Archive of Our Own

1.

Looks- Yuzuriha

Yuzuriha knows Senku isn’t the same reclusive mad-scientist kid she'd met on that first year of highschool. He hasn’t been for a long time.

Don't get her wrong, the genius scientist part hadn't gone away by any means. She knows that even in college Senku is still very ahead of all of his classes, even if he admits they're more challenging than the ones he had in high school.

No, it's the antisocial part she feels like has changed the most. Sure, she's watched their little group grow throughout the years, their trio growing to accommodate Chrome, Kohaku, Ginro, Kinro… And yet, she's never more certain than when Senku starts talking about his new roommate more often, one Asagiri Gen. And even if he sometimes complains about the ‘mentalist’s’ annoying habits or penchant for chattering, it’s clear he’s grown quite close to the man. It’s more shocking than it probably should be when Senku decides to invite his friends over to meet the man they've only heard stories about.

But Yuzuriha isn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. The opportunity to meet a friend of Senku's, one that he's made all by himself, doesn't come often. Last time that had happened, Yuzuriha had made a boyfriend out of the guy, so the expectations were quite high for this Asagiri-san.

Senku greets them dismissively as always, beckoning them to follow him from his entryway to the kitchen. Taiju and Kohaku follow in their places at Yuzuriha’s side while Chrome lags behind to peek at every corner, as if he was going to discover some hidden machine there.

Senku’s house is sparsely decorated but very neat and clean. His kitchen and dining room are open concept, but they seem to have converted one bedroom into a living room. Yuzuriha has to wonder why they chose a three-bedroom apartment in the first place, and how Senku hadn’t monopolized one of them to be his home lab right away.

“You must be Senku’s friends!” A high voice calls when they reach the kitchen. A man with two toned hair is setting the table and Yuzuriha’s first thought is that this person looks like a celebrity. He drops what he’s doing so he can come greet them, a smile on his lips as sharp as his eyes. “I’m Asagiri Gen, it is a leasure-pay to meet you all, I have heard so much about you!”

Asagiri shakes her hand, and Yuzuriha almost feels like she’s entering some sort of deal before he’s reaching for Taiju.

“Easy.” Senku admonishes his roommate, elbowing him on the side. “Don’t lay it on too thick, mentalist.”

Asagiri pretends not to hear him.

“Senku’s told us about you, too!” Taiju says, returning the man’s handshake with more enthusiasm. “It’s great to finally meet you!”

“Did he, now?” Asagiri wonders, sending a teasing smile towards Senku over his shoulder.

Senku, for his part, simply rolls his eyes and sets about completing his roommate’s unfinished task of preparing the table.

“Taiju-kun and I didn’t know what to bring, but I remembered Senku-kun mentioning you liked cola Asagiri-san!” Yuzuriha says as she hands the six pack of soda to the man.

“Oh Yuzuriha-chan you didn’t have to, thank you so much! And really, I prefer it if you just call me Gen.” Asagiri takes the gift and moves to the fridge. “Eriously-say Senku-chan, I can’t believe of all the interesting things about me, you decided to tell them of my love for cola.” He whines at his roommate, a teasing lilt to his voice returning.

“That’s because you’re addicted to the damn stuff.”

“Because you make them for me.”

“I only make them for you because the store-bought ones are basically just sugar, and it’s a billion percent not good for you to be drinking six cans a day.”

“This coming from the energy drinks lover. Really, even straight caffeine would be better for you.”

“Debatable. Besides, I drink them to stay awake, you just drink your cola because you’re addicted.”

Yuzuriha, Taiju, Kohaku and Chrome witness this interaction as if they’re watching an intense tennis match, their heads swivelling back and forth between the two currently facing off from across the room.

“Should we… not have brought the cola?” She asks with a small smile, interrupting their banter.

Gen’s head snaps back to them as if just now suddenly remembering their presence. Senku simply blinks in recognition, going back to what he was doing. “Of course not, Yuzuriha-chan! Don’t mind Senku-chan he can be too much of a mother-hen sometimes. Here, let me give you a tour of the house!”

Honestly, Yuzuriha doesn’t know what to make of Asagiri Gen.

Not in a bad way. He is a lovely person and an excellent host. He keeps conversation up with the four of them without it being forced, asking about them and sharing enough about himself in return, that it won’t be suspicious how much information he's gathering.

But there’s something about him, like every time he turns his attention to you, he’s seeing something beyond what you’re putting out. Yuzuriha isn’t in the habit of lying, but she doesn't think she could lie to Gen even if she tried. However, it isn’t invasive, she doesn’t feel uncomfortable or exposed. Quite the contrary, actually. Gen appears to have a way with people, disarming them and making them feel at ease.

Which is why Yuzuriha wonders how this sort of person ever became involved with someone like Senku.

Asagiri Gen is all output and flimsy chatter, while Senku is much more withdrawn and reclusive. They just seem like two personalities types that would clash.

But when she thinks back to their interaction, she realizes they do, and that is precisely why they work. They’re like two different coloured ink blotches coming together. Even if at first it seems to clash and contradict, its ending result is harmonization. Senku and Gen form a new colour.

It only gets clearer the longer she’s around the two of them, why Senku and Gen simply work.

Gen is someone who can keep up with Senku.

Not in the way the Taiju and Yuzuriha do, where they’re able to sit through hours-long science lectures Senku springs up on them more often than not. Or in the way Chrome does his best to understand Senku’s explanations and learn from his experiments. Not even in the way Kohaku is always the first one to call Senku out when she thinks he is wrong but is just as quick to take his side when needed.

Gen is a good match for Senku, because he challenges him. And Yuzuriha knows how much Senku appreciates a challenge. Needs one.

They banter often, even in the short while they’re alone with the two before Gen’s friends arrive, Gen teasing Senku at any chance he gets and Senku rising to the bait every time. And she understands it’s a dynamic that could only work with the two of them, because of how Gen matches Senku pace for pace.

Yuzuriha doesn’t mean to observe the two so intently but, admittedly, it is sort of fascinating.

It quickly becomes clear to her that there is something off about Senku’s behaviour towards Gen, however. Not in a bad sense, not even particularly abnormal if it were anyone else, but the curious glances Taiju keeps throwing her definitely mean she isn’t the only one noticing it.

She isn’t able to quite put a finger on what it is though, at least not until Gen’s friends arrive.

Senku’s entryway isn’t small, but it’s definitely not meant to fit all of Gen’s friends coming in, plus the other people already inside, so Yuzuriha hangs back, content in watching Gen welcome his friends in. It’s not that the man seemed uncomfortable before, Yuzuriha can’t even imagine him so, but there’s a clear renewed levity in him as one of his friends- Ukyo, Yuzuriha later learns- sweeps him up into a hug upon arrival.

It's pure chance she’s distracted from the sight by a small movement on the corner of her eyes.

