The Crackling Fire That Lulls Him To Sleep

The Fire That Lulls Him To Sleep

I heard the fire my father lit outside, the crackling of twigs, and had this sudden urge to write SukuGo. Enjoy.

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Sukuna sat on a wooden stool Uraume had built for him a few years prior. He could hear through the open window the sound of the crackling fire in the hearth outside. He would check on it in half an hour, add a log if necessary, and make sure the ashes did not spill over the stone edge.

For now, he simply sat inside the hut, having abandoned his current project. He had planned on carving names in their knives handles, but he'd been distracted by the sight of the white-haired young man sleeping on the mattress a few metres from him, and now he didn't feel like working anymore.

Instead, he'd settled for watching the sleeping form, content in being able to do so without being caught by either of the hut's inhabitants.

If Satoru caught him watching, Sukuna was sure he'd never hear the end of it. The younger man would bat his eyelashes at him and tease him in a honeyed voice he knew got on Sukuna's nerves.

Sukuna was not ashamed of his feelings for the white-haired man, and did not downplay them, but he simply did not like to see Satoru smug. He could be infuriating when he was like that. However, Sukuna did not envision his night to go this way, and he was confident in keeping it like this.

The night was still far away from setting, and he'd started the fire earlier than he'd usually do, but he knew the crackling of burning dead twigs helped Satoru fall asleep. If it could make the bags under his eyes soothe, Sukuna did not mind using a little bit more wood than necessary. He could still bring new logs with Uraume when they'd run out of it.

Satoru always struggled to fall asleep more when summer came to an end, the transition between seasons harsh on him, bringing back bad memories Sukuna had little weapons to keep at bay. In times like these, he let Satoru do as he pleased more than usual, which was pretty telling considering the amount of things Sukuna usually conceded to the younger man. Uraume's sighs a soundtrack in their everyday lives whenever the end of august rolled around.

It made Sukuna and Satoru laugh, not even needing to watch Uraume's face to know they were rolling their eyes. It riled them both up, too, and made Sukuna want to trick Uraume despite his servant's disposition to grow irritated quickly.

Sukuna knew his servant didn't mind it that much, though. It was obvious simply with the fact that they tolerated Satoru's presence, and followed his requests whenever Uraume deemed them feasible.

Sukuna remembered how it had not always been the case, Uraume and Satoru's adjustment to the other's presence a tedious process.

They'd all come far from their first meeting.

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Bearer of the Six Eyes, the symbol of purity in the Gojo Clan, and a symbol of fruitfulness for the village, Satoru had been deemed destined for too many great things ever since his very birth. It led, unsurprisingly to an accumulation of pressure on his shoulders only his best friend could alleviate. Harassed by the villagers, abused by his clan members for the lack of good fortune as of yet, and shunned by ignorants, Satoru had harboured ever since childhood the dangerous dream of getting free and seeing the village burn.

And then, one day, Satoru's only friend had died, untended to by the villagers despite his growing illness, Satoru kept at bay by fear of the disease contaminating him. Satoru had been heartbroken.

He had remained mute for a few days, unable to act upon his dream until he could bid farewell to his friend, and after watching the boy refuse to eat anything for days, his family had yielded to his demand, and allowed Satoru to see Suguru's body before his burial.