#funniest thing about teru is that any possible romantic interest of his in canon does not like him back

[mari-lair]

Let's talk about Teru and Aoi and how interesting Teru behavior with Aoi is.

Teru is on a mission to see what has changed from the original timeline to this one, he said so himself.

But he makes a strange move and completely ignores the very big change he was presented with: His engagement with Aoi. The plan was to abandon his 'brand new fiance' and go look for other changes.

Aoi holding his armband, asking for his attention in a very Aoi way and showing a willingness to go on a date with him shocked Teru less than the engagement news but it stuck to him in a way the engagement did not.

Just compare how Teru go 'welp it is what it is, what a strange timeline,' with a level of dismissal that makes him talk to Akane instead of Aoi about the situation.

To how he takes this Aoi at least seriously enough to question her request for them to go out.

So the idea Aoi wants to date him is more confusing to him than being engaged. So much so he does what he does with the original Aoi and starts asking her questions, even picturing the old Aoi as he ask for her hand, adding a lot of '...' in it.

It feels like a test.

A test Aoi failed by accepting his hand, doing something the Aoi he knew never would.

Teru is closed up during his date with Aoi.

He goes with the flow because he needs answers to go back home, he needs to figure out why she is so different but he is tense about this date. His sword bag is a tight fist, pulling at the strap when she clings to his arm.

During their entire date, he keeps this fake little smile on. Avoiding to touch her as much as he can, and not having much to say despite usually not only being good at acting like a flirty prince when people want him to, but having fun in the role.

So Teru isn't indifferent in his date he is tense as fuck.

When he decides he'll send the picture to Akane and Aoi breaks character from lovey dovey fiance, Teru shows a hint of interest again, he goes "ohh? is there a problem?"

It's another test.

She fails but her panics about hurting Akane must either remind him of the og aoi or entertain his more sadistic side, so he goes 'hmmm', which is unimpressed for sure, but still a far more positive reaction than the "unease" that popped up when aoi had held his hand.

By the end of their date i'm pretty sure Teru comes to the conclusion Aoi likes him. I believe this for two reasons.

First, he start playing along with his fiance role instead of being guarded and silent, asking her to feed him with a smile that doesn't feel fake or tense, it's his usual :D expression instead of the :) he has been wearing this whole chapter.

The second thing of note is that this is the first time he actually touches Aoi.

During the entire manga, even in the old timeline, Teru never even poked her shoulder, but this time he lightly holds her hand to stabilize the snack.

He seems bothered by people crowding them and he actually perks up when Aoi asks him to go to a more isolated place, his smile feels somewhat casual at the invite too, not like his tense ones from before.

When Aoi slaps him he is surprised.

And this part only further suggests that when he had asked Aoi to fed him, he was under the impression she genuinely likes him in this timeline.

So he doesn't have a problem doing couple things like being fed by Aoi as long as he believes Aoi enjoys it too.

But she doesn't like him.

Just like the Aoi he knows doesn't. It feels right.

Teru is happy.

Immediately after learning this Teru tries to find more similarities with the old Aoi, asking about her crush on akane and going back to his mission of determining why changes happened.

Aoi mentions they are both unhappy in this arranged marriage and that they are only playing along to appease their families. Teru is surprised that he is unhappy too.

I am not entirely sure what this means but it is noteworthy that he seems genuinely surprised the 'him' of this timeline is opposed to the marriage Aoi.

This little Teru is a brat, but his smile and blush contrast with his word. Either he is displeased greatly by this but refuses to 'play victim' like Aoi, or he cares more than he lets on.

He was the one who found her when Aoi admitted her intention was to hide. So he went out of his way to find this "annoying victim blaming girl"

Maybe this means his parents ordered Teru to go find her fiance, make a good first impression, and put on appearances, maybe he went to find her himself for some reason?

As of now, it's hard to say, we don't have enough info about this new timeline to guess very well, but it is food for thought.

Now back to the old timeline, with the Teru we are familiar with: Aoi asks about his family, about expectations and performance, and that isn't a topic he is very comfortable with, just look at his face.

But he does answer her.

He is very awkward, but he doesn't lie, it feels genuine.

He even mentions his mom, which he hasn't mentioned to anyone before, not even Akane.