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“Stupid Jinko.”
With the number of regulations Dazai-san placed on their weekly sparrings, it had been months since Atsushi used the genuine power of Beast Beneath the Moonlight.
Tonight, things got a little out of hand, and the desire to win against Ryu consumed him. The full moon’s light immersed their fight, and from one attack to the other, he was no longer human.
Despite his efforts, he didn’t manage to win.
With his pride hurt and his energy drained, Atsushi couldn’t move a single inch, his face pressed against the cold concrete floor.
He heard Ryu sigh and his arms attempting to lift him. “I’m sorry, Ryu.”
Ryuu settled him in his arms, and he sensed the familiar black fabric cover him. “Shut up.”
The weight on his eyelids became too much, his muscles ached and Rashomon, wrapped around him, kept him warm. It wasn’t long until he fell asleep.
“We’re back, Chuuya.”
Atsushi’s eyes shot open. They were in front of their apartment door, and he was still in Ryu’s arms. He wanted to apologize again; because of him Ryu couldn’t even open the door, but the door opened nonetheless, and his mouth refused to open. He closed his eyes, it’d be better to pretend for a little longer.
Chuuya stood leaned against the doorframe, judgment clear in his expression. “Damn, you look like shit.”
“And you look beautiful as usual,” Ryu said, voicing Atsushi’s exact thought.
“Flattery won’t get you anywhere, what did you do to Atsushi?”
“Why is it that every time I arrive with Atsushi in my arms, you immediately assume I was the cause of his deplorable state?”
Chuuya spread his arms. “Because most of the time, you are.”
A tinge of pink coated Ryu’s cheeks. “That was before.”
Atsushi got passed from Ryu’s arms to Chuuya’s. He felt himself become lighter to Chuuya's touch.
Chuuya stepped inside, one of his boots fell on the floor without anyone touching it, and Rashomon took off the other one. As usual ,they made their way to the living room. It was somewhat embarrassing; this happened so often when they started sparring now everyone knew of his habit of losing consciousness. Moreover, as much as it was embarrassing, it was equally pleasant to be taken care of.
“And last week, you took your friendly training too far.”
Atsushi finally saw the chance to interfere in their trivial dispute. They had made the exact same arguments the week it happened. “It wasn’t that bad.”
Chuuya let Atsushi fall on the couch, all the gentleness was forgotten the second he revealed he was awake. He crossed his arms. “Just because your healing repaired your broken hip before you arrived doesn’t mean I won’t know it happened.”
When Atsushi broke his hip, they panicked. The only thing they could think of was what would Chuuya do to them when he found out Atsushi had gotten a grave injury when they always promised they wouldn’t exceed themselves.
The idea of moving to Nagoya for at least a month came up a couple of times.
In their panic, they forgot Atsushi’s beast-like regeneration. After Ryu picked him up, ready to escape to Nagoya, and he didn’t feel any pain, they remembered.
Ryu coughed and looked away from Chuuya. “How did you know?”
“Dazai.” Of course. “He and Edogawa always see you and make bets, you made that mackerel lose a lot of money, by the way.”
Chuuya sat next to Atsushi and gestured Ryu to come too. With Chuuya resting in the middle, he pressed a kiss on each of their temples. “So thanks for that.”
“Dazai-san bet that I would win?”
He felt bad. If he had known Dazai-san was counting on his success, he would’ve tried harder.
“Dazai-san bet that he would win?”
“Hey!” Atsushi felt somewhat offended. “What’s wrong with that?”
Ryu crossed his legs, and Atsushi noticed he didn’t have Rashomon with him. “It was obviously the wrong alternative.”
Despite the rising warmth in Atsushi’s chest, his irritation got the better of him. “Excuse me?”
“You did lose, you know?”
He pointed at Ryu over Chuuya; his indifferent tone was striking a nerve. “Only that time!”
The hint of a smile appeared on Ryu’s face. “And today.”
Now Atsushi was sure he was doing it on purpose. “Today was a draw!”
“You needed Dazai-san to stop you, I consider that a victory for me.”
“No,” Atsushi wouldn’t let him win. “You needed Dazai-san to save you from me, so that’s a victory for me.”
“He saved you from yourself, it’s different.”
Chuuya sighed. He got up and made his way to the kitchen. Atsushi then noticed the smell of dinner. “Nu-uh, I saw the look on your face, you accepted defeat the second I transformed.”
“I was simply surprised you deigned yourself to go all out.”
He could get chicken and paprika, and wine, of course. At this point, he was more focused on dinner than winning the argument. “Well, I had to win.”
“So you admit you saw your defeat and retorted to the tiger to ensure—”
“Alright, that’s enough,” Chuuya intervened from the kitchen. They turned towards the bar, where he was placing three plates with hot food. “You’re giving me a headache, I couldn’t even welcome you back.”
Ryu stood up and made his way towards the bar to help Chuuya with the glasses and cutlery. “I’m sorry, Chuuya, but I just have to win this one.”
“No, since there was interference from a third party I would categorize it as a draw.” He caressed Ryu’s cheek and turned towards Atsushi. “Now, let’s eat dinner.”
Ryu moved to help Atsushi get up and offered a hand. A way to help and to make peace with their declared draw. Atsushi groaned. He was too comfortable to move, and he didn’t want to admit defeat. He took Ryu’s hand and pulled him to his side. He shifted and hugged Ryu. “I really can’t move.”
Chuuya chuckled, he touched every object on the bar, and they started to float. “Then we’ll eat there.”