#vander imagines

The way I sobbed during this first episode when I saw Vander again!

I just had to write this afterwards - I hope you all enjoy this!

You woke with a start, your heart beating at a rapid pace as a light bead of sweat formed on your forehead. 

You stayed like that for a minute, just sitting upright in the bed as you began to catch your breath; your eyes focusing on the environment around you. 

You weren’t in your bedroom. 

In fact, you didn’t really know where you were…it was weird, although this place seemed so different to you, it felt oddly familiar at the same time.

The last thing you could remember was being in the room with the hexcore in it. 

Ekko…Heimerdinger…Jayce…where were they?

Thoughts were running around in your mind faster than you could keep up with them; you’d barely finished one thought before another one took over, as you tried to work out what the hell happened and where the hell you were. 

‘Am I dead?’ you thought to yourself, running your hands over your face. 

But all your thoughts were halted when you heard the door to your side creek open; followed by a voice that confirmed you must’ve been dead, or just completely losing your mind.

Vanders voice….

“Good morning, sleepyhead, or should I say afternoon,” he chuckled; a sound that made your heart ache, and yet at the same time, made you feel all warm and fuzzy. 

It was a sound that you never thought you’d hear again… 

A sound that had made you feel safe; regardless of what was going on, even now when you had no idea what was going on. 

You heard his footsteps getting closer to you, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look at him. 

Not even for a second, just in case this was just your mind playing a foul trick on you. 

It wasn’t long before the sounds of his footsteps stopped and the bed that you were sitting on dipped as Vander sat in front of you.  

He lifted his hand to your face, tilting your chin up with his thumb, “You okay, sweetheart?”

His touch; it felt so real, so real that it made you sure it wasn’t your mind deceiving you. 

It couldn’t have been. 

Vander quite often occupied your dreams, and in every single one of them, his touch had never felt as real as it did in this very moment. 

“Am I dead?” The words fell from your lips before you could stop them, coming out in a small whisper.

Your eyes met Vanders gray ones, that’s when you noticed the worry that was slowly building inside them as he stared at you. 

“No, darl,” he cooed, wrapping his other hand around your waist, lifting you out of the bed momentarily before placing you in his lap, “you're safe.”

Safe.

You hadn’t been safe in a long time. 

And yet, here you were feeling safer then you had in years, with a man who should’ve been dead.

Your man. 

The love of your life. 

He was here. 

He was alive. 

You could hear his heart beating as you snuggled into his chest, savoring the all too familiar scent of Vander….smoke, fire and alcohol, mixing together with a small amount of cologne he loved to wear. 

“You’re alive…” you breathed, tentatively reaching out to touch his cheek. 

He seemed different. 

But in a good way.

The dark circles that were once under his eyes were pretty much all but gone; and his eyes seemed happier than when you knew him, as though he was free from all the stress that once plagued him. 

“Course I am, darl,” he assured you with a small smile; before pressing a soft kiss on the top of your head, hoping that his small action would be able to ease your mind. 

It didn’t. Not really at least. 

You were so confused. 

You didn't understand what was happening.

You tried to blink back the tears that were forming in your eyes, tried to keep yourself together so you could figure out what was happening. 

So you could think logically. 

But there was nothing logical about any of this…the arcane….magic…it wasn’t something that was logical. 

But now, being wrapped up in Vanders arms again, made you want to throw logic to the wind and just stay like this with him for as long as you possible could, not knowing how long this could last.

You didn’t know what was happening, or how, or why; all you knew was that Vander was here. 

That was all that mattered.

Taglist:

Don't imagine his voice like honeyed bourbon, deep and smooth but burning through you and sending sparks flying up your spine

You stutter out an apology for coming in so late and whirl to leave but-

"Ey! Where ya goin'? I'm still open, it's pourin' out, and 'sides, I could use the company."

You thank him, trying not to stare as he braces his hands on his knees to stand, the thick muscles of his arms on display

He goes around behind the bar to grab a bottle and two glasses, then returns to the booth, and to your surprise gestures for you to join him

Time passes easily, too quickly as you treasure this, chatting and sipping the liquor, some sort of high-quality stuff, the kind that goes right to your veins

Those veins that are now on fire with how he's gazing at you

When did you two move so close?

