Espresso Shot [ Or; Liquid Courage ]
{ Series } Bungou Stray Dogs
{ Rating } K
{ Ship } Shin Soukoku | AkuAtsu
{ Summary } Young writers were free to get up on the small stage at the back of the building and read their work aloud to whatever audience had collected itself. All sorts of people showed up. Experienced writers, amateurs, professors, students, poets, novelists, songwriters, comedians, playwrights-- You never knew who would get up on stage.
The most recent person to be up there was Atsushi Nakajima.
[ Shin Soukoku Week | Day 3: Coffee Shop ]
The Black Camellia was a well known, locally owned coffee shop, which occupied a building that had once been a tavern. Since the tavern had been shut down, a number of businesses had rented the space, but the Camellia was the first to remain for more than a handful of years. The story went that the owner of the building had a writer friend who would drop by his apartment on the second floor with such annoying frequency, that eventually he just opened a coffee shop so the man had somewhere to be.
While no one seemed willing, or able, to confirm or deny this, it did make for an interesting story. And stories were something that the Camellia had come to pride itself on. Whether it was the story about the writer-friend, or the atmosphere of the place, the Camellia drew a large literary crowd. Men and women could be found scattered around the former tavern at all hours, scribbling in notebooks and on scrap paper, typing on laptops and arranging scattered notes.
Poetry readings and author meet-and-greets were staples of the Black Camellia calendar, and in the last year, an open mic had been arranged on Wednesday nights. Young writers were free to get up on the small stage at the back of the building and read their work aloud to whatever audience had collected itself. All sorts of people showed up. Experienced writers, amateurs, professors, students, poets, novelists, songwriters, comedians, playwrights-- You never knew who would get up on stage.
The most recent person to be up there was Atsushi Nakajima.
Atsushi and stupidity were old friends, but bravery was a new acquaintance. At the moment, Atsushi was still trying to determine which of the two had just accompanied him up in front of the microphone. His hands, fumbling to tie shut his leather journal, said that bravery had definitely allowed him to put himself out there like that. His knocking knees, however, said bravery was nowhere in the building.
Tonight's crowd had been nothing to scoff at, either. Especially not for him; he'd never been able to read in front of his class in school, let alone complete strangers. But, he had gone up there anyway. After weeks of sitting at the table in the corner, fidgeting with his notebook and listening in awe to all the different voices and their flowing syntax, he'd actually done it.
He slid back into his spot at that same table now, a little proud he'd made it back to his seat without tripping over himself. The small cup of espresso he'd bought was still sitting there, probably lukewarm by now. Atsushi picked it up and downed it anyway, forcing the bitter coffee down his dry throat to his stomach.
Truth be told, Atsushi didn't actually like espresso all that much. Or any coffee, really. He'd gotten the pricy little cup of caffeine because it had seemed like the kind of thing a writer with some self-confidence would drink. Not exactly the shot of liquid courage his friend Ranpo would have suggested but, hey, close enough.
Though the taste made him grimace, the espresso did actually help to settle his stomach and calm his nerves. He took a deep breath, resting his hands on his notebook and exhaling slowly. In his mind, he replayed the last twenty minutes. Reading the excerpt of his short story, getting lost in his own words, and finishing only to be greeted by an enthusiastic round of applause.
They were just being nice. They do that for everyone. drawled his self-sabotaging brain. For once, Atsushi vehemently told his thoughts to shut the fuck up.
When he opened his eyes, Atsushi found himself no longer alone at his table.
To his right, the next author got up on the stage, clearing her throat before beginning her piece. Atsushi would have loved to have given her his full attention, but he was a little distracted. Who could blame him? The man who had appeared across the table from him looked like he'd stepped off the pages of a Vogue avant garde photoshoot.
Atsushi tried not to stare, really he did, because he had been taught a great deal of manners in his life, but he couldn't help it. The man had an alluring set of features. A face that would have been boyish if his eyes weren't so fathomless, thin lips that were the kind of succulent pink you couldn't help glancing at, sharp cheekbones and chin, and unruly hair just begging to have fingers tangled in it.
