Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As he walks down the school court, eyeing the boy sprinting in his opposite direction, Dazai thinks to himself, “Finally! The day of the School Festival. Oh my, the preparations started a while ago…”

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Dazai Osamu and Nakahara Chuuya are quite the pair, both in the Student Council as the president and his vice of the Seijin Institute. They’ve been knowing each other for 4 years, since the 2nd year of middle school, when Chuuya became Dazai’s neighbor while living with his sister, Koyo, in the apartment above Dazai’s.
Chuuya’s parents don’t live with them in Yokohama, both too engrossed in their incredibly time-consuming jobs in Osaka but, since Koyo is basically an adult, studying at the University there, she can watch over her little brother who wanted to finish high school in the city, so they allowed them to live alone.

His relationship with Dazai could be described as the one between a delinquent with a heart of gold and the president who is far too bored and lazy to do something properly.
However, they work in some ways.

That said, they don’t spend as much time together as they did when they were younger.
Chuuya is always out with his friends from The Sheep, a bunch of high schoolers who pride themselves in beating up the bullies and whoever looks at them wrong. Dazai, on the other hand, is often alone. His best friend Odasaku left for Uni, all focused on studying Literature while looking over a stressed Ango, who is juggling a degree in Law and one in Criminology at the same time.

Sure, Dazai is often seen with the treasurer he chose himself: Atsushi, a nervous first year student that he wants to grow into his personal lackey and obviously a proper adult.

He also doesn’t hate bothering the Head of the Disciplinary Committee, Kunikida, a third year who is so stuck up that if you were to put a piece of chalk up his ass you’d get a diamond in a few days; it’s just so easy to rile him up, so fun. 

Just like doing it with Chuuya.

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Oda was the one to inspire Dazai into becoming the president. When the older student was about to graduate Dazai was nearly in tears.
“Odasakuuuuuuuuuuuu, why are you leaving me? Can’t you ask to repeat the year? Pleaseeeeeeeeee? You can ask Ango too, I won’t mind.”

Oda, knowing how dramatic the 2nd year was, just sighed and with his usual serious face tried to reason with the boy without much success: the look in Dazai’s eyes really was sad. Oda has never seen him with a similar expression, so he decided to encourage his kouhai. “Dazai, we are going to visit you every time we can.”
“But Odasakuuu, I am already bored as hell normally, how am I supposed to pass the time? Even the damn chibi won’t entertain me properly, being always with his gang”, he said the term with a disgusted grunt, “and his karate club that keeps him occupied for 2 hours a day, everyday except on Wednesdays…”.

Oda interrupted him, “Did you memorize his sched… Well anyway, Dazai. If you want to find something that is both entertaining and helpful, why don’t you run for President of the Student Council? I can assure you that it’s quite time-sucking but the satisfaction you get in knowing you have helped the students in one way or another is really invaluable.”
“President you say? You know, it’s not a bad idea! I’ll be able to obtain priceless information and I’ll surely receive a lot of power and praise… Not bad, really. You know what, you convinced me! I’ll be sure to send you a pic of me sitting on that comfy chair in 2 months!”
“As self-assured as always, Dazai,” Ango said, interfering in the conversation between the two, “Odasaku, we have to go, they’ll call our name soon.”
“Oh yeah, sure sure. See you tonight at the arcade, Dazai?”
“You can count on it! Congrats guys.”

He watched them saying their thanks and then going towards the ceremony. Dazai was happy for his friends, he really was! However, the moment he realized that their graduation meant more loneliness he felt a gloom cast on himself.

Luckily the distraction arrived in the form of Kunikida, who screeched as he saw Dazai outside the gym. 

“Dazai, you crook! What are you doing here?! Also your uniform is all messed up!! You are terrible really!”.
“Kunikida-kuuuuun, how are you on this sunny day?”.
“Shut up stupid, and move your ass towards the ceremony! I don’t want to miss the opportunity of greeting the senpais because of you!”

After saying this, he dragged Dazai with him.

While not stopping the nagging, Dazai started following and noticed a group of people near the building and, among the heads of some squatting students, he spotted his least favorite person ever: Nakahara Chuuya, his neighbor and bane of his existence (or is it how the redhead referred to him? Who cared anyway).

‘The chibi is for sure a respected leader, even if he claims that The Sheep doesn’t have one; those guys are jerks, using his hideous muscles to protect themselves from other monkeybrain gangs; on the other hand he let himself be used by them, so he’s just the stupidest’.
After this thought he felt Chuuya’s eyes on him, as if he could sense Dazai’s focus, and he saw his middle finger direct on himself. Since he is such a mature young man, he responded by sticking his tongue out, and let Kunikida drag him to the gym.

A few months later, Dazai is elected President without breaking a sweat: he’s really appreciated by both the students and the teaching staff.

After all, he seems like the classic goody two-shoes who gets perfect scores and is always smiling and being polite to just anyone (that doesn’t mean it is true, but they don’t need to know that).

That same afternoon, however, the vice-president would be elected as well and Dazai was already smirking at the thought. That was because he was sure of who would take the place at his side; after all, he may have altered the election while being the good boy he is and volunteering at the polling station.

So, with a fake hand-over-mouth gesture, he gasped while he revealed during the assembly, in front of the whole school, the name of his vice president: Nakahara Chuuya.
The boy was sat in the far back of the class but that didn’t stop his  “HHHHHAAAAHHH” to be heard from Dazai’s spot on the stage; his schoolmates for sure didn’t notice but the newly president was smirking evilly.

“You BASTARD what the hell have you done???!!!!”, Chuuya’s screams could be heard all down the hallway from the Student’s Council. 

“Fucking freak I know it’s your fault! Why would I want to be part of the stuck-ups who belong to this place?? I never submitted my candidacy and you are the only smartass who could pull this off.”
“Oh, is Chuuya calling me a genius?”.
“No, asshole. I’m calling you a psycho!!”
“Well, it doesn’t matter what you think of me, dear Chibi. From today on you are my second in command and I’m gonna enjoy every second of you being my maid!” he smirked evilly but the look in his eyes was softer than his words.
“NO WAY”, Chuuya screeched, “I’m going to the Homeroom teacher herself to fix this. I’ll get you expelled. Just wait and see!!”

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The next day Chuuya was stomping his feet while entering the Students Council room and sitting rudely on the couch. 

“Oh oh, someone was unlucky, I see”, cheered Dazai, “I guess the sensei really couldn’t believe I did something as horrifying as you claim.”
“ShittyDazai. If you think I’ll be useful you are dead wrong.”
“Aaaaah Chuuya why are you being so dramatic? I’m just giving you the opportunity to improve your social status. This way the teachers won’t see you just as a rebellious punk but as a proper student, just like me myself!”.

Chuuya cringed hard at this phrase and stormed outside shouting, “Whatever! You won’t be able to make me do any work, bastard. Now I’m going to actually do something for the community helping The Sheep.”

“Oh, are you really?”.

“Yeah ShittyDazai, some thugs from Kanagawa Institute bothered a few of them yesterday and I need to go assert some dominance”.

After this encounter, Dazai could really feel the silence in the empty room; a silence that in a few moments became unbearable since he felt this mind starting to spiral towards things that could be described as ‘unpleasant’. So, he went for one of his favourite activity: bothering his dear Kunikida-senpai.

Kunikida Doppo could be defined as both hardworking and neurotic. And as  a third year his schedule (which he upgrades every moment he can) is full of events, homework, deadlines and so much more.
Recently, his tutor assigned him a first year to lighten his workload, not that he needed it: his ponytail could easily hide the white hair he was getting from the stress.

This student was Akutagawa Ryunosuke, a serious but gloomy boy who was actually as devoted to the cause as his senpai, the cause being: ‘The respect and order towards everything and everyone at any given moment’, as Kunikida likes to recite to anyone who breaks the school rules. 

So, the Head of the Disciplinary Committee is actually quite happy with his kouhai, who has such a serious glare that even the toughest punks fix their uniform without much fuss.

