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Dazai knew he was getting sicker as the hours went on.
Unfortunately, he was in the middle of a case with Atsushi. He knew his apprentice could most likely handle this himself as it was simply just retrieving documents, but he was sent quite literally for the reason of not doing his paperwork. Basically…this is a punishment.
He didn’t want to piss off Kunikida more. After this, he could go home, pop some random fever reducers and get some sleep.
How did he get sick? Well…he wasn’t entirely sure. But he was certain it had to do with the weather change. It was nearing summer. Dazai’s health wasn’t that fragile but when it came to season changes he always managed to contract some kind of seasonal illness. And as fate had it, he was sick yet again! Just before summer! What a pity.
Atsushi must’ve noticed his slower pace because he heard the younger stop in his tracks. He looked up to see his apprentice looking at him with slight concern on his face.
“Dazai-san, is something the matter?” He asked curiously.
Dazai also stopped. He looked down at the white haired boy and forced a small smile. He reached a hand and ruffled his hair. The motion felt robotic on his lead heavy limbs.
“I’m all well Atsushi. What makes you think something’s that matter?”
Atsushi smiled at the gesture but frowned again when he looked up at his mentors face. “Well for one…you just seem exhausted today. You also look rather pale.” He responded with nervousness.
Dazai also frowned. It wasn’t like he wasn’t masking, but he had to admit he wasn’t doing a very good job at pretending to be alright at the moment. I mean who can blame him? He didn’t feel well.
He didn’t respond, instead, they continued walking. They just had to retrieve the documents and then they can go back to the agency. Maybe he could get some medicine from Yosano.
After they made it to the building, Atsushi was the one to retrieve the documents. Dazai read over them to be sure they were the correct ones, and then smiled at Atsushi, gesturing they can go back to the agency. He tucked the documents into his coat. The two walked side by side silently for a while.
Eventually, Atsushi spoke up. “Hey Dazai, why’d Kunikida even put you in this anyway? I’m sure I could’ve easily done this myself..” he paused for a moment, then immediately changed his expression before speaking again. “Not that I didn’t want your help! It’s just- you’re far too experienced for something as effortless as this!”
Dazai let out a light chuckle. “No worries Atsushi. I enjoyed walking with you so it’s not a problem for me. Also this is a form of punishment for me so… I sort of had no choice in the matter.” His throat was sore, making his speech sound more hoarse than usual. He let out a cough instead of an awkward laugh.
Atsushi hummed instead of verbally responding. The pair continued walking back to the agency with ease. The afternoon heat was slowly catching up to them, and they wanted nothing more than to get back to the agency to cool off.
~*~
“We’re back Kunikida!” Atsushi announced as they entered the agency. Dazai pulled out the documents from his coat and handed them to Atsushi. Atsushi looked up at him with slight confusion but took them anyway.
“I’m going to lie down on the couch, I’ll be there if you need me. Please give those to Kunikida.” Dazai said swiftly.
Atsushi smiled and nodded. They parted ways. Dazai practically cheered when he saw the couch, as if it was calling his name. He collapsed onto it and very quickly felt sleep calling to him. His eyes drooped shut, and his consciousness gave out. He must’ve been more tired than he thought.
When he awoke, he was suddenly incredibly aware of how bright the room was. He knew for a fact he hasn’t slept long since from looking out the window, the sun hasn’t even moved an inch since he fell asleep. He groaned at the increasing headache. His sinuses were all irritated and it was quite hard to breathe from his nose.
Damn, the nap must’ve called on the illnesses’ progression. He let out a wet cough and grimaced at the feeling in his throat. He groaned as he fell backwards onto the couch. He really didn’t feel well at the moment. He wished someone could care for him.
As if the heavens heard his cry for help, he felt a hand place on gently on forehead. The hand was cold and welcoming. He dropped his arm to his side and opened his eyes, blinking away the black spots in his vision. Above him, was Yosano, along with a slightly worried Atsushi beside him.
“You’re really warm Dazai. Of course you are sick..again.” She said with a gentle voice despite the teasing tone.
“I told you Dr. Yosano! He didn’t seem like himself when we were on the mission, he told me he was fine but when we got back he didn’t look well.” Atsushi exclaimed.
“Atsushi not so loudly-“ a coughing fit interrupted him, phlegm burning his chest. “Not so loudly, please.” Dazai said with a strained voice.
“Here, sit up.” Yosano urged,
Helping him to a sitting position with her hand on his back. “You’ll just choke on your phlegm if you stay lying down.”
Dazai’s head leaned back into the cushion as he let out another coughing fit. Yosano handed him a tissue.
“So, who’s going to take him home?” Kunikida suddenly asked as he walked towards them.
“I’ll have Atsushi take him home. I need to take his temperature before he leaves. Thankfully he just seems to have caught a cold.”
