Work Text:
18 Years Old
*****
“Mail for you, Lux.”
It’s an ordinary Saturday at the Crownguard estate when Lux gets the news. She’s at her desk in her room, allegedly putting the finishing touches on her senior capstone. ‘Allegedly’ being the keyword - in reality she’s slouched in a very unladylike posture looking over Jinx’s socials. In the latest post, she’s posing in front of a hospital with Ekko’s arm slung across her shoulders, making bunny ears on his head. The caption reads ‘surgery buddies!’ with about a million exclamation points. Lux can’t stop smiling at it.
At the voice calling through her door, however, she jumps upright. Garen pokes his head in, his grin showing all his teeth. Lux inhales sharply.
“It came?”
He barely manages to nod once before she tears across the room and snatches the letter out of his hand. The envelope is twice the size of a normal one; across the top is gold writing in elegant (if pretentiously overembellished) curlicue.
Academy of Piltover.
Lux hesitates, worrying at the edge of the paper.
“What’s wrong?” Garen asks, laying a hand on her shoulder.
She shrugs minutely. “It’s just… what if I don’t…
“You will,” her brother says confidently. “You’re a straight-A student and the president of how many of your extracurriculars? You write your own novels, Lux!”
Obviously. It’s everything Lux put on her resume, everything she’s been repeating in her head while tossing and turning at night like counting academic sheep. Logically, she knows it’s enough. She just doesn’t know how to explain to Garen how much ‘enough’ entails for her. To her, it doesn’t just mean getting into her first choice of college or not. It means the difference between the future her parents outlined for her and the one she’s desperately trying to build for herself. The one with the girl she loves at her side.
Then Garen draws her closer, pulling her into a warm side-hug. “And you’re the most driven, inspiring person I know, Lux. You never give up on anything. I have every faith in you.”
Well, she can’t not hug him back after that little speech. Lux really does have the best big brother.
Taking a deep breath, she tears open the envelope.
Hours later, she finally calls Jinx.
The video call goes through after the first ring. Pixels swarm across the screen for a couple seconds before the connection solidifies, showing Jinx’s upper half propped up on a nest of pillows. “Sunlight!” her girlfriend’s voice comes through.
Lux skips right to the point. Holding up the letter to the camera, unable to contain her grin, she announces, “we’re in business, baby!”
Jinx’s eyes pop open so wide they nearly fly out of the frame. “You got in?!” Without waiting for the answer, she screams off screen, “guys! Lux got in!”
The mic just barely picks up her family’s responses, but Jinx relays them anyway, “they say congrats! Fucking congrats, blondie! Never doubted you!”
“That makes one of us,” Lux says, but she’s smiling so hard her temples hurt.
“Psshaw,” Jinx huffs, “gimme two weeks of you living here and I’m’a knock that self-deprecating attitude all the way to the moon.”
Then she sobers a little. “What’d your folks say?”
Lux’s first obstacle to going to college in Piltover was, naturally, her parents. They couldn’t seem to comprehend their daughter wanting to go anywhere but Valoran U. It had everything she could ever want out of a university, and her admission was all but guaranteed! Even after Lux fed them her rehearsed spiel about spreading her wings before joining the family company they were reluctant to break generations of Crownguard tradition. Her mother and father met at Valoran U. Her Aunt Tianna graduated as valedictorian from Valoran U. Garen had only been allowed to deviate from the norm without a fuss because military service was the one acceptable alternative in the Crownguards’ minds.
Lux understands, at least on some level. If she didn’t want to follow in her family’s footsteps, what did that mean for them? If a Crownguard child wasn’t proud of her heritage, surely they had failed as parents?
It isn't that Lux isn't proud of being a Crownguard - at least, she isn't ashamed. She loves her family with all her heart… but she had accepted by now that she will never be what they wanted her to be. All she can do was make the most of it and hope that, one day, they will accept her too.
“They asked me again if I was sure it’s what I want,” Lux says, and Jinx rolls her eyes, “but then they told me they were proud and took me out to dinner. That’s why I wasn’t able to call until now.”
Well, that, and she had to wait until midnight for the Lanes-Baron household to wake up. If they weren’t awake before, they certainly are after Jinx’s celebratory hullabalooing. Even bedbound Jinx manages to be a purveyor of all things chaos.
That reminds her: “how are you feeling? How’s Ekko?”
Jinx flops back dramatically onto her mountain of pillows, making the camera shake, and groans dramatically. “Sunlight, I can’t feel my legs. I can’t move. I’m so booooooooored.”
“But are you happy?”
A smile spreads across Jinx’s face that, to Lux, might as well be the first yellow rays of dawn. “So happy.”
She adds, “and Ekko’s about the same, also ready to bounce off the walls. But we’ll be there to move you in, don’t’ch’a worry!”
“I would hope so, Jinx - that’s months away.”
“Can’t come soon enough.”
*****
They’re the slowest months of Lux’s life. Garen and her parents attempt to fill the summer with trips, visits, and activities, like she’s going away to war and not college, but none of it is able to distract her. In her heart, she’s already in Piltover. Or rather, Zaun, with Jinx.
