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And another one joined us.
He’s beyond helpful in anything related to machines. Already seen him and Socks doing all nighters working on the cannons. Seems like he’s found a friend here already, at least.
If only he wasn’t so cold sometimes…
"We'll wind up dead."
"Gah—" Malt almost choked on his bread. He thumped his chests, forcing himself to swallow.
Even the cold Jin was startled.
"Whoa, you need water?"
Malt shook his head. "I-I'm fine."
He wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt. Neither of them spoke, only the sound of the wind filled the awkward silence between them. Even the beautiful view from the top of the Taranis didn't help in easing Malt.
"So was that all you wanted to ask me? Don't worry. I can carry my weight."
"I know; I've seen how well you can handle the machines. Just don't push yourself too much, okay?"
Jin frowned. "And what else am I supposed to do? We've got no other choice. You sure we have the time to relax?" Before Malt could retort back, Jin shoved the rest of his bread into his mouth. Chewing, he stood up, wiping off crumbs of bread from his pants. "I hope you don't regret getting soft during these times."
And there he goes.
Malt sighed, huffing as he lay on his back, looking up at the now orange sky.
"Jin…"
A box of materials in his hands, Malt was about to enter the workshop before his ears perked. He could hear Socks and Jin inside. Their voices carried a cheerful tone, even Jin's.
"I see. Then if I were to do this…"
"You still need to tighten this part. Better be safe than sorry."
Malt peaked his head slightly through the doorway.
"There you go," said Jin. "Keep this up and you'll be able to design your own machine in no time."
"Hehe, you better catch up then. I would still need help from the future factory manager."
Malt saw a faint smile on Jin's face.
Cute, he thought. If only he wore that more often .
Putting the friendliest smile he could himself, Malt revealed himself. "Yo."
"Malt!" Socks ran over to him, tiptoeing as he peeked inside the box in his hands. "Thank you! With these, we can finally finish upgrading the cannon."
Malt brought the box to the workbench. He set it down with a huff, wiping the beads of sweat on his forehead with an arm.
Jin inspected the contents of the box. "Seems like everything we need alright. Thanks."
“Actually…” Malt rubbed his nape. “Mind if I help?”
"Sure!" said Socks. He was already taking parts out of the box. "Three heads are better than two."
The workbench now more crowded than before, the trio worked on the cannon. Socks seemed to be busy mumbling to himself as he worked, so Malt scooted closer towards Jin.
“So, how’s it going?”
"..."
"Jin?"
“Oh. It’s fine. I can handle these machines. Well, most of them. There’s still a lot that I don’t know yet.”
“That’s good, but that’s not what I mean." Malt pointed at him. "How’ve you been feeling?”
“Me?”
Malt nodded.
“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. You should worry more about yourself; you're the leader." Jin stopped working and faced Malt. "If you fall, we all will. You, your family, me, everyone… we'd all die."
Malt looked back, a small frown on his face. "I get it."
"You see? So—"
His frown turned upside down. "You really care about everyone, huh?"
"...What?"
"You're blunt about it. Really blunt, actually." He patted Jin's shoulder. "But you're saying this 'cause you're worried about us."
Jin huffed. "...You're reading too much into it. I'm just telling the truth, sheesh."
"If you say so." Malt chuckled.
Sock's busy with that Sheena.
Jin absentmindedly played with his claws. His tools on the bench lay untouched.
The machines don't need any maintenance right now either I think. Sorry Edgar, Adam, everyone. You're not getting any action today.
He saw Boron pass by, crumbs around his mouth and a basketful of bread in his hands.
Looks like he’ll be busy in the kitchen again.
Jin sighed and leaned back on the wall. He looked up at the ceiling, looking at nothing in particular.
Wonder what Malt’s doing…
His eyes wandered around the room. Kids walked by, but none of them were the leader.
Wait, why did I even think of him—
Malt walked through the doorway. Jin's train of thought stopped as he eyed the boy. He had a notepad in his hand and a pencil in the other. Whatever was on the notepad, it clearly fixated him.
“Hmm…” Jin hummed to himself. "Wonder what he's doing."
With little thought, he followed behind as he made his way to the messroom.
"Hey, Boron, Hannah!"
Jin peeks through the doorway. Malt was showing them the list and asking them questions. Before long, he rolled up his sleeves and helped them.
