Chapter Text
Jouno first met Tecchou on his first day on set. He hadn’t meant to run into the other, but there was a lot going on around them, so Jouno’s senses were a little dulled, and Tecchou hadn’t been looking where he was going. They had both ended up on the floor, startling the flow of workers around them. Someone rushed over to help them both up, but Jouno pushed himself off the floor with his palms before the hand was offered. Hell, he’d been there for half an hour and had already made a fool of himself.
He huffed, and his finger started to twitch a little in annoyance. “Watch where you’re going, please.”
There was silence for a few moments as the other shuffled around and got back on their feet, and then the other spoke. “Sorry.” His voice was deeper than Jouno’s, and it was smooth as silk. Jouno opened his mouth to reply, but the other person beat him to it. “You’re Saigiku Jouno, right?”
“Ah—” Jouno stumbled over his words slightly and came to the stark realization that this may be someone important. Jouno wasn’t looking to get cut an hour in. “Yes, that’s me.”
“I’m Tecchou. We’re partners. For filming, I mean. Nice to meet you, Saigiku.”
Jouno’s mind screeched to a halt. Tecchou? As is Tecchou Suehiro, one of the most famous people in the show? And partners? As in, their characters were a duo in the show, partners? “Oh. Nice to meet you, too. I prefer Jouno.”
“Jouno. Okay.”
There was an awkward silence for a few moments before someone called for Tecchou somewhere on the other side of the set. “Ah. That’s me. See you around, Jouno.” And then he was gone.
The second time they met was later that day when Jouno had been dragged to a line rehearsal by Teruko. He had met and familiarized himself with the actors of the other Hunting Dogs, and Teruko had quickly brought him into the fold. When they entered the room, he heard the voice of Tachihara, actor of the metal-bending Hunting Dog.
“Hey, Teruko! And Jouno!”
Fukuchi cheered, “We’ve finally got the whole squad!” Contrary to the manipulative personality of the character he played, Fukuchi was quite the fun-loving guy. Within two minutes of being introduced to Jouno, he had offered the other a drink. Jouno had declined, as he was quite the lightweight as wasn’t looking to look more stupid that day than he already had. Besides, he was a small fish in a big pond here. Most everyone else on the show had already made a name for themselves in some way or another. Dazai Osamu had been the star in an Oscar-winning movie the year before, and Nakahara Chuuya wasn’t far behind. Then there were the people like Nikolai, who were well-known in other entertainment industries but were big names nonetheless.
Jouno had been picked up off the role of a side character in a show that hadn’t garnered much attention on its launch. The chance he was offered to audition landed in his inbox at approximately 9 in the morning on a Tuesday. He had spit out his coffee and spent the next few minutes cleaning up the spill in euphoric excitement.
Had he expected to actually get the role? No, not at all. But the idea of even being offered the chance, especially with his visual impairment, was enough for him.
And now here he was in the arms of a short, teenage girl who was excitedly chattering about the upcoming schedule. Fukuchi joined in, offering up alcohol every once in a while, which the rest of them politely declined. Tachihara excitedly asked Tecchou and Fukuchi, the most experienced of any of them, about little things that were happening on set.
Fukuchi and Tecchou had been guaranteed a role for some time and knew the set like the back of their hands, which had ended up being a big help to Tachihara and Teruko. Tachihara had been a supporting character in a teen feel-good movie a few months before, and while it wasn’t a ground-breaking movie, Tachihara’s acting had certainly been one of the highlights. Teruko, on the other hand, had been involved in the film industry for a while, but she had been a child star and was unaccustomed to sets that were largely adults. She seemed to fit right in, though, at least as far as Jouno could tell.
“Jouno, if you don’t mind me asking, how do you read the script?”
Jouno blinked, surprised to have been addressed. He had been silent for the majority of their little script bonanza—there was very little script-reading, they were mostly just hanging out—and had instead chosen to simply soak in the sounds around him.
“I listen to it when I’m cleaning or driving, and the producers provided me with a script in Braille. They also offered to have someone help run lines with me in case I wasn’t comfortable practicing with the rest of the cast.”
Teruko chimed in, “Is Braille hard?”
He shrugged, “I’ve known it nearly all my life, so not for me. Besides, I tend to like practicing by running lines with someone instead of reading them over and over.”
“I’ll run lines with you, Jouno!” Tachihara said, oddly excited.
“Ah—Thanks.”
The conversation shifted, then, to something about Atsushi and Akutagawa. Jouno had heard they had a reputation on set for making everything into a childish rivalry, although not quite so bad as Dazai and Chuuya. He’d already been filled in on some of their horror stories by Teruko, who liked to chatter about the drama. Jouno let the chatter fill his ears and smiled a little. The atmosphere was a lot nicer than he had expected it to be.
The sensation of being watched suddenly crept over Jouno, and he tilted his head ever so slightly to the side. The quiet sound of footsteps on carpet crept closer to him, and then he felt the space on the couch next to him dip under someone’s weight.
