Chapter Text
It was a perfectly ordinary day at NASA. Byakuya had just finished one of his simulations and was physically exhausted, but he was absolutely starving, so ignoring the fatigue in his body, he headed to the break area where the cafeteria was, determined to stuff himself with food before proceeding to take at least a three-hour nap in his room.
Byakuya entered the break area where some of his coworkers were gathered. He greeted them cheerfully and served himself two juicy steaks along with a huge bowl of rice, some salad, and then sat down at the common table with his friends.
“Enjoy your meal,” Susan said to him with a smile. She worked in the logistics department.
Byakuya tried to say thank you, but the words got stuck in his chest because he had swallowed a huge bite of food.
“Easy there, tiger, don’t go dying just from eating rice,” said Max, an engineer, while giving him a hard pat on the back.
Byakuya managed to force the food down and proceeded to drink half a glass of water, letting out a sigh of satisfaction afterward.
“Phew, thanks, buddy,” he said, small tears forming at the corners of his eyes.
“No problem,” Max laughed. “So, tell me, anything new? Do you miss Japan a lot? You haven’t been back in months, right?”
“He’s right. We can visit our homes easily because we’re from here, but you’re really far away from home, Byakuya,” commented Maria, also an engineer, who had been sitting silently listening to everyone else’s conversation. She couldn’t help but join in, though she immediately regretted it. “I’m sorry! That was insensitive of me.”
Byakuya laughed; he found her nervous reaction very cute.
“Don’t worry about it,” he reassured her. “Honestly, I don’t really miss Japan itself that much. I mean, I miss basic things like the food or the weather, but not much else. What I really miss is my Senku.”
His coworkers could almost see a small tear forming at the corner of the white-haired man’s eye.
“That’s true. Senku is your boy, right?” Max asked. “You talk about him all the time.” Byakuya smiled broadly, feeling a little embarrassed. “Hey, isn’t your son a teenager? Aren’t you worried about leaving him alone for so long? I’ve got kids too, and they’re a complete mess, but at least I have my wife keeping an eye on them so they don’t get into trouble.”
Byakuya understood the concern.
“I’m not worried about that. Senku is a pretty responsible kid and fortunately doesn’t get into much trouble,” he said with a relieved sigh. “His best friend, Taiju, sometimes stays over at the house for several days and keeps him company, so that helps me feel more at ease.”
“Your son sounds like a very level-headed boy,” Maria commented, intrigued.
“Yeah… Sometimes I wish he were less independent and asked his old man for help more often, but he’s capable of anything. Sometimes I feel like I’m the one who should be asking him for help.”
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. The girls found the reaction rather adorable. Byakuya seemed to be a very loving father, and it was truly admirable that he had managed to raise a child on his own while still achieving his dream of becoming an astronaut.
“And do you know what he’s doing right now?” Susan asked.
“Well, Senku is pretty dry when it comes to texting. He’s always been bad at communicating through messages, so he and I usually video call pretty often, but lately he’s been avoiding me a little. He says he doesn’t have time because he’s busy with school, but it’s kind of strange considering he’s never had trouble with any subject.”
Max laughed when he saw Byakuya’s doubtful expression. Everyone turned to look at him upon hearing him laugh.
“What if your boy got himself a girlfriend, and that’s why he’s so busy?”
“Senku? I don’t think so…” But Byakuya stopped and began analyzing the situation.
Could it really be that Senku was seeing someone? Whenever he asked his son about girls and that sort of thing, Senku always answered that he wasn’t interested in romance or dating and told him to stop bothering him about it. Byakuya had come to the conclusion that maybe Senku simply wasn’t the type of person made for relationships. After all, he could be rather complicated in some ways, and at times he could even come across as inconsiderate because he was too straightforward. Byakuya didn’t think there was anything wrong with being clear and concise, but girls might see that as pretty obnoxious. He quickly shook the thought from his mind—it was impossible.
“I don’t think that’s it. If Senku were seeing someone, I’d know,” he said with a smile as he returned to his meal.
