Chapter Text
[Unknown Number]
are you free on friday?
You know it’s only proper to introduce yourself when you text a random number, don’t you Jinko?
you knew it was me either way so what’s the point??
Jinko
People don’t text me often. My first thought was that it was a scam.
take that issue up with the scammers. are you free on friday?
When?
i don’t have a time yet
Do you have anything planned?
i have a movie we can watch. my brother should be out of the house
You make it seem like this is a date.
Yes, I’m free after work on Friday.
I DO NOT INTEND THIS AS A DATE
I was simply joking.
they’d boo you from the comedy club. and throw tomatoes
and throw a clown at you or something idk
I could only hope that you would stay by my side on the stage.
i’d be in the crowd.
i know better than to join your act
Shame.
Akutagawa puts his phone to the side when he notices Gin, poking their head around the corner long black hair wrapped in a towel.
“What?” He snaps, “You’re dripping water on the floor. Say your piece and leave me be.”
“Who are you texting?” Gin says, rushing to the back of the couch to try and read over his shoulder. Akutagawa pulls his phone away as far as he can, “Ryuuuuu, tell me.”
“It’s none of your business. I have no clue why you’re interested in the first place.”
“You’re smiling like an idiot, that’s why.” Gin swipes at his phone, “I’ve never seen you smile like that…like ever. Big and dopey like this .” Gin makes an exaggerated doe-in-headlights look and Akutagawa pushes their face away, “Hey! I speak the truth!”
“You speak nonsense.”
“I speak the truth . You were smiling at your phone. Who is iiiit.” Gin attacks viciously, shaking their head and spraying Akutagawa with water. They snatch his phone while he sputters, dancing on the balls of their feet as Akutagawa launches over the back of the couch to catch them, “You need to stop calling him Jinko—Ryuu you got a date!” Gin covers their face, fake tears streaming from their eyes, “I never thought I’d see the day.”
Akutagawa wrestles his phone away, “Don’t talk about my romance life like that. And it’s not a date. He even said so.”
“It’s called ‘knee-jerk reaction’ it’s something people do. Besides, you’re the one that brought up the idea of it being a date first?” Gin raises their eyebrow, “I think you’re flirting.”
“I am not FLIRTING. ”
“You’re definitely flirting.” Gin turns on their heel, flipping their hair over their shoulder as they stalk away, “Oh, and he’s been replying for a while now. Check on your man.”
“He’s not—augh!” Gin flutters off, chuckling as they do. Akutagawa glares at the empty doorway darkly for a few moments before moving his attention back to his phone.
jinko
shame that i don’t jokingly flirt with people??
i didn’t know you could?
it’s weird
like?? the idea of you flirting? weird
i don’t mean to insult you - you were good at it
.
i know that sounds weird
look, if i’m saying something weird, you can just tell me, not ignore me
i thought we were past this…
u know, if you didn’t like it that much, just tell me
Akutagawa stays at the three dots that come after the last message, before his fingers fly over the keys.
I WAS NOT FLIRTING WITH YOU
oh
(●//▽//●)
can we forget everything i just said?
already forgotten
see you tomorrow
and friday
Akutagawa turns his phone off and fights the urge to bury his burning face in the cushions.
“Hello.” A young voice calls out to him. Akutagawa turns around, and sees a young boy with deep blue hair, a bunny sleeping mask on top of his head, two bunny hairpins on either side of his shirt collar, and huge, very untrusting eyes glaring at him, “Atsushi! He’s here!” Before under his breath, whispering, “And will be gone from this earth very soon if he’s not careful.”
Yup, this is Kyouka. Reminds him quite a lot of Gin.
“ You’re not supposed to be here!” Atsushi says, voice lost within their apartment, “You have a slumber party! I thought it started half an hour ago?”
“I lost my sleeping mask.” Kyouka says, eyes boring into Akutagawa, “I’m still looking for it.”
“But you had it when you were about to leave? Can’t you go without it?”
“No.”