“Do you mind if I sit here?” Tecchou whispered, clearly trying to keep the other three from noticing his movement.
“I don’t.”
“Thanks. Fukuchi gets really physical when he’s drinking, and I’d like to be out of the danger zone.”
“He’s drinking?” Jouno asked. He hadn’t really been paying attention to the specifics of the environment around him, but it wasn’t surprising at all that the other was drinking.
Tecchou shifted ever so slightly, “Yeah, one or two since you and Teruko got here.”
“Good God.”
Tecchou snickered a little, and Jouno shot a small smile at him in turn. “You know, since we’re supposed to be partners, I should really be the one offering to run lines with you.”
“I don’t mind much either way. Tachihara sounded so excited, I’d feel a bit bad to turn him down.”
“Don’t mind him. He’ll just go run off to hang around Tanizaki or Gin, and then it’ll be like nothing ever happened.”
“Tanizaki?”
Tecchou nodded, and the fabric of his shirt crinkled a little in response, “He’s one of the Detective Agency in the show. The one with the illusion powers.”
“Oh.”
There was silence for a moment before Tecchou asked, voice a little more reserved, “Do you want me to take you around tomorrow and introduce you to everyone?”
Jouno’s fingers shifted on the couch, jumping up and down in a nervous beat. “That’d be nice. Promise I won’t end up on the floor again?”
Tecchou stifled a laugh, and Jouno’s mouth twitched upward at the edges. “I’ll try my hardest to keep that from happening.”
“Deal, then.”
“Hey, Tecchou! Stop taking all of Jouno’s attention!” Teruko complained, and suddenly they were dragged back into the conversation.
The tour went well, all things considered. Jouno was, thankfully, good at remembering names and pinning them to voices or smells, so once he met someone, he could usually remember them. Tecchou showed him the ins and outs of their set, and where the most peaceful spot was in case he needed to rest, and where the food was. He was thorough, and Jouno was sure he could’ve burned a few more hours on it if he had tried hard enough.
Although Jouno could remember the names just fine, a lot of his memory of the middle was spotty. It had been hard to focus when Tecchou’s voice was near his ear, and there was an especially large gap in his memory right around the time Tecchou had slipped a hand around Jouno’s waist in order to tug the both of them out of the way of an assistant racing by. Probably coincidental.
Their first shoot had been scheduled for the next day, and Jouno was glad to have a good grip of where he was supposed to be before he actually needed to be there. He spent a few hours running lines with Tachihara that afternoon when Tecchou vanished to do some sort of promotional event, and Jouno figured it went well overall. Tachihara’s character had quite a bit of interesting development and Jouno enjoyed hearing how the younger actor psyched himself up. While none of the Hunting Dogs were major characters, that didn’t mean they were lacking anything. Each had an interesting outlook on life and their duty as Hunting Dogs, as well as an interesting change in mindsets over the course of the script. Jouno especially loved his own character, although he felt there was a significant amount of favoritism in that mindset.
Teruko had barged in sometime through their attempted read-through of Tachihara and Fukuchi’s fight, interrupting them just as Tachihara was passionately delivering a line about his true place in the Port Mafia. She had realized what they were doing and immediately shut up, but it was too late by then, and both Jouno and Tachihara had wanted a break anyway. They lounged around for the next hour or so, simply talking.
“What’s your favorite color, Jouno?” Teruko asked, perched backward on a chair with her legs hugging the spine.
“Gold, maybe. I like red too, though.”
Tachihara piped up, “Is that why your hair is red on the tips?”
“Yeah. I wanted something other than plain white for a change and I like this much better. Or, the theory of it, I guess.”
“It looks nice! Are you gonna dye it a different color or keep it red?”
Jouno shrugged. “Who knows? I’ll probably keep it red, but I usually decide on impulse. Maybe I’ll take suggestions.”
“Mint!” Teruko declared. “You should do mint!”
“I was thinking gray.”
“We’ll see. I haven’t thought about it yet.”
“Tecchou’s eyes are gold.”
Jouno tilted his head, “Are they now?”
“Yeah! They’re really pretty! The girls love them,” Teruko said, and he could practically hear her nodding like a puppy.
“His hair, too. Everyone loves his hair.”
“A lot of people were thirsting over him in the promotional pictures,” Teruko hummed.
“Promotional pictures?”
Tachihara sighed, “They’re these boring photoshoots we have to do in our costumes and such so that the audience can see what we’re gonna look like. I didn’t have to take any in my last movie so I wasn’t familiar with them. Same for you?”
Jouno huffed, “I know what they are, I just didn’t know they were doing them for the cast.”
Teruko crossed her arms, “I think they’re fun!” She turned toward Jouno, “They don’t take that long. You’ll definitely have to do some since you’re a new character, and because you’re supposed to be pretty instrumental.”
“I see.”
Teruko lied. The photoshoot takes forever, at least as far as Jouno is concerned. Tecchou escorts him away the moment he gets to set that morning, and the next thing he knows he’s in a chair as an assistant applies white eyeliner and makeup to his face. Getting ready is the hardest part, especially since he can’t see what he looks like at all. Good god, he’s trusting these people with his image.
