Work Text:
Chuuya really, really didn't want to do this. He hated asking for help, and he loathed the idea of asking help from the person he was about to. But the fact was he needed it, and badly enough to actually try to get it.
The executive had finally gotten back to his apartment after a particularly rough day, actually he'd had a pretty bad week in general. He was absolutely exhausted, physically and mentally. On top of that he'd gotten injured at work today. It was nothing fatal, especially not for him as he always healed a little bit quicker than other people and never scarred either, stupid god. Despite not having any dangerous injuries he was still filthy and had who knows how many bruises plus scrapes and cuts that really needed to be cleaned. And he really didn't feel up to cleaning and patching himself up.
Back when he and Dazai worked together he didn't have to. They may not have acted like it sometimes, but they always took care of each other. He'd complain about it at first and insist he could take care of himself just fine, but as time went on he became more compliant in allowing his partner to help him. When Chuuya got hurt and worn out like this Dazai would run him a bath and get him cleaned and then all bandaged up. The brunette never pushed it too far but he'd at least suggest that Chuuya eat a little bit and insist he drank water. Then Dazai would just play with his hair until he fell asleep. It was nice, he missed it and really needed it tonight.
Thus here he was, sitting on his couch and staring at his former partners contact in his phone. He was just stalling and he knew it. It was only after a few more seconds that he actually called him, nervously waiting as the phone was ringing. Thankfully, Dazai answered fairly quickly.
Dazai was about as confused as Chuuya was nervous. The brunette wasn't known for being easily confused or surprised, quite the opposite really. However he was very much under the impression that his former hated and wanted nothing to do with him. So being randomly called like this was quite unexpected.
"Chuuya?"
"Hey Dazai"
The detective immediately noticed Chuuyas voice was definitely off, he sounded exhausted and it worried him.
"You sound terrible"
"Thanks for noticing. ...can you come over and help?"
"Yeah I'll be right over, see you then"
There was absolutely no hesitation to Dazais answer, he didn't even have to think about it. That seemed to be a relief to his former partner judging by his tone when he agreed and hung up.
They definitely weren't partners anymore, they didn't even talk, but if one thing was certain it was that they could still count on each other. They still trusted each other completely and if one seriously needed help they'd be there, no questions asked. That was why Dazai agreed immediately and went to go grab some other clothes before going over because he had a feeling he might just end up staying the night. Chuuya often fell asleep snuggled up with him after he got all cleaned up, and Dazai couldn't just leave if that happened.
Of course on the way there Dazai had time to think about it more and worry. It had been a very long time since they'd spent much time around each other, especially if it wasn't work related. They'd had to cooperate a few times more recently, and they had worked together like they used to. Dazai couldn't help wondering if this would be the same case or not, could they really just return to old routines like this without any problems? It seemed to be a bit of a stretch, but he'd also been convinced that Chuuya hated him and didn't expect any calls from him, so who knew.
Chuuya breathed a sigh of relief as he lowered his phone. There was no reason Dazai should have agreed to this, at least not according to anyone that didn't know both of them. It was an incredibly suspicious situation, a mafia executive calling up a mafia traitor for help doesn't seem like a very safe situation. But nothing like that mattered at all to them. Yeah Dazai left the mafia without a word and yeah Chuuyas job description probably said to hate him for the disloyalty to their organization. That's not even accounting for personal betrayal given they were partners for years. Work partners, officially.
However Chuuya still trusted his former partner with his life without hesitation, and Dazai didn't seem to have any different opinions on the matter. A lot of things were less important than their unconditional trust in each other, in fact Chuuya wasn't really sure there was anything that could make him lose trust in Dazai to keep him safe. Well, if Dazai was actually there, that is. As much as his pride didn't like it, Dazai was the person he trusted most in life and someone he was at least mostly willing to call for help, if he absolutely had to pick someone.
The ginger ended up just sitting there and thinking about how they used to interact and various times they'd helped each other without hesitation. They'd been extremely close back when they worked together and a huge comfort to each other in the harsh environment they had to live in. To this day Chuuya had no idea why Dazai had disappeared without a word only to appear two years later with the mafias main opposition.
He was interrupted from his thoughts about it though by a knock on the door, he hadn't even noticed how much time had passed. Brushing off his slight surprise that he'd gotten so lost in thought, he got up to let Dazai in.
Dazai hid his nervousness well, smiling at Chuuya when he opened the door. "Good evening" he greeted him, stepping into the apartment and looking him over. The executive did look pretty scuffed up and tired that was for sure. Mafia life wasn't exactly easy even if you were high ranked, it was a dangerous lifestyle for sure. Luckily though at least from a quick glance Dazai didn't think there was anything too seriously wrong.
