Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[Vi – Jinx Text Chat]

Vi: Okay so, now that you’re hired, I want to talk to you about some stuff.

Jinx: Great.

Vi: Everything and I mean EVERYTHING you do will reflect on me, so if you’re mean to someone, I’m being mean to someone, If you pick a fight with someone, I’m picking a fight with someone, IF YOU GET FIRED, I’M GETTING FIRED.

Jinx: Thanks for the fucking vote of confidence.

Vi: I recommended you Jinx, I do trust you, I’m just making sure you know how much I’m putting on the line for you.

Vi: I want you to do well, so please, just be nice to everyone, no matter how annoying they are, okay?

Jinx: Yeah sis, I’ll try my best.

Vi: Thank you.

Vi: You want me to come with you on your first day?

Jinx: I’ll be fine.

Vi: If you need anything, reach out to me or Caitlyn.

Vi: If someone annoys you, just keep it to yourself and after work we can go blow some steam on the ring, or go to the shooting range, yeah?

Jinx: Violet

Jinx: Chill out

Vi: I’m just putting the option out there.

Vi: You’re kicking off a new chapter in your life tomorrow, I’ll be with you no matter what, so let's both try our best and get a good start.

Vi: Yeah, that was super fucking corny, don’t even say anything.

Vi: But I mean it. You’ll do great, I know it.

Jinx: Thanks Vi.

Jinx: Gn.

Vi: Good night sis.

Vi: Rest well.

Chapter Text

Jinx woke up early, she took a shower, ate breakfast and brushed her teeth, these actions might not seem significant, but these were not habits, they were purposeful choices to do better, to be better, things she hadn’t done in years, this was the 88th day in a row she was able to do all four.  

The woman put on black shorts, black sneakers and a white tank top with a blue oversized hoodie, then made her way to her new workplace, leaning against a wall outside was Violet, the last person she honestly wanted to see, especially with the face she was making as she noticed Jinx walking up to her.  

Vi - “WHY WOULD YOU WEAR THAT!” She screamed out, Jinx frowned. “Okay, breath in, breath out... we have 10 minut- No, 7 minutes, 7 minutes to”  

Jinx - “I’m an artist Vi; you really think they expect me to wear a suit?”  

Vi - “OF COUR-”  

Ashe - “Oh hey Violet!”  

A woman walked towards the pair, her ashen hair hurt Jinx’s eyes as she turned to stare, Vi’s corneas were used to the brightness of it.  

Vi - “I- I’m so sorry Ashe, I take full responsibility, I should have made sure her clothes were appropriate for the w-”  

Ashe - “Relax Violet, how could I expect an artist to wear a suit?”  

Jinx - “That’s what I said!”  

Ashe - “You must be Jinx then” She offered her hand, Jinx shook it.  

Jinx - “I’m Jinx yes, nice to meet you... Ashe? I think that’s what Vi was whimpering” Ashe chuckled.  

Ashe - “That’s exactly right. We’re happy to welcome you into our team Jinx.” The woman had a genuine smile on her face. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting I need to get to, hopefully you have a good first day!” The woman said as she walked away. “And tell your sister to take a deep breath!” She chuckled again, Vi had her palm to her chest, she was staring at her shoes, trying to calm down.  

Jinx - “Will you actually chill out? If I’m not nervous, and clearly that woman is fine with it, why are you stressed?” Vi took a couple more deep breaths before she replied.  

Vi - “It’s just... a lot on the line...”  

Jinx - “Relax, I’ll be okay, I even managed to shake Ashe’s hand, did you see that?”  

There was a clear prideful tone in her voice, Jinx was perfectly capable of socializing with strangers, but physical touch was something she had issues with, Violet knew this.  

Vi - “Yeah... I saw” She took one last deep breath “I’m sorry sis, I just really want this to work out, but yeah, I’m proud of you for that.”  

Jinx - “Thanks.”  

Vi - “I’ll take a moment here, just go on inside, artists are on the fourth floor, talk to Jhin, he’ll set you up”  

Jinx - “Are you okay?”  

Vi - “Yeah like I said, just need a moment. You go on ahead.”  

Jinx - “Alright...”  

Jinx walked to the entrance and stepped inside, immediately there was art everywhere, statues here, paintings over there, a huge mural decorated the lobby, and even if it was game art about silly looking characters, the technique was there, the passion of the company’s artists could actually be felt through their artwork.  

Jinx was greeted by two women who seemed to be arguing about something.  

Jinx - “Hey uh, I’m new here, do I need an ID or something to get inside?”  

Morgana - “See? I told you, she’s the new artist”  

Kayle - “Oh my god who cares”  

Morgana - “YOU CARE, YOU WERE THE ONE THAT-” She sighed and moved on. “Taliyah’s office is at the end of the hall, the door on the right, she’ll set you up with an ID, so you don't have to deal with us every morning” The woman gave Jinx a small smile before turning back to stare at her screen.  

Kayle - “Don’t let her fool you, you’ll have to deal with us anyways.”  

Jinx - “Right... well, thanks guys”  

Morgana nodded, still smiling, Kayle nodded as well, before turning to look right back at the screen in front of her. Jinx followed the hall and knocked on the door with Taliyah’s name on it.  

Taliyah - “Come in!”  

Jinx - “Oh hey”  

Taliyah - “Hey!”  

Jinx - “The babes at the front told me you could get me my ID?”  

Taliyah - “Oh right!” Taliyah turned around and frantically started looking around her files, she had a little webcam on her PC that she set up, then continued on to put a white background in place to take Jinx’s picture. “Please sit here and smile for your picture!” Jinx sat down and looked at the camera.  

Jinx - “So... when can we stop pretending we don’t know each o-” Taliyah shushed her and slammed the door shut, probably way more violently than she intended to.  

Taliyah - “NEVER!”  

Jinx - “Oh come on, don’t tell me you're not dying to congratulate me”  

Taliyah - “I am happy for you! Of course! But listen it’s just not a good idea, I’m not supposed to get too friendly with ANYONE, other employees might think I have a preference for certain people when I should be advocati-”  

Jinx - “So you hate me?”  

Taliyah - “WHAT? No! Stop putting words in my mouth!”  

Jinx - “Then you think I’ll fuck this up same as Violet”  

Taliyah - “NO! Did she say that? Thats horrible.”  

Jinx - “Something like it, or you know, that's what I got from her expression” Taliyah gave Jinx a look “Anyways, I’ll give you like 3 days of no contact, then you have to have lunch with me every day, I don’t wanna be stuck alone forever”  

Taliyah - “You COULD just make friends”  

Jinx - “And you COULD eat my entire ass out”  

Taliyah - “I’ll have your ID before the end of the day, just come pick it up before you leave today”  

Jinx - “So you’re just gonna ignore me telling you to eat my ass?  

Taliyah - “Yes. Time to go you freak”  

Jinx - “3 days T, one and only warning”  

Taliyah - “Yeah yeah, go!”  

Jinx stepped out, and right away she noticed the elevator door closing in the distance, so she ran.  

Jinx - “Wait! Hold it!” She screamed out.  

Jinx slid close to the elevator trying to slip her hand between the doors, but she was a little too late, and as the door closed, she caught a glimpse of the person inside, a singular bright blue eye stared at her, she could see the golden shine of whoever’s head that was, nothing more.  

Jinx - “Prick.” She sighed and pressed the button again. Finally, after a minute or two, the elevator came back down, she walked inside and pressed the number 4.  

The building was 5 floors high, all of it Red Punch Studios, pretty impressive for a small indie game company, even more impressive Jinx thought, was the salary she was offered, it all seemed a little too good to be true, granted Taliyah and Vi pulled some strings, but still, she wouldn’t have been hired if she had nothing to offer to them, so that at the very least made her feel calmer as she stepped outside of the elevator.  

Jhin - “Marvelous.”  

Sona - “...”  

Neeko - “Pretty!”  

Akali - “Heya!”  

Gwen - “Hi!”  

Seraphine - “DIDN’T I TELL YOU GUYS TO NOT SCARE HER IMMEDIATELY?”  

Hwei - “You’re the one screaming...”  

Seven people stood right outside the elevator, all of them staring at Jinx, carefully examining her every movement.  

Jinx - “Uh... hey” She answered a little awkwardly “I’m Jinx”  

Seraphine - “Hi! It’s so nice to finally meet you! I’m seraphine! I work on some of the music of the game, Sona is my boss, she’s an amazing musician and oh she’s mute actually, but you’ll eventually get what she’s trying to say through her expressions.”  

Sona gave Jinx a small genuine smile.  

Seraphine - “This is Jhin he’s the boss of the art department, as in like the entire department, but you know, no one really listens to him cause he’s a little out there in the head”  

Jhin - “Hmmm now there’s 4 of us... perfection.”  

Seraphine - “See? Anyways, this is Neeko”  

Neeko was already too close for comfort, staring at Jinx, but she backed off once she noticed Jinx’s discomfort.  

Seraphine - “I think she just does whatever she wants I’m not really sure, but she’s really nice and always wants to talk to me which I think makes up for anything she might or might not be doing, and then this is Ak-”  

Akali - “We can speak for ourselves, you know?”  

Seraphine - “She hates me I think, but she’s really nice if you give her ramen, like I’ve actually never seen someone so obsessed with food actually, it completely changes her mood so I always have one in my bag just in case she’s having a bad day or I make her mad somehow.”  

Akali - “WHAT?!”  

Seraphine - “This is Gwen, she works on costumes, she does cosplays and anything like it, also helps with character design, she’s amazing at it, you should see her work her scissors I’ve never seen scissors so damn big and she works them like nothing, it's so cool to see!”  

Gwen - “Hi Jinx! Nice to me-”  

Seraphine - “And finally! This is Hwei he’s a little quiet most of the time but it's totally fine, Sona says I speak enough for all of us, he’s a great artist and I guess he’s your partner from now on! You him and Jhin oh and Neeko I think? I'm still not sure what she does”  

Hwei - “A pleasure...”  

Seraphine - “So who are you? Well, I know you’re a human and your name is Jinx, you just said that, but I really mean like what brings you here? What drives you? What kind of art are you passionate about? Can I see some of your work? Do you d-”  

Akali - “SHUT UP!”  

Sona started dragging Seraphine back into their little office, but she kept talking.  

Seraphine - “Oh! Akali remind me about a little treat I brought you at lunch yeah? You won’t guess what it is!”  

Akali - “Jesus Christ.”  

Gwen - “She’s just a little excited, it's very nice to meet you Jinx! We've heard a lot about you and I stalked your socials a bit to be honest with you, and I love your work it’s super good!”  

Jinx - “Thank you, I u-'” She heard Seraphine's muffled laughing from the other office, then she continued "I'm not as energetic but I am excited to be here" She gave them all a small smile.

Akali - “Literally don’t worry about it, we can only barely put it up with her so, you’re a perfect addition in my eyes.”  

Hwei - “Speaking only when the words hold meaning is a powerful trait.”  

Akali - “Yeah he’s weird too, but I agree, just say yeah to whatever Seraphine says and she’ll eventually leave you alone, other than that, she was right about Jhin, he’s technically your boss, but like, just do whatever Hwei says”  

Neeko - “Neeko likes your muscles; can Neeko paint them?” Jhin had already moved on and was back on his canvas painting away.  

Akali - “You know what I can’t even fucking excuse everyone in here, just ignore everyone and focus on your work Jinx, welcome to the fucking party”  

Jinx - “Thanks”  

Hwei - “Come with, I’ll show you to your desk”  

Jinx - “Right, thank you and it’s nice to meet you all”  

Jhin - “Places everyone, places!” he said from afar.  

Hwei walked slowly, way too slow for Jinx’s taste but at least he was quiet and wouldn’t bother Jinx, or that’s the impression he gave her, then once the both of them were in their office, Hwei pointed at Jinx’s desk.  

Hwei - “Today you should just focus on your set up, make it comfortable for you, and if you use a different program than the one installed, go ahead and install whatever it is as well, if they cost, just let Jhin know and he’ll get it for you, got it?”  

Jinx - “Yup, thanks”  

Hwei - “No problem, if you need me just tap my shoulder, preferably when I’m not mid stroke.”  

Jinx - “Uh right.. Thanks" He nodded and sat down on his desk.   

(Jinx – Vi Text Chat)  

Jinx: This guy just told me to not tap on his shoulder if he’s mid stroke  

Jinx: You have to reward me for not mocking him  

Vi: Hwei or Jhin  

Jinx: Hwei  

Vi: Checks out  

Vi: He’s a really chill dude, even more of a loner than you are, so just be nice  

Vi: You settled in?  

Jinx: Yeah, installing some programs rn  

Jinx: When can I leave?  

Vi: Shut up, you’re doing what you love dumbass  

Vi: You can take your lunch break whenever you want but there’s like an unwritten rule to take it at around 1  

Jinx: Unwritten rule huh.  

Jinx: I think I might kill this seraphine gi-  

But she didn’t finish the text, from the corner of her eye she noticed a familiar face, she stood up from her desk and ran towards the woman.  

Jinx - “SIVIR?!”  

Sivir - “JINX!” She jumped up excited and then hugged her, very few people were allowed to be so nonchalant about touching Jinx like that, this woman was one of them “Oh this is so great, I get to see you and T now, Fuck Jinx you have no idea how shitty it is to work this stupid ass job, 8 HOURS OF DRIVING AROUND THE CITY SUCKS”  

Jinx - “Sivir what the fuck are you doing here dude, someone ordered a woman past her prime?”  

Sivir - “Ha! Fuck you too” She punched Jinx in her arm “I told you I made a delivery to T here once no? Her boss uhhh Ashe I think was her name, was in her office when I came in, and she like I guess wanted me to do all their deliveries cause she trusts T and I guess that includes me somehow, Hey I don’t know but” She closed in and whispered “Some of these people have stacked wallets Jinx they drop that fucking 20% tip for a fucking soda and chips bro, this is heaven”  

Jinx - “So if I need some lunch I can just text you?”  

Sivir - “Tch if you tip well, yeah... twenty percent. twenty percent.”  

Jinx - “Nevermind then”  

Sivir - “I’m so happy to see you back on your feet Jinx, and now you’ll probably earn more than me huh, life works in funny ways”  

Jinx - “That just means I’m buying the drinks next time we go out”  

Sivir - “Hah..”  

Jinx - “Oh come on, I can joke about it, plus I was addicted to drugs not alcohol”  

Sivir - “Yeah well, we can go out to eat, no alcohol though”  

Jinx - “Lame”  

Sivir - “Anyways, gotta go, got other deliveries, hey you should tell T to make a group chat she has a stick really far up her butt and didn’t wanna make one when she told me you were working here”  

Jinx - “Why don’t you just make it?”  

Sivir - “Wait I didn’t think of that” she laughed “Alright I’ll make it later, see ya Jinx!”  

Jinx - “Bye dude”  

Jinx was starting to feel more comfortable, all these people she was familiar with also made her more confident, and the rest of the morning flew by as she set up her monitors and tablets for drawing, finally as she finished up her desk, Vi knocked on her door, Hwei didn’t turn to look, he had earphones blasting music most of the time.  

Vi - “Hey sis, wanna have lunch?”  

Jinx - “You’re buying”  

Vi - “Fine, but these are the last 15 days you’re able to say something like that to me you know?”  

Jinx - “Let’s goooo” As they make their way to the elevator to get up on the roof terrace Violet drops the question she’s desperately been wanting to know about all day.  

Vi - “So how are you getting along with everyone?”  

Jinx - “I was gonna text you that I might kill Seraphine but then Sivir was there handing out food to Akali and I got distracted”  

Vi - “Yeah...”  

Jinx - “How many secrets are you all keeping from me? You know I’m better now right?”  

Vi - “It’s not a secret... its a... omision of truth!”  

Jinx - “Ugh”  

The sisters stepped off the elevator and went on to find a spot to sit at, Violet bought her usual meal and got something high on fats for Jinx.  

Vi - “I just didn’t wanna get you all excited about all the people you might know or like before we were sure you got hired” She said once she finally sat down next to Jinx, then she handed her her meal.  

Jinx - “Yeah okay, I won’t hold it against ya, I’m just glad I get to have all of you back in my life” Violet had a faint smile on her face.  

Vi - “Anyways... yeah Sera speaks enough for the whole company but she’s nice, isn’t she?”  

Jinx - “She’s not terrible, hey what's with Neeko? Why does she talk like that?”  

Vi - “I don’t know, I think it’s cute though”  

Jinx - “Yeah she’s harmless, I liked Akali too, she seems cool”  

Vi - “Let me just remind you, you can’t date coworkers”  

Jinx - “Hey just because you and Caitlyn are bumping uglies doesn’t mean we are all trying to do th-” Vi covered Jinx’s mouth.  

