Work Text:
"Senku-chan!" Gen sing-songed, climbing up the ladder of the observatory to find the scientist frowning over another invention -- or reinvention?
Gen placed a tray with steaming teacups on the floor, offering one to Senku who was too absorbed in his work to notice. Gen took a cup of his own, relishing in the warmth it provided him. It was still fall but the temperature had already begun to drop. The winters in the stone world were particularly harsh, with weeks where the temperature barely scraped double digits. Needless to say, Gen was not excited about the changing of the seasons.
"Senku-chan," Gen tried again, pushing the tray closer to him. "Have something warm to drink or you'll freeze."
Senku grunted, looking up from his work for the first time since Gen showed up. He picked up the cup of steaming tea and took a sip, pulling back jerkily.
"Senku-chan?"
"I burned my tongue," he grumbled, shifting to put the cup down but decided otherwise, holding it close to leech its heat while it cooled to a drinkable temperature.
The pair sat in the quiet of the night for a while, the stillness broken only by the occasional sip either took from their cups. Gen had shifted slightly closer to Senku, grimacing at the way the cold clung to him.
"Ahh, I wish we could go to an onsen," he whined, "sitting in the hot springs while the snow fell was so lovely. It was so relaxing, too bad they're all gone."
Gen glanced at Senku and saw the ghost of a smirk on his lips, "Let's go."
"Huh?"
"To the hot springs, let's go," Senku asserted, his small smile becoming wicked.
The trek to the hot springs wasn't usually that bad but the pair had decided to bring some food and other supplies with them, so Senku was nearly crawling across the ground when they reached the valley of hot springs.
"Senku-chan!" Gen gasped, "this is incredible!"
Senku snorted, standing up from his slumped over posture, "I had nothing to do with this, it's all thanks to Japan's volcanic activity."
"But still!"
Senku laughed again, shaking his head, "let's not waste any time."
They deposited their assorted luggage by one of the larger hot springs and much to Senku’s agony Gen suggested they set up their tent before they hopped into the hot springs.
“You’ll regret it if we get all relaxed in the water and then have to set up the tent,” he reasoned, unraveling the meager shelter they had brought with them.
The weather was supposed to hold, not a rain cloud in sight, so it would be good enough for a single night.
“Fine,” Senku groaned, dropping his own bag on the ground and helping Gen pitch the tent.
When all was said and done they were both equally out of breath and fairly sweaty.
“I’m going to rinse off,” Gen grimaced, feeling his clothing stick to his skin.
Senku followed him down to the nearby river and they both washed off in the cold, clear water. When they had finished they were cold and dripping wet so they practically sprinted back to the hot springs and leapt into the steaming waters.
Gen sighed, relaxing against the edge of the hot spring, "This is fantastic Senku-chan," he purred. The warm waters were relaxing his tensed muscles and raising his temperature to fight against the persistent late fall chill in the air.
"It is pretty nice," Senku observed, submerging to his shoulders for a handful of seconds. It was like heaven, honestly, getting away from the stress of reviving the modern world for a while. The mentalist had some pretty good ideas sometimes. He slid back in the water to lean against the edge like Gen, closing his eyes with a sigh of his own.
"Say Senku-chan?"
Senku grunted softly.
"What do you miss most about the modern world?"
Senku thought for a moment eyebrows drawing together in concentration then answered plainly, "Having a modern laboratory."
Gen sighed, as if he was disappointed, "You're far too practical, there isn't an ounce of sentimentality in your body."
Senku snorted, "That's not much of an insult, mentalist."
"Look, I'll start. I miss getting to sleep in late and going to summer festivals. Oh! And crepes! There was this lovely crepe place near my apartment, what I wouldn't give to have one now."
"Crepes wouldn't be that hard," Senku replied, turning his head to look at Gen, "we just need to find a professional chef."
Gen froze for a moment under Senku's gaze. His long hair wasn't standing up for once, brought down by the water that still clung to it. A drop of water fell from the hair that hung in front of his face, landing in the hot spring with a quiet sound. Gen cleared his throat, looking up at the sky, "First we have to get the revival serum back from Tsukasa-chan!"
"Yeah," Senku turned away from Gen, frowning into the sky again.
"But we shouldn't worry about that now!" Gen rushed to follow-up, "we should be relaxing right now."
