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In the months Gen had known Senku, he still could not believe Senku had not reinvented a clock. Everyone went by Senku-Time and trusted his internal clock for how to proceed through the day, what day it was, when to take breaks, and basically anything else for time.
Gen certainly never kept track of that sort of thing, let alone when he was in stone, but he did always like knowing the time for himself. In part because he could figure out when he could take a break, but also because he liked seeing himself improve. Some tricks took an hour to master, some took a week. Gen liked the reward of knowing he accomplished a task faster than others would have done or learned a new skill by certain performance deadlines. The first thing Gen did when he awoke every morning was check his phone for the time to see if he could sleep in a little longer. Though all that seemed less dire in the Stone World; timekeeping was something he could pass off to Senku, and he would accept getting up against his will or taking breaks as instructed. Regardless of the full trust Gen had in Senku’s skill, being dependent about time irked Gen.
Time was all about perception, and manipulating perception was what a Mentalist was supposed to do best.
Still, the days came and went without much thought from Gen after he managed to correctly track down Senku’s birthday. Sitting in the observatory with said man, Gen relaxed and looked out at the dazzling star line with his naked eye while Senku recorded the new constellations with the telescope. Sunset must have been hours ago, but Gen seemed surprisingly energized and willing to stay up while Senku worked. Another part of Gen needed to know the time lest he accidentally encourage poor sleeping habits from their fearless leader.
“Hey, Senku-chan, what time is it?”
“11:38,” Senku replied as he scribbled some notes into a journal. Making paper certainly increased Senku’s productivity to a fault. “You should sleep soon.”
“I should be saying that to you. The stars will be there tomorrow night,” Senku glared at Gen and opened his mouth to speak, but Gen already prepared his rebuttal. “I know you already recorded the moon phase and the stars you missed yesterday as the first task from tonight. There’s nothing new that won’t be there tomorrow. Go to sleep, Senku-chan.”
Senku scrunched his face as he stared through the telescope. Gen wanted to laugh when it took Senku a moment to surrender and look at something other than the stars. “You know my pattern by now?” Senku’s tone suggested a question, but Gen knew Senku well enough that senku had been keeping track of Gen keeping track of Senku.
“We do sleep together every night. You know I pay attention to everything. Now, surely it’s 11:40 by now. That’s twenty minutes later than yesterday.”
Senku rolled his eyes but begrudgingly put the journal down. He stood and made eye contact with Gen in a tense pause before a smug smile stretched his lips. “Now it's 11:40.”
Gen sighed and turned to gather the blankets they needed for bed. Getting their make-shift futons ready also gave Gen an escape to look away before his face gave away how much admiration he had for Senku. To count down the seconds even from 11:38 to 11:40 took too much energy from Gen, yet Senku kept track with every breath. “I have to know, when you counted the years, how long did it take in your head to finish thinking of a number? I think just thinking the number ‘Sixty-eight’ would take longer than a second to say so I’d have to say ‘seventy’ instead of ‘sixty-nine’. Did you ever have to skip numbers”
Gen managed to look at Senku with a neutral face in time to see Senku shrug and pick at his ears. “Not really. You can think in pictures and flash the image of 1759 faster than thinking about how long it takes to say, ‘One-thousand-seven-hundred-and-fifty-nine’, for example.”
“Oh? Why that example in particular, Senku-chan?” Gen knew it meant something, and had no idea what. The curiosity ate at his mind as he laid himself on his futon in a pointless effort to relax.
“It’s just an example. I’m explaining how to count, Mentalist. Sometimes I count sheep to help me fall asleep.” A distraction. Senku somehow thought sharing a cute fact like that at the end would distract Gen? All it accomplished was making Gen curious about two things, but Gen wanted to rest, so he dropped the topic when he knew Senku would weasel out of it.
