Work Text:
Fukuzawa thought himself a simple man. He enjoyed cats and their purr, he lavished in the very essence of tea, and he felt love in its simplest form; The love of family and friendship.
He felt this form of love to all those who worked at the Armed Detective Agency. It’s a known fact to all who work there that once you’ve met Fukuzawa-sensei you’ll find you’ve developed some sort of gentle trust in him, some love that forms over time.
Fukuzawa cared about the young at his agency like his own children, Atsushi and Kenji and Kyoka and Naomi under his guard and wing until they prosper into young men and women.
He thought of himself as something of friends to the adults of the agency, especially Ranpo and Akiko. That does not mean he cherishes the mentorship he has with the older Tanizaki, or Kunikida, or even the short talks with the clerk Ms. Haruno any less.
There is a particular member though, that Fukuzawa thinks of often.
Dazai Osamu is a human that Fukuzawa couldn’t describe as anything other than a miserable savant in the world of falsification. An unwilling sycophant. A mature child, a childish adult, and an utter mystery to anyone who dares try to analyse the Ex-Mafioso.
There’s one thing though, about Dazai, that solidifies him as another one of Fukuzawas children, despite his eclectic and worrying nature: Dazai too, experiences love in a way Fukuzawa can relate to.
Simple, loving, and in his heart and soul nameless.
Despite how Yukichi puts his relationships in boxes of mentorship or friendship, at the end of the day to him those titles are faux. Formalities.
No matter what weird kinship he posses with the ADA, it is live all the same, and to Yukichi that is all it needs to be.
Dazai, as it seems, holds a similar principal. As he inspects Dazais relationships with people Fukuzawa notices a distinct lack of titles in his relationships.
Dazai may hold friends, May hold a partner, and may hold many mentorships, he does not seem quick to call them as such.
Though a “I’m your mentor, Atsushi, come on~!” could grace Dazais lips, and a “You’re such a mean partner, Kunikida-kun!” Could part from him after, they seem to hold no real intention.
A muttering of Akikos doctoral status, a cheer of Ranpos friendship, and a bow towards Fukuzawa himself coming from Dazai, they’re all meaningless at face value.
All Dazai is portraying is respect and love in whatever way his lost soul can manage, something he wasn’t able to do years prior. At least Dazai held improvement.
It seems there might be a stout exception to this rule, however, in the form of a petit redhead on the side of the world Dazai once lived.
Nakahara Chuuya must be some form of expedition for Dazai, because no matter if they were teasing or genuine, some form of naming came up.
They call each other pet names (no one is quite sure as to how ironic or serious they’re being), insensitive jabs, endearing titles, and a constant uttering of partnership in the form of Soukoku.
Though no one but themselves knew it, they had a permanent stance with one another, something not seen with anyone else Dazai holds dear, no matter how dear.
Though slight in the way Dazai presents his relationships to the world, the way Soukoku appears is very much different than anything else Fukuzawa has seen Dazai in.
Whatever that relationship entails is none of his business until Dazai and Nakahara choose it to be, but Fukuzawa can at least suspect that Dazai is (thankfully) less alone than he first thought.