Telling Serizawa is easy. Just one sentence, just one, and he knows. Mob figured that he would be happy for them. He was a good friend like that.
"Oh, Serizawa. Arataka and I are a couple know. I just thought you ought to know." Said Mob the minute she sat down at her desk. Serizawa had gotten in first and was waiting for them. He seemed pretty happy, actually, when she came in. Serizawa always smiled when she and Master Reigen came in to start the day.
"Oh….that's great! I'm so happy for the two of you!" said Serizawa after a moment. Just because Mob couldn't read social cues to save her life didn't mean that Reigen couldn't. He tended to keep his aura close when he was around espers. They tended to be much louder than normal people. Serizawa was powerful so he practically screamed his emotions. Reigen didn't have to use his powers then. No. Serizawa's emotions were written all over his face. His actions too. He called his umbrella to his hand. He only did that when something was making him anxious.
"Thank you. I'm happy that you're happy." Said Mob. She meant it, too. She liked it when her friends were happy. She couldn't read the face he was making but she did see him reach for his umbrella. It must have been the change that got him feeling bad. He didn't deal well with big changes, they set off his anxiety.
Reigen knows better. Reigen doesn't need his powers to see that something is most definitely up with Serizawa. But what? The change, obviously. Serizawa was a creature of habit. Spending twelve years locked in your bedroom will do that to a person. Reigen cheats a little and let's himself perceive, briefly, what the people around him are feeling. He focuses on the two loudest people near him, Mob and Serizawa. Mob is genuinely happy. She's happy and in love and wants physical intimacy. Normal for her. He's felt her emotions for a while now and he seems to have put her in a constant state of happiness. Good.
Serizawa is all over the place. Hurt. Pain. Embarrassment. Anger at himself. Anger at Mob. Anger at Reigen. Self-disgust. Self-pity. There are positive emotions, too. Happiness directed at Mob. Reverence towards her, but that's normal. Caring. Concern. Normal feelings for when he's near Mob. Oh. Reigen felt something else, too. Butterflies. Nervousness. Self-consciousness. Reigen had always shrugged off those feelings, or assumed that the butterflies and all of that was just Mob. She felt that way and had for a while, since she was fourteen. Well, he knew the reason for that, now. Mob had been harboring a crush for years.
He wasn't picking apart Mob's feelings, now. No, these were Serizawa's. The man himself was…distracted. Reigen watched his aura, his iron tight grip on his umbrella. Serizawa was trying to keep it together. Mob was oblivious.
Serizawa is staring at Mob. Mob is staring at Reigen. Reigen is staring at Serizawa.
"Hey, Mob." Said Reigen. Mob blinked. She had been watching Master Reigen, no, Arataka. He was thinking really hard about something. She liked watching him when he didn't know that he was watching her. His face was unguarded. She saw his aura, too. Custard yellow. His aura is more out, now. He usually held it so close, like the way he held playing cards on the slow days when nobody came in and everyone was bored.
"Yes, Arataka?" asked Mob. She keeps her eyes on him. She'll do whatever it is that he asks of her. It's early. Did someone schedule an exorcism? Maybe he wants her to go with Serizawa to deal with it. He's not totally ready to go off on his own. Not on days when he's holding onto his umbrella, anyway.
"We're running low on jasmine incense. Can you head out to the spiritual store and pick up a pack of the sticks?" asked Reigen. He needed her out of the office for this talk. They didn't have anything scheduled for a while. Usually it was massages this early in the day, or walk-ins. The work day was going to be hell unless he got Serizawa sorted.
"Do you want me to just order some on Amazon? It's cheaper." Said Mob. That's where the usually got their incense from. They ordered it from China, before, when they were short on money. They had more money now but that didn't mean that they should go throwing their money away.
"No, there's no time. I'd rather just send you to the store than pay for same day shipping." Said Reigen. She'd be held up at the store for a while. It was run by a couple of sweet old ladies and they, like all sweet old ladies, loved Mob. Such a lovely young lady, they'd say.
"Yes, Master." Said Mob. She always got held up at that store. The ladies there were super nice but always spent a while asking her about her life and telling her about the good old days and the good current days. Well, if this was what Master Reigen needed her to do then that was what she would do.
"Bring back some drinks, too!" said Reigen as she left. He could really use a nice, cold, soda right about then. He swallowed. Right. Nervous. This was not the talk that he wanted to have. A cup of warm tea was placed in front of him.
