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“Weretiger,” Akutagawa sneered, turning up his nose at the man in front of him.
In turn, Atsushi rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at him. How juvenile.
“Come on you guys!” Dazai exclaimed with a grin. “You have to work together if you want to succeed!”
“We work together just fine,” Atsushi said, carefully not looking at the man beside him.
“There is a difference between being partners and being in a partnership!” He commented, glancing between the two quickly.
“As if,” they both mumbled at the same time, turning away from each other with a scoff.
Dazai shrugged, though his grin remained.
“See you guys after you complete the mission!” He announces, slipping out of the alleyway with a wave soon after.
Both of them waited in complete silence, making sure Dazai left. Akutagawa moved to check outside the alleyway, but was pulled back. He felt Atsushi press a kiss into his cheek, making him softly smile.
“Your acting skills have gotten better,” Atsushi teased, pulling Akutagawa in for another kiss, this time on the forehead.
“My acting skills are far superior than yours will ever be,” Akutagawa retorted, but pulled Atsushi into a small hug regardless.
They had been officially dating for a little over a year, though no one except Gin knew about it.
They had opted to keep the relationship secret, as they were both wary of how their workplaces would react.
To celebrate their one year anniversary, Akutagawa had gotten two rings uniquely made for the two of them. Atsushi’s was a band made out of black metal, with red and white gemstones embedded within. Akutagawa’s ring was a silver metal with purple and yellow gems.
When he had given them to Atsushi, he was overjoyed and kept hugging Akutagawa and thanking him profusely.
Akutagawa had explained that they were promise rings, symbolizing the promise of their relationship, no matter what life or their jobs threw at them. Akutagawa’s explanation had gotten cut off with a kiss from his boyfriend, saying he loved it.
They both wore their respective rings all the time, but simply kept them hidden during their working hours. Akutagawa wore it on a band under his shirt, and Atsushi kept it hidden underneath his gloves.
“Are you ready?’ Atsushi asked, interrupting Akutagawa’s train of memories.
He nodded, walking step in step with his boyfriend.
As soon as they confessed to each other, they fell into a rhythm. Not only with fighting, but with their daily life. Akutagawa would make dinner, Atsushi cleaned it up. Atsushi chooses the movie they watch, Akutagawa chooses the snacks.
All the little domestic things that make Akutagawa’s heart soar.
“Am I still coming over afterwards for dinner?” Atsushi asked, briefly stopping his stride so he could rest his chin on Akutagawa’s shoulder.
He couldn’t help but smile.
“Of course. I’m making your favorite,”
Atsushi’s eyes lit up.
Akutagawa always loved when he looked so happy.
With that, they continued walking through the back alleyways.
Dazai had given him the information on the user they were meant to apprehend, putting a lot of emphasis on the fact that they specialized in poisons. Both men promised to be extra diligent.
Atsushi abruptly paused, turning his head quickly to the side.
“There,” he said simply, pointing before running off in the same direction. A while ago, Akutagawa would’ve yelled at him for being so foolish, running off on his own.
Now, he simply goes after him, using Rashōmon to propel himself forwards to avoid running and over exerting himself.
It isn’t long before they stumble across the man they were tasked with taking in. Unfortunately, it was in the middle of a public street, meaning they would have to pay extra attention so no civilians got caught in the crossfire.
Akutagawa still didn’t care much for the general safety of the public, but he knew that his boyfriend would want to protect them before he even protected himself.
The poisons expert must have expected them, because he whipped out a gun before they even got within a fifty feet radius.
“Be careful,” Atsushi said, running off to the left, dodging a bullet with his tiger - enhanced reflexes.
Akutagawa nodded and ran towards the right, Rashōmon rippling to life. He flung a tendril at the man, careful to aim for incapacitation, not killing.
The tendril missed the man’s leg, as he jumped back to avoid both he and Atsushi’s attack.
Akutagawa hissed in irritation, but didn’t hesitate on sending Rashōmon back at the man.
The man’s main goal seemed to be escape, but he also seemed willing to drag them down with him.
He constantly looked around for any potential distractions or escape routes, taking them at every opportunity.
