Work Text:
Saiki was never the one to care for romance- no, he didn’t just not care, he actively avoided it. Teruhashi, Yumehara, Auira Mikoto…No matter how pretty the girl, he avoided them like the plague, doing everything in his power to make them get over him. So, it’s no wonder that he himself got surprised when he realised he was developing a crush…
‘Good grief .’
It didn’t even start as a crush, rather it was fascination. Saiki’s constant x-ray vision made it impossible to look at people normally. A few seconds of looking at them and he sees through their skin, a few seconds more and he can tell if they have a broken bone before a doctor does. So, when he first saw the new transfer student in his class, really saw them, like a normal person, he was surprised to say the least. He met people his telepathy didn’t work on – Nendou, and now this mysterious new person being one of them, (he figured out it was the germanium earrings they were wearing that was blocking that) – but the x-ray not working was new. His mind was consumed by them, trying to figure them out.
He tried following them around (nothing weird about that, he does it with his friends nuisances too, to make sure they were alright didn’t cause him trouble) But it was to no avail. They acted normal, almost as normal as Satou, but they had some quirks. He even turned to the other two psychics he knew, but they weren’t much help either. Their aura was nothing out of the ordinary, their guardian spirit was just some guy.
Increasingly frustrated he tried the thing he didn’t want to, talking to them. Immediately the person wanted to be his friend. Annoying, but at least it gave Saiki a reason to be around them without being seen as a stalker. Even then, deciphering this mystery took longer than anticipated. They were shy, it was harder to get information out of them compared to the others following him around. It was kind of nice, finally someone who wasn’t pushy and respected his space. But Saiki was nosy and wanted to get to the bottom of it.
‘ Good grief, I actually have to try and act like a friend if I want to get anywhere with this… ’
Going to Saiki’s favourite café together became common practice, them liking sweets too was a pleasant revelation. These moments were surprisingly pleasant. No distracting thoughts in his mind (other than the people around him), and they could look each other in the eye without Saiki seeing their skull. It almost, almost felt like he was a normal teenager having a normal friend. Something Saiki always wished for. (Although they were not friends. He doesn’t have friends) He didn’t admit it, he would never admit it, but their hangouts started to be more for Saiki’s actual enjoyment rather than investigation. Even inviting them over to his house sometimes. It turned out they shared more in common than he thought.. Reading the same manga, watching the same shows. And silence didn’t feel awkward. They didn’t feel the need to speak just to fill the time and God, did Saiki appreciate that. He sometimes caught himself staring at them as they read. But he didn’t give it much thought. It wasn’t everyday he could look at someone without the x-ray vision acting up.
It was at one of these times Saiki made a breakthrough. He noticed a ring on their finger as they were reading a manga besides him. It was shiny and sculpted with great detail, how did he not notice it before?
“Did you always wear that ring?” He asked, having to use his actual voice, the germanium earrings blocking his telepathy both ways (he learned that the hard way).
They looked up curiously at Saiki, a little startled as the silence between them suddenly broke. “Hm? This? Yeah- I found this shiny crystal by a river a few years ago. Mom’s a jewellery maker so I asked her to make it into a ring for me…” They answered as they slowly wiggled the ring off of their finger, handing it to Saiki so he could look at it closely. He carefully took the jewellery in his hand, examining it. It really was beautiful, but he had no idea what the crystal was. He has never seen something like it before. As he looked up to hand the ring back, he was so startled he jumped back on the bed.
“Saiki!? Is everything okay, did you see a bug?? I’ll kill it for you!!” They yelped, looking at Saiki’s shocked expression, before frantically looking around for any kind of insect that dared to disturb their friend.
“No… it’s not it…” The psychic muttered as he calmed down from his shock, now facing a skeleton on his bed….
‘So that’s why the x-ray didn’t work… so anticlimactic… ’ He sighed to himself, giving back the ring. Once they put it back on, he saw them normally once again.
‘Good grief.’
He started to avoid them after that, telling himself he got what he wanted. They weren’t a secret psychic like himself, dark reunion wasn’t behind them, no reason to hang out anymore. They weren’t friends anyway. But he couldn’t shake the feeling he was missing them. That was bullshit, he never misses anyone, he would rather always be alone… and yet, there was this longing in his chest he couldn’t recognize. He tried to push it down deep but, every time they looked at him with those sad eyes as he rejected their plans, it bubbled back up again. When did he start to care?
“Saiki’s been avoiding me. I don’t know what I did wrong…” He heard them talking with Kaidou, not realising the boy in question was in earshot behind them.
‘ No- it’s not you- you did nothing wrong- ’ The psychic’s thoughts rambled in his mind, sadness falling onto his features, uncharacteristic of him. ‘ Why does it hurt to see you sad…? ’ Still, he continued to brush these questionable feelings away. It was harder to admit how he felt than hide it.
This new situation confused Saiki, it kept him up at night, the thought of it distracting him in class, swirling in his head while eating out with Nendou. Instead of wanting to go home like usual, he wanted to hang out with them. They could be getting coffee jelly together- no, NO! not that- his mind is just playing tricks on him. He didn’t mean that, right? This ramen is terrible, of course he’d rather be in a café… regardless of who’s he’s with… right?... well maybe it would be a little better with them there.
It got to the point where just seeing them made his stomach chur, his mind dizzy. He surely was going crazy- it couldn’t be a crush! Saiki Kusuo having a crush?? That was unheard of.
He was deep in his thoughts, putting his shoes away at the end of another school day when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He shuddered; he didn’t hear the person coming, and he knew who it was right away. ‘ Good grief, it’s Nendou again with his ramen, I’ll just tell him I’m visiting family or somethi-!! ’
Oh, it wasn’t Nendou. It was the person who made him feel all these stupid things. What did they want? They looked nervous, making the psychic anxious as well.
“Saiki, I noticed you’ve been distancing yourself from me… I don’t know what I did wrong, but I don’t want to cause you trouble. If you don’t want to hang out anymore just tell me.”
‘ Oh- oh no-! ’ He always thought this is what he wanted, finally being left alone, but it doesn’t feel right. He felt like his stomach just did a flip. Sure, he’s been avoiding them, but they were still following him around like the others, he didn’t think- he didn’t plan for them to stop.
He frantically shook his head and arms, he didn’t know what possessed him. “No! No- I- I don’t want to stop hanging out- I was just- just feeling down…” He stuttered a lie; he’s never done that before. He usually was so collected. This whole situation made him a mess. He tried to read their expression but failed. Damn those germanium earrings.
“Oh-” They sighed relieved, their face softening up. Saiki let out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding in. “In that case… Do you want to go to the café with me?…we haven’t been in a while” They asked softly, hoping for a yes, and Saiki couldn’t really say no.
By the time they got to their tables the sun was setting, casting the café in a warm yellow light. Saiki looked up from his dessert, noticing their eyes shimmering with a golden hue. A light blush spreading on his cheeks, he didn’t even care to hide it.
‘ Good grief, I really do like you ’