Chapter Text
Epilogue Two: Next Time, Given
The rumor reached Cleaner headquarters before Jabber did.
That in of itself was ironically impressive.
Jabber moved quickly when he wanted to. He ignored stable roads, crossed broken structures via routes no sensible person would ever consider, and treated walls as suggestions offered by cowards.
Rumor, however, had more legs than any living thing.
It arrived in the equipment room folded into a supply report, tucked beneath an inventory note about replacement straps and three missing filters.
Enjin read it once.
Then again.
Then he took a deep breath and lowered the paper before he looked across the room at Zanka.
Zanka was seated at the maintenance table with Lovely Assistaff across his lap. He moved a clean cloth along the wooden staff in slow, precise strokes, inspecting the grain, the wrapped sections, and every part that might have suffered during the last mission.
He did not look up.
Enjin looked back at the report.
Riyo noticed first.
She sat on the opposite side of the room checking the edge and balance of one of her scissors. Her eyes moved from Enjin's face to the paper.
"What?" she asked.
Enjin folded the sheet.
"Nothing."
Zanka's cloth stopped.
Only for a fraction of a second.
Then continued.
Rudo, crouched near a bench while attempting to repair a torn strap, looked up. "That means it’s something."
"Good work," Enjin said. "Your observation training's paying off."
"What is it?"
"Supply report."
Riyo held out her hand.
Enjin placed the paper behind his back.
Zanka's gaze lifted at last.
"If the report concerns equipment, I should review it."
"Doesn't concern equipment."
"You just called it a supply report."
"Most of it."
"And the rest?"
Enjin's mouth twitched.
Zanka narrowed his eyes.
Riyo rose without warning, moved around the table, and snatched the report from behind Enjin's back.
He made no serious effort to stop her.
She unfolded it.
Read.
Her eyebrows rose.
Then rose farther.
Rudo abandoned the strap. "What?"
Riyo looked at Zanka.
Zanka set the cleaning cloth down.
"Read it."
"It is not official information," Riyo said.
"Read it."
"It may not be accurate."
"Riyo."
She cleared her throat.
"The market liaison included a note that the western salvage market experienced a disturbance involving a Raider."
Zanka's expression remained calm.
Too calm.
Enjin leaned against the wall.
Riyo continued. "The Raider threatened several merchants, lifted one sales counter, activated his Vital Instrument in a public aisle, purchased three blocks of soap, and spent most of the day searching for matching wedding bands."
The maintenance room became silent.
Rudo's mouth opened.
Zanka's face did not change.
The tips of his ears did.
"That could describe any Raider," he said.
Enjin nodded solemnly. "Sure. Raiders are famous for buying soap and wedding jewelry."
Zanka's eyes cut toward him with a soight twitch.
Riyo looked back at the report.
"The note identifies the Raider as… Jabber Wonger."
Rudo made a sound like someone had stepped on him.
Zanka reached for Assistaff.
Enjin moved casually between him and the door.
"Wait, it gets better."this lips were twisted in a slight smirk.
"Move."
"The market rumor says he is buying the rings for a Cleaner."
"Move."
"A specific Cleaner."
Zanka's fingers tightened around Assistaff.
Riyo's mouth pressed into a line. She was losing the fight against a smile.
"The report names you," she said.
Rudo pointed at Zanka. "You?"
Zanka looked at him.
Rudo lowered his hand as if bitten.
Enjin took the report from Riyo and read in a extremely false formal voice.
"Additional unverified claims include: the Cleaner proposed first by stealing part of the Raider's Vital Instrument; the Raider accepted by stealing a ceremonial earring; at least three fights constituted courtship; the pair kissed in toxic fog; and the union was witnessed and possibly approved by an individual described as… 'Umbrella man.'"
Silence followed.
Enjin lowered the report.
"That last one's probably me."
Zanka stood.
The legs of the chair scraped hard against the floor.
"I am going to burn the western market down."
Riyo folded her arms. "That would confirm the rumor."
"How?"
"An angry fiancé."
"I am not—"
"The report also says Jabber denied being engaged four separate times," Enjin added. "Which apparently convinced everyone."
Rudo was still staring at Zanka's left hand.
The finger where Mankira had once sat was bare.
"Is he actually bringing you a wedding ring?"
Zanka's gaze moved slowly toward him.
