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Dazai passed out on a mission thanks to a lack of subsistence, in the middle of a shoot out no less. Not only had he passed out, he also lied to Chuuya.
It was common knowledge that for Dazai lying was his default setting. Chuuya had caught him lying on more than one occasion about things they both knew the real answer to. The brunette’s response to even simple questions like how old he is would become a lie. He had once told Chuuya when the redhead asked while filling out hospital paperwork for him that he was twenty-one… he was sixteen.
So in reality Chuuya shouldn’t have been surprised that Dazai lied to him, but their partnership had gotten to a point where Dazai had almost completely stopped lying because there wasn’t a point to it. Chuuya simply knew how to read him too well. However, when Chuuya had asked when the last time he had something other than booze and canned crab was, the redhead was doing paperwork and therefore not watching Dazai’s facial expressions. Sure he could usually tell by the mafioso’s inflection or minor change in wording, but that always took more concentration and his mental energy was split. So when Dazai said he’d gone out with Oda and Ango the night before and had something of real sustenance, he believed him. Big mistake.
At first Chuuya was worried. He watched his partner crumble and land hard on the concrete below him and his first thought was that he’d been shot. When the shooters were all dead and Chuuya realized Dazai was perfectly fine he’d been livid. The temptation to leave the Demon Prodigy there was strong and he would have if not for the fact that Ane-san would be mad. So he spent the entire walk back to headquarters with Dazai floating weightlessly behind him while occasionally letting him smack into streetlights and signs. After Chuuya had been sitting in his apartment a few hours after dropping his partner off at headquarters he was now feeling the incessant nagging need to make sure his partner was okay and to force Dazai to eat something. After diligently ignoring the feeling for two hours, the gravity manipulator gave in and started his trek to Dazai’s shipping container.
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When Dazai woke up he found himself sprawled on the couch in his office. His first instinct was to check and make sure a certain dog wasn’t in the room waiting to chew him out. As it registered that the Chibi indeed wasn’t there a small seed of disappointment settled inside him. The brunette promptly shoved the feeling away and decided that he was going to go back to his place, if he stayed here he’d have to do paperwork and he’d much rather be alone with his thoughts.
He arrived back at his shipping container to find the door over six feet away from the rest of the shelter. Immediately he was on edge and had his hand wrapped around the gun holstered at his hip. Dazai expected many things when he looked inside, his redheaded counterpart glaring at his supply of crab and alcohol was very far down on that list, not out of the realm of possibilities, but surprising nonetheless. Thanks to Chuuya’s superb instincts and honed ability to be completely attuned with his surroundings the short executive new Dazai was staring at him from where the door used to be. He chose not to say anything and instead continued to glare at the mountain of canned crab like it had called him short.
“Slug, why is the door no longer attached to its hinges?” Dazai asked with no trace of anger or annoyance, just completely unfiltered confusion as to why Chuuya literally broke in.
“I thought you were being your normal asshole self and just not answering the door.” Chuuya answered with a shrug, now glaring at the surprisingly large collection of alcohol.
“Okay, but why are you here? Could you really not handle a few hours without me?” Dazai taunted, watching as Chuuya finally whipped around and turned the glare on him and not his food.
“Wrong jackass. I’d love to spend days without seeing your shitty face, but I don’t have that luxury. Instead I have to make sure you don’t get us killed so let’s go.” Chuuya stated, walking past Dazai and grabbing his coat sleeve to make sure he starts walking with him.
Dazai watched in amusement as his dog refused to look at him. Just like he can’t lie to Chuuya, Chuuya can’t lie to him. It was easy to pick out the notes of concern in the other seventeen year olds voice. It made him uncomfortable to think Chuuya cared that much and a part of him he despised more than normal basked in the attention the ginger was paying to him. He stomped on that thought and instead set his mind to catching up and walking next to Chuuya instead of being pulled along.
“Where are we going chibi? Your house is the other way. Did you lose what little amount of brain cells you had left while I was out?” Dazai sounded innocent as he antagonized Chuuya who was quick to respond with a kick to the back of his knees.
