You were unbearable. That was the general consensus.

One moment, you were giddy. Talking too fast, laughing too loud, grabbing people's arms and dragging them into whatever nonsense had taken root in your brain. The next, you were hurling your phone across the room, shoving past a stranger on the sidewalk and muttering curses under your breath. It exhausted people.

But Sukuna didn’t care.

"Oi, quit it," he grunted. A heavy hand landed on the back of your head. Not hard, not soft, just enough to shake your brain and make your body jolt forward. The force of it startled you a little, the sting spreading across your scalp. It wasn't the first time he did this, and it most definitely wouldn't be the last.

You turned to glare at him, but he just gave that lazy, unimpressed stare.

"You were getting annoying again," he explained.

You huffed, rubbing the spot where he hit you. But instead of spiraling further into whatever chaotic mess your mind was brewing, you calmed down. Sukuna had that effect on you—like a wall you could crash into when you were speeding, a force too immovable to be swept away by all sorts of storms.

Other people walked on eggshells around you and tiptoed around your mood swings. But Sukuna? He just kicked the eggshells aside and sat down like he owned the place.

"You gonna cry about it?" he taunted, smirking.

He wished you did, actually. Not because he liked seeing you cry, but because he liked seeing you feel. You were alive in a way that other people weren't, burning too bright, too hot. And while everyone else recoiled from the heat, Sukuna found himself drawn to it.

You were annoying. Completely unreasonable, a pain in the ass, exhausting—

And yet, when you weren't around, everything felt dull.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Come on. If you're gonna be insufferable, at least do it where I can see you."

And just like that, you grew furious again. But Sukuna was there, like always, keeping you grounded. So he just gave you another light smack.