Chapter Text
Chuuya loves his job at the kindergarten.
The kids are a bit rambunctious at times but they're sweet and respectful especially during activity time. The parents are almost always thankful to Chuuya for looking after their kids, all smiles despite all the tiredness in their eyes.
He'd say that it was his job to look after them and ensure that they are learning in a safe and interactive environment. But even his co-workers know how much he goes above and beyond to ensure that the children are adjusting well while inside the daycare.
If there's anything that's been a huge hindrance to his job, it's the brown-haired man in front of him currently fighting with the kids on who loves Odasakuman the most. He can feel his head already aching and it's only— he looks at the clock — five minutes past eight. The kindergarten opened exactly five minutes ago.
"Dazai," Chuuya said through gritted teeth, pulling on the other's shirt. "You're going to make them cry!"
"But!" Dazai dodged an already crying Atsushi trying to get the Odasakuman doll he was holding. "They're saying I'm a fake Odasakuman fan!"
"I don't care! You're the teacher here so act like it!" Chuuya groans before snatching the doll from Dazai. He glared at him before kneeling down to console a crying Atsushi by giving him his Odasakuman doll. "Here you go, kid."
Atsushi sniffles, his chubby cheeks were wet with tears and it tears Chuuya's heart apart to see him, or any kid, crying. He looks up at Chuuya before carefully embracing his Odasakuman doll. "Tha.. thank you, Nakahara-sensei."
He breathes in and out, the best a child could do, before opening his small arms for a hug. His wide eyes were looking at him expectantly so Chuuya immediately scooped him up in his arms and hugged him tightly, trying his best not to crush the kid in his arms. "Are you feeling alright now?"
Atsushi nods, wiping his cheeks with the sleeves of his sweater. "Yeah! I already have Odasakuman and Nakahara-sensei so I'm okay!"
Chuuya smiled at Atsushi, raising his hand for a fistbump. The white-haired boy happily grins at him before fistbumping him with his Odasakuman doll.
After a few minutes of looking around with Atsushi, Chuuya made sure that he has already calmed down before setting him down on the floor. "Good job. Now I'll go and prepare for today's class, alright?"
Atsushi nodded before heading over to the group of kids tormenting Dazai with pillows while chanting, "Fake Odasakuman fan!" and "You made Atsushi cry!"
He sighed before shaking his head in disbelief. As long as Dazai keeps them in one place, intentionally or not, he could immediately finish preparing the activities for the kids.
After a few minutes of setting up the television and the learning materials, he clapped his hands three times. He had to stifle a laugh when all the kids immediately turned their heads towards him.
One.
Two.
Three.
All of them ran towards Chuuya while laughing and giggling as they make sure they're the first ones on their respective seats. After only a few seconds, they were seated properly on their designated chairs, just as they have practiced.
Atsushi and Kyouka are seated together, the Odasakuman doll is in between them on the table. Kunikida and Ranpo are arguing about when is the right time to eat snacks. The Tanizaki siblings are stuck together like glue, Naomi is tightly gripping Junichiro's arm while the former is trying to move her to her seat. The Akutagawa siblings on the other hand are sitting quietly in their seats. While Higuchi was stuck with Kajii, looking back from time to time to seek Ryuunosuke's attention.
Chuuya grinned as Dazai sat up on the floor, dusting off his clothes. "What do we say when someone isn't in their proper place?"
"Sit down beside sensei!"
"What?!" Dazai croaked out, his hands stopped mid-way from tidying his button up and apron. "But-!"
"No buts, Dazai-sensei!" Kunikida shouts outs before pointing at him. "That's the rules!"
"Nakahara-san?" Dazai looked at him pleadingly but Chuuya only shook his head.
"We have to set an example for the kids." Chuuya put his hands on his hips before looking down at Dazai. In the corner of his eye, he could see the children looking at him and Dazai, alternating on who's speaking.
"But I'm the teacher here?" Dazai said exasperatedly, still pleading at him, now with pout.
"Even more important to follow rules." Chuuya finally had the last word as he saw Dazai visibly deflate at the statement.
"If Dazai-sensei sits down beside Nakahara-sensei…" Ranpo started before pointing at Chuuya. "That's just something they do normally!"
