Chapter Text
🎕 ”You can always come back to work here”
Chuuya watched Albatross pop open the hood of a car and look over the inside of it carefully. The omega was sitting on a plastic chair, his legs pulled up in a crisscross position, elbow resting on the chair’s arm so he could hold his chin in his hand.
“Yeah, I know” his response was dry. He’d been in a sour mood since Friday’s event, who wouldn’t be? He basically fired himself and insulted one of the most influential people in Japan to his face. So yeah, maybe he felt like throwing up as soon as he got home that day.
But the asshole did deserve it with all the bullsh*t he was spouting. He ended up ranting to Albratross for the rest of the night and the alpha made fun of him for falling asleep mid-rant.
Currently, he is spending his Sunday at Flags, something to occupy his time so he didn’t think about the wonderful end to his work week. He did the same thing the day before, he also just wanted to spend some time hanging out with the guys.
“Could you throw me a wrench?” Albatross requested and looked away from the car’s engine and at Chuuya. The ginger took a wrench out of the toolbox that was on the floor beside his chair and tossed it to Albtross’s awaiting hands.
The Auto shop’s garage wasn't too busy, usually, it’s full of more cars than people. Besides Albatross, Lippmann was working on another car, giving it a new paint job that looked pretty cool so far. The blonde was focused on his task, ignoring any other distractions in the area. The metal shutters that keep the place closed were open, allowing the afternoon breeze to make its way inside.
He could see Piano Man, the owner of the shop, discussing something with a customer outside. The conversation seemed calm, both talking without any hint of negativity in their body language.
Chuuya looked down at the sketchbook in his lap, an unfinished drawing of the garage staring back at him. He sighed and went back to his artwork, letting the hand his chin was resting in fall over the arm of the chair. He wasn't going to lie and say he wasn’t a good artist, it was a hobby he’s had since the day his mother took him to a parent and child art class when he was nine.
He’s improved a lot since then, of course, so whenever he feels like it, he draws.
After a couple minutes of passing his pencil over the page to make light lines a voice came from the garage entrance, “I just got us a great deal from that guy”. Piano Man walked into the place at a leisurely pace, a proud look on his face as he leaned his hands on the back of Chuuya’s chair. “You know those parts he was going to sell us?” he asked, his question directed to Albatross.
The blonde nodded, a hum leaving his lips to show that he did, indeed, remember. “I got them at half the original price when I told him we could mod his GT-R on a discount” the man informed and Albatross turned to look at him with a questioning look.
“What does he want?” he asked curiously and Chuuya tilted his head against the back of the chair to look up at Piano Man.
“A nitrous kit, sports seats, and a new paint job” the other alpha answered pointedly and glanced at Lippmann who wasn’t paying attention to the conversation.
Chuuya looked at Albatross who looked like he was thinking, a bit of hesitance on his features, “We’re not giving the guy nitrous oxide though right?” he asked.
Piano Man walked over to him, “obviously not, I’m not an idiot, Hano has a big mouth, we’d get caught in an instant, he can get it somewhere else” he mentioned, insulting who Chuuya assumed was the customer. “Anyway, how’s this looking?” the man asked as he inspected the front of the car Albatross was working on.
“Oh, this thing? Just a f*cked up oil filter, needs to be replaced and I need to install a turbocharger…” that was the point that the omega decided to stop listening, not interested in all the car mumbo jumbo. When they started throwing words like nitrous and turbocharger around he knew it was his time to ignore the conversation.
He stood up from the chair and walked off toward Lippman who’s job was something he could understand way better. The blonde looked over at him when he was heard approaching and gave Chuuya a smile of acknowledgment before going back to work. He was hand painting lines on the car doors, it was clear that Lippmann was experienced, there was a certain precision to his brush strokes that only someone with plenty of years under their belt could have.
Without a word, Chuuya walked closer to him and presented his sketch. The painter glanced at it and observed the artwork, a tiny smile on his face. “This is great, we should hang it up around here once you’re done” he suggested and Chuuya felt a sense of pride.
“Where’s that portrait of me huh?” Lippmann looked up at him from where he was kneeling and gave him a teasing look.
“It is unfinished and in my room somewhere” the ginger spoke nonchalantly and his friend pinched his leg.
He yelped and bent down to rub his leg from the sting. “I’m still waiting,” the blonde said with a shake of his head before he focused back on his work. Chuuya gave him a glare that the man didn’t see and leaned against a concrete pillar that was by him. “Oh by the way, did you really get fired from Mori Corp?” Lippmann asked curiously, not looking at the other omega but still willing to converse.
Chuuya shrugged, “well I mean, there’s no way I wasn’t,” he said, thinking back to what happened.
“Have they told you?” He watched as the man looked at a car design that was in his phone, it was similar to what he was doing.
“No…I haven’t gotten a call yet, but they’re probably just ghosting me, it was obvious I’d be fired” he crossed his arms over his chest, sketchbook clutched tight. It’s not like the company didn’t have a history of ghosting people. He remembers how if they rejected someone from a job the person would never hear back from them, so cruel.
Lippmann let out a small sound, it sounded not convinced by his words, “that’s rather ambiguous” he commented and Chuuya stayed silent for a few seconds.
“I literally told the guy to stop sucking his own dick” he mentioned and Lipp gave him a side glance.
