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Atsushi has a date tomorrow.
She’s nervous. She can feel the butterflies in her gut when she thinks about it for more than three seconds. It’s such a small step, really, considering they’ve known each other for this long. There isn’t anything to be nervous about at all. Atsushi has been through far more nerve-wracking situations than this. Especially with Ryuunosuke.
Atsushi sighs as she stares down her closet, like it’d done something personal to her. Every outfit in there is nice, all memories of Yosano teaching her how to shop, the outfit she’d bought on her own for the first time, and everything after that. Things she hadn’t gotten to do before. They stop glaring at it, somehow managing to make themself feel bad for doing it.
They just wish they could make up their mind. Each of those outfits, significant or not, are all way too many options for Atsushi’s addled mind. She told Ryuunosuke to dress casual, which means she should as well.
She glances back at her closet. None of her outfits are necessarily complex , so that narrows down basically nothing.
Atsushi never has this problem.
They just want to impress Ryuunosuke. They know that’s the truth. She has before, surely, but now that they’re dating, it feels all the more important to her. Even if, somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows Ryuunosuke won’t mind whatever outfit she picks.
Atsushi had already picked the place, it’s a place she’s familiar with enough to know it’ll impress Ryuunosuke as it is. Her outfit will probably go completely unnoticed, frankly.
Atsushi sighs again.
“ Chuuya ,” Dazai says emphatically into his phone. He leans back into his desk chair. His voice is ridden with laughter he can’t contain, and it makes Chuuya groan back into her own phone.
“You’re so annoying,” Chuuya complains. Dazai laughs again. “Atsushi and Akutagawa would see us immediately , since someone’s a literal fucking bundle of bandages,”
“Your fault you have a dumb haircut,” Dazai jabs back with a faux sigh. Chuuya scoffs.
“Actually, that’s your fault, asshole,” She reminds them. “Either way, I’m not fucking doing this. I have better things to do with my time, unlike somebody ,”
“These are better things!” Dazai emphasizes. “Think of it this way: We’re just keeping an eye on them!”
“They’re adults , Dazai, we don’t need to supervise a date,” Chuuya says.
“But Chuuya!”
There was no way Chuuya was going to win this.
Ryuunosuke has no idea how to deal with this. Ryuunosuke is in the mafia , and it can’t deal with this?
Ryuunosuke sits on the floor and tugs at their hair.
They have tried to kill this girl, and yet. The prospect of just… Looking at some flowers with her? That’s what’s bothering them? Ridiculous.
Ryuunosuke already has everything they’re supposed to do complete. Which, admittedly, isn’t a lot, because Atsushi insisted on planning the date themself. Ryuunosuke would have objected, were it not for the grin she wore as she rambled on about her ideas. All of these things that Ryuunosuke would’ve hated before make them feel warm now.
They just really, really hope Atsushi didn’t tell Dazai.
Nobody told Dazai. Dazai just knows, like they always do. They caught wind of it, whether they were listening in on Ryuunosuke and Atsushi’s initial in-person conversation, or the call about details the day after. Whatever it was, he knows, and Chuuya is being roped into whatever scheme Dazai had cooking up, whether she likes it or not.
Not that Chuuya herself is even opposed to the scenery. She tells herself that she goes because maybe it’ll be a good time, that the flowers will distract Dazai long enough for Atsushi and Ryuunosuke to feel peace.
Somebody has to keep Dazai under control.
Chuuya threads a finger through their longer hair. To themself, they sigh, because they already know nothing in the world could stop Dazai.
And then it was tomorrow. Atsushi had lingered in her kitchen after eating, sitting idly and waiting for Ryuunosuke to find their way to Atsushi’s home so that they could walk together. She picks at the hem of her skirt as she tries to ignore the way her heart beats at the idea of the door being knocked on at any moment.
She wonders about what Ryuunosuke must be wearing. She had been fairly satisfied with the outfit she picked in the end, a cream knit sweater that’s pretty heavy, and just a little too big, that’s tucked into the skirt she’s wearing. Her skirt is a powdery light blue that’s secured around her waist with buttons at the front of that band. Past that it puffs out, lined with tulle fabric.
