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Somewhere between fucking the enemies over, and finding cover to put up with his shitty partner, Chuuya found himself in one of the Port Mafia's hidden safehouses.
Its location wasn't too far from their mission venue. The mission had been planned that way, after all. Step one was to use the seemingly-weaker half of Double Black to deceive the rival organization and lure them into Mafia grounds. It was fair enough, really. Dazai did look like a frail, weak little wannabe-mafioso most of the time.
The others had no need of knowing that he was actually the Mafia Boss' Demon Prodigy, the one to construct the Mafia's extensive surveillance system, the brains of Double Black, and most importantly, the best one at torturous interrogation.
The enemies should really just consider themselves lucky that they weren't subjected to any of Dazai's super extra methods. They only got hit by the superficial side of the villainous force that was Double Black; the infamous gravity manipulator, and not even in his full glory. Corruption was kept locked away, as usual.
To Chuuya, fighting came as easily as second nature. Of course, his ability played a very important role in this instinct. He was as good as undefeatable in most fights. Gravity, after all, was a force of nature. Not the strongest by any means, but strong enough to crush anyone and everyone that stood in its manipulator's way. Naturally, it helped that Chuuya knew how to make use of his ability.
He knew it before, but after enrolling into the Mafia, he has only learnt more about gravity, his ability and the physics behind it. Knowing the mechanism behind how exactly the force worked against his enemies turned out to be rather helpful. Most of the time, he felt invincible.
But there's a catch to everything, right? To Chuuya, that was Dazai. Dazai, with his nullification, who was the only one that Chuuya would lose to, as far as abilities were concerned. But even without his ability, Chuuya was a fantastic fighter. He could take Dazai in a physical fight easily, but somehow, it has never come to that yet.
Plus, it really didn't help that Dazai looked at Chuuya as if he was some billion-dollar painting whenever he was fighting. Enraptured, would be the word for it. Dazai somehow always ended up being rendered absolutely speechless, anytime he was watching Chuuya fight from the sidelines.
Which, honestly, was so annoying! If he had quite nothing else to do, couldn't he perhaps help Chuuya out so they could clear out the trash quicker?! Honestly. That guy was just such a pain.
Having Dazai as his partner has always been a double-edged sword. On one hand, Chuuya absolutely couldn't stand that guy. He was suicidal, annoying, a literal brat who schemed for a living. Moreover, the existence of his nullification left Chuuya vulnerable.
But at the same time, Dazai's nullification was Chuuya's biggest weapon. If ever faced with an enemy so strong that regular gravity couldn't cut it, Chuuya had the comfort of knowing that he still had Corruption- the most powerful weapon in his arsenal. Naturally, having Corruption meant nothing if there was no means to stop it. Which is exactly where Dazai come in.
As much as Chuuya disliked that guy, he couldn't deny the fact that he trusted that fishy bastard with his life, no matter what. Even without prior communication, Chuuya just knew that if he ever had to activate Corruption at any given moment, Dazai would be there to stop it from consuming him entirely, without fail.
It was this immense trust in his partner that absolutely disgusted Chuuya. Such a pain, honestly!
But well, Dazai set up the stage for him. It was him who controlled the circumstances, and led them to a point which would allow Chuuya to go all out, and enjoy the fight at that. It was a rush like no other.
Defeating the enemies was child's play, really. It was just what came after, that was extremely annoying.
While he always looked oh-so-cool during the battle, Dazai almost always deflated immediately after all of it was over, when it was just him and Chuuya in their personal space. There was no doubt that Dazai's blood was mafia black, always has been. But still, he often slipped into moods that were somber after missions.
It wasn't every mission, of course. It was just that, sometimes something unknown was the trigger. Chuuya didn't know what it was, or why it happened, and he doubted that Dazai himself knew anything about that himself. But Chuuya did know how to deal with it; especially after being partners with that guy for almost a year now.
Presently, the infamous duo were in a vacant safehouse, the doors and windows locked to give them completely privacy, and the usually false sense of security. Dazai had flopped onto one of the couches as soon as they'd stepped in here, and he hadn't spoken a word since. On the other hand, Chuuya had gone to use the bathroom and clean up the first thing.
He didn't quite like the feeling of random vermin's blood on him, see?
Once he was cleaned up and refreshed himself, he sighed aggressively as his eyes fell upon his partner, who was still lazily lounging about on the couch. He hadn't even changed his clothes or anything! Really, that guy had no sense of personal hygiene. Chuuya was just so over having to take care of his shitty partner constantly.
But still, he gave in to his natural urges, and walked over to Dazai, smacking him in the leg lightly, "Oi, Dazai. Get up and get changed."
The brunet sighed dramatically, "Ehh, do I have to? But I'm so tired, Chuuya!"
Chuuya hissed, "Don't get blood on the couch, idiot. At the very least, change your damned bandages. They're soaked."
