Chapter Text
Overprotective is not a word you ever thought you’d use to describe yourself when it came to your kids, but it feels like it’s the only word that fits now. Eight springs after the twins are born, you find yourself more worried about them than ever. Every day it’s a never-ending fight with them and Yuuji, as the twins become more rebellious and drag their brother along with them. They’re only eight-years-old, and they’re already causing you and Sukuna headaches.
“Where the hell could they be?” You’re watching as the sun sets, growing increasingly worried when your kids fail to appear. Sukuna should just kill every servant in the damned palace, not a single one of them can keep track of the kids. It’s almost every day that they escape from their grasp.
“I’ll go out to the town and search for them,” Sukuna says, sharing your same sentiment. Overprotective was not a word you expected to describe yourself, much less Sukuna. While he claims to not care, the twins are the reason he breathes. Going out to town isn’t something to help ease your worries, but to relieve his own concerns.
“I’ll kill them,” you claim as Sukuna’s hands massage your shoulders, trying to help relieve the tension. You aren’t too worried about Izumi and Yuuji, they easily blend into the crowd, but Sei particularly stands out. Four arms aren’t a quality that you can usually hide. Sukuna stands out but he can defend himself. Sei is too small and helpless. “Do they think?”
“They do not,” he answers. He places a kiss on the top of your head, hands slowly becoming idle before he says, “I’ll get going–”
“Look who I bumped into!” Sukuna is cut off by one of the few people that would dare cut him off. Haru drags the twins back like cats, holding them up by the back of their kimonos. Yuuji follows behind, peeling an orange that was given to him by Haru.
“Where were they?” You rush to his side, checking on Sei for any scratches before checking Izumi and Yuuji. You let out a sigh of relief once you realize there’s not a single scratch on them.
“Do not cut me off again,” Sukuna warns Haru before picking up both girls by the back of their kimonos. Sukuna motions his head before saying, “Yuuji, follow me.”
“Give them the scolding of their life, Sukuna!” you shout before turning your attention to Haru. You sigh before repeating your question, “Where were they?”
“Found them out around town, had to get them before–” he begins, and his tone makes you furrow your brows. You can read Haru as if he were one of the kids. Immediately you know he was up to something.
“How long were you with them? Did you go to your job?” you question, and he puts his hands up defensively.
“I took the day off and…” he begins, and before he can even finish his sentence, you’re dragging him by his ear. He whines, almost begging you to let go.
“I’m going to tell auntie so she can knock some sense into you! What do you mean you’re missing your job?! That woman went out of her way to get it for you and–”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I get it! I won’t miss it again!” he pleads, and you let go. He rubs his ear, fighting back the tears that have welled up in his eyes. Somehow the twins survive living with you and they still adore disobeying you. “In my defense, I had an excuse with the kids.”
“Next time you better bring them here right away, and then you go back to your job,” you scold him, and he nods in acknowledgement.
“Are the kids going to be fine with Sukuna?” Haru looks off into the distance, worried about Sukuna with his nieces and nephew. Sukuna has a tough exterior that everyone buys, even when he’s truly soft with the children. The children only get in trouble when they make you worried, and even then it’s rare when they get a proper scolding from their father. But everyone seems to believe that he’s extremely strict with the children.
“Don’t let anyone hear you call him Sukuna before he gets mad at you again,” you warn him, knowing just how sensitive Sukuna can be over that subject.
“Has he gotten mad at you for calling him Sukuna?” Haru asks, and you take a moment to think about it. Nine springs by his side, and you can’t quite recall Sukuna getting mad at you over that.
“Never,” you shake your head. “Funny, only one person has gotten mad at me for it on his behalf.”
“That’s funny,” he answers. “What happened to them?”
“She’s long buried,” you share, and he raises his brows. Sometimes he forgets just who Sukuna is. Perhaps it’s because Sukuna is his brother-in-law, but he always thinks people are overexaggerating when it comes to matters concerning Sukuna. The monster isn’t even that terrifying.