As he was struggling to scatter the dazed admiration of the man his mind was providing, the stranger spoke.
"I'd like to buy you a drink." he said. "And give you my number, if you'd like it."
"Yes!" Atsushi blurted.
He was immediately embarrassed by his own eagerness, but also a little glad that anxiety hadn't had a chance to stop him. Maybe the espresso was liquid courage after all.
"Yes to the drink, or yes to my number?"
"Ah-- B-both?"
The stranger's lips quirked into something of a bemused smile.
"Well," he hummed. "I did offer."
He produced a pen and pad of paper, on which he proceeded to write his name, phone number, and email. The page was torn out and handed to Atsushi, who took a moment to just stare at the perfect script. Who had such pristine penmanship?
"To clarify," Atsushi asked, feeling a little more bold. "Are you giving me this for professional reasons, or are you--"
"I'm asking you out."
"Oh."
"On a date."
"Well, yes."
The man's smile widened by a few centimeters, clearly amused. Honestly, Atsushi could have stared dreamily at him for hours if he wanted to, but something else had occurred to him.
He'd seen this man before. He'd known it the second he sat down, but had mostly figured that was just due to the crowd of regulars who frequented the Black Camellia. Upon further inspection, and rereading the paper in his hand twice, Atsushi confirmed that this was not just a man.
This was Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Regular of the Black Camellia. Published poet. And protege of the Osamu Dazai, who had more literary awards than there were literary awards to be given. The only reason he hadn't recognized him the first time he saw him get up on stage a few weeks prior was that Ryunosuke was known for avoiding the public eye, preferring to keep to himself.
But there he was, elegant, talented, and absolutely, unfairly gorgeous, sitting right across from Atsushi. If the caffeine weren't hitting him just about then, he may have fainted.
"Uh, I hope this isn't rude of me to ask," Atsushi said. "But, wh--"
"If the next words out of your mouth are "why are you asking someone like me out" I'm going to get up and leave this table."
Atsushi snapped his mouth shut. Then, belatedly affronted;
"I could've been about to say anything!"
"Yes. But that's what you were about to say, wasn't it?"
Since he could neither deny this nor confirm it with his pride intact, Atsushi cast around for something else to say.
"So," he began. "What brings you to somewhere like this?"
That sounded like a really bad pickup line. Which was even worse because Ryunosuke had already asked him out. Atsushi wondered if he could subtly throw himself out a window.
"First," Ryunosuke said, completely unaffected. "I said I would buy you a drink. What would you like?"
At night the Camellia offered a selection of wines and liquors for the discerning palette, which usually made for interesting readings as the evening wore on. Atsushi wasn't much of a drinker though, so after a moment's deliberation about whether or not he should fake it, he said;
"Actually, milk tea would be really nice."
Ryunosuke looked momentarily surprised, but this quickly became a smile.
"Funny," he said. "I'm not a very big fan of alcohol either."
Atsushi didn't bother pointing out that he'd never said anything like that, watching as Ryunosuke wove through the scattered tables and chairs towards the front of the cafe.
Maybe it was his imagination, or the espresso turning his thoughts over too fast for him to catch them, but Atsushi swore there was... something between them. A connection that made Ryunosuke markedly easier to read than his subtle expressions should have allowed. And for some reason, he thought it was the same for him.
Ryunosuke returned a few minutes later, two teas in hand, and set one in front of Atsushi. He settled back into the chair across from him, taking a slow sip of his tea. Atsushi did the same, pretending it didn't burn his tongue.
"You know the story of how this place got opened, right?" Ryunosuke said, once he'd set his cup down.
"The rumor about the owner and their friend, right?"
"Yes, well, the friend was Dazai."
Atsushi gaped, which seemed to thoroughly amuse Ryunosuke.
"His best friend owns the building; Chuuya Nakahara. He's the redhead behind the bar sometimes. They've known each other since middle school."
"No way."
