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"N-Nakahara-san?! I'm flattered, but you really shouldn't have!"
They're standing in front of Chuuya's sleek red car, for Atsushi had been waiting for the Port Mafia executive in front of the Agency's building to pick him up for their first date.
"First date, huh?" Atsushi can hear Dazai's words echoing in the back of his mind like an obnoxious flea buzzing in his ear.
"Don't piss him off too much, m'kay?"
Atsushi obviously didn't know what the fuck that was supposed to mean (contributing to his heightened anxieties) but didn't get the chance to ask for elaboration as Kunikida bonked Dazai on the head with his book of ideals and then proceeded to lecture his single-since-birth ass to mind his own business.
Not that Dazai would've given Atsushi an explanation anyway.
After Kunikida successfully squared up with Dazai, who was physically forced to sit back at his desk, he tells Atsushi to have fun, stay safe, don't fuck around with the law, and call anyone from the Agency if needed. "Do NOT call Dazai, he has shit overdue!"
"Just like a mother," Atsushi had thought.
So, here's Atsushi now, eyes wide and cheeks so red, he's almost matching with the bouquet of fresh, luscious roses Chuuya held out to him.
"Firstly, drop the Nakahara. It's Chuuya to you," Chuuya demands. "Secondly, drop the honorific. It's Chuuya to you."
For some odd reason, Atsushi feels he had just offended a fussy cat.
"Thirdly…!"
Atsushi can sense some of Chuuya's overflowing confidence simmering back into its pot, the latter's expression still fierce but a bit softened by bashfulness.
"I got these for you, but not because I should've. It's because I wanted to," Chuuya says, a tint of pink now visible on his cheeks. "You deserve it."
You deserve it.
There's a floaty feeling in Atsushi's chest, the kind of feeling he believes is ridiculous and devastatingly difficult to describe but euphoric to have.
Oh wait, that's actually just the realization of falling deeper in love… not that Atsushi would've comprehended that off the bat.
"Oh… that's very sweet of you," Atsushi gives Chuuya a soft smile and takes the bouquet. To his surprise, the bouquet weighed less in comparison to its size, and he counted a total of twelve roses.
Chuuya almost had a visceral reaction to the praise. "Well…" he coughs, averting his gaze in slight embarrassment. "… it's the most I can do."
Atsushi giggles, too amused by Chuuya's sudden sheepishness. "You say that as if you don't have bigger things planned for us tonight."
"I dunno, depends on what you mean by 'bigger things,' tiger," Chuuya shrugs.
Atsushi was genuinely confused by that statement, having a three-second moment of panic and brain fog because how the fuck are you supposed to respond to that, until he saw a little smirk slowly appearing on the latter's face.
"Now you're just teasing me!" he pouts, with his arms crossed and everything.
Chuuya chuckles, blushing a bit at Atsushi's remark and the bonus gestures he couldn't see as anything but cute. "C'mon, now," he says, opening the passenger door for Atsushi.
"We don't wanna be late for our reservation."
So when they began cruising the streets of Yokohama to the location of their date (which Chuuya kept to himself so he could surprise his tiger), Atsushi took that time to admire the roses in his lap.
It's a red that surpasses the red of Kyouka's kimono. A red that can't compare to the sight of blood or even the front cover of Dazai's "Guide to Suicide." It's a red that couldn't compare to the red in Chuuya's prized collection of red wine, which Atsushi could never afford, and it's a red beyond the red in Chuuya's red motorbike, which Atsushi once had the joy of riding on.
There's sweetness laced into this type of red Atsushi held. It makes up for the red in his beating heart and flushed cheeks. The floral undertones in this type of red smelled wonderful, and the swirls of petals in this type of red looked extravagant.
It's a red from Nakahara Chuuya, the man he loves. Chuuya believed Atsushi was worthy of this kind of red.
Atsushi gazed at Chuuya briefly and almost jolted in his seat when he saw beautiful sapphires staring back at him.
Chuuya held a blue Atsushi had nearly forgotten about.
"I take you really love them, considering that you're literally checking them out from all angles," Chuuya laughs lightheartedly. "I'm glad."
Atsushi brings the bouquet a bit closer to his chest. "Of course I love them... they're beautiful, and I'll cherish them even after they wilt."
The roses rested against Atsushi's chest during the rest of the car ride, for he had placed a finger on the feelings in his chest. The feelings are still vague and confusing, and he doesn't know how they'll change.
But Atsushi knows that he'll always want to see red as long as Chuuya gives it to him.