Chapter Text
Ever since Chuuya became the Mafia’s boss, Dazai fell into the habit of sneaking into the other’s office after hours to read the files. Dazai wasn’t afraid to call it spying. True, if he asked, Chuuya probably would tell him everything he needed to know – Dazai still had that effect on him – but where would be the fun in that? Sneaking was way more entertaining. The thrill of adventure, the risk of being caught, the quite real possibility of Chuuya ordering his people to shoot him on sight were all too enticing to let them pass.
As it turned out Chuuya tried to outsmart him. He figured out why Dazai liked to sneak into the office and instead of making it harder for him (and in turn more exciting) he practically left the door open, sent all the passcodes in an email and told the guards to let him pass through. Not fun at all.
His mood was already foul when Dazai reached the top floor and it got even worse when he saw the chaos on Chuuya and Sigma’s desks. He hoped to at least mess with their paperwork but even that they had to spoil for him.
Pouting Dazai set to find a marker pen to scribble all over the files after he would be done reading them. After all, he had to do something . And if that meant that Sigma would have to work after hours? Well, Chuuya should know better than to ruin his fun.
Dazai never turned on the lights in the office – he usually read the files near the window using moonlight, or his phone’s torch. Tonight the sky was cloudy and he could barely see the desk, so he used the phone to lit his way. Chuuya was bound to have a pen somewhere.
While he directed the light at the desk, the glow made the rest of the office visible as well. Dazai’s gaze fell onto the couch at the back of the room. Sure enough he saw a shape there, whose presence didn’t surprise him at all.
Chuuya had always taken his responsibilities seriously. Ever since he became boss of the Port Mafia it verged on obsession. More often than not Dazai found him sleeping on the office couch, covered in papers in place of a blanket.
Dazai sighed, deciding his snooping around could wait a few seconds and set to find said blanket. Chuuya always had one hidden somewhere at the back. Together with a pillow.
As Dazai drew closer, an uncomfortable feeling set in his stomach. The shape on the couch was too big to be Chuuya. Did somebody else sneak into the office before Dazai got the chance?
The detective’s hand fell on the hilt of his gun. He wouldn’t mind being attacked and killed by a burglar (as long as the death was quick and painless) but he couldn’t allow anyone else have access to the Mafia files. It would put the whole city at risk.
As it turned out, he needn’t have to worry. Actually, Dazai barely surpassed a giggle at the sight that greeted him on the couch.
Dazai once said that Chuuya was wrong to see similarities between himself and Sigma. After all, Chuuya already found his place while Sigma was still so hopelessly lost. Chuuya objected. They were exactly the same, in his opinion.
Well, Dazai wasn’t sure then, but now? Definitely. Somehow Chuuya managed to drag the other man down to his level and now they both slept on the couch, files scattered all around them, limbs tangled together, with peaceful expressions painted over both of their faces.
Sigma had his arm around Chuuya, as if even in his unconscious state trying to make him feel comfortable, while Chuuya rested his head on the other man’s shoulder. Drooling all over the expensive material of the light coat. Chuuya had always been rather graceless while asleep.
Dazai really wanted to take a photo and… He didn’t care if the flash woke them both up so he did. Sigma frowned and Chuuya pushed his head further into the other’s neck but neither woke up. Mission – success!
The blanket was in its usual place, so Dazai draped it over both of their forms, though probably, tangled as they were, they didn’t need any extra heat.
While the flash did not wake Chuuya, the sudden movement finally managed it.
“Sigma?” the redhead mumbled, snuggling closer to his sleeping companion. “It’s still dark, go back to sleep.”
Dazai could have kept quiet and his ex-partner wouldn’t even notice him.
“Guess again, shrimp!” he whisper-shouted.
Chuuya’s head shot up as he tried to sit straighter without actually moving from his spot.
“What the hell are you doing here, you mummy?” he hissed.
“Well, somebody sent me all of their access codes. I’m here to change them.” Honestly, Dazai was surprised the thought hadn’t occurred to him sooner but now as he said it, it seemed like such a great and obvious idea.
“Don’t you dare. If you do that, I’ll start sending you messengers with the files and healthy meals to your home. See how fun you find your game then!”
“Chuuya is so cruel,” Dazai whined.
The high pitched sound made Sigma squirm. The other two froze until the movement ceased and Chuuya breathed a sigh of relief.
“Get what you came here for and piss of,” Chuuya said, his voice barely audible. “I’m too exhausted to deal with you today.”
“Are you sure you’re the exhausted one? You seem to worry about me waking somebody else much more than disturbing your sleep.”
“Okay, we’re both exhausted.” Chuuya admitted. “It has been a hard week. We had to deal with a small human trafficking circle that tried to establish a branch in Yokohama. Some really sleazy types making sleazy comments while we interrogated them. I lost my temper and broke a guys arm. He didn’t seem so inclined to admire my soft features then.”
“And Sigma’s unique hair,” Dazai added.
Chuuya snuggled closer to his assistant and that was all the conformation Dazai needed.
His former partner, while living in the criminal underworld, in the same organization as Ace of all people, had zero tolerance for enslavement. If Fyodor hadn’t killed Ace when he did, Chuuya certainly would once he took over the organization. After all, his earliest memory was the one of being locked up and drowned in darkness. Arahabaki was caught for the very purpose of being controlled and used, regardless of his own will. So was Chuuya.
Dazai rarely did what he was about to do but that only made the offer more binding and honest.
“Do you need any help with that? I could drop a word to Kunikida. He wouldn’t even have to know it’s one of your cases. We could take over.”