Don't imagine him casually putting an arm around you to pull you in fully

"It's gettin' chilly. Why don't ya come 'ere?"

Definitely don't imagine him giving you a devious grin, or reaching out to gently grasp your chin, his large thumb swiping your bottom lip

You feel like you'll burst into flame at this point and you've never wanted something more than the promise those eyes held

"Ya know...I've always liked ya. Was kinda hopin' we'd get a chance like this..."

Don't imagine resting your hand on his face, your heart hammering like a wild thing as you silently all but beg him to do it

Don't imagine his lips meeting yours, that flame roaring to life and you inhale sharply

He tastes faintly of bitter tobacco and the sweet liquor and you've never had something so wonderfully intoxicating

Don't imagine tangling your fingers in his thick, surprisingly soft hair, involuntarily letting out a soft groan as his tongue swipes across yours

He pulls back, cradling your jaw with one hand while the other grasps your thigh, a downright devilish grin on his slightly flushed face

And definitely don't imagine him murmuring, "Well then...now that we're on the same page, where this goes t'night is up to you, darlin'..."

You knew the Undercity wasn’t the safest of places to go, at least that’s what your father had always told you. 

So why were you down here? 

Because as much as you appreciated your fathers protectiveness, what type of friend would you be if you let one of your closest friends go down there alone? 

A pretty shit one. 

Which is why, despite the risks, you went with Jayce down to the Undercity. 

Besides, seeing as you were training to be an Enforcer and Jayce was just a student at the academy it was basically your job to escort him and make sure that nothing happened to him; that’s at least what you’d tell Greyson if she asked where you’d been…and your parents, if they asked which you hoped they wouldn’t. 

“Remind me where we’re going?” You asked in a slightly hushed tone as the two of you turned a corner walking down a dimly lit alley, before 

“I need to get some supplies for a project I’m working on,” Jayce answered simply; with an optimistic gleam in his eyes. 

“What project?” you inquired, unable to keep your curiosity at bay; it had certainly been a while since you’d seen Jayce this excited about a project.

“It’s best I don’t tell you, until I can get it working,” he replied; his answer only furthering your curiosity, but perhaps it was for the best for you to know as little as possible…especially if the academy wasn’t aware of it, which by the seams of things, they weren’t. The less you knew the better; though it still played on your mind as the two of you continued walking through the Undercity.  

To most people the Undercity was just an underdeveloped land across the river, deep in the canyons,  beneath Piltover, filled with misfits and thugs; but as you walked through the lanes of the Undercity, you couldn’t help but admire the beauty of it. 

The beauty of how vibrant the lights atop of the shops shone in the darkness; the difference of industrial architecture, making each building its own, if only in a little way.

It was different from Piltover, of course, but beautiful nevertheless. 

Since you'd arrived down here you couldn’t shake this feeling of deja-vu…like you’d been here before. 

It was odd. 

You’d never been down here; not once; so why did it feel so familiar?

You were so lost in your own thoughts that you hadn’t realised Jayce had stopped walking until you walked into the back of him. 

“Sorry,” you whispered, hearing a small chuckle fall from his lips. 

“Lost in your own world again?” he teased, turning around to look at you. 

You simply rolled your eyes at his comment and looked at the building you’d stopped outside; a pawn shop. 

You shot Jayce a confused look; you didn’t understand what this place had that any of the shops in Piltover didn’t; except from some anonymity. 

Down here no one knew him. 

But that only caused the curiosity you had about his project to grow. 

“Stay out here, I won’t be long,” he said before disappearing inside the shop. 

You went to follow him, before you heard a song in the distance, that halted your steps. 

You knew it. 

But you were certain you’d never heard it before…

How did you know a song from the Undercity? 

You turned on your heel, following the sound of the song; you knew it was risky, venturing off into the Undercity alone and you knew Jayce would be worried if he came back outside and noticed you gone, but you couldn’t help it. 

It was like your feet had a mind of their own and before you knew it, you’d come to the source of the music, it was a bar, or at least that’s what you assumed it was seeing as it was called ‘The Last Drop’ and had a logo of a tankard in the middle of the name. 

