Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“What were your parents like? Do you look like them?”

Axle glanced up from her bed, still thin and barren after moving, and pushed herself up onto her elbows. Powder sat cross-legged on a table across the room, staring at her with wide eyes and a curious smile. This question was something Axle lingered on a lot. As she matured, she could see more and more of her parents’ features on her, for better or for worse. Axle smiled at the kid and laid back down.

“My mom had black hair. She was strong, much stronger than my dad, and taller. She had brown eyes, a kind face. Soft features, hard personality. She was everything a mother could be.” Axle smiled sadly. “My dad was her opposite. Blonde hair, blue eyes. He was the smarts in their relationship, and I think that is what made him cold. He was an uncaring and ruthless man. And his face fit his nature. Sharp and utterly perfect. He didn't have a single flaw, at least not in how I saw him. He never showed love to anyone but my mother. He didn't want kids so me being born wasn't his biggest wish ever. I think that's why he tried to kill me once my mother was gone. He had no reason to keep me. I sometimes regret killing him, but I think it was for the best.”

Powder looked down sadly before letting out a laugh. “Sounds like you're like half your dad and half your mom.”

“Yeah.” Axle laughed back, closing her eyes. She pictured them, comparing how they looked to herself. “I have both of their hair, both of their eyes. Smart and strong. The perfect mixture of both of them.”

Powder giggled. “Yeah, I’ve always loved your eyes. They're almost like Silco’s except... more normal.”

“Mine are just because of genetics and not Shimmer and chemicals.” Axle nodded back with a smile. "I actually have a photo of my parents. I didn't know I had it until I was here a few days and finally brought myself to search through my pockets.”

Axle shifted onto her stomach, resting on her elbows again, and pulled a photo from a small compartment in her vambraces. It was stained with blood and crinkled, but her parents' image was clear. It was taken on their wedding day, a rare sunny afternoon in the middle of what Axle came to know as Autumn. They were laughing at something off-camera, and they held each other like Axle never saw when they were alive. Axle gave it to Powder as she neared, and watched as the kid took in the picture. 

“You look a lot like them.” Powder whispered before looking up. “Both of them.”

Axle hummed. “I see them sometimes. When I’m tired and angry. I see them looking at me with disappointment. They never say anything. They just stare.”

“I see my family too.”

Axle looked at Powder sadly and pulled her down into a hug. They stayed like that until they fell asleep, and it was the first night in years Axle wasn't plagued by nightmares.

Chapter Text

“Can I paint your nails?” 

“Hm?” Axle questioned from their workbench, littered with scraps and wires. They glanced up as the question was repeated and Axle raised an eyebrow. “Paint my nails?”

“Yeah!” Jinx hopped from foot to foot in excitement, her hair swayed behind her in a single braid. “I’ve already done Silco’s, I thought we could all match.”

Axle barked out a laugh, setting her tools down. She looked over at Jinx with an excited smirk “You did Silco’s nails?”

“And helped him with makeup.” Jinx nodded in excitement. She clearly did not know the importance of the information she just gave Axle, smiling broadly at them with a vial of nail polish she must have gotten from Piltover.

“Did he ask you about makeup?” Axle raised an eyebrow. 

Jinx nodded and bit her lip in excitement. Axle rolled her eyes playfully before standing from her seat, following the bubbly girl through Zaun streets. In the year of knowing Jinx, Axle had been continually surprised by her time and time again. They did not think it was possible to still be surprised, but they kept being proven wrong as parts of Jinx were revealed.

Silco also kept surprising them. He was not particularly caring toward Axle as a child, and they had thought he would not be with Jinx either. That was until she walked into his office one day to see Powder on his shoulders, braiding his hair as he did his work. Axle had smiled behind her hand as he talked and she had moved on, thinking it was a one-time occurrence. Then scribbled drawings appeared on his desk and braids in his hair became normal. 

It stung, but Axle got used to it. She thought Powder deserved the love more than Ivara did. 

“Done!” Jinx looked up at her with a crooked smile, jumping up onto Axle’s bed. 

“Impressive.” Axle nodded, drawing out the syllables, playfully serious. “Let’s go show Silco.”

