wicked twisted road uncle!kuna x reader
synopsis | when tragedy leaves sukuna a child to raise, you choose to stay and life changes quietly [college au]
warnings - [mdni] mentions of death + accidents | grief | just angsty but soft overall
main masterlist
❋
it wasn’t the warmth of the sun peeking in through the blinds or the ridiculous heat that radiated off your furnace of a boyfriend that woke you up.
instead, it was the two year old that was very convinced that the world should be awake when he was.
“up!” came the small, sleepy demand from your side of the bed.
you cracked one eye open, room still relatively dark, your phone lighting up with a shining 5:24am on the screen. criminally early for two college students, but a norm for you and sukuna.
you spotted yuji’s small figure by the foot of the bed, padding across hardwood, socks mismatched and salmon hair sticking up in every possible direction, chubby cheeks indented with the evidence of his deep sleep.
“mmm, hi baby…” you murmured, voice thick with sleep as watched the boy climb onto the bed without a word, knees digging into your stomach as he settled there like he belonged.
“mornin’!” yuji chirped, patting your cheek with a soft, clumsy hand making you smile softly, despite yourself. that’s been his favorite word recently.
you placed a hand on his little back to make sure he wouldn’t fall over before your eyes slipped shut again once more, pressing a gentle kiss to the tiny chubby hand that was still pressed against your face.
his hands still faintly smelled of crayons and his favorite fruit snacks, familiar and comforting.
“good morning, buddy…” you whispered, already shifting, already giving into his enthusiasm to start his day at this ungodly hour.
beside you, sukuna groaned, his large body still against yours, chest warming your back as his face dug into the side of your neck.
his groan reverberated against your skin, rough and deep in his chest as he moved to roll onto his back, an arm thrown over his eyes, as if simply the concept of getting up was offensive.
his voice came out scraped raw with exhaustion, “little shit loves to torture us.”
yuji turned instantly, beaming at the sound of his uncle’s voice before plopping back against your side, curling in closer as his chubby cheek rested against your stomach.
you gently smiled, hand brushing against his soft tufts of hair, glancing at your glaring boyfriend, “don’t curse, ryo, he’s just a baby.”
sukuna rolled his eyes, muttering a baby, my ass as you simply bit back a laugh as yuji’s big eyes watched you like you’d caused the sun to come up that morning.
sukuna peeked through his fingers, one ruby eye glaring down at the traitor pressed so contently to your ribs and the look he gave yuji was all mock annoyance and tired affection.
“menace.” he grumbled as his hand moved forward to run his fingers through yuji’s pink locks once before his hand rested on your hip, turning to you as his eyes went soft. always soft, only for you.
yuji giggled once at sukuna who didn’t even do anything. nonetheless, the sound came small and unrestrained and it undid you both every time.
“mornin’, baby.”
your stomach fluttered at his morning voice, gruff and deep, it made you practically unravel every time.
“morning, kuna.”
and sukuna could say the same. his heart beat different when you spoke, as if you called to it in a different rhythm, a different sound his entire being couldn’t resist.
you slid out from under the covers gently, lifting yuji with you and settling him on your hip as your feet met the cool hardwood floors. sukuna’s white shirt drowned your figure as you padded your way to the bathroom, yuji’s warm cheek resting against your collarbone as his big eyes watched you freshen up.
you placed him on the counter then, allowing him to watch with giant curious eyes as you brushed your teeth and did your skincare, allowing him to babble words and somewhat string sentences that you didn’t fully understand but comprehended at the same time.
as you began brushing your hair gently, big arms snaked around your waist, nose nudging your jaw as you blushed softly.
“mmm, you aways smell so good…” sukuna practically inhaled you as you shook your head gently, small hands pushing against tattooed forearms that wouldn’t budge.
meanwhile, yuji watched kuna with big wondrous eyes that mirrored his own, messy bed-head that mirrored his own and a dimpled grin that mirrored his own.
your chest clenched with effort, affection and everything that lived in between.
“ryo,” you murmured as sukuna finally stepped beside you, reaching over for his own toothbrush, eyes assessing yuji in his little dinosaur pajamas, “what time’s practice?”
sukuna’s eyes met you through the mirror as you applied your lip mask, hand on yuji’s little belly to make sure he didn’t fall off the bathroom counter.
