Chapter Text
It’s sometime between the late hours of the night and early hours of the morning, and Tamsy has only now just left Arkha’s room in his clothes while the man showered.
Why didn’t Tokushin stop him? He wondered, his jinki was supposed to snap Arkha awake once 7 seconds had passed. Of course, he wasn’t actually trying to strangle himself either, that was just a show of partnership, fake trust, and basically an olive branch for the other man.
Tamsy knows how to play with Arkha, he’s been doing it for months.
Be vulnerable, he sympathizes and thinks too hard later.
Be cruel, he shuts himself away and avoids me.
Be kind, he shows weakness.
It’s a constant cycle, and of course, Arkha manipulates Tamsy to a certain extent as well.
Tamsy takes heavy steps through the halls, but as he approaches the workout facility, he begins to hear voices and sees the light pouring through the crack of the door.
Who trains this early in the morning? He questions, a bit grumpy. Tamsy prefers getting at least a couple hours of sleep before work, so suddenly becoming aware of noise and light eases his body into working mode.
As he approaches the door and turns the handle, he’s greeted with the sight of Zanka, still in his sleepwear, and Jabber, a raider, fighting each other.
Their jinkis aren’t activated as Tamsy soon finds them to the side next to each other, as intimate as jinkis can get.
He stands in the doorway and watches them, the two are absorbed in their fight as they only use their fists and legs to hit each other.
Jabber’s stance and style is a mix of straight punches and wild moves, switching his fighting style whenever he sees fit, creating chaos all around his body. As for Zanka, he’s just using simple moves, even though he could be going all out.
If one of them gets the upper hand, the other refuses to lose, it’s a push and pull sort of scenario.
Jabber eggs Zanka on, “c’monnn Z! Show me what otha tricks ya got up ya sleeve!” He exclaims wildly as he goes in to punch the other right in the face, Zanka redirects the hit with his forearm, going in to kick Jabber in the stomach.
“Shut yer damn trap, Jabber!” He yells back, putting all his strength into his kick that sends Jabber flying to the other side of the room.
He collides with the wall with a loud thud, his eyes are reaching back into his skull as he shivers.
“Oh man, fuuuuckkkk..! That was too good, Zan-Zan! Do it again, I’m almost there..” He says dazed, getting back up and gets super close to the cleaner.
Zanka calls him gross and they spar again, blocking each other’s hits, getting punched and kicked, they simply don’t stop.
Tamsy watches with rapt attention, grinning to himself and noting how ironic it is to have a raider, an enemy of the Cleaners, in their base sparring with a cleaner as neither of them show any signs of wanting to kill each other, only to feel the thrill of physical combat.
He whistles, after Zanka punches Jabber real hard in the stomach, in the same place he kicked him.
Jabber’s practically sporting an erection in his pants, “ya spout this stupid ‘average joe’ crap alllll the time, babe, but look! Ya punched me in the same place ya kicked me in! So cruel, sooo hot,” he winks, licking his lips as he shoots Zanka a flirty look.
The cleaner freezes up, both in embarrassment and anger, “don’t get off while we’re fucking fightin’!!”
“Oh my, please keep it down, it’s still early you know?” Tamsy chimes in, finally saying something after watching Jabber attempt to bust while fighting Zanka.
Zanka freezes, shoulders tensing immediately as he jerkily turns his head to the side, seeing not only a fellow cleaner there, but also his superior.
The raider however, is unfazed. “My bad man, I’ll try ta keep it down, cool?” He says, going back into a stance but notices Zanka frozen where he is.
“TAMSY WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOIN’ HERE!!”
For a usually composed man, Zanka can get just as loud as Rudo.
Tamsy lifts a finger to his mouth, “shhh, it’s barely even morning, Zanka. Don’t wanna wake everyone else up, do you?” This promptly gets the blonde to shut his mouth, looking a bit guilty as he flickers his eyes between his senior and Jabber.
