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Frankly, Ekko didn’t like any of the bars in Zaun. Sure, he would once spend a good portion of his younger days there, wasting the moons away in a bottle of whatever was cheapest that day. But real life had eventually caught up to him, tailgated by his new responsibilities as the leader of the Firelights, and so he had fewer and fewer hours to waste on such unproductive things.
But every now and then, what else would a street kid do on a lifeless night after a long, harrowing week?
Or at least, this is how Ekko attempted to convince his brain that allowing his feet across the doorframe wasn't such a bad idea after all. He had avoided taking breaks from his obligations for literal weeks; always on a mission somewhere or in his workshop, tinkering away at the latest prototype he could get his hands on. In truth, he couldn't even recall the last time he allowed his consistently whirring brain to shut down; so getting out of the house for no other reason than leisure? Outlandish, and that's exactly why he was doing it now. He'd briefly thought about inviting his friends as well, but the idea had rapidly vacated his mind: he did enjoy the peace and quiet from time to time. Well, metaphorically at least: there was nothing peaceful and quiet about Zaun.
The door was shoved open in front of him, and he promptly grasped that the night had started long before his arrival, despite the moon having barely set over Piltover (well, you couldn't tell in Zaun anyway). The crowd, probably an odd bunch of regulars, were forming small and larger clusters around the tables, some of them on their feet as they carried overfilled jugs or danced to what was quite honestly the worst music Ekko had yet to hear in this place so far. Worse than what he remembered at least; that in itself was quite the feat, because he hadn't even been fond of it back then. As he glanced at the back of the stage (read: a bundle of unevenly sized boxes stacked over one another), Ekko's appreciation of what was barely a tune started to make sense: the performer seemed as if he was about to wobble down to the floor at any given second now to join the stack of discarded bottles sprawled on the ground.h
The sight provoked a grin to curl on the corner of his lips. This place was exactly what he'd recalled from it. Despite the mayhem of his perpetually convoluted life, some things were bound to remain the same; the notion of permanence felt rather soothing.
After roaming through the packed crowd, he leaned onto the counter to exchange a few muted words with the barman, ordering whatever first came to mind before turning around, back reclining against the bar. His gaze travelled, observing, processing: making sure it was safe to be here. Spotting the exits, devising an escape plan for each of them, making sure that no one was observing him or being generally suspicious...
Eventually, Ekko abruptly stopped his mind from flowing further down the usual procedure, reminding himself that this was supposed to be his time off; not a test nor a threat. He sighed dejectedly, only to be startled out of his daze by the jug that slid on the countertop. He swiftly snagged it before it could glide any further and plummet to the already soaking ground. The container barely brushed his lips, and his features twisted in a grimace of disgust; that too was as repulsive as he remembered, much worse now that he had standards. But alcohol wasn't supposed to taste good, or at least not in Zaun.
His eyes came to scan the room once more, albeit more leisurely, and eventually stuck to one particularly surprising sight. Because among the griminess and the scum of his hometown, the drunken mediocrity and all the foul acts of infamy transpiring all around, concealed in thick smoke, someone stood out. Like a timid sun ray wriggling through the industrial fog, their dishevelled and yet speckled blond hair beamed in the shadows, rebel strands of hair covering their face. That person had shoved himself on a small bench seat, upper body sprawled over a table that seemed to be covered with trinkets. His gaze was fixated on said subject, completely unbothered by the ruckus transpiring around him.
He stood out from everyone else, at least visually; yet he was so withdrawn from the ceaseless action that he almost seemed part of the decor. Like a tiny painting lost in a richly adorned room, his glow was muted, almost imperceptible. Which was, Ekko furrowed a brow at the thought, very much not like Ezreal.
He'd known the Piltovan for a while, mostly through coincidence. They'd first met in the streets of Zaun, where he recalled laughing in the blond's face after being asked for directions. No one did that here, especially not when descending from Piltover, and yet the blond had done so with a mixture of pride and candidness that Ekko had yet to determine if it was hilarious or impressive. After that, they'd often cross each other's path in the streets; Ezreal had yet to learn why so few people from Piltover came to the Undercity, and why even less of them dared to lose themselves in the maze of alleyways and dead-ends – that or he was too stubborn to care. The coincidence was repeated, over and over again, until Ezreal had eventually grown to be comfortable enough to directly reach out to him, often asking for advice or needing help to localize some fortuitous pre-Zaun ruin that nobody but him was aware of.
