Archive of Our Own

It was not often Senku needed parental approval: don't get him wrong, he knows his father loves him deeply, unconditionally and enthusiastically, sometimes even a tad too loudly in his opinion, always parading his love for his son in any way possible, praising him to any person he had a conversation longer than three minutes with.

His father was, arguably, his number one supporter, willingly ready to commit great self sacrifices to make sure his son could have anything he needed to thrive and expand the wonderful mind he was born with, to experience as much as he could and learn everything he wanted to, allowing him to do things and visit places that would have baffled most adults and given other parents a handful of prematurely grey hair— all to satisfy his son’s thirst for knowledge.

His father was also, inarguably, a sap, always fishing for every ounce of affection his reserved son would give, a rough exterior enclosing a soft, kind heart, that still wouldn’t be moved at the sight of are you making puppy eyes at me? You are supposed to be the adult here, old man-

It was almost comical how Byakuya himself was the one fidgeting in front of his son, ears pink and the worst blush tinting his cheeks, while his hand gently grasped a smaller, more delicate one, holding it carefully and with evident affection, a wobbly smile on his face as he introduced his dear son to her.

A match made in heaven, born among the bright stars of the cosmos, a love developing so fast and so deeply it was almost baffling, yet something so genuine no one who witnessed it would be able to doubt.

Senku wasn’t one for sentimentalism, one to believe in the idea of soulmates or fated pairs, of a destiny already written and bound to happen regardless of one’s will.

And yet, on the faithful day, enveloped by the hot humid air of Japan’s summer, a red bowtie around his neck and a mic in his hand, he was the one giving a very scientific and very heart warming speech on the theory of how stardust, dispersed in the universe billions of years ago from ancient Supernovas and now the literal foundation of human bodies, could bring two people, born from the same star and bonded together on a molecular level, to find each other again in life, finally reuniting to be whole again.

So, surrounded by people who supported, trusted and loved him, able to freely (but maybe not openly, that's cringey-) give all that love, respect and affection back, Senku didn’t need parental approval: it was already there, in plain sight for anyone to see.

But, regardless of all that love, freedom and independence, Senku Ishigami still is, in the eyes of the law, a minor, and therefore sometimes literally obliged to provide his guardians’ written approval for things that are, in his very humble opinion, the dumbest thing ever, what do you mean I need my father to sign this for me-

So, when his school required a parent’s signature on one of its documents and newly wed Byakuya Ishigami had to briefly leave Japan for one of his NASA courses, it left Senku’s new legal guardian to make their appearance on the school’s grounds.

Senku could feel a headache coming.

“What do you mean you need the old man’s signature on this?” Ishigami Senku asks, annoyed at having to leave the lab after being informed by a teacher that the headmistress wanted to speak to him.

He digs his pinky in his ear, sprawlingly sitting on one of the comfy plush chairs in the office, lab coat pulling on the buttons where it stretches around his body, staring directly into the dean’s eyes with the most bored expression on his face.

The headmistress, an older woman with dark hair neatly knotted in a bun at the nape of her neck, feels her eye twitch; she likes Ishigami, she truly does: he is a dutiful student with the highest grades in the whole school, a real prodigy who often brings fame and prestige to the institute’s name, thanks to all the competitions, festivals and fairs the school enters.

Still, that doesn’t mean that he is easy to deal with: he is often rude, uncaring of the social hierarchy and politeness customs of his country, blunt and sharp in ways she and the teachers almost don't expect, scoldings barely contained by the knowledge that the boy doesn’t mean to be difficult and that is simply the way he is.

But heavens above, he truly can be a handful at times, “borrowing” school supplies, walking around with chemicals and scientific tools and getting himself and his friends in trouble or, worse, danger.

And god, she can not forget that explosion that one time: “A little miscalculation, but no need to worry m’am, I will get it right next time!” A first year Senku confidently stated, a smirk on his lips, looking up at her from where he was sitting on one of the beds in the infirmary, covered in soot and with the tips of his hair partially burnt.

The lab had been out of order for a week.

A month later, they won the fair.

She couldn't be too mad.

Still.

She pushes her glasses up on her nose, hand reaching for a sheet of paper on her desk, “Ishigami-kun, this is a standard procedure, I have asked all the students’ guardians to provide this signature and you are one of the few last ones missing. Do you think your father would be able to come to school to sign this?”

She obviously knows about the man’s job, though she is unaware of his schedule, so she adds, “Is he in the country?”

The boy crosses his arms on his chest, sliding further down the chair, “He isn’t, he left a few days ago. Can’t this wait? I can have him sign it when he comes back in two weeks.”

She looks at him, considering, but already knowing the answer, “It truly cannot,” she sighs “these legal matters are truly a thorn in my flesh.”

She removes her glasses, leaving them on the desk as she pinches the bridge of her nose with her fingers, “Do you know that they won’t even allow me to digitalize this form? Parents have to physically sign the paper, and I have to witness it, so I can’t even hand these to the students to bring home.”

Her rigid posture loosens as she mutters, more to herself than to the boy in front of her, “Truly, don’t these people realize that not all parents are available at all times?”

She straightens up again, mentally skipping through the possibilities, “Well, not much we can do if your father is currently out of the country. I might have to make a few phone calls, but what other options do we have?” She looks down, moving sheets of paper and post-it notes around, “This form requires a guardian signature after all…”

She looks up when the boy startles in his chair.

She pauses, a questioning look on her face as she notices the teen’s expression.

One thing she knows for sure about Ishigami Senku is that the boy has no poker face and can't lie to save his life. She had realized this long ago now.

A consequence of his bluntness, she has always assumed.

“What is it? Do you have an idea?” She questions, as the boy’s eyes leave her face to glance outside the window, an almost sheepful look on his face at having been caught.

That expression doesn’t last long, as he lets out a rather loud and, in her opinion, rude sigh, scratching the back of his neck with his finger nails; he speaks, lowly, almost defeatedly, “If it really can’t wait, I could ask her to come…” he frowns, and it must be something that he truly dreads, she thinks as she watches his body going slack as another sigh leaves him.

She is puzzled: she has never seen him with this look on his face.

“...her?” The headmistress inquires, confused.

He straightens up again, clearing his throat as he pins her with his eyes, “...my step mother. I can ask her to come and sign it. That should suffice in Byakuya’s absence, right?”

She blinks, surprised, “I was not aware that you had a step mother…” she trails off, observing her student’s reaction: she is a seasoned headmistress, after all, and she had the misfortune, through the years, of getting to know the darker sides of parenthood.

Her job taught her that not everybody is fit to be a parent.

Ishigami's face is a bit tight, but there is no apprehension in his eyes, just a vague sense of annoyance, though she is almost sure it is not directed at the unknown woman.

The boy doesn’t look concerned. She mentally lets out a sigh of relief.

She goes on, “...but yes, of course, if she is legally your guardian, her signature will suffice. We can arrange for a meeting as soon as possible. Would tomorrow morning work for her?”

Ishigami pats at the pocket on the labcoat’s front, looking for something, “I’ll give her a quick call.” he then fishes his phone out and stands, leaving the room without a word; he doesn’t go far, as she is able to hear his muttering voice right outside of her office, door uncaringly left wide open.

Really, for someone so smart, that boy could be quite infuriating.

She smiles still, softly. Ishigami had quite a few shortcomings, but he is still one of her most highly regarded students.

She eyes the blank form in her hands.

Her curiosity has been picked: she truly wants to meet the woman who is able to make Ishigami Senku make a face like that.

She just hopes her earlier assumption is correct.

