Chapter Text
Prologue.
The sky outside was gray, snow swirled on the ground like white paint, dragging along the canvas like a trail of magic and ice. Lights that were more than a mile away were just fragments of white and yellow, some turned off entirely.
Tucked away under mountains and wanted criminals, was Yokohama. With how mundane it was, the days started to melt into each other, a mix of doom, despair, and the smell of coffee that is always brewed yet no one drinks because it tastes like straight bean juice.
So how could anyone tell today was Valentine’s Day? To everyone, it was just another rainy, cold day that no one wanted. It didn’t mean much anyways. It was just a day to celebrate love, but anyone could do that any day. What’s so auspicious about one day when half the fuseboxes in the city don’t even work?
To most people, it was another day, to some people, it was a reminder that they’d never find the love they yearned for.
To the rest, it was just another day on the calendar to cross off.
Except, for three people.
White hair, brown hair, and black hair.
**
Dazai cleared his throat, standing on top of a table that was wobbling dangerously under his weight.
“Do you know what day it is today?!”
Ranpo shrugged.
“You ripped the calendar after Kunikida threw you into that wall, remember?”
Dazai giggled nervously, his hand drooping slightly.
“Right…”
He perks up again, his Ahoge perking up like the ears of a cat. A very fluffy and stupid cat.
“Today is Valentine’s Day! And-“
Ranpo puts his hand up.
“I’m gonna stop you right there.”
“Eh? Why?”
“You’re telling me you gathered us in the archives room where Kunikida may potentially jump us and smells like undone paperwork to tell us it’s Valentine’s Day?”
Dazai opens his mouth, then closes it.
“Uhm…. Kind of?”
Ranpo’s hat tips forward as he turns on his heel, the sound of his shoes sliding across the wooden floors is echoed on the walls.
“Okay then, I’m out of here”
Atsushi, who had been quiet for too long, finally speaks up.
“Hey, wait!”
Ranpo doesn’t turn around, but he stops. He’s listening.
“Dazai, what’s the real reason we’re here?”
Dazai fumbles around for a few seconds, his bandages dragging at the edges from how much he’s picked at them.
“I… may need… emotional support.”
Ranpo laughs, clutching his stomach.
“Emotional support? For what? To get rejected by that lady at the café?”
Dazai scowls.
“No!”
Atsushi perks up.
“Then for what?”
Dazai inhales.
“To… give Chuuya a Valentine.”
Ranpo is howling, now a tear runs down the side of his face and onto his cheek.
“Oh my god! You’re going to confess? How romantic!”
Dazai positions himself in front of Ranpo.
“Hey! You’re not off the hook.”
Ranpo’s laughter dies down, replaced by a sudden sense of impending doom.
Atsushi looks equally mortified, like he wanted to get swallowed by whatever ungodly creature was in that room, or worse, go back to work and fill out paperwork.
“What do you mean we’re not off the hook…”
Dazai smirks.
“I mean, you two will confess your undying love aswell! Solidarity y’know?”
Atsushi had already inched towards the door.
“Nope! Sorry Dazai! No way will I-“
Dazai yanks Atsushi back by the collar, holding the thrashing weretiger, and across from him a raccoon that had already accepted his fate.
“Oi! Atsushi! You’re not getting away that easily!”
Atsushi grimaces still making grabby hands towards the doorknob.
“Besides, you already have a head start, don’t you?”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
Dazai winks.
“I mean you already live with your crush, don’t you?”
Atsushi’s face turns the same deep shade as his eyes, the muscles in his cheeks tightening.
“We…. Just live together, he hates me guts.”
Dazai doesn’t laugh. Oddly.
“But… you like him, don’t you?”
Atsushi nods, his chin tilting down.
“Of course I do… I have for a while.”
Dazai smiles, ruffling his hair.
“C’mon, if I can confess to a redhead that wants to kill me every two seconds, then you can confess to that vampire demon crossbreed.”
“Hey!”
Dazai laughs, and so does Ranpo.