Akutagawa ducked, narrowly avoiding the bullet that was shot at his head. He seemed to prefer his gun, but Akutagawa knew he would run out of ammunition soon.
The crowd screamed, trying to run away from the fight and gunfire. Akutagawa was careful not to have Rashōmon accidently run through anyone running in his way, no matter how difficult it was.
Atsushi briefly called out to him, careful to let him know of change of plans or attacks in his general direction.
When the man turned to shoot at Atsushi, Akutagawa took his opportunity and slashed the back of the man's thigh, bringing him to a kneel.
Akutagawa couldn’t help but smile. This fight wasn’t even worth his time, it was so easy.
Just as he was going to restrain the man, Akutagawa was briefly distracted by someone running past him, nearly crashing into him. In the same instant, he felt a sharp pain in his side.
He quickly whipped his head around, watching in horror as Atsushi pushed him out of the way of the man’s attack, taking the blow instead.
Blood instantly started gushing from his wounds. Atsushi’s ability dissipated, making him collapse onto the ground.
“Atsushi!” He shouted, rushing towards the fallen man. He gently rested his boyfriend’s head on his lap, checking over his injuries.
The poisons expert shot at Akutagawa one last time, which he deflected easily. Both Akutagawa and the man knew that the fight was over. The man turned to run away, but with a tendril of Rashōmon, Akutagawa quickly severed his achilles tendon, making the man fall to the ground in a scream of pain.
It was only a fraction of the pain of what he did to Atsushi. Akutagawa wanted to kill the man, but he wouldn’t break his promise.
Turning his full attention back to Atsushi, he started to once again check over his injuries, dread building in his heart when he realized he wasn’t healing.
“Why aren’t you healing?” Akutagawa asked desperately, ripping off some of his shirt in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
“I don’t know,” Atsushi mumbled out, pain radiating in his voice. “I can feel my body trying to heal itself, but it’s not working,”
Panicking, he asked Atsushi if he could dig through his pockets, which he agreed.
Still holding onto the torn off piece of cloth, he reached into Atsushi’s pants pocket, pulling out his phone.
Typing in Dazai’s number quickly, as he had memorized it years ago, and quickly held it up to his ear, praying that he would pick up.
“Atsushi! How’s it going?” A cheerful voice rang out on the other end of the line, and Akutagawa felt as if he could breathe a small sigh of relief.
“Not great. Atsushi is hurt and he’s not healing. He needs one or two of you guys down here immediately,”
Pulling the receiver away from his mouth, he whispered words of encouragement to Atsushi, promising that he wouldn’t leave him.
He could hear commotion on the other end of the line, which he hoped was a good sign.
“Yosano and I are on our way. Try not to injure him further before we get there,” with that and a final click, the line went dead.
Akutagawa gently placed the phone to Atsushi’s right, brushing his hair out of his face. Sweat had gathered across his face, and Akutagawa could tell his boyfriend was trying to stay awake.
“Shhh…” he said, trying to keep himself composed as well. “You are alright. Dazai and Yosano are on their way right now. They will get you healed in no time,”
Atsushi nodded weakly, trying to avoid looking down at the growing red spots on his shirt. Akutagawa could count at least four bullet wounds, but couldn’t tell if all four bullets exited.
He kept trying to apply pressure with the torn off piece of his shirt, but it wasn’t enough. Taking a tendril of Rashōmon, he gently wrapped it around Atsushi’s torso, applying more pressure.
Atsushi groaned in pain.
“I’m sorry,” Akutagawa murmured. He heard some noises down the street, which sounded like two people running towards them. With a brief glance over his shoulder, he could tell it was Dazai and Yosano, and his body flooded with relief.
“What happened?” Dazai demanded as soon as he skidded to a stop. He took an extra second to glance between the bandages of Rashōmon and Akutagawa, but his expression of irritation never fell.
“He took the hit for me,” Akutagawa mumbled, unable to come up with a lie within time.
Dazai cast something between a glance and a glare at Akutagawa, as if it was his fault.
Akutagawa certainly felt like it was.
“I need you to remove your ability so I can assess the damage,” Yosano said simply, urgency in her voice.
Akutagawa instantly retracted his ability applying pressure to the wounds.
