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If it were known to Jōno, his colleague’s delving into his personal files would have resulted in a very unpleasant umbrage of complaints about the invasion of his privacy that they had committed. A ‘dishonor of his human rights’, Tetchō was sure he’d begin to proclaim, hypocrisy lacing those words.
Despite it all, if his vice-commander deemed the action to be justifiable considering the incentive behind it, it surely couldn’t have resulted too horrifically. It’s not as if he were uncovering government secrets. Though, it did feel as if finding anything about the other man, let alone his birthday, was tedious either way, considering how closed off he always had been. It wasn’t that Jōno ever cared about the righteousness of something unless it revolved around him, of course. He’d prepared for the incidental outcome of Jōno discovering the fact that they’d been doing so from the beginning, though Teruko had ensured the swordsman that Tachihara and herself would cover up any potential mishaps. Planning that had ensued for the few months prior to September had led to the simple conclusion of feigning a mission, as per the thought that Jōno would never voluntarily go somewhere with the taller man, especially if labeled as something for him on his birthday.
Jōno was a very scornful man, as temperamental as he was, he was absolutely one for closely observing the mannerisms and traits of those around him. They were things that Jōno would make a point of frequently, and however negative, Tetchō was fascinated by such attention to detail. He found it complimentary despite the content of whatever analysis he received. Though observation to such an extent as Jōno’s meant that Tetchō had to keep his mouth shut.
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Eventually, that day had arrived. Jōno had awoken early in the morning, as per the routine he had fallen into. A double tap on the screen of his phone led a robotic voice to leave the speaker of the device, all too quiet for anyone else to hear, especially considering the speed at which the voice assistant of his screen reader exclaimed the details to him. It simply read, ‘7:32, Saturday, September 24th’, which promptly elicited a prolonged and overexaggerated sigh as he hauled himself off the bed he’d since glued himself to.
Seeing as the date was one of the only days his timetable allowed him off work, he’d already decided that he’d most likely treat himself to a day at home and to himself. It’d be a nice change as opposed to spending the day with the moronic individuals he unwillingly surrounded himself with. Specifically, Tetchō Suehiro. The parasitic fiend that stuck to him like an insignificant and ever so pestering bug. Perhaps it wasn’t necessarily his distaste of the man that led Jōno to avoid him, however.
Such thoughts were quickly interrupted by the ear splitting ringing of his work phone, causing him to jump to his feet, scrambling for the device to shut it up by reluctantly hitting the button to accept the call. Another over dramatic sigh escaped the man as he listened for whoever was on the other end.
“Ever so kind of you to pick up, Jōno,” A girl’s voice jeered on the other end of the line.
“Vice-commander,” The acknowledgement of Teruko was spoken in an almost entirely deadpan and unsurprised manner, cursing himself inwardly.
“Sorry to disturb my favourite pretty pink princess, but something’s come up, I’m gonna need you to head down to the second conference room, sharpish, too.”
The end of her sentence was added on abruptly, before being met by a groan she’d deem as Jōno’s compliance, before he promptly hung up.
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In spite of the haste that Jōno had made to arrive on time, it appeared as though he was the last person to step into the room, almost immediately feeling all eyes on him. In fact, he’d barely had the time to assess the area itself and even manage to sit down before Teruko spoke to him.
“I’ve already informed Tetchō, you two are headed down south of Yokohama as soon as you’re ready— the commander didn’t brief us on the situation fully before you ask, but he said you’ll be able to use that ugly nose of yours to sniff it out.”
Before Jōno could retort by querying things that could’ve been a dead giveaway for the feigned mission, another voice sounded.
“I think it’s best you two go now, I’ve seen this guy before and he’s not one to tamper with, ability-wise,”
Tachihara, of course. The boy was quick-witted, despite his age, and knew that the distraction of competition presented to him would sway Jōno’s suspicion even if he didn’t have any in the first place, especially when combined with Tachihara’s heart rate that was quick to fall into normality, it being part of his job to be able to orient this well under pressure.
Moving to the side of the door, Jōno twisted the knob that creaked in his hand, eyebrows pinching in slight irritation before offering a sharp kick to Tetchō’s shins, leaving the room and beginning his exit of the building, down the hallway. Tetchō had managed to situate himself beside the other man within the time that he had spoken with the rest of his comrades as to ensure he wasn’t lost in thought, which was customary for the taller man at this point.
