Chapter Text
Riyo has seen Zanka at his lowest lows and his highest highs, but she can’t remember a time when he was this… broken. She hated to use that word to describe her friend, her friend who, if he knew what she was thinking, would start spiralling.
But it’s the truth. And she hates it.
She can see just how hard this is not only for Zanka, but for Gris and Enjin as well. ‘Especially Enjin,’ she thinks, guilt piercing her. She wishes she could do more for her friend, but she also knows how stern Enjin is, especially when it comes to the well-being of his pack. She’d even go so far as to say his protectiveness has gotten them into more harm than good since Zanka started presenting.
Rudo was also having a hard time with this whole situation. He’d never really had a proper pack, so this was a completely new experience for him, and everyone wishes it wasn’t this hard. Enjin had been hoping that Rudo’s first experience with someone presenting would be Dear, but the universe had other plans, plans that involved making Zanka the butt of the joke.
“Enjin,” she says, and the man looks up, massive bags under his eyes. “I’ve got him. You need to take a break, man,” she tells him, noting how the man seems a bit hesitant. Riyo understands that, as pack leader, his instincts are likely unbearable right now. But she also knows that Zanka and the rest of the pack need him to be at his best.
With a sigh, Enjin lets go of Zanka, passing him over to Riyo, thanking her a bit before leaving the room. Zanka’s sobs still echo through the room, but they’re quieter now, toned down from how scratchy his voice is.
“I know, ZanZan, no need to keep screaming at me,” she jokes, hoping to make him feel somewhat normal, knowing just how fucked up her friend's mind is.
Zanka just whines, clearly in pain, burying himself under the covers more, almost like he’s hiding from everyone. That is, until he pulls Riyo under the blankets with him, rubbing his neck on her, scenting her almost.
Since his heat started, he’s mostly been with Enjin and Gris, so it made sense for them to be covered in the omegas' scent. But because he and Riyo were packmates and friends, it didn’t seem weird at all for him to cling to her and rub up on her. She does the same, scenting him as well, and Zanka seems to relax a bit. Sure, he’s still in pain, but at least he’s able to relax a little.
Gris is completely knocked out, sleeping on the floor next to Rudo, who had woken up for a few minutes before falling back asleep.
.
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He needed a beer. And a smoke. Maybe he also needed to get laid. Really, just anything to relieve some of the stress that was piling up because of Zanka. It wasn’t the kids' fault, not at all, but that didn’t change the fact that he was stressed out of his mind.
“You look like you’ve seen better days,” Semiu jokes, and he just groans in response, opening another beer. “I wonder why that is,” he jokes, chugging the can.
“How’s he doing?” Bro asks.
“Not good…” he responds, leaning back in his chair, man spreading. Semiu kicks his legs, forcing them closed a bit, not a fan of his man spreading. “Bitch,” he says, but Semiu hits him in the head, and he groans. He deserved it, sure, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed getting hit on the head.
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When Gris woke up the first thing he noticed was that Enjin was gone, and he couldn’t find Zanka or Riyo. Before he could fully panic, he hears noise coming from the bathroom, peaking in to see both Zanka and Riyo in the bath, Riyo washing his hair.
“Oh, hey Gris,” she says, a smile on her face that eases his worries. “Hey, Riyo… Where’d Enjin go?” He asks, watching as she uses a cup to pour water on Zanka’s hair. “I kicked him out because he was getting stressed out,” she explains, continuing to wash Zanka’s hair.
With a sigh, Gris closes the door, leaving the two by themselves.
Zanka groans, not in pain, but in relaxation. “Your scalp is all oily,” she notes, scrubbing the shampoo into his scalp. She knows it’s from all of the sweating, and she also knows that, when Enjin gave him a bath, he didn’t wash his hair that well. “It’s ok, Zan, I’ll get’cha nice and squeaky clean,” she jokes, and Zanka hums in response.
Getting out of the tub first, she wraps a towel around herself before hauling Zanka out and doing the same to him. He doesn’t protest, letting Riyo dry his hair before wrapping him in a towel. Once she’s dried off, she puts her own clothes on before putting a pad in Zanka’s boxers and helping him get dressed. Zanka insists he can do it himself, but he almost falls when he tries, caving and letting Riyo get him dressed.
