★彡[ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ ʟᴏᴠᴇꜱ ᴄʜᴜᴜʏᴀ]彡★

In Which Curiosity Does Not Kill The Cat

It was hard to tell what exactly Dazai and Chuuya were talking about, just that it was probably supposed to be private.

Yet here Atsushi was, watching from an overhead bridge as fireworks continued to light up the sky. He was there when the detective whispered something that made the almost always scowling Nakahara-san laugh.  And he was also there when Dazai's face softened at the sound of it and Chuuya, noticing, smiled shyly in return.

Yeah. This was definitely supposed to be private.

Atsushi hadn't meant to spy on them. Honest. Just -- after escaping from the Guild, he hadn't really known what else to do other than seek out his senior.

The last thing he expected was to find Dazai like this, laying contentedly on the grass with the man he hated most. It felt wrong to interrupt him now, but it also felt wrong to aimlessly wander around the streets of Yokohama. 

So Atsushi just stood there on the bridge. Watching.

And -- wait. Were those two holding hands?

Atsushi gripped the railing and leaned forward. They totally were!

"I knew it!" he practically shouted, "I knew Dazai-san was in love and no one believed me!"

Sure, he hadn't realized that all those nights Dazai spent wistfully looking out of the agency window was because of Chuuya and not some lady who refused to commit double suicide with him. But still!

"I knew it, I was right, and now Tanizaki owes me five bucks!"

"Why?"

"AUGH!" Atsushi sprang back, prepared to use his ability. But it was only Akutagawa, standing next to him and eating ice cream.

"W-What are you doing here?"

After the tiger plush Atsushi affectionately named Atsushi Jr. blew up and they escaped from Fitzgerald, Akutagawa had ran off without a word. Atsushi honestly didn't think he'd see him again anytime soon.

"Festival got boring," Akutagawa explained in that monotone voice of his, "The Big Event was delayed."

"Right," Atsushi said, eying him warily. He...seemed relatively stable. There shouldn't be any real reason to worry.

"Why did you want five bucks? Did you want to buy stuff from the festival? I can buy it for you, Jinko."

The young detective was momentarily caught off guard, "You'd do that?"

"I am glad to learn of your newfound belief in Chuuya and will support in anyway I can."

Atsushi rolled his eyes. 

"Why does your face look like that?" Akutagawa held out his ice cream, "Did you want some? It's the same flavor as Chuuya's shampoo."

"Uh, no thanks, that sounds disgusting," Atsushi rested his elbows on the railing, running a hand through his uneven hair, "I'm just trying to decide when to let Dazai know I'm here."

Akutagawa was silent for a moment, taking the scene in for himself. 

"Wasn't Dazai trying to hurt Chuuya?"

Atsushi gestured widely at the two, who seemed to have slid even closer "Does it look like he's trying to hurt Chuuya?"

"He might be trying to hurt him emotionally."

"Yeah...I don't think that's it."

The mafioso and weretiger, shoulder to shoulder, continued to watch. They both were completely and utterly spellbound. Having grown up alone and mistreated, the concept of even having other people in their lives was foreign until joining their respective organizations.