Archive of Our Own

Jabber's maniacal laugh fills the cave as he slashes viciously at Zanka with Mankira. Zanka dodges and uses Lovely Assistaff to swipe at Jabber's feet in an attempt to knock him off balance. But Jabber only jumps over the staff and in the same move, kicks out against Zanka's chest. Zanka falls back from the force of the kick, letting out an "oof" when his back hits the ground.

"C'mon, Mr. Bad Attitude! Thought you was gon show me basic don't back down!"

Zanka growls, fixing a glare at Jabber. "Yeah, I'll show ya by beating yer ass into the ground!" Zanka's hand reaches out to grab Jabber's ankle and yanks. Jabber falls to the floor and before he can retaliate, Zanka slams Assistaff down. It's prongs trap him by the neck and he grins when the metal presses against his throat.

Zanka stands above him, sweat rolling down his face and huffs of breath escaping his lips.

"Okay, guys we got it! That's a wrap! Great work!"

The overhead lights threaten to blind Jabber as they turn on and he hears the director and crew clap and cheer. Lovely Assistaff gets pulled up off Jabber's neck, allowing him to sit up. He rubs a little at his throat, still feeling that phantom pressure.

It's their last day of filming for Gachiakuta. Well, technically they've already filmed all the episodes, this is just re-filming and polishing certain scenes. Jabber would be lying if he said he wasn't a little sad at it being over. He's just getting his start in acting, but so far this has been one of the best projects he's worked on. Not only might this role be his big break, but he's met so many fun people along the way.

"Hope I wasn't too rough with ya," Jabber hears and looks up to see Zanka holding out a hand to him.

Jabber takes it and allows himself to get pulled up to his feet, stumbling forward a little bit. He nearly falls face first into Zanka's chest but manages to stop himself. Standing up straight and releasing Zanka's hand, he responds, "Uh nah, you're good. Kinda feel like that's the point of the fight scene."

Zanka's lips pull into a smirk and Jabber knows he's fallen into a trap when Zanka says, "Oh? Ya sayin' ya like it rough?"

Heat immediately explodes in Jabber's face and he chokes a bit. "What?! That's not—"

He's cut off by Zanka's laughter which only makes him more flustered. "I'm jokin', Jabber! Man, 'm gonna miss fuckin' with you like this."

Jabber slaps at Zanka's arm, his own smile stretching across his face. "Betcha won't miss me more than that haircut."

"Ugh, as if. Can't wait to get rid of this fuckass hair."

Jabber snorts at that and he opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by someone calling for Zanka. "Looks like 'm needed elsewhere," he says, waving back at whoever called him. Before he leaves though, he turns back to Jabber. He doesn't say anything for a moment, just looks at Jabber. And Jabber only stares back, the warmth in his cheeks feeling like it's only getting worse.

At this point, it's getting a little awkward so Jabber decides to just bite the bullet.

"Well, I'll see you around?"

"Yeah," Zanka responds. And for a moment, Jabber thinks he looks a little disappointed until he perks up and asks him, "You'll be at the wrap party later, yeah?"

Jabber rubs at the back of his neck. "I 'on know... Parties ain't really my thing."

Zanka pouts and Jabber's gaze is immediately drawn to his lips. "C'mon, it'll be chill! Just some drinks with some of the cast 'n crew. The kids'll be there too, so it won't get wild or nothin'."

He looks back up to Zanka's eyes and knows he's lost once he sees the pleading look in them, not unlike a puppy begging for another treat. And with a hefty sigh, he says, "Fine. I'll be there."

Zanka's face breaks out into a smile that Jabber can only describe as dazzling before he excitedly says, "Awesome! I'll see ya tonight, then!" And then he's off.

"Yeah… tonight," Jabber mumbles to no one but himself.

He sighs and makes his way back to his dressing room. He responds to and accepts the various praises and congratulations from the crew as he passes by. Once back in his room, he slumps back against the closed door.

"Judging from the look on your face, guess you still didn't ask him out."

Jabber yelps when he looks up to see Cthoni lounging on the sofa, fixing him with a bored look. She's traded her Raiders costume for simple hoodie with jeans and has her phone open to some weird mukbang video.

"Damn, Cthoni! The hell you sneakin' around in my room for?" He clutches his chest, feeling like his heart might explode right out his ribcage from the jump scare.

"I'm not 'sneaking around'. I was waiting for you to finish so we could get lunch. I've been at the studio since seven and I'm starving. So hurry up."

"A'ight, lemme just change and then we can go." Jabber steps to his closet and uses the door to shield him a bit as he strips out of his costume for a pair of sweats and and a t-shirt. He picks up a makeup wipe to get rid of some of fake blood and bruised makeup.

"Finally," Cthoni says, standing up from the sofa and walking out of the dressing room before Jabber can even announce he's ready.

"Why you ain't just go to the craft table?," he asks as they walk into the parking lot to head to his car.

"Because the food there is gross. And I'm craving burritos."

Jabber huffs a laugh as he unlocks his car and slips into the driver's seat. It always amuses him that Cthoni was chosen to play a character nine years older than her considering she acts like she's twelve.

He starts the car once she's in the passenger seat. It's a short drive to the Tex-Mex joint they like. Or maybe they only like it because it's so close to the studio. Either way, it takes no time for them to dig into their food as they sit on the hood of Jabber's car.

"You didn't answer me earlier," she says after a while.

"Huh?," he asks, mouth full of burrito goodness. Cthoni makes a face before she continues talking.

"About you asking out Zanka."

And there it is. He knew sooner or later Cthoni would sniff him out. So Jabber has a little crush on his costar, no big deal. Well, maybe it isn't little. And maybe it's a big fucking deal. Because Jabber has a crush on Zanka that's the size of Jupiter and he can't do anything about it.

Except deny it.

"….Dunno whatchu talkin' 'bout."

Cthoni groans and rolls her eyes. She takes a bite out of her burrito before saying, "Anyone can see you've got a big ass crush on him. And he's a got a big ass crush on you too."

"Girl, when you talk, make sense."

"Then explain why he's always flirting with you."

Zanka flirting with me? Sure, during filming there were too many times in between takes would Zanka take the opportunity to bombard him with cheesy pickup lines or innuendos, all resulting in Jabber dying inside while using every amount of effort to stay professional. But still…

"But that's just him messin' with me. Y'know, to get a reaction outta me 'cus he thinks it's funny."

Cthoni gives him a look, one that he translates to 'be fucking for real', before she says, "Alright, be in denial. Not like I care if you die of blue balls."

"Gross."

"No, your mooning and forlorn sighs are gross," she shoots back. "You've been crushing on this guy since the first day. Are you just not gonna do anything about it?"

"For the record," Jabber says, holding up his pointer finger. "I didn't not not ask him out. He asked if I was goin' to the wrap party tonight."

"The wrap party with all of our coworkers and bosses? Yeah, so romantic," Cthoni says, somehow managing to sound even more sarcastic than her base tone. "And this shouldn't have to be said, but if he's asking if you're going to a work party, that doesn't actually count as him asking you out."

Jabber groans, "I know."

Cthoni sighs then, clearly taking pity on him. "What's the big deal if you just ask him to dinner?"

"The big deal is that we're coworkers. I 'on wanna make an ass outta myself. 'Sides he's like a big name actor and shit. He ain't gonna roll with me."

