Sick

Whispers

Atsushi went to open the airing cupboard in which he had taken to sleeping in (Kyouka, that way, would be able to sleep undisturbed on the floor) when he couldn't help but feel that someone was still watching him. Turning around, he saw Dazai stood excitedly in the door way, hopping from one foot to the other.
"I've got it!" The brunette grinned happily. "You're looking after a stray cat and it's somewhere in this apartment!" He looked around the room as though expecting it to jump out from a corner.
Atsushi groaned. "No, that's not it."
"Then tell me." Dazai frowned, marching over and squatting down next to him.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you're not very trustworthy."
"I'm your mentor. I am ordering you to tell me so that my subordinate's health is no longer at risk and you can keep performing well in your upcoming jobs."
Atsushi grimaced; that was most likely the least of Dazai's worries.
The truth was, Atsushi had been staying out late at night for something that wasn't half as exciting as Dazai was making it out to be; he was simply doing extra training.
Of course, he would have been able to admit this if it weren't for the fact that when training, he would purposefully hurt himself to test his ability's regenerative power. Atsushi was becoming more and more eager to ensure that he would be able to last a long time in a fight, especially when the thought of Akutagawa's promise to kill him in six months was ever present. It wasn't the healthiest way to prepare, but Atsushi couldn't think of another way other than training with Kunikida. If Dazai were to know... he didn't want to think about the look on the usually perky man's face when he found out his subordinate had been hurting himself to this extent every night.
"Well?" Dazai pressed on, kneeling down to look Atsushi in the eyes.
Atsushi frowned; he didn't want to hurt Dazai by telling him, but he also didn't want to hurt Dazai by lying to him.

"I've only regretted the things I never did in life."

The quote from his childhood echoed in Atsushi's mind; if he didn't tell him, he would regret it for a long time.
He exhaled deeply, letting his shoulder's relax and looking Dazai straight in the eyes.
"I've been training."
Dazai blinked. "...is that it?"
Atsushi bit his lip. "During training, I've been..." oh god, this was harder than he imagined.
Dazai was starting to furrow his brow as he watched Atsushi struggle to find the right words, clearly concerned.
"I've been-"
"-hurting yourself." Dazai finished, his eyes softening as he sat down properly and put his hand on Atsushi's head.
Atsushi didn't answer; of course Dazai would be able to read between the lines before he even finished his sentence.
Dazai huffed, ruffling his subordinate's hair before leaning back on one arm.
"That's a really stupid thing to do."
"...I know."
"It's especially risky if your regenerative abilities were to suddenly become faulty."
"...I know."
Atsushi stared at the floor, ready for a lecture.
Instead, Dazai's voice went incredibly soft and he leaned closer towards him.
"You shouldn't be hurting yourself in order to grow stronger, Atsushi. You need to look after yourself." He sighed. "I wish you had told me."
Atsushi felt a hand come to the side of his face and pull his head into Dazai's shoulder, holding him in an embrace.
"As your mentor, I want you to stop doing this. Is that clear?"
Atsushi nodded, wrapping his arms around Dazai's back and letting his warmth seep into his body.
"Clear."
Dazai pulled away, and for a brief moment his eyes looked down to Atsushi's lips, but he just as quickly looked back up.
"Let's watch some TV." The brunette smiled, standing up and putting out a hand for Atsushi to take.
"But I don't have-"
"I know. But I do." Dazai grinned, pulling Atsushi out of the room and towards the door, outside and into Dazai's own apartment, where the two spent the day watching movies and allowing themselves to fall into the warmth of the other's company.

The next day, Dazai called in sick with a cold.

A/N:
Heeeey I haven't updated lately because I have moved from here to archive of our own since I find it easier to write there. I wanted to update this though because I saw so many people asking for it to be continued, and I'll leave the link to my new account down below. Thank you for reading!
New account link:
https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hunchu/works