“We’re going grocery shopping. Now shut the fuck up and walk.” Chuuya growled, stomping ahead as Dazai recovered from his knees giving out.
“Chuuya’s so mean to me!” Dazai whined as he easily caught up to the still grumbling redhead.
“If you weren’t such an insufferable prick I wouldn’t be. You deserve it.” Chuuya crossed his arms and huffed, tilting his chin up and away from Dazai in what looked like some kind of act of defiance.
“What have I ever done to deserve such treatment?” Dazai clutched his chest in mock offence while turning and walking backwards so he was in the ginger's line of sight.
“Do you want an alphabetized list?” Chuuya’s voice was dripping with sarcasm and he was clearly not amused.
Luckily they arrived at the grocery store before Dazai had to answer. He did not need to be reminded of all the heinous things he’d done in his lifetime, especially by Chuuya. There are already enough people in his life who do that.
Chuuya grabbed a cart as soon as they walked in and Dazai didn’t waste any time climbing inside and sitting down. The only reaction it invoked was an amused snort from the redhead pushing him because with his long, gangly limbs he looked ridiculous. This also wasn’t the first time Dazai had done this. He takes any chance he can get when in stores to embarrass Chuuya or make the trip more difficult. Chuuya always found it amusing, Dazai always ended up being embarrassed, not him. To keep that trend going the mafia executive dumped the cart to the side and watched as the Demon Prodigy unceremoniously rolled out of the cart and landed in a heap of black on the floor in front of the vegetables.
He lay sprawled on the ground until an old lady came up to him and asked if he was okay or needed help while Chuuya had abandoned him and was looking at strawberries. Chuuya laughed as he watched the elderly lady help Dazai up and brush him off, lightly scolding him for lying on the floor where he or someone else could have gotten hurt. Chuuya was biting the inside of his cheek to keep from absolutely losing it as Dazai’s face went pink as the lady patted his cheek that didn’t have a gauze pad tapped to it and ruffled his hair before walking away. The younger teen was clearly dazed as he walked over to Chuuya and he didn’t snap out of it until Chuuya lost the little shred of composure he was holding onto and doubled over laughing. Dazai elected to simply stick his tongue out at the laughing teen before grabbing a bag of lemons and throwing them into the cart.
They had a rule, more so a game they played whenever they went shopping together, if it makes it into the cart it stays there. They were allowed one cart to share and if an item made it in they had to buy it. What else are two extremely rich teenage boys supposed to do inside a grocery store when adults had no dominion over their money? Chuuya groaned looking at the large bag and realizing that he’d have to figure out what to do with all of them. They liked buying random things but they didn’t like wasting.
Dazai grabbed a hold of the cart and started dragging it along behind him with Chuuya in tow standing on the bottom of the cart while leaning against the handles. Their next destination was the candy aisle. The brunette was more than happy to pull Chuuya along and the redhead was more than willing when it came to candy. While they were both the most feared duo in Yokohama, they were also seventeen. So Dazai went straight to the chocolate while Chuuya looked through the fruity candy his partner had stopped the cart in front of. He easily picked out a pack of sour skittles before using one foot to push off and bump into Dazai who was a few feet in front of him staring intently at the different bags of M&M’s. No matter how many times they did this Dazai would always debate over which kind to get and then ultimately end up settling on peanut M&M’s. While Chuuya waited for Dazai to come to the same conclusion he always did, he grabbed a giant bag of Trolli gummy worms for both of them to share when he inevitably comes up with some bullshit excuse later to force Dazai to stay the night because he doesn’t want him to go back to the shipping container and drink himself numb. The older of the two didn’t flinch when the bag of candy was thrown in the cart and easily stopped the half-hearted jab at his ribs Dazai attempted as payback for running into him with the cart.
They continued down the rows of the grocery store with little incident and only small jabs at each other here and there. Dazai watched with a look that could only be described as pure boredom while Chuuya did actual grocery shopping and got things like meats, milk, eggs, noodles, sauces, etc. The only time Dazai was remotely interested was when it was snack foods or if he could somehow make fun of Chuuya for whatever he grabbed (ie many, many, many jokes about Chuuya’s hight and how drinking almond milk wasn’t going to help him grow).