Cthoni sighs again and balls up her waste to throw it in the trash can in front of them. Jabber does the same but it bounces out at the last second.

"Y'know, your self-consciousness is really annoying. Based on your character, no one would guess you're this insecure."

"Guess I'm just a really good actor."

Cthoni hums then gets up to sit back in the passenger seat.

"Whatever, lover boy. Mind driving me home? I wanna squeeze in a nap before the party tonight."

Jabber agrees and gets back in the car to start it. They don't talk on the drive to her place due to Cthoni not being the type of person to need to fill the silence and Jabber too caught up in his thoughts.

He's so distracted he nearly passes Cthoni's building if it weren't for her flicking his ear and telling him to get his head out of the clouds.

Before she gets out, she looks back at him with a look that has him straightening up.

"If you don't do anything about your little crush tonight, I'm gonna consider you a lost cause. Which means don't ever come crying to me about it."

"I never wanted to come to you in the first place?," he says, but Cthoni's already slammed the car door closed and walking up to her building.

Jabber lets out a groan as he pulls off and once he's back home, he collapses face-first onto his couch with an even longer all-suffering groan.

He knew the second he walked onto that set that Zanka was going to be a problem. Back then, he thought it'd be because Jabber had assumed he'd be nothing more than a stuck-up, entitled nepo baby.

God, was he wrong. Their first scene they shot together, Jabber was so nervous he kept flubbing his lines and missing his cues. He doesn't even know why he was so anxious that day. Maybe it was the pressure of working with someone who was so accomplished despite being around the same age as him. Maybe it was the fact that Zanka was even prettier in person and was fucking perfect at everything.

After about ten takes, the director decided to call for a five minute break and Jabber avoided everyone's eyes as he slumped in his seat. As he was thinking about the idea to defenestrate himself out of embarrassment, he spotted Zanka approaching him.

"Hey, new guy," Zanka said, stopping in front of him and propping himself up on Assistaff.

New guy? Jabber raised an eyebrow, straightening up in his seat so Zanka wouldn't have to look down on him as much. "Y'know, we all new here, right? It's a new show."

"Yeah, but yer new to me so, new guy."

Jabber glowered, feeling his patience begin to run thin. "You need me for somethin'?"

"Ooh, that's not a pretty face," Zanka teases. Seeing the way Jabber's glare sharpens, he continues, "Jus' wanna tell ya don't sweat it about the performance issues. We all have our days when it's hard to get it up."

What? Jabber's glare softened and he narrowed his eyes. "…Was that a joke?"

Zanka's face broke out into a grin, slow and shit-eating. "Good, right?"

"Dude, that's terrible."

"Damn, really? I was workshoppin' that the whole time we were shootin'. 'N ya just go ahead 'n tell me it sucks! So cruel!" Zanka sniffed and wiped a fake tear from his eye.

That gets a small laugh from Jabber, more in shock than amusement at Zanka's dramatics.

"Ooh, I got a laugh outta ya!"

Before Jabber could respond, the director called them back to set to resume the scene. Miraculously, Jabber felt his earlier anxiety had dissipated and he managed to give a good performance, allowing the director to move on. The next scenes to be filmed didn't call for neither him nor Zanka so they were free to go for the day.

Jabber caught sight of Zanka making his way out of the studio, and he pulled him to the side.

"Hey, man. Jus' wanna say thanks. For cheerin' me up and whatever."

Zanka waves him off with a smile, "I was jus' tryna get ya outta yer head. Glad it worked. Yer really good."

Jabber flustered a bit at the praise, and in a way of deflecting it, he cleared his throat and said, "You really ain't what I expected."

"Oh? What were ya expectin'?"

"Honestly? Kinda thought you'd be an uppity prick. That you was gonna walk around here thinkin' you better than everyone 'cus you a Nijiku. Glad I was wrong."

Zanka looked dumbfounded at Jabber's admission and he was worried that maybe he'd offended him until Zanka asked, "Wait, so ya don't think I'm nepo baby pilled?"

"Um…" Truthfully, Jabber had never heard any of those words in that combination before, so he could only confusedly respond, "No?"

"Yes! Ooh, Riyo so owes me ten bucks!"

"Happy to help?"

Zanka cocked his head to the side with a slight smirk. "Would ya be happy to gimme yer number, too?"

As Jabber's eyes widened, Zanka jumped to quickly amend his question. "Oh shit, not like that! Unless…" And when Jabber's jaw threatened to hit the floor, he laughed. "I'm kiddin'! We're costars so I thought it'd be good to have each other's contacts. For like emergencies or whatever."

"Or whatever," Jabber repeated, pressing his lips together to hide his smile.

Zanka hummed an affirmative and fished out his phone. He held it out to Jabber and looked at him with puppy eyes as he said, "Pwetty pwease?"

That gets another laugh out of Jabber and Zanka only smiles as Jabber punched his number in. He saved his contact under 'Jabber (GA)', because what else would he put it under?

"Seriously?," Zanka asked when he got his phone back. "That's so lame, man. Ya know 'm gonna change it, right?"

Jabber shrugged and handed his own phone over when Zanka beckoned for it. "I mean it's your phone, so…"

A few moments passed as Zanka tapped in his contact and when he returned Jabber's phone, he fixed him with a teasing glare. "Yer not allowed to change it."

Jabber snorted as he looked at the contact named 'Zan-Zan' with various kiss and heart emojis. "Yeah, you're so not what I expected."

Zanka only grinned and Jabber swore his heart skipped a beat.

In present time, Jabber scrolls through his and Zanka's chat history. It's countless memes, TikToks, and gifs that Jabber's responded to, some joking about crazy shit that happened on set, and general conversation.

He stops scrolling as a thought dawns on him.

They're not just coworkers at this point, they're friends!

Fuck, that makes it so much worse! Even if Jabber had the courage to ask him out, he can't now! He'd the run the risk of ruining a good friendship, and then Zanka would tell people about how Jabber's a creep and then he'd get blackballed from the industry!

Jabber's hands fist in his hair and the slight sting causes him to hiss but it works to ground himself.

Okay, definitely overreacting. Zanka would never react so harshly to a come on from him. The most he'd do is probably just be cordial with Jabber while putting some distance between them.

Cthoni's words float around in his mind. If you don't something about your crush tonight…

Maybe it would be better if he just ripped the band-aid off. Confess, get rejected, feel awkward, move on. He would undoubtedly ruin their relationship but then he wouldn't feel so burdened with these feelings. Maybe he and Zanka could still manage a respectful, professional relationship.

His phone buzzes and he looks to see a new message from Zanka.

Zan-Zan 💋😘💕😍

wut r u wearing 2nite?

Idk

Are you sexting me?

Zan-Zan 💋😘💕😍

yes

wear sumthin cute

not 2 hard bc u always cute 😚

Jabber fights the urge to throw his phone out of the window and settles for screaming softly into his hands.

He's definitely got to do something about this tonight. He might not survive otherwise.

After a shower that Jabber may or may not have spent a good amount of time staring at the wall and putting on an outfit that was more or less appropriate for the party, he was kind of just lounging around killing time before he leaves.

Being too early to a party sucks, especially when it's for work. He'd rather get there when others are so far into their partying they don't expend any extra attention to him. Hopefully, he'll get there when Cthoni's already there, so they can just hang together in the corner.

And maybe he's taking this time to think of a way to confess to Zanka.

