As Sukuna in Invincible-Chapter 33: Love

Three weeks passed in a blur of preparation and tension.

The quantum destabilizer project had entered its final testing phase, the Guardians and Teen Team had established joint training protocols, and Earth's defenses were steadily strengthening against the coming Viltrumite threat.

Yet amid this global crisis, a more personal tension had been building to breaking point.

Eve stood in her laboratory, staring at the molecular simulation before her without really seeing it.

Her mind was elsewhere, replaying the same patterns that had consumed her thoughts for weeks.

Megumi and Tsukumo.

Every interaction she'd observed between them carried an intimacy that drove her to distraction.

The way they communicated without words, the way Tsukumo anticipated Megumi's needs before he expressed them, the way his usual guardedness softened slightly in her presence.

It wasn't romantic - Eve had analyzed their body language enough to determine that much.

But it was... something. Something deep and established. Something that excluded her completely.

And it was driving her mad.

She'd started tracking their movements obsessively, creating complex algorithms to predict where they might appear together, manufacturing reasons to be present whenever they met.

Her lab notebooks, once filled with elegant scientific formulas, now contained pages of observations about their interactions - precise timestamps, duration of eye contact, frequency of proximity.

"Simulation complete," the computer announced, startling her from her thoughts.

Eve blinked, forcing her attention back to the task at hand.

The quantum destabilizer's targeting system had successfully discriminated between Viltrumite and human cellular structures in all five hundred test scenarios.

Under normal circumstances, this achievement would have filled her with triumph.

Instead, she felt only a hollow satisfaction, her thoughts immediately turning to sharing the news with Megumi.

Would he be impressed? Would this finally be enough to break through his careful distance?

She ran her fingers over the simulation results, imagining his reaction. Would his eyes light up with that rare spark of genuine interest?

Would he offer one of those rare, precious compliments that she collected and replayed in her mind during sleepless nights?

The laboratory door slid open behind her, and Eve turned, her heart rate accelerating as she recognized Megumi's energy signature before she even saw him.

She'd become attuned to it over the months, could sense his presence from across a crowded room, could distinguish the subtle variations that indicated his mood or level of energy expenditure.

"Your message said the final simulations were complete," he said, moving to examine the data displayed across her screens.

"Yes," Eve confirmed, unable to keep a hint of pride from her voice. "Perfect discrimination across all test scenarios. The prototype is ready for physical testing."

She watched him intently, cataloging every microexpression, every subtle shift in his posture. Her enhanced perception, normally focused on molecular structures, had been repurposed to study him with scientific precision.

Megumi nodded, his expression revealing nothing of his thoughts as he studied the results. "Impressive work. Cecil will be pleased."

"Cecil," Eve repeated, a bitter edge entering her voice. "Is that all you can think about? Pleasing Cecil? Preparing for the Viltrumites?"

Megumi turned to her, one eyebrow raised slightly. "Isn't that what we've been working toward? Earth's defense?"

"Yes, but-" Eve stopped, frustrated by her inability to articulate what she really wanted to say. She turned away, her hands clenching at her sides.

"Never mind. I'll inform Cecil that the targeting system is ready for implementation."

She moved to send the message, but Megumi's voice stopped her.

"Something's bothering you," he observed. Not a question, but a statement of fact.

Eve laughed, the sound brittle even to her own ears. "You think?" She turned back to face him, weeks of frustration finally boiling over.

"Three weeks, Megumi. Three weeks of you avoiding being alone with me. Three weeks of bringing her to every team gathering.

Three weeks of watching you two communicate in some private language no one else understands."

Megumi's expression remained carefully neutral. "Tsukumo is-"

"Don't," Eve interrupted, raising a hand. "Don't tell me she's just a chef. Don't insult my intelligence that way."

She stepped closer to him, her eyes glowing faintly pink as her emotions affected her molecular control. "What I want to know is why. Why won't you give us a chance? Is there something wrong with me?"

The raw vulnerability in her voice seemed to catch Megumi off guard. For a moment, his careful mask slipped, revealing something almost like confusion beneath.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Eve," he said finally, his tone softer than usual.

"Then why?" she pressed, moving closer still. "Why won't you accept what's between us? Why won't you love me like I love you?"

The words hung in the air between them, Eve's declaration finally spoken aloud after months of growing feelings. Her heart pounded in her chest, fear and hope warring within her as she waited for his response.

Megumi studied her for a long moment, his red eyes unreadable. "Why do you think you love me, Eve?" he asked finally, his voice carefully neutral.

The question caught her off guard. "What do you mean, why? How can you ask that after everything we've been through together?"

"Humor me," he replied, his gaze never leaving hers. "What is it about me that inspires such... devotion?"

