Chapter Text
Zanka needed to put a stop to this madness. The sooner, the better.
It's been about 3 months of his secret meetings with no other than the infamous Jabber Wonger. Truly, Zanka never expected to even get tangled in this web of confusion and complicated emotions with the Raider. He thought he could just ignore the other and he would get bored eventually. It's not like he could give him what he desired - a good fight with Zanka emerging victorious. Zanka simply wasn't good enough to achieve this.
Sure, he could beat Jabber up some, but that's mostly it. Every time they 'sparred' (if you could even call beating each other till both of you were left bruised and bleeding, barely conscious, sparring) Zanka always ended up losing. At this point, he felt like his determination to get better was slowly perishing, though Jabber didn't seem to lose his interest in him even a little. Which, frankly, surprised Zanka.
Today was one of the days they were supposed to meet up at their usual spot - an abandoned building surrounded by a sturdy fence with lots of open space. Perfect for fighting. At least that's what Jabber said when he first showed him the location. Zanka sighed heavily as he climbed out of the window to his room, trying to be as careful and quiet as possible to not alert anyone. It was already late evening so most of his fellow Cleaners were already heading to bed. Easier for him to slip out unnoticed.
Truth be told, Zanka wasn't even sure how they came to this… agreement of theirs. One day, right after finishing off some trash beasts that were blocking a trade route path, he was suddenly ambushed by Jabber. The Raider was all jolly and giddy like the usual and demanded Zanka fought him. And well, what other choice did he have other than take Jabber up to the challenge?
Zanka fought with all he got, and yet he still ended up limp on the ground, body refusing to move. It didn't take him long to realize Jabber must've somehow scratched him and fill his body with one of those stupid toxins of his. The other simply chuckled as he watched him groan in anger on the ground before promptly sitting next to him and humming. Zanka was furious. Honestly, who wouldn't be? That's basically like spitting and laughing into your enemy's face.
But then, after a long, tense moment of silence filled with only the soft humming from the Raider, Jabber suddenly spoke up.
"Hey, Mr. Bad Attitude? How 'bout we do this more often, ah? Fighting you is the best… You hit me so good." Jabber chuckled, watching Zanka's face carefully as it twisted with many various emotions. Ranging from pure, unfiltered fury to a shy interest.
"Are ya nuts? Why would I want to do that?!" Zanka spat back, teeth clenched and eyes almost bulging out out of his eye sockets from the anger. Yet, even so, he felt his finger twitch slightly, betraying his interest (which also meant the toxin was slowly wearing off, if he could move his fingers already. Perhaps he was slowly growing a resistance).
"Aww, come on man! I know you want it, too. Stop trying to hide it. Besides, wouldn't you consider it a good training? We would both get something out of it. "
Zanka bit his lower lip, thinking over the idea in his head. On one hand, he truly did not want to do anything with the Raider. But at the same time he couldn't deny that this proposal gave him options. Fighting Jabber regularly would, no doubt, bring positive results. Though, who was to say Jabber wouldn't just knock him out with one of his shitty toxins and use the opportunity to kill him?
…
Well, maybe he wouldn't do that. As much as it made Zanka cringe, he could admit that Jabber wasn't the type to simply kill someone for no reason. In Jabber's mind, killing Zanka didn't give him any benefits, especially since his main goal was to fight him. Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't still in danger of being nicked by Mankira and getting poisoned mid spar.
He laid motionless on the ground for a good chunk of time before Jabber seemed to be finally done with the silence. He watched with the corner of his eye as the other boy huffed in annoyance, and perhaps impatience, and stood up. He was about so say something for sure, considering he had already opened his mouth, yet Zanka cut him off before any sound could escape him.
"Where and when?" His voice was uncharacteristically quiet as he spoke. His eyes boring holes in a spot next to his head as he refused to look at Jabber, who Zanka knew, even without directly looking at him, was surely grinning like a mad man.
"This same spot, next week at 8pm. How does it sound like, Zanka~?" The Raider made sure to say his name almost breathlessly, slowly. And Zanka couldn't say if it pissed him off or made him feel rather weird more.
"Do not fuckin' say it like that, ya asshole!" he growled out, finally letting his gaze lift up and look at the other teen.
"Say what like that, my dear Zanka?" Jabber simply chuckled again, not taking a hint. Well, of course he wouldn't take a hint. That's the kind of person Jabber Wonger was. A fucking bitch.
Zanka huffed, deciding to ignore the other, even if he made his blood boil, in order to focus on actually getting up. He was getting rather tired of having to lay on the dirty ground all the damn time while they talked. Soon enough, he could actually move his limbs, though rather slowly as if they were made out of lead. Just as he was almost sitting up, Jabber appeared in his vision once more. His face so close that Zanka could practically feel his breath on his face.
