#majestic

Descripiton: A long time ago, there was a peaceful state ruling over the Lanes of Zaun. Yet one day, the protector was murdered by his rival and Lanes had gone to shit ever since, leading to the establishment of an independent Firelight base just out of Zaun. But this peace was to come to end soon with old friends coming back, rising from the dead, and getting killed.

Part summary: The boy savior left the colony to take a look at one of Silco’s zeppelin’s in Piltover’s decking station. But not only he comes back later than established, he also brings guests with him.

A/N: I spent a lof of time thinking about ma boy Ekko and I wanted to continue the series. Hope y’all doing the best you can and that y’all are staying safe. I’ve been kinda our of it in the last few weeks haha. 

Tagging: @sweetcreamlatte​

Word count: 5.5 K

Masterlist:H E R E

The promise was deeply flawed and full of unsureness as soon as Ekko let it slip past his lips. What was he even thinking to promise something like that? How exactly did he say it? “There’s anything that can go wrong?” With that, you were sitting on one of the benches next to the sewer pipe entrance, letting your ankles jolt and leg bounce as you bit the skin around your fingernails.
First off, to start with, they were late. Sure, he warned you that it might take them approximately three days traveling to Piltover, to prepare the entire ambush, make sure the zeppelin goes down, and travel back to the Colony without being noticed… But five days had passed since you last seen them. Without any word, any sign. Looking at the small gold pocket watch Ekko had slipped on your night table right before he and his commando left, seeing what time it fucking was, they were already late. What could’ve happened? Did it all go wrong? Why did he make such a promise? Sure, all he was trying to do was to calm you down, but it only made you more furious with everything that happened.

It was the uncertainty that made you outraged. After another thirty minutes, you picked yourself up on your legs and started pacing around in front of the enormous pipe. With that, you started frantically mumbling to yourself as you started to come up with things you were about to fit into Ekko’s face as soon as he shows up. With that, you also started to hammer your fist down into your other palm, looking even more insane than a moment ago. It wasn’t long until one of the youngsters dared to approach you to ask you about what was going inside that head of yours.
“Y/N?” - The girl mumbled silently in a low, sweet voice. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear before making another step forward. - “Y/N!” - She exclaimed louder than before, making your head snap in her direction just so you could look at her. Seeing your eyes turn toxic green, just for a second, made her straighten up. Ria’s face got a bit paler as she smiled nervously. With that, you stopped yourself in your tracks and gave her a worried gaze.

“Sorry, I was out of it for a bit. What happened? Does anyone need my help?” - In a matter of a second, you were ready to run to anywhere in the Colony just to offer your help and services. It would’ve been a hundred times more effective than to prepare a whole fucking paragraph of anxious and infuriated speech that you were ready to spit at Ekko. Ria immediately shook her head, making you sit back on the bench.
“I was just worried about you, that is.” - The girl smiled a bit, swinging on her ankles as she smiled. - “I’m sure that they’re alright, they’re all alive, breathing, and still kicking. They’re Firelights, remember? You taught all of us how to prevail and survive… And Ekko leads the parade of hotheaded, dangerous, and devious sons of snakes with all the pride and guts he has. He sure as hell will be coming back to you no matter what.” - The girl assured you with a spark in her eyes, sitting down next to you, leaning her temple into your shoulder. No matter what, you had to smirk at what Ria had said.
That was right. You were all survivors. You were fucking fighters. Instead of simply growling at your enemies, you all started with biting… And you kept on kicking until the last bit of breath left your lungs. Yes, at that point, you were still worried sick about Ekko and his group, but you were a lot less furious. Dang, sometimes it was rather easy to forget how well you and all the adults raised all of the young people living in there. This had the power to make you calm down and so, so proud.

Ria was right with what she said. No way in hell they’d take Ekko himself down easily. He was capable of putting up a good fight. He was faster than them, he was more intelligent than all of them, he was… He was a Firelight. He sure as fuck was still alive and kicking.
That night, it was hard to fall asleep since they failed to come back. For a long time, you were sitting at your window, looking out of it… Still hoping you’d see at least a glimpse of them. Something had to go wrong, something must’ve gotten out of hand - but you people’s trust made you serene. Maybe they were just waiting for the dust to settle down before sneaking back. They must’ve been hiding somewhere in the Lanes, waiting for the right opportunity. And damn, you’d be glad if you weren’t as close as you were with that assumption.

