"Y-YOU FUHUHUCKING JEHEHERK!!" Chuuya cackled like a maniac, throwing his head back into the old couch while arching his spine. Squirming and thrashing around were proved useless a long ago, but he simply couldn't help it — his body was moving on its own, his nerves screaming for a way out of this hellish situation he found himself in. "RELEHEHEASE ME NOHOHOW!!"
"You did it wrong, idiot," Dazai scolded, his tone soft yet poised with a second-hand mockery. He shook his head, moving one hand away from Chuuya's body and holding a finger out while he proceeded with the explanation. "It's a really simply trick, even a dumb dog like you can learn it."
"I-I'm nohohot a dohoh- aHAHA, SHIHIHIT! GEHEHET OUT OF THEHERE!!" He screamed, feeling his cheeks burn and some strands of hair sticking to his dampened forehead. Dazai's hands refused to leave his stupidly ticklish armpit, torturing each and every nerve until it they were nearly dull — just to then move a little higher or lower, starting it over.
"The book I read said patience and repetition are keys to taming dogs," he continued and Chuuya widened his eyes in panic as he saw the other hand coming back to 'work'. "Of course, a little reprehension is also necessary to correct… unwished behaviors."
Oh, how much he wished he could snap Dazai's neck in two right now. Chuuya pulled at his arms, both trapped under Dazai's knee, and planted his heels into the soft cushions, screaming insults as hard as he could through his angry laughter. Dazai only hummed along, keeping himself comfortably sat right next to his 'dog's' face, admiring his hysteric reactions.
Still, it felt like a rock was holding him down. He felt his hands going a little numb, his blood barely making to the tips of his fingers under all that jerk's weight. His pride was repeatedly telling himself to not submit, to not fall for Dazai's antics again — but it tickled so, so bad!
"F-FUHUCK!!" Chuuya shouted again, gasping as those words took the last bits of air he had inside his lungs. "F-FIHIHINE, YOU— AHAhahasshohole! AHah, w-wohohoof! WOHOHOFF!"
"Hm, what was that?" Dazai grinned, leaning his head a bit closer just to look down at Chuuya's desperate smile from the right angle. "Did you say something, mr. Doggy?"
"YOU PIHIHIECE OF- AHAHAH!" Chuuya widened his eyes, not expecting the tickling to get even worse than it already was. "I— AHAHA, WOOF! WOHOHOF, PLEHEHEASE!"
"Good boy! ~" Dazai purred and freezed his hands on spot, leaving his fingers curled, but still, against Chuuya's body. He watched the redhead's chest wave, his ragged and hoarse breath stopping the silence from taking over the place. "See? I knew even you could learn a new trick."
"G-go— hahh, t-to hell!" Chuuya whined, feeling his head spin. He had been tickled before, sure enough, but Dazai was simply a beast. He couldn't even figure out what that freaky bastard was doing to make him laugh like that. It didn't matter, thought, what matter was that it was ov—
"Oh," Dazai smiled, pressing his knee a little harder against Chuuya's hands again, as if changing his mind about letting him go. "I remember that the book said to praise and give treats to your dog while taming it, too. Supposedly, it helps them memorize the trick."
"D-Dazai, don't you f-fucking dare!"
"Now, who is a good doggy? ~"
"You piece of shiHIHI- AHAHAA!"
A/N: It's been a looooong while since I watched the show or read anything with these two, but they were the first to come up to me when I read this prompt so... hehehe
A/N: Happy Holidays @chibisstuff! I am your @squealing-santa this year and I am so sorry for the very last minute gift! I went ahead and chose Soukoku from your pairings and gave it a romantic flavor. I really hope you enjoy it and that you have a Happy New Year!
Series: Bungo Stray Dogs
Characters: Chuuya, Dazai
Summary: Chuuya receives an ugly Christmas sweater from Dazai as a present. The detective decides to use it as a means to tease and tickle attack the mafioso.
Word Count: 1,168
“Are you kidding me?!” Chuuya exclaimed, having opened his Christmas gift from Dazai. “Is this a sweater? No, wait – an ugly Christmas sweater? Seriously?!”
