heart of an adventurer

                    𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤   𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴   𝘵𝘩𝘦   𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵   𝘵𝘩𝘦   𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘳'𝘴   𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴   𝘱𝘶𝘵   𝘩𝘦𝘳   𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯,   &   the   mage   begins   to   explain   herself   with   the   speed   of   light.   all   the   if   you   dont   want   to's   and   sorry's,   apologies   and   explanations   poured   out   in   a   chaotic   stutter,   mess   of   a   monologue   that   halts   the   moment   ezreal   wishes   to   know   if   she   meant   it.

                    and   oh   gods,   she   did.   she   does.   partially,   because   they   already   are   like   husband   and   wife   —   sharing   household   and   responsibilities,   all   goods   and   all   bads   ;   together   through   thick   and   thin,   in   sickness   and   in   health   ;   the   only   thing   not   yet   shared   being   the   last   name.   partially,   because   it   is   also   ezreal's   dream   :   to   have   a   family   together,   and   isn't   marriage   a   step   towards   that   goal?   luxanna   cannot   yet   promise   any   children   (   doesn't   know   how   to   navigate   the   subject   yet,   too   ),   but   she   can   put   a   ring   on   her   finger   —   a   physical   &   metaphorical   proof   of   her   commitment   and   exclusivity.

                    partially,   no   —   wholly!   —   because   she's   happy.

                    the   happiest   she's   ever   been.

                    to   break   free   from   her   family's   name   chains,   from   speculations   about   eventual   (   and   strictly   political   )   marriage   between   her   and   king   jarvan   ;   to   decide   for   herself,   fully   and   truly.   her   heart   already   belongs   to   ezreal   :   she   can   dedicate   one   finger   to   him   as   well,   no?

                    it's   when   he   feigns   offense   and   hurt   is   when   luxanna's   heart   stops   for   a   second   ;   it's   when   he   expresses   his   excitement   is   when   it's   starts   beating   again.   a   sigh   of   relief,   an   awkward   laugh   —   and   her   hands   around   his   neck   (   her   anchor,   her   home   )   ;   lady   of   luminosity   shudders   within   the   embrace   and   nods,   smile   back   again   on   her   features.

                    ❝   you   could've   changed   your   mind   countless   times!   ❞

                    it   comes   with   a   voice   that   breaks,   but   lux   doesn't   care   to   clear   her   throat   and   repeat.   she   can   be   as   vulnerable   and   small   as   she   needs   to.   it's   safe.   with   ezreal,   she's   safe.

                    ❝   but   if   you   didn't,   can   we?   ❞

                    radiance   spills   from   her   skin   just   like   it   did   years   ago   —   uncontrolled,   opalescent   light   glimmering   as   lux   pulls   away   just   a   bit,   just   to   study   the   other's   reaction.   her   eyes   are   hopeful   —   they   look   the   same   as   when   she   finally   believed   terbisia   can   be   rebuilt   &   can   be   a   safe   haven   for   all   magicborn.

                    it's   quieter   when   she   repeats   herself,   &   there's   a   certain   shyness   to   it   ;   yet,   her   gaze   never   wavers,   never   leaves   ezreal's   eyes.

                    ❝   ...can   we?   ❞

as his sweetheart's arms wind around his neck, it all begins to dawn on him. like her magic, the realization pierces him the way her light banishes the shadows.

you could've changed your mind countless times!

the explorer can only stare in bafflement. the words almost don't register, so unfitting the loveliest person he knows. the very epitome of it! how can such a thing even enter her head, even after all this time, even as he loves her so much it feels there isn't enough room within him to contain it all. oh, lux ...

his hand rises to caress her cheek, and she's all he can look at. to think he's been looking at her the same way for over a decade, wishing the same thing, and it is now, on a perfectly random afternoon, that it actually comes true. oh, lux. the explorer is done searching for treasures. he's been ready to take on this new quest for a while now.

lux is small in his arms, but they have never been so steady. her soft skin begins to shimmer, illuminated with her innate power. it's never been clearer to ezreal what that power truly is. everything she ever did -- every fight, every ray of light, every difficult decision and the very town she raised -- is her heart beating the only way it knows how.

