Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A yawn escaped Atsushi Nakajima's mouth as he rubbed his eyes in confusion. 

Then, in realisation, his eyes shot open. His head raced off desk, as he looked at his surroundings, though it was more like his surroundings were looking at him. 

Across the agency, almost everyone (except for Ranpo) was looking at him. Their gazes fell hard onto Atsushi, piercing through his. They all looked like they wanted to ask the same question. What was that reaction? Atsushi was most definitely not going to answer that question. 

Instead, he laughed nervously, and muttered some kind of an apology under his breath, before continuing back to his work. 

The agency's attention was short lived, because they all went back to whatever they were doing. 

Atsushi’s eyes went back to the paperwork that he had been sleeping on, his eyes widened. When he realised that there was in fact a lot of work, maybe a little too much, he sighed and began to take documents from the pile that seemed like it was growing by the minute, while planning in his head what he ought to eat when he got home. 

While he was thinking, something other than food popped into his head, surprisingly. A certain black haired goth clouded his thoughts without his knowledge, for some reason. Atsushi swore that he saw Akutagawa in his dream, though he didn’t know what Akutagawa was doing. He assumed that the only reason he thought of him so much was because he hated him, but Akutagawa was invading his thoughts way too frequently to be normal. 

He rubbed his eyes again. If Akutagawa wanted to invade his thoughts, he would just distract himself with work, even if he didn’t want to. 

His hand found its way back to the pencil, as he started to scribble writing onto the paperwork, trying to get home faster. A few minutes passed in comfortable silence as we all (excluding Dazai, Ranpo, and Kenji) worked on what documents we had. 

Atsushi's head was down, not on the table, but enough not to see his face. Unlucky for Atsushi, he couldn't see anyone either. 

Suddenly, he heard footsteps walking calmly to his desk. For not the first time that afternoon, Atsushi's head shot up from the desk, only to see Dazai at the front of it. 

“Hi Atsushi-kun!” Dazai said in a faux charismatic tone, waving one of his hands, the other one was ‘occupied’. Atsushi didn't care enough to check what was in Dazai’s other hand, so he just looked at his face instead. 

Atsushi let out a sigh. I put up my head for this? he thought, wishing he was at home, wrapped in blankets and eating chazuke with Kyoka. 

“Hello? Atsushi!!” Dazai said in a sing-songy, almost teasing voice. That snapped me out of my trance quickly. I knew what he had to say next was nothing good. 

“Yes Dazai?” I said, trying to sound as sincere as possible, though it came out as annoyed. “Wow, you seem on edge today, don't you?” He said. Atsushi opened his mouth to talk, but he beat me to it. 

“No need to talk. That's not the reason I'm here.” He said quickly, keeping his charmy smile tight. Now, his smile looked genuinely happy, and that could not have been good news. 

“I am here to give you a little bit of paperwork!” He said enthusiastically, for some reason. “Paperwork?” Atsushi said, looking from Dazai, to the stack of documents on his desk, then back to the pile of documents in Dazai's arms. 

He was carrying them with surprising balance, though Atsushi had learned not to be too shocked when a certain brown haired boy did something that was out of the ordinary. “Yes Atsushi-kun, paperwork!...” he said happily, his voice dying down in a sort of pity for Atsushi's brain, for it was going to be overfilled by the time he got back to his house. 

The owner of the brain in question sighed heavily. “OK… put it on my desk.” he said quietly, feeling like he was going to grow eye bags right there and then. “Thank you!” Dazai exclaimed, already half way to his desk by the time Atsushi noticed he'd left. He'd just blinked, and Dazai was gone. Atsushi blinked a few more times, before looking back down and begrudgingly continuing on the document he was doing before. 

Now, about half an hour had passed, and he still wasn’t even almost done with the pile of work that he had. His hand went to grab another document, but when he put it down, he saw the title of the document. In big bold letters, it said ‘Mission: Akutagawa and Atsushi’ and he froze. 

A mission with Akutagawa?? In this state, when I’m thinking about him this much?? Is the world just against me?? He thought pitifully, for himself of course. He set that document to the side, starting a new one; he was not going to deal with that, especially right now. 

He continued to write, as the sun went down, and it soon became night. Before he realized it, there was only one more folder left, though it wasn’t one that he wanted to do. Instead, he decided to bring it home and look through it there. It was better to look at it while he was in bed, cozy and ready to take on the world, instead of this cold agency. Seriously, he needed to invest in a sweater, the fall was already here and he was not prepared. 

At all.

Atsushi stood up, but this time, there was no one to look at him. Everyone had already left to go to their homes, and he suddenly noticed the keys on the desk. He remembered, Kunikida left them on his desk and told him to lock up when he left. He wasn’t really listening, he was more focused on doing his work and leaving this hell hole. He snatched the keys off of the desk and walked to the door. He opened the door, his footsteps echoing around the silent room, making Atsushi flinch slightly. Then, he turned around to close the door, lock it, and continue to walk. 

The walk home was silent, though Atsushi’s head was everything but silent. He was thinking of many things at the same time, but now, he was thinking about Akutagawa, like he has been for most of the day. He had to go on a mission with the one person he hates, who's also the person who's been clouding his thoughts. Then, he had another thought. What day was it on? He certainly couldn't do it this week, his brain was NOT ready for that. Wait, what was he thinking? He was strong enough to go on a mission with Akutagawa, I mean, it was just a mission, right? 

His pace went slightly faster in a(n attempt) to get home quicker and figure out just when he had to face his fears. At last, he looked up at his door in pride. He was so happy that he got this far in life, a smile being apparent on his face. He had been at the agency for a year now, he was 19. He thought about his days as an orphan, though he quickly shut those down. Akutagawa told him already, the past is the past, there's no point in dwelling, and he was right. He was so lucky to have friends of his own. ‘Wait, did I just think about Akutagawa again?’ he thought, hitting himself on the head. 

“What are you doing?” Dazai said, scaring the silver haired boy shit-less. “Dazai! What are you doing here?” I said, looking pale. “Hey, I asked you a question first!” He said, sounding mock offended. “I was going inside my room to read this.” Atsushi said, waving the folder in his face. “Now if you'd let me, I would like to g- HEY!” he said, yelling at the end. Dazai had grabbed the folder out of my hands swiftly, hiding it behind his back. 

“I didn't mean to give this to you, it was a total accident! You can only read this while on the train to the mission!” Dazai said teasingly, like that wasn’t the actual reason. “Why can't I just read it now? What difference does it make?” Atsushi said, trying to grab at the folder, though Dazai kept dodging perfectly. “I want it to be a surprise!” he said playfully, though that didn’t work on me, not anymore. “Tell me the real reason, I won't freak out, I promise!” Atsushi said, turning to his other methods. “There is no other reason! Tomorrow, my office, be there. It's an explanation of the mission because I think that you guys might freak out just a bit.” Dazai said, making a pinching motion with his fingers. “You guys? Where are you going?” Atsushi said as Dazai walked away suspiciously. “None of your business, Atsushi-kun~!” he said, already halfway out of the hallway. 

Atsushi silently gave up, unlocking his door and throwing his keys randomly, he probably shouldn't have done that… oh well! He ran straight to his bed, needing the warm embrace of his soft bed. After working at the agency for so long, he had finally been able to afford an apartment. It was small, but still a huge upgrade from the closet he used to sleep in every night. 

He slowly walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge and hoping to see something edible. The options were milk, bread, and a few oranges. He sighed, grabbing an orange from the fridge sadly as he walked to his room, that was something he was looking forward to! As he finished his orange, the door to his room was pushed open, inviting him warmly. Atsushi jumped onto the bed, grabbing the pillow closest to him and squeezing the fluff out of it. Today was a very long day, so it was only fair that he got a very long sleep to make up for it, right? His eyes closed and fell into a dream about warmth, the agency, chazuke, 𝖠̶𝗄̶𝗎̶𝗍̶𝖺̶𝗀̶𝖺̶𝗐̶𝖺̶ , and some more.

Chapter Text

Silver eyelashes flickered open, though immediately closing again. “Ughh.” he sighed, covering more of his head with his blanket. 

He didn’t want to go to work for two reasons. One, work is so exhausting, he swore that it was slowly killing him inside. All that paperwork, not even including the ones Dazai just dumps on his desk, are way too much for one person, especially for someone like Atsushi. 

The second, was because a certain boy that he was supposed to have a mission with soon. The thought of seeing Akutagawa again made him feel things he didn’t think he was supposed to. 

He quickly pushed himself up, trying to get those thoughts about Akutagawa out of his head. If he was going to work properly, he had to think straight (A/N pun intended…). He pulled open the curtains, before closing them shut again, too much light and way too early in the morning. 

He rubbed his eyes, stumbling to his lamp to turn it on instead. When he did, he was satisfied, that was just enough light for him. He walked over to his bathroom, doing his normal routine slowly, yawning every time he moved. When he was finished, he quickly walked to his room and threw on his clothes. 

By now, he had fully woken up, and was determined not to be late. As he walked into his living room, he didn't dare look at the fridge, for he knew it would ruin his morning, and possibly evening. 

He had a little chase around his house trying to find his key from yesterday, and finally found it… under the TV?! Whatever, he did not have enough time to think about that right now. He dashed out the door and locked it, running out of the apartment speedily (perks of being a tiger). The doors to the agency were pushed open, as he was greeted face to face (literally) with an annoyed Akutagawa. 

Atsushi stepped back cautiously. “Akutagawa… why are you here?!” he accidentally yelled, though no one in the agency even bat an eyelash, as if they expected it. “You're late. What else can I expect from you, weretiger.” Akutagawa said condescendingly. “Late for what? And you didn't even answer my question?” the silver haired boy answered, or asked back. “Come. Dazai’s office.” Akutagawa said abruptly, turning on his heel and walking to what Atsushi would assume was Dazai’s office. 

‘How does he even know where Dazai’s office is?’ Atsushi thought, though he was still following Akutagawa. They finally got to his office door, and Akutagawa knocked. “Dazai, are you in there?” Akutagawa asked. “Come in~” Dazai sang, inviting them in. 

Dazai’s office wasn't anything out of the ordinary, you know. Just some paper on his wooden desk that Atsushi was sure he wasn't going to do. The only unusual thing was the neatly tied rope laid on his desk, and that scared him a bit. 

“-ushi. Atsushi! Sit down.” Akutagawa said. Atsushi snapped out of his thoughts as he saw that everyone in the room was sitting except for him. “Sorry…” he said, awkwardly sitting down and trying to make his presence as small as possible, though it wasn't really working, because he was taller than the man next to him. 

