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That night, after the incident, once again, Akutagawa couldn’t get the weretiger out of his head. It was quite annoying if he was honest with himself. He could really only take so much of the incessant voice in his head trying to convince him that he was above such thoughts.
He found himself actually hoping he would be paired off with Atsushi, just so he had an actual reason to see the man. Had Akutagawa heard someone else acting in such a way he would have called them pathetic without a second thought. In fact, he remembered saying a very similar thing to Chuuya one night when the shorter man was very drunk and seemed to be missing someone.
His silent pleas were answered before long. The Port Mafia needed Rampo Edogawa’s help in a very important investigation- one Akutugawa didn’t feel like troubling himself over. When there was a sudden need for one of their own to enter the Agency once again he found himself offering to go.
“I suppose I can bring the case file over. Why we don’t just use cell phones like normal people is beyond me.” He hoped to come off as flippant.
“Oh how surprising- Akutagawa offering to go to the Agency. I. Am. Shocked.” The smirk on Chuuya’s face was even audible in his voice, the sarcasm would’ve grated on Akutagawa’s nerves had it been anyone else saying it.
“Oh right, I suppose you’ll want to go then, huh? Be given an actual reason to check in on the detectives?” Akutagawa met the smirk with a- not quite eyebrow raise. More of a forehead scrunch than anything.
“Oh, shut up. Go on, take the file. Be sure to say hello to your ‘weretiger’ for me while you’re there.” Chuuya simply grinned back, not taking Akutagawa’s bait.
He was about to respond when the file was shoved into his hands by an irritated Kouyou, who seemed to be fed up with them and their ‘obsession with the enemy’ as she once so eloquently put it.
He swiftly turned around, relishing in the way his coat swished, making his way toward the exit.
He made quick work of getting to the Agency, it was a practiced route by now, even though he never meant for it to be. This time he even knocked before walking in and striding over to Rampo’s desk.
Other than a general motion to move closer to their nearest weapon, the detectives hardly reacted. He did feel slightly bad for one of the secretaries who seemed frightened by his presence.
“Detective with the glasses-”
“My name is Rampo Edogawa, the world’s greatest detective-”
“Fine, whatever. The Port Mafia requests your assistance.”
“Oh do they now? And what’s in it for me Mr. Emo Mafia guy?”
Akutagawa rolled his eyes at that- and the following snicker he knew came from the weretiger. “Right, of course,” Akutagawa sighed and pulled the file out of his coat, “the solution to this case apparently also leads to the small group of gifteds in the west you have been looking into. Solve this case for us and the boss will fill in any gaps for you.”
Luckily, this seemed to appeal to Rampo’s distaste for boredom. Akutagawa had been hoping for a quick resolution afterall, he didn’t want to spend much more time on this case than he already had.
“Why do we let him in here again?” Akutagawa had to stop his head from turning towards the other end of the room as he heard Atsushi speak.
“Very funny weretiger. I’ll have you know it was your very own president who agreed to all of this.” He had given up all pretense once he saw Rampo open the file on his desk and strode away from Rampo and closer to Atsushi.
Once he moved past the very orderly yet empty desk Akutagawa found himself standing at the desk in front of the weretiger’s. He leaned over the desk, using his coat to cover most of it. Akutagawa waited for Atsushi’s inevitable response.
“I’m pretty sure Mr. Fukuzawa’s agreement with Mr. Mori didn’t include you looming over my desk as I’m trying to work- thank you very much.”
“Oh see, that’s where you’re wrong, weretiger. As long as no one is in mortal peril, I can pretty much do whatever I want.” Akutagawa’s smug grin grew ever so slightly as he spoke.
Atsushi stood and leaned forward on his own desk-
“Oh how cute~ next you’ll be taking down organizations overnight! They grow up so fast! It might be time to break the news to Chuuya, the little birds are leaving the nest.”
“Shut up!” The overlapping voices of Atsushi and Akutagawa only caused Dazai to laugh more.
