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Being in the Port Mafia generally required a specific skill set. Most of these skills were met by Akutagawa, however there was one which he had always come to struggle with.
He had a difficult time convincing people of his lies. Somehow, any fib he attempted to say onto another person was instantaneously recognized as untrue. The fabricated words simply never left his lips convincingly enough or something in his eyes hinted to dishonesty.
He cursed his inability to lie as he marched up to front door of his sworn enemy with a dark expression painted across his face.
Akutagawa had genuinely tried to remain unseen by any who knew him. The dark-haired Mafia member strolled through the vacant hallways of the Port Mafia headquarters with his hands dig deeply into the pockets of his demonic coat. He knew of an exit nearby and after completing a simple mission assigned to him earlier, he would retire for the remainder of the day.
Akutagawa had never held any interest in holidays. He'd grown up in the slums with nothing. He and his sister had watched each year as the holidays came to pass, forced to observe silently as the world around them indulged in festivities which they would never hope to partake in. Despite his recruitment into the Port Mafia and the money he earned from his work, he still couldn't bring himself to splurge for anything.
Today was Valentine's Day and of course as he did not have anyone to spend it with, his plan was to return home.
However, such plans were interrupted by a swift flash of black appearing before him which Akutagawa immediately recognized as one of his superiors.
Nakahara Chuuya stood before him with a confident grin. The man was finished with his duties also and predictably suggested that Akutagawa join him in going to the bar.
Akutagawa had submitted to the same offer only a few times before and in each instance the night went poorly for him. The executive had very little self control in the presence of alcohol and often lost control of himself. Akutagawa couldn't recall how many different bars he had been forced to drag his superior from before the police were called to respond to Chuuya's misbehaviour. Many bar fights and general loudness had resulted in Akutagawa dragging his superior to his respective apartment and dumping him on the nearest piece of furniture. It made sense that he would have trouble finding a drinking buddy.
"No thanks." He replied, hoping that the older male wouldn't choose to persist. Of course, he did.
The executive had insisted and Akutagawa was losing ground which caused him to blurt out the only thing which could save him.
"I have a date tonight."
Of course the executive detected the lie. He claimed that if Akutagawa had a date that he should share the name and Chuuya would drive him there himself. Akutagawa felt the walls of his lie begin to constrict around him and Chuuya's unconvinced demeanour only strengthened his desire to follow through with his ploy. He said the name to first appear on his tongue.
"The were-tiger."
Shit.
_________
Atsushi had just narrowly escaped being forced to partake in his mentor's shenanigans. By this time, he was certain that the man was on the prowl for a lonely woman lacking a Valentine who could perhaps be coaxed into a lovers suicide.
He was mulling around his small residence pondering how he should entertain himself for the night when he heard a strong knocking come from his door. The young detective sighed, certain that his visitor would be someone from the Agency. Perhaps Dazai had tried a new means of suicide and was coming to complain of its failure. Or Kunikida may be visiting each detective to collect reports. Maybe it was Kenji with armfuls of Valentine's Day candies which he wished to share.
He was surprised, however, to find two individuals who set him entirely on edge. He felt his muscles go rigid and his eyes widen considerably. There stood Akutagawa with an unreadable expression which caused him to look bored. Beside him was the well known Port Mafia executive who was sporting a very smug smile.
"Ready for your date with Akutagawa, were-tiger?" The ginger asked in amusement. Atsushi immediately stiffened and his gaze travelled to his sworn nemesis for any answers.
Akutagawa's grey eyes held something he'd never thought to see. A flashing desperation danced around black pupils and though Atsushi was confused, he chose to play the part he had so randomly been assigned.
"O-our date? I- yes, yes of course I'm ready. Come on in Akutagawa."
It was now the Port Mafia members turns to be confused. Each of their faces displayed a certain astonishment at the response as though neither had been expecting it.
"What the fuck?!" Chuuya exclaimed but nonetheless he was thoroughly convinced of the lie which his subordinate had told. The short Mafia quickly composed himself, a hand raising to straighten his hat and then push Akutagawa into Atsushi's small home. "Well in that case I'm going for a drink. Enjoy your date." His tone was smug however his eyes still had traces of remaining bewilderment.
The two were left alone.
"Uh, may I ask what happened?" Atsushi pressed with an uncertain drip to his words. Akutagawa bristled at the younger's voice alone. How ignorant he was simply rubbed him the wrong way. Akutagawa strode into the apartment and planted himself on Atsushi's couch before glancing back at him.
"Why do you assume something happened?" His voice was hard but Akutagawa didn't have any intentions of severing the other's limbs tonight. That was certainly not how dates were meant to go.
