Chapter Text
You get home at 5:20 PM every day.
5:35 on the days you end up staring at the plants in the flower shop through the window for too long. You ache to have one of those beauties in your own home, be able to have guests over and introduce them to it with pride, to place it somewhere obvious and not look like you’re trying too hard to let the world know you own expensive greenery. Your wallet demands that this isn’t a necessary purchase, so you continue to walk with a small frown while chewing on your lower lip. I know then that your thoughts have drifted towards the expenses of the month. You and I have a lot in common. You just don’t know it yet. You’ll see.
After shrugging off your jacket, you bend your knees ever so slightly while painting a smile on your face as you greet your Birman, who stretches her paws in front of her and arches her back. Her blue eyes close with the movement and before she knows it you’ve knelt in front of her, cooing gentle compliments into the air. Her response is to nuzzle her head in the palm of your hand which you always offer before her, even when sometimes you get a nibble on your finger rather than the affection you yearn for. You tell her about your day with murmurs while she accompanies you to your bedroom, where you kick off your boots to welcome the warmth of your bunny slippers. What a silly woman. I wonder, is this your way of bringing some sort of humor to your gray, ordinary life?
You wouldn’t have to suffer the boredom of life’s simplicity if you were with me. I mean, romantically with me. I’m well aware my tendencies to try to drag the attractive people I meet into a plan to commit suicide usually end up scaring them away, so maybe I wouldn’t try that when it comes to you. This is because you’re different. Special, even. I find it so indescribably annoying that your life is plain and bland, and that you do nothing to try and solve it. This is the case for so many other normal people trying to live their life in Yokohama. In fact, I think most people are grateful for not encountering anything out of the usual in their lifetime. The thing about you, (y/n), is that you’ve got a hint of unconventional beauty in your figure.
You see things differently, so you talk about them differently. Most of the time you’re muted by the people around you and their normalized opinions on things that should be up to debate and not have one sole answer just because everyone agrees with it. Classical music, for example, is not boring. But it can be, and because the majority says so, then it is, and you’ve got no say in it anymore. You know what I’m talking about. I’ve seen you defend Tchaikovsky with your life against your friends’ mockery accusing you of acting like a grandma, having interests that are not up to date and indulging in activities no one really bothers talking about anymore. Like calligraphy.
Allow me to get to the point. Ever since my eyes saw yours and your eyes saw mine, you’ve been in every cup of coffee I’ve drank. Your existence lies in every puddle of rain, every mirror in the antique shop, every glass of whiskey, every cup of water. Every breath. My mind. You’ve walked right into my life with slow steps and arms crossed over your chest and taken a seat right on my cerebrum so that everything I did from that point onward revolved around you. Really, this is all your fault. I would’ve loved to continue my existence without feeling the need to walk in your steps as you make your way home from work or to the library or to buy cat food. You shouldn’t have stopped by our coffee shop where I first caught a glimpse of you and where I now sit because I know it's in your schedule to treat yourself to a latte after such a hard week. It’s Friday, after all.
☾
Dazai mindlessly twirled his small silver spoon in his fingers, eyes closed and his cheek resting on his left palm as he pretended to pay attention to Kunkida’s plan for the day. Atsushi had made the grave mistake of asking him what he’d be up to, for whatever reason, but Dazai had more important matters to attend to. And there you were, walking into the coffee shop sporting your old sage green jacket with a polite smile on your face. He didn’t turn to look at you immediately, of course. He could never reveal his true intentions just because he looked too quickly. Rookie mistake, but it wasn’t as if you were like him. You were only there to enjoy a latte, and he just happened to be a stranger sitting at the table next to the window. No correlation there whatsoever.
That is until after you paid for your coffee and turned to take a seat on the far corner of the shop where a few plants were settled in. You lifted your foot to begin walking but found that your path was obstructed by a shiny ink-colored loafer. A sharp gasp escaped your lips and you stumbled forward, staring at the coffee in your hands the entire time with disappointment as you prepared to meet your doom on the wooden floor below. It was never met. A bandage-covered arm wrapped itself securely around your torso and held you close against its owner’s body, and a very small squeal erupted from your mouth which only caused you embarrassment. “Oh, I am so sorry, please do forgive me,” A deep voice spoke from behind you, and you felt his chest on your back tremble as he chuckled.
You were spun back into place, your coffee leaking out of its cup, and you raised your head to meet a handsome face. Chocolate eyes stared into your own, the mixture of intensity and friendliness within them throwing you off completely. Your fingers wrapped themselves tighter around your cup. “Uhh.. it’s okay, you’re kinda fine,” Your eyes did not leave him for a second until his expression revealed confusion once he raised a brow at your words. You hadn’t been thinking properly, momentarily hypnotized by his cute face. “Oh! I mean-” You felt the tips of your ears become warmer as a red blush spread itself on your face like watercolor on printer paper. You scrambled to think of the proper words– gosh, (y/n), it cannot possibly be so difficult to just be polite.
