destinytown | (no subject)

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[ saitama's secret stash...

...is something of a misnomer. there's nothing really secret about it, for one; the man doesn't have a lot of space to work with, and everything there is to see in his home is more or less in plain sight. he doesn't have much to hide, made abundantly clear every time genos performs a thorough bi-weekly sweep of their surroundings.

sensei, this flyer is from last month...
don't mind it, it doesn't expire for a while, you know?

the coupons tend to be long-expired, but genos won't say a thing. it's better to live and let live, or on those cases, not let his sensei know so he can pick up any wanted groceries in his stead. saitama doesn't need to know the real price. if he wants to keep thinking the value is worth something in the long run, so be it. frugality is one of his dozens of virtues, anyway.

what passes for the stash is typically nothing more than the latest magazines, advertisements, and other paraphernalia well-stocked by genos to ensure that sensei is continuing to thrive. originally it started out as something of a team effort (though saitama really hadn't seen the need at the time), growing into more and more of genos's side project over time. it makes sense, what with how busy sensei is these days. there's always a squabble here, a fight there, the here association pulling at their ears all the while...

lately saitama isn't even around, which leaves his young ward to his own devices, more often than not. there's no problem in it when genos has plenty of things to study, hero duties he can catch up on, plus the occasional tune-up at dr. kuseno's lab.

which leads him to wonder: what in the world is with this growing pile of discs in the living room?

video games... genos knows of them. his years spent as a cyborg of justice doesn't mean he's forgotten the past, forgotten some of the things which used to fill his spare time. but why are they filling sensei's? surely his hours could be better spent climbing the ranks of the association, just as he encouraged genos to do. not that sensei doesn't know best; he probably has a plan he hasn't told genos of yet, doing things in his own way. sensei, after all, is the strongest man the world has ever seen. what does ranking have to do with it?

at this point it's purely speculation. they could be here due to any number of things. there's no telling they belong to saitama in the first place. it's entirely possible they might have something to do with how much time he spends around the s-class's seventh best. as for why king would be influencing him to bring home piles and piles of games, it's beyond genos's reasoning. is it for training? it has to be for training.

now he's drawn a conclusion, able to proceed with no issues. a little tidying is fine, far from unwelcome, and sensei will appreciate it. if he asks, it's very possible they could play together too, like he does with the king.

if...oh.

wait.

a lot of these don't look like they're for two players at all...

and that is how the biomechanical boy has found himself sprawled out on the floor in the middle of the afternoon, transfixed by a now-empty jewel case with a scantily-clad girl on the packaging, her moans on the television screen ringing in his ears.

training. this is for training. sensei just needed a little...brushing up on how to talk to women. judging from how genos has fared in his game so far, he doesn't seem to have the same trouble. if anything, it's been all too easy to win over this virtual girl's affections and lure her into the bedroom. surely they don't act this way in the real world, too. genos's fanclub throwing themselves at them left and right is harrowing enough! ]

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[ typical. can't he slow down for five minutes to appreciate what he's shoveling into his mouth? ]

C'mon, you're just inhaling it...

[ unlike genos, who's pretending to be mister prim and proper with a careful rice-to-curry ration, deciding cheese curry isn't actually the worst idea ever conceived. it actually works quite well for what it is. ]

[ frowns up at genos while he takes a brief pause in his attack on the poor curry. ]

I came from z-city to t-city in less than an hour. [ crams another bite in, chewing around his next words: ] I'm hungry.

[ sonic might be fast, but he's still human, still needs to run off of some type of energy after expending it all on one long trip. ]

You are an animal. Try a croquette.

[ not so audacious to try and feed sonic outright, he simple rolls one over off of his plate and continues his methodical consumption. ]

Really. At least appreciate it a little... [ it's just curry, nothing high-class, but still. ]

[ grumbling is the only immediate reply. using his left hand, sonic picks up a pair of chopsticks and snatches the fried lump before shoving that into his mouth, too. ]

I'm appreciating it in my own way. [ clearly he never learned any table manners, further proving the point by wiping his mouth with the back of his jacket's sleeve. ]

You're hopeless. Use a napkin...

[ passes that over, too. what kind of mangy animal is he spending time with, anyway? ]

[ a cat, clearly. either way he'll take it, scrub at his face a little, then resume eating at a slower pace. ]

Everything's good. [ a passing comment, not really having a preference due to his enthusiastic start. ]

[ they can agree on that one. ]

We should come here again. [ for more than the food, though it seems like the safer option to lead in with. ]

[ makes a noncommittal noise, too engrossed in a plate to his right. ]

Sure, if you want to.

[ mangy and sloppy...genos shakes his head, huffing out a chuckle. if the man wants to eat, he'll let him eat, satisfied with letting their exchange die a natural death in favor of more eating.

after a time, however, it becomes more interesting for him to watch sonic go at it. there's noting particularly profound about what he's doing, lack of manners aside, yet something's drawing him in all the same. a natural attraction, perhaps, that's been steadily forming in the last few months and coming to a head in his time alone. ]

[ somewhere between point a and b sonic's fished out a clip from the depths of his sweater, tugged and pulled back the long stripe of dark hair that he nearly ate in his haste.

for someone who was so self-conscious just a while ago, he sure is a far cry from the embarrassed mess that was once seated across genos. all that's left is a very hungry, very distracted twenty-something year-old, only giving his friend a passing glance once before doing a double-take when he recognizes the signs of being stared at. ]

... what? [ stops mid-motion when he goes to clean his lips with something not easily disposable. napkin, right, that'll do. ] Do I have something on my face?