"Let's exchange blood! For our chokers. It will be easier to contact for our meet ups~" Jabber almost sang, watching Zanka intently with that stupid fucking smirk of his. Though he supposed the Raider was right. It WOULD be easier if they could just call. If they were really going to do this and meet up next week (and maybe potentially the week after that too, if things went smoothly) being able to simply call via their chokers would be quite beneficial. If someone couldn't make it they could just easily notify the other.
Zanka furrowed his brows in thought, pouting as he stared at Jabber.
"Sure. Whatever. Just don't ya think we're on good terms after this, fucker…" Jabber didn't seem to mind his aggressive response, simply focusing on taking off his choker to unceremoniously shove it up Zanka's face.
"Go on, smear your blood on it. I already got some of mine on yours!" he cackled, as if this information wasn't downright disturbing for Zanka. When did he even manage to do that..?
Zanka simply sighed, taking Jabber's choker into his hands slowly as he rubbed it against a wound he had on his shoulder that was steadily releasing a small amount of blood. The choker glowed for a second before returning to its normal state. After that, Zanka made sure to quickly give Jabber his possession back.
The Raider took his choker back with a small hum, putting it on rather quickly. Suddenly, he straightened up and just… stretched a bit before turning his back to the Cleaner.
"Well, it was nice fighting you, Mr. Bad Attitude! See you next week!"
And just like that, with a quick blink from Zanka, the other was gone.
It took him a bit of a time to actually regain full mobility over his body, but once he did, he tried to make himself as presentable as his current, quite bloody and bruised body, could let him. Not to mention his clothes were a bit torn in certain places (August will NOT be happy). He reached for his collar to call Semiu and tell her he was finished with his job and encountered a small, pesky problem when he froze. All at once, it seemed like the situation finally hit him.
He just agreed to meet up with Jabber out of all people for a spar - which in Jabber's language was the equivalent of a deadly fight till only one is left standing. He blinked once, then twice and then let out a loud curse.
Well, all hope is not lost yet! He can still simply… ignore the other when the time comes. It's not like Jabber will come to bother him if he stays at the HQ instead of meeting up with him, right?
All hope was in fact lost as Zanka stared at his window.
Jabber was grinning widely as his hand knocked against the glass repeatedly, the metal rings on his fingers making a, rather loud, clanking noise.
In all honesty, Zanka probably should've expected this outcome when he decided to act like him and Jabber never agreed to meet up in the first space. The Raider was crazy after all, so seeing him in his window, when it was already dark outside, shouldn't creep him out so much (it's not like he let out a scream when he entered his room and the first thing he saw, having not yet turned the lights on, were two, glowing eyes staring at him intensively). Zanka scoffed, walking up to the window and opened in quickly.
"What the fuck are ya doin' here, ya freak!?" He asked as if he didn't already know the answer.
"You didn't come so I decided to come to you instead! Aren't you happy to see me, Zanzan?"
Zanzan? Who did that guy think he was, calling him that?! Zanka was on the verge of closing the window again just to make the guy go away.
"I told ya to stop callin' me by weird nicknames! And of course I didn't come, why would I? Yer a Raider for fuck's sake!" Jabber's grin faltered at that and his face seemed to sour for a second. Though that expression quickly disappeared and was instead replaced by another smile, this time less teasing and wild.
"Come on, man… You know you want it as much as I do. How long are you gonna lie to yourself? And besides, it's not like I'm gonna leave you be anyway. I can always bother you with calls. Forgot we exchanged blood already?" Zanka's hands curled into fists and he grumbled.
That was true. Jabber could've decided to just 'visit' him tonight, but that didn't mean he wouldn't use the connection they made later. Having him call him mid mission or, please no, while he was with his team or other Cleaners wouldn't be good.
Zanka mulled over his answer to Jabber's statement for a few more seconds before letting out a loud sigh. He was already deep in this shit anyway, wasn't he? He made the decision when he decided to give Jabber some of his blood (though if he recalled correctly the Raider would've been able to call him before he did that anyway. He did say he had already got his blood on his choker before).
"You didn't come today, but we can still meet tomorrow, hm? How does that sound, Mr. Bad Attitude?" At this point Zanka gave up on correcting and scolding Jabber for still mocking him with this nickname. Not like his anger would do anything other than amuse the other boy.
"Just- Sure. Whatever." Jabber cackled at his response as he put his head on the windowsill.
"Good answer, pretty boy. Sure hope you're actually gonna show up tomorrow! Don't wanna have to bother you again, right?
Zanka wanted to answer with something poisonous again, but once again it seemed like his low self esteem and overthinking was his greatest enemy as he focused too much on what Jabber called him now. Pretty boy? Him?