Max shrugged as if to say, “If you say so,” and proceeded to grab the remote for the television in the common room. He flipped through channels without finding anything interesting until he landed on a channel called “Golden Star.” The channel was famous for covering celebrity gossip. Trash television, but as much as it pained him to admit it, it was damn entertaining! There was a reason it had some of the highest ratings around. Byakuya, on the other hand, had never liked those kinds of shows at all. He didn’t find celebrity gossip entertaining in the slightest, so he paid very little attention to the screen.
Max, however, was already completely focused on what was happening on TV. A black limousine could be seen on screen, camera flashes from paparazzi reflecting off its surface. Apparently, all of this was taking place in Paris. He listened as the reporter spoke.
“Attention, everyone! The limousine has just arrived at the venue for this exclusive Paris Fashion Week event! And at this very moment, one of the most anticipated figures of the evening is making his entrance, surrounded by flashes, screaming fans, and a swarm of photographers trying to capture the moment!”
“Would she just get to the point already?” Max muttered irritably.
“Ladies and gentlemen, making his appearance tonight is Nanami Ryusui! Direct heir to the Nanami conglomerate!” the reporter exclaimed excitedly.
A young man around nineteen or twenty years old stepped out of the limousine. He carried himself elegantly, wearing an indigo-blue suit jacket and expensive-looking brown shoes. The young man was undeniably handsome, with blond hair worthy of Adonis himself and a hypnotic smile.
“Heh, show-off,” Max commented.
“But wait!” the reporter suddenly shouted. “It seems young Mr. Nanami has arrived with a companion!”
And there came the dramatic twist this channel was known for. On screen, Ryusui could be seen leaning slightly forward to help his companion out of the vehicle.
“W-What is this?!” the reporter shrieked excitedly. “We already knew Ryusui was bisexual, but we had never seen him with a same-sex partner before—how thrilling!”
The other figure was a slim boy with somewhat messy white hair, looking slightly younger, though still around the same age range as Nanami. Susan and Maria had been chatting about random things, but suddenly fell silent, as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
“Byakuya…” Susan called. The older man hummed in acknowledgment while devouring his steak. “Isn’t your son, Senku, in Japan?”
“Yeah. That brat hasn’t even taken a moment to come visit his old man,” he said dramatically.
“Right…” Maria replied nervously.
“Why do you ask?” He took a sip of water from his glass.
“This is unbelievable,” Max commented with an incredulous smile.
“Please look at the screen,” Susan said cautiously.
Byakuya didn’t quite understand why the atmosphere in the room had suddenly become so tense until he looked up. At that moment, the reporter was being shown in close-up, still talking about that Nanami boy. Byakuya knew who they were—they were among the richest people on the planet. Even he knew how influential that family was. Why did his coworkers want to show him this?
Finally, the camera focused on the young Nanami, posing for the paparazzi alongside…
The older man spat out the water in his mouth in shock.
WHAT THE HELL WAS SENKU DOING THERE?!
Maria jumped in fright at his sudden reaction. Byakuya tried to control his nervous coughing after choking on the water, while Max could only burst into laughter.
“A-And who’s that?!” he asked nervously. It was a stupid question—Byakuya obviously knew who the guy was. But why was Senku accompanying him?!
He stared at the screen, thinking it all had to be some cruel trick of his mind. Senku was supposed to be in Japan. He had spoken to him earlier that very day, and as far as he knew, Senku had been in Tokyo the whole time. Had Senku lied to him?
Byakuya had to stop his train of thought when he saw the blond boy wrap an arm around his son’s waist and pull him closer so the paparazzi could photograph them. He watched his son—wearing a suit that looked more expensive than his entire house—pose confidently in front of the cameras while allowing himself to be held by the other man.
What he absolutely did not expect was for Nanami to lean down and kiss him right there in front of everyone, causing a barrage of camera flashes to erupt around them as the reporter and the crowd squealed loudly. Byakuya felt himself tipping forward, but the girls stopped him from fainting from the shock.
