"Now don't touch the stove." Said Hana Kageyama as her children stood before her looking like the little angels she wished that they were.
"Yes mom." Said Mob and Ritsu as once
"Don't answer the door for anyone." Said Hana
"Yes mom." Said Mob and Ritsu. Mob wasn't planning on being home, anyway, and Sho always let himself in through Ritsu's window.
"Keep the blinds closed and stay away from the windows you two. I don't want either of you getting kidnapped." Said Hana
"Yes mom." Said Mob and Ritsu
"Remember to turn the taps off when you're done with them, don't flood the house again, Shigeko." Said Hana watching her daughter's face. Calm and placid. Normal.
"Yes mom." Said Mob and Ritsu like a couple of skipping CDs.
"I've left you plenty of food in the fridge. Use the microwave but don't accidentally leave any metal in it, Shigeko. Don't try to make eggs in it again, Shigeko. Also don't try to make any more mug cakes, Ritsu." Said Hana
"Yes mom." Said Mob and Ritsu again in the same tone. Mob resisted the urge to tell her mom that she had only forgotten spoons in the microwave a couple times back when she was little and of course she wasn't going to do any more microwave cookery. She didn't, though, because she wanted mom and dad out of the house n-o-w NOW. Ritsu was on the same page as his sister. Sho would come by through the window and probably start calling out Ritsu's name and telling him to get upstairs and…whatever he had planned…also it was Sho who kept on trying to cook cake in the microwave, not him! No, no. Don't fight.
"You can order one movie each from the pay per view site but no new releases and nothing R15+ either for you, Ritsu. You're still too young." Said Hana. She expected some protest but found none. None. That was refreshing. Her son could be so stubborn when he wanted to…as could her daughter.
"Yes mom." Said Ritsu and Mob at once again. Periodically Rits's eyes would dart to the clock on the wall. Mob stared straight forward. She wouldn't be home at all so she wouldn't say anything about the fact that she was old enough to watch a 15+ movie.
"And don't play your game's consoles all weekend. I want to see that homework done by the time your father and I get back. Ritsu, help your sister if she needs it." Said Hana
"Yes mom." Said Mob and Ritsu. Mob calm as ever but Ritsu with a slight tone. He was fourteen, not four. He could stay home alone. She gave them the same speech every single year and every single year nothing happened.
"And no guests, that's a hard rule, but especially for you Ritsu. I know you like your friend but he's like a monsoon whenever he comes through here and I won't be around to pick up after you two. I don't want any of your friends coming and going all weekend while your father and I aren't here to supervise. You both know not to go out, either, but mostly you, Shigeko. You know why. No leaving this house unless it's on fire, the both of you." Said Hana. There. The biggest rule. Her children had friends now, besides each other. She knew that Shigeko had a boyfriend hidden away somewhere. A mother knew. The missing emergency contraception pill, the late nights out, the little looks she'd get sometimes. It was probably Ritsu's friend that came around all the time, the little red haired boy. Or maybe that blond boy they hung around sometimes. Some boy had captured her daughter's heart, among other things, and there was nothing Hana could do about it. It wasn't like she could forbid Shigeko from doing the things she did. A girl found a way, Hana knew she certainly did when she was young, and Shigeko wasn't an average girl. Thank God Ritsu hadn't opened his eyes to girls yet. He still spent all of his time with his best friend. Good boy. At least the worst she had to worry about with her son was him leaving a mess.
"Mom, we get it." Said Ritsu. Sho could be a very good house guest…when nobody knew he was around. He only wrecked the house a couple of times. Mob nodded. She didn't say 'yes mom' because then she would have been lying if she said that.
"Well I just have to make sure, I want there to be house for us to come back to." Said Hana. She could have sworn she saw her son smiling at that.
"There will be. We won't burn it down." Said Mob not trying to make Ritsu laugh, just remembering what happened the last time mom and dad went away on a trip. Sho was more like a wildfire than a monsoon.
"Hana, let's get this show on the road! They're good kids, I'm sure that they'll have cleaned up long after whatever wild party they're planning on throwing ends." Said their father Ichimaro. Hana sighed. She hadn't covered everything that could possibly go wrong. The last thing she needed was one of her daughter's patented 'I didn't know I wasn't allowed to' statements.
"Don't worry mom, we won't do that." Said Mob. She wanted her parents to get in the road so that she could get on the road. She had wanted space from Serizawa because he smothered her but now she was…she was starting to appreciate his love, even if it could be kind of smothering sometimes.
"Everything's going to be fine, you can trust us." Said Ritsu. He wasn't planning on burning the house down again, at least. There. That was something.
"I trust you both." Said Hana before she hugged her children. Shigeko was stiff as ever and a little slow to return the hug. Hana took in a deep sniff. Cigarettes, as usual, but something else. Plastic? Aftershave, too, it smelled like. She had stopped in at her job that day.
Ritsu on the other hand smelled like he had just taken a shower. Odd for him. He always showered in the morning. He seemed a little overeager to get her out of the house too…a girl? No. Ritsu would have definitely brought a girl home if he had a girlfriend…but then again he had been out until all hours lately….
She'd ask Shigeko, later, if Ritsu had any girls over. Her daughter couldn't tell a lie. One of her better traits. Ritsu would tell her, too, if Shigeko left the house. He probably wouldn't even let her get to the front door. He was a good brother like that.
After mom and dad left Ritsu and Mob both breathed out a sigh of relief.
"I thought they'd cancel their whole trip." Said Mob. Mom had always made her rules speech before they left but it had never gone on for so long before.
"She's just worried about us. You, mostly." Said Ritsu
"Me? Why?" asked Mob. She felt another aura enter her range. Sho. Of course he was planning on using Ritsu's window.
"Because you keep staying out all night." Said Ritsu. What if something happened to her out there? What if someone hurt her and he wasn't there to save her?
"I come back around ten. You know that. You keep on following me around. You or Sho. Please don't follow me at all this weekend, brother." said Mob not meaning anything but the flat fact of it.
"I won't even though I should because you keep being so mysterious about where you're going." Said Ritsu with an edge to his voice. He felt something familiar enter his perception. Sho. Coming closer. He needed to stop arguing with his sister but…it would be better if she was out of the house but…it wasn't safe for her out there.
"I am not being mysterious. You're being nosy." Said Mob. What was he so worried about? All the bad things that happened to girls? After what happened with Claw he should have realized that he didn't have anything to be afraid of. She was the big sister. She should have been worried about him, her little brother.
"No I'm not. You won't tell me where you're going or who you're going to be with or-" said Ritsu
"You sound just like mom." Said Mob
"I'm just worried about you." Said Ritsu
"Well don't be. I'm not going to be anywhere dangerous and I won't do anything wrong. Ok?" asked Mob
"I'm just….what if something happens to you?" asked Ritsu
"Ritsu, I saved the world. I'll be fine." Said Mob
"But why can't you tell me where you'll be?" asked Ritsu
"Because you'll make a big deal out of it." Said Mob
"….you're going to…." Said Ritsu unable to finish his sentence because, that was his big sister. Ick. But…but why? No. No way. Crazy thoughts. He was thinking crazy thoughts.
"I won't ask if you don't ask." Said Mob. She didn't want him to know and she did not want to know. Therefore nobody would know anything and nobody would talk about it.
"Wait, you're actually-" said Ritsu
"Brother. I won't ask if you won't ask." Said Mob simply. There. Mutual respect for each other's privacy.
"Who is he?" asked Ritsu. What guy was taking advantage of his sister? He'd kill him. He'd kill him, chop him up, dissolve him in the bathtub, and then hide the body-goo in a hole in the backyard and plant a tree over it.
"Ritsu, I'm going to start asking you questions." Said Mob. She did not want to talk about this. She did not want to get into this. She knew that Ritsu would freak out, he always freaked out over everything, and then his weekend would be ruined and her weekend would be ruined.
"Who is he? Is he your boyfriend? Is it someone I know? Is it-" said Ritsu
"What are you and Sho going to do tonight?" Said Mob. There. How did he like the nosy questions?
"…..what….?" asked Ritsu turning a shade of red that Mob, honestly, didn't think was a healthy color for a person to be.
"I said that I wouldn't ask if you didn't ask. You asked so I asked. There. Now we're fair. I won't answer if you won't answer. Ritsu, I'm not going to do anything dangerous and you don't have to worry about me at all. Ok? I already told that a million times. Besides, I should be the one worrying about you. You're younger than me." Said Mob
"I'm not…it's different. It's more dangerous for you because you're a girl." Said Ritsu. She was strong but there were still a million and one things that could happen to her. She was nice and trusted everyone and went along with everything and had this weird, self-sacrificing streak and he needed to keep her safe because she could end up getting hurt again. He was never there, was he? He wasn't there for her the first time they fought Claw or the second. Hell, he had been the one to help burn down the house to freak her out enough to, as Sho said, 'light a fire under her ass' so that she would help out. He was her brother and it was his job to protect her. He had done his job so poorly in the past….
"I don't think that there's anyone in the world stronger than me. Besides, I have someone to keep me safe. Someone that isn't you. You don't have to worry about me. Just enjoy your weekend, ok? I'll be fine." Said Mob
"Can't you just tell me who?" asked Ritsu
"No because I know that you'll freak out and I don't want that." Said Mob
"I will not." Said Ritsu
"Will too. You freak out sometimes. It happens." Said Mob
"So do you." Said Ritsu
"Yes, I do, you're right. Not about your life, though. I've never freaked out about your life, not even when you started dating Sho. He's upstairs by the way." Said Mob
"I know, I can sense him." said Ritsu. Eavesdropping most likely. Not that Ritsu had any room to throw stones.