The next morning, you were woken up by a loud hubbub. As you put on your sweater, peaking out of your window, you could see an enormous amount of people gathering by the gates. It was hard to say who was there exactly - if it was Ekko coming back, or if it was the Enforcers finally discovering the hideout… Or even worse, if it was Silco and his people. Without a second guess, you made sure you have your hair off your face as you ran down the stairs. You ran so quick that your breath almost hitched in your throat.
Barely stumbling on your feet, trying to catch your breath, you started to break through the crowd as fast as possible.
Most of those who were out in the open, fighting Silco’s people and making sure that the new batch of shimmer never teacher Piltover, risking their lives for something that didn’t even have to pay off, had already gone their separate ways. They all looked tired beyond any recognition; all of them were dirty from head to toe, their faces and bodies were full of bruises, their skin was pale, some of their clothes were torn to shreds… But you still opened up your mouth as you watched Ekko talking to Jamie, a tall chunky guy, who had a…

Wait a fucking minute.

With your eyebrows raised, you watched the feminine figure draped over Jamie’s shoulder. It wasn’t a regular woman at all and that was the fact that freaked you the fuck out. It was a damn Enforcer knocked unconscious with a bag out of sackcloth over her head. Watching the scenery, you were taken back a bit when you realized that Morty, another member of Ekko’s commando, had another woman draped over his shoulder. All of the anxiety, fear, fury, and negativity were suddenly gone out of the window.
Since when exactly did the Firelights start to kidnap people - and why weren’t you informed ahead of time? Sure, they might’ve been kidnapped, but their presence also meant that you had two more mouths to feed and two people to keep in absolute secrecy. Forgetting that for a short second, you slowly approached Ekko since Jamie had been given the order to throw both of your captives into a cell. You needed to catch a breath.

The good thing about Ekko was that in some instances, you didn’t have to speak for the boy to understand how you felt and what were you thinking about. Just as he turned to face you, opening his arms, you closed your eyes and let the man cradle you. The hug was tight and firm as if he couldn’t believe that you were there, alive and safe. Smiling, you gave into the touch even more.
“I was worried that you… I almost… God fucking damn it. I’m so fucking happy to see you.” - It was not more than a quiet mumble said amongst all of the rumbling going on around the both of you, but it meant everything to the man. It was you. With this, the boy finally realized that after all that went down, he made it back home. Leaving a long exhale, you could feel one of his palms on the back of your head and one press flat on the small of your back as he embraced you, taking in your smell. - “What the fuck happened out there, big guy?”

At that question, Ekko straightened up once more, looking down at your face as he palmed both your jaws. This alone made you a bit worried since you two never got sentimental enough to kiss in front of other people and truth be told, you didn’t want to do that. You were still in a position of imminent danger, you couldn’t let your guard down. This wasn’t the time for feelings - this was the time to make sure you’re both in the right mindset to think critically and logically.
Yet, instead of the kiss you’ve been expecting, Ekko just licked his lips, shook his head while letting his gaze wander off you, letting you go as he made sure he wipes all the sweat on his forehead. Something was wrong; something happened. Something that had the power to shake Ekko to his deepest core. With that, you couldn’t even watch him leaving you alone in front of the enormous entrance.

For the majority of that day, you did your best at occupying yourself with every possible thing you could be doing - you visited the school, then looked at all the cattle and greenhouses to make sure everything was going okay. The only issue you’ve been able to find was with the aqueduct, but that wasn’t anything that crazy - the guys were already working on fixing the piping issue. It was later in the evening when Ekko finally sorted out the thoughts inside his head enough to be able to look you in the face; the night had already come, when you sat in your room, filling out a report for the chronicle.
It was exhausting, to say the least. When you got the finalized list of people who were injured or dead thanks to whatever happened out there, your heart grew heavier. With each name, you had to take a breath and close your eyes to gain the strength to continue writing. You knew all of the people since you were a small kid. You used to see each other on daily basis, you used to share jokes and storied, you spent time helping each other, you cried together, you argued… You were a family. And now, you were to never see them again.

