Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A warm sliver of sunlight greeted Ekko as he awoke moments before his alarm began to sound, the faint chime of musical notes enveloping him as he attempted to open his eyes. How was it 6:30am already?! The warmth of his duvet, pulled up to his chin, was making it increasingly more difficult to get up that morning. It was the beginning of October; the leaves were changing from a magnificent green to beautiful, vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow. The days were beginning to get a bit colder, the night’s drawing in closer as autumn came into full swing.

Pushing aside the heavy duvet, he swung his legs round and sat on the edge of his bed, sighing as he did so.

It was a Monday. The start of another week, probably another long week at that. He loved his job, really, he did, but sometimes teaching was a LOT. He had known to an extent what he was getting into when he studied at university, of course he had, but to actually BE a teacher? Be responsible for the learning, wellbeing and happiness of over 20 children almost every day? That was something else entirely.

It was Ekko’s second year teaching. He had the same classroom as the previous year, teaching a year one class. He shared a teaching assistant; Elora Lindbeck, with the other year one teacher; Gert Tavares. Unfortunately for him, today was Gert’s day having Elora to support her class, so he was virtually alone on Mondays with 25 children. He knew he could do it, as he had done every Monday since September, however it was exhausting trying to teach that many five- and six-year-olds alone.

Gently rubbing the sleep out of his brown eyes, Ekko got out of bed and grabbed his clothes for the day from where he had hung them on the wooden door of his wardrobe. He often prepared his clothes for the next day before he went to sleep, as it made his mornings a lot easier.

He exited his bedroom, closing the door softly behind him with a click. The landing was near-silent as he walked towards the bathroom, a faint glow of sunlight illuminating the doorway as it shone through the bathroom window. The only sound was that of his feet padding along.

After using the toilet and getting dressed for the day into his chosen outfit; juniper-green chino trousers with a chestnut brown belt, a sky-blue shirt with the top button undone so he could breathe more easily and the sleeves half-rolled up, and one of his usual pairs of funky-patterned socks (koalas this time). The children loved to see what socks he wore each day, it was much like with Elora and what dress she had on each day, she liked to wear different colours and patterns.

Ekko padded to the kitchen for some breakfast, hearing faint sounds of movement coming from Jinx’s bedroom as he walked down the stairs. Good, he thought, she must be awake. They had both stayed up a little too late the previous night gaming, which he was certainly beginning to regret considering the early hour he had to get up. They’d had fun though, laughing in mild frustration as they kept dying during battles – despite the mutual decision to play in story mode aka what was supposed to be ‘easy’ as it was their first time playing that particular game. They’d spent far too long in character creation before having even begun too…

Smiling to himself, Ekko poured out some frosted flakes cereal into a slightly chipped dark blue bowl, grabbing himself a spoon and the milk from the fridge before settling at the oak kitchen table to eat.

“What’s got you so smiley at such an ungodly hour?” asked Jinx, voice gravelly from sleep as she opened a cupboard to grab the coco pops cereal.

He had been so deep in thought he hadn’t heard her approach, almost dropping his spoon as he jumped slightly in his chair at the sudden arrival of his best friend standing in front of him.

“Just deciding whether or not I regret staying up late last night gaming…” he mused, chuckling at the glance she threw his way before joining him at the table with her own bowl of cereal.

“So, same again tonight then?” she asked with a smirk, pouring milk onto her cereal before beginning to eat.

Ekko sighed dramatically in mock exasperation before shooting her a wink.

“You know it. Although perhaps not quite as late, or the children will start commenting on the bags under my eyes…”

That got a giggle from Jinx, as he pushed his chair back to rinse his bowl and spoon before stacking them into their small dishwasher.

“I’ll be home earlier tonight as our staff meeting got moved to tomorrow instead.”

“Oh great! More time for gaming then when I get back from the workshop.” Jinx replied with a wink of her own, turning back to her breakfast.

Ekko smiled back at her before going back upstairs to finish getting ready for the day. He brushed his teeth, opened up the green curtains in his bedroom and grabbed his laptop case off the mahogany chest of drawers opposite his bed.

With one last glance at his relatively tidy bedroom to ensure he had everything he needed; he made his way back downstairs to put on his deep brown faux-leather shoes. Just as he finished tying his shoelaces and stood back up from the ottoman in the hallway, which was next to the staircase, Jinx brushed past him on her way to get her own shoes. Her blue braids, nearly at her hips in length, swung from side to side. She was wearing navy-blue dungarees for work, with a short-sleeved olive-green t-shirt and had a black hoodie tied around her shoulders.

They left the house at the same time, 7:45am, after Ekko checked Jinx had her lunch with her. He knew she wouldn’t eat otherwise, the hours blurring as she hyperfixated on whatever her task was for the day until suddenly it was time for her to go back home.

After locking their teal front door, they went to turn their separate ways for work, Jinx impulsively kissing Ekko’s cheek with a “see you later” before spinning around and walking away quickly towards the bus stop further down the road.

Ekko almost dropped his keys in shock. Catching them in time, he unlocked his car and sat in the driver’s seat. His face felt warm as he placed his laptop bag on the passenger seat to the left of him and buckled his seatbelt. Jinx had kissed him on the cheek before, so it wasn’t entirely anything new, but the last few times had felt different. Different in a way he didn’t really understand just yet. He knew he didn’t dislike it though, and that scared him a little bit.

Shaking his head in an attempt to dispel the swirling thoughts, he checked his mirrors before reversing off their asphalt driveway, turning the radio on as he went.

The drive to the primary school Ekko worked at only took about 10 minutes at most. He probably could walk some days if he wished to, however that would mean getting up earlier as it would take half an hour, and sleep was not something he would give up on easily. He pulled into the staff car park adjacent to the school itself at 7:55am. His official start time was 8:15 but like most other teachers at his school, he often arrived by 8am in order to prepare for the day ahead, especially on a Monday.

Usually, he would sign in on the electronic sign in screen before popping to the staff room to make a thermos of tea on his way to his classroom. However, today he was interrupted from his usual routine as soon as he entered the building and had signed in.

“Good morning, Ekko. Might I borrow you for a moment?” Ms. Medara, the head teacher at his school (Piltover Primary School) asked politely, her voice as calming and melodic as usual.

“Good Morning Ms-” Ekko paused, correcting himself after the pointed look directed his way “-Mel.”

The tall woman smiled, motioning for him to follow her into her office. Her ink-black hair was braided elegantly atop her head with golden threads throughout. She wore crisp, white trousers with a floaty golden blouse and white shoes that had a slight heel to them, making her appear even taller than she already was.

Ekko followed the woman into her cosy office, which was situated across the hall from the staff room. The smaller room was awash with golden sunlight streaming through the windows, making everything glow and feel inviting, safe. He sat in one of the cushioned, black chairs of which was facing Mel’s desk. She herself sat in the high-backed chair behind her desk.

Ekko had no idea what she would want to speak to him about, he couldn’t help but feel nervous and that he’d somehow done something wrong.

Mel gave a reassuring smile.

“I apologise for the short notice, Ekko, as I have only found out this information this morning. We have a new child starting today, and she will be placed into your class. Her name is Isha. As of half an hour ago, we only know limited information. I will update you when I have been informed of more. All we currently know, apart from her name of course, is that she has situational mutism, and she is in the foster care system. Her social worker will be bringing her in this morning and collecting her at the end of the school day. This arrangement will continue for this week as she settles in. She will be arriving ten minutes before the start of the school day, so that she can meet you and see her new classroom before any other children arrive. I know that Elora is in Gert’s class today, however I will ask her to pop into yours so she can meet Isha too. I understand this is a lot of information I have just thrown at you, so if you have any questions, please do let me know.”

Ekko listened intently the whole time Mel was speaking, taking in all that information. He nodded when she was done, uttering a “thank you, Mel” before they both stood and he left her office, tea all but forgotten as he strolled straight through the long corridor to his classroom so he could prepare for the new arrival.

After writing his usual ‘good morning’ message on the whiteboard at the front of his classroom, he sat at his desk and switched on his laptop. His next task was to make a peg and drawer label for Isha, so she knew where to put her things. He could at the very least print them out ready and hopefully Gert could spare Elora for a few moments later in the morning to laminate them for him.

Ekko was walking back from the staff room printer when he noticed the time; almost 8:30am. Isha would be arriving any moment and he didn’t feel at all ready. Usually when there was a new pupil arriving at the school, the teacher was given at least a few days’ notice and they then had time to prepare things such as their workbooks, so this was all a bit stressful.

Almost as soon as he had re-entered his classroom and set the printing down onto his desk, there was a gentle knock at the propped-open door. Mel was stood at the threshold of his classroom. A shorter woman with dark brown hair pulled up into a bun at the back of her head, a sprinkling of freckles dotting her nose and gold-framed glasses stood beside her. She wore a burgundy blouse underneath a smart, gold-rimmed black jacket, black slim-fit trousers and a pair of black ankle boots.

“Ekko, this is Sky Young, Isha’s social worker. Sky, this is Ekko Reed, he will be Isha’s teacher.” Mel said in introduction as the two young adults in question shook hands in greeting.

Ekko glanced down to where a little girl was standing beside Sky. She had choppy, brown hair that was slightly longer at the back than at the front, wide, amber eyes and was wearing a worn, dark-brown hat atop her head. She also wore a semblance of the school’s uniform: a pair of black trousers, an off-white polo shirt with a dark blue cardigan (the school cardigan/jumper colour was purple; however, this was close in shade) and scuffed black Velcro school shoes over well-worn dark blue socks. She had an old, well-used backpack on her back and was holding onto a navy-blue raincoat tightly in both hands.

She was looking up at him with mild interest. He crouched down to her level, smiling warmly in a way he hoped would help her feel at ease.

“You must be Isha. I’m Mr. Ekko.”

(Teachers would usually be called Miss, Mrs., Ms. or Mr. and then their surname, however Mel had no problem with the teachers in her school using their first names instead if they preferred to, as long as they used an honorific at the beginning still. Hence, Mr. Ekko instead of Mr. Reed. He much preferred using his first name.)

Isha gave a tentative smile back, standing slightly closer to Sky for a moment.

“Why don’t we have a look at your new classroom, Isha? I can show you where your peg will be so you can hang up your backpack and coat.” Ekko prompted gently, standing up when Isha nodded her agreement on the matter.

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He led the way into the classroom, Isha gazing around the room as she took everything in. The tables were arranged in a way so that four children could fit at each table, in squares mostly within the centre of the rectangular classroom. Around the edges of the room, against the pale-blue painted walls, were various drawer units, boxes filled with different toys and activities and lots of other things Isha couldn’t really see properly as they were inside the boxes. Drying racks for paintings sat upon some of the white drawer units which were filled with multi-coloured drawers. On the far side of the room, opposite Mr. Ekko’s teacher desk and the whiteboard, was the most magnificent tree Isha had ever seen. It was painted from floor to ceiling and spread its branches and leaves all along that back wall. Underneath sat a few beanbag chairs and cushions on top of a rainbow rug, along with two small bookshelves filled with neatly stacked picture books. She couldn’t stop the smile that came as she looked at the tree in absolute awe.

She spun around after a few moments to follow Mr. Ekko through a pale-blue painted door into the adjoining cloakroom. Coat pegs lined the square room, sunlight drifting through the window in the outer doorway that she assumed led to the playground after a quick glance through it. There was another pale-blue door across from the first, which must have led to another classroom as it had a sign reading ‘Butterflies Class – Miss Gert’ in the middle of it, which was surrounded by butterflies painted all the colours of the rainbow. Two more doors stood opposite to the outer door, the pegs dotted around them, and she could see they led to the toilets. There were two cubicles in each room along with two white, porcelain sinks and an electric hand-dryer on one of the mint-green walls. She turned to see Mr. Ekko’s propped-open door, noticing the sign reading ‘Fireflies class – Mr. Ekko’ and how it was surrounded by painted fireflies. They looked as if they were glowing brilliantly.

Mr. Ekko pointed to the peg nearest to his classroom door.

“This will be your peg; I just need Miss Elora to finish making your name label for me later on today. She is our teaching assistant; we have to share her with Miss Gert, but she does help in our classroom some days. You will hopefully meet her later on. You can hang your jacket and bag on your peg.”

Isha listened carefully to what her new teacher told her, hoping this ‘Miss Elora’ was as nice as Mr. Ekko seemed to be. Especially if she would also be around in the classroom sometimes. Isha placed the raincoat she had been tightly holding onto on her peg before she shook off her backpack, setting it down onto the wooden bench which ran underneath the pegs in order to remove her water bottle. She then removed the raincoat before she placed her backpack on her peg, replacing the coat over the top. Once happy with how she had placed everything, she scooped up her purple water bottle and strolled past Mr. Ekko back into the classroom.

He followed behind, showing Isha where the water bottle shelf was. After putting her bottle in the middle of said shelf, she watched as he placed a small whiteboard with her name written neatly on it at the table nearest his desk.

“Each morning, we practise writing our names. Tomorrow you will have a laminated sheet like the rest of the class, but for today you can use this whiteboard. Are you happy to sit here? I thought you might be able to sign to me more easily if needed.” Mr. Ekko said kindly.

She couldn’t help but smile shyly at him, as it was the first time a teacher had ever tried to make things easier for her. She signed “thank you”.

It was at that moment that Sky entered the room, crouching down to Isha’s level.

“I have to go now; I need to talk with Ms. Medara first but then I have other jobs to do. I’ll be back to collect you at the end of the school day.”

Isha waved goodbye as Sky left the room, following Ms. Medara down the corridor to her office.

As he checked the time on his watch, Mr. Ekko told Isha it was time to open the door to let her classmates in. She felt anxious. In the past, Isha had not really had any friends. When other children realised that she communicated in a different way to them, they would soon give up on trying to be her friend. Or worse, they would be unkind to her. Despite only being in her second year of schooling, she had been to four different schools since starting Reception class when she was five, as she had been to many different foster homes. It never got easier.

Mr. Ekko seemed to notice her anxiety as he held out his hand to her, asking “would you like to help me open the door?”

Isha timidly took his hand, leaning into him as they went into the cloakroom together to open the outer door. They stood side by side as the first few children filtered in, hanging up bags and coats on their pegs.

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The rest of Monday went by in a blur. Ekko kept a close eye on Isha throughout the day, smiling when by lunchtime she already had a few new friends. Or, at least, some of the other children were playing alongside her. Elora had come into the classroom mid-morning to meet Isha and to sort the laminating for him too. Isha seemed comfortable around Elora already, which was a great start considering she would be in his classroom the next day.

Isha had left with a smile on her face as she was met by Sky at the end of the day, and that was all he could have hoped for.

He finished tidying the classroom in the areas the children had missed during tidy up time, and grabbed his bag ready to head home. He knew the next day would be a late finish due to the staff meeting and wanted to make the most of getting to leave earlier on a Monday.

He popped by Mel’s office as he was leaving to let her know how Isha had gotten on that day. She told him they would speak more about Isha the following day as Sky had given her more information on the child.

Ekko made it home before Jinx did, miraculously unlocking and entering the house before 4:30pm. A rare occurrence indeed for a teacher. He went straight up to his bedroom to change into comfier clothes – a green, baggy t-shirt and a grey pair of joggers. It was usually Jinx’s turn to make dinner on a Monday as he was always home late that day. Ekko sent Jinx a quick text to ask if she wanted him to cook instead, already knowing the answer would be some form of an excited ‘yes please!’ with a random string of emojis at the end.

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Jinx hated cooking, but she didn’t deem it fair for it to always be Ekko’s responsibility. He already made her lunch almost every day and reminded her to bring it with her, the least she could do was cook for him a couple times a week- especially on the days he was home later than she was.

However, when Ekko texted asking if she wanted him to make dinner that night as he was already home, she happily took him up on that offer.

Her day had certainly been interesting. After impulsively kissing Ekko on the cheek earlier that morning, she had speedily walked away towards the bus stop whispering to herself “why did I do that?!” repeatedly. She had kissed Ekko on the cheek before, but that time had felt different somehow. She wasn’t entirely sure whether it was a ‘good’ different or not…

Her day had gone by relatively quickly, Heimerdinger (her boss) having given her the task of fixing up an old clock. Not the most interesting of things but Jinx enjoyed tinkering with it all the same. She had, after multiple prompts from Ekko, set an alarm on her phone for 1pm so she remembered to eat lunch and take a short break. Without which, she knew she would hyperfocus for hours on end until Heimer told her it was time to go home at 5pm.

She waved goodbye to the short man, who was attempting to tame his wild mane of white hair into his coat hood, and left the workshop to make her way to the bus stop.

Jinx had endeavoured to learn to drive aged 19, having recently reunited with her sister who had attempted to teach the blue-haired girl in her red run-down Toyota. It had not gone well, however, as Jinx found the whole thing immensely overstimulating. She had deemed herself unteachable when it came to driving and they never spoke of the matter again. Ekko was more than happy to be the designated driver whenever they went anywhere too far to walk or too expensive via public transport, and she didn’t mind relying on him. He had been the constant in her life since they were kids. She never wanted to let him go, and it seemed he felt the same about her. He really was her best friend, and she knew she cared for him deeply.

Before she knew it, she was home, placing her boots on the shoe rack in the hallway and dumping her bag down on the ottoman near the carpeted indigo-blue stairs.

Jinx entered the kitchen just as Ekko had put a casserole dish in the oven.

“Dinner should be about half an hour.” Ekko said in greeting with a warm smile as he turned from the oven to face her.

Jinx greeted him with a tight hug, as was a usual occurrence after arriving home from work. Whether it had been a great day, or an average day, or an absolutely shit day, they always shared a hug at the end of it. She believed that was a sign of their friendship and how close they were to each other.

Ekko melted into her arms, hugging her back just as tightly. She smelled of the familiar scent of metal and the sweet-smelling pear body spray she used every morning before she left the house.

After a few minutes, or possibly longer, Jinx pulled away to go and get changed out of her work clothes. She came back into the kitchen wearing a purple oversized t-shirt that looked suspiciously like one of Ekko’s shirts, although he wouldn’t say anything, and a matching pair of grey joggers.

They ate dinner (chicken casserole) together at the table, each taking turns to tell the other about their day. After Jinx had told him about her (in her opinion), boring day, Ekko mentioned having had a new student join his class. She always found it interesting hearing about Ekko’s day, she could hear in his voice how much he cared about his students as he spoke about them.

“My new student, Isha, is quite shy. She uses a mix of Makaton sign and seemingly random hand gestures to communicate as she has situational mutism. I feel like I’m already starting to get the hang of understanding her though. She’s a really sweet little girl; I think you’d like her.”

Jinx smiled at that. “You say that about all of your kiddos. Isha does sound cute, though.”

As Jinx loaded the used plates and now-empty casserole dish into dishwasher, Ekko went to turn on their gaming laptops. They each had a mahogany desk in their living room, positioned next to each other at the left side of the rectangular space. The walls were painted mint-green, the floor hardwood oak with a sky-blue rug in the middle. Each desk had a proper gaming chair pushed underneath – Jinx’s was electric blue and Ekko’s emerald green. The opposite side of the room held a big window looking out to the driveway at the front of the house, covered by white wooden slat blinds (which Ekko pulled closed as the sun had already set outside). To the left of the window was their tv sat atop a mahogany end table. Across from that was a grey reclining 3-seater sofa with a mahogany bookshelf next to it. In between, on top of the rug, was a matching wooden coffee table – surprisingly tidy for once with only two coasters sat atop it.

They both made themselves comfortable at their desks, bottles of water prepared as otherwise neither of them would remember to drink anything for the next couple of hours. Jinx had a fluffy blue blanket on her lap as she often ran cold.

The next couple of hours blended together in a blur of laughter, Jinx almost rage-quitting on more than one occasion when they repeatedly died in battles, and a jokey argument over who each of their avatars would romance in this save. They both wanted the same character so talked it all out before deciding to see which of their own avatars seemed to have more chemistry with her and then go from there.

Ekko saw that it was nearing 11pm, so decided it was time to call it a night, especially since he knew the following day would be long due to his staff meeting. Jinx agreed, yawning as they both saved the game before exiting it and shutting down their laptops almost simultaneously. Ekko left the room with Jinx trailing behind him, turning off the light as she went. After checking the front door was locked and chained, they padded upstairs, heading into the bathroom together to brush their teeth before bed. They usually did this at the same time as there was space near the sink for them both, and they more often than not went to bed at the same time as each other.

With a mutual “goodnight”, the pair entered their own bedrooms. Turning the light on, Jinx shut the door behind her with a gentle click before pulling off her joggers and swapping them for one of her usual pairs of pyjama shorts – blue with a pattern of white clouds. She kept Ekko’s oversized t-shirt on; she often wore his clothes around the house. There was just something about them that brought comfort. They usually smelled like him for a few days after he had worn them, the comforting mix of apples from his shower gel and the mild floral fabric conditioner they used when washing their clothes. She would then put the t-shirt in the wash and ‘acquire’ another one he had worn for a few hours and put down somewhere.

Ekko made her feel safe and therefore his clothes did as well, it was like he was giving her a hug whilst she was wearing them. Which was a completely normal thing to feel when wearing your best friend’s clothing, of course.

Jinx’s room was about the same size as Ekko’s. An oak wardrobe which matched her bedframe was against the wall to the left of the entrance, one door hanging slightly wonky from where she had previously yanked it open on one too many occasions using too much force for the poor object to handle. A dressing table sat opposite the wardrobe, various types of make-up and Jinx’s signature blue and pink nail polish cluttering the space. It looked like organised chaos, which was very much Jinx. Piles of clean clothes cluttered the floor near her wardrobe, as she hadn’t the energy to put them away yet. The ‘floordrobe’ increasing in size was a cause of frustration Jinx dealt with more regularly than she’d like to admit, however she always got around to tidying it eventually whilst blasting whatever music she was hyperfixated on a the time. Drawings of blue monkeys and various designs of things she hoped to create dotted her blue-painted walls. A small, oak double bed in the middle of the wall directly opposite her bedroom door covered with pink and blue polka-dot bed sheets and several soft blankets of various colours.

Despite the temperatures growing colder as they entered Autumn and edged ever closer to Winter, they would not have the heating on until at least late October. It simply cost too much so they held off as long as they could. They also turned the heating off at night when it was the time of year for it, as for some reason neither Jinx nor Ekko could breathe properly at night with it on. Jinx remembered Vi having the same issue when they were children, Milo always complaining that Vander had turned the heating off at night because the girls were ‘too sensitive’. She rolled her eyes at the thought of how ridiculous her foster brother had been when they were kids.

A small, pink lamp sat on her bedside table too, which she turned on after turning off the main bedroom light. She had a bottle of water beside the lamp, half-full still from that morning.

Her last thing to do before bed was to take her Melatonin pill, otherwise she would have no chance at all of a peaceful sleep (which was a rare occurrence in itself). After taking her pill with water, Jinx turned the lamp off and fell into bed, wrapping her soft duvet around her in a comforting cocoon. She slept peacefully that night, dreaming of spending the rest of her life alongside Ekko. In an entirely platonic way, of course.

Chapter Text

The following day began in much the same way for Ekko, with beginnings of morning sunlight sneaking through the gap in his bedroom curtains and his alarm going off before he felt rested enough. He lay there for a few more seconds in the warmth before shoving off the duvet and rolling out of bed, grabbing his clothes for the day from his wardrobe door as he left his bedroom.

After getting dressed for the day in a dark green tracksuit (Tuesdays were PE days for year one, so they called for a different style of teacher outfit) and grey socks with yellow rubber ducks on, Ekko made his way downstairs to grab some cereal. Jinx soon joined him at the kitchen table for breakfast, dressed in another pair of dungarees (dark purple this time) with a black t-shirt underneath.

“Still tired this morning?” Jinx asked through a mouthful of puffed rice cereal.

“Not as much as yesterday, I think I need to go to bed earlier tonight though… maybe we should have a night off gaming?” Ekko suggested as he fished for the last dregs of coco pops at the bottom of his navy-blue bowl.

Jinx sighed but ultimately agreed, “I think I need an earlier night too, not that I want to admit that… even though work is alright at the moment, it’s still taking a lot out of me right now.”

Ekko nodded, giving Jinx a small smile before getting up from the table to put his bowl and spoon in the dishwasher. He was so proud of Jinx with how she was noticing her own needs more, and verbalising them. It’d taken her quite a lot of therapy to get this far. He knew she sometimes felt awkward when people praised her efforts, however, so he didn’t speak his thoughts right away. He knew it would be better to show her how he felt and tell her after. So, once she had put her own bowl and spoon into the dishwasher and closed it, he wrapped his arms around her small frame in a tight hug. Jinx responded immediately, squeezing him back just as tightly. They stayed like that for several minutes, Ekko gently kissing the top of her blue-haired head.

Ekko whispered, “I’m so proud of you, Jinx.”

She smiled into his shoulder where her head rested, squeezing him tighter for a brief moment before stepping back. They stood staring at each other for a second, emotions swirling in their eyes, before they went back upstairs to finish getting ready for the day.

Jinx shut and locked the front door as they left their house and waved at each other as she turned left out of the driveway, and he got into his car. Another day looming ahead…

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Jinx strolled to the bus stop, a slight spring in her step after what Ekko had said that morning. She knew he was proud of her, he had shown her with his actions and the pride shining on his face when she talked to him about her feelings or dealt with things in a healthier way than she used to as a young teen, but hearing him say it was another thing entirely. She soaked his words of encouragement up like a sponge.

Her day went by in another blur, fixing various different things and brainstorming new invention ideas with her coworker Viktor; a tall, thin man with short brown hair of which several strands kept falling into his golden eyes. He wore his usual outfit which she often thought was a bit overly-smart for the fact they worked in an engineering workshop; a pair of black trousers (his right leg in it’s usual silver brace), a silver waistcoat, red tie and a striped grey and black shirt underneath. On his left foot was a smart, black shoe.

At first Jinx hadn’t been sure of the man, however, after a year of working alongside him she had grown used to his company. They often worked on their own projects but sometimes came together to share ideas. Heimer would occasionally join these sessions too if he had the time. Overall, Jinx was happy with her job. It was exhausting and overwhelming at times, but she had learned that most people with ADHD felt the same way in their own jobs, even if it was something they enjoyed doing. She felt a whole lot less broken since that diagnosis had joined the one of an anxiety disorder. There wasn’t anything ‘wrong’ with her, her brain was just built differently, and that was okay.

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Ekko went straight to Mel’s office as soon as he arrived at the school. She was sat at her desk when he knocked twice on her open door and waved him in. He shut the door gently closed behind him. After exchanging ‘good mornings’, Mel motioned for Ekko to sit in one of the black, cushioned chairs opposite her desk.

“So, Isha…” Mel began, pausing to open up a document on her computer. “Sky has passed on more information, although we still don’t have the full picture.”

Ekko listened carefully, nodding along as Mel spoke.

“Her full name is Isha Lowe, she’s 5 years old – one of the younger ones with her birthday being in May. We know already that she has situational mutism. She has been flagged for showing autistic traits at a previous school, however that was never followed up due to her having moved schools soon after. Might be worth us looking into,” she said, looking away from her computer screen towards Ekko.

He nodded in agreement, “I will see what I notice, but thinking about yesterday, there were some signs already.”

“Keep me informed on that and we can see if we need to proceed any further,” she said before turning back to look at her computer screen. “Isha has been in foster care since she was three years old. Her biological parents sadly died in a fire and had no living relatives. Since then, she has attempted to run away from multiple different foster homes. She also doesn’t seem happy at her current foster home, yet they are running out of placements to try her with so she may have to stay there for a while longer.”

A sense of unease filled Ekko’s brain as memories of his own childhood flooded in. His own birth parents had died when he was very young. He had then lived with his foster father Benzo for several years until, when he was 12, Benzo had died too, along with Vander – Jinx’s adoptive father. Ekko had been moved to a group foster home alongside Powder (before she became Jinx when they were teens). He honestly did not know if he would’ve survived that without her. They had spent every night of their time in that place snuggled together in Ekko’s small single bed, after Powder had snuck into his tiny bedroom. She had shared a room with two other girls a similar age to them, and hated it. Every night she had waited until they fell asleep and tip-toed across the hall to where Ekko was waiting for her. It was the only way they felt safe enough to sleep. They did that every single night for 6 years, even once they both grew taller and could barely fit together, Ekko’s room seeming to shrink in size as each year passed. Once Ekko turned 18 and had ‘aged out’ of foster care, he went to university to study early childhood education. He lived on campus in the residence halls, and for that whole first year he struggled with sleep… Jinx having the same issue being without him. Being in foster care was hard enough as it was, but being alone too like Isha was must have been even worse. Ekko’s heart hurt thinking of it all.

He shook the memories away, focusing back to Mel, who was looking at him with concern in her green-gold eyes. She knew a little about his childhood, enough to know how this kind of thing would affect him at least a bit.

“I put Isha in your class for a reason, Ekko. We had spaces in both, however, I felt she would thrive in your class. You have a huge amount of empathy, and I knew you would have more chance of understanding her too. If there is anything I can do to support you, please do let me know. You are already doing a great job with her. She looked happy when I saw her leave school yesterday, and that is not a small thing.”

Ekko returned Mel’s warm smile with one of his own, uttering a “thank you” as he got up to leave her cosy office. She waved him off as she returned her gaze to her computer and went back to work.

As he entered his classroom, Ekko sent a quick text to Jinx – consisting of a green heart emoji. She replied within seconds with a pale blue one. This was their code for if they were feeling a few too many emotions at once and didn’t really feel able to handle it alone. Whoever sent the first heart knew that by doing so, the other would be aware they may need an extra tight hug when they got home at the end of the day. They would also check in with each other on their lunch break, Jinx taking an earlier break if needed as hers was usually later than Ekko’s. The system seemed to work for them, and it helped a lot with communicating how they were feeling without having to always use words. Ekko came up with the idea when Jinx in particular was struggling in his first year away at university. They weren’t able to see each other for a hug that same day, but they did call each other those evenings and checked in on each other as much as was possible with Ekko’s university lectures. It was what worked for them, and continued to work too.

The day flew by, Isha having entered with her classmates at the normal start time with a smile on her lightly-freckled face as she waved to Ekko in greeting. He always had Elora to support him with his class on a Tuesday, so she spent parts of the day getting to know Isha better. During his lunch break, Jinx had texted him to check in. He had decided to tell her more when they both arrived home later that day, but told her he was feeling a bit better what with work being a good distraction.

He had to move PE indoors as, in semi-typical autumnal weather, pouring rain decided to appear out of nowhere for the hour they were supposed to be outside. It cleared up soon after, the sun reappearing as if the rain had never happened at all. Gert’s class were able to then go outside for PE. He took his own class outside for a bit of fresh air too, which also helped clear his head a little before the looming staff meeting after school.

Before he knew it the end of the day had rolled around. Once he had seen his class out and waved a goodbye to Elora, Ekko joined the other teachers as they made their way to the staff room for their meeting.

He sat beside Jayce Talis, a tall, muscular man with tan skin and dark brown, slicked back hair, who taught one of the year five classes. He was also good friends with Vi, which Ekko had found out when Caitlyn had thrown a birthday party for Vi earlier that year, and Jayce was there amongst the guests. Jayce also happened to be childhood friends with Caitlyn. What a small world it really was…

The meeting went by quickly, as it wasn’t one involving any sort of training. Mel discussed with her team of teachers the upcoming plans and asked for any ideas the teachers may have of ways in which they could further engage the children with their learning. When another teacher mentioned having visitors come in to visit individual classes, an idea appeared in Ekko’s mind. Almost as if a light bulb had switched on above his head. He waited until the meeting had finished, still anxious of speaking in a meeting in front of all the other teachers. As others got up to leave, Ekko approached Mel, ready to share his idea.

She turned to face him, and after a polite exchange on how each other’s day had been, Ekko said to Mel, “Following on from the idea of visitors coming into school… my best friend works at an engineering workshop. She creates all sorts of amazing things, and I was thinking that, as long as she also said yes, she could come in and show the Fireflies how to make some kind of toy. They could go in small groups and work together, improving their teamwork skills and also getting to do something practical to further develop their fine and gross motor skills as well. If it’s a day I have Elora, we could take turns in being in the hall whilst the other is in the classroom. Of course, if it went well, perhaps Jinx would be willing to also work with Gert’s class and potentially other year groups too. I thought I’d get your thoughts on it first before I spoke to Jinx though.”

Mel thought for a moment before responding, “I think that’s a brilliant idea, Ekko. I have met Jinx before, yes? Your housemate? She came to help you sort your classroom out when you first joined us.”

Ekko nodded, unsurprised Mel remembered Jinx. She was a very memorable person for a lot of reasons…

“If you could perhaps speak to her tonight, and let me know tomorrow? We can then get the ball rolling on that,” Mel concluded.

“I will do.”

The two uttered goodbyes to each other before Ekko left the staff room, bag slung over his shoulder as he walked out the building to his car. He hoped Jinx would say yes…

He returned home to the delicious aroma of spaghetti bolognese and garlic bread cooking. It was one of his favourite meals, and one Jinx had perfected. As he locked and chained the front door behind him and removed his forest-green trainers, he heard the unmistakable sound of Jinx humming to herself. He couldn’t tell what song it was, but she sounded content, and that made him smile.

He placed his bag onto the ottoman and slung his coat over the banister of the stairs before going into the kitchen. Jinx spun round as she heard him enter, dropping the wooden spoon she’d been using to stir the bolognese sauce into the saucepan with a faint ‘splosh’.

They stared at each other for a second before Jinx closed the distance, gently pulling Ekko in by the strings of his hoodie and wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders. He relaxed instantaneously into the hug, resting his arms around Jinx’s small waist and nestling his head in the crook of her neck. She held onto him tighter, how he usually did for her in the same situation. He knew that tight hugs grounded her and helped her feel safe, and he felt the same way. They stayed like that for several minutes, only pulling apart when the oven timer began beeping to signal dinner was ready.

Jinx lightly pushed Ekko in the direction of the kitchen table, signalling for him to sit down whilst she dished up their dinner. They sat together and ate, Ekko preparing himself to ask Jinx about going into his school. Just as he had figured out what to say, she swallowed the bit of garlic bread she had been eating and spoke.

“Do you want to talk about today?”

Ekko froze for a moment, feeling all sorts of emotions swirl to the surface as he noticed the look of infinite care and adoration radiating from her beautiful, blue eyes. Wow, he thought. I am so lucky to have her in my life.

He shook his head a little, speaking softly; “Mel had been given more information on Isha. I can’t tell you about many details for safeguarding reasons as you know, but I will say she’s been through a lot in her life so far. She’s not coping that well in foster care either. When Mel told me that part, childhood memories started pouring in. That’s why I messaged you when I first got to my classroom…”

Whilst he was talking, Jinx had rested one of her small hands atop his, gently squeezing.

“We didn’t have the easiest time, and thinking of another child going through similar struggles definitely won’t be easy. But at least the kid has got you, Ekko. A teacher who cares about her, who will help her to the best of his ability. We didn’t have that at school, but we had each other. I’m guessing she doesn’t have that?”

Ekko shook his head, squeezing her hand back.

“She doesn’t, no.”

They sat in silence for a bit, each going back to eating the rest of their dinner.

“On another note, how would you feel about coming into school and showing my class how to make a toy or gadget of some kind?” Ekko asked before eating his last bite of garlic bread.

Jinx looked at him in surprise.

“Really? Me? I mean, that should be fine. I’d have to check with Heimer first though. Is this just because you want me to meet Isha?”

“No! Well… that is an added bonus. But I genuinely believe you would do a great job with the children, and it would be a good opportunity for learning for them.”

Ekko went on to explain about the meeting and how it had been a topic of discussion anyway before the idea had popped into his head.

Jinx smiled when he was finished explaining. She hadn’t really needed much convincing. She’d do pretty much anything if it meant helping Ekko.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Really?!”

Ekko jumped out of his seat in his excitement, hugging Jinx from behind and kissing the top of her head before beginning to clear their used dishes and cutlery from the table.

She laughed, standing up to go get changed out of her work clothes. Usually, she did that straight away when she got home, but she wanted to have dinner almost ready by the time Ekko got home that day, so she just stayed in her dungarees. They had less oil stains on them than usual.

She spun back around before leaving the kitchen, saying to Ekko “I have to wash my hair tonight, think you could help me with the braiding once it’s dried a little?”

“Of course I will. We could watch the new episode of that anime? The one with the dragon?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jinx replied with a salute as she left the kitchen, heading upstairs to start the long process that was washing her waist-length blue hair.

The rest of the evening was spent with Jinx sat cross-legged on the soft, sky-blue rug in the living room and Ekko sat behind her on their grey sofa as he braided her hair, and they watched a few episodes of anime together.

Ekko often helped Jinx with braiding. She was capable of doing it herself, but she loved the feeling of his gentle touch as he did so, and he loved the subtle closeness of running his fingers through the soft strands.   

At around 10pm they headed upstairs for the night, earlier than usual as they both knew they needed to catch up on sleep. After brushing their teeth side by side in the bathroom, Jinx entered her room and took her nightly melatonin pill before she met Ekko back on the landing outside their bedrooms. He had just changed into his pyjamas (short-sleeved green t-shirt and matching pyjama trousers) in the bathroom and was about to enter his room for the night. He looked at Jinx with surprise evident in his eyes as she went to follow him into his room.

“I thought, since you had a bit of an emotional day at work, that maybe we could sleep in the same room again like when we were younger…” her voice was quiet as she suggested the idea, anxious that he would think it was odd after four years of sleeping apart.

Ekko smiled warmly at Jinx, holding out his hand for her to take as they entered his room together. He switched off the lamp beside his bed once they were settled, holding hands as they drifted off to sleep. It was the best sleep they’d both had for a long time.

The beginning rays of sunrise glinted through the gap in Ekko’s curtains as he struggled to open his eyes. He felt his face heat up as he realised during the night he and Jinx had snuggled together subconsciously, as if the four years they’d slept apart had never even happened. Jinx’s head rested against his chest, their arms wrapped around each other and their legs entwined together. He felt safe and content in her arms.

Ekko felt Jinx begin to stir, slowly waking up. She never loosened her grip on him as she whispered sleepily, “good morning.”

He smiled into her hair, whispering back a “good morning, Jinx”.

They stayed entwined together for a few moments more, soaking up the warmth they shared. The sound of Ekko’s alarm going off the only thing breaking their contented silence.

Jinx groaned, reluctantly letting go of her grip on Ekko as the pair sat up, stretching with barely stifled yawns before getting up to start their day.

Ekko already missed the warm, comforting feeling of being so close to Jinx.

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A few days passed without anything major happening. Jinx had slept in Ekko’s bed every night and, despite falling asleep next to each other on opposite sides of the bed, they woke up entangled together every time. Not that either of them minded in the slightest…

It was another Monday. A week since Isha had joined Ekko’s class, and the day in which Jinx was visiting his school. He and Jinx were in his car as he was telling her a bit more about the children in his class. Which children didn’t always have their listening ears turned on, who needed a little extra encouragement to join in, that kind of thing.

“Of course, I’ll point them out to you when they arrive. And I wont be leaving you alone either. Not that you aren’t capable of course! It’s just school policy when we have a visitor on site.”

Jinx smirked as she asked mischievously, “so… will you have to accompany me to the toilets, too?”

“Well…actually, someone will have to walk you there, wait outside and walk you back, so…”

“Oh, really?!”

“Honestly, yes…” Ekko said with a slight chuckle. “It’s for safeguarding reasons. I can be the one who walks you there though, if you’d like.” He smirked back at her, noticing a faint blush begin on her face as she turned to look out the car window.

Pulling into the school grounds, Ekko parked in his usual spot near the entrance and helped Jinx to carry the boxes which contained everything she would need to teach her group sessions.

Ekko signed himself in as usual and helped Jinx to sign in too, passing her a red lanyard covered with the word ‘visitor’ in white writing. She managed to put it over her head with one hand as she balanced the two boxes she was holding. Ekko held open each door for her as he led her to the vast hall – a rectangular, high-ceilinged room with vibrant mint-green walls and a smooth, hardwood floor. There were windows at either end of the room, accompanied by a white-painted fire door on each side. Two pairs of wooden inner fire-doors stood on opposite sides of the hall, one in which they had walked through from the hallway containing the school entrance, offices and KS1 (Key Stage One – Years 1 and 2) and the other leading further into the school, where the LKS2 (Lower Key Stage Two – Years 3 and 4) classrooms were held. There was also an inner wooden door which led to the school kitchen. The hall walls were adorned with various colourful displays showing the children’s artwork.

