Happy Birthday Nick!

Wow, this story took a good while. This story is dedicated to my good friend Nick. Like my other birthday story (which I took down for whatever reason I can't remember) I tend to pair the person with their League main or crush. In this case, it might go both ways. This is a story about Quinn, Demacia's Wings, and Nick, a summoner. I also included a bunch of other friends in this story, including myself ;). Thank you for reading! I will have more details at the end of this story. Read on!

It was a quiet night within the League of Legends, just how it should be for this time of hour. The bursting lights represented the life within the League even when it is midnight, the designated time for all summoners to catch some sleep in preparation for the matches the day following. This was the homeworld for all fortunate humans that have decided that they are worthy of becoming a "summoner", a human that must fight along side a "champion", in order to defeat their foes in combat. However, champions were not your typical human. There was something special in all of them, a unique power to possess, a power certain enough to kill.

The buildings that housed them were intricate all in their own way, though through the population's popular vote the community had decided to keep them more… segregated. There were different tiers of summoners, each tier broken into their skill level within the League of Legends. These tiers are what also separated their housing, but it did make room for more housing design. The most populous tier, bronze, were considered the worst among many summoners and even champions. This division was so populous in fact that it became a second border, outlining the entire League of Legends. A variable that they could not control and, if they could, would surely change to convince outsiders that moderators teach fellow summoners well. But it is what it is. The League houses were superiorly decorated with the material used to represent their tier. However, since bronze was in low demand, the League resorted to something more efficient and explanatory: wood. The same situation applied to the tier above, silver, which was less populous than bronze but not by much. This housing traced the bronze housing on the inside, but somehow didn't complete a full circle around the League, which in all actuality is a good thing. The roofs of the silver housing stood out as the building towered in floors, but not as much as some others. Silver only produced a bare glare in the city compared to the rest. After that came gold, which is also pretty self explanatory. They came next in the line of houses, this time being placed slightly above the silver and bronze housing on hills to tower above them, signifying their dominance. The golden roofs gave way to light, shining even their own shade of yellow down into the city after night. Though this was true, the best summoners still did not reside here.

Summoners placed above the golden tier were actually implanted with a unique gift: the ability to communicate with a League champion in person, outside of Summoners Rift. Though this capability was lower for lower tiers, it was still a chance. In fact, platinum, the tier up from gold, earned this privilege even though it was rare for them to do so. The platinum tier was on the top of the first hill, now towering over gold and projecting a silver-ish blue tint onto the back of the gold houses. Diamond, the most precious treasure out of all of them, were able to see champions in person commonly, but not oftenly. Now, as always, diamonds were superior to every other crowning jewel. It was only fair that the best common players stood in these brackets. Though one rule broke this law: challenger. These were the best of the best, ones that deserved much more than what they already had. And that they received, as these summoners were gifted a house higher than diamond. Challenger summoners met with champions often, and even have the ability on the inside management of the League of Legends with their insight.

Though that was not the end of it. The champions. They obviously had to be placed somewhere. That's why they were treated in the highest regard. Champion houses were separated into where the champion came from. Wisely, the Demacian and Noxian houses were placed on opposite sides of the League castle, while the Ionian, Piltover, Freljordian, Zaunite, Bandle, Shadow Isles, and Void champions were all housed (or contained) in random areas surrounding the castle. The League castle was located in the center of it all, the face of the area of League of Legends. All summoners came here to watch and compete in matches, and all champions were relocated to Summoners Rift whenever they had a match. It didn't seem to be an institute anymore, but now blossoming into a city. From above, it actually reminded her of her hometown: Demacia.

