Hello! I hope y'all enjoy this first chapter to Inside Jokes and the Consequences that Follow, featuring Akutagawa Ryunosuke and Higuchi Ichiyo crushing over you. Please read the note in the summary for this series because it explains a few things! But thank you for giving this a read :) The perspective throughout the story is Akutagawa's and Higuchi's unless stated otherwise.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke x fem!Reader x Higuchi Ichiyo Warnings: Cursing, bad flirting, some ooc for characters
Word Count: 3k
Higuchi was amazed and slightly pissed off that Akutagawa managed to make a friend without her around and without her knowledge. As his assistant and bodyguard, she was practically around him all day and all night (when they were working), so it came as a shock when Akutagawa mentioned that his friend would be coming to his apartment in a few minutes.
Normally, Higuchi wouldn't be in his apartment, but it was a special day, since Chuuya had stopped by earlier to discuss and drop of some documents for the team to review. Higuchi was usually the one who wrote down all the notes for what Chuuya had to say, so she stayed in the room, writing down everything. Once he left was the time Akutagawa spoke up and told her of his friend.
"A friend? Really?" She mumbled quietly, surprised at the word coming out of her mouth. When did Akutagawa have friends? Never. He barely called Higuchi a friend after working together for two years, and after countless times of saving his life (even though he claimed he didn't need the help).
"Yes, really. You can stay, I guess." Akutagawa replied, ignoring the stunned look on Higuchi's features. She froze at the response, wondering if what he said was just a joke or not or if she should laugh – but she quickly pushed that thought away, since if she did laugh, she might upset him. She never wanted to upset him or anyone else, especially the team and especially the friend that Akutagawa invited over.
She feared that if she were to upset his friend, then somehow it would affect her workstyle and possibly break the trust that Akutagawa formed with her. She knew deep down this wouldn't really happen and that it was just anxiety speaking, but it really did worry her.
"What's your friend like? If you don't mind me asking, of course!" She stumbled out, eyes following Akutagawa as he shrugged back to her, walking to the kitchen.
By his nonchalant answer, Higuchi was more scared than ever, wondering what type of person could be called a friend by Akutagawa. And she wondered if the friend was anything like Gin, his sister. She shuddered quietly at the thought of Gin. She admired her but was equally terrified of her skills, it was incredible.
"Has anyone else in Black Lizard met your friend?" Higuchi called out to him, quickly picking up all the notes and documents off the table into a neat stack. She put them into a folder and then tucked them into her bag, noting that she needed to make copies for everyone else in the team.
"No, she doesn't know about the Port Mafia. She thinks it's just an ongoing joke that we have together that I'm an assassin with omnipotent powers." Akutagawa responded, without batting an eye. Higuchi blanked – almost let out some nervous laughter, hoping that was a joke, but she knew Akutagawa didn't joke.
"But you are an assassin with omnipotent powers..." She whispered, mouth dropping into a very visibly disturbed and confused look. How could this friend not know of the biggest part of Akutagawa's life?
Higuchi has had friends in the past. She doesn't have that many friends now – but she knows what its like to have friends. They're great to have! Incredible, she would say, but so very curious into your life. She lost so many friends because of how interested and nosy they were with her life when she joined the Port Mafia. She even questioned her job in the mafia because of how close they were to figuring out what she did for a living.
"Yes, I am." He noted for a moment, looking in her direction without much of a care before going back to what he was doing in the kitchen.
If it were possible, Higuchi's jaw would have dropped more, possibly to the floor and then to the bottom of this apartment building, and into the basement.
And the gasp – oh that gasp she made even had Akutagawa slightly startled, but he knew why she was gasping so he didn't question her.
Then there was a knock at the door.
Akutagawa just stared at the door before staring to Higuchi, as if to signal her to answer the door. Higuchi stared back with a frown forming of fear and confusion. She was incredibly scared to meet this friend because she thought back to her life back in middle school and how her thirteenth birthday party, she tried to mix friend groups together – and how terrible that went.
By the end of the party, she wanted to sob and hated how she was in different friend groups and how weird it must've been to be one of the people attending the party, only to be forced to try to socialize with a group of complete strangers. She hated that she knew how everyone felt and she hated how she knew how Akutagawa felt now.
He didn't have the same emotions she had when she was at her own party, holding back tears at the way all of her friends didn't like each other. Instead, she knew Akutagawa was having a blast, in his stoic manner of just standing and watching how Higuchi went through a nervous and stressful way of opening the door and welcoming in a stranger, that was his supposed friend.
"Go on, open it." He spoke up, as if cooing her to go do it and she felt a knot on the right side of her lip forming up into a small snide and she pushed it aside to go answer the door.
