Chapter Text
Where did the first hybrids come from? Nobody is really sure, but there are a couple theories out there that could make sense.
Some people believe that at one point in history, there were only animals- and through evolution, humans emerged. The strong were able to fully transform, but the weak could only make it halfway there.
There are others that think there were always animals and humans- but one day the heavens decided to punish the sinful or unworthy humans by changing them partly into animals.
There are other ideas, but they all end up the same way: with hybrids being portrayed as weak, unworthy, sinful. That’s why they were captured and enslaved. Not because full animals were too hard to domesticate, so it was just easier to target the hybrids- heavens, no! Because that’s the punishment that hybrids deserve.
At least, that’s the way Japan thought. Which is why Chuuya and Dazai were now moving to Europe. Paris, specifically.
They didn’t have to do a whole ton of research regarding Paris, since Chuuya really wanted to move there, and Dazai didn’t care as much, so he easily agreed. Still, he did look it up to see what it would be like.
“Chuuya wants to move to the romantic city?” Dazai teased after he’d read a short article about Paris. “Is this another tacky confession by Mr. Mafia?”
“No, I just really like Paris. And I’m not ‘Mr. Mafia’ anymore; I quit, remember?”
Ah, right. That part was especially difficult for Chuuya. He was leaving behind a lot of people he cared about. Still, Chuuya decided to tell Kouyou, and nobody else. She agreed to only let Mori know he was gone once they were safely in Europe.
He also had to ask a certain government worker to help clear up his criminal record, so he’d easily be accepted into the country, and be able to find a well-paying job. Even though he was definitely taking all of his mafia cash with him, he wanted to earn at least a little non-blood money once they began their new lives.
Though, after the phone call where Ango agreed to help him out, Chuuya immediately started putting on his shoes.
“Chuuya?” Dazai paused his racing game and looked up from the couch. “What are you doing? Where are you going?”
“Before my criminal record gets erased, I need to go break somebody’s limbs.” Chuuya replied as if that was a perfectly normal thing to say.
“Oh. Okay.” Dazai shrugged it off as if that was a perfectly normal thing to hear.
Later that day, mafia members found Executive Ace lying helplessly on the ground, unable to move- because his arms and legs were absolutely destroyed.
While waiting for the day of their moving to arrive, they had to get rid of some things. It was bad manners to leave possessions in the apartment you’re never going to see again, right? So they donated a lot of stuff.
A lot of stuff. Clothes, furniture, games, anything that they didn’t want to take to Paris, they donated. They talked to each other about each individual piece though, just in case the other half might want to hold onto something.
There were some books and games that Dazai just couldn’t part with, and there were some clothes that Chuuya didn’t want Dazai to get rid of.
“I haven’t had the chance to see you in that yet. I think it would suit you really well.” He would say. And really, Dazai couldn’t refuse. Chuuya had bought all of his clothes, after all. The least he could do was keep the things Chuuya wanted to see him wear.
They also did a lot of shopping to balance out all the stuff they gave away. The most important thing they bought was online: their new house. Chuuya had Dazai sit next to him in his office, so he could give his input. In the end, they were able to find a place that they both could agree on.
And then, once everything was ready, all they had to do was wait. At least, for Chuuya. Dazai however, had one last errand he needed to run before he was ready to leave Japan.
He was inside of the Armed Detective Agency’s infirmary. He had called Yosano and asked for a favor, and she agreed. So he was here to see what she’d gathered- and he was nervous.
His hands were tense against his knees as he sat in his chair, unconsciously staring at the doctor. “So…were you able to find out what happened to my mother?”
Dazai had been worried sick about his mother ever since they’d been separated. If there was even the possibility that she was alive, and that he might be able to take her to Europe with him, he wanted to know. Hence, asking a doctor with access to her files to check up on her for him.
“Yes.” Yosano kept up her appearance, but her scent already gave away what she was about to tell him. “I’m sorry Dazai, but your mother was put down four years ago. She was unable to have another child after you, and so the breeding center…made room for other hybrids. That’s what her files said.”