However, he could have never guessed the weak point of Akutagawa: his incomprehensible respect for Dazai, that damn pain in the ass which was now his superior as the President of the Student Council!
Kunikida guessed that the boy’s admiration may come from his need to always be the best (and maybe also above everyone) and he surely has a deep thirst for proving his value. And he has! Everyone (willing or not) respects him, with the exception of Dazai, who doesn’t miss a chance to belittle his achievements and make fun of him.

Unfortunately, today they had to go to the office of the above-mentioned demon for the weekly submit of the list of the rulebreakers (Kunikida is so dedicated that he willingly fills it out , because his thrive for order is bigger than his bitterness toward Dazai), so he could have expected everything that was going to happen.

Dazai let them in and, as always, didn’t bother to write down the culprits so Kunikida had to take out his favourite fountain pen to write the names on the official papers; meanwhile Akutagawa stood there in a perfect 90 degree bow since Dazai hadn’t bothered to tell him to straighten up and his senpai was way too engrossed in the documents to notice.

When Kunikida actually did notice, he shouted, “Akutagawa! Stop with this scene, this sloth doesn’t deserve an ounce of your respect.”
“But Kunikida-saaaaaan, doesn’t your lovely motto say to always respect anyone all the timeeee?”
“We are making an exception for you, since you are not even a life form but just a useless blob. I truly wonder how you’ve managed with all the paperworks so far!”
As Kunikida was talking, a lanky boy, probably a first year, stormed into the office. “Dazai-san! You forgot to sign these forms for the incoming School Festival, we have to submit them before the end of the day to the Committee. Please do it now or this could become a real problem!”

Once the boy caught his breath he bowed towards Kunikida saluting him, and then locked eyes with the other first year.

“Oh Akutagawa-kun, I didn’t know you were assisting Kunikida-senpai with his work. Actually, I kinda see you being part of the Disciplinary Committee, being as serious as you are! I told you if you smiled more I would have helped you with the Sociology essay, I know it’s not your strong suit.”

Akutagawa growled profanities at his classmate and stormed off with red ears, leaving Kunikida puzzled: the boy never once seemed agitated by a peer, acting all high and mighty.

On the other hand, he never thought that Nakajima-kun could be so teasing. That bastard Dazai might have rubbed into his kouhai. And, talking about him, the bastard was displaying a smirk that matched his raised eyebrows and, for sure, an evil plan in his mind. 

Kunikida has known him since last year, way before he became president, since he had to go and yell at him almost every single day because of his tremendous behaviour: wearing the uniform wrong, sleeping in the school facility, bothering other student and pulling pranks, especially on his peer/friend/enemy (he wasn’t sure about their relationship) Nakahara-kun.

He even had the courage to dawdle in the Student Council Office doing absolutely nothing, just because he was friends with the former president Oda-san.
So he was a nightmare from day one, and Kunikida could feel that the other boy just thought something inappropriate about the pair of first years.

However, Dazai quickly composed himself and sloppingly signed the paper that his kouhai had given him, humming. Losing his patience, Kunikida finished completing the list and left the office searching for a peaceful moment to fill his planner.

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Dazai was left with only Atsushi-kun to bother, but these documents were actually important because the school festival was such a crucial event for the school life.

 So, he for sure needed his dear vice to help him deciding a few things.

This led to him using the school’s intercom to be heard even in the bathrooms saying,
“NAHAKARA CHUUYA-KUUUUN IS REQUESTED BY HIS PRESIDENT IN THE OFFICE! PLEASE COME RIGHT NOW, EXTREME URGENCY.”
After that he sighed happily and went back into the office, with Atsushi silently trailing along.

The boy now seemed to have lost all of his cockiness from before and was fidgeting, maybe both scared of Chuuya’s reaction and of the way Akuatagawa badly reacted to what seemed a flirty move. Dazai decided that he had to do something about it, because of the happiness of his dear kouhai, not for his personal fun. Obviously !

After a few minutes, Chuuya opened the door with an amount of force able to make the big wooden doors boom and bounce off the wall.
“YOU VAGABOND! What do you want?! I was about to kick some asses. This better be something REALLY important, like life-threatening important.”
“Awwww Chuuya is worried about me, I’m so happy I could cry. However, it is actually an important topic, we have to choose some stuff about the Festival and for the Sport events.”

With the mention of the sports Chuuya’s interest picked, “Yeah? Okay JUST THIS ONCE I’ll help your scrawny ass, since you can’t even tell the difference between karate and judo.”
“My my, Chuuya really is a no brain, all brawn! Yes, I’d love to hear your opinion on the list of competitions among all the sports clubs. Also, I wanted to ask you if you had any special request about the School Festival, like a specific stall or something.”

Taking the needed papers, Chuuya turned around and started grumbling, “As if I’d ever do more work than intended; which should be NONE by the way. You'll think about these attractions by yourself, asshole! Bye Atsushi-kun.”

Chuuya left the room once more, slamming the door.
As soon as Atsushi slightly bowed his goodbye, said door re-opened slightly, and red hair peeked inside forDazai tohear, “Well, actually a bonfire would be nice”, and disappeared again, for good this time.

Dazai was genuinely surprised by Chuuya’s action and Atsushi swore he had kinda seen a soft smile on his face for a few milliseconds. Then, his senpai turned his chair in his direction and his mouth now had a grin that could make any sane person shiver.

“So, Atsushi-kun, how about your little friend? Akutagawa-kun is kinda stuck-up, don’t you think so? I mean, always behind Kunikida! do you think oh gosh that he might have a crush on him??”, Dazai exclaimed exaggeratedly, pretending not to know what was actually going on.

Said that, he focused on the boy’s fists that were tightening and he didn’t miss the snarly tone as he spat out, extremely out of character:
“Dazai-san, you know nothing about Akutagawa! He may be a gloomy far-too-serious guy, but he is very determined and needs all the support he can get! He’s quite alone and I guess hearing a good word from you would surely help him. So PLEASE don’t pick on him and give him a chance to prove his worth.”
“Weeesh, Atsushi-kun, I didn’t know you felt so strongly about him,” he teased

Atsushi immediately began getting quite embarrassed about both his outburst and what he had said about the classmate and started stuttering:
“I-I-I’m sorry Dazai-san, I didn’t mean to sound so harsh… But what I said is true, please don’t disrespect him so much. He’s a good guy, if you have the patience to dig a little.”
Dazai, faking resentment at first, stopped playing and reassured Atsushi that he would think about it and to “Get him, tiger”, he said winking at the younger boy.

“This was a nice chat, Atsushi-kun, but now give me a few minutes to think about tomorrow.”
“Why? What’s happening tomorrow?”.
“Oh don’t worry Atsushi-kun, it doesn’t concern you.”
Seeing his senpai in a good but sketchy mood, Atsushi decided that it was best to start doing his homework on the other desk present in the room.

Later that day, Dazai intercepted Akutagawa at the school exit and stopped in front of him; the boy was visibly shocked by the president’s sudden appearance.
“Oi Akutagawa-kun, wait a second here”, the first year didn’t dare to move even a muscle, “Your little fight with Atsushi-kun was very interesting, really the peak of my day! I was very surprised by both his audacity and your tsundere reaction, that was really amusing.”
“Tsu-tsundere?? What are you implying Dazai-san?”
“Well, you wouldn’t mind if I were to try and make a move on him, right?”.
Akutagawa stayed still but his eyes opened wide in surprise. Still he managed to scoff. “Bah, go ahead. That good for nothing surely needs your approval or something. I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually said yes,” he said this with his gaze lowered.

“Well, you sure are right and I guess there’s not a better judge on this than you!”
Akutagawa growled: “WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?”
“Oh nothing, I just guessed that since you guys are so simil-”.
“We. Are. Not. Similar. I share nothing with him. I’m not a naive little boy with a too big heart and the capacity to nullify my own needs for others.”

“My my, isn’t that a compliment, Akutagawa-kun? What if I were to make you my treasurer and get rid of him, eh? Since you say he is so benevolent?” 

