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When Oda wakes, it's to the sun trying to break through his eyelids thanks to the crack in the curtains, and a warm weight at his back. He frowns, feeling the spot in front of him still warm from Dazai's attempt to sleep, and opens one eye to see what exactly the time is. It's early, just after sunrise, which makes his frown deepen in worry, because he recalls feeling Dazai crawl into bed with him hours after he himself had gone to bed. It doesn't take long for him to realise where exactly Dazai has gone, the familiar sound of cooking coming from the kitchen.
Which means he needs to get up, before Dazai burns down the kitchen, and subsequently, their apartment.
He's careful as he extricates himself from the bed, being mindful not to wake the man at his back who'd crawled into bed even later than Dazai had, since Oda hadn't even felt Ranpo climb into bed and latch onto him. It's a difficult task, because Ranpo has always been a light sleeper, but this time, he doesn't wake as Oda pulls free from the grip that the older has on his waist. Must've been a busy night, Oda thinks as he lowers Ranpo's arm to the bed, standing to tuck the blankets until all that's visible is Ranpo's hair—just the way that he likes it.
Before he leaves, he presses a kiss to Ranpo's temple, and gives a soft smile when the other relaxes further into sleep.
With that done, Oda leaves the bedroom, slowly closing the door behind him, and then makes his way to the kitchen. As Oda approaches, the sound of soft humming reaches his ears, a familiar tune that Dazai always sings when he's concentrating. The younger has never noticed that he does it, and neither Oda or Ranpo want to tell him, both of them finding the habit endearing; Oda especially finds it soothing, and stops in the entrance of the kitchen, leaning against the wall as he watches Dazai mix something in a bowl. Ah, he's baking, not cooking.
And just like that, his initial worry vanishes.
Dazai always was a better baker than cook, as Ranpo loved to praise.
The humming stops. "Good morning, Odasaku."
"Good morning, Dazai." Oda greets, pushing off from the wall to welcome Dazai into his arms as the younger steps forward to wrap his arms around his waist. He accepts the kiss he's offered, winding an arm around Dazai to tug him closer. The kiss is as short as it is sweet, only because the oven lets out a beep that Dazai quickly scurries away to deal with, before the sound can threaten to wake their sleeping boyfriend. Oda follows, curious as to what Dazai's been baking—also to see how long exactly the man's been up—and is greeted by a tray of chocolate chip cookies.
Simple, but delicious. And they smell amazing.
Oda leans closer, taking a deep breath to savour the smell of freshly baked goods. "They smell good. You did well, Dazai."
"Of course I did." Dazai holds the cookies out with pride in his voice. "I'm a master baker, as Ranpo likes to say."
"I say that too."
"I know, but you're easy to please when it comes to sweets, Odasaku. Ranpo is not."
Dazai's not wrong about that. Oda remembers when, in the early days of their relationship, how Ranpo had judged each and every baked creation harshly, his viper tongue unleashing an array of cruel words that most would be gutted to hear. But not Dazai. While Oda had tried to tell Ranpo to be a little gentler with his words, earning himself a scathing look from the man, Dazai had simply looked determined, and vowed to continue baking until Ranpo praised him.
Dazai was... a slut for praise, as Ranpo liked to say. And Oda found himself agreeing.
And now, years later, Ranpo would beg and beg for Dazai to bake him something, citing that none of Yokohama's bakeries were enough for him anymore, having been spoilt by all the goods that Dazai bakes.
And every time, Dazai would wear a smug grin on his face.
"I'm sure he'll love them." Oda says after his brief reminiscence. "Do you know what time Ranpo came home?"
"An hour ago." Dazai says, a look that could only convey worry on his face. "There was an incident at work he had to stay and deal with. He was a bit upset—mostly angry, actually, so I offered to bake some sweets for when he woke up."
Oda hums, glancing towards the bedroom, a little worried himself at those words, because Ranpo was extremely good at concealing his emotions from others, choosing to deal with his feelings himself instead of relying on other people, which often caused problems when said emotions ultimately bubbled over in a flood, sweeping Oda and Dazai up for the ride. So for him to openly show those emotions, it meant that whatever had happened at his job, had been big. And that is enough for him to worry.
