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No, no– ugh, this is bad– this was worse than anything she's tried before and–
“Shit,” Akali curses under her breath, her elbow knocking against the bottles of chemicals propped up on the edge of the sink — she ignores the loud tumble and crash of said containers onto the ground in favour of pulling indecisive fingers through the mess of her hair.
This was not meant to happen and she’s honestly not quite sure how this all had gone down because this is certainly the first time something like this had occurred and–
“Hey, ‘Kali?” comes Kai’Sa’s wary voice from the hallway, “Are you alright in there?”
“Yeah– yeah, Kai’, I’m– I’m okay!” Akali bends down, scooping the various bottles of dye into her arms and clumsily shoving them into the open cupboard under the sink, “I’ll be out in a minute!”
It’s only when she stands back up, greeted by the mocking image of herself in the mirror, that she lets the situation sink in. She’s dyed her hair before — multiple times — and it had all gone fine; sure, she might have needed a little toner here and there but she had never managed to mess it up as much as this.
Bright orange.
Ginger, if you wanted to be really cruel.
And it's not even as if it's one smooth coat, no, it has to be all splotchy and gross and look as if some scary monster had decided to spit some sort of acidic goo all over her hair.
She turns her head side to side, assessing the damage and groans to herself as no amount of reasoning manages to calm her. She grits her teeth and her hands ball into fists as she’s about to strike down on the counter but the thought of Kai’Sa coming back to check on her and seeing this and just laughing at her eases the force of her hand.
With a short grunt, she turns around and grabs the hoodie hanging off of the door, slipping it on before tucking the monstrosity sitting on top of her head into the hood and drawing it up. She cleans up the last little splotches of dye from the counter before unlocking the bathroom door and sneaking out.
Everything seems to be off to a good start when she doesn’t spot a lingering Kai’Sa around anywhere and from the quiet music that has begun to sift in from the living room, Akali assumes that she won’t be bothered for a while.
She turns out to be incorrect.
“I didn’t know you could fit all that hair in that, ‘Kali,” Kai’Sa hums, “It always kind of just defies gravity, doesn’t it?”
Akali turns around wearily, eyes narrowed as she glares Kai’Sa down, “Yeah,” she agrees cautiously, stuffing her hands into the pockets of the hoodie as she shifts her weight from foot to foot, “It does.”
“How’d it turn out?”
Akali blinks, “Huh?”
“Your hair, you said you’d dye it yesterday so I assumed that that’s what was taking you so long.”
“Uh, yeah,” Akali murmurs quietly, casting her eyes down to the floor in utter shame, “It turned out… fine.”
Kai’Sa raises an eyebrow, “Just fine? Can’t I see?”
Akali scoffs but the confidence doesn’t quite carry over, “It’s the same as usual, you’ve seen it a million times before.”
“Okay so… I can see it, right?”
“I’m– uh– I’m feeling a little ill right now?” The end of the sentence is a few pitches higher and now Kai’Sa can just smell the uncertainty and embarrassment radiating off of her, “So… I’m just gonna–”
“‘Kali,” Kai’Sa says, “Why can’t I see your hair?”
“Um– uh,” Akali can’t help the way she stammers over her words and when they all dry up in her throat, her eyes dart to her nearest exit. Kai’Sa sees through Akali’s little escape plan much sooner than anyone else would have been able to and so when the latter starts sprinting towards the stairs, Kai’Sa is already hot on her heels.
Down to the first floor, to the right and down the corridor into the kitchen — Kai’Sa practically barrels into Akali as she struggles with the door out to the garden. The door bursts open and the two of them land in a heap on the patio outside; before Akali can scramble to her feet and dash for an escape, Kai’Sa has her hands pinned above her head and her whole body weight on Akali’s midriff.
“Akali Jhomen Tethi–” the full name makes Akali wince, “–what have you done to your hair?”
“Shit– shit, Kai’, come on,” she pleads, “You don’t have to see it, you know? As your like best friend ever–” she somewhat hopes the flattery works but when Kai’Sa glares at her, she doesn’t think it will, “–you gotta trust me–”
She doesn’t get another moment to whine before her hood is pulled off and absolute silence falls between the two.
Kai’Sa blinks, once, twice, before her lips part and she utters: “Oh. My. God.”
Akali squirms at Kai’Sa’s reaction and simply turns her head to the side in shame. “I know it’s a little on the… oranger side of things.”
Kai’Sa doesn’t stop gawking, “You’re ginger.”
Akali twists her head back and glowers, “I am not!” The grip around her wrists loosen with every chuckle and taunting laugh that Kai’Sa tries to suppress and at this point Akali doesn’t even bother trying to escape.
“Oh my god, ‘Kali,” Kai’Sa brings her hands up to her face to try and cover the snickering grin that spreads across her face, “I can’t believe you — what even happened?”
Akali huffs and manages to push Kai’Sa off of her — Kai’Sa simply continues to lay on the floor, unable to contain her laughter, “It’s just– I just– I don’t… know…” She sits up with a grunt, bringing her knees to her chest as she hides her face in the crook of her elbow, “I just know it’s really bad…”
“Oh come on–” despite Kai’Sa’s reassuring tone, her words are still intertwined with laughs, “It’s just hair, it’ll grow out.”
Akali glares at her, “I am not going out like this while I wait for it to just grow out.”
