Chapter Text
Saitama never thought it necessary to find dates.
He spent most of his time with Genos—which wasn’t on purpose. This was something that had just happened. The cyborg was comfortable enough to spend enough time at the apartment that Saitama joked he ‘might as well move in’. This joke, of course, went over Genos’ head and he showed up the next morning with a suitcase.
There protest on Saitama’s end, since he hasn’t had a roommate since university and he didn’t enjoy the experience at all, but Genos was nice. He cleaned, he did laundry and cooked three meals a day! Saitama couldn’t remember the last time he ate three meals a day! The hero had no choice but to admire the young man—at his age, Saitama was useless at home keeping.
While Genos presented himself as the perfect roommate in their devastatingly small apartment, Saitama wondered if a woman would ever accept this odd living situation.
Probably not.
Genos must’ve wondered the same thing.
“Has Sensei ever been on a date before?”
The question came on a warm summer morning. It was an off day for the two, which meant that Genos would litter his day with maintenance at Dr. Kuseno’s amongst other errands while Saitama laid around all day.
Saitama froze at the question, finding it a little odd that the cyborg took interest in his past life. Genos was usually interested in training and Saitama’s career as a hero now.
“Not recently,” Saitama remarked semi-bitterly. He lifted an absent hand to scratch at his stomach. “Why?”
Genos hesitated, which made Saitama feel a little nervous. Saitama lowered the volume on the television. Genos was never one to hesitate in conversations, almost as if he knew the exact word to say every time.
“I’m afraid that Sensei has been feeling lonely,” Genos suggested. “I . . . haven’t seen any woman take interest in Sensei since my arrival.”
“Oh.”
“Nor have I seen Sensei take interest in any woman,” The next part came quiet, and behind it came a more silent atmosphere. Saitama could swear he heard a pin drop outside.
“I guess I’m busy with all my hero stuff,” Saitama’s mouth tilted. “I don’t think I can be a good boyfriend when I’m a hero.”
Saitama has never admitted the last part before, which made guilt run ice cold through his veins.
He’s had girlfriends before, when he had hair and all—but that ended quickly after college. It most definitely ended when he began training seriously to be a hero. Getting a girlfriend was the last thing on his mind, but the idea was still there. The path to getting to this point was a lonely one trekked, indeed.
“Ah,” Genos’ dark eyes brightened with some realization. “So Sensei used to have girlfriends?”
Saitama blushed. “Y-Yes.”
“Was Sensei an attentive boyfriend . . . before?”
Saitama threw himself around to face Genos, who was still washing dishes as studiously as he could. Though, the blond was already making direct eye contact with Saitama through the window.
“Eh?” Saitama’s voice raised. “What’s with the interrogation, Genos? What does it matter to you if I have a girlfriend or—“
Saitama stopped himself in his tracks. Genos was blushing, now—with his lips tucked in and his eyes averted. Now, Saitama may be oblivious to a lot of things, but he could tell when someone had ulterior motive.
“Oh, I see,” Saitama’s voice lowered before a smirk spread over his lips. “Genos, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m sorry, Sensei,” Genos’ head lowered. “I . . . I was embarrassed because of the response I might receive.”
“There’s nothing embarrassing about that,” Saitama waved a flippant hand. “So who’s the lucky girl?”
Genos’ face fell. “Huh?”
“You want to know how to score with the ladies, eh?” Saitama snickered to himself, rolling back over to face the TV. “It’s about time, I’d say.”
Genos looked pained. “Sensei, please—“
”I’m a little sick of seeing all your fan letters in the mail—“
“Sensei—“
“But I suppose I could help you out,” Saitama hummed, extremely giddy he could finally teach something useful to Genos. For once, he could revel in the fact that he had more knowledge over this one thing that Genos seemed to be a complete newbie at. “Does tonight night sound good to you?”
Genos gave up.
“Yes, Sensei.”
-
Genos laid upon the operating table, his left arm stretched out and over as Dr. Kuseno worked on the metal limb meticulously. Genos had learned a few tips and tricks from the Doctor himself, but he wasn’t as detail-oriented as his foster parent.
Genos blinked into the bright lights above, unfazed by unusually bright luminosity. Perhaps if he had his inferior human eyeballs from before, it would’ve been more blinding.
But that was the thing about becoming a cyborg—losing human attributes. It was only natural, Genos supposed. Feeling less human wasn’t something that bothered him. It never bothered him because it only meant he was becoming more powerful.
Until he met Saitama-Sensei.
Saitama-Sensei was someone who was so unequivocally human, with doubts, fears, moments of faults and yet . . . he was so breathtakingly strong. Genos wondered if he were to never become a cyborg, would he, perhaps, become as strong-headed and brave as Saitama-Sensei?
Genos sighed.
“Is something the matter, Genos?” Dr. Kuseno asked, his eyes fixed on Genos’ arm. His motions on Genos’ arms were rehearsed, experienced and careful—much different from when Genos would work on his own arm, that is.
Genos shook his head gently. “I’m just thinking of Sensei again.”
A familiar glint shined in the Doctor’s eye. “Ah, your mentor. What seems to be troubling you?”
“I’ve . . .” Genos’ words were held back. Despite his usual straightforwardness, Genos has never spoken his true feelings about his Sensei aloud. He never afforded himself the time to rationalize or sort through these gooey feelings held for his mentor, so he was afraid that speaking them would make these feelings . . . real.
