Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Harsh fluorescent lights gleamed on the perfectly smooth ice of the rink, reflecting off places where water had collected in small puddles. That familiar itch of anticipation at the sight of freshly-resurfaced ice pricked at Megumi’s skin. The doors of the zamboni entrance clanged shut and in the next breath, Megumi was gliding into the center of the rink, sighing at the feeling of glossy ice yielding to his blade. 

Cool air ruffled Megumi’s unruly black hair as he skated a lap to get the blood flowing in his stiff limbs. The sharp, crisp sound of a blade cutting into fresh ice was arguably the best sound in existence to Megumi’s ears, and with each corner a shiver of satisfaction ran down his back. 

Given that it was six thirty in the morning on a Monday, no one else was on the rink yet—early access to the ice was by far Megumi’s favorite employee benefit. 

When it was just him and the rink, the tangle of thoughts inside his head was blissfully unraveled for a brief time. He craved the moments when he could lose himself in the familiar motions of his solo routine. By now, he’d practiced his routine enough times that the music he skated to was ingrained in his head, nixing the need for it to be blared over the rink’s shitty sound system. 

After Megumi had shaken off the dregs of sleepiness from the morning, he took his position in the middle of the ice. He took a steadying breath, closed his eyes, bowed to an invisible audience. 

In his mind, hundreds of eyes were trained on the sole figure on the ice, waiting with bated breath for the first warbling notes of The Swan from Carnival of the Animals to trickle from the much nicer speakers of the downtown rink. The judge’s pens were poised over a scoring sheet, ready to mark every minute mistake Megumi made in his routine. 

He blocked their scrutiny out and rose from his bow. A faint scraping sound reached only his ears as Megumi adjusted his skates slightly and with the opening measure of imaginary music, he launched into motion. 

From there, it was a blur. His head was completely clear of any thoughts besides the exact positioning of his arms, legs, torso. In the empty arena, he heard the melody of his piece as clearly as if it was actually being played. 

With the third movement of The Swan , Megumi approached his most difficult section of the routine. Each placement of his blade upon the ice had to be calculated perfectly to allow for the most height and speed in his jump; his focus narrowed into the pinpoint of his toe pick. 

His heart paused mid-beat as his muscles bunched to launch himself into the air, but his concentration and the silence of the rink was shattered with the slamming of the arena’s heavy wooden door. 

Cursing, he stumbled and barely stopped himself from tumbling to the ice in an ungrateful heap. Megumi spun around and glared at the far end of the building. 

“The rink isn’t open yet!” he yelled, his breath coming out short from exertion. In a few strides, he was throwing open the rink’s door and stepping onto the padded floor. 

The intruder ignored Megumi and stalked over to one of the hockey-designated locker rooms. His boots were thick-soled and heavy, causing irritating echoes with every step. The man, or at least Megumi assumed it was a man due to his extremely muscled build, hid his face with a cap pulled low and a black mask covering most of his face. 

“Did you hear me? We’re not open yet,” Megumi repeated. He crossed his arms and waited for the man to acknowledge him. 

“Not here to skate,” said the man in a gruff, muffled voice. He flung open the door and disappeared into the room. 

Megumi rolled his eyes and followed him, catching the door before it could swing shut. “You can come back at seven when we are officially open to the public. Until then, I have to ask you to leave.” 

The mystery man, again, ignored Megumi’s demands. He scanned the scuffed up floor of the locker room before striding to the back corner. Then, he bent down and picked up something too small for Megumi to see in the terrible lighting of the room. 

Promptly, he turned on his heel and started stomping back towards the door. Megumi had to jump out of his way as gracefully as he could in skates so the man didn’t crash into him—he had a feeling it would feel like running headfirst into a brick wall. 

With narrowed eyes, Megumi saw that the man had a small wireless earbud pinched between his fingers. 

That explained his motive, then, but not how he got into the building in the first place. Megumi knew he was the first one there and he always made sure to lock up behind himself so no weirdos (such as the one making a beeline for the exit) would come in. 

“How the hell did you get in here?” Megumi hurried after the man but was forced to stop when the padded flooring transitioned into concrete. 

The intruder didn’t deem Megumi worth a verbal answer; he simply dug into his pocket and held up a ring of keys that he shook patronizingly as he strode away. 

Megumi’s brow furrowed. This man definitely didn’t work at the rink—he’d absolutely remember someone who looked like he could snap him in half. 

He made a mental note to ask his boss who else had keys to access the building. 

The man left as abruptly as he had appeared, the door swinging shut behind his retreating back. 

Megumi huffed. Asshole . 

He slid the sleeve of his compression shirt up and checked the time; after that whole debacle, he only had eight minutes left of ice time before the first official skate session opened for a senior skating class. 

That wasn’t enough time to run his full program again, so he decided to drill a couple of the more difficult moves. 

Before he was fully satisfied, his watch buzzed to notify him that it was seven. Already, he could see some people milling about in the lobby, waiting for their time on the ice. Megumi sighed and skated off the ice to collect his things. 

His phone was cold in his hands as he texted Yuuji a while later that he was heading back and if he wanted a coffee. 

[Yuuji] nah i’m at the gym rn, thanks tho ^^

[Yuuji] sukuna said he wants one but don’t bring anything for him he’s being an asshole this morning and doesn’t deserve a coffee 

[Megumi] When is he not? 

[Yuuji] fair enuf 

[Yuuji] let’s grab brunch  

[Yuuji] I have some good news!! 

[Megumi] Is it actually good news this time? 

[Yuuji] you really have no faith in me :( 

[Yuuji] Sukuna is coming btw 

[Megumi] Why..

[Yuuji] Idk 

[Megumi] Fine, send me the address  

[Yuuji] see you soon 🥳

—

Later, Yuuji and Sukuna were crammed into one side of a booth while Megumi sat across from them, plates of steaming food on the table. 

The two brothers kept elbowing each other due to the lack of space that was taken up by hundreds of pounds of hockey-honed muscle. 

“Move your fat ass over an inch, will you?” Sukuna snapped. 

Yuuji smacked him on the head. “Who are you calling a fat ass?”

Megumi snorted at the sight of the fully grown men bickering like children. 

“ Anyways ,” Yuuji said pointedly after finally deciding to ignore his brother’s taunts, “about the good news I had for you!” 

Megumi perked up at that. 

“Our athletic trainer is out for maternity leave, but then she announced her decision to retire, so…” Yuuji’s eyes sparkled with anticipation, “you have a job if you want it!” 

Green eyes widened slightly in surprise. This was certainly better news than Megumi had been expecting, given Yuuji’s track record. 

“Oh. Really? Are there not more…qualified people?” He toyed with his straw wrapper, rolling and unrolling it anxiously. 

Sure, Megumi had graduated near the top of his class with a master’s degree in exercise science, but he’d had very little actual experience in the field save for an internship he did over the summer once. 

Yuuji’s team was semi-professional, meaning they didn’t receive the copious amount of funding like the pro leagues did, but the fitness and health of the players wasn’t something to skimp out on. 

Sukuna waved his large hand dismissively. “Yeah, but we need someone soon. You’ll do for now.” 

“Thanks,” Megumi replied dryly. 

“Be nice, Sukuna. I’m asking you because I know you are smart and capable and you’re my friend! Of course I want to work with you!” Yuuji leaned forward and grinned. “Our coach hasn’t even posted a job listing yet, so you’re in if you want.” 

Megumi mulled it over in his head. In university, he’d received a fair amount of scholarships and government funding due to his deadbeat dad and his sister’s hospitalization, so he wasn’t technically drowning in student debt loans. 

Still, though, this job was actually in his field and probably (hopefully?) paid more than the barely over minimum wage position he had working as a manager at the rink. And he still had his housing and food bills to consider. 

Without another moment of hesitation, Megumi nodded. 

Yuuji cheered, only to be quickly silenced by Sukuna pinching his lips together. 

“You’re so fucking embarrassing,” he hissed at his younger brother. 

Undeterred, Yuuji swatted the hand away and reached across the booth to shake Megumi’s shoulders. 

“I’ll tell coach you accepted. I’d told him last night I had someone in mind, so I’ll give you his email and you two can figure it out from there,” Yuuji chattered as he pulled out his phone and texted Megumi a contact profile. 

“We have a game on Friday, so you’ll probably meet him tomorrow for a quick face to face interview. He’ll get you situated, introduce you to the team at practice, and do whatever other shit you two have to do,” Sukuna explained, his words short and gruff as ever. 

Megumi opened his mouth to ask a question, but the brothers had already tucked into their plates of food now that the important information had been conveyed. 

Through a mouthful of eggs, Yuuji mumbled, “You’ll also meet the rest of the staff eventually. Don’t worry, they’re super nice.” 

Megumi hummed, grateful yet slightly intimidated. This would be his first real job, with actual stakes. His thoughts must have shown on his face because Sukuna rolled his eyes. 

“If you’re gonna be a bitch about it, don’t bother. We don’t need some wimp who’s too timid to do anything useful.” 

Megumi stifled the urge to bite Sukuna’s head off and instead took an aggressive bite of bacon to compensate. After chewing slowly and maintaining even eye contact with the other man, Megumi swallowed and said, “Noted,” with all the enthusiasm of a dead bush. 

“Don’t mind him, he just has a bigger-than-usual stick up his ass because he lost an earbud at the rink and had to make an extra stop there this morning.” Yuuji glared daggers at Sukuna. 

Realization dawned on Megumi then. The hooded and masked figure who was an asshole to him that morning must have been none other than Sukuna to retrieve his stray earbud. 

Sure enough, Sukuna raised an eyebrow at Megumi. 

“Didn’t know you skated,” he said. 

Which, weird. Sukuna said that as if this was some life-long secret Megumi had purposefully hidden from him when, in reality, they’d been in the same room maybe three times in the past. 

“Yeah, I guess…” 

“‘I guess?’ You looked like you knew your shit. Do you compete?” Sukuna asked nonchalantly. 

Yuuji shot him a nervous glance from the corner of his eye. 

“No.” 

The word hung between the three of them. 

“Okay, then,” Sukuna replied, dragging out the ‘o’ in the way that signaled the other person was being rude. 

With forced casualness and all the subtlety of a neon sign, Yuuji changed the subject quickly. 

Internally, Megumi was grateful that he didn’t have to get into the…touchy subject of his little hobby. That was an entire can of worms to unpack, and he didn’t feel like recounting it to a near-stranger at eleven in the morning. 

Eventually, the trio finished eating. Before Megumi could make a grab for the check, Sukuna snatched it and stalked up to the counter to pay. 

Yuuji’s face scrunched up in confusion. “What the fuck is up with him.” 

“You tell me, you’re the one related to him,” Megumi retorted as he shrugged on his jacket. 

“Why did he even come? He was just mean to you the whole time,” Yuuji muttered, shooting an apologetic frown at Megumi. 

“It’s fine. I don’t care.” Megumi had faced his fair share of people who, for some reason, felt the urge to pull at his (theoretical) pigtails to get some sort of reaction out of him. Sukuna was just another to add to the list, and Megumi had no intentions of letting it bother him. 

He knew how to work with people who didn’t like him, so he figured the captain of the Ginza Vipers would be no different. 

Oh, how wrong he was. 

—

From: [email protected]  

To: [email protected]   

Re: Athletic Trainer Position 

Hello Coach Masamichi,

I am emailing you about an athletic trainer job opening on your staff for the Vipers that Yuuji Itadori informed me about. I am interested in interviewing for the position. Attached below is my resume and CV. Thank you for your consideration. 

-Fushiguro Megumi 

__

From: [email protected]  

To: [email protected]  

Re: Athletic Trainer Position 

Good to hear from you Fushiguro, how’s tomorrow at 11am sound for an in person interview? I’ll have you come to my office (address linked below) and we can chat. Yuuji told me all about you and just from word of mouth, it sounds like you’ll be a good match for our team. Looking forward to meeting you tomorrow. 

-Masamichi Yaga

__

Megumi ducked into the convenience store connected to the team’s downtown rink. He’d arrived more than half an hour early to his interview due to anxiety that his trains might be delayed and he’d show up late, so he figured he might as well grab a coffee while he waited. 

Sheepishly, Megumi had to admit he could count the amount of times he’d attended a Vipers game on one hand, though that was partly due to the fact that while the team practiced at the local rink, they hosted home games at the fancier, more upscale rink downtown. The commute and the cost of tickets combined with the ever-present dilemma of scheduling conflicts often had Megumi sending apologetic messages to Yuuji about missing yet another game. 

Yuuji, being the angel he was, never blamed Megumi, though he would sometimes show Megumi clips of film that he did something cool in. 

After purchasing a coffee, Megumi sat on a bench and read on his phone for a while before collecting his nerves and heading up to the third floor where the administrative offices were located. 

Two minutes later, Megumi was knocking quietly on the closed door of the coach’s office. 

“Come in,” came a gruff voice from inside.

Megumi swallowed and eased open the heavy wooden door. 

“Hello, I’m here for an interview for the athletic trainer position? We exchanged emails yesterday. My name’s Fushiguro Megumi,” Megumi explained as he and Masamichi shook hands. 

“Yes, Fushiguro! I can finally put a name to the face.” 

He gestured to the chair on the other side of the desk for Megumi to sit at. 

“As I mentioned in the email, I’ve heard a lot about you from Yuuji. You two are good friends, no?” 

Megumi nodded earnestly. “Roommates, too. Since our third year of college.” 

“Wonderful,” said Masamichi as he pulled out a slim file folder with a printed copy of Megumi’s resume and CV. 

From there, Masamichi asked Megumi some questions about his educational history, past jobs, and his strengths and weaknesses. 

It was, ultimately, a very straightforward job interview, so Megumi was in high spirits when he left the coach’s office with a promise that he would hear back within the week. 

On his way back to the lobby, however, was when things took a turn for the…abnormal. 

As Megumi was rounding a corner, he ran nose-first into a very solid chest. 

“Oh, shit, are you alright?” yelped the mystery person. Strong hands gripped Megumi’s shoulders to steady him. 

Megumi rubbed his nose. “It’s fine.” After the brief sparks of pain dissipated, Megumi looked up to see who he’d gotten suddenly up close and personal with. 

The man’s striking grey-blue eyes were wide with concern, his strong eyebrows drawn together. He had sandy blonde hair cut in a long shag style and he was tall . Megumi himself wasn’t exactly short, but in comparison to this man, he felt small. 

“I swear I'm not usually so clumsy,” the blonde man said with a sheepish grin. “The name’s Charlie, by the way. Do you work here?” 

“I’m Fushiguro. And no, I don’t. Not yet, anyways. I was just here for a job interview,” Megumi replied with a shrug. 

“Oh, okay. I was just trying to find someone because the men’s restroom is out of toilet paper. Anyways, what job did you apply for?” 

“The athletic trainer for the Vipers hockey team. My roommate plays for them and told me their original trainer is retiring, so I figured I might as well give it a shot.” Megumi shifted from foot to foot as he made small talk with Charlie. 

He normally wasn’t one to entertain random chatter with strangers, but Charlie had an easy, friendly demeanor that made him tolerable to talk to. In a way, the man reminded Megumi of Yuuji in that they could strike up a genuinely enjoyable conversation out of the blue. 

Charlie’s eyes widened. “No fucking way. I play for that team! I’m one of the assistant captains, actually!” 

“Really? What position do you play?” Megumi wracked his brain to see if he could remember seeing Charlie at one of the few games he had been to. 

“Defense, normally, but I’m flexible,” said Charlie with a flirty wink. 

Megumi huffed out a quiet, amused laugh. “Noted.” 

“Now I really hope you get the job so we can see each other again,” Charlie replied as he dug out his phone from his back pocket. “Wanna exchange numbers? I can put in a good word for you with the coaches, too.” 

“Sure. I’d appreciate it if you would.” Megumi opened his phone to a new contact page and handed it to the blonde man. 

After they typed each other’s names and numbers in the other’s phone, Charlie told Megumi he had an appointment to get to and that he would look forward to meeting again. 

Charlie consequently took off in a whirlwind, leaving Megumi slightly off-center, but pleased. 

It’d been a while since someone had so openly flirted with Megumi, and he found that he didn’t mind it. 

With a small smile on his face, he exited the building and headed back to the station. 

Chapter Text

From: [email protected] 

To: Vipers Mailing List 

Re: New Staff Member 

Good evening all, 

As you know, Emi is retiring after a wonderful 8 years as our athletic trainer. Since then, I have hired a new staff member to fill her shoes. Fushiguro Megumi graduated from Jujutsu Academy at the top of his class with a master’s in exercise science. His roommate and your teammate, Itadori Yuuji, recommended him highly, and I am pleased to welcome him to our team. We will have a joint going away/welcome party for Fushiguro and Emi after practice on Wednesday. 

-Masamichi Yaga 

“I’m so excited for you to meet everyone!” Yuuji gushed as he and Megumi walked to the mini-party in the events room of the rink. “They’re gonna love you, seriously. I hope Sukuna isn’t a bitch about it, though…” 

Megumi waved his hand nonchalantly. “I don’t really care if he’s rude. I can handle it.” 

Yuuji shrugged. “The team will take care of you, anyways. Sukuna’s a dick sometimes and a lot of the guys aren’t afraid to tell him that. He’s still a good captain, though, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that he can be a little…intense.” 

“I know. I’ve only met him a handful of times and I can tell,” Megumi said with a wry smile pulling at his lips. 

