Disclaimer: I don't own Dr. STONE. I do love it a lot.

Authoress' Note: … It's kinda sad there isn't enough Gen x Kohaku fics out there. While I don't ship it as hard as Senku x Kohaku, I really do like this pairing. And if we're going to start pairing Senku with Luna – which is kinda cute, but yeah... definitely not going to ship them – might as well as jump a bit harder on the GenHaku/KohaGen ship!

This loosely started as inspiration from this piece of art by NotgCp on Twitter - /NotgCp/status/1302163031368097793/photo/1 – Please enjoy!

When Push Comes To Shove

Kohaku's hands seized at the banister as she peered over the deck of the Perseus. Things were finally at peace, but she was not. Not in the slightest. And she hated that she wasn't.

She had heard of Senku's new "girlfriend", although she didn't know much at the time. Many people didn't unless they were on the ship and bore witness to what had transpired, but now that things had settled, the huntress now had the chance to meet the woman that had brought Senku back from the brink of death, as it were.

And also got to see how attached she was to the scientist. The vision of the American beauty – Luna, she eventually learned of the name – clinging close to Senku and not entirely in a doctor-to-patient sort of way made Kohaku feel sick to her stomach. But what confused the huntress was that she didn't get why.

Knuckles turned white as she watched Luna and Senku interact on the deck below where she stood, seeing Senku actually smile at the medical student over whatever conversation they were having. Why did this bother her so much? It wasn't as though she had feelings for Senku, and certainly Senku didn't have any for her. Well, no feelings outside of friendship, companions, and members of the Kingdom of Science, at least. There certainly wasn't anything romantic between the two of them, nor would there ever be, far as the huntress was aware. After all, Senku was the one that said that a brain full of love was illogical and detrimental to the pursuit of science, and so even if Kohaku did have any sort of lovey-dovey feelings towards him, it's not like she'd ever, ever act on them because of that reason.

If Senku wanted to change his mind and actually express some sort of loving interest in another person, that's his business. And if those feelings were directed towards the woman that did save his life, that was also his business. It wasn't any of her business, nor should it be.

So why did this bother her so much? Why was her hands hurting because she tightened her grip so hard against the metal banister? Why was her chest hurting worse than it felt in years? Why did it feel like she couldn't breathe, like every one she tried to take was stuck in her throat? Why was there tears stinging at her eyes as she watched Luna smile at Senku like a girl so happily in love? There's no reason Kohaku should feel this way, but yet she did, and she hated herself for it. None of this made any sort of sense, so why-?

"Ah, Kohaku-chan~"

Her shoulders squared up, hearing her name called in the familiar sing-song tone that only belonged to the resident mentalist and most trustworthy liar, Gen Asagiri. This was the most inopportune time for him – or anyone, really – to try and approach her. The last thing she wanted was for someone to see her in this self-loathing sort of state, and unlike Senku, she was not always easily capable at keeping her emotions hidden. Still, she had to try, and so with one deep breath and ignoring the pain in her chest that came with it, she forced a smile on her lips, turning her head only slightly in order to meet his awaiting gaze for a moment, "Hello, Gen."

The monochrome haired man stopped a few inches from her, hands buried into the sleeves of his purple overcoat as he usually did. "How did you rest?" he inquired, "Well, I hope."

"Yeah, more or less. Hard to fully sleep when everyone is being loud."

"Yes, that's very true. But it's understandable, given what we had to endure yet again."

She scoffed, forcing a small smile, "No doubt about that."

The entire time of their conversation, Kohaku's head turned back to where it was before, hoping her bangs would cover her eyes and keep him from seeing them glazed over. However, Gen was no fool and could see easily her distraction and her pain. He didn't let on his knowledge, not right away, wanting to judge her based on what words they shared. Her voice sounded normal, but he was certain it was being forced as part of her plan to keep him off the course.