Eve's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed with determination. If he wanted reasons, she would give him reasons.

"You're brilliant," she began, her voice gaining strength. "Your mind works in ways that challenge me, that make me think differently. You see patterns others miss, connections that elude everyone else."

She began pacing, her hands moving expressively as she continued. "You're powerful but controlled. I've watched you in battle - the precision, the economy of movement, the absolute mastery over your abilities.

It's... beautiful. Like watching the perfect chemical reaction, where every element behaves exactly as it should."

Megumi remained silent, watching her with that intense focus that always made her feel simultaneously exposed and exhilarated.

"You appreciate beauty," she continued. "Not just superficial beauty, but true artistry. The way you respond to exceptional food, to elegant solutions, to perfect execution - it reveals a depth most people lack.

I've cataloged every instance where your expression changes when tasting something extraordinary - did you know that? The slight relaxation around your eyes, the almost imperceptible nod of appreciation."

She paused, realizing she might have revealed too much about her observations, but unable to stop now that the floodgates had opened.

"And you see me," she said, her voice dropping lower, more intense. "Really see me. Not just Atom Eve the hero, or the science prodigy, but me. You challenge me, you respect my mind, you treat me as an equal."

Her eyes began to glow brighter with emotion. "Do you have any idea what that means to me? To be truly seen? My parents never saw me - not really.

They saw a project, an achievement to boast about. 'Our daughter, the prodigy,' they'd say to their colleagues. But they never asked what I wanted, what I dreamed about."

The bitterness in her voice was palpable now. "When my powers manifested, they were terrified - not for me, but of me.

Of what I might do to their precious reputation if word got out. 'Control yourself, Samantha,' they'd say.

'Don't draw attention.' As if my entire existence was an inconvenience to their academic careers."

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She laughed, a hollow sound. "And then when I couldn't hide it anymore, when my best friend betrayed me and told everyone about my abilities, they didn't comfort me.

They were angry that I'd 'allowed' myself to be discovered. We moved three times because of it, and each time, they made it clear that it was my fault, my burden to bear."

Eve's hands clenched at her sides, pink energy crackling around her fingers. "Even when I joined the Teen Team, it wasn't about me. It was about my powers, my usefulness.

Rex sees me as a tool, a convenient molecular manipulator to complement his explosions. Kate sees me as a competitor. The others see the scientist, the problem-solver, the team member."

Her voice broke slightly. "But you... from that first day in the museum, when I froze and you didn't, you never judged me.

You understood my fear without me having to explain it. You saw my weakness and didn't use it against me."

She took a step closer, her eyes searching his. "And then in the lab, working together, you treated my mind as valuable - not just my powers.

You listened to my theories, challenged my assumptions, pushed me to think beyond conventional models.

Do you know how rare that is? To be valued for your mind rather than what you can do for others?"

Eve's expression intensified, a fervent light entering her eyes. "I've studied you, Megumi. Every movement, every word, every reaction.

I know when you're holding back in training - I can see the precise moment you decide to restrain your true capabilities.

I know which foods make your pupils dilate slightly with pleasure. I know that you sleep an average of 4.3 hours per night based on the subtle variations in your energy signature throughout the day."

She was breathing faster now, her control slipping as she continued her confession. "I've analyzed the molecular composition of every woman who approaches you, looking for weaknesses, for flaws.

I've created simulations of potential scenarios where we might be separated, developing countermeasures for each one.

I've even calculated the optimal molecular structure for our potential offspring, though I know that's... premature."

Eve stopped suddenly, seemingly shocked by her own admission, but then her expression hardened with resolve. "And yes, I know how that sounds. I know it's not... normal.

But neither are we, Megumi. Neither are you. You're extraordinary, and ordinary measures of devotion would be insufficient."

She took another step closer, close enough now that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. "And then there's this... connection between us.

This resonance. I can feel it on a molecular level, the way our energies interact, complement each other. Don't tell me you don't feel it too."

Megumi remained silent for several heartbeats, his expression unreadable. Then, to Eve's surprise, he sighed - a small sound that nevertheless carried weight.

"I feel... something," he acknowledged finally. "But Eve, I'm not..." He paused, seeming to struggle with his words - a rarity for someone usually so precise in his speech. "I'm not familiar with this kind of connection."

Eve's brow furrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Despite my experience with women," he continued carefully, and Eve's expression darkened visibly at the reminder of his past lovers, her fingers twitching as if she wanted to reach out and erase the very memory of them from existence,

"I have no experience with the emotional aspects of such relationships."

The admission seemed to cost him something, a vulnerability he rarely displayed. "Connections are... difficult for me. Always have been."