“Anyways, enough about my stupid brother. I’ll introduce you to Emi so you can chat a bit, and then I’ll bring you around to the team,” Yuuji explained. 

The pair were among the first to arrive due to Yuuji’s proclivity to stripping off his gear as fast as humanly possible. Among the early arrivals was the coach, a few players, and a pregnant lady that looked like she was five minutes away from giving birth right then and there. 

“Hey, Yuuji!” Emi called across the room. She gestured towards the two to come over to her. 

“Fushiguro, hi! I’m Kuzuri Emi. It’s wonderful to meet you,” she said as she wrangled Megumi into a hug—or, at least the closest thing to a hug that a heavily pregnant lady could manage. 

Megumi returned the hug gingerly, overly cautious of Emi’s belly. 

“He is so cute!” Emi whisper-shouted over Megumi’s shoulder to Yuuji, who nodded eagerly. 

Megumi’s cheeks reddened a little, but he pretended he didn’t hear. 

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to the other staff members.” 

Half an hour later, Coach Masamichi gathered everyone’s attention at the front of the room. By now, the rest of the team had arrived and were indulging in the rare greasy pizza and snacks for the party. 

“Thank you all for coming,” said Masamichi, his voice deep and resonant. With just a couple words, the room went completely silent. Clearly, this man held the respect of everyone in the room, and not just because of his insanely intimidating appearance. “I’d like to dedicate this night to Emi, and to Fushiguro for the invaluable contribution they have made and will make to this team. Emi, if you’d like to say a couple words?” 

“Of course!” Emi waddled up to the front and delivered a very sweet speech about how she had the chance to meet some of her best friends during her time with the team and that she would always be rooting for them, in person or in spirit. She ended the speech with an invitation to her baby shower to which raucous applause and cheers broke out. 

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for us, Emi. We truly cannot express our gratitude to you, and we all wish you a peaceful and healthy rest of your pregnancy,” Masamichi said. 

Megumi felt a prickle of dread once the man’s attention turned to him. 

“Now, I’d like to welcome our newest member of the team, Fushiguro Megumi.” A smattering of less enthusiastic applause broke out. 

“Go up there!” Yuuji cheered, pushing on Megumi’s shoulder. 

“No, I don’t think I really—“ 

“Speech! Speech! Speech!” 

“What are you doing—“ 

Yuuji ignored Megumi’s indignation and continued chanting, which quickly ended up with everyone else caught up in it, too. 

Megumi’s cheeks burned, but the fear of being shunned by the team before his first day propelled his legs to the front. 

Yuuji whooped once Megumi took his spot next to Masamichi. 

“That’s my best friend!” he crowed. 

“Um…hi, everyone,” Megumi croaked out once the room had quieted down enough. “I’m honored to be a part of the staff here.” 

The silence in between each sentence was nearly unbearable; it reminded Megumi all too well of awkward, under-rehearsed school presentations. 

Yuuji nodded vigorously, but the rest of the team looked a little skeptical. Except, of course, Charlie, who was trying to catch Megumi’s eye and shoot him an encouraging grin. 

“Thank you for having me,” Megumi finished pitifully. He bowed slightly and was about to scurry back to his seat when a voice rang out from the back of the room. 

“That’s it?” Sukuna scoffed. He leaned back in the folding chair, his huge arms crossed over his equally huge chest with a positively evil smirk on his lips. 

Megumi narrowed his eyes at the captain. 

“Yes.” 

Everyone else in the room shifted uncomfortably. 

Sukuna raised his eyebrows expectantly, then shrugged. “Okay, then. Welcome to the Vipers, Megumi.” 

“It’s Fushiguro to you, please.” Megumi’s hands wrung into a knot behind his back, but he fought to keep his face and his voice completely neutral. 

Sukuna simply grinned behind a sip of his drink, his eyes never leaving Megumi’s. 

“On that note…” Masamichi took the opportunity to cut the tension after shooting a deadly glare at Sukuna. “I hope our captain remembers his position and treats everyone kindly so that—“ 

“The words ‘Sukuna’ and ‘kind’ can’t exist in the same sentence!” someone from the back called out. 

The team dissolved into giggles at that remark; even Masamichi looked like he was about to crack a smile. Megumi noticed that Sukuna scowled and rolled his eyes, though the gestures lacked any sort of true anger. 

“You lot are hopeless. Enjoy your pizza, I’m done,” Masamichi acquiesced with feigned annoyance. 

“Cheers to that!” Yuuji stood up with his red solo cup filled with Sprite. “Cheers to Fushiguro and Emi! And to a good first game on Friday!” Hollers and whoops rippled across the room. 

Megumi had long since retreated to his seat to finally shirk the spotlight. He thought he was in the clear before Yuuji grabbed his arm and dragged him from his seat. 

“Time to meet the team!” 

___

Dozens of names later and the same ‘nice to meet you’ phrase repeated equally as much, Megumi knew he had to go home or else he would scream or cry or both. 

“Yuuji…” he whispered as his roommate was in the midst of an animated conversation with a man that he thought was called Mori. “Can we go?” 

“Hm? Yeah, one sec. I’ll meet you out there, ‘kay? Just give me five more minutes,” Yuuji promised. 

Megumi nodded and fled to the exit. He had only just closed the door behind him when it was flying open again to reveal Charlie. 

“Hey, Fushiguro!” 

“Oh. Hey, Charlie.” Megumi gave him a small smile. 

“Nice speech,” the other man teased. 

Megumi shook his head ruefully. “Yeah, right.” 

“Sorry I didn’t get a chance to say hi earlier. I’m so glad that you’re a part of the team now!” Charlie leaned against the wall and regarded Megumi in a way that was slightly more affectionate than would be normal between mere coworkers. 

“Y-yeah. Me too. Thanks for having me,” Megumi mumbled. 

His hand came up to rub the back of his neck. He felt uncharacteristically shy around Charlie, but he didn’t want to dwell on that too long; Nobara would probably say it’s because he needs to get laid. 

“Hey, do you maybe want to, ah, grab drinks sometime? Or—or food, too, if you don’t drink or something…” Charlie trailed off, mirroring Megumi’s motion. 

“Of course we can,” Megumi replied before the pause became too awkward. 

Charlie’s broad shoulders relaxed in relief. “Sweet. Cool. Then…I’ll text you? And we can figure out when? You’ve still got my number, right? There’s a place I’ve been meaning to—” 

It was at that moment the door swung open again, only this time the man behind it was a far less pleasant sight. 

Sukuna let the heavy door slam shut behind him as he scrutinized Megumi and Charlie. 

“What are you doing out here?” he asked Charlie, though his eyes didn’t leave Megumi as he spoke. 

“Just saying goodbye to Fushiguro,” Charlie said breezily. He pointedly avoided his captain’s assessing gaze. 

“Oh, yeah? Sounded like you two were planning a little date.” Sukuna finally tore his gaze from Megumi to raise an eyebrow at Charlie. 

Charlie bristled at that. “So what? Is there a problem with that?” The challenge was clear in Charlie’s body language and tone.

Sukuna threw his hands up, signaling his innocence. “Not at all. I couldn’t care less, honestly.” 

“Go away, then. Why are you out here?” Charlie huffed. The slight amount of anger Megumi had sensed in Charlie had already dissipated, leaving the two teammates bickering like siblings. 

“Bathroom. Duh,” Sukuna snapped. He didn’t leave immediately, however. Instead, he returned his attention to Megumi. “Not one for public speaking, huh?” 

Megumi frowned. “...No?” 

“Good thing you’re not the face and voice of the team, then.” Sukuna grinned, the self-importance rolling off of him in near tangible waves. 

Megumi’s brow furrowed. Why the hell was Sukuna so intent on pestering him? “Yeah. Guess so.” 

Sensing that Megumi wasn’t going to rise to the bait, Sukuna pushed off the wall and sauntered down the hall without another word. 

Charlie and Megumi both watched him go, wearing twin expressions of befuddlement. 

“He’s so odd sometimes,” Charlie muttered. 

“Tell me about it. I can’t wrap my head around how he and Yuuji are related.” 

“Right? Yuuji is, like, the reincarnation of sunshine while Sukuna is…the way he is.” 

“That’s one way to put it. I’m glad I’m friends with the nice sibling,” Megumi joked. 

“Yeah, seriously. How long have you two known each other?” 

“Since high school. Sukuna was luckily already in college somewhere so I didn’t have to see him much at all. I probably would have fought him back then.” 

Charlie laughed in disbelief. “Really? You don’t strike me as the type to be a delinquent. You’re so reserved.” 

“I guess I had to grow up after my sister got sick. My dad also wasn’t really any help with anything.” 

Talking about Tsumiki didn’t hurt as much as it used to; it was now just a fact of life that Megumi didn’t really mind disclosing to others. His dad, on the other hand…that bitterness had claws sunk deep in his heart that he knew would be hard to extract, if that was even possible. 

“Oh. Sorry to hear that,” Charlie said, his mood suddenly somber. 

“It’s fine. She’s getting a little better. I’ve pretty much given up on my dad, though. It’s whatever.” 

Charlie nodded. “My mom wasn’t the greatest, either. That’s why I grew up here and not the US, so I kinda get what you’re saying.” 

“Ah.” Megumi paused. “It sucks.” 

“Yeah.” 

The two fell into a contemplative silence before Charlie nudged Megumi’s foot with his own. 

“Well, I’ll let you get going. Text me, okay? I’ll see you Friday,” he said. With that, he gave Megumi one last smile before returning to the rest of the team. 

Megumi checked his watch, seeing that it had been far longer than five minutes. It didn’t surprise him; Yuuji wasn’t really constrained to the concept of ‘time.’ After being friends for ten plus years, Megumi had learned to never believe Yuuji when he talked about how long something would take. 

As Megumi waited outside the events room for Yuuji to finally emerge, Sukuna strolled back down the hallway with his hands in his pockets. 

Internally, Megumi scoffed. This is what a true delinquent looked like. 

“Hey, Fushiguro,” Sukuna said once he’d come to a stop next to him. 

Megumi sighed, long and deep. “Hey.” 

“So you and Charlie?” Sukuna replied, apropos of nothing. He leaned a shoulder casually against the wall, his massive arms crossed once again. “Didn’t know you swung that way.” 

“It’s none of your business, actually.” Megumi checked his watch again just to aggravate Sukuna. 

Come on, Yuuji. 

“Somewhere to be?” Sukuna’s gaze was half-lidded, lazy. 

“Home.” 

“Okay. Give me your phone.” 

Unbidden, Megumi’s lips curled in confusion. “Why?” 

“Don’t question your captain,” Sukuna said with an infuriating smirk. 

“You’re not my captain,” Megumi retorted without missing a beat. 

Sukuna didn’t bother replying; he simply held out a hand and leveled Megumi with an expectant look. 

Megumi knew that Sukuna wouldn’t let this go, so he rolled his eyes and handed over his phone.   

(It did, however, piss Megumi off to no end how small his phone looked in Sukuna’s hand.)

After a few anxious moments, Sukuna handed Megumi his phone back. 

“Thanks, sweetheart. See you Friday.” 

As if in slow motion, Megumi watched in horror as Sukuna reached out to pat his head like he was a dog who had just done a trick. Megumi ducked and swatted at Sukuna’s arm, the back of his hand connecting with Sukuna’s sturdy forearm with a dull smack. 

“Fuck off.”  

Sukuna snickered then slipped back into the events room, leaving Megumi alone and fuming. 

He took a calming, centering breath to reign in his temper. It had been a while since someone could get under his skin as efficiently as Yuuji’s annoying older brother. Megumi hadn’t been joking when he said he would have fought Sukuna when he was younger—it was taking all of his willpower now as a twenty-four year old to not deck Sukuna directly in that stupidly perfect nose. 

Megumi glanced down at his phone and saw that it was opened to his contacts app. He frowned, then frowned even harder when he saw what Sukuna had wanted his phone for. 

There, in place of Charlie’s contact entry, the captain of the Vipers had typed his own name and number with a note reading: You could do better. 

Chapter Text

“Ready for your first day?” Yuuji asked as he and Megumi walked into the downtown arena. Seeing as it was game day, players and staff members accessed the building using a different entrance than the general public. Yuuji led Megumi to the Vipers locker room and threw down his bag and stick. 

Megumi tried to smile reassuringly, but the way Yuuji’s lips turned down in concern informed Megumi that his face probably looked like he had bit directly into a lemon, peel and all. 

“Hey, don’t stress. This first day will be super low-key. Emi’s last day isn’t actually until next week, so she’ll be here today. That’s good, right?” Yuuji patted the spot next to him on the bench and Megumi drifted over like a lost child. 

Sure enough, Emi poked her head into the locker room a few minutes later. 

“Fushiguro! Hi! Are you excited?” Her face was aglow with a brilliant smile. “I figured today you can just observe me, see how things work on game days and all that good stuff.” 

Yuuji, Megumi, the coaches, and Emi had arrived at the rink about two hours before puck drop, which was an hour earlier than when the players arrived; Yuuji had insisted on accompanying Megumi on his first day so he wouldn’t feel alone.

Subsequently, the three had the locker room to themselves for the time being. 

Emi maneuvered her way through the door and went over to a row of shelves at the back of the room. 

“Here’s all our supplies. There’s bandages, cryotherapy spray, braces, tape, resistance bands and whatnot. You can use these before, during, or after games depending on what the players want.” Emi motioned for Megumi to follow her around a corner to a more secluded area of the locker room. 

A waist-height, padded table was set up in the middle, which Emi explained was for players to lay on if they need to have immediate medical attention. Also in the room was a large bin with extra gear in case a player forgot something or had a wardrobe malfunction. 

Once Megumi had been shown around the locker room, Emi led him to her own office that was next to Coach Masamichi’s. 

Inside, the small room was decorated to the brim with Sanrio merchandise. 

Megumi blinked, taking in the numerous posters, plushies, and office supplies scattered around the space. 

“As you can see, I’m a big Sanrio fan. Do you have a favorite?” Emi asked as she rounded her desk and squatted down to retrieve a binder from a drawer in her desk. 

“Um…” Megumi didn’t know any Sanrio characters besides Hello Kitty, which he knew would give him away as being uneducated in the world of Sanrio. 

“I think you’d like Badtz-Maru. He even looks like you!” Emi grinned as she held up a small figurine of a black, unamused penguin-looking creature. 

Megumi stared at it, dismayed to see that Emi was completely right. “Oh. You’re right.” 

Emi laughed and set down Badtz-Maru. “Okay, enough fooling around. This right here,” she hefted the binder onto the desk, “is your holy grail. Come look.” 

Megumi joined Emi in leaning over the thick red binder decorated with cute stickers. 

“This binder has each player’s individual health and nutritional information, game stats, and past injuries. It also has descriptions of exercises and stretches that they’ve used to recover from said injuries, as well as their training regimens.” 

Emi flipped through the different sections of the binder. The pages had been scrawled with many different types of handwriting, indicating that multiple people had worked on creating this compilation of info. 

“The coaches and I all have copies of this, so I’ll make yours and give it to you at the next practice,” Emi explained. 

She snapped the binder closed and stowed it away again. “I’ve been working with this team for a while, so I don’t really need to reference it anymore, but it’ll be a great tool for you as you start out and get to know everyone. Now,” Emi stretched her back and put her hands on her hips, “I'll show you the rest of the arena.”

___

Half an hour later, members of the Vipers team began arriving for the game. Emi told Megumi that they warm up as a team with a couple off-ice group stretches and quick cardio warmups, and that some of the guys would usually have Emi guide them through some personalized stretches to check in on their physical wellness. 

Then, they’d get their gear on, have the pre-game meeting, and hit the ice for the on-ice warm ups that were designed by the coaches.

Megumi watched as all of this transpired, making mental notes of the various players’ pre-game rituals and habits. Emi wove her way through the locker room surprisingly nimbly, chatting with the players like old friends. 

She probably is friends with them if she’s been doing this for eight years, Megumi thought to himself. A deep, insecure part of himself doubted he’d be able to fill the professional and emotional hole Emi left in the team, but he was slightly reassured by the fact that his best friend was there. 

Megumi shook his head to clear his depressing thoughts. He’d have more than enough time to stress over things; today was game day, and the first of the season, no less. 

The energy was practically palpable in the locker room. Puck drop was in half an hour and the guys were chomping at the bit for the zamboni to finish resurfacing the ice. 

Fans had trickled into the stands, sporting the team’s trademark black and burgundy red in blankets and hats due to the frigid temperature of the rink. 

The coaches filed into the room soon after the last player had put on his helmet. 

Masamichi scanned the room, looking each player in the eye. 

“All right, boys. First game of the season. How are we feeling?” 

Responses ranged from gloved thumbs up and stoic nods, and in the case of Yuuji, an enthusiastic fist pump in the air. 

“The team we’re playing today didn’t have the greatest season last year, but that does not mean we can underestimate them. Their left winger is a force to be reckoned with, as you all saw from the clips we watched at practice.” 

Masamichi flipped a page on his clipboard. 

“Tonight’s lineup will start with Sukuna at center, Yuuji on right wing, and Mori on left. Charlie and Ren will take defense, leaving Hiroji in goal,” Masamichi said. 

Yuuji grabbed Mori’s helmet cage with a gloved hand and shook the other man’s head around. 

“You excited to start?” he asked. 

