Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue

Chuuya was fighting for his life.

Fighting for his city. His home. His country.

His hands held the power of destruction. His body was the essence of hell, a specimen that should be eradicated from this land. One that did not belong.

It vanquished anything in sight, anything that dared sway or move.

This was actually not Chuuya fighting for his life.

No, this was a god. It was inhabited deep inside. Nestled inside his body in a place where it could never be removed, like a parasite.

His flaming orange hair flicked in the slight breeze that picked up through the very earth itself seemed to breathe, to acknowledge that the beast inside Chuuya wasn’t supposed to be there.

The living catastrophe yet still stood, ancient, scarlet red runes the color of blood stained his body, his soul . They looked like grape vines that wound around his arms, legs, and face. Some of those vines shot off into little eyes, unblinking, forever staring. It felt eerie as the very energy radiating off Chuuya pulsed .

His once, gorgeous blue eyes, the color of a storm stirring in the ocean, reduced to nothing more than pinpoints zeroed in on its target.

And the thing inside him wouldn’t stop until it’s exterminated.

Or, until he died.

And currently, he was up against the creature that was sworn against humankind and sought to destroy it.

It’s flesh was as black as the midnight sky, it’s scales as the smoothest ice across the most still of ponds. Its eyes, seemingly hundreds of purple slits gazing down below at the city it’s talons crushed phased out of thought. The only desire was to create chaos. It’s body writhed as the very essence it was made of did not wish to take part of its own body anymore.

The creature itself knew nothing but the thought of a world with no life. Only silence.

So, reined true to its dearest wish, its great talons, bigger than a garbage truck, crushed the landlines, snapped electric poles, and smushed buildings like grapes as though it were nothing. 

The thing's tail lashed, whipping the air and creating waves of energy that crackled and shook the skies, just like its talons planting one claw after another in large, thunderous steps. Its jaws, larger than the size of an average school bus had teeth as sharp as jagged rocks, slicing through anything like butter.

It was, in essence, another form of hell. Just like Chuuya.

It was a nightmare.

It was death.

Its name? Guivre .

Chuuya faced off with a renewed vigor, throwing energy gathered from his body and storing them into a packed spherical ball, which sucked all light and dissolved near anything except Chuuya in its path. It was a black hole.

He threw two more down at the creature. Knocking its body back, making it fumble a few steps.

This is what Dazai watched from the top of a nearby building, eye wide, his expression clearly showing he was astonished. He gripped the edge of a building until his knuckles grew white from the pressure, biting his lip as he watched the battle, unsure of when it will commence, weary in hopes the creature Chuuya faced again won’t destroy much. Or, at least, as much as they've already had.

Dazai lifted his hand and stared at his upturned palm, a few bandages wrapped around his wrist, arm, and so on. In fact, one would say he was probably made out of bandages, he enjoyed wearing them for reasons unknown, and he was never seen without them. They covered all his limbs, including his neck, and some raveling around the side of his head, obscuring his right eye.

The uncovered mocha—nearly a maroon-red eye continued to stare at the hand. The one that held the ebony radio that communicated to other Port Mafia officials.

He abandoned the radio a few feet away, intent on watching the battle now instead of issuing orders. The little thing was blasting gunfire, shouts, screams, and commands from the other side of the receiver, which he had no intention of listening to it all.

He lifted his head once more, brunette hair fluttering in the harsh wind billowing past him now, eye narrowing. “Time to go.” He said aloud, but only something that he would hear, for not a soul was this close to the carnage unfolding in front of him. Quite a sight to behold, with the flashes of red and purple light contradicting each other and exploding once they collided, creating a mass of white flashes every so often. He turned briskly as he headed down the side steps of the building, one foot after another as quickly as possible, but also precariously placed so he wouldn't trip and begin an agonizing tumble down the steps. He deemed it a better idea to be in one piece until the mission was over, not several.

Dazai watched with fascination as the chaos unfolded beautifully, like a rose blossoming in the spring, it’s petals shifting into place to reveal its sweet-smelling center.

And that sweet part for Dazai was he could get close, the gravitational field affecting the area did nothing to him. All he had to worry about was maneuvering to a point where he was close enough to witness the battle end, but far enough so he didn’t accidentally get crushed by falling debris from the destruction. Dazai’s eye wandered up, and they snatched on the glowing red figure of Chuuya’s petite body floating in the air as the two monsters faced one another, maintaining eye contact. He swept through alleyways and treated them as shortcuts to get closer, eye almost never leaving the monsters battling above.

From below, it was hard to make out. But Chuuya’s body began to manifest into something of a sinister shape. 

His runes formulated on his back, crawling and circling around his spine like ants marching in a death spiral. Suddenly, it shot out right around the area of his tailbone, forming a long, elegant tail, its outline somehow a magnificent red, the inside a dreary black that seemed to suck the light out of the surrounding area, just like the black holes.

But it stayed such for only a moment, moving up vertically into a ‘V ’ shape, it gathered the black hole essence, which resembled some sort of goo, shot out and spread far into the sky…creating… wings .

Dazai watched in awe.

He easily forgot how Chuuya took his breath away. He didn’t have to do much, in fact.

Chuuya let out an ear-splitting shriek that sounded like the roaring of a volcano erupting, the sheer intensity causing even Dazai to jump a bit. 

Chuuya's wings stretched open and his body shot out toward the monster below, fist charging up with a gravity punch that was packing more than 5 tons, at the least.

Dazai found his lips curling into a small smile despite himself. He enjoyed it. A feeling he’d never receive outside or inside of the mafia, apart from his good friend Odasaku.

How ironic , he caught himself thinking. The only people in the world that keep me happy happen to be two redheads .

Dazai watched a moment longer as the creature mimicked Chuuya’s roar, as if daring him to go on, hissing intimidatingly when it surveyed Chuuya as he was shot down once more by the creature's large tail, smashing into buildings and sending glass panes and chips of bricks scattering in all directions.

Dazai bit his lip as he took a step back. 

Too close . he realized.

He turned and started to zigzag his way back to the direction he left the walkie-talkie in when he heard a failing whine, a pathetic one at that, but one that echoed and bounced off all the surrounding buildings.

The brunette turned to witness a wondrous sight. Chuuya was in front of its face, flapping his wings slowly, absent mindedly.

The creature decayed and withered, it’s body crumbling away. It’s jaw opened to release one last sound, but nothing calm out as silence enveloped the scream dying in its throat, which soon followed the disintegrating process. It blinked its eyes one last time at Chuuya before vanishing completely.

He hovered there for a moment. Still, his wings gently flapped to keep him afloat.

The redhead’s gaze was vacant, but if someone saw him they’d think he was admiring the city view, since it suddenly seemed so… peaceful.

The gravitational field condensed considerably until it only warped the air around Chuuya’s body as well as a few feet away from him, covering in a transparent sphere with a red glow to it.

And then he was falling.

But Dazai was already onto him.

He caught Chuuya.

Dazai caught the angel of death, the bringer of destruction, the savior of the city. Immediately upon contact, his ability activated, and he smiled at the redhead.

Only…it didn’t work. His frown replaced the smile which disappeared as quickly as it came.

No, he was mistaking it.

It did work. Chuuya’s powers were disabled…

And yet…

The markings that covered his body still stayed, but when he squinted close he realized they were no longer illuminating his body.

In fact, they looked like angry red blemishes. Or…scars.

He flinched when he saw the first ruby droplets form at the markings and slip downward, down his skin, reaching Dazai’s pure white shirt, dying a red splotch across it.

He held the redhead in his arms in pure shock.

And the wings.

The wings weren’t disappearing either.

The gravity field was gone, gone gone gone, long gone, and yet the modifications Arahabaki, the god that inhabited Chuuya’s body, had not disappeared. Like Dazai intended.

He lifted Chuuya, just slightly, eye the size of a pinpoint. The wings were massive, and nearly the size of Chuuya himself.

The brunette reached his free arm, separating it from Chuuya’s chest momentarily to hover over the wings. He flinched away. But brought his aching fingers back, twitching with curiosity.

But Dazai managed to waver his focus just enough to strain his ears to listen to Chuuya breathe. He needed to know if the man was alive, first.

And sure enough, the small puffs and the slight rising of Chuuya’s chest indicated his body still worked. But he had lost lots of blood, and was in need of medical attention immediately.

Reinforcements. Dazai thought. They’re coming anyway. I can’t leave him like this.

So, with bated breath, he squeezed his eye shut, and felt the wing. Or, whatever the mass of flesh was that seemed to be budding feathers already.

He opened his eyes slowly to find the small feathers already formulating there to be quite soft. So he touched it. Touched it. Touched it. He watched Chuuya whine and squirm, breath hitching at times.

Dazai forcefully jerked his arm away to stop, even if he was interested.

Then he heard the rev of an engine, the exhale of a car as its tires skidded to a halt near him. It was slick and black, about roughly the size of a limo.

Suddenly, someone stepped out of the car. It was an old man with shoulder-length silver hair and a monocle, a stern expression, and keen light purple eyes.

“Hirotsu.” He stated calmly, never letting go of the redhead in his arms, unable to take his eyes off him.

“Take us to the infirmary.”

Chapter Text

He couldn't breathe. His lungs felt constricted by the unfamiliar layers of cotton of some sort wrapped around his body. 

Chuuya couldn't open his eyes.

But he felt himself alive.

He tried to assess the situation, but his brain was filled with static. It was fuzzy, and he felt he was trapped in cobwebs. He tried to even recall what happened, but nothing came to mind.

And the outside noise that was buzzing around his ears. It wasn't helping either. 

The more he was awake the more the fuzz seemed to subside. He couldn't hear the voices clearly just yet but he recognized them.

The first was Dazai. Nobody else spoke in his authoritative, worried tone.

Wait, worried ? Dazai was never worried for Chuuya. That was a new one.

That's gotta mean I'm in pretty bad shape , He thought to himself, feeling a finger twitch subconsciously.

He could also hear the faint sounds of people maneuvering around where he was, their words muffled. The creak of his bed and the slight shift of sheets told him that.

His eyelids finally began to part ever so slowly.

They cracked open, blinking several times against the blinding light, the white ceiling of a hospital room slowly appearing before him. A bed with a white sheet was laid over until it hit his torso, a fluffy pillow cushioning his exhausted head, some monitors, and an IV drip bag instead filled with blood that was likely pumping into him. He glanced down at his body, however vision blurry. 

Everywhere was covered in bandages.

All the way up to his fingertips, his neck, even some gauses on his cheeks.

I wasn't hurt that bad, was I? he asked himself.

He glanced at the people at the foot of his bed chatting to one another.

One person stood out above all of the other people.

Dazai. He felt his brows knitting in confusion. How long was I out for?

Chuuya tried to move but found none of his muscles were responding. He felt far too exhausted to even twitch, let alone move an entire arm.

Since he was practically disabled at the proper moment, he had nothing more to do than listen to the conversation. He assumed when he had first woken up it was like a buzzing hive filled with active bees, but now that he strained his ears, he could make out the words they were passing onto each other.

"-just arrived. No luck with Mori, we tried to contact him. But he hasn't been accepting any calls as of late..." spoke a female voice.

"By the way, what did happen with you and Chuuya-san? He's lost so much blood...and the erm...new appendages. ."

Appendages? Chuuya thought wearily, shivering at the thought. Immediately his brain tuned out the next few sentences, the gears in his mind working at a slugs pace.

The redhead was lucky he wasn't feeling pain, likely due to morphine being added into his system along with the bag of blood. It would have distracted him.

He tried to focus on his body. What did she mean?

Chuuya felt his arms, legs, head were all fine. They were all there, nothing new, he'd probably feel it.

Except...some sort of heavy weight on his back that had been wearing him down the entire time he was in the bed.

His breath hitched. Only slightly. His mind was about to spiral out of control when he heard a voice cut through that haze. 

"Chuuya?"

He heard his name called. It took him a moment from his disoriented and hazy mind to snap back to reality, eyes squinting but slightly open.

Chuuya tried to open his mouth but his throat ached, raw and torn from all the screaming he did under the influence of corruption. All he managed was a weak wheeze.

He meant to say "I'm here," or "I'm still alive," but all that came out was a small whisper muttering Dazai Osamu's name. That was all he could manage.

The redhead felt fingers dig into his sheets but not into him, and he felt upset for some reason because Dazai didn't do that, though he shouldn't feel that way. And it was probably safer, so he wouldn't damage the healing process that had begun over Chuuya's body.

"Are you alright?" Dazai couldn't help but ask, knowing full well he'd likely not get a response. 

Chuuya's body was in shambles. It was a miracle he still survived .

The redhead opened his mouth, and let a shaky sigh exhale from him.

The brunette found his fingers working unconsciously on their own, light as a feather as they brushed the bandages across Chuuya's arms, similar to his own, but providing quite the different use than his own. They trailed up to Chuuya's shoulder and stopped their short journey. He didn't want to go further.

Since, well...Dazai felt the doctor's eyes on him. 

"A moment, please." He spoke gruffly, and the woman bowed politely before leaving them to their own devices.

Dazai quickly occupied the vacant seat beside the hospital bed, his hands slipping away from Chuuya, which made him twitch.

He was reluctant to pull his hands back up to Chuuya.

"..." 

Chuuya watched him out of the corner of his eye. Neither spoke (more like the redhead couldn't) for a long moment.

And then Chuuya decided to speak, even if his lips and tongue tried to stick together like glue ensnaring his mouth shut.

"What the fuck happened to me?" He rasped, his voice gravelly and hoarse.

Dazai stared at him for a long, hard moment.

"...Arahabaki." He said briskly, as if trying to force the words out of his mouth. "Your body got damaged from the state you were in. *Sigh,* I guess there's no easy way to say this." The brunette stuffed his head in his hands, fingers digging into his scalp. "You have scars all over your skin. During the battle with Verlaine, you...sprouted wings." He gestured to a spot Chuuya couldn't turn his head to, nor spot out of the corner of his eye.

Chuuya froze. He thought his heart stopped, even. His eyes opened wider, focused intently on Dazai’s singular own.

The redhead was so pale that he was as white as a sheet. He completely drained of color, even if he had little to none remaining in his skin for the loss of blood, as well for having fair skin.

“….What?” He managed to croak, mouth opening and closing and opening again like a flabbergasted Venus flytrap.

“D-Dazai, what? ” Chuuya desperately wanted to sit up, now. His body was aching and itching to move, but he was practically restrained to the hospital bed.

“Relax, Chuuya. You’ll strain yourself. The doctors worked hard to put you back together.” If Dazai wasn’t so serious right now he’d probably be coming up with remarks or stupid jokes against Chuuya.

“Da-Dazai,” the redhead began to wriggle, gritting his teeth in the searing, agonizing pain that overtook his nervous system, fire spreading from his arms and legs, sending alarmed messages to his brain of overwhelming pain. Despite himself, he had to calm down. But he couldn’t. His mind was working in overdrive and he was starting to freak out.

“Dazai,” he said again, whining, the creaking of the bed not subtle at all, enough to summon the doctor back in.

“Hey, you’re not supposed to move yet! Sir!”

Chuuya flinched when she appeared and whacked her arm away, hissing and yelping in agony.

He retracted his arm but hissed at the woman, trying to get up despite Dazai almost throwing himself onto the redhead to keep him down. “Chuuya! Please!”

“I—I—“ What else could Chuuya say? His rational mind had shut off hours ago, all was left was a helpless, terrified child in a hospital with a brand new pair of limbs and bandages all over his body.

“ CALL MORE DOCTORS! PATIENT #4 IS OUT OF CONTROL! WE NEED A SEDATIVE! STAT! ” Shouted the woman as Dazai and Chuuya were wrestling with each other. It was hard to tell who was winning.

“Chuuya, Chuuya , relax, please, ” Dazai begged, trying to push the redhead down to no avail. Chuuya pushed him back just as harshly, trying to escape, but the blood drip’s delicate wiring also kept pulling him back to the bed, pinning him to the hospital bed like a prisoner. A chained prisoner never meant to escape.

It only sent his heart racing faster, the desperate movements, the pained, agonized cries, the lost look in his eyes. It said it all. He didn’t realize it but the weight on his back lifted with him when he tried to rise, and he could feel the blood pulsing into his new limbs. Immediately they tried to stretch and bat away the people near him, but they too were bound, likely by bandages. Chuuya tried tearing them with pure strength, but it sent him feeling woozy, almost like the days where he wandered off drunk from his favorite bar (he never really got far).

He heard the rushing of footsteps just as he managed to kick off the sheet covering his legs. Bandages there too.

“HOLD HIM DOWN!” His vision danced and blurred at the edges. “Wait!” He heard his partner-in-crime cry, startled by the mass of doctors flooding the scene.

That was when he started to see duplicates of everything, seeing a double of Dazai reside beside him, suddenly pushed aside for doctors to hold the howling creature down.

“Let me go!” Screamed Chuuya, unsure of why he was doing this anymore. All he could think was to fight. To escape. To the sky. Freedom.

Lo and behold, Chuuya was pinned completely to the mattress. And the brunette made sure to touch his leg to prevent him from lashing out with his ability.

“Dazai—“ Chuuya tried, his last outlet to release him from this jail, but then a needle was pricked into his neck, and it only took a few seconds before all he could see was black.

Chapter Text

This time, when Chuuya opened his eyes, he felt groggy.

And it wasn’t light like it was last time. He was likely out for a while.

It was dark, the windows left open to let the moonlight sift through the glass. A silver glow cast down from the window, leaving bright white squares on the ground with a soft edge to them due to the light.

Chuuya weakly cocked his head toward the window, but ended up tilting it back in pain. He first opened his mouth, in taking that sweet, sweet air, which filled his lungs until it couldn’t take the burning stretch anymore, and then he exhaled, near aggressively. Frustrated.

“Fuckers.” He spat, just to realize there was an unfamiliar weight sprawled across his legs. He looked down to bare witness a black figure (rather, it appeared so since it was so dark), and it took the redhead a moment to realize it was Dazai .

He stayed. For me . Chuuya let that sink in as through sand slipping through the tiny gap of an hourglass. But it didn’t really register.

His mind was too hazy to comprehend things as clearly as he normally would. In fact, it barely felt like it was working.

His mind wouldn’t cooperate when he tried to acknowledge the fact Dazai was actually there and breathing and laying on Chuuya and making these weird adorable snoring noises and THAT WASN’T THE POINT, CHUUYA.

Chuuya shook his head a bit frantically to rid of the thought.

His head was pounding and the world spun, but Chuuya did his best to keep himself from succumbing into slumbers awaiting, comforting embrace.

It seemed Dazai was still fast asleep, but the fact alone that he stayed with Chuuya after he regained consciousness made the redhead reconsider what the brunette felt for him, and for the first time made him realize Dazai wasn’t all that bad, after all.

And as Chuuya was stuck staring blankly at the ceiling, all he could do was to listen to his thoughts, chasing one another around like horses in a field. 

He unconsciously also strained his ears for any other sound beside his breathing and pounding heart, or Dazai’s quiet snores for anything. Just to hear something besides the deafening silence regarding everything else around them.

Nothing came up.

Finally, nerves signaling he was in pain at last got through to him, and he forced himself to lay back in bed.

He was too tired to be shocked. Now, at least. And currently, Chuuya was brimming with curiosity.

What did his wings look like? Were they pretty? 

Are they permanent? Whispered the dark corners of his mind.

Chuuya shook it off and glanced. Or tried.

He ended up edging his head and slowly turning it to get a better look. He grit his teeth and faced the pain, bearing it to take a peek.

He couldn’t see them well in the dark, but if he squinted enough, he could just make out the dark, pointed spots littered all around his ‘wing’ where the bandages didn’t obscure them.

He took a closer look.

They looked to be feathers .

Small, too. 

Chuuya frowned. Do wings normally look like this?

He was about to raise his arm despite the pain when he felt the weight shift off his legs, startling him.

“You’re awake,” Dazai said softly, rubbing his one eye to perk it open.

There were lots of strange thoughts running through Chuuya’s mind.

Dazai’s gentle voice is so soothing…

And I can’t believe he even bothered to stay, he should go back home, shouldn’t he?

He’s kinda cute, just waking up…

They swam through his mind until he felt fingertips brush his cheek carefully, popping his thought bubble. The static still prevented any messages to come through, but it made him blink in confusion. “Wha?”

“Chibi’s so careless.” Murmured the brunette gently. “He shouldn’t be fighting the people who try to help him.”

Since Chuuya couldn’t think straight, he answered in a way he’d never spoken to Dazai before. “Why should I trust people that isn’t you?” He asked sleepily, leaning into the hand provided, seeking the warmth that swept from Dazai into Chuuya.

Dazai paused, staring at his partner with a wide eye.

He was as frozen as a statue, and he was almost certain his heart either skipped a beat or stopped beating entirely.

"What?" he said, the word barely audible as it fell out of his mouth.

"Mmnnh.." Chuuya groaned, leaning into Dazai's hand even more.

"I don't want to be in here anymore...I hate it..." Murmured the redhead, as Dazai remained paralyzed still. Well, what else could he do?

"You'll have to stay here, Chuuya. Just for three more days. Can you handle it?" He asked, his logical side of him malfunctioning. Never once had the redhead shown something related to affection before. 

"Can't...without you..." He mumbled, before falling asleep in Dazai's palm, cheek and nose nestled into his fingers.

Dazai wanted to move. Oh, he did. But his body didn’t permit him access to his nervous system, bones, and muscle anymore. He remained in the same position for a long, long time. He couldn’t quite imagine how long he’d stayed there, keeping himself hunched over his partners unconscious form.

Then…

The brunette fell asleep. He couldn’t keep his eye open anymore. And into the sleeps inviting embrace he went.

* * *

Chuuya was whining. Whining loudly like a pathetic dog begging for food. It’s what stirred Dazai awake, feeling the redhead squirm in the bed.

It was maybe an hour later. How bad was Chuuya at sleeping if he woke up so many times during the night?

He lifted his head to see the same expression he wore earlier; lost, scared, confused. “D-Dazai,” he stammered, which was something he never done. Never this vulnerable. Never this… emotional .

“Dazai, it hurts..” he seemed to be gesturing to his wings, which tried to stretch again in their bandaged confindments.

The brunette rose the arm closest to him, hands moving, fingers caressing to slip from Chuuya’s wrist to his hand, cradling with the utmost gentleness he could physically muster. He placed his forehead on the back of Chuuya’s hand. “It’ll…be okay.” He said, struggling to accommodate the words falling out of his mouth, which felt unnatural even to him .

Then he said something that surpassed even the things he’d say to anyone in his lifetime. “Even if I’m not the right person for the job, even if I’m never the person you’re looking for…I’ll always be here.”

The sentence flowed out of him almost naturally, as though he’d been waiting for this moment his entire life.

He looked up to witness a mildly surprised expression from Chuuya, who tilted his head.

He licked his lips and chewed the inside of his cheek, already tasting the words in his own mouth. The haze that had been currently glossing over his eyes had faded a bit, so he was slowly bleeding back into his normal self.

“Thank you.” The redhead forced out, though it came out softer than he meant it to.

Dazai smiled. It was small but honest. 

“Just doing my job, chibikko.” More than half was true. He had to keep an eye on his runty redheaded dog, after all. Dogs like Chuuya liked to run around and get themselves in trouble.

It was Dazai’s job as a good master to make sure he behaved.

And make sure his dog healed up properly after he ran so recklessly into trouble, mission or not. Chuuya looked like he was even prepared to die, even to save his country and sacrifice himself for the wellbeing of all the other people in the city of Yokohama.

Dazai then leaned back slightly, eye roaming over Chuuya’s face. The brunette's eye caught on the wings, noticing the feathers were a bit more prominent than before. Chuuya’s wings were sure blossoming, like from the branches of a tree.

“You’re staring,” Chuuya spoke softly. If he was uncomfortable, he didn’t show anything on the surface.

“They’re pretty.” Dazai said, before quickly looking away. “I mean—Erm…”

“I felt you touch em before. Don’t think I didn’t feel your hand when I passed out. Ain’t no difference now, is there?”

The brunette raised his head to look into his partner's eyes. They were…serious. And they displayed trust. But a meaningful one. A…once in a lifetime kind.

Dazai opened his mouth, about to answer, before closing his mouth again. He tasted the words on his tongue, slowly speaking. He’d never talked so… openly before about his feelings towards Chuuya. Usually they were woven with lies and hidden under thorns of bickering and teasing.

“Only if you want me to. I won’t touch them if you don’t want that.”

The redhead didn’t know how to respond. Now it was his turn to be hesitant.

“I…” he flinched badly as he drew his legs up to his chest, cradling them with his arms. “…Don’t mind.”

He inhaled softly, lifting his head toward the window. He watched some clouds overpass the moon. “Ya don’t have to treat me like a deity, ya know. It’ll…”

He trailed off, the words hanging in the air. But Dazai knew him too well, and knew what he was going to say anyway.

Instead of sitting in uncomfortable silence, Dazai reached out and skimmed his fingers over a patch of growing feathers, which seemed to settle for being a sort of light maroon color. At the top of Chuuya’s wings had a brush of the same color except darker, and closer to crimson.

The redhead's wings were tight, and even shuddered, perhaps in fear, or some other sort of emotion before Dazai touched them. Immediately they began to relax, almost melting into his touch like chocolate to a flame.

He almost thought about pulling back, thinking this was a negative reaction, even if another part of himself told him it wasn’t. Dazai’s rational part of him was kind of just shutting off, and everything else that was irrational took over, driving him to continue gently petting.

Chuuya was whining softly, the grip across his legs loosening. He leaned his head into his knees to save some face, even if he knew Dazai knew what expression he was currently wearing, regardless had he hid it or not.

“…You make it better, you know…”

“Mmm?”

“This place gives me the creeps. Bad memories, I guess..”

“That’s a strange thing to say to your supposed nemesis, Hatrack.” Dazai shot him a grin even if Chuuya couldn’t see it momentarily.

“Haven’t we been talkin’ strangely anyway?” Chuuya lifted his head, a gentle, blue eyed-gaze settling into a singular brown.

“…Yeah.” Dazai agreed, realizing just for a split second he was leaning closer, but he felt no reason to pull back.

A moment passed between them.

He even slowly stood from his chair, leaning toward Chuuya until they were just a few inches from one another.

The redhead didn’t move, anticipating of what was to come.

But Dazai stopped. Their breaths mingled for a few heartbeats. Dazai’s hand felt strangely warm on the redhead's wing.

Chuuya’s feathers suddenly felt unnaturally soft, and left a tingle against the palm of the brunette’s hand.

They stayed like that for more than a minute. They didn’t need words to converse what they were thinking. It’s like they were talking aloud, yet the only thing heard in the room was their breaths against each other’s lips.

However, Dazai withdrew himself back in his seat after another moment, his hand retracting back to his side.

“…Let’s go back to sleep.” His voice nearly cracked, mind buzzing, stomach fluttering with warm tingly feelings, just like the soft strands of Chuuya’s new feathers.

The redhead would have burst at him for not taking his chance. He would’ve, had this new, raw and vulnerable version of him not taken the reins for the night.

They were alone. Right there. Inches away.

But…maybe it really wasn’t the time for that.

So, after staring at each other for a miniature eternity, Dazai laid his head down onto the side of the bed, his eye not visible from this angle.

Without much to do, Chuuya did the same.

And together they fell asleep once more. 

Chapter Text

When Chuuya woke up he was immediately bombarded by two doctors checking from head to toe, peeling off bandages to see how his new scars have healed.

He squirmed uncomfortably but Dazai sat with him the entire time, leaving a few times to go to the restroom. Luckily the doctors had some crackers and water on hand and spared Dazai a few bottles so he didn’t die of thirst while they worked tirelessly for hours, having to make sure absolutely everything was in order and nothing else was wrong with the redhead. They took out the small needle in his vein that deposited him blood and stashed the contraption away, feeding him painkillers through another needle which made him harshly jerk.

Chuuya grew more antsy the more they worked to the point that Dazai sent them away so they could have space.

Chuuya looked to be suffocating mentally at this point. He was hunched over in the bed, shivering.

“Dazai,” he murmured weakly in the evening, when the sun was just beginning to lower down in the sky.

“I can’t fuckin’ sit here anymore. Help me walk.”

Dazai presented him with an unreadable expression but complied, offering his arm to the redhead and easing him out of the hospital bed.

Chuuya’s wings were growing at a formidable rate now. His feathers were almost fully in, just a few spots that were less infested with fluff than others.

“How are they treating you?” Dazai asked, motioning his head toward the wings.

“ ‘They’ ?…” Chuuya blinked, “Oh. They er…itch, I guess. I fuckin’ wanna fly and feel the wind on my face…I think I need to scratch them or something…I’m also getting hot n’ bothered…”

“Wait, what?”

“Forget the last part.” Chuuya threw his head into a different direction, mildly humiliated.

“…Sure. Alright then, where to?”

“The balcony?”

Dazai did a full 180 and faced the door to the balcony, half limping due to Chuuya’s new added weight.

He reached the entryway and breached the door, pressing it open with his palm and leaning into it, which gave way easily. He led Chuuya through and immediately upon instinct Chuuya tried to open his wings, whining and growling when they stayed bound.

The sky was calling him. The vast space, the distance fluffy clouds, the sun, it all beckoned him into the air.

“Chuuya,” but a voice grounded him.

“You can’t fly yet, Slug,” sighed the brunette. “You’re still healing…”

“But Dazai. ” His voice was breathy but it cut through the air like a blade.

“If I don’t right now I might go crazy. Literally.”

Dazai held tightly onto Chuuya’s arm, the gears working away in his brain. “Fine, on one condition.”

Chuuya tilted his head, listening.

“…You don’t tell them about our little secret.” Dazai went behind Chuuya, unraveling all the bandages that glued his wings together and tied them to his torso. They fell to the ground, gracefully looped into two neat piles at their feet.

Chuuya spread his wings. Spread them as far as they could go, stretching from one end of the balcony to the other, which was roughly about twenty feet altogether.

That’s an overall impressive wingspan. The brunette thought.

He could not only hear, but feel the sigh of relief leaving Chuuya’s lips. He stared at the sky, jittering in place.

As if unsure what to do and how to do it right.

Chuuya tried an experimental flap, kicking up some dust from the floor. He tried again. Another time, almost lifting off with that flap.

The feathers aren’t fully developed…can he still fly? Dazai wondered distantly to himself.

It’s likely. Birds that get feathers missing or injured don’t stop themselves from flying unless it’s dire.

Distracted with his clockwork of a mind, he almost missed the moment when Chuuya leapt into the air. His wings beat gently, meeting the air current that swept past the building, whipping cold air in their faces.

Dazai didn’t realize how chilly it was until Chuuya fully took off, flapping his new wings and flying sky-high.

The brunette's breath was really taken away now. The man above him was probably a literal angel. It was gorgeous just to watch him fly.

He found the air in his lungs again when he watched Chuuya descend, his expression more than ecstatic. “Dazai, this is fuckin’ fantastic!”

Chuuya leaped down, went a little too fast, and barreled right into Dazai’s unsuspecting arms, nearly knocked off his feet with the sudden add to his weight. “Whoa, ChUuYAAAA—”

They fell over together in a heap of bandages and warm skin and layers and layers of feathers.

Both rolled onto one another.

Then stopped.

Dazai rose, laughing, his hands planted on Chuuya’s shoulders. His eye opened and he stilled.

The redhead kept giggling until he recognized the silence, looking up as well.

Both of them were holding their breaths. Chuuya’s wings flared weakly and laid down in submission.

“D-Dazai?” Squeaked Chuuya below the brunette, swallowing thickly. He was red in the face, flushed and realizing what their position was in. Dazai wasn’t too much different, but inside, he was malfunctioning. His breath was shallow and even stopped at times. Dazai was ontop of Chuuya. Chuuya was below him.

“Chuuya,” he responded, his singular eye roaming the redhead below him.

“…I’m sure you were pissed about last night.” He mused, a smirk replacing the adorable expression he had moments prior.

“We can continue now if you like.”

“W-wha?! You stupid fucking fish!” Chuuya burst out, writhing under Dazai, trying to twist his head this and that to hide the prominent, healthy red blush decorating his cheeks.

“Dazai, get off—Anh ..” Chuuya twitched badly when Dazai set a hand on the base of his wing.

“Are you sure?” He continued to stroke, making Chuuya hiss and whimper from the gentle little touches. “I think you like it.”

