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unfortunatelycake · 4 years

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SG 39. Kissing tears from the other’s face.

Aaa this took me forever because my brain was being a jerk.

Terminus

Rated T, minor character death, references to canon-typical violence

Cross-posting to AO3, will update post with link later

Fire and smoke filled the air, and the wind bore the stench of scorched metal and burnt clothing. A series of harsh, metallic pings rose up from within the flames-- and then came the explosion.

It was ear-splitting and sudden, and made the ground tremble as shrapnel embedded itself into anything still standing.

Anything except Saitama. The shrapnel - bent screws, crumpled fragments of metal, even a couple of finely-engineered fingers - bounced off of him, leaving little smears of ash where they hit.

He wiped absently at the marks and tugged away the shredded rags that had, that morning, been clothes.

Ahead, a trembling, ruined figure appeared amidst the slowly clearing smoke. Half-hidden behind torn chest plates, a dim blue light flickered and died, and the body crashed backwards onto the torn-up earth.

Another crash caught his attention, this time softer, and behind him: Genos was on his knees.

Saitama crouched beside him, heedless of the steam that poured from his vents as he patted his shoulder. Genos' clothes had been burned away, his plating torn up and littered with shrapnel in the places Saitama hadn't been able to shield.

"Good job, Genos," he said.

Genos' limbs twitched, a low ticking rising from amidst the strained hum of his core, like the cooling of a scorching hot engine. His fans whirred, and he swayed, gaze fixed upon where his opponent had fallen.

He said nothing, only stared.

"Genos?" Saitama threaded his fingers into his hair, pushing it back from his forehead and trying to look him in the eye. When Genos didn't respond, he cupped his cheek and turned his head to look at him.

Genos' eyes widened when their gazes met, his brows rising and his pupils like tiny suns in a night sky. He looked a lot younger in that moment, less like a confident, powerful man and more like a terrified young boy.

Saitama shifted onto his knees, bare skin crushing a few dismembered cyborg fingers. "You okay?" He rubbed a smudge of ash from Genos' cheek with his thumb. "Your voice box broken?"

A whine escaped Genos' form, coming from his throat rather than his core, and he shook his head. His attention drifted over Saitama's shoulder, to the crumpled form beyond.

"It's dead?" His voice was weak and uncertain, and his eyes glowed from within the cracked surface of his face, betraying that he was running a scan.

"Yeah, dude," Saitama smiled. "You beat it."

Genos shook his head rapidly. "I can't have," he uttered. "It was too easy."

"Nah, you're just real strong."

Something glistened at the corners of Genos' eyes. "But it was so powerful," he insisted, voice rising as he spoke. "It destroyed everything, it ruined my life, it killed my family, IT CAN'T BE THIS EASY!"

Saitama cast a glance at the dead cyborg, and shrugged. "You were stronger, Genos."

Oily black tears spilled over onto Genos' cheeks. "It was too easy," he repeated.

A gentle tug to his shoulder, and he was in Saitama's arms. Saitama held him close, rubbing his back and stroking his hair as the tears dripped from Genos' face and onto his skin.

"Was easy 'cos you're strong," he murmured. "You did great. This 's what you always wanted, huh?"

"But it was too easy..." Genos pressed his face against Saitama's neck, his artillery still hot as he wrapped his arms around him. "It shouldn't have been that easy."

"Why not?" Saitama tilted his head.

Face smeared with tears, Genos peered at him. "Because it was the Mad Cyborg, sensei." His voice wavered as he peeked over at it. "It was powerful."

"Yeah but you trained hard and got real strong," Saitama caressed his tear-stained cheek. "You're amazing, Genos. You beat the Mad Cyborg."

Fresh tears sprang up in Genos' eyes. "I beat it..."

"Yeah." Saitama smiled. "You beat it."

"Why doesn't it feel better?"

Saitama's smile faded. "...Sometimes it doesn't, when you're really strong."

"Oh." Tears slid down Genos' cheeks, and his brow wrinkled beneath his mussed-up bangs. "I wanted to avenge my family."

"You did."

"It was too easy."

"Doesn't matter. 's through all your hard work, dude." Saitama stroked his hair. "You got hurt a lot so's you could get this far. Dunno how many times you nearly died in the process but it's more'n enough. All the things you've done and all the stuff you've been through to get here, none of that was easy. This fight might've been easy but it's only 'cos you did all the grunt work on your way here."

The words came from the heart, spoken with a voice unused to giving motivational speeches. Genos stared at Saitama unblinkingly, the hum of his core rising between them.

