(Don't flame Mina, flame the author cuz I wrote her that way. And quick question, do couples always have to have something in common? Opposites do attract ya know?
Me personally I think It's less about matching interests and more about matching respect, communication, and willingness to adapt.
But yeah Mina kinda disrespected him in the previous chapters 💀)
...
"I just didn't think telling them was necessary. It's not like I was planning to harm them." Mina looked away from Sukuna after hearing what he said. Both her and Sukuna were on their usual walk home, where the teen suddenly opened up out of nowhere.
It seems like although he was chill about revealing some truths of his abilities to Class 1-A while they were at the USJ, deep down he didn't like the way Mina had forced him to do so.
"I get that you want me to feel included in the class, but just straight up forcing me into a situation like just now wasn't the way to go. And who said that I felt like an outsider in the first place? I'm the class president, there's no chance I can be one."
"I'm sorry..." She whispered, her voice shaky. So this was what it's like being scolded by him. She didn't like it at all, but what could she do? She was the one who created the mess in the first place. "I won't do that again... I'm serious..."
Sukuna sighed, rubbing his neck. "What's done is done. But seriously, I can handle myself, sometimes secrets are meant to be kept a secret. You don't always have to be the Queen of Gossip every time around them."
"Yeah... I guess..." She whispered, before widening her eyes as Sukuna grabbed her arm, dragging her towards a book store.
"Let's go check some manga."
"Huh? Manga?" Mina blinked, staring at Sukuna in disbelief.
"Since when did you read manga?"
"Since you started bothering me about it."
...
"Mom, I messed up with Sukuna."
"Oh what happened?" Maya frowned at her daughter. Mina opened up, telling her about what she did when they were at the USJ.
Maya hummed, rubbing her chin as her daughter stared at the table silent, fiddling her hands. "Well it is bad. I'm going to be honest and say that you are in the wrong here. Sukuna-chan clearly wanted you to keep it a secret between the two of you."
"Here's the thing, Mina. I know you love gossip, and I myself love it too. But people's abilities or secrets aren't vending machines. If someone doesn't want to share, respect that boundary. A person can be curious and polite at the same time you know?"
"Even people like Sukuna-chan who claim they don't care about boundaries, still feel something when those boundaries are crossed." She continued.
"I feel like he hates me now, even though he doesn't show it." Mina muttered. She remembered back to that disapproving glint in his eyes back at the facility as he explained to them, choosing his words very carefully at the time.
"I don't think he does. But Mina, as your mother, I'm advising you to never do this again. If you normalize 'It's fine because he didn't mind', that logic would then get reused on people who actually do mind, who freeze, who can't push back, who feel socially pressured. Sukuna-chan being emotionally bulletproof doesn't make coercion polite."
"Y-yeah... I understand..." Mina nodded. Maya patted her daughter's head.
"You said you apologized right?"
"Yeah but... I don't think that was enough... Even though he told me to let it go..."
"You should discuss it with him, Mina. Maybe then, when you get the chance, give him an apology from the heart, and see what happens then."
" So do I just... invite him out for lunch or something?"
" Yup! A date!" Maya nodded immediately.
"U-uh...." Mina smiled nervously, causing her mother to raise an eyebrow.
" What? Wait... So you're telling me, you've known him since the 2nd year of middle school, and you've never once went out with him before?"
"Haha... yeah... kinda..." Maya deadpanned at her daughter. The older woman tapped Mina's phone.
" Ask him out for lunch. Now."
" Y-yes ma'am!"
...
It was a weekend. Sukuna stared at Mina, wearing a casual dress that complimented her skin color. The girl smiled shyly at him, internally gasping for air at how good he looked in casual clothing.
"Hey..." She muttered awkwardly. Sukuna raised an eyebrow.
'Where did that usual confidence go huh?' He wondered, amused, before speaking up.
"C'mon, let's go inside." They entered a small cafe, finding seats in the corner, where there was a little more privacy for them.
"Nice place." Sukuna commented. Mina nodded awkwardly. He then raised an eyebrow at her.
"So, wanna tell me why you suddenly asked me to go have breakfast with you?" He smirked, already having a few guesses. She laughed nervously, avoiding his gaze.
"Cuz uh... I was bored..."
"Really? You were bored? Even babies can come up with better lies than you, Mina." Mina pouted at his teasing. Sukuna can get on her nerves sometimes.
"Come clean, or else we're not going to order." Sukuna threatened, smirking as he placed his head on his hand, tilting his head at her. Mina looked down.
"I want to apologize..." She started.
"I know you told me to keep it a secret, and yeah, I know you told me to just move on with it afterwards, but it's been stuck on my mind ever since, and I feel really bad about it... I don't want to make up any excuses for what I've done. So I'm sorry..." She bowed a little at him. Sukuna stared, his smirk gone. Looks like Mina wasn't wasting time.
"It was supposed to be something between us, Mina. I told you the truth that day after the slime villain incident, because it was you. My private self was made public by the one person I trusted to keep it private. But... i can kind of understand why you did it, even though it was wrong of you." He sighed.
"I know how you think. Our classmates were likely confused and a little scared of me, and you being who you are, wanted to reduce the tension in your own way, to make things safe and understandable. So you reframed my secret as information that should help everyone."
"But the way I saw it, you sided with them over our friendship without realizing, you forced me to tell them something that was uniquely ours."
"It wasn't right of me to do that." Mina immediately followed up as he ended his sentence. "I thought I was helping. I didn't think about how it felt to you. I won't do that again. I swear..." Her voice was sincere, emotional even.
"I know I can't undo it, but I can change my behavior going forward. So I'm starting by apologizing to you." Silence reigned over the both of them again. Sukuna finally sighed.
"Apology accepted." Mina widened her eyes, looking back up at him. Sukuna then held up a finger.
"But. I want you to tone down on the gossip. I don't want you to repeat the same mistake to other people. Can you do that?"
Mina smiled, immeasurable nodding.
" Yeah! I can do that."
Sukuna smirked, though internally feeling like they were too formal with each other at this point. He needed to bring back the casualness.
"Good girl..." He muttered, patting her head gently.
" Wawawawawa—" Mina stuttered uncontrollably, her whole body darkening as she tried processing what happened, trying her best not to shut down. And worst part is, Sukuna was acting like what he did was normal!!!
"Now, shall we order?"
To be continued...
(i know my writing isn't the best, and my romance isn't exactly the best. Mina blundering socially was intentional on my part. But I thought it was successful since y'all practically turned on her. I hope you guys can forgive me if it ruined the story for you.)