Chuuya's cat did not like Dazai at all. It was almost as if Chuuya personally trained the thing to make Dazai's life a living hell.
Dazai wouldn't put it past him.
(Though the mental image of Chuuya leaning down to talk to his cat, ordering it to claw and hiss at the sight of Dazai, made him chuckle under his breath.)
The cat looked approachable at first, all pliant and soft in Chuuya's hold. But when the toddler was out of its sight and Dazai approached it to hold a hand out, the demon spawn immediately shifted gears, hissing and batting a paw out to sink its claws into the meaty flesh part of his palm.
At least he already had bandages on, but ouch, Dazai wasn't fond of pain.
But with the flash of the charm on its collar, Dazai noticed the name engraved on the gold. (Of course it was gold, the chibi was horribly fancy.)
The cat's name was 'mackerel.'
Dazai was immediately brought back to the memory years ago when he and Chuuya were still partners. When they had found a kitten on the side of the streets on their way back from a mission. Chuuya refused to leave it defenseless, so he insisted on bringing it back with them. He ended up naming it Mackerel, a jab towards Dazai.
But Dazai felt no annoyance, a weird warmth pooled in his heart as he stood back up, injury on his hand forgotten. He went through thoughtless actions for the next few hours, feeling strangely light and numb.
Mackerel continued to guard Chuuya as if his life depended on it, always walking directly next to him, its head lifted an alert, its tail swishing in an annoying way. It stared into Dazai's soul from the corner of the room every time he decided to interact with the Chibi.
Dazai tried to lock it in Chuuya's room, but Chuuya quickly cried for his new friend to come back to him, thinking the cat had abandoned him.
The rest of the day was uneventful, with some snooping Dazai found Chuuya's phone and easily unlocked it, sending embarrassing texts messages out to the Mafia members and taking multiple selfies.
Then came bath time.
Dazai was admittedly debating whether he should even give the slug a bath but ultimately decided that he did not want the Chibi to be one of those sticky iPad kids. No matter how humiliating it would be for Chuuya, Dazai also did not want to be associated with one of those things.
He had been plotting to use Chuuya as a tactic to drag in more of the ladies, maybe if he claimed that he was a single dad then they would have sympathy and commit a double suicide with him.
Chuuya wasn't a bad kid, thankfully. He didn't run around the house and scream at the top of his little lungs when Dazai started to draw the water. Instead, he simply nodded, resting his chin against the porcelain of the large bathtub.
What a strange child.
The cat was nowhere to be seen, it bolted a long time ago when it heard the sound of water running. Chuuya probably squirted it with a spray bottle when it misbehaved, maybe Dazai should invest in one for Chuuya.
Dazai filed the thought away for later, turning off the water when the tub was almost full, water not visible over the blanket of bubbles on the surface. (Kouyou had made sure to put plenty of bath supplies in the bag.)
Dazai turned to help Chuuya out of his clothes, but he was already undressed. Dazai wanted to pull his hair out. This Chuuya was no fun, not like his Chibi at all. His child personality was so tame and quiet compared to his teen and adult one.
Despite that though, Chuuya was still in there. In those blue eyes that shone with passion, he still had that same luster as a child with perhaps a dash more of enthusiasm.
Chuuya just stared up at him until Dazai snapped out of it, leaning down to lift little Chuuya and place him into the tub. Chuuya made a small noise of delight, eyes wide as he tried to catch the bubbles between little fingers.
Dazai made sure to snap a picture for further use of blackmail. That and absolutely no other reason.
"I have to get something Chibi, don't let the water wash you away." Chuuya was too invested in splashing the water to react.
Dazai wasn't gone for long, he had just gotten a plastic cup to use to wash the Chibi's hair. He also unwound the bandages on his arms and removed his tan coat. There was no use in getting them wet, especially if no one was around to see the sight of his scarred arms.
Of course, Chuuya was there, but if there was anything that Dazai knew about toddlers, it was that they were obnoxious. But they also didn't care. If you claimed that you had gotten into a motorcycle accident with an elephant then they would nod and continue on with their day.
But as Dazai should have learned by now, little Chuuya was strange and did not abide by the social norms. How very Chuuya-like.
Dazai had cupped a hand over the Chibi's forehead to block his eyes when he poured water down to wash away the soapy suds that gathered in his hair when it happened. Dazai moved to scoop more lukewarm water into the cup when wet hands encircled his wrist and held his arm still.
"Slug?" Dazai could feel big blue eyes wandering over his scarred arm, fingers gently ghosting over the skin as if it were still tender from the old injuries.
Chuuya finally looked up at him, his eyes a bit watery and his tiny eyebrows furrowed in a way that toddlers should not be. Then his bottom lip started wobbling and Dazai dumbly watched as one tear silently spilled down his cheek. He didn't break down whining like a baby, instead, he was silent, breath hitching slightly.
"Chibi" Dazai tried again, awkwardly dropping the cup he was holding to wipe the tears away. He was in no way good with comforting kids and had no idea what he was doing. "What's wrong?"
Chuuya took his arm again, turning it over and giving him a pointed look. "Hurt?"
Dazai shook his head "That was a long time ago, they're healing."
At the word 'healing' Chuuya visibly brightened, making grabby motions and reaching for Dazai's other arm.
Dazai haltingly handed it over, watching curiously as little Chuuya took his left arm and bent forward to press a small little kiss on the inside of his wrist, right where a particularly puffy scar had reopened not too long ago.
Dazai's heart clenched when Chuuya moved to the next scar, then the next. Soon enough he had finished with both arms, pulling away looking satisfied with his work. "All better!" he announced.
Dazai didn't exactly know how to express the emotion he was feeling, face contorting through complex expressions before it rested on his go-to neutral one.
Though little Chuuya wasn't phased, in fact, he looked like he read Dazai perfectly with that observant little brain of his.
Then Chuuya leaned slightly against Dazai's arm, and he realized that it was getting close to being dark and that Chuuya was probably getting tired.
Dazai quickly wrapped up the bath, washing out the rest of his hair, then taking him out and wrapping a fluffy towel around him.
Chuuya was too tired to complain when Dazai helped him into that teal onesie he saw earlier, he was practically falling asleep while standing. Dazai huffed out a breathy laugh, taking mercy on the toddler and sweeping him up to place him on the Alaskan king-sized bed.
The Chibi was a very active sleeper, he rolled around in his sleep, sometimes falling off of the bed. He was an avid sleepwalker and sleepwalked almost every night.
(Sleeping with him during their mafia days when there was only one bed on missions was hell.)
So of course he owned the largest bed known to man.
Dazai closed Chuuya's door behind him when he left, he wondered if he could leave the apartment to visit Lupin, but brushed it off.
Surprisingly he was tired, and not the bone-tired he always felt, but genuinely tired. Eyelid heavy tired. Sleep tired.
He wasn't sure if he liked the feeling too much, especially if it had been so long since he had slept a good night's sleep.
Babysitting took a lot out of someone.
Ugh, Dazai hated kids.
Mind made up, Dazai changed into his own nightclothes and returned to Chuuya's room. The child was passed out, mouth open and drooling as he hugged that damn cat close to his chest. For once the cat didn't give a menacing look to Dazai, simply just laying there.
Another picture was taken. More blackmail material acquired.
Dazai cautiously settled across the bed, relaxing into the comfortable mattress.
His arms still tingled slightly, feeling warm.