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Just half an hour till closing. Dazai reminded himself for the third time. For the past five minutes, he found himself glued to the spot in a staring contest against the clock mounted on the wall. The day had been nothing short of absolute misery. He was known to be a skilled manipulator, so of course it wasn’t beyond him to occasionally pull a few strings to get what he wanted.
Emotionally blackmailing his colleagues, to get out of doing shifts, was quite typical but the weather was outside his skill set. The sun had not once come out from underneath the blanket of grey clouds and heavy fog that enshrouded it- not even the slightest ray of sunlight grazed his pale skin that day. With the majority of people in Yokohama making the wise decision to stay home, the shop was practically empty. Dazai wanted nothing more than to leave but despite his best efforts, the boss had caught wind of his recent scheming, probably through Ranpo, damn that snitch, and threatened him with a harsh pay cut if he continued.
Following the advice of his younger co-worker, Atsushi, he tried to find something positive about today. His thoughts wandered back to the man typing away on the back table- a regular on weekends who had long golden blonde hair that fell past his shoulders. He had a relaxed sense of fashion: a plain white t-shirt and comfy sweatpants. With a pained expression, Dazai watched him put on a pair of squared glasses as he scribbled away in an emerald notebook. He feared the blonde haired man would bite his head off if he came over.
He should have politely mentioned it was near closing time, packed up and left soon after. So, he was extremely surprised when his body moved on its own and crossed the distance between them. The decision was so impulsive and irrational that even his quick wits were yet to comprehend it. What on earth did he want out of this? For once, he didn’t have an answer. Luckily, the blonde haired man was still occupied with work and didn't notice him. He hovered beside him before asking, “Mind if I sit here?” The man looked up at the sound of his voice and gestured to the empty seat across from him.
There was no getting out of it by that point. “ How are you this fine evening?”
The man picked up on his sarcastic tone and cracked a small smile, “Just great, marking my student’s papers gets me in such a bad mood.”
“Oh, so you’re a teacher.” Dazai had figured as much on his own but didn’t want to come off as a creep, "May I ask your name?”
“Kunikida Doppo.” The man offered him a hand, which he took. Dazai noted he had a reassuring handshake and seemed like a trustworthy individual, “It’s a pleasure. “
“And I’m Dazai Osumu. Nice to meet you too!”
Kunikida pushed the exams to Dazai's end of the table to view, “As their teacher, it’s only natural you have high expectations of your students," he began, sympathetically, "But, I’m sure they’re not as bad as you- '' Dazai physically recoiled as if he too felt pain when he saw the angry red scribbles on their pages, the majority of them had bold C’s and D’s on the front, “Ouch.”
“The average grade should have been A’s, according to my ideals…” Kunikida continued to debate aloud, more to himself than the person he was sitting across from. “Ideals?” Dazai wondered, slightly confused.
“This book with “ideals” written on it, is the path to my own future. Absolutely everything to do with me is there- past, present and future. I follow it as a guide on how to live my life.” The way he proudly described them was quite moving. Dazai wished to read them but he was unsure whether he’d be overstepping a boundary. If a book that contained his innermost thoughts existed, he would never want anyone to see it…
Suddenly, Kunikida sprung out of his seat. “Look at the time! Have I been keeping you from closing? I should get going- thank you very much for your hospitality.” He already had his hand on the door handle and opened the door when he was hit by a strong gust of wind and the torrential downpour hammering against it. He didn’t even have a coat. He shouldn’t let Kunikida go out in the rain like that. There was a spare umbrella in the staff room for him to use but Dazai wanted him to stay.
He rushed towards him and grabbed his wrist, gently but firmly, “It wouldn't be very host-like if I let a beloved customer go home while it’s positively streaming outside. Imagine what the boss would say, please stay at least until the rain stops.” Laughing at his dramaticness, Kunikida stepped away from the door. He cleared his throat, “If it doesn’t trouble you too much, thanks.” Dazai beamed cheerfully, as he skipped back behind the counter, “I would’ve had to walk home in this horrible weather so it's a win for both of us!”
Within a few minutes, the room was filled with the scent of fresh coffee beans as Dazai poured two creamy coffees for them. As he did, he answered all the random questions that Kunikida asked. In his opinion, they were all pretty average questions but he still managed to angle them in ways that made them more interesting. Once Dazai placed their drinks down, along with some shortbread, courtesy of Ranpo’s snack-filled locker, which he had picklocked moments before, he winked and added, “They’re on me.”