"No."
"But the report—"
"Is. Gossip."
"He bought matching ones."
"The report. Is. Gossip."
"For you."
"Rudo."
"On the left hand."
Zanka lifted Assistaff.
Rudo ducked behind the bench.
Enjin caught the staff before it completed the turn.
"Easy."
"Release it."
"You're about to hit a kid because your boyfriend bought jewelry."
Zanka's expression became lethal.
"He is not my boyfriend."
Riyo glanced at the blue tassel earring still hanging from Zanka's right ear.
Its match remained with Jabber.
"What word would you prefer?" she asked with a grin.
Zanka opened his mouth.
Nothing arrived.
Enjin smiled.
That made it worse.
"No word," Zanka said. "There is nothing requiring definition."
"That's a lotta nothing," Enjin said.
"He took an earring."
"You took Mankira."
"Temporarily."
"He wore your earring."
"Provocation."
"You wore his ring like a wedding band."
"Circumstance."
"You kissed him."
Zanka stopped.
Rudo's head appeared above the bench.
Riyo pushed his head down again.
Zanka's face went still in the particular way that suggested he was deciding whom to kill first.
Enjin folded the report and tucked it into his coat.
"All I'm saying is, rumor didn't invent everything."
"It invented a wedding."
"The market's bored."
"The market will be less bored when it is rubble."
"Romantic honeymoon destination."
Zanka stepped toward him.
A distant alarm bell rang once from the outer perimeter.
Everyone paused.
A second bell followed.
Not danger.
Unauthorized entry.
Enjin sighed.
It was a particular sigh.
Long.
Tired.
Burdened by the knowledge that no amount of leadership experience could prepare a man for every possible form of nonsense.
"He's here," he said.
Zanka's heart struck once against his ribs.
He hated that everyone could probably see it in the sudden stillness of his body.
Rudo climbed out from behind the bench. "The Raider?"
"No," Enjin said, then sarcasticly. "The wedding merchant."
Zanka shoved past him.
Enjin followed.
So did Riyo.
Rudo grabbed the broken strap and followed too, despite having no reason to bring it.
The outer yard was a wide section of cracked concrete bordered by patched walls, storage structures, and the remnants of old construction. It was used for training, supply sorting, equipment testing, and arguments too loud for indoors.
Jabber stood on top of the west wall, completely oblivious to Shikage’s barrier, which made everyone sigh.
One boot balanced on a narrow metal brace. One hand caught around a broken support. His tail lifted in the wind. The long sections of his dreads moved around his face.
The blue tassel earring at his ear swung brightly against him.
He looked down at the gathering Cleaners.
Then grinned.
"Hey, fancy boy."
Zanka stopped beneath the wall.
"Get down."
"Could say please."
"You have three seconds."
"Missed me?"
"Two."
Jabber dropped.
He landed lightly despite the height, bending at the knees before straightening several paces from Zanka.
The first thing Zanka noticed was that Jabber was clean.
Not perfectly.
Perfect cleanliness and Jabber Wonger existed in different worlds and would likely become fatally violent if introduced. But the dried blood was gone from his mouth. The old grime had been scrubbed from his face and neck. His clothes were still their familiar patchwork of indigo, cream, and violet, repaired badly in several places, but the fabric looked recently washed.
Even his hands were clean.
Mankira rested completed across them.
All ten rings.
No missing piece.
At the base of Jabber's left ring finger, below Mankira's position, sat another band.
Dark steel.
Simple.
Hammered with faint marks that caught the weak light.
Zanka's breath caught so quietly no one should have heard it.
Jabber did.
His grin faltered.
Only slightly.
Zanka's gaze stayed on the ring.
The rumor had not lied.
That was somehow worse.
Jabber shifted his weight.
His right hand moved toward his coat pocket.
Stopped.
Moved away.
Then returned.
Zanka dragged his eyes up to Jabber's face.
"You washed."
Jabber blinked.
Behind Zanka, Enjin made a choking sound.
Jabber's grin returned. "Ya told me to."
Heat moved up Zanka's neck.
He ignored it.
"You climbed the wall."
"Didn't wanna use the gate."
"Why?"
"Gate people ask questions."
Enjin leaned toward Riyo and whispered. "Unlike us."
Zanka did not turn. "Be silent."
