Chapter Text
I sighed in relief as I pulled into the driveway. My motorcycle hummed beneath me as I parked and took the key out of the ignition. After a long evening, I was ready to get some dinner and go to bed.
Work sucked tonight. I work in a band for a popular bar in town. My boss's words rang in my head.
You really expect to get tips looking like that? Lose some weight and get skimpier clothes. The guys love when you show some skin.
I slid my helmet off and walked up to the front door of the two-story townhouse. I opened the door and the scent of a heavenly dinner overwhelmed me.
I tossed my backpack and helmet off to the side causing Nanami to look over from the stove.
"Hey, what's for dinner tonight?" I asked with exhaustion dripping off my tongue. He looked back to the sizzling food before answering.
"Your favorite," His voice was so monotone. The tv was on in the living room and I saw Toji and Sukuna watching a movie.
Sukuna glanced over his shoulder and locked eyes with me, "You're home late."
"It was super busy tonight," I started making my way to the stairs.
"Just quit already," Toji grumbled.
"You always complain about me carrying my weight," I paused at the base of the stairs.
"Just do house chores or something. Carry your weight that way," Toji looked over at me annoyed.
"Just the other day you were hassling me for my rent money. Make up your mind dummy," I chuckled a bit and went up the stairs.
I decided to take a shower and change. I share a room with Nanami and he's rather neat which is nice. He often does my laundry as well. I grabbed one of his shirts and some shorts before going to the bathroom.
After a nice long shower, I dried my hair and changed. By the time I reached the kitchen, Nanami was finishing up dinner. Toji and Sukuna were already at the dining room table waiting for the food. I moved over to help Nanami.
Sukuna looked over and eyed me, "Nice shirt."
"Thanks, I stole it from my roommate," I smirked and Nanami rolled his eyes. I grabbed a few plates and set them down on the table. "Where's Gojo?" I asked as I realized he was absent.
"He ran out to get more beers. We ran out earlier," Toji started serving himself.
"Speaking of beer, (y/n)'s birthday is coming up, right?" Sukuna grinned.
"Yeah yeah, soon I'll be old like you," I ruffled his hair as I walked by and sat at the end of the table next to Toji.
"Old? I'm only 29," Sukuna sneered.
"Sounds old to me," I snickered. I glanced at the food around the table but suddenly felt a loss of appetite as I thought of my boss's words.
"Does that make us old?" Toji cocked an eyebrow and gestured to himself and Nanami.
I snapped out of my thoughts to reply, "How old are you two? You're like in your late 30's right Toji? Toji's ancient. Nanami you're only 27, you're in your prime still!" I cheered and eyed Sukuna as he glared at me. Toji looked annoyed but didn't say anything.
"Is Gojo old?" Nanami inquired as he sat next to me.
"28? He might have a midlife crisis soon," I tapped my chin in thought. The front door swung open and I smiled brightly as Gojo walked in with a case of beer under his arm.
"Ooo! (y/n) look! Nanami made your favorite!" Gojo exclaimed as if I wasn't sitting at the table already. He tossed the beer in the fridge and moved to sit next to Nanami.
"You haven't even touched it yet though," Toji pointed out.
"Is it no longer your favorite?" Nanami seemed concerned.
"No no, it's still my favorite. I'm not just very hungry tonight," I put on a false smile and collected a small portion of the food to ease their minds.
Gojo frowned in disappointment, "That's not nearly enough for you."
"I promise it's enough," I pleaded with him to drop the topic. They seemed to get the hint and moved on.
We went back and forth for a bit over dinner. I was pretty tired so I decided to hit the hay a bit earlier than usual. Plus it didn't take me long to finish my food.
As I was getting ready for bed I realized I left my water downstairs so I crept back down. Though I stopped halfway down the stairs when I heard my name.
"You're stressing her out," Nanami's voice was stern.
"You know I'm not serious when I talk about the rent. Hell, I've been trying to get her to quit for weeks now. You can't blame me for that," Toji scoffed.
"I met her boss the other day," Sukuna spoke up. "He's a grade-A asshole to his employees."
"How so?" Gojo inquired.
Sukuna's voice moved across the room as if he was walking to the living room, "I heard him degrading some of his female staff on being too heavy or not showing enough skin."
"Do you think he does that to (y/n)?" Gojo's voice got a little louder.
"She's a part of his female staff, isn't she? Dumbass," Sukuna replied with a knowing tone.
"She didn't want to eat tonight," Nanami joined the topic. There was a moment of silence. I was feeling nervous so I turned and went back upstairs. I can't hide anything from them. Which really sucks at times.