“Aggressive” was what his friend said and Chuuya felt like dying.
“So yeah, I’m definitely not getting asked to come back” it wasn’t the worst thing he’s said to a boss, at least he didn’t think so. But he had to admit it was pretty bad anyway, not that it wasn’t well-earned, but that’s beside the point. But if Dazai got his big boy feelings hurt it wasn’t his problem.
A couple of hours later, the group had ordered a pizza to eat since it was getting close to dinner time. They were sitting around a small table that Albatross brought out in plastic chairs like the one Chuuya was sitting in earlier that day.
They were joined by Iceman, who was busy helping someone who broke down on the road, and Doc, who worked in the auto shop’s office.
Chuuya munched on his pepperoni slice as he listened to the conversation around him. They had a small speaker playing some music, it wasn’t extremely loud, just high enough to be considered background music.
“-and now, my back has been super tight” Piano Man spoke with a frown. He was complaining about how bad his mattress was, boring in retrospect but Chuuya saw the way Albatross perked up.
He hopped out of his seat, placing his pizza slice back in the box, “I, Albatross, the master chiropractor, will help you Piano”. He spoke confidently, stretched his hands in front of him and Chuuya held in a laugh. He watched how Piano Man adorned an apprehensive look on his face as he looked at the approaching Albatross.
“If you break my back, I will fire you” he threatened and the others around them watched with amusem*nt. The ‘master chiropractor’ scoffed and instructed the man to stand up.
“This’ll be a bit tricky since you’re not laying down on anything but trust me” his words weren’t very convincing and Piano Man gave Chuuya a look, asking for reassurance.
The omega remembered the times when his roommate would sense his stress and help him out with a massage. He was actually pretty good, “don’t worry, I can vouch for him” he defended and that made Piano Man relax more.
“You should come by again tomorrow” the redhead looked next to him at Doc who had spoken. He knew the man was just trying to give Chuuya something to do before he could inevitably melt into his bed and never leave the apartment. He appreciated it, a lot. If it weren’t for Flags he’d probably be sulking in his room right now.
He nodded his head, “yeah I will, I’ve got nothing important to do” he bit into his pizza and turned back to the interesting scene in front of him. Piano man was leaning against the wall with his hands out to hold him and Albatross was kneading into his back. Not the most professional setting for a massage but it did make for a funny sight. Chuuya even saw Lippmann sneak a picture, probably for blackmail reasons, and they shared a funny look.
When it was time to leave for the night, he and Albatross said their goodbyes before heading to the parking lot outside. They walked until they were met with the love of Chuuya’s life. Albatross’s motorcycle. A Ducati 1299 Panigale, the thing was a beauty, straight out of his dreams. The red color was sleek and eye-catching, it was his roommate's prized possession.
Albatross passed him one of the helmets that were on the bike, a red one that matched with the motorcycle. He put on his own and watched the alpha put on the other, a black helmet. Once they were good with their helmets it was time to head out.
Albatross got on with ease and turned on the engine, the bike came purring to life. He looked at Chuuya and patted the spot behind him. The omega hopped on and got comfortable for the ride home, he wrapped his arms around the blonde's torso and tapped his chest to signal he was secured.
The engine's growl echoed, and a shiver of anticipation coursed through Chuuya's veins, mingling with the cool night air. He felt the engine’s purr vibrate through his body, sending puffs of adrenaline through his nerves and to his brain.
With a small lurch, the bike was moving and they were on the road. Chuuya loved the rush, the speed, and the excitement. Feeling the wind mess with the fabric of his loose shirt and embracing his skin was calming, watching the buildings pass by at lightning speed felt surreal.
Albatross was an extremely skilled driver, driving around cars left and right and making smooth turns through the winding streets. He felt his heartbeat spike when they’d make a turn, the bike leaning, almost threatening to tip over. But it didn’t. And that’s what made it so amazing.
It was something he’d never get tired of feeling. He dreamed of having his own motorcycle from the second Albatross gave him his first ride. It was so much different than driving a car, even the fastest car couldn’t compare to riding a bike at regular speed.
His roommate joked that he’d pass on the bike to Chuuya in his will. But the omega didn’t have much hope in that, Albatross would probably want to be buried with his Ducati. His baby.
The redhead had been slowly but surely saving up money to buy his own but his process was currently on pause and has been since he left The Guild. Due to his lack of a stable job. It was very frustrating but he wasn’t defeated just yet, it just meant he’d have to wait a bit longer.
They spent basically the entire day at the garage, it was around 8, the sun had gone down and Yokohama’s city lights were illuminating the night sky. The city was never dead, citizens always hanging around and living their lives, but it became something special at night. The rowdy and thrill-seeking individuals would come out for the night of their lives, it wasn’t hard to tell them apart from the average Yokohama resident.
Chuuya felt himself smile beneath his helmet, wanting so bad to take it off so he could feel the wind whip through his curls. When they hit a more empty road Albatross sped up, causing the omega’s stomach to do back flips. The sudden change in momentum made him a bit delirious, the buildings becoming blurs in his peripheral vision.
His grip on his roommate tightened, his body’s automatic response to keep him on the bike. His thighs tightened around the motorcycle’s body. But his mind was telling him to let go and raise his arms up like he was on a roller coaster. But alas, it was a safety hazard or whatever.