The two walked forward confidently and entered the venue where the event was being held. Byakuya was in complete shock. Was everything he had just seen actually real? Did Senku have a boyfriend? Since when? He hadn’t known Senku liked guys—he had never said anything about it. And most importantly of all: Nanami Ryusui, the billionaire?! And what the hell was Senku doing in France?! I mean, Byakuya let Senku travel, but at least he could’ve warned him first!
He abruptly stood up, nearly knocking over the dining chair.
“That’s enough, I’m calling him!” he shouted hysterically.
“Byakuya, calm down,” Susan tried to soothe him.
“Calm down?! My son is supposed to be in Japan! Why is he at an exclusive event in Paris and I had no idea?!” Byakuya knew he could sometimes be a bit overprotective, but this time he believed his anxiety was completely justified.
“Byakuya, this isn’t live. It’s a rerun,” Maria tried to explain. “The event was yesterday.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” he snapped irritably. Now he definitely had no idea where the hell his son was.
“Apparently your son isn’t as responsible as you thought,” Max mocked.
Byakuya huffed. Ignoring his coworkers’ comments and despite the girls’ protests, he dialed his son’s number, a bead of sweat running down his temple. “That boy…” The phone rang a few times, and he was beginning to grow nervous when suddenly the call connected.
“Hello…” he heard his son’s sleepy voice from the other side of the line.
“Senku, where the hell are you?!” he shouted exasperatedly.
“Old man…? What’s wrong with you? Why are you so worked up? It’s four in the morning. Remember the time difference?”
Byakuya sighed. So Senku had gone back to Japan. He was probably asleep when the call woke him up. Whatever. Before Byakuya could say anything else, a strange voice from the other side of the line caught him off guard.
“Mm… who is it?” he heard a rather deep voice from the other end of the call, a voice that clearly did not belong to Senku.
He could hear Senku trying to cover the phone’s microphone, but he failed miserably because Byakuya heard everything.
“Shh! It’s my dad,” Senku whispered, nervousness evident in his voice. “He can’t know you’re here.”
A vein bulged on Byakuya’s forehead. Did they think he was stupid? Wait a second—if it was four in the morning, that meant… Senku was sleeping with… Byakuya felt like he was going to faint again. Was Senku at home, or at that Ryusui guy’s mansion? His head started spinning.
“Senku,” he called, his tone sounding far more authoritative than he intended.
“Yes?”
“Can you explain to me what you were doing in Paris?”
A deadly silence fell on the other end of the line.
“You saw it?” the younger man asked quietly.
“You weren’t exactly being careful, young man. There were like a thousand cameras in your face! Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”
Silence again.
“Senku!”
“Yeah, sorry,” he apologized reluctantly for hiding the information from his father. “Well, now you know, so goodnight.”
He was about to hang up when he was interrupted.
“Oh no you don’t! This isn’t over!” Senku froze. Byakuya sounded genuinely angry. “Listen, Senku. I consider myself a pretty permissive parent about a lot of things, but you can’t just fly to the other side of the world with a guy I don’t even know without telling me anything at all!” Senku’s eyes were wide open on the other side of the line. He wasn’t used to being scolded. “You know I don’t care that you’re in a relationship, or about the gender of the people you’re attracted to, but you worried me, son.”
Suddenly, the younger man began to feel guilty. Maybe it really had been inconsiderate of him. He had been avoiding his father recently, he admitted it, and he had blatantly lied to his face. He didn’t know why he had done it—Byakuya wasn’t someone who could be considered strict. In fact, he was pretty permissive. But he had betrayed that trust.
“I’m sorry,” he said somewhat embarrassed while scratching the back of his neck.
The older man sighed from the other end of the line.
“It’s fine, but don’t do something so irresponsible again. Well, knowing you, you probably will. But let me know next time, okay?” The younger man nodded from the other side. He was about to hang up when he was interrupted once more. “One last thing, Senku.”
“What is it?”