Collectively, all the children gasped before looking at Chuuya with wide eyes. They didn't say a word, waiting on Chuuya to say or do something.
"Huh?" Dazai is also looking at Chuuya with wide eyes, sitting on the floor while clutching a pillow. Chuuya scrunches his nose in annoyance before closing his eyes and nodding at Dazai.
He opens his eyes after a few seconds and smiles before clasping his hands together. "Well, instead of doing that, Dazai-sensei can tidy up the nap area so you have a nice place to take a rest later. Does that sound better?"
All of the children looked at each other before nodding and shouting their answers. Dazai could only grin before getting up and cleaning the nap area that the children thrashed earlier while bringing him down.
"Alright, alright." Chuuya raised his hands and gently gestured them to sit down quietly. "Now let's start with counting and writing numbers, okay?"
"Okay!"
"I only want to count Odasakuman." Atsushi raised his Odasakuman doll, waving its arms.
"I only want bunnies. And tofu."
"Let's count lemons instead!"
"Wait! Me too! I want Odasakuman." Ranpo slammed his hands on his desk. The rest of the students started to throw their hands up in agreement, the overlapping voices made it difficult for Chuuya to pinpoint who is saying what.
"Hm, I don't have any Odasakuman prepared for today," Chuuya mumbled to himself before looking towards the cardstock where he already wrote down the lesson and activity for that day.
"Sadly, I don't have any Odasakuman today to count." Cue the disappointed noises from the children and Dazai. Chuuya threw a pointed look at him that made him look away and pretended to clean. "But I'll draw him with you for our art activity later, okay?"
That earned him another set of shouting from the kids.
"For now, we'll have to learn to count the flowers here." Chuuya points to the whiteboard before taking a whiteboard marker. "Then we'll write them afterwards."
The students then nodded their heads before looking intensely at the cardstock stuck on the whiteboard where there are pretty sakuras drawn. They all follow along Chuuya's counting, laughing and clapping whenever they finish one set.
Except for one student, whose eyes are going back and forth between Chuuya speaking in front and Dazai cleaning at the back. His eyebrows are furrowed together as he tried to count along but his attention always goes back to Dazai.
His sister and seatmate, Gin, couldn't help but be worried for her brother. She could only help bring his attention back to their teacher in front by poking him with the blunt part of her pencil. But Ryuunosuke still kept on looking back at Dazai with wide eyes.
Meanwhile, Higuchi is counting along with Kajii using the lemons he kept inside his uniform. She didn't even try to question how he was able to keep that many lemons inside his pockets. Even Kajii himself doesn't know how many lemons he has.
"You know," Kajii started as they both stared at the lemons on their table. "You could keep half of them."
"Really?" Higuchi asked as she looked at him with sparkling eyes. "I could make lots of lemonade with Akutagawa-san!"
"Which one?" Kajii looked back to see the Akutagawa siblings behind them where Gin is continuously poking Ryuunosuke with a pencil.
"Both of them, of course!" Higuchi answered as she tried to shove the lemons into her uniform pockets. Her lips turned into a frown when only two fit in each pocket.
Kunikida is eagerly writing the numbers that Chuuya is writing on the whiteboard. His tongue was stuck out in focus while he is writing with the pencil and paper they were provided. Ranpo peeked at Kunikida's paper before using a pencil of his own to draw on Kunikida's paper.
"Hey! You have your own paper!" Kunikida turned his back on Ranpo but that just made Ranpo lean over and continue writing on his paper.
"I'm correcting your mistakes, obviously!" Ranpo glared at him before taking his paper away. Kunikida decided to give up his paper and start over with a new piece of paper.
Naomi is clinging to Juunichirou's right arm so he is trying to write using his left hand. Maybe after this school year he'll become ambidextrous. He still wants to keep on living so removing Naomi from him is not an option.
The last duo, Atsushi and Kyouka, aren't that much of troublemakers. Atsushi is currently staring intensely at the board while Kyouka is fixated on drawing rabbits to count on her paper. But it seems like Atsushi haven't blinked in a while because now Kyouka is waving her hand in front of him with a concerned expression on her face.
