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Chapter Text

It was a quiet morning, which Zanka wanted to use to practise something with his Lovely Assistaff. In Akuta's last mission, a snake-like Trash Beast had shown unusual scaling, and he wondered if he could lever the scales off its body with a powerful twisting motion.

As he tried out his carefully thought-out movements in the training room, repeatedly swinging at the dummies, which were only moderately helpful in improving his skills, he didn't notice someone else entering the room.

‘Oi, Zanka – don't train too hard! You don't want to run out of energy for today's mission.’

Startled, Zanka turned around and was greeted by a crookedly grinning Enjin. He didn't look ready at all for the day ahead. He was still wearing baggy sweatpants, one of his oversized shirts and had tousled hair, making him look like he had just crawled out of bed. 

Nevertheless, Zanka immediately stopped his exercises and tried to look as presentable as possible. He quickly ran his fingers through his brown hair and wiped the sweat from his forehead before saluting.

‘Master Enjin,’ the boy began, ‘if I had known you wanted to train at this hour, I would have made sure the room was empty.’

He bowed slightly to emphasise his statement, but the blond man waved him off, slightly disturbed, and put his arm around Zanka's shoulder.

He had rarely been so close to Enjin!

If he was approaching him like this, it must be because of a really important matter.

One that Enjin could only confide in him, Zanka.

What an honour!

The boy blushed slightly, but quickly recovered. He couldn't let his emotions show!

‘So,’ chirped the older one, ‘there's something important we need to talk about – do you happen to have a moment? I don't want to disturb your training, but it would be better if we had this conversation before most people get up.’

Zanka nodded excitedly. Who knows what he would be asked to do!

So, under Enjin's guidance, they both went to the dining room, where they put together their usual breakfast. The brown-haired one preferred a light meal of miso soup, rice and tea, while the blond one piled a colourful mix of hashbrowns, bacon, fried eggs and some fruit onto his plate.

The younger man felt a strong urge to talk to Enjin, but he didn't want to come across as cheeky; he wanted to appear as competent as possible, so he stared quietly (and somewhat accusingly) into his tea and waited for the other man to speak. But Enjin took his time and munched on a hashbrown.

But that was definitely all part of Enjin's plan!

He just had to stay calm now.

Take a deep breath, Zanka, take a deep breath.

Then Enjin finally cleared his throat.

‘I've heard something interesting,’ he said, waving his fork around in the air, ‘about some of the Cleaners – do you happen to know what it's about?’

Zanka nervously nibbled at his fingers. What could he mean? Was it something that concerned him in particular and for which he was to be reprimanded? Or could he snitch on someone here?

He could think of a few things that were worth mentioning; after all, it was almost never quiet at headquarters, and there were a whole bunch of weird people lurking around here.

Perhaps Enjin was referring to August's new ‘Trash Couture’ show, where he presented unusual outfits that were not intended to be uniforms for the cleaners? He was really glad that he hadn't been given clothes covered in fairy lights. Riyou had seen things differently and complained to August that he should make her cooler outfits.

He narrowed his eyes.

Or was it more about the mysterious little device that Follo had taken with him on an expedition a few days ago, which had been crawling through the corridors of the building ever since, eating dust and dirt? Sure, it was a bit annoying, but ultimately also quite practical.

Enjin rested his head on his hand, bored.

‘If you can't think of anything, that's perfectly fine, you can't keep track of all the chaos here.’

Oh no! He had disappointed Enjin!

Of course, Zanka couldn't handle that and immediately tried to stammer something out, but failed miserably and took a big sip of tea out of shame.

‘How's the training with Rudo going, by the way?’

Shit!

Now Zanka could imagine what Enjin was getting at. But before he could answer, he choked on his tea in shock. The older man patted him firmly on the back until he stopped coughing.

He stuttered a little in his reply, but not because he was afraid of saying something wrong to Enjin, but because the answer was so terribly embarrassing.

‘The brat's training is going quite well. He's doing okay most of the time, but he still has room for improvement when it comes to handling his Jinki properly. He's not bad in combat, but he probably couldn't defeat any of our Givers at the moment.’

The other man raised an eyebrow. He hadn't told him what he actually wanted to hear. Damn!

‘How are his attacks? Has he improved in that area?’ He could literally hear the smirk in his question, but he didn't want to appear uncooperative in front of Enjin.

Zanka had hoped he could get out of the situation without too much embarrassment.

He had been wrong.

He clasped his hands over his neck, where he felt a blush of shame creeping up. He wanted to continue speaking normally, but somehow his voice sounded a little squeakier than usual.

"His physical abilities for hand-to-hand combat are quite okay in basic exercises such as combining attacks. We could soon move on to specific styles such as judo or aikido.“

That was significantly more praise than he had intended to give the little gremlin. But he didn't want to come across as a conceited know-it-all either.

Enjin raised his eyebrows to signal that he should continue.

‘I heard that he demonstrated a very interesting special attack in class the other day.’ He grinned as if he was really enjoying the show. That couldn't be true!

‘Tell me about it.’

The younger man tried to pull himself together as best he could. Take a deep breath, a really deep breath.

This was just a normal report for Enjin. A completely normal report.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Not embarrassing at all.

Shit, how embarrassing was that even!

‘MaybeRudohuggedmewhenitoldhimtousehisspecialmove,’ he blurted out in one breath.

He still remembered it with horror and felt his blush creeping up from his neck to his face.

‘Hehe, so Semiu didn't screw me over after all! It's cute how the Spherites fight, isn't it?’

That's right!

Zanka hadn't thought of that yet. Of course, the request could have had a completely different implication for Rudo. Maybe a typical special attack in the Sphere was a firm hug? He wished for his Hellguard training to have taught similiar attacks, but oh well…

The longer he thought about it, the more he realised that he had actually thought the hug to be quite nice. The little gremlin had been so warm and his fluffy hair had tickled his chin...

Zanka calmed down again somewhat.

Enjin leaned towards Zanka.

He freaked out again.

What was going on today?

He would have to meditate on this deeply.

A longer break sounded quite promising now.

So he shovelled a large spoonful of soup into his mouth, which was contrary to his usual rules on eating and table manners, but he simply had to process today's events somehow.

‘Are there any developments I should know about? What you do is your business, but I would like to be informed if the team dynamics change in any way.’

Zanka nodded and tried to swallow the soup, but somehow a piece of seaweed had gotten stuck in his throat.

‘If you're doing, you know, teenage stuff, then we might have to have THE talk again — the important one, you know.’

His face was so red from the lack of air that he could have passed for a traffic light, and he was gasping like a fish out of water.

Oh wait, fish can't gasp at all. He really was such an idiot!
He just nodded, bright red, hoping that the movement of his head would move the seaweed down his throat.

Enjin breathed a sigh of relief and patted Zanka warmly on the back. Although the older man had massive dark circles under his eyes, he immediately seemed much more energetic.

‘Everything's fine. After all, you're so responsible that I don't have to worry about anything. But your age is such a difficult time,’ he said awkwardly.
He ran his fingers through his blond hair, embarrassed. ‘I was young once too, and sometimes you can be a bit wild back then...’

‘Er, Enjin – I think we're talking at cross purposes here.’

Enjin dropped his fork into his fried egg and it sank into the yolk. His eyes widened and his mouth tightened in shock. He tried to look deep into Zanka's soul, who was clearly deeply touched by Enjin's concern, but somehow the conversation took a completely different turn than expected.

Did Enjin think that he and Rudo...

That he and Rudo were dating or something?

How could something like this happen to him?!

‘Fuck. Am I too late for this conversation?’ The always calm Enjin seemed a little nervous. Was that a bead of sweat running down his forehead? ‘There's no stopping you wild teenagers.’

Zanka was now bright red.

Like a cooked lobster.

He tried to wave it off casually, but looked about as casual as a wind-up robot.

‘So Rudo and I, it's really not what you think!’

Like a man who had seen through the whole situation, Enjin folded his hands and looked intently at the others.

‘I'm glad that my most promising Givers get along so well. I was so happy when you moved on from the poop incident, but I never dared to dream that it would end in young love.’

He had no idea how to convince his idol that he and his annoying student weren't dating.

‘I should have known you were into feisty types.’

Broken, the younger man dropped his head into the miso soup, preferring to drown in his soup than to tell Enjin that he was wrong about his theories. Why had he interpreted his gasp as agreement with this dating thing? 

Besides, Enjin had said he was a promising giver — maybe he would revise that assessment when he found out he had lied to him and wasn't dating Rudo at all. Or he would kick a despicable liar like him out of Team Akuta. He couldn't let that happen at any cost!

He should have spent the rest of the meal in silence, but he saw that Enjin had been trying to fumble a cigarette out of his trouser pocket for the past half minute. Why did he have cigarette packets in his pyjamas?

To Zanka, it didn't look like a cigarette to relieve boredom or for pleasure — was the older man so stressed by this conversation that he had to smoke first?

For the sake of his own reputation and the health of his saviour, he had to say what the latter wanted to hear.

Excitedly, he slammed his hands on the dining table, causing his rice to jump out of his bowl.

‘You're so right. But we didn't want to talk about it in front of everyone yet – forgive me for being so secretive!’

Enjin immediately stopped searching and turned back to the boy. He put his arm around his shoulder (Oh God, another touch from Enjin!) and whispered to him with a mischievous grin, ‘Well, I may not be the ultimate advisor, but if you have any questions about these matters, you can of course turn to me. But Delmon would be even better, of course, he's already been through this whole good-relationships-thing.’

Damn it!

Zanka tore at his hair inwardly. Why on earth had he said that Rudo and he were dating? (So that Enjin would maintain his positive opinion of Zanka of course…)

But how could he get out of this situation with his reputation intact?

