29. A Gift To Love
Jul. 22, 2023
A/N: To all the readers who came from AO3, welcome! If you didn't know already, I update this fic once every 2 weeks to keep a schedule and so I don't get burnt out as I go through college.
Q: How has your year been so far?
-----
Since Christmas had passed, a single thought stayed inside your brain. Senku's birthday was around the corner, and you were thinking of what to do for him since he had done so much for you.
"Yo! I'm back!" You heard Chrome cry out as you were watching Senku and Kaseki making a new lightbulb. "And you're all better, (Y/N)! Awesome! Are you all up to speed?"
You turned around to see him with a basket full of rocks and minerals, but a shiny brown material was in his hand.
"Welcome back, Chrome," you greeted him with a confident smile. "And yes, I am!"
"Cool! Look, I copped some copper! No pun intended!" He exclaimed with a proud grin on his face.
The scientist went up to him and snatched the copper from his hands. "Just in time too."
He and Kaseki took the copper and melted it down to create tubing for the lightbulb. Since the tube was hollow, heat passing through will cause it to expand inwards so it won't break any surrounding glass. However, the moment they tested the tubing, the bamboo filament burnt out instantly.
The look of disbelief spread across the faces of all of you. This caused the scientist to create more lightbulbs, testing the vacuum tubing in each one of the using bamboo filament. But one by one, all of them burned out or had broken the glass.
"Damn it...a bamboo filament creating a vacuum tube is fundamentally impossible," you heard the green-haired boy strain himself.
Chrome asked him, "If bamboo is no good, then what do we need?! Stronger wood? The expedition chief will--"
"No. It's not here. It doesn't exist in this era," your friend declared with a depressing tone.
You could see Senku's hope slipping away before your very eyes. Despite healing from your sickness, the stress of the phone was starting to get to him.
"Senku, please don't lose hope. We will find something--anything that'll work," you tried lifting his spirits.
He looked at you and let out a dry laugh. "We're gonna need a helluva ton of luck to get something that'll work, slowpoke."
The brunette took his gear and went straight to the caves to find different materials, as he couldn't sit around and see Senku give up. He returned a few days later with a basket full of new materials he may not have had before. The villagers and your friends had gathered around to look at each of the rocks and stones, hoping to find something useful.
"These are all the random rocks I've gathered in various caves! There has to be something here, so look for a strong material we can use as a filament!" Chrome instructed them.
Each of them looked through the pile, showing Senku the rocks they had picked out. Unfortunately, they had no luck in finding something that could be used.
"Wow, this is like a jewel!" One of the three village beauties cried out.
The scientist squinted his eyes as he looked at it, then responded, "That's a jewel bug's dead body."
Ginro came up with a grin. "What about this stone? It's super black and feels light!"
"That's raccoon poop," Senku answered with no hesitation, causing the blonde boy to squish it out of surprise.
You and Gen watched as the boy denied every rock that was shown to him. Sweat had dripped down his temples, and you could see his last bit of hope slowly dying. You couldn't do anything about it. Nothing you could do or say would make him feel better.
"If that's it for the cell phone, then that's it," said Senku as he headed to the warehouse, leaving you behind with everybody else. "I don't have the time to feel depressed about this. I just gotta think of something else."
A somber expression remained on your face as you watched him head up. The sky darkened, leaving you and Gen outside to watch Suika inspect the rocks and minerals. Every other villager had left to head in for the night.
You weakly asked, "What are we gonna do, Gen?"
"Well, as Senku-chan had said, we just gotta think of something new..." he told you, then had a cheery tone, "But this is no time to be sad! It's New Year's Eve, after all~"
"It is? Damn it, I've lost track of the days!" You placed your hands on your head in disbelief. "Senku's birthday is almost here and I haven't prepared anything!"
The mentalist widened his eyes. "Seriously!? When's his birthday?"
"It's four days from now," you said as you lowered your hands. "January 4th."
"Ohh...he's a Capricorn, huh? Don't worry, you'll have enough time to prepare. If anything, we can think of something together later," the man reassured you gently as he placed a hand on your shoulder.
