Chapter Text
Crisp autumn wind brushed against Atsushi’s face as he walked home with his groceries for the week. Today marked a week since Atsushi and Akutagawa defeated the ghost of Fukuchi, and since the agency ended Dostoyevsky’s terror on the world. It was a huge relief to be able to go shopping like normal again. He had had more than enough adventure for a while.
And, just like the time they defeated Dostoyevsky’s rats, Fitzgerald had lent them his cruise liner in order to celebrate their win. This time, all their allies were invited onto the ship, including the former members of the Guild and some members of the Port Mafia. Fitzgerald had a natural flair as a host, and Atsushi noticed he was making sure people were having a good time. To everyone’s surprise, it went well - there was hardly any commotion, save for Dazai tormenting his former partner, Nakahara Chuuya. Atsushi had even managed to have a real conversation with Akutagawa about how the mafioso had saved his life. They reminisced over their fights, and realised they had a lot more in common than they thought.
Now, a few days after the celebration, the dust had settled and things seemed to be going back to normal - and Atsushi really, really hoped the status quo could remain for at least a few weeks. And so he walked along the streets of Yokohama, watching how the orange and pink hues of the setting sun illuminated his surroundings. That was when he saw him - sitting alone in a Burger King, sloppily eating a greasy burger, with a devastated expression on his face. It was a big change from the proud, obnoxious, self absorbed capitalist he knew.
Atsushi stopped in his tracks, watching Fitzgerald. ’That can’t be him. Does he have a twin that I don’t know about?’, he thought. It was such a peculiar sight, the young detective could hardly believe Fitzgerald was not only sitting in a cheap fast food restaurant, but was looking so… awful. Especially for someone so vain. He considered going inside to ask what caused this, what could possibly be wrong, but thought the better of it. After all, it’s not like the other man would do the same for him.
Continuing to make his way home, his mind tried to come up with an explanation for the state of him. Could it be about his business? His family? Was he possessed? Depressed? He tried to think of every possible explanation, and before he knew it he was in his dorm, unpacking the groceries. He tried to take his mind off it, but to no avail. Part of him thought that Fitzgerald deserved to be depressed after terrorising the agency and almost destroying the entire city of Yokohama, but another part of him wanted to comfort him. After all, no matter how annoying and unpleasant Fitzgerald was, he had still given the agency gifts, and aided them on numerous occasions. There was a nagging little voice in the back of Atsushi’s mind telling him to do something to help him, to offer him his friendship. And that little voice was pretty loud.
His mind was restless for the rest of the evening as he pondered over what to do. Even while having dinner with Kyouka, he wasn’t very present in the conversation. While it wasn’t a problem for her, as she didn’t talk much during dinner, his silence was deafening. His intense staring at his soup was also starting to worry her. “What are you thinking about?” She questioned.
”What?” He asked back, startled. “Sorry, what did you say?”
She repeated her question. ”Oh, nothing, just… I saw Fitzgerald-san in a Burger King.” He replied.
She tilted her head in confusion, “So?”
”Well, it was weird! I thought he hated poor people, so what’s he doing eating cheap food? And, I mean- he looked so upset, and, well, people shouldn’t be left alone while they’re upset. But it’s Fitzgerald! He doesn’t care about other people, so I shouldn’t care if he’s sad, but, well, he’s helped the agency in the past…” He rambled on as Kyouka listened to him intently. Once he was done, she offered a solution.
”If you’re concerned about him, why don’t you do something with him? Like how you took me shopping when we met. Maybe he’s not as bad as we think.”
”I guess… Maybe I could ask Poe-san to help me. They were in the Guild together, so he must know him well, right?”
She shrugged and they continued eating, Atsushi’s mind now slightly at ease.
———
The next day, at the agency, work was slow, (the whole city was recovering from the almost-end-of-the-world, and crime rates were a lot lower than before) so when Poe scuttled into the agency with a new manuscript for Ranpo, Atsushi took his chance to ask Poe about Fitzgerald.
“How well would you say you knew him?” He asked.
”Ah… Well, during my time in the Guild, I wasn’t very sociable. Not like now.”
‘This is him being sociable?’ Atsushi thought to himself.
”Mr. Fitzgerald was the one to invite me into the Guild when I was in difficult circumstances. I would probably be in a jail cell if it weren’t for him. So I suppose you technically could call me an acquaintance of his, although it’s not really by choice. When we were in the Guild together he insisted on bringing me out of my room - or cave, as he called it. Whenever he threw lavish parties at his home, I was forced to attend.”
