#gravitysheep

"I'm surprised you were the first one to find out. Here I thought I was being careful. My kitten has become such a good detective~"

Well, here's the day they've been kinda dreading, but it would be for the best in the long run. Dazai had Atsushi with him to bring the uneasy looking tiger cub to his and Chuuya's now shared apartment. He knows for a fact his old partner had been fairly nervous about actually telling someone about their situation. Dazai couldn't blame him. He was anxious about the idea, more so than he would ever let show. But Atsushi actually agreeing to come along was a good sign.

"Yeah, you've gotta stop calling me that. Anyway, I kinda figured you weren't staying at the dorms anymore. I could hear you leaving at night whenever I wasn't able to sleep, and it was a lot more frequent than usual."

"Hah, I guess I should've taken your kitty senses more into account, huh?"

"Stop."

Even if he doesn't show it, covers it with a smile and a playful demeanor, that response really makes Dazai wonder if anyone else has noticed and are waiting to jump him to figure out what's going on with him. He'd like to hope he's just paranoid. Whatever, focus. They're only a few minutes away, so he lifts his phone out of his pocket to shoot off a quick message.

[text -> Slug] We'll be there in a few

Bullets hurt like hell.

Sure, he could have just let Chuuya deal with it. His ability could easily stop bullets after all. So why would Dazai opt to jump in the way of this one? Where DID Dazai even come from to begin with?

"Heeeeeyyyy Chuuuuyaaaa~" A greeting with a smile as he ignored the pain.

Well, ignored it as best as he could anyhow.

"What a perfect time to die, am I right? Do you think he hit anywhere vital? It sure hurts."

Dazai's hands were covering the gunshot wound on his side as he laid there - Nowhere vital looks to be hit. But of course one cannot tell from an outside look alone.

            Continued from here.                [ @gravitysheep ]                   ⋯   

"Please try to keep still, Chuuya-san. You'll unravel the thread."

They pull the needle through until the stitching is taut, thumbing over where the beginning of the rift in his skin once was. It's a formidable wound, only partly sewn shut by now; not life-threatening, they're sure, certainly not for someone of Chuuya's constitution, but dire enough to demand utter focus. Fyodor is mostly quiet throughout the ordeal, gloved hands working swiftly with thread and flesh to make him whole again.

It must be an unusual sight. Bloodied hands and sharp tools but, rather, for the sake of healing. Rarely would they have reason enough to treat someone better known as an adversary. Yet the situation was an unexpected one for both parties, and though there is room for them to find an advantage within the vulnerability offered to them now, they work dutifully to reattach what has been torn.

Chuuya must think similarly. Sceptically. They feel it in the way he observes them a touch too closely, though they can't exactly blame his uncertainty.

"If you'd prefer, I can still just leave you to bleed out," they offer, almost politely sardonic.

"Awwwwww you DO miss me!"

Dazai proclaimed in an ever so touched tone! Which, of course, was an act from him. Or was it? Sometimes not even Dazai could pinpoint when he was acting and when he wasn't.

Another year of being alive. That's all this day reminded him of, and he saw no point in celebrating that. He never understood birthdays anyway. It's not like it was important. If anything, this day just made him feel miserable over the fact he still wasn't dead. But...the Agency did make it a little nicer. They always celebrated someone's birthday when it came around. Even his. He was never left out, even when he said they didn't have to do anything. It felt...nice. While he didn't get it, it did make him feel a little more normal.

Chuuya was no different.

Dazai looks up from his spot on the couch with a tilt of his head, handheld briefly forgotten when his roommate comes over, and he's eyeing the box he's offered. Well, he...honestly hadn't been expecting anything. He knows he got Chuuya a dumb little present for his birthday when he didn't have to, but... He turns off his game to set it to the side, reaching up to take the box and hesitated for just a second, before slowly opening it up. He blinks and carefully lifts up the cute little plushie from the box. He's surprised it was actually something so...nice. He couldn't stop the big smile spreading on his face if he tried and he giggled before looking back at Chuuya.

Oh, that's something he hasn't seen for a while.

Dazai stares at the new notification that came up on his phone before it disappeared, only briefly not knowing what to do with such a kind acknowledgment of his existence from his former partner. (Was it really former after Lovecraft and the Fog incident? Hard to say.)

Whatever he was thinking about before was already gone, because he's responding to this moron.