Dazai mumbled reassurances while Yosano did her work patching Atsushi up.
Akutagawa hovered over them, extremely worried for his boyfriend. He noticed that he had fallen unconscious, blood pooling beneath him.
It was at this point where the blonde man with glasses, Kunikida if Akutagawa remembered, arrived to properly restrain the gifted individual.
Akutagawa can’t one last glare, trying to make it as venomous as possible. The man simply grinned at him, seeming proud of his work. It took all of Akutagawa’s self restraint to not lunge at the man and slit his throat.
Instead, he started to move to Atsushi’s side, only to be stopped by a full glare from Dazai.
“I think you’ve done enough, Akutagawa. Go back to wherever you are needed. You are dismissed,”
With that, he once again turned his full attention to Atsushi.
Akutagawa hesitated. He wanted to push, to stay, to make sure his love is alright. He wasn’t healing like he normally should have.
Yet he couldn’t push without being suspicious. Dazai was smart. If Akutagawa started to push to stay, Dazai would quickly connect the dots, and he didn’t want that.
Instead, he quickly turned away, careful not to look back.
He waited at the end of the alleyway, carefully hiding his full body behind the wall. He remained there until he heard Yosano say that Atsushi was no longer actively dying.
With a sigh of relief, he started to slowly walk away from the alleyway. He felt bad walking away, but he made a promise to himself to visit him once the rest of the agency left for the day.
No matter how long it took, he was going to make sure Atsushi is alright.
————
What are you doing here?” The man with glasses asked, standing in the doorway to Atsushi’s room.
“I’m here to see him,” Akutagawa said through clenched teeth. He stepped forward, only to be pushed back.
Akutagawa hadn’t expected this. He had watched the agency from across the street, and he could have sworn that everyone left for the day. Even the doctor had left temporarily to restock part of her clinic.
Yet here was Kunikida, blocking his path.
“Why is that? I would have figured you would be jumping for joy over the fact that he is incapacitated,”
Akutagawa paused. What was he supposed to say? It was Atsushi’s idea to keep their relationship a secret from the agency until they warmed up to him. Though judging by how this conversation is going, it might be a while still.
He raised a hand to his chest, feeling the ring against his skin. It calmed him down slightly.
“I want to see Atsushi,” he said, trying to keep his tone even. It wouldn’t be great for their relationship if he started threatening his co-workers.
Kunikida hesitated, but inevitably stepped to the side. Just as Akutagawa crossed the threshold into the room, the man grabbed his shoulder.
Akutagawa whipped his head around, glaring at him, raising his own hand to rip it off his shoulder.
“If you hurt him, so help me,”
Akutagawa rolled his eyes, ripping Kunikida’s hand off his shoulder. He registered the threat, but it didn’t mean much to him. He figured if push came to shove, he figured he could take down a detective or two.
Both Kunikida and Akutagawa kept eye contact for a few moments, locked in an unspoken challenge of who would be the one to look away first.
The more time they spent in their staring contest, the less time he would have with his boyfriend.
With a sigh, Akutagawa turned away, deeming Atsushi was more important than his pride at that moment. He carefully and quietly walked into Atsushi’s room. He was laying on one of the hospital beds, the stiff linen sheets wrapped around him. Akutagawa noticed someone changed him out of his bloodied clothes and into a hospital gown.
He also noticed that his gloves were resting on the table, but the detail that stood out to him the most was his ring, which was obviously missing.
His heart dropped, afraid of the consequences. Had it even lost during the fight? Had one of the detectives found it? The possibilities were endless.
Atsushi stirred in his sleep, dragging Akutagawa away from his thoughts. He quickly turned his full attention to his boyfriend, but he didn’t wake.
Akutagawa gently brushed some hair out of Atsushi’s face, noticing that his skin was ice cold. Worried, Akutagawa walked around the room, searching for any sort of blanket that he could drape over Atsushi.
Pulling open a drawer, he was relieved to find a few woolen blankets. Taking one out, he gently laid it over Atsushi’s comatose body. He could see bandages wrapped on his arms and torso underneath the hospital gown. Akutagawa could also see splotches of red radiating away from the wounds, slowly expanding.
