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Akutagawa did not particularly care for fashion, he had bigger things to worry about after all. Being in the mafia and all.
He often wore the same outfit, and even though his style wasn’t particularly common it could blend in easily enough where he worked. It wasn’t as if he was trying to stand out, he just liked wearing something a little more classic. It seemed more professional and no one had ever complained about it so he didn’t bother changing it up. He liked the way he dressed. Even if his coat covered most of it up he really did like frilly blouses or clothing that made him look like a doll to be exact.
Not that he’d ever voice that to anyone, they’d probably look at him strangely if he said he wanted to dress like a doll. So he kept his look simple, maybe just a little out of the ordinary but nothing too shocking. He remembers a few times Chuuya commented on him dressing “goth” because of the dark shades of his outfit.
That wasn’t really what he was going for but well it didn’t really matter, they were just clothes after all. What he wore did not define him.
Recently he has started to care a lot more about fashion though, for some reason. Maybe it’s because after this whole vampire fiasco he’s had a lot of free time to waste, and he lost his coat at sea (or more accurately the Weretiger did) so of course he had to find some sort of replacement.
Said Weretiger was dragging him by the hand down the streets of Yokohama. A smile on his face.
“I can’t believe how much money you were willing to spend on a coat, man I hope it has ability strengthening fabric for that price!” Atsushi says with a chuckle, glancing over at Akutagawa wearing his new coat. It’s quite similar to the old one but the fabric is different and it looks more modern. “You look really handsome in this.”
“I believe this is the fifth time you’re telling me this, although I’m glad that you think so.” Akutagawa responds, clearing his throat and trying and failing at pretending such compliments don’t make him feel flustered. “I think you look… quite pretty.”
“Pretty?” Atsushi gives Akutagawa one of those smiles that make his heart seize in his chest. “I’m glad, if you keep being this charming I’m going to have no choice but to kiss you.”
“You-” That sends him into a small coughing fit and Atsushi apologically pats his back. “Don’t say such things.”
“You know you’re funny, a scary port mafia member getting this flustered about the idea of kissing his boyfriend even though we’ve done that tons of times!” Atsushi says with a laugh ignoring the glare he receives. “You’re adorable.”
“Stop that, are you trying to kill me early?” He questions face properly red now, the blush on his face very obvious.
“Sorry, sorry.” Atsushi says, sounding not so sorry at all because he’s chuckling, Akutagawa hits his arm with Rashomon but that doesn't help shut him up.
They continue walking through the streets, even though their task for today is done it’s still fun to look around at all the clothing stores in this area even if they weren’t planning on buying anything more.
Suddenly, a certain store catches Akutagawa’s eye though, so much so that he looks back and stops in his tracks as they pass it.
“Ryuunosuke?” Atsushi questions, trying to follow with his gaze the direction Akutagawa is looking back at and sure enough he spots a clothing store displaying fluffy dresses in their window. At least from what he can tell from this distance “Do you want to check this store out?”
“No I was just…” he hesitates, sparing Atsushi a glance. “Can we just go look at the display window from closer? I’m curious.”
“Of course! It’s not like we’re really doing anything.” Atsushi says with a smile, walking with Akutagawa up to the store.
They stop in front of it and Akutagawa’s eyes widen looking at some of the items inside. Everything looked overly cute . The dresses being displayed had a lot of lace and fluff to them accompanied by many bows. He could spot a few blouses inside which looked a bit similar to the ones he wore but way fluffier and with more lace and detail on them. Everything looked… dreamy. Those were the type of dresses he’d only really seen on porcelain dolls, and even then the dresses in front of him seemed more detailed , prettier.
“They’re really pretty, aren’t they?” Atsushi comments, looking at the dresses inside. “Kyouka would look really cute in one of those bows, maybe we should go inside? I’d like to see if there are any cute accessories I could buy for her.”
“Oh, right of course.” Akutagawa says, tearing his gaze away from the dresses. He felt a bit of shame realizing he was thinking of wearing those himself . Such attire surely wouldn’t fit someone like him, it’s no wonder the first person that jumped to his boyfriend's mind was his little sister.
They walk inside the store together and are very kindly greeted by a lady at the front desk.She's also wearing a dress of the same style as those displayed in the window with a fun candy pattern on it.