Jabber noticed the group behind him.
His eyes stopped on Enjin.
"Umbrella man."
Enjin lifted one hand. "Ring freak."
"Heard ya approved the wedding."
Enjin's face brightened. "You heard that too?"
Zanka turned on Jabber.
"What did you do?"
"Bought somethin'."
"You announced my name in a public market."
"Slipped."
"How does one accidentally announce a marriage?"
"Didn't announce that. They did."
"Why did they know you were shopping for me?"
Jabber pointed at Zanka as though this proved his innocence. "See? That's the part where I slipped."
Riyo covered her mouth.
Rudo whispered, "He really did buy wedding bands."
Zanka looked over his shoulder.
Rudo found something fascinating about a broken strap.
Jabber stepped closer.
Zanka returned his attention to him.
The movement brought the scent of soap with it.
Plain. Almost medicinal. Beneath it remained smoke, metal, and the warm living scent that belonged to Jabber and Mankira alone.
Zanka's pulse changed.
Jabber noticed that too.
Of course he did.
"Three blocks," Jabber said.
Zanka frowned. "What?"
"Bought three."
"Three what?"
"Blocks of soap."
Enjin turned away and put one fist against his mouth.
Jabber glared at him.
"What?"
"Nothing," Enjin said. "Just proud of the personal growth."
"Gonna make ya eat one."
"See, that's still growth. Before, you'd have made me eat all three."
Zanka pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Why are you here?"
The question changed Jabber.
Not completely.
He did not lose the tilt of his mouth or the restless set of his shoulders. But uncertainty moved underneath them, a rare softness poorly hidden beneath aggression.
His hand returned to his coat pocket.
Zanka watched.
"What is in there?"
"Nothin'."
"You have touched the same pocket six times."
"Have not."
"Seven."
Jabber took his hand away.
The pocket had been pinned shut with a bent metal pin. A faint bulge pressed against the fabric.
Zanka stared.
Jabber looked toward the wall.
Then at Enjin.
"Go away."
Enjin placed a hand on his chest. "Me?"
"All of ya."
Riyo did not move.
Rudo did not move.
Enjin smiled. "Outer yard's public."
Jabber looked at Zanka. "He always this annoying?"
"Yes."
"Thought it was just me."
"You encourage him."
"Ya threaten him every ten minutes. That's basically flirting for you."
Enjin made a thoughtful sound.
Zanka reached for Assistaff.
Enjin took three steps backward.
"Fine. Giving space."
He did not leave.
Neither did the others.
Jabber scowled at all of them.
Then at Zanka.
"Can we go somewhere else?"
Zanka's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"Because Umbrella man looks like he's waitin' for a show."
"I am supervising," Enjin said.
"You're grinnin'."
"Supportively, I promise."
Zanka considered striking him.
Jabber's hand touched the pocket again.
Eight.
The gesture was beginning to look less like secrecy and more like nerves.
That realization softened something in Zanka before he could stop it.
Jabber Wonger was nervous.
Because of him.
Because of whatever sat inside that pocket.
Zanka looked toward the smaller side yard beside the equipment shed.
"Come."
Jabber's head snapped up.
Zanka started walking.
Jabber followed immediately.
So did Enjin.
Zanka stopped without turning.
"No."
"What?" Enjin asked.
"Stay."
"Responsible adult."
"You are neither necessary nor invited."
"The rumor says I'm officiating."
Zanka turned.
Enjin's grin widened.
Jabber leaned around Zanka. "Could throw him over the wall."
"Tempting."
"Together?"
For one terrible second, Zanka imagined it.
Riyo said, "I would help."
Enjin looked betrayed.
Rudo raised his hand. "Can I watch?"
Zanka closed his eyes.
This was not how gift giving was supposed to happen.
He did not know much about gifts, but he was certain they should involve fewer witnesses volunteering for violence.
"Everyone remains here," Zanka said. "Jabber and I will speak privately."
The words privately produced immediate reactions.
Rudo's eyes widened.
Riyo looked amused.
Enjin looked delighted.
Jabber looked at Zanka's mouth.
Zanka saw it.
Heat moved across his skin.
"Speak," he repeated sharply.
"Sure," Jabber said.
His voice had lowered.
They made it five steps toward the side yard before a young Cleaner came through the opposite doorway carrying a crate.
