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1.
Here, on the damp grass, beneath the morning moon, she splayed out as if the dew didn’t bother her—maybe it didn’t. She blinked her eyes closed, head rolling back to level her face with the stalks of lush green. He had never seen someone so beautiful.
Without opening her eyes, she clicked her tongue. “Are you coming, or what?”
He snorted, sitting down beside her, eyes tracing the outline of her body, the shape of it forever fixed here , like a crime scene, or a snow angel.
He rested his elbows on his knees. The sun began to rise.
“Do you think we love each other in every universe?” she asked, cracking one eye open, wandering fingers finding his own.
“There’s only one universe,” he said, corners of his lips twitching. “at least, officially. According to the scientists.”
“Fuck the scientists,” she said. “what do they know?
A snide retort began to tumble from his lips, but she was faster, sitting up and pressing a dirt-covered thumb to his lips. “Seriously.”
He stared at her for a moment until she gently removed her thumb, allowing him to speak. “In the case that there are multiple universes, and we exist in all of them, then yes. I’m not me if I’m not loving you.”
She knocked him down onto the grass, curling up on his chest like a lazy cat. He rubbed tender spirals on her exposed shoulder.
They sat in silence for a moment, until she spoke again, headed still resting over his heart. “I’ll always find you. In every single timeline.”
The quietness of her voice, the serenity of the moon fading and the sun breaking through the parting clouds—he was inclined to agree.
2.
“Pow?” Ekko called, nudging the bedroom door open with his foot. He’d only just arrived home from class, but immediately after jostling the creaky front door open, he knew something was wrong. It was too quiet.
Their bedroom was dark, almost completely still except for the shaking creature beneath the comforter. Ekko sighed quietly, ignoring the tugging in his chest. It was one of those days, then.
“Pow?” he asked again.
The shaking stopped, and the figure was suddenly too rigid. He said nothing, only kicked off his boots and eased himself into bed next to her.
He waited. Powder always needed to emerge on her own. Pushing her would only make it worse.
Eventually, she shrugged the comforter off her and sat up. Her eyes were bloodshot, rimmed with tears Ekko never liked to see. He opened his arms for her, and she found her place in his lap in record time.
“Down day,” she said, nosing at his shoulder. “Vi.”
Ekko rested his chin on Powder’s untamed indigo curls. “It’s getting to be that time of year.”
She nodded softly. “I miss her. I need her.”
And there was nothing he could say, because some days it was him curled up in bed, clutching the only picture he had with his foster father and wishing he’d been able to say goodbye.
“I know.”
“It’s not fair.”
“I know,” he said again. “Have you eaten?”
Powder shook her head.
“Let’s try that, then.”
Neither of them made to get up. Ekko closed his eyes, wondering what life could’ve been like, what other lifetimes could have or even might exist, where Vi hadn’t been shot that night, if she’d waited for her partner before attempting arrest. He thought of the universes that still had Benzo in them, in which he hadn’t been in the car accident, and Ekko hadn’t needed to identify what was left of his father, when he couldn’t even bear to touch him.
“Don’t leave,” Powder whispered. “Promise me.”
“I won’t. And if you do, I’ll come find you. Every single time.”
3.
“Jinx,” Ekko spoke into the microphone of his headset. “Come in, over.”
He could practically hear her eye roll. “Jinx here. Over.”
“Do you have eyes on him?”
She scoffed, but he could barely hear it over the white noise of the receiver. “Duh.”
It was Ekko’s turn to roll his eyes. “Approach, Agent.”
“Copy that,” she mimicked in a (hopefully) inaccurate impression of his voice.
He typed furiously, taking the surveillance firewall apart piece by piece until her image became clear on his screen. “Got eyes on you. Go for it.”
Agent Jinx shrugged her long, intricate braid over her shoulder to conceal her earpiece. Ekko could see the switch then, her eyes going from blank and analytical to an expression similar to the one he saw in their bedroom. It wasn’t an exact match—those melting eyes, the quirked brow, the soft pout… that was only for him. This expression was more performative, perfect for this exact occasion. The Jinx was about to strike.