“Welcome! Are you looking for anything specific today?” The young woman says getting them kindly
“Oh, uh- not really? I mean this is my first time here but-” Atsushi stumbles over his words trying to explain himself. “I was looking if you had any accessories? Cute stuff, my sister would like some I’m sure.”
“Oh, Of course!” She smiles warmly at Atsushi before explaining the different kinds of accessories they sell and what Atsushi would be looking for in particular.
Akutagawa tunes the conversation out, eyes quickly glancing over the whole store. For a shop of such peculiar fashion it was bigger than expected. And while Atsushi was busy discussing the cashier Akutagawa takes his chance to slip away to take a look around.
There’s no harm in looking right? Even if he’s not going to buy anything.
Everything feels a bit overwhelming so he tries to stick to more ‘basic’ items at first. Like the blouses he spotted from outside. There’s a whole rack of them and he grabs one to take a closer look. The sleeves are short but poofy and there’s a cute bow at the front of the collar with lace decorating it.
It’s really cute, he might even look pretty in it.
It’s not practical though, when would he even wear that? A stupid idea for sure.
He puts the blouse back and settles on looking through other items, he’s not going to buy anything; that would be a waste of money and he’s sure those items wouldn’t even look good on him. They’re probably only fit for women anyway.
He goes through petticoats, skirts, and more cute tops before finding dresses.
They’re really pretty, especially from this close. He lets his fingers touch the fabric of a classic white dress. It’s soft and certainly of good quality. The skirt isn’t too short either. It reaches the ankles. A lot of the other dresses here are way shorter and he’d be way too scared of being publically scandalized by the wind lifting the dress up to wear those. He’s pretty sure he saw fluffy shorts in the other section though. Maybe you’re supposed to wear those underneath? Or something.
He moves to a more colorful dress displayed on a mannequin. It’s pink with cute candy like designs on them and a lot of bows. It’s shorter than the other one but that only makes it poofier. It’s really cute, there’s even a matching lace head accessory they sell with it. Curiously he checks the price.
It’s… expensive alright. But that seems reasonable for the quality of the fabric And it’s not like he wouldn’t be able to afford it. He lets his eyes wander over the fabric a bit longer, and it’s not like he wants the dress. He’s just looking, that’s it.
Hands suddenly grab his shoulders, effectively startling him.
“Boo!” The Weretiger says, suddenly appearing. “Got ya! Where have you been? You know I almost thought you left the store.”
“I was just… looking around.” He explains, feeling like he’s been caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to for some reason. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
“Ah yes, look!” Atsushi shows him the small basket he has full of accessories, mostly cute bows. “They got really cute stuff here, I couldn’t help taking this much.”
“Did you check the price?” Akutagawa questions, looking at the price of the other items in the store he wouldn’t be surprised if those bows were expensive too.
“Um.” Atsushi seems to realize his mistake. “They can’t be that expensive right?”
Akutagawa sighs. “I’ll pay, don’t worry about it.”
“My savior!” Atsushi wraps an arm around him in an attempt to show gratitude and affection. His eyes suddenly move to look at the dress Akutagawa was previously looking at. “Oh, were you looking at dresses?”
“Ah, um, not really- maybe?” He panics and blurts out as if that wasn’t the most suspicious answer he possibly could’ve given. “I’m not interested in them- for myself. I mean. I wouldn’t wear that, it just wouldn’t look right on my figure. And it’s not professional, I don’t like such things. And I wasn’t planning on buying any, so you know. I’m not looking at them for myself, I’m just looking. In general.”
Atsushi curiously looks at him with a small smile. “I wasn’t accusing you of anything, why are you getting so defensive?”
“I… I’m not defensive.” He says, in a very defensive tone. He belatedly realizes his fingers are still holding onto the dress and quickly lets go of it to the other’s amusement. “I’m just being clear, it’s not like that.”
“Sure.” Atsushi says with a chuckle, sounding very much not convinced. Akutagawa hits him with his elbow. “Ow! Okay, sorry. But seriously though, I don’t care if you want to wear something like this, it’s cute.”
“You think that I would look cute in a dress?” Akutagawa questions, and when Atsushi nods at him he goes on. “But I’m a guy.”
“Guys can wear dresses.” Atsushi argues, not sounding put off at all. “And I’m sure you’d rock a dress like this.”
