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Zanka’s eyebrows furrowed in pain upon waking up. His stomach beared a pain he hadn’t felt in months and there was something off between his legs—something damp and sticky. It wasn’t arousal, but something far worse. Jabber was behind him, his head nuzzled between the crevice of Zanka’s neck and shoulder. His arms wrapped around his lower torso while their legs were tangled up. Zanka froze, having to figure out how to get up without disturbing his boyfriend.
After carefully removing Jabber’s arms off his body, Zanka deliberately got up. Jabber was dead to the world. He lazily moved his position, now laying on his back with soft snores. He shuffles his way to the edge of his bed. He looked at the bedsheets. They were free of any stains. He quietly cheered to himself before tip-toeing his way to the bathroom of his dorm room—thank god for rich kid perks. He closed the door as gently as he could before collapsing on the toilet, pulling down his pajama pants and boxers. Fuck—there was blood staining both pieces of cloth. What was worse was that there were no pads. After starting T, his period stopped coming so naturally, he had also stopped thinking about his period entirely. Now it returned like a spiteful ghost and Zanka was in no way prepared.
”God fucking damn it,” Zanka hissed, teeth clenched as another cramp twisted in his stomach. He needed to kill time since Jabber was still dead asleep. He stripped quickly and stepped into the shower, turning the water as hot as it was able to. He let out a shaky breath seeing the water carry the blood down the drain. Zanka hated this. He hated every part of his period. It brought up that persistent thought that always lingered in the back of his mind—that he wasn’t really a boy.
A soft knock at the door made Zanka’s head snap towards it.
“Zan-Zan? Whatcha showerin’ so early for?” Jabber grumbled, his voice rough with sleep. The door creaked open and Jabber peeked in, seeing the room blurred by smoke. Zanka was crouched in the shower, arms wrapped tightly around his knees, and his head burried into his chest.
“You okay?”
Zanka’s head felt incredibly heavy, like he couldn’t lift it—like he couldn’t bring himself to look at Jabber. He stood quiet, his gaze was locked on the floor. A low sound slipped from him now that his cramps spread down to his upper thighs. Jabber stepped inside, gentle closing the door behind him.
“Hey, you gotta tell me what’s wrong.”
There was no teasing in his voice this time. Instead, it was just concern that he never showed often, always covered with little jabs that would send Zanka over the edge. But now that he sees him in genuine pain, it made him worry.
”Can you just…” Zanka started, hesitance filling his voice. “Can you run to the corner store and grab me pads?” Jabber blinked once. Then twice.
“Pads?” He questioned more to himself than Zanka. “For periods?” Zanka nodded, looking back down. “Okay—yea i’ll be back.”
Jabber shivered at the temperature change after leaving the bathroom. He pulled his black hoodie over his head and stepped into his slippers before stepping out of Zanka’s dorm room. As he walked down the hall, a thought hit him—what kind of pads was he even supposed to get? He’d never bought pads before. Not for anyone—not even Zanka. His eyes adjusted to the bright sun once he left the dormitory. He squinted, then hurried toward the corner store a few minutes away.
Upon stepping into the store, Jabber immediately made his way to the ‘Hygiene’ section and was met with a shit ton of varying pads. He walked deeper into the aisle, his eyes skimming through all the different sizes and uses.
“Fuck—what kind does he even use?!” He groans to himself, scratching the back of his head in genuine stress. He pulls out his phone from his sweater pocket, quickly swiping to Zanka’s contact.
zanzan (9:32 a.m.)
zannn (9:34 a.m.)
zan (9:34 a.m.)
zannnkssa (9:34 a.m.)
ZANAJ!! (9:34 a.m.)
zanzannananana (9:36 a.m.)
im still in the shower (9:36 a.m.)
what happened (9:37 a.m.)
ehat pad fits ur puss (9:37 a.m.)
dont ask like that dumbass (9:38 a.m.)
find the always ‘radiant box’ (9:38 a.m.)
make sure theyre for heavy flow, it should say on the box (9:39 a.m.)
