Everything or Nothing

The Lucky One

The days that follow aren't anything Chuuya can easily qualify as good or bad.

He's monumentally exhausted the next day, something Dazai doesn't outwardly blame himself for, but Chuuya knows, and he tries to subtly push through it so he doesn't make his boyfriend feel worse.

But he also gets to admire the blooming marks on his collarbone and stomach whenever he's changing shirts, passing any mirrors without a jacket on, or sometimes he'll just peek under the collar of his shirt for a little reminder during the middle of the day, because—

Because he missed it.

And he knows from the way that Dazai watches him, that the brunette certainly did too.

At first, their days are mostly spent at home, with Chuuya being forced to lounge and relax—as relaxed as an extremely irritated person can be, anyway—while Dazai is doing his utmost not to hover, and only mildly succeeding.

But things take a turn, however, when he becomes aware of the growing friendship between his boyfriend and his grandfather—which almost seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Osamu!"

He jumps out of his reverie, glancing up from his notebook, only to see his grandfather striding into the room, leaning heavily on his cane. "Ojiisan? What are you doing up—?"

"I want you dressed and ready to be out the door in thirty minutes."

Huh?

Dazai sets his pen down, glancing over the old man slowly, taking in the fact that he's actually dressed, wearing a sweater, slacks, an overcoat, and that silly black bowler hat he always used to wear—

And Chuuya is standing right beside him, wearing jeans and an oversized 'My Neighbor Totoro' shirt. "Apparently it's a 'family outing.'" The redhead explains—and he'd be a little bit shocked about the fact that he was invited, but—

He is sort of the reason that this entire thing has transpired.

"But neither of you can—" Dazai starts, but his grandfather cuts him off, lightly smacking his cane against the younger man's calf.

"I'll have you know I am not dangerously irresponsible, we're bringing a nurse. Now, hurry up! As you can imagine, I'm running on a very limited schedule."

Chuuya can let out a soft little snort, but Dazai never finds jokes about the fact that the two most important people in his life might not be here in the next few months particularly funny.

But he does drag himself to his feet, giving Chuuya an absentminded kiss on the cheek as he walks by. "Fine, but you could give me a little warning first."

Chuuya's hand raises up to touch his cheek when Dazai strides off, the skin flushed and tingling, and he's a little giddy that Dazai felt comfortable enough to do that in front of his grandfather.

"You know," Natsume sighs, and his expression is likely intended to be stern, but he looks just a little too happy around the eyes, "I'll try not to take it too personally, but he's been quite happy recently."

Chuuya drums his fingertips against his cheek before dropping his hand. "You don't want him to be happy?"

"Oh, maybe a few years down the line, after he's spent an appropriate amount of time mourning me," Natsume sighs dramatically, walking with Chuuya towards the main hall, "but until then I would prefer nothing but weeping and staring forlornly from windows."