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“Not that I care, cause I don’t, but whatcha doin for your birthday today Mackerel?” Chuuya asked. They were hidden on top of an apartment building, watching the outside of a warehouse.
They were on a mission. Apparently some idiot gang decided to steal from a few of the jewelry stores Chuuya runs and resell the merchandise to other buyers. They stored the stolen jewelry and the money they got from reselling it at the warehouse. Mori requested Dazai and Chuuya to work together to raid the warehouse and kill any enemies inside. Dazai brought his men to scope out the place and storm in first before he and Chuuya would go in.
Dazai blinked, surprised by Chuuya’s sudden question before glancing over at the redhead, “I don’t know, probably try to kill myself again, what’s with the sudden interest?” Dazai says, half joking.
If left alone he probably will try to kill himself, truthfully. However, ever since last year when Chuuya declared that he wouldn’t let Dazai die on his watch, Dazai doubts Chuuya would let him.
“You try any of that shit this year and I will personally kill you myself,” Chuuya says, glaring at the brunette.
“Oh, you really know the way to a boy’s heart, doncha Chibi~” Dazai teases.
Chuuya rolls his eyes to hide the small blush on his cheeks, “Shut the fuck up you freak.”
They’ve been doing this song and dance for a few months now. One of them, most of the time it’s Dazai, will make a flirty comment and the other, typically Chuuya, will brush it off and pretend he doesn’t notice the butterflies in his stomach.
After getting the signal from his men, Dazai informs Chuuya it’s go time and Chuuya flies off the building and into the warehouse using his ability with Dazai running down the external stairs of the building to get to the street so he can run into the building, not far behind Chuuya.
- - - After the mission - - -
Chuuya helps load the stolen bags of jewelry and the money into the back of the mafia’s vans to take them back to the jewelry stores. When he’s finished, he looks around and spots the brunette sitting on the curb, picking at the bandages on his wrist.
Chuuya walks over to Dazai, standing in front of him. Dazai looks up at Chuuya and just from the way his eyes are zoned out and his face is void of any emotion can Chuuya tell that Dazai is probably thinking about ways to hurt himself tonight.
Chuuya had a feeling that Dazai didn’t like his birthday, but after last year he can tell there’s a lot more to it than that. Sure, Dazai has tried to kill himself before, but the way he did it last year, how he had it all planned out…
Chuuya would never outwardly admit this but he was scared when he saw Dazai downing a crap load of pills and drinking it down with alcohol. And he panicked even more when he saw Dazai reaching for more pills, so he ran over to him and smacked his hand away. It was like he was trying to take as many as he could while he was still conscious so that there would be no chance of saving him or him waking up ever again.
Out of desperation Chuuya had thrown the pills on the floor and ruined them by spilling the sake on them and then stomping on them so that Dazai couldn’t try to take anymore. Chuuya had rushed Dazai to the nearest hospital after the boy passed out, and it took days for him to wake up again.
Chuuya feels a little ashamed to admit this but that incident is when he actually started taking Dazai’s suicidal tendencies more seriously. At first he thought he was just a moody teen, then after witnessing (and saving) Dazai when he tried to commit a few times, he thought there might be something more to it but he didn’t think about it too much, but now ever since that night he’s always checking in on the brunette, whether the Boss requests him to or not.
Chuuya sighed and put his hands in his pockets, “You’re staying over at my place tonight.”
Dazai looks up at Chuuya and whines, “But Chibiii~ why do I have to stay over at your place, it probably stinks like you!”
Chuuya raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, “One, me and my apartment smell a lot better than you and your shitty shipping container do. Two, so that I can keep an eye on you so your dumb ass doesn’t do anything stupid again.”
“Great so you’re my babysitter,” Dazai pouts and looks at the road as the vans start driving away.
“Not my fault you’re such a big baby~” Chuuya teases.
Dazai turns his head to look back up at Chuuya, “If I’m a baby, you must be an infant, you know, cause you’re so sma-” Chuuya smacks Dazai on the back of the head before he can finish his sentence.
“Say something about my height again and I’ll make sure you sleep on the floor,” Chuuya says, glaring down at Dazai.
“Oww, you’re so mean to me! I’m just a baby, this is child abuse!” Dazai whines dramatically.
Chuuya rolls his eyes, “Do you need anything from your container before we go to my place?”
Dazai shakes his head and stands up, dusting off his clothes, “Nope!”
