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When you start up, it’s dark. It feels hazy, like you’re stuck in a layer between being asleep and being awake. But you can’t move or speak or open your eyes and for some reason you’re… scared. You tell yourself to stay calm and remember what happened before you woke up in this state…
Oh yeah…
You were fighting a monster… Your body was already battered and broken to the point where your limbs weren’t functioning correctly. You wanted to beat it… your blood was boiling and you wanted so badly to make Saitama proud of you that you didn’t retreat when you obviously should have. Instead, you attacked it head on, right as it was about to blast…
And you broke.
You remember feeling something different from what you feel when your body is normally destroyed… someone was screaming something… They sounded upset…
The sound of voices cut through the frightening silence.
“Doctor it’s been three weeks! When’s he coming back?”
…Saitama?
“I’m sorry Saitama… I’m trying, but he suffered pretty extensive brain damage… Though his body is fully rebuilt, it will take his brain longer to heal. I’m doing all I can. Only time can tell now…”
Doctor Kuseno?
“…Thank you… I’m sorry. I know this is hard on you as well… I’m just… I’m so scared…” A harsh sob cut off Saitama’s sentence. What’s going on? Why’s he crying??
“I know… Thank you for being here for him… He really cares about you.” You hear the doctor say warmly. “I’ll give you some time to talk.”
“Thank you, doctor.” Saitama says, before you hear footsteps and a door close. Its’ quiet for a while, but Saitama speaks before that fear can creep back into the pit of your stomach.
“Hey, Genos… It’s me again.” The name sounds so foreign to you. “Please come back soon…”
Another silence.
“Why didn’t you call me…?”
Silence.
“I thought you were dead… Hell! For a while, even the DOCTOR thought you were dead!” A chuckle. Then silence.
“Please…” Nothing more than a small whisper.
“I haven’t been able to eat or sleep for weeks...”
“I’m so tired, Genos… I need to know you’re okay… I need you to come back.”
The man is sobbing again. It hurts so much to hear him cry… You wish he would stop. You feel a warmth on your head.
His kissed you.
So
So delicately. Almost as if him doing anything more than a peck would destroy you.
You feel warm streaks running down your face.
You no longer see black.
“Saitama…?” You inhale sharply. The voice is weak. Nothing more than a static-y whisper. Is that yours? Saitama is staring at you, eyes wide in surprise, telling you that it was.
He’s thinner than you remember… Dark circles under his eyes and cheeks hollow, it makes something heavy form in your gut.
Saitama’s face crumbles, tears falling over his cheeks, before he picks you up and wraps you in his arms. Strong, but more comforting than anything you could ever imagine.
“Oh my God!” He chokes out. Low drawn sobs escape from him and you soon find yourself crying too as you both slide to the floor holding each other as tight as you can. “Oh thank God you’re okay.” He pulls you away and soon his lips are pressed on yours.
It’s electric. You can feel the kiss running all the way through your body before he pulls away and nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck.
“Please don’t do that again…” He whispers. His voice is rough and shaky, completely matching his own composure. “Please… I don’t know if I can go through this… losing you… losing the only person I care about.” He’s shaking again and pulling you closer. “I need you to promise me you won’t do that again.”
A door opens and a mug shatters on the cold concrete below it.
“GENOS!” Doctor Kuseno shouts. “My boy! You are awake! How are you feeling?” You go to get up.
“Doctor! I-” Then you’re pulled back down and staring Saitama in the eyes, his face more serious than you’ve ever seen them.
“No. Not yet. I need you hear you promise.” You’re stunned, staring intently at his deep brown eyes. “Promise me. Please. Promise me you won’t EVER fight without me by your side!” You glance up at Kuseno, him looking entirely as shocked as you are.
“Saitama…” You swallow hard and feel Saitama loosen his grip slightly. “Saitama I… I have to get stronger...” Saitama’s face hardens.
“GENOS, YOU ARE STRONG!” He shouts, his voice quickly disintegrates. “You're stronger than me in so may ways, Genos... But I- I need to be there for you. I need to be by your side to protect you... I just… I need to know that you’re okay…”
“…Please…”
“I just… I don’t know if I can promise you that, Sensei…”
“Just… Humor me, will ya…” His voice is so weak…
“I promise.”
Saitama’s eyes close as he entirely relaxes, pulling you into another crushing embrace. Still slightly in shock, you look again to Kuseno, who is looking extremely pleased. He gives you what looks like an approving nod and you relax, wrapping your arms around the older man.
“I love you Genos…”
It was so quick and so quiet, you were sure that it was only meant for your ears.
“I love you too, Saitama.”
You’re surprised that the words came so naturally. But you knew they were true… before you knew it, you were head-over-heels for this man. And you couldn’t be happier.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you two finally get to go home, Saitama nearly collapses from exhaustion.
“How long have you gone without sleeping?” You ask, dreading the answer.
“Well… I only really slept when I became too exhausted to stay awake… Even then it was only when I was at the Doctors with you… and only for few hours every three days or so…” He said dryly. It hurts you so much to know he was in so much pain while you were undergoing repairs…
“I’m so sorry…” It feels heavy on your chest, but you say it because you know he needs to hear it.
“You’re here now… That’s all I care about.” He says holding your hand a little tighter with what little energy he has left.
“Let’s get you to bed.” He looks like he’s going to protest for a minute, but agrees nodding his head weakly.
“Yeah… okay.” He says quietly.
You lay him down and cover him up in his futon, his hand continuously poking out to make sure that you’re there. So, eventually, you just crawl into his futon with him, and he openly allows it, his head on your chest and your legs intertwined. He’s tense, eyebrows knit together, something on his mind clearly not allowing him to relax.
Its quiet for a while.
"Genos..."
"Hmm?" You hum.
“You’ll still be here when I wake up, right…?” The worry in his eyes pangs at your chest. You hold him closer.
“Yeah, I will.” A long pause between the both of you. “I promise.”
“I love you Genos…” You smile and he holds you closer. And this time you don’t give it a second thought.
“I love you too.”
You place a small kiss on the top of his head. “I won’t ever leave you alone again…”You’ve made up your mind. No matter what happens, you will make it back after defeating the mad cyborg. Because your life isn’t just your own anymore and you will live it, not only for yourself… but for him. You pull him as close as you can.
“I promise.”