Change In My Sole
It was dusk by the time the blimp had taken off, just as Ekko had hoped. He had returned to the house around lunchtime; the repairs were thankfully minimal. And they were even left with extra time for Hair Day. So Ekko, with hair freshly whitened and braided, and Pow with refreshed purple bangs got the kids settled in their room on the blimp. He had installed a trundle beneath their double bed, a place for Idina and the twins to sleep, and a collapsible crib for Rashi. It was compact and a little cramped, but the six would make do. Pow told him it was cozy, it reminded her of her childhood pre-Silco, when her and her three siblings shared a small room, Vi and Pow in the same bed most nights. Ekko didn’t agree. He spent most of his time at the wheel, hoping to escape the cramped space.
The kids had already been put to bed. Ekko and Pow sat on the refurbished bench on the front deck of the blimp, sharing the steering wheel. Ekko had put good work into this craft, so Pow had all but ordered he get some sleep while she took the night shift driving every night. But the two both enjoyed their evenings together, so as the sun had finished its descent over the horizon before them, they sat together, locked in each other’s embrace as Pow guided the wheel. This was perfect. Only a few more hours until they landed at Caitlyn’s manor. Tonight, neither would be sleeping.
“I was thinking,” Ekko started.
“Oh gods, don’t hurt yourself.”
“Very funny. But it’s been so long since we’ve been back. What if we aren’t welcome anymore?”
Ekko was fiddling with the hem of the couple’s shared blanket. When they had left Piltover, the country had been ravaged by war. And he knew that he and Pow had been the ones to set everything into motion. He was suddenly unsure about this visit, if it was a good idea. Would he and Pow be safe? Would their kids be safe? They just wanted to visit, but what if the Piltovian people still remembered their faces, their crimes?
Pow swatted his hand, taking the wheel from him and nuzzling even closer. “We both did what we had to. We may not be welcome, but at the end of the day, we were both just kids trying to survive.”
“I know, but…” Ekko groaned, burying his head in his hands. “Pow, you can’t forget we were two of the most wanted criminals in Piltover. Eight years may not be enough to make that go away.”
“Then we just have to change their minds, and let Vi’s wife-to-be do the rest.”
Ekko supposed they had come to the unspoken agreement that there was nothing else left to say. They sat silently, watching the waves churn below them, sending their salty brine upwards onto her skin, in her hair. The sky was black, spackled with millions of stars. The moon was full, its light shining down on Pow’s face, veiling her skin in silver. The tears flowing down his face caught the light, catching his attention in the corner of his eye. Pow took a purple painted finger and wiped them away.
“I promise, love, we’ll be okay. We’ve survived much worse, and we came back. But if you really don’t want to chance it, there’s still time to turn back around.”
Ekko shook his head. “No, no. I do want this, but it’s just… it’s terrifying. I used to love the thrill of running from the enforcers, but that was before I had anything to lose. Now I have you, we have the kids. But I trust you. I trust Vi. All she’s done is take care of us, she won’t let anyone hurt our family now.”
“Even if she doesn’t know about our family…” Pow replied. “I’ll bet that Argus is Vi’s favorite. Always getting into trouble somehow.”
Ekko grinned. “You know, that gives me an idea.”
“I hate your fucking ideas…what’re you thinking?”
———————————
The blimp touched down with a thud at House Kiramman. The sun was just beginning to rise, and Ekko was ready to lay his feet on solid ground. Outside, a couple armed enforcers stood guard at the entrance to the courtyard. The city was quiet, many of its citizens still resting. It was vastly different from Zaun; the Undercity never slept, and the night was when the monsters roamed. Ekko walked towards the courtyard entrance, the only way into Caitlyn’s house. He wished there were other ways in, it would be more fun to sneak in and surprise Vi, but this would do.
A rifle was aimed at Ekko’s throat the moment the half-asleep enforcers noticed him.
“Chill, damn you people are trigger happy. I’m here to see Caitlyn. I was invited.”
