Chapter Text
The lounge of the Cleaners HQ was bustling as usual. Rudo munched on a plate of sweets and candy, not too long after he begrudgingly handed Dear a lollipop. Enjin, Bro, and Seimu were playing cards, Enjin snickering behind his deck of cards as he watched the other two bicker. Riyo was chatting away with Zanka, who was nodding along while idly tapping his Lovely Assistaff.
Rudo had been with the Cleaners long enough to know most of the people there. Well, sort of. More like the people that were around when he was. Considering Enjin said there had been about a hundred people working around the headquarters; combatants, sentiels, supporters, there were definitely a lot more people he hadn't been fully introduced to quite yet.
Then a scent drifted into the air.
Not burning like the air in No Man's Land.
Not metallic like fresh blood.
Something sweet.
Rudo's head turned at the entrance of a new scent, along with a everyone else, the smell traced back to a figure standing at the doorway with a tray of baked goods.
Enjin, loud as usual, perked up and waved with a welcoming grin. "Y/N! Nice for you to come out of that kitchen for once."
The room filled with light laughter, even you seemed to hold back a little chuckle, a few voices closer to you asking for a a bite of the sweets you held.
Rudo looked between the sweets-filled tray and your face, observing you like he'd never seen someone like you before. Zanka noticed his stare first, leaning over a little to Rudo to whisper, "See something, Rudo?"
Rudo snapped out of it to look over at Zanka, sputtering a little before straightening up. "Uh, yeah. Who's that with all those treats?" he asked, lifting a hand and subtly pointing towards you as you handed out your baked goods to the people in the room that asked.
Zanka raised an eyebrow, his gaze flickering between you and Rudo. "That's Y/N. I'm surprised you haven't met 'em yet, especially since you've got such a sweet tooth."
Riyo laughed and added onto the conversation, "Oh, yeah! The baker! They're pretty cool, if you ask me. Me personally, I don't think I'm surprised you two haven't spoken yet, Y/N's always cooped up in there whipping up something new."
Rudo nodded at each piece and bit of information about you, Enjin eventually catching on and adding his own input. "Hey, I bet if you ask they'll give you one of those nice pastries."
"They're already handing out some, aren't they?" says Bro, carefully picking a card and placing it onto the table. "It's not like they're gonna turn down Rudo, they give it to everyone."
Rudo's eyes flickered over to you with reluctance, not sure if he should actually ask for one. How should he ask anyway? What if he messes up? What if you hate him for being from the Sphere? What if--
"Want one?"
The sound of your voice snaps Rudo out of his thoughts. Since when did you spawn infront of him? "I- Er-" Rudo stumbled over his words. Why were you making him feel so flustered all of a sudden? "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, take one," you shrugged, holding out the plate to him. "I made too many, so I'm trying to hand out as much as I can right now."
Rudo looked between your neutral face and the full plate of cinnamon buns. He hesitantly reached out and grabbed one of the buns off the plate. "Thanks." he muttered bashfully.
"Anytime," you nodded, watching him take a bite. "I don't think we've met before, have we?"
Rudo shook his head. "No, we haven't," he could practically sense Enjin's grin from across the room. "I'm Rudo."
"Y/N. It's nice to meet you, Rudo." you smiled. Rudo felt his chest grow warm. Weird.
"Careful, Rudo, you might get a cavity from all that sugar!" Enjin called out from across the room with a shit-eating grin. Rudo resisted the urge to throw the cinnamon bun at his face.
He watched as you turned and walked away to hand out the rest of the tray. Riyo, ever-so-nosy, whispered in Rudo's ear. "Sooo...? What do you think?"
Rudo almost dropped his cinnamon bun at the sound of her voice, his cheeks burning as he took a hasty bite out of the bun to distract himself. "They're... fine, I guess." he said through a mouthful.
But if Rudo had to answer honestly?
You were more than fine. You were so calm around the rest of the Cleaners, so carefree. How can someone be so chill while working with trash? Rudo watched you leave the room with an empty tray, observing how you said your goodbyes, how you laughed along with everyone, how you waved at him- Wait, you what?
Rudo could see, right before you could dissapear into the hallway, you waved at him. He waved back.
The next day was a blur. Rudo was on a mission for the majority of the day, it was a pretty massive trash beast, but it all worked out in the end. Enjin decided to be kind and take Team Akuta out to a restaurant to eat, offering to pay for the bill.
They all ordered off of the menu and waited patiently. Rudo was still thinking about what a mystery you were. Riyo seemed to catch onto Rudo's distant eyes, leaning over with a teasing grin.
"Something on your mind, Rudo?" she asked, resting her chin in her palm.
