Chapter Text
Atsushi got a notification on his phone. He lazily picked it up, wondering who was messaging him at such an hour, and was pleasantly surprised. Someone hit him up on this dating app he got after feeling particularly lonely one night. He barely filled in any information at all, so it was a little weird he got the attention from anyone, really.
With nothing better to do, he opened the app, excited to read the message.
D: Your picture is stupid.
Atsushi blinked. He did not expect this.
He quickly skimmed his profile he barely remembered creating and cringed at the photo he chose that night. He forgot he used a picture of a white tiger, because. Well.
He returned to the conversation, a little mortified, and also a little annoyed. He decided to retort.
Y: You literally have the devil as your profile pic
Because that was kind of embarrassing too, right?
D: What’s your point?
…
Y: Yours is stupid too
D: Rude.
Atsushi chuckled. This was clearly not going anywhere but at least he could have some fun with it.
D: It is also perfectly clear that is a fake name, ‘Kaito’.
Atsushi once again checked his profile, remembering he did choose a fake name but not which one.
Right. He googled most common names in Japan and went with it. Yokoyama sounded like Yokohama, and he thought it was kind of smart at the time.
“This guy’s a dick,” he whispered to himself, a smile on his lips as he made himself more comfortable on the couch. If he was getting grilled, he was going to fire his own shots, too.
Y: I think you are projecting, love
Because the devil had no surname, just a European sounding name ‘Diablo’.
D: Is anything true? From your bio.
Atsushi returned to his profile a third time, deciding he should really clean it up if he was serious about finding anyone.
Y: I like cats
The conversation has been ridiculous so far. But it was fun, so he was happy to see the three dots reappear.
D: Yeah, me too.
“Is this guy trolling me?” He pondered just closing the conversation and blocking him, but only for a moment. Maybe …?
Y: I’m also 19 and a male, if that helps
D: Are you a furry?
“… definitely a troll.”
Y: Not really, no.
Are you into that?
Atsushi barely knew what a furry was, but he figured it had something to do with his profile picture.
D: I don’t know. I’m new to this.
Y: Dating? Me too
D: Loser.
Atsushi laughed out loud. Maybe he should try some of the recommended questions after all?
Y: So, what do you look for in a partner?
D: I told you already, I don’t know.
Atsushi was getting mixed signals from this guy. Was he rude or just honest?
D: And what are you looking for?
“Huh.” The detective stuck his tongue out, which didn’t help him much. He started typing stuff like ‘kind’, ‘nice’, ‘hot’, ‘likes food’ when he realized he had no idea what he was talking about.
D: You don’t seem to know either.
Y: It’s harder than I thought, yeah
But maybe that’s the point of this, right? To date around and talk and figure it out?
D: I suppose that makes sense.
Atsushi started leaning towards this guy being brutally honest. And in need of some advice, even though he was a novice to dating himself.
Y: For the record, don’t open a conversation by telling people you think their photo is stupid. I can’t imagine people liking that
D: You’re still talking to me, though.
…
Y: I’m somewhat of a masochist
D: Maybe that’s my type.
Atsushi felt his cheeks burning.
“What the hell?”
Was that flirting? Did the devil guy just flirt with him?
Y: Look at us! Figuring it out
D: I like you, weretiger. Let’s talk some more tomorrow.
Atsushi stared at the text, burning even hotter. He just called him weretiger. This was a coincidence, right? Because of his silly profile pic? Or did someone figure out he had a fake dating profile and decided to make fun of him? Someone like … Akutagawa?
“Nah. No way.”
Y: … weretiger?
D: It’s more suitable than your fake name.
Y: Yeah, alright. Diablo …
“Yours is clearly fake too.”
D: I am not offended by this.
Y: Good
I think I like you too
Atsushi put the phone down and laid back on the couch. For some reason, he couldn’t stop smiling.