#volatilearcane

Jinx came over almost daily to learn the art of bomb-making- and her progress was astonishingly fast. Something you found endearing was that she always doodled on the outsides of her projects. In fact, she doodled on whatever she could get her hands and those neon markers on- clothes, walls, paper, skin. She used them up so quickly, Silco switched to buying her easily accessible crayons, pencils and cheap markers- they were nothing compared to the markers, but she wasn't complaining. She loved it.

Another thing she loved- arguably more than tinkering and creating- was blowing things up with them. Nearby was an abandoned air shaft that you'd visit with her and Silco, testing her creation and smiling brightly at her excitement whenever they'd work, emitting colourful explosions.

As the weeks became months, you noticed her hair beginning to grow rapidly, and, bless Silco, the poor man clearly had no idea what to do with it. Fearing it would get caught on fire, or caught in something that would injure her during your lessons, you offered to put it up for her, as she had no clue what to do with it either. At first, it was styled into a simple long ponytail but she grew bored of it quickly and wasn't much safer. You then offered to braid it for her, which she was hesitant to at first,

"How about two braids then?" You asked, "to make it more fun and interesting," Her eyes lit up at your proposition and she smiled. Carefully instructing her to sit as still as she could, you started by sectioning her hair in two, while she began to eagerly tell you about whatever came to her mind,

"Silco took me to see the water," She said at one point. You froze as you combed her hair. That place. The place where you had almost lost him to Vander.  It startled and confused you,

"He did?" She nodded, before mumbling an apology, knowing she wasn't supposed to move her head while you worked, "How was it?"

"I liked it. I wanted to swim but he said no. He said it's dirty water, and we have clean water at home," She explained, "He told me that there's huge fish underwater. I saw some of them too.  They're so beautiful, and they don't even know it," You smiled at that, "That's what he told me," she said, as you tied one of the sections into a loose ponytail and let it hang over Jinx's front,

"He did?" She hummed, to indicate a 'yes', tongue poking out as she focused on the detailing of her portrait of Silco,

"He did," She confirmed, "He likes the fish, so I'm drawing him one!" flawless logic,

"Like a pet?"

"Like a friend," You smiled at her innocence, a sigh escaping your lips,

"What's the fishy's name?" you asked, brushing her hair back to begin the first braid,

"The fish can be called (Y/N)!" She grinned, causing you to grimace and then laugh along with her,

"Are you teaching her to draw now?" Silco's low voice cut through your laughter, causing both your heads to turn to Silco, who had just returned. Jinx ran to him quickly, the hair slipping from your loose hold on it, and hugged him tightly. You did find it strange that Sevika was the one who dropped her off today- with a glare and grumble as you thanked her. You eyed the cape she wore over her shoulder and the blue scar on her cheek as you let Jinx inside, "Hello, Jinx," He said affectionately patting her head, before looking at you with a puzzled expression, "What are you doing with her hair?" He asked intrigued, eyes flicking to the brush in your other hand,

"I'm making sure Jinx's hair doesn't get in the way of her work," You said, patting the stool, indicating for Jinx to return. Giving you another apology, she returned, quickly moving the drawing she was doing and flipping it upside down to hide from Silco, and beginning to draw on a new sheet of paper, "I'm giving her braids,"

"Ah," He nodded, leaning on one of the workbenches next to you and watching as you brushed through her hair once again in silence, "Are they easy to do?" With a surprised glance at him, you shook your head,

"No, you just section it and criss-cross," You said, splitting the section of blue hair into three sections and beginning to braid,

"Slow down," He asked suddenly, moving from where he was leaning and moving to stand next to you, watching intrigued as you now slowly braided her hair, "Hmm. It's a pattern," You nodded,

"Right over the middle, left over the middle. You wanna try that side?" You offered, gripping the end of the amount of hair you braided so it wouldn't fall loose and handing him the hairbrush. Tentatively, he took it from you, undoing the hair with such delicacy that one would have thought it strings of porcelain. You smiled, "It's already mostly brushed out so she shouldn't have any tough knots in there," You assured him, and yet still he still brushed through it gently, building up some courage. He finally set down the brush and sectioned the hair as you had previously done,

"Like this?" He asked for clarification, eye-widening as he saw you were already finished and tying up the braid so it wouldn't come undone. Running your hand gently under the braid to make sure it lay smooth against the girls back, you looked in his direction,

"Mhm, that's great, Silco. Now you just have to braid it," you reminded him, "Let me show you," you offered, moving closer to him and gently reaching to take his hands in yours, moving them as you had instructed him, "Right over the middle, left over the middle," You said softly, letting go of his hands once you felt him figure out the pattern, "Make sure it's tight so it doesn't come undone so easily," You added quickly, watching his braid. It was so sweet, so caring. How focused he appeared on making the braid look good, and how his long, slender fingers wove the hair together. It took him significantly longer than you, but you could tell he was being as careful as possible.

Once he reached the bottom of her hair, you handed him a hair tie and watched as he delicately finished his work, standing back and sighing as he placed a hand to his aching back, comparing the two braids,

"You did so well, Silco," You smiled at him before he could say something self-deprecating, turning to see Jinx smiling brightly and showing him she finished fish drawing- one of its eyes was a red 'x' while the other was just a blue dot- you thought her Silco Fish was adorable. Smiling at her, you spoke, "There's a mirror just outside if you want to look at your hair, and then we can start our lesson" You and Silco turned your heads to watch her race out of the room,

"Thank you for teaching me," the words almost knocked you off your feet and your brows raised in clear shock. You couldn't hide the slight blush that dusted your cheeks and caused them to warm as Silco looked at you, "I had no idea you knew how to do things with hair like that. To tell the truth, it was getting unmanageable," He sighed. You could tell he was tired through the bags under his eyes and a slight slouch in his position. Testing the waters, you reached a hand up to pat his shoulder,

"No problem," you said, surprised again that he didn't brush you off, "Where were you this morning? Savika dropped Jinx off to-"

"She arrived on time?" He asked sternly now. With a small sigh, you nodded,

"On the dot," You confirmed, hoping it would keep the woman out of trouble. Jinx returned, declaring she loved the braids and hugged Silco first and then, surprisingly you. You smiled, patting her head as Silco had done,

"Okay, we can start now!" She said eagerly as she pulled away and hopped back on the chair. With her hair out of the way, you cleared the papers and made sure to set her Silco, Jinx and (Y/N) fish portrait to the side so she could continue at the end, and your lesson began.

For the next few days, Silco would come in with Jinx- even on the days where she had an allocated break from learning- staying while you braided her hair. This continued until eventually, he got so good at doing it himself that she would come with the twin braids already hanging down her back, excited to learn as usual.

The longer she was with him, the more you saw Silco's normally icy exterior melt with her childish innocence. It was so abundantly clear to anyone that he cared deeply for the girl. You had been to his office a few times when he called for you to check on her progress. Just scanning his desk, you could tell she had been there; the ashtray he used with his cigars was painted with neon blue and pink details, and considering he hadn't just opted to get a new one, he must have been proud of her artwork. You always had positive things to say- not out of fear that he'd replace you if she wasn't satisfied- but because you recognised her brilliance and creativity.