Vi - “I have no idea what you're talking about”  

Jinx - “Right right, so get off my case woman” She slapped Vi’s hand away from her face, not exactly playfully but not exactly annoyed either “Jhin is funky, I like him and Hwei is very quiet, both of them make amazing art, so they’re cool.  

Vi - “I’m glad you’re getting along with them”  

Jinx - “Hey is Sona really a mute?”  

Vi - “Yeah why?”  

Jinx - “I don’t know, just seems surprising that a mute is working on music, but I guess Mozart was deaf or something right”  

Vi - “Don’t call her a mute, she’s a person like anyone else”  

Jinx - “Yeah okay, I didn’t mean it in a mean way”  

Vi - “What about Gwen?”  

Jinx - “We didn’t talk much, but she seemed fine, like a calmer version of seraphine”  

Vi - “Thats spot on”  

Jinx - “Oh hey, do you know any blonde people that work here?”  

Vi - “That’s a weird thing to ask me about, but yeah, why?”  

Jinx - “Oh you know, art stuff, like for reference, who are they?”  

Vi - “Well there’s two that I know of, or three actually now, one is Kayle the receptionist, another one is Ezreal, he’s like a tech guy I think I’m not sure, and then there’s lux, she works in production”  

Jinx - “Do any of them have blue eyes?”  

Vi - “Well I don’t know about Kayle I’ve never noticed, I think ezreal does tho, and Lux does too”  

Jinx - “Hm.. I’ll have to pop by and introduce myself later”  

Vi - “Oh good! You should be making friends! Friends make work go way faster”  

Jinx - “I have enough friends, now that I’m doing well, I can be friends with Siv and T again”  

Vi - “They never stopped being your friends Jinx”  

Jinx - “Well it sure felt like it”  

Vi - “I think they were just tired, I was tired too, but I never stopped being your sister did I?”  

Jinx - “Well thats just not something you can stop being I think”  

Vi - “If you don’t want them to be your friends then why do you wanna talk to them?”  

Jinx - “I told you, art stuff”  

Vi - “You know I’ve gotten really good at telling when you’re lying and I smell something fishy going on...”  

Jinx - “It’s probably coming from your crotch, you’ve been thinking about Cait too much.”  

Vi - “You’re gross”  

Jinx - “Hey I’m not the one that smells"  

Vi - “You should be nicer to me, I even got you an expensive meal”  

Jinx - “Aren’t big sisters supposed to look out for their little sisters anyways?”  

Vi - “Haven’t I?”  

Jinx - “Well yeah, but don’t throw it in my face if you’re just doing what you’re supposed to” She was a little angry, Vi could tell, even if she didn’t really have a reason to or at least none that Vi could come up with. “That would be like me being all “Hey be thankful” to Jhin after I draw something”  

Vi - “Okay Jinx, I won’t press you”  

Jinx - “Thanks.”  

Vi - “Anyways, I gotta go now, Ashe is having a meeting and I have to be there”  

Jinx - “Mhm”  

Vi - “If you need a ride home just text me, or if you need anything else”  

Jinx - “I will”  

Jinx once again was alone, after a short moment of contemplation, she threw her trash in the can, stood up and walked right back to her desk, Hwei didn’t look like he had moved the entire time, everyone else in the office was gone, other than Akali who looked up from her desk to greet Jinx.  

Akali - “Yo”  

Jinx - “Sup”  

Akali - “How are you liking the place?”  

Jinx - “It’s not bad, I have a very quiet partner”  

Akali - “Yeah he’s great to work with, don’t mind Seraphine though, she isn’t always that annoying, just when she gets excited.”  

Jinx - “She’s a musician though I don’t think we’ll work together.”  

Akali - “You’d be surprised, we’ve all collaborated on something across departments at least a couple times.”  

Jinx - “Huh, really?”  

Akali - “Yup, anyways, I know its Monday and all but uh, you know, I was wondering if you’d like going out for a drink after work?” There was a pause that was a little too long for Akali’s mental.  

Jinx - “Y-”  

Akali - “Like a welcoming party! With me and some other people...”  

Jinx - “Oh uh, sure, I’m fine with whatever you guys do”  

Akali - “Oh sick!” She gave Jinx a big smile, Akali was gorgeous, of course Jinx knew that, and because of that it never even crossed her mind that she might be flirting, not to mention Akali wasn’t particularly good at it either.  

Jhin right then came back to work, and Jinx needed a talk to him, she didn’t really have anything to do after all, she had set up her programs, her tablet just the way she liked it, she even customized her interface and added a cute background of a manga she liked, and secretely, downloaded some games, nothing too serious just enough to get a distraction every now and then.  

Jinx - “Hey Boss”  

Jhin - “I like that word, though it would be prefereable for it to have 4 separate letters instead of repeating the s twice.”  

Jinx - “Uh right”  

Jihn - “You may call me Jhin, if you would rather”  

Jinx - “Right... Jhin, so I am all set up already, got things working, what should I work on?”  

Jhin - “Well, what calls to you?”  

Jinx - “What calls to me?”  

Jhin - “Do you like any character in particular from our little champion roster?”  

Jinx - “Oh uh, I guess I like Lux”  

Jhin - “Marvelous, do some work on her then.”  

Jinx - “Just... draw her?”  

Jhin - “Yes.”  

Hwei - “Are you familiar with her lore?”  

Jinx - “A little” She turned to look at Hwei who had just walked out from their office and overheard.

Hwei - “Read up on it, see what you like about it, draw something related to it, or if you’ve seen our skin lines and Lux isn’t a part of it, you can try doing that too, that’s what he’s saying.” Jhin merely hummed and then walked back to his canvas, painting immediately after he was in front of it again.  

Jinx - “Thanks”  

Hwei - "No problem”  

He walked into the elevator and left shortly after, Jinx stood there dumbfounded, she knew it was an indie company maybe a little short on direction, but she didn’t imagine she could just draw whatever she wanted.  

Akali - “They’re quirky aren’t they?”  

Jinx - “Yeah...”  

Akali - “That’s artists for you, they all have something special going on in their minds, that’s what makes them so interesting.”  

Jinx - “Aren’t you also an artist?”  

Akali - “Well yeah, but I’m more into fighting? I just work here cause it pays way better”  

Jinx - “Oh, you do look buff”  

Akali - “Thank you! I do work out a lot, do you?”  

Jinx - “Not really, I just hang out doing nothing most of the day whenever I’m free”  

Akali - “Huh, I never would have thought so, you have a great body”  

Jinx - “Thanks”  

Akali looked around awkwardly, that was definitely bolder than she intended, but at least she wasn’t beating around the bush this time.  

Jinx - “What kind of art did you do again?” Jinx was unphased, she didn’t get it or didn’t want to acknowledge it, Akali died a little inside.  

Akali - “Oh like uh 3D modelling. Also, I do the motion capture for most of our animations”  

Jinx - “Oh sick, I always wanted to get into 3D but I just well... you know, had other things going on.”  

Akali - “I could teach you some things, if you have some time”  

Jinx - “Sounds great actually”  

Akali - “After work?”  

Jinx - “I thought we were going out for drinks?”  

Akali - “Oh uh right” She laughed a little, awkwardly dragging it out as her mind went into panic mode, she would have to rush her work for the day and get other people to come to her impromptu welcoming party. “I’ll leave you to your work then” Jinx smiled at her and walked away.  

Jinx felt good about chatting with Akali, she was nice and seemed to get her somewhat. Even if she did enjoy the silence Hwei and Jhin allowed her, she wasn’t exactly an introvert, more like an extrovert with social inexperience.  

With all that out of the way and her desk set up, she started reading up on the champion’s lore, its origin, friends, relationships and finally then and only then did she start drawing.  

Jinx poured her heart into the drawing, she had to give a good first impression she thought. It would only be a couple of hours before she leaned back to see, she took a deep breath which she felt like she hadn’t taken since she started, then noticed the two men behind her.  

Hwei - “Impressive, I like the expression you gave her”  

Jhin - “It needs more flowers and blood I think”  

Hwei - “It does not”  

Jhin - “You are right it does not, but THINK of the possibilities”  

Hwei - “Great work Jinx”  

Jinx - “How long have you been standing there?”  

Jhin - “4 minutes”  

Hwei - “He has definitely been here for like an hour, I just started looking 5 minutes ago.”  

Akali - “They are like that! We all kinda just peep on our coworker’s work here!”  

She said in the distance, before standing up and walking on over to stare at her artwork, it was a little too crowded for Jinx’s taste, but she didn’t mind the praise.  

Akali - “Oh wow, it looks just like her”  

Jinx - “Thanks”  

Akali - “Did you meet her during lunch or something?”  

Jinx - “Who?”  

Akali - “Lux”  

Jinx - “What?”  

Akali - “The girl she is inspired by? I think she works production”  

Jhin - “She does lighting, her magic is light”  

Hwei - “That is so obvious now that you mention it”  

Jhin - “Not my most creative moment”  

Jinx - “What are you all talking about? Did you base her off of someone real?”  

Hwei - “All our champions are people that work here.”  

Jinx stared thinking about it, of course that’s why they all looked so familiar, Hwei, Jhin and Akali. Holy shit Akali.  

Jinx - “Wait so they’re all based on all of you?”  

Akali - “Yup! You should see mine”  

Jinx - “I remember now, the ninja with back tattoos”  

Akali - “Well.. They took some creative liberties”  

Jinx - “You're not a ninja?” Akali laughed.

Akali - “With the tattoos, but I WAS thinking of getting them since they look awesome, do you like tattoos?”  

It was just Akali and Jinx on her desk now, Jhin had gawked long enough, and Hwei didn’t like it when Jhin spent more than a couple minutes looking at his art, so he thought Jinx might have a similar feeling, but Akali had little self-control.  

Jinx - “I have some myself”  

Akali - “Oh! Can I see them?”  

Jinx - “Why not”  

Jinx stood up and took off her hoodie, revealing her light blue cloud tattoos, her pale skin was unlike anything Akali had ever seen, it was probably a similar feeling for Akali as when Jinx looked at Ashe’s hair for the first time, Akali admired the tattoos, Hwei turned to look too as he noticed them, but then quickly went back to work.  

Akali - “Wow...”  

Jinx - “Yeah so, I guess I do like em”  

Akali - “Holy cow, they’re awesome!”  

Jinx put her hoodie back on before Akali finished her sentence and then sat back down.  

Jinx - “Thanks”  

Akali - “Really, they’re incredible! You should definitely add them to your own character when you get one.”  

Jinx - “I’ll get one?”  

Akali - “Well like I said so far, every single one is based off of someone that works here, like Lux! And not to put her work down but its not exactly like emblematic I guess, of our company, and she got a character, so you as an artist will for sure get to be in the game! Unless you don’t want to obviously.”  

Jinx - “It never even crossed my mind...”  

Akali - “Still I’m surprised you’ve never met her, she looks exactly like that, like you took a picture of her and just copy pasted it, its uncanny, she looks even better than her in game design that I made.”  

Jinx - “That reminds me, I was trying to catch the elevator in the morning, but the person inside didn’t hold it for me, and I caught a glimpse of some blonde hair and blue eyes.”  

Akali - “Ha! No way, Lux is super nice, it was probably Ezreal” She leaned over to Jinx and whispered “That guy is a bit creepy” she leaned back out.  

Jinx - “Huh, well good thing he's not working on this floor”  

Akali - “Yuh...”  

Jinx - “Hey so, who is coming with us?”  

Akali - “Oh right!..." She didn’t expect that question, she wasn’t done with her work much less done inviting people, she was trying to come up with anything, but as she stared at Jinx’s drawing, words came out of her mouth before she could process them. “Its uh, Lux! And uh Ezreal too! So it will be perfect you can ask them who closed the door on you”  

Jinx - “That will definitely not be awkward”  

Akali - “Oh relax, everyone here is super nice, if it did happen, I’m sure it was an accident.  

Jinx - “Who else? Is Seraphine coming?”  

Akali - “Uh, I’d have to ask her she doesn’t usually come to these things, so...”  

Jinx - “I bet she’s fun drunk”  

Akali - “R-right, yeah I’ll let her know, maybe she can come over”  

Jinx - “Anyone else?”  

Akali - “Oh well, y-yeah! Uhm, I’m just not sure who is coming and who isn’t, they usually let me know a little before work ends...”  

Jinx - “Oh”  

Akali - “But I'll talk to her and see if I can convince her”  

Jinx - “Alright, anyways, I gotta get back to work”  

Akali - “Right! Sorry, got carried away, I’ll leave you to it...”  

Jinx - “No worries, I like talking to you”  

Akali walked off back to her desk, she did the bare minimum but as soon as she noticed Jinx locked in on her drawing again, she stood up and hurried over to the sound room. Jinx made Akali a little nervous when it was just them talking and now she felt like she needed to deliver on her promises, after all she didn’t want to give her a bad first impression on her very first day on the job.  

“Is it really lying if what I said would happen, happens?” She thought to herself.  

Akali - “Hey sera!”  

Seraphine - “OH! You don’t hate me! and I didn’t even give you ramen today, I totally smashed it by accident so I kinda hoped you wouldn’t be mean to me just out of the kindness of your own heart” She laughed.  

Akali - “Haha...” Akali played it off “Listen Sera, I was thinking of throwing a welcoming party at Gragas’s for Jinx, w-”  

Seraphine - “OH MY GOD YES! We-” Akali put her hand on Seraphine’s mouth and covered it.  

Akali - “Shh... it’s a surprise”  

Seraphine - “Ohhhh, well... this place is soundproof anyways but alright, I'll calm down.”  

Akali - “It’s for sure not soundproof enough for you, anyways... its right after work today”  

Seraphine - “Today? Oh I’m sorry, I have plans actually, Sona was going to take m-”  

Akali - “Pleaseeee” She threw her hands together, closing her eyes real tight before looking at Sera once more. “I need your help, please I’m so awkward and terrible at doing this, and you’re so good at it and I need help setting it up, please!”  

Sona - “...”  

Seraphine - “Why not just push it for another day?”  

Akali - “I kinda... already told Jinx it was today?”  

Sona - “...”  

Akali - “I DONT KNOW! I- she looked at me! And I got nervous, I told her we could go out for a drink and she didn’t say anything so I just kept talking and lied and said everyone was coming.”  

Seraphine - “OH! YOU’RE INTO HER!”  

Akali - “SHUT UP!” She covered Sera’s mouth again.  

Sona - “...”  

Akali - “What? So what If I just met her? I’m not like in love or anything I just wanted to ask her out and get to know her, I got fucking nervous cause she took her sweet ass time saying yes or no so I just kept talking” Sera moved back from Akali.  

Seraphine - “So why not just ask her out?”  

Akali - “I TOLD YOU I WAS TRYING TO”  

Sona - “...”  

Akali - “Exactly, I just blanked out"  

Seraphine - “Ohhhh I see. So you somehow went from asking her out for a drink to “hey! we planned a welcoming party for you today after work”?”  

Sona - “...”  

They both started laughing, Sona silently and Sera loud enough for the both of them.  

Akali - “Come on... will you help me or not?”  

Seraphine - “I’m sorry, I really do have plans with Sona! But I can help you set it up! we aren’t really doing much here today.”  

Akali - “Thank you! I’ll make it up to you Sera” Sera smiled at her genuinely.  

Seraphine - “So, what do you want me to do?”  

Akali - “Well first letting Gragas know there's a bunch of us coming, oh god I hope he doesn't have an event planned already...”  

Seraphine - “I can do that! We should get some decorations too!”  

Akali - “Fuck I didn’t think of that...”  

Seraphine - “I’ll ask Gwen about it! You should go invite more people!”  

Akali - “You’re seriously the best, thank you Sera” Akali hugged Seraphine and then ran to the exit.  

She still had things to do, so once she was out of the music room, she hurried over to the elevator next. Akali pressed the button to the second floor and right as she the door opened, she and Ezreal crashed.  

Akali - “Ezreal! Oh thank God I caught you”  

Ezreal - “Oh hey, I didn’t realize you knew my name”  

Akali - “Listen we’re holding a little welcoming party for the new girl today after work, so I’m inviting people and I need you to come.”  

Ezreal - “Me? Why me?”  

Akali - “Just come, Okay? And bring Lux its important she comes too.”  

Ezreal - “I never got a welcoming party”  

Akali - “Okay why are you making this about you?”  

Ezreal - “I’m just saying...”  

Akali - “I’ll owe you one, Okay?” Ezreal thought for a moment, then nodded.  

Ezreal - “Alright... but I don’t know about Lux, you should ask her yourself”  

Akali - “Isn’t she your girlfriend?”  