He should just come out and say it. No preamble, no beating around the bush, just straight to the point.

It'll be easy! Jabber can just pull Zanka to talk somewhere quiet and just say it. 'A'ight so boom. I like you a lot, more than friends but I know you 'on feel the same. So it's cool, no biggie. Let's just keep it professional from here on.'

God, that's stupid. He'll definitely find a better way of saying it in the moment. Hopefully.

Glancing at the time on his phone, he thinks now is probably a good time to start heading out. It's been about half an hour since the party's started and by the time he gets there he can chat, drink, and have his heart broken in the span of under an hour.

That was the plan until Jabber found himself stuck in traffic for the past twenty minutes. He groans and lets his head fall back against his head rest. The sound of his phone ringing has him looking back up and seeing it's Cthoni calling him. Before he can even get out a greeting she's already talking.

"Jabber, where are you?" In the background, he can hear music and overlapping chatter, enough of an indicator that the party's fully underway.

"I'm literally fifteen minutes away. This fuckin' traffic man…," he mutters while inching his car toward the opening into the next lane.

"Well, I'm about to leave so you better hurry your ass up."

"What?" Jabber feels a rush of panic as he quickly maneuvers his car into the next lane. He gets a couple honks in response and he apologetically waves at them. Finally moving again, thank fuck. "I'm almost there. Please don't leave yet!"

"I'm leaving in ten." And then she hangs up and Jabber prays to whatever traffic gods there are that he doesn't have any more delays.

Because he really needs Cthoni there for moral support if he's gonna do the most embarrassing thing of his whole life.

Jabber arrives in just under ten minutes, parking slightly haphazardly in the lot. He rushes inside, passing by other cast members and offering short greetings while he looks furtively around for any sign of teal hair. Unable to clearly spot her, he pulls out his phone to pull up his chat with Cthoni.

Where are you??

Cathoni 🐈

dude i left like 2 min ago

Are you fucking kidding me

Jabber's about to type out a curse to Cthoni's bloodline when he hears his name being shouted. He looks up in time to see a blur of someone rushing at him and then jumping at him. Instinct has him catching them and supporting their weight by holding their thighs.

He has half a mind to curse out whoever the hell jumped him but when he looks up he feels his throat dry up, leaving him speechless.

"Jabber," Zanka croons, a dopey smile plastered on his face as he wraps his arms around Jabber's neck. "Yer hereeee!"

Holy.

Shit.

Zanka is in his arms. He's in Jabber's arms and is staring down at him with his pretty blue eyes and disheveled hair and he looks like an angel under the stupid party lights and holy shit Jabber's gonna combust.

"Ya look cute," Zanka says, fingering at Jabber's shirt collar. His speech is slurred making his accent thicker, but Jabber holds on to every word. "This looks so good on ya."

Yeah, Jabber's not going to survive the night.

Suddenly, Zanka's pulled off of him and he fights the urge to hold on. He looks to see Riyo standing in front of him now, holding on to the back of Zanka's shirt.

"Sorry about him. He got a little preoccupied with the drinks while he was waiting for you. He was totally bummed when he thought you weren't gonna show up."

"Traffic," Jabber offers as a weak explanation. The thought of Zanka waiting up for him makes something flutter in his chest. "Is he seriously drunk while there's kids around?"

"Well, Rudo, Remlin and the others are pretty much long gone now. Guess they had to make their bedtimes," Riyo snickers but Jabber's too focused on the way Zanka's wrapped himself back around his arm.

"How come yer not drinkin' anythin', Jabber? 'S a partyyyuhhh," he whines, leaning his head on Jabber's shoulder to peer up at him with half-lidded eyes. Jabber gulps and turns his attention back to Riyo who's smiling at them with a glint in her eye.

"He just got here, Z. Why don't you guys go to the bar and get something?"

"Yes!" Zanka perks up and lifts his head from Jabber's shoulder to properly look at him. "Lemme buy ya a drink!"

"Pretty sure it's an open bar," Jabber says as Zanka pulls him in the bar's direction. He glances back at Riyo to see her mouthing 'sorry' despite not looking apologetic at all.

Guess he's stuck on babysitting duty.

When they get to the bar, Zanka asks for beers for the both of them along with shots. Based on how wasted Zanka is now, he thinks he should pump the brakes on anymore drinking.

"I think maybe we should get some water in you."

"Hm?," Zanka looks at him confused then back down at the drinks. After a moment, something must click in his brain because he laughs, tossing his head back and exposing the line of his throat. Jabber's eyes track a lone sweat droplet that trails down his throat and— Jesus Christ, maybe coming was bad idea, after all. He can barely contain himself.

"These ain't fer me. They're fer you."

"Oh, I 'on really like drinkin—," Jabber starts but is cut off by Zanka pressing one of the beer bottles to his lips.

"Jabber," Zanka says, breathy in a way that makes Jabber hot. "Ya kept me waitin' for so long. I need ya to catch up to me. Don't cha wanna feel good like me?"

And Jabber can only nod, feeling like he's being held captive by Zanka's gaze. It's almost predatory, the way he's looking at him. Like he wants to eat him alive.

"Good boy," Zanka grins and tilts the bottle so beer starts flowing past his lips.

Fuck, Jabber thinks. I'm so fucked.

A buzzing sound rouses Jabber from his sleep, to his displeasure. He opens his eyes and closes them immediately at the bright light that assaults them. He groans and presses his hand to his head when he feels a slight ache there.

The buzzing is still going and he realizes it's his phone that's going off. With his eyes still closed, he reaches his arm in the direction the noise is coming from. He manages to grab his phone and opens one eye to see it's Cthoni calling him. He swipes his screen to answer and then rolls onto his back with his phone pressed to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Are you still sleeping?"

He wants to shoot back that obviously since he answered the phone he's not sleeping but in his tired state he can only mumble, "'M awake."

"Have you checked your socials at all?"

Jabber's barely on social media as is. He has all the necessary pages but he's not the type of person to check them first thing in the morning. "No?"

He hears Cthoni mutter a curse and his brain is finally starting to boot up. "What's goin' on?" He holds his phone in front of him while he opens Twitter. He scrolls through his homepage wondering if maybe he missed some huge news story. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary he moves to the trending page and sees the number one search as #janka?

"Just don't freak out," Cthoni's tone is nervous and that sets Jabber on edge because Cthoni is never nervous.

"Dude, you scarin' me. Why would I—" Jabber cuts himself off with a gasp and nearly drops his phone on his face when the results pop up.

Because the whole page is flooded with pictures and videos of him and Zanka from what looks like last night's party. And usually, this wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for contents being so dirty.

"Cthoni, what the fuck. What the fuck!"

"Jabber, chill. It's not that bad."

"Not that bad?! There's a picture of him bottle feeding me like I'm a fuckin' baby!" He's not even exaggerating, either. In the picture, Zanka's standing to his side as he's holding up a beer bottle to his mouth while his other hand is curled around Jabber's nape. There's another picture of Jabber with Zanka's arm wrapped around his shoulders. And fuck, Zanka's licking him, full on tongue pressed against the side of his face while he looks like he's laughing. He scrolls further to find another one of them leaning on each other, Zanka's hand up his shirt while Jabber stares down at him with what he knows is pure want.

Embarrassing doesn't even cover how he feels. Here he was trying to hide his feelings for his costar and they're being broadcast to the whole fucking world.