The only thing still dragging you down was your curiosity to know her origins. You were torn between going out and searching for the answer on your own and waiting patiently for Silco to tell you himself when he was ready. In the end, you decided to remain as patient as you could be. Silco would tell you eventually- you hung on to this belief. He trusted you... Right?

Why else would he turn to you right after he found Jinx? Why else did he ask you to help him teach her, and not someone else with more professional practice and experience in this line of work? Why else did he value your opinion of her when he clearly didn't give a shit about the others?

You've seen the glares Sevika gave to the child plenty of times when she thought no one was looking, and you were still unaware as to why she disliked the poor girl so much. Often, Silco would begrudgingly ask her to watch her while he attended to his cryptic 'business' to attend to, and watching as she begrudgingly accepted.

Jinx quickly grew to adore the time she spent with you, as it meant she could focus on her creativity- in bomb-making and art. Your conversations were always light chatter, and sometimes she'd tell you about her life before Silco. Only small details- like a boy named Ekko learned the basics of welding, and other metalwork alongside her, and they both learned from Benzo, a merchant that lived nearby. You recognised him as being Vander's friend. Jinx took to making bombs because "they were more fun", in her words, and you laughed along with her. However, you still couldn't shake she wasn't okay. Sometimes when you asked for more information on her past, she got very quiet and almost refused to speak with you anymore until you changed the topic. You never pressed her for more after that. One day, she mentioned it was her birthday, just out of the blue. Her older sister had taught her the date and month, and your eyes widened. What followed was a day off, and an incredibly messy attempt to bake a cake.

Silco returned to your home to find the girl's face and clothes dusted in flour, hands sticky with dough and icing and grinning up at him, bouncing on her feet as she eagerly declared you made a cake. His gaze turned to you, situated in the kitchen, sympathetically smiling. Instructed her to wash her hands, he joined you in the kitchen, remaining quiet as he watched you place the top half of the cake onto a layer of cream. Washing your own hands once you were done, you gave Jinx free reign to decorate it with the colourful icing you made in separate bowls. Once you finished, you dried them and joined Silco across the counter from Jinx, observing her with an amused smile. You leaned your elbows on the counter and reached for a discarded spoon you used to mix the icing with,

"She said it was her birthday today," You explained to him, licking some of the icing off your finger. You blushed to see his eyes lingering on your face as you did this. You turned to watch the young girl instead, slathering the cake with the blue icing, "I thought she deserves a cake at least... Had I known earlier I would have gotten her a gift," you looked back at him apologetically, once you felt the burning in your cheeks subside, and he simply smiled and shook his head,

"It's alright, (Y/N). Thank you for at least giving her a fun day off," You nodded, and remained quiet for a moment, watching as she worked away,

"So what business did you need to attend today?" you tried, expecting him to remain also quiet and not tell you,

"I was buying Jinx a birthday present," You blinked for a moment, turning to see him with a sly smirk on his lips. Jinx let out a small gasp at his words, and clumsily set the flat spatula she was using to decorate the cake with back into the pink icing bowl, moving from the small stepstool you got for her and running to the side of the counter you two were on, watching him eagerly.

He crouched beside you, and it only then did you notice he was carrying a small wrapped parcel behind his back. He crouched before her and offered it to her.  Taking it from him with a small 'thank you', she eagerly unwrapped the paper and gasped in surprise at the contents. You smiled, seeing the bright neon markers she had taken from you all those months ago. A cacophony of eager thank you's burst from her, and she ran quickly into Silco's arms, hugging him tightly, shoulder shaking slightly as she cried from happiness.

The markers had been ridiculously difficult to find apparently for both you and Silco. A while ago, you thought to surprise her and buy her the markers she had fallen in love with all those months ago but came up empty, returning home exhausted and neon markerless. And considering it took him a whole day just to find them and bring them to her, you guessed he may have had to go to Piltover or... Somewhere else. Perhaps he has a neon marker dealer you didn't know but needed to seek out. You had to ask him.

Jinx pulled away with the brightest smile you've ever seen on her lips. She was clearly so overwhelmed and happy it just warmed your heart to see. Like you, she'd likely grown up with very little around her. And you realised this may be the first cake she'd ever had, considering her excitement when you showed her the size of the cake pan. Once she calmed down (and you assured her they were not edible and couldn't go on the cake) she resumed her decorating, eager to finish so she could draw again. You settled next to Silco, looking over the markers and trying to see their brand, only for him to cover it with his pale hand. You sent him a playful glare, but it faded quickly and you only smiled. His gaze went to you as he felt your eyes on him,

"What?" His asked expectantly, looking down at you amused,

"Nothing... I was just trying to see what brand those markers were," You said innocently. You regretted not paying attention to what it was when you first got them and gave them away, not knowing she would take to them like that,

"I'm not revealing my secrets," He said plainly,

"Silco? Keeping secrets? Unheard of," You mocked surprise, making him exhale some air out of his nose in a silent laugh. Studying him, you turned your attention back to Jinx, "Seriously where did you get them, they're really good markers," You hissed,

"When's your birthday?"

"Haha," You said sarcastically, rolling your eyes. With a small sigh, you went quiet, watching as she finished up the cake,

"Thank you for baking with her," He said sincerely, and when you met his gaze, his eyes held emotion in them. You gave him a nod,

"She deserves it, doesn't she?" You told him, and with a nod, he agreed with you.

Jinx ate about a quarter of the cake, ran around your house, completed 6 drawings, before passing out across Silco's lap on the couch. He had undone one of the braids and delicately ran his fingers through her wavy hair, separating the strands. You watched the domestic scene before you, sipping some tea and watching.

He casually smoked a cigar, an ashtray placed on the side of your couch to tap off the excess ash. He was focused so hard on Jinx's hair he barely seemed to register your staring. His head was tilted slightly to the side, giving you a clear view of his corrupted eye and the scars indenting his cheek and forehead. Everything about him was sharp in such a handsome way, and yet this time his body no longer held its usual tension. The longer you spent time with him, you slowly started to notice how he'd emerge from his office with his shoulder's squared, but they'd slump and relax slightly whenever Jinx tackled his legs into a hug and you delivered her back to him. Although it was hard to tell now, due to the position he was sitting in, he was relaxed too. One of his arms leaned against the back of the couch, the hand that held the cigar carefully poised over the ashtray to not land on your couch, smoke slowly dissipating into the air and filling it with the scent of tobacco. His other was brushing out Jinx's hair,

"Are you enjoying yourself?" His voice was soft but carried deliciously through the air between you. You set the steaming mug of tea down from where it was resting against your lips, and  looking at the brown liquid to avoid looking at him at the realisation he knew you were observing him,

"It's nice to see you like this. You look comfortable and relaxed," You explained, trying to match your tone and volume to his, finally looking up to meet his curious gaze. It was his turn to openly stare, however, you lacked his unapologetic confidence and looked away, brushing a hand through your hair, "So-"