‘Why does this place seem so familiar?’ you thought to yourself, your eyes narrowing as you stared at the building in front of you. 

You were about to take another step, before you felt someone grab ahold of your wrist; instinctively your training kicked in and your guard went up, ready to fight. 

That was until you saw that it was Jayce who was holding your wrist; he was panting slightly with a worried look in his eyes, “I thought something had happened to you.”

“I’m sorry,” you apologized, guilt washing over you, “I didn’t mean to worry you,” 

“It’s okay,” he answered softly, tugging on your wrist slightly, leading you away from the bar, “Let’s just get out of here.”

And with that the two of you made your way past the pawn shop Jayce had been in, passing a little boy with white hair leaning against the wall, he had a proud smile on his face that was until he saw you. 

You waved at him politely, confused about why he was staring at you; but the little boy said nothing, he just continued to stare at you, his mouth hanging slightly agape as you vanished out of his view. 

All you could think about as you made your way back to Piltover was how strange today had truly been. 

The deja-vu, the song, the bar, the little boy….none of it was making any sense….

~~~~~~

Vander hated seeing Vi hurt; he also hated that she was a mirror image of how he was when he was younger, so eager to rebel against the topsiders…but it wasn’t that simple. 

That’s what he was trying to get her to understand.

Every action had a consequence. 

He knew that better than anyone. 

He was the one who was too stubborn to call off the uprising, because he wanted to show Piltover that they were worthy of not being left behind on all the grand new ventures Piltover were indulging in; and because of that, he lost so many people that were close to him. 

But no ones ghost was more haunting than yours. 

He just needed Vi to understand that violence wasn’t the way to play this. 

He knew Greyson would probably be paying him a visit soon; the kids, unintentionally, broke an agreement that he’d made with the current sheriff of Piltover, to keep a peace between topside and the Lanes. 

A peace that was now hanging by a thread. 

Once he was sure Vi’s injuries were clean, he rose from the table and began putting away the supplies he’d used to clean her cuts. 

“Vander…there’s something else,” Vi began, halting Vanders movements and making his attention focus back on her. 

“Go on,” he  said calmly, though in his mind he was dreading the next words that were going to come out of her mouth; she’d just been part of blowing up a building in Piltover, what more could there be.

“Ekko said….he said he saw Y/n,” 

Her words short-circuited his mind at the mention of your name.

“What?” he asked; thinking that maybe, somehow, he’d misheard what Vi had said. 

“He said he saw Y/n walking with that topside guy that came into the shop,” she repeated, noticing how Vanders eyebrows furrowed together as he tried to process her words. 

“That was partly why I went up there….to see if she was there,” she continued, rising from her seat, walking over to Vander and placing her hand on his arm. 

She knew how much Vander loved you. 

She knew how much losing you broke him. 

She knew how much losing you hurt both her and Powder; who’d grown so close to you in the few years prior to the uprising. 

That’s why she wanted to be sure that Ekko wasn’t wrong; she’d barely believed him herself when he first told her, but before the explosion happened, she was sure she heard your voice; but without actually seeing you, she couldn't be sure if it was you or if it was just the wishful thinking in her mind.

“She’s dead, Vi,” Vander stated; his voice remaining balanced; although the look in his eyes showed a growing sadness. 

“You’ve never believed that,” 

It wasn’t a lie; he didn’t believe it. 

He might’ve said that you were dead; but Vi knew that deep in his heart, he had never believed it.

He never found your body; and without your body, he could still cling on to the hope that you were alive. 

Vi never really understood why he couldn’t believe your death was real; but now she knew that he was right all along. 

“Ekko got it wrong, it can’t have been her.”

“Vander, he knows what she looks like….” Vi tried to counter, they all knew what you looked like from the photos Vander kept of the two of you; but Vander just went back to putting away the medical supplies before heading to the stairs. 

“He got it wrong,” he answered back, slightly harsher than he’d intended to,before leaving the basement entirely and heading to his own room. 

He all but collapsed onto the side of your bed; his eyes landing on the photo of you he kept on his bedside table. 

You were dead.

That’s what he kept telling himself. 

That’s what he'd had to tell himself for the last five years to keep his own sanity. 

But there was a little voice in the back of his head, a voice that reignited his failing hope…what if you weren’t…what if what Ekko said was true…?

Vander didn’t know what to believe….the memories from that day flooding back into his mind as the pain he’d felt re-entered his heart, tears fell from the Hound Of The Undergrounds eyes, as he tried to work out what to believe. 

What if all these years you’d been alive? 

Why were you in Piltover? 

