Chapter Text
After Chuuya found out about Dazai being sick, Dazai left to go home, as Chuuya had told him to do. It annoyed him a lot how he started coughing up petals in front of someone. TWICE in one day too... He really had to figure out what was wrong with him. This illness was making his life even more miserable than it already was.
Whatever the problem was, he'd figure it out soon or he'd die trying. He'd never admit to himself that he most likely has that Hanahaki that Mori told him about. And he'd DEFINITELY not admit to himself -or ANYONE for that matter!- that he was in love with someone. Just the thought of admiring that bothered him.
After a long walk, he reached his shipping container, ready to fall onto his mattress and die (sleep). He was so pissed off about this illness, and people seeing him coughing up storms that he was just ready to go to bed.
He was just about halfway asleep when he heard a loud knock on the metal door. He ignored it, hoping they'd leave and he could go to sleep, but they didn't. They banged on the door again.
"Dazai, open up idiot!" The voice sounded annoyed and familiar... Chuuya!?
Dazai groaned loud enough for Chuuya to hear and stood up to open the door.
"What do you want slug, unlike some people I'm trying to sleep." Dazai said flatly.
"Shut up, you weren't gonna sleep anyways you insomniac." Chuuya said, walking into Dazai's humble shipping container abode.
"Wow, how rude" Dazai said, joking. They joked with each other like that all the time, he didn't care. He just shut the door behind Chuuya and sat back on his bed.
"What are you even doing here, you missed me during the mission report?" Dazai teased.
"Ew, no. I'm here to ask what the HELL is wrong with you! You're obviously sick!" Chuuya exclaimed, annoyed by Dazai's earlier vagueness when explaining what his problem was, he sat on the edge of Dazai's bed
"I already told Chuuya, it's just a little illness, I'm sure it'll go away at some point." Dazai said calmly.
"You're coughing up fucking FLOWERS, DAZAI. That's NOT something that'll just BLOW OVER!... Besides... I wanna know what Mori told you it was. Because if anyone knows what your problem is, it's the best doctor in the port Mafia!" Chuuya argued.
"I thought I already told you, it's impossible that I have that illness he's talking about! There's no way I have it, the disease is caused by something I've never done before" Dazai told Chuuya again.
"I don't care WHAT you THINK is impossible. What the hell did the boss say you have" Chuuya said, loudly. He was so pissed that Dazai wouldn't just TELL him.
"Fine, he told me I have something called the Hanahaki disease? Something like that. It's a disease that's caused by unrequited love. That's how I know I don't have it! I've never been in love with someone before!" Dazai said, his playful tone brushing off the seriousness of his illness.
"Sounds like something straight out of a fictional romance movie don't you think?" He continued in the same tone.
Chuuya was stunned for a split second before he continued talking.
"I've never heard of that in my life, are you messing with me right now!? I'm being serious, I wanna know what your problem is!!" Chuuya exclaimed loudly.
"I'm being serious too! I told you it sounded fake. That's just what Mori told me, ask him if you want proof." Dazai continued casually
"If that IS a real illness, what happens if you don't cure it?" Chuuya asked curiously.
"If I DID have it -which I do not- I'd die." Chuuya tensed a little at that. "But Chuuya doesn't need to worry! I won't die because I'm not sick with that!" Dazai joked.
"Okay but if you ARE sick with it you're gonna DIE!? Because you don't seem to be trying to get rid of it, dumbass. You're just gonna let yourself die because you don't THINK you have a life threatening disease!?" Chuuya asked, annoyed and loud.
"Precisely" Dazai joked. "It'll be just fine, Chuuya. I know I don't have it."
"Whatever. When you die don't say I didn't warn you I guess" Chuuya said, still slightly annoyed. "If you DID have this disease, how do you get over it even?" He asked.
"I don't know, Mori said something about 'getting over your love' but when I was doing research I found out if the person who caused the disease ends up loving you back it'll go away too. Nonsense I swear, there's no way this disease is real!" Dazai explained to Chuuya.
