Chapter Text
“It’s been a long time since a human sought my power.”
Chuuya blinked, then blinked again. He stared at the man (creature?) in front of him. Messy brown hair half obscured black horns sprouting from his head. Bandages covered his right eye and flowed from his limbs, seemingly unaffected by gravity. His teeth were sharp enough that he could easily rip out a man’s throat with minimal effort.
And for some reason, he was sitting on Chuuya’s bed.
“How the fuck did you get in here?” Was the first question Chuuya managed to ask. Somehow, it felt like the most important thing in the moment.
“You summoned me,” He answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Like he wasn’t some… thing just staring at him like it wanted to devour him.
“Like hell I did!”
“Ah, but, you’re still bleeding from the ritual,” The creature pointed to the cut on Chuuya’s finger. It was a paper cut, one he’d managed to get when reaching for another sheet of paper to outline his essay on. “And your runes are sitting right there.”
Chuuya looked at the paper he’d been doodling on instead of working on his essay. It was filled with circles and other abstract shapes he’d been absentmindedly drawing for the past few hours. Except, they seemed to glow now that he looked at them. And the little bit he’d bled onto the paper was nowhere to be found.
“You smell delicious by the way~”
Chuuya nearly, nearly, jumped when he heard the creature’s voice whisper into his ear. His breath felt hot yet his hands felt cold as he grabbed Chuuya’s chin. He tilted his head so that he was gazing directly into hungry, blood red eyes.
“So, little human, what is it you summoned me for?”
Chuuya stared for a moment before pushing the creature away. The force of it sent his desk chair rolling, building up a nice distance between them. “There’s been a misunderstanding.”
“Oh? No need to be shy~” The creature stepped forward, his eye full of amusement. “You want to use my power, don’t you? Just say the word and-”
“Listen, I really don’t have time for this shit,” The amusement suddenly gave way to confusion as the creature realized that Chuuya was serious. “I have six hours until this essay is due. I don’t know what the hell you are or where the hell you came from and I’m sorry for disturbing you or whatever but could we pick this up again later?”
The creature looked at him for a moment before it began to laugh. The sound, unlike the creature’s smooth voice, was grating to the ear. It sounded like it came from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
“What the hell’s so funny!?”
“Ah, I’ve just never met a human so…” The creature trailed off with a grin. “I’ve been accidentally summoned.”
“Yeah, well, congratulations. Now get the fuck out so I can do my work.”
“Oh silly chibi, that’s not how this works~” Chuuya glared at the creature but he kept speaking. “When you summon a demon, it’s to make a deal. I can’t leave until we’ve made a contract.”
“What kind of contract?”
“It can be anything really. You could ask for wealth, power, whatever your heart desires~” The demon moved closer. His grin was sharp and mocking as he placed a finger delicately on Chuuya’s chest. His breath caught in his throat as the demon continued. “In exchange, I get your soul.”
After a moment of silence, Chuuya finally spoke up again. “Why the fuck would I agree to that?”
The demon pulled back in surprise. He stared at Chuuya like he was an idiot for a moment before clearing his throat. “Because otherwise, I can’t leave.”
“And? I’m not giving up my fucking soul just so you can go home,” Chuuya wheeled his chair back to his desk, ignoring the stunned demon standing in his dorm room. “Now can you shut up for a couple hours? I need to get this done.”
Instead of protesting or arguing, the demon simply sat back on Chuuya’s bed, apparently at a loss for words.
“I could kill him for you~” A low voice whispered in Chuuya’s ear. He sighed and ignored it as he threw his failed paper in the trash. “You worked so hard on that assignment~”
“Maybe I would have gotten a better grade if I wasn’t distracted.”
Instead of answering, the demon (Dazai, as he’d learned) simply crossed his arms with a pout. “Maybe I wouldn’t be so distracting if you’d make a contract with me.”
Chuuya rolled his eyes as he tried to ignore Dazai’s antics. “There’s nothing you can give me that’s worth more than my soul.”
“Are you sure? I’m a very powerful demon!” As if to prove his point, he suddenly appeared in front of Chuuya to block his path. Chuuya simply walked through him. “Hey, wait!”
It had been three days since he’d managed to accidentally summon the bastard. Three days of near constant whining and annoyance. If he could have, he would have already kicked the stupid thing to death days ago. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t touch Dazai unless given permission. The demon had explained it was because they were on different planes of existence. Chuuya thought he was just a coward. A coward that, fortunately for everyone else, only he could see.