Dark cerulean eyes turned towards where Kohaku's gaze was lingered. He knew full well what she was looking at. And also knew full well, without her saying a word about it, why she was in this current state of being. To be frank, even Gen was surprised to see Senku looking almost pleased with having the turncoat at his side, something he wasn't used to see any other woman but Kohaku being able to do. He always knew – even though the two never expressed it verbally or realized it for themselves – that there was some sort of special spark between the scientist and huntress, and secretly wished that they would, eventually, be able to freely share that with one another. Of course, he knew that it likely wouldn't have been until after they finally reached the goal of reviving all of humanity, but it was still something he wished for.

The way Kohaku carried herself right now, even from a distance, told him that she had hoped to eventually reach that point as well, but now she might have lost her chance. The realization of that fact now brought forth those feelings she hadn't noticed were there before, and all of it was hitting her like a ton of bricks. Sure, she attempted to stay strong, to act as though she wasn't bothered, and maybe to the untrained eye she was keeping it that way, but not to him.

"Have you met Luna-chan yet?" he asked curiously.

Her hands that started to loosen gripped at the metal hard again; Gen easily caught sight of the flinch in her touch. "Not directly, no. I've heard enough about her, though. People seem pretty happy to have her aboard," Kohaku replied, trying to keep the bitterness of bile out of her words.

"Seems so. Especially given that she saved our dear Senku. She seems like a nice enough woman."

"That's what I hear. And something about being a smooth operator and a capable gal. Whatever that means."

"I'm not sure about a smooth operator, but given what she's been able to achieve, capable is certainly a correct trait of hers."

Her stomach churned terribly as the conversation went on. She didn't want to hear about all of these good qualities she had, or how people seemed to all be happy to have her among the ranks of the Kingdom of Science, or how Senku can't seem to stop smiling at the fangirl, or how god damn mad she was at all of this-!

"What do you think, Kohaku-chan?"

She couldn't answer that. Not honestly. Nor did she want to answer that. She felt guilty over the idea of even trying to say something terrible about Luna, especially not without knowing her. She knows she should be all sorts of grateful to the woman for being here to save Senku, and she was. But all of that was muddled in with these unknown, unwanted, unnecessary feelings and because of that, she couldn't answer the question in the way she knew she should answer it. Gen knew this, of course, still testing the waters with what he was noticing.

"I'm sure she's everything people keep making her out to be."

Kohaku had enough. She needed to get away. Away from Gen, away from the deck, away from the sight of Senku and Luna, away from everything and everyone. She was just going to hide in her room and stay there unless she was called. She didn't want to deal with any of this. None of this frustration, none of this pain, none of these sickening feelings that keep bubbling up in her stomach and making her want to puke. She was done. Done with all of it.

She removed her grip from the metal bar, pushing herself and turning away from Gen, taking two steps in his opposite direction. He noticed her fleeing, and sighed, "You should say something to him."

Footsteps stopped, shoulders squared, gaze straight ahead on the natural sights that surrounded their current position. "I have no idea what you mean by that, Gen," she replied, obviously trying to keep any of her boiled up feelings from coming to the surface of her tone.

"You have a terrible tell, Kohaku-chan. You seem obviously thrown off by our dear Senku's sudden entanglement. If you have some sort of objections to it, you should say something to him."

"Why would I? Whatever relationships Senku wants to get involved with, that's his business. Not mine, and I have no place to tell him anything in what he should or shouldn't do."

Her fingers balled into fists, body shaking as she uttered those words. She wanted to tell Gen to shut up, go to hell, curse him out for trying to involve her into something that had nothing to do with either of them. But yelling would only cause more eyes to fall upon her, and she refused to let that happen. She continued to walk away from him, only for Gen to start to follow her.

"Then why don't you tell him what you personally feel?"

"Once again, you've lost me. No idea what you mean."

"Your tell is getting worse."

"Wish you'd stop with this poker talk. I barely understand any of it, and it's stupid to use it outside of the game."