and now it beholds him.

it's been a while since he thought himself worthy of such a thing. oh believe him, he used to. but deep down he always knew that he's nothing special ; just a dude who took longer to grow up than many others. okay, he's better traveled and better looking than most people, he'll give himself that. also, quite handy with gadgets. but the point is, he isn't nearly special enough for the light of lady luminosity herself.

he'll try though. it's how he's lived his life so far.

his voice is barely above a whisper, as gentle and warm as his palm revering her soft cheek. " of course we can. " the light of lux begins to sway and sparkle, like a river in sunlight. " of course, " he repeats, and then he breaks into a teary smile, pulls her into a tight and desperate squeeze. he heaves, somewhere between laughter and tears. he's wanted to feel this way all his life.

but seriously, crying on the best day of his life? ezreal's smile takes on a mischievous edge and his hands plunge in to tickle her sweetheart's sides. he gets real close to her ear, so close that his lips brush and tickle over it, and says, " I could get used to calling you my wife. "

                    𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦   𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨   𝘢𝘯𝘥   𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯,   𝘯𝘰𝘸   𝘪𝘯   𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨   𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮,   the   sunflower   turns   its   head   towards   its   sun   :   who   knew   she'd   become   so   happy   after   all   she's   been   through   with   demacia's   civil   war   started   by   the   one   who   taught   her   to   accept   the   light   within   her   heart.

                    she   laughs,   giggless   without   any   care   in   the   world   ―    at   the   cleverness   behind   the   play   of   words   ;   gets   to   relax   within   ezreal's   embrace   ;   stripped   of   doubts,   all   -   consuming   trust   slips   before   she   can   stop   it,   and   she   blurts   out   something   that   makes   her   freeze   in   the   embrace.

                    ❝   let's   get   married.   ❞

it was already a perfect moment and a perfect day with his lovely girlfriend, but with a few words she makes it unforgettable.

the explorer short-circuits. he sets her down, and really inspects her expression, seeks answers between her features, some explanation hidden upon her countenance. something like jesting or regret, as it must be a joke or simply something she'd said accidentally. maybe he heard wrong, that's happened before! but then, with a lurch in his stomach, he dares search for sincerity, a real wish somewhere in her sky-blue eyes.

his lungs aren't really lunging, and his shirt is humid like the ixtal rainforest. his hands clasp and unclasp where they hold her waist. " really? " he asks, and man, is it lame how feeble he sounds.

he brings a palm to his heart and feigns being wounded, in a not at all convincing manner. it's all theatrics. just don't mention the nervous laugh that sort of makes the whole thing fall apart. " lux-anna! you can't just joke about this kind of stuff. I can only suffer so much. "

he pulls back his hair, the way he does when he doesn't know how to fix a device in the workshop. " but if-- if you really did want to get married, you wouldn't even have to ask. I'd be sold. set for life! I mean-- you know I've wanted to marry you since we were kids, right? "

" you're right about that, uhh -- what was your name again? "

                    𝘴𝘩𝘦   𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴   𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧   𝘣𝘦   𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥   𝘰𝘧𝘧   𝘵𝘩𝘦   𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥   &   𝘴𝘱𝘶𝘯   𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥   ;   in   ezreal's   arms,   it   feels   like   she   weights   nothing   —   all   her   worries   &   troubles   taken   away,   always   heavy   upon   her   shoulders   now   somewhere   else,   far,   far,   far   from   where   she's   in   this   moment.   happy,   uncaring,   she   can   smile   &   the   sun   shines   brighter   upon   hearing   her   laugh   and   giggle.

                    arms   soon   wrap   around   the   explorer's   neck   and   lips   find   lips   in   a   soft   kiss   ;   radiance   seeps   through   her   skin.   with   him,   her   light   never   fades   /   with   him,   her   light   never   dims.