“If you two are done being gross I solved the case quite some time ago!” Rampo waved the file and swung his legs over his desk, facing the group once again. They could all see where Rampo wrote the culprit and circled the evidence against him.
“Perfect, now I can get out of this hovel.” Akutagawa tried to grab the file but Rampo pulled it back before he could.
“Ah hang on a second there, coat guy. I’m not just handing this off to you to do whatever you like with it! Nope, gotta take an Agency member with you if you want this.”
“Oh great.” Even without Ultra Deduction Atsushi could see where this was going.
“You should take Atsushi! I know I’m not going with you.” Dazai confirmed his thoughts.
“I don’t need an Agency escort to get back to my own workplace! Would you just hand over the file already?” Akutagawa knew he was in no real place to argue, but did so anyway.
“Come on, there’s no getting out of something both Rampo and Dazai have their minds set on, it’ll be quicker if we just leave now.” Atsushi spoke up again.
“That’s right! I knew you were a quick learner, Atsushi. Now why don’t you take the file and Akutagawa to the cafe downstairs, isn’t it time for your break anyway?”
Atsushi rolled his eyes at Dazai, deciding to simply walk over to Rampo and grab the file. “Come on Akutagawa, the faster you listen the faster we get this over with. If you can manage it.” Try as he might, Atsushi could not conceal the pleased lilt to his voice as he spoke.
“Don’t get too lost on the way, you two! I know how long it takes to get from here to headquarters, don’t dawdle now!”
Atsushi leveled a quick glare at Dazai before ducking his head and swiftly walking towards the door. Only pausing when he noticed Akutagawa wasn’t behind him. The pause was brief, distinctly remembering someone saying to keep up.
Akutagawa scoffed as he watched the weretiger open the door, before following him out. The door was still half open when the rest of the Agency heard a quiet:
“When did they start dating?” Kyouka had a knack for sneaking up on even some of the best trained people in the city.
Atsushi and Akutagawa heard the following snickers before the door closed behind them.
“It’s hard to believe that's the same Rampo Edogawa and Osamu Dazai that stopped the destruction of Yokohama. Multiple times. They act like-” Atsushi was cut off by his own stomach rumbling loudly between them.
“For heaven’s sake weretiger, you sound like you are starved. Do they not feed you at your little Agency?” Atsushi can’t help but let out a loud laugh, Akutagawa somehow knew exactly what to say.
“No, I’m not starved. I just happened to forget breakfast this morning, s’all.”
“Your stomach is growling louder than the actual tiger, you truly are ridiculous.”
“If you find it so offensive why don’t we stop and grab food?” Atsushi scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
“What is this, some sort of date?” Akutagawa asked, a bit too quickly.
“I- You- Ugh! That’s not what I meant, and you know it!” Atsushi’s face dropped after reddening slightly.
“Did Dazai say something about a cafe? I’m beginning to feel quite peckish.” Akutagawa strode forward, leaving Atsushi to scramble behind him
“Uh yeah. Let’s not go to the one below the agency though, they’ll know about it before we even walk in. Come on, there's a nice place not too far from here, they have good lunch food!” Atsushi’s mood seemed to lift and Akutagawa’s posture loosened.
“You are aware that this is in the opposite direction that we need to be going, correct?” Akutagawa pointed out while still following Atsushi.
“Yes of course I do! I’m not stupid!” Atsushi turned back slightly, gesturing with his arms.
“You can’t blame me for asking.” Akutagawa’s face grew smug.
“I can and I will! You’re a real jerk sometimes, you know that?” His words had no real bite, Akutagawa could see the smile on his face.
“I am quite aware. It’s very fun messing with you.”
Atsushi shakes his head with a laugh, “Alright, Mr. Emo Mafia guy, come on we’re nearly there.”
Akutagawa pauses and scoffs at the repeated use of the nickname from earlier before resuming his walk next to Atsushi.
