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Senku watched in amusement as Gen tried to regain his balance after stepping off the prototype for their car. His legs shook as he stumbled around. “Too aky-shay, Senku-chan,” he complained. He took another step and immediately lurched into Senku’s chest.
“Watch it, mentalist,” Senku replied with no heat behind it. They both stumbled back until Senku was able to catch his own balance and hold Gen by wrapping his arms around the other’s waist. “Take it easy, Gen. I got you.”
“Thanks,” Gen huffed, flopping his head against Senku’s shoulder and squeezing his eyes tightly shut. “Now if only you could make the ground stop shaking…”
“Hey, I’m not a miracle worker,” Senku protested. “Come on, Gen. Deep breaths. That’s it.”
As Gen’s panting grew more strained, Senku moved his hand up to rub Gen’s back in time with his own breathing. Once Gen could match him, he stepped back and dropped his hands.
“I don’t see why I have to be the one to drive,” Gen whined.
Senku raised an eyebrow. “You’re the only one here with a driver’s license,” he said simply. “Gotta respect traffic laws.”
“Who knew you’d be such an ickler-stay for those things,” Gen grumbled to himself.
“Not even one millimeter!” Senku exclaimed, already walking off.
“Then which is it?” Gen whined, following him nonetheless. The sound of his footsteps was steady for a moment, and then it faltered with a loud thump.
Senku whipped his head around quick to see Gen on his hands and knees, a tree root sticking out near his feet. “Gen!” Senku exclaimed, rushing over to his side. “Are you alright?”
Gen looked back up at him with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Just ine-fay, Senku-chan~” he replied. “Only thing that’s hurt is my ide-pray.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Senku muttered, crouching down to the ground with him. “Sit back and let me see your hands.”
With an exaggerated eye-roll, Gen held up his palms. “See, Senku-chan? Just fine~” There were a few white scratches, but nothing major. Senku took Gen’s wrist in his hands and bent it a few times. When nothing felt broken, he moved on to the other wrist. It was the same. “You’re being a mother hen, Senku-chan,” Gen teased, although there was a hard edge to his voice that Senku had no idea what it meant.
“Tch, relax,” Senku chided. “It’s the least I can do after all the help you’ve given me.”
Gen’s carefully crafted mask slipped. “What do you mean?” he asked.
Senku looked up at him in disbelief. “Have you forgotten about the time you pulled glass out of my hands? Or how about lying to Tsukasa so that he wouldn’t come hunt me down? Keeping Magma off our backs during the storm? Making sure Chrome won his match in the Grand Bout? Sabotaging Hyouga’s spear? Making 800 batteries with Ruri?”
“Alright, alright,” Gen huffed. “It’s not like it was an ig-bay deal or anything.”
The mentalist looked down, refusing to meet Senku’s eyes. Senku sighed. He would address that in a minute. “Show me your knees,” he said.
Reluctantly, Gen pulled up the edge of his cloak to reveal two scraped knees. “We can’t risk that getting infected,” Senku told him, reaching into one of the pouches he kept at his waist. “Luckily though, we were able to make an antibiotic cream for these situations.” The cream was kept in a small, glass vial. Senku got some onto a bamboo cloth and wiped it onto Gen’s knees. The mentalist didn’t flinch or try to move away, just giving in to Senku’s care. When he was done, he retrieved two large band-aids and placed them over the cuts.
“I didn’t know you had made those,” Gen said.
It was most likely an attempt to get the attention off of himself, but Senku couldn’t resist taking the bait. “They’re ridiculously easy to make,” he replied. “Bamboo fibers to make the fabric, and you can make an adhesive out of water and flour. Then use some wax and paper to cover it until you’re ready to use it.”
“Impressive,” Gen commented.
“Listen to me, Gen,” Senku said softly but firmly. “It is a big deal. The Kingdom of Science wouldn’t be here without you.”
Gen just shrugged, still looking anywhere but at the scientist. “If you say so, Senku-chan.”
Senku stood, then offered out his hand. Gen took it, and the scientist helped pull him to his feet. Senku grunted under the weight. He wasn’t very strong, but Gen wasn’t very heavy. “Ground still shaking?” he asked.
“Nope! I’m all ood-gay now~” Gen replied. He smiled, but it still didn’t reach his eyes.
“Gen,” Senku began, unsure of himself. “Is there something wrong?”
“Hmm? Why?” Gen asked.
“Well I’m still no good at emotions, but you look like you’ve been sad lately,” Senku admitted, figuring it was best to not beat around the bush.
Gen flashed another one of his half-hearted smiles, albeit bigger this time. “I’m imply-say worried about Chrome is all,” he replied.
While Senku was sure that was true, he had a feeling that it wasn’t the full truth. He remembered their conversation in the observatory and how Gen had avoided him after. The mentalist had a tendency to put up walls so that Senku couldn’t see the real Gen. It was frustrating, but Senku wasn’t one to push. His friend would come to him when he was ready. Still, he wished there was something he could do to cheer Gen up in the meantime.
What would Taiju do? Senku wondered. He was always much better at these things. Taiju would usually just give (or at least try) him a bone-crushing hug. That sounded easy enough, and Senku knew he was far too weak to break Gen’s bones on accident.
While Senku was deciding what to do, Gen had started walking forwards, now having his back to the scientist. Senku ran forwards a couple of steps and threw his arms around the mentalist’s shoulders. Gen startled, but he made no move to get away, just accepting. “What are you doing, Senku-chan?” he asked softly.
“Hugging you,” Senku replied equally as soft.
“Why?” Gen asked in almost a whisper.
“Isn’t that what you do when other people are sad?” Senku questioned. “Do you… want me to stop?”
Gen hesitated for a moment before answering, “No.” He leaned backwards into Senku’s embrace, soaking up whatever affection he could. His eyes closed as he relaxed. To Senku’s surprise, he actually found it to be very nice. Gen was pleasantly warm, and he smelled like various flowers. Without thinking, Senku nuzzled his face into Gen’s hair, drawing out a content sigh from the mentalist.
I could stay like this forever, Senku realized. The thought hit him out of the blue. If he had to be petrified again, this was where he wanted to be.
For 228 seconds they stood there, relishing in the other’s closeness, before Gen pulled away, cheeks tinted pink. “Ah, we should probably get ack-bay to the others,” he said.
Senku frowned, finding that he missed the closeness. “Right,” he answered, pushing down whatever hollow feeling was trying to climb out of his chest. “Let’s go.”
I want to do that again.