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It was late.
Late enough that Gen was the last one up; his only company the stars glittering above him, twinkling softly from their distant lands. Gen watched them, as they watched him, smiling quietly. He never could see them quite like this in their old world, and there was something almost... magical about it. He’s sure if he asked Senkuu, he would tell him all about space and plasma and gravity; he would break them down and showcase the cold facts. He’s sure Senkuu could explain every little detail about the way stars worked, the different variants, their deaths.
He could and would, Gen knew. Senkuu knew just about everything, that brilliant, genius terror of a man.
He just didn’t want him to, for once; though it was always cute when Senkuu would go on about science. Sometimes, it was nice to wonder, to feel. Whether that be through cotton candy in the stone world, twinkling stars, or the way people actually smiled real smiles when they saw him, Gen liked the awe buzzing in his fingertips.
He sighed, low and content, and let the lies and masks and dramatics slip away. It was just him and the stars and their makeshift cotton candy machine. He could stop being the shallow, manipulative mentalist and just exist.
He could just exist and wonder, wonder at how far things had come.
And he wasn’t just talking about the sweets.
The grass rustled behind him, as someone revealed themselves, walking closer. Gen didn’t turn around, kept his eyes upward. There was only one other person who was stupid enough to be awake so late when there was work to be done in the morning. “Mentalist,” Senkuu said, “what’re you doing awake?”
Gen hummed and didn’t respond. In his peripheral, he saw Senkuu lay down next to him, and, sighing happily, he turned around to face him.
It really was a time to wonder, to be awed. Because here Senkuu sat with him, his uncaring facade down, his eyes soft. Here they both sat, damaged and vulnerable, but together they were a little stronger. They could feel a little more whole.
Trust was such an amazing thing, and Senkuu was such an amazing person. His red eyes, glittering with passion as he talked about space. The way he never gave up, how he cared so much but pretended he didn’t. His smarts, his smiles as they finally accomplished something, and the hard set of his shoulders as he told them to never give up when things went wrong.
Brilliant , Gen thought.
A wonder.
“What’re you thinking about?” Senkuu said, and Gen realized that at some point he had begun to stare right back. Now, he was studying him with one eyebrow raised teasingly.
“Just the cotton candy machine,” Gen smiled, because he couldn’t say you, you crazy, beautiful person. “It’s...insane, Senkuu. You really are a genius.”
“Oh please, it’s just some sugar,” he quipped back, but his eyes were soft.
“It’s kind, is what it is. You always find a way to make things better, even when you’re not trying.” Just look at me, Gen thought, look at the village, at Sukia’s smile, and at Chrome’s excitement.
“That’s just science.”
“No, I’m pretty sure that’s just you.”
Senkuu snorted, and Gen found himself giggling, too. “I mean it. You’re…” amazing, strong, courageous, brilliant, the greatest man I know - “really something, Senkuu-chan.”
“ Thanks,” he smiled teasingly. “You’re ‘really something,’ too.”
Gen smiled again, and they lapsed into silence. With Senkuu beside him, the stars above him, and cotton candy still sweet on his tongue, Gen felt....happy. He hadn’t felt this happy in a while, actually. Definitely not in their old world, despite having everything a man could want. For some reason, the happiness he had been chasing all his life he found here - 3700 years in the future, about to go to war, and working to rebuild civilization. Sitting under the stars with someone he surely would have hated, with none of the modern luxuries he enjoyed. Laughing, he grinned at the irony. He grinned at how crazy everything was, how crazy it was that he ended up here.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty damn close.
“What is it now, Gen?” Senkuu laughed with him. There was something in his eyes as he looked at him, at his wide smile and mused hair. Something fond.
“Nothing,” Gen said. “Everything. I don’t know, but does it matter? I’m just glad...” He trailed off, looking at the other with love, maybe. He wasn’t sure, and he didn’t know if he wanted to label this warm, fragile feeling blossoming in his chest.
He reached out and grabbed Senkuu’s hand, their fingers slotting perfectly into place.
“Glad for the cotton candy I made you?” Senkuu teased, but his gaze was locked on their joined hands, resting between them. There was definitely something in his eyes, in the way he looked at Gen like he hung the world. Maybe he was doing a little wondering of his own.
“Sure, Senkuu, whatever you want to believe.”
Senkuu looked at him, really looked at him, as the stars and the earth sang around them. Magical, Gen thought again, but this time it had everything to do with their intertwined hands and Senkuu’s red eyes on him.
“I don’t understand you, you know. You - you don’t make any sense,” he murmured, staring at their joined hands like it was the world’s greatest puzzle.
“Oh darling,” Gen smiled softly, squeezing his hand. “All the best things don’t.”
And no more needed to be said. They didn’t have to box in this delicate thing blooming between them. They didn’t have to gossip or panic or worry, because together they were something a little magical, a little unexplainable. Broken as they both were, as torn apart from grief and confusion, that didn’t define them as they looked at the stars by the cotton candy machine in the dead of night. War was coming, but they weren’t thinking about that - it didn’t matter now. Nothing did. Together, holding hands, the world spinning, and them breathing - completely and utterly alive all they had to do...
Was wonder.