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Senku found Taiju the next day getting ready to head out into the woods. It seemed like the perfect time to get Taiju alone so they could talk privately, so Senku approached him. “Hey, Taiju-kun. Where are you headed?”
Taiju smiled brightly. “Hi, Senku-kun! The lumber yard! I’m going to break up some of the fallen trees and bring the wood back for our ship!”
“Mind if I tag along?” Senku asked.
Thankfully, Taiju didn’t question it. “Of course not!” he responded. “It’ll be just like old times before we revived Tsukasa!”
At the mention of Tsukasa, Senku winced. Luckily, Taiju didn’t seem to notice it, because Senku really didn’t want to have to talk about it. He had done an excellent job of avoiding that topic ever since his crying session with Gen, and he wasn’t about to stop now.
Taiju led the way through the forest to where the Kingdom of Science had been collecting wood from, far enough away that any potential accidents wouldn’t cause a tree to fall down on base camp. There hadn’t been any professional woodcutters, so they were relying on Senku’s knowledge of physics. It wasn’t so bad with the strength of Tsukasa’s people on their side now.
His friend approached one of the felled trees and got to work, swinging his axe to break off large pieces. As he cut, Senku brought over one of the carts they’d made for transporting wood and began to load it up. He’d gotten a bit stronger after living in the Stone World for so long, but it was still hard work.
“Taiju-kun, can I… ask you something?” Senku asked hesitantly.
“Sure, Senku-kun! Anything!”
Senku paused. He felt stupid, honestly, like a kid getting their first crush. He didn’t do crushes, yet here he was, stomach a bundle of nerves and butterflies. Probably best to just get it over with, Senku thought to himself.
“How did you know you liked Yuzuriha-chan?”
Taiju’s eyes lit up. “Well that’s easy!” he exclaimed. “Yuzuriha-chan is the prettiest girl in the world! When I’m around her, I feel all happy and warm, and I want to do anything for her!”
Prettiest girl in the world… well, Gen didn’t fit that description. Although he was rather pretty, now that Senku thought about it. Happy and warm? Check. Would do anything for him? Also check.
“And you want to, like, hold her hand and kiss her forehead and stuff?”
“Yep, all of that!” Taiju replied, nodding vigorously.
Now came the question that Senku was dreading most. “So why don’t you just tell her?”
Taiju frowned. “Because she deserves the best, and I can’t give that to her while I’m trying to rebuild civilization.”
Senku felt his heart drop into his stomach. He didn’t know why that thought affected him so much. “Oh,” he replied softly, staring down at the ground.
“What’s going on?” Taiju asked curiously. “Do you like someone?”
“Maybe,” Senku admitted. “I’m not sure.”
“Ooh, who is it? Is it Kohaku?” Taiju lit up with excitement as he asked.
“What? No,” Senku replied, genuinely surprised. Sure Kohaku was a good friend whom he cared about, but it was nothing like that. “It’s… Gen.”
Taiju beamed brightly at him. “Aw, that’s great! You two would make such an adorable couple!”
“But should we be?” Senku asked, frowning. “I mean, he deserves the best too, like you said. How am I ever going to be able to give that to him?”
“You and Gen aren’t Yuzuriha and I, so I really can’t tell you. What’s important is what Gen wants and what you want.”
What do I want? Senku wondered. “And what if I don’t know what that is?”
“Maybe you should talk to Gen,” Taiju suggested. “See how he feels.”
Senku wanted to tell Taiju exactly how much he did not want to do that, but he noticed others nearby and decided it was best to drop the conversation for now lest he be overheard.
For the rest of the day, Senku’s mind tortured him. He could do nothing without thinking of Gen and his tumultuous feelings for the other boy. Gen had said that they were going to hell together for lying to Tsukasa’s people about the United States being up and running, but the reality was that he was already in hell.
As scared as he was to talk to Gen, he knew that he had to. He couldn’t go on like this, with his mind always feeling torn in ten billion different directions. Talking to his the mentalist always seemed to calm him down anyways, so why not? What did he have to loose?
His reputation.
His dignity.
His friendship with Gen.
Senku shoved those thoughts out of his mind. Worrying wouldn’t help anything. It was just illogical.
