ARCANE: The Sixth - An Ekko x Fem!OC Fanfiction
CHAPTER NINE - FLASHBACK #2, PART 3
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It had been a few days since their trip to Piltover, and today was the day that Vi and the others were going to do the job in topside. They’d already left, having parted The Last Drop as soon as they finished breakfast.
Momo had helped them get their things ready. Well, mostly Mylo since he had a habit of leaving his lockpick behind and then having to go back and get it mid-job. After watching her siblings leave, she went to Benzo’s to do her usual cleaning around the shop. This time, Ekko was already there before she arrived. This was the first time this happened in the near month of her working there.
“My mom wants you to come over for dinner,” he said, opening the lid to a grease bucket.
Momo paused her sweeping and looked up to see he was looking at her over his shoulder.
She watched as he took a lengthy breath and turned to face what he was doing again.
“Don’t ask questions, okay? She just… wants you to come over for dinner tonight.”
Her eyes widened slightly from the unexpectedness of what Ekko had told her. Her grip on the broom handle tightened and she looked down at the stoned floor.
“I’ll have to talk to Vander about it. I’m still grounded…” Momo responded, taking into consideration the punishment she was currently receiving for leaving Benzo’s shop unattended.
Ekko tensed at the mention of her being grounded, knowing that it was his fault that she was in the first place.
Momo went back to sweeping, her thoughts mulling over the fact that Inna, Ekko’s mom, had invited her to their place for dinner tonight. She’d been to his place before, but each time was with Powder. Going there without her would probably feel foreign.
“I’ll ask him when I go back to get lunch,” she remarked, realizing she hadn’t brought anything to eat with her today.
Ekko nodded, but she wasn’t looking at him to see it.
“How are they doing? Your parents, I mean,” she asked after she heard no reply, trying to converse with him for once.
She heard Ekko sigh at the mention of his parents. They were hardworking people, but their labour made them absent for a large part of the day. It was one of the reasons Ekko worked so much himself.
“Busy,” Ekko stated, putting the truth simply. He didn’t need to elaborate. Momo already knew what he meant.
Momo nodded, realizing that her question was probably pointless since they both already knew the answer he was going to give.
The silence between them returned, both kids going about their own tasks wordlessly.
As Momo swept, her thoughts lingered to her siblings’ heist today. She couldn’t help but worry that something might go wrong—that they might get caught by Enforcers, or someone could get hurt. Her broom strokes seemed to weaken as her mind filled with worried thoughts.
“Do you think they’ll be okay up there?” she asked, her broom strokes returning to normal as she paid more attention to what she was doing.
Ekko was finishing up greasing two gears for some doodad. He grabbed a cloth and began wiping some of the grease from his ungloved hand and turning to her.
“You kidding? With Vi leading the way they’ll be more than okay. And if anyone interferes, she’ll kick their asses,” he said and then began punching the air just how Vi showed him.
Momo’s mouth became tightlipped at Ekko’s confidence in her eldest adoptive sister. Vi was a great fighter, it was true. But she wasn’t invincible.
“What are you two going on about?” Benzo asked, walking back into the room after heading into the back to empty a box.
Ekko froze mid punch and turned his head to look up at Benzo, who was now peering down at him with a raised eyebrow.
“H-Heh—just showing Momo some of the fighting moves Vi showed me.”
“Is that so? Ya wanna show me too?” Benzo asked, folding his arms over his chest to rest on his belly while looking down at Ekko expectantly.
Ekko let out a few nervous laughs.
“Actually, I have a that clock I still gotta fix...”
The older male shook his head, amused.
At noon, Momo returned to the Last Drop. Upon entering the bar, she saw that Vander was busy talking to a group of patrons while he sat with them at a table in the corner. She knew she would have to wait until he was done, so she decided to head downstairs for a little bit to pass some time. When she entered the living quarters, she was quick to notice that her siblings were home from their heist. They each held tight expressions on their faces, sitting around on the various couches and seats that surrounded the coffee table, an oil lantern in the shape of a mason jar providing the room with light (despite how little it was).
She assumed the heist didn’t go well. She looked over each of them and saw that the three older siblings were injured, while Powder seemed mostly okay. Their injuries caused a frown to tug down on her lips.
“You guys are hurt,” she said, moving closer to Mylo to get a better look at a cut on his bicep. “What happened?”
“Powder happened,” Mylo scoffed, leaning back onto the couch and resting his feet onto the coffee table, keeping his arm on the arm rest so his sister could continue looking at his injury.