“Anyways, I called you two here for a mission! Aren't you excited?” Dazai said, though our faces were both showing anything other than excitement. “OK… so what you will be doing is quite simple. There is an ability user that has been causing the agency and the Port Mafia some trouble, but they are a master at disguise, no one can figure out who it is. Ranpo doesn't have any evidence to deduct with, so that is where you two come in.” Dazai said mysteriously. 

“We know that this person loves fun and parties, that's his whole thing. We got an anonymous message telling us that they would be at this specific party, so you have to scout them out!” Dazai said, though he wasn't yet finished. “This party is formal, so you two will need something fancy to wear. I'm not worried about Akutagawa, but you might be in trouble if you don't find something formal to wear, Atsushi.” Dazai said, though it hurt Atsushi more than Dazai intended. 

“We'll give you two a budget from the Mafia and agency to cover the expenses of the trip. That includes everything that has to do with the mission, ok?” Dazai said, seemingly trying to make Atsushi feel better, though it wasn't working. 

“Got it…” Atsushi said, smiling nervously. “Right! Here's you guys’ folders for the mission. I advise that you read it on the way there as a pass time, since all the information on there is everything I've already told you. And the money is in the pocket in the folder. The train comes at 6:30 am, tomorrow, so get ready to pack those bags and get moving! A hotel is already booked for you two near the bar, and if this takes more than one day, you will need to stay there for the night. That's about all you need to know! ” Dazai said, holding two folders out playfully, closing his eyes and smiling. “Now go, I need to make a very important and work related phone call. Shoo!” Dazai said, waving his hands towards the doors annoyingly. We complied obediently, as always. 

Atsushi stood near the door after leaving for a few seconds, turning on his tiger senses and waiting to see who Dazai was calling, though he thought he had an inkling of who it might be. “Chuuya! I missed you! Oh the things I've been wanting to do to y-” Dazai said, though Atsushi walked away and quickly turned off his tiger hearing; he did not need to hear any of that. 

As soon as we stepped out of the earshot of Dazai, the real Akutagawa came out. “Tch, why did I have to go with you of all people. We have many other, better, options at the Mafia than you.” Akutagawa said, taking way too many jabs at the other man's heart, though he didn’t show it. “This is a joint mission with the agency and Mafia. And I'm guessing this isn't as big of a case for Dazai and Chuuya to go, so you just have to suck it up and deal with me.” Atsushi said, not being able to respond to Akutagawa any way other than banter. 

The goth didn't answer that, just kept walking like Atsushi hadn't said anything. Atsushi scoffed, surprised at his pettiness. “What, cat got your tongue?” Atsushi said teasingly, taking advantage of this moment of victory. “Shut your mouth weretiger, I would kill you right now if I could.” he said coldly, not at all answering his question, though Atsushi knew that he didn't mean that, at all, he was extremely sure of it. Now, Atsushi didn't care enough to scoff, or even sigh anymore, there really wasn't a point if it wouldn't get through Akutagawa's head. 

Atsushi opened the folder cautiously and pulled the money out of the pocket, eyes widening as he saw how much money was in there. He quickly shoved it back in the pocket, not wanting to lose one dime of all that money. He shut the folder and continued to walk. As he left the agency, he started to walk the other way, though a voice stopped him. 

“Where do you think you're going?” Akutagawa said, talking like it was common sense, though Atsushi knew better than to listen to Akutagawa's attitude. “Going home, where else am I supposed to go?” He said, hitting Akutagawa back with the same common sense tone he used on me. “To buy your suit for the mission, obviously.” He said quickly. “And who said I was going with you?” The silver haired boy snapped back just as quickly. “I'm going too, might as well go with you. I don't want to be seen with someone wearing an atrocious outfit.” He answered, though that was not the answer Atsushi wanted, at all. 

“Oh yeah, I'm so convinced by your insults. At least try to be nice to me.” Atsushi said back, rolling his eyes and turning his head to Akutagawa. That was a bad mistake, as he immediately got the answer to why he thought about Akutagawa so much. Akutagawa looked great, his hair reaching right under his chin, clinging to his skin gracefully, totally unlike he was. He wore his usual Mafia outfit, and even though Atsushi had seen it countless times, he couldn't help but admire how good it looked on him. His eyes were a dark grey that looked almost black, but Atsushi knew better than to think that, he had analyzed his rival far too many times to make that mistake. The goth's skin was pale, almost like a vampire's, and god, it fit him so well, just as well as it looked. How did he not notice how gorgeous he looked in Dazai’s office? 

Atsushi blinked for a few seconds, before snapping out of it. “Atsushi? What do you think you're staring at? If you don't get moving I will force you.” Akutagawa said, glaring at him. “Whatever, if I go will you leave me alone?” He said pleadingly. “Until the mission, gladly.” Akutagawa said, turning around in the other direction, with Atsushi at his tail, though he was far enough away to not to look like he was acquainted with the boy in front of him. 

They continued to walk in awkward but slightly normal silence, with no one talking, but no one feeling the need to either. Atsushi took some time to take in his surroundings; the cars rushing around quickly, the sun peaking in and out of the houses as he walked to their destination- wait, where even was their destination? For all Atsushi knew, Akutagawa could've been leading him to his death right now. 

Fuck, how did he learn to trust Akutagawa so frequently, he was his sworn rival for god's sake! Atsushi's hand raked through his hair, though he was still following Akutagawa with no interference, nor any fear, for some odd reason. Akutagawa put out a hand, signaling him to stop. “We're here.” He said, turning his head in a way that did something to him. They had finally reached their destination, a tall building that seemed very fancy, too fancy. Nonetheless, he walked in, following Akutagawa like a dog. 

Akutagawa pushed the door open as a bell rang through the level. “Hello gentlemen, what may I help you with today?” a short lady from beside the door, startling Atsushi a little bit. She looked bubbly, her hair in a half up half down sort of look. She was wearing a long skirt that went to her ankles, the color was pink, as Atsushi would assume. She looked like a foreigner, but Atsushi didn't want to assume. Her face was young; she couldn't have been older than 17, and Atsushi wondered how she was working at such a young age, though it wasn't really his problem. 

She smiled at us warmly as she awaited our answer. Luckily, he didn't have to talk, because the other man spoke for him. “We are here for suits. May you please show us to the section?” Akutagawa said as Atsushi gawked at him subconsciously. He never thought Akutagawa could be so… nice? He had only ever seen the rude mafioso side of him, never the out of work one. I mean, he never wondered about it, but he might now. A casual Akutagawa… soft eyes, calm voice, out of work clothes- seriously, Atsushi had to stop giving in to his thoughts about Akutagawa, they were going to be way too big to handle. 

“Of course, right this way.” The lady said, giving Atsushi something to do while leading us to the back of the store. The store was ginormous, with dresses and suits for all types of occasions scattered around the store. Atsushi's head bobbed around the store, looking like he had no clue where he was, and that wasn't fully wrong. “What types of suits are you looking for?” The lady said, turning back to us. “Formal, we can pick the sizes. Any color, thank you.” He says kindly. “Alright! Let me show you the way.” she said, turning back as she swerved across the place like she owned it, which she probably did. “Here you go, our most formal suits in all sizes and colors. Do you need any more help?” She said. “I do actually, do you know where the changing rooms are?” Akutagawa said, though she obviously knew where they were. “They are right over there, beside the prom dresses. If you have any trouble finding it, I'll be beside the door as always.” She smiled, bowing her head a little and waiting for Akutagawa to let her scatter away to the front of the store. “Of course. Thank you ma'am.” He said, and she giggled before leaving. 

When her footsteps became silent into the distance, Akutagawa's whole demeanor changed suddenly. “Pick, fast. I don't have all day.” He scoffed, already walking away to look at the darker suits. “If you had eyes, you could see that I'm doing just that.” He scoffed back, giving all his bark and fully ready to bite. Though Akutagawa didn't answer, Atsushi took that as another silent victory. He looked back to a suit that he had been eyeing; a very pretty black suit with purple undertones that he thought were gorgeous, though he couldn't find out why. He touched it curiously, and it felt tough, but still comfortable enough. He took one that he thought would fit him and put it to the front of the rack, so that he could find it easily, before searching for other options. 

His eyes unknowingly darted to Akutagawa, who was… already looking at him? They stared at each other for a few seconds that felt lik eternity, before dashing our eyes away from each other. Atsushi looked at some other suits hurriedly, but none of them looked as good as he thought the first one looked. He took the suit he thought would fit him and started to walk. 

“Akutagawa, I'm going to the changing rooms, coming soon.” He said in an attempt to sound civil. “Already?” Akutagawa said, though it sounded more like an insult than a question. “Yes, already.” Atsushi said quickly, wasting no time in leaving Akutagawa alone. “Huh.” Akutagawa scoffed under his breath, though Atsushi could clearly hear it. 

The door to the changing room swung open as Atsushi stepped in, putting his suit on the hook as he started to undress. He faced away from the mirror, not wanting to look at old scars. He grabbed the suit, tugging at the buttons to get the under shirt, before just taking the pants, deciding on trying to get the undershirt out later. After he put them on, he caught a peek of himself in the mirror, and damn, he looked kinda good. 

He turned around slowly taking in himself. He had abs from extensive training in order to beat Akutagawa, always aiming higher than the stars. His burn scars didn't bother him as much as he thought he thought they would, bit he wasn't complaining. He thought they looked kind of cool now, and it showed how much he had progressed in life; from a helpless orphan to someone who could actually contribute to society, someone who could actually help. 

He turned his head back to the matter at hand, the damn undershirt. After many, many failed attempts, he finally got it out and wore it proudly, though he still had the rest of the outfit to put on. He ran into a problem; he had absolutely no idea how to tie a tie. Shoot, how did he not think about this? The tie wasn't tied, to show what it looked like on the front and the back, though that didn't really matter to him. Should he call over Akutagawa? That would be way too embarrassing for him, but did he really have a choice? He didn't want a random person like the store lady to have a bad impression of him, but Akutagawa already had a bad impression of him, so might as well. 