"I guess you're right," Senku conceded, sinking down in the hot spring so the water lapped at his shoulders, pooling in his collarbones.
The sun was just beginning to dip below the tree line, streaking the sky in rosy pinks and warm golds. The pair had been relaxing in the quiet of the hot springs. Senku had revealed, on their trek there, that the reason people steered clear was because of the sulphuric acid deposit a ways away. Gen himself was a little startled by that reveal, stalling their journey for a moment before Senku broke the tension with a laugh and told him that they would be fine; anyone in the hot springs would be but he’d wanted to keep the place to himself for a bit longer. That alone, Senku’s almost unnoticeable possessiveness, tickled Gen’s curiosity.
“You never answered my question,” Gen said, watching the sky slowly change colors.
“Yes I did,” Senku replied, sinking into the waters of the hot spring so the back of his head rested on the lip.
“You know that’s not what I was asking Senku-chan,” Gen chastised, shaking his head. “I was hoping we could bond on our secret trip! Get to know each other better.”
“It’s not a secret trip, I told Kinro where we were going so he could come get us if anything happened in the village.”
Gen looked over at Senku, who had his eyes closed as he lounged in the warm water. He had always found Senku fascinating, overflowing with stubborn determination and seemingly endless knowledge. But sitting next to him in the hot spring, he was reminded that Senku, despite his intelligence, was a person just like him. A modern human thrust into a fantastical situation. Where Gen relied on his skills as a mentalist to keep himself safe, Senku-chan relied on his belief in the power of science to propel the world to the modern age. He truly was incredible.
Gen himself slid down into the water, his eyes falling closed. Soon the sun would set and they would crawl into the tent they'd pitched to sleep. Come the next morning they would be walking back to Ishigami village, their vacation barely a day in length. He knew it was all the time they could spare but it seemed unfair. Isn’t Senku the most deserving of a break, a respite from the pressure he is under. But then again, Gen had a feeling that even in the modern world Senku wouldn’t have been one to waste a day off… He’d have probably rather continued his research than spend a day lazing on a couch. Now that was something to imagine, Senku the couch potato. It seemed so unlikely it was laughable.
Although Gen would much rather hang around his apartment on his days off he would have mustered up the energy to go out if Senku had asked him. Gen shook his head, trying to clear those ideas from his mind. He’d been drawn to Senku ever since he saw that Senku had carved the date of his de-petrification into that tree. At least if he was flushed he could blame it on being in the water too long.
Senku was amazing, a beacon of light in the stone world. And Gen was a hapless moth, drawing ever closer.
But Senku had made it clear that romance didn’t interest him, at least not now. Although Gen held out the secret hope that that may change after the revival of modern society.
Senku’s voice breaks Gen out of his thoughts “Monster Hunter.”
“Huh?”
“That’s something non-practical that I miss.”
Gen was surprised, not only by Senku’s sudden cooperation with his probing but also by his answer.
“Wow, I didn’t think Senku-chan would be into video games.”
“My dad and I played together,” Senku explained plainly.
Gen knew how to make people talk, but he also knew when to not push. And in that moment of peace with Senku, he didn’t push. He respected Senku too much to force anything out of him… and as he sat there, he realized he could wait as long as it took for Senku.
Gen had been so caught up in his thoughts that the sound of Senku pulling himself out of the hot spring with a splash startled him. Gen looked up at Senku, who sat on the edge of the hot spring with a cloth over his lap.
“Well?” he asked, sticking his pinky in his ear.
“What?”
“Are you hungry?” Senku asked, clearly repeating himself, though Gen hadn’t heard him the first time.
“Oh, yeah. I’m starving,” Gen replied
“I’ll start cooking then,” Senku said, already dressed and heading towards the tent, leaving Gen to pull himself out of the hot spring.
“So Senku,” Gen said, freshly dried off and redressed. “You seem very confident with outdoor living.”
“I did make a whole home for myself after I got unpetrified,” Senku responded, tending the first few licks of flame on some dry kindling they’d brought along with them.
“That’s true,” Gen said, recalling the structure that Tsukasa had led him to before sending him on his mission to Ishigami village. “That was impressive as well.”
Senku smirked in the light of the fire, “You saw me make a light bulb and being able to camp is what impresses you?”