“The weretiger taking me to a restaurant called the “Hungry Tiger” could you be any more cliche?” Akutagawa gestured to the sign above the entrance before leveling what Atsushi assumed was supposed to be an unimpressed look at him.
“Hey, don’t knock it ‘till you’ve tried it! Everyone at the agency loves when I pick up lunch from here! It's actually… The first I was able to go to on my own in Yokohama, after joining the Agency. I don’t think anyone there has ever actually been, I’ve only brought them lunch from here before.” Atsushi had a small smile and light blush covering his face as he spoke.
“Restaurant with a backstory. Are you sure this isn’t a date, weretiger?” Akutagawa had humor in his voice as he spoke.
“I don’t know, Akutagawa, sounds like you’re the one who really wants it to be!” Atsushi turned back slightly and winked before extending his stride, forcing Akutagawa to keep up as they went inside.
Thankfully, Akutagawa had a moment to recover as Atsushi spoke to the host at the front.
“Oh! We don’t have an order for the Detective Agency today, did I miss it?” The host spoke, too bubbly for Akutagawa’s liking.
“Nope! I’m actually sitting down today, table for two at your earliest convenience please!” It was only after Atsushi said two that the host seemed to register Akutagawa behind him.
The host cleared their throat and nodded shakily, “Yeah, of course. Here over by the far window is always good.”
Once sat down, Akutagawa accompanied Atsushi’s thanks with a polite nod and neutral expression.
“They seemed friendly…” Akutagawa’s statement lingered in the air, obviously awaiting an answer.
“Yeah, they’re new here. I’ve only seen them a couple times, nice to me at least. I will say, the cooks are my favorite though, there’s this one woman who always puts a little smile on orders marked with my name or the Detective Agency written on it! I’ve been trying to tell Kunikida to put his name and number with Agency orders and then come down here and speak to her! He’s… resisted to say the least.”
Akutagawa stifled a smile at the weretiger’s antics. “Ever the matchmaker are we? Any other escapades I should know about? I don’t want to get caught up in a scheme unknowingly now.” The teasing lilt to his voice brought a smile to Atsushi’s face.
“Oh I have so many escapades running at all times. You could be in one right now and you’d never know it! Although, between you and me? I’ve been trying to figure out if Rampo and Edgar Allen Poe from the Guild are together or if they desperately need a wake up call. Oh, and of course all of us know about Dazai and Mr. Chuuya.”
Akutagawa reprimanded himself for allowing the thought that this was a date to cross his mind again. “Of course we all know about the two of them. I’m pretty sure all of Yokohama knows about them, the famous Double Black.” He punctuated his sentence with an eyeroll.
“Word on the street says we’re supposed to be the new Double Black… I’m not sure I believe it.” Atsushi’s smile was ever growing, Akutagawa was worried he was going to hurt his facial muscles.
“I hate to break it to you but Mori seems to have taken to calling us Little Double Black, no matter how much I protest.”
There was a shine in Atsushi’s eyes as he spoke again, “I don’t know, Little Double Black could have a nice ring to it.”
Before Akutagawa could formulate an answer their server approached them and introduced herself, asking if they were ready to order or if they needed more time.
Atsushi deferred to Akutagawa, he had been there plenty of times, after all. He didn’t need a menu to look over like Akutagawa would.
“Oh I haven’t even looked… Why don’t you choose for me? You’re the expert here.” Akutagawa looked at Atsushi as he spoke, hoping he would agree.
Atsushi’s face lit up, much to Akutagawa’s enjoyment.
“Oh! Yeah sure! I’m going to do the roasted chicken, and for him… The tiger burger with cheese, a side of fries, and a pickle!” Atsushi seemed satisfied with his decision. Akutagawa decided right then that he was about to eat the best meal of his life.
The server smiled at the pair and walked away, letting them know that it would be right out.
“So how did I do? Does that sound good?” Atsushi seemed like he was forcing nonchalance.