Quinn, popularly known as Demacia's Wings, one of the most agile champions in the League and improperly addressed as the slang "bird-lady", leaned against the highest balcony in the Demacian building. Her amber eyes looked somberly over the northern part of the institute, letting the the soft breeze blow her violet hair over her eyes every once in a while and rustle her dark blue fur coat she used as bedwear that covered her entire body, including her otherwise bare chest. The lights were what had caught her eyes this time on her return visit to this balcony for the third night in a row, now laying her chin on top of her crossed arms atop the railing. It seemed as a pulling in her chest dragged her to this very balcony every time, and every time she came to adore the silver and blue tint that the platinum building shined upon the gold one. Though she didn't know what caused this feeling. Was she homesick? It can't be. Though she was one of Demacia's elites, they had no need of her services of now. Was it her brother? Possibly. His death had been tragic, and from that day she swore not to speak of it. Though the feeling felt different. Almost like a craving…

Her mind was just on the verge of a solution when the noise of a door opening behind her snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned her head to the left and looked inside the building, the bright light of the inside partially blinding her after completely forgetting about it. A woman had entered the room and caught sight of Quinn. She was a distinguished figure among the Demacian house, one that Quinn not only had respect for but were also personal friends with. A red tint in her hair complimented an otherwise jet black wave, also letting it flow behind her. She wore a similar attire, though completely black and more revealing than Quinn's. She held a wine glass half full of young merlot, a common wine within the house. Amber eyes met cyan and they both greeted each other with warm smiles. Fiora sauntered up onto the balcony next to Quinn.

"I don't recall you ever coming up here on nights before a match." Fiora instantly noted, sliding her arms onto the rail like Quinn and holding her wine over the edge. Quinn paid no mind to her concern, it was typical of her to care towards close friends, of which she doesn't have many of. Many people are intimidated by her, though the scoundrels would say otherwise. Unlike them, Quinn has developed a heavy bond with her, and now they weren't against being philosophical towards each other. Quinn turned her head and looked back to the city.

"I figured I can pass a few hours without sleep. Besides we're lucky. We don't get called to the platform every day unlike some others." Quinn stated.

"Ha! You're right on that!" Fiora agreed. She took a sip of her wine. Quinn noted her look. Her eyes seemed limp and sleepy, and her clothing agreed with that.

"I hope you're not drunk." Quinn said haphazardly. Fiora snickered.

"I'm not." She assured in a lower voice, wiping some wine off her lip. "If I was you would know. And if you knew, I'm sure you would beat me up because of it." Fiora mused, laughing slightly at her own joke. And she knew it was true. It was the same for Quinn; when she had someone she cared for, she meant it. Quinn was trained to protect, this included her loved ones.

"Hmph." Quinn shrugged. "You're right about that." But if Fiora looked drunk, then Quinn looked lonesome to Fiora. The way she looked out over the city like there was something important on her mind.

"So…" Fiora lingered. "What brought you up here?" She asked. There was no immediate response from Quinn, but when she finally considered the question she sighed.

"I don't know… my mind seemed to have guided me up here." Quinn answered in a disheartening tone. The two let silence fill the air for a moment. "I guess I just wanted to see the lights." She used as an excuse.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Asked Fiora. Quinn nodded. "They sure remind me of home."

"Same." Quinn related. She looked at Fiora again. "Say, you're not wearing that for any other reason for sleep, right?" Quinn lazily asked.

"What do you mean?" Fiora asked back, not quite getting the comment. But the sly smile on Quinn's face told her what she meant. "Honey, I'm not at that level yet." Fiora confirmed.

"Alright, alright. I take it back." Quinn quickly retracted from that conversation. But her boldness got the better of her, and quickly got the better of Fiora.

"Why ask?" Fiora pondered.

"No reason." Quinn quickly answered back again, not acknowledging her asking. Instead her lackluster gaze continued out into the city below her. What fascinated her so much was unknown to Fiora, but she did know that she was lying. She noticed that Quinn was purposely trying to brush off and ignore that last conversation, which led her to believe that something on that topic was on her mind.

"Oh really?" Fiora asked, an impish smile crossing her face. She stood up from the railing, as fake as it was to be creepy, she seductively placed her hand on her shoulder and walked around Quinn, letting her hand softly drag across Quinn's neck. "I'm not the type to let people go once they let the topic of… slightly revealing clothing go. And coming from you it implies that you…" Fiora said, stopping on the other side of Quinn. "May have an attraction."

"To you!?" Quinn exclaimed. Fiora shrugged.