Atsushi isn’t really sure what casual looks like for Ryuunosuke. They’re always in their coat, their frilly white undershirt, black pants, black shoes. She can’t even really be sure Ryuunosuke will dress differently at all.
She jumps when she hears three raps come against the door. They’re trying to be polite, but are accidentally loud out of habit. Ryuunosuke for sure, then.
“One second!” She calls out. She doesn’t really need a second. Objectively. She just needs enough time to get her heart to slow down so she doesn’t immediately make a fool of herself.
They swipe their bag, sling it over their shoulder, and jog over to answer the door.
And makes a fool out of herself anyway.
While Ryuunosuke still has their coat on, they also are wearing a gray sweater and a long dark red flowy skirt. It’s casual, as Atsushi instructed, but enough of a change to catch Atsushi off guard. The only consolation she has to the fact she’s tongue-tied right now is that Ryuunosuke doesn’t seem to be saying anything either.
Its eyes widened the way that it does when it’s pleasantly surprised, not minutely, but not particularly noticeable if you weren’t looking for it. Their mouth widens only slightly in their stupor.
They don’t say anything for a beat, taking each other in.
Ryuunosuke manages first. “You’ve outdone me, it seems,” They say, avoiding Atsushi’s eyes.
“There’s nothing to outdo, I told you casual,” Atsushi replies with a laugh.
“And yet, you’ve still outdone me,” Ryuunosuke stubbornly tells her.
Ryuunosuke looks down, suddenly lost in thought. Atsushi tilts their head. They almost say something before it looks up to them. It turns to where its side is facing Atsushi, and it offers its hand. Atsushi feels their face grow warm.
When Atsushi doesn’t move, Ryuunosuke dares to look at her, worried for a moment they overstepped, somehow. Atsushi is frozen in place, a smile, bordering on nervous and excited, is plastered on her face. Ryuunosuke turns to look away from her again, hiding their face partially in their collar.
“Well, come on, Jinko, we don’t have all day,” Ryuunosuke huffs, now shy with embarrassment.
Atsushi lets out a laugh, melting away Ryuunosuke’s worries in one fell swoop, and takes their hand. Ryuunosuke thinks about the warmth, only for a moment, before Atsushi speaks again.
“Didn’t take you as the romantic type,” Atsushi nudges Ryuunosuke lightly. Ryuunosuke glares at her. There’s no fire to it, especially not when it’s holding her hand.
“I’m not anything. This is simply just the easiest way for you to lead me to our destination,” Ryuunosuke lies, a very obviously blatant lie, even though they say it like it’s the truth. Atsushi lets out another sharp laugh.
“Real clever,” Atsushi says, leaning over and pressing their head against the top of Ryuunosuke’s. She swings their joint hands. “Very, very clever, Ryuunosuke,”
“I am clever,” Ryuunosuke bites back. “As opposed to you, holding my hand, not even considering my true ulterior motive,”
“And that is?” Atsushi questions, only leaning into Ryuunosuke further.
“Why would I reveal that to you ?” Ryuunosuke has a smirk now. Atsushi can’t see it from where her head is, but she can hear it.
“Because if you plan on killing me, Ryuunosuke…” Atsushi puts on her most teary, annoyingly dramatic voice she can manage. “How will you get to the garden?”
“I am capable , Atsushi. I can find my own garden,” Ryuunosuke counters.
Atsushi knows they can’t falter for long. They can’t lose to Ryuunosuke, not in easy banter, but when Ryuunosuke says her name with such ease, she’s caught off guard. Ryuunosuke smiles, really smiles, the bastard, and without a doubt, Atsushi is sure it knew what it was doing.
“You are such a jerk,” Atsushi mutters.
“I am in the mafia, Jinko, if I were anything less, we’d have a mess on our hands,” Ryuunosuke laughs heartily.
As annoying as they’re being, the laugh is appreciated. It fills Atsushi’s chest with warmth.
“And yet, you’re holding my hand?” Atsushi says, unable to compress the stupidly genuine smile on her face.
She squeezes Ryuunosuke’s hand a little bit tighter, just to make sure they don’t try to pull away. Ryuunosuke only does Atsushi one better, though, and holds her hand tighter in response. They both pause in the middle of walking. Atsushi creates enough distance between them to be able to look at Ryuunosuke without letting go of their hand.