Things went to hell, as they always do, when they got to the soft drink and juice aisle. Dazai had just coaxed a sulking Chuuya from the wine section, considering they were both too young to legally buy it. Now it was Chuuya’s turn to try and drag his partner away from the wall of Monster flavors he was studying.
“Mackerel, you aren’t getting any! How many times do I have to tell you how shitty they are for you?” Chuuya snapped, continuously bumping the cart into Dazai’s hip to try and get him to keep going.
“Chibikko, I don’t care if they’re bad for me. I need to try a new flavor!” Dazai distractedly responded while shoving the cart away from him.
“Then come to the store by yourself and buy it! No way in hell am I dealing with you hopped up on that shit!” Chuuya yelled, coming around the cart to try and pull Dazai away himself.
Dazai didn’t respond verbally. Instead he chose to grab a pack of pink Monster and attempt to put it in the cart. Chuuya easily swiped it from him and put it back in its place. Umber eyes turned to slits as Dazai glared at his partner. The redhead only raised an eyebrow and blocked Dazai’s next attempt to get the energy drinks in the cart. Chuuya used his ability to make the boxes his partner threw at him float above their heads, making it far too easy for him to keep Dazai from attaining his goal. Of course this didn’t last long. Dazai threw up three individual Monster cans and used them to distract Chuuya while he activated his own ability and touched the shorter teen. He obviously didn’t think through his entire plan considering now they were both soaked in exploded Monster Energy drinks and the entire aisle was also covered in it. The brunette had enough sense of mind to not say a word as Chuuya glared at him. Minutes later they were escorted to the checkout where Chuuya made Dazai pay for everything, including the Monster he could now no longer drink. Neither of them are allowed back to that grocery store.
“Look what you did jackass! Now I’m gonna have to shop at the store that’s over half an hour away.” Chuuya groaned as they both walked back to his apartment.
“It’s not my fault! If you would have just let me get the drinks none of this would have happened!” Dazai fought back.
“They’re awful for your body! Why the hell would I let you ingest that?” Chuuya looked at Dazai like he was a moron.
“You aren’t my mother.” Dazai stuck out his tongue and Chuuya’s eye twitched.
“Well someone has to take care of you considering you won't do it.” Chuuya huffed while shouldering open his apartment door.
“I don’t need anyone to take care of me.” Dazai remained stubborn as he took off his shoes and followed Chuuya into the kitchen where they set down their grocery bags.
“You keep telling yourself that.” Chuuya snorted and rolled his eyes as he unpacked the items they bought.
They continued to bicker as they both worked on autopilot. After all, this isn’t the first time they’ve gone shopping and ended up back at Chuuya’s. The older executive set everything aside he’d bought specifically for dinner before calling out to his counterpart trying to make a sneaky escape.
“Sit down.” Chuuya said, whirling around and brandishing the spatula he got out at Dazai.
“But chibi, I’ve already eaten today.” Dazai attempted the lie even though they both knew it was false.
“Sit down and shut up if you’re going to keep lying to me.” Chuuya told him before focusing back on the chicken alfredo he’d decided to make.
Dazai sighed but resigned himself to his fate and plopped down on a barstool while he leaned against the kitchen counter. He placed his cheek in his palm and said nothing as he watched Chuuya expertly move around the kitchen. Dazai always loved watching his partner cook, especially if it was for him. He’s not sure why, but he doesn’t question it. He is well aware of the fact that he wont like the answer. That’s why he settles for turning his brain off as best he can and watching as the redhead snaps apart noodles and throws them into the pot of water that had already started boiling.
By the time dinner was done cooking it was well past the normal time people eat dinner. It didn’t matter to either of them considering Chuuya was starving and Dazai didn’t care if he ate or not. Chuuya had taken one look at Dazai, stared for thirty seconds,then added another small scoop of noodles onto his plate. They both ate in the kitchen instead of at the tiny dining table that was in Chuuya’s apartment. It had been used once by the duo before being declared too weird (they both thought it felt like a date but refused to say so out loud). So now Chuuya was sitting on his kitchen island while Dazai sat at a bar stool as they ate.
