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“Hands up, Ahri.”
Ahri straightened her arms back out and tried to pretend they weren’t burning from holding them midair for so long. From behind, Evelynn pulled the fabric of her half-finished top tighter and let out an appreciative hum.
“Are you almost done?” Ahri whined. She knew her outfit needed adjustments but damn it, Evelynn was such a perfectionist. “You’re taking forever.”
“It wouldn’t take me as long if you would just stay still. Hands up.”
Again, Ahri stopped her arms from drooping, but she made sure to scowl in defiance so Evelynn knew she wasn’t happy about it. The fabric pulled taut, Evelynn fiddled with something at the seam around where her sleeves met the top, and then she stepped back, her hands gone from Ahri’s skin.
“There,” Evelynn said, not without the barest hint of satisfaction. “Does it fit now?”
Ahri immediately dropped her arms. “Thank god, Eve, I’m dying over here and— oh, hey, you fixed it.” The chaffing around her underarms had vanished, along with the tightness in the bust and the sagging in the shoulders. “Damn.” She leaned forward to get a better look in the mirror and turned from side to side, noticing in the corner of her reflection Evelynn’s eyes following her movements.
The black was a change from their usual looks—but a welcome one, Ahri thought. She loved the lace, the sleeves, the darker and more mature feel. Oh, they were going to kill it with their comeback. One-hundred percent.
“You know,” Evelynn said, breaking the silence. She slid the measuring tape off her neck and stepped forward again, looping it around Ahri’s waist and tugging her closer. Ahri shivered as her back met Evelynn’s front and swallowed hard, ignoring the heat of the hand on her waist and the hand on her arm.
Their eyes met in the mirror as Evelynn asked, “How do you feel about showing some skin?”
Ahri laughed, her fangs glinting in the studio light, and leaned back into Evelynn’s arms. Ignoring how she stiffened at the contact, ignoring how she dropped her hand from Ahri’s arm. “I think that’s expected from me by now, no?”
“Hm.” They held contact for a brief moment before Evelynn withdrew, nearly causing Ahri to lose her balance. She slung the measuring tape around her neck again and turned back to her desk to write something down, saying, “Go get changed, then. I’ll finish the alterations later. Don’t mess up the pins.”
“Aw, what, you don’t want to help me undress?”
It was Evelynn’s turn to laugh now, sharp and devoid of warmth. “Just get changed, Ahri.”
Pouting, Ahri shuffled her way behind the privacy curtain, making note to herself that hey, it wasn’t a no.
Evelynn’s hands never lingered. They always moved with precision and purpose, never staying in one place for very long and never going where wasn’t necessary. A pin here, a mark of the chalk there, all brief and to the point.
Ahri felt the ghost of her hands above her skin every time they touched, a tingling buzz that crept its way beneath the fabric of her clothes and stayed. It was infuriating, it was aggravating, and Ahri was dying to know if Evelynn knew what she was doing to her.
“Stop fidgeting.”
“Make me,” Ahri bit back, face hot and frankly quite frazzled.
Evelynn rolled her eyes and stuck the next pin with more force than necessary, grazing Ahri’s skin and causing her to yelp. “If you keep moving, your skirt won’t fit right, and you’re going to hate it.”
“Yeah, but you’ll just fix it for me—”
“Maybe I won’t.” Another jab, another pinch. Ahri felt a hand tug the hem just behind her rear, knuckles grazing the back of her thigh with those electric tingles. “How does that look?”
“Huh?”
“The skirt, Ahri.” Her lips pursed and brows furrowed, Evelynn pushed herself back to her feet from where she was kneeling and crossed her arms. “Too long? Too short? Too high?”
“Yeah,” Ahri sighed. When Evelynn kept waiting, she shook her head to clear the fog and added, “I mean, yeah, it’s too long. Maybe like, two inches higher. From up here—” she drew a line with her finger across her waist, then down along her side to top of her thigh, “—to here. Y’know?”
“That’s barely a skirt anymore,” Evelynn said, making note of the changes anyways.
“You’re the one who wanted me to show more skin.”
“At the expense of a scandal, no.”
Ahri tilted her head to the side and tried to imagine in the mirror what the shortened version of the skirt would look like. “You really think so?”
“It’s your outfit, Ahri. Just tell me how you want it.”
It took a few silent seconds of turning this way and that before Ahri decided, “Maybe we’ll keep it your way. And besides,” Ahri grinned and shot Evelynn a cheeky wink, “you’re always right, aren’t you?”
