high for basketball.

A sense of nervousness settled over you once the waiter had gone, not quite sure how Sukuna wanted to proceed with this. You were here to study, right? Perhaps you should take the lead and bring out your notes from when you’d taken the class last year.

But Sukuna seemed to have other ideas.

“Was Nanami telling you not to hang out with me?” He asked, cutting straight to the chase.

“Yeah.” You replied sheepishly, a little embarrassed by his complete awareness that you’d been discussing him.

“Any compelling arguments?” Sukuna was leaning forward now, elbows resting on the table. The soft lighting in the restaurant had his red eyes looking particularly pretty, giving them a greater intensity than usual as he levelled his gaze on you.

“Nothing he hadn’t already said before. He really doesn’t like you.”

“Mmm, didn’t deter you though, huh?” He asked with a grin that you were sure had already won the hearts of many. If you weren’t careful it would win yours too.

“I guess not.” You mumbled. Until you actually saw the Sukuna from the rumors, you didn’t think anything was going to drive you away. “Besides, there was no way that I was going to stand you up today, I still feel guilty about last time.”

“You shouldn’t. You had your own shit to deal with.”

You bit your lip as he trailed off. You’d wondered if he was planning on addressing the elephant in the room. On his call with you the other day you’d simply presented an outline of your father’s condition without going too deep into the details. It was hard for you to talk about it at length without crying.

But now that you were actually hanging out you wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to discuss it. He probably had plenty of questions, and he clearly cared deeply about your dad. It wasn’t fair to keep him in the dark if there were things he wanted to know.

“How’s your dad doing?” Sukuna asked, his expression serious. There was a certain amount of conflict in his eyes, as if he wasn’t sure whether or not he was allowed to ask you that question.

“A little better now than when I last spoke to you. They got some fluids in him and he’s back to how he was the last time you were at the shop. I’d like to say he’s good, but he’s not.”

You took a deep breath as you tried to control the tremble in your voice. You’d never really discussed these things out loud with anyone, and somehow putting it into words made everything feel much worse, like it was actually real.

Your dad wasn’t fine. The doctors had given him until the end of this year at very best. The treatment should improve upon his quality of life, but ultimately he couldn’t be saved - his cancer had spread too much for that. It wasn’t something that you could linger on too much without breaking down, for now you just needed to appreciate the time that you had while he was still here.

“And you?” Sukuna seemed to be closely examining you as he peered at you from across the table. “Are you doing good?”

“Yeah.” You said quickly, defaulting to your usual answer. But the way that Sukuna tilted his head at you skeptically had you reconsidering. “No, not really.”

“You don’t look like you’ve been sleeping. No offense.” You weren’t offended by his statement at all, it was just a fact. You knew that there were dark circles under your eyes and were well aware of just how exhausted you probably looked.

It was hard to think of a response to that without getting too choked up, knowing that you’d probably burst into tears if you started talking too much about how much everything was getting to you right now. Besides, you didn’t want to trauma dump on Sukuna out of nowhere - it wasn’t fair, he probably wasn’t interested in all of that emotional weight.

“It's hard.” You said finally.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

Your lips parted with surprise, not expecting him to care about something like that, figuring that he’d only put that offer on the table out of pity. And yet he looked genuinely offended by the fact that you hadn’t reached out.

“I didn’t want to disturb you.” You said carefully, reflecting on Nanami’s words from the other day about him having a different girl over every night.

“I wish you would.”

You weren’t really sure what to say to that, a warm feeling spreading through you. If you didn’t know any better you would’ve assumed that he was flirting with you, but you knew that wasn’t the case. It was probably just a joke.

Before you were forced to offer him a response, the waiter returned with your food, setting both burgers down on the table in front of you. It looked mouth-wateringly good, and you were quick to dig in, taking a large bite out of the cheeseburger.

“This is good.” You said with a soft smile, changing the topic to avoid giving Sukuna a response to his last statement.

It just wasn’t something that you wanted to get into. You knew that your fragile little heart would fall for him in an instant if he gave you too much to hold on to, you couldn’t linger on statements like that or you’d just end up getting hurt. It was important that you reminded yourself that the two of you were from very different worlds and his type certainly wasn’t you.

You were just friends, that was all. And that was fine, after Hiromi it wasn’t like you were all that keen on being in a relationship anyway.

