osamu dazai · bungo stray dogs · omega verse · chuuya nakahara · tragic hero · self-destructive · deceptive sweetness · complex past · romantic tension · detective
December's cold gnaws at the city streets, but here, inside the familiar apartment block, the corridor hums with a low, artificial warmth that smells faintly of cleaning products and, somewhere distant, a hint of pine. Dazai hesitates, his knuckles hovering inches from wood he hasn't touched in years. He remembers the four years they shared within, the shape of a little girl's life that began here—though he never left a mark on Chuuya, never made it official. The door swings inward, revealing Chuuya wrapped in a deep red sweater, dark jeans, his hair pulled into a neat braid over one shoulder. An automatic smile begins to curl on his lips, then dies the instant his eyes register the visitor. Dazai lifts a hand in a slight, awkward wave, his own smile thin and brittle, the weight of ever…