“eight,” sukuna answered through a mouthful of toothpaste as you picked up yuji once more, “y’got labs today?”
you simply hummed in agreement, moving the little boy to your hip as you exited the bathroom to walk out the room, towards the kitchen.
the apartment was still quiet, birds only just starting to chirp and the faint hum of cars outside filling the space between breaths.
two bedrooms, a living room, toys always half put away and a sink that never stayed empty. contained chaos, you liked to call it.
“hmm, what are we feeling, baby?” you murmured as yuji grinned his gummy grin at you, “eggs? yogurt? cereal?”
“eggs!” yuji’s reply came instantly, excitement filling his little body as his hands played with the ends of your hair.
“cereal!” sukuna called from the bedroom before appearing at the kitchen doorway, his hair sleep-softened and falling into his eyes in messy tufts of pink.
he watched you like he always did in the mornings, all quiet and unreadable, something heavy and warm sitting just behind his ribs. only for you.
you glanced at him, unimpressed, “you’re not getting cereal.”
yuji gasped in solidarity as you smiled amusedly at the boy.
sukuna huffed a laugh despite himself, pushing himself forward as he crossed the room, still barefoot and only clad in his black briefs. he moved towards you, arm snaking around your hip as he leaned down to press a kiss to the side of your head and your cheek before moving to your mouth, pressing a soft and slow kiss to your soft lips.
yuji huffed gently, tiny hand pressing against sukuna’s cheek once, a little slap that didn’t faze him one bit, as he was used to yuji’s antics. sukuna still narrowed his eyes playfully at the boy, “stupid, kid. she’s mine.”
yuji frowned, “mine!”
you rolled your eyes at the two boys, huffing before moving to get the eggs to make breakfast, “ridiculous.”
but something bloomed in your chest, tender as it warmed your heart like no other.
sukuna grunted as you both moved around each other with practiced ease, domesticity dripping through every movement like it was craved into every space of your home and your beings.
you moved to slide yuji into his little chair, already peeling a banana to occupy him with as yuji watched with reverent focus.
once the boy was distracted, shoving mushed banana into his mouth, you made your way back to the stove as sukuna prepared his protein shake.
“i got practice in an hour,” sukuna stated, voice steady as you placed the pan on the stove, waiting for it to heat up, “i’ll drop him off at daycare on my way.”
you nodded softly, cracking multiple eggs into the pan, because you knew sukuna alone would eat eight eggs himself. in this economy.
“i have lectures and labs till twelve,” you replied gently as sukuna placed a hand on your hip to maneuver around you to the cabinet by you, “i’ll pick him up. hime said she’s free to watch him too cuz her lecture was cancelled.”
sukuna snorted, “yuji hates her.”
you rolled your eyes with a faint smile, turning to glance at yuji who was watching both of you as if he was part of the conversation, humming to himself and feet kicking happily.
it was true, yuji disliked utahime for reasons you weren’t quite sure about. maybe it was her consistently blank face, barely ever a trace of a smile, but really, you couldn’t be sure.
sukuna leaned against the counter, arms crossed and eyes following you as you moved around with practiced ease and as your smaller self leaned up to reach for something too high, he was grabbing it before you could part your lips to speak. and in your rush, he’d place a hand on the corner of the cabinet to make sure your head wouldn't hit the wood.
like second nature. everything was like second nature.
some days, that terrified him. not because it was bad, but because it was good.
because you didn’t have to be here. but you were.
and thank fuck, because he wouldn’t survive without you.
he reached out without thinking, big hands against the side of hair face, fingers in your hair and thumb stroking your brow, once, twice before you looked up from the bacon and eggs.
and fuck, if his heart didn’t stop.
your doe eyes looked up at him, still laced with sleep and something gentler, something benevolent that always warmed his chest with something he couldn’t name if he tried.
he didn’t have to say anything for you to understand him, going back to the task at hand as he kept his hand on you. he had no real reason to touch you beyond habit.
a habit that had long since outgrown itself.
his thumb lingered at your brow, calloused pad smoothing over soft skin like he was claiming something fragile, grounding himself more than you.
he watched as your pretty lashes fluttered, blinking up at him, the soft crease between your brows drawn by your focus smoothing over when your eyes met his. always his.