Their faces are both completely neutral.
Slowly, Atsushi squeezes their hand tighter once again, staring them dead in the eye. Ryuunosuke’s stare only intensifies at the eye contact, squeezing her hand harder in response. They both keep crushing each other’s hands, both not willing to give up on the challenge they’ve roped each other into.
“Jinko,” Ryuunosuke hisses.
“Akutagawa,” Atsushi grits back.
Another beat passes, and then they release the pressure. Atsushi is laughing, pressing herself back into Ryuunosuke’s side. Ryuunosuke is laughing as well, though quieter, and they’re covering their mouth with their hand.
“What the fuck,” Chuuya says, squinting their eyes like they’re seeing wrong. “The hell was that?”
“I ‘unno! Maybe Atsushi stepped on a bug,” Dazai posits, like that’d make any sense to Chuuya at all.
“Yeah,” Chuuya waves her hand around dismissively. “Sure thing,”
“What! I’m serious! Akutagawa would take something like that very personally!” Dazai insists. Chuuya shoves her hand in Dazai’s face.
“Shut your– Hey! What the–! Don’t fucking lick me!” Chuuya swipes her hand back, only to rub the saliva on her hand on Dazai’s coat.
“Hush! Keep your voice down,” Dazai laughs, not worried, or even sorry for that matter, in the slightest.
“You can not be talking,” Chuuya shoves them from the chest, not hard at all, but enough to get their point across.
“But I am talking, Chuuya,” Then, Dazai slaps her hard on the back. Chuuya yelps, flinging her head to look at Dazai with the meanest glare they can muster. “Look!”
Chuuya does look.
The botanic garden, even just from the outside, is very pleasing to the eye. There’s a lot of plants out front, though not a lot of flora, presumably because it’s showcased within the garden itself. Chuuya can recognize that Dazai is not pointing this out in order for her to notice all of this, but rather Atsushi and Ryuunosuke approaching the building. She notices it anyway.
Dazai pulls them away from their current blindspot and closer to the actual garden.
Chuuya decides Dazai is truly their worst enemy.
If Ryuunosuke’s face is anything to go by, Atsushi picked the right place.
Their eyes light up, trying to take in everything at once. Atsushi gently squeezes their hand. Ryuunosuke turns their attention back to Atsushi, who smiles back at them.
“Calm down, we’ll see everything,” Atsushi tells them. Her smile feels like it’ll split her face in two. It really is funny, that despite everything, Atsushi thinks Ryuunosuke Akutagawa is cute.
“I’m on a shorter time limit than you expect, Jinko. I’m sure you remember I must kill you sometime on this date,” Ryuunosuke informs her, serious as ever in tone. Its smile betrays them however, even if they try hiding it in the collar of their coat.
“We are not rushing through this, Ryuunosuke, because you think you’d be able to kill me,” Atsushi teases back.
Ryuunosuke lets out a faux scoff.
Atsushi pulls it along by the hand, smiling giddily, and to the first bridge that showcases a majority of hanging plants. It creates quite the hallway: Flowers on vines, places where the vines have grown onto the bridge, and a general overgrown feeling.
Ryuunosuke pauses the walk at least twice just to poke their head over the bridge, staring at the bigger flowers below. Their cheeks are red with excitement that you can’t see on their expression, not unless you were Atsushi.
Something about the prospect of that keeps Atsushi from being able to focus on the scenery.
“Pretty…” Atsushi hears Ryuunosuke say.
Atsushi looks up, finally, to see what they’re seeing at the end of the bridge. It’s a large bundle of red flowers, that look like frills much to Atsushi’s amusement, that span wide enough to take up the entire view of the arch leading them out of the bridge. They look nicer than the last time Atsushi had come here, for whatever reason.
That only captivates Atsushi’s attention for a moment, though. Ryuunosuke’s eyes are wide noticeably now. They’re in front of Atsushi, pulling her along. She lets it happen, only able to focus on the smile on Ryuunosuke’s face.
When she tries to think of something to say back, all she can say is, “Beautiful, yeah,”
Ryuunosuke looks back to her, cheeks redder than before. They study her face for a moment, then pull her along again.