Ezreal - “Ha! yeah she wishes”  

Akali - “Well whatever just ask her to come, I’m on a time crunch so I don’t have time to do it.”  

Ezreal - “Well... you’ll owe me another favor then” Akali’s eye twitched.  

Akali - “Fine, just be there.”  

Ezreal - “Ha! Well... Can't say no to that!” He winked at her, Akali’s blood was boiling.  

Akali - “At Gragas’s after work, remember that, now go!” She pushed him out of the elevator and pressed the lobby button.  

Ezreal - “Wait I-” He sighed “I was on my way down...” He pressed the button again.  

Akali ran back and forth for about an hour, inviting as many people as she could, before finally getting back to her desk and finishing the rest of her work in a rush. She would more likely than not, have to re-do it tomorrow, but at least now she can give Jinx the welcoming party she promised.  

Vi - “Hey champ, what’s this I’ve been hearing about a welcome party?”  

Akali - “Oh man... I’ve been running for so long inviting people and I forgot about you, I’m sorry.” She sighed “You wanna come?”  

Vi - “Of course I do, she’s my sister.”  

Akali - “Who?”  

Vi - “JInx”  

Akali - “Jinx’s your sister?”  

Vi - “Yeah”  

Akali - “You mean like she’s really close to you? You met her before?”  

Vi - “Like she’s my actual sister, I told you about her once or twice”  

Akali - “The... the one with the shimmer-”  

Vi - “Yeah” She cut her off  

Akali - “Oh...”  

Vi - “I thought you knew”  

Akali - “I didn’t know.”  

Vi - “Is that a problem?”  

Akali - “No! No... I just, I’m surprised I guess, the last time you talked about her to me you were so against reconnecting”  

Vi - “Things changed, she needed help.”  

Akali - “Right... Anyways... yeah you can come obviously.”  

Vi - “After work I heard?”  

Akali - “Yeah, be there or be squared.”  

Vi - “Alright, hey now that I think about it, you never threw me a party when I was hired”  

Akali - “We work in different sections!”  

Vi - “Floor racism?” Akali laughed.  

Akali - “Something like that”  

Vi - “See you in a bit then”  

Akali - “See you around”  

Akali wiped the sweat off her forehead, she sighed and let herself relax for a moment before going back to work, the day still had a little more than an hour after all.  

Jinx - “Hey, you still alive?” Jinx poked Akali a couple times. “Akali?”  

Akali - “Hm?"  

Jinx - “Hey Princess, waiting for a Prince to wake you up?”  

Akali - “Depends on the Prince” Her voice was raspy; she rubbed her eyes and yawned.  

Jinx - “Do you usually fall asleep on your desk?”  

Akali - “It’s my safe space” She joked, she looked out the window and saw it was getting a little dark.“What time is it?” She asked.  

Jinx - “Just over 5”  

Akali - “Did Ashe visit?”  

Jinx - “No, but Taliyah did, she was NOT happy”  

Akali - “Fuck my life”  

Jinx - “So... are we going out or do you have to go beg for your job?”  

Akali - “Yeah... we’re probably late actually... let me put away my things and I’ll meet you at the entrance.”  

Jinx - “I can just wait for you”  

Akali - “That works too” She smiled at her.  

Jinx - “So who else is coming?”  

Akali - “Oh lots of people, I... think”  

Jinx - “You don’t know?”  

Akali - “I don’t know I just told everyone to meet up at Gragas’s”  

Jinx - “Who is that?”  

Akali - “Oh it’s the name of a guy that runs a bar near here, we are actually planning on adding him to the game”  

Jinx - “Are 0 champions original concepts?”  

Akali - “Well... Malphite”  

Jinx - “Oh yeah, I like that dude”  

Akali - “Me too”  

They were a little too unbothered about being late, clearly Jinx didn’t think it was something so special, and Akali didn’t consider it being anything other than a couple of people from work together at the bar.  

About 10 minutes later, after a short walk through town they finally made it to Gragas’s, they were only about 30 minutes late, but it was enough to make both of them feel guilty for taking such a casual walk to the bar.  

As they turned the corner they saw a huge sign, pink and blue hanging from the top of Gragas’s bar that read “WELCOME JINX” pink and blue decorations adorned the entire place, people were talking drinking, there was even a cake with “JINX” written on top.  

Seraphine - “HEY! It’s JINX!”  

Jinx - “I...”  

Akali - “...” Akali was speechless, somewhere in the middle of horrified and guilty.  

Jinx - “I thought it was something casual?” She whispered to Akali, who was still very much speechless, she just looked over at Jinx and smiled awkwardly.  

Sona - “...”  

“I owe a favor to Seraphine... no... more like ten.” Akali thought to herself. Seraphine gave all the credit to Akali, even though Hwei, Gwen and Jhin also helped decorate, Sona even cancelled her plans with Seraphine so they could help.  

Jinx found the party calm and easy to deal with, she was basically meeting up with people she met earlier in the day, but... there were a couple of new faces she hadn’t met just yet.  

Ezreal and Lux sat on the far side of the room, talking to each other, they weren’t too involved in the celebration, but they were there. Gragas himself joined them to cut the cake and welcome Jinx into the Redpunch Family, Pantheon the baker and Leona the cheff also came out to meet everyone, Jinx was surprised about how many people worked there.  

Neeko was talking to another woman Jinx didn’t recognize, Violet and Caitlyn were the furthest thing from subtle about their relationship, and Jinx didn’t really want to see her sister like that so she tried not looking that way.  

Finally at a table next to Violet’s sat two men and a woman Jinx didn’t recognize either, despite Jinx being thankful for the warm welcome, it was exhausting, luckily for her, the people that came thinned out after about two hours.  

Akali - “So... the one on the left is Ezreal and the one on the right is Lux... which one was the fucker?” Akali was tipsy to say the least, but still somehow not as loud as Seraphine sober.  

Jinx - “I mean they’re both blonde and have blue eyes I couldn’t really tell much more than that from the glance I got”  

Akali - “You should definitely go talk to them, no wait... I’ll bring them over” Jinx stopped her as she tried getting up, she looked up at her and smiled.  

Jinx - “Thanks for doing all of this, you really didn’t need to, but I think we should leave now, you’re too drunk”  

Akali - “Oh...” Akali thought for a second, she looked at Jinx’s hand on her arm, it gave her goosebumps. “Okay, let me just go to the bathroom and we can go” She smiled right back at her.  

Jinx - “Okay.” Jinx let go off her hand and started scrolling through her phone.  

The only people left in the bar was Akali and Jinx... and Ezreal and Lux, and as Akali left for the bathroom, those two moved close to Jinx, Jinx acted like she didn’t notice them so they didn’t feel the need to talk to her, but as heard them close in she realized they wanted to talk to her.  

Ezreal - “So... Jinx right?”  

Jinx - “Yup...”  

Ezreal - “Ezreal...” He said awkwardly.  

Lux - “It’s very nice to meet you! I’m Lux! I work in production on the second floor.” She extended a hand to Jinx, Jinx stared at it for a second then reluctantly shook it.  

“Oh” She thought “She’s really soft...” She kept staring at Lux’s hand, a wave of sadness hit Jinx like a truck, she had terrible flashbacks of the worst moments of her life right then and there.  

Lux was taller than Jinx, and somehow her hands were a little smaller than hers, Jinx’s pale skin contrasted against Lux’s warmer tone, she could feet the callouses of her hand scraping against Lux’s soft skin “I bet I grossed her out.” Jinx, despite being shown kindness often now a days, had also come to know cruelty very well, she was still used to disgust being the first reaction people had about her, but as she turned her head back up and she looked into those big blue eyes that stared at her with such care, she shivered.  

Lux - “Are you okay?” Jinx snapped out of it and let go.  

Jinx - “Sorry... you remind me of someone”  

Lux - “No worries” She smiled at her and Jinx had to look away for a second.  

Jinx - “Are you guys siblings or something?”  

Ezreal - “What? No, no, we’r-”  

Lux - “Friends!”  

Ezreal - “Yeah...”  

Jinx - “Ah. You look so much alike”  

Lux - “Yeah...”  

Ezreal - “I don’t see it”  

Jinx - “Hey quick question, did either of you get on the elevator this morning at like 8am?” Lux was still wearing a smile, but it was very faintly fading as Jinx asked her question.  

Ezreal - “Yeah I actually wanted to talk about that; so I got in the elevator and I had my han-”  

Lux - “W-we should go!” Lux jumped up and grabbed Ezreal’s arm gently.  

Ezreal - “Uh what?”  

Lux - “I’m sorry! It was really nice meeting you!” She started pulling on Ezreal’s arm and he followed.  

Ezreal - “Oh I-” Lux covered his mouth and kept hurriedly walking away as she dragged him.  

Jinx was left perplexed and alone, the feeling of Lux’s warm hand lingered on and as she stared at her own hands, Akali came back.  

Akali - “What happened?” She asked as she noticed the two of them running in the distance before finally turning a corner.  

Jinx - “You know I actually have no idea...”  

Akali - “Did they say something?”  

Jinx - “Yeah I asked them about it and the dude was about to confess it was him I think, but then the girl just like stopped him and said they had to go”  

Akali - “Oh wow... that’s so weird coming from her”  

Jinx - “I think they’re fucking”  

Akali - “And what they left to go fuck?”  

Jinx - “Yeah... she couldn’t keep it in her pants”  

Akali - “Yeah that might be it”  

Jinx - “Anyways, I should probably take you home”  

Akali - “Oh? My charming prince saving me again?”  

Jinx - “I mean I'm not letting you get on a cab by yourself like this”  

Akali - “I’m fine, but if you insist” She smiled at Jinx.  

Jinx - “Don’t get any funny ideas”  

Akali - “I didn’t say anything” She wore an even bigger smile. “And we don’t need to get an uber, my house is pretty close”  

Jinx - “Alright, lead the way then.”  

Akali wanted to hold Jinx’s hand with every fiber of her being, but she knew very well she shouldn’t, at first they walked in silence, then they spoke for a bit, Akali asking her questions about her first day, although Jinx just seemed distracted.  

Akali - “This is it Jinx” Jinx snapped out of it once Akali stopped walking.  

Jinx - “Nice place”  

Akali - “It’s even better on the inside, want to come inside?”  

Jinx - “Ha. No Akali, that’s a bad idea”  

Akali - “Hey I’m not implying anything, but I honestly think you should stay over, its dark out and just like you didn’t want to let me go alone, I don’t want to let you go alone either.”  

Jinx - “Yeah... but you’re drunk”  

Akali - “So? I’m not inviting you over so you can tuck me in and I’m not THAT drunk”  

Jinx - “It’s just a bad idea”  

Akali - “Afraid I might pull a Lux and not be able to keep it in my pants?”  

Jinx - “Kinda”  

Akali - “Oh come on, I have an extra room! you won’t even have to stay on a shitty couch or anything”  

Jinx took a deep breath and stared at Akali, Akali was trying her hardest to not look away.  

Jinx - “Fine...”  

Akali - “Yes!” she celebrated with a little shadow boxing which Jinx found cute.  

Jinx - “Don’t make me regret it...”  

Akali - “WHO DO YOU TAKE ME FOR” Jinx laughed. “Jesus I’m not some monster Jinx”  

Jinx - “That’s exactly what a monster would say.” Akali rolled her eyes.  

Akali unlocked the front door with a code, then she signaled for Jinx to be quiet and Jinx followed close behind, after a short silent trip up 2 floors they finally arrived at Akali’s apartment.  

As they stepped inside Jinx noticed how bare bones it was, no decorations, but the place was really clean and smelled nice, that was all Jinx needed to sleep well.  

Akali - “Sorry, this building is like all old people, so I don’t want to get on their bad side by being loud.”  

Jinx - “Nice place”  

Akali - “Oh thank you”  

Jinx - “You prefer like simple style?”  

Akali - “Well... It’s more like I haven’t had the time to decorate yet.”  

Jinx - “Let me know if you need help with that, I gotta pay ya back for that party somehow”  

Akali - “Ha... no don’t worry about that, you don’t owe me anything”  

Jinx - “I feel bad, I wish you would have told me it was like a full on party, what would you have done If I said no?”  

Akali - “Cry”  

Jinx - “At least you’re honest” She stretched out and yawned. “Anyways, where’s this supposed extra room you have for me?”  

Akali - “Oh, you can stay in my room.”  

Jinx - “You’re way too drunk for that.”  

Akali - “What? ...no! I didn’t mean like that! My bed has nice bedsheets and the guest bed has like thin ugly bedsheets and no cover and its full of boxes, so I’ll stay there and you can stay in my room”  

Jinx - “Oh, I see, I was getting worried you wanted me like that after one day”  

Akali - “N-no...”  

Jinx - “Maybe If you bought me a drink first”  

Akali - “Oh shut up”  

Jinx - “Anyways I should go to bed, I’m super tired”  

Akali - “Right! Here follow me.”  

Akali opened the door to her room, she took out a few things to bathe and clean herself up then stepped out for Jinx to sleep.  

Akali - “So there’s a couple towels in the bathroom you can use, just take a dry one, I don’t have a toothbrush for you, I’m sorry.”  

Jinx - “Thanks for everything today Kali” Akali gave her a big smile and nodded.  

Akali - “Of course! Do you want me to wake you up in the morning or no?”  

Jinx - “Uh... yeah probably, I’m a heavy sleeper though, you might have to shake me a little”  

Akali - “Oh sure, no problem, what time?”  

Jinx - “Like 7 or so”  

Akali - “Okay! Hey are you allergic to anything?”  

Jinx - “Not that I know of, why?”  

Akali - “For breakfast tomorrow, is like just sunny side up eggs alright? With bacon and all that or do you prefer like maybe pancakes or...”  

Jinx - “I’m not a picky eater, don’t worry, anything you make will be good, don’t think about it too hard.”  

Akali - “Alright”  

Jinx - “Thank you”  

Akali - “Of course”  

Jinx - “Good night”  

Akali - “Good night!”  

Jinx text took off her shorts, her hoodie and her shirt, climbed onto Akali’s surprisingly soft bed and stared at her phone for a moment. She had a grin on her face as she started texting her sister.  

(Jinx – Violet Text Chat)  

Jinx: Yo  

Jinx: Yoooooo  

Jinx: Violet  

Jinx: Sister  

Jinx: Sis  

Jinx: Vi  

Jinx: VIOLET  

Jinx: VIOLET WAKE UP  

Jinx: VIOLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET  

Jinx: VIOLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET  

Jinx: VIOLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET  

Jinx: VIOLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET  

Vi: What?  

Vi: Are you okay?  

Jinx: Heya  

Vi: Do you need anything?  

Vi: Where are you?  

Vi: Do you need help?  

Jinx: Guess where I am  

Vi: ARE YOU OKAY JINX?”  

Jinx: Yeah yeah I’m fine  

Jinx: Guess where I aaaam  

Vi: I have work tomorrow Jinx if its not important I have to go to sleep

Jinx: I told you if it was ever something serious I would say “I need help”  

Vi: Yeah that doesn’t make the fact that you’re worrying me over nothing less true

Vi: It’s not funny  

Jinx: Huh...  

Jinx: I was just going to  

Jinx: Ugh whatever  

Vi: We can talk tomorrow if you wanna tell me things  

Jinx: I used to be able to tell you things anytime before  

Vi: Why do you think that’s not so easy for me anymore?  

Jinx: Fuck you then  

Vi: Oh come on  

Vi: You understand what you’ve done right?  

Vi: I am here for you if its important, but if its not then I’m just very worried when you text me, it gives me flashbacks and I’m sure you can understand that  

Vi: We can talk tomorrow  

Vi: Jinx?  

Vi: Good night Jinx  

Vi: I love you  

Jinx: I love you too  

They had an agreement that they would always say it back, no matter how angry they got, an agreement Jinx was not crazy about. She was tired of everything with Vi turning into a lecture, sure she had fucked up in the past, but weren’t they still sisters? Jinx felt like her relationship with Vi turned from sisters to newly adopted child and parent, it was frustrating, she would have to apologize tomorrow despite only wanting to have a little fun with her sister. But she sighed, took one deep long breath and closed her eyes, that’s tomorrows Jinx’s problem anyways.  

Chapter Text

Lux took a step, then another, then another “w hy, why, why?”  she stared at her feet as she walked over the cracks of the sidewalk and jumped over the small puddles that had formed after the rain. Lux was drenched but it didn’t matter to her, nothing mattered.  

Ezreal - “Lux!”  

She had to get home, Lux jumped over another puddle, there in the reflection of the small body of water she caught a glimpse of herself, a glimpse of something she didn’t want to see, so she looked away.  

Ezreal - “Lux wait!”  

