Chapter Text
It had been a couple weeks—maybe a month at most since Jabber and Amo met.
Corvus still made Jabber give him updates every now and then, it was a miracle how he always knew when he was there.
Jabber had somehow ended up being at the Cleaner’s HQ way more than he planned—not that he was complaining! He loved any chance he could hang out with Zanka.
But today, he had decided to take a little break from annoying his favorite bunny, to walk around town.
It was something he always did when there was nothing else to entertain him with, but this time he had a goal in mind!
The goal was to find Zanka a gift.
It was nearing a year since they started dating, but he didn’t really need a reason. Can a person really not want to give his lover a gift?
The nearest town to Cleaner’s HQ was full of nocturnal animals, meaning there wasn’t a lot of traffic in the daytime. The noisy crowds always managed to irritate him.
A few of the storefronts looked promising—they had an array of gems embedded on different pieces of jewelry.
But they didn't really speak to him.
It didn't help that he'd never actually asked Zanka what jewelry or accessories he liked.
The little crusade just started and it already seemed to be on a bad footing.
Knowing Zanka, he would be happy that Jabber even got him anything, even if he didn’t show it. It made sense with his upbringing—at least what little he's told Jabber.
His family hardly ever acknowledged him outside of his training. Let alone give him gifts.
Zanka didn’t even understand what proper grooming between partners was—not that Jabber had a problem with teaching him. It was just crazy how many things he didn’t know about just because of his family.
Well, there were definitely a lot of people like that on the Ground.
Jabber had ended up near the food stalls, definitely not where he meant to go, but welcomed the change either way.
It was all the basic street food, burgers, street tacos, corn dogs, anything that was easy to carry. Most of it was greasy, which didn't bother Jabber all the time, but he knew he couldn’t stomach it at the moment.
He kinda had a feeling for something sweet, but it would be impossible to find sweets sold at this time of day, especially in street stalls. He might as well just go back to prowling the stalls he had already passed.
Suddenly a sickenly sweet smell flowed into his nose. Cats had insanely good noses, so all the food stalls overwhelmed them usually. But, this smell cut through everything else in the area.
Jabber followed the scent, his tail wagging along with him, it was coming from behind him, but he was sure there weren’t any sweet stalls here?
His eyes landed on a girl of short stature, the same one with fucked up bangs that he saw at Cleaner HQ.
“Oh, you!” He called out, making the lamb look up at him with a defensive look, before easing up seeing his face.
She tilted her head, “Oh, Amo remembers seeing you, um… What’s your name?”
“Jabber, Jabber Wonger,” He smiled. So she was the one with that sweet thing, it looked like a cake.
“Well, what are you doin’ round here, little missy?” Amo was a pretty small girl, he was sure she couldn’t be an offensive fighter with how she explained her ability before. Plus those Boots of hers made her a pretty good target.
She giggled, starting to walk again.
“Amo really wanted cake, the seller I got this from is really good! Rudo also said he wanted to try some,” She explained.
Rudo… That name seemed familiar to Jabber.
It was that little brat he fought when he met Zanka! The rabbit always complained about stuff the kid said or did. He seemed like he’d never interacted with people before.
Jabber walked with her, matching the pace. “That’s nice, I was looking for something sweet too, could you lead me to some good shops?”
Amo nodded, “Amo is fine with that!”
Apparently this area did have a lot of sweet shops, but to prevent them getting stolen or sold by untrusted people they were hidden. It was an odd path to get there.
“You must know this area really well to know this place, I hardly ever see sweets sold like this.” Jabber remarked looking at the abundance of stalls, all decorated with colorful sweets, from cakes to candies, they had a large array of anything sweet you’d need.
Amo looked down, almost dejectedly.
“Well, I’ve only been here once with some other Cleaners, they showed me where everything was. It’s actually Amo’s first time out alone here.” The way she spoke seemed like she was embarrassed, a little laugh finishing her statement.
Jabber didn’t know much about her, only that she was kidnapped before the Raiders took her Jinki. Zanka had told him that she had a sad background. Not actually revealing it.
She was quite kind and soft spoken now that he had an actual conversation with her.
“It must be pretty nerve-racking then, don’t worry big bro Jabber will protect ya!” Jabber flexed his biceps, making a show of his muscles.