“Brush your teeth,” she tells him, grabbing his toothbrush and putting a generous amount of toothpaste on it, handing it to Zanka, who almost drops it. “Jeez, I guess I’ma have’ta take care of everything,” she jokes, and Zanka glares at her, but obeys her instructions when she has him open his mouth.
“Do you have any skincare?” She asks, and Zanka points over at his cabinet, revealing a cleanser and moisturiser. Again, he insists he can do it himself, but he fails miserably, allowing Riyo to take care of him.
Plugging in the blow-dryer, she sets the heat to low, drying his hair off before doing hers, sitting Zanka down on the toilet while she does her hair. “There we go!” She says happily, dragging him back up and practically throwing him into his nest.
Gris is still asleep, snoring slightly, and Rudo joins the pair in Zanka’s nest. “Shithead,” Zanka says when Rudo joins them, and he wants to retaliate, but decides to let Zanka have it this one time, also knowing that Riyo isn’t in the mood to break up a fight between the pair.
“Just go to sleep, Zanka,” she tells him, wrapping her arms around both boys.
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When Enjin returns, he can’t help but smile at the sight, joining Gris in his spot on the floor. “Have fun?” Gris asks, and he elbows him a bit, both of them laughing slightly. “Yeah… Damn, I really needed that,” he says, running his hand through his hair. Gris smiles, leaning his head on his friend.
“Riyo gave him a bath,” Gris tells him, and Enjin hums. “Washed his hair, and I think I heard them arguing about brushing teeth, so that’s good.”
Enjin hums, nodding his head slightly before closing his eyes.
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Gris and Enjin left the three kids by themselves, and Rudo snuck out of the room quickly, going to his room and grabbing some of his hidden sweets stash, rushing back to the room in time for Riyo and Zanka to start waking up. He plops back down in the bed, handing Zanka one of his chocolates, causing both Zanka and Riyo to look at him like they’ve seen a ghost.
“What?” He asks, confused as to why he’s being looked at like he died and then came back to life all in the span of a few seconds. “You’re giving Zanka your sweets?” Riyo asks, and Zanka, albeit too tired to speak, hums in agreement.
“God forbid I want ta do somethin nice!” He huffs, and Riyo and Zanka look at each other with furrowed brows before looking back at Rudo with the same, confused look. “What’s that mean?” Riyo asks, and now it’s Rudo’s turn to look at them, confused. “You said ‘God forbid,’ or whatever. What’s that mean?” She asks, and suddenly everything makes sense. They didn’t have “god” down on the Ground.
“Oh, uh, it’s like…” he tries to figure out the way to properly phrase it. “So on the Sphere some people worship a ‘God’ or whatever. So some people, when they want to get a point across or make a joke, say ‘God forbid…’ and then whatever they want to say. I dunno the exact meaning, really, that’s just what I assumed it meant…” he explains.
Both just nod, clearly not understanding but not caring enough to keep discussing something as useless as Spherite language, and Rudo seems to understand this. After all, he doesn’t really understand half of what was said up on the Sphere.
Enjin and Gris come back with food, and the Riyo and Rudo start eating, Zanka not having any appetite right now, instead drinking some water before falling asleep again.
“Is he gonna keep doing that?” Rudo asks, talking about Zanka randomly falling asleep. “Probably,” Enjin answers, causing both Riyo and Rudo to frown.
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By the time Enjin wakes up, Zanka’s full body is red and sweaty, his skin hot to the touch. “Shit,” he mutters, rubbing his eyes. He grabs some water, clicking his tongue when he realizes that it’s almost empty. He wants to ask someone to fill up the bottle, but it’s already late enough, and his pack needs sleep.
Growling to himself slightly, he heads down to the mess hall to fill the cup. When he returns, Zanka is panting, whining, a heat-filled mess of hormones and sweat that makes Enjin’s stomach churn.