Evelynn smirked back, and crossed out the last line of her notes with a single dark line. “Always, darling. Always.”
Evelynn’s hands never lingered. Whether adjusting Akali’s hat, or zipping up Kai’sa’s top, or fixing her own hair. Precise, perfect, and to the point.
It was their first photoshoot in the new outfits, and the studio was packed. Though Ahri just had to stand around and look pretty until they started, and then keep looking pretty until they finished, the tension in the air was so thick she could almost feel it clinging to her.
Their first comeback in nearly two years. Ahri tried not to think about all the ways she could fuck it up.
They looked great though, no small part to Evelynn’s masterful hand and eye for design. Akali and Kai’sa had more casual outfits compared to the other two, but somehow they still managed to look glamorous and way, way out of anyone’s league.
And then Evelynn’s jacket-slash-dress thing—Ahri didn’t know what to call it but damn if it wasn’t one of the hottest things she’d seen. One day, she’d have to see if Eve would wear a full suit, pants and all.
Quickly, Ahri shook her head to clear her thoughts, just in time to see a hand waving to catch her attention across the room.
“Ahri,” Evelynn called amongst the bustle of crew members scrambling back and forth, minutes away from the start of the shoot. “Come here a second.”
Ahri blinked in surprise, but made her way over despite her confusion. “Yeah? What’s up?”
With people moving back and forth through the studio, chatter and barked orders filling the air, Evelynn had to lean in close to make herself heard. Ahri felt her hair brush against her cheek, could smell her shampoo, could feel her breath against her ear.
“Your top’s come undone, darling.”
“Oh, shit. Can you—”
But Evelynn was already reaching around, pulling Ahri into a half-embrace as she carefully slid the zipper back up along her spine. If Ahri was keeping it together before, she certainly wasn’t now—she could feel the path Evelynn’s hand had followed burned into her skin. When they pulled apart, Ahri thanked the gods for all the makeup the crew had caked onto her face that was surely hiding how red her face was.
“You didn’t have to do it like that,” she managed. They were still far too close, almost nose to nose. Almost instinctively, Ahri’s hands fell into place on Evelynn’s hips, and for once Evelynn didn’t shy away from the contact.
“I know,” she said instead, her eyes narrowed and catlike behind her glasses. “I just wanted to.”
She reached one clawed hand up to brush Ahri’s hair out of her eyes, then let it fall to cup her cheek. No purpose, no precision. Lingering, the contact burning into Ahri’s skin.
“We’re starting soon. Do try and sit still this shoot.”
Heart leaping into her throat, Ahri leaned into the hand and sighed. And they held like that for a moment, ignoring everything and everyone passing around them.
“So you can do skinship after all,” Ahri joked, barely able to contain her grin.
It was as if a switch was flicked, and suddenly Evelynn’s whole demeanor changed. Her hand fell away from Ahri’s cheek, and she reached down to brush Ahri’s hands off her hips.
Oh, I fucked up, Ahri managed to think. She tried to return her hands to where they were and stammered, “But I don’t mean it in a bad way, it’s just you always—”
But Evelynn shook her head and pulled away from Ahri’s arms, backing up into the bustle of crew members and photographers and whoever the hell else. As she did, something strange and panicked flashed behind her eyes, something almost guilty.
And Ahri tried to stop her, one hand stretching out, but Evelynn expertly stepped away and out of reach.
“I’m sorry, Ahri. I was out of line.”
“Wait, hold on—”
Ahri could only stare as she turned away and strode into the crowd, reaching her own hand up to feel where Evelynn had held her face, stupefied.
What the hell was that?
It took a few days, a bottle of wine, and a girl’s night with Kai’sa for Ahri to finally wrap her head around everything. With Evelynn out to who-knew-where and Akali already retired for the night (to play games, probably), it was actually Kai’sa who took a stab at it first.
“So,” she started as she refilled her own glass. The tv had some sappy k-drama playing at a low volume, neither of them really paying attention to it. “Have you talked to Eve lately?”
Ahri fumbled her nail file, accidentally letting her phone slip off her lap and to the couch with the tutorial video still chattering. “Not much since the shoot. Why?”
Kai’sa stayed silent for a few moments and took a sip from her glass, clearly choosing her words carefully. Eventually she settled on, “I’m just worried about the two of you. You’ve been tiptoeing around her like you’re afraid of her—”
“Which I’m not.”