“Thank you for looking, doctor.” Dazai wasn’t surprised. He was upset, obviously- his mother was dead- but he’d already figured something like that happened to her. She was an old woman, and her body just naturally brought up problems during birth.
Since there were no other personal matters to discuss, the two stood up and made their way out of the infirmary. Once Dazai opened the door, he was ready to just go back home to Chuuya, but his pathway was blocked by some familiar, and some unfamiliar faces.
Atsushi, Kyouka, Kunikida, Kenji, an old man, and a boy with glasses and a hat were waiting for him.
“Goodbye Dazai!” Atsushi waved at him, even though he wasn’t walking away anymore. “We’re going to miss you!”
“Bye.” Kyouka gave him a smaller wave.
Kunikida pushed up his glasses, looking as business-like as always. “I must apologize again for our actions at the park. I hope that recent encounters have shown you that we’re sorry, and we hope you stay safe on your travels.”
Dazai nodded. “Thank you. Don’t worry, I’ve forgiven the park incident a while ago. Can’t really speak for Chuuya however- he likes to hold grudges.”
“I see. Well, pass on my message if you can.”
“Are you serious?” The kid with the glasses made a weird face in Dazai’s direction. “This is the cat that I wasted my precious time on? He doesn’t seem nearly as smart as me.”
To have an attitude like that… Dazai subtly sniffed the air around the boy. When he picked up a specific scent, he hummed. Yep; that’s a ferret hybrid.
“Ranpo, you mustn’t speak like that.” Said the old man next to him. It seems like he’s important to the ferret, because as soon as he said that, he closed his mouth. Though, he did turn his head away and pout.
“I don’t mind.” Dazai spoke up. “Though I don’t appreciate him assuming I’m not as smart as him.”
“Oh?” The ferret looked back at Dazai. Why were his eyes always closed? “Does that mean you think you’re smarter than me?”
“No, I wouldn’t say that. Though, I think you and I would have some fun playing chess together.”
The ferret smiled at him. “I like this kid. The name’s Edogawa Ranpo, the greatest detective in the world!”
Dazai smiled. Chuuya had told him that somebody named Ranpo was responsible for his rescue. “I see. Thank you for your service, Edogawa-san.”
The old man finally spoke up once the two hybrids were done introducing themselves. “Thank you for putting up with him, Dazai. Ranpo can have…quite an attitude when meeting new people.”
“I’m alright with it.”
“Still, thank you once again. My name is Fukuzawa; you’ll probably recognize my name from my reputation via my own hybrid center.”
“I do. I have to admit, at first I thought you were a myth. It’s nice to see you in the flesh, Fukuzawa-sensei.” Dazai had half a mind to bow, but he wasn’t sure if that was something he was expected to do. He just lowered his head respectfully instead.
“Yes, I get that a lot. I’ve heard quite a bit about you as well. You and your partner are moving out of the country, correct?”
Dazai gave another nod, lifting up his head as he did so. “It’s not safe for me here. We hope that France will be more welcoming.”
“Yes; well, the Armed Detective Agency wishes you luck.”
“Thank you, Fukuzawa-sensei.” That seemed like a hint that he was allowed to leave, so he started making his way to the exit. As he passed Atsushi and Kyouka, he stopped to ruffle their heads. Even though he didn’t have a chance to get to know these two very well, he knew they were good kids.
When Dazai returned to the apartment, he made sure to tell Chuuya everything he knew- including Kunikida’s apology. Chuuya rolled his eyes at that part, but decided it was probably time to forgive them, at least a little. He also made sure to give Dazai a big hug to apologize for his mother. Even though they both knew Chuuya had nothing to do with it, knowing he was sad about it made Dazai feel a bit better.
And finally, after a week of preparation, it was time. Chuuya called a taxi incredibly early in the morning, which Dazai made sure to complain about. Still, he helped shove all of their luggage into the trunk, and was rewarded with being able to get into the car first.
