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grouptalekindnesssoulstories · 4 years

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Two Imps in a Trench Coat

So, I got bored and scrolled through @infinimay ‘s prompt list thingys. I got an idea from Illusions AU, so here we are! I have decided to make them two guys in a trench coat, and everyone else think they hate each other because they are never seen together.

And this time tumblr can’t be a little bitch and delete my progress cause I’m on desktop! Take that you dumb website

Also, I ended up using @enby-phoenix ‘s idea of the author interacting with the characters (Sorry, not sorry? :p I liked the idea)

Words: 1,665

Warnings: Cursing (once again, I can not function without curses), Remus being himself, a panic attack (written by someone with limited experience), threats with no intention of following through, complete self-insert.

“Are you sure about this Re?” Virgil sat on the desk as Remus strained to see from the chair. They were about to send in a response to an ad for roommates.

“Nope! It’s like an ace succubus!” The other imp said cheerfully.

“How does that even translate to this?” Virgil offered a hand to lift Remus up. He ignored it, choosing to climb the back of the chair and leaping onto the desk.

“We do whatcha gotta do! Like-”

“Nope, just send the e-mail you idiot. Both of them, and make sure it’s scheduled at different times, so they don’t link them” Virgil turned to instruct his twin. They had to be careful with their secret.

~~~

“I’m here bitches!” Remus threw open the door on his moving day. The other four roommates were all gathered in the living room. He briefly wondered if his glamour was enough (Virgil had fussed over it for an hour).

“Ah, I assume you’re Remus Jones” One responded, pushing up his glasses.

“Language!” Another scolded after recovering for his shock. The person next to them laid an arm around them.

“Let’s get started” Remus rubbed his hands, moving towards the group “You know I’m Remus, who are you?”

“I’m Logan, I posted the ad. He/him if you could” The first one began.

“I’m Janus, they/them. You can call me Dee though” The next responded, the one who had calmed Mx. Language-dude. “This is Patton, my boyfriend”

“That’s me Kiddo! Oh, I use he/him” Patton bounced after being introduced.

“That leaves this fucker to be Roman” Remus turned to the last of the group. To his surprise, they resembled his illusion pretty closely.

“Yes” He responded curtly. Remus shrugged, dragging his bags in. He had very little, as Virgil had not trusted him to move most of their stuff. He already missed the other imp. He couldn’t do anything to disrupt the glamour, and it was booooriiiing.

~~~

Virgil moved in a few days later. Most of the others were at work. Remus was there, hiding in the closet to keep up the appearance of being employed.

“I assume you are Virgil?” A crisp voice asked. Remus had updated his twin on everything, so Vee knew it was Logan. However, he didn’t want to give away his knowledge.

“Yea, what of it?”

“I’m Logan. I’m assuming you received my last e-mail?” The human swirled the liquid in his cup as he spoke.

“I did. So, where do I sleep?” Virgil shrugged, shoulders aching from all the bags he was carrying.

“Over here. Unfortunately, there is a door between the two rooms over here, so you are in a sense sharing with our....loud roommate addition. I must return to my work” Logan walked away quickly, disappearing down the opposite hallway.

“Re, where are you son of a-” Virgil muttered the moment he entered the room.

“Here!” Remus bounced out of the closet, tackling his brother.

“Shhh, gotta be careful”

“Nah, he can’t hear anything. Perfect for sneaking into his room and getting some emotional action” Re bounced, beaming wider than natural even for an imp.

“Lead the way then. I’m tired from keeping this up. I’ll set up my ‘room’ later. Not like I’ll be using it much anyways if everything goes well”

~~~

“Where is this new roommate?” A quiet voice asked a few hours later. Both imps jolted out of their doze, scrambling to figure out a way to sneak out.

“Who’s turn is it to appear?” Vee hissed, glancing around.

“On, quickly! I bottom” Remus pulled on his brother’s arm. Virgil nodded, climbing onto his brother’s shoulders before adjusting the illusion. After a second of tweaking it and getting his balance, Remus walked them out.

“You called?” Virgil drawled, signalling Remus to lean against the wall. The excitement that hit both of them was addictive in its strength.

“Hiya! I’m Pat!” The tallest of the trio standing there said. He bounced on his toes, practically vibrating in joy.

“Darling, easy” The other human closest to him soothed. After taking their boyfriend’s hand, said boyfriend calmed a bit. “I’m Dee. they/them”

“And I’m Roman” The last one added. Virgil immediately saw the bags under his eyes and the exhaustion rolling off him. It was almost as strong as Pat’s joy. However, it had less of an energy rush. It was so deep, it almost sapped energy.

“Well, I’m sure you know by now I’m Virgil. Any more questions? I want to unpack” Virgil almost snapped. All three stepped back and Remus slid them through the gap quickly. The moment he shut the door to the spare Virgil’s room, he swung his brother off his shoulders.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay spider. It’s not you. Do you need your blanket? Or Charlotte?” Remus rumbled, trying to stop the oncoming panic attack. Virgil shook his head, patting Re’s shoulder. Remus nodded and sat next to his brother. The moment he had settled, Virgil hugged him. The pair curled up, Remus humming to soothe the other imp. Before long, both were sleeping peacefully.

