Work Text:
Chuuya didn’t know how long it had been since their last actual break from work.
Mission after mission had been flooding in for weeks. The reports following and then even more paperwork.
He didn’t know anymore, what day it was, what document it was that he was working on. He just needed a goddamn break.
That damn Mackerel had decided to camp out at his place, again, so there was no way he could get some peace and quiet like this.
He was originally trying to concentrate on finishing his current assignment. Something to do with a new street gang?
Everything was blending together, at this point.
Did the words on the screen always look this blurry?
He rubbed his eyes. God, he was so tired, but he knew that he had to finish this.
It certainly didn’t help that they’d just come back from a fight with some troublemakers, who had been new to the town and thought they could stir up trouble. They weren’t exactly big fish, but they put up a good fight, and Chuuya, exhausted as he was from weeks of work, had gotten sloppy and he’d had to bite back a curse when a few punches got past his defences. So, not only was he tired, he was also aching, bruises sure to form later.
And this damn bastard wouldn’t. Stop. Talking.
“Really Chuuya, have I been neglecting you training? What are other people gonna think, if my dog lets some minor thugs toss him around like that?”
Chuuya clenched his teeth.
“Dazai. I’m only saying this one more time. Shut the fuck up or go the hell to your own place. I still have work to do and you’re making it really fucking hard to concentrate on any of this shit I’m trying to read.”
“Ts, bad doggy. You shouldn’t talk to your master like that, you know? I should really keep you on a tighter leash if you’re acting out like this.”
“You motherFUCKER! DIDN’T I TELL YOU TO SHUT THE HELL UP!? IF YOU’VE GOT NOTHING BETTER TO DO, JUST PISS OFF! I’M SWAMPED WITH WORK UP TO HERE AND I DON’T NEED YOUR ASS MAKING THIS EVEN WORSE!”
Chuuya was breathing heavily at the end, while Dazai had finally gone quiet.
Good. Maybe now he could get some work done.
The headache that had been a dull throbbing in the back of his mind, had now turned into a painful stabbing.
He shouldn’t have yelled like that.
Still, he could work through this. He’s had worse, after all.
“My, my Chuuya~ That was quite loud, let’s hope your neighbours didn’t hear that.”
As much as Chuuya might have wanted to yell again, his head hurt too much, and he simply didn’t have the energy, anymore.
“Dazai, please, just go home. I still have so much to do, and I really want to go to sleep soon.”
He knew that Dazai had for sure picked up on his, well, everything. The bastard was too smart for his own good, nothing ever escaped his notice. Hopefully, he would grant Chuuya some mercy and leave him alone.
“Why doesn’t Chuuya just go to bed, then?”
If Chuuya hadn’t been so exhausted, he might have noticed that the teasing tone from before was gone and was now replaced with genuine curiosity, bordering on concern.
Instead, he just sighed heavily.
“Because all of this needs to be done in time. I know you probably don’t care, but we’re supposed to admit all our reports and paperwork on time, or the boss will get upset. You can be lucky you’re his favourite.”
“Hm.”
Chuuya had expected more of answer than that, but he wasn’t about to complain.
He turned back to the form on his laptop and tried to decipher the words. It was difficult with the light stabbing his eyes and the words blurring on the page.
He blinked. He could do this. It was only a bit more and then he’d be done for the day. He could do the rest tomorrow.
He began typing.
...
That didn’t make sense. Something about the words was wrong.
He didn’t know.
Was that really how you wrote that word?
He tried again, another mistake. What the hell was going on? Was the laptop broken?
That’s the last thing he needed right now.
Frustrated and angry, he slammed the laptop shut.
He didn’t even realise that Dazai had been quiet for a concerningly long time.
“I thought Chuuya wanted to work?”
Growling, Chuuya turned to his partner, again.
“Yes, well, this stupid thing won’t work properly! What the hell am I supposed to do now, huh!? Hours of work and I’ve got nothing to show for it, just because I can’t even send in my report now!”
