Entranced

She’d been ignoring you. Here you were, sulking silently that the woman who was more than half dead just a week ago hadn’t once acknowledged your or even looked your way. You weren’t looking for a thank you or anything but just something to tell you she was really ok. You feel like the most selfish person, wanting her to reassure you while she’s busy healing her wounds and figuring out her new normal with only one arm left. No one felt any differently about her, no one respected her any less, if anything they feared the power she’d have once she found a mechanical replacement knowing it could only strengthen her skills as a fighter. While you agreed with all these sentiments, you knew from the expression on her face whenever she walked by that there was more to this. Everyone else may have been able to immediately jump to the benefits, but she was stuck trying to process the events that had taken place. Alone. As usual. She never relies on anyone past the bare minimum type of trust you have in your co-workers in this line of work, the trust they won’t let you die, which she almost had. You imagine the distrust this caused was placed on you since she awoke to you giving her what she considered pity but what you considered to be care.

The blue haired girl that Silco took in after the explosion began showing up more and more around the Last Drop and your hideout, you came to find out her new name was Jinx, you thought it was an odd name given that you’d thought Powder was a beautiful name before this rebrand, but you didn't mention it - it seemed like a touchy subject from what you could tell. She wasn’t very familiar with you prior to the explosion but she did recognize you, because of this little familiarity she started to gravitate towards you. This started with her just shifting closer during group meetings, eventually turning into her holding your sleeve, then your hand. She started waking you up in the middle of the night when she had nightmares, and you’d be damned if this kid’s tears and shaking didn’t just absolutely break your heart. You would hold her, console her, let her sleep in your room, and then bring her to Silco in the morning. He seemed ok with this development, trusting you to take care of her in a way he couldn’t just yet - waiting to gain more of her trust before forcing a parental relationship on to her. Your view of Silco began changing; yes you still felt the same way about shimmer, but after seeing how it healed Sevika you knew there were at least some upsides to the chemical development and since it was him that funded this drug you technically had him (mainly Singed) to thank for Sevika surviving what no doubt would have killed most people you knew.

With Jinx stuck to your side, drawing in her random neon crayons, you sat reading in the Last Drop before it opened for the night, soaking in the semi silence before you had to escort Jinx away from all the illegal activity that would no doubt be taking place just as it had every other night you’d been there. You let her lean on you when she started to get tired, using one of your hands to play with her hair, carefully detangling the blue mess on her head. You’d have to talk to Silco at some point, this girl's hair is turning into a rat's nest and no way would you allow such gorgeous hair to go to waste. Maybe braids? Definitely something to suggest now that you were more comfortable around him.

“Babysitting I see? How the mighty have fallen, how's the view from down there princess?” A voice, that you grew resigned to never hearing directed at you again, made your ears perk. But just as quick as your excitement grew that she was finally acknowledging you again, the words and tone hit you. You were thinking of all the reasons she could be angry with you at this moment but coming up empty handed. You’d given her the space she clearly wanted, what more could she want from you? You didn’t want to be her punching bag but you weren’t about to start a fight that a) you knew you’d probably lose or b) get mad in front of Jinx who you could tell was on edge from Sevika’s tone. “We were just leaving. Weren’t we Jinx? Let's go color in your secret room” you say, forcing a giggle and wiggling your eyebrows at her, trying to build up the excitement of her having her own space - something Silco had asked of you earlier in the day. “Yeah go on ahead, leave the real work to us professionals. Try not to get in the way for once.” She sneered, feeling as though she’d won this round, she turned on her heel and went to set up camp at the cards table - where she’d no doubt kick everyone’s ass later that night. This little altercation, if you can even call it one, caused everyone to stop what they were doing and watch. Theriam almost dropped a glass he was cleaning, and Ran looked straight up furious - no doubt remembering how you’d dropped everything to save her life, both of you knowing she never would have done the same for you.

Tears built up in your eyes, threatening to spill over. You forced them down and cleared your throat. Wiping your eye quickly, saying there was something in it and that someone desperately needed to dust around here - anything to get a laugh out of Jinx to distract her from the mess around you two. You needed to get her out of here before you couldn’t control your emotions anymore, but that started to seem impossible as the tears once again came back. Glancing back at Ran, trying to convey the desperate need for them to step in, they got the hint. “Hey kid - can you show me how you made your latest monkey bomb? The colors that came out were so cool I wanna make my own. Think we can do that tonight?” Jinx looked up at you for permission that she didn’t need, you smiled softly at the kid you were growing to love more every day and nodded. She ran off looking excited to show off her newest invention. As soon as she was out of sight you made your way as quickly as you could without running to the nearest supply closet in the back of the bar. The tears you tried to hold in began to silently flow, not wanting anyone to hear you, certainly not Sevika. This only worked for so long though, you started to shake as the sobs became uncontrollable. You weren’t sure what you were crying about - the memory of caring for Sevika’s injury, your own fear and trauma from the explosion, or the unkind words just spoken to you, maybe it was a bit of everything; afterall it had been a rough week for everyone. A soft knock on the door pulled you out of your thoughts. You ignored it, stifling your breath and sobs to hopefully make the person go away, but another knock came instead. “Can I come in?” Silco’s voice sounded softer than you thought was possible for him. Wiping your face down and putting on your best ‘I’m totally fine’ face you begrudgingly unlocked the door. Meeting the gaze of his heterochromatic eyes, which you see soften slightly as he takes in your disheveled appearance, he pulls you gently by the wrist out of the room. “Follow me”, not an order but a request. One that you willingly agreed to, moving through the main floor of the Last Drop, careful to avoid any eye contact with Sevika, but you could’ve sworn you felt her staring daggers at you.