Already talked about this on exhels server but need to share here too
Anyways
Exhels au
The people of Hels, for as long as they can remember have had a patron deity of blood and lightning and war, they attribute their success in battle to Them and when in need of protection ask for Their power. The title Champion of Hels is more or less the role of Their high priest, in caretaker of their temple. That's Helsknight.
Then Ex enters the scene, they have an air of familiarity to Hels and slowly, she realizes how similar they look to all the statues and visages of his deity. He becomes obsessed, convinced this is Them.
He places them on a pedestal both literally and figuratively, she reveres them with the almost unhealthy devotion of a priestess to his god.
When the other people of Hels begin to believe it as well there's a nagging jealousy Hels tries to push away, but he can't deny the desire that he would be the only one to worship Them
Of course just because Hels is convinced doesn't mean he's right. And if this isn't the first nor last life where the young deity and their chosen one have found each other who's to say
Pairing: Jouno/Tetchou
Genre: slight (emotional) hurt/comfort
Word count: 2,115
AO3 link
Thank you to @meepmeep19 for the prompt :)
It had been a hard day. Jouno and Tetchou had been matched against a strong gifted that had pushed them both to their limits. During the conflict, a couple innocent civilians were used as the enemy’s shield, leading to their deaths. Tetchou, who values protecting the innocent at all costs, was rather distraught the whole way home. Jouno didn’t seem to react much to what had happened, maintaining a straight face as the two stepped into their apartment.
“Today’s mission was awful.” Tetchou spoke in a neutral tone, although his heartbeat depicted guilt. Though the two cared a lot for each other, discussing genuine emotions wasn’t something either was good at. A hard mission wasn’t something they’d typically discuss after it had ended.
Jouno takes a sharp inhale. “Well, we took down the enemy, that was the goal.” He spoke very collected, as if he felt nothing at all.
“We still lost two innocent people.”
Jouno flops down onto their couch. A slight tinge of agitation breaks into his voice as he responds to his partner. “It doesn’t matter. No point in reflecting on what’s already happened.”
“That doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it.” The events that took down clearly bothered Tetchou. His idealistic sense of justice was to protect the weak no matter what, and the fact that he couldn’t save them made him feel as if justice wasn’t truly accomplished.
“Just move on, Tetchou. We have work tomorrow, let’s just eat then go to bed early.” Jouno’s voice was growing more impatient with each word. As a response, Tetchou sits next to his love. Putting an arm around his partner’s shoulder, the brunette makes one more attempt to discuss the mission.
“The people were-” he’s interrupted by a shout.
“Just shut up about the people! There’s nothing that can be done to save them. God, you’re so annoying tonight!” Jouno pushes away, opting to stand instead of being within range of Tetchou, who is a bit startled by the sudden lash out.
“That doesn’t mean we can’t talk about the job.” There was a slight tinge of confusion as well as concern in the brunette’s voice.
“We don’t need to! I was there, I know what happened, I don’t need to go over it again. Let’s move on.” In an attempt to end the conversation, Jouno storms off to their bedroom. Tetchou remains sitting on their couch for a moment. Did I do something wrong? He wondered to himself. It wasn’t unusual for his partner to get annoyed or angry at things after a hard day, but he was acting particularly harsh tonight.
A few moments later, Tetchou brings a glass of water to his love, then proceeds to sit on the bed beside him. He tries to hand over the glass, to no reaction.
“Sai, are you okay?” Jouno doesn’t acknowledge his presence, opting to not answer the question. He looked angry, as if he was ready to start shouting at just about anything said to him. Tetchou forces the water into his hand, and Jouno reluctantly takes a sip before setting the glass on his nightstand.
They sit in silence for a moment, waiting for the awkward tension between them to die down a tad. The brunette takes a deep breath before asking again. “Are you okay? You haven’t been yourself since we’ve gotten home.”