An aggrieved sound comes from inside, loud and clear. Shame appears on Kyouka’s face, but only for a moment, before his signature steely look is back.
“Can I come in?”
“I don’t you, may you?”
Ah, teenagers.
Truly a joy.
“Fine. May I come in?” Akutagawa says through gritted teeth. Kyouka crosses his arms and looks Akutagawa up and down, taking in his outfit. There’s nothing wrong with it, he knows that for a fact. Gin picked it out for him. It’s a combined effort from both of their closets (mostly Gin’s) and it’s perfectly acceptable. It’s nice and modern—and he doesn’t look like a vampire, no matter how many times Gin might say that he can’t wear only white and black.
His work suits are reddish after all and they look fine.
Kyouka silently steps away from the doorway, allowing Akutagawa to walk past. He’s glared at all the while but he’s beginning to get used to it. Kyouka is just a touch too young to look threatening.
Atsushi rushes past in a flurry, hair out of place and dressed haphazardly. He gets halfway across the room before he notices them there and stops mid-step. Atsushi stops for a moment to look Akutagawa up and down, who can’t help but shift—Atsushi’s gaze isn’t uncomfortable per se, but it is feels like a low-beam searchlight.
“Akutagawa! You’re here—uh, shit, wait I didn’t—” Atsushi lets out a long sigh, dragging his hand down his face, “I see you found your sleeping mask, Kyouka.” He sounds immensely tired, and a small bit angry at being tricked.
“It was right beside the door. It must have fallen out of his bag when he was about to leave.” Kyouka preens a bit when Akutagawa calls him a he, and preens further when Atsushi inspects them both, sunset eyes moving between them as he decides whether or not Akutagawa would lie for Kyouka.
Atsushi sighs deeply, clearly not believing Akutagawa’s lie but he looks so clearly exhausted of all this nonsense, “I’m going to go change. Kyouka, please be gone by the time I’m out.” Kyouka nods in agreement and Atsushi quickly disappears down a hallway.
Before Kyouka can leave, Akutagawa swiftly grabs his shoulder.
“Do they know?”
“Know what? ” Kyouka asks, eyes narrowing.
There’s more gentle ways to say this, but no one has ever called him gentle.
“That you’re trans. If my guess is right, then you’ve had that binder on all day.” Akutagawa gently touches one of the butterfly clips and Kyouka immediately steps away, snarling at him, “Those clips are doing a good job job of keeping it hidden, but if you were it all night, at best you’ll hurt your lungs. At first, you break or bruise something and can’t wear it for a month,” Kyouka frowns and seems about to rebut him before he interrupts, “Believe me, my sibling went through the exact same thing.”
Kyouka’s mouth opens and closes, scowl growing deeper while her gaze does the inverse.
“But—”
“But you’ll hurt yourself.” Akutagawa replies, “Either you take it off for a night and try to enjoy your time with your friends, or put yourself at risk at being without it for a month - or if they don’t know and aren’t okay with it, drop them. Three options, one is good.”
Kyouka sighs deep, “Fine. But I’m keeping it on for the walk there.”
Akutagawa sniffs, biting back a smile, “Why are you telling me this? I’m not your brother. Your safety is none of my concern.” Kyouka rolls his eyes before turning on his heel.
“Hurt Atsushi and I kill you.”
“Whatever you think my intentions are, you are incorrect. I was simply invited over.”
Kyouka snorts, and then he is gone.
All in all, a decent first meeting. He’s had worse, that’s for sure.
“Sorry about him.” Atsushi says after he reemerges, looking much less harried. Much nicer as well, in a high-waisted jeans and a sleeveless turtleneck that shows off his arms, and the slight muscle definition there. Not much, they are salarymen after all, but enough to show off the muscles that come with being the strongest one in the household - and all the heavy lifting that come with that title.
“It’s nothing big, I assure you.” Akutagawa says after far too long, forcing words out of his mouth after staring for far too long.
