Chapter Text
About a month ago, when Mob had entered the office with his fingers slotted between Hanazawa’s, Reigen couldn’t help but feel his chest tighten. The sight had caused more than a few complicated and conflicting emotions to bubble up in his chest. On one hand, he had been incredibly happy for Mob. With everything that had happened in his life, he deserved this more than anything. Seeing that it is Hanazawa, had been a relief to Reigen as well. There was no doubt about Hanazawa’s adoration towards Mob and with how close the two of them had been, there was no doubt that it should have been obvious a long time ago.
Once they had entered the office, Mob had wasted no time to let them know, eager and excited to share the news about finding his soulmate, all the while Hanazawa was beaming brightly next to him.
Every now and then Reigen wishes that he could turn back time to take the news with the exact same enthusiasm that Serizawa had. He knows that he should have jumped out of his chair to congratulate the both of them, putting on his biggest smile. His joy that day, however, had mixed with an odd sense of disappointment and envy that had made his chest ache. It is quite special for Mob to have found his soulmate this early in life, yet it serves as a grim reminder for Reigen as well.
A reminder that soulmates are a rather unfair joke of fate. At least in his humble opinion.
Soulmates are supposed to be your other half, someone that works with you in perfect harmony. They are someone you love with all your heart and there's no doubt whatsoever that they love you just as much as you love them.
Not everyone is fortunate enough to ever find theirs, though. Actually, most people never will.
To some, the intricate marks on their bodies gain an obvious meaning once they lay eyes on their destined one and for others, they are but a mystery to never be solved - and for some like Mob, it simply takes a while to realize the one you were searching for has been right in front of you this entire time.
Reigen had never paid close attention to Mob’s mark. Part of it was that it was normally hidden away under his clothes. The other was that, in Reigen's opinion, it was simply a bit jarring to look at. To be fair, he had never had the opportunity to see it in its full glory, but even then he isn't sure if it would change anything. The parts he had seen travel up Mob’s upper arm and disappear into his sleeve. According to the young ESPer it continues all the way up to his shoulder where it slowly begins to taper off and fades by blending seamlessly with his skin.
Saying Mob's soulmark is colorful would probably be an understatement. It is patterns overlaying other patterns, a mix of squares and circles and dots of pinks, greens and blues. They were littered over a yellow hue that seemed to swirl with dashes of green and orange. It is bright, to say the least, and it looks almost a bit comical on someone like Mob out of all people.
Having seen them both stroll in together, Reigen had gotten incredibly curious about what Hanazawa’s mark looked like. Trying to imagine what would represent someone like Mob is rather hard after all. More than once Reigen had considered asking since, but eventually decided against it every time. Not only did it seem like something wildly inappropriate to ask a middle schooler, but it would also leave room for questions in return - and if there’s something Reigen would rather avoid, it is questions about his own soulmark.
Back when he had been young and curious - before his mark had shown - he’d been incredibly excited to finally see what fate had in store for him and what kind of person he could look forward to. However, shortly after his own soulmark had appeared on his skin, he had quickly realized he didn’t enjoy talking about it in great detail. At all, if he was honest.
Unlike Mob’s, Reigen’s own soulmark is much less exciting. Whenever anyone had pressured him enough that he would begrudgingly talk about it, he first had to admit that it was placed right over his heart.
Without much of a second thought, people would let him know how happy he should be about it. Who wouldn’t want their soulmark in a spot as romantic as his, after all? Yes, maybe it is poetic to an extent, Reigen can see that. Essentially though, the placement means nothing to him or anyone else for that matter.
What truly matters about a soulmark, is what it looks like. Oftentimes it is objects, colors or maybe even a place that is somehow connected to your soulmate. It is about how the elements work together, how they intertwine and how they would lead you to the one meant for you. Ideally, that is. Well, Reigen’s mark is none of that. It gives him little to none to work with when it comes to who his other half might be. It is so insignificant that he had given up on ever finding who it was meant to belong to a long, long time ago.
Centered on his chest right above his heart and slowly spreading outwards until the edges tethered off is nothing more than pink. Admittedly, it is a rather nice shade of pink, interrupted by specs and swirls of deep purple running through it. The colors complement each other nicely, but when it comes down to it, it leaves Reigen with more questions than answers. His soulmark is not giving him anything to work with: no objects, no places, no nothing. Where most others are fortunate enough to have marks representing their soulmate's wishes, desires or achievements, he's left with absolutely nothing to work with.