You looked over at him to see genuine sincerity from him. Smiling somewhat, you thanked him, "Thank you, Gen. I'm glad you're my friend, even though you're annoying sometimes."
"That's what best friends do!" He chuckled as he removed his hand from you. "Anyways, you head to sleep now, (Y/N)-chan."
You nodded as you watched him walk away. "Alright. Suika, make sure you head to bed too!"
"S-Suika will go to sleep after she looks through these rocks!" She replied hastily.
You let out a sigh and climbed the ladder up to the warehouse to see Chrome deeply asleep, snoring and drooling as he was lying spread eagle on the floor. Then, you averted your eyes towards Senku, who was dozing peacefully with his eyebrows furrowed. You crawled through the entrance and sat down next to the scientist. Expression softening, you tenderly grazed your thumb over his cheek.
Before lying down, you looked out of the warehouse to see the stars glowing brightly above, showering you with twinkling lights. Widening your eyes as the stars reflected off of them, a memory popped into your head.
An idea...
~~~
"Rise and shine, Senku-chan, (Y/N)-chan~!"
You opened your eyes to see Gen shining a flashlight underneath his face, startling you into gripping Senku so tightly. The boy woke up in a flash, jumping due to your sudden hold and Gen's ghostly appearance. The mentalist had a mischievous smirk on his face as he saw what happened in front of him.
"My, oh my, getting close in the new year, are we? Anyways, it's time to watch the first sunrise of the year with everyone," Gen told you two.
Your face flushed with heat as you noticed your predicament with Senku, and instantly pushed yourself away from him. "S-Sorry, Senku..."
Senku sighed as sweat dripped down his face. "It's fine. But mentalists are such a pain in the ass."
"Changing the mood and refreshing one's spirits is my job, isn't it?" The mentalist said.
The both of you climbed down the ladder, joining the rest of your friends. It was still dark outside, but the stars guided you as you went on your way.
"New Year's, huh~? With my internal calendar all messed up from the petrification, I don't even know how old I am anymore..." Gen faintly chuckled.
The scientist let out a small yawn. "Just count how many days you've lived.
"I don't think anyone would remember that except you...how many days have you lived?" You questioned the boy.
"6,268 days," he replied with no hesitation.
You then noticed Suika on the ground, still looking at rocks from the basket that Chrome brought. She'd been looking at rocks all night, and Chrome had to stop her. She brought one rock with her along the way.
As all of you made it to a high cliff-side, you stood next to the scientist as you watched the sun beginning to rise. However, everyone's attention was focused on the bright, blue light that appeared in Suika's hands as the sky turned from its deep black to the hazy colors of dawn. As you watched what looked like to be an azure jewel glowing before you, you noticed the light in Senku's eyes began to shine.
"It's so beautiful," you said softly.
"Why...is it glowing?" Suika asked with surprise.
The scientist approached the young girl. "That's called scheelite. It glows blue when it's exposed to ultraviolet light. You did a great job, Chrome, Suika! This is the stuff that's in modern filaments! Atomic number 74: tungsten! It's the strongest metal in the universe!"
You watched as the widest smile appeared on his face when he looked directly at you. Elated as he was, he couldn't help but take your hand by surprise and run back to the village; your friends following behind.
"This is it, slowpoke! The most important material we need to get. It'll be difficult, but we'll be able to complete the phone!" Senku cried out with joy. His happiness had spread over to you, causing your mouth to curl warmly. As the two of you ran, the sun was rising higher and higher, as were your emotions.
When you both made it back, Senku immediately climbed into the warehouse. The scientist began rummaging through all the stuff as he started explaining everything to you, "We need to get all of our equipment ready, as well as packing extra food and bringing the last few lightbulbs we have. It'll be heavy and a little risky..."
Catching the equipment he dropped on you, you asked, "In this case, a small-man team is needed to go, right?"
"Yup. I just need to choose who needs to go," Senku replied as he stuck his head out from the warehouse.
You widened your eyes. This could be an ample opportunity for you to get the birthday project for your friend done.
With a firm tone, you declared, "I'm not going. I'm going to stay here to hold down the fort. I'll assign Chrome as your assistant for this mission."