"Then why not just go upstairs and be with the person who you love and who loves you? I'll be fine, really." Said Mob
"Yeah! She'll be fine! Now get up here and help me build the Hamster Manor!" called Sho from the top of the stairs. Ritsu groaned. Right, his hamster. Mob's eyes lit up. Sunflower was here!
"I'll help!" said Mob. She went upstairs. Sho had a new hamster, he had told everyone who would listen. Her name was Sunflower. Mob had only seen pictures before and she was so cute. Mob liked cute things, a fatal attraction to cuteness Master Reigen had said back when she was little and tried to take a stray cat back to the office with her. She could feel Ritsu following her. She made it to the top of the stairs and found Sho in Ritsu's room fitting together colorful plastic tubes. A hamster in a plastic tank next to him laid down in its hamster grass stuff.
"Why did you bring her?" asked Ritsu. He'd seen Sunflower before. A cute little puffball of a thing that, in Ritsu's opinion, Sho spoiled. Case and point the massive number of colored tubes covering his floor.
"I don't trust mom to feed her what she likes and Serizawa said that he was busy all this weekend." Said Sho as he tried to think up the best configuration for his darling's home in his other darling's room. Ritsu wasn't as attuned to auras as Sho was, having spent his entire life around other espers and having been one himself since as long as he could remember, so he didn't notice the way his sister's aura flared out at the mention of Serizawa. Sho did. Now to say something or keep it to himself, that was the question….
"What does she eat?" asked Mob as she sat down to look at the little puffball in it's tank. It was so cute. She hadn't taken Sho as the nurturing type at first but he really took to hamster ownership. Mom never let her have pets, too irresponsible mom had said. She'd be more likely to freak out with her powers instead of forgetting to feed it.
"I like to cook for her but she mostly eats hamster pellets. That's why I like to cook for her, those taste so gross. Usually it's some kind of salad but I make her pancakes too, sometimes. Ooh! She really likes little sandwiches. Don't you? Don't you like sandwiches? Doesn't my little baby love sandwiches?" said Sho to his hamster. Ritsu smiled just a little. Sho was, in a word, adorable sometimes.
"Are you eating hamster food again?" asked Ritsu
"No, because it's gross. I'm not a weirdo. That was just the one time. Sheesh." Said Sho
"Again?" asked Mob blinking. Sho certainly had a weird definition of what counted as weird.
"Don't ask." Said Ritsu
"I just wanted to know what it tasted like. It turns out that it's nasty. Not just the kind I got her, literally every kind of hamster pellet is nasty." Said Sho
"So that's why you're going to cook your hamster's meals?" asked Ritsu shaking his head
"Yeah. That's why I can't trust my mom to feed her. She doesn't want to make the tiny salads and pancakes and stuff." Said Sho
"Can't you just make one big pancake and cut it up?" asked Mob. That sounded a lot easier than making tiny food. Not that she knew a lot about cooking. Serizawa did all the cooking. He was good at it, too. Maybe she could learn from him. Maybe she could cook him something, too. That was what friends…girlfriends…did after all.
"No, they have to be tiny. That way she knows that she's loved." Said Sho. When you loved someone you cooked specifically for them. That was why Sunflower got tiny pancakes and Ritsu got human sized pancakes. Sized for humans to eat, not the size of humans. Though with his powers he could make a pancake the size of a human. Getting it to weigh as much as a human would be difficult, though, because human flesh was denser than pancake flesh, dough, pancake dough. He'd figure it out, how to make a pancake Ritsu. Then Ritsu would wake up and be so surprised and then he'd be all 'I love you Sho you're the coolest' and then he'd write about it in the diary that he didn't know the Sho definitively knew about but suspected that he did about two Tuesdays ago when he had the dream about falling again.
"Mom says that we can't use the stove while she's gone, just so you know." Said Mob. She didn't know that you had to actually make food for pets. Pets were kind of like kids like that. You had to feed them and take care of them and love them or the government said that you couldn't have them and they were taken away and given to families that could. Or they died. Whichever came first. If she had a pet or a kid she would take good care of it.
"Who needs a stove? I can make her breakfast with pyro-kinesis." Said Sho with a shrug
"Not in my house. We just rebuilt it." Said Ritsu
"What, are you afraid that I'll burn it down again? That was a one time thing. No repeats, no reruns." asked Sho
"Maybe I think you'll burn my house down, Sho. Maybe I just don't want to watch you spend all day cooking for a hamster." Said Ritsu
"Don't be jealous. I'll make you breakfast too." Said Sho. Ritsu blushed and looked away. Right. It wasn't like Sho hadn't slept over before, he came and went at all hours of the day and night like that, but this was the first time that they would be well and truly alone together. Ritsu looked at the bags piled on his bed. Yeah, Sho was staying here and this was happening. Mob followed the path her brother's eyes took.
"Are you moving in?" asked Mob. He certainly had a lot of bags. She should pack too, she thought. But what? She had never packed for a multiday stay anywhere before. Maybe three changes of day clothes and two changes of pajamas? Or more clothes in case hers got dirty? Or maybe less clothes because she wasn't exactly planning on doing anything that required clothing….
The window slammed open and shut.
"Sorry!" said Mob. Right, don't think about that now.
"Well it looks like you don't want me to leave so, yeah." Said Sho
"Hell no. Weekend only." said Ritsu. Knowing Sho he might have been serious. Mom and dad, mostly mom, would absolutely notice if Sho moved in and then he'd have to explain a ton of stuff that he didn't want to get into.
"What? You don't like me anymore?" said Sho. Ritsu knew that tone, he wasn't kidding anymore. He sighed.
"You know my mom and dad wouldn't let you. My parents aren't like your parents." Said Ritsu trying to choose his words carefully.
"But you would want me to stay forever, right?" asked Sho
"You know that I would if I could but I can't." Said Ritsu
"Cool! Ok, I'm fine. Now help me put this thing together. Sunflower hates that tank." Said Sho
"No way are you cluttering up my room with this. If you build that thing there won't be any room to walk around." Said Ritsu
"Then where am I supposed to put her? She needs space to run around." Said Sho
"You should have thought about that before you brought her here." Said Ritsu
"She can stay in my room, Sho. I won't be here anyway. I don't want to be here when you guys do couple stuff." Said Mob
"You're a great big sis, Ritsu's big sis. I am forever in your debt. Anything you want I'll get you. Money, power, men….women? It shall be yours." Said Sho in his most serious voice. She truly was awesome. Now Ritsu wouldn't be all self-conscious and stuff. Ritsu, not Sho. Sho was never self-conscious.
"Don't follow me around anymore. That's all I want." Said Mob looking at Ritsu.
"Ok. I can do that. No following you around. Got it. You got it, Ritsu? No more following your sister around. No more camping out outside of Reigen's apartment. Got it?" asked Sho. He had followed Reigen around all of yesterday to make up for the stalking time that Ritsu would miss out on. In the course of those hours Sho had come to a startling discovery. Reigen Arataka was kind of boring for a guy who walked around with his pockets full of salt.
"Fine, I won't follow you…but if you would just tell me-" said Ritsu
"I'm going to go pack now. Sho you can build your hamster house in my room. It was nice seeing you again." Said Mob leaving Ritsu's room. No way was she having that argument again. What was he so worried about? He was smothering her, not literally though, because that would be mean. What was it with the guys in her life and smothering her?
Serizawa smothered her too, but it was becoming a nice kind of smothering. He just wanted to show that he loved her. She looked over at the plastic bag on her desk. He liked showing her how much he loved her. That was why he was always trying to hold her hand and kiss her. That was why he told her that he loved her so often. It was nice, smothering sometimes, but nice.
He loved her.
He didn't lie.
That was what mattered. Master Reigen had…he hadn't been telling the truth. He didn't love her. If he had loved her then he would have been with her. Serizawa loved her. Serizawa wanted to be with her. That was all that mattered.
She wanted to be with him.
Mob filled her gym bag with three days' worth of clothes. Three days. Two nights and three days. She had never been away from home for that long. She hoped that she packed enough clothes. This would be nice, though…and not just for bed reasons. Talking reasons, too. Hanging out reasons. Friend reasons.
But they were more than friends.
Girlfriend. She was Serizawa's girlfriend and…and she…liked it. Having someone there with her. Having someone who liked to be around her and didn't lie to her. Someone who wanted to share himself with her. Someone who let her share herself with him.
She needed more than sex to nourish their relationship, but she did need sex.
It felt good.
It was a need, kind of like hunger. Knowing more about what happened, what it felt like, how amazing it could be, made her want it more. Want him more. The way he felt. How he could make her feel. How Master Reigen would never make her feel.
But it wasn't just about that.
Master Reigen had pushed her away. Serizawa would never push her away. Master Reigen also sort of talked at her, a lot of the time, but Serizawa talked with her…or let her talk at him. Either way she liked to be heard. So did he.
Mob stuffed down what was maybe more than enough clothes. Redundancy was important, Master Reigen had told her before when they were on a job once. Mob thought that they had taken too many snacks, they were out in the country, but Master Reigen said that you had to be redundant when you packed in case anything happened.
Then a bird flew down and took his sandwich.
So he had been right.
Mob hoped that she had packed enough. What else did she need? She had never stayed overnight away from home before, not unless her whole family was going somewhere, and in those cases mom packed for her. Well Mob wasn't a kid and she could pack for herself. She knew what she would need…
Toothbrush.
Hairbrush.
Phone Charger.
There. Not that hard. She was not a kid. She could take care of herself. She was not too young. She knew what she was doing. Master Reigen was wrong. She was not a kid. She was young but not a child.
Medicine too. Right. Don't forget that. Not a kid anymore.
She slide the circular pill case into her bag. There. Packed. Packed and ready to go. Any minute now.
Maybe Sho needed help putting the Hamster Mansion together. Maybe Ritsu wanted to argue some more. Maybe there were dishes that needed doing. Did it look like rain out there? A few clouds. Maybe she should wait until the storm came and passed. Yup.
