Archive of Our Own ^omega

Considering her lack of experience, Riyo had thought she'd been handling the situation with Zanka's boyfriend, (not girlfriend, as she'd discovered), quite well.

Sure, maybe she'd been a bit too pushy, but it'd worked out in the end. All things considered, she felt like she'd done a good job with the whole "gay brother" thing. Told him it didn't change anything, yes they all still love him, yada yada, so on and so forth. He hadn't even cried. (She was particularly proud of herself for that.)

Then the bombshell had dropped.

This entire time, the guy Zanka had been seeing was none other than Jabber Wonger.

Y'know, it seemed like just yesterday she'd shot the Raider into the ground inside that trash beast.

It was hard to believe that someone like Zanka, as stubborn and straight-laced as he was, would ever put up with someone like Jabber outside of combat. I mean, Riyo had been pretty sure that Zanka hated the guy's guts, given how their previous battles had gone.

Apparently not.

The whole thing was like one puzzle, except Riyo knew she was missing at least seventy-five percent of the pieces.

And what a frustrating seventy-five percent that was.

Riyo liked having control over her reactions. She liked knowing how she wanted to present herself in certain situations. It helped her to be less off-putting. She hadn't been too great about that when Enjin'd first found her, and she liked keeping up that progress.

Riyo had absolutely no idea how to react to this.

Should she treat it seriously? A relationship with a Raider, let alone one as strong and admittedly clever as Jabber, could be dangerous. Even if she didn't know a lot yet, she did know she wasn't comfortable with the idea of him being around Zanka. Whatever his motives could be for this, the possibility that Jabber was using Zanka for his own gain seemed very high.

Yet at the same time, she knew that Zanka wasn't some pushover. Surely, he had to know what he was doing, at least a little bit. After all, this had been going on since his first slip-up with the earrings, and an undetermined amount of time before that. As far as Riyo had noticed, Zanka hadn't seemed to be struggling during that time. In fact, he'd seemed quite happy with his relationship.

In that case, should Riyo joke about it instead? Be more light hearted? It'd fit her persona.

But at the same time, signs of controlling relationships weren't always that visible, and even though Zanka was capable, he still had his vulnerabilities, like his need for approval and what-not. Besides, any type of person could get trapped in that kind of a relationship, it didn't matter how smart, how strong, how big, how small— it could happen to anyone.

But at the same time again, wouldn't Riyo have noticed something? Zanka had been eating and sleeping his usual amount, and he hadn't really changed his behavior much at all.

But on the contrary—

Riyo could keep going like this all day.

So, obviously that had to be fixed.

On the day that the truth of it all had been revealed, after getting over her initial shock, she'd tried to listen in on Gris and Enjin's conversation. It'd been hard not to, at first, with Enjin still yelling, but then Gris had dragged him off to a quiet hallway to whisper to him instead. She hadn't been able to get too close, and judging by their expressions, she'd decided that maybe this time, she shouldn't try to. What had been easier to overhear, however, was the conversation between Zanka and the Boss, which she'd stumbled upon practically by accident. Unfortunately, that hadn't really provided her with much new information.

Except that apparently, the Boss believed that in order to keep Zanka around, Jabber wouldn't kill any of the Cleaners.

Now that was a thought.

As smart as the Boss was, the idea still seemed so outlandish. Riyo had fought Jabber herself, and it wasn't as if he pulled any punches. Not to mention the fact that he'd been dragging Zanka off to his death back when Riyo had shot him inside the flying trash beast.

Either way, she'd had to leave once she could hear their meeting wrapping up, unable to hear any final remarks.

A while later, Enjin had gone to talk to Zanka.

And even though Riyo had been in desperate need of info—

She'd had a feeling this was one she should also skip out on.

Enjin would tell her if anything concerning came up. And if not?

Further investigation.

Which led to today.

She plopped down in the seat across from Zanka in the mess hall, ready to start the morning with—

"If ya ask me anythin' about that" Zanka deadpanned, visible bags under his eyes, "I'm faceplantin' in this bowl and drownin' myself in this soup."

"I was just gonna say 'good morning'." Riyo smiled innocently.

Well, there went option one.

At least Zanka seemed relatively okay. Besides his exhaustion, of course, but that likely had an easy explanation behind it. He was probably recovering from a lifetime's worth of embarrassment, (given Enjin's soap opera-esque outburst yesterday), and dealing with a whole lot of stares, but he didn't seem disturbed or anything.

Which meant Zanka's well being probably wasn't at risk. For now.

That was relieving to know. It certainly let her relax a bit.

And it meant joking and teasing were on the table.

Maaaaaybe not quite yet though. Zanka did seem ready to make good on his threat.

Respecting his wishes, Riyo didn't mention anything. However, it felt equally weird not to say anything.

So, the two of them shared a quiet breakfast.

Riyo watched him silently, whenever she could sneak in a glance.

To be honest, besides the shock, her initial reaction had been anger. Anger towards Jabber, of course, for whatever he'd done to drag Zanka this close, but also—

Even when Jabber had still been "Abby", even when he'd still been Zanka's "girlfriend", it was weird. Weird that suddenly, somehow, it wasn't just them anymore. Wasn't just their small, ragtag family of Cleaners. Weird that without her even realizing it, Zanka had ventured somewhere else, on his own, and found someone else that he cared about enough to split his time between.

She'd done her best to be okay with it. Zanka seemed to be happy, and that's what really mattered.

But at the same time, things were changing.

Things were changing, moving forwards, and Riyo wasn't sure if she was being invited along this time.

Riyo had been through a lot of change in her life. Change was fine, she could handle it no problem. But this, this life, this family— she was happy with this. She didn't want to lose it.

Of course, things had not been stagnant, not even close.

But all that other stuff had been fine. Everything had stayed together. That was all easy.

Then, out of nowhere, one of her family members was leaving more and more often, and not saying a word about what he was up to. Suddenly, it wasn't that easy anymore, and suddenly, Riyo began to worry that some unseen force was pulling them apart, even if it wasn't intentional.

It'd gotten better after the incident with the package. Where she'd gotten Zanka to say just a bit more, to reveal part of himself that he'd tucked away.

Maybe, Zanka wouldn't leave them behind. Maybe, he just needed some time.

And then, ta-da, cue the identity reveal.

Jabber. Jabber Wonger. Poison-psycho and enemy combatant.

Zanka had been lying to them for his sake. Had entered this whole scheme for his sake.

All for him.

And it kinda pissed Riyo off.

Was he really that important to Zanka?

How?

Why?

Riyo was shaken out of her thoughts as Rudo approached the table, shooting a judgemental look at Zanka.