Sooner or later, it would definitely come out that he had just told a blatant lie!

Fuck!

He wanted nothing more than to crawl into a well with his Lovely Assistaff and never see the light of day again. But he forced himself to appear calm on the outside so that Enjin wouldn't notice what was going on inside him.
"What do you think of August's car designs? Maybe I should ask him if he can give my car a makeover? I don't think I can sell the scratches as a retro look anymore."

‘Can't you ask him anytime? I'm sure he still has some discarded designs. You wouldn't have had to wait for the new designs.’

‘But he might have even cooler designs now – besides, the car still runs. You just don't know how much longer.’

Zanka felt like he was going from one confusing situation to the next this morning. But before he had to indulge in more small talk, he was saved by the arrival of Gris and Follo. Apparently, the supporters were up early to prepare for their next mission.

‘Gris, my man – come here. Which pattern is cooler for cars, skulls or smoke?’

Gris smiled good-naturedly at the other man, and the supporters approached them after grabbing a quick breakfast. Zanka seized the opportunity to escape the situation and left the dining room unnoticed.

He walked down the corridor normally and inconspicuously at first, then quickened his pace and finally ran down the corridor.

Now he had to find Rudo before anyone else!

But the voices in his head just wouldn't stop. He would never be able to forget this unpleasant morning conversation. Had his idol just given him some half-hearted shovel talk?

About the most annoying idiot in the entire underworld?

He encountered Bro and Dear Santa in the hallway and skilfully ignored them both; after all, no outward reaction should betray his turbulent emotions.

When he arrived at Rudo's door, he finally stopped. It looked like a normal door – it could have been his own. But somehow it seemed much more imposing than usual. As if a monster were lurking behind it. Well, concerning Rudo, one could perhaps start a discussion at this point, especially if one brought his behaviour regarding sweets into play, but actually he was just a normal person (for the most part).

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door with considerable energy.

‘Oi, Rudo. Let me in – it's important!’

There was some shuffling heard on the other side of the door and a sleepy Rudo with even messier hair than usual stood in front of Zanka.

Rudo pushed past him and entered the room, immediately slamming the door shut behind him, leaving the white-haired man with no chance of escape.

The two stared at each other wordlessly until Rudo suddenly broke the silence.

‘Why are you here, turdface? We don't even have training today!’

Zanka gritted his teeth. Stay calm. Stay calm.

He was here to confront Rudo with his problem. Their problem, actually. It would be best to proceed calmly and thoughtfully.

He leaned forward and came so close to the other that his hair tickled his forehead. He could also feel the other's breath on his face.

‘Rudo. I have a serious request.’

Rudo, on the other hand, clutched his oversized T-shirt in one hand, clearly taken aback by the sudden proximity of the other and unable to utter a coherent word.

‘Wha—’

‘You have to pretend we're dating. It's a matter of life and death!’

Chapter Text

Rudo didn't really understand the concept of dating. Zanka was sure of that much based on his five minutes of observation. After his suggestion, or rather request? It looked as if the smaller one had suffered some sort of damage from which he would not be able to recover. His face turned bright red and his mouth hung open so wide that all the flies could find their way in.

Zanka sighed. You really had to do everything yourself! He took the other's jaw in his hand and closed it with a little more force than was actually necessary.

‘Oww, idiot Zanka! What was that for?’

The other crossed his arms in front of his chest. ‘We don't really hafta date! It jus’ has to look that way for a while!’

Rudo wondered: was that how the brown-haired boy had felt when they first met, when he told him that he was only joining the cleaners temporarily and wasn't really interested in them? Was that how Zanka's great crusade against geniuses felt? Because it felt like he was being taken for a ride.

The smaller boy was boiling with anger. He remembered exactly how Regto had made fun of his crush on Chiwa, but had ultimately pushed him to confess his feelings to her – he would have something to gain from it too, after all. 

Dating was a sacred thing between people who really liked each other, not between randos!

That's why Zankas' suggestion was pure insolence!

They could barely sit on the same back seat in the car without going for each other's throats – so there was no way they could date!

‘Stupid turdface! Find someone else!’ Rudo shouted at him with a powerful voice. The other quickly covered his mouth with his hands. 

No one was allowed to hear something like that if they wanted to sell this pretend relationship!

Especially since Riyou's room was directly above Rudo's – and sometimes the redhead had an eerily accurate perception of what was going on at headquarters.

With a strained voice, the other demanded, ‘No, it has to be you!’

‘Are you trying to make fun of me, you fucker?’

Okay, okay – different approach then.

Actually, it should work if he lured the other with his greatest weakness. He held the other by the shoulders and looked deep into his eyes. Rudo tried to fight back, but in the end he was so physically inferior that he gave up his struggle.

'Rudo, if you agree to my suggestion, you'll get a bag of sweets every day.'

Suddenly, Rudo looked as if he was actually considering the deal. He looked seriously into Zanka's eyes.

Zanka looked back seriously.

‘I want ice cream when we go into town.’

Damn! The boy was really tough to negotiate with.

But to be honest, Zanka didn't really care. As long as Rudo agreed to the deal, he was fine with pretty much anything.

The expense of bribing Rudo wouldn't be a burden forever. Just a few days? Weeks? Once he had convinced Enjin of their relationship, they could break up again.

Rudo grimaced as if he were calculating whether the deal was worth it.

Finally, he held out his hand and Zanka grasped his glove.

‘So, what are we doing if we're dating-not-dating then?’

‘Ahhhh, how can you be so clueless!’ Zanka slapped his forehead.

He would have to take it slow with him. They didn't have to make out in the hallway. The very thought turned Zanka into a tomato! But maybe they could sit next to each other more often during meals, or stop getting on each other's nerves all the time, or maybe even...

hold hands?

Wait! Maybe that was too romantic!

Zanka slapped his cheeks with his hands.

Focus!

He cleared his throat. ‘It's enough if we do things together more often, go into town or something. And try calling me by ma name — most lovers don't call their beloved “turdface”.’

Rudo pointed his finger at him accusingly. ‘Oi, then you don't get to call me a little shit either!’

‘Fine. And if ya don't want to call me by name, try a nice nickname instead.’

Rudo deadpanned, ‘What? Like ZanZan or what?’

Zanka cringed. 

‘I changed ma mind. As long as there are no insults, it should work, to be honest.’

Before they could continue setting their rules any further, Rudo's door was ripped open. 

‘Hello, you lovebirds!’

They both jumped away from each other. Why did someone come into Rudo's room right now?

Zanka glanced over at Rudo: ‘Why isn't ya room locked?’

‘You closed my door, you turd – eh, treasure.’

Ah. Of course, he had a point.

‘Rudo, I have to steal your boy for a bit, but he'll be back soon. Zanka, I need some new paints from town, I'll give you a list.’

That didn't really suit Zanka, because team Akuta actually had another mission. He was reluctant to give it up for August's pointless art projects. ‘Find someone else who has time today!’

‘I need it for Enjin's new car design. He cancelled today's mission anyway, apparently it was just a false alarm.’

‘Okay, what do ya need for the car again?’

Rudo rolled his eyes. He could understand that Zanka admired Enjin very much, but sometimes it was really embarrassing how quickly he let himself be influenced by it. On the other hand, he and Regto hadn't been much different, and it could be the ideal opportunity to ask for the ice cream right away.

Hesitantly, he tugged at Zanka's sleeve and asked him shyly, ‘Can I come with you?’

Damn.

Did Rudo always look so cute?

When he wasn't nagging like an old woman, he was actually quite tolerable.

A pink flush spread across his face and Zanka quickly turned his face away so that neither Rudo nor August could see him.

‘If ya really want to, I can't stop ya. I won't have to carry so much on my own then.’

August clapped his hands together. ‘Nice, then take this list and bye-bye. Get in touch with me later when you're back. If Rudo is still in his pyjamas, I assume the day hasn't even really started for you yet.’

He took one last look at Rudo, who was staring at him in confusion, and before Zanka could respond, the artist slammed the door shut, leaving the two alone again.

What was he supposed to say? Rudo was still in his pyjamas, and before that, the two of them had been about 5 centimetres apart – how did that look like to onlookers?

And had Rudo just called him treasure? 

Zanka asked himself once again that day what he had actually gotten himself into. No training in the world had prepared him for something like this.

He tried to escape the embarrassment: ‘Well, shall we get started then?’ He scratched his head awkwardly.

Rudo replied, unfazed: ‘Let me just get changed quickly.’

‘Okay, I'm waiting outside!’ Zanka hurriedly left the room and stood like a stick in front of the door. A very red stick, but a stick nonetheless.

After Rudo had changed, which took about 10 seconds, the two set off. 

There was silence between them.

But actually, it wasn't as uncomfortable as he had expected; it was almost like a longer meditation session in motion.

Soon they arrived at the market, which was filled with the bustling life of the city. Not only shouts and the clanging of metal, but also other hustle and bustle of people filled the square.
Here, many different stalls were lined up next to each other, many of them made only of things that could somehow be erected: scrap metal sheets, old doors or wooden boards. Meanwhile, some merchants sat on improvised stools made from canisters. Some sold rather scattered leftovers, while others had goods that were almost new. It was not what Zanka was used to from her previous shopping trips with the Nijiku household, but significantly shabbier, yet somehow it also had character.

Suddenly, he sensed a restless rustling beside him. 

He sighed.

‘Whassup, Rudo? It's not ya first time here, is it?’

The other boy looked at him like a beaten puppy. He immediately regretted his question.

Rudo pointed to a nearby stand selling ice cream. 

