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He honestly never really noticed it at first… But when old man Kaseki wanted some help with building something, his usual helper was nowhere to be found. Though he could’ve been hiding when he heard that he’d be put through more manual labor, it was still odd that he had disappeared entirely. Senku didn’t actually notice it until he’d heard Kohaku muttering about it.
“That bat bastard keeps disappearing.”
“What was that Kohaku?”
“Gen is missing again.” She turned to him and crossed her arms in the typical manner of someone who was pissed off.
“Heh, don’t sweat it too much.” Senku placed the blueprints he was holding down onto a table. “He’s probably out manipulating Ryusui into giving up more cash.”
“That’s the thing. I just checked with Ryusui and everyone else. They haven’t seen him.”
“Hmm. I didn’t think you cared that much, lioness.” Senku teased.
“I am not a lioness!” Kohaku yelled. “And I don’t care; it’s just weird that he randomly disappears for hours!”
“Why don’t you look for him then?” Senku groaned. He could already see where this conversation was going.
“I have other things to do with the muscle team.”
“And what’s stopping you?”
“Nothing. I just thought I’d let you know he’s up to something.” Kohaku uncrossed her arms and picked up a big pile of wood that someone like her from the modern age would not be able to pick up.
“You think he’s doing something bad?” Senku looked away from his blueprints and stared at her with a look of are you kidding me?
“That’s up to you to find out. Good luck!” Kohaku said over her shoulder as she walked away.
Senku blinked and watched her walk away. He had to admit; it was a little weird that he started going missing more often, but was it something to be concerned over? The village had grown a lot in such a short time, and with the added people, it wouldn’t be too out of character to not be able to keep track of everyone at the same time.
Senku groaned and folded his blueprints.
———————————
So the mentalist is good at hiding, Senku thought. He’d spent the last four hours looking for him. Asking everyone when they had last seen him and checking each place they’d directed him to. It was like he completely vanished. Now he knew what Kohaku meant when she said, “good luck.”
It was obvious he wasn’t in the village, or it’s surrounding area. He wasn’t at the construction sites or huts, nor was he walking around with anyone. So, where was he?
Eventually, he ran into Suika and asked her if she had seen him.
“Mm.” Suika nodded. “He said he was going to pick more flowers at his favorite grove.”
“Excellent! And where is his favorite grove, Suika?”
“Down by the end of the waterfall near our village.” She told him with her usual, adorable smile on her face.
“Thank you!” Senku yelled as he ran toward the location.
Slow down, Senku thought when he started getting out of breath. Why was the prospect of finding Gen getting him so excited? He needed to save his energy if he was going to make it.
Twenty minutes and a small mountain later, Senku finally spotted the small waterfall in the valley. During the summer, the waterfall didn’t even exist. It was a raging river since the tides would rise. When the tides were low, it created an empty bank that you could walk through.
And there he was, the guy he had been searching for, for hours, tucked up behind a rock with his face pressed into his arms and knees. Senku stopped and tilted his head to get a better look.
Was he sleeping? Did he really disappear for hours just for a nap? No, his breathing wasn’t deep and even enough for him to be asleep. What was he doing?
Despite his best efforts to make his presence known without startling him, Gen still flinched when he dropped down over the small ledge. Senku quietly walked over to Gen before stopping right in front of him.
“It’s me. What’re you doing out here?”
No answer.
“Are you hurt?”
Nothing.
“Gen?” Senku kneeled in front of Gen’s crouched form and reached out his hand to touch his head. He hadn’t even touched him yet before Gen’s hand swiped at him and knocked his hand out of the way. Then the hand immediately went back to its original place around Gen’s face, though curled a little tighter. Gen’s whole body looked tenser than before.
Oh. So that’s what he did all alone out here. Gen wasn’t disappearing for some evil plot or disaster project. Gen disappeared for hours so that he could… cry?
Senku sighed and moved to Gen’s side. “I’ll just sit here then,” Senku said as he plopped himself down next to Gen. He didn’t say anything else, instead, choosing to wait for Gen to be ready to start a conversation. It was a good decision because it took a full 30 minutes before he finally shifted and mumbled a quiet. “You should go back to the village. You have work to do, right?”