The Cleaner saw Jabber.
Saw Zanka.
Saw the matching blue earrings split between them.
Then saw the dark ring on Jabber's left hand.
The crate nearly slipped.
"Congratulations," the Cleaner blurted.
Zanka stopped.
Jabber started laughing.
The Cleaner fled.
Zanka turned slowly toward Jabber.
"You have contaminated my workplace with this rumor."
"Didn't know it was that fast."
"It reached headquarters before you did."
Jabber looked offended. "How?"
"Because you gave my name to an entire market."
"One seller."
"The report included details of our kiss."
Jabber's laughter stopped.
"Which one?"
Zanka stared at him.
Jabber's grin returned.
"Important question."
"It is not."
"Fog one or clean one?"
"There should not be market terminology for either."
"Clean one was better."
Zanka's pulse stumbled.
Jabber stepped closer.
"Wasn't it?"
"You are avoiding the subject."
"Like your mouth better."
"Jabber."
"Zanka."
His own name in Jabber's mouth still did something difficult to Zanka's spine.
He hated that too.
They reached the side yard.
It was narrower, shadowed by the equipment shed and a leaning section of wall. Not private enough to prevent the others from listening if they tried. Private enough to pretend.
Jabber stopped.
Zanka faced him.
The ring on Jabber's hand remained visible.
Zanka could not stop looking at it.
Jabber noticed.
"Like it?"
"I have not decided."
"Been staring since I landed."
"I am assessing it."
"Uh-huh."
"The finish is uneven."
"Mine's supposed to be."
Zanka's eyes sharpened. "Yours?"
Jabber went still.
There.
The slip.
Zanka's heart began beating harder.
Jabber looked at the wall as if it had betrayed him.
"There is another," Zanka said.
"Maybe."
"Matching."
"Could be."
"In your pocket."
"Lots of things in my pockets."
"Soap, apparently."
"Two left."
Zanka almost smiled.
Almost.
Jabber saw it anyway.
His expression softened.
"Knew ya'd like that."
"I did not say I liked anything."
"Ya did the tiny mouth thing."
"I have no idea what you mean."
"Liar."
"Thief."
"Not this time."
The answer landed quietly between them.
Jabber's hand slipped into his coat.
He released the bent pin with awkward care and pulled out a small hard case tied with blue ribbon.
The knot was terrible.
Zanka stared at it.
Jabber held it out.
"Don't."
Zanka looked up. "Don’t what?"
"Say anythin' about the knot."
"It appears injured."
"I said don't."
"Was it tied during combat?"
"Kid gave me the ribbon."
"Which child?"
"Basket kid. Started the rumor."
Zanka looked at the knot again.
"You accepted decorative assistance from the person responsible for this disaster."
"He was nine."
"That did not prevent you from threatening him, I assume."
"Only a little."
Zanka finally smiled.
Small.
Soft.
Real.
Jabber stopped breathing.
The case lowered by half an inch.
Zanka's smile faded under the weight of that stare.
"What?"
"Do it again."
"No."
"C'mon."
"Give me the case."
"Smile first."
Zanka reached for it.
Jabber lifted it out of reach.
Zanka stepped closer.
Jabber lifted it higher.
"This is childish."
"Smiled at the knot."
"I did not."
"Did too."
"Give it to me."
"Ask nice."
Zanka caught Jabber's wrist.
Jabber grinned.
The movement brought their bodies close enough that Zanka could feel heat through layers of clothing.
The case remained raised between them.
"Please," Zanka said through his teeth.
Jabber's eyes widened.
Zanka pulled harder on his wrist.
"Don't make me repeat it."
Jabber lowered the case immediately.
"Should've made ya ask for stuff sooner."
"You would not have survived such a thing."
"Worth it."
Zanka took the case.
Their fingers touched.
Jabber did not release it.
For one breath, they both held the small object tied with crooked blue ribbon.
Jabber's hand was warm.
The new band on his left ring finger pressed faintly against Zanka's knuckle.
Then Jabber let go.
The weight transferred fully into Zanka's palm.
Something tightened in his chest.
"Open it," Jabber said, low and anxious.
The roughness in his voice did not hide the nerves beneath it.
Zanka untied the knot.
It took longer than it should have.
Jabber watched with growing impatience.
"Could rip it."