“Well, weretiger, I’m not sure how but you did manage to pick something right. I happen to be a big fan of pickles and an American style burger isn’t the worst thing you could have chosen.”
“I’m counting that as a win, just so you know!”
“Of course you’d make a competition out of ordering food. Do the rest of the detectives know about your obsession with winning?” Akutagawa smirked slightly, hoping to get Atsushi riled up.
“All they know is the sour taste of defeat!” Atsushi let out a genuine laugh at his own antics and the face Akutagawa pulled as he spoke.
Soon Akutagawa joined him with smaller, more subdued, laughter. “As long as my food isn’t sour, your band of detectives won’t hear of it from me.”
The pair continued on like that for a while. Their table was quickly becoming recognised for the noise the two were making. One that sounded just too happy to make anyone irritated over the actual noise level. Marina, the cook in the back who felt she knew the Agency, was glad to hear Atsushi so happy. Even if she didn’t recognise the other person’s name or order as anyone from the Agency’s.
They were in the midst of teasing each other over style choices when their server came over with their food. It was surprisingly quick in Akutagwa’s eyes, maybe the time had just passed faster than he expected. The server left with a customary “Let me know if you need anything else from me! I’ll come to check on you in a bit.”
The pair both nodded politely and thanked her again. Atsushi began to eat and waited for Akutagawa to do the same, so he could see the reaction to his choices.
After they both swallowed their first bites Atsushi spoke up. “So? How is it? I assume I made a good choice, since I haven’t heard any complaints.”
“I must admit, even if your choice of suspenders is atrocious, you can seem to pick a meal. Although I didn’t doubt you.” Akutagawa forced nonchalance as he indirectly complimented Atsushi.
“Admit it! You were excited to try what I picked for you!” Atsushi smiled widely, which made Akutagawa more likely to say more than he meant to.
“Fine, fine. Even if excitement seems like the wrong word for it, I was rather hungry.”
Atsushi simply stuck out his tongue at Akutagawa, hoping to get an equally childish response out of him.
His hopes were answered when Akutagawa made a funny face at him in response. What he wasn’t expecting was for Akutagawa to pick a piece of chicken off of his plate and eat it.
“You could’ve asked, you know.”
“But that was so much easier, wouldn’t you agree.” Akutagawa’s smug smile said it all.
“Well whatever it’s worth: I would have given you some. But since you went and took it I’ll just have to…” Atsushi trailed off and leaned forward, picking a long french fry off of Akutagawa’s plate, “That's it! Perfect.” He munched away happily, feeling very self satisfied.
Instead of a verbal response Asutagawa simply sent a light kick at Atsushi under the table. Both of them knew it was weaker than one of his normal kicks were. Atsushi made a show out of eating the fry after feeling Akutagawa’s foot hit his ankle.
The pair ate in relative peace for a while. Only making comments about their food being very good. Evidently they were hungrier than they anticipated. The discussed Agency and Mafia happenings, things most people would have considered gossip if they were around to hear it.
It was after the fifth time the host interrupted them mid conversation that Akutagawa pointed it out.
“Say, weretiger, did you notice anything strange about the host that sat us over here?” Akutagawa didn’t think Atsushi would be that dense, though he had seen it in action before.
“No? Have they been acting strange?” Atsushi seemed concerned rather than suspicious.
“Strange might not be the word for it, weretiger. Just interesting that they have come over to check on us about five more times than a host normally would. Especially seeing as we have a very attentive server.”
Atsushi’s head tilted slightly, the cursed thought that he looked like a cat came to the front of Akutagawa’s mind.
“You seriously cannot be that dense. You’re a detective! This isn’t a case for Ultra Deduction.” Atsushi’s confusion only deepened. “Oh for- they’re interrupting us because they think we're on a date and they like you.”
Atsushi’s face reddened. “They don’t! There’s no way they like me, I hardly know them!”
