One minute, Saitama’s munching away at something he and Genos had made in the hot pot with a copy of Sailor Moon right in front of him. He keeps eating at his bowl slowly, reading his manga all the while … buut it’s not long before he finishes. He’s a little disappointed that the bowl is empty, because he’s only half paying attention as he continues to read the panels and reach for another spoonful. He bites into nothingness on the spoon ( save for a little broth ) and frowns – glancing over at it with a little confusion. Ah, well … he’ll get more food in a bit. So, for now .. Saitama shoves the bowl of food away, returning to his focus on reading.
Honestly, he is super absorbed in the manga at the moment, so .. he doesn’t even realize that a piece of lettuce has stuck to the side of his cheek! The table is silent as he reads, though he gets the distinct feeling of being watched … well, moreso than usual, when it comes to Genos. It’s a nagging feeling that the hero tries to ignore, but he can just tell Genos isn’t gonna let up so easy. Just when he lifts his head up and glances over at the other end of the table, he sees Genos is … gone? Weird. He looks around the room, but doesn’t really see Genos – that is, until he looks directly to his side, and the cyborg is literally a few inches away from his face. Saitama’s pretty startled at that – so he visibly jumps back, a little annoyed expresion on his face.
“Geez, dude, don’t you know personal space?”
The cyborg is silent for a moment, golden irises going black, and Saitama notices that he’s gripping his hands into fists. “…You have something on your face, sensei.” He calmly instructs, and Saitama just kinda. Stares. When he makes no move to clean it off, Genos specifies – “It’s on your cheek.” So .. slowly, he places his book face down on the table ( to keep his place, of course ) and wipes at his face. He asks if he got it, and Genos shakes his head no. He tries again. Nope. And again. Nada. One more time, and it’s clear this is driving Genos a little batty, and Saitama’s getting pretty frustrated himself! He actually straight up says something along the lines of ‘ why don’t you just wipe it off then? ’ because he wants to get back to his reading, dammit! .. And in return, Genos utters something about please excusing him.
Before Saitama can respond to that in his irritated state, he finds his chin being gently gripped by the cyborg!Immediately, any and all irritation he’d had melted away in an instant, and all he could say was a tiny “Oh.” Of course, Genos had wiped it away in an instant .. but his hand was lingering on Saitama’s chin, and he found himself kind of staring into the cyborg’s golden eyes. And it seems that Genos was doing the same to Saitama’s plain eyes. Something about the mood turned really serious, though, and .. well, he’s not sure exactly what it was, or why, or what this tension was in the air. But he did what felt right, after a considerably long pause of just having his face held … he leans in, and his eyes flutter shut as he does so. Genos’ seem to do the same too, and it’s clear what his intentions are; he wants to kiss Genos. Just as their lips brush, however, Saitama .. well, he wimps out. He pauses right where he is, nose pressed against Genos’s and the cyborg able to feel the warm breath from his lips since they’re still so close, and then .. he pulls away.
It really it unusual for Saitama to be so flustered, but here he is, having a bad case of crippling self doubt. There’s no way he’s THAT lucky, right? Nobody could like a guy like him romantically, even if he .. really does like Genos. Surely, he could find someone better for him, right? He deserved a lot better than some depressed bald dude in a cape… and this he is painfully aware and certain of. So with the sudden self doubt clouding his mind, he avoids Genos’ kicked puppy confused expression and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. He’s going to try to shrug this off like he DIDN’T just almost-kiss his room mate … R.I.P. to Genos
He’s struggling to think of a way to break the silence, but .. nothing’s coming to mind, and the silence is deafening. Eventually, though, the words do come to him … buuut they’re not much. “Uh.. thanks, Genos.” was all he could really bring himself to say.
( Wow, he was shitty with words. )
As the silence sunk in, the blond cyborg was trying to comprehend what had almost just happened. By calculating how close Saitama’s face was to his a moment ago, his increasing heart rate and body temperature, and the faint lingering sensation on Genos’s lips, he assumed it was an attempt to share a kiss. An act that he found himself subconsciously indulging in until it came to an abrupt halt. The mellow glow gradually faded from the boy’s eyes once he finished analyzing the situation, and the other pulled back, leaving him dumbfounded.
A desperate plea to continue was on the tip of his tongue, but insecurities weighed him down, and only a hushed 〝 Se — … 〞 was drawn from his parted lips. There is no denying that Genos idolized the hero in front of him and held him in high regard, even with Saitama’s shortcomings, but how thin is the line between admiration and something that goes beyond it? Although they’ve been living together under the same roof for a few months now, it was the first time he paused to reflect on his feelings towards his master, unaware that him getting caught up in his thoughts added more fuel to the growing tension between them.
The idea of being in a relationship sounded pleasant in theory, even for someone like Genos who had no recollections of it sparking his interest during his early teens (or, perhaps he had and chose to continue to repress his memories as he disliked to dwell on the past.). But was he allowed to consider it now, at his current state? Not only he lacked a human body, but he was also still relatively weak - the cyborg's feats of strength were pale in comparison to those of Saitama, not to mention that his reckless behavior put him times and times again in dangerous positions. He sighed. The emotional attachment might be disadvantageous in battles and prevent him from going all out, and while there was no doubt that Saitama was unexceptionally strong and could defend himself — Genos wished to prove how much he had grown by being able to protect his teacher, the city they live in, and other people.
Yet, his human part insisted that are things which are far more important than strength.
〝 Sensei — 〞 he called out and placed a hand on the floor to support his weight as he leaned in to shrink the gap between them. 〝 I know I'm repeating myself when I say I've never met a man as outstanding as you before, and if I were to list all the reasons as to why I think so highly of you, I'd fail to summarize it within 20 words ... or less. 〞 the blond cyborg's stoic expression softened a tad. 〝 I know I still have a long way to go and that it might be inappropriate on my behalf as your disciple, so I apologize in advance, but — 〞 using his free hand, Genos cupped Saitama's cheek with his jet-black metallic digits a second time. He then tilted his head and closed his eyes, pressing his lips against his. Though he didn't have a nervous system or a heart, he felt nothing but the purest form of bliss by being this close to the person that means the world to him.
