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“It’s better if you aren’t recognized when you go out, Gin-chan.” Dazai used to say whenever they mentioned any kind of plans for a day off. “For safety.” And so their brother had a harder time finding them, he never said but Gin had an inkling that was part if not of most of his reason to ask that of them; whatever grand plan he had in mind that required Ryûnosuke not being able to reach them until the moment was right, Gin supposed they had to wait and see to know the whole thing, and so it didn’t occupy much space in their mind right then.
In fact, that worked out nicely, because they didn’t really want to think about Ryûnosuke.
Gin had been mad at him for the longest time, and rightfully so, because he left them behind in search of revenge while they were there, still alive but heavily wounded.
(That was why they didn’t really want to think about Ryûnosuke.)
Gin was still mad at him, actually, and on their worst days they agreed with Dazai when he said their brother may not be capable of caring at all. But… Gin also missed him, and it didn’t seem fully fair, not giving him the chance to atone either. Especially after so much time had happened.
(That was also why they didn’t really want to think about Ryûnosuke.)
Anyway, if Gin was currently wiping off the slight make-up they used to wear for work, and changing from their usual suit, it wasn’t just or mainly with the objective of following Dazai’s instructions of keeping hidden.
On their daily duties as the Port Mafia boss’ secretary, Gin wore a suit like most members did, the aforementioned make-up and had their hair combed in a ponytail which only left a few strands loose for style reasons; elegant but comfortable, not over-the top, and more in the neutral to feminine side of looks. And being deemed mostly as a girl wasn’t an issue, but it wasn’t accurate all the time either, the same way their clothes of choice weren’t limited to what they used to wear at work.
In other words, there was quite the ample range they fluctuated with, both in terms of gender and clothing-- and they didn’t always go hand in hand.
That day, they had chosen ripped jeans, a more of a simple t-shirt and a black leather jacket with black boots to match. Instead of a ponytail, Gin’s hair was now on a spiky bun that left the same characteristic strands free, and both to add to the look and to oblige Dazai’s requirements, they had picked a face mask that combined well with the t-shirt.
And, if said mask was similar to one Ryûnosuke had gifted them when they were children but at the same time different enough to not be an instant connection… Well, nobody needed to know.
Gin’s plans rarely were something that put him in the spotlight, for he was more of a fan of going about his day with calm, and that day was no different; just going to watch a movie that had caught his eye ever since coming across the trailer, having dinner afterwards and going back home. Probably ending up the night reading a bit or so.
Little did he know, though, how things were meant to end a bit differently to what Gin had expected.
The movie turned out to be rather good, quite enjoyable even if it hadn’t changed Gin’s life either. And, when it came to dinner, after some deliberation she opted for a small ramen place near the cinema she had just exited.
And then and there, having claimed a seat by the counter, it was when her plans were thrown out of the window in the best possible way.
“Can I sit here?” A voice that shouldn’t sound familiar but did anyway asked, to which Gin simply nodded in response without thinking too much about it; why do so, when anyone was free to sit whenever they wanted to? Plus, and despite liking her space, it wasn’t like such a thing bothered her as long as people around didn’t make a point of being a disturbance on purpose. “Thanks!”
Gin waved a hand to make it clear there was no issue, and was pretty much expecting the conversation to end there, but to her surprise it didn’t. For quite the number of reasons, the first of them being what the newcomer said next.
“Also, this sounds better when it’s a drink, but fuck it. Can I buy you food?”
It was then when she finally turned her head to look at the person beside her, blinking in confusion, and realized where she had heard such a voice before.
Just a glance at the spiky red hair, golden eyes and bandaid crossing the bridge of her now companion’s voice were enough to recognize him as Tachihara Michizô, Port Mafia member, one of the Black Lizard’s heads. Given Gin’s own position, the two of them weren’t exactly in close contact at work save for very specific occasions; after all, it was Higuchi in her role as the battalion’s direct superior who tended to manage most communications between them and the boss. But… Tachihara wasn’t exactly forgettable, at least not to Gin.
Had he recognized her too? Maybe not, though. Not like it mattered.
“So, what d’you say?” He then said, making her realize she had been leaving him hanging while taking in the realization she knew him.
“Mhm.” She uttered, nodding once again. Tachihara instantly smiled, as he had just won the lottery, and the way her heart skipped a beat for a second wasn’t lost on Gin at all.
“Not much of a talker, ain’t you?” Tachihara commented after a while, once both had ordered and Gin had done so by pointing exactly what they wanted from the menu instead of speaking. “Hey! It’s fine, promise.” He also added as Gin rolled their eyes at him, lifting up his hands in defeat. “But--” He shrugged. “It’s ‘cause you can’t, don’t wanna have a conversation at all, or what? So we try somethin’ else or I just shut the fuck up.”
Oh, right.
Shaking their head in negation and fetching their phone, Gin hurried to properly explain the situation by opening the notes app and writing the following:
‘It’s about speaking out loud. Especially in public. Not that I don’t want to talk to you or anything.’
“Ah, I see.” Tachihara smiled again, clearly glad to have the misunderstanding cleared up and to know Gin wasn’t trying to shoo him away after paying for the meal or something like that. “It’s alright, man.” Man? Though it made sense, given how easily people’s perception went to one side or another depending on what they were wearing.