In sum, Elko couldn't say he was very surprised to see him here, but of all places, this bar was definitely not the one he'd have recommended.
A few seconds, a mischievous smile, and a sip of his repulsive drink later, Ekko slid into the opposite side of the booth, earning himself a hasty reception. "I'm busy," Ezreal mumbled without ever raising his head to see who he was talking to. "You may come back later if you want."
Ekko had to physically restrain himself from bursting out laughing at his friend's unusual seriousness. "You're turning people down in a bar?" he chucked, promptly earning himself Ezreal's attention this time around. "You're lamer than I thought."
The Piltovan appeared taken aback for a few seconds, probably because he hadn't expected to meet him there at all. After a while, he straightened himself away from the table and reclined his head against the seat. "Well, I'll have you know that you're not the first person tonight that slid into that booth to try and make conversation," he nonchalantly retorted, regaining his signature grin. "I've had three in the last hour."
Of course, he would. He was young, pretty and looked like he had money. Quite the compelling combo. "Debilitating popularity, I know." Ekko snickered at him, a jab to which Ezreal answered with a smirk that meant he was only stating the obvious. "So, Mister Celebrity, what the hell's a Piltie doing in this part of town?”
Sure, Zaun was known for being particularly hostile, but like most cities, it was a melting pot of disparate crowds and locations that formed an entity once seen from afar. Meaning that some neighbourhoods were not so bad: the residential districts were mostly fine, packed with habitations leased to the harmless residents of the Undercity, impoverished and doomed to stay ruined due to circumstances out of their reach. If, hypothetically, one would ever want to visit Zaun, these were the locations where the chances of having one's kidneys stolen on a whim remained pretty low. Tourists would be seen quite negatively over there, but no one would be bold or stupid enough to try to do something about it.
On the other hand, there existed plenty of other districts that rejoiced at the arrival of newcomers, often desperate Pilities in search of a last-resort solution to their problems. This bar, albeit crammed with local crooks and Zaunite citizens, would definitely be one of those. But even if the conclusion to this internal monologue unveiled that this was an area to avoid, it was also true that Ezreal had never really cared about regulations and endangerment; he'd run headfirst into peril if it meant the reward was worth the risk. And fortunately for him, Ekko cared enough about his well-being, his unshakable determination and his pretty blond hair to make sure that he wouldn’t get stabbed in an alley somewhere; thus the intervention.
Which Ezreal did not seem to take very seriously. “You don’t decide where you make deals!” he paused, frowning at his own answer. “Well, I guess you can, but you don’t have much bargaining power when you’re on the receiving end."
Ekko lifted a brow. “You? Dealing in Zaun?” he eyed him up and down for a few seconds, bringing his gaze back up to stare at him in the eyes. “Yeah, you definitely got crossed over.”
The Piltovan’s face immediately fell, as if Ekko had mentioned the one thing that had been plaguing his mind for the past few hours. That was the case, actually; he let his head fall on the table with an audible sigh.
“Figured that would happen,” he pouted, the rough paper texture itching against his cheeks.
His friend scoffed. “Landed right on the nail, did I?” he taunted him playfully. “I mean, no offence, but no one in Zaun would ever trust you when you’re dressed up like that.”
Ezreal lifted himself back up, facing Ekko with his finger pointed in the hope of protesting those dainty accusations; however, seeing the Firelight’s knowing smirk had him immediately rethink his words. Because as much as it would damage his pride to admit, Ekko was right. And they both knew that.
“Anyway, tell me what’s the deal?” Ekko brought him back to the more tangible parts of the subject at hand. “Maybe I can do something to help.”
Ezreal merely nodded before shifting his hand over the map covering most of the table’s surface. “I was looking for a map that could lead me to most of the old Zaun ruins in the area. Everything seemed pretty legit. The guy who traded it to me had a shop full of antiques and weird things, but he knew his stuff. I was convinced that this was the real thing before I got to analyze it; now, I’m positive most of the things on the map just don’t exist at all.”
