#EKKO'S MOVING TREEHOUSE

[letters-to-rosie]

another fic idea: the timebomb Howl's Moving Castle AU

Ekko's Moving Treehouse!

blatantly inspired by @redrum-alice's FANTASTIC artwork and developed in collaboration with @lullabyes22-blog, because I've been fawning over the art since it was posted and I just knew there had to be a way this could work because it was so cute and the potential just jumped off the page for me

(you've probably seen it but go look at it if you haven't it's so good)

me and Lullabyes have both read the book and seen the movie, so we combined a lot of ideas from both versions, and this is the result so far:

so Silco is the Witch of the Waste lol

Jinx's curse turns her eyes pink (and they stay that way, like Sophie's hair turning white!)

our girl is on a journey of ✨self-discovery✨ and to find her family. Silco does not understand why and just wants her to come home for dinner lol

instead of happening upon Ekko, Jinx goes looking for him because she heard there's a wizard wandering around who helps people

Ekko's castle is a treehouse, and the roots walk!

Jinx: "What a stupid way to treat a tree!" DX (a book line lol)

Jinx keeps arguing with the curse and it weirds Ekko out but she's just arguing with Silco lol

Ekko is a big grump because he gave his heart away to protect it after so much loss 😭

Jinx does not clean his house. she just redecorates. she draws on everything, including the Wall of the Fallen, and Ekko is thisssss close to strangling her at all times but he's promised to help

Jinx: "Ya gotta inject some levity into this narrative!" /casually breaks 4th wall

Silco's henchpeople keep showing up and Ekko fights them off but they're just trying to get Jinx to come back for dinner

Silco: "Discover? What are you discovering? Gold? Dinner's getting cold!"

at some point Jinx will have to cut up Ekko's clothes mwahaha

Ekko has the Slime Meltdown™ because Jinx breaks his hoverboard and he needs to be airborne and free or else there's no point in living

Heimerdinger is Madame Sullivan/Suliman, Ekko's old magic teacher who tells Jinx she's a witch like in the book 🪄

he even has the intro that makes him appear all spooky at first before his furball nature is revealed

maybe instead of giving life to things she animates machines???

they have a cute breakfast scene in Ekko's treehouse where Jinx eats real fruit the first time

Vi leaves a flare lit for Jinx all this time, and Ekko helps her find it

we didn't discuss this, but I think it would be interesting if Vi was Turnip Head, trying to communicate through Jinx throughout the story and maybe pushing her into situations that she doesn't really want (which has to do with how we're imagining the ending; Vander could also be Warwick instead and serve the same purpose???? wait I'm cooking here)

I also want Ajuna to be Michael/Markl lol

the end of the story sees Jinx decide to be true to herself; even though she knows that Silco and Vi both love her, she's gotta do her own thing

despite being super annoying lol she helps Ekko live in the moment and get his heart back, and they fall for each other and it's mushy as hell okay

"She's like very decorative lichen growing on his tree and he can't get rid of her, so by the story's end she's just become part of the natural treescape."

and at the end they keep traveling in the treehouse to see the world and help people and so Jinx can come into her witch powers

probably would be easy to insert all the war themes

Jinx coming into her own and being cute, Ekko learning to love again after this woman just barges into his life, family themes, romance, what more could we want???

[bellybuttonbooks]

I want you.

Warnings: contains spoilers from chapter 43 of my Ekko x OC fanfic, smut.

Full fanfic can be found here.

Word count: 4.1k

*Six and Momo are the same person.*

"There's no way—" Ekko breathed, eyes blown wide as he looked around.

He knew this place.

Knew it well, actually.

They picked one of her lanterns from its hanging and used it to light their path down the narrow passage. They were met with stiff, heavy metal at the end of it, but it didn't take long for Ekko to realize what that metal was, and why no one was able to move it. It couldn't be pushed forward. It had to be rolled to the side. Once it'd been rolled out of the way, they stepped into a place Ekko spent countless hours in.

His personal little scrap yard where he stored bits of metal that was too large and plentiful to keep at the treehouse.

"You've been here before," Six stated rather than questioned. She was looking up at a massive, green Firelight symbol that had been painted on an enormous, slow-turning vent fan. Sizeable patches of rust tainted all four of the fan's wings, while mass pillars of metal that had fallen over with time were visible through the gaps. One of them had fallen in front of the hole they came through, which is why Ekko hadn't noticed it there before now.

"This is where I... keep stuff," he said, unsure how to phrase it.

She circled the place, looking around. The space was impressively vast, walls lined with mossed over metal and naturally lit by swarms of firelight bugs.

She looked at the various things he collected here. Old aerogliders, metal parts she thought might've belonged to a topside vehicle but couldn't be sure, sink taps, a busted radio, and... was that a sink?

There was also a couple of old shimmer barrels, which if she had to guess, were emptied before they were brought here.

