Work Text:
Tetchō never got used to the headaches.
It had been a long day. Tetchō and Jōno had finished a job late into the night, and by the time they got to the hotel, it was far past midnight. Tetchō had barely entered the room before he collapsed on the small couch. He wiped his hand under his nose, and just as he suspected, there was a dark smear of blood across his skin. He threw his hat off to the side, then sifted around in the small bag he carried for some painkillers.
But not even the strongest painkillers could fend off this kind of headache. Even the ones he had received from the government that would be illegal to have had he not been a Hunting Dog.
"Tetchō," Jōno spoke from the other side of the room, having set their things down already. They had already removed their cape and jacket, leaving them in the thin black sweater they wore under their uniform. "I'm going to go take a bath. I suggest you do the same once I'm done. You smell awful."
"'Kay," was all Tetchō could bring himself to say. Jōno didn't mean anything negative by their words; they were always irritable after a job. Tetchō couldn't entirely blame them, considering the sensory overload they were constantly experiencing due to their artificially heightened senses.
Tetchō dry swallowed his painkillers before sitting up and pulling off his jacket and sweater. He was getting overheated, anyway. This hotel could stand to turn the air conditioning up a little further.
The job he and Jōno had gone on today wasn't much out of the ordinary, at least by Hunting Dogs standards, but Tetchō had to stretch his sword far longer than usual. The use of his ability had become more of a mental workout than a physical one, needing to pinpoint exactly where he needed the sword to go, how it needed to turn, and how to catch something in the distance with it without seeing it. It was exhausting and left him with a headache so bad his nose and ears would bleed. The enhancements to his ability were mainly done through his brain, it was no wonder the pain was concentrated in his head.
Tetchō hadn't realized how long he'd been lying here until Jōno opened the bathroom door, a towel wrapped around their waist. Tetchō could plainly see the fresh surgery scar running from Jōno's lower chest to their navel. He had the same one.
Jōno felt around the room until they reached the bed closest to the wall, the one they had left their bag on earlier. They sifted around their bag for their pajamas as Tetchō stood up from the couch. He immediately felt dizzy and instinctively reached into his bag for more painkillers.
"How many of those have you taken?" Jōno said, hearing the noise of the pills rattling around in the bottle.
Tetchō sighed. "Three."
"It could cause some serious problems if you take more than that," Jōno said. "Give those to me." Jōno's ask was a neutral request. They were supposed to keep Tetchō from being too impulsive, it was only part of their job.
Tetchō left his bag with Jōno and announced that he was going to take a shower. He closed the bathroom door behind him and turned on the light, the mirror still fogged up from Jōno's bath. Wiping away some of the fog on the mirror with his hand, Tetchō stared at himself, leaning on the counter, too dizzy to hold himself up otherwise. He had left fingerprints on the mirror, but couldn't bring himself to care. He looked exhausted, his hair was tangled, and his face had more blood smeared across it than he had anticipated. Tetchō turned the shower on, then cracked the bathroom door to let some of the steam escape. Too much steam made him dizzy, and he didn't particularly care if Jōno walked in on him, anyway.
Tetchō undressed and stepped into the shower. The water was scalding, the pain of the water distracting him from the throbbing in his head. All he could bring himself to do was sit at the bottom of the shower, letting the water fall over him. The painkillers weren't kicking in nearly as fast as he would like them to.
Tetchō sat like that for a while before finally gathering the energy to stand back up. He washed his hair and body, making sure to thoroughly rinse out his thick hair. He combed through it with his fingers, having left his comb in his bag, which he had left in the main room. Tetchō stared at his hands as he turned off the water. The scars went down his arms and through every finger. The scar on his right hand from the initial surgery slightly disrupted the pattern of his tattoo, the skin sewn back together in a way that was about a millimeter off. Not enough for anyone but Tetchō to notice. He regretted not mentioning it to Jōno when he had 'shown' them his tattoos.
