Work Text:
Chuuya had never met anyone quite as oblivious as Atsushi.
That wasn’t to say that Atsushi was oblivious in everything that he did. As a detective, he preformed his tasks well and had a keen eye for details. Even when the subject concerned other people, he was able to notice small details and different aspects in their behavior. He wasn’t blind to the feelings of those around him. He was capable of noticing when someone held romantic interests for another.
Even when the matter came to the more intimate nature of a relationship, he wasn’t ignorant to that either. He was perfectly aware of just what kind of activities Junichiro and Naomi got into when no one else was around. (Although, everyone who worked at the agency wished that they didn’t know). No, Atsushi was not oblivious at all to the topic of love. It was only when that affection was centered towards him that all of Chuuya’s previous points seemed to be negated.
Because try as he might to get Atsushi to notice, the boy wasn’t able to recognize the fact that Chuuya liked him. It wasn’t for a lack of trying either. Chuuya had done everything in his power – short of flat out admitting it – to prove to Atsushi that he was interested in the younger male. He had utilized every flirting technique that he had ever learned in order to court Atsushi, but none of them had proven effective.
He made sure to be more attentive to Atsushi whenever the two would have a conversation. He would always listen and engage with the other male while they were talking, careful to maintain eye contact between them. He was determined to make sure that it wasn’t too prolonged or strange, but just what Chuuya had deemed as acceptable enough of a hint. Atsushi seemed to not even notice that anything was amiss.
Chuuya also began to be more physical with Atsushi. Nothing that would strike immediate suspicion, but just enough to let Atsushi know that he was interested. A lingering hand on his shoulder, resting his palm on the boy’s back, sitting closer than was strictly necessary. Chuuya had even taken to draping his arm across Atsushi’s shoulders as he would lean over him to help the younger detective on writing his reports. He had gained no response when using this tactic either.
It was always possible that Atsushi had merely interpreted them as friendly gestures. Chuuya certainly didn’t shy away from touch after all, and it likely wouldn’t raise suspicion from someone who he could only guess had never been on the receiving end of these flirtatious actions before. They might have been misconstrued in Atsushi’s mind to be only platonic. Chuuya had found this to be understandable enough.
So Chuuya had taken that idea into consideration, which is why he changed up his tactics. He still employed all of his previous techniques, only now he made sure to compliment Atsushi as well. They were always genuine, and they should have been an obvious indication to his affections considering that he didn’t praise just anyone.
But Atsushi appeared none the wiser. He would always blush at Chuuya’s words; a lovely, rosy hue that always left Chuuya satisfied upon spotting it. The only problem is that Atsushi still wasn’t clued in. Chuuya had actually called him cute to his face, and Atsushi still didn’t realize anything. He had merely grown flustered, trying to stammer out a thank you and a dismissal to the statement at the same time. The denial of which Chuuya had absolutely refused to listen to.
Instead of lamenting though, Chuuya took this all as a challenge. Perhaps his previous attempts had been a little too subtle. Fine, he would only have to step up his game. Which is exactly why he decided to use the situation to his advantage whenever Atsushi forgot his lunch at home while they were at work.
“How about I treat you to lunch then?” Chuuya suggested to the boy.
Atsushi shook his head at the offer. “No, you don’t have to do that. I can just head back to the dorms and-”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Chuuya immediately cut in. “It’s silly to walk all the way to the dorms and then right back. It’d be a waste of a trip. Not to mention that it would take you a little while to get there and then return.”
“I know, but I can-”
“Running would only tire you out,” he added. He could see Atsushi beginning to mull over his words, so Chuuya continued on. “And you know how Kunikida gets when there’s a lag in someone’s work flow.”
Atsushi sighed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Maybe you’re right,” he conceded.
“I know I am,” Chuuya smiled. “So why don’t you come with me? We can head over to the teahouse down the street, the one with the chazuke that you like so much.”