“I’m too tall, too lanky. It wouldn’t look right on me.” Akutagawa argues right back, confidence evaporating more by the second even with his boyfriends encouragement. “We should check out and leave, it probably looks weird for two men to be in a store full of dresses and girly things.”
He takes a step to leave but Atsushi grabs his arm tightly, keeping him right here.
The Weretiger takes a step closer to him before cupping his face. “Ryuu, honey, now you’re just overthinking it. I don’t think it’s weird and if people find it weird, well, they can go fuck themselves. Since when do you care about what other people think? Mr. Hellhound of the port-mafia?”
“I don’t.” He says, pouting. His hands come up to grab Atsushi’s wrists but he doesn’t pull them away from his face. “And exactly, I’m from the mafia. I'm not supposed to wear… cute dresses.”
“Says who?”
“I am!”
“Well, you’re wrong. Unless some grand secret mafia rule is telling you that you’re not allowed to wear cute stuff I’m not taking that as an argument.” Atsushi says, pinching one of Akutagawa’s cheeks. “Any other arguments you want to offer?”
The older man seems to think it through before deciding none of his arguments were worth saying out loud. “No. ”
“Good, let’s go get you some clothes then! I’m sure you don’t wanna settle on just one dress and they have many different cute things. Wait here! I’ll go get you a basket.” Atsushi smiles at him, leaning in to leave a small kiss on his lips before running off.
Akutagawa covers his face with both hands and lets out a sigh. He feels very out of place in this store but also at the same time on the inside he feels all giddy about being here. Surrounded by pretty clothes.
When Atsushi comes back Akutagawa hasn’t moved a bit. He hands him a basket.
“Now, how about we go around the store, take clothes that you like and then we can try some on? They’ve got changing rooms with mirrors in the back. I checked.” He says smiling and grabs Akutagawa’s hand. “C’mon, let's start at the entry and go around the whole store so we don’t miss anything.”
“Okay, let’s do that.” Akutagawa says, gently smiling back at his partner.
So they do just that, Atsushi sometimes shows Akutagawa items that he thinks he might like and adds them to the basket after getting his boyfriend's approval.
“Those are kind of like the ones you wear.” Atsushi points out looking through a rack of frilly blouses.
“Yeah, but mine are more casual.” He says grabbing one of the blouses and holding it up against his body. “What do you think, is it too girly?”
“Are you really trying to look for manly clothes in a store that specially sells poofy dresses and cute clothing?” Atsushi questions in a teasing manner. “I think it looks neat, although the sleeves are short. You might get a cold.”
“I already have a few with long sleeves in my basket, I should buy some that are more summer friendly.” He argues, giving the blouse a once over. “And I think the short poofy sleeves make it look really cute.”
“Then add it to the cart, I’m sure it’ll look great on you.”
He does that, adding a few of the same model along with that. They’ve barely started but the poor small basket is already almost overflowing, maybe he’s overdoing it but these clothes are really cute so he can’t help it.
“Do you think I should buy… petticoats?” he questions looking through a few different ones.
“Well, if you’re planning on buying skirts and dresses it would be good to have at least two. It makes them look more poofy, otherwise they’ll look flat.” Atsushi explains, almost suspiciously knowledgeable on the topic and when Akutagawa raises a brow he goes on. “The cashier told me that, I asked her to inform me more. Did you know that type of clothing is called “lolita” fashion? They’ve got different sub clothing genras too. I think.``
“I see.” He says taking the information in before grabbing three petticoats of different lengths, just in case. “First time I’ve heard of it, and yet this is the most exciting I've ever felt shopping for clothes. It’s silly, I’m sorry.”
“No not at all! I’m glad you’re excited. And don’t take this the wrong way but I’m excited to see you wear something else than different variations of the same two outfits.” He says with a small chuckle.
“No offense taken, I’ve gotten tired of it too.” He sighs, summoning his ability to help him carry the basket. “But… what if I look stupid wearing this kind of clothing?”
“There’s only one way to find out, but also you won’t look stupid . I promise, dont you trust me?”
“I do it’s just… I don’t know. Maybe I should at least go for darker clothes or something.”
“Do you want to wear darker clothes? I’m pretty sure they’ve got some black clothes and dresses of the same style.” He points out looking at a darker rack of clothes near the back.
“No, I think the pink looks cuter.” Akutagawa immediately says in response.
