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Silco grunted, puffing a tired breath as he shoved the door to his office open. A headache bit at his temple and he grabbed a cigar as soon as he pushed the door shut and collapsed into his seat. He closed his eye and tipped his head back, blindly lighting his cigar and drawing a breath in. Silco held the smoke in his mouth for two seconds, letting the taste linger, then puffed it out.
He opened his eye as the smoke swirled up, finding himself met by brightly colored words painted onto the ceiling. ‘Look behind you!’
Silco tipped his head to the side and spun his chair slowly. He saw Jinx for only a moment before she was jumping at him, giggling. His world collapsed into darkness.
“Jinx–” he yelped, trying to object, but he found fabric in his mouth a moment later.
Oh, good.
He couldn’t resist much as she dragged him somewhere. He just let out a muffled, strained sigh.
Silco blinked when the blindfold was taken from him and the fabric removed from his mouth. He breathed and let out a small cough, gazing around. Jinx hadn’t brought him far; just to a back room of the Last Drop. His gaze wandered the room and he felt a creeping tiredness. Sevika, Dustin, Ran, and a couple other of his most loyal and present henchmen (Bunny and Fali) were here.
“Jinx,” he murmured softly, twisting in his chair.
The girl hushed him, then stood up on a table, flipping her large braids. “Everyone’s here! Good! Now, I’ve been seeing a big problem. Does anyone know what that is?” She plopped down, crossing her legs, wiggling.
Silco glanced over at Sevika. She was still gagged and glaring fiercely. She’ll never let me hear the end of this.
Jinx was staring at him. Ah, so I’m expected to respond.
“Jinx, untie us,” he urged.
Jinx groaned and rolled her eyes, flopping onto her back and letting her legs kick. “BZZZZT! Wrong. You didn’t even try to get that question right.” She rolled over, flopping off the table, and sauntered to Sevika. She bent down in front of the angry woman, offering a smile. “Your turn to answer!”
She tugged the gag out of her mouth. Sevika gasped, then snarled, “Get me out of this right now, Jinx!”
She refrained from using the word brat in place of her name, knowing Silco expected her to cater to the insane girl.
“You aren’t playing the game right!” Jinx whined, looking down and kicking at nothing. “The question is, What is the big problem Jinx is seeing?” She smiled at Sevika expectantly, tipping her head.
“Don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours. The problem I’m seeing is that you’ve tied us up and left not only us vulnerable, but the Drop,” Sevika retorted, her teeth bared. Silco eyed her. Don’t push it. Even if she was technically right… Jinx couldn’t help the way she was, Silco told himself.
“Ughhhh…” Jinx whined. She glanced at Dustin for a moment, then puffed a sigh. “You can’t even answer the question…” then she looked at Ran, then the other two tied, and whined. “Oh, fine, I’m just gonna tell you!”
She hopped up onto the table again, knocking over a glass carelessly. “We haven’t spent any family time together!”
Silence for a moment.
Sevika, of course, was the first to speak up, “That’s what this is about? You haven’t gotten enough attention?”
Jinx pouted and collapsed on the table, tucking her knees up. “Don’t gotta be so mean. Meany-butt.”
Silco finally spoke again, straining against the uncomfortable knots and trying to ignore the increasingly worse headache. “Jinx, you’ve seen how busy I’ve been.”
“All I’ve seen is that you’ve spent more time with them-” she motioned around at the others tied “-than you have me!”
Silco sighed. “Yes, I-”
“If you love Jinx so much, you should let me come along to more things! Spend time with everyone.” Jinx let her legs drop, kicking them and staring at Silco.
When he’d first brought the girl in, he’d only intended to use her (and perhaps she reminded her of himself, all those years ago..). Her anger could be harnessed, and she’d caused all the destruction in the warehouse that day. He’d trained her, sent her out. But then he’d grown attached. He… supposed he had held her back from a few particularly dangerous missions out of fear for her.
Silco would never admit that.
“Fine. You can go on more missions. Untie us now, Jinx.”
Jinx hopped up, clapping and smiling. “One last thing!”
She began grabbing their chairs, tugging them close together. Uncomfortably close.
She threw her arms around the group of them, smiling and forcing them to lean up against one another and into her. “Family hug! Yayy!”
Sevika grumbled and Dustin made mildly uncomfortable noises, but nobody fought her. Fali rested her cheek against Jinx’s arm, causing her to let out a pleased giggle.
She held them like that for uncomfortably long, then began by untying Silco. He stood, letting out a tired, quiet sigh, and watching while she released the rest of them.
Of course, Jinx being Jinx, she left Sevika until last. Dustin moved oddly, slipping out of the room with Ran trailing behind him. Bunny and Fali exited, and Silco heard them murmuring softly as they slipped out.
Finally, Sevika was released. She stood, glaring at Jinx for several seconds. Ultimately, all the woman did was roll her metallic arm and turn. She nodded respectfully at Silco, but he saw the tightness of her jaw. She was going to go knock back a drink to drown the anger; perhaps gamble.
Silco and Jinx were left alone.
He closed his good eye for a moment, reaching up to soothe the headache.
“Jinx..” he started, expecting to be interrupted. But she was quiet. So he opened his eye and stepped forward, holding her head in his hands. He dipped his head and pressed his lips to her head. “Speak to me next time.”
“But you’re so busy,” she whined softly.
“Zaun waits for nobody,” he reminded her, “even you.” except you. “Nobody will build a nation for us, Jinx. We must do it ourselves.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I didn’t forget that Piltover is the enemy,” she grumbled, obviously expecting one of his lectures. But Silco was tired.
“Bring my chair back to my office,” he ordered in a soft tone, and Jinx nodded, feeling that coldness sweep her over as soon as his hands left her head, the voices gnawing insistently at the back of her head. She grabbed Silco’s chair and trailed behind him, taking the item back to where it lived.
Silco, instead of sitting at the newly-placed chair, made his way into his room. Jinx was the only person he didn’t mind to see his room; or him, vulnerable, in it.
He sat on his bed and Jinx hopped up beside him, laying her head on his shoulder without hesitation. Silco leaned his cheek against the top of her head, reaching up and unhooking the top of his complicated suit, relieving some of the pressure.
“You know I appreciate you,” Silco murmured, reaching up and stroking her hair. She could only muster a nod, having gone all but quiet.
“Good,” he sighed, closing his good eye tiredly.