~~~

“Do you hate Remus?” Roman sat down heavily on the couch next to the pair. Virgil was currently the one in the illusion, so it was him who responded.

“Never met the guy. If anything, he hates me” Virgil tried to sound as bored as possible. It had been a few months and the twins had gained more energy, fully emerging from their halfling state. They couldn’t risk going anywhere with each other though, and the rest of the apartment had noticed they never were seen with each other.

“Well, what about me? You’ve avoided me ever since you moved in” Roman leaned closer, and Virgil was tempted to lean away, but that would weaken the illusion. It was true he had been carefully keeping away, and had grown closer to the rest of the group...but he didn’t hate Roman. It was the opposite, he couldn’t stand being near him with all of his exhaustion, sorrow, and depression.

“Mmm, nah. You’re just a lot” Vee responded after a nudge from his brother.

“Of emotion?” Roman responded after a moment, a flicker appearing across his face. His plain features seemed to briefly warp. After a moment, he reached out a hand, laying it over Virgil’s paler skin. It passed through Virgil’s illusion entirely after a moment, shattering it.

“Shit” Virgil met Roman’s eyes. Eyes that were glowing softly, and were slowly dissolving a similar illusion. Remus freed himself from Vee and bounced over, tapping the round face that appeared.

“VeeVee, it’s real! It’s purely fat and would make great-”

“Re, stop that thought right now. We both know what it is and it’s gross af” Roman started giggling.

“What’s so funny Princey?” Virgil asked, angling himself towards his brother, and the exit he could use.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m just glad I’m not alone, and that I was right. Plus you’re so small!” He waved a hand at the pair. After a nod, they tackled him. After some scrambling, they were perched on Roman’s chest. He was pinned to the couch on his back.

“What are you. It’s obvious this is no illusion. So what” “are you. And how did you figure out what we are” Virgil and Remus began, their own eyes glowing from using their magic.

“I’m a selkie. Someone took most of my skin. And I saw you two the first night. I was bringing food for you both at Pat’s request and saw you curled up with tatters of glamour. I didn’t want to do anything with anyone around though” Roman explained, a nervous smile across his features. The twins exchanged looks and a nod. They scrambled off, freeing Roman by brushing dark red hands over the bonds.

“We are Imps” “and your emotions were impossible to feed” “Off. So we avoided you” The pair informed him.

“Plus Vee has a crush on you!” Remus added unhelpfully.

“Remus, I will shove my feet in your face the next time I’m on top” Virgil punched his brother.

“Oooo kinky”

“You little fuc-”

“Uh...guys? You know Patton and Dee will be coming back from their date soon, right?” Roman broke in, glancing between them. “I also can’t tell you apart now, except by your voices”

“Oh, shoot. he’s right” Virgil glanced at the clock as Roman somehow made the physical version of the 😢 emoji.

“VeeVee has the curly horns, I’m taller at 3′4.5!” Remus piped up at the worst time as the lock jingled.

“SHit on a fucking stick, Remus get your ass over here. We need to get our glamour back on” Virgil yanked his brother over, focused entirely on adjusting the glamour to look natural while still hiding both imps.

“Um, you may not need be concerned?” Roman said awkwardly as Patton cursed outside the door from Remus’s panicked interference on the lock.

“Uh, explain quickly before I burn you with...just quickly!” Virgil almost yelled, struggling with repairing the damage.

“Pat, Dee, May I tell them?” Roman raised his voice. The door swung open as Remus yanked a blanket over him and his brother. Dee raised an eyebrow, walking in and closing the door behind them.

“Tell them what exsssactly?” They almost hissed, eyes quickly taking in the selkie.

“Of course kiddo!” Pat spoke up, smiling brightly.

“I don’t mind, I sssssupposssse” Dee added as all eyes turned to them.

“Well, You know I’m a selkie. Dee over there is a naga! And Pat is a werecat. Which is why he says he’s allergic, but there’s cat hair all over!” Roman said proudly. The imps felt the pride leak out of him. The gloomy emotional cover was breaking apart, showing the emotions he had hidden underneath after the initial meeting.

“We’re imps! Here to suck your soul out through your emotions!” Remus popped his horned head out from the blanket.

“Remus, shut up. You’re gonna get us kicked out” Virgil shoved his brother.

“Are we sharing now? Is it touchy-feely time?” A voice echoed from the ceiling.

“Logan!” All five exclaimed, the imps jumping into the air.