Jinx sprang up with a giggle and she bounded out of the room. Axle liked this version of the kid a lot more than the sulky one she first met. It was good to have some light in the Lanes, an energy to bring chaotic spirit to her work, and someone closer to her age to spend time with. It had gotten tiring to drink and play poker with Sevika all the time. Not that she stopped doing that.

“Dad, look!” Jinx laughed as she pushed into Silco’s office. Jinx had also taken to calling Silco ‘Dad’. Axle insisted she did not mind if ever brought up, and she did not . Why would she be bothered?

Axle smirked through her discomfort and they held up their hands, showing off the freshly painted nails. Silco glared back at her as she sat down in one of the chairs by his desk, throwing her legs over the armrests. “Love the makeup. Very chic.”

“Yes, and your hair looks much better than it did before,” he replied snarkily.

“Jinx thought the blue would compliment my eye.” Axle over-emphasised, acting shocked at his indifference.

Jinx nodded at that. “And we can match!” 

Silco nodded back with a tired look. “So it was a choice not to do all of your hair.”

“Just doing a streak is very fashionable right now,” Axle smirked back, shifting to cross her legs on the chair. “Not like you would know, mister nightclub.”

“Alright, I’ve had quite enough of you,” Silco said, standing from his chair. “Come on, shoo. I have work. Go play with Sevika.”

Jinx laughed, running through the hallways with Axle in tow, and as they saw Sevika, they tackled her to the ground. All people would see is he sneer as they got up, but Axle would glance the small smile Sevika wore when she thought no one was looking and Axle would feel the warmth of connection spreading through her body.

Chapter Text

Things were going well for them. The city was running smoothly, Silco had taken over quite well, and Shimmer production had skyrocketed since he did. The spread of the drug had been kept to the Lanes for a while, but Silco had decided to expand only a few weeks ago, and already it had burrowed deep into the undercity. Most people would not see this as a good thing but to Axle and all of the Chem-Barons? It was like a personal little heaven.

Powder was also adjusting well to her new life, occasional bad days aside. She had been involved in a number of smuggling jobs, most of which she did well in, and Axle had taken her to Topside a few times to check out the lay of the land. She had even gone alone a few times and come back with tidbits of items ranging from candy to expensive jewellery.

All in all, it was going incredibly well.

Unless you consider Axle’s physical state. 

Everyone knew that her body would give in every once in a while, that some bad days came and went with her screaming in pain until it all subsided, and her comrades and coworkers would stay out of her way both in fear and pity. No one wanted to deal with Axle at her worst.

It always started with old scars getting more noticeable, the usual faded and thin marks becoming jagged and fresh. Usually, Axle did not notice them until they started hurting worse than normal, but this time Powder had brought her attention to it.

“I never noticed your hands before.” She had mumbled one day as they worked together in Axle’s workshop.

“What about my hands?” Axle glanced down and almost crushed the trinket she was working on. When Silco first found her, her fingers had been stained an inky black by hypothermia. Over the years, through time and use of shimmer, the colour had faded, leaving just barely lighter skin in its place, but when the stress got bad, when she started drinking more, when the shimmer took its toll, the darkened skin would return. “For fuck’s sake.”

Powder had looked at her with confusion as she trudged off to Singed’s lab, but did not bring it up again. Now, Axle lay in her bed unable to move. Pain wracked through her body and she shivered violently in agony, a fever and a cold sweat. Her eyes were screwed shut against the hallucinations swirling around her head and she could feel herself start to lose consciousness as she ruined her vocal cords.

“Hey.” Someone spoke softly behind her. She did not recognise who it was and did not try to as they rested a hand against her back. Something cold touched her forehead and she sighed in relief as her headache subdued just enough to be noticeable. “I know you will make it through this, just like the other times.”

Axle tensed, finally recognising Silco’s voice. Her body relaxed as he stayed by her side, and he did not move until she finally lost consciousness. Silco only cared for her when she was vulnerable, when she was unable to care for herself. At first, she enjoyed it, a kid who could finally be their own person. Now, she really longed for the love of a father, and not just a mentor.