“follo’s idea.” rudo was the first to point fingers after being caught.

follo was quick to snap his head over towards the younger boy, shooting down the accusation in a bolt of lightning. “it was not my idea.”

it was indeed follo’s idea from his assumption that if it came to rudo, the youngest member of their team — enjin wouldn’t have minded if they spent galla on satisfying rudo’s sweet tooth.

they were both scolded as a result, not only because of their childish bickering and cross fires, but because of what they used his galla for.

“YOU... BOUGHT 100 BOXES OF POP TARTS.. WITH MY GALLA.” enjin’s clutching his pearls, eyeing the many boxes of pop tarts stacked behind the duo, who couldn’t really care less...

“you said he’d be fine about it...” rudo murmurs under his breath, hands clenched on top of his lap.

“uh... I guess I calculated it wrong..” follo trails off, watching enjin seething with many emotions at once.

this poor man is already calculating how much galla he has and how they’ve managed to find his stash that was so conveniently lying around — he forgot about it.

you were just there during the heat of a moment, and you couldn’t stop yourself from snickering at the scene. follo who was originally sulking on his knees, heard your laughter nearby and that eventually tuned him out of the lecture because he found it alluring.

rudo noticed when his expression no longer held guilt, but rather, a starstruck expression—almost.

“why’re you smiling.” the younger boy questions in the midst of enjin’s lecture on why they shouldn’t be taking gallas that don’t belong to them, especially when they get allowance once in a while.

“...no reason.”

TYPICALLY, THE both of you talk whenever you have free time—or when you need a little fix of your equipment from a mission, or typically from wear n’ tear.

but when you do pass by, you sometimes catch him creating something a little absurd that you find quite hilarious before he notices you’re there. he explains it’s something he created when he was bored in the mean time (which he’ll often do if he doesn’t have anything to create or fix) or is procrastinating on something he doesn’t want to do. the second option is more rare than the first, though.

“pfft, what’s this?” you question, holding the creation in the palm of your hands as you observe it. your words catch his attention instantly.

“A CREATION OF MINE!” august exclaims proudly, “isn’t it magnificent? I just created this when I was bored!” he explained, voice loud and booming as always as he leaned over your shoulder to see you analyze it in all angles.

“yeah! I do like it,” you say with a little laugh, holding one of the most random creations he created, and he’s mesmerized by it. “they’re so silly-looking, and cute.” you compliment as he snaps out of it with an eager nod.

he suggests that you can keep it since he has so many others, and he can just create more if needed. before you fully leave the room, he compliments your laugh—voice loud but definitely sincere about it. he’ll probably make a random creation just for you and purposely design it silly-looking so he can hear your laughter again.

HIS SWEET tooth is something that amazes you the most. at first, you didn’t believe such a kid never got to experience candy, or anything sweet up in where he calls, ‘heaven,’ otherwise the sphere for what’s known here.

but on a particular day coming back from a mission, you originally planned to bring a gift for team children—because, they’re children.

you knew a specific kid in the team who enjoyed sweets as well, so you mainly got it for him. but then you remembered about rudo, so you decided to give some of their shares for him to eat. so when you brung back the box of sweets back to the hq, that’s when you first-handedly witnessed his intense sweet tooth, his fascination for sweets, and his willingness to try new ones.

“I didn’t think your sweet tooth could be worse than dear santa,” you say amazed, barely containing your laughter at his stuffed face.

he looks at you with an arch of his brow—but to you, he looks like a chipmunk.

“woah there [name], be careful. rudo’s nearly the same as dear santa when it comes to sweets...” enjin whispers to you, as if rudo couldn’t hear.

“i heard that.”

you’re amazed as you laugh at his response and rudo stops eating for a moment. his face is still stuffed with crumbs of chocolate and other sugary candy, but he found your laughter really comforting.

he’ll think about it for a little while as he continues to snack, thinking why he found it nice. maybe it’s the way you don’t make fun of him for hogging so much sweets like the rest of his team would.