“Yes, it is I. Your favorite vampire roommate” A voice drawled from the ceiling. The various bruises suddenly made so much more sense as the thin man dropped from the ceiling. His whole body looked like he was, well, dead.

“....Re, I’m going to take a nap” Virgil vanished under the blanket again as the various glamours were dropped. The only one without a glamour was Patton, and his unruly curls were a disguise themselves.

“A wise choice. We should all go to bed, including our other roommate” Pat smiled, earning a smile from Logan.

“Don’t fucking tell me there’s another one of you” Virgil’s voice was muffled.

“Oh, I keep forgetting she’s here” Roman whined, glaring at the idiot.

“She? I haven’t heard anything about a she” Re cocked his head. Logan sighed before turning his gaze towards their other roommate.

“Yes, well. She doesn’t typically appear. You can’t see her, unless she chooses to appear” Logan adjusted his glasses.

“Rude. I do appear” A distinctly feminine voice echoed from a spot on the arm of the couch. A blink, and there was a young woman sitting there. There were bags under her own eyes, and she seemed to be upset about something.

“Who are you?” VeeVee poked his head out from the blanket long enough to confirm she appeared human.

“I’m Delphine Ignia. I technically own this place. I can’t take credit for this whole thing though. Fin gets credit for the idea” she turned towards the imps, crossing her legs as she studied them with...normal blue eyes.

“Are you a ghost? Cause I didn’t see your name on the lease” Remus cocked his head, readying a spear to throw as the woman’s leg suddenly swayed as she appeared to think.

“...no you wouldn’t. You see, I’m the one bringing this whole thing to life. I’m the author! Though, I usually think of myself as the writer. I’m not published so I feel like ‘author’ doesn’t fit” She had once again shifted as she spoke, her leg somehow bouncing on the ground as she spoke.

“And you of all people need sleep. You can make a second chapter in the morning. You have the zoom meeting tomorrow” Logan scolded the young woman. She groaned, nodding.

“Yea, yea. I’ll lose the idea though! And I haven’t found the stopping point”

“This is it. If the readers want, you’ll figure out a way. You did with How Far Can You Trust A Serpent” Dee pointed out.

“Fiiineeee. I am having a harder time typing cause I’m tired. Night guys. Sleep well! You have no choice but to sleep!” The woman started fading as her leg’s bouncing slowed. Before the roommates knew it, they were in their beds and collectively drifting off as the...writer, as she called herself, did. They all had a lot to ponder, and Delphine needed to fucking sleep. So they did.

#Delphine Ignia's Stories #sanders sides #sympathetic sides #pre-romantic prinxiety

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leio13 · 7 years

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That Bandage Freak is Actually...

A Soukoku Fic

Summary: Chuuya, a young librarian, is searching for love, but he couldn’t possibly find it in that bandage-wasting disaster who’s tearing up his library. Could he?

My contribution for Soukoku Week Day 1 (sartorialism)

Relationship: Soukoku (Dazai/Chuuya)

Betaread by the amazing Whisp ( @waveswordswhispers) and Mina ( @fraink5-writes)!

Read it on Ao3 here!

After a particularly annoying bout of traffic, Chuuya strolled into the library five minutes after opening time, ready to work. The first thing he noticed is a strange man switching books on one of the shelves… improperly. The guy was fucking up the library’s orderly system. “Uh… boss?” Chuuya approached the counter where his boss, a young woman wearing an extravagant kimono, worked. “That guy over there is messing up the library.”

Kouyou glanced over Chuuya’s shoulder at the bandage-wrapped stranger. “Oh.” She frowned slightly. “That’s our new part-time employee, Dazai. He doesn’t have much experience, does he?” she sighed as if she didn’t want him there, even though she was the one who had hired him. The characters one hired when in desperate need of workers could be nightmares, angels, or anywhere in between. This one, dressed like a mummy, was most definitely going to be a nightmare. “Why don’t you lend him a hand, Chuuya?”

“Yes, boss,” Chuuya agreed. In his head, he sighed reluctantly. He wasn’t ready for whatever hell experience the new guy had waiting for him. Still, he trudged over to the sloppy brunette, trying to keep the frown off his face. “Let me help you out a bit. You’re new, right?”

Dazai, as Kouyou called him, laughed quietly, a hint of blush lit up his face–well, the part of his face that wasn’t smothered in bandages. The bandages engulfed a large part of his face, covering his left eye entirely. Kouyou must have been really desperate when he hired this freak. “This is my first day…”

“First job too?” Chuuya joked internally. As the (clearly) better person, he couldn’t say that out loud. “Do you know how books are organized in a library, Dazai?”

Dazai blinked upon hearing his name before glancing at Kouyou who wore one of the fakest smiles Chuuya had seen in his entire career as a librarian. “Nope!”

“Alright. Let me explain.”

