Jurian had agreed to have her over for a drink. It was something, a small step back in the right direction Corrine supposed. She'd have to be satisfied with it even if she was still leagues away from what she truly wanted.

The family butler escorted her into the library, where Jurian was lounging on the couch with a glass of red wine. Corrine adjusted her hold on the bundle under her arm. It suddenly felt like it was filled with bricks.

"Ah, Corrine, you've made it," Jurian greeted at her entrance. He motioned to the bar cart at the back of the room. "What can I get you?"

Corrine sat carefully in a plush armchair, laying her skirts around her delicately. "Wine would be lovely. I'm sure whatever you're having is fine." Jurian nodded and threw her a grin.

"A vintage my father covets. Sweet as sin but I can't get enough of it either."

He handed her the glass he'd poured and sat across from her, stretching his long legs out in front of him and crossing them at the ankle.

Taking a steadying sip, Corrine me his gaze. "I'd like to apologize, for last time. I said some harsh things in the heat of the moment."

Jurian dismissed her apology with a wave of his hand. "Already forgiven. We're both going through a difficult time. It came make us unkind at times."

Corrine bobbed her head in agreement, taking another sip of her wine. It was sweet, disgustingly so, but she held back her grimace. "How have you been?" she asked carefully.

"Fine, I suppose. Not much has changed." He avoided her eyes, studying the drink in his glass as he swirled it in the light. "Yourself?" The disinterest in his tone made Corrine's heart give a painful kick. Patience, she told herself, patience.

"I've found something," she said, licking her suddenly dry lips. "Something upsetting."

Jurian's brow furrowed in concern as he looked at her. "What did you find?"

Corrine pulled the box she'd brought with her into her lap. "What you said made me worry." True, although her reasons for concern were different from his. "I wondered how it was that I could miss something like this. Surely there were clues along the way."

He watched in silence as she pulled off the top and set it aside. "I snuck into Magnolia's bedroom and looked for anything odd." She handed the open box to Jurian. "Under a loose floorboard, I found these."

The box contained at least a dozen letters, all of them addressed to Magnolia and signed only by a mysterious "S". They were love letters, detailing their blossoming romance and secret rendez-vous, finally culminating in their plans to run away together.

Corrine was extremely proud of her work. It had taken days to get the handwriting just right, the events correct, the story believable. She watched in mute anticipation as Jurian perused the box, his expression turning dark.

Tossing the letter he'd been scanning back into the box, Jurian ran a hand through his dark hair and leaned back into the couch.

"I think this can lead us to only one conclusion," she prompted, unable to help herself. Jurian rubbed his forehead, his eyes on the box.

"Would you leave them with me?" he asked. Corrine's hands suddenly felt clammy, the risk of discovery making her feel nauseous. She feared that a closer inspection could reveal the cracks in her farse, but she did not have a good enough reason to deny him.

Seeing her hesitation, Jurian's expression softened. "I think reading them will help me accept what happened," he explained. "Help me say goodbye."

He sounded so heartbroken that Corrine almost felt badly about the whole thing. Almost.

Deciding that the payoff was worth the risk, she nodded. "I'm sorry, Jurian," she whispered, "You deserved better."

With a final glance at Jurian's sad little smile, she rose and left him, finally feeling triumphant.

Jurian felt badly manipulating Corrine that way. It was so easy to play into her assumption that he was a rejected groom in denial and weasel the letters into his care. He would be reading them, but not because he was giving up his cause.

He spent all night pouring over them.

The handwriting was that of a stranger, but something about it made his memory itch. The curl of the Gs and the slant of the Ts seemed to whisper 'You've seen me before'.

Other things slowly started not to add up either. Jurian kept a meticulous planner, both personal and business meetings neatly noted. One letter mentioned last year's Winter Solstice celebration, reminiscing about a passionate kiss Magnolia and her lover supposedly shared in the snow.

But Jurian knew that was impossible. That night the Danverports spent at the Rivington residence, the first time the prospect of marriage between their heirs being mentioned. After dinner, he and Magnolia had snuck a much too expensive bottle of whiskey to the library and laughed about it. They had both known it was a likely possibility, but to hear it finally spoken made both of them feel strange and uncomfortable. They drank themselves silly and passed out amongst the shelves, waking bleary eyed and sore headed late the next morning. It was possible she had snuck out once he had fallen asleep, but it was highly unlikely.

While some personal details were correct, other events also didn't line up with what he remembered and verified with his journal. It was as if whoever wrote these letters only knew a portion of Magnolia's life, not being privy to all its aspects.

It was with the first light of dawn that the conclusion finally settled in his bones.

These letters were fake. False evidence to shake him off the trail.

But forged by whom? And why? Was Corrine as clueless as he or did she play a more willing part in this plot?

Whatever the answer, Jurian was going to find it. And he would have no mercy on those responsible.

Silco swirled the ice in his drink and flipped the page of the book in front of him.