Dazai groaned. “I don’t feel well can’t I just go home already? My head is pounding.”
Yosano nodded. “Right after I check your temperature, Atsushi will take you back to your dorm. I’ll also send you home with few pain meds for your headache.”
“Kay.” Dazai quietly responded.
Kunikida returned with a thermometer, a bottle of pain medication, and a water bottle. He handed everything to Yosano and sat on the other couch next to Atsushi.
Yosano thanked Kunikida and handed the water bottle to Dazai. He glanced at her and opened the bottle, greedily downing it. That was until he was stopped with Yosano’s hand. He looked up at her with sad puppy dog eyes.
“Hey! Im thirsty!” He nasally shouted.
“I know. But if you drink it like that you’ll just make yourself feel worse than you already do. Drink it slower.” She let go of the bottle. Dazai pouted for a moment longer before drinking the water, slower this time.
After he set the bottle down Yosano pulled out the thermometer and stuck it in Dazai’s mouth. She done this multiple times so he knew he had to get it under his tongue. It sat there for a minute before a slight ‘beep!’ Was heard. Dazai let out another cough while Yosano examined the number on the device.
“38.1 º. (100.58 F) It’s high but manageable. Bed rest and plenty of fluids should do the trick. Just don’t go dancing in the rain and make it higher.”
Dazai managed a smile. “I’d never, you wound me for thinking such things.”
He took the pain meds in his pocket and was led out the door by Atsushi. The two waved at the others before exiting.
“How does he always manage to get himself sick? Just how fragile is that man’s health?” Kunikida asks with slight worry.
Yosano shrugs, not knowing the answer herself. “Just hope he takes care of himself.”
They both know he wouldn’t.
~*~
“Okay. Yosano said you can call her if you need anything, me or someone else will come check on you tomorrow. You get three days off- ordered by the president. Will you be okay, Dazai-San?” Atsushi asked after he stopped pacing, looking towards Dazai.
Dazai blinked wearily. He’s been through this so many times, he just wanted to go to sleep.
“Okay, uh..well- I’ll be off. Get better soon Dazai.” Atsushi said as he walked towards the door, not really knowing what else he should say to his sick mentor.
“Later Atsushi.” Dazai responded, though not very loudly and very much exhausted.
Being sick really does destroy your entire facade.
When the door closed Dazai immediately collapsed onto his futon. His coat was discarded along with the pain meds Yosano gave him. He felt sore and utterly exhausted. Sleep came to him almost instantly.
Chuuya just finished work for the evening. He was grateful today’s mission was incredibly easy. He and Dazai had dinner plans that night, a week prior Chuuya decided he’d cook for him. He knew the agency has been busy with work recently, meaning his boyfriend was not eating nearly as much as he normally would when he did remember to eat. Stupid idiot mackerel.
He shot him a test but of course, they were all left unread. He didn’t worry much though. His phone was either dead or he was just being stubbornly lazy and not checking his phone. He reached from his pocket, getting the keys and unlocking the door to his apartment.
“Osamu? Are you here!?” Chuuya shouted as the door closed. He took his boots off and set his coat on the couch. He looked around but saw no trace of the bandaged brunette. He pulled out his phone and checked to see if he’s seen the messages. Still, they were all left unread.
He groaned. He must’ve forgotten or something. He really hope it was just him being forgetful and nothing bad happened to him. He clicked on his contact and pressed the green call button. There was no answer.
Chuuya started to get worried. He rung him two more times to be sure he wasn’t just being paranoid. Of course, no answer.
“Fuck it, I’ll just go see if he’s at his place.” He muttered under his breath. If he wasn’t there, he’d have to start checking bridges and rivers.
He put his boots back on and headed out the door. To the agency dorms he went.
~*~
He parked on the side of the building. While they were in a truce, it would still seem a little weird to be here without reason, considering he is a port mafia executive.
He stepped up the stairs and walked down the hall until he saw the familiar golden plaque with the name ‘O. Dazai’ engraved into it.he knocked on the door once, but to his lack of surprise, no answer.
He decided to just try the door knob, of course the door was thankfully unlocked.
He stepped inside and gazed around the small entrance area. “Osamu?” The room was rather dark and quiet. He stepped further into the dorm. The only source of light being the moonlight peering in through the window. He saw a familiar body stretched out on his futon. He sighed with relief.
“Jesus I thought you were dead, here you are. Just asleep.” He whispered to himself.
He squatted down and reached a hand out, playing with the younger’s hair. His hand stopped when it brushed against his forehead. He sighed almost immediately.
“Damn it, of course you’re sick.” He whispered. “Hey. Osamu? Wake up.” He lightly nudged the sleeping brunette.
He took a glove off to get a better feel of his forehead. He frowned when he realized he was burning up. The agency clearly knew- considering he was here asleep and not at Chuuya’s. They had to know this idiot was god awful at taking care of himself, right?
