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A darling young girl, recently turned three, ran to the front door with her arms stretched out as it opened. Dazai didn’t even have time to remove his shoes, which he’d become accustomed to in avoidance of a lecture from his dear husband.
“Daddy!” The girl chimed, hugging the taller man around his legs. He stroked her dark brown hair, a scary resemblance to his own. He crouched down to hold his hands out invitingly, holding the small child to his chest for a long moment. The little girl giggled as she helped get her father’s coat off, him needing to help with hanging it up.
At the stove stood the only true love he’d ever had. The ginger was actively cooking, the delicious smell of curry waffling through the air. Dazai took his shoes off before entering, coming up to hug Chuuya from behind, gently kissing his cheek.
“How was your day, chibi?” He said softly but teasingly at the same time. The shorter man stirred the pot in front of him.
“Good,” he said simply, but the exhausted undertone didn’t go unnoticed by the very observant husband. He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to get a better look at the red head's face.
“Baby switch off with me when you finish. You didn’t sleep when you got off work, did you?” The question couldn’t be denied. Dazai had woken up that morning to an empty bed, Chuuya in the wash room taking care of laundry. He was a deep sleeper, but he knew the man never came to bed.
“I’m alright,” Chuuya refuted, shutting off the stove and reaching for a dish. His wrist was caught between slender fingers, being brought up to his husband's mouth for a kiss to the knuckles. Their daughter seemed extremely energetic compared to their tired demeanors. The girl twisted in and out between their legs, giggling as she’d play with the fabric of their pants.
“Hun, don't make me carry you to bed~” Dazai coo’d with a quiet laugh. The little girl picked up on it and immediately joined in bickering. She really was their kid.
“Yeah! Pick papa up!” Chuuya grit his teeth, refusing to admit defeat. He was tired, overworked and not letting up. The brunette tightened his arms around the other’s waist.
“I can take care of Yukina for longer than thirty minutes, I’ve done it before.”
“I’m not saying I don’t trust you,” the ginger rested his head against the taller one's shoulder, “But you aren’t the most responsible person.” Dazai was slightly insulted, he could take care of his own damn kid. He sighed and pressed a kiss on top of his husband's head.
“Just go lay down please,” he almost begged.
“I’m not-” without warning the argument was cut short as Dazai bent down and scooped him bridal style.
“Fu-!” Chuuya started before remembering the child beside them, “Put me down!” Yukina burst into laughter from the floor.
“Carry! Carry! Daddy picked up Papa!” Chuuya groaned in annoyance, but didn’t bother fighting the man who was now smirking intensely.
“I got you,” He said, bringing the man down the hall toward their bedroom. The little girl raced ahead of them, opening the parents bedroom door, jumping enthusiastically. She was very entertained by Chuuya's pure embarrassment. The ginger whispered some curses under his breath as he was brought to lay down on the bed, his little girl jumping up to the other side of him. Dazai was able to get a better look at him now, observing his obvious fatigue. Chuuya never knew when or even how to take a break. He leaned down to kiss the man’s forehead.
“I love you,” he whispered, before gesturing to Yukina, “give papa a kiss goodnight-”
“Ack!” The red head's initial reaction was to fight against it, but the little lips kissing his cheek reminded him of what was important. He ran a hand through the girl's hair.
“Sorry honey, Papa’s a bit tired before bedtime,” he spoke gently. She giggled, bouncing in her spot.
“It’s okay! I still love you!” Chuuya's face twitched with something unbelievably soft, as if he wanted to cry just from the voice of his daughter.
“Come on Yuki,” Dazai said, lifting Yukina up into his arms, “Let’s let him sleep.” He shifted to hold her on his hip. It was never a natural action like it had been for Chuuya, but he fell accustomed to it. They left the room, shutting off the light before shutting the door. The brunette then set his daughter on the ground.
“Go take a seat at the table. I'll bring you some curry that Papa made.” With her tiny feet she sprinted to the table, climbing up into a seat twice her size. Dazai walked to the stove, serving the curry into a bowl, grabbing a spoon before carrying it over to her.
