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Jouno would awaken to a sharp ringing in his ears and the metallic smell of iron invading his nose. Immediately he could tell the room was unfamiliar. While he could detect the distant smell of sterile medical equipment, it was nothing like the bustling, high-tech medical bay back at headquarters. There were no loud, beeping machines, nor did his body feel like it was on any anesthesia. In fact, his body was riddled with dull aches and pains.
On top of that, he could sense something heavy resting on his chest. Judging from Its slow and steady breaths, it certainly wasn’t a blanket or piece of equipment. A deduction that did very little to calm his beating heart.
It was then he realized his hands, both of them, had been captured by the same assailant pinning him to the bed, yet his aching body would protest any attempt to remove them from his person. Worst yet, just the thought of using his ability left him with inexplicable exhaustion.
“Ahem,” He cleared his throat, as always, his eyes remained firmly shut. “Tecchou-san,” he stretched the final vowel in a mocking tone and instantly regretted it as the words stuck deep down in his throat, constricting uncomfortably.
And when the man did not stir, he tried again in a louder and more commanding tone, like one would scold a disobedient dog. “Tecchou. O-off. No-!”
His mistake, he’d barely finish the command before he’s sent into a small coughing fit.
At least it was enough to stir his captor from his beauty sleep. Slowly, he’d lift his head to maintain what he could only assume to be a one-sided staring contest, pulse jumping erratically upon recognition. Jouno could almost find it adorable if only it didn't add to the white noise buzzing in the back of his brain.
“Jo…Jouno?” That voice shook, coming out hurried and concerned. It definitely was not the tone he expected from this person, and the closeness was far from welcome.
That incessant shouting only grew louder, “Jouno!? Are you- “. But the grip on his hands relaxed just enough so that Jouno could finally wrench his hand away to cover his cough. He hoped his clear distress was enough for his useless partner to get a clue and get him some damn water before he bombarded him with any more idiotic questions.
Tecchou reached over to the glass on the nearby table and carefully got Jouno’s delicate fingers to wrap around the glass. He’d eagerly down the liquid in just a few quick gulps all while Tecchou still stared at him intently.
“Get out of my face, you stink of blood.” His shaky tone was laced with disgust. “And just what the hell do you think you’re doing, Hm?” He’d bypass Tecchou’s attempt to take the glass and simply slam it down on the bedside table on his own with a tad bit more force than necessary.
His reply wouldn’t come right away. Tecchou would spend a few extra seconds simply staring at Jouno’s face with wide, doe-like eyes before blinking away that delicate expression. It only made Jouno’s blood pressure rise.
“I-… I was instructed to wait here for you to wake up.” In other words, it was grunt work as usual. “And the blood it’s…” He absentmindedly scratched at the dried blood staining his face as if he had truly forgotten about it. “There was no time to wipe it off.”
“And was this necessary for such a task?” He raised their hands, showing off their still intertwined fingers as damning evidence. Tecchou had found so much comfort in the touch, he had failed to realize that he never let go.
He could feel the blood rush to his face as he attempted to come up with an excuse.
“Well-… I-… I needed to-.”
“Why, yes. Of course, you did, Tecchou-San.” Jouno cuts him off quickly, now completely uninterested in whatever half-truth the halfwit could come up with. “And I’m sure you were far too busy smothering me to even think to wipe yourself clean.”
“That’s not-! It’s…” He grumbles, it was so unlike him to be so flustered. If Jouno were in a better mood he would have poked him for an even more interesting reaction.
“Moving on… Why don’t you tell me where I am and how we got here.” He gently suggests. He settles their hands back onto the bed yet makes no effort to pull away. In fact, it’s Tecchou who would very reluctantly pull his hand away and into his own lap.
“You-…” he cleared his throat, shaking off his embarrassment as if preparing to give a formal report. “…were passed out near an open vent. After we reconvened with the terro-“ he paused, digging his nails into his palms as he stared off to the side. “The armed detective agency. You were then healed and returned to normal.”
“And who is we?” Jouno asked with a brow raised, mood even more sour knowing it wasn't just Tecchou who saw him in that humiliating state.
“…Kenji. He’s one of the boys from the terr- Sorry. the armed detective agency. We joined forces temporarily to search for you, but only after we… settled our disagreement.” He stated flatly as if teaming up with a likely terrorist was something Tecchou did on the daily. Just what could have driven his usually upright partner to such means?