Kai’Sa sighs contentedly and her giggles finally seem to have died down, “Well, I don’t know how to help you there, Rogue.” She goes to stand up but yelps when she feels hands wrapping around her ankle; she goes to shake them off before she hears a whine from below her.
“ Kai’…” She looks down and sees Akali pouting up at her, “Please…?”
Kai’Sa’s brow furrows as she sighs, “Why do I actually feel bad for you…” Akali says nothing but practically curls up at Kai’Sa’s foot like a kicked dog and hangs on for dear life. “God, you’re insufferable — I think Ahri knows someone, though.”
Akali perks up, “Who?”
Kai’Sa waves her hand around dismissively, “A hairstylist friend or something, I’ll ask her.”
Akali hugs onto Kai’Sa’s leg even tighter, “I love you so much.”
Kai’Sa shakes her ankle, “Please get off my foot.”
—
There’s the sound of wood scraping against the floor as Kai’Sa makes herself comfortable in one of the chairs surrounding the table. Akali sits opposite to her, barely batting her a glance before she’s head deep in her bowl of ramen again.
“I’m going to call Ahri and set you up with her hairstylist friend.”
Akali’s brow rises and she seems just able to tear her attention away from her bowl for a second; she gives Kai’Sa a noise of affirmation through her mouthful of noodles.
Almost immediately, she hears the sound of ringing. And then a bubbly: “Kai’Sa! We haven’t called in a few days, what’s up?”
Kai’Sa leans back in her chair and smirks as Akali’s eyes widen in panic.
“Hey, Ahri,” Kai’Sa begins, “Could I ask a favour of you?”
“Mhm! Sure, what do you need?”
Akali shakes her head silently, signalling for Kai’Sa to cut it out with a hand at her throat, ‘Stop it–’ she mouths.
“So, Akali has gotten herself into a bit of a… situation with her hair and I was wondering whether you could set her up an appointment with Evelynn?”
Akali hears the quiet snicker that comes from the phone and she groans quietly as she hides her face in her hands.
“Oh god, what’s she done?”
Kai’Sa hums and Akali can just see the mischief dancing around in her eyes as she picks up the phone and opens something, “I’ll just send you a photo, I think that’s the best way to show you.”
Akali chokes on her own spit and she decides to break her silence, “Hey– wait– since when did you have a photo of me?”
“Oh, you fell asleep on the sofa earlier, managed to snap one.”
Akali gawks at Kai’Sa and just barely registers Ahri on the other side: “Oh, is Akali here with us?” cut off with a quiet, “Oh… my god, Akali…” as Ahri seems to receive the incriminating evidence.
Akali winces at the tone of Ahri’s voice and she practically shrinks in on herself as she hears the latter start giggling over the phone.
“Yeah, yeah, I can get Evelynn to fix this, don’t worry about it!”
Kai’Sa snickers and sends Akali a smug smile, “Thanks, Ahri, text me the details alright?”
“Will do!”
And with that, the phone hangs up.
Akali’s forehead hits the table with a thud and Kai’Sa can’t help the laugh that leaves her as Akali groans out.
“You didn’t have to show her…” Akali mumbles under her breath.
Kai’Sa reaches over and ruffles up the ginger mess, “Come on, that way Eve’s gonna know what to do.”
Akali shifts her fingers so that she can look out from the gap in between them, “Eve?”
“Yeah, Evelynn, Ahri’s friend. She’s the hairstylist I was talking about earlier — I think you two would… strangely get along?”
Akali frowns, “Why strangely?”
Kai’Sa tilts her head and she hums in thought for a second, “You’re kind of like… opposites but also quite… similar?” She waves a hand through the air and shakes her head, “Don’t worry about it, you’ll like her.”
—
The hair salon isn’t as busy as Akali had anticipated — naturally or due to Ahri-made circumstances, she doesn’t quite know, but she’s grateful either way. She follows Kai’Sa silently through the door, the bell ringing behind them as someone stands up from their seat to greet them.
“Kai’! Akali!” Ahri bumbles over to where the pair are standing and envelops both of them in their own separate, tight hugs. Akali can see the way Ahri warily eyes the hood pulled up over her head and subconsciously brings her hands up to pull the fabric tighter over her hair.
“Oh come on, ‘Kali, let me see it,” Ahri reaches up, gently ushering the hood off of Akali’s head before giving it a quick look. She bites down on her bottom lip and Akali can just see the way she’s holding back her laughter. “Oh– well– nothing Eve can’t fix, huh?”
“Well I sure hope so,” Kai’Sa mutters, “You won’t believe how much Akali’s been whining.”
Akali glares at Kai’Sa, her lips drawn open into a gasp as she gives her a little push, “I have not!”
“Alright, alright, stop the bickering,” Ahri interrupts, taking Akali by the shoulders and steering her towards the panel of mirrors that lines one of the walls, “Let’s get you settled and I’ll bring Eve out, okay?”
Akali follows with a huff, glancing back over her shoulder and frowning as she sees Kai’Sa sticking her tongue out at her.
The chair is just as comfortable as it looks and no time passes before she’s settled nicely into the plush cushions. The mirror directly in front of her seems to connect through all the stations, running all the way across the wall and she can’t help but sigh as she’s practically forced to look at the orange monstrosity on top of her head.
Tools are placed neatly in their places along the table top and Akali’s sure that half of the scissors lined up do the same thing so she doesn’t really get the need behind them all–
“Akali, is it?”
