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Winter had begun not that long ago in the Kingdom Of Science, and it’s hellishly cold out now. The snow glistens in the moonlight, with a quiet, shivery breeze projecting the blistering cold air into every place it can.
The Scientist and the Mentalist are sitting in the observatory together, watching the snow fall and the stars sparkle. Their breaths become small white puffs, the warmth unfamiliar to the icy wind.
“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” Gen smiles, glancing at his partner. “Wouldn’t you agree, my dear Senku?”
“Eh, not really.” Said Scientist replies, picking at his ear with his pinky finger.
There he goes again, the strategic one thinks. He’s as serious as ever… Honestly, I’d be surprised if he did say or do something sappy at all! But that’s just how he is…
“Really? I thought you liked the stars. Am I misremembering?”
Senku waves his hand, a little smirk forming on his face. “I’m messing with ya, Gen. Yes, it’s nice,” he stops, considering what to say next. “Though, it’s nothing to make a big deal about.”
“Hmm…”
One of the downsides to staying in this observatory is the fact that… There isn’t any heating… None at all. It’s freezing here, and with no warmth, it makes the temperature unbearable…
Gen notices the shorter boy’s slight shivering, and shifts a little closer to him; and once he’s close enough, he leans to rest his head on Senku’s shoulder.
“Weird…” The genius mutters…
And the magician pretends to be offended by such a comment. “I’m weird?”
“We’re weird. For being like this. And hiding it…”
“It cannot be helped,” he sighs, reaching down to intertwine his fingers with the other’s. “A relationship—or should I say a partnership—such as ours is unheard of in this Stone World…”
“Yeah…”
It is true that nobody from this small village (aside from a select few?) has heard of the concept of homosexuality—that they do not comprehend it in the slightest. They may not respond to it with hate, but they certainly will view it as something strange and abnormal. People might stare, or even begin to bombard these two with questions.
The cold wind is getting worse… Perhaps closing the roof will help?
But… he does not want to leave his “partner’s” side. He wishes to stay here; watching the stars shine and the snow glisten in its light. What he wants is to preserve this moment—to hold it tight in his heart forever and not let go. He would desire nothing more than to kiss Senku as much as he will allow him to. Such a thing is impossible, as the ever-so curious Chrome is just a floor below them—snoring away while oblivious to the conversations upstairs.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about there, Gen?” Senku asks, noticing how the boy beside him nuzzles into his shoulder. It seems to catch the two-tone haired one off guard, similar to how a cat would react to being petted without being aware of someone behind it.
“Wah!? Umm… Nothing important, really…”
“I’m ten billion percent sure it is important. To you, that is.”
Choosing to admit the truth, Gen breathes out a defeated sigh. “You got me…”
“So? What is it?”
“I want you,” he starts, and the Scientist wonders if he’ll just stop there and not continue, believing that it’s just another one of his stupid statements or something. “To tell me about the stars.”
And for some strange, unexplainable reason, the first thing Senku thinks is you’re prettier than the stars. This sort of thought entering his mind feels odd and embarrassing, causing him to be flustered as a blush appears on his cheeks—turning away whilst he mutters: “You damn mentalist…”
“Huh?”
“You’re serious? Like, actually?”
“Yeah. Surely there’s a difference between the stars from three-thousand seven-hundred years ago and today, right?”
“If you fall asleep while I’m talking I won’t be happy…”
“I’m intrigued as is, so go on—I don’t even care if you talk all night…”
“Okay, then, well… Did you know that the north star doesn’t point true north anymore?”
“What!?”
“I found that out shortly after I met Chrome and Kohaku, back when they were still clueless idiots and knew barely anything about science, calling it ‘sorcery’. In short, the Earth’s axis has been slowly shifting over the past few thousand years, and now the north star has moved away from where it was in the twenty-first century.”
“N-No way… That’s absolutely insane…”
“Heh heh… Of course you’d react like that. It’s no surprise to me, really.”
“And is there anything else you want to tell me…?”
“I—” Senku pauses. Is Gen really letting him talk about anything without complaint? Or is this one of his tricks; solely for messing with the Scientist’s mind? Whatever the case, his words are stuck in his throat—like some sort of animal or bug; too scared to come out of its shell.
