Chapter Text
Every advertisement and website would tell you Yokohama public school is an prestigious school with renowned teachers who work hard so the students can achieve greater heights but what they won't tell you is that those distinguished teachers are also a bunch of nosy friends who love to put their noses into their colleague's love life or rather the lack of a love life.
As usual, Dazai was bothering Chuuya, their arguments were now just a background white noise that nobody bothered to call out anymore—
"Chuuya, you are being too strict on the kids, they are all gonna fail if you continue with this marking scheme"
"Well atleast I'm preparing them for the exams, unlike someone"
"Okay first of all—"
"Can you both just shut up for a minute!?"
—well everyone except the resident perfectionist Kunikida, who was also one of the Math teachers.
Fortunately for Kunikida's blood pressure and sanity, the bell rang signalling the end of lunch break. Children who were earlier busy eating, playing and chasing each other around all over the ground ran towards the washrooms and crowded the corridors in an unspoken race of who will reach the classroom before the teacher does.
Inside the teacher's lounge, Chuuya began organizing the marked test papers back into his folder and left, being eager to get out of Kunikida's scolding and Dazai's whining.
A moment later Kunikida followed, only after sending a warning glare towards Dazai to be on his best behavior though both knew it would be ignored.
"You are so pathetic, Dazai" Yosano the school doctor said, taking a bite of an apple. Yes she saw the irony, No don't mention it or you'll be the next one strapped onto her medical bed.
"I have no idea what you are talking about Yosano-sensei" Dazai muttered, fiddling with a red pen in his hands and a lazy smirk lingering on his face.
"You both are disgusting and hopeless, seriously why can't you—"
"Oh! Look at that, it seems like Chuuya accidentally left a paper behind. I should go and hand it to him!"
He sprinted out of the room taking the test with him, across the room Yosano sighed, seeing her attempt being fruitless, yes pun intended.
~
"Akutagawa Ryuunosuke"
The mentioned twelve year old took the science test paper handed to him by his teacher and sat back on his seat near his younger sister. Gin was one year younger than him but her parents made her jump one class so she could be with her brother.
"Ryu, that's so nice. You got an A+ grade" she peeked into his paper and smiled seeing his hard work pay off. "Ah, Thank you Gin, What grade did you get?"
"Sensei hasn't called my name yet"
"Isn't your roll number right after mine? Ask him about your test"
"Chuuya-sensei—" Before she could properly raise her hand, another kid managed to call him. "Chuuya-sensei you have written the date wrong" The kid Chuuya got interrupted by was Tachihara, a loud and extroverted kid who often got into fights with Gin.
Chuuya looked towards the board and right as Tachihara said the date was written wrong, he looked around for the duster, which was nowhere in sight.
"Tachihara! I called him first!"
"Well, you should have been faster then!"
"Geez stop fighting you both, Gin just a minute I'll listen to you let me just…" he bent down to look for the duster in the lower drawers of the table then at last looked into the cupboard for the missing equipment.
"Huh that's strange, where is it?" He started to recall any other possible place the duster could have been, his train of thoughts came to an abrupt end with a smacking noise. He snapped his neck towards the source of the noise and saw Ryuunosuke holding his science book while Tachihara held his head down and quietly sobbed, Gin at his side, trying to console him.
Chuuya closed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to gather whatever energy he had left and walked towards the place of commotion. He picked Ryuunosuke up like a misbehaving kitten. That boy has such a bad temper.
"What did I say about starting fights?"
"But he was fighting with Gin"
"I would have handled it, you didn't had to use physical violence"
"But—"
"No buts! or I'll tell Dazai that you are misbehaving again"
That shut him up, he was very fond of Dazai for reasons unknown to Chuuya. Dazai was good at his job, sure but how could someone be this big of a fan of his, that never made sense to Chuuya.
Chuuya went back on his search for the duster after the siblings duo settled down and Tachihara stopped crying.
"Chuuya-sensei I think it's at the top rack" Chuuya followed the kid's line of vision and there it was, the treasure chest that he was hunting for since the last five mins. He stood on his tip toes and tried to wiggle his fingers to reach that high platform but it was to no avail. He grunted and puffed up trying to get his hands on it but his hands just wouldn't reach it.
He kept trying to reach out when he felt another body pressing against him. His reflexes acted faster than he could make sense of what's happening, and suddenly the newcomer tumbled down, sending the duster in his hands flying and spreading chalk dust all around.
Chuuya closed his eyes to protect them from the chalk dust and started coughing. More and more people joined him in his cruise and within seconds, him, the newcomer and the students sitting in the front row were all coughing furiously.
After what it felt like an eternity, he waved his hands to clear the dust and finally opened his eyes, seeing the familiar shades of brown.
"Dazai!? What the hell!?"
"Chuuya! I just came to—"
"Stop it bastard, I'm not in the mood for your whining right now" A pang of hurt washed over Dazai's dust ridden face. Chuuya would have noticed the odd change if he wasn't busy being annoyed by the mishap.
