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Akali is not good with words.
Okay, scratch that, as a rapper, Akali is great with words. She has an incomparable flow and witty snubs laced with an addictive beat.
Akali is not good at expressing affection through words. It was rare in the Kinkou Order to tell someone you loved and appreciated them, and it was even more rare to have those words directed towards her. If she did something well, there was usually no comment. It was expected. If she did something exceptionally well, she would maybe get an approving nod.
Her mother was neglectful at best and abusive at the worst, so she definitely did not learn this skill from her. She didn’t realize how shit she was at it until she had joined K/DA, in a group of very affectionate and supportive artists that had no qualms in telling Akali exactly how they felt when they felt it.
The first time happened, she was with Ahri. She had just gotten a video call from the renowned popstar, and the words made Akali’s brain short circuit and her mouth gape.
“I absolutely love your energy and your amazing rapping! I think you would be the perfect addition to our team. You’re exactly what we’re looking for!”
And Akali just stared, like a deer in headlights. It took her four seconds to utter, “Um, thanks. You’re really good, too.”
To that, Ahri cooed and responded, “Aw! You’re so cute! If we’re on the same page, we would love to meet up with you in person to work out a contract.” Easy, breezy, professional, and absolutely no hesitation in saying exactly what was on her mind.
The second time it happened, she was with Kai’sa, during one of their one on one dance sessions. Kai’sa was getting a feel for Akali’s skill level and preferred style of learning, and after the session, she had told her, “Wow, you’re great! I love your precise movements. You’re a little tense, so we can work on getting you loosened up and more comfortable with the moves, but you caught onto the choreography really quickly.”
A typical critique sandwich, a very common teaching style, but practically nonexistent in the Order. Akali just blushed and smiled, “Thanks, dude. You’re, uh, a good teacher.”
Kai’sa blinded her with a beaming grin, dimples out and all, and slung a toned arm around her shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here with us. I’m so excited to get our music going!” The warm affection absolutely overloaded her senses, and Akali couldn’t not wrap her arms around Kai’sa’s waist to return the gesture.
Slowly but surely, Akali acclimated to the energy of her group mates. She got better at taking compliments and controlling that stupid blush that crept up on her face any time someone said something nice and affirming to her.
With Evelynn, it was much, much harder. Not only was she devastatingly attractive but also extremely intimidating. Her eyes were sharp and observant, and her demeanor was stoic as if to say prove yourself to me. Make me respect you as an artist.
It wasn’t until Akali had finished the demo for POP/STARS that Evelynn’s mask fell apart and she gave a pleased smile. No tricks, no angle to play at, just pure happiness at what Akali had been able to create for their debut song. “Impressive,” she had said, and the iciness in her eyes had melted away into acceptance of Akali as an equal.
As they moved forward into their recordings and dance practices, Akali started doling out affirmations and compliments of her own.
“You’re a really great leader, Ahri.”
“You’re a beast on the floor, Kai’sa. We gotta get more sessions in, so I can keep up with you!”
“You sing good.” Akali blurts out into the sound booth that Evelynn was currently recording in. Her voice feeds into Evelynn’s headset, and she could see the diva perk a perfectly groomed eyebrow at the poorly constructed comment through the screen.
“Well! You sing well! Your voice is nice.” Akali tries to recover, but she slaps a hand to her forehead. She’s so glad Evelynn can’t see her right now. How embarrassing. She presses a button for playback for the singer to take a listen and to take the attention off of herself.
Evelynn’s face is fixed into concentration as she picks apart her own recording, meticulous in her craft. “Let’s do it again. I can get a better delivery.” They proceed with the recording, and Evelynn only teases her a little bit for her awkward attempt in being verbally supportive.
So, yeah, Akali is not the best with words, but she’s working on it!
It’s a lot easier with Kai’sa and Ahri. They’re much more openly affectionate, which makes it easier for Akali to reciprocate. That, and Akali isn’t halfway in love with them like she is with Evelynn.
With her, Akali is a stuttering mess. Her confident attitude diminishes to broken sentences and mumbling. Her roguish charms get tripped up, and her normally very effective pickup lines get jumbled into gibberish.
After the umpteenth failed attempt, Akali doesn’t try using her words again.
Instead, she buys those shrimp chips that Evelynn absolutely loves but will deny to her dying breath. She watches the way Evelynn eyes the snack as she brings it over to the couch for a movie night. Akali leaves it on the coffee table for a good quarter of the movie and doesn’t crack open the bag until Evelynn has surely forgotten about it.
