Chapter Text
The rivalry between Demacia University and Noxus University ran deep, all the way from when the schools were founded a century ago. Football was no exception as Lux found herself crammed into the girls locker room with her fellow cheerleaders, tying her hair up into a ponytail and carefully stamping the school logo on one cheekbone. It was Week Zero and the first game of the season. Excitement buzzed in the air, electric.
“Is it on straight?” she asks, turning around to face Quinn, who simply shrugs. In contrast, her cheeks only had messy blue streaks marking them. Quinn was only a cheerleader because Lux dragged her into it, insisting it would be fun and that as first years they should try and meet as many new people as possible. The two were very good friends ever since they were seven years old in their little brown girl scouts frocks and after Caleb’s death there was a period where Quinn had clung to Lux for dear life. Now she had started to bounce back, studying to be a veterinarian.
“Looks fine to me. You going to the party after?”
“Unfortunately so,” Lux sighs. “I’m Garen’s designated driver.”
“I’ll be a bit late but I’ll see you there.”
The blonde checks her phone one last time before putting her belongings in a locker. Taric is waiting for them outside and the three head to their positions on the field. A wall of noise hits them and Lux spins in awe to survey the stadium. The late winter air is chilly with the sun low in the sky as they perform their routine, the band playing spiritedly alongside them. The crowd cheers but a counter roar rises from the other side of the stand as the Noxian team and cheerleaders arrive. Blood red and inky black uniforms take their places on the field. Lux watched their routine with interest. In the middle was a slender blonde who Lux identifies as the head cheerleader, Cassiopeia. Garen had mentioned her with disdain in passing, though Lux was not sure how they knew each other.
The rest of the game was watched from the bleachers. Shyvana had come to watch too, claiming Vayne and Fiora were getting on her nerves, but Lux knew she just wanted a better view of Jarvan. The game was close — NU was a bigger school with a larger sports program after all. Lux had heard for years how they were savage and ruthless on the field, but honestly from the stands, the boys all looked the same: strong and muscular, sweating and panting, big blocky shoulder-pads that only differed in colour. They all cheered the same way, punching the air when they scored, and kicked the ground in frustration when the enemy did. Eventually, Demacia won by a sliver and the stands around her came alive, like a dragon or the Colossus rising in a fiery wind. And the cheerleaders rushed out to do a victory routine.
Everyone was still buzzing afterwards in the locker room, as they changed back into their clothes and wiped off the blue and white face paint. Lux herself changed quickly and waved goodbye to her friends, before heading across the stadium to where the boys were changing.
“Heyyy Blondie,” a male voice called out to her, voice cocky. Lux grits her teeth and pointedly keeps walking.
“C’mon sweetcheeks, how about you come tell Draven your name!”
“Draven!” another voice calls, making the boy turn. Lux takes this opportunity to pick up her pace, not stopping until she was on the bench outside the locker room, pulling out her hexphone and scrolling through RuneterraBook as she waited. A new Ahri single was dropping that month and the promos had just dropped. Lux likes these with interest, forwarding them to Quinn, who mostly listened to rock but tolerated pop. Suddenly a shadow formed over her, and she smells male deodorant.
“There you are, Garen, I’m starving and-“
Lux stops, freezes as she realises it was a boy she doesn’t know. One just as big as her brother, wearing red.
“You dropped this,” he says gruffly. In his hands were her car keys, the mess of charms (a cheerleading baton, a queen chess piece, a Star Guardian crest and a crystal) looking comically out of place against his NU uniform.
“Oh, thanks!” she says, shaking off her surprise and launching easily into a signature grin. She takes him in now. He’s bulky but built strong, with green eyes and dark hair with an odd white streak in the front.
“And I’m sorry about Draven. His behaviour was deplorable.”
“Draven?”
“My little brother. The asshole that was harassing you earlier?”
He shifted on the spot, embarrassed as realisation dawned on Lux’s face.
“Oh, uh, no worries. I mean, he’s the one who should be apologising, right? Thank you though, really.”
He nodded at her, seemingly satisfied and turned on his heel to leave.
⚜⚜⚜
Being crammed in a car with four sweaty frat bros was not Lux’s ideal way to celebrate the victory but alas, she was a good sister. Garen sat shotgun as she drove, the other three comically stuffed in the back seats.
“Okay what about Morg?” Jarvan suggested. “You know most goth girls are freaks.”
But Xin Zhao shakes his head. “Nah man, she creeps me out. And besides, I don’t trust your taste. I don’t know how you landed Shyv.”