Late-night clubbers were perusing the streets in packs, loud and proud. Just like Albatross’s bike. He could hear whistles and shouts of people admiring the ride as they zoomed passed though they were muffled by his helmet.
He loved to get involved in Yokohama nightlife when he could, it was really a different world. He could hear Albatross let out a laugh, probably also feeling like he was on cloud nine.
They rode across the city streets until they reached the more calm side of the city, where their apartment was located. Their speed reduced but it didn’t feel underwhelming, more like a calming break to the exhilaration. Chuuya allowed his grip to loosen and a sigh left his lips. He wished he could do this every day, feel the rush, the calm, just feel.
He felt bittersweet since they were back home but he wanted to keep enjoying the ride. The bike was parked in the apartment building’s small lot and the two got off. Albatross took Chuuya’s helmet and took his own off and he held them in his hands to bring them inside.
They made their way up the stairs to their apartment and Chuuya opened up the door since the other’s hands were occupied. The two settled into their night routine quickly. He let Albatross use the bathroom first since he was all grimy from working all day. Going into this bedroom, Chuuya dug into his drawers for his pajamas. Baki was sleeping soundly in the omega’s bed, his eyes cracked open a bit to see who entered but closed again at the sight of his owner.
He put his clothes on the bed and walked out, passing by the bathroom and hearing the sound of the shower running. He walked outside to their small balcony to get some fresh air, he sat down in one of the 2 chairs they set up there. The sounds of the city enveloped him as he sat there taking in a deep breath. Sometimes it was nice to slow down, especially with all the tenseness he’s gained the past few days. The motorcycle rides were definitely helping though.
He could almost fall asleep in the chair, but instead he just enjoyed the view.
When Albatross came out to tell him the bathroom was free, he forced himself to stand up. Then after retrieving his towel, he got ready for the night. He did everything on autopilot, washed his body, brushed his teeth, tied his hair up, and got changed. He picked up Baki into his arms and the cat let out a small meow.
He walked out to the living room where Albatross had settled on the couch to watch some random channel. It looked like some drama, interesting enough, so he shoved the alpha’s feet to make space for himself only to have them move onto his lap.
He gave the man an incredulous stare but was ignored because the blonde was so invested in the TV all of a sudden. Without a spot for Baki to lie, Chuuya let the animal hop off the couch and go over to sleep on the armchair. The two watched the show until late at night and it included Albatross yelling at the characters through the screen and Chuuya complaining about the plot. They probably stayed up too late for two people who were going to wake up early that morning.
Albatross was snoring about 5 episodes in and Chuuya was close to passing out. He gently moved his friend’s feet from his lap and stood up to take a long stretch. His arms went above his head and he stretched so hard that he was on his tiptoes. A yawn left his lips and he rubbed his eyes as they threatened to close.
He walked over to Albatross’s head and shook his shoulders to wake him gently. “Come on Tross, go snore in your room” he spoke quietly and the man stirred as his eyes opened.
“Yeah yeah okay” the alpha muttered, not really registering Chuuya’s words. He got up like a ghost and shuffled to his room without another word. Chuuya shook his head and turned the TV off, he walked over to Baki and picked him up. He turned all the apartment’s lights off before heading to his room as well.
He got into his bed and wrapped himself in blankets, Baki cuddled into his side. Sleep came easy.
He was watching Albatross’s feet sway from side to side from under a car. The man was lying on an under-car roller , his body, apart from his feet was under a Honda Civic. Chuuya was, once again, sitting in his designated plastic chair, no sketchbook this time.
He sipped on a juice box that he had gotten from the repair shop’s store. Since it was a weekday the place wasn’t too busy, only the occasional customer coming in or the occasional car driving through.
“Could you change the song?” Albatross’s muffled voice came from under the car. Chuuya leaned over to reach for the alpha’s phone, which was in charge of the music that played from the Bluetooth speaker. He hit next and one of his Albatross’s favorite songs from his playlist began to play.
His roommate instantly began saying the lyrics and he laughed. Although he found himself humming to the song. His feet tapped onto the concrete to the beat.
Albatross rolled out from under the vehicle and stood up, clapping his hands together to remove some dirt. “Well, that’s all done, could you help me with something?” He asked as he turned to Chuuya who nodded.
A mischievous smile made its way into the blonde's face, “let’s go bother Lipp, he’s been working too much” he picked up the speaker and made his way to where Lippmann was working outside. The man was working on installing some LEDs into someone’s car, taking a break from the painting from yesterday.
He seemed to hear the music approaching and sent them a weird look. Albatross walked over and Chuuya decided to trail behind, not wanting to be on the side of Lippmann’s annoyance. Especially when he saw the massive side-eye he gave his roommate.
“Hold this, assistant!” Suddenly the omega had the speaker chucked into his arms. Thankfully, he caught it, but regretfully now he was obligated to go closer.
He cringed as Albatross began to annoy Lippmann by blurting out the lyrics at him, pretending to use a screwdriver as a mic. He and Shirase would get along . The thought passed into his mind and made him amused. He did some dumb dance along with the song and Chuuya and Lippman shared a look.
