Work Text:
“Do I really have to do this?”
It was a warm Saturday afternoon, the mall packed with people bustling about. Jinx hated the mall, but only because she wasn’t the fondest of huge crowds. People annoyed her. Always bumping into her, standing in the middle of a walkway, taking forever at the cash register trying to save pennies with a pile of expired coupons. She wasn’t the best at dealing with everyday idiots. Her patience constantly ran way too thin, and it took all of her self control to not start a fight and throw merchandise at other patrons in the three story tall building.
Yet, somehow, Ekko dragged her here.
“You don’t have to,” he admitted, “but you’d make a little girl really sad if you didn’t.”
Silently, Jinx glared daggers into the back of Ekko’s head. He knew just as well as she did that she couldn’t let down a kid–especially one at his job. Ekko worked at a youth center for underprivileged kids, and lots of times they had some lack of developmental and social skills. A girl who he grew particularly attached to due to her usage of sign language–which he learned due to having a deaf father. She seemed really excited that anyone there could understand her as well as Ekko did. One day when Jinx came to pick up Ekko from his shift, the girl took notice of Jinx and took a liking to her. So much so, that she began asking about her nearly every day, even drawing pictures of her during her free time. Ekko wasn’t allowed to make plans to spend time with any of the kids outside of his work schedule, but he could at least give her a small gift to make her happy.
That’s how they ended up at the mall. Each kid at the youth center got their own cubby to keep belongings, and Ekko wanted to surprise her with a photo and letter from Jinx. That way, she knew that Jinx liked her, too. If they could take her on an outing somewhere, they would in a heartbeat, but this was the next best idea he could come up with.
Dragging her feet behind him, Ekko led the way to the photobooth, in the heart of the mall. It was Jinx’s worst nightmare. The amount of people and crowded stores they had to pass to get there was insufferable.
“I only agreed because you said you were buying me lunch.”
Ekko chuckled, knowing she was full of shit. She would never admit it, but Jinx liked kids more than he did, she just wasn’t as responsible with them the way he was. While he actually set boundaries with them, she was like the cool aunt who snuck them half a dozen cookies when no one was looking.
“Wipe that frown off your face. You gotta look good in the pictures for Isha.”
Jinx scoffed. “Puh-lease, as if I ever don’t look good in pictures.”
Smirking at her, Ekko raised an eyebrow, silently challenging her about the statement. “Oh yeah? What about that time when we all went out for drinks for your sister’s birthday?”
“I was drunk! That doesn’t count!” she defended.
“Then why did every photo of me come out fine?” he countered, crossing his arms.
Jinx scoffed again, her bottom lip slightly pouting. She mumbled under her breath. “It’s not my fault you don’t have a bad angle…”
Ignoring her mumbling, Ekko gently pulled her by her arm into the photobooth. The pair overlooked the frame options, trying to decide what Isha would like best.
“What did you say her favorite color was again?” Jinx asked.
“Blue, because of you,” he jested. “She loves your hair. I swear, blue crayons are practically glued to her hands.”
Looking over the frames, Jinx’s eyes squinted, not entirely satisfied with the options. “The only blue one is the one with dolphins on it. Does she even like dolphins?”
Ekko shrugged, continuing to look at the frames himself. “She’s kinda tomboyish, but dolphins can be liked by any kid.”
“Well, the birthday one is out. So are the hearts,” Jinx said. “Neither of those holidays are anytime soon.”
“You know hearts aren’t only for Valentine’s Day, right?” Ekko teased.
“They should be,” she spat without even blinking. “They’re nauseating.”
Ekko just shook his head at her, never getting tired of her witty remarks. Scrolling through the options over and over, his eyes landed on a bright green border with dinosaurs on it.
“What about this one?” he asked, turning back to Jinx to get her opinion.
Jinx pursed her lips as she thought it over. “It’s probably the best one,” she admitted. “Kids love dinosaurs anyway, right?”