And so, Chuuya ended up explaining the entire library system while Dazai simply nodded. Chuuya couldn’t help but wonder if Dazai actually understood all of it. “Well, I’ve got my own work to take care of. Let me know if you need anymore help.”

“Okay! Will do, uh…”

“Chuuya.”

“Chuuya-kun!”

“Just Chuuya is fine.” Chuuya was done with this bandaged freak already.

…

Surprisingly, Dazai did not pester Chuuya that day (or any other day) with additional questions. Even more surprisingly, it seemed as if he understood Chuuya’s lecture quite clearly. The organization of the shelves he worked on was almost impressive. Not a single book out of line. When Chuuya didn’t have to see those ridiculous bandages, he could almost regard Dazai as a valuable member of the library’s workforce.

In fact, the current hour, his lunch break, was one of those times. Chuuya settled down into his usual booth at the local cafe and pulled his laptop out from his bag. He bit into his sandwich once before the moment was ruined.

“Eating alone, Chuuya?” Dazai was peering over his shoulder at the empty seat on the other side of the table. “Mind if I join you?”

“I’m alright.” After the words left his mouth, Chuuya realized they came off rudely. “I’m not lonely if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“That’s good,” Dazai frowned slightly, “but I’m a bit lonely myself, so if not for you, may we sit together for me?”

Chuuya wanted to say no, but he couldn’t unless he wanted to be an asshole. He didn’t really want to appear that way. Besides, it was his policy not to judge people by appearances (even if he had betrayed that policy multiple times over the past week since Dazai joined). Dazai was a bit sketchy appearance-wise, but Chuuya decided to live by his beliefs this time. “Go ahead. I might not be great company though.”

“Ah, thank you!” Instead of sitting down across from Chuuya though, Dazai continued looking over his shoulder. “A dating website? Are you looking for a date?”

“Yeah.” Chuuya glared at the the redhead on the screen. He didn’t actually have an issue with “Tachihara,” but he needed to release his anger somewhere.

“Hmm… No offense, but he’s not really that attractive…”

“Did I ask for your opinion?” Chuuya hissed in his head.

“I’m not a huge fan of the bandage on the nose.” Dazai finally sat down when Chuuya slammed his laptop closed. “It’s tasteless in my opinion.”

“In what way?” Chuuya was almost eager to hear what Dazai had to say back. The idiot was covered from head to toe in bandages, yet he had the audacity to criticize one small bandage on the nose. What kind of excuse would he offer?

“It looks like he got into a fight and lost. Pretty pathetic, don’t you think?”

Chuuya almost choked on a laugh. Was this guy for real? “If he looks like he lost a fight, you look like you lost to an elephant.” He noticed a small frown surface on Dazai’s face briefly, and while Chuuya didn’t care too much, he had to be nice. “Besides, I try not to judge people by their appearances.”

“That’s admirable!” Dazai smiled, sipping his drink slowly. He didn’t say anything after that.

…

“Um… Chuuya?” Dazai peeked out from behind the bookshelf Chuuya was organizing.

“Yeah?” Chuuya really didn’t want to talk to Dazai, but he wasn’t going shoo him away.

Dazai finally fully appeared from behind the shelf. “I’m really sorry for butting in the other day.” He bowed slightly.

Chuuya was frankly surprised. “No, uh, it’s alright. Don’t worry about it.” Now that the issue was resolved, he and Dazai could return to their usual awkward relationship, which in fact wasn’t very different at all–the only real difference being that Chuuya was no longer angry. Anyway, Dazai could leave Chuuya alone now that the conflict had ended.

Chuuya reached up to pull a book from the top shelf but couldn’t grab it, a sad reminder that he had stopped growing about 7 years ago at the age of 15. Thankfully, having a year of experience, Chuuya had a technique up his sleeve. He glanced towards Kouyou’s desk. She was on the phone with a customer and looking in the opposite direction just as Chuuya had hoped. Keeping his eyes on the boss, he lifted his leg and stepped onto the lowest shelf. Then, he grabbed a higher shelf with his two hands and began to simultaneously pull and push himself up. He was so close now. So clos–

The book was gone? It was just there a minute ago. Did someone take it while he was watching Kouyou? Chuuya turned his head around stiffly, the faintest idea of who it could be creeping unwantedly into his thoughts.

“Here!” Sure enough, Dazai was standing behind him offering him the very book he had been trying to get. “It looked like you needed help, so I took it down for you!” He smiled innocently.

Chuuya jumped off the bookshelf and snatched the book from Dazai’s hand. “I did not need help!”

“You didn’t?” Dazai blinked. “But you were climbing the bookshelf…”

“That’s how I reach high books.” Chuuya grumbled. His secret technique sounded pretty stupid when Dazai phrased it like that.

“Why don’t you just ask someone taller?”

