Hello and long time no see! Sorry for the long wait, uni has been killing me but I finally managed to write the final chapter. I have to say I am fairly proud of this fic. It's the first one that has such a complete and detailed plot, meaning that I learned quite a bit after all these years ^^ Thank you to those reading, following and leaving comments~! I appreciate it a lot since your feedback fuels me to write more c:

Don't hesitate to leave behind reviews! 3

One more thing as it's the last time: a big thank you to Kimera who was so kind to proofread all the chapters for me! (love you bby)

Chapter 10/epilogue

"Does Chuuya know what intrusive thoughts are?"

"It's three in the morning and that's what you're thinking about? Fuck's sake, Dazai. Go to sleep already."

"But do you know what they are?"

Chuuya sighed before turning around in Dazai's arms so he could face him. They lay in bed; the wooden doors of the hut shoved open entirely, enabling the couple to witness the night sky and the black sea. "Thoughts you don't want to think but appear in your mind anyway, right?"

"Yeah." Dazai nuzzled his nose against Chuuya's cheek, not wanting direct eye contact.

"So?"

"I was wondering about it, is all."

"Oh, please." Clearly annoyed, Chuuya pulled away, albeit gently. "What's the matter?"

"Sometimes they become obsessive, right?" Dazai then asked, lips pursed.

"So? Are you saying you're having them? Isn't that normal? We all have intrusive thoughts at times, Dazai."

"Yeah, but usually they don't become obsessive, is what I read at least." In one of the psychology books he read long ago this term was described. Dazai had forgotten about it until he remembered it when thinking too much while trying to sleep. Or rather, he was avoiding having to sleep, even though there was no need for the concern of nightmares. This was because they were spending the vacation Odasaku arranged for them in the hut by the beach. Dazai never felt this relaxed before. He had nothing to worry about, except for making sure he took enough bandages with him, choosing a restaurant where he didn't have to get picky about his food and how to get the sand out of his hair after spending the morning swimming in the sea. Of course, he also had to worry about satisfying Chuuya's luxurious taste, but that wasn't too hard. His boyfriend seemed to be enjoying himself and smiled much more often than he usually did. It was all Dazai really needed. Not to mention, the intrusive thoughts he usually had appeared much less.

He connected part of his way of thinking with this now familiar term. The obsession with wanting to cut himself, sudden bursts of need for attention from people he liked, the sudden burst of anger when he faced Ango… Wasn't that all 'intrusive'? It wasn't like he ever asked to think like this after all.

Chuuya brought up a hand, running the fingers through the brown locks of hair. "You're afraid you have obsessive intrusive thoughts, is that it?" His voice was soft and his blue eyes scanned Dazai carefully, but a worried glance was in them, one Dazai, as usual, found odd for Chuuya. He was being gentle and caring… that was odd, right? He'd rather have Chuuya be irritated and snappy at him all the time. At least that he understood. He may find Chuuya's behavior peculiar, but wasn't he behaving differently than usual as well? He made less jokes, asked more earnest questions about serious subjects… He just felt so empty, in a different way than he normally did. He was relaxed, sure, but it was also new, and he wasn't certain what to think of that.

Perhaps this was enough seriousness for the night. Dazai pursed his lips, forcing a small smile on his face. "Nah, it's fine. I'm okay now."

"You're never okay."

"Chuuya is so mean!"

"Chuuya is being realistic!" He redhead snapped, while his voice remained consistent and soft.

"Hearing Chuuya speak in third person is odd. Just leave that to me, alright?"

A sigh came from the boyfriend and then a small push against his chest. They remained quiet for a few moments before Chuuya spoke up once more. "Listen, sometimes you just realize things about yourself, okay? That's not bad. See it as a first step towards improvement or to take further steps. It can be a good thing, Dazai."

"You're saying obsessive intrusive thoughts are a good thing? Chuuya, please."

"No, you idiot! I'm saying that you realizing you have them is good, because now you can learn to realize when you're having them and perhaps prevent them from happening next time. Like that."

He was making sense, but Dazai had too much pride to admit it outright and really, he had spoken his mind, listened to Chuuya's opinion, so now he wanted to end this discussion.

"There's a festival tomorrow. They're going to show a firework show as well. Wanna go?"

Chuuya took a deep breath, apparently realizing the moment of honesty has passed. "Sure. Did you bring any traditional clothes?"

