Reader is ── Gender Neutral | Cleaner/Raider respectively
Story is ── Romantic | Headcanons
Warnings ── N/A
August
✦ ── August gifts you so much stuff it's hard to keep track, though more often than not it's clothes. You find the knitting needles yourself in his workshop, and when you mention wanting to try knitting, he shows you how and encourages you to keep them!
✦ ── He tried knitting, but it required too much patience and was far too easy to fuck up, so they were just gathering dust anyways. Seeing you knit in your little corner of his workshop brings him joy, too!
✦ ── Even when you're off on missions as a supporter, you bring them along to work on your project during the long drives or stops between locations.
✦ ── That's why, when your team is outnumbered and you're moments from being trash beast food, you have them on you. Suddenly the little needles are giant pins that skewer the trash beast like a knife through butter.
✦ ── Oh yeah, that's so fucking badass! Now August is begging to see them in action, even if it's dangerous! He wants to see you put those needles to work, babe!
"DO YOU LOVE THEM MORE THAN ME!?" He was clinging to your waist, wide eyes staring down at you through orange lenses.
Despite his accusation, he had a large grin on his face.
"Of course not, Auggie! I love them so much because you gave them to me!" Your hands were waving frantically, playing along with him.
"I know! Just wanted to hear you say it!" The low chuckle he gave was unlike his usual boisterous laugh; it would have been alarming if it weren't coming from August.
"THIS MEANS I GET TO MAKE YOU A GIVER UNIFORM! WOO!!"
Eishia
✦ ── It was an old tool of hers, a simple stethoscope that was a little worse for wear. She had just gotten a new upgraded one, and she knew you had fun playing with it, so she gifted you her old one!
✦ ── Eishia knows you best, because you're always using it on anyone who lets you (mostly her) or on random surfaces to see what it'd pick up.
✦ ── It becomes pretty commonplace to see you wearing it, which warms her heart. She's glad you put the old thing to good use, even for silly purposes.
✦ ── During one mission you get separated from the rest when a Raider attacks. It's life or death when they rip your stethoscope away from you. It just so happens the chestpiece makes contact with their skin.
✦ ── Suddenly you can hear everything they're thinking and feeling and how their body is reacting. You're able to discern their instrument's weak point from their thoughts and use it to beat them.
"My gift...saved your life?" After you'd been healed from minor injuries, she'd taken the time to listen to what happened.
"Yeah! I was moments from being killed, and then boom! All these thoughts flooded me. So, thank you, Eishia!" Your hands were holding one of hers, keeping it close to your chest.
She was still staring at the stethoscope around your neck.
"I really didn't do anything. It was just a little gift..." Her stammering took over as she lowered her voice. "...but I'm really glad it helped you."
Enjin
✦ ── It was a stupid joke, is what it was. He got you a stopwatch because you were the slowest runner on Akuta and wanted to 'fuel your rage' during your training runs.
✦ ── It worked, albeit a bit too well. You used it all the time and maintained the habit of trying to break your own speed record. He'd always be there to cheer you on and watch as you steadily beat his own speed.
✦ ── One day the two of you go for a run around town, except halfway across the street a car comes barreling towards you and Enjin.
✦ ── One second he's bracing for impact, and the next he's safely on the sidewalk without having moved a muscle. You're clearly out of breath, but your eyes are glowing, and so is the stopwatch.
✦ ── Absolutely baffled at the absurdity of it. People spend their whole life trying to become a giver, and you did it with one gag gift and a shitty driver. Yeah, you're fucking amazing!
"FOR REAL!?" The walk back to HQ is filled with his baffled shouts and your laughing.
"I mean, I guess it makes sense. I've been taking good care of this lil guy." You were looking at the stopwatch again, which seemed to be able to slow down time.
You'd have to test it out some more before you knew exactly what it did.
"Damn, I should start gifting shit to more people. Cleaners could always use more givers." If only it were that easy.
Follo
✦ ── When he and the others head to town to get artificial flowers for Zanka, Follo gets the bright idea to buy you a bouquet for your date later that night.
✦ ── It's full of your favourite flowers, colours, and foliage that support the entire aesthetic. The stems are neatly tied with a ribbon, and they'll never die since they're fake!
✦ ── He's super happy you cherish them, to the point where you always wear at least one of the flowers in your hair or somewhere on your person.