He scrolls some more and actually feels his heart drop into his ass when he sees a video of them dancing to 'Naughty Girl' by Beyoncé of all songs. If dancing is what you can even call it. They're basically grinding and humping on each other as they obnoxiously sing along. Oh God, they're doing the moaning ad libs too. Just how much did Jabber drink last night? He doesn't remember any of this!

"Bruh, who even posted this shit?," Jabber whines, still scrolling through the tag as he comes across reactions from fans. Most of them are shocked but amused at their antics, surprised that the two of them get along despite playing mortal enemies. There's a couple weird ass bigoted comments that Jabber doesn't pay any attention to.

And then there's people who are outright shipping them.

Comments gushing about how cute he and Zanka are together, theorizing about them falling in love on set, and full on salivating about how hot they are.

Jabber closes the app and covers his face with is arms as he groans. He's fully awake now; a result at seeing his life fall apart right before his eyes. And because he's fully awake, he's able to take in his surroundings.

And realizes this isn't his bedroom.

"Jabber?," Cthoni asks, but Jabber can barely hear her over the panic flooding his system. "You still there?"

"Cthoni, I need to call you back," he rushes out and hangs up before she can respond. He sits up, noting there's no particular soreness and a quick scan of his body shows that he's clothed in sweats and a band shirt that he knows is definitely not his.

Did I seriously leave with someone last night? Fuck don't tell me…

Jabber flips the covers off him and stands up from the bed in one fluid motion. And then he instantly regrets doing that because of how his stomach lurches and his head starts to pound. Still, he shakily makes his way to the bedroom door and right as he sets a hand on the handle, it pushes open.

"Oh, yer up. How'd ya sleep?," Zanka asks, standing in the doorway, confirming Jabber's worst fears.

In this moment, Jabber realizes he might need to actually kill himself.

"Dude, ya look like yer gonna blow chunks," Zanka snickers, oblivious to Jabber's inner panic. Then he sobers up and gives Jabber a worried look, "Are ya gonna blow chunks?"

"No," Jabber mumbles. Though he's not sure if that's the complete truth.

"Okay, how 'bout ya sit back down and I'll get ya some water?" And before Jabber can refuse, Zanka's already walking out of the room. Deciding to take Zanka's advice, he plops himself back on the bed and drops his head into his hands.

His head is pounding something fierce now and thinking is only making it worse. So, he focuses on the distant sound of running water, it stopping, and footsteps coming back to the room.

The feeling of cool glass against his hand has him lifting his head up and taking the glass of water Zanka holds out for him. The first sip feels like a relief but he reminds himself to drink slowly.

"Guess ya weren't kiddin' when ya said ya don't drink much," Zanka says. He's still standing in front of Jabber, arms crossed as he looks him over.

"Nope," Jabber responds, setting down the glass on the nightstand and looking back up at Zanka. He doesn't even look a fraction as bad as how Jabber feels. "I 'on really remember much from last night. How much did I drink?"

Zanka looks up for a moment like he's thinking to himself before he responds, "Couple beers, some mixed drinks, some shots. Oh, and ya did a couple lines of coke, too!"

"What?!," Jabber shouts, feeling like his eyes could bug out of his skull. When Zanka hunches over cackling, Jabber hurls one of the pillows at him, only making him laugh harder.

"Sorry, sorry!," Zanka says, trying to catch his breath. "I'm jokin', I swear! But ya were pretty wild last night."

Jabber groans, "Yeah, I saw. It's all over the internet. I'm guessin' I was too wasted to take myself home last night?"

"Yeah, Riyo suggested that I take ya home with me. Thought it was a good idea at the time." Zanka shrugs sheepishly and Jabber waves him off.

"Nah, it's fine. Thanks for lookin' out for me." His next question has warmth flooding his cheeks but he has to ask. "We ain't um…?" God, he's so embarrassed, he can't even finish so he just gestures vaguely between the two of them.

Zanka's eyebrows furrow for a moment until he gets what Jabber's trying to ask. "Oh, no! Nothin' happened. I swear I was good last night." He grins as he crosses an 'X' over his heart.

"So we jus' went to sleep. In your bed," he says stiltedly. The idea of the two of them sleeping together in the same bed is making his heart do somersaults.

"Well, no," Zanka says. "I took the couch."

Feeling slightly disappointed, Jabber pulls at the hem of his borrowed shirt. "You changed my clothes too?"

"Yeah, didn't think ya'd be comfortable sleepin' in those tight ass jeans," Zanka says. Then he smirks as he adds, "Though, they did look good on ya."

Jabber squeezes his eyes shut, overwhelmed at Zanka's teasing and the embarrassment of the situation. Who the hell gets black out drunk, gets all up on their costar, and is so wasted that said costar has to take care of them? Jabber fucking Wonger, apparently.

"Thank you," Jabber says, opening his eyes to look up at Zanka. And he means it. "You ain't have to do all that."

Zanka shrugs. "It's no biggie. 'M glad I could take care of you."

Jabber probably doesn't looked too satisfied at that because Zanka goes on to say, "If it makes ya feel better I closed my eyes while I was undressin' you."

Dropping his face in his hands, Jabber groans. He hears Zanka laugh, "Told ya I was good!"

Idiot, Jabber thinks fondly, lifting up his head to gaze at Zanka's smile. And Jabber must still be drunk because it's the only explanation for why he would think to say what he says next.

"And me? Was I good?"

With no small amount of awe, he watches as Zanka's mouth parts slightly and a slight pink tints his cheeks. Zanka clears his throat and looks like he's going to respond until he's interrupted by what sounds like the instrumental of pinkpantheress' 'Illegal'.

Zanka pulls his phone out of his pocket and when he looks down, he says, "Sorry, I gotta take this," and leaves the room.

Jabber resigns himself to wait until Zanka gets back but then his own phone starts going off. At first, he figures it's Cthoni, probably going to nag at him for hanging up so suddenly. But when he sees his PR agent's name pop up on his screen, his stomach twists.

"Hello?" He hopes the tremor in his voice isn't detectable over the other line. He listens to his agent prattle on but what she says next has him letting out a loud. "Huh?!"

"What do you mean a joint interview?" He leans forward to peer out of the door and lowers his voice to make sure Zanka can't hear him. "We not even—! Our characters barely—!"

His agent continues, talking about how the photos and videos from last night skyrocketed their popularity but specifically them as a duo. He sighs, already accepting his fate, and asks, "A'ight. When is it?"

Jabber has to fight the urge not to scream when she tells him it's today at noon. Looking at his phone the time reads as 10:13. He's gonna have to leave now if he's gonna make it. "Okay, I'll um— I'll see you later."

He ends the call after her goodbye and he makes his way on shaky legs out of the bedroom to what he assumes is the living room. Zanka's sitting on the couch, still on the phone but when he catches sight of Jabber he murmurs a quick goodbye and hangs up.

"So," Jabber starts. "I should prolly get goin'. Gotta get ready for the interview and all." He curses himself at his own awkwardness but Zanka seems to take it in stride.

"Or we could just go together," he says and he rushes to continue when Jabber's about to refuse. "I mean think about it— yer car's back at the studio, so I'd have to drop ya off back there to get it and then ya'd hafta get back home to get ready and then get to the interview— it just makes more sense for me to drive us there."

"I mean that's generous of you but I gotta, like, freshen up and stuff." Because if Jabber feels like a pile of shit, he can only imagine how bad he looks.