Atsushi recollects their mind. “You know, they kind of look like your usual undershirt,”
Now that they’re thinking of something other than how pretty Ryuunosuke is, they take a glance at the plate mended onto the fence.
Celosia Argentea .
“You are so ridiculous,” Ryuunosuke replies.
“And?” Atsushi asks expectantly, grinning wide.
Ryuunosuke smirks. “ And? ”
Atsushi lets out a sound of faux hurt. They let go of Ryuunosuke’s hand in favor of leaning backward onto them, draping their hand over their forehead to be dramatic.
“My heart, Ryuunosuke,” Atsushi cries. “It’s fragile!”
Ryuunosuke side steps, causing Atsushi to fall back. What Ryuunosuke’s not expecting is for Atsushi’s instincts to not be fast enough to catch herself. Ryuunosuke barely fumbles, catching her by the small of her back and yanking her upright.
Atsushi’s face flushes, in turn making Ryuunosuke’s. Ryuunosuke clears their throat.
“Clearly, so is the rest of you,” Ryuunosuke says.
“You are such a bad girlfriend, letting me fall like that,” Atsushi huffs.
Ryuunosuke shakes their head. They grab after Atsushi’s arm, then her hand. They ignore the stinging on their cheeks and they pull them along.
“Won’t happen again,” Ryuunosuke lies.
Chuuya is pleasantly surprised with what she sees. Dazai pulls her to the second floor to keep watch on Ryuunosuke and Atsushi from bridges and balconies, but nonetheless, she’s still at least somewhat enjoying her time here.
“Chuuya, look!” Just not the company.
And Chuuya does look, like they always do, but at Dazai first, just to see the grin on their face. Fondly, they sigh, and look where they’re actually supposed to be looking.
Chuuya looks just in time for Ryuunosuke to drop Atsushi, and subsequently catch her. It really is amusing to watch their faces, obviously new to everything between them.
She thinks about Dazai, who, even if he’s an annoying prick, is her girlfriend. She wonders if that’s what they’d looked like in the beginning, learning to be honest. Then, she thinks about how this new double black is nothing like them at all, and in all fairness, deserves some privacy from Dazai’s prying eyes.
“Osamu,” Chuuya says, and it catches Dazai’s attention immediately, because for as smart as Dazai is, they’re also an idiot.
Chuuya nearly laughs at Dazai’s huge, stupid smile.
She eyes the area around her before she presses a kiss to the corner of Dazai’s lips.
“You know this is completely stupid, right?” Chuuya hasn’t reeled back at all, staying right in Dazai’s face.
“Absolutely,” Dazai tells her.
“We could be doing anything else with our time off,” Chuuya continues. “You know, our very limited time off?”
“We could,” Dazai agrees.
Chuuya grins. “You’re such an asshole!” She grabs Dazai’s face with one hand and shakes him around. The whole time, Dazai’s giggling.
“I see your point, Chuuya,” Dazai concedes, still laughing between his words, and his cheeks redder than the pink from earlier. “We can go,”
Chuuya sighs in relief.
“I don’t mean to alarm you,” Atsushi starts, immediately alarming Ryuunosuke. “But I think that might… Be… Dazai and… Chuuya…?”
Ryuunosuke whips their head around, taken out of the moment, which may have been for the best anyway, because they were moments away from diving into a pond with lily pads in it.
“What the hell,” Ryuunosuke deadpans.
“Don’t look at them straight on, idiot!” Atsushi panics, and Ryuunosuke turns back to her.
“They’re spying on us! Atsushi–” Before it says anything, Atsushi’s already shaking her head.
“Didn’t say a word. Only to you,” They confirm.
They had seemed lost enough in each other in that moment to have not noticed Atsushi and Ryuunosuke blatantly staring at them. Ryuunosuke goes over every possibility in their mind, only to come back to this is Dazai. Obviously.
“Nothing is ever only to me these days,” Ryuunosuke’s eye twitches. “I ought to rip his head off.”
“I almost agree with you,” Atsushi rubs the bridge of her nose.
Ryuunosuke lets out a curt little laugh, and it makes Atsushi smile. Having realized just how ridiculous the situation is, Atsushi’s smile turns into a laugh of her own bubbling out of her chest. Ryuunosuke’s little smirk grows wider, into a real smile, and a laugh covered by their hand.
