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“What’s the matter, Atsushi-kun?” Atsushi lifts his head from his desk to look at Chuuya who’s perched at the end, legs crossed and tossing an apple in the air. It took a while for Atsushi to adjust to the redhead’s frequent appearance at the ADA—he’d heard tales of the legendary gravity manipulator, Dazai-san’s former partner, short but with a temper as fiery as the flames of Hell. When they finally met, however, Chuuya appeared to have taken an immediate liking to him, giving him a big smile and ruffling his hair, praising him for his versatile use of his Ability and his battle skills.
“I’m just feeling down for some reason, Chuuya-san. Don’t worry, it should pass soon.” Truthfully, today is the anniversary of the headmaster’s passing, which always gives Atsushi a weird feeling in his stomach and a damper in his mood. He did put a roof over Atsushi’s head and fed him however meager for years until he met Dazai, so hating him was harder especially after he passed.
“We can’t have our favorite weretiger in low spirits, can we?” Chuuya catches the apple falling down and floats it down on Atsushi’s desk. “Tell you what—I’ll ask Fukuzawa if he can let you off early today on the basis that I need you for a special errand and we’ll get some chazuke, okay?” Chuuya’s genuine smile helps put some of Atsushi’s unease to rest.
“Are you sure, Chuuya-san? I don’t want to inconvenience you,” Atsushi frets as he sits up, biting his lip and crossing his arms over his chest. It’s one thing for him to feel down in the dumps, but another to be a burden on the second most important mentor figure in his life after Dazai.
“It’s better than watching Dazai be an idiot lump on the couch the same way he’s at home,” Chuuya waves off his concern. He hops off Atsushi’s desk and brushes off his vest. “Why don’t you pack your things and we’ll head out? I’m craving something warm today, anyways.”
Chuuya heads off towards Fukuzawa’s desk, and Atsushi begins shuffling papers around his desk and puts his coat on (a surprise gift from Chuuya after he noticed Atsushi shivering one day in the office). He looks at Dazai sprawled on the couch with his headset in, eyes closed and wonders if he should invite him, but decides against it—for once, he’d like to get to know Chuuya better without Dazai’s interference. Dazai would turn it into some type of competition anyway and while it’s fun to watch at the office, he’s just not in the mood for that today.
He’s just finished straightening his desk when Chuuya returns. “I’ve gotten the okay, so let’s head out!” He grins and gives him a thumbs-up.
They walk out of the office, Atsushi’s heartbeat picking up slightly as he closes the door. He’s really doing this—getting to hang out with Chuuya! How surprised Ryuu will be once he hears about this!!
They go down the staircase and towards Chuuya's motorcycle. “Sorry I don’t have a car but the place I want to take you isn’t far from here,” Chuuya apologizes. He opens the back seat of his motorcycle and pulls out a helmet, tossing it to Atsushi. “Wear this. I know you have invincible healing abilities or whatever, but your partner causes enough damage on your body in battle so let’s try to avoid that today, shall we?”
“Thanks, Chuuya-san.” Atsushi gratefully accepts the helmet, securing the band under his chin. It’s a nice change to see this much care devoted to his well being as opposed to Dazai’s flippant, “you can handle yourself out there, right? Good luck!”
Chuuya slings a leg over the bike, setting his hands on the handlebars. “Now take a seat behind me and wrap your arms around my waist,” he commands. Atsushi blinks but does as he’s told, tentatively resting his face against Chuuya’s back.
Chuuya picks up the helmet dangling from a handlebar and puts it on. “Here we go!” He revs his engine a few times and they take off, speeding down the road.
True to Chuuya’s word, a few minutes later he parks the motorcycle in front of a cozy-looking restaurant. The ride itself was exhilarating, not unlike when Atsushi soars through the sky with Byakko’s help of how the wind rushes past his face.
Chuuya hops off and takes his helmet off. “This is one of my favorite places in Yokohama to get tea with Akutagawa,” he informs. “I’m pretty sure they have chazuke too. Let’s check it out!”
Atsushi quickly takes off the helmet and hops off the bike, stashing the helmet under the seat. “That sounds great, Chuuya-san!”