“Hm…” While settling back in bed to process the information, he’d ‘eye’ him with a hint of amusement. He sighs, “I must say I’m surprised, Tecchou-San. You’re the last person I’d imagine working side by side with terrorists.”
And it was true, before now, Tecchou himself couldn’t fathom doing such a thing. Throwing the mission away for Jouno was also something new to him. Still, there were obviously more pressing matters at the time. Just this once, bringing Jouno home triumphed over the morally correct course of action.
“It was an… interrogation.” His voice seemed distant, Tecchou must’ve turned his head away mid-sentence, how odd. “We had fought but… the issue was resolved quickly in order to prioritize searching for you.” His tone also held something he couldn’t quite read, as if there was something he desperately wanted to confess but couldn’t. The passive language too, it was just so unlike him.
“Really? Even though searching for me was never within the mission objective?” That farmer boy was certainly no stronger than any hunting dog, let alone their strongest, however, if that were the case Tecchou would have proudly mentioned that he had won. Then again, Tecchou's performance always proved to be inconsistent when no one was around to pull on his leash.
A myriad of insults danced upon Jouno’s tongue, but he decided that conversation could be saved for another time.
“It… may not have been, but I needed to find you before anything else.” His usual stern tone returns as his gaze fixes back to Jouno. “Since you left without telling me anything...”
Tecchou’s face was completely stony and expressionless, yet desperation slowly began to bleed into his tone. Jouno could feel the tenseness in his shoulders.
“No one understood why, but you just wouldn’t wake up. That woman assured me you would recover, but It’s been roughly 8 hours since then…”
And a little bit of bitterness as well, maybe even some left-over fury. “As I stood watch over your body, I could only think of how you left with the commander and promptly disappeared without so much as a goodbye.”
The explanation, or rather, Tecchou’s thinly veiled attempt at telling him off for going off on his own would only earn him a long, irritated sigh in response.
A sigh that made Tecchou’s jaw clench, with some kind of dissatisfaction. He wasn’t exactly sure what he expected. An apology? A heartfelt confession maybe? If that were the case, then his so-called partner didn’t know him at all.
It was Tecchou’s choice to put so much effort into looking for him, and his own to deal with Fukuchi without him.
“So, you get yourself into trouble looking for me and put the mission into jeopardy for your own selfish reasons, yet I’m to blame?” He questions, hoping this hopeless idiot would understand how ridiculous he sounded.
Tecchou’s mouth would open then close, Jouno’s unending sarcasm having finally reached him. He’d shiver and sharply dig his fingernails into his bandaged wrist which had now been ripped and caked in dried blood. In the back of his mind, he knew nothing Jouno said had been incorrect. After all, if he had truly never woken up, what did it matter? He’d be placed with a new ‘handler’, as Jouno likes to call it, and that would be it.
This was not the first, second, or third time they’ve had this discussion, yet each time it’d turn out the same. Each time Jouno would reject the idea of being something truly special and irreplaceable in Tecchou’s eyes and each time he’d accept that rejection. Yet…
“Suehiro, are you even listening?” By now, Jouno’s face had gone completely sour just waiting for a reply. Tecchou was never much of a conversation partner, but at least he usually tried to defend himself. “Seriously, what’s gotten into-…” He trails off quietly, sensing the increasing tension in Tecchou’s shoulders. No, the tension was inconsistent. He had to be shivering or trembling… Was it cold?
The edges of his mouth slowly relax into a thin line and his eyebrows furrow. Not even seconds later he’d detect the slight presence of salt from sweat…? It certainly wasn’t hot either. His heart was as flat as his monotone voice, nothing consistent with fear so that couldn’t be it either. The salty smell only grew stronger. He swore he could hear faint sniffling and-
“Oh- “, He’d deadpan. There was no need for words to convey his displeasure, that disgruntled look was enough. Suehiro Tecchou was crying right before his eyes. A realization that caused an inexplicable pang of something in his chest.
“Tecchou? Are you seriously…?” He trails off, not even finding it in him to sneer at the pathetic display.
In the awkward silence that followed, he tried hard to imagine Tecchou’s face as he trembled from his own quiet sobs, but none of the crying faces tucked away in his brain seemed to fit the usually stoic man. It was only times like this when he’d wished he’d ever lost his vision.