Akutagawa had to greatly resist the urge to face palm. Instead he pinched the bridge of his nose and spoke again. “I really didn’t expect to have to explain this to you, of all people. You are exceptionally kind, which to those in any service position is gold. You are friendly and evidently compassionate. You work for a mysterious Agency which adds to the intrigue. Then, most obviously, you are also very at- ahem, very attentive.” Akutagawa hoped Atsushi’s embarrassment would cover up his slip.
He had no such luck.
“No one would use the word attentive to describe someone they like. What were you going to actually say?” Atsushi had a smile on his face, clearly enjoying the showering of compliments he had just received.
“Absolutely nothing. Either way this is about the irritating host that is trying to sabotage what they are assuming to be a date.”
“Hmm, I don’t believe it. I think you’re reading into someone doing a really good job at work and being overly suspicious!” Atsushi placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward ever so slightly.
“Oh really? Have you seen them visiting any other tables? No, they seat people and make their way back to the podium up front, leaving the rest to the servers. Except for you, they keep coming back and asking you how everything is.”
Atsushi raised an eyebrow at that, “And how do you know they aren’t coming to talk to you?”
Akutagawa met Atsushi’s ever growing smile with a smirk of his own and responded. “Other than the fact that I have done nothing but scowl in their direction? How about the fact that they hardly look at me when they approach and they make sure to lean very far into your space.”
“Someone seems to be watching them closely, care to explain?”
Akutagawa rolled his eyes, slightly defensively. “I just find them a bit bold for my liking. It’s quite intrepid of them to flirt with you in such plain sight.”
“In plain sight of…?”
“Ugh. Must I spell it out for you. It's quite brash to flirt with you while someone they could assume is your date is sitting directly across from you. In the same way it would be brazen for a prisoner to discuss escape plans in front of the warden.”
Akutagawa faltered at the sparkle in the weretiger’s eyes. He sensed too late that he may have said too much. Atsushi’s smile widened, Akutagawa couldn’t stop the comparison of a cat catching its prey from coming to mind.
“Oh I get it. You think they are slighting the relationship that we aren’t in. Of course it makes total sense now.” Atsushi wore a self satisfied look on his face and leaned back, as if he had been planning this conclusion this entire time.
Rather than letting the embarrassment flooding his system over take him, Akutagawa quickly shot back. “More just curious as to how a complete stranger could fall for an overgrown cat like you.” Akutagawa smirked at Atsushi, hoping to come off as more confident than he felt.
“Hey, you're the one who let said overgrown cat take you out to lunch!”
Akutagawa was about to retort when the host visited their table yet again. This time, they asked if their seating arrangement was comfortable, as if the pair hadn’t been sitting there, with no complaint, for over an hour already.
It was once the host was out of earshot that Akutagawa spoke up again. “See? Surely even you have enough brain cells to rub together to see what they’re doing?”
Atsushi laughed at that. “Yes, I am aware they have a crush on me. Like you said, I am a detective after all. I just like to see you scramble for reasons to talk about it. They asked me out the last time I saw them.”
Akutagawa’s face changed from a scowl to a look of shock as Atsushi spoke. For once, he couldn’t think of anything to say. Thankfully, Atsushi continued.
“Yeah, they asked if I would like to get coffee with them. I told them that they seemed like a lovely friend but romantically my interests were elsewhere. I told them it would be unfair of me to agree to a date with them when I knew I wouldn’t be able to move on to someone else.”
Akutagawa was reeling, that was a lot of new information very quickly. He had to respond.
“Oh. Um, I suppose this means I am a part of one of your matchmaking schemes. Are you attempting to make someone jealous? I suppose it's that American girl who works in the cafe below the Agency?”
“Lucy? Really? No, you aren’t a part of one of my schemes. Just good company for lunch I suppose. Plus, this wouldn’t be a good way to make anyone jealous. No one knows we’re here! A true scheme would have had me make a big deal out of us going out together. This was just for us- our benefit.” Atsushi feared he had said too much with his slip.