Suddenly, a past memory popped into his mind. Atsushi and Akutagawa were going to fight, their 6 months had ended and it was now time to fight to the death, but none of them looked nearly happy or excited. In fact, they both looked like they didn't want to be their, nor to fight. Suddenly, Akutagawa dropped his hands. “I… don't want to fight you.” Akutagawa said, putting his hands up in defeat. Atsushi's mouth was wide open. “You… don't?” He said, not understanding him at all. “I don't. I thought I wanted to, but I don't. Just give yourself a favour and kill me already.” Akutagawa said in a tone of tiredness and defeat. “... I won't.” Atsushi said back. “I don't want to kill you, I want to fight you. I want to train and rival you, I don't want to hate you. I never have. We can fight some other time when you've snapped out of this thought that I hate you, is that ok?” Atsushi said. He wasn't used to being affectionate with Akutagawa, but he didn't think he minded it. Akutagawa had been through just as much as he did, and as much as he didn't want to admit, Akutagawa was a great partner. Akutagawa was strong enough that he brought out the best in him, but they Atsushi also brought out the best in him too. Atsushi would never want to lose someone like Akutagawa. 

Now, we were both out of fighting positions. “So… what do we do now?” Atsushi said, breaking the tension between them. Atsushi swore he saw the sides of Akutagawa's mouth twitch upwards a little bit, but it was covered up just as quickly. “Silly weretiger, we go home?” He said, though it sounded more like a question. “Mhm, that's a plan. Well… bye I guess.” Atsushi said awkwardly, smiling nervously like Akutagawa would attack at any second, though that didn't happen. Instead, Akutagawa turned around to where he came from, not even saying bye back, and Atsushi was on the verge of a scoff, until he was silenced. “Bye weretiger. Until next time.” He said ominously, walking away into the distance before Atsushi could asked what he meant. As Akutagawa left, the reality of the situation settled on him. ‘Did I just say that I didn't want to kill Akutagawa after all these years?!’ and more thoughts just like that. He turned around and decided walking away would make the thoughts go away. Spoiler; it didn't. 

Suddenly, he was snapped out of his memories when a knock hit his door. “Weretiger, what are you still doing in there?” Akutagawa said annoyingly. “Nothing! Actually, can you come in?” Atsushi said quickly, immediately regretting his words. “Why.” Akutagawa said shortly. “Just do it, do you want me to get out or not?” Atsushi said impatiently, if he was going to be embarrassed, might as well do it quickly. “Fine.” Akutagawa said, opening the door to a weird sight. Atsushi had his undershirt on, though it wasn't fully buttoned for some reason, and he was fiddling with a tie which didn't look like it was doing it's job. 

Akutagawa immediately shut the door behind him, it would be way too embarrassing to be seen with someone looking like this. “So why am I here?” Akutagawa asked condescendingly. “I… don't really know how to tie a tie?’ Atsushi said, smiling stupidly, like he always did. A sigh escaped Akutagawa mouth. “Whatever, come here.” Akutagawa said, though he walked closer to Atsushi instead. 

Atsushi's back hit the wall as Akutagawa buttoned the remaining buttons like he was unaffected. Though his thoughts went along the lines of ‘he's so stupid, how can you not know how to tie a tie?’ and ‘when the hell did he get taller than me!?’. Akutagawa held out his hand as Atsushi looked at him, confused. Akutagawa gave him a blank stare before saying “The tie, give me it.”. An ‘ooh’ left Atsushi's lips in realisation, before putting it in his hand. Akutagawa grabbed it and put it around Atsushi's neck, looping it through itself a few times before it looked right. 

“There, now can we leave?” Akutagawa said proudly, though still annoyed. “Nope, I still have to put on the rest, remember?” Atsushi said, pointing to the hook with one piece of clothing left to put on. “Putting on a suit is so hard, why do people do this.” Atsushi groaned, grabbing the vest on the hook along with the accessories. Akutagawa was still there, though he was backed onto the wall to the opposite of Atsushi, watching him intently, like he needed any more Intel on Atsushi, he already knows everything. Then what is he trying to do? Akutagawa is so damn unreadable. 

The buttons on the vest were closed tightly, giving him just enough space to breath, but not too much. Now for the accessories, there was a small belt chain that was golden, along with a purple handkerchief in his chest pocket, and Akutagawa thought those colors complimented Atsushi's eyes beautifully, though he would never admit it. 

As they were all on, Atsushi stared at himself in the mirror, and occasionally the black haired boy beside it. “Alright, I'm getting this one, you can have the changing room now.” Atsushi said proudly. “I don't need the changing room, I already tried mine on, you know that there's more than one changing room, right?” Akutagawa said teasingly. That… hadn't crossed his mind. “Oh… then why were you waiting in here?” Atsushi said. “... Shut up weretiger. I’m outside, buy the suit and leave.” Akutagawa said, turning around and leaving the room, leaving Atsushi with no answer. 

Nonetheless, Atsushi begrudgingly took the suit off and put on his normal clothes, luckily it was easier tot take off than put on and he changed in no time. The accessories were a bit of a hassle, but he left the room and walked up to the cash register. “I would like to buy this, please.” Atsushi said kindly. Unlike Akutagawa, his kindness was to everybody. Well, except for Akutagawa, but you get the gist. “Of course, cash or card?” The cashier behind the desk asked kindly. “Card, here.” a familiar voice answered, tapping a card onto the register. On the card, the name wrote ‘Ryuunosuke Akutagawa’. Atsushi's head turned as he was face to face with his rival. He jumped away, that was way too close. “What are you doing here, you said you would be outside?” He said, confused. “You were taking too long. Also, don't pay with cash, you'll take up the cashiers time, and ours.” Akutagawa said like it was common sense. Atsushi wanted to argue, but he was much to tired to do so. Also, Akutagawa's eyes seemed to be sucking him into some portal that he was unaware of, so he just stayed quiet. 

“H-here's your suit sir.” The cashier said, interrupting my thoughts. She handed the bag to Akutagawa while obviously trying to hold back her laugh. “Thank you.” Akutagawa said, glaring at Atsushi, though his mind was very much laughing at Atsushi right now. He turned around and left the store with the bag, with Atsushi left blinking at the door, though he quickly snapped out of it. “Akutagawa, wait up, that's mine!” Atsushi said, running out the door childishly.

Chapter Text

Atsushi laid on his bed, thinking. 

Thinking about what to pack for the mission, thinking about how tired he was and what he wanted to eat, thinking about Akutagawa. Atsushi got up quickly. He needed something, anything to distract him from that man. 

He looked around the room for something, when his eyes fell upon a brown bag. That's right, he could try on his suit again! He jumped off the bed and walked to the bag, grabbing the handles and walking to his bathroom in a rush. He got all of it on again, thoughts about Akutagawa touching his neck creeping in his head, though he shut them out. 

Well, he tried. 

He was going to just give up on looking for something to do, when he remembered that he had to pack for tomorrow. He walked to his closet stiffly, the suit still bounding him. Seriously, how was he going to fight in this? He'd have to get used to it I guess. 

He grabbed a few changes of clothes and threw them into a beat down suitcase that he somehow found in the depths of his closet. He didn't really have too many things to pack anyways, he had just enough to survive at least 2 days, so it didn't really matter. He threw the suitcase on his bed triumphantly, smiling to himself. Now, he could get some good sleep. I mean, it was already getting late, and he didn't want to be late to the train tomorrow, so he put the suitcase beside his bed and fell into a deep slumber. 

*

His eyes flickered open and… he wasn't in his room? He was in the changing room of the store he had just gone to, and Akutagawa was there too. His hands traveled around and across Atsushi's neck with the tie in his hand, though he didn't seem to be using it. Akutagawa's eyes went from Atsushi's neck to his eyes, and they stared at each other. Akutagawa was still fiddling, though it wasn't doing anything, as his eyes were a little redirected. “Akutagawa?” Atsushi said, sounding very confused. “Atsushi.” Akutagawa said, and Atsushi's breath escaped from his lungs. Akutagawa called him… Atsushi. My name sounds… cute in his voice. Akutagawa… called him Atsushi?! “Woah, what is happening with you right now?” Atsushi said hurriedly, worried for Akutagawa's mental health. “Shut up.” Akutagawa said, and that reassured Atsushi that that was in fact Akutagawa. “So… what are you doing?” Atsushi said, feeling like this had happened before. “Kiss me.” Akutagawa said suddenly, catching Atsushi off guard. 

Nevermind, this definitely hadn't happened before. 

“W-what!?” Atsushi said back, stammering over his words. Akutagawa grabbed the collar of his shirt like he had done before, though now it was done with different intentions. “Kiss. Me.” Akutagawa clarified, though it didn't really help. “You want to… kiss me?” Atsushi asked. “Isn't that what I said twice silly?” Akutagawa answered, getting closer, though Atsushi didn't seem to mind. “Well, do you?” He said again, though it didn't feel pressuring. “Please?” Atsushi said, giving in to every single thought he's ever had about the man in front of him. Akutagawa got even closer, their breaths now together as one. The space soon parted as th-

*

A sharp intake of breath was taken, as Atsushi got up in a haze. “Mm, what the hell was that?” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes open. He didn't remember much, just Akutagawa. His hands scattered to his side table for his phone, when his hand landed on it. He grabbed it, picking it up to check the time, he didn't want Akutagawa to drag him again for being late. He flipped open the phone, his eyes widening when he saw the numbers ‘6:03’. 

He got up almost immediately; he had less than 30 minutes to get ready! He ran around the house, hurriedly getting ready. He threw on the only pair of clothes he had left in his closet because the others were in his suitcase, which was a white dress shirt with a light brown sweater that snugged him just enough to look baggy, but still like it fit him. His pants were flared jeans that were a little torn at the knees with almost unnoticeable grass stains, but they carried memories of when he would play in the grass with Kyoka and Kenji. He grabbed his suitcase and phone in a hurry, swiping the keys from his kitchen table and running out the door. 

He ran to the train stop, hoping to catch it, when he caught sight of Akutagawa, and all the memories from his dream came back. “Weretiger, you're late yet again. What else would I expect.” Akutagawa said, though Atsushi didn't seem to be listening. He was wearing casual clothes, something he never thought he would live to see, but there's a first for everything, I guess. He was wearing a black shirt with the name of a band that Atsushi knew nothing about, though it looked great on him. He was too wearing jeans, though his jeans were a depressed grey and mine were a light blue. 

“Weretiger? Answer me.” Akutagawa said, walking closer to me, away from the train stop, though he didn't make it far, since Atsushi answered. “What? Sorry, I'm still not fully awake.” Atsushi lied, walking to Akutagawa, while Akutagawa stopped, waiting for him. Akutagawa didn't respond, instead he just stood there, arms crossed over his chest. 

A loud blowing sound came closer, alerting Atsushi that the train was here. Akutagawa also looked back, turning his body to the train's direction, but he didn't move until the train stopped. As people lined up to get onto the train, Atsushi and Akutagawa followed, rushing in to get good seats. “Luggage please.” A man beside the entrance to the train said. He was a big guy with a bunch of tattoos, he looked pretty scary. Though Atsushi doesn't judge on looks, so he just put the suitcase I'm the man's hand and said thank you before boarding. Akutagawa seemed to do the same. 

