Tohru and Teruo: The Untold Story

Author's Note: Set in the past timeline, prior to Netto and Tohru's reunion, in "The Place Where Light Reaches". Yes, I know Capcom has since confirmed Teruo is canonically nineteen years old, but it took the 22nd anniversary of the series for them to reveal that detail, so just treat Teruo as though he were aged down when he met Tohru, since he never appeared in the anime anyway. Enjoy the story and R&R.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or of the Rockman EXE series.

Pairing: Established Tohru x Teruo.

Summary:

A short side story to my fic "The Place Where Light Reaches". Teruo was gracious, once upon a time.

"T-Tohru-chan, ca-car's l-l-loaded. Everything f-for o-our trip to the h-hot springs."

"And robot parts, right?"

"W-what?"

"Teruo-kun, please. The sounds of metal clinking around in your bag before you threw it in the back? I have a hard time believing it's jingle bells."

"An-and if they were? J-jingle bells, I m-mean."

"You don't have to hide it. I know you have hardware in there."

"Sh-shucks, y-you g-got me, T-Tohru-chan." He sat scrunched up with a guilty smile on the car's hood. "I hope y-you're n-not angry with me."

"Will you tell me what you're working on?" Tohru leaned forward with his fingers joined behind him, an eager smile of his own showing Teruo his boyfriend was, in fact, not angry.

"Unf-finished ideas. N-nothing special."

"Everything you build is special, Teruo-kun."

"G-Gramps doesn't think so. He says I'm wa-wasting my t-time cre-creating h-hollow junk, when I sh-sh-should be on the f-front lines of the network frontier! 'The internet's the future when it c-comes to Jomon Electric s-serving the public!' I must s-seem like a decades-old microwave he b-bought off a p-pawn shop!"

"You are a pretty bad NetBattler, Teruo-kun!" Tohru chuckled innocently.

"Y-y-you don't got to rub it in, T-Tohru-chan! An uncustomized N-N-Navi against Iceman is inherently unf-fair!"

"We ought to customize your Navi. You're in serious need of an upgrade."

"I d-don't trust NetNavi design in the h-hands of my o-opponent."

They laughed, ducking under the roof of the vehicle from opposite sides.

"It won't st-start." Teruo turned the key.

"Excuse me?"

"The car." He turned the key a couple more times, the engine coughing.

"Should we call someone? Hey, Iceman? Are towing companies open during the holidays in Amerope?"

"If you plug me in, Tohru-kun, I can go ask!"

"N-no, I have this." Teruo reused the door, his polished black shoes crunching the salt on the icy road. He unlatched the hood, removing a flashlight from his utility belt and shining it where Tohru couldn't see from the passenger seat. Teruo held the flashlight in his teeth and a screwdriver and a wrench in each hand, pulling out his mechanical chops to spark life into the sedan again.

"I'd l-like to see Gramps try and restart an en-engine with the internet!"

"I'm sure Iceman could bypass the engine altogether if you gave him a minute to search auto maintenance."

"Desu," Iceman agreed.

Teruo's ears sagged beneath his casket hat, his fingers sinking over the steering wheel. "Th-there g-goes my s-sense of usefulness."

"Sorry, haha. But Navis can't do everything, Teruo-kun! Who restored the analog jukebox in the school cafeteria and introduced me to classical Ameropan Christmas music?"

Reconvinced of his importance, Teruo tuned the knob on the car radio.

And oh, what fun! "Jingle Bells" came on!