"It's true. Chuuya has always been good with food, apparently. Dazai used to invite himself, and sometimes me, over for breakfast, lunch, and dinner when he was feeling particularly ornery. Chuuya bitched and moaned about it, but he never turned us away."
"And, what, he just got sick of you two barging in on him and opened a cafe?"
Ryunosuke shrugged.
"More or less."
"That's crazy."
"So is Chuuya." he sipped his tea again, dark eyes focused on Atsushi over the rim of his cup. "And what brings you to the Camellia, Atsushi?"
It took Atsushi a moment to remember that he'd had to announce his name when he read and that Ryunosuke could not actually read his mind. He looked like he could. Like he already knew every single one of his secrets. It didn't feel as uncomfortable as Atsushi would have expected.
"Curiosity?" he laughed sheepishly. "I'd heard a lot of writers come here, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about... A lot of people said this place was like good luck for authors, and I thought, hey, I could use some of that."
Smiling wistfully, he cast his eyes around the sitting area. The ambiance lighting made the cramped room seem much fancier than it was, like they were all dinner guests to some great performance on stage.
"I stayed for the atmosphere, though. Luck or not, this place really is great for writing, or just relaxing for a while."
Ryunosuke regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, then went back to nursing his tea.
"You don't need it."
"Pardon?"
"Luck. You, Atsushi, do not need luck."
Atsushi wasn't sure if he looked as bewildered as he felt, but he thought he might. Ryunosuke set his cup down and leaned forward on his elbows, which brought their faces closer together and shut down at least a third of Atsushi's brain.
No, he informed himself, this is not the appropriate time to kiss him.
"Luck is for idiots who don't want to work for a goal, or incompetents who know they'll never make it. You're not either of those things."
"I--"
"No." Ryunosuke interrupted before he could get a word of denial in. "You're not. Atsushi, I'm not sure what planet you're on, but here on earth you are what I call a brilliant writer." he scowled. "And if no one has bothered to tell you that, then it's a fucking shame."
Atsushi felt his mouth drop open in shock. Akutagawa Ryunosuke did not seem like the type of man who tossed the word brilliant around willingly.
"...Thank you." Atsushi said weakly, not sure how else to respond.
"I'd like to show your work to Dazai sometime. He knows more people in the industry than me, I'm sure he'd know someone to show it to to see about publishing."
"S-sure."
"Am I overwhelming you?"
"Kind of. A little. Yes. I mean."
Atsushi sat back, laughing and rubbing a hand over his face.
"Wow. I own both of your anthologies."
"I'm flattered, I didn't think anyone even remembered the first one."
"Would it be really tacky to ask you to sign them?"
"Only if you do it before our date."
The caffeine, Atsushi decided, had to be getting to him. There was no other explanation for his sudden self-assurance.
He sat forward, arms on the table, and it brought him close enough to Ryunosuke he could see his dark lashes fluttering against his cheek. There were about fifty metaphors running through his head to describe how completely distracting those lashes were, and maybe when he got home he'd write them all down.
"One more question?" he asked.
"I suppose I can allow that."
"Can I please kiss you when we go on that date? Because I think I've spent the last ten minutes wanting to and I don't know how I'll last an entire date not kissing you."
Ryunosuke blinked his dark eyes and said, without missing a beat;
"Or you could do it now."
"Or I could do it now."
So he did it then.
Whoever was on stage was doing a good job keeping the audience's attention, so no one paid any mind to the authors in the corner table as they kissed. It was chaste, for how fervent it was, but there was a promising spark of something that lingered on Atsushi's lips even as he pulled away. Ryunosuke was looking at him appraisingly, like he'd just turned the next page of an intriguing novel and was eager to continue the story.
Atsushi, still brimming with uncharacteristic boldness, leaned back in and kissed him again.
He decided, as Ryunosuke hummed against his lips and angled his head so their noses didn't bump, that if this was what espresso could do for him, then he was drinking a cup every day for the rest of his life.