“Hey.” - The boy mumbled after standing in the doorframe for a bit with two plates and two bottles of beer in his palms… Just as he promised. He was adhering to the bet you two made five days ago, that needed to be said. - “I’m sure you can finish that later. You need a minute off, girl.”
“It’s just…”
“I know, Y/N, I know.” - The boy sighed. His voice was tender and low, making you realize he understands everything you’re going through - not only did he understand, but he was also even more fucked up on the inside since he not only knew the people were dead… He most likely watched die. - “Please, come eat dinner with me.” - Ekko whispered under his breath, showing you one of the rare moments of tenderness and absolute, raw vulnerability. Not answering, you simply nodded and closed the chronicles, leaving the book on your desk.

In the loudest silence imaginable, you both sat down on the edge of the staircase, pushing your legs through the railings, letting the limbs hang and swing around. He brought you the best Colony could offer you - it was three buns, veggies, and some neatly done meat. And boy oh boy, was it delicious to chew on that since it was quite a while since you had a dish like that.
“I think you’re the only one I can talk to at the moment.” - Ekko whispered, laying on his back to look at the dark, night sky. The fireflies started to surround the grand tree, the colony was slowly falling asleep, becoming dark and quiet in all the good ways. - “’Cause after that, I feel like I’ve gone crazy.” - It wasn’t a moment for you to start cracking jokes and you decided to follow that instinct. Nodding, you leaned your weight into your palm while looking at him.

“Take your time, I’m not going anywhere. Not like I didn’t do everything I could just to make myself occupied while waiting for you to come to talk to me.” - It was a quiet statement, but it made the man grin without any sign of happiness in the act. You knew him. And you knew him the best for the past 15 years. There was a certainty in your assumption - Ekko would come to talk to you no matter what. No matter how long it would take him to come to that conclusion, he’d appear on your doorstep.
Without further ado, he started describing what exactly had happened. Of course, they ran into deep trouble - they ran into her, they ran into Jinx. Simply talking about her made Ekko shiver a bit; they shared a lot of history and to be frank, he remembered the days when he fell in love with her. It was not much more than a childhood love, nothing but a simple crush… But still. That was also where the first couple of people got killed and injured. A lot of their gear got blown or damaged… So they had to move on foot to make it back. Yet just as they were about to come back home, they discovered a few old, familiar faces. Against his promise, Ekko and his people decided to trail them for a bit before they used the rest of their functional gear to stop whatever was happening there.
As logic dictated, you figured out that one of the people was the Enforcer lady who was unconscious in one of the cellars with her hands tied behind her back - and Jinx was also there. Did that mean that the other lady that was brought to your colony was… Her?

Bullshit, you stopped yourself in your track. Ekko, sensing that the gears inside your head started turning at the speed of light, sat back up and let you think about what he just told you.

You remembered Jinx vividly. Truth be told, it was almost four years since you’ve seen her, but this lady was well built, muscly and her skin tone was peachy. No way in hell this was the tall, skinny girl with long blue hair. Jinx was pale as a ghost, her wrist was so small that you’d be able to circle it four times with your fingers alone with just your fingers.
The question remaining was…

“Who the fuck is that other person you brought with you?” - You mumbled with confusion, still trying to figure it out on your own. Whatever happened there, it could be felt from Ekko’s wording and seen in his eyes that it had emotionally moved him. He knew that person, he had an emotional connection to them and he cared. Since he didn’t tell you how long it was since he has last seen them, you had nothing to go off. You remained clueless.
When the boy realized that none of this is making sense to you, he grabbed your hand and made you look into his eyes. - “Whatever I’ll say now, just remember that I haven’t gone crazy, right? I couldn’t believe it myself.” - He waited a moment, leaving you in the dark with your lips opened. - “We found Vi. I don’t know why she’s back or who’s the chick she was with, but I found her talking to Jinx. And I also found this.” - With a few fast moves, he opened a leather casing he was carrying around, letting a blue, shiny ball roll on his palm. As he talked about it, it was his typical hyper intrigued scientific mumbo jumbo, you honestly couldn’t care less. The entire time, you were looking through Ekko’s palm - until the bomb went off inside of you. From moment to moment, you picked yourself up off the wooden stairs with a muffled curse, almost losing it as you walked back into your room.