When they urge him into the shine of bright light—he can tell because it’s hotter where they’ve left him—he doesn’t know what to expect. Jouno is faintly aware of the fact that there’s several eyes on him, many of which are probably his new coworkers. Distantly, he wonders if Tecchou is here or if he wandered off after dropping Jouno off.
The photographer resorts to giving him directions, which Jouno follows to a tee. He may not know exactly where the cameras are, but by god can he follow the simple instructions they’re giving him. He tilts his head a little to the left, shifts his right leg forward a little, and does exactly as they ask. Although this method probably takes longer, it works well, and from what Jouno can tell he does just fine.
“Alright, that’ll be all for today,” the photographer announced, and Jouno heaved a sigh of relief. Momentarily, footsteps padded toward him, and he recognized them as Tecchou’s steady beat.
“You did good,” the other said, and Jouno had to mentally take a step back as he contemplated the fact that one of the more well-known faces in the acting industry was complimenting him on some random photoshoot.
“Thanks. I would say ‘you too’ but I didn’t see yours.”
“I heard you and Tachihara ran lines yesterday.”
Jouno nodded, and he became distinctly aware that he was still in the Hunting Dogs uniform. “Yes, we went through some of his scenes.”
“Did I miss out on anything else?”
“There was nothing to miss out on to begin with,” Jouno returns.
Tecchou shook his head, “I haven’t had a chance to see you act yet. Besides the shoot just now, I’ve never seen you get in character. I was hoping to see that.”
Jouno’s breath caught a little. “Oh.” There’s a brief lull in the conversation. “The only thing you missed was a conversation about the color I was dyeing my hair next.”
“What were the options?”
“Mint. And gray.”
Tecchou seemed to scrutinize Jouno for a moment, as if trying to figure out which color would fit him best. “I’m partial to the red, personally. If you ask me, you should keep it that way.”
“That’s what I was thinking, but I’m beginning to consider the mint…”
Tecchou shrugged, “I’ll always be on the red team. It’s my favorite color, you know?”
Jouno’s mouth twisted up slightly, “Then maybe I’ll keep it red just for you.”
Tecchou’s breath seemed to catch slightly, but he forged ahead quick enough that Jouno thought he might have misheard. “Your photoshoot was really good, seriously. It’ll turn out better than mine, probably.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is. The white eyeliner is stunning. Especially on you.”
“Ah—Thank you, Tecchou.”
The other fumbled a bit, “Sorry if I overstepped a line, there. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
Jouno hurriedly waved it off, “No, you’re fine. I’m just…not used to compliments.”
“Oh. Well, it’s the truth.”
Jouno doesn’t respond, choosing to simply nod instead.
The next several days fly by quickly. Jouno only has to head back to the studio once, for a small extra shoot, and he spends the rest of his time at home. There’s cleaning to do, since he had been neglectful in an effort to put time into learning the script recently. As he cleans he listens to it on repeat, imagining the other actors and their voices instead of the bland voiceover.
However, Jouno soon got sidetracked listening to one specific scene on loop. The stage directions are included in the voiceover—even though they’re incredibly annoying—and Jouno found himself returning to one over and over. It’s after his character goes missing, when Tecchou is left to fight Kenji’s character alone in the airport. He tried not to focus too much on the fact that it makes him feel mildly happy to imagine Tecchou reading the lines with Jouno’s name in them. Everytime the monotone narrator uttered a “Where’s Jouno?”, the real Jouno could feel himself slip further and further.
With a snap, he came back to attention, and realized he had been trying to vacuum the same spot for the past five minutes as he ran the script back and forth. Jesus, this didn’t bode well for him.
The first time they filmed together, it went remarkably well. Jouno easily fell into the snarky persona of his character—whether that had to do with his passive-aggressive personality, he couldn’t tell—and Tecchou fell into the role of the slightly stupid, brawny Hunting Dog just as well. They were a dynamic duo, both in real life and as their characters.
A few of their coworkers—Ranpo, Poe, and Lucy—cheered them on from the sidelines as Jouno knelt to the ground and pretended to listen for a car in the distance. He heard Tecchou’s breath stop, an indication that the man was now holding it in accordance with Jouno’s most recent line.
The car scene, in which Tecchou had to be forcibly jerked in one direction by a wire, was easily the funniest to film. The laughs of the crew and the onlookers filled the air, and the tipping point for Jouno was when Tecchou got jerked backwards a bit harder than he expected and let out a small yelp. He bursted out laughing, and Tecchou was quick to follow, hunched over on the ground where he had landed.
“Are you okay?” Jouno asked, on the verge of tears.
Tecchou wheezes slightly, a little short of breath from the tug, “Yeah, I think so.”
Jouno picked his way over the harness wire to Tecchou and held out a hand. “C’mon. Up you go.”
Tecchou asked him to dinner after they finished filming.