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During the day everything was loud, everyone was loud. Not a moment of silence. At night, though when the generators hummed low and the villagers drifted to sleep it felt like the world had finally stopped moving long enough for Senku’s thoughts to catch up with him. The stars were beautiful, they were all bright in a way that they never were in the old world. Nights like this without much work Senku would sit in the observatory and stay up late wondering if his dad had seen the same stars he saw now. But he wasn't doing that tonight. He instead was sitting with Taiju in the science shed with one question on his mind. How. Finally he relented and asked. “How do you do it? “ he asked in this exasperated tone that made Taiju raise an eyebrow, “How do you do what?”. Taiju looked at Senku strangely, Senku was the smartest person he knew, how could he not know something? Hell Senku made a love potion, not that he has used it but he still managed to make it.
“I don't know,” Senku sighed. “How do you do feelings? Like hypothetically saying someone thought they might like someone, how would they go about it all. I mean I used to think you and Chrome were illogical, and oblivious when it came to Ruri and Yuzuriha, but I don't get it. How can someone be near someone else and not know if that feels the same, if they don't know what to do, if they do what to do, there are so many ways it could play out and just so many variables. How do they do it? Hypothetically.“
That had Taiju taken back. Senku was asking about love? That surprised him. Senku had outright rejected several of the prettiest girls at school or the village. He'd told them to their faces he wasn't interested. But now his ever confident, smart, and albeit a little crazy friend was asking about love? It was strange. But it got Taiju intrigued. “You have a crush on someone Senku?” Senku looked at Taiju over the glass table with a look that could scare death, but not Taiju he's always had some kind of cheat code for life, “Who's the lucky lady to steal your heart away from the periodic table?? Ooo is it Homra? Ruby? Francois? Wait no Francois isn't a girl they're nonbinary. Umm could it be-”
“You're not going to guess it, you big oaf give up already.” Senku said, elbowing the brunette. He should have known this would happen. Taiju was incapable of keeping his mouth closed and even more so of not asking questions. But still he was Senku’s best friend, qualities Senku loved in him also were a pain sometimes. A double edged sword if you will.
“I can still try”
“With how you're going you won't get it in ten billion years.”
“Is it Kohaku? Sapphire? Minami? Am I getting anywhere close here? “
“Not at all, and you still haven't answered my question. “
“Wait, you're serious about that?”
“Yes, why would we be sitting out here this late rather than you doing whatever you do and me in the observatory staring at balls of gas in the sky.“
“Well um shit-” Taiju said looking at Senku, really looking, Senku had bags under his eyes, his face was slightly flushed, the tips of his ears were slightly more red. Senku wasn't making eye contact, instead staring at the walls of chemicals and minerals, his lips weren't chapped like they had been recently with winter coming. It was strange especially seeing Senku ask for advice even if it was clearly for himself and not a hypothetical. The way I've always looked at it” Taiju continued. “You-” “someone not me, this is all hypothetical” Taiju rolled his eyes. “Someone, likes someone right? Well that's all there really is too. It’s like gravity, you can't deny it's there once you know it. Even if it was always there and they didn't have a name for it. Once you know it’s there you can’t stop noticing it. It's this feeling, a want to be closer, to see them smile, to want them to think good of you. You can't turn it off. You want to impress them, make them happy, be around them like the earth orbits the sun. It's this feeling that's like a level above happiness, you want to be around and see them happy, impress them and want them to feel the same way you do but even if they don't and they say something mean that hurts yourself confidence you have to take that chance because love is the best feeling you could have, everyone should be able to experience it once even if it's just platonic. It's like this whole new world has been unlocked by this one person and it makes it feel as if everything can be okay even when it's not. It's hard to explain but it's just always there and just the best feeling ever.“ Taiju explained throwing some science references in there too for Senku. He hoped it made sense to his friend. If not, well then he tried. He took a breath and continued
“And not knowing if they feel the same hurts, but it also leaves you endlessly curious. It makes you want to try to make them like you, be better so that they will. But it also makes you scared, scared that this feeling, this great feeling, could be turned against you, turned into a hurt you can't even begin to imagine if they don't feel the same. If they use it against you, but you want them to be happy so you don't care. You don't care if they hurt you or say something mean but if they do, it'll stick in your head and it might make you think bad about yourself and make you think you never had a shot. But you need to take it anyway. Because even if there is the slightest chance you have to take it because love feels that good. It's this unexplainable happiness and everyone should be able to feel it at least once even if not romanticly.“ Senku slowly nodded, still staring at anything other than Taiju. After a beat he looks up at him.
“And what if this was harder because of sexualities? Say hypothetically one person had never thought about it before and then they met the other.” “Oh, that would complicate things-” Senku put his head on the table, “I could have told you that” “well um, if its another dude just ask them how they feel about-” “hypothetical, and that would never work, dumbass would see through any mental tricks or way around asking. Too smart for his own good, too fucking pretty too.” Senku grumbled that last part, making Taiju smile a bit. “Oh is he? Hypothetically of course “ “Yea, the fucking ass hole, his eyes god I don't even know how to describe them, and his stupid fucking hair, I don't know how it even looks like that and I know more than almost anyone else alive right now.”
Taiju was sure Senku knew more than anyone alive right now but he'd heard Senku say ten billion times over to never say you know everything then when you don't know something and someone else does you'll look stupid and like an ass, no matter the subject.
