#started this a few days ago and i gotta psot it now or ill get self conscious abt it lmfao

[zillyeh]

Something in the Eyes

Word count: 1399

Content warning: The teeniest implication of drugs at the end, if I overlooked smth lmk

Synopsis: Genny and Zippie have a fun conversation outside the Jackknife :)

Docs Version

   It wasn't surprising that a paranoid hemoanon didn't care for a rainbowdrinker. Gengun understood. It wasn’t as if he were helping their cold friendship along any by flirting with her girlfriend. Presumed girlfriend? Zipper had some stake in Bess, but the two were both still cagey about it.

   Either way. Genny was unbothered by Zippie’s… borderline hostility for the most part. Sure she was crazy, but not to an extent that Gen felt in danger from her. 

   "Felzee!" 

   He still shrunk back when he heard her bark his name. Perhaps because he'd never introduced himself with his last name, but that was besides the point.

   Gen hardened his expression a bit, taking his hand off his bike handle. This was one of the Jackknife's lazier nights. Gen wouldn't have come otherwise. He figured it was time for him to mosey on out when it started emptying for real. Apparently Zipper figured it was prime time to… come corner him outside? Gee he sure hoped not.

   "What's up, Undertaker?" He asked coolly, fishing in his pocket for his lighter. Zipper was… harsh. Even in the low light. Angles where there wasn't muscle, uncomfortably hornless and scarred where they once were. It was hard to not be unsettled by her. 

   "I got a bone to pick with you." Zippie said. Gen sighed around the cigarette in his mouth.

   “I'm not into fighting you.” He said, attempting to sound less bothered than the prospect of that made him feel. “Wanna light?"

   "Yes but no." Her zipper mask was mercifully undone enough for her not to be muffled. "I'm not here to kick your ass for making eyes at my bartender. It's more a question bone."

   "Right... Question bone." Gen ran his fingers through his hair and glanced at his bike. Was running worth it? Maybe, but… it was rare he got to actually speak to her. Uh. At least on more… neutral terms. This would be fine. Right? As long as you know who didn't rear their ugly head.

   "Uh, go on, I guess. No promises, I got an answer."

   "I think you do." She said, crossing her muscular arms over her chest. Gen eyed her tattoos in the darkness as she spoke. "You know what I got going on under the skin?"

   "What?" Gen was half caught off guard by the wording of the question, half lost in the eyes of the skull on her bicep. Zipper batted her grey disguised eyes impatiently. Oh. Oh! 

   "Oh, uh, no. I'm uh. Don't really have the nose for caste. I mostly gotta go by temperature." Was he… in trouble here? The Undertaker's expressions were inscrutable on a good night, but in the low light outside her club she might as well not have a face.

   Her hard eyes took in Gengun suspiciously. Those contacts of hers caught just enough light to see them clearly. They were, in Gengun's opinion, the most terrifying part of her. Exhausted, heavy lidded, injured in some permanent way around the sclera. Her long lashes were nowhere near enough to soften her sharp gaze. It was enough to make Gengun debate hopping on his motorcycle again.

   "...Alright." Zipper said finally. Gengun blew out a nervous cloud of smoke.

   "Uh, sorry if that's been bugging you. I didn't really think about it 'til recently." He said, whatever façade of strength he'd wanted to put up against her gone.

   "It's fine." She said, arms still crossed over her chest. "...Is that cigarette offer still open?"

   Gen nodded fumbling in his deep pockets again for his box. A chill on this unseasonably warm spring evening shot up his spine as his fingers closed around his lighter again. 

   Hee hee.

   "Oh goddammit." Gen said under his breath. He glanced back to Zipper, then once again to see her… frozen? There was something else in her eyes now. Fixed on something behind him, wider than Gen had ever seen them and… Afraid? No, not quite. More like… Bracing for impact.

   "Hi ladies." Sulphur's rasp of voices said over Gengun's shoulder. Their near corporeal fingers dug into his shoulder.

   "Oh fuck off you." Gen grumbled. He was hoping that tonight would have been warm enough to deter them until he got home. Oh when would lady luck stop being so annoyed with him?