"What?! But it'd be so helpful if you came!" You turned around to see Chrome, who had a look of disbelief on his face, and the villagers approaching. Senku went down the ladder to put his equipment on and prepared for the journey. The brunette approached you with dismay, "We need someone strong to help us!"
"No, she's right. (Y/N) can't come because not a single drop of her grace will help us here," he said as he gave some equipment to Chrome.
"Well, who's gonna be our last member?" The boy questioned him.
You helped Chrome put on his gear so he could join your friend. You replied, "Kohaku can't go because she needs to train the warriors. Kinro can't go because of his vision issues. If he loses his glasses, you guys will have a slight handicap. Ginro can't because...well, he's Ginro."
"Ten billion percent correct! The last member of our excavation team is...Magma!" Senku announced and pointed his finger at the blonde brute.
All of the villagers were shocked, especially Magma and Chrome.
The boy continued as he pointed at the man, "To bring back the hella heavy scheelite, we're gonna need some insane, brute strength! Our friendly exploration trio is gonna dive right into the action-packed treasure dungeon!"
Senku held up the gear for Magma to equip, which he had hesitated to take at first. Once he knew that the scientist was serious, he did not back down.
Before they headed off, you grabbed Senku by his backpack and pulled him. When he turned to look at you, you spoke in a concerned tone, "Make sure all of you come home safely."
"Don't worry about me, slowpoke. Everything will be fine," said Senku as he gave you a smirk.
"Senku, Chrome, and Magma...?!" Kohaku frantically questioned with sweat dripping down her face as Senku walked away.
Suika replied, "Suika can't think of a team that'd make me more anxious than this one..."
Before they headed off, you quickly went up to Magma with a determined look in your (E/C) eyes, Gen trailing behind.
"Magma," you called out to him as the two scientists were distracted. He looked down at you with furrowed eyebrows, but you could tell he was all ears. You took a breath and firmly spoke, "I have a very important favor to ask you. I know you're not comfortable with any of us modern people, but please...don't kill Senku. Keep him safe. I want you to--"
"Get on with it already," the man gruffly pushed. He looked around to see if anyone was nearby before admitting, "You and Senku may have beaten me, but I know how vital you two are to this village. If you two die, this entire village dies. So, don't worry about me killing your man, (Y/N)."
Heavily blushing, you answered as you tried to hide how flustered you got, "Y-You have a good heart, despite the lack of brains you got."
"HUH?!"
"What she is trying to say, Magma-chan, is 'thank you'. But the big favor we have for you is to bring Senku-chan back home before three nights have passed," Gen told him with a calm smile.
You added as you gave him a long piece of cloth, "And make sure to cover his eyes before heading into the village! We're gonna have a surprise for him!"
The brute took the cloth and shoved it into one of his pockets. He nodded before the two of you and then headed off to join the scientists.
The mentalist turned to you with a look of mischief on his face. "Finally, he's going to be gone! Senku-chan's gonna be away from Ishigami Village~!"
You lightly chided as you nudged him, "Don't look so ominous, Gen."
He let out a small snicker before asking, "So, I see you've come up with something for Senku-chan's birthday?"
You nodded. "Yeah. I need our friends to help out though."
"Gotcha, gotcha~" the mentalist sang. He then faced all of your close friends and raised his hands in the air. Calling out to them, he shouted, "Everyone~! Come listen for a sec, we've got something to tell you!"
Kohaku, Kinro, Ginro, Kaseki, and Suika noticed the two of you standing together, calling all of them. They grouped up to listen. Gen gingerly pushed you forward with his eyes creased into a smile, offering you to say your piece.
Taking a deep breath, you announced, "Okay...now that they're gone, I can finally tell you... I know Senku has made you do so much for the sake of science, such as hard labor and work. But his birthday is coming up in three days, and I need your help to do this. This is our only shot at giving him our gratitude, and I wanna make him the happiest he's ever been. So, please help me make this birthday so special that he won't forget it!"
The five villagers were a bit quiet but cheeky smiles and cheerful expressions appeared on their faces after your speech.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do it!"
