~Soukoku ~ Headcanons turned into Stories~ (Two Stray Dogs)

Chuuya Gets Promoted

Chuuya normally would have argued and insisted on thanking Dazai for the celebration, but it is clear his partner is feeling rather off-kilter about the whole thing, which makes Chuuya wonder if Dazai's ever thrown a celebration before, or had one thrown from him.

Probably not, which meant he probably got the idea off Pinterest or something. (I would love to know what you guys think their Pinterest boards would look like in the comments :p )

Actually, something does seem familiar. Chuuya's eyes fall on the wine fountain, and all of a sudden he's flashing back to the Halloween party, and he's pretty sure....

"Is that..." Chuuya points at it.

"Yeah. I stole it," Dazai says. Chuuya notices he doesn't smirk when he says it. Normally he'd smirk, bolster a bit, but he still just looks nervous.

And they aren't arguing. Why aren't they arguing?

Chuuya approaches the counter and is a little distracted by how long Dazai's fingers are when he slides a glass of wine over. His partner's brown eyes are still eyeing him intently and he isn't sure what he should be doing to ease the tension in the air (why is there so much tension all of a sudden?) so, naturally, he pours the red liquid into his mouth, slowly, so that it takes up as much time as possible until the entire thing is gone.

When he brings the glass back down, he is thankful to see that Dazai is mimicking him. His face is sort of in a grimace though because the brunette doesn't actually like wine, which makes it all the more annoying when he steals from Chuuya's collection because it's just to annoy him.

Chuuya watches him gulp it down, watches his adam's apple bob, and the thought of biting him there comes quickly and without warning, driving him to dip his glass into the wine fountain for more.

"I didn't invite anyone else," Dazai says.

Their eyes meet, both pairs are wide and a little dazed.

Chuuya feels like Dazai is telling him something else, something besides what he'd just stated.

"That's fine," he says, holding his drink near his mouth but not tilting it back. This is not what he'd had in mind when he meant handling things casually.

"We can go out somewhere if you want," Dazai says, and again Chuuya feels like he's saying something other than what he's saying.

Chuuya considers the offer for a moment, but looking around the room at the effort Dazai has clearly put in, going out seems like it would be insulting. And the thought of other people interrupting...whatever is happening, is not wanted.

"No, not really in the mood to go out," he says.

They're still staring at each other from opposite sides on the counter. Chuuya takes the moment to appreciate Dazai's sharp features, his tousled hair, and how great of a partner he is. All joking aside, he isn't sure where he'd be if he'd never been partnered with Dazai. Surely not an executive. Chuuya, of course, would never tell Dazai this. He doesn't mind giving his thanks, but that doesn't mean he doesn't still feel a sense of competition towards Dazai...doesn't mean he isn't urked that Dazai is always calling the shots.

"We could watch a movie then," Dazai suggests, and when Chuuya agrees they both relax a little, the pressure to talk delayed for the time being. 

"Not another one of those tacky zombie movies though," Dazai says, heading for the couch.

"That movie was not tacky! You were scared!" Chuuya feels relaxed now that their usual arguing has begun, but downs another glass, just for extra insurance.