Chapter 2

Summary:

Genoko tries to get Saitama to talk to her, but he's doing his best to avoid her.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter fornotes.)

Chapter Text

Genoko waited.

And waited.

...And waited, but Saitama seemed adamant on staying in the bathroom. Genoko couldn't help but wonder if he would spend the rest of the night in there. She decided that it would be better not to wait up. He obviously needed some alone time, and he would probably come back when she was sleeping.

Actually, she was reminded of something when she laid down. Warm liquid leaked between her thighs, and she felt pretty gross just having it there. She needed to get cleaned up. But Saitama was in the bathroom…

She got up, legs pressed together tightly as she walked over, and with a deep breath in she knocked on the door.

"Saitama-sensei?" She called out.

"...yeah?" Came the muffled voice.

"You've been in there for a while, is everything alright?"

There was a pause. "No, Gen, everything isn't alright."

"What's wrong?"

"Are youserious?" Saitama's tone came out irritable, but quickly switched to apologetic. "Sorry. I just...I'm embarrassed."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, sensei." Genoko insisted.

"...I hurt you, didn't I? You didn't…" His voice trailed off, and Genoko wondered what he was trying to say.

"You didn't hurt me." She said.

"Of course you would say that." He grumbled. "Can you just...leave me alone for a bit? I don't think I can face you right now."

Genoko bit her lip. He probably wasn't going to be happy about this, but… "I need to get cleaned up."

There was a long, heavy silence, before Saitama finally said, "Okay."

After a few seconds he exited the bathroom, eyes tightly shut as he squeezed past Genoko. She stared at him with concern as she watched him slink back to the main room. The shame that he felt was practically radiating off of him.

By the time she got out of the bathroom, Saitama looked like he was fast asleep, with his futon pulled to the opposite side of the room.

The days after had been tense. Saitama was doing his best to avoid being alone with Genoko, much to her dismay. She regretted the decision she made that night more and more. It was incredibly selfish, and she knew that already, and now Saitama was suffering for it. She wished she could explain the situation, explain that she desperately wanted him and got too lost in the moment to try and push him off, but he wouldn't give her that chance. It was frustrating.

Saitama kept getting back later, attempting to wait until Genoko was asleep. She always waited up for him, though, and when she tried to talk he would just tell her he was tired from the long day. After about three days of that, he left a note waiting for her on the table one night. It read: "Staying with King for a couple days." Genoko scowled, balling up the paper and setting it on fire in her hand. Why did he feel like it was necessary to go to such lengths? If he just sat down andtalkedwith her, this wouldn't be so difficult.

She marched over to King's place, knocking loudly on his door. It creaked open, and she was greeted with the sight of King peeking his head through the crack.

"H--"

"I need to speak to Saitama," she demanded.

"Oh, uh…He's not here."

She raised an eyebrow, and with a quick biometric scan of the area she found another presence sitting in King's apartment. With a firm hand on the door, she shoved it open, rudely pushing King out of the way. He flailed, trying to regain balance.

"Uh...Saitama, you have a guest."

Saitama refused to look at her, keeping his eyes glued to the TV. "Told you I was gonna stay here a couple days."

"Why?"

"Just...figured you might want some space."

Genoko huffed. Did he really think that, or was he just using it as an excuse? "We've had enough space. I want to talk to you, sensei."

Silence. She was sick of being met with silence.

"Please, sensei." She sounded desperate, and she could tell from the angle she was standing that Saitama's neutral expression was wavering.

"...Alright." His voice cracked when he spoke. Genoko smiled for a moment, happy to finally have him agree, but the smile quickly faded when she remembered what he had agreed to.

The walk back to the apartment was spent in another long and awkward silence. Saitama still wouldn't look at her, and Genoko tried to calm her irritation.'This is my fault,'she chastised herself,'I have no right to get upset.'

When they finally got inside, they sat across each other at the table. Saitama's gaze was fixed down, and Genoko was doing her best not to reach over and pull his chin up.

"Sensei, about the other night--"

"I'm sorry," Saitama cut her off. His voice sounded broken, weak. "I--you know I would have never done anything like that."

Genoko blinked. "Of course. I know you wouldn't ever force yourself on me, but sensei--"

"I don't understand how you can even look at me right now."

"Sensei--"

"And you're still calling me 'sensei' after what we did. That's not how a teacher would treat their disciple. I don't--"

"Saitama." The sternness in her voice caused Saitama to stop. His lips pursed together, and his eyebrows creased as he stayed looking down.

"Saitama, I...I could have woken you up at any time." She said. Her voice was shaky, she was nervous about admitting this. "I chose not to.I'msorry."

Saitama's eyes snapped to hers, and a bewildered expression appeared on his face. "Youwhat?!"

Genoko's expression was soft as she looked at him. "I'm sorry. I understand if you hate me."

"I don't...Of course I don't hate you." Saitama said. "I'm just confused. Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Because, I…" She bit her cheek. Steam started exiting from her vents, and her core lit up brightly as she tried desperately to fight back her nerves. "I…" The words struggled to come out, but Saitama looked at her expectantly, and she squeezed her eyes shut as she forced herself to speak. "I have feelings for you, sensei."

Her eyes remained shut, but soon she opened them when she realized she wasn't getting a response. There, she saw Saitama, shocked still with a blush on his face.

"You...what?" He finally got out.

"I have feelings for you. And I selfishly took advantage of your unconscious state that night. I'm so sorry. I understand if you no longer want me as your disciple."

"Uh…" His face was completely flushed, and his eyes darted to the side as he tried to think of what to say. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"You wouldn't let me talk to you."

"That's true, but...how long have you had these feelings?"

"For a while, now," she admitted. "I just didn't want to act on them, because I wasn't sure if you felt the same way."

"Oh…"

"It's fine if you don't." Genoko reassured him. It would hurt, but she wasn't about to make things any harder for him than she already did.

Saitama rubbed at his neck, and his shy gaze met hers. Genoko stilled as she waited to hear what he was going to say.

"I have feelings for you too."

Genoko's eyes widened and her core whirred loudly as she stared back at Saitama. "Really?"

"Yeah...But, Gen?"

She tilted her head, wondering what else he wanted to say. "Yes?"

"Next time that happens, could you, y'know, wake me up?"