There was so… Much going on inside of you while your face remained stoic and seemingly absent.
Vi.
Ekko just fucking tells you he found Vi and glosses over it just to show you some Hextech thingy he found. First of all, there was denial; it couldn’t be her. Why? Because she died along Vander fifteen fucking years ago. Nobody ever found her body, or its remains, in the blew-up factory… And yet both Milo and Craglin died there in vain. It was only logical to assume that Vi was on the list of victims that were killed that day.

Then, there was this abrupt anger. You wanted to cry, scream or throw a tantrum. Instead of that, you picked up a glass and threw it against the wall as you breathed heavily, watching the pieces of glass all over your room.
If she was alive, why didn’t she send you a message? Why did she just vanish into the thin air, leaving you all in deep shit? Why the fuck would Vi leave you and Ekko to ensure Colony’s existence when you were just kids? Why did you have to put your whole life forces into making this place, protecting its people, and ensuring everything worked? Where did she leave and why didn’t she come back? Now, it was too late to be sentimental with her. You were just furious as all the questions popped inside your head.

Ekko stood still in the doorframe, watching you go through the entire emotional scale in the timeframe of three minutes… It was unsettling to watch, but he understood why you needed to go through that. At first, he also felt abandoned and betrayed. Yet through their journey back, Ekko decided it might be in their best interest to talk it all out - he honestly needed Vi to explain herself, to tell him what happened and how it happened. He needed to hear where she went and why, in the name of God, didn’t she come back home to you. With a long exhale, you leaned your palms into the desk of your table, still huffing a bit as you tried to keep your temper under control for at least a moment longer.
As you closed your eyes, you could feel it all; your heartbeat rising rapidly, the blood boiling in your veins, and your teeth clutching firmly. It was when Ekko saw the first bright green sparkle when he decided to put his hands on your shoulder, massaging the muscles rather delicately. This was his way of calming you down, switching between your right and left shoulder.

“This shit ain’t gonna solve anything, girl.” - The man mumbled with his lips close to your ear, leaning his head into the nape of your neck right after. - “I know whatcha feeling cause I’ve been there too. We need to hear what happened to her - hear it from her. If she won’t have any explanation or gives you a bitch ass excuse, you can blow her up, hm?”
It was a joke, obviously, and it did make you grin bitterly. Leaning the back of your head into his forehead, you didn’t do much more than a chuckle. - “You wouldn’t let me do that. No matter how much you wanna make me believe that you’re a super tough guy, you’re more emotional than what you’re trying to sound like at the moment.”
“I know I wouldn’t.” - Ekko mumbled, kissing a spot between your shoulders blades so tenderly that you didn’t even chance to feel it. It was for the better - you still weren’t ready to commit to whatever chemistry you had to go on and it make Ekko feel as close to you as he always wanted. That boy savior was actually madly in love with you, but he was fully realizing that there’s no space for this sort of attachment at the time of speaking; which didn’t translate to Ekko not wanting to do all of it… With you. He just had to wait. - “I know I fucking wouldn’t.”

The night went by quickly. The air was heavy and damp, but that was to be expected on a summer night. In fact, it was rather lovely sitting there in nothing but a sweater and shorts, letting your hair fall on your shoulders.
No matter how hard you tried to fall asleep, no matter how tired you actually were, you still ended up sitting in front of your opened window with your ankles leaned into it. The whole time, you kept on biting your lips, lost inside your head. Throughout the entire night, you barely moved an inch; you just played with the hem of your sweatshirt with your lips pressed together, watching the fireflies flying through the dark. There was something serene about the silence, something comforting; something so fundamental that it made you vulnerable to all kinds of emotions and thoughts. By the end of the night, there was a moment when you accepted Vi as something entirely else than the strong girl who always protected you when you were just a kid… You accepted Vi as a human being in the forefront because that’s who she was, to begin with. Sometimes, you had to step back from all the opinions you had.