"You do look a little worse for wear" He commented.
"Silly Chuuya, I bet he was too focused on keeping everyone else safe to fully protect himself, hm?" Despite the teasing nature of his words there was unmistakable fondness in the detectives tone.
It was common knowledge that Chuuya was hardly a heartless mafia executive. He cared about the people working under him, and citizens who may be unlucky enough to be caught in crossfire. His ability was certainly powerful enough to keep him safe, but if he was too distracted protecting others he was more at risk. Despite knowing that he still had a habit of letting himself get scuffed up because of it. Dazai of course knew this better than most, having worked alongside Chuuya for years.
Chuuya did nothing but firmly confirm his former partners guess when he blushed a bit and looked away, protesting but not denying the assumption.
"Shut up" he mumbled, hating how easily Dazai could provoke a reaction from him. He couldn't help it really, unfortunately he was rather easily flustered and even more so when it came to his former work partner. The fondness in the detectives tone wasn't exactly something he expected, although in hindsight he really should have. This was just how Dazai acted sometimes.
"So Im right" Dazai concluded, taking off and hanging up his coat. He spoke in a matter of fact tone, there wouldn't be any use in being reproachful anyway. The brunette knew very well that Chuuyas behavior wasn't going to change, he wasn't like the rest of the mafia that was for sure.
"You're insufferable that's what you are" Chuuya replied, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms with a huff. He couldn't pretend to be angry about it for very long though. Before he knew it Dazai walked back over and gently brought his hand up to cup his face, lightly brushing his thumb over a small cut on his cheek.
The mafia executive absolutely froze in response, crystalline blue eyes wide as he stared up at the taller man in front of him.
"Oh.." He breathed after a second of stunned silence. He wasn't unhappy about the situation though just a bit surprised. After all, it wasn't like the two were on any well defined terms at all, this meeting could have just as easily been awkward and uncomfortable. He'd hoped that couldn't be the case of course, but he hadn't allowed himself to count on it.
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up ok?" Dazai told him, smiling in response, admittedly a tiny bit amused by how close to speechless Chuuya was. He himself felt surprisingly at ease now, it seemed as though they'd be just fine around each other for now, acting more or less like they used to. Perhaps he'd let himself worry over it a bit more than he should have.
They went back to the bathroom and Chuuya sat down while Dazai went through the cabinets to grab first aid stuff. Fixing up minor injuries was something both of them knew how to do easily, stitching up wounds even. Knowledge like that was something you'd pick up pretty quickly when your job was as dangerous as theirs. Especially if you didn't like doctors much, which neither of them did, so they always used to take care of each other.
He set the stuff on the counter before going over to start running a bath, he’d bandage the injuries if it was necessary after Chuuya got cleaned off. For now his main concern was checking if anything was serious enough to need stitches.
"can I see?" He asked Chuuya, sitting by him on the edge of the bathtub.
"Yeah" Was the response he was given after little hesitation. It wasn't like they hadn't seen each other naked before anyway.
For as flirty as Dazai was on a day to day basis, he didn't act like it now at all. That was the last thing on his mind while he undressed his former partner, gently running his hands over large bruises and scrapes as he uncovered them. Every time Chuuya so much as caught his breath the detective stopped immediately to check if he was hurting him. While Dazai himself had about the highest pain tolerance anyone could have, he knew most people did not.
While the ginger had numerous injuries, none seemed severe enough to need to be stitched up. And Chuuya only stopped Dazais inspection when he touched his hands. He didn't even think about it really, instinctively moving to grasp the others wrist before he could attempt to take off his gloves. Logically he knew he couldn't take a bath with gloves on, he knew he must look ridiculous sitting there naked except for gloves and a choker, those being the only things he was unwilling to take off. But they made him feel safe and his immediate response was to not want to give that up. Uncertainty showed clearly in his expression when he looked over at the detective trying to take care of him.
Dazai stopped immediately, he’d thought this might happen. Nodding slightly he turned his attention to the bath, checking the water temperature and turning off the tap before looking back over to Chuuya. The ginger was obviously really stressed and tired out, so him needing extra reassurance wasn't surprising. Dazai was more than willing to provide it.
"Hey, it's alright" he kept his voice soft and quiet as he reached up and started running his fingers through the executives hair. Knowing that was probably one of his best bets on getting the other to relax a bit more. Sitting with Chuuya, combing through his hair and getting him to slowly calm down and relax wasn't new to Dazai. Sure it had been quite a while but they used to do this for each other a lot.
Holding each other and speaking softly, spending who knows how long calming each other down from whatever it was that had broken them that day. Neither of them had thought it at the time because of course they didn't but, especially in the beginning, they were really only kids. Children who maintained a tough front despite torments no one should have to go through, only to break down when they got home. Teenagers were never meant to handle everything that was pushed upon them as powerful ability users living in a mafia. They were still only human after all.
