(A/N: The second and final installment. Hope you've enjoyed the ride!)

LET'S PLAY EXPLORERS

ii. present

"Welcome to Summoner's Rift."

Luxanna Crownguard opened her eyes with a grin, filled with the thrill of her first match. Training could not have prepared her for the pure excitement of being summoned by the League. Although Demacia and Piltover had agreed to form a temporary alliance against Noxus's latest border dispute, she'd hardly expected to be chosen—much less by one of the most experienced Summoners in the system.

What should I get? she asked.

Try a pink ward, some sight wards, and a bunch of pots, her Summoner responded. A mana pot wouldn't be a bad choice, too.

Lux tossed her bag of coins at the shopkeeper, scooping up her Summoner's suggestions, and headed out. She passed by Jayce, Orianna, and Jarvan as she walked to the bottom lane. Four, including her. The person she was supposed to lane with was missing...

Wait, her Summoner said. Pretty Boy wants to go for golems.

Lux didn't understand the reference, but she obediently slipped into the jungle. Her last teammate was waiting for her there, with arms folded and foot tapping and looking an awful lot like—

Ow! Lux, watch your mental screaming?

S-sorry, but...

It was Ezreal. There was no mistaking that unruly shock of yellow hair, that distinctive, stubborn jawline, that ever-present hint of a mischevious grin.

After all these years, she'd actually run into Ezreal.

As her feet carried her to the giant stone golems, Lux was swept up in a flurry of emotion. Ezreal? After so many years? What was he doing here? Oh, how she had missed him, and he'd grown up to be so handsome... He did remember the adventures they'd had together as children, didn't he?—Oh, what if he'd forgotten, what if he couldn't recognize—Well! It wasn't even her fault that they'd had that whole argument—and he'd said he'd hated her first—but what if he still hated her, all because of that foolish, childish—

"Lux!"

Ez bolted forward and slammed into her, his arms stranging her ribcage. When he pulled back, Lux was able to see that a broad grin had covered his entire face.

Good heavens, how she envied him. How was he able to think so—so simply? He felt only joy—pure, unadulterated joy—while she felt a whole mess of things that almost made her want to cry...

"Ez," she mumbled, hands hanging awkwardly at her sides. She struggled as hard as she could to keep tears out of her eyes. That would be awful for Ez.

"Lux?" Ez said, smile completely gone, eyebrows lifted in concern. He was hurt by her response. She could see it.

Just hug him already! her Summoner muttered into her mind.

Lux squared her shoulders. Stepped forward. Opened her mouth.

Then the golems spawned.

She and Ez pivoted about, instinctively throwing an array of shimmering missiles toward the closest golem. Lux heard a frustrated sigh from her Summoner as they proceeded to kite the golems between them, finishing them off with barely any wounds.

They returned to lane in silence. Lux wanted to comment on their teamwork against the golems. She wanted to discuss the upcoming strategy. She wanted to tell him that she'd missed him. She wanted to ask if he'd missed her. But now her tongue was tied up and her stomach was clenching and she bore the uncomfortable silence. Ez made no move to break it, either—he stared straight ahead, almost as if he'd forgotten she'd existed.

Draven and Morgana came to lane shortly after they arrived. When Lux planted a ward in the opposite bush, she saw a wisp of dark aura slip away.

No snare? she prompted her Summoner.

All good things to those who wait, he replied humorously.

You were snacking, weren't you.

That doesn't sound like a question.

Lux rolled her eyes, popping out of the bush to snag a free hit on Draven before ducking back in. Morgana fired a blind Dark Binding that went wide. Lux countered with a whimsical Luscent Singularity.

Sooo. You and Pretty Boy.

It missed.

I'm trying to fight here, Lux said.

You can multitask.

Lux tossed out a snare. This time, it landed right on Draven.

"Ez, now!" she yelled, tossing out an exploding orb. Golems had sped along their experience to level 2. They could easily get first blood.

She took an axe to the gut as Ex blinked next to her, dodging Morgana's Dark Binding and firing his various missiles with ardor. Draven's Summoner attempted to blink him away, but that did nothing to stop them as he was felled with surgical efficiency.

"Nice," Ez said, but he wasn't smiling. He went right back to farming without a single glance at her.

Lux bit her lip as she headed to the river to ward. When she came back, she started harassing the retreating Morgana. "Hey, Ez."

"Uh-huh."

Morgana, now at 2, shielded herself and slipped away. "Did you get stuck with a bad Summoner or something?"

"No."

"Then... Well, you seem kind of... touchy?"

He snorted in a rather disbelieving manner. "Do I?"

