"Ah, Jericho's food is as good as ever," Vi said, emphasizing her words with a loud burp.
"True," Ekko agreed. "Been a while since I ate this good, I should visit more often."
The two old friends were casually strolling through Zaun, catching up as they always did at least once a month during lunchtime.
"So, everything's going alright on your side, Little Man?"
"I told you to—"
"Sorry, sorry, old habits."
Just like your sister.
"Mostly. We finally have a general plan for fixing the ventilation once and for all."
"Sounds like it's gonna be a lot of hard work if it took five months to come up with a plan for it."
"Yeah, it will be. It will probably take years to overhaul the entire system. The Firelights will all be there, doing their part."
"Topside too. The volunteer lists are stacked with enforcers, I saw them personally."
"Huh, no wonder. From what I've heard your little Sheriff personally ordered everyone to sign up or be fired."
"That is a myth… although she might have strongly encouraged us to make the right choice."
"Yeah, I can only guess how." He smiled. "Are you gonna come too then?"
"You kidding? No way I'm missing this one, Ekko."
As the months passed by, Zaun began to look different. A relief effort was established after the war aiming to clean up most of the mess in the fissures, and although they were hard at work at all times, the process was still nowhere near finished.
"Still hard to believe we came this far in a few months," Ekko remarked.
"That's what Noxians do. They piss off everyone else so much the entire world unites against them to kick their asses."
"Yeah."
They both knew it was only one half of the truth. The other half was her.
"You're doing okay, Vi?"
"Yeah, thanks. I'm… still learning. What it's like not having to fight every day. To have a good life, and… to be able to enjoy it."
You and me both.
"Must be hard getting used to a bedroom the size of your old house."
"Yeah, right! There is just… so much space, and I don't know what to do about it! One time, Cait caught me napping in the pantry. She thought I was there to snack, but it was the only place where I could get proper sleep!"
"Sounds like you have it real rough. Guess you're not sleeping much when you're together, huh?"
"Now come here, you little rascal…"
She chased him down the street and caught him a few corners later with both of them ending up inside a garbage heap. They laughed as they hosed each other down with water, just like in the good old times, when they all used to play tag with Mylo, Claggor and Pow— Jinx.
"I miss her, Ekko." She fell on her rear leaning back against a nearby wall.
"I do too." He sat down alongside her.
"No news, still?"
"None."
"Still can't let me know where she went?"
"Still can't."
"Do you really think that… she will come back?"
He reached for his scarf instinctively, catching himself midway, causing him to smile.
"She will. She promised."
"Alright. Thanks." She stood up. "Gotta go. Same goes as always — your first move after hearing from her is to drop everything and tell me. Otherwise I'm coming for you, and you won't be able to hose down what you get from me then!"
"You bet." He grinned. "Until then, keep your chin up and stay strong."
"Yeah. I'm sure she's doing the same… wherever she is now."
Ekko watched her silhouette fade into the darkness and stood up with a hopeful expression on his face.
Today could be the day.
Every time he heard of an airship make the return trip from Ionia, he visited the statue in hopes of her returning. Today was such a day.
It was a statue made in her honor, much like the one they erected for Vander years earlier. The girl with the loudspeaker in her hands, flying in her air balloon, rallying the people of Zaun below.
He didn't wait for her at the aerodrome. He did it the first time and the disappointment stung for weeks. He realized that he was setting himself up for failure as he had no idea how long she was going to be gone, and all he had to do was simply trust her. She would find him when she was ready.
As usual, she wasn't around the monument, but the memories it triggered of her soothed his soul enough so he could carry on. He was about to leave when he noticed something strange — somebody had vandalized the statue, as he saw some kind of symbol present on the balloon.
Who would do that?
He approached it angrily, examining it from up close and the realization made his heart skip a beat. It was a pink graffiti resembling a monkey head. Her design, without a doubt.
She's here..
He looked around, frantically searching for her in every direction, but there was nobody else in the vicinity. He was on the verge of writing all this off as a stupid prank, when he saw a flash of light blue in the corner of his eye. He ran there to investigate its source and discovered an arrow painted on the wall, pointing down the street.
We're playing that game, huh.
He was about take out his hoverboard when he noticed a different mark on the opposite side of the wall saying: No cheating!
Alright, alright.
Ekko gave chase on foot. His excitement grew with each step as he followed the marks Jinx laid out for him.
Where are you leading me?
Corner followed corner as Ekko rushed through the streets in search of her, threading through the people in his way until he finally arrived at a familiar place.
This is … where we fell into the wastewater after discovering our wheelie couldn't really brake.
He saw a drawing commemorate the event at the shore. A blue-haired girl and a white-haired boy holding hands side-by-side, laughing.