“Mmm, real good.” He was already halfway done with his food, practically inhaling his bacon burger in one big bite

“We should probably get to studying after this, I’ve gotta get back for a lecture at 2.30.” You realised that it would probably be easy for the two of you to get carried away with talking and get no work done, and considering your limited time it was important that you actually helped him out.

“Yeah, about that…” Sukuna paused for a moment as he scratched his head sheepishly, his pink locks sticking up in an unruly manner where his fingers had tangled in the strands. “I uh- I kinda lied about needing your help.”

Huh?

“You- you don’t need my help?”

“Nah…” He took a final bite of his burger, swallowing it down as he forced you to wait for an explanation. “When I was at the bakery the other day I wasn’t sure that you would wanna hang out if I didn’t give you a reason, so I figured asking you to tutor me would get your attention.”

You stared at him blankly as you tried to process that information, almost letting out a laugh at just how guilty he looked right now, eyes darting around like a housecat who had just bitten their owner and was now pretending that they hadn’t.

It wasn’t like you were mad.

On the contrary, you were flattered that he’d gone out of his way to try and spend time with you. He hadn’t needed to lie to you, if he’d asked you to come to lunch with him you would’ve said yes anyway.

Although, now you were thinking about it, maybe you wouldn’t have said yes considering how social interaction was far from your top priority right now. Turning your meeting into an obligation was surprisingly cunning - he’d probably learnt from your father that you weren’t the type of person to deny someone help.

“Anyway.” He continued. “Now I feel bad because I didn’t know how bad things were with your dad, and I was running this whole scheme just to get you to hang out with me.”

“That’s so stupid.” You said with a soft little laugh, his lips curving up into a smile at the sound.

“I thought it was pretty smart.”

“I guess it was since I’m here, but what was your original plan? Were you just going to sit there and listen to me talk about linguistics for hours? Do you even take that class?”

“Actually I do. I just don’t need help with it.” You rolled your eyes dramatically, but you couldn’t help but be a little endeared by him. He hadn’t struck you as the sort of guy to come up with a plot like this, it was almost cute?

“So if you don’t need me to help you study, what do you want?” The question rolled off your tongue before you could stop it, taking the opportunity to try and understand his intentions with you.

That seemed to stop him in his tracks, red eyes glancing down at the table as his brow furrowed. “To get to know you?” He almost seemed as confused as you were.

“To get to know me?” That made his intentions about as clear as mud.

“I guess I want to be friends.” He said carefully, and you couldn’t help but feel just a little bit disappointed at his words. There’d been a small part of you that had hoped that his interest in you was out of attraction, even if you knew that being a one-night stand of his was not a good idea.

Really you should see this as a good thing. Nanami had said that Sukuna didn’t do relationships, so if you didn’t want to be just one of those girls that he slept with one time, this was probably the best you were going to get. Besides, Sukuna seemed to have a limited number of people who he valued as friends, and being one of them made you feel at least a little proud of yourself.

“We can be friends. You don’t have to lie to me every time you want to hang out though - just ask next time.”

“As long as you promise you’ll actually agree. Your dad said that you’ve been avoiding your friends like the plague recently.”

A fair assessment.

“That’s complicated.” You mumbled, chewing on your lip as you thought about how to explain that hanging out with him would be a source of comfort whilst being around your friends at the moment filled you with anxiety. “They don’t know what’s happening with my dad. If they did, they'd treat me differently and I don’t want that…but I can’t be around them all the time and pretend that everything is okay. It's just too tiring.”

“It's easier because I know.” Sukuna offered and you nodded.

“Easier because we didn’t know each other well before you found out. There wasn’t really a way for you to treat me any differently because we hadn’t established what normal looks like.”

He seemed thoughtful for a moment, his hand coming to rest on his jaw. “Do you not want me to bring it up though? Your dad?”

“Uh- no, it’s fine if you want to talk about him.”

Honestly, the more you thought about it the more you realised that it was nice that Sukuna knew what was going on. It made you feel a little less alone, knowing that there was someone else out there who cared about your dad and understood the severity of the situation without being really overbearing with you about it.

“Thanks.” Sukuna paused for a second, clearly running through a list of questions in his head that he’d been holding back, unsure before now if you’d be receptive to hearing them, clearly not keen to be the source of your misery. “Does he have anyone other than you looking after him?”

“My aunt. You probably see her at the bakery sometimes.”

Sukuna hummed in acknowledgement before continuing. “No mom?”

“They got divorced a long time ago. She lives down in Kyushu now. Although, she has come to visit a few times since he was diagnosed, she still cares about him a lot.”

