Chapter Text
Embers travelled in the night sky, each a speck of what was lost. To ever think that Pow—Jinx and him could have been, that was Ekko lying to himself.
So, as he watched the embers fly into a dark night of a darker Zaun, he did not know what to feel.
Ekko had travelled the realms of possibilities. He knew what “could have” happened, but those were just a “what if?” What if Vi, Mylo, Claggor, and Powder had not gone to topside? What if Powder had never become Jinx? What if that reality could have been true in his own? What if he and Jinx could have made it happen? What if, what if, what if.
Yet, in this world, it had not happened. In this world it would never happen.
That hurt.
Jinx had destroyed. She had killed half the council in her madness. She had killed her adoptive father. She had tried to kill him… Even if she did come around in the end, Ekko knew he should not care. He loved Powder, not Jinx.
Except he had seen it—tasted the possibility. Ekko had experienced what only his wildest dreams could imagine. Dancing with Powder, giddy with happiness.
He’d tasted something that would never be true.
That hurt.
When the last of the embers faded into the sky, Ekko rose. He would not dwell on the pain thrumming through his blood. Ekko had felt loss before, and he could deal with it again.
“Heyyy, Buster.” His ears perked, only one person called him that. He snapped his head around to see… nothing. Right, so now the wind sounded like her. Fun.
Dawn was approaching, the sun beginning to bloom on the horizon. It was like his heart when they had kissed. But that, that was something to think about never. So, he turned his back to the blooming light and paced toward the headquarters of the Firelights.
Ekko sat with one leg dangling over the edge, and one held above, as if not choosing between realities. His eyes followed the drifting leaves of the Firelight tree, unable to think of why he sat here.
He could not feel weak. He was a leader, and he was the model for all Firelights. He could no longer be the “Little Man” peering through one of his janky devices to eavesdrop and make mischief. Somehow, as Ekko stood there, he understood why Powder would change her name to Jinx. He was no longer that kid.
Sometimes taking a leap forward means... leaving a few things behind.
He had told Powder that before he left her. He had goals, an objective in his world. Yet he left the most beautiful reality he had ever seen. He wished he had lived in it.
"…it's never too late to build something new. Someone worth building it for."
He had told Jinx that before she exploded into the Hexgate tower. He had been hoping maybe something could turn around. She had, for a moment. But there was no way to turn her around now. There was no Z-drive that could bring her back from the death.
Oh fuck him, why did he manage to cycle back to that every single time.
“Little Man, how are ya?” There was only one person left who called him that—incorrectly.
His back remained to her, continuing to stare at drifting leaves. “Hi, Vi.”
“Wow, that was an amazing welcome.”
“I try.” This time he did look, a corner of his mouth tugging upward slightly before turning back to face the leaves. Except, now he was looking at mural painted with an innocent mind with blue hair.
“I miss her too, you know?”
Ekko felt his voice catch in his throat. The only sound that came out was a slight “hm?”
“Powder.”
Trembling slightly, Ekko said the only thing that could bring him solace. “The person who died was not Powder, she was Jinx. Powder died a long, long time ago.” But she didn’t have to is what he did not say. Some things were better left unsaid.
As if reading him, Vi responded in the only way she knew. A slight punch to the stomach. Ekko scrunched his face in both shock and pain—ok, maybe it was a bigger punch than necessary.
“What was that for?!”
“You’re brooding, and I can tell. C’mon let’s go get a bite, I’m starved.”
Ekko knew this was to get his mind of things, and it was sweet of Vi to try. He smiled slightly again, preparing for a polite refusal, but Vi’s eyebrows shot up in suspicion. Even after missing years of each other’s lives, somehow, he could still be read like the little man he once was.
“Alright, let’s go to Gerin’s. He has some good stuff.”
They walked, talking about everything and nothing under the sun. They talked about nice weather, and pretty trees, and how their lives would be. What they didn’t talk about was the battle that defined where the world would go. Neither of them was ready for that.
They approached the stand, where a good-natured Ikanise stood, flashing them a smile.
“What can I get for ya?”
“Can we get two spiced eels?”
“Sure thing, it’ll be ready in a few minutes.” After they found a slightly imbalanced table to sit, they remained in silence. The silence was not awkward, rather it was full of anticipation for the food and perhaps a moment of peace that they did not wish to break.
That peace was broken by Ekko’s swirling mind. He did not know why today was the day he spun in circles. It crushed him, until he finally asked a question. Casually. Normally.
“…Do you ever wonder what our world would be like without Hextech?”
Vi’s eyes widened a little. The question, Ekko thought, had been unexpected. “I don’t think I could imagine one without it.”
“But if you tried?”
“It would be a utopia.” Ekko nodded silently in agreement, averting his eyes to take a sip of water. This time the silence was filled with tension, a tension neither were willing to break. So, when food arrived, they were both relieved to drag themselves out of their thoughts.
“Let’s eat, then,” Vi said with a small smile.
Ekko forced a smile back. “Yeah, let’s eat.”
Vi had left after the food, offering a bit more relaxed conversation before, but neither could ignore the tension that still hung above them. Ekko should not have asked that question; he already knew the answer.
And it would never be true.