“I can get them myself. That’s why.” Chuuya knew Dazai wasn’t trying to belittle him with that suggestion, but he hated being reminder that he was short. It was a sensitive topic for him. He wasn’t tall or slim like models and Dazai were; he was short and muscular. The muscles were nice–he liked those–but being short just made him the butt of the same unfunny jokes over and over again.

“But you could also get hurt.”

“I know what I’m doing. I’ve done this before. I won’t fall, okay?” Chuuya, hoping to end the painful conversation in which he was stuck, started moving towards the desk.

“If you insist…” Dazai sighed, following Chuuya. “But I’d prefer if you just asked me instead.”

“We’ll see…” Chuuya relented. They wouldn’t see. He didn’t need Dazai’s help. “Oh, and thanks, I guess…” Even if he felt unnecessarily belittled, Dazai did help him which was pretty nice. Dazai wasn’t such a terrible guy after all.

“My pleasure!”

…

Chuuya couldn’t help but notice that Dazai was sitting by himself in a small booth tucked in the corner of Chuuya’s favorite cafe. He tried to ignore it–he really did–but he couldn’t. He stood up with a sigh and approached the lonely brunette. “Eating alone, Dazai?”

“Eh?” Dazai looked up from his untouched plate of food. “I guess so.” He scratched the back of his neck, letting out a weak laugh.

“You can join me if you’d like.” Chuuya hoped he wasn’t making a mistake.

“Are you sure?” The smile on Dazai’s face betrayed the hesitation in his voice.

“Yeah, you don’t need to sit alone.” Chuuya returned to his favorite spot, and Dazai skipped behind him. It wasn’t going to just be his spot anymore. It would now belong to him and Dazai, a weird thought.

“You know, Chuuya, I realized that I don’t know a lot about you. You’ve always seemed a bit distant with me. Frankly, I’m surprised you invited me to join you. Of course, I’m extremely grateful for that!” He bowed his head in apology. “Please don’t shoo me away.”

Chuuya though would have much rathered that he himself disappeared. Dazai had noticed the way Chuuya had initially been avoiding him which made Chuuya feel ashamed of himself. He considered apologizing, but he honestly just didn’t want to talk about it. “Well, there isn’t much to know really. What did you want to know?”

“Anything!” Dazai grinned eagerly.

“Alright…” Chuuya told Dazai about how he grew up in an orphanage although he spent most of his childhood in the local library. He continued with his two college majors in French and literature and how he liked to translate French texts into Japanese during his free time, and that might have led to a mainly one-sided conversation about classic French authors. “What about you, Dazai?” he asked eventually though only five minutes of their lunch break remained.

“I haven’t done anything nearly as impressive,” Dazai sighed, “I didn’t even go to college.”

“Really?” Chuuya had to remind himself of his initial impressions of Dazai in order to fully accept those words. “What about employment? You had to have another job before this one, right?”

“I did. Well, I still do, actually.” Dazai checked his watch. “We can save that for another day. We need to return to the library now.”

“Oh. Okay.” Chuuya frowned slightly. He really wanted to know what it was. Who was Dazai outside the library?

…

The next time Chuuya needed to grab a book off the top shelf, Dazai wasn’t even there. According to Kouyou, he had some business to take care of in the morning. Either way, he wouldn’t be there to get the book for Chuuya. Oh well, Chuuya still had his handy dandy trick.

He placed his shoe on the lowest shelf, grabbed the sides of the bookshelf, and using his boot to push up, he pulled himself onto the first shelf completely. He reached for the book, but it was still too far away. Kids were giggling somewhere nearby, and even though he didn’t want to be seen doing this, he refused to stop. He had already started climbing. They couldn’t possibly judge him anymore. He pulled himself onto the second shelf. Letting go of one of the sides, he stretched his arm to touch the book. He could feel it’s rough casing, but he wasn’t high enough to get a good grasp.

The door behind him rang out a small bell noise as it usually did when someone entered or exited the library. Chuuya prayed that it wasn’t Kouyou returning from her lunch break. He didn’t want to know what sort of face she would make although he had a good idea in his imagination.

Something crashed into the back of the bookshelf, and a girl shouted out “No rough housing, Yumeno!”

But it was too late for that. Chuuya was already falling. “Shi–”

But he didn’t hit the floor, landing softly instead against someone’s chest. Two bandaged arms were wrapped around his waist. “Are you alright?”

“Dazai?” Chuuya peered up to see the brunette staring down at him. “I-I’m fine.”

“This is why I said you should ask me…” Dazai sighed, lowering Chuuya’s feet to the floor.

“You weren’t here when I checked!” Chuuya’s face burned. He had fallen from the bookshelf, and Dazai saw it and caught him. In his arms. Chuuya wasn’t sure whether the fall or the catch lit up his cheeks more.