Akutagawa was too preoccupied with stamping out the hope that had arisen when Atsushi called him good company. It was undignified. After clearing his throat in hopes of getting the thought to leave his head Akutagawa spoke up again.
“I am unfortunately intrigued by your matchmaking escapades, tell me about one?”
Atsushi smiled. One that was soft and genuine, as well as not being very good for Akutagawa’s insides.
“Want to hear my master plan for Rampo and Poe? They’re the easiest on my list.”
“You have a list, do you?”
“A short one, but a list nonetheless, yes.”
“Care to share? Call it morbid curiosity if you will.” Akutagawa was hoping the weretiger might reveal who his affections laid with.
“Well, Rampo and Poe, Dazai and Mr. Chuuya, a rebound for Kunikida, and one more that is a secret, even from you.” Atsushi counted them off on his fingers as he spoke.
Akutagawa wondered if the one he wouldn’t share was the one that included the weretiger himself.
“With all the secrecy I’m not sure I want to know. Next thing you’ll be telling me it's about that government worker with the glasses… Anson? Either way, I think it’s best if I don’t know.”
“Ango. And no it’s not about him… Not even I am that good.” Atsushi had a wide grin on his face, Akutagawa thought it might be infectious.
“Fine, don’t tell me. Although, I‘m pretty sure you mentioned you had a plan for Rampo and Poe? I don’t know why I’m invested. I hardly know either of them.” Akutagawa pretended to pick at his nails to busy his hands.
Atsushi’s grin widened. “Their plan is nice and simple. I have to make them both jealous, if they’re both jealous over a different person acting romantic with the other, Rampo will definitely realize that they are wasting time by not being together. But, and here’s the best part, if neither of them get jealous I’ll know they’re already together and feel secure in their relationship. Genius right?”
“Admittedly not as bad as I figured you’d come up with.There is a major flaw in this, however. How do you plan to make them jealous?” Akutagawa leveled Atsushi with an unimpressed look, assuming the weretiger hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“Oh! There’s this guy- Mushitaro. He does this whole perfect crime thing with his ability- whatever! Point is they all know each other. I need to get Poe to give Mushitaro some form of praise while Rampo is around. Then, for Poe, I need him to just see Rampo and Mushitaro solving a case together without any particular reason to. Foolproof!”
“If your plan was foolproof it wouldn’t be your plan. But I suppose it’s not the worst idea.”
“Come on! Admit you think I’m the smartest matchmaker in the Agency! You know you wanna!” Akutagawa hated that his heart raced as Atsushi leaned forward dramatically.
“That’s a very low bar. You’re the only matchmaker in the Detective Agency. That would be like admitting you’re the best weretiger in the Agency. Redundant at best.”
“Aw, how sweet. You think I’m the best weretiger!” Atsushi couldn’t keep the teasing out of his voice.
“You’re the only- Oh whatever! Fine, yes. You’re the best weretiger. Which is a low bar, mind you”
“Glad to hear you admit it! And, purely for the record, you are the best Emo Mafia guy I know.”
“Know many Emo Mafia guys, do you?” Akutagawa hoped that leaning into the joke would make it better.
“Actually, come to think of it, I do know quite a few. The Port Mafia really has that emo vibe going for it. What is it? You “rule the night”? I always found that funny.”
Akutagawa reminded himself that Atsushi was joking when he called him the best. He was adding onto the joke that Akutagawa himself started.
“Better than the twilight. Next thing I know you’ll be the protagonist of some kind of vampire story.” He did all he could to joke back.
Atsushi laughed at that, “If I’m the protagonist what does that make you? My vampiric deuteragonist?”
“In the terrible story you’re writing, maybe. I, however, suspect I’d be a vampiric antagonist.”
“Hmmm, I don’t know… An antagonist that works with the main character? And doesn’t kill people… anymore. Sounds like you’d be a main character right there with me!” What Atsushi was doing was not good for Akutagawa. He feared his heart might give out at this rate.
