Saitama stood in the candy aisle at the store, a finger to his chin as he looked over the brightly colored packages.
He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing here. After all, he wasn't a big fan of sweets, as a general rule. Genos was though, or so he thought. Saitama sorta recalled Genos saying something once, about how sweet and sugary foods didn't do much in terms of fueling his body, but that they 'stimulated his taste buds' or something, which Saitama had translated into 'they taste good'.
Thinking of Genos pulled him up short. Was that why he was here? To get something for Genos? Like...as a gift or something?
He didn't know why he would. He'd never felt any particular urge to get Genos something before. Well...maybe he had a little, after that whole Genos-getting-hurt incident. But after what happened a few weeks ago, Saitama definitely shouldn't feel the need to do something nice for the cyborg, especially after all that. Yet here he was, looking over candy he had no interest in, with Genos on his mind.
The cyborg had been on his mind a lot lately.
Just as Saitama was reaching towards the packages, Genos appeared around the corner of the aisle, a shopping basket loaded with groceries hooked in one arm and a folded piece of paper in the other.
"I believe I have everything on the list, unless you-" Genos broke off, eyes flickering between the shelves and Saitama's face. "What are you doing over here, Sensei?"
"Oh, uh, I thought I remembered seeing something in the paper the other day about a sale, but I guess not." Saitama shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. He turned away from the shelves, eyeing the basket Genos held. "I guess we're ready to go."
Genos blinked. "Are you sure? I could go find a manager and ask-"
"Nah, don't worry about it," Saitama said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I just thought I'd check it out, since we're here and everything. Anyway, you ready to go?"
Genos nodded, and they made their way to the check-out. A few minutes later and they were walking down the sidewalk, a few bags clutched in each of their hands. Genos kept the conversation up, going on about the new listings that had come out on the Hero's Association webpage. Saitama was only half paying attention, the majority of his mind still stuck back in the candy aisle of the store.
He didn't understand what the big deal was; he had never gone out of his way to get Genos something before. Genos was loaded, after all. Even though Saitama refused to spend any of the rent money the cyborg handed over every month, Genos still had more than enough cash to get himself anything he might want. Why should Saitama feel the need to buy Genos a pack of sweets when the cyborg was perfectly capable of buying his own? It didn't make any sense.
Saitama glanced over at Genos, who still prattling on, oblivious the internal war that was raging on in his brain. Genos never had any problems doing over-the-top nice things for him, and yet Saitama couldn't even pick out a stupid pack of candy…
"Oh my gosh, is that the Demon Cyborg!?"
Saitama and Genos both ground to a halt at the high pitched squeal, turning just in time to see a hoard of girls come barreling down the sidewalk. Saitama found himself quickly shoved aside as the group swarmed around Genos, circling him from all sides and leaving him no room to escape.
Saitama huffed a sigh and leaned against the nearest building, setting the bags down near his feet. He knew from experience that this was going to take a while. Genos was too polite to tell the girls to buzz off, even though Saitama knew he wanted nothing more than to do just that. If only they knew what he did with all those nice letters and photos they always bothered to send, Saitama thought to himself. He almost felt smug.
The girls poked and prodded at Genos, asking him inane questions that Saitama had heard a thousand times before. Saitama rolled his eyes, turning away from the scene in front of him to scan the streets, looking for something, anything, to distract him. Maybe he could find a nice picture in the clouds or something, or a stray cat that he could try to save.
His eyes flickered back when a few of the girls let out a loud peal of laughter, and Saitama found himself more than curious as to what Genos could have possibly said that was so funny. One of the girls -a pretty blonde with long hair and fluttering eyelashes- had her hand on the cyborg's chest, her other arm stretched up to run her fingers through his hair. She laughed, leaning in closer, and Saitama watched as Genos craned his neck to keep her lips away.
Saitama felt a dull ache spread through his chest at the sight, changing into a flash of some emotion he didn't recognize. It made him feel...almost angry, although he couldn't imagine why. After all, he had seen this scene a dozen times before, and he had never felt anything. Well, anything other than the desire to go home. Hell, there had even been a few times in the past where he had left, calling over his shoulder and telling Genos that he'd see him at home.
But now, all he wanted to do was march over there and pull Genos away from those women, to stand between him and them until they all got the hint to leave. He thought about the incident a few weeks ago, when Genos had pinned him against the counter in the kitchen, his metal fingers gripping at Saitama's waist with their bodies flush together...
