Ethereal - Suegiku

4

        "Look, they're back!" The girl quickly jumped up out of her chair, bolting over to the two approaching. As she got closer, a look of confusion came over her. "Woah."

"What's wrong?" Tecchou walked up behind her, quickly noticing what it was that stopped her. "Did you two find a lake or something? Why is Tachihara dripping?"

"A river, actually." The redhead sighed, seemingly embarrassed.

"We found a river, Tachihara decided to try and catch a fish, and he..." Jouno stopped for a moment, taking a moment to stop his laughter. "He was just so terrible at catching it..! It just kept swimming out from his hands, and kept flopping all over the place..." He laughed, covering his face with one of his hands.

"It was annoying! That little bastard kept trying to swim away!!" Tachihara complained, clearly both frustrated and embarrassed. At this, his coworker only laughed more.

"You're so-!" The redhead seethed, quickly sighing in defeat. "...I'm gonna go warm up." The man then began walking towards the fresh campfire with an exhausted expression. His colleague, who was still laughing, followed behind.

"Wow. It's rare to see Jouno laugh like that, huh?" Teruko glanced over at her subordinate with a smile on her face, probably from the story. "Don't you think it's a nice change of pace?"

"... Yeah." The man hesitated a bit.

"Hey, you're blu-" The girl was quickly shushed by the brunette, who panicked for a moment. After glancing back at Jouno, Tecchou sighed in relief once he realized that he didn't hear anything; the man was likely caught up in trying to compose himself.

"You think it matters if he hears or not? He definitely heard our conversation once he and Tachihara left." The girl whispered.

"I was hoping he didn't..."

"Maybe it's a good thing. Maybe this trip is just the push you two needed! I'm such a good commander, taking care of my subordinates like this..." Teruko smiled proudly, almost like a mother, leaving the man in front of her in silent contemplation.

"Tell you what; I have an idea. Just follow along." The girl then began walking towards the fire. "Hey, Tachihara! Did you remember to grab my tent like I asked?"

"Your tent..? I thought we were-" Teruko then shot him a death glare.

"Ah- Sorry!! I must've misheard you!"

"For fuck's sake... Tecchou, can I have your tent instead?" The brunette's eyes widened when he realized what it was she was planning. He held his breath for a moment, before reluctantly responding.

"Well, you are the captain, so no really isn't an op-"

"Hey, wait a second!! Captain, I can hear you scheming over there! You're not forcing me to share a tent with that moron!" Jouno stood up and shouted, clearly quite pissed; maybe a little embarrassed, which was evident just looking at the obvious blush on his face.

"I'm not scheming, prick! You try to eavesdrop on my conversations again, and I rip your ears off!! You got that?!" She huffed. "Besides, we all know you want to share a tent with this guy anyway!" The girl stuck her tongue out, and her subordinate face palmed in disbelief.

"I don't see why we shouldn't. I won't bother you if you don't want me to." Tecchou seemed relatively calm about all of this once he was given the chance to think, but there was no denying that his heart was still racing.

"Fine!.. Fine." The man huffed, just before walking off once again. "Also, Tecchou-san, just stop your heartbeat. It's really annoying me."

"Sorry." The brunette then held his breath as Jouno swiftly walked away. After a moment, the man turned to the girl next to him with a bewildered expression.

"What? I'm helping you."

"Y-Yes, but don't you think you're just making Jouno uncomfortable? I don't want that..." He whispered with a reluctant tone, still trying his best to refrain from breathing too loudly.

"Oh, come on! It'll be fine. Didn't you see how red he was? He's so into the idea whether he thinks he likes it or not." The girl smiled confidently, speaking a bit too loudly. The redhead sitting on the other side of the fire stared in confusion.

"... So we were supposed to share a tent." Although a bit annoyed at Teruko, Tachihara sighed in what seemed like relief. "At least I don't have to share with you now."

"Hey!! What's that supposed to mean?!" The girl hissed, quickly turning all of her attention to the redhead across from her, leaving Tecchou with his thoughts for a moment.

Was Jouno really looking forward to this, just like Teruko had anticipated? Was he certain she wasn't just forcing Jouno into something he didn't want? Despite his stoic expression, Tecchou seemed both excited and nervous. As these thoughts of his spiraled, the exact person he was thinking about was in the same situation.

"For fuck's sake..." The man mumbled various swears under his breath, clearly perplexed. Jouno was so certain he would go insane during this trip, and now that Teruko had convinced him to share a tent with the person he was so certain he hated? He thought he wouldn't live to see another day. Yet, hearing what the others were saying, and hearing Tecchou's thoughts on this alongside his rapid heartbeat, Jouno couldn't help but smile in amusement.

He hated himself for that in that moment.