“Sorry, I had something to do. Anyway, I’m glad you’re okay, Chuuya. You scared me for a second.”

“You were sca…?” Chuuya shook his head. “Sorry. I’ll try not to scale anymore bookshelves in the future…”

“Try not to what?” A woman’s voice replied. Kouyou was standing right next to them.

“Nothing.” Chuuya quickly answered. Hopefully, she’d drop it at that.

…

“Not to bother you, Chuuya, but” Dazai suddenly spoke up, “I need to put some books on the shelf you’re sitting in front.”

Chuuya jolted up and turned to face the brunette, closing the magazine he had been reading. He used his thumb as a bookmark for the page he was on. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright! Everyone gets distracted occasionally!” Dazai laughed, probably trying to reassure himself that it was alright. Chuuya had found Dazai with his nose in a book several times since he had joined about a month ago. “What are you reading anyway?”

“Just some article about that model, Shuuji.” Chuuya flipped open to the pages his thumb was marking. One of the pages was simply a picture of Shuuji. He wasn’t smiling–he never typically was. That was supposedly attractive. It didn’t really bewitch Chuuya personally, but he understood the appeal. In fact, minus the never-smiling thing, Shuuji was undoubtedly attractive: thin and tall with soft brown hair and caramel eyes that Chuuya imagined would have been warm if Shuuji actually smiled in the camera. Unfortunately, he didn’t, and his eyes simply looked dead.

“Hmm…” Dazai leaned closer for a better look. “He’s not really my type.”

“What is your type exactly?” Chuuya couldn’t even guess.

“I think I prefer curly red hair. Blues eyes and a proud yet kind personality are nice too.”

That was Chuuya. Dazai had just described Chuuya. Chuuya’s face hit record-breaking temperatures. He was blushing furiously. “I… I don’t know what to say… I wasn’t expecting that… at all… holy shit.”

Dazai laughed softly, pink highlighting his cheeks. “Sorry, that was really sudden on my part. You can just forget about it.”

“I…” How was Chuuya supposed to respond? Did he view Dazai that same way?

“Oh yeah,” Dazai interrupted Chuuya’s thoughts. “What happened with Mr. Bandaid Nose?”

“Oh. Michizou, you mean?” Chuuya wasn’t going to object to a new subject until right then when he started speaking. Suddenly, he dreaded the topic significantly. “Well, actually, uh, Michizou and I, uh, we hit it off pretty well, so we’re going to, uh, meet up this weekend.” Of all topics, why did Dazai switch to this one?

“You got a date!” Dazai clapped his hands together. “Congrats!” His eyes looked hollow.

“Yeah, the only problem is that I don’t know what to wear… he invited me to a fancy restaurant, but I don’t have any appropriate suits to wear…” Chuuya probably should have kept that to himself. The sooner they stopped discussing Michizou, the better.

“Well, that’s no good.” Dazai grinned. “I can help if you want.”

“You’d be willing to do that after all this…?”

“Sure! Let’s meet Saturday afternoon at the cafe!”

“Thank you, Dazai. Seriously, thanks.”

“Anytime, Chuuya!”

…

Dazai was already standing outside the cafe when Chuuya arrived even though Chuuya was five minutes early. He waved and without a word gestured for Chuuya to enter the open door.

“Look, Dazai,” Chuuya blurted out as they sat down. “You really don’t have to do this is you don’t want to. I won’t be ups–”

“But I want to!” Dazai interrupted. “You’re an important friend of mine after all!”

“Okay. What’s the plan for today? My date is at 8:30. It’s 12:25 now.” Chuuya watched as a server brought two cups of coffee to the table without being asked, Chuuya’s and Dazai’s favorites respectively.

“I think I know the perfect place for a suit.” Dazai grinned, blowing at the steam from his coffee.

“That’s good. Hopefully, it’s not too expensive…” Chuuya glanced down at his wallet mournfully. He loved the library, but it didn’t pay that well. He couldn’t spend too much money on this suit without it cutting into his living expenses. “Oh yeah. I also want to get something to eat a few hours before the date if you’d like to come. I don’t think my stomach can hold over until 8:30 on it’s own.”

“Sure, I’d love to!” Dazai finally took a sip out of his coffee. “So tell me about Bandai–Michizou.”

“Stop calling him that! I can’t take it seriously!” Chuuya laughed. “He’s nice. We have a lot of interests in common too.”

“That’s great.” Then, after taking another sip, Dazai stood up and pushed his chair in. “Shall we go?”

“Sure!” Chuuya followed after him, taking his coffee to go. They strolled down the streets of Yokohama before stopping at a relatively large shop by the name of Villon. Of course, Chuuya recognized the name instantly. Shuuji was one of the models for the brand. “Uh, Dazai? I would love a suit from Villon, but they are expensive as fuck.”

“You don’t want to take a look?” Dazai frowned.

