Chapter Text
(Day 0)
It was a cold day in early December, the rambunctious sounds of children playing filled the chill air. Ekko leaned against the railing of his treehouse apartment balcony, lost in thought, and marveling at the most majestic view in all of Zaun. Even in this weather kids find a way to keep themselves entertained, he thought. He was never a cold weather person, but enjoyed seeing the changing of the leaves in Fall as well as the snow in Winter. It was those moments that reminded people they were alive.
Scar saw him admiring their home and waved to which Ekko waved back.
The city hadn't been the same since Jinx fired a rocket into the Piltover council chambers over a year ago. Though, the rocket was nothing more than a prank, the act of it didn't sit well with the powers that be. It must have been funny to see all of those Piltie bastards covered in paint. From what everyone was told, there weren't any major injuries, but there were lots of hurt feelings.
Jinx herself went on the run after that. The enforcers were sent down into the Lanes to find her and after a year, they still hadn't been able to wrangle her in. Vi had contacted him multiple times asking if he had heard from Powder, but he knew just about as much as everyone else. Not that she would have contacted him in the first place. Their last encounter ended with Jinx lying practically dead on a bridge into Piltover. Not the happiest memory of him, he'd say. Even so, it didn't stop him from thinking about her often.
Caitlyn became the new sheriff after Marcus was killed and she made it plain that she intended to work with Zaun to make things safe and equal for everyone, using Vi as a sort of mediator. This meant that there was a sort of truce between his group, the Firelights, and the Piltover enforcers to try and keep the peace. He wasn't too fond of this, but there are certain necessities that needed to be handled if the average person wanted to live in peace. As much as he wanted for them to have some sort of autonomy, it was going to take time to get there and no one should suffer in the meantime.
Besides, he believed that Caitlyn was sincere in her plight. There weren't many Pilties he put his faith in, unfortunately Caitlyn was one of them...reluctantly. There was something about her naive charm that always gave him a chuckle. Oh, she'd learn the real ways of The Lanes soon enough and he wasn't going to stop her from learning lessons the hard way. Also, Vi was with her and he hoped her insight would give her some perspective.
Vi herself was in a strange position. She wasn't really an enforcer, but not really NOT an enforcer, either. If that made any sense. Sure, she got paid by the establishment, but her title wasn't official. He always assumed that she still got whatever she wanted and, strangely enough, was actually becoming a decent investigator much like Caitlyn. Vi still had a penchant for going in fist first and she and Sevika seemed to keep butting heads, however, compared to when they were younger she had grown quite a lot. He was proud of her.
Time had passed so quickly that he never really had time to breathe. War looming. Shimmer was still on the streets. Homelessness was on the rise. All he could do was reach out and try to grab whatever he could from life while the rest of it splashed at his feet.
He had worked out a truce with Sevika after she took over Silco's business. She was ruthless, to say the least, but calculated. Nothing got by her, and he was heartened by the fact she wasn't as bloodthirsty as Silco was. She'd always try to talk about things sensibly before resulting to violence. She usually said that blind violence is bad for business however, that never stopped her from getting her hands dirty. He didn't think he could count the number of times her and Vi had duked it out. At this point, he was starting to think they liked it. Hell, they probably did.
Their truce didn't last long as there was no way that Sevika was going to seriously cut down the shimmer production. He gave her a little credit for trying, unfortunately at some point, the chem-barons started getting antsy and that led to more headaches, so she decided that fighting Firelights was a fair trade-off. Not that he minded, as it kept them fresh and on their toes. Besides, the more resources he could remove from Silco's old empire, the better.
The main bright spot in all of this was that Vi was able to finally find some kind of happiness. She'd still say that her and Caitlyn weren't dating. He wasn't fooled at all, though. He knew Vi on a personal level and she was happy even if she still had a sore spot for Powder. At least she could handle the day-to-day with Caitlyn around and they made it work. In some ways he was jealous. Though, he'd never admit that to anyone. He'd never stand in the way of Vi's happiness even if some dark thoughts sometimes crossed his mind. She deserved her shot, just like everyone did.
He looked down at his gloved hands and rubbed them together. It was still cold even with his gloves on, but he didn't feel like sitting inside right now. Watching the children play was a good way to pass the time and it reminded him of better, no, simpler days.
After some time, he checked his watch and realized it was almost time for him to visit his parents. Their anniversary was on Thursday, but he was too busy to stop by then. He promised them that he'd stop by for dinner that night at 6:30 pm. Unconsciously, he let out a massive sigh. It wasn't that he didn't want to see his parents, but every time he did he always left feeling terrible. Worse than when we went in. They never did anything to him, or said anything terrible. He couldn't put his finger on it and knowing those feelings were coming again, made him pause...even considering canceling again.