Akali’s gaze snaps up from where she’s criticising the vast number of useless scissors in front of her and it takes her a moment to find the golden eyes looking at her expectantly in the reflection of the glass. Her eyes widen and Akali doesn’t even care that it feels like she’s been staring at this woman for the best part of five minutes because she had definitely not expected an absolute goddess to be standing in front of her and–
“...Are you not Akali?”
Akali blinks and it’s only when she notices the frown on the woman’s face that she snaps out of her trance, “No– I mean– yes– I’m Akali. Tethi. Jhomen… Te–thi…”
The woman giggles — the sweetest and most heavenly sound that could have possibly blessed Akali’s ears — and taps her on the cheek, “I don’t need your full name just yet, darling. Maybe later, hm?”
Akali laughs awkwardly, waving her hand through the air dismissively as she shrinks into her seat, “Yeah– yeah, sorry, of course.”
“Oh, don’t apologise, I’m just teasing,” the woman muses, “I’m Evelynn, by the way — I’m sure Ahri must have mentioned me. Now, I’m just going to ask you a few questions about your hair and then I’ll do my best to fix it, okay?”
The consultation goes by fairly quickly — Akali seems very eager to have her hair fixed after all — and Evelynn is over in the back mixing up the dye in no time. Returning with a bowl of black, it’s not long before she starts sectioning out the hair and applies the dye;
Akali doesn’t appear to mind the commotion going on on top of her head, leaning back and closing her eyes with a sigh as Evelynn brushes through each portion with the chemicals and in the back of her mind, Evelynn can’t help but think about how adorable Akali looks.
Ahri had come to her in a fit of laughter, phone clutched tightly in her hands as she practically keeled over with amusement — Evelynn raised an eyebrow at her, asking her what was so funny that she felt the need to roll around on the floor and as a result, she had been shown the photo. Evelynn had no use in denying that that hair colour was awful but when she had snatched the phone from Ahri’s hands and zoomed in, her attention was caught on something else instead.
“Who’s this ?” to which the response was another fit of laughter. When Ahri seemingly had calmed down, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, she finally supplied useful information: “Her name’s Akali, one of Kai’sa’s friends.”
Evelynn had left with a simple ‘hmph’ and decided she had a lot to think about.
Later on, Ahri had approached her again — was this woman incapable of leaving her alone? — and explained the situation in full. Kai’sa’s friend, Akali, dyed her hair thinking everything would be fine but everything turned out to not be fine and Evelynn had to fix it.
“Do I get a say in this?”, “No, of course not, who do you think you are?”
Evelynn can feel the bob in Akali’s throat as her hand gently cups Akali’s jaw and tilts her head back — fingers trail up her cheek until they finally return to washing the dye out and Evelynn would like to think that she isn’t imagining the slight tint to Akali’s face.
“Ahri tells me you dye your hair often, is that true?”
The question seems to startle Akali out of her little trance as her eyes flutter open and meet Evelynn’s gaze and– oh, Evelynn is definitely not mistaking that blush.
“I– yeah, here and there. They never usually end up this bad though,” Akali sighs and tilts her head forward as she does so.
Evelynn is quick to correct her before any water trickles down her neck, hooking a nail under Akali’s chin and gently pushing her head back once more, “Uh oh, darling, tilt your head back for me, that’s it.”
“Ah– sorry, didn’t mean to–”
“No, no, it’s alright, don’t stress,” Evelynn chuckles, watching in amusement as panic flickers across Akali’s face, “Do you always go blonde or have you done other colours as well?”
“Well… usually blonde, you know? I feel like it looks best but when I first started I experimented with a few colours here and there — didn’t really feel it so I stuck with just the bleach.”
“Is that so? I think you’d look cute in any colour, maybe you should let me play around with you some time.” Evelynn giggles quietly as she watches Akali turn red.
“You– we can do that, sure — Kai’Sa’s never usually around so we’d have a bit of space.”
Evelynn raises an eyebrow before giving the base of Akali’s head a little scratch; the water is turned off before she turns around and reaches for a towel and blow dryer, “Inviting me over already? Thought you’d at least take me for dinner first.”
Akali’s eyes widen and she’s quickly choking on her words as she tries to come up with a response, “I– wait– I didn’t mean it like that– I’m sorry–”
Evelynn can’t help the smile that forms on her lips, “Darling, I’m just teasing again, don’t worry about it.”
“Oh woah, you’re not ginger anymore, congratulations, ‘Kali,” Kai’Sa’s hand comes to ruffle the hair, “And it’s so soft as well, Eve really did a good job, huh?”
“Mm, for now, yes,” Evelynn comes up behind them, placing a hand on Akali’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze, “I wanted to give you some products to take home with you but I just sold my last bottle yesterday — I could just drop it off if you want? Take you up on that colour that you so wanted as well.”
Akali cards her own fingers through the hair and marvels at it — no way would she have been able to do this on her own, “Yeah, that sounds good,” she turns around to face Evelynn, giving her a wide smile, “Just come down whenever, yeah? I’m home almost all the time.”
Evelynn pinches Akali’s cheek with her nails and smiles, “Sounds good.”
The bell rings as the door closes behind them and Evelynn almost immediately deflates into her chair.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you genuinely flirting with someone, Eve,” Ahri’s voice comes from behind her and soon the chair is spun around so she’s facing the woman, “It was quite impressive honestly.”