They took two seats next to each other and Atsushi took one step higher than their seat to let Akutagawa sit down first. “What are you doing.” Akutagawa said, narrowing his eyes and Atsushi in suspicion. “You want the window seat, right? I mean, you told me you did.” Atsushi answered, still not moving. Akutagawa was still glaring at him, and Atsushi swore he saw a slight flare of surprise on his face, but Atsushi didn't budge. “Whatever.” Akutagawa said, getting into the seat calmly like nothing had happened. Atsushi sat down, satisfied with Akutagawa's compliance. 

—

An hour passed by quickly, as Atsushi decided to read the folder that Dazai told them to read in the time being. He checked around for it, before remembering that he put it in his suitcase. “Akutagawa, do you have your folder? I left mine in my suitcase.” Atsushi whispered, just in case he was asleep. “Take it.” Akutagawa said, handing him the folder. His voice was raspy from what I'd assume was tiredness as he went back to the position he was in before. He took a few moments to look at Akutagawa, how much they had progressed, until his attention was redirected to the folder as he opened the folder carefully, his eyes skimming across the page. 

Names of participants: Nakajima Atsushi and Ryuunosuke Akutagawa… Location of Where The Mission Will Take Place: ‘2**** Violette RD West’... Relationship Between Participants: engaged… WAIT, WHAT?!?! 

He checked again to see if he read that right, and he did. They were engaged for this mission?! Dazai must be going insane, Akutagawa is definitely going to kill Dazai if he finds this out. Atsushi isn't even gay, how is going to do this? He'd only done missions like this with women, not men. And Akutagawa of all people?! The universe (Dazai) REALLY hated him today, huh. Atsushi’s shaky finger tapped Akutagawa yet again. “What.” Akutagawa said, now fully turning his head to Atsushi instead of the window. “Look here…” Atsushi said cautiously. Akutagawa's eyes skimmed the page just as Atsushi's did, until his eyes fell onto the same words Atsushi was talking about. 

“Does that say engaged or am I going insane.” Akutagawa said, looking up at me with a mix of confusion, anger, and a little bit of amusement. “No, you're unfortunately right. That says engaged.” Atsushi said, hoping for the least of Akutagawa's anger, though surprisingly, none of it came. Well, not directed to him at least. “Call Dazai. Now.” Akutagawa said, and Atsushi could hear the commandment in his tone. He pulled the phone out of his pocket, flipping it open and typing in Dazai’s number. Ring, ring, ring. 

“Atsushi-kun~! What is the reason that I am being graced with this call?” Dazai sang, seemingly in an extremely good mood. Well, Akutagawa was about to ruin that. “Dazai… why the hell are me and the weretiger engaged?!” Akutagawa yelled. “Woah Akutagawa, calm down. It would be unnatural to go into a bar with your friend, it's more a lover thing, eh? And it's not that big of a deal if you're acting, right? This mission is very important, you guys have to do anything and everything to find out this murderer. Do you have any more questions?” Dazai said, though his explanation didn't seem to be enough for Akutagawa. Nonetheless, Akutagawa just scoffed and said “No.”. “Yeah, me neither.” Atsushi added. “Great! The rings are in the pouch where the money is!” Dazai said before hanging up. 

“The nerve of that guy!” Atsushi muttered, raking a hand through his hair like he did when he was stressed. Akutagawa hummed in agreement. Atsushi looked in the folder pouch for the rings, until he found them. “Here, put this on.” He said, giving Akutagawa the ring. “Mhm, this looks expensive.” Akutagawa said, inspecting the ring. “Yeah, now put it on before you lose it.” Atsushi said teasingly. Akutagawa glared back at him. “Unlike you weretiger, I don't lose things easily, because I'm a careful person.” Akutagawa said like he was making a point (he was not). “Whatever, just put it on.” Atsushi said, already putting his on his ring finger. “Fine.” Akutagawa said, slipping the ring onto his fins perfectly, like it was meant to be there. 

After that, they continued with whatever we were doing before, zoning out into our own worlds. Atsushi's eyes felt a little heavy as they shut closed. He blinked, and he was somewhere else now. It was dark and there were bars in front of him. There were dried tears on his face because there was no point in crying if no one heard him. A familiar face stood outside the door; it was the headmaster of the orphanage. Atsushi's eyes went blurry for no reason, until he realized that he was crying. “Stupid child. You will never amount to anything. The only thing you could contribute to this world is dying and becoming mere dirt.” He said, reopening and stabbing every single wound that Atsushi tried so hard to close. “Y-your wrong. You're not alive anymore, you're just a figment of my imagination. Get out of my head!” Atsushi yelled as his nails scraped his scalp and he shook his head violently. 

Voices yelled in the distance, though his eyes were only fixated on the headmaster. But the voice kept getting louder, and he was forced to snap out of it and listen. “-etiger! Weretiger!” the raspy voice yelled, redirecting Atsushi's attention. Now, he wasn't in the cage anymore, but fully in the dark. There was nothing surrounding him, he didn't even know what he was sitting on, but the voice still called him. Suddenly, a familiar figure walked out of the shadows. It was… Akutagawa? Atsushi didn't even care who it was anymore, he just wanted to leave. “Weretiger! He's not real, he died! Come back, wake up weretiger!” Akutagawa yelled as eyes widened. I'd never seen him care like this, but it was probably fake, like he is with everyone. Akutagawa drew closer, until he was looking down at me. “Wake up, please.” He whispered, and Atsushi swore it was the softest voice he had ever heard, not like anything that would come out of Akutagawa's mouth. Nonetheless, Atsushi still listened, trying his hardest to wake up. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think about what he was doing before, but nothing came up. With a sigh, he opened his eyes, though he was somewhere else. 

*

He was in the changing rooms again, fuck. Akutagawa's arm wrapped around Atsushi's neck, while the other one pulled his collar. Their lips crashed suddenly with no time or space for air. Atsushi didn't know what to do with his arms anymore, in fact, he didn't know what to do with his whole body. He just gave into the man's touch obediently. Their bodies touched as they explored each other's mouths curiously. Atsushi tried something, he put his hands on Akutagawa's hips, trying to pull him closer than they already were, which was sort of impossible, but it's the thought that counts. Akutagawa seemed to like that, because he bit the bottom of my lip in the best way possible. He put his leg in-between Atsushi's thigh, staring into Atsushi's eyes. We took a split second to breath, before jumping right back into each other's mouth. 

Fuck, he tasted like heaven.

Akutagawa grabbed the back of Atsushi's head gently, though still showing his desperation for Atsushi's tongue. “Atsushi, fuck. I need more of you so bad.” Akutagawa said, putting his forehead on Atsushi's before diving right back into Atsushi. “I feel the exact same, gorgeous.” Atsushi breathed, letting Akutagawa bite down on him more times than one in different places that all somehow felt good. Atsushi closed his eyes in pleasure yet again and when he opened them again, he was awake. 

*

His face was immediately flushed red. What the hell was that?! He licked his lips, rethinking that whole… thing. Fuck, he would've never thought Akutagawa could bite like that. He touched his bottom lip, silently wishing that what happened was real, though he would absolutely never admit that. He was going to stretch his arms, because felt like he had been sleeping for years, but he felt a weight on one of his shoulders. 

When he turned to the side, his eyes fell upon a wonderful sight. Akutagawa was sleeping peacefully on his shoulder, his skin glowing at this angle; he looked angelic, even though he was anything but. His heart was beating so hard that he thought it might've woke Akutagawa up, but luckily it didn't. His breath was heavy, but he was trying to keep it quiet, he really was! He fought back the urge to take a picture and blackmail him, but he didn't do that either. Instead, he settled on staring at the view, Akutagawa. 

The window seat wasn't really being used to the best of Akutagawa's abilities, but at least Atsushi might have looked sort of nice in his eyes. “Aw, you two are such a cute couple!” A random lady whisper-yelled, smiling at me. ‘Couple?!’ Atsushi thought. ‘Did we really look like a couple?’ Atsushi thought again. Nonetheless, he answered. “Thank you ma'am, I appreciate it.” Atsushi said, smiling back at her. She bowed her head as she walked down the aisle. “Kind men like that are almost extinct these days…” the lady muttered, though my tiger senses heard it perfectly fine. That made him smile. Not that she thought they were dating, definitely not. Just the fact that she said he was kind. Totally. 

“Mm, weretiger, I'm gonna kill you.” Akutagawa muttered, though his eyes were still closed. Atsushi's heart jumped out of his chest for a second, before realizing that Akutagawa was… sleep talking? He had never seen it in person and always wondered about it, I mean, how could someone talk while unconscious, but he didn't think about it too much. Suddenly, Akutagawa's breathing spiked. “Weretiger, please. I… I. Mm, fuck.” Akutagawa murmured snippets of whatever was happening in his dream. ‘Why is he saying my name?’ Atsushi thought, thinking of possible contexts those words (and sounds…) could be used in, but he came up blank. 

Akutagawa made some more… questionable noises, before he spoke again. “Mm, I need you weretiger.” He said, and Atsushi could not find any other possible option of what he was thinking about. He slowly took his phone out of his pocket again, not wanting to wake up the sleeping beauty on his shoulder. He flipped the phone open to check the time, and the train ride was almost over. The time read 8:02 am. Damn, it's been a long time since they got on the train. They got off at 8:30, so he decided to wake Akutagawa up and give him time to do whatever he wants before we have to spend our day together. 

“Akutagawa, wake up. We're almost there.” He whispered, trying to tap Akutagawa on the forehead with no avail. “No, I wanna stay. Stupid weretiger can't tell me what to do…” He muttered, groaning while hitting his head onto Atsushi's shoulder in a show of rebellion, though it didn't really affect Atsushi. Well, not physically. 

“Akutagawa… you have to get up, we’re almost at our destination.” Atsushi said, trying to convince him, though it wasn't really working. “Huh, the mission. I… the mission…” Akutagawa mumbled, slowly realising what just happened. His head shot up from Atsushi's shoulder and his head was turned away from him, he was now very interested in the trees outside. The tips of his ears were a light shade of red. Atsushi thought about Akutagawa's reaction with an amused face. “What was that Akutagawa?” Atsushi said teasingly, smiling as if nothing were wrong. “Nothing. Shut your trap before I shut it for you.” Akutagawa said threateningly, and Atsushi was reminded that Akutagawa was a mafioso, and not just some rival he fought with from time to time. 