"…So, did you just forget about that time he tried to kill—"

Zanka's head slammed into the table, directly into his soup bowl.

Well, at least Zanka was back to keeping his word.

* * *

"What are we doing?" Rudo whispered, or at least attempted to, eyes darting around anxiously as Riyo dragged him down the hall, stopping to look around a corner.

"Shh, quiet down a bit." Riyo fought down a giggle at how awkward the boy looked. "We're investigating."

Just a little bit further, and—

"Zanka's room?" Rudo gave her a confused look as she brought the two of them to a stop. "Why are we—"

"Shh." Riyo pressed a finger to his lips to shut him up. "Enjin just went to talk to him. Y'know, about The Thing. We've got some eavesdropping to do."

Rudo's face paled, his expression slowly melting into a look of horror.

"No," Rudo started shaking his head, "not again, not again—"

With that, he scrambled down the hall, nearly tripping and falling flat on his face.

Huh.

Wonder what that was about?

A bit interested, but still focused on not losing any more eavesdropping time, Riyo leaned her ear against the door.

"—and really, I still think you should dump him—"

There was Enjin.

"Ya already said that."

And Zanka, sounding as exhausted as he'd sounded that morning.

"He's just—"

"Like, a lot."

"I know, I know." Enjin sighed. "But— damn it, that's not what I came to talk to you about. Either way, you're still grounded, and that means we need to discuss some rules. For starters, you're not allowed to go anywhere except missions. Got that? No more of these 'training' outings."

"Yep." Zanka's voice was excessively bland.

"And no trying to get around that. After missions, you are coming straight home, okay?"

"Uh-huh."

"I don't won't you talking to him either. That's rule number two. I'm gonna tell the others this too, 'cause now I know he stalks you on missions— unless it's absolutely necessary— no interacting with him. Not even fighting."

"…Alright."

"That's what you're the most upset over? Fighting?" The disbelief in Enjin's voice was palpable, even through the door.

"I— no!" Zanka sputtered. "That's— that would be—"

"Anyways, that's not the point. Point is, you aren't allowed to go off on your own, and you're not allowed to contact him in any way, alright?"

"How long?"

"A year. Minimum."

"Enjin!"

"Well, I'd really prefer if you never talked to him—"

"No! Ya can't just— that's not fair!"

"Okay, six months!"

"I ain't even been with— uh, been like that with him for that long!"

"As long as we're on the topic, just how long has it been, 'cause I know you were heading out for 'training' a while before you ever came back here with those earrings—"

"That's not important, that's not what—"

"Now I'm leaning back towards a year!"

"Enjin—" Zanka's sigh of defeat was faintly audible through the door. "Ya told me— and I know you didn't know it was him, but still— ya told me not to lose this. And I don't wanna. I really don't. I'll do something else, if you make it shorter, I'll work harder, I'll take more missions, please, just don't—"

"A month." Riyo could tell Enjin was still trying to maintain some authority in his voice, even though it was completely obvious to her that he had caved. "That's about as long as you've been keeping up this 'Abby' stuff."

"…Okay." There was significant relief in Zanka's voice. "Alright. Thank you."

"That means I want you following those rules real strict, though. I better not hear a word about you and—"

Unfortunately, their conversation just so happened to be interrupted by a familiar voice, shaded with the signature scratchiness of a choker transmission.

"Hey Zan-zan, how's prison going?"

A moment of silence.

"Oh, of course you exchanged blood—"

"Me 'n Mr. Bad Attitude have exchanged a whoooole lot more than just—"

"Jabber!"

Well.

Riyo still didn't know how she was supposed to handle any of this.

But at least she knew things would be real…interesting from here on out.

* * *

And so, as it was announced to the rest of Team Akuta, Zanka was on lock down for a month.

No going out anywhere unsupervised, and he was to have absolutely no contact whatsoever with Jabber. (Yes, that included choker calls, and yes, Enjin would be listening.)

That had been the plan.

Too bad it'd failed spectacularly.

Honestly, Riyo had seen it coming from miles away. When it came to people like Jabber, it wasn't as if they just listened to polite little requests, especially ones that hadn't even been directly addressed to them.

Randomly, he would appear during missions where Zanka was present, and without fail, would aim straight for him. Enjin had said that Zanka wasn't even supposed to fight Jabber, but even he couldn't deny that there really wasn't another option.

Not when he was trying to, y'know, stab Zanka.

Riyo had figured it would end up like that. She didn't know much about Jabber, but anyone who'd met him even once would know how hard it was to drag him away from a fight he was craving.

Of course, as per Enjin's instructions, Riyo and the others did their best to interfere, but Jabber's attention wasn't so easily swayed.

The most notable of these attempts had been carried out by Rudo, who'd charged after the two of them after their fighting had carried them to some unseen, secluded area.

He'd returned with a shell-shocked expression, followed by a red-faced, suspiciously unkempt Zanka.

Riyo had tried her very best to hold in her laughter through Enjin's following lecture.

Needless to say, their efforts hadn't been all that effective.

At least no one could deny that Zanka was trying. Naturally, he'd been anxious to win back Enjin's trust from the start, even though it was obvious from the conversation Riyo had overheard that he wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the arrangement.

In fact, he'd been so nervous about following Enjin's rules that he'd practically ran for the hills the first time Jabber had crashed a mission following their establishment.

Which, obviously, had only encouraged the Raider to chase after him.

At the very least, Zanka had still fought back, all while verbally reprimanding Jabber because he'd "already told him the rules".

That, of course, after it was all said and done with, led to a whole other conversation with Enjin about exactly how Zanka had "told him the rules".

Still, it was clear that Zanka was doing his best.

Unfortunately for him, Jabber seemed determined to do his absolute worse.

Much like the first instance, the Raider continued his random interruptions via choker transmission, with various…creative conversation starters. That usually ended in Zanka cussing him out, before he remembered that he technically wasn't supposed to be talking with him at all. Eventually it got to the point where Zanka would remove his choker from his wrist and hurl it across the room.

Jabber had also taken to showing up at Cleaners HQ, specifically Zanka's dorm window. Riyo had only witnessed it on one occasion, having broken into Zanka's room for her own reasons, only to see the Raider pressed up against the glass, peering inside. Naturally, things had only gotten worse once Jabber had figured out how to open the window from the outside.

While the rule about "no contact with Jabber" had been absolutely obliterated, it seemed the Raider wasn't happy with leaving the other one untouched.

Nope. Riyo could still remember the total panic the Cleaners had fallen into after Jabber had snuck up on Zanka one day, stabbed him with one of his claws, flung him over his shoulder, and carried him off.

Zanka had returned a few hours later, profusely apologetic, but thankfully unharmed.

