Chapter Text
The cold of the river begins to seep in his bones. Cool water rushes up into his sinuses and he tastes the water make it’s way in his throat. It stings, but he doesn’t mind, he’s getting used to it now anyways. Just a bit longer now.
He barely notices the water slosh with another persons body through the blurry fog that made up his senses. That was until, something harshly tugs on the tail of his coat. It made the water suddenly sting a lot more in his nose and he finally gives in to his body commanding him to cough.
“Damn,” He rasps. Just when he was getting used to the sensation of water in his lungs too. Swell timing, damn it. His mood is spoiled now, nothing can possibly make it any better. He could’ve snuck out of doing his actual work too if it wasn’t for this guy.
Speaking of, he should probably get a look at the person who saved him. He still caused them trouble after all.
Prying open his eyelids, his gaze freezes in trapped sunsets. He’s pretty sure time just stopped.
Holy shit, did he actually manage to kill himself this time? If so did he arrive in heaven? There’s no way he’s in hell when the boy in front of him is sure to be an angel. What else could explain that supernatural canvas in his eyes? It was like there’s an actual sky in there. (Did... Did it just move?!)
But his skin was freezing and he could feel his heart hammer in his chest from how long he went without breathing in oxygen. He’s pretty sure death isn’t supposed to feel like this. So maybe he wasn’t actually dead, but the angel in front of him saved his worthless life? Wow, that means he’s obligated to live now. Why did he choose this river again.
The angel in front of him was shivering with rosette cheeks and heaving breaths. His brows are furrowed and he looks at him confused. The brunette is pretty sure that angels can’t get cold though, given their divine form and whatnot.
Dazai doesn’t notice the angels confusion though. Well, he does, it’s very clear in the turbulence of his eyes, but the movement fascinates him so much that he puts the observation aside. He didn’t know eyes could do that.
Ametrine—That is what the colors' called right? But it doesn’t seem adequate enough to describe another worlds rendition of a sunset in his eyes. It was mesmerizing. How the sun in his eyes look like they’re taking a dip in the waves that was his waterline. Dazai was sure that whatever was in his eyes grabbed him by the ankles and dragged him in.
Chocolate colored pupils dilate to take in every detail of the eyes in front of him. Every minute movement of sunsets do not escape Dazai’s attention. He wants to hold his face closer to examine everything he could in his eyes and more. He wanted a deep look into the sky in his eyes. He wonders if he can map out the constellations in them.
An annoyed and very familiar shout snaps him out of his enthrallment with the eyes in front of him.
What just happened.
-----
Dazai watches in fascination as purple and yellow mix and clash and spin and like it was liquid inside a bottle. The colors muddle towards his black hole of a pupil, and it’s here that Dazai realizes that eyes typically do not do that.
The moon above shines on the boy like a spot light. Highlighting his interesting eyes with a tint of moonlight that slightly glows yellow at an angle. His tears that well in his eyes make it glint and look like those photos of cats’ eyes glowing in the darkness.
This boy really is something else. Something special.
The silver haired boy—Atsushis body suddenly stiffen, and he cries out in pain. The blue light of the moon surround his form. His bangs slap against his forehead and his coat billows furiously behind him as wind picks up speed in the warehouse.
Interesting. He feels a stretch in his face. You are so interesting, Nakajima.
----
It’s been a few months (91 days) since Atsushi was hired. He was very enthusiastic and took to it like a duck to water. However… Dazai has just one problem with him.
Atsushis eyes shine. Seriously. It shines so bright it can make a man blind.
Every time he smiles, the suns in his eyes radiate a million times brighter than the actual one in the sky on a very sunny day. At first it was only around him and Kunikida, but it slowly became a lot more common the longer he socialized with the others in the office. Don’t get him wrong, Dazai is glad that Atsushi is getting comfortable with everyone. Very glad.
However, being seated right next to a beaming sun is not good for his eyes. He ends up sucking it up anyways because everyone in the office seems to be in a happier mood when Atsushi is beaming.
These days however Atsushi has become a noticeably... dimmer.
It wasn’t only Dazai who noticed this odd behavior coming from his protégé, if the gloomy vibes of the office were anything to go by.
