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intheticklecloset · 3 years ago

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Christmas Revival (A SenGen Christmas Special)

Written by me / Art by @skribblz

A/N: SURPRISE!! My good buddy skribblz and I did a collab together! We've been planning this for months and working on it all of December and now it's finally ready! We're SO excited to share this fun, fluffy, SenGen Christmas special with you!

This story is set in a universe that is as close to canon as possible, only Senku and Gen are an item and all of their friends know and support them! It takes place after Season 2 but strays from the continuing story, so there are NO manga spoilers! Skribblz and I had a lot of fun squealing over our mutual love for this shipping and we hope you will, too! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from us to you! Enjoy!! <3

Special Thanks: I cannot express how fun and exciting it was to collab with someone for the very first time! I'm thrilled it was with such an amazing artist as skribblz; I truly am honored to have her gorgeous art featured in this story! <3

Word Count: 7,142

~~~

“Do you know what day it is, Senku?” Gen asked at random one afternoon while he, Senku, and a handful of others were taking a well-deserved lunch break.

Senku swallowed his bite of ramen before answering. “December 20.”

Gen paused, nodded, and went back to his own meal. “Figured you’d know.”

“Why does it matter?”

“Well, your birthday is coming up. I wanted to make sure I got the date right.”

Senku peered at him for a long moment. “Nah. I think you already knew the date. You didn’t need me to confirm anything.”

Gen blinked at him, then smirked. “Ooh, look at you, being a detective all of a sudden.”

“So why did you ask?”

“Well, I was just curious…” The mentalist trailed off, averting his eyes. He suddenly seemed hesitant, which only made Senku more curious himself. “I mean, it doesn’t really matter. We’re busy with other, more important things. I can’t ask you to do anything more.”

“More?” Senku inquired, trying to get Gen to come out with it. “What is it, mentalist? I haven’t made you cola in a while, have I? Is that it?”

After a moment Gen sighed and set his bowl in his lap. “It’s not about cola. I just…I was just thinking that Christmas is in a few days.”

Senku nodded. “And?”

“Well…it would be fun to celebrate it, right? Remember the lights you made for that giant tree last year? It was nice. Normal. I just miss normal sometimes. But it doesn’t matter!” Gen perked up suddenly, though Senku could tell he was faking his nonchalance. “Like I said, we’re already crazy busy putting together this next project. Who has time for a holiday break, right?”

Senku opened his mouth to reply, but Gen quickly stood and excused himself, shuffling away from the circle he was in to join another one nearby, huddling around a separate fire with Kohaku and some others.

“Christmas?” Chrome asked after an awkward pause. “I remember him talking about it last year but we never really celebrated it, did we? What is it?”

Senku was silent for a long moment, staring at Gen’s back at the next fire over before turning his gaze to the flames directly before him. His ramen was long forgotten by now. “Christmas was a holiday we celebrated in the old world at this time of year. I like to acknowledge the day itself, but it’s easy for me to forget that some people really love to celebrate the entire season and all of the little things that are part of it.”

Chrome and Kaseki exchanged glances. The old man said, “You know, we can only do so much with all this snow on the ground.”

“And everyone’s been working really hard nonstop for a long time now,” Chrome added. “Maybe it would be a good idea to take a longer break? I’m sure it would help boost morale.”

Senku was nodding in agreement even before they finished speaking. “I ten billion percent agree.” He met their gazes with a smirk, the gears in his head already turning in a new direction. “But I’m afraid we’re still going to have to work if we want Christmas to really feel like Christmas in such a short amount of time.”

Chrome grinned. Kaseki cracked his knuckles.

“Tell us what we have to do.”

The following morning – December 21 – Gen awoke on his own. At first he didn’t think anything of it, but then he realized that this was the first day in a long while that he hadn’t been forcefully woken up by somebody and dragged out of bed. Either it was earlier than he thought it was, or they’d let him sleep in for some reason. His curiosity was enough to make him get up, throw on his winter coat, and hurry outside.

No one was working. Like…at all.

Gen stared, blinking, sure he was seeing things. The villagers and old-worlders were outside milling about – their camp was far from barren – but no one was scrambling. There was no shouting, no running across the slippery ground to get from one place to the next, no sign of Senku or Chrome directing people.

One group that included Kohaku and some other girls were seated around the campfire from last night, chatting and laughing. The kids were throwing snowballs and building very lopsided snowmen. Gen felt like he’d woken up in another dimension, or perhaps traveled forward in time to when they had finished reviving everyone on the planet and were able to take time to just relax.

He had to find Senku.

“Kohaku,” he called, moving to join the group around the campfire.

She turned and smiled up at him. “Morning! You sure slept in, huh?”

“Well…no one woke me up, so…yeah?” Gen made a show of looking around. “Where’s dear Senku?”

“Oh, he’s around somewhere. Don’t worry about him. But once you’ve eaten you should find Suika. She was asking for you earlier.”

“She was?” Gen blinked, eyeing the group of kids having a snowball fight. She didn’t appear to be among them, so he let it go for the moment. “Okay, I’ll find her later. But seriously – where’s Senku?”

Kohaku merely winked at him and went back to chatting with her friends.

Well that was unhelpful, Gen thought as he went to find something to eat. And odd. No one’s working, Kohaku isn’t telling me where Senku is…what is going on? He’d find out sooner or later, he knew. But first things first – his stomach was demanding breakfast.

“Hey, Chrome,” Gen called after spotting the brunette as he wandered around camp after eating, having spent most of his first hour of the day trying to figure out what was happening and why no one was working.

Chrome turned and waved at him. “Yo, Gen. Morning.”

“Good morning.” Gen stopped in front of him, glancing around. “Where’s Senku?”

“Oh, he’s around somewhere,” Chrome replied vaguely, waving his hand. “What do you need?”