“Yes sir.” Atsushi said jokingly, laughing nervously. That got a very slight smirk from Akutagawa. “Stop 2*** approaching.” The voice on the speaker said, announcing their stop. Atsushi got up first, walking over to the doors and waiting for them to reach the stop. Akutagawa came right after, grabbing the pillar opposite to Atsushi. The train finally came to a stop as they walked to the side of the train to grab their bags. They walked into the distance, bickering about something that didn't matter. 

Finally, they made it to their hotel. Akutagawa opened the door and walked to the register. “Hello! Do you have a reservation with us?” A boy behind the counter said. “Yup. Ryuunosuke Akutagawa and,” Akutagawa paused for just a split second, that only Atsushi seemed to notice. “Nakajima Atsushi.” he finished. He seemed scared to say my name, for some reason. There were some sounds of clicking on the computer and side glances, before he spoke again. “Follow me this way!” He said, smiling at them like he knew something they didn't and leaving his little section to show them the way. We followed immediately. 

Atsushi heard a few grunts come from his side and as he looked, he saw Akutagawa trying hard to look like his luggage wasn't heavy, and it wasn't working. Atsushi didn't know why he didn't just make Rashomoun carry his bag, but I guess he didn't want to look out of the ordinary, especially on a stealth mission like this one. “Akutagawa, give me your bag.” Atsushi whispered, holding out his hand discreetly. “And why would I do that?” Akutagawa sassed. 

“You obviously can't carry all that weight. You take my bag, which is lighter, and I'll take yours.” Atsushi said, thinking up a good solution. “Who told you I can't carry my own bags? You know I'm not ill anymore. Neither am I weak.” Akutagawa said, glaring at me. “I know you're not weak, but strong people have a limit too. Just give me your damn bag before I grab it out of your hand.” Atsushi demanded. A scoff left Akutagawa's mouth, but he did give Atsushi his bag. 

“Give me yours.” Akutagawa commanded. “As you wish.” Atsushi answered, slipping the suitcase into Akutagawa's hand. “This weighs literally nothing, no wonder you weren't struggling.” Akutagawa said, lifting it up and down with ease. “I get it, I underpacked a little. This bag is pretty heavy, you should have enough for the both of us, right? It's what engaged people do!” Atsushi laughed jokingly, wiggling the finger with his ring on it in Akutagawa's face. “Shut up. It’s for the mission, not to share clothes.” Akutagawa said, whispering at the part where he said mission and karate chopping Atsushi right in the head. “Hey, I was joking!” Atsushi whisper-yelled, rubbing the spot Akutagawa hit dramatically. 

“Here is your room, lovebirds.” The man said, stepping out of the way and letting us in the room. It was pretty nice, with two closets, a cute carpet, a couch and in the distance, I could see different rooms like a bathroom and kitchen. Though, one particular thing caught Akutagawa's eye. “Why is there only one bed?” Akutagawa asked, not sounding mad, but wanting an explanation. “Oh, did you not know? The person who booked you this hotel gave you guys the couples room. It's cheaper because it has less beds, and it also sets the vibe since I heard you two are engaged! Good for you two!” he said, excited at a random stranger’s love life. “Thank you sir.” Atsushi said, walking into the room while taking Akutagawa's hand. Akutagawa hurriedly shot his hand away from Atsushi's, and he felt a little bad for touching Akutagawa without his permission.

The man closed the door slowly, smiling at us the whole time. As soon as the man was supposedly out of earshot, Akutagawa spoke. “You're taking the couch. No discussion.” Akutagawa said, not even letting me speak. “Hey, how is this fa-?!” but Atsushi didn't get to finish his sentence, because Akutagawa had already crashed face first into the bed. He let out a huge sigh, before sitting up again. “Go see if there's any food in the kitchen. Actually, just check the whole house.” Akutagawa said. “Hey why me?!” Atsushi asked. “Because you're the better looking fiancé, you have to work for once in your life.” Akutagawa stated, like it was common sense. ‘Did he… just tell me that I was good looking?! He must seriously be going crazy, do you think he stole some of Dazai’s mushrooms?’ Atsushi thought, listing off some things that Akutagawa could be on. 

Then, it clicked to him, Akutagawa was asking him to check for cameras, how did he not get that? Atsushi didn't know why there would be any cameras in a random hotel, but it's better to be safe than sorry. “Fine, but what time was the party again?” Atsushi asked. “I think it starts at 9:30 or 10:00, it's tonight.” Akutagawa answered, now delved into something on his phone and not moving his eyes away from it. “Mhmk.” Atsushi said, pleased with his answer. 

He searched the kitchen first, checking every cabinet and pantry, even the fridge for cameras, but he found none. Though he did find a Fanta™ bottle, he made sure to hide that for himself to enjoy later. He moved onto the living/bedroom, where Akutagawa had been. He checked inside the side tables and everything else he could think of, though Akutagawa kept pointing out different places that Atsushi hadn't even thought about, making him a little annoyed, though his pettiness didn't last long. Finally, he checked the bathroom, and it was clear, so he went back to the living room. “There's none, sorry!” Atsushi said, though he didn't sound sorry at all. “Whatever…” Akutagawa said in a faux sadness. 

Atsushi sat down on the bed too, sitting on the end of it so that they were facing each other. “OK, we need to talk. How the hell are we going to convince people that we're engaged?” Atsushi asked, and that caught Akutagawa's attention. “I… do not know.” Akutagawa said. “We can start with pet names. What could I call you?” Atsushi pondered. “What about… Ryuunosuke?” Atsushi said, waiting for Akutagawa to scream ‘NO!’, though it never came. “You could do that I guess… what could I call you?” Akutagawa said, redirecting the conversation. Atsushi was still stuck on the fact that he would be allowed to call Akutagawa by his first name. 

“What about Atsushi?” Atsushi suggested. “Absolutely not, I vowed to myself that I would never call you that.” Akutagawa said like it was a fact that he wasn't allowed to call him Atsushi. “Oh yeah, and who decided that one?” Atsushi asked teasingly. “Myself, of course.” Akutagawa scoffed. “Fine, we'll go by your rules, princess. What do you want to call me?” Atsushi asked, not giving any more ideas. “How about dalin- no, I sound like a grandma. What about my love, that's good?” Akutagawa asked. “Wait, call me that again, I wanna know if it sounds cheesy or normal.” Atsushi asked, leaning in barely an inch and glaring holes into Akutagawa's eyes. “My love.” Akutagawa said, tilting his head so slightly that Atsushi thought he might explode, though he didn't let any of it show. 

“Yeah, that's good.” Atsushi said. “One last thing. We need to set boundaries. Where I can touch you, where I can't, things like that, you know?” Atsushi said, and Akutagawa seemed like he agreed. “So? I can start. You can touch my arms, my hair, my face, and my neck, along with anywhere above the waist. Anything else, you have to ask. Got it?” Atsushi said. “Mhm, that's easy enough. Mine is the same as yours, though don't touch my upper arms without permission. That's it.” Akutagawa said. 

“OK, now I can sleep. Bye, Akutagawa.” Atsushi said, the good bye completely slipping out of his mouth. “Goodbye, weretiger.” Akutagawa spoke, laying down onto the bed as Atsushi took the couch that was oddly soft, though he wasn't complaining. His eyes fluttered closed, today was so long, he'll have a little nap. After all, it was 9:00 am in the damn morning, and he woke up at 6:00. His dreams engulfed him as he fell into a deep slumber.

Chapter Text

Atsushi yawned loudly, catching the attention of a certain grey eyed boy. “You're finally awake?” Akutagawa teased, still sitting on the bed, though his eyes were on Atsushi now. “Mhm, leave me alone.” Atsushi muttered, turning and thrashing around in his bed/ the couch, though he didn't really have much space to do so. He grabbed onto the nearest pillow and hugged it for dear life, refusing to get up unless he was forced. “It's 5:23 pm, get your ass up and do something.” Akutagawa swore, walking up to the couch Atsushi was sleeping on and smacking his head. “Mhm, it's too early.” Atsushi groaned, dragging out his words annoyingly. “We need to get ready. Find out how to talk to people, you know, keep up the conversation.” Akutagawa said, almost reading Atsushi's mind. 

“I guess you're right… but we can do that later, I'm too tired to think.” Atsushi answered, voice muffled in the pillow (A/N that's what she said…). “Later is never going to come if you keep this up.” Akutagawa said, though it sounded like a threat. “Please Akutagawa, we can do this lat- OW!” Atsushi pleaded in a whisper, but it quickly turned into a yell. Akutagawa had now walked up the the front of the couch and smacked Atsushi's face more than one time. Atsushi kicked his legs in an attempt to get him to stop, though it didn't work. “Are you awake yet?” Akutagawa growled, not stopping for one second. He grabbed Atsushi's face and squeezed it, staring at Atsushi with death in his eyes. “Mhm, I'm awake, leave me alone.” Atsushi mumbled, though it came out as unintelligible nonsense. “What did you say?” Akutagawa joked, letting go of his face at once. “I'm awake now.” Atsushi pouted, though he looked anything but awake. 

His hair was a frizy mess, strands of hair flying in all directs, but it somehow fit his face perfectly, making him look effortlessly pretty. He went to sleep in the clothes he wore on the train, but they looked messier, one side of his sweater pulled up to right above his hip in a tease. His jeans were unbuttoned, just barely showing the outlines of his boxers. His arms were wrapped around a pillow and his chin peaked just above it. His eyes looked into Akutagawa's playfully, but also a bit drowsy from his deep slumber just now. 

Akutagawa's breathing got slightly heavier. 

“Good, then get up.” Akutagawa demanded. Atsushi obeyed begrudgingly, cursing Akutagawa's name while stretching. When he did that, his sweater raised, giving Akutagawa a peak of Atsushi's hips and stomach, though he immediately redirected his eyes, coughing into his hand to cover his slight flush that was very apparent on his pale skin. Atsushi was way too tired to notice. Atsushi stood up from the couch, looking at his suitcase with what Akutagawa could only assume was a look of determination. 

“What are you planning, weretiger.” Akutagawa said. “I'm going to try on my suit again, of course. I have to get used to the tightestness, after all.” Atsushi said, walking over to the end of the room where he had put his luggage, along with his suit. “Mhm, might as well try mine on too. It also fits a little tight on me, but I can handle it.” Akutagawa said, following Atsushi. “Oh? I'm excited to see which one you picked.” Atsushi said, though he didn't sound so excited. Akutagawa scoffed as he picked up his luggage and headed into the bathroom. “Don't leave until I'm finished changing!” Atsushi yelled as Akutagawa walked into the bathroom, not hearing what Atsushi said. “Ugh, whatever.” Atsushi muttered, undressing quickly. 