He'd make sure to check in with Ranpo when he woke up, just to make sure that the other was doing okay.
But since Ranpo is sleeping peacefully at the moment, Oda turns his attention back to Dazai. "And you? How much did you sleep?"
"More than the previous night. Four hours, I think?" Dazai shrugs, placing the tray of cookies on the bench to cool, and grabbing another tray to put into the oven. He resets the timer on the oven, and shuts the door, wiping his hands on the pink apron he's wearing. "I was going to go back to bed once I was done, but you're up now, and I can't leave Odasaku all on his lonesome! That would be cruel!"
Oda rolls his eyes, expression soft at the familiar antics, as he takes a seat at the table. A cup of coffee slides in front of him a moment later, along with a freshly baked cookie, and he flashes Dazai an appreciative look. "Thank you."
Dazai leans over to plant a kiss on his cheek, wrapping his arms around Oda's neck.
"You can thank me by cuddling with me on the couch after. We all have the day off, so I want to watch a movie today."
"Do you have a movie in mind." Oda asks, lifting his cup to sip from, leaning back into Dazai's warm arms. He closes his eyes, relishing in the warmth of his boyfriend's arms, even if he'd just been wrapped in his other boyfriend's arms not that long ago.
He's a simple man, who enjoys the warmth and affection that he's given, even if he doesn't always have the words to express his thoughts.
"Hmm... I picked up a new film the other day—some kids movie, I don't actually know the name of. But it looked good." Dazai drags himself away from Oda to go and check on the first batch of cookies, calling over his shoulder. "We can drag Ranpo out of bed, ignore his grumbling, and then huddle onto the couch together, and eat all these cookies I made."
"You have a death wish if you wake Ranpo now."
Dazai chuckles. "I always have a death wish, Odasaku, you know that. But never fear, I have a plan."
"And that plan is...?"
"The cookies obviously."
Oda raises an eyebrow. "I'll make sure your funeral is extravagant then."
"Ouch, you wound me, Odasaku. Do you have such little faith in my ability to bribe Ranpo?" Dazai spins around, clutching his chest as he collapses to the ground dramatically, looking every part the woeful maiden he's pretending to be.
"I don't doubt you can bribe him. I doubt you can bribe him and come away unscathed when he's only slept a couple of hours." Oda retorts, ignoring Dazai in favour of drinking his coffee. And eating that delicious cookie.
"Is that a challenge, Odasaku?" Dazai sits up, joking demeanour changing to one of determination.
Oda returns his look with one of his own. "It is."
Dazai's grin widens. "Then challenge accepted."
"What the fuck, Dazai? Put me down before I eviscerate you and leave your entrails for the rats to feast on!" Ranpo's voice echoes from the bedroom out to the kitchen; an impressive feat considering the door is still closed. Not that Oda's surprised in the slightest. Ranpo can be rather loud when he wants to be, but usually, it's in a far different setting—he figures though, that being rudely awoken after not even two hours of sleep is more than enough reason for Ranpo to yell.
He is impressed by the insult though, and takes a mental note to work it into his next novel somehow.
Oda continues to sit at the kitchen table, a book open in his hands, and listens as arguing breaks out in the next room over. He knows better than to get involved, remembers the fist that had almost knocked him out the last time he'd been roped into one of Dazai's schemes, and has no desire to experience a repeat of that incident. But he remains poised to act, just in case Ranpo's foul mood ventures into a stage where he does need to intervene.
It's worry left in vain when the door to their bedroom opens, and Oda looks over to see Dazai leaving, a satisfied look on his face... and Ranpo slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Let me go, Dazai!" Ranpo snarls, kicking his legs and smacking his fists against Dazai's back. "You are the devil! The devil I say!"
"Now, now, Ranpo, there's no need to be so hostile~" The smile doesn't leave Dazai's face, as he steps into the kitchen.
And Oda has exactly two seconds to react as Dazai practically throws Ranpo into his lap. "Here, Odasaku!"