Mori, despite being older than Yuuji, let himself be jostled around by the younger man.

“Yep. Nervous, a little,” Mori admitted. 

“Nah, you’ll kill it out there. I’m glad to have you on the other wing,” Yuuji reassured him. “Just try to keep up with me, ‘kay?” 

Mori scoffed and punched Yuuji on his shoulder. “I’m only five years older than you, you goofball.” 

“Yeah, and you still use the word ‘goofball,’ so who’s laughing now?” 

Megumi watched the easy banter between the two teammates, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. As he scanned the locker room, he caught eyes with Charlie, who was adjusting his elbow pads. 

The other man started to raise an arm to wave, but it was quickly smacked back down by none other than his captain, Sukuna, who Charlie had unfortunately ended up next to. 

Sukuna muttered something to Charlie—Megumi couldn’t tell what from across the room—then leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes. 

Charlie made a face at Sukuna, then shot Megumi a look very akin to an older sister apologizing to someone because her younger sibling had just done something weird. 

Megumi couldn’t have agreed more. 

— 

Halfway into the second period, the Vipers were losing. 

The other team must have made a deal with some higher being during the off-season; there was simply no other explanation as to how a team could so effortlessly skate around the Vipers like it was a Pee-Wee League game. 

Obviously, the guys were getting upset. Sukuna in particular seemed to carry a storm cloud over his head wherever he was, whether that be on the ice or the bench. 

Even Yuuji was getting frustrated; it showed in more subtle ways, like the rink door being closed harder than usual, or the water bottles not being neatly rearranged in the carrier every substitution. 

Emi had leaned over to Megumi after the other team’s fourth goal and whispered, “Sorry this was your first day. The guys are gonna be in a hell of a mood.”

Megumi watched with dismay as the score refused to budge from 4-2, Warriors. 

The two goals that the Vipers did have were scored by Mori and Ren in two instances of pure luck, which didn’t help with lifting the team’s spirits. 

Finally, the buzzer sounded for the resurfacing break. Megumi and Emi held the doors open for the team to shuffle through, then followed the mass of grey jerseys. 

Inside, the guys were silent. It felt as if everyone had received news that their childhood pet got hit by a car. 

It being the first game of the season, the players were pretty bummed out. On top of that, they were being made fools of by a team that they’d mercied last season. Megumi could understand the irritation and disappointment—every team wanted to start their season with a win. 

“Listen up.” 

Wilted heads perked up to peer at Masamichi. 

“Forget the past half hour. It’s done, and you can’t let your past fuckups cause future ones,” said Masamichi with a voice that betrayed no emotion. “Head into the last period as if it’s a new game, zero-zero. If you’re not able to do that, you can go ahead and take off your jersey.”

Masamichi paused then, leveling the room with a completely terrifying gaze. 

Nobody moved a muscle. 

“Good.” The coach nodded once, sharp and decisive. 

“Get your sorry asses out there.” 

___

They still lost, but they looked like a completely different team on the ice. 

After multiple near-goals from the Vipers and some highlight reel saves from Hiroji, the guys seemed to have life breathed back into them. 

Megumi even found himself getting caught up in the fervor, sometimes gasping or cheering when something exciting happened. 

In the last three minutes of the third period, Sukuna scored an incredible goal to the delight of the stadium, making the score 4-3. 

The captain of the Vipers dropped to one knee and mimed shooting an arrow into the crowd, causing the fans to erupt and multiple women in the first row swoon. Megumi huffed out a quiet laugh at that. It also surprised him in that he never thought Sukuna of all people would be prone to such acts of showmanship. 

With only a one goal deficit, the Vipers had a shot of tying. Unfortunately, their efforts were squandered when the Warriors scored again just seconds after Sukuna’s goal, to which the Vipers’ captain responded by punching the glass and swearing loud enough that the bench could hear. 

Despite the loss, the team returned to the locker room in entirely opposite moods than before. Rather than sounding like a graveyard, the locker room was instead filled with chatter about the last period. 

The Vipers’ captain had been stopped in the tunnel for a post-game interview with a local news anchor, so Charlie beckoned Megumi over to the empty space Sukuna had left. 

“How’d you like being on the bench for the first time?” Charlie asked as he unlaced his skates. 

“It was fun. I found it more exciting than being in the stands, honestly.” 

Charlie grinned. “I totally feel you.” The defenseman sat up and ran a hand through his sweat-slicked hair. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but the coach came in for the post-game debrief. 

Masamichi commended the team on their rebound in the third period, and he said that games like these show that going into a game with any preconceived notions will almost always prove to be unhelpful. He seemed to be in better spirits than at halftime, and it rubbed off on everyone else. 

“We’re going out tonight to celebrate our first game,” said a younger defenseman named Chikara to the general area where Charlie and Megumi were sitting. “Wanna join?” 

Megumi glanced at Yuuji, who shot him a big thumbs up. 

“Okay. Why not?”  

Most of the team also agreed to tag along, though Megumi noticed the absence of one particular player. 

Sukuna was apparently still conducting an interview, because he hadn’t come back and joined the team yet. Megumi hated to admit it, but the room felt like it lacked something without the captain. 

Almost as if just thinking of the man could summon him, Sukuna barged through the locker room door and stomped over his spot on the bench which was currently occupied by Megumi. 

Megumi sprung up and evacuated the area lest Sukuna think it an opportune time to annoy him. 

Alas, Megumi was not quick enough. 

“Enjoy the show? Shit game, but at least I looked cool.” Sukuna sat down on the bench and ripped his helmet off, chucking it carelessly into his bag. Similarly to Charlie, Sukuna raked a hand through his damp hair, but this time a flicker of heat licked at Megumi’s stomach. 

Fuck. 

Megumi scoffed. “Yeah, sure.” 

Charlie was nearly done taking off his gear, and Megumi noticed the way he sped up a bit now that Sukuna was back. He zipped up his bag, then sprung up and threw an arm around Megumi. 

“I’m going to shower. Wait for me?” he said to Megumi. “I’ll be quick, then we can head to that bar together.” 

Sukuna paused in removing his skates, a foreboding expression on his face when he looked up.

“He’s busy.” 

Megumi whipped his head around.

“Excuse me?” 

“I said, you’re busy. So whatever you two were going to do after will have to be postponed. Or canceled, for all I care,” Sukuna said with a nonchalant shrug. 

Megumi was dumbfounded—who was Sukuna to think that he had the authority to boss him around?! 

“I don't recall you ever speaking to me about a prior obligation today,” Megumi snapped. 

“Yeah, well, I didn’t know I was going to fuck up my leg beforehand. Sorry for not being fucking clairvoyant or whatever.” 

“Emi’s here and just as capable of doing that,” Megumi pointed out. 

“You need to learn at some point,” Sukuna retorted without missing a beat. “Also, it’s her last week. Let her be with the team for a little bit longer.” 

The two entered a stalemate; both men possessed iron wills and stubbornness to a fault. 

Charlie, sensing the tension between Sukuna and Megumi, made a swift exit with a whispered, “I'll catch up to you later.” 

By now, all of the guys besides the captain had emptied out of the locker room and headed into the showers. Megumi mourned the loss of the rest of the team, for they could not act as a buffer between him and Sukuna’s wrath. 

“Why are you so insufferable?” Megumi asked, blunt and emotionless in an attempt to avoid conceding to Sukuna’s demand. 

“Only for you, sweetheart,” Sukuna replied with a coy, infuriating wink. 

Megumi hated—absolutely hated—how that brought a blush to his cheeks. 

“Well, I want to get to know the team, so if we could get started, that would be great.” 

I don’t want to spend any more time with you than necessary remained unspoken, but acknowledged by both parties. 

Sukuna shrugged and didn’t show any sign of being in a rush on Megumi’s behalf. 

Megumi fought the urge to stomp his foot like a toddler who didn’t get what he wanted. Instead, he whirled around and stalked to the back room. 

He pulled out a couple different muscle rollers and athletic tape and set them on a table, waiting impatiently for Sukuna to take his sweet time undressing. 

Megumi leaned against the table, tapping his fingers impatiently. 

Finally, Sukuna deemed him worthy of his presence and stepped into the room, shirtless. 

“Ready?” Sukuna smirked with all of the arrogance of someone who knew they were hot. 

Clearing his throat and begging his cheeks to not give him away, Megumi nodded and patted the cushioned treatment table. 

Sukuna strolled over and situated himself on the table, then laid back and laced his fingers behind his head. 

(Megumi absolutely did not look at the way his arm muscles flexed as he did so.) 

“Show me where it hurts,” Megumi said with the most professional tone he could muster. 

Sukuna nodded towards his leg. “By my hamstring. I overextended it.” 

“I’ll roll it out for you, then I can try to pinpoint the area with a quick massage,”  Megumi told his patient as he rummaged around for a leg muscle roller. 

He bent down to retrieve it from a bin on the lowest shelf, and when he did, a sharp wolf whistle had him bolting upwards and glaring daggers at Sukuna. 

“Look. If this is your idiotic idea of flirting, just drop it. It’s not going to work on me,” Megumi snapped. 

“Are you sure about that?” Sukuna said with a devilish smirk. “You’re all red.” 

“Yeah, because I’m annoyed. I’m glad you’re having fun, but I’d greatly appreciate it if you could act like an adult, seeing as I am your coworker.” Megumi put extra emphasis on the last word. 

“Last time I checked, there was no rule about coworkers being banned from romantic relationships at their place of work,” replied Sukuna, unconcerned. 

“You forgot the part where ‘relationship’ implies that both parties are interested. Which I’m not,” Megumi added. 

“Because of Charlie?” Sukuna rolled his eyes derisively. 

Megumi’s grip tightened on the muscle roller. “Yes. But also because of how you’ve been nothing but a douchebag to me since we met.” 

Sukuna completely disregarded the second part of Megumi’s reply to narrow in on the first word. “So you do like him? What do you even see in him? He’s so…boring.” The man on the table shook his head with disgust. 

“What is your problem with him? He’s your assistant captain!” Megumi hissed, feeling deeply offended on Charlie’s behalf. 

“So? I just don’t like him. It’s not a crime.”

Frustrated out of his wits, Megumi stomped over to Sukuna and reached out to shove the other man backwards onto the table so he could get the treatment over with as fast as possible, but Sukuna was quicker. 

His hand darted out and grabbed Megumi by the wrist, his fingers wrapped all the way around with room to spare. 

“You really think you could push me around?” Sukuna glared condescendingly down his nose at Megumi. The man’s free arm snaked around Megumi’s waist and pulled him tight to the table, between Sukuna’s legs that were dangling over the side. 

Megumi squirmed, but Sukuna’s grip was a vice. He was trapped, a lamb in the den of the lion. 

“Look how tiny you are.” Sukuna glanced at his hand wrapped around Megumi’s arm. 

The other man was right; Megumi’s delicate, smooth wrist was engulfed in Sukuna’s large hand, gripping him possessively. 

An unwanted stab of hot arousal stirred in Megumi’s gut. 

“Let me go,” Megumi demanded while praying that the desire thickening his voice would go unnoticed. 

“Ask me nicely, princess.” 

Megumi flushed fully red then, the tips of his ears glowing. 

Again, Sukuna held a challenge in his eyes—a challenge Megumi couldn’t help but rise to. 

If Sukuna wanted to do it this way, then so be it. 

Collecting himself, Megumi lowered his eyelashes and looked to the side, the perfect image of a blushing maiden. He let a slight pout creep onto his lips in spite of the secondhand embarrassment he was feeling at his own flagrancy. 

“Please, Sukuna, let me go?” 

Sukuna released Megumi like he was burned. Megumi skittered back immediately and returned his face to normal. 

“Happy?” he said, his voice flat. 

“Thrilled.” Sukuna refused to meet Megumi’s gaze. Megumi tracked the bob in his throat as the man swallowed and crossed his legs surreptitiously on the table. 

“Good. Then turn over so I can leave.”. 

Chapter Text

For the next few practices and games, Megumi believed himself to finally be freed from Sukuna’s attention. He assumed that he’d scared the captain off with his reciprocated pretend-flirting and that Sukuna was now avoiding him so as to not give Megumi the false idea that he was actually interested in him. 

Which was fine. 

Megumi went about his days waiting for Sukuna to grin at him condescendingly or call him sweetheart in that infuriating deep voice of his, but it never came. 

In fact, Sukuna set about treating Megumi like he didn’t exist outside of strictly professional exchanges. 

It was exactly what Megumi had brought up in the locker room, but for some reason, he didn’t feel the prideful satisfaction that followed after getting exactly what he wanted. He felt…dejected, for some reason. 

You’re being ridiculous , Megumi snapped at himself as he caught himself casting a brief, forlorn glance in Sukuna’s direction after a game. He clearly wasn’t being serious and now he’s grossed out. Let it be. 

Megumi knew it would be the right thing to let this all fade away to time and for him and Sukuna to fall neatly into the roles of work acquaintances. He knew it would be the route of the least heartache, but he couldn’t ignore the something between him and Sukuna that neither could ignore each time they butted heads. 

“Damn it all,” Megumi muttered under his breath. 

“All right?” Charlie asked from just over Megumi’s left shoulder. 

Megumi started, not expecting someone to be there so suddenly. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine.” 

“Sukuna hasn’t been mean to you again, has he?” A dark look passed over Charlie’s normally bright disposition. 

“No, nothing like that. He’s actually been pretty civil lately, which is good,” Megumi replied quickly. He didn’t want to stir the pot between those two any more than it had been before his arrival to the team. 

“That’s good.” Charlie shook his head as if to clear the air of the current topic and smiled. “Want a lift home?” 

Charlie was referring to his bike that he had refurbished with his dad. Megumi hadn’t been on it yet, but he had been meaning to go for a ride. 

“I would appreciate it, thank you,” Megumi said with a grateful smile. 

The two left the locker room with Megumi purposefully not thinking about the dark eyes burning into his back when the door slammed closed. 

He and Charlie rounded the building to the small lot behind it where Charlie’s lime green bike was parked. 

With a shy smile, Charlie admitted that he’d started bringing two helmets just in case Megumi had the time to go on a ride after work, and oh , how badly did Megumi wish that he felt…anything. He begged himself to feel butterflies in his stomach, a stutter in his chest, something. 

There was nothing, though, and Megumi was acutely aware of the lack of attraction he had towards Charlie. 

“Thank you,” was all Megumi was able to get out in the midst of emotional turmoil. 

Charlie drove Megumi home, never going a kilometer over the speed limit, and dropped him off at his apartment with a chaste hug and a wave. 

Megumi, as he climbed the stairs to the third floor, was in crisis. 

Here he was, presented with the ideal man—kind, thoughtful, handsome, strong—and Megumi couldn’t even muster a blush around him anymore. 

All because of the pain in his ass that was unfortunately very hot. 

Megumi groaned as he unlocked the door to the apartment. He had a few hours to himself, so he threw his stuff on the kitchen table and flopped onto the lumpy couch. 

His body sunk into the cushions, and with it the tension in his body dissipated with a sigh. 

Already half asleep, Megumi pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts to Sukuna’s stolen entry. 

He clicked on it and read the words Sukuna had written in the notes space all those days ago. Megumi stared, forlorn, at the digits of the captain’s phone number as if they would provide answers about the man on the other end. 

Maybe it was the haze of drowsiness, or maybe it was the recalled sensation of Sukuna’s hand on his wrist that spurred Megumi to send one text before he succumbed to sleep. 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> Hey. 

___

When Megumi woke, all he remembered was lips (worshiping his body like it was a work of art), a tongue (soothing the wetness between his legs), and two ruby-red eyes searing his skin, branding him with desire. 

___

[From: Ryomen Sukuna] 

> who is this? 

Megumi’s heart leapt when he read Sukuna’s name on his phone screen. He sat up on the couch and, with residual heat in his veins from his daydream, texted Sukuna back. 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> How is your wrist? 

[From: Ryomen Sukuna] 

> Fine. 

> why are you texting me fushiguro? 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> As per my previous message, to check on the status of one of my patients. 

[From: Ryomen Sukuna] 

> so sassy…

A traitorously pleased warmth spread in Megumi’s chest. This was the first thing Sukuna had said to him in a while that even remotely resembled the way he used to speak to him before the incident in the locker room. 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> I’m not sassy. 

[From: Ryomen Sukuna]  

> sure

> whatever makes you feel better 

Megumi’s fingers hovered over the keyboard as he wracked his brain for a witty reply. No words came to him, so he sighed and turned off his phone in defeat. 

__

At the next game, a match up against the Vipers’ historic rivals, a steaming to-go cup of fancy coffee was waiting for Megumi in the locker room. 

Distinct yet neat handwriting on the side read “For Megumi.” 

Puzzled, Megumi picked it up and sipped it tentatively. To his surprise, it was exactly how he liked it; mostly black with just a dash of caramel creamer. 

He texted Yuuji to ask if he had left it to which he got a swift reply of “No…do you have a secret admirer?!” 

Megumi scoffed. Yeah, right. 

Next, he texted Charlie, the next most likely culprit. 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi]

> did you get me this coffee? 

> {1 image attached}

[From: Charlie Morris] 

> ?? no i’m not there yet 

> show me the handwriting better, i might be able to recognize it 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> {1 image attached} 

[From: Charlie Morris]

> Oh. 

> That’s Sukuna’s handwriting. 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> Really? 