Genos wasn’t particularly scared of his feelings or what they meant, he was only scared of how his Sensei might react. He was scared it might change everything, including his apprenticeship. Despite his strong feelings for his Sensei, Genos felt stronger about finding the Mad Cyborg and killing him. He thought it wise to keep these feelings bottled up inside until they can one day disappear.
“Genos?”
But Dr. Kuseno was different. He was an impartial existence in Genos’ life who could support him one way or the other. He was never one to judge his choices, only to advice him thoroughly and support him through thick and thin.
“I love Saitama-Sensei,” Genos said, the clear words coming as a surprise to his own ears. “And I don’t know what to do.”
He was honest. These words were so honest it hurt. Genos clenched the fist that wasn’t being worked on and he saw a few notifications in his OS screen that he was about to overheat.
Dr. Kuseno’s lips flattened into a tight line. “I see. Now, you know me, Genos. I’m dedicated to giving you an authentic life, cyborg parts and all . . .”
Instinctively, Genos held his breath, though there was no need for oxygen in his body. He could feel it. Dr. Kuseno’s lecturing . . .
“And that means by encouraging any human emotions you might feel,” Dr. Kuseno nodded. It was seemingly difficult for the Doctor to continue. Genos was nervous. Was Dr. Kuseno telling him to . . . ?
“But I’m not sure if a romance with your mentor is best advised,” Dr. Kuseno finished, the words sending the chilling feeling of rejection into the pits of his stomach. “He isn’t there as an option to be a romantic partner for you, Genos. He’s there to help you become stronger.”
Genos disagreed. He believed it was possible to do both. Master Saitama has shown Genos that anything possible was possible and that the two of them could achieve it. How was this any different?
“When exactly did these feelings for Saitama surface?” Dr. Kuseno asked curiously, adjusting the slim pair of goggles on his head.
Genos wasn’t sure himself. He was attracted to the man right away, it seemed. Ever since their first encounter, Genos felt the innate urge to be close to his mentor and to never stray away from his side. Not once.
Falling in love with his Sensei wasn’t something planned or even something Genos noticed until recently.
When Saitama-Sensei would carry his limp and gored bionic body home after a long-winded battle, he would find that his sensory nerves would override with warnings of overheating. He ignored these warning bubbles, assuming it was a side effect of his body going through massive trauma.
However . . .
Along with these tender moments, Saitama-Sensei would fill the air with wry jokes, which Genos (at first) didn’t understand. He would stare blankly, to which Saitama-Sensei would crack an uncomfortable grimace and say, ‘I’m just trying to break the tension. It would be nice to see ya smile after something like that, y’know?’.
Ah, Genos remembered thinking. He’s trying to . . . make me feel better? He wants to see me smile?
“Eh?” Genos remembered Saitama-Sensei glancing down at his arms in a panic. “Your body is really hot all of a sudden, Genos!”
“I’ve always admired Saitama-Sensei,” Genos answered truthfully, swallowing thickly at the memory. “He’s strong and he’s kind to me.”
“And you’re sure you’re feeling romance and not just that?” Dr. Kuseno prodded. “Those are two very similar emotions, Genos. It would be very easy to get those two mixed up.”
Genos was growing annoyed.
While it was clear that Dr. Kuseno wasn’t willing to support Genos (which is what the cyborg expected), he wasn’t willing to get talked down to about this. He was sure of his feelings towards Saitama-Sensei and he wanted to prove it!
As of right now, he knew it to not be wise if he chose to bicker back and forth with this with the doctor.
“Maybe it is deep admiration,” Genos nodded. “You’re right.”
The doctor seemed content with that answer.
-
Genos arrived home later than he would’ve liked.
After his rendezvous with the doctor, Genos took some time to walk around the city and clear his head.
After a few blocks, he found that it helped nothing, which made him grit his teeth and turn directly into a grocery store.
As Genos threw items into his basket, he found himself annoyed that the walk didn’t help him sort these feelings out one bit. He knew that oxygen wasn’t a necessity when it came to his body, nor was physical exercise, but Genos was still . . . human, right? No.
He sniffed a pack of scallions and shook his head before placing it back. That wasn’t right. He was human, but now he was . . . a being. He was a being with feelings and emotions and some feeling. In a world of super abilities and inter-dimensional beings and aliens, perhaps that wasn’t so strange in the grand scheme of things, but to a teenage Genos, it was uncomfortable to be assigned to a unique existence.
He buried these emotions under the mission of growing stronger.
Though the change to cyborg at first was very jarring and Genos often found himself having frequent existential panic attacks over the very thought of it, but he’s grown accustomed to ignoring it.
Watching himself be torn apart or impaled by monsters became less abrupt the more time grew on. He even found himself growing accustomed to the ‘less human’ experience of it all, since it meant he was growing stronger and stronger.
But then . . . Saitama-Sensei arrived. He arrived as a solitary stroke of color on the monochrome portrait of Genos’ life. He wasn’t particularly handsome or charming, but he was strong and so unapologetically human, which was something Genos both ached for and forgotten.
Saitama-Sensei was brave, humorous, strong and a good person, deep down. Genos took notes on every single note he could on his Sensei and at night, he would pore over these notes and obsess. He would wonder frequently if he had been human, would he have these organic blips of dialogue like his Sensei?
Before Genos knew it, he was in front of their shared apartment with two bags of groceries. The door in front of him was a dark blue, like it always had been when Genos moved in, but this time, it had questions needed to be answered on the other side.
He took a deep breath before unlocking the door.