Jouno scrunches his eyebrows, as if he’s thinking hard about how to answer. “I’m fine, just a little annoyed at how the mission played out.” He spoke calmly, trying to keep himself from lashing out again.
“Would you like to talk about it?”
“Absolutely not. There’s no point in bringing up something that can’t be changed.” He clenched his fist, his nails slightly digging into his own palms. Despite Jouno clearly wanting to discuss just about anything else, Tetchou felt the need to push the topic a little bit more.
“Why are you so against talking about it? I know that we can’t change the past, but that doesn’t make it any less important.”
“Because, I can’t let the death of someone get to me, I’ll just begin to overthink during every mission I’ll do, which would make me weaker.” His tone switches from calm to slightly somber.
Tetchou speaks with a tad of confusion in his voice. “So you’re going to just sit here, silently angry about what happened?”
“Yes, part of the job as a Hunting Dog is to remain strong-willed instead of letting mishaps get to us.”
Although Tetchou was having a hard time thinking of how to reply, he was genuinely worried about the way his partner approaches his own feelings and was determined to push the subject more. “You’re still letting the feelings get to you, even if you choose to present it as anger or neutrality.”
“It’s better than allowing myself to get unnecessarily upset.”
“You are upset, though. You’re just not acting sad.”
“Just drop it, Tetchou. It’s not that big of a deal.” He tried to divert his focus to something else to avoid listening to the words being spoken to him. He thought to himself: I can’t let a simple bad mission get to me, it’s not important. I’ll just try to change the subject if he pries again. His ideal plan was changed by the words next spoken to him.
“You’re pushing me away, and trying to mask something that should make you sad as anger. You can be sad, that’s perfectly normal. I’m sad over it.” Jouno pauses at his partner’s words. He doesn’t intend to push Tetchou away; but the feeling of vulnerability that comes with displaying his own feelings is enough to make the white haired man shut down. He didn’t want nor did he intend to upset his partner, but his own pride didn’t allow him to easily express his true feelings.
“Sadness is a feeling for the weak-minded. I don’t need anyone’s pity.”
“I’m not pitying you. I care about your feelings.” Tetchou’s heartbeat portrayed concern, yet regardless of that Jouno still felt pitied. It was as if he couldn’t accept that people actually care about how he feels. Thinking to himself, It’s not like Tetchou opens up about everything he feels, why am I suddenly expected to talk about things? I don’t need this.
“Why am I supposed to listen to you? You almost never discuss your own feelings. This advice is nothing I’d see you accepting.” Tetchou glanced downwards after hearing this. He could understand the frustration Jouno felt, as he wasn’t prone to being very open either. Regardless, he wanted to change this for the both of them since he could feel how important it is to not shove personal feelings away.
“I’ll start talking about things more. We both know it’s bad to keep things in. I want you to be comfortable enough to feel actual emotions around me.” Jouno was a bit taken aback by the honesty.
A long pause, the two sat in complete silence. Jouno’s mind was spiraling. What should I do? He really won’t stop prying. I know he’s worried, but the last thing I need is to be someone else’s burden. He knew Tetchou wouldn’t let the topic go until he said something. He began to feel extremely anxious as he considered talking about how the mission actually bothered him. He opened his mouth to speak, but the lump he felt in his throat prevented him from continuing. It was as if he couldn’t put together a cohesive thought, but Tetchou was still waiting for an answer. He tried to talk again.
“Tetchou..” Was all he could mutter out. Considering the man is great at talking to other people, he’s awful when it comes to being direct with his own thoughts. He’s never needed to be in the vulnerable position, and has successfully shut away many negative experiences within his life.
Tetchou could see the effort his partner was putting into trying to open up. He put his hand on Jouno’s shoulder and rubbed his arm softly. “Take all the time you need to talk, I won’t leave or get upset with you. It’s okay.” The affirmations were comforting to hear. Jouno took a deep breath, internally repeating the words his partner had said. I’m not upsetting him. I’m not a burden. I’m not asking for pity. He cares. I can talk to him. It’ll all be okay.