"It's nice to see me?" He repeated with a small smirk, and you rolled your eyes,

"I haven't seen you in a long time. Not since..." You trailed off and watched his smile fade away, his gaze turning to look to the floor. Rubbing his forehead carefully with the hand holding the cigar, he brought it back to his lips and inhaled deeply, and let the smoke slowly rise out of his thin lips. You watched him place it back into the ashtray,

"Since Vander tried to kill me," He finished for you, eye squinting with an icy glare above your head,

"You... Haven't told me what happened after that," You reminded him, looking from the dark brown liquid in your cup, back to him. He focused on you,

"You were there. You pulled me from the waters and took me to shore," He reminded you,

"Yes, but what happened after that?" You finally said, sitting up in curiosity. It took him a while to reply, figuring out how to form the words in his head, figuring out how best to tell you. Or perhaps he was thinking of another clever way to distract you,

"Once we split, I gathered those who opposed Vander. Safe to say they were surprised to see me alive. He apparently told them I was dead," There was venom in his words, and you only nodded along, ignoring the tightness in your chest as the memories of heartbreak come flooding back. "I gathered those who still wanted to send the topsiders a message with violence and would continue to do so. His lie did me a favour... It allowed me to disappear," He picked the cigar back up, "I found Singed, the scientist, and became a sponsor of his... Projects," He explained, "When you found me, my eye was beyond repair-" Letting go of Jinx's hair, you watched as his delicate fingers traced along one of the marks on his face, "-I could barely see you helping me out of the toxic waters-" his hand travelled down the scar, down his face as he spoke, "-When I found Singed, by some luck he managed to salvage it-" The scar stopped at his lip, and he took his hand from his face to place it back into Jinx's hair "-only the toxins had eaten away at most of the flesh," With a slight shake of his head, he continued, "he managed to salvage my vision, what was left of it that is. Regardless, I was then forever in debt to him. Whatever he needed, I would supply it," He uttered, eyes focusing on you, "And then he showed me... A private project of his... You know it as Shimmer," you nodded in agreement, "He cultivated it and I lent him a helping hand," he finished,

"Right," You said, thinking for a moment, "He fixed your eye," He leaned his head down in a nod, "And in turn, you helped him create the drug that took over Zaun," He nodded again, "Is that all you did?" He laughed at that,

"It kept me busy," He raised a brow, "Is that all you wanted to know, (Y/N)?" He asked,

Of course not. You wanted to ask so much more. About Jinx, her origins, more questions about him. Specifically his feelings for you. If they were strictly platonic or did he yearn for your affection like you his. Did he find you beautiful too? Did he fantasize about falling asleep entangled together too? If his feelings for you were still in his cold hear somewhere,

"Nothing comes to mind, Silco," You settled, with a polite smile that was soon hidden behind your teacup again as you took another sip. Looking back at him, you noticed him staring at you, clearly unconvinced by your answer. He didn't push you for more, thankfully. The truth was you weren't ready for such forward confessions, and you were so unsure and afraid of his reaction.   Jinx being in his life brought the best out of him, you thought. He had desperately tried to push all human care and love out of his heart to replace it with bitterness, only for Jinx to crash into his life and remind him what it was to feel again. Looking down at the girl you smiled softly, "I've never seen her as happy as she was today" you told him, "It's sweet that you got her those markers. If I knew it was her birthday I would have got her something too," you repeated with a sad sigh,

"I'm sure these markers will keep her busy for the foreseeable future," His hand affectionately went back to Jinx's hair, now undoing the other braid and gently undoing the hair, "Besides, I don't think you'd be able to find them, even if you searched the entirety of Zaun," He teased. You smiled at him, narrowing your eyes,

"Does that mean you got them from Piltover?" Mimicking your earlier movements, he only raised his brows and bought the cigar to his lips inhaling. You shook your head, "One day I'll find them and hoard them here so you won't find them,"

"You'll never find my supplier," he murmured, leaning his head back against the back of the couch as he exhaled the smoke into the air,

"An art supplier from Piltover," You put two and two together, "Thanks Silco," you said playfully,

"Good luck finding the right one," He chuckled, his head leaning forward again to look at you, "Stars know the amount of pretentious 'artists' that city produces," there was a sting to his words, and you only nodded along,

"Course it does," You agreed with a sigh, "Such freedom must be wonderful," You said softly, "I wish I could have painted or drawn when I was a child... Instead of working the mines," You looked at Jinx, "It's... Why I was so nervous about teaching her how to make bombs. The fact that she's still so young. I constantly have to remind myself that she's only a child, and I feel horrible for corrupting her mind with such violence..." You said sadly, "I lived through it. I know how bad it gets. I didn't want her childhood to be like this too," you admitted. Looking back to him, meeting his intense gaze, "But you... Silco, you clearly care for her so much. You would never let anything bad happen to her intentionally and I know that," You assured him, "I just.." you sighed, words escaping you.

"I understand your fears, (Y/N)," He said smoothly, "I have them too... I had my reservations on taking in a child," His voice had a twinge of sadness to it, "But she was alone. She had lost everything- everyone in her life. I realised I was all she had left. I realised without me... She would die," He admitted, "It's not an ideal life for her. I know this. So I try my best to give her the best I can find. All so she doesn't see the shit we went through," His eyes locked with yours, "You do too... And I appreciate your efforts too, (Y/N)," he said, the gratitude clear in his voice. A comfortable silence settled as you ate a biscuit and drank some tea, and he finished with her hair. His cigar stopped smoking, but the tobacco still hung in the air thickly, engulfing you, "Thank you for teaching her," He broke the silence eventually, "I'll make sure to repay you in the future,"

"You don't have to do anything for me- you gave me this apartment," You quickly told him, watching as he smiled and shook his head, "That's more than enough,"

"This is a necessity. I'll get you something else,"

"Like what?" you asked

"Anything," He let out a breath, "Anything you would want,"

After finishing your tea, he picked Jinx up from his lap, gently cradling her close to him and moving to the door. You took his coat from the rack, draping it over his shoulders and relishing in the overwhelming scent of smoke and vanilla that surrounded him like an invisible cloud,

"Thank you," He exhaled,

"I thought you were incapable of using those words," You teased. You were so close to him that you felt the air exhale from his nose as he laughed lightly,

"I live and I learn..." He said softly. He lingered near you for a moment, and you took this as a cue to open the front door for him. Before you got to it, he interrupted you, "I'll take you somewhere nice tonight" He offered,

"Somewhere nice?" You asked, looking at him, to see him nod and approach, "It better not be a rooftop again. I'm not dragging you off there like last time," You narrowed your eyes, a hand resting on the door handle. He smiled at you,

"It'll be nicer than a rooftop. I promise,"

"You promise?"

"Be ready in an hour and we'll go," He said,

"Why this sudden proposition?" You asked curiously, "What changed?"

"I'm repaying your kind work," He said, and as he saw you beginning to protest he raised a brow, "Don't start," He commanded, and even at a whisper, you could tell he was stern, "Please. I just want you to join me,"

"Alright, Silco. I will," You opened the door for him and watched as he momentarily left you, taking the girl back to their home.

