Chapter Text
Love Language: Quality Time
After the death of the Flags, Chuuya has begun to treasure every moment he has with anyone and everyone.
He’s lost too many friends over the years and hasn’t been cherishing every moment with them. The first example was the Sheep, he loved them like they were his family till they turned their backs on him for their own safety.
The second example was the people who’ve been killed by Verlaine, especially the Flags. He truly thought none of them would die, but they were in the Mafia after all, it was to be expected.
Now his only friend left alive after the event people have been calling “Stormbringer” is none other than shitty Dazai.
Chuuya had grown tired after “Stormbringer.” He took missions every chance he could so he wouldn’t have time to think and truly process the fact his friends are gone.
This set of patterns didn’t go unnoticed by a certain bandaged boy though.
Dazai had begun to realize how bad Chuuya’s mental health was and decided to take it upon himself to take care of his partner.
So Dazai went up to Morí and requested him and Chuuya a day off on the upcoming weekend. Which Morí gave without hesitation, claiming that, “Chuuya needed his rest after all the missions he’s been taking on.”
Soon enough (not fast enough in Dazai’s opinion), the weekend came and, true to Mori’s word, Chuuya was denied taking any missions.
“Why can't I take missions anymore?! Boss, with all due respect, I can handle these jobs. So I would appreciate it if you gave me them.”
“Sorry Chuuya, but my hands are tied, I already gave you a day off tomorrow and I simply can’t reschedule everything,” responded Morí.
That was bullshit and Chuuya knew it. No one has a schedule in the Port Mafia, all you do is getting missions from out of the blue and you have to complete them. Simple as that!
Which leads the ginger to come up with a real reason the boss could’ve given him a random day off.
Dazai
“That stupid Bastard!”, was the last thing Chuuya exclaimed before storming out to yell at Dazai.
Chuuya knew where Dazai would be, he always knew. So when he kicked down the door to his own apartment, boiling white anger searing through him, Chuuya immediately snapped at seeing Dazai on his couch.
“YOU BASTARD!”, Chuuya yelled as he walked up to Dazai, balling up his fists.
“WHY THE FUCK DID YOU JUST TELL MORI TO GIVE ME A DAY OFF?! IT'S MY DAMN LIFE DAZAI AND YOU CAN'T JUST GO AROUND CONTROLLING IT!”
Dazai just let out a sigh, angering Chuuya even further.
“You were overworking yourself, it was unhealthy and you would’ve snapped and ended up in a worse state.”
Dazai looked straight at Chuuya with a tired and bored expression.
“You don’t get to dictate my life you shitty bastard. If this is how I work my way through life you stay out of it.”
“Chuuya,” Dazai’s voice was firm. “I was only doing what was best for my partner, Chuuya. I can't have you falling asleep during important missions.”
It seems Dazai took note of Chuuya's eye bags.
“It’s not that, Dazai!”, he exclaimed, throwing his arms up and behind his head.
“It’s the fact that you DON'T know what I need! Okay?! I need this, Dazai! I need to be out there and have my mind off things! So fuck off and leave me alone!”
Chuuya was on the verge of tears at this point. He could feel them threatening to spill, but he couldn’t allow that.
No, not with Dazai there to witness it. Plus, he fears he won’t be able to stop crying if he does start.
“Chuuya! You're NOT okay! You’re pushing yourself too far. When was the last time you even slept?!” Dazai was also raising his voice now as he stood up to face Chuuya properly.
“WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE!!!”
It was loud. But he didn’t care, he was too angry with grief and sorrow adding to the fire.
With that said, Chuuya quickly turned on his heel and headed out of his apartment. Slamming the door loudly behind him.
Chuuya didn't know where his legs were taking him. And honestly, he didn’t care.
He was tired, angry, sad and just filled with so much emotion he felt like he might burst.
It also didn't help that his mind was racing with multiple thoughts, so he just sorta, zoned out.
Once he did come back to his senses though, he was shocked to see his legs brought him to the last place he wanted to be.
A place that brought Chuuya so much pain, emotionally and physically at one point.
He was at Rimbaud's grave. Although now Rimbaud wasn’t alone.
No, now he was accompanied by 5 of Chuuya’s dear friends. Dear friends that were brutally slaughtered by none other than Rimbaud's dear partner.
Kind of ironic isn’t it?
Instead of running away, like Chuuya’s been doing all this time, he walked towards the 5 new stones that accompanied a once lonely one.
Sitting in front of Rimbaud's tombstone and leaning his head back, Chuuya began to process what happened.
He’s mad at what Dazai did, that’s for sure. The bastard did something he didn’t even want! But, then again Chuuya was also avoiding the bigger picture by keeping himself busy, and his health was deteriorating from being overworked and lacking sleep.
‘Guess he really does care for me, huh? Now that I realize it, I haven’t even set foot into my apartment since the Flags died, till now.’
Chuuya mentally sighed at the thought of Dazai doing more good to him than it was bad. Then he heard someone walking over to him.
It was Dazai.
Dazai had a glum look on his face — which you could only tell if you were observant like Chuuya was—as he sat down next to Chuuya and Rimbaud’s grave.
“Thought I’d find you here.” A small, warm yet bitter smile was adoring the bandaged man’s face as he spoke.