“Chuuya, you’re supposed to be my backup singer” the ginger shook his head at his friend, he was not getting involved in what this was. Especially in public . People were walking on the sidewalks and cars were driving by. Albatross was one of those people who had no sense of what embarrassment even meant and you’d see them in those public prank videos. Doing the pranks.
“Yeah no. I’m holding the speaker” he answered but that didn’t seem to deter his friend. Albatross pointed at his audience, Lippmann and Chuuya, as he performed with over-the-top enthusiasm. The pitch of his voice would change according to the song and it was very theatrical, to say the least.
“What even is focusing when you work with Albatross?” Lippmann questioned as he just accepted the man’s concert. He looked used to it, which is understandable because there wasn’t even one of them who hadn't been concert-bombed by the alpha. Sometimes, the man would just run into Chuuya’s room, like an annoying younger sibling(even though he was older), and do the most random sh*t.
So, it actually wasn’t a new sight to see Albatross trying to get people out of their workaholic minds with his humor. His cheerful attitude was contagious, and Chuuya could tell that Lippmann, although pretending to be annoyed, was also happy to be interrupted because they hadn’t been shooed off yet.
Albatross did a go around Chuuya, running around him a couple of times. He pretended to play the drums, his face suddenly extremely serious. The redhead just stood there and a laugh couldn’t help but leave his lips.
The blonde then ran over to Lippman and crouched down in front of him and bumped to the beat, singing out the last verse with all of his heart. He was smiling from ear to ear, enjoying himself to the greatest extent as he serenaded their friend.
He really should be the mascot for the garage, either customers would come in waves or people would avoid the place like the plague. But either way, it would be funny to see Albatross’s face on the sign.
Chuuya nodded along to the last couple of seconds, he loved being at the shop. Even if he didn’t work here anymore, being around his friends was always fun, especially when stuff like this happened. It always made him entertain the idea of taking a position at Flags again.
Albatross finished off big with an ending pose and everything. Lippman clapped slowly, “wow, thank you for interrupting my work for that, I really needed an Albatross performance today” his words were obviously sarcastic but his small smile betrayed him.
“Of course, I am at your surface Mr. Lippman” Albatross stood up and bowed, “and thank you to my assistant, Nakahara Chuuya, for holding the speaker” he gestured dramatically to the omega beside him. Chuuya also bowed, playing along just for a bit and Lippmann chuckled. Albatross patted him on the shoulder, “You shall get your pay very soon” Chuuya looked up at him with suspicion.
“Pay? Really? How much?” He asked jokingly and his friend seemed to think.
“How about…do you take payment in kakigori?” The alpha asked, even though Chuuya knew he already knew the answer.
“On you?”
“Of course, it’s your payment duh”
“Then yeah okay”
It was still a bit cold during March in Japan but one cold dessert never hurt anyone. He was dying of happiness at the thought of eating a strawberry-flavored kakigori.
Lippmann stood up from his position, “You couldn’t have chosen a better song though?” The omega questioned and Albatross gasped.
“What? This song is peak, you can’t just disrespect it in this manner” he defended profusely.
“Hmm, I’d much rather prefer something more…not that” a snort left Chuuya at Lippman’s words, they were harsh but said with clear unserious intentions, “I think I should also get some compensation”.
Oh. So that’s what he was getting at. He wanted kakigori too.
“If you wanted to come with me and Chuuya, you could’ve just said so, no need to insult my music taste” Albatross countered with a pout, he crossed his arms over his chest with narrowed eyes.
Lippman was about to respond but the sound of Chuuya’s ringtone in his pocket suddenly came out. Chuuya left them to their argument as he fished out his phone from his back pocket.
Gin?
Why was she calling him? Maybe she wanted to hang out since they wouldn’t see each other at work anymore?
With furrowed eyebrows he picked up the phone and held it to his ears. He passed the speaker to Albatross and walked off back into the garage where there currently wasn’t anyone working.
“Hello?” His greeting came out as a question, it wasn’t intentional but he was a bit confused.
“Chuuya? Where are you?” Her questioning voice, sounding just as confused as him, came from the other line.
“What do you mean?” He asked, they weren’t supposed to meet up today, right? At least he didn’t remember being told anything.
“You’re not at work, you know you need to send in an email if you’re going to be out right? Dazai-san’s been asking for you since this morning when he didn’t get this week's schedule” the woman informed, seeming a bit stressed.
Chuuya was extremely bewildered because…what? Did she not know he was fired? But then why was Dazai asking for him?
He coughed in his hand to clear his throat, “um, I didn’t know I was…supposed to go to work today” he told her, and he heard silence on her end.
“It’s Monday?” She responded and he suddenly felt like an idiot but also like he was transported into another dimension. In what world would he have insulted his boss and still keep his job? His silence caused Gin to speak again, “just get here asap please?” Her voice sounded desperate, and he could practically hear her frown.
“Yeah…okay I will” he confirmed a bit out of it and the phone went dead after Gin gave him a quick goodbye. His arm went slack at his side and he started at the wall for a few seconds.
He heard footsteps coming in, “hey Chuuya, you alright? You seemed weirded out by that phone call” Albatross came in, worry written all over his face.
The omega turned to face him and nodded, “yeah no, I have to go, I have work, could you give me a ride home so I can change, and a ride to work?” His question had his roommate’s expression change into one of confusion.