“I wouldn’t say it’s ugly,” replied the brunette, grinning innocently. “I think it’s cute and would look even cuter on you~”
“Shut up!” The redhead barked, but blushed despite himself. He lifted the sweater out of the box gingerly, as if the thing was contaminated. Dazai seemed to think that just because they were dating now, he was allowed to gift his mafioso boyfriend something as cringy as a Christmas sweater…
“Hold up... are these…?” Chuuya started, squinting at the characters scattered through the festive vomit of red, green, glitter and candy canes. “…dogs?!” His eyes sparkled with barely suppressed delight. Though they were cartoonish, he could make out their thick fur and curly tails and recognized them as…“Shiba Inu?!” Ugly or no, the dogs on this sweater were a nice touch, considering Chuuya’s fondness of them. Maybe he shouldn’t have reacted so negatively over such an obviously thoughtful gift…
Dazai chuckled, “nope! They’re Chihuahua–OOF!” And fell back against the arm of the couch, interrupted by the sweater making contact with his stupid face.
“Are you insulting me, asshole?!”
“Huh?” Dazai rubbed his forehead. “No! Of course not!” He lifted up the sweater. “I thought you liked Chihuahuas, besides, look–!” He pointed to a specific pup on a sleeve, “this one has a hat! Just like yours~ And then this one…” His finger moved to a puffy red-furred Chihuahua near the bottom hem, “it has the color of your hair!”
Chuuya covered his face with a hand and grumbled a barely audible: “I hate you so much…”
Dazai snickered, obviously enjoying the redhead’s reaction. “C’mon, put it on!” He tossed it in such a way that it landed atop his boyfriend’s head, covering it completely.
Chuuya ripped off the sweater in a flurry of unintelligible curses and flailing arms, “fuck no! You couldn’t pay me enough to wear this thing!”
“Oh please, Chibi~?” Dazai asked, leaning forward with his hands clasped together and wearing the sweetest look he could conjure. “Just for tonight? Pleeeeeeese?”
Chuuya’s blush darkened, not only because he found Dazai's face adorable in this moment but because the bastard was pleading… The agency detective knew exactly what he was doing and the Port Mafia executive both loved and hated it.
“F-Fine!” The mafioso finally snapped, slipping off his coat roughly and throwing it aside while the detective sat back and watched with a big smile.
Once the sweater was pulled on, Chuuya’s mumbled curses ceased. “Woah…” He stood up from the couch and made for the mirror hanging in the hallway of his apartment. “This is actually really comfortable.”
Dazai clapped his hands once, “I knew you’d like it!” Then hopped up and wrapped his arms around Chuuya from behind, giggling. “Aw! You’re so cute! And so soft~”
Chuuya tensed for only a moment before he relaxed in Dazai’s embrace. It was still strange for him, letting his guard down like this, letting this man, of all people, make him feel… safe.
“I-I never said I liked it,” Chuuya argued, feeling the temperature rise in his cheeks.
“But you never said you didn’t~” Dazai sang, resting his chin on Chuuya’s head, forcing the latter to sigh in resignation.
“Hmm…” Dazai hummed, titling his head at the mirror.
Chuuya growled, “what now?”
“It’s strange…” The detective removed an arm from around Chuuya. “I need to test something.”
“Test what, ass—HEE!” Chuuya jumped, derailed by a poke from Dazai on his belly, right where a dog with a candy cane in its mouth sat on his sweater. “What the hell?! Careful, idioIHIHI!” Again, the brunette poked, but this time on a dog wearing a Santa hat on the side of the sweater.
Dazai nodded once, “mhmhmhm… just as I suspected.”
Chuuya tried to smack the detective’s poking hand away, “suspected what?!”
Dazai whispered into Chuuya’s ear, “there’s a Chihuahua conveniently placed on allllllll of your ticklish spots~”
The mafioso went rigid. He stared right at his smirking boyfriend in the mirror and knew he was absolutely fucked.
“Damn you…” Chuuya said through gritted teeth. “Don’t you daAHAHARE–!” But it was too late, Dazai’s fingers were digging into either of Chuuya’s sides, right over two festive Chihuahuas. “D-DAHAHAZAI!” His hands clamped down onto his attacker’s. “FAHAHAHAHCK!”
“Oh, I dare,” Dazai smirked, slipping his hands easily away from Chuuya’s to scribble at the dogs on his ribcage next.
The redhead shrieked and fell back against him, flushed from neck to ears. “CUHUHUT IHIHIT OHOHOHOUT!”
