Chapter Text
Zanka knew as soon as a kid raced around the corner and bumped into his legs that today would be a bad day. Snot nosed brats seemed to do that.
He’d grown fond of Rudo, of course, and would fight tooth and nail for him, but that didn’t erase their first meeting.
This kid was especially snot nosed, with tears streaming down their face as they muffled their crying with a fist in their mouth. Their other hand clutched an orange blanket around them. They couldn’t have been older than five.
Zanka’s head jerked up as the sounds of people approaching at speed filled his ears.
Without thinking, he tucked the kid behind his back. Just in time, too, because three grown ass men skidded around the corner. Zanka narrowed his eyes suspiciously. They eyed him up in a similar manner. The ugliest of the three spoke up. “Hey, kid. You see a brat with an orange rag come running through here?” His voice slurred and Zanka’s lip curled in distaste. They were drunk. Of course.
The kid tightened their grip on his coat and he adjusted Lovely Assisstaff in his grip in preparation for a brawl. Not the most ideal conditions, but he’d made do with worse.
Zanka jerked his head to the right. “Kid went that way,” he drawled with false boredom even as a vein in his forehead pulsed. Bastards didn’t even thank him, just took off running in the wrong direction.
He sighed and turned around, scruffing the kid by the hooded blanket. Now that they were at eye-level, he could tell that the blanket was supposed to resemble a cat with little triangle ears perched on the top. The rest of their clothes were a similar shade of orange, streaked with black stripes. Their little fluffy boots kicked out at him, too short to reach anything. Who lets their kid leave looking like this? He thought, but didn’t voice it in case the kid started crying for real. Their eyes were already watering again. Instead he asked, “Why were they chasing you?”
The kid squirmed, avoiding eye contact. When they turned their head, he suddenly spotted the source of their tears.
A bruise the size of a fist covered the side of their face, hidden by hair and blanket.
Zanka felt his anger drain away, leaving him feeling hollow. He wasn’t even mad at the fuckers who did it, just disappointed in himself for manhandling a hurt kid.
He set them gently on the ground and dropped into a crouch in front of them, doing his best to look reassuring. “Do you need someone to walk you home?” He asked. The kid snuffled, then burst into loud and messy tears, nodding their head vigorously. Zanka shuddered when they grabbed his sleeve, but thankfully they didn’t get their mess on his uniform.
He linked their small fingers with his own and stood, leading them slowly out of the alley.
Canvas Town was quiet at this time of evening, market stalls empty and shops closed. There was no one to witness a Cleaner taking pointed directions from a now quietly tearful child dressed like a tiger. The kid didn’t speak once, just sniffled and tugged Zanka’s hand whenever they needed to change directions.
Zanka… didn’t mind it as much as he thought it would. He abhorred the idea of a kid’s sticky fingers grabbing at him, but this kid was cleaner than most five year olds he’d come across. Which wasn’t many, but he had very little frame of reference when it came to kids.
Is this how Kyouka felt looking after me when I was little?
He was rudely pulled from his thoughts when the kid stopped outside a familiar building and knocked twice on the door. “You’re looking for Remlin?” He asked, but he didn’t have time for an answer because at that moment, Enjin opened the door. He blinked down at them for a moment before a shit-eating grin split across his face. “We were starting to wonder where you’d gotten off to! And you’ve picked up a straggler!”
“Wait, Zanka’s back?”
Riyo shoved Enjin out of the doorway, not faltering even when spotting the kid in his hold. “You’re the last person I’d expect to pull an Enjin!” She declared with a laugh, ignoring Enjin’s loud ‘OI!’. Zanka felt his face flush with embarrassed heat but didn’t pull his hand from the kid’s grip. “No, I didn’t just kidnap some brat, who do you take me for?” He looked down at the kid. “You sure you still want to deal with these idiots? There’s still time to run.” The kid, much to everyone’s surprise, let a wet sounding giggle and tucked themselves back into his coat. With an exasperated sigh, he let them, ignoring the shocked stares from his teammates. He pushed his way past Riyo to get inside the building, following the sound of Remlin’s muffled talking. The kid stayed clung to his leg, glaring at Enjin. Normally he would tell them off for looking at him like that.
Normally.
But his face and neck still stung with a flush and his jaw was grinding his teeth, so he let the kid lead him further inside.
There he found Remlin sitting on a desk with their legs swinging back and forth, talking to a tall redhead who had their arms full of white fabric. Both turned to stare at him, and he was captivated by white painted eyes. They towered over everyone in the room, not that it was difficult, and from what he could tell their boots gave them several extra inches. Their belt rattled when they turned, little metallic and fabric trinkets swinging from it. Could one of those be a jinki?
Then their eyes – tired but sharp, where did they get that white eye paint? He wanted to try it – dropped to his leg, where the kid was still clinging. “Oh! Boring guy, you found Thread!” Remlin exclaimed, leaning forward dangerously on the desk. Thread?
The kid surged out from under his coat and leaped at the redhead, making a squealing noise. The giant put the fabric on the desk and dropped into a squat beside them, gently patting over their face. They stilled when they found the bruise and turned their piercing gaze on him.