“Get off before I…I hurt you.” He said weakly, his voice failing him.

“Can you, even, in this state?”
He admired the glorious teen below him. Even covered in feathers, he looked to be a deity, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t feeling the butterflies before, he was sure as hell feeling them now.
With or without the wings and scars, Chuuya was a gorgeous individual. In fact, probably the most handsome man he’d ever come across.
“You’re an ass,” Chuuya choked out without his usual ire, submitting and relaxing under Dazai’s grip.
Dazai leaned close, his eye focusing on those blue orbs once again. They were brought back into the exact moment from last night, just inches away. Their breaths once again mingled, eyes fluttering shut, the anticipation brewing.
They were about to connect, to taste each other for the first time…
SLAM!
Dazai jolted upright and saw a doctor throw open the door to the infirmary, barking out orders and bringing in a new patient. He scrambled off Chuuya and pulled him up. He wasn’t anticipating the woman to come back so soon, he thought they had another hour at least.
“Wait, Dazai—” the brunette shushed him and laid him back in bed stealthily after passing him through the entryway from the balcony unnoticed, before realizing that the bandages from his wings were off. Not to mention the slight specks of dirt and the few tiny stones now decorating the backs and sides of his wings.
He shook his head, no time to worry about that.
“I’ll use the excuse of the restroom and bring you a paper towel. Be right back.”
Chuuya was eased into the bed and winced as he lifted his arm to try and capture the brunette slipping from his fingertips, escaping him with ease as he left Chuuya alone to contemplate what just happened.

Chapter Text

Dazai returned a little later, brandishing a few brown paper towels. He skillfully avoided the doctor's eye by moving when she was looking away, hurrying over to Chuuya as swiftly as possible.
They seemed a little wet since there were some darker patches pulling the paper down.
The brunette rounded the bed and briskly began cleaning off the feathers, which is something he never thought he’d ever do in his entire life.
“Y’know, for being so smart and can practically predict the future, you sure left us almost in shambles back there,” Chuuya snorted, gripping the blanket, internally seething, but probably for one of the first times, it wasn’t because of Dazai.

I ought to kill her for interrupting us. Then again, that would be quite unreasonable and stupid. She’s only here to help, it wasn’t her fault they all had bad timing.
Dazai was pulling out some little broken pebbles from Chuuya’s wing and pulled on a feather a bit too harshly, making him flinch. “Owh.”
“Ah, sorry.”
The redhead normally would be gawking at Dazai since he’d never gone cleaning something, let alone cleaning Chuuya. But since circumstances called for it, neither of them had any choice but to get rid of the evidence that Chuuya had been outside.
Though it was probably blatantly obvious enough regardless, considering the fact the bandages were left outside.
…If they still were. The redhead tilted his head in confusion, brows furrowing together as he tried to get a better look, but Dazai jerked him back by the shirt.
Weird. Maybe they were blown away by the wind? Probably, we’re pretty high up.
“Hang still, Hatrack.”
After another minute, Dazai was done. He took a moment to double-check if it was dirty before going to the other side of Chuuya, having to cross all the way around the hospital bed. In his peripheral vision (which was tremendously limited) he noticed the doctor arguing with another over some supplies, shaking their fists and pointing at the body on the stretcher. Their shouts were getting annoyingly loud.

He went to Chuuya’s other side, disposing of the three towels he used on the floor, bunched up, some unraveling a little.
Dazai laid aside two spare towels and got to working with the one in his hand, separating feathers to get in between them.
The redhead watched, eyes drooping slightly. “Feshls nish..” Chuuya mumbled, leaning into his own wing.
Dazai sniggered, raising his head. “Come again?”
“Feels nice..” repeated his partner this time, much clearer.
“Being groomed feels nice…” he drifted off as Dazai got done with the first paper towel and moved on to the second.
He thought for a moment. Before that moment became minutes. He was done with the towels now, sitting on his designated chair.
Those minutes quickly became an hour. There was no telling how Mori would react. Let alone Kouyou, since women tended to be a bit overreactive.

But we can’t just hide them, can we? Dazai asked himself, arms crossed as he watched the gentle rise and fall of Chuuya’s chest as he slept.
It would be tough, considering their size.
He put a hand over his face. 

I suppose we’ll just cross the bridge when we get there. No use dwelling on something that hasn’t happened yet.
As much as he’d love to avoid it, there was probably no way in doing so.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no way to hide wings that had a ten-foot wingspan on each side. That was kind of a stupid idea.
And they were half Chuuya’s size.
Hiding them under a shirt was out of the equation. The new jacket he was passed down by Mori? Forget the thought. Everyone would be brought to the attention of new lumps sticking out from Chuuya’s back. Not to mention feathers would probably be sticking out.

Dazai clicked his tongue in annoyance. If there was only some way Chuuya could shrink them, then that would be immensely helpful, and the ideas Dazai brewed up would be significantly more effective.
I’ll discuss the idea with him tomorrow.
He leaned on the hospital bed as he heard the voices of the doctors die down behind him.
His arms crossed, and Dazai rested his head against his forearms. But sleep was a long time coming.

* * *

Just as Dazai had suspected, they kicked Chuuya out of the infirmary the next day, having doubled-down on wrapping bandages around the scars around his arms and legs to ensure their steady recovery. Though, maybe kick was a rude way to put it. Perhaps pushed out the door while wishing him to recover better on his own should do the trick.
The redhead was anxiety-ridden, which wasn’t a look Chuuya ever wore. He was worried all over the fact about his new wings, how he’d present them to the higher-ups, and how they’d react.

“How about this, Chuuya,” Dazai said, taking him to one of his secret places to relax in the Mafia headquarters. “We’ll avoid all corridors that usually have people walking through them. Sound good?”
Chuuya sighed and nodded in agreement.
They wove through the gigantic hallways, walls dark on the left, windows bright and shiny on the right, the blue sky and white fluffy clouds appearing much closer to Earth than usual. Chuuya felt like he could grab the sky and condense it into something small and cup it in his hand. “This way,” Dazai eased him in a different direction, Chuuya letting out a small mewl at the loss of seeing the sky outside. The little noises Chuuya made were actually quite adorable.

As soon as they turned the corner, Dazai’s eye swept around to make sure the coast was clear, and unlocked the door, peeking inside.
Yep. Empty. A small office that hadn’t been occupied for a long, long time. Until Dazai came across it, and made it his little hideout.
He made sure to take all the routes without security cameras. He felt it safer to not catch the newly sprouted redhead to be caught with wings on tape.

Well, at least nobody would bother them in here.

Dazai locked the door behind them, and they were thrown into complete darkness.
Then he flicked on a light.
Instead of a normal cone light like Chuuya expected, there was a lantern dimly glowing in the middle of the room. There was a small shelf with roughly six books (that he could see from this angle) a fridge, likely empty, a rundown beanbag, and some paper scattered across the floor. It looked to be old records, or maybe just paperwork.
“Here Slug can relax while I find a way to hide his wings.” Dazai said with a lopsided grin.
The redhead weakly stumbled onto the beanbag. The bandages were still on his body, and he began to loosely tug them off.
“Tch. Let’s face it, Dazai.” Chuuya said, his body shivering. He couldn’t tug the wraps around his arms, they were on too tight, and he still felt weak.
“There’s no hidin’ this…”
He leaned against the beanbag, his feathers lifting as he pulled himself into a tight embrace, wings covering the upper half of his body.
Dazai breathed softly, scratching his head.
“There’s got to be a way. There has to be.” He knew how much it would hurt for Chuuya to be seen as a god than his usual normal self. He feared people would start treating him differently. The redhead just wanted to be normal.

Honestly, who normally doesn’t?
Dazai made up his mind. He crouched beside the beanbag, carefully lowering Chuuya’s left wing enough to see him.
“I promise I’ll help you.”
He said, almost whispering those words into his partner's ear.
“I’ll do whatever it takes in my power to do so.”

Chapter Text

Chuuya was left alone the fifth time that day, the brunette only visiting him maybe once every two hours.
However bored he was, he was quick to crack open one of Dazai’s books to find it was mainly about suicide in the first hour.
He scrunched his brows in disappointment and put the book back.
Only to realize that it was a series he kept in here.
Chuuya groaned, his wing feathers agitated as they fluffed with frustration.

Is it really all just suicide? Chuuya had thought, and flickered through his choices.
Seemed to be such.
Except…a book buried behind the shelf was one that looked pretty old. He plucked it out to come to find a book about plants, fruits, and trees.
So for the rest of the day, Chuuya was absorbed in reading that book, getting comfy on the beanbag. His wings provided more comfort tucked behind his back, and he was steadily getting used to them.
He didn’t even find himself hungry and only used the bathroom in the next room once or twice, but he didn’t need that much to sustain himself.
Even when Chuuya should be feeling thirsty, he wasn’t. Maybe his new transformation or what not was helping him survive without food and water for the day.
He wasn’t totally sure.

Chuuya didn’t even realize that Dazai hadn’t come in for a full four hours now, but he was too much in the book to care.
As he filled his head with knowledge about nature, an itch of sorts started to grow in the back of his brain.
He adjusted himself several times, thinking it was his position, or even laying the book down to try and sleep.
But that wasn’t it.
Eventually…
“GARGHH! What is it, stupid brain!?” He leaped up from his seat, storming around the room, gripping his scalp.

Then it clicked, his mind no longer hazy with fun facts about plants that were hard to come across in the wild around Japan.
Dazai. Where is he?
He swiftly went to the door, his mind going bonkers as he finally realized what the itch was. Dazai hasn’t come back in hours. Is he okay?
The real answer? Most likely.
The answer Chuuya thought instead?
Most un likely.
The redhead decided to come out of the room. He was sick of staying in there with nothing but a book to occupy himself.
Along with the added fact he thought Dazai was in danger.
He threw open the door and stepped out. The sun was close to setting already. Have I been in here for that long?
Chuuya was admittedly a little surprised.
“Guess that book was pretty interesting.”
However, the itch edged him on, so he had nothing to do but succumb to the feeling.
There were three ways he could go. To his left, down the hall, or to his right that continued on a corridor towards some more offices, or go back the way he came from the infirmary.
He decided the former and took a left, his feet padding along the cold tiles as he ventured. He realized that he wasn’t even wearing proper clothes. He was still in a hospital gown, covered in bandages.
It was light blue with a thin fabric that stopped at his thighs, and having to be kept mainly open in the back due to his wings, only tied at the waist to keep others from seeing his ass.
“Nngh. Fuck. I gotta hide them somehow. ”
He probably should have thought of that before throwing open the door.
But he felt better when he saw the sky in view, so it eased him up a bit.
“Hrmm..”
He pressed his spine up against the wall, squishing them to his back. After a few yowls of pain, he discovered that it wouldn’t be so easy hiding them in clothes that way.
Besides, it's not like they could shrink.
…Or could they?
Chuuya stared at his feathers for a long, hard moment, before willing them to shrink. Over and over.
But nothing happened.
Maybe I have to do it a certain way? I can’t let people see me like this.

He looked at his hand and let his gaze flicker over to his wings.
They’re made from Arahabaki, right? What if…I could condense them?
Using gravity powers on himself was a bad idea when he thought about condensing his body. But they were from Arahabaki. They should probably stand it.
He reached over for a moment, brushing the feathers with his fingers.
And applied gravity to them.

He found himself hesitating, but he took a deep breath.
Fuck it. He thought. Either I lose these wings; and good riddance, either that, or my plan works.
And made his power cover the entirety of his wings. He closed his eyes.
With a smooth moment of curling his fists, he willed his wings to be crushed.
But no pain came.
Instead, when he opened his eyes in shock, the wings were gone.
He turned his head and tried to see if there was anything there.
But he could still feel the wings, and the gravity still gripping them.
He inched his head back as far as he could and lightly gasped.

Chuuya did it! He condensed them, and they were still intact!
He jumped into the air and ‘whooped’, accidentally throwing off his concentration completely from excitement and letting them explode outward.
The redhead yelped in surprise and fell.
“GAgh-”
And collapsed on his chest from losing his balance.
“Alright…that’s good. I shrank 'em.”
He sighed with relief. “I can at least wear my old clothes…”
He sat up on his knees, looking at his wings. Under the right light, he could see slight markings that looked like eyes at the end of every feather, glowing a gentle yellow-orange.
He didn’t even notice before. Though the sun was already fading on the horizon, golden hour quickly ending. So maybe they glowed at night, and didn’t need any light to shine like what they were doing now.
Chuuya grabbed a feather and studied it so closely he almost missed the footsteps click-clacking toward him.
His head shot up and he felt goosebumps prickle his skin, feathers rising in alarm. 

Shit—!
The figure came out of the shadows, blinking in a confused manner. “Chuuya? What are you doing outside of your room?”
The redhead breathed a huge sigh of relief.
It’s Dazai…
Chuuya jumped to his feet and barreled into his partner, burying himself into Dazai.
“Wha-HEyYy—!”
And they both fell again.
Chuuya’s wings were shaking, but he was relieved.
“Dazai, you damn fucker…you left me alone for so long…”
“Ahh, my apologies, Hatrack.” He sat up, petting Chuuya’s gorgeous red hair gently.
“I was getting you—” he froze.
And burst out laughing.
“Huh? What? What’s so funny?” Chuuya looked behind him, and there was nothing but feathers and stars starting to appear in the night sky outside the tall glass windows.
“Chuuya, your head!”
“...My head?”
He felt something twitch behind his ears.
Chuuya lifted his fingers and brushed up against something soft.
“....”
Dazai was grinning stupidly at him, trying to contain his laughter.
“If you say another word, say goodbye to those novels of suicide you collected.”
Dazai dramatically gasped. “What!? How dare you, Slug?? And here I was, being so generous in giving you a room and bringing you clothes !”
Chuuya couldn’t focus on two things at once, shaking his head as a slight ringing entered his ear canal.
There were feathers behind his ears .
And suddenly he felt like his hearing was much sharper.
What the…?
He could feel the vibrations on floors above and below, the soft murmuring of voices from other grunts.
He whined, the feathers attached to his head lowering.
“...Chuuya?”
It made the redhead fidget, slowly lifting his head. “Loud…So loud it hurts…” he grimaced, rubbing up against Dazai’s chest, who flinched from the strange contact.

“...Let’s get you back in my room. We’ll figure out how to shrink your wings tomorrow.”
“Mmm..? Oh!” As Dazai helped Chuuya up, the redhead realized Dazai was carrying a bundle of clothes tucked between his arm. But that wasn’t what he was focused on right now.
“I actually found a way to, Dazai! Look!”
He stepped back, and tried the exact same method.
The brunette watched the redhead work his magic, breath taken away in awe once they disappeared.
Immediately Dazai took his chance, circling Chuuya.
“You did that on your own?”
“How else would I? I wasn’t about to saunter around Mafia headquarters like this. ” pouted Chuuya, crossing his arms.
“How interesting. ”
Dazai tapped his chin.
“Well, let’s get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
As they went back into the room, Chuuya leaned against Dazai the moment the door was shut and locked.
“I missed you…” the redhead muttered, closing his eyes and letting his wings droop with exhaustion, the feathers dusting the floor.
“Mmm…tired.”
Dazai ruffled Chuuya’s hair, letting his nose intake the slightly changed scent.
“Chuuya’s so affectionate, it disgusts me.” spoke the brunette softly, taking Chuuya to the beanbag and laying him against it.
He was lifting himself but Chuuya grabbed his arm. “Dazai…Dazai, stay…”

Well….Dazai was only a man, after all. What else could he do? Turn down Chuuya, after being so gentle all day?
He found himself curled up against fluffy wings which were now fully grown, trying to set himself in a position that wasn’t uncomfortable for either of them.
Dazai soon found that Chuuya was already in a deep, peaceful sleep.
He let his mind wander as his eye started to close.
Chuuya smells nice…
His feathers are soft.
I wonder…if he likes me here.
…cause I like being here.
And with that, he was out like a light, the warmth and the feeling of another human beside him taking him to the land of dreams.

Chapter Text

Chuuya woke up alone in Dazai’s secret hideout. He stretched his wings, arms, and legs, letting them outstretch and shake until he was satisfied.
He curled up into a ball and looked for Dazai, who was missing. Again.

“Tch…that piece of shit.” Chuuya felt his ear-feathers rise with annoyance.

And made him flinch badly from the sudden blast of noise that came with it.
He found himself deeply upset of Dazai’s absence.
Chuuya picked up the book that he read a day earlier, glancing at the cover. He realized that there was no title to it. Maybe it was some sort of ancient archive.
He shrugged to himself, throwing it onto the beanbag, hands on his hips, stomach 

growling. His throat was suddenly in dire need of water.
“Why is he always gone when I need that damn asshole?”
Just then, the door swung open, and he was startled so badly he made an exasperated yell that sounded like a squawk.
It was equivalent to that of a shriek.
Dazai blinked several times, raising a brow.
“D-Dazai-!” Chuuya regained himself, straightening up. He was still in his hospital gown, and hadn’t changed out of it yet. His clothes were still neatly tucked and folded on the floor, and he hadn’t gotten to them yet.
The redhead looked down and noticed Dazai was holding a bag of take out, and sniffed the air, his feathers bristling.

“Mmmm…whatcha got there, Dazai?” He took a step closer, eyeing the bag hungrily.
“Food for my hungry little Slug. Or bird, now. I should probably be calling you bird.” Dazai teased, and Chuuya hissed at him.

However, that quickly turned into a whine when the brunette's fingers stroked his neck. It took him a moment to reorient himself as Dazai bypassed him and settled on the beanbag, fishing the book out from under his ass and setting it down.
“I see you found one of my most distasted books.”
“Really? You don’t like it that much?” Chuuya wandered over to Dazai, settling down between his legs.
Dazai froze, a pink blush creeping on his features. “Chuuya?”
“What?” He reached for the food in Dazai’s grasp. “M’ hungry.”
Dazai unconsciously held it higher, watching the redhead clamber over him, wings askew and flapping a little as if trying to get him closer.
Of course, Chuuya could stand and get the food, but apparently, he was intent on sitting in Dazai’s lap and trying to snatch the dangling bag from his hand.
“Chuuya-!!”
He shoved the bag flusteredly into Chuuya’s hand and tried to push him off, only for the redhead to turn around and get comfortably against Dazai.

Not only did Dazai realize there were spots blossoming more feathers on Chuuya’s back, but they were also crawling up his neck too.
But Dazai was still red in the face, and seeing the feathers wasn’t helping.

What’s gotten into me? Dazai thought, covering his nose and mouth with a hand as the redhead delightedly tore open the bag and found balls of red bean dumplings inside along with some teriyaki.

“Mmm, this looks good.” Chuuya pulled out the little container and opened its cap, bombarded with the smell of meat and rice, feathers fluffing from the smell.
His stomach growled in retaliation.
“Chuuya, you’re so cruel, get off me!”
“You were the one who was so eager to kiss me yesterday, Dazai!” Piped up Chuuya, pressing himself against Dazai so the brunette couldn’t escape.
“I—!”
“Shut up and eat your chicken, Mackerel.” Chuuya stuffed some into Dazai’s mouth, forcing him to quiet down.

Dazai choked on the chicken, swallowing it with a bit of difficulty. “Chuuya, save some for me, you greedy Slug. Stop putting your slime all over it.”
“Then make me.” Chuuya chuckled, helping himself to some rice.
“Anyway, remember how I told you that today’s gonna be a long day?”
“Mmmhm.” The redhead squirmed comfortably in Dazai’s lap, laying his head on the unsuspecting brunette's shoulder, which made him stiffen up and stop talking entirely.

“Chuu—ya—” he choked out, looking away to save himself from having to look at his partner in his lap, looking so handsome with his gorgeous wings and feathers, minus the bandages and gauzes.
“What’s wrong, o’ mighty Dazai~?” Chuuya wheedled, and Dazai almost couldn’t contain himself to keep his arms down.
“Why so silent?” He ate a piece of chicken cheekily, seeing Dazai take a deep breath and look into his eyes.
“Mori’s summoning us for a mission.” he finally managed to say.
“So we’re going to have to get you dressed and out of those bandages.”
“What? Not even a day's break?” Chuuya was about to pick some more teriyaki but Dazai stole the bite from his chopsticks.
“Oi! That bite was mine!”
“Not my fault Chuuya’s hogging the food like a pig. It's supposed to be for both of us. Not just yours.”
“I’m a hungry growing boy, for your information, I need as much food as I can get.”
Dazai snorted, resting his head on Chuuya’s shoulder, making the redhead wince in pain.
Chuuya grabbed the bag and checked the remaining contents inside.
“...Wait, is there only one pair of chopsticks?”
Chuuya slowly turned red.
“You’re…you’re a shithead, you know that?” His ear feathers lowered in embarrassment, realization kicking in.
“He he.”
“You know what? Fuck you.”
The redhead put the teriyaki down, grabbed a red bean dumpling, and straddled Dazai’s legs, turning to face him.

“Ch—” Dazai began to say, leaning back in alarm.
Chuuya bit into the red bean dumpling, and pinned Dazai to the beanbag.

The redhead couldn’t believe he was doing this either. The butterflies were going berserk in his stomach but he wouldn’t listen to the weird lovey-dovey feelings tumbling around inside of his belly.
Besides, Dazai tried and failed the first few times before, and if that coward of a partner of Chuuya’s wasn’t going to do it, he would.

He leaned down, their lips brushing, foreheads pressed together.
Dazai knew it was better than to fight anymore. Or at least, that's what Chuuya thought, since the brunette was no longer moving.
In one, swift moment, their lips fully met, locking onto one another.

Dazai couldn’t hold his arms back anymore. They immediately pounced, winding around Chuuya’s body.
The redhead accepted the embrace eagerly, wrapping his wings around Dazai to pull them closer together.
Neither could pull away as they were drawn fiercely together, trapped in a kiss that was passionate, sharing each other's saliva, and, notably, the red bean, which Chuuya was feeding Dazai.

Their kiss was deepening now, the redhead feeling Dazai access his cavern easily, tongue swiping and tasting the dumpling’s flavor from his mouth.
Tongues danced in a heated play of lust and hunger, anticipation brewing.
Chuuya kept his hands on the back of Dazai’s neck as their kiss grew more aggressive, and suddenly there was far too much teeth, as if they were desperate for more and turned to biting for the solution.

Then the brunette watched as his partner pulled away, both gasping for air sharply, chests rising and falling in a synchronized rhythm.
Chuuya made a show of strings of their saliva stretching and snapping, dripping onto their clothes below.
“Chuuya.” Was all Dazai could say. Their kiss made the two breathless, and sent their hearts racing and beating rapidly against their rib cages.
Labored breaths and their heartbeats were all Dazai could hear in the midst of the room, face flushed and red, mimicking Chuuya.
Watching the redhead was much more fun. All of his feathers were fluffed and looked twice the size they normally would, like a bird just finished air drying, or getting a towel rubbed all over its body and the friction leaving it puffy all over.

“Would’ve been easier if you made the first move, Osamu, ” Chuuya jeered, smugly resting on Dazai’s chest as the brunette looked like he was exhaling steam from his nostrils and ears.
He was as bright red as Chuuya’s hair was, now. Almost an exact match.
“ Chuuya !” he shrieked, burying his face into the redhead's hair, making Chuuya laugh. “You’re such a coward! And yet you’re scarier than me on the battlefield!”

Dazai was steaming as he looked away.

“How was my first kiss, Mackerel? Did I ahm…do good?”

“ Your first kiss? It’s my first kiss!” Dazai fumed, his arms unmoving around Chuuya’s waist.

“Hah? You’re kidding me!” The redhead reared up on Dazai, beating his wings lightly.

“You’re like…Mori’s right hand man, practically! I can’t be your first fuckin’ kiss.” Now Chuuya was as red as his hair, joining Dazai in the newly created flustered messes club.

“Chuuya’s my first kiss, I can’t believe I kissed Chuuya before I kissed a woman.” He mumbled, burying his face in the redhead's hair.

“Tch, it ain’t my fault..” Chuuya huffed. “Ahm…anyway…”

He looked into Dazai’s eye,

“How about ya tell me more about Mori’s job for us?”

Chapter Text

After about half an hour of taking off bandages and peeling them off slowly, Dazai eventually persuaded to get Chuuya into his clothes so they could go up to meet Mori. He also briefly skimmed over the mission as they talked.

And Mori was expecting the both of them up in his office in about twenty minutes when Dazai brought it up, which had to be quite a feat considering the fact they were on the seventh floor, and he was on the twelfth.

“So that’s the mission, huh?” Chuuya sighed, leaving his shirt for last, since he was debating on whether he should show Mori his wings or not.
He had reacted quite negatively to his corruption scars, and almost looked like he was about to faint. But he forced himself to swallow the vile back down his throat, clenching and unclenching his fists, taking deep breaths to calm down. Dazai had to hold Chuuya even before the redhead did something bad.
Arahabaki was a god of chaos. And apparently even chaotic to a point to mess with its own host.

“Stupid request in my opinion. Aren’t we just like them?” Chuuya spat, throwing his vigor into another conversation, trying so hard not to look at the new scars covering his skin, but failing miserably.
“Well, they’re supposedly killing members that are aiding the Mafia.” Dazai interjected, seeing Chuuya hesitate when he lifted his t-shirt to his face.
“We can’t have those thieves steal important records, or else the Mafia will be reduced to rubble in a matter of months, depending on what they do with them.”

The redhead stared at his partner, his mouth a thin line.
“Y’know, for someone who was so flustered a few minutes ago, you can sure change faces fast.”
Dazai shifted to a disgruntled look.
“This is important Chuuya.”
“Yeah yeah, whatever.” The redhead hid a small smile trying to creep up on his face. He took great pleasure in being one of the only people in the world to make Dazai change expressions around on a whim.
Dazai watched as Chuuya folded his wings and condensed them—or shrunk them. They flapped lightly, tiny against his body now, probably about the size of the brunette's fist.

Then he slipped on his shirt, the feathers disappearing behind white fabric.
As Chuuya slipped on his vest, he noticed Dazai’s intense gaze on his face. “...What?”
“Your ears.” He stated, pointing to them.
“Ah—fuck— shit , I don’t…”
He pushed them down, but they sprung back up with no avail.
“Let me try.” Dazai grew near, but Chuuya stepped back. “Wait, Dazai—”
But the brunette was already upon him, brushing the feathers gently with his fingertips.
The redhead gasped sharply, and tugged away, feeling his ear-feathers. He thought they were still there, only to find that they were gone.
Rather…tucked, sort of?
“Huh…? How did you…”
“We don’t have time. C’mon.”
Dazai threw Chuuya his choker.

They bolted through the hallways, not stopping for anyone who greeted them or called their names. They were on a tight schedule, and they almost didn’t making it, racing to the nearest elevator and desperately slamming the buttons to get to Mori’s office.
Only a few times did skid to a halt to drop off the two confused grunts out of the elevator with them before they reached the room before said office.
The elevator was fancy in itself, with even a lady announcing on a speaker which floor they’d pressed. In their case, the second highest floor, the highest being the rooftop.
They stepped out and were met with a few bodyguard grunts that bowed to them as they stepped through, seeing red carpet laid out before them and pots decorating the walls with plants.
The afternoon light was pouring in through the window, a gentle yellow filtering through the glass.
Dazai edged Chuuya on to the big dark-oakwood doors with bronze-gold handles, knocking. When nobody answered except for the whining of a little girl within, they waited a few more seconds before before tugging the doors open.
“Eliiiiise!~ Come dear, at least try this headband!”
“Rintarou, I hate headbands! They make my head hurt!”
“Just for a moment, I promise…”
There was a girl running around the office that luckily wasn’t naked this time (since both Dazai and Chuuya had the misfortune of walking in on that more than once), and it was just about a head accessory.
“Let me get a picture, darling, it’ll be just a moment!”
“Nooo!” The girl with long, wavy blond hair cried, blue eyes darting everywhere for an escape route as Mori gained on her. The man himself had black hair and a black overcoat, a red scarf drapping over his neck and shoulders.

Chuuya watched with disgust, leaning closer to Dazai. He felt uneasy being around the Port Mafia Boss when he was in… that mode, but usually when they got to business it was easier to handle him.

Dazai splayed an interrupting cough to get Mori’s attention, his scarlet eyes flickering over to them twice over before he realized who it was.
“Ah! Gentlemen.” Mori cleared his throat, putting on a thin smile.
“My deepest apologies. I was busy.”
Elise huffed beside him, before running back to some blank paper scattered on the ground, crayons littering her ‘workspace’, you could call it.
She got comfortable, starting to doodle on the parchment.
“We could tell,” Chuuya mumbled beside Dazai, his eyes wandering to the window, where he saw the sky. He looked toward it longingly.

“Now. As you know, I want you two to capture a few thieves out and about in some of our factories on the far side of Yokohama. I’ve yet to tell you what they’re after and which establishment they’ll be residing in.”
Mori went into his chair behind a delicately carved desk, and suddenly all the bookshelves in the room and the carpet laid out on the floor felt much more ancient, and fixing Mori into the picture like a perfect painting.

“You’ll be going to Sakae-Ku. Are you familiar with the name, Chuuya-San?” Mori flickered his gaze over to Chuuya, whose mind wavered, briefly distracted.
“Huh? Oh, it’s familiar, yeah..” Chuuya’s voice faltered as he felt movement behind his back. He did his best to hide his expression as Mori busied himself with some paper on his desk.

The redhead looked to Dazai for help. His wings were acting up, and they were aching to fly.
The brunette reaced for Chuuya’s back and soothed the wings by petting them through the two layers Chuuya wore.
Then Dazai removed his hand when Mori looked back up.
“By the way, boss.” Chuuya spoke before Mori could open his mouth. “How come we’re going to handle a simple batch of thieves?”
“I would have sent others, but the current skill users in the Mafia are busy with other affairs.” Mori shook his head.
“Wait, skill users?” Dazai asked, interested now. “The thieves are skill users?”
“Precisely. Annoying they are, and they’ve been causing quite the ruckus.”
Mori adjusted his position, setting his chin on his gloved hands, fingers interlocking.
“I’ve sent a request for our men for a helicopter. I’ll be dropping you as close as I can, since your destination is quite far away.”
“Sound’s like fun.” Chuuya cracked his knuckles, but unease seeped into his skin. He wasn’t sure how it would go. Could he ignore his wings long enough to finish their given task?

He also could see how Mori was studying him. Chuuya flinched. “It’s rude to stare, boss.” Chuuya sighed, knowing his markings were the most prominent thing about him right now.
Dazai watched him out of the corner of his eye, curling his lips in a frown of distaste.
“Will that be all, sir?”
“Yes. You may venture to the top floor. The helicopter should be arriving soon.”
Elise giggled as they left, and Dazai stayed close as if encouraging the redhead to keep his head up. He always did. No matter what.
This time might be a little harder.
Chuuya shook his head. Time to shed this stupid vulnerability spell.

When they got to the roof it was even worse than he imagined. His wings started ruffling through his clothes, and he yelped in alarm. The sky.
Freedom was right there.
He had to bite his tongue at the insanely strong urge to fly.

Dazai watched him and kept an arm curled around Chuuya’s waist.
They stayed like that for a moment until the redhead gathered himself enough to nod, both approaching the helicopter that settled there probably only a few minutes ago, its propellers slowly whirling to a stop.
“Ready, Chuuya?”
His partner snorted.
“These feathers ain’t stoppin’ anything. Let’s fuckin’ do this. ”

Chapter Text

Turns out it was nearly impossible to keep his cool. Definitely easier said than done, his body agitated and aching. 

His wings were trying to get out at almost every chance they could get, and he was forced to lean against Dazai the entire ride there, avoiding looking at the sky outside the helicopter.
The brunette kept his arm around Chuuya’s back, wrapped around his torso. He felt the feathers rise in desperation.

“What do ya think we should do when we get there?” Chuuya asked, barely keeping a straight face when his wings shifted again.

The proximity between the two and the driver was at least far away enough so when he turned around he didn’t see shifting in the redhead’s clothing.

“I have a few ideas.” Dazai flashed a knowing smirk in Chuuya’s direction, Chuuya casting him a conspicuous look. The redhead’s skin itched from that look (though it was likely his new scars behind the fact as well).

Of course it was obvious Dazai was hiding something. In fact, the redhead was willing to wager that Dazai already had everything already planned out.

“Mmmn. Asshole. Alright, where do we go when we land?”