She saddled up next to a stout man near the bar, poking her dark, glossy lips out at him. “Aren’t you handsome?”
Smeech turned to look at her, and his eyes lingered when he examined the woman before him. Ekko couldn’t blame him, but possessiveness still pooled in his gut.
“Wanna go somewhere a little more… private?” she took an easy breath, pushing her chest out farther than she really needed to. She made eye contact with the security camera behind the crime lord she was flirting with, and gave it a wink.
“Jinx,” he growled. “Get on with it.”
She laughed behind her hand, disguising it as shyness for Smeech. She hooked a finger under the collar, leading him to the alley behind the hotel.
“Better. It’s indecent to do… what I want to do , in the middle of the bar…”
Ekko switched cams to view the scene, scanning for any escape routes. When he found none, he patched into her earpiece. “Just give me the signal.”
She thought for a moment, the way she did when they were hunched over case files after everyone else had gone home. She got closer to the man, lips only a breathe away from his, and Ekko clenched his fist—
And then Jinx rolled her ring around her finger, digging into the button that sent his screen into flashing red lights. “Go, go, go!” he ordered.
Soon enough, she was waltzing into the back of the van and blew him a kiss. Ekko stood, grabbed her by the waist, and leaned into her ear. “You minx.”
“Jinx, you mean,” she whispered, face morphing into the look he knew so well, the one only he could could see.
“You’re mine,” he said. She shuddered, but leaned in closer, light fingertips resting on his nape. “Only yours.” She finished, and he couldn’t take it any more.
He was very glad the other agents had taken the hint and left them alone in the van. If they stayed, it would’ve been… how did his wife put it? Indecent?
4.
The monitor beeped, pinching in and out of the timid silence of the hospital room. Powder’s eye twitched. There was only so much of that she could take.
She was glad her boyfriend didn’t seem to be bothered by it, though. He had so much to worry about already. He watched her from the bed, eyes roving over her, like he was afraid she’d be gone if he looked away.
The night nurse popped her head in. “Hello, sweethearts,” she greeted, smile bittersweet. “How are we doing?”
Powder held her breath, looking to Ekko.
He shrugged weakly. “Same old.”
The nurse’s smile never faltered, but it did change. Familiar sorrow seeped into the wrinkles around her mouth.
“And you, Ms. Lane?” the nurse asked.
“All right, thank you,” she whispered, trying for a friendly smile but settling on something more like a wince.
“May I speak to you outside, while I have you?”
Powder turned to Ekko, but he was already waving her away. She nodded, dropping his hand and following the nurse. The door closed.
“He doesn’t…” the nurse started, but Powder shook her head. “I know.”
“Does he?”
Powder laughed dryly. “I could never get anything past him. He can read me too well.”
The nurse nodded, eyes wide with pity. “It might be time,” she said quietly.
Powder looked at her hands. She ran her fingers over her wrist, where Ekko’s handwriting was inked. Boy savior. She snorted. She would never forget how he’d come to bear that name.
She sneaked a glance at him through the window. After her father died… Ekko had saved her. He’d done something even Vi couldn’t do—give her life again. Okay, boy savior, she’d said, taking his hand and letting him tug her away from the edge of the terrace. I like the sound of that, he’d said.
But now… Powder shook her head, dispelling the thought before it could go too far. “How long, do you think?”
The nurse bit the inside of her cheek. “Doctor Heimerdinger estimates… somewhere from one hour to six.”
Powder swallowed her wail. She nodded, opening the door to go back in. The nurse whispered behind her. “I’m so sorry.”
Powder shrugged. “I’ll find him, again. Some other time.”
She closed the door, returning to her spot beside Ekko’s bed. It tore something in her apart to see his eyes so resigned. He squeezed her hand lightly. “You will,” he said.
Powder cocked her head. “What do you mean?”