“I’m not going to argue semantics with a cat.” Akutagawa put on a bored face.
“Dang! I was wondering how long I could get you to call me the main character! Also, you know I’m not actually a cat right?”
“Seeing how you chase Rashoumon, I’m not quick to believe it.”
“That was one time!” Atsushi couldn’t keep the smile off of his face.
“Right. One time. And if I were to move Rashoumon around behind me, you definitely wouldn’t follow it. Of course not, that would be ridiculous.” Akutagawa laid the sarcasm on thick.
Atsushi couldn’t resist the urge to double check that Rashoumon wasn’t moving behind Akutagawa. The snickers he heard when his eyes glanced to the wall behind Akutagawa were the only things making him look away.
“That was a low blow and you know it!”
“Fair is fair. I didn’t force you to go looking for a toy… I simply proposed it could be there!”
Atsushi made an exaggerated angry face at Akutagawa, one refreshingly different from the way he actually looked when mad.
“While we are on the subject…” Akutagawa couldn’t go back now. “Do you have any other cat-like tendencies I don’t know about?”
Atsushi scoffed at the question, but truthfully he had never considered it. “What kind of tendencies could you possibly be talking about?”
“If I must spell it out for you. Do you prefer chicken to red meat? Take naps in the sunlight without meaning to? Are you a light sleeper? Try to sit or lay down in small spaces like boxes? Anything like that. Really, weretiger, you of all people should know what I mean.” Akutagawa was aware that his show of haughtiness was severely curbed because he was listing cat facts, he didn’t care all that much.
Atsushi’s eyes widened as Akutagawa spoke, apparently coming to his own conclusions. “Alright, lots to unpack. The biggest of which is why you know so much about cats but we can get back to that. In order: I do prefer chicken actually, I never really noticed; I do actually fall asleep in the sun sometimes, it’s happened at the Agency before since I sit by a window; I am a light sleeper but I think that has more to do with the orphanage than me being a cat; and lastly, I do gravitate towards smaller spaces, they make me feel safer somehow.”
“So, what I’m hearing is that I was right. You do act like a cat.” Atsushi could hear the self-satisfied tone of Akutagawa’s voice.
Atsushi mirthfully rolled his eyes. “Fine, sure. You were right.”
“Careful, weretiger. You keep saying things like that and you’ll give a guy the wrong idea.” Akutagawa’s face showed a smug smirk.
“Wrong idea,” Atushusi playfully raised his eyebrows, “Right. Wouldn’t want to do that”
Before Akutgawa had to face the challenge of coming up with a response, their server saved him. She came by with the check, but before he could react, Atsushi had already handed her his card, saying he would just need to sign the receipt.
“Why would you do that?” Akutagawa tried to come off as indignant, he wasn’t sure it was actually working.
“What? Oh the check? Hmm… let’s call it not giving anyone the wrong idea, yeah?”
Akutagawa’s heart jumped again, he couldn’t think of anything to say but he knew it had to be something. He cleared his throat. “Well, thank you. You didn’t have to do that…”
“I know! I wanted to. So…there’s really no need to thank me.” Atsushi sent a mischievous wink at Akutagawa, being entirely unhelpful to Akutagawa’s inner turmoil.
Once again, he was saved by the server. She set the check down on the table in front of Atsushi. He looked it over, wrote down a few numbers, signed it, and handed it back to her.
He nodded at her in thanks, appreciation for serving him even if he didn’t have the direct chance to thank her, since Atsushi paid. Atsushi spoke up after she walked away.
“So what did you think? Good enough to come back to or not feeling it?” Atsushi leaned forward and rested his head on the back of his hands.
“I liked it, if it was any closer to headquarters I’d probably be here pretty often.” Akutagawa was hoping that’s what Atsushi was looking for.
“It is a bit far out for you, maybe for special occasions though. Or if you ever have to visit the Agency again.”
“Eating alone is a bit sad, even for me. Usually trips to your Agency are taken alone.”
