Work Text:
It was amazing how connections between people evolved over time.
Upon meeting a new person, unless one is equipped with a relevant ability, there was no way of knowing how that person would matter to them in a few years. It was perfectly possible to meet someone in the unlikeliest situation, fully expecting to never have anything to do with them ever again.
But then, space and time works its magic in different ways, and over time, connections build between the two people. They are bound not only by their feelings towards one another, but also their memories.
That disgusting shit aside, Dazai was actually amazed by how drastically things had changed between him and his partner in the seven years they have known each other. Known very well to them, they had a rather unconventional meeting.
Chuuya had kicked Dazai into a wall, after which they had insulted the fuck out of each other. Dazai had fully been expecting to part ways then and there, hopefully never having to see the boy he dubbed as an 'annoying brat' ever again.
Things hadn't worked out like that at all. By the end of that day, they both had joined the same organisation. Dazai had been left with a broken heart, a short stack as a partner, and a very annoying, unforeseen infatuation with said partner.
For all jokes and other purposes, it was piqued interest at first sight.
Even so, Dazai hadn't expected to have Chuuya in his life for so long. Sure, they had started off as work partners who claimed to hate each other. He'd expected their dynamic to fizzle out soon enough. But that hadn't happened either, and instead, Dazai found himself making memories with this person he's called his partner since the very first day.
Over the years, they've had a lot of things going on for them. Memories of all sorts, for one. Rough missions, awkwardly sweet moments between them, and both of them struggling with their inner demons. But other than that, there have been hugs and laughter and genuine happiness.
And kisses.
Oh gosh, there have been so many kisses.
-
At fifteen,
Dazai has never had any relationships. Obviously. What fifteen year old in the mafia has romantic relationships?
Hence, he was rather inexperienced, to say the least. It was safe to assume that he's never had a first kiss or anything of that sort before. But nevertheless, his first kiss was with Chuuya, who would happen to be his first ever romantic partner a few minutes later.
The whole experience was rather comical.
Lately, over the past few weeks, Dazai has found himself in a serious dilemma. His brain was infected with some kind of virus or something! There was no other plausible explanation as to why he found himself thinking about that annoying brat of his partner so very often.
It was absolutely ridiculous. Moreover, there was definitely something wrong with his body too. For example, the previous day, Chuuya had smacked him in the arm like he usually does. But suddenly, Dazai's stomach felt weird when he did so? It felt something similar to how one would feel if slugs were to crawl within their stomach.
It was very gross. Plus, his face felt hot quite a lot too; especially when he was around Chuuya. And he always seemed to flitter with nervous energy. All of this was just weird, and Dazai was convinced there was something wrong with him.
After doing a lot of serious research, he finally came to the conclusion that was he was experiencing a phenomenon called 'having a crush'. It was synonymous to being in love with someone, not that Dazai knew what that felt like. But according to his very trustworthy research, this was obviously the most likely diagnosis of this illness was riddled with.
He was just sulking at Chuuya's wall, when he was very rudely interrupted.
Chuuya burst into his bedroom and pointed an accusing finger at the bandaged person occupying his room, "You-!! You are fucking disgusting. I know how you really feel about me."
Well. This was unforeseen. Dazai couldn't figure out how such a dumb chibi would know anything of this sort, but he certainly wasn't expecting him to react like this. It was disappointing, but Dazai was more annoyed by the fact that his stomach suddenly knotted with very negative feelings.
He calmly responded to such a terrible accusation, "Is that so? Well, I can't really-"
Because Chuuya was rude, he cut him off, "This is the fucking worst!"
Dazai scoffed, looking away, "Well it's not like I chose to feel this way."
Chuuya stormed over to him and forced his head to face him, "Shut the fuck up. I feel the same way, and we should fucking get our shit together already."
Understandably bewildered, Dazai stared at him, "Excuse me?"
The redhead rolled his eyes in annoyance, "I said, I like you too. And we should get our shit together and get together already?"
Dazai was clearly not very good at understanding this turn of events. Still very confused, he tilted his head questioningly, "Get together?"
Chuuya seethed in his stead, "As in like a relationship. Whatever. This is still the fucking worst."
When the other failed to say anything, or respond to his confession, he leaned forward and softly pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, "Dazai. I like you, asshole."
Apparently, Dazai finally understood what was going on. Lips parted, he gasped aloud, "Oh? Oh, you do!"