Nudging the boy slightly, he shows him the water, watching as Zanka tries, and fails, to drink it himself. “I’ve got ya, bud,” he tells him, sitting Zanka up slightly and placing the water to his lips, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when Zanka starts drinking.
He finishes the water quickly, and Enjin places the bottle down, grabbing a different bucket (he’ll have to thank Gris for thinking ahead), filling it with a bit of cold water before grabbing a washcloth and returning to Zanka’s side, soaking the cloth in the cold water, patting away some of the sweat that’s forming on his brow before placing it on his forehead.
Gently removing his shirt, he gets a new, cold cloth, wipes away the sweat, and places it on his chest, going to get some more water.
He can practically hear Gris yelling at him that the bathroom sink has perfectly fine water, but he also knows that, while this may be true, Zanka insists there’s a difference that none of them can taste. He can’t help but laugh at the memory.
Zanka’s still clearly in discomfort when Enjin returns, but he no longer feels like a melted trash beast when Enjin so much as touches him.
Deciding that the cold towel method is working, he repeats the process over… and over… and over… and over again…
Once the others start waking up, Enjin gives Gris a rundown of the situation, plopping down next to Zanka in his nest and promptly falling asleep.
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By the time Enjin wakes up, Zanka is already dry heaving, spit falling from his mouth. Nothing comes up, though, so that’s good… maybe(?). He doesn’t really know what he’s supposed to do right now.
After a bit of thinking, he grabs a washcloth and wipes the saliva from his chin. Zanka just groans, way too tired to do much of anything at the moment.
He’s panting, whining with every movement, clearly upset by everything going on. His arms give out, and Enjin has to basically catch him. A yelp escapes the teen, the sudden movement rattling him, so Enjin tries to be as careful as possible as he helps him lie back down.
Riyo and Rudo are sleeping soundly at the foot of the nest, and Gris wraps his arms back around Enjin and Zanka, nuzzling into Enjin’s neck tiredly, opening his eyes slightly to make sure that both Zanka and Enjin are somewhat ok. Enjin is just incredibly tired, while Zanka looks like death itself. He’s tossing and turning in Enjin’s arms, trying to get somewhat comfortable with how much pain he’s in.
Sighing, Enjin closes his eyes, and Gris does the same, frowning when Zanka continues whining, but knowing that he and Enjin both need sleep if they’re going to help Zanka.
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He feels like he’s getting worse. The gagging won’t stop, even when nothing but strings of saliva fall from his lips. He’s exhausted. He feels weak. The other teams are having to take care of the jobs that would usually be left to Team Akuta because of him. Everyone was tired because of him.
“Easy, kid,” Enjin mumbles, running his hands through Zanka’s hair before wiping away the tears he didn’t know were falling. Enjin’s voice is filled with exhaustion, and it hurts him more because he knows it’s because of him. It’s all his fault. He didn’t know how he could cause so much destruction in just five days.
His arms gave out on him, and Enjin caught him, gently laying him down as he curled in on himself.
He reaches out for his water, but he can’t reach it, groaning to himself when he fails. Enjin notices and grabs the water for him, having to bring it to his lips because the omega’s hands don’t have the strength to do it himself.
“How much longer…” He groans once Enjin takes the now empty glass away from him. “A little less than a week,” Enjin replies, but this only makes Zanka more frustrated. He has to deal with this for another week? Who did he piss off in a past life to have to suffer this much?
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“I’ll take him, Enjin,” Riyo tells him, noticing that she might need to deal with the blood that has started to stain his pants slightly. He won’t admit it, but he’s glad that Riyo’s been taking care of that so he doesn’t have to. He knows just how prideful the kid is, especially around him, and he can’t imagine how embarrassed that situation would make him feel.
Thanking Riyo, he leaves to go meet up with Corvus, who had asked for an update on Zanka when possible, leaving Riyo and Zanka together.
“Oki doki, ZanZan,” she tells him, practically hauling him out of his nest and bringing him to the bathroom, sitting him down on the toilet while she runs a warm bath, using the soap to make bubbles. While she waits for the water to rise, she lifts Zanka back up and helps him brush his teeth before doing hers as well.