“Hmmm. I think my gut tells me to go to a boiler room, though it’s only just a hunch~.” he mused, smirking.

Chuuya didn’t look amused, raising a brow. “Cut the shit, Dazai, you already know what’s gonna happen.”

Yet the brunette shook his head stubbornly with a grin. “Nope, it’s a secret!”

“Are ya kidding me?!” Shouted Chuuya, before settling back into Dazai’s shoulder, sighing. 

“You’re an ass.”

“I know. But it’s better that you don’t know what I’m doing.”

“I know.” Chuuya spoke softly, rubbing his back tenderly to try and soothe his aching wings.

“Technically, Chuuya, you could fly outside the helicopter. Though I’m sure you wouldn’t want our subordinate here to see you like that, hmmm?”

Chuuya’s eyes lit up with joy before Dazai finished the rest of his sentence, and his face quickly turned into a scowl.

The redhead snarled lowly in his throat. “Gargh, I hate you. No, I don’t…but they hurt, Dazai.”

Dazai was about to open his mouth when the man manning the helicopter spoke first. “We’ve arrived, gentlemen. Get ready to exit the vehicle.”

The two exchanged looks.

And then simultaneously nodded. Time to go.

Both stood up, thanked the driver and stepped off of the helicopter.

Immediately they were greeted with a gloomy looking factory with large windows and massive cylinders at the top polluting the sky with a musky gray color.

Certainly didn’t look that inviting, but it probably wasn’t meant to.

The building itself had fissures from age, even some vines crawling up the sides of the walls.

The factory was vast and engulfed a massive perimeter of the land they stood on, and it was likely who owned the building had more than just this square mile of land for his factory alone; probably another few miles of land in all directions.

Most trees were cut away from the area, either used for fuel or for it not to be a nuisance that could distract the factory workers.

Chuuya gasped sharply, a pain zinging from his spine to his head. He almost fell over from the shock, but Dazai grasped him and held him upright, his mouth a thin line of concern. “This might be a bit worse than I thought. Can you stand?”

“Sorta?” Chuuya tried, wavering, his eyes shut from the pain that was taking it’s sweet time to subside. 

His wings were getting unbearable. He felt the need to let them out of their fabric confinement’s, but he wouldn’t let them. He needed them under his clothes so people didn’t gawk at him. Or ask questions. 

Or treat me like something that shouldn’t exist. Bitterly whispered the back of his mind.

Eventually the pain did subside, and Dazai could let go once he saw the redhead relax, but Chuuya wished that he didn’t.

“Alright. Stick close.” The brunette wandered forward, and Chuuya followed close behind as he was told. The dirt beneath their feet was rough and mixed with a lot of little pebbles.

Gates forbade them entry at first, until they creaked open lowly, like a beast dwelling deep inside. Someone opened it from within the building.

“Jesus. People work here ?”

“Nasty environment, but some just have to work under these lowly conditions. They don’t even live life’s here. I kind of envy them. I do such boring work in the Mafia...”

That was Dazai’s ‘subtle’ way of mentioning how he just wanted a life where he no longer existed. Chuuya shuddered badly, and Dazai grasped him.

“No, I’m fine. It wasn’t that…sorry.”

The brunette watched him carefully, before beckoning him inside. They were greeted with smoke pouring out of a machine nearby, a few men already on the task and fixing it. There were several machines, some connected with wires, others large tubes.

Someone met them. “Erm—excuse me, can I have a word with you two? Oh—,” he seemed to notice Chuuya’s scars, but quickly went back to responding, refraining from asking what happened to him. It was a wise decision, but even the quickest of glances left Chuuya feeling self conscious. He hated it. It’s like invisible spiders crawling over him and making him itch. “I mean—you’re the ones who Mori-San sent, right?” The man was in a work attire, pieces of his outfit drenched in oil, even some smudged on his cheek.

“Yes sir,” Dazai politely nodded.

“I’ll take you to the boss straight away.”

Chuuya and Dazai once more exchanged glances, albeit briefly.

More talking? Couldn’t they just carry out their orders already?

Despite the redhead's sinking feeling, he followed the man and swept through corridors after weaving through complex machinery, and not before long, they were ascending up a damaged concrete staircase with a narrow entryway.

Chuuya felt a feeling he almost never felt before: claustrophobic.

There was no room to fly, let alone two men pressed against each other with arms spread out. The wall was too close, but the ceiling was high.

Chuuya almost began to linger behind Dazai and the worker, hissing in alarm as his wings were reacting to the small space.

These things will be the death of me.

They stopped at the end, where the stairs opened up to a smooth platform and a bland looking door.

The worker gulped, rose a fist, and rapped on the door a few times. Not even a moment passed before a bellowing voice came from within, loud and clear: “Come in.”

Chapter Text

The door yawned open at them with the lightest of pushes. In fact, it nearly flew off its hinges, wildly throwing itself against the wall with the push.

The worker nor the boss did not pay attention to this; it was likely a common occurrence.

The worker behind them moved to grab the door knob and slowly tug it behind them, leaving both alone in the room with the owner of this…‘fine’ establishment.

Dazai flinched slightly, and Chuuya had to keep himself from jolting in alarm. His feathers almost rose. Not now, not now, please, not now. He pleaded internally as they stepped inside, a large man covering the maroon seat behind his desk. He barely managed to send them down in time.

In front of them, the desk’s surface consisted of: three shot glasses, a photo frame faced the opposite direction, and an armrest laid out with some gentle form of padding to support the wrists.

And the man was starting to bald, but he had a stern glare and a curled mustache. One would even assume he wasn’t from Japan, and they’d probably be right.

If Chuuya had to guess, he seemed Italian. Even the way he dressed, in a nice black suit with a white frill suggested his suspicions correct.

Akutagawa wears the same thing, but… The redhead closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to focus on the job ahead.

“Take a seat,” the man in front of them practically growled.

“My name is Maggiano, and it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, er…”

“Chuuya,” Dazai raised his hand to the redhead, earning a skeptical look from the other, “and my name is Dazai. The pleasure is ours.”

“Mmph. Ya look pretty scrawny to be executives.” Snorted Maggiano, mainly talking about Dazai, and Chuuya almost leapt at him and tore his throat out, and he was astounded that he managed to restrain himself. His wings trying to lift behind him did nothing to aid the situation.

“Anyway. I’m assuming I don’t need to fill you in on what you came for?”

“Yes sir.” Dazai politely stated, pointedly ignoring his insult easily, which Chuuya goggled internally at him for.
He knew the brunette could take insults as though it were a breeze, but was Dazai not noticing how hard Chuuya was holding back right now?
“Well, I needja to go find em.” The man explained lightly, eyeing a cigar next to his hand that was the size of his finger.
“They might be a few levels down in this facility. No idea where they went, but they’ve been wreckin’ havoc all over the place. Called the Police. Course they’re nothin’ but shitkickers. Can’t do nothing.”
And he most certainly didn’t sound formal once he got to the reason why they were there. When Chuuya thought about it, it was likely that Italian people didn’t speak like this, either. But he didn’t really know for certain, so he was just supposed to roll along with it.

“And payment?” Dazai asked smoothly.
“After the job is done. Now scram.” Maggiano waved his large chubby arm at them, the cigar in hand.
Dazai and Chuuya did as they were told. It was clear the man had a temper, but it was best to stay polite to maintain business between the Mafia and that poor excuse of an individual.
Chuuya itched his back, feeling his wings respond instantaneously. He looked up to Dazai uncertainly.
“Boiler room?” Muttered Chuuya once they exited the office, the worker nowhere to be found.
“I told you it was just a mere guess, right~?” smirked the brunette, and it was all it took in the redhead not to roll his eyes. “Yeah yeah, whatever. Let’s go, Mackerel. I hate this place…”

It took a bit of navigating, weaving in and out of rooms and descending a few levels before they found said room.
The redhead was growing antsy, and he was biting his lip to sustain the dizziness threatening to overwhelm him. “Whoa, Chuuya. You don’t look so good.” Dazai fully turned around, gently grasping the redhead.
“I’m fine, let’s…just keep fuckin’ going.” Chuuya spat, wavering on the spot. The ceiling above them was growing smaller and smaller each time they descended the stairs, and Chuuya felt weaker the further below the ground they went.
“Here, let’s get you back.”
“No, Dazai, that ain’t a good idea, are you serious?” Chuuya’s wings weren’t relaxed, but they finally calmed down enough to stop rummaging around behind his back and trying to tear up his clothes.
The brunette narrowed his visible eye, grasping Chuuya’s waist. It was actually the only anchor keeping the redhead up right now, he loathed to admit.

“Dazai, please. Let’s just get these criminals or what fuckin’ ever and let’s get out.”
“Chuuya,” he sighed, “we need—”
“Don’t move, unless you want your scrawny lil’ heads blown to pieces.” Grunted a voice behind them.
Chuuya froze, and his feather ears rose slightly behind his hair, and immediately his hearing became ten times sharper. His feathers acted like a switch, and it was strange. Nobody could see it due to the dark.
He would have thought it was due to his ability, but it was probably something physically done by Arahabaki as well.
Dazai nearly stopped breathing, and Chuuya didn’t even dare move.
His night vision was excellent, and knowing Dazai, for him even more so.

It took him a moment to realize there were more than just one person here, and he could hear the faint puffs of breath and the clinks of guns cocking.
Roughly…five men? Chuuya thought, and he caught Dazai’s attention, flicking his eye to his finger, where he curled it slightly, and then let out an exasperated breath.
Five surrounding.
Was what he told his partner in their secret language.
Dazai understood but made no move to react. They were in danger, especially due to the fact the brunette’s arms were around Chuuya’s.

“Tch. Mafia sent kids? Really scrappin’ the bottom of the barrel, those rich bitch-ass scums.” Swore the man, his gun pointed directly to the back of Dazai’s head, only inches away from him. The redhead could only stare and keep quiet.

The brunette inched his fingers off of Chuuya. He made sure not to make it appear he was doing so.
“Search them.” Said the man, who Chuuya could tell had dull ginger hair and a pissed expression, piercings puncturing both of his ears. He even had a bit of stubble under his chin, and almost what looked to appear to be getup that was definitely worn for wear, a jacket unzipped, leaving his bare chest wide open. 

A clear shot, Chuuya thought. If he had even a split second to let his power seep into the ground and lift a rock, he could shoot it directly into the man’s chest.
A man roughly a foot or two taller than Chuuya rolled up behind him, a knife at his hip and coming closer.

It was clear what they had to do, and they had little time to do it. 

Fight our way out. There’s no talkin’ here.

Just the question was…were they going to make it out…unscathed?

Chapter Text

Dazai and Chuuya made eye contact. Chuuya could feel Dazai’s heartbeat, and how they momentarily synced. The man was just a few feet away, his arms rising.

Now.

In a moment Chuuya was standing, the next he was doing a handstand, slamming his foot into the man’s jaw.

Instant knockout.

Their captor shouted out in surprise and shot the bullet, but the brunette was already out of the way as it sailed past him and sunk into a tank, puncturing it easily.

“EVERYONE FIRE!” The man bellowed, and Chuuya’s heart sank when all of their sides were covered. Six muzzles were pointed in their direction, and only another second went by before they started firing.

But that was all Chuuya needed. He appeared at Dazai’s side and sent his power into the ground, thrusting all the energy in his body into the earth, sending rocks erupting all around them in a protective cage. They could hear the dull thunk thunk thunk’s as the bullets hit the rocks.

“WHAT THE FUCK?” Chuuya and Dazai heard the man shriek.

“THEY’RE SKILL USERS!”

Chuuya snorted. No shit.

The rock barrier came down as fast as it went up, leaving the ground misshapen and cracked.

Chuuya ascended and descended, slamming a harsh axe kick into another guy that ran at them, his gun discarded and now he brandished a knife. The man’s head slammed into the ground, and he was dead, the weapon clattering to the floor.

Shots echoed around the room as bullets fired, but Chuuya’s graceful dance in the sky made sure to maneuver out of the way each time.

Dazai below had pulled out his gun and was doing his best to avoid each bullet, some just barely scathing his skin, not as fast as Chuuya, but certainly skilled in avoiding the onslaught.

The redhead moved his focus from his partner to a man in front of him, a muscular and fat man all in one. He grabbed at the air where Chuuya kept appearing and disappearing out of.

He landed on the man’s fist with a feather-light touch, hands in his pockets, smirking. “You lookin’ for someone?” The redhead mused, chuckling. The man bellowed angrily, his arm whipping to catch Chuuya, but Chuuya was already at his side, winding up, and— BOOM.  

The redhead’s fist contacted with the fat man’s ribs, the force of a speeding garbage truck behind it, and immediately killing the man from the blow, his guts erupted out from the other side of his body and spatting to the floor, his entire figure sent flying. The man screamed, though the noise quickly died in his throat as he instantly died from Chuuya’s blow.

There were two cries of pain, and Chuuya’s sensitive hearing picked it up from some of the shooters. The feathers behind his ears were elevated and perked up, taking in every sound around them.

And it sounded like some of Dazai’s shots had connected.

“Hell yeah, Dazai!” Chuuya laughed eagerly, landing next to the brunette, who smirked at him.

“YA AIN’T GETTIN AWAY THAT EASILY!”

This time, the redhead couldn’t react in time.

Within an instant, chains manifested from the ginger man’s hand, a clamp enough to wrap around the whole of Chuuya’s torso and his arm’s clamped tight around his body and sent him sailing.

The redhead screamed, slammed into another tank, indenting it with his body.

Panic flooded him and he desperately tried to break free, eyes wide in shock.

His system delivered a sharp stab of pain to his brain, and he gasped, the wind knocked out of him.

He was thrown around again before he could focus to use his ability, knocking into three more tanks in the span of five seconds before he dropped to the floor with a groan.

“CHUUYA!” Dazai shouted, and he was already at the man who disconnected the chains from his hands, but they still stayed around Chuuya.

The brunette dodged the chains that swelled from the man’s palm like a spray of silly string, throwing his guns up and shooting.

But more chains manifested, spinning fast and deflecting the bullet right off the older ginger’s body.

“Too slow, kiddo!” The man howled with delight.

“Dazai!” Shrieked Chuuya, and he wriggled helplessly in the binds. Desperation set in and there were massive floods of pain coming from Chuuya’s back. He even tried his ability to break out but it was no use.

Two men came closer to him, guns aiming at him, but more focusing on the man Dazai was fighting, who seemed to be the leader of their little group.

“Dazai!” Chuuya shouted again, and his voice was failing him as he cried out in pain, his wings flailing frantically now, the bonds starting to burn as they crushed him.

It hurts, said a voice in his mind that wasn’t his. Or maybe it was.

Stop, it hurts. It sounded like he was talking to himself but he couldn’t recall thinking under the crushing pressure of the bindings.

He gasped in agony, trying to rip the bonds with his arms, the pain overwhelming. Freedom. It hurts. I can’t move. Wings. I need to stretch. I need to—

Chuuya lost it in the amounts of pain, sanity thinning and snapping completely.

“AaaaAAAAAAHHH!” The ground shook, Chuuya was in one place and everywhere at once. He was glowing, and the men next to him shot at him in alarm, but the bullets never reached their mark, thanks to the gravitational field slowly swallowing the place up, so subtle nobody could notice. Nobody except Dazai.

His wings.

My wings.

The roar that came out of his throat wasn’t his. Neither were the wings that swelled into normal size, stretching and ripping the shirt with ease. The bulk of the clamp barely handled it, jutting upward.

The metal creaked and groaned, trying to fight back but ended up snapping as Chuuya’s wings stretched.

“AAARRGGGHHH!” He screamed, the metal dropping to the floor. Every eye was on him as he slowly stood up, eyes wide, eyes predatory. The markings on his skin pulsed, radiating off its own heat, turning a bright red, illuminating the features of his face. Fangs were bared as he glared at his new target, fingers, claws digging into his flesh as he clenched his fists.

His eyes narrowed to pinpoints. His feathers gleamed, red eyes settled at the edge of each feather, glowing brightly in the dark room.

He was no longer himself as he felt an animal take control.

No, he was a monster.

Corruption had taken over.

Chapter Text

Dazai watched as the whirlwind that was Chuuya decimate their surroundings. The ceiling was carved out like a giant spoon scooped up some jelly.
Below a crater formed around Chuuya. The earth shook above and below, vertically vibrating Dazai upwards and downwards.
The two men near Chuuya were gone. Obliterated. Disintegrated.
The tanks near the redhead started melting from the sphere. Pipes that were carrying air exploded, sending hot steam everywhere.
It only made sense due to the immense pressure crushing the air that everything was descending into chaos. 

The leaders arms were in the sphere of destruction and were immediately gone upon contact.
He screamed.
The man fell back, eyes wide with shock as there were only bleeding stubs left of his arms. He kicked his feet frantically, screaming at the top of his lungs.
The only person not affected was Dazai. He walked calmly toward the living catastrophe as fissures were cracking the ground and dividing it below his feet. Rocks and dust sprinkled down from above, creating a dusty haze.
The redhead created a sound that resembled the roar of a dragon, an otherworldly creature, with wings that were equally elegant and magnificent, unmatched by any of the most beautiful rubies or ambers in the world.
Each marking upon his body was glowing and throbbing dimly now as he released the pent up energy that had awaited a long time to release again, even if it had only been maybe a week or so since last time.
Arms appeared around Chuuya, wrapping carefully against his waist.
“You’re not trapped, Chuuya. You’re free.” Said a silky voice, dragging Chuuya from the inescapable haze of corruption.

Upon contact the redheads gravitational, crushing pressure vanished within an instant, covered in tendrils of blue light. Sprawled across the tendrils, was “No Longer Human”, only written in Japanese: もはや人間ではない

Dazai watched as his partner immediately slumped into his arms, his wings losing strength as his energy was being sapped away like someone slurping a drink.
“D…Dazai,” he spoke softly, his markings cooling and returning to their scar-like state, no longer a red that burned ones eyes.
“I’m…” and he collapsed against the brunette.
Dazai let him, feeling Chuuya’s feathers flutter a little under the touch when his arms wrapped around Chuuya.

“You two are monsters!” shrieked the man, a large scarlet pool surrounding him.
Dazai could tell he was in agony, and picked up Chuuya in his arms, watching the leader, before approaching him.
“I envy you, you know.” Dazai said lightly, as though he were talking about the weather. “You get to die. I don’t envy your pain, though. I hate pain.”
“WHAT ARE YOU?” shrieked the man, bleeding out faster as he moved.
“Just your friendly neighborhood suicidal maniac.” Dazai stated, one hand securing under Chuuya’s legs, the other on his back to support his upper body.
“THEN DIE ALREADY!” The man still had enough energy to muster three chains which slithered in the air and shot after Dazai.
They disappeared immediately upon contact. The man shrieked.
“If only it were that easy.” The brunette frowned. Only slightly.
The man heard a click of a gun, and the last thing he saw was a cruel, dark smile, before a bullet was buried deep in his skull.


All Dazai could do was smile. His eyes were as black as the deepest abyss, no life within, standing still as at last their task was taken care of. The muzzle of the gun in his hands was still smoking, and he dropped it carelessly, adjusting his hand back so he could carry Chuuya.
“Urk. You’re so heavy.” He spoke to nobody, walking slowly to the stairs. People would ask about the commotion.
But Dazai made sure they wouldn’t even be seen.

As much as he…‘hated’ the redhead, he respected his wishes. He didn’t want to be seen like this. Vulnerable, weak, and on top of that a pair of animalistic limbs attached to his body.
Dazai moved swiftly throughout the factory, skillfully avoiding every eye in the building. When he made it to the first floor, he double checked there were no security cameras facing the way he was going, and took the smallest and unpopulated routes, disappearing into the surrounding forest once he reached the exit outside. As he ran, he could hear the rising anxious voices of the workers in the facility, obviously panicking from all the quaking.

After five minutes of running, Dazai was out of breath, panting harshly. His throat hurt and burned but also felt cold as the rush of wind went down his windpipe. Every breath hurt and his mind spun. Regardless, he did his best to ignore it, resting Chuuya’s body against a trunk as delicately as he could muster before collapsing next to him.
The sun filtered through the emerald green leaves with a golden glow, peppering Dazai’s face with yellow light. It was a bit annoying, and he kept tilting his head this way and that to avoid the sunlight.
After a moment of staring at the redhead, he crossed his legs, leaning his elbow painfully against his knee, resting his cheek in his hand. “Well…it only activated for a moment. He probably will wake in an hour or so..” Dazai muttered to himself, scratching the bandages over his concealed eye.
“Hm,”
The brunette released all the air in his lungs in one sigh, looking away from Chuuya. He didn’t expect the redhead to release Corruption, but it did end the fight quite quickly, which was much easier on their part.
We’ll have to avoid getting picked up by the helicopter pilot for a bit. Tree’s will be good temporary cover until nightfall–if we have to wait that long. Dazai’s thoughts lingered in his mind, before going silent as he stared at Chuuya.
His feathers were shimmering beautifully, the glow that emitted from them before long gone. They were just maroon now, the inside of his wings looked to be a sort of reddish-pink in the sunlight.
His chest fell and swelled each time he intook a breath or released one, Dazai mesmerized by the pattern. His red hair laid against his shoulder and the outfit Dazai provided, out of the pony tail he wore about a week ago.
After being in the hospital, Chuuya didn’t seem to realize his hair was out of the ponytail, nor did he appear to care, leaving his hair to drape over his shoulders.
How could one man look so gorgeous?
Dazai huffed.
“How in the world did I get stuck with such a savage and cute partner?” Dazai sighed, and looked to the sky.
“Probably fate or something stupid like that.” he said half-heartedly to himself.
Well, I guess I’ll just wait here until he wakes up. I have nothing better to do, after all.

Chapter Text

What am I doing here?
Was Chuuya’s first thought, staring into the empty, white void that surrounded him.
He turned around, and spotted nothing in the blank canvas of which he stood on.
What is this, my mind space or something? He questioned, scratching the back of his head.

Wait, how was he even doing that?
And what's that noise?
He didn’t feel anything when his fingers supposedly brushed his hair.
And an obnoxious clinking sound was heard every time he moved.
He looked down.
Chuuya’s breath caught in his throat, and immediately he felt like he couldn’t breathe. If he was even doing that in this strange space.
Chains. Chains wrapped all around him. Around his arms, around his legs, around his chest and neck, the last metal hoop resting on his cheeks. Its like they were glued to him.
Frantically, he tugged and yanked his arms upward, but the chains disappeared far below him into the floor.
But there was no floor. No sky, or a ceiling of any sort, not even walls or windows to an outside world.
All he could see was white.
And the chains wrapped around his body descending until his eyes couldn’t follow the trail anymore due to it being too far down.
He couldn’t even see its ends.
The strangest thing, however, adding to all of it, was his skin was clear. No scars, no blemishes, not even his wings. Nothing.
All he wore were some dim gray-brown pants over his legs.

Get me out of here! Chuuya thought, trying to rip them off, but they suddenly tightened, and he cried out in pain.
“Aargh!”

Efforts. Futile.

Chuuya stopped immediately. He felt paralyzed.
Hello?... After a moment of no response, Who’s there?
….
It was strange how he could feel its silence.
Whoever it was.

He turned, and his jaw dropped.
Standing…no, floating infront of him was a disembodied shape of a dragon. It was there and not. Its long, flowing mane cascaded from the tip of its forehead down its elegant body. Its horns curved into elegant arches and twisted near the ends. Long, thin tendrils sprouted from under its nostrils and waved in the air absentmindedly.
Its yellow eyes were fixated on Chuuya. It’s body was massive.
Each scale was as if someone intricately carved garnets and plastered it on the creature before him. His underscales on its neck and belly were the color of rubies, but more pastel.

Its wingspan was larger than a skyscraper, at least. And its tail reached for miles, coiled and coiled behind the beast.
It was if someone merged a Chinese dragon with a European dragon, and somehow it worked.
It had four limbs like any other reptile, but they were relaxed against the ground. It laid on its belly.

Shock should not be necessary.

How in the hell could Chuuya respond? His brain wasn’t clicking, but eventually the puzzle pieces slid into place.

You’re Arahabaki.
That I am.
I guess I never imagined you to be so…formal?
Created that way.
It seemed to talk formally and like a toddler all in the same time. It was funny.
And strange.

What did you do to me? Why am I here?
Dreaming is something we cannot do. But I can visit.
You…can what?
Chuuya was awestruck. He moved his body. Or tried, considering the fact he forgot about the chains.
…Why didn’t you visit me before?
Only after you summoned me may I visit.
But why didn’t you come to see me when I was in the hospital?
Buried.
Buried…?  

Chuuya was so confused. He felt like he understood distantly, but at the same time he felt he knew nothing more than he already had.
Consciousness buried me.

It explained.
So I have to be unconscious, Chuuya responded softly, though mainly to himself. The dragon seemed to creak before him, tilting its head lower.

Yes.
Okay…what are these chains?
My doing.
I could see that…can you get rid of ‘em now?
No.
…Why am I here?

No response. Chuuya was getting pissed off now. 

He wasn’t getting many answers.
Why am I here? He asked again, and once more he received no response. All the dragon did was blink at him.
A few moments later…

To show something.

Chuuya was about to snap at it again when it finally replied.
Admittedly, he was curious now.

Show me what?
Wait.
Huh…?

Suddenly, there were chains erupting through his chest, stabbing him from behind, winding around the dragons horns like some sort of twisted way of showing connection.
Chuuya screamed in agony.
“AAAARGH! AAAH!!” 

Chuuya thrashed around frantically, screaming to no end. His throat didn’t hurt in this dimension, but the chains felt like they were killing him. Blood would have been spewing out of him like a fountain yet nothing came, and he certainly didn’t feel human in this dimension, or whatever it was.

He was huffing when the chains settled. He coughed, but no scarlet liquid came.

He blinked.
The chains were gone.
In their place was Chuuya’s scars, as he expected them before. They wound all around his body.
He felt his wings return to him, the numb feeling that washed over him like a cold bucket of water vanishing. His hair even appeared… lengthier?
What the…?
He looked to the dragon. He couldn’t settle for an emotion right now, his brain thrown into complexity beyond his understanding. Or at least, that's what he told himself.
Look again.
The redhead did as he was told. He gasped and sharply jerked away.
His hands.
They were black. It was like someone dipped both of his arms up to his elbows in ink and let it dry upon his skin.
WHAT THE FUCK?
He stumbled down onto his knees. He looked up to the god dragon, and then at his hands. He couldn’t even register the shock anymore.
What have you done to me?

His eyes fluttered open.
“Chuuya?”
The redhead jolted upwards, gasping for lungfuls of air.
Frantically he looked all around his body. He expected for the blackness to be on his arms but…there were just scars. Not any of that weird ink sort of stuff on his skin.
Instead was Dazai’s jacket wrapped around him comfortably.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
And then realized his ass was settled on mushy mud and grass.
“Whoa, hey, calm down.” Dazai took Chuuya’s hands in his, despite feeling like he was completely out of his element in doing so.
“Where are we?” Chuuya asked before Dazai could respond.
“In a forest,” he responded briskly, reaching one of his hands after letting go of Chuuya to wipe sweat from the redheads brow.
“You weren’t waking up right away after Corruption. So I had to hide you for…well, you know.” He gestured to Chuuya’s wings, letting his eye flicker over to them.

Chuuya sat there for a moment, uncertain as his fingers hesitantly reached to his feathers, then gently brushing them.
“I’m…sorry,” Chuuya said after a moment, catching Dazai off-guard. “What?”
“For…taking so long to wake,” the redhead muttered, actually having no reason why he said sorry. So he had to make one up on the spot.

“It’s okay.” Dazai shook his head lightly.
Dazai reached for Chuuya’s underside, then pulled back. He wouldn’t carry the redhead.
Unfortunately for him, Chuuya noticed this. “What were you about to do?”
“...Nothing.” Dazai said, trying not to embarrass himself. He pulled back and lifted a hand for the redhead to grasp.
And so he did.
The brunette helped him up, and they stared at eachother silently for a few moments.
“...Let’s head back.”
Chuuya gripped the hem of Dazai’s coat around himself securely, and nodded.
“Alright—Let’s.”

Chapter Text

They were returned shortly after to base, Chuuya appearing quite exhausted as he wore Dazai’s coat to cover his back, practically glued to Dazai’s side. He made no move to extract the redhead, and almost appeared to be welcoming the contact since he didn’t shove his partner off already. They stayed like that as they traveled down the three flights of stairs, knowing they’ll have to separate before they started crashing into Mori’s office.

“Dazai,” muttered Chuuya as they walked slowly to prolonge the time they had together.
“What ‘m I gonna do about clothes?” He mumbled, rubbing his eye. His energy had been depleting every since he woke up, despite him trying to fight the tiredness.
Also due to that, he almost couldn’t hide his wings under his shirt again. He needed to rest, as in rest on his bed in his apartment or something. He missed his place all week.

“Your clothes?” Dazai looked at Chuuya before realizing what he meant. “Oh…we’ll probably need a different tailor for you then.”
“Hell no! I can’t just waltz in on a random store owner and say: ‘Hey! I have wings, but don’t freak out, its just because of the god inside me. Anyway, mind making me some clothes that suit me?’ I mean, Jesus, Dazai. At least think about this shit a little.”
Dazai covered his mouth and snorted into it. He appeared to be overcome with sympathy, but Chuuya could almost see directly through his hand and knew he was hiding a smile under it.
“Don’t you laugh at me!” the redhead shouted, throwing a punch at Dazai that he swiftly avoided as they were on the second platform, with one more stairway to go.
“You shouldn’t hit me , Hatrack! You were the one being amusing!”
“But you were making fun of me !”
“But I didn’t say anything!”
“You were thinkin’ it! ”
The banter continued until they were at the bottom step, and Chuuya suddenly rammed into his partner, pinning the brunette to the wall. “You’re a total asshole!”

“Maybe I’d be less of one if my Slug wasn’t always so dim.”
After a moment, it suddenly struck Chuuya what he said.
“Y– yours? ” He squeaked, pulling off of Dazai, also realizing what position they were in.
“D–disgusting, Dazai! You’re awful! ” But it was obvious how blatant the lie was due to the blush decorating his cheeks.
“Let’s just fuckin’ go already and tell Mori we finished the mission. I wanna go home…” He hid his face with his hair, ignoring the smug gaze that he could practically feel radiating off Dazai.
“Your wish is my command, princess. ”
“E–excuse me?” Chuuya whipped around, about to slap Dazai, but the door was already opening, and he had to force his arms down as a few grunts bowed to them and gestured forward to allow them to pass to Mori’s office.

Without saying anything, they were invited back into Mori’s office, the grand doors opening once again.
Mori was deeply entranced with paperwork, muttering to himself and rubbing his chin. See, thats what one would expect from a Port Mafia Boss. Or, atleast most of the time, and not chasing a little girl around with clothes and begging her to put them on.

“Good evening boss.” Dazai did a little bow, and Chuuya copied him gingerly. The sun was lowering in the sky again, and the redhead couldn’t help but look wistfully outside. He still ached, but it was less prominent now than before.

“We finished the job, as you requested.”
Mori finally lifted his head after a moment, responding only when he brought his piercing red eyes to look at them. “Excellent. Deepest apologies, but I have to get these documents finished by morning. You are excused.” And back into the papers he went.
Dazai and Chuuya exchanged glances. Nothing more, nothing less.
Well, they wanted to rest anyway. The less time they spent here, the better.
Quickly they turned on their heels and backtracked, except taking the stairs upward, they took the elevator to go downward.

The brunette reached over and pressed the third floor, only to notice Chuuya’s dismayed expression.
“Chuuya?”
The redhead met his gaze as the elevator jumped with a start, stuttering before descending.
“You look…sad.” Dazai stated after a second, biting his cheek.
“I just want to fly, Dazai.” He responded, reaching his arms around his torso, hugging himself.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll be going home in a bit.” Then Chuuya looked to Dazai expectantly.
“...Does Chuuya want me to come with?”
The redhead hid a smile by looking away. “You’re smart enough to guess, aren’tcha?”

The rest of the hour was a blur as they walked through a hallway into the main lobby, which was bustling with grunts. The outside was crawling with more of them like worker ants. Chuuya paid no mind to any of them, entranced in his own little world.
Both made it outside, a limo awaiting them, Hirotsu, the oldest in the Mafia, holding the door for them. He was expecting them, it seemed.
So without further ado, they entered the car, and a minute later it was already on the road, the car kicking into gear, tires screeching as it sailed fast.