“If you’re so powerful, why don’t you just fuck off already?”
“I already told you, that’s not how this works!”
“For some reason, I have a hard time believing that,” Maybe, if he didn’t catch the way Dazai’s mouth watered when he stared at him for too long or the downright ravenous looks he got, he might have been more inclined to believe he was truly stuck. As things were, it was clear that he at least had some motivation to stay by Chuuya’s side.
“Well, it doesn’t really matter what a stupid chibi thinks,” Chuuya kicked at where Dazai stood. How unfortunate that it simply went through him. “A brutish and ugly chibi too.”
“Lay off my height, asshole!”
“You know, I could make you taller if you made a contract with me~”
“Go to hell!”
“What do you think I’m trying to do?” Dazai huffed as he walked alongside Chuuya. “You’re the one making things difficult.”
“Can’t you make a deal with someone else?” Chuuya lowered his voice as other students passed by. “I’m sure you can find someone dumb enough to sell you their soul somewhere around here.”
“Ah, but I can’t leave unless I get the soul of the one who summoned me,” Dazai looked down at him, eye hungry once again. “That means I’m stuck with your disgusting soul.”
“You’re not stuck with shit,” Chuuya grabbed his ID to unlock his dorm building. “Because you’re never getting my soul!”
“What a stingy chibi,” Dazai placed his hand on the door when the ID wouldn’t register. Suddenly, the lock clicked, allowing Chuuya access. “If you made a contract with me, I could give you a better personality.”
“Why don’t you give yourself one?”
“Because I’m obviously perfect, unlike a certain slug who won’t even make one single deal.”
“Take that back, bastard!”
“A tacky slug who likes tacky hats and can’t even write a simple essay.”
“You were distracting me, dammit!”
Dazai grinned at him, his sharp teeth on full display. Yet, somehow, he didn’t look threatening in the slightest.
“The chibi’s working his tiny brain too hard~”
Chuuya paid no mind to the voice whispering in his ear. Now wasn’t the time for distractions, now was the time to finish the last ten pages of his paper before he got points docked for being late.
“Why do you always wait so long to do these?”
It was a good question. One which Chuuya didn’t have an answer for. Partially because he couldn’t explain his procrastination but mostly because his brain took off hours ago. After several cups of coffee and multiple energy drinks, his brain was mush, which didn’t bode well for his grades. He was sure it was Dazai’s fault somehow.
“Humans are such fragile creatures,” Dazai rested his chin on Chuuya’s head. When he tried to bat him away, his hand simply went through him. Stupid bastard. It wasn’t fair that he got to pick and choose when he could be touched. “Demon’s don’t even need sleep.”
“Good for you,” Chuuya turned to glare at him but his vision was all fuzzy. He was sure that it didn’t make for a very intimidating sight. “Now will you fuck off and let me focus?”
“Even if I did, you can’t focus like this,” Dazai grinned from ear to ear. Beneath the bandages on his face, a red glow peaked out. “So I might as well keep bothering you!”
“I hate you,” He turned back to the computer, his eyes stinging from staring at it for so long. “And I hate this stupid fucking essay.”
“You know-”
“No.”
“You don’t even know what I was going to say!”
“I’m not selling my soul for a fucking essay!”
“Mm, I didn’t think so, but Chuuya’s no fun to tease when he’s so tired,” Dazai placed his hands on Chuuya’s shoulders. It felt strangely possessive. “How about this, you go to bed and I finish this for you? You get to witness the amazing powers I have to offer and I get to tease you even more when you wake up~”
Chuuya looked up at Dazai with a glare. “I can do this-”
“Oops! Too late!” Before Chuuya could protest, Dazai placed his hand on his forehead. Suddenly, he could no longer keep his eyes open as what little energy he had drained from him.
”Sweet dreams, Chuuya.”
The next morning, Chuuya woke up feeling strangely refreshed. Things only got stranger when he found his essay finished and turned in, despite having no memory of doing so.
“Chuuya should really eat healthier,” The words were followed by Dazai shamelessly licking Chuuya’s neck. He didn’t bother pushing him away since he already knew it wouldn’t make a difference. “He’d taste better if he did.”
“That just makes me want to eat worse.”
“But I’m just looking after your health!” Dazai gave an innocent smile as he pulled Chuuya close. “Afterall, we can’t make a contract if you die too early~”
“Now I really don’t want to eat better.”
