Chapter Text
Kunikida was the ideal of what every Alpha should be - reliable, caring, protective, strong - he was the sort of Alpha that you read about in story books, the kind that Omegas fell asleep dreaming about. Everything he did, he did carefully, keeping his calm, his patience, never letting impulse or instinct take him over…Untill he met the enigma that was Dazai Osamu. The dark haired man took Kunikida’s precision and patience into his hands and snapped in half. To the blonde’s chagrin, somehow he’d subconsciously adopted the infuriating man into his pack. The stern but caring beta, Fukuzawa, their always reliable, always levelheaded leader. Their genius, Ranpo Edogawa, also a beta, there was no problem he couldn’t solve. A fiercely protective Alpha, Yosano, who smelled of sharp cinnamon and a hint of blood. Kenji, a young Beta, Kyoka, who still hadn’t presented, likely due to her traumatizing environment. Junichiro, yet another Beta, a boy who was frequently puzzled by instincts, subgenders, and all the likes of that. Atsushi, an Alpha who’d presented incredibly late, only once he was with the Agency, with a soft, still somewhat repressed, scent of something warm on a stove and sandalwood. Then, Kunikida, the “perfect” Alpha, who smelled of eucalyptus and fir. And, of course, Dazai Osamu. He’d never told anyone his subgender, but his lack of scent indicated a Beta classification. Sometimes, Kunikida swore he could pick up a hint of vanilla, but he dismissed it as a side effect of Dazai’s womanizer nature - with all the Omegas he was around, it wasn’t surprising some of their scent lingered around him, and it was never strong enough for the blonde to get more than a whiff - and he was revered for his very strong sense of smell.
It was a day like any other, meaning, of course, a day unlike any other. In the Agency, abnormality was commonplace. Kunikida and Dazai were on their way back to the office building from a mission. It hadn’t been very difficult, they’d snuck into a building that was rumored to be manufacturing weapons illegally, blown up the stash and machinery, then left with security tapes that they would hand over to their office staff to analyze and identify culprits. Dazai was walking with a regular spring in his step, practically skipping along the sidewalk - incredibly unprofessional, but what else is new? - when a very angry looking man began running towards them from behind, clutching a crowbar in his fists. He didn’t have a nametag, but the two detectives immediately knew he was involved with the scheme they’d just wrecked.
Since Kunikida was the stronger fighter, it was typical for thugs to go after him first - Dazai physically looked weaker and smaller, and was usually underestimated - however, as he braced his stance and pulled a weapon from his notebook with a: “Doppo Poet!” their assailant changed course, winding his arms back to swing at Dazai. The brunette instinctively shifted his stance to jump out of the way, but Kunikida had instincts too, and jumped forward with a growl, tackling Dazai out of the way of the swing, causing them to both skid painfully on the concrete. Kunikida wasted no time in jumping to his feet and firing the stun gun he’d summoned a moment ago before the man could ready another swing. The attacker screamed, shuddering from the volts, and collapsed to the ground, muscle weakness and shock causing the crowbar to drop from his hands. Bystanders had already called the police, and people were gathering. Quickly, Kunikida moved over and yanked the man’s hands roughly behind his back, handcuffing him securely. He was aware that he was baring his teeth and still growling a little, scent lashing out angrily at this Beta man who’d had the audacity to swing on his partner and pack-mate.
A familiar hand came down to rest on the blonde’s shoulder as officers arrived to take the man away. “Calm down, Kunikida-kun, I’m fine!” Dazai soothed, but not without a teasing lilt to his voice. The brunette hadn’t been seriously hurt, thankfully, but he was scuffed up from Kunikida’s tackle and their concrete tumble. Honestly, things would have turned out better had Kunikida refrained and allowed Dazai to dodge on his own - unfortunately, there were times he just acted without thinking. Dazai wasn’t helpless in the slightest, he was an ex-mafioso genius who’d dodged much worse than a poorly aimed crowbar. But still, Kunikida couldn’t help himself. The idea of just allowing someone he cared for (and yes, he would grudgingly admit - only to himself! - that he cared for the man) to be hurt when he could have done something was sickening.
