To my dear Chuuya...

CHAPTER 22

Because of Shirase's death, classes were suspended for two days. It wasn't like this was the first time someone died in this school, however, 3 different people died in the span of a week, which made all the students uneasy so the teachers and headmaster had no choice but to give them some days off.

Chuuya watched Dazai as he sat at the desk, writing something on a piece of paper. It looked like a letter, but the bandaged boy seemed so focused on writing it that Chuuya didn't have the heart to interrupt him and ask him what it was. The redhead watched the fogginess in his eyes as his fingers held the pen, adding more words on the paper. Chuuya felt uneasy.

After a while, he decided to get out of bed and approach him, hugging him from behind and looking over his shoulder at the piece of paper. Dazai calmly folded it in half, putting it in the bottom drawer, then he turned around, facing Chuuya and planting a small kiss on his lips.

"What's the matter?" he asked with a careless smile on his face, easing some of Chuuya's worries.

"Nothing. I was just wondering what you were writing," the redhead said, running his hand through Dazai's hair.

The boy hugged Chuuya's waist, pulling him closer and resting his head against his chest. "Don't worry about it. It's just something I want to give to someone after we escape." Dazai's voice was relaxed, as if he sensed Chuuya's uneasiness and he was trying to reassure him. "How about we go to the library for a while? We haven't been in there too often lately and, since we have some spare time, we could read some books," he suggested, looking up at the redhead.

The library was the same as it has ever been, except it didn't feel the same. There was something missing, and both of them knew what -or more precisely, who- that was. They entered the reading area in silence, quietly looking through all the books on the shelves.

Chuuya was the first to find a book that piqued his interest. He took it out from the shelf and he walked over to the window, sitting down and resting his back against the wall. Not after long, Dazai walked up to him with a book in his hand too. The bandaged boy sat down in front of Chuuya, his back turned to him. Then, he laid down, his head resting on the redhead's chest and began reading.

"Hey, you asshole. How am I supposed to read if you're laying on me like that?" Chuuya asked in an annoyed tone as he held the book above Dazai's head in order to not hit him or make him uncomfortable.

"Give me your book," Dazai said, closing his own book and putting it aside.

Chuuya handed him the book and the bandaged boy opened it, holding it so that both of them could read. "Your book seems more interesting than mine anyways," he laughed, continuing to read, waiting for Chuuya to finish every page before flipping it.

They sat like that, reading in silence while embracing each other for a few hours. The light in the room slowly turned into darkness as the sun made space for the moon and night came. When they could no longer see the words on the paper, they closed the book and remained quiet for a few more minutes, looking out the window at the many stars shining in the sky.

Dazai turned around in Chuuya's embrace, facing him with a gentle smile. "Do you want me to show you a really cool spot?" he asked, a playful light shining in his eyes. The redhead nodded his head in agreement. That's all it took for Dazai to grab his hand and lead him out of the reading area, approaching Oda's desk. This was the first time he noticed the door behind it.

Dazai took out the keys Oda gave him a long time ago, opening that door. Behind it, boxes filled with books and papers were everywhere, but Dazai wasn't paying any attention to them. He was looking up at the ceiling. When Chuuya looked there, he noticed a trap door.

"I'll lift you up. Pull down on that handle until it opens. Be careful not to get hit by the ladder when it comes down," Dazai said, not giving Chuuya a chance to respond before picking him up in his arms, lifting him high enough to open the door. When the redhead pulled it open, a ladder fell down.

That door led to the roof of the school. After they both climbed up, Dazai closed the door behind them.

Chuuya's breath caught in his throat as he looked up at the millions of stars, so close yet so far away. He almost felt like he could touch them; like he might be able to dip his fingertips in star dust. Then, he noticed the moon. It was right in front of him, big and imposing. And absolutely breathtaking. In that moment, Chuuya felt so impossibly small in the vastness of the Universe.

"Do you like it?" Dazai suddenly asked from beside him, startling Chuuya.

"Yes. It's beautiful, Dazai," he responded, still looking at the sky with admiration.

The bandaged boy softly chuckled as he grabbed Chuuya's hand, gently leading him towards the edge. "Let's sit here," he said as he sat down, his feet hanging from the edge. Chuuya quietly sat down next to him, the feeling of having nothing under his feet feeling oddly liberating.

Dazai suddenly laid down, resting his head in Chuuya's lap as he looked up at the stars. The redhead smiled down at him and, as the moonlight gently coated his face with a blue veil, Dazai thought that Chuuya looked absolutely mesmerizing.

"The stars don't compare to your beauty," the bandaged boy said with a playful smile, making Chuuya roll his eyes at his bad joke. But Dazai wasn't joking when he said those words. He truly believed that, but the redhead didn't know.

"Shut up before I push you off the roof," he said, looking away from Dazai's face.

The boy laughed, closing his eyes and continuing to smile. "You're lucky I like you, chibi," he said.

When he opened his eyes, Chuuya was looking down at him with a shocked expression on his face. "You... Like me?" he asked, not sounding convinced at all.

Dazai couldn't help but sigh, resting on his elbows and pushing his face closer to Chuuya's, their lips being inches apart. "You really are a dumbass, slug," he smiled, laughing softly at him.

"Who are you calling a dumbass?" Chuuya snapped back.

"I've kissed you, followed you around, spent as much time as I could with you and quite literally killed someone for you. Yes, of course I like you, you dumbass," Dazai said.

Chuuya stared at him in silence, his cheeks turning red while he had an unsure look in his eyes.

"I'm really going to push you off the roof if you're joking," he finally said after a minute, pressing his lips against Dazai's, the stars looking down at the two boys.

To be continued...

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