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It’s a warm night, Atsushi thinks.
It’s late in July now, the evenings warm. The city lights below his feet shine and shimmer, colourful lights illuminating the streets. Above him, the moon shines brightly.
He’s sitting on an old rooftop, on a building that’s been abandoned for years now. He dosent know why he’s here exactly. What he’s waiting for.
Hes sitting on the edge, legs dangling as he stares up at the sky. It’s been a few months since the Vampire epidemic ended. It took a while, but things have almost gone to normal, except, for well—
“Jinko.”
A voice calls from behind him, and he huffs fondly. Everything except this.
Atsushi dosent turn, instead keeping his eyes up on the sky. “Akutagawa.” He calls his name, gentler than he should be.
He wants to laugh, at the ridiculousness of it all. A year ago? Atsushi would’ve been ready to fight, or maybe Akutagawa would’ve lunged already.
He dosent know when they stopped being enemies, and started being something else. Somehow, everything and nothing had changed. They still bickered, they fought, but now their conversations were filled with empty threats, over real ones.
He dosent know when he started looking at Akutagawa differently. When he started noticing all the little things. The crinkle in his eyebrow when he’s disgusted, how his hand twitches when he’s scared.
He dosent know when he stopped hating Akutagawa, and when he started loving him.
Akutagawa silent, and Atsushi turns around to face him, hopping off the edge, and leans against the railing facing him. He tilts his head slightly, a silent question.
Akutagawa coughs, “Jinko.”
And god, the way Atsushi smiled. Over a petty nickname, nonetheless. Akutagawa was standing on the ground next to the stairwell, above Atsushi about twelve feet away.
He hops over the stairwells railing, down towards Atsushi. There was some sort of tension in the air, some unsaid words lingering. They haven’t really talked, since everything ended, I mean why should they? They aren’t friends.
Though, after everything they’ve gone through together, they aren’t exactly rivals now either. After all, Akutagawa had died for him. Thinking about what had happened on that boat made Atsushi’s chest squeeze, and he looked back up.
“It’s late, you shouldn’t be out here. It’s the Ports territory.”
And oh. So that was what Atsushi had been waiting for up there.
“I know.” It was an unspoken confession, and they both knew what he was trying to say.
Akutagawa seemed to understand that too, as Atsushi spotted the light pink on his cheeks. “I was worried.” Atsushi blurts out, before he can stop himself.
Akutagawa raises an eyebrow. “After— When I saw you again. After the boat. I was worried that— I don’t know. I thought you were dead, I thought—“ Atsushi cuts himself off, biting his tongue, and was about to start ranting again before he was cut off.
“I’m here now, aren’t I?” Akutagawa asks, and Atsushi can see the moonlight illuminating him, and that small glimmer in his eyes, and maybe— maybe it will be okay.
There’s a silence again, as they stare at eachother. Akutagawa is the one that breaks it, voice softer then Atsushi has ever heard it.
“I was worried too.”
His words hit Atsushi in the chest. As he just stares at him, trying to find the right words, instead Akutagawa keeps speaking.
“I was scared that you wouldn’t make it off the boat. Or that you’d just get caught later, and I wouldn’t be there to help you again.”
He looks away, coughing, and Atsushi feels butterflies . And really, it’s stupid. All he had said was that he was worried. But it still made Atsushi’s head reel.
He smiles at Akutagawa, “I’m here now, aren’t I?” And Akutagawa stifles a laugh. “Stealing my words now?”
Atsushi dosent bother stifling his laugh.
A more comfortable quiet falls over them now, as Atsushi stares at Akutagawa.
Of course, Atsushi had to be the one to spoil the silence, he had to blurt out something stupid.
“I love you.”
It shocks both Akutagawa and Atsushi. He dosent think he’s seen Akutagawa look shocked before, his eyes wide, as he looks for words.
Atsushi panics. He fucked this up, there had been something, they had just started getting along, and Atsushi went and fucked it up. He scrambles for the right words, to apologize, to fix things, when Akutagawa speaks.
“I love you too.” And his voice is quiet, and it breaks ever so slightly. Atsushi’s head snaps up, and their eyes meet.
Now it’s Atsushi’s turn to be shocked. “You— What?”
“Are you really going to make me repeat myself Jinko?” And as bold as he sounds, Atsushi notices how flushed his face is.
He stumbles forward, a few clumsy steps until he’s in front of Akutagawa. Just close enough that if he reached his arms out they’d touch.
“Your not— tell me your not just screwing with me. That this isn’t just for kicks. Atsushi asks, and their faces are close, too close, and he prays to god he’s not reading this wrong.
But then he feels Akutagawas fingers, leaving feather light touches on his cheek. “Im not. I wouldn’t— I swear.” And it comes out as a whisper, and they’re so close Atsushi can feel his breath, warm on his cheek.
He swallows hard. “Okay.” He nods his head, and his hands come up to Akutagawas face, gently cradling his face and god he can smell Akutagawas cologne and it fills his head and— all he can feel his his lips.
Akutagawa presses his lips against his softly. Atsushi dosent know exactly what he expected. It was so gentle, so unlike Akutagawa, and he realizes he should probably kiss back and he’s never kissed anyone before this.
But he feels Akutagawa’s lips on his, and maybe that dosent matter so much. He presses back, a little more firmly, and he feels Akutagawas hands slowly trail up into his hair, tangling his fingers in it, and he feels him press back.
It feels so nice. Atsushi mentally beats himself up, if he had just talked to Akutagawa sooner, they could’ve done this a long time ago. He’s still cradling Akutagawas face, and he kisses back with more fervor, and he hears Akutagawa let out a small noise and—-
By the time they part, they’re gasping for air. Akutagawas hands are still tangled in his hair, and their foreheads touch.
The whole thing is so ridiculous, And he laughs. Akutagawas eyes open to look at him. “It’s just—“
“Do you remember how we used to be?” Atsushi says suddenly, and Akutagawa laughs at that, its sweet. The mental image of when they had first met playing in his head. “I really hated you, you know.”
“I did too.” Atsushi’s voice is soft. And he smiles as he says it.
They look at eachother for another second, still pressed together. And maybe they aren’t enemies anymore, but Atsushi thinks he likes this version of them more.