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Oh for fuck’s… not only did they have to deal with meeting new people, [Reader] had to deal with flirting from the man with a stack of hay for hair. UGH. How does one respond to flirting?
《Mh? Oh, they’re here》 said Rudo, who was waiting close to Enjin. Aww, the kid looked cute with the white hair and red eyes, though he does have eye bags, poor kid…
《Uhm… hi everyone》 [Reader] panicked slightly but smiled gently, offering out a hand:《I’m [Reader], the new giver of the team, I hope we can work together》
OMFG WHAT WAS THAAAAAAAT I hOpE wE cAn WoRk ToGeThEr like some magic of friendship type shit- SO EMBARRASSING AND AWKWARDDD
《Woah, I love the bleached sweater》 Riyo appeared behind them, making them jolt up a little:《I’m Riyo》 she smiled curiously at [Reader], leaning in:《This is Rudo》 she continued as she ruffled the kid’s hair:《You’ve already met Zanka and Enjin, yes?》 she then leaned into [Reader]’s ear to whisper 《He hasn’t stopped talking about the pretty Cleaner from South Ward eheh》
Not the hay-haired guy being weird about [Reader], please don’t be a weird power dynamic situation, PLEASE DON’T BE A WEIRDO.
《Ah ah… he has uh? Uhm… cool… uh… we won’totally need to unpack that... uhm… where are we going anyways?》《Oh, yeah, we’re mostly gonna get some snacks and drink, then we’re gonna get Rudo some trash since his Jinky uses it and then we’ll just vibe to music, how’s that sound?》 Enjin finally responded:《O-Oh, pretty cool actually》 [Reader] nodded a little:《What do you guys listen to? Is it like a shared playlist or such?》《Yeah, we chose a bunch of songs and later put them in a cd or such》 Zanka walked to the car door, still seeming a little groggy, while Riyo followed after, seeming in a good mood as she went, the little kick in the steps hinting at it.
[Reader] moved to the back, intending to sit at the window seat like always as they put their bag on their lap and only having one person at their side, Riyo in this case, while having the door at the other, letting them lean against it in a pretty relaxed manner. [Reader] liked car trips, since during previous missions with the South branch they’d be able to be asocial and listen to music and recharge, since working in groups could take a toll on their energy at times.
Zanka sat at the front with Enjin, talking about some snacks he wanted to try while the first song started- OH WAIT.
《Is that Too Lily? Man, I love her music》 Riyo smiled at [Reader]:《Yeah! Enjin and I went to her last concert!》《You did? Lucky! I only saw it on tv after it since I was on a mission that day》《Have you seen her outfit in the second song? So cool!》《I know right? And the way she moved on stage for the fifth song? I was imitating the moves for weeks!》 [Reader] already felt a little more relaxed while chatting with Riyo, having something in common they could rant about was letting them take a deep breath and forget a little about the anxiety of meeting a whole new group of people in a day, even if most in different occasions:《Enjin has a signed poster》《You do?》 [Reader] leaned a little on their side to look at Enjin from behind:《Yeah, couldn’t miss the opportunity, could I? Always good to find new fans of her music tho, makes for easier car ride playlists》《You ever been in a car with Tamsy? That guy basically only listens to heavy metal, hardcore rock and such, even if he looks like a sleepy bird》 Zanka commented:《It’s not that I mind the genre, hell, I even listen to a few songs myself, but it’s all he ever adds to the playlists, sometimes he just re-plays the same song over and over instead of adding new ones instead》《Ahah… I do that too at times, usually not in shared playlists tho》 [Reader] chuckled
Sometimes they could listen to the same song on loop for hours or even days, often ending up hating it or forgetting it after and at times even re-discovering it and obsessing all over again.
《To be fair it could just be you finding Tamsy a little creepy》 Riyo teased Zanka as he turned around to look at her:《I mean, sometimes, but don’t say THAT when we have a new member! It’s a terrible first impression》《I’d say your situationship with a Raider is a terrible impression》 Zanka looked a little angry and a little ashamed, returning to his seat with Enjin rubbing his head gently like a dad. He seemed much less creepy when with them, almost fatherly:《A what now? What’s a situationship?》 Rudo asked, to which Enjin grinned a little:《You’ll uh… hopefully never know, it’s another of those relationship things》《Ah》 Rudo replied awkwardly, looking a little zoned out with his eyes unfocused. How cute.
The car finally came to a stop in a town as Enjin parked in front of a convenience store:《Remember not to get too much stuff, the mini fridge can only carry so much》 he scolded them in that tone again. He really seemed to care about them, uh?
《That goes for you too, Sweater-Weather》 he looked at [Reader] with his eyes half lidded:《Some of the areas are great to have a cold drink in, so unless you want room temperature stuff, you better get a small amount or something you can carry in that bag of yours》
Fair- WAAAAIT… was that a The Neighbourhood reference? Ok so this guy knows good music, though he still was a creep for mentioning them so much to Riyo after only seeing them much
《I uh… right. Only a decent amount》 [Reader] followed after them awkwardly, walking behind them with their hands in their pockets:《I wanna get every candy》 Rudo leaned into some of the jars while Zanka looked around, seeming to already know what he wanted. Riyo followed after Rudo, picking up things left and right while Enjin seemed to look at them before picking up a few things of his own. [Reader] looked around a little before settling on some gummy candy, some sour rainbow strips and chips, then moving to the drinks and getting a can of soda and a Monster.
