A/N; Thank you guys so much for reading, this is the last chapter!

Over the span of the week without Chuuya, Dazai had a lot of time to reflect.

Reflecting was never something he did well, his thoughts obscured by cold hard facts rather than the tide of opinion.

Fact: Chuuya had every right to be incredibly angry at Dazai.

Fact: As Dazai currently lounged on the couch Chuuya was no doubt scrounging for information.

Fact: Dazai was currently organizing his surprise for Chuuya whether the redhead would crush him when he aged up or not.

Opinion: Dazai missed him possibly more than anyone else did.

During his time in solitude, as one would call it, Dazai reflected hard. The fluttering in his chest had never subsided and nor did the giant knot in his gut.

Though with time Dazai had finally been able to put his finger on just what emotion could be this strong. Just what emotion had pushed and pulled him relentlessly like a child in a tide. What emotion made him nauseated and tugged at his heart.

Osamu Dazai thought he would never get to experience the emotion in his life, another one he had tossed aside along with the other useless ones. Though love, as it seemed, came in many forms. One being Chuuya Nakahara.

Though not romantically for the underaged Chibis. (Dazai may be many things, but a pedophile was not one of them.) Those flutters in his chest, the vice-like grip that suffocated and demanded attention, that was hot and heavy and scalding.

So he really did have a heart somewhere in there.

He had been looking down at a photograph taken, rubbing along its smooth edges when he had stumbled across the realization. It wasn't anything monumental, it just felt right. As if a missing piece of a puzzle that had been lost over the years had finally fallen into place.

"Sir," one of the workers asked, and Dazai was pulled from his musing. "Would you like the couch over here?"

"Ah- facing the window," Just as Chuuya had his couch before. He liked being able to gaze across the cityscape and Dazai didn't necessarily blame him.

The workers grunted as they set down the couch in front of the newly placed window.

Renovating Chuuya's giant apartment (penthouse. It practically took up the whole floor.) wasn't the most thoughtful thing. It was practical. But if there was one thing that Chuuya enjoyed the most in a gift, it was practicality.

And adding another bedroom so that any unfortunate guest wouldn't have to sleep on the couch, well, that was Dazai's choice. He would spend his own money as he wished.

Most of the furniture had been completely broken or ripped to shreds when Chuuya had activated corruption, and finding the correct furniture to match Chuuya's picky taste had been a challenge, but it was well worth it in the end. The pictures and trinkets Dazai had managed to salvage upon returning to the scene had been placed in their rightful spaces and it all seemed put together.

The only thing missing was Chuuya himself.

Though that space would be filled soon.

Dazai had expected the phone call from the bar, because if he knew Chuuya, then he knew that the eighteen-year-old was just gathering a little 'liquid courage' to confront him. (Even if he didn't need the alcohol for the little push, Chuuya had probably gotten sidetracked.)

This was his chance to gain Chuuya back from the mafia and Dazai was not about to lose him for a second time, at least not after explaining himself. He had been preparing the penthouse apartment before the call and now that he knew his exact location, he slipped on his winter coat and headed in the direction of the Port mafia-owned bar.

He no longer had Kunikida's car, but it wasn't too long of a walk and the walk did help him gather the thoughts running rampant in his head. He still had no idea what he could even say, but apparently, an explanation wasn't needed at the moment with how drunk Chuuya was.

Once again.

Had he gained that bad of an alcohol problem after Dazai left?

Guilt was a cold and heavy burden.

"I cut him off after he had too much," the bartender explained, pointing to Chuuya slumped over on the bar. Apparently, he didn't seem to recognize Dazai or Chuuya's identities, and if he did then he was keeping it a well-hidden secret.

"I suppose I should thank you for watching over him," Dazai didn't miss the lingering eyes of the other bar members. This was not a good place to go drinking, especially at Chuuya's current age. He could take care of himself of course, but he may accidentally decapitate a few people in the process.

"Just doing my job sir," the man shrugged and returned to the counter. Dazai placed a few crumpled bills under Chuuya's empty glass for him. He poked at the redhead's shoulder and Chuuya poked his head up, "Huh?"

"Time to go~"

Chuuya squinted at him, "Dazai?"

"The one and only, can you get up?"