Powder was about to respond when Vi spoke up.
“Vander learns none of this.”
“No worries there. Power took care of the evidence.”
Momo reached under the couch Powder was sitting on and pulled out her little med kit she stored there for instances like these.
“I tried, okay? You don’t get it. You’re older, you’re bigger. I-It isn’t fair,” Powder said in defense.
As Momo opened the med kit, Mylo removed his feet from the coffee table and leaned forward, his arms beginning to gesture in emphasis as he began to speak again.
“Then stick with us. Take a punch or two—”
The door to the entrance of the basement opened suddenly, causing everyone to look up to see Vander entering the room.
Momo turned her attention back to treating Mylo’s arm. She grabbed it and cleaned the wound while Vander walked down the stairs.
“Everyone alright?” Vander asked, her siblings looking away from him.
“Never better,” Mylo said, wincing slightly as Momo tended to his wound.
Vander began walking around the room, his arms behind his back.
“Good. I don’t suppose you can explain why it is I’m hearing about an explosion and a foot chase top side? Four children fleeing the scene.”
Momo hands paused in the middle of cleaning Mylo’s wound at the mention of an explosion. Something had gone wrong, and it was far worse than she could have imagined. She looked at Mylo, her eyes wide and fearful.
Mylo merely shook his head.
Vander turned his attention to Vi.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Vander asked, his tone getting harder.
Momo disliked when Vander got angry. He was their parental figure, and her view of him was of some sort of caretaker and their saviour. So, when he ever raised his voice or displayed any anger, it tampered with this opinion and always made her uncomfortable.
“That we could handle a real job,” Vi responded, her tone defensive. She wouldn’t back down from this.
“We got our own tip, planned a route. No one even saw—”
“You blew up a building,” Vander pointed out.
“Did you even stop to think about what could have happened to you? Hey?! To them?!” He exclaimed, his anger really starting to come out now.
Momo just finished bandaging Mylo’s arm when she noticed him look away in shame. When she looked around, she saw Powder and Claggor doing the same. She frowned. She felt responsible. She’d been the one to give them the tip. Well, her and Ekko. But she was still just as much responsible.
Violet brought her hand up to her face, her fingers tracing along the edges of her mouth as she considered Vander’s words.
Vander rubbed his forehead, clearly frustrated.
“Where did you even get this tip?” he asked suddenly, dropping his hand from his forehead and then turning towards the other siblings, his gaze landing on Powder expectantly.
“W-We just heard it at Benzo’s shop…” Powder said, hugging her legs closer to her chest.
“Little man...” she responded timidly.
Her gaze flickered to Momo.
Vander eye’s closed and he sighed, before reopening them to look at Momo.
“How did you get information about this place?” He questioned, his voice a little less aggressive than before.
“I took us there. If you wanna be mad, be mad at me. But you’re the one who always says we have to earn our place in this world,” Vi said, cutting her off.
Vander’s attention shifted from Momo to the older girl.
“I also told you time and time again that the north side is off limits. We stay out of Piltover’s business!”
“Why? They’ve got plenty while we’re down here scrapping together coins. When did you get so comfortable living in someone else’s shadow?”
There was a brief silence, each sibling looking between Vi and Vander in shock.
Mylo, Momo, Claggor, and Powder all stood from where they were sitting and evacuated the room.
Mylo fished out his eavesdropping device from his pocket and pressed it against the door before leaning in to listen to the conversation between Vander and Vi.
Momo wanted to express how guilty she felt. How this was all her fault. But now wasn’t the time. Mylo was trying to listen in on the conversation, and anything she said would get in the way of that. She sat next to Claggor on the steps and remained quiet until eventually, Mylo dropped the device from the door, fumbling with it before turning around and trying to act casual.
The door opened and out stepped Vander, who was now holding a box.
“Get up, Claggor. We’re going out.”
Claggor was stunned at the odd timing.
Vander didn’t answer, but instead snatched the eavesdropping device from his hand and tossed it into the box.
“You wanna be treated like adults, right?”
Claggor grunted as some form of response.
“Then you should know better than to come back from a job empty-handed.”
Momo didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure if this applied to her or not.
“You’re coming too. I’m going to have a word with you and the other informant.”
Momo was planning on going with them anyway, since she still had work to do at the shop.
During their walk there, Momo mentioned her invitation to dinner at Ekko’s place, which she knew was bad timing but she had to get it out of the way so that she could give Ekko an answer.