“Maybe I should call Garen” she thought “No, I would just worry him” she reconsidered. Lux looked up at the sky, days like these calmed her, the rain was something she didn’t often see back in her home, and knowing she was far away from that place was a relief.  

She had been hurriedly walking home nonstop for the past 10 minutes, completely forgetting the young man who still followed behind.  

Ezreal - “Lux!” He said once he finally caught up to her as Lux stopped to stare at the sky.  

Lux - “I’m sorry Ezreal, I had to get out of there”  

Ezreal - “What happened?”  

Lux - “I think I had a panic attack”  

Ezreal - “Oh.”  

Lux - “I’m sorry I made you wait all that time for that; I owe you one”  

Ezreal - “Are you okay?”  

Lux - “I’m fine, thank you, I’ll see you tomorrow” she said a little coldly, to be frank, she did not feel like talking about it.  

Ezreal - “Wait, are you sure? It’s getting late, I can drive you home”  

Lux - “No, it’s fine, thank you Ezreal”  

Ezreal was hesitant, he stood next to her, not saying anything, he turned to look up at the sky just like she did, then finally broke the silence.  

Ezreal - “You know... you told me it was nothing serious”  

Lux - “I know.”  

Ezreal - “I’m just worrie-”  

Lux - “I know”  

Silence again, the light turned, and they crossed the street, Ezreal didn’t push Lux further, but he walked next to her. This time Lux broke the silence.  

Lux - “I can’t get into it okay? It’s just not easy to talk about, but the basic-”  

Ezreal - “You don’t need to tell me if you’re not comfortable”  

This was exactly what Lux wanted to hear; she felt a weight come off her shoulders and she took a deep breath, then again silence as they walked.  

Lux - “Thank you”  

She turned to look at Ezreal, Ezreal was already looking at her, she smiled a small smile his way and he returned it.  

It was a silent walk the rest of the way to her place, she had said no to him walking her home but since he was silent and seemed to be okay with it, she couldn’t complain about a little extra safety.  

Lux - “This is it”  

Ezreal - “Okay, see you tomorrow, Lux”  

Lux - “Thank you Ezreal” Ezreal nodded, a faint smile on his face as he did so.  

Finally, she was home, she got on the elevator and leaned back on one of the walls after pressing the button to the floor her apartment was in.  

Lux - “Get it together...”  

She walked, silent through the long hallway, and once inside her home, she locked her door, kicked off her shoes and laid down on the floor.  

(Lux – Kayle – Leona Text Chat)  

Lux: It happened again.  

Leona: WHAT?  

Leona: You looked fine at the party!  

Lux: I don’t know... I just had that feeling again  

Kayle: Was it the new girl again?  

Lux: Yeah, but she didn’t do anything wrong  

Kayle: Then what is it?  

Lux: I don’t know  

Leona: Do you want me to come over?  

Lux: No no  

Lux: I’m fine now, I just thought I’d let you guys know, I might not be able to keep the job if it keeps happening.  

Kayle: :(   

Leona: We’ll support you with whatever you choose  

Kayle: We will  

Lux: Thanks girls, I should get some sleep.  

Lux: Good night.  

Leona: Gn  

Kayle: Good night  

(Kayle – Leona Text Chat)  

Kayle: It’s definitely the new girl.  

Leona: Why do you think so?  

Kayle: When I saw Lux in the morning, she said hi to me and walked over to the Elevator, then I heard Jinx scream out to hold the elevator, and it was right after that, that she texted us saying the feeling came back.  

Leona: Coincidence?  

Kayle: Yeah, I didn’t give it much thought, but then the same thing happened, when she texted us, she was going to apologize for locking her out of the elevator in the morning, she went silent for a while, and now she said it happened again.  

Leona: It could still be a coincidence  

Kayle: I’m just worried  

Leona: The new girl seemed fine to me, she was nice  

Kayle: I’m not saying otherwise  

Kayle: I just think maybe its related to her somehow?  

Leona: Well.  

Leona: I guess we’ll see, we can’t really do anything  

Kayle: This sucks  

Kayle: She was fine finally, and then it just comes back for no reason? I just know it had to do with Jinx, she reminds her of Demacia somehow  

Leona: Maybe, like I said, we’ll have to wait and see  

Kayle: Can’t you give me some encouraging words or something you colossal tool?  

Leona: Want me to come over and cuddle? (:  

Kayle: You’re nasty  

Tuesday  

Akali walked to her room, she gently opened the door and walked inside. If she drank a little more and had no recollection of the previous night, she might have believed a contortionist from a local circus broke into her house and slept on her bed, but no, it was just Jinx, legs crossed to the side, face up, one arm against her forehead the other dripping down the bed like she was melting. Akali couldn’t help but laugh.  

Akali - “Adorable”  

No response of course, Jinx did warn she was a heavy sleeper. Akali walked closer, careful not to make noise anyways.  

Akali - “Hey... Breakfast is ready”  

Again, no response. Akali stared at her for a moment or two, she had to admit she didn’t really want to wake her up, if she could she’d just keep staring, despite Jinx's twisted way of sleeping, Akali found some strange comfort while she stared.  

Akali - “Jinx!” She said loudly, gently shaking her. Normally it wouldn’t be enough to wake her, but this time it was.  

Jinx - “Shit... what time is it?”  

Akali - “6:99”  

Jinx - “What the fuck kinda clock do you pilties have?”  

Akali - “I’m not from piltover you know?”  

Jinx - “You’re not?”  

Akali - “Do I look like one?”  

Jinx - “I guess you’re lacking the golden ornaments and the smug “I’m better than you” grin”  

Akali - “Jeez”  

Jinx - “Sorry, old habits die hard”  

Akali - “Did you use to hate on pilties?”  

Jinx - “Long story, anyways... are you saying its 7?”  

Akali - “Yuh”  

Jinx - “Alright... lemme wash my face”  

Akali - “Don’t take long, food will get cold”  

Jinx stretched, she yawned, and she stood, walking over to wash her face and then over to Akali’s table, she plopped on the chair next to her and started digging.  

Akali - “A woman after my own heart, food first questions later” Jinx nodded. Akali chuckled and started eating too.  

Jinx - “It’s good, thank you” She said once she finally finished.  

Akali - “No problem, I like having company” She was still finishing up her meal, but she followed up “I thought a demon possessed you or something when I walked in my room to wake you”  

Jinx - “Was I twisted up?”  

Akali - “You looked like a blob of arms and legs” She replied with a smirk.  

Jinx - “That’s not a nice way to refer to a lady”  

Akali - “Hey when I’m being nice you just think I want to fuck you”  

Jinx - “Don’t you?”  

Akali was taking the last bite of her meal, but now she was choking on it, she coughed and with a closed fist, she hit her own chest.  

Jinx - “Wow.”  

Akali - “Sh-” Cough “Shut up” Cough.  

Jinx - “You’re blushing”  

Akali - “I’m not.”  

Jinx - “You didn’t even answer the question”  

Akali - “You’re a really mean person when you’re not at work”  

Jinx - “Change the subject all you want. Now I know your true intentions”  

Akali - “Oh stop it” She stood up and started cleaning “If you want to shower the left knob is the hot water, and you can use any towel you want”  

Jinx - “Mhm...” She laughed “Hopefully the lock works...”  

Akali groaned, she was blushing, but she didn’t let Jinx see, she walked over to do the dishes without another word. Jinx stared at her and laughed again, before standing up and walking over to the bathroom.  

Akali - “Oh shit!” She said in a panic, she ran towards the bathroom and knocked on the door.  

Jinx - “Wanna join me already?” She said as she opened the door, still dressed.  

Akali - “Uh- wh- I-”  

Jinx - “Relax, jesus, do you get this way around every woman you see or am I just that hot?”  

Akali - “You just... you’re hard to read” Jinx laughed. “Listen... I promised one of the guys at work to have this one model ready for today and I kinda didn’t do it... I gotta rush to work and finish that, would you mind If I gave you the keys and left for work?”  

Jinx - “Hey, I wouldn’t want you to get fired now that we’re so close”  

Akali - “Oh my god bro” Jinx laughed.  

Jinx - “I’m just playin, yeah I won’t go through your things pinky promise, you can leave”  

Akali - “Now I think you’re the weirdo”  

Jinx - “That’s fair, stop wasting time though, I’ll see you at work”  

Akali - “Right! Thanks, see you”  

Jinx closed the door again, Akali sighed with relief, Jinx played a little too much with her mental, but she couldn’t complain, it felt good to get that kind of attention. Akali left for work, Jinx took a shower and Lux... well, she had some messages waiting for her.  

(Lux – Kayle – Leona Text Chat)  

Kayle: Wouldn’t getting a therapist be cheaper and better long term than just giving up on your super well-paid job?  

Leona: Hello, good morning to you too Kayle  

Kayle: Good morning.  

Lux: Uh... I’ve tried Kayle.  

Kayle: Yeah, demacian therapists  

Kayle: What did they say? Salute the flag and abuse some minorities?  

Leona: LMAO  

Lux: I hate that you’re almost right.  

Kayle: Come on, I know a good one, I’ll refer you to her and you get one free sesh  

Leona: One free sheesh  

Kayle: Shut the fuck up  

Leona: Chat gpt has Kayle ever smiled ever in her life?  

Kayle: Chat gpt is gonna replace you in three months  

Leona: As long as that bitch works for me idc  

Lux: I guess it can’t hurt.  

Leona: To get replaced by a souless robot?  

Lux: No, the therapist thing.  

Kayle: YES  

Kayle: You won’t regret it  

Lux: Gotta go, getting ready.  

Lux was ready, she had been for some time, but she laid on her bed looking up at the ceiling, resting her head for a moment. She thought about the day before, about the strangeness of the feeling, about how unnervingly familiar it felt.  

Jinx laid on her back, she scrolled through her phone, bored “Maybe I should just go to work early?” She thought to herself, but the softness of Akali’s bed was intoxicating, she dropped her phone on the nightstand next to it and buried her face between the pillows.  

There she remembered the woman she met the day before, her mind wandered, the feeling of her hands still lingered on her own, she wondered why she freaked out and left, that was the usual response she was used to, before turning her life for the better, and although she still expected people to react that way when meeting her, something was different about her reaction, she couldn’t put her finger on it.  

A notification interrupted her wandering mind.  

“You’ve been added to a group chat”  

She stared for a moment then unlocked her phone.  

(Sivir – Taliyah – Jinx Text Chat)  

Sivir: Da boys are back in town  

Taliyah: I TOLD YOU I WOULD MAKE IT  

Sivir: Shut up I don’t want you to be the admin  

Taliyah: Ugh  

Sivir: Jinx  

Sivir: Jinx  

Sivir: Jinx  

Sivir: Jinx  

Jinx: Sivir  

Sivir: Jinx  

Jinx: Sivir  

Sivir: Jinx  

Jinx: Sivir  

Sivir: Jinx  

Jinx: Sivir  

Sivir: Jinx  

Taliyah: YOU’RE GETTING MUTED  

Jinx: Taliyah  

Sivir: Taliyah  

Jinx: Taliyah  

Sivir: Taliyah  

Taliyah: Oh my god  

Sivir: Hey Jinx  

Sivir: Which of the baddies at your place do you want the most rn?  

Jinx: Akali right now  

Sivir: I knew youd say her  

Jinx: Although the blondie is a very close second  

Sivir: Who’s that?  

Jinx: Oh now I have someone to talk about this with  

Jinx: First day working at redpunch  

Jinx: I gave T a little visit, she hated me you know her  

Sivir: right right  

Sivir: Normal so far  

Taliyah: You two suck  

Jinx: You swallow  

Sivir: You swallow  

Jinx: Ayyyy  

Sivir: Oh man I missed you Jinx  

Jinx: I never left man  

Jinx: Anyways so I ran to the elevator after I visited T  

Jinx: And there was someone at the elevator, so I yelled out to hold it for me and then they just fucking didn’t and left  

Jinx: I caught a glimpse of them as the doors closed and it was someone with blue eyes and blonde hair  

Jinx: Then when Akali threw me a welcome party there were two of them  

Sivir: You had a party and didn’t invite me?  

Jinx: It was a coworker thing you wouldn’t get it  

Sivir: :(   

Jinx: Wait we should hire Sivir, she’s a nice place to rest the eyes  

Sivir: :)  

Jinx: So then, the party happened and hours passed and they didnt come talk to me until me and Akali were leaving  

Jinx: Akali went peepee right before we left, and right then those two came over to talk to me  

Jinx: Then I asked them about the elvator thing and the dude seemed to be about to confess and then the girl said they had to leave, before he could finish  

Sivir: Okay?  

Jinx: Don’t you think that’s weird?  

Sivir: Well yeah but who cares  

Sivir: It’s just an elevator ride  

Jinx: What if I was late because of her  

Taliyah: Do you really think being late 2 minutes is worth making an enemy?  

Jinx: Hey I’m not saying I’m holding a grudge or something  

Jinx: I just think its weird  

Jinx: Like  

Jinx: I agree its just a dumb elevator ride, like in the moment it was annoying, but I’m over it  

Jinx: But they aren’t  

Jinx: You know what I mean?  

Sivir: Mmm...  

Sivir: I guess I can see it  

Taliyah: Maybe a little, but who cares, don’t make enemies dude, I don’t want any problems  

Jinx: Can you have a little trust in me?  

Taliyah: Can I?  

Jinx: Ouch  

Sivir: I can!  

Jinx: Thanks Siv, this is why you’re my one true friend  

Taliyah: WHO GOT YOU THIS JOB?  

Jinx: Violet  

Taliyah: Fuck off  

Taliyah: I SUGGESTED IT  

Jinx: Oh well thanks bro, I owe you my life now, I’ll never be able to repay you, all migthy Taliyah  

Taliyah: THATS NOT WHAT IM SAYING  

Sivir: Why don’t you just talk to the them? Maybe they want a threesome with you  

Jinx: You know what that could be it  

Taliyah: You can’t date coworkers I told you  

Jinx: You all keep saying that but then your boss is married to your other boss  

Taliyah: That’s different they were married before the company even started  

Jinx: Okay what about Violet and Caitlyn  

Taliyah: THEY’RE DATING??  

Jinx: Uhhh  

Jinx: No  

Taliyah: This job sucks  

Sivir: Fuck you  

Sivir: You make 10 times what I make and work like 10 hours less a week  

Taliyah: You guys missinterpret everything I say  

Jinx: So you’re saying we’re stupid  

Taliyah: AHHHHHHHHHHHH  

Sivir: She didn’t say no  

Taliyah: Jinx, have a civil conversation with Lux and Ezreal  

Taliyah: Sivir, I told you to apply for a job as assistant for Ashe, she’s looking for one.  

Taliyah: Fuck you both  

Jinx: She really needs to get laid bro  

Sivir: No kidding  

Jinx smiled as she stared at the messages, she missed having friends, she missed a soft bed and people to care for her. She looked at the clock on the phone marking 7:35, it was time to go.  

Jinx rest her head for a second, the smell on Akali’s pillows lingered, she stood up and took one last look at her room, despite the rest of her home being minimalist at best, her room was the complete opposite, Jinx liked it.  

She walked out of the apartment, locking the door behind her, then started her walk to work. Once she was there, she greeted Kayle and Morgana with a wave, considered going to Taliyah’s office, but decided not to bother her and then finally made her way to the elevator, she pressed the button to her floor and right then heard a voice.  

Lux - “WAIT! HOLD IT!”  

Jinx considered closing it as she saw the blond strands of hair running her way, but decided not to, she pressed the button to open the doors again and stared at the panicked woman stepping into the elevator.  

Lux - “Oh, thank you” she said, with a nervous smile on her face once she realized who it was.  

Jinx - “No problem” she replied, smiling with confidence.  

Complete silence for a brief moment before Jinx spoke again.  

Jinx - “So... Lux right?”  

Lux - “Yeah”  

Jinx - “Hey do you remember yesterday your boyfriend was about to talk to me about the elevator?” Lux shivered, she expected to talk to Jinx about it, just, not so soon.  

Lux - “He’s not my boyfriend”  

Jinx - “Right sorry, your friend was talking to me about the elevator and stuff”  

Lux - “I remember...”  

Jinx - “I just want to know, did I do something to you?”  

Lux - “What? No” She said, genuinely confused.  

Jinx - “I just think you might not like me too much? And well, I promised my sister not to make any enemies here, so I guess I kinda wanna get that out of the way?”  

Lux - “I don’t- I’m not-”  

Jinx - “Maybe I just like rubbed you the wrong way somehow at the party on Monday? I thought about it and maybe it was like accusatory when I asked that thing about the elevator? I didn’t mean to, I mean I did mean to like, find out why, but like, I thought about it, and it doesn’t really matter”  

Lux - “...”  