Yuzuriha looks away from the gathering to find Senku leaning on the entryway’s doorframe. A totally normal, dismissive gesture that Yuzuriha wouldn’t even have registered if the situation were any different. But as it was, she immediately notes the smile and look in her friend’s eyes that could only be described as overwhelmingly fond.

She follows his gaze, even if she already knows exactly where it leads, and is once again met with the sight of Gen smiling and laughing, surrounded by his friends as he makes introductions all around. She turns back and Senku is still watching. She might be imagining it, but she thinks she can see the little glimmer in his eyes. The one he only gets with anything related to space.

Could it be?

They’re broken out of their stupor- Senku watching Gen and Yuzuriha watching Senku- by Gen’s sharp voice, “Senku-chan, Yuzuriha-chan, come over here!”

“Come on, we better join in before he starts whining.” Senku tells her, not seeming surprised she’d been there the whole time. His smile never fades, only turns slightly more sardonic once he’s next to Gen.

Yuzuriha takes a moment to look around, but everyone had been more preoccupied, which was to be expected. She’s left to quietly ponder the possibility to herself.

2.

Dynamic- Ukyo

Ukyo likes Senku, and he likes Senku’s friends.

Before today, he’d heard a lot about Senku from Gen. A lot.

Honestly, sometimes it felt like Gen could carry a whole conversation with every sentence beginning with “Senku-chan…”. So, for a long time now, Ukyo had been rather curious about what sort of person this ‘Senku-chan’ was, exactly.

After all, it’s not just anyone that can get past Gen’s various emotional blockades he sets between himself and others.

Ever since Ukyo had met Gen in highschool, up until their first year of college, it had been just the two of them against the world. That’s not to say Gen was a lone wolf by any means. Through his charm and extroverted personality Gen gained a lot of colleagues and acquaintances. But never anyone he would refer to as friends, the several degrees of separation he created between everyone made sure of that.

So, since Ukyo, only two other people had managed to worm their way into Gen’s life. First there was Ryusui, no doubt influenced by Ukyo’s own affection for the man. And then there was Tsukasa, who he’d first thought was a sort of personal social pet project for Gen but had quickly proven himself as a valued friend in their group.

If pressed, he could name some other reoccurring people in their lives- like Hyoga, Moz or Amaryllis- but Ukyo could tell the difference. They weren’t yet at the level where Gen allowed himself to be his true self around them. Crossing that barrier took a long time.

But then, all of a sudden, there was a third person. Ukyo couldn’t say he wasn’t intrigued.

He’d been subtly dropping hints and needling Gen to introduce them to his roommate, and it had taken almost two months for Gen to give in. The curiosity only built.

Of course, he’d thought Gen had been exaggerating or dramatizing some of the things he told them about his elusive roommate. Ukyo wouldn’t put it past him. Sometimes it felt like Gen was born for showbiz and was only taking a detour through college, the way he went through life.

Anyways, surely no freshman could be all those things Gen described him as. After all, an aerospace engineering and astrophysics double major who was already a TA? That would make Senku some sort of genius, Ukyo had a hard time believing that.

“I’m going to space.” Senku declares over dinner with the casualness of someone who’s saying something much more mundane. As if space was just the next room over.

None of his friends even blink at the statement and the conversation carries on after that, but Ukyo finally understands that Gen hadn’t been lying about a single thing. He finds that even he, who has just met this boy, believes him entirely.

It takes less than an hour-long conversation for it to become abundantly clear that Senku couldn’t be anything less than a genius, in fact. His knowledge spans seemingly every field imaginable as he discusses the intricacies of sailing in detail with Ryusui before quickly suggesting a workout routine plus dietary supplements that work best for Tsukasa’s body type.

Ukyo doesn’t know what to say, so he says nothing. Instead, he takes to watching.

Senku is prone to long rambles about whatever topic is being discussed, but no one seems particularly bothered by this. He has this feeling about him, a confidence in his voice that makes you simply want to listen when he speaks. Well, Senku’s friends seem to be very comfortable with interrupting or intervening, no doubt more used to their friend’s lectures.

Gen is also fond of throwing his two cents into the conversation, a healthy balance between teasing comments and actual insightful questions. This isn’t that strange; he knows Gen likes to talk when he knows he has something of worth to add.

No, what Ukyo’s having the most trouble wrapping his head around the longer the dinner goes on is Gen’s body language.

As he said, Gen is a very private person, and his barriers are not only psychological, but also physical. Even within their friend group, Ukyo knows he’s the one Gen allows to be more tactile with him, and it took them years to get to that point. He’d figured by the fondness in his friend’s voice whenever he mentioned ‘Senku-chan’ that the two were close, but he’d never imagined…

“What dear Senku-chan means,” Gen cuts into whatever Senku was saying before by draping one dainty hand over Senku’s bicep and leaning forward into his personal space so he can be closer to Taiju and Yuzuriha across the table. Senku doesn’t even blink at the proximity, as if this is a common occurrence. He simply rolls his eyes and leans back slightly to give Gen more room for his gesticulation as he speaks, “is that, as a psychology student myself, I can testify that Freud was a lying, scamming, son of a b--.”

“Okay, that’s enough from you” Senku pries Gen’s wine glass from his hands, leaving the bi-colour haired man pouting after him as Senku gets up.

“No fair, I’m not even drunk yet.”

“No, but you’re tipsy which is your limit to be able to discuss Freud.” Senku tuts, beginning to gather the empty plates. “Come on, help me carry these into the kitchen.”

“Ossy-bay.” Gen mutters but does as he says anyways.

Ukyo and Yuzuriha stand up right away to offer their help in the clean-up, but Gen happily dismisses them to the living room claiming that ‘guests are guests, don’t worry about it!’

Their living room is spacious enough to fit the lot of them, several chairs certainly prepared in advance dispositioned around the coffee table. They must have thought of everything as the table is already covered in snacks and desserts for them to enjoy even if they have just finished dinner.

Being left alone with Senku’s friends is not as awkward as he might’ve expected. They all seem to take to each other rather well, as if they’ve been friends for longer.

He learns that Yuzuriha and Taiju are a couple like himself and Ryusui, although the other two have a certain pride when saying they’re highschool sweethearts. They’re the ones who’ve known Senku the longest, Taiju being his childhood friend and Yuzuriha meeting them as freshmen in highschool. Chrome was in Senku’s science club, one year below him and quickly became his sort of ‘apprentice’. Kohaku causes the most surprise, revealing she’s the daughter of the Lillian Weinberg and also Senku’s half-sister since his second year of highschool.

Ukyo is still grappling with this information, thrown out so calmly, when he decides to go get a glass of water from the kitchen and see if their hosts need any help with the dishes.

As he approaches the room, he starts to hear a faint melody rising from what must be speakers. When he gets close enough to peer into the open kitchen space, he realizes it’s coming from Gen’s phone laid out on the kitchen counter, playing a song with a foreign language intertwined with the melody.

