#lynx posts

Ekko walked in parallel to her right, about 10 feet away. The distance felt right. After all, for years they'd been enemies. They had hated each other. Could things even change? Despite his efforts, altering time itself, it still felt doomed. Like everything else. She stopped and looked over the edge to the street far below. She turned around and hoisted herself up to sit on the railing. It creaked and swayed under her, but she didn't notice. Or care.

“Please don't--Jinx.” Ekko's tone shifted dramatically mid sentence. From annoying, worry-filled scolding to something more raw and desperate.

She looked up, puzzled. There was a kind of anxiety on his face as he looked at her, but more noticeable was the fact that he was a foot or two closer. Impossibly so, as she had only glanced away for a split second and she didn't even hear him step. The Z-Drive… His hand gripped the handle of the rip-cord.

“Did you just…?” Disgust filled her. What did he say? What mess is he trying to hide?

“Jinx, listen…” He said, cautiously, arm outstretched toward her.

“No!” She exploded. Why listen to someone so blatantly trying to manipulate her? He jumped forward a few feet right before her eyes. Anger consumed her in an instant. “Stop it!” She spat.

"Jinx!"

She slid off the railing to her feet, intending to close the distance between them. “You don't get to rewrite our conversations!”

“The railing!” He shouted over her, but she didn't hear his words.

He blinked forward again, right in front of her, startling her. She recoiled backwards. The railing groaned under her weight, then something snapped and it gave way. Her eyes went wide as she felt herself falling backward. Suddenly his hand grabbed her forearm and yanked her away from the edge. Her body slammed into his and they fell backwards to the ground, his arms wrapped around her. She heard the horrid sound of metal crashing in the pit below, the railing's screams of agony echoing upward.

At that moment she realized what really happened. It fell. *I* fell. He watched me fall… How many times…? She tried to recount the skips.

His arms were squeezing her tight like a vice. With her body atop his and her head against his chest, she could feel his lungs heave heavy breaths and hear his heart race. She could sense the fear still in him. He… *really* cares. Far more than she had thought he did.

His breathing slowed and his grip loosened, but he still held onto her. “Don't… scare me like that. Please.”

He didn't even seem this shaken when he stopped her from offing herself just a day or two ago. She squeezed her arms to his sides, hugging him back. Being in his arms was comforting. She hadn't felt this feeling since… since Silco.

She felt really bad for a moment, she wanted to apologize for misunderstanding, but… the other feeling she had still loomed. The thought of him rewinding, changing the words spoken between them. It felt like a cheat. Like betrayal. She lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him. His head was back against the ground, his eyes closed as he tried to moderate his breath.

“Don't use the Z-Drive with me.” She said firmly.

He lifted his head and looked down at her with an angry, bewildered look. “I won't stand by and watch you get hurt.” He growled.

She shook her head. “I mean, don't use it against me.” Her tone was serious, demanding.

Ekko's face softened as he came to understand. 

“Don't use it to change things. Between us.” She stared him directly in the eyes. 

He nodded gently.

But didn't she want things to change? She didn't want to be his enemy anymore. But that only worked if she could trust him. She needed to know that she could trust him. That whatever this was, was real. Unedited. Truth. She'd already suffered through one man's lies… 

“Promise me.”

“I promise.” He whispered.

Good. She thought as they lingered in each other's eyes for a moment. Then she blinked, turned, and laid her head back on his chest. She felt him lay his head back against the ground once again. They just sat there for a minute in each other's arms. His hand gently rubbed her back. She closed her eyes and basked in his embrace. Taking in his smell, his warmth, his touch. A tear welled in her eye and leaked onto his jacket.

The thought of holding the Boy Savior was laughable just a year ago.