Gen smiled as he heard Senku shuffle behind him to lie in his own spot. In bed before midnight always counted as a victory in Gen’s book, even if it was the latest time this week. Despite the late hour, Gen still had too much energy, leaving therefore far too much time to think. Yet, somehow, without thinking, he spoke. “In the old world, I doubt I would have given you the time of day.” The confession seemed belated, but it had been on his mind for some time.
Senku scoffed. “Back then, I know I wouldn’t have bothered with you,” Senku said far too exactly. “Your face was everywhere, and I still barely knew you when you came to the village.”
Next Gen was the one to scoff, but it came out as more of a rasped laugh. “Of course. We’d have never interacted before. Now look at us.”
Gen felt Senku wrap his arm around his waist. The cold nights have passed, but the habit stuck. “Can’t say this is worse than not knowing you.”
Roundabout, but honest. A very Senku answer when it came to feelings, Gen supposed. “Yes, this is certainly an improvement to not knowing you.”
Gen felt Senku press his forehead to Gen’s neck. Senku’s nose touched where his shoulder blades started, and the chill from when Senku exhaled sent shivers down his back. With the season’s change, Senku’s body heat almost made Gen sweat. Gen could only assume Senku had the same issue of overheating, but neither one pulled away.
“Thanks for letting me know you,” Senku mumbled against Gen’s skin. If Senku were more awake, Gen doubted he would ever be so honest. The words only awoke something inside all the more, and he doubted he would find sleep soon.
“You’re the reason I’m this me, Senku-chan,” Gen confessed, his words soft enough to hear but not loud enough to awaken Senku in the off-chance he fell asleep. “I’m a better me because of you.”
Senku tightened his hold and pressed himself somehow even closer so that his knees touched the back of Gen’s thighs. “I would have liked every version of you, had I given you the chance before all of this.”
Gen thought he could play off the confession with a teasing giggled, but what actually left his mouth resembled a wistful hum. “You’re surprisingly sweet at midnight, Senku-chan. Did you know that?” Though the strain on his neck hurt, Gen turned his head to try and sneak a peek at Senku to no avail.
“It’s only 11:56 and 28 seconds, Mentalist.”
“Of course,” Gen smiled despite the annoying retort. “Then can you be this sweet to me at 11:56 tomorrow night?”
Senku lifted his head from where it rested on Gen so that his face hovered only millimeters from where Gen tilted his. “Aren’t I always sweet to you?” Gen would have laughed outright had the stars not highlight the genuine concern and confusion on his face. Senku’s red eyes bled with a compassion Gen rarely, if ever, saw.
“There are . . .” Gen’s voice caught in his throat as he continued to soak in how breathtaking Senku looked. His youthful eyes lost the edge and mischief he had during work hours. His lips parted just enough so Gen noticed the breath on his cheek. Senku’s hair tickled where it landed against Gen’s sensitive skin. For all the moments Gen spent admiring all of Senku, Gen felt Senku staring right back. “There are things I want. Things only you can tell me. But you never give them to me.”
Senku sucked in his lips for a moment, worrying the bottom one between his teeth before parting them to speak. “It’s midnight.” Senku traced a hand over Gen’s chest until it held onto one of Gen’s cheeks. “I can be sweet to you.”
Gen swallowed the lump his his through and pushed himself the extra bit off the floor for his and Senku’s lips to meet. Any thought that Senku ran too hot disappeared from Gen’s head. Senku’s touch left Gen absolutely scorched. Senku put as much pressure into the kiss as Gen, only to leave a small trail of kisses on his cheek, down his jaw, then finally back at the base of his neck that almost made Gen convulse. “Se-Senku . . . chan?” Gen huffed out when he noticed Senku settle into their previous positions.
“It’s 12:01. Get some sleep. We have a lot of work left for tomorrow.”
As much as Gen hated stopping, Senku had a point. Senku seldom showed any mercy about waking up on time to start working. Gen wondered if Senku counted in his sleep to awaken every day with such precise punctuality. Not that it mattered much if Senku did.
Gen knew he had a time for himself worth counting for.