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You pulled me in and together we're lost in a dream
Always in motion
So I risk it all just to be with you
And I risk it all for this life we choose
Anne’s room is far too quiet, so much so that Lucy finds herself humming a certain song.
Kyouka, who's sitting next to her, internally sighs at the familiar tune. The look she gives Lucy screams, “Really? This again?”
That song has been everywhere as of late. On the radio, internet, even Dazai can’t stop humming or (God forbid) singing it. Café Uzumaki plays it twice a day at best, maybe more if the employees are unlucky. After the hundredth replay, it was akin to nails on a chalkboard. Lucy used to complain about hearing it all the time.
Used to. She stopped some time ago.
By this point, it has been three weeks since she saw Kyouka, Atsushi, and those other detectives on the news — since she scribbled handwritten reports in a mad fervour, determined to prove the weretiger’s innocence—since she stormed out of Café Uzumaki, saying she’d never regret ruining the remainder of her life.
Of course, those words remain true. But after all of that, (not to mention leaping off the Sky Casino and capturing her old brainwashed coworker,) listening to some overplayed pop-music doesn’t sound half as bad.
In other words: Lucy would kill to have things go back to normal. She’s not above taking that statement literally. The wild days at Café Uzumaki, the ADA’s regular visits, even that damn overrated song, she wants it all.
In hopes of maintaining some sense of normalcy, she walks over to her large closet, and looks at Kyouka.
“Do you prefer coffee or tea?”
As Kyouka’s about to answer, she sees Lucy open the closet, revealing bags of coffee and tea. She asks, “Is that Uzumaki’s stock?”
“ That is none of your business.”
“…Tea.”
The waitress mumbles something along the lines of, “Huh, not coffee?”, then gets to work.
Lucy peers inside the cupboard to see what her options are. After some digging, she finds that the only thing available at the moment is strawberry tea.
Would Kyouka like it? She always orders strawberry mochi at the café, and Atsushi even gets her crepes with extra strawberries (despite the additional fee), so it’s safe to assume she would.
With that in mind, Lucy grabs one of the many tea bags she has. She easily slips into the comfortable routine of boiling water and steeping the tea for the perfect amount of time. Making drinks is second nature to Lucy. While the taste itself is nothing extraordinary unlike the manager’s beverages, she knows what she’s doing.
“Here, let me know what you think.” Lucy waves her hand back and forth above the drink. The “be careful, it’s hot” goes unsaid.
Kyouka gratefully accepts it, mumbling, “Thank you”. She takes note of the sweet and fruity aroma as she brings the cup to her lips.
“So?” Lucy asks, leaning forward.
Kyouka hums. “It’s good.”
“Great, now you have something else to order.”
“I see. So this was just an advertisement?”
“Don’t complain ,” Lucy argues, “you got a whole cup free of charge!”
Truth be told, Lucy doesn’t know if she’ll get in trouble for serving that cup of tea, but the entire world is in shambles, so who cares? Worst case scenario is that she’ll have to pay for Kyouka’s drink, which is a small price to pay.
Lucy turns around, heading to the door. “You wait here, I’ll be back soon.”
“Shouldn’t you wait here for the others?”
There is a telephone set up in Anne’s room. To enter, one must call Lucy beforehand and arrange to meet her somewhere so she can bring them in. Lucy is supposed to wait for someone to call but she’s been here for hours, and not knowing what’s happening outside is making her nervous.
“I just want to know what’s going on out there. We haven’t heard from anyone, aren’t you worried?”
“Hm.”
Porcelain clinks against wood as Kyouka leaves the cup on a nearby table, before appearing at Lucy’s side.
“I’ll come with you.”
Lucy nods and snaps her fingers. As the bright warmth of her ability envelops the two, they silently wonder what sights will greet them out there.
Outside, the airport bathes in crimson red hues that cover the ground and sky above. It’s the colour of strawberries and the ribbon Kunikida wears—the colour of blood splattered across the concrete. It seeps into the stone, a bitter reminder. Though devastating, it’s the best possible outcome. If it weren’t for Atsushi and Akutagawa and their unique abilities, there would’ve been nothing left to return to.
But as useful as it is, Beast Beneath The Moonlight can be inconvenient at times. Atsushi doesn’t mind ruining his shirts (it’s not wasteful if it’s for a good cause), but his shoes are a different story.
Atsushi hates how he forgets to remove them before fights. Because now, he’s forced to make his way to the airport barefoot. His feet are killing him, and he’s almost stepped on a metal shard one too many times.
He picks up the pace, eager to find a phone he can use. Once he calls Lucy and meets up with her, he can return to Anne’s room and get a fresh change of clothes and shoes. How troublesome , Atsushi thinks before cursing himself, because that’s something Akutagawa would say — he can hear him say it. And after fighting with the mafioso for over two hours, he is so ready to not hear that man’s voice ever again.
