A/N: Before you begin, I just want to say that umm... I- I'm not american..? I actually get really confused by a lot of things that americans find funny (like what is a sheesh? And the references too. I don't get the references! Somebody please explain these things to meT_T). SO! I apologise in advance if the humour in this fic is dry or cringey. I'm just basing the reactions off of how I reacted when I read it. I hope it's not too boring!

***

The lights dimmed and the screen turned on again.

Getting accustomed to their new routine took some time.

Midoriya still had school to attend so while he was away, he gave them History and Literature textbooks to study. Once school was over, the boy would go train with a man named Toshinori before coming over to their place to spar. Then, they would rest for a bit before their tutoring session began.

During the process, they managed to confirm one thing. Time passed by relatively fast.

They weren't quite sure if it was due to being preoccupied or due to it working differently from their own universe, though they could only hope it was the latter. They still had a few months left until the entrance exam, meaning that they would be stuck here for at least that amount of time. It wouldn't bode well if the same amount of time passed in their universe.

What would the Agency feel? How would the Port Mafia respond?

Dazai put a hand on his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face. 

"It would be pretty problematic if time passed just the same back in the real world," Ango spoke.

"Would they still be the same age as in the alternate unirverse when they return? Would more time have passed in the real world than in the alternate universe? If they died would they also die in the real world? Are they even  able to return or is there something they have to accomplish? There are many possibilities."

The others hummed in thought.

Alas, those things were out of their control so they continued to follow their routine step by step instead.

"Don't you ever get tired, Midoriya? Coming here straight from training just to spar and tutor, and then making the journey back home? Wouldn't it be easier if we went over to your place instead?" Atsushi asked as he watched Midoriya mark his Algebra worksheet.

Who knew letters were involved in Maths? Certainly not Atsushi. Nor Akutagawa.

Kunikida huffed in annoyance.

"Awww~ Kunikida-kun! Are you upset they don't know much about math? It must be he math teacher in you!" Dazai joked gleefully, poking the others cheek repeatedly.

"Shut up Dazai!" was the aqcuired response from said blonde haired man.

Midoriya froze, pausing his marking. Atsushi looked towards Akutagawa who was busy trying to integrate an equation, unaware. He then turned his gaze back towards the green-haired boy before him.

"You... want to come over to my place?" He asked, voice cracking.

That got Akutagawa's attention.

"Why wouldn't we? It's the least we could do after all the trouble you went through for us. That's what friends do, right?" Atsushi replied.

A tear slid down Midoriya's cheeks, alerting the two men.

"Friends," He whispered before breaking down, sobbing.

Kunikida sighed softly at the boy's sobbing.

It was clear now that he was frequently bullied as a child and probably was still being bullied.

Atsushi immediately went to hug the boy while Akutagawa used Rashomon to get some tissues from the kitchen.

The silver haired boy wondered what mistake he made to have caused such a reaction as he continued patting the boy's hair, hoping that he would calm down.

"I'm sorry," Atsushi squeaked, panic evident in his voice.

"Don't be," Midoriya managed to get out, shaking his head and slowly pulling away from Atsushi.

The green haired boy smiled, though tears were still steadily streaming down his face. He accepted the tissue Rashomon offered and blew his nose, using the other ones to dab at his wet eyes.

"I'm just... so happy. You're one of my first friends in years," He said once he calmed down.

Gin elbowed her brother in the side, a large grin on her face.

"Awwww nii-san you have a friend! I never thought you'd actually be capable of something like that with the whole brooding emo thing you've got going on!"

Mirth and amusement dripped heavily from her voice.

"Shut up Gin! Plus it was the stupid Jinko who said they were friends not me! We are clearly only aqcuaintances. I have no desire to befriend another self sacrificial fool with a sappy backstory and no backbone!" he yelled back at her grumpily, trying to sound as annoyed as possible.

"Another? Onii-chan!! Don't tell me you made a friend and didn't tell me! Who is it?!" She responded tauntingly, a mischievous grin on her face.

"GIN!!"

The others participants laughed heartily at the interaction between the siblings.

If anyone noticed Akutagawa's slightly red ears, no one mentioned it.

Atsushi may have known Midoriya for a few weeks but he would gladly murder someone for him, morals be damned. Sure, Midoriya probably wouldn't want that but hypothetically speaking, Atsushi would be willing. No questions asked.

The boy was by far the kindest person he'd ever met in all his years of living. Despite all the hardship he'd endured, he still had so much love and compassion for the society that shunned him, that had tried their damn hardest to break his spirit and his soul because they couldn't handle how brightly he shone.

(And maybe, just maybe, he saw a younger version of himself in the boy and he'll be damned if he failed to protect him too.)

