Chapter Text
‘Opulent’ society was not on the forefront of Chuuya Nakahara’s mind.
While he was a lord, and there were expectations therein that he was expected to upkeep, and other than general politics, he had no interest in polite society. In his deepest desires, he was a poet, writing to wide audiences who found comfort and peace in his works.
For now, they were crammed in the desk in his bedroom.
“You’ll be presented to society tomorrow eve,” his older sister told him one night at dinner. It was a conversation he knew would be happening soon. At three and twenty he was late in getting exposed to the marriage mart, mostly because he was carrying the duties of a lord and had no such time for things like that. It seemed frivolous when in comparison to anything that he actually deemed important. When his parents died three years ago, he became the lord of the house at a mere twenty. The last thing that mattered to him was finding someone to marry.
“Kouyou, I think you may be thinking that we have more free time than we actually do,” Chuuya said smoothly, “There’s no way I’ll be taking a partner of any kind this season.”
There wasn't anything Chuuya really longed for in the way of polite society. Not the way Kouyou wanted him to, anyway. He was more interested in feeding the arts, buying fine paintings and reading great literature. In his off time he squirreled away at his own poetry, leaving it stuffed in his desk drawers so that no one would know how soft his heart truly was to more gentle ideals. Especially since he was the lord of the estate. Kouyou would certainly give him a disapproving look if he indicated he intended to publish.
So he would just have to go along with what she said, not because he didn't have any ideals or notions himself, but because in the end he knew it was his duty and it wasn't something he was actively trying to escape. He always just felt that there would be something... More.
"The expectation is that you marry. It doesn't matter to who," Kouyou said kindly, indicating to Chuuya that he would not be expected to marry a woman. That was something he wouldn't even pretend not to be surprised by. His eyebrow quirked up into his bangs as he regarded his older sister carefully. "And what of the business of an heir?"
"Any children I have. Or you could adopt."
"I don't know that that would work."
"Sure it would. You could do what you want, even have a completely platonic marriage if you want, and continue to just keep doing whatever it is that you all day."
"Pardon me. For the better part of every day I am running this estate."
"And running about in the garden, and writing at your desk, and meandering about town. Honestly you have enough suitors fawning over your mysterious aura from afar as it is. It'll only get worse when you announce you want to get married."
"We have to announce it?"
"God. Yes, my lord, we have to announce it, because then people will know that you'll actually be receptive to them instead of ignoring anyone who bats their eyelashes at you."
Chuuya refrained from letting his eyes roll back in his head, and instead fixed his sister with a gaze that he hoped looked cold and calculated. "People do not bat their eyelashes at me."
"Oh, yes they do."
***
The whole thing was decided over dinner. Chuuya would enter society, actively pursuing marriage, and that was really all he would have to do. Kouyou assured him that he already had secret admirers, and the announcement that the Lord of Arahabaki was going to take a spouse would have them crawling out of the woodwork. That wasn't necessarily something Chuuya wanted or was feeling terribly excited about, but he had always had his mind set steadfastly to the future, despite his rather... Lofty hobbies. While Kouyou left gentle yet scalding remarks about his poetry and reading, he disregarded them. His sister had always been more by the book than him anyway.
"Is it true?"
Chuuya sighed. He'd invited Ryuu over so they could spend some time in the garden. He was also a man of literature, so Chuuya enjoyed spending time alongside him. Half the time they chose not to speak and instead just read or wrote next to each other, which was quite nice in a friendship, but not necessarily what Chuuya was looking for in a marriage. He wasn't looking for much of anything in regards to marriage, really.
"I thought we would sit in silence."
"We would, but I heard the funniest thing from Gin this morning. She said that the local gossip mongers were all strung up because they'd heard you were going to take a spouse." Ryuu looked down at his book, but it was clear he wasn't interested in picking up reading again.
"That's true. Kouyou thinks I ought to take the future of the estate more seriously."
"You do."
"That's true. But I suppose more is expected of me."
"Always the case."
"Truly I hold no interest for marriage."
"There is no one that turns the great Chuuya Nakahara's head?"
"No, certainly not. And not in polite society. They're all very boring."
"Dostoyevsky might try to make a play for you."
"The count? Bite your tongue."
Ryuu laughed. It was a nice sound, one that Chuuya didn't hear often, and he didn't think anyone else did either. But either way, the idea of being tied to the count was not a pleasant one. While Dostoyevsky came from a good family, and was plenty wealthy and could provide. But Chuuya didn't need to be provided for. While they would make a handsome match financially, the Count was constantly caught in scandals and the whole thing sounded too tiresome for Chuuya to deal with.
