Chapter Text
Even right in the middle of exam week, problems always seemed to come to knock on Ezreal’s door. Well, metaphorically of course: he hadn’t been back home in a hot minute, considering how busy he had been. He still had much to do, including an archeology evaluation on dating methods as well as a few research papers he had yet to finish writing up. Nevertheless, it seemed like this busy period was always the opportune time for things to happen, including having his boyfriend visiting him on campus after being chased by enforcers.
They both stood near one of the university building’s entrances, next to the staircase, earning themselves sporadic curious gazes from the other students. But Ezreal was too stunned to make sense of anything around him; his eyes widened, he stammered the next few words. “Wait, you want me to do what?”
But let’s back up in time, shall we? In any case, it is Ekko’s talent after all.
[A few hours before]
If the Firelights were renowned for planning and carrying out arduous operations all around Zaun and Piltover, they were also used to things going south; it was a common occurrence, to a point where a mishap could always be expected. That nevertheless did not mean they weren’t ready to handle such possibilities, only that they had to be prepared for everything in case something went wrong.
That mentality was not foolproof obviously; but in any case, it was better to be prepared for nothing than to be surprised by the unexpected. At least, that’s what Ekko always thought of when he readied himself and his crew for such procedures. Especially when they were operating in Piltover; doing anything out of their usual playground was bound to be coming with unforeseen risks.
And well, he thanked himself for that, because obviously a lot of things did go wrong on this particular mission. Not that it was very surprising; as soon as Silco’s goons were involved, it was a given. Still, Ekko hadn’t exactly expected them to start a huge commotion, considering that smuggling merchandise through Piltover was already difficult enough. He had been extremely surprised to get shot at in plain sight during the day, for starters, and even more dumbfounded once they had set fire to their own cargo to get rid of the evidence. Once the enforcers showed up, because of course they would, he had no choice but to make do and take a swift decision as to what to focus on; not that he deliberated for very long because the safety of his friends was a priority. But that, of course, meant having a distraction.
Again, he was quick to think. Maybe too quick, since he rapidly figured out that after getting the Enforcers’ attention for long enough so everyone could get away safely, he didn’t have much of a plan for himself.
The worst of the situation was being in Piltover; if that whole operation had taken place in Zaun, he and everyone else would’ve already been home safely. But he did not know Piltover as much, and especially not when it came to places to hide for a safe amount of time.
Considering all of that, he was only left with one option, although much of it was left to chance. Nevertheless, he sighed and took off in direction of Piltover’s prestigious University.
The courtyard was already bustling at this time of day; not so coincidentally, 3:30 pm was the exact time at which students were leaving their afternoon classes and a new batch came in for their evening ones. Ezreal usually loathed that part: having to navigate between seas of undergraduates anxious about missing the first few minutes of their class wasn’t exactly a hobby of his. This wasn’t a problem on the days he decided to ditch class and hang out on the school building’s usually inaccessible rooftops instead, but today hadn’t been one of those days; with exam week and all, he actually had to put some work on his degree.
The routine usually went as followed; he’d get out of class, hang around the campus for a short while so he wouldn’t have to come home too soon and converse with his uncle, and when the sun had finally set over the city he’d take the trip back to the Southside. In those few hours to kill, he’d either go drink with friends, read at the library, or try to sneak into most of the forbidden areas on campus; like any scholar would do. He wasn’t exactly sure what he planned on doing today in particular, but he always figured something out on the way.
As he exited the building, he noticed that there were much fewer students outside, probably because of the time; the evening class had started already. There were still a few people around, small groups chatting away near the door and down the staircase. Without thinking any more of it, he headed for the courtyard; but was promptly halted as he reached the last step and was forcibly pulled to the side, next to the pavilion.
“Hey what the-”
The mysterious person tightened their grip around his wrist. “You’re loud.” Ezreal immediately recognized that voice and swiftly turned around.
“Ekko?”
The leader of the Firelights was leaning against the staircase, bearing his usual outfit apart from his mask that was most likely hidden away in his backpack to avoid any suspicious eyes lingering for too long. His arm reclining against his hoverboard that had seemingly sustained meager damage, he grinned despite the few superficial wounds that speckled his skin. “How was class?” he chuckled, probably finding himself very funny.
Ezreal, however, did not: his gaze brimming with concern, he immediately blew it off. “What the fuck Ekko, are you alright?” Subtlety had never been one of Ezreal’s numerous talents, by the way; it was not surprising in the slightest that a few people around them turned to stare. “Actually, what are you even doing here?”
The Firelight grinned back at him, although the pain did make him wince a little. “What does it look like I’m doing?” Ezreal lifted a brow at the rhetorical question.
“You mean, apart from dying on the doorsteps of the science building?”
Another laugh. “Oh come on. You know I’m tougher than that.”