This whole trope that you’ve given to Vi was rooted deep inside your brain from the first moment you opened your eyes after being brought to Vander’s. You were nothing more than a small, malnourished, bruised up, and bloodied up girl with fear written all over her face and eyes… And there she was.
She has been the first person you’ve seen there, she even outran Vander in this regard. Vi held a wet cloth in her fingers while delicately wiping the dirt and remnants of blood off your face. It struck you immediately; fuck, you’ve been nothing more than a kid shitting their pants, but you still saw it - the warmth, strength, and love in those big blue eyes. And just a second later, Vi reflected all of this in a smile as she smoothed your cheek. - “You’ve finally woken up, duckling. We’ve been kinda worried about ya.” - With that, the girl offered you her hand, wanting to shake yours. And all you did was stare at it. Seeing your eyes popping out of your eyelids, she chuckled and positioned your palm to shake hers. - “I’m Vi. It’s really nice to meet ya.”
This was when the girl spotted all the vulnerability and panic for the first time - or at least vividly. Immediately, Vi started to back out. Her (already impressive) frame started to leave your personal zone, her fingers simply smoothed your knuckles before she let them go. Once more, she put the cloth back into the cold liquid and started to wipe the rest of the dirt off your skin. - “If you don’t wanna talk duckling, that’s cool. I don’t mind. Just remember that you can have all the time in the world, alright? When you’re ready, you’ll run that mouth of yours on your own terms and conditions. Hold still for a moment, I’ll take you to have something to eat… Vander had prepared something special for you.”
This was the moment when your opinion of Vi started to form inside your brain. The girl herself didn’t have to do much - it was the aura she radiated that made them form it. All the kids adored Vi based on the way she spoke and validated them. She taught all of you how to be strong and how to take care of yourself. Going back to this time in your life, she might’ve been one of the sole reasons you weren’t murdered during the purge Lanes the night Vander died. Just because made each one of you a fighter.

As the night went by and you sat in front of the window, watching the forming sunset, you started to realise something. You still had a long way to go until realising that Vi, indeed, is just a normal human being. Now, you had to slowly and delicately reconstruct the idol you’ve made out of her. You still felt left behind, disappointed, and abandoned… But the foundation was there.
To explain it, at least poorly… Vi was the things she made you feel - her confidence made you strong, her warm hugs made you feel like she can solve any problem coming your way, loved, and to have a sense of belonging. But Vi herself never said she was any of it. She never said she’s a protector, she never said she’s invincible and that she can outsmart anyone… Your brain automatically gave her all of these traits, crowning them all with the most recent one - a traitor.

Truth be told, and there was nothing more you hated about this, you haven’t been there the day Vander died. You and Ekko got trapped in the Lanes as the panic and chaos arose and neither of you knew what exactly happened in there - the only conclusive story could be told by Silco. All you’ve seen was all of your friends dead, families and lives ruined, houses burnt to the ground, Vander killed, Jinx holding Silco’s palm in hers and Vi… Vi was missing. Well, now you knew she was missing - at the time of speaking, she was dead to you. Don’t having a body didn’t stop anyone from mourning. And now… She was back.
Immediately, your mind made a connection - based on all the traits your brain has given Vi, you assumed that everything was fake… And that she was a traitor. And frankly, none of that was her mistake directly. It was your wrongdoing for expecting Vi to be something she was not. Because she, in the end, was just a human being. Just like you, just like Ekko, Jinx, Vander… None of you was perfect. And therefore, perfection couldn’t be expected.

