Days passed within that house that had once been Dazai's hell. The walls which had once been tainted with only shouts and curses echoed with laughter and smiles. Chuuya and Dazai tended to spend their day exploring the city or simply playing with the kids. Chuuya's head leaned against Dazai's shoulder, sitting on the edge of the porch as they watched the two running about the yard. Tossing a ball to one another and running about the backyard play-scape. Something that must have recently been restored to its complete glory. Silently, the door opened behind the two as Mori entered the joyful scene. "There's lemonade!" he shouted, startling Chuuya, who hadn't noticed him enter the backyard. The two children came running at full force holding their hands out as Mori poured them each a glass. "How does smores sound tonight?" Mori asked the two children who both nodded eagerly only to turn to the couple on the stairs.
"Will they do s'mores with us?" Atsushi asked with pleading eyes, smiling when Dazai nodded. Though his chest certainly felt heavy, perhaps because he desired to have this; Mori being fatherly, caring for the joy of the children.
Dazai sipped the lemonade, his fingers toying with Chuuya's hair, snickering when he noticed the boy had fallen asleep. They tended to stay up late, and when the kids were up, they liked to play around, running and dragging the ginger all over. It didn't help that Elise had found a new person to practice on with him. She tended to demand he sit down and let her try new hairstyles on him. Chuuya could be far too kind for his own good, constantly allowing her to play with his hair. It was no wonder he was exhausted. "Chibi really needs to use his time more sparingly." Dazai pouted slightly, nuzzling his cheek on the male's head.
When the sun hid behind the horizon, and the moon lit the sky along with the glittering stars, they all sat around the fire pit. Dazai held Chuuya close, trying to tug his bun down so he could run his fingers in the ginger's hair again. Each time his hand was swatted away he pouted. His revenge for this was to wait for Chuuya to create the perfect s'more and steal it away each time. So, as Chuuya brought the snack to his lips, Dazai leaned over and stole it. "EH? Dazai, that was mine!" Dazai shrugged, leaning back as he waited for Chuuya to make another one, stealing that one too. "Hey! Go make your own, you thief!"
"Why do that when Chibi manages to melt everything perfectly?" Chuuya narrowed his eyes, a smirk on his lips as he glanced at Atsushi. Before Dazai could latch his arms around his waist, he slipped from his seat on the bench to sit down with the kids. Leaving no room on their bench for the brunette. Dazai placed his hand on his heart, acting like he'd been shot before pouting. "Chibi's being mean to me!"
"Tch, you stole my s'mores first!"
"Yeah, Chuuya-san is right! You were the meanie first!" Atsushi sided with the ginger, which only got the brunette to pout more.
"Everybody's so mean to poor me! Chibi makes the best smores, and he wouldn't let me play with his hair!"
"That's what that was for? Geez, you're such a baby Dazai!" The brunette puffed his cheeks out again before the pair began to bicker once more.
"You two are like an old married couple." Elise spoke up from her spot on the rocking chair, seated to the left of where Chuuya was currently.
To say embarrassment would be an understatement. The red that rushed through the small male's face and the sudden stop in his insults showed far more than embarrassment. "Elise! You broke him!" Dazai wasn't free of his tinted cheeks, but he could hide his embarrassment, unlike the small ginger.
When he finally recovered, he tossed a bar of chocolate at the girl with a glare. Mori chuckled from where he leaned on against the railing. "Dinner is ready, I hope you saved room." Dazai was the first to stand, putting the flames out before pulling Chuuya to him.
Seated around the table, Dazai didn't need a heavy glare or threat to eat. He'd started three meals a day, three healthy meals a day. Every time Chuuya pointed out an acceptable habit, he felt something twist inside himself as it unraveled. He was starting to make noticeable progress, and it made everybody around him proud. Maybe he'd be able to express things correctly one day. It would be nice to be completely free, but he knew that was rare to encounter with depression. He'd still have a day here and there where he fell into the darkness. As long as Chuuya was there, he'd pull from it again, he was sure of that. "Osamu, I wanted to talk about college tonight, over a friendly meal." Just like that, things crumbled down. He braced himself to argue with Mori. "have you thought about attempting a degree in some sort of art?"
Dazai's eyes reflected surprise before going to his neutral reaction. "What's the catch?"