Well, at least the kids are still learning. Though Chuuya ought to find another activity that will keep them more engaged with the lesson next time.
"Chuuya-sensei~ I'm tired~" Dazai sluggishly walked towards where Chuuya is sitting at the teacher's table, his shoulders are slumped over and he's evidently dragging his body around.
"Tired already? It hasn't even been half a day." Chuuya frowns at him a little before going back to checking the previous writing activity that the children accomplished. "Also stop trying to sound cute, it doesn't suit you."
Dazai gasps before taking his seat beside Chuuya, turning it to face him directly. He leaned forward before clasping his hands together just under his chin. "You think I'm cute?"
"I wonder where you got that from." Chuuya rolls his eyes before using a paperclip to keep all of the activities together. He also got different folders for different activities so it's easier to distribute it back to their rightful owners.
"Boo, such a killjoy." Dazai then spins his chair to ease his boredom, still careful to not disturb the hardworking students. Once his vision starts to blur into an array of colors so he decided to stop his spinning using the heel of his foot. He blinked the dizziness away before turning towards Chuuya.
Chuuya watches him for awhile before he sticks his tongue out at him once he stopped spinning. Then he prepares the materials for the next lesson, even double-checking to ensure that no one is left behind. "Boo, you're such a freeloader."
"You're pretty childish yourself, huh Nakahara-sensei?" Dazai quips as he leans back on his chair before crossing his arms. His eyes follow the way Chuuya continuously recounts the paper and coloring materials before setting them aside inside a bright yellow folder.
"Mhm. Your personality is pretty contagious, Dazai-sensei." Chuuya turns his back on him to accomplish his checklist for the activities that they have already accomplished for the day. Then he immediately started making the checklist for the following day, using the lesson plan they were given as a guide. He made little notes per activity and listed each student's learning styles that he noticed.
So while Chuuya was busy working, Dazai decided that it's worth his time to just mess with Chuuya. He rolls his chair quietly towards the older man before slowly reaching out to grab the hair tie keeping hair in a bun. He did it so carefully that Chuuya didn't even flinch as his hair cascaded down his left shoulder.
Chuuya could see Dazai's hand from the corner of his eyes but made no movement to stop him. He turned his attention back to the list in front of him, as long as he isn't being much of a bother he let him do whatever he wanted.
Dazai reached out again and took a strand of hair before twirling it on his pointer finger. His hair was soft, easily wrapping around his finger. It was also fragrant with a floral scent, not that Dazai was sniffing him, he was just close enough to smell him.
It surprised him that Chuuya hasn't told him off yet, definitely focused on working too much. He let out a sigh before letting go of his hair. Because Dazai doesn't want to be vulnerable and alone with his feelings, he decided to flick Chuuya's arm using his hair tie.
Chuuya's nose scrunched in annoyance as he felt something hit his arm. He looked down to his hair tie and realized that his hair is already loose from the neat hairstyle he put it. "Tsk. I feel like somehow you're the reason why my hair is down."
"Who? Me? You accuse an innocent citizen of such a crime?" Dazai raised both of his hands beside him, feigning innocence. He could've gotten away with it if it wasn't for the smirk on his face.
"Even kids could tell that you're not exactly innocent, Dazai-sensei." Chuuya picked up his hair tie and decided to braid his hair instead. He glares at Dazai before pointing to the materials he prepared. "Go and check on the kids and distribute the art materials once they're done. Don't make me do all the work here, Dazai-sensei."
Dazai stands up from his seat and sighs, "oh no, you foiled my evil plans of making Nakahara-sensei do all the hard work. Whatever shall I do?"
Chuuya ignored Dazai, continuing to braid his hair while using his table mirror.
The brunet only mutters under his breath before taking the folder filled with art materials on the side of Chuuya's desk. His own side of his desk is filled with different papers and books that he doesn't even remember collecting. He shrugs his shoulders before he started walking away from him. "Here I go, doing my job as told by Nakahara-sensei."
"Good job! Now go in front and do your job properly." Chuuya held his braid with one hand before shooing Dazai away his other hand.
Dazai visibly slumped at Chuuya's statement. He's actually fine with doing his job, but he continued dragging his feet as he went from table to table to check on the kids' progress on their activity. While he was busy doing his job, a certain someone rolls their eyes affectionately before continuing to braid his hair.