“Find me,” her boyfriend said, a small smile on his face. “Another time, Pow.”
Hours later, when his breathing was labored and raggedy, she pushed her face to his, noses brushing, and squeezed his hand. “You can let go. I’ll find you.”
He smiled, running stiff fingers over the tattoo on her wrist.
Then the beeping on the monitor stopped, falling into one dull cry, but she could not hear it over her own sound.
4.
“Ekko!” Powder shouted. His eyes widened, turning the oven fan off to hear her more clearly.
“Yeah?” he called, plating the pancakes he’d just flipped.
“Do you know where Isha’s hat is?” Ekko heard a couple of thumps, a muttered expletive, and a groan. He wiped his hands with a towel before heading down the hall to their daughter’s room.
“I thought she wore it to bed last night.” He said, holding back an exasperated sigh when he saw the state of the room. His wife sat in the middle of the chaos, digging through the toy bins Isha handed her.
“No, it’s too hard for her to sleep in, are you sure—Isha, slow down, kid, I can only look so fast—are you sure it isn’t in the Jeep? She had it when we picked her up from gymnastics.”
Ekko bit his lip. Shit, he hadn’t remembered seeing it after the trip home. “I don’t think it’s in the Jeep.”
Powder turned to him, eyes narrowed in a way that let Ekko know he needed to shut up. “Go. Look. In. The. Jeep.”
He nodded quickly, ruffling their daughter’s hair before sprinting outside. What was it Vi said, the day of her little sister’s wedding? Happy wife, happy life, happy and intact male reproductive organs? He was not going to pick that battle right now. He folded Isha’s seat back, digging in the space blindly. His fingers brushed something… something hard. He exclaimed with victory as he pulled out Isha’s little hard hat, worn and dirty from daily use. It was rare their daughter didn’t have it—it was Isha’s favorite thing in the world. Ekko and Powder had to wrestle it out of her hands to wash it every few weeks.
He ran back inside, slowing down when he got to the hallway because damn it, he always told Isha not to run, and if she caught him doing it… for a kid that didn’t speak often, she sure had a way of never letting him forget his mistakes.
Ekko breached the room in time to see his wife pinch her nose and screw her eyes shut. “Isha, baby, we’ll find it,” she said, pulling their daughter into her lap.
“Guess what,” he sang from the doorway.
His girls looked at him—one with annoyance, the other with hope. He brought the back from behind his back. “Look what Daddy has.”
Isha jumped up, and Ekko was glad for his wife’s quick reflexes as she managed to dodge Isha’s headbutt in her hurry. Isha ran to him, grabbing the hat and sliding it on her head. The hug came shortly after, because that hat was more important than her father, Ekko mused.
“Don’t go losing this, now,” he teased, pulling the brim over her eyes. Powder got up, posture relaxed with relief, and joined the hug.
He pressed a kiss to her temple. She sniffed. “Thanks. I was going crazy.”
He snickered. “This parenting thing is hard enough. Don’t go crazy on me, I couldn’t handle it.”
She swatted the back of his head with her hand. “As much as I wish I could be annoyed at you for your backtalk, I can’t. I love you,” she said quietly. “I wouldn’t want to parent with anyone else. I would never even try. It’s always been you.”
Isha took off toward the kitchen, having a sixth sense for hot breakfast. Ekko kissed his wife’s nose, pulling away and then meeting her eyes. “It’s always been you,” he whispered.
5.
“You’re not my Ekko.” Powder said, not unkindly.
“No, I’m not,” he said. “but I… this, well, this is—”
“I know,” she smiled, eyes so much softer than his universe’s Jinx. “You’re still him, somehow.”
“You’re…” he started, “You’re Powder. I think I forgot you will always be Powder.. My universe’s Powder… my Powder, she’s, well, she needs my help.”
She cocked her head, twin buns bouncing slightly. “Is that so surprising?”
Ekko took one of her hands off his cheek and kissed it. “I don’t suppose so. I think I need her, uh, you, too.”