"Tell us what to do, (Y/N)!"
"We got this!"
You heard all of them talking amongst themselves, and a small smile appeared on your face. What were you nervous about? Of course they'd help you, after all you did for them.
"Wait, so Senku's birthday is on Rock Day?" Kohaku questioned as you and your friends started heading to the lab.
"Rock Day...? Is that a holiday?" You wondered.
Kaseki piped up with a grin, "Rock Day is a day we offer up our prayers for all of the statues that were outside the village! But to think that it's on Senku's birthday!"
You widened your eyes, then let out a tiny chuckle. "Byakuya-san strikes again...he made his son's birthday into a holiday."
"He should've told us! Suika wanted to celebrate Senku's birthday!" Suika slightly huffed.
You grabbed a small paintbrush and ink and started drawing your plans on some cloth on the table center. As you painted, you responded to Suika's comment, "He probably thinks nothing of it now, especially since we're trying so hard to finish making the phone. But I'm not gonna let that slide."
"But what are you gonna make for Senku?" Kinro questioned you.
"Are you gonna make a super, awesome automated machine or whatever?" Ginro added. "Maybe an automatic ramen maker!"
You replied, "No, I'm not smart enough to do that. However, I am gonna turn the warehouse into a big observatory."
"Ohoho, I can't wait to see the final product of this huge project!" Kaseki cheered from outside.
"It's gonna take a while, but as long as we keep at it, we should finish by the time they come back," you said as you finished the quick sketch.
You stood up straight for your six friends to see it. They took one look at it and you explained to them exactly what you wanted, which they understood. The drawings were crappy but it was enough for them to know why you needed the help for it.
"What's this stick thing next to the observatory?" You heard Kaseki ask as he pointed at one of the figures on your drawing.
You replied as you used your hands to show him. "It's called a telescope. It's a long tube with a glass lens on the inside to help you see far away. It's kinda like Kinro and Suika's glasses."
Kohaku's eyes widened. "Oh, I remember! You said you could see the stars and planets in the sky with one!"
"Suika also remembers you saying that Senku had a huge one back in the old days!" Suika added.
You gave them a thumbs up. "Yup! I'm surprised you even remembered that!"
"And this is because he gave you that treasured gift on Christmas, right? You're just trying to get even with the gifts, riiight~?" The mentalist added with a snicker.
You shot a look at him. "We're you eavesdropping on us?"
"I was only passing by when I recognized the tune of a music box being played. The mood was set right and you two didn't even take the chance," the man replied with a shrug and disappointed sigh. He continued to prod, "So why a telescope, my dear (Y/N)-chan~?"
You sighed, then stopped what you were doing for just a second. Why exactly were you doing it? Would it be right to say that you were doing it for no good reason? No.
"I'm doing this because I love Senku," you professed as you stared at the plans.
"Oh, is that so--EEEHHHH?!"
Everybody around you screamed in surprise. As you looked at all of them, it seemed as though their eyes were popping out of their heads, and you had to cover your ears due to how loud they were.
"(Y-Y/N)-chan, did you just admit that you're in love with dear Senku-chan?!" Gen immediately questioned you with shock all over his face.
"Do you have a problem with it?! I thought you wanted me to admit that I love him!" You retorted with a rising, squeaky voice, and your eyes were shut tight. You were already embarrassed enough as it is; a dark hue was spreading across your face.
"It's not that we didn't want you to. It's just that you've been denying it this whole time until now!" The mentalist stressed as he waved his hands in defense.
Kohaku queried, "What changed your mind?"
"I...I don't know! I've just come to figure out what he's done and how he's cared for me all these years... The stories I told you made me tell, you guys asking questions..." you agonized, then pointed at Gen, "It's all your fault!"
The mentalist widened his eyes, then had a pompous grin on his face. "My, my, then you should thank me~! If it weren't for us, you wouldn't have admitted it sooner! Now you can take the chance to confess to him when he comes back~!"
You denied it, "Confess?! No! There is no way in hell I'm gonna do it so soon!"
"Either you do it or Senku-chan does. And you know well enough it's gonna take forever for you two to start dating if you guys don't do it soon~" he retorted.