"So that's what I get for being nicel?" Dazai looked at him, he was covered in chalk dust so Chuuya assumes he himself is in the same condition. "Nice?? You ruined my class! Get out right now!"
Dazai got off grunting something about 'Chibis' and 'short heights'. Chuuya couldn't hear the rest of the muttering but he could very well put the pieces together. Dazai was talking shit about him and his height. Chuuya after a long minute of staring holes at the place Dazai was at, pulled himself up and apologized to the students.
He glanced at the clock hanging from the wall and realised only ten minutes are left till class is over. He was planning to wash the dust off at the washroom but that would take too much time and he still has at least ten more tests to distribute. He resigned himself with a heavy sigh and some silent curses and took the duster to correct the date and then
started name calling for the rest of the students.
After all the tests were distributed he took the chalk to write the syllabus for tomorrow's test on board, he felt a little tug at his shirt and saw Gin staring at him. That's when he remembered his promise to hear her out before he was very rudely interrupted by that mackerel.
"Oh sorry Gin-chan, it slipped my mind. Tell me how can I help you?"
"I didn't got my test, my roll number was after Ryu but you didn't call me so I thought maybe mine got mixed up but now all the papers have been distributed but I didn't got mine"
"What?" He turned towards his folder and right as Gin said, there was no paper in sight. "I think I left it in the lounge"
He walked away with the promise to be back with the test in five minutes.
The door to the teacher's room opened with a loud thud and Chuuya welcomed himself in. Yosano, who was typing something in her laptop, raised her eyebrows at the sudden appearance. "The period isn't over yet"
"I know, have you seen any test lying here?"
"Didn't Dazai hand it to you?"
"What"
"He saw that test paper you left behind and took the liberty to hand it back to you, it's already been half an hour. He should have given it to you by now but by your reaction I assume he didn't?"
The realisation dawned on Chuuya's face as pieces of the puzzle fit together, without granting any response he stormed out to look for him. He knows Dazai doesn't have any period right now, he has Dazai's time table memorized and since he came by his class that means he didn't get allotted as a substitute for any other teacher either so since he's not in the staff room then he must be in some corridor or washroom.
He took a left, turned at the corner and reached the male teacher's washroom. If Dazai isn't here then it would be a hassle to look for him so lucky for Chuuya, Dazai was in the washroom. "Dazai.."
"What do you want, chibi?" Chuuya doesn't understand why he's being snarky, they argue often and it's not like him to be this upset over it. He doesn't know Dazai has been pining over him and those arguments were his attempts at flirting, at making Chuuya notice him, to get his full attention even if it was to express his annoyance.
"I- Sorry, I was a little too harsh on you and reacted without thinking. Yosano-sensei told me that you came to return a test I left behind"
"Sure, sure, whatever, the test is on the slack, take it yourself I'm washing my hands right now" The tap squeaked as Dazai turned it on, cool water rushing out of it. His fingers moved in a slow and absent minded motion. Chuuya stood behind him frozen, uncertainty filling the air. He opened his mouth thinking of some apology but nothing came out. The silence stretched and in the end Chuuya broke his one sided staring contest and quietly took his leave with the test.
~
The next day, Dazai casually strolled in the almost empty corridors, making his way to the principal's office. He reminisced back upon the text he got from Chuuya yesterday night.
'Dazai I'm sorry, pls reply'
He hadn't replied anything yet, he didn't want to and even if he did what would he say? That Chuuya is stupid to not have noticed his years of pining yet? or that Dazai is too much of a coward that he is unable to confront him face to face? He shook his head as if physically trying to get rid of the thoughts. He can contemplate on it later.
He took his sweet time and seemed in no hurry to reach. Hands tucked into his trench coat, he hummed up the familiar song, softly nodding his head to the rhythm. He was summoned to the office due to two kids— Atsushi and Akutagawa fighting, again. He was their class teacher so all their complaints are his to handle. He wondered what was the reason for their fight today, those two were very energetic students with a lot of potential and he had hoped they would get along but their clashing personalities made it very difficult.
Rounds to the principal's office were almost a weekly occurrence now for them. Him, the principal, Akutagawa, Atsushi and whoever the teacher was, who had the misfortune of being the assigned subject teacher on whose period the fight broke out.
He took a deep breath and lifted his hands to knock on the wooden velvet colored doors. The principal, Mori, certainly loved his aesthetics.
"Come in"
"What did these two troublemakers do now, Mori-san?" He glanced at his right to glare at the mentioned students and then saw Chuuya standing nearby.
Dazai tilted his head in confusion, Chuuya was never the one to complain about the kids, he preferred to solve the issue within the classroom doors.
"Ah welcome Dazai-kun, as you can see your dear mentees had yet another physical fight"
Dazai could hear Mori explaining the situation at the back of his mind but right now all his attention was on the redhead in front of him. He wasn't sure how to address this after yesterday's fall out. Chuuya looked at him in an uncertain expression as if he's not sure what to say either.