"Here you go, Master Reigen." Said Serizawa. He was still gripping his umbrella in his other hand. Reigen met his eyes. Serizawa began to sweat under the eye contact.
"Serizawa, pull up a chair. We need to talk." Said Reigen. A drink in hand, a desk between them, and he initiated the conversation. Good. The ball was in his court.
"Yes, Master." Said Serizawa. He used his powers to pull up a chair and pour himself a cup of tea. He shrank under Master Reigen's gaze. For a moment he feared that Reigen had developed telepathy. He didn't need it, though, did he? He could sense emotions. He could sense the emotions that Serizawa was trying to keep a lid on.
"So, how are you?" asked Reigen. Serizawa pulled away from his gaze. Reigen could feel the air around them taking on a sort of static electricity. Reigen projected calm emotions as best as he could. Serizawa let him in, relaxing, slowly.
"I'm just having a…day, Master. Just a day." Said Serizawa. A day was their word for when he got anxious. For when they needed to help him calm down.
"Because of me and Mob." Said Reigen stating a fact. This was a lot to unpack. Reigen hoped that Serizawa was just upset by the change in the office dynamic. That would have just been Reigen being willfully blind. He had been willfully blind for years. He had ignored the way that Mob had looked at him, the way she had felt about him, for years. He had ignored the way that he himself had felt about Mob. He had ignored the way that…others…had felt about Mob, too.
"It's just something new to get used to, that's all." Said Serizawa. This was a big change. Mob had always been Master Kageyama to him and Reigen had always been Master Reigen. She had always been above him, unattainable. One did not harbor feelings for their seniors at work and one certainly didn't harbor feelings for someone so much younger than them.
"It is. It's something new for all of us. You can talk to me if you need to, Serizawa." Said Reigen. He could feel a tap of jealousy. Not a stab, just a tap. Good. Easier to deal with. He had felt stabs of jealousy, before, but not from Serizawa. Back when Mob had been going out with Teru Reigen had to deal with the near constant stab of jealousy. Of course Teru had been right to feel like that, all things considered.
"I know, Master Reigen, but I'll be fine." Said Serizawa. He needed to keep it together. He wasn't that man anymore. He wasn't going to go hiding in his bedroom. He wasn't going to hide under his umbrella, either.
"Are you sure? Serizawa, I know how you feel." Said Reigen watching the clock. He needed to get this sorted before the work day well and truly started.
"I'm just a little anxious, that's all." Said Serizawa. He tried to squish down how he felt. How much it hurt. It did hurt, it really did. Without Master Reigen keeping him calm it would have hurt even more. Maybe even causing an explosion. He had never felt hurt like this, before.
"Serizawa. I. Know. How. You. Feel." Said Reigen punctuating each word for emphasis. No beating around the bush. They had to get to it. No. He needed to stay calm. So Serizawa had been harboring feelings for Mob. So he was even older than Reigen himself. Reigen needed to have some empathy. Mob was…amazing. She was the sweetest, kindest, human being he had ever met. She was someone who had all the power in the world and chose to use it for good. She was someone who seemed an island of goodness in the cruel sea that was the world. She was a lighthouse in a world of darkness. She could draw you in like a moth to a flame and before you even realize it you'll be enthralled in her. Enraptured. You'll find yourself mired in her and you'll love it.
Reigen couldn't fault Serizawa for drowning. Reigen himself had drowned, after all. He had drowned at some point and hadn't realized it. He needed to have some empathy for Serizawa, here, and not throw stones. How could he? At least Serizawa wasn't lying to himself.
"I feel….I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't. She's my superior." Said Serizawa. Age was weird. He hadn't been around people for twelve years. When he had rejoined the world he had been fully at the president's side. He didn't know any girls. There weren't any in the Ultimate Five, either. The first thing he had done, when he realized that he had feelings for her, was to Google. It hadn't been illegal but the internet had said that the rule was half his age plus seven. The internet had also said that work relationships were a bad idea if you worked closely. She had been in a relationship then, anyway. He had considered confessing to her when she and her boyfriend had broken up but had been too afraid. Reigen, apparently, did.
"And eighteen." Said Reigen dryly. Age was weird. What was legal wasn't always right. That was why he had always dismissed his growing feelings for Mob. She had just been too damned young.
"She's younger than me, too." Said Serizawa. Eighteen was a full adult but he was thirty four. That was still outside of the half your age plus seven rule. She was outside of Reigen's range, too, but that hadn't stopped him. Maybe Reigen was just a better man than he was. He was more together. He was great at being social with others and never got anxious. He always ran to her, too. Reigen had run to her during the battle against Toichiro. Reigen had run to her, too, when the other half of her took over on that awful day. What had Serizawa done? He had run away. No wonder she had chosen Reigen.
