Chapter Text
The thing is, Chuuya realizes, that I get too used to everything around me.
Because in the past he got used to thinking that he has his marriage perfect way. Then he got used to a crying baby, to shushing it at night, rocking the small girl in his arms, half asleep as well. He got used to the tons of divorce papers and then got used to their new flat. Only his and Kyouka's.
After living in the new place for more than two months by now he has the whole grocery shop nearby memorized by heart. He knows where every damn thing is, where is Kyouka's favourite cereal and where they put the freshest fruits and vegetables.
Then, /please/, someone explain to him why would they change the wine section?
The shop is pretty empty at this hour, Kyouka walking freely nearby, looking at the liquors in fancy bottles, as her father has an existential crisis.
His favourite dry red wine... has been moved.
It's not in the middle section now, no. It's on the fucking top.
And maybe any other person would just get on their tiptoes and get it with little to no effort, but Chuuya stopped growing after hitting 18th birthday.
To his despair, he doesn't see any type of a small ladder nearby. Not even an employee that could help him out or bring the wine from the back of the store.
"Daddy, what is it?" a small girl tugs at the sleeve of his dark coat.
"Nothing, bunny," he says, smiling when she beams at the pet name. "I guess daddy has to choose a different wine today" he explains, taking one of the bottles closest to him to see the label. "If you want, go and choose /one/ snack for yourself, okay? But just one" he says, already not looking where his daughter is going.
Like that, he doesn't see that Kyouka goes to the section with whiskey and stronger alcohol right to the only tall person on her radar.
"Sir? Sorry, can you help me?" she asks, looking at the man in a beige coat, that other than a few vegetables has 10 cans of crab in his shopping cart.
Dazai blinks, confused, but then smiles lightly.
"Uh, yeah? What is it? Did you lose your parents?".
"No, no! I'm too smart for that!" she exclaims very proudly, and then reaches for his hand. Hands that are way bigger compared to hers and so she only can hold three of his fingers. "You need to get us something. It's all the way up on the top shelf" she explains as if Dazai was her age.
"You sure have a lot of energy, huh" goes without any type of response as they make their way to the wine aisle.
"Daddy! Daddy, look what I got!".
"Better not be these chocolate cookies with bubble gum filling, they were atrocious," says Chuuya, tucking held bottle back in its place between the others. That's when he looks at Kyouka and then...
"Kyouka, that's a man" he blinks a few times, already reaching for his daughter's shoulder protectively. "Why-- I'm sorry for her" he quickly blurts out to the man that is just standing there now, visibly enjoying the scene. Chuuya looks back at Kyouka. "You can't just start talking to strangers and bringing them wherever you want... Why would you...".
"She said that's something is on the top shelf" the man chimes in, brown eyes flickering with amusement as both of them acknowledge their height difference. "And so I think I can help".
Chuuya opens his mouth, petty swear words sitting heavily on his tongue, but then there's Kyouka next to him and so he shouldn't let them slip. His cheeks with patterns of freckles, as Dazai notices very quickly, turn red.
"It's this red wine" he points at it, right after that mumbling: "Bastards changed the shelves. Before it was right there...".
He quickly takes the offered bottle with a quiet "thank you", praying that the stranger goes where he came from, looking at the bottle in his hand.
"Is something wrong?" Dazai tilts his head and before the redhead can answer, the girl speaks out:
"Daddy always buys two" she smiles as if she did a good job, but Chuuya starts wondering about getting groceries alone from now on.
The man in front of him laughs, and Chuuya glances back at him. The sound of it stirs something inside of him. Something, a specific feeling, that has been forgotten so long ago.
"Two? Is it for your mom as well?".
The warm swirling sensation somewhere in his chest dies right at this question and once again it's Kyouka that answers.
"No, no, just for him".
Great, now he thinks I'm an alcoholic, thinks Chuuya, trying to get his daughter to be quiet again, but apparently, she decides that the random man in a supermarket is her best listener.
"My mom lives in Kyoto. And so daddy always gets two bottles" she then makes a long, loud "hmmm" noise and nods to herself. "Sometimes my aunt 'Kiko visits! But then they buy four!" she stretches out four little fingers, to show Dazai that she means "four" just in case she said the number wrong.
"Okay, that's enough" stops her Chuuya, tugging at her ponytail and starting to push their trolley towards another aisle. "Thank you...".
He looks up (god, he's so fucking tall). Blue eyes meet hazel ones.
They make him think about melted chocolate and evenings by the fire.
"Dazai. It's Dazai".
His chest seems to get something wrong because it fills itself with a weird warmth that Chuuya doesn't recognize yet.
"Chuuya. And here is a troublemaker Kyouka" he pats the girl's head, right after that carefully fixing up one of her ponytails with red ribbons. "Say thank you, bunny".
"Thank you, Dazai" she smiles and waves him goodbye before grabbing Chuuya's hand and going towards the cash registers. He waves back and winks at her when she looks over her shoulder.
They're waiting in the queue when Chuuya sighs quietly.
"Kyouka you can't just come and talk to strangers like that...".
"But he helped us," the girl says, pouting. "And... I liked him, daddy".
"Bunny, you barely know him and...".
"You said /when you know, you know/. And I /know/ that I like him" she looks down at her shoes and then back at her dad, similar blue eyes staring back at her. "And I think you would like him too...".
At the same time Dazai, after collecting other things from his shopping list comes back to the same wine aisle, reaching for the top shelf and looking at the overpriced wine that a specific chibi seemingly likes so much.
It shouldn't hurt to try, right?