“gonna burn the bacon, baby.” he murmured quietly before you gasped gently, glancing down at the pan as you scrambled to flip them over, huffing gently.
“you’re distracting.”
something eased in his chest at that.
distracting meant present. real. here.
sukuna stepped back with arms folded over his broad chest, leaning against the counter once more, eyes never leaving you. he counted things without realizing it. how many times your brows pinched, the way you tucked a stray hair behind your ear, the unconscious sway of your hips as you hummed along to whatever tune was stuck in your pretty head.
he always memorized you liked that. just in case.
yuji squealed from his chair, banana smeared across his mouth and fingers alike, “messy!”
“i see that.” you giggled, moving forward, hand brushing kuna’s bare abdomen as he moved to stand at the stove instead, with practiced ease.
you were giggling and sharing words with the boy who grinned up at you as you wiped his hands gently, followed by his cheeks, nose crinkling when he tried to dodge you.
“no! no!” yuji protested playfully as you shook your head.
“yes.” you corrected calmly, like the word had never failed you once and it hadn’t as yuji conceded softly, big eyes watching you like something holy.
sukuna watched the exchange with something dangerously close to reverence.
you were steady, always had been. even when you were tired, even when the world demanded too much, even when you could have walked away from all of this, you stayed.
you stayed with him. for him.
then, eventually for yuji too.
that thought sliced through him every time he remembered, sharp and sudden.
you didn’t need him.
not financially. not practically. not even emotionally, all things considered.
you stayed because you wanted to.
and that terrified him more than if you’d been trapped.
breakfast passed in fragments, as it always did with a chaotic two year old.
yuji demanded more eggs, sukuna insisted he was running late while still shoving bacon and eggs into his mouth, you shoved more of your homemade sourdough onto a plate and reminded him that he couldn’t train on an empty stomach.
by half-past seven, jackets were pulled on and shoes were found…eventually.
yuji was wrangled into his tiny jacket, arms stiff as boards as he fought the entirety of the process.
“cmon.” sukuna grumbled as yuji pouted, demanding that he should put on his own jacket, “you’re two. no.”
“two and big!” yuji corrected.
you bit your lip to keep from giggling at a crouching sukuna wrestling his two year old nephew to put on his jacket.
sukuna sighed deeply, kneeled down as he guided yuji’s arms through the sleeves with surprising patience. his hands were careful, movements precise, as if yuji was something breakable even as the kid grumbled back.
the morning air bit at your skin as you stepped out, slow as yuji padded along beside you and sukuna who’s hand ghosted your lower back through your little trench coat.
sukuna loaded his duffel into the truck while you buckled yuji into his car seat, fingers lingering a second longer than necessary as you adjusted the straps.
“you okay?” sukuna asked lowly, eyes assessing and noticing, always noticing.
you glanced up, surprised, “yeah, why?”
he shook his head once, jaw tightening slightly, “just seem tired.”
“m’fine, ryo.” you smiled gently, leaning up to place a soft kiss against his jaw before moving to the passengers seat, the man’s eyes following with diligence.
sukuna dropped off yuji first, the little boy fussy at the thought of leaving you both but you promise him you’d pick him up soon.
then it was just the two of you in the car, sukuna’s hand warm against your thigh even through the wool of your coat, your smaller fingers playing with his hand, tracing the tattoo of your initial on his finger.
it was a warm and comforting silence that placed itself between you, both your eyes still tired but hearts full.
campus came into view too quickly for your boyfriend’s liking.
sukuna slowed anyway, like delay might stretch the moment. he pulled over where he always did, engine idling and hand tightening both on the wheel and your thigh as you sighed softly, unbuckling your seatbelt as he turned to look at you.
his gaze softened, too much, all at once.
and you knew that look more than anyone and it killed you every time.
you hated when he looked at you like he was already grieving you, like he’d never see you after this.
“hey,” you whispered gently, hand coming up to rest against his jaw, thumb caressing softly, sensing something beneath the quiet, “i’ll see you at home.”
he nodded once, leaning over to press a kiss against your lips, quick to deepen it further tongue peaking out to trace your bottom lip as his hands cradled your face like something precious. you pulled away gently to look at him but he merely pressed another kiss to your lips, then the corner of your mouth and your cheek. lingering and grounding, like words he didn’t trust himself to say.