“You better eat all of that or I’m holding your M&M’s hostage.” Chuuya proclaimed, pointing his fork at Dazai who was playing with his last few bites of food.
“But you gave me so much!” Dazai complained out of principal, he knew he wasn’t getting out of eating everything on his plate.
“I heard your stomach growl like two minutes ago.” Chuuya stated flatly, giving Dazai a look that told him he wasn’t above forcing it down the brunette’s throat.
Dazai continued to grumble complaints under his breath but finished the food on his plate nonetheless. While Chuuya cleaned up in the kitchen Dazai was in charge of setting up his bed on the couch. The excuse the older came up with to keep Dazai there had been he didn’t trust his fellow mafiosos not to leave and force himself to throw up everything he ate. There was no room to argue in that sentiment, he’d done it before, so Dazai grabbed sheets out of the closet and an extra pillow from Chuuya’s bed before pulling out the couch and getting it ready. He was about to lay down and attempt to fall asleep when a shout came from the kitchen.
“Don’t fucking lay down! Your clothes are still covered in Monster!” Chuuya yelped, grabbing the back of Dazai’s jacket and pulling on it until he stood upright again.
“Well what am I supposed to do about that? In case you haven’t noticed, I'm not a youth small like you.” Dazai teased before being kicked in the ribs.
“Just wait here and don’t touch anything.” Chuuya growled, stomping off to his room before returning and chucking an article of clothing at Dazai’s head. “Not a word.” The redhead gritted through clenched teeth.
Dazai made a confused but curious noise in the back of his throat as he pulled the material up and off his mop of brown curls to see what Chuuya had thrown at him. His confusion only grew as he realized it was a baby blue sweatshirt far too large for his partner to wear. He diligently ignored the strange feeling welling up in his chest as he threw it back to the other executive.
“No thanks. I don’t want to wear one of your one night stands clothes. It might rub off their horrible taste on me.” Dazai forced as much nonchalance as he could into those three sentences while he continued to stomp on the forign emotions taking root in his stomach. It seemed the sweatshirt had already tainted him.
Chuuya scoffed “It’s my sweatshirt dickhead. And for the last time I don’t have one night stands! Where the hell did you even get that idea? I bought it a few weeks ago but it’s too big. Fucking american sizing. I was gonna give it to you anyway the next time you came over so stop being a presumptuous asshole and put it on. No way in hell am I letting you make my couch smell like Monster energy.”
“Fine, fine if Chibi insists.” Dazai waved him off and let the subject drop even if he knew Chuuya lied. He could push, but he’s not sure he’d like the answer. He’s also not even sure what part was a lie.
“Oi! Your bandages need to be changed first.” Chuuya said, stopping Dazai from continuing to unbutton his shirt as he pulled him to the bathroom.
“Aw you keep bandages for me slug?” Dazai laughed as Chuuya pulled out rolls of gauze.
“I keep bandages. Not for you.” Chuuya lied, refusing to look his partner in the eye and Dazai knew it. He laughed lightly but again didn’t push. “Do you want to do it or do you want my help?” Chuuya asked softly, fiddling with the rolls of wrap in his hands.
“Hmm I don’t think I’ll wear them tonight.” Dazai replied as he took the bandages out of Chuuya’s hands and put them back in the cabinet.
Chuuya stared at him dumbfounded before nodding slowly. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen Dazai without them, but it’d always been while rewrapping. Never had Dazai willingly decided to just forgo the bandages entirely.
“Do you want my help to take them off then?” Chuuya hesitated, not exactly sure what to do.
“It’s fine. You’ve still got dishes to finish. Shoo.” Dazai joked and lightly shoved Chuuya towards the bathroom door.
“Just yell if you need me then.” Chuuya mumbled, finally starting to regain his bearings.
Dazai shook his head as Chuuya left. “Such a worrier.” He whispered to himself.