As he was saying this Dazai entered Akutagawa’s personal space in a rather uncomfortable way, but the boy stood with a very serious gaze, the same one that made older students shudder.
“Dazai-san, even if I admire your social position, I won’t hesitate to personally take you down if you do something so revolting.”
Dazai smirked at this but, at the same time, he seemed to relax, “Oh, is he that precious to you? Then, make sure that he knows how much you value him. Or someone else will steal him.” 

Akutagawa narrowed his eyes.
“But don’t you worry, that won’t be me. Tch, I have no such taste in men.”

He then proceeded to walk away, he was still not done for the day. Tomorrow was going to be a special day, after all.

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The next day, after roughly a month post the election results, Dazai was happier than ever while walking into his office first thing in the morning.
The room seemed messier than ever, but he made Atsushi take the day off as soon as he came in.

“But Dazai-san, the lockers are a mess, there’s stuff everywhere. Chuuya-san is coming later to bring the sports’ events timeline, I guess he’ll be quite unhappy about the chaos, especially because I’ve seen you dig into his locker.”
“You haven’t seen a thing, Atsushi-kun! Moreover, I need you to go and ask the thing to the professor.”
Atsushi was kinda perplexed. 

“Mmmm, what to who?”.ì
“Oh my dear treasurer, you don’t remember the important task I’ve repeated you to do at least 10 times yesterday?”
“Hmmm, honestly nop-”
“Shush, boy. It’s time for you to go. And don’t come into the office for the rest of the day, ok?”
Dazai said so with a smile that didn’t match the threatening look in his eyes, and so Atsushi finally left the room, even more perplexed than when he first entered.

As expected, after 15 minutes Chuuya barged in, waving the papers for the event.
“Dazai, what the fuck is all this mess?! Everything is on the floor, you are such a useless president . Even my locker! Bastard, did you mess with my stuff??? I’m going to fucking kill y-”
Chuuya stopped his outburst as he noticed the big package stuffed inside.
He looked with wondering eyes and a pout in Dazai’s direction, and then proceeded to open the wrapping paper (poorly done and with a slug print on it).
Inside he found a borsalino hat, a leather jacket and a pair of bikers' gloves, all in black.
He was astonished.
This gift (?) was incredible.

“Oh Chuuya, yeah yesterday I went to a garage sale. I noticed these kitch stuff and they were so horrendous that the pretty lady basically begged me to take them. I thought you would have liked them, since you have such a dreadful style.”

Chuuya scoffed, seeing right through Dazai’s act. The bastard may be the shittiest mackerel on the planet but he’s never forgotten his birthday since the day he forced it out of Chuuya and proceeded to gift him a stupid poetry book, when still they were in middle school.

So, the boy stood up and brought the gift close to his chest and smirked in Dazai’s direction, “Ok I guess I’ll take them asshole, you know I don’t like wasting things.” 

Then, he walked out leaving the documents on the desk.

Dazai was left alone once again, but he didn’t feel lonely as he usually would: the chibi’s smile really made him feel a little bit warmer.

Of course, Dazai’s gift wasn’t a guess. He had actually overheard Chuuya’s big sister Koyo talking about it some time before(coincidentally, Dazai’s room window was right under the Nakahara’s bathroom, which allowed him to hear Chuuya’s delightful screeching-singing in the shower).
She was on the phone with The Flags, a group of college students that work at the same mechanics where Chuuya does his part-time job, while hiding it from the school.

As on cue, in the afternoon, he heard a ruckus in front of the school’s gates and, from his privileged big window, Dazai could easily see the scene: five tall college students were making noise surrounding his little vice-president.
He couldn’t really see his face but he knew he was about to burst into tears as they opened up the circle and showed him the (ugliest and) pinkest motorcycle he’s ever seen.
One of the boys in particular, who was wearing sunglasses, was basically jumping around Chuuya and showing him the different parts of the vehicle.

Yep, Dazai knew they would be coming and even the kind of gift they would’ve brought him. But the chibi didn’t need to know about this; after all it’s not like he planned all of this weeks in advance, isn’t it?

Chapter Text

Chuuya spared a final glimpse to those cowards from Kanagawa Institute as they ran away. Those pricks really did have too much time on their hands if they decided to actually come and pick a fight with him and the Sheep in front of their school.

But obviously they didn’t stand a chance against them. Tch, what a waste of time.

Just as he was turning to walk back home with his friends (ShittyDazai could walk by himself, this time he wanted to celebrate with the boys), a strong hand stopped him in his tracks. Slowly turning around, Chuuya saw the ever-red face of the principal, the wig he wore (and that nobody dared to acknowledge) slightly astray. A vein was popping on his forehead, a clear sign that the man was, in fact, not in a good mood. 

“Nakahara-kun, if you would please follow me to my office,” he said, and the boy felt a shiver run through his spine as he followed the not-so-subtle order.

The headmaster’s office had big windows that faced the school courtyard, and Chuuya could faintly see his figure in the reflection, his ruined knuckles and his already swollen lip. Tch, these ones were going to hurt like hell tomorrow, but the boys would love them, so it was worth it after all; those were battle wounds.

He zoned out during the speech the man was giving him, after all how many times has he already heard it?

“...bad example… you are a second year…” blah blah, always the same stuff, “school reputation… serious measures this time…”  had the boys already gone home? He could try and catch up if he was fast enough.

The next words the principal said, though, made him freeze on the spot.

“The council will have to discuss your situation this time, Nakahara-kun. This behavior is unacceptable and has gone too far, there is the serious possibility of a suspension for you.”

“Huuuuuh?”

The principal ignored him and kept on going. No matter what Chuuya said, the man wouldn’t listen. In fact, there was a hint of a satisfied smile on his lips. The bastard, he was enjoying it!

By the time the “little” lecture finished, Chuuya was fuming with rage. Sure, he might have been a bit of a troublemaker since he finally got new members inside the Sheep, but this time it wasn’t his fault! Those bastards from Kanagawa Institute came to their school!

While he was storming out he angrily punched a message to Dazai, demanding him to fix the mess, but the only answer he received was, “ finally a couple of days without the slug :P”.

Yelling to nobody, Chuuya was just about to smash the phone to the floor when he remembered how long he had to beg Ane-san to get it, and he tried his best to keep his cool.

He threw a punch to the nearest surface though, and if that happened to be ShittyDazai’s house walls, it wasn’t nobody's business but his.

Fortunately the next day was a Saturday, which meant no school and free time to go and settle the score with those punks. 

It was a risky move, to enter Kanagawa District with no backup, but he didn’t want to put the Sheep into more trouble than it already was.

As a way to boost his confidence, he had decided to wear Dazai’s present, because there was no way he could deny the whole outfit fit him perfectly, both in size and style, and for that (and definitely no other reasons) it had become his favorite in no time.

Not that the vagabond needed to know it. 

Finally entering the district he stalked the most common meeting points, parks and cafés, but it was either too early in the morning (seriously? What do these guys do all day? Sleep? Tch, what a bunch of losers) or they had a hidden base. 

He was so focused on his research that he ended up bumping against someone. Chuuya was about to apologize (he was a delinquent, but his parents educated him well after all) when he recognized the mop of brown hair, the shaggy clothes and the overall beanpole figure.

Couldn’t his day become any worse? Did he really have to meet Dazai of all people? And what was he doing inside the enemy’s territory? Not that he cared, those punks could beat the shit out of him for all that he was interested in.

“Oh my, did I stomp on a slug by any chance?”

“ Temee , what are you doing here?”

“I was having a peaceful stroll in this beautiful district when a kid in charity clothes JUST had to run into me. I must be the unluckiest person in the world.”

If one would call the all-nighter Dazai made to dig up dirt on those thugs and the subsequential trip to Kanagawa District at 9 in the morning (who is so out of his mind to wake up this early?) to go and watch chaos unfold ‘a peaceful stroll’. 

Well, Dazai supposed he could; after all, what’s more entertaining than watching some muscle-for-brain idiots cry like babies and beg him not to upload on the internet pictures of them volunteering at the kennelly, surrounded by cute puppies? Probably admiring said idiots kneel in front of Kanagawa’s principal in the middle of their courtyard on a Saturday morning as the woman called with deep embarrassment Seijin Institute to explain how “some hotheads from my school tried to start trouble” and how she was thankful that “one of Seijin’s outstanding students” had stopped them before anyone got actually hurt.