Jouno takes a deep breath, trying to find the correct way to word his thoughts. The lump in his throat grew bigger as he thought about the mission. After trying to ground himself, he slowly spoke. “It’s mostly my fault that the people died today. I should have paid more attention, and I could have phased my way in between the victims and the criminal before they got hurt. I basically killed..” His words trail off. He sounded beyond uncomfortable with each word he spoke, it was as if his own guilt was consuming him. He spoke with clear remorse.
Tetchou was stunned from Jouno’s perspective of their battle that day. He knew his partner physically wouldn’t have been able to save the victims in time. He didn’t realize Jouno had put himself at blame. Tetchou pulled his love close, trying to speak as heartfelt as he could. “It’s not your fault at all, I know how hard you tried. The enemy killed the people despite our efforts. You did everything you could. I promise.”
Jouno didn’t believe him. There surely had to be a way he could have saved the victims. “I should have done better, and now I’m here pitying myself over my own mistakes.” He takes a sharp breath.
“Sai, being upset over a mission isn’t pitying yourself. You’re a hero, you’ve saved countless lives. Sometimes bad things happen, you have to let yourself grieve those moments as well.”
Jouno let himself think for a moment. He did truly try as hard as he could to save the people, yet those lives were still lost. He hated thinking about it, the dread was engulfing his thoughts more and more as he reflected. Talking about it brought these feelings to the front of his mind, making it infinitely harder to act as if he wasn’t bothered. Despite how much he tried to act composed, part of his mask began to fall down. His eyes watered a little while he attempted to keep his face straight.
“It’s not a big deal, I’ll be just fine by tomorrow.” Regardless of what he claims, his voice began to crack. Tetchou pulls him in closer, rubbing his hand through Jouno’s hair.
“We aren’t talking about tomorrow, we’re talking about right now.” He stops talking as his partner sniffed a couple times. He continues playing with Jouno’s hair, rubbing his back, and holding him while his love lets a single tear stream down his face.
“I just want to help people. I’m so sick of seeing innocent lives be hurt in front of me.” He sniffs again. “I’ve harmed so many people in the past that I just can’t stand to see it anymore.” Jouno’s past was a touchy subject that neither person typically dared to bring up. Tetchou had no clue that his partner was still holding in so much guilt over it after all these years.
“Sai, you’re a good person. You’ve saved so many people these past six years.”
Jouno tries to speak, but chokes on his own words. He felt his eyes water more with everything Tetchou said. It had been a long time since he let himself cry over anything, so his tears didn’t fall very often. Externalizing emotions is really hard for someone who’s spent years keeping things within. Tetchou continues to speak. “Your past does not define who you are today. You did everything in your power to try and save those people; you can’t be so hard on yourself over something that was out of your control.”
Jouno couldn’t quite understand how he felt. He was vulnerable, but at the same time he felt safe. It was as if talking about things actually helped him realize that he really did do everything he could. He still felt awful over it, but not as alone. Another tear streamed down his face.
After a while, he gathered a response. “I’m sorry for getting upset with you earlier.”
Tetchou kissed his partner’s head softly, before continuing to rub his hands across it. “It’s okay, I know today was hard. Thank you for talking to me about it.” He spoke softly.
The two lay quietly, holding each other closely. Jouno sniffed a couple more times. “I love you.”