"I've got you, I promise"
Those words Dazai said echoed through Chuuyas mind, reminding him of so many other times they'd been in similar situations. It felt like forever ago but at the same time, so familiar and close. Chuuya didn't have anything else to do but completely place his trust and safety in Dazais hands once again.
"Okay"
With that, Dazai was allowed to carefully remove the things that made Chuuya feel safe, the taller males presence a soothing reassurance that nothing bad would happen to him without them.
Chuuya hissed a bit in pain when he first got into the water, it stung at first but as soon as that sort of faded away the hot water was more of a comfort. It helped significantly with the fact that pretty much his entire body was sore. He probably should have taken something for the pain earlier but he hadn't really thought about it then. Oh well, maybe he'd take something later.
For now though he just allowed himself to relax while Dazai carefully helped him get clean. Of course it hurt a little bit but the brunette was especially gentle around the bruises and other injuries littering Chuuyas body. It was more soothing than anything else really, especially when Dazai started washing his hair. Unfortunately as he was able to relax it started hitting him just how sleepy he actually was.
"Hey dont fall asleep on me yet" Dazai said in a slightly amused voice when he noticed Chuuya looked like he could barely keep his eyes open.
"Mmm it's your fault" Chuuya protested sleepily.
"How's that?" Dazai asked, laughing softly and tapping a bit of foam onto the tip of Chuuyas nose.
"You're too good at this" Chuuya replied, rolling his eyes and wiping the foam off of his nose.
"Hm, well I'm almost done, we've just gotta get you rinsed and dried off, bandage a few of the cuts, then you can sleep ok?" The detective told him to which he agreed with a yawn.
Soon enough Chuuya was patched up and comfortable In soft, loose clothes that wouldn't irritate his injuries. His demeanor changed a bit when he thought of something though. He seemed almost uncertain or even nervous when he looked up at Dazai to ask him a question.
"Hey, you're gonna stay tonight, right?" Chuuya really didn't want Dazai to leave, that much was obvious. As upset as he was that Dazai left years ago in the first place, he couldn't hate him. He'd tried, at one point, but failed miserably. He didn't want to hold any grudges against his former partner right now, he just wanted comfort and didn't really care about anything else.
Hearing this, Dazai felt guilty that Chuuya even had to ask, much less be so unsure about it. He'd planned to stay if Chuuya was ok with it since the moment his former partner asked him to come over. So there was absolutely no hesitation in confirming the fact he wasn’t going to leave tonight.
"Of course Im staying, I just have to change out of work clothes" he reassured him.
That seemed to be enough for chuuya, who looked more at ease, smiling softly in response.
"Alright, just making sure” The ginger said, honestly relieved by it. He wasn’t exactly sure what he would have done if Dazai hadn’t agreed to stay. Sure he felt a lot better now but that didn’t mean he felt like sleeping alone. With Dazai he always felt a lot safer, he got nightmares less and waking up from them wasn't as bad with the brunette to hold him and tell him he was alright.
”mhm, do you want pain medicine or anything to eat before we go to bed?” Dazai asked him. He knew the executive probably hadn’t had anything to eat or drink yet, it wasn’t likely he would eat anything but Dazai was at least going to ask.
“I should probably take pain medicine, since I haven’t yet, but I don’t want anything to eat” Was the gingers unsurprising answer, he was clearly exhausted and just wanted to sleep, he could eat in the morning.
“Ok, I’ll go get it and some water for you”
In just a few minutes Dazai had gotten Chuuya medicine and a glass of water then changed into more comfortable clothes of his own. He definitely wasn’t as worn out as Chuuya was, but it was pretty late so he was getting a bit tired himself.
“You gonna come to bed or do I have to carry you?” The detective asked in a bit of a teasing tone.
”Well I am really tired” Chuuya replied, pouting slightly in response to the question.
Dazai laughed a bit before carefully picking up Chuuya bridal style to carry him back to his bedroom and put him on the bed. Then he got up on the bed to lay down next to him. There wasn’t any question about where Dazai was going to sleep. They always used to sleep together, it was just a routine they got into after they worked together for a while and fell asleep in each other’s arms enough times.
Chuuya snuggled up next to him, resting his head on the brunettes chest and closing his eyes. He'd missed this a lot, he thought with a small yawn as Dazai started running his fingers through his hair.
"Goodnight Samu"
"Goodnight Chu"
They were both sound asleep within minutes. It had been years since they'd done this, and they were on uncertain terms at best, but maybe, just maybe, some things never changed.