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Megumi glances at the clock overhead and groans.
It’s past seven in the evening and he’s exhausted. He tries to hail a cab, but a second one speeds past him and Megumi resists the urge to scream at the vanishing tail lights in frustration.
He should’ve taken the day off or something. It’s his first anniversary tonight, yet here he is, stuck in the middle of the city trying to catch a ride home, instead of back in his apartment with his husband. Megumi curses all the horrible decisions he’s made in life, which includes not having the foresight to go home early or book a nice restaurant so that they could’ve had a pleasant dinner to celebrate.
But both he and Sukuna have been busy. Megumi’s barely seen his husband all week because he’s been coming home so late, having had to meet a pressing deadline by the end of the month, and sometimes Sukuna isn’t even home when Megumi returns at some godforsaken hour. They keep missing each other in the mornings too; if they’re lucky they’ll catch each other at the doorstep and exchange a quick kiss goodbye, and because of their hectic schedules, neither of them brought up the topic of the anniversary nor did they make any plans.
A small part of him wonders if Sukuna’s even home now, or if he remembered their anniversary. Megumi nearly forgot himself, but he did manage to get Sukuna a gift that he hopes Sukuna would appreciate.
Megumi doesn’t know what he’ll do if he gets home and it’s just… empty.
He shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Most likely it’s the stress talking. A cab pulls up, finally, and he hops inside, taking a deep breath to settle his nerves as he drums his fingers on his briefcase nervously.
Amidst the cacophony of concerns and worries, a single thought rings clear, like an anchor holding Megumi steady in his stormy mind. And it’s the one he clings onto, like a lifeline, as he leans his forehead against the cool glass window and stares unseeing at the buildings that pass him by, eager for his commute to be over.
It’s the thought that he’ll be home soon, in the arms of the only man who looks at him as if he’s the most important person in the whole wide world.
And that should be the only thing that matters, shouldn’t it?
Sometimes, Megumi has no idea what he’s ever done to deserve Sukuna.
They met in college. At a book club, of all things.
Sukuna didn’t even go to the book club. But he burst in, one evening, five minutes late, as the group was just beginning to discuss the book they had been reading that week.
Everyone looked up immediately, and it had been a solid minute of awkward silence as Sukuna just stood there and stared at them, until his eyes fell upon Megumi.
And then he just stared harder, while Megumi gaped back at him like a stunned little goldfish.
“Excuse me, are you here for the book club?” The club’s leader had asked.
That seemed to shake Sukuna out of his reverie. “The what now?”
“We’re a weekly book club,” The leader tried to explain, which was saying something because she looked utterly terrified of Sukuna. “We uh… Read and discuss books.”
“Hmm. Interesting.” Sukuna mumbled, looking right at Megumi. And then he strode over to the middle of the room, where most of the group quickly shuffled aside to give him a wide berth, avoiding his furious crimson eyes.
Megumi remembered thinking that someone like Sukuna was the most unlikely candidate for a book club, but he also wasn’t going to judge if he genuinely wanted to join them or read books. So he had simply moved aside a little bit, leaving some space for Sukuna to sit when no one else dared, and the other boy had smirked at him before promptly sitting down beside Megumi.
“So what are we reading today?” He asked, his voice echoing loudly in the all-too-quiet room.
A quiet boy sitting beside Megumi replied. “‘The Language of Flowers’. But actually… You’re supposed to read the book before the meeting.” He promptly shut up when Sukuna turned to him with a harsh glare.
“Huh, so where can I get my hands on that book then?”
“I’ll lend you mine.” Megumi offered helpfully. Everyone else heaved a collective sigh of relief when Sukuna stopped glaring at them and turned to look at Megumi instead, his expression reminding Megumi of one of his huskies if it had gotten lost.
They read together from the same book during the meeting, Megumi whispering details about the plot to Sukuna at regular intervals, the other boy surprisingly tame as he listened to everything Megumi said. Megumi even offered to stay back after it was over, to explain more about the story to Sukuna because he seemed so invested in what Megumi had to say.
Later, Sukuna asked to borrow the book, but he never returned to the book club.
He did also ask for Megumi’s number, and they started seeing each other by the end of the month. The rest, as they say, is history.