Zanka’s blood felt like it was ice cold but his face still felt hot. Was he developing a fever? “Found them getting chased by a drunk mob on the outskirts, decided to be nice and help them out.” Those eyes stared at him for a minute more before softening with a nod and turning back to the child, picking them up with an ease that Zanka hadn’t expected. They were lanky, legs hidden by swaths of patchwork, but the arms he had originally pegged as twigs flexed with hidden muscle. The kid was deposited on the giant’s shoulders, where they happily waved down at Zanka from their perch. Zanka, despite himself, smiled and waved back. “Let me have the honour of introducing you to Needle and Thread!” Remlin said, pointing at the giant and the child respectively. “You won’t get a word out of either of ‘em, but Needle’s the best seamstress this side of No Man’s Land!” Remlin proclaimed, making Needle avert their gaze, face scrunching up a little.
Zanka’s focus was dragged back to the fabric on the desk, and he approached, curious. The fabric was almost see-through, with little patterns almost visible from where he stood–
It was lace. Yards upon yards of the stuff, delicately weaved. He was almost scared to touch it.
“I’ve never seen so much lace before,” he whispered, awed. “You made this? How?”
Remlin cheerfully gestured to the scraps of fabric in a bag in the corner. “He unravels whatever he finds and washes it until the colour is gone. You should see him work, he’s like a reallyyyy gangly spider!” “That’s why they call you Needle, huh?” He asked, but knew not to expect a response this time. Needle avoided his eyes, ears pink. There were piercings all down the shell of his left ear; they glinted where his hair was pulled back into a ponytail to reveal a bright blue underneath. “I’d offer to introduce ya to August but he’d probably freak you out.”
“August?” Remlin chirped, head cocked to the side. Thread, from where they still sat on Needle’s shoulder, copied the moment. He almost cooed at the sight. “Whose August?”
“He’s our uniform guy back at HQ,” Zanka explained, earning himself two solemn nods from both Remlin and Thread. “What’s the lace for? Why’d you even need that much?” “There’s a wedding on soon, and Needle is making the dress and veil,” the child explained, picking up the material and draping it over their own head playfully. Zanka’s eyes widened. “That sounds incredible. It must have taken ya months to make this much!” Needle shrugged his unoccupied shoulder, ears burning even redder.
The tentative peace was shattered by Enjin barging in and grabbing Zanka by his collar. “GHK–!”
“So sorry to cut this short, but duty calls!” Enjin announced, startling Thread. They tugged their blanket closer around themself, and both Needle and Zanka glared at him for frightening the kid. He rolled his eyes at whatever nonsense Enjin and Remlin were yapping about. Probably an invitation to whatever wedding was happening; Canvas Town events were nothing to sniff at.
Once they’d calmed down, Thread stuck their tongue out at him playfully.
Zanka quickly glanced around to make sure no one was looking and did it right back. The kid’s face lit up with delight and they did a happy little wiggle.
That alone had made all the hassle getting them back to their guardian worth it.
Riyo swung an arm around his shoulder during the drive back. “So are you getting weekends or weekdays?” She asked. Zanka blinked. “What are you talking about?”
“She means the kid!” Gris called back from the driver seat. “Wha– did you two go around telling everyone!?” Zanka yelled, gripping Riyo’s shoulders and shaking her. She just laughed as Rudo was jostled from his nap, glaring at them sleepily. “Wa’ kid?” He asked, voice hoarse as he scrubbed his eyes. Like this, he looked like a crusty little kitten, scowling at everyone and everything. “We’re getting a nibling!” Enjin yelled from the passenger seat, filling the car with raucous laughter. Zanka’s face burned and he ducked into his collar. “I looked after them for like twenty minutes at most!” He shrieked, embarrassingly high pitched. Rudo blinked slowly. “Aren’t you too young to have a kid?” Rudo grumbled. Zanka threw his hands up in the air in relief. “Yes! Thank you!”
Tomme giggled from behind him. “Zanka can still adopt, you know,” she teased, reaching forward to ruffle both his and Rudo’s hair. He scowled and swatted her hand away as Rudo made an understanding noise. “Zanka looked after someone else’s kid, and now the kid’s Zanka’s?” Rudo asked. Follo plopped his chin down on the back of the seat with a grin. “That’s basically what happened.” “Why would Zanka look after someone else’s kid if they already have a parent?” Rudo continued to question.
Tomme tilted her head in thought. “Well, sometimes a kid has two parents that don’t live together, or the kid needs someone else to look after them for a while.”
“Is their parent not able to look after them?”
“Well, no, but–”
“Then why doesn’t Zanka just marry ‘em?” Rudo asked, eyes drooping with sleep again, clearly done with the conversation. “If they only got one parent, Zanka can be their da s’well.”
The only noise to be heard was the engine and the wind buffeting the windows.
“People don’t need to be married to look after a kid,” Zanka spluttered. Was his face burning? He felt like his face was burning. “Mgh,” Rudo hummed, tucking himself back down to his nap. “Prolly too old for ya if they have a kid anyway,” he muttered, cut off by a yawn, “though ‘nka would make a good da.” He snuggled into his coat and swiftly fell asleep.
Seven sets of eyes stared at Rudo – Gris in the mirror – then turned to gape at Zanka, who was desperately wishing for death. Maybe a trash beast spawn? Anything to get him out of this!
“He really thinks that, huh,” Tamsy murmured, sleeve raised to his chin.
Rudo thinks I’d be a good dad?
“Gotta agree with him though,” Enjin pressed a hand to his chin before smirking back at Zanka. “You really were a natural with them.”
Enjin thinks I’d be a good dad!?
“Oh no, you’ve broken him!” Follo laughed, poking at Zanka’s face, which had gone unresponsive.
The team laughed at his sizzling face all the way back to HQ.