She smiled, a quiet “thank you,” coming out before she got to eating. The father got his own serving before taking a seat beside his daughter. During the meal, in between helping wipe her face, Yukina told senseless stories that Dazai was unable to follow, her blue eyes gleaming with every explanation. Dazai still couldn’t believe the eerie resemblance of both him and his husband, a perfect mix. It was a disturbing thought of how much responsibility he held. When the meal was over, the brunette brought a chair up to the sink.
“Help Daddy wash the dishes,” He asked softly, carrying their bowls to the sink. She clambered up into seat, standing up to start helping. It was mostly Dazai doing the work, despite how much he hated such things, but with Chuuya sleeping it was the right thing to do.
As everything was set on the drying rack, Yukina piped up, “Can we paint?” She had recently gotten a fascination with Dazai’s hobby he was forced to pick up. It started when he came across some stupid poetry of Chuuya’s, gaining the idea to express the feeling it stirred up. The abstract pieces usually held darker themes, but the little girl couldn’t understand that. It was a ‘healthy way to cope with things,’ as his husband described it, after lecturing him on reading the poetry he wasn’t supposed to find.
“Of course, let's go get the supplies.” Dazai returned the chair to the table as Yunkina ran to where the acrylic paint was held. There was a cheap kit in there specifically for her toddler hands. Her father helped get the thicker paper, following her to where she plopped down on the ground. With childish imagination she grabbed the colors and brushes she wanted, before starting her art. Dazai was unable to stop thinking of Chuuya, actually he hasn’t not thought about him in years. Based on their recent mission, the executive was forced to use corruption. It would have been fine, but ever since Yukina was born, it became terrifying to Dazai. With these thoughts pestering him, he traced out the desired swirls and shapes in pencil before adding color on the small canvas. Glowing red lines contrasting with pale skin, Yukina didn’t understand it at first. She looked up from her own creation, a fluffy dog in the sun, to study her fathers.
She soon seemed to make a connection, “That’s the marks on Papa’s body!” She announced joyfully. Yukina had seen the faint outlines on the man's body a handful of times. Dazai hummed and nodded, continuing his swirls of paint. When the daughter was finished and after waiting for her father to finish, she brought up an idea that would give Chuuya a heart attack.
“Can I paint on you Daddy?” She asked with innocence.
“Acrylic paint isn't the best for skin,” he started before being swooned by the puppy dog eyes. It must have been inherited from him.
“Please?” The voice tugged at the man’s heart strings. It was embarrassing how he just listened to a little girl.
“Fine,” he finally agreed, “Just don’t get it on my clothes or anything-”
“I’m making you into a cat!”
“Oh great…” Dazai sighed in defeat, giving her the bobby pins he kept hidden in his sleeve.
“Why don’t we put Daddy’s hair back?” he asked, almost getting attacked by her as she jumped into motion, slipping the pins into his hair, crappily holding it back. The brunette sighed one more time before forcing himself to stay still, the cold paint being streaked onto his face. He felt with strokes of four lines before she started to get the pink out. Behind Yukina, the bedroom door opened, Chuuya looked like he was heading to the bathroom after just waking up. It had only been a few hours, but what he was about to witness would make him not go back to bed. Freezing in front of the bathroom door he was reaching for, the ginger’s eyes were locked onto Dazai’s sheepish smile, pink paint being brushed onto his nose. Yukina soon noticed what her dad was looking at, turning to chirp about it to Chuuya.
Dazai laughed awkwardly as he stared at his husband, “Meow?” A tense silence was held before the red head bursted out laughing, causing Yukina to make little giggles of her own.
“The god damn demon prodigy, the one everyone feared, being painted like a cat four years later!” Dazai began to blush as he was laughed at, making no effort to rub the paint off.
“Isn’t he cute?” Yukina laughed, using a small hand to pet Dazai’s hair. Chuuya caught his breath, still snickering.
“Yes he’s very adorable,” the ginger said breathlessly. The two men then watch the young girl yawn, her tiny body stretching out.