Yes, that was probably worth it, Dazai thought. Not that any of that was Chibi’s business.

And Chuuya definitely didn’t believe the other boy’s words. After all, he perfectly knew that Dazai would never wake up before 11 a.m. on the weekends, that’s the time when his phone ALWAYS started exploding with notifications of stupid videos from yours truly after all. So yes, he had his reason not to trust him.

Wait… Could it possibly be that Dazai plotted with those punks from Kanagawa to get him suspended? He wouldn’t do it, right…? 

Despite the way they treated each other, they were friends, right?

All of his thoughts came to an abrupt halt when he heard a loud grumble from the other boy.

“Ne Chuuya,” and there was now a devious grin on Dazai’s face, “wanna make a bet? If you win against me at the arcade down the street I’ll tell you why I’m actually here, and if I win you’ll make me lunch like a good maid. What do you say?”

Tch, this was a no-brain choice, what was Dazai thinking? All of Yokohama’s arcades had Chuuya and the Sheep’s high scores on their leaderboards, there was no way he wasn’t going to win.

“The challenge is on, you mackerel. Don’t come and cry after I’ve finished trashing you!”

“Fufu, just make sure the kani sarada will be ready for lunchtime.”

“In your dreams, president !”

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20 minutes. 

Only 20 minutes. 

That’s what it took Dazai to destroy his fearsome reputation. 

“THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE! TEMEEE, HOW DID YOU CHEAT??”

And the bastard had the nerve to smile almost seraphically, just like the cat that got the cream. 

“Ehh? But Chibi, I didn’t know you were sooo bad at playing games! Did you want to cook for me so much? I must say, I’m deeply moved.”

“There’s no way I’m going to do it! I want a rematch!”

And just like that, they kept fighting like there was no tomorrow, the whole purpose of the initial match seemingly forgotten. They barely stopped to grab something to eat when they couldn’t take it anymore, but that was all the break they allowed themselves.

And yet, after the 45th consecutive loss Chuuya had to admit defeat. They tried all the games inside the arcade, and there was no way ALL of them were rigged. 

That was it. Dazai beat him at his own game. Damned mackerel.

Stomping out of the shop, he realized how late it was. Tch, he had to start buying the ingredients for the infamous dinner, or they weren’t going to find any spare crab. 

He hated to admit it, but a bet was a bet, and he wasn’t going to go back on his word, even if that meant cooking for ShittyDazai.

So, when the other boy joined him outside with a big, satisfied smile, he begrudgingly dragged him among the various stalls.

Gods help him, the whole scene felt so domestic it was making Chuuya sick: them carrying the bags together, chatting with the vendors, Dazai complaining because the bags were too heavy (“That’s what you get for being lanky, you moron”), Chuuya yelling him to pay his part; everything felt weird and familiar at the same time, and Chuuya reaaally didn’t want to think about it.

(This one lady had smiled knowingly at them when they said goodbye, and had to point out “how cute you two boys are together!”, and he JUST had to blush without reason. Just amazing.)

By a stroke of luck they even found a vendor that was just about to close and that had spare crab; apparently someone had reserved it but never came back to actually buy it.

(There was a suspicious exchange of glances between the vendor and Dazai, but Chuuya refused, just refused to think that the whole day was actually orchestrated by the other boy; sometimes a coincidence was just a coincidence. There was no way that lazy ass had planned all of it.)

Somehow, they managed to buy all the ingredients he needed and some more, so they finally headed home. Chuuya was about to drop the shopping bags in front of Dazai’s door to go and get changed (what if they somehow got dirty?) when the other boy stopped him. 

Dazai had a complicated expression on his face when he turned around questioningly.

“Sorry, can we go to your house?”

“Haaah? Why would I have to dirty my kitchen for you?”

“Nobody has used mine in a loooong time, I bet everything is covered in dust.”

“How is that possible? Don’t you eat with your parents?”

Dazai looked at him like he was incredibly stupid, without saying a word, and Chuuya had the half idea to drop all the ingredients there and leave the beanpole without his precious crab, the bet be damned.

But he resisted the temptation; after all, that could be the reason why the mackerel remained lanky! He probably didn’t eat enough protein! 

And thinking about it, Dazai never brought any bento at school, he probably went to the konbini every day, and who knew what shit he’d buy instead of a nutritious meal.

Then it was settled, he had the moral obligation to feed the vagabond a good dinner at least once, just like he always did with the new recruits of the Sheep. 

So Chuuya grabbed the shopping bags once more and climbed the additional round of stairs to his apartment. 

Fortunately Ane-san wasn’t there, spending the weekend at her girlfriend’s, Akiko, so the house was empty.

Chuuya changed his clothes and then proceeded to start gathering the things to start making the damned kani sarada . 

Dazai was smugly watching him from the sofa, and so he threw him the closest thing that wouldn’t actually hurt the mackerel and yelled, “Come here and make yourself useful, you moron!” 

Without a word, and with the same satisfied grin Dazai started washing and cutting the vegetables that were going to become the side dish.

After a couple of minutes Chuuya spared a glance at the boy, and he watched in horror as he butchered the vegetables with an almost morbid passion, leaving nothing but a puddle of stuff that looked way far from edible.

With a groan he shooed Dazai away, grumbling, “How is it possible that you are a genius at school and a complete mess outside? Seriously, have you ever cooked in your life?”

Without waiting for an answer he gently took the knife from his hands, and taking in the mess on the chopping board he started working on the carrots Dazai was cutting for the potato salad they had decided to eat.

He chopped down the vegetable with expert movements, signaling the other boy to watch and learn.

“...You know, konbinis do have edible food.”

“Yeah, yeah, but it’s not the same as something made at home. Doesn’t your dad cook? I think I’ve tried your dad’s curry when we were kids, it was delicious.”

“Ehh Chibi is worried about me, how sweet. Don’t worry, if this dinner is good I might hire you as my permanent maid!”

“HAAAAH??” Chuuya just knew his face was bright red. 

How DARE Dazai say something like that??

But the boy just laughed and then he added, with a more somber tone, “I don’t even know when it was last time dad cooked for me and mum. You know, with the company and everything, they both have barely been at home lately.”

Oh. 

That was kinda lonely. 

Well, his parents too were never at home, but at least he had Ane-san and the Sheep; who did Dazai have? 

No. No no. He wasn’t going to feel sorry for the mackerel, absolutely not.

“Eeehhh what’s that look Chibi? Feeling bad for your president?”

Yeah, that wasn’t happening.

“Tch, in your dreams, moron.”

Dazai just laughed again and took the knife from his hands, resuming chopping the vegetables, finally in a human way.

Chuuya stared at him for another couple of seconds, just to make sure the mackerel was doing everything appropriately, his cheeks still mildly burning, and then turned again to finish cooking. 

Soon enough Dazai was resuming talking about everything and nothing, filling the silence with his usual nonsense.

And then something weird happened. He was stretching on his tiptoes to grab the plates for dinner (Ane-san sadistically kept putting them in the top shelf of the cupboard) when he felt a presence right beside him. Abruptly turning around, he caught sight of Dazai staring ominously at the lifted hem of his T-shirt, where a patch of bruised skin was showing.

“You’re hurt.”

“Duh, you idiot. I told you I got caught in a fight yesterday! Those bastards from Kanagawa Institute came to our school looking for trouble, I had to teach them a lesson!”

“And yet you’ve been incompetent enought to get hurt. Weren’t you the ‘strongest delinquent in Yokohama’?”

“Tch, they were eight against three of us. Obviously they’d land some hits!”

“My my, I believe I’ve been a bit too merciful with those oafs after all. Nobody is allowed to punch my dog beside myself after all.”

“What? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Nothing of your concern. Now let’s eat, all this manual work has made me hungry.”

Dazai’s sudden foul mood fortunately improved during dinner, probably thanks to Chuuya’s cuisine and the opportunity to trash talk about all the people they knew.