"When I said I didn't want to go to a rooftop I didn't expect the exact opposite," You said, moving after him cautiously into a run-down building. Bits of it had been singed and covered in black soot, and it was long abandoned, the signs being obvious in the abundance of dust and emptiness. The thick smell of smoke and gunpowder still hung in the air- you'd need to wash these clothes when you got home. You eyed an elevator that was in an equally bad shape that Silco was slowly approaching, the floor numbers flashing weakly in the dim room.

Silco smiled softly once you got to it. He had walked with his usual confident swagger, hands behind his back and footsteps confident, heavy and slow. You moved next to him, catching up after taking in your deteriorating surroundings, and got to the broken doors of the elevator shaft. He grabbed it and grunted as he pulled it back, the door promptly falling back into its sliding hinges with a creek. He turned back to you, indicating with his hand for you to enter first. Following his instructions, you frowned deeply as you looked at the dusty, run-down elevator,

"Is this even safe?" you asked, worry laced into your words, looking over the buttons and numbers that emitted a low buzz. He entered quietly as always and brushed past you, pressing the lowest floor possible, causing the elevator to jerk to life and begin its slow descent,

"So far," He commented, leaning against the brass metal casually,

"Silco, I swear to all the stars in the sky, if this elevator breaks while we're in it... Are you telling me there are no stairs we could have used instead?" the fear was clear in your tone, not at all comforted by his casualness,

"It hasn't broken and won't break," he said smoothly, and with only his word to trust, you sighed, standing by him and watching as light illuminated outside of the open door,

"How did it all break?" You asked, "Time?" he shook his head,

"Time..." He confirmed, "And external forces..." He added mysteriously with a sigh, turning his head to observe you, "You're still terrified of small spaces?" He asked out,

"Specifically ones that might kill me because they're not safe," You said, making him chuckle lowly,

"You wouldn't like this place when it was open," He said, "There are no stairs. Its a crucial design flaw. That's why it closed years ago. It almost burned down when one of the chefs caught their apron on fire and almost burned down the whole building. Maximum weight limit allowed 5 people in here at a time- old technology- and a few patrons sustained serious burns" he explained

"Was this a restaurant?" You blushed at the implications. Was he intentionally bringing you to a place usually associated with romance? Or was he-

You gasped again as the elevator shook and jolted again, creaks emanating from the heavy-duty wires above you. You could feel your heart drop in fear, and instinctively, you reached for his arm and gripped it, shutting your eyes tightly.

A moment passed and all movement stopped.

"We're here," He declared, but his voice was soft and soothing, intending to calm you. Straightening shakily and releasing the grip on his arm, you blushed as you watched this elevator door open- working correctly but covered in black soot- and blinked at the sight before you.

A laboratory was destroyed here. Shelves of empty beakers and surviving chemicals were scattered around, glass, ingredients and mysterious puddles littered below them. A fish tank, or terrarium of some sorts, had fallen and shattered, adding to the dusty, glassy, chemically mess on the floor, dirt spilling out of it. All of this was left to rot, abandoned. Everything was either covered in soot, burned to a crisp, or dusty. But what drew your attention the most was the bright azure window, as tall as the room itself, and the vast shapes moving behind the extensive crack splitting the window apart, drops of the water falling and puddling on the floor from the crevices.

Silco appeared next to you, standing and looking over the area with hints of reminiscence in his eye,

"This was Singed's laboratory," He clarified for you, gaze shifting to watch your bewildered face, transfixed by the humungous fish slowly swimming in front of the glass, obscured and disfigured by the crack. Following your gaze, he scanned them, eyeing the break in the glass, "Since the explosion, I've only been here with Jinx," he explained. An explosion- perhaps that was the 'external force' he mentioned before. But that didn't explain the soot... Maybe it caused an explosion to occur here. There must have been a lot of flammable things stored here,

"So that's why she draws the fish," you marvelled. This was the water see was talking about,

"I'm surprised it hasn't caved in yet..." He nodded. "However the structure is severely unstable," He pointed out the obvious, gesturing to the large crack. The force of a bomb could do something like this... Was this why you were teaching her how to safely make bombs? Did she cause this? You thought about reprimanding him for being so reckless to bring a child here,  or sharing your observations, but the enchanting atmosphere kept the words in your mouth,

"What was this? Before it... was a lab," You asked, finally tearing your eyes away as the gigantic fish disappeared to the left, and looking at Silco, who began to slowly wander across the room, closer to the glass. You followed,

"It used to be an underground dining area, only available to the rich ones who could afford it," he said, "This used to be a Topsiders exclusive restaurant... Until we claimed it," He said, tilting his head slightly and running his hands over a blackened workbench, the soot staining his two fingers. He rubbed them with his thumb, before looking over his shoulder to watch you approach his side,

"Ahh... You got jealous and wanted free entry?" You summed up playfully,

"Perhaps that too," He smiled, his gaze travelling to the window again. Standing close to him, you marvelled at the fish together. It hadn't been just the two of you since that night he got into your old apartment and asked you to help him. This felt nice,

"Silco?" You looked at him and listened to the small hum he gave you.  You allowed yourself to admire his sharp, angular features, eyes scanning his face as if to memorise it, subconsciously expecting to lose him again. As he turned to look at you, now being able to see his whole face illuminated by the glow of the waters before you, you took a small steadying breath, "I don't know if I told you... But it's really nice to see you after all these years," You said, "I'd be lying if I didn't say I missed you. I am... Glad you're back in my life," you said honestly, and watched as his features softened and he relaxed, a small smile appearing on his lips again,

"As am I," He said softly, and as you gazed at him, the impulse to suddenly touch your lips to his grew stronger and stronger. You were so close to him, shoulders practically touching. You wanted to reach out and touch him. Your body screamed and begged for you to do so. Perhaps you'd bump into the desk behind him. Perhaps he wouldn't care about the soot or dust staining his clothes as you distracted him with your mouth on his. Perhaps you'd forget about the threat of drowning looming above before you and calm your racing heart.

But damn your insecurities cursed patience, and childish curiosity making you turn your head back to the window, so he was completely eliminated from your vision. You calmed as a silence appeared between you two, filled only by the steady echoes of dripping, and deep underwater noises. He finally spoke after some time,

"(Y/N)," he drew your attention, "I need your help. I need more help than I would normally like to... request from another person," He admitted reluctantly with a sigh, a hand running through his hair, causing a few grey-black strands to fall to his forehead, "With Jinx," He finished, looking back to you, "I can only provide her with so much... She has a home, she has safety, she has basic necessities, and her drawings and materials because of me... But truth be told, without your help, I don't think she'd be as comfortable or happy as she is," He admitted, "Being around you makes her happy- you should hear the way she talks about you," You blushed at that, smiling pleasantly, "I'm serious, (Y/N). She wakes me up at ungodly hours demanding that she needs to arrive at her lessons on time, and the days she doesn't, she's asking about see you anyway, and what you do when she's not there," you laughed at that, "You always had that natural charm with children," he complimented softly, his gaze caring and... full of an emotion you couldn't quite pinpoint. Pride? Adoration?

