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Powder’s laughter rang out in the dead of night. It was loud and carefree. Sure, they had just snuck out and weren’t even out of sight of her house, but he couldn’t be bothered to sush her when she seemed so free. They walked and raced and stopped at random places throughout the night before ending up at a gas station. He bought a couple of drinks from a vending machine outside of it and laughed when he turned to face her.
“You look like shit,” Ekko said plainly. She looked even paler than usual and a lot more washed out. Even her outfit did her no justice. “Also, why in the world would you dress up if it’s just us sneaking out?” He handed her a drink and opened his own.
“As if you look any better,” she shot back. She snatched the juice from Ekko to shove it carelessly into her messenger bag. She did a little spin at his second comment and Ekko ignored the heat in his face in favor of a deadpan expression. “You never know when you’re gonna die, Ekko. Have’ta look my best always.” He shook his head and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as he led her towards their usual spot.
“I know when you’re going to die. Right now. Of hypothermia.” He glanced at her again. She was wearing a black micro shorts with ripped tights. She had on a black crop top and her leather jacket. Her platform boots were loud in the silent night.
“I look good enough to be immediately let into any party.” Powder took one of her long braids and draped it over his shoulder. He wound the last bit of it around his arm and reached up to fidget with the ends. It was moments like this that made him question if this was her way of claiming him. She’d done it so many times before.
There was once when he was talking to his lab partner when she invaded the class to sit silently leaning against him. She’d wrapped one of her braids around his arm. And another at lunch when she wrapped her braid around his neck like a scarf and giggled when he sighed. He’d only ever seen her do that to Vi and that was mainly when Caitlyn was there. It was always around her sister’s arm. There were so many other moments, but if he thought too much longer she’d notice his silence.
“I’m not sure that’s a good thing, Pow.” She seemed to have not heard him when she gasped and tugged at his hoodie, quite plain compared to her outfit.
“Can we crash a party?!” He stopped walking and spun her around to face him. The braid that was wrapped around his arm was loose enough that it ended up draping across his shoulders.
“Powder, no. Do you realise how insane that is? If the cops are called- Don’t laugh- Are you kidding me?” She snickered and patted Ekko’s head when he leaned down to rest it on her shoulder. He sighed and lifted his head. “C’mon, let’s go steal something.”
She cheered and grabbed hold of his hand. She’d had her heart set on stealing overpriced coffee from a particular convenience store for weeks now. By the time they actually made it to the store, Powder was deep in a ramble about something her last date had done to her that pissed her off. It was unintentionally the best cover they could have. She was swinging her arms wildly around in a way only Ekko would know how to avoid. The simple swipe of the glass bottle went completely unnoticed in her chaos. He bought a couple of snacks to avoid any suspicion. They barely made it out of the store before Powder was pulling the bottle out of her bag.
Ekko sighed at her antics. As much as he hated the idea of being caught and would much rather Powder play it safe, he couldn’t deny that he loved the adrenaline rush she gave him. The coffee opened with a pop and she took a drink as she walked. She grimaced and shook her head.
“I’m so glad I didn’t spend money on this.” She shoved the bottle at Ekko and sped up to make it to the bridge faster. He matched her pace and took a drink and almost immediately regretted it.
“That is- so sweet. Completely worth absolutely nothing.” They only had a couple of hours left until they had to make their way back home so they spent the time passing the coffee back and forth in an effort to finish it off while sitting on the edge of the bridge. It overlooked an empty canal. They occasionally come out here to skate in it. This time, they had different plans. Powder took the final drink and screwed the cap on. She looked between the bottle and the canal a couple of times before making eye contact with Ekko. She passed the bottle back to him and grinned wildly. He laughed and chucked it as hard as he could to the concrete below them. They cheered when they heard the glass shatter.
They settled into comfortable silence with music playing softly from Powder’s phone. She wrapped a braid around his arm as he watched and leaned against him. The sun was slowly signaling their need to return, but for now, they were comfortable.