Chuuya rolled his eyes at that, sitting up and sliding off of the bar stool. In any other situation, Dazai would have laughed when Chuuya's legs buckled from underneath him, but if Dazai did that now he would definitely get a fist to the face.

Dazai held him by the shoulders and led him out of the bar area to avoid more of the stares.

"Don... don't patronize me," Chuuya slurred, and he did a pretty good job at playing it sober if he hadn't mispronounced 'patronize.'

"Yeah yeah," Dazai grumbled, and he should have brought that child leash to make Chuuya wear because he almost walked directly into oncoming traffic a total of four times until Dazai had enough and resorted to giving Chuuya a piggyback ride.

"You're bein' weird," Chuuya grumbled, nosing into Dazai's jacket with his cold nose and Dazai simply rolled his eyes.

"I'm the one being weird? You can't just show up to bars and get drunk Chibi, that's a hazard and a bad habit."

Chuuya's chest contracted and Dazai couldn't tell if it was a scoff or a hiccup. "St...stop bein' responsa... response?"

"Responsible," Dazai corrected gently.

"Yeah, that." Chuuya agreed, "You... you changed."

Dazai's jaw tightened.

He had changed a significant amount since when Chuuya had last seen him at eighteen, and that was yet another fact amongst the others.

But no matter how he needed Chuuya to understand him, it wasn't a conversation to have at the moment. Not when he was nearing Chuuya's apartment with him on his back, not when Chuuya wasn't aware enough to even get what he was saying. He would honestly rather have the conversation with Chuuya when he was twenty-two, but Dazai knew that eighteen Chuuya wouldn't be able to rest without answers.

He could explain it to the both of them.

And now that that problem has been solved... It was time to deal with another.

"Chuuya- hold on," Dazai hissed, jamming the key into the keyhole, though Chuuya wasn't making things easy with the way he was shimmying down to the floor, arms remaining looped around Dazai's neck as he effectively hung off of him with all of his weight.

Dazai felt himself being dragged down but managed to get Chuuya to unhand him by prying his fingers off of his neck and instead clasping onto them and dragging him into the apartment so he wouldn't run off somewhere.

Chuuya's hazed eyes widened when he took in his surroundings, "My place?"

"Yes," Dazai answered easily, flipping on the lights and herding Chuuya directly to the bed. The faster he got to sleep the easier it would be for Dazai to deal with him in the morning. "I figured you would rather enjoy this place to wherever the Port Mafia was keeping you."

Well, he had no idea where they had kept Chuuya but he had assumed that it wasn't anywhere the redhead would like.

"Yeah," Chuuya nodded in agreement, nearly tripping over himself to reach the window and place his flushed face against it.

He was more trashed than Dazai had originally thought.

"Alright come on," Dazai grabbed him by the elbow and led him to his new room. It looked the same except for the bed frame that had been replaced with a taller oak one. Though the mattress size remained the same because anything smaller would not appease Chuuya.

There were no clothes that Chuuya could wear at the moment but he didn't seem to mind as he jumped onto the bed fully clothed. Thankfully he had kicked his shoes off somewhere along his trek to the bedroom.

"Go to sleep Chuuya, I'll be here in the morning,"

Dazai had turned around to close the door behind him but winced when he was stopped.

"Idiot!" Chuuya called and Dazai forced a smile on his face.

"Yes, hatrack?"

"I missed you."

And it was so random, so out of the blue, that Dazai halted slightly. He had no idea as to whether he was referring to him leaving the Mafia or the week they had been separated, but either way, Chuuya would never say such a thing normally. Alcohol made his lips loose.

"I'll see you in the morning, Chuuya."

The redhead didn't hear it, he had already passed out.

—-

Like all things in life that Chuuya did, he had woken up loudly. It was around mid-morning with a scream that practically shook the whole complex. "Why the hell am I here-" Chuuya cut himself off as he realized that yelling would only make his headache worse.

Ah, there was Dazai's cue.

He pulled himself from the couch, Mackerel jumping down from his lap as he moved to Chuuya's room. He was sitting up in the bed, blankets fell to the floor as he chugged the remains of the water bottle Dazai had left by his bed.

"Ah, welcome back to the land of the living~"

Chuuya shot him a glare and he was not, in fact, feeling very welcomed.

"Why am I here?" He repeated and Dazai waved him off, leaning against the doorway.