Kohaku wished he'd go away, but nope, the mentalist was determined to follow her. Through every hall and corridor, down every ladder and step, all the way back to the personal rooms of the ship's crew. He kept his voice down, only speaking when no one was in earshot, knowing well enough that this was a conversation that she would not want to get anyone else involved with, nor did he want that as well. He was determined, the bat bastard, to get a rise out of the blonde fighter in relation to those screwed up feelings she had, and she wouldn't allow it.

Right outside of her door, she finally stopped and turned around, blue eyes glaring daggers into the persistent man. "Look, just leave me alone, Gen. I'm tired, and I'm done," she declared, her tone showing clearly to him that she was barely holding back anymore.

With that, her hand went to her door handle, turning it and pulling the door with a force that surprised Gen that she didn't break it off of its hinges, walking inside and pulling it back with her, trying to close it and seal herself off from the world. However, she wouldn't have the chance to do so, the crafty bastard reaching out and grabbing the barrier, stopping it enough for him to sneak his way inside of the room.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" she screamed, "Get out of here!"

"I will once you give me a sufficient answer to my questions."

"I have absolutely nothing more to say to you. Get. Out."

"Once you answer me."

Kohaku was pissed, and Gen was as well, although he had the ability to keep it well hidden. No longer was he attempting to pussyfoot around her to gauge how she may react, but now it was wanting to get to the root of the issue. She may have wanted to hide it, but he knew that hiding it would be a terrible mistake. Trying to hide, to bury and pretend whatever she was feeling didn't exist would manifest into something far more devastating, and Gen didn't want that for her. He may not show it – he really didn't show it towards anyone, as part of his aloof nature – but he cared deeply for the huntress. He hated the sight of her as she was above deck, and definitely hated the idea of what could come if she was left alone to her own exile. He refused to let her have exactly what she wanted in this moment, and that made her even more angry than she already was.

"Why do you keep insisting on annoying me? I told you, I have nothing more to say to you, and I have nothing to say to Senku," her voice was quieter but held the same amount of bite as her yell.

"You're lying. You're lying to me, and you're lying to yourself," he insisted, arms once again back within his sleeves, crossed over his chest.

"Ha! That's rich, coming from you. I'm not lying to anyone," she replied, her laugh as bitter as the vile taste in her mouth.

"You've had feelings for him for awhile now."

Eyes met, fury meeting what seemed like calm. Her teeth gritted, fists balled at her side, "Of course I do. He's my friend and comrade, and we've been through a lot over the past few years. Of course there's feelings there."

"Not those types of feelings, Kohaku-chan, and I know that you know what I'm talking about."

"You're wrong."

His brow twitched for a second, one set of fingers tapping against his arm beneath the coat. "All of these years spent together. Getting to know each other more, both inside and outside of the missions. The amount of time you've spent fighting to protect him and his cause. All of the days and nights you've spent by his side, learning about science and declaring your belief in it," he started to explain, his voice starting out low and steady.

"So what? We've all done that, even you."

He didn't pause to respond to her comment, continuing his reasoning, "Of all people that's been around him, the only person that has managed to get so close has been you. Even dear Taiju gets pushed away. But yet, you've been the only one able to get within his bubble. The only one that he's allowed to hug him with such gentleness and care. The only one that he's allowed to approach him, to stay by his side in all of the ups and downs. And you loved that fact."

She didn't respond with words, only with more shaking and another gritting of the teeth. He didn't stop, "You loved that you could stay close to him, even when others couldn't. To be able to sit by him on those long nights by the fire, to be able to watch him peer out into the night sky with that smile on his face, to be able to talk with him so unguarded about anything, to stand by his side as an equal and loving how much he trusts you."

"That's-"

"All of these years, all of these interactions, they've cultivated something within your heart that you may not have noticed until now. Probably because of what he said to you the day you first met. In fact, I'm sure of it. You hid it well, hid it even from yourself, but now that you see someone else in your place, you're seeing it."

Kohaku was quivering worse than she ever felt before. Eyes were burning, and she swore she was going to bleed based on how hard her hands were clenched, but she didn't care. "Shut up," she said through bared teeth, her head lowered as to not look at the mentalist as he spun his tricks.