“Why go alone? Why didn’t you tell me anything?” His tone oddly gave away no emotions, yet he could hear his lips quivering ever so slightly. As always, the man made it impossible to read him. If it weren’t for his enhanced senses, he would never be able to detect that he was crying in the first place.
“A-Are… you really asking me that?” Exasperated, his response stuck to his throat. How the hell was he going to respond to that? He expected a fight or some empty lecture about Justice, not tears. Never tears, not from Suehiro Tecchou, the strongest military dog among them.
There was another pause as Tecchou attempted to collect himself, he could feel the frustration in his pulse as his tears simply refused to stop.
He finally shakes his head and asks, “What would I do with myself If… if you hadn’t come back?”
Fatigue be damned, Jouno violently recoiled in response as if he’d been burned, creating noticeable distance between them, his surprise morphed into slight disgust.
“Live?” He suggests, incredulously. “You’re supposed to live. You’re supposed to go on and complete the mission without me.” This is what they were all conditioned to do, surely Tecchou hadn’t forgotten so easily.
Jouno hears a faint swish of his black bangs, his head turning away being his only response then his bloodied hands moving up to wipe the tears from his reddening cheeks.
“I’m serious!” He says with complete and utter exasperation, “This is just about your orders, Suehiro. If I die, you’re just supposed to live without me, that’s just common sense!”
Golden eyes narrowed and he could feel that heavy gaze. Jouno levels his own gaze in rebuttal, unseeing eyes even colder and barren. Frustration came off his partner in waves. He’d known him long enough to know there was something he desperately wanted to say.
“Out with it!” Jouno finally snaps, sick and tired of the silent treatment and his lack of basic comprehension.
…
“I cannot.”
“You can’t?” his honeyed tone just barely held back laughter. “What the hell do you mean ‘you can’t?’”
“N-no… I mean I refuse!” Tecchou raises his voice and bangs his fist against the cheap bed frame. It shakes from the force and creaks under his grasp, much to Jouno’s displeasure. “When you disappeared…” His voice lowers to just above a whisper, “I tried to imagine every possible situation where you wouldn’t return. I couldn’t accept a single one of them.”
“Oh? And what are you saying?” He raises a brow, and at some point he sits up, his full body now facing his still-crying partner.
His response remains flat and unwavering. Tecchou’s blunt nails would ever so slightly scrape against the metal frame. The sound was almost as sickening as the smell of his tears.
“I’m saying that I would never stop searching for you. I’d check under every rock, in every crevasse. I’d leave no person unpunished, no rock unturned until you were returned to my side.”
Tecchou’s attempts to maintain his steely gaze, part of him was glad Jouno would never come to know the pathetic he was currently making.
“And what if you received undeniable proof that I was gone? What then?” Somehow, Jouno felt closer to some undeniable truth Tecchou had been hiding in his heart all this time. Something as dangerous as the man himself.
“Then I would have no choice but to-… to honor the promise I made to the coffee shop owner.”
“Oh, please,” Jouno scoffs, “If I told you to just die, would you, do it?” There was no anger, no rage, but another emotion that bubbled beneath Jouno’s poker face. Tecchou was far too stupid to read it, he opened his mouth to speak only for Jouno to raise his hand to cut him off preemptively. “Can you really call yourself a hero of Justice if you’re so eager to throw your life away over someone like me? When you perish, does Justice not perish with you? Who will be there to protect the innocent, or is this you finally admitting you never cared for those things in the first place?” He couldn’t believe him, the suicidal freak. The one constant in his world has always been Tecchou’s unwavering morality, and his need to protect the weak and innocent. How he could abandon himself got a colleague who spent every waking moment berating him, he could never understand. “Now, think about that, Tecchou-San, I’ll give you time to reconsider your answer.” He sits back against the pillow at his back and fixes his gaze to nothing in particular.
Tecchou’s heart jumps into his throat, his red, swollen eyes gradually lose their luster as he’s plunged deep into his own thoughts.
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Jouno had always insisted that he wasn’t a delicate flower. Any attempts to carry him or treat his injuries were usually met with verbal or even physical punishment. As Tecchou held his broken body in his arms, he wished with all his might those hands would miraculously move to strike him across the face. The blood staining his face and uniform was like red paint on a canvas. The ripped fabric exposed his alluring pale skin. He may be no delicate flower, but there was no denying that he withered away just as beautifully.
