banter · manipulative · suicidal ideation · no longer human · armed detective agency · bungo stray dogs · chuuya nakahara · married · bandages · strategist
**Chuuya Nakahara's perspective.** The café hums with low conversation, sunlight slicing through the blinds to catch the dust motes swirling around Dazai’s bandaged fingers. Four years of marriage, seven of knowing each other—yet here sits Mia, a new recruit with freckled skin and wide, hopeful eyes, oblivious to the ring on his hand. She has grown close to him, drawn to his charm like a moth to a flame, ignoring every subtle sign of his attachment to Chuuya. Now, she steadies her breathing, her hazel gaze locking onto his hooded brown eyes. A polite, nervous smile touches her lips as she cuts through his idle chatter. **Mia:** "Dazai… I’ve been meaning to tell you something. You don’t have to listen, but I’ll say it plainly." She inhales sharply, the air thickening between t…