“You seem to know everything about me, so I shouldn't be surprised.”
The comment made Dazai’s head turn towards Chuuya, his eyes focusing on Chuuya’s as his eyes filled with sorrow.
Oh, how they were filled with sorrow indeed. Like a black ocean during a storm.
You could tell the boy was thinking of every possible way to try and cheer Chuuya up which honestly made Chuuya feel a bit better, knowing he still had people who cared for him.
As the bandaged boy finally spoke, you could hear a faint straint in his voice. “I truly didn’t mean to give you a day off as a way to harm you, I just-“
The brunette paused, trying to find and collect the right words he could use, as he looked off into the ocean view from the cliff. The ocean reflects the silver moon of the night sky, along with its other companions.
“I just don’t want you to end up in a terrible state. I’ve seen the way you reacted after the Sheep. And honestly, that alone was terrible in its own way. So dealing with not one death, but 5 of your friends,” Dazai sighed. “It must've been a lot for you.”
Chuuya was honestly shocked at how honest Dazai was right now. The brunette would never show this much vulnerability to anyone.
It made Chuuya understand how sincere he was at the moment.
“Have you ever lost anyone Dazai?”
The question was sudden, but Chuuya honestly didn’t care anymore if his mouth spoke before his brain.
It was silent for a moment, but before Chuuya could take back what he said, Dazai responded.
“I have”
Chuuya looked at Dazai, his eyes didn’t hold the pity he knew Dazai hated. No, instead they held sorrow, sorrow for his partner who had to experience the tragedy of death in his arms. Just like how Chuuya had recently experienced.
Dazai didn’t react, he continued staring at something in the distance that Chuuya felt Dazai would never find. That even if Dazai found what he was looking for, it never seemed to fill Dazai’s empty void-like eyes.
Just like how they both knew nothing would satisfy Dazai’s need for a reason to live. That was just how it was supposed to be.
“My parents, one day I arrived from school just in time to see the life they adored leave their eyes. I started wandering the streets after that, one of your little members from the streets even tried to get me to join, but I inevitably declined. To think I could’ve met you sooner! What a nightmare.”
The last sentence had no bite behind its word, and the fact Dazai had even told Chuuya of such a personal part of his life made Chuuya’s heart flutter slightly.
And so, they both sat in silence for a while. It wasn’t awkward though. It was a comfortable silence as they both stared at something along the far distance, before it was eventually Chuuya who spoke.
“You know, the Flags had their own stupid way of showing they cared for me? Hah! Albatross was definitely the biggest wild card out of all of them though.”
Dazai’s gaze shifted towards Chuuya, his eyes giving off a calm and gentle feeling.
“He would throw parties since he was right above me. And it was all to try and remind me that I’m not alone if I ever had a nightmare.”
Chuuya felt a smile grip his face as tears began to threaten to spill from his eyes.
He was starting to process the fact he’ll never see them again. He’ll never wake up to loud sounds from the room upstairs, he might not get any notice at all in fact. The Flags are dead, and Chuuya is all that remains.
Soon, the tears he’s been scared of begin to slide down.
It starts off with one that spirals into 3 and then they all start falling. Chuuya wasn’t sobbing, but he was crying, and clearly Dazai took notice, because he hugged Chuuya, so that his tears would be hidden from the world.
They stayed in that position, even after Chuuya stopped crying.
Something about spending time with someone and having someone there when you need to talk made Chuuya feel amazing.
Time passed by, and before long the duo realized how long they had spent on the cliff, so they got up to walk to Chuuya’s apartment, hand in hand.
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Before long, Chuuya and Dazai were dating.
Wild right?
The part he loved most about dating Dazai were all the meaningful conversations they had, even if they were stupid most of the time.
Also the fact that whenever he talked, Dazai would always give his full attention to Chuuya… well at least most of the time.
But either way, dating Dazai was a better decision than he originally thought and he loved the Mackerel with his whole heart.
And here he is now, watching a movie as said Mackerel is on his lap while Chuuya plays with his fluffy, brown hair.
Chuuya enjoyed moments like these.
‘They were simple and yet very enjoyable,’ Chuuya thought to himself, before realizing Dazai was falling asleep on his lap.
Although he hated waking up Dazai when he was sleeping —which was rare and a struggle for Dazai with his insomnia—, he wouldn’t want his partner to complain about how uncomfortable he slept the next day.
So, waking up Dazai it was!
Shaking Dazai awake, Chuuya was met with a loud complaint from the bandaged boy as usual.
“You’re not sleeping on the couch, Mackerel. It’ll be uncomfortable for you to sleep there.”
“I’ve done it plenty of times, Chuuya, once more won’t hurt,” Dazai argued back, as he leaned on Chuuya’s shoulder and started closing his eyes.
And although what Dazai said was true, he would rather not wake up with a pissed off Dazai.
“Nope, nuh uh, you are not sleeping on the couch. Let’s go to the bedroom instead.”
So, Chuuya stood up and walked over to his room, a tired Dazai following behind him.
Once they both got into Chuuya’s bed, they hugged one another until they both dozed off in each other's arms.
Chuuya’s last thought before he slept was just how much he wishes he could spend the rest of his life like this, with Dazai by his side.