Lux gritted her teeth. "Yes, you do."

He tossed her a look. "And you're concerned... why?"

Stunned, Lux drew back. Just a few moments ago, Ez had been friendly enough. Now, he was being completely cold to her.

"Ez," she began, but he interrupted her.

"Just let me farm."

She clamped her mouth shut, indignation welling up in her gut. Well, if he was going to be downright rude...

Draven and Morgana returned to lane while she and Ez were still sulking. Lux couldn't help but feel a stab of disappointment at how her adventure-driven childhood friend had grown up to be a jerk. She shouldn't have expected any different; a lot did happen in so many years—but for some reason, some little part of her expected that he wouldn't change that much.

Heads up, Lux!

Lux's attention shot back to see Morgana fire a Dark Binding right at Ez, who was walking forward to last-hit a minion... right into it. She felt her body move before her mind could, stepping in front of the Binding's path and being rooted to the ground in place of Ez.

That's... not what I meant, her Summoner said weakly.

Ez stiffened for a moment, and Lux held his gaze.

"Are we going to win this match, or not?" she said evenly.

Then Draven's first axe hit.

To the League's credit, the pain suppressors worked beautifully. She only felt a strange twinge as the axe nailed her in the back and rebounded to Draven's hand. If anything, it seemed to affect Ez more than it did her; his body jerked oddly as if he'd felt the impact himself.

Snare them and run like a pansy! her Summoner pleaded. Also, get your boyfriend to actually do something useful.

Lux didn't even need to say anything—Ez's own Summoner seemed to be of one mind with her own. Ez slapped a Mystic Shot on Draven as Lux tossed a snare and orb at him, running as soon as the binding was down. She pulled up her stats on her techmaturgical bracelet. Her health was insanely low.

Welcome to League of Draven, her Summoner said ruefully. One Dark Binding, and you're in for a world of hurt.

Lux glugged a health potion and popped her Biscuit of Total Rejuvenation in her mouth, hanging behind Ez. He was concentrating on the minion wave before him, but he seemed... shaken.

"Lux," he said as Draven and Morgana began to laugh in glee.

"I know. I won't get caught out again."

His head snapped to her, eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment. "What? I was gonna ask if you were okay," he said.

His voice was softer than before, but she refused to be tricked by him again. "You can see my stats for yourself," she responded, rather icily.

Draven and Morgana appeared to pick up on their tension. "Looks like the lovebirds got themselves a spat," Draven said. Ez stiffened and launched a Mystic Shot at him. He easily sidestepped.

"Look, Lux, I—"

Care, Lux! Warwick from tri!

Lux whipped around, blindly tossing a snare towards the tribush and throwing out her shield as she raced back to turret. The snare socked Warwick right in the face, rooting him where he stood.

"Lux!"

Lux glanced over her shoulder, only to find a Dark Binding flying straight at her. She jerked away, but it still caught on her shoulder.

Crap crap crap crap crap.

Lux felt twinge after twinge as Draven's axes landed on her. The ground burnt beneath her feet with Morgana's Tormented Soil. The only thing she could think was that at least Warwick hadn't hit 6...

Dang it, Lux!

The moment the Dark Binding was down, her Summoner flashed her to safety. She quickly flicked up her stats on her bracelet. Fifteen HP.

But it was still ticking down from Ignite.

She looked up to see Draven's own health bar was low; while she'd been snared, Ez had focused purely on Draven. It didn't matter. Morgana had a shield, too.

"Ez," she mumbled, feeling her strength bleeding out of her little by little.

He let out a cry of frustration as Draven and Morgana slipped away.

You probably should've snared Draven, if anyone, Lux's summoner murmured.

You're not helping, Lux replied snappishly.

Ez raced back to the tower, ignoring the minions practically begging to be farmed. "Lux!" he said, shoulders strained with panic. "Lux, stay with me."

She'd already drunk her last pot, but she knew without a doubt that it wouldn't be enough. "This is fine, Ez," she said. "I'll just respawn." Ez's concern softened her anger. Maybe he wasn't actually a jerk. "Sorry to feed first blood."

Ez was acting strangely. He was almost staring through her, like he'd forgotten where he was. "Don't leave me again," he said quietly.

She felt an electric thrill to the tips of her fingers. Something clicked in her brain—something she wasn't quite able to put into words, but she knew it in her gut...

"Ez," she said softly.

After a brief pause, he suddenly lunged at her, arms coming around her shoulders in an embrace—

She felt her body slump to the ground and dissolve into particles, heading back to the fountain to wait for respawn.

