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The Jeep lurched over every rocky rut of the well-worn route back to Cleaner HQ. Rudo’s heart hammered in time with it. Honestly, it was a miracle that both car and boy hadn’t fallen apart yet. Coming back from a very successful mission with Enjin, he should’ve been in good spirits, but “at ease” was not something that could describe him at all at the moment— because there was only one thing on his mind.
Rudo could hardly believe the news.
A mission. With Amo. Just the two of them…
Alone.
And poor Enjin would not be hearing the end of it ANYTIME soon.
As Rudo desperately white-knuckled the edges of his shuddering seat, his mouth ran faster than his mind could spiral— quite the achievement, that.
“-And then the boss said that he thought it would be good for us to bond more and stuff, and that he thinks we’d work well together, and I dunno what could be so dang important about a shopping run for him to do alla this but it MUST be important if it’s- ACK!!” He nearly bit his tongue as Enjin’s deathly speed caused another lurch. “-If it’s him who’s asking, but I don’t wanna say the wrong thing around Amo and- and— AGH—“
“-SLOWWW down, kid. Geez. You’re gonna slice your tongue clean off if ya yap any faster.” Enjin shook his head, not slowing down in the slightest. “You do… know what’s goin’ on here, though, right?” He shot Rudo a knowing look, at which the boy cocked his head quizzically.
The look was too long, seeing as how the Jeep nearly took flight at the next pothole. “EYES ON THE ROAD, ASSHOLE!!” Enjin clicked his tongue. “You eat your sweets with that mouth??” That one earned an eye roll. “Whaddaya mean, what’s going on? The boss is just making us run errands and crap, that’s all. Getting to know each other n’ stuff.” Rudo shrugged and blushed a bit, looking away as he attempted an air of nonchalance. (He was failing miserably.)
“Well…” the older man smirked. “Lemme tell you a little story. Ya know, Gris n’ me’s first mission together was one that Boss specifically sent us on...” He tried flashing a look once again. “And now look at us!! Happily married.” Enjin seemed to puff his chest out proudly at that.
Rudo scrunched his nose. “Okay…? What does that have to do with me and Amo?” he asked as headquarters began coming into view. The poor boy’s eyes nearly started going cross from all the thinking.
Enjin sighed. Cute as he was, Rudo could be a bit of a numbskull sometimes. “Dude… I’m not sayin’ Boss is getting you two a date, but HE’S GETTING YOU TWO A DATE.”
Rudo looked as though was about to explode. “You, UH, didn’t hear that from me, though!!” Enjin added frantically, slowing down for once and trying to calm the kid’s already-fried nerves. “Listen, I’m just trying to tell you. From a man who took way too long to shoot his own shot: if the chance comes, take it.” He winked with a toothy grin, but Rudo was too far gone by then. The boy began melting into his seat with all the confidence of a newborn wolf pup leaving the den. No amount of Ground knowledge could’ve prepared him for THIS.
The car’s rumbling engine slurred to a stop as Enjin himself popped upon his door and helped Rudo out. “Hey, you’ve got this, alright?” Rudo pulled one of his strange smiles, except this one was even more warped than usual. He really hoped Enjin was right. What was he going to do?
—————
Amo was ecstatic, and doing VERY badly at hiding it. Her excitement, however, was accompanied by a strangely familiar sense of fear…
She and Riyo strolled down one of the open-air market streets in the nearby town, content to finally have some downtime together.
“Ya know, this is basically gonna be a date.” Riyo mused mischievously as Amo played with the orange ends of her hair.
“Yeah… that’s what Amo’s worried about.” She started yanking at her loose ends. Riyo gave a sympathetic look. Of course she knew that for Amo, love was… more complicated than it was for most.
For her, love was a bit of a mystery. For so long she had been convinced she had found it, only for that fantasy to be shattered. Her life was far from any of her fairy tales. She knew that well. And now that the chance at love, ACTUAL love, presented itself for the first time, she was unsure. Did she actually love Rudo? He was a nice friend. A very nice friend. She felt a kinship with him, as the boy shared the same gaping hole in his heart that she did. Amo felt comfortable around him, that much was true. And she often felt a fluttering in her stomach when the two were together, especially when Rudo did such nice things for her. When she thought of him, she smelled sweet tulips. She smelled the scent of a little boy who, like her, had been forced to grow up far too fast. She smelled the anger of a stray dog who had been kicked one too many times, but she felt and knew a heart so kind. One unrivaled by anyone else she had ever met.
