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“You’re visiting Seasoning City?” Genos asked, his eyebrow ever so slightly raised to show the tiniest bit of surprise. “What’s the occasion, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Got some family to visit, like my mom, dad, little brothers,” Saitama replied, back facing his disciple and a manga in hand. “Been a while too, I kinda miss them.”
Silence, except for the sound of Genos scrubbing the plates and Saitama flipping a page of his manga.
“Do you,” Saitama cleared his throat, turning another page a little too soon, “want to come with?”
Genos blinked, setting the plates down and exiting the kitchenette, “Are you sure I can follow, Sensei?”
“Don’t worry, my mom may be strict, but she accepts guests with open arms,” Saitama waved his hand dismissively, smiling. He closed his manga and let it rest on his lap, thinking back to how his mom would always treat his friends better than she treated him. He use to get pretty jealous, but now he wasn’t too sure. “I think she’ll like you.”
Genos deserved that kind of treatment anyways, ever since he came into Saitama’s life, he had been so helpful it almost made Saitama feel bad. Almost. So it would be nice if his friend got a break for once, and what better way than to get babied by Saitama’s mother?
“Your older brother is going to be visiting us this weekend,” their mother suddenly broke the news during dinner and Ritsu automatically stared at Shigeo with confusion.
“What?” Then Ritsu paused for a moment and tapped his chopsticks onto his plate, “Ohhhhh, Tama-niisan?”
“Tama-niisan?” Shigeo finally caught onto what his mother had just said. It wasn’t that he had forgotten about his elder brother, but ever since Saitama moved out, he was more use to being called ‘niisan’ rather than ‘Shige-niisan’. So when his mother said ‘elder brother’ he thought she was referring to him.
“Yes, and he’s bringing a friend,” their mother continued, then she pointed her chopsticks at the both of them with narrowed eyes. “So be nice, alright? Don’t use your powers at the table, don’t use them on him unless necessary, and absolutely no showing off.”
Ritsu frowned at the last part and huffed, picking at his food, what ever happened to being proud of his powers? What’s the harm in showing off?
“D-D-Demon Cyborg,” Ritsu’s eyes were bulging and his mouth hung open widely. Shigeo gave him a blank look, puzzled.
“That isn’t very nice to say,” Shigeo stated, his lips tugging into a small frown.
“No no, I mean, that’s--” Ritsu tried to explain, but the blonde himself had beaten him to it.
“That is my hero name, but since you are Sensei’s family, you can call me Genos,” the blonde bowed politely despite carrying both his and Saitama’s bags under his arms, which looked awfully heavy, though nothing he couldn’t handle.
“Sensei?” Ritsu echoed, head tilting to one side.
Saitama awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, the other digging into his jacket pocket, “Long story.”
“Saitama, why is your friend carrying your bag?” His mother scolded, hands on her hips. “And, honey, your hoodie . Your brothers are right in front of you.”
Ritsu held back a snort while Shigeo tried to look everywhere else but his brother’s hoodie, he hadn’t noticed it at first, he was more interested in Saitama’s new friend. He was blonde, like his best friend.
The man immediately pulled his hand out of his pockets and pulled on his hoodie, staring down at it, then he blinked. ‘OPPAI’ it read. He didn’t redden in shame like his mother had expected, he merely looked to the side to avoid eye contact, “He offered. Well actually, highly insisted when I said I could carry it myself.”
“It is okay, Mrs Kageyama, I can assure you that I am fine,” Genos added, bowing a bit once again.
“Nonsense, come inside and put those bags down right now, I can have the boys carry them in for you,” she said, gesturing him inside. Right when Saitama was about to follow suit, she frowned, pointing a finger sternly at him. “When I said the boys, I mean all my boys.”
Saitama tried to complain, but she was already chatting away with Genos and moving inside. He had predicted this would happen, yet he let it happen anyways.
“Don’t worry, Niisan, we’ve got this,” Ritsu flicked his wrist and the bags went into the air with a blue hue. For a moment, Shigeo thought Ritsu was talking to him, but caught himself at the last minute and closed his mouth.
Saitama grinned, nudging the youngest, “Since when did you get powers?”
Ritsu kept walking, shrugging his shoulders, “I dunno, Niisan, since when did you befriend a surprisingly hot up close hero?”
Saitama flushed, just a tiny bit, and moved closer to Shigeo instead, “Any luck on that girl?” Then he remembered the news and wished he hadn't said that.
