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“Dazai-san, are we there yet?”
Dazai tilts his head back to observe his protégé. The white-haired boy doesn’t look tired, despite Dazai making them walk for an entire hour.
“Why? Are you tired already?” Dazai asks anyway, lifting a teasing eyebrow at the younger man.
Atsushi shakes his head. “Not at all. But you said it was close. Where are we going?”
Dazai shrugs. “We are close, Atsushi-kun. Here, on the next turn…”
They round the corner. “Ta-dah!” Dazai says, waving his hand side to side like he’s doing jazz hands.
It’s a building. The sign reads “Orphanage.” Atsushi freezes. He isn’t sure what his reaction should be. He blinks slowly. He trusts Dazai, but it takes him a moment to relax when he realizes this isn’t his orphanage.
“Dazai… what are we doing here?”
“Come, I want you to meet someone,” Dazai says, walking into the building with an almost childlike excitement. Atsushi follows more slowly and reserved.
However, his doubts dissolve the moment he steps inside. The place is warm and lively. A girl runs up to Dazai and greets him warmly. A boy dashes out of the room, not in distress but with a sense of purpose to his fading steps.
The children glance at Atsushi—some shy, some curious, but none afraid. A few even greet him, asking if he’s a friend of “Dazai-nii.”
“Dazai-nii?” Atsushi asks as they walk away from the group.
“Mhm~ Aren’t I a good older brother?” Dazai winks, striking a ridiculous pose.
“No,” Atsushi deadpans.
“Waa! So mean, Atsushi-kun!!”
The boy who had run off earlier returns, dragging a tall, red-haired man behind him.
“Dazai is back, Oda-nii!” the boy exclaims, pointing at them.
Oda smiles. “Thanks for telling me, Kousuke. You can go play with your friends now.” He ruffles the boy’s hair, earning a bright smile before Kousuke runs off toward the other children.
“Odasaku!” Dazai greets with a grin so wide it’s almost blinding. He jumps onto the redhead’s shoulders, planting a kiss on his lips. “I missed you!”
Oda smiles, his hands settling comfortably at Dazai’s waist.
“You saw me two days ago.”
“Too long ago!”
Atsushi stares, eyes flicking between the two of them. “…Uh, Dazai-san… who’s this?”
“Oh! This,” Dazai says dramatically, gesturing to Oda with both hands, “is Odasaku—my favorite person in the world and the director of this orphanage.”
“And your husband,” Oda adds in his calm, matter-of-fact voice.
Atsushi blinks. “…You’re married?”
“Of course,” Dazai says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. He leans into Oda’s side with a satisfied smirk.
Atsushi watches them for a moment, Oda’s easy smile, the way Dazai relaxes in his presence,and realizes… it’s all good. He feels at ease here.