"No."
"Why?"
"A child gave it to you."
"Kid ruined my whole day."
"The ribbon is not responsible."
Jabber looked at him strangely.
Zanka ignored it and folded the ribbon neatly around two fingers before opening the case.
Inside lay a dark steel ring.
Smaller than Jabber's.
Smooth where his was faintly hammered.
Simple. Clean-edged. Free of stones or ornament.
The metal carried a subtle inner polish, as if it had once lived inside a machine and spent years turning against another piece.
Zanka could not breathe.
He lifted the ring.
It had weight.
Not Mankira's living presence.
Not anima.
Just metal.
Chosen, preferred metal.
His thumb traced the inside and found a single narrow engraved line.
Zanka looked at Jabber's band.
"The same mark," he said.
Jabber nodded.
"They came from the same piece."
Another nod.
"An industrial bearing."
Jabber blinked. "How'd ya know?"
"The wear pattern."
"Course ya know that."
"Why this metal?"
Jabber shrugged too quickly. "Survives."
The answer was simple.
It was also entirely him.
Zanka looked at the ring again.
"Is not Mankira," Jabber said.
Zanka's gaze lifted.
Jabber's expression had gone defensive.
"I am aware."
"Ain't replacin’ her."
"I know."
"Didn't steal it."
That was the part.
The promise settling into Zanka's hand.
Something given.
Jabber looked away.
"Paid for it."
"With what?"
"Stuff."
"That is not an answer."
"Useful stuff."
"How useful?"
"Don't worry about it."
Zanka narrowed his eyes. "Jabber."
"Still got Mankira. Still got clothes. Still got food."
"That list is not reassuring."
"Still got the earring."
His fingers brushed the blue tassel.
Zanka's remaining earring moved in the wind as if answering.
The pair looked whole only when they stood close.
One blue tassel beside Zanka's face.
One beside Jabber's.
Divided exactly where they had somehow begun to belong.
Zanka's throat tightened.
Jabber watched him.
"Promised," he said softly.
The word was quiet.
No grin.
No teasing, as if he truly meant something for the first time in his life.
Zanka's left hand felt suddenly, painfully bare.
He had stopped touching the empty ring finger every few minutes after Mankira's return, but he had never stopped noticing the absence. The skin remembered weight. His hand remembered being claimed by something he had no right to keep.
This ring carried no such excuse.
If he accepted it, he accepted because he wanted it.
Jabber held out his hand.
Not taking.
Waiting.
Zanka stared at the open palm.
Jabber's fingers twitched once.
Nervous.
Again.
Because of him.
Zanka placed his left hand in Jabber's.
Jabber exhaled.
His fingers closed carefully.
The tenderness of it struck harder than force would have.
His thumb brushed over Zanka's bare ring finger.
The same motion he had used after the battle.
A quiet acknowledgment of what had been there.
What had been returned.
And what was about to replace it.
From the main yard, Rudo whispered much too loudly, "Is he doing it?"
Riyo whispered back, "You are going to get us killed."
Enjin said, "They're taking a while. Maybe he forgot which finger."
Zanka's eyes closed a vein throbbing on his temple.
Jabber looked toward the corner.
"Thought they stayed."
"They did," Zanka said. "They are simply incapable of dignity."
"We can hear you," Enjin called.
"That is the problem."
Jabber started laughing.
The tension in his shoulders loosened.
Zanka looked at the ring held between Jabber's other fingers.
"Are you going to put it on or continue allowing the audience to speculate?"
Jabber's laughter stopped.
"Ya want me to?"
The question was too honest.
Zanka's heartbeat changed.
Jabber waited.
Zanka had faced poison, violence, falling structures, and enemies who wanted to open him from throat to stomach.
None of that had required this much courage.
"You brought it for me," he said.
"Yeah."
"Then finish what you began."
Jabber's eyes brightened.
"Bossy."
"Jabber."
"Yeah, yeah."
He shifted his grip, holding Zanka's hand with one of his while taking the ring with the other.
Mankira occupied his fingers, making delicate work awkward. Jabber was comfortable tearing, cutting, pinning, and poisoning. Handling a small gift with care required visible effort.
Zanka said nothing.
Mostly.
"You are holding it at an angle."
Jabber looked up. "It's a circle."
"You are still managing to misalign it."