Ekko nodded in agreement, tapping away to start the camera timer. Leaning back, he watched as the screen counted down from ten. “Oh, so am I taking pictures with a kid right now? You still like dinosaurs.”
“Hey! They’re easy to draw, and not afraid to bite people who piss them off, like you’re doing right now!”
In the middle of her barking, Jinx didn’t even realize the screen took their photo until after she saw a white flash. Blinding light catching her attention from her peripheral, she got even more annoyed.
“Ugh, you couldn’t even warn me! Now the pictures are gonna suck! You’re gonna get it!”
Eyes blinded with rage, Jinx couldn’t control her impulse. She curled her face, frown deepening upon her visage, her hand racing to pinch Ekko’s cheek as hard as she could. He let out a chorus of “ow’s” as she pulled the cartilage. Another flash, but this time neither of them noticed.
“Okay, okay, I get it! Stop!” he pleaded, trying to push her off and free his cheek from her claws.
Satisfied with herself, Jinx smirked, crossing her arms. She turned back to the camera, only five seconds left on the clock. Ekko, mimicking Jinx’s usual behavior, stuck his tongue out at her, holding the pose long enough for the camera to catch the sight behind the lens.
Only one left.
Trying to catch her off guard again, Ekko smirked again. “I think I need a kiss for my boo-boo to get better.”
Jinx practically threw up in her mouth. Fake gagging, she furrowed her brow in disgust. “You spend way too much time with kids.”
“Come on, please?” he fake begged, his bottom lip sticking out and his eyes turning into that of a puppy’s. “It’s the only way~”
Glancing towards the screen, she saw there was only three seconds left. Entertaining him somewhat, she quickly kissed her hand, placing it to his cheek and rubbing it in. Ekko couldn’t help but smile at her gesture, and soon her own smile grew on her face. Flash.
“Okay, one more. Let’s at least try to make it a good one,” Ekko suggested.
He draped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. She squirmed slightly under his touch. Jinx wasn’t the biggest fan of being touched by people, but for Ekko–and especially Isha–she put up with it. Her cheeks dusted pink, getting a huge whiff of his cologne. It was spicy, yet clean, like a mix of laundry detergent and whisky. Trying her best for her smile to not seem forced or awkward, she faced the camera, getting ready to match his natural grin.
Yet, both of them realized the screen went blank.
All they saw was a black screen, their reflection barely visible in the booth’s monitor. Not pulling his arm away, Ekko pulled the pair of printed photo strips from the dispenser. He looked over the photos, chuckling half in amusement, half in disappointment? Disbelief? At the end result of their photoshoot.
Jinx yelling at a smirking Ekko, her pinching his cheek, him sticking his tongue out at her, and then her rubbing his cheek. It wasn’t organized, coordinated, or even posed for a family photo wall. These photos were chaotic, hectic, showing a wide array of emotions in just four diverse and barely connected shots. But it was them.
Isha would love it.
“We can still take one good one,” he offered as he handed the strips to Jinx. Pulling his phone from his pocket, Ekko opened his camera app, holding it up to a good angle from above.
Jinx, barely registering the photos herself, grinned with her teeth showing, her canine teeth stealing the show. Not being able to help herself, either, she snaked her arm around and underneath Ekko’s arm around her, giving him a pair of bunny ears with her fingers. Her smile ended up much more genuine than whatever fake nice schtick he was trying to make them put on for the strip at that–especially since she was sure Ekko didn’t even notice. She never could fake a smile for a fun little prank.
As soon as the photo was snapped, she stood up and exited the booth. She couldn’t last another second being so close to him. Stupid cologne…
“Whatever, just open your purse and buy me lunch, I’m starving!”
_____
Monday approached, and Ekko was excited to start his work week. Isha being mute, she struggled a bit to make friends the way the other kids did. Ekko and Jinx being patient enough to talk with her always made her day. She practically was attached to his hip, even though he wasn’t allowed to have kids clinging to him like that. Favoritism wasn’t a good look, and easily made the other kids jealous. But Isha needed support, too. Besides, his coworkers didn’t mind. They all saw the situation at hand, and all agreed to let him give her a bit more attention since she didn’t like communicating with most others.