“Tickle, tickle Chuuya~” Dazai’s hands started to alternate kneading and poking across all the Chihuahuas on the sweater, deftly thwarting any of Chuuya’s attempts to shove them away and so reducing the man to a cackling, blushing, squirming mess in his arms.
The mafioso found himself not only flustered beyond what he thought was possible but confused as to how this could still tickle so much while wearing this damn sweater! “I’M GOHOHOHOING TO KIHIHIHILL YOUHUHUHU!”
“Promise~?” Dazai kneaded into a spot just under one of Chuuya’s shoulder blades and when the redhead squealed, he giggled, “oh~ I forgot about this spot, thank you for reminding me, Chihuahua-san!”
“AGH! SHIHIHIT!” Chuuya could feel his knees start to weaken. “B-BAHAHASTARD! EHEHEHE! STAAHAHAP!”
“Almost done! I think there’s one more puppy~” Dazai’s eyes flashed with pure mischief when he spotted the last two dogs at the bottom of the sweater, just above Chuuya’s hips. “Aaaaaand–“ After drawing out the anticipation as long as he could, his hands flew to the spots and squeezed repeatedly. “Found them! Tickletickletickletickletickle!”
“AYIEEE!” Chuuya absolutely squealed as his knees finally gave out and Dazai followed him gradually to the carpet as to not let him collapse completely, teasing and tickling all the way.
A few more tickles later and then the detective finally released the mafioso from his tickly exploration…
“What a helpful sweater!” Dazai remarked while grinning, gently rubbing a giggly Chuuya’s back while he recovered. “I think I even found a new tickle spot or two~”
Chuuya sat up, his entire face still red, and tried to weakly shove Dazai away. “Ugh, you jackass… You bought this for me specifically so you could assault me like this!”
“I bought it because I like you, moron.” Dazai bumped his forehead against Chuuya’s. “Oh. And they are Shiba Inu actually, hehe,” he added with a wink.
Chuuya was too shocked by that statement to do anything but let out an exasperated growl, “God damn it, why are you like this?”
Dazai leaned into Chuuya, “because you like it when I keep you on your toes.”
“Ugh…” The redhead leaned further into the brunette and replied quietly, too tired to do much else, “yeah, yeah, whatever.”
Dazai smiled and touched his nose to Chuuya’s, “Merry Christmas, Chibi.”
Chuuya’s eyes met his and he returned the smile with a small one of his own, “Merry Christmas, asshole.”
A/N: Reading today’s topic, I remembered this picture and thought I would give it a try. I’m so glad I did. Number 04 - Tame - of @vqler's Tickletober prompt list of 2025 ft. Atsushi and Dazai from Bungou Stray Dogs.
Words: 1,242 under the cut
“Alright Atsushi-kun,” Dazai said, arms crossed behind his head as he lounged against the wall of the empty warehouse, “you’re supposed to be training, not sulking in the corner like a neglected housecat.” Atsushi, who was crouched near a patch of sunlight filtering through the dusty windows, let out a soft growl.
His large white paws flexed against the cracked concrete floor while his tail flicked once, clearly irritated. “I’m not sulking,” he would’ve said if he could speak in this full weretiger form. But instead, only a throaty snort came out, followed by a sharp exhale that puffed Dazai’s coat from across the room. “Oh?” Dazai’s eyes twinkled. “So grumbly today.”
The weretiger narrowed his golden eyes. Dazai pushed off the wall and approached him. His footsteps echoed through the empty warehouse, like a predator closing in on prey - though in this case, he was the smaller one.
"You’re supposed to be practicing how to stay in this form without going feral, yes?" he said, crouching in front of the massive beast. “Staying calm, centered… controlling your instincts - all that boring discipline stuff.” Atsushi nodded once, his ears twitched as the other came closer, a playful smirk on his face. “Great! So, you won’t mind if I… do this.”
Without warning, Dazai reached up and ruffled the thick fur beneath the weretiger’s chin, fingers wiggling playfully. Atsushi jolted, letting out a startled huff through his nose, backing up half a step. His ears flicked wildly. “I knew that’d get a reaction,” Dazai grinned, “so sensitive under the chin. Aren’t you just adorable?” he cooed.