“So, Lillian is coming to school tomorrow!?” Taiju all but screams around a mouthful of pork bun, bits of meat going flying with the power of his shout.

The boys and Yuzuriha are sitting on the school rooftop, having a snack while enjoying a bit of warmth before the sun sets, winter quickly approaching and days getting shorter.

Senku swats at his best friend’s chest, “Could you be any louder? I think Byakuya couldn’t hear you all the way to Texas!”

Taiju looks around frantically, a bite of pork bun clearly going down the wrong pipe as he starts coughing loudly.

Yuzuriha gently pats his back in comfort.

Senku can feel a headache coming.

“She is. The headmistress and I arranged a meeting during first period since, as you know, she can’t really be seen carelessly walking around,” he frowns, remembering the dean’s face when he presented her with a non-disclosure agreement form he had her sign: she had looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

“I made a plan to avoid as many people as possible, I mapped the least used hallways and tried to work around class time based on the school’s timetable,” he sticks his pinky in his ear, ”too many people in this school…”, he mutters to himself.

Yuzuriha smiles up at him, “So, she is coming after all! With Byakuya-san all the way to America and the deadline so close, this was truly the only option... but, Senku, we have known about this form for a while! Why did you only bring it up now?”

Taiju smiles, having recovered quickly from his coughing fit, proudly pointing at his chest with his thumb, “That’s right Senku! Even I had granny come to school to sign it!” He exclaims, affection clear as he mentions his grandmother; she and her husband have been taking care of the boy since his parents’ passing.

He loves both of them deeply.

Senku looks away, the tips of his ears reddening.

“… It has slipped my mind…” he mumbles, shame bleeding through his voice as the implications of his words set in.

Taiju and Yuzuriha both stare at him, the loud boy’s eyes going comically wide, while the girl looks baffled. “You… forgot? You?”

Senku grips the Monster can cradled in his hands, his face scrunching up in something that is definitely not a pout, as he answers, annoyed, “They told us while Byakuya was still in space, and then, when Romeo and Juliet got back, we were all busy planning the wedding, so I had other things to think about. I had to shift priorities around and this went to the bottom of the list and, by the time the headmistress brought it up again, the timing was terrible, so here we are.”

Yuzuriha is holding a choko-milk box in her hands that she has been slowly sipping through their talk, her short brown hair swaying in the soft breeze; she had it cut months ago, a couple of weeks after she and the big oaf got together, after a little sewing accident had it getting caught in her sewing machine, forcing her to even it out around her jawline.

She loves it.

“It’s practical!” She claims.

She fidgets with the milk box’s paper straw, “...it’s not gonna be a problem, though, is it, Senku? I mean, she is used to keeping a low profile…”

The news of world-wide famous pop star Lillian Weinberg getting married had already traveled across the world a few months prior, even though the identity of her husband had been kept a secret: not only to preserve both Byakuya and Senku’s privacy, but also to allow her to live her new wed life in peace, without the fear of being followed around by paparazzi.

Journalism laws were much stricter in Japan compared to the States, which is why she likes to spend as much time as possible in Tokyo; still, both her and Byakuya are, most of the time, required to leave to go back to the USA for work, so she tries to maintain a low profile, often walking around full incognito.

Senku huffs, “She is, but you also know her, she is kind to a fault: if she gets recognized and surrounded by fans, she won’t be able to deny them an autograph…” he slouches, back hitting the wall behind him as he slides down, sprawling on the floor.

“I just hope nothing like that happens.” He concludes, looking up at the sky.

They sit in silence for a few seconds, silence that is almost instantly broken by the sound of giggles.

Senku side-eyes Yuzuriha, who is now covering her mouth as her body shakes with laughter.

“You really enjoy seeing me being miserable, I see.” Senku deadpans while Taiju stares adoringly at his girlfriend.

She shakes her head, smile still tugging at her lips, “Of course not Senku! I was just thinking that if Gen-kun saw you right now, he wouldn’t be able to contain himself! You are acting like you were asked to fly to the moon, not to have a paper signed!” 

She openly laughs now, followed by Taiju’s loud bark of laughter.

Senku’s cheeks redden slightly, muttering to himself that he would rather do that than whatever this is— sheepish at the mention of the magician: they had met at one of those fancy galas Lillian and Byakuya are often invited to, weeks before the wedding; he had tagged along and that’s how the two boys got to meet.

Even though the two young men had had an opinionated bickering at first, they almost instantly hit it off, spending the majority of the evening tucked together in a corner of the big room arguing about god knows what, bringing up theories and studies of Absolutely not Senku-chan! That’s not what Freud-chan meant!, of Yes, sure, what would a bogus magician even know about that?, and Bogus!? Excuse-me!

At the end of the night they had exchanged phone numbers, so they each could prove to the other who the one in the right was .

They hadn’t stopped texting since.

They had grown… close, over the following months, and Senku found himself surprised by how well he and the mentalist clicked, reaching a level of emotional closeness he never had with anyone before, not even Taiju or Yuzuriha.

Gen understands him before he can even speak, a blessing for someone as emotionally awkward as Senku, and the mentalist had confided in him, months prior, that he had grown quite fond of the younger boy, allowing him to see parts of his character he hadn’t shown anyone before.

They work, in their unique, bizarre way.

Still, that doesn’t mean that Gen doesn’t love pestering Senku, poking him around with his words and riling him up at any chance he gets.

”Someone has to keep you on your toes, Senku-chan, or you’ll get soft!” He had proclaimed in front of the young scientist’s two childhood friends the first time the four of them met, thriving from the flustered faces of both Taiju and Yuzuriha as they realized the "trashy mentalist” their friend always talked about was the Asagiri Gen.

They still haven't forgiven him for not giving them heads ups.

“Well, whatever. Low hit, Ogawa, low hit.” Senku sticks his pinky in his ear, as his friends keep laughing.

He looks up again, noticing a small sparrow flying in the pink sky. “I just hope everything goes according to plan…” he concludes, softly, his friends smiling encouragingly
at him.

In true Senku Ishigami’s luck, nothing goes according to plan.

First of all, they are late. Catastrophically so.

Senku can feel a headache coming.

It is Byakuya’s fault, really: in order to keep the Ishigami-Weinberg family morale high, the three of them had decided to keep in touch as much as possible when they were apart, be it by using the family group chat to send daily pictures and texts, videocalling or watching their favourites series together on a digital videoroom, they always made time for each other.

This decision led them to watch a movie at 10 pm Japan, allowing Byakuya to wake up and work out first, leaving him time in the morning to spend with his family before heading to NASA’s headquarters to have lunch with his coworkers.

But the old man had insisted on watching Prometheus of all movies, which led Lillian to solemnly swear she was never going to leave Earth’s surface ever again, vetoing any other alien movie and  claiming that, had she had seen that movie before, she never would have gone to space.

So, thanks to a movie that is well over two hours long, the late hour and the tense state it left the poor woman in, the two of them had gone to bed at a rather late hour.

That wouldn't have been a problem per se (both of them were well acquainted with horrendous sleeping schedules), but it was definitely one of the causes of the disaster: because of the anxiousness the movie left Lillian with, she had decided to make herself some calming tea before going to bed, but the late hour must have hit her harder than she assumed, forgetting something rather important.

Which is why the two of them were woken up by the loud sound of the fire alarm beeping through the house, a thin cloud of smoke dancing in the air.