He sighed ‘Already? But we still have to get the paint for Enjin's car.’

‘You said you'd get me ice cream in town. Were you lying?’ The younger boy pouted. Apparently, there was no negotiating with him when it came to sweets. 

He didn't want to appear like a liar (again today), so he went along with it – this way Rudo would be way more cooperative and they would be able to finish their mission even sooner.

So he let the other boy drag him to the ice cream stand. The saleswoman smiled at them both kindly. 

‘What would you like?’

While Zanka knew exactly what he wanted, Rudo was still staring at the signs with the different flavours. The choice alone seemed to present him with a big challenge. For someone who didn't usually use his head much, he was now thinking surprisingly hard.

Meanwhile, Zanka looked around to kill time. Was he mistaken, or had he just seen long black hair with orange tips?

He shook his head. They were supposed to be alone here; after all, he was so responsible that he didn't need to be supervised by other Cleaner members.

‘How many scoops do I get?’ Rudo asked him thoughtfully, but with a slightly manic gleam in his eyes.

‘One should be enough.’

‘What? That's basically nothing!’ he shot back indignantly.

‘We can't spend the whole day eating ice cream. Besides, as ya trainer, I can't condone excessive ice cream consumption,’ the brown-haired boy said, crossing his arms resolutely in front of his chest.

Rudo sulked beside him while the saleswoman waited visibly for the two to finish their discussion.

‘Have ya decided?’

Rudo mumbled something about ‘One scoop of bubblegum in a waffle cone.’

Zanka grimaced slightly; it was no wonder the other guy liked such artificial flavours. The colour alone looked slightly radioactive.

While the ice cream scoop was being manoeuvred into a waffle cone, the taller one also placed his order: ‘One scoop of vanilla in a cup.’

‘Hey, vanilla? And you're going to an ice cream stall for that? We definitely would have had that in the kitchen!’ Rudo exclaimed indignantly.

‘Problem with that? Ya jus’ don't understand the beauty behind normal ice cream flavours, Mr Genius!’

They were each handed their ice creams and both walked away from the ice cream stand.

‘Come back again!’ called the employee after them, who actually looked very happy that the two quarrellers were leaving her stand and that other customers were now daring to approach her.

But the two didn't pay any attention to her, as they were still engrossed in their discussion about ice cream.

‘What do you mean? Try something new! You've probably eaten vanilla a thousand times!’, accused Rudo.

‘No, I haven't! I've kept my ice cream consumption to a minimum!’

As the two bickered their way through the city, they didn't even notice that they were still being followed.

Zanka started anew: ’We should go straight to the artists' quarter, then we'll be done with our shopping faster.’

But instead of an answer, Zanka only heard a slurping sound. Apparently, it was so hot (or Rudo was so inept at eating ice cream) that it was half melted, his cone was soggy, and the ice cream was dripping onto his hand.

‘Tch – why can't ya jus’ eat ice cream normally?’ he snapped at the other.

Through the cone, which he had pushed into his mouth to save his ice cream, he tried to reply with something that sounded like, ‘I tried, but it just melted.’

In reality, it sounded more like ‘Imhtriedhtbutiftmjustmhhpmelted,’ but Zanka was also skilled in cryptology thanks to his rigorous training.

And he had keen powers of observation. That's why he was now pretty sure that Amo was following them.
Was she there to make sure they were buying everything correctly?
Was she just stalking Rudo?

Or: Had she been sent by Enjin to check whether Rudo and Zanka were really acting like a couple?

If they didn't act authentically now, his lie could be exposed that very day.

He had to act quickly before their cover was blown!

Before he had to watch the white-haired boys misfortune any further, he conjured a handkerchief out of his pocket and was about to give it to Rudo when he noticed how sticky his hands looked.

He took it upon himself to offer the other boy a cloth to wipe his hands, but the other took no notice of it, as he had now put his hands in his mouth.

‘What the hell? Take ya hands out of ya mouth – ya manners are appalling!’

Rudo looked at him in confusion and licked the last remnants of ice cream off his index finger. ‘What? It's all gone now.’

Zanka stopped working. Why had he gotten himself into this again?

It couldn't be normal for Spherites to do something like this. Or people in general.

Nevertheless, he defiantly took his cloth and wiped off the remains that Rudo had overlooked until now. The smaller boy wanted to flee, but Zanka held him firmly by the collar.

‘Let me go, you asshole!’ Rudo snapped, turning red. Boy, was he embarrassed.

‘We're not stopping until ya look halfway presentable again. I can't show myself here with ya like this!’

But before the two could continue arguing, a figure stepped out of the shadows of a nearby house.

‘Rudo, what are you doing with this evil fiend? Amo will protect you before he hurts you any further!’

Aha.

He knew it all along! 

This little chick had been spying on them the whole time.

The only question was... why?

Although it didn't help his case that he was discreetly manhandling Rudo, the latter immediately came to his rescue and raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture.

‘No, no. That's what you think, Amo! Zanka just wanted to clean me up.’

The other boy was very grateful for these words, but they didn't seem to convince Amo entirely. She was still standing in front of them with clenched fists, her gaze seemingly burning Zanka. Her cheeks were slightly puffed out and she might have been about to activate her Jinki, but something was holding her back.

‘Then why is he holding you like that? Friends don't do things like that!’ she accused the two of them.

Zanka grinned smugly; this was his chance to dispel all doubts! He carefully let go of Rudo and ran his thumb over his cheek.

Amo looked as if she was about to collapse.

Rudo looked as if he wanted to say something in response, but Zanka quickly moved his finger to the other's lips so that he couldn't say anything more.

His superiority was reflected in his voice. ‘Have ya ever considered that we're not friends at all?’

Embarrassed, Amo covered her face with her hands.

She tried to speak calmly, but all that came out was a squeak: "Rudo, Amo is so sorry that Amo disturbed you! But if you ever need help, just ask Amo. She can make Dumbka disappear forever!"

Rudo seemed to want to say something in response, but Zanka's finger on his lips prevented him from speaking.

‘Now you won't even let him speak because he's afraid he'll tell Amo the truth! You vile creature!’

Damn it!

How could he get Rudo to shut up and Amo to finally leave them alone? Unfortunately, he couldn't think of a good idea at the moment, so he removed his fingers from Rudo's face. Rudo rubbed his jaw with his eyes closed.

the white-haired boy cleared his throat awkwardly and continued in a hoarse voice: ‘I think we'd better concentrate on finding the paint for August.’

Boy, was he lucky! Of course, Amo didn't want to press him any further after that.

‘Okay, fine. Then get out the shopping list. I gave it to ya earlier.’, Zanka prompted.

Rudo replied angrily, all restraint magically evaporated. ‘What? Come again! You didn't give me anything!’

Shocked, Zanka put his hands to his temples. He had given Rudo the note for sure. He couldn't have lost it!

He frantically searched his bag, but found nothing.

‘Search ya bag again!’ he snapped at the other.

But Rudo couldn't find anything either.

This couldn't be happening!

Where was that damn piece of paper?

If Enjin found out that the redecoration of his car had to be postponed because Zanka had lost the shopping list... he couldn't bear such shame in his life. No matter what, they had to find that piece of paper!

Rudo also became visibly more concerned and muttered something like, ‘Where the hell is that dumb note?’

Unexpectedly, Amo, who had been standing quietly next to the two of them and was probably planning how she could kill Zanka in the most painful way possible, chimed in.

She chirped happily, ‘Amo knows the best way to find the note! You and Amo just have to go to all the places you've been today!’

That wasn't such a bad idea, so Rudo thanked her cheerfully and the three of them set off together. But no matter where they went, whether in narrow side streets, the market or various stalls, they couldn't get any closer to the shopping list.

Dejected, Rudo knelt down next to a stall selling amulets and protective charms. ‘We don't even know what August wanted from us!’

He was right. Zanka didn't know what they needed either, which is why she was glad that the younger had admitted it so freely. What should they do now? They couldn't return to headquarters empty-handed!

Rudo seemed to be thinking too, until a sparkle appeared in his eyes: ‘Maybe Remlin knows what we can get for August!’

As good as the idea was, it was all the more frustrating when it turned out that Remlin was apparently unavailable through their choker. He had heard that she sometimes cut off all external communication during large creative projects so that she could work on her creations completely undisturbed, but he had never experienced this before, and now he needed her so badly!

The white-haired boy let himself fall onto his back with an expressionless face and sighed. At least he had eaten a nice ice cream, but the task at hand was bothering him, even though it had actually been Zankas' job.

There was sweat on the older boys forehead, but it wasn't because of the weather, it was because of the stress of losing his reputation with Enjin.

While the two sank into their misery, Amo tapped her chin with her index finger and chimed in ‘Amo wonders if you two even took the note with you.’

Of course! That must be it!

Both of their jaws dropped.

Somewhere between August throwing the note, Zanka fleeing from Rudo's room, and the white-haired boy changing clothes, the list must have fallen on the floor!

How could they have forgotten the list!

Zanka wanted to sink into the ground out of shame and never resurface again.

Rudo looked slightly out of it as well.

Damn.

Like a detective who had just solved a difficult case, Amo clapped her hands together and turned to the other two. ‘For Amo's brilliant idea,  Amo wants ice cream!’

Zanka looked around and saw the same ice cream shop from earlier a few metres away. 

Why had they ended up here again?

He wasn't going to let himself be persuaded to buy ice cream again. That's how their current mess started this morning! ‘I'm definitely not getting ya any ice cream.’

Amos's lower lip trembled: ‘It's really mean of you to trample on Amos's help like that! You'll see what Enjin thinks of that!’