"After the three threats you sent on WhatsApp if I didn't bring them? What makes you think I'd listen to you?"

That earned him a smack on the head.

"Yeah, yeah, I brought them. No worries."

The following day passed by calmly. Dazai spent the morning reading and lazing around while Chuuya took a swim in the sea. The afternoon was for sightseeing. They visited a temple, an exhibition and an aquarium for exotic fish. Of course, Dazai made it his job throughout the day to tease Chuuya as much as he could since it was always fun to see how far he could go in public. Chuuya always tried even harder to contain his irritation then, after all.

They skipped supper because of the festival, thinking they might as well eat from the small stands there. It was crowded everywhere, but the atmosphere was happy and busy. Lanterns lit the way, the smell of fried food, sweets and ramen everywhere.

Chuuya was wearing a red kimono and tied his hair in this tiny ponytail falling over his shoulder while Dazai was wearing a dark blue kimono, deciding simple was always the best way to go. He didn't feel like standing out and he wasn't one to consider 'fashion' all that much. He left that part to Chuuya. Really, the redhead was starting to resemble a nagging housewife more often lately.

After they finished eating their ramen, and Dazai specifically ordered nothing too spicy and certain vegetables to be left out, only to earn a judgmental and offended glare from the man selling the food, they strode through the street filled with happy people, different colored lanterns and the different activities present at each stand. Chuuya challenged Dazai to a small contest, who could hit the most targets? Dazai won, earning him a scowl from Chuuya, but he decided to give the presents that existed of a plushie, funny glasses and a ridiculous hat to the boyfriend. The plushie seemed to satisfy Chuuya somehow though, funnily enough. The redhead did have a soft heart, he really did, one simply had to be close enough to get to see that part of him and Dazai wasn't allowed to point that 'soft' side out either, because Chuuya would just get angry with him. He was contradictory like that.

Later that evening it was announced it was about time the fireworks started, so Dazai found a quiet spot in the shadows where others wouldn't directly see them. The sight was good enough as well, they would be able to see most fireworks. Dazai remained quiet at first, silently waiting until the show would start, but patience was never his forte, so he ended up pulling Chuuya against him, lightly so, before placing a kiss on his temple. "Are you enjoying yourself?" He muttered against the red locks.

"Careful," came the warning from the boyfriend.

"Don't worry, no one can see us here."

Chuuya released a deep breath and gulped. "It's been fun, yeah."

"One more day and we'll have to go back."

"I don't want to think about that yet," came the honest confession.

"Really?" Dazai was surprised. "Don't you miss the normal life? Like school and the like?"

"Who misses school? I mean, sure, going back to everyone is nice and all, but this was nice as well." A small pout appeared, indicating Chuuya wasn't too happy about having to explain this.

"I wouldn't mind living like this, you know?" Dazai admitted then.

"Unfortunately, that isn't possible. We'll still have to work, and you'll still have to deal with shitheads." Life was hardly ever so merciful after all.

Dazai hummed, knowing Chuuya was right. School would be a lot different without Odasaku and he would've to do his exams properly this time. Not to mention Mori was still going to be a problem.

"But hey," Chuuya then caught his attention once more. "We're still rivals, right? We'll stay by each other's side."

A chuckle escaped Dazai. "Sure, you're still calling it that?"

"What else would you call it?"

"I don't know. I was starting to think of you as my wife," he joked while shrugging. "And that's not exactly a terrible thing."

Chuuya smacked him on the chest, albeit lightly so. "Ass," he mumbled. Then explosive sounds were heard and a collective 'ah' from the crowd further away was heard. Dazai and Chuuya turned to face the bright colors forming and disappearing one after another in the sky, but soon enough the brown haired male lost focus and ended up staring at Chuuya instead. The lights gave him a curious look between shadows dancing on his face and together with the lights it made him look beautiful. As if sensing it, Chuuya turned to face his boyfriend questioningly, wondering what was wrong before Dazai gave in to his impulses and leaned in to connect their lips.

Sure, things were far from favorable, and Dazai still disliked his life in general, but he knew he could at least and always count on Chuuya being there.

The redhead practically melted into the kiss and after they let go of each other to catch their breath, Dazai nuzzled their noses and lightly smiled, placing a small peck on his reddened lips.

"In that case, I want you to stay my rival or my wife, whatever suits you, for the rest of my life." Although he wasn't planning on living for long…. For now, however, he was fine with how things were.

Until next time!