Exchange (Soukoku & Shin Soukoku)

16- The Walk

It had only been ten minutes since Chuuya had left, and Akutagawa seemed on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Isn't he taking too long?" the raven-haired boy questioned.

"Ryuunosuke, it's only been ten minutes," his sister replied.

"But what if something happened to him?"

"Don't bother me, alright? You're distracting me, and Kenji has already eaten three pawns."

Akutagawa made a rude gesture. Gin was playing chess with Kenji, who had surprisingly improved in the game. The only thing he needed to change was that he literally ate his opponent's pieces.

"You know what? Why don't you go check on what Atsushi is doing?"

He bit his lip. Internally, he had promised himself to talk to Atsushi while Chuuya wasn't around, but he was scared. Honestly, it would be easier to kill him than to tell him that he loved him.

But as Gin once told him, «if you love someone, fight for them, not against them.»

Excellent advice, Gin.

"Hmm..."

"Come on, little brother, if you don't dare, I'll do it for you," 

"Fine, I'm going. And don't call me little brother, I'm older than you!"

He got up and went to find the tiger. He found him on the balcony (because yes, Chuuya's luxury house also had a balcony, terrace, attic, and basement), gazing mesmerized at the stars. He was so focused that Akutagawa decided to play a prank on him. He approached silently and touched his neck.

Atsushi stiffened completely and let out a scream.

"Ah! You scared me!" Atsushi looked at Akutagawa with a hurt expression. "And your hands are freezing!"

"That's precisely why I did it, you idiotic tiger," Akutagawa replied.

"You're mean," Nakajima pouted.

"I'm not mean, you just have no sense of humor."

"I do have a sense of humor, it's just that your sense of humor is weirder than mine."

"You don't even know what 'weird' means."

"Yes, I do!"

"And what does it mean, then?"

"I won't tell you."

"See? You don't know, and that's why you don't want to tell me."

"I do know, and you don't know, that's why you want me to tell you."

"This conversation is going nowhere."

"That's because conversations don't have feet."

The mafioso affectionately tapped him on the shoulder.

"You're an idiot."

Atsushi smiled and looked back at the sky.

"The stars are beautiful, don't you think?"

«You are more beautiful,» Ryuunosuke thought. Then he made a face. «Shit, that sounded so cheesy.»

"Yes, the sky looks nice tonight."

Atsushi bit his lip and glanced sideways at the black-haired. He thought about what Chuuya had told him. «Ask him out, maybe you can go out and talk a bit, get to know each other better.»

"Hey, Akutagawa, would you like to go out with me...?"

"What?!"

Both of them blushed, and Akutagawa looked at him wide-eyed.