RIYO IS a person who can typically make you laugh with her responses without even trying, her dull yet playful tone that contrasts funny things coming out of her mouth.

“there goes zanka again,” she whistles, amused.

“he’s not really immune to everything after all, is he?” you chime in with a little chuckle at her words.

“guess not,” she replied with a shrug. “he’s really afraid of the dookie, for sure.”

the both of you watch as rudo chases zanka with a toilet plunger, the male practically screaming for his life—yet the two of you make no move, just entertained.

but there’s this one thing that makes you crack up, really crack up with a laugh, the one to get you maybe holding your stomach—okay, maybe not so dramatically, but this one genuinely makes you laugh.

whenever enjin seems to mention the word ‘guns,’ or anything related, you watch her freeze up, glance around her surroundings if she still seems to be functioning – except you find it funny how her face morphs and how unresponsive she gets if it really gets to her.

“hey! look at that, a nail gun—it shoots like a gun too!” their leader, enjin, exclaims with a bamboozled expression that you couldn’t tell if he was amazed, amused, or just... losing it.

your eyes trail over to riyo’s face, who has been clearly averting her gaze from enjin as he mentions the word ‘gun’.

you found her response hilarious and laughed before you fully processed it for how she seemed to be looking everywhere else but where enjin was—like she was guilty of being caught.

you don’t know why she does though, but you find her reaction funny. she’s not used to it, but she’ll admit liking your laughter.

at least, if her slip up wasn’t the reason of it, for most.

YOU’VE NEVER witnessed zanka’s reaction to enjin’s compliments — assuming he was always the nonchalant type. but when you did, you saw how he got into a state of dumbstruck, completely frozen as if he was processing it, before his face morphed into glee.

“you did great today. good job zanka.” enjin lands a subtle pat on the boy’s shoulder, unaware of the male’s widened eyes and silent figure.

“...” cue the smile making it’s way to his face at the compliment as he looks around, making sure he was safe to do so — or he ends up doing it subconsciously.

you couldn’t help yourself to laugh at how silly it was. your laughter hit his eardrums like an alluring tune mixed with enjin’s prior compliment—if that wasn’t already enough.

“pfft..”

“ts’ not funny.” zanka huffed, quickly averting his face where you couldn’t see upon hearing your laugh.

“but it is to me.”

zanka was embarrassed to say the least, but still, reluctantly, he admits to himself that he didn’t mind hearing you laugh. it was nice, but he won’t ever slip up like that again.

maybe he’ll find another way to make you laugh, but it definitely won’t be from his awestruck expression.

spoiler alert for the future: it is, most of the time and if almost, always.

“nice! zanka.”

“...”

he’s become unresponsive and your laugh makes its way to fill his ears. he groans to himself thinking, damn you for catching this vulnerable state of his...

but in the end of the day, your laughter is what stays on the mind just as long as enjin’s compliments linger.

WHEN ZODYL finally gives an order, but it’s not one he expected — grocery shopping. it’s odd because it seems that they never even seemed to eat normal food, let alone cook something up. you laughed at his dumbfounded expression, how his expression faded into disappointment, even when he tried not to be obvious of it.

“fu. you’re going to buy grocery.” zodyl’s unexpected order cuts through, sharp.

“h-huh?” he blinks, clearly in confusion at this order.

you were originally passing by, but after hearing zodyl’s unexpected order towards fu, your laughter burst out in the hallways—bouncing off the walls in an echo.

“PFFT—AHAHAHAHA—”

after hearing your laughter, fu felt slightly embarrassed — but your laughter wasn’t mocking, just genuine laughter of finding his dumbstruck expression funny.

your laughter broke down when zodyl told you to go along with him because he probably wouldn’t be able to do all of it alone. you immediately sulked next.

“[name], you’re going along with fu.” zodyl’s words cut through your laughter, ending it all with a boom.