“—and she’s been so quiet lately. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice?”
Ahri winced, wondering if it was worse to admit she did notice, or lie and say she didn’t. “I mean. Fine, I noticed. It’s got nothing to do with me, though.”
At that Kai’sa rolled her eyes and used one foot to gently kick Ahri’s leg. “ Suuuuure. Like I didn’t notice the two of you stumbling around the shoot like idiots. You were a pain in the ass for the photographers with all your spacing out, y’know?”
“...Was I that obvious?”
Kai’sa dropped the fake anger as Ahri’s ears drooped, and she backpedaled, “Although, I’m sure they’re used to you not sitting still. And Evelynn was pretty bad this time too, so you can split the blame.”
Ahri tilted her head to the side, confused. At this point she’d entirely abandoned filing her nails. “What do you mean?”
“You really did space out during the whole shoot, huh?” Kai’sa took another sip of wine and said, “She was, I don’t know, stiff or something. Didn’t try and be the centre of attention or anything. I think the producers were kind of at a loss with what to do since she normally takes over for her own sections, right?”
“...Yeah.” Ahri hadn’t actually noticed that. Hadn’t Evelynn been fine the last they’d talked at the shoot? Ignoring how their little interaction ended, of course. With her stupid, sexy face and her stupid, perfect disregard of personal space and other people’s feelings.
Kai’sa didn’t say anything more after that, and Ahri turned back to her nails. Her mind was wandering now, whether from the conversation or the wine or both, and she made the executive decision to not bring out the nail polish. Instead, she grabbed her half-empty wine glass from the coffee table and curled back up against the cushions.
“I hate this show,” she said once the credits started to roll, breaking the tension in the air. “The main character is so fucking stupid.”
“I thought it was kind of cute,” Kai’sa said with a frown.
“Except that we’re like 5 episodes in and she still hasn’t made a move on the guy. It stopped being cute about 3 hours ago, Kai.”
For some reason Kai’sa nearly choked on her wine, putting one hand over her mouth to cover her cough and using the other to place her glass back down on the table.
“You okay?”
“I’m sorry,” Kai’sa said, coughing a few more times, “but can you even hear yourself talk?”
Ahri narrowed her eyes. “Why? What do you mean?”
“You really can’t hear the irony in what you said?”
It took a second, but the pieces finally clicked into place for Ahri, and she felt a hot blush start to bloom on the back of her neck. “You mean me and Evelynn.”
“And she gets it in one,” Kai’sa deadpanned.
“Okay, but that’s completely different from the show,” Ahri argued. “We’re adults, not some high schoolers that fell in love at first sight.” The blush kept spreading, creeping into her cheeks until her face felt like it was on fire. “And in the show, the guy actually— I mean, he actually shows he cares, he’s not some unreadable, emotionally stunted—”
And fuck, Ahri felt a familiar prickling in her eyes and blinked back her tears. She did not want to cry about feelings in front of Kai’sa.
“I just,” Ahri tried after a deep breath, unable to look Kai’sa in the eyes. “I don’t know how to interpret anything she does, and I made a wrong guess during the shoot. That’s it.”
Silence. Cursing internally, Ahri scrubbed her eyes with her palms and let out a long, shaky breath. Finally, Kai’sa spoke, her voice quiet and warm.
“Oh, Ahri…” Her arm wrapped around Ahri’s shoulders, and she let Kai’sa pull her in for a hug. “I’m sorry for teasing you.”
“I mean,” Ahri choked out, sliding her arms around to hug Kai’sa back, “I figured you were going to tease me about her until the end of time the first time I told you, so it’s all fair.”
“Absolutely,” Kai’sa agreed. “You’re an easy target.”
“Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
They stayed like that for a while longer, Ahri managing to keep her tears under control. Kai’sa hummed an aimless melody under her breath, one hand combing through Ahri’s hair in long, slow strokes. Kai’sa wasn’t sparse in her skinship like Evelynn, or shy about it like Akali. She was just warm, and she was just there.
“I didn’t mean to make her uncomfortable,” Ahri mumbled into Kai’sa shoulder halfway through the drama’s next episode. “And I’m not so stupid that I don’t know flirting when I see it. Like—“ Ahri fumbled for words, “—she held my face! With her hand! Even if she meant it to be platonic, it really didn’t come off that way at all.”
“Maybe it wasn’t platonic,” Kai’sa said slowly.
“The way she reacted afterward doesn’t scream romantic to me, really.”