Before any of them knew it, the month time limit was almost up.

And Riyo still had no idea what to do.

She'd originally planned to figure something out by the end of the grounding, but it wasn't as if she'd been provided with a real break from Jabber being around to have time to think. Furthermore, that couldn't even act as a preview of what was to come, because there was a giant difference between dealing with a situation where Zanka was actively trying to avoid participating in his relationship, and one where he was actively engaging with it.

After all, Riyo still had no idea how they normally interacted with each other. No idea of either of their motivations in the relationship. No idea why Zanka got that longing look in his eyes when it'd been a while since he'd last seen Jabber.

Her best idea was to treat it lightly, y'know, tease Zanka about it, all while keeping an eye out for some more-late-than-she-preferred information gathering.

She didn't feel prepared in the slightest.

A couple of days. A couple of days, and it felt like Zanka would either transform into a completely different person or get blown up.

At least she was still keeping her cool. Enjin, on the other hand, was being much more visible with his anxiousness, attempting a few more last-ditch efforts to get Zanka to leave Jabber and failing to be discrete about voicing his complaints to Gris and Semiu.

Honestly, Rudo was probably handling it the best out of all of them, claiming, "I'm still gonna hate that weirdo no matter what Zanka thinks of him" .

Good for you, Rudo. Good for you.

It couldn't be too different from what it was like before the identity reveal, could it?

But at the same time, this was Jabber Wonger they were dealing with.

Absolute menace to society.

Predictably unpredictable to a fault.

A fact Riyo was extremely conscious of right now, staring at Jabber, who was perched on her windowsill, having just shoved her window open.

"Think you," Riyo recovered quickly from the shock, trying to process the absurdity of it all, "uh, got the wrong window. Zanka's a bit down the hall."

"Oh, I know." Jabber hopped down onto the floor, rising to his full height. "Ain't looking for him tonight, though. I'm in the right spot, trust me."

"I don't think I said you could come in." Riyo shifted a hand towards her pocket, curling around the handle of her scissors.

"Calm down, Bang-bang girl." Jabber chuckled, eyeing the hand she'd prepared to draw her vital instrument with a grin. "Ain't looking for a fight either."

"That's a little hard to believe." Riyo put on her own smile as a mask, tilting her head curiously. "Coming from you, I mean. But if that's what you're going with, then what are you here for?"

Jabber's fingers tapped along the sides of his legs, moonlight catching on the reflective surfaces of his rings. Riyo slowly began to inch her scissors out of her pocket, ready to—

"What kinda sweets does Zan-zan like?"

…Huh?

Riyo paused, small frown falling over her face momentarily in surprise.

Jabber?

Asking about sweets?

And using that nickname? That was supposed to be theirs, the Cleaners', they called Zanka that all the time. How could he just—

Okay. She was getting off topic.

"You want to know…" Riyo shook her head, trying to re-orient herself. "Sweets? Why?"

"He told me that he was gonna be able to see me again soon." Jabber rolled his eyes like it was obvious. "That the whole 'grounded' thing 's supposed to be over in a little bit, right? So I'm getting him something."

In all fairness, as disastrous as it had gone, Riyo had had a month to prepare for dealing with Zanka's relationship.

As unprepared as she'd ended up being, never had she expected this.

Jabber Wonger, battle-crazed masochist, asking for advice to buy sweets Zanka.

How was she supposed to deal with this? How was anyone supposed to deal with this? How—

Come on Riyo, focus.

That's right. She couldn't afford to slack off now.

Not when a golden opportunity was lying in front of her.

Riyo needed information. To be exact, she'd needed it almost a month ago.

If, even now, Zanka still wasn't talking about it, why not ask the relationship's other participant?

It took two to tango, after all.

Riyo needed to play this right. Keep her cool, like she always did, and play this right.

"Well," Riyo relaxed her posture, resting her hands on her hips, scissors still in reach in case this turned out to be a ploy, "that's a bit of a tough question. I mean, you probably already know that he isn't, like, too obsessed with 'em, right?"

"Never really came up before." Jabber stared back at her, seeming to catch her shift in tone.

He knew she was up to something.

"He still likes 'em." Riyo relented a bit, feeding some more information in an attempt to lower Jabber's guard. "He just doesn't request anything specific. Usually, he only asks about it when we're already out shopping, and something catches his eye."

"I get it." Jabber hummed, seeming to think for a moment.

At least he seemed distracted again.

Riyo opened her mouth to ask another question, ready to prod for more information, when—

"Right!" Jabber clapped his hands together, with a certain finality. "Then you'll come help me pick something out tomorrow, okay, Bang-bang girl?"

Well. She should've expected something like this.

Predictable unpredictable to a fault.

* * *

Really, it was a bad idea. Following a Raider out to who-knows-where, and not telling anyone about it. It sounded like a good way to end up dead in an alleyway.

But Riyo was in pursuit of a greater mission.

So she'd accepted Jabber's offer.

Hey, it hadn't been her original plan, but it'd give her a far greater and lengthier chance to gather information.

And now here she was, standing at the edge of the shopping district of the city Jabber had instructed her to meet him in, and at the time he'd listed.

Riyo's expectations weren't exactly high. Hell, a month ago, the only gifts she'd known of that Jabber had given Zanka were scars, physical and mental.

But at the same time, she actually had seen him give a lot more than that.

Rather, she'd seen 'Abby' give a lot more than that.

The pieces of jewelry, exchanged with every meeting. Necklaces, bracelets, rings, even earrings, decorating Zanka, placing the presence of their gifter beside him at all times.

That branch of oleander.

There seemed to be a very wide gap between the Jabber she'd observed and the 'Abby' Zanka had come to know. It was difficult to reconcile those two topics.

Something must have changed about Jabber. It wasn't like she exactly knew a lot about the guy to begin with, but something must've changed for him to suddenly seem so…thoughtful.

That, or this was a trick.

"Woah, you actually showed up." The voice came from behind her, unmistakably belonging to the subject of her thoughts. "Almost didn't think you would, Bang-bang girl."

Riyo turned around to face him, almost lazily, as if a member of an enemy organization suddenly appearing behind her was no big deal at all.

It was almost a bit uncanny to see Jabber out of his Raiders' uniform. He'd traded his usual vest-jacket hybrid and hoodie for a large windbreaker, halfway unzipped, revealing the tank top underneath it.

It also revealed the few stray bite marks on his collarbone.

Zanka's grounding really had been a huge failure, hadn't it?

She was sure it was intentional. From where Jabber stood, the Cleaners had been doing everything they could to keep Zanka away from him for a whole month. What better revenge was there than blatantly parading around the fact that in spite of their best efforts, Zanka couldn't manage to leave him alone?

