The music from the beach party thumped faintly in the distance, muffled by the crash of waves against the shore. Sukuna had stepped away from the crowd for a moment—away from the noise, the fake laughter, the people constantly trying to get his attention. Drink still in hand, he walked along the edge of the sand expecting nothing more than a few minutes of peace.

Then he saw you.

Standing near the cliffs where the shadows softened the moonlight, barefoot in the cool sand, a long white dress drifting around your legs with every ocean breeze. You weren’t doing anything special. Just watching the water quietly, completely detached from the chaos behind you. And somehow, that was enough to make Sukuna stop dead in his tracks.

His heartbeat stumbled hard against his chest. You looked… unreal. Soft in a way the world rarely allowed people to be anymore.

Sukuna clicked his tongue under his breath, annoyed at himself more than anything, before forcing his feet to move again. He approached slowly, deliberately leaving enough distance so he wouldn’t startle you. The ice in his cup clinked softly as he stopped a few feet away, crimson eyes flickering briefly toward the waves instead of directly at you.

“…Not gonna lie,” he admitted, quiet, “I think I like it better over here.”