“I thought you were fired?”
“Yeah me too”
There was a prolonged silence as the two just stared at each other.
“Okay then? Let’s go” the alpha said before turning around and heading to his motorcycle.
When they got home, Albatross decided to wait on the bike while Chuuya rushed inside to get ready. He changed into some chocolate brown trousers, a white dress shirt, a forest green knit sweater vest, and his work shoes. He kinda just threw everything on, ultimately forgetting his tie but he didn’t have time to worry about that.
He quickly packed his satchel with the things he needed and went to the door to leave. His hand flew up to his neck to feel for his choker, just in case. And when he felt the metal buckle he let out a sound of relief and left the apartment quickly.
As he walked down the complex stairs he checked his phone for the time. It was almost 1:00 PM, he’d missed about 5 hours of work. That was just great. He stopped himself from freaking out and speed-walked to Albatross so they could get on the road as soon as possible.
The drive to Mori Corp was fast, thanks to the motorcycle’s speed. He thanked Albatross repeatedly for the ride when he parked in front of the office building.
“Don’t thank me, woah this place is huge” his roommate commented as Chuuya took off his helmet. The alpha brought his hand up to Chuuya’s head and ruffled his curls out, getting rid of his helmet hair. Chuuya let him and straightened out his clothing since it was wrinkled a bit from the ride.
“I’ll see you later” he bid farewell and Albatross nodded.
“Want me to pick you up?” He asked, more like yelled, so he could be heard under his helmet.
Chuuya began to walk off towards the building, “that would be great actually!” He said and the second Albatross gave him a thumbs up in response he turned around and practically booked it into the tower.
“Chuuya! You’re here” Gin greeted him from the front desk, she looked relieved to see him.
He leaned onto the desk and caught his breath, “sorry for being so late” he apologized and she gave him a smile.
“It’s fine, you’re here now, go head up to your floor, shouldn’t waste too much time” she advised and he agreed, walking off to the elevators. He scanned in and since it was the middle of the day, there weren’t many people waiting for an elevator. Luckily.
When he got to the 40th floor, he staggered out, as he walked to his desk he noticed most of his coworker's desks were empty. It looked like workers were still at lunch, except for one.
Dazai was at his desk, reading some papers, his face serious and focused. Chuuya set down his things and wasted no time to walk into the man’s office, making sure his glare was in place.
At the sound of his footsteps, Dazai looked up from his task, and at the sight of Chuuya, he looked at him questioningly. “Nakahara-san, you’re very late today” he commented as if he didn’t know why Chuuya didn’t show up. Chuuya knew he knew.
“Why didn’t you fire me?” he got straight to the point and asked the question that had been bothering him since he got the phone call. He tried to think about it but he couldn’t possibly fathom why Dazai would keep him around. Was he that desperate for an assistant? He didn’t seem at all like the desperate type.
The question didn’t seem to catch the man off guard, almost like he was expecting it from the second he saw Chuuya walk in. Dazai pretended to think, rubbing his chin mockingly, “you’re not boring” he shrugged as he answered.
What?
Seriously?
That was the answer he was having a mental crisis over? It was so simple. Too simple. And also felt extremely childish. Not at all what he expected from the CEO in front of him.
“I’m not boring?” He repeated it almost dumbfounded, eyebrows shooting up. It didn’t make sense to him. Dazai was currently looking at him like he would rather be anywhere else than talking to him. But he’s saying that Chuuya’s not boring ? Also that reasoning is just…not what he expected?
He didn’t expect to be back in this building after Friday so he was already questioning if this was just a big joke.
“Yes, did you want to hear something else?” the alpha questioned, going back to reading whatever it was he was reading earlier.
Chuuya didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know if he wanted to hear anything else. Well, he wanted to hear something that made sense and this definitely didn’t. “I just…I don’t understand sir” he admitted his confusion with a firm voice.
Dazai let out a small hum, “Do you think you should be fired?” He asked lightly, not seeming to care too much for the conversation. He began writing something on the papers he was looking at, while also waiting for the omega’s response.
“Do you want me to be honest?” The question left Chuuya’s lips without thinking, a bit of attitude in his tone.
It earned him the smallest twitch of Dazai’s lips, pulling slightly upwards. “Yes I do, my company values honesty Nakahara-san” the brunette answered as he wrote, his pen moving swiftly across the pages.
Chuuya sighed to himself, “well then yeah, I think I should be fired” this was probably it. Dazai wanted him to admit he should be let go just so the asshole could fire him in person. He should’ve known it wouldn’t be as simple as just letting him go home.
He stood there, waiting for the words to come out. The ‘then you’re fired’ to leave the alpha's lips so that he could just leave. Maybe Albatross was still nearby and could take him to get the kakigori to sweeten his mood.
But the words never came.
Instead, Dazai organized his papers into a pile, “make electronic copies of these signatures and email them to my collaborators from f*ckuoka” he stretched his hand out to give the papers to Chuuya.
The redhead just stared at his hand, what the hell was going on?
“So…I’m not fired?” He couldn’t help but question because this felt like he was in some TV show and not real life.
Dazai blinked at him multiple times, face not at all amused. “If you were, I wouldn't be having you do this for me, right? Now hurry up, my arm is getting tired” he complained, a deadpan look on his face, not at all seeming like his arm was actually failing.