"It doesn't surprise me when people call me attractive in this type of clothing. But I know you aren't really the person to think like that." Fiora stated, going back to leaning against the railing.

"I will admit, if I was a guy and I saw you like that, I wouldn't be shy in getting up close." Quinn teased, in which Fiora only replied with a small laugh. She sighed. "But you may have caught me red-handed, Fiora." Quinn admitted. Fiora's eyes lit up and almost lost grip on her wine.

"I was right!?" Fiora asked shocked. Quinn nervously nodded, knowing how her friend would always react to possible gossip material. "Oh…" Fiora said, not actually expecting it. Now she had to change her tone and manner. "Well… tell me about it." She said caringly.

"Promise not to tell anyone?" Quinn asked and Fiora pledged. "I've had mixed feelings on someone for a while and I don't know how to interpret them."

"Who is it? Garen? Jarvan? Xin -"

"No, no. It's a summoner." Quinn clarified and hung her head lower, not expecting too much help from her mainly sarcastic friend.

"A summoner?" Fiora repeated and Quinn nodded. "Quinn, you know that summoner-champion relationships aren't recommended or even permitted -"

"Yeah, but fuck them." Quinn disregarded. Fiora looked shocked. If this was so, this would be the first time Quinn ever been disloyal to the League. Looking at Quinn, she looked more than just merely troubled. Distressed.

"Ok… tell me about him." Fiora fostered. Quinn sighed again.

"It's a summoner housed in the platinum building." Quinn said, but couldn't continue further when she heard a small snicker come out from Fiora's mouth.

"Platinum?" She questioned. "Girl, I didn't know you set your standards so low." She wittily commented.

"Hey, I wouldn't be talking! You let all of the bronze summoners hit on you because they think you're easy!" Quinn retorted. Fiora burst out laughing, Quinn was slightly startled that her joke was that humourous.

"Ha!" Fiora's guffaw died down, eventually settling into small bits and piece of laughter. "Touche. But once they use me, they know my playstyle is rough." Fiora stated, which only made Quinn nod before Fiora came back to her normal self. Fiora's joke was meant to lighten the mood, but instead Quinn had that same distressed expression.

"He's summoned me a lot and… I don't know what I feel of it. Valor really likes him though. His shot-calling keeps Valor excited all the time." Quinn said pensively.

"Is he cute?" Fiora wondered.

"Yeah, well…" She cut herself off and glared at Fiora. "You know I'm not good at talking about this stuff!" She whined.

"I know, I know. That's why I'm trying to break you out of this shell of yours." Fiora explained, and Quinn childishly sighed.

"Sure, he's cute I guess." Quinn gave in. Fiora nodded. "He's the dark haired guy on the ranked team "Obey"."

"Missael!?" Fiora exclaimed shocked.

"No, not him… unless you think that he's cute?" Quinn slyly responded. Fiora cringed.

"Ew, no." Fiora said with disgust and Quinn pleasantly laughed. That lightened the mood.

"So… what are you going to do?" Fiora asked.

"I don't know." Quinn said hopelessly, now shifting her position and leaning her back against the railing and looking into the room. "I suppose I could approach him, but that would lead to me looking like a fool in front of all the other champions. I don't think he would be ever willing to approach me, except for when we shake hands after the game."

"Well what if it wasn't you that approached him…" Fiora pondered. Quinn looked at her inquisitively.

"What? Do you want to ask him out for me?" Quinn asked.

"No, no. Not me in particular. Someone else…" She referred. Fiora looked at her with a glint of genius. Soon, Quinn knew what she meant.

"Oh…" Quinn gravely pronounced. "You want me to go… that far?" She asked.

"Yes." Fiora said. She placed a hand on Quinn's shoulder. "It would be the safest route."

"But what if he gets noticed?" Quinn asked, scared for her own well-being along with his.

"He won't, I can promise you that." Fiora said. With that she took her hand off of Quinn's shoulder, turned around and began strutting away, feeling accomplished by what she just told Quinn. "This is your first time, and just like everything you can't go about what you want without taking a risk. So the question is, will you be able to make this risk?" Fiora left Quinn with a question as she stepped back into the room. But as she did she stopped, now hearing Quinn shift loudly behind her.

