Your heart's a mess

[wounds]

Who: Genos, Squalo & YOU
What: A performance
When: Feb 12
Where: On stage at some club
Warnings: ... Squalo?

[Check those sweet top levels]

Comments

[wounds]

[Genos practically freezes as soon as he lays eyes on Saitama.

This is the person he put on a pedestal for so long, the person he would have done anything for. He said, right to his face, that no matter what happened he would follow him.

It rings true in his heart, but false in his mind.

Instead of perking up at the sight of him, he backs away. He has no idea how he wants to approach- or even if he wants to approach at all, and so-]

Leave me alone.

[heroforfun]

[Whoa. What? Saitama blinks, surprised.]

Whoa. Is it not safe?

[He looks around, assuming that the guards are on to him.]

[wounds]

[He doesn't know if it's safe for Saitama or not...

He wraps an arm around himself and starts backing away.]

I don't want to see you. I don't... ever want to see you again.

[It takes him a long time to spit the words out, and he looks conflicted about it. Does he really mean it?]

[heroforfun]

[Wow. He's used to being rejected in a bunch of different ways, but this one kinda sucks. He just sort of holds out the CD.]

Uh. I listened to the whole thing. I was wondering if you'd sign it, or something. That's what fans do, right?

[wounds]

[His heart, no, it's his core now- either way, it's screaming that no, he wants to see Saitama every day of his life. But his head is saying that's a terrible idea, that Saitama was the one who murdered his family. And yet... and yet...

He takes the CD, writes his name just as exactly as he used to.

His voice is soft, timid as he asks.]

... Did you like it?

[heroforfun]

Yeah... your voice sounds great, dude. I never knew. You weren't joking about that perfect ear for pitch, or whatever you called it...

[wounds]

[He's always known he's had a perfect ear but... He's also sure he's never mentioned it to anyone.]

... What are you talking about? I don't know you.

[He just thought he did...]

[heroforfun]

Faaaa. Right? Nah, I probably screwed it up again. "Fa" just isn't as good for settling into a bath as "aah".

[wounds]

[... Saitama-Makoto- whatever his name is- he's sharp again.

... Again?

They're in a bathhouse, soaking in it together, and he listens to Saitama's pitch and attempts to correct it.

He misses it, he longs for it- he wants to be with Saitama again. But the hold Pride has on him is strong.]

... I really... I don't know you, Makoto. Don't... act like you know me.

[heroforfun]

Yeah. We're strangers.

[Shrug.]

But, uh. You don't have to look so sad. You okay? Are you upset about me shooting you down?

[wounds]

[It hurts to hear it. Even if he knows, logically it's better this way.

It's better that he has nothing to do with Saitama for the rest of his life.]

I'll be fine. We're strangers, so there's no reason you should care about me.

[Saitama doesn't care. He never really cared.]

[heroforfun]

[Why does this feel like a goodbye? Urgh... he's not good with stuff like this. What's going on?]

You're the reason I'm here at all.

[Here at this performance, or here in this universe.]

[wounds]

[A lot of things, behind the scenes of the labels. Genos wants two opposing things when Saitama's here like this- to run far, far away from him and to stick, dedicated, to his side.]

... Do you really care about me?

[heroforfun]

Well... yeah. It's not, like, a "dating" like thing or anything. But I do.

What's wrong, Genos?

[wounds]

[He cares and usually that would mean glowing a bit in victory- but now he just looks lost.

What's he supposed to do with information like that?]

How can you say that you care when you're the reason my family died?

[heroforfun]

Whoa. What?

[A lot of things are not that startling to Saitama. Very, very few things. Even Squalo couldn't get the slightest bit of concern out of him with all that posturing.

But now Saitama looks utterly baffled.]

[wounds]

Don't act like that. Don't act like you don't know what you've done.

[heroforfun]

I don't! What're you talking about??

[wounds]

[Reasonably he'd back down, Saitama doesn't seem to know. But he's certain he's right about this, the brainwashing went deep.]

You were working with the Mad Cyborg this entire time. And you- you never told me. You just let me follow you around, put you on a pedestal-

[heroforfun]

Hey! Whoa, no, no no--

[He looks around, and keeps his voice down again.]

You seriously think I'd hurt people?? That actually seems "in character" for me?? Is it because I'm bald?

[wounds]

[He wants, so badly, to believe Saitama. So he deflates from his anger and just looks lost all over again.]

I don't... I don't know. I feel like I don't know anything anymore.

[heroforfun]

Well-- okay. We can't talk here. But at least listen to me this time, Genos: it's not fun to hurt people.

[And that's it. That's all the reason he needs to not be a villain. There's plenty of reasons more, but that to him is the most compelling.]

[wounds]

That's it? That's your reason?

[What's he supposed to do with knowledge like that?]

[heroforfun]

There's a lot of reasons! But that one matters most. You should know why!

[Because he's a hero for fun. That's it. And he knows that Genos knows that somewhere in that mess that's his head right now.]

[wounds]

[Somewhere he should know that, but he's an absolute mess. He only has bits an pieces of his memory back, and memories that aren't even true.]

I don't!