“Then maybe she was scared.”
At that, Ahri let out a hollow laugh, nudging Kai’sa’s side with her elbow. “Oh, that’s a riot, Kai. Evelynn doesn’t get scared.”
But Kai’sa’s face remained neutral, not joking at all. “You don’t know that.”
Any argument Ahri had died in her throat. She didn’t know that, then, she realized.
“Oh,” she said instead, quietly. “Oh.”
Ahri always lingered, whether at places or on people, always taking more time than she should. She would leave her hands on shoulders, dawdle at destinations, fumble her way through conversations that had every right to be over.
So, before she could talk herself out of it, Ahri parked herself outside of Evelynn’s studio with her phone and a blanket. Evelynn would never stay out the whole night, usually slipping back to the house before sunrise, so Ahri figured they’d have to run into each other at some point.
Of course, she’d forgotten about the wine she’d drunk and how tired she was, and at some point she must have dozed off. So instead of greeting Evelynn as she arrived home, Ahri awoke with a start on the floor of the hallway to someone pulling her blanket away.
“What are you doing on the floor?” Evelynn asked slowly, looking down with an unreadable expression. The hall light behind her left her barely more than a silhouette, and it took a second for Ahri to register who had woken her.
“...Waiting for you,” Ahri finally said, yawning as she blinked herself back to the waking world. “But I fell asleep, I guess.”
“How nice.” The blanket fell to the floor and Evelynn stepped around Ahri to unlock her door. “Goodnight then, Ahri.”
“Eve, wait—”
Ahri pushed herself to her feet, making sure not to get too close to Evelynn, and tried to find the words. “Can we talk? Please?”
The strange expression appeared behind Evelynn’s eyes again, and she turned away, keychain jangling in her hand. “This can’t wait until morning?”
“Not really,” Ahri said with a nervous giggle, “since I know you’ll leave before I wake up.”
Guilty as charged. With an equally nervous glance at Ahri, Evelynn finished unlocking her room and stepped inside, not telling Ahri to come in but still leaving the door open behind her as a wordless invitation.
Ahri took it.
The studio was strange at night, mannequins becoming shadowy figures in the corners of Ahri’s vision. Even when Evelynn flicked the lights on and headed towards her bedroom the air felt distinctly tense and cold.
“So what did you want?” Evelynn said, motioning for Ahri to follow her. They’d seen each other’s bedrooms countless times, so it wasn’t a big deal, but Ahri felt as if she were intruding as she followed her inside.
“Um. Wow, ok, right to the point.”
“I’m very tired, Ahri, and I do hope to go to bed soon.”
Ahri fidgeted in place, before taking a deep breath and blurting out, “I’m sorry for saying what I did during the shoot.”
Evelynn blinked. “Oh.”
“I made you uncomfortable pointing out your actions, and I’m sorry. But,” Ahri continued, unable to stop her words from spilling out, “I just want you to know that I liked it. It’s nice when you’re the one to initiate contact, y’know? And you were really, really flirting with me, and I was trying to make a joke because I was flirting too, and…” She trailed off, waiting for Evelynn to say something, but she didn’t.
“...and I guess that’s all I have to say,” Ahri finished lamely, locking her gaze on the carpet.
The seconds ticked by in silence, and when Ahri eventually worked up the courage to look up, Evelynn was just standing there, eyes wide behind her glasses and lips slightly parted in shock.
“Oh,” she said again. She dropped her keys to the carpet with a jangle, backed up against her bed, and paused. One hand flew to cover her mouth, her other arm wrapping around her stomach almost defensively. “I… I see.”
“Are you alright?” Ahri asked slowly. She didn’t dare move forward, in case she spooked Evelynn even more.
“Yes. No.” Evelynn took a second to continue, her eyes starting to glow amber in the dark. “I don’t know,” she eventually said, voice eerily calm and eyes still strange and scared. “Tell me, Ahri. What happens when I touch you? What do I do to you?”
“It feels nice,” Ahri blurted out before she could stop herself. “You’re not hurting me or anything. I’m just as inhuman as you. So you don’t have to worry—”
“Worry?” Evelynn’s eyes narrowed, and Ahri could almost hear the bitter smirk behind her palm. “No, I’m not just worried. I’m terrified.”
“But why? ” Frustrated, Ahri crossed her arms and bit back, “Can you just talk to me like an adult, instead of hiding behind your cryptic bullshit?”