As he was talking, Ekko seemed to analyze the map upside down; his eyes travelled all around the paper, sticking to a few odd spots as he frowned. Eventually, after a minute or two, he pushed himself out of his seat and walked over to Ezreal’s side of the booth. “Scoot over, I can’t see shit in reverse.”
Ezreal shifted uncomfortably to the right to accommodate the space for his friend on a seat that was barely made for one; their shoulders brushed together constantly as Ekko moved occasionally to get a better look at the map, and the blond eventually had no choice but to turn his head slightly in an attempt to hide his reddening cheeks.
It took a few other minutes before Ekko nodded in some sort of finality. “Yeah, definitely fake. A good fake, though.”
Holding a conversation seemed to restore Ezreal’s confident persona, as he sighed, yet not without a smirk. “Can’t have shit in Zaun, can we?” he laughed, and Ekko scoffed in reply.
“Well, not when you have no fucking idea what you’re doing.” For some odd reason, he did not move back to his own side of the booth; instead, Ekko poked his friend on the way in an attempted annoyance, though his features did seem more severe. “Seriously, Ez, be careful with that shit. You could’ve gotten off with way worse than a harmless scam. I don’t want to be the one to find your lifeless body at the bottom of the gutter.”
Ezreal rolled his eyes, though not insensitive to the genuine concern. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll try not to follow sketchy ad signs next time.”
“Is that how-” Ekko’s eyes widened in disbelief, then shifted back to exasperation. “Actually, never mind, I don’t wanna know. But I may be able to help you with your situation here.”
“How would you do that?”
Ekko’s hand hovered over the table before circling the lower right corner of the map. “See this symbol right here?” Ezreal indeed noticed the miniature eagle holding a book. “That’s the merchant seal. I actually know the guy, did business with him a few times, but he has a hard time trusting newcomers. I’m honestly not even surprised he sold you a fake one when you had no connections to him.” Moving away from the table, he turned back to sustain the Piltovan’s gaze. “I can probably swing by his shop sometime during the week, grab you the actual thing if he still has it.”
Ezreal’s eyes twinkled for a brief second. “Really? You’d do that for me?”
“I mean,” the Zaunite grinned as he stood up to slide back into his own side of the booth. “I might have to ask you a favour in return.”
"Ah, so you aren't offering out of the kindness of your heart.” Ezreal faked being offended, theatrically rolling his eyes. “Oh, come on, Ekko, I thought you loved me more than that.”
Ekko figured he was just joking around, but the words still felt like a slap to the face. Because, well, obviously, he didn’t love Ezreal, but he didn’t exactly hate him either. Fuck, what a headache; he brushed the matter away by merely avoiding the remark and following up with his train of thought. “I’m working on a new prototype at the moment, another kind of hoverboard that should have an all-around better autonomy and performance. Need a few pieces that are easier to get in Piltover, that’s all.”
The blond man nudged him from across the table, his smirk beaming even more than before. “Hey, even you gotta admit that Piltover is alright sometimes.”
“It’s convenient. And you’re the one that got scammed today, so knock off the arrogance, would ya?”
Ezreal laughed, too exhausted by today’s ordeal to argue any further in defence of his pride. “Alright, fine,” he nodded. “Give me a list, and I’ll try to see what I can do.”
Smirking as if he already knew that would be the answer, Ekko pulled out a pencil from his pockets and snagged one of the napkins sprawled over at the edge of the table. He started to scribble away a few words, briefly going on about the different items and what they consisted of, as well as what he would be using them for. In the meantime, Ezreal had laid his head against the palm of his hand, staring at his friend a lot more than he listened to what he was rambling on about.
After a few minutes or two, Ekko wrapped up his quite extensive presentation of what was essentially an enhanced grocery list before flicking the napkin at the blond across the booth. “Got all that?”
Ezreal did not, in fact, get all that. And even if it was not yet painfully obvious that he had not taken in any of the words he had been told, he decided to blurt out the first thing that was on his mind. “You know, your eyes are pretty when you’re focused.”