Atsushi’s features lit up at the mention of his favorite food, interest clearly piqued. Though he still seemed a little unconvinced.
“Are you sure that you wouldn’t mind?” he asked.
“Not a bit,” Chuuya answered. “Besides, I was already planning on going there anyway. You’d just be keeping me company.”
Atsushi smiled, unable to find a remaining argument.
“OK. Thank you very much, Chuuya-san!” he spoke gratefully, inclining his head towards the other. Chuuya smiled, ruffling the boy’s hair playfully.
“Save that for later. Now let’s get going already.”
So off they went. The pair talked all of the way there, and the conversation never tapered off even as their food was brought out to them. During the outing, Chuuya even noticed a few pieces of rice sticking to the corner of Atsushi’s mouth, which the boy himself appeared to not notice.
Instead of leaving it to Atsushi to wipe off, Chuuya simply reached over himself. He gently swiped his thumb across Atsushi’s skin, gathering the rice and brushing his fingers against the other’s bottom lip. Atsushi had stopped with what he was saying, thoroughly caught off guard. A blush had overtaken his entire face, and it only worsened when Chuuya grinned at him.
“You had some rice stuck by your cheek,” he said by way of explanation.
He then proceeded to lick the rice off of his thumb for added measure. Atsushi flushed scarlet, practically steaming as he sat there gawking. He was so embarrassed that he ended up hiding behind the menu, stuttering furiously as he attempted to backtrack to their former conversation. Chuuya found the whole thing ridiculously charming.
It was a nice outing overall. And once Atsushi had calmed down after Chuuya’s bold gesture, they had returned to the casual ambiance that they had set in place before. They both exited the teahouse lighthearted and in good spirits. Chuuya was only disappointed that they weren’t able to stay out longer. Still, he glanced up at Atsushi with a pleased smile on his face.
“This was fun. Thanks for coming out with me.”
Atsushi shook his head, matching Chuuya’s smile with one of his own.
“No, thank you for inviting me to come with you. This really was nice of you,” he spoke. Chuuya released a small huff, playfully nudging Atsushi with his elbow.
“No need for the formalities. As long as you had a good time then that’s all the thanks I need,” he stated. Atsushi chuckled lightly.
“I did. I really enjoyed spending time with you,” he admitted.
A small jolt went through Chuuya at the easy confession. He restrained the grin that threatened to take over, instead only allowing for the slightest lift of his lips. He decided that now was the time to put all of his recent efforts to the test.
“Me too. We should do this again sometime,” he remarked calmly, studying Atsushi’s reaction. The boy perked up, pleasantly surprised by the suggestion.
“We should. And not just because I forgot my lunch at home,” he replied, a bashful edge to his expression.
“I wouldn’t mind that. But I was thinking of meeting up for it outside of work,” Chuuya suggested carefully, watching his companion from the corner of his eyes. Atsushi paused for a moment, until a smile began to settle on his face.
“That sounds great!”
Happiness swirled within Chuuya’s chest, overjoyed that Atsushi had possibly caught onto his intentions. What’s more, that he had accepted the invitation so readily.
“Really?” he asked, trying and failing to hide the eagerness in his voice.
“Yes. We could even invite the other agency members to come with us!”
Within an instant Chuuya’s expression cracked, disbelief filling in the fractured edges. The look was frozen on his face as he blinked slowly at Atsushi.
“Huh?”
“You know, we could make a day where everyone can all hang out together. I hear the agency always gets together to watch the falling of the Sakura blossoms, so maybe we could plan something like that, but without a reason behind it. That sounds like it could be a lot of fun,” Atsushi explained, appearing delighted at the idea.
Chuuya was wrong, Atsushi wasn’t just oblivious. This was a whole new level of dense that he had never encountered before. There was no way that Atsushi didn’t know what he meant. He had to have been messing with him.
But no, that wasn’t the case whatsoever. Atsushi looked genuinely excited by the prospect of hanging out with their friends, just for the purpose of spending time together. It was hard for Chuuya to deny such a simple request when Atsushi was so ecstatic by it.