A pause. Just as Ahri realized maybe she went too far, the hand over Evelynn’s mouth lowered to sit under her chin instead.
“Fine,” she said. “Fine.”
Then—
“It’s my charm.”
Ahri blinked. “Huh?”
“It activates with skin-to-skin contact,” Evelynn said, her tone similar to an exasperated teacher explaining a concept to a small child. “For short periods of time, the only side effects are potentially pleasant sensations at the affected areas.”
“...So the feels-nice thing.”
“ However,” she continued, voice as cold as ice, “extended contact can start altering feelings and perception, and will cause eventual mental degradation. The pleasant sensations will gradually devolve into a pain unlike one you’ve ever experienced.”
Oh, Ahri thought, the pieces finally sliding into place. Right.
“Given enough time, you would become nothing more than a mindless shell, begging for my attention until I put you out of your misery.” Evelynn’s lips twisted into a hollow smile, adding, “And of course I don’t want that to happen to you. Do you understand?”
“...Yep,” Ahri said quietly. She uncrossed her arms and jammed them into the pockets of her sweatpants instead. Inside, her mental gears were turning. That was another piece of their puzzle, then. So maybe she could finally start to work on a solution.
Not that Evelynn needed to know that, though.
As if she were trying to ease the tension, Evelynn broke her pose and bent down to pick up her keys. “I’m sorry, Ahri,” she sighed, walking around to the closet to put away her coat and purse. “I’m not willing to endanger you or the others any more than I already do. What I did at the shoot was out of line, no matter how much I wanted...”
She trailed off. Ahri shot her a pointed stare and raised an eyebrow.
“...anyways.” Evelynn cleared her throat and shut the closet door. “I hope I explained my actions well enough. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Nodding, Ahri said slowly, “Thanks for explaining.”
“Mm.”
They stood there for a second, the awkward silence descending once again. Evelynn very openly looked towards the door, then back to Ahri.
“Fine,” Ahri said, taking the hint. “I’m leaving.”
“Good night, Ahri.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She was halfway out the door to the studio before she called back into the darkness, “Love you.”
From behind, she could almost hear Evelynn roll her eyes.
Ahri had a plan.
She wasn’t stupid. Hell, she had a charm too. And with how Evelynn had described hers, Ahri was pretty sure that gumiho and succubi had more in common than they’d thought.
It took a month, far more preparation than Ahri would have liked, and too many descriptive emails with Twisted Fate—the only one of Evelynn’s past flings still alive that Ahri could remember—but eventually, Ahri was ready to put her plan into action.
( Why aren’t you dead, Ahri had asked first, following it up with, it’s Ahri, by the way.
You mean Evelynn, he’d replied, nearly a week later. So you’re interested too. )
Occult websites, forum posts claiming to have encountered a succubus and living to tell the tale, obituaries… Ahri was definitely not the studious type, and the amount of sketchy information to go through nearly made her want to quit. But in the end, everything pointed back to what she already knew—Evelynn’s charm worked the same as hers.
Which was worth the time it took to confirm, Ahri reminded herself whenever she felt irritation at having wasted a month. If she was wrong, she’d probably suffer that “mental degradation” or whatever Evelynn had mentioned, which Ahri really, really didn’t want to have happen to her.
( Her charm didn’t kill you. Can you think of why it didn’t?
Maybe she found me too charming instead.
Tobias. Please.
Oh, fine. I don’t really know why, if I’m honest. But I have a guess… )
They were in Ahri’s room this time, the lights on and her speaker blaring. Ahri lay on her stomach on her bed, half-heartedly scrolling through Twitter. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Evelynn shift every so often where she sat, her back against the bedframe and a bundle of holographic fabric in her lap.
“Whose is that one?” Ahri asked when Evelynn stopped to change her thread. “Akali’s?”
“No, this one’s mine.” She stuck the needle into her pincushion and held the jacket up. “I finished Akali’s yesterday. All that’s left on this one is the hand sewing.”
“You’re so patient,” Ahri whined, rolling over onto her back with a pout. “If it were me, I’d just use a sewing machine. Or pay someone to do it for me.”
Evelynn laughed at that, and said quietly, “Of course you would.”
She put the jacket down, so Ahri rolled onto her front again, this time ending up closer to the edge of the bed than before. Her face was about a foot away from Evelynn’s now—Ahri took a second to stare at her profile, almost able to count the lashes on her half-lowered lids—and she figured now was as good a time as ever.