The agency members sighed knowingly. Atsushi's saviour complex was not a new thing to them. It wasn't even a surprise to the mafia members, who also knew of his overly sympathetic personality and his will to live. To save people.

"You really do have too big a heart Atsushi-kun," Dazai spoke.

Atsushi rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Kyouka looked over at him, a small smile gracing her soft features.

They decided to call it quits for the day, and spent the remainder of their time watching movies instead.

Midoriya had introduced them to the top ranking heroes, spending a full 20 minutes just gushing about the Number One Hero, All Might. Atsushi didn't mind, though. It was always nice to learn more about the universe they were going to reside in for the time being. They weren't sure how long it would last so it would be best if they could fit in and avoid any unnecessary attention.

Besides, it was always insightful to listen to what the younger mumbled.

"Hm! Hm! This world seems really interesting! It's so different to ours yet so similar in some ways. I wonder if there are any country folk there!" Kenji exclaimed enthusiastically.

He seemed to be enjoying watching the story a lot, his smile bright as ever.

"I'm starting to feel a bit hungry though." Kyouka nodded next to him.

"Yea me too!" Higuchi spoke from next to Gin. Soon nods and affirmations if hunger rang throughout the room.

Zoe huffed exasperatedly. She snapped her fingers and everyone's favourite foods appeared in bowls on their laps. Dazai's mouth watered at the sight of the crab meat on his plate. Chuuya whooped excitedly at the sight of a glass containing his favourite wine. Atsushi's eyes sparkled at the mountain of bowls of chazuke in front of him. Kyouka smiled with a small blush at her bowl of boiled tofu and Kenji grinned happily at his own large mountain of beef bowls. The rest made sataisfied noises and some bellies even rumbled, inciting bouts of laughter and giggles from the others.

"Itadakimasu!"

Chewing and small clinking sounds filled the room as they all dug into their food and continued watching the screen.

Akutagawa didn't really join in their conversation much, content to just listen and nod along every now and then. They've never really talked about it, but he could tell that the mafioso had a soft spot for the boy in front of him. He wasn't quite sure why but he wasn't about to pry.

His gaze drifted towards said man as Midoriya rambled on, slowly tuning out his words and instead, zoning in on the expressions the mafioso made.

It was subtle, but he could see the spark in his eyes when he was interested, and the slight raise of his eyebrow when he's confused. He'd frown when he didn't really agree with what the boy was saying and his face would smooth out if he was contemplative.

Atsushi couldn't really tell why he knew all of those details, or whether this was a recent development. Hell, he didn't really know why he was so interested all of a sudden and why he couldn't quite tear his eyes away from him these days.

It was weird, and he couldn't tell if it was in a bad way or a good one.

Atsushi and Akutagawa could hear the snickers from the others.

"Oya Atsushi-kun~ Those are some really specific observations there!" Yosano taunted him.

Kouyou hid a laugh behind her sleeve next to the doctor.

"Yosano-sannn!!" Atsushi whined in response, hiding his face in his hands to hide his pink cheeks.

"Well well well Atsushi! You must really like my brother to be observing is eyebrows of all things!" Gin cackled.

Atsushi's face went from a light pink to a deep red in an instant. He wanted to crawl into a hole and die. If you looked closely, you'd probably be able to see steam coming out of ears.

Akutagawa huffed, folding his arms across his chest and staying silent, trying to look as indifferent as possible. Unfortunately, his red ears gave away his embarrassment.

They've been living together for a while and things actually seemed fine. They rarely got into fights and they existed within each other's space quite well. They share the same past times and have similar lifestyles, as if they were similar people. As if they would've walked the same path if they were under the same circumstances.

He... didn't really know how to feel about that.

"-daydreaming. Nakajima? Hello?"

He recollected his thoughts once he heard his name being called, belatedly realising he'd been staring at Akutagawa the whole time. He blushed a deep shade of red as he registered the amusement on the mafioso's face.

Eyebrows raised slightly, barely there smirk.

(He wasn't going to live this down, was he?)

"Something interesting on my face, jinko?"

(Yup, there's no way Akutagawa would let this go.)

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!" Tachihara burst into hysteric laughter, the others joining him almost immediately after. 

Kouyou hid her giggles and amused smile behind her sleeve and even Hirotsu was chuckling softly. Dazai, Gin, Yosano, Tanizaki, Chuuya and Tachihara held their stomachs tightly as they laughed. All the others looked on in amusement, except Kyouka and Kenji who had bright grins on their faces.

"Shut up," He answered, looking everywhere but the infuriating man in front of him.

Midoriya looked at the both of them, eyes narrowing suspiciously but said nothing. He then proceeded to look at his phone and exclaimed in shock when he noticed the time.