“Better than you could ever do with Kai’Sa, huh?”
Ahri rolls her eyes and gives Evelynn a light slap on the shoulder, “Oh shut up, I’ve told you there’s nothing going on.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s what you always say but I see–” she’s cut off when a hand covers her mouth and all she can do is glare up at Ahri.
“Stop talking, I don’t care. You’ve got to stop flirting with Akali — she’s too innocent, you’ll melt her little brain and then Kai’Sa won’t have a friend anymore and she’ll be sad.”
Ahri’s hand is pried off her mouth, “Always loops back to Kai’Sa, doesn’t it? Anyway, it just sounds like you’re infantilizing her, if she doesn’t like my flirting, she can deal with it herself.”
Ahri shakes her head, “You do not understand how oblivious she is like– you would not even be able to fathom it.”
“Well, she seemed to pick up on my flirting today, didn’t she?”
“Because you were practically feeling her up! Kai’Sa and I weren’t even paying attention to you guys but we still saw how you were practically sitting in her lap.”
Evelynn doesn’t think she can roll her eyes back much further than she currently is, “You are so dramatic — I was just correcting her position, nothing more.”
—
Evelynn:
Hey darling, it’s Evelynn. Finally managed to stock up on that conditioner I wanted to give you, is it okay if I drop by? I’m running around doing some errands anyway so I thought I’d save you the trouble of coming out
Akali:
oh hey eve! yeah that sounds fine
i just gotta get home first so you can drop by in like 20 ish? if thats okay?
also should i be spooked you managed to magically get my number??
Evelynn:
Oh, sorry. Ahri gave it to me, I hope that’s okay?
But anyway, sounds good, love. See you in 20 ;)
—
Evelynn is exactly on time. Twenty minutes after Akali’s text — not a minute before, not a minute after, which was honestly a miracle considering the amount of time she spent wondering whether she was dressing up too much for this casual encounter.
Akali seems to have the same knack for time as just as Evelynn’s about to knock on the door, the sound of light footsteps make their way closer and closer
“Eve!” Her name leaves Akali in a rushed huff and when Evelynn turns around, Akali has her hands on her knees and seems to be extremely out of breath. She stands up briefly, a quick chuckle leaving her as she waves her arms around, “Sorry, sorry, just came back from the gym.”
Evelynn’s eyes trail down and mm, she can tell – “Oh, I don’t mind in the slightest, sweetheart,” another minute of ogling has never done any harm has it? “I can wait around if you want to get changed.”
“Right, yeah–” another exhale as Akali slips around her and goes to open the door and– stop it, Evelynn, “Just give me ten minutes, going to go shower quickly. Uh–” she turns around quickly and looks around as if she doesn’t even recognise her own house. She lifts her arm up and points through one of the doors, “Living room that way, make yourself comfortable. I don’t know if Kai’Sa’s home but if she is, annoy her as much as possible.”
“Mm, I’ll make sure of it and oh, here,” she pulls out the bottle of conditioner from her bag and hands it to Akali, “The reason I came over in the first place, hm?”
Akali’s eyes widen and she takes the container before inspecting it, “Cool! Thanks!”
Evelynn gives Akali a little wink before the latter is headed up the stairs. Evelynn makes her way into the living room, admiring the cute little photos propped up of what she assumes to be younger Akali and Kai’Sa; Akali might have been missing some teeth but her smile was just as charming back then as it is now.
The sofa is a lot softer than the leather one she has at home and she finds herself sinking into it almost immediately, a long sigh leaving her lips as she makes herself comfortable. She’d been around a few times, helping Kai’Sa and Ahri with the occasional thing but she was never aware that she had a roommate, let alone that it had been Akali.
Evelynn:
Are you home, Kai?
Ahri:
noooo, she’s out, sorry :P
Evelynn:
And how do you know, stalking her, are you?
Ahri:
I don’t doubt that she does that but no, we’re out for coffee. What do you need? – Kai
Evelynn:
I’m at your house, not in a threatening way of course, Akali invited me over. She’s in the shower and I… don’t know what to do
Ahri:
She’s definitely going to ask you to stay for dinner – Kai
Evelynn:
Really? Why? What time will you be home then?
Ahri:
Because that’s what she does with like everyone
And whenever you’re gone. Believe it or not, I don’t want to witness your terrible flirting – Kai
Evelynn:
Oh shut up, she wouldn’t even get that I was flirting
Ahri:
Oh great, has Ahri told you how oblivious she is? One time a girl in high school took her on a picnic date and gave her a whole lot of flowers and then she told the girl “You’re the best friend ever” and then was confused when the girl started crying. The worst part is that it was a girl she had liked for a year before that. – Kai
Evelynn:
Wow
Okay
No picnic dates and flowers then?
Ahri:
try grabbing her face and kissing her when she gets out the shower, she might get your message then :D
Evelynn:
I feel like that’s a bit too fast, Ahri. And also a slightly problematic thing to do??
Ahri:
like you care about the pace of a relationship ‘,:l
Evelynn:
I don’t know what you mean by that, foxy, but I don’t like it
The phone is promptly slipped back into her purse when Evelynn hears the sound of the water receding. Soon enough, the bathroom door seems to open and Akali struts down in a loose shirt, some shorts and a towel in her hands as she dries off her hands.
“Sorry, to keep you waiting — that stuff you gave me is pretty good, though. How much do I owe you?”
