Sin City

Five: Clean

"I don't get it, " She whispered, "Why are you taking his side? You two never got along."

Sin hadn't talked to Mr Clean since she was young, but she still felt warm whenever she thought about him. He was like an older brother to him. Actually, no. Because that would be kinda incest-y. 

She had a battle with herself about calling him or not when she remembered what was going on with Zayne. Besides, she needed to loosen up, do something to make her feel better. And calling an old friend would definitely make her feel better.

.

"Uh, I- Hello?"

"What the fuck do you want? It's 2 in the morning. Wait... Sinny? Oh, It's been so long since I've heard from you! How are you?"

"I'm doing great. Remember when you told me to call you whenever I felt down?"

"Straight to the point, I like it. When do you want me to come over?"

"...Now?"

Sin heard Mr Clean's raspy laugh from the other end of the line.

"Sorry, sorry." He chuckled, "I guess it's just that you haven't changed a bit since the last time I saw you. I'll be right over."

"Okay, see you."

.

Sin waited for him on the couch, cold and anxious. She was fairly sure that Zayne wouldn't be home any time soon, but there was still a chance that he would walk in on her and Mr Clean. It wasn't that they would be doing anything, it was just that Zayne and Mr Clean didn't really... get along.

Just as she was starting to get the idea of calling Mr CLean and telling him to forget it and go home, there were a few short taps on the door.

Sin cracked her knuckles nervously and walked to the door, looking through the peephole when she got there. She saw Mr Clean standing in the doorway patiently, his hands in his pockets as he looked up at the sky. Sin smiled and pulled the door open, meeting his eyes. 

"There's a full moon tonight."

Sin was a bit taken aback by his statement, as he had never shown any interest in astrology before. Mr Clean pulled her outside and grabbed her waist, positioning her so she was in front of him. "Look," He pointed up at the sky, where there was a beautiful full moon surrounded by misty clouds. "It looks beautiful, doesn't it?"

SIn breathed out slowly, taking in the full beauty of the sky she had never seemed to notice. "Yeah. It looks... lovely."

Mr Clean spun her around and smiled down at her. "Hey, we should go camping sometime, just the two of us, somewhere where there isn't as much light pollution. Somewhere isolated. Then we could truly admire the beauty of the sky. It's too bright here, we can't see the stars clearly enough."

She merely nodded, lost in Mr's eyes. "Great idea. But for now, can we go inside? It's freezing."

"Of course. You first, m'lady."

He mimicked tipping a hat off his head and gestured for her to go into the one door first. This made Sin laugh and smack him on the shoulder. 

They sat inside and Sin felt her smile fade as she saw her ring and the letter she wrote. 

"Hm. What's that?"

Sin tried to laugh it off and snatch it away but Clean was too quick.

" 'You're in some deep shit.' Woah, who was this for?"

She sighed, "Zayne."

"Oh."

"He's been hiding things from me again. A lot of things."

"Well, have you ever considered the possibility that he's hiding those things for you?"

"What on earth does that mean?", Sin scoffed.

"Zayne loves you?"

"Well... um, yes, I hope so, he's my husband."

"Love is weird. It makes you do things you wouldn't usually do. Love makes you lose your sense of wrong and right. It all turns into what you think will most benefit the ones you love. Everyone and everything else blurs out, fades into the background. You use your heart instead of your head, and your heart isn't made for making decisions. It's made for pumping blood. Love makes things do what they're not meant to do. Zayne just probably didn't want to hurt you by coming upfront. He just wanted a perfect time to do it, he wanted to ease you in. He didn't want to take you by surprise, because he loves you."

"I..."

Mr Clean looked into her eyes with raised eyebrows, "Yes?"

"No. You can't be right. Why would he wait for 7 years?"

"Because he was scared."

Sin thought about this for a while, zoning out.

"I don't get it, " She whispered, "Why are you taking his side? You two never got along."

Mr Clean sighed and stood up, stretching. "I've been through the same things Zayne is going through many times before." He walked over to the kitchen and dramatically gagged. "Your kitchen looks like a pigsty. I can clean it if you want?"

"F'course." Sin would normally tease Mr Clean for his unusual hobby, but she was too lost in what he had said.

Zayne was probably just scared. But that didn't mean he could keep something from her for seven years. Seven whole fucking years. 

She looked up and saw Mr Clean whistling and dancing around the kitchen, all while rubbing a wet cloth along the counters. 

Maybe Mr Clean was right. But that didn't make what Zayne did right.

"Hey, Clean?"

He didn't verbally answer, instead pausing his cleaning to raise his eyebrows at her.

"What should I do?", Sin whispered.

"Let's start with asking you what you have already done."

"Well... There's a masquerade ball and me and a few people are going, to, you know, watch Zayne."

"Hold up. Why would Zayne be at a masquerade ball again?"

"He's- um, he's in the mafia?"

"Oh. Understandable, go on."

"So, me and a few others are going to a masquerade ball to see what he does."

"Good idea. I say go with that."

Mr Clean resumed his cleaning.

"Clean?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you."