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Chelsea Childe had never been what most would consider a girly girl. While most of her peers had played with dolls or looted their mother’s closets for dress up, she was being scolded for digging tunnels in the backyard and tracking mud through the house.
She got along well with the boys her age for a few years, until the idea that “girls were icky” settled in and she found herself ostracized by both genders. Her interest in minerals and geology made it impossible to relate to the girls her age, and even though the boys would talk about fossils and dinosaurs the same way she did, she was excluded by the merit of simply having been born a girl.
Her mother had assured her that it was a phase and she was sure to make friends in school, but that hadn’t been true. If anything, she struggled to fit in even more within the confines of a classroom.
She did well academically, but most people, teachers included, found her habit of loudly and bluntly speaking her mind or stating the obvious to be off putting. She never understood what was wrong with telling the truth - if anything, she wished more people were honest and straight forward as she found it difficult to read the room as her mother would say.
Subtlety was not her strong suit, which only made her fascination with geology more understandable. Rocks didn’t lie or stretch the truth. Fault lines didn’t say one thing and mean another. Basalt was basalt and shale was shale and that was that.
Chelsea had gotten used to being excluded. Had learned not to assume she was invited when others discussed plans around her after one too many times of inviting herself and being awkwardly asked to leave. Adapted to say “that sounds fun!” and leave it at that until directly asked to participate.
So when Nikki first mentioned restarting the long standing tradition of afternoon tea with the girls, Chelsea had smiled and wished them a “totes amazing time!”
When Suika stopped by her office and asked if she had any sorts of pastries she preferred, she assumed they were just talking about food they liked and excitedly explained - in exhausting detail - a carrot cake her mother used to make.
When Ruri mentioned that they’d be meeting up on Saturday afternoon, she nodded and said it sounded like they’d have a lot of fun before making plans to examine the newest mineral samples they’d received from Africa.
Which was where Kohaku and Yuzuriha found her, hunched over a table, fingers smudged with dirt and graphite as she peered at some strange rock through a magnifying glass.
“Sedimentary layering suggests prolonged water exposure…” she muttered, “which is crazy strange considering that area- oh!” She whirled around, magnifying glass still held to her face giving her the appearance of one normal and one large, bulging eye. “Hiya! I thought you guys were having lunch today!”
“We are,” Kohaku replied, “we thought you forgot.”
“Hmmm?” Chelsea tilted her head in confusion. “I didn’t forget.”
“You didn’t show up,” Yuzuriha explained, “did you not want to come?”
Chelsea still didn’t lower the magnifying glass, blinking owlishly. “I was invited?”
Kohaku and Yuzuriha stared for a moment before Yuzuriha clapped a hand to her forehead. “No one directly told her she could come, did they?”
“She was told it was happening, same thing right?” Kohaku shrugged. “C’mon, Chelsea, if we don’t hurry Gen’ll eat all the good food.”
And so Chelsea found herself sat at a large round table laden with platters of finger sandwiches, little pastries, and several pots of tea. Despite the impressive spread, Chelsea quickly found that the tea party was less about the food and the liquid tea and more about the hot tea.
It started normally - everyone talking about how their week had been, minor complaints or achievements, funny anecdotes - but as if by some invisible signal the conversation shifted.
Nikki leaned forward, grinning wide. “So, Gen.”
Gen smiled serenely over the rim of his tea cup.
“When are you finally going to confess to Senku?”
Chelsea hummed in confusion, mouth full of cookies. “Confess? Confess what?”
“My sins, I imagine,” Gen replied brightly, taking a long sip. “I have so many, after all…”
“Oh, cut the crap,” Kohaku snorted, “you’ve been pining after him for years. It’s embarrassing at this point.”
“I haven’t the aintest-fay idea of what you mean, are you confusing me with Chrome-chan and Ruri-chan, perhaps?”
Ruri squeaked softly, face turning red. “C-Chrome and I have an… understanding.”