That, or the marks were from someone else.

It seemed unlikely. And if it actually wasn't, as soon as Zanka found out, he'd probably murder the Raider. Which would get rid of at least one of Riyo's problems. (And immediately spawn a billion more.)

"You're lucky I was even free. We do important work at HQ, y'know." Riyo placed her hands behind her head casually, pointedly ignoring the hickeys.

"Zan-zan always manages to spare some time." Jabber shrugged, grinning. "Even when he's in time out."

Smug bastard.

"Well, I'm not him." Riyo waved for him to follow her, stepping towards the shopping district. "Come on, let's get this over with."

She couldn't deny that the display was irritating. Just coming here to meet Jabber was enough of a reminder of how far the Raider has encroached on Zanka's life. She didn't really want to also think about how much Zanka had welcomed him to do that.

Jabber followed along, seemingly satisfied with the bit of ground he'd already managed to gain.

In contrast with the tense energy between the two, the shopping district was loud and lively, outlined in blinking neon signs and strings of lanterns, seeming to be in competition with the sun above them in brightness. Stalls lined the streets, vendors contributing either an arrangement of eye catching valuables or an alluring aroma to the area.

Riyo had always enjoyed shopping, weird attempted-kidnapper following behind her or not.

She took a moment to take in the atmosphere, slowing her pace as her eyes scanned the bustling landscape.

Even as she did so, she remained acutely aware of the Raider behind her. He matched her pace as she slowed, keeping the slouched posture he'd held since he'd appeared. There seemed to be more to that though, because the longer the silence between them lasted, the more Jabber seemed to fidget with his hands, re-adjusting their position in his pockets a few times and rubbing his thumbs against his rings.

Interesting.

Might as well see where that was leading.

Riyo continued to mosey down the street, as excessively leisurely as possible, waiting, waiting, waiting—

"So."

It was Riyo's turn to feel a spark of contentment as Jabber spoke up.

"What's the general outline of it?" Jabber cracked his knuckles, a disinterested expression on his face. "Anything off limits? For all the trash you guys take out, Zan-zan can be real picky 'bout some stuff."

"Honestly, I'm still a bit surprised you don't have any idea at all." Riyo gave him an "innocent" smile, looking at him over her shoulder. "I mean, you guys have been together for a while, right?"

Sure, maybe he'd managed to worm his way into receiving Zanka's affections. Sure, maybe Zanka had chosen to lie for him, had chosen to keep coming back to him, even when it was out in the open for the rest of the Cleaners. Sure, maybe Jabber had figured out some way to make Zanka smile like that, staring down at that branch of oleander.

But at the end of the day, no matter what had happened between them, Jabber still didn't know Zanka as well as they did.

There was no way he knew even half of what Riyo and the others knew about Zanka, everything they'd learned and loved about him since the day they'd found him.

And when Riyo was missing so much information, when it felt like Zanka was slipping away, at least she could hold that over Jabber's head.

Jabber's eyebrow twitched, a small falter, almost imperceptible—

"He still ain't told ya how long it's been yet, hm?" Jabber smirked, bringing a hand up to slowly trace one of the hickeys on his collarbone.

Oh, so that's how it was going to be.

"No, still hasn't said much." Riyo turned her head to face forwards again, continuing on at their current, unhurried pace. "Don't suppose you'd know anything about that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," she could hear the smugness dripping from his voice, "Bang-bang braids?"

Now, now he was starting to get real irritating.

It was fine, though. She could deal with this.

"I thought I already told you that's not what that hairstyle is called." Riyo didn't give the question the dignity of being answered.

She still had another card in her hand.

With Jabber taking another victory, she resumed her previous tactic of keeping quiet. The Raider had requested her help for a certain reason, after all. That was another piece of leverage she had over him, and she intended to use it to its fullest.

Jabber seemed to realize that a few seconds later, if the look she'd caught on his face out of the corner of her eye was anything to go off of.

Riyo continued down the street without a word, not sparing a single glance to any of the dessert stalls they passed. As for Jabber, he seemed equally determined to not lose the stand off.

A few more steps.

Riyo basked in the aroma of the shopping district, inhaling a deliberately and needlessly long breath of air.

A couple more.

Jabber yawned behind her, the sound accompanied by the rustling of his windbreaker. Riyo could picture him having shoved his hands in his pockets, in some poor attempt to appear blase.

Almost at the end of the first street.

An idea sparking in her head, Riyo turned towards a stall selling candy, stopping for a moment. She gave it a thoughtful look, catching how Jabber had also stopped in his tracks, giving his full attention to his observation of her.

She pointed towards it after another moment of contemplation—

"Ooo, Rudo would like those."

Thankfully, Riyo was an expert at holding back laughter.

She didn't get much of a chance to enjoy her victory as a hand gripped the sleeve of her jacket, dragging her off.

Riyo already had her scissors drawn by the time Jabber pulled her into the alleyway, ready to activate—

But the Raider hadn't activated his rings. No, instead he'd released her, backing up to the opposite wall of the alley.

"Alright, alright. Timeout. I don't wanna deal with the whole 'silent treatment' shit. Ain't in the mood." He folded his hands in front of his face, slouching, as if he were leaning his elbows on some imaginary desk. "I know you didn't come here to fuck with me, so what's the deal?"

That was the second time the Raider had caved in the last ten minutes. He must be real antsy.

Another point for Riyo.

"Do you really have to ask?" Riyo let her scissors hang from her fingertips, not in any rush to put them away yet, placing an unbothered look on her face.

Jabber was a smart enough guy. He could figure it out.

"…I see, I see." Jabber put his hands up in a mock "surrender", giggling. "I get it. I want something, 'n you want something too. Now we can skip all that walking around it. So! How we gonna do this?"

"Woah, that's a generous use of the word 'we'." Riyo raised an eyebrow, smiling. "You know what they say about assuming."

"C'mon, I'm getting real bored of this." Jabber's hands fell to his sides with a solid pat, something more serious crossing his eyes. "Mask off, Bang-bang girl. Give it to me straight."

Well. If that's what he wanted.

"To be honest," Riyo's smile dropped, grip tightening on her scissors, "I don't want you anywhere near Zanka. Can't say I'm a fan of all this. Sorry."

The flatness of her tone made that last word blatantly meaningless, a customary imitation of her usually playful sarcasm.

"Thought so." Jabber eyed her scissors, flexing his ring-adorned hands. "And what you gonna do about it?"

"Nothing. For now. I might not like you, but it's up to Zanka." Riyo slipped her scissors back into her pocket, but didn't release them. "If he wants to keep you around, and he's okay, then I'm not gonna stop him."

