Work Text:
"Chuuya~!" Dazai gasped dramatically as he caught sight of a photo booth that had apparently been recently added to the shopping center. He'd have to mention it to Kyouka-chan the next time she planned to come here, since finding new things that weren't on the maps she'd been trained to navigate Yokohama with always made the girl happy.
"Hm?" Chuuya glanced away from the shop window that had earned his attention towards his companion, only for Dazai to start pulling him away by their joined hands. "Dazai, what the heck?!"
"I've never had the chance to use one of these before." Dazai enthused, and after a quick glance at the barely there wistfulness in his eyes Chuuya realized that while Dazai may be playing it up a bit as usual, he really was genuine in his desire to get his photo taken with Chuuya.
Actually, now that he thought about it, this might actually be the only time the two of them had ever been photographed together, despite their years of having been partners. Back when they were both executives, it had been too much of a risk, even if they'd ever thought about it.
But now, with their respective organizations in a temporary truce, with Natsume pushing for an official peace treaty?
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have this, as long as they were careful to keep the photos hidden.
And no, of course his decision wasn't in any way influenced by the pleasure that coursed through him at Dazai wanting to have a picture of him.
Not at all.
Kouyou blinked as she stood up from her chair, noting that Chuuya had dropped his wallet in his rush to leave for his next meeting, their weekly tea having run later than usual.
"Silly boy." the redhead sighed, though she couldn't quite help the tiny smile that graced her face as she lifted it up, taking note of a small corner of white peeking out of the sleek leather.
Well, she was a Mafioso for a reason. It was only to be expected that she open the wallet to peruse its contents.
A decision that, even years later, she wasn't sure she was glad for or regretted.
The white paper turned out to be part of a photograph, one of Chuuya and Dazai leaning in for a kiss, cheesy grins gracing their faces.
She had always suspected they had been attracted to each other before the latter managed to get away from the Port Mafia, though she was unsure if anything had happened between them at that point, but the truly surprising thing about the photo was that it was clearly more recent, the pair wearing the same clothes they did currently.
Her beloved student had some explaining to do, it seemed.
"Ah." Chuuya blinked, a hint of dread and resignation showing on his face for the briefest of moments as he saw the wallet she held in her hands.
"Chuuya, dearest." Kouyou crooned, a façade of sweetness covering the cold-blooded Mafioso she was, not that the younger man believed it for a second.
"Ane-san, a pleasure to see you, as always." Chuuya returned.
He didn't step any closer to her.
Smart boy.
But then, Kouyou had never been one to suffer fools.
"You wouldn't believe what I found out today." she simpered. "The most interesting thing."
He didn't say anything for a long moment, but then heaved a sigh and ran a hand down his face, muttering that he'd known it was too risky, what was he thinking keeping such incriminating evidence in his wallet?
Eventually he looked back up at her, back straightening as he prepared himself for whatever she was intending to do.
Despite the time Kouyou had had to think about the situation, even she was unsure what she wanted to come from this.
"You only saw the first one, didn't you?" Chuuya realized, noticing that the picture didn't seem to have been removed.
"The first one?" she repeated, blinking back at him before glancing down at the wallet.
Admittedly, she had been so focused on the photograph that she hadn't thought to look further.
She would need to work on that. Such an oversight could easily get her killed one of these days.
"The thing about photo booths is that they give you more than one picture." Chuuya said, voice devoid of any inflection.
"Don't start with me, child." Kouyou warned, pointing her fan at him.
Just because he kept a careful hold on his tone of voice didn't mean she wouldn't catch the sarcasm.
God, now she knew how her mother had felt, back when the woman had been alive.
"Sorry, Ane-san." Chuuya bowed lightly in apology. "That was unnecessary."
She huffed but accepted it, more focused on the mentioned photos as she went to open the wallet.
"Ah, I'll show you!" Chuuya stepped forward, hesitant but wanting to share his relationship with Dazai now that she had found out and hadn't immediately went to kill his boyfriend. Maybe more photographic evidence of how happy Dazai made him would make her more accepting of his choice to let him back into Chuuya's life?
Chuuya pulled out the collection of photos almost reverently, and despite herself Kouyou was glad that she hadn't acted on that first instinct to destroy something he clearly treasured.
Even if it did involve the man who had broken his heart once.
Kouyou ignored the small part of her mind that she had once tried to leave the Port Mafia, too, so she really had no room to hold the betrayal against Dazai. After all, at least she hadn't left anyone behind when she had tried to do so herself, but had done so for love.