Chuuya cackled loudly.

"ANDMDKSLKDN EVEN THAT BRAT NOTICED!!"

Ranpo shook his head in exasperation.

"You two have no tact at all!"

Shin soukoku looked at each other before looking away and pretending to not hear the other's comments.

"My mom's going to kill me. I have to go now. Sorry we didn't get to do much studying today!" He bowed when he stood up, making his way to the living room to pack his stuff.

"It's no worries, Midoriya. Next time, we'll go to your house instead if it's alright. You wouldn't have to worry about curfew and it's really no trouble for us. We've been cooped up in the house all day, we could use the walk," Atsushi said as he escorted the boy out, desperate to escape the embarrassing situation he got himself into.

The boy brightened up and agreed, before promising to text the details as soon as he got home. Once he turned the corner and was nowhere in sight, Atsushi closed the door behind him.

"He's a good kid," Akutagawa said once he reached the living room.

"Yeah. Kenji and Kyouka would've loved him," He agreed, clearing the books on the table.

Kenji's wide smile seemed to widen even more at the statement. 

"He does seem like a nice person! I think we'd be good friends."

Kyouka nodded in agreement.

Akutagawa hummed in response as he helped clean the living room. They worked together in companionable silence, only stopping once everything was where it was supposed to be.

"Do you miss them?" Akutagawa asked, breaking the silence.

Atsushi paused, registering the question.

Was Akutagawa really asking him about his feelings?

"I do," He answered after he realised he'd been silent for an inappropriate amount of time.

The mafioso nodded, contemplative.

"Do you miss your sister?" Atsushi asked, feeling the need to ask in return.

He heard a deep chuckle.

"We've always been apart because of the missions assigned to us so I assumed the answer would be no. However, the reality isn't quite so."

Gin shifted her gaze from the television screen to her brother.

"Is that true nii-san?"

Akutagawa stayed silent for a moment before humming in response.

She smiled softly and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in for a hug.

Atsushi nodded, shocked at the answer he'd heard. Not that he didn't think Akutagawa was capable of human emotions. It's just that he didn't think Akutagawa would be one for sharing them.

"She used to buy me the same fig ice cream you bought the other day. I was reminded of that fact when we ate it with Midoriya earlier, but I've never really thanked you for it. Even though it was unintentional on your part, thank you jinko."

With that, he left the living room and entered his room before Atsushi could even get a word out.

If Akutagawa ever noticed the constant supply of fig ice cream afterwards, he never said a thing.

-

Zoe grinned catishly.

"Mmmmm ice-cream! I wonder if fig ice-cream tastes good?"

It was a normal day in the life of Nakajima Atsushi, resident dumbass.

He woke up early in the morning, 5 a.m. to be precise, and decided to go for a jog. Never mind the fact that the Sun hadn't even risen and it was probably still dark. He had his tiger vision. He'll live.

However, all the tiger abilities in the world wouldn't be able to save him from his natural ability to get himself into non-life threatening, inconvenient situations.

Yosano cackled light-heartedly and Ango sighed shaking his head in understanding.

"I can attest to that," they said at the simultaneously.

Ango sighed again.

"You attract way too much trouble Atsushi-kun. At this point you might as well just walk around with a giant target on your back."

Yosano nodded in agreement.

"And you hardly ever bring back any injuries for me to fix too! How unfortunate. Your tiger healing is such a pain!"

The agency members shuddered as Atsushi giggled in fright.

"Sure Yosano-sensei."

He had forgotten to bring the house keys with him. It was a big problem because that meant he couldn't enter, unless Akutagawa let him in. The problem with that? The man was a late riser.

By late, Atsushi meant late into the afternoon. If he was lucky, the mafioso would be up by 2 p.m. and even that was pushing it. He couldn't even call him and wake him up because his phone died. Besides, even if it was fully charged, he wouldn't want to do that. He treasured his life way too much.

The port mafia members chuckled contentedly.

"Typical Akutagawa," Tachihara complained.

"You really need to fix your sleep schedule Akutagawa-senpai," Higuchi spoke turning to him. 

Gin nodded in agreement as well.

"Yea! You need to cut down on the whole goth emo thing as not try to murder people who come to wake you up Nii-san!"

Akutagawa spluttered, cheeks colouring a bright red.

"Shut up! My sleep schedule is perfectly fine! You idiots just need to stop harrassing me for no damn reason!" he huffed.

Snickers echoed from others in the room.

He contemplated the actions he could take.

Option 1: Try to break into his own house. It would be relatively easy if he used his tiger claws, but there was a chance that it wouldn't work. His claws might be too big for the keyhole and he wasn't about to break their door down.

