Chapter Text
Expect a call soon.
You didn’t know what you expected of a man like him. You shyly shoved your phone away from you and your computer, absolutely no notifications brightening the screen. You were sitting at the local library, multiple books stacked behind your monitor and papers scattered about on the right side of your desk. You looked busy, and you were. A week had passed since you encountered Dazai and ever since then you shamelessly checked your phone every five minutes. This wasn’t like you, when had you become so invested in seeking a simple conversation with someone who was obviously out of your league?
You shoved the book you were holding in your face and leaned back on your chair with a groan, arms dangling on your sides as you stared at the blurred letters. Where was “a strange handsome boy fucking calling you like he said he would” in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Psychology was starting to make you more depressed and you felt your heart sink. He was your hope at getting a kick out of living in this unknown city, which you hesitantly moved to after earning a full-ride scholarship. Even after living here for a year you could simply not get used to the unfamiliarity of it all. Sure, you had some amazing and supportive friends, but with the both of them being taken and talking about their partners 24/7 you were practically fourth wheeling at all times.
“Are you sure we’ll find anything here? It seems like the most… unexpected place to find answers.”
“At a library? If you’re doubting my skills right now I’m doubting your intelligence.”
“No, no! I mean in our case, the library was the last thing in my mind.”
The peaceful atmosphere was abruptly interrupted by two voices that appeared to not know how libraries work. Your book slipped off your face to reveal a frown. You allowed it to rest on your lap as your eyes scanned for the culprits. To your surprise, you found yourself making eye contact with a familiar pair of plum and golden eyes, which lit up in equal shock as they recognized you.
“Atsushi!” You whisper-shouted at said boy, who beamed and started to wave. His companion, a shorter male clad in a brown attire and a blue tie, looked over at you for only a fraction of a second until something must’ve clicked in his head and his staring became prolonged. Though you started to become a bit nervous, you stood from your chair to greet the two. You relished in the feeling of your bones cracking and your muscles stretching after sitting for too long inhaling knowledge to distract yourself. “What a coincidence to bump into you here,” You plastered a smile on your face as you jogged up to your new friend.
“This is hardly a coincidence, it’s the public library in the most populated area where you live and we work. You have poor social skills, maybe just ask about the weather next time like everyone else,” The other one stated nonchalantly, continuing to search for the book he needed, standing on his tiptoes to see the labels of the books on the higher shelves. The stick of the lollipop in his mouth shifted to the right while simultaneously he turned his head to face you. “You’re the one Dazai’s been talking about these past few days. He’s getting annoying.”
You slowly raised your hands up as if admitting defeat. Atsushi, next to his coworker, began to sweat and scurried to find the proper response. “This is Ranpo, another one of my coworkers and friends. Um, he didn’t mean that, don’t worry,” He laughed sheepishly, attempting to recuperate the joyous aura of spotting you again.
“Yes I did.”
Your face became increasingly red and you puffed your cheeks until you could no longer hold it in. You laughed loudly, bending your torso at an angle and holding your stomach. You felt several pairs of eyes on you now but you couldn’t help the wheezing from your lungs at what you had just heard. Atsushi stared at you with a mixture of confusion and concern while Ranpo sported a blank expression, absolutely failing to understand what the joke was.
“Oh. My. God. Ranpo, was it? You’re hilarious, I love you so much. Please be my friend,” You fanned your face to stop the tears of laughter from rolling down your face. In an instant, Ranpo was thrown off. A light pink appeared on his cheeks and he squinted his eyes at you, lips trembling.
“What? How can you say that when you just met me? Are you mentally ill?” As your laughter subdued and Atsushi exhaled the tension of Ranpo accidentally making a bad first impression, the three of you began to indulge in idle chatter. Soon enough your legs began to move on their own. You accompanied Ranpo and Atsushi around the town, tagging along as they gathered whatever they needed for the day. Not a minute of silence appeared throughout, topics endlessly surging and opinions being spewed left and right, disagreements and agreements and their accompanying reasoning making for a lengthy conversation.
Your fun little trip came to a stop inside a convenience store, where you offered to buy Ranpo snacks after learning he was an addict. He roamed about the store, exploring aisle through aisle while his arms began to get full of snacks. You conversed with Atsushi while at the same time deadpanning as you realized you practically signed up to have all your money taken away. The sun, beginning to set, said its goodbyes by painting the once baby blue sky with a mandarin color, allowing a velvety purplish deep blue to take over. Ranpo swung his baggy of snacks as he walked, nibbling on the tip of a strawberry Pocky stick. You and Atsushi carried the rest of the items– books, packaged paper, smaller boxes– in your arms.
“We’ve arrived!” Ranpo exclaimed, stretching his arms above him. You froze in your tracks. This was the same coffee shop where you'd met Atsushi, Dazai, and Kunikida. You slowly turned to look at Atsushi for an answer.
“Our workplace is just above this coffee shop,” He smiled, pushing the door open with his back and keeping it open with his foot, allowing Ranpo to enter first and you to follow after. “Do you wanna come in? Maybe say hi to Kunikida or Dazai?” The boy turned to Ranpo. “Is that even allowed?”
Said male only shrugged, already making his way to the door leading to the stairs. “I don’t see why it wouldn’t be allowed.”
The both of them looked over at you with anticipation but you gave them a sad smile in response. “Honestly, it’s been so fun but it’s getting late and I really do have to head back. Maybe another time-” Before you knew it, Ranpo had already taken you by the arm with both hands and was forcing you inside the elevator at a speed you didn’t even know he could reach. You barely had time to react, your face completely blanked as you allowed yourself to be dragged around. Before you knew it, the bright red light shone a “4” on its screen.