The memory of how they met lifts Megumi’s spirits a little.
Sukuna admitted to him, half a year after they started dating, that he had wandered into the book club by accident after getting lost in that wing of the campus. He hadn’t planned on staying, but spotted Megumi and thought, in that moment, that the spiky-haired student was the prettiest thing he'd ever laid eyes on.
And he only stayed because he had wanted to get to know Megumi.
“I regret nothing.” He’d always say.
But sometimes Megumi wonders how much of that is true.
They were two very different people. They still are. Even back in college, their circles never mixed, they studied different things, and eventually ended up working in different industries. They’ve got opposing personalities; even their tastes and interests vary greatly. Both Megumi’s and Sukuna’s friends were forever asking him why he would put up with Sukuna, but Megumi feels like it’s the complete opposite.
In fact, he wonders why Sukuna puts up with him.
He wonders why Sukuna always listens to him as if everything he says is interesting. He wonders why the other man can be a menace to his colleagues and subordinates, glare rudely at his friends or even his own twin brother, but he will never lose his patience with Megumi.
He always wonders if Sukuna ever regrets his decision.
And still, Megumi has no idea.
All he knows is that he’s the luckiest person on earth, but there’s a bit of a nagging feeling that someday, somehow, Sukuna will tire of him. It's the most terrifying fear for Megumi, one that he hopes will never come to pass.
Right, it’s definitely the stress talking.
He drags his feet up to their apartment, pushing open the door, and calls out in a tired voice that he’s home.
The first thing that greets his tired eyes is a bouquet of flowers placed near the entranceway.
Megumi blinks. And then he cracks a weary smile as he steps inside, reaching for the bouquet to pick it up. He recognizes all the flowers in it, and knows at once that Sukuna picked them for their meanings. There’s tulips, striped white and red, a type of flower Sukuna loves getting for Megumi because he’s always saying Megumi has the most beautiful eyes. There are red roses, for love, and also orange, for fascination, and Megumi’s touched by the fact that Sukuna bothered to remember what these flowers mean in the first place.
And just like that, his exhaustion and doubt vanish.
“Sukuna?” He calls out, carrying the bouquet inside.
There’s no answer, but there are sounds coming from the kitchen, so that’s where Megumi heads first.
Something smells delicious, and Megumi steps into the warmth within. The sight of a frumpy-looking man storming all over the place, bustling about with a frown, concentration creasing his brows as he focuses on plating a dish he has just finished cooking, melts Megumi’s heart in an instant.
When he hears Megumi come in, Sukuna looks up immediately.
“Woah, you’re back early.”
Megumi leans against the doorframe, cradling the bouquet in his arms. “You too. I thought you had work today.”
“I lied. Took half a day off actually, and rushed right home to make dinner. Gimme a couple minutes and I’ll be done.”
“You lied? To me?” Megumi smirks, putting on a mock-affronted face. “How dare you.”
Sukuna puts away some of the dirty utensils and wipes his hands, before crossing over to place a kiss against Megumi’s temple. “You can decide on my punishment later. Welcome home, my love.”
“You remembered then.” Megumi says happily, the flowers in his arms brushing against Sukuna as the latter pulls away, a fond look in his eyes.
“How could I forget? A year ago, you made me the happiest man alive. That’s not something one forgets easily.”
When Megumi remains silent, pondering, Sukuna brushes the hair out of his eyes and strokes his cheek. “What’s wrong?”
With one simple question, Megumi can feel his walls crumbling down, the last of his emotional strength leaving him. So he buries his face against Sukuna’s neck, feels strong arms wrap around him, and relaxes into his husband’s embrace.
“Nothing. I’m just so tired, Sukuna. I wanted to see you so bad.”
Sukuna kisses the top of his head. “I’m glad to see you too, Megumi.”
Dinner is an enjoyable affair. They eat, they chat, complain about work and talk about everything, and Megumi even finishes everything on his plate, to Sukuna’s delight.
When dessert is over, Megumi insists on helping out with the dishes, and together they work on cleaning up the place so that they can retire for the night.
“That was delicious.” He tells Sukuna as he hands over a plate that’s been freshly cleaned.
“If you like it, I could make it for you more often.”