“That doesn’t answer my question about the children,” he reminds you, and you look back at the building.
You end up nodding in response. “They’ll be fine.”
– – –
Sukuna is tense as he sits across the kids. Sei and Izumi look at him annoyed, while Yuuji is engrossed by the orange that’s in his hands. Instilling fear is Sukuna’s expertise, but he isn’t quite sure how to start.
It’s because Sukuna doesn’t want to scare the children (he might make an exception for Yuuji). Sukuna simply wants to make it seem like he’s done his job as a father, without actually putting in the effort. He clears his throat before telling the children, “What you guys did was wrong.”
“They dragged me along,” Yuuji quickly defends himself, not taking his eyes off the fruit. He’s trying to map out where his next bite will be.
“You could have gone to your mother, Yuuji,” Sukuna quickly argues, making the child shrug in response. Sukuna ends up sighing, seeing the twins with the same expressionless face as they stare back at him. “I always tell you girls to do whatever you want as long as you don’t worry your mother, so that means you listen to your mother.”
“She never lets us do anything,” Sei claims, crossing her arms and getting pouty. Sukuna sighs, knowing that he has to get sappy and explain that you simply want the best for the girls.
Sometimes it’s hard to explain, especially for a cold person such as Sukuna. He takes a moment to think how to explain it to the girls until he ultimately lands on, “Listen to your mother you four-armed brat.”
“Look who’s talking!” Sei shouts back, and a vein pops out in Sukuna’s forehead as he frowns.
“You know I used to eat children like you twenty years ago.” Sukuna hopes to scare her straight, but he should know better. Threats aren’t going to work on her of all people. None of the children look at him with concern– They’re all empty threats, this isn’t the first time it happens.
“Then eat her!” Izumi chimes in, making her sister pull her hair. Izumi whines and pushes back her sister.
“This is my fight!” Sei argues, and while the original argument was with their father, the twins begin to fight with each other. Sukuna ends up sighing, eyes landing on Yuuji who quietly watches as he munches on his fruit. At least one of the three kids isn’t a complete nightmare.
“Stop!” Sukuna yells when the girls begin to hit each other. He has to physically separate them, and hold them like he once did when they were toddlers. “You two get on my last nerve. I should really have a feast.”
“Mommy! Sukuna wants to eat us!” Sei shouts, hoping to get your attention. Sukuna takes the opportunity to lightly pinch her arm.
“I’m your dad you stupid brat,” he corrects her, and Sei sticks out her tongue, blowing a raspberry in her father’s direction. “Say it.”
“No!” she yells, outright refusing. And to think once upon a time he treated you bad because he wanted these stupid brats. If he could go back in time to knock some sense into himself, he’d do it in a heartbeat.
“Sukuna! Sukuna! Sukuna!” Izumi chants, taunting him. He tries his best to remain calm, but the task is nearly impossible as Sei joins in. Sukuna has taught them well, he just never truly expected them to use it against him.
“Dad! Dad! Dad!” He attempts to overpower them, but their little voices are simply too loud.
“You guys are loud!” Yuuji shouts, only for his words to fall on deaf ears. When he realizes that they have no intention of quietening down, he stands up and steps out of the room. He’s about to look for you, but before he can even begin his quest he bumps into you.
“What’s happening in there?” you ask the boy, and he shrugs. You chuckle, ruffling his hair. “Go on. Tell Hina you want dinner, I’ll deal with whatever is going on there.”
You step into the room to find your husband arguing with your daughters as if he was their age. While you’d love to laugh at the situation, it happens too often for it to humor you. Instead you take a deep breath before raising your voice, “Hey! Stop!”
They freeze, and the room becomes silent enough that you can nearly hear a pin drop. They look back at you in horror while you shake your head in disappointment. Sukuna puts the girls down on the floor, and they rush to your side, hugging your legs as they begin to fake cry to get your sympathy.