As soon as dinner was over Dazai left Chuuya to clean up (“That’s what maids are for, after all!”) and went exploring his apartment (as if he didn’t already know it by heart since they were kids).

A couple of minutes later he came back with a metal box: it was Ane-san emergency supply for whenever she or Chuuya ended up in a brawl.

The boy immediately paled. If Ane-san knew Dazai had entered her room without permission, neither of them would live long enough to care about Chuuya’s bruises.

He was about to yell at Dazai to bring it back when the other ordered him, “Sit and take your shirt off.”

“HAAAAH?”

“I said. Sit. And take your shirt off.”

“Are you crazy? There’s no way I’m going to do that!”

Dazai grabbed him by the arm, involuntarily pressing on another bruise, and a hiss left his lips. 

The other boy’s expression darkened and he repeated once more, “Sit.”

Begrudgingly, Chuuya did as Dazai asked. He sat on the kitchen chair, and haphazardly took his shirt off. 

He wasn’t by any means shy, he knew he had a nice body after all (all the compliments from the Sheep and his teammates from the karate club made sure to remind him), so he shouldn’t feel that embarrassed of being seen half naked.

But, for some weird reason, doing it in front of Dazai bothered him.

And that fucking didn’t make sense; they knew each other since they were a bit more than kids, they grew up together after all. 

So, why on earth was his skin heating up like it was on fire?

And he could swear Dazai’s gaze was lingering more than needed on his skin. So fighting the instinct to go and cover himself up, he acted like the whole situation left him completely indifferent.

The other boy closed in, and started inspecting the constellation of bruises and scratches on his arms and torso, clearly displeased.

Chuuya did his best to try and stay put even when something cold pressed against one of the biggest scrapes on his back, and the disinfectant made everything sting like hell.

And Dazai wasn’t being gentle at all, putting more force than needed on the actions, almost as if he wanted to punish him for getting hurt.

Squirming a bit on his seat, Chuuya decided the tough act wasn’t worth the sadistic pleasure the mackerel was clearly getting from it.

“Oi. You are supposed to make those better, not worse, you know?”

“Are you perhaps complaining about my performance as your pretty Red Cross nurse?”

“My Red Cross… what?” 

Images of Dazai in a nurse uniform immediately flashed inside his mind and he tried so very hard to cast them away.

Because.

Yeah, Dazai as a nurse could definitely become material for nightmares.

“No, no. No complaints.”

“That’s what I thought.”

The comment must have gotten through though, because Dazai was finally being gentler.

And when the initial discomfort finally subsided, he finally took in the situation they were in.

Dazai was still hovering over his body, pressing the disinfectant in places he hadn’t even realized were hurt; he was still sitting on the chair, without his shirt on, under the clinical gaze of the other boy, goosebumps already starting to appear on his skin.

Yeah, a typical Saturday evening with your neighbor/thorn-on-the-side, right?

After a while Dazai seemed finally satisfied with his work and stepped back. Chuuya took a breath in relief and was about to hastily put on his shirt again when the other boy stopped him again.

“WHAT?”

“Stay still Chibi, I haven’t got to the best part yet.”

If those words were meant to be calming, they did quite the opposite. Chuuya felt his body tense up, and then a shiver ran through his spine as something cold landed once more on his skin.

And then.

A hand.

A hand, Dazai’s, was gently massaging his bruised skin with some kind of ointment.

The realization took a couple of seconds to settle in.

And then.

HAAAAAAAAAAH???

WHAT WAS GOING ON??

Wh-what was ShittyDazai thinking? 

He tried to jerk away, but the other boy’s grip was ironclad.

“Come on slug, I’m trying to be nice here. Why aren’t you cooperating?”

NICE?

HE WAS BEING NICE???

No way, He was definitely trying to provoke him in some kind of way, like the bastard he was.

And the worst thing was, he was succeeding on it.

Chuuya could already feel his face burning up the more those hands stayed against his skin; it was probably the color of his own hair by now.

And he could also feel his heart pounding in his chest in a way that not even a fight against punks like those from Kanagawa Institute made him.

The bastard must have put something inside his food, or something like that, because there was no other explanation for the way his body was reacting. 

As the seconds kept passing by a terrible thought passed through his mind, horrible enough to distract him from the ever present hands on him.

Just the other day, Shirase, his most trusted man inside the Sheep, was talking about one of his classmates, and how he felt sooo weird whenever he was near them. And then one of the other kids mocked him, saying that he  definitely had a crush on them!

Could it be that Chuuya had a crush on Dazai…?

No way, right??

They were friends when they were kids, but that was all! They have barely spent time together in these last years after all; they had started seeing each other again only after Dazai maneuvered the elections for the Student Council to get him as Vice-president (he was 100% sure about it, despite what the principal had said).

So no, he definitely didn’t have a crush on the beanpole.

That would be sooo humiliating, he had better tastes than that.

But still, Dazai’s touch was leaving him weird, like his skin was still tingling after all of his brushing. 

Yet again, that probably was the ointment, right?

Still, Chuuya started praying all the gods up above to make the torture end as quickly as possible.

And the gods apparently heard him, because just a couple of minutes later Dazai was stepping back once more, apparently satisfied with his work.

Chuuya finally, finally , managed to put his shirt back on, and he finally relaxed on the chair after what looked like an eternity.

Too soon.

Dazai invaded his space for the n-th time that evening, getting so close their noses almost collided. Chuuya was frozen on the spot, with nowhere to run.

And then, something touched his lips. 

He took a sharp breath in, eyes widening.

Only then he registered the stinging sensation of the disinfectant on a cut on his lower lip.

“...My, it seems like I had missed one.”

Once again combusting on the spot, Chuuya immediately pushed the other boy away, but the mackerel just laughed as he evaded his attacks.

“You should have seen your face Chuuya! Absolutely priceless!”

Roaring, Chuuya started throwing whatever was at hand to the bastard, who kept running away, still laughing.

“My my Chuuya, that’s not an appropriate behavior for a maid, you know that?”

“YOU BASTARD! GO AWAY!”

“Yeah yeah , see you on Monday at school!”

And the bastard had the nerve to actually leave and go back home!

THE NERVE. He was sooo going to punch him in the face on Monday.

Wait? On Monday?

Chuuya hastily grabbed his phone, and as a matter of fact, there was a communication from the school. Skipping anxiously through the lines he finally got to the interesting part:

“...our deepest apologies for the misunderstanding… We hope to see you in class on Monday.”

Seriously? Just like that? 

It smelled like one of the mackerel’s plotting from a thousand miles, but at least for once, it was for his own benefit, so he couldn’t really be angry about it.

Actually, Chuuya just laughed, shaking his head. 

“You see, sometimes you can also do something good, you moron.”

Yep, definitely a typical Saturday evening for them.

                                                           -------------------------------------------------------                                                                                

Monday morning.

When Dazai opened the door to go to school, late as per usual, he found a package in front of it.

It was a bento, with a note on top of it.

“ I cooked too much for me, so I thought to make some charity for one idiot downstairs.

Don’t get used to it. Also, you are late for class. ”

When Dazai finally entered the classroom, the boy had a big smile on his face, one of the more genuine Chuuya had ever seen from him.

Chapter Text

Today is finally the Sports’ Festival , which takes place the day before the actual Festival and Chuuya is really feeling it. 

He is acing almost any competition: from relay race to weightlifting to his specialty, karate, where he has literally annihilated his competitors.

Since he still has some energy to burn off he decides to try judo.
He actually was a pretty good judoka growing up and even though now he’s quite out of tune with the motions he wants to give it a try..

He’s not really surprised when he manages to win against both of his first opponents,
leaving  him against the other finalist.

He’s actually talked to him a few times, being another sport-junky: Henri, a 2nd year transfer student from France (Chuuya would kill to visit the European State at least once: Paris, la Côte D'azur, la Provence…), a pretty tall guy with a good build (‘see shittyDazai, being tall is not an excuse for being lanky’) and stunning blond hair.
He’s also talented in both sports and languages, since he’s learned Japanese so easily.