That damn-

Rudo also added his two cents: ‘Zankaaaa. Give her some ice cream, you big meanie!’

The brown-haired boy pinched his nose with his fingers. 

During training that morning, he hadn't expected to be forced by two gremlins to go and get them  ice cream today. Or in Rudo's case once more.

‘Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream!’ echoed a chorus from both sides.

Three minutes later they left the ice cream stand again. Amo with a strawberry ice cream and Rudo with a mint chocolate one. A truly dangerous-looking variety.

He sighed. 

Why hadn't he brought more mature members with him?

Then he remembered that Rudo had to come along for pretense and Amo had simply joined them at some point.

‘Can't ya think of something other than ice cream?’ he grumbled at the other two.

But before he could continue, Rudo stuffed his ice cream into Zankas mouth. What?

Rudo looked at him triumphantly. ‘See, other flavours besides vanilla are nice too.’

And even though Zanka wouldn't admit it openly, as he picked the ice cream out of his mouth, he thought that the fresh taste of mint was actually quite nice.

Amo also seemed much happier, because she apparently believed that Rudo could still kill the brown-haired boy single-handedly.

So they made their way back, not quite as dejected, until they arrived back at headquarters. Amo ran ahead a little and hurried through the door as if she already felt at home here. It was actually a nice development, considering how difficult her initial encounter with the Cleaners had been.

Zanka and Rudo followed her and were greeted by Enjin and Semiu, who were chilling at the reception desk. Or rather: Semiu probably wanted to work and Enjin was annoying her.

'We forgot the shopping list for August,' he and Rudo pressed out at the same time. 

How could this have happened? Weren’t they professionals?

Enjin waved them off good-naturedly: 'It's no biggie that you lost August list, I would have done the same at your age.'

Interpreting their situation differently than it actually was.

Semiu snorted and flipped a page in her erotic magazine.
'He still does things like that these days when he wants to avoid a mission or looks for nice women in the evening.'

But Amo staged a riot. Apparently she didn't want to let Zanka go through with the fact that he had had her Golden Boy by the scruff of the neck today and didn't want to get her ice cream in the beginning. Accusingly, she pointed her finger at Zanka: 'Amo saw today how he pressed Rudo against a wall and held his face!'

Well, it hadn't been quite like that, but apparently she wanted to pay him back by telling Enjin lies. Was this Amos revenge? Because he had something against that!

But the man just whistled and grinned at Zanka.

'You're a real big boy now, aren't you?', he wiped an imaginary one away from his eye, 'I can't teach you anything else then.'

Zanka took this as praise, and his chest swelled so much that he felt that it had to burst. Enjin's praise was by far the best thing that had happened to him today! Drunk with victory, he lapsed into silence and ignored Amo's further attempt at side blows, which were somehow beneficial for his praise.

'What has become of the disciplined boy who showed up here one day? You can't corrupt all our children here, Enjin!' Semiu complained without looking up from her magazine.

Rudo, running red, stammering tried to clarify the circumstances, but Enjin just nodded sympathetically and patted him on the shoulder, as if he didn't really believe his version of the story.

By Zanka's standards, this was quite an ideal day - he had received praise from Enjin and increased his confidence with him. 

In addition, he now had a fake boyfriend apparently.

It could have been a lot worse, right?

Chapter Text

Team Akuta had been somewhere near the Penta area at a dilapidated industrial facility because there had been a supposed sighting of a trash beast there. 

But as things stood now, one thing was certain: there didn't seem to be a trash beast.

Enjin drummed his fingers impatiently against the car window while Gris tried to establish a connection to headquarters via choker.

“Anything new?” asked the smoker, bored.

Disappointed, Gris shook his head. 

“There doesn't seem to be any way through right now.”

He turned his head toward the back seat, where Follo, Riyou, Rudo, and Zanka were squeezed together. Zanka looked meaningfully out the window, while Riyou played thumb war with Follo and Rudo at the same time. It looked like she was going to win against both of them at once, which brought a gentle blush to the older boy's face.

“Man, Riyou, how do you do that?” he complained.

Okay, fine, the kids were bored.
Gris looked at Enjin, and the other looked him in the eye. Good, apparently they were thinking the same thing.

“Yo, kids. Get out of the car, let's check out the place while we're here!” Enjin called out to the group in the back seat. A small grin crept onto their lips, and they all obediently got out of the car.

In front of them stood an oldmetal warehouse. Most of the metal struts of the roof were still intact, but many had already broken down, which was why the roof was half collapsed and the cold wind blew through the broken windows of the building. It made old corrugated iron sheets and rusty pipes howl.

Riyou pouted as she looked around the building.
“There can't be that many trash beasts hiding here, can there?”

Enjin rested his head in his hands and looked as if he was thinking: "Well, I have to admit I agree. How about you and Follo look around the right rear part of the building and our two lovebirds take care of the left part. I'll stay here in the main room, and Gris, you wait with Tomme and the other supporters by the car in case a new signal comes in."

Then at least it would be worth their while to have driven out here, even if they didn't destroy any monsters, but instead examined the premises. Such information could be useful to the Cleaners sooner or later anyways.

“But I wanted to patrol with Rudo,” Follo interjected. Ever since the boy had become a Giver himself during the job in Kremmos Village and had worked things out with Rudo, the two had been practically inseparable in their free time.

“The two valentines can't concentrate when they're out together anyways, they'll definitely be taking a look, but hardly at the stuff in the corridors!” Riyou reproached them. 

Rudo blushed. Why had he agreed to this strange deal with Zanka?
The whole time, people thought they were teenagers crazy about dating!
Even though he didn't mind the part of the deal where he got candy, he had to deal with Bumka the whole time, and he could be quite a nag sometimes.
Whether it was Riyou or Follo, he didn't care which of the two he had to patrol with, but please, not Zanka!

But the brown haired boy stepped forward with determination (as he often did in Enjin's presence), a slight flush also flitting across his cheeks. 

“No, no. We can work this out together. After all, we can't let our relationship affect the entire team dynamic so dramatically!”

What a dramatic bootlicker.

“Awww, Zanka. You're being quite affectionate today, aren't you?” Riyou swung Ripper lovingly back and forth on her index finger. “Well then, let's not fight about Rudo and just continue with the mission.”

Pretty much everyone agreed, except for Rudo, who stammered an explanation that he and Zanka had a completely different kind of relationship, but by then no one was paying attention to his interjection, as people either thought that Rudo was embarrassed to be dating Zanka or that they were already beyond a simple teenage romance.

In any case, it wasn't anyone else's business, but rather that of the two hotheads of Team Akuta — although it was, of course, quite entertaining for everyone else.

“Okay, take care of yourselves—as soon as anything seems strange, contact the others via comms,” Enjin waved casually with his tattooed hand, whereupon everyone dispersed in their assigned directions.

While the high hall was still quite bright due to the perforated roof, the darkness surrounding them grew deeper as the pairs advanced further into the rear of the building. As the various paths opened up, Riyou gave the pretend couple a final “bye bye” and they disappeared behind overturned debris and half-collapsed columns.

“Why didn't you just let me go with one of the others?” Rudo asked Zanka accusingly as they trudged on through the darkness.

In the silence that surrounded them, every step the two took sounded like some sort of explosion.

"Tch. A foolish question. Of course the others have to see us together at every given opportunity, so they'll believe we're actually dating."

Yeah, right. But why was Zanka so keen on dating him in the first place? He didn't know much about relationships on the Ground or about the snooty Zanka in general — maybe he should confide in someone with his questions and doubts?

Was Zanka's latent grumbling his way of expressing affection? Did relationships even work that way? Regto had also encouraged him to give Chiwa gifts. But the regular sweets from Zanka felt somehow more binding and also a little... nicer.

Riyou certainly knew about such things, but would surely tease him immediately for asking such a question.

Or maybe Enjin? After all, he was a totally open guy and, according to Semiu, constantly flirting. But he would probably tease Zanka and him about it endlessly. 

And Rudo wanted his questions to a) remain secret and b) not stop Zanka from supplying him with sweets.

That left only two people who immediately came to mind: Follo and Gris. Follo was about their age and would certainly be able to empathize with him and give him direct advice.
On the other hand, it just felt right wanting to talk to Gris about it. It would be almost like telling Regto. The mere thought brought him a certain calm. Although it wasn't about Chiwa and dating, but about Zanka and fake dating, the prospect of fatherly advice seemed to inspire him.

Suddenly, Rudo felt a painful blow to his nose and cursed. 

“Ouch. What the hell was that?”

Apparently, he had run into a metal bar in the dark. He rubbed his nose, which was probably bleeding now. But through his rough gloves, he could hardly feel the liquid.

“Watch where ya going!” Zanka snapped at him.

The comment annoyed Rudo, and he began to rant, “Well, maybe I would if I could see anything here. Sorry, I can't use sonar superpowers like you!”

What did Zanka want from him? That he would just stumble around blindly and eventually find the right way? What a jerk!

They could hardly see each other in the darkness, and if they had, they might have gone for each other's throats.

Angrily, he stepped into the darkness and, of course, his foot landed right against a bucket, which not only fell over with a loud clatter, but also set off an avalanche of trash. Even without really seeing anything, the deafening rumbling revealed how much junk was being set in motion.

And it was in the middle of the path, about to bury the two of them.

“Rudo, grab my hand!” 

But considering that Rudo couldn't see anything at the moment, his request was, of course, rather laughable. Unfortunately, they had no time to laugh. With one last stomp of his Lovely Assistaff, Zanka was able to roughly locate the approaching piles of trash and dodge them accordingly. Meanwhile, he tried to rush to Rudo, who was being swept away by a wave of trash. Based on a slight “oompf,” he could roughly guess where Rudo was buried under the trash.

