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2024-09-08
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2024-12-06
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14/?
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Byakko’s Secret

Chapter 14: Girlfriend?

Notes:

Another chapter for you fiends.

I’m kind of in the midsts of moving so updates may be sporadic (they were anyway, but like, more so)

Anyway, we see the agency again!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

 

—————

 

Getting ready in the morning had been an easy affair. 

Taiho has seemed a fairly easy-going baby; not fussy about food and sleeping well through the night. Maybe the tiger genes play a part in that.

Rashoumon had also proved to be incredibly useful in this new domestic endeavour of theirs- able to easily entertain, hold, change, feed, or dress the infant. Ryuu had been so worried about caring for an innocent creature with hands as blood-stained as his, but the joy in Tiaho’s face when he plays with his ability- previously nothing more than a killing machine- reassures him that he does deserve a family, that the mafia has not taken that from him.

Judith arrived at 7:30 on the dot, Taiho was equally ecstatic to see her again, bounding up to her on all fours and nuzzling against her chin once she lifted him from the ground.

“Good morning to you too, little one.” she happily reciprocated his affections, scratching behind his ears and earning a pleased chuff.

Atsushi had been the first to be dressed and ready to leave, following his energetic son to the front door and smiling at the lady in their (not just Ryuu’s) apartment.

“Thank you so much again, Judith-san, you’re really a life saver.” he says sincerely, quickly clearing away the last of breakfast from the kitchen island.

“And again, I’ll say that it’s no trouble. So, what’s the routine with this little sweetheart; am I right in assuming that he’s not quite like a normal baby?” a childish grin on her face as she plops herself on the couch, barely disturbing the cub in her arms. Taiho was happy to keep sniffing at her, likely smelling the lady’s own felines.

“He’s not massively different, he just eats and sleeps more than most babies. Plus the whole turning into a tiger thing, but once he’s like that it’s like playing with a kitten. You’ll get around five minutes of play and three hours of sleep.” Atsushi clarifies, procuring a sheet of paper, Taiho’s routine, from the ever growing stack on their kitchen counter.

He looks it over and deems it good enough, they had written it just last night, and had almost been reduced to tears at how easily their lives had come to revolve around their little ball of fluff. 

“Here, If you need anything, text either of us, or call me. We want to keep Taiho as far out of Mafia business as possible, so don’t call Ryuu at work. You never know who’s listening.” he grimaces but hands over the list. Judith reads it diligently, still absentmindedly petting at the sleeping cub. He had gotten over the excitement of seeing his new friend again and succumbed to the post-breakfast sleepies.

Ryuunosuke yawned, alerting them to his presence. He had dressed himself by this point, still not quite the early riser that his partner was, but he still wanted to be up when Atsushi left, before he had to go an hour later. 

The elder had finished reading through the instructions, finding them fairly easy. A lot of nap time, she noted. “Good morning Ryuunosuke-kun.” Judith greeted him.

She gets a head nod and a grunt in response, the mafioso not awake enough for a proper response. He meanders up behind Atsushi and plants his chin on the other’s shoulder, allowing the other to pull him closer.

“So, I’ll be back not long after one, I’ll make sure to talk with the president about my hours.”

“And you sure you’re feeling well enough to go?” Judith inquires and Ryuu mumbles something in agreement with her.

“Yes.” he says clearly, running a hand through his boyfriend’s hair, enjoying the domesticity of it all. “Now, the concern is getting through half a day of questioning from my coworkers. Do you know how hard it is to keep secrets from a group of detectives? Nosy ones at that.” he laughs incredulously, slightly afraid of the interrogation methods his mentor will employ.

He glances at the clock on the oven, disappointed that he would have to go in the next few minutes. He focuses on the slumbering picture of his son, perfectly safe here, but an ugly feeling had reared its head in the pit of his stomach. A distinctly Byakko-like whine escaping his throat, the arms that had snaked around him tightening slightly.

He had yet to leave Taiho for any prolonged period of time, and even then he was always in the next room. This was a big step. He suddenly felt a lot of sympathy for his partner, squeezing back, yesterday must have been hard on him too.

“He’ll be ok.” Ryuu murmurs, likely to appease himself too, loosening his arms and allowing Atsushi to retrieve his work bag.

“I’ll be sure to let you know if anything happens, sweets.” Judith assures him, a determined but kind smile on her face.

He gave a final kiss to his partner and a last chuff to his son before setting off, trying not to prolong the goodbye any further. He didn’t need to cry this morning.