“He’s not denying the hot up close part,” Ritsu whispered loudly, trying to change the topic before Shigeo could explode in embarrassment. Saitama resisted the urge to push him aside. It didn’t matter if his little brother was helping or not, that sentence was very personal.
But of course, it was a fact that Genos is hot, so why was he trying to avoid it?
“She’s not in this city anymore,” Shigeo hummed, not the least bit bothered by the innocent small talk. Both Saitama and Ritsu collectively sighed in relief. Then the bowl-cut brother added cheerfully, “We still text though!”
“That’s nice,” Saitama managed a grin.
“So, how did you two meet?” Their father asked, arm resting on the couch and one leg propped on the other.
Saitama thought back to the mosquito incident, then to Genos pestering him, then to Genos declaring they were roommates now via bribery. It really was a long story, he never really updated much about his life to his family, since it didn’t seem all that interesting to him. Plus, they could get most of it from the news.
Meanwhile, Ritsu stared at Genos with awe, he couldn’t believe an S-Class hero was in his house and roommates with his brother . That was just...so cool, he was almost jealous.
My god he has pierced ears. Ritsu breathed, “Why’s Niisan your sensei?”
“His strength is admirable, I wish to be as strong as he is, but I doubt I can match up to his skills.” Genos explained immediately, he was showing a lot of respect to someone younger than him, which reminded Shigeo of Serizawa during the older esper’s first day at work. “Though I am trying my best, I’ve even recorded his words of wisdom in my journals.”
Ritsu glanced at Saitama, slightly skeptical, he knew his brother was strong, but was he really stronger than Genos? If that was the case, why the heck was he still a B-Class? Ritsu was starting to see a pattern in strength among his brothers, yet he was the only one with amature skills.
But most importantly; Genos keeps journals? Could a guy get any cooler?!
“I write journals too!” Ritsu said, rather proud of himself, he wouldn’t show it to anyone though, but if Genos asked, he would definitely comply. “Also, what ‘words of wisdom’?” Saitama was strong, sure, a bit stingy too. But wise? Ehhh…
“Ah, would you like to see?” Genos got up, walking over to his bag to find his journal. Ritsu’s face lit up in glee and followed.
“...and that’s pretty much what happened,” Saitama finished, arms crossed over his hoodie. Shigeo was...he didn’t know how to feel. The fight between Saitama and Genos sounded awfully like his fight with Hanazawa, except a bit different in some aspects.
Both blondes wanted to prove they were stronger, both nearly died, both ended up respecting the other even more.
“You shouldn’t use your powers against other people,” Shigeo blurted, shifting his eyes towards Genos, who was sharing his journal with Ritsu.
“It’s okay, Shigeo, I only use my powers on bad guys and people who ask for it,” Saitama shrugged, patting his brother gently on the back. “Five years and you still believe in that motto your Shishou taught you?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” Shigeo responded.
“You still work for him?”
“Yes.”
Saitama grinned, Shigeo’s Shishou was probably the number one reason why he was so picky with money, it’d be nice to see him again.
Ritsu’s eye twitched, staring at the notes, he was starting to see a bigger connection here. These notes weren’t the least bit useful in teaching Genos how to be stronger, but what made it worse was how Saitama’s teaching was exactly like Reigen’s.
Aka, the person he absolutely hated the most.
“Wow these are...interesting,” Ritsu forced out a smile, looking up at Genos. The blonde firmly nodded, his lips slightly curled. That was rare...Ritsu barely saw Demon Cyborg smile.
“You must truly be honored to have Saitama-sensei as your older brother,” Genos said, letting Ritsu flip through his notebooks. Ritsu made a face, it was a weird mix between a polite smile and an awkward one. It was weird to hear someone say that, even though every so often, someone would make the same comment about Shigeo.
Ritsu liked Saitama and all, but he always liked Shigeo more, and he wasn’t sorry for it.
Things got a little harder once they started getting ready for bed. For starters, Saitama had forgotten his family’s routine and there were only two bathrooms in this house, one being occupied by Shigeo and the other his mother. Ritsu had already showered way before all of them, so he didn’t need the bathroom, and their dad only showered in the mornings.
“You can brush your teeth at the kitchen sink,” Ritsu suggested, watching Saitama sit outside the bathroom Shigeo was in. “And you can always shower tomorrow. Say, does Genos need the bathroom?”