Leaving their respective rooms and running into the kitchen, they realized the kettle the woman had used to brew her camomille had been forgotten on the stove, flame turned on at low heat, causing the appliance to overheat, leading to its plastic components to melt and release into the air the most disgusting smell of burnt plastic that had coated their throats and made the air unbreathable.

They had to open every window of the house, clean up the mess and do the laundry to remove the stench of burnt plastic from their clothes, the tablecloth and the curtains.

All of that at three in the goddamn morning.

A couple of hours later, they both stumbled in their respective beds, but not before Lillian profusely apologized to Senku, eyes bright with unshed tears as the gravity of the situation finally hit her.

That could have been deadly.

The first thing Senku did when he woke up the next morning, dark circles worse than usual and eyes dry from the poor sleep, was open the Amazon app on his phone and order a new kettle.

An electric one.

“Dammit!” Senku swears, hands gripping his hair.

He is riding in the passenger seat of the family car, a small inconspicuous grey Toyota, speeding through the busy roads of Tokyo.

Due to the chaos of the previous night, both Senku and Lillian woke up groggy, sleepy and late, so they both decided on having a simple breakfast and taking a quick shower, though neither of them had time to wash their hair. Senku could still smell burnt plastic on himself.

Good morning world, he thinks bitterly.

Lillian glances at him, sun glasses masking her face, as she switches lanes, “I’m sorry Senku! This is all my fault! How late are we?” She asks, voice high and tense.

The boy slumps in his seat, “We aren’t late per se, but I would have liked to arrive before morning club time ended.” He looks outside his window, “That way we could avoid bumping into too many people…” his brows furrow, mind already racing at a thousand miles per hour, calculating.

At this pace, they would reach the school's grounds in 14 minutes.

They could still make it.

“Well,” he thinks, ”could have gone worse.”

Had Gen been there, he would have chastised him for that thought.

Because it did get worse.

Seven minutes away from their objective, they got stuck into traffic, long line caused by the collision of two vehicles; no one had gotten hurt, but it had taken a while for the two angry men to get back into their respective cars and drive away to solve the problem somewhere else, allowing the other drivers access back to the road.

Gen often claimed that Senku’s horrendous bad luck was his own fault.

Senku is almost inclined to agree, as he feels his eye twitch.

Senku doesn’t believe in luck though so the mentalist must be rubbing off on him more than he thinks.

They managed to arrive at the school’s parking area twelve minutes after his calculated time, making it 7 minutes before 8 am, which was the worst time they could have possibly gotten there: the school gate closes at 8am every day, thirty minutes before class time starts, which means that all the students not participating in club activities were crowding the entrance and the hall, sitting on the benches outside, changing their shoes or grabbing a quick snack at the vending machines.

From where he is seated, he could see the gardening club members picking up their tools from where they must have been working on a flowerbed at the school’s entrance, which meant club time was also over and all the students were bound to soon fill the hallways.

Senku can feel a headache coming.

“This place is lovely!” Lillian exclaims, still seated in the driver seat, eyeing the building, “Japanese schools are so different from the ones in the States! I have never been inside one! Is it true that you change your shoes at the entrance? So respectful!”

Senku looks at her, taking in her light cream colored blazer and pants; she is still wearing her sunglasses and has her long blonde hair tied loosely in a bun, hiding the length.

Overall, she looks well put together and elegant.

She is gonna stick out like a sore thumb.

He sighs as he grabs a surgical mask from his back pack and hands it to her.

“It’s true, we do it to keep the school clean. Anyway, it’s time to go, or they are gonna lock us out.” He opens the car door, getting out, while Lillian puts the mask on and follows him.

They decided on the mask the previous day, when Senku got back from school; it was something they both agreed on, a mundane and inconspicuous way to hide Lillian’s face without looking suspicious.

They start walking toward the entrance quickly, trying not to catch too much attention.

It’s impossible.

Living in a country like Japan, where 95% of the population has naturally dark hair, the presence of any blonde foreigner, be it a tourist or an immigrant, will naturally catch people’s attention; together with her nice clothing and the fact that Lillian is wearing sun glasses at eight in the morning, their mere presence is more than enough to make several heads turn; a couple of students do a double take.

The boy sighs.

Senku intimately knows the feeling of looking different in a sea of fundamentally homogeneous people: his biological father had had albino genes, the reason for his own odd appearance, making him stand out whenever he went.

It was hard not to notice a boy with light hair and red eyes, after all.

He has never cared about it, though he is glad the genetic mutation hasn't had any negative impact on his eye sight, a common downside of the illness.

They quicken their steps.

The pair manages to reach the entrance, where Senku quickly changes his shoes while a nice older janitor hands Lillian some shoe covers, smiling kindly at her before leaving without a word.

Senku barely has time to open his mouth to tell her to follow him, when a loud voice booms, “Senku, Lillian, good morning!” Taiju’s greeting echoes in the hall, the brown haired boy approaching quickly, a big, bright smile on his face, all while Yuzuriha speeds up behind him, a hand tangled in her boyfriend’s school uniform’s jacket as she tries to shush him.

More heads turn. Someone whispers.

Senku bristles.

He sees Lillian's eyes brighten up, now sans glasses, lips clearly parting under the mask to greet her step son’s friends back, but her voice gets caught in her throat as Senku grabs both hers and Taiju’s wrists as he pulls them further down the hall while Yuzuriha smartly follows quietly.

Senku opens the door of an empty room, getting everyone inside before locking it behind him.

He rests his back against the wood panel as he eyes Taiju, who had at least the decency of looking apologetic.

“Tell me, big oaf, do you want the entire school to know of this before we even get to the dean’s office?” The young scientist says, tone dry but with no bite, watching as Taiju gives him a lopsided awkward smile.

“Sorry Senku, Lillian, I’m just happy to see you both!” He excitedly turns towards the older woman, who has removed her mask and is now exchanging soft greetings with Yuzuriha, both women smiling.

Taiju exclaims, excited, “Welcome to our school Lillian! We are happy to have you! Though, Senku, aren’t you guys late? You texted us, but didn’t tell us why!”

Lillian chimes in, “Hello Taiju-kun, thank you so much for the hospitality! I’m truly happy to be here! I have never been to a Japanese school before, it looks so different from what I’m used to!” She smiles at both young brunettes, “About the late hour, I fear that is my fault! Senku and I had quite a terrible experience last night…” Senku tunes her out while she explains to his friends the events of the previous night and morning.

He thinks.

Their appointment with the headmistress is at 8.30 am, which means they still have roughly 16 minutes before having to head up the stairs to reach the dean’s office, in order for them to be there on time.

They could stay here, though Taiju and Yuzuriha will have to leave to go to class soon, which means-

“-Senku dear, how do you say ”kettle” in Japanese?” Lillian’s voice breaks him out of his thoughts.

She has gotten better at the language in the last year, but she still has a lot to learn: Japanese is a very hard language after all and it’s also completely different from English in both phonetics and grammar, so it’s understandable that she is still missing some vocab.

Both Byakuya and Senku speak to her in Japanese, under her request, so that she can get better quicker.

She looks at him expectantly, smiling kindly.

Senku likes Lillian.

He obviously knew of her before Byakuya met her, thanks to her global fame, and the boy had always recognized her talent; he didn’t listen to her songs, but it was a matter of personal taste more than anything related to her skills.

After Byakuya got to meet her, a few weeks before the Soyuz's launch, Senku knew his father was already over the moon for her.

Literally.

”She is so kind, Senku, truly an angel! And she is so smart and witty and oh, so pretty too! And she likes my jokes!”

That last statement made the boy realize what had happened:

His father had lost his head for the pop singer.

