yeah i think i give him - big feelings ‧₊˚♪
starring — ᨳଓ zanka nijiku x baker! reader
⋆˚꩜｡ notes - g/n reader. friends / annoyances to . . crushes ? LOL. reader has been in cleaners around 6 months, a little before rudo joined. zanka’s bad at feelings. i wrote this at 2 am on a whim so sorry if it’s a little messy. one - shot maybe. . ?
if you enjoy reqs are open !
being a cleaner was no easy feat by far. though you had never been one who was fully entranced by violence. preferring the more sweet things in life, like .. literal sweets! croissants, cookies, soufflés, scones? any baked goods? they name it and you’ve got it.
which is part of the role you decided to take on as part of the cleaners, always whipping up treats for those who came back from missions, or after parties - where it just wasn’t the same if there wasn’t any made by yours truly, [name].
as the old saying goes, a givers instrument reflects their personality, right? you’d attest to that being true - the tlc put into your baking seemed to display how you portrayed towards others as well. even without being the most social, you seemed to get along with almost everyone. and they got along with you! if it was anything to base off of; you had frequent cooking sessions with the ever so comforting gris, crafting get - togethers with follo, long lasting talks at night with riyo, who’d let you braid her hair. even dear would pull you around from time to time wanting to play.
life at cleaner hq seemed to be going smoothly enough ever since you joined, compared to your life before anyway. honestly, besides the actual outside conflict, there were rarely any problems. i mean, why would there be if you weren’t starting any with anyone, and they weren’t starting them with you? well everyone except . . . .
“i thought the ingredients were supposed to go in the bowl?” a sarcastic voice startles you from behind.
turning around, your suspicions are confirmed as you see the familiar drooping, blue eyes staring unimpressed at you. and well, the mess you’ve made in the middle of your baking.
“that’s usually the intention, yes - i’ll clean it all up once i’m finished.” you reply, before remembering to be friendly and smile.
“you’re making a mess” is what that gets you in return. his listless eyes slowly drifting over the mixer, to the butter, and flour all over the table before returning back to yours.
ever since you got here, you just couldn’t grasp zanka’s personality. it’s not like you often spent time with the guy, but seriously even shikage was friendlier than this! it’s rare he ever tried your sweets, no matter how many people gassed them up and said they were good. which, okay. . . but when he’d engage in small talk, his tone? half the time you couldn’t tell if he was uninterested or just straight up annoyed with you.
you try not to hold grudges, you were aware he was a great asset to the team. though.. you heard he got the nickname ‘mr bad attitude’ on a mission one day by a raider. information courtesy of rudo while he was ranting to you and stress eating your snacks - and you were starting to think it was true. you shouldn’t judge, but each time you sent a smile over to get barely anything (or nothing) in return felt akin to hp being taken off you in a video game. and you could only go on so long before your bar status reached a big fat zero. though luckily, you hadn’t reached game over point yet
so - your smile falters only briefly before returning again. gesturing to your mixture, ignoring his comment.
“wanna get the first taste? these are prettty popular, a favorite even. they’ll be gone before you know it” you attempt to lightheartedly coax
“‘m not one for a sweet tooth”
“not everything i make is sweet, i think you might like it”
“how would you know what i’d like?” zanka raises a brow, was that faint amusement?
“um… i don’t! but now’d be a good time to find out?” a small, awkward & nervous smile playing on your lips.
his droopy eyes stare at you, a brow still raised.
you’re about to just turn around and mentally curse yourself for the next twenty minutes over this failed & awkward conversation, until you hear a quiet huff. footsteps following until the scent of blackberry incense and almond musk clouds your senses, to which you’re pretty sure wasn’t the extract.
“what is it anyway?” his voice low and smooth, snaps you back into the moment.
“taste it and find out” you hold up the wooden spoon with batter on it, your tongue slightly peeking through your mouth.
zanka rolls his eyes, watching you a moment longer, his gaze suddenly feeling thorough; making your stomach feel a little weird. was it butterflies? moths? who knows.
you don’t have time to dawn on it before a hand brushes against yours, the warmth spreading to your own hand as he moves the spoon remotely closer to his mouth, leaning in. a feel of his breath, a glimpse of his tongue, the spoon slowly disappearing behind his lips.
his eyes open a little wider, just barely. a bit of an eyebrow twitch as the flavors engulf his tongue. every second feels way too long, before he opens his mouth, not moving away as he questions
“apple cinnamon? or.. gingerbread?”
you’re a little taken aback. unaware why- as you try reply normally
“close. chai apple crisp, actually”
“and good? i revamped the recipe” your lips twitch up, a bit hopeful. even if it was zanka - you flourished off of feedback from your desserts.
his gaze lingers for a moment, it’s difficult to tell what he’s thinking. though the proximity makes you suddenly aware he’s got a touch of batter on his nose.
“it’s not bad” zanka settles with
“not bad?! i’ve spent four hours on this already for it to be not bad?” you gape. those ingredients aren’t cheap to come by!
his face twitches for a moment, his brows slightly furrowing as he finally leans back a little, removing the base of his hand grazing yours. the tips of his ears reddening.
“alright it’s good- it’s better than good... don’t have a heart attack now will ya?” zanka murmurs. you’re more surprised at his change in demeanor than the relief that it’s good, this being the least serious you’ve ever interacted with him.
you realize you probably look a little dazed, so you straighten up, and a small weirdly giddy smile plays on your lips. he’s seemed to crack, even if just a little?
“i was a little worried, i thought you might’ve just disliked all ive baked.” the truth slips out, even if it came out lighthearted. you had a brow raised in response
“when the hell did i say that?”