"You didn't think it'd be possible for him to ever change his mind on what he said about romance, but now you're seeing that he's changed, and the fact that it's not you has you furious. Not entirely at him, but at yourself. You didn't see the change until it was too late. And now, the place you wanted to be at has another woman in its stead."

"I said shut up."

"You're realizing you lost your chance to tell him that you love-"

"SHUT UP!"

Within a blink of an eye, Kohaku in front of him, hands grabbing fiercely at his clothes, pushing him harshly against the door, ocean eyes glowing with a furious storm and a glimmer of tears as she looked up at him with every bit of unhinged rage that was now boiled over. For a moment, Gen seethed at the pain to his back from the impact, his arms falling out from their crossed position and to his sides, but his eyes didn't leave hers. She was angry, but now she was confrontational about it, and this is why Gen pushed her. Now that she was at this state, she had no choice but to unleash it, and while he was frightened a bit at how that could manifest, he would take all of it with no judgment towards her in whatever was left behind in the aftermath.

"So fucking what!? So what if I did feel something more for him? So what if Luna's at his side now and I'm not? So what if he changed his mind and fell in love with another woman? So what if I lost my chance to tell him?" she screamed, shaking the man as she went off on her tirade, "None of it matters anymore! Absolutely none of it! You've seen those smiles! He's happy! Isn't that what matters the most? So what if it isn't with me? So what if I'm not the one that makes him happy? So what if he doesn't love me like that!? It doesn't matter anymore what I feel, because he chose her!"

The tears poured down her face uncontrollably, her voice cracking the longer she went on, the fury she had dissolving into despair. "So what..." she tried to say, her breathing so uneven as she sobbed, "So what does it matter... anymore?"

There it was, the breaking point. Kohaku couldn't keep herself in check anymore, her legs starting to give way as she lowered her head, eyes closed as her forehead brushed against Gen's chest, "It doesn't... it doesn't..."

The grip on his clothes began to loosen, her face burying itself into his chest now, letting out the most painful of wretched sobs she had ever emitted before. Gen sighed, relieved that her anger didn't manifest into physical violence as he worried about, although it wasn't as though he was pleased with this reaction either. But she needed to let it out, needed to bring it out to the surface, confront it instead of confining it. He slid down against the door with her, her knees finally buckling as she broke into a thousand pieces, arms going up to hold her gingerly and calmly, stroking her back as she continued to cry against him.

Her throat was raw, she still felt like throwing up, and her body felt like lead. But she felt some sort of strange relief now in having Gen there, having him hold her and whisper reassuring things in her ear. The warmth of his embrace and the soothing strokes against her back somehow made each sob a bit less of a pain as they came past her lips. She hated him for making her face this as he did, but as the sobs began to quiet, there was a bit of light in the dark clouds of her heart thanks to his uncharacteristic care.

Eventually, they subsided enough for her to shakily pull back to face him, seeing a gentle smile stretched across his lips with equally gentle eyes watching her. "You done for now, Kohaku-chan?" he asked, the question normally would tick her off in how it was phrased, but the way he spoke it almost made her want to laugh.

"I think I probably cried all of the water out of my body," she joked, coughing a bit as she tried to speak due to her strained throat, "Ow... that hurt."

"Do you want me to get some water for you?"

She shook her head, and he understood. One arm went up to rub her eyes and nose, trying to wipe away the signs of her breakdown mostly successfully, although her usually vibrant orbs were now sore and red. "Damn it... you're such an asshole, you know that," she muttered, coughing again while he chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.

"So I've been told," he replied with a bit of his signature egotism, although that front of his didn't stay up for long, "But you can understand why, correct?"

"... A little bit. It hurts, though."

He knew she wasn't just referring to the physical pain. Her hands began to quiver again, her grip on his clothes long since relaxed but now resting nearly flat against him. Their eyes fell away, but he didn't look away from her, watching as she bite her bottom lip. A mechanism to keep her from crying again, no doubt.

"... Have you ever felt this way, Gen?"

"I can't say that I have. To be frank, my career made it hard to really have those sort of feelings for someone, let alone a relationship."