“Eh, okay.” Atsushi says in response, somehow completely unaware of Akutagawa’s staring. However, when Akutagawa looks at his eyes again, he finds that Atsushi has copied his actions, locking eyes with flushed cheeks. They both look away again, blushing furiously.
“Please tell me that your plans for the night include something more than just standing here.” Akutagawa says after a long, painfully awkward minute has passed.
“I was thinking of watching a movie.” Atsushi says a tad too quickly, “Yeah, I know, with that date joke and everything—but it’s my favorite one and I want to share it with you.” The date allegations only gain more evidence as Atsushi’s face grows redder.
Akutagawa sniffs haughtily, if only to distract from how red his own face has gotten.
“Sounds acceptable. Though the movie had better be good.”
Atsushi’s smiling is so blinding that he must look away.
Akutagawa is asleep thirty minutes in.
He wakes up when Atsushi shifts, reaching for his can of soda and jostling him.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Atsushi apologizes, immediately returning to his initial position. Akutagawa eyes the open soda can and hands it to the other man. For a moment he wonders what position he was in—because the cushion is on the other side of the couch, until Atsushi moves his shoulders, clearly gesturing for Akutagawa to return to his initial position.
Which is strange, because he is one hundred percent confident that he didn’t go to sleep on Atsushi’s shoulder but he’s sleepy and it was comfortable so he retakes that position.
“It’s boring, huh? Kyouka thought the same.”
“Of course he did.” Akutagawa yawns, both in Atsushi’s face and the face of a soft-hearted live action film, “The story is obvious. The main character has a good heart, and even though they’re surrounded by bad people now, they will obviously move to the big city or something and be with people that appreciate them. That’s always how these kinds of things go.”
“Always?” Atsushi asks quietly.
“Life always works out for kind people.” Akutagawa replies, mind too sleep-addled to prevent the next words that slip out of his mouth, “Not for people like me.” His eyes close, words already forgotten. He’s asleep again before he hears Atsushi’s response.
“It will. I promise.”
Nothing of consequences happens that night. No matter what Akutagawa believes he heard - his mind was addled with sleep and he can’t trust those memories. No matter how many good things Atsushi said about him, it doesn’t matter what Akutagawa did or did not admit.
Nothing of consequence happens, Akutagawa surely does not begin to fall in love.
Akutagawa stares out at the pouring rain, tapping his umbrella against his leg. The rain patters as it hits the ground, gently spraying his shoes. His phone rests in his hand, having just been put down.
Where is he? He wonders before he looks around. He does a one-eighty, glancing around the lobby before he locks eyes with the man he’s searching for. Atsushi stills, and the umbrella that he was putting back in the basket falls back in. Atsushi quickly shifts, covering up the basket with his own body, keeping it blocked as he walks to meet Akutagawa.
“So…guess what - I think I forgot my umbrella.” Atsushi says nervously, rubbing the back of his head.
Akutagawa stares at him for a moment, stunned by his boldness, “I would feel that my intelligence was being insulted if it weren’t you I was talking to. Go back and get it. You’re an adult, you can walk yourself home.”
He’s ready to turn on his heel and leave before he hears Atsushi’s quiet response, “I just wanted to walk back with you.”
“What’s stopping you jinko?” Akutagawa challenges, “Even if I did not ask, then you can.” His back is to Atsushi, so he’s taken by surprise when Atsushi takes him by his shoulder, spinning him so they’re facing each other.
Atsushi is so close to him, their faces just inches away from each other.
“Then, can we home together Akutagawa?” His hands are on his shoulders and they burn like sweet hellfire, “I want to walk through the rain with you.” Atsushi’s eyes are focused on him, but somewhere below his eyes.
The realization burns through him like lightning and he shivers.
“My eyes are up here.” Akutagawa teases, but Atsushi is not as affected as usual, only holding him tighter, “You are being very forward, Atsushi.”
“And yet you are not saying no.”
“No, I am not.” Atsushi licks his lip and Akutagawa belatedly realizes that he’s copying Atsushi’s actions, “But the question here is is whether or not you will say yes.” His eyes are glowing, more gold than Akutagawa has ever seen before. He’s drowning in riches like Midas, pinned and drawing in wealth.