He'd been busy all day, the monotony of meetings and paperwork only interrupted when a red-faced Magnolia had popped in to drop off work that Jinx had completed that morning.

He had grinned at her and revelled in her flustered state. "Did you sleep well?" he had asked.

Magnolia had looked at him from under lashes. "Exceptionally well," she had purred.

Unfortunately, his day had no room for pleasant diversions, so he'd sent her on her way and re-focused on his work. Late that evening, after his last meeting, he turned his attention to the stack that Magnolia had brought him. Amidst the notebooks and loose papers, he'd found a well-loved blue sketchbook. He opened it in curiosity, realizing quickly that this was not Jinx's work.

There were sketches of Sevika, drinking or laughing or both. Of Jinx, tinkering with things, deep in thought or bubbly, explaining something, her hands in motion. Some more of the many characters that made appearances in their daily lives. Dominic, imposing and stony faced. Thieram, looking nervous.

But most frequently, she seemed to draw him. Glimpses of Silco's unmistakable features filled the pages, careful attention always being given to capturing the colours of each of his eyes. Silco in his chair, smoking a cigar. Silco bundled in his coat, looking peeved. Silco ruffling Jinx's hair. Silco sitting on his office couch, one leg crossed over the other and arms spread across the back. Silco's face, his hands, his eyes, his hair, his many little mannerisms.

He barely recognized the man in the drawings as the man he saw in the mirror every morning. His reflection was a weathered, frightening face, with hard eyes and a grim mouth. On the pages, he saw a different person. In one, the eyes looked softer, one eyebrow hitched high, the lips quirked to one side in amusement, as he gazed fondly somewhere off page. Another showed him looking straight up from the page, the gaze holding an unmistakable, inviting heat. In yet another, she captured him in profile, on the side of his good eye. He looked younger and so very lost as he stood in front of a window. The man depicted in her sketchbook was a stranger to Silco, one that was so many things he'd never admit to being.

He realized, with a jolt, that this was how Magnolia saw him. Through these last months she'd quietly observed him, learned him, jotted down her impressions of him with an honesty that could never have been communicated in words. An uncertain warmth formed somewhere below his ribs with the knowledge that her perspective of him was so flattering. She captured him as a leader, as a father, as a human man with faults and depths.

Finishing his drink, he decided to pay her another late night visit.

The stars were gorgeous tonight.

Magnolia had climbed out onto the roof with a fluffy blanket, intent to watch them before bed. Fall was rapidly approaching, and the night air felt slightly cooler, but the lack of clouds made this too good a view to resist.

As she lay there, she thought about the prior night.

She didn't regret a second of it. Silco had been…perfect. He'd made her feel pleasure she hadn't thought she was capable of. It was embarrassing, of course, to face him in the daylight after what they'd done together. But his self-satisfied smirk and heated gaze made the fire in her belly kick start all over again.

She was all but dozing off with a head full of warm memories when someone clearing their throat at the window made her jump. As if summoned by her thoughts, Silco stood there watching her. Magnolia blushed, wondering if he could read minds.

"Stargazing?" he asked.

Magnolia smiled warmly. "It is a beautiful night for it."

Silco leaned out the window and cast his gaze upward, his glowing orange eye almost looking like a burning star itself.

"Were you looking for me?" Magnolia prompted.

Silco nodded and extended his hand towards her. She recognized the blue cover he held immediately. "I came to return this," he clarified. She felt horribly embarrassed. Her sketchbook must have gotten mixed in with Jinx's books and she desperately hoped he hadn't looked through it.

"Oh," she squeaked, hurriedly taking back the book and holding it close to her chest.

Silco smiled, mirth dancing in his eyes. "You're very talented," he complimented. "Maybe I should contract you to do my official portrait."

"Or perhaps a nude study?" Magnolia quipped, enjoying the way his cheek twitched with amusement.

"Only if it is tasteful," he returned, drawing a genuine laugh from her.

Silco took one last look at the stars and made to leave. Perhaps against her better judgement, Magnolia wasn't ready for him to go. There was something special about these late night encounters they shared. Something about them made it feel like they were the only two people in the world, connected in a way she couldn't quite name. And to be perfectly honest, she quite enjoyed his company.

"Stay a while?" she invited quietly. It was odd how vulnerable it felt to ask this of him after the incredibly personal way they'd spent the prior evening.

Silco considered her for a minute, expression unreadable. He hovered his hands over the sill, eyes flickering between her own, searching for something. Magnolia waited with bated breath, this moment feeling important somehow.

Finally, he gave a short nod and climbed out to join her.

"Just a little while," he declared.

Magnolia shimmied over so he could lay down beside her, shoulder to shoulder. Once they were both settled, she had to supress a giggle. "This almost feels like a date," she teased.

Silco scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I don't date."

It was her turn to roll her eyes. "I find that hard to believe." He turned his head to look at her.

"And why is that?" he asked with a narrowed gaze. Magnolia gave him a long-suffering look.