"I'm starting to think you're the lucky one."

She sniffled, once again rubbing her face before returning to her place against him. He lessened his hold enough for her to move back further if she wanted, but she remained still in his arms, not quite wanting to leave that comfort zone yet. "This crap hurts," she muttered, "It really hurts. And I want to hate both of them for it, but I know that isn't right, so I just hate myself even more so for thinking that way. And the more I hate myself, the more it hurts. And I can't just jump in between them and try and break them apart. That's not right. If they're in love, then that's it. I can't be spiteful towards them because of how I feel. But that just makes the pain even worse."

She looked at him, eyes pleading for some sort of answer, hoping that – despite his inexperience – he would be able to tell her something good, something right. "How do I make this pain go away?"

Gen frowned at her loathing rant, but quirked a brow at her question. He sighed, taking a hand away from its circle around her upper torso to brush through his hair in a momentary bout of uncertainty with his potential answer. "I really don't know how to answer that, Kohaku-chan, I'm sorry to say," he replied sadly, although he was not as disheartened as she was.

Fingers subtly flexed against his chest, and she let out a painful scoff. She shouldn't have been surprised by the answer, but it didn't make it any less upsetting. He knew that she was seeking a comforting answer, but he couldn't offer one that he wasn't sure existed. His arms subtly wrapped a bit tighter around her.

"All I can do is offer this advice. One, when you've calmed down, you need to ask Senku to speak to him in private. Tell him how you feel, and deal with the rejection and fallout from there," he said, her eyes returning to meet his own, "It's going to hurt, but you can't get to step two without telling him what you feel. You can't try and keep up your friendship with him if you don't talk to him either."

It sounded simpler than it actually was, and Kohaku wanted to laugh at it, but instead nodded her head, understanding what he was saying so far, "And step two?"

He sighed again, knowing full well she wasn't going to like this part, "You move on."

Lids and brows lowered at that answer, just as he expected. Of course she wasn't going to be thrilled with the idea of just throwing away the feelings she has, at least not right now. So he clarified his statement, "I'm not saying that to move on right away. But eventually, over time, you can. Senku won't be the only man you'll ever love, I'm sure of it. And certainly, someone out there will want to love you in the same way you love him right now."

This time she laughed, a loud and dark sort of laugh, laced with every ounce of sarcasm she could emit. "Oh yeah, THAT sounds right. Yeah, won't that be the day? When someone falls in love with the gorilla," she spat out with venom, "I think you've lost your mind there a bit, Gen."

Head tilted to one side, a bit of confusion etched onto his brow, "Why do you say that?"

She shook her head with a scoff and sigh, her lips twisted into a pained smile. "You're right. I may fall in love again. But someone falling in love with me? I actually have my doubts about that," she replied, head falling back and tilting like his, but there was a deep darkness to her expression that unnerved the mentalist, "I'm not like Ruri or Yuzuriha or Minami or any of the other girls back home. I'm a gorilla, a lioness, a beast. Hell, I doubt even Senku actually would love me back because I'm just this sort of creature."

She chuckled again, a low vibrating sort of noise that shook her entire frame, and a disturbing feeling settled in the pit of Gen's stomach. "H-hey, don't say that, Kohaku-chan! There's men out there that kinda like that sort of aspect in a woman!" he tried to reassure her, but all it did was make her eyes glimmer with more of that dark void.

"Yeah, sure."

"I'm serious! But you shouldn't just focus on that! You're also a rather beautiful woman too. You got beauty and brawn, and that's a great combination."

"Uh-huh. Sure it is."

"It really is! You also have a strong brain, and an even stronger heart. You care a lot for your friends and family, willing to do anything for the ones you love. You're not giving yourself a lot of credit right now, and I understand why, but you're really a wonderful and amazing person. Any man worth his salt would be able to see that, and it'd be a surprise if one didn't fall in love with you!"

The fake smile she had faltered slightly, leaning forward slightly while gazing up at him through wet lashes, "Could you fall in love with me then, Gen?"