Jinx - “I guess I’ve been thinking about being lucky about getting this job, and I don’t want to make enemies with anyone, even if my sister didnt warn me about it, I really want to make things up”  

Lux - “I- I’m not angry at you, I’m just... awkward.”  

Jinx - “Oh really? So you don’t hate me?”  

Lux - “I don’t”  

Jinx - “Sick, we’re good then?”  

Lux - “Yeah...”  

Jinx - “That’s great, jesus It had me a little stressed out not gonna lie” Lux laughed lightly.  

Lux - “I’m sorry about the elevator thing, it was me, I just... had a bad day and was not feeling right mentally I guess? I don’t even know, I’m just sorry”  

Jinx - “Oh I thought it was your boy that did it”  

Lux - “He was going to blame himself but I stopped him, It was me”  

Jinx - “Hey, no worries I tend to give that kind of impression to people when they first see me, no hard feelings”  

Lux - “No I- You didn’t- It wasn’t your fault!”  

Jinx - “Really its fine”  

Lux - “It- “  

Jinx - “This is me, see you around then Lux”  

Jinx walked forwards but then felt the lightest tug on her arm, she turned to look and Lux stared at her, she saw her blue eyes clearly, her skin glowed supernaturally, something about the way she looked was heavenly, maybe everything about her.  

Lux - “Can we... can we talk in private?”  

She said nervously, she was shaking a little, her hands lightly holding unto Jinx’s green hoodie, she looked away, and Jinx, shivered. She had a strange feeling buried under her clothes, a lump in her throat, words that wouldn’t come out even to her own subconscious.  

Jinx - “Uh- yeah I guess, right now?”  

Lux - “After work... if you prefer”  

Jinx - “Okay...” She turned to look at her “Just... uh- come by my desk when you’re done today” Lux looked away, she let go of Jinx’s hoodie, she couldn’t put her finger on the feeling, it was not something entirely new, there were hints of memories long gone in the way her voice sounded, the smell of her skin, something.  

Lux - “I- yeah... I’ll stop by”  

Jinx stared, the blonde hair covered the woman’s face, but a couple of spots of pink skin still showed, enough for Jinx to gaze at, enough to keep her staring.  

The doors of the elevator closed, Lux sighed with relief and breathed out, that took way more effort than it should have.  

(Lux – Kayle – Leona Text Chat)  

Lux: HOLY MOLY I DID IT  

Lux: I TALKED TO HER  

Kayle: Are you still on the elevator? I saw you pass by right after Jinx I was about to leave my desk  

Lux: omg I actually did it  

Kayle: What did you say?  

Kayle: What did she say?  

Lux: She asked me if she did something to me, she said she didn’t want to make any enemies and would like to make things right.  

Kayle: Oh  

Kayle: That’s nice of her  

Leona: Never judge a book by its cover  

Leona: AND GOOD JOB LUX IM PROUD OF YOU  

Kayle: What did you say to her then?  

Lux: I told her I didn have anything agaist her, I’m just awkward  

Lux: And she seemed alright with that response  

Lux: But  

Lux: IDK SOMETHING MADE ME GRAB HER AS SHE WAS LEAVING AND I ASKED HER TO TALK IN PRIVATE LATER WHY DID I DO THAT  

Lux: WHAT DO I DO NOW  

Kayle: OH!  

Leona: ???  

Kayle: Why?  

Kayle: Did you want to talk about that feeling with her?  

Lux: I guess???  

Lux: IDK  

Leona: Free exposure therapy  

Kayle: Yeah, no kidding  

Leona: This is what we wanted though no? You need a girlfriend asap  

Lux: Shut up, I’m actually nervous, I don’t know what to say to her  

Lux: “Hey you make me feel weird sorry about that”  

Lux: She’s gonna think I’m a freak  

Lux: How do I explain it to her?  

Leona: “Yerrrrr so hot can I have ur number?”  

Kayle: Why did we let Leona into this group?  

Leona: You needed a third friend that knew what fun was  

Kayle: Yeah, so why did we let Leona into this group?  

Leona: I’m gonna stick my spatula up your bumhole  

Lux: FOCUS I NEED HELP  

Kayle: Relax, theres nothing weird going on, you’ll be completely fine  

Kayle: Just let her know that you have some unresolved trauma and she just reminds you of it, don’t specify how  

Kayle: You haven’t figured it out yet right?  

Lux: Right  

Kayle: That’s it  

Kayle: Tell her you’re working on it  

Kayle: I mean realistically you didn’t really need to talk to her about it, I think you should have just let her be happy with your response and then move on  

Kayle: its probably good to embrace the issue and try to fix it but you also don’t need to throw yourself at it, you know?  

Lux: She was blaming herself!  

Lux: I felt terrible  

Leona: How did all this spawn from you not holding the door for someone  

Kayle: Shut up Leona  

Leona: Hater  

Lux: I don’t know what is going on with her, but she’s new here! She probably felt bad about making a bad impression on me, she told me a little about herself and from what I gathered  

Lux: Well  

Lux: She just seemed down on herself, I don’t want to contribute to that  

Kayle: Okay Lux  

Kayle: Whatever  

Kayle: As long as you remember you’re trying to heal whatever thing about demacia still lingers in you  

Kayle: You’re not there for her  

Lux: Can’t I be both?  

Leona: You can, but your priority should definitely be yourself  

Lux: Right..  

Kayle: Leona said something not completely dumb we should celebrate  

Leona: Yeah lets set redpunch lobby on fire  

Kayle: Ah it was shortlived but I loved every second of it, I’ll always miss you smart Leona  

Jinx sat on her desk, Hwei was already working silently on something and Jhin wasn’t around, the sharp sounds of Gwen’s scissors were the only things at the moment that Jinx could hear, not even Akali was there.  

Jinx set her things up, stretched and started working, before long, lunch time came and she turned to her phone.  

(Jinx – Taliyah – Sivir Text Chat)  

Jinx: So  

Jinx: Ran into Lux at the elevator in the morning  

Jinx: We fucked but don’t tell anyone  

Tailyah: That’s not funny  

Jinx: You’re not funny  

Sivir: Gottem  

Jinx: No but we talked it out  

Jinx: She said she didn’t mean to do it, she’s just awkward  

Taliyah: See? Communication works  

Jinx: Then she told me she wanted to talk to me in private  

Sivir: OH?  

Taliyah: Jinx.  

Taliyah: I’m not fucking kidding about not dating people  

Jinx: SHE ASKED ME NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND  

Taliyah: Well... I guess that’s true  

Jinx: And its not like that bro, she just wants to set things straight I think  

Sivir: What?  

Sivir: Come on  

Sivir: You’re not that gullible  

Sivir: She def wants to fuck  

Jinx: You don’t even know her  

Taliyah: Yeah, Lux is not like that  

Sivir: First of all Taliyah, you wouldn’t know if someone is flirting with you if the guy was begging on his knees to date you  

Sivir: And second, Jinx, bro come on, pretty girl you don’t know asks to speak to you privately?  

Sivir: Was she all nervous and shit?  

Jinx: Well... now that you mention it...  

Taliyah: She’s as straight as they come, there’s no way  

Sivir: How do you know?  

Taliyah: Well, I don’t see her much, but more often than not, Ezreal is next to her.  

Taliyah: I bet they’re breaking the goddamn rules  

Jinx: Man who cares if people date  

Jinx: World’s fucked enough for you to tell people who they can like  

Sivir: Honestly yeah, kind of a dumb rule tbh  

Sivir: They’re gonna do it anyways  

Taliyah: It’s in my manual, they always taught us that  

Jinx: Probably so people don’t get attached to each other and everyone is in it for themselves only  

Sivir: Sounds about right  

Taliyah: Oh please  

Jinx: ANYWAYS  

Jinx: I’m meeting with her after work, I’ll let you guys know whats up  

Sivir: Sick  

Jinx ate lunch, worked and before she knew it was just looping around her tiny office with her chair, Jhin and almost everyone else had already left, but not Akali, she knocked on one of the walls of Jinx’s office and stepped inside.  

Akali - “Yoo”  

Jinx - “Jesus, where were you all day?”  

Akali - “Had to work with that dude hand in hand basically, he didn’t really like my rushed model, and to be fair it was shit”  

Jinx - “You done now?”  

Akali - “Yup, sorry I kept you waiting here”  

Jinx - “Hm? What do you mean?”  

Akali - “For... my keys?”  

Jinx - “Oh! Right"  

Akali - “Did you forget?” She said with a chuckle  

Jinx - “Yup, honestly you’re lucky you caught me, I completely forgot”  

Akali - “Well at least now I know you don’t think about me all day” Jinx smiled at her.  

Jinx - “You wish I did don’t you?”  

Akali - “Hey it feels nice to have some sort of impact on your friends”  

Jinx - “Right...”  

Akali - “Anyways, if you didn’t stay for me were you just hanging out here? We can go watch a movie or something if you’re free”  

Jinx - “Oh, Lux wanted to talk to me after work, I think she feels bad about leaving the party yesterday”  

Akali - “Huh, yeah that was weird”  

Jinx - “Idk how long I’ll take though, but you can have my number and I’ll let you know”  

Akali - “Oh? So you’re saying you want me to text you?” Jinx raised an eyebrow at her and stared intensely, Akali went from a confident smile to a nervous smirk very quickly, she avoided Jinx’s gaze and instead stared at her phone once she pulled it out “So... what’s your number?” Jinx laughed.  

Jinx - “5594444469” Akali tapped on her screen, then texted Jinx.  

Akali - “You got my text?” She said, still looking at her screen.  

Jinx - “Yup”  

Akali - “Cool... I’ll see you around then...”  

Jinx - “See ya”  

Jinx noticed Akali’s weird attitude, but she didn’t say anything, then she heard Akali’s voice again.  

Akali - “Hey Lux, I don’t get to see you often, everyone already left if you were looking for Seraphine”  

Lux - “Oh, did Jinx leave too?”  

Akali - “Oh... no she’s in her and Hwei’s office”  

Lux - “Okay, thank you”  

Akali - “Yuh yuh”  

Jinx stared at the wall where Lux would peek her head, she raised an eyebrow at her and Lux smiled at her. Just like that she felt another wave of sadness come over her, a familiar dread that she couldn’t place, regardless she smiled back at her.  

Lux - “Hey, sorry for being late”  

Jinx - “No worries Lux, so what did ya wanna talk about?”  

Lux - “Well, do you mind if we go walking? It’s... a little personal and probably a little heavy I guess, and walking helps me talk myself through it”  

It was strange no doubt, any other person that asked that from Jinx would have probably gotten a rather rude or cold response, she had enough problems herself to be on the receiving end of trauma dumping, but not her, the thought didn’t even cross her mind.  

Jinx - “Sure”  

Lux - “Great! Okay well, I know a spot, a nice park not far from here”  

Jinx - “Lead the way”  

Jinx stood up, she put her hands on her pockets and walked behind Lux as they walked towards the elevator.  

The trip down was silent, but not awkward, at least Jinx didn’t think so, she didn’t have anything to say, and Lux seemed to be deep in thought, once they finally got to the lobby, they passed by the front desk.  

Kayle - “Lux! Leaving already?” She looked at Lux and took a small glance at Jinx, a smile on her face that Jinx couldn’t tell was fake.  

Morgana - “What do you mean already, everyone left like 30 minutes ago” Kayle ignored her, but Lux didn’t.  

Lux - “Hi morgana, how are you?”  

Morgana - “Oh you know, dealing with her drains me”  

Lux - “I get it”  

Kayle - “Last time I’m nice to you”  

Lux - “Hey come on, you know I love you”  

Kayle - “Bye now”  

Lux - “Say it back”  

Kayle sat back down on her desk without looking back at either her sister or her friend in front of her, she put her headphones on and sat back down.  

Kayle - “Love you” Lux laughed.  

Lux - “See you tomorrow morgana”  

Morgana - “See you Luxanna”  

Once more they walked, Jinx to the side of Lux this time, she turned to look back and caught Kayle looking at them, but she of course didn’t think anything of it, then finally she broke the silence.  

Jinx - “Is your full name Luxanna?”  

Lux - “Yeah”  

Jinx - “Hm... I’ve never heard a name like that before, where’s it from?”  

Lux - “It’s from Demacia”  

Jinx - “You’re from Demacia?”  

Lux - “Yeah...”  

Silence for a moment, Lux knew that silence very well, it was usual for people to be speechless for a moment after she revealed that was where she came from.  

Jinx - “You managed to escape”  

Lux - “Uh- yeah”  

Jinx - “Oh I see, that’s why it kinda freaked you out when I reminded you of that place”  

Lux - “Yes, its not something I like remembering”  

Jinx - “Well, what about me reminds you of that place?”  

Silence again, she was thinking  

Lux - “I don’t know, and honestly thinking about it makes me really anxious”  

Jinx - “So what's the plan then? Avoid me?”  

Lux - “I didn’t say that... I need to figure it out”  

Jinx - “So lets figure it out” Jinx didn't know what compelled her to say this next thing, it just came out “I would like to get to know you better”  

Lux froze still, the feeling deep in her stomach returned, a flock of birds flying followed by the gnawing feeling that something is wrong, like watching the waves return to sea, knowing that a great wave would follow.  

Lux - “There it is... I don’t know why but, that made me feel it again”  

Jinx - “That I would like to know you better?”  

Lux - “Yeah... I have to go, I’m sorry”  

Lux ran, she ran until she couldn’t hear anything, her tears running down her cheeks as she ran, Jinx didn’t do anything to her, she was nice, she even wanted to make things right, to make sure she didn’t feel that way because of her, so why then could she not stop the feeling? Why couldn’t she control it?  

Jinx - “Shit”  

Jinx watched her run, she didn’t know what to do, to chase her? But she’s the monster she wants to run away from, so how would that help? And then, there it was again, a wave of sadness, crashing deep into her mind like a speeding truck, overwhelming, horrid and lonely, she held back the tears that formed.  

Jinx - “This is fucking stupid, I don’t know her, I don’t know her at all, why am I crying?”  

She spoke to herself, walking quickly back to the office, then running back to her place.  

Lux finally arrived home, her makeup was ruined, her shoes and pants dirty from running over puddles and through the park, she took off her sweater, her shoes and her pants, then walked to her bed and laid on it.  

She stared at the ceiling, it was still bright outside, but her curtains were closed, there were small stars on the ceiling, the kind you had as a kid to help you with your fear of the dark, they glowed ever so slightly, and Lux stared at them.  

Bzzt- Bzzt-  

(Lux – Kayle – Leona Text Chat)  

Kayle: How’d it go?  

Leona: Yeah dude, give us something  

Lux: It went great!  

Lux: We talked it out and we’re cool now.  

Kayle: What did you tell her?  

Lux: Oh just that she made me feel weird but it was my fault not hers  

Kayle: Right  

Kayle: And what did she say?  

Lux: She said it was fine, and then we just got to know each other a little  

Lux: But yeah its cool, we’re good now.  

Leona: That’s good  

Leona: Well, we’re very proud of you  

Kayle: Yeah  

Lux: Thanks girls, I’m gonna take a shower and then go to bed early, good night!  

Kayle: Goodnight  

Leona: Gn Lux  

(Leona – Kayle Text Chat)  

Leona: She’s lying for sure  

Kayle: Yeah  

Leona: What the fuck happened?  

Kayle: I don’t know  

Kayle: She’ll crack, you know how she is  

Leona: Pressure her on the therapist thing  

Kayle: I will  

Jinx was finally home, it was cold and all she wanted was to sleep. But she got a call from her sister, and there was a single rule she had to follow to live alone, always answer her phone.  

Jinx - “Yeeellow”  

Vi - “Hey sis, watcha doin?”  

Jinx - “Oh just got home, long day, so I’ll probably have some food and lay down early”  

Vi - “Really? You? Sleeping early?”  

Jinx - “I don’t get up early for work otherwise”  

Vi - “Alright Pow Pow, just wanted to check on ya”  

Jinx - “I’m good sis, thanks”  

Vi - “Have a good night then, see you tomorrow”  

Jinx - “Mhm... see ya”  

She sighed, and then slapped herself.  

Jinx - “What... is wrong with you?! Dumb dumb dumb! Why do I care?! She’s some rando, she’s not even my coworker!”  

Her voice echoed through her apartment, she stared at the empty hallway for a moment as if expecting an answer, but none came.  

Jinx - “You know what? Fuck you Jinx, you’re gonna make a hot meal, eat it, watch some videos or something and play some games”  

She stormed off into her kitchen, she cooked a meal, ate it, took a shower and played some games, finally as her bed time came, she had a couple messages waiting for her.  

(Sivir – Jinx – Taliyah Text Chat)  

Taliyah: Sooooo  

Taliyah: How’d it go?  