He’s also been super silent and avoiding Dazai entirely. Crafting excuses upon excuses just to get away from him and only him. (Dazai is worried he might have done something to upset the young detective.) Seems like the only person he actively talks with is Ranpo, Kunikida, Yosano and strangely enough, Akutagawa.
Ahem. Considering how much the office likes a happy Atsushi, Dazai has a gift to give to ensure that Atsushi will be happy and bright again.
Atsushi had mentioned once during a team-building activity that he likes reading about stars and would like to see them up close one day. He never had the chance to since the sky was always blocked by bricks or clouds whenever he managed to catch a glimpse during his time in the orphanage. He looked so soft and vulnerable saying that to everyone.
So what better way to make him happy then by granting that wish? ( It’s for company morale.)
It was just the two of them in the office that night. Atsushi was working on a report for a case he and Kenji handled earlier this morning and Dazai was there for emotional support. Kyouka had left early and Kunikida surprisingly went with her. Dazai suspects that a certain detective and doctor had something to do with it but he seriously couldn’t care less. He’s grateful for Kunikidas lack of presence anyways because it would be easier to take Atsushi out of the office without him around.
Dazai looks at the clock fixed on the wall and stands up from his perch on the couch. Stalking to Atsushis chair he slaps both hands on his shoulders and gives him a scare. Atsushis reaction did not disappoint, he yelped for a bit before taking the board next to him and smacking it behind him.
Dazai laughs and grabs Atsushis hand just before the board hits his face and drags him out of the office. Dashing for the stairs at the back, he leads a panicking Atsushi to the roof.
Once they arrive, he lets out a long breath and gestures at a spot on the middle of the roof where a blanket was laid out and a telescope was situated at the front of the blanket.
“What—” Atsushi still sounded a little panicked. “What was that for Dazai-san?”
“You’ll see later,” Dazai plops down on the blanket and finally lets go of Atsushis hand when he sits down beside him. “I can’t go spoiling the surprise now can I?”
Ametrine eyes look at him suspiciously. “…You could’ve just asked me to follow you up here, you know?” He says with a pout.
“If I did that, you wouldn’t have made such a funny expression,” You wouldn’t have followed me if I did goes unsaid. He receives a playful glare and as a reply he lightly pressed Atsushis nose.
Any minute now and it would start. For now the sky was dark with only the moon providing enough light to illuminate the boys on the roof. Dazai sneaks a peek to the silent boy beside him and finds his gaze glued to the moon.
His eyes were wide and filled with awe, as if he was already seeing the stars fall. Something bright shimmers in them, but not in the way it usually does. Something lodges itself in Dazais throat.
A streak of something white zips past reflective irises and his eyes open wider. Atsushi snaps his head in Dazai’s direction, the action making his bang slap his pink cheek, and he looks at him excitedly. The bright shimmer in his eyes swirl in his iris and makes it look like its glowing in the dark.
“Dazai-san! Did you see that?” Atsushi smiles wide, not caring if his sharp teeth can be seen. “That was a star wasn’t it?” Atsushi laughs and it sounds like the jingle of a bell from a window.
Dazai could only hum in the affirmative. His throat feels dry even though he just drank a cup of water not even an hour ago.
“Your expression looks silly Dazai-san!” His eyes crinkle at the edges and he looks back to the sky. “Thank you.” He says under a sigh. His gaze is soft and excited.
The sky seems to reciprocate his enthusiasm as more and more streaks of white decorate space above them. It’s pretty, Dazai is sure. But he finds that it looks much more beautiful when tinted ametrine.
Soon enough, the stars stop falling and the night returns to black. But Dazais surprise isn’t finished yet. He coughs in his hand and steps toward the telescope.
“What did Atsushi-kun think?” Dazais voice cracks a bit. Oops. He turns his attention to the telescope in front of him and fiddles with it a despite the fact that it was already set up. “Did you like it?”
“I loved it Dazai-san!” Ametrine still had white zipping past them as if the stars never stopped falling in the sky. Atsushi looks at Dazai like he hung the stars himself.
“Well, I’m glad,” The brunet smiles. “Because it’s not finished yet.” He can hear Atsushi tilt his head at him.
He beckons for Atsushi to come near him, Atsushi crawls.