Why hadn’t you come back to him? 

Did you blame him for what happened on the bridge….did you blame him for the deaths so many people had succumbed to…? 

Is that why you never came home?

So many thoughts were running through his mind; but even if his mind hadn’t settled on a decision, his heart had; he needed to find out the truth. 

And he would; just as soon as he’d smoothed everything out with Greyson about today's incident.

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“Are we really gonna do this?” you breathed out shakily, laying on Vanders bare chest. 

The plans for the uprising were all in place thanks to Vander, Silco and most of the undercity, but now that the time was so near, you couldn’t shift the bad feeling that was sitting in the pit of your stomach.

“It’s the only way to show Piltover,” Vander answered softly, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. 

He knew why you were worried, but he knew the risks. 

They all did. 

But this was the only way there could be change; the undercity had been forgotten by Piltover and this uprising was the only way to show those people on the other side of the bridge that  they weren’t going to be ignored or neglected anymore. 

“I know Van…but…I’ve just gotta a really bad feeling about this,” 

No one except Vander knew that you were from Piltover; you both decided it would probably be safer for you if no one knew about your past. 

You were just another traveller, trying to find a home…somewhere to belong. 

And you did. 

The Undercity was vastly different from Piltover, in so many ways; but for some reason you felt more at home here than you ever had done topside. 

There were no pressures. 

No discussion of arranged marriages. 

You were free; free to live however you wanted.

With whomever you wanted.

You knew the uprising was happening; it had been something Vander, Silco and Felicia had been discussing since before you even met Vander. 

They were all determined, as was much of the Undercity, to show Piltover that they were just as worthy as anyone living topside. 

But things weren’t that simple. 

You knew that no matter how determined they were, there was still going to be so much death. 

So many wasted lives. 

Because the Enforcers of Piltover were brutal. 

They had to be, they protected the city. 

Once upon a time; when you were younger and much more naïve, you admired the duty of the Enforcers.

That was until you grew up and saw the reality of what they were. 

They shot first and asked questions later….especially when it came to the people of the Undercity. 

And that’s why you were terrified. 

Terrified that this whole uprising was going to get crushed. 

That there was just going to be so much death, on both sides, that it was going to be almost impossible to come back from. 

Piltover would be angry and want revenge. 

The undercity would be the same. 

And thus the circle of violence would continue.

Never-ending.

Both sides would be craving revenge and willing to do anything to get it.

“You can stay here, darl…I know your dad-”

His sentence was cut short when he felt your body stiffen under him at the mention of your father.  

The reason you’d idolized the Enforcers, was because the man who raised you was the sheriff of the Piltover Enforcers; the same man was the one who showed you how ruthless they could be.

You knew that after all the years of being estranged from her family that there was a possibility you could meet again on that bridge and as much as you tried not to think about it, now that the event was so close, it was almost impossible to avoid. 

Vander knew that. 

He knew the complicated relationship that you had with her family; he was part of the reason things were so complicated between you and your parents. 

You both knew that meeting one another was never meant to happen, it was just a weird twist of fate that brought you together. But once you’d met one another, there was no turning back, not for either of you.

You left your life, your family, everything you knew, so that you could be with the man you loved. 

So that you could be with Vander. 

That was three years ago, and you'd been by his side ever since. 

And those three years were the happiest you’d been in a long while…you just didn’t want to lose that. 

You didn’t want to lose him, and you knew that this uprising risked that happening. 

It risked destroying everything, your lives, your friends, your community…all of it could be destroyed.

“I’m scared of losing you….” you admitted, trying to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes. 

“I know, darl, I am too,” he also confessed, pulling you closer to him. 

“But this isn’t just about us,” his words were almost a whisper, but you heard him, and you knew that what he was saying was true. 

This wasn’t about them. 

This was about the future…

There was no doubt that you feared the ramifications of what could happen from doing this uprising, you knew that it was going to happen whether you decided to be a part of it or not. 

The last thing you wanted to be doing was  staying here, waiting and hoping that Vander would come back to you. 

You wanted to make sure that he would, and if that meant going with him and having his back, then that’s what you were going to do. 

And if it all went terribly, at least you’d be together then as well.

