Chapter Text
‘Hey, asshole! Get back here!’
Chuuya had bounded halfway to the door, now slightly crumpled bill in hand, when he was forced to come to an abrupt stop.
Elise had grabbed his apron from behind, essentially halting his frantic pursuit.
‘What, are you going to chase him across the street?’, she asked with a laugh.
‘Tch, so what if I was? I bet he thinks he’s mocking me or something, that bastard.’, Chuuya replied, feeling very much like a kitten caught by the scruff of its neck in Elise’s grasp.
His eyes tracked Shuuji as he walked with long graceful strides across the street, pausing only to wipe his glasses with the hem of his shirt when they fogged up due to the humidity.
He had to balance his drink and the box of crepes precariously in one hand as he did, and the subsequent stumble to catch them had Chuuya’s lips quirking in amusement.
‘Yes.’, Elise replied dryly, letting go of him. ‘Ten thousand yen. Ha ha, very funny.’
Shirase poked his head out of the kitchen doorway on hearing that.
‘Ten thousand yen?’
‘Yeah, the rich asshole left a tip.’, Chuuya replied dismissively. ‘It’s probably pocket change for him, though.’
‘Exactly why there's no reason for you to try and return it.’, Elise sighed. ‘Plus he was pretty annoying. Maybe this was his way of compensating you for putting up with him.’
- Elise wished Dazai would also get the urge to compensate her with a couple thousand yen once in a while, dear reader. She’d been putting up with him for close to half a year now, and sweets certainly weren’t cheap. -
‘I’m heading back to work. Try not to beat up any more customers, okay?’, Elise continued.
‘Yeah, yeah.’, Chuuya replied, still staring down at the money in his hands like it was a gift from the gods.
Shirase came to stand beside him as Elise left, making a playful grab for the note.
Chuuya practically growled, stuffing it into his pocket.
‘Don’t even try. Lots of help you were back then.’
Shirase looked away. ‘I’m sorry, okay? It’s just- this job is important to me, and I didn’t want to lose it by getting in a fight with a customer.’
Chuuya understood his reasoning, but scoffed all the same.
‘As if Kyouka would ever fire you.’
Shirase’s upturned eyes met his with a smile.
‘Yeah, she loves you too much for that. And you love me, right Chuuya~?’
‘Shut up, dickhead. Get back in the kitchen.’
Shirase laughed, complying easily.
‘Ne, I’ll take you and Yuan for drinks tonight. With the money.’, Chuuya continued.
‘I love you.’, came the expected reply.
Ten hours later had Chuuya stumbling back into the creperie, seeing as he’d forgotten the keys to his apartment there yet again.
‘Shhhh…’, he groaned as the wind chimes sounded loudly above his head. He locked the door behind him, not bothering to turn the lights on before falling to his hands and knees behind the counter to see if he’d dropped them there.
It was early, only about one in the morning. Chuuya normally stayed later, but Yuan had to come into work at eight tomorrow for the weekend shift. When he'd told her about the shithead that had come in earlier, Yuan's only response was to ask if he was hot, to which Chuuya replied that he didn't know, since Shuuji had never taken his mask off.
Shirase had tapped out pretty soon too, taking full advantage of Chuuya’s generosity and downing shots left and right. When he’d tried to pick a heated fight with a barstool, Chuuya made the executive decision that it was maybe time to leave.
After two -and a half, Shirase had split the rest all over the barstool- glasses of wine, Chuuya felt pleasantly buzzed, vision slightly fuzzy around the edges. A soft metallic rattle as Chuuya found his keys, pocketing them. Probably because of something outside.
The windchimes trilled again as he stood up, swaying a little as he clutched the marble for balance.
A silhouette outlined by moonlight in the doorway, tall frame and wide eyes.
‘Hey, what the hell?’, Chuuya slurred. ‘The door was locked..’
The figure dragged a hand down their face, swearing under their breath.
Chuuya cocked his head, looking them over before hate fueled recognition filled his gaze.
‘You!’, he gasped, - significantly more dramatically than necessary, dear reader. I for one, thought it was quite obvious that Dazai would make his way back sooner rather than later.-
‘Me.’, Shuuji agreed. ‘Why are you even here? You’re really throwing a wrench into my plans…’
That last part was muttered under his breath through his mask. He’d lost the glasses and was wearing all black, like an amateur criminal from a movie who thought it would help them blend into the shadows. Shuuji was already shady enough, in Chuuya’s opinion.
He laughed a little out loud at his joke -I really can’t even blame his addled sense of humor on him being drunk, dear reader, but Dazai had in fact picked up all his knowledge about criminals from various action films he’d been on set for in the past, so actually Chuuya was right on the money -, to Shuuji’s apparent confusion.
‘I left my keys…Why the fuck are you here?’
Shuuji didn’t respond, and was slowly trying to inch his way back out the door.
‘Wait! No fucking way….’
