#also when i looked at our height comparison......we made likea. staricase shape :].........

[fictionallyinparadise]

I started writing this when I started feeling Bad and finished it recently. There aren't any TWs needed but please feel free to request one if need be. Take care <3 (also reblogs are off because this is kind've a vent-y piece and. yeah. I'm doing Better-ish btw)

Cora was silent, their head in Chuuya's lap while Dazai talked about whatever came to mind. A cloud shaped almost perfectly like a triangle, a dandelion that grew in-between side walk cracks, what he had for breakfast that day.

All of it was for the sake of distraction. Cora knew this; nights like this were becoming much too common. They weren't doing good mentally. Between everyday life stress, work anxieties, and dysphoria...they were perhaps at a low point.

Chuuya's fingers ran through their hair. It was longer now, with tangles and snarls littered around like seasoning. He didn't say anything about it, gently working the knots out with his fingers. Dazai eventually stopped his rambling and just leaned his head against Cora's shoulder.

"How do you feel, belladonna?" He asked in a murmur, fingertips brushing over their face.

"...numb." They replied in a mutter.

"Well, it's different from 'shit', so I consider this improvement!" He tried to find the bright side, giving a sympathetic smile.

"...is it an improvement?" The redhead muttered, raising a brow. Cora just shrugged their shoulders in response. They supposed it would be improvement compared to their usual answer but still, it wasn't an ideal answer.

"Can I get you anything, darling?" Dazai tilted his head, looking like an excited dog ready to fetch. They almost smiled at that.

"I dunno." They muttered, shrugging again. "I just..." They trailed off and sighed. "I don't know."

"That's okay, sweetling." Chuuya murmured softly, gently moving aside greasy hair he'd gotten untangled to the side so he could continue without hassle.

"I was about to say that!" Dazai whined, crossing his arms and sighing dramatically. They smiled at that. "Ha! I got them to smile!" His pout faded to pure happiness.

Chuuya rolled his eyes but seemed happy, patting the top of Cora's head. "Atta..." He trailed off, silent for a moment. "...atta-thing?"

That got them to laugh.

"Chuuya! Don't call our little bear a 'thing'!" Dazai scolded lightly, but he looked elated to hear Cora laugh.

"Well I can't say 'attaboy' or 'attagirl'! There's no neutal word I can use!" Chuuya shot back with a lighthearted glare.

"So 'thing' was the best thing you came up with?" Dazai crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Is that what our darling Cora is? A thing?"

They tried not to laugh more but failed. It was obvious the two were only having this back and forth to make them laugh. It was sweet, actually.

"Well, if they wanna be a thing, they can be!" The redhead crossed his arms and huffed. "That's not the point anyway, dumbass."

Dazai raised a brow and hummed, playing with Cora's hair a bit as they closed their eyes. "We should all take a bath! Together!"

"No bathtub would fit us, mackerel." Chuuya snorted, shaking his head. "Good idea, absolutely no way to execute."

"Well, we can just squish together in the bath." The detective waved a hand, poking Chuuya's forehead. "It'd be like cuddling!"

Cora glanced between the two, raising a brow. "Wet cuddling."

That made the two laugh, and brought a smile to their face. "That sounds dirty, silly." Dazai hummed, kissing Cora's forehead. "We'll figure something out. We always do!"

"You say that now, so you better now whine about leg cramps later." Chuuya said in a grumble, raising a brow. "I guess it wouldn't be too bad. What do you think, sweet thing?"

Cora was quiet for a moment before nodding a little. "Can we cut my hair first?"

Silence filled the room; not a bad silence but a thoughtful one.

"I can do it." Dazai offered gently.

They nodded and sat up, still sticking close to Chuuya though. The physical contact brought comfort.

Gingerly, Dazai cut their hair, the tangled locks falling to a paper bag held underneath. He was focused on the task, no remarks coming out as he just focused.

Chuuya held their hand, also silent. It felt comfortable to be silent. Soon their hair was back to the short length they preferred, though still greasy and rather unpleasant to touch.

It didn't seem to bother either of their partners, though. They were grateful for that.

Chuuya got the bath running, adding lavender Epsom salts and making sure the water wasn't too hot. Dazai waited behind, arms wrapped around Cora, his face buried in their neck. The warm silence continued.

It continued even into the bath. It took a while to get arranged, since it was hard to fit three people into one tub. But it worked, in the end. Dazai and Chuuya took turns, one rinsing Cora's hair while the other massaged berry scented shampoo into it.

Cora didn't say anything. They let themselves be taken care of, for once. It felt nice, having gentle hands rub shampoo into their hair or a hand shielding their eyes as water poured over their head.

Getting out of the bath was a little more chaotic. It was rather amusing to hear the two bicker about who would get out first and why. In the end, Cora got out first, and helped the other two out. They took over the task of drying themself off.

"See? I knew we could do it." Dazai's smug but genuinely happy voice broke the silence.

"I'm gonna have bruises from your fuckin' elbows." Chuuya shot back, crossing his arms as his wet hair clung to his face and neck.

Cora just chuckled a bit, shaking their head. They took the chance to slip out of the bathroom and nab their boyfriends' clothes to use as pajamas before coming back to make sure the bickering didn't escalate.

"Aww, look at our handsome bear! They look so pretty in your shirt!" Dazai immediately stopped the argument to gush over Cora, smiling widely. Chuuya glanced over, his cheeks flushing and a smile undeniable on his face.

"...yeah. It's better than swimming in one of your shirts, you tall bastard." He mumbled with a chuckle.

Cora raised a brow and laughed at that. "It was the first shirt I could find."

"Well, you look positively glowing!" The brunette grinned, pressing multiple kisses on their face.

Chuuya, not about to miss out on giving Cora more affection, scrambled over, wrapping his arms snug around them, head resting on their shoulder.

A rather romantic scene if it wasn't in the bathroom.

Amused, Cora just returned the affection before getting dragged to bed, being immediately pulled into the usual messy cuddling position.

Chuuya, buried into their arms and clinging onto them, while he and them laid almost on top of Dazai, who had his arms loosely around them both.

It was awkward with limbs getting tangled and bumped together but Cora wouldn't trade this for anything. It felt nice, to just be held and to hold. Especially after the rather hard past few weeks they'd been enduring. This was always a relief from it all. And at least now, that relief came with the comfort of being clean with their usual haircut back.