“Then wear the pink, you can always change your mind later if you’re convinced it looks wrong on you but I’m sure you’ll look very pretty.” Atsushi smiles at him, suddenly taking a step back. “I’m gonna get another basket cause we’re kind of running out of space here. You keep looking around though!”
He does that, adding a few different stockings with cute designs on them to the overflowing basket. From an outside point of view it probably looks like he’s shopping for someone else, after all who would imagine someone like him liking such clothes?
He feels less and less embarrassed about all this the longer he stays and looks around.
Soon enough Atsushi comes back with an extra two baskets just in case.
“I threw a few lace gloves in, they’re cute I think they’ll add to your look.” Atsushi mentions. “How about we go look at dresses and skirts? You haven’t got any yet.”
“I’d like that.” Akutagawa says with a smile.
After getting enough items that the few baskets they were carrying enough felt surprisingly heavy they moved to the changing rooms.
Firstly, Akutagawa started by trying out a few different blouses.
“Oh wow!” Atsushi exclaims when his boyfriend comes out of the changing room, wearing a beige blouse with long sleeves that were poofy at the top. “It’s nice, you look handsome!”
“Isn’t it a bit much?” Akutagawa says looking at himself in a nearby mirror, with this kind of attire he’d certainly stand out in a crowd.
“Does it matter? It looks nice on you.” Atsushi argues before promptly showing a basket in Akutagawa’s arms making him go back to try different clothes.
After going through one too many cute tops it was time to try one some skirts and dresses.
This feels scarier than it should be.
He decides to directly go for a dress, there’s a little guide drawing showing how you’re supposed to wear that type of clothing on the wall.
So firstly a blouse and then shorts (or bloomers) so that nothing shows even if an unfortunate blow of the wind were to happen. He then puts a white petticoat on before finally putting the dress on.
He makes sure everything looks right in the mirror before hesitantly stepping out.
“So…?” Akutagawa says awaiting the other’s reaction, he doesn’t say anything at first and Akutagawa almost considers going back to hide in the changing room before the other man speaks.
“Oh my god.” Atsushi suddenly grabs both of Akutagawa’s hands catching him off guard. “This is so cute! You look adorable Ryuu! I could literally eat you whole, It looks very nice on you. Can I make you twirl? I wanna see how the dress flows.”
Taken aback, He just nods and Atsushi lifts one of Akutagawa’s hands up high. He spins in a circle once before facing Atsushi again.
“Oh wow, very good.” The Weretiger smiles at him, hands touching the dress to examine the fabric. “This is gorgeous, you look like a doll in this. I’m almost scared of breaking you at this point!”
“Oh stop, are you trying to kill me?” He’s blushing but he can’t wipe off the stupid smile on his face at this point. “I… I think I look pretty in this.”
“You do! You’re gorgeous! So handsome!” Atsushi’s arms wrap around him, hugging him tightly for a second before letting go. “Maybe after we leave the store, we can go on a date tomorrow where you wear an outfit with some of the clothes you end up buying.”
“Really?” Akutagawa asks. “Are you sure you really want to be seen in public with me like this ? You know how people can get, and I know you’re already anxious about public stuff.”
“If anyone even dares to look at you the wrong way they’ll have to deal with me. And I think you look gorgeous, why would I be embarrassed?” Atsushi asks with a small frown.
“I never said that. I’m just… making sure you know.” The older man says with a sigh.
“I’m very sure!” Atsushi exclaims, before suddenly handing Akutagawa another dress. “Now c’mon let’s try other stuff out, I wanna see my gorgeous boyfriend try on many other pretty dresses!”
Without much warning he’s pushed back into the changing room, back to trying on clothes.
He goes through a few skirts of varying lengths and at some point ends up caving and trying on a black dress. It definitely gives off a more gothic style but Atsushi certainly doesn’t seem to mind.
“Oh, wow, black really does suit you and this dress is gorgeous.” Atsushi says looking at all the details on the lace fabric. “I know you said you preferred the lighter ones but I think dark dresses fit you quite well too.”
“I think I’ll buy this one, as an exception.” He says after thinking for a moment, it looks really pretty and he has more than enough money to afford as many dresses as he wants so why should he hold back?
It ends up not really being an exception since he tries on and decides to buy a few darker dresses. Well he’s always worn black it shouldn’t be too surprising.
