Saigenos

Chapter 5: Communication

The two men walked down the block in a calm speed, subconsciously matching each other's pace. The cool breeze harshly hit the parts of Genos' face that weren't covered by his hair. It had grown a lot this past month, the back reaching the back of his neck; he didn't have the energy to cut it. He combed his fingers through it monotonously, trying to groom it a bit. This caught Saitama's attention, prompting him to say "You know, I think I prefer you with your hair this length. Makes you look more mature." A small smile accompanied the statement. It was clear he was trying to lighten the mood, trying to be the contrast to Genos' somber aura. In the short time that he's known him, Genos' noticed Saitama doesn't take well to awkward silences. In response, Genos' made a short sound that, in a way, could sound like an attempt at a laugh. Saitama seemed satisfied with it, and therefore so was he.

Genos turned his head away and huffed while subtly rubbing his hands together. It was cold. Really cold. 'Is cold technically classified as a feeling?' Genos wondered. If so, this would be the first time in a while Genos actually felt something. Something other than grief. Frustration. Regret, and worst of all, nothing.
Most of the time he felt nothing, and at first it seemed like it would be preferable. Less likely to silently cry into your pillow so you dont wake your roommate up, if you don't feel anything. He grew to hate the emptiness. The sense of a void inside him. It made him feel like a machine, like he wasn't human. It was only in the moments where the pain was so unbearable that he wished he died with his uncle, that he liked the idea of feeling nothing. In those moments he begged for it, he craved it. And eventually it always came back. His mouth would snap shut and the tears would suddenly stop falling and there he was. An empty shell. A lifeless husk. His uncle would've shed a tear at the sight. "It's kinda cold isn't it? Guess that sleeveless hoodie isn't doing you too good, ahaha." Saitama's voice broke Genos out of his deep thoughts. He said nothing in response. Saitama continued. "I was thinking we should get udon for dinner." Genos shortly nodded his head in agreement. He hasn't been eating much recently, just not much motivation. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't hungry as hell right now, though.

After a beat of silence, Genos cleared his throat, wanting his voice to sound clear for what he was about to say. "Sensei." Saitama shot a quick alarmed glance at him, before returning his gaze to the front of him. "Yes, Genos?" Silence. "Why did you take me in?" As soon as the sentence left his mouth, Saitama stopped walking. Not abruptly, not like he was startled or taken aback, but like he needed to stop to do whatever he was about to do. He slowly turned around to face Genos, who expected his face to be stoic, with a hint of confused-his usual face. However, he was met with kind eyes, with a firm and serious voice. "Genos. You can be very loud, and you don't seem to understand boundaries at times. That being said, I can't possibly stand the thought of you going back to that house and having to take care of yourself while dealing with the loss of the only family member you had left. Besides," he suddenly smirked and raised his eyebrows. "why wouldn't I take you in? I am your sensei, after all." With that, Saitama swiftly turned around and began walking again. Of course, on the inside, his mind was skittering about, wondering how convincing his little speech had been. However his thoughts vanished as he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrapped around him. His back was wet. Ew. "Thank you, Teacher." Genos whimpered through muffled sobs. Saitama wasn't super fond of affectionate, and was less fond of snot stains on his clothes, but he supposed he would have to endure it this one time. While it was cold, Genos felt quite warm pressed up against him-his arms did, at least. His neck felt warm too. 'This is really not the time to zone out', Saitama suddenly thought, and quickly muttered out a "You're welcome, Genos.", softly sighing to himself. He used this time to observe his surroundings. "You know, the udon place isn't too far from where we are right now." Genos sniffled and lifted his head from where it rested on Saitama's back. "Is that so?"

They sat down in a booth, both sighing in relief. While it wasn't too far like Saitama said, it really wasn't close. Worked up a good appetite tho. "Shall we get a super big bowl and share it? It'd be cheaper that way." Saitama said while looking at the menu. Genos' nodded half-heartedly, seeming distracted. Deep deep down, the sight irked Saitama. The Genos he befriended never did anything halfheartedly. He made his mind go back to the big bowl of udon, how delicious it would taste. He suddenly was reminded of something. "You know, I remember I watched this American cartoon movie about these two dogs in love," Saitama started. "They were eating a plate of spaghetti together and they wound up eating opposite ends the same noodle, but they just kept eating anyway and they ended up kissing." Saitama had a bright smile on his face recalling the cute film. He blanched as Genos stared back at him with a blank expression. Saitama coughed and looked away, embarrassed. A waiter soon after swiftly came and took their order, and left just as swiftly. Saitama's eyes had been staring at the table for a while, but randomly shot a glance at Genos. Their eyes locked, and Genos was the first to break eye contact, brushing a particularly long strand of hair behind his ear. It became untucked anyway. He licked his lips tentatively. "I know I said it earlier but, I'm really thankful for all you've done for me." "I know, Genos." Saitama tucked the same strand of hair behind Genos' ear, and it stayed there this time. "I know."

Their food eventually came and they ate it in comfortable silence. The walk home seemed to go by quicker than the walk there but, then again, it always did. Saitama opened the door taking off his shoes, and Genos did the same. Saitama then tiredly walked to and plopped himself on the living room floor, which was his current place of sleeping ever since Genos started staying at his apartment. "Sensei, you can sleep in your bed tonight, if you want to. I can sleep on the floor." Saitama's back was facing him, and he raised his arm to do a lazy wave of dismissal. "It's fine, I'm used to the floor." Saitama's eyes fluttered closed but refused to stay that way because of the ever-creeping feeling of a foreign presence. Saitama opened his eyes and jumped up at the sight of Genos lying next to him staring straight at him. "Jesus, dude, I said you could sleep in my room! Scared me to death!" He put his hand on his heart, trying to calm himself down. Genos tossed his head back and burst into laughter, something that startled Saitama even more. He had never really seen nor heard Genos laugh, and it was really hearty and deep because of the few times he's used his vocal chords recently. Saitama stayed frozen where he was, confused and curious. Genos eventually calmed down, and turned on his back to look at the ceiling, his expression completely changing. Something about his face seemed very serious, but not in a grim way, like it had been for the past month. "I feel so alone in there. I feel lonely, or I feel nothing. And I know it's hard to tell, Sensei, but I feel something when I'm with you. And when you finally feel something, other than pain, and, and, fucking nothing, you don't really wanna go back to it." The room was deafeningly silent, the sound of Saitama's breathing seeming unbearably loud in his mind. He watched Genos with attentive but patient eyes, not quite sure how to respond to what was said to him, and so he kept quiet. Genos flickered his eyes over to Saitama. "Could I sleep next to you, on this floor?" His voice came out unbelievably soft, so soft that it seemed impossible to say no. Perhaps it truly was. "Um. Yeah. You can. I have to warn you though, I snore sometimes." Genos smiled to himself. "I know Sensei, I can hear it even through the walls. The first night I thought you might've been choking to death." Saitama muttered a snarky rebuttal and punched him in the arm. Not once did it ever occur to either of them to change into their sleepwear or grab a pillow, too immersed in the moment, in each other's company. They fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

A/N: HIIIII im back omgjdkd
I know like only 4 of you are gonna read this ahshdjsjs but its fine, even that is enough for me
I havent watched opm in a wHILE, im gonna have to rewatch it but even so, i wanted to flesh out the characters a bit more in this au, i think itd be better if they werent exActly like canon
I also wrote this all in one night lmao enjoy