Chapter Text
Bells jingled up above as Yuuji followed his Uncle Sukuna into the strange, new place. The sound was so pretty, sending little happy bubbles floating around inside him.
“Hello! Good morning!”
Yuuji followed the words to a lady with a bright smile, its warmth filling his belly. He turned to keep looking at the lady as his uncle pulled him over to a table by the window. The chairs were tall and he could climb up if he really wanted to, but he raised his arms towards Uncle Sukuna instead. As always, his uncle gave a sigh and picked him up. Yuuji giggled, beaming as he was set down in the seat. The grumpy face of his favorite person smoothed out and lightly tinted with pink.
“Thank you, ojiisan~”
Uncle Sukuna huffed, but pet his hair before taking a seat across from him. If they were at home, his uncle would have messed his hair up but Yuuji had to look nice in public.
“You’re welcome, kid.”
But just like at home, they were the only ones sitting at the tables though several people stood around. Yuuji had a feeling that this was not normal because of the few TV shows and movies he’d seen, but it was still nice to be outside with his uncle. Yuuji also thought normal people ordered at the counter but again, not them. It wasn’t long though before the lady with the bright smile brought over drinks and plates with food.
“Here you are~ Please eat well.”
“Thank you!”
Yuuji waved at the nice lady who turned and gave a surprised little wave back. He beamed at her this time and it made her cheeks grow pink too.
“Eat.”
Eat. Yes. Yuuji looked back at the table and WOW~ There were so many colors and shapes! He was used to food looking nice but these almost looked like toys and they were small enough for Yuuji to easily grab onto too. He looked up at Uncle Sukuna with his big eyes full of wonder.
“Is it really food?”
Uncle Sukuna raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, of course.”
Yuuji felt a little skeptical or worried still and his uncle must have noticed. He set his cup down and grabbed one of the pretty foods. Yuuji’s eyes never left as Uncle Sukuna raised it up to his mouth. It was like he was watching a magic trick, so enraptured he couldn’t even blink. When his uncle bit into the food, Yuuji’s eyes shot wide, lips parting into a little ‘o’. He even clapped.
Uncle Sukuna rolled his eyes. “Now eat already.”
Yuuji nodded and couldn’t help rocking a little side to side, almost dancing with excitement as he looked over all the food again. His fingers wiggled, hovering over the food, unable to decide. It all looked so good! The deep rumble of his Uncle Sukuna clearing his throat stole Yuuji’s attention. Thick fingers picked up one of the sandwiches, tiny compared to his uncle’s hand, and held it out to Yuuji. He opened his mouth and leaned forward.
“Not here.”
Yuuji pouted but nodded and took the food which looked so much bigger in his own hand. Thankfully, it was small enough for him to easily hold. He gave his uncle sad eyes as he brought the food to his mouth, but was only given a blank stare in return. With his first bite though, Yuuji’s little pout quickly disappeared.
“Yummy!”
Uncle Sukuna smirked. “Don’t talk with food in your mouth. It’s not safe.”
Yuuji nodded and finished scarfing down the sandwich before picking up something with bright red in it. That one was smaller than the sandwich and he could stuff half of it in his mouth all at once.
“And slow down. If you choke on any of it, I won’t bring you back.”
His eyes shot wide again, pausing as he nodded and slowed down his chewing. Yuuji could feel those dark eyes watching from above. They didn’t scare him like they did others. He knew his Uncle Sukuna was just worried about him. After Yuuji reached for the next piece and calmly took another bite, he looked up and gave his uncle a smile. That earned him another pat on the head before Uncle Sukuna picked up his drink again.
That didn’t mean Uncle Sukuna stopped watching him. He just stopped staring. Those dark eyes found him here and there between watching the rest of the room or staring out the window. Yuuji liked looking out the window too. There were trees, flowers, sunshine, and birds playing in a little bath.
“Ojiisan~”
His uncle hummed.
“Can I do this when I grow up?”
Those dark eyes moved to him again, eyebrow raised in question.
“Can you do what?”
Yuuji pointed to the lady behind the counter who was busily working. He was pretty sure it was the same nice one from before.
“Be like her and make pretty food that tastes yummy.”
His uncle’s eyes went wide, briefly flitting to the lady but seriously looking Yuuji up and down. He hummed again.
“We’ll see.”
💜💜💜
The son of a mafia boss in a frilly fucking apron is just WRONG.
Sukuna grit his teeth as he watched Yuuji from the doorway. The kid was standing on a stool beside one of the kitchen staff, watching them prepare food. Yuuji must have gotten the apron from one of the servants that had been “helping” Yuuji out. They’d been sneaking around behind his back for months now, but nothing got past him.