"Yeah, if you don't, maybe Homura will do it! You could consider other options that are open to you!" Ginro added with his usual sleazy smile, which caused Kinro to lightly bump his younger brother on the back of his head.
The expression on your face darkened. You knew damn well that Gen was right because you were too scared and too focused on the task at hand to even confess to the boy himself. However, and you know it would never happen, but the thought of Senku being taken from you by someone irrelevant severely upset you.
"As if that's gonna happen! Senku has shown no interest in women at all! There's literally no other man that I'd consider dating, except maybe Gen or Kinro if I were that desperate," you scoffed, causing both men to raise their eyebrows in surprise.
"I'm a little flattered, (Y/N)-chan," Gen smiled, but he knew you weren't serious. Kinro nodded in agreement. "Though I'd reconsider that thought about Senku-chan not showing any interest if it's towards you..."
You then crossed your arms, and said, "Well, we can't go wasting our time talking right now, so let's get to work! We'll focus on the telescope first, then start the observatory process, okay? Are all of you ready?"
"Yeah!" They cheered.
A confident smirk appeared on your face as you nodded. "Good!"
~~~
For the next three days, you worked together with your friends to create a bigger warehouse and a telescope for the scientist. You were lucky enough to remember the different parts and pieces of a telescope, thanks to Senku explaining it to you when you were younger, and were able to finish the telescope using bamboo and two different-sized lenses made of glass.
The rest villagers ended up finding out about your project and offered to help you reach your goal. Some had gotten materials after looking through the forest, while others had helped with the science work. Some of them had even taken pieces of their homes for the sake of the warehouse, which you were against, but they had insisted it was for Senku.
You were thankful for their kindness and efforts. Watching them put all their effort into the boy you loved made you tear up, especially when almost everything was finished on the last day.
"Thank you...thank you so much for your help, everyone," you said with appreciation from the observatory.
Everybody was happy to have helped you. "It's no problem, (Y/N)!"
"Heh, Senku better get me something even more awesome for my birthday," one of the villagers, Carbo, stated jokingly. "This was too much work!"
"Aye!" Mantle agreed.
You slightly chuckled, "Heh, don't worry, I'm sure Senku will use his science to do something cool...though I'm worried that Magma might not bring Senku back in time..."
"Don't worry, (Y/N)! Magma is capable! He won't fail at doing something so simple," Mantle told you as he rubbed his hands together.
You sighed and nodded. As much as you despised the little man before, the experience with the entire village improved your relationship with every person.
While you waited, you looked up at the darkening sky and saw that the stars were starting to pop out from the void. Taking the finished telescope, you looked through the hole to see that it was working perfectly, spotting one of the massive gas giants in the Solar System.
"Is there anything left you need to do before they get back, (Y/N)-chan?" You heard Gen come up from behind you.
You backed away from the telescope and replied, "Well, before the world was petrified, Byakuya-san and I would take Senku to his favorite ramen joint every year for his birthday. Since his father isn't here and we haven't been able to do it...I wanted to continue that tradition."
"Ah, so that's why you asked Ganen-chan to make the ramen earlier...you sure he won't eat it? Considering he's a glutton?" The man asked you with sweat dripping down his temples.
You shook your head. "He won't. I made sure to have Jasper watch him. Besides, I told him to make a lot so he can eat some himself with the village--"
"THEY'RE COMING BACK!"
You and Gen whipped your heads in the direction of the voice to see Kohaku on the observatory roof, pointing in the direction of where they were coming from. Immediately, you ran out of the warehouse and climbed down the ladders to get the ramen jars that you requested from Ganen earlier.
"Ganen!" You called out from the bridge.
You saw him and Jasper around a pot full of cooked ramen inside the village by the chief's hut. The boy smiled and held up two jars in a basket. "Hey, (Y/N), you're here just in time! We just finished making the ramen, and I have your--"
You snatched the basket from him and turned tail to head back to the warehouse. "Okay, thanks! Senku's already here, so I'm just gonna take these now! Have fun eating the ramen, bye!"
Swiftly running back, you grabbed a bottle of wine and some cups from one of the huts that stored food preserves. Can't have a meal without a drink now, can we?
