Chapter Text
Three months later
“Congratulations, Atsushi-kun! How does it feel to finally be married?”
Atsushi’s face turned bright red from embarrassment as Dazai only laughed at her juniors' antics, taking a sip of her whiskey, Atsushi downing his entire cup of sake before giggling.
“Great! Amazing…”
He mumbled, the brunette drinking more whiskey and snickering alongside him. Atsushi’s wedding took place earlier in the day and the pair of them had arrived at a bar with a couple other friends and family to drink the rest of their night away. Lucy had already drunk kissed her husband a couple of times before shouting to everybody about how much she loves her husband. She was currently sitting with Louisa and playing darts with her, making everybody join their game. Chuuya had offered to take Sayuri home after the ceremony, insisting that Dazai go celebrate instead of returning home with them. Yet the brunette kept checking the time on her phone in between their drunken stupors, Atsushi poking her in the arm with a questioning look.
“Why…” He had a frown on his face, Dazai listened while raising an eyebrow. “Why haven’t you proposed to Chuuya…?”
“H……” Amber eyes blinked in confusion as she looked up from her phone, shrugging a bit. “I don’t know….”
“Why?”
“Cause…” She threw her arms up, shaking her head and grabbing Atsushi by the shoulders. “..let’s not talk about me more, it’s your wedding nighttttt..and you should..”
She let out a loud yawn, letting go of his shoulders to grab her phone and bag. Atsushi merely watches her walk away while waving goodbye at everyone. As he’s watching her figure disappear in the background, he realizes something.
She never fully answered his question.
Sunlight creeps in through the windows and shines on Dazai’s sleeping face which makes her groan in annoyance as she shifts to her left side while pulling the blanket over head. Last night had been fuzzy but she remembers that Chuuya helped her get to bed and change out of her dress. She’d even cuddled her to sleep while humming a song.
If Chuuya had gone to bed with her, why didn’t she feel her arms around anymore then?
Rising from her pillows, she kicked the blanket off and dragged herself downstairs where it was even brighter — she wanted to curse the sun out. Amber eyes dragged over to the kitchen where she saw Chuuya. Chuuya wearing Dazai’s sweater and her hair done in a messy bun while preparing breakfast, Sayuri talking to her rapidly.
The moment seems domestic and tame.
One would think they were a married couple with a child.
She suddenly frowned to herself at the thought just occurred in her mind.
….what.
She mentally cursed Atsushi for planting thoughts of marriage into her mind.
“Good morning~”
She hadn’t noticed how Chuuya had already moved closer to her, planting a kiss on her cheek while handing a cup of black coffee — she knows exactly how Dazai likes her coffee. That makes her cheeks turn warm as she mumbles a thank you under her breath.
Chuuya grinned at her and returned to the kitchen to brew her own tea. She observed the red-head in silence, running her fingers through the sleeping cat's fur. Sayuri finished her breakfast in silence and started bothering Dazai.
“Mama, Mama, Mama, Mamaaaaa…” She had taken hold of her mothers arm and was shaking it rather violently while constantly chanting into her ear until replied in a sleepy voice.
“Yes, Sayuri?”
“Can I have a wedding as pretty as Atsu-chan’s? I want to wear a dress like Lucy did!! It was so fluffy! And sooo pretty!”
Dazai chuckled as she saw the sparkles in her daughter’s golden eyes, reaching up to ruffle her hair gently.
“Now, now… you have a whole life to live before you start worrying about marriage but you can have a pretty dress like Lucy did.”
“YAY!!”
Dazai smiled as she watched her daughter pick up their cat and run into the living room, Chuuya joined her side with her cup of tea, steaming leaving it in wispy shapes. Both of them were watching Sayuri fondly, Dazai, unable to keep quiet, spoke up in a lazy voice.
“You know,” She wrapped her fingers around the handle of her coffee mug, losing her gaze in the black liquid. “,I can’t imagine she’s already growing up.”
“It’s quite terrifying…”
She felt Chuuya’s hand rub her back slowly, a kiss being planted on cheek which made her giggle softly, moving to rest her head on the redhead’s shoulder.
“I hope Sayuri isn’t like me when I was a teenager.”
Chuuya raised her eyebrows a bit, taking a sip of her tea before clearing her throat.
“And may I know what type of teenager you were, Osamu?”
“Ahhh…” A shake of the head followed by another sip of the coffee before the brunette spoke.
“I was pretty much a lonely kid, didn’t have a lot of friends growing up.” Amber eyes stayed focused on Sayuri who had now started to mess around with the spare sheets of paper and markers that Dazai gifted her a while back.