“They told each other how they feel ages ago,” Suika chirped, “they’re just waiting for the rockets to be done before they start boning.”
“Suika!” Ruri cried, aghast. “Who taught you that word?”
“My cute little Suika-chan is all grown up,” Gen gave a fake sniffle, wiping a pretend tear from his eye but unable to hide the way his lips trembled from held back laughter.
Chelsea, who had begun picking the currants out of a scone, blinked slowly before her eyes lit up with understanding. “Oh! That high-key explains a lot! And here I thought only Luna was catching feels for Senku! You guys really have the freakiest relationship trees I’ve ever seen, it’s like a cray-cray shipping chart!”
That earned a laugh, but Nikki wasn’t distracted. “Seriously, though, you two aren’t subtle. I figured it out by talking on the phone with you. You’re practically married at this point, just tell him how you feel.”
Gen opened his mouth.
“And don’t-“ she held up a finger accusingly, “try and tell us that we’re imagining things. There isn’t a person at this table who will believe you wouldn’t climb that boy like a tree if given the chance.”
He closed his mouth.
“Why would he need to confess?” Chelsea asked. “If it’s so big obvious, then a high-key smart-guy like Senku probably already clocked it, right?”
Ukyo gave a gentle laugh, shaking his head, “You’d think so, but for once, Senku is seemingly completely oblivious. It’s actually impressive.”
“That’s because I am a master of deception,” Gen said with false bravado.
“You’re a master coward, is what you mean,” Kohaku snorted.
“I still don’t understand how he doesn’t know,” Nikki shook her head, looking to Kohaku for confirmation. “Even Chrome assumed they were dating since before the war was over, right?”
“It’s why he moved out of the material hut, didn’t want to hear them…” she smiled slyly, eyeing Ruri deviously in the way only younger sisters could, “boning.”
“Kohaku!”
“Senku-chan has ero-zay interest in anything to do with romance or dating or any of that,” Gen waved his hand dismissively. “Just ask Yuzuriha-chan, he’s practically married to science.”
Yuzuriha set her tea cup down, “I told you before that he’s different with you, Gen. Senku is just really focused on work right now. You know how he is.”
“Obsessive?” Kohaku grinned.
“Single-minded,” Ukyo added.
“Terrible at noticing something if it’s not spelled out for him,” Suika nodded.
“My guess is he doesn’t even know how he feels because he hasn’t taken any time to really think about it, let alone realized that Gen has feelings for him.” Yuzuriha shook her head fondly.
Gen sighed, “That’s somehow both comforting and deeply annoying at the same time.”
“So,” Nikki leaned forward, chin resting in her palm and eyebrow raised, “you should tell him. Connect those neurons for him and put us all out of our misery.”
Chelsea looked thoughtful, “So you’re saying Senku’s also down bad for Gen but he’s too busy working to rebuild civilization to realize it? And because of that he hasn’t noticed that he’s living rent-free in Gen’s head this whole time?”
“Pretty much,” Suika nodded.
Kohaku huffed, leaning back in her chair. “So it’s Ruri and Chrome all over again but somehow worse. Everyone’s in love, no one says anything, and we all suffer.”
Gen beamed, “Exactly. We follow the time honored tradition of doing absolutely nothing until the issue with Why-Man is resolved, civilization is restored, and several international crises are averted.”
“So you’ll confess your feelings in forty years.”
“Give or take.” He shrugged before eyeing Kohaku shrewdly. “But enough about me, I want to hear about how things went with you and our darling Hyoga-chan~”
Several days later, Chelsea found herself sat in a small conference room with Senku and Chrome discussing the best sources of certain materials needed for the next rocket test.
“Aluminum City can totes be the plug for that since they’re already working mega hard mining bauxite and were an epic famous source for it prior to petrification,” she explained, watching as Senku scribbled the location down.
“One step closer to the finish line,” he grinned, marker tapping the board for emphasis. “We might not be close enough to celebrate, but we’re close enough to calculate the sprint.”