The pair are standing with their backs to him, Senku at the sink washing the dishes before passing them to Gen who is half drying and storing them away and half dancing and singing along to the music.

He seems very fond of dancing around or even in front of Senku, purposely getting in the way of his task. Ukyo recognizes that what’s playing must be one of those K-pop songs Gen’s always been obsessed with and knows all the dance steps to, knowledge which is being put to use now.

He watches as Gen waves his hands around in front of Senku’s face singing along to the foreign lyrics only loud enough for the other to hear- but which Ukyo can hear clearly- before using a series of step sequences to get to the other side of the man to go put away the cutlery, all without breaking his concentration in annoying Senku.

At a first glance Senku wouldn’t even seem to be noticing the theatrics around him, probably too used to Gen’s antics. But from where Ukyo is standing, he can just faintly see the corner of Senku’s mouth that tips upwards, head downturned just enough that he can probably still watch Gen in his periphery and hide his grin while he does it.

Ukyo only pauses long enough to notice this, and suddenly he is invaded with the feeling that he is intruding on something intimate. He has enough of a mind to turn back, to pretend he hadn’t seen anything, glass of water now completely forgotten.

But his head is filled with new questions.

As he walks back into the living room the last thing he hears is the first notes of a very recognizable song and a melodic singing ‘Nowhere to turn, nowhere to hide,’ followed by a deep groan and Gen’s delighted laughter.

Again, Ukyo pretends he doesn’t hear it, while trying to make sense of it all at the same time.

3.

Favouritism- Chrome

A little unexpectedly, the two friend groups merge into one seamlessly.

At the end of that night, information is exchanged, and a group chat is formed. By the end of the month, they all know where everyone is going to school, and what the best schedules to meet up are. As if they’d been doing this for years.

In fact, Chrome is on his way to meet Ukyo and Ryusui at a café they found is sort of halfway between their campus’. Kohaku and Tsukasa are set to be arriving at the same time as him, both coming from the sports faculty, and Gen had just texted that he’s about to be let off his last lecture of the day and would meet them there.

Chrome arrives later than intended, having stopped by Senku’s campus and the lab he’s usually in to check if he was there.

When he slides into the booth next to Kohaku, it’s with a deep sigh. “Has anyone heard from Senku lately?”

They all look at him quizzically, their previous conversation clearly interrupted.

“Hello to you too, Chrome.” Kohaku says, her tone heavy with sarcasm.

Chrome has the sense to be sheepish, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Yeah sorry. Hey guys.”

Ryusui chuckles. “To answer your question, I haven’t. At least not since this morning when he texted the group chat to say, and I quote ‘why are you all blowing up my phone, don’t you have classes to go to?’” He pockets his phone from where he’d pulled it out to check, leaning back into his seat once more. Next to him, Ukyo settles into where Ryusui’s arm is wrapped around him.

As if Chrome needed another annoyingly cute couple to make him feel lonelier. He misses Ruri when he’s in college.

“Do you need him for something?” Tsukasa asks, downing his protein-filled drink evenly.

Chrome shakes his head to get back on track.

“He promised he would review some calculations for one of my classes today, but he hasn’t been responding to my texts or calls all day.” Chrome all but whines as he settles his chin in his hands. “It’s due by the end of the week.”

Ryusui flags down a waiter and orders for him, already knowing his usual. A cinnamon bun and a rooibos bend with carob- so, Chrome is a little specific with his tea, sue him. He doesn’t want to become one of those college students who need caffeine to survive.

“I can try to call him, but I won’t promise anything.” Kohaku offers, rummaging her jacket pocket. “He’s been working on some kind of engine? I’m not sure about the specifics, and I don’t care. You know how he gets when he’s focused on something.” She fiddles with her phone for a moment before bringing it to her ear. They can all hear the rings coming from the speaker and they wait, their waiter coming and going with his order in the time it takes before the call reaches voicemail. “Sorry,” Kohaku shrugs, clicking off the call.

Chrome groans, stirring his tea absent mindedly. “Ugh, it’s not like it’s that urgent or anything but still,” he knows he must sound like a petulant child as he pouts “I bet he'd pick up if it was Gen.”

Ukyo cocks an eyebrow up at him from across the table. “Why do you say that?”

Huh. That’s a good question actually.

Honestly, Chrome had said it so naturally, he hadn’t even thought about where it was coming from. Being asked to explain it now, all Chrome could think was that… it was natural, wasn’t it?

The earth was round, the sky was blue, the sun was a star, and Senku would never ignore Gen.

Even before they’d met Gen, he could tell his relationship with Senku- someone who had never bothered with friendships on his own accord- was different. Senku would bring Gen up in random conversations, even if the theme was apparently completely unrelated. He talked about Gen’s major and his skills as a mentalist in a tone that should indicate he thinks it’s ridiculous, but merely the fact that he’d listened to someone talk and learned about what he always referred as ‘barely science’ enough that he could repeat the technical terms, was indicator enough of how high Gen sat in Senku’s opinion. Hell, as far as Chrome was aware, Gen had never even had to help with any of Senku’s experiments or manual labour tasks yet, like all of their friend group was subjected to more than once, and Senku still hung out with the guy willingly.

But even all of that wasn’t what made Chrome so sure of his statement, but rather the close proximity behaviour he’s been privy to in the last few weeks since their friend groups had been introduced.

Before, it was rather common for Senku to blow off most attempts from his friends to try and hangout or do something outside of school hours. He was always busy with whatever new project he’d set his mind to, and the rest of them had learned to not take it personally. After all, if you really wanted to see Senku, you could just go to his designated laboratory in his faculty, and he would never send you away- of course you might find yourself helping him around the lab as mentioned before, but hey it came with the status of Senku’s friend.

That is unless, of course, if you were one Asagiri Gen, Chrome had discovered quickly in their interactions.

Whenever one of them asked to go out, like Kohaku had just the other day after one of her track meets, and Senku played the ‘busy’ card like he always did, all it took was a few cajoling messages from Gen which ended with ‘I’ll come by to get you after my class is over’ and lo and behold, there Senku was sitting obediently in the picnic chair with the rest of them.

It didn’t mean it was foolproof, and Gen didn’t always insist enough that a pattern would be noticeable, but now that Chrome is actively thinking about it, he can see it clearly.

“It’s just different, with Gen, isn’t it?” Chrome says with a shrug “I don’t know how to explain it.”

They all look at each other upon Chrome’s words. As if they’re coming to the same realization.

Ukyo opens his mouth to respond, but Tsukasa cuts him off, eyes turned to the entrance “Mn. We could find out.”

“Hello everyone!” Gen calls out cheerily as he slumps down on the seat next to Ukyo and Ryusui. He takes off his, apparent staple, lilac cardigan. “What are we talking about?”

