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Seven years and several months later, peace reigned at last between the Kingdom of Science and Dr. Xeno’s army. Both had been hard at work building the rocket that would assist them in confronting the Whyman at last, reviving people from the stone along the way.
After they had reached California’s shores once again, reviving the Kingdom of Science members who had been petrified there, as well as Xeno’s other associates, the mood was celebratory; the rocket was nearly ready, and since Xeno had been one-hundred-percent cooperative, and advanced combat skills would likely be needed for the trip to the moon and their ultimate confrontation, Stanley had been revived as well, ahead of schedule.
In the midst of everyone’s happy reunion, Gen had a proposal:
“Why don’t we have a beach party? We could all use a little break, and I think Malibu is near here, is it not, dear Chelsea?”
“It is! Not far at all!” Chelsea said, already leaping in excitement. “Oh my gosh, a party with you guys would be amazing~!”
“We don’t need to do that,” Senku drawled.
“I could make the swimsuits!” Yuzuriha spoke up, not listening to Senku and already eager.
“And I would provide the refreshments, of course,” Francois said, nodding in agreement.
“Ha-ha!” Ryusui said with a snap of his fingers. “A party sounds fantastic! I’ve been to plenty of beach parties back in the old world. There’s no better way to relax and have fun in the summertime, am I wrong?”
Xeno smirked. “A party?” he muttered, then gave a chuckle. “Do we really have time for that?”
He startled as he felt strong hands on his shoulders, giving them an examining rub. “You feel tense as hell. You’ve been working hard. You could use the break.”
Xeno sighed contentedly, melting in Stanley’s hold. “I suppose you’re right. It’ll merely be a day or two.” Xeno reached up to grasp one of Stanley’s hands. “I’ve missed you so much,” he said, squeezing it.
Tsukasa and Ryusui were then tasked with picking out and clearing a spot for them to hold their party. They wandered through the ruins of multi-million-dollar beachfront properties on their way to find a piece of land that would support a party for their large group.
“Hm,” Tsukasa said with a frown, after Ryusui had informed him of the likely value that the former homes once had. “Sounds like these places were owned by the kind of people I loathe most.”
At Ryusui’s questioning look, Tsukasa sighed. “Ah, I never told you, did I?”
Tsukasa went on to retell the story from his childhood, of being beaten for collecting seashells on a beach that a fisherman had claimed to own.
After Tsukasa finished, Ryusui sighed, shaking his head. “That explains a lot of things… and why you’ve been wary of me.” He looked up at Tsukasa then, meeting his eyes. “Don’t worry, Tsukasa. My greed isn’t about owning places and things to keep them away from others and hoarding all for myself; it’s to keep them safe so that I can share them with friends, and whoever else who would need it… I’d never bully a kid for gathering some seashells for his sister. Not now, not ever.”
Ryusui’s tone is solemn, and sincere. There’s a span of silence, and Tsukasa closes his eyes with a soft sigh, gently smiling. “I see I’ve misjudged you. I’m still wary of the idea of introducing the concept of money back into this world… but, you may not be the worst person to do so.”
Ryusui chuckled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I should have more faith in Senku, and in who he chooses to surround himself with… but, I can’t help but question his judgments, sometimes,” Tsukasa mused.
“Because he revived you in the first place?” Ryusui said with a sharp, knowing look. “And Hyoga?”
Tsukasa gave a laugh. “Exactly.”
“But, it’s all worked out for the best, am I wrong?”
Tsukasa nodded. “Mm. Against all odds, it has. Even his partnership with Dr. Xeno and Stanley have worked out in our favor.” He gave a wistful smile. “He and Gen make quite the team.”
“The strategist and the mentalist!” Ryusui exclaimed, then looked at Tsukasa with a flirty smile. “Though, who’s to say we couldn’t make a pair of our own? The capitalist and the… communist?”
