Work Text:
It was the 14th of February, more precisely, Valentine's Day. Normally, that would mean lots of things — chocolate, flowers, love — especially for teenagers such as Dazai and Chuuya. Sadly for them, as mafiosi it only meant one thing — work, and probably lots of blood.
They had been sent on a mission, going after the new heir of one of their enemy organizations. Obviously, since it was Valentine's Day it was easier to come up with a fitting plan to get rid of her — buying flowers, sending letters or chocolate, all covered in some poison.
“Ugh, I can't believe we have to use our own money to buy these useless things. Boss could've been less stingy, at least today,” complained Chuuya as the two were on their way to buy flowers.
“Ahh you're always complaining about everything, hatrack. At least we can get some fresh air!” came Dazai's cheerful reply.
“You would be ‘always complaining’ too if you had to use your money. Actually, I paid for the last mission so it should be you buying the flowers, not me.”
“But Chuuya, what if something comes up later on and I need money!”
“What exactly would ‘come up later on’? Your overthinking ass would predict every and any possible scenario and come up with a way to face it.”
“I'm glad you recognize my superior intelligence, chibi!”
“Hey, I already told you to quit calling me th-”
“Aaand we're here!” said Dazai after abruptly stopping, which caused Chuuya to bump into him.
“Ow, my nose! Warn me before stopping next time, you fucker.”
“Tsk tsk, be more careful next time, slug.”
As Chuuya glared at Dazai, the brunet went ahead into the flower shop. His partner followed him shortly after, knowing he'd have to pay.
They were greeted by the sweet voice of an elderly woman, “Good morning, young men. How may I help you?”
“Good morning miss, I’d like to buy those roses up there,” replied Dazai as he pointed at the red flowers on the woman's left.
“Ah, red roses, such a classic. Say, are they for your partner?” asked the woman while looking at the boy standing behind Dazai, who was currently looking outside the window.
“Hm? Chuuya?”
Said boy turned towards Dazai, and him and the woman replied simultaneously,
“What?”
“Oh, that's your boyfriend's name? How lovely.”
Chuuya started coughing and a slight blush crept up Dazai's face. How come he had forgotten that people typically use the word partner to refer to their loved one and not their work colleague. That was on him.
“Oh, no, sorry for the misunderstanding. Chuuya and I aren't dating, we're… friends,” clarified Dazai, though the last word tasted weird on his tongue.
“Ah, I see,” the woman smiled and lowered her head to apologize. “Well, here are your roses, dear.”
“Thank you and goodbye,” Dazai smiled back after taking the roses while Chuuya paid.
After turning towards Dazai, he looked at him for a few seconds. Seeing the younger smile was always strange, or well, unusual; whenever he did though, Chuuya would always admire him and take in all his little details, such as the dimples he loved so dearly.
Okay, maybe it wasn't just for a few seconds. He was snapped out of it by Dazai's taunting voice.
“See anything you like?” said the boy while smiling smugly.
Chuuya quickly lowered his head and headed out of the shop to hide the way his ears turned red, not-so-casually bumping into Dazai while doing so. The taller simply laughed, genuinely so.
That was the thing with Chuuya, he was able to make Dazai actually laugh in a way very few could — Oda, Ango and at times Hirotsu — and not just that, he could also quiet down his mind, even just for a second, even when it got really bad. He could understand Dazai in such an impressive way, and although he hated being an open book to people, he didn't mind if it was Chuuya reading him.
As both of them got out of the shop, they started heading to the hotel in which they were staying. It was afternoon, only two p.m., and their target was speculated to show up at around seven p.m., so they had lots of free time.
“Say slug, what should we do till it's time?”
“Well, I don't know about you but I'm hella hungry. I didn't really have breakfast this morning because we had to get up early, and knowing you even if you had time you would have probably forgotten to eat or simply chosen not to. We should get lunch.”
“Aww how sweet, is Chuuya worried I'm not eating enough?”
“I definitely don't want you fainting on me again because your stupid ass ‘forgot to eat for three days’, that's for sure,” said Chuuya snickering.
“That was only once, stop bringing it up! Plus, lately you've been forcing me to eat so much I could probably go one week without food.”
“Yea sure, whatever you say,” was followed by an eye roll, “let's not test that though. So, where ya wanna go?”