“HAHASJSJSZ—what.”

your laughter comes to a full stop. pure silence is etched out afterwards as zodyl leaves the room.

now you both share the same misery and fu’s deciding how to make you laugh again so you’re not upset. in a way, that’s how he shows to liking your laughter because he wants to hear it again.

...just hopefully you stop sulking, or otherwise he’ll panic more in what to do. he’s not really good at this.

IT WAS the first time watching him trip on thin air, which you obviously found hilarious, because what a fucking idiot this guy is.

THUD!

hearing such a fall, you turn your head behind—only to be met with the familiar dreadhead male laying on the floor, flat out like a pancake.

“pfft, stupid idiot...” you snicker under your breath, yet somehow, jabber seemed to hear your snicker more out of anything else—popping back up like that fall was nothing.

“was that ya’ a laughter I heard–from you!? you found it funny!?” he was quick to bombard you with questions on whether or not you found it entertaining.

it’s also bonus points if the both of you never seemed to get along, though was mostly one-sided on your part—you didn’t really like jabber that much for his vital instrument you found yourself to be weary about.

to him, you were some ol’ kind of mystery he wanted to solve or crack open, something like that. you never reacted much to anything, and your default emotions were either disgust or instant judgement.

but after that experience, jabber found a new way to get closer to you out of interest, especially by doing more idiotic things to get that melody out of you.

“what the hell are you doing?” you question with knitted brows, clearly dumbfounded at his halted-midway action. he just looks at you with that expression of his before he speaks.

“trying to make ya laugh, obviously!” he says while hovering around you, taking quiet observations of your body language and how you reacted.

you eye him like he’s the oddest creature to ever exist for the rest of the day.

or at least, to have you seen more happy to show more emotion than just that. there’s already enough mediocre members in the raiders—that includes everybody but him.

HE WOULD be the only one who did it intentionally out of his simple and plain curiosity. he sees, he observes, and analyzes. tamsy notices how you can laugh at others just fine when cracking jokes, or something with little humor.

but he’s never heard you laugh near him at the while, and he was intrigued what your sound of laughter was like if he was the one to make you laugh.

and when he successfully had done so and heard it for the first time from pretending to be clumsy, he admits to liking it through his gentle and swaying way of words.

“ah, seems like I was clumsy. [name], will you help me?” tamsy requests with a helpless smile, watching as your brows lift in surprise at the state of himself getting caught in his own vital instrument.

“uhh..” you hold in your little laugh, already making your way over. “how’d you get stuck in this state?” you question, already freeing his sleeve out of his tokushin.

“sorting,” he simply explained, as if it could convince you. and it does.

“sorting? that’s a little silly for this to be your outcome.” you chuckle. “there, all free now.”

he smiles at you in gratitude. “your laughter is euphonious [name].” he compliments.

from then on, he would find himself intentionally doing things he wouldn’t typically do, just to hear your euphonious laughter.

“tamsy, be careful that’s—”

THUD!

“—a glass door...” you giggle, watching as the male rub his forehead with an act too convincing for you to notice it’s deliberate.

he does it in a way it doesn’t seem intentional, but it is. he’ll claim it as a little “oopises,” or a slip up. just little things. nothing ever too major.

he’s made up the decision to look clumsy in your eyes, just to make you laugh.

© teomkqi 2026 ; do not plagiarize, copy, or repost my work.

he does often grumble subtly when you’re near—especially when he senses you’re about to do something affectionate to the both of them, typically involving kisses.

but it’s even more odd for fu that hii–out of the two of them, would be so… resigned to this act of yours. in fact, he notices how hii never really minds your affectionate gestures you give to both of them. yet in time and time again, hii restrains himself from making too many complaints, especially upon receiving the love end.

and as hii admits to himself—it’s not his cup of tea, but he’s at least grateful for not being left out as a third-wheeler, already knowing of his position of his doll to be with him at all times. so it was pathetic, really. for fu and him.

he’ll only admit to a certain extent that this situation of your relationship is more pathetic for him because he’s always with fu, everywhere and wherever he goes.