Rolling his eyes some more, Chuuya made sure it was okay to kiss him before actually doing so, "Yeah."
Well, after that, Dazai looked away and buried his face in his hands, completely flustered. Chuuya was taken aback, but just for a few seconds. He then burst out laughing, commenting that it was rather interesting to see the Demon Prodigy act this way after a kiss.
Dazai whined incessantly about how this was definitely not the way to treat one's boyfriend, as a result of which Chuuya was completely flustered and started screaming profanities and him again.
Clearly, he liked being called Dazai's boyfriend.
-
At sixteen,
Dazai has never celebrated his birthday in his whole entire life. Sure, he knew the date for some reason. It was mentioned in his Port Mafia records as well. June nineteenth, it was a date simple enough to remember.
Except, Dazai never really cared to remember. There was no reason to. He couldn't care less about when he turned older. It was just a sign that another year has passed without him succeeding in ending his misery.
His sixteenth birthday was somewhat different.
As expected, he hadn't remembered it at all. On the nineteenth of June, he had gone by his day as he would normally. He went to work, bossed around a few people, played games while his subordinates did the job, and then off he went to annoy Chuuya.
His work partner and boyfriend Chuuya.
Well, no matter the relationship between them, Dazai's partner was still a silly, tiny human, now with the addition of a tacky hat perched on top of his head at all times. A lot of things had gone down earlier this year, as a result of which Chuuya never took off that tacky hat. Ever.
But well, he had his reasons, so it was fine, Dazai supposed.
Anyway, the rest of his day had passed rather monotonously. It was absolutely boring too, the reason being that Chuuya had been sent away to work on a mission by himself. Wasn't that just rude?! What was Dazai supposed to do without Chuuya around? Who was he supposed to annoy into sheer frustration?
Clearly, there was nothing for him to do.
Hence, he passed the whole day as usual, minus the very important activity of annoying his partner. Later that night, he was lounging about in Chuuya's room as usual. The guy who lived above him was playing extra loud music today, and Dazai was very close to going up there and pouring water over his stereo.
But something told him that Chuuya would be very upset with him if he did that, so he stay put, resting on the bed, his eyes trained on the bare wall before him. He was still doing that, when he heard the door to the apartment open.
A few seconds later, Chuuya was in the room. He was quick in stripping off his coat and vest before flopping down onto the bed, "That was a fucking long mission."
Because he definitely didn't miss the hatrack or anything, Dazai merely hummed in response, "Oh? Did it go well?"
Chuuya shrugged, "It was boring without you. Missed you there."
It took Dazai a good few seconds to understand the implications of what his partner was saying. He tried his very best to suppress his blushing when it finally registered, "Stop that."
Chuuya clearly had a new found penchant for saying things that might fluster Dazai immensely. It was just so amusing! Definitely worth the initial sheer embarrassment of saying those things.
Sitting up to face the other, he grinned, "But it's true."
Dazai just whined some more about how Chuuya was being unfair, but he shut up soon enough. For a few seconds after that, there was silence in the room, minus the music pounding from the room above. Then,
"Dazai? Happy birthday, asshole." This was followed by Chuuya reaching to kiss the now sixteen year old mafioso.
Eyes blown wide, Dazai whispered, "Oh... It's my birthday today. Ah, I forgot. Thank you, Chibi."
Instead of screaming as per usual, Chuuya just rolled his eyes, "Stop calling me short, asshole."
Dazai rolled his eyes as well, but his features were graced with a hinted smile, nullifying all the flustered insults he threw at his partner.
-
At seventeen,
For some reason, the Deadliest Duo of Yokohama were at a beach. At four in the morning.
As expected, the beach was completely vacant besides the two of them, who were just sitting on the sand, not talking much at all. They have been here for the last two hours, starting it off by talking a little, and then just sitting there in silence, enjoying the melodious sounds produced by the sea.
A few hours ago, Chuuya had been quick to realise that Dazai was feeling especially down that day. His eyes looked more dead than usual, and he looked like he was genuinely struggling to breathe. Chuuya knew from experience that there was no better place to catch a decent breath than the seaside.
Hence, he somehow managed to convince his partner to hop on his bike, so he could drive the both of them to the beach. Once there, Dazai had managed to speak a few sentences about how his depression was worse that day, but he didn't let up anything else.