Amo’s eyes widened before she started laughing, her hand covering her mouth like she was trying to hide it.
Jabber stopped what he was doing, watching the lamb laugh. Her tail wagged a little, it was pretty long for a lamb.
It was weird to say but she had an almost attractive aura, it was calming.
Her laughter died down, “Amo doesn’t need to be protected, she’s strong enough to protect herself… But, thank you big bro Jabber, Amo would like it if you accompanied her.”
Jabber chuckled, “Will do!”
The two looked around for a little bit, stopping at one that sold bags of candy.
“If you don’t mind Amo asking, what are you looking for?” She asked with a tilt of her head.
Jabber thought for a second. He was obviously a little worried about telling her about him and Zanka, Amo wouldn’t tell people, probably. But, Zanka might beat his ass for telling someone without permission.
Actually, that didn’t sound too bad.
“I’m looking for a gift for Zanka, our anniversary is soon!”
Amo looked at him for a moment, like the cogs and gears in her head were turning.
“Wait, are you two…” She leaned in with a hushed tone, “Married? Is it a secret marriage?”
Now it was Jabber’s turn to bust out laughing, she seemed so serious about it too.
“Was Amo wrong? I thought that was it…” She put her hand on her chin.
Jabber wiped away his tears, walking away from the stand they were at. The seller had started giving them a weird look.
“Well you aren’t exactly wrong,” He laughed, “We aren’t married, but we are secretly dating.”
“Oh, is that why uncle Corvus told me you were a secret?”
Jabber nodded, "See I thought about some jewelry but nothing spoke to me, so I went to look for sweets.”
"If Amo is correct, Zanka has a very specific taste for sweets, stuff that comes from his childhood,” She changed her direction, walking to a more secluded place, “Amo knows that he tries to hide what he likes, but a person’s scent always follows their true feelings.”
Jabber nodded along as they walked. The area was almost desolate save for a few people, all of which seemed to be dressed very extravagantly. The stalls were even bigger over here, one that caught his eye was decorated in jewelry, lit up by a flower shaped lamp.
It almost didn't look like a sweet stall until you looked further in.
All of the containers were shaped like flowers, it seemed like glass at a glance.
“This is the stall!” She smiled, “Amo noticed you were already interested in it. Zanka was really excited when he saw it, so she guessed he liked it.”
Even without Amo’s sense of smell, Jabber could tell it was something his partner would like. His ears perked up in curiosity.
Zanka was outwardly a closed off person, but with a little prodding you could tell he was way softer than he looked. Even stuff like the stalls sold was his taste.
The warm light of a flower shaped lamp, the glittering of jewels and stone that Jabber had never seen, the sweets that seemed almost otherworldly.
It was like another universe tucked into the corner of an unassuming marketplace.
The two ventured further in, Jabber couldn’t not stop at almost everything he saw. Everything was definitely expensive, but Jabber was willing to buy something even if he ended up broke.
“Welcome in! What brings you to my humble shop?” A high voice asked, Jabber looked up to see a girl, almost the same height as Amo—just a bit taller.
She was wearing a large frilly dress, to be honest it perfectly fit into the theme of the shop. Bows and frills covered the dress, it was a miracle it didn’t knock anything over.
“I’m looking for a gift,” Jabber replied, he didn’t see a reason not to tell the lady.
“A gift?” She clasped her hands together, “For what occasion? I could help you pick out exactly what you want.”
It was honestly his best bet, if the lady here made everything in the shop, she would know everything about anything there.
“It’s for my anniversary, with my boyfriend,” Jabber explained, “He really likes pretty shiny things like these.”
The lady seemed to think for a moment. It wasn’t a detailed explanation, surely she couldn’t find something based on that.
She grabbed something off the display, it was a set of earrings. They were beautiful. The base was a blue gem connecting gold chains that hung down. On each chain was a vine of pink flowers—Jabber thinks they were called hydrangas—based on the length it would hang over a collarbone.
Jabber’s eyes widened, it was gorgeous. He couldn't believe it was the first try.
"Yeah, that's exactly what he'd like.” Jabber spoke, the words clumsily leaving his mouth.