But the most eye-catching thing about the space was a white-painted, metallic pseudo-throne. Stretches of fence-like metal pieces branched out from the back, held together by a loop of alloy.

"What's this supposed to be?" she asked, moving closer to get a better look.

"That," he said, getting closer as well, "—is a long story."

She looked over at him in intrigue. "Whose idea was that?"

"It was combination of things," he said before turning around and plopping down into the seat, leaning back and resting his arms on the metallic armrests. "Some of the kids got into the habit of calling me 'King Ekko', and some of the guys picked up on it and made this as a gag." A smiled formed on his lips as his gaze went unfocussed, his mind replaying the memory. "Walked into the meeting room one day and my usual chair was replaced with this thing."

A ghost of a grin tugged at the corners of her mouth as she watched him reminisce. She looked him over, and as she did so, her smile slowly faded away, while her eyes widened just so.

The way he was sitting with his legs spread, his posture hunched against the backrest, and his arms propped atop the makeshift armrests, fingers curling to grip at the edges, made her heat up and her pulse rush to her ears.

Ekko looked up and caught her gaze with his own then gestured with his head for her to come closer, seemingly unaware of how she was currently feeling.

She moused closer to him, her joints suddenly feeling awkwardly stiff.

Ekko seemed to feel the same, his movements rigid yet had a determination about them as he leaned forward, peering up at her with his pretty brown eyes seconds before she felt a slight pressure behind her thighs.

His fingers.

He slid his hands behind her legs and pulled her closer, holding eye contact with her. He looked at her with intention, his eyes glazed over with something dangerously clandestine.

He didn't have to speak for her to know what his intentions were.

He pulled her closer, her legs buckling on their own, and before she could fully process it happen, she was straddling his lap.

The weight of her on his lap seemed to draw him out of his sudden bout of boldness, and she saw as a look of realization sprung to his face.

"I—Is this okay—?" he asked, almost in a panic.

He heard her swallow and saw her give a slow nod.

He didn't say anything else, instead leaning back in small increments until he felt the metal of the throne press into his back. He took her with her, and she readjusted the position of her legs on either side of him to be more comfortable.

And that's how they stayed.

Eventually, their endless staring made her feel dizzy. It was when she blinked away the slow-forming blur from her eyes that she remembered something she wanted to do earlier.

She looked down and picked up one of the ends of her scarf.

Ekko watched as she plucked a piece of wool from one of the frills, then took one of his dreadlocks in the front into her fingers.

She circled the wool around the lower end of it and then secured it with a tight bow. She dropped the dread, and the end of it poked his forehead when it fell. He noticed she'd chosen the dread next to the one that was threaded with her ribbon.

Her eyes dropped to look into his. "Happy Snowdown," she spoke in a hushed tone.

Suddenly, it felt like all of the air in the room had been syphoned out, and all that was left for them to breathe in was each other.

Ekko moved forward and caught her lips with his own, his eyes falling closed along with hers.

This time, it didn't start slow. This wasn't like any other time he'd kissed her. This kiss was esurient.

Tectonic.

And she liked it.

She tried matching his intensity and was met with his tongue fighting its way into her mouth to stroke around hers.

It was dizzyingly endless.

His fingers were in her hair again, careful not to touch too closely to the scar on the base of her skull. He held the back of her head as he ravaged her mouth.

His lips shifted and pressed against the corner of her mouth before leading a wet hot trail to the right side of her neck.

Her head lolled to the side on its own like a reflex and her skin broke out in goosebumps as his tongue pushed past his lips to lave at the skin there. The sensation was so shockingly new that it drew a whimper from her mouth. One that she didn't register.

But Ekko heard it, and it shocked something inside of him to life.

The hand in her hair dropped to join his other one in rubbing sensual paths up her back while he kissed at her neck.

"E—Ekko..." she whimpered out, causing him to still.

He pulled away from her neck to look at her, worried that he had taken things too far.

She looked at him with visible vulnerability, and she struggled to hold eye contact with him. "What... what are we...?"

A soft smile crept on his lips when he realized what she was asking.

"Each other's," he said after a moment.

She blinked. "Each other's?"

He hesitated.

"I... I want... to give you everything that I am... and... to love everything that you are... i—if that's okay with you..."

His words seeped past her skin and bones, embedding itself into her heart so deeply they became a part of her.

Her response was a kiss.

Momo pressed her lips to his, the kiss a contrast to the hungry way they ate at each other's mouths moments earlier.

Careful and slow, allowing them to feel each tiny crevice of each other's lips and the warmth of their shared moisture.

When she pulled away, it was to press a tickling kiss to his cheek.

Their eyes opened and met, and it felt like they were tying themselves to each other.

The moment was transient, both of them seemingly unable to go too long without their lips connected.