Her smile pushed her cheeks up and made her eyes rosy crescents. “That’s not so surprising, either.”
“Even in this universe…” he trailed off, and she put her hand back on his cheek, tracing doodles with her thumb. “Even here,” she said. “I think we’ll always need each other.”
They were still, and they were happy.
6.
Ekko swung through his window, catching his breath and sliding it closed. He could hear thumping in the house, most likely from the never-ending domestic activities that occurred when his family were together. He heard heavy footsteps, and hit the hourglass on his chest to shrink his suit.
The door creaked open just in time for Benzo to see him in his stupid Ninja Turtle boxers. Great.
Benzo’s eyebrows met his hairline. “Uh- oh, uh…” he said, eyes darting between Ekko and… he looked to his bed, where Powder sat huddled in his hoodie. Shit.
“Use protection.” Benzo stuttered, and shut the door. Ekko waited for the footsteps to recede before whirling around.
“How long have you been here?”
Powder smirked. “Long enough.”
Ekko faltered. Why wasn’t she surprised? How was she so cool with the fact that he’d swung into the room on a web, with the fact that he undoubtedly was Spiderman? Powder must’ve seen the confusion on his face, so she helped him out.
“I’ve suspected for a while, Spidey,” she said, a teasing lilt to her tone. He gaped at her, opening and closing his mouth as his brain ran through all the ways this could go.
“You’re going to catch flies, you know,” Powder said, getting up from the bed. “You really thought you could hide this from me? Maybe Benz, maybe Vander, even Vi, ‘cause she can be so oblivious sometimes, but me ?”
He sighed. “I thought I was doing pretty well.”
She snorted. Actually snorted! “Okay, Spidey. Sure.”
“You can’t tell Benzo, you have to promise—”
“Don’t insult my intelligence, Koko,” she said, and normally he’d protest the cheesy nickname from their childhood but honestly he didn’t know if he had it in him right now, “of course I won’t tell. Just like you won’t tell Vi I got caught fucking around with Mr. Talis’ robot.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re using this to blackmail me? I save the world and you blackmail me? ”
“I wouldn’t say you saved the world ,” she kicked her feet out and walked around him. “Maybe the neighborhood.”
“Whatever,” he grumbled, trying to frown but struggling when she peered up at him. She patted his cheek. “Can I be your man in the chair?”
He’d been gazing at her lips for way too long, and looked at her blankly. “Uhhh… huh? Yeah, sure.”
“Great! ‘Cause you can’t do this without me. It’s a miracle you’ve survived this long.”
“Wait, wait. I’m not gonna put you in danger, Pow, I can’t,” he said. She shushed him, and there he went, staring at her lips again. When did Powder get so pretty?
“I’m not letting my best friend go headfirst into danger alone. We either do this together or I tell Benzo.”
He glared at her, but her wide eyed gaze didn’t falter once. Ekko crumbled. There was no way he couldn’t.
“Fine. We do this together.”
“Knew you’d come around!” Powder said, kissing his cheek. “Now put some clothes on. We have planning to do.”
7.
wya?
Powder smiled at the text. She couldn’t help it, not when the alert popped up under his name and the string of emojis she’d added. She typed back. girl im literally where i said i would be smh.. farthest booth @ last drop. wya ???
For someone who texted in small, sporadic fragments, her boyfriend sure did take his sweet time typing.
wtv i’m here
She barely had time to look up before he slid into the booth next to her. He slung an arm around her. “Smartass.”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “You love it.”
Ekko grinned down at her. “If you say so.”
“I managed to get Vander to take the day off so he wouldn’t be all… weird about us. It’s just Vi and Milo today, so there will be some threatening, maybe some overprotective glares, but we should be fine.”
Ekko groaned, taking a swig of the soda she’d ordered for him. “They’ve known me as long as they’ve known you. I don’t get it.”
Powder shrugged. “I’m not sure they can see past the term boyfriend. Despite the fact that we’ve been best friends since we were in diapers.”
