Chapter Text
The look in Senku's eyes when he saw the telescope for the first time was more than enough to make up for the back-breaking labor he had endured to make it for the scientist. In that moment, he couldn't hide his wonder and joy at being able to see the stars closer than was possible for over 3,000 years. Gen knew that Senku would never have taken the time to make an observatory simply for his own enjoyment; that's part of the reason Gen knew it would be the right gift for the man's birthday. Gen smiled knowingly,
"Happy birthday, Senku, I hope this will tide you over until you inevitably make a rocket in the stone world," He said with ease, tilting his head slightly.
The rest of the villagers had left to begin their own form of celebrations for stone day, leaving the two of them alone. Senku finally looked away from the sky and towards Gen, his expression flat. He seemed uncertain of what to say, examining Gen's expression as the older man raised an eyebrow slightly, almost in challenge. He wanted to hear Senku's thought process, to know what he really thought about this whole thing in his own words. Gen often wished he could hear Senku's inner monologue, even for just a moment, to confirm that what he saw as a mentalist was still true for such a unique person like Senku.
Gen never doubted his intuition when it came to mentalism; people were easy to figure out in most cases. Even when he'd been in situations where he didn't fully understand the motivation behind someone's actions, it only took a little bit of prodding to get the evidence he needed to come to a conclusion. There was something about Senku that threw Gen off. He seemed to have this rich inner world that he never spoke of. Gen could always tell when he was working through something or organizing his thoughts, but on the personal level, he never expressed his care for others explicitly. His personal emotions seemed to be relegated to being irrelevant in most situations.
"What are you really thinking about Senku?" Gen asked softly, unable to contain his curiosity any longer as Senku looked between the ground and Gen. He could see something was running through the younger man's mind at top speed. Senku opened his mouth slightly, then closed it, shaking his head.
"Nothing, go and enjoy the festivities," he said a little sharply as if he was holding back in some way.
Gen pouted at that. "Come on Senku, you know you can't lie to me. Why would you torture a curious mentalist by lying about such obvious things?" Was Gen imagining things, or were Senku's cheeks heating up? He simply couldn't stand it. Senku was just too adorable when cornered like this. All this time, Gen had let Senku be, despite how Gen's interest in the man had sparked the very moment he saw where Senku had written the date of his de-petrification.
Gen smirked a bit. "Is the always stoic Senku embarrassed?" Senku turned away a little bit more as his brush was slightly visible on his ears. Gen's act melted away at that. He knew he was pushing Senku quite a bit, but he didn't want to hurt the younger man. He felt a pang of guilt at how much he was asking of Senku and couldn't help but tell the truth as he smiled a little sadly. "I just wanted to understand you a little bit better," he said quietly.
Senku didn't move, and Gen got up to leave. He should have expected this. Senku didn't let anything slip through.
"Gen…thank you for building me a home."
Gen stopped in his tracks, processing what Senku said. He turned around to look at him again. There he was, turned back toward Gen with his gaze on the floor, his eyes every so slightly teary and a blush on his cheeks. Gen just stared, eyes wide and getting teary-eyed himself. His shock dissolved into a sappy smile, and he couldn't stop a couple of tears from falling as he found himself blushing as well. His heart ached at the compliment. He'd never heard Senku say anything anywhere near that emotional before, and he'd still chosen to share that thought with Gen.
"Oh Senku, you built this home all on your own. All I did was pay attention and build something for you." Gen said as he wiped away the escaped tears.
He felt like an idiot; all it took was one sentence, one explicit moment of thanks from the man in front of him, and he fell apart. Gen covered his face with a hand for a moment, trying to control the tears. Now, Gen couldn't help but be embarrassed by his reaction. He was a famous mentalist; he could brush anything off effortlessly and hide any emotion. Senku's moment of true vulnerability broke through every layer of falseness with ease. In that moment, Gen realized that Senku had always been the only one who could surprise him like this and break through his persona.