"...'s like, you massively levelled up your character way before you reached the final boss," Saitama added.

Beneath his gaze, Genos' expression contorted with grief, and he bowed his head, a sob escaping his lips. "Sensei--!"

"Hey." Tilting his chin up, Saitama gazed into his teary eyes. "It's okay, Genos." He leaned in, kissing the oily streaks upon his face, first one cheek, and then the other.

More tears rolled down Genos' cheeks, and Saitama kissed them away as they fell, stroking his hair and murmuring soft reassurances against his skin.

"It's okay," he whispered. "You did good. It's okay now."

Genos clung to him, core whining and shoulders trembling. He watched him through tears and half-closed eyes, his sobs slowly subsiding in the wake of all those butterfly-light kisses.

"...Sensei..." He said it in a sigh, blinking away the last of his tears. "Thank you."

"Hm?" Saitama drew back a little, rubbing his hand over his mouth to wipe away the oil. "What?"

"For everything."

"I didn't do anything though?"

"But sensei you did!" Genos' eyes grew wide, his back straightening. "You taught me expert battle tactics, you taught me to be strong! You taught me what it is to be human again, without which I may have ended up a heartless shell!" Another wave of tears threatened at the corners of his eyes, and he fought them back as he continued. "You missed a sale today for the sake of supporting me through this battle, you have done so much for me, Saitama-sensei, and you're still supporting me. You're still here..." He brought a hand to Saitama's face, tracing over the contours of his cheek with his fingertips. "I could not have done this without you, sensei," he murmured. "Thank you."

Saitama let out a breath, pink creeping across his cheeks. "Wanted to," he mumbled, patting him.

A single tear rolled down Genos' cheek, and Saitama leaned in, kissing it away.

Then Genos' lips found his, and he held him tightly as the world around them became silent and still.

When Genos drew back, his eyes were bright and his core hummed steadily.

Saitama smiled and ruffled his hair. "You okay?"

"I will be, sensei." Genos caught his hand and kissed his fingertips. "Thank you."

"Heh..." Entwining their fingers, Saitama nodded his head towards the nearest road. "C'mon. Let's go see the doc. He'll wanna hear about this, huh?"

"Yes, sensei. Doctor Kuseno wants every detail, and will carry out a full post-mortem examination of the Mad Cyborg."

"Ah."

"He is sending out droids to collect it."

"Cool," Saitama pulled him to his feet. "Let's go ahead to the lab? Or d'you wanna wait for the droids?"

Genos looked him up and down, frowning. "...Sensei, you are naked."

"Yep."

"What happened to your clothes?!"

"Fire happened," Saitama chuckled. "That was a real cool fight y'know."

Genos shook his head. "It was too easy-- and sensei, you can't go to the lab naked."

"Why not? You're naked too."

"That's different. Doctor Kuseno built my body, and I'm made of machine parts, not flesh."

"You're still human." Saitama tapped at Genos' chest plates with a fingertip. "Still naked, too."

Genos pouted. "Sensei..."

"Genos." Saitama pecked his lips. "Lab's closer'n home. The doc'll have spare clothes, right?"

"...Yes, sensei."

"C'mon then."

Together they picked their way through the ruined landscape, abandoning the remains of the Mad Cyborg to the doctor's droids. The area was desolate and abandoned, and Saitama walked as if public nudity didn't matter in the slightest.

Beside him, Genos was quiet, lips pursed and face stained with oil, his head bowed.

After too much silence, Saitama glanced at him, brow raised. "Hey?"

"Yes, sensei?" Genos sounded tired.

Saitama stopped walking and looked up at him.

"They'd be real proud of you, y'know."

Pain flickered across Genos' face. He squeezed his eyes shut, and kept them closed for a long moment.

When he opened them again, his eyes were as bright as the sun, and he drew back his shoulders, his gaze resolute.

"Thank you, sensei," he said softly. "I think so too."

Saitama smiled, and Genos lifted his head towards the horizon. The sun was high, and there was some way to go before they reached the lab.

"...Doctor Kuseno will be waiting for us," he said.

"Yep." Saitama kissed his cheek, and tugged at his hand, and together they continued on their journey. "D'you think he's got any of those custard creams?"

A pale smile formed on Genos' lips, weary yet affectionate. "I think so, sensei."

"Cool." Saitama grinned, and pulled him along faster.

The quest for vengeance was over.

It was time to rebuild.

#saigenos #genosai #saitama x genos #genos x saitama #saitama/genos #genos/saitama #one punch man fic #one punch man #long post #kakera writes stuff #animepitbull #that opm fanfiction

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