Dazai sighs dramatically, walking towards the door.
“Come on, we better get back before kunikida throws something at me.”
As they file out and get back to their seats, ranpo sees a flash of white in the corner of his eye.
“Eh…? Fukuzawa? What are you—“
“Atsushi.”
Atsushis head snapped up, his eyes racing with the thiught’s he wouldn’t say aloud.
“…. Please follow me.”
Atsushi stood, the wheels of his chair slid across the hardwood floor with ease.
The sound of the pairs of shoes echoed along the sides of the halls as they walked.
“So…. We found your housing contract.”
Atsushi stops, his heels digging into the floor beneath him, hoping it’d swallow him whole.
“You…. Never told us in your papers you had a roomate.”
Atsushi gulps.
“I! Uhm! It just came up! We couldn’t do anything!”
“I’m not upset about you having a roommate. I’m upset because…”
Fukuzawa flips through the stack of papers in his hand that atsushi didn’t realize he’d had till now.
“Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Port mafia affiliate, atsushi do you know what this could mean for us?”
Atsushi knew well. Anyone found out, any trust in the ADA would be gone if word got out that the two organizations were associated.
“I…. We legally cannot stop you two from living together, but we are forced to give the opportunity for both of you to get seperate housing if you please. If either one of you wants to move, then it cannot be overruled.”
Atsushi stops, his chest slumping, just slightly.
Today wasn’t exactly the best day for him to start, but now it was definitely the worst.
“However these are my terms for you. If mori chooses otherwise for akutagawa, that’s not in my control.”
Atsushi felt his breathing… irregulate? He was getting worked up because his enemy might move out?
“Just… go home atsushi, please.”
“Wait its fine—“
“Go.”
Atsushi tenses, before stiffly turning to the door.
As he walked, the flurry of snow sank beneath his weight. His scarf lay messily around his neck and lower face, nose flushed red from the cold.
“I shouldn’t care…. It’s just a stupid apartment.”
His boots thudded as he climbed the stairs, stopping in front of a blue door with the paint chipping and a name plate which had been scratched out.
Atsushi fished into his pocket, retrieving the small key which lay at the bottom of his pocket. The lock sighed with a final click before he turned the handle.
A pair of shoes already lay there. The same shoes he’s seen for a year exactly now. Black and polished, layed neatly parallel to each other, next to the white house shoes atsushi always insisted on wearing.
He didn’t bother yelling out that he was home, not today. Instead, he quietly slipped out of his shoes into the slippers and made his way to the living room.
On the kotatzu, there was a spread of papers he knew he hadn’t left, so they had to be akutagawas.
He didn’t mean to look, he really didn’t. But then he saw his name.
“Atsushi Nakajima”
Suddenly atsushi was sitting under the fabric of the table, flipping through the leasing document mori had set for akutagawa.
Akutagawa didn’t get as much leaniancy, he only had 24 hours to make his decision, otherwise mori would take it in his hands and terminate the contract.
There was a blank space for akutagawa to sign if he wanted to stay or go, neither written in, but the pen was angled closer to go.
He was so engrossed in reading he didn’t hear the footsteps behind him, or the stare that could’ve cut glass.
“Atsushi.”
Atsushi froze, his hands freezing mid air.
Akutagawa snatches the pages back, smoothing them out evenly.
He didn’t look up until he saw atsushis look, not a glare, just the expression that lined his face.
“Are you…. Okay?”
Atsushi stood suddenly, taking a step forward, and grabbing akutagawas collar with both hands.
“What are you doing?!”
Atsushi shakes his rapidly.
“Tell me! Are you going to move out?!”
Akutagawa freezes momentarily, his hands suspended right over atsushis, attmepting to pry them off.
“Why were you snooping around in my stuff!”
“This is my buisness too y’know!”
“Well then why do you care?”
Atsushi freezes, his hands go limp. Weird enough, akutagawa doesn’t move away.
“Tell me, why do you care if I leave. I was going to sign leave y’know? Make it easier on both of us.”