The redheaded enforcer on the left took a look at the blimp behind him, marked with the Kiramman crest, and let him inside. There, the empty hallways shone in the candlelight. Ekko knew Caitlyn enough from all of Vi’s letters to know that she was an early riser. She was likely already in her kitchen for her morning tea. Vi was a late sleeper, always had been. Habit of living in the nocturnal Undercity. When Ekko found the kitchen, following the lit candles, he found Caitlyn exactly as he assumed he would: sipping tea from a china mug at her table, way too large for the two women who lived here.
“I hope I’m not intruding,” Ekko said, knocking on the doorframe. “I hear you’re about to be married.”
“Ekko! Oh my goodness, it’s been so long!” Caitlyn walked over to him, tea forgotten. “Wait here, I’ll get Violet.”
“I’ll go with you. She’s grumpy in the mornings, I’d hate to drag her out of bed before noon.”
Caitlyn nodded, extending an arm to Ekko as she met him by the stairs just outside of the kitchen. He shot her a glance, confused. He then noticed her single eye looking towards his cane, likely worried about him taking the stairs with his bad leg. He wanted to roll his eyes, grumble something about how he could handle himself, but the reality is, stairs were hard on him. Even ladders were okay, he could pull himself up with his arms. But he and Pow had purposely invested in a one story house, a flat yard, a town that had few hills, because Ekko couldn’t walk them. He accepted the arm Caitlyn offered, and the two of them made their way slowly up the stairs.
From there, the walk to Vi and Caitlyn’s room was short, maybe a few feet. The two made their way inside, and Ekko marveled at the spectacle of it. A massive, canopied four poster bed lay in the center, mahogany furniture decorated the room and ornate paintings lined the walls. This was far grander than even the room Ekko had used here all those years ago. It was also noticeably lived in, cozy. Pens and papers strewn about the large desk to his left. Loose clothes lay on the floor by the laundry bin. And Vi, asleep in the bed. He was grateful that she was clothed. Caitlyn approached her fiancée, sitting beside her and offering Ekko her desk chair.
“Vi. Time to get up, we have a visitor.”
“Tell this visitor they need to come back at a reasonable hour.” Vi grumbled, clearly half asleep. She turned her back to Caitlyn and buried her face in the lush pillow.
“You practically begged me to come back, and now you wanna spend my whole visit sleeping? I’m hurt, Vi.”
“Little Man? Holy fucking shit, you’re actually here!” Vi awoke instantly, tripping over herself to get to him, her body seemingly slow to wake. Vi had calmed down a bit with age, now in her early thirties if he was to remember correctly. But she was still as headstrong and quarrelsome as ever. She hugged him, and in that moment, everything seemed right. The only thing missing now was—
“Miss Kiramman!” An armored woman exclaimed from the open doorway. “There was a stowaway hiding in your friend’s transport. We have her waiting in the courtyard, what do you want us to do with her?”
“A…stowaway? Ekko, who else was with you?”
“There goes that surprise. I guess I should’ve known that you all would search the ship. You didn’t hurt her right?”
“No sir. She’s being monitored from a distance but she has not been harmed.”
“What surprise, Little Man?”
Ekko sighed. “I may have brought a friend.”
Vi seemed to recognize the implication immediately. She bolted up from Ekko’s lap, out the bedroom door and down the stairs, sounding all too much like a herd of bulls rather than a single woman. Ekko was shocked to see Caitlyn respond just about the same. Ekko stood up and followed behind them slowly. His ankle was throbbing terribly today. He believed it was the change in the air pressure. Or those stairs.
By the time Ekko made it outside, Vi and Caitlyn both had Pow in their arms, and his wife looked shellshocked. Crying with a smile on her face, but also confused. He supposed he understood; Caitlyn had been out for her blood the last time she was here, and it was only a matter of days before her “death” that they had come to terms with each other. The kids were nowhere to be found, probably still asleep in the blimp. Ekko really hoped the enforcers hadn’t done anything with them.
“I’m feeling a little left out, I won’t lie.” Ekko smiled; as anxious as they both may have been before, he hadn’t seen his wife so happy since the day Rashi was born. She peeked her head out over Vi, waving him over. She stepped back from her sister to leave some room for Ekko, who leaned down and planted a quick kiss to her cheek. She leaned a head on his shoulder, staring up at him.
