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August was so screwed.
It wasn't often that he accompanied the cleaning crews in their missions however the area that team Akuta was heading to was so polluted that if anything happend to their oxygen mask it would be a race against time to fix the mask.
They did dring smaller oxygen masks but the were not enough for the zone they were in. Which is how the man infront of August had captured his fascination.
Two raiders had also been at the location.
A loud bark of a laugh echo for one of them.
"Oh man! We really can't stop meeting, huh!?" A blur speed past them as the man landed a hit to the trash beast rampaging towards them.
"Ofcourse,-" enjin said with clear distant "let me guess an other manufacturer trash beast?" He look over at the man wearing a cowboy hat.
"Unfortunately no, we are here for other businesses but we can't continue with it as long as it's in our path"
A loud scream escaped the trash beast mouth as the man that had been attacking it was thrown off, the man flew for a bit before a jinki which look to be arms quickly broke his fall.
"Jabber I wish to be done as badly as you but I also wish you would stop fighting the beast"
The man, jabber apparently, was weirdly calm for the situation. As the hands made a continuous set of stairs for him to walk down to the other raider, stopping on a hand still five feet of the air.
"Well what else can we do? Make a truce with the cleaners? They kill the thing and we don't interfere or fight them after?" Despite jabber mocking tone, his facial expression showed that he was actually thinking about it.
"Well I'll be damn, jabber dear. Its always pleasant when you use you're brain-" the man turns to them as jabber looks at him slightly offended as a lets out a hey!"- yall agree to a truce"
After some weird hand moving ritual which August still doesn't get, Enijn looks at the duo.
"Alright but you two need to tell as why you're here"
The cowboy smile slightly as the dreadhead was now laying on his back in the palm of the other man's jinki.
"Very well, I'll make sure this one stay out off you're way." Jabber let out other annoyed shout.
August had been unusually quit during all of this and don't get him wrong he knows when to be quit and let them do their thing but his silence was due to a different reason.
An utterly embarrassing reason,
The man laying on the hand was devastatingly handsome even if he couldn't see the bottom of his face it didn't matter, he was gorgeous.
His long dark hair, those purple eyes, the piercings and freckles littering his face all came together to make a man August couldn't resist staring at.
Wow was he thankful for his glasses right now.
He had heard about this specific raider often, the one that poisoned rudo, nearly killed gris and zanka. However it was difficult to hear those stories and connect them to the man kicking his feet as he watch the cleaners attempt to take down the beast.
"Rudo's group is taking down that thing-" the points his finger to the group of supports next to August "-canon fodder and-" his finger moves to his direction "- what are you supposed to be?"
Jabber eyes became halflid as he looks down at him and good lord's August is thinking things.
Before August could make a fool of himself Tomme step in.
"How about you tell us why you're here, that was part of the truce, no?"
"Information" bundus said at the same time jabber exclaimed "some old stuff from the undertaker"
Tomme nodded seemingly accepting the broad strokes of it.
"Hey! Sunglasses i asked something" he man now had his whole body turned to him, making direct eye contact.
The silence was noticed by every member of the cleaners nearby, August being silent just didn't compute.
"Masks" August mental high-fived himself over the short explanation, take that gay panic.
"Masks? OH you're the gear guy?" Jabber boded his head as he spoke "did you make all their masks? There real cool, I kinda figured they'd have a guy since I never see ones like that instores!" Jabber laid his back over the finger of the jinki and layed upside whilst keeping eye contact with him.
Nope, nevermind, welcome back gay panic. If their was one way to make him fall for someone its compliments to his craft.
"Hey so are they like super different then normal masks or-" Jabber was interrupted by the pained noise of Dundus being hit by some piece of the trash beast.
"Oh come on man" he leapt over to the other raider.
"Ah shit" As the supports went to look at the duo they noticed the elder putting his hands over his mouth as the younger held the broken mask.
Damn, sure their raiders but a death out here would be horrible, August was sure he had enough to lend one out right?
But before he could pull one out of his bag, the dreadhead pull his mask of his face and help the man put the mask on.
"Jabber dear this is not nec-" the lock of the mask was suddenly snap off by the dreadhead, making it so that the only way too removed it was too break it completely.
"Nope, youre stuck in their now!" The boy giggled as the elder stood up with a grunt.
"You'll catch youre death out here, boy!" He man put his hat back on his head as he spoke too the boy.
"Dont scold me" he crossed his arms "i can take it"
And his seemingly right.
Usually within seconds to minutes at least coughing should appear however the boy was still standing as if nothing was happening.
Unharmed.
"What? Hows that even possible?" Tomme's voice broke through the supports shock.
Jabber rolled his eyes at her.
"I can survive several doses of deadly poison, this aight shit" a loud scream prieced the air.
The trash beast went down.
Several pieces of rubble where throw around in the beasts last ditch effort to take them down with it.
Multiple pieces made their way toward the cleaners supports but surprisingly all of Bundus hands quickly slammed them away, along side Jabber that slides several to smaller survivable pieces.
However the trash beast had a lot of tricks apparently, as the pieces transformered into smaller versions of the deceased beast.
August eyes were blessed with the sight of Jabber's jinki.
And waist. Damn okay, he needs to actually calm down.
Two large clawed hands, differently colored swing around as Jabber took out a good half off the mini beast.
The man was really fast and agile, jumping for trash heap to trash heap.
August instantly got ideas for costume and enchanment equipment for the man.
All the beast had finally been put to rest and the fighters regroup with the supports.
"Very well, thats our business finished" Bundus take a small bown as he lead Jabber away.
"May youre journey be pleasant" Jabber looked back at them and wave.
"Oh" August bug into his back and grab a mask.
"Hey!" He waved the mask above his head.
"I know you don't need it but sa-"
The man was suddenly standing way to close too him, practically chest to chest.
Before he got up on hit toes and grab the mask out of his hand.
"Thanks, man" and as quick as he had appeared he was gone.
-----
The walk was going like normal, with Jabber looking for anything poison looking and Bundus observing the boy.
"That blond fellow took a real liking too ya, huh?" Bundus continue looking at the boy as his eyes wided.
A gasp left the boy.
"You felt that too?! Im pretty sure he didn't take his eyes of me for a second!" Jabber was practically glowing as he talked.
Bundus always had a difficult time seeing the Jabber in fights and Jabber outside of em as the same guy.
Because outside of fight and pain, the boy just felt like any other romance obsessed teenager who long for a boyfriend.
It was kinda adorable in his own Jabber kinda way.