✦ ── One day while the two of you are out on a mission, supporting the combatants, a trash beast gets way too close to trampling Follo.
✦ ── The flower you're wearing comes to life in a blur of panic. Suddenly the trash beast is completely ensnared in reinforced artificial vines until it's crushed to death.
"Your flowers? The ones I gave you?!" The post-fight rush is long over, and suddenly Follo is all over you, making sure you're uninjured.
Ironic, given he was the one in danger.
"Yeah! I guess I loved them a little too much, huh?" Follo was inspecting the flower you twirled between your fingers.
"That's so...so...gah!" He pulled you into his arms, mostly so he could hide the tears welling up in his eyes. Wanting to be a giver was one thing, but knowing he helped you become one was already an honour.
Jabber
✦ ── You were like...an honorary Raider. Being a non-giver, you mostly just helped Jabber with whatever missions he had when possible.
✦ ── Of course you couldn't go on all of them, which meant you were alone a lot. Jabber didn't like that, so he brought you the first weapon he could find: an axe!
✦ ── You, alone, bored, and an axe? Well, you may as well practice with it! And so you hone your skills at fighting with an axe, testing it on makeshift piles of trash and drawn targets.
✦ ── It's when some trafficker finds you alone that you first bother to use it against anyone. He gets the jump on you, but it's only moments before you've chopped the guy's hand off.
✦ ── Except your axe is blazing hot, and it cauterizes immediately. He won't bleed out, so you restrain him for the Raiders to do as they please later.
"Damn! That was totally nasty!" Jabber stuck his tongue out to accentuate his 'disgust' at how you'd pretty much tortured the guy.
"It's not like I knew it'd do that!" You gave an exasperated sigh, still clutching the axe you'd used hours prior.
"You should have known! You're obsessed with me and any gift I give you, right? Of course you'd become a giver!"
"I don't think that's how it works..." You weren't certain he was listening.
"We're a perfect little torture duo, though, don't you think? Non-lethal poison and non-lethal limb detachment." For whatever depraved reason, the thought brought a blush to his cheeks.
Rudo
✦ ── It was just something he'd found in one of the no man's lands, a little trinket he'd repaired and cleaned up because he thought you'd like it: a skateboard.
✦ ── You were always talking about how bored you were at base when you were done with front stuff, so why not give you a hobby to try? And it seemed to work!
✦ ── In fact, it became your main hobby. He would always go for small trips with you to find abandoned buildings, taking the time to build ramps and obstacles with you.
✦ ── When he's away on missions, you like to visit the little ramp parks on your own. Only, this time there's a horde of smaller trash beasts there.
✦ ── Usually your skateboard wouldn't work so well on the uneven soil, making the quickest path out of there, but suddenly your skateboard is levitating, and wheels simply don't matter!
"This isn't a joke, right?" Rudo was side-eyeing the skateboard currently leaning against the wall. He'd just gotten back and was filled in on your encounter.
"Dead serious! Thank you, Rudo!" Your hug caught him off guard, though he eventually managed to offer it right back.
"Huh? Thank me? Why?" His pale face is now a burning crimson.
"I was saved because of your gift, and it's special to me because you fixed it up for me! So, thank you!"
Semiu
✦ ── Since you're always sitting by her desk during your free time, she gifted you a nice Rubik's cube to keep your hands busy and away from messing with her paperwork.
✦ ── Now you're crazy fast with it! You ask other cleaners to scramble it for you, and you can solve it in under thirty seconds. You're distracted, and Semiu gets your company while she works.
✦ ── One day some no-good lowly group decides to try and infiltrate cleaner HQ through the back exit tunnels. Naturally you follow Semiu because you want to see her badass fight!
✦ ── There you are, mindlessly toying with your Rubik's cube, when you overhear one of them call her all sorts of obscenities. No weapon has been drawn, the fight hasn't even started, and suddenly the whole tunnel is upside down.
✦ ── You're furious, cussing them out and twisting the Rubik's cube. Every time you turn it, the gravity in the tunnel shifts, which Semiu has no trouble adjusting to. The criminals, however, fall without grace countless times.
"Seriously? I didn't think you liked that little toy so much."
"I like it because of you, Semiu. You gifted it to me, and it allows me to spend more time with you." Of course she knew that already, but she enjoyed hearing it come from you directly.
