Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The familiar scent of solder and plastic filled the air, mixing with the faint hum of fluorescent lights overhead. The high school robotics lab was a mess of wires, circuit boards, and half-empty cans of soda—an organized chaos that suited Senku just fine. You sat beside him at the worktable, both of you hunched over the delicate motherboard you’d been assembling for the past hour. The upcoming robotics competition had the entire club on edge, but you and Senku? You worked in near-perfect sync, an unspoken rhythm developed after years of shared projects.

“Hand me that resistor,” Senku muttered, eyes locked on the circuit in front of him.

You passed it over without looking up, your own hands occupied with securing a bundle of tiny wires. “Oh, by the way, I can’t make it to the competition meeting on Sunday,” you said casually.

“Huh?” Senku barely reacted, focused on the delicate work in his hands.

“I have a date .”

The sound of snapping plastic made you look up just in time to see Senku freeze, his usual steady hands crushing a delicate connector in his grip. A few sparks flickered from the motherboard as the small piece of technology short-circuited right in front of you.

You blinked.

Senku stared down at the fried circuit, his face betraying no emotion. “…You what ?”

You stifled a laugh, reaching over to pry the ruined connector from his hand. “I said I have a date ,” you repeated, amused. “This Sunday. So I can’t go to the robotics event.”

Senku exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. “Well, there goes an hour of progress,” he muttered, turning the board over in his hands with a scrutinizing frown. He looked unimpressed but not entirely shocked, as if this development was merely a minor inconvenience to him. “Tch. You could’ve mentioned this before I started handling something delicate.”

You grinned. “Didn’t think you’d react like that .”

“I didn’t ‘react’—you just distracted me,” he corrected sharply, but there was something in his voice, something just barely off.

Your grin widened. “Are you jealous , Senku?”

Senku let out a scoff, grabbing another connector from the parts bin with more force than necessary. “Don’t make me laugh,” he said. “I just didn’t expect you to be interested in something as statistically prone to failure as a blind date .”

“You sound awfully bitter about it,” you teased, nudging him with your elbow. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. He seems nice.”

Senku didn’t look up from the circuit board, though his jaw tensed slightly. “Right. And where exactly are you meeting this supposed ‘nice’ guy?”

You tilted your head. “Why do you wanna know? Worried about me?”

“No. Just wondering how far I’ll have to travel to collect the remains of your dignity when this inevitably goes south.”

You rolled your eyes, laughing. “Have a little faith in me, scientist.”

He huffed, turning back to his work. “Yeah, yeah. Just don’t come crying to me when it turns out to be a waste of time.”

You waved him off, but if you had been paying closer attention, you might’ve noticed the way his fingers clenched just a little too tightly around the soldering iron.

Sunday Evening… 

The café was nice. Cozy. Dimly lit with warm hanging lights, the kind of place perfect for a casual first date. You had dressed a little nicer than usual, feeling that familiar buzz of nervous excitement as you sat at a small table near the window.

And waited.

And waited.

And—well.

You checked your phone. Thirty minutes past the agreed time. No messages. No missed calls. Nothing.

You exhaled sharply, setting your phone down on the table. Well, damn. You’d been stood up.

You weren’t devastated , exactly. More annoyed than anything. You’d wasted a perfectly good evening for this?

“Wow,” came a familiar voice from above you. “Called it.”

You didn’t have to look up to know who it was.

Senku stood there, hands shoved in his jacket pockets, his expression somewhere between smug and exasperated. His usual school hoodie was swapped out for a casual, oversized jacket, and his white hair was even messier than normal, a sure sign he hadn’t actually planned to be here.

“…Don’t say it,” you warned, leaning back in your seat.

“Oh, I’m definitely saying it.” He pulled out the chair across from you and sat down without asking. “I told you this was going to happen.”

You sighed dramatically. “Yes, Senku. You were right. I was wrong. Go ahead and gloat.”

He smirked, leaning his chin on his palm. “Nah. I think watching you suffer is satisfying enough.”

You snorted despite yourself. “Gee, thanks.”

He shrugged, glancing over at the counter. “You order yet?”

“No. Was too busy, y’know, being stood up .”

“Well,” he said, stretching, “guess I’m your date now.”

You blinked. “Wait, what?”

Senku raised a brow. “What, you’d rather sit here and mope?”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “…You just happened to be in this café?”

“Obviously.”

You folded your arms. “Uh-huh. And the robotics competition?”

“Sent someone else.” He waved a hand dismissively. “Figured it’d be a good test to see if they could handle things without me micromanaging. Besides, this is way more entertaining.”

You huffed. “So selfless of you.”