"I heard you the first time. You got wasted at a bar last night so I decided to take you back to your own place."

Chuuya's eyebrows scrunched up as he eyed the room, "I thought this place was destroyed?"

Dazai shrugged, "it was. I had it renovated for you."

Chuuya narrowed his eyes, "...What do you want."

Dazai put a hand to his chest, "I can't do a deed from the bottom of my heart without there being any kind of ulterior motive?"

"Well... Yeah," Chuuya threw the blanket off of his lap and slid from the bed to get a better look around the room. "So what do you want?"

And it was smart of Chuuya to be apprehensive because Dazai had always done kind deeds to get something from Chuuya. He had not known what genuine 'kindness' was but for now, he felt as if he was getting the gist of it.

"I don't want anything from you Chuuya. You... you can leave when you want." It's not that Dazai wanted him to leave, he just needed to establish some level of trust between them, to let Chuuya know that he was the one in control of the situation as they had never been when they were younger.

Chuuya halted his movements, blinking at Dazai as if he had grown a second head.

Then the surprise passed, something crossing over his eyes as he pushed past Dazai, and for one cold moment Dazai thought that Chuuya was about to leave, but instead, he simply continued to explore the apartment.

"I'm not leaving anytime soon," he decided. "Not until I eat something and not until you explain yourself."

Oh. So they were going to do this soon? Chuuya had always been quick-moving, never one to waste any time. Dazai should have expected this. And Dazai was a bit surprised he hadn't immediately jumped him for answers, but he seemed... relaxed compared to his normally on-guard posture.

Well, that was a good sign. Right?

Dazai would take it as such.

Since Dazai was no good at cooking and didn't bother to stock Chuuya's pantry, he ended up calling a fast food place and footing the extra cost to have the food delivered. It arrived in a startlingly short amount of time and by the time Chuuya emerged from the shower, looking significantly less like shit, he dug into the food without a word. (Dazai had ordered his favorite meal, so it would be strange if he didn't.)

Dazai almost expected for the rest of their day to be silent because Chuuya was being oddly quiet, but he placed his fork down onto the table with a small clink and looked up at Dazai, who had returned from placing his own dishes in the sink.

"I went to that friend of yours," he started, and the first people that Dazai's mind went to was the agency because he didn't have very many acquaintances outside of them. "Ango," he clarified, he must have sensed Dazai's confusion.

"Tentative acquaintances," Dazai corrected, and Chuuya huffed.

"Yeah whatever, that doesn't matter to me. But I gave him a visit to learn more about..." he spread his arms out, "this."

Dazai raised an eyebrow and took a seat on the loveseat he so generously added. "Oh yeah? And what data did you collect?"

Chuuya took a moment to collect his thoughts, leaning forward. "That no one's caught the damn ability user yet. That I've been... young for a while." His eyes shifted over the interior of the apartment, avoiding Dazai. "There's a lot of stuff the Port Mafia doesn't know, like the dart. They teamed up with the special ability department to get more information."

Well, that made sense, even if the two organizations wouldn't make a compromise normally, but Chuuya was a strong ability user and both organizations would want to keep the balance with him out of the equation temporarily.

"I have a target on my back, it was the..." he gritted his teeth as if wanting to withhold the information. But this was a sign of trust, something that Dazai didn't deserve but seemed to be receiving. "The lab that created me."

Oh.

And that... that Dazai did not know about. Yes, it was a possibility in the back of his mind, but this meant that they had a larger agenda and...

Suddenly everything made sense to Dazai. Chuuya gave him the last bit of information he needed-

Dazai wanted to say it, to give Chuuya the rest of the missing information to show that the trust was not a one-way street between them, but Chuuya was continuing on.

"I had that target on my back, and you were the one watching me the whole time. I guess I should thank you," he grumbled, and Dazai opened his mouth to say that no, he didn't need to be thanked-

"Don't talk," Chuuya held a finger up, and Dazai clamped his mouth shut. "I'm not going to thank you or apologize, but I'm not going to yell at you anymore because I'm over it. I'm done with cursing you." And he sounded so tired.