"Just shower here and borrow some of my clothes. Pretty confident we're 'bout the same size." He rebuts with a gesture to the clothes that Jabber's wearing.

Jabber really wants to reject his offer but the logic is pretty sound and Zanka looks like he's not gonna take no for an answer.

"Okay," Jabber relents and feels his heart flutter when Zanka smiles. He wonders if it's possible to overdose on how pretty someone is.

Zanka leads him to the bathroom and says, "Shower's all yours. I've got some spare toothbrushes in the cabinet so feel free to use those. And I'll lay out some clothes for ya."

Jabber raises an eyebrow. "You gon dress me up?"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure ya look good," Zanka shoots back, winking. Jabber bites the inside of his cheek and heads into the bathroom without another word, shutting the door behind him. He'd been thinking this distantly, but Zanka's place is pretty nice. The bedroom was pretty spacious with a bed that was larger and softer than his own. And what he saw of the living room was pretty tastefully decorated. His bathroom's no exception either. Marble counters, a fucking bidet— yeah, Zanka's place is pretty indicative of his wealth status.

What gives him pause is the shower. It's roomy— probably capable of fitting three people along with him— with opaque sliding glass doors and a nice pebble tiling. But that's not what he's focused on.

His eyes travel up to the shower head with trepidation. He reaches his hand out to grab onto the neck and his fears are confirmed when he sees it's not removable.

Okay, not a problem, Jabber tells himself. I can just use the faucet. When he looks down to see only the shower handle and no other water spout, he closes his eyes and offers a silent prayer to his hair. He just got his locs retwisted and the thought of them getting fucked up and fuzzy from the inevitable spray of water makes him want to cry.

His mourning is interrupted when he hears a knock at the door and then Zanka's voice coming through, "Hey, forgot to mention I've got shower caps in that same cabinet with the toothbrushes!"

Jabber responds with a grateful 'Thanks!' and nearly cheers when he sees the plastic caps. He's surprisingly pleased that it fits it over his locs and fearlessly turns on the shower. He lets out an audible sigh when the water rushes over his skin, the perfect pressure and temperature.

He doesn't linger too long, knowing that this is going to be more of a brisk shower. He washes up quickly and decides to use the face wash he spots in there too. When he feels clean enough, he turns the shower off and steps out to find folded clothes resting on top of the counter. He unfolds them to see a loose-fitted button up with straight plaid trousers. He has to admit that Zanka does have pretty nice style.

After moisturizing and brushing his teeth, he dresses himself, tucking the shirt into his pants. He ties a couple of his front locs behind his head, leaving the rest of his locs free. Looking in the mirror, he thinks he looks moderately better than how he feels.

When he steps out, he finds Zanka in the living room, standing in front of a floor length mirror and playing with the way his bangs lay. He's changed his clothes too it seems, now wearing jeans and a sleeveless sweater vest that gives Jabber a good view of his collar bones.

Can you just be normal, for once?

Zanka catches sight of Jabber in the mirror and he turns to him to ask, "Ready to go?"

Jabber nods and when Zanka snags his keys from his coffee table, he tilts his head and asks, "You drive?"

Zanka gives him a look as he walks through his front door and holds it open for Jabber. "Yes? Did I not say I'd drive us there?"

"I kinda assumed you had someone to drive you around."

"Dude, I'm not Batman." Zanka's silent for a moment as they walk into the elevator. "I'm probably more like The Riddler."

Snorting, Jabber responds, "I dunno if you have the brains to be The Riddler."

"Are ya callin' me a bimbo?"

"Yep, mhm, sure. 'Cus that's exactly what I said."

They make their way to the building's garage and it doesn't take long to guess which car is Zanka's.

He raises an eyebrow as Zanka unlocks his Porsche, recognizing it as a model that came out this year.

"What?," Zanka asks.

"So you 'on got a driver, but a Porsche doesn't make you Batman?"

"I can't help being financially well-endowed!" Zanka slips into the driver's seat and peers at Jabber through the window. "Are ya gettin' in? Or is it too bougie for yer taste?"

Jabber says nothing, only rolling his eyes as he slips into the passenger seat.

Zanka starts the car and they're on the road before long, relying on GPS to lead them to the hotel where the interview is being held. It's unfortunately a nice day outside, the bright sun causing him to wince and shield his eyes to not make his headache worse.

"Ya look nice, by the way," Zanka says after a while. "I like what ya did with yer hair."

Jabber tugs at one of his free locs, suddenly self-conscious. "Really? 'Cus I feel like hot shit spread on a piece o' garbage toast."

"Yum." Zanka hands him a pair of sunglasses that he pulled from the center console and Jabber takes them with gratitude, feeling his headache lessen immediately after putting them on. "They're gonna doll us up real nice when we get there so don't worry 'bout how yer gonna look on camera. But I meant it when I said ya look nice."

Jabber turns his face towards the window and weakly mutters, "Shut up."

He can feel Zanka grinning without even turning to look.

They turn into a fast food drive-thru as Zanka asks, "Ya hungry? I'm buyin'."

"I could eat. But you ain't gotta pay for me. You already did enough—"

"I want to," Zanka interrupts and that's enough to silence any of Jabber's protests. They rattle off their orders to the drive-thru kiosk and shortly have their food. Zanka keeps driving as they eat, on account of them being on a time crunch. But Jabber can't help but stare wide-eyed at Zanka as he scarfs down half his breakfast sandwhich in one bite.

"Man, you gon choke on yo food if you keep eatin' like that! Slow down, damn!"

Zanka gulps down his mouthful of croissant and eggs then turns to Jabber with a smirk. "Aww, ya worried? Or ya rather I was chokin' on somethin' else?"

Jabber feels his ears burn and he sucks his teeth. "Jus' drive the damn car, fat ass."

Zanka laughs but Jabber notices him taking smaller bites.

The next are spent in relative quiet, both of them too occupied with their food to continue talking. And Jabber spends that time thinking a bit about last night, trying to see if he can remember anything.

It's crazy that I blacked out. Last thing I remember was tryna find Cthoni 'cus I was gonna…

He freezes as he remembers why exactly he was going to the party.

What are the chances in his drunken state that Jabber confessed to Zanka?

Glancing at Zanka from the side he asks him, "How much do you remember from last night?"

"Pretty much everythin'. I rarely black out even when I'm wasted. It's kinda funny ya don't remember anythin' though." But as he says it, there's not much humor in his voice and it dawns on Jabber that maybe Zanka was actually uncomfortable with the way he was acting.

"Sorry for bein' all up on you."

"'S a party, Jabber," Zanka says, an echo of his words from last night. "And I was the one all up on you."

"Still," Jabber maintains as he removes the sunglasses to return them to the center console. He's terrifed to ask, that maybe he did say something revealing and that Zanka was just being nice this whole time by not saying anything. But decides to bite the bullet, "Did I say anything weird last night?"

Zanka glances at him briefly before responding. "Weird, how?"

"I 'on know just… weird."

He pauses and for a moment Jabber dreads that maybe he did confess until Zanka says, "Well, ya told me ya thought my haircut on the show was cuter than my usual and I thought that was pretty rude."

Jabber lets out an abrupt laugh, an overwhelming sense of relief loosening him up. He's racked with another bout of laughter at Zanka's pout. When he calms down, he says, "I'm sorry. I mean, for the record, I think you look good with any hair."