They walk inside and Chuuya rings the bell on the counter. Not long after a friendly-looking older woman approaches the counter.
“Ah, Chuuya-kun, good to see you! I see you didn’t come with that grim-looking other young master today, but you’ve brought a different young man with you! Welcome!” Atsushi laughs sheepishly and waves.
“Good to see you too, Oba-san. Do you have chazuke? My friend here is a big fan and I figured it was something up your alley.” Chuuya jerks a thumb in Atsushi’s direction.
“Chazuke? It’s not something we usually offer on our menu but for you, it would be no trouble at all! Why don’t I seat you two and you can decide what type of teas you want for your chazuke?”
“Sounds like a plan, Oba-san. Lead the way.” The old lady steps out from the counter, two menus in hand and Chuuya and Atsushi follow her as she guides them towards a corner booth.
They take seats across from each other and the old lady sets a menu down in front of each of them. “I’ll get some water and you guys can decide what teas you want, okay? I’ll be right back.” She smiles warmly at them and walks away.
Chuuya opens his menu and looks at Atsushi as he taps on a page. “Akutagawa’s favorite tea is jasmine as you know, which I agree is a good flavor. I’m personally partial to their chamomile tea, but you’re free to choose whatever you want.”
“Thanks for the suggestions, Chuuya-san. I’ll take a quick look and see if there’s something I like.” Atsushi looks down at the page, keeping an eye on the price. The teas aren’t too expensive, thankfully, but he’s not sure if the restaurant would charge more for the rice.
“Oh, and Atsushi? Don’t worry about the price- today is my treat, and no buts,” he warns as Atsushi opens his mouth to protest. “Let me act like a good senpai, okay?”
“S-senpai…” the word slips out of Atsushi’s mouth before he’s aware and he immediately stiffens. Chuuya merely laughs merrily.
“Hurry up and choose your tea now!” Chuuya lightly chides.
“Ah, right, Senpai,” Atsushi hurriedly redirects his attention back to the menu. He looks over the flavors, but honestly many of them he’s unfamiliar with, so he goes with classic green tea- his favorite.
“I’ll take the green tea,” he decides.
The old woman returns and sets water glasses down in front of them. “Have you two decided?” she inquires kindly.
“I’ll take chamomile tea for my chazuke and Atsushi will have green tea,” Chuuya answers, looking at Atsushi who nods in confirmation.
“Those sound like excellent choices,” the old lady praises. “Is there anything else you would like?”
“I think we’re good for now, thank you.” Chuuya folds his menu and hands it to her, Atsushi doing the same.
“Perfect, I’ll be back soon with your orders!” She leaves.
Chuuya props his elbows against the table and rests his chin on his hands folded underneath. “So, Atsushi, tell me what’s really on your mind. I know your personality- you’re rarely down so I’m sure today must have some significance for you, or maybe something happened. Is it Dazai? Do you need me to beat him up for you?” His cerulean eyes swirl with concern.
“I, um, well that’s,” Atsushi stutters. Normally he would be reluctant to share these emotional matters with anyone except Ryuu, but Chuuya-san’s already done so much for him, the least he can do is give him an honest answer to his question.
“Today’s the anniversary of the headmaster of the orphanage’s passing,” he says softly. He takes a sip of water and looks out the window, away from the pitying gaze he’s sure Chuuya’s giving him.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Chuuya sympathizes. “I can’t imagine what kind of childhood you had under him, but I have some idea from hearing Akutagawa’s tales of growing up in the slums and I know it couldn’t have been easy for you. Is there anything I can do?”
Atsushi’s jolted by the feeling of a warm hand gently squeezing his shoulder and turns to look at Chuuya.
“Just being here and doing this much is enough for me, Chuuya-san. I’m truly grateful—thank you again.” Atsushi hopes he sounds sincere, for he absolutely means it as deeply as he can convey. To tell someone about the day, to not be alone- in the past he’s been with Ryuu to deal with the event, but today is a new set of memories he’s glad he’s making.
