Dazai had began something new, recently.
He had started writing down things he felt, thought, saw. Oda had enjoyed writing a lot before he'd passed, and now Dazai was enjoying it, too.
And he had accidentally made a living off of it.
After not having any love life for several years, he basically craved feelings of comfort, of being kissed and hugged, being cuddled at night.
But he just didn't know how to put himself out there.
And apparently, a lot of people felt the same way he did.
Dazai had once been asked during an interview why he had only written about longing for simple, romantic gestures and feelings. His answer had been that he'd never done anything beyond that, so he had no longing for it to return to his life.
"Plus, I have a daughter now, as well as my son. It would be hard doing anything with two rambunctious kiddos on the loose."
His kids were both adopted, of course.
Atsushi was almost an adult now, and Kyoka was already a teenager by the time Dazai had adopted her. They were both independent, yes, but they were also very chaotic and prone to adventure. A day with them was never a normal day.
Dazai knew he had no chance of getting back onto the dating train at this point, and that it was a lost cause. But he couldn't stop wishing for it. He missed those feelings of just being loved by someone like that, and of loving them in return.
It was a longing he couldn't suppress, no matter what he did. And he just didn't know what to do about it.
~
"Ok, so first I have to pick up Kyoka, then go buy more writing materials, and then go pick up Atsushi from clubs, and then we can go home. Shouldn't be too hard!"
Dazai grabbed his wallet, his glasses, put on his loose jacket, and was about to leave. And then he remembered his keys.
He grabbed his keys off the table and left, having a bit of trouble getting the car to start but getting it to work in a few minutes.
By the time he got to Kyoka's school, she had already been let out for around half an hour. Her school wasn't far away or anything, but the traffic today had just been ridiculous.
"Must be because of that new aquarium opening nearby..."
"How was school?" He asked Kyoka as she climbed in and buckled up.
"It was alright, I suppose."
Dazai felt a bit bad hearing that. Her tone of voice sounded kind of sad to him. He had his concerns, but he didn't really know how to bring them up without making her uncomfortable.
He drove to the store next, and he asked Kyoka if she wanted anything while he went to get some pencils and a bit of paper. He knew she'd say she didn't want anything, but she'd been staring at a bunny popsicle every time they went to the store since she was adopted and he could figure out that some part of her wanted it.
He went in and got what he needed, grabbing the popsicle for Kyoka and a tiger one for Atsushi since he loved tigers.
He paid for the items and went out with the bag. Once he put the bag in the seat next to him, he reached in and pulled out the popsicle, handing it to Kyoka.