That was the truth of it. While Riyo would prefer a world where Zanka was dealing with anyone other than the Raiders' resident freak show, it was his choice, and that's how it was going to stay. She hadn't said it to anyone, not even Zanka. Ironically, Jabber had been the first one to hear her honest opinion on it.

It didn't mean she was gonna give the Raider an easy time about it though. Far from it.

Jabber paused for a moment, seeming to not have been expecting that answer.

"…Ain't that sweet?" He recovered in record time, as if he'd never frozen. "Right, now that's out of the way. So what are we gonna do right now? You 'n I can both get what we want. I ain't too picky."

There, that was the opportunity she was looking for. It'd be best to make it count.

"Good." Riyo fully let the scissors drop in her pocket, smile returning to her face. "Then we'll do this: for every question of mine you answer, I'll give you a pointer about the kind of sweets Zanka likes."

"That ain't fair." A small scowl took overtook Jabber's expression. "I'm only asking for one thing, and you get to ask for as many as ya want?"

"You're the one that called me out here." Riyo shrugged. "Besides, I thought you said you weren't 'too picky'."

Jabber seemed to deliberate for a moment before his scowl vanished.

"'Kay, we'll go with that then." Jabber grinned, holding his arms out as if he was inviting her to strike him down. "Ask away."

While she had the access, she might as well start at the beginning.

"When'd this all start?"

"Ooo, that takes me back." Jabber tapped a finger against his cheek, thinking. "Prolly back when I was supposed to grab Rudo."

"You mean the first time you met?" Riyo's eyes widened in surprise. "You can't be serious."

"You asked me when it all started. He gave me a real nice ass-beating that day." Jabber looked off into nothing, seemingly lost in a pleasant reminiscence of the memory. "Too bad I was unconscious for most of it."

"I thought feeling like that was normal for you." Riyo hummed, leaving an unspoken question.

"Yep, but that's when I knew I wanted him to beat the hell outta me." Jabber bit his lip, teeth digging into his skin to a concerning degree. "Wanted him to break me 'till I—"

A certain look clouded his eyes— and yeah, he could keep that to himself.

"Yeah, yeah. You don't need to remind me of how much of a freak you are." Riyo interrupted him, waving a hand to signal him to stop.

Especially when it was Zanka he was talking about. Their Zanka. Riyo didn't need to hear a word about that. In fact, she kinda felt like cutting out the Raider's tongue right now.

"Gave ya my answer." Jabber gave her an expectant look. "Now you gotta fulfill your end of the bargain."

Right. She needed to keep him answering her questions, after all.

"Nothing bitter." Riyo kept it short.

"What kinda sweets are bitter?" Jabber scrunched up his nose. "Kinda defeats the whole purpose."

"You'll have to answer another question if you want me to tell you," Riyo singsonged, wagging a finger.

"Hey, I elaborated on my answer!"

"I didn't force you to." Riyo shrugged, turning to exit the alleyway. "You did that on your own. Come on, those sweets aren't gonna pick out themselves."

There. This felt a lot better.

Still grumbling to himself, Jabber followed her back out onto the street, the two of them rejoining the hustle and bustle of the shopping district.

Nice to have that sorted out.

"So," Jabber started, a few minutes after they'd begun walking again, notably more casual than before their brief discussion in the alleyway, "what else do ya wanna know?"

"Do you and Zanka ever doing anything that doesn't involve fighting?" Riyo scanned the vendors as she spoke, now actively searching instead of just passing them by.

"Oh, yes. Thought ya didn't wanna hear 'bout that, though."

Forget it. Maybe she should be using all of her focus for her questions.

"Anything other than that?"

"Sorry." Jabber raised his voice's pitch, mimicking her. "'You'll have to answer another question if you want me to tell you'. Goes both ways."

"By bitter I meant coffee-flavored stuff and dark chocolate. He's never been a fan of those things." Riyo rolled her eyes, the action hidden from the Raider's sight. "And my second question still stands."

"Coulda guessed that. Wasn't being serious earlier, y'know."

She wouldn't be surprised if he'd just rolled his own eyes.

"And the answer is yes."

Jabber didn't offer anything more, this bout of quietness feeling a bit more out of character.

Well, as she'd pointed out to him earlier, she couldn't really fault him for not elaborating. Which meant—

"He doesn't like overly sweet stuff either." Riyo nodded her head towards a stand selling some kind of syrup drenched waffles, showered in sprinkles. "No sugar monstrosities."

"Damn, can't be too bitter, can't be too sweet, what am I supposed to get him then?" Jabber huffed. "Cardboard?"

"That'll be another one." Riyo held a hand out, as if she was collecting money.

"Don't get ahead of yourself." A glance allowed her to see the careful mask of amusement on his face. "Got a feeling I might be able to figure that one out on my own."

That's how they continued wandering through the shopping district, exchanging questions and answers.

"Is all that jewelry you give him actually yours?"

Riyo kept her questions light to start. She didn't know Jabber— didn't know his limits, didn't know how much prodding would push him away for good.

"Yep. All from my collection."

"You really got a whole bunch of that stuff," Riyo mused, glancing at a vendor advertising some peanut butter-cookie combination. "He doesn't really like nuts. Doesn't hate 'em, but they're not his first choice."

"Don't think that's exactly true. At least in my experience."

And of course, Jabber continued to do what he seemed to be best at: pissing people off.

Nevertheless, the two of them kept moving.

"How'd you two first start meeting outside of Raiders' business?"

"Saw him out 'n about one day, couldn't resist getting a good fight in."

"Shocker." Riyo nodded, filing the information away. "He likes stuff with softer textures."

They reached the end of the street they were currently perusing, moving on to the next.

Time to slip in a bit further.

"So, who started with all the romantic stuff?" Riyo weaved between a group of kids running by. "'Cause from what I've seen, this isn't just a sexed up way of beating each other up. You said so yourself."

There was a pause before Jabber answered, a moment of hesitation that lingered just slightly too long.

"…Zan-zan would probably bury himself six feet under if he had to hear you describe it like that." Jabber laughed, turning his gaze to one of the particularly loud vendors nearby, who seemed to be attempting to sell some kind of mysterious pink sauce. "It was him, by the way."

He said it like it was a footnote, something to brush away rather than the main answer to her question.

Hm. Seemed that was a more sensitive subject.

Either way, she had to give her offering.

"He likes sour things from time to time. Depends on if he's feeling it."

They continued browsing, Jabber taking the lead from time to time as he approached certain stalls, looking them over briefly.

"Why'd you give him those flowers?" Riyo asked, once the Raider had requested another question.