BOOM I FOIND THEM (9:42 a.m.)
Jabber grabbed about six or seven boxes before walking to the counter, feeling proud of himself.
”Woah. Big guy startin’ his period, huh?”
Jabber looked up, wallet halfway out of his pocket. He froze seeing Riyo who was scanning the boxes, looking at him with a grin.
“The fuck? I thought you worked at that restaurant?!” Somehow, she was always there. Gas station, restaurant, anywhere he went. At this point, he was convinced she’d be the pilot if he ever tried to leave the country.
“Need the money,” Riyo said with a friendly wink. “Zanka started his period again?” she asked, now bagging the boxes. “Totals $63.99 by the way.”
”Jesus,” Jabber mumbled under his breath. “Oh—yea. He started this morning,” he answered. “But didn’t he start that medicine shit like before I even met him?”
“Testosterone—or T for short,” Riyo corrected. “And taking T doesn’t really permanently take away your period, ya know?” One bag held three boxes. The other held four. Jabber pulled out a fifty and a twenty, giving the cash to Riyo.
“I’ve known Zanka before he even started taking T.” Jabber looked at her, not knowing yet where she was trying to get at. “So I just wanna warn you: He gets like really cranky.”
”Ya mean like-“
”He’ll become brattier. Like times a hundred.”
Jabber thought about it. Thinking about Zanka growing more brattier was honestly a turn on. That meant Zanka being all bark and bite now. The degrading stares, the belittling comments, all of it excited Jabber.
”Get your head outta the gutter. Zanka’ll probably lock himself up in the bathroom all day,” Riyo explained like it was something normal. “He used to do that?”
”Totally. He would lock himself up for anything and everything. That’s how our dad found him before he got adopted by him. That’s also why he used to be on suicide watch.” Jabber stood there in confusion. The two bags of boxed pads awkwardly sat between the two. “What does that even me-“
Jabbers phone buzzed.
hurry your ass up (9:49 a.m.)
please (9:49 a.m.)
SORRY (9:49 a.m.)
OAPAS ON HIS WAU (9:50 a.m.)
”Gotta go,” Jabber chirped, putting his phone back into his pocket.
“Ah- your change!” Riyo exclaimed while opening the register.
“Nah, keep it.” Jabber shoved his wallet into his pocket and grabbed the handles of the bags. “And quit following my every move!” he shouted, running towards the sliding doors.
“Jeez—can’t a girl be employed nowadays?”
Jabber speed-walked back to the dormitory, bags swinging in each hand like he had just completed a mission. Somehow, he made it back in record time, closing the door behind him. He immediately noticed the shower off and knocked at the bathroom door.
”I got some pads!” Jabber beamed, way too proud of himself. The door opened slightly and Zanka peeked out. Jabber only barely towered over him, but it was enough to see everything—Zanka was dried off, a button-up pajama shirt hanging loose on him and a towel wrapped around his waist.
”Jesus Christ!” Zanka shouted as he saw the two filled bags of boxes. “You know you only needed like three boxes at most, right?!”
”What if ya got another emergency? Can’t hurt t’be careful!”
Zanka groaned while snatching one of the bags. “Can you also just grab me new pants… and underwear?”
”What’s the magic word?” Jabber asked with a wide grin. Zanka glared at him, ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ written all over his face. Jabber loved that look.
”Grab me my fucking things,” Zanka snapped, slamming the door. If it weren’t for Zanka being on his period, Jabber probably would’ve pushed a little more. His nasty attitude always turned him on.
Pushing those thoughts away, Jabber went to the drawer, placing the other bag down on the floor. He grabbed a pair of boxers but hesitated when he made his way to the pants drawer. Should he grab shorts or long pants? His eyebrows deepened in the thought, pausing to make his decision. Zanka slams the door open, making Jabber flinch. He looked pretty pissed.
”The fuck is taking you so long?!” Zanka screamed, holding the towel around his waist. “I don’t wanna continue free-bleeding over here!”
