Changing yourself and your life is all good and dandy, but it was getting into actually doing the work when things started to get dicey. 

[yada yada Reigen and Serizawa is brought up by Teru while hanging out and watching a movie in Reigen’s apartment. Shou is also there! ]

“It’s a little more nuanced than that Teruki-kun.”

“Which is code for,” Teru made an impression of a chicken clucking away.

“Oh! The maturity level is skyrocketing!” Reigen huffed, with feigned bite, “How old are you again? You sure you’re old enough to be watching this?” To further his point Reigen thumbed to the television where someone’s arm was being cut off, and a cartoonish amount of water with red dye passing as blood was exploding with the very obvious intensity of someone playing with a garden hose. 

Teruki, with a deep somber expression, flicked popcorn at Reigen’s cheek.

“Alright, I draw the line at wasting food,” Reigen chastised, though not unkindly. He plucked the thrown away kernel, blew on it, and plopped it in his mouth.

“So what exactly makes it so, quote un quote, nuanced.” 

“I’ll break it down like a fraction for you. Imagine the person you have a crush on,” Reigen knew very well whom Teruki had a crush on, but spared the lad from further teasing, “you imagining him?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure?”

“Y-yeah! Get on with it!” went Teru under Reigen’s knowing leer. 

Alright perhaps a small healthy dose of teasing.

Reigen lifted his hands placatingly, “alright, now imagining having to work for them.” Here Reigen made a sweeping gesture as if that explained everything for itself. “Things get tricky when, well, when there isn’t equal footing.”

Teruki watched Reigen for a bit, and nodded with a hum. “I suppose I get it.”

Reigen flourished a mock bow, “thank you. And Speaking! of the unmentioned Kageyama’s-!”

“Reigen!!”

“What are you doing here Shou? I thought your would be out and about with Little Brother-chan. Doing…things, like, like,” he floundered, unable to end on anything witty, Reigen ended lamely with, “the arcade, or something.”

Shou lifted his head from resting against his knuckles, finally turning his head so he wasn’t just looking at both Reigen and Teruki from the corner of his eye. Blue eyes piercing as ever.

“Not that you’re not welcome over,” Reigen added hastily, “In fact, it’s always a pleasure.”

Shou stared on. Reigen gulped. Then when the silence drew out for too long Shou gave Reigen’s arm a playful punch and grinned. “Just wanted to drop in. See what the fuss is about.”

“About, Death Pig: the Return of the Frankenoink?”

Shou made a vague affirmative sound. 

“Well I hope it lives up to the mystique.”

“Mm, something like that.” 

[something something subtext is Shou wants to vibe check Reigen cause Shou cares a lot about Serizawa. 

After much persisting…eventually lead to…] 

“Anyways, I don’t get what the hang up is. Didn’t he like, kiss you or something?”

“Okay, one!” here Reigen flourished before monitoring a finger, “it was a chaste little peck on the head, hardly anything to make grandma swoon about,” he flourished and administered a second finger, “two! I can’t reiterate this enough, but it is none of any kids business - in fact I don’t know why we’re still talking about it, you guys have better more interesting things to worry about. Like, grades,” this was meat by a chorus of groans, “and, uh. Arcades?”

The kids in question shrugged. 

Teru leaned forward, “But like…a kiss is a kiss is a kiss, right? Like??” Teru gesticulated with his hands, “It’s still a kiss!”

“There are many cultures where kissing on the cheek is a greeting. Lets not get carried away.”

Shou snorted, “do we live in any those places, old man?!” 

“Hey!” Though the fire behind being called old didn’t have its usual gusto. Because something was slowly clicking into place in Reigen’s mind. He blinked at Shou, “I, well, no…not at all…”

They stared at him.

He stared back.

They kept staring at him, waiting for the gears to click into place.

He stared back.

They kept on staring, while a deep sense of pity for Serizawa grew ever more profound. 

He stared back.

Shou was the first to break the silence, “don’t you think a kiss like that might, I don’t know, I’m just ‘a brat’ here, but, in accordance to, oh, just about all tropes in the history of whatever, like, mean something??”

Teru quickly joined, with a more knowing look, “was it really nothing to write to grandma about? Or even in a diary?”

“I..” started Reigen, the teens leaned forward, fascinated. “You really think he, might, possibly, like,” Reigen slowly pointed a finger at himself, “me?” A blush brighter than the kilowatts of the sun started to bloom over Reigen’s cheeks. 

Shou and Teruki threw all available pillows in arms reach at Reigen, the stupidest smart adult they had ever encountered. 

No amount of pillows could wipe the contorted yet dork-ish look off of Reigen’s face as his brain skyrocketed through multiple thoughts. 

“He has terrible taste in men,” was the first thought that tumbled past Reigen’s mouth before he could stop himself. As a pillow bounced off his ear, Reigen added, “and I really shouldn’t be having this sort of revelations in front of kids.”