But in the End

Relaxing

I let out a groan as I scrunched my face up, slowly blinking my eyes open. It took a second for my eyes to adjust due to the sunlight hitting my face.

I sat there for a few moments as I allowed myself to wake up, contemplating on if I should get up yet. Feeling comfortable and warm, I decided against it and snuggled back into my position. That was until I felt movement.

On alert, I snapped my eyes back open and quickly brought my head up to see what it was. Once I did, I froze. W-What the hell??

I blinked a few times in disbelief as I stared down at the brunette as he slept. Glancing around the room, I concluded that we were still in the living room, seeing the to-go boxes from our dinner still on the coffee table in front of me.

Letting out a sigh, I turned back to the sleeping male. We must've fallen asleep. As the thought crossed my mind, I found myself staring at Dazai, taking in his features as he slept. He looks so peaceful as he sleeps.

I felt heat rise to my face as I realized I was just staring. Shaking my head slightly, I sighed in defeat, lying my head back down onto his chest. Just a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.

I closed my eyes, feeling myself relax as I attempted to fall back asleep. Just as I was on the cusps of falling back into slumber, I felt something twitch around my waist. I stiffened slightly as I felt Dazai begin to move.

I kept my eyes closed and pretended to be asleep as I figured he began to wake up, not wanting to deal with the awkwardness I was sure was bound to happen.

"You know, you're awful at pretending." I heard Dazai rasp out, causing my breath to hitch in my throat.

God, that morning voice... My thoughts were a jumbled mess as I thought of a way to weasel out of this situation. A lightbulb went off in my head as I began to squirm slightly, stretching as I let out a fake yawn.

I rubbed my eyes, blinking them as if I were just waking up. "Oh?... Hey, Dazai..." I mumbled out, trying to seem like I was still half asleep as I lifted myself slightly, bracing my hands below me.

"Good morning, dārin~" I heard Dazai's chirpy voice.

(Fun fact: Dārin means darling in Japanese. I wanted my story to be different and use this instead of Belladonna, which is beautiful lady in Italian.)

I snapped my eyes open, glancing at him. "W-What's with the nickname all of the sudden?!" I stuttered out, taken by surprise.

I heard Dazai chuckle as he shrugged. "What's wrong with it?"

"I- uh..." I trailed off, trying to think properly. "Nothing!" I jumbled out. "Just wanted to know why you said it is all..."

"Oh!" Dazai hummed out. "It was just so cute how you pretended to be asleep just now, that I couldn't help myself!"

I felt heat rise to my face as I turned my head to the side, letting out a huff. "Shut up! No I wasn't!" I covered my face with my hands in embarrassment.

Dazai sat up slightly, grinning. "Are you crying?" He teased me.

I quickly spun my head back around, staring back at him. "I-I am not!" I shouted, puffing my cheek out.

Dazai laughed as I felt his arm tighten slightly. I widened my eyes in surprise. I think this is the first time I've seen Dazai laugh. Sure, he's chuckled or snickered whenever he is plotting something or being childish, but this? This was different from every other time.

I felt myself smile slightly at the sight. During my time with the Agency, I have seen many sides of Dazai. I've seen his childish side, frustrated side, serious side, lazy side, hell, even his depressed side sometimes. But never have I seen his happy side.

Most of the time, it was a façade... a mask to everyone. Though none of us ever brought it up at the Agency, we all knew that Dazai's past wasn't a great one. It wasn't hard to guess, seeing as the man never goes a day without wearing bandages. But none of us sought out a reason, because we didn't care to know.

Whatever his past was like didn't matter to us, meant nothing. Who Dazai was here and now was what mattered. This Dazai was the one that many admired for his intellect, went to for advice, was inspired by or respected, and cared about.

I don't care about Dazai's past with the Port Mafia or the hatred he has for my father. Yeah, I knew. I know that car accident wasn't an accident, but I also know that Dazai wasn't trying to kill my father either. If he was, he would've done so.

Whatever bad blood was between those two had nothing to do with me. I know what my father had done and why Dazai felt the way he did, but I wouldn't hold a grudge against him. At first I was pissed, sure. But that's in the past. Both he and my father are alive and healthy.

I wasn't partially close with my father, but I do care and love him. And a part of me believes that Dazai didn't kill my father simply because of that reason. Had he not have been, I don't think my father would've been allowed to live.

However, seeing him here, right now, laughing... it made my heart feel warm. I was glad that I was the reason he was happy right now, even if it was just temporary.

"See something you like?"

I snapped out of it as I heard Dazai, waving my hands in front of me. "No- I wasn't- I just spaced out is all!" I tried to explain myself.

"Relax, I'm just teasing." Dazai told me, smirking.

I let out a sigh, having enough teasing for a day. "You'll be the death of me one day..." I mumbled out.

Dazai let out a gasp, causing me to lock eyes with him, confused. "Does that mean you'll do a double suicide with me?!" Dazai beamed, taking my words the wrong way.

"Hard pass." I replied bluntly, face stoic.

"Whattttt? Why not?" Dazai whined.

I glanced at him for a moment. "Because I plan to live a little. You know? Succeed in life, marriage and a happy family eventually. Would suck if I died before then."

Dazai stared at me for a moment before he let out a hum. "Guess it could wait a little." Dazai spoke up.

Huh? I tilted my head slightly, not sure what he was talking about. It was then I realized just how close we were. I felt my heartbeat quicken, taking notice of how close his face was to mine and how he still had an arm around my waist.

"(Y/N)..." Dazai trailed, sounding serious, bringing my attention back to him.

I stared into Dazai's eyes, waiting for what it was he was going to say. "Dazai?"

I heard the sound of growling, as Dazai replied. "I'm hungry~" He whined, placing a hand on his stomach. I blanked as I processed what he said.

...hah?

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Published: 06/08/2024