He put on his pants first, the place where he wouldn't want Akutagawa to see the most, he would most likely die of embarrassment. His hands traveled to the undershirt in the pile of his clothes, grabbing it and pulling the sleeves over his arms in a rush. He, yet again, didn't button it fully, though that might have been on purpose. He struggled while trying to fit the tie over his head, before he remembered that he could just adjust the tie to be bigger, and he felt stupid. He put it over his head then to his neck, readjusting it to snug him perfectly. Next came his vest, which was now the hard part. He practically had to squeeze it onto himself because of how tight it was. Though when it was on, it didn't feel as tight as is did before. He took the belt chain and clipped it onto his pants. Finally, he folded the handkerchief to the best of his abilities and tucked it into his chest pocket. 

As he was doing that, Akutagawa walked out of the bathroom, and damn, he looked gorgeo- NO! He looked… good. Atsushi silently gawked at Akutagawa, though he thinks that Akutagawa might have not noticed, but when Akutagawa saw Atsushi, all he did was scoff and roll his eyes. “Whats with that reaction?!” Atsushi said, very offended by whatever that was. Akutagawa didn't answer. Instead, he walked closer to Atsushi, grabbing his tie and flipping it out of the way. “Your damn shirt, it's unbuttoned again. It's making me mad.” Akutagawa said, not staring Atsushi in the eyes, but instead at his unbuttoned undershirt. 

“OK Mr. Perfectionist. I don't think it's that important.” Atsushi said. “I can't be seen with someone that's untidy, especially if they're my fiancé, fake or not.” Akutagawa replied, still focused on Atsushi's shirt, though it was already fully buttoned. He pulled the vest closer together, getting a yelp out of Atsushi, before smiling, like he had completed some unknown side quest. Atsushi didn't answer this time, not even a scoff. Not because he didn't want to ruin Akutagawa's happiness. Of course not. 

Atsushi took (what he thought was) a short second to look at Akutagawa in all his beauty. His hair was messy and unkept, though it still somehow looked amazing, the strands of his raven hair falling over his cheeks gracefully. His face had an emotion on his face that Atsushi couldn't quite decipher, which annoyed Atsushi seeing how long they have known each other. Atsushi's eyes trailed to Akutagawa's vest, admiring the sewing. The string used to sew the vest was red, giving it that Rashomoun look that Atsushi adored. His undershirt was a scarlet red, but he was wearing a black ascot cravat instead of tie, and it fit him perfectly. The ends of his undershirt had slight ruffles, and so did the sleeves. His pants were black, with a chain just like mine hanging off the side of his hip. 

“Atsushi? You're zoning out so much today. I probably should've let you sleep.” Akutagawa said, whispering at the last sentence, though Atsushi heard it, as always. “What? Oh, it's nothing.” Atsushi said vaguely, walking over to the bathroom to look in the mirror. As Atsushi brushed past Akutagawa's shoulder, black tendrils shot out of the ruffles of Akutagawa's undershirt, wrapping around Atsushi's waist and shoulders abruptly. Atsushi froze, relaxing a little bit when he remembered that it was Akutagawa keeping him bounded, though Atsushi didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. Rashomoun lifted him up, putting them face to face. 

“Tell me the real reason. If you're distracted during the mission, it won't get completed.” Akutagawa demanded. Of course, because it was always about the mission, and never about Atsushi. That didn't help Akutagawa get the answer, not in the slightest. “I told you it was nothing, I'm just tired because a certain someone wouldn't let me sleep.” Atsushi sassed, glaring Akutagawa straight in the eyes. Akutagawa scoffed, glaring right back at him. 

Suddenly, Rashomoun tightened around Atsushi's waist, getting a whine from Atsushi. Between Atsushi's suffocating vest and Rashomoun's deathly grasp, he felt like he would faint at any moment. Even though his eyes went a little heavy, he was still wide awake, so that was a good sign. Rashomoun raised him closer to the ceiling, making Atsushi's breathing spike up. Now, the only sound in the room was Atsushi's heavy breathing and the faint sound of the fan. “Let… go.” Atsushi just barely breathed out. “And why should I?” Akutagawa said, though he lessened the tightestness on Atsushi's waist just enough for him to speak properly. 

“You can't always resort to violence for answers, Akutagawa. Please, let me go.”

Akutagawa kissed his teeth, though he felt the weight of Atsushi's words hit him. “How else can I get answers?” Akutagawa said, looking up to Atsushi and revealing a sudden hint of vulnerability, making him regret it immediately. “Definitely not like this. If you handle everyone like this, we won't get through this mission.” Atsushi joked, but stopped laughing abruptly, laughing hurt when he was like this. Akutagawa seemed to notice, because he lead Atsushi closer, loosening his grip on Atsushi's waist before fully letting go of Atsushi begrudgingly. 

They were now close, very close, inches away close. Akutagawa hadn't noticed that he pulled Atsushi so close until they were both on the ground. They stared at each other, both trying to read what the other was thinking, while their own minds were buzzing. They were in a sort of staring contest that Atsushi was not aware of. Of course, Atsushi was the first to look away, a tint of pink on his lightly tanned face, though he quickly looked back because he noticed something. 

On Akutagawa's cheeks, there were… freckles. They were extremely faint, almost gone, but they were still there. Atsushi had felt like he had accomplished something, learning a new thing about Akutagawa. He wondered where else the older man had freckles. His shoulders, his elbows, his… WOAH! Atsushi really needed to stop thinking like this, or else Akutagawa might realize. 

“Are you going to answer my question or am I going to have to bound you again, weretiger?” Akutagawa said, sounding too serious to be joking. A nervous laugh left Atsushi's mouth as he thought of an answer. “You could try to talk kinder, like how you did to that lady at the suit shop. You sounded really demanding. Also, you want to know why for the mission, that's a horrible answer. If you really wanted to know, it would be for your own peace of mind, not for the mission. If you did that to anyone else, they might have never talked to you again.” Atsushi criticized, smiling so slightly that you could barely tell that it was there, though they were so close that Akutagawa noticed instantly. “And what about you? Why won't you never talk to me again.” Akutagawa asked, tilting his head menacingly, though it didn't look so scary from Atsushi's eyes. “Because I know better than to judge you for your tone. I've known you for too long to be that shallow.” Atsushi smiled warmly, unknowingly doing something to Akutagawa's heart, but Akutagawa couldn't find out what it did. 

“Huh.” Akutagawa breathed, or sort of scoffed, secretly thankful that Atsushi was like that, he didn't want anyone else to leave him, especially someone as important to him as Atsushi was. “Are you going to tell me why you're zoned out today, or keep being vague about it.” Akutagawa finished, keeping the eye contact steady. “I really wasn't lying, I'm super tired! I could go to sleep tight now if I wanted to, which I really do.” Atsushi said, laughing a little at the end. “Oh yeah?” Akutagawa said, sounding very unconvinced, but nonetheless, he let Atsushi go. Atsushi walked to the couch, but Akutagawa stopped him, not by Rashomoun, but by his voice. 

“Where are you going? Sleep on the bed, I'm not letting your back ache for this whole mission.” Akutagawa said, his annoyed tone sounding nothing like his kind words. “Are you sure, I can take the c-” “Take the damn bed before I make you.” Akutagawa said, not even letting Atsushi finish his sentence. “Yes sir.” Atsushi laughed, turning around and walking to the bed. His eyes grew soft as he saw the bed, jumping onto it lovingly and grabbing one of the fluffy pillows at the front of the bed and snugging it into his arms. Akutagawa felt the corners of his mouth twitch while watching Atsushi being cut- no, stupid, definitely stupid. He turned his head over to the couch, walking over to it to sit down and watch whatever he could find to ease his boredom. 

—

Time flew by quickly, consciousness slipping away from Atsushi's grasp as he fell into a deep sleep for not the first time that day. Akutagawa stayed firm, the sleep in the train seemed to fill him for the many hours after that, though that wasn't the case for Atsushi. An hour before, he had checked the folder for the mission, and the party started at 9:30, though usually people would come at around 10:00. Reminded of the mission, Akutagawa's eyes skimmed his phone, before looking at the time, he wanted to be early to the party to make a good impression on the host. The time flashed 8:12 pm, and that made Akutagawa immediately stand up. 

He walked over to the bed were Atsushi was sleeping, snoring softly. He was still wearing his suit, but the buttons on his vest and undershirt had been undone, most likely by Atsushi himself, his bare chest out in the open. Akutagawa flushed a little bit, before getting back to the task at hand. He shook Atsushi's shoulder lightly, turning him over so that his back was to the bed. Atsushi's head turned by itself, his eyes blinking confusedly. “Hm, is that you Akutagawa…” Atsushi mumbled, opening his eyes so slightly that he was basically squinting. “Yes, it is. Get up, it's 8:12.” Akutagawa said, not at all afraid to get straight to the topic. “Oh yeah? Mhm, do we have to go?” Atsushi pleaded, but Akutagawa wasn't going to fall for it. “Weretiger, get up, before I drag you out of this damn bed.” Akutagawa demanded, and Atsushi finally listened. 

He stood up, wobbling to balence his feet, and stretching his arms upwards while tilting his head. “Weretiger, your shirt.” Akutagawa said, pointing to the unbuttoned mess out an outfit he had on. Atsushi's face flushed a little while looking down, trying to quickly button them, but his butter fingers weren't helping, at all. Akutagawa sighed as Atsushi continued to struggle, before getting closer. Akutagawa's hands flicked away Atsushi's, taking matters into his own hands, literally. 

He buttoned the shirt with precision, always getting the button into the slit. He finished quickly, moving onto his vest, which only had two buttons, though they were sort of large. Still not a big deal for Akutagawa. Akutagawa looked at Atsushi, waiting for permission to touch lower that what he asked, and Atsushi gave an embarrassed nod. Akutagawa's eyes wandered back to Atsushi's vest, taking the buttons and buttoning them, finally. Akutagawa's gaze went to Atsushi's eyes with an unimpressed look. “You really need to learn how to get a grip on things, watching you try to button your shirt was quite literally hurting my soul.” Akutagawa said. 

“What were you saying before, we're going to be late to the bar? Let's get moving!” Atsushi laughed nervously, changing the conversation quickly while walking to the door, though Akutagawa's eyes were still stuck to his back. A sigh left Akutagawa's mouth, rubbing his temple and closing his eyes, that wouldn't do anything though. Atsushi unlocked the door, opening it, though Rashomoun quickly locked it again. Atsushi's head shot back to Akutagawa. “What did I say about using Rashomoun for unnecessary reasons, like that!” Atsushi said, looking at him with an scolding look. “And why should I listen to you?” Akutagawa said, Rashomoun still tight around the lock. 