“Do you need some help getting out of your clothes?” She asks, his silence answering for her. She strips them both, helping her friend step over the railing and into the tub, sitting him down in between her legs so she can wash him properly.
“You stink, you know that?” She jokes, using a cup to wet his hair, grabbing some shampoo and lathering her hands with it before getting to work massaging his head. She smiles to herself when Zanka starts speaking again, telling her that she needs to do this for him more often.
“I do it for Enjin sometimes when he has bad days,” she tells him, and Zanka hums. “I can see why he asks…” he mumbles.
“Eh, I remember just doing it unprompted when I first joined the Cleaners. He tried to stop me at first, but eventually gave in and started asking me to massage his head. I can always do it for you whenever you want. The only reason I haven’t pounced on your head is cause I know you don’t like being touched unprompted.”
“Thanks for that,” he tells her, and he means it. He’s always hated physical touch most of the time, but his teammates were the first people to make him realize that physical touch didn’t have to hurt. He was still trying to work on that a bit, but they all seemed to understand.”
Once she washes them both up, she helps him get out and into fresh clothes, placing a new pad in his boxers before helping him get dressed. “Okay, you ready to get back in bed?” She asks, and he nods, wanting to fall asleep again, despite how much sleep he’d been getting recently. She helps him stand, maneuvering around Gris and Rudo, who fell asleep on the floor, snuggling up against Zanka when they get in his nest.
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“Enjin,” Corvus says, smiling politely at his team member, who gives a weak smile back. “Please, take a seat. I just want to ask a bit about Zanka’s situation, if that’s alright with you.”
He groans as he sits down, feeling like he’s aged fifteen years in just a few days. “Mhm… What all do ya wanna know?” He asks, wondering if his words even sound coherent because of how tired he is.
“I was just wanting to know how he’s doing. How he’s progressing and such. I haven’t stopped by to check in because I didn’t want to disturb anything, but I would like to visit him and have a chat when he feels up to it,” he notes, scanning Enjin’s face before continuing. “But I also wanted to ask how you are doing.”
Enjin freezes, his mind still trying to catch up with the conversation. Not to mention, why was the boss asking about how he was doing when Zanka is the one curled up in his room suffering because of his good-for-nothing family? “Uhh, fine? I guess? Just a bit tired ‘s all,” he says, itching to grab his cigarettes. He knows how much Corvus hates him smoking in his office.
“Enjin, I care about you. And I care about everyone here. But I also know that being pack alpha with a newly presented omega in a situation as difficult as Zanka’s must be taking some sort of emotional toll on you…”
He doesn’t say anything. Not because his mind is trying to catch up, but because a memory he had tried to suppress had started coming back.
“I remember… back at tha ‘orphanage,’ there was a girl who presented when she was sixteen… An omega… Um…” he fiddles with his fingers, itching to grab his cigarettes. “Someone… some guy came into the room and took her… I… We tried to stop him, but by the time she came back…” he doesn’t have to continue. Corvus places a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner, the same thing he would do for Enjin back when he first joined the Cleaners and would freak out at small things.
He realizes, in that moment, that he’s picked up on a lot of his boss’s mannerisms when it comes to dealing with emotionally traumatized teenagers who lash out the moment they’re shown affection.
“And you see that girl when you look at Zanka, don’t you…?” He asks, but they both know he doesn’t need to respond. They both know the answer. Sighing, Corvus removes his hand from his shoulder, and Enjin quickly wipes away a few tears that had started to fall. “Go back to your kid, Enjin,” he says, and Enjin just nods, standing up to go back to his pack.
The sight he walks into makes him smile. Gris and Rudo are on the floor, Rudo’s tiny little arms wrapping around Gris’s leg while the older man is sprawled out on the floor. Zanka is asleep in Riyo’s arms as the girl gives him one of her notorious head massages that knock anyone to sleep.
She smiles when she sees him, frowning a bit when she notices his eyes are slightly watery, but a shake from the man's head makes her shrug before going back to playing with Zanka’s hair.
He sits down next to Zanka, resting a hand on his back, counting his breaths, almost as if he’s making sure that he’s still alive and with them.