"Alright, now let's draw Odasakuman together!" Chuuya smiles as he uncaps the whiteboard marker and draws the guidelines for the character.
The kids already going wild with their description of Odasakuman. All of them are now standing up and shouting instead of staying seated, waving their little arms wildly with every word.
"Nakahara-sensei, Odasakuman has a cape!"
"He also has a cool shirt!"
"Look, sensei! He does this pose too!"
Chuuya tried his best to keep up with their suggestions but he could only focus on one kid at a time. Meanwhile, Dazai was fixated on the way Chuuya's new hairstyle made him more tolerable. It's definitely not because it made him prettier, he'd rather be caught saying he hates Odasakuman than whatever thought just went through his head.
Dazai notices Chuuya's eyes are jumping from one student to another so he decided to finally help out. He claps before taking the whiteboard marker and eraser from Chuuya, immediately placing the kids' attention to him. "Since Chuuya-sensei is having a hard time drawing Odasakuman. I should take over as a real Odasakuman fan."
"But I'm still not finished-" Chuuya didn't even finish his sentence before Dazai drew over his Odasakuman drawing, using his shoulders to shield his drawing from Chuuya's vision.
Chuuya glared at Dazai's back before he looked over to the students to see that they're slowly growing horrified at what Dazai is drawing.
"Oi, Dazai."
"Tada!" Dazai moved aside and shook his hands beside his… artistically unique rendition of Odasakuman. But if you asked Chuuya, Dazai's drawing deserved to be in a book. A horror book to be specific.
"Why's everyone so quiet? Is my drawing that good?" Dazai asked as he looked at the students backing away from the whiteboard and huddling together. Atsushi is holding his Odasakuman doll while Kunikida is about to throw a lemon-shaped object towards Dazai.
Akutagawa looks like he's about to cry while Higuchi and Gin are trying to console him. Tanizaki is covering Naomi's eyes while Ranpo is squinting at Dazai's drawing. Kyouka and Kajii are already talking about ways to take down Dazai.
He looked to his side to see Chuuya massaging his temple with his fingers with a slightly annoyed expression. Then he looks back to his drawing of Odasakuman with exaggerated accessories and expressions.
"Okay, that didn't go well the first time and that's okay." Chuuya calmed himself down with a deep breath before taking the eraser, watching Dazai's expression morph into despair as he erased the cursed Odasakuman drawing on the whiteboard.
"NOOO! MY MASTERPIECE!!!" Dazai fell to his knees and watched as Chuuya erased the final strokes on the whiteboard. "You're so mean!"
Chuuya ignored him, focusing on the students in front of them instead. He took the whiteboard marker before smiling. "For the next drawing, we're going to play a game, okay?"
"A game? I love games!" And all other variations of cheering with shrill voices.
"So choose a partner, and then take the paper and a pencil or a coloring material on your desk." Chuuya explained, waiting patiently as the students scrambled about to sit down with their partners. He wasn't surprised when they easily chose their seatmates.
"Wait! Who is Nakahara-sensei's partner?" Kunikida asked with his hand raised while his partner, Ranpo, is already drawing something on the paper that Kunikida got them.
"If Dazai-sensei agrees to be my partner then… he'll be my partner." Chuuya smiles at Dazai which made Dazai stop midway through his antics. Slowly looking up to see a soft smile on Chuuya's face. He felt like something got stuck in his throat that made it difficult for him to speak so he just absentmindedly nodded without even thinking much about the proposal.
"That's settled then!" Chuuya finally looked away before writing on the board, ignoring the way his heart was pounding when he saw Dazai's starstruck face. "One of you describes the drawing while the other draws, okay? I'll give you three minutes to choose who is who."
All of them nodded before choosing who is going to draw and talk. So while the children are currently talking with each other, Chuuya crouches down to Dazai.
"Dazai-sensei, as a real Odasakuman fan, will you be willing to help me draw an accurate art of him?" Chuuya grins before poking Dazai's cheek with the whiteboard marker while Dazai continues to stare at him. "Please answer me because you're starting to look stupid the more time passes that you're stuck like that."