Your mother hated seeing your dad so weak, he’d been a strong and healthy man his whole life - seeing him reduced down to skin and bones and struggling to walk without support was heartbreaking. Part of you was glad that she lived so far away, you didn’t want her to see your father in this condition all the time - it would break her.

“Does my dad know?” Sukuna asked, and you shook your head quickly.

“My dad is too full of pride to tell people. He doesn’t want everyone fussing over him.”

“Kinda like you.” Sukuna said, red eyes meeting yours playfully as an offended look crossed your face.

“Hey.” You warned.

His grin just grew wider at your protest, and you couldn’t stop warmth from spreading through you at the sight of his charming expression. It felt odd that he had such an understanding of your nature despite spending so little time with you, but you had to remind yourself that your dad had been feeding him information for years now.

There was a part of you that really liked just how much he seemed to understand you - it felt like you were being seen for the first time in a while.

You and Sukuna continued to talk at that table for a while, settling into easy conversation. He was quick to move the topic away from your father, seemingly not keen on bringing you down or making you cry. Even though you’d shown up at this lunch prepared to discuss it with him, you were grateful that he didn’t want to linger on it. You weren’t really ready yet.

He did a lot of the talking, telling you stories about his friends, providing you with a completely different overview of the basketball team than the one that Nanami had supplied you with the other day. He had endless tales about Satoru embarrassing himself, pulling out plenty of examples of times where their group had gotten up to mischief.

It was easy to understand why Nanami would absolutely despise them as a unit, he wasn’t the type of man who liked childish behaviour, and it sounded like Sukuna’s friends were all about that. Allegedly in their first year they’d gone into Nanami’s room and wrapped up all of his possessions in gift wrap - no wonder he wanted nothing to do with them.

But from the perspective of an outsider the stories were amusing rather than problematic.

Sukuna had suggested that you should meet them one time, telling you all about the parties that they’d throw at the house he shared with Choso and Toji. You’d nodded along but the thought of meeting his friends was terrifying - you already avoided social situations with your actual friends, going to a party and meeting a load of scary guys who would no doubt be very interested in the nature of your relationship with Sukuna was not ideal.

Besides, it wasn’t as if you had much time for parties right now anyway.

You told him a little about your friends, opting to leave out the part where they’d essentially all told you to avoid him because he was bad news. He didn’t need to know that, instead you went into detail about the things you used to do with them in first year - the trips into the mountains, the all night movie marathons, the time that Ino got locked out of his dorm and had to spend the night on the grass outside.

“So, you don’t hang out with them much anymore because you’re too busy?” Sukuna asked, as you finished recounting your tales. Your plates had been cleared away now, drink glasses empty. You’d have to leave for your lecture soon, but you were having far too nice a time hanging out with Sukuna.

“Mostly, yeah.”

“Mostly?”

“My social battery kinda took a nose dive at the start of my second year.”

His brow furrowed with concern. “Because of your dad?”

“No…” You chewed on your lip as you paused, trying to decide just how much you wanted to confide in him. The fact that he knew about your dad was already a lot, and you didn’t feel like completely spilling your guts, even if you did feel strangely comfortable telling him things.

“I was dating this guy through most of my first year and after it ended I wasn’t really in a good place, ended up isolating myself a lot and before I could really get better my dad’s diagnosis came through and my social battery never recovered.”

You lowered your gaze, not wanting to look at Sukuna as you spoke. He was far too perceptive, and you were confident that your expression would give away that there was a lot more to that story. But it wasn’t a can of worms that you wanted to open today.

And if Sukuna noticed he said nothing, letting out a quiet hum as he continued to stare at you from across the table. “The guy your dad hates, right?”

You gave him a small smile. Your dad does hate Hiromi, it was amusing that he’d even outlined that to Sukuna at some point. You and Hiromi had originally met at the bakery - he was the son of one of your dad’s regulars, and your father had encouraged the relationship back at the start.

But after seeing how broken the relationship had left you, he swore that he’d kill your ex if he ever saw him again. Although, you doubted he was strong enough for that now.

“How much did my dad say about him?”

“Not much.” Sukuna said with a shrug. “He just told me that you deserved someone much better than that guy and then asked if I was single.” You groaned at that revelation, not happy at the thought of your father trying to match-make behind your back.

“Sorry about him.” You mumbled, dragging your fingers down your face in embarrassment. Sukuna was smirking at you, evidently very amused by your reaction.

“He’s endearing.” Sukuna said. “It's cute.”

