Work Text:
It was a quiet morning when Senku was making his way down to the river to bathe. Despite not liking being alone, he still preferred privacy sometimes, so he usually moved as far from the village as possible. This route brought him passed a rocky alcove by the ocean’s edge, frequently visited by the Sparkly Sisters. Senku never paid much attention to it, but today he heard their voices bright as day carrying on the wind.
“You know who I’d love to marry?” one of them- Ruby, he thought- asked. “Senku.”
Senku froze in his tracks, face wrinkling up in distaste. Why would a woman he barely knew want that from him? It was… weird. He kept walking, trying to push the thought from his mind.
“But why?” another- possibly Garnet- asked. “I mean, he’s done great things for the village, but to marry him? When he has such a defective personality?”
Senku just rolled his eyes. It was nothing he hadn’t heard before. He was too brash, rude and antisocial, and it was a wonder he had any friends at all. Kids were mean, and while Taiju had protected him from a lot of the physical bullying, he knew the words the other kids threw around when they gossiped about him. Plus, there were a few who relentlessly teased him, going so far as to write words like “freak” on his locker and desk. It didn’t bother him then, and it wasn’t going to bother him now.
It always bothered him, but he never let it show.
“He does not!” Ruby protested. “Garnet, how can you be so mean?”
“I have to agree with her,” the last one- must be Sapphire- replied. “No man in his right mind would turn down the chance to marry Ruri. To not want her, he’s gotta at least be a little broken.”
So illogical, Senku thought to himself with a huff, ignoring the twisting feeling in his stomach.
“Maybe you’re right,” Ruby relented. “I’ve gotten great at pumping air into that forge, but he still never notices me. Perhaps I should just move on to someone who knows how to act like a normal human being.”
Thankfully, Senku finally walked out of earshot after that. He felt like a pile of rocks had just slid into his stomach. He didn’t care. He cared. He was trying to bring back civilization. He didn’t have time for these trivial feelings.
Then why did it hurt so bad?
Not for the first time, he wondered if he would have been better off if he had been born normal. Would he be happier? There was no way to tell. It wasn’t a question that could be answered by science, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.
He stripped down and plunged into the cold water. As he scrubbed the built up grime on his body, he tried not to remember the first time he had done this after breaking out of the stone, scared and alone, wondering if he would ever see another person again. This wasn’t the same. He had a whole village now, and surely they wouldn’t just leave him because they thought he was a little broken.
Right?
Or maybe they would abandon him the same way his birth parents did.
Or Tsukasa would take them, just like he had taken Chrome.
He was so lost in thought that he didn’t hear the footsteps approaching. “Senku-chan, you back here?” Gen called out, stepping out from the brush. He blushed immediately once he saw him. “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Maybe if it had been anyone else he would have been annoyed, but he wasn’t. “It’s alright, mentalist,” he replied, giving him a half smile. “What did you need?”
“I just wanted to tell you that the bamboo wheels are eady-ray to test,” Gen said. “I’ll let you have your ivacy-pray now.”
Gen turned to walk away when Senku called out, “Wait.” The mentalist paused, turning back towards Senku with a curious expression. Now it was Senku’s turn to blush. He had no idea why he’d called out, other than not wanting to be alone with his own thoughts. “Just give me a minute. I’ll head back with you.”
“Alright,” Gen said softly. He sat down on the river bank, back turned to Senku to still give the scientist privacy.
Senku rinsed the soap off of him then climbed out of the river. He dried off the best he could (though his hair still hung limp and damp in his face) and redressed himself. “I’m ready now,” he said.
The mentalist stood and turned back to him. “Let me help you with that,” he said, gesturing to Senku’s hair. He moved behind Senku and took the scientist’s hair in his hands, pulling it back out of his face and holding it back with a twine tie. “Better?”
“Much,” Senku replied. He never liked the feeling of wet hair clinging to his face. “Thanks.”
“Anytime,” Gen replied. “So you looked pretty eep-day in thought back there, Senku-chan. Is there something on your mind?”
“It’s nothing,” Senku automatically responded, then paused. He thought about the things Gen had shared with him about his anxiety, and the way he’d encouraged him to open up about his dad. If there was anyone he could trust with his deepest insecurities, it was Gen. “Actually…”
“Take your ime-tay,” Gen gently encouraged him when he trailed off.
“Is there something… wrong with me?” he asked, hating the way his voice sounded so small.
Gen stopped in his tracks, looking at Senku in alarm. “What? No! Why would you think that?” he questioned.
Senku shrugged half-heartedly. “Just… I overheard something, and I was wondering.” He continued walking, and after a few seconds, Gen dashed forwards to catch back up with him.
“Okay… overheard what, exactly?” Gen prodded.
“Just the usual,” Senku replied flippantly. “I have a defective personality and I’m broken. That kind of thing.”
“Usual?! Senku-chan, I-” For once, the mentalist seemed to be at a loss for words. “Look, I may not know who aid-say that, but I guarantee they’re wrong.” He moved to stand in front of Senku, blocking the scientist from moving forwards. “I can’t even imagine why anyone would think that.”
Senku stared down at his shoes. “Because… you know. I didn’t want to marry Ruri.”
“It was the Sparkly Sisters,” Gen realized. “Isten-lay, Senku-chan. You can’t take what they say to heart. There’s always going to be people who don’t understand you, but that’s okay!”
“But what if they’re right?” Senku whispered.
“They’re not,” Gen assured him with a frown. “Senku-chan, do you know what asexual means?”
“Hmm? Asexual?” Senku questioned. “No. What is that?”
“An asexual person is someone who doesn’t feel sexual attraction,” Gen explained. “It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with them, just like any other sexuality.”
Senku looked back up at Gen. “Wait. You mean, I’m not the only one?”
Gen shook his head. “About 1% of the world’s population is asexual. So efinitely-day not.” He paused. “There’s nothing broken about you, Senku-chan.”
Hearing his own words repeated back to him made him smile a little bigger than normal. “Tch, of course not. Thanks, Gen.”
The mentalist returned the smile. “Anytime, Senku-chan.” Gen stepped to the side so that Senku could continue walking, and then fell into step beside him. The weight in his stomach was gone, and Senku was back to feeling like his normal self.
Suddenly, Senku found himself craving the physical closeness. Just a little bit, he thought, could keep him grounded and stop his mind from wandering back to the time he was all alone. He reached out for Gen’s hand, then hesitated. Was that weird? Gen never seemed to think he was weird, but he was still nervous.
Thankfully, Gen seemed to realize what he wanted. He gently bumped his hand against Senku’s and let their pinkies connect. Neither of them said anything, but Senku could feel a warm contentment bubbling up from inside him.
Senku breathed in, enjoying the free feeling Gen had given him. He was going to be okay.