Chapter Text
Atsushi thinks he doesn’t really deserve this.
Sure, he has made mistakes in the past, like letting Kyouka talk him into buying a crêpe maker when neither of them can even be trusted to cook anything besides noodles, and he maybe should have stopped Lucy from setting their roommate’s sheet on fire, back at the orphanage, when said roommate had made one too many comments about Atsushi’s stutter, but he feels like overall he has been a good person? He has never killed anyone or stolen, so this happening to him seems like a bout of undeserved karma.
He stares at Dazai, and Dazai stares back. Atsushi doesn’t think he has seen him blink in a good minute.
“I’m sorry,” Atsushi says, “you want me to do what?”
“I’m just changing some shifts around, Atsushi-kun!” Dazai trills, seeming as always to delight in catching people off guard. “So now you and dear Akutagawa-kun will be on duty for dinner, while Kenji-kun and Naomi-san will be here for lunch.”
“Isn’t Kunikida-san in charge of scheduling shifts, anyways…” Atsushi mutters, but Dazai had already skipped off, to do whatever it is that he does during work hours. He is pretty sure Dazai should be a waiter like him, but Atsushi had never seen him serve anyone besides a red-haired man that seems to come on a weekly basis, sometimes with five children in tow. Atsushi had never managed to catch his name, for Dazai always swoops in before anyone can even get close enough to greet the man, but he has already learned to pick his battles in this place.
Atsushi sighs, and goes to the locker room to change into his uniform and start getting the place ready for the dinner rush. Despite barely knowing anything about Akutagawa first-hand, and the frankly concerning stories he had heard about him from Tanizaki, he still hopes the other will show up soon, because he isn’t too keen on doing the prep work all by himself.
What he knows about Akutagawa is this: he has dark hair but white tips on his long bangs (a reverse mullet…? He is sure that Lucy would be horrified at that hairstyle even more than she is at his own), he dresses like a Victorian orphan when not in uniform (Naomi’s wording), he is pale and possibly anemic (Kenji’s, with a healthy dose of concern for how hard city life can be on people), has a cat that sometimes leaves its fur on his pants (info courtesy of Ranpo, who Atsushi thinks may be a bonafide psychic, because how does he always know everything? ) and is stand-offish with everyone but Dazai and Chuuya.
Atsushi wouldn’t say he is scared of working with Akutagawa, being used to yelling and harshness, but he is still unnerved by this sudden change in his routine, especially knowing Dazai is behind it. If there is something everyone knows at the Für Elise, it’s that Dazai does nothing without having cooked up a scheme behind it.
He suddenly regrets not having gifted Dazai a board game or something, roughly three days ago, when he had whined to Atsushi, or everyone within hearing range really, how it’s just so boring, lately.
When Akutagawa does show up, Atsushi had already put his nametag on. He looks… Surprisingly normal. Maybe a bit of a vampire aura, as Naomi would say, but not goth-theme party ready, so to speak.
Atsushi bows, years of manners drilled into him at the orphanage, and introduces himself: “Hello, I’m Nakajima Atsushi, I hope we will work well together.” He even attempts a smile, despite how awkward he feels. They had never formally met face-to-face, so this is normal, right?
Akutagawa stares at him as if Atsushi had just revealed himself as an alien, eyebrows barely there but still somehow managing to convey a frown.
“Akutagawa,” he mutters. His bow is barely a downward movement of his shoulders. “Akutagawa Ryuunosuke.”
Atsushi had never felt more awkward in his life, and that’s saying something, having been on the receiving end of the fallouts of Dazai’s shenanigans for a good month already.
He tries to soldier on, though, because he is nothing if not tenacious. Dazai will have to realize this little plan of his won’t bring an end to his boredom and switch gears, and hopefully Atsushi will be back to his usual lunch shift soon enough.
Dinner rush is hell; they can’t seem to stop getting in each other’s way even when getting their orders by the kitchen. Akutagawa doesn’t keep his opinions to himself, always letting him know how much of a hindrance he is, and Atsushi isn’t usually someone who resorts to violence, but he is a snappy remark away from ripping his work apron off and strangling Akutagawa with it instead.
Inner peace, he tells himself, find your inner peace.
He resolutely ignores the other voice in his head, sounding suspiciously like Lucy, that encourages him to strangle Akutagawa for real instead.
There is only one hour left before closing, he has endured worse, and his self-control has been honed by years of babysitting younger kids at the orphanage.
Atsushi really bemoans his luck, because were it not for this awful attitude of his, Akutagawa would be exactly his type. Okay, well, he doesn’t have enough dating experience to confidently say he has a type, but Akutagawa is objectively good looking (he even manages to make his lack of eyebrows work for him, miraculously) and his voice is nice and deep, if not a bit raspy and hoarse (a smoker, maybe? It would fit his dark-and-mysterious aura too).
“Move, Nakajima,” Akutagawa hisses at him, elbowing him hard to get Atsushi to follow his order, before he even had a chance to react by himself.
Atsushi is usually not one to curse, but he really feels like he would deserve that specific outlet for his rage in this case. He reminds himself this is for Kyouka, how the pay is too good to pass up, especially when their heater broke down just yesterday.
He takes a big breath, catching Dazai skipping around from his peripheral vision, no plate to be seen on his hands. It’s decided, he will go complain to Kunikida tomorrow and get this little stunt of Dazai revoked, his mentor’s boredom be damned.
lucym☆: so let me get this straight
lucym☆: heh
nakajimaatsushi: oh god
lucym☆: u met this guy,,,,,, and u found him hot,,,,,, when his name is literally ryuunosuke
lucym☆: like the whole son of dragon bs
nakajimaatsushi: yeah……
lucym☆: when u are like the equivalent of a horse girl but for tigers
nakajimaatsushi: I JUST THINK THEY ARE COOL
lucym☆: are we rocking with the toradora gay reboot ⁉️🤨🤨
nakajimaatsushi: why are we even still friends
lucym☆: bc i popped ur cherry and u imprinted on me
nakajimaatsushi: LUCY