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The soft sound of rain echoed through the city streets and alleyways, the water filling the cracks in the bricks under Jinx’s feet. Warm water droplets turned cold against her skin as the wind blew through. Jinx hugged herself for warmth, something she hadn’t felt for so long.
Months had passed since that night; the night she lost everything. Her sister tried to love her, but couldn’t. Vi only knew and loved Powder. She didn’t know Jinx, the things Jinx was capable of - like killing the man who sacrificed his own long dream for her. She missed them.
She had been isolating herself since that night. Left alone with nothing but the voices in her head echoing, droning on in her ears:
… you killed him…
… he accepted you and was a father to you. And you repaid him with a bullet…
… and Vi’s already forgotten about you. That Piltie is making sure of that…
Jinx had gone through many sleepless nights, but soon all the voices just melded together into a numbing buzz, with the only interruption being her incoherent giggles.
Deeper into the alleyways Jinx went, letting fate guide her to wherever it seemed most fit. Pipes adorned the walls around her, their screws beginning to rust. Wires hung above her. Some emit the crackles of electricity; others have tied together shoes hanging off them.
After what seemed like hours of mindless walking, she had found a roofed street untouched by the rain and took refuge. Further in, she saw a large broken stained glass window.
Her heart sank. Jinx knew where she was and tried her damndest to walk away, but her legs refused to listen. She crossed the colorful glass threshold and found herself in her old childhood arcade. The boxing machine she shot stood broken and nonfunctional. Fuel tubes for the shooting gallery lay empty on the floor.
Jinx stood in the middle of the room, eyes darting back and forth as she hugged herself tightly, her nails digging into her skin. Tears began to fall and puddle on the floor, becoming indiscernible from the rainwater that lingered on her. The buzz she had been able to tune out now took its original form: Countless voices screaming and howling louder than ever before as memories of the family she killed replayed.
Her weak cries escaped the arcade and echoed, soon lost and overtaken by the rain.
—
Ekko was thankful for the rain today. It masked his footsteps as he tailed Jinx. He wasn't sure why he followed her; he only wanted to walk and feel the rain. Having to deal with Silco’s leftover goons and Enforcer raids has been taking its toll, and he desperately needed to clear his head.
That was when he saw her. How was she alive? That grenade was right on top of them and he had her pinned to the ground. Ekko was miraculously lucky to get out with a sprained ankle and damaged hearing for a few days. But he didn't feel any movements from her at the moment - so how was she not a pile of flesh right now?
The years of dead friends told him to finish what he started on the bridge that day, to exact vigilante justice. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. Of course, he can't just forgive her, but after gazing into her eyes that night and seeing the little girl he used to play with years ago, he found it hard to muster the same hate and anger he harbored before. As his face contorted from the inner turmoil, Jinx began to walk away. Ekko would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't curious about what she has been up to, so he began tailing her, using the rain and fog to mask his figure and footsteps.
Ekko wondered where she could've been heading. The Last Drop? The bar was raided and basically destroyed since Silco died. The Firelights base? They were nowhere near it. Her own base? Could she even have made one? Ekko desperately needed to know. As he came up with strategic excuses to see her, his skin began prickling. The scenery turned more and more familiar. He could've sworn that he recognized the angles the pipes bent at, the graffiti on the walls - Hell, even the color of the bricks on the street. That was when he saw it. That stained glass. How could he forget it? The way the colors shined on Powder's face at night is one of the fondest memories he had. And now it was Jinx’s shadow looming over the broken shards.
Ekko rattled his brain, questioning whether he should follow her any farther. What if she had noticed him and once he turned the corner, a bullet was waiting to greet him? This was enough stalking for him today. He couldn't risk stepping straight into a trap at such a chaotic time. Some people need him. As Ekko began to step away, he swore that he heard something else besides the pitter-patter of the rain. Honing his ears to the best of their ability, the sound became clearer: Cries. His heart ached; now he definitely found it hard to hate her. The possibility of a trap was still very real, but he couldn't take it anymore. He quickly turned around and went towards the arcade, taking the lightest steps he could as a precaution.
—
Jinx’s body froze as she heard the glass behind her crack. With lightning-quick reaction time, she turned around, jumped back, and reached for her holster, only to remember that she had left her weapons at home. No protection and being caught off guard, she prepared her best sucker punch and the shortest escape route. That was when she saw who it was that stepped through.
Ekko walked in with his hands up above his head, trying his best to appear as friendly as possible. He lowered his hands in front of his chest once he noticed that she had no weapons and signaled to make it clear that he wasn’t carrying his club.
They hadn’t thought about each other since their last encounter and meeting each other in such an awkward and personal situation was not relieving the tension in the air. Their throats were both dry, unable to think of anything to say; so instead, they did.
Ekko had no idea what he was thinking, reaching his hand out to her. All he knew was that it felt right. He approached her slowly like a wild animal, knowing how she could get when she was emotional. Jinx eyed his arms, then checked behind him to make sure she wasn’t being ambushed. Her cheeks flushed a rose-red against her pale skin. Slowly but surely, she unclenched her hand and moved an open palm towards his.
Their hands were clasped in each other, their body heat mixing and dancing together against the cold from the rain. Jinx could feel the calluses on his skin. It was so different from the little hands she held as a kid. Ekko had grown. She realized that being forced to live on your own with no friends or family on the shimmer-addicted streets does that to a person.
Unlike Jinx, Ekko thought her hand hadn’t changed much. Those dainty, slender fingers simply grew longer; more elegant. Hard to imagine these were the same fingers that gunned people down with expert accuracy.
For just a moment, they left the world they were currently in. No more Zaun, no more Piltover. No Enforcers or Firelights. Nothing. Except for the two of them in this dinky little kid's arcade. Memories surged through the two of them as if they were sending them to each other straight through their hands. That time they swam together in the reservoir, the time they filled Mylo's pillowcase with rocks when they painted on a sleeping Benzo face.
They remembered their childhoods and all the things they didn’t get to experience. All birthday candles that didn’t get blown out, all the laughs that weren’t laughed, the games that went unplayed. The crushes that went without confession. Where did they all go?
The tears returned for Jinx, even more than before this time. Her weeping was loud enough to drown out the rain. Ekko had steeled his resolve earlier, but his guard began to crumble. His vision became blurry as the water welled in his eyes. They sobbed in unity; making up for all the lost time. They went from handing hands to clutching each other in their arms. Jinx took solace in his neck while Ekko rested his head on her shoulder. They fell to their knees as their legs gave out, resting on each other for support.
For the longest time, neither one said a word. They simply listened to the others' cries and understood completely. Finally, as they choked back their tears, they exchanged their first words to each other as they hugged each other tighter:
“I’m sorry. I’m so so—“
“I know.” Ekko softly interrupted.
“Please... Don’t leave me…”
“I won’t”