So, to say the least, it’s not that Chuuya didn’t give him a second thought, but he has never focused too much on him either.

Either way, they are now in front of each other, scanning their opponent with curiosity from a distance.
The tension is mounting up as well as the excitement, both from the two athletes and the crowd.

As the referee lifts up his arm the time stops for a moment, then: “HAJIME!”
Chuuya and Henri walk forward, closing their distance, until they can feel the aura of the other's fighting spirit.

Chuuya breaks the ice, launching his arms to try and be the first to secure the grip on his opponent's kimono, but Henri blocks and pushes forward for the counter attack.
They fight for a bit, till both secure their grips at the same time.
“Now the real fight begins,” they think simultaneously.

They feign attacks at each other to study the reactions, some ashi techniques here and there, easily dodged, always trying to maintain eye contact.
Neither of them wants to reveal their real technique, not yet.

‘Henri's grip is strong and high on my lapel’, Chuuya thinks, “does it mean he's a goshi specialist?”.
They continue like this for some time, waiting for the right time to attack, until it happens.

Henri's grip rapidly lowers while Chuuya is taking a step back.
“Damn bastard”, he grunts, “He was trying to trick me, he's going for an O Soto Gari!”.
Henri's body leans strongly forward, closing the distance between their chests, and he lifts his leg high behind Chuuya's back preparing to swing down with it.

Chuuya immediately reacts, knowing that his only hope to respond is with his favourite technique.
So, using all his strength he pushes back regaining what little balance he can and goes to grab Henri's left arm swiftly twisting his body in that direction.
It isn't perfect but it is enough to stop his opponent’s attack.
Chuuya pulls with all his might, dropping both of them into the ground.

Henri though manages to turn a bit mid air, so that he can land on his side and shell up: this way the referee can’t start the count, since he isn’t actually incapacitated.
Chuuya focuses all his might on trying to turn him around, first pulling his arms, then pushing his side but these ministrations make him end up fully straddling Henri.

The french boy doesn’t seem to mind the contact and instead uses the moment to start talking:
“Chuuya, you actually are very good at judo, even if it’s not your field. Why don’t we bet on  this match? Whoever wins will grant a wish to the other”.

He says so with a grin and a matching wink, not even bothering to hide his intentions. However Chuuya is quite a simple teen, all focused on the gang and on sports (all this while trying to do the bare minimum in school not to anger Ane-san) so he couldn’t really think about the implications of the bet and easily agrees.

While he is still struggling to turn him around, Henri adds smoothly:
“If I win, I want a date with you at the School Festival tomorrow”.

Hearing that, Chuuya stills for a few seconds feeling himself going red all over his face. Henri uses this moment of distraction to grab the arm that Chuuya has on his chest to lift his own weight, and slides backwards, managing to put his left popliteus over Chuuya’s head, and succeeding in putting him on the ground.

Henri is still holding the boy’s arm over his own chest, using it to do a juji-gatame - his winning-move.
Seeing Chuuya blocked under his opponent, the referee declares Henri’s win after Chuuya taps twice, signaling his defeat.

The boy lifts himself up and lends a hand towards Chuuya, who is still so red and shocked that he decides to take it without thinking.
While pulling, Henri moves closer to his ear to whisper, “So, see you tomorrow at 4 p.m. in front of the school gates, okay?”

Chuuya nods while making a small smile and then turns to celebrate his 2nd place in front of the audience.

What he doesn't see is how Dazai has stormed out of the gym, green with anger for what he’s just witnessed: how could the chibi dare to be all flirty with that damn European?? Yeah he is tall, smart and a foreigner but he is the damn President of the School Council!

“That slug is so stupid, I bet he didn’t even realise that the other one was basically undressing him with his eyes. Since I’m such a good friend and I don’t want him to get involved with a creep I guess I’ll have to help him by incapacitating that blondie.”

Dazai proceeds to leave the school and go straight to a pharmacy near his house. 

“Good evening madame, may I have a have your strongest XXX, please? I need it in drops and flavorless. Yes, perfect thank you.”

Right after his match, Chuuya starts to scan the crowd looking for a mop of dark brown hair, but the closest he can find is the treasurer. 

“Oi, Atsushi-kun, where is your shitty boss?”

“Chuuya-san! Congrats on the match, I really enjoyed myself! Dazai-san actually left right after you were immobilized by your opponent. He had a scary face but he didn’t answer when I asked him where he was going.”

Begrudgingly, he thanks Atsushi and while putting inside his pocket the note that Henri’s given him with his phone number on it; then he joins The Sheep who are outside chilling, but not before grunting, “Fucking prick, he couldn’t even wait for me to finish the match or go home together. You know what, you bastard. I’m going to enjoy the hell out of my date with Henri tomorrow!”.

                                                           -------------------------------------------------------       

The next day Chuuya is punctual in front of the school gate. He’s fidgeting just a little but he’s also excited for the prospect of finally being asked on a proper date by a pretty boy such as the french.

The other arrives a few moments later and greets Chuuya with a hand-kissing that makes the redhead comburst on the spot; when he while finally recomposes himself, he enthusiastically says, “Oh Henri, I bet you’ve never been to an actual japanese school festival: let me show you around!”

The taller boy nods happily and follows him closely down the hallways and inside the classrooms,  and sometimes their hands brush together while looking at the different classes’ projects such as haunted houses and photo booths. Chuuya welcomes the contact but is also reluctant to hold the other’s hand; it would be a little too much for him, after all.

Chuuya is really having a good time; after all Henri’s a smart guy and is both interesting and interested in talking with Chuuya about their shared interests.

After a little wandering around the school, the french boy’s gaze is then captured by a maid cafè. 

“Chuuya! This is just like in anime! Do you mind if we go inside?”
“Sure, I’m in the mood to drink something anyway.”

The classroom is actually pretty nicely decorated and the students working inside are all eager to do their jobs.

What Chuuya doesn’t notice is a well known President of the School Council, disguised in the back of the class and boring holes in their heads.

Dazai has actually seen them this very morning from his first-rate window at the Council’s office and, of course, he HAD to check on the chibi. What would happen if he got stomped on by someone by accident, the school’s reputation would be affected! Being the good student he is, he has decided to follow them.

As Dazai is steadly and aggressivly sipping his simile-frappuccino with sprinkles (yeah, everyone think he takes his coffee pitch black but he has actually a sweet tooth), a familiar white haired boy comes into the classroom asking pretty loudly if anyone has seen Dazai-san.
The president sprints to go get him and have him sit down at his table.

“What, Atsushi-kun?”
“Oh, Dazai-san! I was just wondering… You know, if you could help me get closer to Akutagawa today. You know, since it’s the Festival. Ranpo-senpai suggested that I approach him in a more strong way, like you’ve seen last time in the office; I mean he is always right but I’m not sure that being cocky is the best way to get to know him better!”

Dazai immediately gets engrossed in the hilarious conversation and after making fun of his kouhai for a while, he manages to get him to leave with the promise of helping his little loving heart.

However, his great patience and generosity aren’t being repaid by the universe since the chibi and his ‘date’ have already left in the meantime.


What Dazai missed is the way their coffee break has actually been: the way Henri was looking at Chuuya completely enamoured while the other wouldn’t shut up about the whole fuss with the gang at the Kanagawa and later about his favourite karate styles. Even though these probably aren’t typical date topics, Henri seems unfazed and is actually really interested.

Chuuya is finding Henri really pleasant and, frankly, a real good view even if not one worth billions.

What he really can’t stand is the fact that his traitorous mind is constantly overlapping Henri’s intelligent green eyes with dark brown, almost red, ones.
And this keeps bringing him into thinking how this day would be different if he was with the bastard instead.

He likes Henri, he really does, but something is missing: their match has been exhilarating, and yet, after the initial excitement, his mind immediately kept going back to Dazai on its own.

The bastard, however, was doing the bastard as usual.
So, Chuuya refocuses on the boy in front of him, and decides to try and find a spark between them.