That little dwarf was really buried in the middle of the pile of trash to his right! How could anyone be so small that they sank into it? If only that idiot had kept quiet!

“Rudo, are ya here?” he called into the darkness. 

A muffled groan, which could be interpreted as Rudo's answer, confirmed it.

But before he could move any further, he felt cold metal against his throat and didn't dare move another inch.

A chill ran down his spine as he felt hot breath on his ear.

“Not so fast, Mr. Bad Attitude, I think we have another playdate before you go save your sweetheart.”

What a pain! Why did Jabber always show up when you least needed him? Couldn't he make life hell for someone other than Zanka? Or did he want to cement his superiority over Zanka once and for all by defeating him a third time—this time perhaps even killing him?

How was he supposed to accomplish all of this tasks? This time, while fighting, he had to make sure that Rudo wasn't crushed under the rubble and that he could somehow drive Jabber away. He secretly prayed that the noise caused by the garbage slide had alerted the other Givers. Together, they might have a chance—even though he was extremely reluctant to rely on others for support while fighting.

Zanka held his Lovely Assistaff in its transformed form with the sickle against Jabber, almost catching him with its blade. For a moment, he was surrounded by cyan-colored flames, which immediately extinguished after the transformation.

“Come on, you're usually much more entertaining than this, pretty boy!”

Jabber struck at Zanka with his iron claws, who parried with his staff and pushed the other back several meters.
There was a crash and a kind of dust was stirred up, making it difficult for Zanka to breathe. He thought with satisfaction that the poisoner must have been hit even harder and had probably landed in one of the dilapidated walls of the building. 

“Jus' shut up, Jabber!”

But the other just grinned broadly and tapped his chin with his finger: “Y'know, Zanka... I've been seeing you around Rudo a lot lately. Real friendly, huh? Gonna tell me y'all just bonding over trash and trauma, or is this a full-on dumpster romance?”

Zanka rolled his eyes. The dread guy was even more annoying than usual! And did he just openly admit to stalking him? Or Rudo?
What a weirdo.
He noticed that he was inevitably gripping his staff with excessive force, but couldn't quite explain why.

How could the other guy see him so well in the darkness? He himself could make out his surroundings with the help of his staff, but it was a completely different story for Jabber. If he could figure out what was helping him, he might be able to take him out more effectively. 

He replied sharply as he prepared another attack to buy more time: “Shut it, Jabber. Why don't ya bother someone who actually cares?”

But his purple eyes just flashed happily in the darkness as he probably clutched his chest in mock concern. 

“Ohhh, is someone trying to wriggle out of our nice conversation? That's the confirmation I needed. I already know how your relationship work: Rudo makes heart-shaped pendants out of trash, which you then wear as jewelry, but hide from everyone who gave them to you in the first place!”

A vein pulsed on Zanka's forehead. 

Why did Jabber always find some sort of sore spot, even when he didn't hit it with Mankira? 

“Why should I bother with someone who can't even muster a bare minimum of politeness?”

An amused snort sounded in the darkness.

“As if you cared. That's just your type. Explains everything, to be honest.”

How could he find out how Jabber could see in the dark? And why was it taking the others so long to join them? 

At least one of the three Cleaners in the building must have heard them!

If he continued to provoke Jabber, it would play right into the Raider's preferences. But well, two could play that kind of game. 

Zanka took a step forward in the unstable rubble to move closer to the others—maybe he could see something there? 

“Ya wanna keep that jaw intact, or are we doing this tonight?” he asked defiantly, but despite stamping his foot with his Lovely Assistaff, he couldn't detect anything unusual about Jabber. 

Body slightly bent forward and weapon extended in both hands? Check. 

Was this perhaps the work of one of Jabber's new poison experiments then?

"Relax, Mr. Bad Attitude. I'm just sayin'... if you're crushing on the little firebug, I support it. Love in a trash-ridden world — tragic, greasy, poetic. Kinda beautiful, really."

He just couldn't take it anymore!

Angrily he gritted his teeth. “I'd rather fall face-first into a pile of jagged junk than listen to ya play matchmaker.”

But that also gave him an idea. Fire?

If Jabber really could see better in the dark thanks to a poison, he probably couldn't see well under normal lighting conditions!

The best thing now would be if Rudo could just conjure up something luminous from the trash, but he was still buried under the heap and was probably still trying unsuccessfully to dig himself out.

“Noted. I'll tell Rudo you're shy.”

While Jabber was still chuckling to himself and avoiding another attack for the time being, the Cleaner carefully rummaged through the bag on his hip.

He had to have something useful in here somewhere...

The big hard thing here—no, that was his water bottle.

The soft package? No, those were bandages and the most basic first aid supplies he took with him on every mission. 

A surprising number of small hard stones? No, those weren't stones, but sweets he had bought for Rudo and hadn't given him yet. No wonder the bag was so unexpectedly heavy!

Ah! There it was, the weapon of his choice – a flashlight!

The other guy was in for a nasty surprise!

The soft click of the torch light was drowned out by Zanka's rough shout in the hall: ‘Tell him that and I'll kill you!’

It was naive to assume that Rudo hadn't heard this snippet of conversation, even under the large pile of rubbish, but what the heck. The sight of a blinded Jabber now writhing on the floor made up for his embarrassment. 

Nevertheless the euphoria of victory did not last long. 

After a few seconds, the Raider seemed to have recovered already and rushed out of the beam of light and into the shadows. 

Zanka waved the lamp around the hall, slightly desperate to find Jabber in some corner. But he must have hidden behind one of the many piles of rubbish and was nowhere to be found. 

There was a taste of mockery in the air. 

A perception to which Zanka was highly allergic – something like this only happened when some bloody geniuses looked down on him! What gave them the right to look down on him, who had worked his arse off for everything?! 

He would show him who was boss here! 

He took the torch light in his mouth so he could grasp his beloved staff with both hands and fight better. 

Was that the sound of footsteps? 

Before Zanka could see anything, he thrust his stick in the direction he thought they were coming from – but only hit thin air. 

“Aww, love makes him violent. Why don't you show me today how far you would go for Rudo boy? Beat me to a pulp! Finish me off!" Jabber taunted from another direction. 

That was helpful, because it let Zanka know exactly where the other guy was, and he hurled him through several piles of rubbish with a well-aimed blow from Lovely Assistaff. 

Gasping for breath, Jabber lay on his back, clutching his possibly slightly cracked ribs, a broad grin on his face. 

‘Oof. You know, Zanka, if you're this aggressive outside the bedroom, I can't imagine how Rudo survives it.’

He glanced amusedly at the pile where Rudo was lying, from which a small grunt or snort could be heard from time to time. 

What a crappy wanker! 

Angrily, Zanka took the torch out of his mouth to answer the other. He knew where he was now anyway. Besides, in his current state, he probably wouldn't be able to move fast enough to dodge him again (unless he used some other weird neurotoxin again). 

He spat out his reply as if he had found a maggot in his food, his nails digging into the flesh of his hands. He gripped both the staff and the lamp tightly: ‘Say that again, ya freak!’

Jabber dusted off his clothes and wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth as he grinned. 

‘Just wondering if your “special sparring sessions” with the rookie include safe words. Or is that why he's always limping the next day?’

Did he just? 

Alright, that went too far. 

Zanka's eyes literally glowed as he jabbed his staff at Jabber, who was only able to dodge by a hair's breadth and whose left hand was now caught by the sharp fork of the stick. At least the Cleaner was safe from one of the dangerous hands for the time being.

Nevertheless, the dreadhead still had a confident grin on his lips, as if he weren't the one lying on the ground. 

He smirked at the younger through bloody teeth: ‘Damn. So it's true?’

Zanka wished he had a knife with him, just to cut out Jabber's filthy tongue.

How dare he say such things about their relationship! Well, maybe relationship wasn't exactly the right word, but Rudo and he might have a few things to sort out with each other – at least temporarily. But that was their business! So he should kindly find someone other than Zanka or Rudo to trash talk! Shitty dreads!

‘Shut. Up,’ Zanka growled as he leaned over the other. 

The scene felt strangely intimate, especially when Jabber replied huskily, ‘What is it, Zanka? Afraid if people know, they'll realise you've actually got a heart? Is that how you treat Rudo too? The poor puppy.’

Enough! 

How could a single life form be so damn infuriating? 

Zanka took a heavy step on Jabber's chest, pulled his staff out of the ground and struck Jabber's forehead with the blunt end of the stick with more force than necessary (but with just the right amount). He almost bit his tongue – but then he was finally knocked out.

That bastard deserved it! But before he could indulge in the blissfull silence, he should perhaps pull Rudo out of his pile of rubbish. Then, the silence would be over, but what could he do about it?

Where was it again?

Ah yes, back there. 

He carefully tried to pull individual objects out of the pile without causing another landslide of rubbish. Piece by piece, he carried away parts of the rubbish while shining his torch into the dense mass of debris, looking for Rudo. 

‘Oi, Rudo – can you hear me?’ Zanka monotonously asked. Although he was glad that Rudo hadn't encountered a combative Jabber, he was somehow concerned that the other hadn't been able to get out of the rubbish heap on his own. That shouldn't be such a big challenge, should it? 

He had already defeated trash beasts on his own and usually didn't do too badly in their training sessions.

Had the other guy even been able to breathe down there? 

He must have been able to, right? 

He dug faster. 

And faster.

Until the familiar sight of an outstretched leather glove appeared. Thank Enjin! He gently removed the loose objects around the hand until Rudo's tousled white hair finally came into view. 