…and right now, is another one of these miserable situations of being pulled into you and fu’s shenanigans: relationship edition from being bounded with fu.

“you did great, fu! thanks for helping!” you compliment happily as you took his hands into your warm ones, face filled with glee and thankfulness.

“o-oh really…? thank you [name]!” he stutters, cheeks becoming warmer at you complimenting his handiwork, and that, he was at least useful to you.

now he’s waiting for your next order–or instructions, you say in his duty to help you bake.

usually, the raiders don’t indulge themselves into such… activities, because well, they’re the raiders. but you were the type of raider who would indulge yourself into doing what the others viewed as “boring” or rather, not their field of interest.

cthoni would pass by, maybe inspect you on some cases on what you’re doing, but otherwise she’ll come around and take a bite off your baking. she leaves compliments and areas you could improve on, and you’re thankful for it.

momoa is almost just the same, but she’s there to taste your snacks and leave little compliments. if you’re lucky enough, maybe she’ll bake with you, too.

the others—noerde, jabber, your boss–zodyl, and bundus aren’t seen anywhere close to doing these, so it’s just you to indulge into these activities, feeding your squad with all you’ve got through baking.

this time, fu joined you from your request and hii’s watching on the table. throughout the baking session, you’d discreetly smudge some dough on his figurine face and frankly, he’s pissed at it.

fu will definitely be hearing of this—hii internally threatens on the counter, unmoving.

“fu, you can put the cookies in the oven now.” — the portable oven that you begged zodyl to manage by picking it up from somewhere, still functional and working despite its state of distress.

you assume it could’ve been from the sphere, because most of these functional things seem to be.

“okay!” fu chirps, happily placing the tray of cookies in the oven to bake, making sure all of its functions were set right. he didn’t want to mess up your cookies because he couldn’t do things right when you insisted him to take part.

when it was all properly set, fu was ready to inform you of the cookies beginning to bake, only to be met with your hands placed on his rosy cheeks and kisses pampered onto his face at following it well.

“u-um?!” he stammered, face flushed in embarrassment of being caught like this, but also shy that you were pampering him all of a sudden. even so, this was your typical affection, and he liked that.

“sorry for surprising you.” you giggle, stepping away. “you just looked so giddy there and I thought it was cute. you also did really great in helping me, so I thought awarding you with kisses as gratitude would be enough.”

fu shakes his head, “of course it is! I couldn’t be thankful enough, already to have.. you…” he trailed off, fidgeting with his fingers in shyness, eyes barely meeting your gaze. but that was all you needed to hear.

“hehe.”

and then you come to realization that you’re forgetting something on the table from behind, your other target that you feel bad leaving out and needed to have equal affection with fu.

and surely enough, hii felt that shudder creeping up his miniature spine, already accepting his fate with a grumble.

your lips meet against his cool metallic face, pampering him just the same as you did with fu a moment prior.

the timid raider doesn’t hear anything from hii after that, as if he’s gone radio silent. maybe processing, or thinking of something else that the male couldn’t take a grasp of.

“fu, keep an eye on the oven for me, ‘kay? i’m going to let cthoni and momoa know we baked cookies and they can come grab some later.” you motion towards the door with your thumb, signaling you were leaving this responsibility to him.

he nods his head, though a little nervous—because what if he—

“and don’t worry too much if it blows up, it most likely won’t, since it’s durable anyway.” you reassure, already halfway out the door.

his head snaps towards your direction, squeaking out a quick “o-okay!” as your footsteps disappear in the hallway. that was then hii’s voice reached fu’s ears from the counter, his voice irritated but lacking real bite behind them.