"Is it that hard to believe I've come to terms that you'll never pursue the medical field?" Mori set down his fork, seated at the head of the table, he seemed slightly intimidating.
"Yes, it is." Chuuya glanced between the two, his eyes flicking between them, trying to tell if this was going to start an argument even after everything was going so well.
Mori sighed, avoiding his gaze from landing on Dazai. "Well, I figured you and Chuuya would be an end couple. I've never seen you serious about anything like you are with him. I simply thought that perhaps you two would do well within the same field." Dazai froze, by the end did he mean marriage? Wasn't it a little early in life to be pondering about that sort of thing? They had known each other for a year, that's it. Though when he thought about it, Chuuya was honestly the only person he could imagine himself with. He made him happy, and they went through so much to be who they were now.
"I haven't looked into it," Dazai mumbled as he shoved food into his mouth again.
"Well, you did like to draw, and you were considerably talented with it." Chuuya snapped to attention, his eyes focused on Dazai with a jaw drop.
"Wait, you can draw, and you didn't tell me this?"
"I'm not that good, I only did it to pass the time." Mori's lips trialed into a smirk as he placed his hands in his lap.
"Would you like to see some of his art Chuuya?" the ginger nodded ecstatically, almost jumping from his seat.
"Of course I would!" Chuuya glanced at Dazai, who appeared to be in shock. Shaking his head, Dazai felt conflicted, further confused about the man at the table's head than he'd been.
"You... you kept them? You hated when I drew though?" Mori had forgotten about that, how he always reprimanded the boy's art. In honesty, he hadn't been the one to keep them.
"Well, I only kept a few... most of the drawings were saved by... my ex-wife and Oda." Dazai nodded, it meant something that he hadn't just tossed all the sketches away. He couldn't tell what it meant to him, but it stitched another wound shut.
When dinner wrapped up, Mori returned to the living room with a box in his hand. Setting it in front of Chuuya, he took the lid off. "Holy... this is extremely good."
Dazai covered his face with groans. "You don't have to flatter me, Chibi!"
"No, I'm being serious. If we were to make a team, we'd be unstoppable. We both have terrible handwriting though." Dazai peeked through his fingers to stare at the ginger fondly.
"Maybe... you know what, I'll give it a shot and see how I like the classes." Chuuya smiled, his eyes shining brightly as he took it on himself to plant a kiss on the brunette's lips.
~
Waking up early the next morning was refreshing, though the ginger had to roughly shake the brunette awake. "Did you forget we're meeting my sister today to help her get things ready for the big event tonight?"
"Oh shit, she's proposing today?" Chuuya facepalmed with a groan.
"Yes, dumb-ass that's today."
"I thought she said Saturday?"
"Dazai... yesterday was Friday." Chuuya flicked the brunette on the head, used to a groggy morning Dazai. This mellowed out, and half-asleep Dazai usually came after sensual nights.
"I don't wanna get up though! Chibi should dress me." Chuuya could only roll his eyes and pull back the covers, dragging the brunette out of bed and for morning caffeine.
An hour into the drive, after dozing off for a bit, Dazai stretched, rubbing his palms on his eyes with a soft yawn. "You're so mean, Chibi."
"I haven't done anything, you just woke up."
"You called me a dumb-ass. I'm smarter than you."
"Uh-huh, but you're stupidly tall ass can be an idiot."
"I'm not stupidly tall, you're simply stupidly short."
"Fuck you."
Dazai snickered as Chuuya pulled into a shopping center. Waiting for them was the taller ginger, waving to them as Dazai and Chuuya stepped from the car. Dazai watched the driver speed away as the two stepped closer to Kouyou.
The day was spent shopping for dresses and going over several menus. Eventually, they found the right outfit and the perfect restaurant. It happened to be around three when they made a reservation for six. Dazai and Chuuya sat at a separate table from the other two. They parted after dinner, but Chuuya made sure to make a point that he wanted to know how it went immediately after the proposal. Kouyou had rubbed the top of his head with a heavy sigh. "I'll record her reaction just for you, Chu." Chuuya smiled lightly with a nod, alright to head back to the house now.
Sure enough, Yosano said yes to the proposal with a wide smile, followed by a hug and a kiss. Chuuya hummed, now he had two sisters officially.
Note: Next chapter is the last chapter and holds the largest possible time skip in this book XD.