Yep, she was pretty sure she loved him.
As for whether Rudo felt the same way, well, that wasn’t all that important. She would continue to enjoy spending time with him either way. She didn’t NEED him to love her; she didn’t need anyone to love her, she was working on that! But it was so, so nice to be loved. And while she didn’t need it, Amo wanted Rudo’s love desperately.
“Amo worries that he doesn’t feel the same”, Amo continued. “Do you… do think he maybe likes Amo too?” She looked at Riyo expectantly.
“I think-” Riyo began, but the two girls were stopped by a rather aggressive lady advertising something in front of a beautiful shop.
“HELLO, girls!! How are you today? May I interest you in some lovely perfume? Perhaps to impress your boyfriends??”
Riyo and Amo shared a smirk at that. Everyone knew that Riyo didn’t like boys.
“Ah, we’re alright, thanks…” Riyo started, but then she remembered— smells were very important to her companion. As much as she hated the idea of Amo trying to “impress” her messy little brother who was impressed by mere lollipops, for Amo’s sake she changed her answer.
“Er, actually, we’ll take a look.” Amo lit up. “And I DON’T have a boyfriend.” The lady huffed at Riyo. As she led the girls inside the floral-patterned doors (VERY fancy for the Ground), Amo’s head started racing. Wait, did she need to impress Rudo? Did boys like sweet scents? Moreover, would Rudo like her more if she had the right perfume?? She began panicking. If this was how one was supposed to go about love, it was unbearably stressful.
Riyo tapped her friend’s shoulder. “Hey, are you okay? You look like you’re gonna faint.”
“Oh, Amo’s okay!” she fibbed. “Just taking in all of the wonderful scents!!” She tried to reassure Riyo with a smile, but the other girl was already skeptical. Riyo hoped that Amo wasn’t taking all this perfume business too seriously…
But knowing Amo, she almost certainly was.
“We have an extensive selection of scents right here”, Riyo heard the lady say as she steered Amo towards an expensive-looking display. The hairstylist decided to take a look around for herself. Maybe she could help Amo make her selection? After all, she didn’t want her friend to spend too much time here, and she was nearly positive Rudo did not care all that much about such things.
But soon, one colorful bottle caught her eye. She considered for a moment, then laughed to herself. Yeah, this would be perfect for him.
Amo saw her trainer waving her over. “Oh, one moment!” she said to the lady, who seemed quite glum that Amo wasn’t going to partake in the smells of highway robbery she’d been offered.
Amo arrived and squinted at the perfume Riyo had picked. “Are… are you sure? This one seems a little, uh, silly.”
Riyo grinned. “EXACTLY! C’monnn, you know how he is. He’s gonna love it. I promise.”
Amo made a face. “Are you sure?”
Riyo placed a hand on Amo’s tensed shoulder. “As sure as anything. And y’know, if he doesn’t love it, it’s not the end of the world!” she tried. Maybe putting the whole thing in perspective would help.
“Amo guesses…”
After fighting over who would pay and begrudgingly letting Riyo win (“Just let me get you this ONE thing!!” she’d said just as she always did), Amo resumed their stroll down the street. Riyo elbowed her gently.
“Hey, I really do think Rudo will like that perfume. And if he doesn’t, you know that’s not why he likes you, right?”
Amo paused in her tracks.
“WHAT?”
Crap. CRAP. “UHHHHH”, Riyo corrected herself, “I mean, I’m assuming he does!! Seems like it, y’know??” She laughed nervously. Rudo would STRANGLE HER if he learned she’d just accidentally told the girl he liked that he liked her.
Amo’s face flushed a bright pink as she became suddenly very enraptured by her boots. “O-oh, okay!! Amo’s bad!!”