Always helping everyone…
“Hey, Jin.”
“Whoa?!”
Jin looked down beside him. It was Mei, tugging at his pants. She looked up at him, her eyes full of curiosity.
“Why’re you staring at big brother so much?”
“N-nothing, nothing!” Jin looked back at the trio, and Malt was gone. He looked around and saw Malt walking to the farm, crossing something off the note in his hand.
“I gotta go.” Jin followed him without thinking. He could hear the elevator working, and when he arrived, it was coming back up. He rode it down. Only then did he question himself why he was even doing this.
His thoughts were interrupted when he arrived.
"Jin!" Malt looked up at him. He was crouching down next to the farm, sleeves still rolled up, his hands now covered in dirt. "What're you doing here? Did the machines here break?"
"O-Oh, uh… Yeah!" He walked briskly past Malt to a corner of the room. "Maybe. I was gonna check, actually."
"I see. Well, just tell me if you need any help."
Jin nodded. He grumbled to himself as he inspected the room, pouring most of his effort to not make eye contact with Malt.
Why did I even come here? Why was I following him?
Questions kept popping up in his head, questions with answers he had an inkling of, but he kept it at the back of his mind.
Eventually, he found places he could refine, fix, to distract himself from whatever the heck he did with Malt. And before he knew it, it was already nighttime.
Malt was gone from the farm. Jin felt relief from that, and… disappointment. He didn't dwell on that feeling.
"Let's just sleep," he muttered.
The sounds of metal and machine filled his ears as he rode up the elevator. He expected the quietness, but what he didn't expect was Malt hunched over at the table, passed out. Near him was the notepad.
It was a checklist of everyone's requests. All of them were checked.
Jin glanced at the sleeping Malt. He looked… tired, vulnerable. Jin sighed. He went to the dormitory, grabbed a blanket, and came back. Carefully, he wrapped it around Malt.
"Idiot."
Malt looked up at the blue sky. It was clear today, no cloud in sight. He felt the fishing rod stir in his hands.
"Oop."
He fished up whatever he caught. More materials. He put them in a pile behind him and cast the rod again. He liked the repetitive cycle. It was calm, relaxing.
His ears perked when he heard footsteps approaching from behind. He turned his head to look.
"Oh, Jin. What brings you here?"
"Just walking around. Thought getting some fresh air would help clear my mind a bit."
With that, he sat down on the ground next to Malt, his legs hanging. He stayed silent, his eyes following whenever Malt caught something with his rod.
"You wanna try?"
Jin shook his head. "Just wanted some fresh air. That's all. Not interested in it much, anyways."
Malt cast his rod again. "Don't like fishing?"
"I'd rather spend my time with machines."
Malt gave a side eyed glance. He could sense that wasn't the whole reason. "By the way, how long were you fixing things up down there? I didn't see you come up at all."
"Oh, I didn't finish till pretty late. Lots of stuff I missed that needed upkeep. Why?"
"Nothing."
Then who put the blanket on me would be… And Mei told me he was staring too…
Malt couldn't help but giggle at the thought.
Malt slowly opened his eyes. He felt sluggish, tired and spent. The first thing he saw was the underside of another bed.
Must be in the dormitory.
For a few moments, he lay still. He tried to get up, but winced. He felt his head throb, his body aching.
"Ow…"
The throbbing didn't stop, but he forced himself up, now sitting on the bed. He placed a palm on his forehead and rubbed it, hoping it would at least help ease it down somehow.
"Already forcing yourself as soon as you wake up, you really are an idiot."
"Hey, that's uncal—" Another throb. "Ugh…"
"Lie back down."
He sat still. "What about the others? Are they okay?"
"Knew you'd ask. So like you to worry more about the others " Jin approached the bedridden Malt. "They are. Now relax."
With a sigh, he lay back down. He looked to his side and saw Jin was carrying a tray of food.
"For you," Jin said as he set it down next to Malt. "Noticed you were stirring up. You must be hungry."
Malt only stared back.
"...What? Not hungry?"
He shook his head. "Just didn't expect you'd be the one taking care of me. It's usually Hannah that takes care of the injured."
“I-” Jin coughed into his hand. "She's too busy right now. That’s all.”
Malt swore he saw Jin's cheeks were going pink for a second. “Well, thanks. I appreciate it.”