Reigen doesn' have the slightest idea what to look out for or what might give him an idea that he was ever facing his soulmate. It is rather discouraging and whenever people had gotten past their fascination about the placement of his mark, they usually ended up pitying him at least somewhat.
His relationship with his mark is complicated, he knows as much. On good days, Reigen can't help but place his fingers on it, feeling as if it was radiating a rather comfortable and calming warmth. It would make him feel lighter and a little less pathetic about himself, knowing that there was someone out there for him. On bad days it almost looked like an odd bruise to him and he couldn’t help himself when he frowned at it in irritation.
While Mob's soulmark does look like a carpet in an old and beat up arcade, it had still securely and certainly brought him to his soulmate. Mob had figured out it was Hanazawa, someone who so perfectly matched everything his soulmark was, but Reigen’s excitement had quickly been overshadowed by his envy. He had hated it then and still hates it now, guilt eating at him whenever he gets reminded of it.
Reigen can’t help but feel a pinch of jealousy every now and then when Mob stops by the office and ends up talking about his soulmate in the process. While the ESPer was going on dates, holding hands and enjoying life with Hanazawa, Reigen almost felt like he had been left behind. Lonely, without a soulmate and coincidentally with a huge crush on the man that encouraged Mob to blab on about Hanazawa for what seemed like hours.
That is another one of the many cruel jokes in Reigen’s life: his big crush on Serizawa. A crush that doesn't seem to want to go away no matter how much he tries to ignore it. In fact, it has only gotten worse over the past few months. More and more often he catches himself staring at his employee. Reigen has a hard time not watching the other's lip move when he speaks and has an even harder time tearing his gaze away from his kind eyes. Even when the other isn't talking to him, he finds himself letting his gaze wander over Serizawa. Everyday it becomes more agonizingly impossible not to notice how handsome the ESPer is.
In the end, he hadn’t even been able to pinpoint when exactly his simple appreciation and crush had shifted into something more real. It isn’t only the others appearance anymore, but also how pleasant his voice sounds, how serious he looks when leaning over some of his homework and how he bounces back Reigen’s stupid jokes with ease these days. Quite often, Reigen finds himself wishing to be around him, excited for when he's able to see Serizawa next.
Maybe it would have all stayed manageable if it had been just that. However, it had been easy to make the next few steps from there without noticing. He’s aware of just how gentle, attentive and -if he’s allowed to go this far- protective Serizawa is. Reigen truly can’t help the pleasant warmth settling in his chest and cheeks whenever the ESPer grabs his arm a little tighter and pulls him aside; or can’t help the happiness and genuine smile whenever he manages to coax Serizawa into spending time with him outside of work. Either fetching dinner or deciding to stop by one of the local bars.
He has to restrain himself more often than not to keep his thoughts from straying off too far. For not only his own, but Serizawa’s sake as well, he tries to be reasonable.
As happy as he is and as good as it feels to spend his time with Serizawa, Reigen knows that all his daydreams and desires aren’t something he can have.
While it is much more common for people to end up and live happy fulfilling lives with partners that are not their soulmates, it didn’t mean that just anyone would so simply give up their destined one. Especially not if it was to be with someone like him. The amount of people better than Reigen are endless. Objectively speaking, Serizawa is far out of Reigen’s league and the ESPer also strikes him as someone who would much rather wait and search for the one and only instead of dating his boss. There is no blaming Serizawa for it either considering he truly deserves it after everything he’d been through in his life - to find someone who's a better match for him than Reigen could ever be.
As much as it would leave a sour taste in Reigen’s mouth, he still hopes that one day Serizawa is fortunate enough to walk through Spirit and Such’s door, his arm hooked with someone he's excited to introduce.
In the end it is all on him to shove his ever growing crush in the depth of his mind and ignore his fondness and affection in favor of a healthy and proper friendship. There is, after all, nothing Reigen wants more than to be there for Serizawa. It is much less about wanting to simply be a good employer and more about wanting to be a good friend and to support the ESPer however he can.
Which is exactly why Reigen had given him today off.
Serizawa had asked Reigen a while back if could have a little bit of freetime in preparation for some upcoming exams. Mob had quickly offered to stop by on the days the other couldn’t, making it easy for Reigen himself to agree and give him the days off that he needed.
As it turns out, the decision had been a coincidentally good one that Reigen benefits from as well - because he is rather happy not to have Serizawa around as he unlocks the door of his office, soaking wet and dripping all over the floor, with Mob trailing right after him. As if not wishing to let him know that he is still drenched from head to toe, the boy takes great care to not step into any of the puddles Reigen leaves behind.