"It was a hell of a coincidence, they were the same type as the ones that—"

He stopped himself, seeming to have accidentally said too much for his liking.

"They were the same type as the ones on those earrings." Riyo repeated the explanation Zanka had given her. "Right?"

"He told you about those?" Jabber's eyebrows raised slightly.

"Yeah. Told me all about it when he opened that package up. That's actually the whole reason we found out about you two." Riyo snickered at the memory. "He came back to HQ wearing those earrings out of nowhere one day, and when Enjin asked him where they were from, he just said 'they're Abby's'."

Jabber only cackled, startling a few of the passersby.

"You've still got a question to answer," Riyo reminded him, before he could get too lost in his giddiness. "I'm not accepting a half-finished one like that."

"There really ain't much more to it." Jabber wiped away the tears the laughter had brought to his eyes. "They reminded me of the earrings, so they also reminded me of him. Also, he really liked those earrings, said that they match—"

Once again, he stopped himself.

But for a moment there, he'd gotten a certain look in his eye. It wasn't the desire or playfulness Riyo had seen before, but something else. Something lighter, less controlled, freer.

Something—

"He likes cleaner foods. Stuff that won't make a mess." Riyo spared Jabber the burden of having to recover from his second falter. "So nothing too crumby."

"Sounds right." Jabber grinned again, gaze drifting to a stall they were passing. "What about that?"

The vendor running the stall was selling some type of pastry— cream puffs, as the sign above supplied.

Oh. That brought back some memories. But first—

"How'd that nickname end up happening anyway?" Riyo didn't miss her chance for a question. "'Abby'. Does he actually call you that?"

"He does. Came up with it too, all by himself." For no obvious reason, Jabber brought a hand up to his right ear lobe, feeling around the area of his piercings. "Was sick of being the only one with a nickname."

Riyo hummed to provide an indication that she'd been listening, looking back to the cream puff stall.

All in all, it wasn't a bad choice. Jabber had been paying attention.

Except—

"Those would be good, but," Riyo watched a small look of annoyance pass over Jabber's face at the addition of that word, "the last time Zanka had 'em was…right before he experienced Enjin's driving for the first time."

That had certainly been a time. Zanka had been absolutely miserable for the rest of the day, and had refused to eat anything before getting in a car that Enjin was driving for at least two months.

Jabber burst out laughing again, earning him several more concerned looks from bystanders. She didn't blame them, the sound wasn't exactly pleasant, with how loud and manic it was.

"He ain't ever told me 'bout that before!" Jabber's words were still chased by breathy giggles, even as he recovered. "I mean, he complains about Tattoos's driving all the time, but he always says how he can 'handle it just fine'."

"Well, obviously he's used to it now." Riyo snickered as she thought back to Zanka's early days as a Cleaner. "Took him a while to get there, though. But even now, he still avoids cream puffs like the plague."

Now both of them were laughing, and Riyo had to ask herself—

What the hell was she doing? Why was she sharing this with Jabber?

These were her memories of Zanka, her treasured keepsakes that were just for her and the other Cleaners. Sure, Jabber had managed to appear fine until now, but there still wasn't anything solid to prove that he wasn't just fucking around.

When she'd listened in on that conversation between Zanka and Enjin, outside of the boy's room, he'd flat out denied Enjin's initial proposal. Yeah, Zanka wasn't a pushover, even with those he cared about, and yeah, that original offer of a whole year had been ridiculous, but still—

He'd said that to Enjin. The guy he idolized more than anyone else. When he was already in a hell of a lot of trouble with him.

It was more than that. Way more.

The lengths he'd gone to keep his relationship with Jabber hidden.

The way he carefully cared for each of the pieces of jewelry he was lent, fondly running his fingers over them when he thought no one was looking.

The way he'd smiled at that damn branch of oleander.

This meant a lot to Zanka. He cared. Really cared.

And when Zanka, as prickly and standoffish as he could be sometimes, really cared about something, he put his whole heart and soul into caring about it.

So she couldn't afford to let Jabber off easy. Not with what was at stake.

Riyo continued to the end of the street, not bothering to beckon for Jabber to follow her. Not that there was a need. Turning on to the next one—

"Damn." Jabber whistled. "This where all the rich people are hiding, huh?"

He wasn't wrong. This street was noticeably cleaner, more organized, lined with shop fronts instead of shoddily crafted stalls. Riyo even caught a few Hell Guard members patrolling among the shoppers.

"Doesn't hurt to look." Riyo shrugged, starting to walk again. "Unless you're scared of getting recognized by those guys."

She subtly gestured to one of the nearby Hell Guard members.

"Nah." Jabber seemed unbothered by their presence, continuing on without so much as a flinch. "Besides, I can just have Zan-zan bail me out."

Yeah, maybe not.

Even though Jabber's remark had obviously been a joke, Riyo couldn't help but wonder just how much he knew about Zanka's past.

Jabber had held the ambiguity of the length of his relationship over her earlier, but if he still didn't know much about Zanka's time with his blood family, it probably hadn't been too long.

Riyo continued down the new street relatively quickly. Everything here was bound to be absurdly overpriced; if she'd been the one in charge of buying a gift, she doubted she'd be able to afford so much as a mint from these shops. She glanced at the shop displays merely for the hell of it, eyes passing over everything from sparkly, gaudy jewelry to crisp, well-tailored clothing.

Even though she'd gotten Jabber to talk, she still didn't feel like she'd learned much at all. Sure, he'd said plenty, but he'd still kept his true feelings hidden, kept under lock and key, whether they agreed with his words or not being left up to debate.

And that was the real problem, wasn't it? As hard as she'd tried, things had still ended in a stalemate—

One window display stuck out.

Suddenly, Riyo was a little bit more than two years younger, standing next to Zanka in front of a different storefront, but one that still held the same goods.

"What are those?" Riyo had her face pressed up against the window, gazing down at the display.

"…I've had 'em before. Back when I was—" Zanka cut himself off, approaching the window as well. "We— I used to have 'em with tea sometimes. They're called wagashi, there's a whole bunch of different kinds."

"It's a little hard to believe that they're food. They look so pretty."

"Yeah. I used to want to know how they make 'em so bad." Zanka chuckled lightly.

"Do you want some?" Riyo turned to look at him.

"Not from a shop like this— that'd be way too expensive." Zanka frowned, shaking his head. "I mean, I haven't really seen other stalls for 'em, but—"

"You like them though, right?" Riyo interrupted his rambling.

Zanka nodded slowly.

"'Cause they remind you of where you grew up?"

A complicated look fell over Zanka's face at her question. He turned back to the window display, taking a moment to think before responding.