“What a mean shortie! I could cry!”
“Go ahead.”
“This is why you should ask me to give you a better personality!”
Chuuya ignored Dazai as he looked down at the third instant meal he’d had that week. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to take the stupid bastard’s advice. Though, it was obviously for himself and not to please the annoying demon who was still whining into the crook of his neck.
“How is it so soft?” Those words were what greeted Chuuya as he slowly roused from sleep. Blearily, he blinked up at Dazai who was gently running his hands through his hair.
Ah, he must have still been dreaming. Otherwise the demon wouldn’t be giving him such a soft smile.
Without thinking, Chuuya grabbed Dazai’s wrist. The fact that he could actually touch the demon only served as more proof. Dazai was never brave enough to let such a thing happen. The moment he did, he’d certainly face retribution for all the annoyance he’d dumped on Chuuya over the past few weeks.
“Chuuya-”
“Shitty Dazai,” Chuuya pulled the demon so close that their noses nearly touched. He reached for his hair but got caught on his horns. They were smooth and strangely warm to the touch. Much warmer than the wrist held tightly in his grasp. “Why don’t you let me do this when I’m awake?”
“Ah,” Dazai looked away, his face a strange shade of red that bordered on purple. “Chuuya’s dreaming.”
“Hm…” An odd thing for a dream to say… And now that he thought about it, the last time he had a dream was when he was eight years old-
“Have you ever thought about cutting your hair?”
“The hell’s my hair got to do with anything?”
“It’s so soft and pretty,” The words flowing so freely from Dazai eased his suspicions. Yeah, there was no way any of this was real. Dazai would never compliment him. “I’d be sad if you got rid of it.”
“I won’t do it then…” Chuuya nodded as he closed his eyes. He ended up falling back asleep still holding onto Dazai.
The next morning, Dazai couldn’t seem to look him in the eyes.
“Chuuya’s so mean!” Dazai pouted as he stood, draped over Chuuya.
“You’re lucky I’m not kicking your teeth in, bastard,” The words came out so casually that they held no bite to them. It had been two months since he’d accidentally summoned Dazai and in that time, he’d learned to control his reactions at least a little. “Now fuck off, I’m busy.”
“Is your stupid assignment really more important than me?”
“Of course it is, it’s worth almost half of my grade” Chuuya turned back to the demon who looked far from the threatening monster he claimed to be. “And weren’t you the one who told me I shouldn’t procrastinate?”
“I didn’t mean you should ignore me!”
“Could you make up your mind already?”
“How can I do that when I’m being ignored by a tiny little fairy!?” Dazai wrapped his arms around Chuuya’s chest and buried his face in his shoulder. “I demand attention. And a massage.”
Chuuya rolled his eyes and ignored him. For whatever reason, Dazai had started letting Chuuya touch him before freely in the past few days. Of course, the first thing he did was kick the demon in the shins, something which he’d received no end of complaints about. After that, he’d give more gentle touches as a sort of reward for not being an annoying bastard for two seconds.
And if he liked the way Dazai leaned into his touches, well, that was no one's business but his.
“Being a good student is so boooring!” Dazai continued to whine but it fell on deaf ears. In an attempt to shut him up, Chuuya ran his fingers through his hair. It looked like it would feel soft but really it felt almost like metal wires. If he wasn’t careful, he was sure he’d manage to cut himself. “Can’t you start this tomorrow?”
“You’ll just throw another fit,” Chuuya ran his nails across Dazai’s scalp. The weight on his shoulder grew heavier as the idiot grew too lazy to support even his own weight. “If I get some of this done tonight, I’ll have free time tomorrow.”
Dazai looked up. He frowned at Chuuya’s laptop before resting his head against his cheek. “Or I could do it while you’re sleeping.”
“I’m not selling my soul for a term paper.”
“Ah, but you could consider it a gift.”
Chuuya suddenly stopped. He turned to Dazai, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “For what?”
“An apology,” Dazai beamed at him. “It’s my sorry gift for you being so short and ugly and- Ow!”
Chuuya cut Dazai off when he yanked a fistful of hair. What an annoying bastard. Still, he could handle some petty insults if it meant he didn’t need to worry about his assignment.
“If you half-ass this, I’ll kick you to death.”
“Such a brutish shortie~” Dazai grinned. “I can’t die anyways.”
“I’ll find a way.”
“Hm,” Dazai tightened his grip on him. It felt… nice. Almost like a hug. “I’m sure you would.”
