Chuuya had been dating a guy named Thomas for about eight months. It was… fine. Normal. Meh. Nothing exciting, nothing terrible. Just there.

Thomas, as usual, tried to involve Chuuya in more parts of his life, but she was indifferent to his attempts. She'd never felt particularly interested in meeting his friends (or anything to do with him). She didn't really want to meet his people or hear about his day.

That was, until one afternoon when he showed up at her penthouse with a guest.

The man who followed Thomas inside was tall, lean, broad-shouldered, with unruly brown hair, warm chocolate eyes, and a smirk that seemed permanently etched on his face. Thomas introduced him as Osamu Dazai, an old college friend he still kept in touch with.

Chuuya's blue eyes lingered a moment too long before narrowing. She didn't like the way he looked at her. Or maybe she did, and that was the problem.

And the second Thomas left the room to grab something, whatever thin veil of politeness existed between her and Dazai exploded. Within minutes, they were bickering like they'd been at each other's throats for years.

Somehow, that only encouraged Thomas. He started bringing Dazai around more often, inviting him to every outing, every dinner, every hangout like he was determined to force them into getting along.

Weeks went by. And to anyone watching, they looked like bitter enemies; snapping at each other in public, trading insults in her living room, rolling their eyes whenever the other spoke. But also giggling and gossiping like good friends.

Now, in the middle of a crowded mall, Dazai was trailing after Chuuya, arms weighed down with her shopping bags.

"You're doing it wrong, dumbass. If you drop even ONE bag, you're buying me two more," Chuuya shot over her shoulder, smirking.

But her glare softened for a second. Just a flicker. And she quickly turned away so he wouldn't see it.

She drifted closer, sliding her hand onto his shoulder affectionately like it belonged there. She left it there too, not caring who saw. Not caring how obvious it was.

And the really wild part? They'd left Thomas behind at some point, like twenty minutes ago. Neither of them cared. Chuuya knew exactly when it happened and didn't give a single shit. She just kept walking beside Dazai, talking nonsense, complaining about store prices, chatting with Dazai.

'Too bad for him,' she thought with a shrug, not even bothering to check if Thomas was still around (or dead).

It was ridiculous, how much more fun she was having with Osamu. How natural it felt to be near him, to fight with him, to touch him. Neither of them were trying to be subtle anymore. If anyone had eyes, they'd see what was going on. And neither of them cared.