Work Text:
The last-minute mission in Andio went… bad, to put it mildly. Everyone ended up injured in some form, from sprains and fractures to a myriad of bruises and lacerations. Jabber’s wrist will be in a brace for at least two weeks, Zanka’s ankle got twisted around, and Enjin, Riyo, and Rudo all are sore from being tossed around. Gris was the only supporter available at such short-notice, and luckily he’d had the foresight to stay behind in the car so he could transport the team back to HQ. He’d had to carry Zanka, and without Giver capabilities, going up against the strangely strong trash-beast horde might have ended badly for him if even the others were struggling.
At least the job got done, in the end.
When they finally arrive back at HQ, exhausted and beat-up, Semiu takes one look at them and directs them to the infirmary and then bed.
“Debrief can wait one night, so take the time to rest up, alright? Good work,” she says, and they all move to follow her instructions.
★★★
Breakfast the next morning is quiet. Jabber sits next to Zanka, their (uninjured) ankles crossed together under the table. Riyo sits on Zanka’s other side, and across the table is Rudo, Enjin, and then Gris. Enjin sleepily leans his head on Gris’ shoulder. Jabber wonders what Zanka would say if he tried that while they were trying to eat.
Everyone is quiet, but Jabber knows Zanka well. The results of last night’s mission were… well. The cleaning itself was a success, but everyone coming away injured is, of course, not ideal. Jabber knows just how much Zanka blames himself for Jabber and the younger members getting hurt, despite everyone being pretty far from each other. There were so many beasts, the team had had to split up to cover the region evenly.
They’d talked about it later in bed, Zanka’s intrusive thoughts whispered into the dark between them.
In the morning silence, Jabber lets his mind wander, trying to come up with some way to cheer him up. Then, as tends to happen, a random thought occurs to him.
“Y’know, when you think about it,” he says casually to no one in particular, taking a sip of water, “‘To smithereens’ has gotta be the worst way to be blown.”
The effect is instant; Zanka nearly chokes on whatever he just took a bite of with how suddenly he laughs. Even after clearing his throat, he snickers, shoves at Jabber’s shoulder. “You’re so stupid,” he complains, but Jabber knows that look. Zanka loves it.
Riyo follows suit; undoubtedly, she’s also picked up on Zanka's sour mood. “I dunno, Jabs, ‘out of proportion’ seems kinda bad, too.” Zanka, who had only just managed to stop giggling, starts laughing again in earnest. Jabber grins triumphantly, makes direct eye contact with Riyo. Before he can keep it going, though, Enjin lifts his head from Gris’ shoulder.
“‘To shreds’ sounds pretty gnarly,” he adds, a smug look on his face as he lifts his mug to his lips. Rudo is chuckling now, too. Zanka leans into Jabber's side, hands covering his face as he cracks up.
Jabber can't help but begin laughing himself. “‘Out of the water’ must be humiliating.”
Riyo, “Oh, ‘to kingdom come?’”
Enjin, “‘Hell or high water!’”
Rudo chimes in, “‘Six ways to Sunday?’”
By now Zanka is breathless. A few moments go by where everyone at their table sits, tittering, the tired energy gradually dropping back down to calm.
Then Gris straightens up in his seat. “You know, guys,” he says, “it's all about perspective.” Enjin immediately begins giggling again. Oh, this is gonna be good, Jabber just knows it! Gris' knowing, mischievous smile is plenty evident.
“At least we're getting blown at all.”
Zanka and Riyo release identical shrieks, while Jabber and Enjin begin to howl. Rudo puts his head down on the table, ears red, all while Gris sits and looks so, so pleased with himself— and then comes the sound of heels clicking against the linoleum, headed their direction.
“Alright, Akuta, that's enough.” Semiu stops at the end of their table, hands on her hips. Riyo and Zanka both cover their mouths in an attempt to stifle their cackling (Enjin had told Jabber once that those two could be twins if you just looked past their appearances, and he was right).
“Mornin’, Auntie!” Jabber greets, and the stern look softens, but just slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Zanka and Riyo look at each other and then immediately away again, almost bursting into another bout of laughter. Zanka joins Rudo in laying his head down.
“Okay, y'all,” the receptionist starts again, “I gave you a break last night, but I need the mission report with statements from each of you turned in by noon at the absolute latest, understood?” A chorus of ‘yes ma'ams’ from the table, and she's gone, heels clicking away. Jabber hollers a ‘bye, Auntie!’ as she leaves, and snorts when she turns her head to give him a fish eye.
“Well,” Enjin drawls, picking his up his coffee again, “At least she didn't blow up, right?”
Zanka and Riyo shriek again— seriously, maybe they are secretly related— and in perfect unison, tell him to shut up. Jabber wraps his arms around Zanka, pulling him halfway into his lap despite Zanka's grumbling. He buries his face into Zanka's neck, ignoring Rudo’s dramatic gagging, and sighs.
Yeah, that mission was ass, but they all came back in mostly one piece, which is all that matters. They're sitting and eating a late breakfast and laughing at a stupid bit. Rudo is being a brat, and Zanka and Riyo are twinning out, and Enjin and Gris have their own PDA dialled up to a solid nine-point-five. Jabber is here, too, basking in the feeling of having a family, again.
It's been a year since he joined the Cleaners, and now he's not being side-eyed constantly. He can make a joke to cheer up his boyfriend, and his boyfriend's family will join in, add on to it. Zanka will complain about being dragged into bone-crushing hugs but will return them just as fiercely, will turn his head to kiss Jabber's cheek. Then he'll flip his middle finger at his little brother when the kid calls them gross.
He thinks it pretty often, but yeah, Jabber's really fucking glad Zanka won that fight.