A hiss of pain left Tetchō at the sudden jab to his shins as he nodded at the two that remained in the room, following outside with the intent of catching up to Jōno’s side. The last thing that Jōno took note of was the middle-schooler level of maturity giggling that stemmed from him leaving the conference room; he only had to take it as one of the constant jabs at his ego that they sought to play continuously, thus causing him to ignore it.
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The journey was just as painful as Jōno had imagined, the almost excruciating awkward silence that had been created was worse than the silence he always seemed to speak so highly of. In turn, he chose to break the stillness of the atmosphere by raising his voice.
“Why do they always put me with you?” He spat, turning his head to the window side, knees turned away from Tetchō.
“We’re partn—”
“Don’t answer that. Rhetorical question. Do not speak.”
“Well I think we work together quite well..”
Jōno immediately brought his hands to rub into his temples, soothing himself from the pain that was hearing Tetchō Suehiro actually attempting to converse with him as he hung his head down in utmost vexation.
“No, Tetchō-san, we do not work well together. I tell you what to do and you do it because following orders, be it your only personality trait, is something you’re quite good at.”
Tetchō allowed Jōno to get the last word in, he presumed that was what the other man wanted anyways. The tense atmosphere managed to grow with such an uncanny interaction. It was a given that the majority of their reactions were unsettling, but Tetchō’s comment of their dynamic seemed to have genuinely irritated Jōno somewhat, seeing as he had slumped back in his seat, arms crossed like a child deprived of a snack.
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Upon their arrival, Jōno was the first to step out of the vehicle, brushing himself off as if being in such a proximity of Tetchō for so long had dirtied his clothes, a petty display of his exasperation. Lifting his head, it didn’t take long for Jōno’s brief evaluation of their whereabouts to be verbalised.
“If we’re going to be scouring through crowds of people in a fucking market, Tetchō-san, I’ve since decided that I’m not carrying out this mission with you.”
“Most of the stalls are closing up right about now actually,” The other quickly returned, knowing that despite their inability to actually leave a mission, no doubt Jōno would manage to make his plans as difficult as possible if he wasn’t keen on the idea presented.
“Infact, if I recall we were informed of the fact that we’d immediately be able to know what was up, meaning we’re here before the guy we’re looking for is. It’s not as if we couldn’t spend a bit of time around the market considering there aren’t too many people here?” Tetchō proposed, the corners of his lips curling upwards a little to form somewhat of an overconfident smirk that Jōno would undoubtedly hit him upside the back of the head for if he was aware of such a countenance.
Jōno sighed, inwardly this time, gathering his thoughts and trying his best to judge the real harm in taking his partner up on the offer, based on the premise of blatantly ignoring Tetchō the whole time. “If it’d make you shut up.”
“It would.”
“Rhetorical question again.” Jōno replied, flatly as he fixed the clasp that attached his cape, before turning on his heel and beginning to make his way down the open street, lined with stalls and various gift stores he shared little to no interest in.
Tetchō on the other hand, struggled to keep up with the other, too busy ogling at all the trinkets and souvenirs that Jōno would have undoubtedly deemed as ‘useless’ or a ‘waste of space’ if given the frame of mind to talk about them. There was a clear glint in his eyes at the awe he received from merely looking at all the various things on display.
The street was lit up dimly, in a more balmy sense than eerie however. It was a welcoming sight, perfectly illustrated by the sounds of the abundance of homemade glass windchimes that seemed to compliment each other perfectly, harmonizing almost, in the wavering of the slight yet biting wind that seemed to disrupt the mild temperature on occasion. The scene was one of which Tetchō wished Jōno would listen to him describe, as despite the quaintness, the lively and yet not overwhelming quiet atmosphere that he was sure Jōno was aware of was beautifully accommodated by the sights it held.
Too caught up in his own envisionment of the place, Tetchō had hardly noticed Jōno’s disappearance from his side, turning his head to look in front and then behind, though coming to a halt when he was led into comprehending that it was the latter. The shorter man stood under a street light, face tilted upwards in the slightest as for the light to cast an almost golden outline to his figure, eyelashes highlighted in a near angelic fashion as his eyelids wrinkled ever so slightly in response to the wind that fanned over him. The slight breeze warranted his now disheveled hair to waver slightly, suiting his features unimaginably. His attention appeared to have been swayed entirely, Tetchō following his partner’s glance to the windchimes that he had briefed over earlier, noticing that they had caught his attention.