Option 2: Walk to Midoriya's house and hang out with him until Akutagawa wakes up. Too bad it's a weekday and the boy actually had school so no one would be home anyway.

Option 3: Give up and die.

Everyone burst into laughter. Gin, Dazai and Tachihara held their stomachs and almost fell to the floor as they couldn't stop laughing.

"Nice one Atsushi-kun!" Dazai giggled out.

"Dazai! Look at what your bad influence is doing!!! You're corrupting the kid!!" Chuuya yelled at him, yet he also couldn't hold back a barking laugh.

Atsushi sank down in his seat, covering his face with his hands to try to hide his embarrassment and flushed cheeks.

He sighed heavily, knowing that he most probably had to wait it out, considering the fact that Option 1 didn't work when he tried it out. He'd just have to deal with his hunger and the cold, unforgiving floor.

It was fine.

Minutes passed as Atsushi took the time to recall the topics he'd been studying the day before, trying to remember the laws of indices, to no avail. He then attempted to go over the concept of force and it's dozens of subtopics, giving up when he couldn't remember the correct formula to use when calculating pressure. Hell, he was so bored, he started going over the chronology of the events that led to The Great War, just for something to do.

He couldn't take it any second longer. Maybe death by waking Akutagawa up before 2 p.m. would be a better alternative.

Kunikida groaned in imaginary pain. He couldn't take it.

"How can you get confused with indices?!?!?!?!?!" he shouted at he screen.

He took a deep breath, determined. He was going to tough it out and do it, consequences be damned. Besides, if he got injured he could always heal again. But the time lost due to wasting his youth away in front of his apartment? He could never get that back.

He knocked on the door loudly, knowing it was enough to wake the other man up. He waited for a few seconds, internally rejoicing when he heard the click of the mafioso's bedroom door, indicating that he'd woken up.

(And, if he was being honest, his anxiety levels were spiking through the roof. Although it was a better alternative than dying of boredom, he didn't want to get stabbed first thing in the morning.)

His heart beat in time with the incoming footsteps, mentally bracing himself for the worst. The doorknob turned and the door swung open, revealing a sleep deprived Akutagawa who looked at him with murder in his eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless band t-shirt and shorts, looking nothing like the mafioso he first met in that alley but still managing to drive some fear into him.

"Repeat this again and I'll stab you." He spat as Atsushi made his way inside, immediately making his way back to his room once Atsushi was in.

Surprisingly, there was no bloodshed. Which was a first.

Gin facepalmed as Atsushi and Akutagawa flushed again. 

"I don't understand how the love language for all the soukokus is violence! I just don't get it!" She snapped.

Chuuya and Dazai looked away from each other, dazai humming in the process, and Mori and Fukuzawa kept surprisingly straight faces.

Atsushi stared at Akutagawa's closed bedroom door, feeling too shocked to move. His heart was still racing, though he wasn't quite sure if it was due to the near death experience or something else entirely.

But... something about the mafioso's recent behaviour didn't quite sit right with him. Back when they did stake-outs together, he would've been punched if he even breathed wrongly before 10 a.m. but now?

He got away with waking him up. It was a Christmas miracle!

"Christmas miracle? but it's not Christmas yet is it?" Kenji asked.

"Nah it isn't Christmas yet Kenji-kun, don't worry," Zoe reassured him.

Deciding to not push his luck any further than he already had, he tiptoed to his bedroom and vowed to make it up to the mafioso. Maybe he could treat him to a meal or something. He'll have to ask the man later in the day.

It went by painfully slow when studying was all he did.

Atsushi groaned as he got another question wrong. That marked the 5th consecutive one, prompting him to take a break and to reevaluate all of his life choices. Deciding that nothing much could be done until he asked Midoriya during their tutoring session later, he ventured to the kitchen to cook lunch.

It wasn't much, just some fried rice with yesterday's leftovers. However, he did cook an additional portion just in case Akutagawa wanted something to eat. He noticed that the man didn't really eat much which was a shame, really, considering that he could cook .

There was this one time he accidentally cooked too much food and gave them to Atsushi, not really wanting to keep and eat it another day. Atsushi, not one to refuse food offerings, accepted it without much thought and devoured it immediately.

It was needless to say, he was so shocked he ended up choking on it, but that's not the point.

Tachihara nodded his head in agreement.

"We can all simultaneously agree that Akutagawa and Chuuya are the best cooks in the room."

Everyone nodded at that.

Ever since that day, Akutagawa would always cook a bit extra on the days that he did cook and naturally, Atsushi returned the favor. Today was just one of those days.

(It definitely wasn't a peace offering in case the mafioso belatedly decided to murder him for waking him up earlier, no way.)