"Jeez, if you did have this illness that wouldn't be your way to get rid of it. No one would love YOUR Mackerel self back" Chuuya jokes casually. Like they normally do. "Is this disease even real?"
"To my knowledge yes. There are a lot of incidents reported about it, so it'd only be logical. Besides, it's not everyday someone dies from coughing up flowers." Dazai said.
Chuuya hummed and then yawned. It was kind of late, they should probably both be sleeping. But they were here, talking about some random disease that didn't even sound real.
"Ooh, chibi's sleepy" Dazai teased. "He'd better get home and get his beauty sleep!"
"Fuck no, I'm not walking all the way home alone. I'll stay here instead." Chuuya said
"Uh huh" Dazai said sarcastically
"And where do you suppose you'll be sleeping, huh?"
"Where do you think, dumbass?" Chuuya asked like it was obvious.
Dazai thought for a second and then spoke.
"Help no! You're not staying in MY bed. Where would I sleep! I don't wanna sleep with a dog in the bed!" He complained.
"Well too bad, you're beds big enough for two and I don't wanna walk home" Chuuya said as he laid down on Dazai's mattress. "And I'm not your damn dog!" He exclaimed.
"Yes you are, you lost the bet last year." Dazai said
"Fuck off, you cheated and that bet meant nothing!" Chuuya complained.
"It definitely meant something" Dazai grumbled under his breath as he laid down next to Chuuya, having nowhere else to sleep at. After a while of silence the eventually both fell asleep. It got pretty cold at night, especially in a shipping container, so Chuuya's body heat and presence wasn't entirely unwelcome
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Chuuya had occasional nightmares after everything that had happened during the stormbringer incident. Tonight was a night where he did have one. One of the worst nights he could have had one. Of course he of all people would have a nightmare when staying the night at someone else's place.
His nightmares were always about the god that rests inside of him, and/or the flags getting killed again, but he actually saw them getting murdered in his dreams. Tonight was not much different. It was the same thing as usual, flags getting murdered in front of his eyes, Verlaine trying to take him, memories from that awful, cruel battle at the end of it all.
Except, this time there was more to his nightmare. It was... Dazai? It was basically just Dazai dying due to his unknown disease. He was coughing, and gagging, and throwing up flowers, and petals. And then he had lost oxygen and died, right in front of Chuuya's face.
Chuuya quickly jerked awake in a panic, sitting up, as he normally did when he had these nightmares. Except, he was slightly more panicked than usual this time. He felt like he couldn't breathe, all the imagery from the nightmare coming back.
Arahabaki, the flags, Verlaine, Dazai...
Dazai was just barely asleep, and because of this he woke up to Chuuya's heavy, abnormal breathing.
"Chuuya..?" Dazai mumbled, groggy from sleep. At least, he was. Until he saw Chuuya panicked, sitting at the corner of the mattress that was pressed into the corner of the container, crying. That got him awake.
"Chuuya? Are you okay?" He said fearfully as he tried to slowly approach Chuuya. Bad move, Chuuya got even more panicked and Dazai backed up a bit. He didn't know how he was gonna get him to calm down.
"Chibi, you need to calm down, it's okay!"
Chuuya seemed to calm down at the nickname. There was only one person in this world that would call him that name.
Dazai noticed him calm down I bit and hesitantly grabbed his hand.
"Deep breaths Chuuya, it's okay.." he said calmly, trying to get through to Chuuya.
Chuuya took deep breaths until he was breathing normally again and was back to normal. He took a slight second and then hid his face in his knees, seemingly crying.
"Is Chuuya okay?" Dazai asked quietly.
Chuuya stayed silent for a second before breaking the silence. "... Yeah, It's fine... Just go to sleep, I would've been fine on my own" he said quietly, voice muffled from his face being in his knees.
"Okay.... Is there anything else I can do..?" Dazai asked, trying to help.
"... Just... Don't bring this back up... Or tell anyone..." Chuuya pleaded.
"As you wish" Dazai responded as they lay back down to go to sleep.
They didn't get too close, but Dazai could tell Chuuya stayed slightly closer to him that night after that happened. They never even let go of each other's hands.