Once they were on the road, Chuuya decided this would be a good time to tell him the plan, which wasn’t a great idea, since Dazai was trying not to fall asleep while listening.
“Our flight is going to be pretty long, but since it’s pretty early in the day, I figure you’ll just be sleeping for most of it.”
“Mhmm.” Dazai agreed with that bit. He was exhausted- forget about being a cat, how do normal humans wake up this early?
Chuuya glanced at him, and a smile spread across his face. Did he like seeing Dazai tired or something? “I made sure to put your game console and a book in your bag in case you decide to stay awake for a bit. The plane is going to have in-flight entertainment though, so if you want to watch a movie together, we can do that.”
“Okay…” Dazai really didn’t understand much of what Chuuya was telling him. He tried to research what a plane was, and so far what he understands is that it’s a metal vehicle that can somehow fly through the sky like a bird. That’s one of the many ways humans travel across the sea.
The drive to the airport was long. Dazai actually fell asleep on Chuuya’s shoulder for a good twenty minutes, but he was shaken awake when they finally arrived. They got their luggage out of the trunk, and Chuuya thanked the taxi driver with a tip.
“Okay, all we need to do is check in, go through security, and then wait for our flight to start boarding.” Chuuya explained as he started heading into the building, carrying most of the luggage. Dazai was right behind him, pulling one of his own behind him.
“Why can’t we just immediately get onto the plane?” Dazai asked. “Why do we have to wait?”
“Because the staff needs to clean the plane from the previous flight. You wouldn’t want your seat to be covered in crumbs and wrappers, would you?”
“No…” Dazai muttered.
“Besides, I made sure we’d be flying first class, so we’ll be one of the first groups to board. Don’t worry, it won’t take too long.” He was choosing to trust Chuuya in that statement.
He continued to awkwardly follow Chuuya around for a few more minutes. At one point, they went to this pretty lady behind a desk, where Chuuya checked them into their flight. Apparently this was also the spot where they gave their luggage away, so Dazai handed over the one he’d be carrying. They were alright to bring their bags on the plane with them, though.
As they were walking away from the lady, Chuuya started directing them over to a line of people with some weird looking white arches. Before Dazai could ask what that was, Chuuya informed him. “Those are for security. They have metal detectors and x-rays- just in case people try to sneak anything dangerous onto the plane.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Yeah, so once we pass through security, we can’t go back here. The airport doesn’t want us coming back here and taking anything dangerous.”
Dazai glanced down at Chuuya, a small smile tugging at his lips. “So it’s the point of no return?”
Chuuya returned his smile. “Exactly.”
“Well then, let’s go!” He exclaimed, ready to hop into line and experience walking through those things. Chuuya stopped walking though, so he naturally had to stop as well. “What’s up?”
“There’s one last thing we need to do before we go in there.” Chuuya said, his head turned to look at the entrance to the airport. Dazai followed his gaze, wondering why the doors were so important. He got his answer a minute later, when Odasaku, Ango, Gin, and Ryuu walked through them.
As much as Dazai wanted to run over and embrace them all in a tight hug, he knew better than to make a scene in public- especially since he was a hybrid. So, he patiently waited by Chuuya’s side, tail swaying in excitement as the group slowly got closer to them.
“We wanted to give a personal goodbye before you guys left.” Ango explained to Dazai once they were close enough. “I texted Chuuya to make sure it was alright, and he agreed. So here we are.”
“I’m so glad!” Dazai tried to keep his voice quiet enough that it wouldn’t bother other people. “Are you guys going to be alright staying here?” That last part was mainly directed towards Gin and Ryuu.
“We’ll all be fine. We take care of each other well.” Odasaku assured him. The other two dogs nodded in agreement. Just hearing that was enough to settle Dazai’s nerves.
“We’re going to miss you. I wish we could have gone to the park together again.” Now that all of them were here, Dazai was really starting to realize the situation. He and Chuuya were leaving. They would never come back. “I wish we could have done a lot more things together. Still, I had a lot of fun. Thank you for the game, again.”