He was so engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't realise another person walking into the kitchen, making his way to the cupboard.

"What's for lunch?" Akutagawa asked, causing Atsushi to jump a metre high, shocked out of his skin.

The older was surprised as well, though he quickly schooled his expression into one of nonchalance. He didn't really do much to hide the amusement dancing in his eyes, though. As if he genuinely enjoyed watching Atsushi's reactions for some weird reason.

"Yea, definitely for some weird reason," Ranpo teased with a smirk on his face.

"Ranpo you don't get to talk! You do the sam ething with Poe!" Yosano responded, her own smirk on her face.

Poe flushed a bright red, becoming really nervous, and began stuttering.

"N-n-no Yosano-sensei! Ranpo is just my l-lovely r-r-rival!" He tried to say.

Kouyou his a small laugh behind her sleeve.

Well, whatever it was, it was better than being murdered.

"That," Was all Atsushi managed to say, pointing at the wok on the stove.

Akutagawa chuckled, shaking his head before grabbing a plate. He then made his way to the dining table, gesturing for a still-shocked Atsushi to do the same.

They ate their lunch in silence, save for some small talk about their studies and how they were progressing. Atsushi complained about the concept of integration as a whole while Akutagawa listened, nodding at the parts he agreed with. He then contributed a comment or two about the concepts he didn't understand, though with less enthusiasm.

Atsushi appreciated it nonetheless.

The whole exam preparations thing, with them complaining about stuff as mundane as academic struggles, was actually quite refreshing. It gave them an insight as to how normal people their age actually lived their lives, not plagued by problems as heavy as survival and the safety of Yokohama. Something they didn't have the luxury of doing when they were that age.

Lunch passed by in a blur and soon it was time to head to Midoriya's place for their sparring and tutoring sessions.

If Atsushi walked just a bit closer to Akutagawa as they made their way there, it was no one's business.

-

"This is so domestic I can't even-! I just- Imagine Akutagawa studying for exams. It's so unreal!" Tanizaki complained.

Zoe giggled.

"True. The domesticity and fluff are honestly two of my favourite parts."

"How do you keep throwing me over your shoulder? I barely blinked!" Midoriya complained, rolling his shoulder as he stood up from the ground.

"I had a great teacher," Atsushi answered mysteriously, though in reality he was busy remembering all the times Kunikida had done the exact same thing to him.

"Hmph! Thank heavens you can fight properly now you brat!" Kunikida stated nonchalantly, but anyone could tell he was proud of Atsushi.

He wiped the sweat of his forehead using his t-shirt as he waited for Midoriya to assume a fighting stance. He heard the sound of a water bottle being crushed, turning his head to search for the source.

What greeted him was the sight of Akutagawa looking at him intensely.

He blushed under the attention, opting to send the man a hesitant wave in case he had somehow offended him or something. That seemed to snap the man out of his reverie, coughing as he looked to the side.

That was weird.

"WOOOOOW! YOU ARE SO SLICK AKUTAGAWA!" Tachihara groaned, facepalming.

Yosano sighed drearily.

"You couldn't have been more obvious."

"Damn is anyone recording this!! I need blackmail!!!" Gin yelled.

"Already on it," Kyouka replied.

She had her new cell phone in hand, recording the television screen.

"KYOUKA!" Atsushi whined, but his little sister only smiled at him in reply.

"Are you done?" The green haired boy sassed.

Atsushi was equal parts annoyed and proud that the younger had done so. Back when they first met Midoriya, they boy would stutter and second guess himself, taking back his words and not finishing his sentences. Now, he was out there sassing them left and right.

(Huh, he must've picked it up from Atsushi's constant banter with Akutagawa.

It was a victory, but at what cost?)

"You guys should hear Atsushi's banter with Dazai. Now hat's some quality entertainment right there if I do say so myself," Ranpo snickered.

The agency members nodded in agreement.

"Yosano-sensei, Kyouka-chan, Kouyou-san, I don't know if I should thank you or yell at you for teaching Atsu how to sass," Tanizaki spoke. Naomi giggled at the statement.

"True. He's such a savage now!" 

Atsushi groaned in embarrassment.

"YOU GUYS!" 

He shook his head and assumed a fighting stance as well, smiling softly. He then gestured for the boy to come at him whenever he was ready.

"Don't look too proud of yourself, jinko. That's the only move you mastered," Akutagawa commented the same time Midoriya rushed towards him.

The boy threw a punch but he expertly dodged it, failing to realise the nimble leg that swiped his legs, causing him to lose his balance and hit the ground face first. The green-haired boy cheered, causing Atsushi to realise that the punch had been a distraction all along.

