Chapter Text
“Impressive work! We’ll be in touch.”
That was the last thing he said before you even had the chance to say “no” to working with him again.
Stupid fucking bird. Always squawking orders at people thinking he had rights to because he had money.
You would say you hated him, but how could you say that when the gun you held in your hands was a sort of payment from him. You didn’t exactly hate him since he paid you for easy work, but you didn’t exactly like the guy either.
His voice was nice though. Smooth and rich tone considering he himself was a rubber duck. That’s one thing you liked about him… maybe you’d make a list while you headed to Cluster Coast to meet up with him.
You carefully put the gifted shotgun on your belt before walking outside the gas station and waltzing over to a car, taking it and pumping it full of gas before going. Oh, there it is again, another thing you liked about money banks — he covered a lot of stuff for you. I mean, sure, you’d have to make up for it in IOU’s but that so easy. You put the gas pump back where it belonged before paying and hopping in the car, putting in the keys, and turning on the radio station.
Heatwave radio was the first one that came up, oddly enough your friend owned it. PJ the DJ. Funny girl, to be honest. Only collecting sprites because they were cute. You scoffed slightly before letting out a small huff of laughter; you didn’t exactly hate think they were cute too, yes, but they sold for so much more than sentimental value.
You forced your thoughts to skid to a stop by turning up the radio station and started driving. You tapped your finger on the steering wheel along to the beat of whatever song was playing. Your foot stayed firm on the gas, not caring about burning it too fast as you knew all too well that Cluster would pay for it.
You arrived what felt like decently quick considering you were all the way in Calamari Canyon, which was almost across the map. You climbed out of your car, keys jingling as you snatched them from the drivers seat and shut the door, clicking the keys and locking the car with a beep.
You slowly made your way over to the docks, sighing as you saw the rubber ducks scattered everywhere. I mean even the boat itself was a rubber duck. Maybe instead of a list of things you like about this guy, you should make a list of things you hate. Here’s one: he’s narcissistic. Not to an extreme, no, he still cares about some people that aren’t limited to himself but in all fairness he could be rude to people he didn’t like the looks of. He just thinks he shines over everyone like a lighthouse over the rigid rocks of the shore.
You sigh slightly before brushing off the thoughts and walking down to the yacht, entering from the dock and presenting a smile since there seems to be a party going on. As you approach, you spot PJ in the booth, mixing music as everyone else dances. Quite the crowd he’s gathered tonight.. must be a big celebration.
As soon as you had that thought, Cluster stepped onto the top deck, lip-like beak curling into a smile as i signaled for PJ to pause the music. Once she did, his smile turned into a grin as he chuckled.
“Today, we gather to celebrate a massive milestone in sprite collection!” He announces, raising his arms and signaling for people to cheer. Once the cheering dies down, he continues his speech.
“And it’s all thanks to you Runners out there!” He grins once more as he adjusts his captain hat, glancing at you through his dark sun glasses as everyone cheers, a bit louder now that the Runners are getting proper recognition.
“I know it is considered dirty work, but thank you all for helping out. And tonight I’d like to give a special shout out to one of our Runners!” He says enthusiastically, the cheering continues.
“Shout out to.. y/n!” He says, bringing a hand up to his glasses and lowering them slightly as he looks at you, winking at you before pulling his glasses back up. Everyone cheers for you, but you just stand there, I’ll be it, stunned. Why you? You were just pulling your weight to get paid — were others not doing as much as you or something?
You grinned gratefully as everyone cheered, a bit embarrassed at the sudden recognition but quickly accepting of it. Once the applause was over, he gave a toast and PJ turned the music back on. Almost as soon as he had given the toast, he slithered off to his room on the yachts upper deck, away from the rest of the party.
You watched him get away from the party and quickly trailed upstairs, wanting to ask why he gave you a shoutout of sorts. You slammed the door open and caught it before it hit the wall, the sudden burst earned a jolt and squawk from Cluster, who was on the couch. You looked at him as you shut the door behind you, and he stared right back, his expression a mix of annoyed and confusion.
