Chapter Text
It was one of the first times he’d slept through the night without nightmares or constant aching arms, and it was all thanks to Eishia. He was a bit absentminded as he thought about the young nurse, his preparation for that day’s job taking longer than usual.
He thought about what she had said, how he could come to her anytime he needed to. Aside from Regto (well, to be honest, Regto could always tell when he started to act up), he hadn’t voluntarily asked for help with his arms. Now he could come to Eishia. That meant everything to him, even if he didn’t realize it.
It felt like a thanks wasn’t enough.
They received the job early today. Gris was in charge of driving, so he actually listened to other Two Lily songs instead of putting a single album on repeat. Rudo leaned against the car window as Riyo and the younger Supporters sang along with the radio.
Rudo should’ve learnt the lyrics of almost every hits by now, but he’d rather hear his friends’ voices instead of his.
They soon arrived at the given location, and were immediately greeted by terrified citizens who ran the opposite direction, yelling about the one thing they were there to kill. Rudo moved with the fluency he hadn’t been able to execute for weeks, his arms no longer holding him back.
For the day, his stomach wasn’t in a knot he couldn’t free.
After they’ve taken down the horde, they went to a joint and feasted. They passed through an ongoing market as well, and Riyo decided that it was about time she’d take Rudo shopping. So while Gris and the others went their separate ways, Riyo took his gloved hand as they pattered down the buzzing streets.
There were all kinds of stalls: mostly food (a Riyo favorite), clothing, souvenirs, all age appropriate magazines… but what caught Rudo’s eye was a little foam keychain, carved into the shape of a hydrangea, painted carefully in acrylic white and golden seams. He recognized the flower from some of Regto’s notes. The moment his eyes landed on it, he stopped scanning the section.
It reminded him of Eishia - its soft, shrubbery petals mirroring her gentleness and shy nature immediately. He wasn’t always a people’s person, but he trusted his instincts this time.
Regto would make him these toys from pure scrap. He’d cherish them so much even when in flaring pain from his arms, he’d keep them as near as possible even if he couldn’t hold them. He never sold them either.
Then they were gone forever.
There was a lean on his shoulder that he recognized as Riyo, snapping him back to the present.
“Keychains?” The older girl whistled. “You know that they’re all made from waste?”
“Woah,” Rudo muttered under his breath, speechless by how detailed they all were. “They’re good.”
“Some of the best recyclers in town,” Riyo smirked. “Maybe I can get you signed up to their program. That can be your part time job aside from cleaning up trash beasts!”
“No thanks….” Rudo winced, not considering the offer. His eyes landed on the hydrangea again, and it caught Riyo’s this time. She made an awed sound, unhooking it from the board.
“This one?” She didn’t sound judgemental at all, but Rudo did stiffen from the realization that it was right in front of his face. “It’s a pretty thing, sure, but I didn’t know you like this kind of stuff.”
“Er-“ his mouth was agape, mind boggling for an excuse. Anything but “it’s for Eishia”. Anything but-
“It’s for Eishia.” Oh my god.
“Woah there,” Riyo seemed genuinely surprised and curious at the same time. “Our Rudo, getting a present for Eishia?”
“It’s nothing!” Rudo immediately went rigid, face heating up. He couldn’t turn back now. “I just… my arms hurt a lot more yesterday.”
Riyo stopped now, attentive green eyes focused on the younger boy. Rudo sucked a breath and continued. “So I went to her, and she helped me out. That’s it. That’s why I wanted to get her a gift.”
His teeth were clenched hard now, expecting mockery, but instead, he heard Riyo giggle.
“You’re such a cornhead,” she patted his white hair, then clasped her hands together loudly. “Okay, my treat!”
“Seriously?” Rudo’s eyes lit up. “You- you would?”
“Well it’s not like you’ve got any cash right now,” the older girl rolled her eyes, and placed money on the counter. “Besides, you deciding to buy something off the market is like a one time event. Consider this my gift for your achievement.”
The keychain was packed neatly in a little gift box, colored in pastel beige and dark pink ribbons. Rudo admired it before eventually dropping it into his pocket.
After raiding at least ten more food stalls (a Riyo scheme), the two eventually reunited with the rest of the team and drove home.
Everyone was kind of asleep now, so there wasn’t music. In the silence, Gris asked Rudo about his shopping spree with Riyo and the kid showed him the gift. Gris seemed happy that Rudo had bought something of his own liking.
The moment they reached headquarters, Rudo silently slipped down the hallway until he reached the infirmary. Eishia wasn’t there, thank god. He gently placed the gift in the furthest bedside table of the room and hurried out. There was a note next to it as well.