“Hmmm, I'm not very hungry right now, but before I saw a crepe stand! We could try it out.”
“Of course, out of the various restaurants there are around, your sweet tooth decided to go for crepes.”
“Quit whining, Chuuya shouldn't have let his owner decide where to go in the first place~” said Dazai as he made his way towards the stand.
“Oi! First off, I'm not your damn dog, second, wait for me, you asshole!”
Dazai started walking faster, just to spite Chuuya, what a little shit. The redhead caught up to him nonetheless, though he had to run a little bit.
“You bastard!” said Chuuya once he got to Dazai. He pulled him by his collar so that they were eye to eye.
“Oh, look at that! The chibi finally arrived, I was starting to get worried I wouldn't even notice him,” was said with a shit eating grin, the kind Chuuya wanted to wipe off the fucker’s face with a punch.
“If you don't shut the hell up-”
“Kids these days, they need to learn to get a room,” complained a man that was walking by them.
“No wait- it's a misunderstanding, we're not dating!” shouted Chuuya even though the man was already out of sight.
His ears turned red. Dazai was just laughing at the scene and doubling over while doing so, which was why when Chuuya turned around their noses nearly brushed. He quickly let go of Dazai and took a step back. His breath was stuck in his throat, and the image of Dazai laughing and being that close to him kept replaying in his mind. Fuck, he could feel his face was getting hotter and hotter.
Chuuya just walked away looking anywhere but Dazai's face. Dazai stayed there, as if frozen in time. Not quite frozen, though, because their noses brushing felt like a burn, though it was rather.. nice, more than painful. Nevermind that, he'll worry about the meaning of it later.
Dazai caught up to Chuuya and, after a few minutes of awkward — which was very unusual for them — silence, they started talking about the new recruit while waiting to get their crepes.
“Right? Like, he can't even aim. I am better than that, and I never use a gun at all,” replied Chuuya after Dazai called the guy incompetent.
“You know it's bad when the slug is better than you at something!” laughed Dazai.
“Oh shut up, you know I'm better than you.”
“Oh yea? Are you sure?”
“Are you being for real? For starters, I can actually cook, know how to drive—”
“So do I!” argued Dazai.
“—and haven't gotten my driving license taken away,” said Chuuya looking smug. Dazai puffed his cheeks childishly at that and Chuuya started snickering.
“Whatever, I'm still better than you. Anyways,” started Dazai to change topic, “There are too many people heree we'll never get our crepes,” said the boy while sulking. Chuuya laughed lightly — it was incredible how his partner managed to scare people off so easily when he was actually a big child. It was kind of endearing, thinking about it.
“Before I saw an arcade, I think? We can go there to spend some time and then come back here when there are fewer people.”
Dazai's eyes lit up at the suggestion. “Let's go let's go!”
He started walking, going in the opposite direction, while Chuuya was looking for the right way. When said boy realized his partner had wandered off, he started looking for him.
‘Ugh, stupid mackerel. He can't have gone far, it's been like five minutes!” thought Chuuya to himself while searching for Dazai.
Then he spotted it, the familiar chocolate-like brown hair — Chuuya would recognize it anywhere.
“Hey, idiot! You went to the completely opposite side, y’know.”
Dazai heard him, he definitely did and Chuuya was sure of it. But obviously, he decided to be a shithead like always and instead proceeded on the wrong way.
Soon enough it turned into a game of hide and seek, and right after of tag. Chuuya couldn't deny he was having fun, not caring about anything but acting like a kid. Like the kid that he was, that they were.
Only when he was with Dazai did he feel like he could be a kid without the burden of responsibilities crushing his back. No matter how much of an asshole his partner could be, he knew he'd never get genuinely judged or mocked for actually having fun.
As their game went on, more and more people left the line for the crepes.
“Hey mackerel, look. We can go get our crepes now,” called out Chuuya.
If before it seemed like Dazai's goal was to ignore Chuuya, now it looked like he was glued to his side. He appeared as soon as he heard the word crepes and interlocked arms with Chuuya, dragging him towards the stand.
As they were walking the redhead flicked Dazai's forehead. “Tag, you're it,” smirked the boy.
Dazai stopped in his tracks and first looked at him, then glared when he realized their game hadn't ended. He tried to bite the offending finger but Chuuya quickly retracted it, stumbling as he did that, nearly causing the two of them to fall.