Besides, though Chuuya had resigned that he would not be able to marry for love, and was, perhaps, incapable of love, he still wanted his marriage to be one of partnership and comradery at the very least. He didn't think that was too much to ask, but then again, it seemed that most of the marriages that were taking place around him were ones of convenience, or ones where the couple lamely said "We're happy together" when asked about their honeymoon.
It was dismal to say the very least.
"Well, I suppose the question is, what do you want?"
"To read my books, write my poetry, and be left alone."
"So marry someone who will leave you alone."
Chuuya was almost interested by that statement. Someone that would let him run the estate in peace, but also maybe a companion with whom he could at least discuss literature. Or who he could let read his poetry... Someone who would leave him alone, but still be a companion. Lord knew that Chuuya liked his privacy.
"That has promise."
"Good. Because my father and sister expect me to take a spouse this season as well and I don't want to be alone out there," Ryuu said, relief coloring his voice. Chuuya had to laugh. For all that he was an introvert, Ryuu was about a thousand times worse, and had no interest in social events, even casually. Chuuya had used to tease him a little for it, but he understood it now. The need for solitude was one he felt too.
***
It was, as expected, a ripple throughout the community when it was announced that Chuuya was an available bachelor. He could call on any of the people that wrote him letters, men and women. They were clearly vying for his attention, and while Chuuya wanted to be flattered, he was simply bored, so he waited until the first ball to talk to anyone.
He went with Ryuu, Kouyou, and Ryuu's sister, Gin. He was grateful to have a friend nearby to settle his stomach. Despite the aloof nature he'd given himself, one he had definitely forced a little, he did still care a little bit about what people thought of him. And once they entered the Kunikida estate, he could feel everyone's eyes on him, boring into him like they could see his true intentions.
"I think you will be preoccupied much of the evening," Kouyou teased, bumping Chuuya's shoulder with hers.
He wanted to laugh, to have the usual comradery flow between them, but in truth he was still cross with her for recommending him for this situation in the first place. He was less than pleased that most of the debutantes in the room would be vying to put a ring on his finger or have him put one on theirs.
And there didn't seem to be much to look at, from where he was standing.
"You and I against the world," Ryuu said lowly when Gin and Kouyou disappeared in search of lemonade. Chuuya was almost sure that Kouyou would try to marry Gin off too, even though Ryuu was the oldest and would technically be the lord of the house, so there was no urgency for her.
"Chuuya Nakahara!"
Chuuya felt ice run down his back. Not because someone unfamiliar was talking to him, but because he could pinpoint exactly who that arrogant voice belonged to.
"Lord Dazai."
"Is that any way to greet an old friend?"
Dazai Osamu had been the bane of his existence at Oxford. They'd studied together but Chuuya had always found him to be incessantly irritating, so he stayed away from him unless prodded to socialize. He had dark windswept hair that followed no style and yet somehow he still looked like the most fashionable person in the room very time Chuuya saw him. Tonight he wore all white with silver accents. He looked like he'd walked straight in from Paris. Really, Chuuya did not want to speak to him.
But Chuuya always prided himself on being polite.
"I heard that the Lord of Arahabaki is taking a spouse this season," Dazai said, but his voice was so low and sensual in a way that almost made it sound like a purr. Chuuya read into his body language. How he was leaned towards Chuuya, his pressed white suit making him look crisp and refreshing. He was handsome, but he was not husband material. Chuuya knew better than anyone that the man was a Grade A rake and had probably slept his way through half the city by now.
"He plans to," Chuuya said coolly, looking over his shoulder expecting to see Ryuu for support but instead was met with an empty space.
Coward.
"Ah, pardon me, I'm being incredibly rude. May I?" He extended his hand out in offer to dance, and Chuuya could feel the eyes watching him. It would be rude to say no, especially the first dance of the night. It could either make him look completely undesirable, or it could make people want him even more. Give him more prospects. He swallowed hard, looking down at Dazai's hand. It was a nice hand. He had bandages wrapped around the wrist the presumably went all the way up, considering he had bandages on his neck as well. Chuuya wondered what caused them.
In his wonderings, he may have done something worse than refuse: he hesitated.