"Same time and same place. See you tomorrow, my friend! Gotta go now." Jabber said, letting go of the wall he was holding onto and dropping on the ground. It was good that Zanka's window wasn't so high up.
Zanka watched as Jabber hurried off, running into the darkness in the horizon before he fully disappeared from his field of vision. He stayed there for a bit before he finally peeled himself from the window, closed it and went back to bed. Well, guess he has a… training session, he supposes, tomorrow.
He's so cooked.
And that's basically how he ended up in his current predicament. Before he noticed, 3 months of these secret meetings have already passed and as much as it was humiliating to admit, he truly was getting better in combat. At least in a close hand kind, that is. He also quickly noticed that his reflexes seemed quicker and his overall condition improved as well.
He walked slowly, heading towards their usual spot through the same route that he could follow even blind now. In fact, he was almost already at his destination.
He looked around, trying to spot Jabber anywhere. Usually he would be waiting for him in front of the building, sitting on one of the bigger rocks on the ground. And soon enough, he could actually see the other boy. He was swaying gently from side to side, singing something to himself loudly enough for Zanka to hear it from the small distance already. It didn't take him too long to spot Zanka walking towards him though.
"Zanka, my friend! You're here!" He stood up quickly and skipped his way towards the Cleaner.
"Of course I am. I'm on time too." Zanka huffed, finally stopping in his tracks as Jabber finally reached him.
"Dang, I missed you, man. Are you ready to fight? I've got some good stuff prepared for you today!" Zanka's face scrunched up at that.
Another thing that accompanied their fights was that Jabber would sometimes use his toxins on him. The first time it happened without a warning, Zanka panicked. he won't lie. He was so sure the other boy would actually either kidnap or kill him right there, especially since not only he couldn't move, but he also felt really faint. Though Jabber only sat down next to him and yapped about random stuff. Ranging from what poisons he got lately for Mankira to whatever the heck his Raider friends were up to. Zanka actually learned that Momoa would zone out quite often, Cthoni apparently had a small collection of dried up bugs in her room and Noerde would sometimes take care of their hair as a hobby when they didn't have any missions (when she was alive, that is).
When the toxin wore off and Zanka could function normally again, they ended their meeting like the usual, as if nothing had happened and Jabber didn't explain to him the difference between neurotoxins, cytotoxins and hemotoxins. Though Zanka would never admit that he actually listened to what the Raider was saying.
It wasn't always when Jabber would use Mankira's abilities on Zanka, though it wasn't that uncommon either. And Zanka felt like it was getting more frequent as the time went on as well. At least he was growing a resistance to all the shit Jabber had in store for him, he supposed.
Zanka huffed, shaking his head a little to get his thoughts in order. One hand firmly gripping Assistaff as he activated her and got into a fighting stance. Jabber simply giggled and followed in his footsteps, activating Mankira as well.
Their fight was as fierce as always. They both fought like they were aiming to kill one another, even when both of them knew they didn't really mean to do that. Well, at least not yet. Zanka tried his hardest to knock Jabber off of his feet and make him hit the ground and eat dirt and Jabber in turn tried his best to scratch Zanka, even if just a little. The first one to get the upper hand was actually Zanka, who finally managed to hit Jabber's legs hard enough for the Raider to lose his balance and fall flat on his ass, back hitting the hard ground.
Jabber let out a low hiss of pain, though the smile on his face that appeared the moment he saw Zanka hadn't disappeared even once. Actually, Zanka was pretty sure it was growing wider with every minute.
Not wanting Jabber to get the upper hand again Zanka launched himself forward and pinned the other's body to the ground with his own weight. Assistaff made a loud thud as Zanka digged her into the ground next to Jabber's head and used his other one to wrap around his throat. Jabber simply let out a choked giggle at that, seemingly unbothered by the fact he was being strangled right now (of course he wouldn't care about something like that). Though, as it seemed, Zanka once again let his foolish side take over as he forgot that the real threat was not neutralized yet.
He felt a quick shot of pain on his left thigh and with a low hiss he fell to the ground, body landing right next to Jabber.
"Ya fuckin' prick!" He snapped, turning his head to watch Jabber as he slowly sat up.
Whatever the Raider gave him clearly wasn't mean to paralyze him, as he could move normally, albeit a bit more slowly. Though as more seconds passed, Zanka felt his world start to sway and black dots appeared in his vision. His body seemed to relax on it's own and he suddenly got quite tired. Speaking also became a strenuous task - his tongue seemed to disobey him and the next words he spoke out, or at least tried to, ended up sounding like complete gibberish.
"It's a new toxin today. Got it specially for you, Zanzan!" In one, split second, Zanka saw Jabber's face right in front of him. That shit eating grin was still plastered on his face with no intention to disappear. "You like it?"
