Chapter Text
ㅤOn the day the guy from your AP art class that you'd been eyeing for several weeks finally asked you out to the dance, you sprinted to Senku's house to tell him.
ㅤKnowing each other for years now, it was just natural that he was the first person you'd alert.
ㅤNot even your nice friends that complain about schoolwork and convince you to go out with them once a week instead of studying, or your classmates that you only speak to in class when there's nothing to do who ask you for answers and notes during breaks, but Senku.
ㅤThe guy who's most likely to either solve climate change or become a dictator and involve you in his madness either way.
ㅤYou don't know when exactly it hit you that you wanted to start doing less advanced schoolwork and more socializing, but you did know that Senku wasn't interested in it. He was always trying to drag you away from your friends to pull you back in the lab, putting you through Olympic sports level studying over college courses you weren't even planning to take, and running statistics on socialization to prove to you how useless it is compared to science.
ㅤSure, it was probably sweet in Senku's weird way of showing his care, but this time, you got asked out.
ㅤTo a school dance.
ㅤThis is revolutionary for you.
ㅤ"Hate to break it to you, but you're gonna have to cancel your little dance date thing," Senku interrupted, right when you were describing how the guy smoothly asked you after class.
ㅤ"What?" You blinked. "Why?"
ㅤ"I need your help setting up the telescope so we can compare Saturn's moons' orbits over the course of the night. Visibilty rate is the best on the night of the dance before the weather decides to start coating everything in snow," he said casually. Senku hadn't spared so much so a glance since you started talking.
ㅤWith him in his chair, scribbling down notes—probably memorizing each of Saturn's moons—you sat on his bed, fidgeting with a rubix cube in your lap.
ㅤ"Who's we? I'm going to the dance, Senku. You can collect your data by yourself because I'm not skipping out on this just for you." You rolled your eyes. "Ask Taiju, maybe."
ㅤ"Taiju's going with Yuzuriha, and I'd rather disturb your night over theirs because they have a more solid relationship than you and your little art buddy do."
ㅤYou huffed. Arguing over whose date should be prioritized more was useless.
ㅤ"Then you're on your own, Senku. I want to go. I got asked," You stated.
ㅤSenku sighed and put down his pencil. "You're gonna regret it, ten billion percent." He turned to face you, but didn't exactly meet your eyes. "Gen told me that guy is an entrepreneur in asking girls out over bets for money."
ㅤYou frowned. "Are you saying I'm more likely to be a bet than a real date?" Your hands fell slack in your lap.
ㅤ"I'm saying that you need to think more logically about the people around you." He gestured towards the space around you with his hand then stood up and flicked your forehead. "Use that supposed brain of yours to make better decisions, idiot."
ㅤYou rubbed your forehead, it didn't hurt at all. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, you're not a licensed therapist and I don't feel comfortable taking life advice from someone who watches petri dishes for entertainment."
ㅤSenku turned back around, a smirk peeking at the corner of lips. He scoffed. "Alright, see through the consequences of your actions. Not my problem."
—
ㅤOh how you loathe how right Senku is every time.
ㅤSitting in one of those cheap, black chairs the dance committee laid out at a table only you were at, your date was over an hour late and it was just now starting to sink in.
ㅤYou got stood up.
ㅤThis is unbelievable.
ㅤWith a sigh, you stopped your relentless tapping on the table and placed your chin in your hand as you watched everyone with sonder.
ㅤYour friends were occupied with their own dates. Taking pictures, dancing, sneaking off to make out in a bathroom stall, things you've never really pictured yourself doing but sometimes wished you could. More or less because you craved the real experience and making memories and not because you wanted a pair of lips trailing bacteria and saliva down your neck.
ㅤYeah, maybe you could cross that one off as unnecessary.
ㅤYou checked the time on your phone. 10:38 PM. Might as well go for a walk and rethink everything about your life, then come back with a new identity.
