"Come on, 'Samu! Keep up!"

The young Chuuya turned and looked at his brown-haired friend, Dazai, slowly waddling through the piles of leaves on the ground. Said brunette donned several layers of coats due to his sensitivity to the cold. Of course, this made it so he can't move very well. "I'm trying!" he whined. "'s really hard!"

Soon enough, Dazai fell into somewhat of a rhythm, adjusting to his many layers. Now, he was able to appreciate the sound of the colorful leaves crushing under his feet. He started to giggle and stomp harder, loving the sound the leaves made—

Until he got overzealous, and he fell over, face planting into the leaves.

Chuuya heard a soft squeak followed by a thump, and immediately turned around, finding little Dazai laying face-first in a pile of leaves. "'S-Samu!" he exclaimed, and he ran over to Dazai. He helped Dazai to his feet and scoffed. "You need to be more careful!"

Dazai immediately started to giggle as Chuuya brushed the leaves off of him. "Aww, why? Is Chuuchuu worried about me?"

Chuuya huffed and kept plucking leaves off of Dazai's coat. "Of course! You coulda gotten hurt bad! I don't want you to be hurt!"

Dazai stared at the leaves stuck to his mittens, not listening to Chuuya's words. His eyes sparkled as he got an idea. He turned and looked at Chuuya, then said, "Chuuchuu, watch this!"

Chuuya took a step closer and looked at Dazai intently, when Dazai immediately started flailing his hands around as fast as he could, causing the bits of leaves stuck to his mittens to fly everywhere. In the air, on the ground, in his and Chuuya's hair—everywhere.

Chuuya blinked, looking back and forth between Dazai and Dazai's mittens, then he started to giggle. Dazai joined in, laughing hard at his silly little action.

"You're silly, 'Samu!" Chuuya exclaimed. The two of them tumbled over into the leaves and started laughing harder. It may have just been the most gleeful day of their lives at the time.

"Osamu?"

"Chuuchuu! I made you something!"

Chuuya looked up from his stuffed sheep, immediately filled with anticipation. "You made me something? What is it?"

Dazai, about to burst with excitement, took out a thick string with beads on it. The beads spelled out CHUU, and had hearts and rhinestones bordering them.

Chuuya immediately snatched it out of Dazai's hands, eyeing it. "Woah! It's so pretty!"

Dazai blushed a little. "I couldn't 'member how to spell your full name, so I just did 'Chuu'. I dunno how to spell 'Chuuchuu' either."

Chuuya giggled and threw his arms around Dazai. "That's okay! I love it! You're so good at making things!"

Dazai giggled a bit and hugged back. "Yay! I'm so happy you like it!"

Chuuya pulled away from the hug and immediately put on the necklace. "This is great! Now I can give you what I made yesterday!"

Chuuya then ran inside his house, and after a few minutes, came out with a ring of flowers, and he placed it on Dazai's head.

"My big sister says this is called a flower crown! You keep saying you wanna be a princess, so I made you this!"

Dazai's eyes widened and his hands went up to the flower crown, feeling the soft petals of the camellias wrapped around his head, and his eyes welled up. "Ch-Chuuchuu...oh wow..."

Chuuya gasped and put his hands on Dazai's shoulders. "W-wait, don't cry, 'Samu! I'll take it back if you don't like it!"

Dazai grabbed Chuuya's hands and shook his head. "No, I love it. This is the nicest thing I've ever had. I'm really really happy. These tears are good, Chuuchuu! Thank you. Thank you so much."

He pulled Chuuya into his arms for a big hug, sniffling.

"Thank you so much...you're the bestest friend in the whole world."

"What are you thinking about?"

Dazai's breath hitched and he cupped Chuuya's tear stained cheeks. He pressed their foreheads together, holding him closer than he felt like he ever has. He felt like his heart was breaking. "I-I...I'm so sorry, Chuu...I'm sorry..."

Chuuya's lip quivered and he put his hands over Dazai's. "Please don't leave, Osamu...please..."

"I don't wanna go, Chuu...I don't wanna go. But...but my dad is making me."

"Why??"

"He says we need to move...so I can get better."

Chuuya squeezed Dazai's hand, sniffling. "Wh-why do you have to leave to get better? Why can't you stay here?"

"My dad says there isn't anyone here who can help me...he says we need to move to a place close to a doctor that can take care of me..."

"But I...I don't want you to go...I love you. W-we were supposed to be boyfriends and then get married and be happy together!"

Dazai let out a few sobs. He couldn't believe this was where it—their bond, their friendship, their prospects for the future—ended. "I don't wanna go...I wish I could stay...I never wanted to leave you...I have no choice...I'm so sorry, Chuu...I love you, too...I...I wanted all those things, too..."

Chuuya pulled Dazai's hands off of his face and held them together in his own two hands, tears pouring down his face. "P-promise me you'll never forget me! Promise me you'll come back! Promise me we'll meet again! Please, Osamu...this can't end now...please...I don't want to say goodbye..."