The five at the table seem to come to a sort of silent agreement. Ukyo nods minutely and takes the initiative. “Gen, do you happen to know where Senku is?”

“Eh?” Gen tilts his head in confusion, bringing a finger up to tap at his cheek. “He was supposed to be at the lab today, as far as I’m aware. Why, did something happen?”

“He wasn’t there when I swung by earlier.” Chrome says, a pout returning to his face “you think you could try giving him a call for me?”

Now Gen really does look confused. “You haven’t tried that?”

“Just indulge him, please.” Kohaku implores. “He won’t shut up until Senku helps him with this assignment he promised to. For all our sake’s” Chrome knows she’s trying to sell it, but something tells him she believes in what she’s saying entirely.

“Hey!”

Still, it gets Gen to relent with a shrug as he digs around his pockets for his phone. From his position he can see the green heart next to Senku’s contact name on Gen’s screen, but he’s quickly distracted by the Kuromi phone charm that swings when Gen brings the device up to his ear. “Alright, but you know how Senku-chan is when he’s in the zone…” His words linger in the air as the beeps of the call attempting to connect come through his phone.

Yes, they all know how Senku is.

Which is why Chrome balks when after three or four more beeps the distinct click of the other party picking up is heard.

Senku answers the phone. Granted, it is with his usual disgruntled ‘What?’ that meant you just interrupted whatever it was he was doing.

But he answers the phone.

“Senku-chan, dear~” Gen begins into the speaker, but Chrome is only paying it half a mind.

He looks at the other four around the table and finds them already doing the same. It’s not exactly surprise that colours their features. It’s deep understanding that, even though this was predicted, it still isn’t normal.

Next to them Gen, unaware of the revelation that just befell the table, finishes his call with an overly saccharine goodbye, and is turning back to Chrome. “Senku-chan is in the biology department lab, he needed some equipment that he definitely told me the name to, but I wasn’t listening. He says he forgot about your plans, but he’s waiting for something to cool for a while so you can head over there if you’re free.” The bi-coloured hair man brings his palms together, looking genuinely remorseful. “Orry-say, Chrome-chan, but you must know better than me how he is.”

“Yeah… I should.”

4.

Priorities- Kohaku (and Tsukasa)

Senku is in the hospital.

It’s nothing serious, the doctors say, just some minor scratches that have all been treated and a head injury they’re still assessing to make sure it’s not a concussion.

Honestly, Kohaku has seen him treated less for far more. But of course, she’ll stay by his side regardless.

Although, looking in front of her over to Tsukasa on the other hospital waiting room chair, she wonders how the two of them wound up here.

The explosion in the lab Senku had been occupying happened fairly early in the day. First thing nine and a half in the morning, the other students report. But between the medics being called, Senku being transported to the hospital and being assessed and treated for his minor injuries, it was already well after lunch when they called his friends and family.

And that’s the weird part.

Because the emergency contact who had picked up the phone, had been Tsukasa.

Kohaku herself will admit she was in the middle of practice with her phone nowhere near her, so when Tsukasa had entered her gym hurriedly and pulled her aside to tell her what was going on, she was completely caught off guard. Of course, she only stayed still long enough to get the necessary information out of Tsukasa before she was hurrying out of the building and towards the hospital herself. Tsukasa had said that the prognostic wasn’t worrisome, but she would not rest until she could see her brother with her own eyes.

It's not long until they’re allowed into Senku’s room, who besides being laid down on an hospital bed, seems to look mostly in place. Kohaku still hurries to his side to personally check him over, much to Senku’s annoyance.

Tsukasa chooses to stand in the entryway, a nurse next to him. “About his emergency contacts,” the man starts, his voice soft and if Kohaku isn’t mistaken, a little trembly “y-you were one of his primaries W-weinberg-san” Ah, there’s why. Senku gets away with their mother being a world-famous celebrity since he has his father’s last name. Kohaku sometimes forgets she does not have that privilege. “We can have you sign off on him soon, but he refused the contact of his primary emergency number.”

Kohaku looks over at Senku who rolls his eyes, picking at the bandages around his head. Kohaku swats his hands away. “Do not call him. He’s busy.”

“Dad?” Kohaku wonders if he is. As far as she knows, he should be at the university, but he could be called out for this.

“One Asagiri Gen.” The nurse answers for Senku, and Kohaku raises her eyebrows. She can also see Tsukasa’s head turn to the nurse, apparently tuning into the conversation. “It’s procedure that we call the patient’s primary emergency contact first, even if they do not pick up. But since Ishigami-san was so insistent, we tried the other numbers before. Since you are also one of his primaries, and a member of Ishigamis-san’s family, it’s possible for you to sign off on him without a problem. I just thought to bring it up since we still don’t know what the nature of the patient’s head wound is. You might want to discuss the situation.”

“I’ve told you, I’m a billion percent fine.” Senku answers, sitting up in bed. “The scans will prove it.”

“Don’t mind him, he’s like this even when he’s not injured.” Kohaku approaches the nurse so she can sign the paperwork in his hand. “Thank you for your help, Akihito-san, if there’s any more news, please let us know.”

“Of course, Weinberg-san.” The man takes his leave with a small bow their way.

When the door closes behind him, Kohaku spins on her heels so she can face her brother. She doesn’t even know where to start. The stupid mistake that led to his injury, the matter of the emergency contacts, or the fact that he refuses to call Gen.

“It was barely an explosion” Senku explains before she even has to ask. “It was just a big beaker. I hit my head trying to take cover from it. I barely lost consciousness for five seconds”.

Kohaku sighs and sits down. Tsukasa chooses to stay by the door, almost as if he’s keeping watch. Senku does indeed look fine, his cuts are all bandaged and even the ones around his head are clear of any blood, so he shouldn’t be in any active danger. In fact, he looks more upset at being kept here than dazed or even worried about his injuries, so Kohaku lets herself relax a little in her uncomfortable hospital chair.

“And what was that about Gen being your primary and you refusing to call him?” Kohaku asks, crossing one leg over the other. “You two fighting or something?”

Senku picks at his ear as he leans back into the bedframe “We're perfectly fine, thank you. And you and Byakuya are still primaries on my emergency contacts don’t worry, no need to be jealous over it.”

A vein throbs in irritation on Kohaku’s forehead. She has to take a deep breath and remind herself that her brother is currently injured, so she shouldn’t be going around hitting him. But it’s a close thing.

Senku grins back as if he’s aware of his situational immunity. Kohaku promises herself to pay him back tenfold when they’re out of here. And when the lingering phantom fear of learning her brother was in the hospital was no longer hammering at her heart.

She crosses her arms over her chest. “Then why the hell didn’t you let them call him when we didn’t pick up? What if it had been serious? How did it even have to come to Tsukasa on your contact list?” Kohaku throws her hand up in the larger man’s direction. “No offence, Tsukasa.”