“I don’t think so, no,” Saitama got up, considering Ritsu’s suggestion. Genos looked up from the sink -he had offered to wash the dishes despite being told to sit down countless of times, he was really persistent.
“I don’t require a bath as often as humans do, no,” Genos added, moving aside so Saitama could use the sink.
“Does that mean you polish?” Ritsu asked.
“Yes.”
“Stop ogling him already, Otouto , if you had told me you were a fan, I could’ve gotten you an autograph or something sooner,” Saitama sighed right after brushing his teeth. He was mostly joking though.
Ritsu huffed, looking away, “Maybe I would’ve if you told me you lived with him!”
“I am flattered your little brother thinks so highly of me, but shouldn’t you be more excited to see your brother again?” Genos glanced between the two. He truly found it strange how the strongest man alive was right under Ritsu’s nose since he was young but the younger brother chose to look his way anyways. What could possibly make him more interesting than his sensei?
Shigeo stepped out of the bath at that moment and walked to the fridge to pour himself a glass of milk. Saitama shot him a look of amusement. He still drinks milk before bed? Some things never change huh?
“Don’t bother, Genos, Otouto here fancies Shige more than me,” Saitama snorted softly, taking his toothbrush to the bathroom so he can use it tomorrow morning. “Curious thinker too, you’ll just have to get use to it until he goes back to clinging onto Shige.”
“I do not cling to Niisan- Shige-niisan,” Ritsu forgot both older brothers were in the room now, he’d have to fall back to using Shige-niisan now. His face had gone pink in embarrassment.
“When he was younger, he use to cry about not being able to bend spoons like Shige,” Saitama whispered to his disciple.
“No! Don’t tell him that!” Ritsu hissed, running over to Saitama so he could shut his mouth. All the older brother had to do was use one hand to push Ritsu off him, while the younger one thrashed more.
“He even has a spoon collection.”
“Shut up!”
Geno thought for a minute. It would make sense for Ritsu to seem closer to Shigeo, with the age gap being smaller between the two, but what had his sensei meant when he said Shigeo could bend spoons? “Do both your brothers possess overwhelming amounts of strength?”
“Ah, um, no, we’re espers.” Shigeo spoke, walking over to the sink so he could wash his finished cup of milk. “Niisan is the only one with very strong punches.” There was a hint of envy in his voice, he hadn’t been super into body improvement until last year, but by then, Saitama had already moved out. So he couldn’t
“Maybe it’s a qi thing,” Ritsu quickly said, finally calming down, though he kept shooting daggers at Saitama with his eyes.
“Qi?” Saitama narrowed his eyes at the two.
“Espers?” Genos lifted both his eyebrows in surprise. He always thought the reason why Saitama was so unfazed by Fubuki and Tatsumaki was because he knew he was stronger than them even if they have telekinesis on their side. As it turns out, it may have been because Saitama had dealt with espers before, namely his brothers.
“We’ve met espers who could enhance their physical abilities with psychic powers,” Shigeo explained, placing his washed cup away. “But I don’t sense anything from you, so I’m not sure.”
“Shige? Can you sleep in Ritsu’s room? We’re letting Tama and Genos sleep in your room for the time being,” their mother exited the bathroom, hair wet from the shower. Shige barely batted an eyelid and nodded, he wasn’t all that bothered by the request. “Also, can you check if we have an extra futon in your closet?”
That was when the second problem began. Shigeo’s room was the only room big enough for both Geno and Saitama to sleep in -Saitama knew this because his old room had became Ritsu’s room since the two younger siblings use to share a room; which had ultimately became Shigeo’s room when he moved out. But that was when they were kids.
Now that Saitama was a full grown adult, there was no way he could lay his futon down without at least touching Genos’. Did Genos even need the futon? He’s a cyborg, he can sleep standing or something. It wouldn’t be the first time anyways.
Ah, no, that was mean. His mother wouldn’t allow it either.
“But I don’t require any bedding to sleep--” Right on cue, Genos was forcefully shoved into Shigeo’s room, where Saitama was laying down two futons.
“Cyborg or not, you deserve proper rest, young man,” the mother nagged, standing at the doorway with her arms crossed. “Now get comfortable and sleep.”
Genos didn’t respond. All he did was awkwardly gaze down at the futons, then back at Saitama’s mother. He was unfamiliar with this treatment, he had gone four years without it, and now he was being treated like a kid again.
