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It had taken weeks of half-disguised apologies and an undying persistence to annoy Chuuya, but Dazai was finally allowed back into Chuuya’s apartment after four years.
He’s also been temporarily rewarded with the title of ‘not quite boyfriend until he proves himself capable of not leaving again’ by Chuuya. He’s sure he can prove himself and get himself promoted back to boyfriend within no time.
He’s not going anywhere this time.
Even if it takes years, he won’t leave again.
Chuuya opens the door to his apartment and holds the door open.
Dazai pauses in the doorway, it looks almost exactly the way it had the day he left the mafia four years ago. The furniture remains the same, a comfy furniture set made up of a maroon colored couch and chair in front of a TV. There's a sparse amount of pictures on the walls, but they contain Chuuya with the flags, Kouyou, and other members of the mafia. Dazai is surprised to see pictures of himself still up on the walls. He isn’t surprised to see they’ve been taped up to cover rips.
Chuuya gently shoves him from behind, and Dazai continues into the apartment. Dazai skips over to the couch and throws himself onto it. “Take your damn shoes off,” Chuuya barks.
Dazai obediently kicks them off and stretches further onto the couch. “Chuuya, I’m hungry!”
Chuuya sighs and walks over to run his fingers through his hair, gently scratching his scalp. “I’m glad you remember you're banned from the kitchen.”
Dazai leans into the touch and tries his best to frown, but he can’t find it in him while Chuuya’s touching him. “Chuuya is mean,” he mumbles.
“You aren't burning another one of my apartments down, mackerel. Wait here and be good.”
Dazai huffs as Chuuya’s hand leaves his hair, but relaxes further into the plush of the couch. Chuuya always chose the softest material for his furniture. Dazai missed it, second only to Chuuya himself. Not that he would ever admit that.
His eyes droop, and he tries to quiet his racing thoughts so he can relax further into the couch. He hates and loves that he feels safe in Chuuyas presence. The mafia executive wouldn’t let anyone touch him in the apartment. Dazai feels his muscles slowly relax and he unclenches his jaw.
Something heavy lands on his stomach, and he sits up with a gasp.
He stares into the blue eyes of a small, fluffy, orange cat now standing on his chest. The cat blinks at him, and Dazai blinks back.
Suddenly, the cat's fur fluffs up, and it begins hissing loudly.
Dazai jolts backward as the cat's claws dig sharply into his chest. He tries to swat the cat away, but the creature just latches onto his arm and begins to kick wildly, shredding his bandages and shirt sleeve.
Dazai shrieks and tries to forcefully pull the cat off of him, only resulting in him flailing as he falls off the couch and onto the soft carpeted floor below, still struggling to get the cat off of him.
“What the fuck is going on in here!”
The cat lets go of Dazai’s arm and trots away to sit a few feet from the dazed man and begins to lick its paw clean of blood.
Chuuya marches into sight as Dazai recovers enough to glare at the cat and nurse his arm. “That monster attacked me!” Dazai screeches and points his non-injured arm accusingly at the cat, who just tilts its head at the two men.
Chuuya clicks his tongue and marches over to the cat.
“Chuuya, it's evil!” Dazai warns.
Chuuya ignores Dazai’s wailing and picks the cat up, cradling it gently. The cat closes its eyes and begins to purr as Chuuya gently pets it.
Dazai’s eye twitches as he glares at the two. “Chuuya,” he whines, “it attacked me.”
Chuuya raises an eyebrow. “Well, you must have scared him.”
Dazai’s glare deepens. “He’s just territorial. He’s afraid of strangers.” Dazai’s mouth forms a thin line. “He’s sorry,” Chuuya coos and kisses the cat sweetly on the head.
He lets the cat jump from his arms and onto the couch, where the cat proceeds to stalk over to where Dazai was sitting and lay down, fluffing itself up to disguise how small it actually is. It focuses on Dazai again. The cat’s pupils slit and it begins to stalk forward as if it were hunting a small mouse. Dazai quickly scoots back away from the creature hunting him.
“This little guy,” Chuuya says with a gooey smile as he watches the beastly cat, “is Malbec. I found him during a rainstorm and took him in.”