that Axl writes. Dabbles. His grammar sucks and he gets bored and never finishes a piece but he has put words down. Musings. Maybe it is song lyrics, though he has never created music for these words--that would take work and let's face it he is too lazy. He lacks the patience with himself that it requires to take initial scribbles and mold it. If it doesn't come out perfectly the first time, he gives up. But he never stops jotting things down. Then in Europe, as he and Kenny and Sean sit on a gently swaying train, Axl's bag falls open and the contents spew on the floor. Sean helps scoop it up. The old five star notebook he has been using for his Thoughts since highschool is open. And it isn't like Sean MEANS to snoop. He just can't help seeing the words: homesick isn't actual pain in the heart it is a catch of breath when something is familiar or, worse, too new. Axl snatches the notebook from Sean's hand in a manner that says clearly that the writing is Private. Sean winces and apologizes and pretends he saw nothing. But it stays with him for days. Axl writes? He writes. Huh. And it's not bad. His handwriting and punctuation leaves something to be desired but the sentiment behind the words; it rings true. So true Sean can't stop thinking about it. At the sight of an overweight tourist with white sneakers and a sun visor in her dark curls, Sean is reminded of his mother and his breath hitches. "It's good." He says to Axl when he spies the notebook again. This time, the raggedy corner of it is sticking out of his armpit where he stuffed it as soon as Sean and Kenny appeared in the hotel room. "The business meeting?" "No." Sean points to the pages. Axl turns a little pink and rolls his eyes as he tosses it away. "Nah. It's just dumb stuff. Whatever." "I didn't see much, but what I did see, about homesickness... It's good. It's real, you know? I feel it too." Axl sighs. "It's so lame that I miss it. Orson is a dumb little town with nothing in it." "Your family is in it. That's why." Axl shrugs, clearly unwilling to carry on with this talk. Sean bumps his shoulder and points at the book again on his way to the shower. "I think if you keep it up, by the time we get home you will have the foundation of a stellar memoir." As Sean swings the door closed behind him, he hears Axl click a pen and start writing.
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.
“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!”
break, desire,and mistake for the not-so-nice exhels asks
I'm just going to pick whether to answer with Ex or Hels for these bc I don't feel like writing two bits for all these 😭😭
Also for mistake that's already been asked and I have a special plan for it....so I won't answer here
break: What would cause your OC to break down completely? What do they look like when that happens? Has anyone ever seen them at their lowest?
Maybe it's codependent but after everything they've been through you can hardly expect them to be well adjusted with healthy attachment styles. So it's no surprise that losing Ex would completely destroy Hels.
They're his everything, out of all the cruel people that have come in and out of her life they're one of the only good ones. A rarity. A nether star amongst the ashes of a wither's corpse.
For so long they've leaned on eachother, shared everything, known everything about the other - with Ex gone he would simply fall apart. He could pick himself back up eventually with the help of his friends and brother but he wouldn't want to for a long, long time.
It's only come close to that once. It was one of only two times Wels has ever seen his little brother cry.
desire: What's one thing your OC wants more than anything in the world? Are they open with that desire? Why or why not? What would they do to fulfill it?
They'd never admit it but Ex has only one, simple, ultimate desire.
They want to be loved.
There's an aching lonely void in their chest that's never content. It's always hungry and almost always empty.
Sure there's Xisuma and Hels and their dear friend Worm Man, they help, but Ex craves the recognition and approval of those around them perhaps more than is healthy.
Most the server still doesn't trust them, especially after season 8, and it's not always clear that they're trying. But they are.
And they'll keep trying until the hallow pain in their chest leaves.
Jouno was enjoying a day off when his work partner pays him an unexpected visit
Genre: Fluff
Word Count: 1665
Today was Jouno’s day off from working. He had many long shifts recently, and was finally rewarded a well-deserved break for everything he’s done. Today also happened to be Jouno’s birthday, so he planned to take the day to enjoy himself. Getting a day to sleep in, do whatever he wishes, and get a break from dealing with his coworkers was all the man could ask for.
Jouno started his day off by making himself a green tea, and sat outside on his porch. It was surprisingly quiet outside, not many people nearby. Jouno checked his phone, and listened to a happy birthday voicemail from Tachihara and Teruko; he must have had his phone silenced when they initially called. Jouno wasn’t the type to celebrate birthdays, too many smells and sounds makes the overall celebration rather overwhelming. He was glad to not need to deal with any of that this year.