Shuuji abandoned all subtlety and fully turned around, grasping at the doorknob.
‘You really thought we’d leave Baki here? Alone, all night?’
Chuuya stumbled over to the taller man, before rising to his full height to tug at the sleeve of Shuujis sweatshirt over his -surprisingly defined, for such a beanpole- bicep.
‘Well yes, that’s what I would have done….You do seem like you let your emotions get the best of you though, so I should’ve expected you letting Blitz into your home. You really are quite interesting…’
‘Stop with your fucking rambling.’, Chuuya said, voice muffled against the fabric where he’d slumped against Shuujis arm.
‘Ah, that’s another way we’re different. I for one, would never turn up drunk to my workplace in the middle of the night. You should really follow my example next time, chibi.’
‘What the hell did you just call me?!’
‘Chibi~’, Shuuji replied, enunciating the word clearly.
Chuuya had the wildest thought that his voice sounded kind of nice, silky and smooth and weirdly familiar.
‘You know, I was wondering why I didn’t see you when I came in. You’re short, but not that tiny. You must have been crawling around behind the counter like a dog for me to have missed you.’
Then, a second later-
‘Ow, what the fuck? Did you just bite me?!’
Chuuya whined unintelligibly from where his teeth had closed over fabric. With his nose buried in the black material, he could appreciate the scent of… coconut, he thought.
Long fingers tangled in his hair, pulling his head away from Shuuji’s arm far more gently than he expected. Blue eyes focused blearily on Shuujis face, eyebrows drawn with concern.
The expression of worry was gone a split second later, and so was his grip on Chuuya.
He seemed to be conflicted, glancing toward the door and back at the redhead.
Finally, Chuuya got tired of waiting and asked the burning question.
‘What laundry detergent do you use? Smells really nice….’
Shuuji stared hard at him for a few seconds.
‘Come on, I’m dropping you to your apartment.’
‘Haah?!’, Chuuya exclaimed far too loudly. ‘No way in hell am I going anywhere with you!’
‘I didn’t think it was possible for you to get more stubborn, but here we are…’, Shuuji said quietly, almost like he was talking to himself.
‘You try to steal Baki, and when that doesn’t work, you fucking break in?! How did you even unlock the door?’
Shuuji sighed, reaching out to grab his wrist. His touch was cold, grounding Chuuya’s spiking pulse.
‘You’re clearly more drunk than I thought. Get in the car and I’ll tell you, okay?’
‘I told you- ‘M not coming!’
‘Come on, I promise I’m not going to murder you or anything.’
Chuuya eyed him warily.
‘Yeah, I bet you said that about breaking and entering too.’
‘Guilty as charged.’
Chuuya couldn’t see the lower half of the bastard’s face, but he could practically feel the smirk in his words.
‘Tch, get lost.’
‘You’re seriously going to sleep here? Alone all night?’, Shuuji questioned incredulously.
- To be candid, dear reader, Chuuya had absolutely no idea what he was going to do. He’d taken a taxi here, but hailing another one to reach his apartment this late would be a hassle, and he’d already blown all the money Shuuji had given him. -
‘Yeah?...I mean, I guess it’s not the worst place I’ve slept..’
Shuuji could hear the uncertainty in the redhead’s tone, so he wasn’t surprised that Chuuya put up barely any resistance when the former pulled him out of the door by his wrist.
He slipped into the spacious passenger seat of a shiny black car parked outside, putting his feet up onto the seat and curling his arms around his knees.
Shuuji glanced over at him and he turned the key in the ignition, warm earthy gaze softening.
‘The fuck are you looking at?’, Chuuya slurred.
‘Just wondering if you’ll shed all over the expensive seats…I usually wouldn’t let dogs in the car, you see.’
‘Shut up and drive. Block 15.’
‘So demanding…’
Against his better judgement, Chuuya felt his eyes drooping closed. The cushioned leather seats really were comfortable, and they were heated too, that rich bastard.
‘Hey, don’t fall asleep on me, I still need you to give me directions.’
‘Hm? Okay…’
Chuuya felt vaguely like he was forgetting something else as he instructed Shuuji, but dismissed the thought when his building came into view a few minutes later.
‘Yeah, just drop me off here.’
The car slowed to a stop, engine purring in the background as Chuuya stumbled out of the door.
‘Think you can get up to your apartment okay?’
‘Mhmm.’, Chuuya hummed sleepily, making his way to the doors.
‘I’ll see you tomorrow then.’, Shuuji said before driving away.
Chuuya managed to make it to his bed in an alcohol induced haze, remembering at the last second to kick his shoes off before face planting onto the sheets.
He cursed the stupid alarm he’d forgotten to turn off the next morning, blindly staggering to the bathroom with what had to be the mother of all hangovers. It was only after he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror did the events of the last night come rushing back to him, crashing like a wave onto shore with a decided what the fuck.