Dazai glares at the cat as it swipes at a loose bandage left on the couch from the struggle. “I hate him.”
Chuuya gently smacks him on the head. “No, you don’t. Now, come on, I'll get the first aid kit and patch you up, you idiot.” Chuuya assures as he helps Dazai off the floor and guides him into the kitchen.
“Your cat attacked me,” Dazai mutters.
Chuuya sighs. “Well, maybe you deserved it.” At the glare he receives, he rolls his eyes fondly. “He's not used to new people dumbass, he's just protective of us when there’s a stranger.”
Dazai frowns. If he stayed, he wouldn’t be a stranger, maybe he would-
He blinks and stops walking, causing Chuuya to stumble with him and glare at the bandaged man. “Us?” he asks. “Don't tell me you have another one, Chuuya!”
Chuuya smiles again, the same smile he wore when he saw Malbec. “Oh, Scotch is a sweetheart. He’s really so shy. When I found both of them that night, something had recently attacked him. When I tried to help, Malbec wouldn’t let me near him. Eventually, I got them both to trust me, but that took a while, and a lot of food.” Chuuya laughs softly. “The vets I took them to tell me they’re a bonded pair. Couldn’t separate ‘em if you tried.”
“I’m not safe in this house,” Dazai mumbles as the two resume their walk.
“As long as you don’t do anything to hurt them, they’ll get used to you. Scotch wouldn’t hurt a fly, he's a sweet little guy.”
Dazai grumbles but allows Chuuya to push him into a chair at the table in the kitchen. Chuuya procures the first aid kit and pulls out antiseptic wipes and fresh bandages. “I thought Malbec grew out of his attacking every damn person I have over on sight thing.”
Dazai frowns. “Who else are you having over?”
Chuuya laughs sharply. “Oh, don’t be jealous, you big dummy. It’s just Kouyou, the Akutagawa siblings, sometimes Higuchi shows up with them.” Chuuya sighs loudly. “If you can tell me which sibling that girl is dating, you’ll win me a bet at the office.”
Dazai would rather not pry into that entire mess, but if it made Chuuya happy, then perhaps he’ll look into it.
“I host lunch here.” Chuuya pauses to tuck a stray bandage back into place. “Even Q came over for one, once. Scotch hates them, so neither cats go near them. I didn’t tell the kid I have cats.” They both shudder. “Everyone's much fucking safer that way.”
“I’m not invited to these lunches?”
Chuuya looks at Dazai’s best attempt at puppy dog eyes with a disappointed expression. “You are now,” Dazai grins, “but you’ll have to deal with Kouyou’s manners lessons and Akutagawa's fawning.”
Dazai’s smile falls, and his nose wrinkles. “No, thank you.”
“That's what I thought.”
Dazai is silent as Chuuya continues to wrap his arm in new bandages, cutting the old ones away from where they had been torn. His blue and brown eyes narrow in concentration, wrapping the bandage just how Dazai likes it. Dazai's heart bubbles up with happiness at Chuuya remembering even after their four years apart.
Once Chuuya is done, he presses a light kiss against the bandages. “Sorry, Malbec scratched you. He probably thought you broke in since you don’t smell like everyone else.”
“Like the mafia?”
Chuuya shrugs, Dazai takes that as a yes. “Stay there, just don’t fucking touch anything in here.”
“Ooh, I get to watch the slug cook?” Dazai asks, clapping his hands together.
“Yup,” Chuuya says and turns back to what he was cooking before he was interrupted.
Dazai rests his head against the table, happy to watch his ‘not quite boyfriend’ cook. He takes a deep breath, smells crab in the air, and grins.
Chuuya was too good for him.
The table shakes with a sudden added weight, and Dazai looks up only to throw himself backwards in his chair. “Chuuya!”
Chuuya turns and gasps. “Scotch!”
“That’s not a cat!” Dazai screams, pointing at the lanky black creature on the table.
Its black fur is patchy, and there are hairless areas across its body. It stares at Dazai with one large green eye with a thin line for a pupil. The place where its other eye should be has skin stretching across the skull, outlining the eye socket. It only has one ear; the other is torn to shreds, and its tail has a bend in it where the end of the tail hangs limply.