“Well, Chuuya-”
“No! You shut up! Do you have any idea how exhausted I am!? In case you forgot, I’m the one that has to do all the fighting on our missions, and I’m fucking tired, Dazai! I’m sore all over and I can’t even get a fucking break, because I keep getting another thing to do, right after I finished the last one!”
Chuuya didn’t care that he was ranting out his problems at Dazai right now. He was so done, he needed some way to let it out.
“I’ve got a fucking headache, I can barely even look at the screen, anymore, but does that mean I can just stop? No! Because I’m still expected to do my stupid work for my stupid job! And Arahabaki has been getting really loud again, which is really not helping my headache, but it’s not like I can shut him up! I just need a break! I don’t want this, anymore! It’s too much! I want my head to stop hurting and I want to sleep! Can everything please just stop? Just for one second, please. I just need a break.”
He didn’t know when exactly he’d started crying, but now he did, he couldn’t stop.
He was so tired, his head was hurting, and he just didn’t know what to do anymore. Everything was too much.
A warm hand on his shoulder made him snap his eyes open. When had he closed them?
Brown eyes were looking at him with an emotion that Chuuya had never seen in them before.
He dove forward, crashing into his partners’ chest, desperately trying to hold on to something that might ground him.
Arms held him close, gently cradling him, a hand softly running up and down his back, another holding his head where it was buried in the other’s neck.
“Breathe, Chuuya.”
And he tried, he really did, but it was so hard with sobs still rattling in his chest.
“I c-can't”
“You can. Everything will be fine, I promise. Just try again, we’ve got time. I’ve got you.”
It felt like hours. Every time Chuuya thought he’d managed, another sob made him shudder all over. In the end, he didn’t know if he’d actually done it or if he was simply too exhausted to cry anymore.
Dazai was still holding him close. Chuuya had no idea why the other had helped him. He thought he would make fun of him for crying, tease him for losing it like this.
But nothing like that happened.
Chuuya didn’t have the energy to overthink it. His head was feeling weirdly fuzzy, everything was blurred like the letters on the screen. He wanted to sleep.
“Chuuya?”
“Hm?” It took so much effort, but he managed to lift his head and find Dazai’s eyes.
A hand came up and gently wiped away the tears on his face. Chuuya couldn’t help but lean into it. It felt nice.
A small huff had him looking back at Dazai again.
The brunet was looking at him with a soft smile. It was real, one the rare ones.
Chuuya leant more into the hand.
“Pretty.”
“Oh? What do you mean, Chuuya?”
What did he mean?
“Smile. Pretty.”, he tapped the taller’s lips once.
That would have to do. His brain was refusing to work like normal. It was fine, though. Dazai was smart.
“Dazai?”
“Yes, Chibi?”
“Sleep?”
“Yeah, let’s go to bed.”
Dazai got up. No, that’s not what Chuuya wanted. He didn’t want Dazai to leave! He wanted Dazai to hold him, again.
“Dazai!”, he held his hands out.
“Chibi never ceases to surprise me.”
Dazai lifted Chuuya into his arms. Chuuya was glad Dazai was so big.
“I never thought Chibi could get even littler than he already was.”
Chuuya made a questioning noise. He had his head lying on Dazai’s shoulder, too tired to keep it up any longer.
“It’s fine~ Nothing that a tiny Chibi like you should worry about, right now.”
Dazai got them into bed and then covered them both in the blanket.
Chuuya had made himself comfortable, half draped over Dazai, the other allowing it, keeping his arms around his partner.
Chuuya didn’t know why he wanted to stick his fingers in his mouth, but he did anyway. It was comforting, and when Dazai didn’t say anything, he began to relax, finally able to let all the tension from the past weeks go.
A hand was gently scratching his scalp and playing with his hair, only serving into lulling him further to sleep.
He barely felt the lips softly brushing against the crown of his head.
“Sleep well, Chibi.”