"Want it or not?"
"I want it properly placed."
Jabber's mouth curved. "Ya want it."
Zanka's face heated.
"That is what I just said."
"Say it again."
"No."
"Please?"
Zanka glared.
Jabber grinned, but the grin trembled at the edges.
Zanka softened before he could stop himself.
"I want it," he said.
Jabber went completely still.
The market rumor, the audience, the broken walls, and every joke waiting nearby seemed to disappear from his face.
He looked only at Zanka.
"Yeah?"
"Yes."
Jabber aligned the ring.
This time correctly.
The metal touched the tip of Zanka's left ring finger.
He stopped breathing.
Jabber slid it on slowly.
Over the first joint.
Past the knuckle.
Toward the base where Mankira had once rested like a stolen vow.
The ring settled.
Perfectly.
No gap.
No pinch.
Made to fit.
Zanka stared, eyes slightly narrowed.
His fingers were thinner than Jabber's, long and controlled, the smooth band sitting naturally around them. The dark metal looked as though it had always been intended for that exact place.
His chest tightened.
"It fits," Jabber said with a breathless whisper, as if he could not believe it.
Zanka looked at him.
"How did you know the proper size?"
Jabber's thumb moved over the ring.
"Remembered Mankira."
Zanka's breath caught.
Jabber glanced down at their hands.
"She fit ya perfectly."
The admission changed the air.
Zanka remembered standing before his mirror with Mankira around his finger. Remembered the impossible physical reaction to seeing her there, as though Jabber had chosen him instead of Zanka choosing theft. Remembered Jabber's face when he saw the ring displayed openly.
"You remembered that," Zanka said.
"Remember your hand."
Heat moved through Zanka with no violence to hide behind.
Jabber's thumb traced the new band again.
"Had it enough."
From around the corner, Rudo made a strangled sound.
Enjin whispered, "That was smooth… Accidentally, but still."
Zanka turned his head.
Three faces vanished behind the wall.
Jabber laughed so hard he bent forward.
Zanka considered removing the ring solely to throw it at Enjin.
He didn’t.
Jabber straightened, still holding his hand.
"How's it look?"
Zanka examined the ring.
Dark steel. Smooth finish. One hidden line inside matching Jabber's.
He turned their joined hands until both bands sat side by side.
Same material.
Different surface.
Jabber's marked by impact.
Zanka's polished clean.
Neither fragile.
Neither identical.
Made from the same mechanism.
"It is acceptable," Zanka said with a huff.
Jabber's face fell.
The expression was so immediate and so wounded that Zanka almost laughed.
He let the silence last exactly two seconds.
Then his mouth softened.
"It fits perfectly."
Jabber's grin returned so brightly it changed his whole face.
"Knew it."
"You guessed."
"Still knew."
"You terrorized an entire market while estimating from memory."
"Good memory."
"You lifted a merchant's counter."
"I put it back."
"You activated Mankira in a public aisle."
"They called me a groom."
Zanka's eyes narrowed.
Jabber waited.
"Did you buy wedding bands?" Zanka asked.
Jabber looked at their hands.
"Bought rings."
"For the left ring fingers."
"That's where ya wore mine."
"Matching rings."
"Same metal."
"Presented with blue ribbon."
"Kid did that."
"Are you proposing to me?"
Jabber nearly dropped Zanka's hand.
Around the corner, someone collided with the wall.
A muffled curse followed.
Jabber stared.
"Am I?"
"You are the one giving me a ring."
"Ya want me to be?"
The question arrived without defense.
Without a grin, laced with fear and worry.
Zanka's pulse beat beneath Jabber's fingers.
He could have dismissed it.
He could have called it a gift, denied the implication, retreated behind precision and language.
Instead he looked at the ring.
At the matching band on Jabber's hand.
At the two blue earrings that became a pair only when they stood together.
"I don’t know what to call this," Zanka admitted.
Jabber's expression softened.
"Don't gotta call it anything."
"That is unexpectedly sensible."
"Can take it back if ya keep insultin' me."
Zanka's hand closed around his.
Jabber looked down.
"Try," Zanka said.
The grin returned.
Zanka stepped closer.
Jabber did not move away.
The space between them narrowed until their joined hands rested between their bodies, matching bands touching with a faint click.