"I'm not weak." Quinn said boldly. Her eyes now not displayed sultry, but now a giant boost of confidence. Though Fiora couldn't see this, she could surely sense it. "I won't take this opportunity for granted, and I surely won't let it pass me by."

"Now that's the Quinn I know. Strong, confident… and continues to be worthy." Fiora said. Taking another sip of her wine, she stepped out of the room, her attire almost getting caught in the door along the way. Quinn stayed in place, staring at the place Fiora just was. Did she really just make that commitment? That was the disturbance in her head now. It wasn't a thought anymore, it was a reality. Quinn turned around and stared back down at the platinum buildings, where her crush stayed.

"Fiora…" She uttered. "Thank you"

Nick was nervous.

Not only was his reputation on the line, all of his friends were as well. He fidgeted with his fingers as he sat patiently in the blue side waiting room for his ranked team to be called to the nexus. Black rock was used as decor to make the room seem like a cave, to fit in with the theme of the area. The nexus was just on the other side of the white steel door directly in front of him, his entire fate remained partially in there and partially in his mind.

The silence in the room was not only resonated by him. To his left and to his right were both two other comrades, his allies going into this next match, and also his personal friends. Nick was placed in the middle, representing the role he was playing next match. To his far left was the top laner and also the highest ranking player on the team, Brian. Sitting next to him listening to music through his phone before the upcoming match was Cal, their jungler who derives his playstyle to how the game results and adapts his playstyle accordingly. To his right was their team's bot lane. On ad-carry, a very suitable marksman summoner and excels at being consistent, is Matt. And on support, one of the most iconic members and faces of the team and really comes to represent the team as a whole, whom many consider a "godly" support no matter how much he disapproved of himself playing the role, was Missael. Together they formed the ranked team "Obey" and have driven themselves to finals of this tournament.

This tournament, in particular, was of great importance. Just like the normal League Championship series, this was the same as the Promotional Series except in a lesser state. Since none of them were challenger, the winner of this tournament would have the chance to compete with them. The ranked team would be considered a challenger ranked team, able to compete in the upcoming challenger series. The losers weren't rewarded with anything except the bragging rights to be considered "runner up". However, the winner not only gets the grand prize but also more bragging rights than the runner ups. This was an important match. The team that they were competing against were not only great friends of theirs, but also their rivals. It would be a fight for the finish, and nonetheless the most challenging fight they would ever have.

Innate attributes existed within both teams. For one, both had a variety of playstyles that they could play. For Nick's team, they had better teamfights and shot-calling. However for the opposing team, they were better for controlling or dominating their lane and excelling in map-control. Though they knew this, they knew little to none about each others champion pool. They've kept it secret from each other for months, little data being able to be gathered from the others match history. But lately "Obey" have been on tilt. All of them were still in their solo-queue mentality for this match; this was certainly not a good sign. The two days prior to this one held the first and second matches of this competition. In the first match, "Obey" won a decisive victory against them, pushing their nexus within the thirty-minute mark. On the second game, their rivals crushed them with a score of 30 kills for them, 7 for "Obey". This was the third game of the competition and, suddenly to both teams, just recently announced to be an exposition game, meaning the match would be visible to watch from the courtyard stadium just outside of where they were at.

Nick had a special ace up his sleeve that he's been able to conceal from the opposing team. With this his entire team knew to finally reveal it. Nick's pick would surely determine the fate of the game, whether it would make them win or make them tragically lose. It wasn't up to meta, what some may consider a sin within the League, but it always made the match more interesting when an unorthodox pick came from either side.

"One minute until prerequisite meeting!" A female voice said through speakers hidden somewhere within the wall, the same voice used to commentate the League games. Nick leaned back and leaned his head against the jagged rock wall behind him.

"Hey Nick." Matt said from his side. "Are you sure about this?" He asked, in which Nick responded with a reassuring smile.

"I'm positive." Nick assured.

"Hey Nick, you better not feed this time!" Brian commented from the side with the same sarcastic attitude projecting from his voice as always.