“We’ll make sure to call every once in a while.” Ango said. He always spoke like he was in a business meeting or something. “You two make sure to let us know how Paris is, alright?”
“I’ll tell you in French.” Chuuya joked, to which everybody (except for Odasaku, who’s scent was the only thing that changed) cracked a smile at.
Ango cleared his throat, changing the subject. “Well, we wouldn’t want you two to miss your flight because of us. Let’s exchange our final goodbyes so you can head through security.”
Even though Chuuya wasn’t much of a hugger- except for with Dazai- he agreed to letting the younger hybrids hug him goodbye. He wasn’t terribly close to either of them, so he looked a little bit awkward, but he still gave them each a pat on the back. Ryuu’s tail was wagging up a storm behind him when he pulled away from Chuuya.
It was cute how much he admired him.
When it was Dazai’s turn to give them a goodbye hug, he was squeezing them so hard he was a bit worried they’d pop like a bunch of balloons.
“Goodbye, Osamu.” Ryuu mumbled in his ear. Dazai made sure to nuzzle his cheek against the dog’s before pulling away for Gin’s turn.
He wasn’t expecting any words from Gin when they embraced, so he went straight to nuzzling her, too. Though, once he was ready to pull away, Gin quickly leaned in and whispered an almost silent, “Bye.” in his ear. He gave her one last squeeze, and then ended their hug.
It was so strange, realizing he was leaving behind his two very best friends. He wasn’t worried about them though; they were in good hands. Dazai was positive about that.
“Are you ready to go?” Chuuya asked from behind him. Dazai nodded, and after giving one last wave to his friends, turned around and followed his partner to security.
This was it. No turning back now.
Security went by really smoothly. Since they were still in Japan, Chuuya told Dazai he wouldn’t need a ‘passport’, whatever that was, because he was still considered Chuuya’s pet, and would be able to board with him. Apparently he’d get his own ‘passport’ when they landed in France, though.
Seeing all the technology around him was so interesting, he got pretty distracted. Chuuya directed him every step of the way though, so he didn’t accidentally keep any metal on him when he walked through the sensor.
Once they got their bags back and were now on the other side of the airport, they walked around for a good three minutes until they found their gate number.
“Alright,” Chuuya said with a sigh. Looks like he was pretty tired, as well. It was still early in the morning. “Now we can just relax until it’s time for us to get on the plane, alright?”
“Okay.” Dazai agreed, heading over to some open seats he’d found. For the next fifteen minutes, he and Chuuya sat next to each other, holding hands while doing their own individual activities. Dazai was reading a book, while Chuuya was scrolling through his phone. Feeling Chuuya’s warm hand against his own made him smile.
When the announcement for first class to start boarding came on, the sudden sound startled him a bit. Still, he recovered quickly, and put his book in his bag so he could follow Chuuya into the line. Once they were through, they walked through a long tunnel that was making a lot of noise Dazai didn’t appreciate, and then finally stepped onto the plane.
“We’re the seats right here.” Chuuya pointed to two seats on the left side as soon as they walked on.
“Those chairs are…big.” Dazai said, heading over to them so he could further inspect. “Did these seats cost a lot of money?”
“For a normal person, I guess.” Chuuya shrugged as other people were still heading to their own seats behind him. “Do you want the window seat?”
Dazai smiled, slipping his bag off his shoulders. “Chuuya knows me so well.”
“I sure do.” Chuuya replied as Dazai sat down in the seat next to the window. Chuuya sat down next to him, letting out a satisfied exhale. These seats were pretty comfortable. Lots of legroom, too.
“There are screens on the back of these chairs.” Dazai observed, pointing to the seats in front of them. “Are those for watching movies?”
“Yep. You don’t have to watch anything on them, though.”
“How long is the flight again?”
“About fourteen hours, I think.”
“Fourteen!?” Dazai exclaimed. His loudness was masked by the humming and groaning of the plane. “Why is it so long!?”