"Oh dear, this reminds me of how you both used to always keep fighting over small things, hope you two understand how stressful it was for me now" Mori huffed, a small smile took over his face as he remembered his old days as a teacher.
"You both were a pair of problem children, I can't believe I have to go through the same experience again as a principal. I'm too old for this" He sighed and tapped his fountain pen over the wood of the table, looking fondly at the grown teachers who once were a duo causing chaos all over the school.
"Principal Mori, you were their teacher?" Atsushi looked up at the adults, curiously asking for more to know about his teacher's childhood. Before Mori could start reciting their embarrassing childhood stories, Dazai turned to the students and ordered them to go back.
"Atsushi, Akutagawa. Go back to your classes and you both will do the assignment twice, that's your punishment"
"Oh Dazai-kun, let them hear about their teacher's childhood" Mori grinned at him, knowing full well what he was playing at. "No, You both go back"
"What? You are scared they'll hear their class teacher being an annoying bastard to everyone around him?" This was the first thing Chuuya uttered since the whole time they have been there.
"Oh yeah? I'm sure they'll love to hear about their science teacher being pathetic"
It's a bait, Dazai knows it's a bait to get him to talk to Chuuya and he gladly takes it.
He was tired of ignoring him after yesterday and the only reason he kept doing it was because Chuuya trying to get his attention filled him with some sick satisfaction. He had been trying to grab Chuuya's attention by riling him up for a long time, so when the tables turned and it's Chuuya using his strategy on him now, who was he to call him out?
"Actually yeah I agree with Mori-san, we used to fight just like them, though it was your temper that always got us in trouble"
"Me!? It was always because you could never shut your mouth"
The argument dragged on, both the teachers kept pushing the blames on each other while Mori watched them with an amused smile. They are fighting about what was the reason they kept fighting in childhood. What an irony. He noticed the kids had managed to sneak out somewhere in between and the teachers seemed to be lost in their own world playing the blame game. Mori layed back into his seat hoping they'll solve it out on their own.
When five minutes passed and they showed no signs of stopping he slammed a binder on the table to grab their attention.
"Alright you two that's enough, get out"
Chuuya and Dazai were very rudely kicked out, neither of them knew what to say now that the excuse of hiding behind playful banter was taken from them. Both of them felt a strange self of deja vu, the moment was so similar to how it was in their childhood. They would argue over something stupid, break into a fight, Mori would see them and drag them into Principal Natsume's room and after five minutes of pretending to listen to what they were being scolded about, they would be kicked out. It was the same situation except they were grown adults and Mori sat on Natsume's seat.
They both stood outside the room, awkwardly looking at everything except each other. Unsure if to walk away or finally talk. Dazai clenched his fist inside his trench coat to ground his running thoughts while Chuuya kept tapping his boot onto the marble titles to cleanse his anxiety, he bit the curb and decided to break the awkward atmosphere.
"Start walking, It's looking weird"
They walked around the ground floor and reached the playground.
Soft cooes of birds perched on the trees standing tall filled the ground and shouts could have been heard from students from the other building who were undoubtedly racing towards the ground to enjoy their games period. Cool breeze cascaded their faces as they strolled around. Neither of them had a period currently so they had plenty of time.
"I'm sorry for ignoring your message"
"I'm sorry for yesterday too"
They sat down upon a green metal bench facing the flower garden. It was early spring, the flowers had just started to bloom. Some were at their final stage standing tall as spectacular blossoms while some were just small buds who had yet to show their potential.
Just a little towards the left of the garden was a small pond filled with multicolored fishes. They were there to add onto the beauty of nature, Chuuya wonders if they ever knew the freedom of the ocean.
"Chuuya" Chuuya who was admiring the scenery seemed to be taken back by the sudden mention. He titled his head towards Dazai, motioning him to go on.
"Do you truly get mad at me when I annoy you?"
"Huh? No, not really" Dazai was staring straight at him, he had his full attention and isn't that exactly what he wanted? He stared right back, suddenly feeling very vulnerable under his gaze but he didn't break eye contact. It's now or never.
"Dazai I do not mind you, yes you can sometimes be a little annoying but I think we wouldn't have been friends if you weren't you, I like you the way you are" Blood rushed to his neck and crept up his face.
"Chuuya I just wanted to get your attention and I figured if I make you mad enough then you'll pay attention to me even if it's not out of fondness, I would take anything as long as you see me"
Dazai has always had issues with being honest with people. His throat felt heavy as he laid himself all out in front of Chuuya with heartfelt confessions to dissect and to judge.
It's a risky move, it might just hamper whatever fragile friendship they have, but well Dazai has never been known to have good self-preservation.
"Dazai I think I'm in love with you" and with that all his anxiety and overthinking came tumbling down like dominos.