“I used to mainly sit in the back of the class and draw. Everyone found me either really creepy or straight-up weird so I was also a pretty easy target for teasing. Just…”
She thought back to her school years and frowned. She never liked school, she never hated going home and having to hear her parent’s fight each other. Dazai had never fully considered the idea that she had a bad childhood growing up.
“I don’t think that’ll happen to Sayuri.”
Chuuya’s soft voice cut through the forming bush of thoughts, a hum given in response alongside gratefulness when she felt her girlfriend’s soft hand on her waist as a sign of reassurance.
“What about you? I’m kinda curious.”
The redhead scoffed a bit as she finished her tea, sitting down on the chair next to the brunette. Her fingernails tapped against the ceramic cup gently as she sighed a bit.
“I was super ambitious and stubborn. If someone told me I couldn’t do something, I’d go and do it, just to disprove them, no matter how stupid it was.”
“So, nothing changed?” Dazai joked a bit which earned a harmless punch to the shoulder as Chuuya kept talking.
“There was one time, I was visiting my cousins in my mom’s hometown. I usually go in the summertime and we all used to eat ice-cream every second day but there was this one ice cream that one used to buy because it tasted really bad.”
Her face twisted in horror at the thought, a small shudder going down her spine.
“Anyways, one of my cousins said that I could definitely not eat five of those without drinking water. I got mad at him for saying that.”
Dazai’s eyes widened as Chuuya shook her head.
“They were absolutely disgusting. My tongue was orange for two days…”
“Chuuya.” Dazai tapped her shoulder and spoke with seriousness. “That is either the coolest thing ever or the stupidest thing ever.”
“I–” She rolled her eyes as she picked up their dishes. “I am aware!”
Dazai only laughed as the dishes got taken away, joining Chuuya in the kitchen to wrap her arms around her from behind, burying her face in her neck as she sighed contently.
She didn’t fully hate the prospect of spending the rest of her days with Chuuya. It sounded sweet to wake up every morning to kisses and someone hugging her. Someone who could watch her daughter grow with her while loving and caring for her the same way Osamu cared. Someone to support her art and always be by her side.
She really didn’t hate the idea.
“Hey…” She started slowly as Chuuya washed the mugs, listening to her. “Atsushi’s wedding was nice, right?”
“Oh, yeah, it was. Atsushi and Lucy were cute.”
A small comment. Not enough for Dazai to go on with. She frowned a bit, deciding to be more direct with her approach.
“What if we did something like that for ourselves?”
Chuuya blinked in confusion for a moment. “Huh?”
Dazai shook her head and turned the woman around to face her directly, clenching her jaw slightly before she spoke up.
“Nakahara Chuuya, do you want to be my goddamn wife?”
Seven years later
“Everything ready?”
“Yes, Mom. Just like the last three times you asked me, I have the keys to the house, the emergency keys, my phone, my wallet, your card in case I need anything and—”
“Atsushi will come over soon.”
Dazai finished in a hurry, catching her breath. Sayuri, who had only grown taller in her age of thirteen, rolled her eyes at her mother.
“I’ll be fine. You’re going away with Chuuya for a week. And she’s waiting for you in the car.”
Dazai rubbed her temples a bit as she walked up to Sayuri, checking her face for anything unusual causing the girl to yelp in surprise.
“MOM!”
“I’m just worried! I–” She pauses in between her words, taking a deep breath before speaking. “It’s my first time leaving you all alone for so long since you were born. I will admit…”
Her words trail off as Sayuri shifts a bit, shrugging.
“I’ll call you everyday. Promise.”
“Good.”
Against Sayuri’s will, she squeezes her into a tight hug and showers her with forehead kisses before walking out the door and into the car where Chuuya had been waiting, her fingers drumming against the wheel, dramatically gasping when Dazai finally entered the car.
“No way?! The Dazai Osamu has finally entered the car??!” She put her hand to her mouth, giggling a bit. “We WON’T be late for our flight?!”
Dazai rolled her eyes as she strapped her seatbelt on, facing Chuuya with an exasperated look.
“Maybe I was taking longer because my wife is annoying.”
“Oh really?” Chuuya scoffed jokingly as Dazai giggled, leaning back in the car seat with a smile.
She said nothing when they started driving until—
“Maybe we shouldn’t have left Sayuri alone.”
“Dear.” Chuuya’s eyes stayed on the road but she spoke softly. “It’s okay. She’ll be okay.”
“But I’m–”
“If anything happens to her,” Chuuya tried to keep her tone steady while driving safely. “We’ll come back home immediately. I promise.”
Dazai calmed down. She could always trust Chuuya’s promises. She could trust Chuuya.
“I love you, Chuuya.”
Chuuya smiled, her cheeks turning red. Dazai knew she couldn’t take her eyes off the road yet she melted when she heard Chuuya talk—
“And I love you, Osamu.”