"You know, I also found more information. About you," Chuuya continued, and Dazai realized that he was not only searching for information on the child crisis, but he utilized his past relationship with Ango to learn more about Dazai's motivations and maybe, just maybe, that was why he seemed so calm-

Chuuya's posture was tense, but despite that, his words were calm and unnervingly steady. "I know why you left. The boss told me about that, I know you had your reasons I just-"' and there it was, he was beginning to lose his composure, voice cracking. "I don't think I'll ever understand."

Chuuya hadn't met Dazai's eyes yet, he refused to. But he had gotten over the anger, Dazai could tell by the resigned slump in his shoulders. Defeat was never a good look on Chuuya.

Chuuya was wrong though. He was loyal to the Port mafia, and even more so to those he trusted and loved. Dazai's loyalties were nonexistent at the time, but on a friend's dying wish, that's where they had been.

He just needed to say it to Chuuya because he was looking so dejected with his head hung low-

"I know that guy- Oda Sakunosuke- he was your friend. But wasn't I?" When Chuuya finally looked up to him all that was showcased in his eyes was betrayal. There was no fire there. He took a shuddering breath and continued, "And me and you...we- we had something between us. I don't care if you were too emotionally oblivious to see it but- Didn't I at least deserve a warning before you left."

He deserved more than a warning. Chuuya should never have been a victim of Dazai's shitty decisions in the first place.

"I did come to visit you," he started, and that red hot ball lodged itself in his throat again. The same one he tried to shake away when Chuuya was in a coma. It pulsated and made Dazai's voice strained. "I visited to tell you but you were passed out on your couch. When I saw the condition you were in i- I didn't have the heart to wake you up because I was reminded that it was the damage I had caused. And I was pathetic and I ran. I ran from the mess I caused and left you to clean it up."

Chuuya let out a wet chuckle, sniffling slightly. "Damn right, you were a coward." But an unsure look crossed his face, "If you didn't care enough about me to -"

"Stop," for once, Dazai interrupted Chuuya and the heaviness in his tone made Chuuya freeze. "I left because I cared about you," it was surprisingly easy to admit. "I didn't want to take you away from a second home after I had already taken you away from the sheep."

Chuuya's fingers curled to make a fist, fingernails digging into the fabric of his gloves. "If you were the one to get me involved in the first place then you know damn well you should have been the one to take me out!"

It felt as if Dazai had been sucker-punched in the gut, all of the air escaping his lungs because Chuuya would have gone with him-

He had been such a coward back then. Missing opportunities-

"I'm sorry," he murmured in a low voice, and Chuuya slowly lifted his head to see if he had heard it right because Dazai had never been one to apologize. Then he was saying it again, over and over because he needed to get it across-

Chuuya practically tumbled over the coffee table to get to him, "I know dammit! I know because this is the most I've gotten you to admit in the years we've been together-" Once he realized he was practically yelling in Dazai's face, he lowered his tone.

"It's fine I... I forgive you" it sounded like it pained Chuuya to say, but it was true. "Leaving the Mafia... it made you a better person and I don't blame you for saving yourself. I'm happy for you, you just-" Chuuya's eyes brimmed with tears "didn't have to leave me alone."

The parasite in Dazai's throat shifted and practically suffocated him and those cages he had put in his chest had been unlocked-

A very unwelcome feeling overcame Dazai, it was unfamiliar yet recognizable.

Chuuya stood in shock, no longer pacing in his emotion as he stared at Dazai. Then he was moving, through Dazai's blurred vision to wipe away the hot tears that had escaped Dazai's eyes.

It had been four years since he had cried.

And Chuuya was looking at him with such a fond look in his eyes that it hurt, and the last words that Eighteen Chuuya would ever say to twenty-two Dazai were uttered. "Wow, you did change huh."

Then he aged up.

It was the first time that Dazai had seen him change in age while under the effect of the ability.

There wasn't anything dramatic like a bright golden light or a portal of some sort. It was a blink of an eye transformation. Literally. One moment Eighteen Chuuya was standing in front of him and the next it was his Chuuya.

Dazai had certainly not expected this welcome outcome.

Chuuya looked as if he had been to hell and back, eyes barely having time to register where he was before they were rolling to the back of his head and Dazai was having to maneuver so that his head wouldn't hit the floor.

Dazai quickly let him fall to the couch. He was going to do something useful- call Yosano, the agency, or even get ahold of that idiot Ango- but instead, he found himself instinctively drawn to Chuuya just as he had always been.