Kunikida smiled gratefully before taking a small sip, “ It’s really good. You’re very talented, Dazai-san." In response, he mumbled a quiet "thanks" and sat down. A warm feeling crept up his face. Secretly, he enjoyed compliments from others but he had only felt that particular feeling once before. Oh God. This couldn’t be happening. Dazai promised himself he wouldn’t do this- not again. Realistically, he told himself, Kunikida was into girls anyway.
“You have a girlfriend, right?” Dazai randomly stated.
Kunikida almost choked on his drink, “Why do you ask?”
“Just curious~” he grinned mischievously before mentioning, “I often see you here with a pretty woman in a yellow dress here…you two would make a cute couple.”
What on Earth was he talking about? Would Kunikida think he was stalking him? Sure, he made sure his shifts were at times Kunkida was likely to be around but stalking was a strong word.
Kunikida stuttered, his face tinted with light pink, ”S-she isn’t my g-girlfriend- don’t look at me like that Dazai! We’re just colleagues!”
After having another sip of his coffee and the opportunity to relax, Kunikida reflected on the question and perhaps as an act of revenge retorted, “What about you? You seem like the type that's popular with ladies.” Dazai’s expression was clouded by darkness for a second. Noticing this, Kunikida, mildly concerned, continued, “Or on second thoughts, do I really want an answer?”
Dazai let out a soft exhale and relaxed his grip on the handle of his mug. “Not too long ago, I broke up with my boyfriend.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” There was an long pause that seemed to drag on for eternity.
“If it’s not too personal, what happened between you?”
He wasn’t sure where to begin. Also why was he discussing his love life to a man he had never spoken to until today. As illogical as it was, to Dazai, they had known each other for ages. Is “friends at first sight" a thing? Is that what they were now?
“I’m sorry, I shouldn't have-” Kunikida apologised quickly.
“No, it’s quite alright.” Dazai reassured him, “It wasn’t that big of a deal anyways- no massive fights like the movies. We both had our own things going on and we sort of moved on. Besides, I doubt it would have lasted that much longer between us but-”
“But?” Kunkikda repeated, wanting to understand.
“Nevermind. Perhaps, I’m not as over that dumb slug as I thought I was.”
“Slug?”
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The rain had begun to die down as he glanced at Kunikida's home screen, it was almost five-thirty, he would have to leave soon. Dazai frowned. He had really enjoyed his company and didn’t want him to go. Interrupting his thoughts, Kunikida reached over the table, taking his hands with both of his and turned Dazai’s attention to the scene outside the window.
“It’s beautiful, isn't it?” he whispered, afraid of disrupting the beauty of the moment. The sight was nothing short of breathtaking. A ray of sunlight streamed through the glass and made a straight line down the middle of the table. The sky had cleared up: now a pale blue dotted with wisps of white clouds. And in the distance was a rainbow which was perfectly reflected in every raindrop on the window. Dazai peeked at him while he was captivated by the scene beyond the window. Under direct sunlight, Kunikida’s eyes were a beautiful lime green that sparkled with a thousand lights. He wanted to freeze the moment and paint them. He had never so much as picked up a paintbrush in his life but he wouldn’t hesitate to gather all the shades of green in the world if it meant he could preserve this moment forever.
“Kunikida-san,” Dazai declared abruptly, he had forgotten what to say. “Your eyes are really beautiful.”
The comment stunned him, stumbling his way through a “thank you” left a deep flush of embarrassment on his face.
“I-I think you’re very handsome.” he muttered quickly.
“Huh? I didn’t hear that, care to repeat?” Dazai teased, despite hearing exactly what he said. “Absolutely not! I was just returning a complement and you had to be-”
“So it wasn’t true…”
“Of course it is, idiot. Do you honestly think I'd lie about something like that.”
He smiled gratefully, “Thank you.”
Kunikida’s phone buzzed on the table. A text appeared on the screen. He opened it, “My mum’s asking if I got home alright.”
Dazai gave him a smile he didn't really feel on the inside. “Let’s not worry her any longer, you really should get going.”
The blonde haired man nodded and collected his stuff, “Oh- before I go, I need to give you something.” Dazai turned around to face him, “And what might that be-“
He was pulled into a tight hug. It said everything that Kunikida couldn’t express with words. Dazai tensed up before relaxing and bringing his arms up to wrap around the taller man. Kunikida released him and went up to the door and waved, “Let’s meet each other here sometime again.”