“I agree with ponytail on that one,” Lucian grins.
Jarvan rolls his eyes, “Okay man but you’ve been with Senna since like kindergarten. I’m just saying maybe our boy would like a freak.”
“What about Sona,” Lucian says, ignoring him, “She’s a sweet one.”
Jarvin grins, “Oh yeah she definitely has a lot going on for her.”
Lucian shoots him a dirty look, leaning over to try and smack him. Stuck between them, Xin holds his beer above his head, trying not to spill it at their commotion.
“Some of the Ionian kids could be there tonight,” Garen muses. “Irelia?”
“Garen,” Xin says. “This is just like when you thought Vi and Caitlyn were just friends.”
The other two howl at this while Garen’s jaw slacks.
“No way really? Irelia’s a lesbian?”
“God man, you’re dense as a brick. Bet you think Fiora’s straight too.”
“Alright fine, what about Evelynn? She’ll probably be around for the photos.”
“Hot but no way is she girlfriend material you know, with all the things she puts out on the internet–”
“Boys,” Lux interrupts in a hard tone at this, not wanting Jarvan to finish that sentence. He at least has the decency to look apologetic.
“Sorry,” he says. “But Xin’s the last of us to get a girlfriend.”
Lux almost crashes the car.
“Wait, WHAT?”
Her eyes dart to her sibling, who looks like he wants the sink back into the chair.
“Oh shit you didn’t tell her?”
“No,” Garen splutters. “Of course not. Ugh. It’s not serious.”
“Sounds serious enough to me,” Lucian says, trying not to laugh.
“Okay well, do I know her?”
Garen determinedly looks out the window to avoid her. “Um, definitely not. Her name’s Kat.”
“And can I meet her?”
“I’ll have to ask,” he says sheepishly.
“Just don’t piss her off,” Xin Zhao chimes in, grinning like he just told a great inside joke. “She’s a real scary one.”
⚜⚜⚜
“Katarina, this is Luxanna. Lux, Kat.”
Scary was an understatement.
Lux tried her best not to stare at the large scar across Kat’s face. Instead she took in the rest of her — her bright red hair, glinting green eyes, tight black clothes and amused expression. In turn, Kat’s eyes raked up and down Lux’s body, making the blonde shift in her seat. They were in a diner near NU, no doubt to make Kat more comfortable. Lux learned that both of them wanted to keep the relationship a secret and Kat knew the guy who worked here. Plus, the small diner was one of those spots that you needed to know about. A real hole-in-the-wall establishment, with a retro aesthetic to boot. It was also, thankfully, empty at this hour.
“Hungry?” Garen asks, trying to fill the silence.
“Yeah sure. Darius! Where is that dickhead? DARIUS!”
“Coming,” a deep voice calls from the back. “No need to yell.”
And so the server came into view from the kitchen, grabbing his notepad and walking towards him. With a jolt Lux realises she recognises him as the boy from the football game.
“The usual for you two?”
Kat and Garen both nod, and then finally the boy, Darius, turns to her. If he recognises her, he hides it well in his face, though his eyes bore into hers.
“The caesar salad please, and medium sweet potato fries.”
“Ketchup with those fries?”
“Yes please.”
And then he hulks back to the kitchen.
“So what do you study?” Lux asks, turning her attention back to Kat with her practised smile and politeness that had been drilled into her since birth.
The redhead looks bored and Lux is almost afraid she would ignore her until she answers, “I switched to History this year. Dad wants one of us to take after him so I was doing Political Science, but my sister Cass ended up being better at it than me.”
Lux brightens, happy to have something in common.
“I like history too! Though I ended up doing linguistics and literature instead. What made you pick History?”
A grin spread on the Noxian’s face. “My dad and I like to collect antique knives.”
“Oh.”
“Talon likes them too. My adoptive brother.”
“That’s really interesting! We have lots of antiques like that too.”
“Trust me I know. That big sword you guys have is pretty cool. Tacky name though, heavy too.”
Lux blinks, looking between Kat and Garen.
“Wait, you’ve been to our house before.”
Garen turns red, shrugging to act nonchalant as Kat snickers.
“Dad will kill you if he knew you played with Judgement!”
“See how tacky it sounds out loud?”
Choosing not to acknowledge this, Lux continued, curiosity replacing her initial shock.
“Did any of the servants catch you?”
“Of course not!”
“Though it would’ve been fun if they did,” Kat coos, making the younger Crownguard flush as well now.
Thankfully Darius returns with their meals, placing them down on the table.
“I could use a drink too, actually,” Lux says, peering up at him.