Step-by-step instructions were needed for Higuchi as she tried to recall every way to greet a stranger inside. But she didn't know any and instead just opened the door extremely slowly, and slightly peeked her head out to glance at you.
"Hello." She mumbled to you, not blinking as she took everything about you in. Higuchi felt her world spinning as she took you in, completely in awe of everything. You were so fucking pretty, one of her knees buckled up against the door, causing her to hit her head slightly, before she stood up straight and pulled the door open completely.
"Hi." You responded in a polite tone, wanting to grin at how shy she seemed. Akutagawa didn't mention that anyone else would be here, but you didn't mind since this person seemed so cute and shy with her greeting you in.
She didn't have the confidence to say anything else to welcome you in, so you just walked through the opening, eyes following back to her face. She was phenomenal at avoiding eye contact and you were even more interested in why she was being so shy.
"Y/n, you're here. Finally." Akutagawa spoke up, his voice screwed up in all kinds of sarcasm and you scoffed to him, glancing down to your phone, knowing you're on time.
"I arrived right on time. I waited two minutes outside your door before knocking, you know." You replied, shaking your head at how he always would find something to complain about and be sarcastic about.
"You were three seconds late in knocking, it was entirely irritating waiting for you." He accused before you saw the little smirk forming and you rolled your eyes, walking over to him before pushing your bag onto the counter.
Higuchi watched the whole encounter – speechless and kind of dumbstruck. Akutagawa was having a normal encounter with a civilian, that was you, a very attractive and hot girl that made Higuchi want to revert into the tissue box in the corner of the living room on that forgotten end table.
You made Higuchi realize that hot people were actually very real and still here and actually really in front of her. She was very confused but astonished and happy in that "woah that's my crush" kind of way. But it wasn't really a crush, it couldn't be because she only muttered one word to you, and you to her as well. But at least you seemed to answer her politely and kindly to the point she wanted to repeat the memory over and over in her mind (and she did).
And Akutagawa was talking so much more than normal, it was very concerning. Was Higuchi suddenly in a test? That was conducted by the Port Mafia, to see if she truly knew who he was? No, it couldn't be, because of how Akutagawa almost smiled.
No way that man can smile at just anyone.
Higuchi recalled the first time she saw him smile, and that was after he set fire to a room full of evidence that could have put him (and the rest of the team) away for life. And then the smile was gone the moment he looked away, and Higuchi wondered if it was just a slip of light that hit his face in a way, that made it look like he actually smiled.
"Higuchi? Hello?" Akutagawa was the one to snap her out of her thoughts and memories, and an oddly anxious expression took over his face that disappeared once Higuchi woke up, back into the present.
"Hello?" She replied to him, dragging out the "O" sound as her eyes drifted around the room until she saw you again. Then she pushed her eyesight down to the floor as her face slowly was flooded with redness.
"Are you holding in your breath?" Akutagawa asked, watching as Higuchi's blush became deeper.
"No! I suddenly felt a breeze of heat. That's all." She became defensive immediately to which Akutagawa almost rolled his eyes at how obvious she was being. He hadn't thought about how Higuchi would respond to you, and he certainly didn't expect this.
It was crystal clear that Higuchi was insanely attracted to you. And Akutagawa saw the way you eyed her back, it was clear as day that both of you were interested in each other or something similar.
"I brought all the games. Did you set up everything, like the controllers?" You spoke up, trying to move past that very embarrassing moment for the girl, to which you stared at your friend harshly for not introducing you to her still.
Akutagawa nodded before glancing to each of you, "Oh," He paused, clearing his throat. "Higuchi, Y/n. Y/n, Higuchi. My assistant." He said it very plainly, but he seemed amused at the situation.
Needless to say, Higuchi almost wanted to cry about the entirety of this day, especially these past few minutes. It wasn't going well, was it? She had the thought that she was ruining everything for being there, but she was his assistant and coworker, and she had to do part of her job earlier, so she didn't know what to do.
Would it be polite to leave as fast as possible? Maybe. She didn't know, but she was also starstruck by you, as embarrassed as she was about it. You were fucking hot, and you seemed to know it by that slightly cocky smile you struck her just now, and in a sudden flash, she wondered if you thought the same, that maybe you found her as attractive as she found you.
Now that would be like winning the lottery and being struck by lightning about a dozen times.
You and Akutagawa moved to the couch in the living room, setting up what seemed like video games and then Higuchi slightly understood the friendship. Maybe you and him only talk about games, it seemed like that was the only possible and reasonable way of being friends with Akutagawa.
And she remembered that he believed that video games would help him in his training for being precise with his eye-coordination. So, she understood it now, just slightly.