”It sounds like you guys were friends, Ed!” Ranpo interjected, looking up from the manuscript. Karl had made himself at home on Ranpo’s shoulders, and also looked up at Poe.
”I resent that remark, my dear. I don’t find his company very pleasant.”
”Well, Poe-san, I was hoping you could help me get acquainted with him.” Atsushi explained.
Poe pulled a confused face. “Why?”
After some back and forth, they eventually agreed that the two of them would pay a visit to Fitzgerald’s company. And inexplicably, Dazai (after overhearing their conversation) was trying to convince Atsushi to invite Akutagawa to their hangout.
”I don’t get it, why should I invite him?”
”Well… between you and me…” Dazai beckoned Atsushi closer, and held up his hand to whisper to Atsushi, “Akutagawa’s kind of a loner. It’s a bit sad, really. And I think him dying for you during your fight with Fukuchi is probably a sign that he cares about you.”
Atsushi tried not to think about the idea that Akutagawa “cares” about him, it made him feel… weird. But, Dazai had a point. Akutagawa was kind of a sad loner.
After getting his number from Dazai, he rang him up. It only took two rings for the phone to be picked up, but silence met him on the other end. “Akutagawa? This is the right number, right?”
”Oh, were-tiger, it’s you. What do you want?”
”Well, I wanted to invite you out! I’m going to go out with Poe-san and Fitzgerald-san, and Dazai thought I should invite you too.” Once again, he was met with silence. “Akutagawa? Can you hear me?”
”…Okay, I’ll go. Where should I meet you?”
The lack of pushback took Atsushi slightly aback, but it was a pleasant surprise. He told Akutagawa to meet them outside the building Fitzgerald owned, and gave him a time.
Much to Kunikida’s dismay, Atsushi abandoned his paperwork and set off with Poe, who left Karl in the care of Ranpo. Poe himself wasn’t exactly sure why he was going along with him, as he truly didn’t like Fitzgerald. But part of him felt he owed it to him - he did invite him into the Guild, and as annoying as it was, he did usually try to make Poe feel included at his parties. He wasn’t actually that bad - it was the grief after the death of his daughter that caused him to take drastic measures in finding the book. Thankfully though, he seemed to be on the ‘acceptance’ stage of grief, and didn’t seem to be planning to destroy the city again.
Poe was also slightly concerned that Fitzgerald was eating cheap food. Atsushi was right, it wasn’t like him at all.
They walked together, with Atsushi carrying their conversation, and as they approached the building they noticed Akutagawa waiting with his arms crossed. After recent events, Akutagawa’s appearance looked different… in a good way, Atsushi thought. After recovering from the vampirism infection, his health actually improved: his skin was slightly less pale and he had gained some weight, and although Atsushi didn’t want to pry, he wondered whether it had healed his lung disease, too. Akutagawa had also lost the coat he received from Dazai and replaced it with a new one which, although it didn’t look very different, it felt like he was finally moving on. The coat collar was down, which revealed the long, jagged scar on the side of his neck from his death wound. Although the vampirism had revived him, it didn’t remove the scar.
Atsushi called out his name and waved to him with a grin, which caught Akutagawa’s attention and he turned to greet them both. “Greetings, were-tiger. Um… and you…” He trailed off, looking at Poe intently.
Although both he and Poe were both at the cruise liner party, they had never formally met, and even worse, they were both devastatingly socially inept. This dawned on Atsushi as he watched them both awkwardly try to navigate an introduction. Feeling a bit bad for them, he introduced them to each other, then beckoned them to enter the building with him. Atsushi politely greeted the receptionist inside and asked him whether Fitzgerald was busy, sighing in relief when he said that Fitzgerald had nothing scheduled for the day. ‘Good,’ he thought, ‘we won’t be disturbing him.’ The three of them were then directed to his office.
With Atsushi leading the way and Poe and Akutagawa trailing behind, they made their way to Fitzgerald’s office. The last time Atsushi dropped in to see Fitzgerald, he had been in the middle of a battle with a possessed Hawthorne. This time, when he opened the door to his office, he wished he had knocked. Fitzgerald was lying face down on a massage table with only a towel over his lower half, and was in the middle of receiving a massage. Upon hearing the door open, he lifted his head and propped himself up on his elbows. “Tiger boy? What are you doing here… with Poe? And Okuta- Aku- sorry, I can never get your name right.”
‘Off to a good start…’ Atsushi thought, looking away in embarrassment.