He was not saying that for being coy: Ekko’s amber eyes did look amazing when he was being passionate about something. Even if he often kept up a “tough guy” act so he would be respected and taken seriously as the leader of the Fireflies, his love for tinkering was kind of obvious when it made his eyes sparkle with excitement.
And even though he meant every word of it, Ekko immediately frowned at the comment. “Ez, knock it off,” though he did seem slightly flustered now.
“I’m not kidding!” The Piltovan raised his hands in defence. “I’m serious.”
“No, you’re not.” Before Ezreal could ever retort once more, he continued. “Anyway, just drop by with everything whenever you've got everything. There isn’t much of a rush.”
The awkwardness was gone, albeit forcefully; Ezreal figured it’d just be easier to drop the subject altogether. And although they kept on talking for a while longer, the earlier predicament was never mentioned again.
Ezreal, despite all odds, absolutely adored the Firelights’ hideout. He was used to beautiful landscapes where nature reclaimed what was hers, covering demolished buildings and all remnants of past civilizations; there were many more of these kinds of scenes across Runeterra than one might think. But to be able to witness such a wonder right at the heart of Zaun, a city that had long forgotten its natural heritage in favour of machinery and dangerous peril, really did feel like a miracle at times. Every time he stepped into the hideout, which had been more and more frequent as of late, it felt like a breath of fresh air, away from Zaun’s toxicity and even from Piltover’s formalism.
Even the Firelights themselves seemed to have been accustomed to his presence by now; he recognized most of the faces he came across inside the lair, and it looked like they had memorized his name as well. And while most of these interactions consisted of friendly greetings and mindless chatter (which Ezreal was not an expert at), there were some of the Firelights he got along with a lot more, apart from Ekko himself, obviously. One of them being Shomi.
Speaking of Shomi, they were seated cross-legged on one of the benches near the main tree, lying back with a mischievous grin, as Ezreal conversed with them with his back leaning against the trunk.
“So like, he invited you, or you just showed up unprompted again?” The question left their lips as if it had been pondered in their head for a while.
Ezreal shrugged in response. “Got a few things to deliver, so you may count that as an invitation,” he shifted the cloth bag hanging on his shoulder to emphasize his point.
Their eyes now turned to the bag, Shomi furrowed a brow in curiosity. “Shit, he’s making you play errand boy now?” they snickered at the thought. “Mind letting me take a look?”
The Firelight swiftly pushed themselves off the bench as Ezreal shifted the recipient towards them; it was pretty heavy, so it eventually ended up at their feet. Shomi detached the ends and took a quick look inside before diving a hand in, only to pull out a gasket.
“He said there were a few pieces he needed for his project that he could only get in Piltover,” the blond explained as Shomi carried on their analysis of the pieces. “No wonder he called out to me; I’m definitely the best for the job.” He left out the part where they accidentally met in a bar, where Ekko only offered him help in pity after he got scammed. Yeah, there was no need to mention it.
A few seconds passed as Shomi emptied the bag with their eyes, what Ezreal could only decipher as confusion flickering in their gaze, before they regained their usual smirk. Which eventually evolved into a full-blown laugh, and suddenly, the Piltovan did not know how to react. After a while, Shomi shut the bag and threw it back at him.
“He could’ve gotten all of that at the market a few streets away, by the way,” they disclosed between two giggles. “If he wanted to spend time with you, he could at least be straightforward about it.”
This was a turn of events that Ezreal did not expect. He figured he was always flirting with Ekko in a way to humour his own feelings that he didn’t think would ever be reciprocated, since he never really considered the contrary. But with Shomi's constant teasing and now this… The whole thing was becoming particularly complicated...
He figured he must’ve been lost in his thoughts for a while when Shomi poked at his cheek, their face perplexed. He cleared his throat before replying, trying to resume the conversation at the same point. “I mean, Ekko’s mind is a mystery. I wouldn’t be surprised if he needed to get new pieces for a reason.”
Shomi did not seem impressed at the attempt to dodge the subject at hand. “He despises Piltover, you know.” They twirled a strand of their hair with a sly grin. “Means he usually goes out of his way to support Zaun businesses, especially for such trivial pieces like these.” They paused. “Ekko loathes Pitlies, and yet he’s always so relaxed around you. It’s no wonder he-”
“Shomi!” The sudden shout of the Firelight’s name brought both of their attention to the source of the noise, which was, obviously, Ekko himself.