"Hey, Ritsu's big sis, you packed yet?" asked Sho as her door opened. He walked in with several colorful plastic tubes and boxes following him.
"Yes. Do you need help? I can help you with that." Said Mob as the tubes began to assemble themselves. Sho shook his head.
"No, I can do it myself. It's a lot easier in your room, you don't have anything in here." Said Sho
"I can still help." Said Mob
"I don't need it. Go on, go have fun. With Serizawa, right?" asked Sho. Mob's aura slammed into his in surprise. The plastic tubes hit the ground with a clatter.
"What happened?" called Ritsu from his room
"Nothing. Your sister just had a Ritsu's sister moment." Said Sho
"Sho…" said Ritsu in a tone that Mob couldn't read but Sho knew well. Right. Nobody could ever even say a word against his big sis.
"I'm fine." Said Mob. She did not need Ritsu listening in on this conversation. She closed her door. Sho stared at her. She stared at Sho.
"So am I right? Do I win?" asked Sho
"Win what?" asked Mob
"Nothing, I was kidding. So, was I right?" asked Sho hopefully.
"You don't know if you're right?" asked Mob. Could she lie? But what could she say? Sho was friends with Serizawa and if she said that she wasn't Serizawa's girlfriend then it would get back to him and he'd be super hurt.
"I think I am. You see, Ritsu's big sis, I not only possess unparalleled psychic powers but unparalleled powers of deduction, too." Said Sho as he began to pace the room, careful not to step on Sunflower's hamster mansion, and smoked an imaginary pipe like an old timey detective guy.
"Oh. I didn't know that about you." Said Mob simply.
"Well I do. Anyway I had it all figured out a while ago. Well, since Ritsu and I started following you around and hung out around Serizawa's place. Your auras get really weird and I thought 'hey, they're probably doing stuff in there' and then I thought 'but this is Serizawa and girls scare him' and then I thought 'but this is Ritsu's big sis and who could say no to her?' but I didn't know for sure and I didn't want Ritsu to end up getting his ass kicked if he tried to mess with Serizawa." said Sho
"…..Sho…." said Mob. What could she say? She hated telling lies and she especially wouldn't lie to Sho because lying to Sho was like lying to Ritsu. Also she couldn't even think of a good lie right now anyway.
"Because as awesome as Ritsu is he could still get super hurt if Serizawa exploded. Trust me on this. But I think that you're good for him. He's been really happy, lately. I won't go and tell Ritsu on my own, he's kind of weird when it comes to you. Probably because you're a girl. Like, if some guy was trying to get with my mom I'd be weirded out, I wouldn't try to mess him up or anything but I'd be grossed out." Said Sho
"…thank you for not saying anything." Said Mob softly
"You're welcome! Anytime! Thanks for not saying anything, too. I know that you guys' parents don't know about…yeah…and it sucks but…I get it. Your mom's really intense. That's why you don't say anything about Serizawa, right? Because your parents would freak out? I get it. Anyway, be nice to Serizawa and if you do anything to hurt him I'll mess you up. Heh. See, I do a good Ritsu." Said Sho. He laughed, which was Mob's cue that she needed to laugh too, even though she wasn't entirely sure what was so funny. It was that way with Sho. He was hard to read by other people's standards so he was extra hard to read by Mob's standards.
"…I don't want to fight you…" said Mob softly
"Obviously we don't want to fight. We both know who would win, and I won't go easy on you like my dad did." Said Sho putting an arm around her and walking her to her window.
"It didn't seem like he was going on easy on me." Said Mob. Serizawa had gone easy on her, she knew it. She could have gotten seriously hurt but all he did was whack her a couple times with his umbrella. He'd done much worse, before. Not that he had given Mob any details.
"Yeah, well, if they ever let him out then you can ask him yourself. Ok, all packed? Got your phone? Keys? Wallet? Girl stuff that I'm not supposed to know about?" asked Sho
"Yes." said mob as Sho stopped her in front of her window.
"Then I'll see you later. Go on, Serizawa's waiting for you. Write me a post card if you're planning on being gone for more than a few months. Goodbye! Farewell!" said Sho pushing Mob into her window frame. Right. That was how Sho got in and out of places. Maybe he wasn't sure that you were supposed to use people's front doors.
"Wait, I should say goodbye to Ritsu-" said Mob
"Sho! What the hell is all of this?!" said Ritsu from his room.
"Yeah, he's kind of busy so…see ya whenever!" said Sho. Mob took a hint, for once in her life, and flew out of her window faster than could be seen. She had no desire to be there when they either argued or got to whatever couple stuff they had planned. She also had no desire to discuss her…relationship…with Sho.
Sometimes you had to run away.
Serizawa sort of wanted to run away. Sort of. Not really. Just….this was…a lot.
He checked over his apartment again. Clean. Too clean? He knew how easy it was to fall back into old habits and every day was a battle to, well, clean up after himself. It was easier, now, though, because he had an excuse. His girlfriend came over all the time and he had to keep it nice for her.
For his girlfriend. His girlfriend who was spending the entire weekend with him! And they didn't have work either which meant that they would be alone together for three uninterrupted days. Three days. Inside. Outside. Her. Him. For three days.
He wanted it to go on forever. He wanted it to be over before it even started.
So much could go wrong. He could mess something up. He knew that people needed a lot of space and stuff. Would she want space from him after this? What if she found out that she didn't like living with him. What if he did something that annoyed her and she decided that she would never live with him and they wouldn't have a forever together and even though it would be so perfect and then they wouldn't be a couple anymore and-
He needed to stop thinking so negatively she had told him that before. He was a good person, she had told him on a night when he felt truly awful, he was a good person and he needed to be easier on himself. She wanted him to be a good person. Good people were positive. He needed to be positive about this. She was going to have a great time, the best time anyone had ever had! Wait, no, too far in the other direction. He was going to make her happy. She was going to enjoy living with him. For three days, he reminded himself. They'd live together for three days. He never thought that anyone would ever want to be with him like this. This would be different from living with his mother, obviously. He'd be the one taking care of her.
He'd make her food and listen to her stories and theories and stuff like that. He'd do whatever she wanted to do because he had to make her happy. There were things he wanted to do, of course, but they didn't matter as much what she wanted to do. She mattered more than he did, he felt like. He knew that it wasn't healthy, feeling like that. She was not Suzuki and he mattered to her. He would not ever hear her say something as horrible as 'I never considered any of you my comrades' even though they had literally spent every day together. Mob cared about him and she was his girlfriend and relationships were mutual, as the books said, and she did not matter more than him and-
The walls were shaking. Right, neighbors. He closed the blinds and let himself be in darkness. There was a comfort to the darkness, it sort of swallowed him up, but in a good way. When the room was dark you had no idea how much time was passing. You could just imagine yourself as being the only person in the entire world. You could block it out, the hours, the days. The turning of the world. When the world stopped turning for you then you could take a moment and just breathe. This could only last a moment, though, because the blinds had to stay opened until you went to sleep. If you started blocking out the world when you were awake the slipping started and the next thing you knew it had been weeks since you set foot outside and your mother is calling you worried about what's been going on since you missed your weekly check-in phone call.
He opened the blinds. Ok. He was a little better, now. The walls had stopped quaking under the sheer force of his worry. Thank God he hadn't messed anything up. He needed to make it perfect for her. Think about her. Think about how you had to be better for her. Think about how she made you into a better man. Think about how you have to be the man that she deserves. She deserves a man who doesn't go to pieces every ten seconds. She deserves a man who's strong enough to keep her safe. She deserves a man who can keep her happy.
Mob deserved so much better than what he could be.
Mob wanted to be with him.
That was what mattered. She had chosen him out of literally everyone else in the world. Who in the world could ever say no to her? She had chosen him. Him. Serizawa Katsuya. She could have had anybody. Someone with better control over his powers. Someone better looking. Someone more together. Someone who could offer her more than what he could. She could have had literally any man she wanted and she wanted to be with him.
She loved him.
He loved her.
Everything would be ok as long as he remembered that she loved him.
Not Reigen.
And he was a possessive jerk for even thinking that something could be going on between those two.
She had been so close to Reigen today though….and she had lingered there…but he had sounded like a jerk there, too. She was his, not Reigen's. If she wanted Reigen then she could have easily had Reigen. Why would Reigen ever say no to her? Because he didn't have feelings for her, either. Serizawa knew that he was being weird with this. Nobody would take her from him. She chose to be with him. She had chosen him and she was going to be spending the weekend with him and not Reigen.
So calm down already.
You'll be fine.
Serizawa wished that he could believe that. That everything would be fine. He just couldn't stop thinking about all of the things that weren't fine. The things that worried him. The fact that she had lingered, there, with Reigen. The way that Reigen was looking at her…the fact that she could just leave him at any time…but she wouldn't. Relationships were hard, like this. It was easier, before, not that he would ever want to go back. But it was easier when he was just beholden to himself. Back even further, when he had first tried to rejoin society. When he followed Suzuki around and his only standing orders were 'smack around anyone with violent intent' and he carried out his orders because it was just so nice to feel useful.
Now he had to be useful to her, to make her happy. He had a new job, her boyfriend, and he had to do it well. Well not a job in the work sense but in the whole 'having a role to fill' sense. He had to fill this role for her but it was harder because he had to do so much on his own accord. Like earlier. Thank God for movies. Movies and shows and manga. Oh, and Master Reigen, too. He gave really good advice. He gave good advice and was, obviously, not into Mob. He knew that Mob was his girlfriend. They were friends. Friends did not do that to friends. Serizawa knew that he would never have tried to steal Master Reigen's girlfriend, if he had one, which he didn't. Serizawa felt bad for Reigen about that, he deserved to be happy. What woman would say no to him?