"Cause you always scared them off with your bluntness," You teased, giving up on trying to read into him. Your comment made him smile a little wider, "Thank you for the flattery Silco, but you shouldn't give yourself such little credit. It's clear she loves you and considers you to be a father figure for her," he looked away now, considering your words. You could almost watch as the gears turned in his head. Shuffling a little on your feet to move that much closer to him, you took in a small breath, "I'd be more than happy to take her in for a little bit if it made things a bit easier on you," You offered, making him turn to look at you, shock clear in the way his brow and eyelid were raised, "Not completely take her away from you, of course... But I do have that spare bedroom. Some nights, if you can't make it, or have... things to do with whatever shady business you have going on now, I don't mind letting her stay over. You'd pick her up in the morning, as usual" You said. He remained quiet, considering your offer, "Silco," You said, making him look at you, "I really don't mind helping you- and you don't need to do anything for me in return. I'm just happy to be with you a-and her," you said quickly, to try and save yourself from slipping up too quickly and scaring him off, "You mean a lot to me..." You finished bravely, watching his face. You were thankful for the intense monochromatic blue that shielded the intensity of your blush from his intense gaze, full of an emotion you just couldn't discern. Then he did something you hadn't expected.

Silco had only hugged you a few times in your life, despite knowing each other for so long. You could probably count the hugs on one hand. The first time was when he was convinced you had been killed by enforcers on your way back to your shared home many moons ago when the tensions were high and you were only a few minutes late to a meeting. The second was after he had lost his eye. When you got him home and cleaned and bandaged what you could, used to the grotesque task by now, he asked you to hug him until he fell asleep against you on your bed, not letting you go until the early hours of the following morning. He pulled you close now and hugged you. You felt like floating. Pressing your head against his soft, yet firm, chest you were lulled by his rhythmic heartbeat and the deepwater sounds around you. You felt the gentle weight of his head against your shoulder and the indent of his chin. The warmth his body gave off surrounded you, and the scent of tobacco and cologne overwhelmed your senses. This felt right... It was perfect...

The hug was long- it was almost as if you were both making up for all the physical touch you were both starved of for years, neither wanting to let go. Silco hated touching anyone at all, and just about tolerated you and Vander when he was alive; you were indifferent to it. Silco was a champion of words, master manipulator. He spoke and fell silent when he needed to, and miraculously always had the correct timings. He told you once that hugging made him claustrophobic. You were happy he had gotten over his fears for this moment alone.

This alone planted a small seed in your mind- the seed that reassured you of his reciprocated feelings. You wouldn't believe in them until you heard it from him clearly- no word games, no beating about the bush, no fancy, dramatic antics or metaphors. Straight to the point, a clear yes or no. A clear 'I love you' or 'I don't feel the same way'. You understood this was a lot to ask of a person like Silco, and therefore you had to be patient. Moments like this gave you hope.

Shamelessly now, you watched him in the elevator as it went back up to the surface, slithers of light filtering over his face as you passed by the various floors. He caught your eyes with a small smirk, causing your own mouth to bloom into a smile,

"What?" you asked, "Are you up to something?"

"I just missed spending time with you... That's all," He clarified genuinely, "This made me feel young again, and lord knows I need it," He ran a hand through his greying hair again and placed his hands against his sides, stretching out his lower back,

"You trying to relive your youth, old man?" You teased, making him laugh,

"Ahh, something of the sort," He admitted, "I was reminded of the thrills of sneaking out at night together and seeing how close we could get to the Topsider's barriers without getting caught," You smiled fondly at the memories,

"Yeah wow... That feels like a lifetime ago now, yeah..." You agreed, leaning against the metal back of the elevator next to Silco, eyes glued to him,

"Do you remember seeing the stars for the first time?" he asked softly, and you nodded dreamily, smile already widening,

"Yes... Sometimes, I dream of them, you know," You admitted, "The sky stretching out endlessly, covered in them. I never knew there were so many out there... Sometimes my skin is made from the stars- blue and sparkling- and I'm dancing across the air. Sometimes, I'm simply walking and staring at them endlessly... They're some of the best dreams I've ever had," You said, your smile now beginning to hurt your cheeks. Turning to see his gaze at you with admiration made you blush, "It was the best gift I've ever received. Thanks," you said, remembering the night he woke you and brought you up to Topside for the first time. He nodded, seemingly remembering that same memory, with a similar fondness to you. You noticed him fade away into the shadows as you arrived at the top floor, and realised something. The fucker managed to distract you long enough to forget you were moving in a broken-down elevator. Following him out and watching him slide the door back out of place, you walked close to him as he led you to a side door, footsteps synchronising, together. You made no comment to thank him, but just appreciated he was going out of his way to comfort you. You'd already probably annoyed him with so much 'thank you's' today that he'd slink back into his criminal sewers like a rat,

"Trust is something rare to find in people," He said, his blackened eye focusing on you, the orange-red glow around his pupil holding your attention, "The world is different now. Dog eats dog, brother kills brother," he sighed heavily, "I'm glad that I can trust you still, (Y/N). Even after all these years," He said. You were close again for a moment, and your breath hitched when you realised. You expected him to kiss you, with the way his head leaned closer. Instead, he pushed the door open for you, and your eyes widened at the brightness of the night sky, clear, dark, and a beautiful deep blue speckled with drops of glittering white.

The stars twinkled back at you beautifully, hypnotising you as you felt your heart clench inside your chest with adoration and love, mesmerised by their radiance. A tear slid down your cheek, the stars reflecting in the salty dacrocyte, a culmination of overwhelming happiness.

Another hard day at the mines left your body aching and sweating. There were times where you thought your bones and muscles would one day betray you and crumble to dust, leaving you in a broken heap from all the work you do. Trudging into the backrooms of the dingy restaurant you worked at part-time, your eyes rolled as your boss pointed out you were 'late' once again, and that's all you spoke to him in the 3 hours you worked. Finally, you were free, the usually soft grey clouds that were visible between peaks of black and brown smoke had shifted to black, the night looming overhead. Your gaze focused on the ground as you walked, not wanting to see the usual street lurkers and thieves, or the lust-filled backstreets of Zaun. All you longed for was your bed- although not the best, you at least had one. And you should be grateful for it. Miss Eclipt was doing you a huge favour renting a room so cheap with a bed in it,  even if it meant she'd complain to you about how she's wasting money.

The aching in your body seemed to only intensify the more you trudged, but reminding yourself of the knowledge that you'd be sleeping soundly soon filled you with determination. Soon you made it, as usual, Miss E. greeting you and commenting on the stench of sweat that caused your clothes to cling to your skin,

"Not as bad as the fumes, Miss E," You jested tiredly, to which the small woman tsked and walked away. You headed to the communal showers, wincing and pushing the thoughts of the germs and bacteria that had built up here for a while, and undressing. You grabbed the least grimey towel, hidden away from plain sight and washed under the cold water, shivering.

Once again, you trudged up the stairs, knees, arm, back screaming in a painful unison as you slowly ascended, gripping the towel close to you. Luckily it was too late for anyone else to be up so no one would see you, but you'd surely get yelled at for all the excess water you dripped off on your way up.