“Inna invited you? She isn’t working today?” he asked, genuinely surprised.
“All I know is that I’m invited to Ekko’s for dinner.”
Vander seemed to ponder the request. He knew Momo was still grounded, but he also knew that Inna was a very busy woman. He didn’t want to go against her wishes of having his adoptive daughter join them at them for a meal.
“Fine. But you have to be home before twenty-one bells, got it?” his tone was uncompromising, not that Momo would try to alter his offer.
When the three of them made it to Benzo’s, Momo and Claggor waited outside as per Vander’s instructions. Vander vanished into the shop, and moments later Ekko emerged carrying boxes.
“Claggorrr,” he greeted, becoming excited at seeing the older male and almost completely disregarding Momo’s presence.
Momo watched as Ekko bounced slightly on his feet like an overly happy puppy.
“You guys went?” he asked curiously, already knowing the answer since Momo had told him about their departing earlier that morning.
“Sure did. Hey, listen, how did you guys find that place?” Claggor questioned while taking off his goggles, revealing his black eye.
Momo gasped, seeing that the black eye had gotten darker from an hour ago.
“Whoa, did you fight the enforcers?” Ekko interrupted, his eyes sparkling as if seeing the older male with a black eye was the most thrilling thing he’d ever seen.
“What? Oh, no. Eh, just some bums.”
Momo stood on her tip toes next to Claggor, her eyes squinting to focus her eyesight on the darkened flesh around his right eye.
“Oh, did Vi kick their asses?”
“Yeah, I mean, I wouldn’t be here otherwise,” The older male retorted.
Momo dropped from her tip toes, about to fuss over Claggor’s black eye when Ekko spoke again.
“Oh, she showed me a couple moves to practice. Look.”
Ekko handed Claggor the boxes he was holding, and the siblings watched as he began punching and kicking the air frantically.
Momo sighed, this being the second time that day that Ekko tried showing off his moves.
“Yeah, it’s… it’s coming along.” It was clear Claggor was following the ‘smile and nod’ protocol, but without the smile or nod.
Claggor shook his head, reminding himself of what he had originally asked but didn’t get an answer to.
“Hey, so how’d you guys find that place anyway?”
Ekko spared Claggor a glance before continuing with his air punches.
“This weirdo came into the shop. Bought a bunch of stuff Benzo only keeps there for display. He paid in gold and didn’t even haggle.”
Ekko looked at Claggor and smirked.
Ekko punched the air one last time and snickered.
Ekko took the boxes back from Claggor and moved to place them onto the circular bike thing that was resting against the shop. Momo frowned at the sight of it. She remembered all the times Ekko and Powder would ride it together, and all of the times she’d asked to join but was rejected because there wasn’t ever enough room, and apparently taking turns wasn’t an option.
“But… How’d you know where he lived?”
Momo kicked a tiny pebble that was next to her boot.
“We followed him,” she answered before Ekko could.
Claggor put his goggles back on.
Footsteps sounded from down the alley, catching their attention.
Momo’s eyes widened at the sight of two Enforcers marching the street, their strides set with intention.
“Oh crap,” Claggor murmured, his body going rigid.
Ekko began to shove Claggor in the opposite direction of the enforcers.
Momo watched with great concern as her brother ran off. When she turned, she saw Ekko leaning on the weird bike thing in a totally-not-suspicious pose.
“Why, hello,” he greeted, giving them a salute.
Momo watched the Enforcers walk by, her expression still holding worry for Claggor.
The male enforcer glared down at her, right before the two of them pushed through the door and entered Benzo’s shop.
Once the door closed behind him, Ekko moved closer to the window to watch whatever was going to happen unfold.
Momo moved beside him, peering through the window as well. She could see the male Enforcer lean on the counter next to Vander. The adults began talking, but she couldn’t hear anything they were saying.
After a while, the male Enforcer parted from them and made his way towards the door again.
Ekko’s eyes widened and he quickly moved to the side of the shop, climbing up onto some crates and then onto the metal awning, leaving Momo behind.
Momo moved back from the window, not wanting the Enforcer to see her spying. She stood there awkwardly as he walked outside, putting his face mask back on.
He looked down, seeing the small girl standing there aimlessly. His eyes narrowed into a glare.
“You… What do you know about the explosion in Piltover?” he asked, his voice full of anger and impatience.
She was struck with fear and began to back up.
The enforcer’s eyes narrowed even more.
