Work Text:
Blood.
Pooling in minuscule drops on their dirty fingertips, flying out of their lips in small bursts, and clinging to their hands. The bright crimson quickly darkened as more and more coated their palm.
Blood
Your usually bright eyes widened, accentuated by the dark bags beneath your eyes, full of shock at the sight on your hand. One gripped the railing of the bridge, knuckles white with force and arm shaking with fatigue; the other speckled red in a horrific painting. Your lungs burned; your legs shook violently beneath the weight of your torso, suddenly so heavy. Quickly, your knees met the hard cement, crashing down onto it, a wince escaping through the red liquid that dripped from your mouth. Your breaths came out in short, quick puffs.
Blood.
The altercation between the Brothers and Sisters of the Nation of Zaun and Piltovers Enforcers on the bridge was sudden and without warning- just as planned- with Silco, Vander and You proudly at the head of it. Unfortunately, their enforcers were stronger- so much stronger- than anyone expected, and once your skilful knife skills dulled with fatigue, you felt your vision growing in black dots and the world spinning. The rushing pounding in your ears barely made the desperate yells 'retreat' audible, and yet you still managed to hear, stumbling back from the bridge to Piltover back to the streets of Zaun before any more damage could be done to you, or those around you. Luckily, no one followed the group over.
Slowly, you looked up, your gaze finding a slightly hunched, lean figure a few meters before you. His own breaths matched yours in intensity as he leaned against the railings of a bridge, mouth open as he panted. His expression was similarly shocked at first, eyes wide as he stared at a droplet that fell from his companion's lips and into your palm. Silco pushed himself up using his arms, staggered slightly towards you, a shaking form amongst the hordes of dead laying on the bridge, and moved next to you to help you stand,
"You're bleeding," He stated to his partner, who weakly nodded and stood with great difficulty. He reached for your arms, moving one over your shoulders, "(Y/N) how did-"
"It's fine," You argued, gritting your teeth at the throbbing pain in your legs as you trudged back to the lanes, your own grip on Silco's bare arms increasing, "It's nothing bad-"
"Nothing bad!?" He echoed angrily, helping to slowly lead you away from the bridge, limping and in pain himself "Fuck- This is bad, (Y/N)!!" He said angrily, his pace quickening as he led you back into the undercity, arms entirely supporting you, "This is exactly what I meant about being honest-"
"Fuck off, Silco," You grumbled, "Don't give me your honesty sob-story again or I'll stab you in the eye," You threatened, glaring at him. He huffed, annoyed but refrained from preaching his 'honesty is important' monologue once again- by now you'd likely had it memorised,
"How long has this been happening?" He asked instead, and you could pick up the worry lacing between his words,
"Whenever I over exhaust myself," You muttered, and his eyes widened,
"(Y/N)!" He yelled in surprise, halting in his movements,
"I don't need you to worry about me, Silco!!" You yelled, parting from his arms and swaying, struggling to support your aching body, "I am a grown person- I can care for myself and-"
"I know you can! But I want to be there for you too," He argued. You laughed, "What? Are you worried I genuinely care for you?"
"Isn't that funny," You laughed coldly, arms wrapping around your middle as a dull ache formed on your skin, "I didn't think you were capable of caring about anything other than your little revolution," With that, you turned sharply, wandering through the streets with his footsteps trailing behind you. Any questions or conversation he attempted to make died down as you refused to reply, stumbling on weakly from the fight on the bridge. Halfway home, you stumbled and thankfully he caught you just in time, holding you silently the rest of the way home.
You sat now, avoiding eye contact as he patched you up: cleaning your hand of the blood staining it- both yours and foreign; stitching a cut across your forehead shut: finishing by tightly tying a bandage around your midriff to cover a knife slash on your side,
"It's not deep. I just want to make sure it won't get infected," Silco said next to you. Receiving no response, he sighed, and you felt the bed dip down beside you, the headboard squeaking and emitting a thump as his head landed against it. For a moment it was quiet as you glared into space, refusing to acknowledge him beside you even if the skin on your arms tingled when his own skin brushed against yours. Then you felt the gentle weight of his shoulder and head against yours. With a sigh of your own, you let your eyes fall closed and shoulders droop, "I just want to know... I do care for you, (Y/N). Deeply," His voice was pleasantly soft, and you only opened your eyes when you felt his fingers grazing over your hand. "More than I could ever show you, or admit to myself," He spoke softly. His gaze drifted to your body as it shook with laughter, looking confused,
"It seems I've got tough competition," you said coldly, yet with a hint of amusement in your tone, "Your main focus is bringing down Piltover. I thought you were married to your cause- married to Zaun," You teased, "I'm not looking to be the third wheel here," you joked, your disappointment-filled gaze refusing to meet his eyes,
"(Y/N)," He said with a sigh, and you felt him moving off you, followed by the slight shake of the bed and a remarkably gentle weight on your thighs. Silco lay sprawled out exasperated, his head in your lap. Looking down at his frustrated form, you narrowed your eyes. He rubbed the heels of his palms against his piercing eyes, long fingers extending to then rub his skin down, hands stopping at his neck. His blue eyes quickly fixed themselves on you. He was tired too. His lips closed, and you eyed the blood staining his upper lip, a deep cut sitting just at the top of it. In helping you he hadn't done anything for himself. Leaning down to gently touch his long hair, brushing it from his face, you then let your fingers graze against his angular, blood-splattered cheek. His own scarred and cut up hand reached yours, moving it to press more against his smooth skin, slotting his fingers between yours, "I care for you," He said softly, and to prove his words, he tilted his head and pressed his lips to your now clean palm, kissing it. You sighed, swallowing down your own confession,
"You are a passionate man," You told him, "You cannot focus on two things at once. You need to focus on what is most important to you. I won't tell you how desperately I want that to be me- I shouldn't give you a bias. But Silco-" His blue gaze flicked from his palm up to meet your eyes, "-you can not abandon Zaun when it needs you most," You told him sincerely. His blue eyes looked down, shifting as he thought, "Vander and you are so close. You're on the precipice of... Something. You can't just leave it all up to him and stop to focus on me," You said, feeling his hand tighten in your own. He sat up then, leaning closer, the scent of sweat and cigarette smoke filling your senses as he pressed a kiss to your head,
"You're wrong about me not being able to care for multiple things at once," He murmured into your skin. hoping his words would go straight into your head and bypass the thoughts clouding your better judgement. His lips were then replaced by his forehead, his thumb brushed over your knuckles affectionately, "I love you. I have for a long time. You're just too stupid to notice," He sighed, pressing a delicate kiss to your blood-stained lips.