“Soda fountain’s behind the counter. I’ll help you.”
Lux is thankful to be able to leave the couple, who were now whispering to themselves, and to finally have a chance to glance over Darius properly, this time taking in his strong jaw and brows. He grabs a glass and straw for her.
“What do you want?”
“Just Coke please. Vanilla if you have it.”
Lux watches with interest as he fiddles with the machine, slapping it twice before it started working.
“So, uh, Darius right? How long have you been working here?”
He shrugged. “Since highschool. My brother works here too. We grew up poor so we’ve always worked. I have to force him to keep working. Keeps him humble. God knows he needs it. Here.”
“That’s really responsible of you,” she says, trying to sound as sincere as she felt. Though he seemed unfazed and Lux thinks that sincerity is harder than insincerity.
“What about you? So you’re Garen’s sister.”
“Yes,” Lux says, not sure how else to respond. “I’m Luxanna, but everyone calls me Lux. Are you two friends?”
He snorts at this. “God no. At first I thought Kat was playing a sick joke on me. Speaking of, you better get back to them now.”
Lux nods, trying not to take the dismissal personally and heads back to the booth, letting the sweet taste of coke fizz on her tongue.
⚜⚜⚜
Lux promised to keep their relationship a secret, but it wouldn’t hurt to tell Quinn, right? When she did, she made Quinn pinky promise to keep the secret too, though a wide grin had formed on her face.
“What is it?”
“What do you mean?”
Lux rolled her eyes.
“Why do you look so amused?”
Quinn shrugs casually. “It’s kinda romantic, don’t you think? The whole rival school thing.”
“I mean I guess. Also I looked into her and her dad and my dad have totally clashed on the city council before.”
“Good, your dad sucks. Hey! I’m sorry but it’s true.”
The two girls wander through the mall slowly. Shauna Vayne’s birthday was coming up and she was a hard one to shop for. For one, she was not very into fashion or makeup and Lux knew that her mother’s gifting guide would be of no use. Vayne’s antisocial behaviour was also difficult — the older girl often kept to herself with her studies and training. October was also the month she lost her parents all those years ago, so she refused to hold flashy events for herself and everyone had to make sure she wouldn’t find their gifts distasteful. Quinn knew her better than most of their friends as the two both liked archery, so her gift of interesting but still useful equipment had been ready to go for a while now. Lux meanwhile was still searching and the two found themselves in an old book store. The youngest Crownguard set herself a mission to comb the crime, mystery and documentary sections, determined to find something that Vayne would enjoy.
“Didn’t you get her a book last year?”
Lux frowned. She did. Eventually she found a couple of DVDs that she thought could work and called out for Quinn for her opinion. When she didn’t immediately respond, Lux found the girl looking at some stationary by the counter.
“Pretty,” Lux says, putting the discs down and joining her. The vintage style pens in particular caught their attention.
“I’m gonna get one.”
“I’ll get one too! We can match.”
And so Lux goes home with her gifts and a pretty golden pen. Quinn had taken a silver one that suited her more, as well as a steely grey one. Lux didn’t question why she needed two, though it was unlike Quinn to hoard pretty things the way Lux so often did. ‘ Ah well, it’s just a pen, ’ she thinks as she calls for a ride home. The two girls promise to text each other when they’re home, the way they always have as teens, the way their parents taught them to so they’d know they safe.
“Oh yeah, you’ll tell me if anything happens between your bro and you-know-who right?”
“Of course!”
Quinn moves towards the bus stop but hesitates.
“Do you uh, think she’s nice?”
“I think so. She’s scary but aren’t they all?” It was meant to be a joke but Quinn was quiet.
“Hmmm. I don’t think so. It’s kinda BS that our parents taught us they’re bad just because they’re from the other side of the town.”
Quinn shuffles awkwardly and Lux suspects she is hiding something. She always knew when Quinn was hiding something, because Quinn wasn’t like Lux — she didn’t hide behind false smiles and ladylike behaviour and her last name.
“Anyways, I’m sure dating a Noxian is fun. Study sesh soon?”
“Sure, I’ll text you! See you!”
“Bye, Luxy!”