“their smoochy lips are always rubbing off of my face...” hii snarls, causing the meek boy to flinch at his remarks.

the timid raider is quick to speak, “d-do you not like it? I can ask them to–”

“it doesn’t matter.” hii interrupted, voice low and devoid of emotion. yet there was a trace of something else. he became someone who long accepted his fate from the moment where you decided fu became yours and you became his. 

and for that, he’s known that you were always affectionate and you always liked to make things equal.

fu blinks, surprised, and a small, soft, almost unnoticeable smile is etched on his lips.

in a way, it was hii’s saying that he didn’t mind and how he had simply enjoyed your affection the way you give it.

he doesn’t offer an answer. instead, he times it just right, turning over and getting the ultimate jumpscare of the killer face to face. he doesn’t scream, doesn’t yell. he throws his fist out of instinct.

“oh, shit.” you mused dully with raised brows before grimacing with the slightest twitch of your brow at the sound that awfully sounded like a crack. then without another peep of noise, he flees, taking you along with him out the scene.

with this course of action, he successfully stuns the killer—who definitely had a dark bruise formed on their face and possibly a broken nose after their shift. poor guy.

once you both successfully find a proper place without the killer tailing on your tails, rudo is sweating, his eyes wide. that’s when he processes what he had done and what exactly happened.

“I think you broke that guy’s nose.”

you didn’t have to remind him of that, but you did, and now he feels guilty for doing such an act out of instinct.

“oh wait, no, no, don’t be sad rudo, he deserved ittt...!” you lie through your teeth, but I mean, if he was scaring someone, it’s best that it was something that was going to happen sooner or later...?

“am I going to get thrown out?”

“...nahh.. don’t worry rudo!” you pat his back to reassure him, and it does, only for the slightest bit.

NONE OF THE ABOVE?

RIYO would be unimpressed at the scare, dully laughing it off at the killer giving the both of you a scare at the corner. she doesn’t do anything, you’re both here to have fun, after all. but you’re peeking over her shoulder, giving her a look in the corner of your eye that she catches, but chose not to act just yet.

you didn’t like how omnious they were standing there.

“riyo, do something.”

she arches a brow at your sudden demand as she let out a low hum.

“do something.” you repeat once more, fingers clutching onto the fabric of her cleaners’ jacket. she knows you’re not scared as you proclaim to be through your actions, your eyes says it all.

“they’re not chasing us yet—” she blinks at the spot where the killer was, and how they began to move places, inching their way closer. “—oh...” she trails off slowly, her voice disappearing quietly before she makes her move quickly—pulling you along with her at the killer beginning to close in from behind with a chuckle. “seems like we gotta run now!”

the wind hits your face harshly, but you’re almost, if barely, just amused or even the slightest bit scared.

“run faster i’m scared.”

her striking green eyes flit over to yours in the midst of the chase, quirking a brow of amusement. “are you? you’re not screaming, you know.” she teases, though you both know none of you were really scared—just here for the thrill.

CLUELESS, BUT DOESN’T LAST LONG.

ZANKA doesn’t notice the killer yet, but you do. since he doesn’t see it yet, he’ll act like a big guy–there ain’t nothing to be scared of.

you cover your mouth with one hand, and he looks just almost unimpressed, thinking you were genuinely trying to get a scare of him.

“there’s ain’t nothin’ here to be terrified about, [name].”

“no zanka... behind you...” you hold your trembling finger at the figure looming behind. your voice was omnious, almost.

he arches a brow, “behind me?” he echoes, tone full of skepticism. “are ya tryin’ to get a scare out of me?” it’s clear he doesn’t believe you at first—you’re probably tricking him, just to tease his reaction later. but he doesn’t know that you’re actually warning him.

you shake your head at his response with the same expression that he decides to just humor you. he slowly, slowly cranes his head behind, only to be met with the omnious shadow and the creak of one eye opening through the mask.

at the sudden scare, zanka instinctively reaches for his assistaff as his defense mechanism, only to remember they weren’t allowed to be used.

the killer finally decided to make a move, raising their weapon. you chose to act, pulling zanka by his collar, ushering him in the opposite direction.