She felt her back press against one of the storage crates that Ekko had climbed on and watched the Enforcer walked closer to her, trying to corner her.
In an abrupt release of adrenaline, Momo dashed to the side and began running in the same direction Claggor had run off in.
The Enforcer quickly reached out, trying to snatch her, but just narrowly missed.
She ran as fast as she could, her little legs trying their hardest to push her forward quickly enough to get away from the topsider.
The Enforcer gave chase, his long legs giving him the advantage in this situation and allowing him to gain momentum. He was nearing her fast.
She made an abrupt turn down a narrow alleyway that branched off the current one she was running down.
She made another turn, and then another, and soon she had no idea where she was going.
She shrieked as her mouth was suddenly covered by a gloved hand and she was grabbed from her side, yanked from her running and into a small crevice between a pile of crates and barrels. She flailed, trying to get away.
“Shh… It’s just me. Claggor.”
Her attempts to escape immediately ceased when she heard the familiar voice of her older brother.
Seeing that she wasn’t going to make any noise, Claggor dropped his hand from her mouth. He held a finger up to his lips, gesturing for her to remain quiet.
She clung to him, hugging him in fear and in need of comfort. She was still a child who had been chased by a man, after all.
Claggor wrapped an arm around her, holding her close.
The siblings listened as heavy-booted footsteps raced past them, not stopping until they reached a fork in the alleyway.
“Fuck—what way?!” They heard him exclaim, before hearing him dart off in a random direction.
The two seemed to hold their breath as they listened, seeing if he would turn back around.
When he didn’t come back after about ten minutes or so, Claggor shifted Momo in his arms and moved to his knees, peering over the top of the crates to look around. When he saw nothing, he looked down at his sister.
“It should be safe for us to head back now.”
Momo didn’t part from him. Now that the danger seemed to have dissipated, tears brimmed the rims of her eyes before spilling over and lining her cheeks.
Claggor tensed when he heard a sniffle.
He looked down, seeing tears flowing from her eyes. He frowned at the sight. It was heartbreaking, if he was being honest. He’d seen her cry many times before, having grown up together and all, but that didn’t make right now any easier. He squeezed her slightly with his one-armed hug and scavenged his brain for something to say.
“It’s okay, he’s gone now,” he whispered, trying to soothe her fears.
Momo clutched his shirt, her tears falling silently.
“It’s my fault you guys are in trouble. We shouldn’t have followed the piltie… Shouldn’t have given you the tip… Should… stopped… him…”
Her last sentence was muffled by his shirt, her face now completely pressed against it while she cried.
Claggor frowned and placed his hands onto her shoulders, gently pushing her away from his shirt so that he could look at her. The sight of her sadness made his heart lurch.
“Listen, it isn’t your fault, okay? You thought you were helping us. And it could have gone smoothly if…” He knew ending the sentence would involve mentioning Powder’s mess ups, so he found himself pausing.
He exhaled through his mouth before continuing.
“You should’ve seen the haul, Mo. I’m willing to bet it was worth a whole pile of gold,” he said, trying to convince her that it wasn’t her that messed up, and that the tip her and Ekko had given them was actually a good one.
Momo wiped away a tear with her sleeve.
When she didn’t respond, Claggor continued.
“Y’know, Mylo managed to snag a science book too. Man, he was so excited to give it to you when we got back. I think losing that book pissed him off the most.”
Momo’s eyes twinkled at the mention of the science book. Her tears seemed to slow, causing Claggor to smile softly.
When Vander had returned from Benzo’s, Momo took it as a sign that the Enforcers were no longer there, meaning she could go back to Benzo’s. She still had to let Ekko know that she was able to make it to dinner.
When she got there, she saw Ekko outside of the shop, kneeling down as he tightened something on the circle bike.
“I can go,” she announced, watching as the circle bike nearly fell atop Ekko while he tinkered with it, her voice startling him and causing him to flail.
“Geez, you really gotta stop sneaking up on me,” he pointed out, fixing the bike’s position so that it wouldn’t topple over on him again.
Ekko stood and pocketed his wrench, his arms crossing over his chest.
“Vander’s letting you go then, huh?”
“Yeah. But I gotta be home by 21 bells.”
His expression wasn’t easy to read. She couldn’t tell if he was disappointed, or relieved, or just neutral about her answer.
“Let’s go then,” he said before turning and walking off without another word.