“I’d love that. Tonight was lovely, thank you.”
Sukuna puts the rest of the dishes away and pauses for a moment. “I figured you would be tired. So I decided that I would make us dinner, and we could spend the rest of the night alone, without any distractions, instead of going out to a fancy restaurant or throwing a huge party like that godfather of yours did for his anniversary.”
“You know me too well.” Megumi strokes Sukuna’s arm gently. “But I’d like to take you somewhere nice next year if you’d let me? Hopefully neither of us will be busy then.”
“Mm, sweetheart, you spoil me. Not that I’m complaining. Think you could indulge me a little tonight?” Sukuna leans in, his voice rumbling low in his chest, nearly caging Megumi against the kitchen counter.
Megumi’s face reddens at the implication. “Wh-... What did you have in mind?”
Sukuna smirks, their lips almost touching, and Megumi closes his eyes, but the kiss never comes. There’s a tug on his hands and his eyes fly open as Sukuna pulls away suddenly, leading him out of the kitchen into the living room.
That’s when Megumi notices the furniture has been pushed aside to create an empty space in the middle.
“Oh my God, Sukuna, how many things did you have planned for one night?”
“It’s quite the itinerary, and it ends in the bedroom,” Sukuna teases as he puts on some music, before walking to the centre of the space. “You remember how we never really got to dance after our wedding?”
Megumi nearly laughs at that. He does remember. They’d both wanted a small event, inviting just the people they cared about, which consisted of a handful of family and friends on Megumi’s side, and a grand total of two from Sukuna’s. Neither of them got along well with the rest of their family, and in Megumi’s case, he definitely didn’t want any of the Zenins showing up aside from those he’d invited.
So imagine his horror when the Zenins actually did show up. There had been quite a scene, insults were flung here and there, and Sukuna may or may not have punched one of his uncles in the face.
He nods. “I remember. But you know it’s not your fault right? If the rest of my family hadn’t shown up…”
“I know. But lately I couldn’t help thinking that I would’ve loved to have that first dance with you. So I thought perhaps, tonight, we could try?” Sukuna opens his arms wide, a smile on his face as he waits for Megumi to approach him.
Megumi wrings his hands nervously. “I’m not good at this, Sukuna.”
“That’s alright. I can dance well enough for the both of us, I’m sure.”
Sukuna holds out his hands for Megumi to take, and Megumi smiles a little at the gesture. He places his hands in Sukuna’s, feeling the warmth spread from the tips of his fingers as Sukuna closes his own around Megumi’s.
In the background, he can hear faint music playing, and then Sukuna’s leading him slowly, twirling Megumi around in a gradual circle as he tries to mirror his husband’s steps.
They sway in silence for a moment or two, Megumi’s gaze focused downwards because he has no clue where his feet are going. He tries to look up for some time, but gives up halfway and keeps his eyes on the floor so he can avoid stepping on Sukuna by accident.
And of course, Sukuna notices immediately.
“I won’t blame you if you step on my feet, Megumi. You can stop looking at them.”
Megumi looks up at that, startled, and almost immediately steps on Sukuna’s foot.
“Sorry.” He whispers, as the other man tries not to wince.
Sukuna shakes his head. “It’s fine. I did tell you to stop looking at them.”
The thing is, Megumi doesn’t know where else to look. Right now he’s gazing into Sukuna’s eyes, but it gets a little embarrassing after a while, so he averts his sight slightly to look beyond Sukuna’s shoulder, before realizing it might come across as rude to stare past a person in front of you like that.
And then there’s his feet, which won’t seem to listen to him. He’s doing his best not to glance down again, but Megumi’s still extremely conscious of where he’s stepping, and it’s difficult to avoid stepping on Sukuna’s toes if he cannot see where Sukuna’s feet are.
When Sukuna winces again, Megumi stops dancing, lowering his arms to his sides.
“I can’t keep hurting you like this, I’m sorry. Maybe we should stop?”
“Don’t be. Here, gimme your hands.”
Megumi shyly offers them to Sukuna again. He thinks they’re going to repeat the dance in the same fashion, so he’s completely unprepared when Sukuna tugs him close suddenly and Megumi lets out a gasp.
Placing Megumi’s hands on his shoulders, Sukuna circles his waist with his arms.
