Memories | Dazai X Reader

Seventeen • The Honest Progression

"I'm sorry."

• • •

And he seriously shouldn't.

He shouldn't keep doing this to you—getting close and then immediately pulling away the second he feels he's gotten too close.

Believe him, it's not something that he wants to do.

Dazai has his hands resting on your face, and your own move up to cup his cheeks. He's looking down, unable to look you in the eye even though he knows he should–

You tilt his head up, allowing his eyes to finally meet yours after what felt like ages. His eyes almost look glossy, like he's about to break. Yet as soon as he looks up and blinks, he looks like he's gone back to normal.

Relatively normal, at least.

"Don't be," you say, smiling as you run a hand through his hair. It's hard to not sound just a little hurt by it all. In just a single day, everything just fell apart.

And here the two of you are.

The only thing is that looking at Dazai feels like your entire world is crumbling to pieces.

He's tried thinking of it all differently. As if the two of you had only recently gotten together. People in those stages of relationships do all of this, right? That's all that he had been thinking about, and it's almost like he's forgotten how relationships even start because yes, they do–

It's just hard for him to go with it because there's the understanding that you love him, and he just doesn't...have any love in return.

"You know what we should do tonight?" you ask, tucking a bang behind his ear. Both of you move back just enough so that your foreheads aren't leaning against each other. "What?" he questions, unconsciously licking his lips because he just noticed that they were dry.

"Stargazing," you tell him. "We've only gone once before, but I think it'd be nice." He smiles at that, letting go of your face. "I would love that."

• • •

"Oh, my God."

The man who hardly got any sleep last night after staying up with Oda afterwork, runs around the workplace. "Where is he?!" he whisper-yells to himself, obviously with a coffee in his hand.

"Oh, hey," the man he was looking for says calmly.

Ango looks in front of him, meeting blue eyes. "Finally," he sighs, "I was looking for you." Oda looks at him puzzled, "What happened?"

He takes a sip of his coffee before telling Oda, "I got another thing to add to the storyboard. I think I might forget if I don't write it in time–" Oda chuckles, and then his gaze drops down to Ango's hand again, suddenly taking it in. "Ango...isn't that your seventh cup now?"

"No–" Ango almost immediately protests, "Well, yes, but I think it's reasonable for the amount of time we've been at work." Oda gives him a look of disbelief since they both know they haven't even been here for that long. So it's definitely not as reasonable as Ango makes it seem.

"Anyway, what was your idea?"

He takes another sip, "So basically I was thinking that..." he pauses, and Oda has to bite his cheek not to laugh. His hand pinches at the bridge of his nose as he thinks, and all that comes out of his mouth is, "I forgot."

And any composure that Oda had snaps. His laughter fills Ango's ears, but he's quiet enough so that people don't start staring at them. "I forgot cause you brought up my cup of coffee!" Ango  protests.

"You really need to sleep, you should go home early to rest," Oda suggests. "You stay up far too often."

He scoffs, "You act like staying up all night is something I love doing. God, I hate working overtime but I can't stop doing it."

They start walking, and Oda walks behind him.

"Get some sleep, Ango."

A/N: woohoo another short asf chapter after ages. hoping ya'll don't hate me.