“And have your Atsushi deal with it? No, thank you, we’re fine.” Then, Chuuya said more softly. “Or we will be fine.” After a few minutes of silence Chuuya added. “Do you know how hard it was to convince Sigma he deserves a comfortable life? He acts so self confident most of the time, you wouldn’t even notice the doubt crawling underneath the mask.”
“I know what you mean.” Dazai replied. “After all, you said so yourself. You are exactly the same. You always felt the need to be allowed to live as well.”
“So did you,” Chuuya retorted. “Did you find your acceptance with the Agency?”
Dazai did not expect the conversation to turn to him but, after a short deliberation, he felt confident to say:
“Yes. Yes, I did. To a degree, at least. Oda was right, it’s better for me on the side that saves people.”
“And it’s better for me on the side that can eradicate the scum,” Chuuya replied. “I don’t think I could be content just locking them up.”
“I know.”
“But… I’m still not sure what works best for him. He seems fine here so far, but what if all the bloodshed proves to be too much?”
“Sigma had been a part of the Decay of Angels, he is fine with blood.”
“Not by his choice,” Chuuya objected. “He’s still getting used to being free because under no circumstances would I call working for Fyodor ‘freedom’. Once he is confident enough, he may chose to leave the mafia.”
Dazai sighed.
“We know what happens when people do that.”
Broken jaw, three shots to the chest. Since Chuuya was Sigma’s direct supervisor, he would be the one forced to do that.
Chuuya hated traitors but just as much he hated unjustified executions. He had no problem killing spies or people who turned to enemy organizations but if a person just wanted to leave and be done with this kind of life, he had trouble following orders, even as the most loyal mafia dog. As the boss, he would not be able to show any weakness at all.
“You’re the boss now, you can change the rules,” Dazai reminded him.
“I will get there. For now… It seems that with the help of SAD one can leave the Mafia and join the Agency without the risk to their life.”
Dazai knew what Chuuya was suggesting.
“I don’t know if I would be able to pull enough strings to…”
“You would,” Chuuya cut him off. “You owe me that much for all I’ve done for you. And he deserves it. Besides, Atsushi would be happy to have him in the Agency. Don’t you want Atsushi happy?”
“That’s a low blow Chuuya, using Atsushi against me. Really low. Though, with your height, you probably wouldn’t be able to reach any higher.”
“Fucking asshole,” Chuuya was positively fuming, “just tell me you’ll do it and piss off.”
Dazai’s face turned serious.
“I will,” he promised.
After all, Dazai himself, the demon prodigy, had been given a chance at redemption. How could he deny it to somebody else?
Chuuya sighed in relief. His tout muscles relaxed and he fell back into the warm embrace of his assistant.
“Good. Thank you.”
“Sure.”
Dazai straightened his back and looked around the office.
“I guess there’s no point in me snooping around if you’re here and awake. Anything interesting happened that you'd like to share?”
“Just the human trafficking ring, we’re still going over the reports. Come back in two days.”
“Perfect, thanks. See you around.”
“I would rather gouge my eyes out than look at you again.”
Dazai smiled. Good, they were back on familiar waters. All that honest talk with Chuuya was starting to give him the creeps. Chuuya had never been so soft and open at the same time, even when they were dating. Sigma was changing him, most likely for the better.
“Yeah, I’d rather gouge your eyes too. A blind Chuuya would be funnier to watch.”
“Just piss off, will you?”
Dazai stuck his tongue out and did as he was told to. He left, not before snatching random files from Chuuya’s desk. The angry hissing that followed him all the way to the exit made him smile a bit brighter.
*
Fucking Dazai. Chuuya had to calm his breathing before snuggling back closer to Sigma and finding comfortable position again. Of course, the menace had to pop in when needed the least. Chuuya was really not in the mood to deal with him. To deal with anybody if he was being honest. All he wanted was to sleep. And then, go out for a coffee with Sigma and forget that certain kinds of people even existed in this word.
Truth be told, Chuuya mused hugging the blanket, as much as Sigma needed support after their last case, so did Chuuya. He was so fucking grateful Sigma stayed the night. His calm presence much more comforting than the empty office could ever be.
If Sigma ever decided to leave the Mafia… Well, Chuuya wouldn’t be alone, exactly. He still had Kouyou, and Michizou, and Hirotsu, and, well, his whole organization. He was the boss, after all. But… it wouldn’t be the same.
Over the course of the last few months, he and Sigma grew close together. They were friends. Maybe they could be more. Chuuya didn’t want to lose it, not again.
On the other hand, he didn’t want to trap Sigma in a life the other wouldn’t want. How would that make him better than Dostoevsky, even if he had good intentions?
If Sigma decided to leave the Mafia, Chuuya would not be the one to stop him. Regardless of how painful it would be.
The stress of the last few days and his own spiraling thoughts wouldn’t let him sleep. Curse Dazai for waking him up. Couldn’t he just wait one day? One single day? Chuuya had been hoping for a peaceful night for a change and that bastard had to waltz in and ruin everything, as always.
“Relax,” Sigma muttered sleepily into his hair. “Go back to sleep. I’m not going anywhere.”
Instead of relaxing Chuuya froze. Sigma was awake? Since when? How much of the conversation did he hear?
“You might. You may. I’m not going to stop you.”
“That’s fantastic but still, I won’t leave. At least I don’t think I will. I like it here. It’s great to have a choice, though.”
Chuuya breathed a sigh of relief. Sigma was staying. It was more than he could have hoped for. His shoulders relaxed and Sigma hugged him closer.
“It is great.”
Chuuya himself wasn’t sure if he was agreeing with Sigma or making a general observation about their current position. Most likely both. He didn’t have time to muse about it. His eyelids soon became heavy and it wasn’t like he needed to stay awake so he let them close and drifted off to sleep, Sigma’s arms never leaving their post, offering the warmest form of support one could imagine.