“Yes.” Akutagawa breathes. Atsushi’s hands move down to his waist, right over the line of what could be considered acceptable for public affection. He presses into that touch, leaning forward. Their chests touch and they move forward—right into the pouring rain.
They break apart, faces a deep red as Akutagawa flips open his umbrella. The purple plastic blocks them from the sky’s onslaught but does nothing for their proximity, more obvious that it has ever been before.
“We should get walking.” Atsushi says, still staring just below Akutagawa’s face, directly at his lips. Neither of them move.
“Oh! Atsushi-kun has a boyfriend?” A lady calls out, startling them both. They spring apart, faces now red with embarrassment, “Atsushi, who’s the pretty one!”
“ Run! ” Atsushi grabs his hand, and then run. The umbrella does little to nothing, but it was never the point anyway.
It was always an excuse, a reason to do something bigger.
Just like the rain was an excuse for Akutagawa to keep holding Atsushi’s hand, tugging him toward his own apartment. Just like Gin being away was an excuse for Atsushi to stay the night just like a stray bit of rice was an excuse—
Akutagawa’s hand cups Atsushi’s cheek. His face squishes, making him look unbearable cute. It’s a stark contrast to his rising internal heat, his impending doom, his cause of death. Nakajima Atsushi looks him up and down, before their gazes meet once more, half-lidded.
He pushes their plates to the side but that was never the point of this. The point of this is this —Atsushi, leaning over his dining table, looking at him in a truly sinful way. He’s not even pretending to be subtle about it, though he hasn’t been pretending for a while, has he?
“Well, Akutagawa, are you doing to do ‘it’?”
“Well, Jinko, are you?”
Atsushi rises to the challenge. Doesn’t he always?
Their mouths press together, and it feels like everything he’s ever wanted. Atsushi’s lips are soft against his, warm as well. When Atsushi turns his head to deepen the kiss, Akutagawa follows along, hand moving from his cheek to the back of his head.
They break apart for a moment, gulping in air.
“Akutagawa—”
“Ryuunosuke.”
“Ryuunosuke.” Atsushi pulls him in by this tie, and their mouths slam together as Akutagawa clutches onto him desperately. Atsushi’s hands move to his sides—which, due to their positioning, gives Akutagawa about a half second of vertigo before they tumble to the ground.
“Ryuu—” They tumble to the ground, Atsushi landing square on of him, “Ah, sorry!” Atsushi takes his hand, still looking at him like that , “Let me patch you up.”
“I’m fine.” Akutagawa insults, but Atsushi is stubborn. He’s always stubborn. Akutagawa always allows him to do as he wishes, ever since the beginning, ever since he refused to leave Akutagawa and not share their umbrella, “How strange. You keep on making excuses to be near me.”
“How strange,” Atsushi parrots, “You seem to keep on letting me.”
“A sunny day, isn’t it?” Atsushi remarks, strolling up behind Akutagawa.
“First in a long time.” Akutagawa responds. Atsushi knocks their hips together, pulling a laugh out of his normally expressionless face, “I would wonder if we’re walking back home separately, but that look in your eyes tells me otherwise.”
“In fact, I don’t even plan for us to go home.” Atsushi says boldly, before opposing his own tone as he nervous tucks a piece of hair behind his ear, “There’s a nice cafe about a few blocks away. If you would let me, I would like to accompany you there.”
“There are simpler ways to ask me out on a date.”
“There are simpler ways to say yes.” Atsushi challenges, daring to reach out and takes Akutagawa’s hand. Akutagawa doesn’t let him at first, instead he reaches out for him.
“Ah, but who likes simply things in this day and age?” Akutagawa takes the stray pieces of hair Atsushi missed and placing them behind his ear. His cold hand brushes against Atsushi’s ear and sends a thrill down his spine, “Why buy yourself an umbrella when you could share one instead?”
Akutagawa takes Atsushi’s hand.