His heart broke.
“Better?” He murmured, though he wasn’t expecting a response. The only answer he got was Atsushi’s steady breathing, which gave him some relief.
Eventually, the silence got too unbearable.
“We got the ability user,” he said, leaning forward and taking his boyfriends' palm, tracing shapes into it. He noticed that an IV had been placed on his wrist, pumping fluids into his veins. The bag had the word ‘saline” hastily scrawled upon it.
“He tried running after he stabbed you,” Akutagawa continued, careful not to move the IV port.
“I cut his Achilles tendon after he tried to run, so it was easy to capture him after that,” he paused before quickly following up. “No one else was physically hurt,”
He knew that Atsushi would never forgive himself if someone else, especially his friends, got hurt because he wasn’t able to fight.
Akutagawa continued talking about whatever popped into his head, from what happened since Atsushi went unconscious to little details of Akutagawa’s week he had forgotten to tell him the day prior.
Eventually, there was a knock at the door. Akutagawa jerked back, so now he was sitting away from Atsushi, back perfectly straight.
Yosano and Kunikida walked in shortly after. Yosano started changing out the IV bag, as well as checking in on Atsushi’s vitals. With a quick glance at Akutagawa’s phone, he was shocked to discover that over four hours had passed since he had first walked in. He also noticed he had a few missed calls from Gin, along with a few texts from Chuuya inviting him out to drink along with Tachihara.
“I think it's time for you to go,” Kunikida said, though his voice was much softer than it was earlier. “Kyouka is coming over soon. It would be best for you to be gone before she arrives,”
Akutagawa nodded, standing up and smoothing out the front of his coat. He cast one last glance at his boyfriend, wanting more than anything to give him a kiss goodbye, but he simply nodded at Yosano and Kunikida, quickly walking out of agency, dialing his sister's number.
“Where were you?!” Gin exclaimed, her voice crackling over the receiver. “Chuuya said you didn’t answer his texts either!”
“He got hurt,” Akutagawa said, his voice breaking. For the second time that day, he was willing himself not to cry.
Gin immediately calmed down. She understood immediately. He didn’t even need to clarify who ‘he’ was.
“I’m so sorry. Want me to come over? I can bring some of your favorite tea,”
Akutagawa nodded, before remembering that Gin couldn’t see him.
“Yes,” he said simply, his voice cracking once again. “Do you still have the key?”
Gin hummed in the affirmative before quickly hanging up.
Akutagawa slipped his phone into his pocket. He slipped into an alleyway, careful to not let anyone see him. Even though it was closer to the evening, there were still plenty of people walking around finishing up their last tasks for the day.
He climbed up a wall using Rashōmon, careful to not stab into the wall and leave a mark. With all that was going on, getting arrested was the last thing on his mind.
Just as carefully, Akutagawa flung himself over the ledge, tumbling into the cool roof.
He could feel hot tears start pooling in his eyes, but he ran across the rooftops, ignoring the burn in his lungs.
He felt as if this whole situation was all his fault. If he had given Atsushi Rashōmon, or taken the hit himself, or even captured the ability user sooner, Atsushi would still be fine.
It wasn’t long before he arrived at his apartment, lungs burning and a metallic taste in his mouth. He ran down the many flights of stairs, no longer stopping the tears from flowing down his face. He finally arrived at his door, finding it already unlocked.
He pushed it open, surprised to find Chuuya sitting on his couch, typing on his phone. As soon as the door slammed behind him, Chuuya stood up from the couch and Gin called out from the kitchen.
“Chuuya arrived just before I did. He was concerned for you so I let him in,”
“Are you alright?” Chuuya exclaimed, rushing towards him and tossing his phone onto the couch.
Akutagawa nodded, then shook his head. A sob burst out, and Gin came out of the kitchen, looking concerned.
She quickly wrapped her brother into a hug, and Chuuya patted his back reassuringly.
They gently guided him to the couch, Gin briefly leaving to grab the tea, which had just been prepared.
“Akutagawa, my boy, what happened?” Chuuya asked, still patting his back reassuringly. Akutagawa tried to pull himself together, his sobs tampering off to small hiccups.