“You still haven’t responded, Dazai.”
“If you’re referring to the tailor, I technically have.”
Chuuya tried not to show his amazement that he knew what the brunette was talking about.
“Well…it sounds like you have someone in mind. Can you tell me about him?”
“The tailor I’m referring to is actually a woman. I’ve met her a few times myself. Odasaku hooked me up with her.”
“What?!” Chuuya nearly leapt out of his seat in surprise, forgetting what ‘hooked up’ meant in his sentence.
“Relax, Chibi. I mean so she could make me clothes.” He soothed the rising feathers behind Chuuya’s neck which were sharply lifting up through the fabric in agitation. After a moment, the redhead relaxed back into Dazai.
“She’s quite sweet. I think you’d like her.”
“Ya sure…?” Chuuya nuzzled against Dazai, making him freeze. But he told himself this was likely going to be a common occurrence from now on.
“She’s better than Kouyou.” Dazai snorted. She was another executive among the Port Mafia.
Chuuya huffed. “That’s mean, Dazai.” He lightly punched his partner in the shoulder.

“I’m joking.”
“...I know.”
The rest of the car ride was also silent. They were both exhausted now, and their energy came off as sleepy, making eachother yearn for their beds.
At last they were dropped off at Chuuya’s apartment, and the redhead opened the door, holding it for Dazai.
“Goodnight, you two,” Hirotsu said, rolling down his window.
“Would you prefer to walk tomorrow morning, or do you wish for me to escort you to the main building?”
Chuuya shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but I think we can manage.”
Hirotsu blinked to Dazai. “Aren’t you heading home?”
It was apparent that Dazai was standing next to Chuuya. And Chuuya always specified that Dazai wasn’t to come even near his apartment. So for him to come out with the redhead was beyond strange.
“I’ll just walk home from here,” Dazai lied smoothly, smiling. “Not that much of a biggie. Goodnight to you”
Hirotsu bowed his head politely in return, and the tinted window rolled up.
The limo was off, and on and on it went into the distance until it turned a corner and it was seen no more.

Chuuya tugged Dazai into the apartment building and wove past the door and pillars holding the ceiling up, making a beeline for the elevator with Dazai’s hand in his own.
“Chuuya, are you sure—?” He couldn’t even finish his sentence as he was shoved in.
“I thought you don’t like me in your apartment complex,” the brunette half teased. To be frank, he was a little disoriented with the way Chuuya’s been acting lately.
“It’s fine if it’s just this once, right?” he squirmed on the spot, feeling Dazai’s strange gaze crawl over the back of his neck.
His feathers rose in retaliation, but he didn’t seem to notice until the brunette smoothed them out for him.
“I suppose.”
The elevator stopped with a harsh jolt, and the doors parted open for them to exit.
They stepped out, and immediately Chuuya whisked him away down the right hall, passing several doors until he stopped on the door: 182.
“Don’t judge me for what my room looks like, kay? I’m too tired to deal with your insults right now.”
Dazai snorted. But he knew he’d oblige none the less.
And then Chuuya took the key from his pocket, and pushed it into the lock.

Chapter Text

Chuuya threw open the door to reveal a very clean apartment-so much so it nearly made Dazai sick.
The brunette could make out a kitchen down the six feet long hallway to his left, and a living room on the right. Up ahead was a small dining room and a window located behind it, letting some of the moonlight seep in.
A hatrack (unsurprisingly enough) stood next to the doormat, which was currently unoccupied. His hat was missing.
The redhead disposed of his shoes under the rack, and motioned for Dazai to do the same, in which he did.
Finally closing the door, Chuuya nearly fell over with his wings trying to unbalance him and open, despite being trapped in the fabric.
He stumbled with a yelp, but Dazai’s arm snaked around his stomach and held him before he truely fell.
He was sniggering, and Chuuya wanted to slap him. “S…shut up…” he said weakly, his body shivering. The pain was slowly building up now, and he bet that his wings, which now seemed to be intent on having a mind of its own, was as fed up with him as he were fed up with them.

“Let them have a break, Slug. You’ve earned it.”
Dazai lifted up Chuuya’s layers before he could protest, taking his jacket and what remained of his vest and shirt off entirely. “W–wait-! Hey!”
Immediately his wings fluffed out and returned to full size, smacking the brunette in the face with feathers.
“Owwh! Watch it, birdboy, that hurts!”
“You certainly deserve it for calling me that nickname, Mackerel. ” Chuuya huffed, discarding his clothes on the couch, walking past it into the kitchen. Dazai hooked his jacket away on the hat rack, snorting.
Chuuya’s wings were trembling a bit, but he looked to be fine. He flicked on a light switch, and the three lights dangling over the countertop brightly zinged to life.
And then Dazai followed him, determined to keep his arms wrapped around the redhead.

“I thought you didn’t like my physical contact,” Chuuya pointed out, despite them doing exactly that for the past week.

“I’m a changed man, what can I say?” He joked, and the redhead thrusted his hips backward, whacking Dazai’s thigh to push him away. Or maybe it was a playful gesture. 

“Asshole. Let me atleast get some food before I sleep.”
“Whatever you say.” Dazai pulled off Chuuya, and immediately he missed the contact. He shook his head, a weird tingly feeling left where his partner had touched him.
He crawled onto the countertop, and the brunette watched him with amusement that he tried not to pay attention to as he found a box of cookies, unsheathing the bag from its box and disposing of it behind him, somehow managing to hit the recycle bin sitting next to the counter with the sink on it.
Dazai whistled, impressed, as Chuuya landed next to him, back on the ground and closing the cabinet door.
“I’m surprised you aren’t teasing me for my height. Who are you, and what have you done to Dazai Osamu?” He threateningly pointed two brown cookies sandwiching white creme in between in Dazai’s general direction.
“He’s right here.” The brunette bit the cookie, snatching it from the unsuspecting redhead who blushed.
“That was mine, you bitch, I didn’t allow you to have that.”
“But you were giving it to me, Chuuya. It isn’t my faaault~.”
“Oh whatever.” Chuuya huffed, grabbing a handful of the cookies and leaving the rest on the counter, turning himself and folding his wings tightly against his body to make sure not to knock anything over as he wandered to his room. 

The walls slightly jutting out around an entryway  which probably led to the bedroom of this small apartment.
So Chuuya went through while munching on the cookies..
…And inevitably, got a little stuck.

Dazai was starting to laugh when the redhead realized he couldn’t fit through fully due to his wings.
“Gargh, god, fucking—” Chuuya wriggled and managed to break free. “Why is my doorway so small?” He complained, the bag still held tight in his grasp as his partner followed him.
“Because the little fairy miraculously got bigger is all.” Dazai teased.
“Shut up, mummy-boy. Atleast I ain’t covered in bandages!”
“But you’re covered in feathers, aren’t you~?” he snorted, picking up Chuuya bridal style. “Wha–hey! Let me down!” Chuuya wriggled, and the brunette merely rolled his eyes as he dumped his partner on the bed.

“You’re tired, right? So get some rest.”
“Hah?”
The redhead whirled around to see Dazai turning to leave.

“Wait!” He called, much too desperately.
“I–” He had no choice but to swallow his pride in this situation. The itch was bugging him to the point of driving him insane after Dazai’s feather-light touches.
His fingertips were soft and warm. Chuuya, despite having layers upon layers of feathers, felt cold.

Dazai looked at him, blinking in a confused manner. “What?” He didn’t leave, but he didn’t move, which was what Chuuya was kind of hoping for.
“Can you just…stay?” the redhead tried, realizing he has no idea where he was going with this.
Dazai stared at him long and hard. “Why?”
“B–because…” He had no real reason now, did he?

“Can you just stay and I don’t have to give you a reason, just this damn once?” Chuuya mumbled, his wings wrapping around the arms that went under his knees, hiding himself from view in pure embarrassment. What was he thinking? This was probably the stupidest decision he’d ever made in his entire life–he was considering letting Dazai in his personal space, let alone his apartment ? Whats wrong with him?
Were these wings doing something to his brain, making it all mushy and feel weirdly bubbly with happiness all over?
“...If Chuuya wants me to stay, I suppose I can spare another night.” Dazai was working exceptionally hard not to look at Chuuya’s upper body since it wasn’t clothed. He sat next to the redhead on the bed.
Chuuya jerked a bit, but tried to hide it. He was surprised Dazai, who usually would respond with a comeback, joined him at the slightest hint of Chuuya showing his sincere and vulnerable side.
“You’ve always seen me as a bother, so I thought you wouldn’t want me in your territory.”
“Why are you calling it somethin’ like that ? You make my house sound weird.” Chuuya ended up cuddling against Dazai, his wing pulling away deliberately. The feathers were relaxed, no longer agitated.
“Side’s, its…Just…for tonight.” He yawned.

A shudder wracked his body, and the redhead was asleep within moments, laying against Dazai’s shoulder.
The brunette watched him with a smile that Chuuya would never see, carding his fingers through a blanket of feathers, watching the city bustle below out the large window, the curtains left open.
“Good night, Chuuya,” Dazai whispered, turning his head to lovingly gazing at his partner, a gaze he’d never given anyone in his life before.
And with that, he scooted them both backwards and laid down, head falling on the pillow.
Then, just like that, he was out.

Chapter Text

Chuuya was the first to wake, and he found himself in several awkward angles. His wings feathers were askew and slightly in pain, though he wasn’t conscious enough to acknowledge it just yet, and Dazai was crushing him from behind, arms through Chuuya’s thick layers of feathers to wrap around his waist.
Secondly, the sun was far too bright and Chuuya just wanted to go back to sleep and snuggle in Dazai’s arms, even if the sunlight was filtering through the nearly transparent curtains.
Something in his heart jerked and told him that moment was wrong. So very wrong.
But he didn’t want to process that feeling–infact, he didn’t want to process anything until he actually woke up or turned over and went back to sleep.

After several minutes of deciding, he gingerly rose, only to feel Dazai’s hands still bring him down.
He wriggled, but the hands held together like a death grip. Assuming Dazai was still asleep, Chuuya tried to stand.
“You’re not going anywhere, Chibi.” Suddenly he was yanked downward with a yelp, wings fluffing in surprise.
“You bastard, were you faking being asleep?” Chuuya writhed against Dazai, and the man chuckled above him, stroking the redhead's feathers, making him whine and relax.

“No, I felt you move and woke up too,” Dazai admitted, admiring the way Chuuya immediately gave up the idea of struggling when the brunette went to gently pet his wings. Honestly, they were heavy, both were, but they were in credibly soft and warm. They generated and even seemed to suck up the heat.

Dazai played with one feather for a moment, but being careful not to bend it too far back.
“Ow!” Chuuya jerked, folding his wing tighter.
Startled, Dazai pulled away. “What is it?”
“I dunno…something poked me.” Chuuya rose and Dazai let him, and the redhead began to study his wings closely.
“I can’t see the problem, it’s on the back.” he said with a sigh, trying to twist his head but to no avail.
“Let me.” Dazai lifted his hand and carefully carded through the feathers again like he did last night, trying to locate the problem.
Smooth…smooth. Everything seems fine. The Slugs probably just complaining–
And just then, he felt a jagged end press up against his hand. He flinched, and so did Chuuya. “I found it.”
Dazai moved the feathers covering the problem and made a little ‘aha’ sound. “Found you, little bugger.” Dazai tugged out the bent feather.
The redhead hissed in a little pain, but sighed with it was removed. “Is there any more?”
“Let me check.”
It lasted for a few minutes, and Chuuya had come out with two more bent feathers in unexpected places.
“Tch…I’m not going to have to do this every morning, am I?”
“No clue.” Dazai shrugged, slipping out of bed.
“Anyway, Chuuya! Enough dawdling, I have somewhere to take you today!”
Chuuya pouted. “Can’t we stay in bed a little longer?”
Dazai hesitated, which is something he never did.
Bingo. Pout and you get what you want with that bastard.  

The redhead thought with an internal smirk.
But Dazai caught on, tackling Chuuya to the bed.
“How mean~! Chuuya thought he could keep me by being cute?” The redhead flushed. 

“Hah!? Asshole! You’re not allowed to read my mind!”
Then the brunette lowered himself, his moist lips next to the shell of Chuuya’s ear, his hands on both of Chuuya’s shoulders.
“But I thought Chuuya liked me knowing him so well.”
He shuddered, a deep blush coloring his face, matching his red hair.
“Asshat.” Chuuya tugged Dazai down, his wings held down when he was pinned.
Then they were hugging, and Chuuya wrapped his wings around Dazai, nuzzling into his neck.
Warm.
The brunette froze.
“Oh just hug me damnit,” The redhead muttered, and the embrace was returned. They stayed like that for a good bit, before eventually Dazai pulled off, smiling as the feathers were sifting down from his back.
“Really, Chuu~. I have somewhere to take you. Get dressed and we’ll grab something on the way.” Dazai spoke in a tone that was exceedingly gentle, even surprising Chuuya.
“Um. Okay.” He was trying to hide his red face as he watched the brunette go to Chuuya’s wardrobe.
“The fuck you doin’?”
“Getting Chuuya’s outfit for today~.”
“Bastard, I don’t want you pickin’ out my clothes. You have terrible taste.”
“How rude~!” Dazai pouted, before dropping the outfit Chuuya had been wearing for a few months straight.
A black biker jacket with rolled up sleeves sewn midway around the forearm, black gloves, as usual, black pants and sunglasses.
“Oh. I thought you were gonna mix and match.” The redhead huffed with a smile.
“I’m not that bad at clothes, though.” Dazai wrapped his arms around Chuuya when he stood, leaning his head on the redheads shoulder.
“Says the kid who’s always walkin’ around in bandages.”
The brunette sniffled as if he was meaning to be dramatic, but otherwise said nothing.
His hands were ruffling Chuuya’s wings and Chuuya should have been bothered but actually welcomed the touch.

“Y’know, if I wanna get changed, you should probably let go.”
“Do I have to?” Dazai complained, hugging Chuuya now, making him freeze and blush again.
“Get out of my room you mummified buffoon. I’ll be out in a second.”
Dazai complained loudly as the redhead shoved his partner out of his room before getting changed. It took about a few minutes, but he came out, wings gone, no hint of feathers, and a normal Chuuya left in his wake. Well, as normal as you can get if you ignored the scars running up his cheeks.
The brunette marveled the redhead in front of him, enjoying the view.
“What?” The redhead asked.
“Oh. Hang on.” Dazai spotted something and he seemed to almost lunge forward as he reached behind Chuuya’s ear and looped his finger around his head. It took Chuuya a moment to realize he was pushing Chuuya’s ‘ear feathers’ down.
“Dazai, you could have told me.” He said, trying not to appear embarrassed.
“You wouldn’t be able to handle it on your own~.” Dazai teased, and there it was, Chuuya thought, a soft smile coming to his lips at the return of their normal bickering. He missed it, and he’d rather keep it that way then let the complex emotions he shouldn’t have take him over.
“Time to go, then.” But Chuuya stopped him from behind. “Turn around, beanpole.”
Dazai groaned in his throat, but leaned down as Chuuya requested.

The redhead fiddled with the bandages around the brunette’s eye, and tightened them carefully.
“ Now we can go. But I’m keeping you to your promise to get something along the way.”
Meanwhile Dazai was steaming, still feeling Chuuya’s tingly warm touch all over his skin.
He snatched his coat and threw it over his shoulders, blinking.
In a daze he followed Chuuya, standing behind him when he locked the door, staring into space.
His mind was in shambles as the redhead had already known what he had done, and did it on purpose to break Dazai like Dazai broke him as payback–and well, isn’t that just what good partners did to one another?

Chapter Text

They traversed through the building and got to the entrance in about five minutes, taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
Both took two at a time and nearly fell into each other after speeding so fast down the staircase multiple times.
Chuuya sighed as he threw open the front glass doors, waiting for Dazai to stumble and catch up.
“Well, you lead the way, Mackerel. I have no idea where you plan on takin’ me.”
Dazai flashed a knowing smile and squeezed past Chuuya outdoors, shielding his eye from the blaring sun ahead. The sky was a rich blue with not a cloud in sight, but the sun’s glare was more than intense.
“Mmnph. Hot.” The redhead squirmed, grabbing the brunette and yanking him.
“C’mon, let's go.”
The city was hustling and bustling with life, all sorts of people passing them. Sometimes people got so close Chuuya and Dazai had to brush shoulders with multiple people.
Now normally, Chuuya would brush it off, he had no problem with this close of proximity. He was in Yokohama, after all.
But now he was feeling like he was suffocating, not from the people, but from everything crushing around him. He felt he had no space to breathe.
His wings were begging to be free and he almost lost control of them several times, clinging onto Dazai tighter and tighter in hopes that they’d calm down.

The brunette noticed the desperation in the way his partner clung to him, so Dazai decided to speed up and take short cuts, crossed through some alleyways until he stopped short under a sign with a spool and thread wrapping around it. A needle crossed with an intricately designed stick– a wand? Chuuya thought, snorting. He’d only heard about them in stories.
Maybe it meant this tailor had magical talents. He wasn’t too sure.
Dazai smirked. 

“You don’t look too impressed, Slug.”
“Should I be?” Chuuya asked, shifting his stance, tilting his head to the window where purple morning glory wound carefully around the window sill on the outside. His reflection stared back at him from the slightly stained glass. He resisted the urge to press his hand against it.
Human. Pah. He thought bitterly in the back of his mind.
Shaking his head to any further thought of that, he checked out the rest of the shop in little interest.

The exterior of the building was created with carefully inlaid black wood for the bare bones of the windows, gray stone furnishing the walls. The windows jutted out of the shop, appearing like cilanders which served as a viewing window of the products inside. Mannequins stood on an elevated platform, showing a suit on one side and a dress on the other.
There were some dark grayish-purple with gold lining surrounding the windows and the arches holding up the shingled roof, which dangled half a foot in front of the store, providing little  to no amounts of shade. Hanging from those arches were flowers that seemed to have the faces of dragons. It was strange and neat all at the same time.

The store front was certainly different than one would see to normal tailor shops.
A sign above them held by chains read “Ollisartor”.
Chuuya reached for the old fashioned handle that wasn’t like a doorknob, it was more like a rectangle was cut and glued to the door. Beads of gold ended at each bend, glittering dimly in the sunlight.
With a tug the door swung open, and in the distant back of the store, a gentle jingle of a bell was heard, announcing their arrival.
Chuuya was so awed that his wings even responded, lightly fluttering under his clothes, causing him to jerk in surprise.
Dazai kept behind Chuuya, closing the door and eyeing the redhead from behind, lightly pressing a hand to his back.
Chuuya immediately relaxed to the touch, and Dazai smiled lightly.
Both looked around, eyes meeting with racks upon racks of clothes, held in shelves even normal people couldn’t reach attached to the walls.
There were also tables offering some of the newest brands, the tables carved with drawings that looked like they were straight out of a fantasy.
Lanterns hung above them, vines with blooming nettles cascaded from around the lights. Chuuya had no idea how they were even growing.
The hell is this place?
A sort of giddy bubbly feeling replaced his unease, and the awe stayed. It was grand, even if it was just a tailor’s shop .
Two staircases wound from opposite sides of the store to the second level, where there were more tailored clothes waiting above.
A desk stood in front of them, glasses waiting atop its surface as well as an aged cashier. but nobody seemed to be there.
Even the carpet beneath their feet sprawled with golden constellation patterns laid on maroon. Chuuya was mezmerized.
“Sorry! Coming!” Shouted a thickly British accent from behind a door near the left of the reception desk, and both teens looked at each other simultaneously.

“I think you’ll like her,” Dazai smirked.
“A British woman?”
Really?
Chuuya would have scoffed had it not been in awe of the place.
Dazai nodded, scratching the back of his neck.
“She was my personal tailor after my last one couldn’t handle me. She’s one tough nut to crack, I’ll give her that.”
“Who you callin’ a nut, ya bloody tosser?” mused the voice, which the redhead could identify as a woman’s now. The black door studded with metal circles was thrown open, and just as Chuuya thought, a woman stepped through.

She had aged blond hair that was growing more brown than golden, two collected strands running in front of her ears and twisting at the ends, resting against her chest. The rest of  her long hair ran down her back. Stunning cobalt blue eyes met with Chuuya’s stormy blues, a gaze so sharp it could cut glass.
Opal earrings encased in gold hung from her ears.
Her outfit consisted of dark purple frills surrounding her neck and sleeves with outlines of gold cutting into the fabric, small swirls climbing up her arms, though stopping short of her forearm.
Belts went over her breast, mid-torso, and stomach, keeping the outfit together at her front.
A short darker purple cape (if one could even call it that) rested over her shoulders and chest. Victorian frills, of course, flared from its ends in golden waves.
She rested her arms on her hips and let herself walk forward, black boots with laces and heels clicking across the floor despite it being made out of carpet, raising a brow.

“Hm? Nobody. I was just making sure you were presentable for my friend here.” Dazai responded, laughing mirthfully, making Chuuya’s skin crawl with… jealousy?

She gave Chuuya a smirk that was one filled with pride and wonder. Curiosity flashed in her eyes. “Well then, good fellow, a friend of yours is a friend of mine. My name is Joanne .K Rowling–And what may your name be, sir?”

Chapter Text

“Chuuya Nakahara,” Replied the redhead, blinking in pure shock at the woman's stunning outfit.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Betta be. I’ve been hearin’ lots of good things about you from him. Heard you were quite the riot!”
She went around the counter and grabbed Chuuya’s shoulders, holding him at arms length and studying him carefully.
“Hmm. Not too fashionable, I see,” she went around the redhead, making him flinch uncomfortably when she stared at his backside, hoping to god she didn’t notice the slight bulges of Chuuya’s wings on his back.
“Well mate, you came here to fix this poor fashion sense now, didn’t ya?” She clapped her hand on the between his spine and neck, making him visibly recoil in sharp stabs of pain.
Meanwhile, Rowling was howling with laughter. “Aye, alrighty then. Come to the back, I’ll start measurin’ ya, lad.”
Chuuya snorted, and turned to Dazai. “Well, are you comin’?”
“Chuuya wants me to see him stripping?” Dazai jeered, giving the redhead a mischievous grin.
Chuuya froze.
“What?” He hissed in shock, trying to keep his feathers down from the alarm radiating through his system.
“Oh, right.” The brunette scrunched his nose, seeing the woman go back into the room she appeared from, glancing back once to the two.

“Ain’t got all day, love birds!” She called, making Chuuya’s breath hitch to the double meaning of the name, regardless of it being intentional or not.

Dazai huffed and grabbed Chuuya’s arm. “Relax. She can keep a secret.”
“What? No, Dazai!” Chuuya tried jerking back as the brunette wound them around the counter and shoved him into the room, following suit and closing the door.
Immediately the redhead pressed his back up against his partner.

“‘Fraid of a tailor, lad?” Rowling smothered a chuckle, going into drawers set under a window, fishing through them to bring out her desired supplies. Beside it were three body-length mirrors all facing a circular chair for someone to stand upon. The room was pretty dark, but the focus was on the person going to be measured, not the room itself.
Chuuya whipped around, grabbing Dazai’s arms frantically, speaking in a low tone. “We can’t.”
“We have to, Chuuya.” The brunette lightly pressed a hand to the back of his partners head.
“She’ll be the only one that’ll understand.”
“How?!” The redhead whispered, almost desperately. He felt feathers try and rise, and it was taking everything in him to fight them down. The clothes he wore were getting slightly staticy and sticking to his feathers uncomfortably.

“Oh stick it up, mate. I’m just going to measure you, nothin’ too drastic.” She grabbed Chuuya by the shoulder and hauled him backward, which made him stumble. He didn’t regain his balance in time and fell to the ground.
When the redhead opened his eyes again, he wasn’t in the tailors shop. His heart rate elevated and he scrambled up back against the white space.
Everything was blurred. The faces of Dazai and Rowling were fading and forming into ones he knew from a long time ago.
One was of N. A scientist who made him. Made him like this. A monster.
His breathing grew harsher as he backed up against a wall. It felt clear and slick, like a mirror or glass, but Chuuya barely paid mind to it.

The other face was a scientist that always stuck close to N.

“Lad?” Said the disoriented voice from around him, and he shook his head frantically.
“GET AWAY!” Chuuya shrieked, his limbs shaking.
His field of vision was fading in and out, but N remarkably stayed still, with a grin that gave him chills.

“Relax!” Said a voice that sounded like the speaker was under water, and Chuuya couldn’t remember where he was, or where the voice was coming from.

“I ain’t killin’ you! It’s just measuring tape, see?”
“Shit! He’s having a traumatic response!” cried another voice, and Chuuya could almost recognize this one, just not quite.
The redhead was shaking badly. Even his hands were trembling. He couldn’t focus his energy anymore, and his feathers were rising against his back, battling the fabric containing his wings.
“What ‘n the world? Is he okay? Lad, speak to me!” The image of N came closer, the grin became wider.
Chuuya’s breathing quickened.
“Stop, stop please.” He was shaking his head. It was obvious he was losing his mind to outsiders, but deep inside, he couldn’t even remember who he was. Every word spoken was foreign to him.
The hand reached closer, and Chuuya didn’t want to brace himself for a touch.
He didn’t want to be broken again.
He didn’t want to be experimented on again.
“Get away from me…” He said lowly, curling his fists, and a loud tearing sound was heard within the room.
“Sir Chuuya, what are you talking abou–”
“I said…GET AWAY! ”
The seams within Chuuya’s clothes ripped apart too easily, no match for Chuuya’s pure strength within his wings. Torn shreds of fabric was flung everywhere, along with a shockwave of gravity that sent N rearing back and falling onto his feet.
His feathers were spiked from anger and stress, rising from the back of his neck and shoulders. Chuuya’s wings spread far and wide, though he felt through some of his nerves that the feathers on his right wing was being bent by a surface.
I’m not going to be contained again. He thought, breathing heavy, the white space slowly diminishing.
“I refuse to be contained!” He screeched, unable to hear any voice but his own.
“I refuse, I refuse…”
He wavered on his feet. The redhead’s eyes were drooping, and the haze that glossed over his eyes was gone.
Chuuya dropped to his knees.
“I…refuse…”
He heard voices try and penetrate the fog around his mind and what felt like cotton stuffed in his ears, and suddenly there were hands on him, despite Chuuya trying to fight them off. He flapped his wings desperately, in hopes that it would keep whoever it was trying to grab him away.

The redhead attempted to fight off a sob, but it slipped past his lips, and he curled up tightly, his eyelids closing on him.

“Please…,” he begged, the last bits of his consciousness slipping. “I don’t want to go back there again…” And off he drifted into a dreamless sleep, darkness welcoming him in it's comforting embrace.

Chapter Text

“Well aren’t you a handful. Certainly didn’t expect you to be that much of a wild one, despite my warnin’ before ‘and,” A voice chuckled awkwardly, pierceing through Chuuya’s subconscious.

The redhead had been either for a while, or a very short time, drifting between unconsciousness and on the knife's edge of conscious, ready to topple over and be brought back into the real world.

The words said to him tugged him towards consciousness, but he couldn’t open his eyes.
Then a sharp smell entered his nose, and through the haze he discovered it didn’t smell too bad, before it reached his brain fully and he gasped loudly, jerking upwards, eyes snapping open.
In retaliation his wings flapped a little, looking around frantically.

Little semi-transparent creatures of all colors wandered all around the room, and Chuuya stared at them in pure shock.
He registered a yellow one that looked like if a platypus and a possum made love, floating in the air with its little arms behind its head, enjoying itself. Regardless, it was actually quite cute.
It had fur all over, but except around the eyes, and its duck like bill that had the texture to be made out of flesh.
The same for its webbed (?) feet with little hooks for talons near the end. It flapped its feathered tail joyfully as it floated through the air, as if swimming upon invisible air currents.

Another one, a light orange creature, looked like if a monkey stole the head of a yeti, except it looked elderly and wise despite its big, wide eyes and lashing tail. Its hair rained down its body, and it was immensely furry. Except its hands. It looked to be those of a humans. It made Chuuya shudder.
It sat at the bottom of the bed, eyeing out the window.

And a green one, sitting next to Chuuya’s hand, was as if a little sapling was given life. A little face was on its stem, two leaves sprouting for a head. Little twig arms separated from the stem, roots outwardly spread to form fingers.
The same for its legs.
And then the last one. It was a giant blue bird with eyelashes longer than Chuuya’s forearm, extending behind its head like a pair of horns.
It blinked curiously at Chuuya as it sat at his feet. It was probably almost half his size.
The redhead jerked back, flapping his wings in alarm, sending the little root creature near his hand squealing as it was thrown backward against the sheets and thrown off the bed entirely.

“Wh-where am I!?”
His eyes didn’t even see the two fully (well, almost,) fledged adults sitting at the foot of his bed.
Rowling was petting the bird creature that stared at Chuuya, unblinking, while Dazai studied him carefully, in taking every detail and movement the redhead had or did.
“In my resting area,” Rowling answered softly, smiling. “‘Pologies for the scare. Meant nothing of the sort. But I wouldn’t blame yeh.”
Then Chuuya froze.
He looked slowly to his wings.
Then to the woman.
“You…” Fear started to cage his heart in icy talons, but Dazai ran over to Chuuya, grasping him into a sudden hug.
“She’s not scared. Relax.”
“Dazai, she–she—” The brunette squeezed Chuuya tighter, strangling the air straight out of his lungs.
“I ain’t afraid of nothin’, lad. Well, take that back. If you manage to get a good jump ya might startle me.”
Chuuya gripped Dazai’s clothing as he listened to her. His wings were trembling.
“If you wish, I can step outta the room. Clearly you don’t want me here.” She gestured to Chuuya’s bristling feathers.
Dazai pulled back, but held onto his partners hand.
The redhead visibly relaxed. However just a little.

“Wait.” Chuuya blinked, gathering himself. “How do you know?” He tucked his wings close to himself, clutching the hand offered to him.

She laughed lightly. “Surprised you don’t have more questions at this point. I know because I work with creatures with feathers n’ wings all the time. Take this Augurey for example,” she motioned to the big blue bird quick squawked loudly, turning to her.

“He has a large wing span. Not as large as yours, heavens no! Though to be honest, never seen one as bloody gorgeous as yours either. Yer a beauty. One of a kind, I’d say.” She offered Chuuya a smile, making the fear settle and calm in his stomach.
“T…thank you.” He said eventually, looking to Dazai.
The brunette wasn’t one to offer friendly advise, so he knew better than to speak at times like this. He looked like he had a lot to say but he was saving it for later.

“Can I ask you more questions?”
Rowling’s eyes shined. “Aye, whatever ya like mate. I’m open to anything you want to ask.” The tone in her voice made it sound like she already knew his first question.
“What are…these guys?”
“It’s my skill. “ Fantastic Beasts ”, as they call it. I prefer a different name myself, but the name does have a wonderful ring to it.”
She held up a black suitcase that was polished and shiny, hauling it up onto the elevated frame at the front of the bed, setting it down gently onto the slab of wood. 

It even radiated importance somehow.
She pulled it back down and set it to the floor with a dull clunk.
As she did, Dazai retrieved his hand which earned a whine from Chuuya, but the brunette was busy readjusting his bandages around his wrist.
“I take care of the creatures inside, and in turn they help me defend myself when I’m in mighty trouble. Though I do well enough on my own, but it ain’t bad to have backup when one may need it.”
Chuuya listened with interest. His wing flicked when he felt the little root creature climb onto one of the feathers.
The redhead manuvered, trying to throw it off.
Then he heard Rowling laugh. “No throwin’ him off. When he finds where he wants to settle, he stays. Thats a Bowtruckle, that is.”
It blinked its tiny, bleary eyes at Chuuya as if begging him to stay.
“Get–” He clapped his hands in the place where it just was, the Bowtruckle leaping and grabbing onto a higher row of Chuuya’s maroon feathers.
The feathers bristled angrily. “C’mon you little shit! Get off!”
Now Dazai was snickering. “Chuuya’s hands are so insignificant and small it can’t even catch a playful skill? The Slug really can’t do anything without me, can he?”
“Asshole.”
Then Dazai booped him, and Rowling chuckled as the Bowtruckle shrieked and poofed out of existance.
“If you want, I can teach you more about my beasts. They come in all shapes in sizes.” She tilted her head.
“And I bet it’ll be quite the help if I assist you with wing caretaking. They’re a lot of work.”
“Jeez, tell me about it.” Chuuya huffed, shaking his head, earning a smirk from Dazai as he wandered over to the window sill and jumped atop it, ignoring the orange monkey-yeti that passed by his feet.
“Well, sure, I ‘spose. Might as well, right?”
“Aye, lad. I think this’ll be the start of a mighty fine friendship if you ask me, dear fellow.”