“Hey,” she said. Evelynn’s eyes twitched in her direction, but she didn’t look up from the jacket. “Hey, Eve.”
“Is this important? I promise I’m very close to being done.”
“I’m important, aren’t I?”
Finally, Evelynn lowered her hands and turned her head to face Ahri directly, the barest hints of humor dancing with exasperation across her mouth. “Yes, you are. But so is my work.”
“Humor me?”
A sigh. “Fine.” She folded the fabric over itself and put it on the carpet beside her, before shifting slightly around towards the bed. They were nearly nose to nose now, Evelynn’s expression perfectly neutral, head tilted slightly to the side. “What do you need?”
And God, Ahri had to take a second to compose herself, since somehow she always managed to forget how stunning Evelynn was up close. A secret part of her wondered if the charm thing could be airborne too, what with her stomach doing flip-flops and how the air had just gotten much too warm.
“Oh, uh,” Ahri choked out. Suddenly, she was nervous. “Hm. Now that I think about it, maybe this isn’t the best time after all—”
“But now I’m curious.”
Damn it. “...Fine.” She took a deep breath to steel herself before blurting out, “Let me use my charm on you.”
Evelynn blinked. The too-warm air in the room suddenly turned icy cold. But even with the warning signs, Ahri pushed further before Evelynn could say no.
“You know I’ve been looking into your charm. Well, I think I figured something out, and I just need to make sure.”
“...I did know you were looking,” Evelynn said slowly, her words biting through the silence with intention. “And I appreciate that. But—”
Ahri shook her head. “I just need a minute. Please.”
Part of Ahri understood the hesitation. It wasn’t like Evelynn was ignorant of Ahri’s methods, or her victims, the same way that Ahri knew of hers. But over time, an unspoken sort of rule had formed between them—we are not human, and we do not talk about it—that the other part of Ahri was desperate to tear down.
How the hell were they supposed to keep up this pretense of a human relationship when they so clearly couldn’t?
Evelynn’s voice dragged Ahri out of her thoughts. “Right now?”
“I mean, I can do it whenever,” Ahri said. She tried to keep her ears neutral, so as not to give away her nervousness. It definitely wasn’t working. “But yeah. I did mean right now.”
For a second, Evelynn visibly considered it, brow furrowed in thought. But instead of answering, she turned away, and pulled the jacket back up off the floor into her lap.
“Okay,” Ahri said, defeated. She felt a little bit sick. “Sorry for interrupting.”
Before she could roll over and pretend everything was back to normal, Evelynn said quietly, “It’s not a no.”
“Oh.”
“Just give me some time, alright? Promise.”
“Yeah,” Ahri breathed. The sick feeling was still there, but mixed with excitement and anticipation, and something else she hadn’t felt in a very long time. “I will.”
Two months. That’s how long it took for Evelynn to bring it up again. Two months of Ahri waiting, and waiting, and nearly forgetting that she’d brought it up in the first place. Two months of the same sparse, intentionally precise contact. Two months of Ahri letting her emotions starve.
While Evelynn still made no effort to hide her nightly excursions, Ahri had desperately tried to stop all of her gumiho habits since she’d entered the music industry. And at nearly the seven year mark she was still in the clear—not a single feeding in over 2000 days.
Not a single feeding, and not a single death.
But ever since the evening in her bedroom where Evelynn had dangled the opportunity over her head and basically promised herself over, Ahri’s hunger had returned suddenly and swiftly like a punch to the gut.
Even when she tried to tell herself that it’s just a charm, it’s just for a minute, I’m not going to do anything to her, the hunger stayed. It stayed throughout practices and photo shoots and recording sessions and plane flights, and it was getting worse.
Packing. Airport. Shanghai. Worlds.
From Korea to China, Ahri couldn’t shake her hunger no matter what she did. It was like a fog had enveloped her, clinging to her and refusing to let go. She felt nauseous the whole flight. Everything she ate tasted like sand.
Ahri barely registered stepping off the plane before finding herself in a fancy hotel room, the last few hours only a blur. Confused, she looked around to try and make sense of her surroundings, only to find Evelynn staring at her in concern, and Akali and Kai’sa nowhere in sight.
“Where?” Ahri croaked, tugging her mask down to her chin. The fresh air helped clear the fog a bit, but not much.
“Our hotel room,” Evelynn replied, still staring. “And you’re a complete mess.”