~~~~~

Vander didn’t know what to do. 

Y/n was missing…

Felicia and Connol were dead. 

As he carried the daughters of one of his best friends in his arms, his thoughts were running rampant in his mind, trying to process what had happened.

One minute you were by his side, fighting with him against the enforcers on the bridge…the next minute you were gone. 

You couldn’t be dead, he’d have felt it in his heart…he would’ve found your body on that bridge..but despite all of his searching, he never found you…he was scouring the bridge for a third time for you, when he saw Vi and Powder standing there, the fear evident in their eyes, even in Vi’s despite her best efforts to look brave. 

He couldn’t let them stay there. 

He had to get them to safety. 

To protect them. 

You couldn’t be dead. 

You couldn’t be…

Vander kept repeating those words in his mind; hoping that maybe you’d made your own way home, but when he got there, there was no one there. 

The bar was empty. 

He set the girls down on the stools by the bar, before running a hand over his face. 

You weren’t here. 

But that didn’t mean anything.

It didn’t mean you were dead. 

“Where’s Y/n?” Powder asked innocently, but her lighthearted expression soon faltered when she saw Vander sit down in his chair.

His brows furrowed as a frown tugged down on his mouth. 

Vi noticed the sadness in his eyes as he opened his mouth to say something before closing it firmly shut and looking away from the two girls in front of him, trying to hide the tears building in his eyes.

They knew what his silence meant, even if he couldn’t say the words…or admit it to himself…

He kept hoping that eventually you would just walk through the door; with some type of witty remark. 

But one day turned into two, two days turned into a week, the week turned into weeks, and those weeks turned into months.

During that time funerals were held for all of those who died during the uprising; including you..his mind told him that the only logical answer was that you’d died and people told him that a funeral would give him closure.

Vander, Vi and Powder, all mourned the people that they lost that day.

Despite mourning you, in his heart, Vander could never fully believe that you were gone. 

~~~~~~

“It’s okay, my love, she’s safe now,” Richard cooed to his wife, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, his eyes fixed on the daughter he never thought he’d see again. 

“What did the doctor say?” Emilie, his wife, asked, the worry evident in her voice as she held her unconscious daughter's hand, tears brimming in her eyes as she looked at the injuries that were scattering Y/n's body. 

“We’ll know more when she wakes up,” Richard answered, squeezing her shoulder lightly.

When he first saw Y/n on the bridge, he couldn’t quite believe it. 

He knew you were in the Undercity, he wasn’t stupid, and as much as he wanted to just march down there and drag you home, you were the one who decided to leave.

He told you what happened if you left; it’s not like he didn’t give you ample warning. 

If you left, then you no longer had parents; that was a decision you made willingly.

For the last three years, he hadn’t had a daughter. 

But when he saw your unconscious, bloody and bruised body on the bridge; the fatherly protectiveness he thought had died all those years ago, resurfaced. 

He couldn’t leave you there. 

You were still his daughter; and despite everything, he still loved you.

So during the chaos of the fight, he took you away from the bridge and back home, where you were going to be safe. 

He called a doctor that he could trust to be discreet, to assess your injuries, and despite a cut on the back of her head, all your other injuries were superficial injuries that would heal with time. 

The cut on the back of your head was more serious though; the doctor explained that they wouldn’t know the severity of it until you were awake, but that it was possible that you could experience some type of amnesia, if nothing else. 

He couldn’t help the way he felt when the doctor said about you having amnesia. 

If you forgot about your time in the Undercity, then he could have his family back, he could have his daughter back; and you’d be able to live the life you were meant to live, in Piltover, with the types of people you were meant to be socializing with. 

Instead of the scum from the Undercity who’d twisted and manipulated you against your own parents and to join a foolish cause that could’ve gotten you killed. 

You’d be able to have the life you’d so misguidedly thrown away. 

All he ever wanted was what was best for you, and now he had a second chance to give that to you. 

Was he so wrong to want that? 

Tagging:

“Can you believe this? A building blown up by children from the Undercity?”

“I know,” 

“This is why I always say the Undercity is dangerous, Y/n, they’re monsters the lot of them,”

“I don’t think they’re all monsters….” you gently countered your fathers point but your words only made matters worse.

“Then clearly you haven’t been paying attention to what’s been happening!” He snapped sharply; his eyes full of rage.

You chose to remain silent this time, worried that any opposing conversation would just lead to a full blown argument.

But you knew that one bad act from a group of people from the Undercity didn’t mean that everyone from the Undercity was the same. That was too much of a black and white view to have; one that you did not share with your father. 

“I do hope Grayson handles the situation accordingly,”

What he meant by that was, he hopes Grayson takes as many enforcers down there as possible to find the culprits and bring them to justice. 

You understood your fathers anger, but you also knew that a group of Enforcers marching down there would not be something that they welcomed. 

“Of course you won’t be though, my dear,”

You shot him a look of confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Let the trained enforcers handle this situation, besides we have a very exciting few days ahead of us,” your mother interjected before your father had time to answer. 

“What do you mean?” you repeated; feeling an odd sense of dejavu…

“Well, we’re having a party tonight and we’ve invited someone that we think you’d like,” your mother continued, her words, and her chirpiness whilst saying the words, making you instantly uncomfortable. 

“If Grayson needs me to go, then I’ll be going,” you said quite bluntly, making both of your parents shoot you a look of disapproval. 

You brushed off their looks and simply stated, “It’s my job.” 

And with that you quickly said your goodbyes to your parents before leaving your house with no initial destination in mind. 

You didn’t have a plan on where you were going, all you knew was that you had to get out of that house before you said something you regretted. 

There was no way you were going to miss out on not doing your job, to party, especially with people that your parents had deemed worthy of your hand in marriage. 

You weren’t stupid. 

That’s what this party was about.

It was to find you a husband. 