Obviously, he did know that. Ekko was incredible at everything he did, including fighting back against a crime-riddled city and leading an entire group to do the same. But when he did suffer, both physically and mentally, he usually kept it to himself with an altruistic intent to save the others the trouble of taking care of him, which was a mindset that Ezreal hated and worked tirelessly to help him get rid of. It was still a work in progress, however, which made Ekko’s presence on the Academy campus even more surprising; he would never come into Piltover without a genuine purpose, and even if he did visit him at the university a few times before (enough to know his way around, supposedly), it was never in such a dire state. So, there was enough to the matter to justify his worry.
So, although he did think briefly about pinning his boyfriend closer to the wall so he could kiss him with a fervor equal to his delight to see him, he figured this would have to wait for a bit longer. “I’m serious, Ekko,” he said. “Are you okay?”
“For now.” he shifted his head, scanning the surrounding area with a sharp gaze. “But listen, I may have to ask you for a favor.”
Well, that was rare; Ezreal took the opportunity to smirk. “See, I told you I’d be useful, and not just a ‘Piltie waste of time’” he knew very well Ekko used the expression to nag him, but he took a shot at throwing it back at him regardless.
Ekko snickered at the answer. “Oh, shut up.”
The Piltovan always took great pleasure in being an ass. “Make me.”
So he did. Without a second to waste, Ekko gripped his collar and pulled him forward in an embrace. Ezreal mentally shrugged, smirking into the kiss: so much for saving that part for later.
They did not remain in liplock for quite long, however, as Ekko winced once more, supposedly from the pain and the blond immediately pulled back. If the surrounding students were still staring at them (they were), they must’ve been quite dazed by all this.
“Okay, spit it out now.” Ezreal nodded. “What do you need?”
Ekko did not miss a beat. “Can you take me back to your place?”
His eyes instantaneously widening in surprise, the Piltovan almost choked on his breath. “Wait, you want me to do what?”
And we’re now back in the present.
Ezreal did consider the request for a few moments. It was not that he didn’t want to receive Ekko in his own house; he’d visited the Firelights base way too often for him to refuse. But his home was not quite as jovial as the Firelights tree was; apart from himself, the only inhabitants of his mansion were his uncle, with whom he didn’t have the best relationship, and the occasional houseworkers or visitors. He wondered what Ekko would think of such a stuffy ambiance.
Not only that, but he also wondered what had prompted such a request; their earlier embrace could say much about the desired outcome of such a proposal, but Ekko’s current state expressed otherwise.
In the meantime, being witness to Ezreal’s hesitation, Ekko couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh. “Okay fine.” he rolled his eyes. “Piltover is amazing, you’re amazing, you really do have everything I need.” the words were laced in sarcasm. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Well not exactly, but I can’t deny the praise.” Ezreal’s smirk was short-lived. “Honestly though, maybe start by telling me what happened first?”
Ekko nodded, leaning further against his hoverboard so his head would rest against his palm. “Enforcers after my ass.” he tsked, “Silco’s goons blasted their own cargo. The whole dock almost blew up and it attracted enough attention to recreate a discount Progress Day. I got them to go after me so the other Firelights could go back to Zaun safely, but now…”
“You’re stuck here.” Ezreal finished the sentence.
“Yeah.” Ekko sighed. “Basically.”
There was a brief pause while Ezreal tried to take in the story; which was in itself not too far from the tales Ekko often told him. His lips eventually twisted into a smile. “Wouldn’t helping you make me a criminal though?”
His boyfriend simply shot him a glare, unimpressed. “Ez, you’ve been dating a criminal. It’s basically the same thing.”
He tilted his head. "Oh. Right."
Criminal was a big, scary word to categorize what Ekko had been doing for Zaun during the better part of the last few years. Saving the citizens from Silco's hardened grip, gathering their children that had long given up hope in the idea of growing up, trying, sometimes failing (that's what the time rewinding shenanigans were for) to make the world better if only a little bit; this was a lot closer to how'd Ezreal would have explained it himself. But to the enforcers, the line was thin; no amount of morality could make them delve away from their carefully written rules. The law was the law, and there was no place for the morally gray.
Ezreal eventually acquiesced. “Honestly though, I don’t mind having you over.” he hesitated briefly before voicing his following thoughts. “My uncle shouldn’t be bothering us, but fingers crossed he’s not home regardless.”
For an instant, Ekko’s mouth opened as if he was about to ask a question; but for some reason decided not to. He did figure out that Ezreal didn’t have the best relationship with his uncle from the tidbits of information he sometimes dropped during a conversation; otherwise, he avoided talking about his family as often as possible. For the moment, Ekko figured he didn’t really need to know anything more than this. “Lead the way.” he smiled. So he did.
A few steps later, Ezreal turned around. “Oh, by the way,” he said. “How’d you even know I had class today?”
Ekko merely grinned before answering. “Lucky guess.”