They leaned in at the same time, their mouths rejoining and moving with the intensity of waves on the ocean. Deep like the sea and soul-pulling like the tides.

His tongue pried its way into her mouth again, and her tongue met it with eager caresses.

He groaned into her mouth, and it was then that she became aware of a stiffness that had formed between them. It poked her between her legs. She jolted, but didn't pull away from the kiss.

She wanted this.

Wanted him.

Needed him in her blood.

But then, he pulled away, and she almost wanted to sob in protest.

He panted, his hot breaths huffing from his mouth and fanning her face. She heard him swallow in between breaths.

"I... I want to... try something..." he said, still breathless and somewhat hesitant.

She reached up and stroked his cheek with one of her hands, her thumb caressing him underneath his eye.

"What is it?"

His eyes circled her face before reconnecting with hers.

"Can I... try and... make you feel good...?"

Her eyes widened and she slowly sat back, causing her to feel more of his hardened cock. Her throat swelled with an unreleased shriek.

He felt her fingers twitch on his face, and he placed his hand over hers, stroking soft patterns over the tops of her fingers. "It's okay to say no," he spoke gently.

"I want you," she blurted out. "I want you in everyway."

He searched her face for any doubts.

There were none.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded slowly.

Her eyebrows pinched together in confusion when he started shrugging his coat off his shoulders and pulled his arms out of the sleeves.

"What are you—"

"Hold onto me," he said, his fingers feeding underneath her thighs to grip them firmly.

She clung to him, her arms wrapping around his neck in a secure hold. Her breath pinched when he stood, taking her with him.

He spun with her in his arms to face the throne, where he laid her down on the seat with care. His coat acted as a barrier between her and the rough metal.

Momo pushed herself up on her elbows and saw him lower himself to sit on his heels. He started to untie the laces on her boots and then tugged them off her feet.

His eyes found hers again, and they drew him closer. He leaned forward, gaze dropping to look at the waistband of her pants. He reached up and tucked his fingers underneath the very top, then dragged his eyes up to look at her again to search for any signs that she might've changed her mind.

Her chest and face burned with the intensity of a fever, despite the frigid air circulating around them. Her heart caught in her throat when she felt him hook his fingers underneath the waistband of her pants. She noticed him pause and peer into her eyes, wanting more confirmation before he continued. She nodded, and her skin jumped when he started to leisurely pull down her pants, revealing the soft expanse of her legs.

Her pants fell to the floor beside him, and he took his time admiring the parts of her that hadn't been revealed to him until now.

Her legs were slim and hosted a significant amount of raised laceration scars. His eyes burned, and it took everything in him not to break down at the sight. He couldn't understand how someone could perform such atrocities on someone. He forcefully shed the thoughts from his mind. This moment was theirs, and he refused to let fleeting thoughts ruin it for them.

His eyes raked up her legs and stopped at the soft-pink panties she wore. Above it, her clothed tummy rose and fell with elevated breaths. He met her gaze and held it steady.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, then gently slid his hand underneath her ankle to raise her right leg. He pressed a kiss to her inner malleoli and then a trailway up her leg, each kiss becoming more open-mouthed than the last, leaving small patches of moisture in their wake.

She inhaled a shivering breath when his lips met the pillowy portion of her upper thigh, the wet feel of his mouth forcing currents of exquisite heat up her thighs and between her legs.

"P—Please—" she heard herself say, and her fingers dug into his coat.

He lifted his head, his lips falling from her thigh with a faint, wet pull.

"You don't need to beg, Momo... you can have anything you want."

His words stole her breath. She noticed his pupils were blown wide, bringing a deep darkness to his eyes. The way he spoke to her was a discovery. A new side of him that was just for her.

His hands ghosted a titillating trail up the sides of her thighs and stopped at the top of her panties.

He peered into her eyes with something brand new. A gentle, wordless demand that she understood like they were communicating in their own quiet, personal language. A transfer of thoughts by staring alone.

She held eye contact with him as he started to pull her panties down her legs. They wrung and twisted during their journey down and soon they joined her pants and boots on the floor.

Ekko's eyes weren't on hers anymore, now drawn to the sensitive parts of her between her legs. He looked her all over, memorizing the straight line of her unparted folds that were still nestled neatly together, a glistening dampness painting along the slit and catching a green glimmer from the light the surrounding firelight bugs emitted.

She squirmed nervously, and she saw the muscles in his neck strain as he swallowed.

He tugged on the very beginning of her slit with his index finger before using his thumb and middle finger to part the two halves of her folds, causing a quiet wet sound to emit from the parting flesh.

A whine died in her throat as her wetness caught the chill of the cool air.

He stared at the silken skin that unveiled before him, taking his careful time to study the most delicate part of her. He wanted to imprint the sight before him permanently into his mind so he could revisit it later.

While he hadn't seen a pussy before, he knew some things about its anatomy.

