Jayce's lab sits atop a small hill on the outskirts of Piltover, the shiny metallic outline barely visible between the trees. It always somehow reminds him of spring: maybe it's the apple blossoms, maybe it's the vibrant design of the building, maybe it's the families that are always picnicking on the grounds outside, or maybe it's just Jayce himself, always inventing, always working on something for the future.

Smiling, already wildly happy despite not even having done anything, he pulls down the hat and shuffles quietly towards the door, trying not to get seen. There's always some kind of puzzle mechanism on the front entrance – Jayce likes to keep out random visitors, or at least, visitors who are not intelligent enough to solve his puzzle – and he's going to try to get in without attracting a crowd.

"Hey! Ez! Over here!"

Two dozen heads turn towards him; he grins ruefully, starting to sprint towards the source of the sound. "You COULD have made it more discreet, you know!"

"Aw come on, you know you like the attention." Jayce appears in front of what appears to be a mechanical room door, his lab coat spotless as snow. Spotting his friend, the larger man happily pats the blonde on the hat. "Welcome back, Ez."

A few parents are smiling in approval; he takes off his hat, pretending to be annoyed. "You know, I'm pretty sure you just like making the Academy guys flock to me as soon as I get back."

"Don't worry guys, I'll have open hours for kids in the af – awwww, Ez, that's not nice."

"When were we ever nice to each other?" He shakes his head mockingly as Jayce finishes waving to the families and closes the door behind them. "I mean, you did kind of turn me in to the Academy authorities as soon as you helped me map out the underground tunnels, all those years back."

"But you know, as well as I know, that I was just trying to make you famous. And hey, it worked." Jayce flashes his most suave smile. "You don't know anything until you try."

He laughs; he laughs heartily and he laughs blissfully and he knows he's home, home with the only person closer to him than family. He throws his arms around Jayce, allowing his hat to slowly fall onto the ground. "I'm so glad to have you back, Jayce."

"Me too, Ez, me too." Jayce's hugs are tight and reassuring; they spell safety and warmth and all the caring he ever needs in the world. "I've missed you, Ezreal."

He was running; running how only an eight-year-old could, full of sweat, nervous energy and pride, oblivious to the stains on his shirt and the stink in his hair, knowing full well that the entire world was his and getting a new pen was the only thing that mattered. Several streets of machinery shops flashed by as he sprinted on, gasping for breath, intelligent bright eyes darting left and right as he assessed the shops for their pen potential. The sun was setting and the map in his hands was starting to soak through; he MUST get a pen soon, or else Lyte was going to be out for his blood again and he couldn't –

"Hey there, you!"

He nearly arcane shifted out of shock; as the world came to focus again, he saw that the person speaking was an older boy, probably fourteen or fifteen years old, his face curious and kind above an impeccable Academy uniform. "Sorry, I'm just passing thr –"

"You looking for something, right?"

"A pen. You've got a pen? I just need to borrow it for half an hour."

"Sure I do. You look like you're doing something important all right, out of the Academy at this hour. My name is Jayce, what's yours?"

"Name's Ezreal, and just you wait, your pen's going to be famous! I'm nearly done mapping all the underground tunnels of Piltover!"

"What are you waiting for, then? Go! Finish it and show me!" He felt himself being pushed out of the way; by the time he spun around, the older boy had started walking off in the other direction, a cheeky smile on his face. "Good luck, Ez!"

That smile… it made him feel trusted and powerful. That was the first time anyone from the Academy - – or anyone really – has taken his quest seriously. If only he could get some more help, he might actually get to finish the map today –

"Jayce, no, come back! Just one more thing… do you have a spelunker's hat? Jayce? Jayce!"

"You know," He says, staring a bit dazedly at the table as Jayce pours them two glasses of water, "I still use that spelunker's hat from forever ago."

Jayce laughs. "It fits you better now, no? It looked ridiculous when you first tried it on."

"Eh, it worked, and that's all I cared about." He glances around, noting the new hammer prototypes on the wall and the pile of notes on the work table. Jayce seems to have acquired some new equipment, and something in the corner is noisily cranking out steam. "I would never have found one by myself."

"I doubt it. You're good at finding stuff. You probably would have only found a broken one though, since that's all you ever find."

"Hey!"

"Just kidding. How did the expedition go?"

He has to drink deeply from the glass to wash away the flushed crimson on his face. "Didn't get as much done as I wanted to, frankly. Found some paintings and an invisibility belt; had to give them a lot of gold to take the belt back here. The village was in trouble – there was a power struggle between the seer and the shaman. They both wanted me, they both wanted to lead, they both wanted the prettiest girl in the village… the seer actually knew what he was doing, so I helped him out a bit."

"You didn't have to, did you?" Jayce puts down his glass, his eyes quizzical. "I mean, don't you operate on a neutrality code or something?"

He hesitates. "I… guess. I mean… I know archaeology is important and I should definitely keep doing it, but I also want to help people. Not everyone lives life the way we do in Piltover; I'm too old and have seen too many things to keep believing that. It makes me feel guilty, walking past children crying for food and shelter when I've dined with kings and beheld entire rooms of gold. This world is fragile – it's beautiful, and we're trying, but the way things are, we'd be hopeless if an evil god decides to wake up. I leave stuff at shelters and try to talk to people and do the best I can but… I feel useless, Jayce. People like you and Cait and Vi, you actually get things done. You saved the world from Viktor's creations, and Cait and Vi made this city a better place… I feel like I can maybe help a family or two have a better week, and that's it."