The voice sounded raspy with disuse, and it was partly muffled due to Gen still not raising his head from its hidden place in his arms.
Senku couldn’t help the concern wash over him. He understood why Gen came out here. When he first had been resurrected from his stone prison, he was alone for months, fully believing he was the only human in action. It got overwhelming at times.
“Gen, please look at me.”
Gen didn’t move.
Senku scooted in front of Gen and gently placed his hands on his arms. Slowly, he rubbed Gen’s arms until he was able to coax his head into his hands.
His eyes were puffy and red as if Gen had been rubbing at them nonstop. The tear stains on his face were still damp too. He curled his thumb over Gen’s cheek to wipe away the dampness before Gen clenched his eyes shut and turned his face away.
Senku backed away and moved to stand, “Look, I can leave you alone if it’s what you want…”
He didn’t even make it halfway before Gen seized his wrist.
“Please.” Gen whimpered. “please, stay.”
Senku sighed as he sat back down and hoisted Gen up to lean against him. He immediately snagged Senku’s clothes from behind him and buried his face into his shoulder. In turn, Senku calmly wrapped his arms around Gen’s waist and patted his back. For a minute, nothing happened until Senku felt wetness seep into his clothes as Gen fully let out his breakdown.
Despite the tension dripping from the other in his arms, Gen was actually pretty quiet, save for the occasional choking up and hiccups. He expected him to be louder.
“Hey, hey, it’s alright, just breathe,” Senku said when Gen started choking on one of his hiccups. Shit, he had to distract him before he dove somewhere he couldn’t return from.
“You know, you don’t have to tell me what’s got you like this if you don’t want to. I’m not forcing it out of you, and I won’t act as if anything’s changed since now.” Senku leaned back a little so that Gen could drape over him. “You probably already know this being the brilliant mentalist that you are, but you don’t have to be alone when this happens.”
A shuddering breath is what he got in response. “You know there’s an old legend about the sun and how it adored the moon so much, it died every night so that the moon could breathe in life.” Senku started. When Gen’s hiccuping stopped, he took it as a sign to continue. He told him the sun and the moon story and then talked about the latest projects in the village. How he watched Suika and the other kids play a game that was akin to their old world’s sport of kickball. When Ginrou and Kinrou fought and ended up reconciling with the both of them hugging and crying in a mud ditch. It was another hour of just him having a one-sided conversation as Gen listened and calmed down.
Senku knew the worst had passed when Gen suddenly moved and hugged him tightly. Senku hugged back. “Could you do me a favor? Next time this happens, could you at least come to me instead of disappearing?”
He felt a small nod from the head against his shoulder.
“Good. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, either, you know? I’ll put it down and sit with you instead; for however long you need.”
“And - and here I thought science was your one and only love Senku-chan ~.”
“Now that sounds more like you.” Senku watched as Gen wiped his face with his sleeve and moved back to sit in front of him. “You feel better now?” Senku asked.
Gen inhaled and looked up to him. “I’m not 100%, but I feel much better.”
“That’s good. The sun’s starting to set, you know, so tell me when you’re ready, and we can head back.”
“Mm, just a little longer. The sunsets are amazing in this spot.”
“Alright.”
And so they stayed. He was right; the sunsets were actually pretty beautiful in this area. When it started to get darker, Gen tapped Senku’s shoulder and nodded, indicating his desire to leave. They both stood up and climbed out of the river bank and walked into the forest. The village was a little way away, but they could still see the bright lights in the distance.
Senku stopped and extended his hand back, holding his palm open for Gen to take. When the latter didn’t get the message, Senku explained. “Tch, come on mentalist, it’s not that hard. Hold my hand.”
A small smile appeared on Gen’s face as he looked down at the hand offered to him.
Whether he was smiling out of adoration for the scientist or the warm offer of comfort, was for him to decide later.
Lifting his head, Gen placed his hand in Senku’s and smiled even wider.
“Thanks.”
The smile he received back was more than enough for an answer.