Hopefully Mob.
Don't be possessive.
He could feel her. She was near, very near. Good. Right?
Everything was fine. Everything would be fine. Just stay calm and don't freak out when you see her.
When Mob knocked in his door she hadn't expected to be immediately enveloped in a hug. A tight one.
Maybe she should have. She could see his aura as she came up the elevator in his building. It was all…jumpy…which meant that something was bothering him. For a few moments, a few terrifying moments, Mob thought that Serizawa had figured out how she felt about Master Reigen. How she had felt about Master Reigen. How she currently felt about Master Reigen. The elevator shook when the thought hit her. Mob wondered what Serizawa's neighbors thought about all the shaking in the building. Maybe the neighbors just thought that it was earthquakes. Tiny earthquakes localized on this building.
Not that Mob set out to make those tiny earthquakes. They were just a side effect.
Just like the tiny shake she gave the room when he hugged her. She had just knocked at his door, she had been over enough times to know which apartment was his. It was kind of weird to take the elevator without him but not too bad. Not the weirdest thing about this weekend. Not anywhere close.
This wasn't weird, either. Startling but not weird. He hugged her a lot.
She didn't mind it.
"You're here! I'm so glad to see you!" said Serizawa as he pulled her as close and she could. Something hit the floor. Oh. Her bag. He had hugged her very suddenly, hadn't he?
He let her go.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to just…like that…I'm sorry!" said Serizawa as he let go of Mob just as quickly as he hugged her. Mob reached over and took his hand.
"You feel upset, Serizawa. It's ok. I'm here now. Do you want me to find your umbrella for you?" asked Mob. She took his hand and smoothed down the energy crackling around him. He always felt better when she did that. She was his…girlfriend…and it was her job to make him feel better. She didn't mind.
"No, that's alright. I was just…no. I'm fine." Said Serizawa as she took his hand.
"Are you sure? You still seem upset." Said Mob
"I was just…worried." Said Serizawa
"Did the world feel too big again?" asked Mob. He felt like that, sometimes. Sometimes the world was so big and he was so small. That why was he had gotten a whole new umbrella after his old one got destroyed when he saved Master Reigen's life.
"…sort of." Said Serizawa. Was that it? The world was a big place and it just kept on turning and he could not hide away from it again. It was better now that she was there. Was that what he had been afraid of? Losing her to the world? Her realizing that she could go? That she could do so much better? Or maybe he was just possessive and he needed to knock it off.
"I'll keep you safe, don't worry." Said Mob. She was not little and she was perfectly capable of keeping him safe from all the things that he was afraid of.
"That's my job." Said Serizawa
"We can keep each other safe, then." Said Mob making a concession that she had no plans of following. If saving the world had taught her anything it was that she needed to protect her friends. She used to think that her powers were inconsequential, that they were just another talent that a person could have. Now she knew better, though. She knew that she could save everyone.
Everyone she cared about in this world.
"We can." Said Serizawa making a concession that he had no plans of following. He was supposed to keep her safe, that was his job. That was a job that he knew how to do. He didn't want to have to go back to smacking people around with his umbrella but if anyone ever tried to do anything to hurt her then he would not hesitate. He could not ever stand to see her get hurt again. To see her being hurled through the air. Being tossed through buildings. Being slammed through the ground. No. He could not watch that happen to her again. He would not watch that happen to her again.
She mattered too much to him. She was almost everything that mattered to him in this world.
"If the world is too big then we can just stay inside all weekend." Said Mob. She wouldn't mind it. The two of them, TV, videogames, kissing….other stuff. Yes. This would be a good weekend.
"No! I mean, I want to go outside with you. I mean I think that we should go outside more. I mean we can do whatever you want." Said Serizawa
"No, we can go outside, too, if you want to." Said Mob. They could take one of their long walks. Mom and dad were out of town she didn't have to worry about being seen by one of them on their way home. Ritsu wouldn't be following her around, either. Yes, if Serizawa wanted to take a walk then she would take a walk with him.
"We can do whatever you want to do. Your happiness matters to me." Said Serizawa. She could just up and leave at any time. That was what Reigen had said. Separate ways. If she wanted her space she would take it. She would just take it. His heart stops at the thought.
"What you want matters too." Said Mob. She wasn't bossy like that. She wouldn't make him do only what she wanted. Did he see it that way? They usually ended up doing what she wanted….was she bossy? Would he think that she was…would he go? Reject her? No. He loved her. He loved her and he would never hurt her like that.
"…..thank you." Said Serizawa. Mob was nothing like Suzuki. Mob wanted him to be happy. Mob thought that he mattered. It wasn't just about what she wanted, her happiness. She thought that he mattered even though he needed her a hell of a lot more than she needed him. No. Don't think like that. She's with you because she wants to be.
"You're welcome. I don't know what you're thanking me for but you're welcome." Said Mob
"For being here, with me. For…for everything that you do." Said Serizawa
"Do? I don't really do anything. You're the one who's letting me stay with him. You're the one who does whatever I want when we're together. I should be thanking you, I think, so thank you." Said Mob simply. Serizawa reached up and brushed a stray lock of her hair from her face. His hand lingered on her cheek. He looked down at her. She looked up at him. They held this for a moment before he leaned down and kissed her. This was a slow sort of kiss, not the 'all alone' sort of kisses that Mob's partial to. That doesn't matter, what she's partial to. She shouldn't be so bossy towards him. If he likes to kiss like this then she wouldn't mind. Not that there was anything to mind.
Less boring this time.
"You love me and that's enough." Said Serizawa finding some words as they broke apart. That had been what he had been trying to convey. Was his meaning clear? Did he say it right? He had no idea how to say it. How to convey that she was his everything. He didn't even have all the words for what 'everything' meant. His reason to be better. The reason that he got up and left the house on those days when the world was big and he had to walk out that door with his umbrella clutched in both hands. She was the person he felt the safest around because she accepted him totally and completely. She was all he desired and his will to succeed. But how to say that….
"….kiss me again." Said Mob. She had tried, she really had. How hard was it to say 'I love you, Serizawa'? 'I love you, Katsuya'? Not that she had used his given name or anything. She just couldn't say it. She just couldn't because she had said it before and everything had just gone tumbling down and tumbling down and tumbling down. She was not going to initiate third impact in this relationship. She was not doing that again.
And it was a relationship.
Serizawa didn't need to be told twice. Maybe she had trouble saying it, too. How she felt. She was usually a woman of very few words. Unless she was talking about one of the things she was into she didn't say much with her voice. She spoke through her actions, he thought, and her aura. He could read her clear as day. 'I love you, Katsuya.' That was what she was saying. He kissed her, she deepened it. He had to hunch a little to reach down to her. She had to stretch to reach up to him. Her fingers found his hair, they twisted in his curls. He'd need a haircut soon. Unless she liked his hair better long-ish. He knotted his fingers in her hair. He definitely liked her hair the way it was. Long and soft and pretty and perfect.
"I missed you." Said Mob as they broke apart for air. She did, and not only for this reason. Though it was a good reason.
"You just saw me." Said Serizawa. Did she feel the same way that he did? Did she also have the growing need to be with him? To spend every moment of every day together?
"I know, but I missed you. Things are so much easier when it's just us together." Said Mob. He was honest about the way he felt. He hadn't ever hurt her emotionally and he never would. When they were together it just…made sense…sort of. With Master Reigen….were they ok? She had said that they were ok but…but they weren't. Things were different. She had kissed him. He had pushed her away. Serizawa never pushed her away. He would never push her away or lie to her or anything like that.
She could trust him.
"Easier?" asked Serizawa, his hand finding her lower back. She leaned into him. Safe.
"You say what you mean and mean what you say." Said Mob. He never lied to her. He never told her one thing and did another. He was Serizawa and he did not tell lies. He loved her. He didn't say 'I love you' and then tell her to wait for three years just to buy himself time to find a way to reject her again. Or wait for her to find another person to love. Well she did. She wasn't going to wait around for him to just reject her again.
"You understand me. You're right, you understand me." Said Serizawa, his other hand finding her waist. She did, she really did. She knew just how to calm him down. She always knew just what he needed. When he started to freak out she was always there to pull him back down to Earth. She never dismissed him.
"I do? I think that I do. The you that I see." Said Mob. The Master Reigen that she had seen had loved her and would have been with her when she confessed. The Master Reigen that he saw himself as did not love her and lied to her even though he had promised that he wouldn't.
"There's only one me." Said Serizawa simply. There was just him. Himself. She knew him in literally every single way that one human being could know another.
"No, there's the you that you see and the you that I see. I understand the you that I see and I…I like him. I like you." Said Mob reaching up and playing with the buttons on his shirt. Like. An easier word than love. Easier to express.
"I…I like to think that I understand you." Said Serizawa. Her hands were on his chest, an exact replica of her and Reigen earlier.
"I don't think that there's a lot to understand about me." Said Mob
"There is. There's a lot to understand." Said Serizawa
"Not really. I go to school, I go to work, I like milk and cats and anime and manga. That's pretty much it." Said Mob
"You're more than that." Said Serizawa shaking his head.
"I am?" asked Mob
"You're my…my everything. I don't know how to describe it. You just…there's so much to you. The way you care so much about everyone in your life. The way you put everyone else before yourself even if…even if your life is on the line. The way that even though you're the most powerful person in the world you don't let it take you over. The way that…that you chose me out of everyone else in the world…and you could have had anyone else in the world…because you're…you." Said Serizawa. He was still holding her. He couldn't let her go. Had he said something wrong? Had he been weird? Was that a weird thing to say? He was being so quiet she probably thought that he was weird and she'd step back from him and pick up her bag and then walk out the door and out of his life and-
"…I couldn't." said Mob softly
"What?" asked Serizawa
"I couldn't have anybody in the world that I wanted." Said Mob
"You could! You really could! Not that I want you to or anything! Just…just you're amazing and sometimes I think that…that one day you'll realize how amazing you are and…and want to go our separate ways." Said Serizawa. Mob felt her blood run cold. The room shook a bit. Separate ways…no. No. No way.