Rudo's eyes snapped to Riyo before looking back down at the table. "Uh, actually, yeah. Do you know anything else about..." Rudo trailed off, seemingly forgetting something.
"Y/N?" Zanka pitched in, looking curious by the two's conversation.
"Yeah, that person!" Rudo nodded.
"Hmmm..." Riyo rubbed her chin in thought. "Now that I think of it, I don't know much. We've had a few conversations when I had a request for desserts, but that's about it."
Zanka nodded in agreement with Riyo. "They don't really come out often, it's pretty rare to talk to them. Or SEE anyone talking to them, for that matter. The only times people talk to them is if they want some desserts."
"I've seen Bro and Dear around 'em a times, maybe you could ask them about your mystery baker." Enjin suggested, his advice surprisingly not laced with sarcasm.
But Bro and Dear visiting you didn't seem like much of a surprise. Rudo swears he's seen Dear down a whole bag of candy in ten minutes. It was a party size bag, too! Who knows how many sweets that kid asks for in just a week.
The conversation eventually drifted away from you after the food came, a comfortable silence falling over the group as they ate their meals. Rudo's mind mostly wasn't filled with his thoughts about you now, he was more focused on how much meat they put on his plate. Not like he was complaining, though.
Team Akuta all went back to headquarters after Enjin paid for the bill, everyone splitting up to go do their own thing. Rudo decided he wanted more information about you, walking around the building looking for Bro.
"Bro?" Rudo called out as he walked the halls, walking straight into someone when he turned to look infront of himself. "Ow- Watch it!" he snapped on instinct, freezing up when he realized who was infront of him.
It was you! You were holding a messenger bag, looking like you were busy with something he didn't know. "Sorry, Rider, I'm kinda busy running errands right now, sorry for running into you!" you apologized.
"It's okay, but that's not my name." Rudo pointed out.
"Really? Uh... Is it... Riley?"
"No."
"Rouge?"
"Nuh uh."
"Rudie?"
"Getting warmer."
"Jake!!"
"That doesn't even start with R!"
"Reigen Arataka!"
"Who the hell is that? That was so off!" Rudo was baffled by how many times you got his name wrong.
"Haha, just kidding, I know your name, Rudo!" you laughed, the confident smirk shifting into an awkward smile. "... That's your name, right? I was trying to be more joking and friendly, y'know? Bro thinks I should make more friends."
"Oh, yeah, you got it right." Rudo nodded. So you did know his name.
Your nervousness shifted into relief, dusting yourself off and walking away. "See you later, Rudo!"
"See you later." Rudo echoed as he watched you walk away. He shook his head after a few seconds of standing like a statue in the middle of the hallway. Right, he had to ask Bro about you.
Rudo walked and walked till he reached the lounge, realizing Bro and Enjin were sitting at a little table playing with cards. Enjin looked over and pointed at Rudo, Bro glancing over his shoulder.
"Hey, Rudo! Told Bro you needed him, but I kinda forgot to tell you I was meeting up with him." Enjin casually mentioned. All that walking when he could've just followed Enjin. Great.
Rudo walked over and sat in the free seat next to them, looking at Bro with questioning eyes. "Can you tell me stuff about Y/N? I wanna know more about them."
"Oh! Okay, let's see... They bake quite often, since they don't talk to the others much. The most they'll do when conversing with others is take requests usually." Bro described, putting his cards down to really think about what else to say.
"I stop by the kitchen every now and then for snacks, but mostly to make sure that Baker's doing alright. I think they should speak more instead of staying in the kitchen. I think sometimes they don't even head back to their room sometimes, at least from what I've seen." Bro added, a worried expression on his face.
Rudo listened intently like it was a plan to take down the Raiders. So that's why he hadn't seen or heard about you sooner.
"You should try and be friends with them, Rudo! Before they befriend their mixing bowl or something." Enjin suggested with a suppressed laugh, earning a disappointed look from Bro. Dear seemed to agree from beside Bro, an amused smile hidden by his pacifier.
"But... What if they think I'm weird? Or they hate me because of where I'm from?" Rudo sounded hesitant. Bro and Enjin caught onto his nervousness quickly.
"Everyone here is weird, if you really think about it." Bro said with a smile.
"He's right, Rudo," Enjin agreed, ruffling Rudo's hair playfully. "We work to fight monsters made of trash, I think being weird is the least Y/N could care about."
Maybe they were right. But it's not like they know what you're thinking, you could be talking shit about him right know for all he knows. All the what-if's possible swarmed his mind like flies.
Bro seemed feel bad for Rudo, patting his back soothingly. "Go for it, Rudo. You won't know until you try."
... Maybe tomorrow.