“Because we’re flying to a completely different continent. They’re going to serve us meals on the plane, so you don’t need to worry about going hungry.” Chuuya reached down into his seat, grabbing a seatbelt which he attached to a buckle. After realizing those were a thing on planes, Dazai found his and attached it as well.
The rest of the boarding process was more of a boring process if anything. Dazai passed the time by looking out the window and watching the humans down below load the luggage onto the plane. He decided to play a little game by trying to see if he could spot Chuuya and his luggage. He never could.
Finally, once all of the passengers were on board, the screens on the back of the seats turned on, and a safety video started playing. Since Dazai had never been on a plane before, he made sure to play close attention. The video was in English- probably for the tourists, but there were Japanese subtitles to read at the bottom. Though, Dazai could have done without them. Once he found out where they were moving, Dazai began to study the French language, along with English, just in case. He understood everything they were saying.
Finally, after a couple more announcements, they began takeoff. At first, it was still really boring. Dazai kept on complaining to Chuuya, “When are we going to go into the sky?” “Why is the plane moving so slow? Is this why it’s gonna take fourteen hours?”
But once the plane finally lifted off, the words were sucked out of his throat. He was speechless. He looked out the plane, eyes wide and pupils dilated in fascination. They were flying! They were actually in the sky! In just a matter of seconds, the world below Dazai now seemed so small.
“This is amazing! How do humans come up with this stuff?” He asked, mainly to himself, but Chuuya overheard him.
“We’re pretty smart, aren’t we?”
“Mhm.” Dazai pulled away from the window, readjusting himself in his seat. “Is Chuuya alright if I take a nap now?”
Chuuya chuckled. “Completely fall asleep if you have to. It’s early; I’m probably going to do the same.”
“Alright. Then goodnight, Chuuya!”
“It’s not nighttime.”
“Whatever.”
Being a cat, Dazai took long naps. So, when he woke up, he was curious how many hours he’d slept on the plane. Glancing to his right, he saw that Chuuya was awake, watching a movie on the screen in front of him. Dazai pursed his lips, unsure on if he should bother his partner. But then Chuuya looked at him, noticed he was awake now, and paused his movie.
“Nice to see you up again. We’ve been flying for about seven hours now. They’re going to serve us lunch soon.”
Oh. So he slept through half of the entire flight. Awesome.
The other seven hours of the flight were spent eating lunch, playing on his game console, figuring out the screen had games of their own and challenging Chuuya to online chess (and absolutely destroying him), and taking a couple more naps.
It was supposed to be around 5 or 6 in the evening when they landed; Dazai was keeping track of the time by the hours. But when the announcements were going off, welcoming the passengers to Paris, Chuuya opened his phone and Dazai saw that it was…almost 11 in the morning?
“Chuuya, I think your phone is broken.” It was good to warn his partner so he didn’t end up getting the time wrong.
“What?” Chuuya glanced down at the time, and let out a chuckle. “Oh, don’t worry about that. My phone automatically changes the time to fit the zone we’re in.”
“Zone?” While Dazai repeated that, they stood up and began gathering their things. They’d be one of the first to leave the plane.
“Yeah, France is seven hours behind Japan, because it’s in a different part of the world.”
“Oh.” Now that he thought about it, that made sense. If the Earth really was round, then that meant that different parts of the world must be in light and dark at different times, right? “So they’re far away enough that it's still morning here?”
“Yeah; you catch on quickly.” With everything gathered, they left their seats and exited the plane. There was another loud hallway that Dazai didn’t appreciate, and then they were in another airport. It looked very different- the floors were made out of a different material, too.
They had to wait five minutes to get the rest of the luggage, and once they had everything, they started heading towards the exit. Chuuya glanced at his phone again.
“Alright, I messaged Ane-san once we landed and let her know we made it safely. The taxi I hired to drive us to our new home should already be here, so let’s head outside and try to find him.”
“Okay.” Dazai was grateful for the excuse to move around. His joints had gotten pretty cramped on the long flight (even with the extra leg room).
Thankfully, their taxi driver was waiting for them outside, so they were easily able to load up their luggage and get inside the car. They buckled up and the car started.