 

—————

 

The last time he walked into the office felt like a century ago, mind and concept of time addling his perception. ‘Baby brain’, Gin had called it on one of her stays over.

Now it felt like a step back into normalcy, a busy room of paper shuffling and keyboards clicking. It was somewhat overwhelming for his senses, too used to the quiet of their apartment- minus the occasional crying of a baby or cub.

He was immediately engulfed in a pair of strong arms, Kenji attaching himself to his chest. It startled the detective, but he quickly hugged back, appreciating how long it had been since he’s seen his work family. Because now he has a proper one, with a partner and a child.

“Sushi-san!” the boy said happily, gaining the attention of the other members of the office. It was still early, Atsushi sighed in relief, he wouldn’t be subjected to Dazai’s interrogation for at least a little longer.

“I missed you too Kenji-kun!” he said easily, quickly scenting the boy, disappointed that it had faded completely. The blond let go, allowing him to actually step into the office and head for his desk, the boy and a few sets of eyes following. He felt like something of spectacle, heat rising to his cheeks, but he made an effort to ignore it.

“You look better.” Ranpo states, thoroughly looking him over. Atsushi forces down a gulp at the detective’s calculating gaze, determined not to give anything away. 

But of course, the man notices, eyebrow slightly ticking upward before neutrality covers it up. It seemed like Ranpo knew something was amiss, but wouldn’t push the younger, allowing him to keep his secrets.

“I feel a lot better, thanks.” he smiles, placing his work bag on his chair, sighing at the pile of soft furnishings under his desk. “Sorry if Byakko was acting funny the other week, she’s gone back to normal now.” He says to the whole room, scratching at the back of his neck in embarrassment, before tossing the makeshift den back into the “Byakko-corner”, she huffs in the back of his mind at the disrespect of her stuff.

“I don’t think any of us minded, she just wanted more attention.” Naomi happily supplies, always content to entertain the tiger. He nods in reply, finally sitting at his desk and pulling out the paperwork that Kyouka had been bringing him, the girl had given him a few inquisitive glances. A silent ‘Are you sure you’re ok to work again?’, he shoots back a pointed look, a little sick of being asked this question yet again.

He was fine, but it did remind him to ask the president about reducing his hours, he’d make sure to do that soon.

Of course the peace couldn’t last long, most of the agency members had given him a quick “Glad you’re feeling better!” but he knew the man coming down the corridor would not let him off so easily.

He involuntarily stiffened up at the dissecting look his mentor gave him, clearly trying to figure out just why he fell off the grid last week, with only Kyouka as his messenger. There is something else in that gaze though; worry. Worry that is palpable past the man’s many masks of false emotion.

It’s unsettling.

But selfishly, it feels nice to know Dazai cares, at least a little bit.

But right now he is Atsushi’s worst nightmare.

The brunet makes a beeline for him, his usual demeanour returning as quickly as it went.

“Atsushi-kun~ Why on earth did you leave me for so long! I had to do my paperwork all on my own, they were all so mean to me too!” he easily adopts a whiny tone and makes a wide motion with his arms as he refers to the other members.

“I’m sure they were.” the weretiger huffs, continuing his work to escape the questions. Dazai, of course, notices.

“Hey! Don’t dodge my question! We were so worried for you, where were you.” there’s an undertone to that that Atsushi doesn’t like.

Where were you.

Dazai knows something.

But Atsushi isn’t his mentee for nothing, “I was resting. I even got a hobby.” he replied without missing a beat, the best lies are based in truth anyway, Dazai himself had taught him that.

His brief interest in knitting had quickly lost its charm when any project he started was immediately shredded by his overzealous son with an affinity for string. But he had managed to make a scarf and a blanket that were passable. Kyouka had to help sew in the ends on her next visit though.

The brunet seemed to consider his next words, “Will you at least let Yosano look you over, I know you believe you miraculously got better, but I doubt it.” 

Well, he hadn’t expected that.

Dazai had dropped it. He was clearly still invested in getting the truth out of him, but it seemed he was conceding today.

“I will.”

Not long after Yosano came out of her infirmary to fetch the weretiger herself.

This time, when he sat down on the crinkly paper, he wasn’t worried or frustrated. He knew now what had made him ill and now he was all good. Sure a little tired still, kudos to a crying baby, but other than that he had never felt better. 