There was a part of you that wanted to ask Sukuna what he’d said in response to your father’s question, if he’d expressed any interest in you. But it was a stupid thing to wonder, a question that would only lead to pain. Of course Sukuna wouldn’t want you like that, he’d literally just told you that he wanted to be friends.

That’s all you are.

You couldn’t afford to think anything different, life was hard enough right now. Even if the sound of his voice had your brain short-circuiting, his smile causing butterflies to swarm in your stomach. It just wasn’t something that you could entertain.

He’d asked to be friends, so you’d be his friend. That was all.

“We should head back.” You said softly, eyes moving to your watch.

Sukuna’s brow was furrowed as he watched you, pink lips parting for a second, as if he was considering saying something. But the moment passed and he simply nodded, waving over the waiter and paying for your food before ushering you out of the restaurant and back onto his motorbike, dropping you safely back on campus.

“See you around?” You asked, as you hopped off the vehicle, and he gave you an easy smile.

“Course. Make sure you call me sometime, angel. Don’t like the idea of you suffering all alone.”

His words knocked the breath from your lungs, completely unsure on how to react to such care. The mantra of he’s just a friend playing on loop in your head as you tried not to read too deeply into his statement. But your heart was fluttering anyway. It was inevitable.

You were so fucked.

a/n: i know his surname isn't actually ryomen before anyone comes for me, just saying it is for the sake of this fic hehe

thank you for reading! hope you enjoyed this chapter - reblogs and comments are appreciated, let me know if you want to be added to the taglist for this fic! <3

Taglist (open!): @call-me-nyxx @mad-katsuki @ilovesmolkittycats @cupidxml @solarlovesxyz @serenadesvt @fushiguroooozzz @surgikull @yuujispinkhair @himezoro @etsuniiru @lkukaknka @svnarxnn @chaos-4baby @rinofcike @eepydeepysleepy @linaaeatsfamilies @tisuruxx @grimm3r @minasuniverse @sail0rpluto @beereadzzz @00frenchfries00 @sukubusss @poopooindamouf @himbosexual @yatsuyu @thejujvtsupost @shewhoscreamssilently @kalulakunundrum @xxkay15xx @madison777x @thoreeo @saltypuffin1040 @t4ters @sugarysc @sussiesushi @silviscosplay @inthedarkshadows000 @jellybellyconnoisseur @p1nkfl0wers @philiasoul @emochosoluvr @tweetybomb @ynishalee @camsdrzd @jupitereleven @anguuubb @lily-bisque @christinezz33

#i am looking forward to this awww 💗💗#sukuna x reader #to read later

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yuujispinkhair · 3 days ago

Text

try using a love ball? | ryomen sukuna

love ball: a pokeball that works best when catching a pokemon that is of the opposite gender of your pokemon - unfortunately it doesn’t work on people.

pairing: gym leader!sukuna x gym leader!reader

content: pokemon au, kanto region, rivals to lovers, pure FLUFF

a/n: back in my pokemon playing era hehe

Gym Leader!Sukuna who’s been your rival since you were both kids in Pallet town. You hated him back then - he was brash and arrogant, always making fun of you for your choice of favourite pokemon, claiming that when he got his own he would destroy yours.

Unfortunately he wasn’t wrong - because once you were finally old enough to pick your starters, he chose Charmander and challenged you and your Bulbasaur, gleefully destroying you in that first battle at 10 years old.

At that moment Ryomen Sukuna had made an enemy for life.

Gym Leader!Sukuna who’s been a plague in your life since your teenage years, he was always waiting for you at the next town along the route and challenging you to a Pokemon battle, always using his carefully curated team of fire-type Pokemon to annihilate your team.

You tried everything to defeat him, starting to build your team around water-types just to take him down a peg. But he adapted to you perfectly, always making sure he had a couple of non fire-types in the bag to put you in your place.

It was frustrating, and it went on for years as the two of you collected all of the Kanto gym badges. His presence never ending, always there grinning at you, taunting you, cooing mockingly at what a cute little team of pokemon you’d built before sending all of your cherished partners straight to the Pokemon centre.

You despised him.

Or at least, you thought you did. As you both grew older you found your heart pounding erratically whenever you’d see him waiting up ahead for you on the route, shivers running through you at the sound of his voice teasing you. It was almost like you wanted his attention.

Gym Leader!Sukuna who took great joy in bothering you. You were slow at moving through the gyms, you were much weaker than him after all - but he’d make sure to take his time and wait for you, loving that look of concentration you’d get when the two of you would battle, drinking up all your cute little reactions.

