Bungo stray cats

Chapter 7

At first Dazai could tell that Chuuya was not enjoying his own party, smiles all tight-lipped as the executives greeted him and Dazai.

Dazai himself was tempted to slip away and do his own little thing, though something compelled him to stay. Maybe it was the weight in his pocket, a clumsily wrapped gift, or the way Chuuya actually stayed with him.

Eventually, Chuuya's smiles became less strained and more natural. Either he had become a very good actor in the time span of an hour or he was actually starting to enjoy making small talk with his subordinates.

He even stopped to greet one man lumbering across the floor, a mountain of muscle and slow movements. Dazai smirked, satisfied to see the way that Chuuya had to tilt his head all the way up to meet the man's eye. Now that Dazai got a closer look at him, he could see that he was one of Chuuya's main men.

Chuuya had asked about someone called Elizabeth, and the man's whole demeanor shifted, a goofy smile gracing his big lips.

"She's good," he had replied, "she just started school."

Oh, now Dazai remembered. He was known as the crusher in the mafia, rumored to be able to crush skulls with his bare fist. But at home he was a single dad, he and Chuuya were on rather friendly terms.

Maybe they had bonded over crushing people's skulls.

Eventually the party grew to a close and people started to filter out through the big double doors, wishing halfhearted 'happy birthdays' over their shoulders if they were sober enough to even remember why they were there.

Chuuya received a surprising amount of gifts from the other members of the mafia, especially from his main squad. (Maybe that was one of the perks of being nice to them.) Most of it was cat stuff, enough food to last a year, a new scratching post (Dazai had set the last one on fire for an 'experiment.') He even got a cat bed from Kouyou. This was more of a babyshower than a birthday party.

The boss even approached them after, Elise on his tail though she didn't look too pleased to be there. "Chuuya, may I ask... why have you acquired so much pet equipment?"

Dazai and Chuuya shared a look before Dazai grabbed his wrist to drag him out of there before he even attempted to lie. "Sorry boss, you may not ask~"

Which led Dazai to watch as Chuuya lugged the many gifts to the elevator. Should Dazai tell him that he could just use his ability?

No, he would watch him struggle.

After discarding the gifts into the corner, (and shucking his outer coat somewhere onto the floor) Mackerel prowled up to sniff the bags curiously, Chuuya plopped down onto the couch, groaning. "Idiot, that was exhausting. What was the point of organizing that anyways?"

Dazai scooped the cat up and away from the bags, placing it at the very top of the new cat tower. "You didn't like it right?"

"Well duh."

"Then that was the point."

Chuuya didn't even have the energy to argue, sinking deeper into the couch cushions. "You stupid mackerel." He grumbled.

"Who, me or the cat?"

Chuuya shot him a withering look, making Dazai put his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

As Chuuya silently flipped through the TV channels to find the one they normally watched together (it seemed to be one of those nights where they sat in and watched movies instead of working,) the weight of the gift increased in his pocket. He hadn't forgotten about it, but now he was painfully aware of its existence.

Well, he might as well get it over with. The stupid wrapping paper was going to end up burning a hole in his pocket if he didn't get rid of it. Maybe he should have just gifted Chuuya with an insincere bomb, it would be a lot easier than this.

"Hey, slug."

"Hmm?'

"Happy birthday." Dazai dropped the gift on his lap. Chuuya's eyes widened, eyebrows inching up to his hairline as he stared down dumbly at the present.

After a while he finally picked it up, eyeing the wrapping paper like a gaping fish. "Why does it say happy retirement?"

Dazai made a noncommittal noise "Couldn't find any other wrapping paper."

"...This better not be a bomb or something."

"Not going to lie, I was seriously considering it."

"Of course you were" Chuuya muttered, ripping past the paper and discarding it on Dazai's lap. The box the present was in was fairly small, so Chuuya didn't have a hard time breaching the tape with the knife he kept on his thigh.

The gift must not have been what he was expecting, because when he peered inside and pulled out two matching leather straps, one larger than the other, his face morphed to one of questioning. "Are these... Collars?"

Dazai nodded "Yes, it would be irresponsible for me to not give my sheepdog a collar."

Dazai expected Chuuya to yell at him, to throw a punch or few, and chuck the gifts into the fireplace. Instead, he took the smaller one first to inspect, fingers (gloveless, for once) running over the dark leather and poking at the hoop to put a name tag on. Then he took the other one. "These are different, one is a collar and one is a choker."

"Wonderful observational skills, Chibi."

Chuuya remained eerily quiet as he fastened the collar around Mackerel's furry neck, proceeding to do the same for himself. The leather was good quality, Dazai made sure of that, he couldn't have his dog getting a rash. It didn't stand out too much, somehow matching Chuuya. The choker fit perfectly at the crook of his neck, looking like it belonged there.

"-azai? Dazai?"

Dazai snapped out of it fast, allowing himself a second of recovery time before swallowing. "What is it, slug?" His mouth was dry.

Chuuya bought a finger up to toy with the leather "...Thanks."

Dazai nodded, no more had to be said. He knew that the choker had a heavy impact on the redhead. He wasn't stupid, Dazai noticed the way he had kept his collar folded all the way up on the back of his neck.

One night when they were on an overnight mission Dazai had snooped, brushing back his collar and spotting the inky black numbers etched into his skin 'A5158.'

He had been branded during his time in the lab, not surprising, but not acceptable either.

Now the choker covered the digits.

Dazai hadn't seen him take it off since the night he had gifted it to him.