Chuuya smiled weakly, bringing his hand up to rub at his temples. His eye began to twitch in a way that it only ever did when he had to deal with Dazai’s antics.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Just run it by the others and I’m sure they’d be glad to go along,” he agreed, keeping his tone carefully neutral. Atsushi opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when he caught a glimpse of Chuuya.
“Are you OK? Is something the matter?” he asked worriedly, laying his hand comfortingly on Chuuya’s shoulder.
“Yeah, I’m just starting to feel a headache coming on,” Chuuya waved off dismissively, the corner of his mouth beginning to twitch erratically as well. Atsushi frowned.
“You don’t look like you’re feeling well at all. Let’s head back. Yosano-sensei will have some medicine to help you feel better,” he promised.
It was difficult to be angry when Atsushi pointed those concerned eyes at him. Those lovely, damn eyes that couldn’t see what Chuuya was insinuating. Nonetheless, the redhead forced a smile so as to not alert Atsushi of his actual condition.
“Right,” Chuuya sighed, allowing Atsushi to lead him back.
To Chuuya, that felt like it was the final nail in the coffin.
***************
“He can’t possibly be fucking serious right now,” Chuuya groaned to himself.
Dazai looked up from his spot on the couch upon hearing the irritated complaint, watching as Chuuya entered into the room. There was a persistent twitch from his eyebrows, his mouth pulled into a displeased scowl. Dazai smiled easily despite the other male looking so restless.
“Well hello, Slug. You seem to be very lively today,” he noted.
“Shut it, bastard. I’m not in the mood for your comments,” Chuuya warned, shoving Dazai’s legs to the side so he would be able to sit on the sofa as well.
“Then you know that you could go and rant in any another room in the building, right?” Dazai pointed out, even as he moved to accommodate the newest addition.
“I needed someone to discuss this with,” Chuuya replied, sighing tiredly as he sank back into the cushions.
“And you chose me to be your unwilling participant? Why Chuuya, I’m flattered,” Dazai teased. The redhead scoffed at him.
“As if. Yosano would have been my first choice, but she went out shopping a little while ago,” he explained.
“What about Naomi-chan?”
“She went with her.”
“Well, better her than the rest of us,” Dazai remarked.
Chuuya shivered, remembering the one time he had been volunteered to go shopping with the agency’s doctor. Never again.
“No kidding. Anyway, basically everyone else is out one way or another. So I’m stuck with you,” he grumbled.
“My, I’m honored,” Dazai spoke, smiling sarcastically. “Now, what was it that you wanted to discuss exactly?”
Chuuya nudged him impatiently with his foot. “Oh, come off it. You already know that this is about Atsushi.”
“I’m fully aware. I just like to see you suffering,” the bandaged detective grinned, leading Chuuya to glare at him.
“You really are an asshole.”
“Now, now. Is that any way to talk to your confidant?” Dazai asked tauntingly.
“You’re not my confidant, you’re just convenient,” Chuuya waved him off.
“Not to mention your only option,” Dazai piped in.
Chuuya’s mouth curled distastefully. “Don’t remind me. Whatever. I’ve been trying to flirt with Atsushi for the past couple of weeks, but he hasn’t responded to any of it.”
“Oh, we all know. Ranpo-san and I were talking the other day about placing bets on your little predicament,” Dazai explained, dodging Chuuya’s fist that came flying at his face. The redhead clicked his tongue irritably, crossing his arms as he leaned back.
“So then you already know what kind of situation I’m in.”
“Sure do,” Dazai nodded.
Chuuya squinted at the other detective. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“Are you gonna tell me what I’ve been doing wrong?”
“That’s easy: everything,” Dazai said gleefully. He expertly avoided the foot directed towards his ribs. Chuuya was clearly losing his patience.