ㅤOne step outside and you had already made another regret: not bringing a thicker jacket.
ㅤHumiliation was stronger than your need for warmth, so you walked down the steps and strode into the night.
ㅤNo particular destination, just listening to the sound of the cool breeze, clacking of your accessories, and your shoes hitting the pavement with each step. A car or two would drive by and you'd wonder if they thought you were a loner, or maybe a runaway.
ㅤPassing a lampost, you grazed your fingers over the pole and observed the light and shadows sharply reacting to your bone structure. Your gaze softened at such a simple sight. Maybe if things had gone well, that hand would be warmer, held by the art guy who apparently profited over your emotional expense.
ㅤ"I can't help but respect the hustle. I would've done it for the yen, too," you softly whispered to yourself. You took a few more steps then collapsed on the bench next to the post, shivering at the cold.
ㅤYou sighed as you tilted your head up towards the moon, your breath coming out as white wisps. For a moment, you only counted the stars you could see.
ㅤThen warm tears began to trace your cheeks.
ㅤIf you weren't freezing cold, you would have lifted a hand or two to wipe them away. But it's okay. There's nobody around. You walked far enough to guarantee that. It's pretty stupid to be crying over something so trivial. You've shed a few tears over exams, failed experiments, teacher comments, normal things that you deemed worthy crying over because they were failures—important things that slipped past your logical thinking.
ㅤThis wasn't like that. This wasn't a test below 80% or a shattered beaker, this was your emotions. A consequence you couldn't have foreseen like you could with a grammatical error. All you did was say yes. All you wanted was a date.
ㅤYou closed your eyes, taking shaky breaths.
ㅤ"Moon, why does nothing ever go right for me?" You asked quietly, as if a round rock in earth's orbit could offer you comfort.
ㅤYou tilted your head back down and wiped the tears onto your sleeves.
ㅤ"... What the hell are you doing here?"
ㅤ"WHAT the FUCK, Senku—" you flinched and snapped your head towards the voice, recognizing him immediately. "—where did you—?"
ㅤ"Answer my question first," he deadpanned. Senku was wearing a much better coat than you were. Regular pajama pants, too, and bedhead hair.
ㅤYou turned your head away, still attempting to fix your whole crying situation. "I'm on a walk. Th—the school gym was crowded."
ㅤ"Uh huh." Reluctancy to tell the truth detected. Senku settled on analyzing you and piecing together what actually happened instead—not like it'd be hard, he saw this coming a week ago.
ㅤHe gave a dramatic sigh. "Move over."
ㅤHesitantly, you made room for him on the bench. He sat a little too close. No, that's probably you.
ㅤ"Art freak ditched you?"
ㅤSilence.
ㅤ"I'll take that as a yes. All your critical thinking deficient friends too busy to accompany you?"
ㅤSilence.
ㅤ"Damn, rough night."
ㅤ"Don't say it," you muttered, lowering your head a bit more.
ㅤHe smirked. "Say what?" He teased, leaning closer to you for more effect. "I told you—"
ㅤ"Senku," you stopped him, voice coming out with less confidence and stability than you intended. You sniffled.
ㅤSenku leaned back on the bench and stared straight ahead for a moment of silence. Uncomfortable silence, significantly on his part.
ㅤWere you crying? He could've deducted that from the sight of you moping on the bench earlier when he started walking here, but he sincerely hoped you weren't because he wouldn't know how to deal with that—how to make you feel better.
ㅤHe'd seen you cry before... from afar... with someone else handling it. After all these years, he still didn't wouldn't know what to do exactly.
ㅤOne time, you cried over a failed math test because your friends wanted to take you somewhere fun the night before. They said you worked too hard and that it was important for you to relax every now and then. Senku disagreed with their beliefs, always encouraged you to study more. When you started crying, he thought only about how he was right. When your friends started frantically apologizing, comforting you until you started smiling and laughing again, he wondered if he was wrong.
