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“Ryusui’s realtors suck ass,” Senku grumbled as he dropped heavily onto Gen's sofa.
Raising an eyebrow, the omega shifted over to give him more room. “That marks seven that you’ve fired in just three weeks. If you’re that picky, maybe you should design your own house. What’s one more to add to the construction list?”
“You try explaining to Ukyo that I want to mess with the civil engineering team,” Senku curled his lip distastefully. “With all the new buildings that have already gone up in the last few years there is no reason it should take more than three or four showings to find a place, but I saw three today and they were all terrible.”
Gen hummed, “How so?”
Senku waved a hand, “They just were. And if one more of these realtors tells me that sometimes it’s hard to find what feels right,” he pitched his voice up, high and nasally, “I’m gonna lose it. Feeling right is not a measurable variable.”
It had taken years and a pregnancy announcement from Chrome and Ruri, but Senku had finally been convinced to look into a place of his own. He’d thought the process would be easy, but three weeks in he was heavily considering just setting up a futon at the lab.
Three weeks of alphas puffing up in staged kitchens and subtly scenting the open-concept living rooms of homes that would need a go-cart and a veritable army of staff to maintain. Three weeks of omega realtors cooing about ‘natural light’ and ‘family potential’ while blatantly batting their eyelashes at him and ignoring his requests for simple, basic layouts. Three weeks of betas watching as he narrowed his eyes at granite countertops and unnecessarily complicated shower heads as if they had personally offended him.
“I think the oblem-pray, Gen said mildly, "is that you don’t actually know what you want,”
Senku scowled. “I want four walls, adequate ventilation, sufficient space for equipment, and a place to put my fucking bed. That’s all I need.”
Gen leaned forward, chin resting in his hand and gaze amused. “That’s not a home, Senku-chan, that’s a bunker.”
“Bunkers are efficient.”
Gen rolled his eyes, but his smile stayed fond. “If that’s all you wanted, you would have said yes to the first place you were shown. You’re still looking, which means there’s something you want that none of those places had.”
Senku grumbled under his breath.
“How about I come along next time? Maybe I can help translate what you’re not saying and emphasize what you are.”
Gen grinned when Senku eyed him skeptically.
“If you remember, I designed the observatory you loved so much,” he drawled. “Even if we ignore my status as a master mentalist and world traveled diplomat-“ Senku snorted and Gen ignored him. “-I’ve lived with you the most often out of everyone we know. I’d say I’m uniquely able to help in this situation.”
Senku grumbled to himself but seemed to mull the idea over.
“Guess it wouldn’t hurt.”
—
“I like how deep the sink is, don’t you, darling?”
Senku felt heat creep up the back of his neck at the unfamiliar pet name, watching as Gen walked through the kitchen of yet another beige home, fingertips brushing the countertops like he belonged there. A soft thread of omega scent slipped through the air behind him - plum wine and jasmine subtle but deliberate.
The newest realtor Ryusui had set him up with had been quick to reassess their approach upon seeing Gen. An unmated omega, surprised to see their client arrive with a companion, who had clearly been hoping to turn a high-end client into a high-end mate.
Gen had swiftly stepped in to dissuade him of the notion.
“Senku-chan can be quite particular,” Gen had said, smiling sweetly at the realtor as he curled his fingers around Senku’s arm, scent layering against his own in a way that made his alpha instincts flare.
“I am not-”
Gen cut him off with a sharp squeeze, nails digging into the crook of his elbow. Senku’s mouth had snapped shut, biting back the rest of his protest as Gen’s scent settled more firmly over him - light, but unmistakably possessive.
The realtor’s nostrils had flared, shoulders falling enough for even Senku to notice before they switched into a more strictly professional role.
As they toured the house, the alpha couldn’t help but marvel at the way he always did when he saw Gen working. It wasn’t a drastic change, the commentary on the many features in line with what he’d expect from the mentalist, but he was making a point to drop casual terms of endearment and tug at him the way Senku had seen Yuzuriha do to Taiju a million times and never thought twice about.
It was a bit jarring at first, having Gen take his hand to drag him towards a closet, calling him “sweetheart”, but after three showings Senku was slowly getting used to it.
“It’s a sink. It holds water.”
Gen hummed, completely unbothered by his snark. “Mm, but a useful sink. Deep enough to clean equipment and wide enough that you won’t be knocking glass against the sides every few seconds.” He glanced over his shoulder, eyes sharp despite his airy tone, “And it’s not one of those ridiculous bowl style ones you complained about at the last place,”
Senku paused. “I didn’t complain about that one.”