She holds the bag in her lap and offers some to Evelynn, who stubbornly refuses but not without a twitch of her fingers. A little later, Akali tries again, moving the bag between them and wiggling it as another silent offer. This time, Evelynn is too weak to resist the flavorful smell of the chips.
Akali leaves the bag pointed towards her for easy access, and the movie plays on. By the time the credits roll, the bag is emptied out, and Evelynn is licking the powder off her fingers. She has a satiated look on her face as she wipes her hands clean with a napkin, and Akali counts it as her first success.
“Want some tea? I found that super obscure blend at the market today.” Akali offers as she stands up to stretch, reaching her arms high above her head and cracking her stiffened spine.
Evelynn’s eyes light up, and she readily agrees. Akali makes the tea the way Evelynn likes it.
“Thank you,” Evelynn says softly. Her hands are cupped around the steaming mug, soaking in the warmth it provides, “I’ve missed drinking this.”
Akali grins and mentally fist pumps, “Yeah, well. I bought like four boxes, so you better finish them all.” She keeps Evelynn’s quiet company as she sips her tea slowly, savoring it to its very last drop. When she leaves to turn in for the night, she catches Evelynn contented smile as she washes up her mug.
Cars. Evelynn likes cars. Correction: Evelynn loves cars and is insanely uptight about her own collection. So when she returns from an extended road trip with her beautiful, classic 1967 Shelby GT500, Akali washes and details her car.
Evelynn is pulled away for the day (Akali made Ahri take her on a shopping trip, not that it took much convincing, they’re both sluts for a good haul), and it takes Akali the whole six hours to get everything done.
Akali is scrupulous with her job. She’d researched the best cleaning methods for the model, triple checked the products that Evelynn already had in stock, and watched hours of videos on how to actually do a full detail and cleaning. She applies everything she’s learned with what she’s observed when Evelynn lets her sit in on one of her sessions and hopes to god it’s good enough.
She thinks about how Evelynn would spend days on end in her garage, cooped up to work on her cars. She always ends up with grease and oil stains somewhere on her face and always on her normally pristine hands. An endearing sight that is the complete opposite image of diva popstar Evelynn, but it's a look that Akali has learned to cherish.
When the job is done, Akali is close to her wits end. She doesn’t have much patience outside of her studio to begin with, and this kind of detailed car cleaning is absolutely painstaking. She scrubs at the grime on her hands with everything she has until her skin is raw and red, and the offending streaks have the audacity to linger.
Maybe she should’ve watched videos on how to get this shit off her skin too.
Akali collapses into her bed at the ripe time of 7pm, starving but too tired to do anything about it. She falls into a slumber and wakes up four hours later to Evelynn sitting by her bedside.
“Did you wash my car?” Evelynn has a hand in Akali's hair, smoothing her nails along her scalp so gently that Akali nearly dozes off again. A sharp sting from an intentional poke sends prickles down her neck, and her eyes are shocked into opening.
“Ow. Asshole.” She swats at the hand and hears a small laugh. “I’ve never washed a car in my life,” she deflects.
She blinks the sleep away from her eyes and tries to rub the tiredness out of them. Evelynn’s silhouette makes it hard for Akali to see her, so she reaches behind her to turn on the lamp on her bedside table.
Which was a wrong move, because Evelynn’s eyes immediately zero in on the streaks that stains her hands.
“Akali,” Evelynn tuts in a soft, exasperated tone. There’s no heat behind the word, in fact, quite the opposite.
It takes a few more seconds for Akali to catch on, and when she does, she stuffs her hands underneath the covers. “If you must know, I was helping our elderly neighbor fix her pipes.”
“We don’t have elderly neighbors.”
“I was helping our neighbor’s elderly parents fix her pipes.”
Evelynn rolls her eyes fondly and pulls Akali’s hands out of their hiding place. “I can smell the polish. What did you use to wash up?” She thumbs over the marks, and Akali nearly falls asleep again to the hypnotizing strokes.
“Ionno. Soap? And hot water.”
She’s pulled into sitting, and the side of her hair sticks up comically like a cowlick. Evelynn tries to smooth it out, but the strands just bounce back up stubbornly the second her hands leave.
“What kind of soap?”