I crawled into bed and pulled myself under the blankets. The sleeping arrangments are pretty loose. When I first moved in everybody had their own room, so I got to pick where I would sleep. For a while I slept with Sukuna but his schedule was so different from mine that I was loosing a lot of sleep. Nanami was my second go-to so I switched to his room. Occasstionally I sleep with Toji or Gojo.
I clicked my phone on and realized I missed a few messages from the group chat. It was mindlessly banter but it still made me smile how Sukuna berated Toji in the chat.
I glanced across the room at light creeping in from under the door. I let out a stressful sigh and turned to face the wall. The white noise from the fan lulled me closer to sleep so I turned my phone off and shut my eyes.
~
The next day I woke up to the sounds of Nanami getting up. I yawned and sat up.
"You ought to sleep in more after yesterday," Nanami didn't look at me as he started shuffling through his dresser.
"What time is it?" I questioned sleepily.
"8:00 am."
"Don't you have work today?" I pushed the duvet off and stood. I was still wearing one of Nanami's shirts and a pair of shorts.
"No, I have today off. I was going to go grocery shopping today if you'd like to join me," Nanami pulled his shirt off and I walked over to the dresser as well.
"That sounds fun, I could use a day out," I dug around and found one of Sukuna's sweatshirts. I shrugged and took off Nanami's shirt, replacing it with the sweatshirt. Nanami turned his back to me as I did so. "Is it going to be hot out today?"
"Supposedly no, the weather is finally warming up for Spring," Nanami answered. I settled on a pair of black pants and then I headed out the door to the bathroom. After I freshened up a bit I headed downstairs. Sukuna was up and pouring himself a cup of coffee.
He looked over his shoulder and smirked, "I was wondering where that hoodie went."
"I think you gave it to me one night and I forgot to return it. My bad," I smiled sheepishly and moved next to him to grab some coffee.
"I don't care," Sukuna brushed it off and sipped his drink. "Do you work today?"
"Yeah, unfortionatly. Nanami was going to go shopping so I was going to go with," I explained as I fiddled with the coffee machine.
"Sounds boring. I guess I'll tag along," Sukuna leaned against the counter. I realized I was rather shaky as I tried to pour the coffee. It must be because I've skipped out on meals lately. I should eat something small for breakfast to minimize my shakiness. I was distracted by my thoughts and accidentally spilled the hot coffee onto my hands.
"Ow! Damnit," I muttered as I pulled my hand away and wiped the boiling liquid off.
"What'd you do?" Sukuna turned to me.
"Nothing," I mumbled as I used a towel to clean the mess I made. Sukuna grunted in response and watched me keenly.
~
I stood in the aisle and inspected the bread selection. Sukuna stood next to me boredly typing on his phone while Nanami was reading the grocery list with the cart pulled off to the side.
"Hurry up already," Sukuna groaned.
Nanami rolled his eyes, "You chose to come along. You can't complain."
"Tch, whatever punk," Sukuna grumbled and slid his phone into his pocket. I located the brand that the boys liked and grabbed it.
"What's next?" I asked as I placed it in the shopping cart.
"Hm, could you run and grab some cereal? You're out at home," Nanami glanced up at me.
"Alrighty," I smiled and hurried off to find the cereal aisle. My eyes scanned the shelves and I became excited as I saw they had a new flavor of my favorite brand. Though I realized it was on the top shelf. I'm not necessarily short, I'm average as far as height goes. This store just has particularly high shelves.
I thought for a moment about reaching up for it or maybe jumping but I might knock stuff over like that. I tapped my chin in thought before a light bulb came to my mind.
I'll make Sukuna grab it! The bastard isn't doing anything anyway.
I walked back over to where I left them and saw Nanami was gone but Sukuna was still there.
"You're empty-handed," Sukuna furrowed his eyebrows.
"Can you help me grab it? It's too high for me," I asked with a grin, which made Sukuna smirk.
"Ha! Loser, you can't reach the top shelf," He chuckled and began to walk toward me.
"Hey man, I'm average height, these shelves are not," I retorted as I turned and led him to the cereal aisle. He had no problem reaching up and grabbing it. I cheered in victory as he handed it to me. I cheekily grabbed it but frowned when I realized the calorie count.
"What is it not the one you wanted?" Sukuna leaned down a bit to my eye level.
"No, but I think I'll stick with the original," I sheepishly handed him the box back. He looked down at the box and scanned over the labeling.
"You made me walk all the way over here just for you to change your mind?" Sukuna scoffed but didn't put the box back.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean-"
"Shut it. Let's go," Sukuna started walking away before I could protest. I was too embarrassed now to tell him why I didn't want it. I didn't say anything as we returned to the shopping cart.