“The windchimes,” Tetchō hummed, “do you like them?”
“The sound is appealing I guess,” The other replied in a much nicer fashion than he would have liked to admit, though Tetchō knew better than to mention it as Jōno quickened his pace again.
“We can come back to them later if you’d like—”
“Maybe.”
Such a response and so casually was an immediate result to take mental note of for Tetchō, definitely a win in his books that he’d be informing Teruko and Tachihara of. Replies from Jōno like that usually meant that he wanted to do whatever Tetchō had offered, meaning that Jōno was actually somewhat enjoying an aspect of this.
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Within due course, the two of them were nearing the evening, meaning that Jōno’s suspicions had grown beyond what Teruko had labeled as within the ‘Jōno Safe Zone’, and Tetchō could only tell from how agitated the other had become. He’d been suspecting the other to snap around and demand the elucidation of why they were actually here sooner or later, hence why he was so utterly deadpan when it did occur.
“Tetchō-san. Why are we actually here? On my day off. ” Jōno snapped, very expectant of a poorly put together response that he could immediately riposte.
Fleetingly, Tetchō’s mind ran over all of the things Teruko had told him to say, and what not to say. Predominantly this consisted of Tetchō not saying anything that he’d normally say, so of course, in his sudden instance of being told how to display the most intellectual and cautious response he could, Tetchō did exactly the opposite, all too confident in his ability to handle the situation he had fallen into.
“Well. I wanted you to be able to celebrate your birthday for once—” Tetchō mentally facepalmed at the painful contortion of Jōno’s expression, a frown cursing his features as his eyelids flattened, twitching from what was presumably a result of the furious temper that began to manifest as he visibly stiffened in his stance.
It didn’t take Jōno long to deduce his predicament, clearly, fingers pinching at the bridge of his nose as he exhaled, composing himself before groaning.
“So, you’re telling me,” He paused, allowing the words to sink in. “That you wasted one of the only fucking days I had to myself, and especially one which I’d much rather forget the existence of, purely because you thought that this would be some fun birthday outing?”
Jōno scoffed in total disbelief as he didn’t bother to give Tetchō the courtesy of awaiting his response, storming off in the direction of wherever the stray path to his left had offered him.
Tetchō’s lips tightened to that of a thin line upon realising his mistake, considering the upfrontedness of such a thing, perhaps Jōno was in the right to be upset, his eyebrows pinched in perplexity nonetheless. He took a moment of comprehending what would be the most practical solution, before concluding that he’d most likely spoiled the entire day for the other, causing him to dip his head a little. Even still, he couldn’t allow the other to wander off after going on such a tangent, so he trailed behind regardless.
Turning a corner, Tetchō stood in admiration of the new location that they had stumbled upon, only before spotting the other, hunched over on what appeared to be the one bench in what he had now gathered was a park of somesort. There was a great expanse of water that sat opposite the bench, allowing onlookers to observe whatever nature offered during the day time over the vast river plain. Jōno sat whilst resting his cheek in his palm, seizing the stones littered around the gravel that sat beneath the bench as he hauled them across the river in all his built up ferocity.
After what seemed like hours of Tetchō correctly weighing his options for the first time, he slowly approached the bench, though of course not allowing himself to sit down quite yet. He’d figure he’d attempt to build back the moment he’d caused to crumble moments ago, though not fully trusting in his ability to do so. One of his boots scraped across the gravel in an attempt to shuffle next to the bench, thinking again before he spoke.
“I didn’t mean for it to come across as inconsiderate of me. I understand that it was, too.” Tetchō adjourned his next response again, seeing as Jōno wasn’t going to respond as he made another attempt at skipping the stone across the body of water. “I shouldn’t have gone to such lengths without asking you. I thought you would have declined, so I wanted to improvise.”
“I would have absolutely declined,” Jōno simply replied.
Tetchō opened his mouth to make the acknowledgement, before Jōno interrupted his thoughts.