“Mn. None taken.”

“How is it my fault none of you picked up your phones?” Senku asks with raised eyebrows. “If it had been serious, I wouldn’t have had the presence of mind to keep rattling off numbers to the nurses until one of you decided to pick up, so that’s that.”

Senku’s words tap into some nasty feeling in Kohaku, even if she knows it hadn’t been his intentions.

He’s right, Kohaku hadn’t pick up.

It had taken Tsukasa coming to tell her her own brother had suffered an accident for her to find out. If it weren’t for him, she might not have known until…

She doesn’t know what compels her so, but she’s suddenly hit with the certainty that she has to call Gen.

Part of it is because she knows it’ll piss Senku off, and she needs to get back at him somehow until she can get back to her good ole trusted slap on the head. But something deeper tells her, Gen has to know. No matter what reason Senku might have, she knows whatever she’s feeling, Gen will feel it tenfold if he ends up only knowing later. This was Senku and Gen, after all.

With newfound determination, she brings her phone out.

Senku knows exactly what she’s thinking. “Kohaku, I told you not to call him.” He tries to reach for Kohaku’s hands but she’s faster than him even when he’s a hundred percent. “Don’t do this.”

“I’m sorry Senku, but he deserves to know.” She tells him, searching for the bat emoji in Gen’s contact name.

“Alright, listen, he has a test.” Senku argues. “I can’t do this to him, I can’t distract him, he’s been killing himself studying these past few days. I’ll tell him later when I know he’s finished.”

Kohaku hesitates for a moment, her finger hovering over the call button. She’s never heard Senku so simultaneously considerate and desperate at the same time. She looks at her brother and his eyes are pleading. Kohaku doesn’t know what to do with this information.

“Mn. You shouldn’t call him.” Tsukasa intervenes for the first time, and both their heads turn in his direction. His eyes are closed and serene as he leans against the door, and Kohaku is slightly surprised he’d take Senku’s side in this. But then, he continues. “There’s no need, as I’ve already done it. He should be arriving any moment now.”

Senku groans and throws his hands over his eyes in defeat, setting back down over from where he’d been preparing himself to defy doctor’s orders and get out of bed to wrestle Kohaku’s phone from her in her distraction. Ha. As if he’d ever win.

Kohaku meets Tsukasa’s eyes for a second and nods in appreciation. She doesn’t know when or why exactly the man had taken the initiative of letting his friend know about the situation, but she has a feeling his reasoning shouldn’t be that different from hers. It simply seemed natural, that if Senku were injured, Gen should be by his side.

As if on cue, the room door slides open with a little more force than necessary, and Tsukasa is instinctually stepping sideways to let the person through.

Gen only skids to a stop when he’s at Senku’s bedside, not even sparing a glance to the other people in the room. Senku at this point looks defeated, slumped in the hospital bed, looking at Gen as if he’s in pain- which for Senku just looks like a little furrow between his brows and small downturn to his lips.

Gen’s an immediate flurry of questions. “What happened? Are you okay? Does anything hurt? How long have you been here?”

“Calm down, mentalist, I’m fine.” Senku’s voice is placating, even if slightly annoyed.

Gen clearly doesn’t believe Senku’s prognostic- which is fair. Senku is the type of person to say ‘I’m fine’ before passing out in front of you due to sleep deprivation. He turns to Kohaku instead with his silent question, acknowledging for the first time that there were other people in the room.

Kohaku shrugs. “He has some minor cuts, but they seem to have been treated already. They’re still running tests on his head wound, but he has been present and aware well enough so far. He should be fine.” She tries to inflict her voice with the same certainty she’d want to hear if she was in his place. Which she had been.

It appears to work. Gen’s shoulders fall as he lets out a breath no doubt from all the pent-up anxiety, but he trusts Kohaku’s words. He closes his eyes for a second, probably unwinding from the trip there. Kohaku measures in her head the distance between the psychology campus and the hospital, and it’s definitely farther than the sport’s campus. However Gen had gotten here, it couldn’t have been easy.

When Gen opens his eyes again his entire demeanour has shifted. Where there once was worry and a little bit of panic, now there appears to be cold white fury. Kohaku gets the sense that if Senku wasn’t in an hospital bed right, she wouldn’t be the only one laying into him right now.

“Why the hell” Gen starts, his gaze slitted as he points an accusatory finger at his roommate, “didn’t you let them call me? Why did I have to find out about it hours after it had happened from Tsukasa?” He raises a hand towards the man by the entrance in the same way Kohaku had. “No offence, Tsukasa.”

“Mn, starting to not believe that.”

Senku looks away from Gen’s anger, a scowl taking up his features. “You have that test today, and I know how hard you’ve been working on it, you’ve spent the past week pouring over all the materials. I couldn’t ruin your chance, I know how important it was to you.”

Gen practically vibrates in place, staring back at Senku in pure indignation. Kohaku can clearly see the struggle within Gen, wanting to be rightfully upset but realizing Senku had good intentions. They were just misplaced.

“Senku-chan, you’re obviously more important than a test, or anything else for that matter!” Gen tells him, slightly desperate, like he couldn’t believe Senku had ever thought otherwise. Senku stares at Gen as if he’s had the wind knocked out of him. “I told the teacher what happened and she’s letting me retake it tomorrow. And even if she didn’t, I would still be here, I would still want to know if something happened to you! Nothing, much less a stupid test, will ever matter more to me than you.”

There’s silence for a couple of seconds as Gen’s words echo in the room. Senku takes an audible gulp. “Gen, I…” He starts but hesitates, wide-eyed as he faces his roommate’s unwavering gaze. The two just look at each other.

Kohaku has never seen Senku rendered speechless like this, and she suddenly gets the feeling that she’s intruding on something she shouldn’t. The two don’t seem particularly bothered by her presence, but frankly, they might not even remember she’s in the room at all.

If Senku eventually gets his voice back, or if Gen says anything else, Kohaku doesn’t know. Silently, she abandons her perch by Senku’s bed and slips out the room, Tsukasa in tow.

Sure, Kohaku is Senku’s sister, but her gut tells her Gen and Senku need each other right now, more than anything else.

She’s willing to wait.

5.

Connection- Ryusui

A game night is Ryusui’s idea. He hosts it, and François prepares his living room to the utmost perfection, just as he’d desired. He has a wide assortment of any board or videogame that he thought his friends might enjoy, and then some.

However, he’s not surprised when they end the night playing charades after only considering one or two of the more complex ones.

Maybe when their group was smaller- just the four of them- they could get away with spending most of the night learning rules or reading instruction manuals for whatever one of the games caught their fancy that time. But with their friend group extended as it was, counting with personalities such as those of Taiju and Chrome- who really were more about the action and the doing and less about the waiting and the patience- Ryusui was kind of expecting them to gear more towards the classics everyone would already know.