They placed down the boxes and set up a few tables and chairs in the middle of the room, Jinx instructing Ekko on what to put on which table. Before they knew it though, it was time to head to Ekko’s classroom to welcome the children for the day. Mel had swapped Elora’s days that week so that she could support Ekko’s class, and therefore she would be with Gert on Tuesday instead that week.

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Isha was one of the first to enter the cloakroom that morning, having darted away from her foster grown-up as soon as she was close enough to the year one door. Miss Elora (wearing a purple dress covered with multi-coloured butterflies), who had been standing near the door that morning, had said a “good-morning” to Isha as she entered, to which Isha replied with a quick wave of her hand.

Once she had put her navy-blue raincoat and worn backpack onto her peg (now fitted with her name above it, thanks to Miss Elora), Isha strolled into the Fireflies classroom. She knew there would be a visitor as Mr. Ekko had told them all on Friday afternoon.

Her hands fidgeted with the sleeves of her new (second-hand) purple cardigan as she carried her water bottle in the crook of her left arm and placed it onto the water bottle shelf. She could sense the presence of another adult alongside Mr. Ekko at the front of the classroom and felt nervousness edge in from her mind. She continued to fidget with her cardigan sleeves – soft, but a little scratchy from the washing powder her foster grown-ups used – and cautiously wandered over towards Mr. Ekko’s desk. She usually signed ‘good morning’ to him before practising writing her name with the other children, and he always signed it back to her as he spoke. He had only been her teacher for a week, but he was her favourite. Possibly even her favourite grown-up, too.

As she neared the desk, she gazed up at the woman standing beside her teacher. Her mouth nearly dropped open in absolute awe as she admired the woman’s mesmerizingly beautiful blue braids which reached down to her waist, her cool navy-blue dungarees and dark-pink t-shirt. She looked like a princess to Isha.

“Good morning, Isha.”

Mr. Ekko’s voice prompted Isha to look away from where she’d been admiring the class visitor. She smiled shyly at her teacher as she signed “good morning” back to him.

“This is Jinx. She’s our visitor today,” Mr. Ekko said whilst gesturing to the bluenette.

Isha turned back to her, feeling shy as Jinx smiled at her warmly.

“Nice to meet you, Isha.”

Isha waved at Jinx before going to her table and getting on with her morning task. She kept glancing at the woman throughout her task, fascinated by her mere presence. Once she caught Jinx staring in her direction with a thoughtful expression on her face, but it had been so quick Isha wasn’t sure if she imagined it.

Once all of the other Fireflies had arrived, Mr. Ekko called for carpet time. Everyone sat on the alphabet rug on the floor in between the tables and Mr. Ekko’s teacher desk, quieting down as they all turned to face their teacher.

“Good morning, Fireflies.”

Everyone repeated back a “good morning, Mr. Ekko.”

They all signed the “good morning” alongside Isha, too. Mr. Ekko had been teaching the class some basic signs so they could more easily communicate with her, as they would then be more able to understand the girl as she used sign.

Mr. Ekko smiled at them all, gesturing towards Jinx.

“This is Jinx. She is the visitor I told you all about on Friday. Jinx is an engineer, she knows how to fix and create really awesome things out of metal and other materials! She’s here to show you all some cool stuff, and you’ll get a chance to make some things yourselves too.”

He paused whilst the class clapped and cheered enthusiastically.

“I have split you into smaller groups and each group will get to have a go. When a group is having their turn, the rest of you will have free-flow activities in the classroom. Either Miss Elora or Mr. Ekko will be with you wherever you are this morning. In my first group is Isha…”

After her name was read out Isha stopped hearing anything else that her teacher said. She was too busy grinning to herself and trying to contain the surge of excitement she felt. Her hands twitched with the urge to move about. She supressed it, fidgeting with her cardigan sleeves instead. People, especially grown-ups, didn’t usually like it when she moved her hands around too much. She tried to keep them still as often as she could.

The small group, containing Isha and five other children from her class (all children who often tried to communicate with her and she liked drawing with), followed Mr. Ekko and Jinx into the echoey school hall.

Everyone sat at the tables as Jinx demonstrated what they would be doing that morning – making an animal of their choice out of metal and other materials.

 An hour passed quickly, everyone having a great time. Jinx and Mr. Ekko had hovered around them all, helping and showing them what to do if needed. Once most children had settled and were nearing completion of their task, Jinx sat beside Isha for a moment.

“Having fun, kiddo?”

Isha signed “yes” with a small smile as she looked up at the woman beside her.

Jinx seemed to understand her sign as she returned the girl’s smile with a warm one of her own, purple lips parting just enough to show off the slight gap in-between her front teeth.

“I’m glad to hear it!”

She continued whilst helping Isha join together two parts she was struggling with.

“Ekko told me you started at this school last week. Do you like it here so far?”

Isha thought for a moment, wondering when Mr. Ekko had spoken about her, and whether he had spoken about the other children too.

She carefully signed “yes, I like it here. Mr. Ekko is kind.”

“He is very kind, isn’t he?” Jinx said as she glanced at the man in question with a caring expression evident on her face.

Shocked that Jinx had understood her so well, Isha stared at the woman for a few moments before gesturing at herself and signing the words “you can understand me?”

Jinx nodded at Isha. “Ekko taught me a few things over the weekend so I could communicate with you today.”

That was the last thing Isha had expected to hear from someone who was a stranger to her. Why would Mr. Ekko teach this lady who Isha would probably not see again how to speak with her?

Jinx interpreted Isha’s confused expression as a question of how she knew Ekko, saying “Me and Ekko live together, he’s told me quite a bit about you. All good things,” she teased with a gentle smile.

Isha couldn’t stop the beam that spread across her face if she’d tried. It usually took her a while to like people, being overly cautious with who she got close to. Most people took weeks to try and understand her, if they tried at all. So, the fact that this woman she had only met for the first time that very same day, was trying already? That meant a huge deal to Isha.

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The rest of the day went by quickly, with Jinx working through each group of children with the ease and patience of someone who worked with kids almost daily. She sometimes had Ekko with her, sometimes Elora. She got along alright with Elora, chatting a bit about random shit when the kids had moments of not needing any help. Jinx didn’t like small talk, and neither, it seemed, did Elora. Their topics of conversation ranged from their individual, unique tastes in fashion, books (a hobby of Elora’s), video games (a hobby of Jinx’s) and finding out new info on Ekko by telling each other funny memories. They chatted a lot during lunch, too. Ekko had hoped to get the chance to talk to Jinx about what she thought about Isha, and the rest of his class, but figured it was good she was actually getting along well with another human who wasn’t just himself or her sister, Vi. Branching out and talking to more people was something he hoped Jinx would be able to do more of. So, he settled for waiting until they arrived home that evening.

Afternoon was a blur, and at the end of the day all the children said a big “thank you” to Jinx, waving to her as Ekko called them one by one as their grown-ups arrived to collect them. Isha was the last one to be called, giving Jinx a shy wave as she left, high-fiving Ekko on her way out the door.

They finished packing everything up from the hall in contented silence, loading up the car after saying goodbye to a few of Ekko’s coworkers in passing.

Ekko pulled out of the car park as he finally asked Jinx the question he’d been wanting to ask her all day.

“Sooooo… what did you think of Isha?”

Jinx chuckled to herself, surprised he’d lasted until they reached his car.

“She’s a cute kid. I can see why you like her so much.”

“I knew you’d like her!” he said with confidence.

“When are you ever wrong, little man?”

“You haven’t called me that in a while… have you been talking to Vi recently?”

“I guess I haven’t, have I? And no, we haven’t talked much this week.”

The next few minutes were filled with music from the radio as they sat in contented silence.

As he reversed onto their driveway, fancying a change from having to reverse out again in the morning, Ekko said quietly to Jinx; “You’re a natural with the kids, you know? Isha especially.”

“You think so?” Jinx asked, as if not believing her best friend.

“Yeah. They all loved you. I might be out of a job if they were allowed to choose their teacher.”

She unbuckled her seatbelt, turning to face him as he unbuckled his own.

“Ekko, they love you. Getting to see you, teaching like someone who is absolutely doing the job they were meant to do, was amazing. You’re amazing.”

Feeling flustered at the sudden outpouring of approval from Jinx, Ekko stuttered out a “thank you.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds. Jinx broke the silence with one word, “dinner?”

The pair left the car and entered the house together.

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The next day, Isha gave Ekko a drawing she had made. She signed to him, “please could you give this to Jinx?” before hurrying away to play.

He looked down at the picture and smiled, knowing Jinx would love it. A simply drawn outline of a person with two long, blue braids and a purple mouth, wearing dungarees and holding a grey bunny (he guessed to symbolise the metal toy Isha had made the day before) stared back at him. He put it carefully in his bag to give to Jinx later. 

Chapter Text

Staff meeting days had switched to Tuesdays for this term, which had worked out well the previous day when Jinx visited his school as it had meant they could leave earlier. Luckily this week’s meeting had not been too long, and he made it home just before 5pm. Jinx must have arrived home only a few minutes before him as her black boots and deep blue backpack were left haphazardly in the hallway. She usually put things away after getting changed out of her work clothes.

As Ekko was removing his forest-green trainers and raincoat, Jinx appeared at the top of the stairs wearing grey joggers, another of Ekko’s oversized t-shirts (green with Bulbasaur on the front) and a pair of blue, fluffy socks.

She padded downstairs and greeted Ekko with a tight hug.

He whispered into her hair; “someone drew a picture for you and asked me very nicely if I could pass it on.”

She drew back slightly, blue eyes meeting brown ones as she glanced at him.

“A picture? For me?”

Ekko gently stroked her arms once before pulling away to show her the adorable drawing. As he took it out of his bag, he noticed on the back were the words ‘To Jinx, from Isha,’ written in bright blue crayon.

He handed the drawing to Jinx and watched as her eyes softened. A small smile crept onto her face as she took in every detail of the drawing, purple lips widening more when she turned the paper over and read the blue words on the back.

“Isha drew this for me?” she whispered, disbelief evident in her voice.

“Don’t sound so surprised, Pow. She liked you from the moment she met you. I knew she would,” Ekko said, voice as soft as the look in his warm, brown eyes.

She stared at the drawing for a few more seconds. She noticed the use of the nickname, Pow, not minding when he called her that. Only him and Vi could still call her variations of her given name. She was Jinx to everyone else. Even Ekko called her Jinx most of the time, but only after she had insisted that he did so when there were other people around. Powder was in her past for the most part.

“This is going above my desk in the living room!” Jinx announced, disappearing into said room in a flash of blue.

Ekko followed behind, laughing to himself as his best friend rummaged in one of her desk drawers to find a blue pin. Jinx carefully placed the drawing in the middle of the cork pin board which hung on the wall above her desk, pride of place on top of the various sketches of gadget ideas already haphazardly pinned there. He stood beside her as she admired the drawing once more. Jinx leaned her head on Ekko’s shoulder. They stood there for a moment in contented silence before heading into the kitchen and sorting out dinner. They ate together at the kitchen table like usual.

The next day at school, Isha came up to Ekko first thing to ask if he had given Jinx the drawing. She stood before him, nervously fidgeting with her hands in a way so similar to Jinx (both now and as Powder back in their childhood) that it just melted his heart a little bit to see.

“Yes. She wanted me to say, ‘thank you’, to you. She loved the picture so much she put it pride of place above her desk at home.”

Isha looked at him, not sure whether to believe him or not. He had no reason to lie, though, so she smiled at the thought of Jinx liking her drawing. She wandered off to start her morning job of practising writing her name.

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The next week rolled around, bringing with it the bane of a teacher’s existence: Parent’s Evening. Or, in the case of most schools, Parent’s Evenings (plural) as their class sizes were of over twenty kids. Both Monday and Tuesday after school Ekko had meetings lined up. Every single one of the parents or carers in Fireflies class signed up, too. It was only two weeks left to go until October half term (which fell in the final week of October that year), and it was becoming apparent how much the pupils and school staff alike needed that week’s break. Everyone was tired. Listening ears weren’t turned on as much as they should’ve been. Patience was wearing thin. At least Ekko knew that when he returned home on both of those evenings, at a much later time than usual, Jinx would be there. She was taking over cooking dinner for both of those days so that Ekko wouldn’t have that extra thing to worry about. She had given him an extra tight hug that morning, too, telling him he’d do great. She knew how anxious he became when he had to speak to the parents. Standing in a room in front of twenty or more kids and teaching them? Easy! Speaking 1:1 or 1:2 to a kid’s parent(s) or guardian(s)? Caused anxious beads of sweat to pool on his forehead just at the thought. He had done a few parents’ evenings by this point, considering it was his second year of teaching, however it didn’t really get much easier.

The school day had passed relatively quickly. He had enough time before his first meeting to pop to the toilet quick and refill his thermos of tea. He sat down at one of the slightly taller tables the children used in his classroom, laptop propped on said table and notebook sat beside it. He took a small sip of tea, almost burning his tongue in the process as he’d forgotten he’d only just made it. What a great start that would have been…

It was during the fourth meeting of the evening when he first met one of Isha’s guardians. They usually disappeared the minute they dropped her off in the mornings, and had never spoken to him at the end of the day. He hadn’t been sure if either of them would even show up.

Isha entered the classroom, seemingly more timid than he had grown to know her. She sat on one of the small chairs, almost shrinking even smaller than she already was as the short woman with straight blonde hair sat beside her. Isha was still wearing her school uniform and sat fidgeting with the purple cardigan sleeves.

Ekko held out his hand for the woman to shake and introduced himself.

“I’m Ekko, Isha’s teacher. It’s great to meet you.”

With apparent reluctance, the blonde shook his hand.

“My name is Bertha. I’m one of Isha’s foster parents. My husband Ernest sends his apologies, someone had to stay home to watch the other children.”

Ekko nodded politely in response before getting straight to the point of the evening.

“Isha is doing great in Fireflies class. She has settled in well, plays nicely alongside her peers and tries her best everyday with her schoolwork. She’s been doing particularly well in her maths work, already having learned her number bonds to 20. I’m pleased with her progress, and I believe she will continue to do well.”

Bertha looked at her long, bright red nails as he spoke, seemingly uninterested in what he had to say. When Ekko was finished speaking, he paused for a moment, expecting some sort of response from her. Once he realised that Bertha was clearly not going to say anything at all, he asked her the same question he usually asked near the end of the meeting.

“Do you have any questions, or concerns you’d like to discuss?”

Bertha looked at him a moment before speaking.

“Nope, the kid seems to be doing fine. We’ll be going now.”

She stood, motioning for Isha to follow her. The little girl got up, and with a small wave to Ekko, followed the blonde woman out.

Ekko sat in stunned silence for a moment, wondering if that situation had really just happened. He had never seen Isha look as uncomfortable as she did around that woman, a person who was supposed to be taking care of her. Bertha had mentioned ‘other kids’, too. Ekko had assumed Isha was the only child in her foster home, but it seemed he was wrong about that thought. Could she be in some kind of group home? Or were there just quite a few other children around?

He didn’t have much time to process the new information or think about it much though, as his next set of parents would be arriving soon. He planned to talk it out with Jinx when he arrived home later on that evening, knowing he would feel better after sharing his concerns with her.

A couple of hours later, feeling drained beyond belief, Ekko arrived home. He placed his bag and jacket onto the ottoman, leaning down to untie his shoelaces and remove his brown faux-leather shoes. Usually, he would get changed into comfier clothes after work, but he was just too exhausted and hungry to do so. He padded into the kitchen, where Jinx met him with her usual tight hug. He melted into her arms, breathing in her familiar pear-scented body spray.

“How was it? Were any of the parents being shitty, or were they all alright?”

He reluctantly eased out of the hug so he could look at the bluenette, hands resting on her upper arms.

“Most of them were fine, actually. A good group this year. Of course, there’s still tomorrow though…” he trailed off, deep in thought about how to bring up Isha.

Jinx seemed to read his mind, however, as she asked, “what about Isha? Did you meet her foster carers?”

“Her foster mother, yes. If you could even call her that. She was as far from a ‘mother’ as you could think of. She was disinterested in everything I had to say about Isha and the progress she’d made since joining the school. She started off by introducing herself and making apologies for her husband, Ernest, for not being there as he had to stay home to look after the other kids.”

“What was her name?”

“Bertha.”

“Wait, sorry… their names were Bert and Ernie??” Jinx breathed out before falling into a fit of giggles.

Despite the semi-seriousness of what he’d been about to say, Ekko couldn’t help but laugh too. Jinx’s laugh was always contagious, and the throwback to a childhood tv show was hilariously unexpected.

Jinx stopped her laughing after a few moments. Ekko was stood smiling at her, having recovered from his own bout of laughter quicker. How he loved seeing Jinx happy, it warmed his heart even on the coldest of days.

“Sorry about that,” Jinx said, somewhat demurely whilst still smiling back at him. “You may continue. I don’t think I can refer to them as anything else though, even if they are nice people. Although, from what you’ve told me already about Bert, I don’t think they are…”

“Well, that’s the thing. I don’t think they are, either. I’m going to keep an eye on things, and I plan to share my concerns with Mel tomorrow morning, but the difference in Isha alone when she’s around Bertha compared to any other time that I have seen her is worrying.”

A look of concern grew on Jinx’s face. They both knew what it was like to live with guardians who were indifferent to them, who didn’t really care about them as long as they weren’t getting into trouble or making them look bad. They both also knew what a loving parental figure was like. Ekko with Benzo, and Jinx with Vander. Isha deserved that. Every child deserved that, and Ekko vowed to himself that he would do his best to help where he could.

__

The lead-up to October half term dragged and flew by in equal measure. Isha had been her usual self at school, although Mel had told Ekko to keep a close eye on her just in case. She had also passed on his concerns to Sky, Isha’s social worker, so she was aware on her end. It was all they could do at the time, especially since Isha was flourishing at school. She always had a smile on her face and genuinely loved being in Fireflies class. It made Ekko happy that he was able to support her at school.

Like always with school holidays, he was very much in need of a break but at the same time felt a bit lost the first few days without his usual routine. Jinx still had work on the first couple days, too, so he was a bit lonely without her. He busied himself with learning more sign language and attempting to read one of the many dystopian/fantasy paperbacks waiting on the overflowing bookshelf in the living room.

------------------------------------------------------------

Since it was half term break and Ekko wasn’t at work, Jinx had also booked off a few days so she could spend some time hanging out with him. It was on the second of these days in which she had decided to get some fresh air and go for a walk. Her and Ekko had spent the majority of the day before (Wednesday) continuing their playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3, at that point nearing the end of act 1. They were no longer completely shit at battles and only had to restart once (if at all) rather than the two, three, possibly four times that they were having to do so in the beginning.

The still-warm sun was shining through the autumnal trees, colourful leaves falling onto the ground in the gentle breeze. Jinx was wandering past the nearby playground when she noticed a small child, swaying on the swings with their eyes closed. This was, of course, a park, so seeing a child playing was nothing unusual. What caught Jinx’s attention, however, was that the park was otherwise empty. The child seemed far too young to be allowed out unsupervised and/or alone. She froze for a moment, watching the child in silence as she pondered what to do about the situation. She didn’t feel that it would be a good idea to just leave the child all alone, but at the same time, she didn’t want to cause any issues or potentially scare them. As she was contemplating whether to call Ekko or not, as she knew he’d know what to do, the child glanced up.

Both of their eyes widened simultaneously with recognition. Even though she had only met her once, Jinx recognised that choppy, brown hair and those amber eyes immediately. Isha hesitantly climbed off the swing, walking slowly towards Jinx. The bluenette entered the playground through the nearby gate. She crouched down to Isha’s level, a small smile on her face as her blue eyes met Isha’s amber ones. Isha’s hands were fidgeting with the sleeves of her thin raincoat.

“Hi, Isha. What are you doing at the park all alone?” Jinx asked gently, worry etching her face.

Isha gazed at Jinx for a moment, as if making sure it really was the woman who lived with Mr. Ekko. Content in her observations, Isha stopped fidgeting with her sleeves and signed one word; “playing.”

“All alone?” Jinx pressed, wanting to reach out to the little girl to help calm the anxiety she could sense in her.

Isha shrugged in response.

Jinx thought for a moment. Before she figured out what to say, she heard the distinctive sound of a stomach rumbling. She knew it wasn’t her own, but didn’t want to make Isha feel more anxious by mentioning it. She wondered if the little girl had even eaten breakfast that day, although it was nearing lunchtime with being past 11:30am.

“I’m feeling a bit hungry. Have you ever been to ‘Spoons, Isha?”

Isha shook her head, curiosity and surprise registering on her face.

Jinx stood back up and held out her hand for the little girl to take, if she wished to do so.

“They do the best chips, like, ever!” Jinx said, eyes sparkling in the late morning sunlight. “We could go get some, if you like?”

Isha cautiously took Jinx’s outstretched hand, nodding in agreement. They exited the park and walked the five minutes it took them to reach the local Wetherspoons in town; The Last Drop. Jinx knew there was a chance she’d run into Sevika or Vi when their lunch breaks rolled around, as it was both of their usual lunch spot, but she figured it was worth the risk as the food was as good as it was cheap… which was very…

Jinx’s usual table near the large front windows of the building was unoccupied, so her and Isha went over to it after grabbing two mini salt packets and some table sauces. Jinx sat facing the window with Isha opposite her. It was Jinx’s favourite place to sit as you could people watch and also keep an eye on who came in and out of the building itself.

Jinx grabbed her phone out of the pocket of her black jeans (a blue iPhone with a slightly-cracked screen protector and a semi-transparent soft case covered in green sims plumbobs), letting the Wi-Fi load before opening up the ‘Spoons app. She preferred to avoid having to speak to people where possible. That was probably part of why she came to The Last Drop so often – the only social interaction she had to have was saying ‘thank you’ when one of the staff brought over her order. It was also filled with childhood memories, as Vander had worked there and often brought a young Vi and Powder with him, as well as Milo and Claggor. Ekko would often appear to join them, as well.

As she added her usual order to the app’s basket – a halloumi wrap with chips and a Pepsi Max (the only acceptable cola related soft drink in Jinx’s opinion, she was not a fan of diet coke or full-fat Pepsi) – Isha glanced around the place, taking in the panelled wooden walls covered in old photographs and artwork.

“Isha, do you want me to tell you the food options or would you like to look at them for yourself on the menu?”

Isha looked at Jinx for a moment as she contemplated her response.

“Chips, please” she signed, unsure if Jinx would understand even though she knew Jinx had learned some sign.

“Just chips? Are you sure you don’t want a wrap or a panini as well?”

Isha nodded, again signing “chips, please.”

She looked at Jinx, the woman nodding at her with a small smile.

“Okay. What drink would you like, then? Apple juice? Pepsi Max? Actually, are you allowed fizzy drinks? I don’t want to give you something you’re not allowed. You’re not allergic to anything, are ya?” Jinx asked, mild anxiety seeping through into her words.

Isha nodded yes to the fizzy drinks question and shook her head no in response to Jinx’s last query, signalling she wasn’t allergic to anything, before signing; “What are you having?”

“Pepsi Max, it’s my go-to drink when I come here. Would you like the same as me?”

Isha nodded, giving Jinx a shy smile as she did so.

Jinx returned the smile with one of her own before looking down at her phone to complete the order. She then placed her phone down on the table.

“All ordered. Hopefully shouldn’t be too long, I’m pretty hungry!”

They sat for a minute or two in contented silence. Once their drinks had been brought over – Jinx’s in a pint glass, Isha’s a half pint – the bluenette decided to attempt conversation. She had been learning sign even after she had been into Ekko’s school. She found it fascinating and thought it would be a good language to have a better understanding of, which had seemingly hugely paid off considering the situation she had somehow currently landed herself in.

------------------------------------------------------------

“Isha...” Jinx began, catching the girl’s attention from where she’d been gazing around the pub. “Thank you for the lovely drawing. Did Ekko tell you I put it pride of place above my desk?”

Isha flushed at the positive attention, unsure how to respond. She had thought she would never see Jinx again, so the fact she was sitting across from the woman, who was thanking her for the drawing she had created? Isha had not expected that turn of events at all.

“Yes, Mr. Ekko told me. I am happy you liked it.”

“I loved it, Isha. Especially how you drew my hair,” Jinx said with a warm smile.

Isha positively beamed back at Jinx, albeit a bit anxiously.

Jinx softened her voice.

“Now, do you want to tell me why you were in the park, all alone? I know you don’t know me very well, but I just want to make sure you are safe, and being in a park all alone isn’t really all that safe.”

Isha fidgeted with her hands, having taken her raincoat off and placing it on the back of her chair when they arrived earlier. She was wearing a pair of scruffy blue denim jeans and a slightly baggy, grey short-sleeved t-shirt. She looked down at her lap. Jinx had noticed the fidgeting that day when she had visited Isha’s school, but had not known if it was a stim, nervousness or something else entirely.

She grabbed her backpack from the chair beside her and rummaged for a moment until she found what she was looking for.

Isha looked up when she heard something being gently dropped on the table in front of her, next to her Pepsi Max (which she had been occasionally taking slow sips of from the black paper straw, it was a new thing for her to have tried but she liked the taste and the fizziness). It was a purple and green toy, which resembled some kind of wriggly worm all joined together. It said the word ‘tangle’ on it in white writing, and looked similar to some of the toys in Mr. Ekko’s ‘fidget box’ at school. She had never played with one before, but she knew a few of the children in her class were allowed a fidget toy out of the box for when they went into assembly or sometimes to help them concentrate in lessons. She timidly reached out for it after getting a nod from Jinx confirming it was okay for her to do so. She started feeling calmer almost immediately, as she had something to do with her hands whilst she thought of how to answer Jinx’s question.

“I can always think and concentrate better when I have something to fidget with. I have loads of those at home and always carry one around, just in case I need it.” Jinx said conspiratorially, as if sharing important information with Isha.

With Jinx having shared something about herself, Isha felt even more like she could trust the woman. She had liked her and felt safe around her from the moment she had met her, still not entirely sure why as she had never felt that way around any other grown-ups before. Even Mr. Ekko had taken her a whole day or two to feel comfortable around, which was fast in itself. But Jinx? There was something about her that drew Isha to her. Something about her presence just made Isha feel comfortable and safe.

She put the fidget back onto the table and simply signed the word “Away.”

“Away? Did you run away, Isha?” Jinx asked, tone serious but still soft.

Isha looked down at her lap, taking the tangle into her hands again to fidget with.

Their lunch arrived then and, after uttering a ‘thank you’ to the blonde guy who had delivered the food, Jinx placed half of her wrap onto Isha’s plate, beside the chips.

“You don’t have to eat it, but I usually only eat half anyway, so I thought I’d share with you. I usually share with Ekko.”

Isha reached out for the wrap after placing the tangle on the table beside her Pepsi, examining the halloumi, sweet chilli sauce and salad inside. She gently plucked the piece of tomato out before taking a small, tentative bite, smiling as she realised that she liked the taste.

“Not a fan of tomatoes either, huh?” Jinx quipped, smirking as she removed the wedge of tomato from her own wrap before taking a bite.

Isha shook her head, relieved when Jinx didn’t tell her to ‘just eat it anyway’.

“Be careful with the chips, they may be hot still. I usually cut some of mine in half, so they cool down quicker.” Jinx warned as she put some ketchup and mayo onto her plate beside her chips, before emptying a small packet of salt on top and cutting a few of her chips in half.

Isha observed Jinx whilst taking another bite of her wrap. She then copied the bluenette, putting both sauces on her plate and carefully cutting the bigger chips in half with her knife after Jinx had sprinkled a small amount of salt on them. She ate some more of her wrap whilst waiting for her chips to cool down a little more, steam still rising off them.

They ate in contented silence until Isha had finished most of her wrap and only had a few chips left on her plate. Jinx had put her wrap down in favour of her chips, but ate at a slower pace than Isha. The girl made a conscious effort to slow down, realising that in this moment her food was not going anywhere. Jinx wouldn’t take anything from her.

She took a slow, calming breath like she had seen Mr. Ekko do when he became a bit stressed in the classroom sometimes. He had told her that everyone gets a bit overwhelmed at times, and taking a breath like that often helped.

She looked at Jinx, who looked back at her, ready to hear whatever she had to say.

“I don’t like it at Bertha and Ernest’s house.” She signed, feeling braver than she had expected to feel as she held eye contact with Jinx. She found prolonged eye contact uncomfortable for the most part, but not so much with Jinx. Isha felt as if Jinx understood her, a feeling that she had never felt before with other grown-ups (apart from possibly Mr. Ekko). She felt like she could talk to her and that she would listen.

“Is there anything in particular you don’t like? Or lots of things?” Jinx asked, voice quiet and calming.

“Everything. I don’t like the other kids, they are mean to me. I don’t like Bertha or Ernest. They don’t care about me, only about the other kids. I don’t want to be there anymore. Nobody noticed when I left.”

Isha’s bottom lip wobbled as she tried to keep in the tears that threatened to spill. She was determined not to cry. Not in front of anyone else, anyway. Her hands had moved slowly, to make sure Jinx could understand what she was trying to say. She had been keeping all those thoughts and feelings to herself, and they all had spilled out after she had been shown so much kindness from Jinx.

Jinx reached across the table, gently taking Isha’s small hands in her own.

“Thank you for telling me. I understand that it wasn’t easy for you to.”

Isha held onto Jinx’s cold hands like a lifeline, managing to stop her lip wobbling.

------------------------------------------------------------

Jinx had one thought after her and Isha had resumed eating the remainder of their lunch, and that was Ekko. She needed to get him there asap, as he would know what to do to help Isha. There was no way Jinx would willingly let this little girl go back to somewhere she didn’t feel happy or wanted or safe.

She sent Ekko a quick text, knowing he was only sat reading at home.

🩵Pow🩵

spoons asap… i am with isha…

💚boy saviour💚

Isha?? On my way! Usual table?

🩵Pow🩵

yep

Jinx put her phone down, Isha having not noticed a thing as she was busy finishing off eating the last of her wrap. They sat quietly together, sipping the last of their Pepsi through the now slightly soggy paper straws.

Ekko appeared about fifteen minutes after Jinx had sent her text, wearing dark denim jeans, a green hoodie over a grey t-shirt and navy-blue trainers. He walked calmly into the pub (she saw through the window behind Isha) as Jinx moved her backpack from the seat next to her and placed it on the ground near her feet.

Ekko pulled out the chair beside Jinx, sitting down before speaking in his usual warm, calm tone.

“Hi Isha. Have you enjoyed your lunch?”

Isha nodded, looking mildly confused as to why her teacher was suddenly in the pub with them.

“I sent Ekko a text, asking him to come. I want to help you, Isha, but I can’t do it by myself… do you want me to tell Ekko what you told me?”

The little girl nodded, once again fidgeting with the tangle.

Jinx told Ekko exactly what Isha had told her. He looked at the little girl before speaking.

“Isha, I am going to speak to Ms. Medara, do you remember her from school?”

Isha raised her head so her amber eyes met his brown ones, nodding as she remembered the kind woman who was in charge of the school.

“Once I have spoken to Ms. Medara, she will speak to Sky, and we will see what we can do. For now, would you like me to find you some paper and crayons so you can do some drawing?”

Putting the tangle down for a second, Isha signed “yes, please” before picking it back up again to fidget with.

“I’ll go ask at the bar if they have anything,” Jinx said as she rose from her seat, sharing a look of concern for the child with Ekko as she passed his chair.

She didn’t like interacting with people, but she would do so for the sake of Isha. The guy at the bar was someone she had known to an extent for a while, anyway. She called him Chuck, although she had no idea what his actual name was.

After taking a slow, deep breath Jinx leaned against the bar. “Hey, Chuck…”

------------------------------------------------------------

Once Jinx returned with paper and crayons for Isha (turned out they were available near the table sauces for people to take for their kids…Jinx had been a bit miffed she hadn’t realised that sooner as it had meant she had to speak to someone), Ekko left them to go and phone Mel outside.

He found a quiet area near the side of the building. She picked up straight away, knowing Ekko never called her unless it was something urgent. Ekko relayed everything Jinx had told him about the whole situation.

“…so, I thought it best to call you asap and ask you to call Sky for guidance.”

There was a pause before Mel spoke, “Where is Isha at this moment? I’m guessing she is still with Jinx?”

Ekko nodded before realising Mel couldn’t actually see him.

“Yes, she is inside The Last Drop with Jinx.”

“I’ll contact Sky now as a matter of urgency and get back to you as soon as I can with further information. Sky will most likely come to where you are as soon as she is able to. For now, could you and Jinx keep Isha with you and not let her out of your sight? Stay where you are for now, if possible. Thank you for making me aware of all this, Ekko, and please thank Jinx for me as well, her quick thinking has helped Isha greatly.”

After exchanging goodbyes, Ekko re-entered the pub and sat down beside Jinx again. Isha was colouring in a drawing she had done of a blue bunny and Jinx was watching the little girl whilst organising the crayons by colour across the table.

Jinx glanced at Ekko as he spoke quietly to her, “Mel is going to call Sky right away. She said for us to keep Isha with us here for now, and she’d update me as soon as possible.”

“Shall I order more Pepsi Max, then?”

------------------------------------------------------------

Isha had a lovely time with Jinx and Mr. Ekko. An afternoon filled with colouring, drawing, laughter and probably a bit too much Pepsi. About two hours after Mr. Ekko had arrived, Sky appeared near their table. She had a serious expression on her face, which she tried to hide with a small smile once Isha looked her way.

Butterflies began to flutter in Isha’s stomach. She started to worry that maybe Jinx and Mr. Ekko hadn’t been able to help her, and she’d have to go back to Bertha and Ernest’s house. If that did happen, she knew she would have to try running away again. That thought just made the butterflies flutter faster. She set her blue crayon down and reached again for the tangle.

Sky crouched down beside her chair, speaking in her usual gentle tone.

“Isha, I’ve found a new family for you to stay with from tonight. You will still be in Mr. Ekko’s class, that won’t change. They don’t have any other children, either. It will just be you and them. I’ll tell you more about them in the car. I have gathered your things from Bertha and Ernest’s house, too.”

Isha put the tangle down to sign, “no more Bertha and Ernest?”

Sky nodded, rising to her feet once again and glancing towards Jinx and Mr. Ekko.

“Let’s go, say goodbye to Jinx and Ekko for now.”

“I’ll see you next week, Isha.” Ekko told her from where he was sitting, a warm smile on his face.

Jinx got up from her chair to help Isha into her raincoat. She could’ve done it herself, but she wasn’t going to tell Jinx that. The woman had shown her so much kindness already. Isha attempted to give Jinx back the tangle, but she put it back into Isha’s open palm and closed her fingers around it.

“You keep that, Isha. I have plenty at home.”

Isha put it into her coat pocket before signing “thank you” to Jinx. She thought for a moment before signing something else.

“No more Bertha and Ernest? For real life?”

Jinx smiled warmly at her, “No more Bert and Ernie, for real life.”

Isha giggled at the nickname Jinx had given those people. She smiled back at Jinx as she waved a goodbye to her and Ekko, leaving with Sky. In the back of Sky’s blue car, on the way to her new foster carers - who she hoped were nicer than her previous ones - she took the tangle out of her pocket, smiling as she fidgeted with it. She hoped she would see Jinx again someday.

------------------------------------------------------------

Ekko pulled Jinx into a hug as soon as Isha had left with Sky. It had been an interesting day. Mel had messaged him about a half hour before Sky had turned up, to let him know she would be coming to get Isha and that she had managed to find a new set of (temporary) foster carers for the child. She had told him they would speak more on the Monday when they returned from half term break.

“You were amazing with her, Pow. Thank you for being, well… you.”

Jinx smiled into his shoulder, not yet ready to let go of the hug even though she knew they should really head home soon.

“Thank you for being you, boy saviour… I wouldn’t have known what to do if you hadn’t come to save the day.”

They pulled away from the hug, then, and decided to return home. Jinx shouldered her backpack and Ekko shrugged on his emerald green jacket. Their hands were clasped together during the walk home, neither certain who had initiated the contact but neither really caring.

As they lay snuggled in Ekko’s bed that night, a regular occurrence at that point, Jinx sleepily whispered, “Maybe we should become foster carers...we’d do a much better job than people like Bert and Ernie…”

Ekko, half-asleep himself, whispered back, “yeah, I think maybe we should.” 

Chapter Text

It was three days later, on the Sunday before Ekko returned to work after half term break, that Jinx brought up their sleepy conversation.

They were snuggled up together on the grey sofa in the living room, watching the newest episode of Spy x Family. The late afternoon sunlight streamed through the still slitted-open white blinds, floating dust particles through the room.

“I love the found family trope. It would be like that for us if we became foster carers,” Jinx mumbled into Ekko’s shoulder.

Ekko wasn’t quite sure he had heard her correctly.

“Foster carers?” he whispered in question.

Jinx fidgeted with the fluffy, blue blanket draped over them both, her head still resting on his shoulder.

“Yeah… I want to help a kid, so they don’t have to grow up with ‘carers’ who don’t actually, well… ‘care’. Kids like Isha.”

Ekko gently grasped one of Jinx’s cold hands in his own warmer one, calming her anxious fidgeting with a gentle stroke of his thumb on her palm.

“Okay, lets do it. Let’s become foster carers.”

Jinx looked at him in surprise before speaking softly, “really? You think we can do it? Do they even let two people who aren’t married foster together?”

“Jinx, we are a family already, you and me. I don’t see why they wouldn’t let us. We both have good jobs. We are financially stable. We own this house thanks to the inheritance we were both allowed access to when we turned 21. I think we will be great foster carers. I think you will be great.”

“At least one good thing came from losing Vander and Benzo, I guess… they always made sure to look out for us best they could.”

Ekko let go of Jinx’s hand and moved his arm to wrap around her shoulders, gently pulling her in closer and resting his head atop hers, white hair meeting blue.

“I miss them, too.”

--

After staying like that for what simultaneously felt like only a minute but could also have been an hour, Ekko moved his arm from around Jinx and stood up from their cosy spot on the sofa. Jinx followed him into the kitchen as he began to prepare dinner. He was making cottage pie that day, beginning to peel potatoes as Jinx sat on the pale blue kitchen countertop beside him, the saucepan next to her waiting for the potatoes to be added.

“I have Sky’s number from Mel. She gave it to me after the whole Isha incident a few days ago, in case I ever needed to speak to her. I’ll give her a call tomorrow to ask about us becoming foster carers, like how to start the process and all that.”

Jinx looked deep in thought for a moment, the only sound that of the potato peeler being used. Her attention suddenly snapped back to him, her blue eyes vibrant as they met his own warm brown orbs.

“Will you ask her about Isha, too? How she’s getting on with her new foster carers?”

“Of course I will.”

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Ekko groaned as his alarm went off the following morning, signalling the start to the second half of the Autumn term. Jinx burrowed further under the green covers, arms tightening on his waist. He chuckled as he attempted to detach himself from her iron grip to start his morning routine. She reluctantly let go of him, sitting up and stretching both arms up with a yawn before following Ekko out of his bedroom. He had grabbed his clothes for the day – a pair of grey chino trousers, a pale blue short-sleeved shirt and an olive-green jumper – on the way out of his room.

They parted ways on the landing as she entered her own room to get dressed for the day and he went into the bathroom, carrying his chosen outfit spread over one arm.

Ekko couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious about going back to work after the half-term break. He knew the majority of other educators felt the same (Elora had messaged that morning on their KS1 group chat expressing her worries and Gert, along with the year two staff, had all agreed on the first day back jitters they were all feeling).

He chatted idly with Jinx as they ate cereal – coco pops for them both - for breakfast, out of slightly-chipped blue bowls. They uttered goodbyes before parting ways, Ekko reversing off their driveway and Jinx walking towards to the bus stop.

