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“Jinx.”
Further in the room the child stubbornly ignored your greeting, preferring to keep her attention on the blue and pink doodles she was drawing.
“I was going to tell you,” You explain, slowly walking towards her. “I didn’t mean you to find out that way.”
Jinx kept her back on you. She found out about your departure tomorrow while she was eavesdropping on your conversation with Silco. You heard the child before you even saw her, her gasp was what made your head snap to the door. The door only opened a crack, limiting you to see a single eye, but it was enough for you to see her entire expression. Her gaze went from angry to sad to betrayed in a second, with tears pooling around her eyes, threatening to spill on her cheeks.
Once you reached her, you gently leaned yourself on the table beside her drawings. Still keeping her gaze to her scribbles, you slowly lifted your hand to pat her hair in comfort. But before you could even touch a strand of hair or even realize what was happening, Jinx got her hand on a death grip on your wrist.
Before you can even answer the sudden questions racing through your head- how did she get so fast- you catch her expression soften at your gaze. Jinx guiltily set back your hand down and looked back at her drawings.
“Are you leaving because of me?” She asked, voice cracking. She swiftly wiped her sleeve on her face, trying to hide her tears before you can spot it. “I’m sorry.”
You put your hand on her head and this time Jinx didn’t resist. “Now why would I leave this place because of the sweetest girl in Zaun?” You ask nudging Jinx to get her to smile. It didn’t work. “I’ll only be away for four months, Jinx.”
“Four months?” She raised her arms above her head in exaggeration. “That sounds pretty looooong.” She whined.
A smirk crept in your mouth, happy that the child wasn’t as sad as before. “It’s just, give or take, 120 sleeps.”
“But what if you decide that you don’t want to come back after 36 sleeps?” She asks with the worried expression back on her face.
You give her a small smile. You remember the time Silco suddenly came back after his plan to end Vander with the smallest child you’d ever seen hiding behind his leg and clinging to it like it was her lifeline. Now, two years later, you’ve seen her grow out of her shell. She was happier, always smiling around and tinkering- a far cry from the small girl you saw. “I’ll always come back for you, Jinx.” You reassure her, leaning down to press a gentle kiss on her temple. “Listen, Silco’s going to need you while I’m gone. Here.”
You hand her a small tube-like metal that was glass on half its end. You watch her eye the tube with fascination before gently taking it from your hand. “It’s medicine for his bad eye.” You explain. You point to the glass half of the tube. “You put that on his eye and the tube will inject a drop of shimmer. It’ll hurt for a bit but he’ll be okay, so you’ll have to be careful.”
“But what if I mess it up?” Jinx asked before shifting her gaze to you. Her eyes were filled with panic like she was seeing something horrific over and over again. “I’ll mess it up because- because I’m a jinx, and dad-” Jinx takes a shaky breath before continuing. “-Silco will- he will hate me! He’d leave-”
“Hey, hey,” you gently grab Jinx’s head between your palms and press her forehead against hers. Jinx is quiet as you urge her to breathe with you. It takes a couple of minutes for her to calm down. “You’d never mess up. You’re my perfect little girl.” Your voice was deep and gentle, full of care and dripping with love you had Jinx. You had meant every word. Her affection does not translate correctly to others but seeing blue and pink doodles on your table makes your heart fill with joy. Jinx was smart, always tinkering around with machines she fashions to look like rabid monkeys. She was perfect.
You lift your head a kiss her hair. “Silco is going to need all the help without me, so he’ll be relying on you. I need you to take care of each other, okay?”
Jinx gave the smallest nod. You nodded back to the girl before standing to take your leave. You had many things to do for your departure tomorrow. You walk towards her door already mentally listing down the things you must accomplish before you leave. You were halfway to her door when Jinx speaks up again.
“Hey, Y/N?”
You turn. “Yeah?”
Jinx looks at you with nervousness clear in her eyes. Her left hand fiddles with her nails and her eyes avert themselves to the ceiling. “Are you my mom?”
Oh. Well.
This was a conversation you’d never thought you’d have. Jinx came into your life at the age where you assumed she would remember her mom, or the lack thereof. You don’t know much about Jinx’s life before she came hiding behind Silco’s leg. Jinx started to call Silco dad after a few months of her stay and you could remember Silco’s face when Jinx offhandedly mentioned it the first time. It wasn’t like you minded either, you just never thought you’d be anyone’s mother.
“And what makes you think that?” You make sure to soften your tone to not sound too aggressive or demanding, but rather inquisitive and curious. Because you were.
Jinx sighs and pouts. “Silco’s my dad, right? Moms are always supposed to be with dads and I thought Sevika was my mom because she was always with him.” She made a disgusted face. “But she hates me. But you’re always with him too, and you don’t hate me, and you do mom things like braid my hair!” Jinx shows off the short braid you’ve done with a hopeful look. “You also don’t get mad at me when I hurt myself like dad does. Are you my mom, Y/N?”