Dazai chose that moment to inspect his bandages, as if just realizing something was wrong with them, "Hm? What's this? I don't remember getting this injured."
His partner rolled his eyes, "It's probably not yours. The blood, I mean."
Dazai just stared at some more at those defiled tendrils of white gauze, hanging off his arms, "Hm. I wonder."
For a few seconds, neither of them said anything. Then, Chuuya sighed, "Come on. I'll just change your bandages myself."
And that was all that was said before he went off to the bathroom, cursing at himself and his partner for being so careless in the mission and dirtying themselves so unnecessarily. He returned two whole minutes later, the first-aid kit hanging off his pinky finger, being twirled around.
Within seconds, he was seated on the couch, next to his partner, and the first aid box was opened up in front of them. With gentle fingers, a stark contrast to his clenched hands a mere hour ago, Chuuya gently stripped Dazai's arms of his ruined bandages.
It was then that he realized.
Eyes widened, and his voice dropped down by a few octaves such that it easily gave away his shock and concern, Chuuya spoke carefully, "Dazai. Your arm..."
Eyeing his own bare arms, skin littered with scars and now opened wounds, Dazai looked back up at his partner before offering him a wry smile, "I didn't realize. It's alright, I'll put back my bandages on myself."
As expected, this did nothing but earn him a glare from a cute little chibi. Chuuya glared at him some more, as he fetched a clean, wet cloth to wipe off the blood from his arms. Performing basic first-aid such as applying antiseptic, he spoke again, "You-! That is not the point. It's just... Why? I don't-"
Dazai cut him off with a pained hiss, "Ow! Hey Slug, that stings!"
Chuuya rolled his eyes again, "Yeah, no shit, genius. It's fucking antiseptic."
Very mournfully, Dazai whined, "Why must you hurt me so, Chuuya?"
The other pinched him lightly in his sides, "Why don't you shut the fuck up, Shitty Dazai."
A dramatic sigh, "Fine, fine. As for your question; sometimes, some people just need to feel something."
Chuuya very obviously stilled at that, fingers holding on to fresh bandages, "That... I thought you hated pain."
A nonchalant shrug this time, "I do. But often, it's the easiest thing to feel."
Chuuya said nothing for a while. Lost in thought, he remained silent as his hands moved of their own accord, putting ointment on reopened wounds, gently tracing scars, and eventually wrapping fresh bandages around the length of his partner's arms.
His voice sounded hollow even to himself, when he spoke again, "You could talk to me about it. If you want. I'd listen."
A minute of silence later, Dazai tilted his head in confusion, "Why would I do that?"
The worst part was, for once, Dazai's question sounded genuine. There was no teasing to it, no sarcasm to be detected. He was genuinely asking why, as if it was incomprehensive to him that Chuuya might just care about him, and might just want to be there for him and help him out if he wished to ask for it.
It appeared that Dazai had no understanding of such things.
Chuuya looked away, "Because! I'm always here, aren't I? And I would want to hear you out if you wanted to talk about it. Or anything, for that matter."
More confusion illuminated the other's face, "Why would you want to do that?"
Very clearly annoyed now, Chuuya turned back around to face his partner, "Because obviously, I care about you, dickhead!"
Dazai's lips parted in surprise, "You do?"
An infuriated hiss, "Obviously, genius."
"Why would you do that?"
This time, Chuuya looked the other right in the eye, "Because, we're friends by now, aren't we? That's what friends do, idiot."
And here comes the unsatisfactory climax of this whole stupid conversation.
Dazai blinked once, twice. Then, he declared genuinely, "I have never once thought of Chuuya as a friend."
...
Speechless. Chuuya was absolutely speechless for one full minute, before he regained his senses. His first instinct was to examine Dazai's eyes for any signs of dishonestly and made up bullshit. As expected, he found the familiar brown eyes to be devoid of any lies, any fabrications.
Ouch.
Chuuya stood up from the couch a little too abruptly, "Good for you, then, I suppose. I guess we aren't friends, after all. You hate me, and I hate you right back. That's just the way it's always going to be."
He kept going before his partner could get in a word, "You know what, actually. It's getting late. I'm going to get going now. There's a wine sale at that one grocery store. Um. Yeah. See you later!"
And that was all that he said before he quite literally made a run for it.
No, really.
He ran. He fled the scene as if the cops were about to show up any moment now, ready to put him in jail. He wasn't evens cared of going to jail! But facing Dazai after he'd mistakenly declared them as friends?!
Uwah, the embarrassment! Chuuya wasn't even remotely as suicidal as his 'not-friend' but he would much rather drown himself than face Dazai anytime soon. Especially after he fled the scene like a scared little puppy?!