“I could always join you, if you really can’t bear the thought of eating alone.” Atsushi’s smile turned slick, like he was hoping for an opportunity such as this one.
“There you go again, asking me out on a date? You really should be more direct.” Akutagawa wore his own smug look that mirrored Atsushi’s.
“It really shouldn’t be that difficult, you know.” Atsushi’s expression softened into a genuine smile.
“My name is practically synonymous with difficult, do keep up.”
“Well, I did struggle to pronounce it at first, so if I can just call you difficult that might be easier.” Atsushi’s eyes glimmered with mischief as he leaned even further forward.
“Typical for a weretiger to struggle with my name. Even if you aren’t the first. Although, one could see this as an opportunity to just call me by my first name.”
“The first weretiger or not the first to struggle with your name? Because if I’m not the first weretiger, someone has a lot of explaining to do to Francis. And, honestly, I’m not sure that Ryuunosuke is any easier,” Atsushi laughed a bit and continued, “Although Ryuu has a nice ring to it.” Atsushi’s smile lingered.
Akutagawa made the calculated decision to ignore the nickname, in fear of embarrassing himself. “The man who tried to buy you? And, of course, the one we defeated with relative ease.” Akutagawa sounded like he was asking a question, even though he knew the answer.
“Sure, if relative ease brings us to the brink of death.” Atsushi sassed back, knowing Akutagawa would laugh along. He also chose to move on from the subject of nicknames, hoping for a chance to bring it up again later.
“Yes exactly-” Akutagawa was cut off by his phone ringing. His face showed confusion as he looked at the front screen. He quickly flipped it open to answer.
Atsushi heard loud talking on the other end, it seemed like concern?
Akutagawa looked annoyed and a bit confused, evidently he was not expecting the call either. As the person on the other end of the phone spoke more, Akutagawa seemed resigned, he started to slowly clear up the table, stacking their dishes near the end of it.
Atsushi followed suit, assuming the voice on the phone was the cause of their leaving.
“Yes yes we're on our way. Don't get the universe into a twist.” Akutagawa tucked his phone between his cheek and shoulder, picking up the last of their table and motioning for Atsushi to go with him.
Atsushi followed his lead and began to get up too. Once they were both standing in front of the table he mouthed a question, “Who are you talking to?” He accompanied his silent question with an exaggerated shrug.
Akutagawa moved the bottom of his phone away from his face and mouthed back, “Chuuya.” Partnered with his own exaggerated confused look.
He moved the phone back into place and made placating sounds of agreement, likely to end the conversation quicker.
“No! I didn’t get kidnapped by the detectives! Do you really think I’d let that happen? I just got a bit hungry so we stopped for food.”
Akutagawa paused, likely to allow the person on the phone to respond.
“I didn’t mean that! I’m not wit- oh whatever. I will see you in a bit. Goodbye.”
Atsushi looked at Akutagawa in amusement, staying silent to allow Akutagawa to fill him in on the phone call.
“Oh for- it was Chuuya. He was asking what was taking me so long to bring back the case with an answer. Anyways, we should get going before he sends someone after me like I’m a child.”
“Aw, so he was worried about you.” Atsushi began to walk towards the exit while still looking at Akutagawa.
“No. He’s simply being impatient with me. Which I only put up with because he is technically my superior.”
Atsushi didn’t believe that for a second. He knew Akutagawa had a good amount of respect for Chuuya, even if he would never admit it to anyone. He decided to ignore the blatant lie and kept moving towards the exit.
He took a few long strides forward to get to the door first and held it open, motioning for Akutagawa to go through first. After a quick eye roll from Akutagawa he did as Atsushi wanted him to. Before the door closed behind him Atsushi called out a polite “Bye!” And was greeted by the sight of the blushing host.
The pair walked out onto the sidewalk, heading back the way they originally came. Before they got too far Atsushi checked to make sure he had his phone, wallet, and the case file he was meant to help deliver.