Zanka hums skeptically, "Tryna dig yourself out of your hole, huh?"

But Jabber's too entranced by the way Zanka's cheeks ruddy and how he moistens his lips with a swipe of his tongue to respond.

His heart races at the sight and Jabber feels pathetic for shamelessly ogling his costar. Even more so considering how gracious Zanka's been about everything.

Part of him wishes Zanka would stop being so nice. Because his crush is starting to turn into something else. Something beyond the urge to kiss on him and lick the line of his throat. Something that makes him want to hold his hand and cuddle with him in his stupidly large bed.

Damn, Jabber thinks. I really like him.

He likes Zanka a lot, he realizes. Likes the way he teases him and laughs obnoxiously when Jabber reacts. Likes the way he'll sometimes catch Zanka focused on the script, lips moving along with the lines. He likes the way Zanka fusses with his hair, always irritated when it won't lay right.

He wishes he did drunkenly confess last night. At least then, it could've stopped his feelings from developing into this.

A lump makes it's way in Jabber's throat but he doesn't dare try to clear it.

They arrive at the hotel with twenty minutes to spare which apparently is industry norm for interviews like these. They're immediately intercepted by their agents and are prepped on what to expect while they're led to the private room where the interview will take place.

Once they reach the room, their sat down in their canvas chairs and have a small team of makeup artists touch them up while their agents continue to lecture them. Jabber more or less tunes out his agent, already too familiar with her spiel about 'trying to speak properly' and 'smile, smile, smile!'. He knows it's because he's a newbie that he has to make a good impression, but it feels a bit suffocating. When he looks at Zanka, he can see he's in the same boat as he stares forward boredly while his agent stresses the importance of sticking to his training.

Soon enough, they meet who Jabber guesses will be interviewing them. A pleasant enough woman, who reminds Jabber of his costar Tomme a bit. She smiles at them and thanks them for coming on short notice. Already slipping into his media training, Jabber returns the pleasantries with a smile.

They take their seats in the canvas chairs set out for them while the interviewer takes the one across from them. Jabber and Zanka's agents stand off to the side of set, behind one of the cameras. At the thumbs up his agent sends him, he returns a shaky smile.

"You guys ready?," she asks them and at their nods, she signals the camera crew to begin rolling.

After introducing them, she turns to them with a smile, "I'm very happy to have you guys here! There's been a lot of excitement about the upcoming premiere of Gachiakuta! How are you guys feeling?"

Jabber makes sure to match her peppiness by responding, "Great! I'm excited, too! We really put our all into this and hope we do it justice!"

"And you, Zanka?"

Zanka takes a moment to think before smiling cheekily and answering, "What he said."

The interviewer chuckles a bit at that and continues. "Gachiakuta's a very action-centered story, with a number of iconic fight scenes. Can you guys walk us through the process of bringing those scenes to life?"

Seeing that she's directed her gaze to him, Jabber figures he should be the first to answer. "Sure! Y'know we have some really great fight choreographers, and the basics were pretty easy to get down. I'd probably say the hardest part was learning to fight with our vital instruments."

Zanka nods in agreement as he says, "Yeah, it's not easy tryna look cool while swingin' around a big stick. Jabber definitely got the better end of the deal."

He turns to Zanka with a raised brow. Fighting with Mankira was absolutely not easy. "Are you kidding? Those claws are a pain, especially when—" Whatever he was going to say is cut off as Zanka's finger presses against his lips as if to shush him.

Zanka raises a finger to his own mouth as he grins, "Ah-ah! Spoilers!"

Jabber gently pushes Zanka's hand away and presses his lips together as if to erase the lingering pressure. "Anyway," he continues, fixing a smile back on his face, "despite the challenges, it's been pretty fun."

"I bet! Now, this might be a silly question, but was it strange having to play characters who have the same names as you?"

"Surprisingly, no," Jabber responds, falling into a rhythm of being first respondent. "I think it actually did the opposite. Well, for me at least. It made it easier to get into character even though Jabber in the show is so drastically different from how I actually am. But I still thought of him as like me, in a way."

Zanka hums. "Mm, I kinda agree. Zanka's way too stuck up to be a character I resonate with. Though I think he might match people's first impression of me." As he speaks, he shoots a knowing look to Jabber which he returns with a sheepish one.

The interviewer doesn't seem to catch onto their exchange as she continues to ask, "So, between the two of you, who would you say is most like their character?"

Jabber takes a moment to think, tapping a finger to his chin before he answers. "Ironically, I think Zanka takes after my character more. In the sense that—"

Zanka immediately jumps in with, "I'm exhibitionist core, to ya?" Which absolutely derails Jabber's whole train of thought. "Wait, that kinda makes sense. There was this one time…"

As Zanka proceeds to recount the time he club hopping and ended up in front of the Hollywood sign with nothing on him—not even his clothes— Jabber catches sight of Zanka's agent facepalming and shaking her head while muttering to herself.

Guess that's why she was on his ass. He silently offers his sympathies to her, feeling like she's got the hardest job out of anyone in the room.

After Zanka finishes, the interviewer blinks. "Well, that's… a pretty wild story." She recovers with a smile, "Speaking of wild, there's been some interesting evidence of the wrap party last night."

Oh, I guess we're just jumpin' into this.

He laughs a bit, hoping it doesn't sound as strained as he knows it is. "Yeah. Um… there's a possibility we may have gotten a little too loose with the free drinks."

"Understatement," Zanka smirks and then sticks his tongue out at Jabber's glare.

"You guys also seemed quite cozy together! Very cozy."

It's Zanka who answers first this time, "Oh, I made it my mission to stay on Jabber the whole night."

Jabber feels himself flush. "Jury's still up on whether or not that was a blessing."

"I wish we could show some of the photos and videos that we're seeing all over our socials but unfortunately they might be a little too risqué for the network."

Jabber sighs in relief but then the interviewer continues to say, "But we do have one picture that I think we can show!"

The screen next to them flashes for a moment before displaying the picture. The interviewer was right to say that it was more appropriate but it still fills Jabber with hot embarrassment.

It's similar to the photo where Zanka's licking him, actually it could've been taken moments before or after that one. But instead of Zanka's tongue on his cheek, it's his lips. Their pressed against his face in a smooch while one of Zanka's hands grip his jaw. In the photo, Jabber's smiling all toothy and wide, like it's the happiest moment of his life.

"Whoa," he and Zanka say simultaneously. But that's all Jabber can think to say, at a definite loss for words.

Zanka, on the other hand, doesn't seem to share his speechlessness. "Can someone send that to me? That's like the cutest photo I've seen of us."

Jabber turns to Zanka with wide-eyed stare while the interviewer laughs. "We can definitely send that over to you guys. I have to say, knowing what I know about your respective characters, it's still a shock you guys get along so well!"

Shaking off his shock, Jabber thinks a bit before answering. "I mean, Zanka's great, seriously. This was my first big role and initially, I was nervous at being in the same room with someone as talented as him but he's had my back since the day we met." Feeling a bit bashful, he adds on, "He's probably one of my favorite parts about this project."

Now it's Zanka's turn to stare at Jabber in shock. "What the fuck," he says and Jabber thinks maybe his answer made him uncomfortable until he continues. "What the fuck, that's so sweet. Oh shit, my bad! I probably shouldn't be swearin'!"