He knew that you probably hated him, going off that sweet look of panic in your eyes whenever you encountered him, but he didn’t mind - as long as he had your attention that was enough for him.

Gym Leader!Sukuna who worked his way into becoming the Fire Gym Leader in an impressive amount of time, being voted in by the Pokemon League and taking over from his predecessor at just 21 years old.

You were left trailing behind, and feeling an odd sense of loneliness at Sukuna’s absence. He’d no longer appear in the town ahead of you, instead settling into his own new gym on Cinnabar Island, and you found yourself yearning for his presence.

But with all of your gym badges collected, you had no choice but to remain at Victory Road, fruitlessly fighting the Elite Four like any other trainer with all the gym badges. Struggling day after day with no real pay off while Sukuna got to spend his days crushing weak trainers and getting the recognition he’d always wanted.

It was lonely, and it was tough. You were grateful that you had your team of six Pokemon to keep you company - it was better than nothing, even if you yearned constantly for Sukuna to appear and challenge you to a battle.

Gym Leader!Sukuna who would never admit it aloud, but he yearned for you as much as you yearned for him. He’d always wanted to be a Gym Leader - but he found himself considering giving up the post, eager to go to Victory Road, convincing himself that it was so he could take a shot at becoming Champion, but really it was because he just wanted to see you again.

Luckily for him, after just over a year of challenging the Elite Four, all of your effort finally bore fruit. Through rigorous training, the Magikarp that you’d looked after for years evolved into a Gyarados and supported you in defeating the Elite Four, allowing you to challenge the Champion.

You lost to the Champion of course, but your victory over the Elite Four put you on the radar of the Pokemon League and you were voted in as the new water-type Gym Leader, allowing you to move to Cerulean City and settle into your new gym. Finally you were Sukuna’s equal.

Gym Leader!Sukuna who took every opportunity to come and visit your gym, always pretending that he wasn’t there just because he wanted to see you. He’d arrive under the pretense that new Gym Leaders needed testing, that he was there to assess you to make sure the Pokemon League weren’t just letting any old riff-raff in.

And you always gave him the battles that he wanted. You were much stronger than you’d ever been back when the two of you had just been Pokemon Trainers, even managing to best him - your water-type Pokemon far too strong now to fall to the under-leveled grass types that he’d usually bring out when he fought you.

You’d really grown strong, and he had to admit that he was impressed, heart pounding with desire for you as you destroyed his team with a proud smile on your pretty face.

Gym Leader!Sukuna who insisted on treating you to a nice dinner after you finally defeated him, claiming that it was only fair when you tried to insist that he didn’t have to.

He took you to one of the best restaurants in Cerulean City - a BBQ meat joint where the chef’s Charmanders and Charmeleons cook the meat in front of you. It was a little high profile for you, considering that everyone there was elated to see the fire-type Gym Leader, but Sukuna led you to a secluded seat in the corner away from all the riff-raff. He wanted to have you all to himself.

It was a pleasant evening, and the two of you stayed at the table for hours talking and laughing about everything and nothing. It felt surprisingly easy to be around Sukuna like this - after years of battling him at every turn, encountering him in every place you went, he was probably the person that you knew best in the world and vice versa. And sitting in that restaurant with him had your heart racing.

Gym Leader!Sukuna who walks you home after dinner, arm brushing against yours as you wind through the streets back to your place. For the first time ever he feels a little nervous around you. When you’re battling, or when he’s teasing you, he knows exactly what he’s doing, but he’s completely at a loss on what to do now that you’re here at his side, smiling up at him as if you like him.

And he really hopes that you do, because he likes you too.

Gym Leader!Sukuna who is absolutely fearless in battle, who spends his days crushing the dreams of little Pokemon Trainers, and yet feels terrified as he stands before the door of your house, your pretty eyes peering up at him with interest as he struggles to find the words to say to you.

So he says nothing, throwing caution to the wind and doing what he does best - he acts. He slips an arm around you and pulls you close, relishing your surprised expression as he presses his lips softly against yours.

He’s never been sure whether you hated him or not, so he can’t help but feel a little bit relieved when you lean into the kiss, your hands pulling him closer rather than pushing him away. The kiss is fiery, passionate, just like all your interactions leading up to this point, and he can’t help but notice just how right this felt.

You invite him into your house that night, and from that moment on the two of you become inseparable.