He had just gotten off a surveillance mission in the Entresol, meaning he was pretty tired but not out of commission: he was nonetheless bewildered by Ezreal’s presence, as he didn’t expect him to be back in Zaun so soon. And with Shomi in his company, whose face radiated with mischief, it could only mean bad things.
He took the few steps he had left to reach them and immediately turned to the other Firelight. “I thought you were out with Scar.”
“I was,” they shrugged innocently. “Came back. By the way, if you needed motor parts that badly, I could’ve stopped by the shop earlier.”
Despite the obvious attempt at an impish jab, Ekko did not seem bothered. “Knock it off,” he grumbled, turning to Ezreal as if that whole interaction had never happened. “You good to help me carry that stuff up to the workshop? Unless you have somewhere to be.”
Ezreal brushed him away with a sign of his hand. “Don’t worry, I cleared up my schedule for the day.” Which was half the truth: he didn’t have any schedule; adventurers had to be ready to face the unexpected at all times, after all. He shifted his head towards Ekko. “Lead the way?”
The leader of the Firelight nodded, muttering a few additional words to Shomi before climbing the staircase leading up the tree, readjusting his backpack as he left. Ezreal turned to them as well. “Well, I guess that’s my cue. See you around.”
They threw him a salute with two fingers, their perpetual grin spreading across their lips. “Try not to shake the tree too much,” they joked as their body spun around to withdraw to another section of the Firelight’s lair before the Piltovan could answer. In any case, he was far too perplexed by the statement to come back with anything; the only thing jolting him off his train of thought was Ekko yelling at him from two flights of stairs above.
He got to the upper part of the tree a minute after Ekko had already reached the door; he was standing next to the wide-open door frame, smirking. “Took you long enough,” he stated, to which Ezreal scoffed in response.
“Ever thought about adding an elevator to that thing?” he winced, his legs hurting from the rapid climb. His eyes moved, subtly gesturing to the bag on his shoulder. “‘Cause this is like, really heavy.”
Ekko didn’t even humour him with an answer this time, only chuckling as he entered the room and closed the door behind them both.
Even with the door closed, the inside of the room remained lit up through the light reaching through the windows; Ezreal could gaze around the workshop, which also served as Ekko’s bedroom, as told by the bed placed in the corner a few meters away. There were inventions and prototypes pretty much everywhere, but the work table in the middle of the room was a case study in itself: as much as he tried, Ezreal couldn’t figure out what any of those objects were. He let himself drop the bag on the nearest desk, Ekko right on his feet, so he could explore its contents.
As soon as his hand eventually pulled out one of the gaskets, the leader of the Firelights grumbled, his attention completely dropping from the rest of the bag as he turned to his work table with the object in hand. He stood in front of one of his projects, which Ezreal assumed was an engine since he kept muttering to himself about it, swear words interlacing his frequent complaints about how the thing kept breaking and he had to be repairing it every goddamn week.
For a few minutes, Ezreal didn’t really know where to place himself. He briefly thought about leaving, but that would have been kind of awkward, considering he had spent a good chunk of his day merely to reach the place; he didn’t exactly want to do the journey back after such a shortened conversation. After touring the room a few times and accidentally breaking a trinket that he immediately put back on the shelf, he finally had the courage to interrupt Ekko’s working trance. “Do you want me to go or…”
The other man turned to him swiftly; with the way he stared at him, it was obvious he had completely forgotten he had been there for the last few moments. When Ekko got his mind on something, especially when it concerned his work, it was difficult to shake him off of it. “Uh, sorry,” he mumbled apologetically. “I mean no, you don’t have to leave. Well, if you want to stay.”
“Of course!” Wait, that was a bit too enthusiastic. Tone it down. “I mean, I just arrived. I don’t wanna take the trip back so soon.”
Ekko nodded at the answer and turned back towards his project; he seemed as determined as he was before to fix the damn thing, but his posture was a bit more laid-back, which Ezreal took as an invitation to get closer and try to make conversation. He found an empty spot on the work table, pushed the pieces of paper and other metal scraps aside, and made himself a place to sit.