Quickly drying your body, you grabbed your night clothes and slipped them on in a trance like routine, your body acting on its own amidst the pain as usual. Finally. Finally, you lay down, starfishing and sighing deeply as the stillness surrounded you, the pain making your face scrunch as you waited for it to transform into aches. Pulling on the blanket, your heavy eyes fell shut, as your mind flooded away to sleep.

It was still dark. Your hazy dream of a saturated world faded away and in place of those happy bright colours, the usual greys and blacks filled your vision. Blinking and shuffling your legs beneath the covers you felt an unusual weight. Frowning, you sat up and let out a faint gasp, your eyes springing open and breath quickening at the figure sitting at the foot of your bed.

He was there, clad in a dark coat, his head bowed and his elbows resting loosely on his thin knees turned to the side from you. The collar obscured his head slightly, so only the top of his hair was visible, and the tip of his long nose. He made no noise entering, explaining why you didn't wake sooner- you still couldn't determine if he came through the window or door: nothing looked out of place, not even his footprints seemed to disturb the layer of dust mimicking a carpet on your floor. With a sigh, his shoulders drooped, and his face finally turned to look at you.

One of his eyes appeared hooded, the other black, and glowing red in the darkness, whole and circular, the absence of an eyelid clear. In the faint light, you made out the scars slicing down this discoloured portion of his face. His lips were pulled into a frown as he observed you- his neutral facial expression.

The initial panic of another person being in your house subsided,

"Silco," You sighed in relief. Having a known murderer and dangerous man should elicit a different response. But alas,

"This is where you live," This comment, not question, was laced in his low voice, the volume barely above a hum. You stopped yourself from whispering a 'yes', and only gave a nod as you lowered the bed covers from where you clutched them protectively at first. The weight left your bed, and you listened to his silent footsteps as he explored the small space, "No kitchen," An observant comment. Once you finished rubbing the remnants of sleep from your eyes you pointed to a small bot full of ash, next to a kettle and pot. He walked right by them, glancing at the shelf where most of your clothes were and he stopped at the desk under your window littered with bills, receipts and other papers. Placing a hand on it revealed it wobbled back and forth, squeaking and rattling the pen and pencil. A soft grunt left his lips, his body reducing to a silhouette in front of a window, "This is barely a home," Yet another observation.

"Did Miss E. let you in?" You asked wearily, dropping your arms to your lap and squinting to be able to see him, eyes focusing on the glowing red pupil that emanated from his eye.

"I entered myself," He said, not moving,

"And to what do I owe you this visit?" You placed your chin on your hand, leaning an elbow on your head as he had done before, "After our argument years ago, I surely thought I'd never hear from any of you again. I thought you slunk into the darkness like the sewer rat you are," you told him casually. From how you squinted, you made out his frown, appearing more pronounced. He sighed,

"Savika is in a critical state. As is Singed, and most of my men and women," This perked up your attention, and you sat up in shock,

"Stars- how?" You said, moving the covers aside to reveal you wearing tattered everyday clothes, clearly frequently used, as pyjamas "What happened- how did-"

He produced something that caught the dim green light outside from his pockets. Gingerly taking it, you felt the coolness of metal against your fingers, the shape feeling slightly heavy, and being decorated with a cartoonish monkey- mouth painted red with sharp teeth and eyes glaring with angry eyebrows. The artwork of a child,

"A bomb," He said nonchalantly, moving from you to stand closer to the door, his hands moving behind his back as he locked his fingers together. Turning to see your shocked expression again, "She lost her family and-"

"Dear Stars, Silco don't tell me y-"

"I'm not entirely responsible... In fact, she is," He looked down, with what you thought could be a hint of sadness. It was difficult to tell- as was everything with Silco, "She created a powerful explosion- Sevika's arm is completely destroyed, beyond repair... Had she not jumped in front of me, likely I would have suffered that fate," He admitted with a heavy sigh, clear he felt regret, "Bodies were found in the rubble. Children. Likely her siblings. Vander-"

"You killed him?" You asked expectantly, to which his eye narrowed and he nodded,

"Vander was not the man you knew him to be," he said as he averted his gaze. His tone indicated he had rehearsed the phrase already,

"I know, Silco. He tried to kill you," You said, frowning, "And you... I understand your... Ways are unconventional, but I can't support... It's inhumane," At that his lips lifted into a small smile,

"There's a monster in all of us," Another rehearsed phrase, "You supported me once before, didn't you?" Your annoyance grew,

"Why did you come here?" You hissed now, a glare forming, "If you expect me to help you in-"

"I need you to help her," He cut you off. You fell silent again, eyes widening in shock as your head connected the dots

"You're didn't-"

"I took her in,"

"Silco that's-"

"What?" He watched you expectantly, eyebrow raised. His other, drawn on remained still, and you eyed the corrupted side of his face. You frowned, "It's what?" he asked, his voice dropping low again, judgemental,

"Is this... The best choice for her..?" You questioned him. He didn't have a response to this, allowing you to elaborate, "You taking her. Your lifestyle isn't exactly best suited for a child- she has no one else?"

"Shall I bring her to you?" You asked, bitterness seeping into his words and you found yourself cowering slightly in shame, glancing at the grey, tattered walls of your home, "Could you offer her more?"

"Safety-"

"Believe me, (Y/N), she is safer with me than she would ever be with Vander," His brother's name was spat at you, and you found yourself defeated, a sigh leaving your lips. You pressed them together, turning your attention back to the decapitated metal monkey head in your clutched palm, and tracing the now warm metal,

"You need me to train her how to make bombs?" You asked, frowning, "You'll turn her into a weapon?"

"She needs to know the dangers of her work. I'm not creating a weapon, I'm cultivating a passion" He lifted a hand to correct you, his long fingers pressed together, and your attention focused on a scar slicing into his palm, grip tightening around the monkey head in your palm, the metal touching a similar scar on your own palm "You're the only person I know who's... As inventive as she is," He said sincerely, dropping his hand and hiding it behind his back again

"I don't do that anymore," You reminded, "V- He, you and I all walked our separate ways years ago. For a reason. A good reason. And I threw that life away behind me, and-"

"And look where it landed you," He finished for you, smugly, our glare intensifying as you looked up at him, expression neutral, and yet teasing clear in his tone,

"This apartment is fine-"

"It's barely a home. It reaks of the mines. It's cold and damp. There's mould-"

"You've got a kid one day, and suddenly you're an expert on home decor Silco?" You shot back at him, His eye narrowed again, "Next time, let me ask you for advice before you barge into my home and complain,"

"I'm offering you a better life. For a favour. A simple one at that. Help her," He said lowly, and then shocked you, "Please," You had to admit, it may be the first time you ever heard him utter the word. You didn't even think it was part of his vocabulary. He was clearly passionate and in need of help. And damn your kind heart for empathising with the poor girl.

Losing family was something you were, unfortunately, familiar with, as was Silco and Vander. The three of you met in the Lanes, and formed a bond you had hoped was unbreakable. Now one of you was dead. The other, the killer and you... The one in the middle.