“Everything you do impresses me,” Gen said, crouching down to watch the fire grow more steady. He was intentionally avoiding Senku’s eyes as he looked into the flames, embarrassed by his own words.
There was a beat of silence before Senku replied coolly, “Flattery won’t cook your dinner faster.”
Gen pouted theatrically, thankful for an escape route from the suddenly serious moment he’d created, “Oh no, you saw through me!”
Senku just laughed, shaking his head as he started cooking.
With their stomachs full and their eyes growing heavy the pair decided it was time to sleep. Gen doused the fire as Senku crawled over to the tent. Gen was right, it was much easier just being able to get into the tent instead of having to set it up afterwards, not that Senku was in any rush to tell him that.
Senku grabbed his rolled up futon and headed into the tent, rolling it out in the tight space. He heard Gen approaching and scooted over so the mentalist could climb into the tent beside him but he didn’t. Instead he heard Gen shuffling around the tent.
“What’s wrong?” Senku asked, poking his head out of the tent.
“Ah, Senku-chan.” Gen smiled tensely, like a kid caught doing something wrong.
“You didn’t bring my futon into the tent did you?”
Senku raised an eyebrow, “No? Why?”
“Well then, it appears it has disappeared.”
Senku climbed out of the tent to help Gen look but it was useless. The second futon roll had vanished.
“It was probably monkeys,” Senku said, looking over to the surrounding forest, but it had gotten so dark that he could barely make out any individual trees, let alone any mischievous primates with stolen property. “You can just share my futon.”
“Are you sure Senku-chan?” Gen asked with a nervous laugh. “I can just sleep on the ground.”
“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure,” Senku replied, crawling back into the tent, holding the flap over the entrance open as he beckoned Gen inside.
Gen crawled in and Senku leaned out of the tent again, grabbing their other belongings to keep them in the tent in hopes of preventing any other thefts. Gen had already been a bit nervous about sharing such tight quarters with Senku and that was before they were going to be sharing a bed. Heart racing, he settled under the blanket, trying to take up as little space as possible.
Senku pulled in the last of their things and dropped the flap of the tent down, plunging the tent into darkness.
He leaned over Gen for a moment, stretched across his body to adjust the position of their larger bags. It reminded him of when Senku had treated his wounds after he’d been attacked by Magma and his heart thundered in his chest. Unlike when he’d been recovering from Magma’s surprise attack Gen was facing Senku as he leaned over him.
As quickly as he had leaned over him, Senku was gone. Finally settling down on the futon beside him. There they laid in the darkness, Gen on his side, Senku on his back. They could hear the quiet sounds of the night just outside their tent. The odd bird cry, a late-season cricket chirping alone from the underbrush.
Uncomfortable with the silence, Gen had to say something, no matter how banal it was.
“This was a nice break,” he said, managing to keep his voice even.
“Mm,” Senku agreed.
After another moment of silence, Senku rolled over to face Gen, whose breath caught in his throat, eyes wide in the darkness. This close Gen could see Senku staring at him, inspecting him the way he looked at the minerals in Chrome’s collection. It made him feel hot and cold all over, being scrutinized under Senku’s gaze.
“Senku-chan?” Gen whispered, unsure what the scientist would do next.
Quietly Senku reached out, his thumb barely ghosting over the skin under Gen’s left eye, “You should get some sleep mentalist. We can talk more tomorrow.”
Gen felt his face burn with embarrassment as he recalled the dark circles under his eyes. Of course that’s what Senku was looking at! He wouldn’t have been thinking about anything else. Gen silently berated his overactive imagination as he forced a laugh, “You too Senku-chan.”
Gen rolled over, mortified that he’d been expecting Senku to kiss him.
For his part, Senku looked through the darkness at Gen’s back, wondering what the mentalist would do if he wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close like he really wanted to.
But he didn’t, just like all the times before.
Because it wasn’t the right time. Not yet. Once he’d saved everyone, once he’d revived the modern world, then he could think about seriously pursuing Gen. But not until he finished what he’d set out to do.
The two of them eventually fell asleep to the lullaby of the stone world, unconsciously curled together in a pose they would have awkwardly disentangle themselves from come morning. But until then, they would rest, safely wrapped up in one another.