“No…” He responds, like a wet kicked puppy.
Jabber laughs without a care in the world, “ahaha! C’mon now, Z! Don’t let this guy stop ya, we just gotta be quiet.” He urges Zanka to fight him again, getting close and whispering the last part into his ear.
An angry red flush creeps its way onto the cleaner’s face, “shut yer mouth! It’s yer fault we got caught, masochistic freak.” He insults, a vein close to popping on his forehead.
Jabber giggles and continues to try and rile him up.
Tamsy interjects, putting on a soft facade, “if I may ask,” he starts and the two turn their heads towards him, “what are you doing here, Jabber?” The raider gives him a look.
“To fight, duh.” He says carelessly, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world.
He hums, “and how long have you been coming here to fight?”
“A while now I think, right Zan-Zan? We don’t always fight here, sometimes we do it at the Raider’s base-” and Jabber gets promptly smacked in the face.
“Jabber! Don’t tell him everythin’!” Zanka scolds him and Tamsy chuckles, his sleeve coming up to his mouth to hide his laugh.
The blonde man waves his hand, well, sleeve. “Don’t worry, Zanka, I won’t tell a soul.” He promises, a certain glint in his eyes.
“But do indulge me a little, I’m a sucker for love stories. So I’m curious, how did you two end up like this?” He motions with his finger, circling the two to emphasize their closeness.
Zanka’s face heats up, “oh- um, thanks? But, uh.. We just kinda…” He trails off, looking everywhere but Tamsy.
“We fought in the belly of that big ol’ trash beast and kissed, I got supa hard.” Jabber explains casually, “cleaners, raiders, ain’t none of that matters,” strangely, Jabber’s words became genuine and soft in an abnormal way.
Tamsy nods, “that’s very sweet, Jabber.” He states, a gentle smile on his face. “So, you aren’t a traitor, are you, Zanka?”
The boy freezes. This is exactly what he dreaded, having his loyalty questioned by the Cleaners. His heart sank to the ground.
“You aren’t giving away precious information, or colluding with the Raiders, right? ‘Cause, that would be terrible for us, losing a loved and highly skilled member would just break our hearts,” he taunts, fiddling with a deactivated Tokushin in his hand.
He steps closer, “love is a dangerous game, Zanka Nijiku.”
Before he could get within an arm’s reach of him, Jabber stepped in front, a nasty scowl on his face as he pointed a clawed finger in his direction.
“Hey man, you’re ruining me n’ Zan’s fight, don’t be spoutin’ righteous nonsense that don’t matter.” He snaps, silence following as they stare each other down.
Zanka is still in shock, his open mouth forming a tight line as his brows knit together.
“I ain’t a traitor, Tamsy.” Is all he manages, voice unsteady as he looks at him with desperate eyes.
Pleading for him to drop the topic, to just turn around and sleep the night away, forgetting this meeting ever happened.
Righteous.
That’s fucking hilarious.
The blonde tilts his head downwards, his hair obscuring his face as he suddenly whips his head up to reveal a bright smile. “That’s good!”
“Don’t take my question too seriously, please. I’m simply looking out for my fellow cleaners, you included, that's all.” He states, walking around Jabber to place a firm hand on Zanka’s shoulders.
As Zanka opens his mouth to speak but he’s interrupted.
“Tamsy? What’re you doing there?” A deep voice calls out, it’s Arkha, shirtless with a towel around his neck as he sports yet another pair of baggy sweatpants.
They all turn their heads.
Jabber deactivates Mankira and Tamsy retracts his hand, “hm? I was just walking around, stretching my legs. You were taking too long anyways,” he says calmly, now strutting towards the man, flashing him an innocent smile.
He sighs, “don’t disappear like that.”
“No promises,” he replies, his voice light as the two stare at each other, knowing the weight of Tamsy’s words.
Arkha runs a hand through his locs, “come now, it’s late and you shouldn’t be walking, your legs must be aching,” he teases, a sly smirk forming on his face. It takes all of Tamsy’s self control not to yell at him.