For a moment, Genos’ mind wandered back to his own mother.
“You heard my mom, get in bed,” Saitama gestured the other over, patting the futon next to his. Genos did as he was told, shifting onto the futon then lying in it. Saitama rested his head on his pillow too, grinning at Genos. “I told you my mom would like you.”
“It seems so, but 80% of our interaction was her nagging at me,” Genos stated, eyes barely heavy from sleep. After all, all he had to do was close his eyes and enter sleep mode, and he’d be out within a second, then up just as fast when needed to.
“That’s just her way of showing care,” Saitama waved his hand dismissively.
“Slow down, chew before swallowing! You’ll choke if you don’t, no one’s competing.” “Oi, I let the boys do their own dishes, shoo, I can wash the rest...no no, it’s fine- Tch, ah, fine, go ahead.” “Goodness, I can dry my own hair, Genos, now go brush your teeth and head to bed.”
Genos pinched his pillow, eyes shifting to the ceiling, “Your family is...pleasant. It is no wonder why your character is so wise.”
Saitama sighed, shaking his head. There he goes again. “Night.”
“Oh, goodnight, Sensei.”
“Caped Baldy?!” Reigen held back a scream, staring at the man who clearly had his arms around Shigeo, chatting away about something. Then his eyes shifted again and there was Genos, in the blonde glory. “Demon Cyborg?! Mob! What is happening?!”
“Oh, hello Shishou. Niisan wanted to see you again, we were just about to head to the office.” Shigeo said, smiling.
“ Niisan ?!” Reigen’s face was literally dripping from sweat at this point. He was beyond excited, he might actually pee himself right then and there, but that wouldn’t be a good first impression or professional.
“Yes?” Shigeo replied, wondering why his master had sounded so shocked. “Tama-niisan, remember? I said he moved out, but he’s back to visit?”
“No way, Saitama?” Reigen squinted, finally registering the familiar features. The last time he had seen the guy was back when Saitama was about to move out from home, he had a big grin on his face and he looked super energetic. Now though, Saitama looked exactly like Shigeo. Expressionless. Not to mention the hair.
It was completely gone.
Saitama use to walk Shigeo to Reigen’s office ever since the hospital incident, and sometimes, Reigen would exchange a word or two with him. They went out a few times, which ended up making Saitama a bit more stingy with his money because Reigen had rubbed off on him, but completely broke contact once Saitama moved out.
“So this is Shigeo’s shishou?” Genos turned to the two Kageyamas next to him. They both nodded. “Pleased to meet you, you may call me Genos.”
“Likewise. My name’s Reigen Arataka, greatest psychic of the 21st century,” Reigen introduced, the psychic title coming out along with his name. It was a forced habit, but now he wished it wasn’t, god that was embarrassing. “Jesus, Tama, could’ve at least shoot me a heads up when you became a hero. I can’t believe I’ve been fawning over you the whole time, dude I have your face as my phone wallpaper.”
“All these years and I’m still irresistible to you?” Saitama snorted. He was flattered, really, and mostly glad that he did have fans after all. Even though said fan use to be an ex.
“Shishou is getting married to someone next year.” Shigeo stated, unaware how much his words had packed a punch stronger than Saitama’s.
An awkward silence stretched over. Reigen’s face was growing redder and redder by the minute, a smile creeping onto his lips as he thought about Serizawa
“Sensei, I thought you weren’t into men?” Genos broke the quietness, which had both Reigen and Shigeo’s eyebrow raised.
“Ah well, I thought Taka would be a one time thing,” Saitama nervously rubbed the back of his neck. He remembered all those probably-dates with Reigen, they weren’t exactly an item, but they definitely had something going on. Good thing it didn’t last, the other looked happy getting married soon.
Genos didn’t react, but the ways his eyes shifted…
Saitama didn’t think much of it, and to be frank, he probably didn’t even notice.
“Wow wow wow!” Kurata exclaimed, analyzing Genos all over. “You two’ve seen aliens, haven’t you? What’s it like?” She grinned widely.
They were in Reigen’s office -for old time’s sake on Saitama’s part really- and talking to the people who were new to the heros; Serizawa, Kurata and apparently a spirit named ‘Dimple’.
It was harder to talk to Dimple though, he had to possess Shigeo and they couldn’t tell who was talking sometimes.