She followed close behind him, a few paces back. They had to pass the local brothel to get to his house. She hated this route because of that, having to see the strange women (and some men) try to seduce people while they walked by making her feel ill. She was only ten, but she knew what brothels were and what took place inside of them. One of Vander’s creepy customers had told stories about his time spent there. She still remembered Mylo’s horrified face when she ran crying to him and told him about the things she’d heard.
Ekko, as always, kept his gaze forward, feeling equally as disgusted as she was. They were young, so usually no one made advances towards them. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said about Mylo, Claggor, and Vi. Ekko and Momo both witnessed the teens being shot suggestive glances while they walked by the place as a group in the past.
“Where did you go earlier?” he asked her suddenly, trying to distract himself from their disturbing surroundings. When he had climbed back down from the attic, she was gone. But so was the Enforcer. He worried for a little while, but after the Enforcer returned looking all pissed off, he assumed she probably ran away from him or something.
Momo felt her muscles tense from his question, the words reminding her of how she was chased earlier.
“The Enforcer chased me away… Tried to get me to answer questions.” Momo replied, her tone wavering slightly.
Ekko was expecting an answer like that.
“Yeah, thanks to Claggor.”
Ekko was satisfied with that answer and didn’t interrogate her further.
They turned a corner, nearing his family’s apartment. It was perched on a street corner and was taller than it was wide. It was set on one of the higher floors. The stairway there always made Momo nervous, as it sometimes swayed when you climbed it.
Ekko pushed open the door, keeping it open for Momo as they entered his home.
Momo’s mouth immediately began to salivate at the smell that lingered in the air—Inna’s cooking. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the meal might be by the scent, but whatever it was, it smelt amazing.
“Ekko?” Inna called before poking her head past the corner to see who had entered the house. Her eyes lit up upon seeing Momo with him.
“Oh! You were able to make it,” she grinned, her smile being heard as she spoke.
Momo returned her smile and followed Ekko into the kitchen, which was really only a few steps away from the door.
“Thank you for inviting me,” she said, taking a seat in the chair Inna was gesturing towards.
Ekko sat across from her, sitting with one leg bent with his foot on the chair, and the other dangling over the edge. He rested his elbow on his knee, and then rested his cheek on his hand, a bored expression on his face.
Wyeth walked downstairs, hearing voices and being alerted of their presence. He adjusted his hearing aid.
“Ekko my boy, how was work today?” questioned the older man, taking a seat at the end of the small table.
“It was fine, dad,” Ekko’s tone sounded just as bored as his face looked.
Momo watched the exchange before her attention got pulled away by Inna pouring a ladle full of soup into the bowl that was already on the table in front of her.
“Thank you,” she said, looking down at the watery food and seeing her own reflection in the broth.
“You’re welcome deary.” Inna replied while filling everyone else’s bowl.
Inna soon took her place at the table, sitting next to Momo.
Momo watched as the family each grabbed their spoons, ready to dig in, so she did the same.
At first, the four of them ate in silence. But after a few mouthfuls, Wyeth spoke.
“We didn’t realize you and Ekko were so close.”
Momo lowered her spoon and swallowed the soup she had in her mouth. She wasn’t exactly sure how to answer that, since the truth was she and their son weren’t close at all. Unless Ekko viewed her differently now. Fat chance.
“Yes, he told us what you did for him the other day. That was very brave of you, Momo.” Inna said, causing Ekko to groan and begin slouching down his chair.
Momo was stunned into silence for a few moments before she was able to come up with something to say.
“Taking the blame for him so that his pay wouldn’t be cut, and then ending up getting grounded. The least we could do was cook you a warm meal,” his mom continued and then sipped at her spoon.
“Don’t worry, he’s grounded too,” Wyeth revealed.
By now, Ekko had slumped down in his chair so far that half of his face was hidden from view by the table.
“We can talk to Vander about it if you want. It’s not right that you’re grounded for something you didn’t actually do.”
Momo looked between Inna and Wyeth and then shook her head.
“No, that’s okay. I’m grateful for the food and I’m happy to help. I know that you both work hard... and so does Ekko.”
Wyeth’s expression softened, almost in admiration.
“You’re very observant for your age, you know that? Ekko could learn a thing or two.”
Momo didn’t understand how she was supposed to feel about that. She hadn’t really noticed that about herself.
“Please stop,” Ekko pleaded, fixing his posture and finally sitting up again.
“He’s just teasing kiddo. You’re already our little genius. Get any smarter and we wouldn’t be able to fit your ego into the house anymore,” Inna’s tone held fondness, despite the little poke at the end.
