Work Text:
Ekko was unceremoniously spat back into his universe in the same place he had left it. The anomaly seemed to flicker for a moment before once again disappearing from his view. He needed to get out of that fucking hexroom and to Jinx.
Jinx.
She was his only thought as he’d disappeared from Powder's world. He could admit that Powder was wonderful, she was kind, and they seemed to work together like a well oiled machine. But she wasn’t his Powder. And he finally had to admit to himself that his powder wasn’t dead, just changed. Hurt. She’d never be the Powder he learned to walk with, but he couldn’t turn his back on her again.
He knew it wouldn’t be easy to get her to let him in, let him care, but he was willing to do whatever it took.
His best bet was that she’d be at her hideout, so he just needed to grab his board from the tree and then he’d go straight there. He was anxious to know how the firelights had been doing in his stead, but as he came out into the lanes, the pitch black meant they would all be asleep, and could wait till the morning. Jinx simply couldn’t wait any longer, he would be there for her as fast as he possibly could.
Running to the tree didn’t take long, the closer he got to his board, the more motivation he felt to run just a little faster. He burst into his room in a flurry, not bothering to look around. His board was by the door, he grabbed it and was about to leave when he saw the slightest whisper of blue out the corner of his eye.
“Took you long enough, boy saviour.” Jinx mumbled. On paper it was one of her usual taunts, but he had never seen her look or hear more fragile. She was perched on the edge of his bed, covered in dirt. Here knees were pulled up to her chest, her hair was-
Short? That couldn’t be right. He blinked. It didn’t even reach her shoulders.
“Jinx?” He took a cautious step forward, hardly believing his eyes. What was she doing here, and why did she look so… hollow?
“Was gonna do it myself, but-” she let out a chuckle that was more of a sob “That’s not really fair is it, someone should be having fun.” She rested her head on her knees, as if keeping her head up was a hardship.
“Jinx what are you-” he took a breath, “You got a secret bomb you're gonna detonate if I sit next to you?” She shook her head without looking up, “Thanks.” He sat on the bed, leaving a little space between them.
They sat in silence for a moment. Ekko was beyond confused, and was desperately trying to figure out what the best way to handle this version of Jinx was.
“Aren’t you gonna… you know.” She said as she lifted her head slightly, his eyes meeting red rimmed pink.
“I really don’t know what you think I’m gonna do.” He answered honestly.
Her posture straightened as she scanned his face.
“Well you know, I’m here. Defenceless and all. And I’m basically your arch nemesis.” She dropped her feet to the ground, hands gripping his comforter, body ridgid.
He turned to her. She couldn’t mean what it sounded like. It was something that had lingered in his mind from when they fought on the bridge, how she momentarily seemed to completely give up and simply look at him. She couldn’t want him to. If she’d come to him months before would he have? Deep down he knew he never would have been able to.
“I’ve-” he started, not wanting to continue that line of thinking. “I’ve missed you.”
Silence once again hung between them, and Ekko felt far too vulnerable to look at Jinx’s reaction.
“I know that probably doesn’t make much sense, but I’ve, I’ve been gone for a while. And the place I was, it was amazing. It was everything we dreamed of when we were kids. But all I could really think about was getting back, finding you.” his voice gradually grew quieter, the melancholy of his experience truly setting in.
“So you're not gonna kill me?” Jinx whispered back after a beat.
He hoped to let out a chuckle to ease the tension, but it came out more of wracked gasp. When he finally turned to her she was staring down at her lap, shoulders hunched.
He couldn’t do this. He wasn’t sure which would burst first, his head or his heart. But he knew he couldn’t run from this feeling, this pain. This was the feeling Jinx had been left alone in for years.
“No. I’m not.” he answered.
Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, he let his body fall back onto his bed and stared up at his ceiling. Empty. Powder had glow in the dark stars on her ceiling, he used to stare at them from his sleeping bag on nights he slept over. She’d gotten a book on astronomy for some birthday, and Vi had spent hours sticking them exactly where Powder instructed so they could watch the real night sky while they slept.
As if she had read his mind, Jinx said “I’m not her, I’m not Powder.”, in a harsh tone.
“Don’t I know it.” he smiled. “It's just not as different as I thought. Powder’s not dead. I’m sorry for thinking that. You’ve just changed. You’ve had to. We all have, hell I can barely recognise myself some days.” he took a breath, not wanting to make it about himself. “I loved Powder, I want to love you. It won’t be the same, and that’s okay.”
He felt more than he saw her fall back onto the bed next to him, shoulders brushing. Her skin was ice cold. He kept his eyes focused on the ceiling, not wanting to spook her. What would Jinx do to fill its empty space? Not stars, but maybe drawings. Neon flashes of colour to keep him company as he sleeps.
“M not easy to love.” She mumbled into the air.
“I won’t give up.” he answered softly. A promise.
They lay there for a while after that, he hoped some of his body heat was transferring to her. It felt like an unspoken alliance had formed, that if he didn’t give up then she would try. He didn’t feel a need to break the silence first, everything off his chest.
It was Jinx who after some time decided to speak again.
“While you were gone I kinda stole your gig. Started a revolution, broke a bunch of people outa stillwater. A regular girl saviour.” Her words were boastful, but her tone was soft, privately kind in a way he had never heard from her.
He turned his body to face her, noticing the ghost of a smile on her lips.
“That so? So I shouldn’t even bother with the whole making the undercity a better place thing? You’ve got it covered.” he teased.
She turned her body to mirror his, faces centimetres apart.
“Well I wouldn’t say that,” a real smile cemented onto her face, “You could always be my sidekick, tag along.” Her eyes wrinkled in mirth.
“Oh rea-” His rebuttal was interrupted by Jinx headbutting him as she crashed their lips together. The contact shot sparks through him, his body on a live wire. Almost as soon as it started she was pulling back.
“I really wasn’t supposed to do th-” this time he interrupted her, pulling her in by the waist to continue their kiss. She tasted like gunpowder and fruit juice. He felt her hand slowly crawl up his chest to rest over his heart.
As they broke for air she pushed him back slightly, creating a little space between them. He relished in the moment it took for her to regain her composure, cheeks rosy with blush and eyes slightly unfocused.
“We-” suddenly her eyes met his with clarity. “We need to go help Vi, think the world might be about to end.”