As you approached the warehouse, you saw many of the villagers surrounding the building and heard voices from above. You went to the lab to grab your music box, then climbed the ladder. The dialogue you heard was getting clearer with each peg you stepped on.
"Hah, don't bother trying to call for help, Senku," you heard Kohaku let out a laugh. "We're all working with Gen here."
Then you heard Senku speak, "So, you bastards finally figured out the hack, huh? All you needed to do is hand science and my head over to Tsukasa and the villagers are safe. It's perfectly logical. I'm sure (Y/N) already got the gist and left to survive...either that or you guys did something to her too."
"What the hell are you saying? You've got the wrong idea!" You lightly chided as you opened the door. You couldn't believe that your friend was thinking the worst.
"(Y/N)? You didn't leave?" Senku wondered. You heard his breath hitch as he said that, the poor boy.
You placed the basket on the floor and took the blindfold off of his eyes, which allowed him to see through the telescope immediately. You watched as his eyes widened at the sight of Saturn, one of the gas giants in the solar system.
"An astronomy telescope...no...an observatory..." Senku muttered softly.
"Happy birthday, Senku," you spoke gently. Closely watching, you noticed his crimson-colored eyes getting glassy, and his expression showing disbelief. He was unable to say anything when he backed away from the device.
"January Fourth...Rock Day!" Kaseki cheered.
Kohaku grinned "We all heard it was your birthday today, Senku!"
"Everybody worked hard to give you a gift!" Suika exclaimed.
"It was all (Y/N)-chan's idea though~" Gen swiftly added.
You slightly widened your eyes when Senku faced you, then crossed your arms as you looked away. "All I did was remember everything you told me about the telescope you had back then...unfortunately, we couldn't make it exactly as it was before, but it's still enough to see something..."
The scientist stared at you with his eyes glossed over. The gears in his head were working up to think of something to say to you, but before he could ever utter a single word, Ginro came up to him and started jabbing him with his index finger.
With his tongue sticking out, he teased, "Hang on, Senku, are you moved for the first time in forever~? You can cry, you know! No need to hold it in! Come on, come on, come on!"
"Ginro, you are so low!" Kinro sighed.
A smirk appeared on Senku's face as he turned toward the telescope once more. "You guys did a great job! This is extremely practical! We can use this on our watchtower against Tsukasa!"
You knew he was hiding his feelings in front of everyone. Though your friends had sweat dripping down their temples.
Kohaku hesitated, "I guess you're right..."
"Your feedback is as rational as ever..." Gen replied.
The scientist then looked at you, "A guy doesn't bring up his birthday randomly. I suppose you told them, slowpoke?
"Of course," you said with a grin. "Though, if I wasn't here, I'm sure Gen would have figured it out with the number of days you've lived."
"He wouldn't have been able to figure it out if he didn't have the date I was revived," he told you.
Gen smiled, causing shock to the boy as he said, "Don't you remember? You wrote down the date the moment you were de-petrified, right next to the cave of miracles... If I think about it from the start--before we even met--more than a little, I already liked you, Senku-chan."
"That's kinda gay, Gen," you snickered. But you were a bit surprised, as you didn't know that the mentalist had known Senku's revival date. Even you didn't know that.
Senku replied with a smirk, "Yeah, that's kinda gay, dude."
The man reassured you with a chuckle, "Not in that way, I assure you. But either way, everyone feels that way too, to some extent. Anyways, we'll leave the two of you here for that tradition of yours that (Y/N)-chan talked about~!"
With that, Gen started shoving everybody down the ladder to leave both of you alone. You walked towards the observatory opening to see your friends heading away to give the two of you privacy. Before leaving out of sight, the mentalist stuck a thumb up with a wink.
"Go for it, (Y/N)-chan!" You heard him whisper-shout.
You scrunched up your face in annoyance but slowly showed him an awkward thumbs-up.
"So, you're the mastermind behind the observatory, huh?" Senku questioned when the two of you were alone.