Atsushi let out a low, embarrassed rumble - half-growl, half-moan - and tried to glare at him, but it was hard to look intimidating when your ears were twitching in all directions and your tail had started curling around your own legs in discomfort. Dazai scratched behind one of those ears, watching it flick as he made a delighted noise.
“I mean, seriously, this is the softest fur I’ve ever touched. Do you take care of it?” Atsushi tried again to speak - to say “Stop that, Dazai-san!” - but all that came out was a deep, frustrated “Rrrrrhhhrrmmf!” Dazai chuckled. “What was that? ‘Please, Dazai, tickle me more?’ Don’t mind if I do!”
And just like that, he slid his hands into the other’s thick, snow-colored belly fur, fingers curling and scratching gently up and down the sides. The weretiger twitched - violently - and collapsed onto his side, releasing a shocked yowl that turned immediately into a series of hiccupping, involuntary-sounding chuffs.
If he had a voice, he would be screaming with laughter, but in this form, all he could do was grunt, wheeze, and roll, tail flailing behind him as the tickly sensations shot through his furred body like jolts of electricity. “Ticklish here too? Hah! Atsushi-kun, you’re one big fluff of weakness,” Dazai teased.
Atsushi tried to crawl away - his big paws scrabbling against the floor - but it was no use. Dazai followed, easily keeping pace as he continued to dig his fingers into the tiger’s stomach, burying his hands in the fur and scratching them lightly in circles. “Wait- What if I do this?” He pressed both hands in just below the ribcage and wiggled mercilessly.
The weretiger arched in response, letting out a sound that was very nearly a squeaky chirp, his body convulsing and rolling helplessly onto his back. “Well, well, well, look at you now,” Dazai’s grin could not have been more smug, even if he tried, “rolling onto your back like a spoiled puppy, wanting attention.”
Atsushi tried to curl up - to protect himself - but he was too big, too exposed, and his tail betrayed him by thumping lazily against the floor. Even now, a deep, involuntary purring had begun to rumble up from his chest. Embarrassingly loud. “Oh no~” Dazai leaned in, pressing a hand to the weretiger’s side. “Is that purring? Are you enjoying this?!”
“NoHo!” Atsushi screamed in his head. “S-Stop it, iHihit tickles! I caHahn't!!” “Time to finish you off, kitty boy,” the brunette declared dramatically and climbed right on top of the giant tiger’s belly like it was a soft mattress. He lay down full length, smirking up at the glowing ceiling as if he’d just discovered his new favorite nap spot.
“Now this,” he sighed, curling both arms around the tiger’s sides, wiggling his fingers into the fur, “is what I call a proper bed. Warm, fluffy, and super ticklish.” The moment his hands began moving again, Atsushi erupted with new waves of jerking spasms.
His paws flailed in the air, back legs kicking, and his tongue lolled out as he emitted a wild mix of panting chuffs and near-roars. If laughter had a tiger form, this was it. “Ohhh my god, I can feel you laughing under me!” Dazai laughed, clearly delighted. “Your whole belly’s vibrating. Does it tickle that much? Poor thing~”
The action made him let out a breathless huff that vibrated the air around them, but Dazai didn’t stop. He switched to scratching lightly behind the tiger’s forelegs, in the soft crook where paw met chest, and Atsushi buckled. He flopped entirely to one side, tail twitching erratically, his ears pinned back, while purring uncontrollably.
“Alright,” Dazai said, laughing as he wiped tears from his eyes. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop. Only because I’m worried you might explode.” He slid off the tiger’s belly and flopped onto the ground beside him with an exaggerated sigh, one hand still loosely resting on the soft fur, gently crawling it.
The weretiger lay still for a moment, chest heaving, breath rattling through his nose. Then, slowly, with a shimmer of energy, his form began to shrink, condense, and shift - fur pulling back, limbs reforming - until Atsushi lay there in his human form, panting and red-faced, his silver hair a tangled mess, his eyes wide and glistening.
“D-Dazai-san,” he gasped, “wh-what the hell?! That wasn’t training!” Dazai groaned dramatically. “Ugh, you turned back? Boooo.” The grey-haired blinked at him, still breathless. “You-You were tickling me the whole time!” “Well, not you exactly,” Dazai smirked, “more like your large, overly fluffy tiger body. But it’s close enough.” “You’re insufferable.”