Evelynn tuts at her and shakes her head, “Owe me? Nothing, darling — a new client is all I need.”
Akali’s brow furrows, the towel slowly falling into her lap, “No, no, I’ll pay you– how much?”
“Not a thing,” Evelynn raises her finger and wags it back and forth, “Don’t you even think about it.”
“Please?”
“As endearing as it is, I refuse, Akali,” Evelynn can’t help the laugh that forms as she notices Akali’s pout, “Now, as for the colour that you wanted…”
Box dyes, lots of box dyes, is what Evelynn finds in the cupboard underneath the sink upstairs; she’s surprised Akali’s hair hasn’t fallen out yet.
“How long did you say you’ve been dyeing your hair?”
Akali pops her head around the corner, “A few years I guess? Started just before I moved out at about… 19? I think.”
Evelynn raises an eyebrow, “You moved out at 19? Like on your own?”
“Not really — had Kai’Sa. Ma wasn’t my biggest fan ‘cause I was producing music for this one guy and not like, at uni, or anything,” Akali bites her cheek and pauses in thought, “Kai’Sa had a job, you know, made money. I got a good chunk from a few songs and we just bought this house, ‘cause we were like, why not? It was a lot cheaper back then, and we renovated it up so it’s all fine.”
“That sounds… fun. How long have you known Kai’Sa? I saw a few photos of you guys together down in the living room.”
Akali scratches the back of her head, “Since we were 14, maybe? Anyway, speaking of Kai’Sa, I don’t know when she’ll be home but I think she might be with Ahri so I don’t suspect anytime soon.”
“Always together, those two, hm?”
Akali rolls her eyes and laughs, “Yeah, Kai’s been busy like the past month and has just been complaining about how she can’t see Ahri, almost makes me think there’s something going on between them, you know?”
Evelynn nods slowly, “Yeah… keep thinking, honey.”
They soon make their way back downstairs and Evelynn heads for her purse but she’s soon stopped as Akali calls out from behind her.
“You’re leaving already?”
Evelynn turns around to face Akali and she nearly misses the almost disappointed tone in Akali’s voice, “Do you not want me to?”
“You should stay for dinner,” Akali shifts her weight back and forth between her feet, “As a thank you for saving my dignity, you know?”
Evelynn laughs, rolling her eyes, “I don’t want to be a bother.”
“No, no, you would never be a bother — plus, as I said, I don’t know when Kai’Sa’s gonna be home and I could use the company.”
There’s a tilt to Evelynn’s head before she sighs and concedes — not that it took much convincing in the first place, “I guess I could…”
Akali immediately perks up, clapping her hands together as she beams at Evelynn, “Great! I’ll go make us something. Uh– just make yourself comfortable. Again. Watch some TV?”
Evelynn nods, “Will do.”
The living room is in the same open space as the kitchen so Akali never really leaves to go cook, she’s just about 10 more metres away now.
The TV is turned on as soon as Evelynn sits down on the sofa again and some sort of martial arts channel is on. Evelynn can’t say she has much interest in it, much more intrigued in the large mirror to the side of the TV that seems to be the perfect angle to watch Akali cook. And that she does.
Unfortunately, ramen doesn’t seem to take that long to make and so only after about ten minutes, Evelynn’s presented with a steaming hot bowl of noodles — and to her surprise, they look amazing. She takes her first bite and mentally adds ‘Can cook’ to her ‘Reasons to date Akali’ list.
The number one reason on that list being ‘Muscles.’
“This is so good, Akali — you must make them often?”
Akali finishes her bite, already about half way through her bowl before she tears her eyes away from the screen to look at Evelynn, “Like, every day, actually. I just don’t usually make them this fancy. Glad you like them, though!”
The attention Evelynn had finally managed to gather is soon gone again as Akali seems to get sucked back into whatever was happening on the TV; Evelynn turns to look at the screen and notices that it’s the same martial arts channel from before.
“I take it you like this sort of thing?”
Akali blinks at her, “Hm?”
Evelynn nods towards the TV, “Fighting, martial arts — you seem very interested in it.”
“Oh, yeah,” Akali sets down her bowl and Evelynn’s eyes widen as she realises that the bowl is now empty. “I’ve been doing it since I was so young I don’t even remember.”
Maybe Evelynn did like martial arts after all.
“Is that so? What… type ? If that’s the right word — do you do?”
Akali bobs her head back and forth in thought, taking a second to come up with an answer, “Right now? A bit of MMA stuff mostly but I used to do some karate and,” vague hand gesture, “Other little bits here and there.”
Impressive — Evelynn does not think about the sheer strength Akali must possess. Or what she could do with it.
“Do you compete or is it more of a casual thing?”
“I used to; I still do but not as much. But I do think I might have one coming up soon? You should come watch it! You might enjoy it, you know?”
“I’d love that, I’ll make sure to.”
—
It has been nine days since Evelynn last spoke to Akali and in Evelynn’s totally platonic opinion, that is nine days too many.
The screen to her phone turns on as she contemplates whether to text Akali or not.
And off. And on. And off. And on–
And before she even knows it, a message has been typed out and sent.
Evelynn:
Hey darling, how’s the hair holding up? No more ginger incidents I hope?
The phone is set down, no expectations of a quick reply, and Evelynn rises from her seat to–
Akali:
haha, not yet!
i don't think my hairs ever been this smooth honestly, you're a miracle worker ;)
oh, i mentioned my upcoming match, right? i just found out it’s in about 2 weeks and i was actually just about to text you to ask if you wanted to come watch? be my good luck charm? :)
totally optional!