He told Yosano as much, leaving out the whole baby thing but she seemed unconvinced. She took both his and Byakko’s blood pressures again and this time they both read as normal. 

The doctor was puzzled over his miraculous recovery, despite his reassurance that he was totally a-okay.

“You’re sure you don’t know why you got better?”

He hesitated a little too long at that question. The doctor raised her eyebrows,

“So you do.” It wasn’t a question and he didn’t answer it, just avoiding her gaze, heart racing.

“Listen Atsushi, you don’t have to tell me, just promise you didn’t go buy illegal painkillers or something.” she pleaded, spooking Atsushi out of his stupor.

“No way Yosano-san!” he squeaked out, surprised she thought him capable of such a thing, this sounded more like something she would talk to Dazai about. “I’m not on any drugs, I promise. I’d just rather keep it to myself, I really am feeling great.”

She still looked sceptical but accepted his answer. He disliked how many people knew he was keeping secrets, but it seemed like they’d let him for now.

“Okay, welcome back, tiger.” She ruffled his ears and sent him on his way.

His mentor practically jumped him as he exited the doctor’s office, but was easily warded off by his clean bill of health, backed up by Yosano herself. He really didn’t like how Dazai seemed to be adding that fact to his mental bank of clues.

The detective quickly left for the president’s office, taking a moment to compose himself and work through how he wanted this conversation to go.

Fukuzawa wouldn’t ask questions and had always supported Atsushi’s wellbeing. He had encouraged the boy to cut down his hours while he worked on catching up on the education he never received in the orphanage, the president is nice. 

He reminds himself once again, but his gut reaction to authority figures was still a little rocky. The urge to cower when anyone raised their voice at him increased tenfold when they held even a modicum of power. But Fukuzawa had never yelled at him, he is rational and calm. He is safe, Byakko reminds him.

He doesn’t give himself a second to wuss out before knocking on the door, pointedly ignoring Dazai’s calculating gaze in his peripherals.

“Come in” the president’s steady voice calls. 

“Ah, good to see you again Atsushi-kun, you’re feeling better I see.” He smiles kindly.

It was fine. 

They’d ended up agreeing he would have Wednesdays off and shorten most of his workdays. The president didn’t ask why or get angry with him; in fact, he seemed genuinely proud that the detective was prioritising something other than work for once.

He ate his lunch with Kyouka and finished up for the day, sporadically checking his phone for any texts from Judith, the only one he received was a picture of a happily fed Taiho conked out in his crib, sucking on the end of his own tail. It brought a smile to his face.

He left the office having had a productive day and a baby to look forward to cuddling at home.

 

—————

 

Once Atsushi had left for the day, Dazai scooted his chair to the sweet-toothed detective, eyes meeting in solidarity.

They spoke in whispers, but the rest of the office knew full shell what they were gossiping about. 

“He’s gone home early and had a meeting with the pres, likely about just that.” The brunet started, laying out some of his cards.

“He was ill for 3 months previously, left for a week and comes back perfectly fine, even Yosano agrees.” Ranpo adds, throwing hard candy up into the air and catching it in his mouth.

“He’s moved out of the dorms.” 

The world’s best detective was stumped by that one, he knew Atsushi wasn’t at the dorms most nights, but to learn he had actually moved was another.

“All his stuff is gone.” Dazai confirmed.

“He’s been checking his phone a lot.” Ranpo says slowly, puzzling through this mismatched list of hints.

“And he smiled at it, he tried to hide it too.”

They sat with this information for a bit, before Naomi called out “Sounds like he got a girlfriend.” their not so secretive brainstorm had opened up to the room.

“WHAT.” Dazai’s jaw hit the floor. Ranpo just looked at ease, a weight lifted from his cape-clad shoulders. 

“Is it really so surprising, Dazai? He's an adult, and a nice one at that. Let the boy live.” Kunikida, ever the voice of reason, deadpanned from across the room.

“But, how. How has he got a gorgeous woman to move in with before I did!?” the tall man bemoaned, but no one was really listening, perhaps a silent prayer for Chuuya’s sanity was thrown from Kyouka’s direction.

Across the city in an executive meeting, a certain redhead sneezes. Akutagawa hands him a tissue.

 

 

 

Notes:

Thanks to @EX_treme_multifandom for betaing <3

I’m like actually jittery to release all the chapters I have written,

Plot is coming.

Beware the tags 😈

Notes:

I vow to finish this fic🫡

Thanks for reading 🤭