A partial glow cast over Zaun, indicating that the sun had risen in the upper city. The two had made it back to Jinx's lair. She was already out of Ekko's jacket, wandering around and picking up little articles of clothing lying around. First was the hood she'd made earlier. Second was the stretched and multi layered choker she normally sported. Slowly but surely she gained more coverage in her outfit.
Ekko had set the paints down while he kept a watchful eye on Jinx. She was quick with pairing the clothing with what she had on. Gloves, an upper arm cuff, neon laces. Just when it seemed like she was done, she was adding more.
Jinx straightened her pants as she studied herself in her shattered mirror. A small smile appeared on her face and she nodded at her appearance. She strode over to Ekko. Kneeling down, she peered into the box of paints.
Ekko silently crouched beside her. He dug into the box, retrieving every bottle of paint inside the cardboard. Pink, purple, green, white, blue, and yellow, all at least half full. He was glad they had a variety to work with. He was an intricate artist, after all.
Jinx pulled out some bottles of spray paint, one in each hand. She shook them vigorously, the metallic balls inside rattling an appealing sound. Her eyes looked past Ekko to the minigun they crafted the previous day.
Her thumbs popped off the caps and her fingers pressed down on the nozzles. A wide spray poured from the cans, and Jinx quickly pulled her fingers from the nozzles. She didn't want that much paint on it.
She set a bottle down, aiming the other one at her hand. The pink sprayed from the bottle onto her fingers, and Jinx flicked the paint onto the minigun, followed by making small tracings over it. Ekko grabbed the other can. He copied her actions, the teal blue splattering across the gun.
The pair sped up their efforts, grins plastered on their faces. They circled around the minigun, spun it on its other side, and flicked and paint markings all over it. Jinx held back a giggle as a devious smile spread across her face. She sprayed a glob of paint into her hand, flicking it past the minigun and catching Ekko's side.
He froze for a second, the cool paint on his stomach startling him. He smirked and immediately retaliated. Jinx shielded her face as specks of the neon blue paint was flung her direction. She laughed and pointed her can at Ekko, who retreated.
Jinx giggled, spraying more paint into her hand while she chased Ekko around the center of her lair. He laughed, quick on his feet when she tried to circle the other way. Jinx flicked her hand at him, while Ekko darted behind the center cylinder leaving the paint to splatter along the wall.
The sound of the can spraying could be heard. Jinx moved out of the way as Ekko flung paint on her as well, dotting along her pants. She scoffed and smeared the paint deeper into the fabric. A playful yet dangerous glint shone in her eyes as she began to shake the can. She ran at him again.
Ekko ran back to the box and used it to shield his head. For a brief moment, it felt like they were kids again. He and Jinx had their fair share of food fights, and while they were using paint instead of food, he couldn't help but feel reminded of their childhood. Jinx loaded to fling more paint on him.
"Wait!" Ekko said behind the box.
Jinx's hand was still back and ready to throw, the paint now dripping off her fingers. "What?"
Ekko slowly lowered the box. "Do we really wanna be sloppy with the clothes we both just made?"
He knew it wasn't that serious, but a part of him had been looking forward to actually painting some sort of design or symbols on each other. Jinx's hand lowered. She took slow steps towards Ekko. Her head bobbed side to side as if contemplating his words.
"I guess we could make it nicer."
She flung the last bit of paint off her hand at him, which wasnt much since most of it had trickled down off her fingertips.
"Now we can," she said with a smirk.
Ekko wiped a drop of paint from his face. He debated wiping his hand clean off her clothes but decided against it after what he just said. He didn't want Jinx to start throwing paint at him again. Instead, he dropped back down to the bottles and peered into the box once more. His hands scooped up an assortment of paint brushes.
He held them up to Jinx. She snorted. "We don't need those."
"You don't wanna use brushes?"
"I paint best with my fingers."
Ekko shrugged, tossing the brushes back into the box.
"So what'd you have in mind?" He asked.
Jinx chuckled as she picked up the paint bottles. She instructed Ekko to sit while she poured the paints out onto the floor of her lair. These were good colors to work with. Jinx dabbed her fingers in the paint, starting with pink.
"Hold still."
Her fingers hovered over Ekko's arm. She hesitated for a brief moment before smearing an X on his arm. Her fingers were surprisingly gentle and calculated, even for a simple motion. Her tongue stuck out slightly in concentration. Ekko's eyes drifted to her left hand.