“Put Ryusui on the phone, would you?”
It felt as though thousands of mirrors shattered inside Senku’s head.
“What did you say?” Blood began rushing up his neck.
“I know Nanami Ryusui is there with you. I know it’s very early in the morning, but I want to talk to him. He’s awake, isn’t he?”
Senku swallowed hard. A blush had formed on his ears; this situation was incredibly embarrassing, though he supposed he deserved it for being so reckless. Without saying anything, he simply handed the phone to the blond man.
“Yes, speaking,” the blond replied in the cheerful, upbeat tone that characterized him.
“Hello. Ryusui, right? I’m Senku’s father.”
“It’s a pleasure to finally speak with you, sir,” Ryusui said, slipping naturally into his polished speaking mode. Ever since he was little, he had been taught how to converse with people because those skills would help him lead his family’s business in the future. “I’m…” He glanced sideways at Senku, unsure whether he should reveal that information. The young scientist nodded. “…Senku’s boyfriend.”
“I know,” the older man replied. “Look, Ryusui, I’ll be honest with you. I haven’t gotten a very good first impression of you because of the current situation. Sorry about that.”
The blond, usually a very confident person, swallowed nervously. Normally, things like this didn’t shake him so easily, but Senku truly mattered to him, and it worried him that his father hadn’t liked him right away. He wasn’t used to this—people practically adored him the moment they met him because of his influence. But this man, being Senku’s father, was different. Now he understood why Senku hadn’t been impressed by who he was or where he came from when they first met. It was natural to think that way after being raised by someone like this.
“Listen…”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Byakuya interrupted. “At least not for now. Can you put me on speaker, please?” Ryusui agreed and did as he was asked. Now both boys could hear him. “Senku, I’m going back to Japan.”
“What?” asked the crimson-eyed young man in confusion.
“I need to meet Ryusui in person. I need to know what kind of boy he is,” he said firmly.
“Old man, you’re overreacting.” The younger man scratched his head in annoyance. “You don’t have to evaluate my boyfriend like it’s the last century just to approve of him.”
“I know, but I insist,” he said. “I think I have the right to know who my only son is in a relationship with, don’t I?”
“I don’t think—”
“It would be a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Ishigami!” the blond shouted enthusiastically, making the younger man’s ears ring as he complained. Ryusui had begged Senku for months to let him meet his father, but Senku always refused, saying it wasn’t necessary. Finally, the opportunity had presented itself, and he wasn’t about to waste it!
“Perfect. I’ll book a flight for next Saturday,” Byakuya commented, already sounding in a much better mood. Senku could practically imagine his smile from the other side of the phone. “See you at home, Senku.”
“Yeah, alright.”
“Love you, son. Goodnight,” the older man said, as affectionate as always.
“Night…” Displays of affection were a bit harder for Senku.
“Ah, and one last thing before you hang up!”
Senku paused. “What is it?”
“Use protection.”
“BYAKUYA!!!” Senku shouted, his face exploding into a deep crimson red. His brows furrowed and his jaw tensed in embarrassment. His father did not just imply what he had clearly implied. Ryusui burst into loud laughter. He was somewhat embarrassed too—the faint blush across his cheeks gave him away—but he found the situation absolutely hilarious.
“What? I’m just worried about your wellbeing,” the older man excused himself. “Anyway, I just wanted you two to be careful.”
“That’s enough,” Senku muttered, mortified.
“Alright, alright,” Byakuya laughed. “Goodbye. See you next week.”
“Bye!” With that, Senku hung up the call. It had been far too many emotions in far too few minutes.
Ryusui watched him with a loving smile before wrapping his arms around him and falling back onto the bed together with him. Senku tried to protest, but his complaints were silenced by his lover’s kiss. They stayed there, sharing quiet affection until they eventually drifted back to sleep.
As for Byakuya, he felt somewhat calmer about the situation now. He was eager to meet Ryusui and find out what kind of person could make his son—someone completely uninterested in romance—fall for him. Now he just had to book a flight.