Listen 15!Chuuya has never had a pet or even really interacted with many animals, so when he finds a kitten on the fire escape of his and Dazai’s flat, tiny, starving, the runt of the litter—lost or abandoned, from the looks of it, even though he doesn’t know what to do, Chuuya https://twitter.com/_graugeist/status/1310280722477916162

immediately feels a bond with it, and brings the shivering little ball of matted fluff inside.

When Dazai comes out of his room, he finds Chuuya frantically google searching how to take care of a kitten, and said kitten sitting dirty and hungry but wrapped in a /giant/ towel

on the desk next to him.

“I’ve never had a pet before either,” Dazai says later, when he’s calmed Chuuya down, helped him make sense of all the results he found in his google search, and the kitten is clean, warm—and the /fluffiest/ damn thing Dazai has ever seen in his life.

But Chuuya isn’t really listening; he’s much too preoccupied with watching their newest house companion stuff its furry little face into the pate smattered into an old take container they had left sitting on the kitchen counter.

“She’s so tiny,” Chuuya breathes, in awe of it.

“She fits in the palm of my hand.”

“Aww, now there’s someone here smaller than you, Chibi!”

Dazai can’t resist the jab, it it doesn’t get any response, let alone the response he had been expecting. Rather than shooting up from the floor, cursing and indignant, Chuuya only

scoots closer to the feeding kitten, slowly sliding forward on his bum, eyes still wide with an innocent fascination that makes Dazai’s insides turn to pudding.

Discreetly, he holds up his cell phone and snaps a picture, for posterity.

The kitten lets out a tiny chirp as it

backs away from the now empty platter, having had its fill, and Chuuya gingerly scoops it up, eyes almost brimming with tears as he softly coos at it, praising it for eating all of its supper.

Dazai feels like he might cry too.

The kitten is cute, but Chuuya is /adorable/.

Here’s a small, extra fluffy bonus, because I came out of the shower feeling so warm n fuzzy:

“Dazai!” Chuuya calls to him when Dazai walks past his open bedroom door, his voice coming in a hushed but excited whisper. “Come’ere, come’ere!”

It’s not often that Chuuya would

hail him so eagerly, never mind voluntarily ushering him into his bedroom.

Admittedly, his curiosity is piqued.

Book momentarily falling to his side, held there in a slackened grip, Dazai makes a noise of intrigue as he steps into Chuuya’s bedroom.

“What is it?”

Chuuya’s lights are dimmed, so Dazai can only just barely see Chuuya laying on his bed, gloveless hands nursing something small, fluffy, and familiar on his chest.

“Come over here,” Chuuya beckons him over a bit more calmly, his tone a lot softer than Dazai is used to hearing.

Curiosity finally taking over in earnest, Dazai sets his book on the nightstand and crawls up onto Chuuya’s bed with him.

“Okay, what is—“

“Shhh...”Chuuya cuts him off, shushing him with a gentle flap of his hand. Then he points to the kitten laying on his chest, nestled into

the dark folds of his unzipped hoodie.

“Yes, I see her. Cats sleep too Chuuya,” Dazai says, exasperated.

“No, dumbass,” Chuuya snaps at him under his breath, yanking Dazai closer. “Listen.”

With a scoff, Dazai shifts closer, straining his ears to hear whatever it is Chuuya

is trying to show to him. It takes a couple of minutes and a few annoyed and impatient stares back up at his smiling partner before:

“/Oh/.” Dazai can feel his face immediately grow warm at the soft sound, that warmth traveling down his throat and deep into his chest, turning

his heart into utter mush—like Chuuya’s hushed but giddy laughter isn’t already doing a fine enough job of that on its own.

“What’s that sound called again?” Chuuya asks softly, stroking along the kitten’s back with his thumb.

The sound only grows louder, until both boys

can no longer keep the smiles off of their faces.

“She’s purring,” Dazai explains with a heartfelt chuckle. “Cats do that when they’re happy and comfortable.”

“I can feel it in my chest,” Chuuya says, his smile nearly splitting his face. “It’s like a low rumble. Feels cool.”

His book now laying all but forgotten on the nightstand, Dazai curls up closer, stroking the small kitten on the crown of its head. The only thing cuter than the way its ear twitches against his fingers, Dazai thinks, is the way Chuuya’s entire face lights up as he watches.

“Wanna keep her?” Chuuya asks a while later, when they’re both well on their way to passing out right along with the kitten. Something about the low rumbling noise the kitten emits as it rises and falls with Chuuya’s chest makes Dazai’s eyelids heavy—a rarity for him.

“Yeah.”