Gym Leader!Sukuna who is unbelievably sweet to you now that you’re his. He still makes the two of you battle regularly, never losing his enjoyment in teasing you, but he also goes out of his way to look after you. He kisses you so tenderly, always making sure that he has his hands on you when you're together, hands clasped tightly in public so that everyone knows you’re his.

The two of you travel to visit each other’s towns as regularly as you can, and it becomes common knowledge to Pokemon Trainers that they’ll likely have to wait around to challenge the water-type or fire-type leaders - although, sometimes they’ll get lucky and find both of you in town at once.

Your relationship becomes popular amongst Pokemon League fans, with the two of you often being bombarded by questions, your photos being taken regularly, people drawing fanart of you and spamming it on social media. You were the hottest couple in Kanto and you both knew it.

But Sukuna liked to keep your relationship private, having dates in your gyms after closing time, visiting quieter areas throughout Kanto where the two of you could hang out with your Pokemon, often just chilling out at each other’s houses.

He loved visiting your house, it was decorated so cutely - the whole place reminding him of you. It was clear from your decor that your love of cute Pokemon hadn’t faded over the years, pictures of you and your favourite companions lined the walls, and you had endless plushies littered around the place. It was far more soulful than his apartment in Cinnabar Island, which he had hardly bothered to decorate since moving in.

Gym Leader!Sukuna who decides quickly that he’s tired of being long distance with you - he’d spent enough time not seeing you back when you were stuck at Victory Road, he didn’t want to waste another second. Besides, it wasn’t like he was all that attached to Cinnabar Island anyway.

So he moves in with you, transferring his meagre belongings to your home. He figures that you’ll just put most of his stuff in storage, since you already have the place so nicely decorated, but he’s surprised to find that you dutifully find a place for all of his things - his lava lamp positioned next to your jellyfish lamp, his childhood Growlithe plushie sitting on the bed beside your Snorlax, photos of him with his team lining the walls with yours.

You’d made every effort to make this his home, and it felt far more like he belonged here with you than in that sad little apartment back on Cinnabar. Sure, he had to commute to the Gym each day on the back of his Charizard, but that was a small price to pay to wake up with you in his arms each morning.

Gym Leader!Sukuna who adores seeing you around his Pokemon, loving the care and attention that you show to his companions, treating them as though they were your own. It's cute to see your Pokemon and his interact - there were a couple of scuffles between them at the start of your relationship, but they quickly calmed down at the realization that they weren’t really rivals anymore.

Your Vaporeon would often curl up on the couch with his Flareon, your Psyduck would pull at his Arcanine’s tail affectionately, your Slowpoke would sometimes catch a ride on the back of his Rapidash - you’d all merged into one big family, and neither of you could be happier.

Gym Leader!Sukuna who wouldn’t mind adding another to that family one day. He loves looking after his Pokemon, but more than anything he wanted something that was half you and half him, a kid who would no doubt become the world’s strongest Pokemon trainer one day considering how strong their parents were.

But that could wait - for now he was more than happy just enjoying being with you. Besides, he wanted to be married before you added to your family.

Although if the ruby ring he’d just bought was anything to go by, it wouldn’t be long until you were making everything official and taking his name. Maybe he’d take you back to your home town to do it, propose to you in the same place that the two of you had first met all those years ago.

Oh, how you’d hated him back then.

Who would’ve thought that you’d come all this way?

sukuna perma taglist (send me an ask to be added!): @lav4mpira @seellove @cutesytwt @gojodickbig @yuujispinkhair @somos-things @poopooindamouf @yeagersss @paradisestarfishh @jennilynn63 @tthhaattgguuyy27 @bexxli @being-blue-is-better @summerthesim @tisuruxx @juliarchiv3s @naluloverrrrrr @dishs0pe @plutoxxxworld @5kkalara @serenadesvt @00frenchfries00 @warriorofenlightenment @scarlet-issilly @himbosexual @pousivuitton @ksjtozaki @certainfanpoetry @gojoscumslut @ynishalee @nakiich @chaos-4baby @t4ters @sukubusss @pandabiene5115 @solarlovesxyz @fysalia @goofiebags5678 @yarimarjane @aayeonas @christinezz33 @dreeaambiigstuuff-blog @trafalgarlaw-wife @raspberryvv @i0lovepink00 @sunqi053

#AWWWW iris this was so cute 💗💗😭😭#the way they were both yearning for the other's attention 💗#sukuna x reader #sukuna fluff

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