"It's not that— I don't miss that place." He held Lovely Assistaff a bit closer to himself. "I don't. Mostly. Not with what they— not being there with them. I don't miss that. But, sometimes..I miss the familiarity."

He raised a hand up to the glass, pressing his fingertips to it.

"Y'know, having food that ya grew up on. Wearin' the same type of clothes— stuff like that."

A faint, wistful look passed over his eyes.

"I guess I have wanted to taste 'em again."

Riyo stopped dead in her tracks, turning to face Jabber, showing no regard for the people moving around them that now had to adjust their courses not to bump into the pair.

"I've got one final question for you." The look she fixed him with was dead serious.

Jabber stared back at her, staying silent, facing falling into a mask of neutrality.

"Does this actually mean anything to you?" Riyo was unwavering, blotting out ever other distraction around them. "Or are you just doing all of this on a whim?"

The small, minuscule widening of Jabber's eyes had been the only sign of the reaction.

The two of them stood there in silence for what seemed like an eternity, Riyo having said the last words she'd needed to, while Jabber's remained locked away.

She needed to know. She didn't care how much Jabber preferred covering up his true intentions, didn't care about all the games he loved to play— she needed to know now. For certain.

After a long while, Jabber breathed out a long sigh.

"…Wouldn't be here for just anyone." Jabber shifted in place, visibly uncomfortable, yet still persisting. "I don't do this shit. Never have. Never wanted to. But with him— it's different. Didn't see it coming, not at all, and suddenly— I'm here."

He made a vague gesture to the shopping district around them.

"I ain't gonna leave him. Don't care if you believe it or not. That's your own problem, not mine."

Riyo stared at him for a second more, looking, searching for—

"Get him that." She turned around to point at the wagashi shop.

Jabber, in a strange display of consideration, seemed to recognize the importance of her direct answer, not bothering to argue as he followed her into the shop.

"Woah," the Raider's eyes locked on the display case next to the front counter, holding a wide variety of the colorful confectioneries, shaped into everything from flowers, to fruits, to animals, "ain't that neat? This the kinda stuff that Zan-zan likes?"

"Yep." Riyo slowly allowed her normal demeanor to return, losing the serious attitude from before. "He's actually been craving it for a while."

"You're gonna have to be a bit more specific 'bout what he's looking for." Jabber looked back at her, pointing at the case. "There's like, a million different things in there."

Honestly, this was where her knowledge ran out. Even though it'd been so long since the topic had been brought up, she and Zanka hadn't ever gotten around to finding any kind of wagashi.

Riyo stepped up to the case to try her luck, scanning over the options.

"Just get him one of these then." Riyo crouched down to get a closer look at the item she'd selected, a small box containing several different types of wagashi, separated into small, square compartments. "There's bound to be something he likes in here."

"Good, good shit." Jabber hummed in agreement, crouching beside Riyo to get his own look. "How much is it?"

Both of their eyes seemed to find the price tag at the exact same time.

"5,250 galla?!" Jabber gaped at the display case.

"Damn," Riyo's jaw dropped, in an equal state of disbelief, "just for that?"

"Take it or leave it." The shopkeeper— a wrinkled old man who'd kept quiet until now, eyeing the two of them with a judgemental look since they'd entered the shop— spoke up, an annoyed look on his face. "And keep it down too, or the two of you are outta here."

"That's robbery." Jabber groaned, tipping his head backwards. "Robbery."

"These aren't just desserts, kid, they're art. Art takes work. Work takes money." The shopkeeper crossed his arms. "If you don't like my prices, the door is right there. I'm not budging."

Riyo rose to her full height again, Jabber following soon after.

Seemed Zanka had been right about these kinds of fancy shops. They'd have to search the rest of the shopping district for another stall selling wagashi.

She turned to Jabber to suggest as much, only to find that he was now standing at the counter.

He had a small pouch in his hands that he was shuffling through, grumbling to himself. It didn't take him long to finish, slamming a fistful of galla onto the counter.

"Gimme the stupid box." Jabber scowled at the old man.

The shopkeeper seemed unfazed, simply sighing and turning around to retrieve what the boy had asked for.

Honestly, Riyo was stuck between being shocked and impressed. Hell, Jabber had barely hesitated.

"It'd be a real shame if you started getting food poisoning complaints." Jabber continued on passive-aggressively, watching as the shopkeeper counted the galla. "Just saying. Reeeeeeal shame."

"Just get out of my store." The man handed the box over to Jabber, an unimpressed look on his face.

Jabber stalked out of the shop, visibly sulking.

Riyo was stuck standing there for a minute, still a bit bewildered.

"That means you too!" The shopkeeper glared at her, pointing to the door. "This isn't a daycare!"

She slipped out without a word, too focused on catching up with Jabber.

He'd already almost made it to the end of the street, heading back to where they'd first entered the shopping district, apparently eager to get out of there.

"Didn't know the Raiders paid that well." Riyo fell into step beside him, keeping up with his speed walking.

"They don't." Jabber's pout deepened.

The rounded a street corner, officially out of sight from the richer area of the shopping district

"Figures." Riyo grinned, smug. "Just how I'd expect an organization like that to be."

"At least I actually have my own house."

"At least my coworkers like me."

"At least I can do whatever the hell I want."

"At least Enjin takes us out for food after missions."

"At least Zodyl can drive right."

Well. He had her there.

"You know, it's not really fair that you get to give that to Zanka." Riyo leaned over to grab the box of wagashi. "I mean, I did all the work. You just followed along."

"Uh, nu-uh." Jabber immediately raised the box above his head, resting it on one hand, out of her reach. "I paid for it. This is my gift for Zan-zan, you can go get your own."

"That just sounds like compensation for me." Riyo tried to reach for the box again, rising on the tips of her toes. "For having to put up with you all day."

It almost reminded her of the way Zanka bickered with Rudo. It—

Hold on. What did that mean?

"Nope, no way Bang-bang girl." Jabber raised the box up as high up as he could manage, grinning. "I'm gonna give this to Zan-zan, and he'll tell me how much he—"

Too focused on their quarrel, neither of them noticed the man that had darted out from around the corner.

Not until he'd snatched the box from Jabber's hands and sprinted off down an alleyway.

Riyo and Jabber stared at each other.

Not a word was needed.

The message was mutual in their minds.

Don't let him get away.

* * *

"Ow, ow— sorry! I said I was sorry!"

The thief continued to protest from his position stuck into Jabber, who was currently crouched on the man's back, weight digging into his spine. The Raider's vital instrument rested on the back of the thief's neck.

Riyo deactivated the Ripper, (hey, this had been a matter of utmost importance, as she and Jabber had both agreed), opening the retrieved box of wagashi.