"Higuchi, babe, wanna come sit next to me?" You called out to her, and she froze, once again. Babe, oh shit, you called her babe. Higuchi wondered if it were possible that her entire body flushed with a deep redness, and she knew she didn't respond in the appropriate amount of time when you raised your eyebrows to her.
"Oh, I'm sorry, didn't mean to call you that, it just slipped." You spoke up again, feeling that you were being watched intensely by Akutagawa. When you peeked at him, you were correct. He was staring at you, almost glaring but it seemed like he didn't mean anything by it, instead maybe he looked even more amused than before.
Higuchi's shoulders dropped. Oh, so you didn't mean it? Higuchi sighed in her mind, a slight disappointed feeling hit her, as she thought it over more, but it stopped once your voice came up again.
"It must've slipped since you're very cute." You laughed very casually, as if you aren't actually attempting to flirt with your friend's coworker.
Akutagawa vaguely chortled and Higuchi stared at you both as if she had been hit by a truck. Yes, she looked tragic, but in a good way.
Instead of responding, she giggled to some degree and acted like it didn't really affect her, but it really did. She stumbled to go sit on the couch, finding it to agree to your invitation to sit with you two, but she sat on the opposite side of Akutagawa. She wanted a little space, so you didn't totally see how fucking red she was at the moment, and she also didn't want you to see how she was trying to mentally calm down but wasn't succeeding.
Akutagawa didn't know whether to feel uncomfortable or very amused at what was playing out. Sure, he knew that Higuchi was bisexual and used to crush on him, but now she was very obviously crushing on his friend, you. And you loved to flirt with almost anyone, including him sometimes.
He didn't really know how to flirt with you – but now he can definitely tell that whatever was happening, this wasn't the cool way of flirting. He wondered if he should text Chuuya for advice on how to flirt later on, but he was too caught up in how you and his coworker fawned over each other (with him in between).
"So, what's it like working with this dork?" You asked Higuchi, to which she blanked at the term, dork. She would have never thought there was someone as brave as you to call him a dork, but here he was outside of work officially, doing something that could be called dorky.
He was playing one of the newer video games, featuring something like of a dark fantasy game. His character had black hair like his, but with tattoos everywhere, and he was wearing a dark blue shirt with a random design on it. His username was "akuryu5", which was kind of adorable, but Higuchi would never imagine him to be doing this.
Akutagawa and Higuchi became like rocks at the question, but Higuchi quickly added a nervous laugh before replying. "He's a very diligent worker, always thorough with assignments, gets everything done fast." It was as if it were a fake reply, something you'd say in a company email group, which always sucks.
"Eh, so he's a really good assassin then, huh?" You chuckled, holding the controller up, quickly looking to her and to the screen.
Akutagawa slightly scowled and sent Higuchi a small look. "Assassin? Hahaha, so funny. He's just very good at being an office worker, you know, typing and printing, and drinking coffee, and stuff..." Higuchi tried to joke, but then realized very fast she didn't really know what being in a normal office environment really was like. She just had experience working in an office sometimes for the Port Mafia.
You just nodded back to her, not really knowing what to say as Akutagawa cleared his throat.
"She doesn't know how to converse, apparently." Akutagawa spoke up, rolling his eyes at the attempt of covering what they both really do for work. You frowned at his words, nudging him roughly.
"Don't be an ass, she's hot and funny. Why didn't you ever tell me about her?" You mumbled close to him, making sure she didn't hear you, but yeah, she did. She blushed a bit more, glancing away from you two as she leaned to go reach a chip in the bowl on the coffee table.
"Because you're always interested in everybody, romantically or friendly. I'm really not going to let you meet anyone else from my work." He whispered back to you and Higuchi felt very out of place because of how much he was speaking. It was admiring to see him speak so much, but she also felt like he probably didn't want her to hear anything he said.
He was always so professional, it was so odd to see him this way, but it made her feel something different for him, knowing he had a life outside of work. And seeing you made her feel so special! You were spectacular, as if you were an invention to make people feel happy, and you did the same to Akutagawa, it seemed.
She wondered if her coworker ever had feelings for you, or even had thoughts that Higuchi also had of you in the past hour of meeting you.
But almost entirely, she felt scared for how you acted near both of them. You treated them so normally that it felt so off but welcoming.
It reminded Higuchi of how life used to be outside of Port Mafia. In the mafia now it was always so intense, nothing normal at all. It was always life or death, but you were giving her a feeling of something more than just life, something living and breathing and happy.
Akutagawa seemed to look the same way as Higuchi did with you. It put her in an unusual position, knowing that you seemed to be interested in her, and possibly Akutagawa as well. But she tried not to think so much of it, seeing as she only met you recently.
She wouldn't know what to do if she saw you on a more regular basis. She wondered how Akutagawa was doing this