Chapter Text
“When Dazai opened the door to his new dorm room, he never expected to find Nakahara Chuuya standing there, a suitcase clutched in his hand like a lifeline. Chuuya’s cheeks were flushed a furious red, and his hands clutching his suitcase.”
Dazai blinked. Well shit, what was he doing here?
“What the hell are you doing here?” Chuuya demanded, his voice tight enough to snap a thread, his scowl a masterpiece of irritation.
Dazai leaned against the doorframe, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Well, Chibi, unless I’m mistaken, I believe I’m here to move in. Unless you’ve decided to redecorate the janitor’s closet?”
“Stop joking with me as if we’re friends, take your stuff and go request a different room,” Chuuya snapped, his voice barely controlled. Just go. At this point he’s about to lose it.
Dazai rolled his eyes, the gesture dripping with mock exasperation. He slowly scanned the room, his gaze lingering on the chipped paint of the walls, the mismatched furniture, and finally, on Chuuya himself. A faint smirk played on his lips.
“Chuuya, you wound me! I thought we were past all this. Is my presence really so unbearable? I’ll just go then… find somewhere else to sleep. Maybe the library steps.” He delivered the line with a dramatic sigh, a hint of self-pity lacing his voice.
“Ugh, you know what? I don’t even give a damn anymore. You can have the damn room for all I care.” Chuuya spat, grabbing his suitcase with more force than necessary.
Before he could even move away from his bed, the door swung open.
Yosano breezed into the room, a small stack of papers clutched in her hand. “Just here to help Dazai get settled,” she announced, her gaze sweeping across the room, lingering on the closet space, the state of the floorboards, and finally, on the space between both beds. She didn’t even glance at Dazai.
“Hmm…it’s fine, I guess.” Yosano shrugged, then collapsed onto the bed with a groan, scattering the papers she held like confetti. A few landed on Chuuya’s suitcase, still clutched in his hands.
Dazai watched, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. He knew she wasn’t there to help him “settle in.” The way she’d scrutinized the corners of the room, the almost imperceptible twitch of her lips – she was sizing it up, comparing it to her own domain.
Chuuya’s face was a study in simmering annoyance, but he’d dropped his suitcase with a thud. And for some odd reason, the sound seemed to ease something tight within Dazai’s chest.
Chuuya slumped onto his bed, the springs groaning in protest. He scrubbed a hand across his face, the grit of exhaustion clinging to his skin. He was too tired to deal with Dazai, too tired to decipher whatever game his “family” was playing.
Dazai spun on his heel and vanished into the hallway. A moment later, his voice echoed back, laced with theatrical outrage. “YOSANO! What in the world is all this?”
Yosano giggled, a sound that grated on Chuuya’s nerves. It was only then that her gaze finally landed on him, as if he’d materialized out of thin air. “Oh – um, hey, Chuuya,” she stammered, her laughter dying in her throat. “I had no idea you and Dazai were going to be roommates.” How the hell would she know that anyways? She should have thought he was hundreds of miles away with his brother…
“Yeah, I didn’t either. I won’t be for long, though…” Chuuya mumbled, turning his back to them both.