“Dish soap,” Akali grunts out. Her arms are exhausted and already sore. Wax on, wax off is no joke. No wonder Karate Kid was such a good fighter.
Evelynn groans and stands up, dragging Akali with her. She leads her to the garage and pulls out a bottle from one of the cabinets. Ah, there’s special soap .
She sticks Akali’s dirty hands underneath the faucet and works the soap into her skin. “How did I do, boss?”
“Pretty well for having never washed a car in your life.” Evelynn cleans Akali’s hands with a tender touch, mindful of the rawness of her skin from her own earlier attempts. “You didn’t have to. I would’ve gotten to it tomorrow.” She says this, but her tone is nothing but grateful.
Akali shrugs, her shoulders brushing against Evelynn’s from their close proximity. “I wanted to. Now I can say I’ve washed a car. It was for my own benefit, really.” She nudges her, as if mere contact wasn’t enough.
Evelynn pats her hands dry, “Well, thank you, regardless. You did well.” The praising words make Akali’s chest flutter, and she would chase the feeling if she could. “We bought takeout from that ramen place you like. It’s cold now, but you should eat something.”
As she scarfs down her food, Evelynn brings out a small container of hand moisturizer, an expensive but highly effective brand, miles better than her own bottle she bought on sale at Target. “Put this on after you shower.” Evelynn doesn’t say anything more, but she gives her shoulders a lingering squeeze before she leaves Akali to her late dinner.
Akali’s next gesture comes in the form of a new movie release. It was late December and another Star Wars movie is set to be released to the cinemas. It turns out Evelynn is a giant dork, and a long time fan of the franchise, though Akali could literally care less about intergalactic wars.
She knocks on the door to Evelynn’s office and waits for a reply before poking her head in. “Hey Eve, you gonna be busy all day?” The movie screening is in the evening, but she figured she’d write her own name in on Evelynn’s schedule before she takes on another task.
The working woman hums in acknowledgement of her question but doesn’t say anything until she finishes up whatever she was typing. With a conclusive clack of her keyboard, Evelynn shifts her focus on Akali, who has now moved to stand in front of her desk.
“I could be. Why?” Evelynn folds her hands on top of her desk and regards Akali with welcoming golden eyes.
“Well,” Akali draws out, “I bought some tickets to the advanced screening of the new Star Wars movie. They’re yours if you aren’t busy,” she teases in a singsong tone, as if dangling a treat.
A delighted look flashes across Evelynn’s sharp features, but a slight frown takes place shortly after. “You hate Star Wars.”
“Wha- I don’t hate Star Wars!” Akali counters defensively. At that, Evelynn gives a disapproving look that says try again. Akali scrunches up her face and glares back defiantly . There is lighthearted tension that sits between them until Akali groans in defeat. “Fine! I don’t love Star Wars, but you do. So you wanna come with me or not? It starts at 7:50.”
Evelynn’s mouth curls up into an excited smile, “Twist my arm, why don’t you.” She looks giddy, like a kid on Christmas Eve, and Akali takes a mental snapshot of her wondrous face to keep in her brain forever. “Are Ahri and Kai’sa coming as well?”
Akali just laughs at the ridiculous question, and it’s telling enough of her answer. She doesn’t have enough money to pay Ahri to sit through a Star Wars movie, and Kai’sa would be so overwhelmingly critical of how this plot has too many holes, don’t they know this couldn’t happen realistically?
“Be ready by 6, we’ll grab a quick dinner before!” Akali flounces out of her office, and as she closes the door, she hears a soft, uncharacteristic “yay” from Evelynn.
When their night comes to a close, Akali can reconfirm that no, she doesn’t like Star Wars, but she might just sit through all nine (ugh) movies if it meant spending time with Evelynn and seeing her eyes gleam at lightsabers sparking and ships traveling through hyperspace.
Contrary to her icy exterior, Evelynn actually gives the warmest, fullest hugs out of the entire group. Her hugs with her entire body, and her arms are all encompassing. Akali soon learns that Evelynn’s touches are also her ways to release the stress that builds from her work outside of K/DA. The girls reaping the benefits are just pluses.
Akali’s never been a big fan of hugs, but she is more than willing to initiate little touches. She gives a hand on the shoulder here and a quick side hug there, and with every touch, she can practically see the stress melt away from Evelynn’s shoulders before they get too heavy.
One day, when Evelynn returns from a full schedule with pinched brows and a stormy expression, Akali knows exactly what she could do to help.