Of course he didn't like it. Who would? But of course, he couldn't really reply even if he wanted to. Jabber seemed to frown at his lack of reaction as he grabbed his chin in thought and observed Zanka like he was some lab specimen.
"Well, didn't think about this effect man. Sorry for that" even after apologizing the Raider didn't seem sorry at all. In fact, he was smiling again. Zanka could only huff in annoyance.
A beat of silence passed with Jabber drilling holes in Zanka's face and the Cleaner started to feel rather embarrassed under the gaze. He turned his head the other way, as fast as he could in his current state, feeling his cheeks burn for some strange reason. Jabber's eyes seemed to look deep into his soul and Zanka really didn't like it.
"You're gettin' stronger, man. Hitting me harder, fighting longer, keeping up with me better… It's making me hard" Jabber shivered in some sort of perverted excitement and Zanka sobered up a little upon hearing his words.
His body tensed and he turned his head, fast, towards the other boy again. The heat he felt has reached even his ears now and Zanka was now sure he was sporting a deep blush on his face. Honestly, how could Jabber just say things like that with no shame?
Though, Zanka was mortified to notice, he wasn't that bothered by Jabber's last comment. He was quite used to the Raider's disgusting and weird thoughts. However, what his mind stubbornly decided to focus on was the first part. Jabber complimenting him, telling him he has grown stronger. As if he managed to fulfill some, unbeknownst to him, expectations that Jabber has set up for him.
Petrified, Zanka also realized he wanted to hear more. He wanted to hear Jabber talk about how good he was getting at handling Lovely, how his stance has improved, how much resistance he got to all the toxins Mankira would pump into him. And suddenly, Zanka also remembered what Jabber called him, back when they had the fight that led to all of this.
Pretty boy.
Zanka gasped, curling in on himself a little to try and hide his face. He was sure he was as red as a tomato, and the fact that whatever Jabber injected into him was slowly wearing off, making him think clearer, also wasn't helping. Of course, the other boy quickly noticed Zanka's unusual reaction. Why wouldn't he, the fucking genius he was (and well, he was sitting quite literally in front of him. It's only natural he would notice Zanka's flushed cheeks and tense body language).
"Hmm? What is it, Zanzan? What… Are you getting shy on me now? Really? Man, that's fucking hilarious!" Jabber giggled, reaching his hand towards the Cleaner to try and get him to show him his face. Unfortunately for him it only seemed to piss off Zanka.
"Fhuk Ofh!" Zanka tried to yell to the best of his capabilities, yet he still couldn't talk as good as he wished to. Instead, he ended up sounding like a baby without teeth which made Jabber burst out laughing.
"Oh, Zanzan, you really are fun!" He rasped, body wrecked by laughter as Zanka fumed next to him.
Truly, Zanka wanted to strangle that idiot now. Whatever weird spell he was under not even a few seconds ago forgotten completely as his annoyance spiked. Jabber always knew how to bring out the worst out of him, it seemed, always knew which buttons to press to make Zanka snap and start acting on his rage. Zanka opened his mouth to try and say something again just to be cut short by the sound of someone's voice coming out of Jabber's choker.
"Jabber? Get back to the base. Boss has a task for you."
Zanka could vaguely recognize the speaker. It was Cthoni, he was pretty sure. He had a few chances to hear her voice when she called Jabber while they were sparing to tell him that his ass was needed for something. Jabber's laugher died down and instead Zanka could see a faint scowl on his face. He was, no doubt, mad about their time together being cut short.
"Aww, dang it. I still wanted ta play around a bit! Shucks. Guess we gotta call it quits for today, Zanzan~" the Raider hummed, getting up from the ground in one, swift move and already turning to leave. "Well, don't miss me too much. See ya next week, my friend!"
And just like that, Jabber simply left him laying on the ground as he slowly recovered from the poison. Zanka cursed underneath his breath, taking notice of how at least his speech was coming back to him. He turned just enough to press his forehead against the hard ground and closed his eyes, thoughts racing through his mind again as the calming effects of the poison wore off.
Frankly, Zanka would rather forget whatever the fuck happened today. Especially whatever bullshit Jabber decided to randomly bestow upon him. Or rather, he wanted to forget the feelings that followed Jabber's praise. Letting out a faint groan, Zanka decided that it was time to finally head back to HQ. Maybe if he occupied his mind with training back home he would be able to push today's interaction to the back of his mind.
Slowly, testing if his body won't give up on him, he started pushing himself up to stand. Once he accomplished that, he took Lovely into his hands and started heading to the HQ. Fuck this day, fuck his stupid thoughts and especially fuck Jabber.