“I’d say I’m more of an anarchist,” Tsukasa replied curtly, “but... I see your point.” He gave a little smirk. “Is that something you would… desire?”
Ryusui smirked back. “Perhaps it is. Ah!” he exclaimed, turning his attention back to their task. “I see potential here. All that needs to be done is clearing all this,” he said, sweeping his hand before him at the driftwood, old trash and broken marine vessels that had washed up on the shore over thousands of years.
Without a word, Tsukasa stepped forward and began cleaning the area with terrifying speed and power. When he was finished, what was left was a picturesque scene, a pristine beach framed by tall palm trees.
“What do you think?” Tsukasa asked, walking back to Ryusui, a thin layer of sweat the only evidence of his effort.
Ryusui had watched Tsukasa’s feats of strength the entire time, and his face was nearly as flushed as if he had been doing the heavy lifting himself. “I think I want you in my bed,” he muttered.
“What?” Tsukasa asked, not having heard him clearly.
Ryusui cleared his throat. “I think it’s perfect! Great work, Tsukasa,” he grinned at the taller man.
“Mm,” Tsukasa nodded.
The next team to hit the beach to prepare it were Francois, Yuzuriha, and Kohaku. Francois put their expertise in throwing parties of all kinds to work, Yuzuriha wove the beach blankets and swimsuits and trunks for everyone with blazing speed, and Kohaku helped Francois set up a net for beach volleyball.
Senku, meanwhile, gave an aggrieved sigh, as he and Gen watched them conduct their tasks. Senku’s hands were busy concocting enough protective sunscreen for everyone who would be attending. “I can’t believe you convinced everyone to go along with this- oh, wait, I can.”
Gen chuckled. “We haven’t had a decent break in forever, Senku-chan. It’s truly gic-tra!” he said melodramatically.
“And I still think it’s a bad idea,” Senku said wearily. “We shouldn’t be wasting this much time.”
“We’re only human, Senku-chan. If we don’t rest, we’ll burn out and be useless. Won’t you try to relax, too… ?” Gen said, giving Senku a coy smile, tilting his head to look at him as the other man carefully mixed chemicals.
Senku sighed again, and shrugged. “Fine. You win.”
Gen chuckled. “You’ll have a great time, I’m sure of it~”
As the party drew near, one could almost sense the easing of tension among all those gathered; months of travel and hard work had left just about everyone feeling drained, more than some had even realized. Laughter and smiles were all around, eagerly looking forward to what was to come — such a stark contrast to how things had been over seven years ago, when Senku’s Kingdom of Science had been at war with Dr. Xeno’s empire.
So much had changed since then, not least of which was Xeno's new alliance with Senku that had been fruitful for both of them. His cooperation had been rewarded, and Stanley was de-petrified, with preconditions, restrictions, and supervision when needed. Stanley had rolled his eyes about those at first; after all, all of their team’s guns had long since rusted irreparably, and attempting hand-to-hand combat at this point would hardly be worth it. But he didn’t fight it, for as soon as he saw Xeno again, the two became near-inseparable, talking like no time had passed at all.
“You really didn’t tell them that we’re… you know,” Stanley had said back then, waving his hand between them, “together?”
“There was hardly a point. They already knew you were important to me, why let them use my other feelings as leverage?” Xeno rebutted. “I never lied about it. It just never came up.”
Stanley sighed, reaching for a cigarette. “And you’re going to tell them this, how? I’m too old to sneak around like a horny teenager.”
Xeno frowned at Stanley’s smoking, then sighed. “It will come up eventually, I suppose. I don’t care if they know now, it’s just a matter of when to bring it up. We’re always talking about other things.”
“Oh I know that,” Stanley said, grinning with his cigarette clenched between his teeth. “You and Senku got awfully chummy, didn’t ya?”
“Out of necessity, but yes,” Xeno replied. “But you knew that would happen, didn’t you?”