Dazai, who had gotten the window seat again, was currently busy staring out of it, admiring his new surroundings. It looked so different, yet so similar.
“Pretty…” He mumbled as he passed a particularly nice building.
“It is, isn’t it?” Chuuya overheard him. “That’s one of the many reasons I wanted to come here. Paris is so beautiful.”
“I’m seeing that now.” Dazai pulled away from the window, now focused on his partner. “Chuuya, I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“We’re bringing some of our furniture here, right? Like your bed and our couch? What happened to those?”
“I prepaid a company to bring it here. The truck should already be waiting at our house for us. I hope you’re ready to help me carry some things inside.” Chuuya smirked at him, and Dazai scoffed.
“Chuuya won’t need my help, he can lift anything.”
“I guess you’re right about that. But I’m at least expecting you to help me unpack.”
Dazai laughed, resting his hand on top of Chuuya’s. “That, I can do.”
The drive to their new home was a lot longer than Dazai expected it to be. It was so long that he was actually able to finish his book before they got there. He was a fast reader though, so maybe that wasn’t too impressive.
Looking out the window again, Dazai knew they made it once he spotted a big truck in front of a familiar-looking house.
“Here we are.” Chuuya announced before Dazai could do the honors.
“It looks nice; much better than it did on the screen.” He still wanted to add something into the discussion.
“Isn’t that a relief?” Chuuya joked as the car came to a stop. The driver got out and opened their doors, helping them with their luggage once again. Throughout the car ride, Dazai and Chuuya had spoken Japanese; but when Chuuya gave the driver his tip, he said, “ Merci pour votre aide.”
“I assume we’re going to have to start speaking like this from now on?” Dazai asked in perfect French.
“If you want to.” Chuuya replied in French as well, shrugging his shoulders. The people who had driven the furniture truck got out of the vehicle not long afterwards.
It was time to get the house ready.
--
Jet lag sucked. Dazai realized that at around 1 in the afternoon on his first day in Paris. On the second day, he still had some, but it was a bit more tolerable. On the third day, it was completely gone.
They’d been living in Paris for a week now. Their house was completely decorated, and now it was time to finally meet their neighbors.
Since Chuuya was filthy rich, their house was one of the few with a garden in the back. In fact, many houses in their neighborhood had a garden. This was a wealthy neighborhood.
“Should we bring some gifts?” Dazai wondered as he looked through their new kitchen. “Maybe some cookies? Should we head to the store?”
“I think I have some cookies in the pantry already.” Chuuya called from the living room. They’d started speaking in French to each other in private, just so it didn’t feel awkward when they’d speak it to others. They still stayed up to date on their Japanese, though. Opening the pantry door, Dazai found that they did indeed have some cookies. These should work nicely.
They went around the neighborhood, introducing themselves to everybody with big smiles and cookies. Thankfully the people were very welcoming, and most offered to have them come inside for tea. They had to politely decline, saying they still had more people to meet.
Something Dazai found fascinating was that nobody looked at him differently. They just looked at him. It felt strange, it felt good.
“This is the last house.” Chuuya told him as they walked up to the door.
“Good, because we’re beginning to run out of cookies.” Dazai said, looking down at the plate. There were only a few left.
Chuuya rang the doorbell and took a small step away from the door. A few beats of silence later, and it opened. On the other side was a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and brown eyes.
“Hello; do you need something?” Judging by her scent, this woman wasn’t unhappy to see them. She was confused as to who they were, but she was willing to have a conversation. That was good.
This time, it was Dazai’s turn to make the announcement. Chuuya had done it at the last house. “We’re your new neighbors! We’re going around introducing ourselves.”
Now that she knew their intentions, her scent smoothed out into something much more excited. “Oh! That house finally got bought, did it? It’s wonderful to meet you! I’m Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette; but please, just call me Colette.”
“It’s great to meet you too, Colette.” Chuuya spoke up now. “I’m Chuuya Nakahara, and this is my boyfriend, Osamu Dazai.”