--

When Ekko arrived at work for the day, he went straight into Gert’s classroom as opposed to his own. He wanted to check in with her as he usually did after school holidays, checking they were all set for their first day back in year one. He glanced around the space as he hung by the doorframe for a moment. It was the exact same size as his own rectangular classroom, with the same pale-blue painted walls and navy blue carpet. That, as well as the white wooden windows on the outer wall and door that led to the cloakroom and toilets, was where the similarities ended. Whereas Ekko’s classroom had a magnificent (if he did so say himself) painted tree stretching along the far wall, Gert’s classroom walls held beautiful butterflies of various species and colour flying amongst a diverse range of intricately painted flowers. One might think this would create a too busy feeling, but the effect was instantly calming as you entered the room. The tables were set up in a different configuration to Ekko’s classroom, grouped together with more children sharing bigger tables. Gert was certainly just as artistic as Ekko was, which made for a great working relationship as they more often than not understood each other’s ideas without much of an explanation. They had worked well together for over a year at that point, with Elora as much of their team as if she had been another qualified teacher.

Gert looked up from her desk, where she had been plugging in her laptop ready for the day. Her short, dark brown hair was carefully braided in various thick braids which sat atop her head, her coffee-coloured eyes focusing on Ekko. She smiled as she saw her co-worker, motioning for him to enter her classroom.

“How was your half-term?” she asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

Ekko perched on the edge of the nearest table. He wasn’t going to mention about everything that had happened with Isha, as safeguarding wise only Mel, the headteacher, needed to know the full details. He did tell Gert, however, that Isha had been placed with new foster carers. She would come into contact with the child at times, so it was useful for her to know at least that. It did feel like he was leaving out something important, though, as he shared how the rest of his week off had been.  

“It was good, went far too quickly though…made a bit of a dent into my physical tbr, me and Jinx made it further into Baldur’s Gate 3, we’re now in act two. Umm…that’s about it… how about yours?”

“Pretty good, I may have taken your recommendation and bought Baldur’s Gate 3… I’m about twenty hours into the game already… it’s addictive, like you said.”

Ekko chuckled at that, pleased he’d been able to convince his friend and colleague to join the agenda of the DND video game.

The two teachers talked about their plans for the week, including Elora in the conversation when she arrived nearer 8:30am. She didn’t officially start until 8:40, but often arrived a little early to help prepare for the day, which both Ekko and Gert greatly appreciated. They also discussed their half-terms again with Elora, where she shared the fact that she had spent most of the week with her girlfriend. The majority of the staff suspected the relationship between Elora and their headteacher, Mel, but no one had official confirmation from either of them. Ekko wasn’t really one to gossip, but he did often hear all sorts of things from other staff who were the gossiping type. He knew from both Mel and Elora that they had met in secondary school and became best friends, having never lost that friendship into their adult lives. He thought they would be sweet together if it were the case that they were dating.

Before finally entering his own classroom to quickly set up for the day, Ekko shared with Elora about Isha having been placed with new foster carers towards the end of the school holidays. He thought it best she knew as she would be seeing Isha the next day when she was supporting in his classroom. TAs often weren’t told information despite working as closely with the children as the teacher did, and both himself and Gert always made sure to share things with Elora if it was something she would be allowed to know as it made things a lot easier all around.

------------------------------------------------------------

Isha entered Fireflies class that morning with her usual smile and waved to Ekko as she walked past his desk. She came to see him after putting her water bottle away on the shelf.

“Thank you, Mr. Ekko, for helping me.” Isha signed to him, shyly looking at her feet as she did so.

“You’re very welcome, Isha. I’m just glad you’re safe.”

She looked up at his kind, smiling face. She wanted to ask him about Jinx, but a queue was forming behind her of her classmates who wanted to say hello to their teacher after a week away from school. Instead, Isha went to do her morning job, with the plan to ask him about the bluenette later on.

Before they headed to Monday morning assembly, Mr. Ekko told Isha she could choose a fidget from the box to take with her if she wanted to. She smiled at him as she plucked out a blueberry-coloured tangle before joining her classmates in the line beside the door.

------------------------------------------------------------

Lunchtime soon rolled around and once the Fireflies had left the classroom to go outside and play (they would eat lunch in the hall afterwards), Ekko took a deep breath and called Sky. He paced the length of his classroom once before she answered.

“Hello, Sky Young here, may I ask who is calling?”

“Hello Sky, it’s Ekko. Ekko Reed. Mel gave me your number in case I ever needed to contact you regarding Isha.”

He heard an anxious intake of breath before Sky spoke again.

“Is Isha alright, Ekko?”

“Oh, yes, she’s her usual happy self today at school.”

A pause on the line before, “So, she’s… okay?”

“Yes, I’m sorry for worrying you, Sky.” Ekko took another breath as he continued pacing around his classroom, unable to sit still in that moment and feeling like he had an insight into what it must be like for Jinx most of the time. “It was something else I wanted to speak to you about… Jinx and I have been talking a lot since what happened with Isha during half term. We would really like to become foster carers ourselves, and I wanted to ask you what your thoughts were on that and also on how to start that process.”

“Oh Ekko, from what I know already about you and Jinx, and from what Isha has told me about you both, I think you would be brilliant foster carers. As for how to start the process, I can drop by with the initial forms later today? Its best to start as soon as possible as sometimes the process can take a while.”

“Thank you, Sky, that’s really kind of you.”

“I need to pop by soon anyway to check in on Isha at school, so this works as a great opportunity. I’ll come by this afternoon before home time.”

Ekko nodded in response, before realising she couldn’t see him. This seemed to be a regular occurrence for him whenever he was on the phone.

“Speaking of Isha, Jinx wanted me to ask, which I was planning to ask anyway, how is she getting on with her new foster carers?”

“Better than with the previous ones, although they aren’t the right fit long-term. We know of course that every child is unique in their own way, but Isha is even more so than any other child I have met. Since she joined your class, she has become a much happier child overall. She used to dislike school, and it would be a challenge for her carers to get her into the building. Now though, she is eager to learn and likes coming to school. A great deal of that is due to you, Ekko.”

Ekko was momentarily at a loss for words. Sure, he’d been told before that he was a good teacher. That the children in his class felt happy, safe and comfortable to be who they were. But, being told this by Sky felt like a whole other level. He felt all sorts of feelings at once, a tear sliding down his face as he fully absorbed the words that had been said to him.

Wiping roughly at his cheek, he uttered “thank you” over the phone, unable to say much more than that.

An exchange of “see you later” occurred, followed by Ekko staring at his phone in disbelief for several moments before he went to the staff room to eat his lunch.

Entering the small staffroom, Ekko settled himself on one of the grey plush chairs. Just as he began to eat his grated cheddar cheese sandwich, having also put some ready salted crisps into said sandwich (a delicacy, by his words), he saw a blur of dark-brown hair and maroon jacket sit beside him.

“Cheese and crisp sandwich, again?!” a deep voice asked, mild displeasure laced into his words.

Ekko looked at the tanned man beside him; Jayce unwrapping his own sandwich with care and precision.

“Just because our taste in food differs to the extreme sometimes, does not mean you can discount what is obviously a superior choice.”

Jayce huffed a laugh, already biting into his cream cheese and cucumber sandwich.

“Agree to disagree?”

Ekko held out a crisp-crumb-covered hand for Jayce to shake. He did so, wiping the bits of crumbs off his grey trousers afterwards with a grimace.

Jayce glanced Ekko’s way. “How’s your first day of term going so far?”

“Not bad, I’m glad to be back even though I enjoyed the extra time at home last week. How about you?”

Jayce smirked as he said, “the extra time you had with Jinx, you mean?”

Ekko felt his face begin to heat up, grateful for his dark skin hiding his blush.

“It wasn’t like that… I actually spent a lot of time catching up on reading, so…”

“Riiiiight, explain the blue hairs on your jumper, then?” Jayce said sceptically. He knew Ekko and Jinx were roommates, but he was also certain Ekko was in love with Jinx. Cait agreed with this sentiment, as did Vi. It seemed Ekko and Jinx were the only ones who didn’t know.

“You know we live together, Jayce. We hug, like friends do you know? She sleeps next to me now most nights, but it’s entirely platonic and that’s what we always used to do as kids anyway, when we were in the foster home together. Just because we’re adults now, it doesn’t make that much of a difference.”

Jayce stared at Ekko for a while, dumbfounded at how oblivious his friend was.

“You realise you’re practically dating, right?”

Ekko was spared from answering that question by Elora entering the staffroom, floral dress swirling around her as she sat the other side of him on a similar grey chair. She smiled in greeting to the two men, and Jayce (thankfully) changed the subject to ask Elora about her half term break. Ekko could not be more grateful for his TA having come to the rescue. He knew his relationship with Jinx wasn’t what others perceived as ‘the norm’, but it worked for them, and they were both happy. That’s what mattered in the end, right? It’s not like his feelings for Jinx were anything but platonic. Right?

--

After Ekko had taken the afternoon register and sent the children off for their afternoon activities, he sensed a presence in front of his desk. He looked up from his laptop, where he had been closing the register after submitting it, and saw Isha standing there. Her hands were fidgeting with her cardigan sleeves.

“Hi, Isha.”

She stopped fidgeting with her sleeves and simply signed, “Jinx?”

Ekko smiled to himself at the little girl’s obvious like for his best friend.

“Jinx is doing good, she really enjoyed hanging out with you last week.”

Isha looked at him in mild disbelief, as if the cool blue-haired woman acknowledging her existence was a shock to her. She shook off her surprise and smiled widely at her teacher, spinning on the spot and going off to play somewhere.

It was at about 2pm that Sky appeared, her head poking around the doorframe before she stepped inside, glasses sliding down the end of her nose and stray, brown curls falling from where her hair was pulled up into a bun on the top of her head. The children were all doing continuous free-flow provision, with Ekko sat at one of the tables listening to children read one at a time.

She joined Ekko at the table he was sitting at. He glanced at her, smiling in greeting as he listened to the child beside him reading. He gestured by pointing his head in the direction of the book corner, hoping to indicate that was where Isha was in that moment. Sky understood, rising from the small chair and heading over to where the little girl sat.

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Isha was curled up on a blue beanbag in the book corner, one of her favourite places to be when she was feeling tired. Her first day back at school after the half term break had been fun, but being around so many people for such a long period of time zapped her energy.

The day Jinx had found her in that park, all alone, and bought her lunch still lingered in her mind. She hadn’t seen the bluenette since and despite barely knowing the woman, she missed her a little. That time she had spent with Jinx had been one of the happiest moments of Isha’s life so far. Jinx had made Isha feel seen, listened to, cared about. Things that she wasn’t overly used to feeling. Mr. Ekko also made her feel those things, and it was nice being back at school.

Isha didn’t dislike her new foster carers as such, but they weren’t people she would want to live with for the rest of her childhood. As foster carers went, though, they seemed alright so far. She had never stayed at a place before where there were two mums, so that was different. One of her classmates had two mums. Although Isha would not be calling either of the women currently taking care of her ‘mum’. They were Catarina and Adeline.

She glanced to the left as she sensed someone sitting down on the beanbag chair beside her, surprised to see Sky there.

“Hi Isha, I’ve just come to check in with you. We can go somewhere quieter if you’d like, or we can stay here in the classroom. It is your choice.”

“Here is okay.” Isha signed after putting the picture book she had been aimlessly flicking through down onto her lap.

Sky adjusted her glasses from where they had begun to slide down the bridge of her nose, smiling at Isha encouragingly before she spoke again.

“How are you feeling about Catarina and Adeline?”

Isha thought for a moment before signing, “They are okay. Better than Bertha and Ernest. The house is quieter, too, which is better.”

“That is good to hear, Isha. I know it’s not the perfect place for you, but I will find that eventually. This is somewhere safe to stay for now. If you do start to feel unsafe or unhappy again though, please will you tell me or Mr. Ekko?”

Isha nodded in response. She didn’t want to feel like she had to run away again if it came to that, and Mr. Ekko had helped her last time when Jinx had found her, so she felt like she probably could tell him if things got bad again. She really hoped it would be okay, though.

“Now, what story are you looking at? Do you want me to read it?”

“Yes, please.” Isha signed before holding The Gruffalo out to Sky. It was one of her favourite books to look at, she loved when Mr. Ekko read it out to the class.

------------------------------------------------------------

The remainder of the afternoon in Fireflies class was spent tidying up from the day, getting ready for home and everyone sitting for carpet time so Ekko could read a story to the class. It was Isha’s turn to choose (he had a list and each day a different child would get the chance to choose the story) and she chose The Gruffalo. He was sure he had spotted Sky reading it to her earlier in the afternoon, but it was one of those books she never seemed to get bored of listening to and she loved looking at the pictures.

Once he had seen the class out to their parents and carers, Sky passed Ekko a pile of papers with a warm smile.

“If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Let me know when you and Jinx have filled those in, and I can come and collect them to get the process started.”

 “Thank you so much, Sky.”

Sky waved a goodbye to Ekko as she left his classroom. He stood for a minute, holding onto the papers. It was starting to feel real, this idea that Jinx had come up with less than a week before. Things were moving faster than he had expected, but he felt surprisingly alright about it. They were going to do this, together. He knew there were people out there who raised children together as friends, and who fostered as friends. Sky didn’t seem opposed to it in the slightest. He had a good feeling about the whole situation, smiling to himself as he finished up some last minute marking and tidying of the classroom.

 Ekko left the school by 4pm and drove home. Few cars were on the road, so it was a relatively peaceful drive. He hummed along to the radio, the smile never leaving his face.

 ------------------------------------------------------------

Jinx arrived home to a warm glow from the kitchen brightening up the hallway. She removed her boots, padding upstairs to get changed out of her work dungarees and into grey joggers and another of Ekko’s oversized t-shirts (also grey with Jigglypuff on the front). She entered the kitchen, stopping for a second to take in the scene of pure domesticity in front of her. Ekko, clad in forest-green joggers and his Bulbasaur t-shirt she’d worn the previous week (which had since been in the wash), chopping vegetables with practiced precision. His nose was slightly scrunched in concentration, his brown eyes focused on the task at hand. She felt an increasingly more familiar fluttering in her stomach as she gazed at him for what was probably not considered a ‘normal’ amount of time when looking at one’s best friend. Attempting to stop that thought process, she made her presence in the kitchen known by resting her chin on Ekko’s shoulder. He leaned into her touch, putting the knife down once he had finished chopping the broccoli into smaller pieces.

Jinx moved her head from the warmth of his shoulder. Ekko turned to face her, holding his arms open to indicate that he would very much like a hug. Jinx happily obliged, sinking into his warm embrace as they hugged each other tightly.

She shifted enough in his arms to murmur, barely audibly.

“Did you get a chance to call Sky?”

“Yes. She popped by the school and dropped off the initial forms for us to fill in. She told me she thinks we would make good foster parents.”

Jinx leaned back; blue eyes evident with mild disbelief.

 “She really thinks we would be good foster carers… That I would be?”

Ekko’s brown eyes shone determinedly as his hands rested on her arms.

“Yes. She said, and I quote, ‘from what I know already about you and Jinx, and from what Isha has told me about you both, I think you would be brilliant foster carers’.”

Jinx’s eyes began to glisten with unshed tears. She quietly cleared her throat before saying, “Speaking of Isha, how is she getting on? Did you get the chance to ask Sky?”

“Sky said she is doing better with the new carers, that Isha’s enjoying school too which makes a huge difference to her wellbeing. She told me that before joining my class, Isha hugely disliked school. Sky also spoke with Isha today and she told her she is doing okay at her new house.”

Jinx considered Ekko’s words, hands fidgeting near her stomach.

“I want her to be more than just ‘okay’ in what should be her own home. She absolutely deserves that.”

Ekko’s left hand reached of it’s own accord to gently caress Jinx’s face, a soft gasp escaping her at the sudden gentle touch. She leaned into him, accepting the warmth he provided.

“We could give her that,” Jinx whispered, unsure if she had even said it aloud.

“We could.”

--

They stayed like that, lost in a peaceful moment of time, until both of their stomachs rumbled simultaneously, reminding them of their need to eat dinner.

Reluctantly, they stepped away from each other, Ekko resuming chopping up vegetables and Jinx attempting to help but ultimately getting in Ekko’s way. She instead sat at the kitchen table and scrolled aimlessly through her phone. Vi had sent her more than ten TikTok videos about sisters, most of them random funny shit but some so soppy they made Jinx both roll her eyes at the ridiculousness of her older sister and feel oh so loved at the same time. She saw a heart-warming sibling related video on her own ‘for you’ page soon after and sent it straight to Vi, already imagining her sister tearing up over it. Vi was never scared to show her emotions, something Jinx now admired about her. Showing, and feeling, emotions was hard as it left you vulnerable. Powder had always showed her emotions, and felt everything so strongly. For a while, when she became Jinx, she shut down a lot of that side of herself.

Jinx had been through a lot of therapy to help with her immense grief over losing virtually her entire family. First, her birth parents, who she barely remembered apart from her mum’s scent of axel grease. Next was Vander, her second father as he had adopted a young Powder and Vi alongside Milo and Claggor. He had been a great dad to them all, doing his absolute best with what he had, until he died in an accident alongside Ekko’s adopted father, Benzo. Vi, in her grief, had landed herself in Young Offenders after taking out the anger coursing through her veins in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Claggor and Milo had been shipped off to different foster homes, leaving Powder almost entirely alone. She thanked Janna for Ekko. At least she had him, in the same foster home as her, always together. Wherever Ekko was, that was home for Jinx. She knew it always would be, too.

--

Ekko and Jinx sat together at the kitchen table, now-empty plates from dinner pushed aside as they filled out the forms for Sky.

Jinx fidgeted with her blue pen, alternating between twirling it between her fingers and tapping it on her chin.

“I’m guessing I’ll have to put Powder under ‘forename’, huh. I didn’t really think about that until now.”

She looked up to meet Ekko’s warm, brown eyes.

“Do you think it’ll make a difference that we are both orphans and were in foster care ourselves?”

Ekko reached for Jinx’s left hand, the one not holding the pen at the time (Jinx was ambidextrous, so would alternate with which hand she wrote with). He gently moved his thumb in soothing circles on her palm.

“I don’t think it’ll make a bad difference. If anything, it’ll show that we have a deeper understanding of what these kids go through. Our experiences, however awful at times, have shaped who we are today. That’ll be great knowledge and skill to have as parents.”

They both froze as that last word slipped out. Parents. Something about that word felt heavier in a sense, more permanent. Ekko squeezed Jinx’s cold hand before returning to filling out his own form.

When they got to references, Jinx hesitated. She didn’t feel quite ready to tell Vi about all this just yet. Not until they had (hopefully) been approved and it was 100% real and actually happening. Ekko seemed to sense her uncertainty, and glanced across the table at her sheet of paper.

“References? I’m going to go for Mel and Gert from work, assuming I can use both of them. Why don’t you put down Heimerdinger? You’ve been working for him for a year now, I’m sure he’d be happy to help out.”

“Yeah, I’ll put him down as a reference. Good call, boy saviour,” she quipped, using the nickname she came up with when they were teens, and he had stopped a group of boys from harassing her in secondary school. He always seemed to come to her rescue in one way or another. Always wanted to help those around him, to protect them. She knew with her whole heart that he would be a good parent.

“What about my other one, though?”

“Maybe leave that one blank for now, unless you think Viktor would be a good reference?”

“I mean, he has also known me for the same amount of time as Heimerdinger, but I don’t know if it would work.”

“Worth a shot, though, perhaps? Sky will tell us if we need to change anything.”

“Yeah, alright then. I should probably ask him at work tomorrow though first.”

“Leave it blank for now, I’m going to do that with Gert as yeah, I should probably speak to her first as well.”

They continued filling in the remaining forms in contented silence. Once completed (bar one reference each), the pair headed upstairs to sleep. It had been a long day, filled with many different emotions for them both.

Once changed into pyjamas, Jinx snuggled up to Ekko in his bed. He sleepily kissed the top of her head as they drifted off into a peaceful sleep, both dreaming of a future filled with even more love and happiness than they already had with each other.

Chapter Text

As he began to stir, eyes blinking awake in the dim room – the only light a faint glow from Jinx’s sunrise lamp, recently positioned in Ekko’s room atop his wooden chest of drawers – Ekko gazed at the still-sleeping form beside him. An overflowing feeling of pure love hit him more than it ever had before. Her blue braids spread out behind her as she lay curled up against his right side. She always looked so peaceful in sleep, none of the anxieties that often plagued her mind visible. She had told him before that sleep, when it claimed her, was the only time her brain was truly quiet. Yes, she dreamed at times and yes, she had nightmares, but for the most part her brain was at peace during sleep.

Ekko knew he had never seen someone as beautiful as Jinx. He gently kissed the top of her blue-haired head, breathing in the comforting scent of her apple shampoo. He knew that if he woke up like this everyday for the rest of his life, he would be happy.

Jinx burrowed in closer to his chest, making getting up for the day even more of a struggle.

“Jinx?” Ekko whispered, wanting to wake her gently. He whispered her name three more times along with slowly caressing his thumb along her arm.

She stirred, blinking awake, the first thing she saw being a gaze of pure adoration on Ekko’s face.

“Morning,” Jinx whispered, smiling warmly at Ekko.

He kissed the top of her head once more before they both stretched and climbed out of bed, starting their day.

--

 After getting dressed for the day in his forest-green tracksuit, a pale blue t-shirt and green socks with grey squirrels on them, Ekko went downstairs to the kitchen for some breakfast.

Jinx joined him with some coco pops cereal of her own, in her favourite blue bowl. She had on black dungarees paired with a navy t-shirt, her waist-length blue hair in twin braids behind her back.

She gazed at him a moment as they ate their cereal in contented silence before blurting out, “ I wanna get that tattoo.” She paused a second before continuing, “You know, the blue cloud one? I know we are about to start this fostering process, but I feel like if I don’t do it now, I just never will.”

He smiled warmly as she looked at him, mild anxiety visible as he knew her so well. To anyone else she may have looked simply indifferent in this moment but, to him, he could tell she was anxious from the way her brow was ever so slightly furrowed. She absentmindedly chewed on her bottom lip, but only a little. Her hands twitched, fidgeting with the silver spoon from her cereal bowl. He knew this was important to her.

“I say go for it, Pow. You’ve wanted to get that tattoo ever since we were teenagers, when the idea first popped into your head. Do you have an artist in mind already, or should we start researching?”

The smile that appeared on Jinx’s face made her shine like the sun, blinding him with her beauty. She dropped her spoon into the blue bowl with a faint clink as she pushed back her chair, appearing beside Ekko to give him a hug. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, head resting in the crook of his neck as she breathed in his comforting apple scent.

“I do have an artist in mind already… her name is Rain. She has a really beautiful art style that I think fits the vibes of what I want.”

Ekko turned and pressed a gentle kiss to Jinx’s cheek.

“Message her today if you’d like to, get booked in?”

“Yeah, I think I will.”

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After clearing their breakfast things, brushing their teeth and making sure they both had their lunches for the day, the pair left the house and headed to work.

As she sat on the bus – traditional post-box red, an older one today with plush seats made of a fabric that was giving… circus tent – she searched her Instagram for her tattoo artist of choice and, after taking a deep breath to calm her racing anxious thoughts, sent her a message.

She heard the ping of an Instagram notification just as she stepped off the bus. Once she had safely crossed the road, she opened up the app to a reply from Rain. She would love to tattoo Jinx’s blue clouds idea, and had space that very weekend! Jinx sent Ekko a quick text to let him know she was going to go for it, and replied with a ‘yes please’ to Rain’s message. It would take a full day session at least. It was also Jinx’s first (and most likely only) tattoo, so she was not sure how painful it would be. She had read somewhere that some neurodivergent people didn’t really feel much in the way of tattoo pain, so she hoped she would be the same…

As she arrived at the workshop, Jinx went straight to Heimer’s office, intent on asking him to provide a reference for her foster carer application. She already had a feeling he would say yes, so had filled out part of his form the previous evening, however she now felt unsure if that would be the case.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Jinx knocked on the half-open oak door. A voice, slightly squeaky, called out “come in.”

Jinx cautiously pushed the door open further, analysing the room as she stood on the threshold.

Heimerdinger’s office was a small, rectangular space, with walls painted sky-blue and a hardwood floor. Two oak bookcases, filled with neatly organised books, sat either side of a rectangular window at the wall opposite to where Jinx had entered. A well-worn desk sat in front of said window, Heimer’s desk chair facing the door. The room was immaculate. Even the pile of papers on his desk as neat as could be. He smiled warmly in greeting to his employee.

“Good morning, Jinx. To what do I owe this pleasure of a visit? You don’t officially start work for…” pausing, he checked his watch, frowning slightly as he did so. “…another twenty minutes.”

Still hovering in the doorway, Jinx fidgeted with the blue tangle she always kept in the pocket of her work dungarees.

“Umm… so…long story short… Ekko and I are trying to become foster carers. We each need two references, and I was wondering if…” she trailed off, anxiety trying to take hold of her.

Noticing her struggle to get the rest of her words out, Heimer responded to her partially spoken question.

“Why Jinx, of course I will provide a reference for you. I feel I know you well enough at this point to confidently say that I know you will be a great foster parent. Do you have the form with you?”

Shocked at her boss’s immediate agreement, Jinx stammered a “yes”, grabbed said form from her dungaree pocket and unfolded it before passing it to the shorter man.

“Leave it with me. I’ll fill it out and return it to you before the end of your workday.”

“Thank you, Heimerdinger.”

He waved her off with a smile, signalling for her to get to work and leave him be for the time being. She left the small room with her heart beating faster than her beta blocker anxiety medication should have allowed. She paused once back in the hallway, leaning against the wall nearest the oak door. Taking three slow, deep breaths helped to calm her as she felt the anxiety fade to its usual simmer – not enough to be too much of a bother, but sitting there all the same. When she felt ready, she went to her work desk to start the day.

The rest of the morning passed by in a blur of tools and metal clinking. Jinx’s earlier conversation with Heimer had filled her with confidence, once the anxiety had settled and she had processed his kind words. She sat beside Viktor to eat her lunch, determined to speak to him as well and check both reference requests off her mental to-do list. The tall man looked at her in surprise and mild confusion as she made herself comfortable in the metal chair, adjusting the soft cushion underneath her. Usually, Jinx would eat her lunch alone in the small room that held their lockers. This was where they kept their jackets and bags, things they did not want to be potentially damaged by an invention going haywire. It was near-silent in there, the light grey walls calming, and Jinx could scroll her phone and listen to music without interruption. From time to time however, she would sit with Viktor at the square, blue table designated for lunch breaks. It was the only surface in the workshop not cluttered with bits of metal, tools or other scraps of materials. Viktor soon snapped out of his moment of surprise and spoke, quietly and gently, as if he were approaching a scared deer and did not want to potentially frighten it away by speaking too loudly.

“Hello, Jinx.”

“Hello, Viktor,” she replied, taking a small bite from the ham sandwich Ekko had made for her the night before. He always cut the crusts off for her, knowing she didn’t like them.

They sat eating, side by side in contented silence, before Jinx spoke up.

“So, Viktor…”

He glanced at her, flashing a brief close-lipped smile, as if to say, ‘go on’.

“Ekko and I are applying to be foster carers. I know you and I don’t really know each other all that well, which is definitely on me and not for your lack of trying. I don’t really like talking to many people and it takes me a long time to get used to others. You can absolutely say no, I mean it is a bit of an odd request really, but I’d prefer to avoid asking my sister if possible. She’d make it into a big thing, and I don’t really want that. I will tell her when- if- we are approved but… not until then. Sorry, I’m rambling now… I’ll get to the point. Would you, please, be a reference for me? To say I won’t like, harm the kid, I guess… I’m not entirely sure how it works…”

Throughout Jinx’s speech of sorts, she was looking around the room at anything except Viktor. Her hands fidgeting anxiously with the tangle from her pocket. Viktor had listened earnestly, interested in what the bluenette had to say.

“First of all, I think that was the most I have ever heard you speak in the year I have known you.” He smiled warmly, helping the anxiety Jinx felt loosen it’s hold a little.

“Secondly, I would be honoured to write a reference for you. Whatever child ends up in your care will be a lucky one, for that I am certain.”

Jinx returned his smile with a genuine one of her own. She took the second reference sheet from her dungarees pocket and placed it gently on the table beside Viktor’s mug of coffee.

“Thank you, Viktor.”

“It is my pleasure. I have thought about fostering or adopting a child myself one day, but I’m not sure if my roommate would want a child running around, or if I myself could handle that. I was a child left to the cruelties of the foster care system myself, so I would like to help a child one day if I am able. What I am meaning to say is, I admire you, Jinx, for knowing what you want and reaching for it.”

The two smiled at each other, Jinx overcome with emotion at Viktor’s kind words. Her mind chose to focus on something which made her feel less perceived, less vulnerable.

“You have a roommate?”

“Yes, my best friend, Jayce. We met at university. Both of us studied science and engineering, he went on to become a teacher and, well… you know I am here.”

“Jayce, as in Jayce Talis?”

“Yes… how do you know my roommate’s name?”

“Well, Ekko is also a teacher, and he works at the same school. My sister’s partner, Caitlyn, is also Jayce’s childhood friend. Small world, huh?”

Viktor smiled, humming in agreement.

They spent the rest of their lunch break getting to know each other a bit better. Jinx realised that perhaps it wasn’t always bad putting yourself out there to make friends. Viktor understood her pretty well.

------------------------------------------------------------

Upon arriving, Ekko made his way straight to Mel’s office. He thought that he might as well ask her first. He was sure she’d agree to be a reference, but that didn’t stop mild anxiety forming butterflies in his stomach as he knocked on her half-open office door. She waved him into the small space. Her ink-black hair was braided as usual atop her head, threads of gold woven through. Despite the cooler weather, she wore a floaty golden dress, thin black tights and a pair of black boots with gold embellishments. A white cardigan draped over the back of her high-backed desk chair.

“Good morning, Ekko.”

“Good morning, Mel. Can I please speak to you for a moment?”

Mel gestured for him to take a seat in one of the chairs across from her desk, smiling kindly as he did so. Ekko glanced at Mel, focusing on the golden freckle-like sparkles surrounding her eyes. Those sparkles looked almost too perfect, applied with a practiced and steady hand each morning.

He cleared his throat before speaking, knowing this moment would make a huge difference in his future, and Jinx and potentially Isha’s, too.

“Jinx and I are starting the process to become foster carers. We each need two references, and you were the first person who came to mind for me to ask. So, would you be a reference for me, please?”

Mel’s smile shone with a radiance nearly as blinding as that of Jinx.

“Ekko, of course I will. I know you will be a wonderful foster parent, and I am sure Jinx will too.”

Ekko returned Mel’s smile with one of his own and handed her the partially completed reference paper from his olive laptop bag. “Thank you, Mel.”

He stood then, making his way to Gert’s classroom before his own. He decided to speak to her before the children arrived, otherwise he knew the thought would be on his mind all morning, and him being distracted wasn’t fair on the kids.

Gert greeted him with a smile as he entered her classroom, frowning slightly when she noticed his mildly anxious aura.

“Everything alright?”

Ekko scratched the back of his neck briefly, moving to sit perched on Gert’s desk. She stood beside him, patiently waiting for whatever it was he wanted to say.

“Gert, can I ask you a favour?”

“You are not using my printer code again, Ekko. I am already over my weekly limit and it’s only Tuesday.”

Ekko shook his head slightly as a small laugh escaped.

“No, no, not that. Although already? How have you used… you know what, it doesn’t matter, who am I to judge? I wanted to ask if you’d provide a reference for me, if you don’t mind? You don’t have to… but I thought you know me pretty well at this point, so…”

“You’re not leaving for another job, are you?? We make a great team, Ekko. I don’t know who else would put up with my nonsense.”

“Ah…not that kind of reference. I’m not going anywhere, trust me. Jinx and I have decided we want to foster. So that’s what I need two references for. I’ve asked Mel already, and I thought maybe you’d be my second?”

The relief was evident on Gert’s face.

“That is great news! Of course I’ll be your other reference. You’re already great with kids, so I have zero concerns there.”

“Thank you, Gert.”

Ekko slid the other reference paper out of his laptop bag, passing it to Gert.

The rest of the day flew by, his class enjoying what would probably be the last PE lesson of the year outside with November drawing close and with it the colder winds and rain.

Isha had seemingly taken to being Ekko’s shadow most of the time they were in the classroom, following him around the room when he went round to check on everyone and sitting beside him at carpet time. If he had to leave the room for any reason, she would switch to following Elora, small hands stroking the woman’s long skirt as she stood or sat beside her. This was new behaviour for Isha and it worried Ekko. She was potentially coming down with an illness, or perhaps she was becoming more attached to the adults at school due to unhappiness at home. He discussed his thoughts on this with Elora at the end of the day, and she agreed to keep an extra eye on Isha when she could. That was all they could do for the time being.

------------------------------------------------------------

Two days later, after everyone had given Jinx and Ekko back their reference forms, Sky popped round their house that Thursday evening. She said it would speed up the process if she met with them both in person to go through said forms, and then they could work on the other things necessary to being approved.

Jinx had gotten changed out of her work dungarees into her least-scruffy pair of blue joggers and yet another of Ekko’s t-shirts, although this one hung less loosely on her thin frame, making the effect more ‘comfy at home’ vibes rather than her usual vibe of ‘lounging in my pyjamas’. Ekko was wearing his comfiest pair of jeans, which wasn’t saying a lot as he only had two pairs (both black denim) and neither were particularly comfortable, and his blue Piplup Pokémon t-shirt. The pair had spent the previous evening cleaning the kitchen, living room and downstairs toilet as best as they could, as Sky would likely see all three of those rooms during her visit. Jinx hoped she would not want a whole house tour just yet as her own bedroom was a mess…

After what felt like an age, they heard a sharp knock ring out. The pair glanced once at each other before Ekko moved to open the front door, greeting Sky and leading her through to their kitchen, where Jinx was stood leaning against the nearby counter.

Sky smiled politely at Jinx, pushing the rim of her glasses back up the bridge of her nose before holding out a hand for her to shake. Jinx took in the woman’s appearance, finding she matched up quite well to the image that had already formed in her head. Sky’s umber hair was pulled up into a bun atop her head, loose curls escaping. She was wearing a lavender blouse underneath a white cardigan and a pair of grey trousers. She had removed her shoes upon entering their house so her junimo socks were visible, making Jinx feel a bit more at ease. If this woman played Stardew Valley, she couldn’t be too scary… right? Jinx gently but firmly shook Sky’s outstretched hand.

“You must be Jinx, lovely to meet you! I’m Sky Young. Ekko has told me a lot about you.”

“All good things I hope…” Jinx said with a smirk as she glanced towards Ekko.

He winked back at her, a smile forming on his lips, as Sky replied “of course, not a bad thing was said.”

Jinx smiled at that.

“It’s lovely to meet you too, Sky. Would you like some tea? We have peppermint, decaf and ‘normal’.”

Sky had opted for decaf, so Jinx got to work making that alongside ‘normal’ tea for Ekko and peppermint for herself. They sat together at the kitchen table, mugs of tea steaming in front of them. Ekko gently pushed the pile of papers with their references on, towards Sky. She placed them beside her neatly.

“So, I’m going to ask a few questions to you both. I’ll start with a relatively easy one. What is your employment status? I know already that you are a primary school teacher, Ekko. How long have you been teaching?”

“This is my second year as a teacher.”

“Great, thank you Ekko. Jinx, what about you? I know you do something with mechanics or engineering, am I correct? Isha absolutely loved when she met you for the first time at school and you helped her make that bunny out of metal.”

Jinx smiled at the memory of her first time meeting the little girl.

“Yes, I work at an engineering company. We make all sorts of things, really. I’ve worked there for a year now.”

“Lovely, thank you Jinx.” Sky paused, jotting down some words in her notebook. “Do either of you have a previous job?”

Both shook their heads, Ekko responding for the pair, “no, once I aged out of the foster care system I was studying for my teaching degree at university. I didn’t have time for a job, and before that, well… no one seemed to want to hire a foster kid from a group home, despite having never done anything to seem untrustworthy… I guess during the summer I did some babysitting for some of my professors at university, but that wasn’t a regular thing, so…” He trailed off, deep in thought for a moment before continuing, “and Jinx, she was the same as me with going to university after aging out of foster care a year after me. We ended up at the same one, but she studied engineering. You never had a job before working for Heimerdinger, did you?”

“No, university kept me far too busy, it was an exhausting time, too.”

“Now I know some of this information already, especially about you, Ekko, so please bear with me. I have to ask all of this for those who don’t know you as well, and will need this to be in your file. What experience do you have with children?”

Ekko answered first, “I’ve been a year one teacher for over a year now, and before that I babysat from age 18 and also had my school placements during uni. So, I have experience with children from ages 3 to 11.”

Jinx began fidgeting with her hands, wishing she had a tangle fidget accessible to her in that moment. “Not that much to be honest, pretty much just that time I came into Ekko’s school last month and that afternoon I had with Isha.”

“That’s absolutely fine, Jinx. Lots of foster carers don’t have much experience and do a fantastic job.” She looked down at her notebook again, before asking another question. “Now, I understand the both of you were in foster care yourselves. Do you feel able to tell me a bit about that? What your relationship was like with your parents before that? If you have any family around, and what your relationship is like with them? I understand this may be difficult to talk about, so take your time.”

Jinx took a slow sip of her peppermint tea, cradling the warm blue mug in her cold hands. After exchanging a glance with Ekko, they agreed for her to go first that time.

“When I was very young, about 5 years old I think, my birth parents – Felicia and Connol – died. I don’t really remember much about it, just that Vi was there with me when we were taken to Vander’s. He was one of my mum’s best friends. Vander became our dad. He adopted us. We were with him, alongside our adoptive brothers Milo and Claggor, until he died in an accident when I was 11. The same accident that took Benzo, Ekko’s foster father. Me and Ekko ended up in the same group foster home as each other until he aged out and went to university, I followed a year later. My brothers were sent somewhere else, and we’ve not seen each other since that day when I was 11. My sister, Violet, was put in young offenders but was released when she was 18. She found me three years later, when I was 18 and had aged out, and since then we see each other at least once a month. I believe she was unfairly treated all those years ago as she had not done anything except be in the wrong place, at the wrong time. She is absolutely safe around children, I can promise you that, Sky.”

Ekko gently grasped Jinx’s hand as she spoke, she had put down her mug in the process and his soft touch grounded her. Sky looked between the pair as she listened, noting the genuine care they had for each other. When Jinx had finished speaking, Ekko continued with his own story.

“I was also very young when my birth parents – Inna and Wyeth – died. Benzo took me in and was my foster dad until I was 12. He was good friends with Vander so I would often hang out with Jinx and her siblings. That was how we met.”

Sky was silent a moment as she absorbed that information. These two people in front of her, barely in their 20s, had been through so much already in their lives. She knew they would be great for a child in care. She knew they would be great for Isha.

“Thank you for sharing that with me. As for Violet, I will have to speak with her eventually if you two are approved, but from what you have told me I am sure it will be fine on that front. Now, for my final question. I know the pair of you have known each other since you were young children, however, how long have you been together? Romantically speaking?”

The look of absolute shock on both of their faces almost made Sky laugh out loud. Ekko and Jinx looked at each other, eyes wide and the beginnings of a blush showing on both of their faces.

“Oh, we’re not-”

“We’re not together, together.”

“We’re best friends.”

“Yeah, best friends. And roommates.”

“Exactly!”

“Oh, and they were roommates…” Sky said with a smirk, her comment flying right over both of their heads.

------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday arrived surprisingly fast, and with it, Jinx’s tattoo appointment. She felt a little anxious but mostly excited, as she had dreamed of the blue clouds swirling across her arms and torso for years. For once she was awake before Ekko, so she spent a few minutes gazing at him, still peacefully asleep. His dark lashes, unfairly long and pretty for a guy who did not care about that kind of thing. The way one of his arms was curled around her, holding her close in his sleep. Their faces were inches apart. If she wished to, she could move ever so slightly and kiss him…

Blushing profusely, Jinx moved back a bit in Ekko’s strong arms. She had no idea where that thought had come from. Sure, she had thought about kissing Ekko before, but it was more out of curiosity than anything else. She hadn’t ever kissed anyone, as she hadn’t ever liked anyone in that way. Not a single person. She had seen guys she thought were handsome before, sure. Girls who she thought were beautiful. But it was always in the way one would admire a painting. Ekko on the other hand, she felt differently around him than she did around anyone else, and she really wasn’t sure what to think of that.