“You got me,” Stanley said, breathing out smoke, it swirling in the air before disappearing in the trees. “I knew you’d be safe with him. That’s why I didn’t try anything stupid, before the petri-beam got me. I’d stay in stone for another three thousand years if it meant you could follow your dreams.”
Xeno sighed softly, and leaned his head against Stanley’s shoulder. “I love you,” he whispered.
“Mm,” Stanley said, wrapping an arm around Xeno. “You’ll tell them?”
“I will. I’ll find a way.”
The day after that, the beach party was announced.
Meanwhile, now that the burden of mentalist work was off his mind for the time being, Gen found his mind wandering to other things.
Like his relationship with Senku.
They had been ‘together’, in a sense, for years now — though it was often hard to tell. Affection didn’t come easily for Senku, though Gen could read his subtle clues as easily as if he were speaking aloud. But, was that really enough?
It was easy enough to overlook when both were busy with their own projects, but now that those were briefly put on the back burner, Gen started to wonder: Did Senku still feel the same way? Were his own feelings stronger than that of the scientist’s? Had it always been imbalanced?
Gen laughed quietly. This must be why Senku-chan always keeps us busy. It keeps us from thinking about unnecessary things, he thought to himself.
But now that he had started thinking about such unnecessary things, Gen couldn’t stop. A feeling of anxiety coiled deep in his gut. He had to do something.
As was his default, Gen began to scheme…
Quicker than most would have thought possible, the beach party was set to begin. Ukyo had been appointed lifeguard to the nearby seashore for those who wanted to swim, beach blankets were spread out on the sand for everyone else to sit and lounge on, and a stunning variety of swimsuits and trunks were laid out for all to wear, a sparkly-eyed Yuzuriha standing by a makeshift changing room eager to see how everyone looked in them.
Xeno, dressed in blue trunks of his own, briefly found himself at a loss. Now that the party had commenced, he was faced with a quandary he hadn’t considered until now:
Where would he sit?
He was merely a guest at this party; he didn’t plan on swimming or playing a sport of any kind. Which was fine, certainly — that was why the beach blankets had been laid out, thoughtfully catered with beach-worthy food and drinks provided by the ever-capable Francois. But in practice, Xeno felt nearly as awkward as he did in his earlier school days, deciding which table — or blanket, in this instance — he should sit at. Who would he prefer? Who wouldn’t shrink away from him?
The vast majority of his former army were currently stationed at the other cities that had been established thus far, Corn City and Superalloy City, and Stanley currently seemed to take no interest in merely lounging on the beach.
Xeno's eyes fell upon one blanket in particular, and he sighed in resignation. This was his best option, overall.
And so, he ended up sitting with the girls.
“Xeno!” said Luna, one of the faces familiar to him there, “what brings you to the ladies’ spot?” she said teasingly.
“The process of elimination,” Xeno said, deadpan.
“Good to have you,” Charlotte, the other familiar face, said politely.
“You look stunning,” Xeno said, observing her yellow ruffled two-piece swimsuit.
“Mm.” Charlotte’s gaze turned toward Stanley, who was smoking a cigarette and observing the beach volleyball preparations.
“I was just showing Suika and Ruri here the smartphone Senku made me,” Luna near-gloated, reaching out to put the rectangular device in front of Xeno’s face.
“Ah, he made one for you, too,” Xeno said.
Thanks to the rare minerals they found in Araxá, they had been able to make both rudimentary computers and smartphones; the smartphones were little more than upgraded walkie-talkies with a built-in camera — they had yet to build cellular signal transmitting towers, and anything resembling the internet was nonexistent — but the modern-timers were enthralled by them regardless.
Xeno had witnessed the delivery of the first smartphone he and Senku made together — Taiju’s reaction was nothing short of elated. When Xeno asked Senku why he had given it to him, Senku had smiled and said that that was the modern invention that Taiju had wanted back the most, from the very beginning of this stone world. Xeno couldn’t argue with that; it reminded him of his dogged pursuit of recreating Stanley’s favorite tool of his trade, and the look on his best friend's face when he received and tested out the elaborate sniper rifle.