Chuuya took the papers hesitantly, still waiting. For what? He wasn’t sure but just for anything that could indicate at all that he was being tricked. “Also, send me my schedule for today, I’ve probably missed so many meetings because of you, don’t be late again, now go” Dazai dismissed him with a wave of his wrist and went scrolling through his computer.
“Yes sir, sorry…” he spoke unsurely but he gave a small bow before walking out. Albeit slowly. When he came back to his desk, the workers were coming back from lunch break. Great, he didn’t even get to eat anything, he hoped his stomach could survive the rest of the day. Just think of the kakigori. He mentally prepared for a hungry day and sat down at his desk.
He took out his phone to take a picture of all the papers Dazai signed and make an electronic copy. Couldn’t he have just signed these online? He feels like this was unnecessary. Not that he could say anything because then he’d be complaining and he also feels like Dazai might be…close to firing him. If he didn’t fire him from the sh*tshow that was Friday then he must be on thin ice at this point.
Right?
Oh wait. He almost forgot to send the alpha’s schedule to him. Chuuya opened his laptop and quickly added the man’s schedule to their shared calendar. Now that that was finished he went back to his original task. As he took the pictures of the documents a text message popped up from the top of his screen.
Mori Corp Victims(╥_╥)
Yuan:
Chuuya!!!!
Yuan:
You’re here :0
Ranpo:
wow you actually showed up
Ranpo:
(¬_¬)
Ranpo:
it was almost like you got fired or smth…hm
Yosano:
Cut the attitude Ranpo
Yosano:
Hey Chuuya, lunch was so weird without you
Chuuya smiled at his phone, his friends' texts making him feel less panicked. He was added to their group chat after he attended the game night and it was entertaining to see their texts. It also may or may not have made him feel happy to know that they missed him in his absence.
Chuuya:
Hey guys, sorry I came late, it's been a weird morning
Kunikida:
Don’t worry about it Chuuya, just remember to be on time in the future. It’s important that as workers we are here to do our job, it is our responsibility after all.
Ranpo:
blah blah blah
Ranpo:
kunikida you talk just how you text ಠ_ಠ
Kunikida:
Is that a bad thing?
Kunikida:
I keep myself the same in any form I take, including text messages.
Ranpo:
someone teach Kunikida some text lingo pls ┐(￣～￣)┌
Atsushi:
In any form??? Kunikida-san are you a robot???????
Shirase:
Using that many question marks should be a crime tbh
Chuuya laughed quietly and put his phone away, not wanting to get distracted by the chat’s banter. He felt a sense of relief wash through him all of a sudden. He thought about no longer working with his new companions and it made his heart hurt. He was glad he wasn’t fired, even though the decision made him confused to a certain extent.
Once he finished taking pictures, he used his computer to make electronic copies. He emailed them to several of the Mori Corporation’s new associates in f*ckuoka. Who he will be meeting with Dazai next month, it made him nervous.
The idea of traveling with his boss, he’s never had to do it before and Dazai just made him want to consider his life choices. At least he knew he wouldn’t end up being bored out of his mind. His head would just explode from anger instead.
There was a meeting he had to set up for that would take place in about half an hour. Chuuya stood up from his chair, grabbed his laptop, and made the small trip to conference room A. When he got in he placed his things down and then went to set up the smart board for the presentation. There were also some papers he needed to set out for everyone to grab. Chuuya messed with the board’s buttons, trying to get it to display the program used to show presentations.
Once he got it done, all that was needed was for the representative to connect their device and they were good to go. Chuuya shut the blinds that let other people see into the conference room, in order to give the group privacy as the meeting went on.
He had to run to the printer to get the papers ready, waiting in a small line since the others were occupied. Why did everyone suddenly need to print something?
After a couple of minutes of waiting, he finally was able to use the printer and got that done swiftly. Then he was back to the conference room with a pile of papers in hand. There were two papers he had to give out, one with some random statistics and another was a summary of the project proposal. If he saw correctly there were 10 people in the meeting, including him and Dazai. He didn’t need any papers so he just had to make 9 copies of both.
He was placing the papers neatly in front of each chair when he felt a presence behind him, “so you’re still here huh?”. The omega was startled by the sudden voice, he turned around to be met with a man who was a bit too close for his liking. Did he have no sense of personal space?
He didn’t recognize this guy from anywhere, “excuse me?” he pardoned, his eyes narrowing. He did not like this man’s vibe, and he reeked of crappy cologne.
The man smirked, gross, “I thought Dazai would have gotten rid of you by the end of the week, it’s what he usually does with all the other ones” he explained, and Chuuya tried to find an opening to sneak past him. But it was like he was purposely trying to corner Chuuya against the table. Also, his lack of honorifics when uttering the boss’s name told Chuuya that this man was bad news.
“What did you do huh? The boss has never hired an omega, let alone kept one, so you must have done something” Chuuya felt displeasure spike up in his gut. He inched back more towards the table as the man tried to get closer. He was talking about omegas like they were pets, how distasteful. And anger-inducing.
But Chuuya tried to stay silent, he already had an outburst last week. Another one would surely get him on probation if not fired. He gripped the edge of the table, careful not to dig his nails into the wood and possibly break a nail. That would be a pain in the ass for sure.
