Work Text:
With Fukuchi and the Decay of Angels finally defeated, everyone was ready to wrap up loose ends. Naturally, that included all the vampires still under Bram Stoker’s control.
Ranpo was waiting outside the door which led to Bram, and he fixed Atsushi with a frown when he neared the door.
“The President should be the one to talk to him.”
“Just… give me five minutes,” Atsushi pleaded.
Ranpo analyzed him, and a spark of curiosity lit in his eyes. “Alright,” he conceded. “Five minutes.”
Atsushi walked through the door and found Bram standing ahead, looking out the window at the surrounding scenery. It was high up, and the window was curved along the wall of the round room, so they could see far in every direction.
“Um… hi,” Atsushi offered weakly.
Bram turned to face him, looking him up and down with a stern expression. “And you are?”
“Atsushi Nakajima, of the Armed Detection Agency.”
“I see. Are you the one they sent to negotiate?”
Atsushi bit his lip. “No. I… I’m not here on behalf of the Agency. I’m here for me.”
“Oh?”
“There’s someone important to me that…. Well, without him, none of us would have made it this far. I’d be dead, and the Agency wouldn’t have known we needed to come to this airport. The Decay of Angels would still have control over you.”
Bram’s stare felt weighted, and Atsushi tried not to shrink into himself as he spoke.
“His name is Akutagawa. Um… Ryuunosuke Akutagawa. And he got turned into a vampire because of his sacrifice to save me. I owe him my life. We all owe him, really. And I was… I wanted to ask you to… well, I don’t know exactly how it works, but I want you to make him not a vampire anymore. I want him to be himself again.”
“I see,” Bram said simply, his words deadpan. He made a gesture with his hand and Akutagawa walked up, eyes red and expression blank. “You want me to release the curse on him.”
“Yes.”
“And what are you prepared to offer me for this?”
Atsushi felt a sharp stab of panic in his chest. Was he supposed to have something to offer?
“I…”
“Were you hoping I would do it out of the goodness of my heart?”
Truthfully, the answer to that was yes. But Atsushi couldn’t just outright say that.
“Sir, I feel if there’s anyone deserving of your mercy, it’s him. But if… if you… I understand if you need more reason than that. I can only offer myself in exchange.”
Bram’s eyebrows raised. “Yourself?”
Atsushi swallowed the lump in his throat. This was such a stupid idea, but he owed Akutagawa this much. “Yes. Myself. You can take me, turn me into a vampire and keep me under your control instead of him. I’ll go willingly.”
Bram’s eyes were piercing, almost as if they were looking through Atsushi.
“You care for this man,” he observed.
“I do,” Atsushi admitted. “I… I care about him a lot.”
“Are you aware of his condition?”
Atsushi froze, eyes going wide. “His… his lung condition?”
“So you are, then. And you witnessed his mortal wound at the hands of Fukuchi.”
Atsushi has been seeing it in his nightmares since the day it happened. “I did.”
Bram clasped his hands together, glancing at Akutagawa, and then back at Atsushi. “Vampirism heals mortal wounds and injuries, so the slash to his neck is no more than a scar now. If I were to strip the curse from him, it would remain healed.”
Atsushi could feel his heartbeat in his ears. Why was Bram telling him this? Why did he feel like there was a but coming?
“As a vampire, his organs and their function have been halted, but not altered. He has no need to eat nor sleep so long as the curse affects him. Do you understand?”
Atsushi’s breath caught in his throat. “You’re saying… his lung condition is still there.”
“Indeed.”
“So… you’re keeping him alive. And if I want him back… I have to watch him die?”
Bram’s expression held no sympathy. “That is your choice.”
The world seemed to fold on its edges and Atsushi found himself losing his balance, stumbling to the ground where he sat down hard.
“I can’t… how can you ask me to choose….”
Atsushi tried to think of what Akutagawa would want, but it only made him sick to his stomach. Akutagawa would want to be free of Bram’s influence, to die slowly of his lung disease or die quickly in battle before the disease could take him. He would hate Atsushi for denying him that, for extending his life at the cost of his free will. But then… would he feel anything at all, as a vampire? Was he capable of feeling hate? Pain? Anger? Was it any better than being dead?
“Can you… is there a middle ground? A way to release your hold on his mind so he can come back to himself, but not remove the curse entirely?”
Bram’s expression changed. He looked… thoughtful. As if the idea hadn’t even occurred to him. After a long moment he murmured, “Perhaps…. Yes, it’s possible.”
Atsushi sucked in a deep breath, the tension finally beginning to release from his muscles.
“Okay. Good. Yes, let’s do that. Will you?”
Bram went quiet, surveying him. Just as Atsushi was beginning to panic, Bram spoke up. “I will do this for you, young one. Your heart is worthy.”
