Work Text:
Dazai’s not addicted.
No, an addiction is the compulsive need for something and the feeling that you’ll die without it. Dazai’s perfectly fine going one day without his favorite gacha game.
He’s perfectly fine.
Dazai twitches in his seat, his hand itching for his phone. But Kunikida confiscated his phone an hour ago, claiming that Dazai was being “unproductive” and was “glued to his screen.” He really wasn’t! It’s not his fault that business is slow today and the cafe downstairs is out of Kunikida’s favorite coffee. Kunikida shouldn’t take his anger out on his poor coworkers.
But every second Dazai sits here in his office chair is one second wasted in the game. He’s mostly free-to-play, considering he spends all his money on alcohol—now that’s an addiction. Nevertheless, the game he loves is currently running an anniversary event, giving out tons of free items if you’re willing to grind.
And Dazai’s favorite character just got a stunning new character card, and he needs to have it.
The rest of the day is excruciatingly slow, with almost no cases coming in that are worth Dazai’s time. He bounces his knee as the sun starts to set, waiting for the President to let them go.
“Great work today,” Fukuzawa finally intones, stepping out of his office. “I’m proud of your hard work, and—”
Dazai doesn’t hear the rest. He waves to Atsushi, grabs his phone from Kunikida’s desk, and dashes out the door, giving the President a small bow on his way out.
He doesn’t use his phone on the walk home—see? Not addicted—but the moment he enters his apartment, he whips his phone out and opens the game.
Thanks for playing!
Small text pops up at the top of Dazai’s screen, and a summary of his rewards appears below it.
Stay tuned for the next event, and have fun!
“Nooooooooo!” Dazai wails, sinking to his knees in the genkan. He missed it! All those free tickets to summon his favorite character’s card, all gone. It’s a tragedy, worse than anything Dazai could ever imagine. He sobs dramatically, collapsing face-first into the plush rug.
“What the hell?”
A raspy voice sounds above Dazai, and he lifts his face to see his husband staring down at him.
“Chuuuuyaaaa!” Dazai staggers to his feet and wraps his arms around his partner, smothering him in his trench coat.
“Mmph—get off of me!” Chuuya pushes him away roughly, his multicolored eyes flashing with worry. “Why’d you yell like that?”
Dazai holds his phone up mournfully, and Chuuya’s eyes follow the text on the screen.
“Thanks for playing, stay tuned…” Chuuya reads off, and then sighs deeply. “Is this that stupid game you’ve been obsessed with?”
“I’m not obsessed!” Dazai defends. “I just love playing it, and would kill myself and everyone I love to get that new character card.”
Okay, maybe it is an addiction.
“Dazai,” Chuuya pinches the bridge of his nose. “Is this game really worth that much to you?”
“I mean, kinda…” Dazai trails off, suddenly feeling embarrassed. It’s been a while since he’s been excited about something besides sleep and alcohol. Considering how busy Chuuya’s been lately with the turnover among mafia higher-ups—good riddance to Ace. The one good thing Fyodor did was kill that man—he’s been coming home tired, and Dazai never really wanted to disturb Chuuya by insisting they hang out.
Somehow, Chuuya picks up on Dazai’s emotions, and his irritation turns to resignation.
“Fine. Go shower, and then we can watch a movie or something to take your mind off the game.”
Dazai purses his lips. He debates being obnoxious and telling Chuuya he just wants to sleep, but he notices the heavy bags under his husband’s eyes and instantly caves.
He throws his phone onto the couch and makes his way to the bathroom, grabbing a set of pajamas on the way.
The hot water feels amazing running down Dazai’s back, and a little of his disappointment melts away as he watches the pink soap swirl down the drain. Even though the free event ended, the banner for the new card is still there—Dazai would just have to pay real money for it. Maybe he can cut back on the number of bandages he purchases this week, or forgo a coffee at Café Uzumaki for a couple of days.
He dresses slowly and towels off his hair, letting it air-dry as he enters the living room, where he finds Chuuya sitting on the couch with a blanket draped over his lap. He collapses onto Chuuya’s lap, earning him a huff as his husband complains about getting wet hair on his lap.
Chuuya already has a Ghibli movie queued up, and they spend the rest of the night curled up on the couch, Chuuya combing his fingers through Dazai’s drying hair. It’s nice, and by the time the movie ends, Dazai has mostly forgotten about the game.
They both do their nightly routines: brushing their teeth, washing their faces, and piling blankets onto the bed since Dazai runs cold at night. It’s soothing, and Dazai slips underneath the covers, pulling them up to his chin like a little kid.
Once they’re ready, Chuuya turns out the light and rolls onto his side. Dazai listens as his husband’s breathing slows, evening out into deep inhales and long exhales. Chuuya must’ve been really exhausted if he fell asleep that quickly—usually, he tosses and turns, kicking Dazai and occasionally smacking him in the face.
Suddenly, Dazai’s phone lights up, and he checks it curiously to see a notification from the gacha game. His stomach twists in the already familiar disappointment, but he opens the game anyway, even if it’s just to stare at the character card he can’t have.
The game opens, and a blue box Dazai’s never seen before appears at the top.
Thank you for your purchase!
…What?
Dazai maneuvers to the shop, and his mouth drops as he sees numbers currently lining his account. Five times the amount of currency he needs to pity the card he wants sits in his bank, and Dazai lies there stunned.
How did he get all this money? Buying this much would’ve been close to ¥79,000, money that Dazai definitely didn’t have. So who would—
Dazai turns his gaze to his sleeping husband, who’s currently curled up on his side in a fetal position. Did Chuuya buy him this? But when would he have done it, when Dazai showered? But didn’t Chuuya hate the game? Then why would he buy Dazai all this virtual money?
Questions swarm in Dazai’s head, but they’re soon overpowered by one single thought.
Chuuya’s amazing.
Despite his tired state, his husband realized that Dazai was using the game as an emotional crutch. But instead of calling him out, he gave Dazai a gift—a pretty costly one at that. Actually, the whole night had been a gift. Lying in Chuuya’s lap while his fingers combed through his hair was amazing, and the soothing movie was the cherry on top.
Briefly, Dazai debates summoning for the card now, but for some reason, the itch to gamble his money doesn’t come. Instead, Dazai shuts his phone off and wraps an arm around Chuuya’s middle, slotting himself against his back.
Chuuya relaxes a bit, letting out a sleepy noise as he uncurls, pressing himself against Dazai unconsciously.
“Thank you,” Dazai whispers in his ear, and Chuuya shifts against him.
“You’re welcome,” Chuuya mumbles back sleepily, and Dazai giggles quietly at the drowsy tone.
They fall asleep tangled together, and if Dazai lets Chuuya oversleep the next morning as his gift to his husband, well, you can’t blame him for wanting to spend more time with his amazing partner.