Rudo looked pretty shaken up for someone who was just buried in a pile of rubbish. Given how he usually went trash diving, one might have assumed that he felt like a fish in water there, but instead his face was scratched and a fine trickle of blood ran from his nose, which had also been smeared across the rest of his face. 

His eyelids fluttered wearily. 

Gently but firmly, Zanka whispered as he cupped the other boy's face in his hands, ‘Hey, can ya hear me? Rudo, say something!’

He shook him gently, but Rudo could only manage a faint slur: ‘Foot 's stuck.’

Ah. 

That's why he hadn't been able to free himself. 

‘Okay, take a deep breath. I'll get ya out of there.’

He cleared away more rubbish that was on top of Rudo until he reached an old refrigerator, between whose door and side panel Rudo's foot was stuck. 

As if using a crowbar, Zanka pried open the jammed door with his Lovely Assistaff. It took a lot of effort and a loud creak to open the door. How had it gotten stuck like that in the first place? 

Rudo was truly one unlucky bastard. 

Zanka stabilised him with one arm around his shoulder and wiped the half-dried blood off Rudo's face with his sleeve. But the other boy seemed to be only half present. 

A few metres away, something stirred. 

Or rather, someone.

Could it be? 

‘Oh, hey, trash prince. Speak of the devil.’

At the same time, the echo of more footsteps sounded from the darkness. 

‘Zanka, Rudo – are you here?’

But Rudo only groaned in pain and didn't seem to actually perceive his surroundings through his glassy eyes. Neither that Jabber had risen from the remains of the battle, nor that his teammates had rushed to their aid. 

In the end Riyou smashed Jabber's self-assured attitude, which stood in stark contrast to his bloodied face, with Ripper, holding the blade of her scissors to his throat. How had she gotten to him so quickly? 

‘Get lost, Jabber, or I'll continue our fight from last time!’ Riyou said with an unusual cool. 

He just raised his hands appeasingly, even though common sense would've told him to rather use them to hold his damaged ribs. 

‘Just making sure your loverboy here doesn't forget to set boundaries sometimes. He's got some territorial energy lately.’

Zanka didn't miss the chance to respond verbally. Riyou may have stood like a protective wall between the two parties, but that didn't stop him from threatening: ‘Say one more thing about Rudo and I'll crush ya throat so hard they'll have to invent a new sign language for ya trash talk.’

Although Jabber had already merged back into the shadows with a big grin, one could still hear a murmur of joy:

‘Oh, he's definitely in love.’

Suddenly Zanka noticed a cone of light blinding him and Follo approaching him and Rudo. 

‘Zanka, how are you? Did Jabber give you a hard time?’

He didn't like the idea that Riyou or Follo thought he had been beaten up by Jabber again. However, this time it hadn't been a real fight, but more like Jabber wanted to... talk to him? 

It was probably the most amicable encounter he'd ever had with the maniac, which didn't mean much in itself, but at least it was an improvement. 

Zanka had been supporting Rudo for so long that he hadn't even noticed how his left shoulder had gone numb in the process. Now that the former Supporter had taken the boy off him, he felt an unpleasant tingling sensation and mourned the loss of the other boy's warmth in that spot. 

In tense silence, the Givers returned to the entrance of the hall. Riyou and Follo reported how they had mysteriously fallen through a fragile spot in the floor in their area, which had taken a lot of time to escape from – which meant that the possibility of it being an ambush by the Raiders could not be ruled out. However, Jabber may also have acted on his own. Even to a guy like Zodyl, he must have been like a ticking time bomb. 

Follo interrupted the conversation, in which Riyou in particular was philosophising about another attack by the raiders and how she would cut off their fingers systematically next time. 

He seemed genuinely confused, but also interested, as he addressed Zanka: "Wait... are you guys actually—? "

It seemed like he wanted to rub his neck awkwardly, but since he was carrying Rudo piggyback, the others could only imagine the corresponding image of the action. 

‘Finish that sentence and I'll feed ya to Jabber next time.’

‘Alright, alright! Got it. Loud and clear.’

Chapter Text

The Supporters and Enjin were already waiting for the group by the car.
The older members' soiled clothes bore witness to an event that they had only just survived. And they were all battle-hardened!
Enjin leaned on Umbreaker, probably to look relaxed, but his tense smile barely concealed how shaken he was by their fight.
“Are you all okay?” Tomme asked the approaching teenagers.
Riyou waved to her.
“We're all right, but Rudo's been hit pretty hard!”

The others formed a circle around Follo, who carefully laid Rudo down on a blanket. Gris and Tomme examined Rudo and bandaged the open wounds on his face. One foot also had to be stabilized, so the shoe was carefully removed and the foot was carefully positioned at a 90-degree angle. Then the bandage was unwound from the inside out onto his feet, heel, and part of his lower leg. 

Rudo was not yet fully conscious and groaned in pain from time to time, causing most of the Cleaners to grimace with sympathy or concern.

Meanwhile, Zanka stared expressionlessly at the scene in front of him, but he was seething on the inside. If only he had thought about teamwork earlier and given Rudo the flashlight in the darkness! But no, at that moment he wanted to let the other squirm a little longer.

In retrospect, he felt pretty stupid about it. All of this trouble could have been avoided! But his childish feelings had gotten in the way. He would be considered an adult from his next birthday onwards, but he felt that he didn't deserve such a title in life.

His fingernails dug into his palms so hard that it hurt. He bit his lower lip. The pain was the only thing that could ground him now.
Why was he such a damn reckless klutz?

Suddenly, he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder.
“Whatever happened in there isn't your fault, Zanka. So there's no point in beating yourself up about it.”
He looked at Enjin with eyes seeking help until anger and despair suddenly caught up with him again.

“What do ya know? Of course it's my fault—”
That I put him in danger. 
That I'm so weak.
That I failed again.

He felt a friendly pat on his back. Riyou.
"You can beat yourself up about it later. Let's get Rudo back to HQ and Eishia safely first. Then we can deal with the debriefing and the rest."

Yes, she was right.

Later, he could still be berated by everyone else for his mistake.

He felt somewhat numb and didn't really notice how Riyou maneuvered him into the car. Only when he looked beside him did he notice that Riyou had led him to the seat next to Rudo. 

Sometimes he thought she was stupid. But Enjin had said that's how siblings had to be. And from his own experience, he could say that he had often found Kyouka and Goka stupid too, but in a different way somehow.
While his biological siblings were stupid in a “I'd rather die than disappoint you” kind of way, Riyou was stupid in a “why are you in my room at three in the morning stealing my socks” kind of way.
He had to admit that he could live with the second type much better.

But now, sitting right next to Rudo, he was reminded again of what a failure he was.
Riyou looked at him with unusually stern eyes, then took Rudo's arm in her lap and began to gently stroke it.

Zanka was about to turn his head away in contrition when he felt a finger jab him roughly in the side

“Riyou, what are ya doing?”

But she immediately silenced him by putting a finger to her lips.
“Do you want to wake Rudo up? Of course you feel like shit right now, but think about the others, about us, about Rudo.”

And she was right.

It was only because he hadn't thought about the consequences of his actions for others today, that he had gotten himself into this situation in the first place.

Dejected, he nodded and looked at the others in the back seat. Most of them looked really shaken up, which was surprising, considering that for a while it hadn't been clear whether this whole mission was a real assignment or a joke.

Once he felt that the others were no longer looking at him, he grabbed Rudo's free hand and carefully ran his fingers along the rough surface of his glove.
These incredible hands, which looked terribly fragile without the Watchman Series gloves and bandages, but could create anything he wanted with their help.

It was truly fascinating. Rudo was fascinating.

And today, he could have lost him just like that.

The thought tormented him.

Suddenly, he wanted the other to hug him so tightly that it almost hurt. Just so he could feel that the other was there and alive. And then he could stay that way forever.

He hadn't wanted a hug in a long time.

And he hadn't gotten one in a long time.

In the Nijiku household, physical affection, but to be honest, any form of affection was seen as weakness, and sometimes Zanka wondered if he had ever felt his mother's embrace since he was weaned.
 As far as his siblings were concerned, a kiss from their weapons was the only form of love they had to show him. And for a very long time, this had become a violent reality for him, one he had never questioned.

Things had gotten a little better with the Cleaners—sometimes there was a pat on the head from Enjin, a haircut from Riyou, a pat on the back from Gris, or some of the kids from Team Child hanging on his legs like talking logs.

It was good. But sometimes it just wasn't what he felt he needed.

He pulled Rudo's hand even closer to his chest.

Rudo slumped further down and now lay with his head on Zanka's shoulder. His eyelids fluttered open slightly.

“Thanks, man” he said somewhat indistinctly before burying his head further into the other's chest. Zanka just blushed shyly and accepted the compliment silently.

Things looked different in the front seat of the car.

At first, Enjin and Gris had driven off in tense silence, still disturbed by the events at the ominous factory site, until Enjin had fiddled with Umbreaker so nervously that Gris had turned on the radio as a diversion.

That had worked relatively well as a distraction (as well as two men in their late twenties can be distracted by pop music), until “Lyfe” by Eer'sed came on over the speakers.

I don't want to see a ghost
It's the sight that I fear most

“Oh God, Gris — where can you change the station here?”
Desperate, Enjin frantically fiddled with some buttons on the dashboard. In the process, he turned the ventilation and heating on and off at least three times.

I'd rather have a piece of toast
Watch the evening news-

“Aha. Found it!”

After a brief silence, there was a crackle and the new station began to play:

Hold my hand, everything will be okay
I heard from the heavens that clouds have been grey
Pull me close, wrap me in your aching arms

Both of them bounced along to the beat of Too Lily's “Hold My Hand,” almost forgetting their previous worries. The back seat generally had no say in the choice of music while driving.