Something was definitely up, but Gen knew it would be pointless to drill Chrome for information. He let out a breath of air, watching it vaporize in front of him. “Never mind. Where’s Suika?”

“Oh, yeah, she’s been asking for you.” Chrome jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “She and some other kids wandered off that way just a few minutes ago. You should be able to catch up to them, no problem.”

“All right. But if you see Senku, could you please tell him I’m looking for him?” Gen asked as he began to walk away again.

Chrome gave him a knowing smile. “Yeah, sure thing.”

“There you are!” Suika called when she spotted him, nearly tripping over her winter coat in her hurry to greet him.

Gen knelt down in the snow and smiled at her. “Hi, Suika. I heard you were looking for me.”

“You kept sleeping and I wasn’t supposed to wake you up,” she replied, bouncing excitedly, “but Senku told us that you knew all sorts of Christmas stories, and we really want to hear them! Please?”

“Christmas stories?” Gen blinked. He suddenly recalled his conversation around the fire last night. Was that why no one was working? Were they actually taking a holiday break? “Of course I know Christmas stories. I know lots of them.”

“Could you tell us?” Suika begged, grabbing his coat sleeve. Some other village kids had begun to circle up as well. “Please, Gen?”

His heart melted. “Absolutely I can, dear Suika. But…do you know where Senku is now? I want to talk to him.”

Suika and the other kids looked at each other, then back at him. No one said a word. Gen wasn’t sure what that meant, but either way, he decided his infuriating scientist could wait. He had stories to pass on to the next generation first!

“Where’s Gen?” Senku asked Chrome when he reentered the lab after being out for nearly an hour. The scientist had been working all morning on one particular project that was giving him trouble, and he was more than ready to start handing out assignments to the rest of the villagers once he knew Suika had done her job.

Chrome gave him a thumbs-up. “Distracted.”

“Great.” Senku stood, stretched, and nodded. “All right. Obviously things aren’t going to be perfect due to our limited resources and time, but let’s do the best we can.”

“Of course.” Chrome peered over Senku’s shoulder at the mess he’d made on the lab table. “What’s that?”

“Never mind that. I want you to start getting people to work on decorations and ornaments when Gen isn’t around. Kaseki and I will keep working on the lights. When everyone’s finished, bring their stuff to that tree you found this morning and hide it there, then report back. Don’t let Gen anywhere near that part of the forest until we’re done, okay?”

“You got it, Senku,” Chrome replied. He eyed his friend’s project again and smirked. “I have to admit, it’s neat to see you throw yourself into something fun for a change.”

“Science is always fun.” Senku turned his back, waving a hand in the air. “Go on. I know Gen likes to ramble but he won’t be telling stories all day. We have work to do.”

Gen told Suika and the other kids as many stories as he could manage. He started with the classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, twisting around minor details to make it more engaging for them – though they seemed to be genuinely enraptured either way. He then told them about the Grinch, Rudolph, Frosty, and as many tales as he could think of that were meant for younger audiences.

And, of course, he told them about Santa Claus. As he expected, this was the one the kids were most excited to learn about.

“He could fit down really tiny places?” one of the kids asked.

Gen smiled. “That’s right.”

“Do you think he got turned to stone, too?”

Oh. He hadn’t thought about that part. “Of course not! He’s Santa Claus. His magic protected him from the petrification beam. He’s just been waiting for the rest of us to wake up so he can bring us presents again!”

“Wasn’t he lonely all by himself?”

“Oh, no! He had Mrs. Claus and his elves and reindeer. Besides, I’m sure he was happy to have all that extra time to make lots and lots of new toys for everyone.”

Suika tilted her head. “Is he like Senku?”

Gen laughed harder than he meant to at that. “Kind of! Senku likes to focus on making tools that adults can use more than toys for kids, but they are both inventors and very, very smart. I definitely think you should ask Senku if he’s like Santa Claus, though, dear Suika.” The mentalist could barely contain his wide smile. “Just make sure I’m there when you do.”

Hours went by. Before he knew it his stomach was growling again, pulling him out of his Christmas storytelling. He encouraged the kids to take a lunch break with him, at which point Suika rolled up into her shell and tumbled out of sight. He watched her go with a smile. It must have been convenient to be able to get around so quickly.

When they returned to their camp it looked very much like it had earlier, though perhaps with a few less people. He figured many of them may have been taking the opportunity to nap and catch up on countless hours of lost sleep over the last several months – years, for some. His first order of business was to find some lunch, but then – whether the man wanted him to or not – Gen was going to find Senku.

“There you are!”

Senku yelped in surprise and whirled around, quickly positioning himself between Gen and the project he’d been working on. “What the—? How did you—? Where’s Kohaku? Or Chrome?”

Gen paused. “Good to see you, too.”

Senku blushed. “Y-Yeah, it’s good to see you, mentalist. Enjoying the day off?”

“I wanted to ask you about that. What’s going on?” Gen stepped further into the lab, acutely aware of how purposeful the younger man was being about blocking the table from his sight. “Is this because I said something last night? I mean, it’s nice and all, but I really didn’t want you to stop everything just because I was feeling sentimental…”

“I was inspired,” Senku said quickly, suddenly rushing forward to twirl him around and push him back outside. “Let’s talk out here.”

“What? But it’s way warmer in the lab—”

“I could use the fresh air.” Senku dragged him out of the lab and several paces away from it.

Gen eyed him suspiciously. “What are you up to? Scheming is my thing. Don’t take that from me.”

“Me? Beat you at scheming? Ha!” Senku laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll always be the best at being devious.”

“Why, thank you, dear Senku.” Gen paused, glanced around at all the people having fun in the snow and sunshine, then looked back to his scientist and took his hand. “Hey. For real. What’s going on?”

Senku squeezed his palm, smirked, and winked. “Spoilers.”