“What’s going on?” you ask, crouching down to look at your girls. It’s easy to decipher that they just want your sympathy so you don’t scold them. Still, you wait for their response.
“Dad’s being mean,” Izumi claims as she rubs her eyes.
“Oh, so now I’m dad!” Sukuna answers with a clear tone of annoyance. The girls are going to be the death of him. “And stop trying to force yourself to cry! It’s not going to work!”
“I’m not forcing myself to cry!” She turns back to yell at him before changing her expression and looking back at you again. She becomes pouty, crossing her arms and staring at the ground. “Sei tell mom.”
“Dad started yelling at us,” Sei says, and you look back up at your husband. Sukuna and Izumi share the same expression, pouty and arms crossed. Except Sukuna looks clearly annoyed.
“They–” Sukuna begins but you interrupt him.
“With good reason. You girls don’t listen to anyone!” Instead of the comfort they sought, you begin to scold them. “You girls are not allowed to go to town alone, and you know!”
“We were with Yuuji!” Sei argues, and you scoff. You stand up straight, towering over them. For an odd reason you elicit a type of fear in them that Sukuna could never accomplish. Even if Sukuna is twice your size and looks slightly more terrifying than you.
“And what would Yuuji do if someone tried to take you! Yuuji still eats his boogers, he can’t fight them off!” you raise your voice, and unlike their reaction with Sukuna, they look at the ground in shame. “We were worried sick and you come here with a sense of authority trying to rule the place, and that’s not how it works!”
“Sorry, mom,” they mutter in unison.
“Don’t do it again,” you say with a rather threatening tone, hoping that this time around they’ll actually listen. It’s not, but hope never costs a darn thing.
“Sukuna threatened to eat us,” Sei blurts out, earning Sukuna a glare from you. He puts all four hands up defensively before sneaking a quick glance at the little brat that told.
“They left no other option,” he claims, and you click your tongue.
“It’s dad to you, Sei,” you ultimately correct her. She hums in response, though you all know that this situation will happen again. Oh, you love your girls so dearly but they do not listen to anyone. “Alright, go join Yuuji for dinner.”
The girls nod before stepping out of the room, leaving you alone with your husband. You step near him, hands cupping his face and forcing him to lean down and look you eye-to-eye.
“Don’t stoop down to their level,” you remind him, though you know it won’t work. Sukuna will bicker with them, no matter how much younger they are and no matter how stupid the topic is. He purses his lips together, upset that you’re telling him to behave. You peck his lips and tell him, “They’re eight. You’re… Old.”
“They’re brats,” he says, and you hold back a laugh because the reason they’re like this is him. Ultimately you hum in response.
“Correct their behavior, Suku,” you tell him, and he frowns. He still doesn’t like to be told what to do, but he has no other option but to listen to his wife. He certainly won’t argue with you over it.
“Fine.”
– – –
Sukuna wakes up rattled in the middle of the night, mysteriously cold until he realizes that he lays alone. Sukuna has not slept alone in eight years, yet you’re nowhere to be seen. Instead of trying to fall back asleep without you by his side, he decides to stand up and go in search of you. Maybe his worst fear has finally become true, and you’ve decided that you no longer want to be by his side.
Sukuna doesn’t dwell on those thoughts for too long though, knowing that even he can overthink. Perhaps you just couldn’t sleep and you decided to take a walk to ease your mind. He doesn’t have to walk too far before he notices the bit of light that comes from the children’s room. He tries to suppress his footsteps to not draw attention to himself as he approaches the room.
When he slides the door open, he finds you sitting on the engawa, cuddling one of the kids while two of them smother you, trying to get all of your attention. Sukuna can’t help but be a bit jealous, but he won’t interrupt the moment, instead he watches you.
“It’s my turn!” Izumi claims, trying to drag Yuuji from your arms, but failing to do so.
“Honey, Yuuji was the one who woke up with a nightmare. You’ll get your turn soon,” you reassure her, cupping her face before kissing the top of her head. She’s still pouty, envious that Yuuji gets to get rocked back to sleep while she doesn’t.
