#sorry if this is rough i havwnr written in so long

[jounosparticles]

What Your Heart Desires

(Part One)

Jouno notices something is off when Tetchou gets oddly flustered at a simple compliment

genre: fluff

word count: 1758

When it comes to finding the truth, Jouno is easily the best of the Hunting Dogs. He can see through people’s words by listening to the sound of their heartbeat, and can easily talk his way into getting just about anyone to tell him the truth. Due to this, people tend to never bother lying about anything around Jouno, since he is not afraid to call people out on their true intent.

When sent on missions, Jouno is typically paired with Tetchou; the two make a fantastic team, and have taken down thousands of criminals effortlessly. Despite the fact that they argue non-stop, the work partners understand each other deeply.

After completing a mission a lot quicker than expected, the two decide to go grab a coffee before returning to the Hunting Dog’s base.

“Just go sit down, I’ll order for the two of us. No need to scare another barista with your horrific food choices,” Jouno smirks at his coworker. Tetchou goes and sits at the table the two usually occupy.

Jouno’s hearing is extremely sensitive, so finding a quiet place that serves good coffee made the two come here after a lot of missions.

“Here.” Tetchou takes the coffee that Jouno is handing him. He watches as his partner sits across from him.

“You did surprisingly well today, Tetchou. Usually you’re a pain to work with, but today you made the job much easier.” Surprisingly, that was one of the nicer things Jouno has said to his coworker. Tetchou knows that Jouno isn’t actually a mean person, but he definitely likes to argue and throw jabs whenever he gets the chance.

“You’re acting awfully nice today,” Tetchou sarcastically responds.

“Is it wrong for me to appreciate your work from time to time?”

“No, it’s just unusual of you.”

“Don’t get used to it.” Jouno takes a sip of his drink. He couldn’t help but notice that Tetchou’s heartrate raised a little after the comment. That’s odd, I barely said anything to him. Jouno thought to himself. Am I really that flattering?

Tetchou interrupts his train of thought, “you did well too.”

“Of course I did, I am the greatest Hunting Dog after all.”

“Not in combat.”

“Oh shut up, your sword would have nothing against me.”

Tetchou sighs, he knows he won’t win in an argument against Jouno. He enjoys trying to bother him, seeing his coworker’s pissed off face is something he adores. Jouno has always been entertaining in conversation, however, lately those feelings Tetchou has felt have began to evolve a bit. Jouno seems a bit more endearing lately; the way he smiles as he talks, the way he says Tetchou’s name, the way his hair always looks soft, it all makes Tetchou feel a way he can’t seem to feel about anyone else. He wasn’t sure why, but he couldn’t stop imagining the way Jouno complimented his performance on the mission a few moments prior.

The white haired man very quickly noticed that his partner was breathing very shallow, as if he had something on his mind. “What is it? Your breathing sounds off.” This behaviour was unusual, Tetchou is typically very collected, having a slow heartbeat combined with deep breathing.

Tetchou doesn’t know how to respond to this. He doesn’t exactly understand what he’s feeling either. He feels happy, but also confused. Why was one tiny comment filling his mind? It wasn’t even a big deal, yet it was oddly affirming to hear. Still, Tetchou wouldn’t want to honestly answer that question, that just sounds like an easy way to get made fun of. “Nothing is wrong, I’m just tired today,” the man says quickly and sternly. Hopefully that was believable enough for Jouno to just move on.

A lie? Why would he lie to me? Surely he knows I can tell that isn’t the truth. Jouno thinks to himself. It was extremely out-of-character for Tetchou to lie, he is typically honest to everybody he speaks with. Jouno scrunches his eyebrows in confusion. “You know that I can tell you’re lying, right? What’s gotten into you? You’ve been acting off since we sat down.” Jouno is clearly frustrated. There’s no way it actually has to do with me saying he did well, right?

Tetchou has no clue of what to say in response. He decided to just ignore the question. The two sit in silence for a few moments, sipping at their lattes and thinking to themselves. Eventually, Jouno finally breaks the tension.

“Did I do something?” He asks sincerely. Almost immediately, he could feel the body heat of the man in front of him raise. I was right, he thought to himself. Maybe I can say something else later to test this.

“No. It was just a good mission, I’m not sure why I sound off to you.”

Another lie? I could just leave him be for now. Or maybe I could torment him for a bit. Jouno warmly smiles at Tetchou, before taking another sip of his drink. “About today’s mission, you cut down the enemy really quickly! I’m still rather impressed.”

“Thank you. It really isn’t a big deal.”