[From: Charlie Morris] 

> yeah. 

> you two are on a first name basis? 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi]

> No, that’s partly why it’s so weird 

[From: Charlie Morris] 

> Hmm 

> you sure it’s not poisoned 🧐

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> Ha ha 

Megumi locked his phone and sat down on one of the benches to contemplate his current situation. 

There was simply no universe Megumi could conceive of in which Ryomen Sukuna would be buying a coffee for him , and addressing him by his given name so intimately. 

Sukuna was an enigma to Megumi, and he hated that; but a small part of him was so, so desperately curious to learn everything about that man. 

___

The game against the rival team, the Hawks, went spectacularly. It was a high scoring game, but the Vipers had led the entire time, ending with a final score of 5-3. 

Sukuna, having scored a perfect hat trick, was on top of the world. After his second goal, the audience was already miming his celly and chanting ‘hat trick!’ until the break. 

The captain of the Vipers shucked his gear off as fast as usual, but he lingered in the locker room to hassle his teammates rather than making a beeline for the door. Megumi, who was helping Mori with some stretches, tracked Sukuna around the room surreptitiously with the corners of his eyes. 

He analyzed each movement of the other man like it would explain why Sukuna had suddenly decided to gift Megumi his favorite coffee on a random Friday. 

Mori followed Megumi’s distracted gaze. “Enjoying the view?” 

Megumi jumped and cleared his throat. “What? Sorry, I got distracted,” Megumi muttered. 

“Yeah, I could tell,” Mori replied drily, though not without a hint of amusement. “You’re not exactly subtle, Fushiguro.” 

“R-really?” Megumi squeaked, cringing at the crack in his voice. 

Mori snorted. “Yeah. Practically the entire team is in on it already, except for the two lovebirds, anyways. And maybe Yuuji, because he doesn’t want to think about his best friend and his brother dating,” Mori mused. The older man shifted in his stretched position and groaned. 

After a few moments more of Mori working through his stretches and Megumi simmering in embarrassment, Sukuna stuck his head around the corner and barked, “You guys coming to the bar? Shunsuke sent the name in the groupchat. Come if you want, but we’re leaving in ten.” He said this mostly to Mori, but he shot a loaded glance at Megumi a second before he turned to leave. 

“You going?” Mori asked. 

“Probably. I couldn’t make the last one, so I might as well.” 

“Ah, gotcha. I’m getting too old for that; those kids can go all night and I don’t think my liver is up for that anymore.” 

Megumi laughed. “I feel the same way sometimes, and I’m the youngest of my friends,” Megumi replied. 

“Well, you go have fun. I’ll finish up here,” Mori told Megumi. 

“Are you sure? I really don’t mind staying with you.” 

Mori waved his hand in a shoo-ing motion. “Don’t worry about it. Go, be free.” 

Megumi smiled appreciatively and bowed, then hurried out of the room to the lobby. 

The group of guys who were going out loitered in the doorway of the lobby. When Yuuji caught sight of his friend, he grinned ear to ear. 

“You’re coming with?” he asked, stars practically shining in his eyes at the thought. 

“Yeah. I’m not going to pound shots or anything, though,” Megumi warned Yuuji as the group started to wander to the building’s exit. 

“I’m just glad you’re coming!” 

___

Three hours later, Megumi found himself stone cold sober and nearly alone with Sukuna on the last train of the night. 

How this happened could be attributed to a perfect storm of Megumi’s and Sukuna’s apartments being on the same train line, and the fact that Yuuji decided to keep bar hopping and thus would not be there to be a buffer between his brother and Megumi.  

Megumi swayed with the train, a hand wrapped loosely around an overhead handle. The city at night whizzed by through the window, and both Megumi and Sukuna watched, mesmerized. 

The persistent, quiet rattling sound of the train speeding over the tracks was broken by Sukuna. 

“Did you have fun?” 

Wary, Megumi nodded. Sukuna is the last person he’d expect to make awkward small talk on his own accord. 

“Are you not a big drinker?” Sukuna’s attention remained on the blurred cityscape through the window. 

“Uh…no, not really. Only at home, and very rarely.” 

Sukuna dipped his head in acknowledgement—a surprisingly gentle gesture for him. 

They lapsed into silence again.

“So…do you think the team is going to make it to finals this year?” Megumi blurted out a few moments later if only to break up the oppressive silence of the train. 

Sukuna shrugged. “Maybe. We’ve been playing decently, but decent won’t cut it this year considering how good some of the teams have gotten all of a sudden.” 

“Well, if it’s worth anything, I think you’ll make it,” Megumi said. 

“Ha. Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Sukuna scoffed, though it wasn’t mean for once. He actually sounded a little bit like he meant it. 

Megumi realized that this was the most they had spoken to each other since the day in the locker room. 

Something felt different between them, but Megumi couldn’t—or wouldn’t?—put a pin on what it was just yet. All he knew was that it felt so electric . 

The train chimed, announcing the next stop was Megumi’s. 

All in all, Megumi was pleased (but definitely denying the extent to which he felt that emotion) with how Sukuna seemed to be done with giving Megumi the cold shoulder. 

As the train slowed to a stop, Megumi inched closer to the door on Sukuna’s side despite that side being farther from the exit. 

“Goodnight,” Megumi mumbled as he passed by Sukuna. 

At the last second, however, Sukuna slipped through the closing doors and stopped next to Megumi, whose mouth was open with surprise. 

“What are you doing?! That’s the last train!” 

“Walking you home,” Sukuna replied, the very picture of calm and collected. 

Megumi simply gaped at Sukuna. 

“Well? Are you planning to get home tonight?” Sukuna nodded his head towards the exit. “It’s pretty late already.” 

All Megumi could do was shake his head in utter bewilderment. 

The two men left the station and started the walk back to Megumi’s apartment. Sukuna stayed right next to Megumi, close enough that their hands brushed with every other stride. 

“How are you going to get home now?” Megumi asked as they rounded the corner of the street his apartment was on. 

(An embarrassingly large part of him wanted Sukuna to say that he was spending the night.)

“A taxi,” Sukuna replied. 

“But…they’re so expensive. And you didn’t even have to walk—“ 

“I know I didn’t have to,” Sukuna’s dark eyes slid over to Megumi, “I did it because I wanted to.” 

Megumi suppressed a shiver at the implications in Sukuna’s tone. 

“Oh. Well, thank you, I guess?” 

Sukuna only nodded. They arrived at the front door of the apartment building and before Megumi could reach to unlock it, Sukuna was already typing in Yuuji’s code and holding the door open for Megumi. 

“Coming?” he asked a nonplussed Megumi. 

“Y-yeah. Sorry.” 

As Megumi passed Sukuna at the door, he felt a light, barely-there hand on the small of his back, guiding him up the staircase. 

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Sukuna murmured, his low voice echoing off the concrete walls of the stairwell. 

At this point, Megumi could no longer ignore the absolutely fatal attraction he had to Sukuna. He felt himself blushing head to toe the entire three flights up to the apartment. 

When they arrived at Megumi’s door, Megumi dig around in his canvas bag, cursing himself for being disorganized and making a fool of himself in front of Sukuna. 

Finally, he procured his key ring and unlocked his door. Before he said goodnight, and before he could talk himself out of it, Megumi turned around and asked Sukuna, “Why are you being so nice to me?” 

Megumi tilted his head back to meet Sukuna’s eyes. 

“I’m not just ‘being nice,’” Sukuna said pointedly. 

Megumi’s eyebrows drew together in clear confusion. 

“You thought what I was doing earlier was flirting? I was just teasing you then, sweetheart.” said Sukuna. “This is what real flirting looks like.”

Megumi’s breath caught in his throat. 

“In fact,” Sukuna brushed a stray lock of hair behind Megumi’s ear so, so tenderly that it made Megumi’s heart clench, “this is what I do when I want to make someone mine.” 

Calloused fingers brushed Megumi’s jaw as Sukuna pulled his hand away. 

“Goodnight, Megumi.” Without another word, Sukuna turned and descended the stairs, out of sight. 

—

Megumi had just barely locked his door before he was sliding to the floor and slipping a shaky hand into his pants. In the span of about seven minutes, he made himself come three times to the thought of Sukuna’s fingers being the ones inside of him instead of his own. He had officially crossed the line, and he knew there was absolutely no going back to normal after he had come with Sukuna’s name on his lips. 

Well, fuck . 

Chapter Text

At the next practice, Sukuna acted like nothing had happened that fateful night. Megumi, on the other hand, could barely even look in the captain’s direction without his face bursting into flames and his skin tingling with the memory of what he had done. 

A few minutes before the guys hit the ice, Megumi was filling the water bottles for the bench when Sukuna walked up behind him and said, in that gorgeous voice of his, “Hey.” 

Megumi startled, spilling a bit of the water as he was screwing the lid on. 

He whirled around and wiped his wet hands on his pants in embarrassment. 

“Hey,” he replied coolly, praying that his voice didn’t betray the fluttering in his chest. 

“Hold out your hand,” Sukuna said, bossy as ever. 

Megumi didn’t even have time to consider protesting before he was obediently holding his hand out. 

With a glimmer of that intoxicating smugness that Megumi had come to miss, Sukuna raised an eyebrow and said “Close your eyes, too. Have you never received a gift before?” 

“I have!” Megumi shot back. He closed his eyes, though, and waited expectantly, his mind racing with what Sukuna could possibly want from him. 

“Sure, alright.” Sukuna huffed out a laugh, one meant for only Megumi to hear. 

With his eyes closed and his heart pounding out of his chest, Megumi felt Sukuna’s gloved hand graze his, and then a smooth, small item was placed in the palm of his waiting hand. 

“See you after practice,” Sukuna murmured before Megumi had the chance to open his eyes. He heard the clomp of Sukuna’s skates on the padded floor, then the door of the rink clicking shut. 

Megumi let out a long, centering breath before seeing what Sukuna had given him. 

In his hand sat a delicate ceramic keychain with a pair of figure skates dangling from a golden chain. Unbidden, Megumi gasped at how pretty it was. 

His fingers curled around it and he looked out to the ice where Sukuna was skating some warm-up laps. 

The keychain was truly beautiful; it looked expensive, like it was crafted with the utmost care. The weight of it in Megumi’s palm hinted that it was not just some cheap trinket. 

Megumi’s cheeks turned a delighted pink, and he was as glad no one else was around to see. The fact that Sukuna even remembered that Megumi dabbled in figure skating meant the world to him.

After he had finished filling the waters and delivering them behind the bench, he made a beeline to his bag in the back and clipped the keychain on immediately. Megumi admired the way it looked on the handle. It felt like a secret between him and Sukuna. 

Megumi caught himself smiling softly at the keychain, so he immediately turned on his heel to head to the bench. 

Damned Sukuna, Megumi thought to himself as he fought the blush from his cheeks. Megumi knew that he stood absolutely zero chance against the other man’s bold pursuit of him. 

Never in his twenty-five years of life had Megumi been so deeply attracted to someone who seemed to reciprocate those feelings. 

It was sudden, unexpected, and a bit destabilizing, but so fucking exhilarating. 

___

[From: Kugisaki Nobara]

> guys 

> guess the fuck what 

[From: Itadori Yuuji] 

> ????? 

[From: Kugisaki Nobara] 

> i’m fucking back 

> i’m literally on my way to your apartment right now

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> You’re back early? 

[From: Kugisaki Nobara] 

> oui oui monsieur 

> oh sorry 😖😖 i meant yes sir! 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> You were in France for less than two weeks… 

[From: Kugisaki Nobara] 

> and?? 

> what can i say, the city of light must have gotten to me 🤪🤷‍♀️

[From: Itadori Yuuji] 

> what would you do if we weren’t home tonight 

[From: Kugisaki Nobara] 

> probably kill myself 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> Oh. 

[From: Itadori Yuuji] 

> good thing we are home then 😳

[From: Kugisaki Nobara] 

> nah i knew you were both there cuz i stalked the fuck outta your locations omw back 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> Typical 

[From: Kugisaki Nobara] 

> i got u guys stuff i’ll be there in like half an hour 

[From: Itadori Yuuji] 

> HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY 🐈💃🏻🕺🏻

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> You could have just sent the GIF

[From: Itadori Yuuji] 

> no💜 

Yuuji snickered to himself from across the living room. 

“I’m so funny,” he said. 

“Uh huh,” Megumi replied. He set down his phone on the counter and pulled down three wine glasses from a cupboard on a whim. 

“Wait, really? I’m down,” Yuuji trilled when he heard the clink of the crystal glasses on the marble countertop. “I didn’t expect you to be the one to pull these out. Classy.” 

Megumi shrugged, a little sheepish. “We haven’t all hung out together in a while, so…” 

“No, no, you’re so right. I was literally gonna do the same thing.” Yuuji flung open the cupboard door above the fridge and procured the singular bottle of (cheap) wine from the behind bottles of (also cheap) liquor. 

The two friends went around the apartment and picked up a little; luckily, neither of them were too messy. It certainly wasn’t up to Nobara levels of cleanliness, but that was a far-fetched dream for two men in their twenties. 

Almost exactly a half hour later, Nobara was knocking on their door. 

Yuuji skipped over to it and peered through the peephole. “I don’t think we ordered any strippers tonight…” 

“Shut the fuck up!” came Nobara’s muffled voice through the thick wood. 

Yuuji cackled and unlocked the deadbolt. In a flurry of pink bags and flowery perfume, Nobara flounced into their apartment and kicked off her heels like she owned the place. 

“God, finally. I was so sick of those bitches,” Nobara groaned. She flopped onto the couch and immediately stretched out to take up the entire span of it. 

Yuuji and Megumi, the plebes that they were, sat on the floor. 

“Tell us about Paris!” Yuuji demanded, stars sparkling in his eyes. 

Nobara cooed, donning a truly offensive French accent, “Yes, of course, my dah-lings . If you both behave, I’ll also bestow upon you the treasures I brought back.” 

“Wait, just a sec,” interrupted Yuuji. He sprung up and soon returned with the three glasses of wine filled much too full to be “classy.” 

Nobara grinned and sat up on the couch. “Hang on just a little bit longer, my sweet liver.” 

“What the fuck…” Megumi muttered. 

The trio cheered, then drank deeply from their cups. 

Yuuji and Nobara, competitive as ever, locked eyes and in a tacit agreement decided to down their entire glasses in one go. 

Megumi, being normal, did not. 

“Oh, god,” Yuuji gasped once there were only a few drops left in the bottom of the glass. He set the wineglass down on the coffee table and keeled over, clutching his stomach. 

A smug grin spread across Nobara’s face. “That was nothing.” 

“Pardon my French, but go fuck yourself,” Yuuji muttered from his prone position on the floor. 

“I missed you two so much!” 

Nobara jumped up and hurried over to her massive, neon pink suitcase. When she returned, she was carrying two small items wrapped thoroughly in paper and bubble wrap. 

“Okay, close your eyes,” she said. 

Megumi sucked in a quiet breath at those words. They mirrored all too closely what Sukuna had said to him earlier that day, and he did not want to think about Sukuna and Nobara in similar contexts. 

He took a hearty sip of his wine to distract himself, wincing at the bitterness of it. 

Once Nobara had placed his souvenir in his hands, he and Yuuji unwrapped them eagerly. 

For Megumi, Nobara had gotten him a personalized badge clip for his keycard at the rink. The small, stainless steel circle had his given name engraved in a sleek font, and a nice leather loop for the badge to attach to. 

“It was locally made at this adorable market I went to,” Nobara informed him. Megumi smiled, a small but genuine one, and gave Nobara a rare hug. 

Her eyes widened, but she reciprocated immediately, squeezing him tightly. 

For Yuuji, Nobara had brought back a beautiful, hand-painted tiger figurine. 

“I got this from the same market, and the lady who made it was one hundred and five years old. Her hands were the steadiest I’ve seen, seriously,” Nobara said. 

Yuuji ogled over the tiger figurine. It was truly a work of art, and it was adorable. 

“It reminded me so much of you that I just had to get it.” 

“I love it so much,” Yuuji cried, leaping up to wrangle Nobara into a hug. 

“Ugh, get off, you stink!” 

Yuuji pulled himself away and pouted. “I showered after practice!” 

“You’re still stinky.” 

“Am not!” 

“Yes, you are!” 

Megumi rolled his eyes fondly at his friends’ bickering. He knew they could go forever with this back and forth, so he nipped it in the bud by pouring them all another glass of wine. 

___

Another glass of wine and maybe four too many shots of shitty vodka later, the three friends were sprawled on the floor chatting about nothing. 

Megumi gathered the strength to check his phone for the time. 

It was 11:27 at night, and he had one percent left of his battery. Sober Megumi was the type to get anxious if his phone was below thirty percent battery, so Drunk Megumi felt this was a travesty of the highest degree. 

He sprang up and wobbled over to his canvas bag that was hanging on the door hook to retrieve his charger. 

Due to his fine motor skills being so impaired, Megumi brought the entire bag over to his spot and dumped it out on the floor rather than spend probably five minutes rummaging for the cord. 

However, once Megumi tossed his bag aside, Nobara gasped and snatched it up. 

“Oh my god, this is so cute!” she squealed as she unclippes the keychain Sukuna had gifted to him. 

“Hey!” Megumi made a grab for it, but the room started to spin when he moved quickly, so he ended up slowly collapsing to the floor inches away from Nobara’s knees. 