“And you,” Dazai said, suddenly lunging forward again, “are still ticklish.” Atsushi yelped as his fingers dug into his human sides, wiggling up under his arms without mercy and this time, Atsushi could scream. “DAZAI-SAHAHAHAN! NOHOHOHO! AHAHAHHA!!” His melodious, high-pitched laughter filled the warehouse, echoing off the walls in waves of bright joy.
He tried to push the other away, but that only made him squirm more, which made Dazai grin wider. “There it is! I missed that beautiful laugh~” “YOU- AHHAHAH YOU J-JERK!” After a few more merciless seconds, Dazai finally relented, pulling back with a wink and brushing invisible dust from his coat.
“Now that’s how you control your tiger instincts,” he said proudly “tickling the beast into submission. I should write a manual,” he thought out loud, lying a hand on his chin. Atsushi flopped back against the floor, breathless and red-faced, shooting him the most unimpressed look he could manage through the residual giggles.
“I really hate you,” he said weakly. “No, you don’t,” Dazai replied in a sing-song voice. Atsushi groaned and covered his face, feeling even more embarrassed. Dazai just laughed again, reaching over to ruffle his hair one last time.
Chuuya stood in front of the door, hands spread in a T-position, while Dazai wiggled his fingers at him menacingly.
“Dazai, no!” Chuuya looked at Dazai with a look of horror in his face, yet nothing could stop Dazai, this stupid mackerel, from…
“Ahhh!” Chuuya gasped and jolted when Dazai sneaked a slight poke to Chuuya’s sides, while proceeding to glare at the culprit.
Why, oh why did he even get into this predicament?
Well, a few days ago, Dazai was joking about how beautiful Chuuya’s laugh is, and said something along the lines of tickling Chuuya every morning before he leaves.
Chuuya, who is just engaging in playful banter, only replied with a “yeah, sure”.
It was only playful banter.This stupid mackerel shouldn’t take it seriously.
Yet here Dazai is, fingers wiggling at the shorter guy before him menacingly.
He’s not going to leave until I fulfill his wishes, right? Chuuya sighed, then resigned himself to being tickled.
“Just do it quickly and get it over with.” Chuuya mumbled under his breath. He’s going to die of embarrassment before he could exit this door.
“Well then, raise your hands so I can do it properly.” Dazai said, and watched in amusement as Chuuya’s face turned the same colour as his hair.
“R…raise my hands? Absolutely not, shitty Dazai.”
Coerced into being tickled and then needing to raise his hands willingly for that?
Never in a million years. Chuuya is going to die.
Yet one look at Dazai’s puppy eyes and he couldn’t help but relent.
Damn him and the love for his insufferable boyfriend.
Dazai smirked as Chuuya slowly interlocked his fingers behind his head. Hehe. He knew Chuuya will come to terms with his little prank after all.
And Chuuya looking shy while knowing he is going to be tickled?
Adorable. He’s going to keep this moment in his memory forever.
“Alright.” Dazai placed his hands on Chuuya’s sides, and Chuuya’s breath hitched and body tensed.
What a cutie. Dazai couldn’t help but tease his boyfriend some more.
“What? I’m not doing anything, why so nervous?” Dazai asked, receiving a menacing glare from Chuuya.
“That’s because… that’s because you are going to…” Chuuya stuttered through his words.
What was he even supposed to say? I want you to get it over with and tickle me?
“I am going to what? Use your words, Chuu-yaaaa.” Dazai teased, his fingers digging into Chuuya’s sides slightly, a reminder that he is going to tickle Chuuya, just not yet.
“You’re going to tickle m—EEP!” Chuuya whined, but before he could finish his sentence, Dazai’s fingers brushed over the length of Chuuya’s sides, and Chuuya let out an embarrassing whine.
“D-Dazai, hehe n-noooo.” Chuuya laughed when Dazai started his merciless attack.
Clawing at his stomach, massaging his hip bones, all these made Chuuya laugh and squeal in the most flustering way possible.
Yet all was history when Dazai started the torturous dance in his armpits.
The moment Dazai’s bony fingers dug into Chuuya’s armpits, Chuuya let out the most diabolical screech and slammed his arms down to protect the spot, twisting left and right to fight Dazai’s poking and prodding fingers.
“D-Dazai! Nohohoho!!!” Chuuya spasmed when he felt Dazai’s fingers scratch at the sensitive spot near his upper ribs.