“Fukuzawa is going to meet my new source of snacks,” He beamed, kicking the wooden door of his workplace open and prancing inside. You stopped by the doorway, and instead took a step back, focusing on balancing the items you held.
“Is that all I am to you? A wallet?” You pouted, and then turned to Atsushi who had followed shortly after. “Seriously, I’m not going in. Where should I leave these?” Atsushi set his own items on the floor beside the door and extended his arm to receive the rest.
“I can take those. Thank you so much for the help today, (y/n).”
You handed the boxes and packages over to Atsushi with a nod. “No worries. Now that I know where I can find you I’ll probably be stopping by more often and lend a hand when you need it.”
Atsushi remained crouched on the floor even after setting down the stuff. He thought of the times the office had been raided, the times even the people in the coffee shop couldn’t be saved from the danger their work inevitably attracted. He rose from his spot, turning to look at you with a somber look which brought you confusion. “Thank you, but maybe it’s best if we sought you instead.”
You slowly nodded, popping your lips. “Ahh, right, right. I probably shouldn’t disturb you guys a whole lot. That works fine for me,” You pondered asking for a phone number or even an email, but being reminded of Dazai’s empty words made you reconsider. “I’ll see you around then, yeah?” You smiled weakly at Atsushi who returned the expression.
“Do I hear (y/n)?”
A familiar voice called from inside the office. Immediately you spun on your heel to leave, your legs moving faster than your mind thought. You did NOT want to say hi to Dazai, especially after he’d left you feeling so bitter and stupid waiting constantly for a call. Even after you saw this coming, the disappointment was immeasurable. What was his problem? These thoughts awoke the anger from earlier and you were almost stomping away. A firm hand on your shoulder stopped you in place and slid down to your upper arm, gently turning you to face the other way. “Leaving so soon? I’ve been dying to see you again all week, why didn’t you stop by again?”
You directed a hint of a glare at Dazai who, to your surprise, looked very enthusiastic to be talking to you. “Well why didn’t you call?” You crossed your arms over your chest, narrowing your eyes while observing his face become the slightest bit pale.
“My phone broke the day after I gave you my number,” Dazai’s head hung low as he murmured. He didn’t look too sad, but dejected enough to make the excuse plausible.
“You’re lying.”
“No, he isn’t. I broke it.”
Ranpo slowly made his way toward the two of you, his expression conveying a stoic look that made you wary. Dazai stared at him. The brightness once exhibited in his orbs from seeing you was now completely gone, leaving behind dull chocolate. You felt tension in the air thicken at the speed of light and goosebumps formed on your skin.
“I wanted to play catch with Yosano but she was being boring and doing work. Eventually I ended up not throwing a crumpled ball of paper from my well crafted stack and instead threw Dazai’s phone, which I had stolen earlier because I was bored.” Ranpo stated this casually, rolling the stick of a new lollipop in his mouth with his index and thumb. You looked from him to Dazai, but couldn’t tell what he was thinking. All you saw was brown locks and the side of his jawline with his body still half twisted toward you.
“Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t…”
“You don’t trust me,” Dazai finished your sentence for you, eyes still on Ranpo. This isn’t what you wanted to say but you’d be lying if you began to deny his claim. You tightly clutched the strap of your handbag with your left hand, turning once more towards the elevator.
“I really have to get going. I’ll see you around.”
Whether you were saying this to Dazai or Ranpo didn’t matter now, as their attention was devoted completely to each other. They stood in the hallway alone, the same tension from before making the air almost impossible to breathe in.
“I should’ve seen this coming. This is very uncharacteristic of you, Ranpo.”
“I needed to make my own judgment, I hope you don’t mind,” Ranpo shrugged, lifting his arms in the air. Dazai’s eyes narrowed in response.
“You owe me a new phone… and privacy when it comes to my love life.”
At this, Ranpo muffled a scoff that ended up sounding like a mixture of a cough and a weak chuckle. “What ‘love life’ do you speak of? You could’ve found a way to contact her, borrowed or bought a new phone. Or should I say manipulate a store owner to give you a new phone? You could’ve sent mail since, of course, you know where she lives even before you’ve had your first date.”
The more he spoke, the more steps Dazai took towards him. At this point he was face to face with the man, making direct eye contact.
“The main goal was to keep her waiting. To have her think of you every day, and although she’s clearly interested in you, you want her hooked completely. You want her to think of you during lunch breaks, as she cooks dinner, as she zones out while reading her psychology textbooks. You want to be her last thought when she goes to bed and her first one upon waking up. This is hardly love, this is obsession. You want full control of her every move and every thought— you’re luring her in like a moth to a flame. Clearly she has met your expectations, coming all the way over here even though she didn’t want to face you. For that, you're the one who owes me.”
Silence took over the room. Neither of the men moved a muscle the entire time. Outside, crickets began their routine, singing the melody of the dark night sky. A heavy hand fell on Ranpo’s shoulder. Dazai didn’t tighten his grip, merely keeping the male glued to his spot.
“You know you’re like a brother to me.”
He bent to Ranpo's level, staring no longer staring at him but straight ahead. As he spoke, his breath moved the untamed strands of Ranpo's hair. "I would really hate for you to get in the way." He spoke calmly and softly, making his words all the more menacing.
“I only wanted a taste of whoever had good old Dazai all riled up.”
Ranpo took the hand on his shoulder off of it, holding Dazai's wrist as if it were a tissue on the ground and letting it drop limply to his side. “She’s a good one, Dazai. Don’t mess up.”