Jayce's eyes are both amused and sympathetic. "But you're in the League, Ez. Again, I'd say you're already doing more than your fair share for world peace."

"We've talked about this as well, though. You're there because you care, but I'm not there by choice. The League… everything is so political there. I understand that it works out for everyone and we need it for stability and all that but… ugh. Just like the governments, it does nothing for the people, and all the conflicts it solves shouldn't be issues to start with anyway. It stops Noxus and Demacia from ripping each other to shreds, but god dammit, every time I visit Stephen at the Noxian High Museum, I wish his government would give him more money. There was a time when Noxus thrived without war, but nobody fucking knows that."

"You know. You are doing your best to tell your stories. Sometimes you're just too hard on yourself, Ez." Jayce puts a hand on the blonde's shoulder before shuffling away to examine one of the lab machines; he bites his lips, feeling uneasy. "You can't just convince Swain to change his mind in one day, you know. Maybe you can convince Jarvan, but rumors say he hasn't really been himself for a while. Plus, the Demacians are always on their high horse, we can't convince them to do anything without promising that they're saving the world and we're just along for the scenery."

"I ran into Lux Crownguard on the way back."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, took her to Braux's too. She's… different. She's clever, way more intelligent than Garen, but weird too, like she simultaneously loves and hates what she does. I wish I can stop calculating everything I say when she's around… it's like dealing with foreign governments all over again, but all I really want is a friend."

"You've got friends. Cait, me, Vi, Janna, Heimer, Ziggs – don't get too hung up on the Demacians. We're doing business with them because we have the Steel Legion alliance, but past that, we don't really have a lot in common."

"Sorry, Jayce. I didn't mean to argue with you." He sighs hard. "You're right, I guess. Are you still working on the Steel Legion?"

"Nah. I got them done about a week ago – that's why you saw Luxanna Crownguard, she was here to pick them up. She looked really happy about hers and said she's probably going to wear it on the Fields."

"What are we getting out of it again?"

"More mercury and uranium ore, I think. I mean, it's not like they have much uses for them. The next time you're free, please find some mercury ore around here. You did it in Ionia, you can do this much for your home city."

He snorts. "That was an accident."

"I wish I can come across those kinds of accidents." Jayce winks and disappears into a long corridor. "Want something to eat, Ez?"

"You got ramen? Braux's was a little too rich for me."

They eat in silence; he idly thinks of the ramen place in Ionia before deciding that Jayce's still a better chef than most people give him credit for. The soup tastes like it can sustain him for days. "Hey, Jayce… have you been having nightmares?"

"Some. Mostly silly ones, though, like Vi making Cait run a Heimer prototype into a wall or Cho'Gath eating the world. You've been sleeping badly?"

"Cho'Gath eating the world… yeah. I'm not a seer or anything, but I dreamt of the Void too, and it scared me. In my dream, it wasn't just Cho. It was Cho and Kog'Maw and Kha'Zix and everyone, monstrous things that had no name. They ate everything and melted down entire skyscrapers… Cho got as big as a skyscraper himself, and there were all kinds of flashing lights, lasers and cannons and guns but they weren't doing anything." He turns to Jayce, his voice low and apologetic. "I'm really sorry I'm on such a rant. I've just been paranoid recently, and not being around you guys hasn't been helping."

"I mean, the Summoners say that the Void is still contained. If you're really that worried about it, talk to Kassadin – he actually hinted to me once on the Fields that he wants to talk to you."

"When?"

"Sometime this month, I think. I try to forget the League too, you know. It's not exactly fun dying and respawning again and again, even if I get to face off against Viktor."

"Try to get some more sleep. That helps. Maybe one day they'll just do away with the stupid system."

"Maybe."

"I'll talk to Kassadin once I'm done with Shurima. I would find him right now, but I made a promise to Janna, and you don't simply upset Janna – "

"Have you asked her out yet?" Jayce's wearing the biggest smirk on his face, and the younger man nearly chokes on the noodles.

"God dammit, I told you that she's like an older sister to me, okay?"

"But the two of you would be adorable, young blondes and all –"

"Stop that, you. You're only allowed to ask about who I like once you figure out who you prefer out of Vi and Cait." He rolls his eyes at Jayce, who suddenly looks like a sad puppy. "Come on, is it really that hard?"

"Do you want me to get smashed into pieces or get shot into a honeycomb?"

"Hurry up, or they're going to hook up with each other and you're going to be forever alone."

"Shut up, Ez."

He finishes the last strand of ramen cheerfully. "You started it. But really, hurry up. We're not exactly the youngest anymore."

"How about," Jayce hisses from clenched teeth, "I drive you to the Academy? Or better yet, I tell Ziggs that you're free for the rest of the day?"

"I have a better idea. Why don't you just show me the Full Metal Armor you've been working on? Just let me be for today. Aw come on, you don't want to feed me to Ziggs, I'm only home like once every couple months… Jayce? Jayce!"