This is a two-parter, but I wanted it actually posted on the correct day, so this part is specifically the Genos part, and tongue-in-cheek jab at the AU prompt of soulmates. There will be a part two, so expect that…. Another day. Soon. This story is also on my Ao3.

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"You mean, you kept it?!" Saitama's incredulity bounced off the walls of his tiny apartment like a pachinko ball in a machine. "Like, this whole time, he's been a cyborg just for shits and giggles?! You serious?!"

"Well," Doctor Kuseno's voice crackled through the phone receiver, "It's not that simple. His physical body was in terrible condition when I first found him, you see, and so while I slowly repaired it, he was put into the robotic one as a temporary fix. But then, he realized how much destructive power he could wield with a robotic body, and so-"

"Woah," said Saitama, gesturing in front of himself as if to hold back Doctor Kuseno's speech through the phone, "how about I just come over there? It'll make more sense to me if I actually see this with my own eyes."

The lab was everything a shounen manga promised a mad scientist's lab to be- wires hung everywhere and the air ducts inside the building were so complicated and winding that they looked as if they would come alive and attack if given the right AI and an incentive. The security system and mushroom-shaped assistant drones skittering about, on the other hand, lacked only the latter, if the way that they peeked away from their work and regarded Saitama with bright, bulbous eyes. Saitama distracted himself from their unnerving stares by looking over the various other pieces of machinery spaced evenly across the gleaming metal tables as Kuseno lead him deeper and deeper into the lab.

"His robotic body moderated sensations like touch and pain very differently than a physical one would, and it also distributed his hormones much in a more managed and moderated way than a real body experiencing puberty would, too," the doctor explained. "Don't be surprised if he becomes emotional and impulsive. He has a lot to get used to."

Saitama chuckled. "Genos? Emotional and impulsive? I've never seen that before."

"Careful. He may also take your sarcasm too seriously. He's fragile, right now." The doctor held his hand over a button on the control panel on the wall. "Saitama," he said, hesitant, "I've always had my reservations about Genos spending so much time with you."

"Oh? Uh. Huh." He blinked. "Did you think I was gonna try something weird, or, like…?"

"I will admit, a reclusive, unemployed man who walks around in nothing but a cape and jumpsuit all day is not exactly the most glowing description of someone influencing Genos' decisions."

Saitama's eyebrows shot up to where his hairline should have been. "Is that what he told you?"

The doctor cracked a smile. "Heavens, no. But unlike Genos, I don't cloud my eyes with so many stars that I can't see the reality of the situation."

"Wow. Gee, thanks." Saitama cleared his throat. "I promise I'm not a weirdo. This is just," he plucked at his cape, "a hobby. And my side job."

"Oh, side job? And your main job is?" Doctor Kuseno smiled wider. "I know about you, Saitama. There's no point in hiding from me."

Saitama clenched his fists. The cherry red leather of his gloves squeaked under the pressure.

Doctor Kuseno stared back at him.

"So is Genos actually in there, or did you just bring me out to tell me what you think of me?" Saitama swallowed.

"No, Genos is here," the doctor said.

Neither of them moved. The worker bots hummed in the background as they went about their business. Their bright eyes illuminated Saitama's form, and then shyly swept away when he so much as twitched.

"Well?"

"Well?" The doctor echoed.

"Can I see him, or what?" Saitama said.

"Ah." Kuseno folded his fingers together, and then unfolded them. "Yes, well. About that. Has Genos ever told you anything about his life as a human?"

"Uh, well, he loved his parents very much, and when he was fifteen-"

"Besides that."

"Oh. Um." Saitama cleared his throat. "No. No, he hasn't."

Doctor Kuseno looked at the floor. "I see."

The robots in the lab chanced a few more glances at the man who had stolen the heart of their creator's pride and joy.

"I was hoping he would have opened up to you a little more about that before this point," the doctor said.

"His life's his business. It's not my business to pry, 'specially if he doesn't want to talk about it," Saitama said. "He's the one who insists on calling me sensei. It's not like he owes me anything, and it's not like I just have to know. He's my roommate, not my, like," he shrugged, "soulmate."

"I see," Doctor Kuseno said. "So that's how it is." He frowned.

"Well, yeah. How else would it be?" Saitama asked, shrugging.

Kuseno pursed his lips, nodding.

"Yeah, so, anyway, is there anything I need to know before you let me see him, or are you just stalling?"

The doctor traced the repetitive pattern of the tiles on the floor. "He was calling for you, you know."

Saitama held his ground.

"In his sleep. It's stressful, this change. He's still recovering, so he sleeps a lot, and his dreams are vivid and disorienting. He's scared." The doctor ran a hand through his thick, styled hair. "You're invincible and unshakeable- or so he thinks. And he needs that kind of stability right now. So," the doctor took a breath. "Please be there for him, and please try and understand. He needs something to hold onto. He was so afraid to try and create any attachments after his family…" Kuseno shook his head. "Nevermind. I'm old, and I worry." He held his hand out over the control pad, and pressed the button. "Be kind, Saitama. Be the man Genos thinks you are. Please."

The door softly opened before Saitama could answer. The clean light of the lab cut a sliver through the dimness on the other side of the doorway.

Saitama slowly exhaled, and, with Kuseno and his robots as his witnesses, he walked through the door.