Senku was staring at him intensely now, still blushing. He seemed to be taking in every aspect of Gen. His expression was still hard, but his eyes were soft and curious. He was opening up, ever so slightly. Senku spoke again, "You've always paid attention." Senku looked like he wanted to say more, but didn't know how. His eyes hardened again as he looked away awkwardly. Gen realized that Senku was frustrated with himself for not knowing the perfect way to explain something. Maybe that's why he stuck to science; he always knew exactly how to describe technical things.
Gen felt like he was being drawn in by Senku; he felt like he'd finally gotten a peek into Senku's mind. He couldn't help but want to know more. In those moments of observation, something had changed in Senku's posture; he was softer and seemed to be doing his best to sort out his thoughts, still having trouble. He looked almost defeated in his relaxation, like he was accepting he wouldn't be able to say anything else after all. Gen slowly came closer to Senku, so they were standing only about a foot away from each other.
"Senku, you don't have to have everything sorted perfectly to talk about it. I'm a mentalist, I can help you sort out whatever is swirling around in that brilliant mind of yours," he said gently, trying to meet Senku in the middle and give him the explicit permission he might need to express himself, even if it's messy.
Senku looked at him, making eye contact for a moment, analyzing Gen's gaze for any hint of lies before looking at his hands as he spoke shakily. "I'm shit with words when it comes to emotions." Senku's expression was almost queasy as he said this, unable to make eye contact in that moment.
Gen smiled softly, his heart aching again at the sheer honesty of a statement that had become obvious to Gen long ago. Still, he treasured that Senku had explicitly told him so. Gen simply nodded, encouraging him to continue. Part of him was afraid to speak, as if it would break the moment entirely.
Senku sighed slightly before continuing. "Well, you did tell me to talk about everything I'm thinking, no complaining now," he somewhat muttered.
Gen smiled softly, noticing how Senku seemed to be relaxing a bit more but was still incredibly nervous. Gen blushed slightly as a thought came to mind, and he took action on it. He reached his hand out towards Senku, offering to hold his hand while he spoke as a sort of touchstone.
Senku looked at Gen's hand, and his blush returned as he took Gen's hand and squeezed it tightly. He did seem to appreciate something physical keeping him grounded.
"Damn it Gen, you always manage to confuse me. I never know what the hell I'm feeling when you do shit like this." Senku said quietly, almost like an accident.
Gen, of course, caught every word. He felt his heart pounding slightly as he squeezed Senku's hand slightly to get his attention back. "Well, where do you feel it in your body? neck, shoulders, stomach, chest?" he asked, barely keeping his voice steady as he was now blushing furiously.
Senku was blushing just as much as Gen but seemed to be genuinely thinking about that question. He was getting something out of this conversation; he could sort out his feelings more easily and quickly this way. "Like a thumping in my chest and a fluttery feeling in my stomach," he said, his eyes widening slightly as he spoke and his blush darkening.
Gen couldn't help but smile stupidly. It seems like Senku must've finally put the pieces together. He must have noticed how much that sounds like a crush. "Wow, I feel so special that little old me could give the most intelligent man on earth heartache and butterflies in his stomach."
By now, Gen's cheeks and ears were tomato red with blush, and his eyes sparkled with genuine excitement. He was feeling bolder, having heard Senku talk about the same sensations Gen felt whenever Senku did something kind. At some point, he also felt those sensations whenever Senku got excited or stimmed in one of his own unique ways. He couldn’t help but love every moment he got to see of Senku being simply himself. Gen had known long ago that he'd fallen for Senku, and at last it seemed like there might be a chance that it was mutual.
Senku's entire face and ears glowed bright red at Gen's comment, as he couldn't even deny it. Senku seemed to choke on his words for a moment as he processed this information that he genuinely seemed to be unaware of until a moment ago. Senku had not responded immediately, and he looked away from Gen in embarrassment, but he still held onto his hand tightly.
Gen could tell Senku was stuck again, unable to find a single word to describe what he was feeling and unwilling to be entirely honest at this moment. Gen realized his teasing did not reveal to Senku that he felt the same way, stopping Senku in his tracks.
"Senku," Gen whispered, "I'll tell you a secret." Senku looked back at Gen with a curious look in his eyes. Gen leaned in to his ear, pulling him closer with their connected hands. "I've been feeling those same sensations for you since I saw where you'd written your de-pretrification date," he said quietly, feeling his heart race slightly at the thrill of confession.