"Fine," You sighed, extending the warmed metal back to him, "But I'll need the right equipment and a workshop, as well as ingredients, and books. I'm a little rusty on my knowledge and wouldn't want something to go wrong"

"Don't worry, I'll get you whatever you need," He said, with surprising care. He turned away from you without taking the object, "My people will come to escort you with your things tomorrow,"

"I have work tomorrow," you stepped closer, still offering him the monkey. He gazed at you with his blackened eye, darting quickly over your face, wide and alert, unresting,

"Resign," He said simply, opening your door and stopping for a moment, " 'The Last Drop' is in need of a new bartender," walking down the stairs of your apartment and disappearing out of your sight. You shut the door, leaning against it,

Recently, you decided to go through your scrap metals. Instead of completely getting rid of them by melting them together like you were used to, to not waste the materials, you found yourself with an abundance. It would be wasteful to just create an alloy, so you decided to try and repurpose them- craft something. You had spoken to Jinx about your own desire to draw and were surprised when she offered to help you, handing you a crayon and sheet of paper. This time it was her encouraging and teaching you how to draw a fish. It was fun. Then when Silco arrived to collect her, you saw the look of pride on his face when he saw your awkward-looking fish, and waved by to Jinx who said she'd teach you more the next day.

Captivated and overwhelmed by the sudden artistic urges to create, you worked tirelessly into the night- curving, welding, and shaping the metal into your desired shape. The sudden loud knock on your door caused you to jump in surprise, almost dropping the heat gun in your hands. You made sure everything was turned off in your workshop and slowly exited, wincing as your eyes stung and watered at the light and noise, a pounding headache quickly forming. You'd stayed up all night again. Fuck- that meant Silco and Jinx were here already. You glanced down as the girl rushed into your workshop as usual, but didn't miss how Silco's eyes scanned over your clothing,

"You wore this yesterday," His eyes lingered on your face, squinting judgementally as he studied the dark circles under your eyes,

"Ahaa... Yeah, I got really distracted and didn't realise the time," You said, trying to smooth down your dishevelled hair and stepping aside as he walked past you, looking over your apartment. You shut the door behind him, blinking slowly and wearily following him and trying to ignore the fact that your eyes were barely able to stay open. A yawn escaped your lips reluctantly, and even if you tried to hide it behind your hand his attentive ears caught the noise of your small gasp and slow inhale of air,

"You didn't sleep at all," He stated, glancing up as he saw Jinx emerge back from your workshop with a frown at your state. You wanted to slink back slightly, feeling as if he was reprimanding you, "You didn't eat breakfast," He added, looking over your clean kitchen and noticing everything was in the exact same place as it was when he last came over, no sign of a meal being made the night before or an hour prior. Moving from where he stood next to you to stand in front of you, he moved his hands behind his back and scrutinised you. Under his piercing gaze, you rubbed your forehead slightly, feeling a headache begin to form, "Care to explain why you haven't been looking after yourself?" He asked,

"I..." You sighed, "You know what happens when I get too focused on something, Silco," You said, to which he hummed, but his expression was unmoving. For a moment more, he just studied your face, before he turned to the girl,

"Jinx, you'll have an off day today for the sake of (Y/N)'s health," He wouldn't let you get a word of protest in as she quickly ran over to the two of you, taking a small pouch that clinked with coins that he had on him, and nodded, "I need you to get something for (Y/N) to eat, and make sure it's not made of pure fat or sugar," He called after the overexcited girl as she put her shoes on, yelling an okay, and leaving your home slamming your door shut. You winced at the noise and slowly followed after Silco to your kitchen,

"You don't have to... Do all that," You grumbled, rubbing your eyes and blinking wide to try and encourage your exhausted body to stay awake, "You don't have to look after me,"

"Evidently, it appears I have to," He said with a sigh. This wasn't entirely a sign of disappointment, it was also mixed with care. You blinked in surprise at a mug of tea being placed in front of you, having clearly dozed off for a moment. Silco gave you another stern look, causing you to mumble a thank you and take a sip, "What caused you to stay up so late?" He asked curiously,

"Oh, I remembered I had lots of scrap metal and instead of letting it go to waste, I thought maybe I should try to make something with it," You said with a sigh, moving to sit on one of the tall seats, resting your elbows on the table, "Nothing fancy mind you, I was just inspired by Jinx. You remember how she started teaching me how to draw?" He nodded, "I decided I was going to be creative and start to weld or uh... Create one with the metal. I got really close to finishing it and then you guys showed up," you explained, "It was supposed to be a private project, I guess. But I'm guessing she's already seen it," You sighed softly, eyes closing again,

"Mhm," It really didn't help that his voice was so smooth and soft, and his speaking right now could just lull you to sleep, right here at the table, "(Y/N)?" He asked, a hand coming to rest on your shoulder. You opened your eyes, hooded and almost closing again. Truly, you were exhausted, "Hey, stay awake until Jinx gets back and you eat something," He requested you, and you groaned softly,

"Fine, but you need to do something to me to keep me awake," You said, watching him for a moment as he considered your words,

"Alright. Do you have any questions you want to ask me?" You raised your brows,

"Really?" He nodded, "You're going to be open and vulnerable with me?" You asked, your playful tone being dimmed slightly by tiredness lacing the words together. He chuckled at that,

"No, just because you said that I'm banning you from asking any questions,"

"Noooo," You whined, "But you're oh so dramatic and so mysterious that my mind is constantly perplexed by the myriad of mysteries that surrounds you," You said, lazily falling your hands in the air. Hearing Silco's genuine laugh pleasantly surprised you. It had been years, you thought since he'd laughed so freely,

"Myriad of mysteries?" He repeated, the amusement still clear in his tone, "My, my, dear," He shook his head, "I've no idea where you got that from- you must be very sleep-deprived,"

"That's what happens when you don't sleep," You announced, "I made the connection,"

"I made the connection," He said, causing you to whine in response, as he simply shook his head with a small chuckle, walking away from the counter, "Let's go see what you were working on," He said, watching you slide off the seat and walk to him. He stuck out his arm a little, and when you look at him in confusion, he just glanced down at his outstretched arm. Looping your arm with his and letting him lead you to your dimly lit workshop, you let out another yawn, too tired to let your body react to his touch. His touch...

