Because of Him (Shin Soukoku)

He called me cute!

When Atsushi got to the park he was unsure of where to go. Could Akutagawa be sitting on a bench? Standing near a tree? Or simply not here yet? Fortunately for him, his thoughts were interrupted.

"Hey Jinko!" Atsushi turned towards the voice that belonged to Akutagawa. He was sitting on a bench a few feet away. Atsushi reddened at his stupidity, but quickly walked towards Akutagawa.

"Hi Akutagawa! What do you want to do now?" Atsushi asked curiously. He sat next to Akutagawa with a smile.

"I wasn't actually planning to stay here, I was hoping to meet up here so we could walk to a nearby cafe." Akutagawa said with a shy expression. Atsushi caught himself thinking of Akutagawa as cute which caused him to fluster. "Ats- Jinko, are you okay?" Akutagawa asked alarmed at the sudden change in Atsushi's expression. Did Akutagawa almost say my name? Atsushi's blush deepened. "Jinko!" Finally, Atsushi snapped out if his thoughts.

"Yes, sorry! I'm okay." Atsushi said pushing down his emotions. There's no way I'd like Akutagawa anyway, Atsushi said to himself. Quickly, without saying a word, Akutagawa grasped Atsushi's hand and interwined it with his to lead him to the cafe. Atsushi could only mentally panic. OKAY FINE MAYBE I DO LIKE HIM.

Akutagawa's pov:

When we finally arrived at the cafe I reluntantly released Atsushi's hand. I missed the warmth from before. We picked a seat at the back of the cafe to avoid the clusters of people near the front. It seemed to only be congested near the lines of people. I fell into the coushioned seat across from Atsushi and sighed. Why had I even grabbed his hand? Surely, he could've followed me without it. I wanted to stop myself from crushing on him, but it seemed almost inevitable. He seemed so carefree and bright, a smile so beautiful yet adorable. I couldn't stop liking him if I tried. I knew he wouldn't like me back. How could someone like him like someone like me? It was impossible. Even so, I couldn't help but feel warm and happy around him. I felt as if Dazai was just an ordinary man with no importance to me whatsoever.

"We should probably go order now, the line has gotten smaller" Atsushi pointed out, breaking me from my thoughts. I nodded and we both stood up. I noticed his happy expression and almost smiled before I realized how insane that would be. When it was our turn to order our food I decided to get a brownie and chamomile tea. Atsushi ordered a tea as well and a muffin. We sat back down to our original seats and waited.

"You like brownies?" Atsushi asked. I nodded before explaining.

"I like chocolate, I just try not to eat too much so I don't get sick of it like I once did." Atsushi nodded in apprehension.

"In my orphanage we used chocolate as currency, silly right?" Atsushi said sheepishly, seemingly embarrassed to bring up this subject.

"No. I used to live in the slums with my sister. Chocolate was our currency too. That's the story where I got sick. I ended up eating about 200 chocolate bars before I got sick." I admitted. I had never told anyone before. It didn't seem like something to tell people when they'd obviously never relate or understand. Atsushi's eyes widened in surprise. Then he laughed, not in mockery, but in relief.

"Wow, you'd be considered rich! I can't believe how similar we are in terms of background. It feels nice knowing someone else can relate to this subject, you know?" I nodded. I definitely knew what he meant. He chuckled slightly to himself. "But 200 chocolate bars? How in the world?"

"I used to be a bodyguard for fights. It's not so unexpected of me, is it?" I joked. Atsushi laughed lightly. He looked so adorable. It was almost unbelieveable how good he looked. How the sun seemed to make him stand out even more than be already did. I felt blush creeping up on me slightly, but I didn't even bother hiding it. Atsushi was so dense, he'd probably think it was just the sunlight. This thought caused me to smile. Atsushi's eyes caught sight of my smile and he almost fell out of his seat.
I frowned now. "What? Am I so scary looking when I smile?" I asked, suddenly too worried about Atsushi's opinion on me.

"Huh?! No! I was just surprised!! In fact, I think you look cute when you smile!" Atsushi blabbered in panic. We simultaneously froze at the same time. Both of our faces looked like tomatoes. "No.. I mean... well.... " Atsushi tried to fix his statement, but it was obvious to us both he wasn't going to fool anyone. I feigned a cough to hide my face. Atsushi on the other hand just covered his face with both his hands.

"Here you go, sorry for the wait." A waitress appeared giving us our order. I nodded quietly and took our food. Once she was gone I snuck another glance at Atsushi. He looked like he was going to explode.

"Our food is here." I mumbled. I couldn't bring myself to talk loudly. Maybe I did have a chance. Who calls their enemy cute?

"Y-yeah." Atsushi slowly uncovered his face and looked at me shyly. "B-but.. I wasn't lying." He quickly stared at the ground in even more embarrassment. How much cuter could he get?