Chapter Text

The next thing Chuuya knew, he was educated about Nifflers (which were the little yellow ones with flesh duck bills), Demiguises (the one with the yeti-head and monkey body), Bowtruckles, and Augureys.
She was careful not to overwhelm him with information, since she knew her fasinations about the subject has lead many that knew about her ability left with brains fried by the end of the day.
Her curiosities about her behavior were interesting as she formed detailed explanations about what each one did. During that time, she paused after she finished an explanation about one creature and brung tea for them to enjoy, and then she’d continue right on again. Rowling even demonstrated each creature as she gestured to some of the details about them that she really adored.

It was about midday before she finished, opening her suitcase and letting all the animals get sucked inside like a vacuum, before locking it at the top of the briefcase.
“I think I’m good for lectures for this week.” Chuuya said weakly, folded in half like some sort of human omlete against the bed from which he sat, his wings splayed out as his body seemed physically drained from all the explanations. He’d already gone through three cups of tea, and that was more than his belly could handle on an empty stomach.
When Chuuya lifted up, he saw the smugest of smugiest smiles on Dazai. Immediately his urges took over him, and he tackled Dazai.
“Don’t look at me like that!” Chuuya was thrown out of bed, his scars out on display to behold. But neither Dazai nor Rowling minded.
Rowling rolled her eyes and mentioned something about “having to tailor some clothes” as she let the boys duke it out.
“What?? What did I do?”
“You were looking at me with that face! ” Chuuya was flapping his wings, and Dazai was grabbing Chuuya’s arms as the redhead went to slap the brunette’s face.
“What face?” He yelped as feathers whacked against his arm painfully, leaving a little sting.
“That stupid smug look when you know something I don’t and I hate it and STOP GIVING ME THE LOOKK!!” yowled Chuuya, trying to reach Dazai to playfully strangle him, his wings beating with proof he was really trying his ‘hardest’.
“I’m giving you a ‘I told you so’ look for your information,” Dazai said, and quickly changed the tides as he rolled Chuuya onto his back, both of their hands fighting against eachother in a pushing sort of war, gleefully smiling at one another.
“Asshole! Why don’t you not be right for a change so I can smother my rightness in your face!”
“Last I recall Chuuya was the one doubting me when I said he’d like the tailor. But noooo, the Slug wouldn’t believe me!”
“Argh at you, I wasn’t sayin’ I didn’t believe you, you stupid stinky Mackerel! Gettoffame!” Chuuya wriggled, kicking his legs up into Dazai’s stomach, but the brunette didn’t back down despite the onslaught.
Instead, he brung his backside up and pinned both Chuuya’s legs down with his knees. The only thing that the redhead had an advantage in was his wings, but all they could do was blow gusts of wind against the brunette.
“Dick! You’ll regret this!” jeered Chuuya challengingly, pressing back with as much strength as he could muster on a hungry belly.
“I regret nothing!” Dazai howled with laughter, and Chuuya slipped his hands away, catching the brunette off guard, managing to stable them for a moment to roll them over and then Chuuya was ontop again, straddling Dazai’s stomach with a triumphant expression.
“Look who’s the pathetic one now! ”
Dazai made a huff like noise.
“I bet you feel all weak under me, and you can’t even–” Chuuya was stopped short as Dazai brought his head up to his partners neck in a flash, biting into the redhead’s neck, close to some of the blossoming feathers.
Immediately the redhead gasped, grabbing onto Dazai’s shoulders, followed with a lewd sound that sounded close to a… moan.

Instantaneously the brunette pulled back, blinking a wide eye at Chuuya.
“..What was that?”
Chuuya was hazed for a moment and blinked sleepily before noticing that he felt a strange sting on his neck.
“Hah? What was what?”
He shook his head, his face felt hot. What the…?
Before either of them could ask more questions to one another, there was a knock at the bedroom door. Chuuya faced the closet door, which was jutting out with two doors instead of one, compared to the exit of the room, and he briefly mixed them up before Rowling opened the door slightly, leaving it ajar to poke her head in. “Boy’s, I ain’t have all day. I have to measure one a ya, and then you scadaddle. I got business I need to finish up.”
The blonde-haired woman raised a brow when she only saw the tip of Chuuya’s head peek out from the other side of the bed, but decided to say nothing about it.
“Come quick.”
“Uh–yes m’am!” Chuuya leapt to his feet, Dazai following suit and reluctantly dusting off his suit.
“My dog really is out of control. He’s attacking me and now getting me dirty,”
“Says the one who–” Then it hit him full on.
“You…you asshole! ” Chuuya yelped, grabbing onto his neck.
Dazai bit him.
In the neck.
“What in the actual fuck is wrong with you!?”
“What’s wrong with me? Whats wrong with you! ” Dazai elbowed Chuuya’s wing playfully, which was tucked against his back, feathers brushing the floor.
“You were the one who moaned like you were enjoying it.”
“I–I was not! ” Chuuya shouted in retaliation as they headed for the door.
“Was too!”
The redhead threw his wing out and set Dazai tumbling into a wall, who seemed to have expected it since he braced for impact, hitting it with a small thunk.
“Was not! ” Chuuya cried, his face as red as his hair.
“Boys!” Called a voice from beyond the door.
The two hurried and whisked open the door, and the redhead was astounded to find himself on the top floor. His eyes scurried across all the clothes that were neatly folded against tables and held up against racks, held up in rows with fancy bow ties and flashy buttons.
Dazai, however, wasted no time pushing past his partner, weaving through the tables and running down the stairs.
“Oi, asshole Dazai! Wait up!” Chuuya flapped his wings and suddenly gasped at the pain.
He stood his ground, biting his tongue. It was like receiving an electric shock.
The redhead grabbed onto the edges of his wings, bringing them around him, shuddering.
Fly , whispered a little thought in his mind.
Fly free.
Chuuya shook his head.
Not now, he thought back.
Fly later.
Fly now! Fly now! Came the thought, bouncing around like an annoying fly in a room that was impossible to catch.
Chuuya grit his teeth and shoved the thought to the back of his mind.
His wings ached. And despite all the things that happened to distract him momentarily, the pain came back double.
“Sluuug! Did your slime slow you down or whaaat?”
Chuuya looked up, bringing his wings behind him again.

I’ll be fine, he told himself.
I can still hold on a little longer. Not like it’ll get any worse than this, right?

Chapter Text

It was actually ten times more horrendous than one could imagine.
Him standing still was much worse, provoking his wings to add its usual annoying itch to the back of his mind.
Regardless Chuuya did his best to fight against it, letting Rowling measure every inch of his body. When she told him to separate his legs further to wrap a measuring tape around his thighs, he did.
When she told him to lift his arm, fingers outstretching towards the mirror, to measure the width and muscle of his arm, he did.
And due to that, he could practically feel the jealousy rolling off Dazai in waves. Chuuya was doing as he was told like an obedient dog.
And Dazai wasn’t the one giving those commands.
It made the brunette writhe with envy.
The redhead usually would find this as a good thing, a way to finally tease Dazai relentlessly about not having to always listen to his commands, especially since those are usually set around the idea of battle, and listening to a woman’s he just met instead.

But right here, right now, Chuuya felt different. He felt uncomfortable, wishing it was Dazai’s feather-light touches scouring his body instead of Rowlings.
He ached for (Dazai’s) touch, he ached for flight. Not a good combination when one was told to hold still. Even then, he was still jittery.
Thankfully the woman saved the redheads wings for last. When she asked him politely to stretch them, she gave Chuuya to hold one end of the measuring tape while she took the other and went to his wingtip.
A slight thrill zapped through his nerves when his wing outstretched. He felt the possibility of flying brewing in his stomach like a potion burbling in a cauldron, and he almost felt giddy for no reason.
Trampling the urge down, he tried to focus on something else. Anything but the sky, the blue, brillant sky, and all its vast space, the wind whipping past his face at high speeds, cutting through the skies and slicing apart the clouds….
“Aaand, we’re done gentlemen.” Chuuya jerked upwards. He was so busy thinking about the sky he almost completely missed her announcement.
“Not too bad, was it now, lad?” Rowling patted his shoulder, and Chuuya shrugged lightly. “Y–yeah, not as bad as I thought…”
“Alright. All I need are a few material recommendations from you, and you can purchase at the front. I’ll have to custom make this for you. Any suggestions on your style?”
Chuuya was flabbergasted, opening and closing his mouth.
What in the world was she talking about? Wasn’t he just going to be sent a suit and thats all?

“I–er–”
“I’ll help.” Dazai rose a hand, sharing a brief glance with Chuuya.
“He doesn’t know what real style is yet, so I’ll volunteer for helping out the design.”
“You jerk!” The redhead cut in, flapping his wings.
“You don’t have the slightest clue about fashion!”
“Neither do you, stinky Slug~.” Dazai shot back, smirking at him.
Nearby, Rowling snorted as she opened the door to head to her desk at the front of the store. “Both of you have neither the understanding nor appreciation for clothin’, ya know. Takes great skill, craftsmanship, and creativity to create such flawless outfits.”
Of course, both teens had nothing to argue against her. She was right, she was a tailor after all, and about to be paid for her services.

“Oh, and sir Chuuya,” She disappeared before reappearing with a small turtleneck. It was gray, and looked comfy. “Better take this. You oblitherated yer last outfit, and we wouldn’t want others seein’ those brilliant feathers of yers, do we now?”
“Ah–thanks,” He took it gratefully, folding his wings tightly against his body and slipping the sweater on, his wings shrinking as he did.
“Fits like a glove, it did! Splendid.” She turned back to the cashier.
“Well, yeh better straighten yourselves into shape and start behavin’, or else I’m taxin’ ya extra,” She laughed, flicking her wrist when Chuuya gave Dazai a skeptical expression, as if asking him if it was his fault for this conundrum.
The redhead provided her with an expensive amount of yen for the outfit she was going to create ahead of time, Dazai reassuring him it would be alright to do so.
After that was sorted out of the way, Chuuya sighed, crossing his arms and stashing his wallet back in his pocket. He couldn’t even remember grabbing it, now that he thought about it.
“Off be with you, rascals. I’ll call you when I have designs set up. Anything you like in particular, lad?” She nodded to Chuuya.
“Hrm? I suppose…black. Black fits me the best, I think.” He nodded slightly.
“That’ll be our best bet then. I’ll reach out to Dazai and send you some ideas. We can have a back and fourth if you aren’t satisfied with any of my sketches.”

“Wait, sketches?” If it was possible, there would be an obvious question mark hovering over Chuuya’s head for his tone.
“Aye, sketches. I draw out my designs before I make them into something usable. Now off you both, I’m a busy woman, and I haven’t all day.”
With that, she kicked the two out of the store (really, they walked out, but they imagined it more like she kicked them out), and they were left staring blankly at eachother.
“Now what?”
The brunette shrugged.
“S’pose we can go for a walk, yeah?”
“Mmmm…better than paperwork~.”
“Fuck, I forgot!”
As they stepped into the sunlight, Chuuya sneezed. Twice.
Dazai burst out laughing.
“Oi! Not– sneeze —funny!”
“Is my dog allergic to the sun now?” He captured Chuuya’s waist with a hand, and it took all of the redhead for his wings not to ruin yet another shirt.
“Piss off, asshole.” Despite his rude demenor, Chuuya leaned into Dazai.
As they walked, passing stalls, little markets, and hundreds of people, the redhead’s mind really began to wander.
After he got his wings he never truely acted the same. His emotions rode a rollercoaster that they almost never did, and he felt weaker emotionally than he used to.

It’s probably just recent trauma, he reassured himself, leaning into Dazai’s touch and ignoring the locals odd looks.
But Chuuya just couldn’t shake the feeling that his wings had affected him not only physically, but mentally as well…for the rest of his life.
And he might never recover.

Chapter Text

Chuuya was lead to a spacious park by the brunette, with sakura trees with wide branches with stems that sprouted off into thousands of tiny twigs, each blossoming a beautiful pink flower.
Occasionally some petals fell, raining onto the happy children that wove through the pink forest with glee, chasing one another and shouting about how pretty the flowers were.

The redhead looked to the trees, passing a small black, spiked fenced gate that outlined the park to prevent people losing beloved objects like balls or pets that could have accidentally run off.
The small hills incasing a cobblestone pathway wound through the park, ending North, South, East, along with West entrances of the park.
Dazai tugged Chuuya along to one of the trees, setting himself down and watching Chuuya slowly sit with him.
Then they just watched the flowers. Dazai inspected the redhead out of the corner of his partners eye, seeing that fluttering, silky brown-orange hair, the wind whisking it this way and that. His blue eyes gazed up at the petals, watching each fall one by one, making sure not to lose eye contact until they drifted to the ground.
I wonder how I’d feel if I was in Chuuya’s place, Dazai wondered to himself, finding his fingers grasping Chuuya’s.
“Mmm…? Whatcha doin’, Dazai?”
The brunette didn’t answer, and suddenly his bandages felt all too tight. The look Chuuya was giving him. It gave him butterflies in his stomach.
“I don’t know,” he admitted, realizing that now his partner was holding his hand back.
“Chuuya…are you–”
“Holy shit!” Chuuya leapt to his feet, eyes wide. His hand slipped from the brunette's grip.
Dazai blinked, then looked up to the redhead.
“Chuuya?”
“Don’t move.” He threw his hand out to the brunette's face, and Dazai mumbled something behind the flesh muffling his mouth. He had to close his eye to the middle finger laying against it.
“Wagsh yo’ shee?” He asked, but Chuuya didn’t respond. His breath was shallow as he looked at the branches above with such intensity that it possibly could have burst into flames.
When the redhead withdrew his hand, Dazai saw why.

He was surprised to see…a bird there.
The brunette would have laughed had he not understood.
A newly made avian (?) interested in a bird. In a sense, it was basically his kind, just…teenier. Sorta. Okay, maybe not at all, but that was besides the point.

The bird was a small one. About the size of Dazai’s fist, and brown. It lingered there, tilting its head and twittering. It hopped every few seconds, looking to the sky.
Then it bent its head back to preen its wings.
Dazai tore his gaze away to settle on Chuuya, who looked so invested into the bird the brunette almost felt jealous. Something crawling under his skin, like… unease. He settled on a crouch, tugging Chuuya’s pant leg.
“S-L-U-G~. Are you there? Earth to Chibi?”
But the redhead didn’t respond, just flailed his wrist a bit, desperate for silence, unblinkingly staring at the bird.
“Shhh. Be quiet for a moment.”
Instinctually, his ear-feathers crept up, lifting and tugging strands of orange hair along with.
Not even a second passed as it happened, Chuuya gasped and stumbled back, frightening the bird to flight and throwing his hands to his ears. He collapsed against the trunk and Dazai’s arm, who held him tight and shook Chuuya a bit.
“Chuuya!?”
The redhead whined and jerked, somehow forcing those ear-feathers down, his eyes tightly screwed shut.

“What’s going on? Chuuya? Are you there?”
“I’m…I’m here,” He responded softly, shaking his head lightly. The noises that slammed into his ears were unbearable. Its like someone accidentally left the volume too loud on his speakers when he was trying to listen quietly to music. It shattered his brain, leaving him momentarily stunned.
Dazai could feel under the turtleneck Chuuya’s wings were moving out of desperation. Little thrashing around here and there. The feathers spiking through some of the fabric, even.
“That was…really fuckin’ loud…ow…” The redhead managed to say after a moment, sighing.

“You didn’t do that on purpose, then.” Dazai observed, not letting go of his partner.
“Of course I didn’t!” Chuuya hissed, but was grimancing in pain. “Aw, shit…it left…”
Dazai stared at the place the bird once occupied.
“...I guess we could stay and wait for it to come back.” He said, not sure why these strange words were coming out of his mouth, stuff that was something he never said. He was a mafioso, what was this weird accepting side from him coming from?
“Ain’t you busy? We got paperwork n’ shit, don’t we?”
Dazai stared at him for a moment, his grip tightening on the redheads waist. He still hadn’t let go of Chuuya.
“Pieces of parchment can wait. Your impatient ass can’t,” Dazai smirked when Chuuya looked like he was about to slap his partner, but refrained.
Both sat down, their legs sinking into the soft, plush grass beneath them.

Chuuya and Dazai stayed quiet together, watching the branches above, filling with all kinds of critters that dwelled with trees until it was midday, swaying gently with the trees and the breeze.
Neither spoke a word, even with the sun at its highest peek,, even when they started to get hungry and thirsty.

And why would they, with such a calm scenery before them?

Of course, not before long, hunger won them out.
“Just for a bit longer…?” Chuuya pleaded, unnaturally effected by the birds above.
“I’d love to starve to death, Chuuya, but that requires pain and I’m not into that. C’mon, Petite Mafia, aren’t you always the one dragging me along, forcing me to eat~?”
“Oi! You take that nickname baaAAck–” The redheads sentence was cut short when his wings wildly flapped behind his sweater. He almost swore someone saw the fabric jutt out randomly, and so suddenly.
“This is getting annoying,” Dazai interjected, keeping his hands pressed up against his partners wings, feeling them twitch.
“Maybe I can…fly?” Chuuya recommended after a moment, before shaking his head. “I’m going crazy, I can’t fly in fuckin’ broad daylight.” Its as if he was trying to talk himself out of his own suggestion.
Dazai was hesitant though. His eye wandered further beyond Chuuya, scanning the possibilities. After a moment of consideration, he sighed.
“I think that’s the only option.”
The next words made all of the feathers on the redheads body fluff in estacity.
“Let’s get you up in the air, pretty bird–shall we?”

Chapter Text

After they hurried to the market to collect two blueberry muffins from the pastry department, they went outside, slipping past the large bustling groups of people with ease due to them being smaller than alot of the people around them.
Chuuya held Dazai’s hand, the other clutching a muffin which he was nibbling into. He was starving. He really was. But food in his mind was out won by the fact he was going to be able to fly. Fly!

Of course he still ate the muffin, but his body was filled to the brim with joy. He’d stretch his wings, he’d get to soar! Finally!
Dazai started leading him to the left, and Chuuya obliged, making sure his grip was secure as they squeezed past more people. The groups of individuals were spotty here now, but Chuuya really paid no mind to anything.
His stomach was bubbly with warm, fuzzy feelings.
The brunette took him to an alleyway, gesturing to the stairs barricaded by metal woven with a pattern made out of diamonds with wire.
There was an opening that someone about as tall as Dazai could fit through, and thats exactly what the teen did–he squished through, checking behind him to see if his coat got caught in the metal. Luckily it didn’t. 

So with ease, he lifted himself up upon the ladder and whistled as he climbed upwards.
The redhead followed suit, looking at the crevice they came from, people bypassing others, some chatting, some friends and some family.
So many people. Chuuya often forgot how many people there were. Added to the fact there were more scattered upon the face of the Earth was just mind boggling. And kinda cool.

They climbed to the top of the building, and Dazai offered a hand to Chuuya to lift him the rest of the way.
They stood together for a moment, looking in eachothers eyes. Blue to brown.
“Didn’t some little fairy mention he wanted to fly?”
“Technically I’m half bird,” Chuuya retorted.
“That means avian.”
“A what?”
“Means you’re related to birds.”
Dazai lifted his hand and pressed it against Chuuya’s back.
The redhead shivered and sighed with relief to the touch, as it felt warm and comforting…

“Oh…so thats what I am.”
Chuuya looked behind himself for a second, leaning into Dazai.
“So…how do we do this? Aren’t we gonna get seen n’ shit?”
“Technically, yes. But we’re far away from Headquarters, and I’d prefer it that way.”
He lifted his head to the brunette. “Why?”
Dazai weighed the discussions path if he lied or told the truth. But he figured it was probably better to give him the reason.
“I don’t want Mori to see your wings.”
Chuuya’s breath hitched to the name.
“Hell no. I only want you to be the only one to know I have these…”
“Well...other than the doctors, right?” Dazai went behind the redhead, lifting up his turtle neck to see the blanket of feathers over Chuuya’s back, his shrunken wings among them.
“Other than the doctors,” the redhead agreed.
Little did the two know that was going to be a silent agreement among them. Any of those who saw Chuuya’s wings other than Dazai and doctors would die.
It was an over the top rule, but if it got to the Special Divisions forces…or even worse, Mori…
Things could get seriously out of hand.
The brunette stepped back while hoisting the turtle neck up over Chuuya’s head, hearing the redhead squawk in surprise as it ruffled his hair. Dazai, while amused, watched Chuuya’s wings grow in real time. Rather, the gravity was no longer holding them down.
In a way, it didn’t make sense at all that Chuuya could keep his wings shrunk while Dazai was touching him. There was some sort of mechanism and Dazai was itching to find out the reason behind it.

Chuuya’s wings flailed as he grabbed the edge of the sweater and thrust it behind his head, which couldn’t even go that far due to his new appendages.
“Asshole, what was that for??”
Dazai snickered. “I wanted to see my Slug squirm, is all.”
“Dickwad.” Chuuya shot back, tucking his wings and staring at Dazai with an attempt at an intimidating face, only it looked more cute than scary.
“Chuu~yaaa~, come on , I took you up here so you can fly.”
“But I’m in full view of the locals when I–”
“But you can use your gravity power to amplify your speed, right?” Dazai’s eye looked to Chuuya’s hands for a brief moment.
He lowered his head. “I…can, but…” He looked back up to Dazai, stepping closer to him. “I want you to come this time. I didn’t really ‘fly’ last time. I want to really fly with you this time.”
Dazai’s heart skipped a beat. “What? Can Chuuya even carry me?”
“Well, duh. Why would I be offering?” Chuuya brung himself closer until their chests pressed up against another. His hands balled up, leaning against Dazai’s torso.
“...But your wings might not be able to carry that much. And as you said—”
“Just shut up and fly with me, okay, Mackerel?”
Chuuya tugged his arm, turning around.
“Hold onto my neck or something. I’m sure I can carry you.”
“I–okay.” Dazai couldn’t argue, could he? In all honesty, he wanted to fly too. But Chuuya’s ability had always forbade him, because the brunette only canceled it out.
But…now that Chuuya had wings…they could try and take advantage of this, couldn’t they?
In a way it was Arahabaki, and therefore a manifestation of Chuuya’s ability. But it hadn’t disappeared when Dazai touched it, so it sent a thrill through his spine. He’d finally witness what a bird would feel like up in the air, free from all the burdens of natural day life.
He wrapped his arms around the redhead’s neck, bracing himself for whatever will happen.
“Ready, mummy boy?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be, Hatrack.”
Chuuya tried an experimental flap. Dazai felt his feet lift off the ground, only for a split second. He could feel the rippling muscles underneath his arms as Chuuya’s wings adjusted, before he flapped again, getting a foot off the ground before they landed hard on the concrete below.
“Ow! Chuuya!” Whined Dazai, his legs shocked from the sudden impact.
“Give me a second,” he hissed, before bending his knees, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. 

He wanted to fly. His feathers spread apart from one another in anticipation. He could do this. He’d done it before, even if it was for a moment.
Dazai was pretty light, so it wouldn’t be much of a problem.
He could do this. He would do this.

Chuuya braced himself, hoping Dazai’s grip was strong enough to hold onto him.
Here goes nothing.
And with one, powerful flap, they were sent barreling into the sky.

Chapter Text

All of Chuuya’s doubts vanished as he took to the sky. His wings beat on their own, climbing higher, higher, higher.
This was heaven. Probably literally, once they past the clouds.
Dazai was clinging on for dear life, and Chuuya wished he could wrap his gravity power around him for extra protection, if only his partner didn’t have his ability.
Oh well.
If Dazai fell, it wasn’t Chuuya’s fault.
Chuuya yelled out in joy, tucking his wings to dive, opening them a second later to catch the perfect air current.
He didn’t care about all the people that could see him below. If they were even looking up.
Dazai was shouting something to Chuuya but the redhead couldn’t hear as he flapped his powerful wings up further into the sky. The wind was splashing frozen air all over his face but he didn’t care, feeling the breeze pass by his feathers was all he focused on.
There was so much space up here. Chuuya never realized how lucky he was to be able to fly.
“Wooooooooooooo!” The redhead howled with joy, feeling Dazai’s arms tighten around his neck, trying his best not to choke his partner during the flight.

There was so much blue. Everywhere was blue. And the sun was bathing them in warm, white-yellow light, and Chuuya soaked up the warmth, spinning in the sky and diving again, tilting his wings to loop in the air, spinning and flapping again.
It was a dream, it had to be.
He was almost convinced if he flew to the clouds right now, he could lay on their fluffy surfaces.
“Chuuya, I’m scared,” came a voice behind him, knocking him out of his haze.
“Dazai?”
He tilted his head behind him, his wings flapping to keep them hovering.
“I’ve never been this high before,” Dazai admitted, leaning close.
Chuuya smiled, and took Dazai’s hands in his, pulling them down lower to hold them in a death grip to assure Dazai that he wouldn’t let go.
“Don’t worry, partner. I got you. I promise.”
And he kept to his promise. Chuuya flew high above the clouds, the city of Yokohama–it was teeny compared to when he was standing next to their enormous buildings.

Dazai at some point had intertwined their legs for extra security, and Chuuya allowed him.
Even the Port Mafia towers looked like building figurines he could capture in his fingers.

The redhead glided and caught air currents that kept him afloat, wings spread far and wide.
“Amazing view, right?” The redhead called to the brunette behind him, who had kept silent but occasionally peeked beyond Chuuya’s wing.
“It is amazing.” He agreed, but he wasn’t referring to the city below. No, he was referring to the man below him, with a stupid smile covering his face, eyes alight with a spark that would never go out, the spark manifesting into a flame the longer they stayed in the sky.

They continued to soar several feet above the clouds, riding the air currents like a surfer would a wave. Dazai briefly let a childish thought pop up in his brain, wondering if Chuuya could fly them to space; where stars twinkled distantly like diamonds, planets bigger than Earth dwelled just out of reach.
And space was far larger than the sky that stretched all across Earth. It stretched on for unknowable amounts of miles. It was probably never-ending.
Dazai wouldn’t doubt that Chuuya would love to fly all of that, if he was this excited being over the clouds.
Nobody would be able to reach them at that point, and it was a comforting thought.
They were alone together. Nobody else to bother them, to tell them what to do.
Thats really what freedom felt like.
And up here, the air was crisp, sharp, and fresh.
But also really, really cold.
Dazai closed his eyes as he felt the redhead tip his wing to turn in the sky, knowing that inevitable death was below, and if the brunette jumped off his back casually Chuuya wouldn’t let him enjoy such a painless death.
What a pain-in-the-ass dog.
But what a loyal one.
Dazai snorted to himself, and Chuuya raised a brow at him, though was too happy to care.
I can’t call you a Slug or a dog now, can I? Dazai asked himself, his arms squeezing tight around Chuuya’s neck, miraculously not choking him.

You’re a bird. Now I have to make up bird names for you, Chuuya.
What a pain you are, my loyal little doggy.

“Hey, Dazai!” That piercing voice caught his attention immediately. Chuuya was holding onto Dazai’s hands still, but his grip slackened slightly.
“I wanna do something with you.”
“Does it include dropping me? Because I don’t mind dying right now if that's what you’re implying.”
Chuuya couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
“Something like that. Do you trust me?”
“Do I have a choice?” Dazai asked back, a little softer than he meant to, but the ear feathers had risen already to capture everything that the brunette said.
It seemed instinct always rose those feathers behind his ears to amplify his hearing whenever it felt convenient.
“You do,” Chuuya said, circling laps around the buildings of the Mafia, drifting through the clouds, the moisture soaking into their skin, briefly drizzling their clothes and Chuuya’s feathers before appearing underneath the clouds, drawing closer to the Mafia headquarters.
Dazai was puzzled by his response. That wasn’t an answer he was used to hearing.
As the redhead waited, he started to ask himself why his wings weren’t tired. This was (mainly) his first time ever using them…and he felt as energetic as ever. In fact, he felt like he could go on for hours. He wanted more, but…
In the end, he couldn’t get greedy. But he really appreciated the several minutes he got in the sky alone with Dazai–
“I trust you,” he finally answered. It made Chuuya jitter as he flapped his powerful wings, sending gusts of wind downward.
The redhead smiled. “Brace yourself, then, Mackerel.” He pumped his wings, once again shooting into the sky like a cannonball. Within moments they were above the clouds once more.

Chuuya stopped in midair. “Ready?”
“Do your worst, Hatrack~.”
Then Chuuya threw Dazai in the air.
He was airborne before he knew it.
The brunette flailed his limbs wildly out of pure shock. His breath caught in his throat and he almost failed the process of breathing entirely.
Then he shook his head. He trusted his partner.

Then Chuuya was below him with arms open wide, catching him in a tight embrace, one that was so warm and comfortable, Dazai wished he’d never let go.
“I told you you could trust me, dumbass.” Chuuya snorted, squeezing Dazai.
“I did trust you, you flocking fool.”
The redhead burst into giggles. “Seriously? ‘Flocking fool’? You need to work on your comebacks, Dazai.”
All the brunette could do was smile and laugh along.
And of course, secretly taking every precious second of the redhead laughing and carefully cataloging it into his memory banks.

After all…how could he not?

Chapter Text

Chuuya landed them safely back down on one of the Port Mafia towers, not letting Dazai go until he touched down first.

When the redhead’s feet met floor, he heard a familiar caw above them. He looked up to see a black bird circling their heads. Its wings were as dark as the night sky, its eyes as scarlet as a ruby.
Dazai narrowed his eyes.
“That’s one strange crow.”
“I think it’s a raven,” Chuuya said, the underside of his wings fluffing as Dazai wrapped an arm around Chuuya’s waist-or as much as he could, with all the feathers there.
The redhead lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked up at the sky to watch the bird soar.

The raven opened its beak and released a punctuated caw, Chuuya’s ear feathers immediately rising once again to the sound out of instinct.
Dazai’s grip didn’t slack as the bird glided lower, and the redhead held out his arm, an invite for the bird to perch on him.
And so it did, its eyes turned to a hazy blue, the scarlet disappearing.
It thrust its beak into its wings, sorting out its feathers before opening its beak.
Silence followed, before it returned to preening itself.

“Oh, Dazai. Hang on.”
Chuuya stepped away, realizing what the matter was. Dazai’s arm slipped away, and he almost wanted to reach out again to grab his partner.

This time, when the bird opened its beak, a slim, soft feminine voice came through its throat. Its eyes returned to that same, bloody red.
“Um…Safe to say I wasn’t expecting this–sir,” said the voice, and Dazai jerked.
“Gin?” He looked to Chuuya, who nodded.
“I’m really sorry I had to confront you guys this way…I saw a big bird flying and thought Crenier could get closer to check it out..”
“That’s the bird,” Chuuya said, jerking his chin to the raven.

Dazai was more awestruck that Gin had a skill.
And all this time he was almost fully certain only Akutagawa was born with a skill.

“But apparently that…wasn’t a bird. It was you. ” She said, her confusion seeping into her tone.
“I guess I missed out on alot of things. First of all, where did you get those prosthetics? Is it okay…if I can try them after you?”
Chuuya visibly flinched.
The brunette stepped closer, but made sure not to touch Chuuya or his feathers.
And by the sound of it, it appeared Gin could see through the raven.

“They’re…erm. Not fake,” He said uncomfortably after a moment, his arm lowering a little as he looked away, the bird squawking in alarm.
The silence irritated Chuuya, and he leaned closer to Dazai.
“Excuse me…?” Gin asked after a moment, the bird angling its head to look at Chuuya’s wings, focusing on the feathers.
“...T-they’re real!?”
Chuuya hissed in pain, wincing.
Dazai reached over and tucked Chuuya’s feathers away, and the redhead unconsciously leaned into the touch, the feathers behind his other ear going down simultaneously.
However, the brunette was forced to pull away so Gin could continue speaking.
Though she was still silent for a good few minutes.