"LUX!"

Lux didn't think that she would ever forget the look on Ez's face.

The match was a long one. By the end of its fifty-some minutes, both sides were exhausted. Lux's team barely managed to eke out a victory.

In the post-battle lobby, none of the champions even tried to shake hands. Demacia and Piltover scowled at Noxus, and Noxus scowled back. Their Summoners also refused to interact with each other, vendettas painfully clear in the stony set of their faces.

Lux quickly dodged out of the lobby the moment she was able, searching the hallways for Ez. He'd probably gone to explore some hidden nook of the League. Maybe he was already heading back to Piltover. She wished he hadn't. She still had questions for him. His odd behavior. His moodiness. His strange questions. Nothing was fitting together like she was expecting it to. And Luxanna Crownguard wanted answers.

"Lux."

Lux's heart leapt in her chest and she whirled around, the melodic rumble of her name echoing in her ears. Her gaze met with Ez's icy one. Immediately, her stomach dropped.

"Ez," she mumbled, fixing her gaze on the ground.

Ez's eyes softened. "Where'd you go?" he asked lightly.

"I was just in the lobby—"

"That's not what I meant."

For a split second Lux was confused, until it hit her. "Oh," she said.

"You never came back," he said. His expression was unreadable, but his shoulders were tense. "I thought that it was just a childish fight, but—"

"No," Lux said quickly, wanting to clear any misunderstandings. "We—we had to leave for Demacia right after that day..."

Immediately, Ez's shoulders relaxed. "Demacia?"

Lux felt like she'd been socked in the stomach. Was that why Ez had been so moody with her during the match? Because he'd thought that she'd avoided him all these years due to one petty fight?" "Ezreal," she said, rather sharply, "Did you think that I'd been avoiding you? For these many years?"

"I didn't know," Ez defended.

"You know me better than that," Lux fumed, striding forward. "If I'd had the chance, I would've at least tried to see you again! Ez, when I went back to Demacia, I—I thought about you, so much, and I wanted to see you, Ez, I wanted—I wanted—"

Years of pent-up emotion began pouring out of her until she was reduced to incomprehensible blubbering. For so long, she'd had regrets that her business with Ez was open-ended, unresolved—the worst sort of ending that a fight could have. Now, she couldn't seem to keep them bottled up anymore.

Ez stepped forward, and for a split second, she thought he might hug her—but then he halted and shuffled about awkwardly until he finally reached out and gave her shoulder a single tap.

"I'm sorry, Lux," he said, uncertain but sincere. He paused. "I missed you."

Lux slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him down, burying her face in his shoulder. Despite his 'delicate pretty-boy' looks, he felt firm, solid.

"I missed you too," she said, feeling his warmth calming her.

Ez jerked back, almost causing their foreheads to bumb together. Lux loosened her grip and looked up at him in concern.

"Is something—"

"I'm fine!" he said hurriedly, turning away.

Lux felt a giggle bubbling in the back of her throat. "C'mon Ez," she said brightly. "You hugged me before! It's no big deal."

"It's different now," Ez muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Really? Why?" Lux teased, poking him in the cheek. Ez suddenly spun around at a startling speed, gripping her shoulders.

"Don't treat me like a kid," he said, voice low.

Lux felt her heartbeat skyrocket, pounding in the back of her throat. "Why not?" she asked warily.

He was silent for a moment, staring levelly at her with his penetrating gaze. Right when Lux thought that he hadn't heard her, he spoke.

"Because I don't see you as one."

He released her like his hands were burnt and strode away, leaving her flushed and speechless.

The moment Lux returned to Demacia, she submitted a request for temporary leave to the Demacian military. It didn't take long for her request to get approved—ever since she'd joined the League, they had to get used to her leaving on short notice.

Once she was cleared, Lux instantly headed toward Piltover. She knew what she had to do—or rather, where she had to go.

Apparently, no one else in Piltover'd had the idea to climb up the energy pillars, as they were all still vacant. Then again, that kind of crazy idea was the kind that only Ez would come up with.

After surreptitiously making her way through the streets of Piltover, hiding from anyone that might recognize her, Lux arrived on their favorite pillar. She fondly recalled the days spent rushing about fighting the Order—her best childhood memories had happened during that time, bickering and all. Strange that she and Ez would actually happen to meet again—and on the Fields of Justice, nonetheless. A part of Lux liked to think that it was simply fate pulling some strings, just as dissatisfied as she had been with the unresolved ending between her and Ez.

"I thought you'd be here."

Ez's tone was almost lofty. Lux whirled around to give him a mocking glare.