Mob threw herself against Serizawa. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held onto him. She could not, she would not, go her separate ways from him. She knew how it felt to separate from the person you loved most in the world. She knew what it was like to see him from afar and want to be with him, to help him when he needed it, but knowing that you couldn't. Knowing that you had both had a fight and said such mean things. Convincing yourself that he knew what he was doing, that he was ok. Realizing that he wasn't…but she and Serizawa weren't the same as her in Master Reigen…but she could not put him on that emotional rollercoaster. Serizawa was not the sort of person who would do well on rollercoasters. He was more of a merry-go-round sort of person. She was a merry-go-round person too.
The merry-go-round just went round and round. Easy to understand. Easy to enjoy.
She felt him kissing the top of her head. He held her tight, his hand were both against her back now. He rubbed slow circles on her back as he kissed his way lower. She stretched up. He hunched down. They met in the middle.
"I could never want that, Serizawa. I could never hurt you like that." Said Mob softly. She rested her head against his chest. She could feel his heartbeat. She listened to it for a few moments. Fast. It was always fast when they were like this.
"I know that. I know that you could never hurt me. You had the chance to, before, before you even knew me, but you didn't." said Serizawa. She was not that sort of person. He knew that she was not the sort of person who went around hurting others. It felt good to hear it, though, that she would never hurt him. Not that he ever seriously thought that she would. Not that he ever seriously thought that she would leave him for Reigen. No. That was crazy.
"I would never, ever, hurt you now, either. I know how much it hurts and I won't do that to you." Said Mob
"How much what hurts?" asked Serizawa
"Everything. I know how much everything hurts and I won't do that to you." Said Mob
"….you got hurt?" asked Serizawa. She had been so sad, back when they started this. She had been so sad and he didn't know why….but now he did. Someone had hurt her. Someone had hurt her and…and he would hurt them right back. That was what his job was. He needed to keep her safe. He had to be good for something and that something was keeping her safe.
"…yes." said Mob softly
"By who?" said Serizawa in a tone that she could not read.
"….I don't want to talk about it." Said Mob
"Why? If you got hurt then I'll…I'll keep you safe." Said Serizawa
"Oh. No, it's not that kind of hurt." Said Mob
"Then what kind is it?" asked Serizawa
"I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to hurt you." Said Mob. She couldn't hurt him. If she told him what happened she would hurt him. She couldn't tell him how she felt about Master Reigen. She couldn't tell anyone. She couldn't just let it out and tell someone even though she needed to because it was all starting to feel like so much.
"You just said that you would never hurt me." Said Serizawa
"I did. That's why I won't tell you." Said Mob
"You wouldn't hurt me. Can you please just….I mean…you were so upset when we first…I just want to know why." Said Serizawa because he just couldn't help but wonder. He wondered what it was that troubled her and he needed to fix it. He couldn't stand it when she was sad like this. She felt so small and warm in his arms and he needed to keep her safe.
"Serizawa, if I tell you you'll be sad." Said Mob
"No I won't be! I'm never sad when I'm with you." Said Serizawa. She threw herself against him and he took a step back. She kept holding onto him.
"….I'm not sad when I'm with you either. You always make me feel better." Said Mob
"You're sad right now." Said Serizawa
"Tell me something to make me feel better." Said Mob
"I love you." Said Serizawa because, well, what could make a person feel better than knowing that they were loved. Totally and completely loved.
"You're the only person who loves me like that." Said Mob. What was she so sad about? Master Reigen didn't love her back. She had to accept this and move on. She knew that she needed to but she still felt all achy inside when she thought about him.
"You're the only person who loves me like this. You're the only person who ever could love me like this." Said Serizawa. He took another step back and another until he felt his bed behind him. He sat down, pulling her with him. He sat down and pulled her on top of him. She was still holding him. Arms around him, head in his chest, legs on either side of him.
"No I'm not. You're a wonderful person, Serizawa, and lots of people would want to be with you." Said Mob
"No they wouldn't. You don't have to lie to make me feel better." Said Serizawa. Who would want to be with him when there were other people, better people, proper people out there? She was his everything and he was so grateful that she had chosen him, though he had no idea why.
"Serizawa. I would never lie to you. I don't lie to you. I know how much it hurts when someone you love lies to you. I will never do anything to hurt you." Said Mob
"But I've never lied to you. You love me and I've never lied to you once. I would never do that to you, Mob." Said Serizawa
"Say that again." Said Mob
"What? That I would never lie to you?" asked Serizawa
"Yes. That. That makes me feel better." Said Mob
"Of course I would never lie to you. You're my girlfriend." Said Serizawa
"….I am . I'm your girlfriend." Said Mob
"You don't have to worry about me lying to you." Said Serizawa
"Thank you." Said Mob
"For what?" asked Serizawa
"For not ever lying to me. You love me, you really love me….and you would never hurt me. I just….I don't know what's the matter with me." Said Mob
"Nothing is the matter with you. You're perfect." Said Serizawa
"Nobody's perfect." Said Mob
"You are to me." Said Serizawa
"Why?" asked Mob
"Why what?" asked Serizawa
"Why do you think I'm perfect? I'm not. I'm weird and awkward and I think about things that I shouldn't and I want things that I shouldn't and I'm just….I'm not perfect. I'm not perfect and I don't know why….why you love me. Why you think I'm so…perfect." Said Mob
"….because you saved me. Mob…Shigeko…you saved me in every single way that a person can be saved. You didn't have to save me but you did. You didn't have to spare me but you did. You could have stopped me, you could have beaten me, hell, you could have killed me. You didn't. You saved me. You showed me what real friendship was and then you saved me." Said Serizawa
"….and you saved Master Reigen." Said Mob softly. Serizawa didn't hear her, it seemed like. He was doing that thing where he talked like he was on a timer. Sometimes he did this but usually it happened after sex.
"It's not just because you saved me either! It's because you're just so…good. Everything about you is just so good. You never hurt anyone who doesn't threaten you first. You or the people you care about. You care so much about the people around you. We aren't…we aren't just pawns to you. You genuinely care about me….about all of us! You care so much and you…as powerful as you are you don't have to. You don't need anyone but you keep us around….you make me so happy. You keep me around even though…even though I'm nothing like you-" said Serizawa
"Serizawa…." said Mob lacing her fingers in his as best as she could. She rested her head in the crook of his neck. She could feel his heartbeat there, too.
"You take such good care of me even though you don't have to! I mean, not like my mom did….you're not a mom to me! I mean, you're not a mom to me at all! You're just someone who takes care of me and oh! That sounds so bad. I mean not literally but kind of literally. I mean…you make me feel better when I get upset. You make me want to be better than what I am and you accept me for who I am even though you deserve so much better than what I can be-" said Serizawa
"Serizawa….wait…I" said Mob
"But there isn't anyone in the entire world that I would want to be with more than I want to be with you. There's never been anyone in the world that I've ever even had the chance to be with but if anyone ever did want this with me I'd stay with you because you're just so wonderful and good and nice and perfect! Everything about you is just so perfect! I like the way you sometimes get really quiet when you're thinking about something. I like the times when you talk a lot, too, like when you tell me about things that are important to you… I like the way you smile at me like I'm the only person in the world. I like how you…I like how you feel. I like how warm you feel when we're together…and not even that kind of together….you're just so small and warm and there! I mean real! I mean…I mean that you're someone who's there and who wants to be with me and-and-and I love you. I love you and you're my everything." Said Serizawa. He had trouble catching his breath. It all just came out like a shook up bottle of soda. One thing and then another and then another and it sounded so stupid and she'd probably think that he was dumb and-
She kissed him.
He kissed her back.
Mob wanted to say it. She tried to say it. She couldn't say it. She couldn't say it but she could show it. His hands found her waist as she kissed him. Her hands found the back of his head. His hair was so soft and curly. She loved the way it felt under her fingers. His hands stayed at her waist but he scooted them back more. Oh. She had been about to tip over.
"Mob…" said Serizawa when they broke apart for air. Usually when she kissed him first it was in that deep, fast, sort of way that she liked. This was slower, like he liked. He reached a hand up and traced lazy circles on her back like she was a cat. She was so soft, so small, so warm, and so, incredibly, there.
"That was the nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me." Said Mob resting her head in the space where his shoulder met his neck. He smelled nice there, like aftershave. A different kind of aftershave than she was used to but she didn't mind. She liked this.
"I could say it again if you want, if it makes you feel better." Said Serizawa as his fingers found their way to the space where her school shirt tucked into her skirt. She was still in her uniform. He hoped that he didn't do anything to hurt it. That he didn't accidentally lose control and ruin it because those were so expensive, she had said, and she looked so nice in it and-
"I feel better. You made me, make me, feel better. You always do." Said Mob kissing her way up his neck. This got her that sound he made sometimes, that low sound that made her inside feel gooey like a microwaved marshmallow.
"You make me feel better too, and I don't mean-" said Serizawa before he felt her teeth and oh yes! That! He tugged her school shirt free of the skirt. She kept it up. Biting him a little, not as hard as when they first started, when he had to button his shirt up to the collar button and it felt sort of like it was strangling him but he endured it because he may not have been an expert but he knew that he could not walk around with marks on him like that. Even though he was not at all ashamed of how they got there.
"You can, it's ok." Said Mob kissing her way lower. She felt shaking fingers curling around the hem of her school shirt. She let him pull it up over her head along with her undershirt. She undid the buttons of his shirt with her powers. Fine movements were easier now that she was used to using her powers while she was this worked up.