There was a tiny hidden knot nestled above her inner lips. It peeked out from a sleeve of skin.

Her clit.

Ekko thought it looked cute.

How was it that everything about her was adorable?

When he felt his knuckles brush against her thighs as she tried to close them, he realized he was probably staring for too long and making her nervous. He peered up at her through his lashes, but once he noticed the notes of insecurity etched on her face, he inclined his head more to look at her fully.

She quickly averted her gaze, her eyes falling closed in embarrassment.

"I—I just... fuck... you're so beautiful, Mo," he breathed out, keeping his eyes latched onto her face despite the almost painful desire to look down again.

She peeked her eyes open and looked at him through a blur of unshed tears.

The sight made his heart stretch and pull in his chest. She looked so vulnerably stunning in this moment; it caused his longing for her to bolden.

"You're perfect. All of you... it kind of put me in a trance..."

Momo felt like she might collapse in on herself. She couldn't speak. Embarrassment had tied her tongue. Her lip trembled, and suddenly all she wanted was to be held.

She wordlessly opened her arms, reaching upwards for him.

He knew immediately what she was asking for. He lifted himself off the floor enough to fold himself over her, where he then balanced his weight on his left forearm, while his right slid between his coat and her back, embracing her close. His face pressed against the crease between her neck and shoulder, where he pressed a sequence of open-mouthed kisses.

"So beautiful..." he whispered against her skin in between kisses.

"So lovely..."

Kiss.

"So precious..."

Kiss.

She whimpered at his continuous praise while tears spilled from the corners of her eyes, forming wet streamlets down her temples.

"Mine," he murmured against her neck.

A soundless gasp fled her mouth.

"You're mine."

He shifted, lifting himself and sliding his hand out from underneath her. His fingers crept across her cheeks so he could cradle her face, and he looked down at her with hooded eyes, which soon fell closed as he leaned forward to seal his lips over hers.

It lasted a small moment but also forever, mouths gliding as their bodies melted together.

He pulled away seconds later and slowly leaned back, his hands floating down her clothed sides until they reached her naked waist, where they paused for a moment before switching directions and drifting between her legs.

Her thighs fell open at his touch, and he moved his hands closer. He used his thumbs to part her folds, this time further than before. Her clit peeked out from its hood from the pull. His face drew closer, and he was inches from her pussy when he felt Momo's right-hand paw at his forearm.

He moved, grasping her hand and locking their fingers together while rearranging the fingers of his other hand to keep her spread for him.

He viewed up at her, eyes lidded with arousal while he leaned forward again. The first thing he did was loudly inhale, and her legs started to close from embarrassment.

"So good..." he groaned out.

Before she could further react, he experimentally used the tip of his tongue on her tiny bead of nerves.

Her hips jerked and she squeaked.

He did it again but stopped when her sounds and jolts told him it was too much. He didn't know what he was doing, but for some reason he felt determined rather than discouraged. He wanted to learn how her body worked—listen to the sounds she made and feel its small movements.

He tried again, this time instead up licking her clit directly, he nudged the side of it. Slowly. Up and down. Over the hood. Then repeated on the other side. He witnessed her beautiful response, sincere whimpers flooding from her mouth and her hips twitching with each stroke.

The slow torment from his tongue sparked electric filaments to life that zigzagged their way down her thighs and to her toes. Her breathing faltered, her brain going numb from the slow-building pleasure, causing its automatic processing to hiccup.

The crescent traces of his tongue developed into full circles, tracing tight rings around her clit. By now, she had eased into the stimulation, allowing him to apply more pressure.

She let out her first moan, her head pushing back into his coat and her eyes rolling closed.

He glanced up at her from over her mound, encouraged by her reaction. His tongue strayed from her clit, instead delving lower to taste her natural lubrification. He groaned, sending vibrating ripples through her body that caused her hips to tense.

He pulled away just enough to speak. "You taste so good..." Then his tongue was on her again, lapping at her wetness and making sounds that made it seem like he was the one being pleasured.

She panted during the momentary break on her clit, and her head lolled to the side where her eyes opened to watch him feast on her. The sight of him between her legs, mouth hungrily latched onto her pussy, sent fresh wetness spewing from her. It was so erotically pleasing to watch. Such a gorgeous man with a beautiful tongue.

And he was hers.

She whined when his tongue abandoned her inner lips to drag her wetness upwards, spiraling it around her clit to create more slickness around the nerves. He went back to circling it with his tongue, easing her back into it until he wrapped his lips around it again and sucked.

This time, she moaned out loud, her hips bucking and her grip on his hand tightening, fingers nipping the sides of his. Her eyes fluttered closed once more, and in the darkness all she knew was him and the pleasure he was pulling from her body.

Momo couldn't feel her feet, feeling only tingling. Her whole body twitched when she felt something firmer poke her inner lips, pushing them further open and then circling around the ring of her entrance.