“He gave you that in case of medical emergencies, right?” Xeno asked Luna.
Luna deflated somewhat. “Yes… But only because he knows how capable I am!”
Xeno smiled. "Certainly." He knew about Luna's crush on Senku by now, and enjoyed lightly teasing her about it now and then.
“ANYONE WANNA PLAY SOME VOLLEYBALL?!” Taiju exclaimed, standing near the net and holding up a volleyball.
“I think Whyman heard you,” Senku snarked beside him.
“Wait, really?!” Taiju said, whipping his head to face Senku, looking genuinely concerned.
“I’m joking, big oaf,” Senku chuckled, patting Taiju’s shoulder.
The most athletic members present gathered near the beach volleyball net; Kinro and Ginro had been selected as referees, and they stood in front of the net as the potential players and spectators gathered.
“Ryusui has briefed Ginro and I on the rules of this game,” Kinro said, adjusting his glasses. “There will be two players on each side, a spiker and a setter. You score points by landing a ball on your opponent’s side. Blocks can be performed, however…”
As Kinro rambled on, going over all the rules, Tsukasa stepped forward.
“I’d like to play,” Tsukasa said, giving a winning smile. “Spiker sounds like the best role for me.”
Cheers went up from the partygoers, mainly the women. Then Stanley strode up to the net.
He put out his cigarette in the sand. “I’ll play too. Spiker.”
An ooooh could be heard from the gathered, as the two warriors moved to face each other on opposite sides of the net.
“Alright,” Kinro said, unshaken. “Who will be your partners? They will set up shots for you to spike, and can attempt to block incoming strikes as well.”
“Hyoga,” said Tsukasa without hesitation. More cheers were heard as Hyoga stepped up to the net.
“Very well,” Hyoga said.
“Hmm…” Stanley pondered. “I’d pick Brody, but he’s back at our base doing the engineering. Most of my men are back there too…” He cast his gaze to Xeno, who shook his head, mouthing ‘no’, waving his hands in dismissal. Stanley had to hold back a chuckle at the thought of Xeno taking a volleyball to the face. The man was not athletic by any means.
“...Whoever it is, would have to be athletic enough to keep up with me, at least.”
“I’ll do it!” Taiju offered, waving his hand and running up to them.
Stanley’s eyebrows raised, before lowering, as he looked over the strong young man. “I suppose you’ll do.”
Yuzuriha and Senku went up to Taiju then. “Taiju, are you sure about this?” Yuzuriha whispered.
“Yeah! I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt anybody!”
“Taiju, that’s what the referee is for,” Senku said, a deadpan look on his face.
“Well I’ll be faster than the referee! Don’t you worry about a thing, Senku!”
“You don’t even know English,” Senku said.
“I’ve learned some!” Taiju turned to Stanley. “We’ll win?” he said in English.
Stanley gave a confident smile and a thumbs-up. “We will.”
Taiju turned back to Senku with a bright smile. “See? I’m on a winning team! This is going to be great!” Taiju jogged off, giving Stanley a high five as they got in position near the net.
“Still so simple-minded,” Senku smiled, as Yuzuriha laughed nervously.
“Hold on, gonna grab a drink real quick,” Stanley said, motioning with his hand so he'd be understood by Taiju. Taiju gave him a thumbs-up, so he figured that was good enough.
He beelined straight toward the blanket Xeno was seated at. Xeno stood to meet him, as Stanley grabbed and drank down a fruit juice and coconut water concoction Francois had come up with — their best replication of a sports drink.
When he finished it, he looked at Xeno with a smirk, wiping the juice from his lips with the back of his hand. “Kiss if I win?”
Xeno peered over his shoulder at the group behind him first; none seemed to have heard him. “Stan, it’s hardly an ‘if’ if you’re involved.”