You nodded as you turned to face the boy. "When I realized that it was Christmas the day you lit up the tree, I remembered that your birthday was around the corner. I used up the time between then and the day you left to think of everything, then act on it when you left. Of course, I got everybody in on it."
"And you also got everybody to bring the ramen and wine here too?" He questioned you.
You sheepishly smiled. "That was mostly my idea. Because of this new world, we haven't been able to do our ramen tradition...so I thought we'd get together like old times and eat some ramen with Byakuya-san. I know he would've wanted to do this with us."
The green-haired boy had a solemn appearance in his eyes, remembering how his father and you would always get ramen at his favorite spot every year for his birthday. With the world reset and with Ishigami Byakuya no longer in your lives, it was impossible to get back to the way it was before. However, you did your best to keep that tradition alive, and Senku knew that.
With glassy eyes, a fond smile tugged at his lips. "Yeah, he would've."
You then opened up the wine bottle, and gave him a glass cup to pour the drink in. Once you did so, you motioned him to sit down on the floor with you. "We're not of age yet, and we don't have anything else that's good to drink, but this is for cheering. Thank you, Ishigami Village and Byakuya-san for everything you have provided us with!"
You had your own in your hands and the both of you clicked both glasses together. You didn't drink all of it in fear of getting drunk like last time.
"I know you've been awake in this world longer than I have, so I'm guessing that I should say you're seventeen instead of sixteen, huh? You're older than me now," you told Senku as you started eating from your small jar. "I'm still sixteen biologically."
"If you're worried about us having a weird age gap, don't worry about it. You're still close to my age," he mentioned as he ate with you.
"You're right..."
"Either way, it shouldn't change our relationship with each other. We're still going to be friends, no matter what," said the green-haired boy.
Your eyes slightly widened. You averted your gaze as you let out a slightly nervous chuckle, "Haha, yeah...friends... anyways, let's eat and test out the telescope afterward to see if we can find something cool! I haven't tried looking for anything except Saturn!"
You immediately downed your ramen and got up the moment you finished. Senku looked around first when he was done, then stood next to the telescope when he was finished exploring to let you have a go. He watched as your (E/C) eyes were focused on looking at the stars surrounding the moon. It was appearing as a white, thin crescent in the sky, and its illumination was bright enough to light the entire observatory. As you looked, Senku also told you everything that had happened during his three-day trip in the cave.
"Magma is a good guy...even though he has mostly muscles for brains," you told him. "I gotta thank him later for keeping his promise."
"You made a promise with him?" Senku wondered.
"To keep you safe, of course. I am surprised Chrome said nothing about the whole blindfold thing, though. We didn't even tell him the plan. Anyways, the moon stars look pretty at this time of night. I'm glad the sky was clear when you came home," you told him as you looked through the telescope once more.
"Yeah..." the scientist replied softly. Home...
The boy stared at you as moved the device around to see the celestial balls of plasma, hydrogen, and helium that stood still in the fields of the void. He thought about how you did everything you could to keep him happy, especially during his time with you in a world like this. Despite never being able to see his father again to do his favorite tradition, and after everything you've been through together, you've always been you.
And so, a single thought appeared in his head. As he had known before, he kept his feelings at bay. But his walls had crumbled upon seeing your warm smile over time. They broke through his clouds of grey, knowing there was more beyond the pain of today.
"Still going to be friends, no matter what," huh? What a joke. Senku thought as he furrowed his eyebrows.
You weren't just a friend to him. You were his life, his love, and his home. He didn't want to lie anymore; he knew he only did it to protect himself. But who knows if he was already hurting you? Your gift to him was a gift to love, and he was going to return the favor.
"Senku? Are you okay?" You questioned him as you looked back to see him with his thinking expression.
He relaxed as he looked directly at you. The boy inhaled slowly and deeply, saying,
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that the moon is beautiful tonight...isn't it?"
-To be Continued-
A/N: Teehee, cliffhanger. This chapter is way longer than I had originally planned it to be. I had so many ideas in my head that I couldn't put it into one chapter!
But this is it yall, I can't wait to show you what I've got next. Also, if you have no idea what the last sentence means, I suggest you look it up ;)
Added note: this is officially my longest chapter!