Dazai squeezed his eyes shut. His heart was throbbing, as if it was legitimately about to break. "I promise...I promise, Chuuya...my sweet Chuu...I promise that...if I get better...we'll meet again."

Chuuya cupped Dazai's cheeks, his expression almost desperate. He looked and felt just as heartbroken as Dazai. "When you get better!" he yelled. "You will get better! You can't...can't die! You...there's no way! By the power of my love, you'll get better!"

Chuuya started sobbing, his words slowly deteriorating into incoherent babbling. Dazai sniffled, trying to keep it together, as hard as that was, and he pulled Chuuya into his arms, kissing his forehead.

"P-please..." Chuuya stammered after he finally stopped crying. "Please don't forget me...please don't stop loving me...b-because I'll...be waiting right here for when you get better. This...this can't be the end...please..."

Dazai just rubbed Chuuya's head. "I could never ever stop loving you...you...you're the best, Chuuya...the best. I...promise I'll come back. I promise."

"Osamu...I love you," Chuuya whispered. He looked up at Dazai, putting his hands on his shoulders. "Please get better...please. I love you...too much to lose you. We still...we still gotta become sweethearts and then get married...we still have so much left..."

Dazai's breath hitched one more time, and he wiped away Chuuya's tears. "I...I'll try, Chuu. I want to get better. I love you, too. I...I promise we'll meet again...I promise...p-promise..."

Dazai melted into Chuuya's arms, hugging him tight, believing that despite his words, it would be the very last time he would get to experience this. Get to feel Chuuya's touch. Hear Chuuya's voice. Be in Chuuya's presence. He wasn't ready to say goodbye. But unfortunately, he had no choice.

"I...promise..."

"Oh, just..."

Dazai looks down at his and Chuuya's entwined fingers, staring at the gold band on his ring finger.

"The past."

Dazai rests his head on Chuuya's shoulder, sitting comfortably between Chuuya's legs. Chuuya kisses the top of Dazai's head, and a smile forms on his lips.

"Reminiscing on...our childhood. Y'know?"

Chuuya tilts his head back, then closes his eyes. "Mm, yes...I do. Man, we were attached at the hip since day one, huh?"

Dazai giggles a little. "Yeah. Adults thought we were delusional, talking about getting married."

He hoists his hand in the air, letting his ring catch the light of the chandelier.

"They should see us now!"

Chuuya chuckles and leans in to nuzzle Dazai's neck, making Dazai laugh.

His arm wraps around Chuuya, holding his head close to his own, and he kisses Chuuya's lips. His heart throbs beautifully like it does every time he kisses Chuuya's lips, as if it's their first kiss all over again.

Chuuya cups Dazai's cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb, and he sighs. "Y'know...after several years, I was really afraid you broke your promise. Every day I thought about you, hoping you were still alive."

Dazai closes his eyes. He remembers the long stretch of time he spent undergoing treatment to heal from his illness. It took so long, but eventually he was able to ring that bell and celebrate recovery. If only his father had moved them back to their hometown so he and Chuuya could've reunited sooner.

"I was so afraid you'd forget about me. I always loved you...every second of every day. While you were gone, I dreamed of holding you in my arms, kissing you, hugging you, holding your hand, sharing a bed with you, even just doing laundry and taxes with you...I wanted everything with you...anything with you."

Chuuya smiles softly. The smile is bittersweet, as if he was reliving the heartache he felt while apart from his beloved brunette.

"I mean...I know you saw my face when we met again, but...words and actions could not express how far beyond happy I was to see you. Suddenly...it felt like all the color in my eyes came back."

Dazai feels the familiarity of tears forming in his eyes. Since he was young, he always loved how Chuuya spoke and still speaks. It's like poetry. It's like all the feelings Dazai has within him that he can't put words to. His sweet Chuuya can always find the right words.

"I love you, Osamu. I love you so much."

He tilts Dazai's head up and leans in, kissing his lips again. So sweet and tender, Dazai thinks. He loves how Chuuya kisses him.

When they finally break away from each other, Dazai grabs Chuuya's hand that's on his face and twines their fingers together, smiling bright. Smiling like how he hoped to smile when he wanted to move back home as a teenager and tell Chuuya he beat his illness.

"I love you too, Chuuya. So much...more than anything."

He lets out a blissful sigh and looks out the window. There's a gentle breeze, pulling the colorful leaves off the trees. He watches the colorful leaves cascade to the ground and form a sort of rainbow, and he smiles as he reminisces walking through the leaves with Chuuya as children.

Not all dreams come true. While Dazai was stuck in that hospital, he thought he'd never get to have the future with Chuuya that they wanted. He never thought he'd get a happy ending.

He's so glad he was wrong. He's so glad his dream came true. He's so glad he can sit here and see the gold band on his finger, and know that he and Chuuya will never be separated again.