Chapter Text
Chuuya hated hospitals. The smell of antiseptic and soulless marble floors made his skin crawl.
Even as a young boy, Chuuya took extra care of himself to avoid any unnecessary trips to the doctor's office, save for the annual check-ups that he was dragged to against his will. His older sister, Kouyou, would always sigh as she would hoist her little brother kicking and screaming towards the hospital entrance only to be poked and prodded by men in white coats. There was something very off putting to Chuuya about the off-white walls and constant buzzing of nurses that rubbed him the wrong way. As a healthy 22-year-old, he would shiver when the doctors sent him from one specialist to another. Yet here he was, silently bouncing his knee and waiting outside an infirmary.
A close friend of Chuuya’s got into a car accident. Not severely wounded, but enough to be sent to the hospital for a routine look-over. Chuuya sighed impatiently checking his watch, tingles ran down his spine as he shuddered in the cool air.
That damn Akutagawa, so careless, he thought with annoyance.
Chuuya and Akutagawa were good friends, both working at a consulting firm across town. Though they met rather unconventionally, (Chuuya was yelling at a client and in a fit of rage launched a stapler across the room, hitting Akutagawa on the head instead), the two fostered a close bond and could rely on each other. Akutagawa was a mostly silent person, only speaking when necessary, letting Chuuya do most of the heavy-lifting. He wore a permanent scowl on his face, and rarely showed any semblance of emotion. Chuuya was content being the talker in their friendship, their understanding was mutual and even in the moments of silence they both knew what the other needed.
That being said, Chuuya was beyond furious hearing the news of the car accident. Akutagawa came out of it mostly unscathed, save for a minor bump on the head but his assistant Higuchi was all levels of panic, rushing him to the hospital despite Akutagawa’s attempts at dissuasion. Chuuya, led to believe the car crash was more serious than it was, immediately left for hospital without a second thought. Upon a quick chat with the receptionist, Chuuya discovered the true nature of the accident and was sent huffing towards the waiting room. Becoming bored with the monotony of the hours, Chuuya decided to walk around before he was permitted to visit Akutagawa.
The hallway was littered with patients and doctors, it reminded Chuuya more of a mall than an infirmary. That seemed to ease his nerves a little bit, reimagining it to be like the marketplace he and Kouyou would visit every Saturday back home. A yellow ‘Caution! Wet Floor’ sign was planted by the desk, reminding patients to watch their step on the cleaned floor.
A sudden commotion was heard from the other end of the hall, catching Chuuya’s attention.
“Stop, Dazai!” Chuuya distantly heard. The other patients began murmuring, confused by the sounds of clattering metal and ringing footsteps.
"Dazai, please wait!" A young doctor called out, stumbling down the hallway after a brunet. Weaving between patients, the man gleefully skidded side to side, avoiding the grasping hands of nurses and shocked doctors.
"You need to be faster than that, Dr. Nakajima!" he called, waving a stethoscope in the air. His blue hospital gown trailed in the wind like feathers, a wide grin spread across his face.
The youthful doctor chased him down the hall, asymmetrical bangs plastering his forehead. The man surged forward, a look of determination lit the room. But as nimble the man could be, not even he could predict the slippery marble floor, freshly mopped.
A simple misstep.
“Woah, WOAH—” The brunet lost his balance, stumbling forward across the floor, arms flailing.
Chuuya, in as unfortunate a position as one could be in, stood dead center of the hallway, head on for collision.
He had no time to react, only his eyes widening before the force impacted.
CRASH!
The brunet slammed into Chuuya, yelping as the two of them fell over in a mess of tangled limbs.
“What the—” was the only response Chuuya could croak out. The man landed squarely on top of Chuuya, palms planted next to Chuuya’s head to keep from falling over. Chuuya could only stare back in bewilderment as two brown eyes locked with his. The man was young, messy bangs and wide eyes. He would have been considered totally normal if not for the bandages that wrapped up to his neck and down to his wrists.
Finally coming to his senses, Chuuya yelled, shoving the man in the chest with all the strength he had.
“Get off!”
Tumbling to the floor, the brunet laid sprawled on the ground, somewhat surprised. The passing patients began to crowd around the pair in worry.
Struggling to stand up, Chuuya turned towards the man.
“Watch where you’re going, asshole!” he yelled, regardless of whether it was a patient or not. Chuuya was less concerned with the person and more with the embarrassing position he was forced into.
Instead of apologizing, the brunet’s mouth morphed into a smirk.
“Sorry, Chibi. I didn’t quite see you there.”
“Chibi?!”
“You’re much too short, I must’ve overlooked you.” he continued, shrugging with indifference.
“Why you—” Chuuya started, but by then the doctor had caught up, gasping for air catching his breath.
“Mister, I’m so sorry,” he said, glancing towards the man on the ground. His childish eyes met Chuuya’s apologetically. He snatched the stethoscope out of Dazai’s hand. “He escaped from his patient room with something that belonged to me.”
Dazai shrugged again, standing up. He was tall, Chuuya noted sorely. The bandages on his arm were tightly wound, as if part of his skin.
“Let’s go, Dazai,” the doctor sighed, “Before you cause any more problems.”
“I’ll race you there!” Dazai said gleefully, charging ahead. The hallway had cleared by now, leaving just Chuuya, Dazai, and Dr. Nakajima.
Waving, he called back, “See you, Chibi.” Leaving Chuuya half angry, half intrigued.