Gen groaned. “Nooo. You can’t use that line against me, too!”

“I believe I just did.” Senku brushed the hair from his cheek and kissed him briefly. “Trust me. Let me be sneaky for a little longer, okay?”

“I don’t know…” Gen pulled him closer and wrapped his arms around his waist. “You sure I can’t tickle it out of you?”

Senku tensed. “Don’t. Please. I’m serious, mentalist – I want to do this for you. For everyone.” He pushed at him gently, trying to meet his eyes. “Trust me.”

Gen took in a deep breath, let it out in a long sigh, and shrugged. “Fine. I’m not going to complain about some time off, that’s for sure. But if I don’t get answers soon I’m coming after you again.”

The scientist chuckled. “I believe you.”

For the rest of the day, Gen spent his time with the kids. They wanted to know everything. What kinds of toys existed in the old world? Were they hard for Santa to make? What happened to Rudolph and Frosty and the other magical creatures he told them about when the Earth was hit by the petrification beam? And then, once he told them about caroling – which, in retrospect, was perhaps not something he should have ended the night with – they wanted to hear every carol he knew even though his throat was already sore from having spoken to them all day.

“Why don’t I teach you some carols tomorrow?” he suggested. “My voice is tired. Once I have dinner and get some sleep, I’ll be ready to sing any song you want to hear in the morning.”

“Promise?” Suika asked hopefully.

Gen smiled at her. He couldn’t deny he had a huge soft spot for the adorable girl. “I promise.”

Chrome laughed when the mentalist told him and the others in their campfire group of the night about his day. “Well, it’s your own fault for being such a dramatic storyteller. The kids love hearing you tell your tales.”

“I’m happy to tell them,” Gen replied, clearing his throat for the hundredth time. “Just perhaps not all day long.”

“Don’t worry. Tomorrow you can take a break and sing for them instead!”

Gen groaned, leaning back in his seat just as Senku came to stand behind him, peering down at him with a smirk.

“Hi,” he said.

“Dear Senku!” Gen beamed, shifting to the side and patting the log next to him. “Join us.”

“How’s your throat?” the scientist asked, getting right to the point as he sat down.

“It’s been better. Suika and the kids loved my Christmas stories, though, so it was worth it~”

“Uh-huh. Here.” Senku passed him a steaming mug of…something. “Drink up. It’ll help your throat and make you feel better.”

Gen glanced at Chrome and Kohaku, who looked just as confused as he was. With a shrug, he brought it to his lips and sipped.

“What…? Are you…? Is this for real?” Gen exclaimed, eyes widening at Senku’s triumphant smirk. “You made hot chocolate?!”

Senku winked. “Nice change of pace from cola, eh?”

“But how…?”

“Just enjoy it, mentalist. Took me all day to get it right, but now that I know how, I’ll be able to make more tomorrow.” Senku stretched, his spine letting out an audible pop that made Gen wince.

“Senku-chan…”

“Not a word.”

Gen sighed, shook his head, and took another sip of the delicious drink to hide his smile.

Chrome looked back and forth between them, finally settling his disbelieving gaze on the scientist. “Wait…that’s what you’ve been working on all day?”

The next morning – December 22 – Senku watched from the lab door as Suika lured Gen toward the coastline with the rest of the village kids, presumably to make him sing Christmas carols. Once they were out of sight, he rounded up those who were helping him with the surprise tree in the opposite direction to start getting it strung up with lights, garland, and ornaments.

The tree Chrome had chosen wasn’t nearly as huge as last year’s tree had been, but it was just as well. They only had so much time to work with, and if it was too high up they wouldn’t be able to see some of the ornaments anyway.

“Let’s try to get as much of this done before lunch as possible,” Senku told everyone. “I don’t want Gen to even think about this half of the forest until we’re ready.”

Chrome nudged him playfully. “This is a lot of surprises for one person, Senku. Think Gen can handle it?”

Senku scoffed. “Please. Gen can handle anything.” He smiled at the brunette. “That’s one of the things I love about him.”

“You’re not going to be able to spend any time with him during the break if you work through all of it, you know.”

“We’ll be able to rest on Christmas Day. That’s enough for me.”

“Sure, but…” Kohaku came to stand on his other side, exchanging glances with Chrome. “Will it be enough for him?”

Senku paused, looking between them. “What do you mean?”

“I’m sure he’ll love that you’re putting all of this together.” She put her hand on his arm. “But I think he’d love it more if you took a break with him. Spent a whole day together, just the two of you.”

“We don’t have time for that. Like I said, Christmas Day will be good enough.”

Chrome and Kohaku frowned at each other as Senku walked away to give more instructions. They didn’t have to speak to know they were both worried that their hard-working scientist and chief was missing their point entirely.

“So, what super-secret project were you working on today, dear Senku?” Gen asked playfully as the scientist sat beside him with a heavy sigh.

Senku gave him a tired smirk. “Spoilers.”

Gen groaned. “Fiiiine. But when will I get to hang out with you? We’ve had two days off in a row and all we’ve done is have dinner together. I mean, don’t get me wrong.” His voice turned flirty. “I do enjoy eating premium stone world ramen with you, my dear. But if we’re taking a break anyway, why not really enjoy it?”

Senku gave him a look that clearly begged him to shut up as Kohaku grinned at them and Ukyo whistled.

Gen laughed. “Not what I meant, but hey, I wouldn’t complain—”

“Christmas Day,” Senku replied quickly, speaking just loud enough to be louder than Gen. “We’ll have Christmas Day.”

“But that’s still two days from now.”

“I’m aware.”

The mentalist hesitated. He couldn’t help but frown a little in disappointment. “Really? I won’t get to hang out with you before then? This separation is kind of rough. It’s unlike you.”

Senku’s eyes softened. He placed his hand on top of Gen’s in his lap. “It’ll be worth it. I promise.”