“What was it? I already have my own ideas…” Chuuya saw the way the man’s eyes moved to his neck and a bit lower. Crap. He was in such a rush that he left the top of his dress shirt unbuttoned, revealing some collarbone since he had no tie. In any normal situation it wouldn’t be a problem, but right now…
“What the hell are you getting at?” the ginger snapped defensively. Though he already had an idea of what the man was insinuating and it made him feel like throwing up.
Suddenly he was caged in between the man’s arms, he was leaning on the table from either side, “You must be good” he murmured as he looked the omega up and down. Now that he was this close, Chuuya felt incredibly suffocated by the man’s scent. His hand instinctively came up to try and push him away but the man wouldn’t budge.
He felt his heartbeat in his chest speed up from the unpleasant proximity. “Get off me asshole” he cursed but that only made a laugh erupt from the other’s mouth.
Chuuya was basically leaning backward over the table to get away from the guy’s face. “You’re a feisty one, aren’t you? That must be the reason, I didn’t know Dazai was into the resisting types” It got to the point where there was no more space to lean away. Unless he wanted to crack his back in half. And the man’s words were not helping Chuuya’s temper.
He made firm eye contact, his blue eyes met with such an egotistical expression that he was put off. Did this guy think he was attractive or something? Because he was far from it. Chuuya knew he wouldn’t feel an ounce of regret at that moment and his glare got more intense.
He brought his leg up and kneed the guy in his stupid dick. “I said get off of me pompous ass” he raised his voice as he watched the guy’s knees buckle and he backed off.
Was he even part of this meeting? If he wasn’t then he really had some guts to follow Chuuya.
“Ow what the hell! You bitch” the man yelled as he clutched his crotch in pain. Chuuya didn’t care for his insults, it wasn’t even creative. If he is going to try and insult Chuuya he should at least actually try . But bitch? Really? At least the demeaning name did make sense for someone like this guy to use. They didn’t care about anything other than smelling their own ass.
So why care about good insults?
The door to the conference room opened and Chuuya’s head snapped in that direction. If this guy brought back up then he’d have to dish out some more knees to the crotch.
But instead, an all too familiar brunette walked in on the scene. Dazai stopped in his tracks at the sight, his calculating eyes trying to figure out what happened before he walked in. He looked between Chuuya, to the guy, and back to Chuuya.
The man in front of the omega was still in pain, small curses escaping his lips. Good . He was lucky they were in a professional setting.
But his demeanor seemed to change the second he saw Dazai in the room. Chuuya watched as he straightened himself up and plastered a stupid grin on his face. “Jeez, boss you need to train this one” he joked and the redhead felt like punching him this time.
Train?
Train ?
Whoever this man was, he really wanted to be on the other side of Chuuya’s fists. He felt his jaw clench to prevent himself from saying anything else and he watched the man walk (limp) to the exit.
The CEO didn’t respond to the man’s jeers, he didn’t laugh, or smile, or glare, and instead remained silent. In fact he didn’t even look at whatever his name was, he was looking at Chuuya, observing him. “I’m going to go take a bathroom break, I’ll be back” the arrogant f*ckwad said before he walked out.
Once the door closed, silence followed as the two just stared at each other. The omega was wondering why Dazai was staring at him, and suddenly he felt antsy. He was waiting for him to ask him what happened, demanding an explanation for why one of his workers seemed to be in pain.
But again, not following Chuuya’s expectations, Dazai broke eye contact and went to sit down in his spot at the head of the table. Not saying a word.
And that was fine with Chuuya. So, he resumed his task of setting out the papers and then sat down beside the alpha, but not before buttoning the top of his shirt. “Here” he handed out the two papers to Dazai and the man took them swiftly and silently began to read through them.
Chuuya drew his attention outside the building's windows. He looked at the view of the city, not having much of anything else to do. He was still getting used to working so high off the ground. He didn’t have a fear of heights or anything but it was something new.
His ears heard a sigh leave the man beside him, “that was Hayashi, he’s been working here for a while” Chuuya turned to look at Dazai as he suddenly spoke. Like usual, the alpha didn’t look at him as he spoke, it was a habit the ginger had noticed by the end of last week.
Either Dazai thought he was extremely ugly to look at or he had an issue with keeping eye contact with Chuuya. He was betting on the latter because, not to be full of himself, the omega knew he was more than decent-looking.
“I’ll fire him” Dazai stated simply, and Chuuya had to process his words.
“Wait what?” his full attention was on the CEO beside him now. How could he say something like that so casually?
“Well, I’ve been meaning to fire him anyway, it was inevitable” the brunette mentioned, as if he wasn’t just talking about ruining someone’s career. “I don’t like his…attitude” he surmised with a sliver of disdain showing on his features.
There was no way Dazai just suddenly decided to fire the guy because of what he saw when he walked in right? If anything he should be reprimanding Chuuya for kicking the guy in the nuts. Even though the boss wasn’t there to witness it, it was pretty obvious what happened.
“But I…sorta kicked him” Chuuya’s voice came out a bit embarrassed, he should be held accountable too.
Dazai didn’t seem to care too much, “he deserved it” he spoke nonchalantly.