Zanka lifted his free hand and touched the blue tassel at Jabber's ear.
The piercing had healed crooked.
Of course it had.
Jabber's breath changed when Zanka's fingers brushed his jaw.
"You still have not returned this," Zanka said.
"Ya askin'?"
Zanka looked at the earring.
Then at Jabber.
"No."
Jabber's eyes warmed.
The tassel at Zanka's own ear stirred in the wind. Its twin moved against Jabber's neck.
Separate.
Whole.
All a part of a twisted theft turned gift.
Jabber leaned in by a fraction.
Stopped.
For all his roughness, he waited.
Zanka remembered the final battle. Jabber's thumb over the bare ring finger. The slow approach. The question held in the space before their mouths touched.
Now the finger was no longer bare.
Zanka closed the distance.
The first kiss was soft.
A gentle press of lips carrying the faint taste of clean water and the last trace of plain soap. Jabber had scrubbed himself because Zanka had told him to, and that ridiculous fact made warmth spread through Zanka's chest.
Jabber's fingers tightened around his hand.
The rings clicked again.
Zanka kissed him a second time.
Longer.
Jabber's free hand rose uncertainly, hovered near Zanka's waist, then settled there with care that did not suit his claws, his teeth, or the way he moved through battle.
It suited this.
This soft dangerous thing.
The kiss deepened only slightly. Warmth. Breath. The soft drag of Jabber's lower lip against his.
Zanka's fingers curled at the back of Jabber's neck.
The earring tassel brushed his wrist.
Its twin brushed Zanka's throat.
For one impossible moment, the blue strands looked connected by the narrow space between them, as though the pair had been divided only to mark where each of them ended and the other began.
Jabber smiled against Zanka's mouth.
Zanka pulled back half an inch.
"What?"
"Ya kissed me first."
"You were taking too long."
"Could get used to that."
"Do not."
Jabber kissed him again.
Zanka allowed it.
Then responded with enough force to make Jabber step backward once, surprised laughter caught between their mouths.
The side yard wall touched Jabber's back.
His hand tightened at Zanka's waist.
The kiss became warmer, less careful. Still sweet, but edged with the familiar challenge neither of them seemed capable of abandoning. Jabber nipped lightly at Zanka's lower lip.
Zanka caught the front of his coat and pulled him closer.
Jabber made a pleased sound.
From the main yard, Enjin cleared his throat.
Neither moved.
He cleared it louder.
Zanka broke the kiss with visible restraint, and murder in his eyes.
Jabber remained close enough that their noses nearly touched.
"Ignore him," Jabber murmured.
"Tempting."
Enjin called, "Just checking whether the horny teenagers need water or adult supervision."
Zanka's eyes closed.
Jabber's entire body shook with laughter.
"We are not teenagers," Zanka shouted.
"Could've fooled me," Enjin replied. "Sneaking behind the equipment shed, kissing during work hours, matching jewelry—"
"I will kill you."
"That's the hormonal spirit!”
Rudo's voice followed. "Do we actually have to call them married now?"
Riyo said, "Only if you want Zanka to kill you before he kills Enjin."
Jabber leaned around the corner. "Umbrella man!"
Enjin's head appeared. "Yes, groom?"
Mankira flashed.
Enjin vanished.
"No Vital Instruments in the yard!" he called while retreating.
Jabber deactivated the partial claw and looked back at Zanka.
"He started it."
"He usually does."
"Can still catch him."
"Later."
Jabber's eyebrows rose.
Zanka realized what he had said.
"Do not look pleased."
"Later, huh?"
"For violence."
"Sure."
Zanka adjusted Jabber's collar where he had wrinkled it.
The action felt too domestic.
He did it anyway.
Jabber watched, unusually quiet.
"You like it," he said.
Zanka looked at the ring.
"Yes."
Jabber froze.
Zanka almost enjoyed how easily the simple answer broke him. How Jabber could laugh in the face of violence and possible death but here where softness lived he hesitated like a stray kitten meeting human kindness for the first time.
"Say it again."
"No."
"C'mon."
"You heard me."
"Might've imagined it."
"Your hearing is excellent when you are being insulted. Apply the same effort now."
Jabber lifted Zanka's hand between them.
His thumb brushed over the band.
"Ain't takin' it off?"
The question was quiet.
Zanka studied him.