He felt the younger stir under his touch. He retreated his hand and sat in a more comfortable position, tangling his ungloved hand in his boyfriend’s hair.
“Mmggh- Chuu?” Dazai groaned softly.
“Hey. I came to get you for our dinner date. Turns out, you’re sick. You even got a fever.” Chuuya said gently.
Dazai sneezed, cringing at the lack of room to breathe from being so congested. He sat up slowly, Chuuya retreating and helping him sit up.
“Head hurts.” Dazai said quietly.
Chuuya nodded. “Let me try and find some pain meds.”
“My coat..Yosano gave me some earlier.” Dazai said, holding a hand to his temple.
Chuuya glanced at the coat on the floor. He lifted himself up off the ground and walked towards it. To his surprise, there were indeed pain meds. They seem to have fallen out of the pocket they were in. He picked up the bottle and poured two tablets into his hand.
“I’ll be back, I’m going to find some water for you to take these with.”
Dazai just hummed. The dorm had a small kitchenette. Of course, there was hardly anything in the fridge. Some tofu, crab, and leftover take out from wherever he ate recently. He decided tap water could work. In the cabinets, there were no dishes. All of the dishes available were dirty and in the sink. Chuuya sighed.
He pulled out a cup from the sink and quickly washed it before letting it fill with cool tap water. He went back to Dazai’s futon and handed him the two pills along with the cup of water.
“Good. Okay.” Chuuya stood up, putting his discarded glove back on. “We aren’t letting you stay here, I can better take care of you at my place. I’d rather you be there. Is that okay?”
Dazai yawned. He looked up at Chuuya and nodded slowly. “Sure.”
Chuuya handed Dazai his coat before writing a message on a piece of paper for his agency. “Let’s go then.”
~*~
The change in temperature was welcoming. Dazai shrugged his coat off and collapsed onto the couch. Chuuya came over and helped him take his shoes off.
“I have some pajamas already out for you in the bathroom. I’ll help you bathe and then I’ll get you into bed with some tea. I have actual cold and flu medicine so it can help get your fever down.” Chuuya said, easing the sleepy Dazai up.
Dazai sniffled before lightly nodding. The two walked into the bathroom. Chuuya started the bath while Dazai undressed. The bath quickly filled up. Chuuya helped his boyfriend into the tub, taking off both gloves before he began to wash his hair.
Dazai enjoyed the massage on his hair. He leaned into the comfort. Unfortunately, it was destroyed when Chuuya started water boarding him.
“Chuuya! You’re water boarding me! Bad dog!” Dazai exclaimed hoarsely.
Chuuya rolled his eyes. “I am not water boarding you, drama queen. I’m simply rinsing the soap from your hair.” Nonetheless, he was glad Dazai was still attempting to make jokes.
The bath was drained and Chuuya wrapped up Dazai in a towel. He looked so cuddly and cute. He didn’t look flushed anymore but he still has the rosy cheeks from a raw nose on top of his fever. He just wanted to cuddle him like some fluffy plush. First, he had to dress him.
“Put these on, I got your bandages.”
Dazai obliged. He changed into a black, baggy t-shirt and some plaid pajama pants that were slightly too small for him. Chuuya wrapped his signature bandages around his scarred arms and his neck. He grabbed a brush off his night stand and began brushing through his boyfriend’s hair, kissing the side of his face every so often.
He loved how cute he looked when he was sick- that soft gaze on his face, his glassy eyes, his feverish rosy cheeks. Even though he felt bad he couldn’t help but notice how adorable he was.
After he was done, Chuuya tucked him into bed. He kissed his head and handed him a bottle of water.
“Don’t drink it too fast. I’ll be back with something for you to eat.”
Dazai whined. “I’m not hungry chibi.”
Chuuya frowned. “I know Osamu but you still gotta eat at least something. Being on an empty stomach won’t help you get better.”
Dazai pouted, but eventually nodded. “Fine.”
Chuuya ruffled his hair before exiting the room. He put together a chamomile tea with honey and a small portion of homemade soup consisting of carrots, celery, asparagus, and chicken broth with small pieces of chicken. He poured the correct dosage of cold medicine into a medicine cup and placed in next to everything else on the tray.
Dazai let a small smile creep in his face when he saw Chuuya walk in with a tray of different items. “Are you my housewife now Chuu?” Dazai asked, too tired to be teasing.
Chuuya rolled his eyes as he sat down on the bed. “Oh shut up.”
He grabbed the medicine cup and gave it Dazai, to which he reluctantly downed it in seconds. He knew if he didn’t take it chuuya would force it down and in all honesty he didn’t want that.
Chuuya helped feed him the soup. He didn’t eat much of it but getting something in his stomach was better than nothing he supposed. Finally, he drank most of his tea before he eventually fell asleep.