“Anytime, Atsushi. If you ever feel down like this again, even if you think the reason is stupid for any reason, you let me know, okay? Here, give me your phone so I can put in my contact.” Chuuya holds his hand out and Atsushi dutifully gives him his cellphone, watching as Chuuya concentrates on inputting the information. Chuuya slides the phone shut and hands it back to him.
“Your orders are ready!” The old lady returns balancing two steaming bowls on a tray and sets it down on the table. Atsushi’s mouth waters at seeing the large bowl of rice surrounded by warm tea, exactly as he liked it. Chuuya hums appreciatively as each reaches for their bowl.
“Enjoy your meal!” The old lady leaves.
“Let’s eat!” Chuuya picks up his chopsticks and Atsushi does the same, both of them dining in silence. Atsushi closes his eyes as he lets his lips close over the spoon slowly, savoring every bite. It’s been a while since he’s had chazuke, and he can count on his fingers the number of times a bowl’s ever tasted this good before.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying this.” Atsushi opens his eyes and sees Chuuya giving him a soft smile, his cobalt eyes catching the rays of the setting sun. He can understand why Dazai keeps raving about how beautiful his chibi is for Chuuya truly is radiant under this light.
Atsushi swallows. “I am, thank you so much, Chuuya-san. And thank you for your offer to do this again sometime—I wish there was something I could do for you in return.”
“Just keep being yourself and keep you and Akutagawa out of trouble, okay? You do enough helping me deal with Dazai and missions running smoothly so don’t worry about that. Thank you actually for giving me a chance to spend this time with you—you’re a great kid and I’m sorry that pathetic mackerel doesn’t tell you that enough.” Chuuya picks up his napkin and daintily wipes the corner of his mouth.
They continue eating, making small talk and conversing about a variety of topics—Chuuya’s day at Port Mafia, his new dog he’s adopted with Dazai, (Atsushi was surprised he managed to convince Dazai considering the man’s blatant dislike for them but the pictures Chuuya showed of the two curled up on the couch were pretty telling), Atsushi’s attempts to get Ryuu to wear colors beyond black (“I keep buying Ryuu purple shirts like his tea but he just refuses to wear them!” Atsushi protests), and other matters. It’s a lighthearted conversation and Atsushi’s really happy he can speak so openly with someone other than Ryuu, getting to bond with his senpai in a meaningful way.
Atsushi sighs contentedly and leans back against the back of his seat, folding his hands over his stomach. “That was delicious, Chuuya-san. I loved it.”
“So did I, Atsushi. It was pretty wonderful to savor this meal with you.”
“Are you boys finished?” As if on cue, the old lady returns with a tray.
“We’re done, Oba-san. Here’s my card for the bill- and if you could pay for the two morons in the corner as well.” Chuuya hands her a black credit card and she disappears with the card and the dishes.
“Two morons?” Atsushi questions.
“Akutagawa and Dazai have been here the whole time in the corner booth across the restaurant, Dazai with that god awful fake glasses and mustache and Akutagawa looking like he’s trying to sink himself into the cushions,” Chuuya rolls his eyes. “I noticed them as soon as we walked in—I have no idea how they got here before we did—and not-so-subtly flipped Dazai off. Here, watch this.”
Chuuya makes a show of yawning loudly and stretching his arm over his head and Atsushi notices movement from the corner of his eye, turning to see a camera flash in the corner.
Atsushi shakes his head. “Can’t believe I didn’t notice them myself. I’m definitely going to talk to Ryuu about this later.”
“He probably was the only thing keeping Dazai from crashing our hang out, so don’t berate him too much,” Chuuya chuckles. “Let’s head back now and see if we can beat them back to the Agency.”
Thanks to Chuuya switching (temporarily) to ultra-fast motorcycle mode they do manage to make it back to the Agency first, where Chuuya promptly unscrews all the nails in Dazai’s rolling chair and watches gleefully as Dazai arrogantly plops in the chair only to have it fall underneath him, him sitting stunned on the floor in utter disbelief. Atsushi gets a text message from Akutagawa—“I’m sorry jinko but Dazai-san made me and promised to buy me tea for the rest of the week” so he forgives him. Only after he makes Ryuu give up another hoodie for him to wear.