He picked himself up, feeling impressed and proud all the same, ignoring Akutagawa's snickers. The mafioso, on the other hand, approached Midoriya, a dangerous glint in his eyes. The younger boy laughed nervously, though he stood tall, determined to take any challenge on. Akutagawa smirked at that and uttered his next words.

"Now that you've managed to disarm an opponent, let's talk about finishing them off."

Nervous chuckles rang throughout the room.

"Ummm Akutagawa? You probably shouldn't teach a fifteen year old to finish someone off," Tachihara said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Zoe snickered.

-

"How do we act? What do we say? "

Ryuunosuke watched in mild amusement as the silver haired boy paced the living room. They were invited to have dinner at Midoriya's house, at the insistence of his mom. Hence, the reason why jinko was currently losing his mind.

"I've never interacted with a mother before. Oh my God. What if she deems us a bad influence and we won't be allowed to hang out with Midoriya anymore? We were the ones who taught him how to be a smartass! He used to be such a sweet boy, oh my god.... Do you think we need to get her a gift? I think we should get her a gift. What gifts do mothers like? Where's Yosano sensei when you need her?"

"So now you men appreciate my shopping trips? Pathetic," Yosano grumbled.

Tanizaki, Dazai and Kunikida shifted nervously.

The phone rang, jolting him out of his panicked ramblings. He hurriedly went to answer it, almost dropping it in the process. The younger sent a glare his way when he snickered, deciding to take the call in his room instead.

The mafioso simply shook his head, entertained.

They've been going to Midoriya's place quite frequently, but they've never encountered his mother. She was a busy woman, working tirelessly to single-handedly raise Midoriya so it was understandable.

They were quite content with not being able to meet her before. Not that they didn't like Midoriya Inko. It's just that they've never really interacted with mothers before, as the weretiger put it. Based on what the Guild leader disclosed during their fight on Moby Dick, it was safe to assume that the weretiger didn't have any memories with his mother. He was abandoned at the orphanage when he was still a baby, after all.

Ryuunosuke, on the other hand, couldn't really remember much of his own mother. Life in the slums was all he knew and anything before that was hazy at best. He never really dwelt on it before, either. What good would it bring? It's not like the past could be changed.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the weretiger closing the door, indicating that his phone call was over. He looked calmer than he did a few minutes ago, which must have meant that Midoriya managed to work his magic and talk some sense into him.

That was good. Comforting people wasn't really his forte.

"No shit," Gin grumbled.

The others snickered, and Zoe let out a loud laugh.

"We're going to buy her some chocolates and then we'll go straight to the Midoriya household," The weretiger announced, determined.

Ryuunosuke could only chuckle in response before agreeing. There really wasn't much he could do to resist him these days, funnily enough.

It must have something to do with the fig ice cream offerings.

Deciding it was pointless to entertain his thoughts, he went to his room to get dressed for the day. If he chose to forego his traditional black coat for the day in favour of dressing up for the occasion so that jinko wouldn't be as anxious, no one had to know.

"Chocolate is good. Most people like chocolate. Good job you guys," Naomi 

-

"Pardon the intrusion," Atsushi said as he took off his shoes, gesturing for Akutagawa to do the same.

He could feel his heartbeat accelerate. The hand holding the box of chocolates was starting to sweat. His ears picked up the sound of Midoriya Inko turning the corner.

"Welcome, boys," She called out warmly, accepting the gift that Atsushi almost thrust at her graciously.

She took a step back to make way for the two men who looked out of place, smiling encouragingly at them.

Atsushi took a deep breath. He'd spent a good portion of his allocated study time to prepare for this. He can do it.

"Thank you, Midoriya-san," He said as he bowed lowly, straightening up when Midoriya Inko hurriedly told him that it wasn't necessary.

"Just call me Inko, dear," She said as she brought them to the dining room, laughing wholeheartedly as both Atsushi and Akutagawa froze.

Midoriya looked at the both of them, amused.

"We simply cannot do that, Midoriya-san," Akutagawa answered, awkward.

"Nonsense. You've been great friends with my Izuku over here for such a long time! You're practically family," She said as she gestured for them to sit.

She went to the kitchen to take out the dishes she made. Meanwhile, they hesitantly sat down, looking at Midoriya for some help. The boy merely laughed before joining his mom at the kitchen and offering to help her instead.

(That traitor .)

"I understand why you were acting foolishly earlier, jinko," Akutagawa muttered as he walked up to him, careful to not let his voice be heard.

"Exactly- hey! I wasn't acting foolish ," Atsushi whispered angrily, panic momentarily forgotten.

The mafioso gave him a deadpan stare before shifting his gaze towards the Midoriyas who entered with their dinner.