But she wasn't worked up, not like usual.
This was different. Less urgent.
Usually it was urgent. Usually she wanted to get to it as fast as she could, the parts that she liked. Usually she was pushing his head down by now. This was different. She had time now. She had time and she was all alone and she was with someone who loved and cared about her and…and she wanted to hear it. To feel it. For him to feel it.
"You're perfect." Said Serizawa. He wanted to lay down but there was a wall behind him. Usually by now he was on top of her, she liked that. Not that he had ever not been on top of her. She never asked him to do anything else so that much have been what she liked best. Not that he would have minded trying something else. She was different tonight. Less fast. They had time now. They had time and they could take all night. All day. Not literally, of course. People still needed food and water and sleep.
"Don't say that. I'm not." Said Mob pushing his work shirt from his shoulders. His coat and tie were always the first thing that he abandoned when he, they, he, got home.
"I think you are." Said Serizawa. He would gladly explain, again, why she was so perfect. He'd tell her over and over again until she could see herself the way that he saw her. Angel. An angel come down to him.
"I think I'm not." Said Mob before kissing the space over his heart. She rested her head on his chest. Fuzzy and kind of squishy but also warm and comfortable.
"I wish that you thought you were." Said Serizawa. He traced his hand across her stomach, this got him a breathy sort of giggle. She was ticklish there, backs of her knees too. He ran his hand up until it was over her heart.
"You wouldn't wish that if you knew what I thought about…" said Mob softly
"What do you think about?" asked Serizawa
"….a lot of stuff. Stuff that I shouldn't." said Mob as his fingers found their way up and across her chest. She squirmed a little. Yes. The sense of urgency was coming back but she had to slow down. She had time. She could…she could savor this. Like warm milk with vanilla.
"Everyone thinks about things that they shouldn't, it doesn't matter." Said Serizawa. Did she think about the same things that he did? Could he ask her that? What could she possibly think about that would tarnish her in his eyes. Nothing. There was nothing in this world that could ever make him think less of her.
"It doesn't?" asked Mob. What did he think about that he shouldn't have? Probably nothing nearly as bad as what she thought about. Not another girl. He would never do anything like that, and he didn't even know any other girls anyway.
"No, it doesn't." said Serizawa. What he wanted from her didn't matter. What he wanted she was, most likely, in no way ready for. She was younger, more than half his age, and the time that he was wasting when he was her age she was living. So what if he wanted forever with her. So what if he laid awake in bed at night wondering what it would be like to wake up with her. So what if he passed families on his way to work and he panicked a little at the thought of having a human being to take care of but then, later on, the thought of…someday…wasn't as scary….
"I wish that I could say it." Said Mob
"Said what?" asked Serizawa
"How I feel. I just…I can't do it again…" said Mob
"Do what?" asked Serizawa
"Say how I feel. I did…before…and then I got…hurt…" said Mob
"About this or about me?" asked Serizawa
"About you….how I feel about you." Said Mob
"I know how you feel about me. You don't have to say it." Said Serizawa kissing her. Short kisses in quick succession. She liked to be heard and he heard her. She said it loud and clear with her actions. She loved him.
"But I should. I should because you say it all the time. You even said it when we first…" said Mob
"When our relationship started." Said Serizawa
"Yes. Then. When I became your girlfriend." Said Mob
"When you chose me, out of everyone else…." Said Serizawa
"I just feel like…like I should. Like I should say it because you say it and you're wonderful and I-I I really-" said Mob
"Please don't be upset." Said Serizawa
"I'm not upset…I mean I'm not upset anymore. You made me feel better, Serizawa." said Mob kissing him deeply this time. He pulled her close, very close. He tasted like tea and dental floss. She liked tea and had no real opinion on dental floss.
"But what did I make you feel better from. You said…that you got hurt." Said Serizawa
"…..I said something that I shouldn't have and I made an idiot out of myself." Said Mob
"What did you say?" asked Serizawa. She had talked about this, before. That she had said something stupid. She never did say what it was, though, and she had said that she had told someone else that she…felt the same…no. She did not confess…but she could have….someone else…it's like a knife through his insides.
"Why do you want to know?" said Mob. What was it with people asking so many questions? Was everyone tuning into her brother? Ick. No. Not the thought to have right now.
"Insecure, maybe. I mean…I just…have you ever done this with anyone else?" asked Serizawa. Had she ever loved anyone else? Kissed him? Wait, he knew that she had. Had she ever been someone else's everything? Had she ever been in this…position….with anyone else?
"No. You're the first person I've ever had sex with." Said Mob. Serizawa hates himself for feeling relieved. The thought of her with someone else…no. Don't think about it.
"Same, for me…but you already knew that. You're the first person I've ever…loved…too. Like this, I mean." Said Serizawa
"Like this?" asked Mob
"For real. You're the only person that I've ever…" said Serizawa. Ever had the chance to be with. Ever wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Ever trusted so completely as he trusts her.
"…..you're the second…." Said Mob, softly. Serizawa gets very still.
"You….you've loved…someone else?" asked Serizawa. No, stay calm. Feel her, there. See her, there. She's there and she's there with you. She chose you.
"Yes….but he said no. He didn't just say no…he lied to me. He told me that he did love me but that we had to wait until I was an adult." Said Mob. She can see Serizawa's aura. She should have just kept her mouth shut. She should have but she just…couldn't! She needed to talk about this! It was eating her up inside like a tapeworm!
"Who?" asked Serizawa. No. Don't. Don't ask. What good will knowing his name make? It's probably someone that you'll never, ever, even meet in life and besides, she chose you anyway.
"You'll be upset if you know…." Said Mob. Serizawa and Master Reigen were friends, they saw each other every single day. She should have just kept this whole mess she had gotten herself into to herself. If there was nobody that she could talk to then so be it.
"I promise I won't. I know that…that you chose me out of everyone else…and that you love me." Said Serizawa. She muttered something.
"….Master Reigen…." Said Mob. His grip around her went slack. The energy around them crackled. She tried to smooth it down but it wouldn't listen so she just absorbed it. She felt the entire building, possibly, shake.
"….him…?" asked Serizawa. No. Not him…not him….not someone as together as him. Someone who knew exactly what to do and when to do it. Someone who had every situation under control. Someone who was so much better dressed….better looking….someone like….
Reigen Arataka
"…yes…but he said no and I don't care anymore. I felt like that about him but now I don't. I don't feel like that about him anymore. I feel like that about you now." Said Mob. She could see him, his aura, calming down.
"Right. You chose me…." Said Serizawa. She chose him. She did not, could not, have Reigen. Reigen didn't want her and she didn't want Reigen…anymore. She didn't want him anymore and she said so. She would never lie to him.
"I did. I did and I'm your girlfriend." Said Mob kissing him. It took him a moment to kiss her back. When he did he kissed her back harder than he had before. Mob melted into him, like poured butter. Yes. Usually when he kissed her he kissed her like she was made of glass wrapped in rice paper. He always knew how to make her feel better.
Serizawa wasn't mad at her, not really. He was just…upset. Upset that she used to have feelings for Reigen. Upset at her for having those feelings even though she had known Reigen for years before she had even met him. He was mad at Reigen, too, because Reigen had hurt her. Reigen had her, Mob, the most amazing woman in the world, and he said no to her. Why? What motivation could he possibly have? How could somebody as wise as Reigen have thrown away happiness with both hands like that?
Mixed emotions. Too many emotions.
So he kissed her.
He realized that he was kissing her too hard. He tried to slow down but that just made her kiss him faster and harder and deeper and oh! Their teeth were really scraping. She didn't seem to mind. She was pushing him back, now, too. His back was pressed hard against the wall. Her body. Her powers.
Reigen had never kissed her like this. Probably.
Serizawa can't imagine her ever showing this side of herself to any other man. Serizawa had never even imagined that she even had this part of herself. Her arms were around his shoulders. Her nails were digging right into him but it didn't hurt that badly.
No matter how she made him feel he would still love her.
His hands found her hips. He tried to push her downwards because she was putting a lot of her weight on him. She just pushed against him harder. She was digging her nails into him more and trying to, it seemed, see who's tongue was stronger. It was hers. He let her win. He let her grind herself down onto him. He let her yank on his hair. He let her scratch up his back. He had been too forceful there, much too forceful. She hadn't liked that. She had probably been upset and-
"Serizawa. I'm not made of glass." Said Mob. That had been so nice, before. She would have thought that he would have been mad or sad or something but he wasn't. He hadn't gotten mad, he was a man of his word. He had gotten…she wasn't sure what to call how he had been, before, but it had been so good but now he was back to treating her like she was made of glass.
"I know." Said Serizawa. She was not made of glass she was made of love and she loved him and he needed to remember that and not get upset because she was with him and not Reigen and that was what mattered but she had felt like this about Reigen too and what if he was just her second choice or a placeholder or-
"Then be like you were before. It was nice. You always treat me like I'll break or something." Said Mob
"Before….no. I shouldn't have-" said Serizawa
"But I liked it." Said Mob kissing him. He hesitated for a moment before he stopped letting her win. He pushed back against her with equal force to what she gave. His aura crashed against hers, the room was all pink and blue and purple. One hand found her thigh and he held her tight. The other found her hair and he ran a hand through it. She was still kissing him, still touching him, still wanting him.
"Tell me if I hurt you." Said Serizawa because she was just so much smaller than he was and he could have so easily hurt her on accident and she was made of glass, to him, even though he knew that she wasn't because she had saved him and she had been thrown through the air and smashed into buildings but she had still gotten up but this was different, this was not fighting even though in some ways it felt like they were because it was so physical and he was kind of hurt and-
"Serizawa, you said that you would never do anything to hurt me. I trust you. That's why I…because I trust you." Said Mob
"More than Reigen?" asked Serizawa
"….yes. You've never lied to me. I don't want to talk about him now, though. I just want…I want you to treat me…treat me like a woman. Like I'm not going to…break." Said Mob
"I can do that….I mean…tell me if I hurt you." Said Serizawa
"You won't. Just do what I do." Said Mob. She leaned down and kissed the side of his neck again, but not in that light way she did before. Serizawa tugged on her hair, accidentally, as she bit him. Not a mean sort of bite, but something that he had not been expecting. Not really painful but not something he had ever really thought about.