“Not out loud, you didn’t,” Gen said slyly, clucking his tongue as he opened a few cabinets to look inside.
The realtor hovered awkwardly in the doorway, eventually clearing his throat. “As you can see, this townhouse is perfect for a young pair. The kitchen opens up into the living room which is great for entertaining.”
Senku wrinkled his nose. Something about the layout irked him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“Hmm, no, I don’t think so,” Gen shook his head, closing the cabinet. “Senku-chan likes a separation between rooms, dedicated spaces.”
Blinking, Senku realized that was exactly why he didn’t like it, looking at Gen in surprise. The omega didn’t notice, having already turned his attention to the realtor fully as they reviewed the slowly growing list of features Senku liked and, more importantly, didn’t like.
They moved on.
By the fifth showing, something had shifted.
Gen's act had refined over the many homes they'd visited, slipping seamlessly into place at Senku's side. He stayed close, touching Senku casually and letting his voice dip into softer registers when addressing him. The realtor had stopped trying to upsell nonsense features and instead focused on practical things like storage and zoning permissions.
Senku noticed.
He also noticed how the realtor had started looking more to Gen for feedback than Senku.
It would’ve been annoying if not for the fact that every observation was delivered lightly, pleasantly - suggestions rather than corrections, and every single one was ten billion percent correct.
“This won’t work.”
Senku glanced up from where he was testing the water pressure in the bathroom sink, “You haven’t even-”
“The hallway is too narrow,” Gen called over his shoulder, already halfway towards the entrance. “You’ll hate having to move equipment through here.”
Brow knitting up, Senku turned off the faucet, “...I wouldn’t-”
“You would,” Gen sing-songed back at him. The moment Senku stepped back into the hallway he paused.
Because… Gen was right. He would hate it.
“...Tch.”
They went on and on, from apartment to condo to house, and Senku slowly had a picture forming in his mind of what he was looking for.
He’d also started picking up on things that Gen liked for himself.
“I do love a good accent wall,” Gen murmured as they looked around a decently sized master bedroom, the back wall a deep shade of burgundy. It was one of the older builds they’d been shown, the most recent tenants having moved to another location within the last few weeks. “The colors are nice, don’t you think?”
“You know I don’t care about decoration,” Senku dismissed, gravitating towards the window. It was a large bay-style, west facing with a soft looking bench tucked under it. “Figured you’d be all over this,”
Gen sidled up close with a considering hum, hand absently resting at the small of his back, “It would be nice to get a sunset every night, wouldn’t it? You complain every winter about the lighting in your office at the lab. The view isn’t too bad, either…”
Senku watched him out of the corner of his eyes, grunting in acknowledgement. Gen’s scent was soft and gentle, relaxed almost as he appraised the sprawl of forest from the window, and Senku couldn’t help but notice how the afternoon light brightened his eyes, golden and warm. It gave an almost green tone to the gray and highlighted the crypts and radial furrows, making them look-
“The ensuite has a dual shower system-”
For some reason, Senku was more annoyed by the realtor than usual. “Too complicated,” he snapped back automatically.
Gen leaned into him gently, his scent rising in a cloud in a way that immediately calmed his brewing anger. “Too many settings and not enough purpose,” he translated smoothly. “He’d use one and ignore the rest.”
The realtor blinked, then nodded. “Of course.”
Senku grumbled, “You don’t have to narrate my entire thought process.”
Gen batted his eyelashes and scrunched his nose cutely, “But that’s what you brought me for, wasn’t it?”
Senku wasn’t quite sure that was the whole reason anymore.
–
They fell into an easy rhythm.
Gen would drift through each space like he’d lived there already, peering into cabinets and opening windows, fingers trailing over fixtures thoughtfully. Senku followed half a step behind more often than not, watching the structure, the layout, the foundation.
And, increasingly… watching Gen.
The next several houses blurred together in his mind, but Gen didn’t.
That was the first thing Senku noticed - how sometime between the seventh and the twelfth showing the “act” had stopped feeling like one.
It wasn’t anything he could put his finger on or really quantify. Gen still turned it on when the realtor was watching - soft smiles and gentle touches, the lilting tone that wrapped around words like darling and dearest. He still layered his scent with deliberate precision, still played the part.
But when the realtor wasn’t looking… it didn’t always stop.
Gen still drifted close, still let his fingertips brush against Senku’s wrist when he wanted his attention, still leaned in just enough that Senku could feel the warmth of him at his side. The pet names slipped less, but the cadence carried back to Senku-chan, making it somehow warmer despite its familiarity.
Senku noticed.
He just… didn’t say anything.
The eighteenth house they saw together was different. Senku felt it the moment he stepped inside.