Sukuna saw it coming too, practically from the moment Yuuji came up with the idea. One day as the servants brought in their meal, Yuuji’s eyes shot wide. They moved between the servants and food back and forth until whoever it was disappeared from the room. Sukuna wasn’t there when Yuuji finally built up the nerve to ask for help but judging from the looks Yuuji kept giving the staff for weeks, it took awhile. Slowly, those looks became giddy and secretive, with little waves and smiles Yuuji couldn’t hold back or hide. He was clearly enjoying himself and there was no way any of the servants would risk their life to hurt Yuuji. Sukuna vetted them well and with the guards here, no way could they kidnap the kid either.
And if they did…
Sukuna cracked his knuckles, eyes narrowing on the servant before him. They jumped, Yuuji too. The kid almost fell off the stool but the servant noticed and helped steady him. As Yuuji turned around Sukuna could finally see the apron in full. The apron was a bright blue plaid with thin red lines and big ruffles over the chest and shoulder. It almost looked like a vintage dress, especially the way it was wrapped around and folded up to make it fit Yuuji better but even then looked 5 times his size. Sukuna huffed, because not only did he sort of hate the color blue but again Yuuji was a mafia boss’s kid! He shouldn’t be in an apron and he shouldn’t be in some dumpy dress.
Even if Yuuji was an omega.
Even if he did look cute.
Even if he’d looked happy because now… now he looked a little scared. He didn’t necessarily look afraid so much as he looked worried. Yuuji was caught and he looked like it too with the blush on his cheeks and wide, averted gaze. He knew this was something he shouldn’t be doing and was worried what would happen now. Maybe Sukuna should be glad his son wasn’t afraid of him even though he was indeed a scary man, but…
With a sigh, Sukuna pinched the bridge of his nose and turned his back on them.
“Sukuna-sama-”
He stopped the servant with a raised hand.
“At least get him something in the right size so he doesn’t trip.”
💜💜💜
Dok, dok, dok.
The light but clear rapping of knuckles on wood startled Yuuji. He turned, wide eyed, to see the door already opening. That meant it was Uncle Sukuna because the staff always waited for Yuuji’s permission to enter. His uncle didn’t used to knock until recently, but what was even the point when he didn’t wait?
Then again, the door moved so quietly that if his uncle didn’t knock… Well, maybe Yuuji would get caught doing… things… like watching videos about cooking, cleaning his room even though the maids were supposed to do that, or… things. So, yeah, maybe it was a good thing that Uncle Sukuna knocked instead of barging in.
Said uncle was now leaning against the door frame, slowly taking in the whole room before his eyes landed on Yuuji. Those deep red eyes held immense weight no matter the mood and right then, despite the utterly blank expression on his face, those eyes had Yuuji’s heart picking up, a nervous trill running over his skin.
“I got you something.”
Despite Uncle Sukuna’s size, his steps were light as they crossed the room. It only reminded Yuuji of how easily his uncle could sneak up on him and yet, Uncle Sukuna never did. Something about that stirred up feelings of guilt even though he sometimes wondered if he should feel guilty at all. His uncle never really said anything against his hopes and dreams of running a cafe and yet Yuuji just knew that’s how he felt.
Yuuji didn’t want to disappoint him.
He looked up to Uncle Sukuna even though he didn’t know a lot about what his uncle did. Yuuji knew it was bad though, really bad. He knew people were scared of his uncle and that, in turn, a lot of how they lived was to keep Yuuji safe. Uncle Sukuna was strong and even if he could be scary to others, Yuuji could also sense great respect and care for those that earned it. Yuuji wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve it, especially to be looked after the way he was and see a side of his uncle that absolutely no one else had aimed their way. Sure, they were family and Yuuji loved his uncle like the father he never knew but…
It came with a pressure—an expectation.
Yuuji felt the pressure but he didn’t really understand it. The impression he got was that he was supposed to grow up to be like Uncle Sukuna, even though it was clear Yuuji was born an omega. Maybe that shouldn’t matter but it did and even if it didn’t, he wasn’t the same as his uncle. Yuuji wasn’t so sure who he was just yet, but he still knew they were different.
Between his uncle’s quiet footsteps and Yuuji’s distracted brain, the mattress shifting took him by surprise. He’d been getting caught up in worry every time he saw Uncle Sukuna and Yuuji could tell by his frown that he wasn’t hiding it very well. Yuuji tried to smile anyway but it felt wrong on his face. It only made his uncle frown all the harder, gaze growing darker.
