Love is Blind: a Jouno and Tetchou story

I need math and logic

Jouno could tell from the sound of cats meowing that they were in for it. "Tetchou, did she say what kind of cafe it is?" He asked hesitantly. Tetchou rubbed the back of his neck, trying to remember. "No, I don't think she did." Jouno sighed. "I think it's one of those ones where you have your food and play with cats." Tetchou laughed. "Seriously?" When they reached the doorway, Jouno could tell it was indeed a cat cafe. He couldn't even imagine Teruko at a place like this. If a cat even looked at her the wrong way, that'd be the last mistake the unfortunate creature would ever make.

Jouno braced himself for the worst, and walked inside. "Hi. I have a reservation." The man behind the desk seemed to be checking a list of some sort. Jouno could hear dozens of loud, fluffy animals all over the small enclosed space. It was official: Teruko was testing her new torture techniques on him.

"Right this way." The man started walking forwards. Usually, before going anywhere, Jouno memorized the maps and floor plans, so he could tell where everything was without feeling the wall. It was a matter of mathematics, how far is one wall from the other and so on. However, he was completely unprepared for this alarming new environment. "Tetchou , can you guide me to the table but be really stealthy about it?" Jouno caved in and asked. "If I trip over a cat, I'll never hear the end of it."

Tetchou locked his arm through Jouno's. He was surprisingly good at guiding. Tetchou's arm was twice as muscled as Jouno's, something that no amount of training would ever change. It was like holding onto a small tree trunk. After a few steps across the room, Jouno and Tetchou managed to get themselves at a metal table and chair set that was cold to the touch.

"What would you two like to order?" The waiter asked. "What's the special?" Jouno asked. "Soup and a sandwich." The waiter said. "I'll have that." Jouno replied. The menus weren't done with the same ink that he could feel. "And you?" Tetchou seemed to be considering his options. "He'll have what I'm having." Jouno said preemptively, knowing Tetchou 's taste in food. The waiter nodded appreciatively, as if Teruko had warned him about what Tetchou might be ordering.

While Jouno waited for the food to come, something small and furry jumped on the table. Jouno had a secret. He hated animals. It wasn't the creatures themselves that bothered him to be precise, it was the fact that he couldn't tell what they were going to do. As a result, he always felt a bit uncomfortable around animals. Now, he was stuck in a cat cafe with Tetchou. What was his life becoming?

*

Meanwhile, Chuuya returned to Kouyo's apartment with a large bucket of popcorn that he'd barely made a dent in. Kouyo looked up from what she was trying and failing to cook when she heard him come in. "What's that?" She asked. Chuuya set the bucket down on the kitchen table. "A whole lot of popcorn. Tachihara got it." Kyoka, a young assassin in training Kouyo had recently taken under her wing, poked her head up to see what was on the table. Chuuya pushed the bucket towards her, and her face lit up. "Don't eat it all before dinner." Kouyo said with a shake of her head. Kouyo sighed, and looked at Kyoka disappear with the bucket. "Chuuya, why did Tachihara think you needed this ungodly amount of popcorn?"

*

Lunch had been a disaster. It was all Jouno could do to eat his food before some furry creature inevitably jumped on him. Tetchou, on the other hand, had been greatly enjoying himself. Jouno was sure someone else would have said Tetchou looked cute. Jouno, on the other hand, would have said he wanted to leave.

"Do you not like cats or something?" Tetchou asked, as Jouno practically pulled him out the door. "No, I just don't like places I haven't memorized beforehand." Tetchou  frowned. "But we have to go to places like that all the time." Jouno sighed. "Look, I don't like things I can't predict. I don't like things I can't quantify with math and logic. I don't like small animals that can jump on me and I'd never sense it coming."

Jouno had raised his voice, but by now, he didn't care. "It just makes me feel..." "blind?" Tetchou  supplied. Jouno nodded slowly. "Jouno, having a disability isn't something you can outsmart. No one is going to think differently about you because you struggle sometimes. No one worth being friends with, anyway. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. I hate the way some fabrics feel. I hate loud, unexplained noises. I hate making eye contact with people. That's just the way I am."

Jouno realized he'd stopped walking, and Tetchou had his hands on Jouno's shoulders. "It's not going to matter to me that there are things you like and don't like." Jouno was sure that everyone was staring at him and Tetchou. "I'll never change the way I feel." Tetchou moved his hand to tuck a piece of hair behind Jouno's ear. He could feel his cheeks grow warm.

"That's nice." Jouno said quickly, and pulled up his hoodie. What he wouldn't give to disappear. "We should get to the park before Teruko starts looking for us. I'm sure she's already sent out the search parties." Tetchou seemed to snap out of whatever was going on. Did they just have a moment? Jouno was so bad at this kind of thing. "Yeah, you're right. It's already been five minutes since we were supposed to be there." Jouno smirked. "Race you." He said, and disappeared into his shower of particles before he could hear Tetchou yell "that's not fair!"

*

Teruko sat on a swivel chair, watching many computer screens, and stroking a cat she'd recently adopted from the cafe. "Well, well, well." She said, stopping to look at a suspiciously empty screen. The park. There were people walking around, but no scenes of Jouno and Tetchou holding hands, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes, or Tetchou resting his head on top of Jouno's (which was probably something they could have done with the height difference).

She frowned, and treated herself to yet another sour candy. Okay, so she wasn't supposed to eat the whole bag. No one was here to monitor her though, so that wasn't her problem. Her cat meowed. "I know." She said, sounding terribly annoyed. "They're not behaving the way they're supposed to, even after I went to all the trouble of setting them up on a date in the first place."

"Tachihara keeping an eye on them in the movie theater worked perfectly, and it also got Tachihara and Chuuya in the same place again." She grinned. "I know. I'm so good at this." She stroked the cat again, and it screeched as if someone was ripping its hair out at the roots. "Quiet." She said. "I need to think." Teruko paused, and rested her hand on her fist. "What am I going to do this time?"