“i mean.. you never seem interested in trying anything i bake”
“didn’t realize you paid that much attention to my preferences” you feel yourself stiffen up.
“im observant to my ‘customers’ satisfaction, thank you very much”
zanka lets out a small breath, a bit amused, and exasperated at your response. you’re more expressive than he initially thought.
“[name], it’s not cause i hate em or anythin.. your main thing is about the effort you put into your pastries, yeah? i already told ya i don’t have a big sweet tooth, but most of time by the time i get to what you baked- half of hq has gone and gobbled em all up. not to mention i hafta stop rudo from eating them all in one sitting too.”
“i’ve been tryna avoid taking the last ones when you hadn’t even tasted what you spent so long on, unless you count the batter” a hand coming to awkwardly scratch at his neck as he explains.
he knows hating your baked goods is probably akin to an offense in your book- practically like hating you. it’d make sense, it’s your passion anyway.
sure, you guys didn’t interact all that much. but is this seriously the impression he gave off? he felt a spiral in his stomach at the thought of the sweet & attractive cleaner he tried to avoid embarrassing himself in front of to think he was some sort of dick.
this was all news to you, and . .
“that’s .. surprising sweet” oops - did you say that aloud? and a little too hushed ?
“i mean- you don’t have to do that. i appreciate it, but i bake for others to enjoy! it makes me happy seeing everyone appreciate them”
“including you, you know.” your words causing zanka to freeze up a bit.
he felt increasingly more nervous, and he had no idea why. maybe he was getting sick, he should go shower, he wasn’t meant to be out here this long anyways.
he clears his throat, the clock on the wall suddenly the most interesting thing in his line of vision.
“tch, whatever you say” is all he can think to muster without saying something probably stupid.
“you should come by whenever they’re actually finished. . if you’re so worried about taking the last ones, you’re welcome to be my taste tester more often”
you smile as you test the waters. honestly you didn’t know where faux confidence came from, but you felt like you needed to prove to yourself that you too could be friends with zanka, mister bad attitude.
“i ain’t worried.” he grumbles, the flush just barely rising to his cheeks “maybe, once you stop making such a mess” his lips twitch.
“you want to help me clean it then?” you lightly scoff in reply.
his lips upturn in a small smirk as his tongue pokes his cheek before he quips
“nah, lovely’s callin me. you can have your fun with that”
zanka lightly scoffs, raising a brow as he turns towards the hall.
“i’ll come by when they’re ready. and once ya lock in and stop the stove from smokin’ ” he says unimpressed, pointing behind you before turning to the ledge of the hall.
you turn around, confused. gasping with a quiet yelp as you’ve realized you left the apples on the stovetop this entire conversation. you hear zanka snort as he walks away
somehow, you’re even more conflicted about that boy zanka nijiku. . .
warm, comforting scents of apple and spice overcast zanka’s senses as he drowsily exits his room, knuckles prodding at his eyes.
he takes in a long breath, appreciating the savory, toasty atmosphere. disparate to the trash he’s come accustomed to living on the ground as he makes his way through hq.
he sighs as he can already hear the bickering of rudo, the voice becoming clearer as he steps in the dining area. the boy in question spots him, and immediately points accusatory.
zanka raises a brow, too wiped out to fully focus on whatever he’s complaining about now.
“what did you do to deserve this treatment?!” rudo cries out. riyo whistles in response with a smile that induces goosebumps and zanka knows usually means no good.
“what the hell are you spewin’ about now brat” zanka sighs exasperated as he walks over, to which seems to piss rudo off more
“i’d like to know too, what’d you do for [name] to give you extras? we’re not playing favorites now are we?” she hums while draping against the counter.
zanka makes a face one could only describe at utterly confused at the both of them, before following rudo’s envious gaze.
a small basket placed on the table. freshly baked pastries enveloped in small brown wrappings with a note placed on it writing ‘for zanka.’
his mind abruptly goes blank as he stares at the basket. his pulse quickly rising at the neat handwriting and realization that this was actually for him and no one else.
all of his teammates remarks are drowned out to murmurs as he reaches out towards the basket, a flush blooming on his ears as his lips involuntarily twitch up. moving the note aside as he sees how much endeavor was put into your crafts.
he took the pastry out, forcing himself out of his slight shaky hands as he took a careful bite. flavors submerge his tastebuds as he now understands why your desserts seem to go so quick. the hints of cinnamon sugar and apples balancing perfectly with the spices so it wasn’t too sweet, huh. just how he liked.
he’s brought back into the moment momentarily as rudos voice rams throughout his ears, his peace interrupted as he glares.
“it ain’t like that idiot. maybe you’re just put on probation because you eat too goddamn many!” he huffs out, moving the basket away.
“awh but what about me? it’s no fair you get dibs when you’re always grumpy to them. unless there’s something i’m unaware about?” riyo lightly teases as she squints her eyes.
“shut up riyo. i have no idea what you’re talking about.” zanka rolls his eyes. it wasn’t even a lie, he had not a clue what was going on either.
what he did know is he thinks he might have a new infatuation. with pastries- obviously! not you. he just started actually getting to know you anyway. clearly the warmth he felt was from the oven fogging the temperature. that’s what he’d keep telling himself, anyway.
zanka ignored their comments as he walked out the dining room, basket in fidgeting hand. his brows continued to furrow as he couldn’t make sense of the new feelings invading his body, but he subconsciously smiled to himself as he walked down the hall.
maybe he’d ought to come around more often after all. . .