“Take this.”
Yuuji hadn’t even noticed the package until it was placed in his lap. It was light and… undies? He’d never seen underwear all bundled up and covered in plastic like this. Then again, it usually just appeared already put away with the rest of his clothes. Was this how it looked fresh from the store? Yuuji turned it around in his hand, mind adjusting to the look and feel of it. Something about the packaging made it hard to imagine the store it came from. How were they displayed? Shelves?
Shopping out in the real world wasn’t something Yuuji was allowed to do. Well, once or twice Uncle Sukuna had emptied a toy store for them to look around, same with the zoo and aquarium with their gift shops. They’d never just gone shopping for clothes or food, and especially not around other people, but maybe… maybe they could on their trip abroad!
Yuuji’s smile turned genuine with the thought—no the hope—that going overseas where no one knew them would change things. He wanted to go on adventures with Uncle Sukuna. Not just shopping but Yuuji had seen all kinds of cool things in movies and TV shows like boats, bridges, huge buildings, giant statues, and parks full of awesome rides. Sometimes they were even on the beach!
Yuuji lunged at his uncle, climbing onto his lap and reaching, pulling, until he could wrap his arms around Uncle Sukuna’s neck. Wide red eyes showed his uncle had not been expecting a hug but slowly those big arms wrapped around to squeeze Yuuji back.
“So, you like ‘em huh?”
The warm breath tickled along Yuuji’s neck and had him squirm in place but once the words sunk in, he froze. Right, the gift! Yuuji looked around but only to find they must have fallen off the bed earlier. The moment Yuuji moved to climb off his uncle’s lap, those strong arms slid easily away and down to the floor Yuuji went. Once the package was in his hands again, he flipped it around and finally gave the underwear a good look.
Flowers.
Birds.
Hearts.
Each one had a different colorful pattern but it was difficult to see them. They folded neatly inside and obscured by the plastic wrapping with all its words. Even still, Yuuji could see that some of them had little bows on them too. The smile on his lips quickly turned to a pout, eyebrows scrunching up with confusion. He looked up and found the same emotion on mirrored back, only Uncle Sukuna looked a little annoyed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Are these really for me?”
The annoyance wiped from his uncle’s face, replaced with boredom and a raised eyebrow. Yuuji knew now that it didn’t always mean his uncle was actually bored. It was more of a… what did they call it? A poker face! It meant that Uncle Sukuna didn’t want the other person to know what he was actually thinking or feeling.
Yuuji didn’t like that.
He stepped closer and reached out to touch his uncle, looking up with another pout, this one on the sad side because… because Yuuji didn’t want Uncle Sukuna feeling like he had to hide things from him. Some things? Sure. Yuuji knew he wasn’t old enough to hear about a lot of stuff but this? Why was his uncle hiding from him now? Had Yuuji said something bad?
“Ojiisan, I’m sorry. I just… I guess I thought they were for girls.”
“Don’t you like flowers and birds?”
Slowly, Yuuji nodded, looking back down to the underwear. It was true. He did or does like birds and flowers and all sorts of stuff like that. Yuuji even liked flowers, bows, and pretty stuff but… A finger brushed the underside of his chin, startling him again, but Uncle Sukuna ignored it as he tilted Yuuji’s face back up to lock eyes once more. His uncle’s red eyes bore into Yuuji, stealing his breath away.
“It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks. If you like it, you like it. That’s all that matters.”
Eyes brimming with tears, Yuuji smiled big and wide, rushing into his uncle’s arms for another hug. Uncle Sukuna lifted him up, back onto his lap with ease.
“Love you, ojiisan.”
A low huff of laughter had Yuuji pulling away just enough in hopes of catching a smile on his uncle’s face. All he got was that blank face again but there was just a touch of it on Uncle Sukuna’s lips still. Yuuji would swear there was and even more in his eyes. When it was clear that’s all Yuuji was going to get though, he went back in for another hug.
After a long moment, his uncle sighed and pulled Yuuji off, setting him on the bed before heading for the door. He watched the door closing, pouting as he thought his uncle was going to leave without another word but the door stopped just short. Uncle Sukuna turned just enough that Yuuji could see there was a small smile stretching his lips. Yuuji pulled his knees to his chest and hid his own smile, excitement rushing through him but also just the tinsiest bit worried his uncle would stop smiling if he realized Yuuji could see it. It had him holding his breath as he stared up at his uncle in anticipation.
“Love you too, kiddo.”