“You’ve had me all to yourself for the past eight years, it’s time to give somebody else a turn.”
Ekko decided he and Pow’s scheming was worth it, to see the gobsmacked looks on Vi and Caitlyn’s faces. Vi, he knew, really should’ve seen this coming. But Caitlyn would’ve had no idea.
“When the fuck?!” Vi exclaimed. “You two ditched us here and ran off to be a couple by yourselves?” She sighed, then smiled at her sister. “I should’ve known you two would happen. But you better make me your maid of honor, Jinx.”
“About that…” Pow started.
“ARE YOU FUCKING MARRIED?!”
“Well, I was gonna say that it’s actually Powder now, but yeah, that too.”
“Powder?” Caitlyn asked. Ekko supposed she wouldn’t get it; she had never known her outside of her time as Jinx.
“Yeah. Jinx fell down a well.” She replied with the most shit-eating smirk Ekko had ever seen. And that was a lot coming from his wife.
Vi groaned dramatically, throwing her head backwards and waving her arms. “I love you, Pow Pow, but I’ve been awake for all of ten minutes and you’ve already dropped about half a dozen bombs on my head. What’s next—actually, don’t answer that.”
“Oh, I’ll answer it!” Pow cackled, stepping back from the hug to climb back into the waiting blimp.
Ekko stood silently beside Vi and Caitlyn, watching her in lovestruck awe. He never truly stopped to think about just how much she had changed since they’d left, but she had gone from a horribly depressed, scared young girl who threw herself at Death’s feet for fun, to a life-loving, always smiling, caring woman. He tried so hard not to think about what started them on their journey to each other, because whichever way he spun it, it was nothing short of tragedy. Had it been the day he met her at Silco’s workshop? The day she had screamed at him, spit in his face, slapped him just so he would go away? Had it been the day on the bridge, the day that haunted Ekko to this very moment? The day the two had both come horribly close to killing each other, nothing but hate in their souls? Or was it the day that she had killed herself? The day that Ekko pleaded with her, begged her to just step back and she refused, because there was no way he was still alive, and she refused to go out with a ghost buzzing in her ear. The day that he finally got through to her, the day that they allowed themselves to love each other freely, without the need to suppress it.
“Gods, Ekko, quit making eyes at my sister, it’s making me sick,” Vi groaned from beside him. She threw an arm around his shoulder, flicking at his ear, now pierced twice on each side. “I’m glad it’s you. Honestly, whoever can make Pow Pow that happy is a good person in my book, but I’m glad it’s you and not some street trash. You two can have all the sleepovers you want now.”
“I’m glad too. She’s been through a lot, and all I’ve ever wanted is to make her happy. I feel like she’s become a whole new person since we’ve been married.” Ekko meant that in the deepest level of himself. His life had been full of uncertainty. Not a day went by where he was sure of how it would end. But he was sure of this one thing: Pow was his, and she was a miracle. “And I can tell Caitlyn’s had an effect on you too.”
“What does that mean?” Caitlyn asked, eyebrow quirked.
“You’re calmer. I half expected you to bash Caitlyn’s face in when she got you up this morning. I still think the Pilties are a materialistic, gluttonous group of assholes, but the elitist life has been kind to you. You aren’t so on edge anymore.”
“Not true at all,” Caitlyn interrupted. “Not quite calmer, but hungover, and I’d hardly say calmer at all. When you left, we turned your room into a rage room, and I’ll tell you, it gets quite some use. Especially with Sevika on the council.”
“Is Sevika not doing well?” Ekko asked, suddenly anxious. He had stacked his entire career on her, wanting to be sure his bases were covered. He was so sure she could do it, and she had been so eager to take his place. The idea that his departure and his decision to leave Sevika in his place had been the wrong one was devastating.
“No, no it’s not that,” Caitlyn replied. “Those two just fight like cats and dogs.”
“Ekko. Are those fucking children?” Vi asked.
“Well, I would hope there’s nothing fucking my children,” Ekko replied half heartedly. He turns his face to the ground below the blimp where Pow landed, Rashi in her arms and the other three following behind her. “But I assume you mean are those my children? Yes. They are.”