He turned, giving Chrome a teasing smirk.
“Better start planning that wedding, Chrome, don’t think Ruri’s gonna wait too much longer.”
“Oh, shut up,” the other man grumbled, face flushing red.
Chelsea blinked, “Oh! Because Chrome and Ruri are waiting to make things lovey-dovey official until the rockets are done!”
“Ten billion percent, even if I think they’re being stupid.” Senku shrugged, attention shifting back to the list. “If they already know how the other feels, they should just do something about it.”
Chrome groaned, hiding his head under his arms.
Chelsea frowned, “Huh. So maybe everyone really is totes delulu like Gen thinks and you’re not into him?”
The marker stopped and Senku froze, slowly turning to look at her.
“What?”
“Because Gen’s for real-real in love with you,” she continued, beaming wide. “He’s simping big time and waiting until everything with Why-Man’s all done so you can lock in on your science and stuff. Yuzuriha said you’re doing the same thing back at him!”
“…Gen is what?”
Chelsea blinked, brows knitting in confusion. “But if you think what Chrome’s doing is dumb, then waiting doesn’t make any sense. Huh. Yuzuriha said you might not understand the assignment, but maybe Gen was right and you don’t like him like that so confessing would be a big ol’ yikes on bikes?”
“That’s stupid, Senku and Gen have been together for years,” Chrome grumbled. There was a pause and he lifted his head slightly, “Haven’t you? …did I move out for no reason? Dude, I slept in the woods for like a week so I wouldn’t have to hear you going at it!”
Senku didn’t look at Chrome, he was staring at Chelsea. Her expression stayed exactly the same - thoughtful and mildly confused - completely unaware of the bomb she’d dropped.
Senku’s eyes narrowed the way they did when his brain was clicking through variables faster than usual. Not confusion, exactly, but processing. Re-evaluating.
“Gen,” he said slowly, as if testing the weight of the words, “is in love with me.”
Chelsea nodded, “Sure is, heard him say so myself!”
Senku sighed, hands on hips and head hung in exasperation.
“That idiot…”
Then he turned and stalked out of the room.
“Ohp, are we done?” Chelsea said, looking to Chrome for confirmation.
Chrome boggled at her for a long moment before dropping his head to the table with a loud groan.
-
When people went looking for Gen there were a few places that immediately came to mind - in the lab with Senku, hiding between the shelves of the archival room, snacking in the cafeteria.
Or more succinctly: not working.
Not visibly working.
It was only people who didn’t know him at all that went looking for him in his office, which made it all the more surprising to him when Senku burst through the door.
He looked up from the treatise he was reviewing, head tilting at the sight of the other man’s sudden appearance. “Oh, Senku-chan, what brings you-“
Senku crossed the room and stalked around the desk, spinning Gen’s office chair to face him. Gen barely had a moment to react before a hand fisted in his collar and jerked him to his feet.
“-here…? What the- Senku-ch-“
Then Senku kissed him.
It wasn’t hesitant or gentle. Certainly not the romantic first kiss Gen had not-so-secretly fantasized about when he considered what kissing Senku would be like.
The hand not fisted in his collar cupped his jaw gently, the other loosening when Gen’s hands landed on his shoulders - more out of instinct than any sort of resistance - a soft, startled sound escaping him when Senku’s tongue entered the equation.
His mind went blank, every possible retort or deflection melting away into a hum of static, the shock giving way to something warmer. Something dangerously close to everything he’d been carefully, meticulously avoiding for years.
When Senku eventually pulled back it wasn’t far, and Gen’s carefully curated composure was nowhere to be found - cheeks flushed and breath uneven. He stared at Senku as if the universe had stopped making sense, which in a way it had. Senku looked unfairly composed, a slight flush high on his cheeks but everything else - posture, gaze, the hand that had migrated from the collar of his shirt to his shoulder, thumb brushing against his neck in a distracting metronome - was steady.
