Archive of Our Own ^beta

Lux sighed as she set down her empty lunch box. Janna was quietly reading beside her, and she could hear Poppy and Lulu eating noisily from the seats behind her. Despite being in different grades, the other girls always came to eat lunch with Jinx and Lux. It was a fun little ritual they had, and Lux reveled in the routine. Poppy would spend the first ten minutes talking, and would then scarf down her lunch as quickly as she could; Lulu would spend the entire time eating her food, a feat made possible by both the enormous lunches she brought and the time she spent arranging all of her food into silly faces before eating it; Janna would have a small sandwich and a thermos of tea, and read while listening to the conversation and smiling; and Jinx would badmouth the teachers while doodling on her desk and trying to swap lunch items with Lux. But today, the group was quiet. Lulu and Poppy seemed normal, but Lux and Janna were noticeably depressed by Jinx's absence. To Lux, the whole room seemed too quiet without her raucous laughter and slightly-too-loud jokes. Her eyes floated over to the thoroughly tagged desk of her classmate, and Jinx's parting words bubbled up through her memory.

"I don't need any of you, and I never will!"

Lux had reached out to her, as though the simple act of touching her could have made her stay. She thought of the anger on Jinx's face, of the way she had spat the word "need," like it was some sort of curse; to Lux, it may as well have been. She had worked so hard to get Jinx on the team; convincing Janna and Zephyr to make Jinx into a Star Guardian was no easy task, to say nothing of convincing Jinx herself. But even on their first mission, Lux knew it was the right thing to do. Jinx had looked so happy then. Slightly morbid, perhaps, as she blasted apart waves of Dark Star thralls, but happier than Lux had seen her in years. Why had it all gone so wrong, and why did it seem like Lux cared more than anyone else? Lux let her head slip down, her upper body stretched out across her desk, and heaved another sigh.

*****

Lux grunted in pain as a massive tendril slammed against her shoulder. She managed to keep her footing, but slid back a few feet. Nearby, Janna was barely keeping a tangle of smaller tentacles away from her with a wind shield, and Poppy and Lulu stood back to back, fending off the encroaching feelers. The main body of the Star Beast Nashor loomed over them, its three mouths dripping acid and its countless eyes staring hungrily at the girls as they fought to stand their ground. Despite their best efforts, Lux knew they were losing ground; the violet tentacles were all around them, and for every one they blasted down, another one seemed to take its place. Lux threw starbeam after starbeam at the tendrils, but they slowly closed in around her. She felt one wrap around her ankle, and a chill gripped her. Her mind raced; Was this the end? Would Nashor eat them, or present them to the Dark Stars? If none of them made it out, how would new Star Guardians be chosen?

Would Jinx ever know what had happened to her?

That last thought echoed alone in her mind as a mass of tendrils rose up from the ground in front of her. But as they surged forward, a showering of starbolts rained down around Lux, dissipating most of the tentacles and causing the rest to retreat. Nashor let out a pained roar, and Lux looked behind her to confirm what she had dared to hope.

Glowing bright red and hovering about thirty feet off the ground, Jinx was firing Shiro across the field of tentacles, freeing the other Star Guardians one by one. Her broad, cocky smile caused a warmth to ignite in Lux's belly. A smile slowly broke across her face as she stared at Jinx, who was now laughing and firing Kuro into the thick masses of tentacles protecting Nashor's main body.

"Jinx..." she muttered. Jinx finally stopped firing and looked directly at her.

"Hey, you dummy," she said. "What're you waiting for? This guy's asking for the one-two punch, and you're the one!" Jinx swooped down to hover just above Lux, who smiled and turned to face Nashor again. She held her wand in front of her, and a pink light began to emanate from its center. Lux focused all her energy at that one spot; the joy she felt at seeing Jinx, the courage that her friends inspired in her, and the desire to defeat the beast in front of her all fueled her magic, causing her wand to glow brighter, until it was a blinding ball of white light.

"Final Spark!" Lux called out the incantation, and a massive blast of light tore through the tentacle field. Nashor reared back and roared again, as his remaining tendrils moved to fill in the gap left in his defenses. Jinx hefted Kuro on her shoulder, and the magical weapon's gem began to glow a bright red.

"Not this time, creepo!" Jinx yelled as she fired, launching a massive ball of light at the monster. It sailed clear through the path Lux's beam had left, and struck Nashor. As soon as it made contact, there was an explosion; Nashor's base became obscured in a blinding light, and his entire form writhed, and patches of light broke through his hide from the inside. The beast let out a final scream before disintegrating completely, and the pale purple dots of light that were once a hideous monster drifted away in the wind.

Jinx stopped glowing and landed on the ground next to Lux. Janna, Lulu, and Poppy all walked towards where they stood, while the familiars all flew off to gather what they could of the former monster. Lux was speechless; she stared into Jinx's wide, orange eyes, and felt her own eyes well up with tears. Jinx tilted her head slightly and raised one eyebrow.

"Luxy, are you gonna cry?" The words sounded like a taunt, but Lux could hear a note of genuine concern in Jinx's voice. "Come on, say something already." Jinx gave an exaggerated shrug. "I know I look good in this outfit, but is it really enough to--" Jinx was cut off by Lux throwing herself against her. Jinx tipped over, but managed to keep herself upright as Lux wrapped her arms around her chest and leaned into her. Jinx looked down at the slightly messy pink hair pressing against her shoulder. She blinked twice before finally sorting out the correct response.

"Um, Luxy?" Jinx tapped Lux's shoulder. "Are you..." Jinx trailed off as Lux looked up at her, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. Jinx's eyes widened. "Uh, you know I was joking about the crying thing, right?"

"Y-You said..." Lux's voice was shaking. She took a deep breath and tried again. "You said that... That you didn't--"

"Yeah, I know what I said," Jinx interrupted. She smiled, and for once, it wasn't a cocky grin, or a crooked smirk, but a gentle, reassuring smile. She rested her hands on Lux's waist, gently hugging her. The two stared into each other's eyes, and for an instant, Lux was almost glad Jinx had left, so that she could come back and they could share this moment.

"I missed you," Lux said. Jinx tilted her head slightly; the motion normally came with rolling her eyes, but she couldn't seem to move them from Lux.

"It was one day, you dummy," Jinx said. Lux pouted and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm being serious, Jinx."

"I know, that's why you're a--"

Lux grabbed Jinx by the collar and kissed her. Jinx's eyes widened and a short noise of surprise escaped her throat. After a moment, she closed her eyes and smiled into it.

Lulu made a sort of elated squawk before Poppy grabbed her by the wrist and started walking both of them away. Janna simply smiled and followed the two younger girls, leaving Jinx and Lux alone.

Neither of them could say for certain how long the kiss lasted before they finally separated. Lux smiled softly at Jinx, and got Jinx's signature broad, mischievous grin in return.

"What's that look for?" Lux chuckled.

"Luxy, do you know how long I've been waiting for you to do that?" Jinx asked. Lux blushed.

"Shut up, that's embarrassing."

"Make me. Again."

"Shut up!" Lux pushed Jinx, and both of them laughed. Their eyes met, and they smiled at each other again. "Come on, let's go home." Lux held out her hand. Jinx grabbed it tightly, and they both began to glow. After one final look, they soared off into the sky together, neither one intending to let go of the other again.