“He gets more lucid when I wash him,” Riyo notes, and Enjin hums slightly. “I think the cold water helps reduce his fever, and the washing relaxes his body, allowing him to rest a bit,” she suggests. He nods again, not trusting his mouth to say the proper words if he speaks.
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“Lila?” A voice, his voice, asks the girl. He can’t stop shaking, and no one moves. Blood stains her pants, bruises litter her body, and a mating mark is placed aggressively on her neck, right over her scent gland. Her breathing is shallow, and her heart isn’t racing anymore when he checks.
“Lila?” He asks again, nudging her slightly, only for her to suddenly wake up in a panic, pushing him away. He falls to the floor, startled at her sudden surge of strength. “Lila?” He asks again, but she snarls at him, grabbing her neck.
“Get away from me! Ya pervert!” She screeches, standing on trembling legs, blood dripping down her legs. She’s terrified.
“Lila?”
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He wakes up in a cold sweat, panting as he struggles to catch his breath. He takes in his surroundings, noting that his pack is still with him and that he’s no longer trapped in that twisted shit hole that he escaped years ago.
After he calms down a bit, he stands up, heading over to the bathroom, stepping over Rudo and Gris, who haven’t moved since he got back from his meeting with the boss.
He scans himself in the mirror, his eyes locking on his tattoos, the tattoos he got as a way to remove those permanent marks on his skin. He scratches his arm slightly before splashing some cold water on his face and sipping from the faucet. When he looks up, he sees Gris standing in the doorway.
“Perfect timing… Almost like one of those shitty movies we watch,” he jokes, running his hand through his hair as he turns back to look at the other man, who doesn’t seem as amused by the joke as he is.
“Nightmare?” Is all Gris asks, having read him like a book. He remembers when Gris came to HQ. He had been there for almost a few years at that point, but he still had nightmares that plagued his dreams. Nightmares that never seemed to go away. One night, after one particularly bad dream, he went to the mess hall to get a snack, only to spot Gris already there.
The man waved at him before his expression turned to one of confusion as he looked at the Giver. “Are you ok?” He asked, handing him a glass of water. “Mhm… Just a bad dream…” he managed to say, taking the glass and using his sleeve to wipe away a few tears. “Wanna talk about it?” He had offered, but Enjin had refused.
This happened again on multiple different occasions until he finally opened up to the other about his past that had haunted his nights since he could remember. He remembers Gris sitting next to him, a hand on his back as he spoke, pulling him into a tight hug when he finished talking.
This time, Gris took him by the hand, dragging him out to the mess hall, sitting them both down on the same couch that they’d had so many conversations on before.
“Wanna talk about it?”
And that’s all it takes for him to spill his guts out. And Gris just sits there, taking in what his friend is telling him, a hand on his shoulder to ground him.
“Fuck, I hate this… I hate this whole situation. I hate having to act as if nothing bad is happening when all I can think of is something like that happening to Zanka… I remember being so… so selfishly relieved when Alice said he would likely never go into heat or fully present… Because then it meant that nothing like that would ever happen to him… There’s a reason omegas are so rare on the Ground, Gris! And it’s because people are sick in the head…”
“Is this what you and the boss talked about?” Gris asks after a few minutes of silence. Enjin nods his head, letting out an unsteady breath as he does so.
“Fuck, I needa smoke…” he notes, and Gris chuckles, standing up and offering his hand out to his friend, who takes it. They head out to the training grounds, sitting down on a bench while Enjin starts chain-smoking his cigarettes, neither of them talking until he finishes his pack, frowning slightly when there isn’t another cigarette to grab.
“You wanna head back inside?” Gris asks, standing up and popping his back. “Sure, old man,” Enjin jokes, getting a shocked face from Gris in response. “We’re basically the same age!” He exclaims, but Enjin just gives the other man one of his signature smirks before walking off. “You’re a dick, Enjin!” Gris shouts, shoulder-checking the other man, both of them laughing like pups.
“You know you love it,” he teases, and Gris rolls his eyes, but he can’t suppress his smile- the one he always seems to get around Enjin. But he doesn’t mind it. He doesn’t mind how he feels when he’s around his best friend.