Ekko stirred, blinking awake.

“Good morning, Pow. Ready for your tattoo?”

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Jinx smiled at her best friend. Because that’s what he was, her best friend.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

They arrived at the studio five minutes early, as Jinx didn’t want to risk being late. She was wearing a long, loose-fitting t-shirt (one of Ekko’s, an old, plain black one this time in case of ink transfer from the tattoos) and a black, floaty skirt which came down to just above her knees. She deliberately wore her most comfortable bra underneath as she knew she’d have to remove her t-shirt for a good portion of the tattoo, and she did not want to feel uncomfortable. Since the tattoo was mostly on her arm, she knew she’d be able to keep the skirt on at least.

Ekko wore grey joggers and a navy t-shirt underneath a black hoodie.

The small building had frosted windows for privacy, with the name ‘Weathervane Tattoo Studio’ painted in rainbow, cursive font on the sign above the door. Taking a deep breath to calm her rising nerves, Jinx pushed open the door. She was greeted by cosy, warm lighting. A counter stood opposite the door, a tall woman standing behind it. She had brown hair, scattered through with yellow highlights, making her seem to glow from within. As she glanced up from the computer in front of her, Jinx noticed how her blue eyes were of a similar shade to her own. Beautiful, light blue orbs sparkled in the warm light. She wore black denim jeans with a grey t-shirt which read ‘Vanilla Ice Cream Rains Supreme’. She smiled as Jinx approached the counter, Ekko following close behind her.

“Welcome, my name is Rain. You must be Jinx, right?”

“Yes, it’s great to meet you.”

Rain smiled warmly, gesturing for them to follow her. They walked through an open doorway to a room with three separated sections, each with a tattoo chair, small drawer unit and a pinboard with designs on the wall nearest to each chair. One such pinboard was covered every last inch in Taylor Swift lyrics and sketches. Another had gothic style designs, heavy with the horror vibes. Rain stood beside the one furthest away, pulling a curtain round to block the view of anyone entering the building. Her design pinboard had a range of colourful ideas.

"In an hour or so, my coworkers, Ale and Olivia, will arrive. They both have a few clients today, although they will be smaller tattoos, so won’t be around as much of the day.” Rain picked up the first of the cloud stencils, turning back to Jinx. “You ready?”

--

The day went by quickly, Jinx alternating between chatting idly with Rain, holding Ekko’s hand at the few parts that hurt, and listening to the comings and goings of the other tattoo artists and their clients. At various times throughout the day, Olivia and Ale would check in on how everything was going. Olivia complimented the colour choice, and Ale had said it gave her ‘major Lover by Taylor Swift vibes’. They’d had a few breaks dotted throughout the day as well, which were much needed. When Jinx wasn’t in need of Ekko at certain parts, when the needle was a mere scratch at her skin and she was content with listening to her surroundings or chatting with Rain, he sat beside her on a chair and read his book.

It was a fun atmosphere at the studio, and Jinx knew if she were to get any more tattoos in the future that she would be returning. She paid and said a big thank you to Rain before leaving with Ekko, feeling more like herself than she had in a while.

------------------------------------------------------------

Ekko arrived at work on the Monday morning ready for the day. After Saturday was spent with Jinx getting her new tattoo, their Sunday had been very chilled. They had spent the day alternating between watching anime and gaming. Jinx’s tattoo had started to become a bit sore with the healing process, so he had looked after her as best as he could. She had slept in her own bed for that first night, just to avoid accidentally bumping the tattoos. Both of them had slept pretty badly, however, after so long of sleeping beside each other, so the previous night they had both slept in Ekko’s bed again. He was extra careful to not nudge her tattoos, and they slept side by side holding hands. Not quite the same as their usual snuggling, but close enough that it would work temporarily.

After assembly, Ekko was sitting with a group of children as they drew pictures of something they would like in the future. Some children had drawn a new pet, some a bigger house, some themselves having gone on holiday with their families. Isha, however, had drawn a picture of herself, a man, and a woman. The woman had blue hair, falling down straight to her waist. The man had white hair, falling down to just above his shoulders.

When she noticed Ekko looking at her picture, Isha signed "I wish to have a dad like you, and a mum like Jinx."

She then scampered off, having finished her drawing and written her name at the top of it.

Ekko sat for a moment, feeling tears spring to his eyes. He thought of a future where Isha lived with him and Jinx. It seemed she wanted that just as much as he did. 

Chapter Text

As the week passed by and Wednesday arrived, Isha became increasingly dependent towards Ekko at school. If it were a day in which Elora was in the classroom, or the little girl saw her on the playground, she would cling to her instead. Ekko was determined to figure out the reason. Even when she was in the care (if you could even really call it that) of Bertha and Ernest, Isha never seemed to display any behaviours at school which would have shown her unhappiness at home. This was all new behaviour, and it worried Ekko deeply.

It was the following day, a Thursday, that Isha began to withdraw into herself. Ekko noticed that she was interacting less with the other children, preferring to wander around the room alone. She would at times play alongside others, just not with them. Even the few children she had begun forming friendships with, she started to avoid.

When all the KS1 children went to lunch, Ekko shared his concerns with Elora. She had been in his classroom that day and he wanted to see if she had also noticed the difference in the little girl. He sat down beside the brunette at one of the tables in the staff room, choosing his usual dark green chair to sit. Elora was wearing a burgundy dress patterned with ladybirds and her usual black laced-up boots. She looked up at him as he sat beside her, smiling in greeting as she took a bite of her cheddar cheese and cucumber sandwich.

Ekko took a bite of his own sandwich – ham with lettuce and cucumber, a layer of margarine spread thinly on each slice of bread – and formulated in his head the words he wanted to say.

“So… Isha…”

Elora knew where he was going with that and continued his train of thought, as she often did. Having worked together for just over a year at that point, they knew each other well and Elora would finish Ekko’s sentences at times. She was the exact same with Gert, too.

“…is beginning to withdraw? I’m glad you noticed it, too. I was meaning to speak to you about her as it was, first the clinginess at the beginning of the week, which was entirely unlike her, and now withdrawing from the other children. It might be worth you trying to speak to her one on one? I’m sure Gert wouldn’t mind if you wanted me to watch the class for a bit outside for extra playtime perhaps?”

“I agree, it is not at all like the Isha we have grown to know these past couple of months. Something must be going on, whether it be at home or something here that we may have missed. I will speak to her tomorrow if I don’t get the chance to today. Thanks, Elora.”

--

The rest of Thursday was busy, with no opportunity for Ekko to speak to Isha. His chance came the next day when the rest of the class had gone out for morning break. It was supposed to be his break duty, but Elora offered to cover him so that he could attempt speaking to Isha. The girl had hung back as her class left for the playground, and Ekko took the opportunity in front of him.

“Isha?”

She spun to face him, anxiously fidgeting with her purple cardigan sleeves. Ekko held out the fidgets box as he sat at a nearby table, gesturing for her to join him. Isha tentatively took a blue tangle from the box and sat across from her teacher, looking down at her lap.

Ekko spoke gently, “How are you feeling at school, Isha?”

Isha set the tangle on the table in front of her to free her hands for signing. She looked at Ekko anxiously.

“School is okay. I feel a bit tired.”

“Do you sleep alright at night?”

“Sometimes I can sleep all night, sometimes I am scared and keep waking up.”

“Do you know what is making you feel scared, Isha?”

She shook her head no.

“How do you feel at home? Is it still better than your last house?”

“Better than Bertha’s house. Not home.” She paused for a moment before continuing to sign. “Will I ever have a home forever?”

Ekko felt his eyes well up slightly at Isha’s words, just as powerful signed as if she had spoken aloud.

“Oh Isha, of course you will find a home. I know you will. If it isn’t with your current foster carers, hopefully it will be with your next ones.”

Thinking for a moment, Ekko held out his hand for Isha to take if she so wished. Her tiny hand grasped his as she looked at him, taking every word he was saying seriously and as if this moment was something she wanted to remember.

“Is there anything I can do to help you at school? Anything that might make things better for you?”

Isha used the hand not being held by Ekko to sign the word “no.”  

“If you do think of anything, or you need help with anything, you can always come and talk to me, okay? Or Miss Elora. We are here if you need us, Isha.”

Isha nodded and a tiny smile flickered on her face, gone as quickly as it had appeared. Ekko let go of her hand and, after placing the tangle back into the fidgets box, she left the classroom to join the other children outside. Instead of playing with or alongside the other children, however, Isha stayed beside Elora the whole breaktime. She held the woman’s hand as they walked around, nodding or shaking her head in response whenever Elora asked her something.

--

Later that day, Ekko was sat in the kitchen with Jinx. They ate dinner (enchiladas, made by Ekko) whilst talking about their workdays. Ekko told Jinx about Isha, and how she hadn’t been sleeping very well.

“There’s just not really anything I can do to make things better for her, not until we get approved and she can come to live with us. I feel so… helpless, I guess?”

Jinx grasped his hand across the table, gently stroking the palm with her thumb.

“Just you being there for her at school is enough. At least until she can come home to us. If we’d had someone like you at school, or someone like Elora, we would have found things a whole lot easier. Isha will be okay… hopefully it won’t be too much longer until we’re approved.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Pow. I’ll keep an eye on her as best I can, Elora said she’d do the same.”

------------------------------------------------------------

It was the weekend after Jinx’s tattoo, which was healing well thanks to Ekko’s reminders for her to put the pink, bubblegum-scented cream on it, when her and Ekko decided to tackle the ‘junk room.’ Aka their ‘spare’ room, aka what would hopefully become Isha’s room in the future.

The room itself was home to cardboard boxes filled with various things, piles of Jinx’s unfinished projects and an exercise bike Jinx had impulse bought the previous year in a January sale but only used once.

Jinx sighed in exasperation at the state of the room and leaned her head on Ekko’s shoulder. He put his arm around her and gently kissed the top of her head before whispering, “it could be a lot worse, let’s be honest with ourselves.”

She let out a laugh before moving out of Ekko’s partial embrace. They set to work on organising everything in the room. A growing pile stood by the door with all of the random shit they no longer needed, either to be thrown away or donated.

Ekko stumbled across a box filled with photo albums and loose photographs. He froze as he saw the Ekko of his childhood staring back at him. The photo at the top of the cardboard box was one of him and Powder as young kids, smiling gap-toothed grins at the camera with their arms slung around each other. You could partially see Vi in the background, looking over at the pair with a smile.

“We look so happy there. Vi as well, before it all went to shit,” Jinx said as she peered over Ekko’s shoulder at the photo he held gently in his hands.

“It’s taken us a while to get here but we are happy again now, right?”

“Yeah, we definitely are…” Jinx said with a small smile.

Ekko carefully placed the photograph back into the box and closed the lid. Jinx picked it up and carried the box into her bedroom as they had decided wordlessly to go through it another time. Jinx barely went into her room anymore as it was, so she didn’t mind a box or two in there for the time being.

--

As she was sorting through yet another box, Jinx noticed a blue, fluffy ear poking out from underneath some folded blankets. She carefully pulled the ear, eyes wide in surprise at the blue plush bunny dangling from her grip. It was a soft, fluffy material with a slightly worn label reading ‘jellycat.’ She turned the bunny over in her hands as she examined it; the inside of the ears were white with a pattern of bluebells, the black eyes shining as they reflected the ceiling light.

Jinx smiled fondly at the bunny as she remembered where she had acquired it. It was on her 14^th Birthday, not too long after they had moved into their group foster home. Ekko had been secretive the two days leading up to the day itself, as if he were hiding something from her. On the morning of her birthday, she had awoken cuddled up to him in his bed, what was back then only just beginning to become a regular occurrence. He had whispered a sleepy “happy birthday, Powder” before untangling his limbs from hers and moving over to his desk, rummaging through the top drawer. She had missed his warmth immediately and sat up to attempt to get a glimpse of whatever he was doing. He had blushingly placed a powder-blue gift box with a turquoise ribbon tied around it into her hands. She had opened the box as delicately as she could, a sharp intake of breath tumbling out of her as she admired the blue bunny hidden within. It was just as soft now as it was back then, if a little more loved and worn. Even as kids, as teenagers, her friendship with Ekko had been special. She had always loved him, even more so when they were the only thing the other had for a long time. Jinx took one more look at the bunny before making the decision.

“Ekko? Look who I found in the box of spare blankets…” she placed the bunny into his hands, warmth spreading through her at the lingering memories.

“Blue! Wow, I haven’t seen this little guy in ages!”

She smiled as she shared her idea with him, “I was just thinking… could I give her to Isha? It might help her to sleep if she has something to snuggle with…”

“I think that’s a lovely idea, Pow. I’ll check with Mel, and maybe we should check with Sky, too? Just to make sure it’s allowed. It should be fine though if you pop into school and give it to her, since I can’t really do that being her teacher… not until she lives with us, anyway. Could possibly be seen as favouritism…”

“I didn’t even think of that! But yeah, I would love to give Blue to her myself. I haven’t seen Isha since ‘Spoons nearly two weeks ago, and I do miss her. Never thought I’d say that about a kid I’ve only interacted with twice, but here we are I guess…”

Ekko smiled warmly at Jinx as he placed the bunny back into her hands, “she is a very special kid, though. Wriggled her way into both of our hearts already…”

--

After several hours of organising, everything was sorted into sections. The pair placed everything they wanted to donate into the boot of the car, ready to drop off at one of the local charity shops sometime in the upcoming week. The things they no longer needed but were not good enough quality to donate went into their rubbish bin or the recycling, although there was not much of that. Jinx decided to give the exercise bike to her sister as Vi said that Cait would probably use it. She popped over later that day in her old, red Toyota Aygo.

Jinx hadn’t seen her sister since meeting Isha, which meant she had not told her anything at all about the whole fostering situation. She didn’t yet feel ready to share this news with her sister, not until everything was official at least.

Vi greeted her younger sister with nothing less than a bear hug, cradling the back of Jinx’s head with one hand as if she were the most fragile and precious thing in her life. Vi always had a way of making Jinx feel loved, as if she felt she had to make up for all the lost time in their late childhood when they were separated. Not that Jinx minded in the slightest, hugging her sister back tightly and clinging to her for several minutes. Despite their arguments and struggles as kids, and the separation when Vander died, the sisters were closer than ever now. Jinx loved her sister more than anyone else in the entire world. (Well, about the same amount that she loved Ekko… although she loved him in an entirely separate way, not at all like a brother…although she couldn’t exactly name what she did feel for her childhood best friend…)

The sisters separated from their hold on each other, Jinx leading the way into the kitchen. Vi was wearing grey joggers and a red hoodie, unzipped to show the black t-shirt she wore underneath. The t-shirt had Catra and Adora from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power on the front. Jinx knew that show well, having watched it with Ekko after Vi had recommended it to them.

“Cup of tea, sis?”

“Ooohh yes please, Pow. Gotta have some fuel before lifting that exercise bike down the stairs and into my car.”

Jinx laughed as she filled the kettle and saw her sister flexing her arms with a wink. Gods, she’d missed this. Just hanging out with Vi and laughing. They needed to do this more often.

“Hey, Vi.”

Ekko entered the kitchen, greeting the red-haired woman with a wave.

“Little man!”

Vi ruffled Ekko’s hair a little before pulling him into a hug. He hugged her back just as tightly, laughing with feigned annoyance at the hair ruffling. Vi was only a little taller than him, much to her joy that he’d never overtaken her in height.

Jinx placed two steaming mugs of tea onto the kitchen table, returning with a third for herself as the three sat together.

“How’s the workshop, Pow?”

Jinx filled Vi in on how she’d made friends with her coworker Viktor recently, and it was nice to have someone to sit with at lunch, even when they both sat in contented silence together whilst scrolling through their phones.

“What about you, little man? Got a nice class again this year, or are some of them little shits this time around?”

Ekko laughed, knowing Vi was joking with that last comment. She actually quite liked kids, all jokes aside.

“All good. A really lovely group of kids again this year, some cute ones, too. Pow came into school, back near the start of the term, to show the children some engineering. They’re great kids, right Pow?”

Jinx knew he was trying to update Vi on their lives without updating her about the most important part – the fostering process – and she was grateful to him for understanding why she wasn’t ready to tell her sister just yet.

“Such great kids. I had a fun time with them, too. What about you, sis? How’s the gym?”

“You’re both doing so well.” Vi smiled at them both with a proud look glinting in her eyes. “The gym is all good. Also got a great group of kids that wanna learn boxing. I like working with Sevika, too. She’s a pretty good boss.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that sis. Her head will grow too big to fit into the building!”

Vi laughed at that, the image entering her brain. They had all known Sevika since their childhood as she’d worked with Vander at The Last Drop, aka the best Wetherspoons around. The muscular woman would try to check in with Powder and Ekko whenever she could once they arrived in the group foster home, but there was only so much she could do. She didn’t have the means to have fostered them herself, something she regretted even though there was nothing else she could’ve done to change things. She would also visit Vi in young offenders, making sure the teen wasn’t getting into any more trouble. It was those visits and thinking of her little sister and how she needed her that got Vi through those difficult years. They were all forever thankful to Sevika, even with how infuriating she could be at times.

Jinx fidgeted with the handle of her mug.

“How’s Caitlyn?” she asked uncertainly. Her relationship with her sister’s girlfriend had been tenuous at times but was gradually improving as they got to know each other better. Cait had made sure Jinx knew that she was not going to be taking Vi away from her, and after that conversation things had gone more smoothly.

“She’s doing good! Has an important case going on right now, so is super busy at work… and I think I’m gonna propose to her soon, so…”

Jinx almost choked on her tea, coughing as she tried to breathe again normally. Ekko looked equally as shocked, his hand holding a custard cream biscuit halfway to his mouth.

Vi looked between the pair and laughed, not having expected their reactions at all. She grabbed a custard cream and ate it whilst her sister and Ekko regained their composure.

She smirked as she finished her biscuit and drank a sip of tea.

“Now that is something I’ll remember forever!”

“I guess I just didn’t expect it?? You and Cait have been together a few years now, but even so…”

Jinx trailed off, deep in thought. She supposed some people did get married after only knowing each other a few years, sometimes less, but she couldn’t see herself marrying anyone unless she’d known them for at least ten years. If she were entirely honest with herself, she couldn’t see herself marrying anyone. Man, woman or otherwise. Unless it was Ekko… like one of those ‘best friend marriages’ they have in Japan or somewhere… she blushed a little at the thought of walking down the aisle to Ekko at the other end, trailing behind her bridesmaids – Vi and Isha.

Shaking her head to dispel that line of thought, Jinx zoned back into the conversation as Ekko spoke.

“It does seem a bit sudden, but also not really… have you bought a ring yet?”

Vi glanced between the two, shaking her head fondly. She really did wonder when they would realise their feelings for each other. They had clearly had little crushes as 13-year-olds, and she was sure the feelings hadn’t gone away. Neither had dated anyone, both stating they were just ‘not interested.’ She knew that was true, but that it was because they were solely interested in each other. Even if they didn’t know it themselves yet…

“Yes, I saw this beautiful sapphire ring with little diamonds surrounding it, with a gold band.”

Vi showed them a photo from her phone, and they both gasped at how beautiful the ring was.

“Could you afford that?!” Jinx blurted, subtlety not her strong suit.

“Yes, Pow. I didn’t steal it or anything, my girlfriend is a policewoman… I’ve been saving for a while. We have our own home, just like you two do. We both have good, stable jobs. Just like you two. I felt it was time.” She paused a moment as she took another sip of tea. “I’m going to propose next weekend. We’re having dinner at home but making a fun evening of it; takeaway of Cait’s choosing and we’re dressing up all fancy-like. I didn’t think she’d want a public proposal, and to be truthful, neither would I. This should be perfect.”

A twinkle had appeared in Violet’s eye as she spoke. Jinx felt happiness spread through her. Vi deserved this. She absolutely deserved this joy.

“It sounds perfect, Vi. You have to update us as soon as she says yes! Because we all know, she will say yes!”

Vi agreed to keep the pair updated. They finished off their mugs of tea and ate a few more custard creams. Once finished, Vi slapped both palms on her knees and said, “right! I’d better be off then,” before standing and heading upstairs to grab the exercise bike. She carried it downstairs and into her car before giving Jinx and Ekko a tight hug each. They waved her goodbye from the doorway, smiling as she drove away. Jinx always felt uplifted after a visit from her sister.

Ekko emailed Mel to ask about the blue bunny. She agreed that under these unique circumstances, it was absolutely fine for Jinx to give Isha the bunny. As long as it was alright with Sky, of course. He relayed the news to Jinx, who then sent a quick message to Sky. She also agreed it was alright to do so, stating that since Isha would (hopefully) be moving in with them once they’re approved, it would be a lovely gesture to show Isha how she is wanted somewhere. That made Jinx tear up, the thought of Isha not knowing at that moment in time that she was, in fact, very much wanted. They decided Jinx would pop by that Monday near the end of the day, as she had a half day at work due to Heimerdinger needing to close the workshop early that day.

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Monday soon came around, and Jinx was nervous. What if Isha didn’t want Blue? What if the little girl Jinx already cared about so much had forgotten she existed? It had only been two weeks, but it could happen… Jinx tried to shake away the anxious thoughts as she grasped the handle of the baby-blue tote she had on her shoulder.

She had taken the bus straight from work, her purple dungarees only a little stained from oil. She blew her fringe out of her face with a huff as she opened the gate at the entrance to the school. Closing it behind her, she entered the front office and went up to where the receptionist was situated. Jinx knew Gracie quite well at that point, having visited Ekko at the school once or twice in the past year (not including the time she visited the previous term to teach the kids). The receptionist greeted her with a smile as she signed in to the electronic sign-in machine near the doors which led into the main school. Gracie buzzed her in as she gave her the red visitor’s lanyard. She walked Jinx down to Ekko’s classroom and left her there with a “see you later” and a little wave.

Jinx took a slow, calming breath before she opened the door to enter the Fireflies classroom. Since it was 2pm, the kids were outside for their afternoon playtime. Ekko was sat at his desk, munching on an apple as he read something off his laptop screen. He turned at the sound of the classroom door opening and smiled when he saw it was Jinx.

“They’ll be coming back inside in about fifteen minutes. Should I get Isha now and you can speak to her for a bit? The last I saw she was following Gert around the playground, trying to stay quite literally in her shadow…”

“Aw bless her, yeah it would probably be better if I saw her without all the other kids around.”

Ekko disappeared and returned a moment later with Isha trailing along behind him, looking at her feet and fidgeting with her cardigan sleeves as she walked.

“There’s someone here to see you, Isha.”

The little girl looked up, pushing her curls out of her eyes as she caught a glimpse of blue braided hair and purple dungarees. A huge smile appeared on her face as she ran up to Jinx, stopping just short of bumping into her. Jinx almost melted into a puddle at how adorable that reaction was from Isha. No one had ever reacted that positively towards her presence, apart from probably Ekko when they were kids themselves.

Jinx crouched down to Isha’s level, her bright blue eyes meeting Isha’s hazel ones. She met Isha’s grin with a warm smile of her own.

“Hi Isha, it’s great to see you again!”

Practically pulsating with joy, Isha signed in greeting to Jinx, “Hi, Jinx! I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, Isha.”

Jinx took the tote off her shoulder as she spoke, placing it on the floor in front of her.

“I saw this when I was sorting through some boxes at home, and I thought of you. He helped me through a lot when I was a kid, and he’s great at snuggling, too. It’s okay if you don’t want him, but… if you do want him, I would love for you to take care of him for me? This is Blue.”

She gently pulled the bunny out of the tote bag and held him out to Isha. The little girl’s eyes widened in shock. She looked between Jinx and the bunny as if to make sure Jinx really meant it, that she really was meaning to give Isha her bunny. When Jinx merely smiled at her and continued holding the bunny in her direction, Isha slowly took it. She held it in her hands and gazed at the soft, blue bundle of fluff in awe. With a nod of encouragement from Jinx, Isha cuddled the bunny to her chest. Jinx had been right; it really was good at snuggling.

Isha tucked the bunny under her arm and signed, “thank you.”

“Of course, Isha. I’ve told Blue he needs to look after you as well as you looking after him, okay? Maybe he can help you be able to sleep a little better.”

Isha looked over at her teacher at Jinx’s words. Had he told Jinx about her struggles with sleep? He must’ve done or how would she know? Either way, Isha was very grateful to Jinx. She decided to show her by drawing her another picture. She asked Mr. Ekko if she could stay in and draw, and since there was only five minutes left of playtime at that point, he agreed.

Ekko pulled Jinx in for a hug once Isha was settled and drawing, Blue propped on the table in front of her.

“She loved Blue, did you see how excited she was? I haven’t seen her like that for weeks, Pow. That’s because of you. Hopefully, she’ll sleep a little better now that she has him.”

Jinx pulled back as the faint sound of the bell ringing outside filled the air, signalling the children would soon be back inside.

“I hope so, Ekko, I really do. Should she maybe put the bunny in her backpack before the other kids come back?”

Ekko glanced at the window, where he could see the classes lining up ready to come back inside.

“Ah, yes.”

Isha happily put Blue in her backpack after Ekko had explained how the other children may want to cuddle her too. She returned to her drawing just as the class entered, Gert having brought in both classes and popping her head round to check on Ekko. He gave her a thumbs up and she nodded back before going to her own classroom. A few of the children came up to say hi to Jinx when they spotted her standing near Ekko’s desk, and she chatted to some of them as they told her about the toys they’d made during her last visit and how much fun they still had with them.

The rest of the children returned to free-flow activities as Ekko listened to some children read. He had told Jinx she could wander around and chat with the kids if she wanted to, so she did just that. After about twenty minutes or so, Isha found Jinx sitting in the book corner. She’d spotted the beanbag chairs and decided it was time for a short rest. None of the other kids were in the book corner so it was slightly more peaceful than the rest of the busy room. Isha stood timidly before Jinx, as the bluenette looked over at her, spotting the piece of paper in her hands.

“What have you got there, Isha?”

She held out the picture and Jinx slowly took it, turning it over to see. She teared up a little at what Isha had drawn – a little girl who must have been Isha herself, brown curls, and hazel eyes, clutching onto a blue bunny. A woman with long, blue hair and a man with white hair stood either side of the child. Everyone was smiling and the sun was shining in the sky, a house drawn with care in the background of the picture. Isha had written on the back, similarly to with the first picture she had made for Jinx. The words said, ‘to Jinx, love Isha’.

“This is for me?” Jinx asked, Isha nodding earnestly in response. “Thank you, Isha, it’s beautiful. I love it. It will go right next to my other lovely drawing from you when I get home later.”

Isha beamed at Jinx, before glancing over at the bookshelves.

“Would you like me to read you a story?”

As if she thought Jinx might suddenly change her mind, Isha grabbed her book of choice – The Gruffalo – and held it out to her. Jinx scooted over slightly on the beanbag chair, making space for Isha to sit beside her. She did so, leaning into Jinx as she listened to the story. Jinx made up a different voice for each character, her Gruffalo voice being the funniest and most ridiculous. Other children had heard Jinx’s voices and by the time she had finished reading the story, oblivious to anyone around her but Isha, there were about ten children sat on the carpet at her feet.

Ekko came up to them just as Jinx closed the book. “Maybe you can come by for story time next week?”

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It was the following week that Ekko & Jinx were approved as foster carers. They still needed the final things to be put in place and to finish preparing the room for their foster kid. Sky had told them about the good news over the phone and said that she would pop by within the next two weeks to ensure their house was ready. Once that was all cleared, she could work on getting Isha to them.

Ekko came up with an idea for an activity at school where children would design their ‘dream bedroom.’ This would be a fun activity for them, and they could practice their art skills, but it was mostly so Ekko could then use Isha’s ideas for when himself and Jinx sorted her bedroom out at their house. Jinx called him the ‘genius’ to her ‘madness’ when he told her the idea, to which he’d giggled like a small child and blushed more than he’d like to admit. He swore Jinx would be the death of him one of these days, she made him feel all sorts of things he didn’t even think were possible...

Isha had a great time designing her dream bedroom, along with the other kids. Whereas some of them had trampolines or real-life unicorns in their rooms, hers was simpler. A bed with a blue duvet cover patterned with white, fluffy clouds. A bookcase filled with books, definitely including a copy of ‘The Gruffalo.’ Lilac curtains on the window. A rug in the shape of a bunny. On the bed sat Blue, his floppy ears drooping. Ekko took a photo of Isha’s drawing during lunchtime to send over to Jinx.

--

Jinx and Ekko spent any free time they had in the next week preparing Isha’s bedroom, both feeling confident that she would be able to live with them in the near future. Walls were painted a powder-blue and they otherwise attempted to choose furniture and items as close to Isha’s drawing as possible. Both ended up covered in paint when finished, as they ended up painting each other in the process…

They filled the white, wooden bookcase with a few books (including the Gruffalo of course) but not too many, so that Isha could choose more of her own books when the time came. A blue bunny rug was found, although it took a lot of thorough scouring of the internet on Jinx’s part. Once everything was ready, the pair celebrated by playing three hours of Baldur’s Gate 3. They sensed once Isha moved in, they would have less time for gaming. Everything would change a whole lot, but they both knew it would be a good change.

--

When Sky came to check the house at the end of November, the pair were almost pulsating with anxiety. Ekko almost to the same level as Jinx, which was unlike him to say the least. Jinx had reassured him that it was most likely because he cared so much about this, and it was unlikely that he had developed anxiety to the level with which she experienced it daily (well, before she went on her meds, they helped a whole lot!). Their hands stayed clasped together as they showed Sky around and gave her the tour of their house. Sky of course noticed this, thinking to herself ‘and they were roommates…’ as she listened to Ekko telling her about Isha’s room. She couldn’t help but wonder if they would ever realise that they liked each other romantically as well as platonically…

“Well, everything seems to be in order. You’ve both done a fantastic job of ensuring your house is ready for a child. With great pleasure, I approve you both to be the foster carers for Isha.”

Jinx and Ekko, unable to contain their happiness, bought Sky into a group hug. She smiled as she hugged them back.

“This unfortunately doesn’t mean she can move in straight away; we have to go through the process of switching over. It is not an emergency move as it was when she was staying in the care of Bertha and Ernest, so we do have to ‘jump through a few hoops’ so to speak. She should be able to move in with you both by the end of December, if things all go according to plan. I will let you know as soon as I know more. The moment we have a date set, we can tell Isha the good news.”

Ekko closed the front door with a soft click after saying goodbye to their social worker. He held his arms open towards Jinx, who slid into his warm embrace.

“We’ve done it, Pow. Isha can come home to us.”

Jinx snuggled further into his arms.

“And now, we wait…” 

Chapter Text

Jinx suddenly awoke in the early hours of Monday morning, a pleasant tingling sensation coursing through her body. The clock revealed a hazy 4:44am.

"I smell snow,” she whispered as Ekko stirred beside her.

“Wh…what?” Ekko murmured, still half-asleep.

Jinx threw the covers off the both of them and scrambled out of bed, grabbing Ekko’s hand in the process.

He begrudgingly allowed himself to be dragged out of bed, down the stairs and into the hall near their front door. He blinked owlishly, not quite awake just yet, as Jinx helped him put his black boots on and tied his laces before shoving her own feet into her own pair of black, lace-up boots. He smiled a little as Jinx buttoned up her own navy blue winter coat and then helped guide him into his own emerald green one. He fumbled a little with the zip but managed it himself.

Jinx unlocked the front door and led Ekko out into the lawn of their small front garden, the porch light flickering to life as it sensed their presence. It really was almost solely a small patch of grass, with a tiny white rose bush planted in the middle of the space. With it being winter, no roses were presently there.

The crisp winter air woke Ekko up as soon as he walked outside and Jinx had gently closed their front door as to not let the cold enter their home. He pulled his pea green woollen gloves from his pockets and quickly put them on, not wanting to risk his hands turning numb from the cold.

“Why are we out here, exactly?”

“I told you already, I smell snow! It’s coming. I can always sense these things.”

“Jinx, I saw two different forecasts yesterday. Neither of them mentioned snow.”

“It’s just one of my favourite times of the year.”

She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

They stayed like that for a few moments before tiny flakes of pure white snow began to fall. Jinx moved instantly, twirling around the front lawn with her arms spread wide, giggling with pure unadulterated joy. Ekko watched her, a huge grin on his face. Perhaps he didn’t mind being woken up before 5am, if it meant the person he loved most in the world was this happy.

The snow began falling increasingly heavier, coating the ground in soft pillows of white. Ekko and Jinx threw a few snowballs at each other before returning inside to warm up, Jinx watching the snow continue to fall from the front window, a blanket draped over her shoulders whilst she sipped some hot chocolate Ekko had made. The pair drifted back off to sleep soon after, happy and content.

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Isha woke up to a mostly dark room after another night of sleeping peacefully. Ever since Jinx had given Isha her fluffy bunny named Blue, Isha had slept a lot better. It had felt as if the bunny was Isha’s protector, making sure nightmares and scary things didn’t try to get her. Blue lived on Isha’s bed, tucked in every morning by gentle hands – where she would stay until Isha returned from school. Isha sat up and stretched her arms above her head. She pushed the pink duvet cover off and stood, small feet cold against the wooden floorboards despite the polka-dot socks she wore.

Padding across the small room to the window on the opposite wall, she opened the frilly, baby-pink curtains and gasped in a mixture of excitement and disbelief. SNOW! A heavy snowfall had materialised overnight, coating the ground, nearby buildings and trees with beautiful, magical flakes of the stuff. Isha could barely contain her excitement, letting out a tiny squeal before clamping her hands over her mouth. She waited, still as a statue, for several minutes. Barely breathing in case it woke her foster carers if they were still sleeping. She knew she had to be quiet. Most grown-ups didn’t like it when she made odd sounds. The two grown-ups she currently lived with; Catarina and Adeline, were kind to her. They helped with her homework (not that she had much only being in year one), they cooked some nice meals for her and if she didn’t like something they didn’t do what some of her other foster carers had done and tried to force her to eat it anyway. But they weren’t her parents. She knew they would both be great mums to another child, but not to her.

She dreamed for Jinx to be her mum, with every fibre of her being. She barely knew the bluenette, but every interaction with her had made Isha feel safe, cared for and… well, like Jinx wanted her there and liked her company. She didn’t know how, or why, but she needed to be Jinx’s daughter. It was as if the universe had allowed Isha to meet Jinx for that very reason, to set them both on a path where they would be together. Isha hoped and wished every time she saw stars in the sky that her dream would come true. She thought of Jinx often, even more so now she had Blue. Every night as she snuggled the soft bunny tightly to her chest, she thought of Jinx’s warm smile and the kindness that radiated off her. Isha was in awe of the woman and was missing her, having not seen her for a couple of weeks.

She smiled to herself as she left what was currently ‘her’ bedroom and padded to the bathroom across the narrow hall. She used the toilet and washed her hands with the pear-scented handwash Catarina had bought. Entering the kitchen, Isha could smell pancakes cooking on the stovetop. Catarina glanced over at Isha, who now sat at the kitchen table, smiling as she flipped over the pancake currently sizzling in the pan. 

“Good morning, Isha. Some good news! There is no school today because of the snow.”

Isha glanced up at Catarina as she placed a plate of pancakes in front of her. She caught Catarina’s blue eye (the woman had what Isha had learned was called ‘heterochromia’, so her left eye was blue, and her right eye was bordering on golden yellow, a unique colour of which Isha thought was fascinating) and signed in question, “snow day?”

“Have you never had a snow day before?” At the shake of Isha’s head in reply, Catarina continued. "When the snow is too heavy and it has fallen too fast for it to be cleared, schools stay shut for that day. I loved snow days as a child, me and Adeline would always play outside for hours in the snow together!”

Isha looked at Catarina in surprise, as if asking with her eyes the question that had formed in her mind; you both knew each other as kids?!

Catarina laughed a little before answering Isha’s unspoken question. “Adeline and I grew up together in a group foster home, it was basically an orphanage. We were both there since we were babies, all the way until we were 18 and could go to university together. We got married when we were 22.”

Isha listened as Catarina talked more about ‘snow days’, eating her pancakes as she did so. After breakfast, Isha wrapped up warm in her coat, gloves, hat and scarf before building a snowman in the back garden with Adeline and Catarina. It was fun, but she couldn’t help imagining what it would have been like had she been with Jinx and Mr. Ekko.

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It was on a Saturday, a surprisingly sunny day for winter, when Sky called Jinx seemingly out of the blue. Jinx and Ekko had been getting in some gaming time, the blinds in the living room shut to stop the sunlight shining on their laptop screens.

Sky would usually email them or send a text to ask them when a good time to call would be, as she knew Jinx and Ekko worked in the week and didn’t have their phones with them. Jinx also worked the odd Saturday if Heimer needed her to. So, it was a surprise to see Sky’s name lighting up Jinx’s phone screen. She paused her game before answering.

“Hi Sky.”

“Hello Jinx. Apologies for calling without warning, do you have a moment to talk? It’s nothing bad, I promise.”

Jinx released the breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding. ‘Nothing bad’ surely means something good, right?

“Yes, now is a good time.”

“Ah great. As we get closer to Isha coming to live with you and Ekko, now is about the right time to tell her the news and make sure it is something she is happy with. I am sure she will be happy! Are you and Ekko available today to pop round to Isha’s current foster home with me, so that you can both be there when I tell her the news?”

“We are definitely available today, yes…” Ekko’s eyes widened as he listened to Jinx’s side of the conversation, having paused his game too when Jinx answered the phone. “2pm? Yes, that works for us.”

“Brilliant, I’ll let Isha’s foster carers know and will message you the address. See you in a few hours.”

“Thanks, Sky. See you later.”

Jinx stared at the phone in her hands as Ekko stared at her. She looked up and met his eyes with her own.

“So it looks like Isha is gonna find out today that she’s coming to live with us.”

“What? Today??”

“Yep. Sky is gonna message me the address of her current foster home. She said it would be great if me and you are there, too, when she tells Isha the news. It’s happening, Ekko! We’re getting even closer to having her come home to us.”

Ekko stood from his chair and pulled Jinx up from hers to stand facing him. He gently caressed her hands as he spoke. “It’s so real now. We’re gonna have a kid, Jinx!”

She pulled him in for a tight hug, feeling a mixture of happiness and mild anxiety coursing through her body. A little negative niggle was at the edge of her brain, trying to send anxious thoughts to the forefront of her mind. As if sensing the beginnings of turmoil in her brain, Ekko hugged Jinx tighter to help ground her. Even with her medication, Jinx’s anxiety still threatened to make an appearance at times. Ekko was great at supporting her in those moments.

--

Isha knew Sky was coming over to see her, and bringing ‘visitors’ along, too. She knew this because Adeline had told her earlier on, just before she asked Isha what she wanted in her sandwich for lunch that day (she chose smooth peanut butter and strawberry jam, something she often ate on the weekends). Isha felt anxious butterflies fluttering around in her stomach, as she wasn’t sure who the ‘visitors’ might be. If she was moving to a new foster home, Sky would usually tell her and then take her there straight away. She didn’t feel like this was home, but she didn’t mind living with Adeline and Catarina. If she had to pick foster carers out of all of the ones she’d lived with in the past, she would choose them. What if she ended up somewhere worse again? If she could pick anyone to be her forever parents, she would without a doubt choose Jinx and Mr. Ekko, but she knew that would never happen. No one was that lucky, especially not a kid who’d been in foster care since they were a toddler. It may have only been two years since she lost her birth parents, but it felt like a lifetime ago to Isha. She barely remembered them at all. She felt that something was missing from her life; loving parents, and hoped that one day she would experience that; parents that were hers. Forever.

Isha was so lost in thought that she barely heard the knock at the front door. She was in her bedroom down the hall, but her door was ajar. She could hear muffled voices as the front door was opened – she recognised Sky’s voice, and a man’s voice that sounded familiar somehow…

She crept to her bedroom door, poking her head around so she could hear better.

“Isha! Sky is here!” Adeline’s voice called from the living room.

Isha took a slow, calming breath like Mr. Ekko had taught her and wandered into the living room.