What kind of a son would he be if he continued to constantly avoid his parents?
Reluctantly, he adjusted the collar of his coat and steeled himself for the inevitable meetings with his parents. Running away wouldn't make it better. At least he'd get a good meal out of it.
* * * * * * * * * *
It didn't take him long to get to his parent's apartment. He could tell they were home by the front window light being on. This was a habit he constantly told them to stop. Things were better these days than they had been in the past, but that didn't change the fact that there were still killers, thieves, and other nasties out and about. His mom would always smile and tell him there was no reason to worry. They've been doing this for so many years now. He'd just shake his head and relent.
He strolled up the stairs to the front door and knocked. Not long after his father opened the door, greeted him and escorted him in, taking his coat along the way. His mother was in the kitchen finishing up dinner and he could tell his father had been reading a book by the hearth.
His parents worked hard. They worked in the same factory in Piltover, but in different sections. His mother was more into the engineering side and his father worked in construction. They had worked in the same place for years, but the insane hours usually meant they weren't home most of the time. This was why he had worked at Benzo's place. Benzo was a friend of his father's and Benzo had taken it upon himself to make sure Ekko had a place to retreat to when they were away. Incidentally, this allowed him to form a secondary family with Vander, Vi, Powder, Benzo, and the rest. In some way, he was happy about this, but it also meant he had spent more time with them than he did with his own parents. He was trying to be a better son for them now, only leading the Firelights was making it more than a little difficult.
"Ekko," his father said, "it's good to see you. How are things?"
Ekko took a seat across from his father's favorite chair and said, "Everything is fine. Work has been busy these days."
His father nodded in agreement. "Well, if you get too tired of working in the scrapyard, I can see if I can get you on at the factory. They're always looking for engineers, you know."
His mother agreed. "As a matter of fact, Jack, you remember him, is going to retire next month and his position will be open. I can get you an interview if you want it."
Ekko shook his head. "No thanks, mom. I'm getting lots of experience filtering the junk that rolls down here. Can't complain about the pay, either."
It was a lie, of course. They had no idea he was the leader of the Firelights. As far as they were concerned he got a job sifting through junk at the junkyard in order to sell those parts back to the Piltover establishment. If they knew he was dealing in such dangerous activities, he'd never be able to live it down and it'd be another point of contention between them. It was a difficult lie and he was well aware of the consequences if they ever found out. He wasn't going to be the one to tell them, though. The fact they didn't know protected everyone involved and he was okay with that.
There was a brief moment of silence before his mother said, "Oh son, look at those flowers we found outside the front door. Aren't they beautiful? It wasn't you who sent them, was it?"
He looked over to the mantel and saw a beautiful bouquet of flowers in a pearly glass vase. Carnations, from what he could tell. His mother had arranged them in such a way that they matched the other knick-knacks and pictures she had there as well. The coloring was exquisite. Each petal was a sparkling shade of pink and they looked as if they had been freshly picked and arranged.
"I'll have to admit that I didn't send them. They didn't leave a note or anything?"
"No, they didn't," she barked, followed by a short giggle. "There was no way I was going to throw out such magnificent beauties. And on our Anniversary, too."
"On your Anniversary?" he asked. "Isn't that a little strange? And they didn't leave a note?"
"Oh come on, Ekko." His mom waved her hand dismissively. "There is nothing wrong with those flowers. Aren't they pretty? You don't have to be so cynical about everything. Relax. Enjoy life. Live a little."
His dad started laughing, then got up and kissed his mom's forehead. She blushed as if it was the most romantic thing in the world with her husband laughing as he stole a little food from the tray she was setting up. Drawing a feigned sneer from his wife as he ran back to his chair.
All Ekko could do was shake his head. They were always like this. You'd think they were newlyweds or something. He tried not to think about it. At least they were happy.
"Now, son," his father started, "when are you gonna get yourself a woman? Aren't you old enough to settle down? When we were your age we were already planning to get married."
Ekko knew where this was going. "Dad, I haven't found the right woman yet. Besides, I still have to save up to get a better place and all that."
There was an eruption of laughter from the kitchen. "Don't even give me that, boy. Your father and I didn't have anything to our name when we got married. All we had was each other and we made it work. Look at how well you turned out. Now stop stalling and make us some grandbabies. We're not getting any younger."
Both of his parents started laughing before his mother came over and kissed him on his forehead. "We're only teasing, Ekko," she whispered. "You move at your own pace and if you never find that person of your dreams, we'll still love you anyway." She rubbed his head before going back into the kitchen.