As evening falls, Jouno changes into his pajamas, and figures he would just order dinner instead of making anything. As he went to pick up his phone, there was a knock at his door. Perplexed, Jouno shouts towards the door, “who is it?”
“It’s me,” the voice said. Jouno stopped in his tracks. “Can I come in?”
“Fine. Just a moment.” Jouno replies, with a slight tinge of annoyance. The white haired man quickly walks back into his room. Mumbling to himself, “why is Tetchou here? The one day I think I can get away from him for a bit and he shows up at my door?” Still, he gets changed into nicer clothes, and approaches the door. Even though he won’t express it, Jouno cares a lot about Tetchou’s perception of him, which is the main reason he quickly attempted to make himself more presentable for the unexpected guest.
“What do you want?” The white haired man asks, as he moves to let Tetchou inside.
“Just came to wish you a happy birthday. I made you a small cake.” The brunette walks in and immediately makes his way to the kitchen, grabbing a knife and piercing it into the cake. It was definitely small, enough for two people; Jouno couldn’t help but appreciate the gesture. He was definitely annoyed to see Tetchou of all people, but at least he wasn’t being particularly annoying. Jouno sits down at his kitchen table, grabbing the fork and plate his partner just set down. Something smells slightly off, but Jouno chooses to ignore the sense. He takes a bite.
“Tetchou. What exactly did you make this cake with?” The brunette looks at his partner, fighting back a smile.
“Oh, I was out of tupperware so I put my salt and sugar in a bin together. They look similar enough to be interchangeable.”
Jouno spits out the food he was eating, and lets out a loud sigh. “How is someone so dumb capable of being one of the Hunting Dogs? Obviously salt and sugar are going to taste different! You’re such a dumbass.” He scowls at the man sitting across from him. Tetchou lets out a small laugh; typically, he’s a very composed man, however, he feels safe enough to let his guard down and have a little fun when only Jouno is around.
“Why are you laughing at your own stupidity? Don’t tell me you did this on purpose just to piss me off.” Tetchou doesn’t say anything back, he’s just smiling as he waits for the man across from him to talk again.
“You did, didn’t you?! You’re such a bastard, Tetchou. Now I have to call for food.”
“Don’t worry about it. I already ordered a pizza for you before I arrived, it’ll be here soon. I just wanted to see your angry face for a second.” Tetchou throws out the extremely salty cake he had brought, and he tells Jouno to go rest until the pizza arrives. The white haired man does as he is asked, although reluctantly. Shortly after, the pizza arrives, and Tetchou goes to sit beside his work partner. To Jouno’s surprise, the pizza wasn’t covered in questionable ingredients.
The two eat quietly for a moment, before Tetchou decides to break the silence. “Have you enjoyed your day off? You’ve been working a lot lately.” The brunette cares a lot about the wellbeing of his coworker, and was genuinely happy to see him take a day off. Jouno works himself to the limit often, and pretty much never misses a day. Admittedly, Tetchou found it strange to not see Jouno at the base, which is why he chose to pay him a visit.
“My day was going well until you showed up. Did you miss me or something? You know, I’m there every other day.” Tetchou smirks at the snarky comments, knowing Jouno isn’t actually mad. His partner has never been warm with people, but he has gotten used to reading his partner’s true emotions despite whatever he claims.
“Just figured you wouldn’t want to be completely alone today.”
“Sure, but why would I hang out with you? Of all people.”
“Do you have anyone else?” Jouno replies with a sigh. The two spend so much time working to the point where outside social interaction has become a rarity. That’s just part of the job, not much can be done about it. Although Jouno would never admit it, the company of the person he sees most often is comforting.
The two finish their pizza, and Tetchou begins to clean his and Jouno’s plate. Reluctantly, Jouno thanks him for everything, and follows up with a question: “Why are you being so nice to me today? You never come over, let alone buy me dinner.” Jouno was genuinely confused by this, the two saw each other so often at work that they rarely met up outside of it.