”Oh—What typa pants you need?” Zanka stood there for a second, seemingly trying to control any anger he was feeling in this exact moment.
”Any fucking type is good,” He answers through grit teeth, slamming the door shut again. Jabber chuckled to himself with a dumb blush spreading through his cheeks. He’s exactly where he wants to be.
Jabber sat on Zanka’s bed for about ten minutes, waiting for him. Did it always take an unusual amount of time for someone to put on a pad? Jabber sighed to himself and decided to get up, knocking on the bathroom door.
”Zan-Zan? You okay in there? You’ve been takin’ a while.” There was no response. Only silence for the first few seconds.
”Go back to your dorm.” Jabber blinked in shock. He took in what Riyo said earlier so he had already kind of expected this shutdown. But he didn’t want Zanka to be alone.
He banged on the door. He didn’t stop at all, waiting to annoy Zanka enough for him to open the door, even if it was out of anger.
”Zan-Zan! I won’t leave until you open the door!” There was no reaction yet, so he continued to harshly knock. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that the door flew open, showing Zanka’s infuriated face.
”There you a-“
”Is there ever a fucking time where you listen to me?!” Zanka snapped, his fists balling up tightly. “Why can’t you just leave me alone and go back to your dorm!”
”What kinda boyfriend would I be if I just left ya alone?!”
”The kind that listens!”
”Well why don’t you want me to stay? Why can’t I do anything to ever help you? Why don’t you ever be vulnerable with me too, Zan-Zan?!” Jabber didn’t expect to get emotional—he never really did anyways. But seeing Zanka genuinely enraged and distressed hurt him. Not the scoldings he received, but realizing his boyfriend never allowed himself to be defenseless even in front of himself.
”You make me insecure, Jabber!” Zanka spat. Jabber obviously didn’t know what to make of this. He froze in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing like he was trying to make sense of this.
”It’s so fucking annoying that you expect to baby me during my period? Do you not know how humiliating that is? How can I stand here and feel like a man when i’m bleeding out of my vagina!” Zanka starts to break down, tears falling from his eyes.
”I want to be cis—like you,” he whimpers, voice trembling now. Jabber holds him into a deep hug, caressing his head.
”Just ‘cuz you’re on your period doesn’t make you any less of a man, you hear me?” Jabber started, not yet breaking the hug. Zanka sniffled into his neck, his arms limp by his sides. “If anything, it makes you more of a man! I think you’re cool for taking on those cramps. I totally wish I could take your cramps and give them to myself!” Zanka punched Jabber’s side.
”You pervert. You’re only saying that ‘cuz you’d enjoy it,” Zanka mumbled followed by a soft chuckle.
”But I made ya laugh, didn’t I?” Zanka rolled his eyes, removing himself from the hug.
”Sorry I snapped at you.”
”You’re forgetting something.”
“Huh?”
”It’s a major turn o-“ Zanka punched Jabber again.
Zanka was tuning in and out. He lay on his stomach, eyes barely open. Jabber sits beside him, giving him a lower back massage after placing a heating pad underneath his stomach to help with his cramps.
“Ya see—don’t you like being taken care of?” Jabber asked with a grin. He realized today just how much he likes seeing Zanka vulnerable. It makes him look much more human.
”Shut up and continue,” Zanka demanded, sending shivers down Jabber’s spine as he bit his lip.
A few seconds of peaceful silence passes by and Zanka slowly starts to fall asleep. The curtains were all shut and the two were in the comfort of the dark. Only a candle was lit in the far corner—a comfort to Zanka’s nose.
”Hey, at least we know we didn’t make a baby last night,” Jabber grasped.
”Whad’ya mean?” Zanka mumbled, too tired to fully understand what Jabber was trying to get at.
”I’m pretty sure I came inside last nigh-“ Zanka once again punched Jabber in the face, causing a nose bleed this time. Safe to say, Jabber was now turned on.