He couldn’t wait to see her reaction to her gift.
Once she arrived at the youth center, she practically ran to Ekko, as usual. He smiled wide seeing her, patting her head and bending down to speak to her.
“Good morning, Isha. Did you have a good weekend?”
She nodded, her lips spreading into a small grin. Her hands started moving, spelling J-I-N-X. Was Jinx coming today? she was asking.
Ekko shook his head. “Not today, but she did get you a present. She wanted me to give it to you.”
At the mention of a present, Isha’s eyes widened, and she started bouncing on her heels. Ekko couldn’t hide his smile even if he tried. He loved seeing Isha happy, especially because of how shy she was at the start. Since joining the youth center, she grew out of her shell and blossomed into an almost completely different kid. She even signed a lot more, becoming more talkative in her own way. This was the kind of thing that made his job worth it, and it warmed his heart every time.
Signaling for her to sit at the craft table, Ekko went over to his backpack, grabbing his envelope with the photo strip and a letter Jinx handwrote for Isha before walking back over to Isha. He sat down next to her, already seeing a crude crayon drawing of Jinx in the dozen seconds it took for him to fetch the strip.
“You gotta keep this a secret, though,” he whispered to her. “We don’t want the others getting jealous, right?”
Isha nodded, crossing her heart. Taking her promise, Ekko slid the envelope over to her. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers at the sight, and she bounced in her seat. She practically tore open the envelope, Ekko afraid she might accidentally rip apart the contents inside. Seeing the goodies inside, her grin became wider than he ever saw before. Isha studied the photos, smiling to herself as she went down the column. She giggled seeing Ekko stick his tongue out at Jinx in the third photo, but then grew perplexed seeing the last one. Turning to Ekko, she set the strip down so she could sign. Ekko grew curious, wondering what she needed to sign that required two hands.
Isha dragged her thumb against her jaw, then joined her two pointer fingers together, tapping them once, then again as she flipped them. Girlfriend? she was asking.
Ekko gulped, chuckling at her question. He shook his head, pinching his thumb and index and middle fingers together. “No,” he said. “Just friends.”
If Ekko didn’t know any better, he swore he saw Isha pout. She sat there just staring at him for a moment, before giving him the OK sign, then she put her hand to her mouth, then dropped it flat. Thank you.
“No problem, kiddo,” he said, ruffling her hair again.
Ekko then stood up, leaving her to color for a bit while he went to check on some of the other kids. As he did, he pulled his phone out to text Jinx.
Ekko (8:41 am): She loved the pictures :)
Jinx (8:47 am): thats a relief. glad she did! >:D
Never liking to be on his phone too much during work, he thumbs up reacted to her text, locking his phone. But before he went back to his responsibilities, he stared at his lock screen with a smile. Him and Jinx in that photo booth, crammed on that tiny bench, and the bunny ears he pretended not to notice to make her real smile appear. Sighing, he slipped it into his back pocket, his heart pounding against his chest when he saw Isha in front of him.
She stood with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face, almost like a mini version of Jinx. With a knowing look, once again she signed girlfriend to him.
Blushing, Ekko awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. Once again, he signed no to her.
“I wasn’t lying when I said no,” he informed her, knowing she wouldn’t believe him.
“But I do wish she was.”
Isha grinned wide, almost resembling the Grinch. She handed Ekko her drawing before darting away, leaving him in the middle of the room.
He looked over her drawing, shaking his head at her audacity. What had gotten into her? Nevertheless, it was entertaining, and funny how determined she was. Her drawing of Jinx was as wonderful as always–the dual blue braids and canine teeth being the stand out features Isha always drew. Next to Jinx, was a drawing of Ekko, his smile drawn across the entire bottom half of his face, holding hands with crayon-Jinx. Hearts were drawn in all corners of the page, and even over their chests.
How was he going to explain this to Jinx later?