　　If there's something that will never get old,　that he'll never get enough of, that always makes his day better, it's the simple embrace of his sweetheart. Who knew he'd become so straightforward after all the crazy lengths he'd gone to in order to feel what he does this very moment ; used to be that the uncovering of an artifact only whispered in myth could fill his heart for a week or two, before gold begun to feel like dust and clay in his hands again. It was all a desperate chase for fleeting, shallow contentment, and it took him a while to figure out why the flowers wither in a leaking vase.

Well, he's got about the prettiest flower right here in his arms now, after a few hard years of whipping himself into better shape. He feels so proud and successful and lucky that he doesn't know what to do with himself half the time -- if Lux would approve, he'd probably go around town ceaselessly boasting about how amazing his partner is　( and so he does it at appropriate measures only. )

He laughs into the kiss, just a bit, endeared by Lux going lightbulb mode.　" Whats this, honey? Did I do something especially well recently? "　Because of course, he always did things decently well.　" Or should I say, brilliantly? "

                    𝐭𝐡𝐞   𝐳𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐜   𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬   𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲   𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲   𝐞𝐳𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥'𝐬   𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲   𝐚𝐧𝐝   𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭   𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬   𝐥𝐮𝐱   𝐦𝐚𝐝   —   insane   even.   what   do   they   see   in   this   annoying   boy   ;   what   is   luxanna   missing?

                    because   it's   luxanna,   if   they   really   want   to   keep   it   professional   and   polite,   &   said   luxanna   is   very   unsure   if   ezreal   should   call   her   lux,   because   that's   usually   how   friends   call   her,   and   that   would   be   unfair.   there's   this   resentment   she   cannot   get   rid   of,   something   missing   or   something   being   too   much.   nonetheless,   the   tiger   guardian   is   trying,   and   based   on   information   provided   from   others   —   he's   getting   better.   stronger.   a   force   to   be   reckoned   with.

                    if   so,   it's   a   great   time   to   test   the   skills   of   his.

                    ❝   it's   just   lux,   ❞   she   begins   with   correcting   the   almost   -   archeologist,   fighting   off   a   smile   —   she's   in   no   mood   for   smiling,   stop   it!   —   ezreal's   comment   so   refreshing   from   darius'   usual   banter   &   sarcastic   remarks.   maybe   she'll   finally   witness   &   experience   why   the   others   like   ez's   companionship   so   much   :   be   it   the   jokes   or   his   optimistic   attitude.

                    ❝   been   hearing   much   praise   from   those   whom   carried   out   your   training   these   past   few   weeks,   ❞   rabbit   guardian   announces,   completely   ignoring   ezreal's   inquiries.   although   a   fan   of   strategies   and   well   thought,   calculated   methods,   luxanna   already   realized   it   won't   work   on   the   tiger   guardian   —   a   shot   of   prismatic   energy   bursts   his   way,   with   blinding   light   and   sound   of   ceramic   clinging.

Praise, heard by none other than Lady Luxanna -- Lux, now, even -- there's simply nothing better that Ezreal could've wished to hear. It's funny how he's smiling and hopeful one moment, and the next everything inverses as Lux reveals her intentions of a surprise attack. Of course she'd approached him only to make another case of how displeased she was. Use him as a punching bag while she's at it! Yeah, yeah. He'd sigh if he didn't need to urgently react.

Stripes' senses are sharper than his, and it shares them with him. From the tensing of muscles to the rumbling growl and the bared teeth, Ezreal knows that Lux's attack is coming before the dazzling projectile is even on its way. It's a matter of milliseconds, somehow familiar to the Tiger spirit, as if it knew to anticipate this specific technique and attack. Weird -- it's the first time that's happened. Just how deep can his connection with the Tiger become?

The world blurs in a white-blue light and he travels through reality like an ink stroke on porcelain. He emerges not far ahead, gone only a blink, merrily evading the blast of light that would've surely knocked him out. No time wasted, he slings out a flurry of spells, shots of magical energy released in rapid succession, aimed -- he looks at Lux, meeting her fierce blue eyes, and makes a split-second decision -- at her feet ( he doesn't want to hurt her, not even while sparring, and doesn't realize it makes him seem arrogant. ) He just can't bear the thought of seeing her brows furrow and hearing her voice cry out in pain, and he can feel Tiger's approval at his choice.