"That's okay! We can edit it out! But try to keep it to a minimum?"

"Sure! Um…Dang," Zanka runs a hand through his hair as he looks between the interviewer and Jabber. "How am I supposed to top that? I dunno… first time I saw Jabber I just knew he was gonna be great. Before we came on set, I watched some of his older indie films, and God, he was amazing. So I was so shocked to see him all curled up in his little shell. Ya'd think he'd be swinging his dick around or somethin' oop—!" At his slip up, he covers his mouth though his smile is pretty visible.

Jabber feels like he's just gotten his mind blown. "No way. You did not watch my films."

Zanka holds up his hand while the other rests against his heart. "Swear to God! I can show you my Letterboxd right now!"

At seeing Zanka about to pull out his phone, Jabber stops him with a bark of laughter. "Okay, okay, I believe you! I can't believe you've seen my older stuff though. It was so bad!"

Zanka shoots him a glare, though his smile reveals its playfulness. "Lies, fairytales, and fallacies! I literally have you on my inspiration mood board."

Jabber covers his mouth his hand to hide the giddy smile that stretches across. "Oh my God, stop."

The interviewer smiles between them as she says, "Sounds like you two have a close bond."

"Um…" Jabber hesitates. He and Zanka definitely get on well, joking around and supporting each other while they were filming. But other than last night, they've never really spent time together outside of work. He doesn't want to be presumptuous to assume their relationship is deeper than it really is.

But all of that is thrown out of the window as Zanka smiles at him. "I think so."

And that's… a shock. For Zanka to affirm they're close, actually, everything Zanka has said has been a shock. The concept of Zanka not only watching and enjoying his shitty artsy fartsy films but also considering him inspiration? Is he being for real?

"The fans seem to think so as well. #Janka has been the top search all day today, and many hope that your off screen chemistry will be transferred on screen. What do you guys think?"

Ignoring the insinuation of his and Zanka's 'chemistry', Jabber answers. "Oh, you mean people are shipping our characters?" At her nod, he continues, "I mean I can definitely see the appeal. They're pretty dynamic and they parallel each other in so many different ways. But I hate to say they probably wouldn't work out."

"Interesting. Your thoughts, Zanka?

With an unthinkable amount of severity, Zanka leans forward to look the interviewer in the eye to say, "I think they should kiss."

Jabber's eyes almost bulge out of his head when he hears that. "Huh?!," he exclaims.

But Zanka doesn't pay his shock any mind, elaborating. "No, like, why not? Imagine how hot it'd be!"

Oh, Jabber can imagine. Way too vividly. He fights to keep his expression neutral as his heart thunders in his ears.

"It certainly would be something!" And maybe it's just him but the interviewer looks way too excited. "Though I do want to share that fans aren't only shipping your characters."

Zanka gestures back and forth between himself and Jabber. "Wait, they're shipping us? Like in real life?"

Jabber smiles blankly as he can feel his literal soul float out of his body.

"Yep! The way you two were last night are certainly awakening something with the fans. What are your thoughts?" And oh, Jabber was right. She's nearly on the edge of her seat waiting for their answer.

Jabber clears his throat. "Well, uh, we're not. Dating, I mean. Just friends."

The interviewer looks a bit disappointed as she turns to Zanka. He crosses his arms and tilts his head to look at Jabber. "I don't know… Maybe we should date."

"What…?"

Is he having an aneurysm? He must be. Because there's no way Zanka just said that.

And then Zanka looks at him with an expression he can only describe as sultry. Eyes half-lidded with a lazy smirk, he says, "Don'tcha think we'd look good together?"

Jabber sputters, completely at a lost for words until Zanka starts laughing. "Gotcha! Man, messin' with ya never gets old!"

In that moment, Jabber's mind stops functioning. When it reboots, he realizes that this is too much. Zanka's flirting, the looks, it feels like some sick joke to embarrass Jabber.

And then with a sinking feeling he wonders if it is. That this is all a joke because somehow Zanka learned about his feelings. And he's just fucking with him.

"Can we break?," he asks, suddenly. The interviewer barely nods before he's rising from his chair and walks out of the room. He can hear his agent call out to him but he ignores her as he makes a beeline for the nearest bathroom.

He shuts the door and locks it, resting his back against it. A bone deep sigh escapes him as he lets his head fall into his hands.

He can't even describe how stupid he feels. Stupid to think that Zanka wouldn't miss an opportunity to play with him like this.

But there's no way he knows. And if he did, it's not like him to take it this far. He knows Zanka likes to mess around and rage bait him but even this is too mean spirited.

But what other reason is there for him to be riling him up like this?

A knock at the door jolts Jabber out of his thoughts and he's about to answer when he hears Zanka's voice from the other side.

"Jabber? Ya in there?"

Like something out of a horror movie, his heart plummets and covers his mouth as if to smother any possible noise.

"Jabber, I know yer in there. I can see your shadow from under the door."

Shit, Jabber curses. Okay, he's been found out but he's still not moving!

"If ya don't let me in, I'm gonna just pick the lock," Zanka sing-songs.

That gets Jabber to unlock the door. He opens it to see Zanka standing there with an unreadable expression.

"Can I come in?," he asks like it's Jabber's home and not a random too-small bathroom.

But Jabber still wordlessly moves to the side to let him through. He slumps against the sink counter while Zanka closes the door and locks it again.

He turns back to Jabber with, "Okay, what the hell was that?"

Jabber keeps his gaze pointed at his shoes. "What was what?"

"You jumpin' to get the hell outta the room after the question about us datin'."

"I jus needed some air," he says weakly.

"Bullshit. If ya gonna lie at least look me in the eye."

Jabber looks up then and can't keep the vitriol from lacing his words as he shoots back, "What the hell do you care?"

"I care cus we're friends, dummy."

"Are we?"

Zanka's eyes widen as he jerks back. "What?"

"Are we friends?"

"The fuck? Of course, we are! Do ya not remember me sayin' that shit back in there?" Zanka's arm flies up in an exasperated gesture towards the door.

"How I know you ain't jus say that to mess with me?"

"What the fuck is yer problem? I wouldn't do that shit!"

"Then why was you flirtin' with me the whole time we was in there?"

"Because—!" Zanka cuts himself off and pinches the bridge of his nose.

Moments pass where neither of them say anything. They just look away from each other. The silence is almost suffocating and Jabber's about to break it when Zanka beats him to the punch.

"Did it make ya uncomfortable?"

Jabber blinks, a clear question on his face that Zanka sighs at.

"The flirtin'. Was it weird? Do ya want me to stop?"

"That's," Jabber hesitates, feeling lost. "That's not the point."

"Then what the fuck is it?" And now it's Jabber's turn to reel back in shock because he doesn't think he's ever seen Zanka so angry. Cus ya standin' there mad as hell at me, not tellin' me what I did, and I know I mess with you but the flirtin', that was real and I'm sorry if it weirded ya out but—"

"Stop," Jabber says holding up a hand, effectively quieting Zanka's rambling. "What do you mean it was real?"

"Exactly what I mean. I…" Jabber watches as Zanka's face blooms with color, red traveling from his cheeks to the tips of his ears as he says, "I like ya, Jabber."

Slack-jawed, Jabber stares dumbly. "Are you fuckin' with me?"

"I mean I'd like too, but…"

"Shut up," he says but not unkindly. Feeling faint, he braces himself against the counter. "You're lyin'. You can't."