“Not fun,” Saitama bluntly explained. “Nearly obliterated the earth.”
“Well, I’ve met some and they were nice,” Kurata puffed her cheeks, taking a step back from Genos.
“How so?” Genos asked. As someone who had only seen evil aliens, he found it hard to believe nice ones even exist at all.
“Gave me this cool orb,” Kurata dug into her pockets and brought out an unfamiliar looking sphere. Genos analyzed it, discovering that it really was an orb from outer space, he couldn’t identify it as any matter from earth. “It was so fun, we went on their spaceship and gosh!”
She kept babbling on about her obsession with aliens to a point Saitama lost interest in her talking. He began to wander off to talk to Serizawa instead, since he wanted to know what kind of guys Reigen was actually into.
A part of him hopes Serizawa is sorta like him, it’ll at least let Saitama know that Reigen may have been interested back then. But as it turns out, Serizawa was a whole different kind of person. Despite his intimidating appearance, Serizawa gave off an awkward nervous vibe, like he was afraid any moment he’d do something wrong.
A proper opposite of what Saitama is.
Oh well, it didn’t matter that much anyways.
Saitama vaguely remembered this. He vaguely remembered holding both Ritsu and Shigeo’s tiny hands in his as they walked across the street towards the supermarket to buy something. So when his mother told him to run to the stores to fetch some groceries, a pang of nostalgic memories hit him.
“Bring your brothers, have some brotherly bonding,” she said, tossing a purse from across the room for Saitama to catch. It hit him square in the forehead and landed on his lap. “Also seriously, is that hoodie all you have?”
Saitama scoffed, opening the purse to check the amount, and smiled at his mother, “It’s a good hoodie.” It was funny and pretty bold. He rocked his tits hoodie.
“It’s a dumb hoodie,” Ritsu snorted, coming down the stairs. Saitama soured, picking on his hoodie to look at it again.
“Like you wear any better,” Saitama stuck his tongue out at Ritsu and his younger brother frowned, staring down at his yellow hoodie.
“What’s wrong with it?” Ritsu asked. It had become his favorite hoodie since the day he met Shou, although it did give him some bad memories, it also reminded Ritsu of the time he officially became friends with that ginger boy. It made him happy all over.
“Plain,” Saitama replied.
“Like your face.”
Saitama heard a snicker from the kitchen and he turned, staring at his friend. Genos shook his head, “I’m not laughing, Sensei.” He was smiling, just a little.
“You so are,” Saitama glowered. Then he got up and stretched, waiting for Shigeo to come scurrying down in his dog hoodie. Adorable, since when did he have that? “Alright, Genos, let’s go.”
“Right,” Genos made his way towards the trio but promptly felt a pull on his sleeveless shirt. He looked over to find Kageymama, shaking her head and tutting.
“No, you stay here, help me with dinner,” she said, pulling a bit harder like she was pulling a misbehaving child’s ear.
“But, I always shop with Sensei.” Genos protested, despite having the strength to pull away, he didn’t.
“You can handle one day without him, can’t you?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. Genos’ eyes shifted a bit and he pursed his lips. She smiled knowingly and sighed. “Let my boys spend some quality time alright? It’s been a while.” She whispered softly.
“Ah, I understand,” Genos nodded. It didn’t change the fact that he was still upset though, but he was hiding it excellently. “Have fun shopping, Sensei!”
“You have fun with my mom as well, get ready to be a kid again,” Saitama chimed back, waving, and he walked out to the front door with his brothers. Genos wasn’t sure what his friend had meant, but he’d find out soon enough.
A car’s hood was bent and dented, its whole front was ruined and fuming with smoke, the driver inside looked like he was in shock, and Saitama’s fist was held up threateningly. It was also steaming.
“That was a close one huh?” The sharpened look on Saitama’s face reverted back to his soft one, and he was smiling at Shigeo like the incident hadn’t happened at all.
The car was about to run a red light, it assumed no one was going to cross, but it was too late once the driver saw the Kageyama’s making their way across. Saitama’s sharp reflexes came into place and he stopped the car with his fist, he didn’t punch though, he just held it out and it managed to deal great damage to the vehicle.
Passerbys paused and looked over in awe, some even saw the whole thing unfold and could testify it was mostly the driver’s fault that it happened.