As if her thoughts had manifested him, Isha saw Mr. Ekko sitting on the red fabric sofa. Jinx was sitting beside him.

“Hi, Isha!” Mr. Ekko spoke as she fully entered the room.

“It’s great to see you!” Jinx said cheerfully, a warm smile on her face.

Isha waved to them both before turning to Sky, who was sat in the armchair to the right of the sofa. She stood facing her social worker, hands signing quickly. “What are they doing here?”

Sky replied, her tone calm. “Isha. In a few weeks, just after Christmas, you will go to a new foster family. You will live with Jinx and Ekko, as long as that is something you would be happy with?”

Isha’s brain went into overdrive. Her? Live with Jinx and Mr. Ekko? Was she dreaming? She must be dreaming. This couldn’t be real, surely? Why would Jinx want Isha? Mr. Ekko saw her every day at school already, so why would he want her to live with him? It must be a mistake, or she really was dreaming.

She stepped closer to Sky and signed, “for real life?”

Sky smiled and whispered softly, “for real life.”

Isha’s smile lit up her whole face, radiating the pure joy she felt in that moment. She tentatively walked up to Jinx and Mr. Ekko, who upon seeing Isha’s smile returned it with two of their own.

“Would you like to come and live with us, Isha?” Jinx asked as the young girl rocked back and forth on the heels of her feet.

“YES!” Isha signed excitedly as she stepped even closer to the two grown-ups she already felt so safe with.

“We are so happy to hear that, Isha.” Ekko said.

“A couple of days after Christmas you can move in with us. We are both so excited.”

Isha felt hope surge through her, unable to contain the little squeal that escaped her. Jinx and Ekko exchanged a surprised glance before smiling back at the child.

It was only a quick visit, where they ate the homemade cookies Adeline had baked and drank blackcurrant squash. Isha brought her paper and colouring pencils into the living room and Jinx had sat on the fluffy golden rug, drawing pictures with Isha until it was time for her and Ekko to leave with Sky.

“See you on Monday, Isha!” Mr. Ekko called out through his open car window, before driving away down the street.

Isha gave them a little wave from the front door, thoughts swirling inside of not wanting them to leave, but knowing that in a matter of weeks they wouldn’t have to – because she would be with them. For real life.

--

Unexpected coldness hit Isha as soon as she threw off her duvet on Monday morning. The heating was only just beginning to kick in. She stepped into the slippers on the floor beside her bed and padded into the kitchen for some breakfast before school. She felt an unfamiliar mix of excitement and anxiousness at the thought of seeing Mr. Ekko at school that day, especially since in only a few weeks he would be not only her teacher but also kind of her dad. She shook that thought away as quickly as it came, not wanting to get her hopes up in case Mr. Ekko would eventually not want her anymore.

Isha couldn’t help but hope that the next few weeks went by quickly. She had a sudden thought whilst on the way to school about the upcoming nativity play year one and two were doing. She was to dress as a sheep. Being a year one, she did not have to be on the stage – she would sit with the other children in her group, who only had to sing all the songs and did not have to do any acting. Isha was unable to sing, but she liked being included and sitting next to some of the other children from her class as they sang. She discovered that she could hum some parts of the tune, however, and did so when she felt able to.

Mr. Ekko would be there anyway as he was her teacher, but she thought about if Jinx would come and watch, too, when the performance was shown to the grown-ups on the last week of term. She decided to make Jinx an invitation, and ask Mr. Ekko to pass it on. It was then Jinx’s decision if she wanted to come or not.

At every opportunity she had during the school day, Isha worked on her nativity invitation for Jinx. She made sure it was a kaleidoscope of colours and decorated it with drawings of blue bunnies wearing Christmas party hats. Just before home time, Isha went up to Mr. Ekko and handed him the invitation. He looked at her as she did so and she signed, “please can you give this to Jinx?”

He smiled at her as he replied, “of course, Isha.”

Isha put on her warm, winter coat and grabbed her old, worn backpack from her peg in the cloakroom. She took her water bottle and placed it into the pocket in her backpack before lining up with the other Fireflies ready to be dismissed for home time. She waved to Mr. Ekko as she left, hoping that Jinx liked the invitation and would want to come and watch her nativity play. She had never really cared before that she never had a grown-up in the audience who was there just for her. But now, she cared a whole lot more than she thought she would.

------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as Ekko returned home, he gave Jinx a piece of paper with a smile that reached his warm, brown eyes. As she looked at the paper, a warm feeling swirled its way through her body. Isha wanted her, Jinx, to watch her in her nativity play. She knew immediately that she would go and watch, and Ekko knew it would make Isha happy to see Jinx in the audience.

The final week of term arrived, and with it brought the Nativity play. A relatively fun time for the children involved, albeit quite stressful for the teachers and teaching assistants involved. They had two performances to grown-ups. One that day (Monday) at 9:30am and one the following day at 2pm. Ekko, Gert and Elora spent the first half an hour or so of the school day ensuring all the children had been to the toilet before the performance and changed into their costumes. He smiled at how adorable they all looked, especially Isha in her sheep costume – the fluffy white headband really completing the look of soft, brown trousers and a white t-shirt with cotton wool balls stuck to it with glue. Isha’s foster carers had provided the trousers, headband and t-shirt, Elora then got creative with it and added the cotton wool, Isha having helped her happily. Ekko took a slow, calming breath as he helped the other adults settle the children into their seats in the large school hall, a calmness falling over the space as the outer doors opened to let in the stream of grown-ups coming to watch.

--

Jinx had spoken to Heimerdinger previously and received permission to have the Monday morning off, so she could watch Isha’s performance. She stood anxiously amongst the other grown-ups waiting for the hall doors to open. Looking around she felt out of place. With her waist-length blue braids, ripped black jeans, oversized black jumper (that may have belonged to Ekko) and black, lace-up boots, she didn’t exactly scream ‘I am an adult who should be here’. Her mind filled with thoughts of Isha, and how happy she would most likely be to see Jinx there, and that dimmed her anxiety a little.

The doors opened and Jinx entered the hall amid the flow of other grown-ups. Ekko had told her that he’d reserved a seat for her in an area where she’d have the best view of Isha, so she headed in that direction. As she sat down, her eyes flitted around the benches near the stage, trying to find those brown curls and hazel eyes she had grown familiar with. As she caught sight of the child, she heard a small gasp of what could only be described as excitement. Isha had seen her, too.

--

Isha spotted Jinx almost immediately after the bluenette had found her seat. She had been nervously fidgeting with the green tangle from Mr. Ekko’s fidgets box as she watched the grown-ups find their seats, butterflies fluttering inside her tummy. A flash of blue hair had caught her eye, and she let out an involuntary squeaky gasp at the sight of her. Jinx was here. She was here to watch Isha’s play. She wanted to be here for Isha.

The feeling of warmth that had spread through Isha at the sight of Jinx stayed with her the entire performance. At the end, the grown-ups were allowed to say goodbye to the child they were there to see before they left. Some grown-ups just waved at their kid before leaving, some gave them a hug or a high five or some just left. Jinx came up to Isha, a big smile on her face. She crouched down to face the child, gently taking her tiny hands before speaking.

“Isha, you were a fantastic sheep! Thank you so much for inviting me to come and watch.”

In that moment, Isha desperately wanted to hug Jinx. She had wanted to for a while, but didn’t want to make Jinx uncomfortable if she didn’t want a hug. Isha hadn’t had a hug from anyone for a very long time. She felt like she’d probably forgotten what they felt like. Was she missing a whole lot?

Jinx let go of Isha’s hands and stood. Most of the other grown-ups had left, and the remaining few were on their way out, too. The school grown-ups started to gather the children, ready to go back to their classes for morning breaktime.

“I’d better get going to work now, but I’ll see you soon, Isha.”

Just as she was about to turn around to leave, Isha reached out her arms and wrapped them around Jinx, her head resting on the woman’s stomach. The hug ended as quickly as it had begun, with Isha letting go and running off to join her classmates near Miss Elora. She didn’t see the way Jinx glanced back at her on her way out the hall door, or know that the bluenette had desperately wanted to hug her back. She also didn’t see the surprised smile on Mr. Ekko’s face as he witnessed the interaction from across the hall. Isha was happy that Jinx was in her life, and was ready to continue counting down the days until she would get to live with her and Mr. Ekko.

------------------------------------------------------------

Christmas morning began with Jinx blinking awake at 7am. She took a moment to survey the quiet calm of the room; Ekko still sleeping peacefully beside her, the sunrise lamp dark as she didn’t usually turn it on if she didn’t have to be up for work, and the silhouette of the black dungarees she planned to wear that day hanging up on Ekko’s wardrobe. Jinx nudged Ekko awake, whispering “Merry Christmas” to him as he rolled onto his side to face her.

He gently caressed the side of her face, whispering back to her, “merry Christmas, Pow.”

They stared at each other a moment too long, the winter early morning darkness covering the blushes forming on both of their faces. Ekko removed his hand from Jinx’s face, and she quickly kissed his forehead. Before he could say anything, she rolled out of bed (quite literally) and declared she was going to the bathroom. He shook his head slightly to dispel the swirling thoughts of wanting to kiss her and how soft her lips looked. He was not ready to tackle those feelings, and what they even meant, just yet…

After a small breakfast of cereal since they knew Christmas dinner would be huge, the pair loaded up Ekko’s car with presents for Vi and Caitlyn. Jinx wore black dungarees (not ones she used for work, these were almost jumpsuit like in material, softer and without any stains on them), a powder blue Christmas jumper with Piplup the penguin Pokémon on the front (it’s head poked up above the dungarees) and a pair of fluffy, pink socks underneath her black lace-up boots. Ekko was dressed in one of his smarter pairs of black jeans, a green Christmas jumper featuring Pikachu in a Santa hat and green socks patterned with candy canes underneath his own pair of black lace-up boots.

The plan was for the four of them to exchange gifts and hang out for a bit together before the others showed up at 2pm for the meal. Cait organised a dinner every Christmas. Sometimes her parents would come if they weren’t away for a holiday. Jinx wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of Cait’s mother, Cassandra, as she was quite judgemental. Her father, Tobias, wasn’t as bad as he seemed to have mellowed as he grew older. This year it would be Cait, Vi, Jinx and Ekko of course, as well as some family friends. Jinx knew Jayce was coming as he’d mentioned it to Ekko, who had then in turn told her, but that was about it. She guessed she’d see when they all arrived later on.

As Ekko parked the car on the rather large driveway in front of Vi and Caitlyn’s house, Jinx couldn’t help but admire the building. When Cait and Vi had first moved into this house the previous year, Jinx had thought it was a bit ridiculous… why would two people need a five bedroom, three bathroom house?! It had grown on her, however. The large building was two storeys high and made from bumpy, Cotswold stone (a beautiful type of limestone). A lilac front door with a bright white doorframe stood in the middle of the front part of the house, with pearly white-paned windows framing either side and all along the upper level. What would once again in spring become beautiful, purple wisteria framed the front doorway and flowed along the tops of the ground floor windows, merely branches in winter but still pretty in their own way.

The lilac door swung open before Jinx was able to knock, Vi charging out and pulling her younger sister into a tight hug. She was wearing her usual comfy, grey joggers with an incredibly ugly Christmas jumper which had a Christmas tree on the front and writing saying ‘have a tree-mendous Christmas!’.

“Merry Christmas, Pow-Pow!”

Hugging her back just as firmly, Jinx said, “Merry Christmas to you too, sis!”

Eventually letting go of her sister, Vi then pulled Ekko in for an equally as tight hug, wishing him a Merry Christmas too, and calling him ‘little man’ as she usually did.

Vi helped the pair to carry in the gifts and they all entered the cosy living room together, which was through the first doorway branching off the entrance hall. Vi and Cait’s living room had a limestone fireplace situated in the centre of the wall to the left of the doorway. Walls were painted a pale grey colour, giving the room a warm and calming effect. A large, soft indigo rug covered the oak floors and helped to keep the heat in from the fireplace, which was glowing amber in the late morning sunlight filtering through the half-open blinds. Two large sofas, both navy blue in colour, sat against two of the walls. One was across from the fireplace, tall oak bookcases either side which were almost overflowing with meticulously organised books. The other sat against the wall to the right of the fireplace, a large flat-screen tv across from it, hanging on the wall. The coffee table, which usually sat underneath the tv, had been pushed to the middle of the room. Jinx assumed this was so everyone would have somewhere to put their drinks, considering a few coasters were neatly spread around the table itself. A real evergreen sat in the corner between the two sofas, decorated neatly and symmetrically with an array of blue and silver decorations. It must have been Cait’s doing, as Jinx distinctly remembered the shambles of a tree herself and Vi used to decorate as kids, mismatched galore.

As they set down the gifts near the tree, Cait entered the room. She wore slim-fitting denim jeans, black socks and a navy blue jumper covered in white snowflakes. She gave both Jinx and Ekko a hug in greeting, not as tight as Vi and not as long, either. It had taken a while for Jinx and Caitlyn to get to this point, but Jinx now saw her as sister-adjacent, and was grateful for another person in her life that seemed to genuinely care for her and for Ekko, too.

The four gathered around the tree and exchanged gifts. Jinx passed Cait and Vi their ‘joke gifts’ first, a box cupcake mix each – Bluey for Vi because Jinx had seen her older sister crying at the tv show more times than she could count… and Barbie for Cait because who doesn’t love a Barbie movie?! All four of them burst into laughter when Ekko and Jinx also opened a box of cupcake mix each; Spiderman into the Spiderverse for Ekko and Paw Patrol for Jinx.

Once they’d calmed down enough for Vi to speak through the laughter, she managed to choke out, “it was either Paw Patrol or Peppa Pig!” Which caused even more uncontrollable laughter from the group.

After wiping tears of laughter from their eyes and each having a drink of water, they began the real gift opening.

Jinx was given an a5 poster of Shadowheart from Baldur’s Gate 3 and Ekko was given a similar one of Astarion, which they both planned to pin above their respective desks in the living room. Jinx also received a pair of beautiful amethyst stud earrings, “because I know you plan to get your ears pierced next year, so I thought I’d give you a head start on earrings,” Cait said with a smile, and a matching necklace on a silver chain.

Ekko received a new brown faux leather laptop bag/briefcase to use for work, an expensive one by the looks of it, and a smart green jumper made from an extremely soft kind of material. Jinx and Ekko had gifted Cait a navy-blue purse with gold embellishments and Vi a new faux leather jacket, which was black with a burst of pink on the left shoulder – a touch Jinx had added herself for a bit of colour.

Everyone exchanged hugs and ‘thanks’ before sitting back on the sofas to relax a little before the others arrived. Jinx and Ekko exchanged a glance, deciding it was time to tell Cait and Vi about Isha. It seemed Vi and Cait had the same idea about some news of their own however, as Vi cleared her throat and nervously fidgeted with the hem of her jumper.

“So, we have some news…” she paused as Cait took her hand, and Jinx noticed a ring sparkling where there had not been one before. “We’re engaged! Cait said yes!”

Jinx jumped up off the sofa, squealing excitedly as she pulled Vi into a hug. The sisters jumped up and down a little, stopping after a few moments to hug tightly again. Jinx whispered, “I’m so happy for you, sis.”

She could feel her shoulder becoming damp as tears escaped Vi’s powder blue eyes. “I love you, Pow-Pow.”

“I love you, too.”

Beside the sisters Ekko gave Cait a quick hug, congratulating her. They then watched the emotional moment between the siblings, Cait noticing – not for the first time – that the expression of love on Ekko’s face as he gazed at Jinx matched the one she saw reflected on her own when she gazed at Vi and caught herself in the mirror. Perhaps they’d eventually get their act together and realise they were in love...

Jinx pulled away from her sister and hugged Cait tightly, whispering a “congratulations, I’m so happy for you both. Now you’re stuck with us all for life!”

Cait giggled to that. “There’s no place I’d rather be.”

Ekko hugged Vi. After his congratulations, she had no qualms about whispering to him, “you’re next!” to which he stuttered out a “huh?!” in response. Vi shook her head and muttered, “oblivious!” as she settled back on the sofa with Cait beside her. Ekko genuinely had no idea what the woman was talking about, so he chose to ignore her antics.

Jinx and Ekko remained standing, side by side across from where the two women sat. “We have some news, too.” Jinx said as she took Ekko’s hand, gently squeezing for reassurance.

Neither of them noticed the look that passed between Caitlyn and Vi, an inquisitive glance and an eyebrow raise from Vi. Both wondered if the pair had finally stopped being so oblivious and figured out their romantic feelings for each other. The hand holding wasn’t really anything new, Vi had told Cait that the two had held hands pretty much since they were young kids and never really stopped (even during the time they spent apart from Vi), but even so… the two women couldn’t help but wonder…

Ekko squeezed Jinx’s hand too and continued from where she had begun. “We have thought about this a lot, so we don’t want you guys thinking this is something we’re rushing into… There is the most wonderful little girl in my class this year, and she’s been bounced around foster care for a couple of years now. She isn’t really coping well with that, and since she seems to have bonded with me as her teacher but also with Jinx, we decided we wanted to foster her.”

“We’ve been approved by her social worker and social services in general, and she comes to live with us in two days’ time…” Jinx also told her sister and soon-to-be-sister-in-law about the time she met Isha all those months ago, and how she had taken her to The Last Drop that one time for chips, along with some other times they’d interacted.

A quiet sense of calm drifted around the room before Vi spoke.

“So, I’m going to be an aunt?!” Vi asked excitedly.

Jinx and Ekko smiled and responded with an enthusiastic “yes!”

Vi and Cait got back up off the sofa to embrace Jinx and Ekko.

“So, what’s her name? The kid?” Vi asked once they had all resumed sitting on the sofas.

“Isha. She’s such a lovely kid, Vi. I know you’ll love her.” Jinx said.

“I’m sure I will, Pow-Pow.”

--

An hour or so later, a knock at the door sounded. Vi went to answer it, returning moments later with Jayce, accompanied by none other than Viktor. Jinx knew they were roommates as Ekko had told her what Jayce had told him, but she didn’t know they’d both be coming. Jayce gave Caitlyn a hug in greeting and fist bumped Ekko before settling for a simple “hey, Jinx” when it came to her. They had met a few times at the school but didn’t really know each other all that well.

Viktor shook hands with Caitlyn before heading over to Ekko, whom he’d never met before, and Jinx.

“Jinx, it’s a pleasure to see you. I trust you are having a good Christmas?”

“It’s lovely to see you too, Viktor. I am thank you, I hope you are too?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Jinx gestured to Ekko, introducing him to Viktor.

“Ekko, this is my co-worker Viktor. Viktor, this is Ekko. My best friend.”

Viktor looked between the pair with a sly smile as he shook Ekko’s hand. He glanced at Jayce, who winked at him conspiratorially. Jayce had told Viktor all about how close Jinx and Ekko were, more so than any traditional ‘best friends’ who weren’t also in love with each other romantically.

As Viktor and Jayce sat on the sofas, Mel entered the living room, accompanied by Elora. Once everyone had greeted each other and Vi had ensured they all had something to drink, Cait called them all to the dining room for food.

The large, rectangular oak table was filled with Christmas food.  A selection of roasted meats sat already professionally carved on silver platters; turkey, beef, gammon and pork. A selection of vegetables steamed in silver bowls beside a mountain of roast potatoes, ranging from carrots, broccoli, swede, roasted parsnips, peas, cauliflower cheese, red cabbage. Bowls filled with stuffing balls and platters of Yorkshire puddings sat beside small bowls of cranberry sauce and large jugs of rich, brown gravy, spread around the large table so there would be enough for everyone. Cait had yet again outdone herself. Jinx knew that the woman helped the chefs she hired, never leaving them without her guidance or support.

Jinx piled her plate only with what she knew she could eat. There would be the chance to take home leftovers at the end of the evening. The Yorkshire puddings drowned in gravy were her favourite part, so she often saved that part of her meal until last.

The rest of the afternoon and evening passed by in a wonderful haze of delicious food, contented chatter and a very loud game of uno consisting of three different versions in one so they would have enough cards for everyone to play properly. Jinx and Ekko had shared with the rest of the group their news about Isha. Mel had already known as, being Isha’s head teacher at school, Sky had already told her. She offered her congratulations and so did Jayce, Viktor and Elora. All were incredibly happy for the pair, but none more so than Elora, who teared up at the ‘wonderful news’ and gushed about how happy Isha would be.

Jinx and Ekko arrived home that night with full bellies, warm hearts and unbreakable smiles on their faces.

------------------------------------------------------------

December 27^th arrived sooner than expected. The days between Christmas and New Years were usually a blur, but that year Boxing Day had dragged on for what seemed like forever for Jinx and Ekko. The anticipation of Isha moving in with them had been building for what felt like forever, yet now the day was finally here.

Jinx was plumping the cushions on the sofa for the fifth time in an hour when the doorbell rang, echoing through the quiet house and causing her to freeze. Anxiety flooded her body as Ekko rested a hand on her shoulder.

“She’s here. It’s all going to be okay, Pow. You’re gonna be a great parent.”

Jinx leaned into his touch, taking some slow breaths.

“You’re gonna be great yourself you know.”

They walked hand in hand to the front door. Jinx let go to swing it open, and there was Isha stood on their front doorstep with Sky behind her. She fidgeted with the sleeves of her winter coat, glancing up at the pair as the door opened.

“Welcome home, Isha.” Ekko said with a smile, moving aside to let the child enter the house. Her house. Her home. 

Chapter Text

Isha had woken up the morning of 27^th December with butterflies fluttering around her stomach and a huge grin on her face. The day had finally arrived. The day where she would be moving in with Jinx and Mr. Ekko.

She dressed in purple joggers, a white t-shirt with rainbow polka-dots and lilac socks. After her final breakfast with Adeline and Catarina, she glanced over the room she’d been staying in the past few months. It had never felt like ‘home’, but it had felt relatively safe – which was more than could be said for her previous foster parents’ houses. She would miss Adeline and Catarina, they had been the best foster carers she’d had, which wasn’t really saying a whole lot considering who she had lived with before, but they had been pretty good.

Before she knew it, Isha heard the tell-tale knock at the door which meant Sky had arrived. The butterflies in her stomach intensified and she felt a bit nauseous. She took some slow, calming breaths as Mr. Ekko had taught her to and it helped a little. After putting her winter coat on, Isha gave a goodbye high-five to the two women who had looked after her the past few months, waving to them from the car window as Sky pulled away from beside their house. She cuddled Blue the bunny tightly as she watched the world pass by.

--

Sky parked outside a two-storey house with an emerald green car on the asphalt driveway. The house itself was made from cream-coloured bricks and had a bright blue front door, along with white-framed windows. A small patch of grass was beside the driveway, a rosebush planted in the middle. Isha knew a little about rosebushes from school, and she knew this one would look beautiful when spring sprung back around in a couple of months.

Isha stood in front of the door as Sky rang the doorbell. A few seconds later the blue door swung open, revealing Jinx and Mr. Ekko. Jinx was wearing black joggers, a grey t-shirt with Piplup the Pokémon on the front and a navy-blue oversized cardigan. Mr. Ekko wore forest green joggers and a similar grey t-shirt to Jinx, but with Bulbasaur on the front instead. She liked that they both seemed to be fans of Pokémon, as she loved it too.

“Welcome home, Isha.” Mr. Ekko said with a smile. He moved to give her space to enter the house.

Looking at Sky first, who gave a small nod of approval, Isha stepped into the house. She saw a selection of what must have been Jinx and Mr. Ekko’s shoes on a rack beside the front door, across from the staircase. She noticed neither Jinx nor Mr. Ekko wore shoes inside their house, so she pulled off her indigo wellies and placed them in an empty space on top of the shoe rack, beside a pair of Jinx’s boots.

Isha glanced at Sky again for reassurance that she’d done the right thing, and saw as the woman removed her own boots and placed them beside the shoe rack on the wooden floor.

“Why don’t you show Isha around the house, Jinx? I have a few things to speak to Ekko about, what with him also being Isha’s teacher. We can then all gather again in the kitchen afterwards?” Sky suggested as she set Isha’s backpack near the bottom step.

“Alright, upstairs or downstairs first Isha?” Jinx asked the little girl.

Isha pointed to the stairs. She wanted to see what her room would look like and knew she didn’t want to wait much longer. She followed as Jinx walked up the carpeted staircase, watching as the woman’s wait-length dual braids bounced and swayed as she walked. Isha couldn’t help but wonder what Jinx’s hair felt like. Was it as soft as it looked? She knew she wasn’t supposed to touch people’s hair without asking them first, but she also didn’t feel that she could ask… not just yet anyway.

Jinx stopped by the first door at the top of the stairs, it was open to show a bathroom. The walls were a calming blue with white tiles around the shower/bath and above the white porcelain sink. The shower was above the bath with a glass shower screen. A small, blue stepping stool was beside the toilet, which Isha knew would be useful for her as she was still not all that tall. A mirror sat on the wall above the sink, with a white wooden cabinet beside it.

Next was a closed door, to which Jinx said was her bedroom as she continued walking down the upstairs hallway. They came to a stop beside a door matching the previous two.

“This is your room, Isha. Ekko and I have decorated it for you, but if you don’t like it or want to change something, just tell us and we’ll sort it for you, okay?”

Isha nodded. Jinx opened the door and stepped aside to let Isha enter. She gasped in excitement at the sight before her – it was as if her dream bedroom had jumped out of her imagination and come to be. The walls were painted a powder-blue colour. A white, wooden bookcase had a few books placed neatly on the shelves – she noticed The Gruffalo immediately and her smile grew even bigger, shining from her. A blue bunny rug sat in the middle of the room atop the hardwood floor. Isha stood on the rug and spun slowly, taking in the rest of the room. The bed had a blue duvet cover patterned with white, fluffy clouds. Lilac curtains hung from either side of the window. A wardrobe stood opposite the bed. Isha couldn’t believe it. She turned to face Jinx, who was hovering in the doorway fidgeting with the sleeves of her navy cardigan.

Jinx stopped fidgeting when she noticed Isha looking at her.

“Sooooo… what do you think?”

Isha bounced up and down where she stood, almost vibrating with excitement.

“I love it!”

“Really? We can change things if you want us to!”

Isha cautiously walked closer to where Jinx stood. She signed, “Jinx, this is my dream room. I love it!"

She took one of Jinx’s cold hands with both of hers and gently squeezed.

Jinx crouched down to meet Isha’s level. They both looked into each other’s eyes for a moment. What Isha saw in the abyss of blue was something she had never seen directed at her before. At least, not that she remembered. Jinx’s eyes shone with a look of genuine love. Isha could’ve wept on the spot, but two years of holding in any tears in the presence of other humans had meant she didn’t. Instead, she leaned into Jinx for a moment, resting her head on the bluenette’s shoulder.

Jinx froze at the interaction. It was over before she had time to react, Isha having moved back but still holding onto her hand. Jinx stood again and gently squeezed Isha’s hands.

“Shall we continue the house tour?”

Isha nodded in response, moving one hand away from Jinx’s but keeping the other firmly in place. Jinx held Isha’s small hand as she showed the girl where Ekko’s bedroom was.

“If you need us for any reason at night-time, any reason at all, you can come in and wake us, okay? I mean it, Isha. Nightmares, feeling a little anxious, or just want to make sure everything is okay still, you can come and wake us. We won’t be upset or mad, we are here to make sure you feel safe.”

Isha thought for a moment, letting Jinx’s kind words absorb into her brain. She looked around what Jinx said was Mr. Ekko’s bedroom, wondering why it seemed like it belonged to both of them. She had also said “us” when speaking about going into Mr. Ekko’s room if she needed one of them, not anything about her own room. Did Jinx share Mr. Ekko’s room? Isha felt a little confused as she had thought they were married, or at least dating. Jinx had said before that Mr. Ekko was her ‘best friend’, but she thought most people who got married were each other’s best friend, like with Catarina & Adeline. Isha decided then and there that the mystery of Jinx and Mr. Ekko would soon be solved… she would figure it out sooner or later. What Jinx had said however, made her feel very much like she was dreaming. Isha often had nightmares at night, often woke up with silent tears streaming down her face. They had mostly stopped since Jinx had given her Blue the bunny, but they still happened on occasion. She had never been told by any of her previous foster carers that she could wake them up in the night if she needed comfort. She didn’t know how to feel about that. It didn’t seem real. That was what children would do if they had parents, real parents, who loved them and wanted them. Isha didn’t have that. She didn’t think she ever would, but now with Jinx and Mr. Ekko the dream seemed like it had a chance of coming true.

Isha nodded in response to Jinx, a little late after her brain spiral. This seemed to reassure Jinx, and they walked back downstairs together, hand in hand.

Next was the living room. Isha instantly spotted the drawings she had made for Jinx, pinned up on a board above what Isha assumed was Jinx’s desk. She smiled up at Jinx and pointed with her free hand towards the pictures.

“I said I’d put them above my desk, they make me smile whenever I sit there.”

Jinx showed Isha where the downstairs toilet was (a small room across from the living room containing a toilet and small sink, a picture of the seaside hanging on the wall beside a mirror which sat above the sink) and then they entered the kitchen together. Mr. Ekko was sat across from Sky at the kitchen table, cups of tea and a plate of assorted biscuits in front of them both.

Isha still held onto Jinx’s hand, not quite wanting to let go just yet. Sky smiled at them both as they entered the room, noticing how comfortable Isha already seemed around Jinx.

Mr. Ekko spoke after finishing his sip of tea.

“What did you think of your room, Isha?”

 Isha smiled widely as she, albeit reluctantly, let go of Jinx’s hand to sign.

“I loved it! Thank you Mr. Ekko.”

“You can just call me Ekko at home, if you feel comfortable with that. Mr. Ekko is just for school.”

Nodding at his words, Isha took Jinx’s hand again. She felt safer in their home already than she had in a long time, probably ever, but she felt safer still when holding onto Jinx.

“Do you want some water or squash, Isha? You can have some biscuits, too.”

Isha nodded. Jinx walked over to a kitchen cabinet next to the sink and opened it to reveal two bottles of squash; one orange flavour and the other apple & blackcurrant flavour. Isha pointed at the apple and blackcurrant one, signing the word “please”.

Jinx glanced at the hand still being held onto by the child. Voice soft and quiet, she said, “Isha, I’m gonna need both hands to make your squash.”

An amused giggle burst out of the little girl as she let go of Jinx’s hand, surprising everyone in the room with its unexpectedness. Isha touched a hand to her throat, uncertain that the sound had really come from her. She looked up at Jinx, anxiety flooding through her as she wondered what the reaction would be to her making a sound.

Jinx let out a surprised laugh of her own, smiling at Isha. She briefly touched the top of the child’s head in a gentle gesture before turning to grab the bottle of squash from the cupboard and pouring a small amount into the bottom of a plastic cup. She added water to the cup and placed it on the table for Isha. The little girl sat between Ekko and an empty chair, which Jinx soon sat in after making herself some squash.

Isha took slow sips of the drink as the adults talked about things she didn’t really understand. Jinx offered her the plate of biscuits, and she took a custard cream, pulling the top biscuit off to eat first.

“Right, that should be everything for now,” Sky said as she closed her folder. She looked over at Isha and smiled. “I’m going to go now. I will check in with you in a few days to make sure you are happy and comfortable here. Is that okay with you, Isha?”

Isha nodded enthusiastically. Her, Jinx and Ekko waved goodbye to her social worker from the front doorway. When Sky was gone, Ekko closed the door and turned to face her. It felt a little odd to not think of him as only her teacher anymore, but not a ‘bad’ odd.

“Should we take your bag up to your room?”

“Okay.”

Isha took Jinx’s hand again as Ekko picked up the bag containing her small selection of clothes, her school shoes and blue the bunny, amongst a few other things.

The three of them made their way upstairs and into Isha’s room. Ekko set the bag down on the soft rug. Still holding Jinx’s hand, Isha stood next to the bag for a moment. She looked around the room, marvelling at how Jinx and Ekko had made it so perfect for her.

“Do you want us to help you unpack?” Jinx asked softly.

Isha gently pulled Jinx’s hand as she sat down on the rug, the bluenette sitting beside her. As Ekko joined them, Isha let go of Jinx’s hand to open the bag.

Jinx made a few small piles around them on the floor. One for the two pairs of pyjamas Isha had, one for her four t-shirts and other daytime clothes, and one for socks and underwear. She placed Isha’s school shoes separately to take back downstairs later on. Isha helped them put her things away in the drawers and wardrobe before making sure Blue the bunny was comfortable on her new bed.  

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The rest of the morning leading up to lunchtime went by in a bit of a blur. It didn’t feel real just yet, having Isha at home with them both. After they’d finished unpacking Isha’s things, the three of them had made their way back downstairs to the living room. Jinx had asked Isha if she wanted to do some drawing and the child had nodded with a grin on her face. The trio had sat on the floor around the coffee table in the living room, each seating themselves on a cushion from the sofa that Jinx had handed around. They had spent nearly two hours colouring and drawing. Isha had created a multitude of drawings that linked together to form a zoo. She certainly was a very creative child. Jinx had busied herself drawing some of the characters from her recent hyperfixation; K-Pop Demon Hunters. Her favourite of the three girls was Rumi, at no surprise to Ekko. Jinx loved her long, purple braid and how by the end of the movie she had accepted herself for who she was. Something Jinx had started to be able to do herself. The songs were also rather infectious, if he was forced to admit it. When Isha had noticed what Jinx was drawing, she had signed how she thought Jinx’s drawings looked cool. When Jinx had ascertained that Isha had not, in fact, actually watched KPDH, she said they could change that and watch it together after lunch if Isha wanted to. Isha very much wanted to, and so there became their plan for the afternoon. Ekko had been carefully drawing a landscape from Baldur’s Gate, and was pleased with his result.

Jinx made ham sandwiches for lunch with cucumber sticks on the side, which they all ate together at the kitchen table. Isha, like Jinx, only ate the lighter coloured crusts, ripping off the darker ones to leave at the side of the plate. Usually she wouldn’t eat the crusts at all, but she saw Jinx eat some of them and found they weren’t as icky texture-wise as the ones she left on the plate. After they had eaten, Jinx and Ekko told her that the following day, once she was settled in a bit more, they would all come up with a plan for a routine they could follow and what kinds of food she wanted to eat for dinner that week. She was surprised that they wanted to include her thoughts on that kind of thing, but happy at the same time. She liked living with them already.

--

Isha absolutely loved KPDH, much to Jinx’s delight. During Soda Pop, she joined in with the shoulder shimmy automatically along with Jinx. Her eyes only left the screen to occasionally watch Jinx’s reactions to the film. Isha was as enraptured by it as Jinx had been on her first watch, and the many subsequent watches there had been since.

Once the film was over, Ekko disappeared into the kitchen to cook dinner for them all. Jinx and Isha returned to their previously abandoned drawings to continue with them. Now she knew who the characters were that Jinx was drawing, Isha smiled and pointed at Rumi, signing the word “favourite”.

“Me too, kid. Although I love all three of them, there’s something about Rumi that I just relate to. Maybe it’s the long braid.” Jinx said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Isha giggled. It was one of the most beautiful sounds Jinx had ever heard. She smiled at the child before they both continued with their artistic masterpieces, barely believing that Isha was actually there, with her and Ekko. She knew there would be ups and downs when it came to actually trying to raise a child, to parent a child - not that Jinx thought of herself as a parent, not yet anyway – but she knew Ekko would be there with her throughout. With him by her side, she knew anything was possible.

After about half an hour, Ekko popped his head round the doorway and quietly muttered, “Jinx?”

The bluenette turned to face him, brandishing a purple colouring pencil with one hand. “Is it time to set the table?”

“Yes please, dinner will be done in about ten minutes.”

Ekko returned to the kitchen, leaving Jinx and Isha in the living room.

Jinx placed her purple pencil onto the coffee table gently before turning to Isha.

“Wanna help me set the table for dinner?”

Isha nodded enthusiastically, putting down the blue pencil she had been using to colour with.

They entered the kitchen together and Jinx grabbed the knives and forks from their drawer, being careful not to get in Ekko’s way as he carried a pan with cooked vegetables over to the sink to pour away the boiling water. She handed Isha three wooden table mats (each with a different picture of a tree on the front) and showed her where to put them on the table, before carefully handing her the knives and forks to place around the mats. As Jinx grabbed three cups (plastic for Isha, glass for herself and Ekko) from the cupboard for their drinks, Isha placed the salt and pepper shakers onto the middle of the table.

After turning off the oven and ensuring the plates were all ready to dish up the food on, Ekko left the kitchen to use the bathroom before dinner. Isha stood beside Jinx, holding her hands up to reach for one of the cups Jinx had taken from the cupboard.

“You want to help me carry them to the table?”

Isha made grabby hands, causing Jinx to giggle as she gave the child one of the glasses. It only had water in (Ekko preferred water over squash, opposite to Jinx in that way) so if Isha accidentally spilled a little it wouldn’t stain the floor. Isha walked slowly over to the table as Jinx focused on making squash for herself and Isha, not wanting to make Isha’s too strong.

All of a sudden, Jinx heard a clink from behind her. It wasn’t quite a smash. Jinx twirled immediately and saw Isha standing with her small hands clasped together, staring at a puddle of water and a slightly cracked glass on the floor. Jinx grabbed the blue, stripy tea towel hanging on the cupboard door near the sink. She crouched down beside Isha, placing the towel over the water and glass. Isha stood frozen, not looking away from the floor even once the towel had been placed down. Her face showed a look of genuine fear, which made Jinx’s heart ache. Who had caused this child to be so frightened of dropping something by mistake?

Jinx spoke calmly to Isha, keeping her voice quiet and steady to hopefully reassure the little girl.

“Isha, it’s okay. It was an accident. I didn’t really like that glass much anyway,” Jinx paused to chuckle a little. “Are you hurt?”

The question caused Isha to look at Jinx, to glance up at her face briefly before focusing on her stomach as she signed a “no, not hurt.”

“Isha, I really want you to hear what I’m going to say now. You don’t have to look at me whilst I say it, I know eye contact can be tricky sometimes, but I need you to listen to me, okay?” Isha nodded. Jinx took a slow breath before speaking again. “This has not stopped me from wanting you to live with us. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, everyone drops things sometimes, or spills something, or knocks something over. I will never be angry or cross with you for accidents. I will never shout at you. I may raise my voice a little occasionally if something is unsafe, but I will not shout. I will never hurt you. Ever. I am here to keep you safe. Ekko is here to keep you safe. We want you here, Isha. We want you in our lives. I want you, and I will never stop wanting you. You are part of our family, now.” Jinx felt tears appear in her eyes as she spoke.

Isha eventually looked up at her, tears swimming in her own eyes. She nodded, accepting what Jinx had said as the truth. Her hands twitched by her sides as if she wanted to reach out to Jinx. Noticing this and sensing it meant Isha wanted a hug, but didn’t know if she could ask or not, Jinx took matters into her own hands.

“You can say no, and it’s okay either way, but can I give you a hug, Isha?”

The child stepped immediately forwards and leaned into Jinx, placing her tiny arms cautiously around the bluenette’s neck. When Jinx hugged her back gently, Isha closed her eyes and hugged Jinx tighter. They stayed like that for a few minutes, neither particularly wanting to let go. Jinx could sense it had been a long time since Isha had been hugged like that, or at all, and it broke her heart to think of a child not being given something as important as a hug. At least when in foster care herself as a child, she had Ekko to hug. Isha had had no one. She kept to the Disney hug rule that Vi swore by, of not letting go until the other person does first. You never know how much a child, or anyone really, needs a hug. When Isha pulled away at the sound of Ekko re-entering the kitchen, Jinx gently wiped away the few tears that had managed to fall onto Isha’s face.

Ekko wordlessly passed Jinx the dustpan and brush after taking in his surroundings upon re-entering the room, gently ruffled Isha’s hair as he walked past and dished up dinner onto the three awaiting plates. Isha watched in mild disbelief as Jinx cleared up the mostly-still-intact glass and put the tea towel back onto the floor to soak up the remaining water. Jinx placed a new glass of water onto the table, along with a glass and a plastic cup, both filled with apple and blackcurrant squash.

“Shall we sit for dinner now?” Jinx asked Isha, gesturing at the table.