Atsushi snaps back to his senses, pure adreneline and pent up emotion going to his next actions.
“Because i love you you idiot! I can’t stand the thought of waking up one day and not seeing your stupidly shiny shoes! Or see only one toothbrush in the restroom instead of two! You may hate me, but when I see you every day I try to tell myself that’s enough! But maybe I cant’t even have that!”
Atsushi drops his hands from his collar to his sides, freezing mid sentence seeing akutagawas reaction.
“Atsushi…..”
Atsushi takes a step back like he’d just been slapped.
“Oh my god….”
Akutagawa freezes momentarily, before taking a cautious step forward.
“Wait…”
Atsushi suddenly turns, his legs already in a stance to start running. he only got 2 feet away before he felt a cold hand lace and intertwine with his.
“Atsushi, listen to me.”
“Let me go Ryunosuke!”
Real silence. Atsushi bit his toungue, praying desperately that maybe the sacrafice of some blood could suck the words back in.
If atsushi ever wanted to die, it would be now.
“Did you… just…”
Atsushi took this wonderful opportunity to break his hand away and press off his foot to run.
This time as anticipated, he was caught. What was not anticipated were two arms on his waist and a rock like structure behind.
“Ry- akutagwa! Let me go!”
Even so, atsushi struggled less, melting into the “hug”.
The two played tug of war until one of them tired out, in this case being atsushi.
Akutagawa could feel his resolve slowly melt, his back slumping forward yet his weight sank back into akutagawa.
“Now listen to me.”
Atsushi tried to block out what Akutagawa said next, he knew that he wouldn’t like it.
“You’re not listening, I can tell, your eyes are unfocused.”
Shoot.
“I….”
If he was being honest already, why not just continue?
“I’m scared of your reaction. So I just…”
Akutagawa pauses, and for a second, his grip tightens.
“Scared…? Of me?”
Atsushi shakes his head.
“Not of you , but what you might say…”
Akutagawa sighs.
“Fine, i’ll tell mori no.”
Atsushi grits his teeth.
“You’re just saying that! How should I believe you!”
“I’m not the best with words…”
Atsushi tried to push akutagawa away from the chest, when akutagawa suddenly turns atsushi to face him.
“But…”
Atsushi tilts his head to the left lightly.
“But what..?”
Akutagawa inhales, his cheeks slightly pink instead of fair.
“Akutagawa….?”
Akutagawa cuts him off.
“Please…. Call me by my first name again.”
Atsushi freezes again.
“Listen i’m sorry that was an accident I-“
“Atsushi. I said call me that again.”
Atsushi inhales like he was about to spew illegal information.
“Ryunosuke.”
Akutagawa nods.
“What.”
“Why….. what are you trying to do.”
Akutagawa sighs.
“Something I should’ve done a year ago.”
Atsushi thinks hes going to slap him.
Instead? Akutagawa puts his hand to atsushis face. The smoothness of his fingertips was like marble against atsushis cheek. His thumb caught close to the corner of atsushis mouth, the other 4 fingers cuffed around his jaw.
“What are you—“
Akutagawa leans in and kisses him, his lips pressed tenderly on atsushis. It’s like the room volume went from 100 to 0, all the thoughts and scenarios that were going through his mind went still.
After a few seconds, akutagawa still hadn’t pulled away, his hand pulling atsushis head closer to him. He stayed there holding the back of atsushis neck close until atsushi started to feel light, from both lack of oxygen and euphoria.
When akutagawa moved back, he kept both his hands holding atsushi’s.
“Now do you believe me?”
Atsushi nods, barely. It’s more of a droop than anything.
Akutagawa brings atsushi’s hand to his lips, kissing the top of his knuckles and easing them out.
“Oh.. and—“
Atsushi looks up, confused.
“Huh?”
Akutagawa smiles.
“Happy valentines day weretiger. As my gift, you shall allow me to be your boyfriend.”
Atsushi nods.
“I’d… like that.”