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Entry tags:
collapsing star with tunnel vision
Title: collapsing star with tunnel vision
Fandom: Bungou Stray Dogs
Character(s): Dazai, Oda
Pairing(s): Dazai/Oda
Genre: Fluff/Angst
Word Count: 760
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Summary: Having a soulmate you're incapable of lying to is inconvenient for a member of the mafia.
Notes: BSD Rarepair Week day 3, prompt: soulmates.
The existence of soulmates is only an inconvenience when you’re in the mafia.
The term ‘soulmates’ has always struck Dazai as inaccurate, a flowery term applied to a much less romantic phenomenon. It’s not as though you’re destined to fall in love with your soulmate and live happily ever after. You may not even meet them in your lifetime, and if you do it may be on the opposite side of a battlefield. You might be incompatible due to age, gender, or personality.
Statistics show that relationships between soulmates are more likely to work out once begun, but that’s only natural. Honesty is typically a valuable trait, even if it’s because you’re physically incapable of lying to your partner.
Dazai’s aware that he has a soulmate. That’s a problem. Information and deception are two of his greatest resources, but there is someone out there who Dazai cannot lie to and he has no idea who it might be.
Ideally, he won’t ever run into that person.
It takes less than a minute for Dazai to identify his soulmate once he encounters him face to face.
Oda Sakunosuke is a peculiarity, a talented Ability user who refuses to kill and seems to have no desire to rise in rank. Very little confuses or interests Dazai, so anyone who can manage that deserves at least enough effort as it takes to catch them alone in headquarters.
“Oda Sakunosuke.”
Oda turns. “Sir?” He may or may not recognize Dazai by description: when you’re the lowest-ranking member, everyone else is ‘sir’.
What Dazai intends to say is, “You’re up for review.” It’s one of the phrases that strikes fear into the heart of any underling: the mafia doesn’t just fire people it finds unworthy. Their severance package usually consists of a shallow grave.
That Oda’s incredibly valuable as a capable agent who can be instructed to carry out any mission and won’t balk, no matter how unpleasant that mission might be, means that Mori would have to be insane to consider getting rid of him. Scaring Oda a little will make him easier to read, and Dazai doesn’t think twice about lying to him to find out what he wants to know.
What Dazai actually says is nothing. He opens his mouth, but the words he’s trying to form don’t escape his lips. After a second, he shuts his mouth.
Well then. That’s an unexpected development for someone who expects just about everything. The challenge of understanding Oda has skyrocketed, and Dazai’s interest isn’t far behind.
“…Sir?”
“Walk with me for a while. If they ask, tell your superior that Dazai wanted to speak to you.”
That was years ago.
Since then, Dazai has determined one thing for certain: Oda has absolutely no idea of their status. He hasn’t tried to lie to Dazai once, and he expects honesty in return and isn’t surprised to get it. No matter who he was soulmates with, he probably wouldn’t realize until expressly told.
Dazai can’t just tell someone they have that kind of power over him, even if it’s Oda. It goes against every part of his core that’s built up lies and masks as armor. He can no more bare his soul to Oda than he can strip off his bandages for him.
He has his tricks, of course. If he addresses his speech to Ango, he can lie even when Oda’s sitting next to him at the bar to hear. He twists his words until they aren’t technically lies, but there’s nothing more than a grain of truth in them. Even with someone Dazai can’t lie to, he’s the farthest thing from honest.
“Hey, Odasaku-”
He can’t tear down his walls himself, but he wonders…
“-are you happy right now?”
If Oda knew the kind of power he held, then maybe Oda would tear those walls down for him, and drag the parts of Dazai he’s been hiding into the light. Maybe, just for a moment, Dazai could expose his own weakness and not fear it being exploited.
“Mm. I am.”
It’s impossible. Not because Oda’s dense, but because Oda’s so painfully, beautifully honest that no lie will ever get caught on his lips. He’ll keep treating Dazai as he always does, and that will be enough for the both of them.
“…Me too.”
A smile isn’t a lie no matter how fake it is. The reason Oda draws out more real smiles than anyone else does has nothing to do with him being Dazai’s soulmate, and everything to do with him being Oda.