Sivir: They’re fucking rn for SURE  

Taliyah: Is that all you ever think about?  

Sivir: It’s why god put us on this earth baby  

Taliyah: If so how come you’re always online ready to chat?  

Sivir: Hey now...  

Sivir: You got hands...  

Sivir: Kick a sister while she’s down why don’t you  

Taliyah: What happened to that “popstar” you were dating?  

Sivir: You know just because you don’t listen to K-pop it doesnt mean its not popular  

Sivir: It’s literally in the name  

Taliyah: Did you guys break up?  

Sivir: Yeah...  

Sivir: The long distance thing wasn’t working for us  

Sivir: Plus the whole sending death threats thing that is VERY usual in K-pop was a little scary to me tbh  

Taliyah: Did you get death threats??  

Sivir: Yeah, I don’t even know how they got my socials  

Taliyah: Is that why you went private?  

Sivir: Yup  

Taliyah: I thought you just blocked me  

Sivir: No no  

Taliyah: I’m sorry for not reaching out Siv, I missed you  

Sivir: It’s okay, you were busy with your job and I was busy getting death threats  

Taliyah: After Jinx left us I just felt really bad and had to isolate myself a little, but still, I should have reached out, I’m sure you felt bad too  

Sivir: Hey now, she’s still alive  

Taliyah: You know what I mean  

Sivir: I do  

Sivir: Speaking of which, where is that little trouble maker?  

Jinx: Guys shut up I’m trying to sleep  

Sivir: There she is  

Taliyah: How’d it go with Lux?  

Jinx: Shit  

Jinx: She ran away crying  

Jinx: I didn’t even fucking do anything to her, we were just talking and she left suddenly  

Jinx: She said I gave her the feeling again and then just dipped  

Sivir: Okay nvm my theory about her liking you  

Taliyah: That’s really weird  

Jinx: Whatever man  

Jinx: Her loss right?  

Sivir: Yeah obviously, but are you okay?  

Jinx: Why would I not be?  

Jinx: I barely knew her  

Jinx: And it looks like I won’t need to worry about knowing her anymore  

Taliyah: I’m seriously appalled by that, she’s really really nice every time I’ve spoken to her  

Jinx: Yeah well she hates me for some reason  

Jinx: I don’t care, I’m moving on, you guys should too  

Taliyah: Alright..  

Sivir: Roger Roger  

They chatted for some time, but really, Jinx was on autopilot, as much as she wanted it not to be the case, seeing Lux like that really affected her. She didn’t want to be the reason anyone cried, not anymore.  

She looked up at her ceiling, staring at the fan spinning slowly, the subtle lights of the night life outside her apartment leaking slightly into her room, she couldn’t sleep, Lux was on her mind and nothing else, she had to figure out why she gave her such a horrible feeling, even if it was just for closure, for confirmation that she is nothing other than unlovable.  

Chapter Text

WEDNESDAY  

(Lux – Kayle Text Chat)  

Lux: Hey! Good morning!  

Lux: I just wanted to free you of your burden haha  

Lux: I feel good again!  

Lux: So, you don’t need to go out of your way for that appointment with your psychologist, thank you anyways.  

Kayle: The appointment is made Lux  

Lux: Oh.  

Lux: Well, I’m sorry, how much is it?  

Kayle: It’s free for you, I told you  

Lux: I can't let you do that...  

Lux: I’m not going to take it so, at least let me pay you for what you spent on it.  

Kayle: No Lux, like literally, it’s free, she’s a friend of mine, so it won’t cost anything, you just have to take the call and that’s it, if you don’t like it then you can just not reschedule  

Lux: Well, I already know I don’t need it so, and I don’t have much money for it anyways even if I wanted to continue.  

Lux: I think you should just tell her I’m okay and cancel it.  

Lux: Thank you for the concern, but I’m okay now!  

Kayle: Lux, I know you better than anyone outside of Demacia, I maybe even know you better than your brother does, and I specially know when you’re lying, you’re terrible at it, so stop it.  

Kayle: It’s just one call Lux, if you don’t like it, I won’t press you anymore, so please take it.  

Lux: I’m okay Kayle...  

Lux: Sure maybe I’m not like completely 100% fine, but who is? I really am doing better!  

Kayle: It’s happening Lux, I’m not cancelling it.  

Kayle: Just make sure you’re free Saturday at 10:00 am  

Kayle: See you at work  

Lux: I don’t know if I’ll be free!  

Lux: Kayle?  

Lux: Come on...  

Jinx stared at her coffee, but her mind wandered to the previous day, the cold walk home after Lux ran away from her, it hurt, even now, after a night’s rest, why did she affect her so? she wondered.  

She shook her head, gulped down the rest of her coffee and cleaned up her kitchen before leaving for work.  

It was another windy day, a light rain draped over the city, and its weight falling unto Jinx’s umbrella felt to her like a sick joke, an extension of the weight she felt on her shoulders again, a reminder that it was hers alone to carry.  

Caitlyn - “Hey Jinx” The dark-haired woman said, she stood leaning against a wall like she was waiting for something, just her posture would tell you that she thought she was better than you.  

Jinx - “Oh hey”  

Caitlyn - “Are you alright? You seem a little distracted”  

Jinx - “I’m fine, just thinking stuff”  

Caitlyn - “If you say so... anyways, I never got to welcome you to the company since you get here so late, but welcome” Jinx was not late, her work shift just started later than hers, but she didn’t feel like correcting her, it would just drag on a conversation she didn’t want to have in the first place.  

Jinx - “Thanks” Jinx’s face might have given away her discomfort, she didn’t mean to be cold to the woman, but the thought of Violet preferring her over her own sister was still a hard pill to swallow.  

The woman nodded, then proceeded into the security building, Caitlyn being late to work was not something Jinx would have thought possible from what little she knew about her, so she thought it probably meant-  

Violet - “Hey Sis!” Jinx eyed her up and down, then shook her head disapprovingly.  

Jinx - “You’re a bad influence on old Caitlyn”  

Violet - “Huh?” She gave Jinx a look.  

Jinx - “The untucked shirt, the lip gloss on your neck, the smell of... yeah It’s clear as day sis, you two should keep it in the bedroom, you know?”  

Violet - “I don’t know what you’re talking about” she said, her hand frantically wiping the lip gloss from her neck.  

Jinx - “Right right, see you around sis”  

Violet - “Hey wait!” She grabbed her hand before she could escape “Make sure you’re free on Saturday, Caitlyn is making dinner, and I want you two to get along, so I thought I’d invite you over”  

Jinx - “Ugh... listen I’m cool and all with her, but like don’t push it sis”  

Violet - “Oh come on, I know you’d like her if you gave her a chance”  

Jinx - “I think I’m gonna pass” Violet again, held her hand, her hands were callous, just like hers, but for different reasons, Jinx looked down at them, then up at Violet.  

Violet - “Please?” She pleaded.  

Jinx - “If I hate her, you’ll never ask me to hang out with her again?”  

Violet - “No, and you’ll like her, Saturday night, around 8:00pm okay?” Her tone was gentle, as if speaking to a child much younger than Jinx.  

Jinx - “Yeah yeah... but If I see any lip gloss on anyone or either of you has your shirt untucked when I come in, I’m fucking leaving”  

Violet - “Sure... just wear something nice. If you want, I can come pick you up at your place”  

Jinx - “Mhm...sure.”  

Violet - “Great! See ya sis”  

Violet walked to the side of the entrance, where the security building was, Jinx finally walked inside and greeted the other two sisters, then walked to the elevator.  

Kayle noticed Lux walking into the building, she greeted Kayle and Morgana then walked towards the elevator, but then Lux noticed Jinx, she quickly hid behind the wall, then she turned to face the two sisters who were staring at her amused.  

Lux - “H-hey Kayle...” She said awkwardly “so... about the appointment, uh... are you sure you wouldn’t prefer just cancelling it? I’m okay now.” Kayle gave her a look.  

Kayle - “Clearly.”  

Lux - “So you’ll cancel it?” She said with clear enthusiasm, she didn’t pick up on Kayle’s sarcasm.  

Kayle - “No, and I told you, avoiding Jinx is not going to cut it, you can’t run away from this Lux.”  

Lux - “I’m not running away from anything!”  

Kayle - “Oh yeah? So, you didn’t come back to talk to me because Jinx was at the elevator?”  

Lux - “I- I wanted to talk to you about the appointment”  

Kayle - “You know, it gets to a point Lux, where I don’t know If I should be insulted because you think I’m stupid enough to believe your lies, or just sad that after everything I’ve trusted you with, you couldn’t hold that same trust for me.”  

Even Morgana seemed uncomfortable, and she was usually the confrontational one, but she stayed quiet, the lobby was silent, and thankfully for Lux, empty, then as Lux was about to speak, Kayle broke the silence.  

Kayle - “Save it, we’ll talk after your appointment with Janna”  

Lux tried speaking, but her words wouldn’t come out, she sighed and whispered under her breath.  

Lux - “I’m... sorry”  

But Kayle didn’t give her the comfort she sought, she was already looking back at her computer and typing away, unwilling to address Lux. Lux’s worried expression tugged at Morgana’s heartstrings, but she didn’t say anything either, turning to face her computer as well. Lux turned around and headed to her work floor.  

Morgana - “Jeez...” She said once she felt enough time had passed.  

Kayle - “You can’t tell me she’s not being stupid by just trying to avoid her instead of working on the root of it”  

Morgana - “You know... me and you weren’t in the best mental shape when we first escaped Demacia either”  

Kayle - “Yes and still we sought help, she’s trying to avoid that step”  

Morgana - “It’s still fairly recent, no?”  

Kayle - “Trauma doesn’t wait for us to be completely at peace” She sighed “She can’t keep waiting, hoping it’ll just go away eventually when she has her life together, but it’s the other way around, she won’t have her life together until she deals with her trauma.”  

Morgana - “I know, but you and I work different, she lost her brother, her parents, her friends... when we escaped you were everything I had, and I don’t think I would have done so well if I didn’t have you with me.”  

Kayle stopped typing for a moment, she couldn’t put her finger on the why, but she felt like crying, so she took a deep breath and turned to look at her sister.  

Kayle - “I couldn’t have gotten here without you.” She said with no hesitation to her words “I just remember the night terrors, the stress, the anxiety we used to feel, and... and I hate that she’s going through it alone, she never wants to talk about it to me, or Leona, she says she speaks to her brother through letters, but that takes long and I’m not sure what kind of encouragement or mercy she could get from someone still willingly in Demacia”  

Morgana - “I know you mean well Kayle, it just might be too early”  

Kayle - “I think it might be too late” Morgana sighed and turned to her computer once more.  

Morgana - “If she really does not like therapy, will you let her get there on her own?”  

Kayle - “I don’t mean to push her, but can you imagine us working here if we still had those bouts of stress? The short nights of rest interrupted by the night terrors? She’s mentioned something similar, and I can’t bear to just stand and watch.”  

Morgana - “You didn’t answer my question.”  

Kayle was silent for a moment, watching Lux suffer from the same thing she once did, was heart breaking, it wasn’t enough that she escaped Demacia, now she had to escape her own thoughts.  

Kayle - “Yes. I’ll just have to hang out with her more, maybe I’ll have to talk to Jinx myself.”  

Morgana - “Whatever you decide sister, just know you and Leona are all she has”  

Kayle - “You know you should join us some time, I think you’d like her”  

Morgana - “I do like her, I just don’t have much time for that lately, maybe when things settle down with the baby and all that”  

Kayle - “I’ll hold you to that.”  

The day, same as every day, came to an end sooner than expected, there were no run ins into each other, no issues, no texting, no staring, but thinking was not something you just turned off, Lux couldn’t stop thinking about Jinx’s eyes, how they stared at her with intensity, how they made her feel, and Jinx couldn’t get the image of Lux running away, out of her mind.  

Akali - “Hey!” Akali’s enthusiastic tone snapped Jinx out of her creeping thoughts.  

Jinx - “Oh wassup Kali”  

Akali - “I was wondering if you were free this Saturday?”  

Jinx - “Where are ya taking me?” She said with a mischievous smile on her face, Akali’s cheeks were tinted a warm pink that greeted Jinx’s eyes.  

Akali - “Hah- well, it's kind of like I’ve been wanting to try making ramen from scratch for a while and I got all the ingredients; I just need a couple friends to keep me company? So, it's kinda more like a being there for like a day kind of thing.  

Jinx - “Who else is coming?”  

Akali - “I invited Gwen, Seraphine, Neeko and Sona”  

Jinx - “Girl's night then?”  

Akali - “Yup!”  

Jinx - “Alright” Akali smiled at her and turned to leave, Jinx right then recalled her sister’s invitation on that same day, so before she could leave, she called out her name “Kali! Wait, hold on”  

Akali - “Yeah?”  

Jinx - “I just remembered my sister invited me to her place on Saturday too, so actually I can’t make it, sorry” Akali’s face went a little pale.  

Akali - “Oh...” Silence for a moment “Could you make it on Friday?”  

Jinx - “Friday is good, but I don’t want you to move everyone’s plans just for me Kali”  

Akali - “No no, don’t worry, when I said I invited the girls over it was actually more like, I WILL invite them over, but I asked you first”  

Jinx - “Oh, okay then, I can be there on Friday”  

Akali - “Sick!”  

It was a lie, of course, Akali had already invited them all, but she wanted most of all for Jinx to be there too, so a change of plans was made in secret.  

Friday  

The week passed quickly, the days short and meaningless, but Friday finally came, and before she knew it, Akali was packing her stuff to leave for the day.  

(Jinx – Sivir – Taliyah Text Chat)  

Taliyah: Jinx  

Taliyah: Don’t forget to bring your ID before you leave, I need a copy of it for your files.  

Jinx: Got it boss  

Sivir: Mannnn  

Sivir: It’s not fair you guys get to work together, and I just fucking do deliveries all day  

Taliyah: I’m not joking Siv, Ashe really does need an assistant.  

Sivir: How do you know that?  

Taliyah: I mean, I’m head of HR?  

Sivir: So, if I go and get an interview, like just ask to be hired, she’ll consider it?  

Taliyah: She might even hire you on the spot  

Jinx: Look at this dude getting the whole posse to work for her  

Taliyah: Don’t make it weird.  

Jinx: I’m jus sayin  

Sivir: But like do I just show up and say, hey do you need an assistant?  

Jinx: Hell yeah  

Taliyah: No no no  

Jinx: Hell no  

Taliyah: Maybe Jinx can order something, and you bring it to her and then I casually ask Ashe to like maybe take a look at some drawing Jinx made or something.  

Jinx: I don’t know how she hasn’t caught up with your plan to bring all your friends to Redpunch  

Taliyah: Have a better plan?  

Jinx: No, I like your plan, plus you’ll pay for whatever Siv brings me, right?  

Taliyah: Don’t you want her here as much as I do?  

Sivir: Ooooh she got your ass  

Jinx: Shut up before I order like a block of tungsten or something heavy  

Sivir: You’ll have to pay for it  

Taliyah: We can try next Friday so things are more chill around the company? I think she’ll be here tomorrow, but Jinx won’t be.  

Jinx: I can come in for a bit, I was actually planning to anyways, apparently Hwei also likes to come on Saturdays  

Jinx: He says it’s his favorite day to work since its so quiet around  

Sivir: And you’re taking that away from him?  

Jinx: DO YOU WANT HELP OR NOT DUMBASS  

Sivir: Jeez  

Jinx: Now I feel bad, I didn’t think about it like that  

Taliyah: Oh don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll be okay with it if you’re quiet too  

Jinx: Yeah, probably, he’s really chill  

Taliyah: Hey but  

Taliyah: You’ve only been here a week or so, idk how much time it takes to make one drawing  

Jinx: I’ve finished 2 and going on my third one  

Sivir: Can I see?  

Jinx: Errrr  

Jinx: I actually don’t know, can I show it T?  

Taliyah: Probably not.  

Taliyah: But...  

Taliyah: If she does end up working here, you could  

Jinx: You heard her  

Taliyah: What are the drawings about though, anything you’d like to show Ashe?  

Jinx: One is Lux, the other one is for Akali and the one I’m making right now is for Fizz  

Taliyah: Those sound good to show Ashe  

Taliyah: Did Jhin like them?  

Jinx: He loved the Akali one and liked the Lux one, he said Lux was boring but the art was good  

Jinx: Hwei said he loved both of them  

Jinx: I haven’t worked much on Fizz’s skin, so I haven’t shown that off to them  

Taliyah: Great, this could work!  

Taliyah: Maybe I can bring a bunch of paperwork to her and like load her with some HR stuff, so she’s overwhelmed.  

Jinx: Wait you’re actually evil...  