Ah, right. That was another thing that was so incredibly amazing. They no longer had to hide their relationship behind the title of ‘partner’. They could really be ‘boyfriends’ now. They still thought of each other as partners, but it was good to have another name for what they were.
“What interesting names! Did you two move here from somewhere?” Now Colette seemed to be genuinely interested in them.
“We moved here from Japan a week ago.”
“Japan!” Colette exclaimed, her scent dropping into one of sympathy- it was directed at Dazai. “Oh, you poor things, they must have been horrible to you!”
“It wasn’t ideal.” Chuuya mildly agreed. “We did make some good friends there, but overall it wasn’t a safe environment for Dazai.”
Colette nodded, stepping to the side. “Please, come inside! If you have the time, that is.”
Dazai and Chuuya glanced at each other. This was the last house they had to stop at, so it wouldn’t hurt to go inside and chat more, would it?
Turning back to Colette, they nodded and were then allowed inside her home. She led them straight to the living room, where Dazai placed the cookies down on the coffee table. Colette was gone for a few minutes making them some tea, but once she returned and sat down herself, they were free to talk.
“How long have you two been together?” Was the first question she asked.
“A few months.” Chuuya smiled as he grabbed his cup of tea. “It’s been the best months of my life."
“Sappy.” Dazai said as he reached for his own tea.
Colette chuckled. “I hope one day I can find a man who loves me as much as Chuuya loves you, Osamu.”
Hearing his first name come out of her lips shocked him for a moment. In his entire life, there were only three people who used his given name: his mother, Gin, and Ryuunosuke.
But that was because they were in Japan. Here in France, using first names was the norm. He’d have to get used to it.
“I don’t know how I managed to catch his attention.” Dazai admitted after he’d recovered, taking a small sip of the tea afterwards. It was good.
“Well, pardon me, but you both are incredibly handsome. I’m sure many people here will envy that you're both taken.”
“Really?” Chuuya seemed surprised to hear that. “That’s very nice of you to say, Colette. You’re very pretty yourself, so don’t beat yourself up.”
“Oh, what a charmer!” She put a hand to her cheek, clearly admiring Dazai’s boyfriend. He didn’t feel threatened by it, though. He knew Colette meant no harm.
Besides, she was right. Chuuya was handsome.
A quiet mrrr! interrupted the conversation. Dazai immediately looked towards where the sound came from. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t what he saw: a small, furry creature with an incredibly familiar look. It was the same as his own.
“What-” Dazai’s eyes widened at the same time his ears tilted. He’d never seen anything like this before. Chuuya and Colette were now looking at the tiny orange creature, too.
“Oh, Henri came to say hello!” Colette didn’t seem bothered at all. Chuuya was a different story. “Henri, these are our new neighbors!”
The creature, Henri apparently, stood there on the floor for a moment, and after sniffing around, ran up to the couch Dazai and Chuuya were sitting on, hopped up onto the couch, and immediately settled down next to Dazai’s leg.
Henri curled up in a similar way Dazai likes to.
“Is this…” Dazai’s gaze was locked onto Henri. “...a cat?”
“Yes, that’s one of my pet cats, Henri. He's a curious fellow, but he’s very sweet.”
This is a cat…a full cat!
And after Henri got comfortable, two more full cats suddenly appeared and made their way over to Dazai. Now he had Henri on his right, another orange cat on his left, and a final orange cat with a white belly sitting in his lap.
“My boys seem to like you, Osamu!” Colette said, her smile reaching all the way up to her ears. “They must sense the cat in you!”
“Yeah…” Dazai hesitantly set one of his hands on the orange-white cat’s head. It trilled happily, and Dazai understood. He understood it perfectly.
After introducing her other cats- the other full orange one was named Olivier, and the orange-white cat was named Cheri- she explained to Dazai that France is one of the countries that managed to successfully domesticate animals. That’s why here, hybrids are just considered normal members of society instead of pets.