To say Midoriya Inko prepared a lot was an understatement. She prepared a feast. From fried rice to udon to stew, she had it all laid out on the table before them.

"I hope you'll enjoy my cooking," She said as she took a seat, digging in.

They said their thanks and tentatively took a bite, tasting something that was nothing short of delicious.

Atsushi took a bite, and another bite, barely keeping in mind his table manners as he devoured the food in front of him. It was simply the best cooking he'd ever tasted.

Maybe there was something special about a mother's cooking.

Without him realising, a tear streamed down his face but he hurriedly wiped it away once he was aware. It didn't go unnoticed by Midoriya Inko, who looked on worriedly.

"Is there something wrong with my cooking, dear?" She asked.

Atsushi swallowed, before shaking his head.

"It's just... I've never tasted a mother's cooking before," He managed to say with a smile.

He could feel Akutagawa stiffen beside him, before hesitantly nodding along.

"Neither have I. It is delicious, Midoriya-san. Thank you for this opportunity."

A depressing silence filled the room. Most of the people in the room were orphans themselves and completely understood. Others who did remember their mother's cooking inhaled softly, eyes filled with sympathy. 

Midoriya Inko exchanged looks with her son, both of them teary eyed (so that's where Midoriya got his tears). Without warning, they were both enveloped into a group hug, much to their confusion.

"Oh, you sweet dears. You're allowed to come and eat dinner with us anytime. Eat as much as you like," She said once she released them, dabbing her eyes discreetly.

Midoriya nodded his head vigorously, eyes shining.

Everyone smiled softly at the Midoriya's reaction, happy that their friends were being treated kindly. Even Mori and Fukuzawa had small smiles on their faces.

Atsushi looked towards Akutagawa, who looked at him back, equally overwhelmed. Not knowing what to do, they agreed and dinner went on as usual.

They listened as Midoriya Inko retold tales of Midoriya Izuku's childhood, of how he had absolutely refused to dress in clothes that were not All Might-themed, or how he would watch his documentaries all day long. She had even shown them pictures, much to Midoriya's embarrassment.

Atsushi cooed when he saw a picture of a three-year-old Midoriya in an All Might onesie, smiling toothily and looking ready to save the day. Midoriya complained loudly, before tackling Atsushi to the ground just to get the picture away from him. Akutagawa on the other hand, stood away from the action, content to just watch them make a fool of themselves.

Chuuya chuckled. 

'After everything, those kids deserve this much, even if it is in an alternate universe,' he couldn't help but think.

Once Midoriya finally managed to retrieve the offending photo (when did he get so strong?), he proposed for them to do something less embarrassing.

"You've never played board games before, right? How about I teach you Uno? Mom's a beast at it."

And with that, childhood pictures were forgotten and silly childhood stories were left untold in favour of betraying closest friends and ruining relationships.

After a few rounds of Uno and the friendship destroyer known as Monopoly, with them looking at Midoriya In— No, Inko — in a new light, they decided to call it a night. Midoriya still had school the next day and they didn't want to overstay their welcome.

"It's okay to stay the night, sweeties. It's dangerous this late into the night. We have some spare futons we haven't used in a while. It's no problem, really," Inko said as the boys helped her clean the table.

"It's alright, Inko-san. This is nothing compared to the slums I used to live in."

Apparently, that was the wrong answer.

Gin and Tachihara turned to look at Akutagawa, annoyance marked across their features.

"WELL NO SHIT THAT'S THE WRONG ANSWER!!!" they shouted simultaneously.

Akutagawa turned away indignantly. 

"I thought it was a great answer!"

Hirotsu shook his head in disappointment and Chuuya facepalmed.

Before they knew it, they had a handful of futon and blankets, and they were setting it up on the floor of Midoriya's bedroom.

"We're adults, though," Akutagawa stated, confused.

Atsushi smacked his arm, dodging Akutagawa's retaliation which came in the form of Rashomon, seconds later.

"Shh! They don't know that. We don't look our age, remember?" Atsushi reprimanded, looking at the door to see if Midoriya would be entering any time soon.

Akutagawa rolled his eyes, though the intended effect wasn't quite there, considering the fact that he was currently holding onto an All Might comforter.

"I'm pretty sure Midoriya figured it out. We don't actually act like teenagers around him," He replied, setting his futon next to Atsushi's.

Atsushi stared at the little space he left between the futons before shaking his head to snap out of his racing thoughts.

"... You're right. He's scarily smart for his age. If he was trained well mentally, he could be Dazai's apprentice," Atsushi commented, noting the way Akutagawa froze a bit, before ultimately relaxing.