So, it’s not with disappointment that he sits on the couch right now, watching as Yuzuriha waves her whole body around according to the prompt she’d pulled from the bag provided by François.

Ryusui takes a swing of his beer and struggles not to laugh the whole minute poor Yuzuriha keeps clearly mimicking the act of skiing while Taiju throws out every guess under the sun but the right one. Their team is in the run for last place, alongside the trio of Kohaku, Tsukasa and Chrome- who by all means should possess the advantage of outnumbering the other teams, but who all suffer the same fate of being way too literal thinkers to interpret vague gestures alluding to things like movies or actions.

Ryusui has fun watching them.

However, he won’t be laughing any more once the next team takes the stage. The only true competition against Ryusui and Ukyo. Senku and Gen.

Honestly, it had stopped being funny about 3 rounds ago. Ryusui had come into this thinking he and Ukyo shared some sort of special connection that granted them advantage in games like this, on account of all the years they’d been dating. It wasn’t too long until he was humbled- as soon as Senku had gone up in front of them, done one movement, and Gen had guessed the word.

In each round of one minute, their team was able to burn through almost ten cards without breaking a sweat. And each time it only took them a couple of seconds at most and almost no gestures for the other to guess the word.

They were currently 3 rounds ahead of Ryusui and Ukyo, who had only won two.

He suspects cheating. Of course he does, one half of the team was Gen after all, and he would not be above it. He just couldn't figure out how one would cheat at charades. And why.

Unless it was to unnerve Ryusui specifically, in which case mission accomplished.

Ryusui tries to watch even more closely this time as Senku reaches into the bag and pulls out a paper. The scientist signals for them to start the timing and Ryusui follows his every movement obsessively.

Senku looks up and blinks as if thinking, brings a hand up to his face, and before he can do anything else Gen says “drowning” and Senku reaches for another prompt. Ryusui looks towards Kohaku who had been holding the piece of paper Senku first drawn, and she nods, silently turning it his way. In clear and perfect handwriting-it’s François after all- there it is, “drowning”. Ryusui contains his groan and turns back to the team at play, who had burned through another prompt in the meanwhile.

He pays as much attention as he can, but can’t see any pattern, any incriminating move, anything.

He starts to consider mind reading, as ridiculous as it is. If Senku had somehow invented telepathy-which Ryusui doesn’t doubt he could if all his efforts weren’t focused on his biggest desire, reaching space- and hadn’t told them just so he could use it to win this game, Ryusui was going to be very upset. And then he was going to try and buy it off of Senku.

It’s simply impossible. He’s heard of the myth that very close couples can develop this sort of unspoken language between them that allows them to communicate through looks and gestures only, but even then, that is only in specific contexts. And after spending many years together.

Senku and Gen weren’t even a couple… Were they?

Ryusui is too caught up in his own thoughts to notice Senku and Gen already two points ahead of Ryusui and Ukyo’s round. He tunes back in as they’re well on their way to three and probably the last of their round, judging by the sand left in the hourglass on the table.

Once more, Senku reads the prompt, thinks for a second, moves an arm, and Gen calls the answer.

“Frankenstein.”

Except, Gen hadn’t opened his mouth.

No, before he could, Ukyo, to Ryusui’s side on the couch, called it for him. They all swivel their heads in his direction, incredulous. “The book, not the character.” Ukyo adds, a serene expression on his face as he leans into the couch with his arms crossed.

Chrome peers over Kohaku’s shoulder to the prompt in her hand. “He’s right.” He whispers, as if in disbelief.

In front of them, Senku’s expression quickly turns into one of amusement, his grin similar to when he’s scheming something. Gen at least shakes his head. “I should’ve known you’d get there, Ukyo-chan.”

“You flatter me, Gen, dear.” Ukyo smiles at his longest friend.

“Anyone care to share with the class?” Kohaku asks, clearly not finding the interaction as entertaining out of the loop.

“Morse code.” Ukyo says, smirking at Senku in that way he does that makes his cheeks squish up, giving him more of an innocent look than it should. Senku smiles back wider. “The way he always starts by taking a couple of seconds to think about it. He either blinks or taps his fingers or his foot. The first letter is for the category, in this case, ‘B’ for book, and then the first couple of letters are the actual prompt. Am I right?” He asks, knowing very well that he was. Ryusui is a little awed.

“Hehe, not bad, Ukyo, you bastard.” Senku says.

“Eally-ray, Ukyo-chan, now you’ve ruined our entire trategy-say.” Gen dismays, overly dramatic. Something about it rings warning bells in Ryusui’s head, but before he can comment on it, his boyfriend is on it again.

“Not your entire strategy, not yet.” Ukyo lifts a finger casually and points it at Gen. “Care to take off your cardigan, Gen? It’s getting kind of warm in here, isn’t it?”

Gen breaks out into a grin immediately. Silently, he shakes his arms a little and a couple slips of paper fall out. When Yuzuriha, closest to him, picks one up of the floor, she gapes a bit. Turning it their way, Ryusui notices immediately that it looks identical to the ones inside the bag. Down to François’ handwriting and all.

“You cheating bastard, when did you make that?”

“Oh, Ryusui-chan, dear. An agician-may never leaves his house unprepared.” Gen tuts, teasing.

They all balk at his statement and the implication of it. Had he prepared these and brought them here just in case?

Well, all of them balk, except Senku. Instead, Senk’s smiling down at his roommate as if he had just solved world hunger or discovered the cure for cancer, and not simply cheated his way through a game of charades. Ryusui thinks Senku would be equally proud if Gen had done either of those things, but he clearly has a preference for when Gen uses his talents for his benefit.

“How did you know we were going to play charades?” Taiju asks, clearly more shocked over their foresight than angry that they had in fact cheated.

Senku and Gen share a knowing look at the question.

“It was Senku that suggested it.” Kohaku answers for them, realization in her voice.

And it all becomes clear. Now, Ryusui remembers the start of the night when they’d spent some time trying to settle on a game to play. It had indeed been Senku who had pointed out the number of people and the personality types of some of them that wouldn’t exactly make it easy to play an overcomplicated board game. That’s when Senku had said, “Traditional or simpler games would be better, like trivia or charades.”

And he’d thrown it in so casually, so perfectly, no one had any reason to suspect it. They’d immediately discarded any trivia game as it would be useless playing with Senku-which had probably been his plan anyway- and had set up shop in the living room to play charades. Over time, they’d even forgotten whose idea it had been in the first place.

“Like it?” Gen asks, his smirk infuriating. “I didn’t even have to tell him what to say.”

Chrome’s expression is of complete disbelief. “Did you guys plan this in advance?”

Senku and Gen look at each other and shrug. “Not really, I just felt like it.” Senku says.

“I have many other tricks up my sleeves don’t worry.” Gen completes, smug.

The revelation that Senku and Gen’s victory had been the result of cheating should comfort Ryusui’s previous unsettling. But the truth is, it doesn’t make much of a difference.

Senku and Gen may not be telepathic, but they’re so in sync they might as well be.

Senku had simply decided they should play charades, and Gen had gone along with him without a word exchanged between them on the matter, already having the tools needed to ensure their victory. Using morse code, although obviously dirty play, was in the same way kind of impressive. There would be no way Senku would be able to signal every single letter of each prompt, and Ryusui doesn’t recall any point in the night where they could’ve figured out a code between them. That meant it had only taken them a couple of rounds to figure out what the plan was and how the code worked.

Honestly, the idea of a telepathy machine might’ve been easier to swallow.

Those two are seriously something else.

+ 1.

Intervention

François opens the door for Senku and Gen when they reach Ryusui’s house- manor, more like. Gen thanks them but politely declines their help in taking off his things, as does Senku. When François accompanies them into the living room, where their friends must surely already be seated waiting for them to start their meal, Gen calls out. “Orry-say we’re late everyone, I had to fetch Senku-chan myself as he lost track of time. Honestly, it’s-"

Gen interrupts himself as they cross the awning into the room.

Seven pairs of eyes turn to them, their hushes falling into a dead silence. Not suspicious at all.

Looking around, where Gen expected to see snacks, some videogames, or just general chaos and mess, he finds all seven of his friends sitting quietly on two couches total. They’re arranged in a half circle facing another empty couch. Gen has a suspicious feeling that’s meant for them.

“Jeez, why are you so tense? This almost seems like an intervention.” Gen laughs, trying to alleviate the mood. Seriously, all they were missing was a banner. He quickly ceases his laughter when no one else joins in. He looks at their friends and sees them flinch. “Oh my God, this is an intervention, isn’t it?”

“Senku-kun, Gen-san, why don’t you two sit down?” Yuzuriha suggests with a reassuring smile.

Gen can’t believe this is happening.

But he can't help but commend their choice of spokesperson in this moment. It’s almost physically impossible to be angry at Yuzuriha, and she’s one of the people who Senku respects the most- meaning he wouldn’t just walk out on her. Making her the face of this had been an ingenious choice.

Senku and Gen share a look, silently agreeing on following her instruction. They might as well see where this goes.

“So, which one of us is this about? My bet is on Gen.” Senku mocks, plopping down unceremoniously on the couch.

Gen rolls his eyes, sitting down much more properly. “Please, if anything it’d be about you and your masochist workaholic tendencies.”

“Actually,” Ukyo interjects, and it’s not that surprising. He’d been Gen’s next guess on who would take a lead in the conversation. In the same way it was impossible to be mean to Yuzuriha, she couldn’t do it either. If you wanted someone with a disarming demeanour who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, Ukyo was your guy. It seems like their friends had this all figured out. “This is about the two of you.”

Gen is caught slightly by surprise at this, and the way Senku looks at him tells him he’s as lost as him.

“We just want you to know that we’re doing this because we want the best for both of you,” Yuzuriha explains, squirming slightly in her seat “and we wouldn’t be doing this as a group unless we were completely sure of what we’re saying. We thought it might be best that you heard it coming from all of us because…”

“You’re too fucking stubborn” Kohaku adds.

“And idiots” Ryusui contributes.

“That too” Kohaku agrees.

“That’s not exactly what I was going to say…” Yuzuriha trails off in soft nervous laughter.

“Oh my god,” Senku groans, “just spit it out already, I’m hungry.”

Tsukasa, never being one to beat around the bush, is the one who says it

“We believe you two are in love. Mn.”

Gen feels his jaw drop, next to him Senku goes very still.

“Exactly! You two should get together!” If it wasn’t for their situation, Gen would describe Taiju’s excitement as endearing. However, right now, he finds it anything but.

“Yeah, and stop pining and being disgustingly lovey-dovey from afar. Maybe if you start dating, you’ll be able to get it out of your system.” Ryusui says.

“We’ve been trying to give you guys hints for weeks now.” Chrome complains. “We’ve tried giving you alone time, speaking to each of you individually but…”

“It’s like you two are being obtuse on purpose.” Kohaku finishes for him. “Hence” She gestures vaguely around them to the entire situation.

“This felt like our last option.” Yuzuriha confesses sheepishly.

Gen is left slightly dumbfounded staring at his friends. Had they really been trying that hard to get him and Senku together? He remembers thinking that they have been acting slightly strange these past few weeks. Cancelling plans last minute so that it left only Senku and him, Ukyo and Ryusui suddenly bringing up conversations about relationships and asking what Gen wants in a partner, if he had a crush on someone… Now that he’s putting it together, it should’ve been quite obvious what their intentions had been, but he hadn’t thought anything of it at the time.

Still, was it that frustrating for them that they thought they had to resort to such extreme measures as public humiliation?

Both Senku and Gen stay silent for a couple of moments watching their friends start to squirm uncomfortably, glancing between each other. He feels like it’s a little deserved.

“Whose idea was this, then?” Gen asks at last, his voice betraying nothing.

Chrome scratches at his cheek. “We all kind of agreed on this”

“Over the last couple of months, we all had our moments where we noticed something was… different about your relationship.” Ukyo continues, his tone placating. “We only talked about it recently and tried to do something about it.”

“Because it was getting ridiculous to watch.” Ryusui adds, rolling his eyes. Along with Tsukasa, they seem to be the most cavalier about this whole thing.

Gen lets this sit for a couple more seconds.

He won’t dare to chance a look at Senku, knowing he wouldn’t be able to maintain his composure if he did. Although he won’t deny he’s dying to know what could possibly be going through Senku’s mind right now. Is it the same as Gen?

The tense air surrounds the group all the while as Gen waits for someone else to break it.

Was this seriously all they planned to say? How exactly did they expect this to play out from here? It was almost enough to make Gen laugh. Almost

“So,” He hears Senku pipe up for the first time since this whole ridiculous thing started, “Who was the first one to notice something?”

Their friends stare quizzically at him, certainly not expecting that to be his line of questioning.

“Does that really matter?” Kohaku asks, unamused.

“Indulge me.” Senku says, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he leans back into his seat with his arms crossed. If Gen didn’t know better, he’d say Senku didn’t seem to care in the slightest for this conversation. But Gen does know better. “It’s the least you could do after putting us through this whole ordeal.”

The reprimand has its desired effect, and he can see their friends caving in. Gen’s so proud of Senku’s little manipulation tactics.

“Ukyo was the first to bring it up with us.” Tsukasa says solemnly.

“Oh, for us it was Yuzuriha!” Taiju adds, smile never fading when he gets to talk about his girlfriend. “So it was probably one of them, right?”

They all look at the two in question who seem caught by surprise.