"Well suddenly we are on a date." Atsushi reasoned and Akutagawa fought to not roll his eyes. The were-tiger had begun to pace back and forth while wondering what sort of predicament could have possibly warranted for such insane measures. The two of them spending time together on the romantic holidays should be entirely out of the realm of possibility. Yet somehow in their universe, the stars had aligned accordingly for the impossible to grow viable.
"Christ, Jinko." Akutagawa hissed in irritation. "Your pacing is annoying. Just sit down."
Atsushi obliged and eased himself down on the cushions close to Akutagawa's left. The Mafia immediately became aware of the lacking space between them but did nothing to bring the matter to light.
"So what should we do?" Atsushi asked awkwardly and Akutagawa truly could not find it in himself to care any less.
"I can't leave. If Chuuya-san finds me I'll be dragged to the bar."
"How about a movie then?"
"Fine."
______
Admittedly, neither cared to watch the movie. However, it did serve as an excuse to not engage in conversation.
The issue with the predicament was that in this very frail temporary truce between the two organizations, Akutagawa could not kill Atsushi without terrible backlash. However even worse, Chuuya would discover that Akutagawa truly didn't have a date planned for Valentine's Day.
His brow was furrowed and his grey eyes were transfixed on the television screen without focusing. He was thinking of the inevitable interrogation he would be subject to tomorrow when news spread of his date with the Agency brat. He could vividly imagine the crestfallen look of Higuchi's face when the news reached her ears. It was nearly enough to create a shift within him.
Akutagawa's thoughts were so consuming that he hadn't noticed Atsushi creeping closer, effectively eliminating the small gap that had once sat between them. Now, their shoulders were touching and their sides pressed together. Akutagawa was only released from his mindful state when he felt a hand grasp his own. Atsushi had grown bold, covering one of Akutagawa's hands and with his other, he grasped the part of Akutagawa's leg that was just above his knee.
The Mafia's head snapped toward Atsushi in surprise and was granted only a brief moment before he felt Atsushi's lips were on his own. His eyes widened in initial shock before slowly sliding closed. It was chaste and lasted only a few seconds before Atsushi ended what he had initiated. Akutagawa's lips held a lingering tingle from the contact and he felt heat rising in his chest and face. Atsushi looked sheepish, his sunset eyes searched Akutagawa's face for a reaction but the older wasn't certain how to act.
"Jinko," he breathed and instantly grew to hate himself for sounding so breathless. "What the hell was that?"
"We're on a date! That's what people do on dates!"
"It isn't a real date, you moron." Akutagawa groaned and Atsushi's face flushed with colour. Suddenly the younger male grew terribly flustered and searched the room wildly for anything to save him from making eye contact with the Mafia.
"It's not?!" Atsushi exclaimed and covered his face with his hands. "Oh my God. Why didn't you say that it wasn't a real date?! I'm sorry. Please don't kill me."
The kiss had been a pleasant one and filled his entire body with a peculiar warming sensation. Akutagawa felt as though the emotion of love itself was enveloping him in a suffocating blanket. He silently cursed himself for feeling so strongly after the kiss.
Akutagawa had only just become aware of Atsushi's hands still on his body. One on his leg and the other on his hand. It was only when his grey eyes flickered downward to where the two were still connected and Atsushi jerked back.
"Oh my God!" Panic crossed Atsushi's features as he launched into another long speech about how he was confused.
"You're so stupid, Jinko." Akutagawa rolled his eyes.
"I'm stupid? You're the one who got us stuck in this fake date!" He said accusingly and the Mafia member parted his lips to defend himself but the younger detective's ranting would not be derailed.
"Why did you even come here?" He demanded. "Why did you say that you had a date with me of all people?"
"You were the first name to pop into my head."
"Yeah, but why is that? It's not like you shoved me away when I kissed you, either!"
"What the hell are you implying here, Jinko?" Akutagawa's voice was teetering on a dangerous edge but the were-tiger did not shy away.
"I don't even know what I'm implying!"
"Then stop!"
"No! I'm trying to make sense of it all!"
"Quit trying. You're too stupid to figure it out anyways." He grumbled.
"Shut up!" Atsushi shouted in exasperation. "My point is that you didn't tell me that this wasn't a real date and you didn't stop me from kissing you!"
Akutagawa's eyes were freely rolling now, denial rushed to fill his bloodstream but did nothing to prevent his blood from rising to the surface. His pale completion was beginning to warm in a rosy hue which he used all of his strength to suppress.
"None of that means anything!" Akutagawa insisted and Atsushi visibly deflated at the denial.
Suddenly, a loud banging caused the two enemies to hold onto the words that would follow. Someone on the other side of the wall was pounding a fist and caused the two to fall silent.
"Clearly you two hold some attraction for each other! It's blatantly obvious so kindly shut it so I can figure out how to work the bathroom sprinkler!"