Evelynn has never sat down so quickly.
Evelynn:
Of course, I’ll be there, sweetie
Text me the details, alright?
—
It reeks of sweat and grime and Evelynn has gone her whole life thinking she wouldn’t have to step into such a feral environment where all she can hear is the grunting and groaning of people being thrown left and right and if it wasn’t for Akali, she never would have had to.
Unfortunately, as each day passes, she finds herself doing things for Akali that she never would have imagined; like going to the gym, or having pot noodles more than twice a week, or opening up about her past which — for the record — Evelynn did not have a hard time coming to terms with, thank you, Ahri.
But maybe it’s okay, because for every strain and stretch of Akali’s arms as she pummels opponent after opponent into the floor, Evelynn finds that her slight irritation with the place slowly ebbs away. And it definitely is not because Evelynn just really wishes Akali was pinning her to the floor instead–
“Don’t jump her.”
Evelynn blinks and she’s almost about to jump Ahri for taking her out of her lovely daydreams, “What?”
“Don’t jump her when she comes out because one, she’ll stink — unless you’re into that which I don’t want to know about — and two, I don’t want the staff to have to clean this place up for another reason.”
Evelynn raises an eyebrow, “You’re disgusting, you know that, right? And I have self-control, I’m not a beast.”
“Oh, tell yourself that, Eve, tell yourself that.”
Akali wins. Duh.
Her hand is thrown up into the air, a charming grin spreading across her face as she takes a few bows before climbing out of the square. It takes her a moment to spot their little group in the crowd but with Kai’Sa’s ‘Akali! Over here!’, she manages to make her way over to them.
Ahri jumps on her first — hypocrite — enveloping her in a tight hug and practically lifting her off the ground, “You were so good!” She sets Akali down with a little giggle, “Might have to hire you as a personal bodyguard, you know?”
Akali says her thanks, turning a light shade of red as Ahri continues to poke at her cheeks and spew little words of praise at her; she eventually manages to escape and — not that Evelynn is paying explicit attention to Akali or anything — her gaze immediately lands on Evelynn.
“Well done, darling, you did so well.”
There is some sort of hesitation in the way Akali stalls as she approaches but before she knows it, firm arms wrap around Evelynn’s waist and she’s nearly knocked to the floor. Her eyes flit down to Akali hugging her and she can just feel the way her face heats up and– God, has the room suddenly caught on fire? This isn’t just her, right?
“Thank you, Eve,” the arms slip away and Evelynn feels like she can finally breathe, “I told you you’d be good luck.”
“Mm, you did–”
“Alright, saps,” Kai’Sa breaks them up, waving her hands between them and wiggling her way in between the two — she turns to Akali, “I was thinking we could go out and eat? As a little celebration for winning; that way you get to relax a little as well. What do you think?”
Akali scratches the back of her head and looks away sheepishly, “Ah, I’d love to but I’m kind of in a tight spot right now–”
“I’ll pay for you, sweetie,” Evelynn pipes up, placing her hand on Akali’s shoulder and giving Kai’Sa a little warning glare for getting in her way, “Don’t even worry about it.”
The shake of Akali’s head comes almost immediately, “Wait– no, don’t. I don’t want you to spend any money on me — we can do it another time.”
“Nonsense, I’d spend much more on you and plus, it’s a celebration for you, why would you pay anyway?” Eve picks up her purse from where she’d put it down on her seat and places it over her shoulder, “Come on, Let’s go.”
This is certainly not the fanciest place Evelynn has been to or her first choice when it comes to spoiling Akali but it seems to do fine for the rest of the group and so she supposes it will do.
It doesn’t take long for them to get sat and when they do, she makes sure to trail after Akali, ensuring her spot next to her on the bench — her plan goes smoothly and she simply brushes off the little quirk of Ahri’s eyebrow as she shuffles her way closer to Akali.
Little touches of their arms, nonchalant admiring of Akali’s hands and small offerings of food under the guise of trying Evelynn’s favourite food only so that she can hold Akali’s chin as she places another bite on to her tongue. Akali is… fine with all of it — she never pulls away, goes along with Evelynn’s little antics and even seems a little red as Evelynn lightly trails her long, manicured nails over her thigh.
The food is good too, she supposes, and it washes down well with the one or two or three bottles of wine that they might have ordered to the table. It's a day for celebration, okay?
Car keys in hand, Kai’Sa leads her less than sober friends out from the restaurant after a few judgemental glances from the other customers, most of which had been pointed at Ahri and her incessant crying of how proud she was of Akali and how much she loved everyone else and whatever other things she could have possibly sobbed about.
The fresh air hits Evelynn almost immediately and she blinks as she realises she’s practically wrapped around Akali’s waist; she looks down the short distance, squeezing the hand in hers, “Hey, ‘Kali?”
Akali looks up with slightly hazy eyes, eyebrows rising as she looks back at Evelynn expectantly, “What’s up?”
“Well done… on the competition today,” Evelynn manages to settle on, not sure if she should be… bolder, “I really enjoyed watching.”
“I… thanks, Eve,” Akali flashes her a loopy grin, “Felt a lot more confident with you there.”
Evelynn manages a laugh before leaning down and gently grabbing Akali’s chin, “Come here, you.”