“What gave it away?” she mumbled, trying to stay focused. She could almost taste the emotional tension in the air, but the thought of feeding made her want to throw up. “Gonna… lie down for a bit.”
Ahri barely managed to take a step forward before the fog splintered into knives. Hunger pangs stabbed her gut, along with an anger that wasn’t her own howling in outrage for being denied for so long. She choked out a sob and stumbled forward, and immediately Evelynn was at her side with intentional, careful hands to hold her up.
“What’s going on, Ahri?” she asked, worry just barely leaking into her voice. Evelynn’s hands were so warm against Ahri’s skin, were so nice, that all Ahri could do was breathe.
“...Couch,” she managed after a few gulps. The knives in her gut ached with every step, but Ahri refused to give in. Stopping the first time had been worse, she reminded herself. You’ve gone through worse.
But everything flew out the window when Evelynn leaned over to prop Ahri up against the couch cushions. They were too close, Ahri was too far gone, and before she could stop herself she grabbed Evelynn by the wrist and breathed, “You promised.”
Evelynn froze at the contact, and Ahri could tell it took a second for her to realize what was going on. When it clicked, she tried to pull her hand away, but Ahri held firm, not caring how the tingling sensation where their skin met had started to morph into an unfamiliar heat.
“I’m so hungry, Eve,” Ahri babbled, trying to pull Evelynn closer. “You promised me. And I wasn’t going to do anything but now it’s been so long and I kept thinking about it, and the hunger came back, and—”
“Stop it, Ahri,” Evelynn snapped, resisting Ahri’s attempts. The worry in her voice was now panicked, but Ahri didn’t care. She didn’t want to care. “You’re not yourself.”
“I won’t take anything important, just a little bit—”
“Stop it .”
“You can even tell me which ones you don’t want, I’ll take them—”
“Please, Ahri.” Still unable to pull away, Evelynn stopped moving and instead closed her eyes. “I really don’t want to do this.”
“You promised, you promised—”
And Evelynn’s eyes flew open, glowing a brilliant gold in the dimly lit hotel room. The heat under Ahri’s palm turned almost painful as Evelynn locked their gazes together and commanded, “Stop.”
And suddenly, Ahri could breathe.
The knives vanished, the fog fell away, and for the first time in the last few days Ahri could no longer feel the hunger looming over her. It was… nice.
Reluctantly, Ahri let go of Evelynn’s wrist. As she did, she noticed her movements felt floaty. Like she was watching herself go through motions instead of performing them.
Sorry, she wanted to say, but her voice didn’t work. I didn’t mean to.
But then the heat on her palm died, and Ahri came crashing back to the real world. The fog returned and the knives dug back in, but this time it was dull. She could almost pretend it wasn’t there.
“Are you back?” Evelynn asked, cautiously. Quietly.
Ahri blinked, and flexed her hand. It felt normal. “...I think so,” she said. Then, “Was that…?”
“Yes.” And now Evelynn looked very uncomfortable. “I had to make you stop. For your sake and my own.”
“I get it.” She tried to find the words, only settle on, “...I think it helped, actually. Thanks.”
Evelynn narrowed her eyes. “You’re just okay with that?”
“What do you mean?”
“I charmed you, Ahri. Without asking. I forced you to do what I wanted, even if it was something as small as letting go—and you’re thanking me?” Bewildered, Evelynn crossed her arms. “Why? How can you trust me?”
“Because you’re you?” Ahri said slowly, a little confused. “And I’m me. And we don’t hurt each other, and I would trust you with my life.” And while she had assumed that she didn’t need to say it out loud, one look at Evelynn’s stunned expression told Ahri everything she needed to know.
“You trust me,” Evelynn echoed. She stood still for a second, and Ahri could faintly sense some sort of internal conflict. “You… trust me.”
“Mmhm.”
Finally, Evelynn made up her mind. She stepped around Ahri’s legs and sat down on the couch, their legs only a few inches apart.
“Okay,” she said, not without a bit of edge. “I did promise.”
Ahri’s heart leapt into her throat. “You mean—”
“And I trust you too,” Evelynn finished. “I trust you with my life.”
She reached over and, after a second of hesitation, took Ahri’s hand in hers. As the tingling sensation spread and before Evelynn could change her mind, Ahri leaned forward to seal their lips together with a kiss.
It didn’t take much for Ahri to let her magic out—it was a part of her that had been dying to be used. So for the first time in seven long years, Ahri dipped into her gumiho magic and used her charm.