The smaller man lifts a sleeve up to his mouth, “oh my, well if you insist.”
He turns to Zanka and Jabber, who’re just standing with confused expressions as they watch the two adults, “goodnight Zanka, Jabber.” Tamsy waves, eyes closed as he walks out of the training room.
Arkha turns halfway to follow but whips his head around, “don’t overdo it, you two. It’s late, either go back to your base,” he points at Jabber, “or sleep in Zanka’s room,” he finishes with a wink, chuckling to himself as Zanka becomes red in the face again and Jabber smiles freely, as if this is just another normal interaction.
The two leave them, and the door shuts softly.
The raider turns to his boyfriend, “they are sooooo fuckin’, Z! He was shirtless and just got outta the shower! And holy shit, they both reeked of sex!” Jabber laughs, leaning against the cleaner as he loses his shit over it.
Zanka grits his teeth and punches him, “don’t fuckin’ say that about my boss!”
“Blondie and Bossie are FUCKIN’!”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP!!”
“Ooooh yeah, hit me like that again, Zan-Zan, yer literally edgin’ me so hard right now.”
“YER FUCKIN’ DISGUSTIN’!”
In the back of Zanka’s mind, he does ponder about Tamsy and Arkha’s relationship, even while beating Jabber black and blue.
He did say some weird shit, like how ‘love’s a dangerous game’ n’ whatever.
He breathed in deeply, looking at Jabber’s beat up face that’s still sporting a crazed smile, they lock eyes and Jabber lifts a hand to bring Zanka close.
Their lips touch, and he melts right into the intoxicating kiss they share
Who gives a fuck ‘bout what Tamsy thinks? Like he’s the one screwin’ the Boss, not me.
Worry ‘bout yer own damn problems.
As Tamsy and Arkha walk side by side down the hall, silence is shared between them.
Tamsy’s the first to speak, eyeing Arkha through his lashes, “letting enemies run wild in the base now, boss?” He says lightly, a deceitful smile on his face.
The man raises a brow, not amused, “you’re here, aren’t you?”
He scoffs, not bothering to reply to him.
He combs his fingers through his hair, looking at the strands thoughtfully.
“I’m only here because a certain man won’t let me out of his sight,” he speaks, tone casual.
Arkha chuckles, “isn’t it the other way around?” The blonde glances at him, a frown on his face.
He crosses his arms, “ha, you peered into me just a couple hours ago.” He states, clearly not amused.
“That I did,” the man agrees, now sneaking an arm to settle his large palm on Tamsy’s back, supporting him. The touch grounds him almost, if only it didn’t burn.
Seconds later, they hear a faint crash and yelling in the distance, most definitely from Zanka and Jabber. The two pause, Arkha closes his eyes and huffs whereas Tamsy’s face just drops, unhappy with the noise.
They enter Arkha’s room, “you know,” Tamsy starts, walking in first as he settles in Arkha’s bed, “we aren’t very good at keeping this secret.” He ponders out loud, bringing his knees to his chest as he stares at Arkha, waiting for his reaction.
He wants the man to acknowledge their relationship.
To finally break his silence.
He sucks in a breath, “well,” he comes closer, hooking his arm around Tamsy’s waist and pulls him close, just like how he did hours ago before peering into his soul. The blonde feels warm again. Too warm.
“We don’t have to keep it a secret,” he mutters, running a hand through Tamsy’s hair, pushing it out of his face to reveal his scarred side.
He squints, not expecting Arkha to actually grow some balls and suggest to reveal their strange relationship to others.
“Tamsy, don’t look at me like that, you know just as much as I do about the nature of our partnership.” He continues, now grasping at the blonde’s hand, intertwining their fingers slowly, letting them both feel the heat of their secrecy.
He raises a brow, “know what?” He asks, playing along with Arkha’s antics.
