Kunikidazai Oneshots

Trust Issues

(A/N: soooooooo I randomly got this idea after rereading the first light novel the other day. I thought "hey what if one of Kunikida's reasons for being afraid to open up is because of what happened with Sasaki and what if he ends up telling Dazai that?" Of course, it has a lot of angst potential so that's why I'm going to add the obligatory warning. Without further ado, enjoy!)

It was a fairly normal day at work for Kunikida...or it would be if it weren't for a few certain thoughts that wouldn't leave him alone. He thought he'd be over...whatever this way by now. But he wasn't, and he didn't know how to deal with it. He was currently experiencing lots of mixed feelings. For whatever reason, he had started to think back to his first case with Dazai. None other than the one where he thought he'd finally met someone he could open up to...only to find out just how wrong he'd turn out to be.

Sure, he didn't know Sasaki that well since he'd only just met her, but there was a part of him that felt like she could be trusted. Which only made it that much worse once the truth came out. Just minutes ago they had been opening up to each other and then everything went downhill from there.

Kunikida dragged his hands down his face. He wasn't even sure why he was thinking about all this. It had happened years ago, why did it come back to him at the most random times? He wasn't a fan of how that kept happening. And the worst part was that he'd almost always, with the exception of one person, refrained from opening up to anyone else after that. He knew it probably wasn't the best way to deal with his trust issues. In fact, he knew it would only make them worse if he continued to refuse to open up to anyone else. But if it meant he was protecting himself from more bad feelings, he could deal with it.

Kunikida sighed. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about the past. He needed to focus on his work.

...And he had been intending on doing so if it weren't for a certain partner of his that waltzed into the room right at that very second.

"Heeeeeyyyyyyy, Kunikida!" the bandaged man greeted.

"About time you showed up, Dazai," was Kunikida's reply.

"What, are you not happy to see me?"

"If you're actually here to work and not play around, then I will be."

"Did Kunikida-kun just admit that he loves my company?"

"You wish."

"Ouch. You wound me." Dazai pretended to be hurt.

Kunikida laughed softly. "I'm kidding, Dazai. I do appreciate your company. When you're not annoying me, that is."

Dazai froze in his tracks. He certainly hadn't been expecting that. "Really?"

Kunikida nodded.

Dazai was shocked but through the shock, he began to feel a happiness he didn't know was possible. "That...really means a lot."

Kunikida smiled a little.

Dazai smiled back.

Remembering that he needed to focus, Kunikida shifted his gaze back to his desk and began to do his paperwork.

Dazai watched Kunikida, silently taking note of how shocked he still was over his partner admitting that he enjoyed his company. It wasn't like the idealist to say something that open. He was confused, to say the least. So naturally, he decided to do the smart thing and ask Kunikida some questions. "Hey, Kunikida?"

Kunikida looked at Dazai.

"Could I ask you something?"

"I guess."