“don’t forget to eat.” he murmured against your lips, eyes still shut and pressing one more kiss to the soft plush of your lips before pulling away fully, scarlett eyes opening to gaze at you.
you grinned gently, opening the door, “text me if practice runs late. don’t forget physio after.”
he didn’t respond, watching you walk away until the doors of the building sallowed you whole and took you away from his eyes, where he could see you and know you were there.
then he exhaled, slow and shaky.
he knew he’d see you at home, he always did.
he always would.
❋
students buzzed past you as you entered the lecture hall that smelled faintly of coffee and disinfectant, your mind somewhere else completely as you made your way to your usual seat beside shoko.
you placed your tote down, pulling out your ipad with a sigh as the overhead lights hummed softly, too bright for the slight headache setting in your temples.
shoko was already seated, long legs stretched out beneath the table as she scrolled through her phone with a huff.
“i swear,” she began, putting her phone down to fully face you, “if i see that man at the party tonight, i won’t even fucking glance at him!”
you knew who she was talking about and you offered a simple hum in response, absenmindedly picking at your nails.
“like actually, though!” you knew her words were futile and she’d end up right back in his bed, as she usually did, “i’m not giving in this time.”
and you hummed again, thoughtful.
shoko finally studied you then, one dark brow lifting, “are you even listening to me?”
were you? not really.
but her words pulled you bak into the room as you blinked softly, “yeah, yup. no giving in.”
she stared at you for a beat too long, narrowed eyes assessing, “oh how times have changed. you don’t even know about the party tomorrow.”
you hadn’t even been to a party for a year, ever since the accident landed a one year old yuji in you and sukuna’s lap.
something hit you then, heavy but not completely sad. something different.
you didn’t answer your friend right away. instead, your mind slipped, unbidden, towards the salmon haired boy. boys, really. both of them.
you wondered if yuji was still fussy or if the teachers had managed to distract him with his favorite snacks and toys. you wondered if practice was already wrecking sukuna’s shoulder and if he ignored the ache like he always did. like he usually would.
you hoped both of them would check the front pockets of their bags and see the little note you’d placed along with fruit snacks for yuji and a protein bar for sukuna. well, yuji couldn't read so you settled for a cute doodle instead.
you made a mental note to text sukuna during break.
“helloooo!” shoko waved a hand to your face making you blink up at her, “are you good?”
you nodded softly, “yeah, sorry. just thinking.”
shoko leaned back in her seat, eyes soft as she looked at you, “about?”
you hesitated for a moment and you hated that you did.
because it proved that even you, deep down, in your subconscious or whatever resided deep in your chest knew that it was pointless to explain. that even though you were months younger than your friend, she’d never understand any of it.
what were you thinking about? you were thinking about dinner. about yuji’s pediatric appointment next week. about whether yuji would go down easy tonight or fight sleep like a menace. you thought about sukuna’s eyes when he watched you walk away this morning, like you’d leave the second he blinked.
“just stuff.” you finally settled on.
shoko studied you then, really studied you. the faint shadows beneath your eyes, the way your fingers absently travel the edge of your desk, like you were grounding yourself.
“you’re different…” shoko stated softly, suddenly, not unkindly, “than even a year ago today.”
and you smiled gently, not defensive and not sad, just honest.
you knew you’d changed. the moment the accident happened, the moment yuji was on your doorstep with social services, you knew you had a choice.
either choose sukuna and grow up way too fast or leave and live the way you were a year ago.
“i know.”
she tilted her head, “you miss it? you ever wish you could go back?”
you considered the question for a beat.
you loved the chaos of it all. the recklessness, the loudness, the carefree energy that screamed youth and the absolute pinnacle of college lfe.
and now…the chaos was still there. but different.
it was warmer, sticky handed and couldn’t let you sleep in past sunrise. it smelled like fruit snacks and laundry detergent and sukuna’s soap. it lived in routines you never, ever thought you’d crave or grow to fall in love with.
“no…i don’t think so.” you said quietly, “i like…knowing where i’m needed.”
shoko rolled her eyes with a small laugh, “that is such an old people answer!”
you simply shrugged with a gentle smile of your own.
the professor walked in then conversation faded into the distance as shoko leaned closer.