Shigeo was the only one still shaking, and Ritsu thought he was probably reacting from trauma, since his brother had been hit by a truck once. Instead, Shigeo smiled brightly at Saitama like he was an angel and exclaimed in a soft tone, “What’s your training regiment? I want you to meet Musash and the others!”
“Is Musashi like your boyfriend or something?” Saitama bluntly asked and Shigeo made a noise that sounded like a laugh, shaking his head. Saitama coughed, his fist still raised. “I, uh, can tell you on our way to the supermarket.”
Shigeo’s eyes literally sparkled and Saitama forgot how much he loved the gleaming of joy in his younger brother’s eyes.
“Hey! Wait! Stop! You broke my car! You’re gonna have to pay for it!” The driver fumbled out of his seat and rushed towards Saitama, slightly limping. Saitama made a face, raising an eyebrow.
“Huh? What do you mean? You should be glad we’re alive after you tried to run us over,” Saitama responded, lowering his arm.
“But you still--” The driver looked down at the other two brothers, specifically Ritsu, who looked just about ready to punch a whole through the driver’s face. If anyone could perfect a glare that could easily send a chill down someone’s spine, it would be Ritsu. The driver felt his skin crawl as he took a step back and gulped. “Fine.”
He left, and Ritsu smiled smugly in victory.
“Wow, that was awesome Otouto,” Saitama grinned, nudging Ritsu gently. They continued walking as Ritsu sighed bashfully, waving a hand dismissively.
“It was nothing really, I can’t compare to the two of you.”
Shigeo huffed, bumping shoulders with his brother playfully, “But you’re better than me in so many ways.”
“No way--” Ritsu raised his hands in defense but Saitama cut in with a scoff.
“Dude, you were mom’s little angel back then. Everyone knew you were smarter than the average kid.”
“Well yeah--”
Then Shigeo interrupted, adding on, “And you’re handsome, and popular.”
Ritsu was beyond red at this point. It was fine when Shigeo was the only one singing his praises, but with both his brothers to be doing that? A bit overwhelming. “Okay fine.”
The other two beamed.
“But Niisan is the only one with a hot hero boyfriend.” Ritsu continued.
“He is not!” Saitama said a little too loudly defensively. It was his turn to go red now.
“Look look! He’s blushing, he knows I’m right. Because I’m your smart little brother ,” Ritsu hummed, smirking widely.
“So, my son and you, what’s going on between you two?” Kageymama asked, leaving her food to cook. All she needed was the rest of the ingredients her sons went to buy and she’d be done. Genos, too, was done with peeling the vegetables with his built in vegetable peeler and joined the mother at the dining table to wait.
“I live with him. He is my sensei. But I suppose we could be friends too,” Genos replied automatically, like the question had been asked before many times.
Kageymama raised an eyebrow, smiling, “Oh really?”
“What are you implying with that question?” It didn’t show, but Genos was probably panicking inside. It was funny, he had gone to study under Saitama to become stronger, instead, he had regained his humanity from that man. Genos was feeling things he hadn’t felt since he was a fifteen year old human boy all because of him.
“Nothing, but both Shige and Ritsu have someone they fancy, so I’m sort of an expert in knowing if someone’s crushing or not.” Kageymama wasn’t looking Genos in the eyes, she was staring at the kitchen, but she might as well have been staring at Genos because he felt like he was being carefully observed by her.
“So you’re saying I might…” Genos paused, thinking about it. He wasn’t sure if what she was saying was...correct. Sure, he admired his sensei more than anything, but that was pretty much it. At least, that was what he thought.
“Do you not think so?”
Genos didn’t answer right away, he drummed his fingers on his leg instead, going into deep thought. He had the tendency to talk under his breath whenever he did, but he made sure his mouth was sealed shut this time. Honestly, it could definitely be a possibility that he liked Saitama more than a friend's way, it might explain that weird bubbling in his chest whenever Saitama was pleased with him.
That constant need of validation from Saitama also explained a lot.
The sound of the front door clicking open and two boys barging in with grocery bags interrupted Genos in deep thought. They set the bags down after their mother scolded them for running inside, something about tripping and damaging the groceries.
Saitama walked in after them, apparently they weren’t only buying ingredients for tonight’s dinner, they even got stuff they’ve been lacking in the fridge. Like milk and, for some reason, ice cream. So Saitama was carrying a lot of groceries in hand and Genos immediately rushed over to help.
They brushed hands for a moment.