[ actually, he does, but it's not the explanation for why genos's eyes have lingered on him far longer than they normally would.

being found out, he shrugs a shoulder, hurrying back to clearing off his fifth plate. his own point's proven; beef is the tiniest bit too strong for his liking. it obviously hasn't gotten in his way of polishing it off, arranging his remnants neatly so they can be carried off with no trouble. as an afterthought he'll reach out to do the same for sonic, predictably haphazard on his end. ]

Don't worry about it. [ in the grand scheme of things it's nothing important in the slightest. he's a little lovesick, possibly, in no position to let him know any of it. ]

[ sonic didn't mind having an audience. really, he's so used to it by now that it should be second nature to feel another set of eyes always following his figure, scrutinize him for reasons unknown.

curiosity is always the catalyst for questioning. after all, sonic's not in any position to place any judgement on genos, unless it's done for the fun of it and nothing more. since he's receiving a reply that will go nowhere, he'll drop it as easily as the set of chopsticks twined in his left hand, gratefully accepting the tiny pile the cyborg has made for him with no complaints. ]

[ you're still cute would most likely trigger another episode, anyway, something genos doesn't see fit to say. ]

Feeling better? [ this seems a safer bet. after all the food he's packed away, surely sonic's sated some of his hunger by now. if not, there are a few plates left to go. even genos is behind, with his leisurely pace more to blame than his appetite, which has room to spare. ]

[ mutely nods since he's practicing a more dignified way of consuming his food, now that his stomach doesn't feel like it's eating itself from the inside-out.

swallows the rest of the curry-rice combo in his mouth before speaking. ] Yeah. [ he's not sorry for the frenzied assault on their shared meal, but he'll still stretch long legs out and make a repeat performance, this time hooking both feet at genos's ankles in a silent thanks for... what, exactly? that doesn't matter. if anything it's just to be cute, as the robotic teenager likes to call him. ] Which one's your favorite?

[ if he's asking, he'll jab a finger toward one of their discarded plates. ]

I like boiled pork. But the karaage's better than it sounded.

[ natto curry, not so much. that's not really much of a surprise. ]

[ both are good choices... though speaking of natto: ] I like that one the most. [ yeah, he's pointing to genos's least favorite. ]

[ figures. ] Not sweet and sour?

[ his hopes had seemed so high, too... ]

[ mouths at the edge of his spoon, humming. ]

That takes second place.

...I'm not kissing you after that.

[ is he giving himself away? besides, with the curry, it's not as if you can taste anything else, really... ]

[ instantly tries to close the distance over the table. ]

What's that? You want a kiss? [ the strings of his hoodie are now his, playfully tugging. ]

[ he set himself up for that. ]

... [ both hands curl around sonic's, seizing him tightly. if he has to, he'll tug him off, but he's going to try and play nicely. ] Not here.

[ maybe elsewhere. he can endure the natto-breath. ]

[ sticks his tongue out playfully. ]

Fine, you party pooper. [ sonic doesn't actually care, didn't plan on following through with anything, anyway.

instead of outright removing his hands, he stays where he's at for a while longer, taking a short moment to appreciate their proximity. since he's too stubborn to outright say it, he'll silently remind himself how he did miss this, missed the pressure of lips against his even more. perhaps a late-night confession will suffice, when he's more susceptible to spilling his feelings.

not now, though. instead he slowly unfurls his fingers from their tight grip, though a split-second decision to tug at it sharply makes him take another pause, constricting the cords around the expanse of genos’s head. ]

[ this is acceptable. genos is fine with sparing a moment or two to absorb what he assumes is some rarely-found mutual admiration. he'll even go so far as to tilt his head to the side questioningly again, intentionally widening the contact between them when it brings him a hair closer to sonic.

he could tease him for it if he wanted, crow about it as they leave, how his cold-blooded companion may actually have a heart hidden inside him after all. rather than that, he rubs small circles over his inner wrists, taking an acute interest in how his pulse rate spikes, the brief stutter to his heartbeat before it settles into a more established rhythm. he won't question the natural response, eyelids hooding at him. ]

...we should pay. [ they've had more than an ample amount of curry, but probably not of one another, and there are only so many things genos can do with a table in the way and at least a few pairs of eyes that are drawn to them by this point. he's aware of the restraint he should show, the standards he needs to adhere to for the sake of common decency. he's also aware of sonic, who's winning out with an alarmingly higher priority.

sighing underneath his breath, he wriggles loose to flag down a waiter, sorting out the bill quicker than sonic can chime in on. ] I'm getting this one. [ his tone leaves no room for argument, though he doesn't really expect a fight from sonic, who's probably happy to get off with a free and excessive meal. ]

[ usually sonic doesn't mind, no. today is a day full of surprises, however, so the frown that graces his features is new and unusual. ]

This wasn't the date you keep asking me about. [ as far as he knows, genos wanted to spoil him then, too. that's all well and good, he's done it plenty of times already, but something feels off when it's just another shared meal together with a little more meaning and significance underlying their outing.

he'll then just have to be forgiven for slapping down a thousand or so yen on the table, starting straight at genos. ] I'm covering the tip.

[ that's fair, right? sonic wants it to be or else it really will feel like the date, an emphasis only played out in his mind. ]

It's one of them.

[ and why shouldn't it be? other than the restaurant's atmosphere, all of the key components are here. by doing so it helps get one of the two out of the way—or are they up to three, now? genos still isn't sure if their early morning interlude counts as being propositioned or not.

regardless, he snatches the money up, fast as lightning. ] Thank you for your donation.

[ he'll pay for everything today, or die trying. ]