Sivir: Holy fuck, you work with this girl jinx?”  

Jinx: I try to avoid her actually.  

Taliyah: Worst fucking idea I’ve ever had  

Jinx: We’re just pulling ya leg T  

Jinx: Don’t sweat it  

Sivir: Okay so I’ll wear something nice on Friday then and wait for your signal or whatever  

Jinx: That won’t be obvious at all  

Jinx: Wait now that I think about it, you and violet are the only ones that wear like full on suits to work  

Jinx: It's your idea, isn’t it?  

Taliyah: So? Suits are comfy and elegant.  

Jinx: Oh my god dude, no wonder Violet was losing her mind when I didn’t come in with a three piece fucking suit on my first day  

Jinx: You got into her head  

Taliyah: Well. It works on her, doesn't it?  

Jinx: She looks like Vi to me  

Jinx: Wait I got another thought  

Sivir: That’s a first  

Jinx: You and I are going to fucking fight over the girls here Siv  

Sivir: Oh, fuckkkk you’re right  

Taliyah: Neither of you are fighting for anything  

Jinx: Whoah... did you just call the women that work with us... “things”?  

Sivir: That’s fucking gross Taliyah  

Taliyah: You know what actually  

Taliyah: Lets not joke about that  

Jinx: Alright alright  

Taliyah: And don’t try to hook up with anyone, please  

Jinx: So, If I told you I slept on Akali’s place on my first day and I’m staying the night with her again tonight  

Jinx: Would it not be funny, even if I didn’t mean for that to happen?  

Sivir: Holy fuck you move fast  

Taliyah: Oh my god  

Sivir: I mean to be fair, you did say no dating, but you didn’t say anything about no one night stands  

Jinx: Exaaaacly, see Siv we need someone like you around  

Taliyah: ITS IMPLIED IN THE NO DATING THING  

Taliyah: Fuck you  

Taliyah: You know what, if you two get friendly with someone and then break it off and have to be awkward around everyone in the office then that's on you, I warned you, now I’m washing my hands.  

Taliyah: Do whatever you fucking want  

Jinx: Maybe we pushed a little too much  

Sivir: Hey, come on T, you know we listen to you  

Jinx: Yeah, and I haven't done anything w Akali  

Jinx: We’re just hanging out, she’s cool  

Taliyah: I’m glad you’re making friends  

Jinx: Now here’s a question  

Jinx: AND IM NOT TRYNA PUSH YOU BTW  

Taliyah: Just fucking say it  

Jinx: If SHE were to ask me out and not the other way around, would that be cool with you?  

Jinx: I actually think she’s into me  

Taliyah: That fucker told me she wasn’t into anything romance  

Jinx: Maybe I’m just that hot  

Jinx: What can I say?  

Sivir: Man, you gotta teach me some of your moves  

Sivir: How do you get a hottie like Akali to want you  

Jinx: I literally didn’t do anything but be myself  

Sivir: Yuck  

Sivir: Not the hottest person on the planet saying “Yo, just be yourself”  

Jinx: Thank u =)  

Jinx: But I really didn’t do anything dude  

Sivir: Yeah alright  

Sivir: Keep your secrets then  

Akali came into Jinx’s and Hwei’s office, Jinx had been ready for a while, she sat on her chair with her feet kicked up to her desk, once she noticed Akali she raised an eyebrow at her.  

Akali - “Yo! Ready to go?”  

Jinx - “Yuh” She stood up, then she took her ID and handed it over to Hwei “Hey, do you think you could hand that over to Taliyah before you leave?” Hwei didn’t turn to face her or anything, just nodded, they were close enough that they’d do that from time to time.  

Akali led Jinx to her place, though it was ultimately the same location, the route was different starting from redpunch studios instead of Graga’s.  

The sky was overcast, it was clear rain was coming again, Akali hated the cold, but she couldn’t say no to the opportunity of working at redpunch studios and she didn’t regret it for a second.  

The two stopped at Akali’s place after the short walk there, Akali let Jinx inside and then closed the door behind them, to Jinx’s surprise, Akali had done some decorating after the last time she was there.  

The living room to the left was decorated with blankets covering the big couch, the balcony in front of the living room had a couple of plants, her room and the guest room were both open, Akali’s bedroom was filled with stuff just like the first time, but now the guest room wasn’t full of boxes and the bed had covers and a carpet.  

Jinx - “You decorated”  

Akali - “A little... I didn’t have time for much”  

Jinx - “It looks nice”  

Akali - “Thank you!” Akali said, she took off her shoes and put them in a small box next to the front door “Hey... new rule, no shoes inside” she pointed to the box.  

Jinx - “Hmmm...” She started taking off her sneakers “I think you just want to see my feet, but luckily for you I don’t kink shame” Akali laughed.  

Akali - “Where did you get this impression that all I think about is feet and sex?”  

Jinx - “The voices told me”  

Akali - “Tell them to shut up”  

Jinx slid across the floor to the living room and sat on the couch with her legs crossed; she stared at Akali with a smile.  

Jinx - “So, have any plans before the other girls show up?” She raised an eyebrow.  

Akali - “I don’t know what you’re thinking yo, but that’s not happening?”  

Jinx - “Oh so you did have something in mind?”  

Akali - “No you little freak, I’m gonna take a shower and then we can play some games or watch something before they get here”  

Jinx - “Want me to join you?”  

Akali - “You wish!” Jinx smirked “Make yourself at home, I won’t be long”  

Jinx took advantage of their free time; she didn’t think she’d tease her as much when all the other girls were around. Akali walked to the bathroom and closed the door before Jinx could tease her anymore. As much as she liked Jinx, she was hoping one of her other guests would get there soon, she was a little nervous to be alone with her.  

Jinx was checking out the guest room when Akali finally came out of the bathroom, she ran to her room with a towel covering her and slammed the door shut, Jinx laughed.  

Then finally as she was checking out the kitchen and the huge pot Akali had on the stove, Akali finally came out of her room, despite the mostly cold weather outside, her home was fairly warm, she had a heater going and she felt comfortable enough to wear shorts and a shirt.  

Jinx knew Akali was fit, but if she hadn’t noticed before somehow, the shorts gave it away, and if she was honest, she couldn’t stop staring at her legs, Jinx shook her head, and Akali noticed Jinx’s gaze.  

Akali - “Oh? Looks like you weren’t kidding about joining me, huh?” This time Jinx was the one to lightly blush, thankfully for her it was dark enough that Akali couldn’t tell, she remained confident and snapped back.  

Jinx - “I mean the girls aren’t here yet” Jinx winked at Akali, Akali couldn’t handle that.  

Akali - “Y-you- ha" She stuttered.  

Jinx - “Youha?”  

Akali - “Did you see the room? I worked hard to get it looking nice for your next visit” Jinx thought about teasing her again for so clumsily trying to change the subject, but if what she said was true, it was really sweet, so she opted not to.  

Jinx - “I did! Its pretty cute now”  

Akali - “But... I thought about it after and I was thinking since you’ve already stayed there once, you’d take my room actually, and I’d sleep on the couch, with either someone else on the couch or maybe on the floor”  

Jinx - “Why do they get to sleep with you?” She teased.  

Akali - “Hey we can both stay at my room if you want” She replied with a smirk.  

Jinx - “I thought you’d never ask” She smiled, but Akali really couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.  

BZZT! The intercom lit up.  

Akali - “Oh crap, that must be one of them”  

Jinx - “Saved by the bell” In a moment of bravery, Akali snapped back.  

Akali - “Nah, you’re sleeping with me tonight” She said without turning to look at Jinx, before quickly grabbing her keys and running down the stairs. Jinx laughed, she honestly didn’t believe her “Fuck fuck fuck why did I say that” Akali thought to herself.  

Before Jinx could get too comfortable again with her loneliness, Akali came back up with both Gwen and Neeko.  

Gwen - “Hey Jinx!”  

Jinx - “Hey Gwen”  

Neeko - “Neeko can’t stop staring at Akali’s legs”  

Jinx - “Ha! You and me both Neeko”  

Akali - “If you’re all gonna keep talking about my legs all day I’m putting on some loose fucking pants”  

Jinx & Neeko - “No!” Akali groaned and closed the door behind them.  

Akali - “Okay you little freaks, let's get to it or it won’t be ready for breakfast”  

Jinx - “Hey we’re just admiring your hard work”  

Neeko - “I just like your legs if Neeko is being honest” Jinx laughed.  

Akali - “Gwen, how are you today? How was the walk here?” She said, rubbing her temples as she ignored the pair.  

Gwen - “I’m great! Walk here was nice, oh! And I brought you something, here!” Gwen took from her purse a shirt with Akali’s game character on the front.  

Akali - “Oh my god yessss!”  

Gwen - “Also! I came up with a cool concept for you Jinx” She took a small notebook with some drawings in them, very good drawings.  

Jinx - “Wait why don’t you work on the art stuff with us? These are amazing” Jinx noted, she stopped Gwen from flipping the pages too quickly, admiring her artwork as each concept character passed.  

Gwen - “Oh well, I didn’t plan to get so good at it, I just needed some drawing skills to make concepts of the clothes I wanted to make”  

Jinx - “That makes sense” Gwen flipped the pages to one almost at the end of the notebook, and then flipped it so they could all see it.  

Gwen - “Here’s the one I made for you”  

Akali - “SHE’S ALMOST NAKED??” Jinx laughed.  

Gwen - “I think she looks badass”  

Jinx - “Hmm... I do like it... but how about changing those shorts for some pants? also shouldn’t someone approve me getting a character in the game first?”  

Gwen - “That’s how we get them approved! We show them our concepts and then they figure out if they fit or not”  

Jinx - “Ooooh”  

Neeko - “Neeko thinks Jinx should wear clothes like that too”  

Jinx - “Neeko is hornier than Akali somehow”  

Akali - “ME??”  

Neeko - “I am only admiring your hard work” Jinx laughed again.  

Akali - “Hey don’t flirt with Jinx while I’m around, its making me sick”  

Jinx - “Jealous?”  

Akali - “A little”  

Neeko - “Neeko will also flirt with Akali if she wants”  

Akali - “It’s not the same if I have to ask for it”  

Neeko - “I will flirt with you. Neeko was not asking”  

Gwen - “Good lord...”  

Akali - “I’m sorry Gwen, you’re stuck in a room with lesbians”  

Jinx - “Who said I’m a lesbian?”  

Akali - “You’re not?” Her face expressed genuine concern.  

Jinx - “I’m Bi”  

Neeko - “Bi yourself”  

Jinx - “Ha ha.” She laughed sarcastically.  

Gwen - “Girls are we making this ramen or not”  

Jinx - “Yeah and if that won’t be done until tomorrow, what are we eating tonight?”  

Akali - “Uhhhh, I don’t normally have dinner, so I didn’t think about that...” She replied with slight embarrassment “But we can order something!”  

Neeko - “STRIPPERS”  

Jinx - “YEAH”  

Gwen - “What did I get myself into”  

Akali - “I’M FUCKING ORDERING PIZZA AND THATS FINAL”  

Jinx - “Lame-o”  

Neeko - “I think Akali should order sushi”  

Jinx - “No wait I want pizza”  

Gwen - “Yeah I’m ordering some alcohol.”  

Jinx - “Hey shouldn’t we wait for Sera and Sona?”  

Gwen - “They should be here soonish, they told us before we left that they wouldn’t be long”  

Jinx - “If you say so, lets get drinking then”  

Akali - “Just remember everyone, I only have one bathroom so we can’t all be completely wasted”  

Step. Step. Step. Seraphine paced back and forth, she was waiting for her computer to upload a file she had been working on, Sona sat patiently on their office couch, scrolling through her phone.  

Seraphine - “Oh man, we’re going to be so late!”  

Sona - “...” Sona looked up at Sera, but Sera didn’t look back at her.  

Seraphine - “Oh I know I know... you warned me, I’m sorry” She knew Sona well enough to tell what she was thinking.  

Sona - “...”  

Seraphine - “I got carried away! The music was just flowing through me, you know how I am!”  

Sona - “...”  

Seraphine - “Yeah, at least we finished the song earlier than expected”  

The computer finally finished, Seraphine saved her work and turned the PC off, then grabbed her coat and ran towards Sona.  

Seraphine - “Okay! Let's go!”  

Sona stood up and followed behind Seraphine as she ran towards the elevator.  

As the bright hues of daylight paved way to the dark purples of a cold windy night, Sona and Seraphine finally arrived at Akali’s place, they could hear the girls laughing from where they stood.  

BZZT! Again, the intercom buzzed, Akali was a few drinks in, but she quickly grabbed her keys and made her way down the stairs to let the rest of the girls in.  

As they arrived, the pizza was mostly gone, save an untouched box and a few slices of the other 3 pizzas, the beers and bottles of wine halfway gone, and the girls mindlessly talked before they noticed the two late attendees.  

Jinx - “Well, look who decided to show up”  

Sona - “...” Sona gave a light gentle shove to point at Seraphine, then rolled her eyes.  

Seraphine - “I’m sorry! I just, I got lost in a song we were working on, I couldn’t stop myself”  

Akali - “Hey no worries, there’s still plenty of beer, and we ordered a veggie pizza for you Sona!”  

Sona - “...” She smiled at Akali.  

Seraphine took off her shoes and ran to sit next to Jinx, Sona took off hers and sat next to Gwen. From left to right, Gwen sat in the first spot on the couch, followed by Sona, then Seraphine, then Jinx, on the carpet, but next to Jinx, sat Akali, and next to her Neeko.  

Seraphine was quick to grab a couple slices of pizza and start eating, Sona opted for a glass of wine first.  

Seraphine - “So how are you liking redpunch Jinx?”  

Jinx - “It’s pretty good, I like working with Hwei and Jhin”  

Seraphine - “They’re great! Jhin is a little strange sure, but we love him just the way he is! And Hwei is sooooo good at painting too! Personally, my favorite is the one he did for my character, I don’t know if you saw it, it's the prestige ocean song skin, I love it, I love it!”  

Akali - “Okay Sera, save some words for the rest of us”  

Seraphine - “Jinx loves that about me, right Jinx?”  

Jinx - “I don’t mind it”  

Seraphine - “See?”  

Akali - “Yeah okay, you kinda hit the nail on the head though, we were talking about her favorite things about work so far”  

Seraphine - “Oh what did you answer?!”  

Jinx - “I said I liked that I could be myself” She genuinely thought so “And I’m kinda just grateful I get to do art for a living, though I feel a little guilty about it”  

Akali - “Guilty?”  

Seraphine - “What’s there to be guilty about?”  

Jinx - “I guess... like... I just think of people in places like Demacia, or even here in Piltover, I see homeless people often, stuff like that, and I get to do what I love for a living, I guess it doesn't feel fair”  

Some of the girls exchanged looks, they didn’t know what to say, Jinx held her beer close to her mouth, slowly sipping it, then laying it back down on the little table in front of the couch. Sona spoke through her hand signs, Gwen interpreted.  

Sona - “Your compassion is admirable Jinx”  

Gwen - “It’s what Sona said” she cleared up, but followed with “and I agree”  

Akali - “Y-yeah... I guess, I never thought about it”  

Jinx - “I don’t think I’m compassionate for just feeling bad, I need to do something about it, but I can’t ever find it in me to do more than is required, I think I feel a little hopeless about it” There was silence again, even Seraphine was at a loss for words “Sorry, the drinks really do loosen my tongue, I didn’t mean to bring the mood down”  

Sona - “Like I said, your compassion is admirable, there’s nothing wrong with feeling a lot” Again Gwen translated for Jinx, who wasn’t familiar with hand signs.  

Seraphine - “W-well... Oh maybe you’d like to go with Lux! She does some volunteering work on Sundays! She told me about it a couple weeks ago!”  

Gwen - “Donating, or maybe something like what Lux does, could help ease your mind”  

Jinx - “I didn’t know she did that kind of thing”  

Seraphine - “Yeah! She's really into that kind of stuff! I think you should talk to her!”  

Jinx - “Alright Sera, I’ll bother her with these things instead of you”  

Seraphine - “Oh- No! No! You’re not bother-”  

Jinx - “I’m just fucking with you” She said, Jinx smiled at Seraphine and nudged her as she laughed.  

Seraphine - “Oh god, I thought I made you hate me in only a week, usually it takes a bit longer”  

Neeko - “Seraphine’s worst enemy is Seraphine’s imaginary enemies” They laughed.  

Akali was distracted, she didn’t laugh but smiled, it seemed she hadn’t really listened to anything after Jinx’s first confession, but the laughter brought her back to reality, she stood up and walked to the kitchen.  