When he first discovered his collapsed body outside of an open vent, the world slowed to a stop. Just before, his thoughts raced, echoing in a maddening frenzy against his thick skull. But now, they halted to an agonizingly slow pace, bathing his brain in crackling static.
The rest was a blur, but he could vaguely recall Kenji leading him to his vice-captain and the rest of his injured friends. At some point, someone, likely that detective, had tried to explain the situation to him in full, but not once would his eyes or mind leave the man in his arms.
Even as Yosano slowly approached them both and offered to heal both their wounds, he’d stare blankly at Jouno’s face, silently hoping he’d stir, open his eyes, or just show any sign of life.
If Tecchou had been himself at that moment, he would have apologized for trying to kill her and the rest of her team just hours ago.
Unfortunately, there would be no response from the collapsed partner, not even the slightest twitch. Paranoia began to eat him alive, yet thankfully it gripped his throat and kept him from calling his name.
Vaguely, he could make out words of reassurance spoken to him in a muffled voice. As his dull eyes drift towards the sound, they sharpen like the sparks of a rekindled fire as they lock onto the so-called Angel of Death. Wide, manic amber met with apprehensive violet. The voice must have belonged to her and must have been something important, all things considered, but not a single word could quell the deep resentment that spread like ice in his veins. As Tecchou sat motionless, mere seconds away from simply finishing what he started back on that Highway, inadvertently, a voice would reach him.
‘Without a leash, You’re no better than a wild mutt.’ His eyes would move before his head snapped to full attention, back to Jouno. His relaxed face betrayed no emotion, his lips hadn’t even moved. He couldn’t have said anything at all. Still, that hallucination or memory his brain had inadvertently remembered, lit a lightbulb above his head.
It was true, his failure during this mission only proved a thought he’d been rejected ever since that sadist became his partner. He was no ally of Justice nor was he a hero. He barely even qualified as a soldier, for when it came to jouno all common sense and restraint went out the window. It was a dangerous habit of his, one Jouno warned would be his downfall one day, one he swore he’d correct through training, through his loss to Kenji, but he couldn’t so much as last 15 minutes without him when the time came. He couldn’t function properly without him.
He couldn’t live without him.
“Oi, Suehiro”, It was his vice commander that would pull him from his thoughts this time. With a gentle touch that massaged the tension from his shoulders, she issued her orders in a fiery, yet solemn voice, “I said take him inside. You’ll be on standby until he wakes up. The rest of us will-…”
Tecchou would waste no time, having already picked Jouno up and began carrying him inside. Teruko would not even get to finish speaking before he disappeared into the ADA’s office, desperately fighting tears and disgruntled thoughts that threatened to overtake him… again.
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Tecchou blinked himself back to the present, misery reflected deep within his eyes. His cheeks had dried by now, but tears still threatened to fall.
“I would do whatever you asked me to because...”, Just when did he become so broken? So useless? Thinking for himself and reacting on instinct, for a wild dog, was dangerous. “You come before anything else”, He mutters. This devotion was dangerous, but it was too late to turn his back on it.
Jouno, exercising excruciating patience, says nothing before letting out a disappointed sigh. Just as he thought, this man was hopeless.
“I don’t know why I expected anything different”, he sighs, resting his head in his hand.
Tecchou pressed his lips into a thin line, suddenly feeling like he failed some kind of test. “If you knew then why would you ask?”, Even though he always hated being tricked, his tone was free of any resentment, any emotion at all really.
Normally Jouno wouldn’t even bother to respond to such an asinine retort, but he’d spare his partner some sympathy just to get his point across.
“Because… I hoped that maybe in those few minutes I was absent you’d miraculously learn some common sense and just live for yourself”, If Tecchou wasn’t so strong, he’d be nothing but a burden, still, he hoped the man could be okay without his constant presence. “But it turns out that you're more hopeless than I thought you were…”
This went deeper than Tecchou’s inability to think for himself. He had the growing suspicion that hadn’t been the case for a long time, but it was better to think of it that way. It made it easier to reprimand him. To hate him for it.
“I don’t understand”, Tecchou robotically replied.
“Of course, you don’t. You never do.” He rolls over and turns his back to him, not that it matters. He could still hear Tecchou’s agonizing breathing, the ever so faint tortured sobs that threatened to bubble over, and that erratic heartbeat, yet he no longer had the energy to interrogate nor to comfort him.