“You did ask what’s next,” Pow grinned. “I’ve got four answers to that question right here! Meet Idina, Lora, Argus and Rashi. This is your aunt Vi, guys!”
Lora and Argus immediately hid behind Pow’s legs, while Idina crept slowly closer, stopping just behind Ekko. He took his daughter’s hand in his. She was the palest of the four, having taken mostly after Powder. With Pow’s blue hair and freckles, and Ekko’s deep brown eyes, plus the mix of their skin tones leaving her with a creamy tan, Pow had said from the very beginning that she looked exactly like Isha. Ekko had suggested reusing the name, but Pow refused. She didn’t want to muddy her first daughter’s memory by giving her name to someone else. So instead of Isha, they had agreed on Idina. A similar name that gave their daughter her own identity, and left Isha’s memory intact.
Lora and Argus were more like Ekko than Pow. Their skin was a rich, warm brown in comparison to Ekko’s cooler coffee tone. Where Ekko had coily hair and Pow straight, they wore their blue-black ringlets proudly. They may have been considered identical if not for the difference in gender, but through the few years they’ve had, they’ve already taken on slight differences from one another; Lora’s hooked nose versus Argus’s broad. Argus’s almond eyes against Lora’s doe eyes. As for Rashi, he was too young to tell, though his hair was definitely quite thick, and his eyes quite blue.
Suffice it to say, Ekko thought, there was no denying that these four kids were his and Pow’s. And he was so grateful for every bit of it.
“Come on inside before you all freeze,” Caitlyn said. “I can have tea and muffins prepared.”
———————————
Ashes fell like rain on Ekko’s face, his hair, his clothes. The sky was black, but fire lit the world. Ekko felt Vi and Caitlyn lingering behind him as he stood facing Jinx. Her emotionless giggles filled his ears, and pain filled his chest.
“Oh, look who it is. The Boy Savior.” This wasn’t real. Ekko knew he was dreaming again. He had laid down to sleep once the kids had gotten settled inside with their aunts, Pow likely still beside him. But he was here, again. On this damn bridge, with the psychosis-ridden girl who had not yet become his wife.
Ekko’s body moved of its own volition; he was dreaming, yet his mind would do as it always had: play out the memory exactly as it had happened. He held his watch, keeping the time like a metronome in his head, anticipating every movement Jinx would make. Shoot upper right first, lean left. Two seconds, down towards his chest, his leg. Jump and twist. One and a half seconds, head shot, duck. He was on top of her. His fists raining down on her as smoke filled his lungs, not stopping despite his own effort. He forced himself to look down at her as his body finally paused, and rather than the bleeding, blue eyed face of Jinx, he once again saw the shimmer enhanced, flushed, smiling face of Powder.
“Go on, Koh, hit me. You know you should. You know, you want to see me bleed.” Pow was speaking, but her mouth hadn’t moved, blood still pouring from her bitten tongue. “We both know how this ends. Kill me, or I’ll do it myself.”
Ekko had reached the point in this recurrent scene where he had minimal control over himself again. He lowered his fist, reaching for the bomb he knew was in her hand, despite knowing it was hopeless. She pulled it back, lifting it to the hollow of her neck. Her hair faded, long braid melting away to become choppy blue locks, haphazardly shorn. The bridge became a hidden cubby perched on a ceiling fan.
“Failing to save me again, Ekko. Honestly, why do you even try?” The makeup running down her cheeks did little to distract from the pained grin on Jinx’s face. “Everyone always calls me crazy, but you’re the delusional one here. So busy trying to save everyone because you like to think you’re some hero, but you’re just as much of a jinx as me.”
“Don’t you start this shit with me again.” Ekko backed up from Jinx as the pink eyes of the bomb flashed at him. “You chose to be Jinx. I get it, it’s my fault our families are dead. But I turned my life around. And so did you. So you can stop bothering me.”