He put a hand on his cheek. Chuuya's cheek. Not a different version, Chuuya was here and it wasn't some cruel dream and-

Dazai smiled. A genuine smile.

"Welcome home Chuuya."

——

Dazai's job was far from over.

In fact, the moment he had stopped reeling over the fact that Chuuya was back, he got to work. He didn't have much time left before Chuuya would regain consciousness (possibly the abilities' side effects) so he quickly called for more food again, his wallet was definitely suffering. And he managed to fully complete Chuuya's apartment renovations by the time there was a groan that came from the couch.

"What the hell?" Chuuya asked as he sat up, and Dazai had missed that voice-

Dazai had so much to say but decided not to interrupt Chuuya's moment of clarity as he sat still for a total of five minutes before speaking again.

"You fixed the place up?" He sounded somewhat touched and-

"You remember what happened?" Dazai found himself asking as he sat where he once was only ten minutes ago.

Chuuya shrugged, "Bits and pieces... that was..."

"Abnormal?" Dazai offered, and Chuuya's face twisted.

"Fucked up."

Then the question that was on the tip of Dazai's tongue could finally be asked. "Where were you during all of this, mentally."

And the fact that Chuuya didn't even refuse to answer proved that he did in fact remember their conversation and that he did in fact remember Dazai watching after him. "I was... There," he ran a hand through his untamed hair, "I saw flashes of memory, things I had forgotten."

Considering the things that Dazai had found in Chuuya's file about the Arahabaki experiments, well... that must have been extremely unnerving for Chuuya to go through.

"I was happy," Chuuya choked, "I had a family but- then the lab.."

Judging by the look on Chuuya's face, it was almost as if he didn't want to remember.

Dazai didn't press the matter any further.

"I don't want to have a conversation right now" Chuuya sounded exhausted as if he was on the verge of passing out again. "But you know more than I do... So don't leave until I let you."

Dazai was not dumb, he could sense the double meaning behind those words. All of his life the two of them had only ever spoken with hidden meanings. It was easy to translate.

'Don't leave me again.'

"I won't," Dazai said, tone casual as if he hadn't just had one of the most emotionally taxing conversations in his life. "But before you go back to sleep, I have something to show you."

Chuuya tilted his head slightly, "another surprise?"

"I'm full of them, hatrack. Come on."

Chuuya was a bit unsteady on his feet as if he was just becoming familiar with being in his body again and he probably was.

Dazai led him to his room and Chuuya immediately noticed the pictures lined up along the wall.

"What is..." he reached for the first one, eyes glassy as he took the image in. It was toddler Chuuya wearing one of those god-awful onesies Dazai had forced him to wear, and despite the outfit he was smiling brightly, showcasing missing teeth as he hugged mackerel.

Chuuya quickly moved on to the next and it was him sleeping with the cat.

Another one of him with the agency, posing with each of them.

One of him spitting chocolate ice cream out on the floor and Dazai cackling in the background.

A carnival picture with the whole agency.

There were even some with the older versions of him. Despite how dreary his life had been when he was in the lab, young Chuuya seemed over the moon to be at the zoo with penguins.

Chuuya tore his eyes away from the pictures to meet Dazai's gaze, who looked terribly fond and it was disgusting-

But endearing.

"You took these?" he asked, sounding breathless, and Dazai nodded.

"I figured I would... give the chibi a bit of his childhood back."

And he was being genuine either hell was freezing over or Dazai had finally decided to work through his inner turmoil.

Chuuya's lips quirked up, the first smile from him that Dazai had seen in a while. He wanted to take a picture of that image too.

"Maybe you weren't such a bad babysitter after all."

"I was the best."

Chuuya snorted, "I wouldn't go that far. Isamu was much better than you."

Dazai was so offended that he couldn't even speak, though he didn't have to because the doorbell rang and their food had been delivered.

The fact that Chuuya wasn't immediately kicking Dazai out made a small ray of hope shine through the shadows of his heart.

Suddenly a hot bowl was shoved in Dazai's hands and Chuuya gave him an accusing look. "You better eat that damn food."

Ah, right, bossy Chuuya had returned.

Dazai couldn't necessarily complain, not when he got to sit on top of Chuuya's counter and slurp at the noodles while Chuuya paced around the kitchen and raged about all that he had missed.