Engulfed in light again, he repeats the teleportation maneuver and hurls out another set of projectiles. They're dimmer this time, and he can feel the acid biting into his exhausted limbs. Just how much longer could he do this? Maybe it didn't matter -- maybe Lux wanted to bully him into giving up, or to the point of extinguishment. It's not a satisfaction that he'll willingly give her, now that he's had a taste of this life with purpose. She doesn't know how much Tiger trusts him. The familiar is something he can always smile about, and so he does -- he smiles at Lux, tiger-like eyes narrowing, stripes forming across his features. Tiger's presence is closer than ever before, breathing through him.

@compasswithin asked: " Whatever you say, it always feels … like you're holding something against me. " 一 from heartsteel EZ 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒 | 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍

                     Of all members of 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐋 ( other than his twin of course ), Aphelios has always felt closest to Ezreal. Maybe it wasn't a sentiment he openly expresses — by now it's no secret that he wasn't the best at handling his feelings and worse at expressing them through anything other than lyrics. Despite the little time they've known each-other compared to some others though it just felt ... easier to talk && riff with him.

                     ( though his over-enthusiasm could get a little much at times )

                     Raising his head a little too fast from where he'd been idly staring at swirling patterns of steam rising from coffee on the table ; eyes blinking wide with confusion. How the teal-haired man had ended up with that conclusion evades him completely. Wracking his brain to think on any interactions they've had that would lead him to think like that brings nothing to mind either.

                     Has his teasing finally reached a breaking point ?? Or maybe his friend has always been just far too kind to tell him when the jokes pass a threshold into discomfort. Or maybe he really is just that unapproachable to others. Regardless of why, he knows he has to make it right somehow. The crushing weight of guilt wracking his body so suddenly all but demands it.

                     ❛ If ... I've done something to make you feel like that then I apologise. ❜ All of the feigned confidence his friends are so used to seeing from him quickly ebbs away, replaced by an uncertainty in his own words. ❛ There's nothing for me to hold against you Ez. We're friends. You're one of the most skillful && hardworking people I know && you deserve everything that you've earned from that. ❜

Much like the cup of coffee that he keeps stirring, Ezreal has a bad habit of ensuring his life is kept unnecessarily turbulent. The kitchen had been the picture of serenity that morning, gym bros out of the house and the rest hermiting in their rooms. Bright over exposure-like light had bathed the room and everything had been as still and quiet as could be. Serene -- until Ezreal went ahead and ruined it all after Aphelios arrived and he opened his mouth without thinking. Or over-thinking. The result doesn't differ much.

Ezreal had been thinking about this particular topic -- thinking about the look that he sometimes noted on Aphelios' face after he sang at rehearsals, or when they saw a particularly big poster in the city with his green head hogging it up. It's an expression so subtle and complex that he can't even begin to guess it. Sensible then to ask, right?

He stares a bit, wide golden eyed, almost like he doesn't believe he just asked what he did. And Aphelios is already talking, so he has to roll with it. Each sentence makes his T-shirt feel more humid, even as open windows let breezes in. Ezreal really hadn't expected any of this ; none of these heartfelt, nice words or the unsure, vulnerable look in Aphelios' eyes. He'd expected something dismissive. That was the norm, right? Dumb questions getting swatted away like they should. Now he feels like he's asked something forbidden and deeply wounding.

He's still staring as Aphelios finishes, a sort of bewildered stare framed by red. He can't laugh this one away. " N-no, Phel, it's like... it's just this vibe I get. It's hard to explain. I'm talking nonsense since I haven't finished my coffee yet. "

Ezreal swallows, fully aware he's brushing things under the rug because he doesn't know what else to do. He doesn't have the words to match the lyricist, even as his heart beats oddly, like trying to supply him with foreign vocabulary. "You're also all of those things, you know. I admire you. A lot. "

Gently, he pushes his coffee mug forward until it clinks with that of Phel's. He just can't sit through this serious conversation without a little comic relief -- but it hardly shows in his gaze, watching his bandmate worriedly from beneath a pale green frown. " Are you okay? "