“Gravity manipulator and you can't even keep your balance, maybe you should do as other dogs do and walk on all fours.”
“Hey! You can't bite me and then have the nerve to call me a dog.”
“Yes I can, because that's what you are — my tiny, itty-bitty, minuscule dog!”
“I'm not buying you those crepes.”
Dazai shut his mouth right on the spot.
“Wow, that was effective. I should threaten you like that more.”
“Nooo, you're so mean, Chuuya!”
“Oh shut up about being mean, you're the one always annoying people, not me.”
“I don't annoy people. I say very interesting and reasonable pieces of information that one can only comprehend in the moment they're as knowledgeable as I am,” said Dazai with his eyes closed and his index pointing up.
Chuuya just rolled his eyes, a hint of a smile on his face.
The two of them were finally able to get their long awaited crepes, getting mistaken as a couple for the umpteenth time doing so — who could blame anyone for thinking that when the two boys looked like they were joined at the hip. They were bigger than they had expected, but that was no problem given how hungry they were.
They sat down at a bench nearby to eat. Dazai attempted to talk while eating, it goes without saying that it was hardly understandable, but Chuuya could make out something along the lines of ‘These were worth the wait, they're so good’.
“Don't talk while eating, you pig. Don't you have manners?” scolded Chuuya.
“Rude! I'm not a pig,” retorted Dazai, though this time he swallowed before talking.
After the two had finished eating, Chuuya noticed Dazai looking at him.
“What? I got something on my face?”
“Actually,” started the brunet chuckling softly, “you do. Quite funny, given before you called me a pig.”
Before Chuuya could've said anything, Dazai got closer to him and every insult the redhead thought of died on his tongue. Putting his left hand on Chuuya’s jaw, Dazai held his face and wiped off some crumbs the ginger had gotten on his cheek; with his other hand, he wiped off the whipped cream from his face, and proceeded to eat it from his thumb. That was when he met Chuuya's eyes, and he realized three things:
First, they were close. Close close.
Second, he was still, unconsciously, caressing Chuuya's cheek.
And third, he had basically just eaten from Chuuya's face.
He stilled, but didn't let go of Chuuya nor back away. Not much time had passed, less than a minute, probably, but to them it felt like so long, too long.
Suddenly, and luckily, Dazai's phone rang — it was Mori. He got up to take it in an instant, without saying anything to Chuuya. Not that it would have mattered anyways, given how the boy was lost in his own thoughts.
The aforementioned let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding, probably due to nearly forgetting how to breathe. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears. Or no, blood rushing in his chest. No wait, he meant- Ugh, damn it! Nothing was making sense anymore. He was blushing madly and all that was playing in his mind was a mess of ‘What the fuck was that’, ‘Was that real’ and, worst of all, ‘What are we’.
Chuuya? Wondering what he and Dazai had going on? That was truly the end of the world. Sure, he had been under the slight impression that, maybe, he felt something for Dazai for a while now, but he tried to push it away. Clearly, all of that went to waste, just because his partner couldn't understand the simple concept of personal space.
After a few — a lot — deep breaths, Chuuya calmed down a bit, even if just temporarily. Dazai then came back and told him it was Mori.
“Our target will be arriving sooner, she's expected to show up around six. Mori said to start getting ready.”
As he said that, he was looking anywhere but Chuuya's face. Although it was only a small detail, it showed how worked up he was getting, too, despite trying his best to hide it, and it wasn't the only sign of it.
As they went back to the hotel to prepare, his shoulders were more tense than usual and he kept his distance from Chuuya while walking, which he never did because of how touchy he was. With Chuuya, at least. All of those things didn't go unnoticed by said boy, but he didn't mention them.
After getting back to the hotel and taking everything that was needed, they called a taxi to get to their destination. It was a big mansion, around 40 minutes away from their current location.
Those 40 minutes did nothing to make the situation any better, in fact the already tense air around them was becoming suffocating. Dazai seriously thought he was going to burn there and then — every touch, no matter how slight, made his skin burn.
Once they arrived at their location, they gave the roses to one of the guards that was tasked with collecting the gifts for their target. Given the two boys were lost in their thoughts, they didn't notice when the man touched the roses, nor when his breath picked up and he started stumbling. They instead left to enter the building and as the poison kicked in, the guard managed to narrowly warn the rest of the security to watch out for the two boys.