“Who gave this to you? This is gorgeous !” Nobara held the keychain extremely close to her face and examined it. “Looks expensive.” 

“Give it back,” Megumi demanded as he lay face down. 

“Yuuji, look. Did you give this to him?” 

Yuuji stared at Nobara with not a single neuron firing in his brain. 

“I’ll take that as a no…” Nobara frowned, then handed the keychain back to Megumi. “Who was it?” 

Megumi stubbornly kept his face plastered against the floor. 

“Tell me! I gave you a souvenir!” 

“No!” 

Nobara stood up and put a foot on Megumi’s back, applying a slight amount of pressure. “I’ll do it. Don’t think I won’t.” 

Seeing as Megumi valued his ribs, he had no other option but to concede. Also, his severely inebriated brain thought What harm could it be in telling her? 

Apparently, it was a lot of harm. 

The second the last sound of Sukuna’s name had left Megumi’s mouth, Nobara shrieked. 

“No! Fucking! Way!” 

She hauled Yuuji up by the armpits and shook him around with a considerable amount of force considering he was double her weight. 

“Did you hear that? Sukuna, as in your brother , gave Megumi a gift! A gift! A gift!” 

Yuuji’s head lolled around, completely boneless. “Wuh?” 

Nobara shoved him so that he stumbled back and flopped onto the couch. “Useless. I’ll tell you tomorrow, you numb nut.” 

Yuuji had already become one with the couch and thus had little reaction to Nobara’s words. 

With Yuuji out for the count, being the lightweight that he is, Nobara’s attentions turned on Megumi, who was not—and likely never would be—in the right headspace for the inevitable topic of conversation. 

“Since when does Sukuna of all people give you presents? Not that you don’t deserve them, of course, but, like…” She trailed off and swayed a little bit. 

“I don’t know, he’s weird. It’s weird.” 

“But he’s hot as fuck.” 

Megumi rolled over, then blinked twice at Nobara. “Yes. But forget I said that.” 

Nobara’s face lit up with evil glee. “Never. You know I don’t forget things like this. Remember that time when you really liked that guy and—“ 

“Stop!” Megumi groaned and tried to crawl away. 

Nobara snatched the back of his shirt like a mother cat scruffing her kitten. 

“Tell me everything.” 

And so Megumi did. 

Or, as well as he could considering his brain was mush and his limbs felt like they had multiplied. 

At the end, Megumi deeply regretted ever ingesting a drop of alcohol as Nobara was legitimately trembling at the news. 

“There’s no fucking way,” she kept repeating while slapping his arm. 

“I don’t know either,” Megumi lamented. 

“He wants you so bad!” 

“Maybe…” 

“Not ‘maybe,’” Nobara corrected him with a bad impression of his voice. “That man is courting you, like, old school style.” 

“Courting? Gross.” 

“It’s romantic! And hot!” 

“You’ve called him hot ten times in the last five minutes.” 

Wholly against his sober self’s will, Megumi felt a prickle of possessiveness of Sukuna because yes, he knew that the other man was handsome, but he also knew he wasn’t the only one to think that. 

The ever-present Sukuna Fanclub (as dubbed by Emi) that appeared at every home game proved that Sukuna was quite a big deal amongst the local hockey community. 

“As I should.” Nobara huffed and crossed her arms. She yawned, then glanced at her watch. “I need to get going. I’ve got a thing tomorrow.” 

“Are you sure? It’s late, the train is scary at night.” 

“Aww, is little Megumi scared of the train?” 

“Yes. Sometimes. When it’s dark.” 

Nobara squished Megumi’s alcohol-flushed cheeks. “Adorable. I’ll see you later, alright? I’m ordering a taxi to get home, anyways. It’s way past the last train.” 

Appeased, Megumi nodded and stood to walk her to the door. The pair stumbled their way over to it, then bade their good nights a final time. 

“I’ll text Yuuji when I get back. Bye-bye!” Nobara waved, gathered her things, then took the elevator down with her massive suitcase. 

Megumi closed the door behind her and sighed. The living room was a mess due to the food delivery and snacks they had indulged in over the course of the night, but that was a problem for tomorrow. 

As was the slight issue of Megumi feeling his heart being pulled further and further in the direction of a certain hockey player, but again—-that was a problem for another day. 

Right now, Megumi’s biggest concern was making it to the bathroom to pee for the eighth time that night without slipping and cracking his head open on the floor. 

___

It was almost noon when Yuuji came knocking on Megumi’s door. 

He blinked sleep out of his eyes and crawled out of bed to let his friend in. 

Yuuji, despite being the lightest of lightweights, looked fresh as a daisy in Megumi’s doorway. 

He was a complete contrast to Megumi’s mussed hair, oily skin, and wrinkled clothes, but Yuuji had seen Megumi in far worse situations to care. 

“So…about Sukuna? Nobara texted me this morning.” 

Megumi fought the urge to shut the door in Yuuji’s face and crawl back under the covers. 

“…What about him?” 

“Are you two, uh, a thing?” 

Megumi immediately shook his head. “No, definitely not. Not at all.” 

Yuuji’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

“Then why did he give you a keychain out of nowhere? And why are you so embarrassed to talk about him?” Yuuji squinted at Megumi, suspicious. 

“I’m embarrassed about a lot of things,” Megumi replied in an attempt to divert the conversation. 

Yuuji, unfortunately, did not fall for the bait. “There has to be something going on between you two.” 

If I knew the answer, I’d tell you! Megumi wailed internally. 

“I really don’t know, Yuuji.” 

“Man. This is a conversation I never thought I’d be having, ever. But I guess if he’s been good to you—he has been nice, right?—-then it’s not really my place to protest.” 

He shifted on his feet in the doorway, clearly awkward and at a loss of what to say. 

Megumi didn’t blame him; he felt the exact same way. “I appreciate it. And yes, he’s been kind, you don’t have to worry about that.” 

Yuuji nodded, then scratched the back of his neck. “Well, then, I’ll let you get back to sleep, or whatever. Sukuna and I are headed to the gym soon. We might grab lunch after, so I’ll probably be out for a while.” 

Once Megumi shut his door again, he shuffled back to his bed and crawled under the sheets. He burrowed in and grabbed a pillow to hug. 

Megumi peeked over the pillow and stared out his window, contemplating his current situation. 

The fact that Sukuna remembered that Megumi skated and didn’t demand answers when he was cagey about it was not lost on him. Having the pair of figure skates on his bag wasn’t as painful as he thought it would be; perhaps because of the circumstance in which he’d received it. 

Megumi’s relationship with figure skating was complicated, but Sukuna’s quiet, subtle support of his pursuits made him feel like maybe, just maybe, there would come a day where he might be able to let skating back into his life in a healthy way. 

Megumi flipped over in his bed and buried his smile in his pillow. It was too soon to tell, but all he knew was that the way Sukuna made him feel was something he would be a fool to disregard. 

As Megumi was daydreaming about the other man like a teenage girl with her first crush, his phone buzzed on his nightstand which pulled him out of his disgustingly mushy reverie. 

He reached over to retrieve it and mentally patted himself on the back for remembering to plug it in last night despite being more drunk than he’s been in months. 

[From: Charlie Morris] 

> Hey, Fushiguro 

> Can we talk? 

Chapter Text

Megumi sat in the back corner of a cafe, his leg bouncing as he waited for Charlie to arrive. 

Being a person with anxiety, Megumi had felt a yawning pit in his stomach ever since he’d read the words ‘Can we talk.’ His nails were bitten down to jagged stubs and he winced at the sight; he hadn’t done that since his figure skating years. 

The chime of the cafe’s bell had Megumi’s head snapping up and his hands balling into fists under the table. 

Charlie glanced around the room before his eyes landed on Megumi, the lone figure at the table in the back. His smile, normally so sunny and genuine, was markedly subdued. 

“Hey, Fushiguro,” he greeted as he pulled out a chair. “Want anything to drink?” 

Megumi might throw up if he ingested anything, so he shook his head silently. 

“Okay. You look nervous,” said Charlie after a moment of scrutinizing Megumi’s paler than normal face. 

Yeah, no shit. 

“I’m fine.” 

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I wanted to talk to you.” 

Megumi nodded, internally begging Charlie  to get on with it. 

The other man blew out a breath and sat back in his chair. 

“So. I’m sure you know by now that I am—or, was—romantically interested in you,” Charlie said while tracing a pattern on the table absentmindedly. He refused to meet Megumi’s gaze, which Megumi was guiltily relieved about. 

“Was?” 

Charlie nodded, flicked his eyes up to the general direction of Megumi’s face for a split second before retreating again. 

“Well, uh, I mean, it’s not that I don’t find you attractive anymore, don’t get me wrong. It’s just…” he trailed off, visibly uncomfortable, “Sukuna.” 

Megumi stilled, his hands turning sweaty in his lap. 

“Sukuna?” 

Don’t tell me Charlie has a crush on him, too . 

Megumi twitched at the addendum of his sentence.

Too? 

But the second he thought it, he knew it was true: he had a crush on Sukuna, and not a small one at that. 

Charlie exhaled and gazed at the ceiling as if it would give him the right words to say. 

Megumi braced himself. 

“I don’t want to get in his way, you know? Like, it’s so obvious he likes you in the same way I do.” Charlie chuckled, though it wasn’t a happy sound. “I’m no match for him.” 

Megumi must be the worst person on Earth for the way his brain immediately supplied No, you’re not , before Megumi could stop it. 

“Don’t say that,” he settled on. He wasn’t one to provide false assurances to someone, and he wouldn’t start now. 

“It’s true. You and I both know it. I can see it in your face, even now.” 

Megumi opened his mouth to console the other man, but Charlie cut him off. 

“You don’t need to make me feel better. I’ve been thinking about it for the past week and I’ve already accepted it. I just thought I would tell you so you don’t wonder why I’m more…distant, going forward.” 

Charlie gave Megumi a slight smile, though his eyes were sad. 

“I’m not going to try to compete with him. It’s not good for me, you, or him, and I fear for us as teammates if I were to do that. So this is my white flag, of sorts.” 

There was an awkward silence as Megumi collected his thoughts and his words. 

“I still think you’re really cool,” Megumi said lamely. Really? That’s all you could come up with? 

This time, Charlie’s smile was bigger, brighter. 

“Thanks. I mean it. You’re really cool, too.” 

The two men lapsed into silence again. 

“I’ve been talking to someone a bit. I think it’ll be good to put some space between all this. I found it to be affecting my playing, and hockey will always come first for me.” 

“I get that,” Megumi replied, and he did . He understood that so well in his soul it hurt. 

Charlie’s shoulders relaxed with his exhale. “Well, I think I’ll get going. Thanks for showing up.” 

He stood, his chair scraping against the tile. “Sure you don’t want anything? It’s my treat.” 

Megumi shook his head quickly. “I need to get going as well. And…thank you for talking to me. I appreciate it. It took a lot of guts to do this.” 

Charlie huffed. “Of course. You’re still my friend. I just need a little time.” 

They hugged, a purely platonic gesture, and departed. 

While the pit of dread in Megumi’s stomach had eased, it was soon overtaken by a tingling, anticipatory feeling. 

Possibilities stretched out in front of him, the potential of what could happen as tantalizing as a freshly-resurfaced rink. 

As Megumi walked out of the cafe, he realized what this feeling was: excitement. 

Specifically, excitement to see a certain someone who just so happened to be the captain of the Vipers hockey team. 

__

The next game was the official halfway mark of the season. The Vipers’ record had been pretty good so far, with a total of thirteen games won, two draws, and 3 losses. They were well on their way to qualifying for the finals, which lit a fire under the asses of the team. 

Megumi watched from the bench as Charlie made a flawless cross-ice pass to Sukuna, who sunk it in the back of the net before the goalie could even twitch. In an uncharacteristic show of enthusiasm, Megumi leapt to his feet and cheered. 

Sukuna dropped into his usual celebration, but instead of aiming his imaginary bow’s crosshairs at the audience, he turned around and shot it towards the bench, directly through Megumi’s heart. The crowd exploded, and the camera that projected onto the jumbotron above the ice cut to the bench. 

It was the first time he’d been on that big screen—it took a lot to not flee to the locker room door just behind him. 

“And the captain of the Vipers appears to have aimed his bow and arrow at the bench! Perhaps that is his way of telling his teammates he appreciates them!” 

The crowd roared again, but Megumi knew that that had been meant for only one person.

Megumi couldn’t keep his eyes off of Sukuna. This time, though, Megumi let himself admit that he was unabashedly ogling Sukuna under the thin guise of ‘analysis.’  Through the grid of his helmet, Megumi admired the ease of the captain’s skating and stickhandling. He truly made everything look easy. 

In more cases than not, Sukuna was the best player on the ice, and more than one of his teammates believed he could make it to the big leagues. Against the Jays, Sukuna shined. 

Megumi was enthralled, body and soul. 

One time when Sukuna was subbed off for a brief break, he hopped the wall easily and immediately shuffled to the end of the bench where Megumi was standing. 

“Good game, huh?” the captain said between heavy breaths. 

“Yeah, incredible.”  

Sukuna squirted some water into his mouth from his bottle, his eyes closed and his throat bobbing with each gulp. 

Megumi stared. 

“Something on my face?” 

“N-no!” 

Sukuna leaned in and, shielding his face with his glove to block the cameras, whispered, “I wish there was.” 

A pang of red-hot arousal shot directly to Megumi’s lower stomach, between his thighs. 

The ref’s whistle blew, and Sukuna was signaled to go back on the ice.

The game played on, but Megumi was frozen, his body burning with the tickle of Sukuna’s breath on his ear, the weight of his shoulder warm and solid.  

An uproar from the Vipers bench had Megumi ducking to the side to peer out onto the ice. He hadn’t caught what happened, but the aftermath had Yuuji sprawled on the ice and Sukuna chest-to-chest with the other team’s center forward. 

The two captains were yelling at each other, their sticks thrown to the side. 

From across the ice, the refs motioned for the medical team to come out.

It took Megumi a second to remember Oh, fuck, I’m a part of the medical team. 

He pushed his way through the bench to grab his medical bag and shuffle out onto the ice. 

As quickly as he could, he skittered over to Yuuji while the crowd murmured in concern. 

Once he got closer, he could hear what Sukuna and the Jays captain were saying—rather, yelling—at each other. 

“Don’t fucking touch my teammates,” Sukuna snarled. 

“You need to get your little teammates under control, dickhead. He nearly took my fucking teeth out with that high stick!” The other man, who was the only other person on the ice who would dare to confront the captain of the Vipers, shoved Sukuna backwards with a hard chest bump. 

Sukuna immediately shook off his gloves and grabbed the captain’s jersey. Other players from both teams started to get into it, too, simply for the thrill of the fight. 

All of this was happening as Megumi finally crouched next to Yuuji who was laying a few feet away from the scuffle. 

“What hurts?” Megumi asked immediately. “What happened?”  

“Chest,” Yuuji wheezed. 

Charlie answered Megumi’s second question since Yuuji couldn’t and muttered, “That asshole slammed him right into the boards while his back was turned.” 

Megumi winced. “Does it hurt when you breathe?” 

Yuuji shook his head. “No, just knocked the wind out of me.” 

“Good. How are your ribs?” 

“Bruised. Not fractured, though.” 

Megumi relaxed a bit, concluding that Yuuji would be alright after a break on the bench. “What about your neck? Any whiplash?” 

“Nope. I just need a breather real quick,” Yuuji replied. 

“I’ll help you up.” Megumi lent a hand and a shoulder as Yuuji clambered his way onto his skates. Yuuji threw an arm over Megumi’s shoulder and glided while Megumi shuffled beside him. 

Behind them, Megumi could still hear the grunts of the fight and the scraping of skates on the ice. He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes widening as he saw Sukuna and the Jays captain grappling around the arms of their teammates trying to disentangle the two. 

Finally, Mori was able to manhandle Sukuna away from his opponent. The captains kept exchanging curses and chirps even when they were being hauled away by the ear. The ref blew his whistle for a time out and sent the players back to their benches. 

Megumi didn’t even bother to put a damper on his concern for Sukuna when he rushed up to him and asked, “Did he hurt you? Let me see your face.” 

Sukuna shook his head roughly and sat down hard on the bench. “I’m fine.” 

Megumi crouched on the step next to Sukuna and reached out to touch the man’s jaw. 

“Just let me check,” Megumi demanded. 

Begrudgingly, Sukuna turned his head towards Megumi to allow Megumi to inspect his face. Megumi’s hands were light and cool on Sukuna’s warm face as he tilted his head side to side to reassure his anxious mind. 

Although terribly cliche, Megumi couldn’t help but scold Sukuna for being reckless. “You need to be more careful. Fights like those can turn bad quick.” 

Sukuna scoffed. “Fucker deserved it. He was trying to hurt Yuuji with that.” 

“And let's hope his penalty reflects it. That doesn’t mean you need to drop your gloves over everything.” 

“Aw, you worried about me?” Sukuna’s scowl broke into a grin for a split second. 

“Yes,” Megumi replied instantly. His cheeks colored slightly at his own blunt honesty. 

“Don’t be, sweetheart. I can handle myself.” Sukuna’s lips turned up in a half smirk, half smile. 

Oh, no. 

“Just—” Megumi huffed and bumped his shoulder against Sukuna’s, “take care of yourself, Sukuna.” 