Chuuya glares at Dazai, who can’t look away from the cat in front of him. “He’s perfect,” Chuuya snaps and starts to gently pet it.
Scotch starts to rumble with a stuttering purr that shakes his entire body. His pupil expands rapidly until it takes over his entire eye. “I’m shocked he showed up. He's usually so shy around guests.”
Chuuya turns his blinding grin to Dazai. “Maybe he likes you!”
Chuuya’s eyes crinkle at the corners of his eyes, and his pearly teeth with his oddly sharpened canines part in a way that looks beautiful to Dazai. There's pure joy and love in his eyes, and it's directed to the cat who is struggling to stay standing while it purrs.
Dazai will make these cats like him if it makes Chuuya smile like that, if it’s the last thing he does.
Chuuya drops his hand and leans down to press a kiss to Scotch’s head. “I’ll finish dinner. Keep each other company, boys.”
Chuuya turns back to the pot at the stove and begins to scoop noodles into a bowl. Dazai turns to the cat to find it closer than before. Its one eye has narrowed back into a slit and its claws are outstretched and digging into the table. Dazai slowly leans back as the cat makes a wheezing sound as it approaches.
Chuuya intervenes, grabbing the cat and plopping him onto the ground. “We’re having dinner, Scotch, you can’t eat people food,” he says as he gently shooes the cat out of the kitchen.
“He was going to kill me!”
“He was just looking at you,” Chuuya says and waves Dazai’s concerns away. “I made garlic crab pasta.”
Dazai sits up straight, eyes bright and monstrous cats forgotten. “Chuuya is amazing!”
Chuuya smiles and leans over to kiss Dazai on the forehead.
If Dazai could purr, he would.
ᓚᘏᗢ
Dazai considers licking his plate clean, but decides he wants to sleep over, and Chuuya will kick him out immediately if he does.
Instead, he lets Chuuya take his plate and hovers next to him while he washes the dishes. He’s also been banned from washing dishes after he managed to break several glasses and cut his hands up while trying to hide the evidence.
Chuuya sets the dishes up for drying and dries his own hands. “You aren't leaving, are you?”
It’s an invitation and a question all in one.
“Slug's bed is comfy.”
The redhead raises an eyebrow. “I was going to put you on the couch.”
“You wouldn’t,” Dazai pouts.
Chuuya rolls his eyes. “I wouldn’t.”
They make their way into the living room and curl up on the couch together. Chuuya puts on an old French film. Dazai won’t make fun of it tonight, he's comfortably full from the meal and has Chuuya’s warm body pressed up against him. He also would rather not lose the privilege of sleeping in Chuuya’s bed.
Dazai throws an arm over Chuuya's shoulder and pulls him closer. “Yer fuckin cold.”
Dazai only hums in response and rests his head on top of Chuuya's with half-lidded eyes.
Dazai blinks and watches as Malbec hops onto the chair next to the couch and curls up in a ball. “If he sees you with me, he'll behave,” Chuuya whispers.
Dazai relaxes further into the couch, and Chuuya, in return, nuzzles against his chest.
Dazai’s not paying attention to the movie, but he can already tell the twist. The movies Chuuya likes are always so predictable. The boy is going to stage a dramatic scene to win his lover back, and they’ll live happily ever after. It’s boring for him, but Chuuya likes it.
Something makes a noise next to him, but Dazai is too relaxed to care.
He does care, however, when sharp teeth sink into his arm. “Fuck!” Dazai shrieks, wrenching his arm away from Scotch who vibrates with an angry growl.
As quick as lightning, Chuuya grabs the cat just as it leaps with its claws outstretched at Dazai for round two.
Scotch doesn’t calm down in Chuuya's arms and instead tries to wiggle out of his grip to get at Dazai, claws noticeably sheathed in the redhead’s arms. “Why are you being like this?” Chuuya hisses through his teeth, struggling to keep hold of the squirming cat.
The redhead manages to turn around and hold Scotch in front of Malbec, who uncurled himself due to the commotion.
The reaction to seeing the orange cat is instantaneous. The black cat goes limp, and his one eye goes wide as he begins his broken-sounding purr.