"How long?" asked Reigen after a moment. He reminded himself that he couldn't fault Serizawa for this. She was Mob. She was wonderful. She was so damned easy to love. She had this way of looking at you like you were the only person in the world. When she decided that you were someone she cared for she would lay down her life for you. She was just so damned easy to love.
"Since when?" asked Serizawa genuinely not getting it.
"Since you knew." Said Reigen. How long had it been for Serizawa? If Reigen had to put a date on it he would say the second time they fought Claw. That was when he had the first inklings of feelings for Mob. Maybe even before that.
"Since I met her." Said Serizawa quietly. He knew when she threw his energy back at him. He had seen her, all of her, when she had done that. Her entire life flashed before his eyes. He saw the pain she had gone through. He saw how similar they were. The way that she had been afraid of herself, too. The pain that she had felt. Even the six months that weren't, as she called him. For the first time in his life he had met a true kindred spirit.
"What….?" Asked Reigen. Now it was his turn to keep it together. He had to. She hadn't even been fifteen when they had fought Claw for the second time. He remembered that day, it haunted his nightmares, sometimes. The way she disappeared in that energy blast. Her sailing naked through the air and into a building. Her exploding from that building in a burst of white light. Her dressed in that wedding dress, the white ribbons in her hair, calling out that madman. The final light slowly enveloping the city like the end of Akira. His fear that it was the end of Akira and that she would be gone, the drop of star shine that she was absorbed into the vast expanse of the universe. That was the day he knew, for a fact, that he loved Shigeko, that he loved Mob, in every way that one person could love another. Serizawa had, apparently, also come to the same conclusion.
"She shared her energy with me, that day. I knew that she was like me. Then she stood up to the president and defeated him. I knew. I didn't say anything, though! I knew that it would have been wrong. Google said so. She's outside the half my age plus seven range. I still would never say anything. I know that she's yours and I truly am happy for you two. I'm happy that she's happy and I'm happy that you're happy, too, Master Reigen." Said Serizawa. He meant it. These were the two people he cared about most in the world and he did want them to be happy. It was a mixed sort of happiness. Bittersweet, like a bar of dark chocolate.
"I…I know you are, Serizawa. I know you are." Said Reigen after taking a calming sip of tea. Yuck. Too weak. Mob didn't make this. Reigen let's himself calm down. Serizawa is staring at him in that Mob 'I'm looking at everything and nothing' sort of way. They're pretty similar, the two of them. A part of Reigen, a part that he doesn't like to acknowledge, is thankful that Serizawa didn't say a thing to Mob. Would she have had him? He understood her on a level that Reigen knew he couldn't. No matter how many times he had gotten down to her level and told her, over and over again, that there was nothing wrong with her. That she was human the same as everyone else. Reigen had said that to assuage her. To make her feel better. The truth was that there were very few other human beings like her, human beings that knew what it was to hold that kind of uncontrollable power in their hands. To have what was essentially a God within in. Serizawa knew, somewhat, not that Reigen had ever seen the upper limits of his power like he had seen Mob's. Serizawa had been in the same boat Mob was, growing up. They had both hurt people accidentally, both shut themselves off from others, and both ended up being used by people who only saw them for what they could do, not who they were. Not that Reigen was ever going to go back to that. He would never use her as a meal ticket ever again.
"Are you mad at me?" asked Serizawa quietly. He was sailing through uncharted waters. No, he was rowing through them with one oar and no compass. He had never in his life had to tell his boss, mentor, and honestly best friend that they both had feelings for the same girl. Hell, he had never been in the position to tell anyone that he had feelings for any girl. Why did it have to be her? She was just so…like him. She understood. Reigen was probably mad at him. He was happy for them, though, honestly.
"No, not at all. Mob's an amazing person. Of course someone else would…care for her. I know you're happy for her, though. I'm glad you're handling this so maturely, Serizawa." Said Reigen. Don't throw stones, Arataka. You have absolutely no right to go around throwing stones. At least Serizawa is being more mature than you were. At least he acknowledged how he felt, he didn't ignore it for God knows how long. Mob chose you, anyway, so don't feel like. Don't drive yourself insane thinking of what could have been.