Ekko peered up at her with his mouth still latched onto her pussy, watching her reaction as he carefully pushed his index finger of his free hand past her opening.

Her body automatically clamped down, trying to push out the invasion. She released a broken whimper, prompting him to pause his movements and pull away.

"You okay...?"

"Y—yeah—it's just—it feels... different..."

He studied her face. "...Good different...?"

She swallowed. "It's just... new..."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No—! No... please..."

He blinked, and after a few moments a slow smile curled at his lips, which became hidden when he returned his mouth to her pussy, keeping his eyes on hers as he lapped at her clit. He spun his finger around and pushed further inside, feeling her inner muscles hug him. She was so warm and wet inside, and it caused his cock to strain further against the barrier of his pants, painfully so. He wanted her. So badly. But this wasn't about him. He wanted to introduce her to overwhelming pleasure; his own needs were the least of his worries.

Her body started to relax around his finger, and he responded by fully sheathing it inside, right to the knuckle, while making sure he kept a good pace on her clit to help her hole remain accepting of him.

At a long, maddeningly slow lick of his tongue, she arched forward, the fingers of her free hand curling and clawing at his coat, while her other hand started to tremble in his hold. Her insides felt like they were searing, melting away into liquid molten that leaked out and ran down his knuckles.

Her moans became more urgent, her hips starting to stutter and squirm. She hardly registered the soft strokes of his thumb on the curve between her index finger and thumb, her body trembling and tingling. She was approaching something, yet it remained out of reach, circulating inside her tauntingly but refusing to break way.

"E—Ekko—" she whimpered out pitifully. She wasn't even sure what she was going to say.

He responded with a grunt against her pussy and decided to try something. His finger curled upwards, probing at the upper muscles inside her pussy. He pushed his saliva forward in his mouth, further lubricating her clit to prepare it for his increased sucking.

"Oh God oh God—" Her mind went liquid and spun upside down, her nerve endings jumping. Bursts of light twinkled across the dark void under her eyelids, lighting up her head like visual tingles. Her legs spasmed and locked, and she would've squirmed onto her side if Ekko hadn't pulled his hand from hers to hold her down.

Ekko listened to her sweet whines and moans as she fell apart against his mouth, her arousal spewing out of her and coating his finger. He groaned against her, her pleasure his own.

He listened to her body when he felt it start to buck away from his touch, gone sensitive from her orgasm. He slowly freed his finger from her pussy and replaced it with his tongue, lapping up the mess he made.

When her mind finally rebuilt itself, her eyes tiredly opened and watched as Ekko continued indulging on her pussy. She forced herself up on her elbows so she could see more of his features.

His eyebrows were pinched, his eyes closed. She heard as he made the softest of groans.

His eyes opened suddenly, meeting hers, and she felt him smile against her folds before he pulled away.

They stared at one another in charged silence, interrupted only by their breaths.

She was the first to move, throwing herself forward and wrapping her arms around him.

He jerked in surprise and quickly placed a hand behind him to support both of their weights. His other found its way to her back to pull her closer.

He smiled into her hair.

"...Can I do it again?"

Full fanfic can be found here.

[sapphiresaphics]

Alright let’s get into this:

The actions in season 2 are just an important as the actions in season 1. There is no difference, you’ve just created an artificial divide between the seasons.

All the stuff that Zaun suffers through DOES matter. We see the consequences of Piltover’s actions constantly throughout the show. Zaun targets the chem barons and imposes martial law? Zaun rebels with the Jinxers. But as the martial law gets tighter and tighter, the will to fight from Zaun becomes less and less. Up until we barely have anybody show up for the rally at Vander’s statue. And even then, they don’t want to fight unless Jinx is there. And she’s not.

And this oppression against Zaun is so complete that when Jayce BEGS them for help against the upcoming war… they REFUSE. Zaun LEAVES. They turn their back on Piltover because of course they would! You wouldn’t have that moment if the “consequences meant nothing.”

“Jinx and Vi make up out of nowhere.” I’m sorry what? Did we watch the same show? For starters, neither of them wanted to fight in the first place. They WANT to be sisters. They WANT to be together. And it’s all these outside forces influencing them that has been keeping them apart. That’s like the central conflict they deal with. So when a chance arises that they can work together and maybe get their family back, they both take it. And it’s not instant either. Vi tries to kill Jinx at first. They bicker in the mines. They literally spend an entire episode AT ODDS with each other and it only brings them together when Warwick/Vander shows up again.

I dunno my dude. The series in 9 episodes long. Spending an entire episode dealing with them bickering and reluctantly begrudgingly getting along isn’t “making up out of nowhere” to me.