I see that you're hurtin', why'd you take so long
To tell me you need me? I see that you're bleeding
You don't need to show me again

“Do you remember how I dragged Semiu and you to the concert?”

Gris nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah, dragged is an understatement. Back then, you said you'd never be happy again if we didn't go with you—”

“Speaking of never being happy again. Why is it so quiet in the car?”

“Did we forget the kids?”

“Enjin, please take a look!”

But if you decide to, I'll ride in this life with you
I won't let go 'til the -

This time, Enjin managed to turn the music down a little as requested without any awkward detours.

He cautiously peeked past Gris' driver's seat, his gaze falling on the back seat.

There he saw the supporters, Follo, Riyou, Rudo, and Zanka huddled together. He was particularly surprised to see Zanka, who had wrapped his arms around the battered Rudo as far as the seat allowed. Like everyone else in the row, they were asleep. They must all be pretty exhausted. No wonder, as the events of the day had really taken it out of them.

But somehow it was also kind of cute.

Grinning, he turned to his buddy.

“Everything's fine. The kids are just pretty knocked out. Hey, keep your eyes on the road! Maybe leave the daredevil out for another time.”

When they arrived at headquarters, everyone was immediately shooed off to the infirmary, where Eishia took care of them. While she was done with most of them fairly quickly, she devoted most of her time to Rudo – to be honest, he had been hit the hardest, even though he hadn't really been involved in the fight. This was something that would probably bother the other for quite a while, because he might've felt so useless during the mission.

It was particularly difficult to pry a very grumpy Zanka off Rudo's arm. Only after a lot of persuasion from Enjin did he finally realize that Eishia could only treat the younger properly if he wasn't stuck to them like old gum under a desk.

“Will he be okay?”

The doctor looked uncertainly at the boy, who was still unconscious.

“His vital signs are normal, and the scratches on his face are almost completely healed. Only his foot worries me a little. I've tried everything I can so far, but he'll probably have to walk around with a bandage and crutches for now.”

Towards the end, her voice grew quieter and quieter until she finally fell silent.

“Oh-oh. That kid's not going to like that at all.”

Riyou hovered silently around Rudo and carefully brushed his tousled hair from his face.

“When will he wake up, approximately?”

“I can't say for sure yet, but I would say within the next few hours.”

Now Follo chimed in: “Shouldn't at least one of us stay here and wait for him to wake up?”

Normally, Enjin would have volunteered for such a task. Not because he was worried about his children, of course, but because he was such a responsible team leader. Whenever he said something like that, everyone would just give him a skeptical look. But this time, there was no such interaction, as Semiu had pulled him aside as soon as they returned and insisted that he reports to Arkha immediately.

So the blond-haired man rose from one of the chairs in the hospital wing with a clearly dissatisfied expression on his face.

“Yo, Zanka and Follo, you're coming too — someone has to report what happened in the building.”

At the same time, Follo got up from the hospital bed where he had been sitting until just a moment ago and set off.

Zanka, on the other hand, looked like a beaten puppy, but said nothing and followed the others after taking one long look at Rudo and the hospital bed.

Riyou had already settled down next to it, sharpening her beloved Ripper with a whetstone. It made a scratching noise that was not particularly pleasant in itself, but could sometimes contribute to a calming atmosphere.

Every now and then she lowered her gaze to the patient, until after a few hours Rudo suddenly stared back at her.

“Ah, Rudo!”

She immediately pulled him into an embrace that left the other gasping and blushing.

“We were wondering when you would rejoin the living! We were really worried when you just toppled over.”

Rudo broke the intense eye contact and turned his bright red head away from the girl, trying to mumble something like an apology while she continued to run her fingers through his hair.

“How are the others? Was anyone else hurt?”

“Awww, you're worried about us. But no, not really. A few minor scratches here and there, but nothing earth-shattering.”

The boy snorted something incomprehensible. “That's good, then.”

“Is there anything I can do for you? Bring you something to drink or eat or something?”

He still looked as if he hadn't quite regained his normal mental state, and nodded shyly. “Something to drink and Gris sound good.”

Gris? Of course, her next step would be to let her teammates know, that their problem child had woken up again.

She was a little surprised though, that the boy had such specific requests right away. But if Rudo wanted Gris to come to him first, she could arrange that.

After she left the room, the boy let his head sink back onto his soft pillow. It was actually quite comfortable here. Almost like the ride back in the car.

Wait!

Hadn't he been lying on Zanka?

Oh my God!

He would never be able to look him in the eye again!

Not only had he been completely useless during the mission and almost drowned in a pile of trash—no! He had also gotten physically close to the invincible Zanka.

His shame couldn't get any worse!

Maybe he should have just died in that pile of trash after all. Then he could have spared himself this inconvenience.

Suddenly, he heard the squeaky door to his room open cautiously.

Gris, the friendly blond giant, came in with a large glass of water. A broad grin graced his face.

“You asked for me? How are you?”

“Pretty good,” muttered the white-haired boy.

Gris approached the bedside and placed the glass on the small nightstand. Then he pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down. Suddenly, Rudo felt unusually shy and stared stubbornly at the bed in front of him. He nervously drummed his fingers against his leg. Finally, he stopped and cleared his throat. “Hey, Gris?”

The supporter looked at him expectantly. “What is it, Rudo? You're wearing a hole in the floor.”

He took a deep breath. “I... I think I need some advice. On a personal matter.”

Gris' eyes narrowed, but his smile remained. “Personal? And you want to talk to me about it? This must be serious.” He leaned back, resting his elbow on his knee. Due to the long pause, he added: “But if you've changed your mind, that's no problem. Some matters just take a little time.”

Rudo shifted his weight, his gaze darting around the room. “Well, it's kind of confusing. It's about... someone. And I... I don't know what I really feel for them. Or what to do about it?”

A low, amused chuckle escaped Gris. "You're asking me for relationship advice? You've got to be kidding me. Seems like Enjin was right after all — I thought he was just joking.“ He shook his head, but his expression was surprisingly serious. ”Okay. It's been a while since I've been in a real relationship, but thank you for your trust and for turning to me. I really appreciate it. Just tell me about your concerns and we'll get it sorted out."

Rudo looked at him in slight horror. “But you know how relationships work, right?”

The thought that the other person wasn't currently in a relationship detracted slightly from his expertise in Rudo's eyes. However, it was certainly difficult to meet other people outside the Cleaners and find someone who approved of the other's dangerous lifestyle.

Gris smiled and waved him off. “Don't worry, dear. Definitely.”

The younger breathed a sigh of relief. His tense facial features visibly relaxed.

“So, how do relationships work anyway?”

Gris broke out in a sweat in surprise. It seemed that Rudo really had no idea. How could he best explain the concept without downplaying the potential romance, but rather emphasizing that it was especially about mutual trust and different degrees of intimacy depending on your own preferences? That was a lot of responsibility! Why hadn't Rudo asked Enjin?

Okay, scratch that. Enjin would probably have reduced the whole thing to the - eh physical aspect, which would have undermined the concept.

Besides, in his opinion, Rudo was too young for such erotic adventures, so he wanted to limit his explanation to other aspects.

“So, when people like each other, they have a relationship with each other—”

“What? So we all have a relationship here at headquarters?” Rudo asked incredulously, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

Gris quickly intervened: "Ah, yes. Please let me finish. Because we like each other, we have a relationship, or to be more precise, a platonic relationship. That means we're like a big family, even though we're not actually related. 
But what you probably mean is a romantic relationship. That's when two people, or sometimes more, love each other so much that they like them even more than other people. They often do a lot together or just spend time together. Some hold hands, some kiss, and some communicate their affection and trust in completely different ways."

Rudo nodded thoughtfully, even though he felt like he had already forgotten half of what had been explained. But it had felt like a good explanation. Maybe Zanka had only meant a platonic relationship, when talking about the pretend relationship?

It would definitely be cool to have a big brother, even though Zanka had sometimes hinted that he had older siblings and didn't get along with them at all. But as an only child, Rudo had no idea about such things. But if having siblings meant that the old man Enjin would sometimes ruffle his hair after a successful mission, or that Riyou would sneak over to his room at night for a sleepover party, he thought it sounded pretty cool.

But did he even want that turdface Zanka to do that to him, or did he perhaps want something completely different from him? The more he thought about it, the more he thought about Zanka holding his hand and leaning his head against him in his delirium during the drive to the headquarters. And somehow, that didn't seem too stupid to him. It even felt kind of nice. Maybe Zanka could take his hand in his hand again? But! That would be a rather romantic thing to do, wouldn't it?

Suddenly, Rudo became unexpectedly shy and blushed like a tomato the longer he thought about it. Confused, he twirled his short hair back and forth with his gloved hands.

Gris looked at him expectantly, as if he could hear Rudo's inner monologue.

Rudo clenched his fist determinedly.

“Okay, Gris, I think I need to talk to Zanka.”

He patted him encouragingly on the shoulder, but once again forgot to control his strength, leaving the boy feeling as if his bones had been knocked out of his body.

“Thanks again and stuff,” said the younger, wanting to send the other away, but the man, contrary to his expectations, remained seated.

Rudo turned his body so that he was in an ideal position to slip out of bed, but noticed that something was strange.

Gris kindly held out the pair of wooden crutches to him. He had last seen such crutches after Zanka's fight with Jabber, when his mentor had also had to use them at first after his injuries.

Rudo was confused: “What am I supposed to do with these?”

“Eishia said you should take it easy on your foot. You'd better use the crutches for now.”