Akutagawa glanced at him, unsure if he should tell him. He knew Chuuya wouldn’t use it against him, but would he be upset? Would he be required to tell Mori?
“Atsushi got hurt,” he eventually mumbled out, taking the tea from Gin, thanking her before bringing the cup to his lips.
He could see Chuuya looking at him with a mix of confusion and compassion.
Gin smiled at him, nodding at him to continue. Both of them trusted Chuuya, so he continued.
“He and I have been dating for over a year,”
Even though he spoke just above a whisper, Chuuya’s confusion melted into understanding.
He dropped his hand from Akutagawa’s back, turning so he completely faced him.
“It’s not your fault,” he said, as if he could read Akutagawa’s mind. Akutagawa started crying again, and Gin resumed hugging him.
“Chuuya is right. I know you are beating yourself up for it. I’m sure Atsushi wouldn’t want you too,”
Akutagawa nodded, but he didn’t stop crying his silent tears.
Chuuya took the tea cup Akutagawa had set on the table, gently returning it to his hands.
“Drink some more. It will calm you down,” he explained. Akutagawa took it once again, taking small sips until it was all gone. Both Chuuya and Gin didn’t say anything, though the silence was comfortable.
“Why are you here?” Akutagawa said eventually. “I thought you were going out drinking with Tachihara,”
Chuuya simply shrugged.
“It’s unlike you to not answer your texts. Even when you go off on your own tangets, you always get back to me within the hour,” he explained. “I got concerned so I rescheduled and came here to check on you,”
“I’m fine if you want to go now,” he says, gently setting down the cup once again.
“You are clearly not fine. Your boyfriend got hurt, and being upset is a perfectly reasonable response,” Gin interjects. Akutagawa knew his sister was right, but all these feelings were pretty new to him. He couldn’t even remember the last time he cried.
After a bit of silence, Akutagawa had to ask the question that was pressing on his mind.
“Are you going to tell the boss?” He asked, anguish clear in his voice. He couldn’t bear the thought of Atsushi being hurt due to him, at least anymore than he already has. Akutagawa knew that if Mori discovered their relationship, he would have Atsushi killed.
Chuuya blinked at him.
“Why would I do that? It doesn’t matter to me any,”
Comfort flooding through Akutagawa’s veins.
“Thank you, Chuuya,” he murmured, straightening his back in an attempt to regain some sort of normalcy.
“Of course. Any time,” he said, checking his phone at the same time. With a sigh, he stood up and made his way towards the door.
“Unfortunately, I have to go now. Keep me updated if you wish, and call me if you ever need me,”
Both siblings nodded at him, thanking him for his time. With a smile, Chuuya was gone.
The siblings remained in a comfortable silence, as being in each other’s presence was enough to calm Akutagawa down completely.
Of course he was still worried about Atsushi. He made plans to go back to the agency as soon as dawn broke, but his worries were still endless.
“Do you want to continue the show we were watching?” Gin asked, grabbing the remote and breaking their silence.
Akutagawa nodded, a small smile finally gracing his face.
“Of course,”
————
Atsushi had been unconscious for over three days. Yosano was unsure when he would wake up, if he ever would.
When Akutagawa heard that, his heart sank. Simply imagining a life without Atsushi was enough to almost make him break down and cry.
He held himself together enough to keep up his facade, but he wanted nothing more than to run to his boyfriend’s side, hug him and not let go.
But he didn’t.
He stayed right where he was, ignoring the glances the rest of the agency was casting at him. It was a blended mix of expressions, but uncertainty was the main one.
Akutagawa could tell that most of the agency was wary of him being there to begin with. He could also tell that some of the detectives didn’t fully believe the story that Atsushi took the hit for him.
He hated that it was his past actions that made them think he hurt Atsushi. He wanted to scream about their relationship from the rooftop, but he knew he had to refrain from doing so.
He would only tell others when Atsushi knew it was safe.
After hearing the news, Chuuya had reorganized Akutagawa’s schedule so he could do most of his work on his laptop, which Akutagawa was grateful for. Chuuya had ordered him to take care of himself as well, telling Akutagawa to text him or Gin if he ever needed anything.