Dinner went without a hitch. They talked about their jobs and asked him a multitude of questions about various events in his life. Ekko couldn't really complain. It was pleasant and as strange as his parents were, he wouldn't trade them for anything.
As they were wrapping up dinner, he looked over to his father and matter-of-factly asked, "Dad, how can you and mom be so happy after all of these years? Don't you get on each other's nerves?"
With a chuckle, he responded, "Your mom gets on my nerves all of the time." He looked over to her with the smuggest grin he's ever seen his father have. His mom grunted something unintelligible and he giggled under his breath again. "I'm more than positive I get on her nerves, but whenever I look over the table and see her I consider myself a blessed man, because no matter what the day is, I know she'll be there and that's all the comfort I need. We aren't perfect. I fuck up just like everyone else, but you take what you can and you hold on to it as tight as you can. If I don't leave you with anything else in this world, I hope you can take what I've said to heart. We only get one chance and we have to make the most of it when we do. So I wouldn't trade you or your mother for anything. Not anything."
His mother reached over and touched his father's hand and unconsciously Ekko did the same. His parents tried their best to give him a decent life and that was about all anyone could ask for.
The rest of the night went by solemnly. He helped his mom clean up and doing so reminded him of Vander and the gang. He did a lot of that back in those days, but these days he ate out most of the time so these quiet moments were few and far between.
It started getting late, so he bid farewell to his parents. They thanked him for coming and made him promise he'd come again the following week. He wasn't sure if he could handle it, but decided to tentatively make the plan anyway.
It was cold out with a brisk breeze that sent a chill down his spine. He had this sour mood as he figured he would and decided to walk home. A little time to himself to just reflect on everything usually helped calm him down. He loved his parents, but they really were a dish he could only enjoy in limited quantities.
Not too long into his walk home, he started to get that tingling sensation on his neck that only happened when someone was following him. He decided to take a less direct way home to maybe get rid of that feeling. Carefully, he tried to pinpoint in which direction and how far his stalker was, but they were good...if they were there at all. This wasn't the only time he'd had this feeling over the years, but he always chalked it up to him being hyper-paranoid. You can't be the leader of the Firelights without having a target on your back at all times. Paranoia was just an occupational necessity.
He had just rounded a corner onto a lonely street, when he heard a blood-curdling scream. Instinctively, he ran towards it. Perhaps not the smartest thing to do, but he made it a point to help those in need and if someone was being attacked, then he wasn't going to ignore their cry for aid.
Quickly, he darted through alleys until he saw a figure crumple to the ground and another dart out the other side. He ran to the body and checked for a pulse...none. Dammit, he thought. Something about him looked familiar and with a motion of his hand, he turned the body over and gasped. There was no way.
In a flash, he took off after the killer. They had a little bit of a head start, but one thing he had trained himself on was being agile in the city. He could see the man up ahead looking back to verify if anyone was following him. Upon seeing Ekko, he rushed around a corner. Ekko had considered hopping on his board, however, maneuvering in these narrow spaces was difficult, even as an experienced hoverboard rider as he was.
In and out of alleys and streets they ran. Ekko gained on his prey with every step. Faster. Faster. Trash and every manner of movable objects were thrown in his path. This person was good and Ekko guessed this wasn't some ordinary mugger. The way he ran, the calculated use of the environment, not the mark of an average cutpurse. Based on where they were, Ekko figured he could cut off the murderer by taking another route. It would force him into a dead end. It was a risk, but he figured both of them must be getting to their breaking point and his labored breathing reminded him this chase needed to end soon.
As Ekko came around the corner, he saw the bastard stop at a wall. It was a dead end. No fence. No gate. No fire escape because it had broken two years ago from a fall. A nasty one at that. He was trapped. It was dark and difficult to make out features of the murderer. Ekko slowed down to remove his trusty pipe, before lunging at the attacker.
Everything happened so fast that even now Ekko wasn't sure what actually happened. He attempted to close the distance to the assassin when he saw the person reach into his coat followed by a loud POP. There was a flash so bright he thought his eyes were on fire. Instinctively, he closed them, feeling an intense pain snake through his head. Something whizzed past his head just as a body tumbled into him. He hit the ground so hard he had the wind knocked out of him. He laid there, eyes burning, ears ringing, head throbbing, and someone on top of him. There was gunfire...at least two shots. Faintly audible footsteps moving hurriedly in the opposite direction.
It took a moment for his world to steady and his vision to return. There wasn't much light, but what little there was helped him put together the pieces of the form on top of him. It was small, human, for sure. They were looking at him and patting his face.
Blue hair. Oh shit.
"Heya, Ekko. Long time no see."