“You really think that?” Jinx tossed the bomb backwards, over the edge of their perch as it detonated. This hadn’t happened before. She sat up straighter, shimmer eyes boring into his. “Maybe you were right back home. But we aren’t in Ionia anymore. Back here, we’re both jinxes. I killed my father, twice. You did too, in a way. Orlon, Benzo. We both killed our siblings. Mylo, Claggor. Not to mention Kor and Ashley. Poor kids didn’t stand a chance. We both started our own revolutions. And we both ended them just as quickly, when everyone who stood in our shadows died for our causes. And yet, here we are. Still breathing. Can you blame me? For wanting to die so badly? But now, we’re both joined with each other. Bound forever. Our shadow is twice as big, and who’s to say twice as many people won’t get caught in it? Face it, Koh. I’m a jinx. And so are you.”
Ekko shook his head, turning his back to the crying face of the false Powder. “Those people made their choice. I’ve reconciled with that. I don’t live in the past.”
“Bull-fucking-shit, Boy Savior. You snuck a picture of Kor at the back of Isha’s shrine while your dear Pow Pow slept.”
“Fuck you, Powder. Don’t start with that.”
“You still wear Mila’s charm bracelet around your ankle. You still keep Sho’s lucky coin in the sole of your shoe. You named your damn kid after Argus and didn’t even tell your wife! Every breath you take is the breath of your ghosts. You didn’t save me that day. Pow Pow saved herself. She chose to, because she loved you. But it doesn’t matter how hard you try. You can’t save anyone. You can convince yourself you did, go right ahead. But every single person you’ve tried to save? Yeah, how’d that end? So stop ignoring your ghosts, we’re still here.”
Ekko turned to face the false Powder, but instead met Mila. Shimmering like a mirage. Mila, Sho, Argus, Jax, Powder Benzo Mylo Claggor OrlonKorAshleyJINX— the ever shifting being approached him, wearing the faces of all those he had lost.
“Remember us, Ekko.” It pushed him off the ledge, and down he fell, into the burning abyss below.
Ekko woke suddenly, with a gasp that left his chest throbbing. He had almost forgotten he was dreaming. He found himself back in Caitlyn Kiramman’s home, laying in the sitting room with his head resting on Pow's shoulder. Her arm lay around his shoulders, and he could hear her whispering gentle words into his ear. His face felt wet.
“That’s it. Just breathe. Do you feel okay, sweetheart?” She asked.
Vi sat in front of the two of them, holding a delicate glass full of water. He hated the pitying look on her face. The kids weren’t in the room anymore; Ekko supposed it was likely that Caitlyn had taken them elsewhere. It was just him, his wife and sister in law. He hated that he must have reacted somehow to the visions he saw in his sleep. He shook his head, sitting up straighter.
“I need some air.”
He took his cane, standing slowly. He had not fully woken up yet, it seemed. He ignored Vi’s offered hand, Pow's plea to talk to her. He couldn’t look her way, not without seeing Jinx’s bleeding face. It was a mistake to come back here. Outside was no better. Piltover did look amazing, just as Vi had said in her letter. But it was still the same view. Still the same Piltover that he and Pow had suffered at the hands of for years. The Hexgates’ building had been destroyed, and what remained had been torn down. In its place sat a large building, an apartment complex from the looks of it. Ekko took a breath of the clean topside air. It did nothing to calm him.
He could still feel Jinx’s hands gripping him as they fought. Still saw her shimmer eyes staring into his as she dug up all of his demons one by one. He would not think about them. He came here to celebrate his sister in law. But he wasn’t sure he could handle being followed by the dead while he stayed here. It wasn’t fair to his wife, who likely sat inside wondering where she had gone wrong. It wasn’t fair to Vi, who had invited him here for a good time, yet here he sat sulking. It wasn’t fair to Caitlyn, who offered up her house to him on now multiple occasions, only for him to repay by icing her and her bride out. It wasn’t fair. But when had life ever been fair to him? His family was a blessing, but he knew deep down that eventually, the balance would tip and he’d be back in hell.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Caitlyn appeared beside Ekko. He hadn’t even heard her coming. He chose not to answer, instead leaning his head on the rungs of the balcony railing. He wouldn’t close his eyes; he knew who would be waiting when he did.