ㅤLogically, no, not at all.
ㅤEmotionally?
ㅤSenku never bothered with your questionable taste in the people you surround yourself with until then. He realized he forgot to factor in your emotional need for connection, experience, and comfort, and that's why you stuck around those gossipy idiots, half of whom are failing in at least two subjects.
ㅤSenku clicked his tongue and spoke up. "Look, you got stood up by some kid who'll probably be a deadbeat when he grows up, who cares? You'll live. You should be more above this, genius."
ㅤYou shifted slightly. "That's not helpful."
ㅤHe shrugged. "Tch, this isn't my sort of thing to do so have some empathy."
ㅤHe glanced at you and heard a soft chuckle. He smiled. Laughter, good. Clear sign of positive improvement in emotional recovery.
ㅤ"Then why are you trying?" You snickered, leaning back on the bench and tilting your head towards him. The thought of Senku Ishigami, comforting you, was impossible in the way that it was hilarious.
ㅤSenku looked away, trying not to catch your contagious laugh. "Because you were crying."
ㅤSilence.
ㅤHe leaned back and crossed his arms. You only watched, absorbing that singular sentence. Such a simple reason, yet it meant way too much than it should have coming from Senku.
ㅤHe stared at the street, you stared at him.
ㅤ"Shouldn't you be watching Saturn's moons right now?" You blurted.
ㅤSenku looked at you. Was that it? It was that easy to make you feel better? Noted.
ㅤ"Didn't feel like graphing things myself all night." He shrugged, stretching his legs out. "Went on a walk instead and saw your lonely ass moping on a bench."
ㅤ"Besides," he continued, looking up at the night sky. "this is nice, too. Y'know I'm not only into astronomy because of the scientific details and data, right? I mean, c'mon, any person would be curious of this too." Senku gestured at the sky.
ㅤYou followed his gaze. A small smile spread on your lips, the moon offered you comfort after all.
ㅤSenku went on to list 88 more facts about space with words that had too many syllables to count. You were half listening, half wondering why scientific terms always ended in '-tion'.
ㅤIn the middle of his rant, you pulled out your phone.
ㅤ"12:00 AM, happy New Year, Senku," you joked, smiling at him. "The dance is wrapping up by now. I'll just tell my friends I went home early or something." You sighed as you slid lower down the bench, shivering.
ㅤ"Alright, might as well wrap this disaster up too," Senku huffed, standing up with his hands in his pockets. You followed and began walking down the path to your place, Senku walked next to you.
ㅤSilence. Comfortable silence. Just listening to the sound of the cool breeze, clacking of your accessories, and you and Senku's shoes hitting the pavement with each step.
ㅤYou passed by a 24/7 convenience store, glancing up momentarily at the bright light. Senku followed your gaze and stopped walking.
ㅤ"Want something?" He nodded towards the store. You shook your head. He sighed. "Alright, one second."
ㅤSenku took your arm and dragged you into the convenience store.
ㅤYou yelped. "Wh—!?"
ㅤSenku let go of you at the cashier desk, disappearing into one of the aisles. You blinked and made awkward eye contact with the worker.
ㅤYou peeked your head into the shelves. "Senku?" You called out. Senku magically reappeared next to you.
ㅤ"Get yourself a snack or whatever. I'm just looking for something."
ㅤYou shivered. "God, you're like a ghost," you murmured.
ㅤPhone in hand, packet of pastillas in the other. You waited for Senku at the front. He returned with what looked like one of those ice packet things the elementary school office used to hand out to those injury prone kids for bruises and stuff. You decided not to question it. Senku snatched the pastillas from your hand and handed it to the cashier. Before you could pull out your wallet, he had already paid.
ㅤYou narrowed your eyes at him and slowly put your wallet back.
ㅤOn your way out, he pressed something on the ice packet then handed it to you. It was warm.
ㅤ"Ohh, it's a heat pad," you said. Senku nodded.