Then Zanka's expression turns bored, and Jabber shrinks at being on the receiving end of it. "Look, if ya don't feel the same, ya can jus say that instead of tryna rationalize it or whatever."

Then he takes a step. Then another. And another. Until he's standing right in front of Jabber, nearly crowding him against the counter.

"I like ya, Jabber," he repeats. "Since that first day I saw ya. I think yer amazin' and talented and sexy as hell. So there."

"Zanka," Jabber says, feeling like the wind was kicked out of him.

"I know ya don't feel the same and it's fine." Zanka's stepping out of his space and— No, no, no! Jabber can't leave it like this!

Jabber grabs hold of Zanka's shirt. He doesn't pull him back in or push him away. He just keeps him there.

"Jabber?"

"Why me?," he asks, holding on to Zanka like he might pull away, like he might disappear. "Why me when you can have anyone you want?"

"Well, I don't anyone. I want you." He looks down to where Jabber grabs him, a dry chuckle escaping him. "This is a pretty shitty rejection, yer gonna make me think ya feel the same." He pauses, looking back up at him from under his eyelashes. "Do ya?"

This is his chance. His chance to finally be honest and get his feelings out. Zanka told him he feels the same so there's no fear of rejection.

But what if I screw this up?

Taking this step, it would change everything. Their work relationship, their friendship, it could all go to shit.

Zanka's standing in front of him, body relaxed with a nonchalant expression like he couldn't care less about Jabber's answer. But in his eyes he can see a flicker of hope and Jabber decides it's worth the risk.

"Yeah. Yes. Yeah, I do. I like you so much, you 'on even know."

Zanka leans toward him, so close their noses touch and Jabber goes a bit cross eyed to not break eye contact. His arms come up to rest against the counter, essentially caging Jabber in.

"Yeah?," he asks, breaths dancing against Jabber's lips.

"Yeah," Jabber breathes in response.

Then Zanka smirks. "Oh yeah?"

"Ye— can you be fuckin' serious, for once?"

Zanka laughs softly, his shoulders shaking as he ducks his head. His hair brushes against Jabber and he has to fight the urge to not do something stupid like kiss the top of his head.

When Zanka looks back up, he's got a smile on his face his face that eases the tension in Jabber's shoulders. His hand comes up and for a moment, Jabber thinks he's going to rest it on his cheek but it grips his jaw instead.

It's not exactly gentle, his fingers digging into his cheeks, causing Jabber's head to go fuzzy.

"Okay." Zanka pauses, searching his face. "I'm gonna kiss ya now, okay?"

Jabber lets out a shaky, "Okay."

And then Zanka's lips are on his, firm and real. His hand moves to cup Jabber's nape as he kisses him, bruising and relentless. Jabber willingly matches his energy, one arm coming around Zanka's waist to bring them closer and the other hand cupping his cheek.

He pulls Zanka's bottom lip between his teeth and Zanka lets out a little sound at that has Jabber wanting to get more noises out of him. His teeth sink into Zanka's lip and he's rewarded with a moan. Jabber sucks his lip into his mouth, reveling in the slight taste of metal. When Jabber lets go, he runs his tongue back over Zanka lips and pushes inside his mouth.

He feels Zanka shudder and takes that as incentive to swirl his tongue around Zanka's, letting out a little moan of his own when Zanka returns the favor. Zanka's tongue runs along the roof of his mouth and the underside of his teeth, rendering him breathless and dizzy.

Then when Zanka's tongue runs over his teeth again, he gets the urge to bite down on his tongue. Not hard enough to draw blood but enough to where Zanka jolts and a startled moan tumbles out of him.

Jabber pulls away slightly, wondering if maybe that was a bit too much. But the way Zanka's blue eyes are completely engulfed in black, he knows he made the right choice.

"Ya bit me," Zanka pants, his tone far from accusatory. It's more reverent, if anything.

"Yeah," Jabber breathes. "Shoulda known you'd be a freak for this kinda shit."

Then he circles his hand around Zanka's throat and squeezes lightly against the sides. He watches the way Zanka's eyes nearly close and his mouth parts slightly.

He pulls him closer so their lips brush, and whispers, "Want me to do it again? Want me to hurt you?"

Zanka moans brokenly at that and Jabber crashes their mouths back together. It's much sloppier this time, a mess of teeth and tongues as their mouths smear with spit. He sucks and bites on Zanka's tongue and his lips, earning a plethora of whimpers and whines he feels down to his bones. He applies more pressure to Zanka's throat and feels a sick excitement when he pulls back to see his face turn a delicious shade of red. Jabber relaxes his grip to let Zanka draw in a breath before kissing him again, moving his hand to Zanka's hair to tug sharply at it.

He feels powerful in a way that should revolt him. But he's got Zanka under his hands and mouth, panting and pleading him to 'bite harder, pull harder, press harder'. How is he supposed to feel like he hasn't finally reached heaven?

Jabber pulls away from Zanka's mouth to press open, wet kisses down the line of his throat, nearly groaning at the ability to finally do this. He'd love to sink his teeth in, maybe leave a mark deep enough that would take forever to heal. If only it wasn't for the interview…

Shit. The interview!

Jabber's lips pause as he remembers where they are. He starts to pull away but Zanka's hand comes up to keep his head in place.

"C'mon, why'd ya stop?," he whines. And damn if the desperation in his tone and the way he tilts his head, exposing his neck isn't enough to keep going.

But he removes Zanka's hand and straightens up to look at him. Zanka looks totally out of it. Flushed face, blown-out pupils, swollen lips, it's a shame they have to do their jobs.

He runs his thumb along Zanka's lip, pulling slightly to the side. Damn.

"We gotta finish the interview, remember?" He watches as Zanka closes his eyes and mouths 'Fuck' to himself.

Zanka reopens his eyes and fixes him with an all-too familiar sad puppy expression. "What if we jus' blow 'em off?" And then he bites back a smirk at his choice of wording.

Jabber looks at him, unimpressed. "And earn a reputation for being slacker drama queens? No thanks."

Zanka groans but he finally moves out of Jabber's space and slumps against the wall across from him. "Yer so mean to me," he pouts.

He snorts and turns around to look in the mirror to fix anything out of order about his appearance. "You want me to be mean to you." He adjusts his hair tie before turning back to Zanka and feels his face go hot at the look he receives.

Because the way Zanka's looking at him, it reminds Jabber of how he looked at Zanka in those photos. A mixture of want and adoration.

I still can't believe he's into me, Jabber giddily thinks as he steps towards Zanka to press a firm kiss against his lips. He steps back before it can escalate and moves his hands up to smooth down Zanka's hair, taking an extra moment to fix his bangs in the way he likes.

"C'mon," he says, pulling the bathroom door open to step out. Zanka follows after him, bumping lightly against his shoulder and smiling at him.

They make their way back to the room but Jabber wraps a hand around Zanka's arm, stopping him from pulling the door open.

"Wassup?" He turns to him with a soft confusion and Jabber takes a moment to steel himself before opening his mouth.

"Do you wanna get dinner with me sometime?" He feels stupid for being nervous, but he can't help the way his hands wring together as he waits for Zanka's answer.

And instead of the rejection he was fearing, he watches as Zanka's eyes light up, damn near sparkling, as his grin stretches across his lips.

"Yeah," he giggles and Jabber melts at the sound. "Yeah, I'd love to."