His eyes wandered back to his friend, whose attention was focused on trying to fix the new piece on top of the motor. His hands were handling the machinery minutely, eyebrows furrowed in a mix of annoyance and concentration. And those goddamn passionate eyes… Wait, he was staring now. Fuck. Well, at least Ekko seemed too focused to notice.
“Mind enlightening me on whatever you’re doing?” he finally asked, to which the tension seemed to slightly alleviate.
The Firelight leader tilted his head slightly, so as to keep an eye on what he was doing with his hands while being able to frequently gaze at Ezreal every few seconds. “Joint’s busted. It’s a hoverboard’s engine, by the way,” he explained, realizing he completely forgot to offer context. “Every week, I have to fix one of these because they keep jamming or just won’t turn on. Figured Piltover might have actual functional gaskets, you know.”
The Piltovan grinned widely. “So that’s why you needed my help.”
Ekko hesitated, his gaze remaining fixed on the task this time. “Partly. I also just wanted to have you swing by here for once. Meeting in a bar is hilarious, but it wouldn’t exactly be my first choice.”
Oh.
So Shomi was right. It was partly expected, since Ekko would never admit to such things so openly. Especially when it concerned himself or his own feelings, which is why his bluntness caught Ezreal off guard.
Nevertheless, he still decided to keep on pushing the matter. “And you wanted me here because…?”
Again, a quiet pause sank between the two of them, this time with Ekko straightening himself up to fully turn himself towards the blond. “Do you really want me to justify why I’d want to see a friend?”
Ah, the long-awaited and perhaps forever apprehended friend word. This is not the first time either of them has used it, because it actually depicted the bond they shared. But every time it resonated in his ear, Ezreal couldn’t help but wince in silence. Because friend could work, but it’s not exactly what he wanted. But was he eager to take that perilous step and affirm it out loud, at the risk of making it all crumble?
The blond cleared his throat to fill in the silence he had briefly created. “I mean, you don’t have to, really. I love spending time here. If you want me to drop by, you can just ask me.” he gestured towards the bag, still filled to the brim with all the other pieces. “You don’t need a pretense to ask me to hang out.”
Ekko was still staring at him. “Yeah, you’re right,” he finally mumbled, promptly returning to his engine. And although he did have time to move a few pieces, it wasn’t very long before he brought his gaze back up. “You know, I’ve been meaning to apologize for the other night.” It was rare to see Ekko without his beaming confidence, seeking the right words when he’d usually say exactly what was on his mind. “The compliment caught me off guard, and I kind of panicked. I just got mixed signals from the situation and…” His eyes widened slightly as if realizing what he’d been implying, and he immediately paused. "Forget it."
Ezreal knew exactly what he was talking about, but he figured he’d humour him. “What do you mean?” If Ekko was the one bringing up the subject, that meant he didn’t have to feel guilty talking about it. Right?
“I said, forget it.” Ekko still sustained his gaze, albeit a bit uncertain. Fortunately, he didn't sound offended. “Forget I said anything.”
“No, go on.” Ezreal assumed the grin this time.
Ekko exhaled sharply; he knew very well he’d never win a battle of stubbornness against Ezreal. He might as well just get straight to the point. “Look, I thought you were flirting with me.”
The Piltovan chuckled lightly at the answer. “I mean, I kind of was.”
"Really?"
Ezreal briefly wondered if Ekko was just completely oblivious (to which there was probable truth if he was honest with himself) or if Ezreal had been a lot better at disguising his feelings than he had thought. But now, perhaps it was the perfect occasion to break off both of these barriers.
And so he went along with his heart, completely rejecting the rational side of his mind that warned him to back off. "Yeah," he finally answered Ekko's confused question. "I mean, I can make it more obvious if you want."
And to hell with the consequences: if Ekko wanted to despise him afterward, so be it. He was willing to take the leap.
Before the Firelight leader could even have a chance to retort to such a bold claim, Ezreal gripped his shirt and tugged him forward in a swift yet thoughtful manner, in such a way that their lips met with one another. The act was sudden, and despite Ezreal’s intention, none of them knew how to react.
