Work Text:
“ Ow.”
“I haven’t even picked up the needle yet!”
Chuuya flinches away for a third time, earning him a dramatic eye-roll from Dazai.
“Why’d you even bother asking me to do it if you’re just gonna keep running away?!”
Dazai flicks the other boy in the forehead. Chuuya practically growls at him, scowling and smacking his hand away.
“You’re squeezing those fucking tweezers too hard. I’m trying to get my eyebrow pierced, not gouged out .” He says bitterly, rubbing his eyebrow where Dazai had pinched it. His fingers smear the sharpie they used to mark where the needle would go.
“They’re not tweezers, dipshit, they’re forceps .” Dazai clacks the metal forceps in his face for emphasis. He’d snatched them from Mori’s office alongside a handful of disinfectant wipes– and at least 3 rolls of gauze, just in case. Dazai refused to touch Mori’s case of needles, so he grabbed a stapler instead. Chuuya shut that idea down immediately. They eventually settled on using the safety pin that Chuuya kept on his jacket collar.
“And for your information, I am not squeezing too hard. You’re just a wimp.”
“Say that again and I’ll fucking stab you.” Chuuya spits. Dazai just smirks and shrugs, all full of himself, as usual.
“Would you rather I just willy-nilly this thing?” He gestures to Chuuya’s eyebrow with the safety pin. Chuuya grimaces.
“Are you stupid ?”
“Then sit still and let me forcep your shitty eyebrow.”
Chuuya glares at the other boy for a solid few seconds before groaning. He shuffles closer to Dazai where they sit on the floor of his bedroom, crossing his legs and placing his hands firmly in his pockets. Dazai grins and happily pets his hair– an increasingly frequent occurrence, like rewarding a well-behaved dog. Chuuya's eye twitches at the comparison, but he doesn't argue. He's pretty much used to it by now.
Chuuya remains as still as possible while Dazai leans over him, fiddling with the forceps until they're lined up with the half-smudged marker on Chuuya's face. Then he clasps the corner of his eyebrow, the forcep holding the skin firmly in its grasp. Chuuya curses, biting back the urge to flinch again.
"..'Kay, I've got it." Dazai nods firmly, readjusting his grip on the forceps. He doesn't say anything for a short while, staring Chuuya in the face. Chuuya glares at him sidelong.
"What?" He scowls. Instantly, Dazai breaks into a grin, stifling a giggle.
"You look like a dumbass."
"Just pierce the damn thing!" Chuuya barks. He'd like to punch Dazai in his stupid braces, but any movement would jostle the forceps– which would hurt, the way they're pinching his brow. Dazai gives a playful shrug and raises his free hand in surrender. Then he reaches for the safety pin on the carpet.
Sitting up on he knees, Dazai leans halfway into Chuuya's lap as he examines the marked spot. His thigh brushes Chuuya's crossed leg, making him oddly uncomfortable. It's always weird when Dazai touches him outside of combat; when they're fighting, contact with Dazai is easy as breathing, but anything else makes Chuuya want to squirm out of his skin.
He risks a glance upwards at Dazai's face. Fortunately, the other boy is too preoccupied with lining up the pin to meet Chuuya's awkward, close-proximity eye contact. He notes how Dazai's tongue pokes at the corner of his mouth in focus, his uncovered eye squinting at his work. Chuuya's stomach twists into a knot. He's just nervous about the piercing.
"Alright, I'm gonna poke you. Ready?" Dazai glances down at him and Chuuya quickly averts his gaze, ears burning.
"Do it." He huffs, balling up his fists in his pockets. Dazai looks back to Chuuya's eyebrow, leaning in closer as he lowers the pin.
–It doesn't hurt too bad at first, a bit like getting a flu shot, but the deeper the pin goes, the more unbearable it gets. Chuuya squeezes his eyes shut so Dazai won't see the way they're watering. The whole edge of his eyebrow burns . He's been shot, stabbed– hell, he's survived his own Corruption more times than he could count. This should be nothing, but holy shit . It's agonizing.
"Is it through yet?" Chuuya grimaces, cracking open one of his eyes to peer up at Dazai. Dazai's mouth hangs open slightly, lost in focus as he pushes the pin through. After one last quick stab of pain, Chuuya can see the tip of the needle out of the corner of his eye. He exhales heavily, his hands quivering slightly in his pockets. He's probably left nail welts in his palm.
"Hand me the piercing." Dazai lets go of the safety pin, the sharp end firmly embedded through Chuuya's eyebrow. Chuuya obeys, plucking the little stud from the cheap plastic piercing kit. He drops it into Dazai's outstretched hand, who quickly gets to working it through Chuuya’s eyebrow.
"Fuck, ow!" Chuuya curses before he can stop himself. Thankfully, Dazai ignores him, tilting his head to see the underside of Chuuya's brow. He's.. a lot closer now. Right in front of Chuuya's face, actually. Just as he's looking for an appropriate spot to put his eyes that isn't staring right into Dazai's, the other boy suddenly sits back.
"Done-zo." Dazai looks on with pride, dusting off his hands. Chuuya finally lets out the breath he'd been holding, wiping at one of his wet eyes. Dazai reaches for the little compact mirror beside him on the floor, flicking it open to show Chuuya.
"It's.. actually not bad." Chuuya tucks his hair aside, examining himself thoughtfully. He's surprisingly impressed with Dazai's handiwork. Despite all the blood, the piercing seems to be right on target. He shuts the compact, tossing it back to Dazai in favour of grabbing the disinfectant wipes.
"So, how d'you feel? Finally completed your whole.. edgy biker look?" Dazai grins at him eagerly, clearly riding the high of having his work praised. Chuuya rolls his eyes. Who's the dog here, again ?
"Whatever." He fumbles with the package of wipes for an embarrassingly long several seconds before giving up and tearing at it with his teeth. Carefully, he takes one and dabs at the fresh piercing. He sucks a pained breath in through his teeth. Shit, that stings .
Dazai closes the compact mirror, seemingly bored of making dumb faces in it, and tosses it back onto the carpet. Instead, he shifts closer to Chuuya.
"Here, let me do it." He snatches the disinfectant from Chuuya's hands and sits up, leaning over him.
"I think I can fucking manage–"
"Oh my god, shut up. You're so whiny." Dazai groans, swatting away Chuuya's hand when he reaches to take his wipe back. "I don't want you screwing up the piercing. I worked hard on this, y'know."
Chuuya grits his teeth, stubbornly shoving his hands back into his jacket. Dazai takes this as acceptance, happily patting Chuuya’s head before getting to work. His thigh brushes Chuuya's leg again.