They both paused.
After the whole talk about possibly liking each other, it was hard not to think about it whenever they did regular mundane tasks that never seem to strike a chord with them before.
“Get a room!” Ritsu yelled and his mother clicked her tongue, smacking the boy gently at the back of his head.
The two others promptly grew red.
“So cool, ah so cool, what the hell I wish my brother had a hot boyfriend.” Shou was invading Genos’ personal space, making the cyborg feel extremely uncomfortable.
Boyfriend. He had called Saitama his boyfriend. What a lovely word, Genos could get use to that. He couldn’t believe it only took a few words from Saitama’s family to convince them to get together, it went smoother than he had expected, which made Genos truly believe that the Kageyama’s had some secret to achieving ultimate power.
Whether that power is either physical strength, esper abilities or the miraculous skill at being popular despite not trying at all, the Kageyama’s definitely had some sort of power . He almost wished he had noted all of this down in his diary, but that would be weird.
“You don’t have a brother, Shou,” Ritsu stated, pulling his friend off Genos, basically saving the blonde’s life.
“I know, but I wish I had one that had a hot boyfriend,” Shou pouted, laying his head on Ritsu’s lap. “Like, no fair… Genos you’re like Teru, hot damn!”
Teru didn’t know how to respond to that, he was mostly trying to spot the difference between Saitama’s face and Shigeo’s face, because Ritsu and Shigeo had different eyes and he was so sure there might be a difference between Saitama and Shigeo too.
“If it helps, I have a serious face apparently,” Saitama offered, watching Teru glance between him and Shigeo frantically. Then he proceeded to make that face, causing Teru to jump back in surprise. “So is this one your boyfriend, Shigeo?”
“B-Boyfriend,” Teru stammered, laughing too loudly and nervously, “I’d be so honored if I was! Ha ha, ha...ha…”
Everyone was staring at him at this point and he stopped, face going pink.
“Sure,” Shigeo shrugged, patting Teru on the back.
“What.” Teru blinked.
“I said, ‘Sure’.”
Teru blinked again, then he pinched himself, then he looked at Shou, who was trying his best to do a backroll on Ritsu’s lap. “Uhm, oh. Hm. Well. I- Okay.”
“Dude, get on our level, we’ve been dating since forever,” Shou scoffed, successfully pulling off the backroll and Ritsu froze like someone had slapped him. Shigeo clapped his hands, though no one’s sure if it’s because Shou had done a backroll without hurting Ritsu or because Ritsu and Shou had apparently been dating.
“When, I don’t remember-?” Ritsu narrowed his eyes at Shou, who mirrored the motion with equal confusion.
“Somewhere in like... November two years ago?” Shou answered very very slowly. Ritsu, at this point, probably had his eyes closed from all that narrowing.
“Wasn’t that when you kidnapped him though?” Teru asked, also squinting at the two.
Shou opened his mouth, closed it, then reopened it, “In my defense--”
“What magic is this? All three Kageyama’s officially begin dating at the same time? What?” Saitama stared at the ceiling with both his arms raised. Genos took his words literally and nodded, touching his chin.
“Perhaps with the combine power of all three brothers present in the same room, it may have activated a sort of--”
“I was kidding, Genos.”
“Oh.”
Saying goodbye to his mother, father and brothers was probably the hardest thing Saitama had ever faced. He didn’t know how he did it the first time without the need to ask if he could stay longer, but nevertheless, Genos’ paid leave could only stretch so thin.
“Visit again sometime, yeah?” His dad said, a smile plastered on his face like always, a smile that said he was proud of his son.
“Yeah, I will.” Saitama nodded, this time he was carrying his own bag. His mother strongly insisted to have Saitama carry his own load, and if he didn’t, she would personally force his son to do it.
“Genos, dear, don’t do all of Saitama’s work okay? Even my husband helps me out with the chores sometimes,” she said, pulling Genos’ face down a bit to meet his eyes. She cupped her hands on his cheeks in a motherly way, smiling warmly. “You have fun now, okay?”
“Okay.” Geno breathed. He really did miss having a mom.
“Okay! Tama, don’t bully your boyfriend or I will find you in Z-City,” she threatened, and Saitama uncomfortably shifted the weight of his bags on his back.
“Okay, mom.”
As the two heros made their leave, Genos smiled fondly back at the house, then at Saitama, “You have a pleasant family.”
“I know.”