"I'm not stupid!" Dazai whines before he stands up and dusts his pants off, looking away from Chuuya's gaze. "I guess I could help. What would you be without me, Nakahara-sensei?"
"Probably better off honestly," Chuuya says flatly before standing up and stretching his arms. "I only have a few more hours before I'm free from you, unfortunately."
"You wound me deeply!" Dazai cries out before closing his eyes and clutching his chest. He waited for a few seconds before opening his right eye to gauge Chuuya's reaction but the former only raised an eyebrow at him. "You suck at playing along."
"Well, I wasn't aware we were even playing something." Chuuya rolls his eyes before turning back to the children with a smile. "Alright, is everyone all set?"
After confirming that all students are all good with their partners and designated roles, Chuuya decided to first demonstrate what they're going to do. "So first, I'm going to follow Dazai-sensei's instruction before I try to draw. Dazai-sensei?"
"Hm? Okay!" Dazai grins at him before turning to the children. "Watch and learn so you can do it properly like me!"
He clears his throat before nodding at Chuuya. "First, start off with a big oblong."
"Then his hair goes like this with a curl on top! And he makes this kind of expression. His clothes are like this and he has a cape that goes woosh!"
Chuuya hums softly while following Dazai's vague and child-like instructions, still swiftly and accurately drawing every part with care. There's an expression on his face that Dazai couldn't pinpoint but it was paired with a smile that Dazai's hasn't seen Chuuya make in the past few weeks they've been working together.
"And then, we're done!"
"WOAH!" All the kids were staring the board in amazement. They were all talking to each other, pointing out some parts of Chuuya's drawing excitedly.
Chuuya can't help but feel a sense of accomplishment as he capped the whiteboard marker and put his hands on his hips. "Now that Dazai-sensei and I completed a drawing, it's your turn to draw with your partner! It doesn't have to be Odasakuman, it could be anything you want."
With a renewed sense of excitement and challenge, all the kids immediately started describing different things to their respective partners. Their brows are furrowed together as they continuously described their chosen object, using their whole body to express things that words couldn't encompass.
It made Chuuya laugh softly, covering his mouth with one hand. Dazai looked at him curiously before he stood beside him, nudging him with his shoulder. "What's so funny?"
"It's nothing," Chuuya answered as he continued to watch them have fun with each other, although the assigned artists are looking kind of stressed while furiously drawing lines and shapes. "I'm just glad that they're enjoying while learning and socializing."
"Nakahara-sensei, it's way too early to be emotional for these kids. We still have a long school year ahead with them." Despite Dazai's words, a small smile forms upon his lips.
"I know." Chuuya nods before turning to Dazai. "Thank you, by the way."
Dazai's eyes widens before looking around and pointing to himself. "Me?"
"Of course it's you." Chuuya huffs before crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Thanks for helping me out today."
"As you've said before, it's my job. Where is this all coming from anyway? Earlier you were berating me for not doing my job properly." Dazai squints at him. "Did you do something?"
"No? Why would I even do anything aside from my job?"
Before Dazai could even answer, he felt someone tug on his apron. He looked down to see the Akutagawa siblings looking up at him, with Ryuunosuke holding the paper towards him.
"We're finished, sensei." Ryuunosoke handed Dazai the paper while Chuuya just watches them with a smile. Gin is quietly standing beside Ryuunosuke but he could see the way her eyes are also shining with excitement.
"So quick! What did you guys draw?" Dazai asks as he takes the paper from Ryuunosuke. He looks at it closely for a few seconds before handing it to Chuuya.
"Dazai-sensei."
Chuuya had to mask his laughter with a cough, pounding his chest with his hand as he can feel the lack of air getting to him. The drawing does look like Dazai but it was definitely drawn by a child with rough and heavy lines.
Dazai makes a sour face at him before ushering the Akutagawa siblings towards their seats, talking about their drawing and how they completed the activity.
As quickly as he could, he took out his phone and snapped a picture of their drawing while everyone was occupied. He immediately pocketed his phone back before walking towards them with the said drawing, wearing a mischievous smile.
Later, after everything is done and everyone has gone home. The picture of that drawing made its way as Dazai's contact profile on Chuuya's phone.