“What’s wrong with me wanting to wish my friend a happy birthday? You have got to start letting people do nice things for you. I am having a good time with you tonight.” The white haired man was surprised by Tetchou’s words. Hearing his coworker call him a friend made him smile a bit, although not enough for anyone else to notice.
“Well, thank you. I’ll accept it as an apology for how you scarred me with the cake.” Jouno slaps his partner in the shoulder, making him spill a little of the water he was cleaning the dishes with. Jouno goes to grab a towel to clean the mess.
The brunette stops him from cleaning. “I’ll get it, just go get into some comfy clothes and relax.”
“You know, I am fully capable of cleaning. I don’t need you to take care of everything.”
“Just go, it’s fine.”
Jouno sighs and heads to his room. He throws on some pajamas and goes back to sit on his couch. Something about being dressed informally makes him feel slightly vulnerable. Regardless, he sits patiently and waits as Tetchou finishes tidying and approaches him again.
“Just how long are you staying? You must really miss me when I’m not around.” Jouno listens as Tetchou’s heart beats a little faster. He doesn’t mention it, but it feels a bit strange.
“I guess I do.” The white haired man was taken aback by his partner’s honesty. He didn’t know how to respond. “I can leave if you’d really like.”
Jouno lets out an exasperated sigh, “it’s fine.” He was having a hard time coming up with a remark after what he heard. For once, he didn’t feel like snapping at his partner and was just enjoying the company. He encourages Tetchou to come sit beside him.
Tetchou yawns and stretches a bit. His partner faces him, “long day?”
“Yeah. Lots of paperwork and negotiations. Work has been really tiring lately, I’ve barely slept all week.”
“You’re telling me.” The two exchange a sigh, and ramble on about their cases to each other. Hours pass as they continue to talk, not even realizing how late it has become. As Tetchou checks the time, he abruptly stops their conversation.
“It’s getting pretty late, and I still have to drive home. I’ll have to leave soon since we have a meeting in the morning.” Jouno is a little disappointed by the sudden change of topics. He was enjoying listening to Tetchou talk more casually, putting his guard down and just having a fun night. He could tell his partner felt the same way.
“Why don’t you stay here overnight? You can have the couch.” Jouno was surprised by his own question. He just wanted the night to last forever.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I have some comfier clothes you can change into, come with me.” Jouno leads Tetchou to his bedroom, and points out the drawer to his pajamas. “Wear whatever you’d like.”
After getting changed, the two sit on Jouno’s bed and continue talking. Laughing about their old cases, arguing over the abominations Tetchou calls his lunches, and discussing future plans for the Hunting Dogs. After a while, Tetchou lets out another yawn.
“You can sleep if you’d like, Tetchou.”
“I will soon. But, there’s something I want to do first.”
“What is it?” Jouno immediately notices the brunette's heart begins to race, and listens as his breathing becomes a bit shallow. “Is everything alright?”
Without speaking, Tetchou looks at Jouno for a second. He then brushes the side of his partner’s face, and quickly leans in to kiss him. After a second, he pulls away to see Jouno’s face, which was nearly as red as the tips of his hair. Jouno doesn’t say anything, he’s completely surprised by what just happened. He wears a confused, yet flustered look on his face.
“I’m sorry, was that too much?” Tetchou’s words carry a heavy sound of worry and embarrassment. Before he realizes, Jouno grabs him back and brings him back into a soft kiss. Pulling away, The white haired man smiles at his partner.
They say, out in the woods, deep in the forest, there is an old man.
Or at least he must be old, because he’s been there since your father, your grandfather, and your great grandfather were children - though his brown hair never greys and the only wrinkles are those around his mouth and eyes from laughing so much.
They call him The Hermit, even though he tells anyone who asks (and often those who don’t) that his name is Joe Hills, Joe Hills from Nashville, Tennessee.