“Right?” He leaned back in his chair, completely unfazed. “Truly, I’m a model citizen.”

You stared at him, skepticism written all over your face. “So you just—what? Skipped a robotics event you were dying to go to just to—” You paused, tilting your head. “Wait a second. Did you plan this?”

Senku scoffed. “Oh, please. I’m not some cheesy rom-com protagonist, planning out dramatic rescues.”

You squinted at him. “Uh-huh. So you didn’t suspect I’d get stood up and conveniently be here?”

He shrugged, utterly unapologetic. “It was a strong hypothesis.”

You groaned, dragging a hand down your face. “Unbelievable.”

Senku grinned. “You should be thanking me, you know. Instead of wallowing in misery, now you get to enjoy a meal with a much more interesting date.”

“Wow,” you deadpanned. “What an honor.” You gave him a long look before shaking your head with a sigh. “You are so insufferable .”

“And yet, here I am, keeping you company.” He leaned back, looking absurdly pleased with himself. “What do you want? I’ll order.”

You hesitated, then finally cracked a small smile. “Fine. Surprise me.”

Senku gave a lazy salute before heading to the counter, leaving you watching him with an unreadable expression.

Maybe it wasn’t such a wasted evening after all.

Senku returned a few minutes later with two drinks in hand, setting one in front of you before taking his seat again. You glanced down at the cup suspiciously.

“Please don’t tell me you ordered me something weird just to mess with me.”

He smirked. “As if I’d waste a perfectly good toxin on something as boring as coffee.”

You took a tentative sip, expecting something awful—but instead, the familiar taste of your favorite drink hit your tongue. You raised an eyebrow.

“Huh. You actually got it right.”

Senku sipped his own drink, looking completely unbothered. “I’m not completely oblivious. You order the same thing every time we end up at a café.”

You tilted your head at him. “And here I thought you only paid attention when formulas and chemical compounds were involved.”

“Tch.  Always underestimating me, aren’t we?” He huffed quietly.

You rolled your eyes with a smile, tapping your fingers against the table. Now that the sting of being stood up had faded, you found yourself relaxing. Senku wasn’t exactly an ideal date , but at least he was entertaining.

“So,” he drawled, resting his chin on his palm again, “what’s the story with this guy? Who set you up?”

You took another sip of your drink. “A friend from class. Apparently, he’s her cousin or something. She kept saying we’d totally hit it off.”

Senku snorted. “Clearly, he didn’t share that sentiment.”

“Yeah, yeah, rub it in.” You sighed dramatically, flopping forward against the table. “God, I can’t believe I actually put effort into looking nice for this.”

Senku glanced at you, and for a split second, something flickered behind his sharp gaze—something almost thoughtful. But it was gone before you could place it.

“Eh, you didn’t completely waste your effort,” he said casually, taking another sip of his drink.

You blinked. Then, grinning, you leaned in. “Was that a compliment, Ishigami?”

“Tch. Don’t push your luck.”

You laughed, sitting up again. “But you showed up looking like you just rolled out of bed.” You gestured vaguely to his hoodie and jacket combo. “Was this your plan all along? To casually stumble in and steal my date’s spot?”

Senku smirked. “Not my fault the guy’s an unreliable statistical anomaly. I’m just filling in.”

“Uh-huh.” You shot him a knowing look before propping your chin on your hands. “Well, since you’re my date now, you’d better be interesting.”

“Oh, please.” Senku scoffed. “I’ve been plenty interesting— Try keeping up, genius .”

You rolled your eyes with a playful groan. “Oh no. I’ve trapped myself on a date with the Senku Ishigami. I’ll never know peace again.”

“Damn right.”

It didn’t take long for the conversation to slip into its usual rhythm—sharp banter, exaggerated arguments over the real best way to build a motherboard, and you making exaggerated gasps every time Senku said something borderline unromantic 

“Dating is just two people acknowledging each other’s existence for an extended period of time.” 

“Jesus, Senku. ”

At some point, you swiped one of the sugar packets from the table and started absentmindedly playing with it, flipping it between your fingers. “Y’know,” you said, “I don’t even care about the guy, but it is kinda humiliating to get stood up like that.”

Senku raised a brow. “Why? Because you wasted your time?”

You huffed. “More like because I hate the idea of someone thinking I’m not even worth rejecting properly. At least tell me you’re not interested to my face , y’know?”

Senku was quiet for a moment, watching as you flicked the sugar packet between your fingers. Then he smirked.

“Well, clearly he’s an idiot with zero grasp of statistics, so it’s not exactly a you problem.”

You snorted. “Great. That’s exactly the scientific reassurance I needed.”