Not because of scent or staging or the realtor’s pitch.
Because the layout made sense.
A detached garage with enough space to convert into a workshop without disturbing the main house. Thick walls. A decent sized master bedroom with a simple but useful en-suite and a large closet upstairs. A kitchen that wasn’t enormous but had actual ventilation and counter space that was useful instead of decorative nonsense.
Gen wandered into the living room and turned slowly in a circle. “Hm…”
Senku felt his chest tighten, “What?”
“It feels… comfortable.”
They made their way back down the hall into the room Senku had already labeled as a study. Sunlight filtered through tall windows - east-facing that time, morning light. The shelves weren’t built in, but the walls were sturdy. Easy to modify.
“You’d knock that wall out,” Gen said, appearing in the doorway. Senku nodded in agreement, already able to picture it. “Big, long worktables here.”
“Exactly.”
“And probably forget to eat unless someone dragged you to the kitchen.”
Senku paused. “That’s irrelevant.”
Gen stepped further inside, scent deepening into something warm and pleased.
“There’s extra space upstairs,” he said. “For… later.”
“Later what?”
Gen just smiled.
Senku walked through the rest of the home more slowly. He noted a guest room on the second floor that could double as storage but was close enough to the primary bedroom so as not to feel isolated. The kitchen island Gen had paused at, tapping it thoughtfully. The patio where Gen had stood, face lifted to the air as he looked over the small, private backyard.
When they finished the tour, the realtor started his spiel and Senku cut him off.
“I’ll take it.”
Gen’s eyes widened, “Really?”
The realtor looked at him in surprise, “We do have a few others-”
“Nope, this one. It satisfies all necessary conditions.”
Gen stared at him for a long moment before a soft smile crossed his face. “All of them?”
Senku hesitated for just a moment.
“...Yes.”
Gen didn’t call him on it, which, in hindsight, was the second thing he should’ve noticed.
Because normally Gen would have tilted his head, smiled that too-sharp smile, and asked a few casual questions to draw his attention to little things he hadn’t noticed.
Instead, the omega simply stepped closer, “Then I suppose ongratulations-cay are in order, darling.”
The pet name slipped into place almost as naturally as his hand did into Gen’s, their fingers lacing together easily. So much so that Senku didn’t even react to it.
That was the third thing.
—
The purchasing process was, thankfully, much easier than the search had been.
Senku signed what needed to be signed, ignored what didn’t matter, and left the rest to Ryusui’s people. He barely even stepped foot into the house until Chrome demanded to be given a tour in exchange for helping to move things into the new workshop.
“This place is great,” Chrome grinned as, wandering into the living room. “I am so jealous of that worksho- ooh, nice couch. Bet Gen loves it.”
Senku paused. “Huh?”
Chrome dropped onto the couch. “Remember at Taiju and Yuzuriha’s place a few months back when Gen went off about how important couches were for ‘social maneuvering’ or whatever? And it’s all squishy like he likes. Nice color, too.”
Senku stared at the couch, trying to remember if it had been chosen before or after he pawned decorating off onto Ryusui’s team. It was plush but still sleek in design, dark forest green and L-shaped, large enough to sit at least four people comfortably.
Or one omega and a pile of throw blankets.
He followed Chrome as he got up and continued prodding at fixtures and flipping switches, grunting in acknowledgement when it was expected but taking a closer look at things himself.
“Like the kitchen island, dude! I wasn’t sure about ours at first, but Ruri loves it. Lets me sit in the kitchen when she’s cooking without being in the way.”
Senku looked at the countertop where Chrome was tapping his fingers, for a brief moment recalling the way longer, thinner ones had brushed over the surface. He didn’t have time to linger as Chrome trotted his way up the stairs with no hesitation.
“Oh nice, a window bench!” Chrome threw himself onto the cushioned seat set into the window. “This reminds me of that set up Gen had at the observatory, remember? His little tea corner thing?”
Senku went very still.
West-facing windows.
Enclosed backyard.
Kitchen island
Extra room upstairs.
Comfortable.
Space for later.
Realization spread through him, heat rising up the back of his neck and burning his ears. He hadn’t just optimized for himself. He’d optimized for-
Chrome had stopped bouncing, brow knit in contemplation. “Did you buy a house for you and Gen?”
“No.”
“…You totally did,” he grinned.
“No way.”
“Hey man, nothing to be embarrassed about. Hell of a courting gift.” He laughed, “Making the rest of us look bad, giving each other places to live.”
Senku’s alpha instincts, traitorous and smug, reveled at the notion of Gen sharing the space. Accepting such a gift.