"I was just trying to make a bit of cash!" The thief reasoned, sweating profusely. "I'll leave you both alone!"

"They're all fine." Riyo closed the box again, letting out a small sigh of relief. "Didn't get damaged."

With that, Jabber stuck one of his blades into the thief's skin, at which the man immediately went limp, please ceasing.

Riyo raised an eyebrow.

"It's just a paralytic." Jabber waved her off, finally getting off of the thief. "He'll be fine in a little bit, Bang-bang girl."

"…You should probably stop calling me that from now on. For future reference." Riyo squinted at him. "Enjin'll get mad at me again if he hears you say it."

"I don't care what he thinks." Jabber rolled his eyes before bounding over to Riyo, mood shifting on a dime. "They're really all okay?"

"Yep." Riyo nodded, sliding the lid off again to let him see for himself. "We got lucky."

"Good. I did not wanna have to buy another one of these." Jabber took the box from her, sliding the lid shut, then glanced at the thief on the ground. "That wasn't even a fun chase."

"It really wasn't. He should probably consider a different career path." Riyo joined in, smiling. "I don't think he's too good at this whole 'robbery' thing."

"Should've known not to try 'n take Zan-zan's shit." Jabber giggled, poking the man with his foot.

Jabber was a weird guy.

And Riyo still didn't entirely trust him with Zanka.

And Enjin would probably be pissed at her if he found out she'd come out here to meet him.

But honestly, she'd be willing to accept it for now. Riyo was a bit weird herself after all. As reluctant as she was to say it, they had a few things in common.

She'd have to find some way to deal with all this eventually.

After all, if Jabber was true to his word, he wouldn't be leaving their lives any time soon.

Riyo held up her scissors, looking over at Jabber.

"Wanna help me give this guy a haircut?"

If that was the case, why let this temporary alliance end here?

* * *

Zanka had been a bit restless lately. To say the least.

Could you really blame him?

Tomorrow, he would be officially un-grounded. After a whole month.

Not that it'd really been a full month as intended. No, Jabber had made sure of that. Showing up every time Zanka blinked, doing everything in his power to violate the rules Enjin had laid out. Thankfully, his mentor had quickly realized that Zanka had very little control over Jabber's bullshit, which kept him from adding any more days to the punishment.

That didn't mean Zanka had been spared a shred of embarrassment throughout the whole process.

(He already knew that time Rudo had found him and Jabber…releasing some, uh, "pent-up frustrations" was going to haunt him to the grave.)

But as much as Zanka scowled, complained, told Jabber to stop, ignored his choker calls, refused fights with him (at least, he'd attempted to), told him to just wait—

He appreciated it.

He appreciated that Jabber still came to see him whenever he could. That he left so many reminders that he hadn't left Zanka, hadn't moved on, that he was staying. It meant a lot. It really did.

And as much as he hated to admit it, it cheered him up sometimes.

His only other physical reminder of his attachment to Jabber was was the pendant he'd left him with, the last piece of jewelry the Raider had given him before they'd been found out. Zanka would never tell a soul, but sometimes he clung to that pendant like a lifeline.

It was calming, to always feel that small weight against his chest.

As nice it was, it still left him with the giant problem of how to handle publicly being in a relationship with Jabber Wonger. And now that the grounding was almost over, how to handle participating in that relationship now that the other Cleaners knew.

Rudo, while opposed, seemed to want to do everything in his power to avoid the topic of the relationship, following The Incident. (The second entry of the Rudo Incidents, counting the catastrophe at Alice's clinic.)

Enjin had been more frantic than every, although he was trying his best not to appear that way. He'd already discussed what rules Zanka would be following post-grounding: let Enjin know when he was going to see Jabber, let him know when he was coming back, yada yada. At least Gris was there to help him through it.

As for Riyo, she'd been the hardest to read. She'd been quieter around him since this had started, not because of any kind of grudge, at least from what Zanka could tell. Rather, it seemed like she was observing. Still, as much as she tried to hide what was on her mind, it seemed she had yet to be able to hide the disdain that crossed her eyes when Jabber was mentioned now.

Out of the three of them, it was her that Zanka was the most concerned about when it came to this. He could deal with Enjin's pestering and Rudo's jabs, but Riyo could be a lot more calculating. If any of them ever came around to the relationship, (which he doubted they would), she'd probably be the last one to do so.

Despite all the turmoil stewing in his head, the feeling of returning to Cleaners HQ after a hard day's work never stopped being comforting.

Stepping back into that building, surrounded by those familiar walls— it was nice, having a place that you knew like the back of your hand. Every sound, every sight, he knew each of them just as well as he knew the sun in the sky. Taking in every hallmark of this home of his on his way back to his dorm— it soothed him, in a way.

The sight of Semiu sitting at her desk. Guita prancing down the halls, Bro and Dear following close behind. The sound of August yelling loudly to Eishia about something, still audible despite how far Zanka was from the infirmary. Amo gently humming under her breath as she sat with Rudo at the table in the common room, the two of them appearing to be working on some drawing. The greeting Tamsy gave him as Zanka passed by him. The sound of Riyo's voice from her room, probably regaling whoever she was talking to with some ridiculous account of an old memory. Jabber's loud laughter in response, unrestrained and—

Wait a damn minute.

Zanka backed up, shoving the door to Riyo's room open.

There the two of them were, Riyo lounging on her bed, Jabber tipping backwards in a chair, as if Riyo hadn't been getting this murderous look in her eye every time the Raider had been so much as mentioned. There they were, talking, laughing, joking around without a care in the world.

Zanka could only stare in shock.

"Hey, Zan-zan!" Jabber noticed him, letting the chair he was sitting on fall forward with a solid thunk.

The Raider waved at him, and Zanka noticed, too his further disbelief, a small, red nick on Jabber's thumb. He had a sneaking suspicion that Riyo now had a matching mark on her on thumb.

"You didn't tell me you used to pretend to have conversations with Lovely Assistaff!"

Zanka didn't even notice Enjin join him in the doorway as the true horror of the situation began to dawn on him.

"What's going— why the hell is he here again?!"

Honestly, Zanka couldn't be bothered to deal with it. Not when he had a much more concerning issue on his hands.

He'd been prepared for the mistrust. He'd been prepared for arguments. He'd definitely been prepared for physical fights.

But never, not once, had he thought about preparing for the terrifying possibility of Riyo and Jabber getting along.

Riyo, who'd seen almost all of Zanka's embarrassing moments and awkward phases since he'd joined the Cleaners.

Jabber, who wouldn't forget a single detail of it all until the day he died.

Zanka resisted the urge of scream and bang his head into a wall.

This was going to be a nightmare.