Stanley gave him a knowing look. “Xeno.”
Xeno gave a quiet sigh, and nodded. “Alright.”
Stanley grinned brightly, then ran off to the volleyball net without another word.
Xeno sat back down on the beach blanket, turning his back to the volleyball game.
“Aren’t you gonna watch Stanley play?” Nikki asked Xeno.
“I don’t have to,” Xeno said, sipping at his martini, “I know he’ll win.”
“Well aren’t you confident!” Nikki laughed, giving Xeno’s back a firm slap, the force of it nearly making Xeno spill his drink. “Ah, sorry! I forgot. You’re just like Senku!”
Xeno could only give a mild glare in response, not wanting to verbally slight his mentee (who he was not as frail as, to be sure).
Back at the volleyball net, Stanley and Tsukasa faced one another, Kinro standing between them. “Now, we will flip a coin to determine which team starts the game with a serve,” Kinro said, looking at the drago in his hand. “...I am not entirely sure how best to flip a coin.”
“I’ll do it!” Ryusui said, walking over and taking the coin from Kinro. “Heads or tails, gentlemen?”
“Heads,” Stanley said near-instantly.
“Hm. Tails, then,” Tsukasa said with a slight smile.
“Alright! This is how it’s done!” Ryusui said, and gave the drago coin a skilled flip, the metallic ting sound seeming to hang in the air as the coin went up, then fell gracefully back down to Ryusui’s waiting hand. He put that hand atop the other, and revealed the coin. Senku’s likeness gleamed in the sunlight.
“Heads!”
Kinro handed Stanley the volleyball, and he, Taiju, Tsukasa and Hyoga took their respective positions on each side of the net.
"We missed our chance to face off before, one on one, thanks to that soldier of mine," said Stanley as he faced Tsukasa. "He says you're a monster . Well, we'll see about that."
“Mm. You have quite the reputation yourself,” Tsukasa replied. “I look forward to testing your strength.” His words in combination with his smile as he said them belied a thinly veiled threat.
Kinro blew his whistle, and Stanley stood back. He got in position, eying the court.
Everyone on the court was new to this game… except for one.
No one knew that Stanley had played volleyball before, back in high school.
Only he and Xeno knew that secret.
And neither were telling.
Stanley tossed the ball into the air, as Xeno turned to watch him.
Stanley jumped… and soared.
He hit the descending ball with power and precision, firing it like an arrow, flying past Tsukasa and Hyoga and landing within bounds before they could react.
As the onlookers cheered, Xeno smiled. “Elegant,” he whispered.
Not to be outdone, with Stanley’s next serve, Hyoga caught it, passing it to Tsukasa. Tsukasa leapt to strike the ball over the net… only to face down Stanley, as he leaped with arms outstretched to block it. The ball hit the sand, Tsukasa and Hyoga staring down at it in wide-eyed dismay.
“Whoa!! Good one, Stanley!” Taiju exclaimed, giving Stanley another high-five before he moved to serve again.
“Hah! I don’t know who to root for here,” Kohaku said, joining Senku and Yuzuriha on the sidelines. “I wouldn’t normally bet against Tsukasa and Hyoga, but they may have met their match.”
“Heh heh heh… Stanley’s confidence in anything he puts his mind to is a little too strong,” Senku said with a smirk. “Ten billion percent useful though, depending on how it’s channeled.”
“That’s really why you revived him, isn’t it?”
“It was a factor,” Senku said noncommittally, taking a sip of his own juice drink.
"Where's Chrome? He'd love this," Kohaku asked.
"He's off gathering," Senku replied.
"Gathering what? Can't it wait?"
"Nope," Senku said with another sip.
Kohaku sighed. "Men…"
"It's alright," Yuzuriha said, "I have a feeling it's something important," she smiled, then cheered, waving the pennants she held as Tsukasa scored a point at last.
Meanwhile, Gen watched the scene, and prepared to set his scheme into motion.