Byakuya has always been a kind, sensible man, so it was logical that he would grow fond of Lillian, if she truly was the way he described her over their video calls.

He hadn’t expected Lillian to fall for the old man, though.

They are happy together. Senku knows.

It is impossible not to, actually, considering the two of them looked at each other like one hung the moon and the other the stars.

After meeting her, Senku got to know her personally too and he realized that Byakuya had been right: she was a genuinely kind woman, gentle and modest, even outside of her ”famous persona”, never once overstepping his boundaries and coming to understand him, as a person first and as a step son later.

He likes her, but mostly he likes the way she makes his old man smile.

Ugh. Cringe. He thinks.

It's the truth though.

Senku truly liked how things had worked out for them.

But being the son of two famous people is not easy.

Before Lillian, Senku was hardly bothered by his father’s career, even if ”first ever Japanese astronaut” Byakuya Ishigami was nationally renowned.

But being an astronaut made you famous in history books, not on Twitter, which meant that he, the newly acquired step son of famous pop star Lillian Weinberg, was bound to be put under a spotlight, if found out.

Senku wouldn't even have minded, if it wasn’t for the headaches that it caused; they had to be careful, or his daily life could seriously be compromised: he could be stalked, followed around or pestered by classmates and fans alike.

There had been theories about the identity of Lillian Weinberg's husband, of course, her fans quickly catching on the mysterious’ man nationality, given the pop star’s new living country, and there had been a handful of people bringing up Byakuya’s name, remembering how the two of them travelled together on the Soyuz.

Luckily, Lillian had worked with a few Japanese singers both before and after the wedding, which moved the spotlight on a few J-pop artists, allowing the Ishigami-Weinberg household to let out a loud sigh of relief.

Still. They have to be careful.

Senku lets out a soft, amused huff, a smile pulling at his lips as he steps away from the door, “The word you are looking for is ”Ketoru”, same as English, since it’s a borrowed word.”

He looks at his watch.

“We have roughly 20 minutes before the meeting, but I would prefer we waited at the dean’s office; big oaf, Yuzuriha, do you think you could help us reach it?” He looks at his friend expectantly.

Both brunettes nod, resolute smiles on their faces. “Good” Senku says, “Time to go then.” He turns around to open the door, all while Lillian puts the mask back on her face.

Time for Plan B, he thinks, as they step out.

The headmistress’ face when Lillian removes her mask is unforgettable.

Though, Senku thinks, I would make the same expression if I were to meet Neil Tyson…

The boy gets briefly lost in his thoughts as he looks at the dean fumbling, cheeks red as she and Lillian bow to each other. They all sit, as the headmistress starts to explain to them the content of the infamous form.

“I’m truly sorry I had to make you come all the way here, Weinberg-san.” The older woman says, standing up to bow deeply.

Lillian smiles awkwardly, hands rising in a placating gesture, as she answers, “It was no trouble, don’t worry! Also, there is no need to be so formal, m'am, I understand these things can be troublesome at times!”

The American singer found Japanese politeness customs to be quite confusing, but she has become more familiar with them in the past year; they still weird her out at times, though.

The headmistress smiles, relieved, back straightening, “Thank you for your understanding. Well, since we are already here, I think it would be good to upgrade some of Ishigami-kun’s documentation: I’d like to add your signature and data to his school file.”

She notices Lillian's face grow tight at the word data, so she quickly adds, “No need to worry, it’s 100% private, only the teaching body and I have the right to view them, and we are all forbidden from sharing any of its content. No one outside of these walls has access to these files.”

The headmistress understands the delicacy of the situation.

Ishigami’s step mother is famous, so much that even herself, an older woman with little to no interest in western music,  recognized her by her face alone, even with her foreigner traits.

No wonder the boy had her sign a non-disclosure agreement form.

She had been wondering about that all night.

They complete the infamous form and add all the needed signatures where needed, bringing the meeting to an end.

“That was the last signature I needed,” the headmistress says, rising from her seat, prompting both Senku and Lillian to follow her.

They reach the door, as the older woman adds, “thank you for your time, it was a real pleasure meeting you, Weinberg-san.” They all bow, though Senku merely lowers his head in half assed salute.

”This boy—” the headmistress thinks, exasperated.

“It was my pleasure, m’am! I’m glad I could help with Senku’s school troubles in his father’s absence." Lillian smiles, eyes bright, happy.

The headmistress goes on, “With Ishigami-san’s demanding job, I assume that, with your presence here now, it’s gonna be easier to follow Ishigami-kun’s daily school life.”

Not that the boy needs it, she thinks, he is smarter than most adults I know...

From the flat look the boy gives her, she thinks he agrees with her inner thought.

She knew that the boy had to live alone for long periods of time both during his father’s training and out-of-the-world commitment, and that he will continue to do so, due to his parents occupations, regardless of any concern the school board might bring up.

Still, as an educator, she knew the importance of a balanced family life, so she was glad that the teen didn’t have to spend so much time alone anymore; even with Ooki Taiju and Ogawa Yuzuriha’s presence in Ishigami-kun life, the knowledge of one more responsible adult running around made her feel better.

Weinberg-san smiles at her words, “I’m glad you think so m’am, I’m truly honored to have become part of Senku’s life!” Her smile brightens even more, pulling at her eyes, as she looks at the boy in question, who blushes and looks away, pouting, mumbling something about the there is no reason to get sappy, Lillian-

The dean smiles. Her assumption from the day before had been right then: Ishigami-kun’s step mother is nothing to be worried about.

“Also,” the American adds, “it brought me to Japan! I’ve always appreciated the culture and I’m truly happy that I had the opportunity to come here. Everything is very different from where I came from, but I’ve grown to truly appreciate it! Even coming to this school today was a unique experience!” She concludes, a happy expression on her face.

The headmistress startles at her last words, “Well, if that is the case, would you like to take a tour, Weinberg-san?”

The blonde woman brightens up like a light house.

Ishigami-kun, next to her, jerks.

“Absolutely not!” The boy screeches, his usual nonchalant façade breaking, “We managed to avoid everyone this morning, I’m not doing that again!” He finishes, resolute, crossing his arms.

Weinberg-san’s enthusiasm dims, but she looks at the boy in understanding, “Thank you for the kind offer, m'am, but Senku is right; if my presence here were to be associated with him, it could make his school life harder, and that is something I really don’t want him to go through. Still, thank you anyway.” She gives a small, apologetic bow to the older woman.

Ishigami-kun, next to her, looks down, guilty. He frowns, and the headmistress recognizes that look.

The boy is thinking.

She is about to reassure Weinberg-san, but the teen beats her.

“Well… if we were to go now, during class time, no one would see us; also, you can wear your disguise for safety. We would have to leave before the period ends, though.” He finishes, voice raising in volume, his usual confidence slipping through.

Weinberg-san eyes widens at the boy's words, a hopeful look in her eyes, before turning towards the older woman, expectantly.

“That can be arranged, Ishigami-kun,” the headmistress says, a small, proud smile on her face, before grabbing the handle and opening the door, “please, after you.”

“Wow! This garden it’s so lovely!” Lillian exclaims, eyes darting around the various trees, bushes and flower pots blooming, thanks to the close arrival of the spring season.

They were visiting the west gardens, the only part of the school’s outdoor grounds where they wouldn’t be spotted from inside, since all the windows they could see looking down at them were from the school’s club rooms.

“The gardening club dutifully takes good care of it every day, so it’s thanks to them if our school has such big varieties of plants and flowers.” The headmistress says, walking slowly at the blonde’s side, hands clasped behind her back.