Not that Chuuya was complaining in way. This was progress in the first place. Dazai allowing himself to speak about his emotions was rare, and while it was healthier for him, it was difficult for him to do so. Chuuya would take what he was getting, nothing else said.
The fact that Dazai trusted him enough to say anything at all was more than enough for him.
Nudging his partner gently, Chuuya laughed softly, "The stars are gorgeous today."
Laying next to him on the sand, Dazai sounded very proud of himself when he spoke, "Is this where I say they aren't as gorgeous as you?"
The redhead snorted, "No way. That's disgusting."
A heartbeat later, his partner's voice came out in a teasing whisper, "But it's true."
Chuuya was very annoyed by the way he suddenly felt very overwhelmed. No way; this will not do at all. Hence, instead of beating himself up over it, he stood up at once and offered his hands to his partner, "Let's go dip our feet in the water."
Dazai regarded him with suspicious eyes, but he obliged anyway, allowing himself to be dragged to the sea by the other. He should have expected being completely drenched with salty water within seconds.
Chuuya splashed him multiple times, before he accepted the challenge and the two of them engaged in a very friendly tussle in the water. It was safe to say that it didn't take very long before both of them had toppled into the shallow water, limbs entangled.
Dazai couldn't help but think how cute Chuuya actually looked when he laughed in delight. However, soon after, his mind was suddenly blank because Chuuya kissed him out of nowhere, smiling against him.
His depression didn't miraculously fix itself, but Dazai learned that salty water tastes better in certain situations.
-
At eighteen,
This time, it was Chuuya's birthday and the duo were at a bar.
Chuuya deemed his eighteenth birthday to be special, even if his actual existence wasn't turning eighteen. He didn't give a fuck about that, and he'd demanded that Dazai take him to bar for a few drinks. Despite being practically joined at hip for the last three years, they haven't actually had drinks at a bar before.
They rarely drank together, opting to go with their friends instead. Even so, they did get a few drinks together sometimes, but it was always in the privacy of their (read: Chuuya's) apartment. But well, for his birthday, Chuuya insisted that they go out for a few drinks together.
Hence, they were now both at a bar, ordering more of their usual drink orders. Wine for Chuuya and whiskey for his partner. This obviously led to another silly debate regarding which alcohol was better, which went on for quite a while before they decided to agree on the fact that different people like different things.
(Seriously, wasn't that obvious already?)
Chuuya was on his third drink already, and as expected, he was already completely drunk like the lightweight he was. He was already being extra clingy too, latching on to Dazai and refusing to let go.
Chuuya practically seated in his lap, Dazai watched with amusement as he rambled on about nonsensical things, jumping between different topics at a hilarious speed. Somewhere in between his rambling, Chuuya also talked Dazai a little, going on about how useless he was before changing tactics and declaring that he still loved that 'bandaged beanpole' so much.
Soon after making such confessions, Chuuya passed out against his partner completely. This time, Dazai shook his head fondly before leaning down to kiss the other, "Happiest birthday to you, silly Chibi."
Chuuya hummed in his sleep, arms tightening around his partner of its own accord. If Dazai was affected or flustered by this, there was no way for his partner to find out, so it was all good.
It was safe to assume that Dazai pulled out his phone soon after, taking a bunch of pictures of a drunk, asleep Chuuya. It was purely for blackmail purposes, of course. It definitely wasn't like Dazai wanted to have such ugly pictures in his phone or anything.
That definitely was not it at all.
-
At nineteen,
Dazai had a husband now.
A lot of things had happened after Chuuya's birthday last year, which ended up in him leaving the Mafia. For selfish, stupid reasons, he'd tried to break up with his partner. He really had. Of course, because Chuuya was a stubborn slug, he hadn't accepted his break up proposal at all, and instead had ended up asking Dazai to marry him.
Then that led to a very serious conversation about various things. For one, Dazai's living arrangement after he left the Mafia. Chuuya had offered to let him stay in his spare penthouse, which was not in the Mafia records. That would be perfectly safe.
After a lot of ensuring that Chuuya was sure, Dazai had accepted his help. Soon after his departure from the Mafia, they had ended up getting married and then moving into Chuuya's spare penthouse together.
Even though Chuuya stayed in his other apartment sometimes as well, he mostly stayed with Dazai. It's just, he sometimes had to show up at the apartment which was recorded in his Mafia files to avoid any suspicion. It was annoying at first, but eventually Chuuya moved out of his other apartment completely.
