[open] one's home is one's.... hopefully-not-burning-like-the-actual-palace castle

[gekkajuu]

Who: Atsushi (gekkajuu) & anyone/everyone
What: A fairly subdued housewarming party! Also a chance to get some activity in while waiting for the event. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
When: Now. Ish. Now is good.
Where: Olympia, Noble District because tiger boy is moving up in the world~
Warning(s): None..? This is an open mingle, so tag each other with some (probably) lighter stuff between all the WAR and RAWR! Should things get some kind of naughty, please put proper warnings in your subject lines, thank you.

It's almost certainly not the biggest mansion in the Noble District - but who cares? Atsushi is honored (and more than a little surprised) that he got offered this housing in the first place. Carefully inquiring about the rent (because of course this had to be some kind of scam?), he was told that there wasn't any, and he could simply live there for free.

There is always that voice in the back of his head telling him "if it seems too good to be true..." - but he's trying to get better about ignoring it. After all, even if he has to go back to a simpler place to live later, there's nothing lost. So he moves in (together with some friends), tries to find his way - and organizes a housewarming party almost immediately. He could use something to distract him... and so could other people, probably.

Join him? The mansion is still pretty empty - Atsushi's previous possessions aren't enough to fill so much as his bedroom - but the kitchen is full, and there's enough furniture in the living room to make yourself comfortable, a long table decked out with food and drinks that took some effort to procure.

Some options:
- Enjoy the food! Enjoy the drink! Atsushi isn't big on alcohol, but he invited Chuuya to live here, so you can bet your ass there will be something to get drunk off.
- You're welcome to raid the kitchen, too! ... but, seriously, don't open that ribbon-tied box with a note that says "for Reign-san". Yes, those are some tasty-looking mochi - but they have a secret ingredient.
- Do you want to look around upstairs? The master bathroom is huge. Please don't have sex in other people's beds, though... Or do, I'm not your boss.
- Just do your thing, man. It's a party. Forget about the city being on fire for a few hours, and try to have fun. Or plot how to achieve peace over some nice snacks, that's also appreciated.

Floor plan, to help you visualize the place, is this - with the minor change that the office and massage rooms are combined into a single room: the guest bedroom mentioned in Atsushi's network post.

Comments

[thetaintedsorrow]

[Chuuya huffs, and he might be blushing for a split second, but he quickly composes himself before it can become a big deal. He’s allowed to think things are adorable, okay?? Even a big, bad Mafia can see how fucking cute Daifuku is. Fight him about it, Atsushi.]

Yeah, well.

[That’s it. That’s his defense.

There’s no use thinking about Yokohama anymore. Chuuya himself is guilty of dwelling on the past during nights spent in solitude in his room, but in the end there’s no bringing back the city he knew and loved. This is his new life now, and by god he’s going to make the most of it.]

If I get some spare change I’ll think about it.

[He’s going to do it.]

Sure thing. Just bathing and brushing him should do it. Have you tried either of those?

[It’s not an accusation; Daifuku looks fuzzy and healthy, but he could use a bit of cleaning.]

Or giving him a scratching post besides peoples’ legs?

[Yeah, Daifuku might’ve tried that on Chuuya. After one rake by those sharp claws he’d lovingly scruffed the cub and sent him on his way, though. He’s cute, but ouch???]

[gekkajuu]

[Atsushi would never fight anyone over that. If anything, he deeply agrees.]

Of course! I brush him regularly. Bathing, less so... He enjoys the water, though, so I let him play in it sometimes. Either the bath, or a lake, or...

[Things like that. Dylas probably takes the cub swimming more often, on all those fishing adventures. Actual bathing, Atsushi only does when the cub has gotten dirty.]

We didn't have room for things like a scratching post... [Said with more embarrassment than defensiveness. It's true that Daifuku likes clawing things up from time to time, though Atsushi lets him do it outside more often than not.] I suppose we can get one now, however.

[thetaintedsorrow]

Relax. Obviously he’s happy and healthy. Could use a nail trim, though.

[Chuuya rubs Daifuku’s belly one more time before standing up and stretching. It’s a nice party, and there’s plenty of booze to be had, but something feels like it’s missing. It’s a persistent feeling that hasn’t left him since he’d arrived on Nysa; he’d chalked it up to missing his career as an executive, but...it feels...different, somehow.

His expression suddenly turns somber.]

It’s funny, isn’t it? How an executive like me is a nobody here?

[Meanwhile Atsushi is moving up in the world.]

You’re well liked in Olympia, right? The empress trusts you?

[gekkajuu]

[Ah... Atsushi had sort of expected this moment to come. Everyone has some kind of emotional lash-back of realization eventually, no matter how well their new life worked for them, and regardless of knowing the facts from the start. It just can't be helped.]

I don't know that the Empress even knows I exist, but... I've somehow managed to do pretty well here.

[Something he still barely understands. In retrospect, it all seems to have come to him so easily, almost without him trying for it. That makes it feel so fleeting, like it could all disappear just as easily... and yet, he's happy to enjoy it while he can.]

But then, I've been here a while now. It's been... eight months already? [He lets out a breath of a laugh, more awkward than amused.] It seems a lot longer and a lot shorter at the same time.

[thetaintedsorrow]

[It’s not like Chuuya to be so unsure of his own future, but without the Mafia dictating nearly every aspect of his life, he has no idea what to expect. At least back in Yokohama he could count on dying an early death, which gave him plenty of incentive to live it up every chance he got. Now though? Chuuya has no idea what to aim for besides material wealth. No more aspirations to climb the ranks, no more Mori to please. Everything he does from now on will be for himself and himself alone.]