Rudo snorted in annoyance. He could walk just fine on his own! Defiantly, he crawled further and further away from the bed and then - fell to the floor with a loud thud.

The supporter looked at him pityingly: “Come on, maybe you should try the walking aid after all.”

“Walking aid, my ass.”

He hadn't meant to say that! The other guy was actually trying to help him! But as he thought about it, he realized that one of his feet did hurt a little. So he accepted Gris's help in getting up and handing him the wooden supports. Then he would have to use those stupid things!

Like a newborn fawn, he wobbled back and forth on the crutches while Gris circled him like a watchful parent, ready to catch him at the slightest stumble. But the younger managed without further mishaps and, just like that, he had walked several small circles around the room. With a proud expression on his face, he looked at the Supporter, who also looked back proudly.

“Then I'll be off.”

“Yes, go ahead,” Gris encouraged him with a knowing smile.

Despite his newfound ability to walk with crutches, Rudo moved only moderately fast, and to make matters worse, he had no idea where he actually wanted to go. Okay, he wanted to go to Zanka. That much was certain. But where the hell was Zanka anyway?

He wasn't in the cafeteria, even though many of the other cleaners were still sitting around chatting after dinner. Among them was Riyou, who immediately approached him with a beaming smile and hugged him (a little too tightly, to be honest). She had no idea where Zanka might be, but suggested that, being a party pooper, he might have retired to his room. 
But the room was locked like a high-security treasure chamber. Even after knocking and shouting for a long time, telling that damn Turdface to open the door, nothing happened. Either he was ignoring him, which was unlikely since Zanka was quite sensitive to noise and surely would have reacted by now, or he really wasn't there now. Fortunately, at this moment of uncertainty, Tamsy came by and told him that Zanka had been with another group in the common room a while ago.

Jackpot!

In the common room, the people in the sitting area were engrossed in an intense game of Sheepshead. The apparent team of Semiu and Tomme were about to beat Enjin and Follo. The rules of card games (or party games in general) remained a mystery to Rudo, but he was glad that the others were enjoying themselves. 

Over a cigarette that Enjin smoked to relieve stress, he revealed that Zanka had been lying on the sofa like a wet sack until he got up and muttered something about stinking smoke and fresh air. His guess was that the other teenager was hanging out on the roof of HQ—a place that wasn't forbidden per se, but where children and teenagers weren't supposed to hang out so often. But Enjin was probably just saying that so he could smoke there in peace.

After receiving get well wishes from his comrades, he made his way to the roof. The climb was more difficult than he had expected because it was somehow complicated to get from one step to the next on crutches. Opening doors was particularly challenging. Somehow, he had to support himself on two crutches at the same time and use his free hand to open and hold the door while somehow forcing himself through.

Accordingly, it was hardly surprising that he only managed to get halfway through the heavy door to the outside and stumbled badly as a result. But just before he could kiss the ground again, something held him in the air.

A quick glance revealed that it was Zanka's strong arms wrapped around his waist.

He was immediately greeted enthusiastically: “What the hell are ya doing here? As far as I know, ya should be in the infirmary, ya pain in the neck.”

Rudo looked down at the floor, crestfallen. His earlier enthusiasm had suddenly evaporated. 
How was he supposed to ask Zanka his questions now? If the other guy was already in such a bad mood, he didn't want to have any conversations about feelings and stuff like that. That was already difficult enough.

“I just wanted to see if you were okay, turdface,” he muttered dejectedly.

That seemed to upset the other guy. A slight grinding of teeth could be heard.


“Do ya think a normie like me is so weak that I would lose to Jabber again?” Zanka spat angrily.

Although he was so angry, he gently helped Rudo back to his feet. But instead of leaning on his crutches, he held on to Zanka's shirt.
 The crutches fell to the floor with a dull clatter.

“No! You're basically the strongest guy I know,” he became a little shy, “when I was buried, I heard you two arguing and maybe—maybe I was just worried about you!”

His red eyes filled with unshed tears, and suddenly Zanka couldn't bring himself to be really angry at Rudo,
who had sneaked out of the infirmary far too early,
who had been so reckless on their last mission,
and whom he had been terribly worried about for the last few hours, plagued by nasty feelings of guilt.

He was just damn glad that the other guy seemed to be okay and was already walking around headquarters so cheerfully again.

“Man, I've survived worse. Besides, I jus' can't stand it when people talk shit, especially Jabber.”

Zanka dragged Rudo a little further across the roof until he stopped abruptly and set the other boy down before sitting down himself on the hard, flat metal roof of the building. The air on the rooftop was cool, and a gentle breeze swept through the Ground's towering trash heaps. In the distance, they could see the wild, colorful lights of the nearest city protruding from the darkness. They seemed to have a life of their own there, but up on the roof, there was only Rudo, Zanka, and a tension that none of them really wanted to address.

"Maybe you shouldn't hit him so hard next time — with his super masochism, he probably thinks it's a bit too good."

Zanka interrupted his current activity, which consisted of staring silently into the distance.

“Excuse me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

And how did Rudo even know such terms? But he had immediately switched into storytelling mode and, like a teacher in front of his class, began to explain.

“So, with masochism, people like it when you inflict pain on them or humiliate them. But Regto—”

“Okay, stop, ya idiot! I didn't want to know that much detail!” Zanka interrupted him, almost shouting.

He didn't want to know such intimate details about Regto! After all, he was Rudo's Vtaer! He found that almost as bad as if Semiu were to talk about Enjin's nocturnal escapades. He admired this man as if he were the coolest big brother ever. And he was, but he might not want to take him as a role model in every respect.

Rudo was indignant: “Then don't ask if you don't want to know!”

A slightly tense silence fell between the two of them. 
Both were embarrassed that they hadn't said what they really wanted to say. This was actually about something completely different, and they both knew it, but were afraid to address it openly. The day had already demanded a lot from them.

Zanka ran his fingers through his hair with a groan.

“I didn't mean to say it like that — sorry.”

“It's okay,” Rudo muttered back.

The older looked away tensely, while the other also turned his face away.

“Sorry I didn't bring ya anything in the hospital room. Ya had even brought me flowers,” murmured the older boy.

“Oh, no problem. I probably wouldn't have needed anything anyway. Besides, I was allowed to leave right away.”

To be honest, the brown-haired boy doubted whether this was really true. But since Rudo had passed almost all of the organization's Cleaners on his way to him and no one had stopped him, there must have been a grain of truth in it. At least until Eishia got her hands on Rudo and prescribed him more bed rest. But he just wasn't the type for bed rest, and everyone here knew that.

“Rudo... What are we actually?” Zanka whispered into the night, almost horrified.

A rather dry answer came back: “You said it yourself. We have a pretend relationship.”

The other clasped his hands over his head as he turned further away from him. It looked as if he wanted to tear his hair out to somehow release his excess energy.

“No, that's not what I mean!” he argued desperately, “Ya know exactly what I mean, don't ya?”

Rudo nervously kneaded his T-shirt in his hands as if it were clay. He slid a little closer to Zanka.

“I had a conversation with Gris... We talked about—uh, relationships and stuff. There are many different forms of them.”

Zanka just grunted in response. Somehow it was too hard for the Giver to process that he had gotten himself into this mess to please Enjin and that his carefully constructed construct was collapsing right before his eyes.
Somehow, he didn't care as little about it as he had originally thought. Rudo was actually really important to him. But how was he supposed to deal with it? He couldn't bring himself to tell Enjin the truth right now, but maybe in the future?

The younger boy tried again: “It's okay with me if we keep doing this. But it's also okay with me if we stop pretending—it was your idea anyway.”

Zanka turned back to him and looked a little sad: “Yes, we can do that. I guess it's jus' not so pretend for me anymore.”

Exhausted, he let his head sink onto Rudo's shoulder and buried his face there. Slightly panicked, Rudo began waving his hands around until he finally placed them on Zanka's back and patted him shakily.

He had no idea what to do in such a situation.

My overly cool rival lured me into a pretend relationship with candy, and now he's developed feelings or something? Such things probably didn't happen that often, and he didn't know who to ask for advice.

Something was murmured into his shoulder. Rudo leaned down a little further until he could understand the mumbling a little better.

“I'll take better care of you next time. I'm sorry about what happened today.”

“It's okay,” Rudo murmured as he hugged Zanka a little tighter.

Silence fell over them again—and this time, a feeling of peace as well.
It wasn't exactly what either of them had wanted, but it was probably exactly what they both needed at that moment. Just being so close to each other without insulting or attacking each other would have been impossible two weeks ago. Nevertheless, both of them were actually quite happy with this change in their relationship.

After a few minutes, Rudo felt compelled to break the silence: “Zanka... I just wanted to say that you don't have to protect me when someone talks shit. I've dealt with worse. And I can definitely handle someone like Jabber.”

“I know that... But I'm not gonna let anyone turn your name into some punchline to get under my skin.”

“So it does get under your skin?” A visible grin appeared on Rudo's face.

The other muttered sharply, “Not the point.”

The smaller one leaned back a little to get a better view of the sky, which almost caused him and Zanka to tip over. They were just able to catch themselves, which resulted in Rudo almost lying on his back and only being able to hold on by clinging to Zanka, who towered over him with his arms supporting him.

“Jabber is full of shit. But in one respect, he's not that wrong though. You are a little territorial.”

Zanka hesitated a little before responding to Rudo's joke.

“If you had a problem with that, you wouldn't be up here with me.”

“Didn't say it was a problem.”

For the moment, many things remained unclear - who were they really to each other -  but they'd rather enjoy their playful interaction.
Both were pleased that the other had returned from the mission unharmed. And that was all that mattered for now.

They could have the difficult conversations later.

Probably.