Isha walked slowly to her chair, as if in a daze of sorts. Once seated, Ekko placed down a plate of food in front of her before returning with one for himself and Jinx.

“Careful, blow on it first as it might still be a bit hot.” Ekko warned Isha as he poked a piece of broccoli onto his fork.

Ekko had made pasta and meatballs, with some veggies on the side. He had used one of the new plates Jinx had chosen for Isha, a blue plastic one with three different sections. The smallest section held broccoli and carrots cut up into bite-sized pieces before being cooked. The other two sections were the same size as each other, one held plain pasta and the other held the meatballs covered in tomato pasta sauce. Since Ekko had been told by Mel all those months ago that there was a chance Isha was autistic, and he had passed this information on to Jinx, the bluenette had made sure to buy Isha things that may help her with potential sensory needs she may have. Being neurodivergent herself, Jinx understood other neurodivergents well.

Ekko remembered when him and Jinx were kids, and the times she’d had what he now knew were meltdowns over certain foods touching each other. He never thought anything of it back then, just made sure he was the one who plated Jinx’s food where possible so he could create barriers to avoid foods touching that she didn’t want to touch. Now, as an adult, Jinx was alright with most foods touching. Some, however, were still a no-go.

--

Isha looked at her food in surprise. Usually, the grown-ups she lived with would just put everything on the plate randomly, not caring if it all touched. She would then poke at her food, eating the things she could but rarely the whole meal. She hated when foods like sauces touched drier foods like pasta or rice. She liked plain pasta, without even any butter on it. She saw that Jinx, although with a ‘normal’ plate without sections, had her pasta separate from her sauce and meatballs too. Catching Isha’s gaze, Jinx said conspiratorially,  “I prefer plain pasta, so Ekko always cooks it without any butter or anything. Then he just pours sauce or something over his afterwards. I don’t like the sauce touching the pasta for too long.”

Ekko smiled at them both. Isha watched as Jinx ate her vegetables first, then cut her meatballs in half. Isha ate her vegetables first, too. Jinx then put half a meatball on her fork along with two pieces of penne pasta. Looking down at her own plate, Isha did the same and was pleasantly surprised at the taste of the two things together. She happily ate the rest of her dinner, clearing the plate for the first time in a while.

“Enjoyed that, did ‘ya?” Jinx asked with an amused but not unkind smile.

Isha returned her smile with one of her own.  

“Yes!” Isha signed to Jinx, before turning to Ekko. “Thank you, Ekko!”

“Of course, Isha. I’m really glad you liked it.”

Jinx rubbed her hands together, a smirk appearing on her face. “Now, who wants dessert?”

Ekko chuckled as Isha nodded enthusiastically. Jinx took their three empty plates and put them on the kitchen counter beside the sink. She grabbed a tub of chocolate ice cream from the freezer, along with three bowls, spoons and an ice cream scoop. She balanced them carefully and placed them all onto the kitchen table with a thump.

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After dinner, Jinx did the washing up whilst Ekko and Isha returned to the living room. Isha helped Ekko to tidy away their colouring into a fabric drawer, ready for them to continue the next day. Isha chose a fun-looking game to play from Jinx and Ekko’s colourful collection. It was called ‘Elefun’. Ekko took it out of the box and explained to Isha how to play. It was a blue plastic elephant with a long trunk made out of flimsy material. After putting the batteries back into the elephant, Ekko removed the trunk and had Isha help him put the multi-coloured fabric butterflies into the elephant. He screwed the trunk back on and him and Isha both chose a small net; green for him and yellow for Isha.

“So, the aim of the game is to see who can catch the most butterflies in their net. We can count them at the end. Are you ready?”

Isha pumped her arm in the air with an excited grin. Ekko handed the elephant’s trunk to Isha with instructions to hold it up until the air started to flow through it, then he pressed the ‘on’ switch. Air started to move through the trunk, and the butterflies began to ‘fly’ out into the room. Isha and Ekko attempted catch as many as they could in their nets, Isha giggling and squealing as she played. Ekko felt a sense of calm and warmth spread through him at the little girl’s unfiltered joy. He had never seen her so carefree and happy, and how a child her age should be. He turned off the elephant once all the butterflies were either caught in their nets or on the living room floor, and he and Isha sat down on the rug to count how many they had each.

“Sooooo, who won the first round then?” Jinx asked as she leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest.

Isha held up the butterflies she’d caught in the palms of her hands to show Jinx.

“Isha won this time, but we’ll see about round two," Ekko said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Jinx grabbed the blue net and they all played together a few more times before Isha helped Ekko put the game away. Jinx and Ekko had discussed the previous day about a bedtime routine for Isha, and considering she was still only 5 years old, they had decided on starting said routine at around 7pm so that she was in bed by 8pm at the absolute latest. They didn’t want to force a bath time on her on day one and planned to leave that for the following day.

“We are all going to go upstairs now and get changed into our pyjamas, as it will be time for bed soon. Do you want to bring some water upstairs for your room?” Ekko asked Isha as Jinx put the game box back on the shelf where it belonged.

“Yes, please.”

“I’ll grab that now and you can go upstairs with Jinx to get changed for bed, okay?”

Jinx held out her hand for Isha to take and switched off the living room light as they left the room together. Once in Isha’s room, Jinx opened the drawer which held both pairs of Isha’s pyjamas, along with the two new pairs Jinx had bought for her (and washed ready to be used). Isha looked at Jinx, as if unsure which ones to choose.

“You can wear whichever pyjamas you feel most comfortable in, Isha.”

Isha chose one of her pairs from before, as even though she wanted to try on the cool new ones Jinx had bought her, she already had a lot of change going on. Jinx went to leave the room, but Isha touched her hand again. Jinx turned to her and crouched down to her level.

“Do you want me to help you?”

Isha nodded, holding out the pyjamas for Jinx to take. She then attempted to pull her white t-shirt with rainbow polka-dots over her head, getting a little stuck in the process. Jinx placed the pyjamas onto the carpeted floor beside her and helped Isha to gently pull the t-shirt over her head. She passed over the pink long-sleeved pyjama top with a picture of Isabela from Encanto on the front. Instead of taking the top, Isha held her arms out in front of her. Jinx helped Isha put her arms through the top and then pulled it on over her head, tugging the hem down over Isha’s stomach. Next were the purple joggers, which Isha removed herself. Jinx held the matching pink pyjama trousers out for Isha to step into, she put her hands on Jinx’s shoulders to steady herself. The lilac socks stayed on.

Jinx folded Isha’s clothes from that day and put them on top of the chest of drawers. Ekko entered the room and placed a small, plastic bottle of water on Isha’s bedside table. The bottle was the Moana one Jinx had found in B&M earlier that week, a place in which Ekko could not leave Jinx unattended to ensure they didn’t end up with a whole load of random crap she would shove excitedly into the basket.

“Shall we go brush our teeth?” Ekko asked, holding his hand out for Isha. She followed him into the bathroom, Jinx disappearing briefly into one of the other bedrooms (Isha wasn’t sure which one) before appearing again in her own pyjamas. Jinx wore a hot-pink oversized t-shirt with a skiing Barbie on the front, paired with checkered pyjama trousers in different shades of pink. They all brushed their teeth together, even though it was rather early for Jinx and Ekko. The grown-ups left the bathroom so Isha could go to the toilet before bed, and Ekko went into his room to change as Jinx waited on the upstairs landing.

Once all ready for bed, Jinx told Isha to choose a bedtime story from her bookshelf. At no surprise for anyone in the room, Isha picked ‘The Gruffalo’. She crawled into her new bed, snuggling underneath her duvet with Blue the bunny in her arms. Ekko turned off the main light, leaving the bedside lamp illuminating the room in a calm blue. Jinx sat beside her and read, still doing the voices in a fun way but keeping her volume a little quieter so to provide a calmer atmosphere before bed. Isha fell asleep near the final few pages, such a busy day with so much change having tired her out. Jinx finished the book anyway, to be sure she was asleep. Ekko had hovered in the doorway throughout, feeling a mix of emotions at watching Jinx with Isha. She closed the book quietly and gently stroked brown curls out of Isha’s eyes. She placed the book back onto the shelf and tiptoed to the doorway where Ekko stood. She leaned into him, and they watched the gentle rise and fall of Isha’s sleeping form for a moment.

 The pair left Isha’s room, leaving her door ajar so they could hear her in the night in case she became upset or needed them for something. Jinx followed Ekko into his room and, despite the early hour of 8pm, they were exhausted. Jinx took her melatonin pill after taking the packet out of the top drawer of her bedside table, which sat next to her side of Ekko’s bed. Ekko left their, his, bedroom door ajar, in case Isha needed them in the night. They curled up together and Jinx snuggled into him, resting her head on his soft, pyjama-clad chest.

“We did it. Day one completed and she’s still alive!” Jinx joked as Ekko stroked her hair.

“She’s more than just alive. Isha seems happy with us already.” He paused for a moment, as if thinking very carefully about what he wanted to say next. “Pow?”

“Hmm?”

Ekko kissed her forehead gently. “Seeing you with her today… you are already a great mu-uhm…” He coughed a little, realising what he had almost said. “A great foster carer. I don’t know what you said to her in the kitchen after she’d dropped the glass, but I did see her hugging you, and I could see how much she needed that comfort. You gave her that. You made her feel safe. I really believe this will work out for all of us. You are great with kids, Pow, but especially with Isha. It’s like you two just get each other, and it makes me so happy to see that.”  

Jinx snuggled further into Ekko, absorbing his warmth. Her eyes were closed, and he could sense she was drifting off to sleep already.  “You’re great with her too, Ekko. You’re gonna be the best dad.”

Ekko felt his face heat up. Perhaps Jinx thought the same way as him? That they really would be Isha’s parents one day. There must be people out there somewhere that were a pair of best friends who raised kids together? Right? Right?!

As he looked at Jinx’s peaceful form, now asleep beside him, he took the time to really think about their situation. He loved Jinx, he knew that. Was it solely platonic, or were there romantic feelings there, too? He had never loved anyone how he loved Jinx. If another guy, or a girl even, had turned Jinx’s head and she’d started dating someone… someone that wasn’t, well, him…

Ekko thought of the comments Jayce often made. How he had said in the staffroom that time that he thought they were practically dating already. The sideways glances from Cait and Vi whenever they saw him hold Jinx’s hand, or kiss her on the cheek. Both things absolutely could be platonic, or a familial thing, but in the case of him and Jinx… it was quite possible there were some romantic feelings there, at least on his part.

He shook off those thoughts, deciding to think about it all again another time. Perhaps once Isha was more settled. He drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a future where he loved Jinx in all the ways in which he subconsciously wanted to love her.

He woke up in the middle of the night and looked at her sleeping next to him. A sliver of moonlight had shone through a gap in the curtain, casting her in an ethereal glow, and…

Oh.

Oh.

He felt no doubt whatsoever. He loved this woman. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jinx. In whatever form that may be, but he couldn’t help but hope as he drifted back into the abyss of sleep that it could be in a romantic way as well as being best friends…

Chapter Text

Isha blinked awake, squeezing Blue tighter in her arms as she sat up and looked around the room that was illuminated in a wash of blue light. Jinx had left the bedside lamp on, which Isha was pleased about as she didn’t like the dark all that much. A smile appeared on her face as the memories of the previous day came flashing through her mind. She now lived with Jinx and Ekko! Jinx had hugged her! She had read her a bedtime story, just like the parents did in most of the tv shows and films Isha watched. She had helped her to get changed into her pyjamas. Of course, Isha knew how to dress herself. She’d had to learn how to quite young, as she’d had no one to help her, but she felt like she could ask for help from Jinx. She had proved Isha right.

Throwing off her duvet, Isha jumped out of bed. She placed Blue next to her pillow and crept across her bedroom to the door. Ekko had kept it slightly ajar, just as Jinx had said the door would be left. Isha peeked around it, pausing for a moment to listen. She didn’t want to wake up Jinx or Ekko if they were still sleeping. She didn’t have to wait long to find out, as the upstairs hallway light was soon switched on and she saw Ekko walk past her door to go into the bathroom across the hall. She could hear movement from his bedroom, which confused her a little as she thought Jinx would have been in her own bedroom. She waited a few minutes and kept listening and peeking through the gap in her door. Ekko exited the bathroom, still wearing his pyjamas, and walked downstairs. She decided to investigate and find out where Jinx was.

As she came to stand in the doorway to Ekko’s room, Isha saw Jinx rummaging in a drawer and pulling out two oversized t-shirts. She almost gasped out loud when Jinx turned around to lay the two t-shirts out on Ekko’s bed. How had she not noticed the blue clouds swirling over Jinx’s right arm? Isha couldn’t help but stare, especially once she realised there were more blue clouds across Jinx’s right side and stomach.

“Hey kiddo, do you wanna help me choose a t-shirt for today?” Jinx asked, standing with her hands on her hips and facing Isha. She was wearing her pink, checkered pyjama trousers that she hadn't changed out of yet and a black bra. 

Isha stood frozen in the doorway, hands twitching and clutching at her pink pyjama top. She felt anxious, as she was worried Jinx would tell her off for standing there in the doorway. Even though the day before Jinx had told her how much she wanted her and how she wouldn’t shout at her, Isha couldn’t help but worry after past foster houses. Jinx looked down at herself and seemed to realise the fact she was standing there in her bra, something she would usually do at home as she was comfortable enough around Ekko to not worry about that kind of thing. She was the same with her sister, too.

“Isha? You can come in if you want to.”

Jinx had spoken in a quieter tone, and it pulled Isha out of her daze. She cautiously walked into the room, and reached out to point at Jinx’s tattoos. Realising what Isha had been staring at moments before, Jinx laughed a little and leaned closer to Isha. She gently traced the tattoos, fascinated by the swirling clouds on Jinx’s arm.

“I got them a couple of months ago,” Jinx said.

Isha’s hand dropped from Jinx’s arm so she could sign, “beautiful clouds.”

“Thank you, Isha. I do love them.” Jinx smiled at the little girl before continuing, “now, help me choose a t-shirt?”

Isha looked at the two options Jinx had chosen and went with grey one that had Jigglypuff on the front. Jinx nodded in approval and put the t-shirt on. She glanced down at her pyjama trousers. “Ah. Maybe I should switch to some joggers.”

Jinx went back to rummaging in a drawer and pulled out a pair of navy-blue joggers. “Isha, now might be a good time to go to the toilet if you need it? I went at 4am so I’m all good for now. Then we can choose your outfit for today and go see about some breakfast.”

Isha nodded and went to use the bathroom. Once done she went back into Ekko’s room, where Jinx was re-folding the unchosen t-shirt she had pulled out earlier and placing it back in the drawer. They both went into Isha’s room, and she picked out an outfit; the purple joggers she had been wearing the previous day, a pale turquoise t-shirt with a grey dolphin on the front and a pair of grey socks. Isha held her arms up for Jinx to help her take off her pyjama top. Jinx helped her to get dressed and then they made their way downstairs, with Jinx popping Isha’s socks from the day before into the washing basket in the bathroom on her way past.

“Good morning!” Ekko said brightly as the two girls entered the kitchen together. “What would you like for breakfast, Isha?”

She glanced at Jinx for a moment before looking back at Ekko.

“We have cereal, or toast?” Ekko prompted, gesturing at the cereal boxes he had placed on the kitchen counter.

Isha thought for a moment. She saw Jinx grab a blue bowl from the counter where Ekko had set three bowls and spoons beside the cereal boxes, alongside a few plates and a loaf of white bread. Jinx poured Coco Pops into a bowl.

“Coco Pops, please.”

Ekko smiled. “Of course, you go and sit down at the table, and I’ll bring the cereal over to you.

Jinx carried her own bowl of cereal over to the kitchen table, along with a spoon and a carton of lactose-free semi-skimmed milk.

“Come sit next to me, Isha.” Jinx said as she sat for only a few seconds, before getting up again with a huff. She went back into the kitchen, where Ekko had a smirk on his face and held out a glass filled with apple juice and a small, white paper box. “Thank you,” Jinx muttered to Ekko. He kissed her on the cheek before turning back to the counter to pour Isha’s choice of cereal into a bowl.

Isha watched the interaction unfold, feeling like she just saw something she shouldn’t have seen. Jinx had called Ekko her ‘best friend’ before. Did best friends kiss each other on the cheek? She knew some families did that with each other, so perhaps best friends did too. She noticed a slight blush having formed on Jinx’s face as she turned back to the table and sat down again. Isha felt herself smirk a little before controlling her facial expression. Something was going on there, and she knew she would figure it out at some point…

Isha sat down at the table next to Jinx, who was opening up the white box. She watched as Jinx popped a pink circular pill the size of a small ladybug out of a foil packet and swallowed it with a sip of apple juice. Jinx noticed Isha watching her out of the corner of her eye. “I take one every morning,” she stated with a faraway look in her eyes, “it helps me not feel so anxious all the time.” She focused back on Isha. “Sometimes grown-ups need a bit of help with things, too.”

Ekko placed a bowl in front of Isha, alongside a small spoon and a blue plastic cup. He held a carton of apple juice in one hand. “Juice?”

“Yes, please.”

He poured some juice into Isha’s cup, then returned to the kitchen to get his own breakfast and came back to the table with it. Jinx poured some milk over her cereal and gestured with the carton to Isha, who nodded politely.

“Tap my hand when you want me to stop pouring, okay?”

Isha did so, and the three ate their cereal together.

Ekko went upstairs to get dressed as Jinx rinsed their bowls and spoons before placing them in the dishwasher.

Isha held Jinx’s hand as they went back upstairs to brush their teeth for the day. Isha looked at her and Jinx’s reflections in the mirror. Jinx was fidgeting with her braids and muttering about needing to wash her hair later and re-braid. Isha touched her own hair. It was often sticking out in various places. She never let anyone touch it, and only washed it when her previous foster carers would tell her it was time to. With most of them (before Catarina and Adeline), they would forget or not notice, and she could go weeks without washing her hair. Her head felt itchy at the thought. As it stood, she had last washed her hair three days before, so it didn’t feel bad just yet. She would probably need to wash her hair soon though.

As if she had just read Isha’s mind, Jinx said, “we’re gonna have to do bath time before bed tonight, okay kiddo?”

------------------------------------------------------------

Jinx sat on the sofa in the living room whilst Ekko and Isha sat on the rug, drawing and colouring at the coffee table. She opened up her phone to two messages in the group chat named ‘Famalam’ by Jinx when no one could decide on a name. It was the chat with Vi, Caitlyn and Ekko. She did also have a chat with just Vi and Cait, which they often used to tease her about Ekko, or just to tease her in general.

💖 Famalam ✨

Today, 8:14am

fat hands 💕

how was the first day with Isha??? let us know!!!

  cupcake 🧁

I’m sure it went great, you will both be wonderful parents.

I mean, foster carers.

Today, 9:34am

pow-pow🩵

thanks guys, yesterday was great

she seems to be settling in well so far

she really likes Ekko

she must like me a lot because she keeps holding my hand

and she let me hug her yesterday too

I think it helped that she already knew Ekko so well

and she’d already met me a few times

anyway, today we are gonna take her to choose some new clothes

so talk later

fat hands 💕

great news pow-pow

have fun today

I can’t wait to meet Isha

cupcake 🧁

I am happy for you all, Jinx.

We would love to meet Isha when you and Ekko consider it the right time.

Jinx couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her face as she read the supportive messages from her sister and Caitlyn. She heart reacted to them and would message them again later on about potentially coming to meet Isha in a few days’ time, if she was settled enough.

--

Jinx got up off the sofa to sit beside Ekko on the rug, facing Isha. “Isha, how do you feel about going shopping? We wouldn’t go for long, just to have a look at a few new clothes for you and maybe some more books for your bookshelf?”

“Okay!” Isha looked between Ekko and Jinx as she signed.

Ekko buckled Isha into a children’s car seat in the back of his car. Jinx gets into the passenger side after locking up the front door and checking the handle once. As Ekko reversed out from the driveway, Jinx turned in her seat to face Isha. “K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack?” she asked with an enthusiastic glint in her eyes. Isha nodded excitedly.

The fifteen minute car journey was spent with Jinx belting out the lyrics to How it’s Done, Golden and Soda Pop, with Isha humming certain parts and being almost in-sync with Jinx doing the ‘Soda Pop shoulders’. Ekko saw a glimpse of that from the rear-view mirror and chuckled to himself.

Once parked, Ekko helped Isha out the car whilst Jinx grabbed a few tote bags from the boot. Jinx and Ekko held out their hands for Isha and she happily held onto them both as they walked into the shopping centre. It was quite busy, busier than a usual Wednesday in the school holidays. Jinx and Ekko wordlessly agreed to stand to the side for a moment to mentally prepare for the onslaught of noise that would envelop them when they got further into the centre. They walked to the side and stopped beside the first shop of the centre; a HMV. Jinx crouched down to Isha’s level, still holding onto her hand.

“It is busier than we thought it would be. When we’re inside, you need to be holding either mine or Ekko’s hand at all times when we are walking. If we are inside a shop and you want to look at things, make sure we can still see you and you can still see us. We want to keep you safe. Got it, kid?”

Isha nodded, and Jinx stood up again. She looked longingly at HMV, and Ekko laughed at how predictable she was. Every single time they went shopping in this shopping centre, Jinx immediately gravitated to HMV. Just like he would gravitate to Waterstones. “If you want to look, Pow, then we can go look.”

“Well you don’t need to tell me twice!” Jinx dashed into the shop, Isha giggling at the sudden burst of speed from the bluenette.

They spent several minutes there, Jinx only buying one oversized t-shirt (it had a black background with a picture of Yor from Spy x Family, one of Jinx and Ekko’s favourite animes) and an Astarion from BG3 Funko Pop she found on her way to the till. Next was a few smaller clothes shops, where Isha chose a pair of purple dungarees similar to a pair of Jinx’s, denim shorts despite it being winter and two new t-shirts; a lilac KPDH one with Huntrix on the front (much like Bobby’s from the film) and a pale pink one with blue butterflies. They visited a toyshop too so Isha could choose some bath toys to hopefully make bathtime not too tricky an experience for her. Then the trio went into Waterstones. Jinx took Isha into the children’s section to choose some books, she gave her a limit of 4. Ekko disappeared into the YA section. Jinx had to almost physically drag him away once Isha had chosen her books. He managed to come away with only two books for himself, a miracle in Jinx’s eyes.

It was at that point that Jinx started to feel overstimulated. It hit her all of a sudden, like it often did when out shopping. For a few hours she was absolutely fine, then the lights became unbearably loud, the sounds of people unbearably bright. She slowed her pace, her breathing starting to quicken. Ekko noticed immediately, veering off to a nearby area with a couple of benches and a bin. Ekko helped Jinx sit on the bench, letting go of Isha’s hand to squeeze Jinx’s gently. Isha stood beside him, watching with concern and uncertainty, still holding onto Jinx’s other hand.

Jinx’s mind started racing, millions of thoughts crashing into each other and ricocheting around her brain. There were too many people. She couldn’t breathe. She thought about Isha, how she didn’t want her to see her like this. She’d taken her daily anxiety pill like usual. It should have meant this didn’t happen. Gods, she couldn’t be a parental figure for Isha if she panicked like this. Surely Ekko would see that, and then he’d leave with Isha. She’d be alone. Alone, for the first time since the year Ekko was away at university and she hadn’t seen Vi for years and Vander was dead and…and…

She felt one of her hands be pushed open, the slightly cold plastic of two small earplugs being placed there. She looked up, seeing Ekko watching her with warm eyes and a line of worry furrowing his brow. Isha had let go of her hand at some point. Jinx, still mildly hyperventilating at that point, placed the loops into her ears. The relief was immediate. The sounds were all dimmed. Not gone, but manageable. Ekko breathed slowly, holding both of Jinx’s hands. She managed to match his breathing after a few tries and finally the racing thoughts slowed down.

She gave Ekko a shaky but grateful smile and looked at Isha, who reached out cautiously to touch Jinx’s hand after Ekko let go. The little girl’s eyes were filled with concern. Jinx’s breathing now back to normal, she reached out for Isha, who let Jinx lift her into her lap. Isha grabbed onto Jinx’s arms and looked up at her, hazel eyes meeting blue.

“I’m sorry you had to see that, Isha. I’m okay now. All the people and different noises everywhere just got a bit overwhelming.”

Isha reached up with one hand to touch Jinx’s face, wiping away a stray tear that must have appeared at some point during her anxiety attack. Isha snuggled further into Jinx, hugging her small arms around Jinx’s shoulders and burying her head in the crook of Jinx’s neck. The bluenette hugged Isha tighter. She saw Ekko watching them both with a look of pure adoration shining in his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips. She smiled back at him, shaking away the thought attempting to crawl to the forefront of her mind about what it might feel like to kiss those lips. It was not the time for thoughts like that. She would contemplate that thought later on, when Isha was tucked up in bed for the night. She’d just had an anxiety attack, for gods sake. She didn’t need another reason for her heart to start racing again.

“Shall we go home? We can get a Greggs on the way and eat it when we get back?”

Jinx perked up even more at Ekko’s suggestion. The nearest Greggs bakery was on their way to the carpark. “Ready to go, kid?”

Isha nodded, although made no effort to move from her place snuggled into Jinx. The bluenette took this as a sign that she wasn’t ready to let go of the hug, so she stood whilst holding her and adjusted her position, so she was comfortable. Isha wasn’t too heavy, as even for a 5-year-old she was on the smaller side. Jinx had built up a lot of strength with carrying various heavy things at work, so was a lot stronger than she looked. Ekko walked alongside her as he carried all their shopping bags. Jinx felt a little shaky still, but sturdy enough to carry Isha safely. The warmth from the child emanated through her, calming her even more.

They reached Greggs, where Jinx asked Isha if she wanted a sandwich or a sausage roll for lunch whilst nodding towards a pack of jam doughnuts which Ekko grabbed. Isha leaned back in Jinx’s arms to sign “sausage roll, please” before snuggling back into her neck.

Jinx walked up to the till and ordered three sausage rolls, already picturing the deliciously warm, flaky pastry. Ekko placed the packet of jam doughnuts on the side along with a chicken mayonnaise baguette and three apple and blackcurrant fruit shoots. Jinx readjusted Isha in her arms to be able to pull her phone out her pocket, and passed it to Ekko so he could use Apple Pay. Ekko put everything into their final empty tote bag and together the three of them returned to the carpark. Ekko opened the car boot with a little difficulty and put their bags of shopping inside, closing the boot after. He then opened the right rear door, ready to settle Isha into her car seat.

“Isha, we’re back at the car now. I’m going to put you into your car seat and then Ekko will buckle your seatbelt.” She turned to Ekko as Isha tightened her grip on her shoulders. “I know I said that I didn’t need to know how to do Isha’s car seat buckle, because I can’t drive, but maybe you should show me?”

“I did try to tell you that, Pow.” Ekko chuckled. “I’ll show you.”

She walked closer to the car. “Isha, I need you to let me put you in the car. Then we can get home and eat some lunch.” The little girl loosened her grip a little, but not enough for Jinx to put her in the car. “Okay, what if I sit in the back next to you? How about that?”

Immediately Isha let go of Jinx and allowed her to put her into the car. Ekko showed Jinx how to do the seatbelt buckle and then away they went; Ekko driving with Jinx in the backseat next to Isha, the little girl holding her hand the whole way.

Once home, Ekko showed Jinx how to unbuckle Isha’s seatbelt and then carried the bags into the house. Before Jinx helped Isha out of the car, she looked at her and said, “I promise I am okay, Isha. I know it must have been scary to see me so anxious and panicking, but I am okay. I should have put these in the moment we entered the shopping centre, but I forgot to.” Jinx took a circular, purple box smaller than Isha’s palm out of one of her pockets, opening it up to show Isha the loops earplugs sitting inside. “These help me when things get too loud, or too bright. Most of the time I would put them in straight away if it were busy, but because it was a Wednesday and those days aren’t usually that bad, I didn’t even think about putting them in my ears.” Isha was looking at Jinx intently throughout her explanation. “You don’t need to worry about me, okay?” Jinx said, bopping Isha gently on the nose.

Isha giggled and then reached out to Jinx. She picked her up out of the car and closed the door one-handed, carrying Isha inside the house. Ekko passed them once they were inside and locked the car, closing the front door behind him. Jinx sat Isha on the ottoman near the stairs, and the trio all removed their shoes, placing them on the shoe rack.

“Shoes!” Jinx said, hitting her head once with her hand. “Isha, next week we will get you some new shoes, okay? You already have wellies and school shoes and trainers, but another pair of shoes wouldn’t hurt.”

Isha gave Jinx a thumbs up, which made her smile at the cuteness. After Jinx made a quick bathroom stop, she joined the other two in the kitchen where Ekko had put three plates on the table. Isha sat at what had become her usual chair. Ekko was emptying out the tote bag with their lunch in, placing a bottle of fruit shoot next to each plate.

“Well, this is looking rather civilised.” Jinx said thoughtfully as she sat beside Isha.

“Every time we have Greggs sausage rolls, you drop crumbs of pastry everywhere. In my car. On the sofa. On your trousers, which are often actually my trousers. So yes, we are using plates this time.” Ekko stated with an amused look on his face.

Jinx huffed at his comments but agreed in a mumble that he might be right about that, which caused Isha to giggle and Ekko to smirk at Jinx.

Ekko placed a sausage roll onto each plate and split the baguette into two larger thirds and a smaller third. He put the smaller part onto Isha’s plate and told her it was there if she wanted it, but she didn’t have to eat it. They ate their lunch happily, deciding to save the doughnuts for a late-afternoon snack as they were rather full.

--

The rest of the day was spent drawing, playing games and eating doughnuts. The trio ate a dinner of chicken nuggets, chips and peas before watching a film together. Isha chose Tangled, and excitedly pointed at Jinx’s blue twin braids as Rapunzel came onto the screen as a young adult with a long braid of her own. Jinx smiled at Isha, and they sat together on the sofa, Isha sitting with Jinx and Ekko either side.

------------------------------------------------------------

Jinx remembered that she was supposed to wash her hair that night, but decided it could wait until the morning as Isha having a bath was more important. At least Jinx knew she had washed her hair only two days prior, so it could wait until morning.

After heading upstairs, Jinx ran the bath for Isha with lots of bubbles. Isha had chosen a few bath toys too when they were out shopping, including three rubber duckies that looked a suspicious amount like the three of them (her, Isha and Ekko). Once the bath was full and Ekko had checked the temperature was alright, she called Isha into the bathroom. Jinx remembered when she was younger, her mum had washed her hair for her in the bath. Vi then took over that role until Jinx was 11 and no longer wanted or needed help. She thought at first that Isha’s foster carers would have helped her in the same way, but perhaps they hadn’t. Jinx decided it best to not assume anything when it came to Isha, as they really had no idea what the child had gone through already before she had come to live with them.

Isha walked into the bathroom observantly, noting Jinx and Ekko standing near the bath. Ekko smiled at her as he said, “I’m going to go downstairs for a bit, but Jinx will be here.” Ekko left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Jinx knelt on the bathmat beside the bath and spoke to Isha calmly, in a quiet tone. “Would you like me to help you wash your hair?”

Isha froze for a moment, where Jinx inwardly panicked that she’d crossed a boundary of the child’s by asking. Then she nodded, reaching out her arms to ask for Jinx’s help with taking off her t-shirt. She helped Isha into the bath.

“I’m going to tell you exactly what I’m doing before I do it, so you know what to expect. I remember the first time Vi helped me wash my hair when I was about your age, maybe a little older. She didn’t warn me before she rinsed the shampoo out, and it all went into my eyes. Shampoo stings, Isha. It was not fun.” Jinx giggled a little at Isha’s head tilt in response to her story. “Vi is my sister, I think I mentioned her before a while ago?”

“Yes, Vi.”

“You’ll meet her eventually, she’s really excited to meet you. So is Caitlyn. They’re both engaged now, so Cait will be my sister-in-law soon.” Jinx unhooked the shower head from it’s usual spot, showing it to Isha. “I’m gonna use this, on the nice setting that feels like you’re standing under a soft rainfall. I am also going to touch your hair to make sure it’s wet enough for the shampoo I’ll put in soon. Is that okay? You might want to close your eyes just in case.”

Isha closed her eyes tightly. Taking that as an agreement for Jinx to continue, she held the shower head over Isha’s curls and moved it carefully around, running her hands through the child’s hair. She turned the shower off and hung the showerhead across the rail above the bath. Jinx had balance issues, most likely due to her ADHD, so when they moved in Ekko ensured they had a bath rail put in so Jinx would have something to hold onto if she slipped.

“I am now going to put the shampoo on, you can open your eyes a little if you want to, but it might be a good idea to keep them closed just in case.” Jinx said calmly. “Can you turn around, so your back is to me? Then I can get to your hair better.”

Isha turned so she was facing the wall and fidgeted with one of the rubber ducks. Jinx gently massaged apple-scented shampoo into Isha’s scalp, taking time to make sure it reached all of her curls. Isha leaned into Jinx’s touch, and Jinx couldn’t help the thought of how much like a mum she felt in that moment. Had Vi felt anything like this with her? Obviously they’re sisters so it was different, but Vi had taken on a protective mum kind of role with Jinx, which she resumed once they had reunited despite Jinx being a legal adult by then.

As Jinx finished applying the shampoo to Isha’s hair, her gaze flickered to Isha’s upper back. She felt her heart plummet to the floor as she saw multiple small marks and scars littering the young girl’s back and shoulders. The few scars looked about a year old, some of the marks a bit newer but still several months old and as healed as they could be. Jinx would know, having several scars of her own. One of her hands inched towards the nearest scar, faintly brushing it with her thumb. Isha didn’t notice, still busy with keeping her eyes shut and fidgeting with the toy duck. Jinx had felt tears spring in her eyes, but blinked them away. She didn’t want Isha feeling uncomfortable or anxious, so the best thing to do was to finish up bathtime and then she could speak to Ekko once Isha was asleep.

“Last part now, then you can open your eyes again. I’m going to rinse the shampoo off, so tilt your head back a little, as that will help the shampoo not go into your eyes.” Jinx rinsed off all the shampoo, running her fingers through Isha’s soft curls with the hand not holding the shower head. “Okay, your hair is all clean! You can open your eyes now.”

Isha turned to face Jinx, smiling widely. She dropped the duck into the bath. “Thank you, Jinx.”

“Thank you for letting me help you, Isha.”

Isha played in the bath for another fifteen minutes, washing the rest of her body as Jinx sat on the closed lid of the toilet seat. Once she was done, Jinx helped Isha out of the bath and into a warm, fluffy towel. She helped her dry her hair a little with another towel and once she was changed into her pyjamas, she brushed her teeth. Isha then followed Jinx into her bedroom, where Ekko joined them for story time in his spot by the doorframe. She chose The Gruffalo for the second night in a row, and much to her delight Jinx did all the voices again. Despite the busy day, she was only just drifting off to sleep by the end of the story. She reached out her tiny arms for Jinx when the bluenette closed the book. “You okay Isha?”

Isha sat up and made grabby hands at Jinx, eyes half-lidded from tiredness. Jinx gently pulled her towards herself and hugged her tightly. Isha snuggled into the crook of Jinx’s neck and clung to her. She looked over at Ekko, unsure what the next course of action should be. Isha had closed her eyes, and her breathing was beginning to slow, meaning she was very close to falling asleep whilst cuddling into Jinx.

“I think you may be stuck like that all night,” Ekko whispered as he tiptoed closer to Isha’s bed. The child had fallen asleep in the seconds it had taken him to move over from the doorframe.

After a few minutes of Isha sleeping in Jinx’s arms, Ekko helped Jinx detach Isha and lay her back on her bed, her head resting on the pillow. Jinx placed Blue into Isha’s arms and pulled the duvet up to tuck her in. She hesitated a moment before pushing Isha’s curls out of her eyes and placing a small kiss on the child’s forehead. Her and Ekko quietly left the room and went back downstairs into the living room. They would too be going to sleep soon, but Jinx needed to talk to Ekko first, and didn’t want a chance of Isha overhearing if she suddenly woke up.

--

As soon as they entered the living room, Jinx wrapped her arms tightly around Ekko. He instantaneously returned the hug, kissing the top of her head softly. The hug lasted several minutes before Jinx pulled away enough to look at him. “We need to talk about something,” Jinx said quietly whilst looking him directly in the eyes, something she didn’t often do as she found most prolonged eye contact uncomfortable.

A kaleidoscope of thoughts swirled through Ekko’s brain. He wondered if Jinx felt the same way as him and wanted to tell him about her feelings. Perhaps she did like him romantically as well as being best friends. More likely though it was something about Isha. He worried that Jinx might be doubting herself and her ability as a parent. He knew that if that were the case, he wouldn’t hesitate to reassure her that she was doing a wonderful job. As she really was. It was only day two, but Isha was already a much happier child having been in Jinx’s constant presence. Sure, Isha liked him too and they’d had their own moments of familial bonding, but he knew it would be different with Jinx and Isha. They had began their bond the moment they first met all those months ago, and it warmed Ekko’s heart to see both Isha and Jinx so content.

“Of course. Shall we sit down?”

Jinx pulled away enough to drag Ekko to the sofa, where she let go of him to sit cross-legged. He sat opposite her, also crossing his legs as if it were circle time at school. She sat fidgeting with her hands, her tangle nowhere to be seen. Ekko took Jinx’s cold hands into his own, gently stroking her palms with his thumbs. She relaxed a little, meeting his warm brown eyes with her own bright blue ones. She took a slow, deep breath and spoke.

“When I was washing Isha’s hair, I…” Jinx’s voice cracked, and tears began to form in her eyes. Ekko’s mild worry turned into more serious concern. “I noticed that on her back, she has a few marks, a few scars.” Tears trailed their way down Jinx’s face as she continued, taking another breath. “They looked like they’ve been there a little while. She didn’t even flinch when I briefly touched one near her shoulder. How could someone do something like that to a child? It breaks my heart, Ekko.”

Uncrossing his legs and shifting so he had his back to the sofa, Ekko pulled Jinx to his side and wrapped his arms around her. She was crying quietly now, trying not to make a sound in case Isha would hear from upstairs. She uncrossed her legs to be able to lean into Ekko more comfortably, and he felt his own eyes well up with tears as he hugged her tighter to his chest. He knew there were evil people out there, genuinely evil, that did hurt children. He had to know that with being a teacher, as he could come across children with various home lives and would need to know what to do if one was being harmed or mistreated. Every time he went through the yearly safeguarding training at work, or back when he was at university, it broke his heart learning of past serious case reviews and having to listen to those stories. This was a whole other level of hurt, learning that Isha, their Isha, had been harmed even more than they had already known. She was only five years old.

They cried quietly in each other’s arms for a while, Jinx’s thumb rubbing circles into Ekko’s back and him resting his head atop hers. Once their tears had run dry, the pair loosened their grip on each other. They still sat cuddled together on the sofa, but neither were clinging onto the other anymore as if they would simply die if they didn’t.

“That must have been really hard for you to see, Pow. It breaks my heart too. At least she’s with us now, and we are never gonna let her go.”

“Never, she’s stuck with us for life.” Jinx thought for a moment, her left-hand swirling circles onto Ekko’s stomach, leaving sparkles in its midst and making him feel safe, as he always did when with her. “I want her to feel safe and happy here. I want this to become her home.”

“I want the same. I think we are already making a great start on that,” Ekko paused, considering whether to admit what he’d been thinking about since the day before. Well, one of the things he’d been thinking about. “I’m starting to feel like a dad, which I didn’t expect to happen so soon. She is such a wonderful kid.”

“You know, I had a moment during bathtime, and then again when she hugged me so tightly as we put her to bed. I really felt like a mum.” She sat up more, meeting Ekko’s eyes again as she leaned her forearms on his chest. “I never thought I’d feel that way. I never thought I’d even have the chance to become a parent, in any way. Sure, I knew you’d be a dad one day. You were born to make a positive difference in the lives of kids, both as a teacher and as a parent. But me? No maternal bone in my body. At least, that’s what I’d believed. Until I met Isha, and it was like her presence just crashed into my life, as if she’d fallen out the sky and landed on top of me. She’s brought even more meaning into my life. I will do everything I possibly can to protect her and keep her safe.”