Ekko grinned at her. “I think maybe being called your boyfriend is worth it.”
“Aw, look at you, being all cute.”
He bumped her shoulder with his. “It’s not the first time.”
“And it will definitely not be the last. You’re the cheesy one in this relationship.”
Ekko faked offense. “So you’re saying I have to do all the heavy lifting?”
Powder quirked an eyebrow. “Being cheesy is heavy lifting?”
“You know what I mean,” he groaned, dropping his head onto the table. “show a guy some love, will you?”
She tapped his chin, lifting his face, and kissed him swiftly. It wasn’t cute, contrary to the topic of conversation—she was forceful, like she needed this, and needed it now . He wasn’t protesting.
Everything else washed away. Where were they? What was happening around him? Ekko could not tell you. He slid her hands under her ass and swung her onto his lap.
“Hey!” Vi barked, and they both startled. Powder fell off his lap, hitting her side on the table, and Ekko… he was beyond help. What planet was he on?
“Keep your filthy hands off my sister, or I’ll put my filthy fists up your—” Vi shouted across the bar, trailing off when Caitlyn walked in and leaned against the jukebox. “Cupcake!” she greeted, slamming the half-full glasses of beer in her hands down on the bar and effectively spilling one. Mylo shook his head and grabbed a rag to clean up the mess, knowing Vi wasn’t coming back any time soon.
While Vi was distracted, Ekko took the chance to tug Powder’s hand and escape into the alley.
“They’ll notice we’re gone!” She protested halfheartedly, leaning into a kiss. He only responded when they broke apart. “That’s a problem for future us.”
A minute more led to very out of breath Powder pressed against the wall. “I.. I, think,” she started, breathing heavily, “I like the sound of that.”
“Huh?” he said, intelligently, and definitely not dazed at the sight of her like this.
“I like the sound of future us.”
There was a moment of silence. They broke out in giggles. “Me too,” Ekko said. “Me too.”
8.
“…see if I can try to talk an old friend out of blowing us up.”
Jinx paused, turning to look him in the eye. She detonated the bomb.
Ekko pulled the cord. He’d been prepared for this. If there was one thing Jinx ever did, it was defy.
He pulled the cord again, and again, and again.
9.
“Welcome back,” Ekko said, when he was sure the stream had started. “So, we have a treat for you today, chat.”
He watched the flurry of comments greet him, smiling. “You have been asking for more Valorant with Jinx, so today’s stream is gonna be, like, four hours of TimeBomb Valo.”
There was a soft chirp in his headphones indicating his girlfriend’s arrival to the stream. “Jinxers! Echoes! Let’s kick some ass!”
Ekko smiled to himself. He loved how full of life she was, how she was so sure of herself. Powder, or rather, Jinx—her gamer tag—had explosive energy, hence the bomb part of their couple name—no, ship name, she had told him, when they revealed their relationship online. And you’re time, she traced over his vitiligo that stretched across his forehead and nose. He’d dealt with comments about it all his life, the same old shit, but when he first met her, all she said was that it was badass, the shape of an hourglass. Hearing that was refreshing. She was refreshing.
“Join the lobby, babe,” Jinx said into her mic.
When their characters popped up beside each other, the chat went crazy, as it always did. “‘They’re a cute couple in every universe,’” Powder read. “Chat thinks we match each other in the game, just like in real life.”
Ekko grinned at the camera. “I’d say we do.”
“Agreed. Oh! Ready, three, two…”
10.
Ekko sat alone. The city lights were bright, joined by the fiery paper streams Piltover had set loose. He could see it all from here.
This ledge… he could almost see Powder beside him, cheeks rosy from a night for dancing. Leaning close to him. Kissing him, like it was the first time. It was, in a way.
But no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t bring her back.
He supposed she was still with him—the studs in his ears, the paper slip in his hand, a faint outline of a spray paint monkey against the brick.
He lit the paper. He would not grieve for long. He would find her again.