Tetchō took a fresh towel from the rack and dried himself off. He smeared the steam off the mirror again, taking a look at himself. He looked much better than he had before with the blood off his face, even if he did still look exhausted. His head still pounded. The small improvement really wasn't saying much, considering how intense the pain still was.
Once his body was sufficiently dry, Tetchō opened the door to the bathroom. "Saigiku?"
"Hm?" Jōno was sitting cross-legged on the bed nearest the wall, reading something with the braille display on their laptop. They wore a loose white t-shirt with simple flannel pants.
"Do you mind if I use the hair dryer?" Tetchō asked. He knew the hair dryer could cause Jōno sensory hell, he had learned this from experience. They were wearing their hearing suppressors, but they could only block out so much. No amount of suppressors could get Jōno down to a normal level of hearing.
Jōno sighed. "I appreciate you asking, but what do you think I'm going to say to that?"
"I figured," Tetchō said neutrally. He returned to the bathroom and got another towel, drying his thick hair the best he could. It always took forever for his hair to dry. Once he was satisfied, he came back out and got his clothes from his bag, putting on a black tank top and a pair of shorts.
Tetchō flopped onto the other bed, face buried in the pillow. His headache wasn't letting up. It was all he could think about. Jōno stayed quiet as they continued to read.
Tetchō rolled over onto his back. He turned his head and stared at Jōno.
"Can you pet my hair?" Tetchō blurted.
"What?" Jōno turned their head in Tetchō's direction in surprise.
"Sorry," Tetchō said. "I should've thought about that."
"Well—that's—" Jōno stammered. "Fine. Whatever, come over here." They motioned for Tetchō to come over, closing their laptop and setting it next to them. "But only for a few minutes."
Tetchō stood up too quickly, feeling dizzy. He steadied himself before sitting down beside Jōno, resting his head in their lap. Jōno didn't move; they must not have expected Tetchō to lay directly in their lap, but they didn't say anything or push him away.
The first thing Tetchō noticed is that Jōno's hands were cold. Their long, thin fingers rest on Tetchō's head, gently running through his hair. Tetchō hoped he had dried his hair well enough.
"You need to stop pushing the limits of your skill like that," Jōno spoke after a few minutes of sitting in comfortable silence. "You think I don't notice when I hear that sword of yours extend?"
Tetchō sighed. "I needed to catch them," he said plainly. He had wrapped his sword around a car multiple times in order to stop it. His sword could go even further than that if he wanted, but every time he extended it, it hurt more and more in the aftermath. It always feels fine in the moment, but once the adrenaline wears off, it's nothing short of miserable.
Jōno's hand rested on the side of Tetchō's head, feeling over the scar on the right side of it; the one from the brain surgery. The brain surgery was supposed to increase his reaction time, reflexes, and control over his ability. Specifically, the strength and capabilities of his ability. Gifted abilities were never meant to be manipulated like this, Tetchō soon learned. There was a reason his ability never allowed him to control his sword to this degree before the operation. It fucking hurt .
Jōno lingered on the scar, just as they did with the scar on his arm weeks ago. It was another reminder of what Tetchō is—what they both are.
Tetchō turned in Jōno's hold, curling up next to them, his head facing their midsection. He wrapped an arm around their waist instinctively. Jōno didn't move, save for the fact that they had moved their hand from the scar and back to the rest of Tetchō's hair. They stayed quiet. Tetchō closed his eyes and tried to relax. The room was calm and quiet; he could fall asleep like this if he tried.
Leaning back into a more comfortable spot, Jōno shifted their position, but their hand never left Tetchō's hair. Tetchō took this as his cue to move up a bit, resting his head on Jōno's chest rather than their lap.
Jōno stifled a laugh. "You really are clingy today."
As if on cue, Tetchō pulled Jōno into a half-hug. "Is that bad?" He asked.
Jōno paused for a second, as if seriously contemplating their answer.
"I'm too exhausted to pretend I hate it, Tetchō. It's fine." Jōno hesitated before continuing, but decided to just go for it. "It's kind of pleasant."
