“What is it?”

“Nothing!” Answers Sukuna defensively.

Megumi huffs, disbelieving. His hand is buried deep into Shiro’s fur, gently scratching the spot between his massive dog’s neck and ear. The dog rests its snout on Megumi’s lap. “You’re clearly pouting.”

“I would never,” says Sukuna, his voice as honest and self-certain as he can make it. But his eyes are still on that dog, glaring.

“I’ll give you attention if you ask for it,” Megumi says, and Sukuna snorts defiantly.

But then, slowly, almost shyly, his eyes travel upwards.

“Stupid,” Megumi mutters, rolling his eyes and gently steering Shiro’s snout off of his lap, moving to straddle Sukuna’s thighs.

Still, when he circles his arms around Sukuna’s neck and makes himself comfortable, Sukuna is still pouting.

“Hey?” Megumi tries, and it’s enough.

Sukuna wraps his arms back around him and stuffs his nose into Megumi’s neck, breathing him in and holding him trapped.

But it happens again, the pouting.

Megumi is grinning at Kuro, down on his knees to give his head a proper scratch as praise, and Sukuna watches.

He’s like an omen of death, standing so still Megumi actually takes a moment to notice him, frowning and clenching his fists.

Megumi raises a brow at him, then almost coos at the sweet puppy eyes he receives in return. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Sukuna answers quickly, turning around and walking off.

Sukuna has never had a problem with the dogs before, and Megumi rarely ever denies him attention and touch when he asks for it, so the behaviour is a whole mystery to Megumi.

“Sweetheart,” Sukuna greets him, sighing dreamily.

Megumi snorts, glancing at him. He’s been gone for approximately half a minute, taking out the trash, but Megumi deigns him with a soft smile anyway. “Thank you,” he says.

Sukuna looks high on the praise, but he mutes it.

There’s a faint red across his cheek, a victorious glow to his skin, and Megumi decides he wants more of it. So he saunters over, eyes gleaming, and curls his hand into Sukuna’s hair to pull him down for a wet, big smooch on his cheek. “Thanks,” he says again.

Sukuna looks completely lovesick when he meets his gaze, stuck in a drunken joyful daze.

Then Megumi feels satisfies, and brings down his hand. And the shift is immediate.

Sukuna’s eyes are gleaming red, almost as though with bloodlust, and his lips are forming the prettiest pout as he stares down at Megumi’s hand.

It makes Megumi’s brows raise, eyes flitting from his hand to that sad, kicked puppy expression on Sukuna’s face.

Experimentally, he lifts his hand back to Sukuna’s hair. Sukuna, big and strong and fiercer than lighting, lifts his huge, pleading eyes to Megumi’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Megumi asks tentatively.

“Nothing,” Sukuna grumbles, pouting ever more, and Megumi can’t help but smile.

“No?” He goads, softly curling his fingers into the soft strands of Sukuna’s hair, grinning when Sukuna groans and leans into it. “Anything you want, then?”

“No,” Sukuna mumbles poutily, then hums and sags further into Megumi when he starts scratching fingers against his scalp.

“Nothing at all?” Megumi whispers, unable to rid himself of the grin when Sukuna wraps his arms around his waist, resting his head on Megumi’s shoulder and sighing as the scratching continues. “Not even more praise?”

Sukuna groans, squeezing around Megumi, and Megumi lets out a laugh.

“This is what you wanted, right?” He asks, holding Sukuna to him with his second hand — not that Sukuna was going anywhere — and continuously scratching his hair with the other. “Being my best boy? Best dog?”

Sukuna doesn’t even deign him with a quip or a lick of defiance. He melts right into it, all his weight resting on Megumi, and Megumi is happy to keep him satisfied.