“No, you’re good, girl! Don’t sweat it.” She exhaled. Crisis averted. “Seriously, though, even if he just likes you as a friend, he doesn’t like you cause of how you smell. There’s nothing wrong with liking people for that reason, obviously! But you’re really sweet, Amo, and fun to talk to. You care so much about other people and making them happy, but you make ME so happy just being yourself! And I think Rudo probably feels the same way.”
Amo looked taken aback.
Then she started laughing.
“Amo had no idea… heh heh!! You’re so kind! Hehehe! Amo’s totally gonna wear that silly perfume now. Amo bets he’ll act funny once he smells it.”
Riyo broke out into a full smile. “Hell yeah!! That’s the spirit!! YOU GOT THIIIIIS!!!!” The two girls cackled away as their fellow townsgoers shot them stinky looks.
How lucky Amo was to have friends like this that made her smile. She felt a bit better about the upcoming “date” now, knowing that however it went it’d be fun.
Rudo, however, was still freaking out.
—————
“Is this good?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure??”
“I said yer good. You look ya always do.”
Rudo frowned. He did what must’ve been his thirtieth turn-around in Zanka’s long mirror, checking himself.
Zanka sighed deeply. “That’s a compliment, man.” He had been here in his room with his sweet little brother FAR too long for his tastes. He had shit to get done. (And besides, usually that mirror was strictly for admirin’ Lovely anyway.) “If Enjin hadn’t tried ta use his friggin’ hair gel on ya, you wouldn't’ve taken so dang long.”
The younger boy snorted at that. As much charisma as Enjin was convinced he had, his kids weren’t too sure how much of that was legit and how much was accounted for by Gris’s questionable taste in men.
“Ya just ‘bout ready to go?”
A nod.
“Mmkay. Good luck to ya.”
Zanka ruffled Rudo’s hair in a rare moment of affection. The boy looked up at his brother in awe, as the average Joe averted his eyes.
“You’re gonna do fine, yeah?”
Rudo’s incessant fidgeting seemed to stop for a moment.
“Yeah.”
“…Go on, now, git.” He watched as Rudo’s awkward shuffle lead him out the door.
That boy sure was hopeless…
—————
Amo fiddled with the ends of her hair. Waiting patiently outside the infirmary door, she wondered if she was intruding. After all, Eishia was nearly always busy, and today was no exception— though, Amo hoped she would finish up soon. Her patient didn’t look too badly injured, so maybe the other healer would get a chance to pop in.
Amo tried letting the cutting scent of antibacterial spray overtake her senses. Perhaps it could drown out the hammering of her heart.
“…Amo?”
“EEEEEEK!!”
The girl nearly jumped out of her perfumed skin, her impulsive punch missing her target by a mile.
“Um. It’s-it’s okay, Amo. It’s me.”
Amo’s eyes opened. “Oh. OH!!” There was poor Eishia, looking like a knot facing the business end of The Ripper. “Amo’s so sorry!”
“No, no! No worries!” she fretted, as Amo’s hands returned to her hair. “I’m serious. I came over just to see what’s going on… I heard— heard you stomping your feet”.
Oh. Amo looked down to her boots, which she promptly realized with horror that they were tapping like crazy against the floor.
Dangit, she needed to spend less time with Dear.
“Ah, Amo’s sorry. She just wanted to talk to you about something…” she squeezed her hands together hard enough to sting. “It’s about Rudo…”
A flash of recognition crossed Eishia’s face. “That mission! Right! Auggie told me about that. How exciting…”
Amo’s face reddened. “Sure… but Amo has a question.” She was fully wringing her hands now. “You’ve known Rudo for longer than Amo has… so do you think…?” Her boots tapped furiously, her gaze locked on the floor.
Eishia thought for a moment. “I-I don’t wanna assume what you’re asking!!… but…” she gave a gentle smile. “I saw how worried Rudo was for you when you went missing. I heard how mad he was, how willing to fight for you…!” Amo’s head slowly came up to meet her friend’s eyes.
“Amo, I saw the hours and hours he waited by your side j-just for you to wake up. He asked me so many times if you would be okay. And now, he always asks about you when you’re not here…”
It was Eishia who reddened now. “What— what I mean is, if he likes anyone, it’s—” she gave Amo a shaky nod. “…Yeah.”
