Phantom thief Dazai and Detective Chuuya AU.

Dazai and Chuuya meet in the context outside of their alter egos/jobs. They end up having an affair, but as time goes on, Chuuya starts to notice subtle things that just seem a little bit off. Dazai is conveniently

unreachable at certain times, and his answers for where he's been are a little too vague. But it doesn't really matter. Chuuya is a young detective and determined to prove himself, and he knows if he can solve his case, it'll set him up for life, so he doesn't pay much attention.

Until the case starts pulling him in deeper and tangling him in it's webs tighter. He's on the verge of catching the thief, their encounters are so close. A glimpse out of the corner of his eye, a silhouette running across the rooftops, the sound of laughter echoeing through the

empty halls. He starts to notice the smaller and more intimate details from the close calls. The hard line of thief's jawline, their willowy silhouette that is outlined by a perfectly tailored coat, and the ends of their hair looks like the same hair that

Chuuya spends his nights running his fingers through. It's all too familiar. He thinks of the times he'd fallen asleep while poring over the files and he'd find Dazai looking at the papers, and clueless chuckle he'd get. He starts to realise that his lover isn't who he says he is

The realization stings. It's a harsh slap and Chuuya wanted to tell himself it didn't matter, but it did, and it *hurt*. He'd been played a fool, and he wondered how often Dazai left his house and laughed at him, or how often he's been fed lies.

The gun is heavy in his hand as he sits and waits for Dazai to come over. The door knob turns, and the door to his home is gently pushed open. It's funny how quiet Dazai does everything. It's funny how Chuuya never noticed it before.

Dazai walks into the house, like he owns it -- like he belongs there -- and Chuuya has to swallow the lump in his throat.

"You lying sack of s/hit", Chuuya says.

Dazai freezes and slowly turns. His eyes momentarily widen when he sees the gun. "Chibi?"

The nickname makes Chuuya's grip tighten. It's said with endearment and carries a lot of weight in history. He hates it right now. He hates the way it makes him falter.

He hates the way he still sees *Dazai*.

"I hope you're looking forward to the rest of your life in jail."

Dazai sighs. "So you did figure it out." He smiles sheepishly. "I guess there isn't really a point in trying to deny it at this point is there?"

He takes a couple steps towards where Chuuya is still seated in his chair. Chuuya refuses to lose his relaxed posture, as he crosses

his legs, and brings his hand up so he can rest his chin on his hand in a show of indifference. "I wouldn't believe you anymore, anyways."

Dazai grins as he continues to saunter up to him.

"I also wouldn't come any closer," Chuuya says. "My finger might slip on the trigger."

Dazai stops just short of a couple steps. "Is Chibi threatening me?"

"Yes."

"So rude. After the long day I've had, I was hoping things would look up for me."

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you decided to use me as your informant," Chuuya hissed.

Dazai winced.

"That's not... that's not what you were, Chuuya."

He goes to take another step, but Chuuya lashes out with the gun and points it at his head. "I'm not joking; my finger might slip."

"I'm not either," Dazai said. "I didn't mean for us to end up like this."

"Shut the f/uck up."

Dazai squared his shoulders and took the step.

Chuuya kept the gun trained on him. Maybe he should have pulled the trigger. At this close of range, he half expected Dazai to try and rip the gun from his grasp. It wouldn't have been hard. Chuuya could do the trick in his sleep.

Instead Dazai falls to his knees.

He presses his forehead against the barrel and Chuuya takes his finger off the trigger out of instinct.

"I should have stopped seeing you a long time ago," Dazai said. He looks up at Chuuya from under his long lashes. "But I didn't want too."

Chuuya's fingers itched. He should have put them back on the trigger. He knew this is what made Dazai dangerous: his words and the way he twisted and spun things. It's how Chuuya ended up in this position in the first place.

But he looked so earnest. He looked at Chuuya the same way as he had before; like he was everything. Chuuya didn't like these games. He didn't enjoy them. He enjoyed solving the cases, and following the mystery. He never wanted his personal life and his work life to overlap.

And if he was being honest, he wasn't prepared. He was inexperienced and not equipped to deal with this. He thought he'd be able to catch the thief, arrest them, get a nice bonus, and a pat on the back. He hadn't considered what he would lose in the process.

He lets his arm drop.

"Get out," he says, and words are more broken and defeated than he means them to be.

"Chuuya"

"I said *get out*!"

Dazai doesn't move.

"Are you an idiot?" Chuuya snaps. "What else do you want from me?"

Dazai shakes his head, and slowly reaches out.

He takes Chuuya's empty hand and places it on his cheek.

"I hate you," Chuuya snarls, but he doesn't pull away.

Dazai's grip tightens. "I don't want you to," he mutters, as he leans into the touch.

Dazai's skin is warm and familiar under Chuuya's hand, and it feels wrong, but also right. This entire situation is a giant cluster f/uck, and Chuuya can't keep his head on straight.

Finally, he wrenches his arm out of Dazai's grip, and stands up. "Fine. I'll get out."

He grabs his coat, and whips the door open. "I guess you might as well steal what you want on your way out."

----

Chuuya spends the night walking up and down the quiet streets, and thinking. He goes through all the cigarettes he had stashed in his coat and had even bought some. He didn't go back home until the sun was starting crawl over the horizon.

He knew what he was doing as he walked up his front steps alone, and without a soul knowing what he'd done. He knew what he was walking into now.

The lanky form sleeping on his couch wasn't a surprise. Dazai was a stubborn dips/hit when he wanted to be.

Shrugging off his coat, Chuuya balled it up and threw it at Dazai, startling him awake. It might have been funny, if Chuuya wasn't still livid.

"It stops now," he says. "You steal a piece of candy from the shop around the corner and I'm burying you alive."

Dazai gets up, and holds the balled up coat for a moment. Then he smiles, and it's so genuine it almost hurts. "I can handle that."

"Good," Chuuya says. "I'll help cover up some evidence then."

"That's pretty risky, Chibi. I could drag you down with me now, you know."

Chuuya's shoulders sag. "You could... you could have dragged me down a long time ago, I guess. But I trust you enough that I don't think you'd do that."

Dazai shakes his head, and approaches Chuuya. "I won't," he promises, and reaches out.

Chuuya steps back, and shakes his head as he holds up his hand. "This stops too," he says.

The smile instantly falls from Dazai's face.

"You already played me once; I won't let you do it again," Chuuya said, as he turned away.

Silence followed the statement, as Chuuya made his way towards the stairs. His feet felt like they were made of lead and his vision blurred.

"I hope you're ready to be partners in crime," he said over his shoulder.

And that's the story of how detective Chuuya turned into a criminal accomplice I'm also going to say that they still end up together (b/c I am weak), but this already turned out way longer than I thought LOL!! Thanks for reading my spam!