"Ah, if I remember correctly, you need to check in with Miss Chiyo from next door. I haven't seen her nosing into my life about my three children and husband yet."

Chuuya froze, turning to Dazai in confusion.

The words that he said next made Dazai freeze.

"I don't know anyone named Miss Chiyo.."

—-

"Dazai, you claim that you have solved the case?" Kouyou asked voice calm despite his and her previous war over Chuuya rights. Dazai would put it past them for the moment but he wouldn't forget.

"Yes," Dazai affirmed, eyes scanning over the long table that held both Agency and Port Mafia members alike. It was one of the first peaceful meetings with both sides and Dazai knew that Chuuya was a bit baffled by them coming together for his sake.

Well, Chuuya had grown on the agency members.

"As we know, he was hit with an ability, and the ability user instead of running away immediately, decided to stick around and check on Chuuya's progress in growth. Though as soon as he hit a certain age I'm assuming she reported his condition and fled. It may be too late to find her and the name she provided us with- Miss Chiyo- was a fake one. I can give you a description but..." Dazai shrugged, "she could be out of the country by now. Out of our jurisdiction."

"Well, that is certainly problematic. You were assigned to protect Chuuya were you not?" Kouyou fired back, and Dazai smirked.

"You were assigned to apprehend who had hit him with the ability, were you not?"

The woman didn't speak against the fact.

"Well, we may be able to put a bounty on her head, but other than that there is not much we can do about her," Mori spoke, not sounding too bothered. Dazai could tell he was unaffected as long as one of his hardest-hitting executives was back.

The members of the port mafia gave Dazai apprehensive looks and from next to him, Chuuya tensed up.

"The idiot Dazai did a fine job at watching me," he reported to them to ease their suspicion. 'I'm still here, aren't I?"

"Correct!" Ranpo announced, his sudden outburst was not the best for a business meeting though the agency seemed unbothered. "He evaded the attack from those armed soldiers and- speaking of which we got a report from the authorities."

Dazai raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Do enlighten us."

The occupants of the table waited with bated breath as Ranpo stood, as dramatic as he may be, none of them dared to interrupt his moment if he held answers.

He reached in his pocket and pulled out the badges the man wore, the men who attacked Chuuya while he was in his comatose state. "These belong to the GSS group, a group that will do anything if paid the right price."

"Ah, that makes sense then," Dazai absorbed the new information. "The GSS were paid by the lab that Chuuya had escaped from to kidnap him and bring him back."

From next to Dazai Chuuya seemed uneasy, though it couldn't have been easy to layout your past for others to judge. Dazai tapped his foot lightly against Chuuya's under the table.

"So they were paid by the lab," Yosano stated, "And if that's the case then we can assume that Chuuya wasn't the only target. The ability user was probably paid to reverse all of the previous lab experiments ages so it would be easier to capture them and well... experiment all over again."

Chuuya's foot remained next to Dazai's.

"And if it's the GSS," Ranpo continued, "Then we can assume where their hideout is and where they are keeping all of these children-"

Despite the situation, Chuuya spoke, interrupting the detective. "They're alive?"

Ranpo hummed "well, there's no telling, but according to previous data they should be located in the Port Warehouses as you found those other children in."

Chuuya gripped the edge of the table and hung his head. He was planning something in that head of his and Dazai knew it would go against Mori's wishes.

Dazai stayed quiet.

"You know what I'm still hung up about-" Kajii spoke up from the other end of the table, "what was on that dart?"

That was easy enough to answer.

"It was an ability enhancer," Dazai offered.

"I had assumed that those were just a myth?" Yosano asked.

"Well, they are rare and mostly ineffective" Mori answered, "though I am assuming that this... ability enhancer was created by this lab."

"Right," Dazai nodded, "and the reason Chuuya was hit with it, I can only assume, was to test how he reacted to it. The enhancer does not affect Chuuya's ability, but rather "miss Chiyo's.' They wanted to see how Arahabaki would react against the ability if it was heightened and if Arahabaki hadn't come to Chuuya's defense then he would most likely still be a child."

The other members of the room reeled with the new information while Dazai sat back.

"Is there anything else to cover?" Fukuzawa finally spoke, having remained stone-faced throughout the meeting.

A ripple of 'No's' filled the atmosphere.