She presses her lips against the reddening skin of Akali’s cheek and she feels almost proud of herself as she pulls back and notices the lipstick mark now stuck on to Akali’s face. Akali turns away, loosening her arm around Evelynn as both of their gazes turn towards Kai’Sa trying to drag Ahri up from the floor — “I’m not that drunk!”, “Ahri, get in the taxi. Right. Now.”
Akali soon gets called over and as she walks away, Evelynn can just barely see the bright tips to her ears.
—
Akali:
hey eve!
Evelynn’s head does not feel the best it has ever felt and as she wakes up to the message from Akali, she realises that it definitely does not feel good enough for her to be dealing with the consequences of whatever that kiss was last night.
Not that it really was a kiss, more like a peck of very platonic affection; it totally did not mean anything significant and Evelynn is definitely not worried about it because she has done objectively worse things and had relationships progress much faster than whatever was going on with Akali so–
Akali:
i just wanted to say thanks for the dinner, it was a lot of fun! and i really appreciated you coming out to watch me yesterday :)
let me pay you back some time?
Evelynn:
I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, darling
And absolutely not, I will not let you pay me back
Akali:
come onnnnn, dinner at my place?
ill make you something nice
plus, i like hanging out with you
Evelynn:
You do?
Well, if you insist
‘I like hanging out with you. ’
Is that… Akali… flirting? Does Akali even know how to flirt in the first place? Because if she does, that would make Evelynn’s life a whole lot easier — but that would also mean that maybe Akali just hasn’t been flirting back and hasn’t been interested and in reality Evelynn has been so much more invested into this whole thing than Akali has ever been and–
No, that’s… ridiculous… but that’s only because Evelynn feels ridiculous chasing Akali around like this; she has never before even lifted a finger to get what or who she wanted so why is she running circles around herself trying to prove that Akali wanted her too? But she has been warned about Akali’s obliviousness and perhaps she's just not used to someone being so dense.
—
It takes them another two weeks for them to find a time where both of them are available; Evelynn is too busy managing both her business and the hair salon and Akali seems to have job after job lined up along with the constant training that her coach had apparently been putting her through.
They find their time in between moments too, when they catch each other running errands, when they’ve got a free 20 minutes to have a quick conversation over text — Evelynn never feels like she completely loses touch with Akali, that Akali always puts in some sort of effort to interact with her and she surprisingly finds it a nicer push and pull than the usual people who flock to her feet.
Kai’Sa sends her a text before she arrives stating that she will be out of the house until Evelynn is gone because she does not, for the life of her, want to witness their horrible flirting. Evelynn simply rolls her eyes before she knocks on the door to Akali’s — and Kai’Sa’s — house. She’s met with the scent of fried chicken and Akali stutters out some response about how Evelynn had mentioned that it was her favourite food.
The dinner goes well, the chicken is fantastic, and by the end of countless conversations and laughs, they end up on the sofa, scrolling through the catalogue of movies as they bicker about what they want to watch.
Akali reaches over to the other side of the sofa to grab a blanket and Evelynn takes the opportunity to shuffle in closer — Akali takes the bait and the blanket is soon wrapped around the both of them and it gives Evelynn the chance to rest her head on Akali’s shoulder.
The next time that Evelynn comes around is a few days after that one. The screen flickers with some sort of mediocre jumpscare and Evelynn jumps in pure fright, clinging onto Akali’s arm for dear life — she is definitely scared, okay? It is not an excuse to get closer to Akali and Evelynn definitely does not think that the horror movies that Akali watches are way beyond subpar.
This becomes a weekly thing, and then a bi-weekly thing, and then it happens every couple of nights and the dinners always become slightly more romantic each time and they always just get a tad more touchy too but nothing ever… happens . They might hold hands and snuggle up to each other but Akali never initiates anything and that’s fine because Evelynn doesn’t want to pressure her because she might scare her and then she’ll run off and that’s the last thing that she wants because as much as she genuinely likes Akali, she is also… desperate.
And that is terrifying because Evelynn is not a desperate woman — she would laugh in your face if she even got faintly associated with the word desperate but when it comes to Akali, she doesn’t think she can hold onto Akali’s (very firm) bicep one more time, scratching at it and hoping she makes Akali feel something, without going feral and just ripping her hair out.
One morning, Evelynn does not wake up in her own bed. Instead, she wakes up on top of Akali, still on the sofa and still in Akali’s house — which is certainly a first. As much as the initial panic of ‘Fuck, did we do something?’ worries her, a little slither of her was also hoping that they did.
Unfortunately for her, the memories from the night before come knocking on her head and all that it had been was that Evelynn had simply been… very tired and therefore not able to make her way to her car and drive home as she usually did, which she definitely isn’t complaining about but that also must have been the most boring reason to stay at Akali’s for the night.
With a quiet groan, she manages to peel herself off of Akali and tip toes her way round the sofa and into the kitchen where–
“Are you serious, Eve?”
Her eyes snap up and behind the kitchen island stands– Kai’Sa. Shit.
Evelynn puts her hands up defensively, “Okay, it’s not what it looks like.”
Kai’Sa raises a very suspecting eyebrow and puts her hands on her hips, “And what does it look like? Like you guys did it when I was still in the house? I trusted you enough to come back home when you were around and then you pull this. I expected better.”