Fandom: Bungou Stray Dogs
Character(s): Dazai, Oda
Pairing(s): Dazai/Oda
Genre: Fluff/Angst
Word Count: 760
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Summary: Having a soulmate you're incapable of lying to is inconvenient for a member of the mafia.
Notes: BSD Rarepair Week day 3, prompt: soulmates.
The existence of soulmates is only an inconvenience when you’re in the mafia.
The term ‘soulmates’ has always struck Dazai as inaccurate, a flowery term applied to a much less romantic phenomenon. It’s not as though you’re destined to fall in love with your soulmate and live happily ever after. You may not even meet them in your lifetime, and if you do it may be on the opposite side of a battlefield. You might be incompatible due to age, gender, or personality.
Statistics show that relationships between soulmates are more likely to work out once begun, but that’s only natural. Honesty is typically a valuable trait, even if it’s because you’re physically incapable of lying to your partner.
Dazai’s aware that he has a soulmate. That’s a problem. Information and deception are two of his greatest resources, but there is someone out there who Dazai cannot lie to and he has no idea who it might be.
Ideally, he won’t ever run into that person.
It takes less than a minute for Dazai to identify his soulmate once he encounters him face to face.
Oda Sakunosuke is a peculiarity, a talented Ability user who refuses to kill and seems to have no desire to rise in rank. Very little confuses or interests Dazai, so anyone who can manage that deserves at least enough effort as it takes to catch them alone in headquarters.
“Oda Sakunosuke.”
Oda turns. “Sir?” He may or may not recognize Dazai by description: when you’re the lowest-ranking member, everyone else is ‘sir’.
What Dazai intends to say is, “You’re up for review.” It’s one of the phrases that strikes fear into the heart of any underling: the mafia doesn’t just fire people it finds unworthy. Their severance package usually consists of a shallow grave.
That Oda’s incredibly valuable as a capable agent who can be instructed to carry out any mission and won’t balk, no matter how unpleasant that mission might be, means that Mori would have to be insane to consider getting rid of him. Scaring Oda a little will make him easier to read, and Dazai doesn’t think twice about lying to him to find out what he wants to know.
What Dazai actually says is nothing. He opens his mouth, but the words he’s trying to form don’t escape his lips. After a second, he shuts his mouth.
Well then. That’s an unexpected development for someone who expects just about everything. The challenge of understanding Oda has skyrocketed, and Dazai’s interest isn’t far behind.
“…Sir?”
“Walk with me for a while. If they ask, tell your superior that Dazai wanted to speak to you.”
That was years ago.
Since then, Dazai has determined one thing for certain: Oda has absolutely no idea of their status. He hasn’t tried to lie to Dazai once, and he expects honesty in return and isn’t surprised to get it. No matter who he was soulmates with, he probably wouldn’t realize until expressly told.
Dazai can’t just tell someone they have that kind of power over him, even if it’s Oda. It goes against every part of his core that’s built up lies and masks as armor. He can no more bare his soul to Oda than he can strip off his bandages for him.
He has his tricks, of course. If he addresses his speech to Ango, he can lie even when Oda’s sitting next to him at the bar to hear. He twists his words until they aren’t technically lies, but there’s nothing more than a grain of truth in them. Even with someone Dazai can’t lie to, he’s the farthest thing from honest.
“Hey, Odasaku-”
He can’t tear down his walls himself, but he wonders…
“-are you happy right now?”
If Oda knew the kind of power he held, then maybe Oda would tear those walls down for him, and drag the parts of Dazai he’s been hiding into the light. Maybe, just for a moment, Dazai could expose his own weakness and not fear it being exploited.
“Mm. I am.”
It’s impossible. Not because Oda’s dense, but because Oda’s so painfully, beautifully honest that no lie will ever get caught on his lips. He’ll keep treating Dazai as he always does, and that will be enough for the both of them.
“…Me too.”
A smile isn’t a lie no matter how fake it is. The reason Oda draws out more real smiles than anyone else does has nothing to do with him being Dazai’s soulmate, and everything to do with him being Oda.