“You didn’t sleep, did you?” - It was Anna, sitting on the other side of the table, looking right back at you. To be candid, you were out of it for a long time, nibbling on mashed eggs on your plate. Smiling at her with sadness in your eyes, she didn’t even have to hear the answer. You looked exhausted and really, no surprise there. - “Ekko says he wants to interrogate both of them soon. Heard him talking about it just a couple minutes back… Right before I came in. I think you should be there.”
With a grin, the girl tugged on your plate of eggs since it wasn’t usual for someone to have eggs for breakfast. On the other hand, the cooks liked to spoil you a bit, so it was very smart of you to finish your breakfast when you weren’t hungry in the first place. With a teasing grin, you put one last spoon of eggs inside your mouth before pushing the plate closer to Anna, leaving the table.
It wasn’t exactly hard to find the man you were looking for - he was standing in front of the basement unit where the two people had been imprisoned. Both of them had been handcuffed, from what you were able to understand, and left without any food or water to make them more… Inclined to talk to you. There was a feeling inside your chest; you basically knew that Vi is one tough but to crack - a one that could break Ekko’s nutcracker to be precise. This could turn out either way, but you were positive about Ekko making the right call.

“Hey.” - Sighing, you joined the group waiting outside of the unit just as they talked about all the scenarios. Ekko glossed over your face, seeing the look of it - deciphering it immediately. All the questions you had for Vi could be answered in just a few seconds. But letting you in there would be unwise to say the best. She was strong, but when you got mad, you were three times stronger. Either way, your outburst wouldn’t end up well for Vi or the Piltoverian lady. - “Can I help with anything? I dunno, the questioning, bad cop good cop game or…”
“No!” - Ekko exclaimed almost immediately. The reaction surprised you a bit, making you raise your eyebrows as you watched him in astonishment. It was rare for Ekko to raise his voice, especially around you. - “I’m sorry for being like that, this whole deal is stressing me out. Listen…” - With that, Ekko licked his lips and put his hand on your shoulder, leading you away from the crowd. - “I don’t think you should be here when we talk to her. It won’t be easy for either of us but of all people here, I especially don’t want you to go through it alright?” - Maybe if you weren’t exhausted to death almost, you would’ve heard the emotion behind what Ekko just said… Yet instead of being flattered, you simply asked…
“Are you trying to tell me that I’m oversensitive? Is it because I’m not a part of your super cool commando? Because you don’t think I don’t have the balls to look her in the face?”

“I… Y/N, I’ve never said that. And I don’t think any of that about you.” - The man chuckled coldly, rolling his eyes all over the place. - “I’m saying that your reaction is literally unpredictable. I trust you with my life and you know that. But now is not that time. Just stay put before I figure it out with her, alright?” - For a moment, you still stared at his expression before you nodded. He was right in the end. You could literally blow everyone in the room up. With that, Ekko caught both of your shoulders to his palms, holding them firmly as he watched your face. - “Let me handle this. I won’t let you down.”
After this, Ekko smiled a bit, bumped your chin with one of his fingers, and left you standing there. Soon, most of the people left the site as Scar led Vi out of the basement, holding a bag over her head, leaning her forward firmly. This position sure as hell had to hurt. After that, Ekko put his mask on and entered the small, dark space, closing the door behind them.

It was hard to assume the length of their conversation - you were sitting outside the whole time, your elbows leaning into your knees as you listened to both voices engaging in a conversation. In the beginning, it almost sounded like it was a begging of a lengthy argument… Yet both voices calmed down rather quickly. As soon as there was no sound coming out of the room, you were standing on your feet, ready to march right in. And that was why you jumped as the door opened, Scar watching you for a bit before he left the doorframe. Ekko and Vi were sitting on the ground, talking quietly.
Vi noticed the shadow of another person creeping into the doorframe as the person watched them talking, but she didn’t fucking care. It was Ekko, the Little man, sitting right beside her, telling her everything that happened. Honestly, she wasn’t too far away from crying; she was really fucking happy at that moment. But Ekko looked at the person - and Vi understood in an instant.

His expression softened as soon as he laid his eyes on the person, there was this raw and adoring sparkle appearing in the gaze and warmth in the way he smiled at the incoming person. And Vi did her best to smile at them as well - yet as soon as she landed her eyes on you, the woman in the doorframe, her mouth opened and her eyes teared up as she watched you.
It was at that moment that the Firelight colony started to feel like a real home to her.

Beautiful ☺️

Vietnam. Credit Moritz Weiss.

dragonmp93: