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"Senku-chan, I'm booooored..."
"Well, get out and find something to make yourself useful with. Or go to sleep."
"I don't wannaaaaaa..."
Senku sighed and leaned back from his telescope. It was late and while everyone else was asleep, they stayed awake in the observatory. They spent their time discussing whatever crossed their minds, from Senku's latest project to the villagers' antics. The two of them seemed to have found themselves spending more and more nights alone together like this, and that was alright. Senku would be lying if he told you that he didn't enjoy the company— though if you asked, he'd to pin it all on Gen being needy. It's whatever.
Gen sat up a bit, propping his head up onto his hands.
"Hey..." he started.
"What is it now?"
"You ever miss your old life? Like, you wish this all never happened?"
"Well... of course. Then I wouldn't have to be here. I'd be in goddamn space right now and not stuck in this shack. Well, not right now I guess. I'd be dead. Unless we figured out a way to..."
His tangent was cut off by the the sound of Gen exhaling and flopping back down onto the floor.
"Sometimes... I'll try to reach into my pocket to grab my phone but like, it's not there. It's jarring."
"Heh. Fuckin' zoomer. You and your damn phone."
"Shut up! You couldn't have been any better than me." Gen whined.
"Well, at least I was doing somewhat useful shit with it."
Silence fell upon them for a moment. Gen fidgeted.
"I just... yeah, it's cool that we're bringing all of that shit back and all, but it just won't be the same. There's always gonna be some things, some amenities, some... comforts that we won't ever see again, at least not in our lifetimes. And that makes me kinda sad. I mean, all of my memes are gone forever."
"Hah? We lost all of recorded human history and you're concerned about your memes?"
"Shut up! Shut up! I had some really good ones saved."
Once again, silence. Senku sat back from his telescope, figuring that was enough for the night. He turned towards Gen and saw him pouting with his arms crossed, eyes averted. Even through all that brattiness, Senku noted that he... was kinda cute. Not like he'd never admit that to anyone in ten billion years, though. He internally cringed at the mere thought. He took a deep breath.
"Tell you what... once everybody is revived... all seven billion people... and we can all settle down... I'll make you whatever you want if it'll make you feel at home. Just for you. Name it and I'll do it. Hell, I'll even take suggestions right now so that I can spend whatever free time I have on it. Will that make you happy?"
Gen's eyes snapped back onto Senku.
"Huh?" Gen stammered.
Senku proudly straightened his posture, yet he still found himself nervously glancing away.
"...Yeah. I'll do anything you want. You'll have first dibs on what I do. Just say the word. Just... I don't want to see you feeling like that. Even if you're not outwardly showing it. I wanna do whatever I can about it."
Oop.
"Okay, I mean, I don't like seeing anybody in general sad. But, I mean, you're always hovering around me like a damn puppy, so it'd uh, be bad for me if you're gonna be moping around or whatever. Yeah," He backpedaled... was that enough backpedaling or too much? Did he reveal too much? Dammit. He bit his lip as he braced for Gen's response. Maybe he'd think that's weird or condescending. Maybe he'd turn down the offer.
Fuuuuuuck. Why isn't there an algorithm for dealing with people that has guaranteed results?
"Really?"
He broke out of his internal spaghetti spillage to see Gen's face absolutely lit up.
It was adorable, to say the least.
"Yes..."
"Whaaaaat! That's so sweet of you! I have a million ideas. Uh, maybe the internet. Is that too much right off the bat? How about just more cola... Uh... no... I can do better than that..."
"It's fine. We'll have a lot of time for you to think about it. There's still a long way to go."
Gen was excitedly sitting up now. He seemed to have done a complete 180 in just couple of seconds. Funny how he can just flip his demeanor around like that.
"You know..." Gen started, "You can be kind of an ass sometimes, but... I really do think you have it in you do care about others. I think that you can be genuinely kind sometimes."
The smile on Gen's face made Senku burn up. Damn! Okay! No need to be so sweet all the time!
"...Yeah. 'Course I can."
Gen scooted closer. Senku felt his heartbeat pick up. He swallowed as Gen slouched down right next to him, so close that they were touching. Senku felt totally unable to move. It seems like awkward silence was the theme of the night.
"Hey." Gen began.
"Mm?"
"I just wanna say that... really deep down, I'm glad all this happened. Like, yeah, I lost everything, but, uh... I've had a lot of fun and I've learned a lot. And I got to meet you."
Senku's heart skipped a beat. Still, Gen kept going.
"You're so cool and smart and when I was first revived, everything was really scary and weird and I was so lost. Through that smug facade I put up, I really was uneasy and meeting another normal person like you really helped keep me grounded. So... thanks."
Senku was dumbfounded. Gen wasn't done yet, however. He leaned onto Senku's side, just resting.
"So... thanks for being here. I have a lot of fun with you every day and I love spending the nights alone with just you. I just think you're amazing. I, uh, love you. Again, thanks for everything."
Time was at a standstill. The air felt as if it had been replaced with molasses.
"I... love... you too." he answered.
Saying that felt so unnatural and awkward and artificial. He would never in a million years be the first one to say something like that. But, he'd also never in a million years leave Gen unanswered.
Gen answered with silence. He shifted more of his weight onto Senku, with his head resting on his shoulder to make himself more comfortable.
"Ha. Knew it."
"Yeah, okay, whatever."
"Wanna go to bed now?" Senku asked.
"Sure."
Gen squealed as Senku abruptly dragged him down with him as he laid back onto the surface behind them. They shared a few seconds giggling like little kids on the floor together.
"Alright... I'll go set everything up." Senku untangled himself from Gen and stood up.
"Whatever you say, Senku-chan~..."
Senku's heart had always fluttered when he was called that. And now, he was ready to hear that nickname every day for the rest of his life.