Gen could tell from the way his eyes moved that he was looking for something, but in his daze he couldn’t even begin to fathom what. He seemed to find it, head giving a small nod.
“You’re in love with me,” Senku said as if it explained everything.
Then he kissed him again.
It wasn’t any gentler than the first, if anything it was more deliberate. Senku angled his head just slightly differently, his grip steadier, and Gen made a small, strangled noise against his mouth.
Gen had always thought people saying a kiss made their knees go weak was hyperbole, but he found himself leaning more heavily into Senku to maintain balance. Senku took that as an invitation, using his body to maneuver Gen until he was turned and leaning back against his desk, Senku settling between his thighs to press close as the second kiss quickly became a third and a fourth.
The next time Senku pulled back, they were both breathing a little harder than before, the air between them charged in a way Gen had never truly believed he’d get to experience with the other man.
Gen’s hands had curled into the fabric of Senku’s labcoat at some point, wrinkling it. Senku didn’t seem to mind, staring at him with pupils blown wide but the intense calculation that was usually reserved for an interesting puzzle.
“You’re in love with me,” he repeated, softer that time, as though saying it again would confirm it.
Gen’s brain attempted several responses - deflection, denial, a dramatic swoon - but none of them made it past the mess Senku had made in his head with that second kiss.
So all he could do was dumbly answer, “Yes.”
Senku nodded, “Good, we’re dating now.” He clicked his tongue, shaking his head in annoyance as he started to lean back in. “You should’ve said something.”
Before he could stop it, Gen laughed - a high, incredulous sound - one hand coming up to cover his mouth in surprise. “Should’ve said something?” his voice creeped higher in disbelief. “Senku-chan, for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve insisted - loudly and often - on your utter disinterest in anything related to romance, relationships, or adjacent. Orgive-fay me for not taking that as an open invitation.”
Senku didn’t even have the decency to look sheepish.
“That’s because I wasn’t interested in it with just anyone,” he replied simply. “Usually when people like me I get grossed out or annoyed, with you I was happy about it. It just never occurred to me to consider that I was in love with you, too - if it had we could’ve done this ages ago.”
Gen closed his eyes, screaming internally. Because of course Senku would just… say it. No hesitation or tip toeing, no denial or dismay.
Just realization, acknowledgment, action.
He would’ve been more annoyed if he wasn’t so incandescently happy.
“So, we’re dating now?”
Senku made a noise of agreement. “Figured jumping straight to married was a bit much.”
Gen’s eyes snapped open. “...married,” he repeated faintly. “You figured jumping straight to married was a bit much.”
His traitorous heart did not do a little flip when Senku’s mouth curved up in an unfairly attractive smirk. “If it’s not, I can free up my afternoon.”
The noise Gen made was something between a squeak and a whine, heat rushing to his cheeks. When Senku laughed, he gave him a small shove before ducking to hide his face in his neck.
“Chrome’s down the hall, he could be a witness. Ryusui, too, knowing him he’s got Francois ordained for this shit just in case.”
“You are the orst-way…” Gen managed, muffled against Senku’s shoulder and vibrating with laughter he couldn’t quite contain. “I’ve only just found out my feelings are requited, let me process that before we start planning a wedding.”
Senku laughed again, hands not moving from where they rested on Gen’s waist, thumbs idly brushing over the fabric of his shirt as if he’d forgotten they were there. Or worse, remembered and simply didn’t care.
Gen huffed, forehead rubbing against Senku’s clavicle slowly. “Did you really just figure it out?”
“More like just realized it, but in hindsight it’s pretty obvious.”
Pulling back, Gen stared at him with an eyebrow arched, “Really?”
Senku shrugged one shoulder, “Didn’t like it when you spent too much time with other people but wasn’t sure why. Listened to you when you nagged at me and let you get away with stuff that would’ve annoyed me if anyone else did it. Kohaku used to shit on me when one of us had to go to the village while the other stayed in Roppongi cause I’d apparently get real pissy when you weren’t around.”