"A handsome, charming man in his prime who doesn't date? Please." That drew a genuine smile from the usually somber man. With a pleased huff, he turned his attention to the sky giving Magnolia an opportunity to admire his profile. The sharp hawk like nose made him look so haughty, it was almost strange that he wasn't from Piltover. He'd certain fit right in with her parents' circles, at least in terms of appearances.

"How was your morning with Jinx?" The question caught her off guard, interrupting her train of thought. Today had been smoother, but they'd stayed away from math. Magnolia hoped easing into the things Jinx disliked by first establishing trust over the things she did like would be a better approach.

"Better," she mused. "Although it will take time, I'm sure, until we really get into the swing of things. Jinx needs space to get accustomed to change." Silco hummed in approval but didn't elaborate any further.

They lay in silence for a while, each lost to their own thoughts. Magnolia traced the outlines of constellations with her eyes, spotting dozens of them. There was the Fox, the three teeny pricks of light that represented its tail all lined up in a single file. To the left, the Huntress, her smattering of stars stuck in perpetual pursuit of her prey. Right above them was her favourite constellation – the Serpent, a vast collection of stars all coiled in a beautiful display. Her bones felt heavier, languid, the draw of sleep pulling her closer.

She peered over at Silco, who had propped a hand behind his head, his expression blank. Turning on her side and resting her cheek on her fist, Magnolia reached over to smooth a loose strand of his hair back into his neat style. He looked over at her from the corner of his eye but didn't comment.

The moonlight leeched him of most of his colour, making him look like a charcoal drawing. The lines in his face didn't look so heavy, the scars not looking so deep. Magnolia ran a gentle finger from his temple down to the corner of his mouth, tracing the depressions, his skin feeling powdery with the product he used. Only a slight difference in skin tone gave it away, and she wondered what he was covering up underneath.

"What happened to you?" Even at a whisper, her voice felt too loud, and Magnolia fully expected Silco to tell her to go to hell with her prying.

Instead, he sighed, and ran a cautious hand over the scarred half of his face. "I was betrayed," he muttered. "By someone I considered my brother."

Magnolia frowned, feeling an ache for him. It explained a lot about him and his frosty demeanour. Whatever had happened between him and this person, it had certainly been difficult to heal from, both physically and emotionally.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Silco barked. "If it had not been for that betrayal, I would not have become the man that I needed to be. For myself. For Jinx. For all of Zaun." She wanted to ask more, but his tone and tense shoulders let her know that he was done talking about it. Whatever questions he had inspired would have to wait for another time.

"You're really good with her," she murmured, the sentiment genuine. "Whatever happened, she feels safe here, with you." His cheek twitched in an almost smile, but he didn't respond.

Feeling apologetic for souring their light mood, she attempted some humour. "I do suppose in your line of work it's an advantage to be able to sleep with one eye open."

Silco snorted a surprised laugh, turning his head to look at her. "I suppose that is one way of looking at it." He propped himself up on his elbows, bringing his face close to hers. He kept his tone light, but his face held a thread of uncertainty, like he was prepared for rejection. "Does it frighten you?"

It was clear he meant the eye, the one that watched her relentlessly. Tracing a finger just beneath it, she thought about it. "No," she answered honestly. "It doesn't." She could've said more, dredged up some pretty words about just how handsome she found him, but simplicity seemed to satisfy him best.

His shoulders relaxed and they regarded each other in quiet contemplation, neither of them moving to part. Maybe it was the romantic notion of stargazing together, or maybe she was just still feeling the effects of last night, but she found herself breathless as Silco glanced down at her lips and leaned in.

Before he could make contact, a jaw cracking yawn all but tore out of her. Magnolia was mortified as Silco pulled back with a surprised expression. The completely taken aback expression told her he was not used to such blunt rejection and it was all Magnolia could do not to also laugh in his face.

"I'm sorry," she was quick to say. "Someone kept me up rather late last night." She bit her lip at her own cheekiness and Silco rolled his eyes.

"If you would've preferred to sleep, you need only have said," he grouched half-heartedly. "I suppose I won't keep you up tonight."

After climbing back in himself, he helped Magnolia through the window. Monkey regarded them sleepily from his place curled up on her pillows. The cat gave a chirp of delight when Silco gave him a pat on his way to the door and Magnolia had to hide her smile at the way Silco had already warmed up to the creature.

Catching his wrist as he stepped through the doorway, Magnolia pulled him back to press a chaste kiss to his cheek.

"Good night, Silco."

He gave her a small smile and brought her hand up to brush a kiss across her knuckles.

"Good night, Magnolia."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Author's Note: Fluff! Nothing but fluff!
Sorry this took so long! Jurian and Corrine scenes have been very fun to write, more so as Corrine keeps digging herself deeper. Spice didn't really fit with the tone of this chapter, but next time? Oh boy, we getting right back to the jalapenos!

Hope you enjoyed this sweet as sugar diversion :D