"Oh, did you now, Mr. Know-It-All?"

"I am enlightened," Ez said with a cheesy grin. "Ezreal the Enlightened."

"Oh? Strange. I remember an Ezreal the Effeminate..."

Ez's exaggerated frown caused Lux to giggle. He swung his legs over the ends of the pillar and sat down, patting the space beside him. Lux sat next to him, a bit farther than she wanted.

"So, how's life?" Ez peered over his feet at the lively City of Progress below.

Lux saw straight through him. "Why don't you just ask what you want to?" she said bluntly.

Ez grinned. "Can I?"

Her heart stuttered unexpectedly in her chest. "Uh... didn't I just tell you to?" she mumbled, looking away.

Ez shuffled closer, until their shoulders were touching.

"No, really, can I?" he said.

Lux felt his breath on her ear and shuffled away, folding her hands in her lap. "O-of course?"

A moment of silence. Then two.

"How's life?" Ez asked again.

Lux rolled her eyes and turned her head back, making sure to give an extra-long sigh of exasperation. She stopped short when she realized that her nose was almost touching Ez's.

"Really, Lux," Ez said, brightly, but a bit more strangled than before. "I've wanted to ask you that for a while now."

Lux felt her cheeks burning as her heart started sprinting circles in her chest. "I guess it IS a good idea to catch up a bit before we do anything crazy," she said, forcing a laugh.

Ez raised an eyebrow, mouth tweaking mischievously. "Crazy?" he said, almost seductively.

Lux wanted to pull away, but she had the overwhelming feeling that she'd be forfeiting something if she did. "Who knows," she said, breathily. "This old friend of yours might turn out to be a criminal."

Ez came even closer until their foreheads were touching and he was too close to look in the eye. "You're not old," he murmured. "You're young."

Lux almost laughed, but the air between them was too charged to even blink. She curled her fingers in the hem of her dress. "Why did you come, Ez?" she whispered.

"Says the girl who came all the way from Demacia?"

"Just answer."

Ez was silent. Lux felt her heart pound in her fingers. Once. Twice.

"For the same reason you came," he said softly, and tilted his head.

Their lips touched. Vaguely Lux felt Ez's hand cup her cheek, and her own hand had somehow wound against his shoulder-but she was far too focused on the flip-flop of her stomach and the feeling of Ez's lips and the electricity that was shooting down her spine to the tips of her toes. She'd heard what romantic ardor was supposed to feel like, but had never found herself attracted to any of her Demacian peers. Now she realized what the romance books had meant when they'd said things like melting and sparkling and fire with crystal.

Ez pulled away first, but Lux found herself unable to move. His forehead was still touching hers, warm breath washing over her lips. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Lux blinked. "For what?"

"That was kind of... impulsive." Ez drew back further. "It probably wasn't the best way to catch up."

Lux giggled. "Impulsive?" She yanked his head towards hers. "While we had our heads this close? It's not your fault."

Ez gulped and jerked away. "Don't do that!" he said.

He sounded almost irritated, but the blush on his cheeks made Lux grin. She almost liked making Ez flustered.

Bleep. Bleep.

Something in Ez's pocket lit up. Reluctantly, Lux drew back as he reached into his pocket and took out a square tablet-a standard Piltoverian communicator. A hologram slipped from the tablet's projector, painting a message in the air.

"What is it?" Lux asked softly, looking away to keep the message's privacy.

Ez looked back at her. "It seems that I need to have an excursion to Ironspike Mountains."

"Oh," Lux said. Ez was an explorer. Of course he would have to leave.

He smiled, taking her hand. "Come with me!"

She blinked. "What?"

His smile was widening. "Let's explore lands unknown, Luxanna the Lovely," he said, winking at her. "I promise you'll get to do a lot of interesting things."

Lux felt a laugh bubble out of her. "Really, Ezreal the Enlightened?" she said. "You want to hang around a Lady of Lamination?"

He scowled mockingly, making her laugh even harder. "Will you come?" he asked, and beneath his childlike enthusiasm, Lux caught a glimpse of hope and... vulnerability. He really did want her to come.

"I'm in, but let's check up with the League to make sure our schedules are clear," she said.

Ez's grin broadened. (She hadn't thought that was possible.) "Right!"

He swooped down to kiss her on the cheek and practically skipped out of the room. Lux felt a smile creep up on her own face.

She was looking forward to the future.

(A/N: And thus the story concludes.

I know that Ez and Lux appear to act immature at times, but I really got the impression that although they are intelligent, they're still young and growing. *shrugs*)