Ekko falling in love with AU Powder is so that they can reestablish what Ekko is fighting for, what could be (as in what is at stake between the cities if things change), and to move Ekko to a place of empathy so that he can save Jinx from killing herself in Episode 9. The ship was already a thing that existed before the show came out, this was just an effective and efficient way to bridge all those moments. The ship isn’t the only thing happening in that episode, and if you think that’s the only reason that episode exists then you’re missing the bigger picture.

Season 1 Ekko wouldn’t save Jinx. She tried to blow herself up on the bridge and he ran away to save himself. He tried to convince Vi that Powder was dead and only Jinx exists. Season 2 Episode 7 exists to move Ekko to a place where he can see Jinx for who she is. To give him the power so that he can save her from killing herself. And to help him remember that he should be fighting FOr Zaun instead of hiding AWAY from Zaun in his treehouse.

Ramble time. I think the biggest thing for me that made me not like season 2 was how it kind of just gave you what you wanted without exploring the consequences. Like the reason season one was so engaging is because they gave you the drama and the tragedy and they made you watch the consequences hurt in the long run. Every action every move that each character makes drove the story forward and mattered deeply in the long run.

Then in season 2 you’ll have plot points such as Caitlyn gassing the undercity, and the terf war between the chem barons, Jinx becoming a symbol of zaun’s liberation, only for these things to not really go anywhere. They’ll give you these ideas that have so much potential for tragedy or drama or even political commentary but hardly do anything with it. And then they’ll just have Jinx and Vi make up out of nowhere because they know that’s what the audience wants. They’ll have Ekko fall in love with alternate universe powder because that’s what the fans want. At this point it’s just hurt/comfort fanfic and it’s the complete opposite of what made me so engaged with these characters in the first place.

[divinegrey]

BOOMERANG / vi x f!reader

POP ROCKS & PUNCHES, part 5

masterlist here

good morning everyone! i hope you all have a good day/evening and don't forget to take care of yourselves :)

prompt: you recount the story of what happened in the undercity after vi had disappeared and your entire life turned upside down. things happen, then they don't.

words: 2607

warnings: mentions of severe violence and blood/gore, near character death, abuse and mental trauma

“Show us again, Rocky!”

You laugh. “Okay, okay, one more time, but that’s all.”

To the group of kids assembled in front of you, you make a show of your gauntlet, the smooth designs and all, before snapping your wrist and extending the shield. The kids start giggling and screaming all over again, and you throw the shield into the air. It arcs over their heads before coming back to your wrist.

“Can I hold it?!” A young boy, no older than two or three years old, looks up at you with so much awe that you find it hard to say no.

With a smile, you remove the shield from your gauntlet and allow him to hold it. The little boy does his best, but the shield is two-thirds his size and much heavier than it looks. It goes to the floor with a thump, and you barely hold back a snicker.

You put your hands on your hips, watching them all come together to lift it up over their heads.

“There you go! Now you’ve got it!” You say, clapping your hands when they start moving like a little phalanx around the place with the shield.

Despite all the bad in the world of the Undercity, the corruption rooted in the Lanes, the sanctuary is a haven. Ekko did a good job with this place. You’re unbelievably proud of him. The sun feels good on your skin and despite having almost gotten shot again by Jinx

“Hey, Rocky!”

Speaking of Ekko…

You turn around, expecting to answer a question he has, but your face drops when you see Vi standing next to him. You can’t tell if she looks relieved or pissed off to see you. Either way, you brace yourself for a conversation coming your way. You hold your arm out for your shield, activating the electromagnetic waves and summoning the weapon back to your arm, much to the displeasure of the kids.

“Awwww!” they exclaim.

“C’mon, everybody, scatter off,” Ekko says, corralling them away and sending you a look that says please fix things. You holster the shield back onto the gauntlet and give him a barely perceptible nod.

Vi comes closer to you, a small frown on her expression. “Didn’t know you could throw that thing.”

“I did like throwing frisbees when I was younger,” you say, retracting the shield. “I call it the Sentinel Shield.”

“Fancy,” Vi says.

“We should— we should talk. Let’s go,” you say. You don’t check to see if Vi follows, because you know she is. Her footsteps are loud and despite whatever emotional distance entangles itself between you, the physical distance remains small. That’s always how it has been, since the time you met.

You take her up to one of the upper levels of the treehouse. You rest your arms on the railing and look out below, to the people milling about. Vi comes close, her arm almost touching your own. She rubs her hands over her knuckles and you notice she’s still wearing the brass knuckles you gave her when all of this began.

“Ekko told me that you helped him make this place,” Vi says, gesturing to the sanctuary.

“I did. Five years ago, after we finally had enough of wallowing in our misery and felt angry enough to do something about it,” you start, tapping your fingers on the wooden railing. “We called ourselves the Firelights because of all the times we would see them when we were younger. They were a symbol of hope then, they’re the same now.”

“But you left.”