~~~~~~~

“What do you mean I can’t go?” You asked Grayson, attempting (and somewhat failing) to keep your composure.

“Y/n, this is out of my hands,” Grayson answered with a sympathetic smile; it didn’t take long for you to work out what had happened. 

Your father….he’d obviously spoken with Grayson and made his disapproval of you accompanying Grayson and Marcus to the Undercity tonight quite clear. 

“Grayson, please, my father is just being overprotective,” you stated, hoping that someway, your words would convince her to allow you to go. 

“If it were my choice, you’d be there,” she said, placing her hand on your shoulder, giving it a small squeeze, “But it isn’t.”

Those words were enough to crush you. 

What was the point in being an Enforcer if you couldn’t go on slightly dangerous jobs; besides you’d already been down to the Undercity once and you came back perfectly fine, although your parents didn’t know that…nor did you have any intention of telling them. 

But despite your feelings you nodded at Grayson; you knew it wasn’t her fault. 

Even though your father was her predecessor, he still held some sway with certain situations, one of the apparently including any situation that involved you. 

You could’ve gone home and confronted him, but it wouldn’t make a difference, and then you’d get roped into staying at the party they’d thrown. 

You weren’t someone who made a scene, and despite your anger, you also didn’t want to embarrass your parents that much by storming in there, arguing and then leaving. 

But just because you couldn’t go with Grayson and Marcus to the Undercity, didn’t mean that you couldn’t do your own investigations for the questions that you already had from your last visit to the Undercity. 

Was it risky? 

Yes. 

But you’d already done it once. 

The only difference now was that Jayce wasn’t there. 

So with that thought in mind; you went to your work locker and grabbed the spare clothes you kept there for emergencies; and quickly got changed and placed your uniform into the now empty space instead, before leaving the office altogether and making your own way to the Undercity. 