Once in, Double Black decided to split up in order to get to the woman faster. Chuuya ventured deeper into the residence, stopping at the buffet to take a sip of cold water to refresh his mind. Through his ear piece, Dazai joked, “Remember not to get drunk, slug. We don't want you ruining everything.”
“I know, shithead. You think about not fucking up this mission instead,” retorted Chuuya, though from the distance Dazai could be the phantom of a smirk on the redhead's face. He smiled. The two exchanged one last look and nodded.
When Dazai turned around and started walking, he bumped into a man. “Ah, I'm sorry,” he apologized. He looked up to see the man in the face — he was a guard. He seemed to be observing Dazai.
“Uhm, can I help you?” asked the boy. Maybe he and Chuuya hadn't exactly been the most careful and that could've caught the guard's attention. The man simply walked away and although he was wearing sunglasses, Dazai could tell he was keeping an eye on him.
Using his earpiece to warn Chuuya they were being observed, Dazai made his way towards the restroom. After making sure no one was looking in his direction, Chuuya followed his partner.
Before any of them could say anything, they heard footsteps behind them — more security guards were going after them.
They started running, making sure not to make too much noise, and ended up hiding in a closet. A rather small one at that — Chuuya's back was pressed against a wall, and Dazai was merely a few centimeters away from him. There was a window though, from which the moonlight shone through.
“You fuckin’ idiot, how did they fin-” Dazai shushed Chuuya by putting his index on his lips before his partner could make their situation even worse.
Chuuya's words got stuck in his throat and he swallowed them, Dazai's eyes following the movement of his Adam's apple and then resting on the choker around his neck. His breath always hitched whenever he looked at said choker too long. His eyes then trailed back to Chuuya's face.
Despite every insult Dazai had ever called him, he thought Chuuya was the most beautiful boy on earth. He loved all his details, especially his freckles. He liked comparing them to stars — every time Chuuya fainted after Corruption, Dazai would always faintly connect his freckles using his fingers to form constellations.
His one dark brown eye met blue and brown ones. Chuuya lost himself in that eye whenever he looked at it too much, and when he saw both he was as if hypnotized by them. He never understood why Dazai covered his right eye despite it being perfectly fine, he would love to see both of them more often.
Not looking away from the redhead's eyes, Dazai moved his hand and put a strand of Chuuya's hair behind his ear. He then brought it to his cheek and got closer. He stopped right before their noses could touch each other.
“May I?” he asked whispering. Chuuya could feel his breath tickle his lips — it was warm, and still smelt like the crepes they had earlier.
The boy didn't reply, he doubted he could have said anything even if he wanted to given his words were stuck in his throat. Instead, he simply nodded, moving his eyes to Dazai's lips for an instant.
Dazai got closer again, tilting his head slightly to the right doing so. Their noses were now touching. He caressed Chuuya's cheek and asked again, “Are you sure?” it was quiet and hopeful, barely above a whisper.
“Yea,” whispered back the redhead, moving a bit forward and snaking his arms around Dazai's neck to pull him down.
Dazai smiled, and finally got close enough to kiss him.
It was sweet, soft, yet hungry. Dazai pushed Chuuya against the wall once again, trying to get as close as he could to his partner. Chuuya's hands were playing with his hair and Dazai's own was running up and down Chuuya's side while the other caressed his cheek.
They broke apart to get some air. “I've been wanting to do that the whole day,” confessed Dazai quietly while laughing.
“Yea,” said Chuuya and then briefly kissed him, “me too,” the boy smiled against Dazai's lips. The taller felt his knees giving up.
They kept kissing and exchanging soft touches. Dazai repeatedly told Chuuya how pretty he looked, and the two laughed at how utterly obvious they had been the whole day.
Despite the complications, they were able to complete the mission rather smoothly. As they returned to their hotel, they were holding hands and smiling softly at each other.
Once in their room, they lay in bed together. Dazai was on top of Chuuya's chest, listening to his heartbeat while Chuuya ran his fingers through his hair.
In the end, Valentine's day meant love for them as well, and calling each other ‘partner’ acquired a new, sweeter meaning.