In the tense silence that followed, Jouno would settle back against the pillows and hope it wouldn’t be broken. This time, Tecchou would do so all on his own.
“…How long will you refuse to acknowledge me?” His voice sounded far more broken from all the emotion he held back, more so than it’s ever been.
“…” Another deep sigh, but he doesn’t bother to even turn to look at him. “Did the kid ever inform you about what happened between me and our commander?”
Tecchou blinked, confusion just barely evident in his features. “No. She only told us your possible whereabouts, and that you were hurt…”
Tension relaxed from Jouno’s shoulders at the confirmation that Aya was still alive. He didn’t know why, but the thought of her dying left a bad taste in his mouth. “Well, he attempted to recruit me to his little terrorist organization, so I slit his throat, or rather, I tried. I would have been successful had he not used that… that strange ability.”
“You’re changing the subject.” He replied duly, completely unamused.
“No, this is very much on topic.” Jouno could feel Tecchou’s heart skip, his muscles clench, his sadness was so easily replaced by frustration. “Consider the situation carefully, Suehiro. I cut down our precious commander just like that, without so much of a second thought.” He turns to him now, milky red eyes completely unfocused, yet holding a chilling intensity that could kill.
“That was an act of disobedience, of treason. You understand that, don’t you?”
Tecchou would blink once then twice before he realized he was making direct eye contact with Jouno, letting silence befall them as he deciphered the meaning of his words. They were perfect, he could have lost himself in them had his words not driven a shake through his heart.
“…You believed I would have stopped you?” His tone held an air of disbelief, “You… you didn’t trust me.”
Jouno did not answer, for he felt no need to.
“How did you know to…” Trust a child over your own partner, “…secure a witness?”
“I had my sneaking suspicion of that old man for a while now, but not enough to confirm anything,” Jouno said it so casually, he asserted that he held not an ounce of trust in Tecchou so nonchalantly. “He was a good actor evidently.”
“I’m capable of disobeying orders… especially when… when he betrayed us first!” He couldn't help the frustration that bled into his tone.
“Oooh, An eye for an eye? And here I thought you were the type to foolishly stick to your principles.” Despite the way the edges of his mouth tugged up into an odd smile, Jouno didn’t seem amused in the slightest. “Though there’s one problem. You would have had no firm confirmation that our commander was plotting against us, Suehiro. Asking the strongest, most loyal weapon the hunting dogs have to offer to potentially betray his boss on nothing, but a hunch was unfathomable.”
“Weapon?” he breathed to himself, taking full offense. Did he just say weapon? He brought the back of his shaking hand to his mouth to hold back the ‘laughter’ that threatened to escape.
Was that all he was to him… or was this a trick to get him to walk out? And that name, his last name, was so impersonal that he cringed every time he used it against him. He could almost feel Jouno physically pushing him away. After all, Jouno was a master at pushing his limits. He clearly derived some sadistic pleasure from peeling apart the thin layers of Tecchou’s moral code; perhaps he too had sensed the slow corrosion of his so-called iron will.
“No. I would have believed in you.” He straightens up, losing that pitiful look on his face from just moments before. “We have been partners for more than 6 years now, Jouno. How could I not?” He couldn’t believe it, the obedience and loyalty he’d always been praised for had backfired. Even his own partner saw him as no more than a dog. Perhaps Jouno had hated him all this time. Maybe he meant every negative thing he’s said-…
No, he shook away that thought and continued with as much passion his heart could muster.
“You knew something was wrong. The innocent were being framed, you saw this injustice and did all you could to protect that girl's smile… even when I couldn’t!” He stood to his feet then, white-knuckling the bed frame, “I understand that I often struggle with thinking for myself, that I can be naive or easily fooled. These shortcomings have always stood in my way of becoming a proper tool of Justice.” As much as he tried, even he could not remain eternally impartial. He was the strongest, yet still imperfect, still human. “But this is why we are partners, to trust in each other… to not allow each other to be deluded or led astray! To ensure we both make it back alive…”
Tecchou’s tone softened by the end just as he noticed the slight crease in Jouno’s brow, his disgruntled look. He’d gotten close, too close for his volume and tone of voice. He bows his head then slowly sinks back into his seat. His blunt nails dig deep into his palms, drawing blood.