“Atsushi-kun, you need to stand up for this one.” A bandaged palm holds gloved ones to help him stand. With the same hand, Dazai maneuvers Atsushi in front of him. Atsushi’s back was inches away from his chest. It’s warm.
“Look through here—one eye Atsushi—” Dazai can smell cheap shampoo and home. “That’s a planet! Can you guess which one?”
A soft gasp escapes the young detectives' lips. It takes Atsushi a couple seconds to answer. “Is… Is it Mercury, Dazai?” His voice wobbled, but it sounded like it came from excitement rather than tears. Atsushi looks like a very excited puppy in his arms. (Dazai pointedly ignores how the dropped honorific makes something in his chest run.)
“Good job Atsushi-kun!” He ruffles silver hair playfully. Atsushi seems to preen at the praise. His hand is still on top of Atsushi’s head and it doesn’t seem like it’ll withdraw anytime soon.
It’s warm in his arms and his chest and his hand and before he knew it, it’s dampened by a thought that wormed its way into his brain.
How long am I allowed this?
-----
The sound of keys being hit and papers being shuffled are the only thing that can be heard in the agency. Seems no ones in the mood to talk today, opting instead to enjoy the peace and quiet. Fair, days like these are rare to come by so it’s logical why they’d wanna cherish it.
Dazai, as usual isn’t doing any type of work. Instead draping himself over his desk and sneakily replacing some of Kunikidas pens with black licorice. Given how focused he seems on doing whatever he does on his laptop it’ll probably take him an hour or two before noticing and giving him a reaction. Too slooooooow.
Brown eyes wander around the office for something interesting to do when it catches busy sunsets slightly lit up by the word document on his laptop. The letters dance in his eyes. Atsushi was focused on typing out the report, if the way his pupils shrunk and were surrounded by a gold ring were anything to go by.
Cute.
He sits up straight in his chair abruptly, earning him the glare of muted green.
Dazai averts his eyes and looks at anywhere but ametrine. He catches amused emerald staring at him and Ranpo gives him a smug grin. Dazai raises a brow and cocks his head to the side. Ranpo also raises his eyebrow while his gaze flits from him to Atsushi. Dazai looks at him with squinted eyes and stares at him like he's weird. Ranpo huffs and annoyedly shoves a handful of chips in his mouth.
The brunet laughs silently with his eyes closed and leans his head forward to rest it on his hand. His hand feels cold on his cheek.
Getting his breath in control, he opens his eyes and meets blooming daylilies looking back at him. Dazais breath got caught in his throat and he swore for a second that it was his heart. Weird. Something must be wrong with his heart. He should schedule a check up soon, wouldn’t want to worry Atsushi. Or the agency.
A long strand of silver hair falls softly from where its tucked and frames his face. The sun is shining on him at just the right angle to give him a halo. Pretty.
“Dazai-san?” Atsushi’s eyes reflect the sky. “Do you… want something?”
Keep looking at me. “Nothing~” Dazai smiles with his eyes. Please keep looking at me, yo-“Your eyes are so pretty, Atsushi-kun~♪” Ah shit. His tongue slipped up and his brain couldn’t catch it.
Dazai feels his smile strain when he hears a poorly hidden snicker.
Atsushis lips were parted, revealing sharp teeth that Dazai knew the younger man was insecure about—his eyes were blown open and yellow and purple swirled chaotically in his irises. Their gaze froze where they met.
Atsushis face is progressively getting pinker the longer they stared at each other. Dazai’s cheeks feel a tad warmer in his hands.
A harsh slap of a notebook on Dazai’s head break them out of their impromptu staring contest.
“The office is a place for productivity!” Kunikida has his nose scrunched and a rolled up notebook in his hands. “Not! Flirting!” The blond whacks Dazai’s head with each word. “Stop messing with Atsushi and do your work, you useless pile of bandages!”
“We weren’t flirting…” Atsushi mutters under his breath and he looks so adorable. Uh oh. He fixes his stationary between their desk and pointedly avoids looking in Dazai’s direction.
The brunet laughs and reaches over to ruffle his proteges fluffy hair. He receives an annoyed huff and another notebook slapped on his head.
The day goes on peacefully.
Until two hours later when Kunikida finally noticed that half of his pens were replaced by candy. Dazai was locked in the conference room until further notice as punishment.