Eve's expression softened, hope rekindling in her chest. "That's all? That's why you've been keeping me at a distance? Because you're not used to emotional connections?"

She moved closer, emboldened by his admission. "Megumi, that's not a reason to avoid trying. It's a reason to start. We can learn together." Her eyes gleamed with a fervent light once more.

"I can teach you, guide you. I've studied human relationships extensively, analyzed the chemical and neurological components of emotional bonding. I understand the theoretical framework perfectly."

"It's not that simple," he countered, though something in his tone had shifted. "I'm not... like other people, Eve. The way I think, the way I... feel. It's different."

"I know that," she insisted, a desperate edge entering her voice. "That's part of why I-" She stopped, took a breath, then continued more carefully.

"That's part of what draws me to you. You're unlike anyone I've ever met."

She reached out, hesitantly placing her hand on his arm. "Just give us a chance. That's all I'm asking." Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"I need you, Megumi. I've calculated all possible scenarios for my future, and every optimal outcome includes you. Every single one."

Megumi looked down at her hand, then back to her face. Something shifted in his expression - the careful neutrality giving way to something more primal, more intense.

In a fluid motion that caught Eve completely by surprise, he reversed their positions, pinning her against the laboratory wall.

His hands gripped her wrists, holding them firmly but not painfully above her head, his body close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from him.

"Do you truly understand what you're asking for, Eve?" he asked, his voice lower, rougher than she'd ever heard it.

"I don't 'date' as you might understand it. I don't share. I don't compromise on what I consider mine."

His eyes held hers, intense and unblinking. "And I am not above removing obstacles that displease me. Permanently."

The thinly veiled threat should have frightened her. Instead, Eve felt a shiver of excitement run down her spine, her pupils dilating as she stared back at him.

This was the true Megumi - the primal force she had glimpsed beneath his controlled exterior, the power she had sensed lurking behind his careful mask.

"Good," she whispered, her voice husky with desire. "Because I feel the same way. Why do you think I've been scanning every woman who comes near you?

Why do you think I've been watching Tsukumo like a hawk? I don't share either, Megumi."

A smile spread across her face - not her usual scientific curiosity, but something darker, more possessive. "I've wanted you since I first saw what you could do. Since I first realized how your mind works. You're mine. Whether you've accepted it yet or not."

Her eyes glowed with an almost feverish intensity. "Do you know I've mapped the molecular structure of every inch of the lab where you've stood?

That I can recreate your energy signature in my simulations with 99.8% accuracy? That I've calculated precisely how much force it would take to disassemble someone at the molecular level if they tried to take you from me?"

For a moment, they remained frozen in that tableau - predator and predator, each recognizing something of themselves in the other.

Then Megumi's lips curved into a smile that made Eve's heart race.

"Perhaps we understand each other better than I thought," he murmured.

Before she could respond, his mouth claimed hers in a kiss that was nothing like the tentative first explorations of new lovers.

This was possession, dominance, a claiming - and Eve responded with equal fervor, her body arching against his as she returned the kiss with a passion that matched his own.

Her hands, still pinned above her head, strained against his grip - not to escape, but to touch him, to claim him as he was claiming her.

He released her wrists, and immediately her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer as the kiss deepened.

His hands moved to her waist, then lower, lifting her effortlessly as she wrapped her legs around him.

The laboratory equipment around them trembled slightly as Eve's molecular control wavered under the onslaught of sensation.

Beakers cracked, computer screens flickered, and the molecular simulation she'd been working on earlier dissolved into random patterns as her powers responded to her emotional state.

When they finally broke apart, both breathing heavily, Eve's eyes were glowing pink with power and desire. "My apartment," she gasped. "Now."

Megumi's eyes held a gleam that sent another shiver down her spine. "Now," he agreed, his voice a command rather than an acknowledgment.

As they left the laboratory, Eve couldn't help the triumphant smile that spread across her face. She had finally broken through his defenses, finally claimed what she had known was hers from the moment she truly saw him.

And if his possessiveness matched her own - if his darkness complemented hers - well, that only made the victory sweeter.

After all, what was love if not the perfect molecular bond between complementary elements? Between souls? And they were nothing if not perfectly matched in their obsession.

She'd been right all along - they were meant for each other, designed to fit together with atomic precision. All the data, all her observations and calculations, had led to this inevitable conclusion.

Megumi Fushiguro belonged to her now. And she would sooner tear apart the very fabric of reality than let anyone take him away.

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(Author note: So! Eve finally got what she wanted!

And Sukuna finally is going to try falling in love for the very first time in all his lives.

So, do tell me how you found it.

I hope it didn't feel forced or rushed.

Well, I hope to see you all later,

Bye!)