Like Jouno, he too had acted out on his own but failed, injuring others in the process. Alone, He acted out of selfishness, he broke his promise, while Jouno pursued Justice even at the cost of his own life. Alone, He never could have picked up on Fukuchi’s lies or Jouno’s change in behavior at the airport. Even unknowingly, he was used as a tool for destruction and perfectly played the part. In the end, he couldn’t protect anyone. As much as he wanted to fight it, His partner was correct in not trusting him.
“Oh? Are you saying you’d choose me over the commander? Is your sense of Justice really that flimsy?” He’d hope his condescending reply would shoot down whatever armchair theory Tecchou concocted in defense of himself. Though he hadn’t detected a single lie from him, guilt had clearly set itself deeply into Tecchou’s bones. Every move of his muscles carried with it a great pain that somewhat earned him Jouno’s pity.
Tecchou massages his hands, though he’d been healed, he still remembered the pain of his own failure vividly. At that exact moment, he resigned himself to die, knowing in those final moments that Jouno hated him till the very end and that he could do nothing to change it. I’m the end, he couldn’t ever change a single thing and he only had himself to blame.
“You’re a good person, Jouno. I believe your heart is just. If you felt that was the correct decision at that moment, then I too will stand by it no matter what… you will never change this in my mind.”
Jouno’s face reddens then scrunches up in displeasure. Tecchou’s thrumming pulse, his twitchy mannerisms, his draw towards self-destruction. This level of mental gymnastics wasn’t befitting of the usually stoic, unfeeling machine of a man. If he wasn’t speaking in the same soft, ever-flat tone, he’d believed he’d been replaced mid-conversation.
Still, Jouno could not detect a single lie.
“Oh, Please,” he scoffs. “And what if that wasn’t the case? What if all of this were for some selfish gain? What if I had tricked you too, Suehiro? What then?”
Amber eyes scan the thin white curtain that separates them from the rest of the infirmary. He failed to see the relevance of his questions, there was a connection he just couldn’t see. His voice comes out as if just above a whisper.
“You nearly leave me behind forever and this is what you ask- “
“Answer me now or leave.” He commanded. He wouldn’t allow Tecchou to get away with vague affirmations justified by deluded morality. Not this time. He wanted to break down the military’s show mutt, expose the rawest parts of him, his limits… then sneer at him for his hypocrisy.
Jouno glared daggers at him, but Tecchou’s voice would not tremble, nor would he flinch.
” Even if you were wrong and turned out to be the traitorous scum you pretend to be…” Tecchou eyes settled back on Jouno’s face, every strand of his snowy white hair dipped into deep crimson was so dazzling to the eyes that it nearly blinded him. “I would still follow you to the ends of the earth, no exceptions.” The confession drifts aimlessly through the air gracing both of their ears for the very first time.
He’d raze the world for him, cut down anything that separated them. The things his blade couldn’t cut were few and far inbetween but even those unidentifiable, intangible things, he’d find a way to eliminate them for Jouno’s sake. He’d make the impossible possible.
And was that so bad? Did that make him evil? Could he not embody the Justice he sought all this time with such selfish desires? No, he possessed no evil desires… his ‘affection’ for
Jouno was pure and therefore just. It was love.
The longer he contemplated, the more twisted his thoughts became. His temporary alliance with Kenji had uncovered the lengths he’d go to for Jouno’s sake, how eager he was to lose himself, and how resigned he was to die for the same person over and over.
He had been enlightened.
“And is this your final answer, Suehiro Tecchou?” Red-tipped hair framed his grim expression beautifully as he gave the illusion of locking eyes with the man before him. Jouno could see more of him than anyone else ever could, far beyond the stalwart strength others found comfort in. Similarly, he understood Jouno’s motivations beyond his cruel sadism, he knew him better than anyone else, perhaps even better than he knew his own self.
Tecchou leans forward, crossing the endless distance between them. He knows to keep his voice down this time.
“I need you more than you could ever know, Saigiku.” He pleaded, voice breaking to pieces by the end. His words carried an intimate warmth, a weakness reserved only for his partner.