"Yeah Nick, don't suck!" Missael also commented, this time with a less sarcastic attitude.

"Why so much hate?" Nick grumbled. "You all obviously don't know how much I've been practicing her. It'll be a tough match up against whoever he picks, but I should be fine." He said. Just as he finished the sentence, the door in front of them unlatched making a loud, mechanical noise. It was as if someone was opening the door to a lab; white smoke poured out from the slot the door was locked in, and on the other side was the main room. With a deep sigh and a cross for hope, the team slowly entered the room.

This room was much more spacious than the holding area but was decorated in the same way. The same pitch black walls surrounded them, this time seeming small stalagmites protruding from the ceiling above meant to intimidate summoners coming in. The middle was completely bare, but both ends met identical grounds. Five summoner plates were lined up for each one to stand on, roles lining up in the same fashion as Nick's team sat. The plates were half-circled around a small rock pedestal in the middle, the pedestal emitting magical powers to bring up the all classic champion select screen. Though this was not what they saw when they were in Summoner's Rift. On the map each player was presented with a birds-eye view of the champion in three dimensions, as well as a holographic heads-up-display where players would manually touch and change settings. It was truly a work of technology, surely nothing like other universes have seen before.

Though the middle of the room was bare, the other side wasn't. The other side reflected what they had just entered through, a steel door that this time went to the purple team waiting room. As they emerged into the room, they caught firm sight on the other team, in which they seemed just as nervous about this situation as them.

On the contrary of "Obey", their team name was named "SouL", and just like their team they had five members. Adjusting his glasses as he walked in, Max, SouL's top laner, walked over to his platform. Not only being the most consistent member of their team, he also ran with the most positive ratio out of all of them. The tall blonde who was also most commonly identified as the worst of the team, Thomas, walked out as SouL's jungler. However confusing it may be, Nick walked out for ad-carry of SouL, who has adapted himself to many different types of marksmen and their playstyles. His support, Dylan, walked out alongside Nick to the platform; Dylan being known to play more uncommon supports. Then finally was SouL's mid laner and Nick's lane opponent, who was also ironically the person Nick knew most out of the entire SouL team. Being the soul optimizer of the team, making sure each and every member's mechanics were as good as they could be for the players skill, he had a reputation on his back that he surely did not want to foil, and losing at the influence of Nick would only even be more insulting to his peers. Oly, also more commonly known in the community as Zoco, walked out into the room. Catching a brief glimpse of Nick he flashed a friendly but also challenging smile at his friend before walking out behind their pedestal.

As they walked, the entire "Obey" team noticed their coach and former jungler, Colby, conversing with the head summoner hosting the event on last minute touches. By this time courtyard was probably packed with summoners wanting to spectate this game. The pressure was high for both teams, some of them already sweating from it, as well as the additional pressure of the game being live, a hurdle that none of them have faced before. Colby caught sight of their team walking in and, with a generous bow, turned away from the head summoner temporarily to walk over to the team.

"Alright team!" Colby announced and clasped his hands together, looking amongst the team trying to ignore their worried looks. "We looked good against them a couple days ago, but yesterday we just got crushed. What's the plan today guys?" He asked.

"We're using Nick's strategy Colby. What do you think?" Cal asked. Colby seemed slightly annoyed at this.

"Nick, this is the finals. I don't think this is such a good idea. She's not even considered a mid laner!" Colby argued.

"I don't care, ok!? He won't expect it! Even though he's a proficient laner, him and his team won't be able to adapt to this sudden change." Nick argued back.

"It's just because you like her, isn't it?" Missael commented from the side.

"W-Wha? I-I don't know what your -"

"Guys stop! I'll vouch for Nick. I believe that he can win his lane." Matt supported Nick, making Nick feel a little better about himself. A tense silence filled the gap between the team for a brief moment. Everyone peered at each other, all contemplating the same thought: should this be allowed through.