Ekko groaned yet again and rested his elbow on the table next to his soup bowl, resting his chin on it while his face held an expression of utter annoyance.
Wyeth chuckled lightly at his wife’s words.
Momo could see how uncomfortable his parents were making Ekko feel, and she didn’t really have anything to say that could make him feel better. She went back to eating instead.
“Do you like it?” Inna asked, hopeful.
She nodded, smiling softly at the woman in gratitude.
Dinner soon ended and Momo found herself with her sleeves rolled up, standing on a stool next to Inna at the kitchen sink while drying the dishes that Inna washed.
Ekko had long since gone to his room, Wyeth having gone to the corner shop to buy some more matches to light is pipe, which left the two females alone.
Momo dried the dishes wordlessly. She wasn’t one to start conversations, and she wasn’t exactly too familiar with the woman either. She’d uttered few words to her in the past when she visited with Powder, but they were scarce and carefully selected. She also didn’t talk to her unless she spoke to her first.
“We could tell something was wrong as soon as he walked in.”
Momo paused her dish drying to look up at Inna.
When Momo didn’t say anything, Inna continued.
“Had this guilty expression on his face. Always can tell how he’s feeling just by looking at him,” she continued on, adding another dish to the pile of wet dishes for Momo to dry.
Momo didn’t know what to say, so she continued drying the plate in her hand.
“We pried it out of him, as always. Little man can’t keep nothin’ from us,” she said, using Ekko’s well-known nickname.
Momo silently agreed. Ekko was a very expressive person, his face always revealing his emotions.
There was an extended silence between the two of them. Momo dried the dishes as they were added to the pile by Inna. It wasn’t until Momo heard the woman sniffle that she stopped, looking up at her with wide eyes. She was crying.
Inna struggled to wipe the tears from her cheeks due to her wet hands and wrists, dish sudds clinging to them.
“I’m sorry dear, I don’t mean to get all teary. I just… Thank you. Thank you for what you did for Ekko. For us.”
Momo went rigid, her mouth dropping open in unspoken surprise.
“He’s so gifted,” Inna said, “We want him to go to a university in Piltover. But money is just so hard to get down here. We’ve been working our asses off—pardon the language—but it just seems like an impossible dream sometimes.”
Momo looked down and stared at the plate in her hand, her expression softening.
“He’ll… He’ll do great things no matter what,” Momo said. She believed her words and had no trouble speaking them confidently.
Inna glanced down at the young girl, slightly taken aback. She still found it difficult to comprehend how maturely Momo viewed things despite her age. She wondered if it may have something to do with the things she’d seen so far in her short life. She was vaguely aware of her situation, knowing that Vander had taken her in as his own (along with her other siblings, both biological and adoptive). But the circumstances of their parents weren’t known to her. She assumed they had died but didn’t know how.
Inna couldn’t help but smile as she spoke, her tears beginning to dry on their own.
“You really believe in him, huh?”
Momo finished drying the last dish and placed the drying cloth onto the counter.
Inna felt a warmth grow within her, the new fondness for the young girl that had been planted there starting to grow and blossom.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a crush on my son now, would you? Hmm?”
Momo froze, feeling her cheeks and ears grow hot.
“What are you guys talking about?”
Both females looked up to see Ekko standing at the bottom of the stairs with his arms crossed over his chest, having just come down from his bedroom. In was unclear how much he had heard, which made Momo’s ears and cheeks become even hotter.
“About how late it is and how you’re going to walk her home.” Inna responded, placing her hand on Momo’s back and gently urging her to go with her son.
Ekko was hesitant, wanting to argue that Momo walked home plenty of times in the dark alone from Benzo’s, but remembered that their house was a further distance from the Last Drop than Benzo’s.
The walk there was quiet.
Momo was silently paying to Jannah that Ekko hadn’t heard what his mom had said.
Ekko didn’t bring it up either way, which she wasn’t sure she was grateful for or not. It could mean one of two things. He had heard, but refused to acknowledge it, or he hadn’t hear at all. She hoped it was the latter.
When they got there, Ekko considered heading inside to see Powder, but realized it was already pretty late. He murmured a brief goodbye before leaving her alone to watch him leave, his hands shoved in his pockets.
Momo sighed before turning around and heading inside, realizing that even if Ekko had heard his mother’s words, he would probably just use it as another reason to view her as annoying.
Vocabulary: - Bells: Term for the hour. Example: 21 bells = 21:00, or 9:00 P.M.
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