⚜⚜⚜
‘1 new message request’
The buzz of her hexphone catches Lux’s attention and she puts down her hair brush to reach for it, gazing down and tapping on the RuneterraBook notification with interest. He had sent her an event, with no message or friend request accompanying it. With interest she tapped on the link which led her to a small chess club in Little Ionia tomorrow morning. Lux pauses. While she had some assignments to work on, her workload was still light this early on in the semester. So she flicks back to the messenger and replies with a simple:
“I’ll be there! 😊”
True to her word, Lux awoke early the next morning, as she always did. It came naturally to her by now, but she allowed herself more time in bed — a luxury she had not been given until after highschool. Feeling pleased with herself, Lux rose and headed downstairs. She had asked the servants to stop preparing her breakfast, enjoying being able to browse the kitchen herself and make her own meal. Today she tried her best at making French toast, though the flavour was not as rich as desired and it was a little burnt, it was a good attempt.
In the car, Lux hums along to the radio, trying not to be nervous. Little Ionia was a lovely spot in the city, brimming with restaurants. Lux rolls down her window as the cars slow, letting smells like the cumin lamb skewers of street vendors waft through the air. As she parks outside the Little Ionia Community Centre her nerves spike up again, uncertain of what to expect from this unusual hang out request.
A quick survey of the room showed that it was decorated modestly with many low tables arranged neatly, a chessboard placed on each. She spots Darius’ sturdy figure immediately. His back was to her and he was facing off against a beautiful girl with long, snow white hair. The match seemed intense and when Lux got closer, she could see that there were only a few lone pieces left on each side. However the situation was heavily in Darius’ favour and soon he held her in a checkmate. Her eyebrows knitted as she scanned the board in disbelieve before she stood quickly and sauntered away.
Lux slips into her seat on the ground.
“Bit of a sore loser,” Lux jokes quietly. Darius smirks at this, and gestures to a game two tables down from them.
“Syndra’s smart but after playing her a few times you adjust to her hyper aggressive playstyle. Her boyfriend over there has much more patience for this.”
Lux nods as she and Darius move to reset the chess board, putting each piece back in its starting position. And for a while they simply play, though her instincts itch at her to fill the silence. She tried to keep her eyes on the board, for Darius’ gaze on her suddenly had her feeling shy.
“No clocks?” she finally asks. The question feels stupid leaving her mouth and if she were in etiquette class she certainly would’ve been corrected on her a blunt tone. So unladylike. But thankfully the Noxian is unbothered.
“Ionian’s usually play Go. Or mahjong. Or xiangqi. This is a very casual games group.”
“So how did you find this place?” she asks, intrigued.
“President Swain keeps tabs on the city’s chess scene. I find this particular club calming, and when they play other games, it’s fascinating how someone you crush in chess will dominate you in Go. Makes you apply basic principles across games.”
“Ah so you find it helps with chess? To look at it from a different perspective?”
He nods. “It helps with football too. And with you here perhaps I can have a good chess opponent as well.”
Lux beams at this, and notes that this seems to please him. A sly grin was on his face.
“You play well, Luxanna. Why didn’t you try out for the university team?”
Her smile is suddenly frozen on her face, before falling as her eyebrows knit in confusion.
“How do you know that?”
“Swain,” he says evenly. “I’m sorry if I upset you. I was just curious. You came first in the highschool tournament did you not?”
She nods, suddenly feeling small.
“I like chess,” she finally says. “I didn’t want to play it just because it felt like I should.”
“What about cheerleading?"
“It sounded fun but I guess it backfired since now Garen and I are even more of a cute set.” She shook her head at this and moved her bishop back defensively. “Anyways, I didn’t know what my workload would be like. I might join another club, who knows. What about you, what do you do?”
“Football. Basketball. Chess. Academic review. Coaching.”
“And working on top of that?” Lux asks, surprised. ‘And people think I’m an overachiever
“I owe the Headmaster a debt for allow me and my brother to attend. It’s the least I can do to bring the school some pride. You wouldn’t believe how many kids just go to university and sleep through their classes and then complain that everything is too hard
“Strong work ethic,” she murmurs, and he hums a sort of agreement. A strong work ethic. Pride. Strength. Were these not the same qualities her parents had drilled into Lux and Garen from a young age?
The two play on, with Darius slowly gaining the lead.
“I’m so rusty,” she jokes to lighten the mood. “You brought me here to pick on me didn’t you.”
“Of course not, Luxanna,” he grins wolfishly. “But if it will ease your mind, you can pick the next outing.”
When their time was up and everyone slowly filtered out (Zed promised Syndra they would get desserts, Shen and Karma left to talk about organising the next festival, and Akali headed off to skate), Lux said a polite ‘goodbye’, waving at Darius before retreating to her car. On the way back, the radio hums but she pays it no attention. Her mind reaches to try and find something interesting for them to do next weekend. She remembers what Quinn said and wonders to herself.
‘Is this… dating?’