《Rainbow strips? Might get some myself》 Enjin commented as he passed by [Reader] to get some of his own:《I like the sour ones》《I like those but I like the frizzy ones more myself, tho the sour patch ones are good too》《Yeah, the peachy ones especially》 Ok, this type of conversation seemed fine, they weren’t pushing about [Reader]’s past or being invasive and such, maybe that’s why Semiu recommended this team:《I like the strawberry ones better myself, but yeah, peach ones too》
As they went to pay, [Reader] looked down for a while, then outside the window, zoning out for a minute before they felt Rudo moving in front of them to go pay for his and Riyo’s items, while Zanka moved out of the way as he put his items in the bag while walking to the door, leaving Enjin behind [Reader] as the last in line:《What’d you get?》 They smiled a little at Zanka, trying to make light conversation and to get to know the team a little:《Mh? Some chocolates and soda, didn’t feel like getting chips today》《That’s nice》《And you?》 he offered a small smile back:《Ah well… a bunch of everything I’d say ahah》《Indecisive?》《Yeah, you clocked me quick uh?》《Rudo was like that too when first having sweets》
Oh, poor thing must only have had them for the first time with the Cleaners, I wonder if he had strict parents or such
《Ah, poor thing》 [Reader] sighed as they finally moved to pay, interjected by Enjin:《It’s ok, I’ll pay for it, it’s your first time with us after all》
[Reader] felt a little awkward at that before Zanka tilted his head:《Oh, he always does that for newbies in the team》《True, tho for me it was like a full meal》 Rudo peeked from Zanka. Aww, they look like brothers《Oh, that’s nice》 [Reader] smiled a little:《I uh… suppose if it’s some sort of rite or such, sure, I uh… thanks Enjin》《Don’t mention it, Sweater-Weather》《I-》 [Reader] just stared at him funny before sighing and putting their candy in their crossbody bag, carrying the soda and Monster ready to put them in the mini fridge with the others’ own.
As they drove around and listened to music, [Reader] seemed to relax much more, even singing lowly to a few of the lyrics as they had some candy and Monster, the group seemed genuinely fun to hang out with. Despite this only being their sort of first impression of them, they found themselves enjoying their company and stories about previous missions, even opening up enough to share some of their own.
Soon enough they reached a place that looked like some abandoned storage unit. Enjin parked the car and offered Rudo a smirk:《’aight kid, time to get you some trash》 [Reader] was briefly explained how Rudo’s jinky works during the drive there by their new team, so they followed Enjin and Rudo out the car while Zanka and Riyo stayed in the car, both to guard it and to chit chat.
The place didn’t look too bad for an abandoned junk-filled place. Sure, maybe a little run down but the items were still in decent enough condition, at least a good part of them:《Don’t take too much or that won’t run》 Rudo nodded at Enjin’s words, looking as excited as when he saw candy, this kid sure seemed sweet when relaxed and with friends.
While bored, [Reader] also looked around, maybe they could find some trinkets or items to put in their room after fixing it:《Mh? Grabbbing something for yourself? Same rule as Rudo, nothing the car won’t carry, ‘k?》 [Reader] nodded as they looked around. Sure enough they found some pieces of thin chain and a half-empty can of fabric dye:《Not too bad ay?》 Rudo smiled a little from behind a small hill of trash, he really did look like a kitten at times.
Enjin helped Rudo carry some of the trash to the car while [Reader] gave the place a final look before following right after, sitting back in their seat and opening the can of soda:《Did you get something too?》 they nodded at Zanka as they showed the piece of scrap chain and the fabric dye:《Reminds me of some DIY August did, he’s the guy making our uniforms, pretty uh… eccentric guy, but he means well》 Riyo leaned in to check the chain as she talked.
For now the small road trip seemed to be going well for [Reader]. Sure, they still felt a little anxious around the group, but they seemed quite cool, even chatting about common interests and candy, so [Reader] felt quite confident that they could decently work alongside them, to be fair even Rudo was new to all this after all and he seemed quite well incorporated in the group.
After some more driving around, several stomachs could be heard growling, so Enjin automatically turned the car towards the closest town:《Not to be mean but ugh… does he always drive like that?》 [Reader] asked, feeling a little nauseaus from the sudden swerve:《Yeah, he drives like shit》 Riyo chuckled while Enjin replied with the typical “I can turn this car around” dad stare from the mirror:《Ngh… I’ve had trash beasts swing me around less…》 [Reader] complained as Rudo chuckled a little.
The short ride to the nearest town wasn’t too bad, but led them to the South ward, much to [Reader]’s excitement:《Guys! I know a good hamburger place around here and-》 they shyly retreated, almost scolding themselves for the excitement:《well, if you guys are in the mood for that ahah》 Rudo seemed to like the idea, while Riyo seemed ok with any food:《I’m pretty much up for anything as long as we get back at a decent hour, I have to oil Aibo》 Zanka nodded pretty relaxedly while Enjin moved to be mirror to look at [Reader]:《Seems like everyone’s on board, can you lead the way there from here?》 to which [Reader] nodded and explained the roads to take.
Soon enough the group found themselves in front of a pretty small local pub, the place looked cozy and inviting, the tv playing Mymo’s daily weather forecast, so the group sat down at a table and checked the menú.