Chapter Text
Kohaku went into the laboratory, bringing in some observations she had made at the telescope in with her. She still wasn't quite sure why he had asked her to keep her eye out for anything strange for exactly an hour. Not to mention, it was her birthday, was it not? But, it was Senku who was asking, so.. It wasn't that big of a deal she supposed. She trusted him completely. It seemed empty oddly in the laboratory, she looked around curiously.
"Senku…?" She gazed around the room. "Where are you?"
She suddenly heard footsteps behind her and spun around, only to look up to see the scientist smirking .
"Hey Lioness, thanks for doing that favor I asked for. Gave me plenty of time for a little side project I needed to finish up. Some by-products of the petroleum refinement for our engines plus some of my other useful chemicals can make some pretty exciting things, well the process was more exciting to me, anyways, you don't want to hear all that do you, it's your birthday right? I made this. Here. You'd better appreciate it because it took a lot of work to get it right, acetone is hell to develop with our current equipment, and don't get me started with the Benzene alkylation." Senku held out something quickly to her and dropped it in her palm after the mini-info dump.
Kohaku looked at the small flowers, frozen in time forever in a clear, glass like droplet, tied to a rope hair tie like the kind she often wore.
"It's called Epoxy Resin. It's a type of resin that possesses tough mechanical properties, good chemical resistance, and high adhesive strength, which makes it highly useful for various applications. And ten-billion percent perfect for insulation of electrical components. Or, for a preserving a dried flower someone thinks is important." He smirked, finger in his ear.
"It's, beautiful... This flower, it's-"
"Primula japonica, commonly known as the Japanese Primrose. It's the type your sister and you would pick as children. If you believe in that hocus-pocus bull crap about what flowers mean, which I know you do- it symbolizes long-lasting love and beauty." He responded casually with his usual cool demeanor.
"And you included a Japanese Violet too. Which represents a thank-you gift or to express sincerity or love... But you already knew that, didn't you?" Kohaku asked softly with narrowed eyes, getting closer.
"I did. And it is. A thank you gift for all the help and everything you do for the Kingdom of Science. Plus it is your birthday, is it not?" He responded nonchalantly, avoiding her gaze with a small smile breaking through.
She smiled, eyes widening. "Thank you, Senku.... Would you tie it in my hair for me please?"
"I figured you'd ask that, and yeah, I will." Senku responded, taking her old hair tie out and tying it back with the new one. As he did so, focused, he inhaled a bit. "Look, Kohaku... I'm not really good with this whole mushy emotional thing, but there's one more thing I want to give you besides the epoxy resin flowers... Done. You can turn around now." He said as he pulled away from tying her hair up.
She turned around and looked up at him, surprised to see him... Actually looking quite nervous. Now her curiosity was piqued.
"Uhmm... Well, I know you do like big displays of emotion so I'm trying my best here, I'm ten-billion percent sure you know what I'm getting at..." He fidgeted, rolling his eyes with a smile.
"Go on..." She said with a delighted expression.
"Uhh... Here goes." All of a sudden, he reached tentatively out towards her, then awkwardly drew her into a hug.
NO WAY!! SENKU?? A HUG?? THAT HE WILLINGLY HAS GIVEN??? IS HE OUT OF HIS MIND?? IS THIS AN ELABORATE PRANK? Kohaku thought at first, before he cleared his throat to speak.
"Listen, don't get used to it, enjoy it while it lasts. I'll give you exactly twenty seconds." He said with words that would normally sound curt but instead were spoken much more softly than what she was accustomed to.
Stunned, Kohaku was frozen for the first few seconds, before relaxing into his arms. She pulled her arms up around him in return, which he allowed. "Oh Senku...." She softly murmured, tears welling up in her eyes. She closed her eyes and sniffled, her fingers resting against his midback, and his arms gently locked around her lower back. They stood together, softly breathing in each other's embrace.
"Okay, time's up." Senku pulled away at- not surprisingly, exactly 20 seconds, and yet indeed surprisingly, didn't look like he hated it... He was actually still smiling, but not really making eye contact with her, face flushed. "Um, okay, I have to go work on some Kingdom of Science projects now, you can go do whatever you were doing before I called you in here. Oh, and Happy Birthday Kohaku…" He said with a tender expression, before turning around to tinker with some bottles nervously.
Kohaku laughed sweetly, her laughter like a bell, cheeks flushed as well. "You know, if you wanted to give me a hug then you should have just said so earlier. I would have happily obliged… You're really sweet, more than I would have given you credit for. It's too bad you try to hide it so much. And, just so you know, a blush looks very becoming on you." She grinned as she saw him almost drop a bottle, face getting redder.
"Yeah yeah yeah, just get out of here already would you??" Senku groaned, self-consciously bringing a hand to his face that betrayed him so, as if to gauge just how red his cheeks they were by touch, or, to hide his expression.
Kohaku smiled happily, leaning her head against the doorframe. "Alright, alright, I'll quit pestering you. Cutie." Senku glared at her and threw some leaves at her, clearly looking a bit pissed now, but also holding back a smirk.
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Not good. This is what I was worried was going to happen. Heart rate is elevated, face is flushed, my mind is racing, I feel like I'm high on serotonin, dopamine, and adrenaline... This is the worst disaster I've ever had to face yet... There's a ten-billion percent chance it's happening, I'm, falling in love…. Romantic relationships are so illogical, how could I have allowed this to happen?? What the hell is wrong with me???
=== MECHA SENKU HERE!
Love is most commonly thought to be a chemical cocktail of neurotransmitters that tell your body that you've found a potential mate, and drives you to be with them. Symptoms of falling in love can be like an addiction. Mydriasis, or dilation of the pupils occurs, high cortisol levels cause sweaty hands and nervousness, while serotonin, dopamine, and adrenaline keep you coming back for more. It's ten-billion percent addictive, and can make you have withdrawals due to a little thing called corticoliberin, which can cause stress, anxiousness, and even depression while separated from that special person.
MECHA SENKU OUT! ===
Senku stared at the table, not sure quite what to think. He had already thought this out a million different times and a million different ways, and it was becoming harder and harder to hide his true and messy new emotions around her… Though he hated to admit to himself. He felt angry for allowing himself to become so close with her. It was never his intention for this to happen. Kohaku had a way about her that just seemed to overtime grow on him. He was truly good friends with her, what had happened? He hadn't been attracted to her when they first met, yes, she was attractive he supposed in a way that most would find beautiful and dangerous, but that wasn't him to just fall for someone, in fact, he had never really felt any sort of romantic attraction or otherwise ever with anyone, so why her? Why now?
Hand to his chin, deep in thought, he clutched a glass beaker in his free hand, twirling it to work out the activity his brain was racing through, like he had to work it out physically in some way or he'd be pacing. Why was it… That after these years… He felt a flicker of something so foreign… It's not like she had changed or that he felt he had, but rather…. It was like she had suddenly become, more to him. Suddenly, he found himself starting to admire her, to wonder, to want to be closer to her…
He felt his heart quicken as he remembered the hug. His cheeks growing warmer. He took notice of it quickly, almost fearfully.
There goes my doped-up on love brain again... All that happened was a hug. Yet my mind is racing... Take a deep breath man, it's not that big of a deal. Just freakin' terrifying is all.