"Thank you, Master Reigen." Said Serizawa. So he wasn't mad. Good. He wanted to ask, though, why they had gotten together now. Reigen had never given any indication that he felt that way about her, too. Well, he had touched her a lot. He always had a hand on her back or her shoulder or in her hair. They had been living together for a while, too. At first, when they had met for the very first time, he had thought that she and Reigen were a couple. That hadn't lasted long. What had that blonde kid, Teru said?
"I've got her. She's MY girlfriend."
He had said that when Reigen had come back from the newly built city with her in his arms. She looked like an angel, then. Well, a dead angel, which was something poetically beautiful, in that white dress thing she was wearing. He knew she hadn't been dead. Her aura was still there, just incredibly faint. Reigen's had been covering the two of them, no, not covering. He noticed that pretty early on that his aura could merge with hers. Serizawa wasn't too proud to admit that he had stared up at the ceiling many a night wondering what it felt like. Maybe like instrumentality. She liked Eva and he had heard her use that term, before. Yes, of course. It had always been and would always be Reigen. He was alright with this. He had to be.
"You can just call me Reigen." Said Reigen with a shrug. If Mob wasn't going to call him Master anymore then Serizawa could finally start calling him just Reigen. Family name, not first name. That was Mob's and Mob's alone. Well, and his mother's, he guessed, she had been the one to give it to him. He was ready to stop being Master Reigen, now. That man was….he wasn't that man anymore. He didn't need someone calling him Master, looking at him like he was the answer to all of their hopes and dreams, to feel like somebody. He was somebody. He was Reigen Arataka.
"But that's too familiar!" said Serizawa. He had never called anyone by just their family name, even the esper kids.
"Serizawa, we've known each other for almost four years now. It's fine. You don't have to call Mob Master Kageyama anymore, either." Said Reigen. Mob said, years ago, that it felt weird being called Master Kageyama. Reigen dismissed her because, well, she was master to Serizawa. They were adorable, actually, when they were just starting out. Serizawa looked at Mob the same way that Mob had always looked at him. Same way. Oh.
"Master…Reigen...then?" asked Serizawa. Reigen was about to say that he had just told Serizawa not to call him Master Reigen anymore when realization dawned on him. Reigen Shigeko. Reigen Mob. Not yet. Too much. Too much too soon.
"What?! No, not yet! Serizawa, we just started going out yesterday!" said Reigen. Serizawa looked down. He hadn't meant anything by it, he just figured that they'd be getting married soon since they were a couple now. That was the natural course of events, right? You found a girl, married her, had a baby, and then your mother stopped saying 'Katsuya, you should really go out and meet a woman.'
"Oh. Sorry. I had just figured…." Said Serizawa. Reigen wanted to bang his head onto his desk. He loved Mob. He loved her and he was ready to acknowledge that. He was ready to give her perpetuity and had been for years. Marriage, a family, those adult things that came with it could wait. He still needed to get used to this before he went any further, like getting used to a swimming pool before you actually started, well swimming.
"Just call her Mob, or Shigeko…not wait, don't. She says that the other Shigeko thinks people are talking to her when she's, when they're, addressed as Shigeko. Or just ask her when she gets back." Said Reigen. Serizawa tensed at the mention of the other Shigeko. Reigen didn't blame him. That…thing…was a God. He didn't like to think about it like that but it was a God that Mob had to keep under control. It didn't just destroy, it could also build. It could create. It could even heal decades old scars and who knew what else. He accepted Mob, though, for all that she was. He had to.
"Right…when she comes back..." Said Serizawa. He would have to face her after getting everything out in the open with Reigen. Would he say something to her? He'd die. Serizawa would drop dead from embarrassment right then and there if Reigen said anything to her.
"I won't say a word to her." Said Reigen. Mob probably wouldn't mind. This was Mob. She'd probably just apologize for not returning his feelings and then go about her day under a cloud of guilt. She wouldn't just go off and say 'Sorry Master Reigen but I like him better now.' No, and Reigen was crazy for even allowing that thought to enter his mind.
"Thank you Mast-, thank you Reigen." Said Serizawa. That felt weird, like they were equals. How could they be? Reigen was so much more together. He always knew just what to do, had perfect control over his powers, and was better at being an adult than Serizawa was. How could they be equals? Well, if this was what Reigen wanted then Serizawa would go along with it.
"You're welcome. Do you want the day off, today?" asked Reigen. Mob was oblivious to any and all awkward situations. He wasn't. Besides, Reigen had felt the bitter sting of romantic rejection many times in his life and he knew that the best thing for it was total isolation until it passed. Don't even look at her, don't talk to her. That was the best that he could do for it, really, in the past.