“Someone needed to be the man on the inside to get information,” you say. “Ekko targets Shimmer shipments because I find them. I traded technology for information. I’ve always been fine on my own; look at what Ekko did with this place without me.”

Vi doesn’t look where you spread your arm to show off the sanctuary. Vi looks at you, but as soon as you notice, she turns away. The scar on her eyebrow seems so much more prominent when she’s so deep in thought. It hadn’t been there when you were younger; she got it in prison, and the thought alone makes your chest ache.

“Powder recognized you, why did she attack you?” Vi’s voice turns hostile and you take an inhale. Still hasn’t gotten a handle on her anger. She gets that from Vander. “Did you do something to her?”

“Pull the stick out of your ass, Vi,” you reply harshly, meeting her aggression with your own. Your hand squeaks on the wood of the railing from gripping it so tightly. “Do you think I didn’t try and get back to Jinx when I discovered she was alive? Do you really think that?”

The faint look of surprise from the rough tone of your voice catches her off guard, her grey eyes averting to anywhere else. She looks like a kicked dog, but frankly, she kinda deserves it after nearly going off on you.

“You tried?” Vi asks quietly.

“I did, a few years ago,” you reply, removing any and all edge to your words as you start explaining. “Three, I think. I’d been watching her do everything Silco asked her to do and it broke my heart knowing that I was there but I couldn’t do anything about it. So… I tried using my influence as Pop Rocks to make a deal with Silco. I gave him some ammunition and weapons and before we shook hands, I asked if I could see Jinx.”

“You made a deal with Silco?” There’s an edge to Vi’s voice when she straightens up.

“I made one deal with him. One.” You shake your head. “I was desperate. I wanted— I needed to see Jinx for myself, to make sure it was her.”

“What happened?”

“He allowed it.” You scoff, rubbing your hand on your jaw. “He summoned her and when she laid eyes on me, I couldn’t tell if she wanted to kill me or she wanted to hug me.”

You see blue eyes in the back of your mind, and the crushing feeling of failure sweeps over you again. Your head bows down and out of the way so Vi can’t see that you’re starting to cry.

“When she needed somebody the most, Vi, I wasn't there for her,” you say, the heel of your boot bouncing on the ground. It’s all you can do to stave off the impending breakdown because you tried and you failed. “I knew she was alive long before that and I did nothing. I didn’t try. I waited until Silco had gotten under her skin and by then it was too late.”

Vi puts her hand on your arm.

“Silco told her to shoot me,” you finish. Vi’s gasp is audible. You turn to face her completely, pulling up your shirt to show her exactly where Jinx’s bullet went into your skin. Just above your hip bone on your left side. “She almost didn’t. I said, ‘don’t do it, Powder,’ and she shot me.”

Vi’s voice shakes when she mutters, “Oh, god, Rocky…”

She presses her palm over the scar— you feel the faintest sensation on the raised, roughed up skin, but most of it comes in the form of a feeling that threatens to swallow your heart up whole. Vi looks so concerned, like the way she did when she would look for you in the middle of an alleyway fight she got herself and the rest of the gang embroiled in by accident.

“The thing is, Vi, I don’t think she wanted to. She looked like she was in pain the entire time,” you say, recalling the way Jinx was almost in tears with the muzzle of her gun smoking and the smell of blood pungent in the air. In a moment of boldness, you put your hand over hers. “I don’t think she wants to be Powder anymore. She’s Jinx, and there’s nothing we can do about that.”

Vi shakes her head, refusing in the face of the truth. “I can’t— I can’t accept that Rocky, Powder still has to be in there somewhere.”

“I nearly bled out to death in a random alleyway,” you say, interlacing your fingers with hers and holding them tightly. “I thought I was about to die, and all I could think about was how sorry I was because I failed you. I promised you that I would keep an eye on her when you went to go save Vander, but I fucking failed and all of this happened.”

You pull away, raising your hands to wipe away the tears. The memories come rushing back into your head all at once; the look on Vi’s face when she asked you to stay behind to keep Powder safe, putting the flare you made for her in Powder’s hands… Vi trusted you to keep Powder out of danger.

And that was the one thing you couldn't fucking do.

“All of this is my fault, Vi. Mylo and Claggor died because of me. Maybe, just maybe, if I had taken the time to show Jinx how to properly do things, how to make things, none of this would’ve happened,” you continue, completely unaware of Vi coming closer. “We would still have Powder, we would still have everyone on that mural here— I would’ve had you.”

Vi’s hands squeeze your shoulders. You can’t bring yourself to look at her, no matter how much you want to.

“Do you blame yourself for all of that?” Vi whispers— she’s so close to you, nearly chest to chest. You nod. What comes out of her mouth next— your real name, one you haven’t heard in years, uttered so softly, is enough to bring you to full tears. Vi closes you into a hug, her arms securing around your shoulders and her hand on the back of your head.