Akutagawa agreed, though he didn’t plan on taking Chuuya up on his offer. He stayed by his boyfriend's side the whole time, only leaving when Kyouka wanted to visit him. He stayed the night every single time, falling asleep on the hard plastic chair next to Atsushi’s bed.
Atsushi occasionally stirred, and murmured in his sleep, but never completely woke up. Yosano had explained that it was one of the effects of the poison. Along with stopping Atsushi’s natural healing abilities, it made his natural healing slower.
Akutagawa wasn’t pleased when he heard that, but he couldn’t help but feel like once again it was his fault.
It was again at that time when Kyouka was supposed to visit Atsushi, so Akutagawa sat on the agency rooftop, legs swinging over the edge. He placed his promise ring on his hand, watching as the gems caught the fading evening light.
He could hear someone walk up behind him, but it wasn’t a footstep pattern he recognized.
With a quick glance over his shoulder, he could see one of the detectives decided to check on the rooftop garden.
He had only heard about this particular member. He had never personally fought against him, but he had heard about his strength.
The young boy kept tending to his garden, cheerfully talking to the tomato vines and watering the stalks.
Deeming him not a threat, Akutagawa turned back to the sunset. The beautiful oranges, yellows, blues and purples swirled together, painting the sky in its temporary blessing.
Looking into it, he couldn’t help but be reminded of his boyfriend.
“Akutagawa?” The boy asked, leaning into his field of view. He jumped back slightly, his coat rippling in unease.
“Sorry!” The boy exclaimed, though his smile never left his face. Akutagawa could tell it was genuine, so he willed Rashōmon to calm.
“I’m Kenji!” He said again, sitting down next to him on the ledge.
Akutagawa looked at him in shock. Rarely anyone voluntarily sat next to him besides his sister, his boyfriend, and sometimes Chuuya. Everyone else was too scared of him to even dream of getting close.
Yet here was Kenji, sitting next to him without a fear in the world.
After a moment of silence, he continued.
“Are you alright?”
The question caught him off guard. He certainly didn’t feel alright, but he didn’t know how to tell the boy without him figuring out he and Atsushi’s relationship. Akutagawa found young people to be very observant.
“Yes,” he stated, making it sound more rehearsed than genuine. The boy looked at him concerned, but didn’t press the issue.
“If you say so! If you want to talk, I’ll be downstairs during the working hours!”
Akutagawa nodded in acknowledgement, and Kenji stood up, brushing off the dust from his overalls.
He started to walk back to his garden, before quickly turning on his heels and running back.
“Oh! I have something for you!” Kenji exclaimed, digging around in one of his many pockets. Akutagawa looked at him questioningly, twisting his body around so he now faced the kid.
Eventually, the kid pulled something small and held it tightly in his palm.
Akutagawa carefully held out his own hand, palm up. The young boy carefully placed the object in his hand, making sure it didn’t fall.
When Akutagawa saw what it was, his stomach dropped.
It was Atsushi’s promise ring.
“How did you get this?” He demanded, turning it over in his hand but finding no damages.
“When I took off his gloves I saw it underneath. I saw that you had the matching one, so I assumed it was yours!” He said with the same cheerful voice, gesturing to the ring around Akutagawa’s neck.
His fist curled around the ring, carefully putting it into his coat pocket.
“Who else saw it?”
“Just me! I didn’t tell anyone else because I assumed it was hidden for a reason,”
Akutagawa looked at him appreciatively, nodding.
“Don’t tell anyone else about this, alright?” He tried to keep his voice even, but even he could hear the plea.
Kenji simply nodded his head, walking back to the rooftop garden once again.
‘Wait-“ Akutagawa called out, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. “Do you want anything in return?”
The boy simply shook his head.
“Nope!”
With that, the boy finished up his tasks in the garden, diligently watering and tending to the plants with the utmost care.
He finished up in the garden pretty quickly, descending down the stairs to the agency after waving Akutagawa a quick goodbye.
Akutagawa responded to the gesture, still holding onto his ring with a tight fist. The gem stones pressed into his skin, enough that he could feel it but not enough for it to draw blood.
He tried to think of anything else, to distract his mind from his unconscious boyfriend only a floor below.