Caitlyn sat beside him. She slid her legs through the gap at the bottom of the railing, letting them dangle over the edge. Even if he wouldn’t look at her, he could feel her gaze on him. “I can imagine it’s hard for you. Being back here.”
“You have no idea. I want to be happy to be here. But I didn’t think coming back would be so painful.”
“Did I tell you about the months following your departure?” Cait asked. Ekko turned towards her, still leaning on the railing. He was so exhausted, but he didn’t want to sleep again. He would need to see if any of the tea Cait had was caffeinated; coffee wasn’t native to Piltover, and it seemed that they didn’t care enough for it to have it imported. “Vi and I fought almost daily. She blamed me for what happened to her sister. I blamed her for what happened to my mom. And we were both right, we each shared a bit of the fault. But eventually, we realized that the blaming was only hurting our relationship. And when we talked it out, we blamed ourselves even more than we blamed each other. At that point, our relationship became about building each other back up.”
“Your point?” Ekko asked. He was not in the mood to be lectured about communicating with his wife. This was the same woman who attacked her fiancée minutes after said woman begged not to be abandoned again. He knew it had worked out, and he would never hold it against Caitlyn; she was being manipulated, but he didn’t want her relationship advice.
“Talk to Powder. She thinks you’re angry with her. But I can tell by the look in your eyes. You’re frustrated with yourself. Possibly with her as well, but mostly yourself.”
“Why would she think I’m angry with her?”
“You were talking in your sleep. ‘Fuck you, Powder. Don’t start with that.’ I feel inclined to ask, what was it you were seeing?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
Why was she still here? Ekko’s head throbbed. The sun sat directly above them in the sky, so Ekko deduced he had only slept for about an hour. He knew running on so little sleep would hurt him sooner or later, but the idea of seeing that again was too much. He wanted Caitlyn to leave. He wasn’t in the mood to be psychoanalyzed, and he had no plans to talk about what he saw to anyone. Pow was his go to, but he had been seeing her, and Ekko wasn’t sure if he wanted to breach that threshold with her.
“You can’t stuff your feelings forever, Ekko. It’s going to hurt you.”
“I don’t remember asking you what I should or shouldn’t do. I came out here for a few minutes of quiet and fresh air. I’m sorry to be mean but I need you to go.”
Caitlyn sighed heavily. “I’ll give you space for now. But sooner or later I would prefer you feel your feelings.”
Ekko didn’t give a shit what she’d prefer. She was too used to getting whatever she wanted, it seemed. He didn’t give her the benefit of a response. He simply sat in silence with his back to her until she departed from the balcony. And only then, did Ekko Daley allow himself the chance to cry.
———————————
The sun hovered over the horizon, painting the sky in pink by the time Ekko made his way inside. He went to the kitchen first, looking for something to eat. He had lost track of time outside, not monitoring its passage until he lost six hours, and he was hungry. He met his wife at the dining table, picking at her own turkey breast. A few small plates sat beside her, and Ekko figured the kids had already eaten.
“I’m sorry for running off.”
Pow looked up at him from her plate. Her face was red and splotchy, she had been crying. Ekko felt even more guilty in that moment; her tears were his fault. She shook her head.
“You’re alright. It’s okay to need space after something like that.”
She continued eating in silence. Ekko filled a plate of his own and joined her. The kitchen was slightly chilly, and Ekko noticed the open window, letting the night air inside. He got up to shut it as soon as his small meal had been eaten.
“Are you angry at me?” Pow whispered. Ekko barely heard her, but there was no mistaking the tremor in her voice. “Did I do something wrong?”
Ekko remembered what Caitlyn had told him, that he had spoken out loud while he slept. He had called her Powder, not Jinx, as that was the face she had worn, but it sent a bad message to his distraught wife. He didn’t want to say anything, but he realized Caitlyn was right: he would have to. After shutting the window, Ekko sat down beside Pow, taking her hand in his. The cold air left her metal finger frigid in his palm.
“It wasn’t you.” He made sure to look directly at her as he spoke, made sure he could fully convey his sincerity to her. He sighed. “Being back here is harder than I thought it would be. My mind just wants to remember all the terrible things that happened here. Same things as the past few nights: the bridge. The day you…the day you killed yourself. But it wasn’t Jinx, it was you.”