Except for the fact that they weren’t courting. Weren’t even dating. Gen hadn’t agreed to anything and Senku hadn’t asked.
And yet…
The house felt incomplete without the faint scent of jasmine and plum wine in its walls.
Chrome’s grin widened as he watched the realization dawn. “Oh my god,” he practically cackled. “You didn’t even know you were doing it!”
“That’s because I wasn’t,” Senku snapped back automatically, which would have been more convincing if he couldn’t feel the heat radiating off his face. “My decision was based solely on structure integrity, location convenience-“
“How cute Gen would look sitting in a bay window,” Chrome snickered.
“Who the fuck even taught you what a bay window was,” Senku grumbled, shoving him towards the door. “Get out.”
Chrome laughed all the way down the stairs, “I am never letting you live this down, consider it payback for years of shitting on me about Ruri,”
Senku just growled, ushering Chrome outside and slamming the door behind him.
The resulting silence was deafening and Senku found himself taking measured steps down the hall. It was different without the sound of a familiar gait walking in time with him. Without commentary called from another room, or the calculated yet gentle press of an omega scent that had threaded through every showing and clung to him for hours - days - after.
Senku found himself in the kitchen, staring at the island.
He could practically see Gen perched on one of the stools, elbows propped up and chin in his hands.
Commenting on dinner, teasing him for forgetting to eat.
The space upstairs.
For later.
His pulse thrummed once, heavy and disorienting, and he pulled out his phone.
—
It took twenty-three minutes for Gen to arrive.
Senku knew because he'd counted.
He stood in the entryway, arms crossed and trying very hard not to pace. The house felt large around him, vacant. Hollow.
When the doorbell rang, he felt his heart rate spike. Opening the door, he found Gen standing in one of his long coats, hair slightly wind swept, eyes bright and assessing. His scent drifted in first, slow and cautious.
Senku stepped back to let him in and the second he did he could feel the house settle around him.
It was immediate. Not dramatically or in some overwhelming biological way.
It just felt… right.
Like a missing calibration falling into place.
“Looks like Ryusui’s team did a nice job,” Gen hummed, looking around the transformed space appreciatively.
Senku grunted, grabbing Gen’s wrist and tugging him further inside. The afternoon light slanted through uncovered windows, catching in Gen’s hair as Senku positioned him at the kitchen island, practically shoving him onto one of the stools.
Gen watched him curiously but obeyed, perching on it with neatly crossed legs. “Should I be orried-way about you conducting some strange experiment with me in an empty house? I should warn you, that sounds far more scandalous than you probably intend.”
Senku stepped back and observed.
Gen, seated at the island. The perfect height to lean over and steal food. A perfect vantage point of the stove, close enough to the study to call down the hall.
He felt something in his chest twist.
“…huh.”
Gen tilted his head, “Huh?”
“Stand up.”
“…stand…?”
Senku waved a hand, “Up. Now.”
Gen’s expression was a strange mix of confusion and amusement, slipping off the stool with a deliberate slowness. He brushed close to Senku as he did, scent taking on a warm, curious note - honey layered beneath jasmine and plum.
Senku took his hand and hauled him towards the stairs.
“Oh my, Senku-chan, already bringing me upstairs? This is escalating ather-ray quickly.”
“Shut up.”
Senku marched him straight to the bedroom, pushing him forward. Gen glanced around, attention focusing on the window bench lit gold in afternoon light.
“Sit.”
Blinking at him once, Gen made his way across the room, shoes clicking on the wooden floor with each step. He settled into the bench with an ease that made Senku’s stomach do flips, one leg tucked beneath him, elbow resting on the window frame, looking at him expectantly.
Perfect.
Annoyingly perfect.
The room changed around him, or maybe just Senku’s perception of it. The light felt warmer, the space smaller - cosier. Lived in.
Exhaling slowly through his nose, Senku closed his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened them, he found Gen watching him curiously, expression carefully neutral, and a single thought crystallized with startling certainty.
“You should move in.”
Gen blinked.
Once.
Twice.
“...I’m sorry,” he said slowly, voice light but edged with something sharper beneath it. “I must have misheard you. It ounded-say like you just asked me to move into your new home.”
“No,”
“Ah, okay-”
“I told you to move into our new home.”
Senku’s words hung in the air between them, heavier than he expected, but he didn’t back down.
“...our?” Gen’s voice was soft, measured, as if testing the idea.
“Yes, our,” Senku said firmly, stepping closer. “Not mine, not yours. Both. You live here and make it… right.”