If post-sex deep conversations about your fucked up relationship count as aftercare, then someone reward this stupid man for Aftercarer of the Year!
“Know that you’re using me just like how I’m using you?” He asserts, a dangerous tilt to his tone as he suddenly digs his nails into Arkha’s hand.
The man doesn’t wince or flinch, simply taking in the pain as the frown on his face deepens.
After a long pause, Arkha answers. “Yes.”
He said it so quietly that Tamsy almost missed it. He laughs.
Once his laughter died down, Tamsy stared eerily at the man through his lashes, after a beat, he turned himself away from Arkha and pulled the blanket over him.
And again, like a cockroach that won’t die, that weird, strange, unfamiliar feeling wells up in his chest.
“What did you want out of this, Arkha?” He asks, staring at the wall he currently faces.
“I have my secrets, and you have yours.” He states slowly, not moving from his spot, only looking down at his hands to observe the deep crescent shaped indents the blonde left on the back of his hand.
Tamsy clicks his tongue, “hypocrite.”
He feels an arm curl over his stomach, bringing him close to a heated body. It’s not sexual in any way, it’s intimate.
They lay there for a bit, not saying anything. Tamsy doesn’t know when, but at some point, Arkha turns him around and kisses his lips, his hands travel under the blonde’s shirt and Tamsy reciprocates.
They don’t speak at all, except for panting and hushed moaning, they undress themselves hurriedly and get as close as you can physically be to a person.
The two don’t acknowledge the silent overbearing tension that looms over them.
But if Tamsy notices Arkha taking too long with the foreplay, kissing him all over, feeling up his entire body, fingering him through way too many orgasms, or thrusting into him at a slower pace than usual, he doesn’t say anything.
Neither of them do.
Tamsy sat next to Delmon as he ate, not bothering to try and tell the man to shut up as he’s already done so a million times. It’s inherently a waste of his time and energy in the long run, once Delmon gets any alcohol into his system, the noise levels simply just keep getting higher and higher.
He blows on his noodles, eating them at a maintained pace and savouring its flavour.
Getting more than a week off is quite beneficial, he muses mentally, I’ll have more time to enact my plans and go on a trip to the Sphere, with all the trash they throw down here, they have a lot more to offer than the Ground…
Maybe I should get rid of them soon. The thought of the Raiders crossed his mind, they could certainly help. Hm, Zodyl Typhon.. I wonder how much he knows.
And Mymo.. Pfft- He’s wayyyy too idealistic, but unfortunately a good pawn. He’ll surely fan the flames for me, as Tamsy thinks to himself, a pair approaches his table.
“Heyyyyy, sweetheart! Eating all by yourself, cutie?” A flirty and slightly slurred voice asks, slipping into the seat in front of him. The blonde opens his eyes and sees Enjin, who was definitely drunk.
He glances to his left, Delmon gone. He sighs.
“Delmon was just here.. I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” he replies calmly, going back to eat his noodles as Enjin rests an elbow on the table and stares at him with clouded eyes.
He grins mischievously, “don’t think so, he’s been gone for a while, sweetcheeks.” Tamsy cringes. He hates it when Enjin’s had a few drinks.
The cleaner gets all flirty and thinks Tamsy’s a woman, hence the gross nicknames. On several occasions he’s been scolded by Semiu, Delmon, Gris, and even Arkha for his behaviour, but it never stops.
“Anyways, this lil guy wanted to come up to ya for some reason,” he switches topics, gesturing over to Rudo who’s been staring at Enjin with a repulsed look on his face.
Enjin notices and turns to him, “what? What’re ya staring at me for?”
“Is this seriously how you treat girls? Ew,” Rudo questions, looking at the drunk up and down, clearly judging him. The other smacks him on the head.
Enjin lights a cigarette as he leans back into his seat, “uh, yeah.” He says, confidently, “how else am I supposed to get the ladies? Cry at the side of their beds while they sleep?” He teases, referring to Rudo tearing up next to Amo’s infirmary bed.