“You’ve recognised your fault and have actually verbalised it to me though. For the first time, might I add.. it almost makes it sound like you have a working conscience at times,” He seemed more understanding than outright pissed off now, which was an odd tone to recognise in his partner.
The swordsman’s head tilted ever so slightly to the side, dubiety painting his expression as he considered the response received, almost in incredulity.
Jōno quirked an eyebrow at the lack of verbal cognizance, before moving on to speak again. “Sit here.” He uttered, gesturing for the other to sit beside him, more of a statement than a request, though Tetchō did so nonetheless after gathering how long he’d stood in confusion.
All throughout the silence that ensued for a while, Tetchō watched the other’s continuously futile attempts of skipping rocks across the water, before he decided to speak. “You’re holding it wrong.” Perhaps too blunt of a statement for Jōno’s liking, it gained him a satisfying response regardless though.
“You do it then smartass.” Jōno snapped back, crossing his arms as Tetchō followed up by taking a stone at his feet, placing it between his thumb and middle finger before he effortlessly lifted his wrist to toss the stone across the reservoir, in turn causing Jōno to almost physically recoil in embarrassment.
Tetchō soon came to observe Jōno’s completely lost expression, before leaning over in the slightest. “I’ll show you,” He proclaimed ever so nonchalantly.
Picking up another stone and instead placing it in Jōno’s, whilst clearly hesitant, open palm. Tetchō positioned his hand over the other’s, lithe fingers wrapping over his knuckles as to show him how to hold the stone in his hand. He came to nudge one of Jōno’s fingers out of the way, in turn causing a slight hitch in his breath upon realising how Tetchō’s hands seemed to envelope his own almost entirely, not to mention how warm they were in contrast to his. The taller man’s knees turned towards the other, causing their knees to knock together as Tetchō took Jōno by the elbow, recreating the motion in which Jōno should create with his hand.
“When you throw it, bend your wrist before you release it and it’ll go further,” Tetchō asserted, before his hands parted from Jōno’s, leaving the other man with a longing he didn’t formerly possess.
The white-haired man nodded, trying his luck at the sport again, a satisfying result instead causing him to crack a smile this time at his success as he listened to the rock skip across the water. Tetchō’s chest puffed out in approval of the newly founded success.
“Try again, I’m going to have mine go further than yours by the time we leave.” Jōno challenged, which Tetchō gladly accepted with a nod of his head, that oh so ambitious lopsided smirk overcoming his expression again.
In time, and with multiple losses, Jōno had concluded Tetchō as not a victor , but a cheater. He’d determined that the only reason he hadn’t won was surely because Tetchō was cheating in a way that he wasn’t aware of, because he excelled in everything that Tetchō was good at. The brunette had begun to consider whether Tachihara and his vice-commander had started to query their whereabouts, though was quickly snapped out of the thought. Haphazardly, due to the stillness of the evening, Jōno had ever so slightly leaned into Tetchō’s shoulder, which had then turned into the resting of his head against the other entirely, causing Tetchō’s heart to jump half a mile out of his chest. He was sure Jōno had absolutely heard the stumble in his heart rate, and was sure it would have irked him, though the other chose not to utter a word.
Out of response to Tetchō’s heartbeat slowly falling into more of a methodical rhythm, it was apparent that Jōno had soon enough melted into the partial embrace, allowing his consciousness to slip. Tetchō’s head tilted to briefly gaze at the other in awe, before allowing his subconscious to guide his arm loosely around his counterpart’s waist, all too softly pressing his lips to the other’s temple.
Before he was able to even begin to contemplate the action, Jōno lifted his head, an eyebrow raised as if what he received was almost inadequate. Tetchō’s lips parted to offer an apology, though were instead caught by Jōno’s own as a hand came to settle around Tetchō’s chin and up his cheek, thumb ghosting over the three cherry blossom petals under his eye as he parted the chaste kiss with a satisfied hum, hand still remaining in place as the latter hand came to cup his other cheek, reveling in the warmth that they provided.
Tetchō’s own arms eventually snaked around Jōno’s back, holding him in a tight, yet not suffocating embrace whilst pressing his nose into his shoulder as he smiled to himself, eventually allowing himself to speak without fault.
“Happy birthday,”
“Shut up.”
Tetchō couldn’t help the giggle that escaped him in response.