"Well," Dazai smirked, "It seems that the case has been closed."

Except for it wasn't, not for Dazai and Chuuya.

—-

"I can't believe I let you rope me into this chibi," Dazai sighed dramatically.

"Shut the hell up," Chuuya hissed through the device in his ear, "you know it has to be done."

For Chuuya's sake and good conscience, it probably did.

Dazai had expected him to come up to the agency about a week after the Port Mafia and the Armed detective agencies meeting with a map and a plan.

Strangely enough, their plan to free the lab experiments wasn't all of their communication. With their alliance, Dazai could always use the excuse of a professional relationship with Chuuya, but they both knew it was bullshit. People in professional relationships wouldn't text each other every night and morning. People in professional relationships wouldn't be stuck in the limbo of pursuing something more and taking the time for themselves.

Chuuya hadn't pushed him away and the very thought made Dazai's chest ignite in a flurry of bright colors.

They moved swiftly around the warehouse as if the gap of four years had never existed between them. It was an easy mission, picking the locks to the cages and allowing whatever unfortunate test experiment that inhabited them to be free.

A ripple of noises filled the silent room as they worked.

He and Chuuya met at the last cage and Dazai carefully unlocked it. No one emerged from it.

"Kid?" Chuuya asked, bending down to peek into the cage. Dazai couldn't see what he was facing, but Chuuya's expression softened as he held out a hand. "Come here, I'm one of the good guys."

Considering his job in the port Mafia, he really wasn't, but to these children Chuuya was their savior.

After a moment of no movement from inside the cage, Chuuya sighed and did something that Dazai had never expected him to do. He reached to the back of his neck to unclasp the choker he always wore, letting it fall to the ground. He turned his neck and brushed back his hair to reveal the brand mark on the back of it. 'A5158.'

A strangled noise came from inside the cage and like a flash, a little girl had buried herself in Chuuya's arms. A similar mark was etched into the back of her neck.

"It's okay," Chuuya thumbed at the brand mark and stood up. "Let's get them to the extraction point."

"Hmm, how endearing of Chuuya."

The redhead shouldered past Dazai, patting at the weeping girl's back.

Their extraction point was right outside. The experiments had been loaded on a boat where they would be taken to America far away from the lab's reach. A generous association in the country had offered to watch over the children (Chuuya had probably threatened them,) but either way, they would be safe now.

"How heroic of Chuuya," Dazai mused as they watched the ship set sail.

"Stop speaking in the third person dumbass, it's annoying."

"In that case, I will continue to do so."

They spent a long moment in silence with only the crash of the waves against the harbor to fill it. And when Chuuya spoke, the proposal came out of nowhere.

"Hey Mackerel?"

"Hmm?"

Chuuya looked up at him, eyes filled with hesitance and trust. "Are you free Saturday?"

Dazai tried not to let the surprise flicker across his face as he looked down at Chuuya, "I'm free whenever you need me to be."

A fond smirk slowly grew on Chuuya's lips, "then I suppose you have no protest with taking me to the zoo? The penguins are my favorite."

Dazai swallowed thickly, recalling how the last time at the zoo Chuuya had almost stolen a penguin. And how much Chuuya had smiled. And how much Dazai had longed for older Chuuya to be there with him-

"Hmm, is this a date or a formal business meeting?"

Then Chuuya's eyes flickered up and down, that look never leaving his face. "It can be what you want it to be."

Dazai slotted his hand into Chuuya's, and compared to the younger Chuuya's, this one fit nicely. "Do I deserve such an honor of taking the great Port Mafia executive on a date?"

Despite the joking tone, it was a genuine question and Chuuya could sense it.

"I think you've atoned," Chuuya squeezed Dazai's hand in a firm grip and Dazai knew that they would be okay.

Neither of the two knew for how much longer they stood in the freezing winter, but later when they were both warm and lounging on Chuuya's couch as they always used to do, Dazai asked the question.

"Doesn't it bother you, not being able to apprehend the ability user?"

Chuuya pulled a thoughtful face but eventually shook his head. "It happened for a reason, and there were some damn good results out of it. The positive results outweigh the negative and it made me face my past and..." a shaky breath, "some things are better left unsaid in the end."

Dazai couldn't have agreed more.

Perhaps the ability was a blessing in disguise.