That wasn’t a critique, since Gin tended to use that on their advantage.
‘Also, this is quite the long shot, but I have a method to make talking more fluid. If you understand, of course.’ They added, deleting the previous message to not keep the page too crowded.
“Oh?” If there was something crystal clear there, it was how they had caught his attention with that. “Shoot.”
Said and done, for Gin placed their phone over the counter, freeing both their hands to proceed with signing. It was quite the long shot indeed, since there was no guarantee Tachihara had that knowledge in his skillset, but in the case he did and the whole thing worked out-- hm, what could Gin say except for the fact they were excited about the prospect.
‘If you don’t get this, we could think about something else.’ To their surprise, he was looking attentively with no trace of confusion in his face.
“I do, yeah.” He confirmed, nodding. And, under their mask, Gin started beaming.
From then on, it was safe to say their conversation went more than smoothly.
“It’s your first time coming here?” Tachihara moved onto asking. “I mean, ‘cause I do sometimes and I hadn’t seen you before, but it can be a matter of luck, y’know?”
‘It is.’ Gin confirmed. ‘But I like it so far, so if you say the food is good…’
“Yeah, it’s great! Don’t come ‘ere in rush hour, though.” He added, leaning in a bit closer as if he was going to tell them a secret-- something Gin was too aware of in the best of ways. “This is, like, a rare hidden gem for people who gotta get lunch and rush back to work, so that time on workdays is hellish. Weekend dinnertime is better.” And there Tachihara didn’t have to swear it was, because both were experiencing the current calm just fine.
Something that Gin appreciated.
‘I have to come here more often, then.’ They carried on. ‘Especially if I’m going to see you here.’
For all his confident attitude overall, such words seemed to have an effect on Tachihara nonetheless; his next smile turned a bit shy, and he scratched the back of his head before replying.
“Well, you won’t hear complaints from me.” He shrugged, then continued. “But we could also get each other’s numbers and meet at more places, y’know? If… if you’d like to, obvi.” Needless to say, Gin did, and so instead of letting him know with words, they reached for their phone again, unlocked it to access the contact list, and handed it to him with everything already prepared for Tachihara to type in his number. “Oh, thanks.”
Silence fell for just the briefest of moments, as he pressed the digits into the screen, then there came something painfully obvious that neither of them had thought of doing before anyway.
Something they were going to need for the task at hand, too.
“By the way, I’m now realizin’ we don’t know each other’s names, so--” Keeping a hand on Gin’s phone to prevent the screen from locking, he extended his now free one towards them. “Tachihara Michizô, nice to meet you.”
Gin didn’t show any hesitation in shaking his hand, they did show some hesitation in terms of how to proceed then. The best idea, of course, was letting him know they knew who he was as well as telling him who they were too (especially since him being Port Mafia too meant there would be no risk in doing so), but… would that make things awkward between them? Up until that moment, the two of them were-- well, just them, enjoying the evening and each other’s company. And that could easily go down the drain once he was aware of their identity, for despite Tachihara not being exactly a nobody within the organization’s ranks, the status gap could still get in the way.
Still, what good would become of trying to hide? Especially since they would need to remove their mask soon enough to eat, and he might recognize them then.
“I--” They started out, because it was still strange to speak out on a public setting but Gin didn’t want to let go of his hand before giving him a proper introduction, signing would be clunkier with just one hand and overall saying their name would have more gravitas like that. “I’m Gin.”
“Gin.” Tachihara repeated, and for around a minute he didn’t say anything else. He didn’t need to, because astonishment was written all over his face.
It had begun as he heard their voice, which was to be expected and more so with what they had told him not that long ago. Then, he blinked in what seemed like surprise, and peak levels of awe seemed to be reached as something that looked a great deal like recognition took over in his expression.
And then, there came the most direct confirmation that there could be.
“Gin-san?”
Taking a deep breath, and almost praying their face didn’t flush a lot since they were already feeling it heat up, Gin pulled down their mask and nodded.
“Gin-kun’s fine, though.” They whispered, and it was a miracle he heard it.
“Alright, Gin-kun.” Tachihara had no issue in obliging, even if there was no doubt he was still digesting the information he had just learned. “Hell, and I was callin’ you ‘man’ and so on. At least I didn’t go with ‘dude’ or so, but damn.”
A giggle instantly escaped Gin’s throat.
‘I don’t mind that.’ They replied, going back to signing and shrugging. ‘Depending on when you try, it’s accurate.’ Maybe that warranted more of an explanation, but Gin quickly found out there was no need to, because after a mere second Tachihara made that perfectly clear.
“What do you-- nevermind, I know what you mean.” He said, waving a hand as if to signal he had answered his own inquiry. “Then tell me when there’s a change, and how to refer to you then.” Plus, if that wasn’t a nice surprise on its own, an addition was on the way too. “When did you figure that out, by the way? ‘Cause I realized I was a guy at five or so, but I’ve known people who’ve taken longer. Which I get, this shit’s difficult, ain’t it?”
Instead of a giggle, Gin then let out a full-fledged laughter.
‘Indeed. I was a tween instead.’
Their time together just that day was still young, especially when they still had to finish exchanging numbers and the food wasn’t there yet. And damn if Gin wasn’t looking forward to every second of it.