Sukuna went still, then cleared his throat softly. “That’s the first time you’ve called me by my name.” 

“What? That can’t be tr—” 

“I would have remembered, Megumi.” 

The way his own name sounded from Sukuna’s lips sent a sticky warmth spread through Megumi’s limbs despite the cool air of the rink and he wanted to stay in that moment forever. Alas, a shrill shriek of the ref’s whistle dispersed of it with unflinching cruelty.  

“Play nice out there,” Masamichi warned Sukuna as he sidestepped his way to the door. 

“Always do,” Sukuna growled. 

With a final, fleeting glance at Megumi, Sukuna stepped down onto the ice and went on to win the match against the Jays. 

__ 

“Damn, this is gonna be a nasty bruise,” Yuuji winced. His shirt was pulled up to his neck as he inspected his chest.  

He and Megumi were in the back part of the locker rooms that had officially become Megumi’s domain. 

“Are you sure your ribs feel okay?” Megumi asked as he leaned down to poke and prod at Yuuji’s torso. 

“I’m fine, Megumi. Really, I am. Trust me, I’ve had worse.” 

Megumi frowned. “That’s not a good thing.” 

“I’m still alive, though,” Yuuji pointed out. 

“Somehow.” 

As the two finished up, Sukuna changed quickly in the other room and rounded the corner. 

“My turn,” he barked at Yuuji. His head jerked towards the exit in a clear signal of Get the fuck out . 

“You can wait!” Yuuji snapped. 

No matter how strong-willed Yuuji was, the fact that he was the younger brother could not be ignored. 

Yuuji huffed in annoyance, an expression that Megumi was sure had been directed towards Sukuna many, many times, and stomped out of the room. 

“You’re a dick,” Yuuji said as he passed his brother. “I was his friend first!” 

“Megumi and I are more than friends , brat.” 

A look of thinly veiled disgust crossed Yuuji’s face. “I did not need to know that.” 

Finally, Yuuji retreated back to the main locker room space, leaving Megumi and Sukuna alone in the back. 

“Good game tonight,” Megumi remarked as calmly as he could while his stomach was aflutter with  that delicious nervousness he’d come to associate with Sukuna’s presence. 

“Thanks,” was all the other man said. 

“So…” Megumi fidgeted with the new keycard holder Nobara had given him, “What do you need me to look at?” 

Sukuna’s eyes narrowed at the small silver button attached to Megumi’s belt loop. 

“Who gave you that?” he asked, completely disregarding Megumi’s question. 

“My friend.” 

Sukuna pushed off from the wall he was leaning against and strolled over to Megumi. They were close enough to touch now, and so Sukuna reached out and unclipped the keychain from Megumi’s waist in a swift motion. 

He held it up to examine it, a slight line appearing between his eyebrows as he saw the personalization engraved into the surface. 

“ She brought it back from her trip in Paris,” Megumi said, placing extra emphasis on the pronoun. 

Sukuna relaxed. “Ah, good to know. I’m glad there isn’t another man giving you expensive gifts.” 

A pleased, embarrassed blush painted Megumi’s cheeks. “No, you’re the only one.” He cleared his throat and turned to face the shelf, feigning looking for something to avoid Sukuna’s dark gaze. 

“I’m having the team over to my place tonight. Do you want to join?” Sukuna asked, his voice much closer to Megumi than he had been expecting. 

Megumi’s hands fumbled with the roll of bandages he was needlessly re-rolling. He knew if he turned around that Sukuna would be there, mere inches between their bodies. 

“I—um, sure. Yeah. I’d love to.” Megumi winced inwardly at his jumbling of words. 

“Good. You won’t need to arrange transportation home, if you would like to stay over.” 

Megumi nodded, the courage to face Sukuna still not mustered. 

“The back of your neck is all pink.” A finger brushed just above the collar of Megumi’s shirt. “Cute.” 

“I-I need to go to the bathroom,” Megumi mumbled. He shuffled out from between the shelf and Sukuna and started to flee before a hand clasped around his wrist. 

“You’re acting like you’re scared of me,” Sukuna said, his tone light, though Megumi could sense an undercurrent of uncharacteristic insecurity. 

Megumi stopped in his tracks. “I’m not scared . Just…nervous.” He was acutely aware of Sukuna’s hand around his wrist, hot like a brand. “You make me nervous.” 

“In a bad way?”

Finally, Megumi turned to face Sukuna. “No.” 

Sukuna’s lips turned up in a small smile, then he guided Megumi’s hand to his chest. “I get nervous around you, too.” 

Under his fingertips, Megumi felt Sukuna’s heart racing as fast as his own. 

Megumi’s breath caught in his throat. Sukuna was so solid and warm, and the way the other man was looking at him, his eyes soft and dark…Megumi couldn’t get enough. 

It took every ounce of restraint to not rise up on his toes and press his lips against Sukuna’s, just like he’d been imagining every time they were in the same room together. 

He knew Sukuna felt it too, in the way the man’s face bore a similar expression to a desert traveler stumbling across a sparkling oasis: desire, wonder, hunger—these emotions revealed themselves in the softness around Sukuna’s mouth and the unbridled want in his eyes. 

The moment was broken by a nearly inhuman screech from the other room, followed by peals of laughter. Megumi and Sukuna both jolted at the noise, the connection between them severed abruptly. 

Sukuna rolled his eyes in exasperation (in the way only an older brother could), his face regaining that trademark look of vague annoyance and general dislike for the common populace. 

“Fucking Yuuji .” 

__

Megumi was drunk for the second time in the same month, which was quite the feat for him. 

This time, though, he wasn’t in the comfort of his own home, and he’d had quite a bit more to drink than he’d had with Nobara and Yuuji. 

Sukuna’s place was pretty nice; he lived alone, and kept his apartment very clean. Megumi wasn’t sure what he had expected; he was just surprised at the contrast between Sukuna’s neat living space and the chaos that was Yuuji’s bedroom. 

It was clear this wasn’t the first time the captain of the Vipers had hosted the team. All of the guys settled automatically into designated spots around the apartment like homing pigeons. 

Despite the cups and empty bottles littering the island in the kitchen, the whole affair was decently tame. Megumi had been slightly nervous that the night would spiral into utter madness, but the guys seemed perfectly content to take turns playing a video game or watching live streams of the American NHL. 

Across the apartment, Sukuna caught Megumi’s attention when he rose to go into the kitchen. Megumi, who’d been seated on the floor next to Yuuji in the living room, stood on wobbly legs and followed. 

“Need help?” Megumi asked—definitely without a slur to his words. 

Sukuna looked up from collecting garbage. His face softened when he saw who had approached him. “Do you?”

At Sukuna’s skeptical yet amused scrutiny, Megumi became aware of how he was swaying on his feet in the middle of the kitchen, the alcohol causing his vision to swim and his limbs to become jelly. 

“N-no! I asked you first.” Megumi shuffled over to the nearest counter and leaned on it for extra support. 

“I’m alright. Thank you, though,” Sukuna replied. His tone sounded like he really meant it, and it brought an extra flush of color to Megumi’s cheeks on top of the liquor in his bloodstream. 

“I’m a little drunk. Maybe a lot,” blurted Megumi before his brain could do its job and think about what came out of his mouth. He pressed his lips together to stifle an embarrassed giggle. 

This is dangerous! cried the rational (yet still drunk) part of Megumi’s conscience. 

Sukuna hummed. “Yeah? Thought you didn’t do that much.” The man continued to toss out stray cans and napkins into a trash bag, cool and nonchalant as ever. 

“Well, I don’t. But I have twice this month.” Megumi, in his drunken haze, struggled to clamber up onto the counter to stake his claim on the spot between the oven and the fridge. 

“How come?” 

“Hmm…’cause I felt like it.” Megumi shrugged and swung his legs, the back of his heels bumping the cabinets below him. “ Are you drunk?” 

Sukuna tied up the garbage bag and met Megumi where he was perched on the counter. “No, I need to make sure the guys don’t burn this place down.” 

“Oh, okay. You know, Sukuna, that you are very handsome, right? At least, I think you are very handsome. And hot. And thoughtful, when you want to be.” 

Megumi’s head lolled back against the cupboard above the counter. His vision swam, his cheeks were warm from the numerous drinks he’d consumed, and his lips felt dangerously looser than usual—hence why he was unashamedly waxing poetic about the man next to him. 

Again, warning bells chimed in his brain, but Megumi simply did not have the wherewithal to care at the moment. 

Sukuna grinned, smug. “I didn’t know you felt that way about me, Megumi. Tell me more.” His voice was teasing, his body language playful. 

“Mm, no thank you,” Megumi replied politely. “I think…I’m kind of tired.” 

“I’ll take you to bed, then,” Sukuna acquiesced. 

Megumi froze. “T-take me to bed?” 

Sukuna’s cheeks colored slightly, a rare sight on the man’s face. “Not in that way. To sleep, I meant.” 

“Oh. Alright, then.” Megumi didn’t bother hiding his disappointment. 

Sukuna helped Megumi down from the counter with a gentle hand on his waist, then he guided him away from the main area and down a quieter hallway, where Megumi assumed the man’s bedroom was. 

The master bedroom was quite spacious; a large, king-size bed took up one corner, and a sleek black desk with a fancy looking computer setup occupied the other. There were a couple trophies and medals scattered on the walls, a testament to Sukuna’s accomplishment as a hockey player and captain. 

“Woah…your room is cool,” Megumi remarked. 

Sukuna only smiled slightly in thanks. “Do you need clothes?” 

Megumi’s face scrunched up in confusion. “No. I’m wearing clothes. Unfortunately.” 

“Unfortunately?” 

“Because it’s a little warm in here. Can I take off my pants? I don’t—“ Megumi was interrupted by a hiccup and a sneeze, “I don’t wear pants to sleep.” 

Sukuna cleared his throat and turned away. “Of course. Go ahead.” 

A moment later, there was a thud as Megumi lost his balance and tumbled to the floor. 

“I thought you figure skaters were supposed to be graceful,” Sukuna teased over his shoulder. 

Silence. 

“Megumi?” 

“My pants are stuck.” There were sounds of fabric rustling against fabric, then nothing again. 

Sukuna’s hands flexed against his sides. “Do you…need assistance?” 

“Please.” 

The captain swallowed thickly and turned. 

Megumi was sprawled unceremoniously on Sukuna’s bedroom floor, facedown with his pants halfway down his legs. 

“I think it would be helpful if you took off your belt,” Sukuna observed. 

“Oh, you’re right. I can’t do it.” 

Sukuna closed his eyes briefly. “I’ll help you.” He knelt down beside Megumi and, with the utmost care, flipped the prone man over onto his back. 

Hazy green eyes blinked open slowly. 

“Hey, sweetheart.” 

Megumi wiggled a bit on the floor. “I like it when you say it like that. Not the mean way you used to, but like you actually mean it.” As Megumi squirmed on the floor restlessly, his large, shapeless white shirt rode up on his body. 

A pair of little blue boxer briefs peeked out from under the shirt, and Sukuna nearly choked on his own tongue. 

“Help me take off my belt,” Megumi slurred. 

Sukuna nodded stiffly and reached out. His fingers had just barely brushed the thin leather of Megumi’s belt before his hand shot out and gripped Sukuna’s wrist. 

“I want to go to your bed. The floor is not comfortable.” 

“Okay. Up,” Sukuna said as he swept Megumi into his arms bridal-style. 

A startled noise escaped Megumi’s lips as his arms wrapped instinctively around Sukuna’s neck for balance. 

“Don’t drop me,” he whispered into Sukuna’s solid chest. 

“I would never.” 

“I was just kidding. You’re very strong. I think your arms are the size of my leg.” 

“Are they?” 

“I will show you when you take off my pants, okay? Bed first, though.” Megumi broke into a yawn. 

Sukuna strode across the room to his bed where he laid Megumi down like a precious jewel onto a cushion of satin. 

As quickly as he could, Sukuna undid Megumi’s belt and tossed it to the floor along with the man’s loose pants. 

Megumi, now freed from the confines of his clothes, burrowed into Sukuna’s bed, looking as pleased as a cat luxuriating in a golden sunbeam. 

“Give me your arm, and I’ll show you how strong you are. Look,” Megumi rolled to the edge of the bed and lifted one of his bare legs next to Sukuna’s arm, “you’re so big . I’m a little jealous.” 

Megumi was right; Sukuna’s bicep was noticeably larger than Megumi’s slim calf and ankle. The captain’s nails dug into his palms. 

“You’re perfect the way you are.” 

“I’m happy you think so.” With that, Megumi turned his face into one of the numerous pillows on Sukuna’s bed, breathed out a muffled goodnight, and fell asleep. 

___

That night, Sukuna ended up sleeping on the floor next to his own bed due to some of the guys crashing in the living room. 

He stared at the ceiling and listened to Megumi’s soft, even breaths in the inky darkness of his room. Even though it was nearing two in the morning, Sukuna knew sleep wouldn’t find him for a while longer.  

The reason for his insomnia could be wholly attributed to the sleeping form sprawled on his mattress; so close was Sukuna’s greatest desire, yet he could do nothing to express his feelings for Megumi in this moment. 

His skin burned with the knowledge that Megumi was in his bed, half naked. Oh, how easy would it be for Sukuna to crawl under the sheets with him and pull that lithe body into his, for Sukuna to get his hands on that smooth, unmarked skin. 

He wouldn’t, though. Not now. 

Sukuna was a man who knew what he wanted and how to get it, and right now, he wanted Megumi—possibly more than he’s ever wanted anything—but not like this, in a drunken and confused haze. 

The last thought he had before drifting off to sleep was that when he finally got Megumi in his bed the way he had been imagining, the other man would know whose name he would be moaning, and whose hands would claim his body for his own.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Megumi woke up cocooned in a cloud of silky-soft sheets and the sharp, masculine scent of Sukuna that he’d started to adore. 

Sukuna. Sukuna’s bed. 

Megumi sat bolt upright. He was relieved to see that there was no evidence of another body in the bed, and that Sukuna was sleeping soundly on the ground a few feet away. 

He didn’t know what he’d do if the first time he and Sukuna shared a bed was when he was near blackout drunk—he’d probably legitimately die of embarrassment and regret, but Megumi luckily did not have to take such drastic actions at the moment. 

The night before was a muddled blur littered with a few clear memories; one of them being Megumi gazing up at Sukuna from the floor, awestruck, as he admired the perfectly crafted planes of the other man’s face. 

A sleepy sigh from the heap of blankets on the floor had Megumi leaning over the edge of the bed to see Sukuna rolling over to his other side. 

Megumi’s heart squeezed at the sight of him, so peaceful and unassuming in his unconsciousness. 

The clock on the bedside table read 9:38 in the morning. It would be a late start to a lazy, empty day for Megumi, but he didn’t mind. In fact, he welcomed the brief respite from being around people all the time. 

Megumi extricated himself from the tangled sheets on the bed and crept silently around Sukuna’s sleeping form. He used the en suite bathroom, then padded downstairs to collect his scattered belongings. 

Yuuji and a few guys who’d also spent the night were already chowing down on various breakfast items they’d scrounged and stole from Sukuna’s pantry. 

“Morning, Megumi!” Yuuji greeted him with a tired smile. “Sleep well?” 

“Surprisingly well, actually.” 

Mori scoffed next to Yuuji. “Probably helped that you were in an actual bedroom and didn’t have to fight for the couch with these idiots.” 

“I’m shocked Sukuna let you sleep in there. He never lets anyone into his room. It’s like his lair,” Yuuji explained. “I’ve only been in there, like, three times since he moved in.” 

Megumi fought down the smug smile that wanted to creep onto his lips. “I see.” 

“Help yourself to whatever. I think there’s still some eggs on the stove,” offered Rintaro who was rummaging around in the fridge. 

“Thanks, but I’m going to head home. It was fun spending time with you all.” Megumi bowed slightly and started towards the exit to a chorus of “Bye, Fushiguro,” and, “See you at practice!”

Megumi slipped out of the door and let out a breath of relief once it had clicked shut. He was glad that Sukuna hadn’t woken up yet so that he didn’t have to face him after the inevitably horrible things he’d done and said the night prior. 

The train ride back was the perfect time for Megumi to retreat into his mind and spiral about what might have happened in the gaps of his memory. 

Once he got back into his and Yuuji’s apartment, Megumi had fully convinced himself he’d stripped on the dining room table and somehow forgotten about it. 

He supposed the warm welcome from the guys that morning proved otherwise, but Megumi’s anxious mind fretted nonetheless. 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> I didn’t do anything weird last night, right?  

[From: Itadori Yuuji] 

> no why? 

> u were pretty quiet the whole night actually, u okay?? 

Megumi groaned. He’d been ‘quiet’ last night because he was busy tracking Sukuna’s every move and observing each minute thing he did, but Yuuji definitely did not need to know that. 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> Yeah I’m fine 

> Just a little tired from last night 

[From: Itadori Yuuji] 

> oh goodddd

> i’m gonna hang out here a while longer kk

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> Okay

> Text me when you are on your way back 

[From: Itadori Yuuji] 

> 🫡🫡

Seconds after Megumi closed out of his conversation with Yuuji, he got a notification from Sukuna. 

[From: Ryomen Sukuna] 

> Good morning Megumi 

> Did you get home safely?