Chuuya hums and starts walking to his car, “C’mon then, let’s get going.”
Dazai follows behind and they both get in the car, with Chuuya getting in the driver's seat and Dazai getting in the passenger seat. The drive back to Chuuya’s apartment is a comfortable quiet.
When they arrive at the apartment, Chuuya pulls into the underground parking lot and parks the car. They get out and head to the elevator, which takes them to Chuuya’s penthouse on the top floor. When they walk in they take their shoes off and place them by the door, Chuuya placing his shoes more neater than Dazai does.
Dazai looks around and immediately notices how spotless the room is. “Wow, is Chibi perhaps a germaphobe?” Dazai asks as he walks around, taking note of the modern style and expensive paintings on the walls.
“No, I just don’t like to live in a mess, now go take a shower,” Chuuya demands.
Dazai pouts, “Why do I have to take a shower first?”
Chuuya rolls his eyes, “Because when’s the last time you had a proper shower? And the last time your clothes got washed? You’re dirty and I don’t want you sitting on my furniture.”
Dazai’s eyes show hesitation as he looks down, “But- What about my bandages?”
Chuuya’s eyes soften as he looks at Dazai, “I have more you can change into after you shower.” It’s not that he was preparing for Dazai to come over, but he knew eventually he would. He also uses the extra bandages when he’s hurt after missions and stuff.
Dazai hums, “Okay,” He turns and walks down the hall to Chuuya’s bathroom, turning on the light and closing the door. Chuuya tries not to think about how Dazai already knew where the bathroom was when he’s never been here before.. At least as far as Chuuya knows.
Chuuya goes to his room and opens his closet rummaging through his clothes. He finds an oversized gray shirt and some red and black checkered sweatpants that are too big on him. He also grabs a pair of boxers and lays the clothes out on his bed. These should fit the Mackerel , he thinks.
He then goes back into his closet to grab himself a white shirt, some black shorts and a pair of boxers. He puts his clothes on his bed before grabbing the clothes he picked out for Dazai and heading down the hall to the washroom. He grabs a clean towel from the shelf and walks back to the bathroom.
Chuuya knocks on the bathroom door, he can hear the shower running but he doesn’t want to be rude and invade Dazai’s privacy.
“Come in,” Dazai says through the door.
Chuuya opens the door and walks in, “I got you a towel and some clothes, hopefully they fit, I’ll put them on the counter for you. I’m also gonna wash your clothes.” Chuuya places the fresh clothes and the towel on the counter next to the sink and grabs Dazai’s work clothes.
“Thank you Chibi! You’re such a gentleman~” Dazai says while in the shower.
Chuuya blushes slightly and rolls his eyes, muttering a small “Whatever” and leaving the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Chuuya walks into the washroom and puts Dazai’s dirty clothes in the washing machine and turns it on. Chuuya then walks into the kitchen and sits at the island counter on a stool, pulling out his phone and checking his messages.
After a few minutes, the sound of the shower stops. A couple seconds later, Dazai’s voice calls from the bathroom, “Hey Chibi, where are the bandages?”
“Under the sink!” Chuuya yells back.
Dazai comes out of the bathroom a few minutes later wearing the clothes Chuuya gave him and fresh bandages covering his arms, neck, eye, and thighs (although you can’t see it cause his sweatpants cover his legs).
Dazai walks over to the living room and flops on the couch, “Your turn!”
Chuuya hums and goes to his bedroom to grab his clothes that he left on the bed and then goes to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
Dazai looks around the spacious room from where he’s lying on the couch and notices the bookshelf next to the TV. He lazily gets up and off the couch and walks over to the bookshelf, looking through what books Chuuya has.
Dazai sighs as he finishes going through the bookshelf, the slug has no taste , he thinks. Chuuya mostly has books on poetry or sci-fi. Dazai prefers chapter books on psychological thrillers and mystery. Although some poetry can give the same effect, it’s not nearly as satisfying as reading a whole book about it.
Dazai walks up to the coffee table and grabs the TV remote instead. He sits back down on the couch and flips on the TV, scrolling through the channels before ultimately deciding to just watch a show called Scooby-Doo.
A few minutes later, Chuuya comes out of the bathroom in the clothes he picked out earlier and walks into the kitchen.
“The slug took forever! I thought you were never gonna come out,” Dazai says dramatically as he turns off the TV and gets up from the couch, walking over to sit on the island counter stool.