“are you ever scared?” she whispered like she couldn’t let it go, “that you grew up too fast?”
you turned to her slowly, wide eyes soft as you considered it.
yes, you did grow up too fast, yuji barging into your life when you and sukuna were still twenty and reckless and somewhat negligent.
that had changed overnight.
when the news came, when sukuna’s brother and wife had gotten into an accident and sukuna was listed as the official godparent, there was no doubt in your mind that you would stay.
but sometimes, you wished things were different. not that you didn’t want yuji, you loved the kid more than anything. but your mind couldn’t help but think about the future where yuji wouldn’t have his actual parents, where he’d grow to resent it all. you. maybe.
you though of sukuna, twenty and carrying the weight of the world like he’d been born with it placed over his shoulders. you thought of yuji’s sleepy grin this morning, utterly unbothered by how strange and fragile life could be.
“sometimes.” you admitted, then softer and truer, you whispered, “but i wouldn’t change a thing.”
the lecture blurred after that. you took notes the best you could with your mind drifting every few minutes. back home, back in sukuna’s car, back to the way he’d kissed you like he was anchoring himself to the idea that you’d return.
a year ago, your biggest worry was passing your finals.
now, it was whether the people you loved were okay.
you glanced down at your phone, the wallpaper blinking back at you.
a picture taken just this summer at the fair photo booth.
four pictures of you sukuna and yuji. one of you all grinning, yuji having sticky cotton candy residue on his adorable cheeks. sukuna merely had a smirk on his face as he gazed at the camera lazily. the next was all of you with your tongues out, sukuna’s tongue piercing glinting in the light as yuji’s little face merely mimicked the face you’d made. the third was softer, quieter, of sukuna holding yuji up between you, both of you placing a kiss on one of his chubby cheeks as his eyes widened, squealing at the flash.
the last was your favorite. sukuna had softly squeezed your side, making you giggle harder than you’d meant to as both sukuna and yuji looked at you, softness and warmth in their gaze. sukuna wasn’t smiling, merely watching you like the sound of your laugh had resurrected him. and yuji was sporting a gummy grin, as if he couldn’t help but mirror your happiness.
your chest filled, warm and sudden.
you didn’t mind at all.
❋
“can someone tell me why the theme is cowboy sluts?” gojo groaned as he stretched on the mat, a scowl painting his pale features, “that’s not even creative! now, cowboy pillows, that’s where it’s at. we’d see tits all ni-“
“shut up, gojo,” geto tutted with a shake of his head as he used the foam roller for his leg, utterly tired of satoru’s complains.
frankly, sukuna couldn’t care less about any of it.
he had mastered the art of blocking out his friends when they spoke about trivial shit like this, stuff that was once everything, now amounting to nothing.
sukuna pulled his pump cover off, tossing it into his duffel by the bench. his hands shoved the hoodie inside, fingers softly brushing against a small folded piece of paper.
his mouth tilted just a bit, chest constricting in the way it always did when it came to you.
don’t forget to stretch, pls! and drink water! and come home asap. we love you ♡
his chest practically caved in with the effort of his beating heart. fuck, he loved you.
a note that was so familiar, notes you’d been placing in his gym bags everyday since freshman year, still illicit the same lovesick reaction from him. he was pathetic.
except the notes changed recently, a year ago to be exact.
what was once i love you transitioned into we. we.
as in you and yuji.
like it was obvious, natural, second-nature. like he didn’t carry a sense of guilt from it all every second of his day.
“yo, sukuna,” gojo called out, “why don’t you and the missus come for a change? you could use the break.”
and the words shouldn’t have irked him as much as they did. maybe it was simply because it was gojo’s stupid ass uttering them.
but something in his gut twisted, irritation twinged like a rock stuck in his shoe.
like something he could constantly feel but tried to ignore for his own comfort.
because you could use the break. you could use every moment of peace he’d robbed you of the moment he took yuji in.
he couldn’t let anyone else do it, he was legally the godfather. plus, they had no immediate family but his grandfather and he was too old to care for a one year old.
he always felt guilt for it, but he did look. he tried to find a way out, any world where you and him could just stay the way you were. no rush of responsibilities forcing your relationship out of whack. no chance that you might leave. no world where you wouldn’t pick him.
all the while, he remembered you being in the other room with yuji, feeding him and singing him soft lullabies. he wasn't aware then that you’d already made your choice.
that your soul had already shifted, that your mind made room and your heart opened up to the little pink haired boy that resembled the man you loved too much for his own good.
sukuna stripped you of your youth, at least that’s how he saw it.