“Listen you unhelpful piece of sh-”
“You’re not being clear enough,” Dazai interjected. Chuuya scoffed at him.
“What are you talking about? I’ve done everything short of actually confessing.”
“No, you’ve gone with your usual discreet style of flirting. Then when that hasn’t worked, you only increased the frequency of your efforts,” Dazai pointed out. “For someone who has as little confidence in themselves as Atsushi-kun does, it would help to have a more direct approach.”
Chuuya frowned. “I already figured that might have played a role in this, but there’s only so much that a lack of self-esteem can explain away. I basically asked him out on a date after our lunch outing earlier, and he still misunderstood what I meant,” the shorter man griped.
“He probably took it as a friendly request.”
“You don’t even know the half of it. He suggested inviting everyone from the agency to come along with us next time.”
The room became deathly silent. At least until Dazai had the gall to snicker at him.
“Shut up,” Chuuya hissed.
“Who knows, Hat Rack. Maybe this is Atsushi-kun’s way of letting you down easily?” Dazai grinned.
“No, I know that he likes me, too. He just doesn't get it,” Chuuya sighed, leading his companion to pout.
“Well that’s no fun. The chibi could at least be a LITTLE disheartened,” he remarked.
“Not a chance,” Chuuya sneered. “Still, maybe you’ve got a point. I guess a more direct approach would be better,” he sighed deeply. “I feel like I’m betraying everything that Ane-san ever taught me.”
“She did always have a flair for subtlety,” Dazai chuckled, now standing up. “I’ll look forward to seeing your progress. If only to see how amusing it is.”
“Shut it,” Chuuya replied habitually. “The only reason I’m not kicking your ass right now is because I made you listen. Consider it an even trade.”
“Still as violent as ever,” Dazai noted. “By the way, did you ever specify that you classified it as a date?” he questioned.
Realization dawned on Chuuya right before Dazai’s very eyes. The redhead’s facial features grew considerably slack as he sat there dumbstruck. Dazai hummed to himself as he shifted in place smoothly.
“So you didn’t.”
“Well, it should have been implied!” Chuuya snapped.
***************
The next day, it was Atsushi that approached Dazai. With the way his shoulders were rolled anxiously, and his gaze strayed down towards the floor, Dazai already had a feeling that he knew what this was pertaining to. Even before the man tiger had ever opened his mouth, Dazai could only wonder how he had managed to become both Atsushi and Chuuya’s confidant.
“Dazai-san, can I ask for your advice on something?” Atsushi requested.
Dazai smiled, swiveling in his desk chair to directly face the younger male.
“Did you come to ask how best to perfect a lover’s suicide? I’m flattered Atsushi-kun, but I must decline. You should know that I’m looking to end my life with a beautiful woman-”
“That wasn’t what I wanted to know about,” Atsushi huffed, but the familiarity of their conversation took away some of the tension. “But, well...what I wanted to ask does involve one part of that,” he admitted.
Dazai’s eyebrows raised in interest, hiding his already obtained knowledge on the subject.
“Oh?”
“Yes, um...I – T-this actually has to do with Chuuya-san.”
“What about him?” Dazai asked.
“I wanted to know if there was a way to know that he liked me,” Atsushi hurried to explain, skin tinged pink.
“Why would you want to know that?”
Atsushi reddened, shifting nervously. “Isn’t that already pretty obvious?”
“It is. I just find it hard to believe that someone actually likes the chibi,” Dazai stated bluntly. The color on Atsushi’s cheeks became more pronounced, but he managed to frown disapprovingly at his coworker.
“Dazai-san-”
“Don’t be mean to Chuuya, I already know,” Dazai drawled, avoiding the impending scolding. “So, you like him. Why not just ask him out if that’s the case?”
“I actually was thinking of maybe confessing, but I just – I didn’t want to ruin anything if he didn’t return how I felt,” Atsushi smiled weakly.
Dazai stared openly at his subordinate. If only he knew.