He’d once told Kohaku that there was nothing as illogical as romantic entaglements, but she had been a stranger then. Gen wasn’t a stranger at all. He was the person who understood Senku the best and the one who made him feel peaceful despite the chaos of the Stone World.
He made up his mind and walked up towards Gen’s hut. He’d slept there a few times since that first night he’d sobbed his heart out into Gen’s chest. He really really hated being alone, so no matter where he slept, someone was near. However, sleeping near Gen was definitely his favorite. It just made him feel relaxed enough to drift off to sleep quickly.
Patiently, Senku sat on the bedroll and waited until Gen came in. “Good evening, Senku-chan~” the mentalist greeted him.
“Hi Gen…” Senku started, then tapered off.
Gen scrunched up his eyebrows in concern. “You alright, Senku-chan?” he asked.
Senku nodded. His throat felt heavy. “Yeah, I just… need to talk to you.
A brief look of alarm passed over the mentalist’s face until he stuffed it behind his mask. “What do you need?” he asked softly.
“Could you… come sit?” Senku asked, gesturing to the empty spot of bedroll next to him.
Gen moved slowly, as if unsure of himself, but he did come to sit next to Senku. The tension was heavy in the air. Senku felt sick in his stomach, but he forced himself to press on. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to say this. I’m not good with emotions, but… I like you Gen. Like, really really like you.”
The mentalist’s mouth dropped open, his eyes filling with some unidentifiable emotion. Senku continued, “I just want to be with you all the time and hold you and… stuff. I completely understand if you don’t fell the same way, but-”
“-Senku-chan,” Gen cut him off. “I like you too. Like, eally-ray eally-ray.”
Senku gasped. “You… you do?”
“Yes,” Gen whispered, nodding. Then, he let out a soft laugh. “And here I was worried that you wouldn’t feel the ame-say.”
“Why?” Senku questioned.
“You’re just so…” Gen trailed off.
“…Broken?”
“No,” Gen replied firmly. “Amazing, Senku-chan.”
Senku leaned in closer. “Can I… try something?”
“Yes,” Gen whispered.
The warmth of Gen’s breath against Senku’s lips felt like it was pulling him closer in. Senku closed the gap between them and connected their lips together. It was a soft, feather-light movement as he pressed up against Gen’s lips. Inside his chest, his heart pounded wildly. He had no idea what he was doing or if Gen would even enjoy it.
Then Gen pressed back. He parted his own lips slightly, an invitation for Senku to dive deeper without overwhelming the scientist. And dive Senku did, exploring all the new, intense sensations. It was like a treasure trove had opened up, all his for the taking. It was pure bliss.
As Senku pulled away, Gen followed him with trembling lips. He stopped after a few centimeters and opened his eyes, a euphoric look in them. Senku shuddered. He’d never had someone look at him quite like that before. Despite his nervousness and self-doubt, it was disarming. “Was that okay?” he asked.
“That was more than okay, Senku-chan,” Gen replied, his voice light as air.
Senku smiled, completely unguarded. He reached up and placed his palm on Gen’s cheek. Gen sighed and leaned into the touch while Senku stroked his cheekbone with his thumb. “We should do that more often,” he said.
Gen let out a light laugh. “Definitely.”
The scientist laid back against the bedroll and opened his arms out, a silent question. Gen shrugged off his overcoat and laid down next to him, placing his head and one hand upon Senku’s chest. Senku could feel both of their hearts pounding, but as the minutes passed, Senku slipped deeper into relaxation. It felt wonderful having Gen so close. He felt safe, like nothing in the world could ever hurt him again. He didn’t even feel like he needed to count the seconds.
“Does this mean we’re ogether-tay now?” Gen asked. “Like… boyfriends?”
Senku thought for a moment. He certainly wasn’t opposed to the idea. “Do you want to be boyfriends?”
Gen nodded against his chest. “Do you?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s ettled-say then,” Gen replied.
“Okay,” Senku whispered. He reached down and ruffled the his mentalist’s hair. “…Boyfriend.”
Gen snickered. “Boyfriend,” he whispered back.
After another few minutes, Senku noticed that Gen had fallen asleep. He smiled affectionately. This was definitely something he could get used to. His last thought before he drifted off to sleep himself was that if struggling with his feelings for Gen all alone was hell, then being here with him now was heaven.