“nah, man.” sukuna’s word were sharp, simple, practically holding a sign to gojo to shut the fuck up and don’t push.
but he always had an inkling that gojo couldn’t fucking read.
“oh come on, bro!” gojo whined, “you both haven’t been to a party in ages. and i know utahime can watch yuji today-“
“i said no. drop it.” sukuna’s words were low, venomous, coated with defenses he was all too aware of. insecurities and worries pointed out like a flaw he tried his best to conceal.
sukuna didn’t gauge his reaction as he stood instead, continuing to stretch out his shoulder with a small plate, feeling the dull ache already settling deeper there. he welcomed it, got used to it. but also took care of it, because he promised you he would.
he hated his mind. he hated his mind since he was younger but he hated it especially since his brother had passed and his life was thrusted into this abyss he couldn’t find light in.
but he didnt have to. you were it the whole time.
it took sukuna two months to hold yuji. it took four for him to finally change a diaper and it took six for him to finally be able to put the boy to sleep.
and that only dug the whole that held his guilt even deeper, deeper.
because you never complained once.
you changed every diaper he avoided, put him to sleep when yuji cried hours into the night while sukuna laid awake in your room, chest tight and eyes unblinking. you bathed him, fed him and took him to every appointment when sukuna was too busy.
too busy grieving. grieving his bother, grieving for yuji but most of all, grieving you.
the whole situation fucked him up in the head. it was like a ticking time bomb planted in his home and he was never aware of when it’d go off.
fucking sick and cruel and it made him want to throw up in anxiousness.
when would you leave?
because you couldn’t stay, no, you wouldn’t.
you were only twenty two and basically a mother. you weren’t even married.
you had been dating sukuna for three years when the accident happened. serious? yes. enough to raise a child with him? no.
most nights he wished you’d have just left that same night the lawyers and social services had shown up. alas, you never did.
and he wasn’t sure what was worse. if you’d have left or the torturous wait.
“you good?” geto’s words, laced with something soft and sympathetic.
sukuna nodded once, despising the sympathy more than anything.
coach barked about some exercise and he was grateful for the distraction. except, you were never quite as far as he’d hoped you’d be sometimes.
every time he stilled, every time his body stoped moving, he thought of you. you. you.
how your hair would brush against your cheeks as you listened to the lecturer, brow furrowing as you took notes, your pretty eyes all wide and focused. he wondered if you remembered to drink water, if you’d eaten anything or just picked at some disgusting nutrition bar.
sukuna wondered if you were thinking of him like he did you. if you always felt his absence like he craved to never feel yours while simultaneously wishing you’d grant him it.
ryomen sukuna was a selfish man.
because even though he knew it was right to let you go. to let you carry out your youth without the burden of taking care of a kid that isn’t yours, of skipping lectures and missing labs because yuji’s sick, of spacing out in tests because you wondered if sukuna was okay. he wished he could rid you of every single worry.
but that would mean ridding himself of you. your eyes, your warmth, your pretty face and the way you made something in him ache in the best way.
and he couldn’t do it.
if you had left that night like he sometimes laid at night hoping you did, yuji wouldn’t be here. he’d be in some foster home, sukuna was sure of it. because the pain of grief would have killed him, he was sure.
you had saved him, not yuji or divine intervention, it was you.
the thought lodged into his chest like a splinter.
you didn’t have to stay. but you did then and every day since.
and when practice ended, he didn’t think of a party or an exam, he thought about getting home. back to yuji, back to you. because he had people waiting on him now, counting on him. and fuck, if that wasn’t the scariest thing ever.
and if it wasn’t enough to keep him alive.
❋
the moment sukuna stepped foot into the apartment, his chest stilled.
it was overwhelmingly warm, not literally, but warmth that was so grounding, it made his shoulders sag before he could think too hard. he placed his keys in the little hook by the door, resting against your own with a soft clatter. he kicked his shoes off without looking, duffel slipping from his grip to land by the wall with a dull thud.
his shoulder rolled once as he winced, then again.
the sound came next, a soft babble, high-pitched and excited. the sound was punctuated by your voice, low and soothing, threaded with patience even as you scolded gently.