“Because your fiancé says so.” Atsushi smirked, finally getting a reason to use the fiancé excuse. An offended laugh left Akutagawa's mouth, surprised that Atsushi was using his excuse on him. “We have more than an hour until the party starts, so we have time.” Akutagawa said, making movements with his hand to tell Atsushi to get back there. With an eye roll, Atsushi obliges, walking over yo Akutagawa with no questions asked. “What am I supposed to do now?” Atsushi said, looking down(?!) at Akutagawa with big eyes. “I don't know, keep your shirt buttoned, that might be a challenge for you.” Akutagawa joked as Atsushi's face turned a little pink. 

“I'll try the best I can, Ryuunosuke.” Atsushi said, trying to embarrass Akutagawa, and it worked. His face went pink too, looking away from Atsushi's teasing gaze. “Don't call me that, we're not on the mission yet, my love.” Akutagawa said behind the hand that was covering his mouth, though he still aimed an attack at Atsushi at the end of his sentence. Both of them were too flustered to talk, the room somehow heating up as they looked away from each other. Atsushi was the first to look back, grinning a little as he held his hand, folded it into a fist, and hit Akutagawa on the head. 

“That's what you get for calling me that.” Atsushi smirked, not expecting Akutagawa to do anything back but scoff. Atsushi was soon proven wrong by a slap on his cheek. “That's what you get for calling me by my first name.” Akutagawa said, glaring at me with a look of determination. Atsushi's heart raced. Atsushi jumped on Akutagawa, pushing both of them onto the bed. “That's for waking me up. Twice.” Atsushi said, holding up two fingers. Atsushi's knees were on the sides of Akutagawa's hips, and his hands were pinned beside either side of Akutagawa's head. Rashomoun wrapped around Atsushi loosely, turning him over as Akutagawa pinned him. 

“That's for talking back to me.” Akutagawa said. “That's not even a good excuse!” Atsushi argued, though Rashomoun wrapped around his mouth so that only muffled ramblings came out. They play fought like this for a while, until they fell onto the bed, both out of breath. They looked at each other, Atsushi's smile being to bright for Akutagawa. “Mhm, what time is it?” Atsushi breathed, closing his eyes. 

Rashomoun wriggled out if Akutagawa's vest, retrieving his phone from the couch. The phone landed in him hand as he opened the phone. The numbers 9:04 pm flashed in Akutagawa's face, almost stealing the little oint of breath he had left. He got up quickly, turning to Atsushi. “Get up, I think we're really gonna be late!” Akutagawa yelled out of urgency, the first time Atsushi had heard him be like that, and god was it refreshing. Atsushi stood up, running to the door right after Akutagawa.

Chapter Text

A car honked as the new double black ran up to it. “This car is for Ryuunosuke, right?” Akutagawa said, out of breath and panting from running all the way out of their room, down all the 4 levels of stairs because the elevator wasn't working, and out the hotel doors to the parking lot. “Y-yes, this is for him.” The driver said, sounding a little bit concerned, and maybe contemplating a little why he took this job. Without answering, Akutagawa opened the backdoor of the cars, with Atsushi hopping inside too. As soon as the doors closed, the car sped away into the distance. 

Atsushi and Akutagawa took their sweet time to catch their breaths, their jagged, shaky breathing becoming smoother and slower. As soon as he could, Atsushi started to laugh. It was a real, unfiltered laugh that caught Akutagawa off guard. 

It continued, confusing Akutagawa, until Atsushi's gaze fell onto him. They shared a look, and they both didn't know what it meant, but it meant something. They held it for as long as they could, seeping into each other's eyes, trying to find something that neither of them knew. Unexpectedly, after a lot of seconds, Akutagawa broke the eye contact first. His eyes were directed to the window, refusing to look into Atsushi's eyes like that again, afraid of what he would find, or even worse, what Atsushi would find in his. 

Atsushi's eyes furrowed in confusion, still staring at Akutagawa with a slight hint of amusement. “This is your fault.” Akutagawa muttered, knowing full well that Atsushi could hear him either way. “What's my fault?” Atsushi pouted, still looking at the back of Akutagawa's head teasingly. “It's your fault that we're going to be late.” Akutagawa said, looking back, or better yet glaring back at Atsushi's eyes. 

“And how did you get to that conclusion? You started it by using Rashomoun to lock the door, when I told you not to use Rashomoun for things like that.” Atsushi said, proving his point while grinning. “Don't forget that you were the first one to call me Ryuunosuke, and you were the first one to hit me.” Akutagawa said, leaning in closer to Atsushi with an air of intimidation, though nothing like that worked on Atsushi, not from Akutagawa. 

“And remind me who provoked me to do that?” Atsushi joked. “That wasn't provoking you, that was stopping you from leaving the house, which I had to do, because it wasn't time yet.” Akutagawa said. “And yet we're still late.” Atsushi said, leaning into Akutagawa too. They continued to bicker like this for the rest of the car ride, the driver slowly losing his sanity throughout the long ride. 

He should've brought ear plugs if he knew these two would be who he was driving. The driver took a glance at the mirror, when he saw that they were both wearing matching rings on their left hands. Those two were… married?! They sure didn't act like it, well maybe they did, he didn't know, he's never been married. 

‘I should talk to them, at least that's what the manager told me to do. But do I have to?’ He thought, looking at the two men as they yelled at each other playfully. The driver cleared his throat, hoping to get their attention, though he only got the white haired ones. The other one's attention came quickly after. 

“Are you two married?” The man asked curiously. The two seemed to flush at that comment. They looked at each other, trying to convey something that the man didn't know, before nodding their heads and turning back. “No, we're not married. We're engaged, but we'll be married soon!!” The white haired one exclaimed, smiling authentically. The black haired one's eyes darted to his supposed fiancé, a look of what the driver could only assume was love, before looking back to the seat beside. 

“Pst, weretiger. Look.” Akutagawa whispered, tapping Atsushi's hand. That caught Atsushi's attention, turning his head to Akutagawa, then to the folder in his hand. Akutagawa's thin finger pointed to a section called ‘Suspect(s):’ Atsushi read what is said intently, he had to know this if he wanted to do good on the mission. 

‘A lady. She has bright blonde hair that goes to about her waist and is usually put up, a boney face, and blue eyes. She likes to have fun and is the life of every party, finding her is inevitable. 

|| A man. His hair is black with few black hairs. It is also short and almost always slicked back. Pale skin, almost white. He has very dark brown eyes that look black at first glance. He is very serious, never smiling. 

|| A man. His hair is a dirty blonde, also with some white hairs. His hair is short. His face is kind, always holding a smile, though he looks a little tired sometimes. His eyes are a light green, giving him a kinder, more trusting look. 

|| Reminder, these are just witnesses, these might be wrong, so beware before you attack.’ 

Atsushi stared at the paper, taking in the information slowly, but surely. When Atsushi finished reading, he looked at Akutagawa and nodded. Akutagawa seemed to get the message, since he closed the folder at once and… folded it? He folded it 5 times, until it was really tiny. 

When he was finished, he pulled up the ends of his pants so that it went just above his thigh. When he did so, it revealed a small pouch that was barely noticeable under his slightly baggy pants. He slipped the folder inside, quickly pulling the fabric down and looking away from Atsushi. That got a small laugh out of Atsushi. Akutagawa didn't answer, not wanting to make a scene in an uber, with Atsushi of all people. 

“How many more minutes until we're there?” Atsushi asked, looking away from Akutagawa and to the driver. “Oh, 3 minutes.” The driver answered shortly. Atsushi hummed quietly in agreement, looking back to his view of the back of Akutagawa's head, before looking out of the window that Akutagawa was (not so) looking out of.  

They sat together in silence, though they couldn't tell if it was uncomfortable or not, and they would probably never know. Atsushi's eyes grazed across the town, making escape routes in his head that might come in handy, if Akutagawa hadn't already figured out all of the escape routes he had. His eyes darted around, until they landed on a street sign that said ‘Violette RD West’ and I knew that we were at our destination. 

The driver rode for a few more seconds, before stopping in front of a ginormous building. “Here's your stop, thank you for using uber.” The driver said, though he sounded very, very tired, and Atsushi wondered why. It couldn't possibly have been him and Akutagawa… right? Atsushi laughed nervously, thanking the driver even though the driver thanked him first, and left the car abruptly, with Akutagawa silently following right after him. As soon as they were both out of the car, it sped away into the distance. Atsushi looked at the car, then to Akutagawa, though Akutagawa seemed unable to meet him eye to eye. 

“Aku- Ryuunosuke, if you keep refusing to meet my eyes, I might start to think you're flustered.” Atsushi teased, hoping to provoke Akutagawa into looking at him. Damn it, he was learning from Dazai wasn't he… oh well. Luckily, it worked, Akutagawa darted his head to Atsushi, glaring at him with a slight tint of pink around his ears. 

“Are you happy now, babe?” Akutagawa said, immediately looking away. “We didn't discuss that name!” Atsushi said, his face just a little bit red. “Are we going to keep talking, or get into the bar before it closes? I have our tickets.” Akutagawa said, but Atsushi's head tilted his head at the last part. “The tickets… to get in?” Akutagawa said. 

“We need tickets? I never knew this.” Atsushi said. “That's because you were busy bragging to that driver that we were engaged.” Akutagawa said, finally gaining courage to look into Atsushi's sunset eyes. Atsushi's face flushed, though he tried not to show it. “I wasn't bragging, just… informing.” Atsushi said, though he didn't let Akutagawa answer before speaking again. 

“You're so right, we should've been in the bar by now!” Atsushi said, walking to the front of the bar with his skill of changing conversations. Akutagawa scoffed, walking behind him slowly, though they were still somehow at the same pace. 

Atsushi opened the door, and was immediately flashed with a bundle of color. From all over the room, there was color coming out of every nook and cranny. Atsushi's eyes looked around excitedly, before a man dressed in all black stopped him from walking any further. He was pretty big, well, way taller than Atsushi. “Tickets.” He said shortly. “Here.” Akutagawa (?) answered from behind Atsushi, handing the man their tickets under Atsushi's arm. “Go.” The man said, moving out of the way. Atsushi thanked him, walking into the unnatural place. 