“They’re real?” She repeated with a squeak, and Chuuya’s wings tucked tightly against his back with insecurity.
“They’re…real, yeah.”
The raven fluttered its wings.
“I can show you…if you like.” Chuuya chuckled, but he sounded uncomfortable at the silence. Dazai was doing it intentionally, however, not to interrupt their conversation, despite wanting to be hilarious and butt in. But now was not the time for his antics or smartass remarks.
He watched the redhead's feathers bristle as he tried to handle himself in the situation.
“Where are you right now?”
She didn’t respond for another beat. Clearly the news that Chuuya had new limbs was a hard hit, but she was doing her best not to let the shock affect her tone of voice.

“W-w-well...I’m um…Currently on a job with big brother–I can come by your house in a bit, if you like.”
Chuuya opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it, looking to Dazai.

The brunette, however, shrugged, his voice masking the edge of disdain when he answered. “Whatever the Slug desires. I can go fufill more of Mori’s wishes while you’re away having fun~.”
The redhead’s face filled immediately with panic. Obviously, he didn’t want Dazai going anywhere. In a flash he grabbed Dazai’s arm as if to prevent him from leaving, in case if he was thinking of doing so right in that moment.

“Sure. You can come over,” Chuuya said, his eyes and hand not leaving Dazai, but the bird tilted its head at him.
“Oh. Right…” He pulled away and its eyes flashed scarlet again.
“You can come over,” The redhead repeated, concealing the expression he wore for a mere second to Dazai, avoiding to show Gin anything that could hint at something wrong.
“O-okay, um–see you soon!” Said Gin, and the raven crouched before spreading its wings and lifting off, flapping away from them.
Dazai was busy processing this new information.

“Are you sure about this?” Was the first thing that came out of his mouth.
A little taken aback, Chuuya paused, but nodded. He wasn’t sure himself. He was supposed to be keeping his wings a secret, yet here he was showing everyone that he really trusted that “Hey, I’m an anomaly in real life! Take a look at my neat new appendages! Totally godlike and stunning! Isn’t it neat!?”.
The unease made Chuuya begin to tuck his wings away, anxiety rippling through him.
“Wait, Chuuya.” The brunette caught Chuuya’s gaze with is own, “We can fly there, if you prefer.” Dazai grabbed onto the redhead's feathers causing him to make a little sound and jerk, feathers fluffing to the touch.
“Really?” He tried not to leap to the sky with joy, but his face gave that away.
Dazai snickered at the giddy look.
“Really.”
“Then let’s fuckin’ go! ” Chuuya spread his wings in an outburst of feathers, hauled Dazai underneath his armpits and lunged forward, flapping his wings with glee, taking off again. The brunette couldn’t even find the air to yell in surprise before they were off, his legs dangling towards the jaws of death below.
Though Chuuya held on, he had promised not to let go of Dazai and he sure as hell wouldn’t now. He by passed the black skyscrapers and angled his wings to head back to his apartment, bubbling with joy.

A sudden thought entered his mind how he probably had loads of work to do, and he completely had forgotten about that, since he was busy recovering and all. 

But why even bother on such a beautiful day, when one could go out flying with his partner-in-crime instead?

Chapter Text

Dazai closed his eye tightly, suddenly feeling a dizzy spell. He shook it off, focusing on the feeling of the wind sifting through his hair and Chuuya gliding and laughing.
The redhead was on cloud nine; it was obvious.
It was really amusing, and Dazai couldn’t stop thinking about how he looked like he was living his best life right now. Maybe this was the best day of his life.
Dazai kicked his feet in open air, smiling down to the city below, one that Chuuya would never see.
Chuuya’s enjoying himself around me.
He let himself think, which made him all the more happy.
They soared for a little longer until Chuuya saw his apartment, circling over it and descending lower and lower.

He let Dazai down a foot off the ground this time, and dropped himself afterward.

Bzzt bzzt!

Chuuya lifted his shirt to allow his wings to hide underneath his clothing, taking out his phone from his pocket.

Message: From Kouyou.

Chuuya winced. Right…I’ve been gone for a while.

Dazai, however, noticed and snatched the phone.

“Mackerel!” Chuuya barked.

“Who’s it from~?” he opened up the message and read the contents.

“How sweet,” Dazai said after a moment, voice lathered in honey.

Chuuya’s eyes flickered up for a fraction of a second. Did he catch jealousy in Dazai’s voice?

The redhead looked at the message himself, easing his head onto his partner’s shoulder, looking at the screen.

Good afternoon, Chuuya-Kun. I’m beginning to worry about you not appearing at your office. I heard your fight with Guivre was a…feat and a half. Are you quite alright?

Chuuya, having his obligations get in the way of his wants, responded.

I’m fine,

He wrote.

A little roughed up but I’m already back in business. Just finished another job for the boss yesterday.

Oh thank goodness. She responded, and if Chuuya didn’t know better, he could probably hear the relief through her message.

You take care of yourself now, lad. I want to see you out and about soon. Please mind that we have tea time next Thursday, as well.

Chuuya pressed fingers up to the bridge of his nose, wishing he left the message on “read” instead, especially since Dazai was monitoring his every move.

Will do. Busy now, will catch up later.

With that, he pocketed his phone, and tugged on Dazai’s arm, who appeared a bit rigid.

“C’mon, sourpus. Stop being so damn—”

Chuuya suddenly gasped at the arms winding around his waist and pressing him against Dazai’s chest. His nose was buried into the brunette's neck.

“Mnnphhh??”

“Chuuya’s time shouldn’t be spent with anyone else but me. ” His fingers dug into Chuuya’s back, and that included his feathers, making the redhead sharply intake breath.

“D—Dazai,” Chuuya tried not to melt against the taller teen.

The brunette lifted Chuuya’s chin, looking into his blue eyes.

“You know what that means, right, Chuuya?” The redhead could only nod, his heart unconsciously syncing with Dazai’s own.

Chuuya’s feathers all fluffed simultaneously.

Dazai leaned forward, moist lips at the shell of Chuuya’s ear.

“You’re mine. I don’t want anyone else having you…understood?”

The redhead froze, gasping softly when teeth met his ear. 

“You’re more of a dog than I am, you possessive shithead…” Chuuya spoke breathily, hands digging into his partner's shoulders.

Dazai grabbed Chuuya’s chin, lifting it up to look him sharply in the eyes. The gaze that he met with was predatory.

And Chuuya knew from his first year in the mafia that whatever Dazai wanted, he’d get.

Then their lips met, and they were locked in a kiss. Chuuya’s hands wrapped around Dazai’s neck, wings trying to lift under his shirt. Dazai made sure to grab Chuuya’s wings underneath the fabric, making the redhead squeak and whine in the space between their mouths.

After a moment of their tongues dancing together in a heated dance of dominance, Chuuya pushed away.

“If you’re lookin’ for sex, on a roof top ain’t going to cut it. Plus you have to think about it when someone isn’t going to arrive soon.” Chuuya panted, but his body craved more touch. Dazai was breathless as well, wiping the spit from his lip with the back of his hand.

“Chuuya doesn’t fancy fucking on a rooftop?”

Dazai’s eye flitted to the sky.

“You like the sky, don’t you?”

That made Chuuya flinch, and make his offer increasingly hard to turn down. But sex was for somewhere safe and enclosed and in bed, not somewhere outrightly open like this.

And the fact he was erect was not helpful. Infact, both were.

Because…he was a teen boy. And teen boys suddenly get erections all the time, even at the simplest horny thoughts.

Bound to happen, so he’d ignore it, if only Dazai wasn’t the same.

“…Fuckin’ hell.”

Dazai tutted. “Chuuya’s dim when it comes to male anatomy, hmmm?”

“Shut the hell up,” the redhead retorted, burying his nose into Dazai’s neck. “Let’s just get the hell downstairs…okay? And seriously try to hide that when Gin comes.”

“Your wish is my command, princess.”

Chuuya would have slapped him but he restrained himself, grabbing his partner and walking to the door that led them to the stairwell.

It was kind of painful to walk with a hardon but god dammit, he’ll manage.

His feathers were going berserk though, maneuvering at his back and flapping, causing static to gather at the fabric. Dazai noticed and kept a hand on Chuuya’s spine.

Somehow they made it back to Chuuya’s apartment without any commotion, and the redhead was forced to cross his legs tightly while settling on the couch after kicking off his shoes at the door, Dazai following suit.

“You sure I can’t rub one out in your bathroom?”

“Fuck no!” Chuuya jumped, the feathers at his neck and behind his ears spiking.

“Just…stand there and deal with it, or something.” The redhead bit his lip, never being in the company of anyone when he had…a problem. “Fuck, I hope she doesn’t notice…this is going to be humiliating….”

Dazai looked displeased, but sighed in submission, raising his hands.

“Oh fine, it’s the Slug’s territory after all.”

“Stop calling it that,” Chuuya barked, only to hear a soft knock on the door.

It seemed Gin had arrived.

Chapter Text

It turned out that it was going to be much more embarrassing to stand up and open the door, so Chuuya simply called her in, Dazai sitting on the floor and pulling a pillow to mask his own hard on.

What they didn’t expect was Gin, instead of her normal assassin getup, she had in its place a beautiful coat that suited her body type and luscious black hair cascading silkily down her back and a soft expression, followed by a figure taller than her in a thick black coat…Akutagawa. His black hair ended near his neck, the edges outlined with white, gray eyes scuttling over every piece of furniture, as if determining its worth.

Chuuya internally hissed, but promised himself to remain in the position, despite feeling sudden hostility toward him.

“Ah! A-apologies, was I overdressed for the occasion?” Gin asked, covering her mouth with a hand.

“Not at all. Come in, make yourself at home.” The redhead smiled, Dazai catching how he didn’t say “yourselves”, and deduced that Chuuya was a little…uncomfortable with Akutagawa coming over.

Gin reluctantly perched herself elegantly on a seat next to the counter, and Akutagawa stood with her, huffing.
Chuuya chewed the inside of his lip, his boner thankfully going down since he was distracted and mildly distressed.

“When I was going to show you…I didn’t expect Akutagawa to erm…come along.” He strangled out awkwardly, earning an immediate glare from Akutagawa, and he knew in that moment it was the wrong thing to say, but he couldn’t stand up to defend himself, he was still waiting for his stupid dick to lower itself so he could save himself humiliation.
“Show her what?” He pounced on the question, skeptical. Terribly suspicious, in fact.

Chuuya shifted uncomfortably. “Nothing dirty, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
The redhead looked desperately to Dazai for help.
The brunette merely narrowed his eyes.
“We might have no choice, Chuuya. There’s no way Akutagawa will leave now without knowing.”
The redhead jerked badly.
“Nuh-uh.” He said softly enough so only Dazai could hear it. Dazai didn’t react, but his gaze softened, just enough for Chuuya to catch the slight feeling…of sympathy? Was that what that was?

“Dazai-san is right.” Akutagawa hissed, and Gin grabbed his wrist, making his voice falter at the end. 

“Don’t be so mean, brother. I promise I’ll be okay, I know what I came for. I saw it through Crenier. His eyes never deceive me.”
“How could I expect these charlatans to keep their hands off of you after what sir Chuuya said?” Akutagawa questioned, looking down his nose at her.
Wildly inconvenient Dazai happened to make me horny upon your arrival , Chuuya thought with an internal snort, but wisely decided not to physically do so.

“I promise. Please, just step out of the room for…um.” She looks at Chuuya.
Put on the spot, he does his best not to stutter. 

“Five minutes,” he almost blurts. “That’s it. Then you guys can…go, or stick around for dinner. I don’t care.”
He knew it was a mistake, he wanted more alone time with Dazai, but also having Gin here was a change of pace and a different type of relaxing.
Akutagawa, still looking skeptical, was about to press on when Dazai interrupted. “We won’t do anything to your sister. In fact, we see her like a family ourselves. She’ll be fine, and probably happier if you let her do what she pleases.”
Gin turned to her brother with a puppy-eyed imitation.
…Just not the kind he preferred for right now.
“Grr…. Fine . If I hear even the slightest peep from my sister, I’m rushing to her aid.”

Dazai narrowed his eyes. “Fine with us.”
Chuuya, taking a breath, awkwardly unfolds his legs and beckons to his room, looking to Dazai. Hopefully the prominent tent in his pants had reduced enough to look normal.
“Can…you come too?” He asks in a hushed whisper, and Gin caught it, but didn’t comment.
“Of course. After all, a dog can’t do anything without his master.”
“Ass.” Chuuya murmured, opening his door.
It was an immediate contrast compared to the well-lit living and dining room. A blue hue painted over his bedroom, the moonlight filtering through the curtains onto the bed.
Hastily, the redhead plopped down, looked to Dazai as he closed the door behind Gin, crossing his arms and looking like a grunt on guard duty.
Chuuya, unsure what to say, decided to save his words for later and instead show her right away.

He peeled his turtleneck off his back, feeling a heavy weight caging his heart and trapping it in chains release and ease off of his shoulders, and he relaxed, sighing as he gradually let them grow back to their normal size, eyes squeezed shut.
They spread wide enough to cover the room.
Dazai watched quietly, wishing he could touch those feathers and watch his partner melt. That was his new favorite hobby, now, and it got both in an unnaturally good mood.
Meanwhile, Gin was starstruck.
She stared in awe, mouth opening and closing.

“No way.” Was all she could muster, staggering forward, but then stopping in a strange angle, trying not to go into Chuuya’s personal space but to at least see Chuuya’s wings as closely as she possibly could.

The redhead unconsciously met eyes with Dazai, but flickered his gaze to Gin, who was currently suffering internally since her face explained every emotion into detail she was currently feeling, also spelling her thoughts out as if clearly on paper.
Chuuya sighed. “Go ahead.”
He reached his wing forward, feathers splaying out  to reach for her.
Dazai’s stance shifted, and Chuuya immediately could tell he was jealous.
The redhead pulled his wing back. Just slightly.
“Are you sure?” She breathed, her fingers twitching as she rose her arms, but they became rigid, as she suddenly appeared as if she didn’t know how to function her hands correctly.
“Yes, yes, go ahead.” Chuuya looked away, but at the same time couldn’t refrain from watching her touch his wings.
She was used to feathers. And she probably knew how to handle them. Probably.
With careful fingers, she stretched them out and brushed Chuuya, not even half a second's worth of contact. Then…she gently pet a feather with her index and middle finger.
Immediately that caused him to flinch and hiss.
“I-I’m sorry! Did that hurt?”
Chuuya squeezed his eyes shut tightly. That touch felt like electricity running through his body. Just like that time N tortured me to activate corruption. He thought bitterly, shaking his head as the feeling subsided as soon as it came.
“No big deal…” He said, but then he realized Dazai was there, sitting on the bed with him and grasping his waist.
Immediately he began to melt into his partner, seeing Gin put a hand to her mouth, and then smile.
“Aww. You two are cute together.”
“Shut up.” Chuuya murmured, leaning into the brunette’s shoulder.
“Just…try a different spot or something. There’s plenty to choose from.” He angled his wing differently, showing the underlayer of pink feathers underneath that had a more purplish hue in the moonlight.
After a moment, she hesitantly came back, brushing her fingers against Chuuya’s feathers.
The redhead jerked with pain but grit his teeth and beared it, since Dazai was outweighing the pain by making him melt into his comforting warmth.

“They’re real feathers…there's no mistaking it.” Gin said warmly, but it was easy to tell her breath was taken away by how magnificent the sight was, her smile mimicking her tone.
“That’s amazing, Chuuya. You really do have actual wings.. . ”

Chapter Text

The evening after that was a blur. Chuuya remembered pulling his wings away, and Dazai had to assure Akutagawa with a roll of his eyes that Gin or either of them had done anything bad. Even Gin reassured her brother, and eventually he believed it.

Reluctantly, Chuuya cooked up some store bought ramen dinner (nobody complained because Chuuya somehow made it taste like a gourmet meal), and the group chatted for a bit, discussing Port Mafia doings and what strange things had happened recently. Of course, the topic about what happened to Chuuya this past week was completely avoided, and thank the gods for that.

The redhead took great care to stay near Dazai at all times, his wings only trying to move once when he was thankfully wiping some water off of the floor and out of sight of Akutagawa.

When the siblings finally left, Chuuya sighed audibly, sinking into the shoulder of Dazai, his wings shuffling under his shirt.
The brunette reached behind him and skirted up the gray fabric, the redhead's wings bursting out.
Relief flooded through Chuuya, and it made him lean against Dazai more.

“Mmnnh...” He wrapped his arms around his brunette, breathing in his scent of what he deemed rich people cologne and parchment engulfing his senses, the bandages on his skin adding an edge to the smell.
“Let’s get you to bed.” Dazai was about to bring Chuuya forward by the wrist, but the redhead took his chance to hoist himself around Dazai, wrapping his arms around the brunette's neck and legs around his waist.
“I don’t wanna let go of Dazai…” Chuuya mumbled, burying his face into his partner's throat.
Dazai was baffled, hands immediately flying to the redhead's hips, unsure how to move from his statue-like state.
“Chuuya–” He began, but couldn‘t finish the sentence as his partner squeezed tighter, wings embracing Dazai as well.

“..Stay another night…?” 

Dazai snorted, burying his face into the redhead's hair, taking them back to Chuuya’s bedroom. “You’ve been skipping out on brushing your teeth lately, Slug~ aren’t you one to always be clean?”
Chuuya huffed. It had been a while, but he was too busy to care .
“In the morning.” He said gruffly, exhausted. As much as he liked Gin, he didn’t favor her sibling all that much. And all the excitement today left him sleepy.

“But you are stinky, Slug~”
“I said tomorrow.” Chuuya squeezed tighter, and Dazai had no choice but to oblige.
Door opening and closing, Dazai turned around and landed on the side of the bed. Both grunted before sighing with relief from the comforter.
“Move up, I’m not hanging off the side of the bed thanks to your fat ass.” Chuuya huffed, and Dazai gave him a pout he couldn’t see in the dark. “I’m not fat.”
“I’m saying you’re hogging the good side of the bed, you dick.” Chuuya refused to move from his partner, burying his face more.
“Alright, you puny fairy, hang on.” He scooted up and dragged the redhead until he was to the pillows against the bed frame.
“Clothes?”
Chuuya didn’t answer for a moment before sighing. “Mnngnhr. I feel too tired. Use your hands for something useful, won’t you?”
The brunette sat there for a moment, stunned, hands instinctively laying across the smaller’s feathers, making him gasp sharply.
“I said… clothes !”
“Chuuya didn’t not say I can pet his wings as a reward.”
“Get your reward after then, you complete waste of bandages. Take my clothes off then you can touch them.”
Getting permission to do something, especially something that involved contact with Chuuya was beyond astronomical, but this…softer, side of Chuuya was also really nice too. Dazai admitted to himself he liked it as he reached for Chuuya’s layers and started to tug them off, the redhead only partially assisting when he felt it was necessary.

With some heavy manuvering, both of their clothes were stripped except Dazai’s bandages, since there was just too much around him.
“Hey Dazai?” Chuuya wiggled upwards, his wings splayed across the spacious bed, sitting in between Dazai’s legs.
“Why do you wear bandages?”
Dazai flinched. It was certainly not the first time he was asked that.
“Slug doesn’t need to know such a measly small detail. My body is hardly prettier than the bandages I wear~.”
Chuuya “mmm”ed.
But he gave something away.
“...Did you do something to yourself?” He lifted his eyes until their gazes fixed on one another.
That made the brunette hold his breath a moment longer than he meant it to.
“...I—”
“Dazai.” Chuuya grasped his wrists.
“It’s nothing serious.” Dazai gave him a bittersweet smile.

Chuuya grabbed Dazai’s jaw, staring him square in the face. “Either you show me willingly, or I’ll rip these bandages and see for myself.” He lifted his wings.
“After all…I’ve trusted these to you fully. Can’t you trust me for once?” The brunette wasn’t the only one who could pull strings. The redhead could do the same if required from him, but he wasn’t that talented. But he wanted to know.
A secret for a secret.
Trust for trust.

Dazai stared hard at him for several minutes, and Chuuya reciprocated.
“Will you tell anyone?”
“Will you tell anyone?” Chuuya mirrored.
Dazai angled his head for a moment, and then shook it, shaggy brown curls shifting along with his head.
“Then you better know I can keep yours a secret too.” The redhead leaned against Dazai, sighing contently at the heartbeat drumming against his ears.

“I trust you.” Were the words Chuuya never expected to hear from Dazai.
Well, lots of unexpected things had been happening ever since Chuuya sprouted bird wings.

He might as well get used to it.
“Just unwind the bandage on my right wrist.”
The redhead looked at Dazai for a heartbeat or more, and gingerly lifted his hands, brushing his warm fingertips softly against semi-cold skin.
He slightly dug his sharp nail under the clips that held the bandages together, and tugged them up and out, hooking them off of the coarse fabric.
Then slowly, with baited breath, he started to unwind it off of Dazai’s arm, the bandages gathering against his thigh.
Dazai, meanwhile, held astoundingly still, watching Chuuya. His hand was held out, palm up, as if offering. Since he…well, was.
Offering to see something nobody else was able to see.
The redhead got to the third time unwinding and jolted.
He saw the first hint of scabbed skin, scratched and cut raw deep enough to signify hints of scarring.
Chuuya looked at him in disbelief.
“Dazai…what is this?”
The brunette grimaced. “....”
Chuuya continued to unwind.
But what he saw shocked him further.
Carved into Dazai’s skin, the carving too neat to be humans, was words written in Japenese, plain and simple: もはや人間ではない *.

* No Longer Human

Chapter Text

The redhead’s breath caught in his throat. He held Dazai’s arm, his fingers barely wrapping all the way around his forearm.
“Before you ask,” interjected Dazai before Chuuya had a chance to open his mouth.
“The writing has always been on my skin, ever since I was born. Tainted flesh, you could say.” He chuckled, spirit drained from his usual tone.

The redhead could only throw his arms around his partner, hugging him tight. “Asshole…you don’t need bandages to hide that pretty skin of yours.”

He lifted to kiss the brunette's cheek, lowering down to clasp the metal clips after rewrapping the bandages and lowering Dazai’s arm.

“You’re…not mad?” Dazai asked uncertainty, though the Chuuya he was used to would have scoffed in annoyment.
“I’m mad as hell. But instead of having a heated conversation when I feel like passing out, how about instead you promise me something.” The redhead grasped Dazai’s face.
“Don’t do it if I’m here. Okay? I ain’t leaving, so you won’t have a stupid fuckin’ reason to hurt yourself like that.”
The brunette’s gaze wavered, and he looked like he was about to reject Chuuya outright.
But he took a moment instead.
“Okay.” He wanted to respond elsewise, but…maybe, if Chuuya was here, things wouldn’t escalate to such measures that he’d resort to constantly harming himself.
When Dazai seemed too speechless to respond, the redhead lifted himself up, feathers fluffing as he joined their lips into a soft kiss.
Dazai seemingly woke to that a little, tilting his head so they could slot their lips better, and soon mouths parted to taste each other further, involving tongues.
Then Chuuya was pressed into the sheets, hungrily kissing Dazai breathlessly. It was wet and desperate until Chuuya nearly resorted to grinding against his partner again, being brought back to the same moment when they were up at the rooftop.
Their bodies generated immense heat, and it was far too hot for Chuuya, he felt like he was burning, his feathers only adding to the warmth.

“D-Daahhaa…Dazai…it’s…mmm. Hot…”
“Sorry, darling.” The brunette smiled, a little light bleeding back to his dark iris, barely pulling away.
“I couldn’t help myself when you were so eagerly giving your mouth up to me.”

“Mmm, careful, Mackerel…might want to get fucked by you soon.”
Dazai choked. “What?”
Chuuya’s eyes were already fluttering closed.
“Chuuya! Don’t fall asleep and tell me something so dirty!”
The redhead didn’t respond, quick to snore.
Suspicions rose, and the brunette lifted his fingers to check Chuuya’s neck, his feathers fluffing to the contact since his throat was particularly sensitive.
Yep. He was asleep.
The brunette snorted. “Tuckered out already. I guess my question can wait.”
Dazai lifted Chuuya and pressed his face into red hair.

Chuuya slept fitfully that night. He was weaving through consciousness and unconsciousness.

The warmth was a big part of it.

After the third time of waking up to use the restroom and having to sit on the toilet seat to not accidentally drench the floor only to notice his mistake in the morning (since it yes, had happened once, and he immediately learned to never aim in the dark in the middle of the night while you’re still tired), he was forced to sit down on the toilet this time.
He sighed, his wings really annoying as they were forced between two walls, sandwiching him together, but honestly he could care less. Too tired to deal with such misgivings this late (early?) in the morning.
He dropped the seat and flushed the toilet, blindly reaching for the soap and washing his hands before joining Dazai back in bed, keeping his eyes mainly closed on the journey there.
Why was he sleeping so poorly?

“Mrgghh.” 

He collapsed back on the bed and snuggled against Dazai, his wings agitated for some stupid reason and he wasn’t bothered to check, wrapping his arms around his partner and falling asleep again.
When he fell asleep this time it was probably hours later, and the redhead glimpsed something.

Another like me seeks you.
What…?
Chuuya looked around the white space that was being covered by black tendrils. His consciousness fighting this weird void place, maybe?
He looked up.
..Arahabaki had returned.

It’s you again. He thought to it. Or said. He didn’t know which.

Did you hear?

I did–except, what the hell did you mean by that?

I cannot say further. And careful about wolves in sheeps clothing.

That’s a fucked up metaphor if I’ve ever heard one.

“Who are you talking to?”
Chuuya’s eyes snapped open.
“Huh?” He rubbed his eyes. His mouth felt a little dry like it had been open all night.
“Talking?”
“You were saying something about ‘That’s a fucked up metaphor if I’ve ever heard one’.”
Chuuya squinted at him sleepily before he seemed to remember.
“Arahabaki! It spoke to me!”
“Huh?” Dazai’s jaw opened and his expression shown priceless.
“He warned me about…someone like me out there…and a wolf in sheep's clothing…”

Dazai looked as if Chuuya had started blasting commands in French with a the most ridiculous outfit on.
“...What?”
Dazai couldn’t use his throat correctly.
“Didn’t I tell you…last time?”
The brunette slowly shook his head, finally managing to close his jaw..
“You… met your skill?” He asked after a moment, gears whirring away in his brain. That shouldn’t be possible. Physically or mentally.
Quickly, he brought his instantly shattered brain back together with glue and duct tape to temporarily make sense of things.
“You talked to your skill? ”
Chuuya pulled his wings closer to his body despite the heat radiating off the super comfy bed, his feathers, Dazai, and the sun climbing up higher in the sky.
“...Yeah. I talked to Arahabaki.” Unconsciously, he began to scratch at his corruption scars.
“Big dragon thing. I didn’t even know it could talk until our last mission from a few days ago. It showed me…fucked up things.” He admitted carefully, Dazai watching him like a rare gemstone, making Chuuya’s skin crawl.
He only wore that look when something fascinating came up, something to distract from Mafia work or death.

“Chuuya,” he said slowly, molding the words with his lips carefully.
“I want you to know there's never once been a reported case of a skill user interacting with his own skill. Ever. In all the history of skill users.”

As soon as Dazai finished that sentence, a feeling of familiar dread shed cold claws raking against Chuuya’s spine, heart, and stomach. His heart was hammering.

“...What?”

Chapter Text

It was a dreadful reminder that hammered into Chuuya’s skull that he wasn’t a normal human being.
He wasn’t even human anymore.
It sent him barreling into a rabbit hole that he couldn’t escape.
N has destroyed me.
He made me something that isn’t human. His body was likely not even his own.
I’m not human.
I’m not human.
I can’t even dream. Being a lab experiment truly did twisted things to the body.
I’m not human.
I have wings. He remembered the pain despite being unconscious.

I’m not human.
My friends got killed because of me. He remembered their dead bodies clearly. Verlaine, who claimed he was Chuuya’s brother, with his dark, honeyed smile, mouth forming words that hurt his very soul.
I’m not human.
The cold mantra chased like a carousel around and around in his head, his body shaking.
He was hearing his name called but his ears were deafening.
Where was he, again?
“CHUUYA!”
Chuuya gasped. He looked up to Dazai with wide, fearful eyes.

Dazai was grasping his shoulders. “Are you with me?”
Chuuya was disoriented. He babbled for a moment, his tongue not working right. It felt floppy in his mouth.
His wings were spiked harshly, his body shaking.
His strength. Where did it go?
He used to have such a blockade. He could handle anything.
What happened to me?
He felt so weak, so vulnerable. Right here, right now, if Dazai wasn’t there, he might have shattered. But at the same time, Dazai was the one who brung up the subject.

Dazai, fumbling, grabbed Chuuya and wrapped his arms tightly around him. Like Chuuya, who had applied this method in a more strange way on Dazai before, maybe if he squeezed him hard enough, the awful feelings could be squished right out of him.
Childish logic, but maybe that’s how it worked.
“Dazai, Dazai…” He mumbled, his claws digging into Dazai’s bandages.
“I’m here, Chuuya.” The brunette spoke softly, wincing to the claws. At least it was Chuuya, and any pain from his partner was welcome.
“I need a distraction,” The redhead sharply inhaled, gripping harder.

Comically timed, a phone buzzed nearby.
Chuuya jerked, his wings jolting upwards.
“What was that?”
His ear-feathers lifted up, and he looked for the source of the noise.
A phone received a message jumped with the notification, vibrating on the nightstand.

Chuuya was about to reach for it, nearly whacking Dazai in the face with feathers, but the brunette was faster and coiled his arms around Chuuya’s waist.
The redhead squeaked and froze, the touch sending his body tumbling into euphoria from his hands alone. He tried not to show it, though.
“The hell…? Lemme get the phone, bastard.” His voice came out breathier than intended…
“I’ll get it.”
As soon as he let go, Chuuya’s wings did awkward, fast little flapping movements. Dazai had seen this before in a bird, and heard from his friend, Odasaku, that this behavior was called ‘flipping wings’.

“...Get the phone, then.” The redhead tried to ignore what his wings were doing, but intentionally grabbed their edges so he stopped jerking the bed around with his movements.
Dazai softly chuckled, taking the phone and turning on the lock screen. The message was from Kouyou.

Lad, are you okay? I’ve been hearing some shady rumor’s ‘round the port….

It ended in . . .’s, as there was a continuation the screen couldn’t fit all in one.

“Who is it?” Chuuya leaned into Dazai’s shoulder, and the brunette clicked off the screen.
“We can worry about it later.”
The redhead narrowed his eyes, clambering into Dazai’s lap and reaching for the screen.

“Chuuya!” The brunette was squished and was pushed by a wing.

“I’ll find out myself then, bastar—”
Dazai pulled Chuuya back by the wings, making him gasp sharply and fall into his partner.
“D-Dazai!” He writhed in the brunette's grip, and the teen below him watched with sudden interest.
“Dazai let go…” He whined, shuddering to the touch and almost succumbing to it entirely….

Dazai’s eyes were wide and they were sparkling now. He rolled the two over and pinned Chuuya to the bed, who was squirming and beginning to softly pant.
“Dazai, s…please…let go…” He dragged his claws at the sheets, as if trying to move away. Dazai made sure to sit on his tailbone, continuing to hold the tips of Chuuya’s wings.
“Oh my…whats this? Chuuya’s sensitive here?”
“D-Dazai, ‘m not playing….” his face was slowly getting redder, his brain degrading to mush.
“Mnahhh..”
The brunette was too busy enjoying this. Why would he let go?
Besides, to have power over the all powerful Chuuya Nakahara –it sent a thrill down his spine.

“You have to be a bit nicer before I’ll let go.”
Chuuya writhed under Dazai, gripping the sheets and beginning to shudder. His eyes were rolling up to the back of his head in pleasure. “Da–Daza….fuck, ngh…let go…can’t think…”
Chuuya didn’t know what was happening to his body but it felt really good, and he almost wanted to shut up entirely just to let Dazai hold them like this forever. His lower body felt hot, and his wings were even hotter…
“What would others think if they saw you like this, Chuu? You’re making such interesting faces….show me more.” The greedy side of Dazai wanted to reap all of Chuuya and keep taking. He’d never met someone so human and he wanted all of what the redhead had to offer and more.
Dazai would make Chuuya completely his, regardless of the outcomes.
His pupils dilated as he played with his little redhead more.
“D-Dazai, Dazai just…” Chuuya spoke weakly, eyes sliding shut, his wings no longer jittering. The pleasure coursing through him in waves made him slowly submit, panting softly.