Chuuya sighed. Alas, Dazai was bathed, fed, given medicine, and now he is finally sleeping. A job well done in Chuuya’s book.
The dinner date would have to wait another day. For now, he cleaned the kitchen up before turning in for the night himself. He crawled up in the bed next to Dazai and fell asleep quickly, the exhaustion from work on top of taking care of his sick boyfriend catching up to him.
~*~
His chest was being ripped open. It was completely dark, besides the very small spot of light in the corner of the room, revealing maggots. Piles upon piles of maggots. There was no bodies in sight, other than his own. He was open on the operating table, the machine he was connected to was completely broken. He was just left alone in the empty room.
He felt maggots slowly crawl onto him. He felt disgusted, he wanted to throw up. He tried to call for help but of course, he was dead. Suddenly- he was teleported. A vision of Mori, laughing loudly while holding a scalpel was before him. He tried to run but the room turned into a box. He was being cut into pieces, other humans were on top of him, eating him. Everything went black…
The sound of a coughing fit woke up Chuuya. He glanced over to see Dazai- struggling to catch a breath. He was drenched in sweat yet he was shivering. Did his fever get worse?
“Samu?” He asked groggily before turning on the table lamp next to him.
When Dazai didn’t answer, he tried again. A little clearer. “Hey, Osamu? You okay?”
Dazai slowly turned his head. His eyes were filled with tears. Chuuya immediately jumped uo and embraced him. “Nightmare?”
He felt the brunette nod against his chest. They sat there for a while, Chuuya’s shirt getting soaked in tears.
“It’s okay. I’m imaging it was pretty scary huh?” He said quietly trying to get him to stop crying.
He felt Dazai nod against him again. Eventually, he calmed down and fell back onto his pillow, instantly falling back asleep. Chuuya was glad that fit of hysteria was over. He hated seeing him like that.
He put a hand on his forehead and sighed of relief when the contact was much cooler than earlier. He leaned in and kissed his forehead, before turning the light off and going back to sleep himself.
~*~
The next morning, Chuuya gave Dazai another dosage of medicine. He didn’t have a fever anymore but he still felt like absolute shit. He was congested, his nose was runny, his head hurt, he was fatigued, and his throat hurt.
Dazai was alone in the apartment since Chuuya had work. He was instructed to stay in bed unless he got hungry or had to use the bathroom.
That wasn’t happening.
Dazai was BORED. He needed to do something before he went insane. He slowly got out of the bed, cringing at the dizziness. He blinked away any fuzziness from his vision before pacing the house to find something to do. The bookshelf in the living room caught his eye. While Chuuya read most poetry, he managed to find something interesting.
He sat on the arm chair and began flipping through the pages. The bookshelf entertained him for the next couple of hours.
To his surprise, he fell asleep sometime when he was reading and definitely didn’t remember when because when he woke up, Chuuya was walking inside. He looked down at his hands to see the book closed on his lap. He was very aware of how cold it was in the apartment and wished he had a blanket.
“Dazai? I thought I said you should stay in bed?” Chuuya asked as he took his coat off.
Dazai shrugged. “I got bored earlier. The book entertained me, which you failed to do. I fell asleep. I quite literally just woke up.”
He rubbed his nose on his sleeve before yawing, then looked back at Chuuya who was making a cup of what looked like tea.
“My apologies Prince.” Chuuya said sarcastically before handing him the cup. “I had work, I didn’t really have a choice. I wish I could’ve stayed.”
Dazai sipped the cup and softened his expression. “I know, Chuuya. I wish you could’ve stayed too.
Chuuya smiled. “Let’s get back in bed, I wanna watch something together. I’ll make you more soup.”
Dazai nodded. “If you insist!”
~*~
The rest of the day consisted of soup eating, cuddling in bed, and watching some random movie they came across when they were teenagers. They cuddled, Chuuya giving him soft kissed in his head. They both fell asleep in each other’s comfort.
…
Kunikida walked over to Atsushi’s desk. He needed to know if anyone has checked on Dazai since he obviously was sick yesterday and sent home.
“Hey Atsushi, have you or Dr. Yosano visited Dazai today?”
Atsushi froze, he looked up at Kunikida and his expression changed to an awkward smile. “Uh…there was a message left..he’s sort of- not home.”
“What?- What do you mean not home? What did it say? Was he kidnapped when in a vulnerable position?” Kunikida yelled.
Yosano walked out of the infirmary and patted him on the shoulder. “No worries. He’s fine. I’m sure he’s with-“
“He’s with Chuuya. The port mafia executive, also, his boyfriend.” Ranpo muttered from behind the group.
They all looked at him and then back at each other. Yosano just smiled.
“Called it. What sappy love birds they are.”
The group just laughed.
…
Of course he was with Chuuya. Chuuya was the best at taking care of him, after all. He loved his rosy cheeked mackerel.