“Listen,” she ordered as she pulled away to breathe, watching Evelynn’s expression carefully. Her eyes were closed, lips slightly parted with her lipstick smudged at the corners. Ahri knew the colour must be on her mouth, too. “Listen to me.”
Evelynn’s lashes fluttered in place as she said softly, “I’m listening.”
Ahri could hear it, then, the magic intertwined with her response. She gave Evelynn’s hand a reassuring squeeze, the tingling sensation thankfully absent of heat. “Look at me.”
So she did. Ahri’s breath caught once again when Evelynn’s eyes opened, staring at her with an expression that could only be called adoration. Her eyes still glowed gold, but her normal slit pupils were blown fully wide.
Oh, Ahri managed to think. She nervously swiped her tongue over her lips, tasting the lipstick. Now that she actually had Evelynn in front of her, it was really, really hard to not want to do something more.
“You trust me,” Ahri said, not caring to phrase it as a question. “Tell me how you feel.”
“Warm,” Evelynn replied immediately. She was still staring at Ahri with awe in her eyes, still holding her hand tight. “I’m warm. It’s… nice.”
Okay. This was it. Ahri licked her lips again and took a deep breath. “I love you.”
Though Evelynn’s gaze remained locked on Ahri, she didn’t say anything. Ahri could feel a pang of confusion through their connection, so she tried again. “I love you. I care so deeply for you, Eve. I will never, never hurt you. Do you understand?”
“...Yes.”
“Okay. Stay still.”
Ahri reached out with her free hand and trailed her fingertips over Evelynn’s cheek, taking the smallest bit of satisfaction in how her breath hitched at the touch. “Tell me how you feel,” Ahri repeated, sliding her hand down and around to the back of her neck. This time Evelynn let out a shaky sigh, eyes fluttering closed.
“It’s nice. Warm. I… wow.”
The hunger gnawed at Ahri’s stomach, begging her to pull Evelynn in and take. But Ahri resisted, instead removing her hand and returning it to her lap.
“Okay,” she said. “That’s all.” She leaned in again to give Evelynn a quick peck when she ended the charm, then pulled away, their hands still clasped tight together. “Thank you.”
It took a second for Evelynn to come back, but when she opened her eyes they were her normal neutral gold. Ahri felt a pang of anxiety join her hunger when their eyes met, but it dissipated as Evelynn gave her hand a squeeze.
“Hm. And the purpose of that was…?”
“Oh. Oh, yeah. Right.” Ahri had nearly forgotten why she’d even wanted to do that in the first place. “I was trying to prove that your charm won’t hurt me. I just had to make sure it was the same as mine first.”
“It was,” Evelynn said immediately. Her expression remained neutral as she waited patiently for Ahri to explain.
“Yeah. And notice something?” Ahri lifted their hands up and squeezed, a nervous giggle slipping out. “You’re really not hurting me.”
At that Evelynn’s expression cracked, and Ahri could almost feel her surprise. It wasn’t as strong a feeling as when she was charmed, but the connection was still there.
“...Interesting. I didn’t- I didn’t notice. Why?”
“Why didn’t you kill Tobias?”
It was a hard question, and Evelynn frowned at his name, but Ahri gave her time. Eventually, she responded, “It didn’t work on him. But when my charm started up again, I broke it off before he died.”
“So here’s what I know,” Ahri said, carefully. “One. Your charm has never hurt me before. Never. Granted, you never touch me long enough, but that’s a fact.”
Evelynn nodded. “Okay.”
“Two. It’s not hurting me right now.”
“Yes, Ahri. Where are you going with this?”
“Okay, fine. Fuck the numbers,” Ahri huffed. “I can’t hurt people that I care about when they’re under my charm. And I proved to you that I couldn’t.”
“...And you think our charms work the same way,” Evelynn finished, glancing down at their hands. “I mean, you make a very compelling argument.”
“Also, I know you cared about Tobias more than you’ll ever, ever admit.”
“That’s thin ice, Ahri.”
“Sorry not sorry.”
It took a minute for Evelynn to stop staring at their hands, but when she did Ahri nearly teared up at the relief that spread across her face. They could be normal. It wasn’t impossible after all.
“Thank you, Ahri,” she said, the most emotion in her voice that Ahri had ever heard. “Thank you so much.”
Quickly, Ahri shifted their palms to lace their fingers together and smiled. She couldn’t feel the hunger anymore. The fog was gone.
“You’re welcome. And I love you too.”