After all, he was a Mafia Executive. It was only natural that he broaden his horizons and purchase a new house, one befitting of his wealth and title, not that he cared much about either of those things. He was just glad to be able to live with Dazai full-time, considering that asshole whined lots when Chuuya didn't stay over.
Losing all that non-stop whining would definitely be a good riddance.
Even if he says so, Chuuya did willingly set himself up for a lifetime of annoyance and incessant whining when he knowingly kissed Dazai after the two of them had said their 'I Do's' in a courthouse.
It had been a simple ceremony, both of them dressed in simple suits as the minister recited a long list of vows. Neither of them had been the type to aim for grand weddings anyway. It was way too much effort, and who wanted to deal with a hall full of wedding guests?!
No, this simple ceremony at the courthouse was definitely better.
After all, Dazai had smiled against Chuuya's lips when they had sealed their bond legally.
-
At twenty,
It was actually Dazai and Chuuya's anniversary.
That's right, even mafia executives care about such a thing. Honestly, the first year they had been together, Dazai had genuinely not remembered the date at all. Of course, Chuuya had taken it upon himself to describe at length the utmost importance of celebrating anniversaries.
Something about the couple's bond strengthening or something? Dazai couldn't possibly imagine how celebrating a day might deepen the bonds between two people, but he was willing to go along with it for his partner's sake.
This anniversary was a special milestone too. It was their fifth, which meant they have been together for half a decade! It was certainly amazing, to say the least. Understandably, Chuuya has been excited about this for days.
He insisted on having the perfect anniversary, even if his husband was in hiding. There was no way his half a decade milestone anniversary was to be ruined by such a stupid thing. Chuuya wouldn't allow that at all.
In other circumstances, Chuuya would like to go out for a fancy dinner or something of that sort. After all, it wasn't all that common to celebrate such an important anniversary with your husband at the mere age of twenty. Regular people didn't exactly do that.
He felt special, and rightfully so. For obvious and understandable reasons, he had to forgo the dinner at a fancy restaurant. but that was fine. He was a good cook, and he had good wine. He was perfectly capable of whipping up an extravagant dinner at home, even if it was mostly for himself.
Much to his concern, Dazai still didn't eat much. But he was definitely doing better, which made Chuuya genuinely happy. As long as he included crab in the main course for the anniversary dinner, Dazai would at least eat some of it, which was good enough for now.
Chuuya would just have to make sure that their ten year anniversary was absolutely flawless. It surely can't be that difficult.
But right now, the anniversary today was more important. Of course, he spent hours perfecting all the dishes for the very special dinner before he went to inform his husband that dinner was ready.
For all his lack of interest in food and the concept of eating, Dazai's jaw actually dropped when his eyes fell upon the spread on the dining table. He turned to Chuuya, "You made this whole thing by yourself?!"
Chuuya looked very proud of himself when he nodded, "Yep. So you better appreciate it and eat it, you bastard."
Taking a seat at the table, Dazai's voice sounded a little guilty when he spoke, "I can try."
Chuuya offered him a genuine smile, "That's more than enough, idiot."
Recently, Dazai had gotten better at expressing his desires and asking for affection. Wrapping his arms around his partner, he let out a sigh tinged with happiness, "Thank you, Chibi."
Chuuya just laughed before kissing him, "You're welcome, dumbass. Eat already. It's gonna taste shitty if it gets cold."
Miraculously, for the first time in as long as he could remember, Dazai was able to successfully finish more than half of his meal. As it turned out, food tasted better when there were blue, doe eyes staring at him, expecting an opinion on the meal.
-
At twenty-one,
After two whole years on the down-low, Dazai finally had a job.
It was at a Detective Agency, and it was an honest organisation. Their aim was to help civilians, along with protecting Yokohama during twilight. It was definitely a different atmosphere of work than what Dazai was used to.
For once, there were no threats to any of the employee's lives. Well, the doctor was scary though. She threatened to cause serious injury to her co-workers who had the misfortune of appearing in front of her as her patients. Other than that, the workplace was cheerful.
It was certainly strange, to say the least.
Dazai was not at all used to such bright offices. Moreover, this was the worst time he was at a workplace which didn't have Chuuya in it. It was strange. It was so, so suffocating. Even though Dazai knew that his co-workers didn't know of his past profession, he still couldn't help but feel very out of place.