“Don’t just burst in like that on your superiors! You made me spill my drink!” He squawks at you, clearly annoyed as he scoffs, staying seated.
“You spilled it, you get me a rag and clean it up, got it-?” He snaps before sighing again, leaning forwards to set his drink on the coffee table in front of him.
You scoff at his attitude as you walk over to the small bathroom in the room to grab a towel from there. How could he have been so happy when giving that toast, yet so annoyed by your mere presence so quickly after? You snatched the rag from above the toilet and walk out into the room where he was, greeted by him staring at you with a raised eyebrow.
“Well? Get over here and clean it up.” He said quickly as he pointed to his shirt and the floor. You scoffed as you walked over, hovering above him as you examined the wet spot on his shirt. You wasted no time leaning towards him and sticking your hand up his shirt to get a better grip and rub out the spot.
“JESUS- You can’t- you can’t just do that without warning, you prick!” He says quickly, a small flush spreading across his face as he stared at your arm. You ignore him for a moment as you rub at the spot on the outside with the towel, other hand keeping it steady so you can get it out properly.
He sighed, still stiff but his demeanor finally softening a little bit. “Look, I’m sorry for being snappy, alright..? You’re my best Runner and you deserve to hear that.” he let out another sigh, his hands that rest on the couch fidget with the leather, lifted it off the seat and slapping it back lightly and without noise when he lets go. He’s clearly reluctant to give you a little compliment.
You just glance up at his face, his eyes avoiding yours under his glasses as you do so. You let out a small, suppressed giggle before punching his shoulder softly with your free hand.
“Hey, just cause I gave you a compliment doesn’t make us buddy-buddy.” He says quickly, no real heat in his tone as he finally looks at you, a bit flushed from what you assume was the alcohol. Once you were done cleaning up the stain, you pulled your hand out of his shirt and tossed the rag towards the sink so you could wash it out later. When you pulled your hand out, he let out a shudder and quickly tried to suppress it, too worried you’d see him as weak.
You glanced at him, a bit softer now that he seemed to loosen up a bit.
“Can I sit down?” you asked, pointing to the empty spot on the couch beside him.
“Sure…” he said, nodding slightly.
You smiled softly before sitting down next to him, your thigh brushing his as you sunk into the couch. Almost as soon as you sat down, he got up and walked off without a word. You quickly sat up with your back off the couch, slightly offended he didn’t even say anything. You got up to follow him quickly, of course. You approached the room he had seemed to walk into and creaked the door open, glancing inside only to see him half-shirtless, back towards the door, not realizing you were there.
He carefully finished unbuttoning his shirt, still damp from the spilled alcohol. He stared at his full length mirror, smirking slightly as he flexed his nonexistent muscles, seemingly practicing flirting. You suppressed a giggle as he took a finger and tilted down his glasses, shooting finger guns at himself. He continued looking at the mirror before noticing the door was cracked open and seeing you peaking in. He quickly froze up, hands dropping to his sides before panicking to grab a new shirt, hurriedly sliding it on and trying his best to button it.
“Warn a guy before you walk in on him changing!” He snaps quickly, but again, his tone lacks any real heat or anger. He grumbles a bit and turns his back towards you once more. You silently walk over and press your chest to his back, resting your head on his chin and smirking as you stared at his reaction in the mirror in front of him. He’d frozen completely, shirt half unbuttoned as his hands hovered over the two unbuttoned ones.
Your smile grew ever more at his reaction before you slowly slid your hand down and buttoned his shirt for him, you didn’t take your chest away from his back though, still firmly pressed against it.
“Why’d did you really give me that ‘shout-out’ bullshit today, hmm? Am i really your best runner, or do you just like me that much..?” you ask, your arms tangled around his neck as you lean against him. He was still flustered at your closeness and very obviously still reeling from your touch. You found this cute.
Huh. To think you started out hating this guy, only to have brought yourself to… liking him.