“Okay, well,” Evelynn huffs, not liking the glare Kai’Sa is giving her, “We didn’t even do it, as you say, so shut your whining.”
Kai’Sa stays silent for a moment before her glare turns into more of a questioning look, “Are you… serious? You didn’t?”
Evelynn clears her throat and suddenly becomes very flustered at the actual idea of doing it with Akali, which is stupid because Evelynn has definitely thought of worse things to do with Akali– “No,” she scoffs, “We did not. Thanks. We haven’t even– like– hmph, anyway.”
An eyebrow is cocked her way, “You haven’t even what? Kissed?”
And… silence.
There’s a small chortle to the beginning of Kai’Sa’s words, “You’ve got to be kidding me, Eve. Really?”
Evelynn waves her away, a frown on her face as she finally rounds the kitchen island and rummages around in the cupboards for something to eat, “Oh shut up, it’s difficult with her, okay? I can never– I can never find the time and she never initiates so like…” sigh, “It’s fine, honestly.”
“That’s… interesting,” Kai’Sa hums, “And I can’t believe I actually feel bad for you.”
Evelynn rolls her eyes, shutting the cupboard, “Yeah, like you and Ahri are any better.”
“I don’t know what you mean by that but I’m not going to ask you,” she turns around and leans against the kitchen island, now facing Evelynn, “Anyway, Akali hasn’t really said anything about you, or you two as a couple but then again she doesn’t tell me much about that stuff anyway so.” Kai’Sa shrugs, “She seems different, though.”
Evelynn furrows her brow at her, “Different?”
“Like, happier — I hate to admit it but I think you might be a good influence for her.”
—
It’s been nearly four months since Evelynn had first met Akali in her hair salon and every single day, the urge to grab Akali by the face and just kiss her grows exponentially.
Evelynn can’t even count the amount of times she’s come around Akali’s now but she finds herself there again after a busy day of running around between clients and she is beyond done. Her cheek comes into contact with Akali’s arm and as she sinks into the warmth of her skin, her arm snakes around her back and wraps around Akali’s waist. Akali doesn’t stiffen up like she would have done two to three months prior, instead leaning her weight back into Evelynn and covering her hand with her own, fidgeting with the silver rings wrapped around Evelynn’s fingers.
Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her, kiss her–
The practically clawed tips of Evelynn’s other hand travel up Akali’s forearm, onto her bicep before they gently settle on her cheek and she quietly mutters a little: “Akali…?”
Akali turns around slowly with a small hmph? and Evelynn isn’t quite sure whether it’s the light from the TV but her face is tinted a light red and she can barely make out the small bob to Akali’s throat as she swallows.
They lock eyes and Evelynn’s quite sure she hasn’t ever been this nervous to just kiss someone but as she brushes her thumb gently over Akali’s cheek, she waits a moment before she leans up and–
Soft… and warm and Evelynn’s hand cups Akali’s face tighter before she realises that… Akali is not kissing her back.
Evelynn pulls back with a frown and she can just feel the tears already welling up in her eyes as she pulls back from the warmth that is Akali’s side. “I… I’m sorry– did I do something wrong?” Is this what rejection feels like? Because Evelynn doesn’t want to be arrogant and say that no one has ever rejected her before because they would not even dare to but this feels a lot worse than she ever imagined it ever feeling.
Akali simply looks at her. Blinks. Once, or twice. Her lips are parted, opening and closing like a dumb little fish out of water.
“Why did you kiss me?”
Evelynn feels rather cold now that she isn’t wrapped around Akali’s side and it’s almost like her heart is just rolling around in the bottom of her stomach as she looks back at Akali with her same dumb-founded expression, “Because I… wanted to? I’m sorry– was it too quick,” my ass, it’s been three months, “I should have asked–”
“Why?”
Why?
“Because I like you, Akali.”
Akali eyes widen and she looks at Evelynn for a solid minute like she's just seen a ghost. “Wait– you like me?”
Evelynn’s brow furrows and what the fuck, “What do you mean by that– Akali,” she sits up straighter in hopes of somewhat sorting her thoughts out, “We’ve practically been dating for the past like two or three months, of course I like you?”
Akali’s head hangs forward and her lips turn into an o, “We’ve been dating?”
Evelynn can’t do anything but stare.
“We go on dinner dates to fancy restaurants, I come around to your house nearly every single day, we hold hands, I kiss your cheeks, I fall asleep on you — what do you mean ‘Are we dating?’”
“Okay– well, I just thought you were– I just thought you were a touchy person, you know?”
“Darling, I do not touch my friends like that.”
“I– well–”
“Do you not… like me back then? Is this what this is because if it is, that’s fine –”
“No, no! I mean– yes! I do– I do, I just… didn’t know you liked me back.” Akali scratches the back of her head and looks away sheepishly, the blush on her face now ten times more apparent than it was before.
A finger is pressed against Akali’s nose, “God, you are so stupid. How have you gone all this time thinking that?”
Akali cocks her head side to side in thought, “I honestly don’t know — now that you’ve kind of spelled it out for me it’s making a lot more sense.”
Evelynn wraps her hands around Akali’s and sets them in her lap, “Okay, great, now that we’ve established that, can we kiss without you being like a stale fish against me.”
Akali shuffles closer and nods, mentally preparing herself, “Yes, yes, we can do that. No more stale fishes.”
Evelynn’s hand reaches up from where it is in her lap and cups Akali’s cheek, “Good, thank you, now come here.”