Work Text:
Atsushi’s boyfriend is apparently either an alternate version of himself or a preincarnation, and that’s not the weirdest thing Junichirou's heard this month, but it definitely comes close.
He’s polite to everyone in the Agency when he meets them, as polite as if he was meeting Atsushi’s family for the first time - which makes sense. They are a family, in a way.
Still, the question that’s on Junichirou’s mind is nagging at him, and he won’t be satisfied until he asks.
“Nakajima-san,” he says, during a lull in the conversation.
Nakajima turns to smile at him softly. “Ah, yes?”
“Do you know a ‘Tanizaki Junichirou’?” Junichirou asks.
...Is it just him, or does Nakajima look nervous? “I do, yes. He’s another author that was summoned to help with this situation.”
That’s what Junichirou expected, even though it still feels strange to have confirmation. “Can I meet him?”
Okay, he’s definitely nervous now. After a moment, though, he nods. “I… I can work out the details when I return.”
“Thanks.” Any version of himself can’t be too bad, Junichirou reasons. And he’s too curious to go without seeing ‘Tanizaki’ at least once.
Nakajima sets up a meeting between Junichirou and Tanizaki at a cafe. Nothing special, just a get-to-know-you lunch. He also mentioned that he’d be coming along, ‘in case things became awkward’.
So Junichirou doesn’t feel too bad about Naomi inviting herself along. She does this most times he goes out to meet with people, Agency-related or not.
They arrive at the cafe first, but Nakajima and his hanger-on aren’t far behind. Junichirou opens his mouth to greet them, then shuts it before he can gape.
This person is Tanizaki Junichirou? That man who screams ‘elegance’ from his beautiful silver hair to his soft golden eyes to his decorated kimono to his dainty hands, that’s supposed to be him?
Nakajima stops in his tracks. “Oh - oh, Junichirou-kun, you didn’t tell me you were bringing your sister along…”
“She insisted,” says Junichirou, somehow managing to find his own voice.
Naomi seems almost as stunned, but snaps out of it at the same time. “It’s nice to meet you, Tanizaki-san,” she says.
“The pleasure is mine,” says Tanizaki. He steps forward and takes her hand. “I’ve heard of Junichirou-kun, but I wasn’t told such a beauty as you would be joining us… What would your name be, Mistress?”
Naomi looks like she doesn’t know whether to be flattered or not. Meanwhile, Nakajima sighs, looking completely, utterly unsurprised by this behavior.
“I’m Naomi,” she says after a moment, seeming to settle on ‘flattered’.
“What a wonderful name,” Tanizaki replies. “One of my best novels centers on a girl with that very name. Tell me, how old are you?”
“Sixteen,” she says. “What was that Naomi like?”
Tanizaki opens his mouth to reply, but is cut off by Nakajima squeezing his shoulder. “Don’t,” Nakajima says. “Please don’t.”
“Or you’ll do what?” Tanizaki asks, brightening up rather than seeming cross.
“I’ll…” Nakajima considers for a second. “I’m not going to hurt you, so please stop looking so excited about it.”
Tanizaki’s expression sours. “I’ll be a boring conversationalist if you don’t allow me to speak about my works at all.”
“You can talk about some of them,” says Nakajima. “Just… not the ones about sex. I understand that’s most of them, but...”
Junichirou is growing more uneasy by each sentence in this exchange. Naomi looks like she feels similarly, since she’s withdrawn her hand out of Tanizaki’s grasp.
“Only since you insisted,” says Tanizaki, and turns his attention back to Naomi. “Ignoring all that, it’s a pleasure to meet you both.”
“Likewise,” Junichirou says, weakly. It’d be rude to back out now, but... he hopes this lunch is over quickly.