“Well I actually have a skin care routine,” Chuuya huffs as he opens the cabinet, grabbing the boxed cake mix and putting it on the counter.
“What are you doing?” Dazai asks, confused.
“It’s your birthday, right? So I’m making you a cake,” Chuuya says while he grabs the rest of the ingredients from the fridge.
Dazai looks at Chuuya bewildered, “Why would you make me a cake for my birthday?”
Chuuya looks at Dazai like he’s the dumbest person on the planet, “To celebrate your birthday, dumbass.”
Dazai frowns, “Why would you wanna celebrate my birthday? You hate me.”
Chuuya looks at Dazai hesitantly, “I-I don’t hate you per-se, I just say that I do cause you’re really fuckin annoying,” Chuuya admits with a small blush on his cheeks.
A small smile appears on Dazai’s lips and it’s a genuine smile. “I don’t hate you either, just so you know,” Dazai admits softly, watching Chuuya’s reaction.
Chuuya’s eyes widen for a second before he smiles softly, “Good,” he says as he glances at the brunette before starting to put the ingredients together in a bowl.
Dazai watches, he can’t cook or bake so he’d rather just watch Chuuya. While Chuuya mixes the ingredients together they stay in a comfortable silence.
Chuuya gets a cake pan from his cabinet and pours the cake batter in before putting it in the oven for the recommended time and temperature.
“What flavor is it?” Dazai asks, curious.
Chuuya cleans up, washing the bowls and measuring tools that he used, “Vanilla, and I have some chocolate icing that I can put on it too.”
Dazai perks up at that, “Can I put the icing on the cake?”
Chuuya eyes the brunette as he dries his hands, “As long as you don’t make a mess, then sure.”
Dazai smiles, “No promises~”
Chuuya just rolls his eyes, already regretting his decision.
They play games on their phones on the couch until the cake is done, which is when Chuuya takes it out of the oven. He takes the cake out of the cake pan and sets it on a plate on the counter to cool off.
Chuuya walks back over to where Dazai is sitting on the couch, “What do you want for dinner, I’m gonna order us something.”
“Chuuya is spoiling me today~” Dazai says as he smiles up at the redhead.
Chuuya scoffs, “Well after the stunt you pulled last year, you’re never spending your birthday alone again.”
Dazai tries to ignore the swelling in his heart he feels at those words. He’s never not been alone on his birthday, in fact, this is his very first birthday where he’s ever had a cake or been celebrated in any way. Part of him knows that Chuuya doesn’t actually care that it’s his birthday and is only doing this to keep an eye on him so he doesn’t try to kill himself again like last year, but still, the gesture feels nice.
“Anyway, what do you want to eat?” Chuuya asks, getting back to the question he originally asked.
Dazai thinks for a moment before looking back at Chuuya, “Crab?”
Chuuya thinks for a moment before responding, “I think there’s a place down the road that has good crab meals, I’ll look at their online menu.”
Chuuya pulls out his phone and goes to the restaurant’s website and skims their menu, “Okay they have crab legs, crab soup, kani-nabe, kani chahan, crab tempura, and crab sushi.”
Dazai thinks about the choices before ultimately deciding, “Crab sushi.”
Chuuya says a small “Okay” and puts in the order. He then orders himself some Japanese curry.
They play games on Chuuya’s playstation until the food arrives. Chuuya pays the delivery man and puts the bag of food down on the island counter. He takes out Dazai’s food and hands it to him as the brunette walks over to the counter, then takes out his own. He goes to the fridge and grabs two sodas, handing one to Dazai.
“If you spill any of that shit on my couch I will fucking end you,” Chuuya warns as he grabs his food and heads over to sit on the couch.
Dazai follows behind, sitting a few inches away from the redhead, “And here I thought you were supposed to be keeping me alive~” He teases.
Chuuya rolls his eyes and grabs the remote on the coffee table and turns on the TV, “Just shut up and pick a movie.”
While scrolling through movies on the TV, they come across The Shining. Dazai points to it and says, “That one looks interesting.”
Chuuya looks at Dazai dumbfounded, “It says it’s a horror movie.”
Dazai looks at Chuuya and smirks, “What, is Chuuya too scared to watch it?” They both know it’s a challenge and neither of them are gonna back down.
“Fine, but don’t blame me if you have nightmares,” Chuuya huffs and turns the movie on.