“I’m hungry,” Dazai said as he laid on Chuuya’s lap. Chuuya was absentmindedly brushing his thumb along the other’s jaw as he texted friends to make arrangements for move out. In less than a week, he’d be going home for his last winter break. “Feed me.”
“We have plenty of snacks, just grab some.”
“Your silly human food won’t nourish a demon,” Chuuya looked down at him.
“Then why the hell are you stealing my snacks all the time?”
“For fun,” Dazai shrugged. Chuuya smacked him on the nose. “What I really need is a human-”
“You’re not getting my soul.”
“It doesn’t have to be a whole soul!” Dazai suddenly sat up, his eyes strangely bright. “Regular energy would work too, I just need something now.”
“Find someone else to bother then.”
“But Chuuuyaaaa-”
“I’m busy.”
“I’ll leave you alone if you feed me” Dazai snatched Chuuya’s phone from his hand. He flicked it between his fingers, making it disappear before Chuuya could get it back.
“I was in the middle of a conversation, asshole!”
“They’ll still be there,” Dazai dove dramatically onto Chuuya’s lap, his arms outstretched. “But I might die of hunger!”
“You said you couldn’t die.”
He suddenly stopped. He looked Chuuya right in the eyes as he said with a straight face, “The more hungry I get, the more annoying I’ll get.”
“Fine. I’ll feed you or whatever if you leave me alone,” Dazai beamed at him. His eyes glowed slightly as he sat up. “And give me my phone back!”
“I don’t have the strength to until Chibi feeds me~”
“Bullshit,” Chuuya grumbled as Dazai gently cupped his chin with his hand. “So how does this work?”
“Hm, I need a way to take the energy…” Dazai smirked in a way that could only mean trouble. “So a kiss would be the best way.”
“Whatever, let’s just get this over with,” Chuuya grabbed Dazai by one of the loose bandages around his neck. Before he could react, he yanked him forward into something that could be more easily classified as a headbutt than a kiss. Dazai didn’t seem to mind though, he didn’t even move as he made Chuuya do all the work. When he finally broke the kiss after a couple seconds, the idiot just had a blank look on his face. “Was that enough.”
“What?” He looked weirdly dazed as he blinked a couple times. His cheeks were a dark red that bordered on purple. Then, he suddenly looked away. “Ah, that was hardly a snack. As expected from such a chibi… We need to do it again.”
Chuuya rolled his eyes but went along with it. Afterall, kissing Dazai hadn’t exactly been a bad experience. Maybe if he was feeling generous (and ignoring how lost the demon looked in the aftermath), he could even call it good... Good enough to want to do on a regular basis.
By the time they were done, Chuuya felt woozy from whatever Dazai had done to him. He laid on his lap, not quite aware enough to stop the bastard from using his phone and canceling as many of his upcoming plans as he could.
“This is bad for my reputation, you know,” Dazai laid with Chuuya, limbs tangled together. He ran his hand through his hair which Chuuya didn’t mind. As long as he wasn’t intentionally knotting it, then it was fine. “Normally it only takes me a few hours to get someone’s soul.”
“It’s not my fault if I’m not stupid enough to fall for your bullshit.”
“Ah, but it is, isn’t it?” Dazai held him closer. “Chuuya has all my power at his fingertips, but he still refuses to use it.”
“Because I don’t care about your shitty power.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” Chuuya closed his eyes. He focused on cool fingertips trailing against his scalp. He didn’t flinch or back away as a cold hand pressed to his cheek. He didn’t need to open his eyes to see how reverently Dazai was staring at him.
A demon. His demon. A bastard who couldn’t (or, as he suspected was more accurate, wouldn’t) leave his side no matter how annoying they found each other or how much they argued. He smiled at the thought.
“There’s nothing more you can give me that I want,” Chuuya didn’t miss the slight hitch in Dazai’s breath. He didn’t miss the way he paused, his touch lingering as if afraid this moment would dissolve into an illusion. Chuuya opened his eyes so that he could look at the demon’s face. His eye was wide, his mouth slightly parted. Chuuya couldn’t help but place a lazy kiss to it. “So stay with me, shitty Dazai.”
Dazai’s look of shock softened into a smile. “Of course, I’m stuck with you anyways, aren’t I?”
Chuuya hummed. He knew that Dazai wouldn’t leave, even if he had the opportunity. He knew because he already had Chuuya in his grasp, even without claiming his soul.