At first, he had difficulty thinking of a way to shake Senku up. Then, Gen remembered that there was a surefire way of getting Senku’s attention: Getting Ryusui’s first.
He remembered fondly the night of their poker game aboard the first iteration of the Perseus , how afterward Senku had given Gen a kiss for the first time — heated, desperate, and deeply jealous. Gen’s and Ryusui’s chemistry was undeniable, and clear enough for even Senku to notice and make him want to stake his claim. Gen was elated; he couldn't get enough.
So Gen decided to play that same card again — if he had learned anything about the scientific method over all these years, it was that a rule was only proven through repetition.
“Ryusui-chan~” Gen said, strutting up to the man as he was overseeing the entire party with pride, “how does my swimsuit look?” He wiggled his hips coyly, showing off his tight, purple Speedo-like swim briefs. (Which he had specially requested from Yuzuriha, unbeknownst to Senku.)
“It looks great!” Ryusui said, snapping his fingers. “Yuzuriha did fantastic work on these! It’s a pity she turned down my dragos…”
“You sure?” Gen cooed, sipping from his drink. “I’m not used to wearing so few clothes, to be honest… I’ve been eating a lot of met-gour food lately and I think it’s gone right to my hips...”
Ryusui’s eyes drifted to Senku across the beach, and a puzzle piece fell into place in his mind; he smirked, looked back down at Gen and placed his hands directly above Gen’s hips. “You look great. Nothing wrong with having some love handles. I wish I saw your body more often...” Ryusui gave Gen’s sides a little squeeze, prompting a blush and giggle from the shorter man.
“You’re a sight yourself, Ryusui-chan. You look so good with a tan… You were born to be an explorer,” Gen smirked back.
“What can I say? The sea treats me well,” Ryusui replied, as one of his hands slid lower, his skilled fingers giving a light, teasing touch to Gen’s rear.
It didn’t truly mean anything, but oh, was flirting with Ryusui fun.
"Senku! I got them!" Chrome called as he dashed to the sideline. "Here!"
"Good job," Senku smiled, taking the bundle from him. "Did Francois wrap these?"
"Yep! They saw me with them and wanted to help out!" Chrome beamed.
"Thank them for me later." Senku turned around. "Now, where's… ?"
“Ha! Those guys are really hogging the net,” Kohaku said, turning to Senku. “I hope they finish soon. I want to play too!” Senku didn’t respond, his eyes staring elsewhere. “Senku?”
Yuzuriha giggled, seeing where Senku had been peering. “Uh oh, Senku.exe is not responding.”
“What’s ee ecks ee?” Kohaku said in confusion, but her question went unanswered as Senku suddenly stalked off.
Nikki and Luna had been having a heated conversation about which Lillian Weinberg song was the best one, singing their slightly off-key renditions of the parts of songs they still remembered from thousands of years ago, Ruri and Suika listening in with starry eyes while Xeno tried his hardest to tune them out. They had at last come to a truce, when Luna's eyes fell upon her cell phone.
"Selfie!" Luna said, giving the other girls a moment to pose before she took a photo of them all; Xeno simply continued to drink his cocktail. Luna flipped her phone around to see the photo she had taken. "What's Senku doing?" she frowned, having spotted his blurred visage in the background of the photo. She turned around to look for him.
Senku strode up to Ryusui and Gen, and straightened, making himself look taller. "Ryusui. I need to talk to Gen."
Ryusui raised his brows at him. "Hm? Is it something that I shouldn't hear?"
"No- I mean-" Senku faltered, his face beginning to redden.
"We were just having a conversat-"
WHAM.
Senku looked up, and saw Ryusui falling to the sand, a stray volleyball bouncing away from him.
Kinro's whistle blew. "Out! Don't be so hasty, Tsukasa!"
"You okay?" Senku asked.
Ryusui chuckled, pushing himself up off the ground. "I'm fine."
As soon as he had said that, Senku grabbed Gen's hand and pulled him aside.