“You’re welcome,” he said smugly before taking another sip of his drink. Then, with the most casual tone in the world, he added, “Besides, I’d have rejected you to your face.”

You choked on your drink.

Senku watched in mild amusement as you coughed, pounding your chest with your fist. “ Excuse me? ” you wheezed.

“I’m just saying,” he said, smirking. “If I were the one rejecting you, I’d at least do it properly. Maybe with a full PowerPoint presentation explaining my reasoning.”

“Oh my God , you’re such a prick.”

“A thorough prick,” he corrected smugly.

You rolled your eyes, laughing despite yourself. The conversation continued like that—easy, natural, the kind of dynamic that felt so you and Senku .

At some point, the café started closing, and the two of you wandered outside, walking down the sidewalk with no particular destination in mind. The cool night air felt refreshing, the streets quiet aside from the occasional passing car.

It was one of those unspoken things—you both just kept walking , shoulders bumping occasionally, conversation flowing like neither of you wanted to go home just yet.

Somehow, you ended up at the park. It wasn’t planned, but when you spotted an empty bench under a wide stretch of open sky, you flopped down onto it with a sigh, patting the space next to you.

Senku raised a brow. “What, you’re tired already?”

“Shut up and sit down, genius . My feet hurt.”

With an exaggerated sigh, he dropped onto the bench beside you, stretching his legs out in front of him. The night air was crisp, cool enough to be refreshing but not unpleasant. Above, the sky stretched wide and endless, stars flickering between wisps of clouds.

You tilted your head back, staring up at them. “You ever wonder what people were thinking when they named constellations? Like, how the hell did they look at a bunch of dots and go, ‘Oh yeah, totally a lion’?”

“Humanity’s always been obsessed with finding patterns,” Senku snorted. “We make our own meaning in a seemingly meaningless world. It’s how we cope.”

He leaned back against the bench, eyes flicking toward the sky as he raised a hand, finger tracing an invisible shape. “That’s Leo, the lion.”

You squinted. “That’s a triangle.”

“It’s a sickle,” he corrected. “The front half of the lion.”

“I still see a triangle.”

Senku groaned. “This is why humanity struggles.”

You laughed, nudging him with your elbow. “Alright, smart guy, what else?”

He hummed, eyes scanning the sky before pointing again. “That’s Orion—the hunter. One of the easiest to spot.”

You followed his finger, noting the three bright stars in a row. “Huh. That one I actually recognize.”

Senku smirked. “Congratulations. Maybe there’s hope for you yet.”

“Gee, thanks.”

The two of you sat there for a while, Senku rattling off constellation names while you either listened or outright mocked them. Eventually, you sighed, tilting your head toward him.

“Alright, which one reminds you of me ?”

Senku gave you a flat look. “What kind of question is that?”

You smirked. “Come on, Mr. Science, humor me.”

He huffed, but after a moment, his gaze flicked back up to the stars. He was quiet for a few seconds, like he was actually considering it. Then he pointed toward a small, faint cluster.

“The Pleiades,” he said. “Seven sisters. A little chaotic. Kinda scattered. But bright enough that sailors used them for navigation.”

You blinked, a little caught off guard. “Huh.”

He glanced at you. “What?”

You shook your head, smiling. “Nothing. Just didn’t think you’d actually have an answer.”

Senku smirked, leaning back against the bench again. “You asked. I delivered. As usual.”

You rolled your eyes, but your smile didn’t fade.

The two of you sat in silence for a while, the quiet hum of the city in the distance. It wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything, it felt easy . Like the kind of quiet that only existed between people who didn’t need to fill every second with words.

Eventually, Senku let out a breath and pushed himself up from the bench. “Alright, time to wrap up this thrilling social experiment.”

You groaned. “Ugh, fine.” Stretching, you got up, stuffing your hands into your jacket pockets. “Not a bad date, all things considered.”

Senku smirked. “Of course not. I was here.”

You shot him a look but didn’t argue. As you started heading off, you heard him call out behind you.

“Oi.”

You turned. Senku was standing with his hands shoved in his pockets, watching you with an unreadable expression. Then, in a casual tone, he asked, “You good?”

You blinked.

It wasn’t much . Just a simple question. But somehow, it hit harder than any grand speech could have.

You smiled. “Yeah, I’m good.”

Senku held your gaze for a second longer, like he was making sure you weren’t just saying that. Then he nodded. “Good.”

You rolled your eyes. “Wow, you really do care.”

“Tch. Don’t get used to it.”

You laughed, giving him a mock salute before turning on your heel and heading off.

And if Senku stood there for a few extra seconds, watching you disappear down the path before finally leaving—well. That was nobody’s business but his own.