For some unknown reason, Senku cannot think of an interesting topic to speak about. No, he cannot think of a topic that will interest Gen. He’s not thinking about himself at this moment—he’s thinking of Gen Asagiri. The boy in which he had once called a “quack magician”. The person right beside him, all soft and loving like a stray cat that found a nice, warm home—and someone to share that home with.
What have I gotten myself into…? He wonders. Yes, what has he gotten himself into? What has caused his mind to run blank; what is the meaning behind this odd confusion? There are hundreds of questions in his mind, the majority of which will stay unanswered.
“Senku,” Gen whispers, snapping the intelligent one out of his half-confused-half-frustrated daze. “Is something the matter?”
“Nah, it’s… It’s not that.”
“So then what is it…?”
“You,” he says, prodding the Mentalist on his cheek. “You’ve found a way to get into my head, and mess with my thoughts so you take up around forty-five percent of my brain’s priorities, didn’t ya?”
“Whaaaaat? No, I’m not capable of doing those azy-cray feats, trust me!”
“Then why—just why—can’t I get you outta here?” Senku asks, tapping his own forehead—referring to his mind. “It’s stupid, and you’re taking up valuable space in there, too…”
Ah, the other boy realises. This is likely his way of saying he likes me—loves me, but… will never admit it. He doesn’t exactly care for that nonsense anyway…
Senku is not the kind of person to be interested in romance, yet he still makes some time for this one person in particular. He doesn’t have to—he doesn’t need to, but perhaps he yearns for the feeling of comfort and warmth, even if it seems wrong to others; even if it means that this one person has to help him out a lot more than they want to; even if the two have to keep it a secret for god knows how long.
Loneliness is something that nobody should ever feel. Though, deep down, Senku does feel a little lonely… It is true that when he broke out of the strange stone, he was all alone. Despite not being on his own now, it feels like there’s a hole somewhere in his chest—that wishes to be filled—and it hurts. It hurts.
He does not have time to mess around with the stupid concept called love, but even so, he is unable to control himself from feeling it in a place he can’t locate within the expanse of his body or mind.
“I’m glad you’re here.” He mumbles, diverting his eyes away from Gen. He will not say things like I love you or I worry about you. Instead, simple sentences similar to is there something you want to make? and thanks for helping out today make for a somewhat decent substitute. “Uh, anyways… it’s getting late.” He states as he stands up with a grunt.
“I did notice that… How about we pick up this conversation another time?”
“A—Another time, yeah… right…” Senku nods. The fatigue from a few days ago—from when he explored that cave with Chrome and Magma—is starting to come back to him. Hauling around all those rocks and minerals was no easy task, and falling into a mica pit wasn’t exactly pleasant, either… Rest is what the Scientist needs right now.
He stumbles towards where his makeshift bed is, wishing it had a mattress he could dive face-first into. Even after covering himself in the leather blanket, he still feels cold… He watches as Gen closes up the roof of the observatory, then prepares to head downstairs.
“Wait,” he pleads. No, this is dumb, I shouldn’t… “Stay up here.”
At this, the Mentalist is quick to understand what his partner is requesting. But why? Why does Senku want to rest beside this other boy? He knows that it’s not wrong, plus it would help to get warmer, yet he still has the overwhelming urge to hide that side of him…
Gen carefully steps away from the round wooden door, making his way back over to where his favourite person is. He climbs under the ‘blanket’ and glances at Senku’s relaxed frame. It’s gorgeous, he decides, draping an arm over the genius’s upper half.
It seems that the genius in question has already fallen asleep. It’s not much of a surprise, really, what with how exhausted he’s been.
“Rest well, dear Senku. Don’t push yourself with work tomorrow, okay?”
If Senku was awake right now, he’d probably tug at Gen’s ear and say “shut up, I don’t need to hear any of that crap,” but he isn’t. The magician sighs in relief since he won’t have to deal with such a thing tonight.
And with that, Gen tucks a lock of hair behind his ear, and attempts to join his dear in a peaceful slumber, while the stars shine up above them, alongside the light of the moon. Tomorrow will come, and they will experience new things. They will make new memories—with everyone around them, unknowing of what their relationship truly is. Perhaps that isn’t a bad thing, though. Only time will tell, won’t it?