“Just follow my lead.” Sukuna whispers, his lips barely an inch away from Megumi’s, as he begins to sway them both in tune to the music.
With his body pressed up against Sukuna like this, Megumi feels hot all over. He looks deeply into those crimson eyes, mesmerized by the intensity and passion in Sukuna’s gaze.
He still doesn’t know what he’s done to deserve this, to deserve Sukuna, but when Sukuna looks at him like he’s the most fascinating person in the world, Megumi cannot help falling in love with him all over again.
His arms slip coyly behind Sukuna’s neck and Megumi tucks his forehead against him, allowing himself to slip into a dreamlike trance where everything else fades from existence around him.
Everything else but him and Sukuna, swaying slowly in the centre of the universe, aware of nothing else but their arms around each other.
It’s not until much later that Megumi notices they’re no longer dancing. Their feet have stopped moving and he’s just standing here, in Sukuna’s arms, the music playing faintly in the background, listening to his heart beat wildly in his chest.
When the music stops, Sukuna begins to remove his hands from Megumi’s waist, pausing only when Megumi makes a small, irritated noise of protest.
Above him, Sukuna chuckles.
“Megumi, I’m going to carry you into the bedroom like this even if you don’t untangle yourself from me.”
Megumi stops him before he gets his way, placing two fingers against Sukuna’s lips. “Wait, before that… I got you something too.”
He ignores the way Sukuna groans, rushing to retrieve the gift he had prepared for Sukuna, hidden safely in a secret spot he knows Sukuna would never look in. Returning to the living room, he hands over the present, heart racing as he glances at Sukuna expectantly.
“Oh? Am I allowed to open it now?” Sukuna grins as he accepts the beautifully wrapped gift from Megumi. With an encouraging nod from him, Sukuna tears open the paper, revealing a hard-cover book inside.
At the sight of the book, Sukuna pauses.
Megumi’s heartbeat quickens. It had taken him a while to get his hands on it. A collector’s edition of ‘The Language of Flowers’, currently out of print, so Megumi really had to pull strings to get a copy but he couldn’t think of a better gift for Sukuna than the book that had brought them together.
“Do you like it?” He asks hesitantly.
Sukuna stares at the book in his hands, his expression a little strange. He remains silent, and Megumi doesn’t know if he’s struggling with words, or if he’s disappointed. He really, really hopes it’s not the latter.
Approaching Sukuna, Megumi tilts his head to one side to look at his husband, trying to gauge his reaction. “It’s that book from the first day we met at the book club. You stumbled in, quite lost, and you didn’t even know what we were reading nor did you own the book-”
“And you lent me yours.” Sukuna brushes the cover gently, tracing the title with a finger. “You sat with me, explaining every single detail of the story without judging, you spent an hour with me later going through the flower dictionary and elaborating on its significance to the plot, and it was so difficult for me to pay attention to anything you said because I was distracted by how beautiful you were.”
Megumi blushes at the compliment. “Well, I decided to get you your own copy. I know you don’t really read but I thought… This book meant something to us. I hope you like it.”
Sukuna’s gaze softens, a look that only Megumi has ever had the privilege of witnessing. He lowers the book and draws Megumi closer to him, kissing his forehead tenderly and staying there, his breath ghosting against Megumi’s skin as he exhales.
“I love it. Thank you.”
Megumi breathes a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you like it. I was worried you wouldn’t.”
“Why wouldn’t I like a gift from my very own blessing?” Sukuna strokes his face gently, and Megumi quickly pulls him into a hug so that he can hide his growing blush.
“What did I ever do to deserve you?” He mutters, face buried in Sukuna’s chest.
“If I recall correctly, you lent me a book.” Sukuna mumbles against his hair, and Megumi lets out a small laugh at that.
“You never did return it.”
He lets Sukuna carry him later, into their bedroom, where they resume their dance upon the sheets, lips meeting slow and passionate, fingers intertwined against the pillows. And as he drifts off to sleep, Megumi thinks that maybe it’s okay to let himself be loved, so deeply and unconditionally. Maybe it’s okay to want this.
Maybe he doesn’t deserve it, but he knows that he can love enough for the both of them, and that’s really the only thing that matters.