Ekko’s body stiffened under the shock, and realizing his lips barely moved under the kiss, Ezreal instantly pulled back. What a way to misread the signals; this time, he was the embarrassed one. “I-I’m sorry,” his whole face grew redder. “I didn’t mean to offend-”
“Do it again.”
A pause. “What?”
And in a move that even Ezreal himself would’ve never expected in a million years, Ekko was the one who pulled him back into the embrace without a word, this time with more fervour. Their lips met again and again, following each other’s rhythm in near devoutness, although Ekko realized that the position they were in was slightly uncomfortable, considering Ezreal was still sitting on the table. It was low, and the blond didn’t have to bend his upper body too much to reach him, but it was not favourable at all.
Completely abandoning his work, Ekko positioned himself between Ezreal’s legs and resumed their embrace by pulling the adventurer’s face down by the collar. Their mouths moved in perfect tandem, with Ezreal lifting his hands to cup Ekko’s face against his own. His fingers were tenderly threading through blond locks, twirling them while his other hand landed on the other’s chest, almost in an unconscious desire to prove to himself that this was real. He felt the other man's warmth against his skin, and for the first time in maybe forever, everything simply made sense.
Minutes passed like mere fleeting moments, and Ekko’s arms haltingly descended to circle Ezreal’s waist to pull him closer as the kiss deepened. Exploring each other’s mouths, as their tongues began to brush against one another in reckless abandon, and Ezreal’s hand shifted hesitantly to toy with the hem of Ekko’s shirt…
At that exact and very unfortunate moment, the door flung open, and Ekko’s gaze quickly shifted to the entrance, which revealed both Shomi and Kay standing in the door frame with their mouths agape.
“Fuck.” he muttered to himself, and before Ezreal, who was startled by the sudden noise, could fully turn around, Ekko slammed his Z-Drive that, fortunately for him, he had completely forgotten to take off.
Time had rewound to before the door had been opened, but there was no time to lose. His mind was still slightly scrambled by the recent turn of events, and the only thing he could muster to think of at the moment was snagging Ezreal by the collar and pulling him towards him, forcing him down the table with a dazed expression. Without wasting a second more, he had pushed the blond to the ground, his back against the floor as Ekko mounted over him, their faces barely any distance apart.
Ezreal stared up at him in disarray: Oh, how the tables had turned. “Wait, whoa, wait a minute,” he finally broke their silence, his entire face flushed red. Ekko chuckled at the sight before lowering himself, dropping another light kiss to Ezreal’s lips.
“Trust me,” he whispered. “Don't say a word.”
And immediately as he stood back up, the door hinges made a recognizable noise, which Ekko didn’t even need to lift his head to recognize as he pretended to remain too focused on the disassembled engine in front of him to react. Shomi was the first one to speak up. “Sorry for the interruption, but Kay here needed the new parts for my board." They paused, scanning the room. "Wait, where’s blondie?”
Ekko became firmly aware that he had not chosen the easiest nor the most subtle course of action. Ezreal had quite evidently come up here with him and had yet to exit; and while yes, he could use magic, it didn't really make sense for him to have vanished this fast. It would have been a hundred times easier to leave him sitting on his work table rather than now having to figure out how to explain whatever the hell this was.
“Sleeping,” he lied, sharing a brief gaze with the Piltovan, who was still on the ground. He now seemed to understand the situation, although his face was still tinged with crimson. He raised his head to stare at Kay, the black-haired Firelight, who appeared more confused if anything. “‘Sup, Kay, what do you need?”
A small gasp echoed from her as if she was surprised to be addressed. “Oh, huh, mainly a new distributor. But if you got any camshafts that’d be great.”
He gestured to the bag that Ezreal had brought in and left on the other edge of the work table. “Got all that. Take your pick.”
She mumbled a few words of appreciation before stepping up, her hands digging through the bag for what she required. Meanwhile, obviously, Shomi had not yet dropped the subject, their eyes shifting between Ekko and his very empty bed a few meters away.
“You could’ve at least given him the bed,” they snickered, smiling.
Ekko parted his lips to reply, but was promptly interrupted. “Floor’s comfortable,” Ezreal interjected, pretending to still be hazy as his hand reached for the table to help himself up. “I have slept many times on worse grounds than this.”