But Dazai did it out of grief, out of mourning for a life taken too soon. her traitorous thoughts reminded her.
Such was the life of a Mafioso, but Kouyou would admit, if only to herself, that Mori's manipulation of the situation had sickened even her, who had long thought herself immune to the cruelties of the world.
But Mimic had killed innocent children, who unlike Oda Sakunosuke hadn't willingly signed their lives away to the dark, and Mori had given away their location knowing what would happen.
As much as she hated that Dazai leaving had hurt Chuuya so much, she couldn't help but admit that she understood how much it must have burned for Dazai to stay even as long as he had after the incident to get his affairs in order, having to look Mori in the eye and know that the man was still his superior.
She imagined it felt much the same as it had for her when the old boss had killed the man she loved right in front of her. The day Mori assassinated him had certainly been one to celebrate.
Kouyou had stayed because after that she had nothing else to lose, but Dazai, as evidenced by the life he had built around himself despite his continued penchant for suicide, had had everything to gain from leaving the Port Mafia. He'd even managed to keep Chuuya, apparently.
Maybe she was so bitter because he had succeeded where she had failed.
She still held him responsible for the tears Chuuya had shed, but then again, he was also responsible for the happiness and love practically seeping from the younger redhead's pores as he looked through the photographs himself, too distracted by them to remember that he was meant to be showing them to her.
"Child." she reminded him dryly.
Chuuya glanced up at her sheepishly but couldn't resist giving her his usual response, same as he had every time she called him that since he'd come of age. "You're only four years older than I am, Ane-san. I'm older than you were when you started calling me that."
"It's a sister's prerogative." she dismissed his protest, following her own end of the familiar script, always appreciating the fondness she could detect in his eyes at the reminder that, blood or not, the two of them were family.
"If you say so." Chuuya rolled his eyes at her, feeling secure enough to do so now that she seemed to have at least somewhat forgiven him for keeping his relationship a secret from her.
With that, he directed the pair of them to the same table he'd had tea with her earlier at, and gently spread out his hoard so that she could see them all.
Despite what photo booths in their country were capable of doing in regards to adding special affects, the pair had chosen not to use them. She probably had Chuuya's taste to thank for that, though she wouldn't be surprised if Dazai had kept any with them donning silly animal ears or something like that.
Maybe it would have been better if they had done so, because perhaps it would have distracted Kouyou from noticing how utterly besotted the pair looked.
There were only a few pictures, but it was clear from the way they gazed into each other's eyes, the soft touches they exchanged, the lack of space between them that didn't seem sexual but intimate all the same, as if the world finally felt right now that they had each other in their arms.
It would seem that the saying that a photograph said a thousand words was more true than she had previously believed.
"I would recommend keeping your wallet close in the future." Kouyou eventually sighed, defeated. How could she try and convince him to end his relationship with the man that managed to put that kind of expression on his face? "I'm surprised you risked them being taken in the first place."
"With the treaty in place I figured it wouldn't be too dangerous if we were found out." Chuuya said with a wry grin, knowing that if she wanted to act on her disapproval things could get very dangerous indeed. "It was actually Dazai's idea."
Kouyou blinked in surprise, having never thought Dazai could be sentimental enough to bother with such things.
"He added a hidden, waterproof pocket to his coat so he won't lose his wallet anymore whenever he goes for a swim." Chuuya added.
"Is that what they're calling it these days?" Kouyou barely refrained from rolling her eyes. "One would hope that falling in love would be enough to stop him."
Kouyou didn't say that she doubted the brunette was capable of such emotion in the first place. She didn't think that this 'relationship' had any way of ending well for Chuuya, but on the off chance that she was wrong, she wouldn't be the one to hurt him further.
"Dazai's wanted to die for longer than I've known him." Chuuya pursed his lips slightly in disapproval at her comment, or perhaps he'd sensed what she'd kept back. "That kind of thing doesn't just go away, even if he wants it to. It's not like I don't have plenty of my own issues to work on."
His eyes glazed over for the briefest of moments, thinking of his own history as a government lab rat. A child who had no memories before his escape at the age of seven, who didn't even know if he'd had a family or if he had been bred specifically so that they could try and shove a god in his head.
Dazai wasn't the only one who doubted his humanity.
"He's trying." Chuuya said once he brought himself out of the dark place his mind had venture, voice so full of conviction that despite her own doubts, she had little choice but to believe him.
"I pray that you're right." Kouyou sighed.
She may have long since abandoned longing for a better life for herself, but if it was for Chuuya's happiness, or Kyouka's, she could find it in herself to hope for their sake.