They've been working on Akutagawa's fixation on Dazai's validation, ever since they officially became partners. Surprisingly enough, it was a term that Akutagawa himself included in their truce, once the whole "killing after 6 months" agreement ended with nothing happening.

It was surprising but Atsushi wasn't one to decline someone's plea for help.

Dazai froze a bit at the statement. The past toxic relationship between him and Akutagawa had been no secret and was something that many were furious at him for. Even though their relationship was mostly fixed, Dazai still couldn't help but feel deep regret for what he had done in the past. 

He had Atsushi to thank for their mostly fixed relationship though. The weretiger had slapped him upside the head after he had begun insulting Akutagawa after a particularly difficult mission that ended with unfavourable results. Atsushi had literally bitch slapped him so hard he fell to the floor. Then when he got up he did it again on the opposite cheek. It was the first time he had ever seen Atsushi so mad that his glare felt cold. He had then forced Dazai to apologize and bow to Akutagawa.

The mafioso had been extremely flustered and tried to stop Dazai from doing so but Atsushi grabbed the back of his neck, pushing his claws threateningly into Dazai's skin right above his arteries and forced him into a bow. He refused to let Dazai up until he apologized properly in a clear, head strong voice. Afterwards he threatened Dazai that if his behaviour towards Akutagawa didn't change, he would personally come and 'fix' Dazai's attitude himself. Then he grabbed Akutagawa by the wrist and dragged him out of the room, mumbling about going to some restaurant to buy fig tarts that the mafioso wouldn't be allowed to pay for.

He had done all of that in the middle of the meeting room, in front of all the members of the agency and the significant members of the mafia. To say everyone was shocked would be an understatement. Chuuya laughed his ass off after the weretiger left, and many of the others smirked knowingly, proud that the younger had gained the confidence to slap Dazai of all people to stand up for his partner.

Following that day, everything changed. With the repairing of their relationship underway, tensions were released and the two organizations became even closer. Looking back on everything now, Dazai couldn't be more grateful for the family he'd now managed to gain.

The silence was broken by Midoriya's squeak when he realised that they were both prepared to take the floor.

This resulted in a debate (of all things) on how he should take the floor and his guests should take the bed. Atsushi had claimed that it would be unfair if only one of them got the bed, so Midoriya should sleep on it to maintain fairness. Midoriya then suggested it wouldn't be unfair if they could agree amongst themselves, to which Akutagawa claimed that he would — "Never agree with the jinko so take the damn bed, Midoriya."

After a few more minutes of futile (on Midoriya's end) debate, they've finally managed to convince him to take the bed. They talked for a while, lightly teasing him for his All Might shrine (his bedroom) while the boy laughed, agreeing. A few more minutes of small talk later, and they could tell that he was getting sleepier by the second.

It didn't take long for Midoriya to sleep, though the same couldn't be said for Atsushi and Akutagawa.

Here Atsushi was, lying down mere inches from his former enemy turned partner turned friend. Someone who used to look at him with hatred in his eyes, desperate to kill. Someone who was there when the truth about the Headmaster was revealed, sparing his life so he could grieve in peace. Someone who fought alongside him, flirting with death every single time.

Here they were, years later. The hostility that brewed between them was long gone, replaced by annoyance and the occasional camaraderie. As time passed in this unknown universe they've spent months in, they've only gotten friendlier to the point that they could joke around with each other.

It wasn't often, but it was definitely a huge leap from what they were before this whole fiasco.

"The entrance exam is a week away. Time really flies, huh," Atsushi commented.

Akutagawa hummed, turning to lie on his back.

"I have a theory that time fast forwards once we've reached the requirements to advance the plot. Last time I checked, which was yesterday by the way, we had a month left."

That... made sense. He did feel as if the way time worked here was a bit wonky, but that wasn't really the vibe he was going for. It's understandable, though. Akutagawa wasn't really one for emotions, feelings and the likes.

"I guess you're right."

They sat in contemplative silence. After a few minutes, Atsushi could hear Akutagawa turn towards the other side, probably getting ready to sleep. He waited until he could hear the other's steady breathing, indicating that the man was no longer awake.

"I'm glad that it's you I'm stuck here with," he whispered into the night.

A few moments later and Atsushi succumbed to dreams of mathematical equations, important historical figures and a certain mafioso.

"AAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW!!!! THAT WAS SOOO CUTE!!!!!" Zoe exclaimed excitedly. 

The others nodded happily.

"If you want a bathroom break please do so now, thank you."

Two blue doors appeared on the left side of the room. As some went to do there business in the bathroom, others stayed behind to chat and finish the last of their food. Once everyone returned and was seated, the screen darkened before displaying the next episode.

"LET'S GO TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!"