Another round of giggling pulled Saitama from this thoughts with a start. He looked back at the pack of girls to see that they had moved in closer. The cyborg looked openly uncomfortable now, trying to remain polite while frantically searching for an escape route. His golden eyes locked with Saitama's for a brief second, and that look was the final straw as Saitama made a decision.
Without thinking, he pushed ahead, shoving his way through the frenzy of girls until he reached Genos. He carefully pried the hand of the blonde off of the cyborg's chest, casually slinging an arm around his shoulder in the process. The girls all took a step back, their mouths hung open as though a giant, man-eating spider had entered the group.
"Uh, sorry to interrupt," Saitama sputtered into the ensuing pause. He hadn't thought this through at all. "But um, my, uh, my... boyfriend and I have somewhere to be, so if you'll excuse us…"
Shit. Well that definitely wasn't what he intended to say at all, but it did the trick. Saitama tugged Genos along, easily maneuvering through the thong of horror-struck girls, all of them too shocked to respond.
Saitama bent to scoop up his share of groceries with his free hand, the other keeping a hold on the cyborg's shoulders. Once they rounded the nearest corner, Saitama glanced behind them to see if any of them had tried to follow.
The street was deserted.
Saitama let out a sigh of relief, pulling his arm back and taking a small step away from Genos, who had been eerily silent since their departure. His fans were pretty loud, though.
"Pretty good, right?" Saitama asked, nudging Genos in the ribs with his elbow, the corner of his mouth pulling up into a smile.
"Y-yes, Sensei." Genos paused for a long moment, his cheeks turning an artificial shade of pink. The sound of his fans grew louder. "Did you-did you say b-boyfriend?"
Saitama felt a faint flutter in his stomach, which he promptly ignored. "Sure did," he grinned. "Worked like a charm, don't you think? I mean c'mon, did you see their faces? It was totally hilarious!"
"Oh," Genos said, in a tone that sounded oddly disappointed. He blinked a few times before facing forward, his shoulders sagging just a little.
Saitama kept his eyes on Genos, his eyebrows knitting together as he tried to figure out what he'd done wrong. There was no way Genos had actually wanted to keep talking to those girls, right? Genos had never shown any interest in them before, so what could have changed in such a short period of time?
Their conversation from a few weeks ago passed through his mind. He remembered Genos telling him about his nonexistent love life, and Saitama had encouraged him to pursue one, possibly with one of his fangirls…
Saitama stopped dead in his tracks at the memory. Had Genos been trying to follow his advice, as he often did? And had he just ruined it?
Genos took a few more steps before realizing that Saitama was no longer beside him. The cyborg turned, looking at the older man with a confused expression.
"You...you didn't actually want to talk to them, did you?" Saitama asked.
Genos stared at him blankly for a moment before answering, averting his gaze once again. "No, Sensei, I did not. As I have said before, I have no interest in those women."
"Well then what's with the sour look? If you wanna go back-"
"It's nothing, Sensei." Genos interrupted, the corners of his lips pulling into a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thank you for rescuing me."
Saitama felt a wave of relief wash over him. Genos wasn't mad at him, at the very least. "What's the matter? None of them your type?" he teased, jerking his chin the direction they came from.
Genos turned to meet Saitama's gaze, the cyborg's eyes blazing with intensity. "No, none of them are my type."
"Huh," Saitama managed, once again wondering what was Genos' type, but he decided not to pry, especially after this whole ordeal. So instead he said nothing, the two of them remaining silent for the rest of the trip home.
Genos spoke up once they reached the apartment, telling Saitama that he'd be up in a minute, and that there was something he wanted to check into first, which was weird, but Saitama decided not to question it. Instead he took the cyborg's share of the groceries and made his way upstairs.
He had just finished unloading the last of the supplies when Genos entered the apartment, his arms full of brightly colored envelopes.
"Jeez," Saitama commented, "more fan mail already? Didn't we just check it ,like, five days ago or something?"
"We did, Sensei," Genos responded, dumping the letters onto the coffee table. He began riffling through pile quickly, apparently looking for something in particular. "However, these letters were not my intention."
Genos pulled a thin, rectangular package from the mound of letters, examining the shipping label with vivid interest. Whatever it was, it appeared to be what Genos had been looking for. Saitama wandered over to Genos, curious as to what oddity some fangirl had sent him.
"What do you think it is this time?" Saitama wondered out loud. He eyed the shape of the package, his index finger tapping idly against his chin. "Hmm...photos? Oh! Or maybe it's a manga or something. It's sorta book-shaped…"
"Actually…" Genos trailed off, seeming uncertain for a moment. He eyes met Saitama's briefly before flitting away, appearing almost shy. "It...it is for you, Sensei."