“I guess a peek couldn’t hurt.” Chuuya knew it was a bad idea, but even so, he followed Dazai through the glass doors. There were endless rows of suits. If Chuuya seriously inspected each one, he’d lose a significant amount of his designated shopping time. He’d just have to skim through them, yet he found himself examining each one, admiring their designs and fabric. Eventually, he stumbled upon one he couldn’t resist.

Dazai caught him staring. “Why don’t you try it on?”

Chuuya probably should have said no, but his heart pulled him to the dressing rooms instead. He eagerly (but carefully) threw it on. Then, he inhaled and turned to face the mirror.

Chuuya almost gasped. It was perfect, especially the way the maroon of the dress shirt complimented his orange hair, the way it fit him snugly without pinching. Chuuya loved the way it looked. He strutted out of the stall to show Dazai. “How do I look?”

Dazai actually did gasp. “You look… breathtaking…” He pulled out his phone. “You look wonderful, Chuuya. Let’s take a picture, so we don’t forget!”

Chuuya posed, Dazai clicked the camera, and then, the suit had to come off. Even worse was what followed: checking the price tag. The cost made Chuuya’s singing heart drop. It was too much, way too much. “I can’t buy this, Dazai…”

Dazai took the suit from Chuuya’s hands and without inspecting the price tag walked over to the cashier. He beckoned Chuuya over. Chuuya reluctantly slumped over.

“That will be 65,000 yen.” The woman behind the counter smiled at Chuuya, waiting for an answer.

Chuuya’s jaw dropped. That was not price on the tag, not even close to it. “…excuse me?”

“Chuuya,” Dazai smiled, “I got you a discount.”

“H-How?”

“Frequent buyers get discounts.”

Dazai was a frequent buyer at Villon? Dazai had enough money to shop frequently at Villon? Chuuya’s jaw dropped further. He never would have guessed by Dazai’s appearance. And such an extreme discount too! Chuuya could actually buy the suit now! The suit was his! He took the suit back into his arms and squeezed it to his chest. He almost wanted to squeal. He almost wanted to hug Dazai. Did he deserve all this? Probably not, but he wasn’t going to waste this opportunity. He quickly handed the cashier a bundle of cash, not even waiting for his change before skipping out the door.

Dazai appeared next to him moments later with Chuuya’s change in hand. “Weren’t you complaining about not having enough money the other day?”

Chuuya ignored Dazai’s remark. He was too absorbed in his own happiness.

“Anyway, it’s about 5:30 now. You should eat something light now if you want to eat.”

“Good idea! I’ll pay for the meal.” Chuuya promised. One meal wouldn’t pay back the amount he owed Dazai for all of this, but it was a start. “Thank you so much, Dazai! I really can’t thank you enough!”

“Don’t worry about it! It was my pleasure!” Dazai blushed. “Let’s go eat now, yeah?”

“Yep!” Chuuya bounded down the street to the little deli he had in mind, Dazai chasing after him.

“I’ve never seen you with so much energy before…” Dazai panted at the doorway.

“Well, I don’t really act like this unless I’m really happy, and I’m really happy right now!!” Chuuya squealed.

“Michizou better make you squeal like this.” Dazai smirked before disappearing to order two sandwiches.

“I hope so…” Chuuya slumped in his chair, the exhaustion from this excursion finally hitting him.

“I hope you like this kind.” Dazai placed a sandwich in front of Chuuya.

“It’s my favorite. How did you know?” Chuuya joked. “Definitely not because I eat it every day.”

Dazai laughed. “Nope, definitely not.”

Chuuya wondered when eating with Dazai became normal. He had learned a lot of things about Dazai: the dumb songs he liked to sing, his life growing up as an orphan, the way he fumbled with his bandages when nervous and how that way was different from when he was embarrassed. It was almost hard to believe that a bit more than a month ago Chuuya had been intentionally avoiding him.

There were also things about Dazai that he didn’t know like his other job, but Chuuya didn’t feel rushed to find them out anymore. They had time. Somehow Chuuya just knew this bond would last for a long time. Until that time had passed, Chuuya could take it easy and relax, slowly learning about Dazai in the process.

They ate as if it was any other meal together: a few jokes, a few petty arguments, a few bits of small talk; no one brought up Michizou. In fact, he was completely out of Chuuya’s mind.

Dazai glanced out the window. “Uh oh.”

Chuuya followed Dazai’s gaze. It was pouring outside. “I didn’t bring an umbrella because I didn’t think it would start raining.”

“Me neither.” Dazai sighed. “It should be fine though if we hurry, and hopefully, it’ll have stopped by tonight.”

Chuuya had forgotten about that night. It had began to feel like any other day, but then Chuuya remember that he had a date later. “I hope so. Let’s go back to our apartments before it gets worse first.” With that, Chuuya and Dazai hurried outside into the soaking rain.

