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They were not friends. They were not even remotely close to being friends, but they were kindred spirits. Two people who have been through similar experiences. They had an understanding, somewhat.
They still visited the Uzumaki café.
Some days Akutagawa would demand Gin's release, and they'd fight.
Some days Atsushi would be completely silent and refuse to engage in any sort of interaction with Akutagawa, opting to drink in silence.
But some days...they'd talk.
Not as casually as they would before they knew of each other's affiliations, but...they'd talk.
"The Book," Atsushi said, and his tone made Akutagawa look up from his drink, "It contains other, parallel universes, right?"
Akutagawa's silence was taken as agreement, it seemed, as Atsushi continued, "How do you think they're doing?"
Akutagawa stared a little longer into his glass, and gave in, "Who?"
"The Atsushis and Akutagawas of other universes."
What a thought.
Not entirely a foreign thought for Akutagawa, either.
"Who knows. Some has to be dead," he said, and gained some satisfaction from Atsushi's little gasp, "There are infinite possibilities."
"How morbid," Atsushi mused, and looked over at Akutagawa, "Maybe there's a universe where we are friends."
"Unlikely."
Akutagawa said that, but. There were infinite possibilities. That wasn't outside the realm of logic. Perhaps they were colleagues, in a parallel universe. Perhaps...
"I bet it exists," Atsushi said, and continued on, "A universe where we went to college. A universe where we joined the same extracurricular club. A universe where we met right here and that was it. Nothing else."
"A universe where we've never met." Akutagawa said, and Atsushi made another noise of dissent.
"You wound me."
"Mortally, I hope."
But there was no bite to his tone. Even Akutagawa knew that. Some days it was just tiring. This existence. Their shared knowledge. The responsibility that had been forced onto them.
They never talk about Dazai. It was a topic Atsushi would never touch. Akutagawa didn't either.
He coughed lightly, and was unable to resist airing out his own thoughts, "A universe where I'm with my sister, and we're safe. Healthy. Happy, perhaps."
He did not look at Atsushi, but it felt as if he could physically feel Atsushi's soft smile. He didn't know what to think of it.
"Where do I fit in that universe?"
Akutagawa's first scathing instinct was to say 'nowhere'. But he didn't.
"Wherever. Doesn't matter."
"Mm. Wherever, huh?" Atsushi sounded far off, and Akutagawa couldn't help but to glance at him, curious as to where his thoughts had gone. He was still there, chin resting on a hand, but he was looking to the bottles on the shelf before them, even beyond that.
"I think I'd want to run a crepe stall. With Kyouka. So we can eat crepes all the time."
Akutagawa couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. Probably not. Akutagawa couldn't care less.
But the idea of it--of living a life with his sister full of contentment. A happier life for the both of them, together or not. That would be the best thing they could hope for.
It was not their reality. But if that reality existed...
"Lucky bastards," Akutagawa said, and didn't elaborate.
Atsushi made an affirmative noise, "Lucky bastards, indeed."
For the first time in a long while, they agreed on something.