Austin

POLAROID MEMORIES [fifteen]

I. 15.

"You!"

A rock almost hit Dazai square in the back. It was Chuuya, his Short, annoying, angry, dumb partner. This stupid dog couldn't just him alone, could he?

Chuuya marched up to him, grabbing him by his coat and beginning to drag him through the Port Mafia's halls.

Dazai immediately started flailing around, but dammit, Chuuya was strong as hell. "OI!! STOP IT!! BAD DOG!! BAD!! YOUR OWNER ORDERS YOU TO LET GO!!"

"Haah?! Owner?! The fuck are you talking about?! I'm so gonna get for those "Sore loser" flyers you put out!" Oh, right. The day Chuuya had joined the Mafia, Dazai had sent out flyers calling him a sore loser.

Chuuya dragged Dazai through the streets of Yokohama until they reached the arcade that sealed Chuuya's fate as "Dazai's dog." "If I beat you, at this, I get to send out flyers calling you a stupid, stinking, Creepy mackerel!" Chuyya grinned, pointing at an arcade game.

Dazai returned the grin. Oddly enough Chuuya didn't seem fazed by Dazai's grin, which could sometimes even unnerve Mori.

Chuuya's first salary was halfway blown on arcade takens. He kept losing and losing and losing. His movements got rougher game after game, squinting at the screen and throwing loud insults. Dazai didn't miss the way Chuuya's voice would crack unnaturally, or how he'd always skip tutorials and "figure it out himself". In their most unassuming moments is when you get to know a person best.

12 PM Turned into 5PM and they were both starved. Chuuya had lost mostly due to his refusal to read instructions and tutorials. Dazai wasn't going to ever let him forget how bad he got beat in Street Fighter IV for ten minutes straight.

"A good owner always provides for his dog, so I'm paying for dinner." Dazai announced, dodging a half-hearted punch from Chuuya.

"You better be. God, my hands hurt like hell" Chuuya stuffed his hands in his pockets. Despite only knowing each other for less than a month, they didn't need words to communicate. It worked out just fine for Dazai. Words had always failed him when he needed them most. Neither of them talked as they mutually agreed on the ramen shop a few blocks down. Yokohama's people swirled around them like tides as they pushed forward, their own little bubble drawing hundreds of pairs of eyes, yet neither seemed to care.

They were about five minutes away from the restaurant when Dazai finally opened his mouth.

"You can't read, can you?"

Chuuya glared at him, then his eyes softened into a sad expression, his shoulders sagging beneath an invisible weight that was slowly being revealed to his mummy partner.

Alarm bells were starting to go off in Dazai's brain. Had he said the wrong thing? Not like he cared about the stupid slug's feelings, but seeing Chuuya so quiet and dejected made him feel uneasy, like something was wrong, like this wasn't his Chuuya.

"Yeah, I can't." Chuuya admitted." But don't you dare ever bring it up otherwise I'll gut you like the stinking fish you are."

"I couldn't read until a year or two ago, either. "Dazai revealed in his rare moment of weakness. Regret plagued his mind the moment the words left his mouth. He shouldn't have done that, should he?

Chuuya's blue eyes stared back at him, wide open with surprise, making Dazai feel like they were dissecting him, piece by piece, right to the empty cavity where his soul should've been.

"Oh...." Chuuya breathed softly before going back to staring straight ahead. Dazai was going to regret this. He knew he would. Chuuya could take this as an insult and shut him off completely or, if he did accept, it will almost definitely backfire and end up in screaming, cussing, insults and fights. It would drive the wedge between them even larger. But he offered anyway.

"You know, I can teach you how to read, if you'd like."

"That would be nice." Chuuya answered after a heart stopping moment. This calm, collected, almost melancholic Chuuya a was something entirely new to Dazai, but he wanted to know more, to see more of this other side of Chuuya.

// again tysm @austine-faust i appreciate it sm!!

//going to figure out how to give this a good design later its like 5am

//any tips?

I finally invested in sunlight! The weather was pleasant enough to take pictures outside. ^_^.