She brews her tea while Evelynn showers and brings it to her room when she hears the water go off. The shower seemed to help, but her eyes are still squinted and unfocused, and her posture is stiff. “Tension headache?” Akali asks quietly and gestures to her own head.
Evelynn just nods and takes the mug from Akali’s hands, sighing in temporary relief after taking a careful sip. She sets the cup down by her bedside table and engulfs Akali in her tired arms. She has to lean down slightly to tuck her head into Akali’s neck, but she sags greedily into her warm body.
Akali brings her hands up, one wrapping tightly around her waist and the other at the base of Evelynn’s skull. She squeezes firmly at the knots formed there, and Evelynn whimpers at the pressure.
“Lay down, I can help.”
With Evelynn’s head settled comfortably in her lap, Akali starts by pressing strong fingers into the muscles of her neck, easing out the tension and smoothing out the knots. Evelynn is already noticeably looser when Akali moves on to rub out the pain from her head.
Akali chases away the furrowed brows with small, concentrated circles at the pressure points. She runs her thumbs across her eyebrows, all the way down to her temple, over and over again until Evelynn’s skin is smoothed out. She shifts her fingers lower, to the overworked muscles of her jaw and digs in.
With each breath puffed out, the stress in Evelynn’s body falls away. When the grasps of pain finally release their hold, Evelynn lets out a low, throaty moan at the peace she is finally privy to after a long day.
Akali keeps her hands moving through Evelynn’s hair, granting her a moment of much needed rest before Kai’sa finishes up with dinner preparations.
When they’re called to dinner, Evelynn rolls over slowly and moves up to rest her forehead on Akali's chest. She wraps her arms around her lithe waist as best she can and squeezes, “You’re a godsend.”
Akali eats dinner with the lingering warmth of Evelynn’s body on hers, and she finds that she doesn’t mind hugs as much as she used to.
She doesn’t realize she has a shot at something real with Evelynn until Kai’sa takes a metaphorical chair and swings it at her head.
They’re at the grocery store together with Kai’sa and Akali walking with the cart and Ahri with Evelynn walking several paces in front of them. Akali throws things into the cart when she thinks Kai’sa isn’t looking, and when Akali really isn’t looking, Kai’sa takes them out and puts them back onto a shelf.
“Evelynn loves you, you know,” Kai’sa says in a low voice, aware of how keen Evelynn and Ahri's hearing are, even if they’re out of earshot.
Akali tries to throw a box premade hot chocolate into the cart, but Kai’sa snatches it out of the air before it falls in and puts it back. “Yeah,” Akali says suspiciously, “So? She loves you, too. Can we please get hot chocolate, I’ve been so cold lately.”
“No, I can make hot chocolate, the boxed ones are crap.” Kai’sa says. She hates using the ‘we have ___ at home’ , but it’s true. She can make much better hot chocolate than whatever Swiss Miss has to offer in their little premixed packets. “And, that’s not what I meant. She loves you, Akali. And I know you love her too, so stop thinking you can’t be with her.”
Akali’s mouth drops, and she looks scandalized. She socks Kai’sa in the arm, “I thought we weren’t going to talk about that! Ever! I told you that when I was eight shots deep,” she hisses.
They bicker in whispered breaths in the middle of the aisle, “You need to stop being a coward and just confess!”
“Who are you calling a coward?!”
“Watching you guys flirt makes me want to throw up in my mouth!”
“I flirt with everyone!”
“Bullshit, you don’t even flirt with me or Ahri like that.”
“God, Kai’sa your arms are so nice, it makes me want to run my hands all over them.” Akali says in a mock flirtatious tone, batting her eyelashes and making a twirling motion with her finger above her shoulder.
“Are you hitting on my girlfriend, ‘Kali?” Ahri teases, standing mere feets away from them. She must’ve walked back towards the cart when they realized the two had stopped to argue with each other.
Kai’sa groans in frustration and rolls her eyes in a huff, “Stop being dumb.” She walks forward with a meaningful look in her eyes. There is no judgment or malice in them, just sincerity and a plea for action.
“You’re dumb! You owe me hot chocolate!” Akali says, stomping after her group mates.
Evelynn raises her eyebrows in question, and she just shakes her head and pouts. Evelynn wraps a consoling arm around her shoulders, and Akali leans into the touch. When Kai’sa looks back and sees the position they’re in, she wiggles her eyebrows, and Akali sends an eye roll in return.