Dazai threw his head back and laughed, bringing up a hand to cover his open mouth. “You’re quite a funny woman, gods. I believe you’ve even made my day,” He wiped tears from his eyes with his index finger, once again paying attention to your shrinking form. You stared at the floor, shoulders stiff, mentally trying to make the pink go away from your face. “Why don’t you join me and my friends for some coffee? It’s on me,” He led you to their table even when you did not answer back, only standing in front of the other two wordlessly with a dumbfounded expression. The blond and white-haired men already sitting at the booth turned to you, just as confused, and Kunikida re-directed his gaze to Dazai who was already taking his seat next to him. “Of course by ‘me’ I mean Kunikida!” The male tilted his head to his companion with an innocent smile as the other one began to make a fuss.
Atsushi then shifted to the left, making space for you on the seat. He offered a shy smile and you gave him one back, placing your cup on the table and extending your hand for him to take. “Forgive me if I’m intruding, I won’t stay for too long. I’m (y/n).” As Atsushi’s hand grasped yours, Dazai found himself staring straight at your connected palms and completely dismissing Kunikida, who had his collar held tightly as he was in the middle of scolding him. His eyes slowly trailed over to your friendly face that gifted Atsushi your smile and his own expression darkened.
“Don’t worry about it! You’re not intruding at all. I’m Atsushi, what brings you here?” Atsushi questioned curiously as you sat next to him. His words managed to make you loosen up a little, and now all embarrassment from before eluded your expression. You allowed your hands to rest on your lap as you prepared yourself to answer his question. Dazai, however, beat you to it after shoving his palm on Kunikida’s face, therefore forcing him and his yelling away.
“I was just going to go order some coffee when I accidentally bumped into her. Buuut I made her spill her coffee, and I feel bad, so now here we are,” He smiled again, mostly at you. “And Kunikida is going to buy us all coffee. Hooray!” You observed as the blond man began to get riled up again, and slowly your eyes narrowed and an honest amused smile played at your lips. You let out a couple of giggles, attempting to muffle them with your palm.
“Are they always like this?” You asked Atsushi, who brought his hand up to his hair to scratch at his scalp awkwardly.
“For the most part…” He admitted sheepishly. His response only got more giggles out of you along with a shake of your head.
“I apologize on behalf of my coworker’s aloof behavior but if you don’t mind, miss (y/n), we’ve got work to take care of. I would much appreciate it if you could give us some space now,” Kunikida spoke to you, his face containing all the sternness and responsibility that the other two did not have. His tone of voice automatically made you straighten your posture and nod firmly. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and with his index and thumb he retrieved cash, sliding it over to you on the table. “For your coffee.”
You waved your hands in front of you. “No, no, it’s alright, but I appreciate it. Thank you for letting me sit here for a bit, I wish you all the best,” You stood, sliding the money back to Kunikida who nodded understandably and began tucking it back in his wallet. Dazai took your wrist with an alarming grip, and your head snapped towards him but he quickly loosened his hold, caressing the back of it with his thumb.
“Noooo, stay for a little longer,” He whined, his lips turned downward into a pout. “Kunikida! How dare you kick out my guest?” Nevertheless, Dazai stood with a sigh and a click of his tongue. “Well, fine. You don’t deserve to be in the presence of her beauty anyway,” He spoke with his chin high, waving his hand at his coworkers as his other one, on your lower back, led you towards the exit. Behind you, you could hear both Kunikida and Atsushi begin to make a fuss at his remark and you couldn’t help but laugh again. A pink dusted your skin at his compliment, and the smile that appeared to rarely leave your face began to hurt your cheeks as you pushed the shop’s door open.
“This is where we say goodbye, I guess,” Dazai sighed yet again, making his disappointment very obvious. He took both of your hands in his and leaned toward you. “I hope you enjoyed your time with us, even if my coworkers made it limited. Why don’t you give me your number? I am seriously interested in buying you a coffee,” He pulled out his own phone from his coat and handed it to you expectantly. He scrutinized your face as you typed your digits into his phone, observing as your fingers searched for and found the right numbers. As if he hadn’t already memorized your number.
“I, uh, I never got your name,” You spoke up, eyes still trained on the device in your hands. Being around him caused you to become incredibly nervous. You had to thickly swallow and discreetly take a deep breath to even continue conversing with him. Something about him simply intimidated you, and though you were completely sure his beauty was to blame you couldn’t help but feel that there was much more to the man. Honestly, you wanted to discover what that was on your own. But the way he acted with you, his effortless charismatic way of being… he’s most definitely a player. You bit the inside of your cheek out of slight sadness. He did seem too good to be true.
Dazai watched with a poker face as your brightened expression vanished due to whatever thoughts were running through your head. Realization struck him, and he hummed in apprehension. “You may call me Dazai,” You placed his phone back in his hand and he snapped it closed with a close-eyed smile. “Expect a call soon.”