Atsushi starts believing that he lost his mind during the battle. (Or maybe it’s sleep deprivation, Dazai always uses it as an excuse to sleep on the job; he claims he starts seeing things.) Not only can he hear Akutagawa and his annoying voice, but Kyouka and Lucy too.
“Wait, down there.” Kyouka’s soft voice echoes.
It’s like he’s hallucinating. Still he whips his head to look around for the source of the noise.
At the perfect moment, Lucy’s chimes in. “Hey! Up here!”
When Atsushi looks up at the balcony, he sees Lucy waving to catch his attention, and can’t help the warmth that spreads through his chest. The redhead yells at him to snap out of whatever daze he’s in and come upstairs. He huffs in response, the sound bordering between a sigh and a laugh. After looking up once more to confirm that he is not hallucinating, he runs through the doors of the building.
Navigating the airport is tricky for anyone who’s never been in one before. It was a pain for Atsushi too. Emphasis on the past tense.
As the ADA’s fastest runner with places to be, it’s no surprise that Atsushi makes his way through the airport and up to the balcony in no time.
Entrance straight ahead, he sees Kyouka and Lucy standing outside. The two barely have time to register the loud thumping footsteps before Atsushi lunges forward, throwing his arms around them. Ignoring how they almost fall over, Atsushi pulls them into a firm embrace which knocks the air out of Lucy’s lungs — both from shock and the impact.
After regaining her balance, Kyouka returns the gesture and simply wraps her arms around him without any words.
On the other hand, Lucy is stiff as a board with her hands frozen mid-air. She can feel his warmth against her. To her horror, being held is not only comforting , but it sparks something inside of her—especially since, when Atsushi was running, she’d assumed that he wanted to hug Kyouka , because that's what he did to Kunikida. So like the good person she tries to be, she stepped back to let them have their little moment.
She didn’t expect to be pulled in. She was under the impression that gestures like these were for agency members only, which she didn’t mind that much. They have a special connection. He’s been with them through hell and back, coming close to death countless times for their sakes.
But now looking back on all that’s happened, she’s hit with the realisation that she too, fits that criteria. So she wraps an arm around Atsushi’s shoulder, awkwardly patting his back while the other one settles onto Kyouka.
“You’re crushing me,” Kyouka mutters.
Atsushi loosens his grip. “Sorry.”
Lucy didn’t notice how tightly he was hugging them until he let go, and she felt the air returning to her lungs.
“Are you alright?” Atsushi asks, as if to change the subject.
“Yeah, we just stayed in Anne’s room the whole time,” Lucy explains. “So how did it go? And where are the others?”
“It’s a long story. We uh, got split up, but they should be here soon. Fukuchi and Fyodor are gone…so is the vampire who started all this.”
The two seem baffled.
“Let’s talk inside,” Kyouka suggests, “we’re safer in there.”
She has a point.
With an elegant flick of the wrist, Lucy snaps her fingers and summons that familiar warm glow.
Atsushi breathes a sigh of relief. Safe at last.
As they gently float to the ground, Kyouka throws the elders a questioning look. In the end, she doesn’t ask why Atsushi keeps stealing glances at the waitress, who upon arrival immediately avoided him by checking on the tea she had made.
“Kyouka, is your tea cold?” Lucy questions.
Kyouka shakes her head.
“Okay. Atsushi, want some? It’s strawberry flavoured.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. I’m parched.”
A water bottle comes flying at Atsushi, who (luckily) catches it on time. Any delay would’ve given him a generous whack in the face. He thanks her, and almost finishes the whole bottle in one swig.
Atsushi takes a seat next to Kyouka. She later points out a bite mark on his neck. Equally curious, Lucy turns around to see.
Atsushi laughs, the sound tugging at Lucy’s heartstrings. He explains that Akutagawa, as a vampire, tried to bite him but failed (although he’s unsure whether it was because of his timing or the tiger). As he’s recalling other previous events, Lucy hands him a cup of tea.
“It tastes great,” says Atsushi after taking a sip.
“Oh?” Lucy leans against the chair he’s sitting on. “Then you should get it next time.”
Atsushi gives a confused smile. “Are you advertising?”
“That’s what I said.”
“I’m just saying we serve it downstairs!” Lucy scowls, but deep down she feels giddy at the exchange. They haven’t talked like this in a while; for the past few weeks it’s just been strategies, meetings, and some arguments here and there. For once it feels like a normal day where Kyouka and Atsushi are down at the café for their break, buying drinks to unwind and inviting Lucy to chat when she’s not busy.
Moments like these are the reason why Lucy fights, even when she doesn’t need to, even if she gets labelled as a terrorist or an aid to one. None of that matters when it comes to them.
“Do you have more?”
“How are you done already? Even Kyouka hasn’t finished.” Lucy comments as she pours Atsushi another cup.
She smiles to herself as she does so. This is all she can ever ask for.
Never sure, will you catch me if I should fall?
Well, it's all an adventure
That comes with a breathtaking view
Walking a tightrope with you