“Blondiiiiiiiiiiiie!”
Until she actually is there.
No sooner has she stepped out of the airport doors than a blue typhoon rushes her and sweeps her up into a crushing hug. Lux loses her grip on her suitcase, which is sent rolling but fortunately caught by a laughing Garen. Her grip on her girlfriend, conversely, is unbreakable. Pedestrians shoot them scowls as the foot traffic parts around them, but neither of them notice, too busy spinning each other around and screaming for joy.
God. What Lux wouldn’t give to be able to kiss Jinx then and there.
Garen orders them a cab to the dorms, where they meet Ekko, Zeri, Ahri, and Scar. Quite frankly, Lux doesn’t need that much help to move in. All she has is a few boxes of clothes, cleaning supplies, and a few things from home; her only pieces of furniture are a mini fridge and a futon that just barely fits into the single her parents paid for. But being with her friends, seeing them all turn out for her, and knowing she won’t have to leave them again in just a few days fills Lux with so much warmth it’s a wonder she doesn’t spontaneously combust. Not to mention with so many helping hands they get the work done in record time and get to move next door to help Ezreal with his move-in.
The rest of the afternoon they spend touring the sprawling Academy campus. Lux, Ezreal, and Ahri, being the only actual attendees, are the only ones paying a modicum of attention. Jinx and Ekko mostly make fun of what they called the ‘measuring-contest architecture’. Zeri makes lots of notes about the skate-ability of the campus - adrenaline-junkie behavior that is partially responsible for her foregoing higher education in favor of chasing a career as a street racer, which only earns slightly concerned glances from Garen.
Garen… it’s not that Lux is eager to get rid of her brother. On the contrary, after he treats them to takeout that evening and it’s finally time for him to go she hugs him so long one would think she’s trying to hold him hostage. She cherishes whatever quality time with him she can get. Plus… seeing the most important part of her world in Demacia existing in harmony with her other world fills her with so much hope, like maybe one day her double life, all of her secrets, will be in the past.
That said, the instant the door shuts behind him she forgets all about him. Without wasting a millisecond, she does the thing she’s been waiting a long year and even longer day to do: she throws her arms around Jinx and kisses her like there’s no tomorrow.
It goes on long and deep enough that Ezreal starts throwing crumbled takeout wrappers at them. Jinx gives him a middle finger over her shoulder. When they do finally detach from each other, her eyes are shimmering like sunlight on the sea.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” she whispers.
“Get a room,” Zeri jeers.
Lux yells, “we’re in my room, idiot!”
They stay in her room for the rest of the night, filling the room with jokes and banter that a gaming headset just can’t capture. They munch on sour candy. More wrappers get thrown in jest. Ahri, Zeri, and Scar sprawl on the floor like the world’s friendliest rug. Ekko and Ezreal sit suspiciously close on the futon. And Jinx lays on the bed with her head in Lux’s lap, letting Lux give in to every urge she’s had since they met at fifteen: leaning down periodically to peck her on the nose, tangling her fingers with Jinx’s pink-and-blue polished ones, carding her fingers through her hair.
Everything is finally perfect.
By the time their friends excuse themselves to catch the late trains back to Zaun and Ezreal slips back to his dorm, it’s well into the night. After seeing them out Jinx and Lux stand in the middle of the room, facing each other. Lux fidgets, drumming her fingers on her leg. “Do you have to go, too?”
Jinx huffs a laugh. “First night in a year with my girlfriend in town? Vander ‘n Silco will be more shocked if I’m back before morning.”
Her eyes drop. “But, uh - I know it was a long flight and ya got the time to adjust to. If you’re tired I can - “
Lux interrupts her by pressing her mouth against hers. Jinx melts right into her like it’s exactly the reply she was hoping for.
Despite the jet lag, Lux isn’t tired at all.
Upon breaking the kiss, she says, “classes don’t start for a few days. We’ll have plenty of time to sleep in.”
Jinx mouths ‘we’ and goes back in for another kiss. It’s longer, slower, savoring the embrace they finally, finally get to enjoy. Lux climbs into bed with her girlfriend, they get comfortable, and their lips don’t part for a long time.
*****
The next morning (late the next morning) Jinx drags Lux through the doors of the Last Drop, bursting through the swinging glass panes like the herald of a very gay Armageddon. “Behold!”
Lux isn’t sure if she’s announcing her home to Lux or Lux to her family. Either way she barely has time to take it in: the wood paneling creating a welcoming, homely interior, the skylight letting sun illuminate what the soft yellow lights can’t, the jukebox in the corner playing an old jazz tune. Then she’s facing the bombardment known as the Lanes-Baron family.
The first to run up to her is Jinx’s little sister, Isha. Of her girlfriend’s family members, Isha is the one she’s most acquainted with. Even before moving into Jinx’s room one of Isha’s favorite activities was interrupting their video calls - not that Lux ever minded. Thanks to Sona she also already knew a bit of sign language, so it was probably inevitable that she immediately became fiercely attached to the girl. Jinx likes to pout at Isha and accuse her of trying to steal Lux, but she’s grinning when Lux scoops Isha up in a big hug.