“I’m…I’m sure it will.” Gen forced a smile, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “You’d better sweep me off my feet, then!”

Kohaku’s eyes found Chrome at the next fire over. He was already watching her.

She nodded.

He nodded back.

“Senku, we’re usurping you.”

The scientist blinked as the blueprints he’d sketched out late last night were taken from his hands. “What—?”

Chrome crossed his arms. Beside and behind him, Kohaku, Kaseki, Ukyo, and even little Suika followed suit. They all stared hard at him.

Senku frowned. Had he done something to upset them all? He was trying so hard to make this Christmas great for everyone.

“Senku,” Kohaku urged gently, “go see Gen today.”

“Is that what this is about? We’ll have Christmas Day—”

“You’ll have Christmas Day and today.” Chrome’s words were firm, but kind. “Let us take over. Go spend time with him. Surely you can see how badly he wants to spend more time with you while he has the chance. Go to him.”

Senku hesitated. The villagers hadn’t turned on him since the day he became their chief. He wasn’t entirely sure how to handle it. “Are you sure you can do it without help?”

Ukyo cleared his throat. “With all due respect, you aren’t the only one here who remembers the old world and what Christmas was like. You always work so hard for us. Please let us return the favor.”

“Go see Gen, Senku,” Suika said, tugging on his coat to get him to look at her. “He’ll be sad if you wait until Christmas.”

Well, that did it. Senku gazed down at her, then at the rest of his friends in turn. He offered a tiny, tentative smile. “If you’re sure…”

“Go!” they all replied.

Senku chuckled and turned to walk away as ordered. But only a few paces from them he broke into a sprint, a wide smile gracing his features.

He hadn’t realized how badly he wanted to run to Gen.

Senku found him by the shoreline, gathering up large clumps of snow and singing softly to himself, his back to the approaching scientist. He wanted to call out but decided against it, instead choosing to walk gradually to him, hoping to pick up on which carol he was singing.

“When we finally kiss goodnight, how I hate going out in the storm,” Gen hummed, packing the last bits of snow together for what was surely the bottom third of a snowman. “But if you really hold me tight…”

Senku grinned, rushed him, and wrapped his arms around his waist while singing the last line: “All the way home, I’ll be warm!”

“Ah! Senku-chan!” Gen squealed, whirling around. His eyes lit up hopefully when he realized they were alone. “What are you doing out here? I thought you had work to do.”

“I was usurped.” Senku grinned, taking his hands, smiling uncontrollably. It was embarrassing, but also, this was Gen he was looking at. “I got so caught up in the work I didn’t consider that I was missing a golden opportunity to spend time with you. Just the two of us. Good thing Chrome wasn’t taking no for an answer today.”

“Remind me to thank him later.” Gen beamed, then threw himself into the scientist’s arms and hugged him tight. “I really love you, you know?”

Senku’s eyes widened. He blushed. “H-Hey, save the mushy stuff, mentalist.”

“I’ve been saving it. I can’t hold back any longer.”

“Goofball.”

Gen pulled back and smirked at him. “All right, then. I’ll have to convince you a different way.”

Senku let out a sharp shriek when the mentalist squeezed his sides and waist, dissolving into hysterical giggles the longer he kept it up. “Nohohohohoho! Don’t tihihihihickle me first thihihihihing! Mehehehehentalist!”

“Would you rather skip to something else?” Gen teased, slowing to a stop before kissing him tenderly. “I can’t wait to spend the day with you. What should we do first?”

Still giggling a little, Senku pried Gen’s hands from his sides and held them a safe distance away, glancing around the area in an attempt to avoid eye contact for a few moments. He always got super flustered when Gen turned lovey-dovey, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it.

Finally he smirked, locking gazes with his mentalist and half-singing, “Do you wanna build a snowman?”

Gen laughed and tackled him into the snow, peppering him with kisses that had Senku squealing with giggles all over again.

“Come on, Senku-chan! The ice is sturdy enough.”

“I’m not going out there until I’m sure,” Senku argued, testing the patch he was on carefully. “Hypothermia is a very real threat if the ice breaks and we fall in. Really, mentalist, I’m mildly irritated you just ran out there without making sure it was safe first.”

“Only mildly?” Gen teased, but he knew Senku was right, so he waited as the younger man continued to test the hold of the ice, gradually sliding out onto it to join him. “See? It’s sturdy enough for us. Come on, let’s go skating!”

“You really think I have the coordination for that?” Senku muttered, but he pushed off with one foot anyway, attempting to join his partner on the frozen pond.

Gen smiled sweetly at him. “Of course I don’t, but I think it will be cute to watch you try.”

Senku gave him a withering look. “You’re the worst.”

“Yeah, I know~” The mentalist took his hand and pulled him even further out onto the ice. He started to hum a tune Senku didn’t recognize, his brow furrowed in concentration. “I can’t remember the words.”

“To what?”

“Whatever this song is that I’m humming.” Gen thought for another moment, then shrugged. “I can’t remember what it’s called or where it’s from. Just that it’s about skating, which is why it came to me.”

“Thanks for the explanation.”

“No need to be sarcastic, dear. I’m trying to be endearing.”

Senku laughed, which made Gen smile. “You don’t need to try at that, mentalist. You’re very good at being endearing just by existing.”

“Aww~”

“Quiet, you.” Senku grinned, then suddenly lost his footing. “Aiiieee!”

Gen stopped in place as the scientist tumbled down, bursting into giggles. “What was that noise?”

“The sound of me falling,” Senku snapped, groaning. He flashed Gen a smirk and tugged on his coat sleeve. “Get down here with me.”

“Ah, no! My butt will freeze!”

“Only yours? What about mine?”

Gen paused, making a show of checking him out before shooting him a quick wink. “What about yours, Senku-chan?”