“What else”
“Doesn't matter, we're getting off topic.”
The leaves outside crunched in the autumn season, they had all been so green, now reds, orange and yellows all scattered on the ground. “Probably just an animal “ Senku waved off the sound, paying no real mind to it.
“Okay so what was the issue here, if you hypothetically like someone, that's a good thing right?“
“you know it's not hypothetical just drop it, it was a stupid cover but yes but also no? It's hard to explain, I mean I have no clue if he feels the same way or even is into dudes like that. Hell I didn't know I was into dudes like that. But God, the way he is, something about it, it just gets me. He makes me want to put in more effort, make things better around here because he in my mind deserves better. He's smart, and sly and so sadly attractive “
“Sadly attractive”
“He's not supposed to be that pretty, in this day and age it has to be illegal or something. And like, he's important, so I can't just tell him and fuck every thing up.”
Taiju was thinking he was starting to pick up on who Senku was talking about. “Well what if Someone else asked him for you, or if like it just got casually brought up in conversation?” “No he's too smart, he'd see through it, I mean he even got me with his tricks before.” Yup taiju got a pretty good idea of who it was now. “Would it happen to be a magician you once called trashy, and insulted his books” “shut upppp” Senku said his face flushing, his ears especially red.
“Well I read a thing saying he was Bi back in the old days. “
"Things change, it could have, it could have been a lie for popularity, who knows.“
“I dunno, Gen doesn't seem like that type.”
“Celebrities lie all the time”
“what happened, when did this start, I mean you hated him in the old days. “
“It's going to sound stupid but you remember my birthday? Well when we got back and I was blindfolded I expected he'd used his mentalist tricks to turn the village against me for Tsukasa. But then the blind fold got taken off and I was given an observatory instead, he calculated my birthday based on a comment I forgot I made and the day I broke out the stone.” Senku took a breath before continuing looking at taiju now with a dumb smile on his face that was an entirely new expression on the red eyed man.
“How he knew how much I like the stars is beyond me, but something about that moment, then when we made a pact to go to hell together, and when he chose us over Tsukasa, that. That was surprising, I mean he could have had anything in the Tsukasa empire of strength and he chose us, he chose me over that. For a bottle of cola, he picked us over anything he could have had there. And I don't think I ever really hated him, he was more of that annoying celebrity you don't stop hearing about, like the Kardashians or Taylor Swift. “ Senku finished. Taiju nodded. He understood. To be honest in his opinion gen and Senku wouldn't be a bad match, scary sure, both are geniuses and a horrific duo to go against in anything but they also complemented each other so well, what Senku lacked in person skills gem had and in what gen lacked in scientific knowledge and ability Senku had. Gen could rally the people and Senku could give them a reason to go with it. Perhaps a match made in hell if they were to not have morals.
“Well if you want I could try to have Someone ask him or get it brought up in a way that would make him not suspicious, that way if he's not actually into guys you don't have to be tied to it at all and he wouldn't guess you were? Or I could help you tell him, maybe make something for him, he likes cola, flowers, uhh purple?” Taiju suggested. Senku smiled. “Thats not a bad idea. But we'll have to find a way to go about it-” he cut himself off with a yawn, what time was it. “Man, it's late. If we don't get to bed soon, Yazuriha will notice something is up with us tomorrow. I'd rather not come out to everyone within a span of 24hrs. I'd like to come to my own terms with it, find a label, something that works for me. Then maybe. But let's get to bed for now. “ Senku said, trying to play off how much he needed this conversation tonight, how much he needed tonight in general. Senku got up and was about to walk out when Taiju stopped him, putting his hand on the shorter's shoulder. “Hey, I appreciate you coming to me with this, trusting me. That takes a lot of balls. I'm proud of you, whatever becomes of this. You're my best friend. Nothing changing that any time soon okay? “ taiju said with his warm brown eyes and confident yet caring smile.
“Yea. Thanks man, I needed this.” Senku said, letting Taiju pull him into a hug. “Now it's actually off to bed.” Senku yawned again. “I can't risk the nickel hydrazine perchlorate exploding on me tomorrow.”
Both men left the lab, unaware that outside the shed was a dual haired Mentalist who had heard part of their conversation. Not on purpose of course, he liked the drama but didn't actively stalk people at night for it. He had gone out for some flowers to surprise the kids with, especially with them becoming scarce in the colder season. Gen snuck into the lab after they left and left one of three flowers on Senku’s table where he was sure to see it. He had his own feelings for the scientist for quite a while now. But hearing it from Senku unintentionally. That had sent him over the moon. Gen hurried back to the observatory making it there a few minutes after Senku. Senku looked at him strangely.
“Where were you?”
Gen didn't want to tell him what he and heard, not till Senku was comfortable enough in his own identity and feelings. “I had gone to get some water from the lake, I got lost on the way back, shameful to admit I know but I do just have the most horrid eyesight in the dark” Gen quickly lied. It worked, usually did.
“That's weird, your eye color should provide you with a better sense of night vision due to the lack of melanin in them.”
“You really do know everything, don't you dear Senku?”
Senku rolled his eyes but couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face. “Come on, it's late. Let's just go to bed. We've got a lot of work tomorrow. Me in the lab and you with the Spartan crafts club.“
Gen sighed now realizing how tired he actually was.
“I suppose so. Goodnight Senku, sleep well, sweet dreams.“
“You too mentalist.“