Jin looked away. " Just eat the food."
Malt chuckled. Ain't that cute , he thought as he ate. Jin was right; he was hungry. He chowed down the food in minutes.
Malt wiped leftover food around his mouth with sleeve, noticing Jin staring from the corner of his eyes. He's been sitting on a stool nearby, his arms crossed and leaning back on the wall.
"..Are you smiling?"
Jin's eyes widened. The smile disappeared the next second. "Just keeping a close watch. You could collapse at any moment."
"Hmmm." He stared back at Jin for a moment before getting back to his food, smiling. "If you say so."
"No."
"Jin, come on…"
"I won't let you." His voice raised, growing shaky. "As soon as I didn't see you anywhere, I knew you'd be here."
Malt smiled. "So you know why I'm here. I need to use the soul cannon, Jin. I thought you'd understand."
His tone was soft, and the look in his eyes… It seemed as if he's accepted his fate. Jin gritted his teeth. "And I won't let you! We can still do it. I worked hard on the cannons, reactor—heck, the whole Tarnaris for a reason!"
A loud bang came from outside, and the whole Tarnaris shook. They almost fell but kept their balance by leaning on the wall.
"I never expected you to be the one going emotional over this."
Another bang.
"You're the leader of the group. You always say that. If you're gone, we'll all fall."
Malt began walking towards him, his steps confident. "The same will happen if I don't go in the so—"
"NO!" Jin grabbed Malt by the hand. "We'll make it through this. All of us."
Malt looked down. He grew quiet.
"Think about Mei."
That seemed to send a jolt of realization through Malt.
"I don't want her to lose you like I did my father."
Then Jin ran, dragging Malt behind him. As much as he fought back, he couldn't free himself from Jin's tight grasp.
"J-Jin?!"
“Why do we have to do the laundry…”
“Because it’s our turn today,” said Malt as he received the clothes Mei handed over. “Now come on, the laundry won’t do itself if you keep complaining.”
Mei pouted. “Fiiine.”
They continued hanging the laundry. Malt hummed a cheery song during which Mei couldn’t help but notice.
“You’re really happy lately.”
“Am I?” Malt giggled to himself. “I guess I have been, huh?”
Mei couldn’t help but giggle along. She picked up the next batch of clothes from the basket, handing them over to him. “You’ve been talking a lot to Jin too.”
Malt hummed in agreement.
“See! You’re smiling too now!” Mei looked down in thought for a moment. Then, she met her brother’s eyes. “Do you like him?”
Malt paused for a second. His smile turned into a widex warm grin.
"I do."
"Scrap fishing again?"
Malt nodded. "Mhm."
"Mind if I join?"
Malt shook his head. And with that, Jin sat down next to Malt like usual. Ever since Jin first visited during Malt's fishing session, he's been consistently coming by and staying. Sometimes just to chat or enjoy the silence with.
Yet he says he'd rather spend time with machines than fishing , Malt thought, smiling.
"Can I try?"
Malt blinked. "Huh?"
Jin reached his hand out. "I said, can I try?" The answer he got from Malt was only a blank stare. "W-what? I just think it'll be useful to get more materials. The Tarnaris could use it."
"Heh, okay."
Jin more or less figured it out, with a little guidance from Malt. They chatted the day away, Jin fishing up some materials here and there. They grew quiet after a while. Malt gave Jin a side-eyed glance, enjoying the silence for a few more moments before opening his mouth.
"So you like me."
Jin froze.
Neither of them said a word. Only when the rod almost fell from Jin’s grip did he finally jolt back awake and grab it.
"I… Uh… What?"
"You heard me."
"..."
Jin couldn’t piece any words together. His mind was blank. Then he felt his cheeks warm up. Finally, he let out a long breath.
“...What of it?”
Malt was grinning, filled with joy that he was right in his assumption.
"Just wanted to let you know I know."
"Is that it?" Jin muttered, his cheek still pink.
"And that you're not the only one having those feelings."
"Huh?" Then realization hit him. "...Oh."
Jin said nothing else, and neither did Malt. Jin only looked at the ground, not pulling up his rod, despite catching something.
Then Malt scooted closer.
"U-uh…"
His blush intensified. Then, slowly, he scooted closer. Jin could feel steam coming out of his ears; he felt like he could die. He was happy.