Senku yanked on his sleeve so hard that Gen had no choice but to slip and fall down beside him. Once he was down, the scientist rolled on top of him and pinned his wrists to the ice. “Well? How’s your butt?”

Gen couldn’t help but giggle. Senku’s eyes widened in surprised triumph when he saw the mentalist’s cheeks turn red with a blush.

“I’m cold, Senku-chan,” the mentalist managed after a long, unstoppable giggle fit. He squirmed, grinning up at his scientist. “Won’t you warm me up?”

“Ugh, you’re so cringy sometimes, Gen.”

Gen didn’t even have time to feel butterflies at Senku’s use of his name before lips pressed against his in what was, in fact, a very warm kiss.

“This really isn’t going well,” Ukyo observed.

“We’ve got this!” Chrome countered determinedly. “We told Senku we could handle it so he could be with Gen. We can’t let his day off go to waste!”

Kohaku stared up at the tree, tilting her head back and forth. “It’s not that bad.”

The tree they’d chosen to be their “Christmas tree” was – in a word – wrong. Sure, it had its ornaments in place now, but through some weird screw-up of probability, said ornaments had been arranged by color rather than hung randomly as Senku and Ukyo had suggested, and the lights…

Well. The lights were failing miserably in their own way.

“Nobody panic,” Chrome said. He rolled up the papers he’d snatched from Senku and handed them off to Ukyo. “I’ll go back to the lab and get more batteries. You guys try making the ornaments a little more…unpredictable.”

“There’s still the star for the top of the tree to consider,” Kohaku murmured.

“Or an angel,” Ukyo said.

“Where are we going to find either one of those things?”

“We could make one.”

“Out of what?”

Chrome left them to figure it out, quite literally dashing through the snow to gather up the rest of the materials they needed.

Senku and Gen did everything together. Whatever little thing came to mind to do, they did it. They built snowmen, went ice skating, had a snowball fight, sang carols, talked about the old world, theorized about the petrification beam, held hands, laughed, kissed…everything. It was so exceedingly rare for them to have time to themselves; they wanted to enjoy every second possible. They didn’t even stop for lunch. They were so consumed with each other that food didn’t matter.

And every time Senku looked at Gen, he felt a fluttering in his chest. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly when the mentalist had become so important to him; it had happened so gradually he hadn’t even noticed at first. But now – after having a whole day to just be together like this – he was reminded once again how much he loved Gen. He loved him with all of his heart and soul.

When the sun started to sink below the horizon, Gen took his hand. “We should probably head back. Don’t you think?”

Senku hated to admit he was right, but he nodded and allowed his partner to walk him slowly out of the woods and back towards camp.

They were just beginning to see fires lighting up at their destination when a strong wind blew, making Senku shiver. Gen looked at him. “Cold? We did spend all day outside, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, I’m cold. But it’s nothing a fire and some ramen can’t fix.”

“Don’t forget hot cocoa~”

The scientist smiled. “Also that.”

Gen stopped walking, making him stop, too. They faced each other for a long moment. Then Gen opened up his coat and stepped forward, simultaneously hugging Senku to his chest and wrapping him up in his own outerwear.

“W-What are you…?”

“Whatever happens,” Gen said quietly, voice serious now, “whatever answers we find in the future, I know you’ll lead us to victory. I know you’ll save everyone, Senku-chan. I believe in you. I want you to know that.”

Senku was stunned silent.

But only for a moment.

“Sentimental,” he grumbled, but he hugged Gen back, burying his face in his shoulder, soaking in his warmth and his closeness. “…thank you.”

“I love you, Senku. I can’t wait to see your big surprise on Christmas Day.” Gen smiled, kissed him for the hundredth time that day, and started shuffling towards camp again, this time with Senku wrapped up in his coat with him. “Now let’s get some cocoa. I’m starving!”

“Cocoa won’t help your hunger, mentalist,” Senku quipped back, his mind still a little foggy from the sudden show of genuine affection.

Gen chuckled. “Ramen, then. Cocoa and ramen. The perfect Christmas dinner!”

On Christmas Eve morning, Senku and Gen had breakfast together, then shared knowing smiles as they each went their separate way. Feeling rejuvenated and inspired by his time alone with the man he loved, Gen got to work on his own secret project while he waited for the big surprise to be revealed later that night, according to the scientist.

Meanwhile, Senku hurried out to the secret Christmas tree, the worry he’d pushed down yesterday to be with Gen rising back up as he got closer. What if it wasn’t ready? But once he reached the clearing where his other friends were already waiting, he stopped short, staring in awe.

It was perfect. It couldn’t have been more perfect. The ornaments were scattered randomly but evenly all up and down the tree, and the different lights he and Kaseki had been working on were placed within the branches and hooked up to a switch at the base. There were even a couple of gifts underneath of it – wrapped in brown paper or placed in baskets with colorful ribbon on top, but gifts nonetheless.

There were already a few fire pits dug out around the area for their party later tonight. Everything was right on schedule, even without him being there to help things along yesterday.

He grinned at Chrome, Kohaku, Ukyo, Kaseki, and all the others who had worked in his place. “Excellent work, everyone. I couldn’t have done it better myself. Didn’t run into any snags or anything?”

“Nope,” Chrome and the others chorused. They ten billion percent were not going to tell Senku about the trouble they’d run into with the lights and the ornaments. He’d actually taken a day off for the first time in years, spending it with the mentalist he adored. That was all that mattered.

“Great!” Senku said, clapping his hands together. “It looks like all that’s left is to get the party set up. Have we tested the lights yet?”

“We were waiting for you to do that part,” Kohaku told him.

He nodded. “Then let’s light her up.”

“Gen—”

“GAH!!” Gen shrieked, toppling over in his shock and haste to hide what he was just finishing working on. When he finally looked up at Senku, the scientist was staring at him, looking like he was trying not to burst out laughing.