Senku's eyes widened, and he seemed entirely shocked by this new information. He was still bright red, and he buried his face into Gen's shoulder, unable to handle the weight of his own embarrassment. "I've never felt this way before, Gen. I don't know what I'm doing." he paused for a moment, nuzzling into Gen's shoulder further, and whispered, "What if I hurt you in the process?"
Gen felt his heart ache slightly at that. He dropped Senku's hand gently and wrapped his arms tightly around Senku's shoulders, bringing him closer. Senku automatically wrapped his arms around Gen's waist, holding him close. Gen noticed through this whole interaction that Senku seems to hold back until given permission, following Gen's lead.
"Oh Senku, I can't promise that you won't, but let's shift your perspective." He paused, reaching up to massage Senku's scalp gently. "This isn't the first time you've done something without knowing the answer; you've always told us that all it takes is trial and error. I'm patient, dear Senku. I'm happy to watch you learn how to care for me."
Senku held Gen's waist tighter, holding him as close as possible as Gen’s words sank in. After a moment, he pulled his head away from Gen's shoulder to look at him, mouth open slightly as his eyes glittered slightly. Gen felt his face heat up again. Senku may not be saying many words, but he's showing so much more emotion in his expression and actions than usual. Gen felt like he understood the emotions behind every little look and change in his posture. Gen moved his hand from the back of Senku's head to his cheek, cupping it gently. He leaned forward slowly, giving the opening for a kiss that he hoped Senku would be willing to give. Even so, Gen had no intention of forcing himself on Senku, so he waited to see if the man would close the gap.
Senku glanced between Gen's eyes and mouth, doing nothing for just a moment before swiftly leaning forward and connecting their lips. Somehow, Gen was still surprised when Senku connected their lips, and he melted into Senku's hold as he kissed back. Gods, it was the best kiss he'd ever had. Senku just might be Gen's first love. Even after all those years in the limelight and everyone he had relations with, he'd never really fallen for anyone the way he had fallen for Senku. Gen pulled away from the sweet kiss when he ran out of air and looked at Senku's expression, holding him close with his arms around Senku's neck and shoulders.
Senku was blushing and smiling, still holding Gen tightly around his waist. "That was my first kiss," Senku muttered, seemingly embarrassed.
"And what did you think?" Gen asked, his smile widening as he felt a sense of pride. He was Senku's first kiss, which would be true no matter what else happened between them. That fact alone would be enough to keep Gen conscious for thousands of years if he were to be petrified again today.
Senku's blush deepened as he admitted, "It was exhilarating," with a bit of a cheeky smile. Gen couldn't help but giggle a bit at that reaction. "Looks like someone is recovering from his nerves," He said as he threaded one of his hands into the hair at the back of Senku's head and massaged his scalp there. Honestly, Gen was glad that Senku was relaxing. He wanted Senku to feel safe and cared for; he'd do anything he could to accomplish that.
Senku chuckled, "It was more emotional overwhelm than typical nerves," he reasoned, starting to understand what he was feeling now that he wasn't so overwhelmed. Senku made eye contact with Gen for a moment, cupping his cheek with one hand while keeping the other around his waist, and he leaned forward to kiss him again.
Gen kissed back, parting his lips slightly. Senku took the invitation, parting his lips as well and pushing his tongue into Gen’s mouth. They kissed more passionately now, both of them past their fear of rejection. They basked in each other’s presence and love. As Senku finally pulled away, both of them needed to catch their breath. Gen rested his head on Senku’s shoulder, smiling and contented.
“Senku, can I stay with you here tonight? I don’t think I’m quite ready to let go of you,” Gen said honestly as his blush reignited.
He’d waited so long, caring so deeply while not knowing how Senku really felt about anything other than science. His heart ached slightly at the thought of going to his own tent and being far away from the Senku when he finally feels so deeply connected to him.
Senku smiled and wrapped an arm around Gen’s shoulders. “One billion percent, wouldn’t have it any other way.” Gen could see Senku was blushing ever so slightly, but he really was calm now. Senku was genuinely calm and wanted him there, close to him. They both couldn’t be happier.