Atsushi had remarked this behavior a few times now, and without thinking, she pulls Ryuunosuke’s hand down to see their smile. Ryuunosuke’s face turns red immediately, their smile, which is delightfully wobbly, still on their face.
Dazai had been the one leading them out. Chuuya wasn’t really thinking much of where they were going, blindly trusting Dazai to lead them out of the building.
Chuuya should’ve known Dazai was way too willing to leave this place.
She’s yanked into a very obvious and not subtle patch of plants with large leaves. There’s a very obvious sound of the leaves shifting as Dazai pulls them both into it, which makes Chuuya go bright red out of embarrassment, because Atsushi and Ryuunosuke are very, very nearby.
“ Stupid mackerel! ” Chuuya hisses.
“Aw, no more Osamu ?” Dazai pouts. “Don’t wanna make out with me back here? Really, Chuu, it was the best spot I could find,”
“You are fucking insane,” Chuuya says, even if she’s laughing a little.
They definitely heard that noise. And Chuuya whisper shouting. And Dazai talking completely normal, like he’d given up on being subtle. Which is probably true.
“As long as they aren’t physically interfering, I do not really care. I am used to this from them,” Ryuunosuke had told Atsushi, to which she agreed.
So now, the ruckus Dazai and Chuuya are creating goes completely ignored as they head to a newer part of the garden that Atsushi hadn’t seen before. Atsushi had been sneaking glances at Ryuunosuke, silently waiting for the reveal, just to see their face.
But the truth is, when Atsushi and Ryuunosuke reach the newly built greenhouse, Atsushi can’t take their eyes off of it.
Immediately to be seen, there’s hardy vines with brilliant pink flowers on them grown everywhere. They curl around the front of the greenhouse and all the way around, accompanied by bushes with similar flowers at the front. The lights that come from inside the building glow from the glass, making everything so pink .
Atsushi’s expression glows, and despite how beautiful this greenhouse is, Ryuunosuke’s eyes are locked on her.
“Ryuunosuke, look how beautiful!” She exclaims, flapping her free hand.
Ryuunosuke understands Atsushi now, from earlier when they were mesmerized by the Celosia Argentea , and Atsushi wasn’t looking completely coherent.
All Ryuunosuke can say is, “Yes,” Because, yes, Ryuunosuke is looking at something beautiful, and it’s so overwhelming that they’re forgetting all of the flower names they were trying to remember.
Atsushi is pulling them along, and they feel so unreal besides where their hands touch. Ryuunosuke’s chest is filled with a warmth they can’t describe. They detach their hand from Atsushi’s, which makes her turn around in confusion, and hug her from behind.
“You are so lovely,” Ryuunosuke says to her.
“Ah,” Atsushi laughs nervously as heat rises to their face. “You can’t just say things like that, Ryuu,”
The nickname makes Ryuunosuke feel warmer.
“Get a move on, Jinko,” Ryuunosuke demands, flustered. “I am to kill you within this building,”
Ryuunosuke leaves one arm wrapped around Atsushi’s side, pressed contentedly into her side. Atsushi’s arm is draped around their shoulders. They walk into the greenhouse this way.
“Frankly, if I’m supposed to die anywhere, this is more than good enough for me,” Atsushi says with a giggle. Ryuunosuke wishes they had the words to explain how overwhelmingly stunning she looks this way, surrounded by flora and colored by the pink lights.
Ryuunosuke’s breath is taken away from them, unable to create a witty response, which is almost impossible in any other circumstance. Atsushi notices, clearly. She turns to look at her partner, who’s still staring at her like there’s not perfectly gorgeous scenery to be staring at right now.
Atsushi feels her breath catch too upon the realization Ryuunosuke is staring at her lips.
“I won’t kill you,” Ryuunosuke whispers, which is not romantic to any one person besides Atsushi. She feels giddy.
“Wow,” Is all Atsushi can manage, leaning in.
They inch closer and closer to each other’s faces. It’s almost scary, waiting for the contact, both unwilling to push something the other doesn’t want, no matter how obvious it is they both want it. Atsushi finds Ryuunosuke’s hand, linking them together. And then–
“Aww!” Loud. Very loud, exclaimed almost as if it were intentionally trying to knock the two off balance.