"You can pull on my hair, if you want. That was nice, too. But not too hard, ok?" asked Mob. That was new. She had never even thought about that. She knew, in her mind, what she would have liked, so she was going off of that. Hard kisses. Not that she had ever had anyone to actually do this with, before. She only had this in her mind and in her mind she had never conceived that getting her hair pulled could be nice. What else could they think of, together?
She wanted to figure it out with Serizawa.
"You mean like this?" asked Serizawa giving her hair that same small tug. She nodded.
"And kiss me, too, like I kissed you." Said Mob
"You bit me." Said Serizawa
"I guess. Not for real, though. Did you like it?" asked Mob
"I didn't mind. Where did you learn…I mean how did you think to…" asked Serizawa knowing that he was on dangerous ground. Had Reigen been the one she kissed? Had she and Reigen ever been in this position? He had been her first time but she had been his first everything. He was not all of her firsts and he needed to stop thinking about it because it didn't matter even though it felt like it mattered.
"….movies. Anime. Things that I've seen. Things that I think about…" said Mob softly. Things that she had thought about doing with Master Reigen. Things that she had thought about ever since that time when she was thirteen and she had seen a mark barely hidden under his collar and spent the rest of the day staring at it and wanted to be the one who gave it to him. Mob wasn't dumb, she knew why the girls with their skirts all rolled up wore bandages on their necks. She had even seen how those got there, a few times, because people tended to forget when she was in the room even if she was standing less than a meter away. Movies and manga had filled in the blanks. Not those movies and manga that were only people doing it, Mob didn't really get the point of those, but the ones that were for adults and were about people in love doing what people who were in love did together.
"Oh, right. Girls do, too." Said Serizawa. So she had things that's he had seen and wanted to do, too. He wondered if there was any overlap in what they wanted. He knew what he had seen, what he thought about, but he wouldn't ask that of her. He could never ask her to, well, anything. What if he asked her to do something and she thought that it was weird. He knew that when it came to things like this art did not always imitate life.
"Do what?" asked Mob
"Nothing. Just…think about things…I guess." Said Serizawa
"Do you ever think about things? Things like this, I mean. Not in general. I know you think about things in general, like how sometimes you look at the sky and get scared. I didn't mean things like that." Said Mob
"You remembered that?" asked Serizawa
"Yes. I remember things that you tell me. People have good memories. I'm not a goldfish, I remember it when you tell me things." Said Mob
"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by that. I just meant….thank you, for listening to me." Said Serizawa
"You're welcome. I listen to you and you listen to me, that's fairness." Said Mob
"You're right." Said Serizawa
"So, what do you think about? I mean…that's fairness too. It's fairness if I do things that you want to do, too." Said Mob. It was both fairness and curiosity. If she liked it when he pulled her hair then what else could he think of?
"….I want to make you happy. That's what I want." Said Serizawa before leaning down and kissing the side of her neck in that rough, biting, way that she had kissed him. He couldn't say it, not now. He had to think and prepare for a question like that. Firstly he had no clue what he would like in life. He knew what he liked in his mind but this was real life and real life was not a fantasy. Secondly he had no idea if any of the things he liked in fantasy would be ok in reality. It was different when it was real.
She wrapped her legs around his waist.
It was different when it was something that you could reach out and feel.
"I love that!" said Mob. Maybe she should confess things more often. He was less…passive? Passive. Now he was less passive and more oh! That was nice. Of course he wasn't mad at her. This was Serizawa. He was one of the nicest people that she had ever met. He was so understanding. He didn't explode or say that he was mad at her or that he was mad at Master Reigen or anything. She felt better, too, and not just because he was kissing her so that she could actually feel it. She felt…lighter? Lighter. Lighter than she had been before because this weight was lifted off of her shoulders and now she could enjoy it with him. Love and sex. Sex and love. She needed both and he gave her both.
Sex and love in equilibrium.
Mob ground herself against him. Layers. They had too many layers on. She tried to undo the button of her school skirt with her powers and accidentally tore at it. Ok. Too worked up. Fine movements were out right now. Mob undid her legs, they had been crossed behind him, and rested her knees on other side of Serizawa. She raised herself up a little and put her weight on her knees.
"What are you doing?" asked Serizawa breaking away from her. For a moment he was afraid that she had spontaneously developed telepathy and was seeing the things happening in his mind. Things about her. The slow, sour sort of anger he had at Reigen for both rejecting her and being the subject of her affections. The biting sting of the fact that another man, not only another man, but Reigen had been the subject of her affections. His best friend. Beyond that there were the other thoughts that he had about her. How he wanted to throw her down and chase every thought of Reigen Arataka from her mind. How he wanted to dress her up like a maid, which he knew not to ask of her, and pick her up and lay her on a table, but not his table because it was too low, or just bend her over it-no. Don't think like that. Enjoy what you have.
"I have too many clothes on." Said Mob as she tugged down her underwear with her powers. Ick. Slick and sticky and slimy and unpleasant. She didn't know where she tossed them to but she'd find them later. She'd worry about that later. She settled herself down onto him again. His belt buckle was digging into him and she shifted herself down lower.
"….you still have your skirt on." Said Serizawa reaching down and holding onto her thighs. He crept his hands up until he made his way to her waist. Where her waistband should have been. He let out a shuddery breath and traced the space where her waistband should have been.
"Sorry. I tried to take it off with my powers but I didn't want to accidentally rip the button off. I can do it by hand. Hang on." Said Mob. She reached over to the side with the buttons on it but was stopped by Serizawa. He held her wrist in his hand.
"No. I don't mind." Said Serizawa. He let go of her wrist, he shouldn't have grabbed it like that. That had been mean. Forceful. But she liked things like that…but that had still been mean.
"You have too many clothes on, too." Said Mob. She reached down and played with the buckle of his belt. He leaned back and helped her with his powers. She pushed his pants about halfway down his hips. He sat up to give her some room to work. She was doing this herself. By hand. He committed every second of this moment to memory. So what if Reigen had her, before, he had never had her like this. This was Mob and Serizawa, not Mob and Reigen.
"Hi." Said Mob after getting back to where she was. She looked down at him, she was slightly taller than he was when they sat like this. He was halfway laying down. She was sitting on her knees. So that was what he looked like from above.
"Hi." Said Serizawa as he looked up at her. She was taller than he was, there, slightly. She was putting her weight on her knees. He scooted back so his back was against the wall again. There. Now they were level again. He could feel it against him, her slickness. He could smell her, too. He would never get tired of her, of that, of this. This was theirs. Him and her. He ran his fingers from her the space where her waistband should have been, across her thighs, and to the curly hair she had there. She rocked into him, his hand. He brought his fingers down, slowly, to what she called the nubby thing. He knew it's real name, he had read enough books to know it's real name, and he knew it's function. This was the best part of it, for her, not that he had needed a book to tell him that. The way she rocked into his hand, the little gasps and mews she made, all of it was enough for him to get a clue.
Reigen wouldn't have known what she liked.
No. Don't think about Reigen. What had happened between her and Reigen. Nothing happened. He said no. Nothing happened. This was happening. Don't get upset. Don't freak out.
"There…." said Mob rocking herself against him. Her eyes were closed. She was thinking of, no, she was trying not to think of Master Reigen. She needed to stop it. But it was so good when she did. But she was not with him. She was with Serizawa and she…she loved him. He loved her and he was so good to her and therefore she loved him.
"Why do you always close your eyes?" asked Serizawa stopping what he was doing. Her eyes were closed tight. She always did that.
"That's just something that I do." Said Mob. She wasn't lying. She had always closed her eyes, even when she did this by herself. She had always closed her eyes. She did it so that she could be more inside of her head, or less in the moment maybe. She felt weird, when she started doing things like this by herself. Even before she thought about Master Reigen. Even when she had just been chasing good feelings all alone on her futon at night.
"I know. You always do that." Said Serizawa
"Does it bother you?" asked Mob
"…a little…I mean…I like it when you…if you would look at me…" said Serizawa. He used to close his eyes. Not with her, of course, but instead when he was alone. He'd close his eyes and imagine that someone else was with him. Early on it had been girls that he knew but then as the years went by it was girls that he wished that he knew. He'd go inside of his own mind just so that he could take a step outside of the self-imposed hell that was his room. But now he was out of that self-imposed hell he could open her eyes. He could open his eyes and he did but she still kept hers closed. What was she trying to take a step away from? Him? Them? This? Each thought made his insides clench and his heart stop.
"…ok…" said Mob. She opened her eyes and met his. They just stared at each other for a while, not moving. He leaned over and kissed her. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. Too much, too much at once. She rested her head at the crook of his neck. She kissed him, lightly, like he liked. He still didn't move. She rocked against him. He got a clue and got back to it.
"I love you." Said Serizawa as his fingers found her slickness once again. She was kissing him without biting. He liked this better, when she was gentle. She was loving, then. She was being loving and he loved her. So he said it. She didn't say anything. She just turned her head and kissed him. Lazy kissing, sort of. Slow and sweet. Loving. Loving and slow and languid and lazy but so, very, nice. She spoke with her actions. She was telling him she loved him. He, in turn, was slow and languid and lazy and loving in his ministrations. He teased her a little, just a little. Not as hard as she liked. Slow touches. Light touches. She rocked into him and mewed. She asked him for more. Him. Not Reigen.