There were so many drinking stops that he lost count, but what else did he expect from a bar. The building seemed really big from the outside, at least more than 3 floors. Atsushi looked at Akutagawa, trying to see if he was nearly as surprised as he was, but Akutagawa showed no signs of confusion or even excitement. Atsushi elbowed him lightly to get his attention. “This is all so new. Have you ever been on missions like this?” Atsushi whispered, careful not to look too suspicious from the eyes of others. 

Akutagawa's eyes looked up into Atsushi's, before shaking his head. “I've never been on a mission like this. Well, not with anyone else. Why? Do you like being special, my love?” Akutagawa said with nonchalance, looking like saying that with a straight face was the easiest thing in the whole world. Atsushi on the other hand, could barely say Ryuunosuke without almost having an internal breakdown. Nonetheless, he couldn't let Akutagawa out do him on their mission. 

“Of course not Ryuunosuke. I was just curious, I'm always curious about you, love.” Atsushi said, getting Akutagawa back for calling him a nickname that they didn't talk about. Akutagawa didn't react, just coughed into his hand, though Atsushi knew that he wasn't sick in the least. That made Atsushi smile. 

Out of the corner of Atsushi's eye, he saw a flash of long blonde hair. There seemed to be some kind of commotion over there, because Akutagawa noticed too. They looked at each other, before Atsushi took Akutagawa's wrist into his hand and walked over to the noise. Akutagawa tensed up a little bit, and Atsushi suddenly felt bad and was about to let go, but Akutagawa calmed just as quickly and didn't say a peep about it, other than some muttering that went along the lines of ‘stupid weretiger’ and ‘stupid mission’. 

They had finally reached the noise, and it was ten times worse here. The yelling was unbearable, but no one seemed to be affected by it. Atsushi found his way through the crowd and into the front, somehow, dragging a begrudging Akutagawa with him. In the middle of the crowd was a woman, and she was gorgeous. Her hair flowed graciously in the air as she danced to a song that Atsushi couldn't hear over the yelling. She was wearing a scarlet purple dress that went from the middle of her thigh, and dragged down to the floor. Her makeup was dark purple with black undertones. 

Atsushi was so caught up in her looks that he forgot that she perfectly fit the description in the folder. “Weretiger, she looks like the description we read. Weretiger?” Akutagawa said, he didn't sound as impressed by her beauty as Atsushi was. It almost seemed like a spell… an ability! Atsushi's face darted to Akutagawa's slightly worried one. “I think she has an ability.” Atsushi said, looking at Akutagawa expectedly. “Ok…” Akutagawa said, waiting for Atsushi to talk. When he looked at Akutagawa, all his thoughts about the other lady went away, because Akutagawa had to be the most beautiful person he had ever met, though he would never admit that. He'd rather die, literally. 

“What if she's hypnotizing the crowd or something, they cannot be acting like this out of their own will, right?” Atsushi said, his ridiculous theory making Akutagawa laugh a little, but it made a little bit of sense. Atsushi was star struck by the fact that Akutagawa just… laughed, but it disappeared just as quickly and Atsushi pondered if the darkness was playing tricks on his mind. 

“Mhm, I'll keep that in mind, my love.” Akutagawa said, eyes suddenly glued to Atsushi, which was ironic since he couldn't even look him in the eye just 8 minutes ago, and now he was saying all this with a straight face, maybe even a hint of a smile. 

Suddenly, the blonde lady's eyes went to us, staring at them in a crowd of people staring at her. Her long eyelashes batted at us expectedly, though neither of them looked back at her. She made a mental note to talk to them after her performance, and find out who these mysterious lovers were. In a split second, the white haired one took the other one's hand and led them out of the crowd, smiling at him like no one was there but them, and god, did she want that so bad. 

But no, she constantly had eyes on her, never getting any time to breathe. Her eyes trailed them as they walked away into the distance, but they quickly found their way back to the rich investor that she had to, for some reason, convince to hire her as a dancer for his company, though it didn't need much convincing, her ability would do all the work. 

Atsushi and Akutagawa had snuck away through the group of people carefully, shooting between the crowd of seemingly hypnotized people, all yelling words of praise, some even on the verge of tears, but Akutagawa didn't seem to think her dancing was that good. “I mean, it was good, but I would not salivate at the mouth and yell for something like that.” Akutagawa said with a calmness that made Atsushi wonder if he was ever worried, but he remembered their little fight an hour before, and he stopped wondering. 

“You wouldn't salivate for anyone.” Atsushi answered, still holding onto Akutagawa's wrist, but Akutagawa didn't pull away, not even when no one was looking. “True. I would die for someone, if that's the same.” Akutagawa said, and Atsushi knew just who he was talking about, but Atsushi wanted Akutagawa to admit it. 

“And who might that be?” Atsushi said with a confused tone. “You know exactly who I'm talking about, don't play dumb.” Akutagawa said brutally. “Jeez, calm down, I really don't know. You could just… say it?” Atsushi said expectantly, smirking at him. Internally, of course, his outside was a ‘confused but trying to mask it’ face. “It's you, obviously.” Akutagawa said, glaring Atsushi straight in the eyes, not a hint of embarrassment on his face, but Atsushi knew better than to trust Akutagawa's looks. 

Atsushi felt like he had achieved something new in this god forsaken mission, embarrassing Akutagawa internally, or that's what he told himself. Akutagawa's eyes looked around the bar as it crowded with more and more people. “Come.” Akutagawa said, using Atsushi's grip on his wrist to his advantage, because Atsushi was now the person being dragged. “I would've gone without being pulled…” Atsushi muttered, complaining but not doing anything to combat it. 

That made Akutagawa's heart feel… warm? That wasn't something he felt very often, he always felt cold. In fact, the only times he's felt that was with his sister and Atsushi himself… weird, he wondered what it meant, but he didn't think about it for too long, this wasn't the right time or place. 

“Where are we going?” Atsushi said, giving Akutagawa a break from his own thoughts. “We have to talk to people, you know, can't just talk to the suspects and leave.” Akutagawa said, looking back at Atsushi knowingly. “And who are we talking to?” Atsushi said. “You ask too many questions, my love.” Akutagawa said, tearing his gaze away from Atsushi when saying that, as if he was embarrassed, though Atsushi didn't think he was. “My deepest apologies, Ryuunosuke.” Atsushi teased, still following Akutagawa to wherever the hell Akutagawa was taking him. 

Atsushi felt a tap on his shoulder, and he tensed up for a split second, before remembering that he was on a mission, and not in the wild. Atsushi turned his head, but Akutagawa did it first. “Hello! My name is Hakurono!” The lady said, not giving us any time to talk because of how fast she spoke. “I don't recognize you, are you new?” She said, slurring her speech from how fast she spoke. Atsushi felt very overwhelmed, but he didn't let it show. Well, he tried not to, though Akutagawa was handling this way better than he ever would. 

Though surprisingly, Atsushi was the first one of them to talk. “Our names are Nakajima and Akutagawa, it's nice to meet you!” Atsushi answered, knowing full well that Akutagawa's pride would not let him say Atsushi's name. “Yes, we are new, but we're open to meeting new people.” Akutagawa answered this time, intertwining their fingers so carefully Atsushi thought he might explode. “Oh, really? Well I have a group of people who have been eyeing you two, they want to talk to you, but they say you look a little scary.” She whispered, though her whisper voice wasn't the best. “We’d love to meet them!” Atsushi answered, smiling at her kindly, trying to disregard the fact that Akutagawa was willingly holding his hand right now. 

Seriously, no one was even looking, there was no need for it, and that was what was driving Atsushi crazy. 

“Well, follow me, they're just right over there.” She said, turning her back on them to walk over to a big group of people whispering to each other, before stopping when Atsushi made eye contact with them. “Oh, and just one question. Are you two married?” Hakurono said, stopping in her tracks suddenly and turning around to them again. Both of their faces turned a smidge red. “We're engaged, though hoping to get married soon.” Akutagawa said, staring into Atsushi's eyes instead of the person he was supposed to be talking to. Atsushi glared back, before softening his gaze because they were supposed to be engaged, not rivals. 

“Aw, that's so cute!” Hakurono said, like she was trying to stop herself from asking a billion more questions about us. That made Atsushi laugh a little. She turned around yet again, likely trying to stop herself from talking even more, and continued to walk. “We're here. Don't worry, most of them don't bite.” She said, signalling them over with her hand. They all complied, walking over nervously, it was so obvious that they were scared, for some reason. 

“Hello, it's so nice to meet you guys!” Atsushi said, trying to smile at all of them, but there were just too many! “Our names are Nakajima and Akutagawa. I'm 23, he's 22.” Akutagawa said, remembering when he read the folder and saw that their fake ages were the ones he just said. Atsushi, on the other hand, could tell Akutagawa was trying to sound nice, but it really wasn't working. Atsushi laughed nervously, rubbing his thumb on Akutagawa's hand out of slight anxiety. Akutagawa seemed to notice, because he grazed Atsushi's hand back, looking away from Atsushi embarrassedly, looking at the crowd of Hakurono's friends instead. 

One of them cleared their throat, making Atsushi and Akutagawa turn their heads to him. It was a tall man, not taller than Atsushi though, his hair was a honey brown, but there were very faint streaks of dyed purple hair. He was probably a rebel in his younger years, huh. He wore rectangle shaped glasses, making him look a little bit like Kunikida. His suit was a toned down yellow, with brown undertones that danced around his suit. It fit him perfectly, though Atsushi thought that Akutagawa's suit looked bett- no, no no no. 

Definitely not. 

Not right now. 

Not ever. 

“My name is Koji, I'm 23, It is nice to meet you two.” The man, supposedly Koji said, seemingly trying to smile, but Atsushi wasn't sure it was working. Wow, he was even the same age as Kunikida, were they the same person? Atsushi smiled back, waiting for anyone else to introduce themselves. 

“H-hello, my name is Minato, and I'm 25.” Another person said, and damn, he was really short. Or maybe Atsushi was just tall, he would never know. Atsushi smiled at himself as well, not daring to look at whatever god awful expression Akutagawa had on his face right now. Suddenly, introductions started pouring in, with Atsushi only hearing about half of them, but Akutagawa was all ears in. When all of them had finished, Atsushi was wide eyed, taking in all the names and faces that he just saw. “Wow, there are a lot of you…” Atsushi muttered, accidentally voicing his thoughts, though it was only to Akutagawa. 

Atsushi swore he heard a mock laugh leave Akutagawa's throat, but he shrugged it off, Akutagawa would never laugh, well, he didn't think he would. Suddenly, a sweet voice cut through the silence as two hands laid themselves onto Atsushi and Akutagawa's shoulders.