“Chuuya~!” Dazai ran up next to Chuuya who had power walked ahead. “Don’t step in a puddle~!” He sang out while nudging Chuuya with his shoulder towards the nearest one.

Chuuya tripped, narrowly avoiding the death of his shoes. “What the fuck, Dazai?” Chuuya turned to face the brunette only to notice the bastard had already scurried away. He chased after him, slamming his shoulder into Dazai’s side. “You shouldn’t step into a puddle either~!”

Dazai stumbled to the side a few feet, his shoes splashing in a large puddle that went up to his ankles.

Chuuya laughed victoriously. Then, it thundered, and Chuuya’s pleasure vanished. “Shit.” He yanked Dazai out of the puzzle and down the street. Finally, they arrived at his small apartment building into which he hastily ushered Dazai. “You can dry off at my place.”

Dazai hesitantly followed Chuuya to his apartment, noting the dirty sprinkled on the floor and walls of the complex. It wasn’t the nicest place to live, and Chuuya wondered what Dazai, who was apparently rich, thought of it and consequently thought of Chuuya. The combination of autumn night temperatures and wet clothes made it cold too. “I’ll turn on the heater when we get inside.” He unlocked the door to his apartment. “You must be shivering.”

Dazai looked around the small apartment, making Chuuya embarrassed. It was clear that Chuuya lived there the second one entered. The area was clean, French literature lined the walls, and soft French jazz was playing quietly on an antique cassette player. Chuuya waddled in drenched clothes over to the heater and turned it on. Dazai remained standing awkwardly at the entrance.

“You can sit down if you want.” Chuuya sat down on one end of the couch and gestured for Dazai to join him.

Dazai reluctantly joined Chuuya on the couch. “I’d hate to soak your furniture…”

“It’s fine. I’m soaking everything already.” Chuuya suddenly grimaced and yanked his clinging jacket off, throwing it onto the broken chair besides the heater. “Aren’t you’re clothes disgusting like that?”

“A bit, yeah.” Dazai slowly removed his own vest which Chuuya quickly snatched from his hands to add to the wet pile next to the heater.

“Thank you for today, Dazai.” Without thinking, Chuuya leaned forward and kissed Dazai on the lips.

“Chuuya…?”

“Mm?” Chuuya responded, eyes still closed, faces inches apart.

“Did you just…?”

“Oh shit.” Chuuya froze. “Oh shit. Fuck.” He just kissed Dazai. Dazai of all people. And he enjoyed it. Way more than he should have. “Did you, uh, enjoy it?”

Dazai blushed. “Yeah, but…”

“Okay. Good.” Chuuya decided to fuck it all. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from Dazai’s eyes, cupping his face with one hand in the process.

“Chuuya…?” Dazai took Chuuya’s hand, but he was unsure if he should pull it away.

“Hopefully, you’ll enjoy this one too.” Before Dazai could respond, Chuuya moved in for a second kiss, letting their lips linger together this time. Dazai tasted of crab and chocolate, just like Chuuya imagined he would.

They pulled apart, and Dazai gasped for air. “Chuuya…” He whispered.

“Yes?” Chuuya gently pushed Dazai down against the couch, snatching a third kiss.

“Do you love me, Chuuya?”

“I think so… yes.”

With that, Dazai grabbed Chuuya’s tie and pulled him closer. “I’m glad.” He pushed himself up slightly, taking the opportunity to steal a kiss of his own. They stayed like that for awhile with their lips locked together.

Meanwhile, Chuuya’s hands moved on their own, searching Dazai’s chest and undoing buttons. Dazai’s hands tugged at Chuuya’s tie and ripped it away.

Then, Dazai stopped. “Hey, Chuuya?”

“Yeah, Dazai?” Chuuya paused for a minute, his busy fingers halting.

“Is this going where I think it’s going?”

“Yeah, pretty sure.”

“In that case,” Dazai sat up, “I’m going to remove these bandages.”

“Okay.” Chuuya moved out of Dazai’s way and watched the brunette stalk into the bathroom.

Moments later, he returned shyly, bandages and everything gone. Without the bandages, Dazai almost looked like a separate individual. He looked slimmer yet healthier. His soft, wet, brown locks clung to his face almost photogenically. Seeing both eyes, Chuuya noticed a slight glimmer in Dazai’s pupils. As he was now, Dazai almost looked like…

Chuuya’s jaw dropped for a third time that day.

“…Something wrong?” Dazai asked self-consciously.

“Dazai… you’re…”

“I’m…?”

“You’re Shuuji… you’re a model?!”

#My writing #Soukokuweek #Nakahara Chuuya #Dazai Osamu #Bungou Stray Dogs #Chuuya #Dazai #this started as crack #but then I took it seriously #clothing is involved I swear!#I'm not lying!

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