Saitama blinked. "For me?" He was lucky to even receive one letter compared to the dozens Genos got, and even then, that single letter usually wasn't very nice. Most of them were from old ladies berating him for property damage more than anything. A package was unheard of. "Why the hell would someone send me a package?"
Genos hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath, finally meeting Saitama's gaze with that blazing intensity again. Without warning the cyborg thrust his hand out, the corner of the package nearly poking Saitama in the chest. Then Genos was speaking at a mile-a-minute, the words flowing so quickly that Saitama could barely keep up.
"Sensei! I recently purchased an item that I thought you may enjoy. I know you do not like it when I make unnecessary purchases, but when it comes you, nothing is unnecessary! I hope that you will accept my gift and that its purchase will not weigh heavily on your mind. Please accept this and know that-"
"Enough!" Saitama interrupted, pointing an accusing finger toward the cyborg. "I've told you before, keep it under twenty words and try again!"
Genos paused for a moment before giving a quick nod. He cleared his throat and extended the package again, more gently this time. "I saw this online and it made me think of you…"
Saitama stared at the package for a long time before slowly reaching out and taking it into his hands. "You...bought me something?"
The cyborg jerked his chin in another nod. "Yes, Sensei," Genos bowed his head a little, gesturing for Saitama to open it up.
Saitama turned the box over in his hands before tearing the strip of packing tape away. He slid a finger under the cardboard flap and flipped it open, pulling out what appeared to be a DVD case, still sealed in the plastic wrapping.
Saitama flipped the case around in his hands, tossing the box aside. ThanksKilling was printed across the top in creepy letters, with what appeared to be a terrible CGI rendering of a turkey staring straight at him. The tagline of 'gobble gobble, motherfucker' made the corner of Saitama's mouth twitch towards a smile. The movie looked absolutely awful.
He lifted his gaze towards Genos, momentarily speechless. "...you bought this for me?"
Genos nodded, taking a small step forward. "Yes, Sensei. I thought-I thought perhaps we could watch it tonight. I know it is a personal enjoyment of yours, especially on the weekends."
"But you can't stand these movies," Saitama blurted before thinking about it.
Genos adverted his gaze, his eyes flickering back and forth between Saitama and the floor. "I admit I do not understand the humor you seem to find in them, but that does not mean I don't enjoy spending time with you," he said shyly. Maybe Saitama was imagining it, but it seemed like the cyborg's fans were humming at a slightly louder volume.
Saitama looked down at the DVD in his hands, his eyebrows pulling together in irritation. This wasn't fair, not at all. He'd been wracking his brain all day -hell, for the past few weeks- trying to think of just one nice thing he could do for Genos. Saitama hadn't even been able to pick out a damn package of sweets, and here was Genos, buying him a movie that he totally would have gotten himself and saying all these nice things like it was nothing.
And it wasn't nothing. Genos had found this stupid movie and knew that Saitama would like it. He even paid for it with his own money, despite the fact that Genos himself had no interest in it at all. And now he was just standing there, saying all these nice things about Saitama like it was effortless.
"Sensei…?" Genos asked nervously, pulling him from his thoughts. "If you do not wish to accept it, it's a simple process to return-"
Saitama jerked his chin up, clutching the movie to his chest protectively and twisting away from Genos. "Are you kidding? Of course I want it. I just…" He trailed off, chewing on his lower lip. He wished he was better at this, but he had accepted long ago that expressing his feelings would never come naturally. He might as well just spit it out. "I just...I feel bad, I guess. You're always doing all this nice stuff for me, and... I dunno, I guess I feel like I don't do enough for you, ya know?
"That is nonsense, Sensei. You have nothing to feel guilty about. You do so much for me as it is. Not only have you agreed to teach me, but you have also allowed me to live with you and eat with you and-"
"Stop," Saitama interrupted, waving his free hand in front of him. "That's not-I mean yeah, that's true, but it's not what I'm talking about. I mean this." He held the DVD case up as evidence. "All this...extra stuff that you do all the time. I just wanna do something nice for you once in awhile, but I can never think of anything. It makes me feel like I don't know you or something. And well, it kinda makes me feel like shit."
He stared at Genos, hoping that he understood what Saitama was trying to say. He knew it probably didn't make any sense, and he was terrible at explaining stuff. Saitama barely understood it himself. He didn't know where this sudden urge had come from, especially since he hadn't felt it before...
Before the kiss.
The thought pulled him up short. Why in the hell was he thinking about that again? And why now?