Thanks for helping me.
As he retreated to his room, he hoped she’d accept it.
The next time he came to Eishia was for some nasty cuts caused by a fall. He’d missed his swing and was flung into the air by a beast, shoulder and leg torn open after landing into scrap, but quickly recovered and defeated the threat before reuniting with his team. Zanka chewed him out for being reckless and they bickered the whole way back, though the older teen ended up being the one dragging him to the infirmary.
”Stop squirmin’ or I’m gonna drop you,” the older teen threatened as he held Rudo by his hood. The boy was thrashing in pure rage of being manhandled.
”Let me walk by myself then!” Rudo shot back, his good leg kicking the air. Zanka only gripped tighter and basically kept Rudo in air jail until they arrived at the door. The older teen knocked two times before coming in.
Eishia was standing in front of a supply cabinet before turning to them. Immediately, she surveyed the damage and led them to the bed furthest in. Zanka placed Rudo down like a labubu before thanking Eishia on behalf of his bratty student, and turned to leave.
When the entrance clicked shut, Rudo immediately locked his attention on the bedside, where he’d left the gift. It wasn’t there.
“How did you get these, Rudo…?” Eishia started to question with a perturbed expression, peeling off the gauze, interrupting the kid’s brain with a new wave of agony.
“…I fell,” he murmured, trying not to twitch his leg and disrupt her. He was still looking for the keychain. “A trash beast threw me into the air.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t fatal…” the young nurse conceded, her hands hesitant. “If it was, then…”
Rudo didn’t really understand why she trailed off, but he ignored it. He lied down as Eishia plugged her thumbswitch cord into an outlet. Removing a glove, she hovered near Rudo before he allowed her to touch him.
A hand on the boy’s chest, she clicked on the switch repeatedly. Rudo clamped his eyes shut, but he could still sight the faint, gentle light through his closed lids as warm energy passed through his body, knitting his injuries close. But of course, it was still electricity.
Rudo up from the bed, arms stiff as his hair exploded into cotton. Eishia pulled back a startled hand before the tension eventually left her, expression filled with relief at the sight of a successful healing, while the younger boy experienced slight disturbance of having no bangs left to cover your face.
That somewhat seemed to have helped him with finding the keychain the moment the young nurse turned around to clean the tray.
The white hydrangea hung from her waist bag, clinking softly against the leather. Rudo lightened up with sheer excitement, mouth agape when he spotted it. The kid spluttered, resisting the urge to point a gloved finger at the keychain before Eishia headed over again.
“…Are you okay, Rudo?” The young nurse took note of the boy’s shaking. “Does anything else hurt? Did I miss -?”
“You’re using it?”
Eishia paused. Realization then sinked in and she reached for the keychain hooked on her bag.
“It was you?” She sounded astonished.
“…Yeah?”
“Oh…” Rudo saw her pink eyes soften. She detached the keychain and held it close to her heart. She glanced at the boy. He couldn’t tell what she was feeling.
“Uh….do you like it?” He asked instead, heart hammering.
“No, I-“ it sounded like she was choking back tears? What. “I didn’t expect it to be from you… where did you get this?”
The kid thought hard about his next words. “Riyo took me ‘shopping’,” he finally said, a bit of red creeping up to his baby face. “I didn’t know how to thank you…for the other day. I didn’t know…how to repay you. So I got you a gift instead… if that’s okay?”
He was absolutely flabbergasted when he lifted his head to Eishia. Streaks of tears rolled down her cheeks as she gazed at the hydrangea in her hands, cradling them with open palms like it was a precious thing. She lifted an arm to wipe them away but they just kept coming.
“Sorry, I-“ she sniffled, her nose a shade of bright rose. “…Apart from Auggie, no one’s ever…” she was fully covering her eyes now, the keychain pressed against her face. “It’s so pretty…”
Rudo was so confused now.
Ultimately he got off the bed, his leg and arm no longer stinging and awkwardly approached her, patting her gently on the arm.
“There……there?” He questioned his own actions, wondering if he was doing the right thing. But Eishia removed her hands when he did, face red and puffy, a small, genuine smile appearing.
“Thank you, Rudo.”
“What, you made that for me?” Regto removed his goggles to take a closer look at the lantern Rudo had just fixed. “And that’s your first fix-it as well!”
Rudo was pink faced, looking away in pure shyness as his dad took the object. He received an affectionate head pat, and met Regto’s kind, ocean blue eyes.
“Thanks, kid.”
“‘S nothing,” Rudo slurred, handing her a tissue from the bedside.