“What was that?”

“You can’t just sneak up on me like that!” Gen protested, scrambling to his feet, keeping his arms behind him, clutching his secret in his hand.

Senku quirked a brow at him. “Really? But you’re allowed to sneak up on me? That doesn’t seem very fair. And what are you hiding?”

“Nah-ah-ah!” The mentalist shook his head firmly. “You have your secrets, I have mine.”

“All right.” Senku smirked, holding up a dark cloth. “I’m here to bring you to the surprise now.”

Gen’s eyes lit up. “Really? Finally!” He quickly shoved his hands in his coat pockets to hide his own surprise for later. He closed his eyes with a wide smile. “Do what you want with me, dear Senku~”

Senku groaned even as he gently placed the cloth over his partner’s eyes and tied it behind his head. Once that was done, he paused, feeling suddenly mischievous. “Anything I want?”

Gen blushed. “Of course, Senku-chan.”

“Well, if you’re offering…” The scientist gently took his waist and kissed him, waiting for him to let his guard down before shoving his hands into his armpits and tickling. He laughed along with Gen when his hands shot out of his pockets, fists clenched, pounding on Senku’s chest and arms desperately.

“Nohohohohohoho! That’s nohohohohohot what I meheheheheheheant!”

“You said I could do what I wanted,” Senku teased. “What if I want to get my revenge on you for tickling me yesterday?”

“Ehehehehehehehehe!” Gen squirmed and squealed in his arms, making Senku’s heart beat faster for how adorable he was. Finally he stopped and tried taking the mentalist’s hand, but he shoved both back into his pockets again defiantly. “So mean, Senku. You can take my arm.”

Senku chuckled, gently hooked his elbow through Gen’s, and began to lead him – at last – into the forbidden part of the forest.

“What the…?” Senku stopped their forward momentum after having walked and talked together for at least ten minutes. Gen waited. There was a long silence, then Senku let go of him. “Wait here. Don’t take that blindfold off.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Senku~”

The scientist hurried towards the others, throwing his hands up. “What happened? I wasn’t gone that long!”

Chrome gave him a guilty look from up in the Christmas tree, his ankle caught in one of the wires connecting a light to the switch at the base, arms wrapped around a branch as he struggled to right himself without ruining anything. He glanced out at where Gen stood – still blindfolded – and said, “I tried to fix something and I made it worse. But it’s fine!”

Senku sighed, turning to Kohaku. “Any chance you could get him out of that contraption?”

Kohaku giggled, saluted, and launched herself up after the brunette.

Senku pinched the bridge of his nose. “I swear, it doesn’t matter what time period we’re in. Old world, stone world, the lights always get tangled. Always.”

Ukyo chuckled and nudged him, glancing back at Gen. “You just going to leave him there?”

“Yes.”

Gen pretended for his partner’s sake that he couldn’t hear a word they were saying – though honestly, he was trying desperately not to laugh at the mental image of Chrome of all people stuck in a tree. Probably tangled up in some kind of stone world Christmas lights, by the sounds of it.

Several minutes and lots of shuffling and shouts later, Gen finally got the cue he’d been waiting for.

“Take off that blindfold, mentalist,” Senku called. “You’ve been in the dark long enough.”

Gen’s heart began to race suddenly as he slipped the dark cloth away from his eyes. He’d been waiting all week for this. He was so excited he could hardly contain himself.

When he opened his eyes, Chrome flipped the switch at the base of the tree.

The once-normal pine suddenly became awash with multicolored lights, illuminating ornaments and garland and the space the mentalist stood in in beautiful Christmas colors. Gen had had a suspicion this was what they’d all been working on so secretly, but to actually see it come to life again after a year of adjusting to the stone world way of living…

Senku frowned, concerned, and hurried over to him. “Gen? What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”

Gen wiped the tears from his eyes and thrust himself into Senku’s arms, burying his face in his shoulder. “I love it. I love you. Thank you for bringing Christmas back, Senku.”

Senku was surprised by how touched he was at the sincere words. ��I love you, too. Merry Christmas, my infuriating mentalist.”

Gen giggled. “That’s my line.”

“I’m a scientist, thank you.”

Chrome, Kohaku, Kaseki, Ukyo, Suika, and everyone else who had gathered around the Christmas tree yelled “Merry Christmas!” into the darkening sky, then immediately burst into a flurry of motion. Gifts were exchanged, Suika led the kids in singing the carols Gen had taught them, and everyone huddled around different small fires to enjoy hot cocoa together – made entirely by Senku, who wasn’t confident enough in the recipe to tell anyone else how to make it yet.

It felt more like home than anything had in a long time, and as Senku looked around, he could see it wasn’t just Gen who was impacted. Ukyo looked thrilled, as did Taiju and Yuzuriha, who sat close to each other like the lovebirds they so obviously were. Nikki, Mirai – everyone from the old world who remembered Christmas and the joy it brought looked like they couldn’t be happier in this moment. And the stone-worlders stared at everything with wide, bright eyes, soaking it all in, asking questions and learning everything they could about the happy feeling spreading throughout the camp.

“This is more than I could have ever hoped for,” Gen murmured, leaning his head on Senku’s shoulder, taking his hand. “Thank you.”

Senku kissed the top of his head. “It’s the least I could do. They’ve worked hard. They deserve a little cheer.”

“So do you.” Gen looked up at the brightly lit tree, listened in to the kids’ rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” and smiled contentedly. “You deserve more than a little cheer. You more than anyone.”

“Nah. I’m no better than the rest of you. I’m just a scientist.”

Gen kissed him. “My scientist.”

Senku chuckled. “So, what’s your super-secret project, mentalist?”

“You’ll see in the morning.”

“You’re making me wait?”