Chuuya is sure he’s going to die. Not only are the ticklish sensation torturous, Dazai’s verbal teasing is totally not helping.
“Chuuya, didn’t I tell you to put them up? Well, put them up again, and I’ll stop the tickling.”
W-what?!! Chuuya’s face burned a darker shade of red at Dazai’s words.
Dazai wanted him to do what now?
Yet, Chuuya needed Dazai to stop, so he tried to raise his hands.Yet he was just too ticklish.
When Dazai switched from tickling his neck to his sides, Chuuya couldn’t help bringing his arms down to swat at Dazai’s hands.
At this rate, the tickling is never going to stop!!!
Luckily, Dazai finally had mercy on Chuuya, lightly tickling his chin while Chuuya attempted to put his hands up.
It still tickled, and Chuuya is positive he is giggling like an idiot, but at least it’s bearable.
As soon as Chuuya put his hands up, Dazai, true to his promise, stopped the tickling and captured his boyfriend’s lips into a kiss.
Heh. His boyfriend is so adorable. His laugh, his blush, his little twitches, his “Dazai, noooo” are all too cute for his heart to handle.
At this rate, he is even tempted to keep tickling him, forever, and ever, and ever…
Yet, Chuuya still needs to work. Giving him a quick kiss, he bid Chuuya farewell. (not without another hug first, of course)
“Oh and Chuuya?” He called out to his partner in the doorway. “This is fun. Can we do that again tomorrow?”
An annoyed grumble can be heard from his cute boyfriend, followed by a semi-reluctant “fine” before the door is closed, and his boyfriend is gone.
Heh. So Chuuya didn’t mind the tickling so much he’s willing to do it again?
This might be a possibility, or it could be Dazai’s wishful thinking, but one thing for sure is that Dazai can’t wait for tomorrow morning.
✿✿✿✿
Writer’s notes:
Another fic ohhh sooo sooo soooo unfortunately inspired by real life events (girlie got lucky again)
I think that when Dazai and Chuuya were 15 years old, they often fought over tickling (and for the most part, Chuuya was the winner, okay?)
It went something like this:
- hey slug, let's have a little competition?-Dazai grinned as he approached Chuuya.
- Do I look like a child?-snorted the redhead, turning away.
- well, generally similar..
- shut up, mackerel!
Dazai laughed, but still continued to say:
- Come on, who will quickly reach Mori-san's office and win?
- I remind you again, stupid, I'm not 5 years old.
Osamu looked expectantly at Chuuya, he knew that he could not stand it and would agree. And so it happened: Nakahara exhaled and nodded.
- To account 3. 3.. 2.. 1!
Both guys ran through the building of the Port Mafia, trying in every possible way to get ahead. One way to thwart each other was tickling.
-I'm going to crush you with gravity, you stupid Dazai! - Chuuya shouted, pushing Dazai in the side.
- oooh, how formidable! Let's see what you say if I do THIS! - Dazai grinned, deliberately slowing down his run to go behind Chuuya's back, and clung to his sides, wiggling his fingers.
Chuuya cried out, falling to the floor.
- no! Dazai! You..! AhafHahaAHAHA! S-shit!! Stop it! -whose laughter shouted him, wriggling and trying to get out. He could not use gravity to lift Dazai, as he touched him, which means you just need to throw off this idiot and take advantage of the moment. It sounds simple, but with Chuuya's stature, it was almost impossible.
Almost..
At that very moment, Nakahara arched his back so hard that Dazai could not resist and rolled off his partner's hips to the floor. Feeling, as he intended, took advantage of the moment and jumped on Osamu, tickling in all places he could reach.
- revenge is sweet, mackerel.. - Chuuya giggled in a villainous way, looking at how his partner literally crumbles into small particles with laughter.
- CHUUYAAA! Stop! Don't tickle meeeeheheheee! Yahhhahahahhahahaa! Get off! Bad dog! - and even in this state, Dazai managed to tease Chuuya, calling him a dog.
Nakahara stopped tickling him and rushed to run towards Mori's office, hoping to win.
And this hope was justified: he ran first, collapsing to the floor from laughing too hard and running too fast. Dazai also came running after him, falling to the floor for the same reasons.
They both looked at each other at the same time and laughed, realizing that they were both jerks.