After a while, he proposes to go look for something to eat at Atsushi’s takoyaki stand in the main court.
However, Chuuya loses all his appetite and is stunned on the spot as he sees, behind the sweet Atsushi-kun, the bastard winking at some female customers.

He starts sneaking away but Henri screams enthusiastically, “Chuuya! Where are you going? I’d love to try these, they smell incredible!”
“Oh oh, who do we have here? The chibi with his date”, Dazai stresses the word with an amount of venom that could poison the whole food stand.

Chuuya decides to ignore him and orders two plates to Atsushi, who is cutely rolling the octopus balls on the takoyaki grill pan while humming: “Tako Tako, Tako Tako”.

The boy enthusiastically starts preparing two fresh portions for them, but the final step of putting the katsuobushi on top of the food is assigned to the president.

While hidden behind the 1st year, Dazai sneakily drops the whole bottle that he’s bought the day prior on Henri’s portion, which is served first.

However, the french student does something unexpected: he gives the paper plate to Chuuya!

Dazai feels a freezing shiver down his back but remains still to avoid seeming suspicious, as Chuuya is leaning the fork with the “special” takoyaki to his mouth.

The reality though, doesn’t alway follow his plans, so Dazai is forced to witness something almost worse: Henri goes closer to Chuuya’s mouth and takes the food out of his fork; then proceeds to smirk at his date and passes to Chuuya the new (uncontaminated) plate.

Despite the cringe, Dazai is fast to reply, “My my, such a sweet scene. The chibi doesn’t know how to eat? Anyway, lovebirds ( ugh ) the total is 1000 yen.”

Henri is fast to pay the bill and smiling at Chuuya he comments “This was very good! Why don’t we go down the illuminated street over there? I heard it’s supposed to be very romantic! Let’s go, chibi”, he decides to add in the end, all while taking Chuuya under his arm.

Dazai’s portion of takoyaki explodes in his hand for how strong his grip is but he maintains a poker face as he waves goodbye to the pair.

As soon as they are out of his view, he hastily packs his stuff and gives two things to the treasurer.

First, a top secret job, he says.

Second, as he moves from the spot, he exhibits Akutagawa right behind him to take his place at the takoyaki boot: Dazai made sure their schedules could coincide weeks prior.

Seeing that the two first years are still not talking to each other, he proceeds to put a hand on each of their shoulders and draws them near. 

“Guys, this evening you are coworkers so have fun and remember: PDAs are accepted but not encouraged so if you have to go at least wait till your shifts end!”

Then, with a wink in their direction, the president strides towards the main building, whistling happily as his plan starts to get in motion.

                                                           -------------------------------------------------------       

                                                           -------------------------------------------------------       

The path Henri has chosen is definitely supposed to be romantic, it probably leads to the site for the bonfire. 

Chuuya lets the idea of watching the show cheer him up, since his mood has definetely worsened because of ShittyDazai. Does he really not care that Chuuya is going out during the Festival with another boy (and not one of his friends from the Sheep), as a date ?

He doesn’t know why, but the it leaves a sour taste in his mouth; trust the bastard to always ruin everything for him.

He’s abruptly pushed out of his head by an arm that gently lands on his shoulders. Chuuya looks up to see Henri smiling at him and he has to fight the traitorous blush that is already creeping up his cheeks.

“Feeling tired already?”

“Naah don’t worry! Still plenty of energy!”

“Good to hear, because I’m definitely not ready to let you go just yet.”

Nevermind, the blush is definitely out of control.

Watching his flustered expression, Henri laughs softly, muttering something in French that sounded like “ joli” .

Yeah, this isn’t helping at all.

They have almost arrived in the clearing where the bonfire is supposed to take place when Henri suddenly stops. 

Turning to look at him, Chuuya notices that the boy is pretty pale under the torch light.

“You alright?”

“Y-yeah, just my stomach acting weird… Listen, wanna go up ahead and take us some seats? I’m gonna rush back and come as soon as possible.”

“Sure, see you later!”

Getting a wink in response, Chuuya turns around with a small smile on his face. Maybe Henri wasn’t that bad at all. ShittyDazai could go and flirt with all the girls of their school, he didn’t care (probably).

He sits down, leaving the leather jacket on the empty space next to him and starts checking his phone; in the meantime the seats around him fill with couples and couples, and he tries his best not to wince at the sight.That’s not what he had imagined when he impulsively suggested organizing the bonfire.

Not that he needs to linger on those thoughts about the bastard he’s trying so very hard to suppress.

He checks his watch and realizes Henri has been away for almost thirty minutes now. What on Earth is he doing?

He tries calling him, but he receives no answer.

Seriously? Henri too?

He’s about to call again when he sees Atsushi-kun fighting against the crowd to reach him.

“CHUUUYAAA-SAAAN, THIS WAYYY!”

Chuuya grabs his stuff and approaches the kouhai. When he gets closer he notices there’s a faint blush on his pale cheeks, and that the boy’s almost glowing in the dark. 

He’s so intrigued by the sight of it that he forgets for a second about the whole situation. He’s about to ask what’s happened to Atsushi for him to be so happy when he recognizes a figure among the shadows surrounding them.

Said person takes a couple of steps forward, and Chuuya realizes it’s Akutagawa. The boy is still stern as usual, but he’s got a deep blush on his cheeks as well, and his lips look a bit swollen.

Oh.

Oh.

Chuuya closes his mouth, trying his best to keep his composure and not burst out laughing on the spot.

So the kids have finally found the courage to confess to each other.
Good for them, good for them.

(He carefully keeps his mind blank to avoid any thought about himself and a certain someone.)

Atsushi doesn’t seem to have noticed anything, and he hastily hands him a note.

“I was told to give this to you ASAP, I’m sorry it took so long!”, and he blushes again looking at Akutagawa behind him, both quickly bowing deeply.

Chuuya opens the note, and reads, in a flamboyant writing:

“ Mon cher, 

please join me on the rooftop, I’ve got a surprise for you.

I’ll be waiting, 

Yours”

Huh.

Well, not what he’d expected after seeing the treasurer come to him. 

Is he disappointed? A bit, but for what, he can’t say.

Chuuya thanks the poor boy and sets out towards the school. 

The building is obviously empty, everyone is probably at the clearing to watch the bonfire, there are just weird sounds coming from one of the toilets, but he doesn’t think too much of it as he climbs the final flight of stairs for the roof.

When he opens the door and takes in the view in front of him, Chuuya feels his heart speed up.

Because the scene seems to come straight out of one of those American movies: dozens of candles all around the rooftop, a desk (how did it end up there?) with two bento boxes on it and a figure leaning on the railing, his back facing Chuuya.

And he wouldn’t mistake that silhouette and that mop of chesnut hair for anyone else in the world.

Dazai turns around, a smirk on his lips, and he says, in a way of greeting, “ Mon cher , bienvenu. ” 

“Wha…What is all of this?”

“You know, the president and his vice should have the vantage point during these events.”

“Yeah but… the candles?”

“They’ve turned off all the lights.” Dazai shrugs.

Chuuya gives him a looong look, one that clearly says he’s not buying any of the other’s shit.

He’s got a vague idea of what this is about, but after the last couple of days he’s not getting his hopes high.

Dazai stares back at him, and then sighs, “I wanted to do something nice for Chibi, despite his terrible behavior recently. My my, I should really start training you.”

“HAAAAH? What are you talking about?”

“I didn’t know Chibi had such a tacky taste both in clothing and in men. Ugh, how boring.”

Chuuya is about to respond when images of his fight with Henri the day before and of his date at the festival flash in his mind, and he feels his cheeks burning up.

Come on, the french boy isn’t THAT tacky, right?

But that’s not the point. 

Chuuya takes a big breath, and he’s about to answer when Dazai continues, “And not only you were all lovey-dovey around the Festival ( ugh , be happy Kunikida-kun didn’t see you acting like two characters from those terrible shojos), you also had to rub up against each other in front of the whole school.”

“What? Judo is considered a contact sport for a reason, you moron. And besides, what would you know? You left even before the match ended, after all.”