“no, baby, it’s hot.” you murmured, “we look with our eyes only.”
sukuna followed your voice, as he always did. as he always would, whatever and whenever.
and there you were. freshly showered, he could smell your familiar scent, fresh and comforting. your hair was damp and sukuna’s large shirt covered the expanse of your otherwise nude body, slipping off one shoulder as you stood barefoot against the floor.
yuji was perched on your lip like he belonged there, as if it was the only place he’d ever known. one chubby arm looped itself around your neck, gripping strands of your hair while the other was clutching onto a wooden spoon sukuna knew you’d given to preoccupy him.
your playlist was low in the background, wicked twisted road being your chosen song of the night as you hummed softly, the rasp and chords filling the gentle quiet of the kitchen.
yuji looked up when sukuna entered, face lighting up the second he spotted his uncle, eyes wide and shining, “kuna!”
the word hit him square in the chest.
sukuna didn't answer right away, simply standing there, observing, taking it in like a man who didn’t quite trust that if he blinked, it wouldn’t all disappear.
his eyes were on you. always you. waiting for you to turn, too look at him so he could look at you right back. to make sure you were still here, choosing him, wanting him at least half as much as he wanted you.
and turn, you did. your doe eyes found him immediately and something in your posture softened the moment you did. relief flickered across your face so quickly, you didn’t even notice it yourself. but he did. and fuck, did he feel it right back.
“you’re home,” you smiled softly, warm and pretty. like the sentence meant everything. like it was a promised fulfilled.
yuji wriggled in your arms excitedly, little shrieks leaving him as the spoon flailed dangerously close to sukuna’s face as the little boy reached out for him, “up! up!”
sukuna’s mouth twitched, eyes rolling as he moved closer, snatching the boy up with one big hand easily before resting him against his chest. the kid squealed as he was hoisted into the air, giggling bright and loud as sukuna pressed a kiss against the tuft of soft pink, eyes gazing at you through his lashes.
your gaze lingered on the two boys, soft, aching and reverent.
sukuna felt it all, the way your eyes held him like he was something worth keeping, worth choosing over and over again.
and that scared him more than anything.
“dinner’s almost ready,” you said gently as you turned back to the stove, “made your favorite.”
of course you did.
yuji began whining once more, apparently already tired of his uncle and needing you once more. just like sukuna.
he watched the way yuji reached out instinctively and how you reached back just as easily, fingers brushing his small back without interrupting your stirring.
seamless. too seamless.
domestic in a way that felt carved rather than learned.
he moved forward then, broad chest against your smaller frame, hand on the bare skin of your hip as you softened against him.
“you stink,” you murmured, head tilting back to gaze up at him with wide and amused eyes, “shower before dinner.”
sukuna smirked gently, leaning down to peck your nose, then your cheek, then leading kisses all the way to your mouth and stayed there.
even as yuji squealed in a possessive protest, chubby hand slapping sukuna’s bad shoulder as if he knew, sukuna barely flinched.
he deepend the kiss even more, tongue licking your bottom lip before plunging itself into your mouth with fervor.
yuji had already given up, cheek pressing against your neck as sukuna cupped your jaw, maneuvering your face to deepen the kiss further.
you hummed, pulling away with pink swollen lips that matched sukuna’s. he breathed against you for a moment as you tried to catch your breath, planting slow kisses across your neck and collarbone.
“i’ll shower…” he murmured against your lips once more, kissing you deeply once more before finally allowing you turn back to the food.
“thank god.” you murmured teasingly, shooting him a menacingly hot smirk as he shook his had.
there were a thousand things sitting on his tongue.
i missed you.
i hate leaving.
i’m constantly afraid you’ll get tired of me. of us.
i’m scared you’ll wake up one day and realize this isn’t the life you wanted.
he said nothing. instead, he reached out one more time, hand big against your waist it like he needed proof you were real.
the chaos was real. of all the things said and not.
it was tangible, sticky and loud and most days, so fucking exhausting.
and it was yours.
❋
ahhh a little one-shot of uncle!kuna for yall 🥹🥹 i was super inspired by the concept and loved the idea so wanted to make my own version !!
i think a drabble for it aint me babe is next!!
as always lmk what u thinkkkk
art by the super talented @/to00fu !!