“Is my little girl sleepy?” Chuuya said, coming to crouch down to her level. She immediately crossed her arms, shaking her head.
“Come on, let’s wash your hands and brush your teeth, then you can get into some pajamas.” Dazai wanted to volunteer, but the girl was soon swept away and brought into the bathroom with Chuuya. As the daughter was taken care of, the brunette helped by cleaning up their paint mess, then bringing the paintings to the counter to dry. Chuuya appeared behind him, coming to stand at his side, his eyes trained on the painting Dazai made.
“You’re a bit obsessed with me,” he muttered.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” That taller one smiled, leaning to press a kiss to the shorter man's temple, “Did you put her into bed already?”
“Yeah, are you upset you didn’t say goodnight?” Chuuya scoffed, getting a pouting face from his lover.
“Potentially…”
“Go in there now before she falls asleep, then we are washing that crap off your face.” Dazai smirked, heading down the hall to the girls bedroom. Chuuya stayed in the doorway as the other went in to kiss her goodnight.
“Goodnight Yuki, I love you,” he coo’d in an unfamiliar comfort. Chuuya was waiting by the bathroom door when he came out.
“Come on bastard, you look stupid,” he remarked, opening the bathroom door. Dazai followed him in, watching a towel get wet before it was used to wipe his face. The acrylic pain crumbled off with each swipe.
“What do you think our teenage selves would think?” The brunette asked, closing one eye as his cheek was scrubbed.
“Uh… horribly enraged?” Chuuya said with a snicker, tossing the rag into the laundry basket. Dazai watched through the mirror as the ginger kissed the side of his face. His arms came to wrap around the shorter man, holding him to his side. He turned and bent down to kiss him, pulling back slowly.
“What if we had another kid?”
“No way!” Chuuya didn't even let the idea linger in the air, “God no, one is hard enough. Since when did you want more responsibility?”
“Ever since I fell in love with Yukina,” he said, kissing the ginger's forehead, “basically when I first saw her.”
“Jeez you got soft,” Chuuya hissed, starting to take Dazai's vest off, “Why don't you shower and we can watch something on the couch?”
“Why don't you shower with me?” The brunette asked with a squeeze of the other's hips. He was met with a glare.
“I took one this morning, you just want an excuse to see me naked you freak.”
“Maybe~” Dazai teased, getting playfully punched in the shoulder before shoved aside so Chuuya could leave.
“Just clean up, Mackerel.” And so he did like the head over heels man he was. During the shower, Chuuya popped in to set pajamas on the counter.
When he came out of the bathroom, his mind told him something was missing. He deliberately didn't put on the usual bandages, basically a form of exposure therapy with his lover. In a hoodie and sweatpants, there was hardly anything to see, except parts of his neck. Chuuya was sitting on the side of the couch in pajamas of his own, clicking through movies on the TV. The brunette was planning to just lay across the couch with his head in the other's lap, but he remembered how tired Chuuya had been that day.
He stopped in front of the couch, “did you eat?” He asked, since Chuuya went to bed after cooking.
“Yeah you anxious dog, I had some.” The answer pleased Dazai, gently nudging Chuuya to make room to sit behind him. The red head made a quiet groan, reluctantly shifting over. He would never admit how he actually liked being coddled. The brunette slid in behind him, settling the shorter one between his legs.
“What about this one? I don't think we've seen it yet,” he offered, gesturing to the TV. Dazai nodded and Chuuya settled in after starting the movie. He was half on Dazai, half on the couch. Being unable to sit still during the movie, the brunette began playing with the sunset locks in front of him. He failed horribly at trying to braid a strand of hair. Dazai was never interested in learning such things, but after having a daughter it's all he wanted to do. He hadn't even realized his husband had fallen asleep against him. Doing his best not to move much, he pulled a blanket over the smaller man. Despite his dislike of discomfort, Dazai forced himself to sleep sitting up, not wanting to bother his lover for his own needs. It was an odd reality he found himself in, but he wouldn't have had it any other way.