   "You see that too?" Zipper asked, a waver to her voice that made Gen more uncomfortable than when she was pissed off.

   "Huh? Oh yeah, sorry. That's my uh… Parasite."

   "Bitch." 

   “Cunt.”

   Sulphur made a choking noise that could have been a scoff. Zippie relaxed slightly.  Gengun groaned and waved his lighter at the shadow, Sulphur disappearing where the flame light touched it. They still didn't fully disappear, though. Genny's frustration seemed to amuse them. 

   "I'm busy. Go catch fire."

   "So mean to usss." That cloud of darkness hissed childishly, avoiding a swipe of Gen's lit cigarette. They giggled and put themself between him and Zippie.

   "WE think you should introduce us to your friend." They said. Their glowing yellow eye spots traveled across their 'torso' to look at Zipper.

   "I don't want an introduction." Zippie said, something steely in her eyes now. That waver in her voice was gone for the most part.

   "You're rude too." Sulphur huffed.

   "Damn right I am. Felzee. Can you-"

   "If I could they wouldn't be here." Gen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Best thing I can do is scoot, left my good matches at home." Zipper hummed thoughtfully and looked at her hands.

   "Thinking about caressing my face, masky?" Sulphur teased, the amorphous black blob sprouting hands again. "I don't think you can.~ Sad. You're handsome." 

   Gen grimaced, but through Sulphur he could see Zippie spark.

   "Uh huh." She said, her eyes a brilliant glowing crimson. "We can test that, yeah?"

   Before Gen could really process what was happening in front of him, Zippie grabbed Sulphur’s arm. Physically. As if they were made of flesh.

   "How-"

   "How-"

   "Lookie ookie at that, huh?" Zippie sounded unsurprised. Gen backed away a few steps. "Let's see…" 

   Whatever Zipper had coursing through her veins was dangerous. Her whole arm sparked red, from her shoulders to her fingertips. Sulphur howled an awful noise as her electricity not just disappeared them, but seemingly shattered them. They ripped to pieces in a flash, and just as quick as they came they were gone.

   "Holy shit." Gen breathed. Zippie shook out her wrist, those raised metal bumps in her skin shining in the light.

   "Uh, can you teach me how to do that?" He asked, maybe half serious. He was sure that wouldn’t be permanent. Nothing with Sulphur was. She laughed, some bitterness to the raspy sound.

   "Trust me, you don't wanna know where that comes from."

   "Right. You seem… kind of unphased. By that." Gens eyes were still fixed on that spot Sulphur had disappeared from. Undertaker indeed.

   "Easier deal with than mine." Zippie shrugged. 

   "Yours?" Gen tilted his head slightly. Zippie chewed her lip and looked back to her club. Light poured out the front door as the last couple stragglers were encouraged out onto the sidewalk. The unmistakable figure of Bessba waved at the two of them- or maybe just Zippie.

   "Nevermind." She sighed, giving her probably girlfriend a wave back. "Forget the smoke too. I'll get in trouble." She eyed Gen appraisingly before putting one of her hands at about eye level.

   "You want some juice before you go?" She asked, sparking green this time. Was she really going to ask him that after what Genny had just witnessed? Sure he had an idea of what that other one did, but… 

   "Pass." Gen said, eying her hand warily. That would be an experiment for another time.

   "Suit yourself." Zippie shrugged. She patted his arm in the way an uncomfortable paternal figure might a child. "Good talk."

   "I'll, uh, catch you later, Undertaker.” Gen said with a wave. Zipper snorted as she turned to return to her club.

   “Watch out for yourself Felzee.” She said. After a few steps she turned on her heel to walk backwards- a dangerous act in those boots of hers. “Also if I don’t see you in my church its Zippie.”

   “Uh, yes... sir.”

   Zippie barked out a laugh that actually sounded amused. With that she left Gengun on the sidewalk. This time blissfully, actually alone for the first time in what felt like ages.

#Zilly drabbles #idk what this title is i thought it was neat #Zippie tag #Gengun tag #Zipper Anthem #Gengun Felzee #started this a few days ago and i gotta psot it now or ill get self conscious abt it lmfao #Something in the Eyes #anyway i wanted to write them getting used to each other #enjouy