Work Text:
It took Dazai hours to fall asleep.
He lay in the suffocating darkness for hours, alternating between suffocating himself in blankets and kicking them away, emptiness gnawing at his gut as he refused to get up and admit defeat.
His routine of nightmares and insomnia carried year round, with certain times of year making it worse.
Not all had causes, and sometimes the recognisable causes changed.
He has nightmares based off of torture, of being left behind, of watching Oda due again... of being held down, of being tested on, of having his control ripped from his grasp.
He tried everything but he couldn't stop them, still waking up with panic attacks and tears, clinging to the dregs of a dream.
Eventually his eyes drooped, falling asleep curled in the fetal position with the blankets pulled close around his shoulders.
It wasn't long before he woke up again an hour later, panicked gasps ripping from his throat as he fought with his blanket, tears springing to his eyes as he struggled to remove it.
He flailed with the way too thick blanket, his legs and hands tangled in the fabric.
It felt like he was going to scream, or cry or punch something.
He could feel the fear crawling under his skin, seething with his muscles and making it hard for his movements to stay coordinated.
With a sob, he managed to throw the blanket to the side, pulling himself into a tight ball as he fought down tears, a sickening pressure resting on his shoulders and lower back in the shape of heavy hands.
He didn't bother checking the time, just lying back on his side as he made peace with the fact he wasn't sleeping that night.
---
A stack of papers slammed on his desk, and Dazai jumped out of his half asleep state.
"Dazai! Stop sleeping on the job!" Kunikida barked, thwacking him over the back of the head gently.
"I'm up! I'm up!" Dazai protested, rubbing the back of his head and pouting as though it had actually hurt.
Atsushi snorted across the table, watching the two with amusement.
"It didn't look like it Dazai." Kunikida said sternly. "You've been falling asleep all morning. You even came in on time. If coming in on time is going to make you fall asleep during the day, you shouldn't bother."
Dazai rolled his eyes and leaned back with a forced grin.
"Sorry Kunikida, was up all night with your mum. She's a lovely lady, truly. Said I should come into work early and surprise you." He said with a dramatic wink.
Kunikida scoffed, and pointed at the papers.
"Real mature, just do your work."
Kunikida went to his desk and Dazai's smile dropped, pulling the stack of papers toward himself and flicking through them, his vision blurring out as he tried to read the papers.
He sighed, putting his head down and burying himself into his work.
---
When Ranpo came skipping into the agency with a big bag of sweets, he stopped short at the sight of Dazai at his desk with his head in his hands, his eyes rereading the same line over and over again.
He headed to his own desk, watching Dazai with a mild interest as he put the sweets in a drawer.
When Dazai's head drooped, and he had to catch himself, Ranpo sighed.
Barely concealed eyebags, obvious exhaustion, shaking hands and messy clothes and hair... He clearly hadn't slept and likely for a few nights.
He frowned, thinking.
Night terrors or just nightmares? He knows Dazai classes them all as nightmares, or just simply dreams. What were they about?
Dazai's head slumped again, and Ranpo sat down as Dazai clearly fell asleep, forehead pressed against the files he was supposed to be working on.
He kept an eye on Dazai as he played around with a pen on his desk, earning his a few looks of amusement from Atsushi and Kunikida, likely assuming he was just admiring Dazai. Which they weren't wrong, Dazai looked admirably peaceful while asleep, having shifted his face to lie on his cheek, his dark eyelashes stark against his pale skin and hair falling across his face.
He certainly looked pretty, but Ranpo was more concerned, waiting to see if he'd wake up again.
And it didn't take long, only 15 minutes later Dazai threw himself up, pushing himself away from his desk and swatting the air before he blinked a few times.
Kunikida had jumped about a foot in the air at the surprise, and Atsushi had instinctively pulled out his claws, and Dazai just looked around, shivering as a look of nausea crossed his face.
Ranpo stood up, marching to Dazai's desk and pointing a finger at him.
"You haven't been sleeping." He accused, and Dazai raised an eyebrow, quickly masking whatever panic he had been feeling, but his chest still heaved and his hands trembled.
"Well done, fabulous deduction as always Ranpo." Dazai replied, tilting his head and smirking. "Looking for a reward?"
Ranpo glared, ignoring the obvious sarcasm.
"Nightmares. Why didn't you say anything?" He continued, and Dazai narrowed his eyes.
"You're my boyfriend, not my babysitter. It's not a big deal, I can handle it."
Ranpo hummed, and grabbed Dazai's upper arm, to which Dazai's yelped and protested, but it didn't stop Ranpo from dragging him to the couch Dazai frequently occupied in a secluded corner.
"Clearly. Let me guess. an hour?" Ranpo said, pushing Dazai onto the couch. "You're going to lie down, and you're going to have a nap. Right now." Ranpo demanded, standing with his arms crossed and looking down at Dazai.
Dazai pouted, crossing his arms like a child and replied disdainfully.
"You can't make me. Besides, who cares how much I slept? Doesn't really matter that much."
"I care!" Ranpo responded immediately. There was a blanket kept nearby, specifically put their because of how often Dazai would fall asleep at his desk or on the couch and need a blanket to stop from freezing. "And it definitely does matter if you're falling asleep at your desk and waking up in the midst of a panic attack, don't pretend I didn't notice."
He threw the blanket at Dazai once he found it, who caught it with a scowl.
"Lie with me, then I'll sleep." Dazai said blankly, and Ranpo paused.
He glanced back at the main office, and got met with a nod from Kunikida, who had been hovering nearby and likely listening in.
"Okay then." He said with a shrug, sitting on the couch next to Dazai and opening his arms.
Dazai instantly buried himself into Ranpo, pulling the blanket over himself, and covering Ranpo in the process.
Ranpo sighed, running a hand through Dazai's hair, detangling it with his fingers. It had grown long enough to be braided, he noticed briefly. As long as it was a small braid, it would work.
"Your very soft." Dazai mumbled. "And warm."
Ranpo scoffed, gently tugging on Dazai's hair in retaliation.
"Are you calling me fat?" He asked accusingly, and Dazai snorted, laughing.
"No, I'm not."
Ranpo rolled his eyes and resumed playing with Dazai's hair for a moment, detangling it section by section until he could run his fingers through without catching any knots. Dazai hummed in appreciation.
"...What was it about?" Ranpo asked quietly. He could guess, but he'd rather Dazai told him.
Dazai tensed up a little and shifted, elbowing Ranpo in the process. He grimaced, but didn't say anything, waiting patiently. Patience was important when it came to Dazai.
After a moment he spoke.
"Just... I can't remember. I just remember how it felt. It was horrible. There was just... hands. Everywhere. I don't like it. It's been like that the past few nights." Dazai explained.
Ranpo chewed on his lip, and hugged Dazai close.
"Okay. You'll be fine. It's just dreams. I'll be here if you have another one. Just sleep, okay?"
He truthfully, didn't know what to say. He wasn't good with comforting people, he couldn't always grasp how people worked, and while Dazai was more understandable than most, he still didn't know what to.
It infuriated him.
Regardless, Dazai seemed to relax, clearly exhausted given it took him mere minutes to fall asleep.
Ranpo just sat and braided Dazai's hair idly, tucking it behind his ear and away from his face as he slept, the repetitive motion comforting.
It didn't take long for Ranpo to decide if he was going to be lying here anyway, he might as well sleep as well.
So, he shifted to be cuddling into Dazai slightly more comfortably, wrapping his arms around the other and drifting off himself, warm and comfortable.