The brunette made quick work of unraveling all his bandages and took great care in making sure he didn’t catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He didn’t need to put himself in a mood while at Chuuya’s. Knowing his dog he’d start to worry even more than usual. When Dazai pulled on the sweatshirt he was surprised at how soft the material was, a lot more comfortable than his normal white button up and Mori’s jacket. The sweatshirt reached down past his mid thigh and he found himself wondering just how Chuuya messed up the sizing this bad. Either way Dazai was pleased because it meant he wouldn’t have to still wear his black slacks to bed.
The executive left the bathroom to find his partner had long since finished with the dishes and was now sprawled out on the armchair in the living room. Chuuya’s nightwear consisted of a loose black t-shirt and red, plaid, fleece pants. Copper hair was up in a bun and out of his face while Chuuya scrolled through his phone. He didn’t look up until Dazai had gracelessly collapsed onto the couch causing Chuuya to chuckle at the youngers starfished form. The blue eyed boy waited until Dazai had made himself comfortable before saying goodnight, turning off the lights, and retreating to his own room.
Tossing and turning soon became too boring to occupy Dazai any longer. After two hours of attempting to sleep he had given up. The rain didn’t help either. It was storming outside, loud cracks of thunder echoed throughout the apartment and flashes of lightning lit up the living room every few minutes, but Dazai didn’t mind that. No, what he cared about was the sound of raindrops hitting the roof. It wasn’t as bad as when he was in the shipping container, they sounded louder there, but the water droplets landing on the building still sounded close enough to gunshots that it made his breath catch in his throat and his whole body tense. Dazai really hated the rain. He was resigning himself to a sleepless night when he caught the sound of feet shuffling on the wooden floorboards during a break in the thunder. Not long after, Chuuya's head popped around the corner and they made eye contact. Oh yeah, he had forgotten his partner also hated storms. Chuuya had never explained why, but Dazai knows it has something to do with the thunder.
The redhead didn’t speak as he made his way over to the couch and crawled across the bed straight to Dazai. Over a year ago they had gotten into the habit of seeking physical comfort from each other after they got stuck in a hotel and had to wait through a tropical storm while overseas on business. Ever since then it wasn’t unusual for them to seek the other out when they know a storm is coming. This time was no different.
Chuuya was quick in making himself comfortable while laying on top of Dazai. He pressed one ear over the brunette’s heart before grabbing Dazai’s hand and pressing it against his still exposed ear so the claps of thunder would be muffled and drowned out by his partner's heartbeat. Dazai used his free hand to pull the blanket he had been using over their heads before settling that hand onto Chuuya’s lower back where he distracted himself by drawing random shapes and patterns with his pointer finger. The weight and warmth of the older teen laying on him was enough to ground Dazai and remind him that he was safe. Chuuya would always keep him safe.
It took a few more hours before Dazai finally fell asleep, only after the rain had slowed to a drizzle. Of course he woke up multiple times throughout the rest of the night, but he was able to fall back asleep faster than usual. When he woke up for good, Chuuya was still asleep on top of him and was starting to stir. The executive woke slowly and yawned while rubbing his eyes. Cobalt eyes snapped open when he realized what he was laying on before gradually peeking up at Dazai.
“Don’t pretend to be asleep mackerel.” Chuuya rasped as his voice got used to being used again.
“Sh! I’m resting my eyes, chibi.” Dazai flashed a shit eating grin before being smacked on the chest.
In retaliation Dazai flicked Chuuya’s forehead. After threatening to bite Dazai’s finger off, his partner finally rolled off him and made his way into the kitchen. Rustling and the clang of pots and pans filled the tranquil atmosphere.
“What do you want for breakfast? Nothing isn’t an option.” Chuuya called out and Dazai stifled a groan into the pillow he’d used.
Chuuya walked back into the living room with a pan in hand before declaring they were having pancakes. Dazai didn’t make a fuss as he cracked a smile while looking at the other teens’ sleep disheveled appearance. He couldn’t help but think that maybe he should let Chuuya take care of him more often if it meant he got to see this all the time. Dazai could get used to this.