Kai’sa’s confrontation resurfaces to her mind when Akali says her last goodbyes before leaving to work on her project with the True Damage crew. They stand outside the house for a long time, basking in each other’s presence while she waits with Akali for her ride.
During their parting hug, Evelynn holds her closer than she has ever before, and she’s reluctant to let her go. Even when they pull apart, her hands linger by her shoulders, and their eye contact is charged with something neither of them had been brave enough to address.
Evelynn moves her hands up and brushes at Akali’s cheeks, “I miss you, already. Stay safe, alright?” Akali can’t do anything but nod. “I’m really proud of you, Akali,” Evelynn releases her with a fond pinch and steps back with a bittersweet smile.
Akali doesn’t move away. She swallows the lump in her throat and whispers shyly, “I’ll be back soon.” Evelynn nods slowly, and Akali leans in to place a quick peck on the corner of her lips. “I’ll be back soon,” she repeats, louder this time, with more confidence.
“I’ll be here.” Evelynn promises. I’ll wait for you. Akali walks away with her head held high, ready to rock the world with something new.
It turns out that eight shot Akali is a romantic. A love sick fool who will proclaim her affections to anyone who’s willing to listen. Actually, even if they don’t want to listen, they have to anyway because she is loud.
“I’m in love with her!” She hollers for the fifth time at an annoyed Qiyana.
Akali gets no reply. At least, she didn’t hear one. But that could be because the club they’re in is loud and her head is filled with whiskey.
“Go tell her already!” Is what she hears eventually, everything else before and after that is spoken too fast in rapid-fire Spanish for Akali to even try and comprehend.
“I will!” She yells back unnecessarily. Qiyana grumbles again and covers the ear that Akali just screamed into.
(02:16)
hey
eve
(02:19)
Missed call from Evelynn 💖
(02:19)
soz we r at the club
i jus wanted to tell you
that i love you and i miss you
i wanna kiss u so hard ur crocs fly off
(02:20)
How could you think that I would ever wear those atrocious excuses for sandals?
(02:22)
i wanna kiss u so hard ur heels fly off
When Akali wakes up the next day, hungover and dried out, she curses eight shot Akali, “Fuck me. I’m so stupid.”
She sighs and holds her head in her hands. She picks up her phone and hovers over Evelynn's contact. With a grounding breath, she taps the screen.
Evelynn picks up after two rings.
“Hello, darling.” Her soothing voice floats through the receiver, “How are you feeling?”
Akali flops onto her hotel bed and rubs at her face, “Hungover,” she mumbles.
There’s a rustling sound through the other end and it breaks into Evelynn’s reply, “Seems like you had a fun night,” she teases, “I didn’t think you were the dancing on tabletops type, but I guess I was wrong.”
“Ughhhh, don’t remind me. I’m so embarrassed.” The videos of her night out have already circulated all social media platforms and while there are little to no professional repercussions, Akali is appalled at what drunk Akali is willing to do.
Evelynn laughs and there are some more shuffling noises that get picked up. She must’ve been in bed already. “Your performance was really good. Ahri cried like a proud mom.”
Akali preens at the praise, “Thanks. I’m really glad this whole project didn’t blow up in my face.”
They talk for a bit longer about her performance, the behind-the-scenes, until they settle into a pocket of silence.
Akali clears her throat and says, “I’m really sorry for what I texted you last night.”
It takes a couple seconds for Evelynn to whisper back a quiet, “Oh,” a sad little sound, like a paper house folding in on itself.
“Not because I didn’t mean it,” Akali soldiers on, “but because I wish I could’ve told you in person, when I could see your face and actually… be with you. So, yeah. Sorry for being an idiot about it.”
“Oh,” Evelynn says again, this time more solid, like foundation blocks being laid down. “I can’t wait for you to come back.”
Akali grins widely at her ceiling. “I’ll be quick. I’ll even put my crocs in sport mode for you.”
When her stint with True Damage is over, and she returns to the house, the girls finally have their turn to celebrate with Akali.
At the end of the night, Evelynn pulls her into her arms, “I’m so glad you’re back,” she says reverently.
Akali holds her back just as tight, “It’s good to be home, Eve.” I love you, I love you, I love you.
So, no Akali isn’t the best with her words, but that’s alright, she knows how to love Evelynn with her whole heart without words.