You blink, taken aback. Carefully you kneel down to her level. “I’d be whoever you want me to be, Jinx.”
Jinx’s face lights up like a Christmas tree and zooms to you before tackling you in a hug. “Good! I already knew you were, but I was just checking. Y’know, just in case.”
Before you can even hug her back or reply to her, she wiggles out of her own hug and zooms back to her table. She grabs the drawing on the desk and runs back to you in full speed. You catch the paper with your hand and then the child with a heavy oof. You feel Jinx nuzzle against your neck and you put your unoccupied hand on her head in affection.
You study the drawing. Your face melts to an affectionate smile at what you saw. Only then did you realize that the white paper she had been sadly sketching on were doodles of what you assume was you, Silco, and Jinx holding hands. Your names were written below each character, with Silco labeled as ‘dad’, Jinx labeled as ‘Jinx’, and yourself labeled with ‘Mom? MOM!!!!!!’ right below a ‘Y/N’ that Jinx had scribbled over.
You hug Jinx tighter thanking her in her hair.
Jinx seeing you as a parental figure was flattering, but your mind was too caught up dreaming of silly thoughts. If Jinx sees you as her mom and Silco her father, then…would that mean that you were technically Silco’s wife? Of course, parents don’t have to be married to have children, those in Zaun rarely are, but the thought made you too giddy to focus. It’s not like Silco knows of your…affections towards him but it still made your mind ask, how would Silco treat his lover? Surely, he’d treat her well based on how he treats Jinx with such care and gentleness you’ve never seen in the man.
God, would he kiss her? How would he kiss her? He’d probably say something romantic and stare at her with his eyes- the other as blue as the sky and the other as red as a ruby-, then gently touch her face, tilting her chin up to-
Woah. You’ve got it bad. That’s the father of the child you’re hugging right now.
“Promise you’ll still come back after 36 sleeps?” she asks, buried in your neck.
You break the hug and give Jinx one last kiss on her temple. “I just got the most wonderful daughter. I’d come back for her even after a thousand sleeps.”
Satisfied with your answer, Jinx lets you go, allowing you to walk outside her room.
You close her door as gently as you could before letting yourself lean on the wall beside it for support. You close your eyes and tilt your head up to the ceiling thinking of all the things you needed to accomplish before leaving. And that little daydream about Silco was unnerving, especially since-
“You are always so gentle with her,” Silco’s smooth voice rings from the shadows of the hallway. To your right, you see him quietly padding towards you. “But she is a lot to handle. It is tiring. Trust me, I’d know.” Silco nodded to your figure.
You straighten up absentmindedly in his presence. How can he walk so quietly? “It is no problem, sir.”
“Hmm.” That was the only reply he gave you before walking closer to you. He had his hands at his back and he leaned towards you, eyes moving up and down like he was observing you. You normally wouldn’t mind this behavior, he has done this too many times, except for the fact that his face was just a little too close for your liking. It’s not like you can push him away either, one he’s your boss, and two you’re kind of enjoying the attention. From his distance, you wonder if he can hear your heart racing wildly in your chest. Thump, thump, thump.
“‘Mom’, huh?”
You follow his gaze to your hand that clutches Jinx’s drawing. Your cheeks burn remembering your little fantasies, and the fact that your object of daydream is so close to your face was not helping. “Oh, um,” you gulp. “Yeah, she sees me as her mom. I hope I wasn’t intruding; I just didn’t have the heart to say no, and-”
“I can think of no one better to be her mother.” Your breath hitches and Silco looks at you then, his mismatched eyes staring at your own. For a moment you avert your gaze away, not used to looking at Silco eyes, but you feel his two fingers raise your chin gently back to his stare. He takes a step closer, and you just know that he knew exactly what he was suggesting, and how he can most definitely hear your heart now- thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump.
He then leans in closer, and closer, and you just close your eyes deciding at that very moment that he can very well do anything he wanted to you. You have a feeling you’d enjoy it nonetheless. You brace yourself for contact, but then open your eyes in surprise after feeling Silco peck you on the cheek.
You’re flustered, and you know Silco knows you are judging by the small smirk on his lips. His arm slowly travels to your shoulder down to your wrist he places another kiss on your knuckle. “Come back to me. We have much to discuss. Four months without you will be unbearable.”
He gingerly sets your hand back to your side and slinks back to the shadows where he came from.
You release a deep breath you didn’t even realize you were holding once you were sure that he was gone. You blink wildly, looking around your surroundings, wondering if it really happened or if it was just another delusional fantasy of yours.
You raise your hand to gingerly touch the spot on your cheek that he kissed. “Well,” you whisper to yourself. You’ve already decided to do anything to come back early after seeing Jinx, but now that Silco was waiting, well….
“It’s only 120 sleeps.” You try to convince yourself, as you walked back to your rooms with a wide grin on your face.