The brunette had some mercy in him and pulled his hands away, leaving Chuuya with his wings splayed out, feathers immensely fluffed from the contact, and…. super fuzzy.
Dazai took advantage of it, snuggling into one of the wings. If it was possible, they fluffed more to the attention.
The redhead groggily tried to lift his wing, but felt Dazai weigh it down and roll around joyfully in the feathers.

“Mmmnh…careful….”

“What was that~?”

“I said careful, asshole, I don’t need to clean up more broken feathers…”
“Speaking of which,” Dazai sat up, a little more alert.
“...What happened to those feathers I cleaned up the other day?”

Chapter Text

“Swept off the bed…didn’t have time to clean ‘em up…” Chuuya closed his eyes, bringing his wings close to himself as he got comfy, kind of missing the certain warmth Dazai gave him moments prior.
He could hear Dazai sigh in relief.
“Why?” Chuuya couldn’t help but ask.
“We’re going to have to keep your feathers. Every last one.”
“What?” The redhead turned his head, but his body was too physically relaxed to give Dazai a proper reaction.
“ ‘Scuse me?”

“They’re larger than any average feather found in birds. And normal birds don’t come in this color,” Dazai pointed out, rolling off Chuuya’s wing, the redhead’s mind clearing up like he came out the other side of a foggy road. He sighed, blinking a little. That pleasure….

He turned his thoughts away from it.

Chuuya understood, but, at the same time…

“What are we going to do with them?”

He narrowed his eyes.

“Your choice, bird-boy.” Dazai grinned. “I know you can get creative.”

“You can help me out too, ya know.” Chuuya murmured, ignoring the sly expression on Dazai.

Dazai leaned forward, and Chuuya looked in his eyes.

“You’re close..”

“I know I am.” Dazai’s eyes seemed to grow warmer, and Chuuya let himself bask in the feeling.

Dazai grabbed Chuuya’s wing, making the teen hiss and jolt in pleasure before he turned him on his back.

“What the fuck, Da—” but then the brunettes lips are on him, and he loses all rational thought as Dazai’s warm lips engulf him hungrily, unable to part for a long moment, Chuuya unable to catch his breath for even a moment…

Dazai then exhaled hot air on Chuuya’s face when he pulled away, the redhead’s eyes hazy.

“Mmmm…Dazai…” Chuuya said in an almost lustful tone, sending a jolt throughout his partner.

“Let’s get you to the shower, hmmm?” Dazai leans down, having full reign over Chuuya’s skin. He’s never lusted for a man before. But what was this?

He wasn’t sure. But whatever it was, he was addicted.

And so was Chuuya. The attraction was always there, but…things were hurtling so fast and Chuuya didn’t care what others thought, he wanted more, more—

“ Chuuya, ” breathed Dazai against the nape of the redhead’s neck, making him shudder.

“Fuck, just….Don’t stop touching me.” Was all Chuuya could comprehend. He didn’t even know he said it out loud , burying his face in Dazai’s brown curls.

Dazai was frozen, (Dazai_osamu.exe has stopped working, try again later) and he was malfunctioning again from his stupid, adorable redhead.

“Chuuya, let me get you into the goddamn shower.” His voice almost faltered, but he kept it steady, fingers digging into Chuuya’s skin, hard enough to bruise.

It made the redhead sigh in relief. “What did I tell you, dumbass? Get on with it.” Legs sprawled against Dazai’s torso, arms wrapping deadly tight around Dazai. 

When the brunette rose on his knees, Chuuya came up with him, wings so relaxed that they lay limp and floppy.

“Stupid Chibi, stupid stupid stupid…” he whispered, and Chuuya squeezed the air right out of him with his legs.

“Don’t call me stupid, ya cunt…”

Dazai dragged the both to the master bathroom, a marble vanity, a sink bowl with a rectangular faucet, a glass shower to fit one Chuuya with his wings spread halfway open, and a tub built in, a wall on its side with a toilet smudged in between.

“Jesus Chuuya, it’s horridly clean in here.” He retorted, and Chuuya growled lowly in his throat. “I’m not a dirty person like you are , Mackerel.”

He chuckled against Chuuya’s hair. 

“Mhmmm.” He opened the glass door to the shower and carefully stepped over the small edge that shaped the tub, having a little trouble since Chuuya’s wings were bulky, but managed to fit.

“Take off your bandages, won’t you…?” Chuuya asked groggily, closing his eyes.

“That’s too much work, Chibi~.”

“Do it or I won’t let you touch my— hnnng…! ” The redhead gasped as clever fingers brushed through feathers, rubbing small circles against his wings.

“D- Dazai, god fucking damnit— ”

“Oh fine, Chuu. Just don’t be mean with what you see, okay?”

The redhead sighed when Dazai pulled his arms away, blinking at his bandages.

There’s more? He wondered wearily as he stepped down, watching the brunette's arms intensely to make sure Dazai wouldn’t cheekily drop him unannounced.

When he slowly released Dazai from his hold, the brunette’s eyes traveled down Chuuya’s incredibly scarred body, going over planes of muscle and smooth skin where the scars didn’t arch and twirl and grow harshly, down his chest and thin waist, his stomach, then his—

Feathers covered Chuuya’s groin before Dazai could take a peek.

“Bandages,” he forced out, face a little red as he saw how… hungry Dazai looked.

Why was all of this coming so suddenly? Dazai never lusted after him this badly apart from jokes like this before at all.
Well. Two can play at that game.

“But Chuuya,” he whined, obviously not wanting to do such a daunting task.

“Or are you…lazy now, Mackerel?” Chuuya blinked up at him, almost slow enough to count as sensual.

Dazai didn’t miss the slight way Chuuya arched himself closer to Dazai, but he pretended to pay no mind.
“Hmmm…maybe I want to watch Chuuya undress me.”

Chuuya was struck a little with surprise.

He quickly smothered it.

“Fine, you ass. Bend down..”
Dazai was trying not to show his amusement as Chuuya clambered up on his long legs when they sat down in the tub, watching him undress all the bandages in a flustered manner. 

“I fucking hate you,” he mumbled repeatedly, but assuredly, it wasn’t true. Not one bit.
The process took five minutes, and Chuuya tried not to stare.
And badly failed.
Dazai was covered in scars. Much like Chuuya. He hated to admit it to himself, but it made it more comfortable that it was Dazai than someone else.

The brunette sensed Chuuya’s unease start to fade as he leaned into the brunette.
Mainly Dazai’s arms were covered in both sliced scars and “No Longer Human” scars, but they ended around his chest.

Very few cuts were on his legs, but they were there.
“You…did this to yourself, right Dazai?” Chuuya asked slowly. He was probably the first person to ever see what were under the teen’s bandages.
“...” He didn’t respond, but his face told stories upon stories of anguish of having to deal with such stresses he resorted to the worst way of venting possible.
Chuuya didn’t like that sort of thing, not one bit. But he kept his mouth shut, feeling a wave of unease return.
Regardless, he turned the shower valve, and water began to sprinkle in a warm stream before it became a steady rain.

Chuuya’s wings instinctively tucked close to his body, and his ear feathers rose before they were plummeted down by the water.
“Mmnnh…”
Dazai watched with fascination as Chuuya’s feathers got wet–mind you, it wasn’t all that impressive, but to see a human with bird wings and getting them totally soaked gives one the feeling that they’re really there .
In a sense, they felt more physical. Alive, if you will.
The redhead shook himself and splattered water droplets around, and Dazai couldn’t help but grasp his waist.
“Ah–” he sharply inhaled, feeling fingers dig into scarred flesh.

“Your waist is so petite, Slug. Why are you so small?”
“Why the fuck are you…asking me this?” Chuuya asked breathily, puffs of condensation leaving his lips as he fought to lean into the touch, Dazai’s arms brushing against dripping feathers.
Dazai covered Chuuya’s left shoulder with his chin, bringing the redhead up against him, and the redhead’s hips maneuvered easily under his touch, and when he expected soft skin, he….
“DAZAI!” Chuuya whirled around, covering himself with his wings. “What the fuck!?”
Blush was creeping on his face.
The brunette had an erection, and he was grinning his face off. “What, Chuuya? It’s natural~.”
“I can’t fucking believe you.” Chuuya tried not to look down past Dazai’s torso.
He didn’t even want to think about the fact he was having a reaction down there too.

Instead, the redhead decided to deal with it—by  thrusting a bottle of shampoo into Dazai’s arms.
“Fuckin’ just…wash your hair, I can wait.” The redhead turned away, keeping a hand over his mouth, sighing.
Ignore my erection, and it’ll go away. He chanted, hoping that it would work or the advances he made on Dazai earlier, which were supposed to be just as a cruel form of teasing, might actually lead to sexual activity…
This man was going to literally be the end of him.

Chapter Text

After bickering in the shower for what felt like countless hours, and tugs of war that nearly wove into something erotic, the two finally were done showering, with Chuuya looking like a sopping, angry wet cat as he stomped out of the shower, almost creating a mini pool from how much water he dragged along with him, Dazai sniggering at his partner, both rocking immense hard-on’s.
“I can’t believe you. Now this is never going down.” hissed Chuuya, hiding his blush as he refrained from looking at the mirror.

Arms wrapped around his neck and brought his back to Dazai’s warm chest. “I can help you out with it, if you like, Chuuya~.”
Chuuya shuddered involuntarily, trying to appear as if he wasn’t considering the thought.
“Well? Whaddya say?” Dazai whispered in the redhead’s ear, making him shudder.

Chuuya was painfully hard. He wanted to get rid of it, but using Dazai as a by-product…

Besides—
The redhead’s never had sex. Let alone with a man.

Chuuya’s wings drew in against his back. 

“I’ve…never had sex before,” he said lightly, mentioning his thoughts aloud.
Dazai flinched. Just a little. But it was enough for Chuuya’s sensitive skin to feel it.
“Dazai?” He asked softly, seeing the brunette eye him like a precious gemstone in the mirror, the steam slowly fading away.
“How amusing.” Dazai spoke, silkily, against Chuuya’s neck, the redhead unconsciously arching it a little, longing for contact.
“I’ve yet to have sex as well.”
The redhead’s face turned from the color to a soft pastel pink to a full on ruby red. “What!?”
He yelled, realization hitting him full on, spinning on the spot and bracing his palms against the marble vanity behind him, his wings squeezing together. Water dipped in rivulets on the curves of their bodies, making Chuuya shiver from the temperature drop, a definite contrast from the shower they basked in moments prior.
“You’re fuckin’ joking.”
Dazai took a long, hard moment to stare at Chuuya before he chuckled.
“Mmm, no, I don’t think so.”

The redhead bit his lip with his fangs. Dazai’s offer was increasingly harder to turn down, especially with the fact Chuuya’s trying his absolute hardest not to think with his dick and sort it out rationally.

“Then…how about this?” he tried to keep a still voice, but faltered as Dazai’s hand grasped his waist.
“W–we can do it…later, once we’re done with Port MaA–” He was jerked forward,  hoisted against Dazai’s leg, balancing on the brunette and the sink behind him.
He tried not to release any noises of pleasure, but a spark of ecstasy ran through him as his groin rubbed up against his partner's thigh.
“D– Dazai ! What the hell…?!”

“You can’t possibly leave me hungry, Chuuya.” Dazai said, narrowing his eyes. “I may not know how to have sex, but I have a pretty good grasp on it regardless.” He wrapped his fingers around Chuuya’s cock and caused the redhead to spasm, his wings fluffing–or, as much as they could while his feathers were soaked.
“ D-ohfuckinggod, ” Chuuya gasped, twitching under the pressure of stimulation. His hands flew to Dazai’s arms, digging claws into him. “Dazai, we have to go—”
“No we don’t.” Dazai nosed at Chuuya’s neck, his ear feathers rising instinctually. Immediately, Dazai dropped his voice to a whisper so he wouldn’t shatter his partner’s eardrums.
“We have plenty of time, Chuuya~. Besides…” He pumped his fist against Chuuya’s member, causing Chuuya to cry out this time, sending a spark of pleasure to Dazai’s own groin.

“You aren’t getting rid of this until you ejaculate.”
“You’re…an ass,” Chuuya choked out, trying to bind his wings to his back but they were trying to spread out, begging for more room, for more contact.
“Hmmm, I’ve never sucked cock before. I wonder how it tastes like.” Dazai stated as he lowered himself, Chuuya having to withdraw his arms and replace them back against the sink.

“What the hell are you plotti– OHMYGOD- ” Chuuya jerked so wildly that his wings flapped, frantic over the pleasure that suddenly coursed through him, a moan leaving his lips.
“DAZAI!”
Currently, said brunette was swallowing down Chuuya’s dick.
His claws dug into Dazai’s hair, desperate to pull him off, he was over sensitive and could barely handle the pleasure that made his legs buckle, forcing him to lean against Dazai and assume a more docile position while his partner lapped and sucked.
“Da–Dazai,” He was trying to get any other words out, but the sentences formulated in his brain were long gone, and suddenly the only word in the world he remembered was Dazai’s name, panting as the brunette pulled off, leaving the redhead shuddering.
“Not only is Chuuya small in height, he’s small with his dick,” Dazai began with a wolfish grin, licking his lips, as Chuuya was about to form a retort as his mind cleared up, but then Dazai was on him again, causing Chuuya to moan loudly.

It only added fuel to the fire, now Dazai was biting softly and lapping at the underside of Chuuya’s length, and the redhead really was going to lose it, his wings drooping in submission.
“Chuuya also tastes good, too,” Dazai said after a moment, pulling off and letting strands of saliva stretch and snap.
The redhead was shuddering. Was this what sex felt like? Especially with someone you cared about? Because it was crazy. Comfortable. Intense.

Before Chuuya could finish the thought Dazai’s mouth was back on him, making the redhead involuntarily cry out, feet kicking at the bathroom floor, his wings flaring as he couldn’t hold himself up enough, the pleasure unwinding in his stomach–
“A- Ah—Dazai! ” Chuuya jerked harshly, he didn’t have time to warn the brunette about his climax, spilling hot semen down Dazai’s throat, who swallowed it up eagerly. 

As soon as he did, Chuuya slumped against the sink, panting.

Dazai pulled off, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, giving a look that Chuuya’s never seen him wear before.
Chuuya slowly fell to the ground, but Dazai caught him gently with hands so soft the redhead thought he’d melt—and his wings. They were so fluffy right now, likely the fluffiest they’ve ever been.
“The hell…where did this energy come from?” Chuuya leaned into Dazai’s warmth, more relaxed than he’d ever been in the past week.
Even flight wasn’t as good as whatever that was.
“Chuuya started it,” Dazai grinned, pulling at his cheek.
“Mmm, shtap it.”
Dazai chuckled, pressing his hard-on against Chuuya’s leg playfully, making the redhead whine.
“Well, I think it's about my turn. Wouldn’t you say?”

Chapter Text

And as it so happens, Dazai wasn’t kidding.

The brunette sent his partner straight to work after they flung each other on the bed, the redhead trying to fight back by whacking his wings against Dazai. “For the love of god Dazai, we need to fucki— hnggg, ” Chuuya flinched from sensitivity to Dazai’s touch across his feathers.

“Work can wait, Chuuya, you should already know that,” he said cheekily, holding Chuuya’s legs up and putting his calves across his shoulder.

“Besides, I already gave you a blow job, I want one now too.”
Chuuya looked at Dazai with hazy eyes, his fingers peeking out from under his red hair.
“A what?” He scrunched his nose in confusion.
“Sucking a mans dick,” Dazai explained briefly, admiring the beautiful view below him,

“You’re not going to leave me hard now, are you, Chuuya?” Dazai cocked his head with an innocent and pleading look, making the redhead snort.
“I guess it’s only fair. But wouldn’t I be a better partner if I just left you like this?” Chuuya’s eyebrow rose, and his smile widened.

“Then I won’t let you leave,” whispered Dazai in retaliation, his voice dropping a few octaves, sending a fresh new round of shivers to come from Chuuya’s body.
“Think you can make me stay, now, do you?”
“Of course I do.” The brunette gave him a smile that was all teeth.
And Chuuya knew just as well.
Dazai may not be able to overpower him strength wise, but he always knew how to win the redhead’s favor over with words.

Dazai pulled back from Chuuya, and the redhead looked down.
He flinched at the sight of the brunette's dick.
It was kind of…large?
Compared to Chuuya’s, atleast.
Maybe he was small both height wise and length wise?

Or maybe Dazai was larger than average?
Or maybe I’m over thinking this, Chuuya thought, licking his dry lips, suddenly craving Dazai more than he had a few minutes ago.

As he sat up, he swallowed thickly, his wings tucking in behind him in uncertainty.

Dazai’s hand slipped against Chuuya’s arm, and then his hand was feeling Chuuya’s neck.
“Just go in, like how I did it.”
Is that going to fit, though? Was Chuuya’s answering expression, but he bent down, biting his lip.
He’s never tried this…

His tongue found Dazai’s head and gave it a pathetic kitten lick, making the brunette flinch for a moment.
Chuuya’s feathers rose again, signaling what Dazai assumed was excitement.
Little did the redhead know, Dazai was gathering information on his behavior…And in a sense, this was one of his tests.
He wanted to see how Chuuya would react to things, since the redhead was so human after all.
Would he like this? Would he never want to do it again?
Dazai’s mind was about to dip further into his mess of a brain when Chuuya swallowed half of his dick down, and he released a sudden gasp of pleasure, gripping the hair behind Chuuya’s ear.
The redhead answered in a small moan, his throat sending vibrations against Dazai’s member, making him groan.
“Dear god, Chuuya…” He murmured, the redhead pulling off.
“Am I doing bad?” The feathers behind Chuuya’s ears tried to lift, but were still brought down by the shower water from earlier.
“I wouldn’t say that,” The glint in Dazai’s eye made it apparent that it was quite enjoyable.
Fueled, Chuuya dove down, trying to swallow Dazai fully. If this was the reaction Dazai gave while just a little into it, what if Chuuya went all the way?
His response made the redhead whine as he groaned loudly, the wet heat so strong he almost couldn’t stop his hips from thrusting upward.
Chuuya snuggly had his mouth covering the brunette, the back of his dick hitting Chuuya’s throat.
“Chuuya, I—Hang on—” He began, trying to make the redhead ease off him, but it only made Chuuya rougher as he bit down a little, sucking harder and lapping at the shaft in his mouth.
“ Chuuya– ” Suddenly he ejaculated, and the redhead choked a little in surprise, pulling off a bit too quickly and got some cum splattered on his face.
Dazai laid down in defeat as he gasped for air.
And Chuuya made a small sound of mortification, his beautiful maroon feathers relaxing as he wiped Dazai’s liquids off his face.
“Maybe…warn me next time?” Chuuya looked at the cum for the briefest of moments on his fingers and started lapping at it, seeing Dazai wheeze but stare at him with the remaining hints of arousal still trapped inside his irises.
“I was trying to, but Slug was too eager to taste me.”

The redhead by the skin of his teeth managed not to say: “You got that right”.
Instead, he snorted and slipped out of bed, dragging his wings behind him across the floor.
“Get fucking dressed, you asshole, we need to go to headquarters,” he said in a softer voice than he meant to, feeling oddly content with how he was woken up today.
“....I want to know if my dog enjoyed himself.”
Chuuya stopped at the doorway, his cheeks flush with red. That…wasn’t a question he was expecting.
“It–it wasn’t so bad, I guess,” he tried his best to withhold the stammer in his voice to not give Dazai the immense satisfaction the brunette oh-so-craved.
“We might have it again if you behave.”
He missed the sparkle ignited in Dazai’s eyes as he turned back toward the door and headed away from view.

Chuuya began washing his face a moment later, rinsing it, lathering it with soap, washing it off, and toweling it gently before looking at himself.
Other than the fact his hair was disheveled from their activities, Chuuya couldn’t help but stare a little bit at his scars in dismay.

I think they’re staying, He thought, letting his hand rise and brush soft pads of his fingers against the scarring.
They won’t be fading any time soon.
“Chuuuyaaa~!” called a singsong voice from the next room, making the redhead peep out of the bathroom door to see the brunette winding bandages over himself.
“Why don’t you come here and help a poor soul out, hmm?” Dazai flashed him a smile, and Chuuya rolled his eyes.
Well, better late than never, he thought, glancing meekly at his phone before going to help his helpless partner.

Chapter Text

Chuuya hummed to himself as he stashed his phone away from texting Hirotsu to pick the two up, glancing in Dazai’s direction as he rocked on the balls of his feet, chuckling.

“What’s so funny?” The redhead murmured, raising a brow.
“Today I’ll be having a drink with Odasaku and Ango.” He said with a grin. “I also have a spectacular hunch that you have something today as well.”
“Huh?”
Chuuya then remembered.
The message from a few hours ago.

He pulled out his phone, and went through the messages.
It was Kouyou, his mentor.

He opened their conversation and looked through her most recent text.

Lad, are you okay? I’ve been hearing some shady rumor’s ‘round the port, and by the sound of it, you’ve been beaten around the bush quite a bit. If you don’t mind, I’d like to have tea with you this afternoon, and we can discuss the matters if you’re comfortable.

Text me as soon as you can.
-Kouyou

What a way to send it off, huh? Chuuya thought bitterly, deciding whether to respond to her or not, since he still felt self conscious about the scars. Though he felt some sort of obligation to do just that, though he still felt hesitant.
An understatement if you ask me.

Then a chat bubble with three pulsing periods appeared on his screen.

I also have an important message for you from the boss.

Well, her message before didn’t mean much to him, but this one sure as hell did.

Do you know what he needs?

Chuuya texted, feeling Dazai’s eyes on him.
For some reason, the redhead still felt groggy, but tried to fight the urge to lean into his partner from exhaustion. Hazy, if you will. For some reason their…’activities’ from a few minutes ago felt glossed over with some fuzzy residue.

He’ll discuss it to you in private.

That was the last message she sent him, and Chuuya let a sigh slip past his lips.
Suddenly, an arm wound around his waist, the feathers on Chuuya’s back that had risen from worry quickly went down.
The redhead’s eyes quickly flicked over to Dazai, the hand clutching his phone tightly twitched and calmed. “What?”

Dazai took a moment to respond, flicking his eyes to Chuuya’s spine. “Your feathers were acting up,” he explained softly, and pulled away, much to Chuuya’s subconscious dismay.
“They always do that,” Chuuya murmured bitterly, and then they heard the familiar wheels of a limo screeching, the fancy, long black car skidding into view, driving up and stopping in front of them. The redhead tried not to flinch when he saw his own reflection from the tinted windows staring back up at him.

Hirotsu stepped out and opened the car door for them, the two slipping inside and letting the car door shut beside them. Between Hirotsu and the teens, there was a black, soundproof glass that could slide down so he could communicate with Dazai and Chuuya, but mainly he preferred to keep it up.

There were also an assortment of different alcoholic beverages in front of them, but Chuuya couldn’t will himself to look through them right now, his leg bouncing impatiently as he skimmed through the reasons why the boss would want to meet him.
With a rev of the engine, the car started up.
Invoulintarily, his feathers rose along with his stress levels.
Did I do bad on the mission? Chuuya couldn’t help but wonder.
We might have had to pay our client off due to some of the damage we caused. Maybe he’ll scold me for that.
The brunette merely watched Chuuya as they swayed to the right as the car took a turn.

There’s always a chance, I guess.
Another vibration set off on Chuuya’s phone, but he didn’t even seem to have heard it.
Curiously mischievous, Dazai snatched the phone out of the redheads pocket without him noticing.
And proceeded to scare the shit out of his partner when he made a loud, and gleeful: “ Ohh! ” noise.
“What the hell Dazai?” Chuuya whipped toward him, his wings gently flapping under his shirt.
“Hehehe. I think you’ll like the news.” He slipped the electronic into Chuuya’s gloved hand.
Another message.
But this time, it was an unknown number, with a notification about IMG.JPG 1, IMG.JPG 2, IMG.JPG 3, and a caption:

Hey mate, sorry it took so long, I had plenty of tough customers these….

It was Rowling—and she was messaging him about his outfit.

Of course, he couldn’t help but open up the message app, and read it carefully.

Hey mate, sorry it took so long, I had plenty of tough customers these past few days. But I managed the designs and I’m quite proud of the three. I’ve sent you the rough drafts, tell me your thoughts!

It was a cheerful message, and the redhead smiled a little.
“C’mon, Chuuya, you’re so slow ! Open it up, open it up, I wanna see!”
So Chuuya looked.
Immediately his eyes caught on the first one.

When I first saw you I deemed you to be the type to appreciate hoodies more often than not, so I thought you’d take a particular liking to this one.

He goggled at it a bit, not used to seeing something so detailed yet something so messy. In a sense, it was really pretty, despite it being a ‘sketch’. Beside him, Dazai “oohed”

He scrolled to the next.

If you preferred the less stylish route and stand out of the crowd isn’t your ideal preference, I also thought up of this one, though I don’t see you much as the type of lad to wear capes that constrict your movement.

Chuuya rapidly blinked in a few quick successions.
These drawings portrayed exactly how the outfit would work, and he found himself impressed.
She managed to hit all his right tastes after meeting him only once.

And lastly, my favorite, I think. Though it may be a bit for an older man instead of a youngin’ like you, it certainly fit your aesthetic. You also seemed to possess a choker and I couldn’t help but add it to the designs as well. Alright mate, those are my designs, tell me what you think.


Chuuya was at a loss for words.
They were all great.
All of them.
This was definitely going to be a challenge and a half.

Chapter Text

Ultimately, after a heavy debate after Dazai tried to convince Chuuya to get them all, the redhead settled on the first.
So, Chuuya sent over a text telling Rowling which he preferred, and after a minute of back and forth, she told him she’ll get to patching up the outfit as soon as she’s able, and left him with a goodbye to work on said outfit.

It seemed easiest to move in, and it concealed every bit of his body, even his face, with the hood.
He wasn’t disgraced.
He was self conscious about the scars for now. The looks he earned from people sent spiders crawling up his spine.

And as the brunette opened his mouth to produce some slick, stupid joke, the divider between them and Hirotsu broke the silence and slid down, showing the old man's face as he leaned backward. 

“We’ve arrived, gentlemen.” He spoke smoothly, and Chuuya almost took that as an invitation to leave the car as the border went up again, until he gasped sharply.
And clutched his back.
Jolts of pain zinged up his body, and he was rooted to the spot.
Dazai had reached for the car door, but looked back in a little surprise. “Chuuya?”
The redhead couldn’t respond, shutting his eyes tightly and gritting his teeth.
His wings.
Were dying to get out.

Not again, Chuuya squirmed, his face turned away from the brunette.
Wordlessly, Dazai lifted his hand and patted the feathers down, the wings slowly lowering after a moment.
They’ve been acting so weird today.
Chuuya hated it.

“Just stick close,” was all Dazai told Chuuya, and the redhead obliged, scooting after Dazai and stepping out of the car.
Dazai slammed the door shut, and the limo drove away.
In front of them was one of the Port Mafia buildings, tall and looming against the rest of the city.
Mafia goons were crawling the grounds, dressed in black suits, every individual having black sunglasses on and an earpiece.

The redhead stuck close to Dazai, feeling weary, and fighting as much as he could to get the feathers down.
Irrational fears began to creep into his impenetrable walls.

Masses of what if questions bounced along his brain, making it harder for him to keep his cool.
He let Dazai drag him by the arm as he looked around the lobby quietly, a receptionist desk at the front, some doors guarded by men, and many just lounging around the chairs and talking.
Dazai whisked him towards the elevator, beelining his way over.
After a quick press of a button, the elevator was summoned, and Dazai pulled both of them in.

“I don’t want to see him,” was Chuuya’s initial first thought to say aloud, and Dazai stood there, quiet. The redhead looked a little sick.

“Why not?” He asked, scanning his partner.
“I feel like he looks through me with his gaze. I don’t think I can keep my wings down if he does,” Chuuya murmured, though enough for Dazai to catch it, since there was always a possibility for the elevator to have a camera.

Dazai’s gaze softened, just a smidgen, though it was enough for Chuuya to catch it. What was Chuuya doing to him? What were these feelings?
He was trying to reason with these… emotions .
He felt a surge of fear, jealousy, and protectiveness that seeked no bounds when it came to this new Chuuya.
He didn’t know what to make of it.

“Can you come with me?” Chuuya asked, a bitter edge seeping into his words. He didn’t want to seem reliant but…his wings seemed to calm when Dazai was around, which was an annoying byproduct, but he’d deal with that factor for probably the rest of the time he has these stupid wings.
“We’ll see,” Dazai muttered, almost with a tone of uncertainty as the elevator jutted to a halt on the fifth floor. Chuuya looked over to the buttons and saw that one was still illuminated.
Which means this is my stop alone.
He bites his lip, eyes giving the briefest of gazes to share with Dazai before he gingerly steps out, offering no temporary goodbyes as he looks up ahead.  He heard a huff from behind, and he glanced at the last second to see those brown eyes disappear behind automated doors, the elevator jumping and descending behind said door.
Chuuya squared his shoulders.
My mind is all over the place. C’mon, Chuuya, get a hold of yourself. You got weird scars and wings that shouldn’t be possible for a human being, it isn’t so bad.

Gaslighting himself was probably not the best way to go, but he tried to calm the wits about him.
Yet he felt like claws were raking his stomach, ice cold blood shooting through his veins as he neared the door.

Nobody was stationed anywhere around the area currently, though it would have been better even as a precaution for extra security.
Down the hall should be Kouyou’s office, where she spent most of her time if she wasn’t with the boss. Chuuya recalled she had a particularly spacy balcony as well, and that's where they usually had tea. Chuuya didn’t really care before, but he’s sure as hell glad that she had it now.

He didn’t even know his feathers rose again until he felt the familiar sting of fabric gathering static, and he looked behind himself.
SHIT—
He grabbed the hem of the bottom of his shirt and tugged it forward, hoping to press his feathers down as much as possible, while keeping a definite straight face and almost having a heart attack on the inside.

Gather yourself, Chuuya. He couldn’t believe he, himself, the great Chuuya Nakahara of all people was having a BREAKDOWN. A breakdown! Him!

Of all the atrocities to ever happen to Chuuya, this wasn’t one of them.
But can I really blame myself? After all that I went through recently…

The redhead shook himself as a way to get the thoughts out of his head.
His feet had graciously already taken him to her door, and he sighed softly, lifting his arms and bracing himself.
Well, here goes nothing.
And Chuuya opened the doors letting himself in.

Chapter Text

There was the elegant woman herself. Scarlet hair wound in a red bun, sticks holding it in place, a cotton ball placed precariously at the side of her head.
Her light skin and cheekbones framed her face and made her makeup pop. When she heard the door click, she shifted, her pink kimono swaying behind her desk as she offered Chuuya a smile.
The desk she sat behind was beautifully carved with intricately designed flower petals, raining from a little sakura tree embedded in the wood, a little jar with a rose dipped down resting on the surface of the desk.
The rest of the office was quite bare, a spacious room with walls so dark brown that it felt it absorbed the very light, if it wasn’t for the several paintings that hung across them.

“Good afternoon, Chuuya-san.”
“Kouyou-sama,” Chuuya bowed to her, keeping his eyes to the ground to avoid her blatant reaction to his scars, since he knew she’d likely point them out immediately.
“Oh dear,” The redhead couldn’t help but look up anyway, and flinched to the horrified look on her face.
“Lad, what happened to you?”
Caught off guard, he sputtered.
“It–it was an accident,” Great job, genius. Way to sell that sentence.
“Those look fresh, Chuuya,” Kouyou said, her expression mortified.
Suddenly, Chuuya didn’t want to be here anymore.
“Are you okay?”
The redhead hesitated to the sentence, and sighed. “I’m fine, Kouyou.” He was careful not to let his expression break, but some of his exhaustion seeped into his eyes.
She wore a sympathetic expression as she lifted from her seat, rounded the desk, and trudged over to Chuuya.
Instinctively, he took a step back.
Don’t touch me, he thought. Only Dazai can touch me—
Wait.
What?
Before his brain could question its own existence, a feather light touch pressed against his cheek.
He almost broke down then and there, but by the skin of his teeth did he manage to hold it back.
“Kouyou,” He said, a little more fragile than he meant to as she looked over his face.
“Are you okay?” She repeated.

He didn’t respond for several seconds.