Yet memories of their time together flashed throughout his mind. Their first kiss which had been on the floor of Atsushi’s dorm after a particularly rough mission. The way Atsushi’s face lit up when Akutagawa bought him a birthday present, someone he had been wanting forever but could never afford it. The first time they slept in the same bed, wrapped in each other’s embrace.
Akutagawa felt some tears slip down his face. He felt emotionally exhausted. He had cried more in the past three days than he had his entire life. Everytime he thought he had cried all the tears he had left, new ones sprang up and surprised him.
He sat there, tears running down his face trying to enjoy what was remaining of the evening breeze.
Just as he stood up to see if Kyouka had left yet, his phone rang.
Pulling it out of his pocket, and being careful not to drop Atsushi’s ring, he noticed it was from his sister.
Quickly accepting the call, fearing the worst. It was already bad enough that his boyfriend was badly hurt. If the same thing happened to his sister he wouldn’t know what to do with himself.
“Gin? Are you alright?” He called desperately into the receiver. He started running down the stairs, skidding to a stop on the agency’s floor. Rashōmon barely peaked out of his coat, mirroring his emotions and ready to attack at any moment.
“She’s fine,” Chuuya says on the other end, drawing out the last syllable. His tone was light, so both Akutagawa and Rashōmon calmed down.
Akutagawa breathes out a sigh of relief, but is confused on why Chuuya was calling from his sister's phone.
Before he could ask, Chuuya cut him off.
“The black lizard is over at my apartment for a get together. I think it would be good for you to come over,”
Akutagawa peaked into Atsushi’s room, seeing that Kyouka, along with Yosano and Dazai were still there. He walked away from the room, being extremely careful to not make any sound.
“I’ll only attend until the agency leaves for the night,”
Chuuya hummed, pleased that Akutagawa agreed.
“Sorry if I worried you,” Chuuya said, his voice genuine. “I couldn’t find my phone so Gin let me borrow hers,”
Akutagawa nodded, forgetting that Chuuya couldn’t see him.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Akutagawa stated, pausing to smooth out his coat with his free hand.
He hung up soon afterwards, slipping it back into his pocket. He carefully brought out Atsushi’s ring, slipping on his opposite hand. Even though it was an unfamiliar weight, it was still reassuring.
With a sigh, he looked one more time over his shoulder, and pushed the door open into the cold night air.
————
Thirty minutes after he had hung up the call, Akutagawa found himself in Chuuya’s apartment, sitting between his sister and Tachihara.
The company wasn’t terrible, and he always liked spending time with his sibling, but he couldn’t bear being around anyone else. His mind constantly wandered back to Atsushi, and how he was fairing.
Gin noticed, and offered him a glass of wine which he declined.
Everyone was chatting with each other and drinking. The atmosphere was light and airy, making Akutagawa feel bad for bringing it down with his worrying.
Gin insisted on staying with him throughout the get together, even though he insisted that she didn’t need to.
While he wanted to be anywhere else but there, he had to admit that the familiar situation calmed him significantly.
Hirotsu and Higuchi invited him to play a game of cards, which he accepted. He tried to keep his expression neutral, but judging by the way the two of them looked at him, they could tell something was off.
They were halfway through their game when Chuuya’s phone went off, the ringtone echoing through the loud apartment.
Akutagawa knew what that ringtone meant.
Chuuya immediately snatched his phone off the table, prepared to hit the decline button. He hesitated last minute, accepting the call and bringing the phone up to his ear, stepping into the kitchen as he did so.
Akutagawa excused himself and followed him into the kitchen, just in case the conversation ended with Chuuya throwing his phone at the wall.
“What the hell do you want?” He hissed, and Akutagawa knew his guess of who was calling was correct.
Chuuya seemed prepared to yell his response back, but whatever Dazai said on the other end made him pause.
A smile grew over his face as he handed the phone to Akutagawa, mouthing ‘It’s for you’.
Akutagawa took the phone hesitantly, bringing it up to his ear.
“Atsushi is awake. He wants to see you,” Dazai said on the other end, his voice teasing. Akutagawa’s eyes widened, gripping the phone so hard he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t break it.