Eight months and you’ve already got yourself a mansion? Goddamn, the hell did you do to earn that?

[gekkajuu]

I really didn't do anything!

[Which probably isn't something to say as defensively as Atsushi says it - achievements aren't something to get defensive about, surely? - but with Chuuya talking that way, and Atsushi still not understanding what he did do to earn his mansion, it just can't be helped.]

I've tried to help people, and I've done what I could for the city when I could, but even so, it doesn't amount to much.

[Which honestly hurts a little to say. He'd feel a lot better about getting his mansion if he felt he'd done something to deserve it.]

But that's the kind of place Olympia is. Maybe it's not perfect, and maybe it will never be Yokohama, but there are equal chances for everyone, even refugees like us.

Maybe realizing that and acting on it is the only thing you need to do, to earn things like this.

[thetaintedsorrow]

Whoa there. Calm your tits, Atsushi.

[Chuuya raises one finely trimmed eyebrow. Who gets that defensive about their accomplishments? Then again, this is Atsushi he’s dealing with here; Chuuya may not know him incredibly well yet, but he’s one of those bleeding heart types that won’t be satisfied until they’ve run themselves ragged for the sake of others.]

Mansions don’t just drop out of the fucking sky. Clearly you did something to earn it.

[A huff. Chuuya is in desperate need of more booze, god damn it.]

Maybe. Or maybe you should just admit that you’ve apparently done plenty of good shit to get in somebody’s good graces. Either way, you got a fucking mansion out of it, so at least being a good guy is paying off on this planet.

[gekkajuu]

[Being called out on getting defensive like that doesn't really help; would-be reassurances help even less. Atsushi doesn't understand how he earned himself a mansion, and he probably never will. He'll always wonder if somehow his name got mixed up with someone else's, and that's how he got a gift meant for that other person, now deprived of what they deserve.

But he can't do anything about that. All he can do is much the same as he did in the Armed Detective Agency: desperately try to earn the kindness he received after the fact.]

Yes... Yes, it is.

[Being a good guy definitely pays - which is the point he was trying to make, while he was freaking out a little.]

That's really all I've tried to do, here: to be a good person.

[He's no longer defensive, but still apologetic to the point of almost ruining his own mood. It should feel good, being rewarded for simply acting like a decent human being, but somehow it's more depressing than anything.

Maybe it's only because things never worked out that way, back in their own world, and they really should have. Or maybe Atsushi just knows from experience than nothing this good can ever last, and not understanding why this all happened in the first place only makes the bubble seem more likely to burst.]

[thetaintedsorrow]

[...siiiigh. Why does he feel guilty now? All he was trying to do was point out that Atsushi did well enough during his time here to earn a reward, and now the guy looks miserable. Way to go, Chuuya, raining on Atsushi’s parade at his own party. Shit. Ugh.]

...I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to make you question everything. I’m glad you got the place. You earned it, even if you’re too goddamn stubborn to admit it.

[He considers ending this conversation here, but he’d rather avoid bad blood between them if he’s going to be staying here.]

Cheer up. Appreciate what you’ve got while it lasts. If it all turns to shit later then at least we’re in it together, got it?

[gekkajuu]

[Atsushi has thought the same, of course: no matter what happens in the future, at least he has the mansion for now. May as well enjoy it while it lasts.

Except that's not quite what Chuuya turns out to say, and Atsushi is confused for a long moment or two, mentally checking that he heard right.]

Really?

[... Well, he has to make sure(?)! He wouldn't hold it against Chuuya if the guy would drop him like a ton of bricks the moment shit hits the fan. What Atsushi would hold against Chuuya is if the guy promised him they'd stick together, and then drop him like a ton of bricks.]

That is: I just mean... if you don't want to, that's all right, too.

[thetaintedsorrow]

[Chuuya doesn’t lie to or bullshit people on principal. The less he’s like Dazai the better. He doesn’t expect Atsushi to trust him completely just yet, but he could at least give him the benefit of a doubt. Jeeze.]

What is it with you and second guessing everything?? I just said that I wanted to, didn’t I??

[HUFF. Have a little faith in him, Atsushi! Just ignore the fact that he was in the Port Mafia! It’s not like it’s relevant anymore, anyway.]

I’m not saying we’re gonna be together forever or anything ridiculous like that. I’m just saying I’m not gonna bail the second shit goes south. Believe me or not, like it or not, we’re stuck in this together now.

[gekkajuu]

I-I don't second-guess everything!

[Yes he does, which is why having it pointed out to him so bluntly is embarrassing. He just wanted to protect himself a little, emotionally! He wouldn't bother doing that with everyone, but... somehow, with Chuuya, it's different?? Or it's just the situation with the whole mansion-getting (and the city being on fire) wearing down his reserves.

Regardless, they seem to have talked it out, now - Atsushi for one sees no reason to drag out the would-be argument - and with that, realization sets in.]

... Chuuya-san, you're really a nice person, aren't you?

[How this kind of person managed in the mafia, Atsushi can't even imagine.]

[thetaintedsorrow]

...apparently.

[He’s gone soft, hasn’t he? How ironic. It wasn’t all that long ago that Chuuya had accused Dazai of the very same thing. Now look at him, reassuring Atsushi when he has absolutely zero obligation to. Just because he was invited to live here doesn’t mean he has to pledge his loyalty to this boy.

Ugh. Whatever. He needs another drink.]

Anyway. I'll let you get back to your actual guests.

[He bends down to scratch Daifuku between the ears one last time.]

I’ll be boozing it up if you need me.