"Will you have to leave eventually?"
The table falls silent, a violent pause in the constant stream of the amicable clatter of metal chopsticks against plates and the clanging of bowls. Atsushi shifts under the weight of the quiet, wishing instantly that he hadn't asked as he nervously eyes the (L/n) siblings and their careful lack of movement.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Eventually, yes," (Y/n) cuts him off plainly, setting down her bowl of rice and turning to smile wryly at their guest. "Don't be sorry, Atsushi-kun. There really is no need."
Hiroshi nods in agreement. "We'll work on that," he tells Atsushi, referring to the elder boy's tendency to needlessly apologize. "Before we leave, I mean."
Atsushi winces, guilt pooling in his stomach and getting rid of his appetite. "I really shouldn't have brought it up during dinner. It's rude and-"
He is cut off by the eldest (L/n) again, this time by a silent raise of her eyebrow.
"It's okay, Atsushi-kun," she enunciates pointedly. "Neither Hiroshi nor I are in denial of what we both know is to come. Don't exhaust yourself with all this anxiety."
Biting his lip, he nods, shifting his weight again. "Can I ask something else, then?" he brings up hesitantly.
"Something unpleasant, I suppose?" (Y/n)'s mouth quirks up when he looks at his lap sheepishly, but she nods anyways. "Go ahead. If it gets awkward, I'll pretend I never heard you and talk about the weather instead."
Hiroshi groans at this. "No," he whines, "I hate it when you make small talk. It's torture!"
She rolls her eyes. "Oh, my! Do you think we'll have any rain soon? I do hope so. My succulents are getting pouty, you see."
"Succulents don't need rain," Hiroshi points out with a put out glare. "We don't even have succulents!"
She hums. "Sure, I do. You're practically a succulent at this point with all the water you're not drinking, and you're always pouty-- rain or shine. I may as well see you drenched and get a kick out of it if you're gonna be pissy either way."
Atsushi giggles at their banter, recognizing that they're only putting on a show to ease his nerves. At least, he thinks so. The (L/n)s are an unpredictable pair like that. The fact that they had practically kidnapped him for dinner at their hotel room only proves that.
"What did you want to ask, Atsushi?" Hiroshi asks, finally looking away from glaring at his elder sister.
Atsushi swallows now that their attention is back on him. "Well, you and Dazai-san are, well, together, aren't you?" he brings up softly, trailing off when a look of understanding crosses (Y/n)'s face.
"I'm sure we'll figure something out between the two of us, Atsushi-kun," she answers, smiling kindly at him even though he thinks there's something sad about the dull gleam in her eyes. "Neither of us are in positions where we're running from something anymore. Perhaps fate will be kinder to us this time around."
Following the beat of silence, Hiroshi lets out a low whistle.
"That got heavy," he comments before turning to his sister with a nod. "Your love life sucks."
(Y/n) snorts derisively. "Says the one currently pining."
Blinking in confusion, Atsushi interrupts them before another argument can break out. "(L/n)-san," he begins, "why do you call Dazai-san by his last name?"
"Ah, that," she says, nodding like she'd expected it. "I lost a bet once. It doesn't really even matter anymore-- at least not to people like us."
The statement is carelessly shrugged off, but it gives Atsushi some pause as he considers it and decides that she's right. What is considered a relationship milestone to others in their community holds little meaning to those who have fought and written history by each other's side.
And he's certain that both Dazai and (Y/n) have made history is their own rights-- some good, some bad, but everything that ensures they will be remembered.
He only hopes they get their own happy ending before their stories get any further drenched in the tragedies they have lived so far.
•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••
Dazai stirs at the faint sound of footsteps at his door, rising and peering into the darkness through his sleep-filled haze in time to catch sight of (Y/n) stepping out of the shadows in her sleepwear and a thin cardigan thrown haphazardly over herself.
"(Y/n)?" he murmurs, rubbing at his eyes. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
She approaches softly, silent and careful as she eases herself down onto the futon, settling into the space beside him and pulling him back to lay down. "I missed you," is all she says, wrapping her arms around him and making Dazai squirm when her warm breath hits his jaw.
He smiles in spite of the sleep clouding his rationality, humming at the kiss that is pressed to the corner of his mouth. "Oh? I'm flattered, beloved."
Her smile is a tickle against his cheek where her lips find themselves next, hands slipping under his shirt and resting against his ribs. "Atsushi came around today," she tells him. "Asked what we'd do once the alliance is officially finalized and I'll have to leave."
Now, he stills, and she feels it, curling into him further as a silent reassurance. Dazai turns so he can face her, pulling her closer by the waist and resting his forehead against hers.
"And what did you say?"
(Y/n)'s fingers find their way up into his hair, lightly gripping his curls, winding them around her digits. "I told him we'll work it out." Her eyes flit up to meet his, sudden and earnest and intense. "And I believe we will."
Thumbs rubbing circles against her hip, he smiles. "I don't plan on losing you again, Nightshade."
And he doesn't. Not again. This time, he'll hold on to her, and she'll never have to watch him walk away again. This time, he's allowed to give into this-- to give himself to her and simply be.
Not as children who had to grow up too fast. Not as monsters who have never belonged with anyone else like they have with each other. Not as tragedies that cannot learn to even hope for anything else.
This time, they will simply be and they will simply love and they will simply heal.
He'll do it forever if fate lets him. If she lets him. He'll love her forever.
And maybe Dazai still isn't a good man. He still doesn't fully understand good and bad, and he'll never truly be rid of the darkness within him because it makes him who he is, whether that is a sinner or a man deserving of forgiveness-- forgiveness from his past and from himself.
But maybe it doesn't matter so much. He's trying, and hopefully some day he'll heal. He'll be more than a demon pretending to be a human. He'll be a lover.
A soft kiss is what meets him, her lips giving him a silent promise. "You won't. We'll make it, Dazai."
"I believe we already have, my love."
•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••
I will love you
as long as the sun burns in the sky,
as long as the moon shines its light
into the dark night,
until the raging oceans
become calm and run dry.
I will love you till the end of time.
--Until the end of time|| Christy Ann Martine
•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••
AN:- And that officially brings Children of Darkness to an end, my dudes. So, it ends a little abruptly, I know, but I genuinely didn't know where to go with this.
When I started this, the idea had been to simply explore a relationship between two people similar enough to see their reflections within the other, but also inherently different enough to have room to grow-- as individuals and together. I didn't think I'd take it this far, but I'm glad I did. I've had fun and this has been one of my favorite things to write for a while.
Don't worry. There will be a supplementary work to this that will be up not too far in the future (hopefully), and I hope to see you all then.
It truly has been a pleasure. Thank you for all your love and support. Leave me a comment to let me know what you thought. I'll always do my best to reply.
Love,
Silver.