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Saiki opened his eyes, blinking a few times. Kusuke stared back with a smile on his face. ‘I think I prefer seeing you as skin and bones.’
“Witty as always, Kusuo,” Kusuke said, shaking his head in amusement. “You should be thankful, you know. It wasn’t easy figuring out a way to go around your X-ray vision.”
Saiki rolled his eyes and inspected his brother further. Blonde hair, dark eyes, and an annoying smile...but no muscles and bones. He was secretly delighted with this turn of events, but he made sure not to express it outwardly. His brother was still a nuisance after all. Kusuke moved back and waited for him to speak, tinkering around with a few of his lab equipment.
After a few moments of staring, he stood up from his seat. ‘I’m taking my leave then.’
“Remember not to stare at people too long!” Kusuke said pleasantly to Saiki’s chagrin. “As charming as I am, it’s really creepy to see you stare at my face for half an hour.”
Saiki teleported back home without another word.
Despite Kusuke’s words, Saiki did stare. A lot. He made sure not to get caught, but it was still difficult not to get lost in analyzing people’s features. After all, he was seeing the world in a new light. No more muscles! Or skeletons!
Good riddance, I say, Saiki thought as his eyes roamed around the classroom. At least now, people were more tolerable to deal with. Talking to walking meat sacks all day was draining enough without the added eccentricities of someone’s personality mixed in.
There was also Teruhashi. On further inspection, he could see why so many people were enamoured with her. She was objectively pleasing to look at and if she wasn’t so hell bent on making him gasp, maybe he would have liked her more. His thoughts on Kaido and Nendou, as well as his other friends, were more or less the same.
No...there was someone else who posed as a problem.
“Yo Saiki,” Kuboyasu said, ambling over to his desk, “did you get the homework last night? Shun and I were having trouble with it.”
Saiki looked up and stared. Kuboyasu was fairly attractive, he admits, with his dark hair parted in the middle and his sharp, violet eyes. Definitely more interesting than people like Hiroshi. He might even consider a relationship with him, if he were the type to indulge in romance. Kuboyasu appeared to be the best candidate out of their ragtag group of friends. He was one of the calmest, despite his tendency to beat up the half-assed punks and bullies he encounters.
Kuboyasu waved a hand in front of his face. “Uh, Saiki? Can you hear me?”
‘Yes, I can.’ He shook his head, a bit embarrassed at having been caught lost in his thoughts. ‘Sorry about that.’
Kuboyasu gave him a grin, eyes narrowing in delight. “What’s got you so distracted? Were you daydreaming about a crush?” he teased, chuckling when Saiki glared at him. “Gotta admit, I didn’t peg you as the type.”
“Did you want to look at my homework or not?’
“Yes please.” Saiki rolled his eyes, a wave of fondness coming over him. Good grief. What’s gotten into me?
Thoughts of Kuboyasu follow him home, buzzing around him like flies. It sours his mood a bit, which is how he finds himself on his bed, staring at the ceiling of his room. No matter how much he looked at it, he can’t deny the budding attraction he has towards the reformed delinquent. Sure he can be as idiotic as the rest of their friends and twice as temperamental, but moving all that aside, Kuboyasu has a good heart. Morally upstanding to the point that he’d refuse Saiko’s money and protect others from bullies.
Saiki closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. Good grief. He should probably stop thinking before his thoughts get out of hand. Besides, there was a slim chance Kuboyasu would be interested in him, or males in general. None of his thoughts betrayed any evidence otherwise. Saiki also knew that he was dead set on living the straight and narrow path, which meant having a wife and kids, not an emotionally-stunted esper like him.
He quickly got out of bed and grabbed a jacket before leaving his room. Maybe some coffee jelly would help clear his mind.
Of course, life was never that simple for him.
“Oh, hey Saiki!” Kaido rushed forward to his table with a bright smile. Trailing more slowly behind him, Kuboyasu raised a hand in greeting, apparently pleased to find him there too.
He knew they were approaching the cafe, but he had hoped the gods would hear his prayers just this once and keep them from noticing him, but alas, when did the gods ever help him?
“Mind if we join you? I heard Mera works here,” Kaido said, eager to spend time with him.
‘Sure,’ he said, turning back to his coffee jelly. As they settled down, Saiki made a quick decision and put on the Germanium ring he kept in his pocket. With that, the world became quieter, allowing him the reprieve he wanted. Even the pair in front of him chatted in calmer tones, which he appreciated. Hopefully they’ll focus more on each other and let him eat in peace.
As he took his first few bites, Saiki didn’t notice the way Kuboyasu zeroed in on his face, having closed his eyes in quiet bliss. Kuboyasu swallowed thickly at Saiki’s serene expression and...was that a smile? It was a small one but he’d never seen Saiki this happy in their presence before.
He snapped out of his thoughts when Mera arrived to take their order, both ordering a drink that he couldn’t even remember at the moment. He was too focused on Saiki and damn, he wouldn’t mind buying him more treats if it meant seeing that cute expression again. Admittedly, he didn’t know much about him, but this little piece of information felt like finding a piece of the puzzle that is Saiki Kusuo. With more pieces, they could finally get closer, just like he was with Shun.
So the next day, Kuboyasu packed a bag of candies in his bag. Most of them were coffee-flavored and he smiled to himself, already anticipating Saiki’s reaction as he headed towards school.
Heh, hopefully this’ll get a smile out of him.
“Yo Saiki!” Kuboyasu approached the sullen teen with a large grin. As usual, Saiki acknowledged him with a small nod before facing forward, where Kaido and Nendou were bickering. “Are they fighting about ramen again? Geez.”
Saiki shrugged, already used to their friends’ excitableness early in the morning. ‘We all end up getting ramen anyway, so I don’t know why Kaido bothers arguing with the idiot.’
Kuboyasu laughed at the slight pout on Saiki’s face. “Well, I have something for you that might cheer you up.”
‘Oh?’ Saiki watched the other teen pull out a small pouch from his bag.
“It’s nothing much, but I noticed how much you liked coffee jelly the other day so uh…” Kuboyasu handed the bag to Saiki with a sheepish smile on his face. Damn it, why am I so nervous? It’s just candy for God’s sake,
Saiki’s eyes widened and he literally ripped the bag open, mouth slightly agape once he caught sight of the coffee-flavored delights. They had stopped walking and Kuboyasu couldn’t help but feel pleased at his reaction. Honestly, Saiki looked like a kid on Christmas. He watched as he examined a piece, eyes still alight with wonder. The corner of his lips turned up and—
Oh.
Saiki turned, his soft smile now directed at him. Kuboyasu’s face warmed.
Oh.
His heart felt wobbly in his chest. Is he getting sick? Why did he feel like gasping all of a sudden? This was just as bad as when he’s around Teruhashi, but Saiki’s smile…
‘Thank you,’ Saiki said. ‘That was thoughtful of you.’
Kuboyasu smiled back and patted him on the shoulder, easing into a one-sided conversation (that he didn’t entirely mind) as they started walking again.
...his smile was definitely more precious than any of her own.