Chuuya drops him onto the chair where Malbec baps Scotch gently on the head and then curls around the taller black cat, gently grooming him.
Scotch collapses on top of Malbec, where he continues his strange purr, his single eye closed. Malbec appears unaffected, used to this behavior and simply goes back to sleep.
Chuuya turns wide-eyed back to Dazai and holds out a hand. “Are you ok?”
The injured man checks his arm and grumbles. “Your cats are mean.”
Chuuya sighs. “I have no idea what got into him. He’s never done anything like this before, except to Tachihara, but that's because he stepped on his tail.”
“Tachihara was here!”
“Idiot,” Chuuya sighs with a hand on his hip.
Dazai huffs but lets Chuuya drag him back into the kitchen to be bandaged again.
Once the new bandages are secured, Chuuya places two kisses onto his arm where Scotch but him and one on his forehead. “Let's go to bed, mackerel.”
Dazai focuses on trying not to show how happy he is about the thought.
When they pass the chair going to Chuuyas room, the two cats are curled together, sleeping soundly. Dazai can barely tell that they’re two cats; they’re so tightly wound together.
The mafia executive opens the door to his bedroom and ushers Dazai inside, closing it behind them.
Chuuya’s bedroom hasn’t changed save for new blackout curtains and more expensive sheets. Dazai doesn't mind either of these changes.
“I didn’t get rid of your clothes since I wanted to burn them in front of you,” Chuuya mutters as he begins to change into his night clothes.
Dazai smirks and walks over to rummage through the closet to find his own nightclothes in a box tucked in the corner. Several of his old possessions from when he was still in the mafia are in the box. Dazai makes a note to do a thorough look through the box at a later date. For now, he just wants a full night of sleep with the cutest member of the port mafia at his side.
He changes quickly and turns to see Chuuya placing another blanket on the bed. “You get cold,” Chuuya explains with a blush.
Dazai’s smile is wobbly as he climbs into bed with the redhead. “You’re going to kick me,” Dazai mutters.
“And you won’t let go, asshole,” Chuuya snips back.
Dazai shuffles so that he can wrap his arms around Chuuya. “Never,” he whispers.
Chuuya huffs but flicks the lamp light off and lies down.
“You know,” Dazai starts.
“I don’t want to hear it. I want to sleep.”
“I think I deserve an apology for your evil cats.”
Chuuya groans. “Dazai.”
Dazai ignores the other man and continues on. “I think I deserve to be promoted to boyfriend.”
Chuuya rolls his eyes but smiles into the dark. “Fine, Dazai, you can be my boyfriend.”
“Yes!” Dazai cheers, kicking his feet, purposely hitting Chuuya.
Chuuya smacks him on the head. “Now go the fuck to bed!”
Dazai does as he’s told and closes his eyes, relaxing against Chuuya's chest.
ᓚᘏᗢ
Dazai wakes up with an uneasy feeling. He turns to his side and sits bolt upright when he sees Chuuya's bedroom door is open.
He turns to Chuuya, who is starfished out on the bed with his foot kicking out every few seconds.
Dazai’s eyes shift to something furry next to Chuuya's head. Malbec lies on his back on half of Chuuya's pillow, almost blending in with the mafioso’s hair.
Dazai relaxes seeing the fuzzy orange cat asleep and happy.
He tenses back up when he hears wheezing at the end of the bed. He slowly turns, and his eyes are met by one glowing green eye in the dark room.
The bandaged man starts slapping at Chuuya's chest rapidly. “Chuuya! Chuuya! Chuuya!” he hisses. “Chuuya, wake up! Your monster cat is about to kill me!”
Chuuya doesn’t respond save for a wrinkle of the nose. “Oh fuck,” Dazai whispers as the wheezing and glowing eye draws closer to him.
He launches himself from the bed and barrels out the door.
He stops just short of the kitchen and catches his breath when he realizes Scotch isn’t chasing him.
Instead of wheezing, following him, the sound of a door shutting fills the still air.
Dazai turns to stare at Chuuya’s closed bedroom door.
The demon prodigy of the port mafia, bested by a cat.
Dazai’s eyes narrow, and he clenches his fists at his side. “Oh, it is on you furred devil!”