Beneath the teasing, Jabber still expected loss. Expected rejection. Expected that anything held too gently would eventually be taken away.
Zanka turned his hand and threaded their fingers together.
The ring pressed against Jabber's.
"No," he said.
Jabber's eyes dropped to their joined hands.
A softness moved over his face so unguarded that Zanka felt almost guilty for seeing it.
Almost.
"Good," Jabber said.
Behind the corner, Enjin whispered loudly, "Aw."
Zanka did not release Jabber's hand.
He simply raised his voice.
"Enjin."
"Leaving."
Footsteps moved away.
Riyo's followed.
Rudo's stopped.
Riyo came back, grabbed him by the coat, and dragged him after her.
The side yard finally became quiet.
Jabber looked toward the empty corner.
"Think they actually left?"
"No."
"Wanna kiss again anyway?"
Zanka looked at him.
Jabber's smile became hopeful.
"You are disgusting," Zanka said.
"I washed."
"You climbed a contaminated wall immediately afterward."
"Didn't lick it."
"That is an appallingly low standard."
"Still cleaner than last time."
Zanka's mouth twitched.
Jabber caught it.
"Tiny mouth thing."
"There is no tiny mouth thing."
"There. Did it again."
Zanka kissed him to stop the conversation.
It worked for several seconds.
When they separated, Jabber looked dazed and delighted.
"Best way ya ever told me to shut up."
"Do not force me to improve upon it."
"Could practice."
"Leave before I reconsider the ring."
Jabber's hand tightened around his.
"Ya mean that?"
Zanka sighed.
"No."
Jabber's smile softened.
They walked back toward the main yard together.
Not close enough to look attached.
Their hands remained joined anyway.
The moment they rounded the corner, Enjin looked down at their fingers and made the worst possible face.
"So," he said. "Do I update the roster?"
"No," Zanka said.
"Emergency contact?"
"No."
"Shared quarters?"
"No."
Jabber said, "Maybe."
Zanka turned. "No."
Rudo stared at the ring. "It really does fits."
Jabber brightened. "Remembered the size."
Rudo looked impressed. "How?"
"Mankira fit him perfect."
The yard became silent.
Zanka's face heated so quickly it hurt.
Riyo turned away, shoulders shaking.
Enjin covered his mouth.
Rudo looked between them. "So he did propose first."
Zanka lifted Assistaff.
Rudo ran.
Jabber doubled over laughing.
Enjin patted Zanka's shoulder as he passed.
"Congratulations."
"Say that again and I will make the market report accurate by creating a disturbance here."
"Horny teenagers," Enjin said fondly.
"We are adults."
"Technically."
Jabber straightened and wiped at one eye.
"I like Umbrella man."
"Do not encourage him."
"Too late."
Zanka looked down at his hand.
The dark ring stayed exactly where Jabber had placed it.
Given.
Chosen.
His.
Jabber shifted beside him.
"Gotta go before they decide I live here."
Enjin called from across the yard, "Too late for that rumor too!"
Jabber looked delighted.
Zanka looked murderous.
Jabber began backing toward the wall.
Their hands remained joined.
The distance stretched their arms between them.
Jabber's fingers loosened slowly, not wanting to release.
Zanka did not either.
One finger slipped free.
Then another.
The matching bands touched once more before their hands separated.
Jabber looked at Zanka's ring.
Then at his face.
"Next thing might be shinier."
"There will not be a next thing."
"Said that 'bout the kisses."
"I did not."
"Thought it real loud."
Zanka's soft smile appeared before he could stop it.
Jabber stared at it with open satisfaction.
"Do not become even more unbearable," Zanka said.
Jabber climbed backward onto the broken wall brace.
"Can't. Already maxed out."
"A reassuring limitation."
"See ya, fancy boy."
"Use the gate next time."
"No."
"Jabber."
He grinned.
Then dropped out of sight beyond the wall.
Zanka remained where he was.
The ring warmed around his finger.
The tassel at his ear moved in the wind, its twin disappearing with Jabber on the other side.
Enjin came to stand beside him. For once, he said nothing. Zanka glanced over as Enjin looked at the ring, then at the wall.
"You look happy," Enjin said softly.
Zanka's expression flattened. "Do not become annoying."
Enjin smiled. "Already am."
Zanka hit him with Assistaff.