"Alright." Colby said stoically, not exactly pleased at this situation. "We'll let it happen." Colby confirmed. With a pleased smile from Nick, not everyone seemed too happy about this decision. Both Colby and Missael were disheartened by Nick's lack of a secure and safe pick, as they planned weeks beforehand against this very team. But the rest of them were confident, and with a four versus two majority, Nick's pick would be allowed through, and SouL had no intelligence of this pick.

"Champion Select is about to begin!" The female announcer announced through the speakers, this time projecting her voice through speakers in the courtyard; Nick was able to hear the cheers come through the walls, chants for both teams being played. Hundreds of fellow summoners gathered in the courtyard today, some of them accompanied by small little accessories to compliment their dedication to the League. It was so immense, an entire row of spectators wore a hat the exact same of that of the most notorious champion in the League: Teemo. While the crowd was fierce, one person stepped up side stage and made her appearance in front of the whole courtyard. The match announcer, Brice, stepped up in to the middle of the stage.

"Hello, and welcome to the finals of the Divisional Bracket Promotion Series!" Brice introduced and the crowd went wild once again. "The winner of this series will be qualified to compete with the top challenger teams in the League of Legends. So far we've seen two intense matches between both teams. In the first game, Obey Gaming took a commanding lead early on and managed to push their nexus in just above thirty minutes. But, with fury, SouL Clan managed to retaliate the next day, bringing the second game to a close with twenty-three kills above Obey. Today will be the final match between the two rivaling teams, and it all starts now as the teams jump into champion select!"

As Nick heard the words echo softly through the walls, he knew it was time to turn his attention away from the ongoing thought of expositions and into the game. Within a second, a holographic projection of the League of Legends Champion Select screen appeared in front of every member of both teams. Like standard draft pick, there was always a pick and ban phase before the actual champion selecting. These champions would not be available for summoning in the actual match. Conveniently, Obey had the first ban and first pick, however SouL would be granted with the opportunity to counter-pick any of Obey's champions.

Brian was the one banning for Obey's team, and he was pretty wise when it came time for this. The first ban was immediately Vayne. Both Matt and Nick excelled in using Vayne to its maximum strength; that had to be taken out of the line-up. Max was banning for SouL's team. The first ban to come out from them was Leona, as Missael was pretty proficient on that champ. Next Obey banned out Evelyn, as Evelyn was a mechanically simple champion to play and wanted to pit Thomas outside of his small comfort zone. SouL's second ban was Singed, as he was just too annoying for Max to deal with in lane. Obey's final ban was Orianna, a champion that Oly was known for playing plenty of and Obey didn't want to take the risk of SouL picking such an effective team fight champion. Similarly, SouL's final ban was Zed, as they didn't want Nick to catch anyone out of position and instantly murder them. Luckily enough though, that ban was void to Obey.

"Should I do it?" Brian asked and everyone quickly shouted yes at him. With his teams consent, he locked Quinn for Nick. Everyone seemed to ease into their place as the deed was finally done. Hysterically, as Nick looked over, the SouL team seemed flustered. They knew that Matt wasn't known for playing Quinn, so they wondered if that was going to be a mid-lane Quinn. But as quickly as he relished in this fact, his nerves edged into him again. As quickly as Obey locked Quinn for Nick, SouL insta-locked Ahri for Oly.

With a very interesting matchup in the middle lane, the rest of the selections for both teams seemed to satisfy them. In the top lane Max would summon Yasuo to brawl against Brian on Fiora. In the jungle, it would be a race to see who would out-gank the other as Cal locked Fiddlesticks with confidence and Thomas locking Xin Zhao with ease. The bot lane had to be the most intense. On Obey's side, Matt and Missael picked the sniper, Caitlyn, and the dark child, Annie to be their marksman and support. With the unorthodox picks coming out from SouL's side, they decided to go a very damaging and tanky bot lane duo. The outlaw, Graves, and the Titan of the Depths, Nautilus, was SouL's bot lane.

"Alright team, lets go! I believe in you guys!" Colby cheered once more before he was forced to step out of the room. Taking one final deep breath, Nick readied himself for the tough match ahead. Letting the summoner's influence flow within him, Nick's mind, and everyone elses, was transported elsewhere, onto the ravaging lands of Summoner's Rift.