Tetchō smiled softly against Jōno's shirt, giving them a squeeze. He felt Jōno's other arm wrap around his waist as they continued to run their hand through his hair. As nice as all this felt, Tetchō's head still throbbed with pain. He tried to shift his focus solely on Jōno's touch. They were so gentle with him like this, quite the contrast from their usual sharp tongue and cold, calculated moves. This was a side of Jōno that Tetchō rarely got to see, their softer, tired side.
"Is your head feeling better?"
Tetchō didn't look up, taking a second to process what Jōno had asked him.
"Not really." Tetchō sighed. "But don't stop. It feels nice." Jōno had said earlier they would only do this for a few minutes, but it had been far more than a few minutes. Tetchō wasn't particularly concerned about Jōno pushing him away.
Jōno didn't say anything in response. They only pulled Tetchō in closer with the arm around his waist. It was their turn to give Tetchō a squeeze. Jōno knew as well as Tetchō did that the only way to get rid of these headaches was to wait them out.
"Hold on," Jōno said, moving their hand from Tetchō's hair. Tetchō frowned at the sudden cold that his head felt. "Sit up for a second." Jōno ordered. Tetchō reluctantly did as they said.
Jōno felt around, finding where the covers were still neatly made. Tetchō moved when he realized what Jōno was doing, giving them room to pull the covers over both of them. Tetchō hoped he wouldn't get overheated under the covers. He generally ran hot, while Jōno was usually cold.
Once Jōno was satisfied with the covers, they resumed their previous position, pulling Tetchō back onto their chest, hand back in his hair. Tetchō loosely took Jōno's free hand in his own. He could feel a very faint line on the back of their hand, up to each of their fingertips. The scars. He gave their hand a squeeze, more for his own comfort. He felt that Jōno shouldn't have these scars, the same as he did about himself. A constant reminder that they were both nothing but weapons, almost as much of a reminder as the ache in Tetchō's head.
"What am I doing?" Jōno shook their head fondly, their words pulling Tetchō from his thoughts. The question was more directed at themself than Tetchō.
"You're petting my hair and holding me," Tetchō responded. It was, in fact, what Jōno was doing, even if Tetchō knew they didn't expect an actual answer.
"It was a rhetorical question."
Tetchō smiled. "I know."
Jōno scoffed, fond. "Whatever."
Tetchō knew what Jōno had meant by the question, though, the unexpected speed at which this relationship progressed. A few months ago, Jōno hadn't even been able to stand Tetchō, what with his strange personality and impulsivity. The former, Tetchō had been dealing with his whole life. He was 'odd', as his parents would say, and Jōno initially seemed to agree.
Jōno seemed to have changed their mind, though. Tetchō couldn't even try to guess why. He'd asked before, and Jōno didn't seem to know either. They had only known each other a few months; now Jōno was holding him close like it was the most natural thing in the world. Considering how small Tetchō's world had felt since he joined the Hunting Dogs, having someone like Jōno was more than he could ask for.
Jōno's breathing began to slow, and their hand slowed with it. They hadn't been lying when they said they were exhausted. Eventually, their hand had gone still, still resting in Tetchō's hair. Tetchō felt similarly exhausted, and wanted more than anything to sleep off this headache. He felt as if Jōno were a cat, the unspoken rule that Tetchō was unable to move unless Jōno got up. Tetchō smiled to himself at the thought of Jōno as a cat. The bell on the earring that they wore would be attached to the collar. He let out a small laugh, the same laugh people had told him sounded strange his whole life.
Jōno had never felt that way about his laugh, though.
"...What's so funny?" Jōno softly spoke. Tetchō thought they were asleep.
"I thought of you as a cat."
Jōno paused before they let out a proper laugh. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Jōno's laugh was beautiful, just like everything else about them.
Tetchō shrugged. "Meow."
"Shut up," Jōno said fondly.
Tetchō didn't mind shutting up as he held Jōno tighter. He hoped they didn't mind sleeping like this— Tetchō would sleep like this every night if he could.
"Night, Saigiku."
"Goodnight, Tetchō."
And with that, the two of them drifted off to sleep, hoping that tomorrow would be better.