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Senku squinted and peered through the lens at the stars once more. Damn, for a bunch of cavemen and one twink they did a pretty good job.
It had been about an hour since he had arrived back at the village and been gifted with the telescope. Everyone had left him alone for a bit to give him some space to reflect.
His solitude was interrupted by the creaking of someone climbing the ladder outside. He turned around and instantly recognized Gen's two-toned hair even in the darkness.
“Hey."
“Come in.”
Gen crawled into the room, almost tripping over his coat in the process.
"Everyone's gone now, right?"
"Yeah. What's up?"
"Is it alright if I just hang out here for a bit?”
“Go ahead. I mean, This whole thing was your idea. No reason why I wouldn't let you in it.”
Gen smiled and sat down next to him in front of the telescope.
He would never admit it, but Senku was kinda touched at the gesture. Coming all the way out here on a freezing night just to see him when he could be in bed right now. He wondered if Gen just wanted him to make something for him again.
“So, Senku-chan, How are you? I didn't really get to ask you properly back there.”
“I’m alright. I might sleep in tomorrow for once. I think I deserve it.”
“That’s good.”
They sat in silence for a bit. Gen bounced his leg up and down. Senku didn't usually pay attention to this kind of stuff, but he could tell that Gen was nervous about something. Maybe he was picking up Gen's habit of scrutinizing people's body language.
“Er, I kinda missed you during those three days. You know, since you're the only other modern person here. It’s really hard to communicate with these people. They didn't know what the hell I was talking about half the time. It drove me up the wall. I’m surprised we managed to finish this thing in time."
“Oh, I feel that every single day. I have to explain every little thing to them.”
Gen giggled and pushed the fringe of his hair back behind his ear. Whenever he did that it made Senku feel butterflies in his stomach. He just thought it was neat. And maybe kinda cute.
Gen leaned forward and peeked through the lens.
"Did you use the telescope more?"
"Yeah. It's pretty cool. I'd like to remap the stars once I have more free time. Once all of this weird shit is over."
"This whole world is still really fucking weird."
Senku stared down at the floor. He didn't know how to continue the conversation. He wanted to look back through the telescope or continue planning the cell phone just so he could have an excuse to get up and move around.
Gen looked back at him.
“You know, I wasn’t lying back there.”
“What?”
“Um. When you came back. I wasn't lying when I said I really liked you.”
Senku didn't look up. He felt himself starting to sweat even though the room was frigid.
“Oh.”
“I… just wanted to make that clear. And maybe ask you how you… feel about that I guess. I don't wanna really stay in the dark about it. Like… if you're okay with that? I don't wanna be weird or creep you out.”
“Oh, uh…”
Senku should be annoyed right now. He should be grossed out. He should be calling Gen “cringy” again. But no words came out of his mouth.
There was something different about Gen that he couldn't hate or get annoyed at like he got at Taiju. He couldn’t really put his finger on it. Maybe it was the way he lit up every room he walked into. The way that he showed such genuine interest in his work. The way that he could seemingly read his mind.
He looked down at his lap and picked at his fingernails, trying to find something to keep his hands and eyes occupied. He didn't really want to look Gen in the eye right now.
“I… don't… hate it.”
This is really weird.
“Really? Coming from you, that’s… uh, reassuring.”
Senku finally looked up at Gen, sensing that he wasn't mad at his robotic answer.
“I guess.”
Gen was giving him the warmest smile that he had ever seen. It felt like an arrow had shot clean through his heart when he saw it. He was feeling kinda bad for calling him gross. And for all of those other rude things he had said to him over the last year. Shit. Shit. Shit.
He didn't want to keep going where this was going without saying something.
He took a deep breath.
"Yeah. Uh, I'm sorry for calling you cringey back there. I don't actually think you're cringy."
Gen gasped.
"Aww, Senku-chan! That's so sweet!" Gen patted Senku's head, causing his cheeks to redden. "It's okay. I wasn't mad."
Senku put his hood over his head in order to hide his face. Dammit! What’s going on? He’s supposed to be the cool, snarky one right now. Why is Gen so cute right now? And why is he so nice to me?
Gen pulled up his legs to sit cross-legged on the bench.
He scowled, thankful that it was too dark for Gen to see how hard he was blushing.
“Whatever. I just felt kinda bad.”
Gen leaned his head on his shoulder, catching Senku off-guard. He didn't mind, though. It was kinda exciting.
"Hey, is it okay if i'm a little more open with you now?"
"Yeah."
“‘Kay. Thank you.” He looked down at his lap and fiddled with the ends of his sleeves. It was kinda comforting to see that Gen was nervous, too.
Ah, shit. Maybe he did like him back after all. He hadn't had time to sit down and sort out his feelings, but it was in there all tangled up with a million other things. Some sort of affection.
Gen inched his hand closer to Senku’s so that their fingers brushed together. Senku experimentally laid his fingers atop Gen’s. He could see the very moment that Gen’s face lit up from excitement at his returning the gesture. Recognizing that it was okay with him, he took Senku’s hand in his and affectionately squeezed it.
Senku blushed harder and looked away. This shit is so gay.
“Have you ever held hands with someone before?”
“Well, besides my dad, no.”
“How does it feel?”
Senku paused, searching for words but unable to find any of contrived, technical terms to throw at Gen like he usually did. There just weren't any words in the dictionary that could capture the warmth in his chest.
“It's nice.”
“That it?”
“Yeah.”
Gen lifted Senku’s hand up to his face and lightly kissed the back of it. The fondness in Gen’s eyes as he did it almost knocked Senku ten feet backwards.
How does he do it? How is he so sweet to me when I was so callous?
“I, I just really love hanging out with you. You’re really interesting and every moment I spend with you is a blast. I uh, I’m really glad we met. And I know this might sound dubious or whatever coming from me, but,” he snuggled deeper into Senku’s side, “I really do mean it. And I’ll do whatever it takes to prove it to you.”
Senku was stunned, to say the least. This was coming from the self-proclaimed shallowest man in the world. He had never had a speech like that delivered to him before. He didn't really know where to start.
“Wow. Uh…” He was so embarrassed he once again couldn’t look him in the eye or at his face for that matter.
"Cool."
Gen smiled, understanding that that was the best affirmation Senku could give him right now.
“Okay. I’m really glad that I could be honest with you and that you didn't push me away. That actually means a lot.”
“No problem. I… I don't think I could ever just toss you aside like that.”
Gen closed his eyes and sighed in contentment. Senku leaned back on him and caressed the back of his hand. He gazed back up at the sky. He still hadn't gotten over how amazing it was to have such a vivid, glittering sky almost every single night now that there wasn't any light pollution. Getting to share it with someone who he, ahem, loved now was kinda cool.
“Mmm… I’m tired.”
“Me too.”
“Do you… wanna spend the night in here? Just us?”
“Sure.”
After Senku brought out all the blankets and turned off the single light, they settled down together under the covers. Gen still held Senku’s hand in his. It was freezing, but Gen’s presence was a beacon of warmth.
Senku didn't want to close his eyes just yet. He gazed at Gen’s peaceful expression in the dark, cautiously admiring how… beautiful it was. Yeah, he had a lot of weird feelings to unpack later. It was going to take a lot of really long, honest, at-times awkward conversations, but he was down. He’d never turn down the opportunity to try something new, even if this time it wasn’t as cut-and-dry as building a cell phone.
"Maybe love isn't so illogical after all," he whispered.
Gen opened one eye. "What was that, Senku-chan?”
"Nothing."