The boy already had noticed how her middle finger was no longer there and replaced with a metal one. Was it recent? He couldn't remember the last time he payed enough attention to tell.
"Has your finger been gone for a while, or…?"
Jinx blew a puff of air to get her bangs out of her face.
"Just recently."
"I see."
Jinx dipped her fingers in paint. "It was that Pilty bitch."
"The one Vi brought to the Under City?"
She nodded. "That's the one. Seriously, I do not know what Vi sees in her. It was one thing to see my sister helping Piltover, but to see her as an enforcer…"
"Vi was an enforcer?!" Ekko nearly shot up.
Jinx glared at him. "Move like that again while I'm working and I'll pour the whole bottle on your head!"
"Sorry," Ekko said sheepishly. His expression grew serious. "Are you sure it was her?"
Jinx scoffed. "Trust me, I know my sister. And if that wasn't bad enough, she even helped gas the Under City with the Grey."
"She did what?!"
Ekko was lucky Jinx wasn't actively painting on him in that moment. How could she expect him to be calm and collected when she told him stuff like that? Had Vi turned on Zaun? Why else would she willingly help release the Grey? She had to know the dangers of it, the risk of all the lives it could take.
"I don't get it either. They tried to kill me. Vi's girlfriend shot my finger clean off. Good thing I'm not left handed, right?" She said with a small laugh, trying to somewhat lighten the mood.
Ekko's jaw dropped in shock. He kept himself from shooting up or repeating what she'd said for a third time. Vi tried to kill Jinx? Was it that long ago that the Firelights caught Vi and he spoke to her? The version of her he talked to then seemed completely opposite from the one he was hearing about. He shook his head. Whatever reason Vi had to help Caitlyn out… it had to be for some kind of good reason. A really good reason. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
"I saw her not long ago. She's doing better now. Moved on from most of that. Just not from her girlfriend, I guess," Jinx stated.
Ekko nodded. He didn't know what else to say. Jinx dipped her index finger into the pink blob of paint. She was careful with her placements. Smearing a small few lines on his shirt, Jinx moved on to his pants.
Two fingers dipped into the pink this time. She instructed Ekko to extend his legs and he obeyed. Jinx started on his right leg. Her fingers traced on the inner part of his lower thigh, while Ekko felt a light flutter in his stomach.
"One of your Firelight wimps cut me good here once." She'd said as her fingers slid along his inner thigh.
"For no reason at all, I suspect" He countered sarcastically.
"Guess I earned it. Hurt like hell."
"I don't doubt that."
She continued, making a few more lines along the upper and lower part of his right pant. She left most of the rest of his clothes clear, save for a few marks here and there. 'Less is more' is what she said. Ekko couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous it was for her of all people to say that.
Smearing the remainder of pink off and onto his pants, Jinx made sure that her fingers were mostly clean of the pink paint before dipping into the white. Her hand raised slowly, towards his face.
"What are you—"
"—relax"
She lifted his face to look at her while she began painting his face, starting on the forehead.
"Can't remember the last time I saw you without your precious white face paint. Or that stupid mask." Jinx said.
"That mask is not stupid!" Ekko defended.
"No talking."
Ekko frowned but held his tongue. Jinx continued painting his signature hourglass symbol. She was sure to be slow, getting straight and clean lines. It was hard making it look smooth from his nose to his cheeks, but she was able to do it.
Fanning the paint with her hand, Jinx's patience wore thin and she gave up waiting for it to dry. She applied a second coat of paint. Her fingers dipped into the white for the last time as she finished the last coat. She stopped, admiring her work.
Her eyes wandered to Ekko's, whose eyes had been glued to her for the duration of the process. Her hand remained lightly holding the bottom of his face. Their eyes met, staring deep into the other's. It felt as though time was slowed for only a moment. Then Jinx blinked, pulling her hand away and quickly turning her head from him. Stupid emotions. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.
"Are you done?" Ekko asked.
She kept her face turned from him, but her eyes scanned his body. She hadn't done much, really. Just a few dots on his shirt and markings on his pants. Something was… missing.
Her hand reached for the pink spray paint bottle she was holding just moments ago. Ekko started to scoot back before Jinx rolled her eyes at him.
"Just one more thing," she assured him.
Ekko nodded with a small gulp. Jinx neared him again, the red faintly noticeable on her cheeks. She shook the can, aiming it at the center of Ekko's shirt. In a quick motion, she sprayed a big X on the middle of the shirt. It only dripped at the bottom, just how she'd planned.