Was it because he still felt guilty over Genos getting hurt? Or maybe it was because he had hoped that by agreeing to the cyborgs stupid request that night, that he would feel better about it? Or because despite all of that, he still hadn't been able to tell Genos how much he really meant to Saitama?
Or was it because he wanted it to happen again?
Saitama shoved the thought out of his head as quickly as it appeared. He focused his gaze back on Genos, who was staring at him blankly.
"I just...I wanna do nice stuff for you too," Saitama said, shrugging his shoulders.
Genos blinked at him a few times, looking a little lost. "I...I was unaware that this was an issue. However, I want to you know, Sensei, that I am not bothered by it. I'm happy just to be in your company, and that is more than enough. Honestly and sincerely, you have no reason to feel guilty for anything. If anything, you should-"
"See?" Saitama interrupted, pointing a finger at Genos. "You're doing it again!"
Genos seemed genuinely confused, judging by way his eyebrows were knitted together. Saitama ran his hand over his face in exasperation before trying a different tactic.
"How about this," he started. "Since I can't think of anything on my own, how about you give me a few ideas about something you might want."
"You don't have to-"
"Genos," Saitama cut him off sharply. "Please? I'm not asking for anything big. Just, I dunno...anything, really." He almost mentioned the candy thing, but since it was the only idea he had come up with on his own, he really wanted to keep it a secret for now. "When I ask you what you want from me, what's the first thing that pops into your head?"
"A date," Genos said immediately.
The words hung in the air between them, taking their time to settle into Saitama's brain. Before he could say anything, Genos starting speaking very quickly, a few puffs of steam escaping from the vents in his chest.
"I-I mean...Sensei! I did not mean- I...what I meant to say was that, uh…" Genos took a breath, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. The cyborgs cheeks were a startling bright shade of red, and Saitama found himself wondering if the heat would melt the synthetic skin right off. "I apologize, Sensei. I did not mean...if you give me some time, I am certain I will think of someth-"
"It's okay," Saitama said, cutting Genos off. Seriously, he had never seen the cyborg this upset before. "I asked what the first thing you thought of was, and uh, you answered pretty quickly, so…"
Saitama had said anything, and while a date was an answer he was definitely not expecting, he was a man of his word. It was surprising, for one thing. Why the hell would Genos ask for a date with him, of all people? Especially when he had dozens of other options to choose from… Once again, Saitama found the cyborg's thought process confusing. But as he always did, he knew that it wasn't his place to judge. Who knew? Maybe there was some reason behind the request that Saitama couldn't even guess at.
Besides, how bad could it be?
"I've gotta warn you though," Saitama continued, breaking the heavy silence that filled the room. Genos hadn't moved an inch since Saitama's interruption. "I haven't been on anything close to a date in a few years, so don't be expect too much, alright?"
Genos blinked at him slowly as Saitama's words sunk in. "You...really mean that, Sensei?"
"Well yeah," Saitama said. "Don't you remember? I told you how bad my last date ended, a few years after high school."
The cyborg shook his head and took a half step closer to Saitama. "Not about that. I meant...about the other thing you said. Are you seriously agreeing to my request, Sensei?"
Saitama didn't give himself the chance to think twice about his answer. "Yeah, I am." He paused for a second, trying to think through what he wanted to say. "Just….just remember what I said. I haven't messed with any of this stuff in a long time, so…"
"Do not worry, Sensei," Genos said, finally relaxing from his stiff position from earlier. He started absently stacking the remaining fan mail into neat piles as he spoke. "I was simply thinking along the lines of watching your new movie together, if that is adequate for you."
Saitama raised his eyebrows, his head tilting a little to the side. "Really? That's it? I mean, not that I'm complaining. It's just...we already do that anyway, right?"
Genos met his gaze, that unfamiliar shy smile perched on the corners of his lips. "We do," he agreed. "That is more or less the purpose of my request. Like I said, I enjoy spending time with you, and I enjoy seeing you happy. This is a way for me to achieve both."
"If you say so," Saitama said, running a hand over his bald head. None of this made any sense to him, but he hoped that later on it might.
He watched Genos finish shuffling the envelopes around, shoving them off to one side of the table. Genos turned and made his way to the kitchen, picking through the contents that were spread across the counter.
"What sounds good for lunch, Sensei?"
Saitama thought it was kind of funny, how easily the conversation had returned to normal. It reminded him before, with the kiss and all….He'd expected things to be awkward after that, but it never came. Actually...it had never really gotten awkward to begin with.
He hoped that would hold true for tonight.