“But you weren’t even there” he was trying to figure out Dazai's whole charade. Also, why was he suddenly talking to him without being forced to? Anytime the alpha had spoken any words to Chuuya it was either about work or to insult him because of his work. But now…
“And?” the CEO’s response was instant, not giving Chuuya room to think.
“And…you can’t just fire him without evidence” the omega answered incredulously.
It was at that point that Dazai decided to look at him, “yes I can”. There was no undertone to his words, it was straightforward and factual. Because it was true, he was the CEO so technically he could fire him for whatever reason but wasn’t he risking a lawsuit?
“And if you so desperately want me to get evidence, that wouldn’t be a challenge at all” Dazai nudged his head in a particular direction. Chuuya looked up in the corner to see a security camera that seemed to have a view of the whole conference room.
The brunette placed the papers on the table, “Hayashi just dug his own grave, he’s an imbecile really” he explained with a sigh. Chuuya wondered if there was some unsaid history between them, something he wasn’t privy to.
He wanted to ask more but the door to the room opened and the team who was presenting came in, including Hayashi. Chuuya guessed he was too much of a wimp to come in on his own, so he waited for his coworkers. Especially by the way the man avoided Dazai’s gaze as the alpha seemed to stare him down.
It really was the ice cream on the cake when it turned out that Hayashi was the team representative, and therefore giving the presentation. As it went on, Chuuya would sneak glances at his boss only to see that he looked exceptionally disinterested.
By the end, there was a round of questions from Dazai and it was almost painful to hear Hayashi struggle to respond. At least it would’ve been if Chuuya didn’t currently hate the man’s guts.
The meeting was over and they all filed out of the room. Chuuya felt his stomach growl as he walked, his hunger catching up to him. So, he took a detour to the elevator and down to the cafeteria for some food. Just a quick snack.
As he looked through the fruit options, the colorful assortments were pleasing to the eye. But as soon as his eyes were on the strawberries he went wild, filling up a small bowl with them. Not wanting to look like a strawberry addict (which he was) he put in some pineapple too. It still looked like a mountain of strawberries though.
He decided not to eat in the canteen since it wasn’t even lunch break and just went back up to his floor. He sat at his desk, bowl in front of his laptop, and he summarized all of his notes from the meeting into a document.
The rest of the work day went regular, nothing crazy, just normal tasks. By the end he fixed just about everything he missed in his absence, apparently Dazai had actually missed a meeting in his absence. He pushed back other meetings to squeeze it in the morning tomorrow as an apology.
Speaking of apologies, he internally sighed as he shuffled into Dazai’s office at the end of the day. As usual, the second he walked in the alpha’s attention was on him, “you know Nakahara-san, you don’t have to come in here to say goodbye at the end of every day” he…joked?
Chuuya wasn’t sure to be honest. He couldn’t tell if the man was serious or trying to take a jab at him. Or both? Either way he ignored it, “I came to apologize for Friday…I shouldn’t have yelled” he muttered. He was not going to apologize for the insult though.
Dazai deserved that one. In his humble opinion.
The man seemed surprised by his apology, even a bit weirded out. I mean sure it wasn’t one of the omega’s best apologies but did it really warrant Dazai’s slightly confused expression. “You’re apologizing?” He questioned and now Chuuya was the one confused. Didn’t he just say he came here to apologize?
The ginger nodded hesitantly, “yeah? Is that okay?” he answered, more like asked a question to another question but that’s besides the point.
Dazai cleared his throat suddenly and looked away, “yes it’s fine, I just never…” he trailed off, stopping himself from saying whatever it was he was going to say. He sighed, “nevermind, I accept your apology, I should also give you an apology as well then?” He was asking Chuuya like he himself wasn’t sure how apologies worked. Strange.
Chuuya just nodded to tell him that yes, that is what you’re supposed to do during an apology. “Right, then I also apologize for being a bit too…Ill-mannered previously” the CEO apologized, rather awkwardly.
A bit? Only a bit?
He swallowed those words back down his throat, he could not start something again. Especially when they seemed to be making progress? If he could even call it that.
“I forgive you, also sorry for causing you to miss that meeting this morning” he quickly added and he watched how Dazai seemed to roll his eyes. Roll his eyes?
That was new.
“It’s fine, in fact, thank you, that meeting was going to be a bore anyway” the brunette stated flatly. Chuuya just nodded at his words, not really knowing what else to say. His phone beeped in his pocket and he quickly took it out to check it.
Tross:
Yooooo I’m outside
Tross:
Some lady came up to me a few minutes ago and asked if I was an Uber?
Tross:
Does Uber even allow motorcycles??
Chuuya couldn’t help but smile at the texts and he looked up at Dazai, who minded his own business, looking at his computer. “Well, I should head out, goodnight sir” the assistant said with a slight bow.
“…Goodnight Nakahara-san” Dazai muttered, now not paying Chuuya any attention. The omega left quietly and when he got outside it wasn’t hard to spot Albatross on his motorcycle given that the red color stood out so much.
As he approached, Albatross spotted him and gave him a wave, “Hey, ready for some kakigori? Lipp will meet us there” he said as he passed Chuuya his helmet.
Chuuya felt anticipation hit him at the sound of the delicious treat.
“Yup, I’m ready”