The comment comes out slightly bitter than intended, but honestly it did hurt, to turn to his friends and not see Dazai there, cheering for him.

There’s a moment of silence as the other boy looks at him, surprised.  

“...I’m sorry”, Dazai then says slowly, “I didn’t think you would care if I stayed or not.”

‘You moron, obviously I wanted you to be there and celebrate together!’

But Chuuya doesn’t say that; instead he rubs his neck, averting his gaze. 

“Yeah yeah, it’s okay. I got my ass kicked in the end, you wouldn’t have kept your mouth shut about it for all the gold in the world.”

Dazai smirks, posture slightly relaxing.

“Chibi knows me too well. Come, the food is getting cold.” 

The boy gestures to the desk functioning as a table for the night in a very exaggerated way, and then proceeds to sit, sprawling his limbs on the chair.

Despite the act, Chuuya can still clearly see a touch of anxiety in Dazai, in the way his shoulders are stiff, the smile just a bit too taut now, and he can’t help a twinge of exhilaration: it’s him that’s making the other nervous.

Sitting as well, Chuuya takes a look at the bento box in front of him. It’s fresh out of the konbini, the name kani sarada on it. Typical Dazai, eating nothing but crab.

But then he opens it, and inside there’s katsudon instead. It takes a couple of seconds for Chuuya to connect the dots, but then the realization dawns on him.

Dazai made it. He cooked. For him.

No, no, that’s impossible. He’s seen it with his own eyes, Dazai sucks at cooking, no doubt about it.

He steals a glance at the boy, and he’s looking straight at him, expression blank.

“Don’t tell me you’ve done this. Because I’ll never believe it.”

Dazai smirks, “Believe what you want, but I actually cooked it.”

“How? You can’t even cut vegetables properly!”

“You know the obaasan that lives next to you? She sometimes cooks for me, when my parents aren’t home.”

“So what? You asked her to teach you how to cook?”

“Definitely not. Why would I want to learn cooking when I have a pretty maid such as yourself to do it?” 

Chuuya rolls his eyes and doesn’t even answer, too focused on the fact that Dazai actually asked for help to cook something for him to register the allusion.

He carefully takes a bite, and he’s about to eat it when the other boy jokes, “My my Chibi, so trusting. What if I put something in your food?”

He just scoffs, “Then I’d beat the shit out of you tomorrow morning,” and finally tastes the food.

And it’s surprisingly good, not as spicy as he would have made himself, but definitely not bad at all. The mackerel must have spent quite a lot of time practicing, and the thought of a frustrated Dazai fighting against the stove brings a grin on his lips.

“I can’t believe what I’m saying, but it’s actually pretty good. Why don’t you become my maid instead?”

And just as he’s saying those words, images of Dazai, this time dressed as the girls at the maid café he’s seen that afternoon, jumps to his mind and his face instantly heats up.

“Ohh, thought of something you’ve liked?”

Damned fair skin.

“Shut up, moron.”

And dinner goes like that, with their usual banter and whatnot; but there’s something new deep under: some tension they both seem too nervous to bring up, even though they both are eager to do so.

Silence falls again on the rooftop. Dazai is standing once more near the railing, watching down towards the clearing where the bonfire was supposed to be, but no light is visible yet. 

That’s weird, the main event should have started by now. 

Whatever, there is something more important than the bonfire to be talking about right now.

Joining the other boy and glancing sideways, towards him, Chuuya opens his mouth and the words rush out.

“You know, it could have been you today. At the festival, I mean. If you asked.”

Ugh, that came out lame. He’ll never hear the end of it.

But instead Dazai is looking back at him with a surprised look, and then he’s avoiding his gaze.

“Tch, as if you would have accepted.”

“I would have. Accepted. To go to the festival with you, I mean.”

And there’s now a small, soft smile on Dazai's lips as he says, “Noted. I also would have liked to actually enjoy the festival with you.”

“Next year?”

“Next year,” Dazai confirms.

Time seems to stretch as their gazes lock, and then Chuuya is slowly moving forward, entering into Dazai personal space, curling a hand around the back of his neck; he can feel his heart pounding wildly, and the other boy is looking at him with  eyes wide open.

Tentatively, he closes in, his gazes focused the other’s lips.

He can still turn around and act as if nothing happened (more or less). Run away.

Fuck it. The only time to chicken out is never.

Chuuya presses in, closing his eyes, guiding Dazai’s face down. 

When their lips meet (Dazai’s are slightly chopped, but are a perfect contrast against his) he’s positive his heart stutters.

Never had he contemplated his first kiss would have been with the mackerel.

And it’s just a brush of their lips, but it’s enough for Chuuya’s head to start spinning.

Dazai is frozen in place, and then his hands are holding his face and he’s angling it so that their noses don’t collide and he’s reciprocating the kiss and Chuuya’s soul is about to leave him because wow .

Just wow.

He now understands why everyone is so into kissing.

Definitely something he would repeat.

And then Dazai is too soon pulling back, thumbs lightly caressing his cheekbones, and Chuuya is already hungry for more.

He’s about to lean into another kiss when a burst of cheers explodes in the distance.
Startled, Chuuya looks in that direction, and the flames of the bonfire welcome his sight. He hasn’t realized it when he’s arrived on the rooftop, but theirs really is the best spot to watch what’s happening downstairs.

He can’t believe the boy in front of him.

Amazed, he turns to Dazai, who has a crooked smile on his lips. 

With the light from the candles and the fire in the distance, he is stunning, the shadows playing on his features and making him look gentler, younger.

“Happy Festival bonfire, Chuuya.”

“You…”

“Oh, did I surprise Chibi by any chance?”

He just kisses him back, smiling against his lips, and Dazai wastes no time in following him.

The simple brushing of their lips is already not enough though, and so Chuuya brings his other arm up, encircling the other’s neck and bringing him even closer. 

There’s a surprised sound from Dazai and then the boy is taking Chuuya by the waist, effectively flushing them together. 

But the mackerel’s kissing him like he’s afraid there’s no time. Like Chuuya will realize he’s made a mistake with him, that will run away and Dazai will lose him.

So laughing he breaks the kiss, and trying to catch his breath he teases for once, “Eager, are we? You know we have all the time in the world, right?”

Embarrassment paints Dazai’s cheeks in a pretty pink but he has the nerve to act like nothing happened.

“Ehhh? Don’t you have to go back to your pretty french boy, chibi ?”, he says, stressing the last word.

Chuuya groans, “Please don’t remind me. It was SO weird hearing it from him.”

“As it should be. You are my chibi after all.”

And Chuuya has barely the time to think about the sheer implication of the sentence (so what, they are dating now or something? They are, right??) that Dazai kisses him once more.

All the trepidation seems to have finally disappeared from the boy as he purposefully moves his mouth on Chuuya’s once more, claiming it as his own and effectively transforming his mind into a puddle.

Dazai will surely be the death of him. 

And obviously, as the possessive boy he is, Dazai bites his lip before leaning in and whispering in his ear, “Yep, Chuuya is definitely mine now.”

“Tch, gross, Osamu.” 

But his smile tells a whole other story.

                                                           -------------------------------------------------------       

The following morning. Chuuya wakes up early as usual, despite being the weekend. Stretching his arms, a silly smile grows on his lips at the memories of the evening, definitely one of the best of his life (if not the the best). 

But there is something nagging his still-sleepy brain, he just can’t figure out what.

And it is while he’s making breakfast, with half the idea of bringing something to the mackerel downstairs, that he realizes what it is.

Henri!

Just what happened to the french boy?

Switching on his phone, he quickly finds out that all the traces of him have been wiped out: the couple of messages they’ve sent to each other, the calls Chuuya had tried to make the evening before, even his contact number was nowhere to be found.

Laughing, he puts his phone away. Somehow the mackerel must have stolen it during their dinner (or after it, and he feels his cheek burn up at the memory).

And then.

Dazai angry about his match with Henri.

The takoyaki stand.

How Dazai said “ What if I put something in your food? ”

The weird noses from the toilet as the whole school was at the clearing for the bonfire.

It couldn’t be, right ??