Giganterra (G/T)

Chapter 34: I Can't (Won't) Help You

Bucky was furious after the whole incident with Chef Gore. He came into work the next morning in a disgusting mood: smacking around the lower-level kitchen workers, demanding the floors and counters be mopped to an immaculate shine, and cursing out his staff over the most trivial errors. Cruor didn't get the chance to fawn over Addison and feed her breakfast, as was his typical morning ritual. He tried to stay out of his boss's way, but Bucky was hankering for a confrontation.

"Cruor!" he blustered, swinging his arms aggressively as he stamped over. "What's the hold-up?" He clapped his hands rudely in the chef's face. "Hurry your ass up! We've got food to serve!"

Cruor huffed. "Working on it, boss." He poured pancake batter into a skillet and sprinkled in a handful of blueberries.

"Well, work harder. You've got some big shoes to fill with Chef Gore gone." He regarded Cruor with skepticism, plucking at his blond mustache, as if inspecting a fresh meat delivery that he suspected was rotten. Cruor squinted back with irritation, wishing he'd just leave already so he could get back to cooking. "You're so dang bony too, like a half-starved chicken. You need to fatten up. You know I like big meaty boys."

"Uh, no. Absolutely not. I'm not replacing Gore as your slut, you freak," Cruor snapped, tossing his wavy hair back. "You'll have to find a new dog to torment."

Bucky scowled before a seedy grin grew across his face. "Speaking of fattening up..." Cruor stiffened. "How's your little lady in the jar doing?"

"She's getting there. It takes time," Cruor mumbled.

"Hmph. You know, I'm starting to think we'll have to dispose of her, if she's not ready for dinner soon."

"What?! No! That's..." He scrambled for an excuse. "That's premature, to say the least. A huge waste."

Bucky clucked his tongue. "We'll see." He spun around, spotting a gravy spill on the floor, and stormed over to rake one of the kitchen workers over the coals. Cruor ground his teeth in troubled thought as he flipped his pancakes. With Bucky's attention diverted elsewhere, he dripped a few drops in the pan to make fluffy, human-sized pancakes for his girl. His heart fluttered when he thought about her. At least somebody appreciated the blood, sweat, and tears he poured into his culinary art.

Bucky stopped over at the human tanks, glaring down at Eren with vicious hatred. She stared back smugly, crossing her arms in fearless defiance. As upset as she had been over her recapture, she was elated by her unprecedented victory. She had accomplished the impossible, without dying, so she was very proud of herself. She wanted to do it again, scheming over how she could sate her thirst for blood. She hoped to see her confidant Joey again.

Bucky lowered his face to her level and pounded on the glass with his fat finger. "I may not be able to kill or mutilate you, ya little bitch, but don't think you've gotten away with it without any consequences. I'll be sticking you into every last food order that comes out of this kitchen, mark my words!" He snapped his teeth at her before stomping off, shaking the glass walls with his footsteps.

Eren was unintimidated by Bucky's threat, but Jackie was shaken. She couldn't understand how Eren was able to be so gutsy around those giant brutes. She gave a sidelong glance to Eren, hoping that her fellow human wouldn't wind up dead, before looking over sadly at Iris. During the entire drama, with the death of Gore and Eren's recapture, she'd remained as immobile and indifferent to her surroundings as if nothing of note had occurred at all. Jackie hated to see such lifelessness.

She was already struggling not to cry, but the sight of Chester strolling into the kitchen really made her heart bleed. She didn't want to face him in her distressed state and pretend to be unruffled by his gigantic presence. She didn't want to be eaten again, to have him slobbering all over her with voracious desire. She didn't want to play his game; she doubted if she'd even be able to sway him to her side, after seeing him thwart Eren's escape attempt. She felt like giving up.