He was taken aback by the sudden question, his face heating up with a bright pink blush over his cheeks, trying to stammer out an answer, but every word he could try to get out came out in a blubbering mess. Kohaku laughed at his feeble attempt, "I was joking. But thank you for at least trying to answer."

She looked away, the bitterness that surrounded and filled her taking over, pushing herself gently against him and out of his arms, finally putting distance between them. He watched as she crossed her arms over her chest, fingers embedding themselves against her skin, as if to wrap her body up within herself, head turned to stare off at the floor. "I'm not going to put much hope into such a bullshit thing, but it'd be nice if it happened," she mumbled, "I just really doubt it."

"Kohaku-chan," he whispered, swallowing down the lump that formed in his throat.

She was trying to close herself off again, but this time not from anger, but from absolute despair, hitting one of the lowest points of her life. The pain was hitting almost twice as hard, although this wasn't Gen's fault. She was grateful for his efforts, but right now, all of his words felt hollow and contrived. She was filled with nothing but that self-loathing that she's felt all day, and certainly nothing right now could break her from that.

Although that didn't stop Gen from trying. He moved closer to her, reaching out and grasping one of her wrists, pulling her out of her crumpled state, the other hand moving and grasping at her chin, curled fingers forcing her to look up at him. "Listen to me, please, Kohaku-chan," he started his plea, "You may not want to believe it right now, but everything I said, I meant it. You're strong, beautiful, and intelligent, and you have the largest heart that I've ever known. Yes, Ruri-chan and the other ladies have their own charms, but you should never compare yourself to them. You're you. And that's a beautiful thing."

Tears began to form and fall down Kohaku's cheeks again, and he brushed a thumb over her cheek to wipe them away, smiling softly at her as he did before, "Well, seems like you haven't cried out all of the water yet."

She laughed, albeit in a choked out sort of way, bringing a hand up to wipe her eyes as well, "Yeah, seems so."

A more true smile returned to Kohaku's features and Gen was more than happy to see it. "Good to see you smiling again," he complimented her, brushing away the bangs from her face as she subtly blushed at his remark.

"I guess... I'm so sorry, Gen. For being so forceful to you, and for all of this too," she apologized, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself against him in an affectionate hug, "Thank you for everything, truly."

He returned the hug with equal care, nuzzling his cheek against the side of her head, "Of course, Kohaku-chan."

After a few minutes, they pulled away from each other, smiling softly at one another before he playfully tousled her hair, making her pout in annoyance. "Why don't you go to bed and get some more sleep for a bit? Surely you're feeling drained now, more so than before," he suggested, "I'll check in on you later, okay?"

She watched as he stood up from the floor, stretching for a moment to get rid of the cramps in his muscles for sitting on it for as long as he was, leaving her one last smile before turning around, his hand on the handle of the door and was ready to turn it to leave.

"Wait."

Her quiet call and her hand reached out, grasping at the overcoat, forcing him to turn back around to see her with a pleading look on her face. "Please, don't go yet," she whispered.

Gen's heart started to race a bit more in his chest than it should at her begging. He turned around, watching as she stood up as well, meeting her gaze more eye-to-eye, "What else do you need, Kohaku-chan?"

"Stay with me. Hold me. At least until I fall asleep. Please."

That thumping grew extra louder as did the heat on his cheeks. "Th-that seems highly inappropriate, don't you think?" he asked, and she felt some semblance of embarrassment in his correct assumption, but she nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment to settle it.

"When you held me earlier... it was really warm and comforting," she replied, her wavy gaze moving from the floor and back to him as she spoke, "So I..."

His mouth fell open slightly as she spoke, the look he had towards her causing her to blush and feel more embarrassed about her request, and she almost told him to forget it when he finally and sheepishly agreed, much to her relief. She reached out and grasped his hand, wrapping her fingers around his palm, leading him to her bed. He removed his overcoat and dropped it to the floor next to her now-removed sandals before following her onto the bed, wrapping his arms around her after she tucked them both in with her blanket. She nuzzled her face against his chest, feeling and hearing the sound of his heartbeat, pretending to ignore how much faster it was beating at his resting state. She smiled, very softly, closing her eyes with a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Gen."

