Work Text:
The first time Chuuya met Dazai it was the middle of January.
It was cold and wet and Chuuya’s legs were sore from visiting the shrine for the first time that year. She had just moved to Yokohama the week prior and had enrolled in the local high school. Although the school year was almost over, she needed to finish the year in order to continue to the next. It was a poor time to move but Chuuya had no say in her family’s decisions.
She walked into her classroom with her head held high. So long as she was confident and steady, she would be okay. That's what her older sister Kouyou had taught her. She stood with her back straight in front of the class and let her new teacher introduce her.
The only vacant seat was next to another girl in the back, Dazai, she learned. It was tucked in against the window and there was a radiator right beneath it. She sighed in relief as the warmth carried over. She introduced herself quietly to her new partner, but all the other girl did was look at her with dark gloomy eyes and then turn back to the window. Chuuya could only pick Dazai out of a crowd from the messy dark hair.
For such a cold first meeting, they became friends rather quickly.
Well, the word friends was maybe just a tad too strong to describe what they were.
They were partnered for cleaning duties, for P.E. class exercises and for geography poster projects. They spent an unfortunate amount of time together at first. Chuuya thought Dazai was lazy and boring. She never made much of an effort unless it was in antagonising Chuuya. She spoke little and slowly in such a dull tone that Chuuya thought maybe she was an actual zombie pretending to be a student.
They argued and bickered and were called to stay late after class at least once a week to be reprimanded by their teacher for poor classroom behaviour. They would prank each other and blame one another for anything that went wrong. Dazai definitely had it out for her. Yet the pranks never went too far and the words never really actually stung. Chuuya realised Dazai was just, like that. And it became much more bearable when Chuuya finally relented and enabled Dazai’s antics. Chuuya began drawing small smiles from the girl and giggles soon dominated their conversations. And eventually, Chuuya felt herself missing Dazai when she was absent from school.
Chuuyas’s gradual affection for Dazai seemed to only grow larger with every season that passed. They fought less but playfully bickered more. They waged war on bullies together rather than on each other, and teachers would pair them with other students now that Chuuya and Dazai had been working together so well.
Chuuya slowly learned that Dazai wasn't always so cold and aloof, she was just poor with strangers and was an odd ball. They began playing games together, going to the arcade together after school and ditching prep classes at night. They were actually friends now.
Their spring months were spent in the arcade avoiding homework and troublesome home life. They would play late into the night and then wander home together. They'd stop at the convenience store right before their homes and loiter in the bright fluorescent lighting until Dazai’s parents called her home.
The summers they spent eating ice cream and cycling to the waterfront. The sun was hot and heavy on their skin but the laughter and giggles washed away the too-hot weather.
In autumn they waded through fallen leaves in the mornings on their walk to school and found stray cats to feed and pet in the evenings on the way back home.
And in winter was the first time they held hands.
They wore matching knit hats. Dazai’s hair was completely tucked up into her woollen hat, making her look like a pale egg. Only her nose turned pink from the cold. She wore a dark woollen coat that weighed down on her small figure and shiny black boots to keep the cold from seeping in. She sniffed.
“Chuuya, it's too cold. They should just cancel school.”
Chuuya scratched the back of her neck. Hats and scarves always made her too warm and itchy. Her hair was tickling the back of her neck where it was stuck in between her skin and the warm coat.
“You say that about everything. Chuuya I’m too cold, Chuuya it's too warm. Chuuya I’m tired.”
Dazai pouted.
She took her hands out of her pockets and rubbed the mittened hands together. “Chuuya is mean.”
Dazai stopped then and Chuuya turned to look at her. Wide brown eyes stared back. Dazai’s frosty breath hit Chuuya’s face.
“Come on we’re already late. The bell will go any minute.” Chuuya turned around, ready to set off for school again.
However, Dazai reached out and took Chuuya’s arm. She pulled it from her pockets and held it in her palms.
“How is Chuuya not cold?”
She took one of her mittens off and pulled Chuuya’s other hand into her grasp. She carefully slid the mitten onto Chuuya’s hand. It was warm and soft inside and Chuuya curled her frozen fingers into the plush lining.
“Come now Chuuya we’ll be late again!”
Dazai took her hand again and interlaced their fingers, shocking Chuuya with how warm they were. She pulled their hands in and crammed them into her small side pocket.
“I need to keep Chuuya warm or I’ll have no one to annoy!”
She tugged Chuuya and they were off again.
The year ended once more and Chuuya’s heart started to race when she thought of Dazai.
Their high school years flew by quickly. Dazai grew more affectionate and Chuuyas's heart grew weaker to those affections.
Chuuya stood straight for photos for their graduation ceremony. It was still cold, this February was filled with more rain and wind than any year before it and Chuuya was shivering in her uniform. Kouyou made her take off her jacket for the photos.
She posed tall in front of the school gates, knees together and hands clasped in front of her. She held her flowers and graduation certificate in her hands and smiled stiffly for the camera in Kouyou’s hands.
“Chuuya did you even brush your hair today, it looks a mess.”
She scowled.
“Now, now Chuuya you need to smile for pictures!” Dazai had walked up to the pair. Her own flowers and paper were hanging loosely in one hand and the other was reaching up to straighten Chuuya’s hair.
Dazai had grown taller over the years. She also grew louder and more annoying than ever but Chuuya grew to love it more and more each year. Dazai was wrapped up warmly in her own coat. Her hair had grown long now but her boots were still shiny in the dry snow..
Dazai's soft hands carded through Chuuya’s hair. She brushed away the stray strands around her face and let her hand rest near Chuuya’s ear.
She hoped the blush on her face could be boiled down to the poor temperature.
“My my, do I need to share my mittens with you again?” Dazais's voice was warmer than any coat Chuuya had wrapped herself up in before. She leaned into her hand.
“Hmm only if you hold my hand again.”
“You're so promiscuous Chuuya! What happened to you?”
They laughed and leaned into each other’s faces. Chuuya dropped one arm to her side and let the other play with Dazai’s hair.
Dazai closed her eyes and leaned down into Chuuya’s neck.
“Can I kiss you?” she murmured into her skin, her cold shocking Chuuya almost as much as the words had.
Chuuya froze. Her hand fell and she looked down at her friend. Her heart began to race wildly and all the blood rushed to her head. It couldn't be. Surely she had misheard.
“Chuuya, my lovely Chuuya.” Dazai looked up again and stared into her eyes.
She held Chuuya’s face in both hands. Warm and soft like they always were.
“Please can I kiss you?”
Chuuya blinked. Then blinked again, feeling completely off-kilter.
“Of course, of course, you can.” she finally let the words out. Dazai smiled softly at her then and leaned in. The first time they kissed, Chuuya learned that the warmest part of Dazai was her lips.