The lady simply giggled, placing the earrings on the table behind her.
"How about this too?”
She then held up a necklace with a silver chain. At the end of it was a circular shaped stone? It had some sort of metal wrapped around part of it.
"This here is white jade, a very precious yet strong stone. It's pretty hard to find nowadays. The metal here is in the shape of a koi fish, a very sought after fish with a long lifespan”
She placed the necklace in his hands.
"It's rooted in spiritually, but the short version of it is that your relationship will continue to stay calm and it will last long. Both sides will stay resilient. The jade is supposed to look like a ring, it’s technically a proposal without saying it."
Jabber was never all about that spiritual stuff. What happened happened, nothing you could do about it. But the things coming out of the seller's mouth all seemed so believable.
"How much?” Jabber knew both of them would cost a fortune.
"How does seven hundred Galla sound?”
Seven hundred? It was a crazy cheap price considering everything she just said.
"I've decided to add a little discount, mainly because people these days hardly come around here anymore. Also for the little lady in the back, she's helped me out once.”
The lady pointed back at Amo, Jabber had almost forgotten she was there.
"I'll throw on two of these sweets, just pick whichever you kids want.”
Both Jabber and Amo looked at the display case that had those extravagant containers. It was cold, likely because of what they were made of.
"I think Zanka would like this one,” Amo pointed to a circular sweet, her tail wagging in excitement, it was light blue in color and had decorations that resembled pearls, "Its red bean flavor, it's like a sweet bean, Zanka really likes it.”
He nodded, grabbing it and setting it next to earrings. Amo also grabbed one, it was a cup with what looked like a cake, topped with strawberries and cream. It was way smaller than the one she already had.
Considering how hard it was to even grow plants on the ground, the variety of what the lady had was crazy, it must be the work of a giver.
Moreso the cheap price she was selling it for, Jabber was sure that stuff like this would cost thousands.
"Do you make all of this yourself?” Jabber couldn't help himself from asking.
The lady nodded.
"My Jinki specializes in shaping materials, so I make most of the containers and lamps. I have a couple friends who work on the electronic and food sides. The ornaments on the jewelry are also shaped by me.”
The lady started putting the jewelry in separate boxes, they looked high end on their own.
Soon everything was in a single bag, Amo having her own.
Jabber handed her the Galla and walked out with Amo.
"Have a good day, hope you come by with your boyfriend!”
"See you again!” Amo called back, waving with her free hand.
The two walked together, for a bit.
“Why’d ya get cake when you already have one?” Jabber had asked, he had met up with Amo while she was holding that large one before.
“The small one is for Rudo, he’s never had strawberries before. The big one is for Team Akuta as a whole, they’ve really helped Amo a lot.”
Jabber hummed, showing that he was listening.
“When Amo was in the tower, she would force people to talk about love and romance. Not everyone likes that.” Amo held the cake closer to her chest, “The smells she made with Boots made them think she was special to them—but it was just an illusion. In reality, Amo had no one. It was really hard.”
Jabber had known her life before the Cleaners was bleary, but it was different hearing her say it. No one her age should have to deal with stuff like that, he knew from experience.
“Well, at least now you have the Cleaner’s with ya’, it might not be much—but I’ll always help out too!” Jabber spoke slowly, picking his words carefully.
“Thank you, Amo really appreciates it,” She smiled, “I said this the first time we met but your scent really is calming…”
“Hm?” Jabber tilted his head, “Is it that scent of love thing you said?”
Amo nodded, it was hard to find a way to explain things that only she experienced.
“Everyone has scents that make them feel certain ways or remember things, that’s what I mean with the scent of love.” She explained with a serious face, “People give off scents of strong emotions. This might not be a good example, but your love smells like someone in love for the first time. I think of it as something precious.”
Jabber had never really heard of something like that. Obviously some people had better noses, but smelling emotions and matching them with memories seemed really strong. Even crazier that she could make herself the object in those memories.
He really did have to see it for himself. The fact she could tell all of that just from someone’s scent.
The two ended up stopping right before Cleaner HQ.
“I’ll give this to Zan zan later,” Jabber said, already turning around, “See ya’ another time Amo.”
“See you big bro Jabber!” Amo waved.