They come to a stop right under the big camphor tree.

“This has been wonderful, thank you! This school is lovely! It’s absolutely not how I remember high school to be…” Lillian trails off, a small awkward laugh leaving her lips as she remembers her own experience: her humble upbringing is worldly recognized, but very few people really know about the true hardships of her younger years.

She looks at her step son, who has been checking his watch every 5 minutes for the past hour, and smiles.

She addresses the headmistress, “I’m happy to see that the students here are raised with care and attention, with professionals looking after them, pushing them forward, allowing them to pursue their dreams.”

She looks lovingly back at her step son, a boy she had grown very fond of, even before meeting him, thanks to her husband’s stories; the boy’s ears are glowing red and he is looking everywhere but her.

Her smile widens, as she continues, “I’m glad Senku is in such good, capable hands. Thank you, m’am.” Lillian finishes, bowing deeply to the older woman, who, caught off guard, stumbles on her words, hands waving helplessly in the air as her face grows hot, as she reassures the blonde and thanks her for her kind words.

The headmistress bashfully fixes the glasses on her face, her cheeks still tinted pink, as she says, “It was an honor meeting you, Weinberg-san. Please feel free to come back anytime.”

She then looks at Senku, “Ishigami-kun, you can guide your step mother to the front gate now, and then you can head back to class,” she puts her hands on her hips, “you have already skipped the whole period, which is something I am not happy about, but I allowed it both because I know you can afford to skip one class and because I assumed you wanted to be present during the tour.”

Senku glances at his watch one last time, before saying, tone flat, “Yes m’am. Let’s go Lillian; if we leave now you’ll be to the car in 6 minutes, which will allow me to get back before—”

His voice gets cut off by a loud, long, wailing sound.

Senku had been talking to his step mother, so Lillian can easily see how the boy's eyes go comically wide, a dumbfounded look on his face, mouth still open around the words that got stuck in his throat.

She quickly looks over at the headmistress, tone worried as she asks, “What’s going on?”

The dean is observing the school now, a worried frown on her face, as she answers, eyes locked onto the building, “...that is the fire alarm. That’s odd, there were no planned fire drills today…” her eyes widen in horror, as the reality of the situation hits her.

“Ishigami-kun, Weinberg-san, I have to ask you to stay here. Something is definitely wrong.”
She starts walking toward the entrance quickly, before adding, without looking back, “Ishigami-kun, I trust you know what to do. Please guide your step mother to the assembly area.” She turns the corner, disappearing.

In the back, they can hear the sounds of the students moving around the school, chairs scratching at the floor as the sound of several voices rises; someone shouts in the distance.

Lillian looks back at Senku.

The boy hasn’t moved an inch in the last couple of minutes, body straight and head high, mouth set in a flat line; he is looking straight ahead, but his gaze isn’t set on anything in particular, seemingly looking right through the air. His expression is almost serene.

He looks like someone who has just made peace with their fate.

A beat passes.

Then, his brow furrows, jaw clenching, before raising a hand to his face, resting his forehead in his open palm.

Lillian takes half a step towards him, face tightening in concern, her hand raising hesitantly to grab his shoulder.
She doesn’t get to.

Senku lets out a defeated sigh, face still cradled in his hand as he looks up, letting his fingers slide down to his mouth, then his neck, then down, laying next to his hip.

He looks at her, “Well, Lillian. Be ready to meet everyone.”

Dread fills her as her eyes widen in understanding.

They are so fucked.

As the first group of students rounds the corner, the teens neatly walking in two lines, Senku comes to a painful conclusion.

Gen will never let me live this down.

In the end, it could have gone worse.

Once everybody had reached the assembly area outside, Senku had joined his own classmates, while Lillian awkwardly stood in the teachers area, her face concealed by her mask and sunglasses, attracting the curious gazes of the other adults.

Senku watches as the headmistress calls up his step mother closer to the group of teachers, clearly explaining the reason for the presence of the blonde woman on the school grounds.

A hand taps his shoulder.

“Senku, hi. I’m glad you are ok.” Yuzuriha says, smiling softly, Taiju at her side, who vehemently adds, “Thats right, Senku! You didn’t come back to class, and when the drill started, we didn’t know where you were!” The stronger boy pats his friend’s shoulder, worried, the action making the skinnier boy’s body sway by the force of the impact.

Senku wheezes.

“The headmistress took Lillian on a school tour and I tagged along to make sure nothing went wrong,” he explains, massaging his throbbing shoulder, giving Taiju the stink eye, “we were almost done when the alarm went off, so now she is stuck here until the fire departments tell us we can leave.”

The sound of the firetruck’s sirens had been turned off, but they could still vaguely see the red and blue lights tinting the leaves of the trees outside the school’s perimeter.

Senku looks at the sea of people.

Now that they were out of immediate danger and the chaos had subdued, he could see more and more students looking over at the teacher area, noticing the "mysterious" woman’s presence and, above all, her foreigner traits.

There was only one non-Japanese student in the whole school, a younger girl whose parents had moved to the country a few years after she was born: she had dark, thick hair, making her blend in the sea of heads in the courtyard; her big, green eyes made her stand out in her daily life though, her girl classmates drawn to her appearance, cooing and chirping in various sounds of envy at the sight of those naturally round, big, lidded eyes adorned by long, dark eyelashes.

Someone could assume the two foreigners were related then, but her coloring clearly proved that there was no biological relationship with the mysterious blonde haired, blue eyed woman, though.

Senku was the only natural light haired kid in the school, (though a few bleached heads could be seen around, thanks to a few students entering their rebellious phases), which meant that someone could logically connect his appearance to the woman’s quickly.

Yet, no one looked at him. Afterall, why would they?

Regardless of his will, Senku is well known around the school, thanks to his father’s fame, but especially thanks to the boy himself: everybody knows of Senku Ishigami, students and teachers alike.

Senku doesn't consider himself popular: he is a pretty reserved person, blunt and often blunt , with very few friends, spending the majority of his time in the school lab or the library; even his clubmates, who he spends a considerable amount of time with, are kept at arm's length.

He is also exceptionally gifted, something that had been the cause of bullying and harsh shoves and remarks in his younger years, classmates and older kids threatened by his brilliance; he has never cared about such childish matters, though he had kept, to this day, the plasma gun he had crafted after the park incident, when he and Taiju were 9.

One never knows.

He is also considerably handsome, even with his odd coloring and lanky body, thanks to his sharp features and deep, smart eyes, a playful knowing smirk often resting on his face and his cool headed demeanor, giving him a cool, untouchable feeling.

So yes, like it or not, if not popular, Senku Ishigami is, at least, renowned.

And so is his story, though they only knew the short version of it: an albino kid who had been adopted by a single man when he was still an infant, after the boy’s parents had died in a car crash.

No one knows his father got married.

He is safe, for now.

He sticks a pinky in his ear, “Eh,” he says ironically, “maybe if we are lucky, the firemen will be able to clear the ground soon and we can move along without anyone noticing.”

He doesn’t really believe that.

“Impossible,” Gen would say, “knowing your luck, Senku-chan, there would be a higher chance for Hell to freeze over.”

And dammit, the mentalist is right.

“Yo Ishigami-kun, who is that beautiful girl you brought to school this morning?” One of his classmates, a guy known for being a bit of a womanizer and a total douchebag, loudly asks, smirk on his face while some of his friends snicker at the his words, “I hadn’t had time to ask you when I saw you at the entrance, since you ran away so fast! What, you wanna keep her all to yourself?”