“If it wasn’t a big deal, why is your heart fluttering again whenever I talk about it? You know Tetchou, I heard it when I first mentioned the mission as well.” Jouno looks smugly, “are my compliments just that sweet to you?” The brunette could tell that Jouno was having fun with this. Yet, despite the embarrassment, he was enjoying the feeling. Still, there’s no way he would outright admit to that.

“You’re just trying to bother me, aren’t you? Sorry, your tactics don’t work on me.” Tetchou grins.

“It sounds like they’re working.” The white haired man finishes his coffee, and stops to think. Oh, this will be fun.

Tetchou finishes his drink as well, and stands up. Jouno stands as well, “come with me Tetchou, lets go for a quick walk before heading to the base.”

“We have work to do, we should head back now.” Tetchou argues, in reality he would adore going on a walk with Jouno, but work comes first.

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t look like we have anything except paperwork to get done for the rest of the day. A quick walk will be completely fine.” Jouno insists. Usually, Jouno also opts to get work done first, so him insisting they put off the job is odd. Tetchou sighs in agreement, and they leave the cafe.

The two take a walk through a small forest near the cafe. Since it’s the middle of a weekday, it’s extremely quiet. The two walk in silence for a while, while Jouno thinks of new ways to bother Tetchou. Does he just like compliments? Does it have to do with me specifically? It wouldn’t hurt to test him.

Jouno steps a bit closer to his work partner, who is moving very quietly. Jouno moves a bit closer, brushing his hand against Tetchou’s. “Sorry about that! I didn’t realize I moved that close to you,” he lies to the brunette. Immediately, Tetchou started feeling his own face heat up. Jouno feels this, and holds back a smile. So, he liked that too? Is it really possible that he sees me in that light? Jouno can’t help but feel a bit smug over this. The idea of someone swooning over him makes him feel great. But of all people, he wasn’t expecting Tetchou to be the one to feel this way. This idea made Jouno feel genuinely happy for some reason. He always secretly admired Tetchou, but never thought to see him in anything but a friendly light. Maybe there was more to his own feelings that he was avoiding.

“No worries,” Tetchou replied. Was that on purpose? Or did he actually touch my hand by accident? he thought to himself. It didn’t really bother him either way, but feeling Jouno’s soft hand against his own felt nice. I shouldn’t think too much about it. It’s not even a big deal.

“Why did we have to walk out here again? We should head back soon,” Tetchou asks.

“Just thought it would make for a good break. Besides, I’m enjoying listening to you.”

“You are? We’re barely talking.”

Jouno smiles, “I’m listening to your heart, and the way it beats a little faster whenever I talk to you. The way it started racing when I grazed your hand was a wonderful sound.”

“It surprised me, of course my heart would beat a bit faster.” Tetchou rolls his eyes. He doesn’t really know what to take from this situation, why was Jouno insisting on talking about this? It’s not like Tetchou would willingly explain his feelings. He couldn’t say his thoughts out loud. Jouno made him happy, happier than any other person does. Jouno felt warm, despite his cold exterior. Jouno was fun to talk to, and to work with. He loved looking at Jouno, his pretty hair, his cute smile, the way his uniform fit around his body. He loved hearing Jouno speak, he loved saying Jouno’s name. Everything about this man made Tetchou feel safe. Do I really have feelings for him? Can he tell? Is this why he’s acting like this? Tetchou is dumbfounded about his own feelings. He had felt like this for a while, but didn’t think to equate the feelings to anything more than friendship until Jouno started teasing him.

Jouno lets out a small sigh. “Mhm, okay. I can understand your heartbeat changing due to being shocked, but it doesn’t explain why your temperature rose. I can feel that as well.” Jouno found the attention he was getting extremely charming, his mind filled with ideas on how to torment his partner about these newfound feelings.

“I’m not sure why. I’m sure it’s nothing.” Tetchou quickly responded. He was clearly trying to dismiss the topic, which just made Jouno more tempted to bother him.

Jouno stops walking, “Tetchou.”

“What is it?” Tetchou faces him.

Jouno moves slightly closer, and places his hand on the side of the brunette’s head, running his fingers through his hair. “Listen to me.” Tetchou doesn’t respond, Jouno can hear the anxiousness his partner is feeling. His reaction makes Jouno smirk. He pulls himself closer, whispering in Tetchou’s ear:

“You can try to lie to me all you want, but your entire body is telling me how you truly feel.” Before Tetchou even gets to respond, Jouno turns away.

“Let’s get back to work, we’ve been gone long enough!”