“I don’t want to hear it, Senku-chan.” Gen grinned and winked at him. “Besides, it’s not quite Christmas yet. We have to save something for the actual day, don’t we?”

Senku stood, pulling him up with him, smirking. “I suppose we do.”

They joined the others together, taking part in the festivities and warm feelings long into the night, the Christmas tree keeping the world colorful until the sun began to peek over the horizon to turn the sky multi colors of its own.

It was Christmas Day. Senku awoke on his own, realized the sun had been up for a while, and didn’t care in the slightest. For the first time in over 3000 years, he’d been able to sleep in and wake up on his own time rather than adhere to the sun’s short winter schedule to get work done.

There would be no work today.

He rose, stretched, put on his coat and boots, and stepped outside.

Gen had been waiting for him. The mentalist got to his feet, brushing snow from his backside. “Merry Christmas, dear Senku~”

“Merry Christmas, Gen.” Senku smiled at him, surprised when his partner gently backed him into the doorway of the hut, wrapping an arm around his waist with a mischievous smile. “What are you scheming now?”

“There’s one Christmas tradition that wasn’t brought up this year, you know.”

“Mentalist, I’m sure there are several—”

Gen took his hand out of his pocket, raised it above his head, and smirked, waiting. Senku glanced up.

He held a small green plant with a red ribbon tied around it.

Senku swallowed, meeting Gen’s eyes. He knew he was blushing, but he couldn’t help it.

Gen cooed at him playfully. “Aww, someone’s a little flustered first thing on Christmas morning~”

“I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“But you are, aren’t you? This is my secret project. And I’ve already asked everyone to stay away for a little while.”

Senku blinked. “You…what?”

Gen kissed him, softly at first but with more fervor as the seconds ticked by. Senku’s heart began to race as he realized what the mentalist’s true intentions were.

He pulled away, breathless as he said, “You truly are the best at being devious, Gen.”

“I told you not to challenge me,” Gen teased, gently pushing him back inside the hut, away from the cold and any prying eyes. “Merry Christmas, my love.”

Senku felt like his heart was going to burst. He initiated their kiss this time, wrapping his arms around Gen’s neck as the mentalist tossed the mistletoe onto the floor. “Merry Christmas.”

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beomgyushighlights · 3 years ago

Text

Circus {H.K}

Day 1 (XII)

"all eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus"

in which the first words Nari's soulmate says to her are "free britney"

in which two idols find their soulmates in each other after thirteen days of little comments without knowing who the other was

-a short story soulmate au-

do not translate or repost without permission

(can also be found on wattpad and ao3 under the same username)

master list

As the choreographer allows a break, the members of the band sit and cool down while the arguably most chaotic member sings Circus by Britney Spears quite loudly. The sound of footsteps running in the hall catches the attention of the band as someone yells, "FREE BRITNEY!" before they continue running down the hall.

Confused, Chang Nari looks around the room, her band mates equally confused before she realizes that those are the first words her soulmate says to her. She rushes to look outside the door into the hallway, unfortunately too late to see the culprit. Sighing, she walks back to her band mates and takes a sip of her water.

"What was that?" Eun asks. "My soulmate." She shrugs. Osamu spits his water out in shock. "What!?" All four members ask at the same time. "Free Britney." She says showing them her wrist. "H.K, 18, XII." Hyejin reads.

"Okay, your soulmate is eighteen, good you won't catch a case. Twelve months? Days? Minutes?" Yejun says. "Unless you keep track it's hard to tell. Mine said twelve and then the next minute it said eleven so that's how I kept track and found my soulmate twelve minutes after our concert." Osamu says.

"Duri is so amazing." Hyejin gushes over Osamu's soulmate. "Well it's been a minute and it hasn't changed so it's not minutes." Nari says. "Okay, back to practice." The choreographer says. Practice goes well and soon the band is going back to their dorm.

The bands dorm is five bedrooms so each member has their own and that proves convenient for when someone wants a guest over. Opening the door, Hyejin hears a loud meow and a hello. "Duri!" Eun yells, running to the kitchen where Duri is cooking for the band. "Nabi!" Nari yells, picking up the small kitten that ran to her.

Petting the four month old cat, Nari walks to the kitchen were everyone has gathered. "Hi, Duri!" She smiles at the older female. "Hi, Nari. Nabi was very talkative today." She smiles back. "She seems to get more and more talkative every day." Yejun says.

"She also gets more energetic each day." Hyejin says. "She's only a kitten, of course she's energetic." Nari defends. A knock on the door pulls their attention and Nari goes to open it as she's the closest. She looks out the peephole before she opens it. "Hello?" She says. "Hello, are you one of the members of H.O.N.E.Y?" He asks her.

"Yes, how can I help?" She asks. "I'm Kang Taehyun of Tomorrow x Together, we wanted to know if you guys have any time that we can meet and ask for advice? BTS recommended asking you guys for more advice if we need it." He says. "One moment." She smiles turning to face the kitchen.

"CAN SOMEONE BRING ME THE PLANNER AND A PEN AND ALSO GRAB NABI FROM ME!?" She yells. "YEAH." Eun yells back. Eun brings the planner and a pen and grabs Nabi from Nari's arms. "Okay, so, we are really busy training this week but we are available two Tuesdays from now, that's in twelve days." She says. Taehyun pulls out his phone and checks his calendar.

"We're free then, where do you want to meet?" He asks. "Just bring your band here, as long as no ones allergic to cats." She says. "None of us are, So two Tuesdays from now, here, what time?" He asks. "Two in the afternoon?" She asks. "That works, thank you." He says with a bow. "It's no problem." She smiles.

She closes the door an shoes back to the kitchen. "WE MADE IT!" She yells. "What!?" Yejun asks. "BTS recommended a newer band to us for advice." She smiles. "Ooh, what band?" Hyejin asks. "Tomorrow x Together." She answers, grabbing the pencil from next to the calendar. She finds the Tuesday that's planned and writes 'txt at 2pm'.