They both eat their food in comfortable silence while they watch the movie and put their takeout boxes on the coffee table when they’re done eating.
About halfway through the movie Chuuya grabs the blanket on the back of the couch and lays it on top of him. A few seconds go by before Dazai scoots closer to Chuuya till they’re legs are touching, and lifts Chuuya’s blanket up so he can get under it too.
Chuuya blushes slightly but doesn’t say anything and keeps watching the movie.
Eventually the movie ends and Chuuya rubs his eyes, “You like to watch the craziest shit, you know that?”
Dazai smirks and looks down at Chuuya, “It’s called having taste Chibi~”
Chuuya scoffs, “You wouldn’t know taste even if it slapped you in the face.”
Dazai chuckles, “That’s good, did you get that from one of your poetry books?”
“You went through my book collection?” Chuuya asks as he gets up, walking towards the kitchen.
“Of course, I had to make sure my dog knew how to read, unfortunately he just doesn’t have good taste in literature~” Dazai says as he follows Chuuya into the kitchen.
“Again, you don’t have taste, and I’m not your damn dog!” Chuuya argues as he grabs an unopened chocolate icing container from the pantry and a butter knife.
Chuuya sets the icing, knife and vanilla cake on the island counter, “Alright, knock yourself out.”
Dazai opens up the icing container and grabs the knife so that he can scoop some to pour onto the cake.
“Make sure it’s evenly spread Mackerel,” Chuuya comments as he watches the brunette.
Dazai hums in response and starts spreading the icing on the cake with the knife, taking out more icing from the container when he runs out.
When Dazai is finished, he has icing all over the counter and all over his fingers. He even got some on his nose somehow.
Chuuya sighs, regretting ever agreeing to let Dazai do this in the first place, “Go to the bathroom and wash your hands and your face, I’ll clean the counter.”
“Okay, sorry Chibi,” Dazai says quietly, knowing he’s in trouble and quickly goes to the bathroom to wash his hands and his face, making sure no icing got on his shirt or pants before leaving the bathroom.
When Dazai goes back into the kitchen, Chuuya has already finished cleaning up his mess on the counter and is getting out small plates and spoons and a cake knife.
Dazai walks over to the counter and looks at Chuuya questioningly, “Don’t people usually put candles in their cake for birthdays?”
Chuuya sets the plates down on the island counter before using the cake knife to start cutting a piece of the cake, “Yup but I don’t have any candles so we’re just gonna ignore that part.”
Chuuya cuts out a slice and puts it on one of the plates before handing it to Dazai. He then cuts out another slice for himself and puts it on the other plate. They both take their spoons and plates and go back to the couch, sitting down next to each other.
Dazai places the blanket back on top of both of them and starts eating his cake.
“Alright, what should we watch next?” Chuuya asks, grabbing the remote.
Dazai thinks for a minute before saying, “I don’t know, how about you decide?”
Chuuya glances over at Dazai, “Alright but don’t complain about it,” Chuuya warns.
Chuuya turns on a movie called The Hunger Games and gets comfy on the couch while eating his cake.
Apparently Chuuya picked a good movie because Dazai actually seems to be interested in it, given that he hasn’t taken his eye off the screen ever since Katniss volunteered as tribute.
Chuuya sets his plate down on the coffee table and leans back on the couch. He glances over at Dazai, whose eye is still glued to the screen.
They’re sitting shoulder to shoulder and suddenly Chuuya feels his head is too heavy. He lies his head on Dazai’s shoulder, not missing the way Dazai tenses under him for a second before relaxing again.
Dazai takes his eyes off the screen for the first time in almost an hour to look down at Chuuya, “Is the slug feeling tired?”
Chuuya hums and snuggles closer, feeling the weight of his eyelids from how heavy they’re becoming, “Mm, shut up,” he mumbles.
Dazai smiles softly and lays his head down on top of Chuuya’s while he watches the movie, “Goodnight slug, thanks for today,” Dazai says quietly as Chuuya falls asleep.
Dazai watches the rest of the movie before turning the TV off and carefully carrying a sleeping Chuuya to bed and tucking him in.
Dazai goes back to sleep on the couch for the night with the blanket and a pillow he stole from Chuuya’s bed.
He had to admit, although this year was a total pain in the ass yet again, this was definitely the best birthday he’s ever had, even if he did have to share it with a slug.