“Have you seen any hints that he may like you?” Dazai questioned, curious to see just how little awareness the boy actually had on the subject.
“What kinds of hints?”
“It could be anything, really. Any excuse he can find to be close to you, his body language, if the way he talks to you differs than when he’s with other people.”
Atsushi tilted his head, silently pondering.
“You haven’t noticed any indication that he might be interested?” Dazai inquired when Atsushi came up with nothing. The boy blinked.
“No. I don’t think so anyway.”
Dazai chuckled quietly to himself. He could actually start to sympathize with Chuuya. Just a little bit.
He paused when he spotted Chuuya entering the room with a stack of papers. He seemed not to notice the other two occupants as he walked over to the filing cabinets. Dazai grinned, unbeknownst to the lovestruck pair before him.
“Atsushi-kun, do you trust me?” he asked, standing and walking around his desk.
Atsushi hesitated in answering, regarding Dazai warily. “It kind of worries me that you’re asking that.”
Dazai waved away the suspicion. “It’s a simple question.”
Atsushi tilted his head curiously, but he nodded slowly after a second. “Yes, I do.”
“Then just come with me, Atsushi-kun. I’ll help you out,” Dazai reassured him. His smile had taken on a devious edge, but Atsushi seemed not to notice as he nodded.
“Alright.”
The older detective placed a hand on Atsushi’s back, leading him over to where Chuuya was. Atsushi tensed, seemingly unaware that their confrontation would happen so quickly.
“Hey, Slug.”
Chuuya sighed, turning around from what he was doing to level Dazai with a glare.
“What do you want, bast- oh, Atsushi,” he cut himself off in surprise, his gaze brightening. “What did you want?”
Atsushi stiffened when Chuuya directed his focus solely onto him. He glanced at Dazai nervously from the corner of his eyes, trying to communicate his need for help. Dazai looked back at him with encouragement, kindly patting him on the shoulder.
Right before he shoved Atsushi into Chuuya.
Atsushi stumbled forward, throwing his arms out to catch himself. Chuuya was forced to take a step back, his hands instinctively coming up to keep Atsushi from crashing into him. Atsushi released a small, slightly shaken breath, relieved that neither of them had ended up hurt. Remembering exactly why they had been forced into that situation, Atsushi snapped his head to stare over at Dazai with wide, questioning eyes.
Except that Dazai was already making his way out of the room, and exhibited no desire to stop and explain himself. He merely flashed a grin at the two of them right as he had reached the doorway.
“Don’t forget what we talked about,” he said, waving lazily at the duo. “Have fun.”
He left the pair alone with those as his parting words. Atsushi sighed softly. He should have known that it would have been pointless to ask Dazai for help, but he had hoped that his mentor would at least give him one piece of advice before sending him off on his own. He turned his head back towards his companion, intent on apologizing, but the sight of crystal blue eyes stopped him in his tracks.
The boy froze, unable to breath as it fully dawned just what sort of position they had landed in. Atsushi’s hands had been slammed into the wall behind Chuuya, caging the redhead in with his arms. Chuuya’s own hands, which had reached up to catch him, now rested against his chest. This in hindsight had done nothing to counteract the distance, as there was now so little space to separate them.
Atsushi’s eyes opened impossibly wide, now afraid that Chuuya would be able to feel his heartbeat drumming against his fingertips. They were close. They were far, far too close. If Atsushi were to move even the slightest bit forward, then their noses would bump together. And if any more distance was eliminated after that, then they would be…
Atsushi snapped out of it as Chuuya’s fingers twitched against the material of his shirt. Atsushi made a move to push himself away, his cheeks positively burning.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to – that wasn’t – I’ll move-!”
His flustered tirade was brought to a halt as Chuuya fisted his tie, preventing him from stepping away. The boy could only gape as Chuuya straightened up, fixing him with an inscrutable gaze.