Today was a disaster.
The job had seemed easy enough: an old abandoned boat at a small unimportant pier in the closest harbor. It had been unclaimed for years and most likely been left there to rot. It had come with everything that was expected of a ‘haunted’ ship - creaking wood, leaks, moaning of old unoiled doors, broken parts and a horrible musty stench. Nothing that the self proclaimed 21st century’s greatest psychic wouldn’t be able to handle. At least as long as his trusted apprentice had stood at his side.
As it had turned out, the boat had not just been some vaguely spooky spot in which Reigen could throw some salt around and maybe recommend a tow company to take it away. They had been unlucky enough to run into an actual evil spirit. It had been nothing that Mob wasn’t able to handle, that was for sure, but that didn’t mean that it hadn’t managed to get Reigen into some trouble. Maybe he had been overly confident and not careful enough when he had tried to talk the Spirit into simply leaving this place alone to go their merry way. However, that had only gotten him pushed into the cold and disgusting harbor water as a thanks.
Mob had quickly exorcized the spirit after without much fuss and had used his powers to pull Reigen out of the murky ocean. Feeling smelly and gross, he had quickly collected their pay before deciding that it was time to return to the office.
The way back had been too long in Reigen’s opinion, the crisp evening air had not been kind to him, making it impossible for his clothes to dry. Cold water is still seeping through his layers and clinging to his skin even now that they are finally back. He feels disgusting, not wanting to wear this particular set of clothing for any longer than necessary. So while Mob goes to sit on the sofa, Reigen begins to look for a set of spare clothes. It takes a moment, but his search is at least somewhat fruitful when he pulls out a thankfully clean button up from his drawers.
“Thank you for your help today, Mob. Great work as always.” he praises, shrugging off his suit jacket and giving the ESPer a tired smile. He hangs his jacket up on the hook to dry for the moment before he starts to unbutton his shirt. “Didn’t think the spirit on that boat would take my kind suggestion as such an offense. Spirits these days just get more and more rude, if you ask me. I’m honestly surprised it took that long for something to happen. I mean, think about it! Considering how old that boat looked it must have been there for forever and I don’t quite believe that no rowdy teens would have ever stepped on it. Either way, Mob. Remember to not board any questionable or broken vehicles, you never know if they’ll give out under you and-”
As he talks, he finishes with the buttons of his shirt and his hands are soon occupied with moving wildly along with his words, accompanying his thoughts and emphasizing his wisdom of the day.
Mob doesn’t pay too much attention to his words and the further into his monologue Reigen gets, the more he picks up on how the young ESPer’s face twists and changes in thought. Mob’s confused, Reigen realizes quickly.
“Hey, Mob. Are you still listening? What’s up?" he asks, daring to interrupt his own train of thoughts as well as Mob’s rather suddenly. The other jumps a little, cheeks reddening now and his eyes meet Reigen’s curious ones. For a moment, Mob looks unsure, fingers intertwining on his lap to fiddle with each other. It makes Reigen shift in his spot a little, worried now that he is missing something important. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes” Mob answers quickly, but obviously regrets his answer just a moment after. There’s a beat of silence that allows him to collect his thoughts before he continues. “It’s just….”
His voice drifts off and for a few seconds neither of them say anything, their eyes meeting once more. Reigen decides to break the silence first, voice dripping with concern, “Out with it Mob, there’s no need to worry. Remember what we talked about: it’s important to speak what’s on your mind if something bothers you.”
That finally makes the other relax a little and his fingers stop their fidgeting. The edges of his lips curl into a small and soft smile and he nods. The sight soothes some of Reigen's own worries and he returns Mob's smile with his own.
What Reigen isn’t prepared for are Mob’s next words and they make him wish he never encouraged the other to speak up.
“It’s your soulmark, Shishou.”
The statement makes him feel much too exposed all of a sudden and one of his hands moves to quickly grab an edge of the still wet shirt, instinctively covering himself up a bit. His smile is frozen in place.
“I know you said staring is rude, but it looked familiar, so I was trying to figure out why.” Mob continues, unaware of the way Reigen’s stomach suddenly twists as he speaks.
There’s a large and triumphant smile on Mob’s face now, obviously unaware of what his words were doing to him “But I think I figured it out! It looks just like Serizawa’s aura does.”
If Reigen’s heart had started to beat faster at Mob mentioning his soulmark, it now stops completely.
“Come again?”