One thing was for certain for tonight, you definitely weren’t attending your parents party. 

~~~~~~

Vander understood what Grayson was saying and the situation that she was in with the council; but he was never going to give up the kids, no matter what that meant for him…or to the Undercity. 

They were his people, but he was never going to tell her the truth, he’d rather give himself up if that’s what it took to keep the peace between Piltover and the Undercity; though a small part of him hoped that somehow this could still all blow over. 

If they didn’t have a name, or any leads, then there was no way they could arrest anyone; the kids would have to lay low for a while longer, but there was a naive hope in heart that all of this could be forgotten about in a few weeks. 

Or maybe he was just fooling himself. 

Given the circumstances of her visit, it didn’t seem right to ask the question that had been hovering in his mind since her arrival, but he also knew that there probably wasn’t going to be another moment that he could ask Grayson this without a much larger audience than just Benzo. 

“Grayson,” Vander began as Grayson made her way to the door, “whilst you’re here, I have a question to ask ye.” 

He heard a small sigh leave her lips as she turned back around to face him, “Go on?” 

“Do you know of anyone called Y/n Y/l/n?”

“Piltovers a big place, Vander, do you think I know everyone?” 

“She used to live down here with us….but..” Benzo began on behalf of his friend; knowing how difficult it was for him to talk about what happened to her that day.

“But?” 

“She went missing when the uprising on the bridge happened,” Vander clarified, taking the cup in his hand once again. 

“I’ll see what I can find out,” She said simply, before opening the door and leaving Benzos shop. 

It wasn’t long after Grayson left, that Vander made his way out of the door as well. 

“Do you really think she’s alive?” Benzo asked, leaning against the door frame of his shop, watching his friend leant against the wall opposite Benzo's building. 

“Vi said that Ekko was certain it was her,”

“He’s only a kid; and we’ve been telling all of them stories about Y/n for years…he could’ve just got confused,” Benzo countered with a slight shrug; it wasn’t that he didn’t want Y/n to be alive, he did, but he also didn’t want his friend to get hurt. 

“I need answers, Benzo,” Vander said honestly, “If Y/ns alive, I need to know,”

It was the truth. 

He did need answers. 

He needed to know what really happened to you….he needed to know why he’d never found your body, of course there were explanations for it, explanations that he’d convinced himself must be true, like the fact that maybe your body was just thrown off the bridge. 

But never finding your body, allowed for a very, very small, glimmer of hope to reside in his heart. That maybe just maybe, you weren’t truly dead.

And that hope had only grown since Vi had told him about what Ekko had said…

~~~~~~

You knew where Grayson and Marcus were going; to the shop that Jayce had visited on your trip down here and thankfully, you had quite a good memory, good enough to know where you were going even in the dimly lit streets.

You tried to hear what they were talking about, but you struggled to hear a word that was being said over the music that was playing not too far away; you assumed it was from the bar that you’d seen on your last visit. 

You watched Grayson and Marcus leave and you were going to do the same, until you heard the door open again, forcing you to disappear back into the darkness that you’d been hiding in whilst you’d attempted to eavesdrop on Graysons conversation.

It was weird, the voices that you could hear sounded so familiar…

You carefully inched out of the shadows, to see if you recognised either of the people who spoke, but you could only get far enough to see one of the men talking. 

The man that you could see leaning against the wall was a handsome man; he looked nothing like the men in Piltover did…in all honesty, to you he looked better and you couldn’t help but stare at him. 

You were certain you’d remember him if you knew him.

But the longer you stared at him, the stronger the sense of familiarity became...and then you heard the man you couldn’t see, say your name.

At first you thought you’d imagined it. 

But then the man you could see repeated your name….

Of course it could just have been a coincidence; and it probably was, but the handsome man wasn’t the only one who needed answers, you needed them too. 

That’s why after taking a brief moment to compose yourself, you followed the mysteriously familiar man, making sure to keep enough distance between the both of you so that he wouldn’t get suspicious. 

You followed the man through quiet streets and even quieter alleyways that you’d never gone down before; before the man abruptly stopped.

“I don’t know who you are, but I think your stealth skills require some improvement,” 

You froze in the darkness of the alley; not really knowing what else to do, you hadn’t expected to be caught. 

Of course you had a little dagger in your boot, but you didn’t want to use it unless you absolutely had to…

“Why have you been following me?” he asked, slowly turning around to face me. 

You swallowed before taking a few steps forward into the light that lingered at the end of the alleyway, “You want answers…and so do I.”

You watched as shock flickered in the man's grey eyes, as the colour from his face seemed to fade.

“Y/n?”

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