“GO GO GO!”

“YER CHOKING ME—” he coughs in a hazard as you drag him away from the chasing killer.

TERRIFIED AND DEFINITELY NOT FIT FOR THIS.

FU would be shivering behind you as you lead the way. he’s the one hiding behind you, eyes searching everywhere. but it’s dark and he can’t see anything. did they go in circles? he doesn’t know.

“are you sure we’re going the right way..? w-what if we..” his fingers grasp over your sleeve, trailing with you as you stride forward.

but then you stop, spotting a figure in the distance.

“fu, is that..” you squint your eyes, trying to adjust in the dark—like it would help you in advance—oh, but the killer suddenly vanished in the dark. “wh..where did—FUCK HOLY SHIT!” you see the killer dashing forward.

fu gasps, fearfully stepping back. his fingers trembled against your sleeve, you feel it. but you’re just as scared.

“NO, FU, FU— FU DO SOMETHING. GET HII. I’M SCARED.”

“B-BUT VITAL INSTRUMENTS AREN’T ALLOWED HERE–”

“SO?” your eyes dart back to fu and the killer closing in. “shhhHIT—RUN FOR IT!” you scream through your lungs, already dashing off in the distance, leaving dust in your wake.

fu blinks at your empty spot. then looks up.

the killer is in front of him.

there’s a moment of etched silence, as if the employee under there was sulking in fu’s place, wondering why you would leave him behind. almost pitying, until you rush back, your steps rushed and aggressive against the ground.

“WHY AREN’T YOU GETTING YOUR ASS RUNNING??” you snatch fu’s hand into yours, running as fast as your feet can take you and fu. you’re definitely going to break through the wall—who cares about not using your vital instruments anymore!?

safety matters more—even if it’s just a game!

FIGHT AND LECTURE?

AMO is definitely not having it. the audacity she couldn’t bare. how could they?

“OH! YOU THINK YOU’RE SO FUNNY, HUH?! AMO THINKS YOU’RE THE WORST. AMO DOESN’T LIKE YOU!” she jabs her finger straight at the killer, pushing more force than necessary.

the employee under almost winces in the midst of her lecture.

“amo, you know their job is to scare us, right..?” you sweatdrop, trying to pull her back before she decides to use her vital instrument out of her emotional instinct.

she doesn’t quite register your words, her attention solely focused on the killer’s silhouette distinctively trembling, fingers clenched on their lap.

her teeth grits together in her seething rage, jabbing it further. “HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IF AMO SCARED YOU LIKE THAT!?”

the horror escape room became a lecture room, where the employee had to sit there, enduring it all.

you let out a nervous laugh. there was no stopping her emotional outrages. not in this situation, at least. but you’ll get her cake afterwards, to calm her down—because you can’t summon one now.

“best if we just leave now and get some cake, yeah?” you suggest, slowly pulling her away as though, she was not done yet.

“AMO ISN’T DONE YET! HE NEEDS TO LEARN HIS LESSON!”

you ignore her protests, asking the employee for the easy way out, who fearfully leads the both of you out through the emergency exit in their turmoil of newfound trauma.

“sorry about that.” you apologize helplessly to the employee on the way out, mentally taking a note to never bring amo to a place where she wouldn’t like.

...NOTHING TO EXPECT, REALLY.

TAMSY wouldn’t be terrified in the slightest. maybe he’ll feign a look or surprise if he decides to play along, but other than that, he’s not really going to give a reaction to the scare. he’s not inclined to.

“oh? you terrify me,” he’d say with feigned surprise and raised brows, his long loose sleeve covering half of his face. “how scary!” he muses, voice gentle with the words sounding like a taunt, drawled out deliberately.

you click your tongue slightly in disappointment around the corner. that’s certainly not the reaction you wanted to see.