“He’s awake? Is he alright?” He asked desperately, already pulling on his shoes and opening the door.
“Come over and see for yourself. He is very insistent that you get here as soon as possible,”
The teasing tone never left Dazai’s voice, making Akutagawa’s heart soar. If he was in a good enough mood to tease him about it, Atsushi must be fine.
“I’ll be right there,” he promised, hanging up the phone and tossing it back to Chuuya.
He apologized to the rest of the people in the room, but all of them smiled and waved him off, with Hirotsu telling him ‘Good luck’.
He ran faster than he ever had, using Rashōmon to propel himself further. He had the mind to run across the rooftops to avoid police and civilians.
It wasn’t long before he made it to the brick building of the agency. He ran down the stairs from the rooftop, skipping every other stair because he thought it would waste precious time.
He didn’t care about how much noise he was making, his only goal being Atsushi.
Akutagawa slammed open the door he was so familiar with , chest heaving. His lungs hurt, but he paid it no mind. The only thought on his mind was Atsushi.
The people closest to the door jumped away from the sudden sound, looking apprehensive at his presence.
Akutagawa tried to make his expression neutral, to at least ease the rest of the people in the room.
His gaze narrowed in on Atsushi, fully sitting up, a smile on his face.
Akutagawa looked around, now hyper aware of how many people were in the room. Atsushi, who seemingly read his mind, nodded at him, giving him the go ahead.
Akutagawa lunged at him, making many of the deceives in the room tense up. He wrapped his arms around Atsushi, pulling him into a tight hug while still being mindful of his injuries.
Akutagawa heard some of the deceives gasp, but he didn’t pay them any mind.
He felt tears pool in his eyes, and this time, allowed them to run down his face.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he whispered, afraid that his voice would break again if he raised it any higher.
Atsushi’s hand came up, gently wiping away his tears.
“So it’s only alright when you do it?” He teased, grabbing Akutagawa’s collar and pulling him in for a kiss. Atsushi then cupped Akutagawa’s face with his hands, peppering kisses all over.
Someone cleared their throat, drawing both men away from their bubble.
“Atsushi…” Kunikida began, crossing his arms.
Atsushi gave him a lopsided smile, still holding his boyfriend.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Akutagawa looked at him questioningly. While it was pretty obvious what was happening, they could theoretically lie their way out of this.
“We are dating,” Atsushi said simply, leaning his head down to rest upon Akutagawa’s.
Akutagawa looked around the room, gauging their reactions. Kenji was smiling, Kyouka kept her neutral expression, Kunikida looked disappointed, and Ranpo and Dazai couldn’t stop grinning at each other.
“I love Atsushi,” Akutagawa said, his voice unwavering. “I promise to never hurt him,”
Kunikida brought his hand down from where it was pinching the bridge of his nose.
“It appears I can’t stop you two even if I tried,” he said, resuming his previous stance.
Both men looked at him gratefully, still holding onto each other like a lifeline.
“I knew it was a good idea to pair you two up!” Dazai said gleefully, looking teasingly between the two. Normally, Akutagawa would be upset about it, but he was so happy that Atsushi was alive that he didn’t even care.
Once everyone, mostly Dazai, had calmed down from the reveal, they each gave Akutagawa a shovel talk. Even Lucy, who was finishing up her shift at the cafe downstairs, came up and gave her own shovel talk.
Akutagawa sat through all of them without complaint, no matter how gruesome they ended up being.
After they were all done and most of them went home, Akutagawa went back to Atsushi’s hospital bed.
“How are you feeling?” He asked softly, brushing his bangs out of his face.
“So much better!” He said, the smile Akutagawa learned to love so much back on his face. “Yosano said you stayed at my bedside as long as you could,” the teasing tone was obvious in his voice.
“Of course. I worried about you,”
Atsushi gave a small smile. “I hope you took care of yourself as well,”
“My sister and Chuuya made sure of it,”
Atsushi nodded, opening his arms, inviting Akutagawa in. He crawled into the bed, laying next to his boyfriend. Atsushi wrapped his arms around him, pressing a kiss onto the top of the head.
They both fell asleep, once again together. In each other’s embrace, they didn’t have a fear in the world.