After trying on enough clothes to be tired of it they finally check out. Carrying one too many baskets at this point,
Atsushi looks a bit bewildered when the cashier says the price.
“Um, are you sure you can afford this? We can still remove items if you want.” Atsushi offers.
“Weretiger I could afford to buy this entire store if I wanted to, there’s nothing to worry about.” He says taking out his card, paying for both his items and the accessories Atsushi took for Kyouka.
Soon enough they’re walking out the store, Akutagawa carrying one too many bags with the help of his ability and Atsushi only holding the small bag of accessories for his sister.
“I can help, you know. You’re scaring the nearby pedestrians off using your ability like this.” Atsushi points out an old woman who’s staring at them like she’s just seen an anomaly. “How come you’re worried about people staring at you if you use dresses but not if you use your ability.”
“That’s not the same kind of attention, it’s different having people be afraid of my ability than having them stare at me because they think I dress strangely.” He argues but still drops the few bags he was holding up with Rashomon to hand them to his boyfriend. “Better?”
“Yes. And I don’t think it’s strange, also I didn’t even know you liked that type of clothing. Why didn’t you ever mention that?”
“I didn’t know they made clothes like this until today.” He explains, thinking back. “Also, I’ve never thought much about the type of clothes that I wore. Today it was just like… the first time I’ve felt this right wearing something. It sounds stupid I know.”
“No no, it’s not stupid at all.” The Weretiger reassures him by shooting him a gentle smile. “You seemed very excited in there, maybe we should come back another time? Honestly, I think it would be fun if we wore matching dresses one day.”
“Really?” Akutagawa says and realizing he sounded a bit too excited about it he clears his throat. “I- I mean! I wouldn’t mind if you ’d like to.”
“Oh Ryuu, of course I’d like to!” Atsushi says with a chuckle, and it really is hard to not smile too when hanging around someone as joyful as the Weretiger.
Akutagawa accompanies Atsushi until they reach the agency’s dorm room.
“I’ll text you about that date okay? Don’t think I already forgot about that.” Atsushi says handing Akutagawa back the few bags he was carrying for him. “Also text me when you get home, it’s getting late. I wanna make sure you get there safely.”
“I appreciate your concern but if anyone tried anything they should be the one worrying for their safety.” He says in response.
“I know but still please text me, you never know and I’ll get worried if you don’t .” The Weretiger argues before suddenly moving closer to Akutagawa
The older man drops the bags he’s carrying for the sake of cupping Atsushi’s face, leaning in to gently kiss him.
After a few seconds he leans back, breaking the kiss.
“I think I’ll never get used to this.” Akutagawa says, he doesn’t even try to hide the fact that he’s blushing.
“Me neither, maybe if we do it more often?” Atsushi suggests, catching the other off guard when he leans in again and leaves small second kiss on his boyfriend’s lips. “Like this!”
“Atsushi-” He gets cut off again because the other decides to kiss him again, he tries taking a few steps back but ends up hitting the railing.
Hesitantly, he wraps his hands around the Weretigers waist. And he can’t help but giggle when Atsushi starts kissing his face all over, trailing from his lips to his cheeks and even leaving a few kisses on his forehead.
When the Weretiger’s stops his antics Akutagawa draws back his hands to cover up his face, it’s positively red at this point. “Are you trying to kill me, right here?”
“I’m only helping you get used to it, those are some rude accusations!” Atsushi doesn't sound so offended even after saying that.
“Sure, I didn’t know you were comfortable doing this when any of your coworkers could walk out and see us.” Akutagawa points out.
It seems that Atsushi very much didn’t think of this because he suddenly looks very horrified taking a few steps back.
“Oh god, I didn’t- I forgot!” He says, sounding very embarrassed all of a sudden, yes their relationship isn’t exactly a secret but still he doesn’t want to be caught kissing someone from the mafia outside the agency’s dorms! “You should go, wouldn't want anyone to see you out here right? I’ll see you soon! I love you! don’t forget to text me!”
And with that in record time he unlocks the door to his dorm room and disappears inside.
Well, that’ll certainly teach him to tease Akutagawa in public like this.
He picks up the many bags of clothes making sure he’s not forgetting anything before leaving the agency’s territory. Thankfully he does not meet anyone on the way out.
He thinks about that date Atsushi suggested, and already feels excited at the idea of preparing an outfit with all of his new cute clothes and accessories.