Before Atsushi could ask what that meant, he saw Akutagawa collapse. Atsushi scrambled to his feet and raced over to him, grabbing onto a shoulder.
“Akutagawa? Are you alright?”
Akutagawa’s head tilted up, and his eyes blinked open, fixing on Atsushi’s face. He didn’t move or speak.
“Akutagawa?”
“You…” Akutagawa’s voice came out rough, as if it hadn’t been used in quite some time. He supposed it hadn’t. “I don’t understand you.”
“What?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be on the side of good? What are you doing here, offering to sacrifice yourself for someone like me?”
Atsushi flushed. “Oh. You heard all that, huh?”
“How can you possibly care about me? We’re enemies.”
Atsushi bit his lip. “I… don’t think of you that way.”
“Idiotic. You should know who your enemies are, weretiger.”
“We’ve fought side-by-side more times than we’ve fought against one another,” Atsushi pointed out. “You sacrificed yourself to save my life. How could we still be enemies, after that?”
Akutagawa’s expression soured. “Rivals, then.”
Atsushi shrugged. “I guess. But…” His heart pounded as he considered his next words. “You’re more to me than that.”
Akutagawa’s eyes searched Atsushi’s, looking for something.
“You care about me,” he said. Not a statement. A question.
“Yes,” Atsushi answered.
“In what way? As a person? A fellow ability user?”
“Yes,” Atsushi answered again. “I… I care about you in every way there is.”
He’d only admitted as much to himself after he watched Akutagawa die. He’d spent nights clutching that black overcoat like a lifeline, not knowing how he hadn’t recognized his feelings earlier. Hating himself for not seeing what was right in front of him while he still had it.
“As an ally? A friend?” Akutagawa pushed.
“Yes.”
“As…” Akutagawa hesitated, a strange expression taking over his face. “As a lover?”
Atsushi’s heart constricted, but he forced himself to answer honestly. “Yes.”
Akutagawa looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “But you hate me.”
“I don’t. I’m not sure I ever did. Well, maybe when you took Kyouka. But since that fight with Fitzgerald, I…” Atsushi trailed off, uncertain of his own words.
Stalling, he glanced behind him, wondering how long Bram was going to give him before he was turned into a vampire himself. But Bram wasn’t there.
I will do this for you, young one. Your heart is worthy.
Had he meant he would do this without asking for anything in return? That seemed… too good to be true. Was Atsushi really allowed to hope for that?
A yank on his tie brought his attention back to Akutagawa in front of him, who was suddenly much closer than he was moments ago.
“Don’t look away from me,” Akutagawa said, voice rough.
His dark eyes bored into Atsushi’s, and Atsushi felt his stomach do flips at the eye contact and close vicinity.
“I was ready to be done. I had what I wanted. I died on that boat, in battle. But you… you just never give up, do you, weretiger?”
“No,” Atsushi said firmly. “Especially not… when it comes to you.”
“You’ll give up on me eventually,” Autagawa said dismissively.
“I won’t.”
“I’m not worth this.”
“You are.”
Something shifted in Akutagawa’s expression, and then suddenly he was leaning in, coming dangerously close. His lips were only inches away.
“You don’t want me.”
Atsushi reached out gingerly and cupped Akutagawa’s jaw, letting the tips of his fingers slip into Akutagawa's hair.
“I do.”
Akutagawa’s breath hitched, and not a moment later, their lips met. Atsushi wasn’t sure who leaned in, but it didn’t matter. He was kissing Akutagawa.
The hand grasping Atsushi’s tie tightened, ensuring he didn’t pull away, and Akutagawa’s lips moved against Atsushi’s with something like desperation. He bit viciously at Atsushi’s lip, and Atsushi had to stifle a moan at the feeling. He carded his fingers through Akutagawa’s hair and slid his tongue against the other’s lips in a silent request. Akutagawa accepted, parting his lips so Atsushi could taste him.
Atsushi lost himself in the kiss, blind and deaf to the world outside of it. Akutagawa ended up very nearly in his lap by the time they both parted, gasping for air.
“You’re not a vampire,” Akutagawa observed, still flushed.
“No. I think… I think maybe I’m off the hook for that? I don’t know.” Atsushi paused, bumping his nose against Akutagawa’s gently. “We could just enjoy this moment while it lasts.”
“Absolutely not. I intend for there to be many more such moments. Let’s hunt down the vampire and get a straight answer out of him.”
“The vampire is here,” came the deadpan voice of Bram, who had apparently returned to the room. Or perhaps he’d never actually left. “And he is allowing you to go. Leave before I change my mind.”
Atsushi grabbed Akutagawa’s hand, threading their fingers together and grinning.
“Let’s go, then.”