"Oh, oh, uhh, they have that song with morse code at the beginning that they debuted with, right?" Yejun asks Osamu. "Yeah, Crown." Osamu confirms. "They also have anti-romantic, which has a tiktok dance." Eun says. "I like Nap of a star." Hyejin says. "Two Tuesdays from now at 2pm?" Eun asks. "Yes, it's on the planner and the calendar, just like always." Nari confirms.

"Taehyun came to the door and introduced himself. He said that BTS recommended us if they needed more advice." She gushes. "You look up to them so much it's hilarious." Eun laughs. "They have over 47 million followers on instagram and they have like over 35 million monthly listeners on spotify. They have fans in probably every country, they have worked with Halsey and others, they have broken so many barriers in the Kpop world, and they have won countless awards. Why wouldn't I look up to them?" She asks.

"Your fan girl is showing, Nari." Duri laughs. "Oh well, it's not a secret I'm an army." She shrugs. Duri finishes cooking dinner and plates it for everyone before they sit and eat together. They share light conversation, just bonding as they usually do. "I'm thinking about getting a puppy." Nari says randomly after a few moments of silence.

"No you aren't." Eun says. "Yeah, I'm not. It's like that one time I said I was going to cut my hair short, I don't mean it I just said it because I thought about it." I shrug. "Do you wanna dye your hair tonight? I have leftover pink and with your black roots it'll look really good, we can just put it over the bleached part." Hyejin says. "Yes, as soon as we finish dinner that way I have time to shower and be well rested for tomorrow." She says.

After dinner, Osamu and Yejun do the dishes while Hyejin and Nari go to the bathroom and Eun goes and sits in the living room with Duri. Nari sets up her phone to do a live while Hyejin works on her hair. "Hello, hello." She waves as people start joining. "How's my day? My days been very good, we did a lot of practicing dances and then we came home and ate a nice dinner and now Hyejin is dying my hair." She says.

"What color? Pink." She answers. "I got an idea, you trust me right?" Hyejin asks her. "Yes, do whatever you want to my hair." She replies. "Favorite english word? Ricochet or maybe bodacious. I like to say words like ethereal and surreal as well though." She says.

"Something exciting that happened today? Well, today I had a fellow idol ask if their band could meet with our band and ask some advice because BTS recommended us for if they needed more advice. I was very honored." She answers.

"My bias in BTS? Not available because they're all kinda like older brothers to me." She says. "Favorite Kpop group? I like Twice and Red Velvet and Stray Kids and BTS and Blackpink and more." She answers. "What are the full names, pronouns, and ages of everyone in the band? Well, fun fact if you're ever struggling to remember one of our names just remember H.O.N.E.Y is our initials. In honey order it's Hyejin, Osamu, Nari, Eun, and Yejun. Age order it's Yejun, Osamu, Eun, Hyejin, Nari. Last names are Kim Yejun, Jeong Osamu, Lee Eun, Yun Hyejin, and Chang Nari." She answers.

"Oh I forgot to say ages and pronouns, Yejun is 25, Osamu is 25, Eun is 23, Hyejin is 20, and I'm 18. Yejun is non-binary so they/them, Osamu uses he/him, Eun is she/they, Hyejin is gender fluid so any pronouns, and I use she/her." She adds. "What ethnicity is Osamu? Half Korean half Japanese. His mom is from Japan and she moved here and met his dad." She answers.

"How many of us have found our soulmates? Just Osamu, however I believe I almost met my soulmate today because we were taking a water break and I was singing Circus by Britney Spears and someone ran past and said 'free Britney' which are the words on my wrist." She smiles. "Favorite Britney song? Probably Circus because it's really catchy." She answers.

"How was my english so good at our debut when I was only thirteen? My moms Australian and so that entire half of my family speaks English and from a young age she would make sure I could understand it. Also, my dad was moved to America for work when I was four and so we moved and lived there for eight years then we came back to South Korea when they moved him back and I became a trainee and we debuted a year later when Yejun and Osamu finished their military service." She answers.

"Are we ever going to take a break? We don't plan to, that's why BigHit had Yejun and Osamu complete their military service pre-debut." She answers. "Do I listen to the neighborhood? Yes, I like Cry Baby, Daddy Issues, and Sweater Weather." She says. "What are my soulmates initials? H.K. and we assume it's not the english way so it's surname, given name." She says.

"Why am I the main vocalist when I prefer rapping? I'm the main vocalist because I have the largest vocal range." She says. "Song that gets stuck in my head easily? A lot of them but Choke by I Dont Know How But They Found Me is stuck in my head right now." She answers. "Which band did BTS recommend us to? That's a secret but I can tell you that there's a K initial." She says.

"My soulmate? No, the K is his surname, not first." She smiles. "A question for Hyejin, soulmates initials and age?" Nari asks. "M.L. and 24." She answers. "Favorite Melanie Martinez song? High School Sweethearts." She answers. "Okay, you're hair is done. Let the dye sit for an hour and a half then wash it out." Hyejin tells her.

"Okay, hour and a half left on live. It's going to be in english now because I saw my moms in the chat and she said she likes the slight American accent I have." She says. "What collections do I have? I have a manga collection, Kpop album collection, Funko Pop collection, and a vinyl collection." She answers. "Favorite color? I like pastel purples, like lavender." She answers.

"Favorite Harry Styles song? From the Dining Table." She answers. She spends the rest of the time answering questions until her timer goes off. "Okay, I have to go shower and then I'll be going to bed so that I'm well rested for practice tomorrow. I love you all, bye!" She waves, ending the live.

#tomorrow x together #txt huening kai #txt yeonjun #txt beomgyu #txt soobin #txt taehyun #fanfic #bts mention #hueningkai fanfic #hueningkai

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