Dazai didn't take it as the rejection that many would have. He smiled even wider, bowed even lower. "Oh, my lord, I would be honored if you would take a turn about the room with me, if not a dance. But the dance would be preferable."
Chuuya sighed. "Alright."
He let Dazai pull him into a traditional hold, one hand in his, the other right below his shoulder, under Chuuya's arm. It wasn't a particularly intimate hold, but it was to Chuuya, who seldom touched others or let others touch him, even in a friendly, casual way. This was the closest he'd ever been to Dazai, as well.
"What are you playing at?" Chuuya asked as Dazai swept him into a dance. "You and I are not well acquainted enough for you to do this."
"What, dance? Is the point of courting not to get to know one's prospects?"
"Oh, so the great Dazai is the one in search of a spouse. I see."
"He might be." He said it in a sing-songy way, like he was taunting him, just a bit. Chuuya narrowed his eyes at him.
"I hope you are not considering me as a prospect."
"And if I was?"
There was that low voice, that purr that somehow seemed to resonate in Chuuya's bones. It made bile roll in his stomach. He tried to keep his heavy breathing as indistinct as possible, but he couldn't mask his irritation.
"I would say that you are a fool for even trying."
Dazai's fingers twitched against his back. "Why do you say that?"
Chuuya blinked. He couldn't be serious. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, trying to decide what to say. How could he explain that it was simply because the man would be far too irritating, that they never got along and weren't about to start now, that he was already sick and tired of being a prospect. And it had only been a few minutes.
"You think we could be a good match in any capacity?"
Dazai's eyes darkened, and he pulled Chuuya closer, minutely so that the people around them would not notice, but Chuuya noticed. Dazai was too close. It was making Chuuya feel hot in a way he didn't understand. He felt a bloom of anger as the music swirled to a close and Dazai said softly,
"I can think of one particular way we would be *very* good together, my lord."
Chuuya waited until it was appropriate and stepped back from Dazai, clapping for the musicians along with everyone else. "If that is why you seek a marriage, my lord, I do not think we could be compatible at all."
"And what is it you seek in a match?"
"Peace and quiet, which I do not believe you know the meaning of. Nevertheless, I plan to keep my privacy intact, which I am sure you would not allow me. I know you take me for a fool."
"I do not take you for a fool."
"Well you might as well!" Chuuya blew a sharp breath out his nose, trying to control his frustration. "If all you want from a marriage is the coupling aspect, I have heard through many, many different grapevines that you have found such happiness outside of the marriage bed regardless. What use would you have for marriage now?"
Dazai's smile slipped, just a little. "I suppose you would have to court me to find out."
"Well, I shan't be doing that, but thank you for the dance." Chuuya bowed shallowly and did the most mature form of scurrying to the other side of the room that he could've done.
Ryuu was waiting for him at the edge of the room, his eyes wide like an owl. "I am sorry for abandoning you," he said lowly, "But I did not think he would be so foolish as to ask you to dance."
"It seems Osamu Dazai's foolishness knows no bounds." Chuuya said, taking the glass of whisky that Ryuu offered him. "He indicated that he wishes to pursue me this season."
"Oh."
"Yes."
"And... How would you feel about that?"
"I do not wish to be married to him," Chuuya said firmly. It struck him in that moment that one of the reasons he was repulsed by Dazai's proposition was because he was not against the idea of coupling with someone, but he wanted to be the only one. And while Dazai was handsome and charming, he and Chuuya would never be able to get along, even outside the marriage bed.
And Chuuya also was forced to acknowledge that he would not be the only one sharing that bed.
Not that he wished to sleep with him. Just. If he was going to. He would want to be the only one.
Chuuya did spend the rest of his night dancing, with men and women, and he was discouraged to find that none of them piqued his interest. He couldn't feel a single spark all night. He was not after a love match, but he had at least hoped that it would be someone he would be able to coexist with.
"Do you anticipate him continuing the attempted courtship?" Ryuu asked as they rode home together in a carriage, carefully cautious.
Chuuya blew his cheeks out. "I certainly hope not."
In truth, there was something about being pursued that was sort of attractive. It made him feel desirable in a sense. Being pursued by Osamu Dazai however, was not attractive. It made him feel dirty. Dazai was known for going about things the wrong way, being a little bit conniving.
"Well. You may have to avoid him a little more. What if he comes to call on you?"
"I'll pretend that I am sick."
"That will only work for so long."
Chuuya let out a long breath and leaned against the window, watching the city pass by beside him. This business was not off to a good start.