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> Yes I did

> Thank you for letting me stay over last night 

[From: Ryomen Sukuna] 

> of course

> will I have to sleep on the floor next time? 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> No 

[From: Ryomen Sukuna] 

> what a relief 

> By the way, are you able to come to the next practice an hour early? 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> Maybe, why? 

[From: Ryomen Sukuna] 

> I’ve been meaning to ask you if you would be interested in skating with me for a little bit beforehand 

> just you and i 

> and only if you want to 

Megumi paused here. Ever since he’d given up—no, quit figure skating (because it was never his to have in the first place, anyways), the very thought of having people watch him made him feel physically ill. Despite this, his traitorous brain reminded him often of what he could’ve had, with vivid illusions of roaring crowds and flashing cameras; it was a satisfying pain, like picking at a scab over and over so it never healed.    

This time, though, the instinctive aversion to having a real pair of eyes on him while he skated did not strike as hard and as fast as usual. When Megumi really thought about it, with his heart and his head, he realized that maybe it wouldn’t be so daunting if Sukuna were there.

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> I do

[From: Ryomen Sukuna] 

> It’s a date then. 

> I’ll see you tomorrow, Megumi 

[From: Fushiguro Megumi] 

> See you tomorrow, Sukuna 

—

The rink was dark when Megumi walked in, and there was a low-hanging fog over the ice. It was nearly dead silent, with only the whir of the fans breaking up the stagnancy of an empty rink. 

Megumi flicked on the lights and walked as quietly as he could to the bleachers so as to not disturb the stillness of the air. 

At exactly five o’clock, the rink doors opened again to admit Sukuna with two coffees in his hands. He scanned the area for Megumi, then made a beeline over to him once he spotted the other man on the bottom row of the stands. 

“Hey, Megumi.” 

Just those two words in Sukuna’s rich timbre almost made Megumi shiver in his seat. 

I’m so fucked.

“Hello. Is that for me?” Megumi ducked his head to pretend to search for something in his tote bag to hide the redness of his cheeks. 

“Both, if you want.” Sukuna set the travel mugs down on the end of the bleachers and slung his skate bag around to his front. “Foggy today. Yuuji always says that’s good luck.” 

“Really? Good for us, then,” Megumi replied as he stripped off his large sweater. Under it, he was wearing his typical long sleeve compression shirt with leggings, all black. It was not sexy or provocative by any means, but Megumi caught Sukuna stealing three too many glances for it to be polite. 

“Now you're the one staring,” Megumi teased as he laced up the shitty rental figure skates. 

(The rentals didn’t fit well, not like his old skates that were molded to his feet and knew the curve of his sole, but they would do.) 

Sukuna scoffed and crossed his arms. “Can you blame me?” 

“Yes!” Megumi pouted, though he wasn’t truly upset—knowing he’d caught Sukuna's attention in that way set a fire in his belly. 

“It’s not my fault figure skaters wear so little on the ice and that you happen to be beautiful,” Sukuna said casually. He had joined Megumi on the bench in lacing up his hockey skates, his arm occasionally bumping Megumi’s with how close they were sitting. 

That word had never been one Megumi associated with himself; he normally thought in terms of ‘pale’ and ‘boring,’ but hearing Sukuna say that made him believe that maybe he was something worth cherishing.  

“Th-thank you,” Megumi squeaked, his head still lowered to his feet. 

“I’ve been wanting to tell you that since I rudely intruded on your skating session all those months ago, you know,” continued Sukuna in an apparent attempt to cause Megumi to melt into the floor despite the cold air. 

Megumi didn’t know what he could possibly say to follow that, so he settled with “It’s okay…” in reference to Sukuna’s past interruption. 

“I hope I’ve made up for being an asshole.” Sukuna looked contrite with his hands gripping his knees in a gesture that looked almost… anxious . “I should not have treated you like that, and I can promise you it will never happen again.” 

The man seemed determined to throw Megumi for loop after loop this evening, and it was working. 

Megumi finally met Sukuna’s gaze for this. 

“It’s okay,” he repeated as he thought of how to soothe Sukuna’s guilt. Would he feel better if I told him I think he’s hot when he’s mean? That wasn't what came out of his mouth, but the words that did were infinitely worse: “I liked it.” Megumi nearly slapped a hand over his mouth in shock at his own words. How could his body betray him so? His muscles immediately wrung tight with dread about the next few seconds. 

Sukuna stared at him for a moment, then his eyebrows shot up and his face broke into a wicked grin. “Oh?” 

“Okay, I’ll meet you out there!” Megumi shot to his feet and darted to the rink door, completely forgetting his coffee and water bottle. He fumbled with the latch for a moment before he could finally escape to the other side of the ice. 

As he skated away, he could hear Sukuna laughing—nay, cackling . 

“Tell me how you really feel, Megumi!” he called. 

Once Sukuna joined Megumi by the player benches, Megumi had already skated three laps to try to release some of the sheer embarrassment filling his lungs. 

“You alright?” Sukuna asked with mirth still creasing the skin by his eyes. 

“ So what did you want to do today?” Megumi’s eyes pleaded with Sukuna to let him off easy this time. 

Graciously, Sukuna relented. “Will you show me the routine you were doing back then?” 

Megumi froze and waited for the usual bone-deep discomfort to spread through his limbs, but it didn’t come. 

Not with Sukuna.  

Oh.  

For the first time in six years, Megumi was going to willingly perform his program for another living, breathing person. 

“It probably won’t be very good…” Megumi mumbled, digging his toe pick into the ice. 

This was nerve wracking, gut wrenching, overwhelming, but what it wasn’t was a decision. Megumi didn’t need to think about it, not for a heartbeat; it’s like his body knew it was meant to share this part of his life with the man in front of him.  

“I will not be able to take my eyes off of you no matter what you do, Megumi,” Sukuna replied. 

“You can’t say things like that right now!” 

“Like what?” 

Megumi huffed. “I’m starting.” He queued up his music in a few clicks and set his phone on the ledge next to Sukuna. “Here, so you can listen. Press play when I say so.”  

“Don’t you need the music, though?” 

“Not anymore.” Megumi turned and skated to the middle of the ice. 

He came to a stop right on the dot and breathed in, then released it slowly. 

Megumi’s eyelids fell shut, and his shoulders settled. 

One more breath, and then: “Ready.” 

And Megumi had never felt more alive. 

Every bruise that had ever bloomed on his body from a botched jump, every tear he’d shed over a mistake sank back into his skin. 

Skating this program felt like visiting a childhood home and being delighted yet sick to the stomach at seeing that not a single thing had changed. 

Megumi commanded the ice, forced it to yield to his blade. With every familiar movement, Megumi’s bones cried This is what you were meant to do. How could you have ever denied yourself this?

It was over too soon. 

Megumi’s smooth neck was exposed with his head turned towards the ceiling, clouds of breath drifting upwards into the lights of the rink. He held the position, panting. He dared to lower his head and peek at Sukuna across the ice. 

The man was standing there, dumbfounded, his lips parted slightly and his jaw slack. 

Megumi smiled privately to himself and skated over to the benches. 

“So…did you like—” Megumi was swiftly cut off by Sukuna surging forward and two large but gentle hands cupping his face. 

“You are the most incredible thing I have ever seen,” Sukuna breathed, his tone reverent. 

Megumi blushed all the way down to his neck and looked away. “That’s quite the exaggeration,” he demurred. 

“Never, Megs. I mean it. You’re stunning.” 

“‘Megs’?” Megumi replied because he knew if he focused on anything else in that sentence, he was liable to keeling over on the ice right then and there. 

“Do you not like it?” 

“N-no, I do.” Megumi chewed on his lip. “It’s cute.”

“Then it’s perfect for you,” Sukuna said. He brushed a thumb over Megumi’s pink cheek and looked at him with pure, unmistakable adoration in his eyes. 

Perhaps it was the adrenaline coursing through Megumi after his performance, or maybe it was the warmth of Sukuna’s palms cradling his face that caused Megumi to melt into his touch and say, “Are you finally going to kiss me now?” 

No sooner had the last syllable left Megumi’s mouth than Sukuna was pulling him in to press their lips together. 

Megumi had kissed a few people in his life, but he had never, ever been kissed like this before. 

Sukuna maneuvered them so that the wall of the rink pressed into Megumi’s lower back. He lifted Megumi easily onto the ledge. 

Throughout all of this, their lips never left each other , and it felt as natural as breathing for Megumi to shift his legs so Sukuna could slot himself there. They must have been made for each other—to do this—because why else would Sukuna’s hips fit so seamlessly between Megumi’s legs? Why else would Sukuna’s hands so perfectly hold the curve of Megumi’s waist if they were not destined to remain there? 

For a moment, Megumi broke away from the kiss. 

“Sukuna,” was all he said. Both men were breathless from the kiss, and that was the only word Megumi could muster at the moment. 

Sukuna’s pupils were blown wide with desire and Megumi thought he felt a slight tremor in the man’s hands against his waist. 

“Was that all right?” Sukuna asked, his voice barely a whisper. 

Megumi smiled. “It was more than alright . I’ve been waiting for that for a while now.” 

“I was waiting for you , ” Sukuna retorted with an equally wide grin. He helped Megumi off of the ledge and said, “We still have a while until practice. I was hoping you might teach me some basics in your area of expertise, and I can do the same for you.” 

Megumi’s skin still tingled with the memory of Sukuna’s fingers and lips, so he didn’t know how disposed he would be to that activity well, but he would be remiss in denying more time with Sukuna alone. He nodded and, on an impulse, took Sukuna’s hand in his and led him out to the middle of the ice again. 

“So bold,” Sukuna teased. 

“I don’t want to hear that from someone whose tongue was just down my throat!” retorted Megumi. He came to a halt and faced Sukuna, his hands on his hips. “I’m your teacher right now, and I will not tolerate any insubordination from my pupil.” 

Sukuna’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, I like this .” 

“I’m sure you do,” Megumi said dryly. “ Anyways, what do you want to try first?” 

“How about that thing where you stick your leg out to the side and skate around on the other?” Sukuna glided away and planted his feet. 

Megumi preened inwardly at the interest Sukuna was showing. “Okay. Watch me, alright?” 

“I always do.” 

__ 

Sukuna was surprisingly agile, though the sheer bulk of his muscles made things slightly more difficult. Nevertheless, he was a good sport about it and never got frustrated when he tumbled to the ice or simply couldn’t execute a trick. 

“I sorely underestimated figure skating,” Sukuna panted, his hands laced behind his head as he breathed deeply. “I’m going to be too worn out for practice now.” 

“It’s tough,” Megumi replied with a shrug, “but you’ve got good stamina.” 

Sukuna shot Megumi a truly salacious, over-exaggerated wink. “In more ways than one, sweetheart.” 

Megumi huffed, but didn’t try to hide the upturn of his lips. “I think it’s your turn now.” 

With a quick kiss to the forehead—an action that was already so familiar it felt like they’d been doing it for years—Sukuna told Megumi to stay put. He skated off the ice and disappeared into the locker room.

Megumi touched the spot on his forehead absentmindedly; he scarcely had time to linger on the feeling before Sukuna was re-emerging with two hockey sticks, two pairs of gloves, and a bag of pucks. 

“I found an extra lefty stick for you in the back that I think will work for you. Let me know if these gloves are okay, too,” Sukuna explained. He took Megumi’s right hand and slid on one of the gloves gently. 

The feeling was foreign to Megumi, and the glove was a little uncomfortable in that it was rough and scratchy on the inside. It fit well, though, so Sukuna put the other one on and pressed a kiss to the back of Megumi’s now covered fingers. 

“Your wrists are so small,” Sukuna observed, his index finger and thumb circling around the slender bone fully. 

“Maybe your hands are just too big.” 

The captain smirked wickedly. “Well, you know what they say about men with large hands…” 

“They have large egos?” 

Sukuna tossed his head back and laughed. “Sure, that too.” He glanced at the clock on the wall and his smile dimmed slightly. “I think we spent too much time kissing. I won’t have a lot of time to show you anything.” 

“Then I guess we’ll have to do this again. Also, we didn’t kiss for that long.” 

A mischievous glint shone in Sukuna’s eye after Megumi spoke. “Aw, you want more? The locker room’s got a deadbolt.” 

In lieu of replying, Megumi snatched the left-handed stick from Sukuna and darted away. 

“Just show me how to dribble the puck, or whatever the hell it’s called.” 

(Megumi knew fully well that it was called stickhandling, but he just wanted to piss Sukuna off in return for flustering him every chance he got.) 

Sukuna shook his head. “I hope you know that you’re a fucking brat, Megs.” 

“Only for you,” Megumi replied in an echo of the same words Sukuna had said to him in the locker room the first time Megumi had worked on him. 

“You’re lucky you’re so damn pretty,” Sukuna muttered to himself as he donned his own pair of gloves.

Chapter Text

The next game was forecasted to be a very evenly matched one. The Vipers were slated to play the Ravens at 8 PM, and the guys were practically breaking down the doors of the rink before the game. The Ravens had been their second play-off qualifying match, and they’d sent the Vipers home with a disgusting over time five-hole shot. 

Needless to say, the team was greatly anticipating revenge that night.  

The energy in the downtown arena was palpable, and the crowds were denser than usual due to the local fundraising event for that night’s game. 

Already, the stands were slowly filling in even though puck drop was still forty-five minutes away. 

Megumi started his rounds in the locker room, checking in with players and assisting with medical tape application. 

From an outsider’s perspective, it would appear that Megumi was completely cool, calm, and collected—just an attentive coworker doing his due diligence before a big game.

In reality, though, the athletic trainer of the Vipers team could barely maintain his guise of professionalism in the presence of his captain, sitting on the edge of the bench on the opposite side of the locker room. 

Even just glancing at Sukuna out of the corner of his eye, Megumi could almost feel the other man’s hands on his waist and the phantom heat of his mouth against his own. Their kiss had been looping nonstop in Megumi’s brain, and it was only exacerbated by being in the same room as Sukuna. 

He was pretty sure that Sukuna was having similar thoughts, what with the way Megumi could feel an intense, heavy-lidded gaze tracking his every movement. 

Heat crept up Megumi’s nape unbidden as he smoothed some athletic tape onto Mori’s shoulder. 

“All good?” he asked absentmindedly. Megumi’s body was going through the motions, but his mind was wholly occupied by one person. 

“Yeah, thanks!” Mori clapped Megumi on the back and grinned. “Might wanna head over there before I get my head ripped off for stealing your attention any longer,” Mori whispered with a quick nod towards Sukuna. 

Megumi shook his head ruefully. “He can wait his turn.” 

“Every single person in this locker room knows that patience is not a word in Sukuna’s vocabulary.” Mori chuckled to himself and bent down to lace up his skates. 

While that was true 99% of the time, Sukuna’s words from their little…date? rendezvous? echoed in Megumi’s head: I was waiting for you. 

Yes, the captains of the Vipers had very little patience to spare for the general public, but when it came to Megumi…well, perhaps Sukuna thought he was worth waiting for. 

This notion did nothing to lessen the fierce blush staining Megumi’s face, and Sukuna must have noticed because when they caught each other’s eye a moment later, a knowing smirk tugged at the corner of the man’s mouth. 

Megumi wanted in equal parts to smack that smug look off Sukuna’s face and to jump his bones right there in the locker room. 

“Hey,” Megumi said when he eventually made his way over to Sukuna. 

“Hey yourself.” The captain looked up at Megumi from the bench, his entire face seeming to soften when their eyes met. “You ready to watch me show off for you?” 

Megumi huffed out a soft laugh. “You show off for everyone, not just me.” 

“You’re the only one watching who matters, though.” The intent look in Sukuna's gaze had Megumi’s knees nearly buckling right then and there. 

He swatted Sukuna’s padded shoulder. “Yeah, right.” 

“I mean it, Megs,” Sukuna replied. 

Toshiro, the player sitting to the left of the captain, scoffed. Addressing Megumi, he said, “What have you done to him?” To Sukuna, he questioned, “Who are you, and what did you do with my captain?” 

Sukuna shoved Toshiro. “Mind your business, dickhead.” 

The younger man merely cackled. “Ah, there he is.” 

Megumi shook his head with faux exasperation. “Real nice, Sukuna.” 

The captain shrugged, then rose from the bench and placed a gentle hand on Megumi’s arm. 

“C’mere a sec.”  

He led them out of the noisy locker room and into an empty one a few doors down. 

Butterflies erupted in Megumi’s stomach at the prospect of being alone with Sukuna for the first time since they kissed. 

Unbidden, a memory of Sukuna’s rich timbre saying The locker room’s got a deadbolt flashed through Megumi’s mind. 

Now is not the time to get horny! Megumi’s rational brain reprimanded. 

As it turned out, however, Sukuna must have been having similar thoughts because as soon as the heavy door shut, he was crowding Megumi up against the wall and leaning in close. 

“I missed you,” he murmured. His strong hands found Megumi’s waist like a moth to a flame. Sukuna dipped his head and placed a sickeningly sweet kiss on Megumi’s forehead. 

“You’re such a sap,” Megumi complained with feigned annoyance. He returned the gesture with a kiss of his own on Sukuna’s soft cheek. 

“It’s your fault.” 

Megumi narrowed his eyes. “How so?” 

“‘Cause you were so pretty and mean to me that I couldn’t help but fall for you.” Sukuna grinned devilishly. 