Kunikida straightened and bowed respectfully to his work partner, finally able to repress his scent and stop growling. “I apologize. I should have let you dodge on your own. You’re incredibly capable, and I undermined you. It wasn’t intentional, just instinct.”
Dazai reached out a hand and patted the blonde’s head, teasing but affectionate. “Stupid Alpha,” he said, but his words were the same as the head pat he gave, no real bite to them. There had been a time where he would say something along those lines and mean it with every fibre of his being. Upon first joining the Agency, he had turned up his nose at all things subgender, but particularly Alphas. If he’d met an Alpha in that mentality, he’d immediately assume the worst of them, even with his genius he had complete distrust in all of them, including the ones in the Agency. He’d been as skittish around Kunikida and the other ADA Alphas as a lamb in a wolf pack. Oddly, he’d also been wary of the Betas, but not nearly to the same degree, and he got over that fear much sooner. It had taken a very long time for Kunikida to gain his partner’s complete trust, and even longer for Yosano. By the time Atsushi was taken in, Dazai’s bias was mostly gone – of course, there were times he was unfairly suspicious of Alphas involved in their cases, or strangers, but those he knew well didn’t bother him anymore. In fact, he was even supportive about some things. For example, when he was on rut leave, it was a regular occurrence for Kunikida to find care baskets outside his door. There was never any note or indication of who it was from, but the blonde didn’t need one – he was easily able to pinpoint a certain brunette as the culprit. He never said anything about it to him, he wouldn’t want to embarrass him or make it stop.
Kunikida stood up straight with a small sigh before turning to speak with the officer, grabbing his badge from his back pocket and flipping the case open to flash the well-known ADA emblem. “I apologize for the trouble, officer. If you wouldn’t mind, please take him to the station and keep him detained, he’s involved in illegal weapons trafficking. I’ll send more information shortly, however I need to get back to our office and file my own report there. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.”
The man stammered briefly before giving up on speaking and just nodding. It was against protocol to just take someone in without interviewing and reviewing and…but, well, the Armed Detective Agency was the Armed Detective Agency, and he knew better than to do anything that would get himself involved with them.
Kunikida turned back to Dazai who was poking the apprehended man and grabbed his wrist, pulling him along on the path they’d been walking before being interrupted. Dazai’s eyes twitched to briefly look to the side and he walked faster, coming up to Kunikida’s side and whispering: “Laugh like I just told a funny joke when I pull away.” His eyes were serious. “On our right, across the street, a group of men. Look at them in the glass display reflection to our right.” Kunikida glanced at the arrangement behind the window and noticed the same people Dazai had. “Follow me.” Dazai pulled away and Kunikida laughed loudly as he’d been asked to. Dazai laughed as well, further selling it, then moved ahead of Kunikida, sliding his hand into the blonde’s to guide and keep tabs on him.
“Do we fight?” Kunikida mumbled under his breath, loud enough that Dazai could hear, but nobody else could.
“No,” Dazai responded, equally quiet. “We’re too outnumbered, and armed. We could win, but they’d hurt a lot of civilians before we’d be able to. Just follow me.”
The Alpha’s affirmative nod spurred Dazai on. The brunette picked up their pace very slightly, and when they rounded a corner pulled Kunikida into an alley and hurried through it. “Dazai, this is-” Kunikida hissed, and Dazai shushed him.
“I know.” The short walk took them back to the place they’d just been at - a little further on - the place they’d been attacked. From this position on the street they could see the group that had been following them turn the corner. “Come on now, let’s get a taxi!” Dazai grinned – any excuse not to walk or do work was one he would happily take. Kunikida just rolled his eyes and nodded.
‘Dazai truly is amazing…’ Kunikida thought to himself, another thing he was far too embarrassed to ever admit to the man himself. Perhaps one day he would tell him that despite how infuriating he could be, he scintillated every time he smiled.