“Yuuji’s such a scaredy cat,” Sei claims, making Yuuji stick out his tongue and blow a raspberry in her direction.
“Hey, you’re supposed to fall asleep. And you, don’t be mean to your brother,” you scold them, trying your best to not laugh at their interaction.
“Why doesn’t Yuuji look like dad?” Izumi asks out of the blue, and before you can answer, Sukuna steps into the room. This time it draws your attention as you hear the loud footsteps approach you. Izumi notices him, and she runs to him, making him pick her up from the ground.
“You sure ask a lot of questions,” Sukuna says, flicking her forehead lightly, inciting a giggle from her. He walks over to your side, sitting down beside you.
“What happened?” you ask him, laying your head on his side. He tries to bring you closer but your head bumps into Izumi’s feet so he’s forced to maintain a bit of distance. Curse the day he decided he wanted an heir.
“Couldn’t sleep,” he answers, making you furrow your brows.
“When Yuuji woke me up you were snoring,” you point out, and Sukuna clicks his tongue. He can’t argue with you– Not just because he doesn’t like arguing with you, but because you’re right.
“And what happened with Yuuji for you to hold him like a baby again?” he changes the topic, diverting the attention from himself.
“Had a nightmare,” Yuuji answers, and Sukuna lightly pinches the child’s arm.
“How old are you again?” Sukuna asks, and before Yuuji becomes bratty, you cover his mouth.
“He’s still just a little baby,” you claim, and Sukuna rolls his eyes. They’re babies until they rebel, then they become your biggest headache.
“And why are you two still awake?” Sukuna looks at the twins, and they stay quiet because they can’t come up with a good enough lie. Sei pretends to yawn, and walks back to her futon, but before she can go too far, Sukuna grabs her. “What were you girls up to?”
“Nothin’,” Sei answers, and while he won’t buy it, he’s not going to push them for an answer. Even if they tell him and he scolds them for anything, they won’t listen. Sukuna truly has no way to win.
“You weren’t terrorizing Yuuji, right?” Sukuna asks, and they shake their heads. Sukuna stares at them, trying to figure out if they’re telling the truth because he knows that he’s got two little liars in his arms.
“Can you tell me a story?” Izumi gives her father that look that he can’t ignore. He doesn’t even deny it anymore, Sukuna has gone soft for his family.
“No,” Sukuna averts his eyes, knowing that if he stares for too long he’ll give in. It’s too late for him to tell them some sort of story. If he gives in now, they’ll think he will simply do whatever their hearts desire with him and that’s not how it’s supposed to work.
“Pleaseeeee,” she begs, and Sukuna shushes her.
You laugh at them before you offer, “I can tell you a story, Izumi.”
“I want to hear a story from dad,” Izumi insists, making you and Sukuna exchange a look. Sukuna ultimately sighs.
“What do you girls want to hear?” He gives in, hoping to get the brat to fall asleep. He’s tired himself, but he refuses to go back to sleep if you’re not by his side.
“How did you and mom meet?” Sei chimes in, and Sukuna tries to remain stoic at her request. That’s certainly not a good story to tell the girls.
“Oh, that was so long ago,” you comment, trying to save face. The story isn’t a romantic one and certainly not one you want to tell your kids. “Look, Yuuji’s asleep, time to go to bed, girls.”
“Wait!” They protest, but Sukuna doesn’t listen to them as he carries them back to their futons.
“That’s a story for another day,” you tell them, though you know that you’ll go to your grave without ever telling them how you and Sukuna actually met. While you very much love your husband, you don’t want to think about the unconventional way your relationship began.
They continue to protest, but you and Sukuna walk out of the room, refusing to tell them the story that they so badly want to hear. It’ll be a cold day in hell before you actually tell them how your story with Sukuna began. The last thing you want is to tell them that everything that has happened is because of their father’s whim.