Gen blinked at Senku’s matter-of-fact delivery, opening his mouth to respond when he continued.
“Thinking about you when I jerked off should’ve been the real giveaway, honestly, but I figured that was a sort of subconscious thing ‘cause you’re hot.”
Gen’s responding squeak was silenced by what sounded like a dying animal behind him - something between a wheeze and a scream, the door slamming against the wall with a loud bang.
“You WHAT?” Chrome shouted, and Gen was sure the other man’s face was just as red as his was, but he was too busy hiding back in Senku’s shoulder to confirm.
“It’s called pattern recognition, dipshit, try it sometime,” Senku snarked over Gen’s shoulder.
Gen made a noise that might’ve been a laugh if it hadn’t been smothered into Senku’s collar, “Chrome-chan, I need you to etend-pray that you heard nothing.”
“You two didn’t waste any time, didja?”Chelsea chirped, a mischievous grin on her face as she peered through the doorway.
Gen let out a startled yip when one of Senku’s hands slid down to grab his ass, shoving at his chest ineffectively.
Chelsea held up her hand with a clear “okay” gesture. “Got it, private moment! Chrome, we should go before they start boning again.”
“We were not-“ Gen choked, head whipping back to see Chelsea dragging a horrified looking Chrome out of his office.
“Shut the door behind you,” Senku called breezily, his other hand joining the first, pulling Gen towards him by the hips.
“What- Senku-chan-“
Gen barely registered the sound of the door clicking shut or how Chelsea’s laugh echoed from the hallway as Senku distracted him with another kiss, practically melting against him.
“God, you’re the worst,” he groaned as the scientist’s attention began to travel down his neck, debating just how far he’d let him go with the door unlocked behind him.
“You love me.”
Gen’s groan hitched when Senku’s teeth found a particularly sensitive part of his neck, eyes sliding shut, “And you apparently love me, which is possibly the most inconvenient development of my life.”
Senku huffed a laugh when Gen tilted his head, giving him better access to the pale column of his throat and completely undermining his complaint. He latched onto the spot just below the hinge of his jaw, worrying at it until he was sure the mark left behind would be dark and livid, “Nah, it’s efficient.”
“Efficient,” Gen echoed, fingers threading through Senku’s hair without a conscious thought. “Of course. Silly me for not ealizing-ray that years of pining could’ve been solved with a judicial application of tongue.”
Senku bit down. “Exactly.”
Gen shivered, “I liked you better when you were oblivious.”
Finally pulling back and casting an appreciative look at the blooming splotch of purple, Senku looked up at him with a smirk. “No, you didn’t,”
Gen stared back, face flushed as he tried desperately hard to not be distracted by the way Senku’s body was pressed against his or how his thumb kept tracing along his side like he was committing his shape to memory. How Senku looked at him without an ounce of hesitation or doubt, eyes bright and eager.
Everything from his expression to his body language making it clear to Gen’s trained mentalist eyes exactly how he felt in a way that would have him questioning just how willfully obtuse he’d been to miss it for so long
“No,” he finally agreed, pulling Senku up for another kiss by the grip in his hair, “I didn’t.”
—
The next tea party was louder than the previous, not in volume but the feeling of it.
Chelsea noticed it as soon as she sat down - right at the time Yuzuriha had specifically asked her to come at - picking up on the sharpness of the laughter and buzz in the air that reminded her of an approaching storm.
She was distracted from the idle chatter by the slice of carrot cake placed in front of her, eyes closed happily at the familiar taste, but just like last time it shifted
And this time she recognized it, eyes lighting up and posture straightening as she leaned forward.
“So, Gen,” Nikki started, “Are congratulations in order?”
Gen, sat across from her, lifted his tea cup with practiced elegance. “Oh? Whatever for?”
She smirked, arms folded across her chest, “Whatever that turtleneck is hiding, for one.”
Automatically, Gen reached up to tug the collar up higher, though the dark flash of purple behind his ear was just barely too high to be hidden.