“Ishigami-kun brought a girl to school? He got a girlfriend!?” Another boy exclaims loudly, “Not fair!”

“He did! I couldn’t really see her face, but she looked like a baddie! I had no idea Ishigami was into older women! Way to go, man!” More voices chime in, and the young scientist already regrets every decision that led him to this moment.

Senku can feel a headache coming,

“What are you guys talking about! Why are you being so rude!?” Taiju's voice booms, indignation clear in his tone, body rigid and a frown on his face at their classmates’ words.

“You are being extremely disrespectful! Apologize to Senku now!”

“It’s ok big oaf, let them believe what they want,” the scientist says, annoyed at the gossip, taking a step towards his best friend and putting a hand on his shoulder in a placating manner, “those are just empty words, I don’t care what they say.”

“But Senku! That’s not fair! Not to you and not to Lillian!” Taiju is clearly bothered, frown deepening and jaw tensing, “They shouldn’t say things like that about people they don’t know!”

“Aw Ooki-kun, I didn’t mean to be rude!” The first boy loudly claims, eyeing the brunette boy's bigger frame but confidently stepping in front of his small group of ruffian friends: the big oaf is tall and physically built, much more than the douchebag himself, but he was broadly known for being a big softy, one to never start a fight or throw a punch.

“I was just curious, ya’ know? I have never seen Ishigami-kun spend time with a cute girl before.”

Taiju is at a bit of a loss for a second, looking over his shoulder at his girlfriend who has been standing there since the beginning of their quarrel, before turning back toward the boy, a clear question on his dumbfounded face.

It was widely known the three of them spend all their time together, after all.

The douchebag smirks widens, a defiant look on his face, as he adds, cockily, ”Ogawa isn’t cute, so she doesn’t count.”

“Oi! What’s your problem!?” Taiju is clearly mad now, standing in front of Yuzuriha who is watching the whole scene with a worried expression on her face; she isn’t one to let other’s words get to her, and it is clear her concern was directed completely at her boyfriend, more than at the words that had been said.

Senku is pissed too now. He doesn’t care what people say about him, but he is very protective of his family.

“Oi, Sota.” The boy in question looks at him, one eyebrow raised confidently and that damn smirk still stuck on his face.

Senku has stilled now, from where he is standing next to Taiju, a calculating glint in his eyes, observing the boy as one would a sample on a Petri dish, ready to dissect it to learn its most hidden secrets.

Sota’s expression falters, under the cold scrutiny, but his ego must be bigger than his brain, since he doesn’t step back. “What do you want?” He barks.

The scientist puts his hands in his pockets, nose now up in the air, looking at the douchebag’s face condescendingly: Senku is not one to act like a patronizing know-it-all, nor he is a smooth talker like the mentalist is, but he knows his strengths: in a battle of wit, he was gonna be the winner.

A small crown has gathered around them now, drawn to the commotion.

Senku estimates it’s just a matter of seconds before a teacher comes investigating, so he gotta be quick.

He smirks back, before saying, sardonic, “I don’t care who you slobber over, but leave my family alone,” he crosses his arms, before finishing, cockily, “ain’t no one’s fault but yours, if you can't keep a girl to save your life.”

Senku isn’t one for gossip, but he is often the passive witness of his classmates' loud talks in between classes and, with a memory like his, he frequently finds himself learning things he doesn’t even want to.

Turns out that unwanted data turned out to be useful.

“You fucker!” Sota shouts, his cocky smirk disappearing and face now set in a pissed expression, taking a stride towards the smarter boy; Taiju doesn't hesitate and quickly steps between his friend and the douchebag, towering over him.

“Senku, dear?” A voice suddenly chimes in, breaking the tension.

Lillian is now standing next to the group, the headmistress in tow, face still concealed, but the worry in her tone is clear, looking at the young scientist from behind her sun glasses, “Is everything ok?”.

Senku barely has time to open his mouth to reassure her, before the douchebag confidence slips back in his body language, puffing up his chest like a bird would, eyeing his friends with mirth in his eye, teenager cockiness clearly overriding his cognitive system, before he loudly ask, question directed at the blond woman, “Hey, are you Ishigami’s girlfriend?”

The group of teenagers snickers.

The headmistress bristles, “Hayato-kun! What do you think you are doing! Apologize immediately!"

Lillian is clearly taken aback by the unknown boy’s blunt disrespect, looking lost for a second and throwing a concerned look at her step son.

“Drop it, Sota!”, Senku reiterates, pissed again, “She is not my girlfriend, for fuck sake!”

The douchebag looks absolutely delighted, as he ignores the dean’s scolding and pressing on, “What, she isn’t? Well, who is she then, Ishigami? I know for sure you have no sisters…” his eyes slowly widen in realization as an idea struck him, the two brain cells in his brian connecting for the first time since the beginning of this conversation.

“Wait,” Sota smirks, voice dripping with sardonic delight, “don’t tell me she is your mom!?”

The group of delinquents hollers, loud calls of ”Damn man!” and ”Ain’t no way!” rising from the sea of people.

Lillian looks at the scene in shock and worry, cheeks tinting red under her mask at the rude boy’s bold words, as the teenagers around them whistle and chant.

She isn’t ashamed of her marriage with Byakuya, not by one bit: she loves the man so much, like she didn’t think was possible to, and she knows her husband returns her feelings tenfold.

She is so, so lucky to have Byakuya in her life, someone who loves her and cherishes her, and she is so glad that she got to meet and fall in love with him, so happy to have become part of such great man’s life and, by extension, Senku’s too, a boy so bright and so wonderful, truly her lover’s carbon copy; she knew there was no blood relationship between her dear husband and the boy, but the two of them were so similar, in their hearts, that there was no doubt they were father and son.

She is happy with them, and she won’t hide it.

But she isn’t stupid.

She is aware of the dangers of her relationship going public: paparazzi and journalists are merciless on a good day, and downright cruel on a bad one, when they sniff out a revolutionary scoop, so she knows, deep down, that if her relationship with Byakuya was to become public, it will have a big impact on all of their lives.

She could only imagine the comment of the public after finding out she was in a relationship with a man 16 years older than her, a man who has a son who is just a decade younger than herself.

They won’t be kind, to her or her family.

It was something the three of them had discussed, before the marriage, especially for Senku’s sake; in the end, the boy’s reaction had been almost comical.

In hindsight, she shouldn’t have been surprised.

Senku looks at them from where he is sitting in front of his father and future step mother, pinky stuck in his ear as he addresses them, “And so what?”

Byakuya smiles softly, before answering, “It is right for you to know, since you will also be affected when the public finds out.”

They hope to delay the inevitable, but they aren’t blind: it is a matter of time before someone uncovers the truth.

“That’s fair, old man, I get the part about the paparazzi and what not,” Senku starts, before crossing his arms on his chest, “what I don’t get is the part about Lillian being just ten years older than me. I don’t care about that stuff.”

Byakuya laughs, open and warm at his son’s words.

Lillian’s gaze keeps traveling from boy to man, trying to pick the tone of their conversation: her Japanese is still very rough, so she is trying to read their faces more than  trying to understand their words.

Her fiancé was an open book, his face always a beacon of his inner emotions, and based on his current expression, the conversation must be going rather well.

Senku isn’t as expressive as his father, but it’s more due to his more reserved nature, rather than from a lack of heart.

She intervenes, “Senku, dear, I just wanted to be real with you about the situation…” she trails off, before continuing, “...the press will be harsh about it, so I just wanted to…apologize for the future troubles my presence will cause.” She smiles, contrite.