This is where the deception became less and less believable; his remarkably dishevelled hair and displaced shirt couldn’t be justified by merely sleeping on the floor. Everyone in the room would be quick to realize that, Shomi being the first, considering the grin that soon reached both corners of their mouth.
"I can imagine," they giggled, throwing a knowing wink at Ekko.
Fortuitously, Kay was quick to find what she needed, breaking off the interaction she had no idea was happening and lifting one of the metallic pieces with a smile. "Yeah, that's perfect! Thanks, Ekko!" she exclaimed, before yanking everything into her pockets. She then turned back to Shomi. "We good?"
The dropboarder nodded positively. "Yeah, let's go." Another grin. "I wouldn't want to keep on interrupting something anyway."
Kay tilted her head in confusion but remained silent as she walked back to the entrance, soon followed by Shomi, who enthusiastically waved at them before closing the door behind them.
From there followed a deafening silence, into which, now that they were fully alone, none of them knew what to say, if there was anything to say at all. After such a sudden interruption to what had quickly evolved from a friendly discussion to a literal make-out session, it was laborious for them both to figure out the right words.
It was Ezreal, who was still leaning against the countertop with his gaze directed at the door, that first opened his mouth. “So,” he cleared his throat, ” do we talk about it, or…”
“I mean, you’re the one who pulled me in.” Ekko grinned as he tried to shake the embarrassment away. “If you want to explain yourself, now that’d be the time.”
Ezreal’s earlier and usual confidence seemed to have completely blinked away at that point: his face remained fully red. “What? Do you want me to spell it out loud?” he blurted out, lifting a brow. “I thought it was pretty clear.”
“Yeah, actually." The Firelight nodded. “I want to hear you say it.”
After a while, Ezreal exhaled sharply. He didn’t know if there was a right way to word this, but at this point, it was pretty obvious that there was no turning back anyway. “Fine,” he bit his lower lip. “I like you. Like, romantically like you. But I wasn’t exactly sure you’d reciprocate, so I never said anything. Well, apart from flirting, but I figured a bit of harmless flirting never killed anyone.”
Ekko only hummed in response, although he appeared to be lost in thought.
“What about you?” The adventurer was not ready to let the conversation fully die out.
Again, there was a small hesitation before Ekko opened his mouth; though he did seem more determined than embarrassed this time around. “Well, I wasn’t sure myself, but,” with a chuckle, he laid down another kiss on Ezreal’s cheek this time, “I believe I’ve been enlightened.”
“Damn right,” the blond laughed, reprising his natural demeanour. “Nobody can resist my charms anyway.”
Ekko couldn’t help but snicker. “Pfft, sure. That’s why you still got scammed for that map, right? Really couldn’t resist your charms there.”
Oh yeah, the map. It had kind of just… slipped out of his mind at this point. He could probably forget about it for a few more minutes, right?
When Ezreal did not reply, Ekko slipped his hand under the adventurer’s chin to bring his face closer. This time, he was the one bearing a mischievous smirk. “So,” he breathed, “Wanna continue where we left off?”
Ezreal gulped at his bluntness; this was probably the last thing he’d expected Ekko’s reaction to all this to be. “Yeah,” he mumbled, before shaking his head. “Wait, actually. I have to make sure. Do you want to make this a one-time thing or…”
The Firelight lifted a brow. “Do you?”
“Not really.”
“Then me neither.”
Their lips melted on each other once more, as if to conclude the exchange and cement what seemed to be the beginning of something much greater. The absence of ambiguity in both of their feelings lifted a weight off of Ezreal’s heart, who’d spent many sleepless nights pondering about the perfect way to handle this cumbersome situation.
But then, his mind wandered back to Ekko, because obviously, he wouldn’t be the only one to benefit from all this. Ekko, who always ended up placing so much pressure on himself, in a desperate attempt to be responsible for everyone’s safety as well as Zaun’s future. Maybe it would help him, get him the little boost he needed by offering him a shoulder to lie on from time to time.
Ezreal grinned into the kiss. Yeah, this wasn’t half bad; he could definitely get used to this.