He rubbed her back, laying his chin against the top of her head, "Of course, Kohaku-chan."

Gen's eyes slowly reopened sometime later, although he wasn't sure of when exactly he fell asleep. It wasn't his intention to fall asleep, of course, fully ready to leave once she had fallen into her own deep slumber, but instead he soaked up the warmth from her and the blanket, shut his eyes for merely a moment, and now who knows how much time had passed. Based on the grumbling in his stomach, it was likely sometime in the evening, several hours passing since he last ate.

Although he didn't care all that much about food. What became his focus once his brain was more released from slumber's hold was Kohaku, who was still sleeping soundly and curled up without care against him, her fingers curled up in the fabric of his yukata.

He was actually relieved that she was still asleep. Not just for his own relief, as he knew it would've been awkward if the situations were reversed, but also because she needed it. With so many heavy feelings to process, on top of likely still be worn out from the battle before, he knew that – despite her reservoirs of strength – her body needed the extra sleep. He wouldn't be surprised if she slept for a few hours longer, based off of that theory, and he honestly hoped she did. He knew that, once she woke up, she would likely start crying all over again, this time over debate on whether or not to start step one of the recovery process.

He pulled back a bit from her, enough to move and gaze upon her slumbering face. The mentalist chuckled softly to himself, seeing a little speck of drool from her lips. He couldn't help but find her to be rather cute in her sleeping state. To be frank, there always was a little bit of cuteness to her, although this was the first time he actually paid attention to such an element of her. If it weren't for the current situation that brought them to this point, the temptation to tease her about her drooling in her sleep would be a lot stronger, but he would spare her that. For now.

Instead of wanting to tease her, he thought back about the latter part of their conversation. Over her self-hatred and doubt, and of his honest praise of her. But namely, his focus turned to that of the question he was too tongue-tied to answer earlier. That secret smile he held as he watched her turned into a straight line, unable to tell what he was feeling or thinking if one were to look upon him now. That was one hell of a loaded question, even if it was said in some sort of twisted jest. He was so taken aback by it that all of his powers and talents couldn't save him from sounding entirely nonsensical.

It was the aftermath of that, however, that got him the most. He didn't acknowledge it at the time, but he watched how, despite her laughter, her expression became dejected and pained, as if he had said "no" to her versus whatever noises came from his lips. As if he, too, was rejecting her, despite all of this praise he held and shared to her. And that pain was never one he intended to inflict.

In the quiet of the room and still holding her close to him, Gen had more time to think about that question. The mentalist never thought about her – or anyone else, for that matter – in such a way before. He tried to fancy himself a ladies' man, with dreams of having a harem at his beck and call, although even with that, it was more due to his selfish nature. He was superficial and self-serving to a fault, although the years spent in the stone world has definitely shifted the way he thought, felt, and acted. He still was all of those things, but he had – surprisingly, to himself – learned to care for and do more for others, while still keeping the guise of his selfish persona intact. Although some people have learned to see further past it to see the true person he actually held beneath those manipulative smiles.

Kohaku was one of those people, and because of that, their relationship had grown leaps and bounds from how it was before. So much has changed since those initial days, from when she didn't hesitate to put a blade to his throat if he even thought of stepping out line. Now he had fallen asleep alongside her while cuddling and holding her close to him, and she was able to be her most vulnerable with him. Nothing from those first few months together would've ever given him indication that this would be where they were now. And he was actually grateful for how far they had come. They still had their moments of conflict, but overall their relationship was strong, filled with care and trust.

Fingers brushed back her bangs from her face. Her question... could he fall in love with her?

She stirred at the touch, although all she did was curl herself a centimeter closer to him. He smiled, chuckling again, lowering his head in order to leave a small but meaningful kiss to her forehead, whispering the answer against her skin.

"Yes... yes, I could."

- end -