“Ah, so assertive, Senku-chan~” Gen laughed.
Senku turned Gen to face him, looking at his face that was still pink from the blush Ryusui had given him. He looked down with a grumble, rubbing the back of his neck. “I get it, I get it… here.” He pulled out the bouquet of hand-picked flowers from behind his back and presented them to Gen.
Gen’s eyes widened, and he reached out to take them. “These… are for me?”
“Well, yeah. Who else around here appreciates flowers as much as you?” Senku smirked. “And… I could tell something’s been up with you lately. That something’s bothering you. And more than likely, that something was me, so…”
Gen smirked. “I didn’t know you could read me so well, Senku-chan.”
“Give me some credit. I can read people too. I could tell that Tsukasa was up to no good long before I met you.”
“Tsukasa-chan is not a subtle man.”
“Fair enough,” Senku shrugged with a sigh. “Listen. I know... I’m kinda shitty at this whole ‘boyfriend’ thing. I take advantage of you being a mentalist and assume you’ll just, know how I feel, without me actually showing it, or making any effort to. So I thought for once I’d… do something nice for ya. Let you know I still give a shit.” Senku averted his gaze, toward the blue horizon. “They’re just some wildflowers Chrome gathered for me, and Francois helped arrange them. But I thought you’d like them.”
Gen smiled, feeling relieved and touched. “Senku-chan…” He lifted the bouquet and smelled the flowers; they didn’t have much scent, but they were appealing to the eye. “I love them.”
They heard cheering from nearby, and looked over to the volleyball net, where the participants of the game were loudly celebrating; Stanley spiked a volleyball directly into the sand with a whoop, giving a high-five to Taiju. “WE WON!!” Taiju exclaimed.
“Well aren’t they loud,” Senku remarked, picking his ear.
Stanley walked away from the scene with a grin, straight toward the beach blanket where Xeno was seated.
Xeno looked up at him, their eyes meeting as everyone at the party looked on.
Stanley leaned down. “I won.”
Xeno smiled back at him. “I knew you would. You were elegant.”
Stanley leaned down further, cupping Xeno's face in his hand, gently lifting, and with everyone’s eyes on them, their lips met in a long, tender kiss.
A few gasps could be heard at first; then, Luna began to clap, followed by Charlotte, and soon nearly everyone was clapping and cheering for them.
Gen chuckled as he clapped. “Well, Xeno-chan gets a lot more ion-act than I thought-”
Gen’s sentence was cut off by the feeling of Senku’s lips on his.
They kissed for a few blissful moments, as the applause from the partygoers continued.
“Senku-chan,” Gen gasped when they parted.
Senku smirked wickedly. “I’m not going to be out-done by that guy.”
Gen smirked back with a chuckle. “Someone’s angry~”
“Hey, I can’t have my mentor making me look like a bad boyfriend out here.” Senku looked at Gen, and swallowed. That Speedo looked incredible on him. “You look… good,” he muttered, and leaned in to kiss Gen again.
Stanley and Xeno's lips parted at last, and they opened their eyes to witness the reactions of everyone around them.
"That worked." Stanley smiled boyishly.
Xeno chuckled. "It certainly did."
He stood up, reached up to cradle Stanley's face in his hands, and pulled him in to kiss with abandon.
“How about a consolation prize?” Ryusui said, no worse for the wear, striding to the other side of the volleyball net and swiftly leaning up to kiss Tsukasa on the lips. When he pulled back, Tsukasa was left with a dumbstruck stare, wide-eyed with a blush dusting his cheeks. Ryusui tilted his head. “Too soon?”
Ginro took double-takes at the scenes all around him, and an idea popped into his mind. “I’m kissing the next girl I see~!” he said, about to run off.
“No you’re not,” Kinro said, grabbing him by the shoulder.
Hyoga sighed wearily, staring at the abandoned volleyball.
“That was only the first set…”