Soon enough we had all of our groceries and we were headed to the checkout. I was behind the two as I got distracted by some plush dinosaurs. We pass them every time we shop and I've always wanted to buy one. The price is just a little too high for me.
"Hey there," An unfamiliar voice snapped me from my thoughts. I looked over at this lanky guy with a scrubby beard. He seemed unclean and ratty.
"Can I help you?" I pulled back a little as the presence of this guy sent chills up my spine.
"Yeah, um, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get a bite to eat or um maybe get a drink together? " He asked with a wavering smile.
"Um I'm sorry I'm not interested," I was about to turn to catch up with Sukuna and Nanami when this guy grabbed my arm.
"Wait-" The guy pulled my arm towards him.
I panicked and quickly tried to pull away, "I said no, please let me go." Before I knew it, Sukuna was grabbing this guy's hand and yanking it off while shoving me toward Nanami who caught me before I could fall.
"There a problem here?" Sukuna growled. He towered over the guy and narrowed his eyes. It was a deathly glare that could make someone keel over. I felt goosebumps run over my body in fear. I sank back into Nanami's chest. Nanami's hands rested on my shoulders in a comforting manner.
"N-no sir, no problem," The guy stuttered and stepped away quickly. Sukuna watched the guy run away until he was out of sight, then he turned back to face me.
"Don't wander off dumbass," Sukuna hissed, as if it was my fault the guy grabbed me. Once he looked at me he seemed to soften up and that scary appearance faded out. Sukuna's short temper always scares me.
I practically whispered an apology and watched as Sukuna moved to continue checking out. Nanami patted my back before beckoning me along.
"Just be careful, alright?" Nanami spoke in a soft manner which was relatively reassuring. I nodded and proceeded to stay next to Sukuna until we were back in the car. I sat in the back seat of the slick sports car as Nanami drove and Sukuna claimed the front passenger seat.
It didn't take too long to get home. I didn't talk much but Sukuna and Nanami continued casual banter. Toji was back at his spot on the couch and Gojo was in the kitchen looking for food. He was very happy to see we had brought home some of his favorite snacks.
I wasn't in a very good mood so I didn't greet the two, instead, I just helped bring the groceries in. Gojo obviously caught onto my mood and began to question me.
"Did you not sleep enough or something?" He poked at me as I walked by. He had been sitting on the counter watching us carry everything in.
"I slept fine," I shooed his hands away as I had the last grocery bags in hand.
"Some brat grabbed her at the market," Sukuna grumbled as he moved to stand next to me. I began taking the food out and putting it away in the cabinets.
"Excuse me?" Toji looked back from the couch.
Nanami rolled his eyes, "Don't get all worked up. Sukuna handled it."
"Care to explain?" Gojo tilted his head.
"I don't want to," I mumbled quietly. Sukuna however didn't even hesitate to explain what happened. Toji seemed to get upset and went on about how he would've 'beat the shit' out of the guy. Sukuna fought back saying he handled the whole thing just fine. The two of them seemed to get more heated by the second.
Nanami had to intervene, causing the boys to scoff at each other before wandering off. I finally finished putting everything away. Gojo hadn't moved from his spot on the counter the entire time.
"How come you only wear Sukuna's and Nanami's clothes? Are mine not good enough for you?" Gojo taunted and poked my shoulder as I moved passed him.
"Namami's my roommate while Sukuna and I have been friends before I moved in so I guess that's why. You're just too stylish for me," I punched his shoulder lightheartedly.
Gojo slid off the counter and blocked my path, "Well since it's you don't work until later we should go expand your wardrobe!"
Sukuna came up behind me, "I think she looks fine in my clothes. No expansion needed."
Gojo rolled his eyes, "That's because you have no taste either."
"I like his sweatshirts, they're comfy," I protested.
"Well, what about swimsuit shopping? Just the other day I asked if you wanted to go swimming and you said no all because you didn't have a swimsuit," Gojo glanced at Sukuna as he grinned.
Toji decided to join in on the conversation, "Where were you going to go swimming? There aren't any pools around here."
Nanami answered Toji's question first, "There is a relatively private lake out in the woods. Gojo and I found it a few months back."
Sukuna chimed in under his breath, "Now that I think about it, I don't have anything I could swim in either."
"We just got home and now we're heading out again?" I furrowed my eyebrows. Being out in public trying on swimsuits didn't really sit with me and my current mood.
Gojo leaned down to whisper, his lips brushed against my ear slightly, "We could stop and get ice cream at that little shop you really like. And I'll pay for all the clothes you buy."
I put my hand on his chest and pushed him back gently, "Alright fine, I can pay for it myself though."