Ekko leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to the tip of Jinx’s nose. “You are already doing great at the mum thing. It’s like you were made to be a parent, to Isha specifically. I’m grateful every single day that I can be on this journey with you.”

Jinx’s eyes widened at the earnestness of Ekko’s words. She kissed him tenderly on the cheek. “I wouldn’t want to be travelling through life with anyone but you by my side.” She couldn’t help but giggle a little at the resulting blush appearing on Ekko’s face.

They untangled themselves from their spots on the sofa and turned off the lights as they walked upstairs, getting changed into their pyjamas and brushing their teeth. Jinx poked her head round Isha’s door, seeing her still fast asleep.

She entered Ekko’s room, and he held his phone up to her. “I think we should mention to Sky about Isha, she might know more information about it all, too.”

Sitting next to Ekko, Jinx pulled out her own phone. “Yeah, I agree. I’ll message her to ask if we can talk tomorrow.”

Sky replied within minutes. Just as Jinx and Ekko had crawled under the duvet, Jinx’s phone pinged with a text. They ended up phoning her, Ekko shutting his bedroom door during the phone call so as not to wake Isha. Sky informed them that there was nothing in Isha’s file about past physical abuse, however it was likely to have occurred at a previous foster home. She said she would investigate further, but that Jinx and Ekko had done the right thing in telling her. They had a brief conversation about how well Isha was settling in. Sky told them both that it was a huge thing for Isha to have let Jinx even touch her hair at all, let alone wash it, as she never let any of her previous foster carers. Jinx felt even more love bloom in her heart for the little girl. Did she really trust her that much already? They said goodbye to Sky and Jinx set her phone facedown on her bedside table whilst Ekko opened the door again to leave it ajar.

They snuggled together as they drifted off to sleep, him whispering “I love you Pow” and her replying “I love you too, boy saviour.” 

Chapter Text

Jinx woke up feeling a sense of unease. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table and saw it blink back at her with a white glowing 04:00. This wasn’t like when she sensed snow, as that was a pleasant and tingling sensation. Something in her mind and body was telling her that she needed to check on Isha.

Carefully, Jinx untangled herself from Ekko. She glanced at his peaceful, sleeping form once more before easing herself out of bed and shuffling across the room to head through the door into the upstairs hallway. As she paused outside Isha’s room, all was quiet except the faint sound of Ekko’s breathing from the slightly open door. Jinx peaked round into Isha’s room anyway, even though she didn’t hear any worrying sounds.

Isha was sat up in her bed, clutching Blue the bunny tightly to her chest. Jinx could see the outline of her in the faint indigo light coming from Isha’s bedside lamp. As Jinx got closer, she saw tears glistening in Isha’s eyes and falling freely down her scrunched-up face. Jinx felt as if her heart were being stabbed repeatedly. Why hadn’t Isha come to wake her or Ekko? Was Isha worried about them reacting negatively? Jinx’s brain fired thoughts and questions around like it was trying to win a ping-pong match. Against whom, she didn’t know.

Jinx sat down slowly on Isha’s bed, facing the little girl. Isha hiccupped a little and stared up at Jinx, eyes swimming with tears that continued to fall. Jinx reached out for Isha and once the little girl reached out one of her arms towards her, Jinx lifted her onto her lap, wrapping her arms around Isha’s small form and rocking her gently from side to side. Isha immediately gripped onto Jinx tightly, clinging to her as if she would never let go again.

“I’ve got you, Isha.” Jinx whispered into soft curls. “It’s okay to cry. I’ve got you and I’m not letting you go. You’re safe.”

--

Isha clung tightly to Jinx, allowing herself to really cry for the first time since she had been put in foster care. Her small body was quivering with the force of her sobs. It was as if everything she had been through so far in her short 5 years of life had caught up to her and all the emotions were gushing out. Now she was in Jinx’s arms, feeling truly safe for the first time that she could remember.

As her sobbing gradually subsided and she became more aware of her surroundings again, Isha could feel Jinx rocking her gently. She felt how she softly rubbed her back in soothing circles. She could hear Jinx whispering into her hair.

“You’re safe, bug. I’ve got you.”

Isha stayed in Jinx’s arms for a few more moments until her tears had ebbed away. Letting go of her grip on Jinx, she leaned back enough to look up at her. Jinx kept her hands on Isha’s arms, gently forming soothing circles there as she looked at the child.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to tell me about it?” Jinx asked softly.

Isha thought for a moment. She had never told any grown-ups, or anyone at all, about her nightmares. She rarely remembered them usually. This time though, it felt like she would feel better about it all if she told Jinx, especially since she could see flashes in her mind still lingering.

“You didn’t come back. Ekko didn’t come back. I was left alone again. It was scary and sad.”

Tears glistened unshed in Jinx’s blue eyes. Isha reached out and gently touched the side of Jinx’s face.

“I can see how scary that must have been,” Jinx said as she looked at Isha affectionately.

Isha yawned, her body seeming to realise that it was the middle of the night and she should be sleeping. She removed her hand from Jinx’s face and looked at the woman. She didn’t want her to go anywhere, but she knew Jinx needed to go back to sleep, too.

As if reading Isha’s thoughts, Jinx asked, “would you like me to stay here with you? It might be a bit of a squash and a squeeze, but we can both fit.”

Isha nodded eagerly, shuffling back on her bed to get back underneath the duvet cover. She moved as close to the wall as she could so Jinx would fit beside her. Once Jinx was settled on her back with her head on the other half of Isha’s pillow and had adjusted the duvet, so it fit over them both, Isha snuggled up next to her. She rested her head on Jinx’s chest, right by her heart, and slung one arm over Jinx’s stomach. The bluenette adjusted herself so she was holding Isha close. They drifted off to sleep soon after, dreamless and at peace.

--

Ekko awoke at 8am to find the other side of the bed cold, the covers messy. It was as if Jinx had gotten out of bed in the middle of the night and not returned. Perhaps she had simply woken before him, which was a rare occurrence on any day that wasn’t Christmas, but did still happen from time to time.

Throwing the duvet off himself, he got up out of bed and stretched his arms. He walked into the hallway and saw the landing light still switched off, along with the bathroom door open to show the room empty. Wherever Jinx was, she hadn’t switched any lights on despite it still being mostly dark outside.

After he used the bathroom, Ekko peered round Isha’s bedroom door to check if she was still sleeping. He couldn’t help the smile that immediately formed on his face at the sight of two blue braids poking out of Isha’s duvet, Jinx cuddling Isha in their sleep.   He paused for a minute to take in the sight before him, taking a breath. He had known from the moment he met Isha that she was a special kid, and knew from the moment Jinx had met the child that their bond would become something wonderful for the both of them. He was so glad that his gut instincts had been correct.

With one last glance at his girls, he made his way downstairs to get things ready for breakfast.

------------------------------------------------------------

Later that morning, once Isha and Jinx had awoken in Isha’s room and gone downstairs in their pyjamas to join Ekko for breakfast, Ekko’s phoned pinged with a message from Sky. She had looked into Isha’s files and there was no evidence of Isha being physically abused by anyone in the past. This meant that no one had noticed Isha’s marks before, or if they had noticed, hadn’t told anyone about them. It also meant Isha had never told anyone, either. They had no way of knowing who had hurt the little girl, unless she decided to tell someone. Ekko knew from his training within Education that often children would disclose past abuse, harm or mistreatment once they were older and had the vocabulary to do so more confidently, and usually if they had found a grown-up they felt comfortable and safe to talk to. Ekko had not had a child disclose abuse to him as of yet, but he knew it was sadly a possibility of something that may happen in the future. Isha may feel comfortable and safe enough to tell him or Jinx about what happened to her during her time in foster care before she had reached them, but she also may not. She may not want to talk about it at all, having potentially repressed the memories or just deemed it as something she didn’t want to speak of or think of again.

“Everything okay?” Jinx asked, nudging Ekko gently with her elbow from her seat beside him.

He shook his head a little to clear his swirling thoughts. He leaned closer to Jinx and whispered so Isha wouldn’t hear from across the table.

“It’s Sky. I’ll fill you in later.”

Jinx nodded, blushing slightly when he tucked a stray blue hair behind her ear. His thumb lingered on her cheek for a moment longer than necessary, and it was his turn to blush once he let go and her blue eyes looked right at him. He could drown in those eyes, the beautiful depths of ocean that they were.

A giggle interrupted their staring and the pair turned away from each other to the sound. Isha was glancing between them with an amused smirk and a knowing look in her eyes that was far beyond her years.

Jinx cleared her throat before standing and picking up the empty cereal bowls to take to the kitchen sink.

“Go choose your outfit for the day, bug. I’ll come help you get ready once I’ve cleared away our breakfast things.

Ekko gave Isha a smile as she got up, and she smiled back as she left the kitchen. He checked she was upstairs before going over to Jinx and telling her about Sky’s message, as she rinsed the bowls before putting them in the dishwasher.

“So, there’s a chance she’ll never talk about it? But there’s also a chance she will feel safe enough to tell one of us someday?”

“Yep, that’s about it.”

“I guess we’ll see what will happen in the future.”

Ekko took Jinx’s hands and turned her to face him.

“I have no idea what the future holds, but it would be so cool if you were in it…”

Jinx giggled, leaning forwards to kiss Ekko on the cheek before turning back to her task. “An owl house reference this early in the morning?”

Ekko wrapped his arms around Jinx’s waist as he stood behind her near the sink, and rested his head on her shoulder. She leaned back against him and hugged his arms. “Any time of day is a good time for an owl house reference.”

“Well, I guess us weirdos have to stick together!”

“True that.” Ekko murmured, kissing the top of Jinx’s head before turning her and gently guiding her to the doorway. “I’ll finish up here, you go help Isha get ready for the day.”

“Alright, boy saviour.”

--

After breakfast and helping Isha get dressed for the day, Jinx washed her hair. Isha watched in awe as Jinx braided it herself whilst sat cross-legged on the living room floor. The trio spent their morning hanging out in the living room, doing a dinosaur jigsaw puzzle and drawing various dinosaurs together. Jinx also deemed it a great idea to show Isha the first Land Before Time movie, forgetting how intensely sad it was having not seen it since her own childhood, and subsequently spending the majority of the movie switching between aggressively wiping away tears and laughing at the funny parts. Isha snuggled closer to Jinx at the sad parts, holding Ekko’s hand as well from her place in between them both on the comfy sofa.

Isha decided to draw Ducky (her favourite of the dinosaurs) after they’d switched the film off, and Ekko had gone into the kitchen to cook some pasta for lunch. Jinx took the opportunity to check her phone. She realised she hadn’t yet messaged Vi and Cait with any updates on how things had gone the previous day.

💖 Famalam ✨

Today, 12:04pm

pow-pow🩵

hey guys

so yesterday was a bit interesting

i may have had an anxiety attack

BUT I’m fine

and ekko was there so

we did get isha some new books and clothes

i had to physically drag ekko out of waterstones

we had greggs for lunch

umm that’s most of it

tell me why i decided land before time was a good

movie to watch

fat hands 💕

land before time was a shit idea pow

did you cry like usual?

an anxiety attack?!?! i’m glad Ekko was there

greggs sausage rolls?

Ekko and waterstones is like you and hmv

 cupcake 🧁

Jinx are you alright?

pow-pow🩵

i’m fine cupcake

and yes sis, of course i cried like usual

i’m not made of stone

ekko is as wonderful as ever

don’t tell him I said that

 his head is big enough already

greggs sausage rolls indeed

isha loved them

Incoming call from: fat hands 💕

Jinx glanced at Isha, happily colouring in her drawing of Ducky.

“I’m just gonna answer this upstairs, it’s my sister. Ekko is in the kitchen if you need anything, okay bug?”

Isha turned to Jinx, gave her a quick thumbs up and returned to her colouring.

As she walked up the stairs, Jinx hit the answer button on her phone screen.

“sup, sis.”

Her screen filled with the faces of her sister and Caitlyn, both with matching expressions of concern.

“Jinx, are you really alright?” Caitlyn asked, worry at the edge of her voice.

Jinx sighed as she pushed open the already ajar door to Ekko’s bedroom and made herself comfortable on her side of the bed, not even realising what she was doing until she saw a sparkle appear in her sister’s eye.

“Pow, you look awfully comfortable in Ekko’s room.”

Cait elbowed Vi in the side, but couldn’t stop herself from smirking a little.

Another sigh escaped Jinx, more exasperated than before, as she looked at the two women who she cared about so much but who also frustrated her to no end at times.

“Guys, I’m fine. I forgot to put my loops earplugs in my ears when at the shopping centre, and it was a lot busier than we’d thought it would be. I was alright, until suddenly I wasn’t.” Jinx took a breath, smiling at her sister and soon-to-be sister-in-law. “Ekko noticed straight away and took me to a quieter area. He helped me with my breathing once he’d found my loops and I had put them in. I felt awful that Isha saw all that, but in a way it also made us closer. I’d explained to her what had happened and that I was okay, and she’d given me a hug. She wouldn’t let go after that, so I had to carry her to the car, and sit next to her in the back holding her hand until we got home. She was okay then, though.”

“I’m so glad you have little man, sis. Isha sounds adorable, too.”

“It really is beautiful that you and Ekko have been best friends since childhood, and even with all that you went through, it never tore you apart,” Cait said, her voice soft as she spoke, “and now, you both have Isha.”

“Yeah, he’s great.” Jinx couldn’t help the smile that formed. “Isha is great, too.”

“Sooooo… you really do look awfully comfortable in his room…” Vi smirked.

Jinx scoffed. “Well, I do sleep here every night, so.”

Vi had picked an awful time to take a sip of tea, as she immediately started coughing having inhaled it instead of swallowing the warm liquid.

Cait patted Vi gently on the back as she regained her ability to breathe without coughing.

“You… sleep in his room? Every night? With him?”

“Next to him, yeah. Last night was the first time I hadn’t slept next to him for the whole night in a while, because I went to check on Isha in the middle of the night and ended up falling back asleep next to her.”

“Let me get this straight…”

“You may struggle with that darling,” Cait said as she nudged her fiancée’s arm playfully.

Vi rolled her eyes before continuing. “As I was saying, let me get this clear. You have your own bedroom, but you don’t sleep in there? You sleep in Ekko’s bed, next to him, every night?”

“Yep.”

“Like just next to each other, or?”

Jinx looked momentarily confused. “No, we obviously snuggle.”

Vi’s eyes widened almost comically, and Cait stifled a laugh.

“I never thought I would hear the word ‘snuggle’ come out of your mouth, Jinx.” Cait said, her voice light with barely contained laughter.

“Snuggle?”

“Yes Vi, snuggle. What is so odd about that? Can’t two best friends snuggle in bed together as they sleep? We’ve done this since we were kids! We stopped when Ekko went to uni, but started again a couple of months ago.” 

The two women looked at each other, having a conversation seemingly with only their eyes, before looking back at Jinx.

“You two are adorable, Pow.”

Jinx fought to keep the smile off her face. “We’re not children, Vi.”

“You’ll always be my little sis, no matter how old we both get.”

Jinx had the overwhelming urge to hug her sister. Unfortunately, she was on the other side of a screen and not actually in the same room as her.

“You’re both coming over on New Year’s Eve still, right? You can meet Isha.”

“Yes!” Vi shouted, at the same time that Cait said, “If you’re still happy to have us, of course.”

“We would love for you to come, and I know Isha wants to meet you both.”

“We wouldn’t miss it.”

The three chatted a little longer, Jinx deciding not to mention certain things about Isha for the child’s own privacy. Once she’d said goodbye and made her way back downstairs, Isha was sitting at the kitchen table sipping at a cup of apple and blackcurrant squash.

--

The rest of the day went by quickly but smoothly. Just as Jinx was about to start bedtime with Isha, she had a text ping through from her boss, Heimerdinger. He needed her help for a few hours the following day, Friday 30^th December. She showed Ekko the text.

“It’ll be fine, I’ll be here with Isha. It’s only for a few hours.”

Jinx replied to Heimer to say she’d be there and see him the following morning.

“It’ll be nice for you and Isha to have some bonding time, too. Should we tell Isha in the morning? I don’t want to interrupt her bedtime routine or make her anxious.”

“I think that would be best, yeah. We’ll tell her tomorrow morning. I’ll think of something fun we can both do together whilst you’re gone.”

Jinx read Isha a story once she was ready for bed. “Remember, if you need me or Ekko, come and wake us. We’re in his room, okay?”

Isha nodded, giving Jinx one last hug before settling under her covers and cuddling Blue the bunny tight to her chest.

------------------------------------------------------------

Isha woke up early the following morning. The little clock in her room flashed with numbers reading 6:30AM. She couldn’t tell the time yet using a clock with hands, but she had a basic understanding of digital time and knew that ‘AM’ meant ‘morning’.

She sat up in her bed and gave Blue an extra squeeze. She loved that bunny so much. He had brought her a huge amount of comfort in the lead-up to moving in with Jinx and Ekko. She couldn’t believe it was her third day with them both.

Flinging back the duvet cover, Isha climbed out of bed and placed the fluffy bunny next to her pillow. Jinx had said Isha could come and see her and Ekko any time if she needed to, and surely that meant once she had woken up in the morning? Isha tiptoed out of her own room and into the upstairs hallway towards Ekko’s bedroom. She peered around the wooden door, where it stood half-open. She squeezed through the gap in the doorway and padded into the room. A small smirk crept its way onto Isha’s face from what she saw through the dim glow of Jinx’s sunrise lamp; Jinx and Ekko were snuggled together, Jinx’s head on his chest and his arms wrapped around her underneath the duvet. Isha crept closer, trying to be as quiet as possible. She climbed onto the bed next to Jinx. She watched the pair for a silent moment and thought to herself how peaceful they both looked, and how safe she felt now she was with them. Crawling underneath the soft duvet, Isha snuggled next to Jinx, her back against Jinx’s, and fell back asleep.

An hour later, Jinx’s alarm went off. The starting music to ‘Soda Pop’ started playing from Jinx’s phone on her bedside table, and Isha woke up immediately at the familiar sound. She giggled a little at Jinx’s exasperated groan and muttering of “nooooooo, it’s too early!”

Jinx and Ekko both turned their heads to face her, shocked to see her lying there so comfortably without them having noticed her.

Sitting up, she signed “good morning” to them both with a smile. They were both still entangled together and quickly tried to untangle themselves, resulting in Ekko falling out of the bed with a loud thud. All the while, Soda Pop continued playing in the background until Jinx reached over Isha to tap her phone and then sat back, glancing at Ekko.

Isha leaned over Jinx with concern, but when the bluenette let out a burst of laughter whilst Ekko sat up, sheepishly stroking the back of his head, Isha relaxed and let herself giggle a little. Her new grown-ups were so silly!

“When did you come in here, bug?” Jinx asked, turning back to face Isha as Ekko got up from the floor.

“I woke up early. Clock said 6:30.”

“So you came to see us?” Ekko asked with a warm smile.

Isha nodded in response.

“And then you fell back asleep next to us?” asked Jinx.

Another nod. She didn’t feel like she needed to sign sometimes when a simple nod or shake of the head would do.

“You can wake us next time if you want to, but it makes me so happy you felt comfortable enough with us for this.” Jinx tucked a strand of Isha’s hair behind her ear that had fallen into her eyes. Isha leaned into the soft touch, she loved how gentle Jinx always was with her. She loved Jinx. She wanted to be with her and with Ekko forever.

Jinx and Ekko looked between each other, having some sort of silent conversation with just their eyes. Isha had no idea what they were trying to communicate. Ekko sat back on the bed and Jinx held one of Isha’s hands. She felt nervous butterflies begin to flutter in her stomach.

“I have to go into work today for a few hours. I won’t be gone for long, and Ekko will be here with you. We are all going to have breakfast together as usual. I will still help you get dressed if you would like me to. When I’m back home I won’t be going into work again until you’re back at school next week.” Jinx spoke calmly.

Isha took a moment to process what Jinx had said, and then nodded slowly. She crawled into Jinx’s lap and wrapped her arms around the woman’s neck, breathing in the scent of her apple shampoo. She found that scent comforting. Jinx hugged Isha, cradling the back of her head with one hand. Jinx didn’t let go until several minutes later when Isha felt ready to go downstairs for breakfast and leaned back in Jinx’s arms.

After climbing off Jinx’s lap and the bed, Isha grabbed Ekko’s and Jinx’s hands and pulled them carefully towards the stairs. The trio walked downstairs together and ate a breakfast of coco pops cereal. Once they had eaten, Ekko washed the dishes whilst the girls made their way back upstairs to get dressed for the day. Jinx helped Isha change into her pair of purple dungarees, a pastel pink t-shirt and some rainbow socks and then Isha helped Jinx choose her own outfit; purple dungarees that matched Isha’s, a powder blue t-shirt and baby blue socks.

“I think we need a photo to commemorate our matching dungarees, what do you think bug?”

“YES!” Isha agreed excitedly, jumping up and down and flapping her hands about.

Jinx grabbed her phone and knelt down next to Isha to take a selfie of the two of them. She showed Isha the photo and it made Isha fill up with happiness. Her and Jinx both looked so happy. The only thing that would make it better was if Isha also had braids in her hair like Jinx. She planned to ask Jinx another time if she would braid her hair for her, but she knew Jinx wouldn’t have time that day because she had work.

“Perfect! Now, let’s go show Ekko how cute we look!” Jinx laughed as she took Isha’s hand, and they walked back downstairs.

“Oh my gods, look at you two!” Ekko said with a smile as Jinx and Isha both spun around once to show him their matching outfits. “I hope you got a photo, Jinx. You need to show Vi and Cait!”

“Of course I got a photo, Ekko.” Jinx looked lost in thought for a moment. “Isha, are you happy for me to send the photo to my sister and Caitlyn? I know you haven’t met them yet, but I’m sure they’d love to see how cool we both look.”

“Yes, you can show them!”

“Fantastic!” Jinx exclaimed, sending the photo before grabbing her black lace-up boots from the shoe rack at the bottom of the stairs. She sat on the ottoman to put her boots on, and Isha watched as Ekko placed a blue reusable water bottle and Jinx’s backpack beside her. Jinx stood, kissing Ekko on the cheek and saying, “thank you, what would I do without you?”

Isha watched as Ekko’s cheeks grew red, and he looked away as if suddenly very interested in the front door. Jinx stooped down to Isha’s level and sat on her knees. Anxious butterflies came back to Isha’s stomach, too many thoughts swirling in her head telling her that Jinx wouldn’t come back. Jinx would disappear like her birth parents had. Isha felt her bottom lip begin to tremble, and tried to focus on the way Jinx looked at her instead. Jinx’s blue eyes shone, a small smile on her face.

“I will only be gone for a few hours, I’ll be back before you know it! You’re gonna have so much fun with Ekko that you won’t even miss me.”

Isha’s lip wobbled even more, and she tried to do the slow breathing Ekko had taught her at school all those months ago. Jinx softly kissed the top of Isha’s head, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“Isha, I promise you, I will be back.”

Jinx stood, shrugged on her backpack after shoving her water bottle into the side pocket, and opened the front door. She gave a little wave before leaving, closing the door behind her with a definitive click.

Isha fidgeted with her hands and took another slow breath before looking up at Ekko, who had come to stand beside her.

“You okay, Isha?” he asked softly.

She took one of his hands to hold, wanting some sort of comfort but not sure she felt ready to hug Ekko yet.

--

Ekko glanced down at Isha holding onto his hand and staring at the front door as if by staring at it hard enough and for long enough, it would make Jinx magically reappear. He knew she was growing attached to Jinx so had expected a similar reaction when she had to go somewhere.

“Isha, how about we bake something together? We can make something that Jinx would love, and surprise her with it when she comes back home later?”

A few seconds passed as Isha processed Ekko’s words. She turned, still holding Ekko’s hand, and started walking towards the kitchen. She pulled Ekko along as he said, his voice light with laughter, “I’ll take that as a yes then!”

Isha stood beside Ekko at the kitchen counter, on a stool he had grabbed from a cupboard in the hallway so she could reach better. Just as he started taking the flour and sugar out of the cupboard, he heard his phone ping with a text from Jinx. He placed the Barbie cookbook that he and Jinx had found in a charity shop months before in front of Isha and told her to look through at the pictures and choose something to bake. It had reminded them of the one that Vander had in his house when they were kids, and how despite coming across as not being interested in stereotypically ‘girly’ stuff, Vi had loved the Barbie movies and enjoyed playing with Jinx. Vi and Jinx had spent many hours baking the recipes from the book and getting him, Claggor and Milo to taste test. He smiled at the memories floating back into his mind as he unlocked his phone to read Jinx’s messages.

Today, 9:04am

🩵Pow🩵

is isha okay??

i kinda just left but I didn’t want to prolong it

as I felt it might have made her more upset

did I do the right thing??

did she cry??

gods I made her cry didn’t i??

💚boy saviour💚

Pow, breathe…

She’s okay, she didn’t cry.

You did the right thing.

It’s always best for the children when their parents

leave quickly as the longer the ‘goodbye’,

the more difficult it is on the child.

🩵Pow🩵

‘parents’ huh? 👀

💚boy saviour💚

Uhm, did I say ‘parents’?

I meant ‘grown-ups’.

But I guess we kinda are Isha’s parents.

🩵Pow🩵

i guess we are

send photos of the fun you’re having without me

love you, boy saviour

💚boy saviour💚

Love you too, Pow.

Ekko grinned at his phone screen a little longer, until Isha tapped his arm to get his attention. He looked over at her and to the page she was pointing at. It was a recipe for sugar cookie type biscuits. Isha helped him to prepare all the ingredients, and they followed the recipe together. It wasn’t often that he baked, even less so that Jinx did, but they had a good-sized range of cookie cutters for Isha to choose from. She wanted to use the cat and flower ones, with three individual cookies cut using the different sized people shapes.

Whilst the cookies were baking in the oven, Isha looked through the cookbook again and pointed to a recipe for cupcakes. Ekko agreed and they got to work measuring ingredients. As Ekko was getting the eggs from their egg box on the counter beside the fridge, he heard a quiet yelp from Isha. He turned around to see the flour all over the counter and covering Isha from head to toe. She had somehow managed to drop the bag of flour into the mixing bowl and it had gone all over her.

She was stood frozen in place, fear growing in her widened hazel eyes. Ekko carefully placed the eggs onto the counter nearest him and slowly walked over to Isha.

“Are you okay, Isha?” Ekko asked calmly as he stood near the child. “Did any flour get in your eyes?”

Isha nodded, then shook her head. She signed, “You’re not mad?”

“Of course I’m not mad, Isha. It was an accident. I just want to know that you’re okay.”

“I’m okay.”

“I’m glad you are, kiddo. I know Jinx spoke to you about how she won’t ever hurt you, or shout at you. I think it’s time for me to do the same.” He held out his hands for Isha to take, despite now getting flour on his t-shirt as Isha moved her arms. “Isha, I won’t ever hurt you. I am here, the same as Jinx, to keep you safe. We will be here for you. I’m with you at school, and also at home, and I promise you that you will be safe with me. Okay?”

Isha let go of Ekko’s hands to sign, “Okay.” She then leaned into him for a moment, a sort of half hug, before pointing at his now flour-covered t-shirt.

Ekko laughed as he looked at the mess everywhere, and Isha giggled along with him once she saw how much she looked like a snowman. She gave a thumbs up and a big grin when Ekko took a photo of the mess to show Jinx. She replied to Ekko saying, “don’t have too much fun without me!” They then cleaned up their mess once Ekko had taken the cookies out of the oven to cool. Once tidied, and once Ekko had cleaned as much flour off of Isha as he could without her changing her outfit (she wanted to still match Jinx so refused to take the dungarees off), they resumed the cupcake baking.

--

Jinx arrived home in time for lunch. She had grabbed some nice bakery rolls on her way home. As she opened the front door, the delicious scent of freshly baked cupcakes wafted towards her from the kitchen. She shut the door behind her and put her backpack down on the ottoman. Before she could sit down to remove her shoes however, Isha ran towards her from the kitchen and stopped just short of crashing into her legs. Jinx knelt down and looked at the little girl. She had a huge grin on her face and didn’t hesitate in launching herself at Jinx for a hug. She rested her chin on Jinx’s shoulder and wrapped her small arms around the bluenette’s neck. Jinx hugged her back tightly, breathing in the warm scent of vanilla.

When Isha pulled back from the hug moments later, she signed “oops!” before her hands went to cover her mouth. Jinx looked down at herself and realised some of the leftover flour that had remained on Isha’s dungarees had transferred itself to Jinx’s, mixing with the oil and grease already dotted there.

“Maybe we should both go and get changed?” Jinx suggested with a chuckle.

Ekko entered the room and Jinx could have sworn she felt some of her breath leave as if taken away by him personally. He stood just past the doorway into the kitchen, a tea towel slung over one shoulder and his hair, braided into multiple small braids, was tied back. His warm, brown eyes looked like melted chocolate as he watched her staring at him, one eyebrow raised. He had his arms crossed and it was one of the first times in a while that Jinx noticed how strong they looked. As if he could just pick her up and carry her like a firefighter. Her brain flashed with the scene in Baldur’s Gate 3 where Shadowheart first met Karlach, and commented on the Tiefling’s strength and ability to throw her over her shoulder and carry her to safety, ‘should the need arise’. Jinx felt herself blush as she grabbed Isha’s hand and led her towards the staircase.

 “There are rolls from the bakery in my backpack, if you wanna put them in the kitchen?” Jinx called out to Ekko as she walked up the stairs with Isha.

--

Once upstairs, Jinx and Isha grabbed a change of clothes and headed into the bathroom. Jinx helped Isha peel off her flour-covered dungarees and t-shirt.

“We might have to give you a quick shower, bug. The flour is all in your hair.” Jinx said as she ran her fingers through Isha’s curls, disturbing the flour there and coughing as it went up her nose.

“Okay.” Isha signed.

“The shower feels like a soft waterfall. You’ll get what I mean in a minute. Ekko looked at me as if I had two heads when I told him that the first time after we’d had this shower put in, but then once he’d used the shower, he agreed with me.” 

Isha giggled as she took her socks off. Jinx helped her climb into the bath, as the shower was attached to the wall and hung over the bath. Jinx turned the shower on by leaning over the bath, making sure it was the right temperature and that the shower head was on the correct setting. She stepped back and let Isha stand under the shower for a bit, having ensured the shower curtain covered enough of the bath to not spray water all over the bathroom. Once Isha’s hair was damp enough, she moved closer to Jinx so the woman could put the shampoo in Isha’s hair and massage it in. Isha then closed her eyes, stood back underneath the shower and rinsed her hair. Jinx sat on the closed lid of the toilet, hidden by the shower curtain but there in case Isha needed her. A few short minutes later, Isha poked her head around the shower curtain to show Jinx she was all done.

Jinx turned the shower off once it had been determined that no trace of flour was left in Isha’s hair. She helped the little girl wrap a towel around herself and step out of the bath. Once all dry, Isha changed into flour-free clothes after putting a clean pair of underwear on; grey joggers, pink socks and a pink t-shirt with Barbie on the front.

She helped Jinx to choose a new outfit, too, and once she was clad in matching grey joggers and another blue t-shirt, but with Piplup on the front this time, Isha pointed at her chestnut curls.

“Do you want me to help comb your hair?” Jinx asked.

Isha nodded. Jinx patted the bed, and Isha sat with Jinx cross-legged behind her. As Jinx gently combed Isha’s soft curls – she had researched a few days before on the best ways to look after loose curls like Isha’s, and she had learned that a wide-toothed comb was better than a brush – the little girl relaxed. They stayed like this a while, longer than Isha’s hair needed to be combed, but they were both so comfortable and at peace in that moment that it didn’t matter.

Once she’d put the comb down beside her, Isha turned round to face Jinx. She crossed her own legs and stared at Jinx inquisitively.

“You like Ekko.”

Not a question. A statement. Punctuated by a smirk and twinkling hazel eyes.

Jinx’s blue eyes widened at the child’s boldness. She’d only been living with them for a few days, and she was asking about Jinx and Ekko’s relationship.

“Of course I like Ekko, he’s great!”

An eye roll. As exasperated a sigh as Jinx had ever heard from a five-year-old.

“No. You like him like you wanna kiss him. On the lips.” Isha signed, pointing at her lips with a smile.

“I mean, I can’t say I haven’t thought about kissing him, but that doesn’t mean…” Jinx paused, eyes widening as Isha giggled.

“Oh.”

“Oh.” Jinx froze, deep in thought. “I like Ekko.”

Isha watched as Jinx went through the stages of acceptance. She liked Ekko. Romantically. She thought about the times back when she was a teenager, and everyone was talking about crushes. She hadn’t liked anyone back then, not even in a friendship way, other than… Ekko. She remembered the butterflies that had started to appear in her stomach whenever Ekko was around, which had never happened when they were children. It had stopped happening for a while, but she noted that it had started again a few months before. She found other people attractive in an aesthetic sense, sure. But romantically? Wanting to date someone? Kiss someone? Looking back, the only person she had ever felt attracted to romantically, that she felt the urge to actually kiss, was Ekko. It had always been Ekko. She didn’t know yet what to do with that information. What if she told Ekko, and he didn’t feel the same? What if it ruined everything they had going on with Isha? She loved Ekko as her best friend more than anything else. She would be happy if nothing romantic ever happened, as she was content with what they had. But, if he did like her back romantically, too? They could have an added extra and probably kiss sometimes. She smiled at the thought, and planned to talk to Vi about her discovery when she came over the following day for New Years Eve. Her sister usually had good advice, even if she would most likely tease Jinx in the process.

“You can’t tell Ekko, okay? I need to think about this for a bit before I tell him how I feel. Can you do that for me, bug?”

Isha gave Jinx a hug in answer, and she hugged the little girl back tightly, breathing in the scent of their apple shampoo mixed with the vanilla still lingering from her baking earlier on with Ekko.

They made their way downstairs and helped Ekko make grated cheddar cheese rolls for lunch. Jinx took a photo of the cupcakes and sent it to Cait, saying “that’s you”. Cait replied to her moments later with a photo of Vi laughing so hard she’d fallen off their sofa. Vi always found her sister hilarious, and it made Jinx immensely happy. She loved her family, and Isha was a part of that, now. Forever.

Chapter Text

After they had finished eating lunch, the trio shared some of Isha and Ekko’s baking.

“These cupcakes and biscuits are delicious! You did a brilliant job, Isha.”

“Erm… What about me?” Ekko stated indignantly. “What am I? A spatula?”

Jinx and Isha glanced at each other, then looked at Ekko, before bursting into laughter so loud it made the man almost jump out of his seat. He couldn’t keep his expression of mock outrage for more than a few seconds, joining their laughs.

Wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, Jinx attempted to regain her composure. “Spatula?!” she managed to say before dissolving back into a fit of giggles.

--

The rest of the day passed by and before they knew it, Isha’s bedtime had arrived. As Jinx tucked the little girl into bed, she reminded her about their plans for the following day.

“Tomorrow is New Years Eve, so you’ll get to meet Vi and Caitlyn when they come over. It’s okay if you feel nervous about meeting two new people. Me and Ekko will be with you the whole time. I think you’ll like Vi and Cait.”

Isha nodded at Jinx’s words. The bluenette softly kissed the top of the little girl’s head before leaving the room.

“I can’t wait for Isha to meet Vi tomorrow.” Jinx whispered into Ekko’s shoulder as they drifted off to sleep. “Cait too, of course. I’m so glad Sky agreed it all.”

Jinx and Ekko had spoken to Sky about their plan for Vi and Caitlyn to meet Isha, and she had told them to go ahead with it. Caitlyn had a clear enhanced DBS what with working for the police, and Sky had paid a short visit to Vi’s work a few days prior to speak to her and ensure she safe to be around Isha. Sky had very quickly cleared Vi, understanding that any past misdemeanours had occurred when she was a teenager and that she had learned from those mistakes. It had also turned out, which Jinx hadn’t known about and Ekko hadn’t even thought of, that Vi also had a clear DBS check considering she sometimes taught boxing to children as well as adults as part of her job at Sevika’s gym.

“Me too, Pow.” Ekko whispered into soft, blue hair. “Isha is gonna love them as much as we do. I just know it.”

------------------------------------------------------------

Jinx awoke as she often did, in the comforting arms of Ekko. After her realisation the previous day, she had considered sleeping in her own room that night to have some distance to think a bit more, but when Ekko had held his hand out to her she took it. She knew she wouldn’t have slept well without him there as she was far too used to his warmth.

Glancing at Ekko’s peaceful, sleeping form, Jinx couldn’t stop her eyes moving to his lips. She stared at his beautiful, familiar face for several moments as she thought about the possibility of telling him about her newly realised romantic feelings.

“Enjoying the view?”

A blush formed immediately on Jinx’s face, partially visible to Ekko from the warm glow of the sunrise lamp across from them. She took a slow breath and boldly met his eyes with her own.

“Yes, actually.”

Jinx giggled as Ekko stuttered, a blush of his own blooming on his cheeks.

It was at that moment Isha made an appearance, a smirk on her face as she crawled onto their bed and sat at the end near their feet. They sat up as she signed “good morning!"

“Good morning,” Ekko said. “Breakfast?”

After a small breakfast of cereal, the trio went back upstairs to get dressed for the day. Ekko changed into dark grey joggers, a plain black t-shirt underneath a forest green hoodie with bright yellow Pikachu socks covering his feet. Jinx wore a pair of lighter grey joggers, a purple t-shirt with Espeon on the front, purple socks and a black oversized cardigan – belonging to Ekko - thrown over the top. Isha had chosen purple joggers, a pastel pink t-shirt with Jigglypuff on the front, purple polka-dot socks and a baby blue cardigan that Jinx had found amongst her old childhood things, which Isha immediately loved almost as much as Blue the bunny.

They made their way downstairs, Ekko entering the kitchen to put the gammon joint in the oven to begin roasting. Despite it not quite being 10am just yet, it would take a good few hours to roast. Once finished, Ekko, Jinx and Isha went into the living room to draw for a bit before their guests arrived.

--

An enthusiastic knock at the front door sounded throughout the house. Jinx and Ekko went to open it as Isha stayed in the living room, peering her head around the doorframe. Isha had a pretty good view of the front door from where she stood. She saw two women walk into the hallway and Ekko close the door behind them.

“Powder!” the woman with short, bright red hair said excitedly as she pulled Jinx into her arms for a tight hug.

Isha watched as Jinx hugged the redhead back just as tightly. She wore grey joggers that were similar to the ones Jinx was wearing, a burgundy t-shirt with Muffin from Bluey on the front, a black unzipped hoodie and black lace-up boots, also similar to Jinx’s. The other woman was taller, with straight, shoulder-length hair that looked as if it were dark blue but was probably black. She wore a navy-blue dress that fell to just below her knees, black tights and navy-coloured ankle-length boots, a grey jumper over the dress. Isha knew this woman was Caitlyn. The tall woman gave Ekko a quick hug in greeting, then watched as Jinx and Vi hugged for a little longer.

Jinx let go of Vi, stepping aside to greet Caitlyn with a shorter but almost equally as tight hug. “Nice to see you, Cupcake.”

“Always with that nickname!” Caitlyn laughed. “Am I ever going to escape that?”

“Probably not.” Jinx smirked as she ended their hug. She turned to where Isha was still peeking around the doorway and gestured for her to come closer. “Isha, come meet my third favourite person, and my sister.”

“Hey! I thought I was your first favourite?!” Vi said huffily, throwing her arms up in the air. “Your favourite, favourite, if you will.”

Isha giggled as she slowly walked closer to Jinx, hiding half behind her as she clung to her right leg, wrapping her tiny arms around the soft material of Jinx’s grey joggers.

Jinx looked down at Isha with a smirk and an eye roll, causing her to giggle more. “I am joking, but my sister isn’t great at figuring that out.” She gently placed a hand atop Isha’s head, running her fingers through soft curls. Isha relaxed instantly, loosening her grip on Jinx’s leg. “I don’t really have favourites, I love my family all the same, just in different ways.”

Vi walked closer to Jinx, crouching down so she was at Isha’s level. “You must be Isha, unless Pow-Pow and Little Man have another kid I don’t know about yet!”