Even back in the Mafia, he'd always felt different from other people. Dubbed as the Demon Prodigy at a young age, he'd always had his reputation to uphold. He was younger than the others, more prioritized, and everyone knew better than to cross paths with him.
He's always felt less human.
But Chuuya was always with him. No matter what, Chuuya was always next to him, stepping alongside at the same pace. Chuuya knew him best, and he felt safer with him around. A workplace with such new people who were so obviously different than him; it was stifling.
His first day at his new job, Dazai skin itched uncomfortably. He was restless, on edge and on the brink of anxiety attacks at all times. Even though he had passed the very intricately designed entrance exam recently, it was still painfully obvious that he didn't fit in here.
Even so, he managed to get through his first day decently. He was allowed to go home early enough, and he wasn't the one to pass that opportunity down at any cost. While walking back home, he was still on edge, as expected. After all, there still might be mafiosos looking for him.
His only recluse was fervent hoping that Chuuya was already home.
Sure enough, Chuuya was there at the door of their penthouse to greet him. It was almost as if he knew that Dazai would need him today. Knowing Chuuya, he probably knew that anyway. Even though he was a silly chibi, he did know Dazai best after all.
Dazai toppled over against Chuuya as soon as he was safely inside his home.
Catching and dragging him to the couch, Chuuya murmured softly, "Rough day?"
Dazai looked downright forlorn when he spoke, "You have no idea. It's weird, Chuuya! No office can possibly be that bright and cheerful."
Laughing, his partner reminded him, "They live on the bright side, remember? Like you will too. You just need to give it time, hon."
The now detective sighed, "I don't I can do it, Slug. I can't do it; be a good person like they all are."
The mafioso huffed as he helped the other out of his new tan coat, "Don't be so pessimistic after the first day, idiot. The change won't happen right away, obviously. But soon enough you'll be closer to being like them. Give it time, Osamu."
For a few seconds, neither of them uttered a work as Dazai seemed to consider that seriously. Then, he asked in the softest of voices,
"Am I leaving Chuuya behind?"
Chuuya's voice emanated honesty when he responded, "How could you, dumbass? I'm still here, aren't I? We haven't changed at all. You just have a new job. That's normal, you know? Civilians change jobs all the time."
Dazai frowned, "But..."
Chuuya cut him off, "None of that now. Don't fret so much, asshole. Besides, you have work tomorrow again. You should take a bath and relax a little."
The detective considered that for a while before sighing in agreement. Reaching up, he kissed his partner, "Thank you. Ne Chuuya, make me something to eat."
Rolling his eyes fondly, Chuuya hummed, "Ramen today then. Go take a fucking bath. You stink more than usual."
Dazai just snickered before going off to soak himself in a warm bath. As Chuuya added lots of bath salts to his bath water, he couldn't help but feel that he was going to be fine with his new way of living.
After all, someone had his back constantly. No matter what.
-
Presently, Dazai looked over at this partner, who was soundly sleeping next to him on their shared bed. At some point in the last seven years, Dazai had genuinely thought that there was no way his relationship with Chuuya could ever be better than what is already was.
But now, at the age of twenty two, he could admit easily that he was wrong.
They changed every single day, and for the better. They both evolved as their own selves, and so did their connections to each other. It was absolutely amazing; all of it. Dazai was kind of curious to see how the two of them would fare in the future. Would they still act the same around each other?
Was this their peak? Would they maybe deteriorate?
But somehow, stupid questions like that didn't matter in the moment. Right now, Chuuya was sleeping next to him very peacefully, as if he hadn't committed such an heinous crime of forgetting what day it was today.
Poking the redhead's cheek lightly, Dazai huffed at him, "Today is the last day of Valentine's Week, you know? It's Kiss Day, you silly chibi."
He added a few seconds later, "And you just went to sleep like that? Isn't that rude?"
Finally laughing to himself at how silly he himself sounded, he leaned forward to kiss Chuuya himself, "I adore you, you know? Even though you missed the last day of this very important week."
His partner had already been sleeping when he got home from work, and he looked like he needed the rest. Plus, he looked very cute, so it's not like Dazai was complaining at all. Laying down next to Chuuya to go to sleep himself, he somehow couldn't really bother to care about anything else, much less what stupid day it was today.
He was already over that whole Valentine's Week thing anyway.