Lux’s real nerves are reserved for the rest of Jinx’s family… but she quickly wonders why she was ever worried.
Jinx’s oldest brother, Claggor, has an easygoing nature that almost immediately sets Lux at ease. That also might be due to the fact that with his larger stature and no-nonsense but friendly personality, he reminds her somewhat of Garen.
Mylo is the opposite of him in almost every way, with scraggly hair and an even scragglier mustache where Claggor is well-groomed, lanky where he’s broad. (“Tweedly,” Jinx once described him. “Are we sure that’s a word?” Lux had asked, although now she sees what she meant). Still, Lux can tell they’re thick as thieves. No sooner has Claggor given her a bone-crushing handshake than he swoops in with a dramatic bow, exclaiming, “well if it isn’t the Demacian princess herself! M’lady!” Claggor jostles his shoulder, but Lux laughs. Mylo’s performativity is endearing in the same way Jinx’s is - not that she’ll never tell her that. It would definitely piss her off.
Lux gets so lost in the tornado of siblings that doesn’t realize when they make it all the way to the bar. Oh God. Now she’s standing in front of her girlfriend’s parents.
Silco Baron triggers an instinct embedded inside of her by a childhood of being told to stand up straight while introduced to politicians and wealthy tycoons. Jinx told her not to dress up, but just the way he stands, in a smart vest and crisp trousers, ignites that same need to impress. He cocks an eyebrow at her, making the scar on the left side of his face stretch.
“So you’re the one who captured my daughter’s heart.”
“Daaaaaaaaad,” Jinx groans.
“Yes,” Lux blurts without thinking, then blushes bright red and stammers, “I mean - uh - well, I’m Lux - "
A warm chuckle comes from the man at Silco’s side. At first glance, Vander Lanes cuts a much more intimidating figure than him, like he would fit just as well in a boxing ring or wielding a lumberjack’s axe as behind a bar. But when he says, “don’t let him intimidate you,” in his avuncular baritone, Lux’s anxiety melts away faster than it does in the presence of her own father. Vander grips her forearms and shakes, placing a hand on her shoulder - an embrace that isn’t technically a hug but to Lux might as well be.
Then, at last, she’s facing pink hair and a surprisingly shy smirk.
“And this,” Jinx announces, “is embarrassing.”
“My friends call me Vi,” says her oldest sister.
“Nice to meet you,” greets Lux. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
The smile falls just-perceptibly. The joking tone feels slightly forced when she responds, “all good things, I hope?”
Well, at this point Lux is honor-bound to embarrass the daylights out of her girlfriend. “Of course! Jinx adores you!”
Vi beams wide, Jinx sticks her tongue out at her big sister, and all is right with the world.
After that lunch feels much like the previous night with her friends did: like she’s known these people for years, like there’s nothing they can’t tell one another. The couple of times Garen brought a girl home it was a deeply formal affair, complete with three-course dinners and Sunday best. This is just a family meal, as though they’ve already accepted Lux as one of them.
If only it were that easy for her.
When Jinx reaches across the tabletop to hold her hand, a tiny sizzle of panic goes through Lux’s chest. When Jinx kisses her full sight of her whole family, that old electric-shock feeling jolts her. Logically she knows it doesn’t matter, that Vander and Silco are two men raising a lesbian daughter, a transgender daughter, and whatever the hell the rest of Jinx’s siblings are. Logically, she can see with her own two eyes the pride flags they’ve got speared into every potted plant in the room. But logic doesn’t matter much in the face of years of walls and masks and survival mechanisms.
When they’re done the others won’t hear a word about Lux helping to clear the table, and Jinx gives Lux a joyful little peck on the cheek before sweeping away with the others, arms full of dishes.
Vander, however, hangs back.
Lux didn’t think the slight tensing of her shoulders before she relaxed into her partner’s touch was noticeable. Maybe that’s because she’s been focused on her internal feelings, trying to win her nervous system over to this welcoming space. Maybe Vander, as a father of five, is especially perceptive. Or maybe she’s just not as subtle as she thinks.
Nonetheless he starts, “I can’t remember the last time I saw Jinx smile like that. She really loves you.”
Practically glowing, Lux is still a bit awkward as she replies, “I love her too.”
She can’t believe she’s saying that. She can’t believe she gets to say that. About another girl. About a transgender girl. To that girl’s father. It doesn’t feel real.
Then her racing thoughts derail when Vander lays a hand over hers. “I know. And I hope you know you’re safe here, Lux.”
Lux can’t help herself. She throws all decorum, all awkwardness, the whole Crownguard social handbook, to the wind, and jumps up to give Vander a hug that nearly knocks the gravy dish from his hands. He returns it before she has time to feel embarrassed.
Lux may be on the other side of the world, but she feels like she’s finally home.