A snort comes from the same direction.
Ryuunosuke pulls away, but keeps their hand firmly locked in with Atsushi’s. The two both turn to see Dazai and Chuuya. Dazai has an awfully annoying look on their face while Chuuya is hunched over, holding back laughter the best she can, and failing terribly.
Rashoumon emerges from Ryuunosuke’s back.
“I have to kill him,” It says with a dark look, though, Atsushi can tell that it’s really just embarrassed.
Atsushi is more irritated, than anything.
Nobody is around here, Atsushi hadn’t really seen anyone to begin with besides the occasional worker, which is about the only reason she doesn’t tell Ryuunosuke off for having Rashoumon out this way. It’s an intimidation tactic that doesn’t work, but Atsushi lets them have anyway.
“Was Kunikida out of town or something?” Atsushi asks with a frown.
“Yep!” Nope!
Finally, Chuuya grabs Dazai by the wrist, still holding back laughter, and yanks him out of the greenhouse, muttering something about Akutagawa and Atsushi killing him before she got the chance to.
Silently, Atsushi and Ryuunosuke watch the display with mixed feelings.
“The irises reminded me of you,” Ryuunosuke finally speaks. “The ones in the back.”
Atsushi glances over her shoulder. They’re light blue.
“You really are a romantic, Ryuu,” Atsushi grins.
“You brought me here, Jinko,” Ryuunosuke hums.
Whether or not Chuuya and Dazai lingered, Atsushi and Ryuunosuke can’t be sure. They don’t see them again, though.
Ryuunosuke makes the decision to walk Atsushi home. There’s still emphatic conversation. Ryuunosuke thinks it could never get tired of this girl.
“You know,” Atsushi starts when they reach her doorstep. Ryuunosuke thinks, again, that Atsushi Nakajima is beautiful. “You never did get to kill me, Ryuu,”
Ryuunosuke looks at her meaningfully.
“I told you,” They say. “I won’t.”
And much to Atsushi’s delight, Ryuunosuke brings their hands up to their face. They pull her down to them, pressing their lips together.
It’s not bad. Clumsy, sure, but there’s no expectations that have to be met. Atsushi can’t stop smiling, no matter how hard she tries. Ryuunosuke doesn’t move the hands on her face when they finally pull away.
There are many feelings written on Ryuunosuke’s face. All Atsushi wants to do is tell it that they love it.
"That garden would never have been the same without you,” Ryuunosuke tells her. They press a kiss to their cheek.
“What happened to being capable, Atsushi ?” Atsushi poorly mimics Ryuunosuke, who only responds with a kiss to her other cheek. Then a kiss to their nose, their forehead, and as many spots on Atsushi’s face they can get away with until Atsushi presses firmly on their shoulders to lower them.
Atsushi’s face is red, and clearly caught off guard. “Ryuunosuke,” She laughs, now flustered.
“I got excited. Sorry,” Ryuunosuke says, not looking very sorry at all. “You did good, Jinko,”
“Did good?” Atsushi tilts her head.
“The garden. It was beautiful… I had a good time with you, and… It was a good choice,” Ryuunosuke replies. Before Atsushi could reply, Ryuunosuke adds, “Atsu,”
The way they say it is jagged, and definitely not natural, but the way Ryuunosuke tries makes Atsushi giddy, and she pulls them up into a hug.
“Thank you, Ryuu,” Atsushi says with a kiss to their forehead. “You do not know how cute you were every time you saw a flower you liked. Which was essentially all of them,”
Ryuunosuke flusters. They hide their face in Atsushi’s collarbone.
“I do not know, that is correct,” Ryuunosuke settles on.
Atsushi rolls her eyes fondly. They let the hug linger, just for half a minute or so, until Atsushi finally has the strength to set them down.
“I’ll see you around, Jinko,” Ryuunosuke whispers.
“Stick with Atsu,” Atsushi says. “I like that one,”
Ryuunosuke laughs quietly.
“Goodnight, Atsu,”
“Goodnight, Ryuu,”
And when Atsushi steps into the silence of her own home, she imagines she can hear Chuuya’s yelling from here.