Our prototypes sure haven't gotten safer over the years.
The next set of arrows led him to more familiar territory. Nostalgia and sadness took over him as he combed through the Lanes, the place where they grew up together. He was prepared for the destination — it was The Last Drop, or whatever was left of it. It was in the same state Jinx left it six months ago, as nobody had laid claim to the barren place ever since then, both out of respect for its old owners and the fear of the ghosts that might still haunt it. Right outside what used to be the entrance, Ekko found a drawing of a huge tree surrounded by bright green motes of light.
A home lost. A home gained.
There was something else next to it that resembled a cake, far too large compared to the tree to be called proportionally drawn.
You got it. Although you might have to lower your expectations on the size a bit.
As he continued his chase he realized where the next and final destination would be, and his guess was correct. The arrows led him to the one place she always retreated to whenever she needed to be alone — her hideout. They transformed it together into an air balloon that crash-landed inside the Hexgate during the final battle against the Noxians, but he took it upon himself afterwards to repair it and fly it back to where it belonged.
As he entered the fissure that housed the extractor fan he saw another graffiti up on the wall that he couldn't make much sense of.
1 + 1 = 3
Huh. Now what could that mean?
He couldn't ponder on that for too long as his gaze immediately shifted towards the person on the main platform, covered in a white jacket.
There she stood with her back towards him.
"Powder!"
Although she was only a mere forty feet away from him, he never ran so hard in his life. As he wrapped her around his arms, he felt that something was off — her body felt way too stiff and hard.
"Smile!" he heard from somewhere up close, and as he looked up everything went white around him.
A few minutes later, as his sight gradually returned, he realized that he was holding a broken enforcer doll.
"Well, I didn't know you were this much into… metal. Fortune cookie might have recruited you if you let him know before." Jinx's voice reverberated through the fissure.
"Very funny. What did you just do?"
"Oh it was just a little something to remember the moment later on, don't worry."
"That sounds like something I should definitely worry about."
He waited for her next move patiently. A few seconds later, she spoke up again.
"Can you do me a favor Ekko?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"Don't move. No matter what happens, you are not allowed to move or turn or anything like that. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Close your eyes. Count to ten, and then open them, okay?"
He did as she asked, hearing her approach. Every step she took towards him echoed inside him, his heart pounding faster and faster as she came closer and closer.
One. "You gave me so much, Ekko."
Two. "You gave me your friendship."
Three. "You gave me your laughs."
Four. "You gave me your tears."
Five. "You gave me your honesty."
Six. "You gave me your patience."
Seven. "You gave me a chance."
Eight. "You gave me a home."
Nine. "You gave me a purpose."
Ten. "And finally, you gave me your heart."
He felt her hands on his eyes, covering them both.
"And now, I've come back to claim all of it again. If…" — her tone changed to a much more concerned one — "…you haven't found anyone better to give it to since then."
"I want that person to be you."
"Still… it would be fair, if—"
"I don't think there is another person in this world who can get me this excited about hugging a machine." He could hear her smile.
"No matter what happens?"
"No matter what."
"Even if say… I became fat in the meantime?"
"You, fat? I might have to ask for some recipes from whoever fed you these last few months."
"Alternate me really missed out on you, you know."
She removed her hands from his eyes and he couldn't resist any longer. He turned around and placed his arms below her thighs, lifting her up, pulling her close.
She's here.
"I missed you, Big Man."
"I missed you too."
She took down the red scarf and wrapped it around Ekko's neck, placing it back where it belonged.
"Thank you for keeping your promise ever since," she said, smiling.
"So I guess you didn't find anyone better either, huh?"
"Hmmm… well there was this one handsome swordsman I met at the—"
He kissed her. They both leaned into it wildly at first as they became reacquainted with each other, slowly decreasing its intensity as it became the passionate greeting of two people who have been craving each other's touch for far too long.
"You were saying?" He grinned.
"…buuut he looked like he had no chance of beating you in a kissing contest, so I passed."
Something was off again.
She is heavier than before.
"I'm… glad you've been eating properly."
"Yeah, although I'm not sure I can provide the recipes for you." Her tone was unnaturally somber for such a joking response.
Something was off.
Wait, her arms are still so thin. But her breasts are … oh…
As he looked down, realization spread across his face.
Her belly …
"You… It's…"
1 + 1 …
"Well, let's hope you still haven't signed up to be a detective," she said in an even gloomier voice, breaking eye contact with Ekko and leaning past him in his embrace.
No way …
"A baby! You're pregnant!"
"Yeah, and whose fault is that?" Her words were muffled as she spoke them against Ekko's back.