Megumi rolled his eyes, though there was no true irritation behind it. He slid his hands up Sukuna’s back, skimming over the tight fit moisture-wicking fabric and into Sukuna’s hair. His fingers twirled the silk strands as he simply admired Sukuna’s classic beauty there in the dark locker room. 

“See something you like?” Sukuna teased. His eyes dropped to Megumi's lips and his pupils visibly dilated. “I know I do.” 

Megumi’s mouth went dry at the pure want on Sukuna’s face, the rasp of desire in his voice. He’d never been looked at with such hunger before, he thought. It was terrifying and thrilling all at once. 

Rather than replying verbally, Megumi leaned up and captured Sukuna’s lips in a kiss. 

The moment their lips met, it was like a switch flipped. Sukuna came alive under Megumi’s hands, his back muscles rippling as he easily hiked Megumi up against the wall. 

 His bulky hockey pants proved to be a slight obstacle when Megumi went to wrap his legs around Sukuna, but they hardly noticed. 

Megumi’s head bumped against the cinder lock wall with the force of Sukuna’s kiss. 

A large hand cupped the base of Megumi’s neck, acting as a barrier between the wall and his head. 

“Careful, sweetheart. Can’t have my medical team going and getting hurt before the game,” Sukuna murmured, his breath warm on Megumi’s cheeks. 

“I think I’ll be alright,” Megumi reassured him. 

Almost impossibly, Sukuna’s eyes grew even darker. “Well, if I had my way, you’d not be walking out of here on your own.” 

The implication behind his words had Megumi’s breath catching in his throat. He very much wanted the same thing, but the start of the game was creeping ever closer; the clock on the far wall told Megumi they only had forty-five minutes until puck drop. 

Regretfully, he pulled away slightly from Sukuna. Megumi was breathless when he said, “You should probably get back to the team.” 

Sukuna paid his suggestion no mind. Instead, he nuzzled into Meumu’s neck and trailed ticklish little kisses up the column of his throat. 

“Sukuna...” Megumi whined. He tried to push his captain's head away, but it was like resisting against a brick wall. 

Megumi’s words fell on deaf ears—Sukuna paused only to say, “They can wait.” 

Maybe a couple more minutes wouldn’t hurt.

___ 

In the end, Sukuna and Megumi made it back to the team’s locker room with only a few moments to spare before the pre-game debrief from the coach. 

When they re-entered the locker room with mussed hair and pink lips, the team greeted them with sly looks and raised eyebrows. 

Yuuji stared at them with vague disgust, probably over the thought of his best friend and his older brother getting frisky like two lust-ridden teenagers. 

Megumi shot him an apologetic shrug, as if he were saying What was I meant to do? Say no? 

Yuuji shook his head, greatly disappointed in both of them. 

Megumi purposefully avoided Charlie’s gaze as he returned to his usual spot at the back of the room. Sure, Megumi felt a little guilty for being so brazen about his…thing with Sukuna, but that guilt was far outweighed by the sheer satisfaction derived from having Sukuna all to himself. 

The heavy locker room door swung open, and in stepped Coach Masamichi, his trust clipboard in hand. The team quieted immediately. 

As always, Masamichi scanned the room, making intense eye contact with each player. 

“I’m sure we can all agree that last year’s quarter-finals will not be repeated, correct?” 

Vigorous nods rippled throughout the room. 

“Good. Then I don’t have to tell you to go out there and put those Ravens on their asses,” Masamichi rumbled in that booming voice of his. “Now. The line up for tonight.” He flipped a page on his clipboard and rattled off who was starting where.

A few minutes later, the guys were lined up in the tunnel, Megumi trailing behind with his medical bag. 

The lights in the arena dimmed, and the usual pre-show video blared over the loudspeakers. The fans cheered when the mascot of the Vipers skated onto the ice toting a flag with the team’s logo. 

“Go time,” called the rink attendant at the end of the tunnel. 

Sukuna led the pack, hopping onto the ice and launching into a hard lap around the rink. He garnered even more screams from the fans—many of the voices distinctly female. 

There’s the Sukuna Fanclub. Megumi smiled to himself with a twinge of smugness at the thought that none of these fans knew that Sukuna’s tongue had been halfway down his throat just a half hour earlier. 

The guys did their usual showboating before the countdown for the brief warm up window the teams were afforded, then fell into their drills and herded into the bench for the puck drop. The five starters, plus the goalie, huddled around the net for a second, then dispersed to their positions. 

And with that, the head ref blew his whistle, signaling the start of the game. 

Sukuna won the puck immediately, as he always does, and flicked it to Yuuji. Already, they were setting the pace of the game, forcing the Ravens to keep up. 

Three-fourths of the way into the first period and things were already getting snippy between the players. Body checks were rougher, slashing penalties were abundant, and the usually playful chirps took on a nastier edge. 

Halfway through the third period, with the Vipers leading by one, the teams were practically at each other’s throats; no doubt because of the last time they’d faced each other. The Vipers were dead set on revenge, while the Ravens were pissed that the game hadn’t been going the way they’d anticipated. 

Megumi watched, dismayed, as Sukuna and an opposing defender exchanged shoves and insults for the third time that night. 

When Sukuna came to the bench for a shift change, Megumi wormed his way over to him. Sukuna crowded Mori off the end of the bench to make a space for Megumi to sit when he noticed his approach. 

“You need to stop antagonizing number twelve,” Megumi scolded.

Sukuna unlatched his helmet and shook out his hair (in a manner far too appealing for Megumi to think about at that moment) and said, “It’s a part of the game, Megs. I know what I’m doing.” 

“I know that. It’s just that these refs are cracking down hard on you guys since you can’t behave yourselves.” Megumi retucked the back of Sukuna’s jersey and squeezed his shoulder. “Your team needs you out there.” 

“How about you?” 

Megumi’s brow furrowed. “What about me?” 

“Do you need me?” Sukuna’s attention shifted from the game to Megumi. 

A flush crept up on Megumi’s cheeks despite the chill of the arena. 

“...Yes,” he whispered, wary of the other players on the bench eavesdropping. 

At Megumi’s confession, a secret, pleased smile spread across Sukuna’s face. 

“That’s exactly what I needed to hear.” 

Just then, Masamichi called for Sukuna to get ready to go back on the ice. 

The captain stood and held out a hand for Megumi. 

Megumi accepted the offer, but when he placed his hand in Sukuna’s gloved one, the other man brought the back of Megumi’s to his lips, pressing a kiss to the delicate skin there. 

His back was to the ice so that the cameras couldn’t blast the private moment to the entire arena, but there was no lack of snickers from the bench. 

A roar from the crowd snapped the two of them out of their little bubble—the other team had botched a cross-ice pass, leading to a smooth recovery by the Viper’s left winger and a shot on goal. 

Sukuna squeezed Megumi’s hand once, then turned and vaulted over the boards. 

There were about three minutes left in the second period, and the score was 3-2, though the Vipers weren’t planning on getting comfortable with that small of a differential. 

The Ravens’ right winger suddenly broke away with the puck, racing down the side of the rink with no one between him and the Vipers’ goalie. 

Sukuna, being the fastest skater on the team, tailed him, the crowd’s volume rising as the gap between the two players decreased. 

Hiroji widened his stance to take up as much space in the net as possible when it looked like Sukuna wasn’t going to make it in time. 

Megumi leaned over the boards and watched with bated breath; the Vipers couldn’t afford an equalizing goal this late in the second period. 

With a mighty lunge, Sukuna extended his stick and just barely made contact with the puck, knocking it away from twelve’s blade. It wasn’t much, but it was enough; the player lost his stride, having to slow his attack on the goal. He tried to recover the puck, but at that point, Sukuna had already snatched it away and taken it out of the Vipers’ zone. 

Number twelve slammed his stick on the ice. He pivoted quickly and skated hard in hot pursuit of Sukuna. 

The crowd was cheering for a new reason now, urging Sukuna towards the Ravens’ goal. Sukuna deked two players in quick succession, looking very much like he was going to take the puck all the way to the net. 

Wham. The backchecking forward and the opposing left defender collided at full tilt with Sukuna squashed in the middle. 

In the span of a blink, the Vipers’ captain was sprawled out on the ice, his stick skittering out of his grip. 

Collectively, the bench sucked in a breath, which turned into concerned murmurs of Oh, shit when Sukuna didn’t immediately spring back to his feet like he normally would after a nasty hit. 

The ref blew his whistle to stop the game and motioned for Megumi to come out onto the ice. 

Megumi was already shuffling his way over as fast as he could before the scream of the whistle had even subsided. 

He slid to his knees next to the groaning, curled-up lump that was Sukuna. 

“What’re you feeling?” Megumi asked. Though his heart was in his throat at the sight of Sukuna in such an uncharacteristically vulnerable state, he managed to keep his voice level and his hands steady as he gently removed Sukuna’s helmet. 

The man’s eyes were screwed shut in pain, his left arm cradled against his chest.

“My arm’s fucked,” Sukuna ground out. 

“Legs?” 

“Fine.” 

“Head?” 

“I don’t know. Hurts.” 

Megumi rolled Sukuna onto his back and pressed deft hands to his neck, checking for any anomalies there. 

“Open your eyes,” he directed. Megumi retrieved his flashlight from his bag and assessed Sukuna for symptoms of a concussion. 

Finding no blaring warning signs, he turned his attention to Sukuna’s arm, which appeared to be the main issue. 

“Can you extend your arm?” 

Sukuna shifted and winced. When he moved his elbow a fraction of an inch, he hissed out a sharp breath between clenched teeth. 

“Okay,” Megumi said in the most calming voice he could muster, “let’s get you to the locker room.” 

He waved Yuuji over who had been hovering anxiously to help escort Sukuna off the ice. 

The brothers glided off the rink slowly. Megumi waddled behind them, grabbing Sukuna’s stray stick on the way. 

Once Yuuji and Sukuna made it to the locker room, Megumi thanked Yuuji and told him to go back to the team. 

Sukuna collapsed on a bench, sweat beading his brow. Megumi rushed over and tilted Sukuna’s chin up, finally able to drop the professional pretense now that they were alone. 

“Are you sure you’re not disoriented at all?” Megumi questioned to double-check the absence of a concussion. 

Sukuna nodded and leaned his head back against the wall. 

“Alright. You’re going to hate this, but I need to take off your jersey and padding to see how bad the injury is.” 

Sukuna nodded again and sat forward. A trace of a smile ghosted his lips when Megumi reached for the hem of his jersey. 

“How forward of you, Megs.” 

Megumi scoffed. “Save your breath. This’ll hurt. Unless you want to cut the jersey off?” 

“Nah, this is my lucky one. I can handle a little pain, anyways,” Sukuna said with a wry gleam in his gorgeous burgundy-brown eyes. 

“Alright. Here we go.” 

Megumi pulled the jersey up more, revealing the dri-fit shirt underneath. Sukuna exhaled and squeezed his eyes shut as Megumi maneuvered the jersey off of his right arm. 

“Left arm now,” Megumi warned Sukuna. He bunched the jersey up and started to slide it over Sukuna’s injured arm, which was quite difficult since Sukuna couldn’t really move at all. 

The man grunted and dug his fingernails into the palm of his hand, but to his credit, didn’t lash out or yell like other patients Megumi has worked with. 

“I’m sorry,” Megumi winced. “Almost done.” 

In a quick but careful motion, he lifted Sukuna’s arm with one hand and pulled off the rest of the jersey with the other. 

“Fuck,” Sukuna panted. 

“Worst part’s over.” Now that the jersey was out of the way, Megumi shucked off the padding, which was significantly easier because he could un-velcro it and slide it off easily. 

“We’re cutting off the undershirt,” Megumi said in a tone that left no room for negotiation. He didn’t want to put Sukuna through unnecessary pain if he didn’t have to. 

Megumi got his fabric cutting scissors from the back room as well as an extra water bottle for Sukuna. At the last second, he remembered the granola bar squashed in the bottom of his bag that he was going to have later; he grabbed that as well. 

When he came back to where Sukuna was sitting, the man raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh, am I getting special treatment?” 

“Maybe a little,” Megumi hedged. “Here.” He unwrapped the granola bar and handed it to Sukuna along with the water bottle. 

While Sukuna was distracted by inhaling the granola bar in two huge bites, Megumi sliced off his shirt in a few pieces, tossing the scraps to the floor. 

Both he and Sukuna now looked down at the captain’s left arm. Sukuna whistled. 

“Damn.” 

Damn was right—his arm was badly swollen and lumpy in all the wrong places. Bruising had already started to set in, making it look even more gruesome in addition to the obvious bones pushing Sukuna’s skin out oddly. Megumi scanned the rest of the man’s upper body, and was alarmed to see that the man’s collarbone was also broken. 

“I hate to tell you this, but you’re definitely going to need surgery.” Megumi said, dismayed. 

Sukuna simply sighed and dropped his head. “How many games do you think I’ll be out?” 

“I can’t say for sure, but…there’s the potential you’ll be out for the rest of the season.” Megumi chewed his lip. “I’ll do my best to get you back out there as fast as possible, though.” 

The captain was silent as he reconciled the consequences of his injury. A line appeared between his brows in a rare indication of his disappointment. 

“We’ll have the paramedics take you to the hospital,” Megumi continued. “I’ll contact them now, then they’ll—” 

Sukuna interrupted with, “I want you to take me. I'll wait until after the game.” 

“Absolutely not. That’s far too long a time to wait with a broken arm and collarbone.” 

“I’m only going if you take me,” Sukuna repeated. The set of his jaw told Megumi there would be no further discussion. 

He and Megumi stared at each other, the two of them now locked in a stalemate. Both men recognized the stubbornness in each other, but neither was willing to be the first to cave. 

Megumi pressed his lips together in sheer annoyance. “You’re infuriating.” 

A grin spread across Sukuna’s lips. “You like it.” 

“Not when it comes to your health!” 

“I’ll be fine, Megumi. My arm’s not going to get more broken just from me sitting here for an hour.” 

“I guess, but—” 

“I just don’t want to go alone.” 

Megumi’s mouth snapped shut at the raw honesty in Sukuna’s words. And was that…fear in his voice? He blinked, rethought his next sentence. 

“Oh.” 

Silence stretched between them now, but it was abruptly shattered by the locker room door slamming open.

Yuuji led the charge over to his brother, his attention locking onto Sukuna’s arm immediately. 

“Oh, shit!” he exclaimed when he saw up close the damage that was done. 

All traces of that vulnerable side of Sukuna that Megumi’d gotten but a glimpse of was long gone now. 

“Close your mouth, dork. You look like I’m sitting here with my legs cut off,” Sukuna snarked. 

“Why the fuck aren’t you at the ER yet?” 

The rest of the Vipers team snuck glances at Sukuna as they filed into the locker room for the resurfacing break, imitating a traffic jam spawned by nosy onlookers.  

“Keep it moving!” Masamichi barked from the doorway. 

The guys scuttled into their seats.

“Nasty looking injury, there,” Masamichi remarked once he’d taken up his spot in the middle of the room. 

“Yeah. Fucking number twelve and eighty-three might’ve put me out for the rest of the season.” 

Noises of disbelief and disappointment rippled through the team; the thought of their sturdy, capable captain sitting out in the stands instead of leading the way on the ice was quite disconcerting. 

“We don’t know for sure yet,” Megumi added in an attempt to assuage the team’s apprehension. “I’ll update you all as soon as the doctors let me know what the story is.” 

Masamichi nodded his thanks and held up a hand for quiet.

“I better not see a single one of you dragging your feet out there for this last period just because we’re up one. You know well enough how that gap can and will close in a second if you give them even the slightest inch. Understand?” 

“Yes, sir!” the guys said in unison. 

“Good. Now that Sukuna is out for the game, we’ll need Charlie to fill in at center for A line,” Masamichi told them with a nod towards the blonde assistant captain. 

Charlie jutted his chin out determinedly. Yuuji clapped him hard on the back and whispered what was likely a reassuring sentiment. 

Masamichi cut his debrief short to check on Sukuna. He let out a long, low whistle when he saw the captain’s arm. 

“That’s a nasty one there.” 

Sukuna grunted. 

The coach’s eyes slid toward Megumi behind his ever-present dark sunglasses. “Has he been a somewhat civilized patient?” he asked with a hint of wry amusement. 

Megumi shrugged and pretended to think. “Eh. I’ve had worse.” 

Sukuna clicked his tongue, annoyed at being talked about like he wasn’t sitting two feet in front of them. 

“You need to get to the hospital,” Masamichi urged in a more sober tone. 

“I’m waiting until the game ends. I’ve waited all season to see those fuckers eat shit,” Sukuna said, matter-of-factly. 

“Like hell you are. Sooner you get on the operating table, the sooner you're back out on the ice.” Masamichi planted his feet and crossed his arms in quite the intimidating stance. “We already borrowed the other team’s second trainer for now, so there’s no worries about that. You’re going.” 

Sukuna glared up at his coach—-he was probably the only person on the entire team who had the guts to do so. 

“...Fine,” Sukuna conceded. 

Megumi stifled a snicker when he saw that Sukuna’s bottom lip was pushed out every so slightly in a tiny pout, though it wasn’t noticeable to anyone who hadn’t spent every waking moment thinking about those lips. 

“I offered to go with him, if that’s alright.” 

“Yes, please. He needs someone with half a brain to keep an eye on him,” grumbled Masamichi. He checked his watch and spun on his heel abruptly. 

“Two minutes. Let’s go.”