ㅤ"You looked like you were about to get a secret fourth degree level of frostbite back there."
ㅤYou glared at him but laughed anyway and thanked him, feeling significantly rejuvenated by the warmth. Senku opened your snack.
ㅤ"What are these?" he held one piece up as you two walked side by side. You took one for yourself and popped it in your mouth.
ㅤ"Pastillas," you said, chewing. "They're good, try one."
ㅤSenku ate one and made a face.
ㅤYou snickered at his reaction. "What? Don't like it?"
ㅤHe held the packet up and squinted at the ingredients. "Does this thing have, like, 15 pounds of sugar per serving? Holy." You laughed. "You're going to get one cavity per bite. Never letting you pick snacks again."
ㅤ"I'm sorry, I didn't know you wanted to share in the first place. And if you hate it so much, why are you eating more?" You glared, taking the packet back before Senku could toss another piece in his mouth.
ㅤ"I was stating facts, not my true opinion," he countered. "Your taste in convenience store snacks are nutritiously inefficient, but admittedly, not bad." Senku made a hand gesture as he spoke.
ㅤThe rest of the walk to your house was—for one, warmer, and a lot nicer than what you expected with that AP art classmate.
ㅤIn retrospect, you didn't know why you said yes in the first place. It wasn't like you two were super close. It was clearly a one-sided crush. Senku called him a distraction. You knew that. And yet, caught up in the moment of when he asked you after class, you said yes.
ㅤYou made impulsive decisions sometimes. It's a good thing Senku knows how to knock sense into you. Never is it polite nor gentle, but he does it without being prompted, and is always conveniently there for you when it ends in disaster—painfully accurate according to his prediction.
ㅤYou snuck a glance at him while you walked in that same, slow pace, as if you were mutually savouring the moment.
ㅤSenku, the guy who would either solve climate change or become a dictor and involve you in his madness either way, cheered you up, bought you a heat pad and a snack, and then walked you home.
ㅤAre you just now realizing this?
ㅤRealizing him?
ㅤYou faced forward once again, ignoring the heat rising to your cheeks.
ㅤFuck. This is going to be your worst distraction yet.
ㅤ"We're here." Senku's voice snapped you out of the clouds. Your eyes darted from his to your home. You muttered a small "Oh" and started walking towards your door.
ㅤYour hand lingered on the door knob. You could already hear Senku's footsteps fading into the quiet of the night.
ㅤThat's a bit unfair of you, isn't it?
ㅤ"Senku," you called out.
ㅤHe turned around with that unfathomable look, like walking you home was just another task on his to-do list that he was satisfied to check off and not an overly romantic gesture you didn't know he was even capable of.
ㅤ"Thank you." You smiled.
ㅤYou caught a glimpse of his smirk before he turned away.
ㅤ"Don't go accepting any more dates with ridiculous guys without consulting me first," he retorted.
ㅤWith a sigh, you entered your house, kicked your shoes off your aching feet (you walked a farther distance than you thought), and collapsed on your bed, fully content with sleeping in your current attire.
ㅤYou threw the empty packet of pastillas in your trash and left the heat pad on your desk.
ㅤYour phone buzzed in your jacket. You hummed, contemplating whether or not you should fall asleep now or answer that.
ㅤOpening your phone, you squinted at the brightness, scrambling to turn it down. You opened the notification. A text from your friend group.
[name]whre are u??????
did thwy get kidnepaped holy shit guys
vroo i told u their date was sketchy asf like
ㅤYou chuckled at their texts and typed out a reply.
i'm fine lol
i went for a walk and ran into senku.
SO U DID GET KIDNEPAPD😥
no, hs walked me home
wair werent you supposed to be with that guy feom yiur art class?
he stood me up, not a big deal.
senku filled in.
ㅤToo tired to elaborate, you dropped your phone on the bed next to you and began to count stars until you fell asleep.