Ha, not so good to suddenly be thrust into the spotlight, is it?

“Well… I first thought something was different with Senku when we first met Gen-san.” Yuzuriha offers, a little nervously. Goddamnit, Gen couldn’t even gloat satisfyingly. “The way you looked at him, Senku-kun… The only time I’ve ever seen you look at something like that was on those late nights when we would go stargazing.” Yuzuriha’s smile and words are as pure as winter snow and it leaves Gen breathless. She leans forward to grab Senku’s hands. “That is why I wanted to to do this. To find someone in your life that makes your eyes shine the same way they do when you look up at the moon is the most wonderful thing.”

She glances softly at Gen and he can feel himself losing the battle against the blush threatening to overtake his face. Well, he wasn’t expecting something so genuine and heartfelt to come out of this conversation, but that’s very much on him.

He continues to refuse to look at Senku, even though every bone in his body is thrumming with the curiosity to know. Know if he’s embarrassed. If he’s blushing half as much as Gen. He thinks it’d be pretty unfair if he wasn’t.

“What about you, Ukyo-san?” Yuzuriha prompts when it’s clear the two in question won’t say anything. She releases Senku’s hands.

“Well, I can’t speak for Senku, as I didn’t know him as well at the time,” Gen’s best friend starts, and he gets a feeling he won’t like how this will end. Ukyo fixes Gen with his stare, making it impossible to look away. “But I could tell there was something special about Senku right away because I know you, Gen. You have your barriers built high and strong, but they just disappear when you’re around him. That first night at your house I saw you laugh, move and dance around him like I’ve never seen you do with anyone before. You were so comfortable, so free. I’m really glad you found someone who makes you feel that way.”

Gen didn’t know it was possible, but he feels his face burn even hotter. The words coming from the person who’s known him longest, who Gen loves and respects more than almost anyone, hit very close to home.

Senku coughs, obviously fake, but it gets everyone’s attention. Even Gen finally turns to glance at his side. His roommate is still clearly disconcerted judging by the remains of the pink colouring his cheeks and tips of his ears, but he gives his best attempt at seeming nonchalant.

“Basically, you both noticed something was up the first time you saw us interacting?”

Yuzuriha and Ukyo look to each other, thinking back on their statements.

“Is that really what you retained from all they said?” Kohaku throws her head back in frustration. “They just completely exposed you two in the most loving way possible, and you still refuse to say anything about the actual topic?”

“Should we all give our statements?” Taiju asks, very genuinely.

“No!” Gen exclaims, confident at last that his voice wouldn’t tremble anymore when he opened his mouth. “That’s really not necessary believe me. We get the point.” He straightens himself back up, trying to regain control over the situation. “Besides, there are more pressing matters at hand.”

“There are?”

“Yes, my dear Chrome.” Gen places his hands on his knees, turning to the two unofficial spokespeople. “So, Yuzu-chan, Ukyo-chan, you’re absolutely sure it was on the same night that you started to suspect me and Senku-chan had… feelings for one another?”

Ukyo raises an eyebrow, glancing between the two in confusion. Finally, he shrugs. “Yeah, pretty much since I first saw you interact.”

“The same for me.” Yuzuriha comments.

For the first time, Gen looks at Senku. Senku looks back at him.

No words need to be exchanged for them to know exactly what this means.

Senku throws his head back with a groan at the same time as Gen covers his laughter behind his hand.

“I can’t believe it’s a fucking tie.” Senku says.

Gen shakes his head. “Eriously-say, we should have accounted for this.”

Whatever reaction their friends had been expecting, this certainly wasn’t it. They glance between the two in various stages of confusion or incredulity.

“Okay, care to explain what’s going on?” Ryusui is the one to ask. “What are you talking about, a tie? Were you competing for this?”

Senku and Gen look back at each other, more guilty than before. “Well…”

There’s a pregnant pause. A pin drop could be heard despite the nine people in the room.

“I’m going to kill you both” Kohaku gets up from her seat and Tsukasa is the only thing holding her back from what was definitely not an empty threat.

“Okay, okay, listen.” Gen placates, scooching closer to Senku when he sees realization starting to dawn on everyone’s faces. At most, he figures he can use Senku as a human shield if Tsukasa deems their explanation unsatisfactory and unleashes Kohaku on them. Perhaps she’ll hesitate to kill her own brother when faced with him first, that would give Gen plenty of time to escape. “It was a harmless bet. We just wanted to see whose friends would notice our relationship first. I mean, we know we’re not the most conventional with public displays of affection and all—”

“WHAT?”

Gen flinches at the sudden unison exclamation and Senku closes his eyes against it, picking at his ear as if it’d been affected.

“You guys are dating?” Taiju recovers first, half way out of his seat already, in excitement.

“Yes” Senku says, as if he’s a teacher whose students had finally arrived at the correct answer. “We’ve been dating this whole time, you idiots.”

Another pause. Kohaku lunges again.

Tsukasa stops her this time as well, but Gen can see his grip is laxer, as if he’s starting to consider the option as well. Gen prepares to start running.

They all stare at the two of them.

“We didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, so we just waited for you guys to figure out by yourselves.” Gen explains.

“And you bet on us in the meanwhile.” Ukyo says, his voice colder than ice.

Gen glances away guiltily. “When you put it like that, I can start to see how that might not have been in the best of tastes.”

“You think?” Ukyo’s tone has Gen flinching.

“Ahaha” Gen laughs nervously. He taps Senku’s arm in desperation. “Senku-chan, you want to contribute something to this conversation?”

Senku picks at his ear. “Nah, I think you’re handling this pretty well. A billion points to you.”

Gen is about to retort when he sees a figure lunge at them from the corner of his eye. He has a second to chastise himself for taking his eyes off his enemy, and another to accept his demise at the hands of Kohaku, before thin arms warp around his and Senku’s necks.

But where he expects brute force, he finds gentle comfort.

“I’m so happy for you two.” Yuzuriha says next to their ears where she hugs them both.

Senku and Gen are rendered immobile for a couple of moments. But when Gen comes to himself, he lifts an arm to return the warm embrace, a small smile at his lips. Senku simply sighs but lets himself lean into it, which for him is the same thing.

They hear sighs from behind Yuzuriha, and Gen knows the irritation has died down with this one simple gesture, and resignation has set in. Soon enough, when Yuzuriha pulls off, Taiju is next in line to come up and scoop Senku up in a bone crushing hug. The rest of them follow suit in approaching the couple, and even if they don’t hand out hugs like Senku’s best friends, they each give the two their own form of congratulations or support. Even if some are more reluctant than others at moving past the fact that they’d been hiding their relationship this whole time.

Later, they might realize that what they had been dealing with this whole time had been Senku and Gen together. This meant that their hopes of the couple’s lovesick behaviour dying down once they got into a relationship were thrown out the window.

But that was later.