𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐤 ⤿ 𝘪. 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘬𝘶 ✔

𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠

You and Senku hiked your way up to a spot by the beach. It was a spot both of you knew all too well. The spot was just by the sea and was shaded by a palm tree. The two of you were just in time to witness the sunset. You settled down with Senku and placed the snacks you bought from the convenience store earlier. Not missing a beat, you grabbed an all too familiar drink and immediately took a sip. Senku wore an amused smirk and plopped down next to you, "Care to tell me why you're so obsessed with strawberry milk?"

You paused to think but your train of thought was immediately interrupted by the beautiful nature that lies in front. Senku smiles and turns to bask in the view as well. In a time where the sun kisses the sea, the birds soar through the sky and sing melodies that lull you to peaceful tranquility.

"The sky has been really beautiful nowadays." You trail off, not even knowing where you were going with this conversation.

Senku nods with a solemn smile, "Yeah, it has."

"Thank you for being able to live with me under it."

He stops to look at you. Suddenly, the thought of romance wasn't so bad to him anymore. Senku frowns. He couldn't do that to you. Not when your friendship would be jeopardized. He'd rather keep these growing feelings to himself like he always has. It'd be illogical to risk losing you if it affected him that much.

"Don't get all sappy on me now, that's too cliché." He chuckles and threw you an onigiri. You pout and thanked him once again. As much as he tried to hide it, you knew he appreciated what you said even though it was cheesy as hell.

"So..." Senku starts.

You hum in response, waiting for his next move. "I take it that you know stone statues of birds have been found everywhere recently, right?"

At the mention of the topic, you perk up. "Yeah, even Yuzuriha and Taiju mentioned it to me not too long ago." You say as you took a sip from your drink. Senku nods, as if deep in thought. "You think those are real birds, do you?" He asks. You stop to think about it, surely there would be a logical reason as to why these statues are showing up so suddenly.

You shrug, "As crazy as it sounds, yeah. What type of lunatic would even go out of their way to carve bird statues just to place them all around Japan as if it was a nationwide Easter egg hunt?"

Senku chuckles silently at your comparison and leans back to look at the sky that now had a dark blue tint, some stars were even visible. "Whatever it is, I'll be sure to find out." He states confidently with a matching smirk. You look at his frame more clearly. His ruby eyes had stars in them at the mention of a new project he could work on figuring out. He looked so genuinely excited that it irked you.

You couldn't compete with science when it came to Senku. That was the only thing that clouded his head after all. It also irritated you because it was one of the things you liked about him. He was so dedicated to his work, it made you look at him so highly. It had never occurred to you how high the pedestal you put him up on was. So close, yet so unreachable.

"I know you will." You finally say with a half-smile, slowly succumbing to the peacefulness this place brings, leaning upon the palm tree and closing your eyes.

"I swear, you said we'd be stargazing, why are you asleep." Senku sighs at your tranquil expression and smiles. "What do you even do when I'm not around that makes you so tired?" At this point, he knew you were dozing off and couldn't hear him anymore. Out of habit, he let you lean on his shoulder. It gave him deja vu.

Senku chuckled dryly. Was he really satisfied with doing these gestures platonically? Actually, he doesn't even need to answer this. He knows it all too well.

He wanted you. He wanted to let you know how he felt. As out of character as it was for him to care, it just came naturally when it was with you. Senku never really understood his feelings at first. He just assumed that he thought highly of you and your intellect and got drawn in. Boy, was he wrong. Before he even knew what hit him, he was already caring for you more than he should have as his role of being your childhood friend.

Your stirring during your sleep broke Senku's train of thought. You looked uncomfortable and stressed. A bad dream perhaps? Whatever it was, Senku didn't want to see you like that. He didn't exactly know how to comfort you so he did the next best thing, even though he knew you'd be pissed at him.

"Hey wake up, you look stupid stop making that face."

That wasn't exactly comforting, but he tried his best.

You open your eyes and glare at him, but your anger quickly dissipated as you remember that small nightmare you had. It wasn't exactly bad, but it put you in a mildly bad mood. "Fuck you." Was the only thing you could say as you rubbed your eyes and the stray tears from when you were still asleep. "You're welcome." Senku chuckles and messes with your hair.

"What happened?" He asked, referring to your nightmare. You contemplated if you should tell him, "I don't wanna talk about it."

Senku frowns at this but doesn't pry. You'd come around eventually. You always do.

A comfortable silence enveloped the both of you. The sound of waves crashing together flooded your eardrums and gave you serenity once again. Though the nightmare you had was definitely cliché, it still got you afraid nonetheless. In your sleep, your brain thought it would be a good idea to show you what it would be like if you were to confess your feelings to Senku.

His reply gave you deja vu, goosebumps, and disappointment all at the same time.

"Sorry but, I just don't think all this romance shit would benefit me in any way besides having someone who would worry and take care of me. I'm not interested."

He literally took the words right out of your mouth, it irked you.

"Well would you look at that, it's Andromeda and Perseus."

You look up to the sky and sighed, recalling the story of the two lovers. Andromeda was doomed to die in the hands of a sea monster because of her boastful mother, Cassiopeia, who had an ego big enough that she claimed she was far more beautiful than the Nereids, the daughters of Poseidon. In came Perseus who swooped in to save her in his winged horse. He won the right to marry her and lived happily ever after. After they died of old age, the gods placed them in the sky as a lesson for the ages.

Well, the story was a bit darker than that. It also included Perseus murdering his rival for Andromeda using Medusa's decapitated head.

But we don't go there, let's just pretend that this story is all unicorns and rainbows.

"Did you just went through their story in your head?"

"...No."

"You totally did, don't even deny it you nerd."

"Shut up or I'll send you to the sky like the gods did to them."

"That's the weakest threat I've ever heard from you."

"Fuck you."