And thankfully, Kouyou didn’t push him.
She let her hold on Chuuya go as she whirled around, gathering the platter she had readied for the both of them, heading to the balcony.
The redhead regained himself for a moment, his pupils bloating at the sight of the sky.
Fly!
Sang the small voice in his head, and his wings stretched.
Sky, he thought, his gaze softening, before it occurred to him that his wings were doing something shit shit shit GO DOWN DAMMIT—
He frantically spun on the spot, battling his little limbs and patting his back until they went down.

Kouyou, already out the balcony, peeked her head in suspiciously to look at Chuuya.
He smiled a little awkwardly, straightening up.
“Sorry.”
He followed her outside, and carefully sat himself on the steel designed chair with a beige cushion for his bottom.
A white frilled table cover met the underside of his gloves, before a platter slotted itself between him and Kouyou.
Her smile was slightly forced, but not in a rude way, Chuuya deduced.
More of she was trying to keep the atmosphere cozy, but staring at Chuuya’s scars had displaced it slightly.

While the silence stretched between them, and not uncomfortable, he noted, as he pulled out the tea bags, he watched Kouyou carefully.
“You haven’t answered me, lad.”
He jerked his head up.
“Remind me?” He tried sheepishly, and the woman jerked her brow upward.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m…doing fine,” he said, but it was evident even he himself didn’t know.
The next thing he knew there was a hand over his, red nails scraping the fabric of the gloves slightly.
He met Kouyou’s eyes.
“Really,” she said, a bit firmer.
“....I’m not,” Chuuya chose his words carefully.
A beat danced between them.
“What happened when you fought Guivre?” She asked smoothly, doing her hardest impression of I’m-not-staring-at-you-but-I’m-actually-staring-at-you-stare.

“I don’t really know, Kouyou-san,” he said, biting the inside of his cheek as he looked away, feeling the steam of the teapot as she poured hot water into his cup, filling it fully.

“I used my ability to the fullest extent, like Dazai said. I don’t remember much from the encounter.”

She gave him a hard stare before she eased off him.
“Oh. I see.” She said, genuinely relieved.
“I woke up like this,” he added, before she could ask.
“I don’t know how I got them. I guess it’s the price I pay for havin’...well, these powers.”
She looked like she wanted to argue, to say “Don’t say that”, or, “you have no price to pay”, or some pompous bullshit like that. But she instead merely gave him a sigh, and a dull “ Oh .”
So she changed the subject to ease the tension.
“How was your day, atleast?” She tried, easing her index finger through the hole to grasp the handle, before grasping it lightly.
“It was okay, uneventful except for the fact I fu—” he dropped dead in his sentence.
Holy shit.
It just hit him full on.
He had sex.
HE HAD SEX WITH DAZAI. Well. It was still a blow job, that still counts. But—
Dazai OSAMU??
His mouth hung open as he blankly blinked at Kouyou.
“Yes, lad?” She tilted her head at him.
“I mean— nothing, ” he coughed.
“What about your day?”
She gave him a skeptical expression, but decided to voice all the misdemeanors she had during the morning, how grunts screwed up her schedule, her meeting with her friends had been canceled, yatta yatta…
That information didn’t matter.
Holy shit didn’t have enough of an impactful word for how hard the fact that had landed in Chuuya’s brain had rattled him.
He had sex with his partner-in-crime, Dazai Osamu.
What the HELL IS WRONG WITH ME!?
His wings rose against the back of his seat, and he slowly sunk into it, looking up to the sky.
I think for the first time in my life I wanna die. The redhead told himself, his entire face a newly ripened apple.

Now that he thought about it, something driven him (not including his own natural arousal) to keep going. Like he needed it no matter which way he took it.
But the interaction was so blurry .
Much like the noise entering Chuuya’s ears.
“Lad? Chuuya-san?”
After a moment, the redhead snapped out of it, quickly going back up in his chair, looking like a horribly awkward teenager, suddenly.
“Ahaha…Oh, um, what was that again?”

Chapter Text

And as he guessed, he received a stern talking to for about a half an hour for not paying attention, telling him how bad of manners they were. It wasn’t helpful that the fact his brain was trying to tug him toward the sky, a giddy little feeling at the sight of the clouds and the free air above, filled with so much room to outstretch his wings…
The woman sighed, and Chuuya hurriedly picked up his tea to not anger her further, sipping it, and distracting himself desperately from the sky.

She pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Well, regardless of what I say, you are still a teen, so of course it’ll fly over your head.” She pressed her cheek to her hand, scowling at him.
“Erm…I can’t help it?” He tried.
Another lapse of silence, except this one was unpleasant. The very definition of tense as she glared at him.

A phone vibrated somewhere, and Chuuya came to realize it was from his pocket. He pulled it out, seeing it was a message from Mori. His face twisted into a frown.
“Mori?” Kouyou guessed from his expression.
“Yeah,” he said, narrowing his eyes. He decided instead of giving her the real reason why he was worried, he gave her one that was often heard.

“Hopefully I don’t walk in on him doing something with Elise again,” Chuuya involuntarily shuddered at the thought. While the vile man dresses and dolls her up, who knows what they do behind closed doors?...

Chuuya did not want to think about that. Never again would be nice.
She tried to hide her expression of disgust, and failed miserably. Her hand was still on his, and she squeezed it.
“I feel for you, lad. Just…try to keep his mind on track of business matters.”
“I will,” he sighed, giving one last longing look to the sky. He turned to the cup, downed the rest of the tea and exhaled slight steam from his mouth.
“Well, he’s summoning me.” He scoots out the chair with a shuddering shriek, and he stands up, taking his hand back from Kouyou.
He felt a twinge and started wishing that it was Dazai’s touch instead.
He stopped the thought in his tracks—why was he missing that bastard's touch?
“Good luck, Chuuya.” Kouyou wished him, and he nodded to her.
Chuuya whirled around, and set off.

The redhead opened one door this time, slipping outside of it and walking carefully down the hallway towards the elevator, sucking in a breath as he pressed the button to summon the elevator.
I doubt Dazai can accompany me this time…what the hell can I do?
He looked back behind himself starting to sweat a little.
Thankfully it had been cooler outside since it was only a week away from being officially fall, but…
He was hot. His layers of feathers under two extra layers of fabric made him want to take off his shirt and fan himself.
The elevator stopped with a ding in front of him, and as soon as the door parted, he blinked, surprised at who was there, when he had expected no one.

A grunt with shaggy maroon hair and a bit of stubble growing on his chin, hazy  saturated blue eyes staring at Chuuya in surprise.
He looked away politely, tugging his creme colored jacket over a black shirt tighter over himself as Chuuya stepped in the elevator.
The redhead gave the grunt a glance.
Then the grunt spoke. “Your name is Chuuya Nakahara, right?” He spoke gruffly. Chuuya nodded, pressing himself up against the wall to hide the fact that his wings tucked close to his body.
“Yeah. Whats yours?”
“Oda Sakunosuke,” he replied.
“Your Dazai’s current partner, I believe?” He asked, the elevator door closing, but Chuuya hadn’t picked a floor yet.
“I guess I am, yeah.” The redhead agreed, feeling some odd air around him.
It was like it was comfort but the air was hard at the same time, unmoving. Maybe time stopped for them to have their conversation, before the grunt suddenly disappeared again. Chuuya heard about him a few times from other grunts, though he sounded more like wallpaper when people spoke of him.
“Hm. He speaks highly of you most of the time,” Oda says, catching Chuuya off guard.
Before he has time to gather himself and ask “ What ?”, the man nodded to the buttons. “Where are you heading?”
“Er—Mori’s office.” Chuuya managed to say that much, but his mind was just thrown in a frenzy of hungry sharks, trying to process the information while being eaten from several emotions at once.
Dazai spoke highly of Chuuya. Highly? Really?
Oda kindly pressed the button for Chuuya since he didn’t budge, rooted to the spot because his wings were causing havoc to his shirt right now, rustling like crazy.
His feathers fluffed, and he was red in the face.
Dazai never really spoke highly of anyone, so to receive praise from him…well.
It was certainly a… rare occurrence.
The man beside Chuuya scanned him, trying not to take in the fact of how short Chuuya was.
“Are you alright?” He asked after a moment, and the redhead glanced his way, before nodding. “Just…rare, for him to praise someone other than himself. I mean, me of all people. He hates me.”
Oda seemed to weigh the possibilities of telling Chuuya the truth, but he decided it would be best to tell him about it.
“From what I’ve seen, I don’t think so. He doesn’t know how to convey love—or what I’ve seen. So he speaks in a form of hate. I think.”

Chuuya took a moment to digest that response, but before he could respond, the elevator jutted into a halt. The doors parted as Chuuya stood up straight, his backside having calmed down enough for him to do so.
“Nice to meet you, Oda,” Chuuya said, giving him his arm to shake.
“Nice to meet you too, Chuuya.” He shook his hand.
“I’ll buy you a drink next time, if you like.”
Chuuya grinned. “Sure thing.”
He stepped out of the elevator, and wandered slowly over to Mori’s office, inhaling sharply through his nose.
Now or never.

“I’m here, sir, as you requested,” Chuuya said loudly through the door, holding his hands behind his back for extra security.
Mori’s voice beckoned from within.
“Come in.”

Chapter Text

When Chuuya got to the other side of the door, he expected a friendly greeting. At worst, a possibly hostile one.
Instead, what he got, were two confetti poppers on both sides of him, snapping loudly and showering him with multi-colored frayed pieces of paper.

He yelped in alarm and by the skin of his teeth did he manage to keep his feathers down from fluffing in shock, or his feather ears to rise from the sudden noise.
Chuuya looked on both sides of him—to his left, to the redheads delight—Dazai, and to his right, was Elise.
Mori was clapping with a smile on his face as the confetti flitted to the floor.
“U-um, what’s going on?” Chuuya managed to squeak, not at all prepared for this…surprise?
“Congratulations, Chuuya,” Mori smiled, opening his eyes and nodded respectfully toward Chuuya, who stepped forward, giving Dazai a questioning glance as he neared the desk.
“For what?” The redhead asked in pure curiosity.
“For being promoted to Port Mafia executive,” smiled Mori.

The redhead blinked like a deer in headlights.
“Wait…Ex— Executive? ” He marveled, jaw hanging in awe.
“Executive,” agreed Mori, setting his palms down against the desk, before pushing himself backward, and reaching for a cabinet to which Chuuya couldn’t see.
Then he pulled out a hat.
A hat that Chuuya remembered very well—the one he was given when he defeated Randou, said to be Verlaine’s old partner before Chuuya and Dazai had defeated them.
“Is that…?”
The redhead stared at the hat, narrowing his eyes.
“After several scans to make sure it was safe, we decided it was alright to return it to you.”  Mori held it up.
Chuuya didn’t reach for it, until Dazai elbowed him.
“C’mon, take it.”
The brunette smirked when Chuuya glanced at him. He still looked awestruck.
With a careful hand, he walked over and extended his reach and took the hat.
Then withdrew it.
“Thank you, sir.” He said, his lips breaking into a smile.
“This is a huge honor.”
“The honor is all mine.” The Port Mafia boss ducked his head with a grin. “After all, you defeated Guivre on your own. Nobody could achieve such a feat in several lifetimes.

The redhead looked at the hat for a moment longer, noticing a gleam of metal built in the rim of the hat.
Chuuya delicately put the hat on his head.
“It was no problem. It’s just my job.” Chuuya scratched the back of his head with a smile tugging at his lips.
“If you’d like, we could arrange a fine dinner to share between us and Kouyou. My treat.”
“That’d be great, sir.” Chuuya took his hat, pressed it to his chest, and bowed.
Dazai smirked at him.

“I congratulate you once again. And I hope this isn’t too much of a downer, but I wish you to have some time to mourn your lost, since I’ve heard about your loss.” Mori tilted his head, sighing.
Chuuya rose up, and pulled his hat back on his head. “That would also be great, sir.” Chuuya agreed, some emotion like anguish prickling in his eyes, but he didn’t let it show in the rest of his face.

He nodded again. Mori smiled again. “You’re free to go, I didn’t want to waste too much of your time. After all, being a teen is a precious time to be alive.” He waved the two off.
“On with you both, I have much paperwork to complete.”
Chuuya stopped himself from bowing again.
“Thank you, boss.”
“You know my name. You’re free to use it.”
“Thank you, Mori.” Chuuya closed his eyes in acknowledgement.
He turned, and gave a glance to Dazai.
“Let’s go.”

Both of them exited the office–Chuuya’s hunch was right. Dazai did make it easier to keep his feathers down.
As soon as the doors closed, and they got in the elevator, Chuuya whooped, and body slammed into Dazai excitedly, who stumbled into the wall.
“Dazai! I’m an Executive! Holy shit! ”
The brunette laughed.
“That you are. You’re popular now, aren’t you?”
Chuuya leapt onto Dazai, hugging him tightly.

Dazai froze, brain short circuiting.
“Chu–ChuuyaaAAaa…” He whined, looking away, a little blush creeping up his cheeks.
“Thank you for surprising me, Dazai.” Murmured Chuuya, his ear feathers springing up, ends of his hair catching on the feathers. He flinched, but dealt with the loud noises because he was absolutely overcome with joy.
He buried his face into the brunette’s warm chest, despite being very hot himself.
“Chuuya, get offfff, we’ll be at the bottom floor in a moment…”
The redhead climbed off, but nuzzled against Dazai’s chest one last time.
“Thank you for being there, Mackerel.”
He grinned. “Of course, Slug.”
The elevator jutted to a stop after a minute, and the redhead was still grinning stupidly, his ear feathers lowering and blending in with his hair, camouflaging near expertly.
As soon as they stepped out the atmosphere changed.
Every person was in front of Chuuya, calling his name, shaking his hand, patting him on the shoulder, congratulating him in every way shape or form.
Suddenly everyone knew Chuuya. Everyone recognized him.
He was being pushed and shoved in all kinds of places with the roar of excitement going on around him, causing him to grow dizzy.
Dazai, his mind spoke distantly, as he was dragged around from person to person like a ragdoll to shake hands with.
I don’t want to leave Dazai.
He managed to get back to Dazai after three minutes, blinking rapidly, his brain stuffed with too many messages to comprehend at the moment.
“Let’s get you out of here before you get crushed, little faerie,” Dazai grinned, patting the top of the redheads hat.
“Oi, hands off the hat, I just got it back!”
The brunette snorted.
“Unless you want the swarm to keep coming I suggest we keep going.”
Chuuya nodded, and both escaped out the front door, pushing through until they saw the light of day again.
They were laughing the entire way, Chuuya trying not to hold onto Dazai but ended up doing so anyway.
When they got out of the crowd, they breathed heavy, hands on their knees.
“I could probably fly us there.” Chuuya wheezed, still laughing.
“Wouldn’t wanna get caught now, would you? A little human like you would get attention.” Dazai tugged at Chuuya’s cheek.
“Yeah yeah, stay under the radar, got it.”
But Chuuya was still really giddy, even if he was about to visit some graves.
He was an Executive .
In the Port Mafia.
Things were bound to get interesting.

Chapter Text

Dazai and Chuuya ended up walking together, instead of ordering Hirotsu to pick them up, wandering through the city streets, and purchasing some food to share between the both of them.

The redhead made sure to keep close to Dazai, while even now being newly promoted to an Executive, he was starting to feel down, slowly dragged by the fact they were nearing their destination towards the cemetery. It made it a bit harder to swallow his food, and he appeared to be replaying memories in the back of his head, his expression a little vacant as he leaned on Dazai to keep himself walking.

When they got closer, Chuuya wasn’t looking ahead anymore—more to the side, keeping his eyes down and not to remind himself of their bodies. He didn’t really want to visit the graves, but he kept going, until—
“Chuuya.”
The redhead was jerked to a stop by the brunette.
“We don’t have to go. I can literally sense the dread rolling off you.”
Chuuya looked his partner in the eyes.
“It’s okay. I want to go.”
Chuuya tilted his head back down, but then noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
“But…first,”
He tugged at Dazai’s hand.
They were on the less populated part of town, and it was much more cozy here, with the smaller apartment buildings and few cafes or markets, rarely any restaurants or office buildings.
The redhead dragged the both of them to a flower shop.
It was a tiny thing, made of orange brick and slabbed light tan stone, with a little tented roof at the front door with red and white stripes.
Flowers decorated pots and large containers hanging outside the windows of the place, giving the area a nice aroma.
When Chuuya stepped in, he noticed the brown and white checkered floor, and the tables, shelves and racks full of more flowers. A jingle notified the shop owner that they had stepped in, but nobody immediately came.

“Why are we here?” Dazai asked, glancing at all the colorful plants.
“To give them all something.”
Chuuya wandered throughout the store. Dazai followed like a shadow.

After about ten minutes, he decided on a bouquet of flowers, all picked with the Flags in mind. They were all different colors, and an assortment of different flowers.
“I’d like to purchase these,” Chuuya said to the shop owner, who was an old lady with a kind smile and graying hair tied into a bun. She had a hunchback, a light blue shirt, jeans, and a dirtied apron, with gloves on.

She took a glance at the bundle, and calculated how much it would be for a moment.
“That’ll be 2,000 yen.” She said slowly, her voice sounding like it was dolloped with honey.
Chuuya rummaged through his pockets, pulling out his wallet and handing her the change.

She took it with careful hands, her arms shivering slightly.
“Thank you,” She bowed.
“Have a good day.” Chuuya nodded to her respectfully. Dazai merely watched.

She waved to them as the both exited the store with another jolly jingle, which felt quite dark, considering the fact the redhead no longer felt that way.
And his wings haven’t reacted in a while, pressed against him tightly from his overwhelming sorrow.
Dazai couldn’t exactly comfort him, since he always envied death. So his words probably wouldn’t help in their current situation. He’s heard alot of times from Odasaku, though, that being around for a friend was sometimes all they needed.

“You think they would’ve liked this?” Chuuya asked, a dull edge to his voice, seeping with melancholy.

Dazai didn’t know how to respond, so he went on auto-pilot. “I think they’re pretty. They probably would’ve.” He agreed, but there wasn’t much emotion in his voice.
When death was brought up, he slunk back to his darker depths of his mind, his soul. He felt more empty when he talked about the concept. The strange, wonderful concept of nothingness, once one's heart has stopped.

Chuuya didn’t talk the rest of the way there.
When they went to the cemetery, they headed out toward the cliff overhanging the ocean, passing a willow with drooping leaves, hanging in a sorry manner to the wind that had begun to roll across their faces. The grass felt a little moist, and it was a deep green, compared to the cobalt blue the ocean was ahead of them, the waves crashing against the cliff nearly silent to human ears.

For a bit the two went to seek out the graves, trying to find any familiar name, splitting up temporarily.
“I found them!” Dazai called to Chuuya three minutes later, and the redhead jogged over, slowing to a stop at the sight of the first names.

Lippman.

Pianoman.

Doc.

Iceman.

Albatross.

Their real names were scrawled underneath, but Chuuya couldn’t bring himself to look at anything further than the Flags’ names.
He clutched the flowers tighter.
But regardless, he pulled each flower out of the plastic wrapping, placing it on each grave.
Once he was done, he joined back at Dazai’s side to stare at his work. The colors of the flowers splashed against the cold blue-gray of the gravestones, and the newly dug up earth they perched upon.

The redhead slowly sunk to the ground. His ear feathers rose slightly, but in a sense, they never drooped lower.

Dazai reluctantly sat down with, watching Chuuya out of the corner of his eye.
He tried to summon up any other ideas of comfort, and eased his hand over Chuuya’s back.
“Come here.” He attempted.
Chuuya looked at him quietly for a moment,  the single emotion of misery etched upon his face as he kept his mouth ajar, tilting his head to the brunette.
After a moment, he got it, leaning into Dazai.

“....Will anybody see?”
“I doubt it. I’ll let you know if anyone comes.”
Chuuya sighs, without moving his head from Dazai’s shoulder, pulls up his few layers and lets his wings grow out behind him.

They sagged against the ground, the feathers pressed up against his wings, sprawled across the grassy land beneath them.
Chuuya nuzzled closer to Dazai, sighing.
He tried not to think of the memories that he shared with the Flags that involved negative activities or ones that dragged him down further into this ditch of depression, and tried to focus on the fun times.
He tried to convince himself they were in a better place now, as he felt himself lean closer to the brunette.
They were up there, and they were free.
Free.

…just like what Chuuya wanted to be.

Chapter Text

Chuuya at some point dozed off.
When he woke, he yawned softly, stretching his wings and arms, feeling his shirt pick up, the breeze tickling his stomach. He would have been cold, if it wasn’t for his feathers and the warmth coming from the man next to him.
When he blinked his eyes awake, he saw Dazai had been there, completely stationary, the entire time. He didn’t once look away from Chuuya.
There looked to be…some sort of… softness in his eye.
Chuuya felt a little relaxed by it.
“How long ago did I fall asleep?” He asked instead, wrapping his wing around Dazai.

“About an hour. I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Mmm..” Chuuya rubbed closer against Dazai, tucking his free wing against his side to block the wind, which had picked up during the time he was asleep.

“...Thank you, Dazai…”
The brunette looked surprised.
“For what?”
“Just for…”
Chuuya ended up on Dazai’s lap, hugging his neck. He realized his hat wasn’t on him, but saw it in Dazai’s left hand, so he didn’t worry about it.
“Just for being here.”
Chuuya made no hint to move.
He relaxed into the brunette's lap, who was a bit disoriented, sliding his right hand against Chuuya’s back, feeling his soft little feathers, albeit a bit bristled.
“...Yeah.”

The redhead leaned against Dazai’s shoulder, ginger hair spilling over his partner's black jacket.
Chuuya inhaled his brunette’s scent, closing his eyes and letting himself drift into a calmer state with the familiar smell…

“....Chuuya?”
The redhead sleepily glanced at Dazai through the corner of his eye.
“I can hear you sniffing me.”
“You smell nice. Comforting…like coffee in a cafe.”
Dazai blinked, a bit stunned, unsure of how to respond.
“Well, you don’t smell like that , but…” Chuuya was too groggy to comprehend what he was saying, burying his face into Dazai’s neck and forcing the brunette to sit there and suffer with it.

…And along with the added weight of Chuuya’s wings, Dazai kinda tipped backwards and fell with a little squench noise.
He sat there and took it, sighing as he felt Chuuya’s hot breaths caress his skin.
Dazai looked up to the sky, his fingers subconsciously reaching to pet Chuuya on the head as he watched the clouds swirl on by due to the fast gusts of wind.
Only half an hour later did Dazai decide to gingerly sit up, Chuuya once again dozed off. The clouds were gathering overhead, and it seemed like it was about to rain.

“Chuuya,” Dazai said softly, stroking Chuuya’s left wing.
“Wake up. It’s going to rain soon.”
He would’ve said a joke to lighten the mood, but right now, it felt it wouldn’t be the appropriate time for it.
“...Let me stay here longer…” grumbled Chuuya with a pleading tone, his eyes closed, gripping Dazai’s arm tightly.
“I don’t want to leave them so early…” He even sounded drowsy.
The brunette regardless attempted to stand up, and after a couple of tries, managed, with a little dog clinging to him like a leech.
“Put your wings away, you don’t want anybody seeing them now, do you?”
“Fuck what people think…” The redhead mumbled against the brunette shoulder, and Dazai chuckled. “Suit yourself, then.”
Chuuya grudgingly brought and shrunk his wings until they were capable of fitting under the shirt again.
Dazai took the liberty to tug the layers of fabric over his feathers until it looked about normal again.

A few steps later, Dazai’s legs started to wobble.
“Chuuuyaaa, you’re heavy,” he whined, and the redhead huffed, clinging tighter.
“Start working out, then.”
“I don’t see you working out!”
“Because my form of  exercise is killing people, what do you expect?” Scoffed the redhead, but there was a soft aspect to his voice, that didn’t sound like he was taking a bite at him.

“Hmmm..” Was all Dazai responded as Chuuya let himself down, but grabbed Dazai’s hand, making him fidget, and also having no intent of letting go.
“Well…since we have an entire day to waste…how about we test how far my wings can take us?”

Something flashed in Dazai’s eye.
For a brief moment.
Chuuya almost didn’t catch it.
What was that…?

It almost looked like…he had light in his eyes for a second—

“It’s highly likely the rain will drench your wings, and we could get stranded.” Dazai pointed out, dumping logic onto Chuuya’s plan.
“...Well…we could still try for a bit. He only said at dinner.”
Dazai tilted his head.
“Did you not hear what I just sa—”
Chuuya cut him off.

 “Oh let’s just go, you asshat. Let me enjoy myself, I just visited my friends graves and I’m not going to continuously mope about something….that's out of my hands.” He faltered at the last part, looking away.

“...Alright, then, Slug. But don’t blame me if your wings get wet.”

Then they were flying along the coastline, sticking close to the cliffs and the water, getting that nice cold breeze and the mists of the ocean, the smell of salt evident in the air.

Dazai had never felt more free. He felt like he was riding on the back of some huge, elegant creature, fingers carding through feathers and feeling the ripples of muscle underneath as Chuuya flapped with his powerful wings.

Dazai had kept a hold on his hat, and the redhead hadn’t asked for it back yet, due to the fact they were riding the air currents. And tucked between his arm and body was the jacket that usually rested on his shoulders.
While Dazai was in a bit of an awkward position, having his legs wrapped around Chuuya’s waist and hanging onto his shoulders while his head was held high, he began to like the wind whipping at his face, cold claws raking against his skin as they flew faster.
Both were yelling with joy as Chuuya sailed across different air currents, doing spins and ducks but making sure not to take it too far, or he’d accidentally send Dazai flying into the raging waves below, to which he knew the brunette would most likely enjoy.

Chuuya didn’t know how long he flew for, but all he could focus on was the fact that air was whistling past his ears and threading through his feathers, making him feel a fantastic chill as he kept going.

The redhead flew until his wings got a bit tired, and he spotted a forest hanging off the edges of the cliff. He quickly beat his wings to go eye level with it, glancing back at Dazai who now held on tighter.
“How about we stop here for now?” Chuuya asked, giving Dazai another, though subtly, pleading look.
Dazai exaggerated a sigh, and chuckled.

“Whatever my dog desires.”

Chapter Text

Chuuya nearly crash landed them when he first set foot to the ground, but stumbled on his own feet and barreled a few steps forward, nearly tripping over and smacking them into a tree.

Dazai was laughing his ass off.

Chuuya was trying to decide whether to feel embarrassed or good that he made his partner laugh.

“You’re an ass.” Mumbled Chuuya, shaking himself for Dazai to get off.

The brunette was still sniggering, even when he dismounted Chuuya’s back. He gave Chuuya his hat while he adjusted his jacket to lay across his shoulders again.

“I didn’t know my dog was so poorly trained in landing.” The brunette mocked, giving his partner a cat-like grin, making the redhead huff.

“Shut up, you.”

Chuuya glanced up through the thickly branched trees.

The clouds overhead were already gathering, light gray with wispy puffs of darker gray.

He couldn’t help but smile.

The smell of rain was for now faint in the air, warning of what’s to come.

Chuuya looked around him now, a little giddy feeling swelling up in his chest as Dazai joined his side.

Trunks were thick, with jagged grooves embedded into the bark. Moss grew on some trunks, and their leaves were clogging out the sky.

While Chuuya missed the sight once more as they traversed through the woodland, walking further away from the tide crashing at shore, he thought how he felt he was grateful for the leaves above them, since they’d block out the oncoming rain.
Chuuya could hear birds, and his feathery ears lifted up once more, eyes shining as he took in all the noises surrounding. Of course, he flinched, naturally, to all the sounds being amplified, but he was steadily getting used to being in control with the sounds.
It seemed like his feathery ears worked like a switch, almost. The higher behind his ears and the more splayed out, the more noise he received.
If he kept them low and together, but still out, he heard much better, but not at a point where he was shattering his eardrums.
A two edged sword, really.

And there they were—the little creatures fluttering and hopping from branch to branch, twittering about.

Chuuya flipped his wings, and Dazai chuckled softly.
“Dazai,” the redhead whirled around, and the brunette was a bit shocked to see his partner's pupils dilated, breathing deeply, wings spread.

“Yes?”

Chuuya took his wrist. “You can…you can hear them, right?” Chuuya pointed to the branch above, where the birds were chirping to one another joyfully.

“…Yeah? I’m not deaf, Slug.” The brunette tilted his head, feeling hyper aware that the redhead was grasping his wrist.

“Oh thank fuck. I thought all this stress was driving me crazy, or something. I wonder what disturbance they’re talking about.”

Dazai froze.

And slowly looked to the back of Chuuya’s head.

“Wait. Wait, wait wait wait,” He was about to pull his wrist away, but something in his body told him not to. He kept still as Chuuya turned around.

“Rewind. What did you say?”

“They’re…talking about disturbances?” Chuuya said, wrinkling his nose, ear feathers drooped.
Dazai opened his mouth.

Closed it.

Tried again.

Failed.

His expression was trying to convey the emotions that were telling Chuuya he was baffled.

“Chuuya….what are you talking about?”

The redhead tucked his wings tightly against his back.

He made a face, one that Dazai recognized, where he was slipping back to a more secluded version of himself—

Dazai found himself grasping the redhead's wrist tightly before he had a chance to slip away. Dazai wasn’t used to seeing light, and he wasn’t about to let Chuuya’s get snuffed out.

“Dazai, you don’t hear them, do you?” Chuuya asked, looking down. His features were telling the words for him.

“I’m not crazy, I’m not— “ he was just starting to feel a bit better, about…all of this and what was going on…

Dazai grabbed Chuuya’s shoulders out of some sort of…desperation, he thinks, but can’t pinpoint this emotion that has him scrambling. Maybe what he was doing was instinctual. He had no real clue.

“No, I don’t think you're crazy,” he says, a little too fast as he tries to keep Chuuya’s pieces together.

“Dazai, I can hear them talk. ” Chuuya said with a little force.

“They’re talking. Like humans.”

He was shuddering now, and the feathers on his wings were starting to bristle and sharpen significantly at every feathers end.

“Normal humans can’t do this—“

Chuuya was breaking down, and fast, and Dazai’s clockwork brain started to jitter to a stop, rewind, fast forward to possible outcomes, anything.

He slammed Chuuya to a tree. 

The brunette recalled something Odasaku said, but he couldn’t pinpoint the conversation, empty, blurred words bouncing around his head.
What would Odasaku do?

Don’t think. Just act.

“D…Dazai?” Chuuya was shaking.

“What are you—“

“You’re human!” He blurted. He indeed wasn’t thinking. Weirdly enough, it was kind of blissful.

“You’re more human than anyone I’ve ever met,” he kept stumbling over his words, but judging by how Chuuya was listening with a strange expression, he supposes it was good enough confirmation to keep going.

“Chuuya, you’re so damn human I’m envious. ” The brunette's grip tightened on the redhead's shoulders, and he felt feathers rustle underneath fabric.

“Don’t think you aren’t human,” he tried putting some sort of emotion behind it, to really sell the fact. Because it was true. And he wouldn’t lie about it, not here, not now.
“No matter what somebody tells you.”

“Dazai,” Chuuya began raising his wings, the broken expression returning, but he shoved Chuuya back to the trunk, making the redhead gasp.

“Chuuya,” he said, capturing his partner's attention.

“You’re so human… you can feel enough for the both of us. All my life I hated living. I really do, and I still do.” He had no idea why he was spilling his heart out like this, but it felt like he waited to do so for so long. Words pent up, trapped in a cage wrapped in thick chains, binding any affirmations of these thoughts locked away.

“Everything was predictable. It was so boring…until you came.”

Chuuya’s eyes lit up slightly as he listened to Dazai, his muscles relaxing, feathers starting to revert to a more normal state. He opened his mouth, but the brunette leaned into him, telling him without saying a word that it wasn’t his turn to speak yet.

Just to…listen, for now.

“You were so different…I couldn’t understand you. Your feelings are so strong. And I had none.” He declared, leaned closer to Chuuya. “And thanks to you…I’m feeling something right now.” Dazai eased a hand to his heart, and then looked back to Chuuya’s eyes again.

“And it’s why…I told you, I’d live that day. When we fought Randou.”

He looked down, sighing.

“You’re so interesting , Chuuya. You don’t act like anybody else. You’re so full of surprises…at times it’s hard to predict what you’ll do next.” Not thinking and going by this weird bubbly feeling certainly seemed to do the trick.
Dazai’s never done this before, and he felt within himself he was doing an okay job at least.
The brunette ruffled a hand through his hair.