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Atsushi entered the office to the sound of chatter and low volume holiday music, the smell of chocolate and a cold wind grazing his skin, it made him calm. The whole building was decorated according to the time of the year and the people inside said hello to him.
The floor was almost empty, the president was out finishing the last business of the year, Kenji and the Tanizaki siblings were away celebrating with their respective families, Yosano had taken Kyoka with her for the last of the Christmas shopping and Kunikida, Dazai and Rampo were just leaving.
Now Atsushi was alone in the office, only the noise of the clicking letters of the computer he was working his report on (or more like Dazai’s report that he didn't do) no one around to distract him, yet still he couldn't focus.
The staggering of clicks, trying once and time again to continue with his task at hand and failing mid way once more, just in the side of his eye he could see it, he couldn't stop seeing it.
Staring at the lights and ornaments that hung from the tree, he felt like they were mocking him, moving slightly from side to side with the light breeze that came from the window Rampo left open, he could almost hear their teasing laughs, inviting him to play, teasing him to drop his guard.
The clicking stopped completely, no more writing, Atsushi stared intently at the tree, like a predator to its clueless prey trying not to scare it away, the slits in his eyes were so wide that you almost couldn't see the beautiful colors, a pair of inconspicuous tiger ears appeared on his head, laying completely flat and attentive as his tail stayed straight with no movement.
He waited a moment, thinking, planning, completely forgetting what he was supposed to be doing.
Then, he attacked, with a single jump Atsushi traveled all the way from his seat to the tree, landing on top of it right at the middle, the ornaments clinked with the aggressive action capturing the attention of the feline killer that went after them next, he viciously bit and scratched everything that he could gets his claws in, making the tree shake dangerously, some of the branches catching his clothes and messing up his carefully brushed hair
He held a vicious fight, colorful lights flickering, balls rolling on the floor having fallen from the tree, right after defeating the threatening wreath, the base of the tree finally gave out and fell to the floor with him.
He landed first, his back harshly hitting the floor, the green menace falling on top of him, he let out a loud growl, trying to escape the pernicious branches that grabbed his clothes and scratched his skin, after getting out and giving the final blows with a hiss he finally started calming down, the threat had been eliminated, the brave warrior could rest now.
Then he realized what had actually gone down.
He had taken down the christmas tree, the same christmas tree that Kunikida had worked hard to put up together last week, taking off Dazai´s obscene joke ornaments and warning them all to be really careful to not mess it up, their beautiful white tree with perfectly organized red and green colors. A cold sweat washed over him, guilt and fear started to pool in his stomach, Kunikida was going to be so mad at him, everybody was going to be so disappointed, his first Christmas with his beloved family, friends and his loving partner and this is what he did? ruin it for everyone. Suddenly he felt like vomiting, crying, or maybe both.
He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down and standed up to scan the mess. The tree was mostly fine, a couple of the spotlights were busted and ornaments were all over the floor, some broken to pieces and some kind of okey. He hurried to try and get everything together but the tree refused to stand up now and his anxiety was getting worse by the second, he could hear the headmaster’s voice in the back of his head, telling him he didn't deserve a Christmas, he was a monster that only knows how to ruin and destroy.
Then he heard it, the sound of steps and light talking, someone was back, he silently screamed, panicking even more, trying desperately to prepare something, an apology, an excuse, a lie, absolutely anything would do, when Dazai and Kyoka finally stepped inside the room they founded him mid panic attack.
They quickly approached him concerned, worried that they had been attacked or worse. After a couple minutes of both of them helping Atsushi settle down, the poor albino was finally able to get some words out.
"I- Im sorry" - he started - "I destroyed the tree" - he tried his hardest to keep his voice steady, he felt ridiculous, crying for a decoration he himself teared down, still he just couldn't stop his feelings from pouring out, specially in front of the two people he felt the safest with, he felt Kyoka’s hug and Dazai patting his head in a comforting manner, their loving support making his actions feel heavier.
"What happened" - Dazai questioned, they both looked at the tree and began to try to puzzle everything together.
"But why?" Kyoka couldn’t help but wonder, still not completely getting it.
"I'm not sure…" Atsushi said, embarrassed, he himself could not comprehend his sudden behavior.
Dazai hummed thinking, a small smile starting to appear in his face now that he was sure they were out of danger -"I think it was his instincts".
Both Kyoka and Atsushi now looked at him with uncertainty so Dazai further explained - "His tiger instincts to be more specific, Maybe now that you are more in touch with your ability and that side of you, you are developing new… feline behavior, that was forcefully repressed before”.
This new explanation seemed to do the trick, realization starting to settle in Atsushi's face.
“Like when he licks his wounds after a battle even though Yosano lectures him about it?”- Kyoka asked.
“Yeah, I think so”- Dazai said.
“Or how he munches on every pencil or office material he can get his hands on?”- Kyoka asked again, Dazai chuckled, noticing what Kyoka was trying to do- “Yes, that too”.
“And when he whines instead of just saying he is hungry-” she was cutted off by Atsushi- “All right that's enough i get the point!”.
Dazai and Kyoka laughed teasing him, relieved that Atsushi seemed less overwhelmed now.
“...What are we going to do about the tree?”- Atsushi shyly asked.
“We will make it again”- Dazai roughly but playfully messed with his hair - “Together”.
Atsushi finally smiled again, nodding his head - “Okay”.
They put the base of the tree back up and gathered all of the discarded decorations, sometimes making quick trips to get new ones to replace the battered old ones, as members of the agency arrived back they joined them in the decorating process. Kunikida almost blew up at them but Dazai carefully explained the situation to him and he calmed back down, he went to Atsushi and patted his back.
“Well we can't blame you for what your ability has you do, just be more careful next time. If anything this a sign that you are becoming more comfortable with yourself, i can't possibly be angry at you for something like that… I am a bit annoyed nonetheless”- Atsushi frantically nodded, stunned that Kunikida didn't even scold him.
When they were finally done with the tree they all took a step back to admire their work, the sparkling decorations of colorful colors, everybody had hanged some of their own decorations, some of the balls were scratched, the tree missing a few branches and tilting slightly to the side. It had never looked more perfect.
A few hours later their Christmass party officially started and their guests from the mafia and the cafe arrived. They all celebrated together, putting any differences aside for the night and exchanging gifts with each other. The atmosphere felt light and Atsushi felt a sense of ease, the memories of a cold cage felt so far away they slipped his mind completely, only happiness and love inside of him.
The party, the decorations, his family, his friends and his beloved, everything was delightful