“tamsy, we know you’re not scared in the slightest.” you butt in from not too far, peeking out the door as he stood in the hallway next to the killer. “but can you at least act like you’re gonna run for the thrill?”

he turns around, his hair swaying with his movement, but he blinks, as if considering your decision.

how rude!

you invited him to come with you to this escape room for a reason, but he clearly sucks at it, for a guy who seemed to be expressive and somehow, he really isn’t.

instead, he just offers you a deliberate smile. unwavering, unmoving, and most of all, unnerving as his eyes narrow just subtly.

“why feign an act if it’s not fun?” he muses, expectant of your response. you were the one who dragged him into this after all.

“...” you squint your eyes, the corners twitching subtly that he catches, but the smile doesn’t waver. sometimes you wonder how a man can be so expressive and at the same time—not so be.

or rather, he only lets just enough emotion show at the appropriate moment.

© teomkqi 2026 ; do not plagiarize, copy, or repost my work.

is he even prepared for this?

he doesn’t know. should he just… trust his own instincts and follow what to do?

rudo stands there, complementing what he should do. he still doesn’t know, but he doesn’t want you to feel alone. he wanted to at least offer his presence, something, anything. so he decides to make a decision, not fully thought through. just following along.

he lets his feet lead him the way, walking up next to you and taking a seat on the far end of the bench. he doesn’t come any closer, doesn’t move, doesn’t budge. he wants to give you the space. he’s there, but not to make you suffocate. he’s not rushing you. you don’t have to open up and you don’t have to tell him anything. he’s just offering his silent presence.

you feel a familiar presence.

you don’t move an inch though.

you don’t want to. and even then, you don’t even want to strike a conversation. you’re just not feeling it.

but instead of someone asking you—a voice, concern, anything, there was none. just silence in the breeze.

you almost thought the person would have left, but instead you felt the creak on the opposite end of the bench and your shoulders stiffened momentarily.

your eyes wander in the corner of your eye, quick to notice the familiar messy white hair and the black tips. rudo. you almost wanted to question why he was there — but you don’t. you didn’t really have the energy to say anything just yet.

you’re simply reflecting.

and all the while you do, he doesn’t move. he doesn’t step away. he only continues to sit there silently.

not a single word exchanged, not yet.

“huh.” you could only muster out in a hushed whisper, seeing his own divided attention solely being set on you, if not the scenery. (there’s not much to look at, other than trash, honestly). you follow his gaze, rubbing circles on your own thumb.

but inside, he’s choosing what to say to you, if he should. he’s nervous and he doesn’t want to say the wrong thing to you. because he’s not the type of person who can easily learn how others feel, how you feel.

and he comes up with a simple thing.

silence engulfed both of your silhouettes, before rudo quietly exhales, “...you’re not alone.” 

three words, but it gave you comfort than you ever imagined.

he was genuine and he meant it, even if it was the bare minimum—but he’s trying, for you. for the future when another cleaner is upset, he wants to be able to offer the same kind of reassurance the they gave to him.

the same way gris did, the same way tomme did.

the way team akuta would offer their own kind of comfort and reassurance to him to let him know he’s not going through it alone. even when they may be on different values, different places, different objectives from the first.

because they’re family. and you’re apart of it too. so he cares.

your eyes peer back at rudo’s form, observing the way his shoulders hunched. they were stiff as he tried to adjust to his role of being your safe place for the time being, until you were better — back to the usual get-to-go self. “thanks rudo.” you murmur under your breath, glancing down at your hands.

he watches you quietly, observing your body language. he doesn’t offer another word, but he’ll sit there for hours until you decided you were better, mentally and physically.

that’s what rudo decided on his own behalf, despite not knowing why he’d sit there wordlessly. it would be awkward, something he wasn’t used to. but if others were to do the same for him, he’d repay in their favor.

© teomkqi 2026 ; do not plagiarize, copy, or repost my work.