He looked down at it. "A big X?"
Jinx's gaze locked on the floor and she smiled sadly. "A little tribute to Isha. She would spray an X over her shirt and swipe paint under her eyes. We called it war paint."
Understanding hit and Ekko nodded at her words. He picked up the can that Jinx had just set down. Shaking it, Jinx looked back at him. He held it out, aiming at her top.
"Can I?" He asked.
Jinx nodded. She straightened and rolled her shoulders back. Ekko repeated her swift motion, spraying an X across the gauze top. He set the can down, moving on to the bottled paints.
"You might have to sit a bit longer for me than I did for you," Ekko said.
He poured the yellow, green, and purple paints that Jinx had left untouched.
"Hold still," he repeated her earlier words.
His touch was also delicate, but much quicker than Jinx's. His mind worked quickly as he used a different color for each finger and went to work. He was much more liberal with the paint than she was.
Jinx's eyebrows shot up when he dragged three fingers dipped in green across her top, but she didn't question it. Ekko had to do it before he could talk himself out of it. He acted like it was nothing as he continued to work as if Jinx was a blank canvas.
His movements slowed when his eyes caught sight of scars that faintly lined her arm and stomach. He remembered those wounds. That night on the bridge. After she had set off the bomb, when he came back to check on her…
He remembered her arm and stomach being badly torn from the explosion. The same injuries he saw on her then were where the scars now resided. Jinx tilted her head at Ekko's pause in his painting. Her eyes followed his gaze.
Jinx watched as Ekko stuck his fingers back into the green paint. With a gentleness she'd never felt, Ekko began to paint over her scars. He was slow, using extra paint to line the marks.
"Don't like 'em?" Jinx teased.
Ekko shook his head. "I never should have left you on that bridge."
Jinx's eyebrows raised, her expression now somber. This again?
"Hate to break it to you, but I don't think I'd be alive now if you didn't leave me there for Silco to find me."
"I should have tried." His voice was quiet and almost pained.
His gaze was locked on the scars. Shimmer saved Jinx, but would she have had a chance at all if he took her to the Firelights base? With cleaner air and proper medical supplies, could she have pulled through?
How stupid was he for leaving her? He didn't even try to help with her injuries. He left the bridge that night knowing Jinx likely wouldn't survive, and he didn't do anything about it!
"Hey—"
Her voice faded back in.
"Knock that off!"
Ekko felt a light shove. He finally pulled his gaze from her stomach. Jinx's arms were uncomfortably placed on Ekko's shoulder while she shook him out of it. He blinked at her.
"Shoulda, woulda, coulda. What happened happened, so just let it be." Jinx said, removing her hands with a light shove once she saw he had snapped out of his daze.
He swallowed thickly. Mumbling a 'you're right,' his eyes fell back on her scars.
"Still wish I could've done things better," He said.
Jinx didn't say anything. Ekko dipped his fingers in the green once again, finishing his lining over her scars. They sat in silence while Ekko continued to use various colors across various parts of her body. She was almost covered head to toe in different paintings and markings.
She scoffed when she saw the Firelight symbol he painted on her arm. But she didn't question it. For whatever reason, a part of her enjoyed that Ekko painted that on her. It felt welcoming, in a sense.
And he was right: he was spending a lot more time decorating her than she'd spent decorating him. It made her want to go back and cover him head to toe, too. He should've gone first so that she would have known it was all right.
"There," Ekko said, using a rag nearby instead of Jinx's clothes to wipe the wet paint from his hands.
"All done?"
Ekko eyed her the same way she had done to him. He was proud of himself. She looked great. Or— his artwork on her did. His artwork and Jinx looked great. Still, it felt as if it was lacking something…
"One last thing," Ekko said.
He dipped both his thumbs in the pink paint. Ekko reached for her face and Jinx surprisingly didn't flinch or pull back when he took her face in his hands. He held her face while his thumbs traced Isha's 'war paint' underneath her eyes. His thumbs lifted and he saw and felt the smile that Jinx wore.
Ekko softly pulled his hands away, nodding to himself. "Yeah… now you're all done."
Happy Holidays friends!
I've been quite busy due to it being Christmas time, and I really didn't want to rush this chapter or write it just to get it done with. Thank you for your patience, and here is the long awaited chapter.
Never fear, this is not the end. I have another chapter to add pre battle with Noxus and one or two to add post battle with Noxus. Stay tuned for more TimeBomb moments!
Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter!
-`❤︎´-