"No! I mean, you don't have to kick me out or anything." Said Serizawa. He wouldn't be weird. He felt good for them, really, he did.
"No, I'm not kicking you out at all. I just thought that you might need some time to, you know, come to terms." Said Reigen. Espers were loud, so much louder than regular people. He didn't want to feel the hurt coming from Serizawa, and the man was hurt. A day or two should have set him straight. Then everything could go back to as close to normal and they could manage.
"I…I think that would be good. Thank you M-thank you, Reigen." Said Serizawa. A day in front of the TV or hiding under his blankets would be good. He was holding onto his umbrella, after all. Then he could come back in tomorrow when all of these bad feelings had passed. Reigen always knew just what to do.
"You're welcome. See you tomorrow, or the next day. Take as long as you need." Said Reigen as Serizawa got up. He carried that static energy with him as he left. Reigen pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He needed a smoke. Well, that hadn't been nearly as awkward and it could have been. Serizawa had feelings for Mob. Mob when she was little. Reigen knew not to throw stones. He had those same feelings for Mob, back then, he just ignored them for years and years.
Well, this wasn't so bad.
He felt Mob's aura as she came up the stairs. She seemed fine.
"You're going? Wait, here. I got you your favorite." He heard Mob's voice carrying up the stairs and the rustling of a plastic bag. Then more footsteps and the door opened.
"Hey Mob. How was the store?" asked Reigen as he ashed his cigarette. Mob put her purchases down on his desk and stood in front of him.
"I think that those ladies are lonely, they mostly told me about how their kids never call. Maybe I should call my parents. Ritsu is always inviting me to dinner, maybe I should go." Said Mob. She didn't much like her parents but they were the only parents she had so she should be nicer to them and visit. Ritsu said that they wanted her around more and he wouldn't lie to her.
"That'd be a good idea. Maybe you could tell them about…how things are now. It's best to do these things over dinner. A table between you too, a drink and some food so there's something to do with your hands to fill up the white space in the conversation…." Said Reigen. A can of coffee was taken out of the bag and put in front of him.
"That's a good idea, Master. I mean Arataka. I think I should tell Ritsu separately, though, because I think he might be mad at me. I don't know why he doesn't like you but he doesn't." said Mob as she used her powers to pull up her chair. She opened up her milk and took a sip.
"I slept with his sister." Said Reigen simply. The kid had been right from the beginning. He had been using Mob when he first met her, he had been way too close to her when she got older, and now he was in a relationship with her and all that came with it.
"Arataka!" said Mob coming dangerously close to spitting out the precious milk. She turned red. She knew they had slept together. She had been there. It had been her idea.
"What? I did and he's probably going to be beyond pissed." Said Reigen
"Why? I love you and you love me. It's not a bad thing, what we did. We both wanted to and it felt amazing. Not that I would tell Ritsu about that. I don't want to know about what he and Sho do and he probably doesn't want to know what you and I do." Said Mob. She honestly did not get it. How could anyone dislike Arataka? He was a wonderful person.
"It's the age thing, Mob. It's always going to come back up. I told you how bad this looks. I mean, I knew you when you were eleven." Said Reigen. He motioned to the corkboard covered in various pictures of the two of them. At the center is a picture of them from their first job. She's tiny, beside him. He looks younger, too. Definitely thinner.
"But I'm not eleven anymore. I'm eighteen and I'm old enough to make my own choices and I choose you." Said Mob. She still didn't get it. Ritsu was her brother and he should be happy for her. She was happy when he and Sho had gotten together even though Ritsu had broken Rei's heart and Sho had been the one to burn the house down.
"Mob, there's no way that it's going to be a good conversation between you and him. Just…remember that. Mob there are always going to be people who can only see what it was before." Said Reigen. Ritsu would probably beat him, that was a given. Then her parents would beat him up. Then he'd be shunned from society. No, wait, that last one was too far.
"Ritsu is my brother and when he realizes how happy you make me then he'll be happy for me, for us. Ritsu is a good person like that." Said Mob. Ritsu could be kind of stubborn but he was smart and nice and stuff. He would understand. After all, he did owe her. She had kept her mouth shut to mom and dad for years about him and Sho and she had accepted Sho even though it took her a while to actually like him.
"Yeah, Mob, he's a good person…" said Reigen. That was not going to go well at all. He didn't need powers of clairvoyance to see that.