They continued to chat after that for another hour and a half, before Chuuya announced they had to get lunch ready. Colette thanked them for stopping by, and Dazai left the plate of cookies with her. He also made sure to give Henri, Olivier, and Cheri a goodbye with his tail movements. They said goodbye back.
Dazai liked his neighbors.
--
Two weeks. They’d been in Paris for two weeks.
The restaurants were great, the sights were mesmerizing, and the people were so friendly. They were now wonderful friends with Colette- Dazai liked to talk about books with her, while she and Chuuya liked to exchange cooking recipes. Her cats were great company, too.
Currently, Dazai and Chuuya were inside their own house, cuddling on the couch. Dazai was sitting in Chuuya’s lap, their heads resting against each other.
Chuuya started acting strangely. Dazai caught onto it right away.
“What’s wrong, bien-aimé?” Dazai asked softly, delivering a kiss to the top of Chuuya’s head.
Chuuya’s cheeks darkened from the petname, but he brought no attention to it. “...I have something for you. I’ve had it for a while, actually, but I could never find the time…”
“A gift?” Dazai smiled, pulling away from Chuuya’s hair. “What is it?”
“Give me a second.” Chuuya shuffled around the couch, trying to reach into his back pocket. Dazai didn’t help him at all, staying put in his lap. Once he’d got what he was reaching for, he pulled it out so Dazai could see.
It was his collar.
“Oh.” Dazai stared at it for a moment.
“Yeah…Gin gave it to me when I first met her. I meant to give it back earlier, but…you can have it now; if you want it.” It was a hesitant offer, but an offer nonetheless. Dazai continued to stare at the light blue leather, contemplating. Finally, he came to a decision with a smile on his face.
“No thank you.”
Chuuya gave off a surprised expression, but then it immediately changed into one of pure joy. So much was swimming in those beautiful blue eyes; Dazai couldn’t look away.
“I’m so proud of you.” Chuuya whispered, dropping the collar on the floor and leaning closer. “After everything…you’ve grown so much. I’m so proud of you, amoureux.”
“You helped. You helped a lot.” Dazai replied, leaning in too. They met in the middle, briefly closing their eyes for a soft kiss before leaning back. Dazai slowly blinked at Chuuya, and he returned the gesture.
Seems Chuuya found out that slow blinking was one of Dazai’s cat-like ways to say ‘I love you’.
“Chuuya?”
“Hmm?”
Dazai leaned forward again, this time settling down on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “In two years, I want to marry you.”
He felt Chuuya startle under him. He was definitely blushing. “O-Oh…why two years specifically?”
Dazai smiled against Chuuya’s shirt. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d be fine with marrying you now. But in two years, you’ll be getting good pay at your job; we’ll be completely settled here in Paris, and we’ll have made some close friends who can attend our wedding. It makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah…” Chuuya wrapped his left arm around Dazai’s waist to secure him in a sideways hug. Then he gave a quick peck to Dazai’s temple. “Guess it’s settled, then. In two years, I’ll ask you to marry me.”
“Thank you.” Dazai tilted his head upwards so he could look into Chuuya’s eyes once more. He never wanted those eyes to stop looking at him. They were brighter and bluer than the sky. “I can’t wait to be your forever companion, my Chuuya.”
“No need to wait for that.” Chuuya assured him. “You’re already the most perfect companion I could ask for. Trust me; now that we’re free to go anywhere, you better bet I’m taking you on some dates.”
"Really?" Dazai could feel his tail start to sway in excitement. "Does that mean you'll take me to get ice cream in the summer?"
"Why do you sound more excited about ice cream than marrying me?"
"Because I've never had ice cream before." Dazai answered, leaning closer and repeating Chuuya's previous action, kissing his cheek since he didn't feel like reaching up to kiss his forehead. "But I know that I'll have Chuuya for the rest of my life."
That night, Dazai and Chuuya fell asleep in the same bed together, holding each other close without a care in the world. Things were okay now, because they were together. And with the new promise of marriage hanging over their heads, they knew they would never be separated again.
Their new lives had just begun; and they’d support each other every step of the way.
After all, that’s what partners are for, right?