Senku’s eyebrows shot up, disbelief clear on his face after hearing her words. “Apologize? You got nothing to apologize for; we want you here, hell to the press.” The boy’s voice starts off incredulous, before going back to his normal resolute tone.

Her heart warms. This boy is so kind. She is so lucky.

Lillian looks at her fiancé, who is watching his son with a proud, warm, wide smile on his face.

She is certain then: they will face whatever the future holds, together.

Well, she hadn’t expected the future to contemplate a pack of hormonal teenagers, but life is unpredictable.

Still. The situation is kind of ridiculous.

She quickly recovers from her stupor, her media training coming in clutch as she ignores the delinquent’s question and turns toward Senku, switching to English, “Senku, dear, the headmistress informed me it’s okay to leave now, so I’ll head back on my own now. I’ll see you home later.”

”Yeah, fine by me. See ya.” The young scientist answers, clearly still annoyed at the whole deal.

In the back, she can see the headmistress loudly scolding the boys, her posture rigid and a frown deep on her face.

“Taiju-kun, Yuzuriha-kun, see you guys next time!” She waves at the two teens, as the girl gives a small bow and the boy exclaims, face bright and earlier anger dissipating, “Bye Lillian, have a nice day! Sorry for the commotion!” The brunette boy bows to the waist.

“It’s ok dear, there is nothing to apologize for.” Lillian reassures, voice kind.

“I beg to differ,” the headmistress steps closer, Hayato Sora right behind her, scowling, “we are all extremely sorry about what happened, and I guarantee you it will not go unpunished.” The headmistress gives a hard stare at the douchebag, who lowers his gaze, mumbling it wasn’t just me, this is not fair—

“Again, we are very sorry!” The headmistress bows deeply, which prompts the boy to follow suit, even if his rigid posture gives away his true feelings.

Senku observes looks around: people are watching the back and forth between the parties, from the way their notoriously composed dean deeply bows, to the boy begrudgingly apologizing, to the mysterious blonde woman standing there, awkwardly reassuring the pair.

“I apologize again for what happened, Weinberg-san.”The dean straightens up again, clearly ashamed.

“No offence taken, m’am, do not worry; well, if that’s all, I will leave now then.” Lillian says, taking a step back, ready to leave.

Senku lets out a relieved breath. They did it. Finally they can put this ridiculous day behind them.

“Wait,” a voice rises from the crowd, “did she say Weinberg? And her name is Lillian, as in Lillian Weinberg? Is that— hold up, is that the Lillian Weinberg!?”

Senku facepalms so hard his brain rattles in his skull.

He definitely has a headache now.

In the end, it didn’t go as bad as they had feared.

Once Lillian finally managed to escape the crowd of students surrounding her (but not before leaving some autographs to her fans), the day went on pretty normally, even if Hayato Sora’s face when he realized who the mysterious woman was had been unforgettable.

Turns out the fire alarm had gone off because of a technical malfunction, so the students were allowed to go back to their lessons and continue with their daily activities.
No one had really bothered Senku during class, even if the boy was convinced it was due to their scary math teacher presence and hard glares, more than for a lack of curiosity from his peers.

By the end of the day a few people had stopped him to ask him questions, but he had simply ignored them the same way he did with any other type of gossip people usually tried to rope him into.

So, yeah, in the end, it could totally have gone worse.

”LILLIAN WEINBERG SPOTTED IN A JAPANESE HIGH SCHOOL, WITNESSES REPORT SHE HAS A STEP CHILD”

Senku was never gonna test fate again.

Waking up to the news splattered on every newspaper and magazine of the world should not have surprised him but damn, that had been quick.

Turns out, someone had managed to take a picture of the singer while in the crowd, the news travelling fast around the globe, and now journalists and fans were sharing their opinions and theories online and on tv.

Thanks to Japanese strict journalism laws, no sensible data had been shared: not his name or face (all minors appearing in the picture have to be censored, thank god), nor the school’s name or location. All everybody knew was that Lillian had gone to a Japanese high school in Tokyo, allegedly to resolve a family business.

Well. In the end, it could have gone—

Nope, Senku thinks, I’m not gonna finish that thought.

”Ugh!” Lillian exclaims as she faceplants on the sofa, “This is all my fault! I should have just left! God, why didn’t I just leave—” the rest of her mumbling is lost in the plush cushion, while she rolls around their big sofa in her pajamas, hugging a pillow to her face.

Senku watches her as she flips around from where he is sitting at the breakfast table, various noises and exclamations of frustration coming out of her in different languages; their family tv is on mute from where it is turned on, showing the infamous picture while a young journalist is giving a speech in the foreground.

“Well, that went like that, not much we can do now…” the boy huffs.

Lillian stills, belly up on the sofa, cushion now resting in her arms as she dreadfully looks at the ceiling, “...I will have to give a statement. I can’t not say something. God, what will Byakuya think…” she presses the pillow back to her face, cheeks red and eyes shiny with tears.

“Knowing the old man, he will have a field day with this.” Senku stands up, taking a few steps towards the woman and looking at her from above, towering over her lying form, “What happened happened, so now what we gotta do is answer in kind: let’s think of how to break the news to the press.”

Lillian moves the pillow, looking up at him with her face flushed, “...what do you mean by that?”

Senku sticks a pinky in his year, smirking, “We are done hiding!”

The woman sits up so quickly the boy has to take a step back before she can head bump him, “What do you mean we are done hiding from the press? What about you? And your father—” her voice raises in octave at every sentence she says, panic and disbelief slipping in her tone.

Senku awkwardly raises a hand to stop her rumbling and the woman stills, wide eyed, mouth left slightly ajar as she takes in a quick breath.

“What I mean is, the news is already out, and it’s better to think of what to say quickly, before fake news starts spreading.”

Lillian swallows, her jaw trembling, “But what about you, Senku? What about school?”
Senku shrugs, “I graduate high school in just 3 months and then, after that, I’m enrolling in university in the States, as you know.”

It hadn’t been an easy decision, leaving his home country and his friends behind, but it was a necessity: it was the best way to obtain the right credentials he needed to reach his objective.

Getting closer to his family had been a consequential bonus, of course.

“So there is no need to worry about me. And,” he quickly goes on as he sees her open her mouth to counter back, “I’m sure the old man won’t mind: I know hiding your marriage hurts him, so he will be more than ok to share the news.” He finishes, a ghost of a smile on his lips, voice fond despite it all.

Lillian smiles too, incredulous, “Your father is too honest,” she gives a small laugh, “I’m surprised he wasn’t the one outing the whole deal!” She openly laughs now, tension leaving her body as she flops back on the sofa.

Senku laughs too, “Yeah, I thought he was gonna plaster your wedding pictures on Facebook and give us all away. Looks like we beat him though.” They laugh again, tense atmosphere breaking.

It’s alright. Whatever will happen, they will face together as a family.

When Senku and his friends graduate Lillian is there cheering on them.

In the few months after the whole school fiasco, both Lillian and Byakuya had released their statement, announcing their marriage to the public and clearing up any misinformation.

As expected there were many people who defamed their relationship, from journalists trying to get a rise out of them to the more obsessed fans, who claimed the singer had lied or had been coerced.

What they hadn’t expected was how many people had been weirdly supportive about all of it, friends and colleagues publicly defending them and sharing beautiful stories of their meeting and marriage.

The whole world went wild after learning of how and where the two of them fell in love, claiming that it was so beautiful and romantic it deserved to be forever remembered, maybe in a book or movie.