The corners of Gen’s mouth lifted in that faint, slow smile Senku had learned to recognize as soft approval, his scent blooming around him in a pleasant wave. “So… you want me to move in. Not as a guest?”
“I don’t do flowers,” Senku said, voice low, almost rough but unwavering. “Or chocolates or whatever else. If you want jewelry, I can do that, but I figure a house would be tough to top as a courting gift.”
“You had no idea what you were oing-day, did you?”
Senku swallowed, hoping the heat he could feel creeping up the back of his neck wasn’t visible. ”No,” he admitted, “but once I did, I acted on it.”
Gen hummed, tilting his head as he studied Senku as if he were a particularly interesting puzzle. “And here I thought I’d have to drag you kicking and screaming through at least three more emotional revelations before you got to this point.”
The heat creeping up his neck was definitely noticeable at that point and Senku would’ve scowled if Gen’s indirect confirmation of reciprocated feelings hadn’t registered. “So you’ll do it?”
The omega slowly uncurled from his relaxed position, rising to his feet and slowly, deliberately, closing the distance between them.
“Say it properly.”
Senku frowned. “I already did.”
“No,” Gen shook his head, raising one delicate finger to prod Senku right in the sternum. “You stated a conclusion. Efficient, and rather you, but not remotely close to romantic.”
“I bought you a house,” Senku argued, already knowing it was a losing battle.
“You bought yourself a house with me in mind,” Gen replied serenely, watching him expectantly.
Senku clicked his tongue but for once didn’t immediately fill the silence with any words of deflection or irritation. He reached up, catching Gen’s wrist before he could pull away, grip firm but not rough, and just… looked at him.
Really looked.
At the way Gen held himself - balanced and composed but with a subtle tension that hadn’t been there during the showings. At the way his scent, though controlled, carried a thread of something anticipatory beneath it.
Gen was also waiting.
“...move in with me,” Senku said finally, deliberately. “Not because it’s efficient or because it makes sense - which it does-”
Gen huffed a laugh at that, eyes flickering with sharpened interest.
Senku exhaled through his nose but couldn’t fight the grin curling his mouth, fingers lacing between Gen’s as if they belonged there, “but because this place is wrong without you.”
Head tilting, Gen’s smile widened, the flicker of interest in his eyes taking on a more familiar mischievous edge.
“Alright.”
“…alright?”
Gen nodded, “I’ll move in with you.”
Senku blinked, “…huh. Figured you’d make me work harder for it.”
The omega laughed, “And give you a chance to change your mind? Ever-nay, I put way too much work into this place to risk that.”
Silence.
“…huh?”
Gen smiled sweetly, eyes flinty the way they were when a scheme worked in his favor, “Come now, do you really think Ryusui’s team handled all the furnishing on their own? You’d have ended up with something ridiculous like a gold plated toilet.”
Senku blinked, eyes narrowing as his brain tried to catch up. “…are you telling me,” he started slowly, dangerously, “that you snuck in here and decorated my house?”
“Our house,” Gen corrected saccharinely.
“How- I didn’t even know I was going to ask you until an hour ago! You knew far enough in advance to order a whole couch?”
“Oh darling, I’ve known this was coming since California,” he booped Senku gently on the nose. “I was just aiting-way for you to figure it out.”
Senku’s nose scrunched up at the touch and he boggled. “Since…” he laughed in defeat, shaking his head. “You manipulated the whole thing.”
“Manipulated sounds so harsh, I guided it,”
“The scenting, the-the pet names… you were nesting in a house I hadn’t even bought yet.”
Gen didn’t have the decency to even try to look ashamed.
Senku tried to be annoyed, tried to be upset, but instead all he could feel was satisfaction. His alpha instincts, which should’ve been bristling in territorial irritation, were warm and flaring with a possessiveness that had nothing to do with land ownership.
“I didn’t even need to ask, did I? You already moved in.”
Gen laughed, stepping just that much closer, scent flickering pleasantly but with something deeper threaded through the usual plum wine sweetness, “I wanted you to ask.”
Senku’s grip on his wrist tightened instinctively, thumb brushing over the delicate bones there as he leaned in. “You do always manage to get what you want somehow, you bastard.”
Their first kiss didn’t result in fireworks or any sort of grand revelation, no sparks or shaking ground, but when Gen made a quiet sound against his mouth, something low and pleased, Senku felt something shift inside him. His instincts surged, free hand coming up to catch Gen’s side to pull him closer, something clicking into place as if it had always been there.
Like blue eyes lit by golden sunset in a bay window.
Long fingers tracing over shining stone counter tops.
The sweet scent of plum wine and jasmine drifting down the hall.
Everything just felt… right.