Dazai always slacked off of work, vanished for days for no apparent reason, so no one was worried, no one from the agency bothered to look for him, he'd come back eventually. It was a cruel but true reality, everyone was so used to his shenanigans now, he could be floating down a river, and no one would be surprised. What they would be surprised about though, was the fact he WASN'T floating down a river. No, he was currently sat in his dormitory assigned to him by the agency, across from him sat the ginger, the ginger that swore he wanted the brunette dead, and yet here he was, celebrating his birthday with him.
The celebration wasn't anything big, it was just the two of them, sat together at the table, Dazai was unusually quiet, no sign of his usual teasing or mocking expression or attitude. The lack of Dazai's usual personality began to irritate Chuuya, this felt like some kind of new way of purposely pissing him off.
"Are you gonna say anything or are you just gonna stare at me like a damn fish?" Chuuya huffed out in irritation, feeling his temper begin wearing thin already. Dazai managed to internally shake himself out of his haze of thoughts and questions, making sure to replace the silence with his usual teasing lilt returning again.
"Oh Chuuya, I was just admiring the sheer audacity you have to show up uninvited to my home! And on my birthday no less!" Just the sheer sound of Dazai's usual voice returning was enough to piss Chuuya off to the fullest.
"You ungrateful bastard! I came to celebrate your birthday with you!" Chuuya argues back angrily. Chuuya wasn't actually angry, this was purely their usual banter, and as it continued back and forth, Dazai noticed something he refused to acknowledge. Something unfamiliar resonating deep inside him, it felt close to the way he felt about the women from his countless nights, but whatever this was, was deeper than that, it felt like more.
Dazai refused to admit it, he refused to admit that Chuuya's care for something as small as another birthday of his made him feel more human. It was a feeling Dazai would usually run away from, if he was human could he truly find it in himself to end it all? That didn't matter in this moment though.
As the bickering calmed down the two sat together more comfortably, it was unlike them, but no one should be allowed to dictate what was truly them and what wasn't, no one but them.
Just as the silence seemed to drag on, Dazai broke it with a single word.
"Why?" His voice was quieter than usual, almost thoughtful.
"Why what?" Chuuya huffed out quickly, he didn't have to ask, he knew what Dazai was asking but he'd sooner die than admit he almost always knew what Dazai was thinking at all times.
"Why did you bother?"
"Don't ask stupid questions Dazai."
The silence returned, after all, how could he respond, how could he respond to the raw truth that even after trying to distance himself, trying to make sure no one truly cared for him, someone still did. It wouldn't matter if he didn't voice it, if he couldn't admit it. Chuuya cared for Dazai. And underneath it all, Dazai cared for Chuuya too.
Dazai huffed out a small breath.
"Chuuya?"
"What?"
"You're so soft."
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU BASTARD!"