Yeah, no. Not happening. Chuuya was going to avoid Dazai for the rest of his life. He wasn't a kicked puppy, damn it! He wasn't a dog in the first place! Much less that shitty Dazai's dog!
Of course, Chuuya was very conveniently ignoring the fact that Dazai's words had stung so much more than he had expected. He'd always known that Dazai absolutely loathed him, okay? And don't get him wrong; he absolutely hated Dazai as well.
But he clearly mistakenly thought that somehow, after a whole year of being partners and working together, and trusting each other with their lives; Chuuya had just expected them to have some sort of bond. It didn't have to be friendship, but surely it was more than being co-workers? Or worse, acquaintances.
Agh! Why was Chuuya wasting his time and energy on thinking about something so stupid in the first place, damn it! Dazai didn't think of him as a friend. Alright, he got it. Dazai probably had other friends he was close to. Even in that case, wasn't it just pretty damn fine?
Chuuya had friends too! He didn't need that asshole. No way.
As decided, Chuuya was surely going to avoid Dazai. His mind was made up. And as expected, he managed to avoid running into Dazai for the next two weeks. It was great. Even if they shared the same office, and were almost always assigned on missions together, and even lived together in Chuuya's apartment most of the time, it was still possible to avoid Dazai.
And Chuuya did so very successfully, damn it! Not only had he managed to avoid seeing Dazai entirely, but he also managed not to hear a peep about him from anyone. A Dazai-free life, and it has been that way for two weeks already. It was absolutely wonderful. And it gave Chuuya immense confidence. He's done this for two weeks already. Surely, he can keep at it for the rest of his life.
No big deal. Right?
Apparently not right, because seemingly, that shitty Dazai had other plans.
One fine Saturday, Chuuya's peace was disturbed just as he was preparing to sit down and watch a movie by himself, his only company being his favorite wine and the burgers he'd ordered in. The doorbell rang as soon as the opening credits rolled onto the screen and everything too.
Trying his utmost best to curb his frustration, Chuuya paused his movie to go and answer the door. Rather unexpectedly, it was Dazai who was at his door, looking unusually cheerful. As expected, that bandaged guy just waltzed into Chuuya's space as soon as the door was open for him, going ahead to take a seat on the couch, and even steal a fry from Chuuya's plate.
Exasperatedly sighting to himself, Chuuya shut the door behind him as he followed his partner to the living room, "Shitty Dazai. What are you doing?"
Dazai looked away from the movie on the screen, "Hm? It's a Saturday. I came to hang out."
Chuuya probably stared at him in confusion a little too hard, because Dazai hastened to add to his statements, a blush fixed on his face, "Isn't that what friends do?"
Well, at least it appeared that Dazai had a slight inkling to the fact that something might be up with his beloved rival.
Chuuya snorted as he took a seat next to the door, " I thought you said we aren't friends. That you've never considered me one."
Dazai spoke thoughtfully, "It's true that I haven't. But we can be friends now!"
Chuuya scoffed some more, "What do you see me as then, if not friends? And before you say it, I'm not your dog, asshole!"
Dazai laughed at that, genuinely, "Chuuya is my dog for life! But no, I've just... Always thought of you as my partner. Friendship is very superficial, wouldn't you say? It's nothing permanent. My relationship with Chuuya goes well beyond that, I think."
He continued, an underlying seriousness to his voice, "Between working together, and putting my faith in you for any mission plans to work, and you trusting me to save you from your own ability. Things like that can't be labeled as friendship, can they? It's because Chuuya is my partner that I trust him. Besides, I like Chuuya."
For a few minutes, there was complete silence. This was accompanied by Dazai awkwardly looking at the screen or at the door, as his partner processed his sudden mini-speech. Chuuya was rather obviously malfunctioning, as if struggling to process anything that was said just a few minutes ago.
Then, awkwardly embarrassed himself, Chuuya buried his face in his hands, "Oh my god. Shitty Dazai, you-!"
Dazai whined dramatically, kicking his legs against the couch, "Shut up! I'm leaving, this is so-"
Laughing aloud, Chuuya pulled his rival back onto the couch, "Wait, wait. No, you know, you're not wrong. Friendship is overrated anyway."
Dazai huffed, "I told you so."
Chuuya laughed some more, a fond tone to it, "You did. Oh and, I like you too, partner."
Dazai looked at the other for a few seconds, before rolling his eyes, "Chuuya doesn't get it."
Chuuya just smiled secretively, "No, I do. But it's okay, we can talk about that some other time."
Dazai stared at him imploringly for a few seconds, as if trying to figure out his true intentions. But then he just dropped it, turning to the movie instead, "Fine. Shall we watch this movie then?"
Their hands lingering against each other's, fingers brushing together ever so occasionally, and finally, their pinkies intertwined;
Chuuya just let out a soft, satisfied hum, "Yeah. Let's watch the damned movie, shitty Dazai."