A shiver would travel up his spine, such a dependent mindset was uniquely terrifying even for a devil like himself to imagine. If this truly was his doing or the work of some long-term manipulation, then Tecchou would easily qualify as his best work yet, no contest. All this time, Tecchou had failed to even realize this ‘acceptance’ was no self-actualization, it was complete character death, yet Jouno sensed no shame. Had he been as evil as Fukuchi believed him to be, he could’ve taken this as permission to do as he pleased, to have him know the shame he’s seemingly forgotten. It was the perfect opportunity to morph his partner’s soul into something horribly twisted and completely unrecognizable or reject him outright just to see the man fall apart and beg for forgiveness.
The possibilities were endless, his head spun with a dizzying high. Clearly, whatever madness Tecchou had succumbed to in his brief absence must have been contagious.
His lips move, yet no words would leave them. Something settled and dragged the words back down his throat and into his stomach while something else fluttered wildly about. As Jouno contemplated the cause for the strange sickness that had suddenly befallen him, the idiot at his bedside would only continue.
“For you…” Tecchou reached out once again to caress the back of his hand with his thumb. Jouno’s palms were slick with sweat and trembled. The saltiness, his warmth, licked at Tecchou’s self-inflicted wounds. “Absolutely anything… I- “
And as Jouno’s face shifted from deadly serious to sheer panic, Tecchou’s lips curled into a gentle smile. He hungrily takes in every bit of those glossy winter cherries before snowy white lashes shutter them off from the world once again.
A deep silence fell between them. Jouno held his breath, waiting for those three terrifying words to tumble from his partner's mouth…
Thank God they never came.
“…You must be out of your mind, Tecchou, to throw away the very basis of your beliefs for a coworker.” He mutters bitterly as he squeezes his hand painfully tight, fear thinly veiled by indignation. His other hand trembles as it finds its way to his cheek. Fingers gently glide over his distinct petal tattoos, the corners of his mouth, and his lips, memorizing that revolting expression of love before settling on his chin. Tecchou feels himself being pulled closer and takes this as his cue to lay his head back on Jouno’s chest.
Jouno jolts in response, the move completely unexpected but not unwelcome. Yet Tecchou would pay his shivering pulse no mind, reading Jouno’s unease as requited affection. Thin fingers then reluctantly settle in his hair, combing through the strands as if congratulating a loyal pet. Despite the way his hand still dully ached from Jouno’s crushing grip, this ‘act of love’ will become yet another delusion to indulge himself in.
Even as Jouno’s nails dug deeply into his scalp and tugged his hair at the base, that smile would not leave Tecchou’s face.
“D-Don’t you dare ignore me.” Jouno breathed through grit teeth, the quiet threat sparked danger into the calming atmosphere between them, but Tecchou would not miss the way his tone wavered.
“I don’t understand what more you want me to say, Jouno. I’ve explained myself thoroughly and I meant every word… All that’s left is that you heal, and I obey my orders to remain by your side”, he replied into the fabric of his torn uniform. At some point during the petting, he had closed his eyes, and he no longer had any intention of opening them nor moving from his position atop his chest.
“Well, your orders only dictated that you stay until I had regained consciousness, correct? So, this.” He tugs upward in a halfhearted attempt to move him, “All of this is beyond your orders, Su-e-hi-ro Te-cchou.” Every syllable that Jouno spoke stung him like poison in his veins.
“Mm…” he purred in acknowledgment, the sensation tickled his scalp pleasantly even as his black strands were pulled up from the root. It was a pain he’d long grown accustomed to and one he’d continue to endure. “Then I choose to remain by my own volition.”
“You-….” Jouno grunts, grinding his teeth together, then sighs, “Fine, you win.” Once the bumbling oaf had his mind set on something, there was no convincing him otherwise. Besides, he didn’t currently have the strength to use his ability or throw him off. It was hard to believe Tecchou had taken advantage of him like this, but there was no use plotting his revenge while bedridden.
Jouno sighs once more, having no choice but to relax back against the infirmary’s pillows and sink into the creaky mattress. It seems after arguing for nearly an hour, his devoted partner had finally run out of things to say, though clearly, Jouno was the one to throw in the towel first. Tecchou’s pulse slowed to a peaceful lull, his expression faded to neutrality, and his breathing soon followed. As Jouno counted every movement of his thrumming heart, his own pulse would slowly follow. He could feel his anxious thoughts melt away and the churning within his stomach finally subside as he dozed off with his devoted partner peacefully snuggled up against his chest.