Stop thinking about Reigen.
"Harder….please…" said Mob as she kissed him. Her eyes were still open but as she stopped kissing him she rested her head in the crook of his neck again. He wanted to see her, to look at her. He stopped completely and, instead, moved his hands up to her back. He pulled her close and kissed her. He kissed her like she kissed him. Kind of like fighting but not really. She met him and kissed him back just as hard. She rocked against him as the kissed. He held her by the waist with one hand and moved the other back under her skirt. She gasped at the contact.
"Yes. That. Oh!" Said Mob. She knew that she wasn't super articulate when she got like this. Worked up. Excited. She was getting closer. It was better when her eyes were opened. She didn't mind the little things he said now that she wasn't going inside of her own head. The little ways he'd repeat 'yes' and 'more' and 'I love you' softly and breathlessly. She could appreciate him better, now. The way his aura rocked with hers. The way his body rocked with hers. The way his voice got all low when they were like this. Even the way that they smelled when they were together. She thought more about herself, too, when they were like this. When her eyes were opened she felt, sort of, like she could see herself, too. She was too pale, she knew this. Her chest was still too flat, she knew this too. She was small and little and he probably thought that she was too little and any minute now he'd just tell her to get off and go home because she was too young, just like Master Reigen said that she was too young and that they couldn't be together.
"This?" asked Serizawa. He kissed his way down her neck, maybe too hard. No. The harder he went the harder she rocked. The more she mewed and gasped and begged. The more she rocked and gasped and mewed and begged the harder he kissed her. It was sort of like fighting, almost. Fighting her thoughts, maybe. The thoughts that she had about Reigen still, maybe. No. She didn't. She was his and he was hers and they were together and he needed to stop thinking about this and-oh!
"Oh!" said Mob. Well, that was what she was trying to say. It came off as more of a squeak, though. A high pitched squeak. She hadn't meant to end up…connected…with him like this. It felt…different. Kind of like the first time. The first time she hadn't finished before they got together. Every time afterwards she finished and then they did this. She was usually fully relaxed beforehand but now…it didn't hurt…not really. It felt weird. She rocked a little. It felt bigger this way. She tried out the rocking motion again. Deeper this way. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders for stability. She used her powers to make some more room to move, her skirt was getting caught under her knees.
"Do you…do you like this?" asked Serizawa. He knew that people could do it like this, too. It was nice, he thought, to change it up. He could feel her better like this. Less work on him, too. She was making the rhythm now. Teasing him. Slowly. Deeper, too, which was nice.
"Yes. Oh yes!" said Mob. When she angled herself a little lower and ground against him when she moved…yes! Perfect. Different. Inside and outside at once. Different. Different than fingers. Thicker. She liked thicker, she decided. Her eyes were still opened. Well, she was blinking, too, but she was in the moment. She couldn't make eye contact. She had trouble with eye contact at the best of times and now it would be a lot so she stared down at a spot on his chest. She could maybe even see his heart beat if she focused enough. She looked him in the eye, though, when his hands found her thighs and his fingers dug into the soft flesh there.
"You can move, too, if you want to." Said Mob finding words. She felt him shift under her and then he rose up and met her. He moved with her. She always moved with him. Her fingers made their way to the juncture between her legs but he beat her there.
"Let me." Said Serizawa. He wanted to make her feel good. He needed to make her feel good. He needed to be better then what Reigen could have been for her. He had a job and this was his job and he could do his job well because he was there for her. He was hers and she was his. Not Reigen's.
"I-I-lo-lo-" said Mob. Words were difficult. Words were hard to find, to hold on to. Tis felt so good. So perfect. It was better with her eyes opened. It was better when she was in the moment and with the person who loved her and who she…loved…right back. She pressed her forehead to his. She tasted salt. Them. They were salty together. Sweat. They had this heavy smell to them. Heavy and thick and a little…acidic? Was that it? Them. It smelled like them when they got like that. Nice. To her, at least. Like trust and pleasure. They smelled like trust and pleasure.
They felt like trust and pleasure.
That was what this felt like.
She could feel her toes curling in her socks. She always left her socks on, so did he. Feet were always the first thing to get cold. They were the only thing that didn't touch when they got like this. Everything else touched and rubbed and they were like kindling and they could burn together and then nobody would ever find them and the lights were flickering and the crack in the ceiling was still there and the room was shaking almost or maybe she was just shaking and she was having trouble staying upright on her own and her legs were staring to feel weak and she was getting tense but in a good way and the lights were still flickered and the models on the shelves were rattling and-
Yes.
Boneless. Mob was boneless.
It was dark and Mob was boneless.
She was still moving up and down.
Then she wasn't.
Then there was silence.
Mob broke it.
"I love you." Said Mob breathlessly. She was laid down on the bed. She felt the mattress dip. He laid down next to her. She had said it, she finally found the words. That had been love. An act of it. Why did she feel so boneless? She never felt like this afterwards. That had been different. From inside. Inside felt different then outside. Boneless. She was boneless. She was boneless and sweaty and slick and slimy and tired and it was dark. It was so dark that she could forget about Master Reigen. It was so dark that she could pretend that she and Serizawa were the only two people in the whole world. He pulled her close. He was all sweaty too. She didn't mind it. That was her, too. Him and her. Together.
"I love you too." Said Serizawa after a moment. Lots of feelings at the moment. There was a sense of, well, pride in himself. He had been the one who made her feel like that. He had gotten her to finish just by, well not just by, but mostly by being inside of her. She had never finished while he was inside of her, before. The way she clenched around him. The way she bore down on him. He had done his research. He knew the words for it. Her pelvic floor bore down on when she had an orgasm. If he was going to be clinical. Clinical didn't fit. Filthy didn't fit either. They were somewhere in the middle. Wherever they were, she was, he was proud that he had gotten her there.
Aside from the pride he felt love. Loved and loving. Her, there, with him. In his arms. It was like he was inside of her and she was inside of her but they were also inside of each other. Emotionally. Auras, too. Their auras were merged. The only light in the room. Oh. They had…he tried to flip the switches…they had blown the circuit breakers, maybe. He did that, before, when he was younger. Back when he was locked in his room and he had just figured out what the internet was for besides forums and flash games. It had been more intense, back then. It was still intense for her. Just then. He had made her feel like that. He had made it that intense for her. He had been the one that she said it to. I love you. Said with words. Said with words to him. Him. Not Reigen.
Jealousy reared it's ugly head. Reigen. She had confessed to Reigen. She had confessed to him and he had said no. Serizawa had no idea why Reigen would say why but he was grateful that he did. That made him terrible. He was terrible because he was happy that Reigen had rejected her. Terrible and terribly selfish. He held her closer. She nuzzled him kind of like a kitten. He patted her hair. She was so soft and sweet and perfect and small and wonderful and his-
"I think I broke the lights…I'm sorry." Said Mob softly. She tried the switches with her powers. Nothing, She could see out the window that the streetlights were still on. At least that she hadn't caused a black out in the whole city.
"You just tripped the circuit breakers, probably. They'll fix it. Don't worry. I think that might have been me, too." Said Serizawa
"I'm still sorry." Said Mob
"Mob, don't apologize. Please, not for that." Said Serizawa. He could feel her fingers resting on his shoulders. She traced a line up and down.
"Can I apologize for scratching you?" asked Mob
"No. I don't mind." Said Serizawa
"But I hurt you." Said Mob
"No, not really. You did that because you felt good. I don't mind at all I could never mind a single thing that you did." Said Serizawa. She was quiet for a moment.
"You mean that?" asked Mob
"I do. I would never lie to you." Said Serizawa
"Do you really mean that? That you would never lie to me?" asked Mob
"Of course. I can't think of a single reason why I would ever lie to you." Said Serizawa. He was her boyfriend and while he only had a few weeks experience in this role he knew not to lie to his girlfriend. Trust was important she was someone he trusted completely. He was putting his trust in the right person this time. He trusted in her.
"…I love you. I love you and I think…it's ok if you want to hold my hand when we're at work." Said Mob. She didn't mind it now, if Master Reigen knew the truth. He didn't love her and she needed to stop holding out hope that he would ever feel the way she felt. She told herself this. That she didn't care if he knew. Maybe if she told herself enough times then it would be true.
"Are you sure? We're at work and I don't want to break any social rules. I don't want to make Reigen uncomfortable, either." Said Serizawa. She was the one who said not to when they were at work and it made sense. Work was work and that was a place only for working. That and, well, the internet had confirmed what she said and he didn't like breaking social rules. Reigen also might feel bad, not having had someone to love in a very long time, he had said. Though it was his own fault. He was the one who said no to her. Not that Serizawa minded.
"I don't care if he knows that we're a couple." Said Mob with all the conviction that she could put into her usual monotone.
"He knows, I just don't want to make him uncomfortable." Said Serizawa. There was a silence.
"He knows?" asked Mob softly as she collected her thoughts. When? How? Why?
"Yes. I told him after the first time…after you and I…after we became a couple." Said Serizawa trying to find the right words. She had never explicitly said that they were a couple but…but she hadn't had to say anything. She spoke with her actions, not with her words, and that was just her way. She had made herself perfectly clear. She loved him and he loved her and even if she had loved someone else, before, it didn't matter. It was fine, they were fine. More than fine. Perfect. This was perfect and she was perfect.
"….I didn't know that he knew…" said Mob softly. He knew and he didn't say anything. He was lying, she was right. If he wanted to be with her then he would have at least said something. Goodness knew he loved to talk. He would have told her to break up with Serizawa and to be with her if he wanted to be in a couple with her. He would have…but he didn't. He had been lying. He didn't care. He didn't care if she was someone else's girlfriend. He didn't care if she kissed someone else. He didn't care if she had sex with someone else.
Well fine then.
