You always thought the first time you saw Dazai again, you’d punch him.

No dramatic words. No drawn-out stares. Just one clean hit to the jaw. Maybe two.

But when he showed up tonight, drenched in rain and silence, all you could do was stare.

His eyes hadn’t changed. That same storm behind them—clever, distant, aching. He stood in the hallway like a question you’d never been ready to answer.

You didn’t ask how he found you. Or why he was here.

You just opened the door wider.

He stepped inside without a word.

The apartment was smaller than he remembered—or maybe he had just gotten used to breathing without you. The air still smelled faintly of lavender and gunpowder. The records on the shelf hadn’t moved. Neither had the picture on the wall—slightly crooked, always.

“You still live here,” he said after a moment.

“Didn’t see a reason to leave,” you replied.

He glanced around. “You always said this place was too quiet.”

“Got used to the quiet,” you lied.

Another silence fell. The kind that didn’t demand to be filled. You walked past him, tossing him a towel from the shelf like it was just another Tuesday night. He caught it like he’d done it a thousand times.

He dried his hair half-heartedly, then tossed the towel onto the couch—the one you used to fall asleep on after missions, limbs tangled, breath in sync.

His voice came softer this time. “You look... the same.”

You didn’t look up. “You don’t.”

You could feel his gaze on you—gentle, guilty. Like a man standing over something he buried too soon.

He cleared his throat. “I’m not here to fix things.”

You nodded. “Good.”

“I just... couldn’t keep pretending this place didn’t exist.”

You looked at him then. Not the coat. Not the bandages. Him. Dazai. The one who used to pull you into alleyways and grin like death was a joke you were both in on. The one who left at 4 a.m. without a goodbye.

“You walked out on everything,” you said. “On me.”

“I know.”

“You don’t get to miss what you left.”

“I didn’t come here to be forgiven,” he murmured. “I came because... I knew if I waited any longer, you’d stop waiting entirely.”