Amo’s brain short-circuited.
“AH! AH, thank you!!!” She turned to leave— then spun around on her heel and gave Eishia a tight hug.
Eishia gasped. For a moment, she reveled in her friend’s embrace, then wrapped her arms around the other girl in return and pulled her even closer.
“Thank you”, Amo mumbled.
She broke the hug and hastily left the infirmary’s doorway.
Eishia sighed contentedly as she heard the pitter-pattering of Amo’s boots fade. Though lovesickness was far from her specialty, it seemed she had helped another patient today.
—————
Rudo shuffled his feet, feeling the time slog by slower than molasses in the HQ lobby. Maybe getting there so early hadn’t been such a great idea; the poor boy was doing everything he could to not take after Zanka and start pacing around in furious circles. Though, if Rudo was furious with anyone, it was with himself for being so stupid.
Semiu eyeballed him from across the counter. She REALLY didn’t have time for this, but the kid was shaking.
“Rudo… you good?”
He gave a strained nod. “Of… of course, Semiu…”
The receptionist sighed. It didn’t take her talents to see right through him.
“Listen. You’ll be fine. Just be yourself. Yeah?”
Rudo’s shuffling slowed a bit as he attempted to gather himself. “Yeah.”
Semiu thought hard. Man, how did the boss do this, exactly? She’d really have to ask Bro or Enjin about this talking-to-kids thing.
“You know… I have a premonition that your outing’s gonna go well.”
“REALLY?” Rudo started, but Semiu’s face told him otherwise. “…You’re just makin’ crap up, aren’t you.”
Semiu smirked. “Did it help?”
The boy just made an indignant noise, knowing better than to dare roll his eyes at her. She had, indeed, distracted him.
But not for long.
From the nearby hallway, Rudo heard echoes of the soothing rhythm that was Arkha’s voice, measured and neutral as ever— but this time, with a hint of sweetness. He was comforting someone. And then, he heard HER.
“Oh, Uncle Corvus, do you really think Amo’s gonna be alright??” Amo’s ecstatic tone betrayed her true feelings.
Arkha simply chuckled. “Well, of course. As a Cleaner, you’re ready for anything, even this, yes?” Rudo could hear the slightest lilt of mischief in his boss’s voice.
The two came into view now. Amo nodded enthusiastically, practically skipping into the lobby. “YEAH!! Thanks for—“ the thunking of her boots stopped.
Sheep and dog faced each other, for the first time in days that had felt like ages.
Oh, Rudo was in it now.
Suddenly sapped of her confidence, Amo ducked her head, but the grin didn’t leave her face.
“H-hello… Rudo.” She clasped her hands behind her back like the subject of a sonnet. Rudo’s hands became sweaty fists inside his gloves.
“…Hey, Amo.” Rudo readied himself. Right, this was it… he was gonna do it! He was gonna SMILE!
He bared his wolfish teeth the best he could, trying hard to form that perfect upturned crescent. Come on, come on!
Silence.
And then the chimes of laughter.
“Hehehe… hehehehe!! HAHAHAHAHAH!!” Amo couldn’t stop herself, giggling and going red-faced at Rudo’s pseudo-smile.
Rudo’s own shame was only soothed by being able to see her like this. This wasn’t exactly what he had been going for, but if it made Amo laugh… it was well worth it. Rudo started snickering along with her.
Amo wiped tears from her eyes. “Should we *snort* go??”
Rudo nodded quickly, before he could lose his nerve. Hesitantly, he waited for Amo to calm down before leading the way out the front doors, her following close behind.
Had the kids not been so distracted, they would’ve seen Arkha’s beaming smile. From behind the front desk where he had joined Semiu, the seer groaned.
“So THIS is how you get your kicks, huh?”
Arkha just hummed contentedly.
“If you’ve got time for all this, SURELY you’ve got time for some paperwork…” She cocked an eyebrow at him.
Arkha feigned a moment of consideration. “Hmm. Perhaps.” Perhaps, of course, meant never. As always, the Cleaners’ leader was far more concerned with the happiness of his children.
And whatever situations that kindness created, the others would just have to deal with.
—————