Pow chuckled dryly. “Do I got news for you, Buster?”
Ekko winced. “I mean like… the you of right now. The you that I’m married to. Telling me I should kill her. That if I didn’t, she’d do it herself, and that—”
“And what, sweetheart?”
Ekko really didn’t want to say anything. He wouldn’t. He opened his mouth to say it anyway, but nothing came out. How could he explain to her everything he had seen and heard? He’d look insane. Half the people he’d seen were people she’d never even met or heard of, so would it make a difference to her? He could lie, but he knew it would come back to bite him later. He had never been good at focusing on the future, though.
“Just that she’d deserve it. That she deserved to have me kill her. And I woke up and I saw you and—I just couldn’t get that image of you out of my head. I told her it wasn’t going to happen but she was just—she was so nasty. Even when you were Jinx you hadn’t been that mean. I didn’t mean for you to think I was angry with you. I guess I wasn’t actually ready to come back here, like I thought I was.”
Pow leaned her head on his shoulder, her dinner abandoned. “Well…maybe we just need a change of scenery.”
“What do you mean?”
Pow grinned. “I was thinking up things we could do while we were here. The kids are so infatuated with my sister, I’ve hardly seen them all day. It’s been a while since we’ve been to Zaun, just the two of us.”
Ekko laughed. “I wonder if Jericho’s is still open. It’s been a while since I’ve had his cooking.”
Pow smiled. “We could do that another time. I was thinking something more…illegal. Something fun to remember.”
“I missed this side of you. What do you have in mind?”
———————————
The Undercity lost its stink. It was a wonderful thing, but it was quite a shock to Ekko, to step foot in Zaun and not smell rot. It actually looked clean. He was glad to know that Sevika had been hard at work.
The wind felt amazing on Ekko’s face as he rode around the streets on his bike, Pow seated behind him, leg over his shoulder and arm gripping the inner ring of the vehicle. He could barely remember the last time he and Pow had done this. Riding around the underground on this very contraption, cursing every enforcer they came across. Her braid whipped behind them as they sped along the sidewalks. People stopped to stare. A few even pointed; perhaps they recognized the couple.
The bike tipped dangerously as they rounded a corner too fast. This had happened before, and Ekko still wore the scar on his chin from when he hit the ground and sliced it open. This time, a hand shot out, and Pow gripped the street lamp, using it to make a U turn and right the bike, zooming right back down the alley they had just passed enough. Their cheers echoed against the brick walls. Buildings blurred past them as they sped up. This was the best Ekko had felt in years. He believed they had passed Jericho’s long ago. The building was dark, maybe he wasn’t in business anymore. Ekko would be fine.
They didn’t stop biking until they reached the edge of the city, parked over the pier above the ocean. The two of them stepped off, both falling to the floor as their legs hadn’t yet adjusted to the lack of high speed movement. Their laughter was loud and it rang against the cargo containers behind them. Ekko felt light, like he was made of helium. Pow was right, he needed this. They both did. They hadn’t let loose like that in a very long time, and it was good to feel like a stupid kid again.
Pow leaned forward, tilting at the waist to look over the edge of the pier at the water below. It looked black in the cold moonlight. Ekko only sighed, taking in the damp air, laying back against the wooden ground. This was bliss.
“I’ve missed this.” Pow reached back behind her to take Ekko’s hand. “I’ve missed being stupid with you. I love our family, love being adults, but there’s something so nice about getting to be dumb kids again.”
“Oh, absolutely. This was the best night I’ve had in a long time.”
“Even better than the night we got married? Wow.”
“Oh, can it. We’re supposed to be stupid kids for the night, remember? On the topic of biking around insulting people, why don’t we go find some paintball next?”
Pow leaned back with him, nestled into his side. “You were such a sore loser. Every time I shot you, you’d throw your gun and give up. Guess it makes sense, me being the better shot now.”
“Yeah, I was a bit of a shit back then, huh?”
“You’re still a shit now, Big Man.”