Akutagawa was confused by the voice, unsure of who it belonged to. Atsushi recognized it immediately as Ranpo with whom he shared a a thin wall with to separate their dorms. Atsushi flushed an embarrassed shade of pink before hollering back.
"Bathroom sprinkler? Do you mean the shower, Ranpo-san?" He allowed his voice to travel through the wall.
Akutagawa concluded that the lives of the Agency members were never truly dull.
"Would you like to know what I think?" Ranpo's voice seeped through the wall to reach the ears of the two boys. "I propose that you two kiss properly in order to confirm the attraction!"
Akutagawa froze at the insane advice coming from the wall, he made a mental note to kill the detective residing there. Atsushi too was becoming a more prominent shade of red before he sighed. The young detective closed the space between them quicker than Akutagawa could have anticipated and the Mafia raised his hands awkwardly to fend off the impending attack of intimacy.
"But Ranpo-san said-"
"I don't care, I'm not kissing you because one of your stupid detectives said to." Akutagawa responded firmly, earning a groan from the other side of the wall resulting from a hurt pride.
"However, he'd kiss you of his own free will!" The voice bellowed once more and Akutagawa was genuinely fighting to keep Rashoumon from exacting revenge and tearing a hole through the wall. The Mafia felt his face warm unbearably and he surrendered his superior standpoint by averting his gaze downwards and away from Atsushi's curious eyes.
"Is that true?" The boy asked while looking equally as flustered and Akutagawa pondered the answer himself.
He hadn't been one to he very aware of his own emotions. His drive was fuelled by the desire to prove himself and vanquish those who opposed him. Atsushi had proven to be his most significant challenge and yet, the feelings regarding the were-tiger were not strictly ones of ill intent. Perhaps it was something in the other's eyes that seemed to capture the sunrise that made his Mafia heart regain some of its compassion. Akutagawa wasn't certain. However, he was certain that he had enjoyed the kiss they shared despite how sudden it was.
"No." Akutagawa lied and it was clear by the perk of Atsushi's eyebrows that even the naïve detective could not be fooled by his poor attempt of lying.
"You're lying." He pointed out and Akutagawa ran his hand down his face in frustration.
"I'm not."
"There! You just did it again! You're really bad at lying, Akutagawa."
Akutagawa felt as though the walls of the detective's apartment were rushing forward to crush him. His training in the Port Mafia beckoned for him to make a move, each instinct sent a tingling urgency to the tips of his nerves and he succumbed as he always did. If the enemy were to catch him off guard like Atsushi had done, his only option was to do something unexpected.
The Mafia launched himself forward in a single shift of his weight and allowed momentum to carry him the distance between himself and Atsushi. The sudden movement had caught the were-tiger by surprise which was suggested by the widening of his gradient eyes and Akutagawa reached his hands forward to latch onto him.
His pale hands found the crisp fabric of Atsushi's shirt and his fingers closed around the material until he was comfortable with the hold he had on the other.
Akutagawa allowed himself a single quick breath to steady himself before colliding his lips with Atsushi's. The other stiffened under his hold until Akutagawa's intentions were clear and they both dared to move their lips clumsily against each other. The two were inexperienced and overflowing in self-doubt which translated to a sloppy kiss. However, neither minded in the least as Akutagawa hummed subconsciously and Atsushi melted into his chest. The Mafia had surprised the both of them, originally planning to land a harsh blow on the younger and stalk out of the apartment to surrender to a drunk superior. However, halfway through his movement, Akutagawa was proud of himself for opting to do something more spontaneous and take control of the situation.
This kiss lasted longer, their tongues danced experimentally in a nervous waltz before the two realized their need to breathe.
When their locked lips came undone, Atsushi was sporting a look of uncertainty, already doubting his movements and worrying if he had made the kiss enjoyable for Akutagawa. However, the Mafia really had no complaints aside from the increasing heat growing in his being.
"I- thank you." Atsushi stammered and Akutagawa raised an eyebrow in lack of understanding. The younger still hadn't stepped away from him, however, Akutagawa could no longer bear the pressure in his chest cavity and pulled away.
Deciding that enough time had passed since he'd been brought to Atsushi's apartment, he bid his goodbye. However, he was stopped from exiting the door by a small hand on his arm.
"M-maybe next time it doesn't have to be a fake date." Atsushi suggested.
Akutagawa felt the corners of his lips twitch and his hands retreated to his pockets to hide the excited tremble that was travelling through them. He was glad that the Agency detective clearly held some romantic feelings for him and he felt his chest cavity warm at the thought. He knew he would take the offer without hesitation and that he was in fact, joyous that Atsushi had proposed the idea. However, he maintained his stoic expression and hid beneath his Mafia mask, offering Atsushi a nod and a grunt of acceptance and quickly made his leave before the upturning of his lips could give him away.