You don’t know what ‘Nashville, Tennessee’ is but he says it so cheerfully and with such a warm grin you decide whatever it is it must be nice.
He lives in a house deep in the woods, a snugly crafted cabin, where there’s always warm candlelight illuminating the windows and a smokestack billowing from the chimney - except, of course, in the summer months. In the summer months, he leaves the doors and windows open wide until nightfall, often you see him in the tall grass and flowers of his front yard, a well-worn book in one hand and a pen in the other.
And they say that if you go to him, and you offer some little knick-knack (it doesn’t matter what) he will tell you a story.
You remember the first time you went to hear a story from Joe Hills. Of course you do, no one ever forgets a story of his.
You were no more than ten when your mother took you out to that house deep in the woods, along the well-trodden path leading to the door. Joe had greeted the both of you warmly, as if you were old friends.
When your mother prompted you to you shyly offered him a small, orange marble. It was one of your favorites.
He smiled and accepted it, inviting you and your mother into his house.
The inside was somehow just as you had expected it to be, cluttered but cozy, bookshelves packed to the brim lining every wall, candles precariously standing on every vacant surface, and a table filled with small statues.
You stopped to stare in awe at those statues, there were about thirty, maybe a little less, you thought - each meticulously sculpted and detailed though they ranged widely in their detailing.
There was a woman with long blonde hair, she held a diamond sword in one hand and her expression was so fierce that you were ashamed to find it almost scared you. There was also a man, taller than most of the other figures, with a neatly pressed suit, perfect other than a few stains of red (blood? Redstone? You can’t tell) and a shorter figure with a regal-looking cape of moss and a veil covering large, shining eyes but not quite covering the equally large grin etched into his features.
And there, at the forefront of the group, was a person with pale, greenish skin and curling orange hair. If it was possible you would’ve said there was even closer care paid to the details of that figure.
In time you will come to know the names of each of the figures by heart, but for now, you know nothing. For now, Joe looked at you expectantly and asked with his pleasant accent what kind of things you like.
You thought for a moment before telling him you like birds.
He glanced thoughtfully at the shelves around him before walking to the far wall and pulling out a book with gold and red binding, obviously ancient but well maintained, then he came back to the table of statues you are still stood by and plucked one from the crowd.
He has a red sweater, not unlike the red of the book, mousy brownish-blonde hair, and the most beautiful, iridescent plumage you have ever seen. The wings and tail sprout from the figure's back, feathers rustling as Joe lifts him.
He showed you the item and offers to let you hold it, and you did, ever so gingerly, barely daring to breathe as your fingers ghosted over the silky wings.
This is a story about him, Joe told you, and he sat down in an armchair, gesturing for you and your mother to do the same before opening the book.
You looked up at your mother and you saw a child-like wonder shining in her eyes that much mirrored your own, even after all these years, as Joe started the story.
He told you about a man, a man with bright flamboyant wings, and mischievous black eyes that always shone brightest when he was about to do something possibly very dangerous and definitely very inconveniencing for someone else. He loved birds too, he loved to fly with them and study them, he kept them as pets and recorded their habits and likenesses in this very book.
You’re not so sure you believe that part, but the fondness and genuineness with which Joe speaks about this character has you enthralled nevertheless.
All too soon the story ends and the book closes, your mother says it’s time to leave and you both thank The Hermit.
He waves at you as you walk back down the path the way you came and encourages you to come again and hear another story, he tells you to ‘keep on adventuring’. And though you didn’t know it then you would return many, many times to that house in the woods, sometimes with your mother, sometimes your father, sometimes your friends. Joe always has a new story to tell and you’ve never heard the same one twice for so long as you’ve lived.
And when you get older you tell your children about The Hermit, the man in the woods with his stories and statues, and you take them to hear his tales. He still never ages and whenever you sit to listen to a story of his you feel like time has stopped for you as well, and once again you are a child, no more than ten, listening for the first time to Joe Hills from Nashville, Tennessee.