Oda grunts, and winds his arms around Ranpo's waist before Ranpo can throw himself onto his feet, and holds him firm when as he expected, Ranpo begins to struggle, uttering a series of creative curses under his breath. Oda can't see Ranpo's face, but he suspects that the glare on the other's face is quite impressive. Still, he can feel the tension building within Ranpo's body, and raises one hand to press Ranpo's head to his chest, his thumb stroking the elder’s cheek.
He murmurs into Ranpo's ear. "Breathe, Ranpo."
And just like that, Ranpo deflates, curling up against Oda's chest, shifting so that his head is resting over Oda's heartbeat instead. He looks so much like a cat in the moment, that Oda can't help but start to run his hand through Ranpo's hair.
Ranpo melts into the touch, and grumbles. "Don't stop."
Silence falls upon the room briefly, a peaceful silence despite the previous anger, as it always is between the three of them. Oda continues to soothe Ranpo, pressing his lips to the other’s temple as he had earlier that morning, and Ranpo continues to soak in the affection, meanwhile he watches Dazai flit about the kitchen, plating up half of the cookies into an impressive pile.
"Here you go, Ranpo." Dazai says cheerfully, sliding the plate onto the table. Both he and Oda watch apprehensively as Ranpo studies the plate, visibly thinking over whether or not he wants to forgive Dazai so easily.
They both let out the breaths they'd been holding when Ranpo reaches out to snag two cookies at once, shoving them into his mouth. "You're lucky these cookies are worth sleep deprivation."
"Dazai wants to watch a movie together, so he baked them to bribe you."
"Odasaku, you dare betray me?" Dazai cries.
Ranpo sticks out his tongue, cheeks stuffed with cookie. "He loves me more, clearly."
"I love you both equally." Oda interrupts before another argument can break out again. "Shall we go watch that movie?"
Without a word, Dazai bounds off to the television to get the movie set up, leaving Oda in charge of carrying Ranpo to the couch, since there's no chance he'll convince the older to walk there on his own two feet.
And as if he can read Oda's mind, Ranpo looks up at him. "I'm not walking. You drag me out of bed, you carry me."
"By that logic, Dazai should be the one carrying you." Oda says even as he stands with Ranpo in his arms. He doesn't mind carrying Ranpo, because Ranpo is warm, and not overly heavy to begin with, so really, it's no trouble for him to do so. Besides, it gives him time to ask after what Dazai told him earlier. "Dazai said you came home unhappy."
Ranpo huffs and crosses his arms. "Just a shit day at work. There was a fight, lots of glass things got broken and I got dragged into cleaning up after the idiots."
Oda frowns in concern. "Were you hurt?"
"I'm fine." Ranpo raises his hands to squish at Oda's cheeks. A second later he plants a kiss on Oda’s lips, a soft look on his face. "So stop your worrying. We have a movie to watch."
Oda nods and carried Ranpo over to the couch, coaxing Ranpo into standing long enough that he can get himself situated on the couch, knowing that the moment he's comfortable, he's going to find two attention-starved boyfriends trying to curl up against him like he's a patch of sunlight instead of their boyfriend.
And sure enough, once he's stretched out on the couch, Ranpo slides onto the couch, situating himself between Oda's legs so that his head is resting against his stomach. Ranpo lets out a content hum, eyes falling shut immediately, and Oda knows it won't be long before he's sleeping again. Neither he or Dazai expect Ranpo to stay awake for the movie, and he understands that Dazai wanted him out here just so Ranpo would feel included—he still thinks that they should've left Ranpo to sleep the morning away in his bed, but he's quite enjoying having the older resting against him.
Dazai continues to fiddle with the television for a moment longer, letting out a triumphant cheer when the movie starts to play. And then comes the fun part; making their couch fit three people comfortably when it's very much not meant to fit three people comfortably. Yet somehow, they make it work, and Dazai squeezes himself into the gap beside Ranpo, head resting against Oda's chest, and half his body covering Ranpo.
Oda can't help but smile, feeling nothing but joy at being able to spend the morning with the people he loves the most, watching a movie and relaxing, with a nice big plate of cookies to get them through the day.
It's a life he never wants to end.