One day, maybe. For now, all they wanted was to live their life in peace.

When the graduates leave the building, she and Byakuya are both present, the woman clapping her hands with a smile on her face and the man bowling his eyes out at the sight of his precious son exiting high school for the last time.

“Senku—” his father howls, pulling him into a hug before the boy can dodge it, “you have grown so much, my boy!” Tears run down his beard face as the man squeezes him.

“Goddammit Byakuya, let me go!” Senku wheezes, putting a hand on his father’s face in an attempt to push him off, “Why are you even crying? You are acting like someone died— will you let go already—”

Lillian observes as her husband and step son wrestle in their hug, the man wailing and sobbing while the boy’s face goes red in both the struggle and mortification.

She laughs softly.

With the corner of her eyes she sees Taiju and Yuzuriha step close, and she quickly addresses them, “Oh guys, congratulations to you too!”

The two teens bow in thanks, as the boy exclaims, excited, "Thank you so much Lillian! These three years were long but we did it!”

“You sure did! And now, a new big adventure awaits all of you,” she smiles at them, before turning back towards her family to see that Senku has finally freed himself from his father’s embrace. She goes on, “even if things change, I’m sure you guys will be fine!”

She is obviously referring to Senku's soon-to-be departure for the States. “I know that even apart, you guys will remain as close as ever!”

Taiju and Yuzuriha both nod, resolute, before the boy starts speaking, “Of course! It doesn’t matter if we are far apart, our friendship will never falter!” He clenches his fists, assured, “Nothing will get between us! Even if we won’t see each other for weeks, or months, or years…” his voice dims, the boy’s eyes widening at each word, “even if years go by—”

All of a sudden, his eyes fill up with tears as the boy takes a big stride towards his friend, a wailing sound escaping his lips as, arms wide open, he envelopes Senku in another bone crushing hug; the wheeze Senku lets out is so loud several people turn over in concern.

Lillian laughs so loud her belly hurts.

“Oh my, what a sight. I see Taiju-chan is as ively-lay as always~ ”

 A figure steps close to her, observing the scene: it’s a young man, wearing a soft lilac cardigan over black turtleneck, black pants and dress shoes, sunglasses perched on his nose as his black hair sways as he moves; in his hands he carries a small bouquet of flowers, neatly enveloped by some light green decorative paper.

She smiles as she greets him, “Hello, Gen.”

“Lillian-chan, it’s my pleasure. I see our Senku-chan is busy celebrating.” They both look at Senku, who has now managed to escape Taiju’s hug and is resting his hands on his knees as he catches his breath again after his friend’s crushing embrace.

“Are you here to see Senku, Gen?” Lillian asks him, tilting her head as she gives him a small smile: she knows the two of them are close and she is pleased to see the older boy has come to show his support.

She approves.

The young man absent mindedly picks at a loose thread on his sweater, “I am, though I can tell he is pretty usy-bay now; I wouldn’t want to intrude.” 

Senku has not noticed him yet and the magician takes his time observing the younger boy talking to his friends, a longing look in his eyes. 

Lillian gently puts a hand on his shoulder, “You aren’t intruding dear, we are all happy you are here.”

Gen fumbles for half a second at her honest words, his poker face breaking as his cheeks tint; he looks at the bouquet in his hands: he had bought it without thinking but, now, he wonders if it’s too much.

“Thank you Lillian-chan,” he hesitantly holds the flowers up a bit, “do you think Senku-chan will—”

“Oi mentalist, what are you doing here?”

The two celebrities both look up at the voice, and Gen watches as Senku, pinky deep in his ear, lazily walks over them, an unimpressed stare on his face.

In the back, Taiju is hugging Byakuya, both sobbing, while the older man pats Yuzuriha’s head affectionately.

Gen goes rigid where he stands and he feels Lillian's hand, which is still on his shoulder, give a supportive squeeze before the woman steps away to join her husband.

The magician recovers quickly, “Well Senku-chan, a little irdy-bay told me today was a special day, so it is only logical that moi, a special person, would attend!”

He gives his most flourishful smile but, inside, he cringes at his choice of words, “Good job Gen, imply you are special to him, as if it isn’t weird enough you are here…” he mentally chastises himself.

But Senku just huffs a smile, ready to rebut, when his eyes fall to Gen’s hands, widening when he notices the colorful bouquet; whatever the boy was about to say dies in his mouth, gaze rising again to meet Gen’s eyes behind his glasses, a question clear on the light haired boy’s eyes.

Gen clears his throat, a mask of bravado on his face as he holds up the flowers, “Congratulations, Senku-chan.” He gives him a small, sincere smile.

Senku grabs the bouquet, fingers of one hand carefully touching one of the colorful flowers’ petals, observing the carefully arranged plants; he smiles, cradling the gift in his arms, “Thank you, Gen.” They look at each other for a second, both basking in the softness of the moment.

Senku licks his lips before speaking again, “This,” he says, gently swaying the flowers in his arms, “feels pretty monumental for Mr. Most superficial man on Earth, so there must be something going on you have not said.”

“There are a lot of things I want to say that I haven't yet.” Gen replies, not breaking eye contact.

Senku next breath staggers, his jaw trembling slightly before he swallows the sudden lump in his throat.

The moment feels charged.

“Let’s go somewhere else, then, so you can tell me everything.” He says then, resolutely keeping his eyes on the other boy's.

Gen hesitates, confidence breaking: he is about to take it all back, turn the whole thing into a joke before he can regret—

“Wait,” they hear someone loudly exclaim, “is that Asagiri Gen!?”

They look at each other, eyes widenin and the tense moment breaks as they feel the sudden urge to laugh, grabbing at their bellies as their shoulders shakes; drying a tear running down his face, Gen mischievously grins, “Well, Senku-chan, I’m appy-hay to accept your offer, if you are all done here~”

Senku’s own grin widens, “All done, mentalist; you know how it went last time and I ain’t doing all that shit again.”

The young scientist had told Gen all about the infamous adventure he had with his step mother, months prior, and the mentalist had laughed so much he had fallen off the chair he was sitting on; the magician often brings the whole deal back up again just to tease the younger boy, who always huffs and sighs at the mere reminder of the, arguably, most-annoying-ever week of his life.

Senku screams over his shoulder, “Lillian, Byakuya, I’ll see you later at home!” Then the two young men bolt towards the exit snickering, followed by the crowd’s confused stares.

Lillian is watching them leave when she feels her hand being grabbed and looks up at her husband, “My boy is growing up fast, he is an adult now. I can’t believe he is already done with school…”

Senku had turned 18 the previous January and they had thrown a huge party together with all their friends, with sweets and drinks and music, creating an unforgettable memory for all of them.

Especially since the boy’s birthday hadn't been the only reason to celebrate.

The woman smiles affectionately, before standing on her tippy toes to give her husband a chaste kiss on his cheek, “It is ok, my love,” she says affectionately; then, she mischievously brings a hand to her belly and leans closer to whisper in his ear, “don’t worry honey, you are not done with parenthood yet~”

The public will realize any day now, since her loose clothing won’t be enough to hide it anymore, and Lillian can already see the headlines splattered on every newspaper of the planet.

She sighs inside, already dreading the annoying troubles that will soon come: they just got out of the whole “step son” deal and now it will all happen once again.

They had been overjoyed when they had found out, of course, and they can’t wait to share the news with everybody; yet, watching Senku and Gen run away to avoid the curious gaze of the crowd had brought back all those annoying memories, reminding her that the worst of it had yet to come.

Lillian can feel a headache coming.