Sukuna walks by your side as your hand finds his to hold. You’re walking back to your room, and Sukuna follows you blindly. He wishes the night had more in store for him, but his eyes close on their own. After all, the only reason he’s awake right now is because of the kids.
“Are we ever going to tell them?” you ask as you step into the room, though instead of going straight to bed, you choose to sit on the engawa again. The kids have gotten rid of your exhaustion instead of making it worse.
“I won’t be the one to tell them– Why are you going there?” Sukuna’s attention quickly shifts when he notices that you aren’t going straight to bed. His eyes close on their own but it seems that you don’t want to go to bed yet.
“You can go to sleep, I just want to look at the full moon for a bit,” you reassure him, and even though you’ve been together for so long, he still won’t outright say it. How pathetic would it be to admit that he can’t sleep if you aren’t by his side?
“Is there a full moon?” he acts interested before going to your side to sit down beside you. It doesn’t take too long before he brings you closer. His chin rests on the top of your head as his eyes scan the nightsky for the full moon.
“You look really tired, honey. Why don’t you go to sleep?” you ask, even though you don’t mind the warmth he brings you. It’s clear that he wants to sleep but for some reason he won’t until you’re right next to him– You’re not oblivious, but you want to hear him say it.
“You just want to hear me say it, huh, woman?” he replies, and you hold back on laughing. He kisses the top of your head before saying, “I can’t sleep without you by my side.”
“How long did you live without me?” While it’s not meant to be taken seriously, you do begin to wonder for how long he lived without you by his side. Over the years you’ve found out a lot about Sukuna, but there’s still too many unanswered questions. Considering how Sukuna was in the past, you do prefer for some questions to remain unanswered.
“Far too long,” he answers, bringing a smile to your lips. In your terms he’s become rather sweet. He loves you and while he isn’t the most vocal about it, he sure shows you. Sukuna isn’t a very expressive being, and he’ll never be. It’s why he tells the twins he’ll eat them when they worry him, instead of flat out telling them that he’s worried over their wellbeing.
“I think we should send the kids with your aunt over the summer, they’re too spoiled,” he says, not wanting to admit that he’s annoyed that they’ve woken you up. They cause too many headaches; ironic, considering that Sukuna initially only wanted them to cause chaos. Sukuna never plans too far ahead. The last thing on his mind was that his paternal instincts would kick in.
“They’re too much for her to handle,” you claim, making a frown appear on his face.
“They’re terrified of her,” he reminds you, and while he does not lie, you do worry for her considering how hectic they can be. It’s still spring, so you have some time to plan what you’ll do with the kids in the summer.
“Isn’t the moon so beautiful?” you comment, eyes glimmering at the sight. He hums in response, though his eyes aren’t particularly focused on it. He’s falling asleep, and while you love the sight, you know you have to drag him back inside before your husband falls asleep on you.
“Let’s go lay down,” you tell him, trying to get out of his grasp before he tilts over and crushes you. You can handle the kids on top of you, but Sukuna? He’s too big.
“I’m fine,” he says, though his words come out slurred. It’s funny to think that this is the same Sukuna that barely slept during your pregnancy. The kids, specifically the twins, take too much of his energy.
“You’re falling asleep!” you tell him, trying to pinch him to get him to wake up. It’s to no avail, he doesn’t move.
“I’m not.” He’s too stubborn, and then he wonders where the twins get it from. You’re about to start arguing with him, but he kisses the top of your head again and mutters a phrase that he rarely ever says, “I love you.”
“I love you too, Suku,” you answer, your hand caressing his arm. Truth be told, your eyes are betraying you too. You listen to his heartbeat, the steady rhythm slowly lulling you to sleep.
“If you could go back in time, would you do it?” Perhaps he’s more conscious than you initially thought since the question that leaves his lips is more than what sleepy Sukuna could conjure.
“In a heartbeat,” you answer. You wouldn’t change a thing to ensure that you’d still find yourself here with him and with them.
They’re everything to you.