Vi was the only person allowed to say that name. Not Vander. Certainly not Mylo or Claggor. Ekko doesn’t even know it, neither does Jinx. Yet, here Vi is, saying it to you now. You finally put your arms around her, putting your face into the fabric of her jacket.

“I’m so sorry,” you say.

Vi shakes her head, running her fingers over your hair. “It wasn’t your fault, I promise you, it wasn’t your fault, Rocky. You couldn’t have known what was going to happen.” She pulls away and puts your face in her hands. “All that matters now is that we’re back together, okay? We’re going to figure this out.”

She hugs you again, rocking you back and forth.

“You’re too important for me to be mad at,” Vi says. “God, you know me better than anyone else, even after all this time, Rocky.”

Muffled into her jacket, you say, “You need to stop punching everything you see.”

“Have you ever met me?” There’s a beat of silence. Then, “Thank you. For trying.”

You pull your head back and stare into Vi’s eyes. There’s a thankfulness within those steel-colored irises you’ve only ever seen a handful of times before. It reminds you of the days when you’d be side by side, ripping into those little packets of candy and getting a sugar rush that would last you both hours.

“She’s our little sister,” you say. “We’ll get her back. Somehow.”

Vi looks down at your lips— you swear she does, at least— before flicking back up. “What are we?”

“We’re—” You stop yourself short, mostly because you don’t want to speak before you say an answer that might be incorrect. Vi exhibits a large amount of patience for someone like her, giving you the time you need to actually formulate a coherent response. You say, “We’ve never been like that, we’re not siblings. Jinx is my little sister in every shape or form but you… you’re so much more than that to me.”

Vi looks at you for a few seconds too long to be considered strictly platonic. But those lines of your friendship have always been blurred. She slept on the top bunk of her bed, but it wasn’t uncommon to find you up there too when nights got rough and nightmares were bad. You were kids then. You’re adults now and even though six years have passed… sometimes it feels like none at all.

You find yourself leaning in when Vi does. Her breath is warm on your lips, the strong bridge of her nose touches yours, and—

“Guys— oh, shit, I’m so sorry!”

You pull away when you hear the voice of Ekko behind you. When you turn around, his eyes are wide and there’s a hand over his mouth. Vi is glaring at him, but you just squeeze her wrist and give her a look that says calm down. You’ll have time to talk about it later. You hope, anyway.

“Uh,” Ekko clears his throat. His complexion is darker on his cheeks and he looks beyond flustered. You feel just as embarrassed but you hide it better, holding Vi’s hand behind your back. “The Enforcer girl is getting rowdy. Keeps asking for Vi.”

“Sounds like your cue,” you say, taking a step back from Vi. You think if you stay any closer to her your heart might explode out of your goddamn chest from how hard it’s beating right now. It’d almost happened and if Ekko hadn’t shown up out of nowhere—

“Alright, alright, I suppose we should fill Cupcake in on the whole situation, make a plan, somethin’ like that.” Vi is rambling. You find it adorable, but you don’t discredit the heat on your own face.

“I’ll just—” Ekko makes a motion behind him to the stairs. “Wait for you to finish your conversation.”

Right. Conversation. Because almost kissing your best friend is totally a conversation.

Ekko disappears faster than you can say Piltover. You watch him go and think to yourself that he really hasn’t changed that much. Bolts at the first sign of awkwardness. Did the same thing when he was a kid.

You turn back to Vi.

“So…” Vi trails off, biting on her lower lip.

“Look, Vi, it’s pretty obvious that there’s something more going on between us right now than just friendship,” you say, swallowing the lump in your throat when you see Vi nod in agreement. “Just… there are other things that we need to do before we can think about that, yeah?”

Vi steps forward and grabs the back of your head, bringing her lips to your forehead for a long, sweet kiss that leaves you practically melting. You inhale the rough smell of her before pulling back.

“I meant what I said, you know,” you say. “We’ve always been something more. You can’t get rid of me now, so don’t even try. I’ll just come back like a boomerang.”

“Wouldn’t even dream of it, Rocky,” Vi mutters into your hair.

“Now go on. I’ll be there in a few,” you continue, squeezing Vi’s arm before going back to the railing. “Need to catch my breath.”

You really should’ve expected Vi to slap your ass when you lean over the railing, but it still comes to you as a surprise. You almost throw your shield at her, but you just laugh at the grin on her face.

You’ll have time to figure things out later. The focus is getting Jinx back. You pray it isn’t too late. You won’t let Vi down again; you can’t afford to.

Jinx will come back.

Whatever it takes, you think to yourself. You take a deep inhale, then head back down the tree.

~~~~~

A/N: ooooooooo the ladies are almost kissing!!!!

[letters-to-rosie]

okay one more thing for the Howl's Moving Castle AU

i cannot believe I forgot this but

Ekko? Time travel? "Find me in the future"??? "I'VE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU"???????