Enemies

Birthday

"I need to pick up something. Don't worry, I have Fukuzawa's permission." He reassured. "You can wait here if you want."

Ren twirled her knife in the air, holding it by her side. "Sure. I'll be prepared if someone tries to attack."

"Yep. I'll be back soon." He flashed her a smile and walked up the stairs and into the offices.

The offices were empty, and Dazai was the only one there. He took something from his desk, putting it in his pocket and taking out his phone, dialling a number and waiting for a response. The phone rang for a while, and the person who he was ringing hung up a few times before they finally responded.

"Hey, you remember what you have to do, right?"

"Is this where you wanted to take me?" Ren peered inside what seemed to be a cafe, shoving her hands in her pockets and turning to Dazai.

He smiled and pushed the door open, taking her hand and leading her inside. It looked fairly normal, and they sat down, looking at the menu. She took a pen out of her pocket which he hadn't seen earlier and twirled it, tapping it on the table as though it was a ticking timer, then she flipped it up, chewing on the tip for a second before pointing it at a specific item, nodding to herself. Dazai grinned to himself as he saw her suddenly pointing the tip of her pen at something that walked up to her, expression hardening.

"Meow." She picked up a black kitten, examining it as it stared at her with wide, innocent eyes.

Dazai could see her nostalgic gaze, and her face softened, smiling and turning to him. She stroked it a little, and the kitten started purring, curling up into a ball on her lap.

"Oh, that one doesn't have a name yet. She seems to really like you." One of the staff members walked up to Ren, looking at the sleeping cat curiously. "Would you like to name her?"

"冬。(Fuyu)" Ren breathed softly.

"That's a nice name. Would you like to order?" They brought out a pen and paper.

"Latte." She said quickly.

"I'll have a cappuccino." Dazai placed an arm around Ren's shoulders, smiling to himself, and the staff nodded, walking away. "Care to explain where that name came from?"

"Oh, when Aiko showed me a cat, she said her name was Fuyu, so I used that name because nostalgia." She shrugged, and another cat came up to her, meowing. 

"Someone's popular." Dazai laughed, leaning over and watching with interest. "Hey, stop stealing Ren's attention away from me!" He pointed to Fuyu, who opened one eye and looked at him indifferently, as though saying she didn't care, then closed it again.

"What, do you want me to treat you like a cat?" She said jokingly.

"I mean.. I wouldn't be opposed to it." He looked at her almost hopefully, and she spent a moment processing what he said.

"Go ahead?" She said slowly.

"Meow." He rubbed his head against her shoulder, very clearly enjoying it.

He could see Ren's face flushing as she turned her face away. Smiling to himself, Dazai found her hand resting on his head, running her fingers through his hair. He reached into his pocket, taking out the keep cup he'd put in there earlier and setting it down on the table.

"I know how much coffee you drink, so I thought you'd like this." Ren had a look of disbelief on her face for a moment, accepting it and holding onto it as though it would disappear if she let go.

Dazai closed his eyes, leaning against her shoulder and holding on to her shirt. Her face reddened and she placed a hand on his head, smiling brightly. The staff member walked over with their coffees and put it down on the table quietly, nodding and started walking away. Ren silently handed her phone over, and they quickly took a photo of dappled sunlight from a tree bathing Ren and Dazai as a slight shadow was cast by a branch of a tree reaching out behind the window, which slightly darkened the shot. She leaned against the wooden booth, pulling him towards her gently, Fuyu curling up into a ball on the table next to the coffee cup. The staff member handed Ren her phone back, and she looked at the photo happily, putting it back in her pocket and taking a sip of coffee, looking down at Dazai.