The boy turns red, “shut the hell up! That’s different,” he snaps back, “oh yeah? How?”
Frankly, Tamsy wants to leave. But, Rudo’s here and apparently has something to say to him, so he’ll stay for the sake of that.
“It’s different ‘cuz, uh.. ‘Cuz.. ‘Cuz it just is!” The boy shouts, unable to come up with a witty comeback as Enjin laughs at him, smacking him on the back in mockery.
As his laughter dies down, Rudo also looks at him, “also Enjin, Tamsy isn’t a girl, so I don’t know why you’re flirting with him.”
Then reality dawns on Enjin.
The man goes to rub his eyes, mouth gaping open as the cigarette almost falls out of his mouth.
He leans forward, then runs a hand through his hair.
“Fuck, seriously? Again? Sorry, man.” He apologizes, leaning back into his seat and exhales smoke out of his nose. Tamsy wants to yell at him, to chide him for his drunken state and mind.
But instead, he smiles. It’s tight and not meant to be friendly, but it’s a smile.
“Don’t worry about it, Enjin.” He assures lightly, he then turns to the boy, “you had something to say, Rudo?” Offering for him to speak, Rudo starts to fidget with his gloves and stares at him tensely, red eyes meeting yellow.
“Oh, uh, well.. I just wanted to thank you for everything, ya know..” He trails off, eyes wavering as he looks to the side, to Enjin, the table, basically anywhere that wasn’t Tamsy’s eyes.
“You gave Amo her boots back, which I heard were from the boss’ vault so it probably wasn’t easy to get them, and I wanted to thank you for helping me on my first mission,” contrary to Rudo’s beliefs, it was probably one of the most easiest things Tamsy could’ve done, there’s way more harder things I’ve done. Like Arkha.
In his head, Tamsy’s smirking at himself, chuckling at his own joke that he can’t say out loud.
The boy continues, “I talked to Follo after you left and he said he didn’t like my attitude, so I only just became aware of how ignorant I am.. So, I also came to say sorry if I offended you..” The last bit of his speech ended with Rudo gradually becoming quieter, embarrassed.
Tamsy laughs, “it’s alright, Rudo. Givers have the tendency to be quite arrogant, which is why normal people don’t usually like us or think we’re freaks, so I can understand why a supporter like Follo got angry,” he explains, “I bet, that since you came from the Sphere, became a Giver, and suddenly joined the Cleaners, Follo felt.. Jealous or inferior, considering that he’s been trying to be a Giver for a while now and had to go under rigorous training to join.”
Now, Enjin studies Tamsy with a sharp look, something between suspicion and discernment.
He doesn’t move, merely smushing his cigarette on an ashtray and meeting Tamsy’s stare.
In contrast to Enjin, Rudo’s eyes are full of realization and acknowledgement, “whoa, you’re a fucking genius, Tamsy!” He exclaims, jumping out of his seat and planting both hands on the table.
“I’m gonna find Follo and tell him all about me!” He declares, not realizing that he sounds quite conceited, the blonde watches as Rudo struts his way into the distance to find the supporter.
And then, it was just him and Enjin alone.
The man has an arm stretched on the table, fingers tapping to an unfamiliar rhythm on the wood. His piercing gaze still on Tamsy.
Tamsy offers him a polite smile, “not going after him?” He asks, breaking the silence as he pushes his empty bowl to the side, propping his chin on the back of his hands.
“Nope,” he replies, popping the p, “I’m here for you, Tamsy Caines.” He says darkly, squinting his eyes the tiniest bit as his brows furrow.
A bit excited, Tamsy lets a crazed grin slip onto his physical face.
“Oh? Using my full name? How rude,” he chides playfully, Enjin doesn’t take the bait and takes out another cigarette despite just smoking one not even 2 minutes ago.
He lights it and takes a drag, huffing out smoke then speaking, “now that we’re alone, tell me..”