"It's… mine?"
That might just be the dumbest question I have ever asked in my life.
She broke out of his arms with a shocked face.
"Well, who else? What do you think? That after barely being able to force myself to leave after all we had together, the first thing I would do is to—"
"I love you."
She froze. He ran his hand alongside her belly, crouched down and gave it a kiss. Tears formed in her eyes as he stood up and hugged her gently.
"I love you, Powder."
"I love you too, Ekko."
"I was scared… you'd react way differently."
"I don't think you could have shocked me more than this, to be honest."
They were sitting on the main platform with Jinx leaning back against Ekko's chest, at the same place they had their heart-to-heart many months ago.
"But… you still…"
"Yes." She didn't need to finish her question. "They're gonna be one hell of a troublemaker, taking after their mother, I can already see." He gently caressed the place where their love was beginning to blossom.
"She."
"Huh?"
"She's gonna be. It's a girl."
"How do you know?"
"I just… do." That's going to be a long story to tell.
"Alright. She's gonna be, then. Have you thought of a name yet?"
"No… not yet."
She tensed up and looked at him with worry in her eyes.
"I… don't think I'm ready for this, Ekko."
He squeezed her a bit tighter and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
"Of course you are."
"How would you know?"
"I wouldn't. But Isha did. This place is the living proof of it. You will be a very good mother. And I'll be here with you and her, every step of the way."
She loosened up, finally managing to let go of all the anxiety and stress she racked up over the months she was away.
So this is how it feels. Home. Peace.
"You'd be a dead man otherwise, after all you said earlier."
She looked at all the graffiti she made together with Isha, remembering her smile as she said goodbye to her. How she wanted her… them… to be happy.
"Speaking of troublemaking…" Ekko remembered, "…what was that thing you said about remembering the moment earlier?"
"Oh, that should be ready by now, you're right!"
She stood up and grabbed a piece of paper from the top of a crate, handing it over to him. It was a good drawing, only it wasn't a drawing as it was way too realistic to be one. And it showed him…
Oh no.
"It's a new something I've been working on while on the road. Or, well, technically in the air, you know. Whatever. I don't have a good name for it yet though."
Oh no.
"I've been thinking… Memory-Maker? Painting-Portal? I'll workshop it later."
It showed him happily hugging the doll.
Ekko burst out laughing.
"You… you're a genius. This is amazing, Powder. When did you even have the time to make such a thing?"
"I told you, on the airship. By the way, they are much worse to ride than I thought. It gets real boring when you just fly alone nonstop for an entire month."
"Maybe next time you shouldn't be alone then," he offered.
"You got yourself a deal, Lover Boy."
She sat back into his embrace.
"No more adventures then, right? You're staying?" Ekko asked with a hopeful voice.
"Yeah. I'm here to stay."
"We're cleaning up the fissures. No more gas leaks, no more broken ventilations. We could use someone like you on the team."
She didn't need to think about it twice.
"Count me in."
One small step in making life better for the people I've wronged.
"So how was the landing, by the way?" she asked, looking up at the balloon above them.
"Much better. I installed some safeties at the bottom to make it a… smoother experience than the last two times. We should try it out some day again."
"Better let the Sheriff know in advance so they don't accidentally mistake us to be invading Noxians."
He smiled, about to respond something playful in his usual manner when a horrified expression took over his face.
"What about the Shimmer running in your veins? Is she gonna be okay?"
Took you long enough.
"Yeah, she will."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, Little Dad, don't worry. I saw a… doctor who examined her."
"Oh, thank Janna." He relaxed, letting out a deep sigh of relief. "By the way… that nickname is definitely not going to stick."
"Okay, okay. What about Big Daddy then?"
His eyes widened.
"Are you crazy?"
"Only most of the time," she smiled mischievously, as they both burst out into laughter.
"You know what, this seems like a moment I would want to remember later." Ekko proposed.
"You know what, you're right."
Jinx took the device that she developed during her travels and placed it in front of them. It was a sturdy wooden frame that housed a leather accordion similar in shape to the instrument bearing the same name, with a glass lens covering it from the front. A long cable protruded from its underside that ended in a button — a very simple controlling mechanism.
"Can it also make music, like, you know…"
"No it can't, what are you even saying?"
She grabbed the cable in her hands.
"So, what do I do?"
"Just smile, idiot."
She pressed the button, preserving the memory not just for their hearts and minds, but for their eyes too, forever.
"So you thought your trip to your little alternate timeline was crazy? Wait until you find out where I was."
"Looking forward to it. Wanna come home to tell the story next to that nice cake I owe you?"
Her face suddenly turned serious.
"There is one last thing I need to do before that."