Ｆｏｒｅｖｅｒ Ｙｏｕｒｓ

【Ｔｗｏ Ｙｅａｒｓ Ａｆｔｅｒ】

The ginger closed his eyes and sighed deeply, swishing his glass of wine morosely. He had no work today, nor anyone to spend the day with.

He dared not look at the image inside the frame sitting face down on his table; he hadn't the heart to destroy that one, so it stayed like that.

The last thing he expected—or wanted—was the mafia traitor to suddenly barge through his window.

"Happy birthday, Chuuya~" Dazai chirped, a wide grin on his face as his brown eyes twinkled mischievously. He perched on the windowsill with his usual dramatic entrance style, his long tan trenchcoat billowing in the wind.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" His voice held a teasing lilt, acting as if nothing had happened that night.

Chuuya froze for a moment before slowly setting his glass down and standing up, walking until he stood in front of the brunette. His expression was unreadable, and they stood in silence for a while.

Then Chuuya's fist met Dazai's face. "...bastard."

Honestly, that reaction wasn't unexpected.

Dazai's lip quirked in amusement as his head snapped to the side upon Chuuya's impact, laughing when he heard the curse.

After all this time, Chuuya still hadn't changed much. He slowly dragged his hand down his cheek with a sigh.

"Ah, Chuuya, that hurt," he pouted, looking back at his former partner with a playful glint in his eyes. "Can't you show just a bit more mercy? I did come all this way, y'know."

"Well, it took you two fucking years," Chuuya replied, his scowl apparent.

Dazai's brow furrowed, feeling the sting in the ginger's voice, surprised at how guilty he felt. He knew Chuuya would be upset and angry, but he hadn't expected him to be so hostile.

He stayed quiet, unsure what to say. What was he supposed to say when he just disappeared without a word? Not a single trace, nor a note?

The ginger sighed, sounding slightly disappointed, and turned away, sitting back down on his couch with his head buried in his hands.

"If you're going to be silent, you can leave already."

Chuuya reached out to pick his glass back up, leaning back with his arm draped over his forehead, eyes closed as if he didn't want to see Dazai anymore.

Dazai's eyes widened slightly as he watched Chuuya turn away. Why did the disappointment feel like someone just dropped a huge weight on him?

He bit his tongue, knowing Chuuya had every right to be pissed; every right to act like that because of what he did.

"Chuuya..." Dazai said quietly, his footsteps audible as he walked further into the room. "I'm sorry."

The mafioso chuckled drily. "You better be."

He let his arm drop, staring at his ceiling with a dark look. "But I don't even know if I can trust your word, if you're not lying to me again."

Chuuya curled his gloved fingers into fists, hiding his shaking hands away from Dazai while biting his lip, unable to cry.

Dazai stood awkwardly, listening to Chuuya, unsure how to approach anything now. He kept telling himself to give up and leave the shorter man behind. He looked at Chuuya's hands and felt his heart lurch a bit when Chuuya hid them from him.

"Chuuya," he whispered the ginger's name and slowly walked up to him again. Dazai reached out for Chuuya's hands. "What are you doing... Chuuya..."

He retracted his hands, shaking his head. "Go away."