"That's plain adorable, babe." Seeing you enjoy a gift so much to the point of awakening as a giver was both an honour and a huge addition to her ego.
Tamsy
✦ ── It was an innocent gift. He got roller skates to try them out; you showed interest, so he thought you might use them more than him. He even goes out of his way to help you get used to wearing them!
✦ ── The laces were also replaced with some of Tokushin's yarn, since the originals had rotted. Overall, the personal touches he provides in fixing them up for you make it extra sweet.
✦ ── It's one evening when you're minding your own business, roller skating along the nearby town's sidewalks while Tamsy walks alongside you, that someone is crossing the road and fails to notice a car moments from hitting them.
✦ ── You're far, impossibly far, and yet your feet carry you faster than what should have been possible. You've swooped the person out of the way just in time to miss the car.
✦ ── Amazed? Of course! Impressed? Absolutely! Smitten? Of course he is; what an absolute ego boost that you became a giver thanks to his kindness.
"Rollerskates, hm? My distaff is much cooler." He was already teasing you on the walk back.
Walk, yes, because you now clutch the skates in your arms. Adrenaline is still racing from the ordeal and you're terrified you'll accidentally activate them again.
"Is teasing your way at getting me to calm down?" You looked up from the sidewalk to eye him.
"It's working, isn't it?" Of course it was, but you'd never tell him that. He was already too cocky, knowing your instrument was his gift.
Tomme
✦ ── Since you and Tomme were both supporters, you got split up a lot. That meant she always wanted to hear about what kind of trash beasts you saw during your missions so she could write about them!
✦ ── Of course, you're busy fighting for your life, and she understands you can't always be taking notes. So she gifts you a camera and requests you try to take photos of them instead—when convenient—so she can add them to her journal that way!
✦ ── And you seem to really enjoy taking photos. You take great care of the camera and are always sure to bring back something for her. It's during one encounter that you nearly die to the very trash beast you're taking a photo of, when it turns out a little...different.
✦ ── The photo has a looping animation, and it already has a caption in your handwriting detailing the encounter!
✦ ── Tomme thinks it's a super badass power and is crazy excited to use some of these special polaroids in her journal. But she is also moments from smacking you over the head for endangering your life!
"I still can't believe you'd risk your life for my hobby, though." She's shaking her head, which now rests in her hands.
"But the shot turned out great, and now I'm a giver! That's a double win." Regardless of your confidence, your smile is still sheepish.
Tomme lifts her head, using a free hand to flick your forehead.
"Don't risk your life, no matter how cool it may seem!"
Zanka
✦ ── Gifts were rare from him. He was more of an experience person who wanted to spend time with you. When he does give you a gift, it's something extremely well thought out.
✦ ── Such as the little music box with a dancing ballerina in it. It was purchased from a collector and a vintage find. Not only that, but the song it played was a lullaby he heard you hum countless times.
✦ ── Whenever you struggled to rest or anxieties came to haunt you, you'd pull out the little box and watch the ballerina 'dance' to the little tune. It was great for when he was away, too.
✦ ── During one of your missions, you and a few supporters are cornered by two Raiders. Without any combatants you're no match, and it isn't long before most of you are injured or bleeding out.
✦ ── Your music box falls out of your pocket and opens, and once the little melody starts playing, both the Raiders fall completely limp to the floor.
"I'm just glad you're okay." Zanka is sitting on the side of your hospital bed, having stayed by your side since Akuta found you and the other supporters.
"It's thanks to you, really. Your sweet gift saved me." Your hand was intertwined with his; the music box sat on the side table where you could give it a glance.
"You're the one who used its potential, not me. But..." Zanka was avoiding eye contact, though you could see a blush peeking through the hair obscuring his face.
"I'm glad it means that much to you."
Author's Note ── I actually got this as a request, but it was only for Zanka/Tamsy, and they asked for a oneshot (which I don't do upon request), so I just had fun with it since the prompt was so fun!
Y'all seriously need to lay off Kei Urana with these ships because Gachiakuta isn’t a romance manga, and she isn’t interested in shipping. Besides, you don't need your ship to be supported by the creator and made canon to continue shipping it. Just enjoy your ships and leave the creators out of it because constantly hassling them about it only succeeds in aggravating them.