“Since you haven’t picked up on any of my signs before now, then I’ll make this nice and clear,” he muttered, granting Atsushi no time to respond before he dragged the teen down to his height.
Everything in Atsushi short circuited as he was pulled into a kiss. The only thing he was able to register was the rush that ran through his body, and the feeling of Chuuya’s lips against his own. They were warm, and surprisingly soft, and Atsushi found himself never wanting this moment to end. He realized belatedly that he had yet to respond, something that he only noticed as Chuuya separated from him. Atsushi leaned forward in a slight panic, gingerly bringing the two into another kiss.
He could feel Chuuya’s mouth twitch lightly against his, before he shifted to press their lips closer together. Chuuya’s hand finally relinquished the hold on his tie as it slid upwards, settling against the nape of his neck. Atsushi shivered as his own hands found purchase on the other male’s shoulders. In the back of his mind, the part that wasn’t completely honed in on this and only this, he made a mental note to thank Dazai.
The two pulled back after a few moments. Atsushi’s breathing was labored, heat radiating from his cheeks. Meanwhile, Chuuya was almost infuriatingly put together. The only indication that anything was amiss was the soft smile that settled on his face.
“You, um...That was-” Atsushi trailed, feeling impossibly warm. Chuuya didn’t seem bothered by his showcasing of nerves. If anything, he appeared fond.
“Nice?” he supplied in amusement. Atsushi nodded.
“Y-yes – very much so.”
Chuuya’s smile quirked. “It really was. Definitely worth the wait,” he commented. Atsushi paused.
“Hold on, a wait? Now that I think about it, you mentioned something about there being signs earlier. What did you mean?” he asked. At this, Chuuya’s expression became almost pitying.
“Atsushi, I’ve been flirting with you for the past two weeks.”
Atsushi’s face blanked as he stared at his companion uncomprehendingly. Within a second his blush returned with a vengeance, his mouth dropping open.
“HEH?”
“Seriously, you didn’t notice any of it?” Chuuya questioned.
“What? No, I-” Atsushi gestured helplessly with his hands, appearing lost. “You really – what? When was this?”
“It would be easier to tell you when I wasn’t,” Chuuya remarked.
Atsushi ran through every event from the past couple of weeks in his mind. It all seemed so obvious now that the information had been given to him.
“S-so then, when you invited me to lunch with you yesterday…?” he trailed.
“That’s right.”
Next came the horrifying realization.
“...And when you mention going somewhere outside of work-?”
“Yep,” Chuuya nodded. “Gotta admit, that one was particularly annoying.”
Atsushi winced, embarrassment coursing through him as he lowered his head.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea,” he admitted bashfully.
“I figured out that much already,” Chuuya said. He paused as he appeared to think of something, his eyes brightening. “But I do have a way to let us forget all about it.”
Atsushi seemed curious, but he looked determined to complete Chuuya’s request as he straightened up. “What is it?”
“Instead of lunch, you let me take you out to dinner,” he requested, smiling lightly. “As a proper date this time.”
Excitement grew in Atsushi’s chest, his smile becoming radiant.
“I’d love to,” he accepted. “It’ll be my turn to-”
“It’ll be our first official date, Atsushi. I’m paying for this one,” Chuuya told him, already knowing what his train of thought was.
Atsushi frowned uncertainly. “But I don’t mind-”
Chuuya’s stare convinced him that trying to argue was pointless, so he resigned. He glanced up at Chuuya after a moment of consideration, gaze shy.
“Alright. But, maybe, if we decided on another date after that?” he asked.
Chuuya’s smile turned teasing. “We haven’t even gone on our first date, and you’re already planning the second one?”
Atsushi flushed, gaze darting to the side nervously. “I was only asking.”
“And I’m only kidding,” Chuuya reassured lightly, resting his hand on the other’s shoulder.
Atsushi was still red, but he peeked back at Chuuya.
“But if we did decide on that?”
Chuuya grinned at him. “Then that would definitely be something I couldn’t say no to.”