Giggling at Vi’s words, Isha let go of Jinx’s leg and stepped out in front of the redhead. The little girl stood directly next to Jinx, close enough that she could cling to her again if she felt she needed to. She looked at the woman’s powder blue eyes. She didn’t look all that much like Jinx, but there was something about her that Isha couldn’t quite place… something that made it almost obvious that she was the bluenette’s sister. Isha had also learned that ‘Powder’ or ‘Pow-Pow’ was what Vi called Jinx, and since she was used to Ekko calling her ‘Pow’ she thought it must be a nickname from when Jinx was younger.

Vi smiled warmly. Isha wasn’t sure if the redheaded woman understood sign language, but she believed Jinx or Ekko would translate for her if she didn’t.

“Yes, I am Isha.”

Vi watched the child’s hands, nodding in concentration. “Ah, good! It’s great to meet you Isha. You can call me auntie Vi, or just Vi, or Violet. Although only Cait really calls me that.”

“Auntie Vi?” Isha signed in question.

“Of course! You’re Powder’s kid, so that makes you my niece!” Vi smiled, blue eyes sparkling with joy. “I’m really excited to be your auntie, Isha.”

Isha couldn’t stop the smile that appeared. Jinx’s kid? She really liked the sound of that. Maybe she would get her dream of having a real family… she already knew that she would happily live with Jinx and Ekko forever. She loved them both.

“Thank you, auntie Vi.” Isha signed, grin never leaving her face.

Vi turned to gesture at her fiancée. Caitlyn knelt down beside Vi, legs folded underneath her. She smoothed her dress over her knees before looking at Isha, a small gap in between her front teeth peeking through her lips as she smiled. “Hi Isha, I’m Caitlyn.”

“Aunt Caitlyn, you mean.” Vi added, gently nudging Cait’s shoulder with her own. “We may not be married yet, but you’re family already.”

Cait nudged the redhead back gently. “Aunt Caitlyn,” she corrected. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Isha. We’ve heard so much about you from Jinx.”

“Jinx talks about me?” Isha asked in sign, glancing between the woman she now knew as Aunt Caitlyn and Jinx, who was still standing beside her.

Caitlyn nodded, eyes softening as she looked between Isha and Jinx. “Of course she does, she loves having you here with her and Ekko.”

“She talked about you before you moved in, too.” Vi chimed in, glancing at her sister.

“She is standing right here, you know!” Jinx said, before sitting down in the hallway and crossing her legs. “Might as well join the floor party if you’re talking about me as if I’m not even here.” She patted the floor and pointed to a spot across from her. “Ekko, come join us!”

Ekko joined the three women and sat across from Jinx, crossing his legs and matching how she was sitting. “I have been summoned.”

Jinx rolled her eyes before gently taking one of Isha’s hands. “I do talk about you to my sister and Caitlyn, you’re an important person in my life now.” She looked over at Ekko and winked. “Ekko talks about you too, bug. You’ve made our lives even better just by existing.”

“We are so happy to have you as part of our family, Isha.” Ekko said, warmth radiating from his voice.

Isha felt tears begin to form. Not wanting to cry in front of her new aunts or Ekko, she climbed into Jinx’s lap and hid her face in the crook of Jinx’s neck, wrapping her small arms around her. Jinx hugged her back tightly, resting her head atop Isha’s curls.

She stayed in Jinx’s arms, listening to the various quiet sounds happening around her; Ekko’s whisper of “let’s go to the living room,” three people standing up, two pairs of boots being unzipped and placed beside the shoe rack, three pairs of shuffling feet moving through the hallway and into the living room. A few tears escaped, soaking into the soft fabric of Jinx’s cardigan. Isha sniffled, burrowing herself even further into Jinx’s neck. Jinx breathed in deeply, ruffling Isha’s curls with her exhale.

After a few minutes of silence, Jinx whispered into Isha’s hair, “you okay, bug?”

Snuggling even further into her warm safety net, Isha breathed in Jinx’s familiar apple scent. Counted to four in her head. Breathed out. She did this twice more, then slowly loosened her near-death grip and leaned back in Jinx’s lap.

A small nod. Hazel eyes, still shimmering from recently shed tears. Tiny hands twisting together. Warmth spread back through Isha’s body when Jinx placed her hands gently on the child’s shoulders, hands not as cold as they often were. She reached one hand to touch Isha’s face, gently wiping a remaining tear with her thumb.

“Emotions got a bit much for you, bug?” Jinx asked, blue eyes filled with love and understanding. 

“Not used to adults caring so much.” Isha signed, lip beginning to tremble and eyes forming more tears. “I feel happy. Also scared.”

“Oh, bug.” Jinx cradled Isha’s face between her hands, eyes softening even more as tears of her own threatened to spill. “I know how hard it is to not have adults around who care, and how… odd… it feels when you do have that after so long. It almost doesn’t feel real.” She paused a moment, as if reflecting on her own childhood. “It will take some time, but you will get used to being cared about. I’m not going anywhere, neither is Ekko. You’ve got two aunts now, too, who are a bit ridiculous but you’ll get used to them.”

A small smile quirked at the corners of Isha’s lips.

“You’re stuck with us now, bug.” Jinx moved one of her hands to bop Isha on the nose. The little girl scrunched her nose up, causing them both to giggle. “Are you ready to go into the living room and join the others?”

“Yes.” Isha climbed off Jinx’s lap.

Once the bluenette had uncrossed her legs and stood, she held out her hand. Isha took it and they walked into the living room together.

------------------------------------------------------------

Ekko led Vi and Caitlyn into the living room. He pushed the door partially closed so it stood ajar.

Vi dabbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her hoodie, Caitlyn resting a well-manicured hand on her shoulder whilst they sat beside each other on the grey sofa.

“Seeing Powder with Isha just now, she seemed so much like… well… a mum… like our mum, from the little I remember of her.”

Ekko perched on the edge of the wooden coffee table, sitting across from the two women. He reached out and took one of Vi’s hands in his own. As a young kid, Vi had been a constant presence of warmth and support to him. She would always be like an older sister, he loved her as such and always would.

Taking a few slow, calming breaths, Vi continued at a near whisper. “It just warms my heart is all.” She looked at Ekko, squeezing his hand. “After all you and Powder have been through… to see you both so well-adjusted and forming a little family of your own… you both deserve the world, and I’m so unbelievably happy for you both.”

“You’re wonderful parents already, Ekko. Isha clearly loves you both very much.” Caitlyn added warmly.

Warm brown eyes met shining, powder blue. “We wouldn’t have ended up here had we not had you there when we were kids. You’re a wonderful sister, Violet. Powder and I both love you so much. We’re so lucky to have you in our lives, you and Caitlyn."

"Little man..." Vi whispered, pulling Ekko up with her as she stood from the sofa and into her strong arms for a hug. “You and Powder are perfect together, whatever that may look like for you both.”

Ekko hugged her tighter for a moment, soaking in the feeling of being loved so fiercely by someone that he had known essentially his entire life. Vi’s words swirled in his brain even after they’d parted from their hug and settled on the sofa. She thought he and Jinx were ‘perfect together’, in whatever way that happened to be for them. He began to think that perhaps his feelings towards Jinx weren’t as ‘hidden’ as he had led himself to believe…

 ------------------------------------------------------------

When Jinx and Isha entered the living room, Vi and Caitlyn were in whispered conversation on the sofa with Ekko. They turned in near-unison, Ekko smiling at his girls and standing to move towards the doorway. Isha held Jinx’s hand as they walked over to a shelf near the tv, Jinx grabbing the board game ‘Ludo’ from their board games assortment and placing it on the coffee table. Her and Isha sat beside each other on the blue rug.

After exchanging a glance with Jinx and her nodding subtly to indicate all was okay with Isha, and she’d fill him in later, Ekko switched into host mode. “Drinks, anyone?” He asked, looking around the room.

Caitlyn turned to smile politely at the man. “Yes please, Ekko. What do you have?”

Ekko began listing off various drink options, “Apple juice, orange squash, apple & blackcurrant squash, Pepsi max, Tea, non-alcoholic cider…”

“Cider please little man!” Vi said, interrupting Ekko mid-sentence.

“You got it, Vi. Caitlyn?”

The tall woman thought for a moment, considering her options.

“Tea, please.”

“Am I right that you have no sugar, and just a splash of milk?” He asked. “We only have lactose-free or oat milk.”

“Yes, thank you Ekko. Oat milk would be lovely, please.” Cait replied, sitting up straighter on the sofa cushion as if a tiny string had been placed at the top of her head and was pulling her upwards towards the ceiling.

Ekko turned to Isha, who immediately signed “Pepsi max, please” with a mischievous grin. She knew fizzy drinks were not something she often had the opportunity to drink. Ekko knew she was testing him to see if he’d allow it since it was a holiday and not just a normal Saturday.

Jinx gave him a slight nod in agreement as he looked her way. He grabbed a small notepad and pen from a pocket in his grey joggers, the kind waiters used at restaurants. “So that is one Pepsi max for Isha,” he said as he wrote in his notepad, “a cider for Vi and tea with a splash of oat milk for Cait.”

Isha giggled as she saw the surprised faces of the three women in the room. They all looked at Ekko, then at the notepad, then back at Ekko.

Vi started laughing as she caught Jinx’s eye, who smirked at her older sister before saying in a deadly serious, deep voice, “Miss Evans, would you care for a lemonaaaade?”

In an equally serious voice, Vi retorted, “actually, I’m not Miss Evans. I’m Jason.”

Both sisters burst into a fit of giggles, Jinx falling back on the rug underneath her and Vi leaning back against the sofa cushions. Ekko rolled his eyes affectionately at the pair, watching as they regained their composure and sat up again. Cait and Isha sat watching the sisters, Isha mildly confused at the situation and Cait shaking her head as if used to their antics.

Caitlyn cleared her throat, a small smile forming. “What source of media were you both quoting this time?”

“High School Musical 2 of course!” Jinx stated, blue eyes sparkling like sapphires.  “The scene when they’re all in the kitchen and Mr Faulton is telling them all their job roles at Lava Springs.”

“Ah, I haven’t seen that film.”

 “VIOLET!” Jinx exclaimed, exasperated. “Do you mean to tell me you have never shown Caitlyn the High School Musical movies?!”

“Uhm…”

“Right, that’s settled then! After lunch, we will show both Caitlyn and Isha the cinematic masterpiece that is High School Musical. Of course, the second one is the best of the three – anyone who disagrees can argue with the wall – but, we have to start with the first one.” Jinx glanced around the room, as if daring anyone to argue with her.

“Hey, you know I agree with you Pow-Pow.” Vi said, grinning at her sister. “Nothing can beat belting out ‘Bet On It’ whilst marching around the room dramatically.”

“Right?!”

“Or ‘I’ve gotta go my own way’.” Ekko added.

“Oh yeah, I remember you two doing a full-on performance of that song when we were kids!” Vi’s eyes unfocused a little, as if she was seeing the memory play out in front of her. “You both practiced for hours that day, not letting anyone into the living room until you were ready. You then had Vander, Benzo, Sevika, Milo, Claggor and me sit and watch you both. It was very dramatic. I remember Ekko kissing Pow on the cheek at the end, after you’d both bowed, and the both of you turning as red as a tomato!” Vi sniggered as she finished speaking, Cait struggling to hold in laughter of her own. “Kinda like right now, actually!”

Isha giggled as she imagined a much younger Jinx and Ekko singing in front of their family dramatically. She watched as Jinx had hid her face in her hands.

“I’ll just… uhm… get the drinks.” Ekko excused himself and left the room.

“Violet, must you tease them like that?”

“It’s nothing they’re not used to, Cupcake.” Vi winked at her sister after turning to face her. “Right, Pow-Pow?”

Jinx sighed deeply, peeking out from her hands so only her eyes were visible. She shook her head, removing her hands fully from her face so she could look directly at her sister. She stared into Vi’s powder blue eyes, telling her with just one glance that she wouldn’t be letting it go so easily. Vi froze, momentarily nervous over what embarrassing anecdote her little sister could bring up. Shaking herself back into the moment, Vi gestured towards the board game on the coffee table.

“Haven’t played Ludo for ages!”

“Ready to lose, sis?” Jinx asked, taking the lid off the box.

“Hah, you wish!”

Jinx rolled her eyes at her sister before turning to Isha, who was staring at the game. “Do you wanna pick which colour everyone is?”

Isha nodded enthusiastically. She chose the yellow tokens for herself, green for Jinx, blue for Caitlyn and red for Vi.

Vi and Cait exchanged a glance. Vi wiggled her eyebrows up and down, causing Cait to giggle and gently push the redhead’s shoulder with one hand.

“Are you two gonna keep flirting over there or come join us?” Jinx asked, raising an eyebrow of her own at the two women.

Vi got up from the sofa and sat on the rug beside Jinx, where she was closest to the red corner of the board. Cait stayed seated on the sofa, but shuffled to the spot where Vi had been sitting so she was closer to the blue area. After Jinx explained to Isha how to play, they began the game.

“Be prepared, Isha.” Caitlyn stage-whispered to the child, winking as if she was sharing a secret. “These two can get very competitive.”

------------------------------------------------------------

Ekko stood by the kitchen counter for a moment, hands resting on the work surface as he waited for the blush on his face to recede. Vi often joked with him and Powder about the nature of their relationship, but since he had now realised that he did in fact like the blue-haired woman romantically, anxiety had crept into his mind. Vi had insinuated that she supported whatever his relationship with Jinx looked like, which led him to believe her teasing had not always been entirely that of the light-hearted, no real truth behind the words, sisterly kind. He hadn’t told Jinx about his romantic feelings, hadn’t even thought all that much about it since they had been busy with Isha moving in and getting settled. He had times where he thought Jinx might feel the same as him, like that morning when he had essentially flirted with her and she’d flirted right back, but he wasn’t sure. He had no idea how to handle the whole situation. If she didn’t feel the same, he knew it would likely be a little awkward between them for a bit but he knew how strong their friendship was and that nothing, not even an unrequited romantic love confession, would damage that. If she did feel the same, though? He knew even less how he’d handle that.

Quietly shutting the kitchen door once he heard the tell-tale signs of the others having commenced board game playing, Ekko pulled his iPhone out from a pocket in his joggers. He scrolled through his contacts, pausing on one name in particular before tapping the ‘call’ button on the screen.

A deep voice answered after only one ring. “Ekko? Everything okay?”

“Hi, Jayce.” Ekko breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm his racing thoughts. “Can I ask your opinion on something?”

“Sure E, go ahead.”

“Umm, okay, so…”

“It’s about Jinx isn’t it?”

“How did you know that?! I hadn’t even said anything yet!” Ekko lowered his voice to a near whisper, not wanting the others to hear through the door. “Yes. It’s about Jinx.”

“Knew it. Go on then, what is it?”

“There’s a chance that… well, more than a chance actually… it’s kind of a certainty at this point…” Ekko stuttered, pausing a second before blurting, “I’m in love with Jinx.”

The phone was quiet for a moment until Ekko heard what he thought was a whispered “dammit, I owe Caitlyn a tenner”. He decided he must have been hearing things though because why would Jayce owe Caitlyn ten pounds?! Jayce’s voice returned at normal volume through the phone speaker. “Did you just figure that out now?”

“About three days ago. Been too busy with Isha to really think about it much.”

“Wow, three days ago? I’m guessing you haven’t told her yet, and that is part of the reason for this phone call?”

Ekko sighed, running his free hand down his face. “Haven’t told her yet, no. I don’t know if I even should tell her. Either way, I don’t think I’m ready to just yet.”

“Look man, you want my opinion right?” Jayce paused long enough for Ekko to mutter agreement, before he continued. “You should definitely tell her, but if you think it’s too soon for you as you only realised your feelings a few days ago, then wait a bit. I just wouldn’t wait too long, you know? It may not have happened so far, but for all you know an attractive guy or girl might find their way into Jinx’s life and you’d have missed your chance.”

The thought of Jinx dating someone else made a sense of unease swim in Ekko’s stomach. He wanted her to be happy, of course, but he couldn’t imagine her dating anyone. The thought had never even crossed his mind, just like he’d never thought of dating anyone himself, either. Not a single person had ever made him feel how Jinx made him feel. He remembered the butterflies in his stomach when they were teens, how he’d never felt them with anyone else but at the time didn’t think anything of it. They were a pair of teenagers trying to survive each day, to get through the struggles that high school and being in the foster care system brought them. Romantic relationships had never crossed his mind, and he was sure the same could be said for Jinx.

“Thanks, Jayce. I don’t feel ready just yet to have that conversation with her, but I do want to tell her at some point. If there is a chance, however small, that she feels the same way? Well, I’d never know if I didn’t speak up about it.”

“Of course, E. You know where I am if you need me.”

“Yeah. Happy New Year, Jayce.”

“Same to you, Ekko.”

After ending the call, Ekko put his phone back into his pocket and started on making everyone’s drinks. He realised he’d not asked Jinx what she wanted, but decided to go with Pepsi max since it was usually her go-to drink during the holidays.

------------------------------------------------------------

About ten minutes into the game, Ekko reappeared in the living room. He passed around everyone’s drinks before sitting down beside Jinx, passing her a glass of Pepsi max.

“You know me so well.” Jinx said, kissing him softly on the cheek. “Thank you.”

Isha noticed a knowing look pass between Vi and Caitlyn. She realised that they must also know what she does – that Jinx and Ekko are in love with each other and wanna kiss and get married. She filed this information away for later, they could be useful allies in getting Jinx and Ekko together. If they didn’t figure it out themselves first. Vi caught her eye and winked, causing Isha to giggle and wink back.

“What are you two conspiring about?” Ekko asked, looking between the two.

Isha took a sip from her Pepsi, busying herself with looking at the game board. Vi looked him straight in the eye and wiggled her eyebrows, “don’t you wish to know? Just auntie and niece stuff, nothing to concern yourself with.”

“Should we be worried about your influence on our kid, sis?” Jinx asked, eyes darting between her sister and Isha.

Jinx calling her ‘our kid’ made the comforting warmth she was now becoming more familiar with spread through Isha. She also noticed Ekko looking anywhere but at Jinx, his blush trying its best to make a reappearance.

“Maybe.” Vi quipped. “Your turn, sis.”

Taking the die from her sister, Jinx rolled it onto the table. In her joy at rolling a 6, and therefore being able to add another of her green tokens to the board, Jinx threw her arms around Ekko and kissed his other cheek. “Yessss! I am totally gonna win this!”

Ekko blinked a few times, smiling almost dopily as he watched Jinx roll the die a second time to see how many places she could move her game token. She handed the die to Caitlyn, completely oblivious to how her actions had rendered Ekko.

--

The game continued, as lively and loud as a Lanes family game night had always been. Ekko had sat beside Jinx throughout, watching and often laughing at the antics of Jinx and Vi. He glanced at his watch, noting it was time for him to prepare the rest of the food he was making for lunch. Despite having a rather large roast dinner on Christmas Day at Vi and Cait’s, Ekko had decided on a roast dinner as well for New Years, albeit it a smaller one. As a family they all loved a good roast.

He turned to Jinx, tucking a strand of blue hair behind her ear before whispering, “I’m gonna go prep the veg and get the potatoes started.”

Jinx nodded, shivering slightly as she felt her skin begin to prickle with goosebumps. She heard the huff of a near-silent laugh before feeling soft lips on her cheek, gone as fast as they’d appeared and leaving her with a sense of longing she hadn’t felt before. She couldn’t help wishing he’d lingered longer with that kiss, or kissed her lips instead… shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Jinx returned her focus to the game.

Ekko returned to the living room just as the game concluded, Vi shouting “I WON!!!” at the top of her lungs, pulling Caitlyn up with her and kissing her softly on the lips. “Sorry Cupcake, but I wiped the floor with you.”

Cait huffed, murmuring “I’ll get you next time, Violet.”

Jinx sat on the ground, arms crossed. A frown causing her brow to scrunch up as she scowled at her sister. “I swear you cheated, fat hands.”

“Pow, that is hardly teaching Isha how to be a good team player.” Ekko said, his inner teacher leaping out. “Actually, I think she might be able to teach you something about losing.”

Isha had walked over to Vi and held her hand up for a high-five, to which the redhead whooped with excitement and returned enthusiastically.

“Ugh, fine Ekko!” Jinx groaned, standing. She reluctantly held her hand out to her sister. “Good game, sis.”

Vi shook Jinx’s hand with a smirk, “maybe you’ll get me next time Pow-Pow.” She turned and winked at Caitlyn. “You have more chance than Cupcake, anyway.”

“Hey!” Caitlyn protested, playfully shoving her fiancée. “I might get better. It’s possible!”

Ekko couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. Shaking his head, he straightened himself and managed to calm his laughter. “Alright, lunch is ready.”

--

Everyone gathered around the kitchen table. Jinx had wheeled in her gaming chair from the living room since they only had four dining chairs. Before joining Vi, Cait and Isha at the table, Jinx helped Ekko with placing the plates down in front of everyone. He had used the same sized plate for Isha so he could spread her food out, ensuring it fit perfectly without touching. Everyone had slices of roast gammon, roast potatoes, carrots, broccoli, red cabbage and Jinx’s favourite part of a roast dinner; the mighty Yorkshire pudding. Two jugs of beef gravy sat in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves to. A glass of sparkling apple juice was placed beside each plate, much to Isha’s excitement.

Jinx poured enough gravy over her food to almost drown it, as she always did with a roast dinner. She saw Isha watching her with wide eyes. “Do you wanna try a bit of mine with gravy? Then if you don’t like it, you don’t have to have gravy on your food.”

Nodding, Isha leaned further towards Jinx from where she sat beside her, resting an elbow on the soft arm of Jinx’s gaming chair. Jinx cut a piece of gammon and stabbed it with the end of her fork. “Just gammon, or do you want a bit of potato with it too? They’re pretty good together.”

“Potato too please.”

“There you go, bug.” Jinx handed the fork to Isha. “It might be a bit hot so be careful.”

Isha waited a few seconds before trying the food. She hummed happily, smiling as she returned the fork to Jinx. She then gestured at the gravy jug, signing “gravy please.”

“Another converted to the joys of beef gravy on a roast dinner!” Jinx said happily, pouring gravy over Isha’s roast dinner, being careful as to not pour too much.

“I would go so far as to say most Brits like gravy on their roast dinners, Pow.” Vi uttered whilst pouring her own gravy.

Everyone ate in contented silence until five empty plates remained on the table. “Absolutely delicious as usual, Little Man.” Vi admired, smiling warmly Ekko. “I swear you must have been a chef in a past life.”

“The potatoes were cooked to perfection,” Caitlyn noted, cleaning her hands as elegantly as one could when using a square of kitchen roll instead of a napkin. “I agree with everything Vi said.”

Jinx took a sip from her sparkling apple juice, swirling the straw around her glass. “You’re gonna give him a big head at this rate,” still fidgeting with the straw, she met Ekko’s eyes from across the table. “They’re both right, though. Thanks for cooking for us all.”

“Thank you, Ekko. I loved the roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding the most!” Isha signed enthusiastically.

Ekko was blushing profusely by that point. He had never found accepting praise or positive words about himself as difficult as Jinx did, but he could get a bit bashful at times regardless. “Thank you,” he murmured.

“Right, I’m guessing we are all too full to have dessert straight away, so I’m gonna sort the washing up.” Jinx turned to where Isha was sat beside her. “Isha, can you take Vi and Cait back to the living room? Maybe show them one of your drawings?”

Isha got up from her chair and pushed it back underneath the table. She took both of her aunts’ hands as they got up from their chairs and gently pulled them along behind her, leaving Jinx and Ekko alone in the kitchen.

--

Jinx began clearing the table, placing the empty plates beside the sink along with the used cutlery and mostly empty gravy jugs. Ekko stood beside her as she washed the plates in the sink, taking the clean plates to dry with a tea towel. Jinx nudged her shoulder into his, muttering softly, “You cooked, that automatically gets you out of dishes duty you know.”

“I know,” Ekko nudged her lightly back. “I like spending time with you, even if it’s just doing the washing up.”

“You really know how to make a girl swoon, boy saviour.” Jinx breathed. A blush appeared instantaneously on her face. “Shit, did I really just say that?” The plate she’d been washing slid back into the sink. She leaned into Ekko and buried her face in his t-shirt. “I’ll just stay here forever. Tell Isha I love her. Vi too I guess.”

Ekko lightly placed his hands on Jinx’s arms, whispering into her ear. “Pow, even though I’d love for you to stay this close to me forever, you are gonna have to eat… and sleep… and shower... Isha needs you, too.”

“Ugh, why are you always right?” she murmured into his chest. “Wait…” she looked up at him with a smirk, feeling a surge of confidence. Their faces were barely inches apart. “You’d love for me to stay this close to you? Forever?”

“I guess I did say that, huh?” Ekko muttered, brown eyes as warm as melted chocolate.

All the confidence she’d somehow gained moments before seeped out of Jinx and she stepped back, putting distance between them once again. She resumed washing the dishes, not moving her gaze away from the sink. Her heart was beating faster than usual, although not in entirely the same way as when she felt anxious. Butterflies swarmed around her stomach as she tried to focus on her task, breathing a little faster than usual. She felt a warm hand rest on her shoulder as she finished washing the last of the dishes, drying her hands on the nearby tea towel. “I’m sorry Ekko. I don’t know what’s going on in my head today.”

“You’ve not done anything wrong, Pow. I’m sorry for making you feel uncomfortable, that’s not something I ever want to do.”

“No Ekko,” she faced him again, tilting his chin with her thumb so he was looking at her directly. “You didn’t make me uncomfortable. You have never made me feel uncomfortable.”

Breath catching in his throat, Ekko dipped his head in acknowledgement of Jinx’s words. “You’d tell me if I ever did make you uncomfortable though, right?”

“Not that it’ll ever happen, but yes.” Jinx let go of his chin, resting her hand on his upper arm. “We’d better go rescue Isha from my sister.”

“Before that, can you tell me what happened earlier in the hallway?”

“Her emotions felt too big, bless her. She said she’s not used to so many adults caring about her,” she saw a sadness appear in Ekko’s eyes as she spoke. “Yeah, that’s how I felt too. Managed not to sob on the spot, but it wasn’t easy. It breaks my heart what she went through before she came to us.”

“Every day I am even more certain than the last that we made the right choice.”

“Me too,” Jinx whispered, stepping closer to Ekko and hugging him tightly. He returned the hug, kissing Jinx’s forehead.

--

Whilst Jinx and Ekko were in the kitchen, Isha sat on the rug near the coffee table with Vi and Caitlyn on the sofa. She had grabbed a piece of plain white paper and her colouring pens as soon as they’d entered the room. She looked at the two women in front of her, two people who Jinx and Ekko loved and who were excited for her to be a part of their family. A determined but serious expression adorned Isha’s face.

“You understand me?”

Vi and Cait exchanged a look before smiling warmly at the child. “I already knew basic sign, learned it when I was a teenager in… let’s just say, I had a lot of free time… Then as soon as Jinx told us about you, I wanted to be able to communicate with you so I took a few classes and watched a whole lot of YouTube videos about it.”

“None of the other police officers in our area knew sign language, and it didn’t sit right with me so I learned a few years ago.” Cait said, clasping her hands together in her lap. “Just because someone communicates differently, shouldn’t mean they aren’t given the opportunity to be heard.”

“Jinx was right. I like you two.”

Isha turned her attention to drawing her next ‘masterpiece’, as Jinx would call it, so didn’t see the reaction her aunts had to her words. She didn’t hear Cait whisper to Vi, “We’ll let ourselves cry our happy tears over this later. Jinx would never let us hear the end of it otherwise.”

She didn’t see Vi wipe her eyes with her arm and lean into Cait. Or hear Vi whisper back, “I love this kid already, Cait.”

------------------------------------------------------------

“Are you ready for the absolute masterpiece that is High School Musical?!” Jinx exclaimed as she entered the living room.

“You know, I don’t know if I am…” Cait replied, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

Sighing dramatically, Jinx sent an exasperated look to her sister-in-law. “Those who don’t watch the film won’t be getting any dessert later.”

“She’s sweet enough already,” Vi joked, settling herself more comfortably on the sofa. “Like a cupcake.”

Jinx chose to ignore her sister, instead switching on the tv and pausing the film ready. She turned the main light switch off, giving the room a cosier atmosphere. The white blinds were shut so the only source of light came from the small lamp beside the tv, casting the room in a warm yellow glow. Although a 3-seater, the grey reclining sofa could seat four people, four plus Isha at a push. It was a little snug, but none of them minded. Caitlyn was sitting on the far left of the sofa with Vi beside her. Ekko sat the opposite end to Cait, a gap left between him and Vi that was soon filled by Jinx. Isha squeezed herself in between the two sisters, which resulted in Jinx shuffling a little closer to Ekko so she could fit. “Here we go, gang!” Jinx pressed play, snuggling into Ekko’s side instinctively as he put his arm around her shoulders.

Vi leaned closer to Isha just as the opening scene began, whispering “Nice one, kiddo,” whilst tilting her head towards Ekko and Jinx. The little girl gave a little thumbs up to her aunt before becoming completely absorbed in the film.

--

Isha loved the first High School Musical movie, just as Jinx had suspected. Caitlyn had also admitted to enjoying the film, and agreed that she would watch the other two movies with Vi sometime. Reluctantly moving away from Ekko’s warmth beside her, Jinx put on K-Pop Demon Hunters for Isha to watch whilst she did her most favourite hobby; drawing. The little girl jumped up off the sofa and grabbed two more sheets of paper before settling herself on the blue rug by the coffee table. Ekko joined Isha on the rug, gesturing for Cait to join him. Isha then handed them both a plain sheet of paper with some colouring pencils and pens.

Satisfied that Isha was settled and occupied with Ekko and Caitlyn, Jinx grabbed Vi’s hand and gently pulled her out of the room. Vi, being her older sister, followed along without argument.

Once upstairs, Jinx dragged Vi into what was technically still her room and shut the door quietly behind them. She watched as her sister glanced around, noting the few cardboard boxes on the floor and her neatly made, untouched bed.

“You really don’t use this room anymore, do you?” Vi’s eyebrows raised in question as she looked at her younger sister.

“Uhm, no… most of my stuff is in Ekko’s room now.”

“Uh huh.” Vi placed a hand gently on Jinx’s shoulder. “Is there a reason you dragged me out of the living room and all the way up here?”

Jinx avoided meeting her sister’s eyes when she gave a small nod of her head.

“You know you can talk to me about anything, right sis?”

Taking a slow breath, Jinx looked directly into Vi’s eyes, which sparkled as she gazed at her sister with all the love she held in her heart. Vi had always made Jinx feel safe. No matter what else was going on in the world, she knew her sister would love her forever and always. A comforting warmth spread through Jinx, giving her a sprinkling of confidence.

“I’m in love with Ekko.”

A warm smile appeared immediately on Violet’s face. She pulled Jinx into her arms for a hug, resting one hand on the back of her head as she always had done. Jinx snuggled into her older sister’s warm embrace, both arms squeezing tightly around Vi’s waist. They stayed like that for a while. Jinx felt tears spring to her eyes. She loved her sister so much. Vi was in some ways like a mum to Jinx. She was so young when their mother, Felicia, had passed away, but Vi was always there. Even when they were apart for years, she always knew that Vi loved her and that she would see her again someday. A single hug from her sister meant more to Jinx than she could fully comprehend.

Jinx pulled away enough to see her sister’s face, moving her hands to grip onto Vi’s strong arms. Arms that had always been there to protect her. Vi gently wiped a stray tear away from Jinx’s cheek with her thumb. A smirk appeared on the redhead’s face. “Took you long enough to figure it out.”

Gaping at her sister’s words, Jinx let go of her arms and shoved her light-heartedly. “Says you, fat hands! How long did it take you to actually ask Caitlyn out on a date?”

“Well actually, it only took me a few days to realise I liked Cait romantically… although it was about a year until I actually asked her out.”

“How did you know so quickly? I had no idea I like liked Ekko until yesterday!”

“YESTERDAY?!” Vi’s eyes widened in shock. “Well… the more I saw of her in those first few days after meeting for the first time, the more I noticed the butterflies in my stomach, how my heart started racing whenever my hand brushed hers. I saw how unbelievably beautiful she was. My mind then started to fill with thoughts of what it would be like to hold her hand, to kiss her, to run my hands through her hair…you know what I mean?”

“Uhm, not really?” Jinx fidgeted with her sleeves, looking at the blue carpet of the room that no longer felt like her own. “Until recently, anyway. I remember when I was fourteen and Ekko was fifteen. I was in year 10, him in year 11. Most of the other kids at school would comment on how attractive they found different celebrities or other people in our year groups. I remember them saying things about butterflies in their stomachs, about how they would have dreams where they kissed their crush, and I remember being so confused about how they could find someone so attractive who they barely knew. Or didn’t know at all. It made no sense to me, and it made no sense to Ekko. We were both in our own little world, sticking together whenever we could. We spent every break and lunchtime together.” Jinx smiled at the few positive memories she had of high school.

“You’ve always been inseparable, even since you were kids. When Ekko moved up to secondary school and you had your final year at primary without him, boy did we know it.” Vi rolled her eyes affectionately.

Jinx nodded, a faraway look in her eyes as more memories filled her brain. “I also remember how some random girl in my school year came up to us one day and boldly asked Ekko out. He turned her down as politely as he could, but from that day she would glare at me whenever we passed each other. I had asked Ekko why he said no, and he’d told me that saying yes had never even crossed his mind. He said he had me, and dating someone else would make him have less time with me, and that wasn’t something he wanted to lose.” Jinx continued to fidget with her sleeves, a small smile spreading across her face. “We lived in the same foster home, we slept in the same room every night. The same bed. He already saw me every other moment of every day. That was when I first noticed the butterflies in my stomach. He was the only person I had ever felt that with. At the time I had pushed the feeling down, not wanting to investigate it further. It soon disappeared as we grew older and were apart for Ekko’s first year of university. Things weren’t quite the same after that, not until a few months ago when we started sharing the same bed again.”

Vi listened to every word her sister said, her concentration never wavering. “I’m guessing the butterflies came back?”

Two sets of blue eyes, similar in the warmth that shone from them despite being different shades of the same colour, gazed at each other.

“Yeah. I didn’t notice, not really. I think a part of me did, but the rest of me was denying it. All it took was one observant five-year-old to figure out my own feelings.”

 Vi laughed a little. “What did Isha say?”

“She looked at me, smirked and said, ‘you like Ekko’.” Jinx put her face in her hands, slightly muffling her voice. “I replied something like ‘of course I like Ekko, he’s great!’”

Vi laughed a little harder, patting Jinx’s shoulder in sympathy. “Go on…” 

“She then rolled her eyes. Rolled her eyes, Vi! She sighed in such an exasperated way she sounded like a teenager! Then, she said, and I quote because this was not a conversation I will probably ever forget, ‘No. You like him like you wanna kiss him. On the lips.’ AND THEN she pointed at her lips! How did a five-year-old somehow know that I subconsciously wanted to kiss Ekko, and had maybe thought about it a few times recently… like how?!” Jinx had started waving her hands around as she spoke, pacing the room.

“It was pretty obvious, Pow. I’m not surprised a five-year-old, especially one that lives with you both, figured it out. Kids can be scary smart. You were.”

Jinx stopped pacing to face her sister. “How long have you known? When did you figure out how I felt about him? Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Woah, Pow…” Vi took a wary step towards her sister, unsure if she’d try to shove her again. “I couldn’t tell you about your own feelings. Sure, I could sense how you felt, I’ve known you since the day you were born and Ekko for nearly as long, but it was your feelings.”

All the emotion seemed to drain out of Jinx and she visibly deflated, stepping towards her sister and resting her head on her shoulder. “What do I do now, Vi? I’ve never dated anyone before, never kissed anyone… not on the lips, anyway… what if Ekko thinks I’m a bad kisser?!”

Vi absentmindedly stroked her sister’s hair as she cradled the back of her head. “You’re getting a bit ahead of yourself there, sis. Before you do any kissing of the lips variety, you might want to tell little man how you feel about him. As for dating, the pair of you are already pretty much there. You act more like a married couple than an actual married couple! You both genuinely love each other so much, platonically as much as anything else. What you two have is special.”

“I think I’ve been in love with him for a very long time, even though it wasn’t always romantic love.” Jinx sighed contentedly into her sister’s shoulder, breathing in the familiar, comforting scent of vanilla that followed Vi wherever she went. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Hey, you’re stuck with me, forever. I love you, Pow-Pow.”

Jinx hugged Vi tightly, whispering, “I love you too, Violet.”

--

Both sisters soon re-joined the others downstairs. Jinx could have sworn she heard Vi whisper to Caitlyn, “Jayce owes you a tenner,” but must have been hearing things because why would Jayce owe Caitlyn ten pounds?!

They ate dessert; apple crumble and custard, in the late afternoon whilst playing a heated game of Uno. Much to Vi and Jinx’s disgust, Ekko won both rounds. Isha had a fantastic time, laughing often at the antics of her new family.

With afternoon turning into evening, Isha became sleepy. It was past her bedtime by an hour when Jinx checked her watch. “I think it’s bedtime for you, bug.”

Blinking sleepily, Isha slowly signed “Not yet. Not tired.”

“You sure about that?” Ekko chuckled, watching as Isha tried to keep her eyes open for longer than a few seconds before they closed of their own accord.

“Come on, say goodnight to Auntie Vi and Aunt Cait.” Jinx held Isha’s hand as she shuffled over to her aunts. “You’ll see them again soon.”

Isha stood in front of the two women and signed “goodbye, see you soon,” before turning to Jinx and holding her arms up, making grabby hands.

Vi and Caitlyn said goodnight to Isha, watching the interaction between her and Jinx with happiness evident on their faces.

“Alright then bug, I’ll carry you up the stairs just this once.” Jinx settled Isha on her hip, the little girl’s arms clinging to her neck. She passed Ekko on her way out the living room.

He softly kissed the top of Isha’s head and whispered “goodnight, Isha.”

Looking at him through bleary eyes, Isha carefully touched Ekko’s face with one hand. She let go and signed, “goodnight, Ekko,” before her hands dropped and she slumped further into Jinx, sleep doing its best to lull her into its embrace.

“I’ll be back down soon.” Jinx carried Isha’s now sleeping form up the stairs, as carefully as she could through fear of dropping the child.

Luckily Isha had used the bathroom about a half hour before, and Jinx didn’t think missing one night of brushing her teeth would do too much damage. She whispered to Isha as she changed her out of her clothes from the day and into her pyjamas, telling her what she was doing throughout. She tucked her into bed with Blue beside her. As she gently moved a cluster of curls away from Isha’s face, Jinx felt a surge of emotion kindle in her heart. A strong feeling of love coursed through her, one thought crystal clear in her mind; she wanted to be Isha’s mum. No, she needed to be. Jinx was certain in that very moment that this was something written in the stars.

Isha breathed deeply, reaching subconsciously for Blue and clutching the bunny tightly to her chest. Jinx kissed the top of her head, whispering “I love you, bug.”

She turned the light off as she left, the faint glow of Isha’s bedside lamp illuminating the room in a soft blue glow. Jinx pulled the door behind her so it was still slightly open and made her way back downstairs.

The four adults chatted aimlessly about a variety of topics whilst waiting for the New Years countdown. When it finally arrived, they all whisper-shouted, “Happy New Year!” as to not wake Isha. Vi and Caitlyn kissed lovingly before hugging each other and whispering things no one else could hear.

Jinx and Ekko stared at each other a moment before hugging tightly, Ekko murmuring into Jinx’s hair “I’m so glad I get to go into another year with you by my side.”

Jinx and Ekko stood just inside the front door, waving goodbye as Vi and Caitlyn drove off to go back home. Once back inside with the front door locked, they turned off any remaining downstairs lights and headed upstairs to get ready for bed. As they drifted off to sleep, Jinx snuggled comfortably in Ekko’s arms, they both felt a calming sense of contentment. A new year sometimes brought anxieties, but for them it also brought hope. Hope that everything would work out and they would be together. They would be happy, and nothing could take that away. Isha had come into their lives at the perfect time, bringing them even closer together than they had thought possible. Welcoming the warm embrace of sleep, Jinx and Ekko drifted off into a kaleidoscope of dreams.