Akali - “Hold up, gotta check the broth”  

Seraphine - “Oh fun! So, is it hard to make? I’m sorry we were so late and didn’t help make it by the way”  

Akali - “Oh don’t worry, I wanted you girls most of all to just keep me company while it cooks, and I would like to say it wasn’t hard to make, but we won’t know if it's good until its done”  

Seraphine - “Who’s going to stay up all night with you to check on it?”  

Gwen - “That’s... kinda why we’re here Sera, are you listening?”  

Seraphine - “Oh!”  

Jinx - “Pfft”  

The heat built up in Akali’s apartment, the blankets everywhere, the stove going and the heater on max, it was a little much for Jinx, she was trying to think when it would be best to go, thankfully an opportunity came quick enough.  

Akali sat back down on the carpet, she brough a couple more beers to the table and put the empty ones in a trash bag.  

Seraphine - “Hey Akali, can I put some music?”  

Akali - “You don’t like my selection?”  

Seraphine - “It's nice! I just uh- I wanna dance!”  

Akali - “Alright dude”  

Once Seraphine started blasting her music, she stood up and started dancing, Neeko joined her, Gwen did too, then Akali stood and danced with them, she looked over at Jinx, who just shook her head with a smile, she pointed at the balcony and her pack of cigarettes, then stood up and walked outside.  

Sona, of all people, decided to walk outside with her, Akali watched as the both of them walked outside.  

Sona - “...”  

Jinx - “Oh sorry, I don’t know han-” Sona grabbed her hand and shook her head, then she pointed at her phone “Oh- okay, we can do that”  

Jinx lit one of the cigarettes as Sona saved her contact info, then finally, Jinx got a text.  

Sona: Now we can talk  

Jinx - “Ha, I guess so, did you wanna tell me something or do you also smoke?”  

Sona: I don’t smoke no; I just wanted to talk to you about what you said.  

Jinx - “The... feeling guilty stuff? I’m alright don’t worry, I’ll manage, I always have” Sona sneered.  

Sona: No, no one can, I can’t either, I’ve had thoughts like those all my life you know?  

Sona: Coming from privilege has always made me feel guilty, and it’s not to say I can fix that feeling for you, I just thought that Seraphine’s idea was good, and I think you might not have taken it seriously?  

Sona: I’m sorry if I’m assuming wrong.  

Jinx - “Oh. So like you wanted to tell me to go with Lux and... ask her about it?  

Sona: That could be an option, but I’m not here to tell you what to do, I just thought you sounded serious when you were talking about that stuff, thought maybe you’d like us to take it seriously.  

Jinx - “I just have no filter Sona, don’t worry about it.  

Sona: If you do want to talk about it, you can text me alright? Or talk to Lux, she’s also into it, I’d like to say I don’t have time for that kind of stuff, but really, If I was more efficient with my time or didn’t take as many breaks, I’d probably have time for that kind of stuff.  

Sona: You know helping, by actually doing stuff instead of just donating, which is also good of course, but I’d like to do both, and Lux does.  

Jinx - “Are you and her close friends?”  

Sona: Not really.  

Sona: I’m close friends with Leona, the Cheff from graga’s, and she’s close with Lux, so she tells me about her sometimes.  

Jinx - “Hm... Alright Sona, thank you for the concern, I’m kinda too drunk to talk about it right now? But I’ll think about it” She made a small smoke ring, then continued “Thank you”  

Sona: Anytime : 3  

Sona nodded at Jinx with a smile and walked back into the apartment, Jinx wasn’t done with her cigarette.  

She thought about it for a moment, she thought about how selfish she had been in her earlier years, how rude and angry she had become, she didn’t really know if there was enough time to repent, she didn’t know if she even deserved to be forgiven.  

Akali - “Hey!”  

Jinx - “Oh hey you”  

Akali - “Jeez its cold outside” She grabbed at the sides of her arms, hugging herself lightly.  

Jinx - “Yeah, but I didn’t want to stinky up your pretty home”  

Akali - “I don’t mind much, but yeah it's supposed to be smoke free, my landlord would probably not find it cool”  

Jinx - “You don't smoke right?”  

Akali - “I do sometimes” Jinx seemed surprised, she turned to look outside again, focusing on the night lights of the city surrounding them.  

Jinx - “I didn’t think you smoked with you being fit and all that”  

Akali - “Well, it's not usual for me, and not cigarettes, but I’ll try anything once” Jinx chuckled lightly. Akali turned to look at the city night lights too.  

Jinx - “That’s a bad philosophy to live by”  

Akali - “Is it?”  

Jinx - “Trust me, there are some things you don’t want to try even once”  

Akali - “Like what?”  

Jinx - “Stuff.” Akali seemed a little sad, Jinx wondered if she was being a little too cold to her, she took her cigarette from her mouth and offered it to Akali. She turned to look at her with a smile. “Hey, listen, I’m just saying, don’t be taking free shit from strangers just to try new things” Akali nodded.  

Akali - “Thank you”  

She took one drag, and no smoke came out, but it was obvious she didn’t like it.  

Jinx - “You’re not supposed to swallow the smoke you know?”  

Akali - “Uh... I didn’t know actually”  

Jinx - “I’m surprised you didn’t cough”  

Akali - “I’m kinda badass” Jinx chuckled. Akali offered the cigarette back and Jinx took it, she put it in her mouth and looked back out of Akali’s balcony, there was nothing amazing to look at, no great mountains, nothing but buildings for thousands of meters, but the moon was the same everywhere in the world, and that night it shone brightly, as if the rain clouds saved a spot just for Jinx to look that way.  

Jinx - “So how are ya liking your little ramen get together so far?”  

Akali - “Oh it's so fun, until you rejected my offer to dance”  

Jinx - “I like dancing, Seraphine’s music is just not my style, and I figured that would be the perfect time to sneak out for a smoke”  

Akali - “Fair enough” Akali grabbed at the back of her neck, she was anxious about talking to her it seemed “Hey... about the uh- guilty thing...”  

Jinx - “Ha... you know at least I know you girls were listening to me”  

Akali - “Yeah... well... I’m not really into that kind of stuff but, I think it's cool that you are, I just wanted to know if you’re okay” She leaned against her railing, turning to look at Jinx.  

Jinx - “I’m fine Akali, don’t worry about me, really”  

Akali - “I care about you, okay?” She was blushing, it was honestly cute, Jinx found it endearing, she smiled at her.  

Jinx - “I’m okay, promise”  

Akali - “Right... I believe you... I’m going back inside yeah?”  

Jinx - “Yup, I won’t be long”  

Akali walked back inside, Sona raised an eyebrow at her as she noticed her skin, her cheeks specifically, Akali quickly looked away after their eyes met and walked over to Seraphine, she then joined in her dancing again.  

Jinx stayed outside for a little longer, she checked her phone, stared at the moon, and once her cigarette was finished, she put it out on the railing and brought it inside with her to throw away.  

The girls danced the night away, they sang, and although Jinx didn’t know many of the songs they played, she still danced with them.  

At 2 am, the only ones left awake were Jinx, Akali, Sona and Gwen, Gwen mostly stayed up to translate for Sona.  

Akali - “I don’t think I’d want to stay here forever, I’m just... well, the kind of work I want to do is not really something I can do back home”  

Jinx - “Why not?”  

Akali - “It’s a little rural”  

Gwen - “I’ve always wanted to go to Ionia, I’ve heard its beautiful”  

Akali - “Oh definitely, I really miss the views, the weather, kinda everything”  

Jinx - “But you just love what you do that much more?”  

Akali - “Yeah...”  

Sona - “We have work from home programs; you could try applying to one of them” Gwen translated.  

Akali - “I did know about those, but I haven’t tried, I think I really enjoy spending time with all of you, I didn’t have that many friends back home, and we weren’t very close anyways.  

Jinx - “What about you Sona?” Gwen and Akali both made a face at her, but Sona remained calm.  

Sona - “Demacia”  

Jinx - “Oh, we have a lot of people from there”  

Gwen - “They don’t usually like to talk about it”  

Jinx - “I'm sorry, I don’t mean to bring back bad memories, trust me”  

Akali - “It’s hard to talk about it I’m sure” Gwen laughed as she saw Sona’s hand signals.  

Sona - “I can’t talk about it at all actually” The other two laughed, Sona gave them a smile, she did not like talking about it either, no one that escaped did, but she knew better than to take out her anger to that place with them.  

Jinx - “Hey so... I know it's a touchy subject... but can I let you guys in on a secret?” The three other girls exchanged puzzled looks.  

Jinx - “So you guys told me to talk to Lux about my guilty feelings”  

Akali - “Yeah?”  

Jinx - “It’s just that, on my first day at work, I kinda missed my elevator because of her, then on the welcoming party Akali threw together, at the end of it, she and this other guy approached me, I thought he was going to apologize for it, but Lux stopped him and said they had to leave, then we met on the elevator again, she didn’t have anywhere to go, and I talked to her about it, she said I gave her like flashbacks of Demacia, that I just brought back those kinds of memories, and since you’re from there I just wanted to know if you feel the same? I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable I guess, I’m trying to be a better person, which is a whole different story but... yeah”  

Sona looked at her for a couple moments, Akali and Gwen were both silent, finally she started making her hand signals again.  

Sona - “So basically, you’re saying Lux was being a little strange to you and she said it was because you brought back memories of Demacia?” Gwen translated.  

Jinx - “Yeah... and you guys suggested maybe talking to her, about that other thing I said? But, I can’t do that...” Jinx’s voice cracked slightly, but she composed herself, it was noticeable though, the effect of what she was about to tell had on her “We agreed to talk about it, we were walking to some park she knew to figure things out, but then out of the blue, she said she couldn’t do it, she started crying and started running away from me”  

There was silence again, longer, dreadful silence, it wasn’t exactly awkward, but everyone in that moment knew Jinx felt terrible, they heard how it affected her, Akali wanted to hug her, but she didn’t know if it was a good idea, Jinx had never been very physical with her.  

Sona thought for a moment, Gwen anxiously stared at her, waiting to translate, and finally:  

Sona - “From the moment I met you, I thought you were peculiar, but I never thought you reminded me of Demacia” Jinx seemed more anxious with that answer “Did Kayle or Morgana ever share that sentiment with you?”  

Jinx - “No... but I don’t talk to them much”  

Sona - “I can’t really tell you why she feels the way she feels, I’m sorry”  

Jinx - “Yeah... I didn’t think you could, was just a shot in the dark really”  

Gwen - “Are you gonna talk to her again?”  

Jinx - “I don’t want to freak her out, it must suck getting reminded of that place by someone you can run into every day at work”  

Akali - “Maybe I could talk to her?”  

Sona - “I don’t think it's our business to get in the middle of”  

Akali - “I just want to help...”  

Jinx - “You are helping Kali, just venting about it kinda makes me feel a bit better”  

Gwen - “What about texting? You could ask for her number and tell her you could maybe talk about it that way?”  

Jinx - “Well, I guess that could work, but like I said, I just don’t want to risk freaking her out again”  

Akali - “I could ask for you!”  

Jinx - “I don’t know, I need to think about it”  

Sona - “There’s no rush”  

Sona stood up, she could stay up a little longer, although she liked Seraphine’s wild extroverted nature, she really enjoyed a more calm conversation, but Gwen kept yawning, she was tired, and she probably only stayed up to translate for her.  

Sona - “I’m getting tired girls, wake me up for Ramen” She signaled, a big smile on her face, she compensated for her inability to speak with a very expressive face, hopeful it would help communicate her sentiments, but she didn’t need to, she was valuable just the way she was, still, it definitely helped.  

Gwen - “Oh man, I’m going to bed too I think, I’m really tired.”  

Jinx - “Good night girls”  

Akali - “Good night!”  

Akali and Jinx sat on the kitchen floor, leaning their backs against the wall, the smell of the broth was amazing, but it was still not done.  

Jinx turned to look at Gwen going into the guest room, Sona took a spot on the couch next to Seraphine, Neeko slept peacefully on the floor.  

Jinx - “Well, it's just us now pretty girl”  

Akali - “Waited till everyone left to compliment me?” She joked.  

Jinx - “I actually don’t know if you’d be okay with that” She replied.  

Akali - “Fair enough”  

Jinx - “How much longer on the broth?”  

Akali - “Should be good by 8 am”  

Jinx - “We’re not staying up that late right?”  

Akali - “Nope, unless you want to”  

Jinx - “I can think of a couple things to do to pass the time”  

Akali - “What happened to not while I’m drunk”  

Jinx - “Well this time I’m drunk too” She gave Akali a look “But if you don’t want to, then you don’t want to”  

Akali - “I never said no...”  

Jinx - “You couldn’t handle me” Akali was confused.  

Akali - “Do you want to or not?”  

Jinx - “Maybe”  

Silence.  

Jinx felt it again, that voice in the back of her mind that wanted everything but for her to be happy. “You don’t look good” “She’s out of your league” “You will hurt her” “You don’t deserve her” “You’re sick” “You’re a pervert” “You’re disgusting” she blanked out, staring at a kitchen cupboard door as she processed her thoughts.  

Akali - “Jinx?”  

Jinx - “Yeah?”  

Akali - “I’m drunk... yeah... and it’s probably a bad idea to do anything uhm... crazy” She turned to look at Jinx “But I’d really like to cuddle with you” it was hard for her to stare into Jinx’s eyes, her gaze was intimidating, like she was analyzing you, like the right combination of words could blow up in your face, but she endured.  

Jinx’s eyes softened, her normally intense stare changed for a moment, as she turned to look at Akali.  

Jinx - “We can do that” she said with a smile.  

There it was, the voice that had been haunting Jinx, she didn’t know when exactly it started, but it had been years without a moment to herself, every time she felt comfortable, it spoke, like a thundering storm in the distance, threatening to release its force completely unless Jinx listened to it. Unless it did what it said. But she endured it.  

Jinx stood up and walked on over to the bathroom, she washed her face with just water, washed her hands with soap and stared at herself in the mirror. Bad move.  

“You’re going to hate her, you’re going to ruin her, and you are going to forget about her, but she won’t, she’s not playing with you.”  

The harsh tones of her own voice were like nails scratching a blackboard, she couldn’t stand to look at herself, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but the voice continued.  

“After everything you’ve done, you think you deserve this? After everyone you’ve hurt you think you get to be happy?”  

Jinx wanted to scream, her hands tightly gripped the bathroom sink, her teeth tightly clenched, the coldness of her feet clawed its way up her body, turning her paler than before, she turned on the water again and threw some on her face, hoping to wash away the feeling of emptiness she still felt.  

But no comfort came, the voice seemed to get even louder, she took another couple of deep breaths and then she heard Akali through the door, at first a knock, then.  

Akali - “Hey... are you okay?”  

Jinx - “Yeah, I’ll be right out”  

Akali - “Okay...”  

Jinx slapped herself, then dried her hands and walked out of the bathroom, as she entered Akali’s bedroom she saw her scrolling through her phone, smiling, she felt strange, the voice in her head said things she didn’t want to repeat, things she wasn’t sure were even lies.  

She again took another deep breath, then walked in the bedroom, closed the door behind her and got into Akali’s bed, Akali turned off her phone as she saw Jinx getting in with her, she gave her some room and Jinx hugged her close to her chest, pressing Akali’s head against her breast.  

Akali - “I-”  

Jinx - “Don’t talk pretty girl, unless you're having second thoughts about this” she said calmly, trying not to give clue of her internal struggles.  

Akali - “...”  

Akali didn’t say anything more that night, she didn’t have anything to say, her alarm was set up, and all she felt now was the warm embrace of Jinx.  

Jinx was so warm, it was a dream come true for Akali, she hugged Jinx back, and settled her head in between Jinx’s neck and her chest, she squeezed Jinx, then stopped and enjoyed the smell of her, the calm breathing, the sound of a light rain hitting her window, Akali shed a tear, then fell deeply asleep.  

In the cold night, not far from there, Lux was still awake, she tossed and turned, she couldn’t sleep just yet “it’s just a stupid appointment, we’re just gonna talk a little and that’s it” she said to herself, turning face up to stare at her ceiling.  

She had all she ever wanted now, she was free to be herself, she could buy whatever she wanted, she could be whoever, wherever, whatever, whenever, but something was missing, someone.  

She closed her eyes and tried sleeping again, and her memory brought her back to that day she spoke to Jinx as she drifted off to sleep.  

In her dreams she saw her again, those long blue strands of hair, longer than any she had seen before, she saw the pale skin that so hopefully walked besides her, trying to right a wrong she hadn’t committed, and she saw the gentle eyes of a woman that looked at her as if she was a gift brought from heaven.  

As she slept, she cried, thinking of Jinx, dreaming of Jinx, longing for Jinx for a reason she couldn’t yet comprehend, a reason she was not even aware of.  

And the night passed.