“Ain’t doing a good job of hiding it,” Kohaku teased, eyes lighting up at the flush of pink crossing Gen’s face. “Something always told me he’d be the kind of guy who left marks.”
“He does write his name on everything,” Yuzuriha added, failing to disguise her laugh behind her teacup at the look Gen shot her.
“Kohaku-chan has one, too, let’s make fun of her for a little!”
Nikki shook her head, “Nah, we’re talking about you right now. We need details!”
“Yeah, like what led up to you getting that mark,” Ukyo snickered at the betrayed look Gen shot him, having already heard the whole story earlier that week.
Gen took a slow sip of tea to buy himself a few more seconds of dignity, “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”
Kohaku snorted, “You’ve never been a gentleman a day in your life- ow!“
Ruri pulled her hand back, the disapproving look on her face melting seamlessly back into her usual serene expression. “I think we’re all just very excited to share in your happiness, Gen. Can you indulge us at least a little?”
Gen sighed softly, a small smile crossing his face - he’d always had a soft spot for Ruri and he couldn’t help but be proud of how she’d learned to take advantage of it. “What would you like to know, my dear? How he came barreling into my office to kiss me like a man possessed or how he’s already made mention of getting married?”
“Getting married?!” Suika called excitedly, eyes lighting up. “Really?!”
“I’d say he was joking, but knowing Senku-chan…” Gen trailed off with a small shrug, the girls shrieking around him excitedly.
“Was that before he dropped the truth nuke and said he jerked off to you?”
All eyes turned to Chelsea in unison before pivoting back to Gen expectantly.
Gen stared at her in horror, face flushing scarlet as his mouth worked uselessly.
“He said what?” Kohaku crowed, one of the few not blushing even a little bit. “Senku?”
“He… he may have implied…” Gen looked to Ukyo for help but the older man had sunk into the collar of his shirt in an effort to poorly disguise his laughter. “I told you to forget you heard that.”
“No,” Chelsea tilted her head curiously, “you told Chrome to forget he’d heard that. I was told to close the door after Senku grabbed your butt - totes caught in 4K!”
“I- he- Chelsea-chan-“
“He would be an ass man, wouldn’t he?” Suika laughed, dodging the reproachful swat Ruri sent her way with practiced ease. “Does that mean you were doing more than kissing?”
“They sure aren’t waiting for the rockets to be finished like Chrome and Ruri based on how his neck looks,” Kohaku cackled.
“I regret ever meeting any of you.” Gen groaned, rubbing his temples with both hands.
“Oh stop,” Ukyo muttered as the girls continued their running commentary at Gen’s expense, “you’re loving this.”
Gen peered at him out of the corner of his eye, giving a wry smile and a gentle shrug.
“-we all know Hyoga grabbed her ass, look at it. I’d grab her ass.”
“Can we stop talking about Kohaku’s…” Ruri trailed off, face flushed red as she struggled to find an acceptable word, “body? I can only imagine what father would say if he heard this.”
“Probably something about giving him grandkids if he’s anything like my old man,” Nikki grinned.
“Nah, he’s still bugging Ruri for those. At this point, he probably thinks Chrome’s shooting blanks,” Kohaku cackled, leaning away at Ruri’s affronted noise.
It was loud again after that, overlapping chatter and teasing and Suika trying to ask increasingly invasive questions and Ruri’s delicate sensibilities were attacked.
Chelsea mostly listened, eating her cake and cataloging social patterns with growing fascination. For most of her life, conversations had felt like trying to decipher a code everyone else had been born knowing - but this? This was different.
No hidden meanings, no cruel jokes or awkward silences after she spoke. Just people talking over one another because they were comfortable with each other, because they were so happy and excited to be there.
Excited to have her there.
The realization settled strangely warm in her chest and she must’ve made a sound because Yuzuriha gently bumped their shoulders together. “You okay?”
Chelsea blinked before beaming widely. “Yeah,” she confirmed brightly. “I think I finally passed the vibe check.”