He stopped at your workbench, clattered with spare parts, crews, various tools, and one metal fish in the middle of the chaos. Sleepily, you watched him pick it up with his free hand,

"Oh don't even look at it. It's not finished, it still needs the details," A yawn broke your sentence and you gently let your headrest on his shoulder, "I'm considering scrapping it anyways,"

"Don't do that," He said quickly, and looking up at him, you noticed he was inspecting it delicately and with high interest. The fish's movements were articulated and floppy, behaving like a real fish, but the metal parts clinked whenever the fish was moved. He hummed softly, impressed, letting go of you and moving its open bottom jaw to touch the top, watching it swing back open as he took his fingers off the metal, "(Y/N) you clearly put a lot of effort into this. You can't just throw it away," He said, looking down at you, leaning against the workbench and facing him,

"If you love the fish so much, keep it," You said, and watched him raise his brows,

"I will. Thank you," He said, glancing up as he heard a knock on your door and momentarily leaving you. Jinx soon appeared, followed closely by Silco who indicated for you to follow him to the kitchen and disappeared. Jinx ran to you, excitedly,

"(Y/N) I really like your fish!" she told you happily, and you noticed she was the one now holding it. Clearly, a trade of sorts had occurred between her and Silco as he let her back in, "I'd like for you to teach me how to make fish like this," she asked politely,

"Mhm," You hummed, patting her head, "Sure. You know, your dad's the one keeping it," She blinked at your words,  "I don't like it that much. Once I sleep, and if we have enough free time, I'll show you. You've been doing well in your classes anyway so, you deserve a fun break," You said, walking to the door,

"Silco's... My dad?" She asked sweetly, her voice barely above a whisper. You looked down at her and nodded your head,

"Hell yeah, kid," You smiled at her, "He cares about you like you're his daughter- anyone can see that," You said, patting her head again gently as you walked to the kitchen, looking at the plate of food sat before you. Before he could command you to eat, you found the smell had already done its work of awakening your dormant hunger, and you quickly ate your breakfast. Once you were done, he set your plate in the sink and rounded the table again,

"Let's get you to bed," His voice was soft again and you enjoyed it, accompanied by his touch guiding you back to your room, the fatigue settling in. He helped you to bed, offering to help you change but as you groaned tiredly into the sheets, he laughed,

"I'll take that as no. Goodnight, (Y/N)," He said, standing up and leaving you to get a good days rest. Before your body willingly submitted to its exhaustion, you heard the faint click of a door, as well as murmurs of Jinx and Silco's voices, but you couldn't make them out. You let them lull you to sleep.

A few weeks had passed. When Silco dropped Jinx off at your home today, he seemed like his usual self, giving you a nod and asking that once your lessons were finished, to come to 'The Last Drop' and meet him there. Your lesson went by smoothly: you tried out new ideas for bombs, helped Jinx with whatever she needed, and allowed yourself to end early, showing her how to make creatures out of scrap metal. She took off to welding, cutting and creating her own under your supervision until eventually, she produced a creature,

"Oh Woah-" You smiled, picking it up and looking it over, "-Jinx you're so good at this. It always astonishes me to see how fast you just... Pick up on things," You complimented her, before handing her sculpture back,

"And watch this," You completely missed the wind-up key on its back, and that at some point she had just put this mechanism in. You watched as she cranked it, letting the creature hop around the desk in a circle, "It does that for thirty seconds and then boop," She smiled as it rattled to a halt, "He stops," You smiled proudly,

"Good work Jinx! It'll be something you can show Silco," You added,

"My dad," She quickly corrected, making your heart warm, "He's my dad now," she clarified,

"Course. Let me get dressed and then I'll take you back home," You said, moving to your bedroom and changing out of your apron and workshop clothes, the smell of smoke and chemicals leaving you and being replaced by cleaner clothes in your usual style. You let yourself reflect on how things were before with Jinx and Silco. They really accepted each other as their respective family members and it was wholesome to see how close they got in such a short time. You couldn't help but think about where you fit into this mix...

With a sigh, you willed the thoughts out of your head and finished getting ready. Fixing up a necklace as you left your room you looked to Jinx, smiling softly at the creature in her hands and inspecting it, "Let's go," you told her, making her look up at you with a nod.

Your walk with her was filled with easy chatter between you two, Jinx mostly expressing her excitement in creating a new creature tomorrow, informing you the one in her hands was a sharp-mouthed bird called 'Dino', and asking you about the mechanisms necessary for more articulation. Before long, the two of you made it inside 'The Last Drop' and looked around for any sign of Silco or Sevika. Considering neither of them were here to take Jinx off your hands, the two of you moved to the bar and ordered some juice. Jinx happily asked more questions, which you eagerly answer, until eventually she became too tired of talking and with a small sigh scanned the place for Silco. It was getting late- he was always on time, and was usually able to predict whenever he'd be late and tell you. With a dissatisfied hum, you watched the young child walk confidently to one of Silco's henchmen,

"Hey," She asked, her hands going to her hips to appear tougher, likely seeing Silco doing the same. You watched as he slowly looked down at the girl, pausing his task of washing down the table, "D'you know where Silco is?" She asked. You watched him intensely, raising your brows as he looked to you, and then back to her,

"He left," is all he said, before going back to cleaning the tables in the area. You didn't expect someone who just worked under Silco, and in a bar, he just happened to take over, would know exactly where he was. It was still little that he wasn't here. If this henchman knew Silco was in his office, he wouldn't lie. Not to Jinx's face. It was actually quite funny to you- how a lot of these people were afraid of such a small kid who at first glance happened to have no power. Simply being Silco's daughter earned her respect. With a grimace, you watched Jinx return with her head hung and a frown on her face. She grabbed her cup, taking a long sip through her straw,

"I wonder where he is..." She said sadly to you, swinging her legs on the stool. You watched her, not used to this quiet, in-her-head Jinx. To try cheer her up, you spoke,

"Hey, I'm sure he's fine. Just running a little bit late," You said softly, "How about we go back to my house and hang out there while we wait for him?" You offered, "You know you can't be here when the night's parties start," You said with a small sigh, watching her nod

"But what if he comes back and gets mad we're not here?" She asked worriedly,

"Then we can just tell someone we were here but went back to wait for him," You said, glancing to the bartender, "Hey," You called the bartender's attention, "Can you tell Silco when he comes back that (Y/N) and Jinx are waiting for him back at my home?" You said, biting your tongue to stop the smile threatening to grace your lips at the implications of the phrase. The bartender simply nodded, going back to washing glasses, "See? Now he'll know we're not in danger or trouble. Come on," You beckoned, setting your empty glass on the counter and standing, offering her your hand. She took it, walking out with her juice still in hand.

Returning home, you tried to think of ways to distract her, proving difficult. The first thing that came to your mind is offering to show her how to make a different creature but she just shook her head. Glancing around your home again, you offered to bake with her,

"We can make cupcakes this time?" You said, smiling, "It's like a cake but in these paper wrappers. They're smaller than a whole cake, and you hold them in your hand and ear. Or we could make another cake-"

"(Y/N), did he leave me here?" You were surprised to see her hugging herself and avoiding your gaze. Her voice quivered as she spoke, "Did he... Did he go?" she asked quieter, your heart breaking for the child,

"Jinx no-" Your eyes grew wider as she visibly flinched at your words, taking a step back as you stepped closer to try and comfort her. "He... Look," You paused, staying where you were and crouching to be level with her, watching tears spill down her cheeks as she pressed the bottom of her palm against her eyes to try to halt them, "Silco sometimes gets very busy with his work, you know this. Just because he's late doesn't mean-"

"He's never late," She interjected sharply, and you nodded in acknowledgement to the strange circumstances,

"I know. It is weird- he's usually very punctual. Maybe he got caught up on something," you told her,

"What if he got hurt?" She asked worriedly crying openly now. You felt helpless, she was clearly trapped in her mind, thoughts spiralling, "What if he never wants to see me again? Like Vi?" Who was Vi? For a moment, you didn't know what to say, staring blankly at the girl. You had to calm her down, stop this train of thought from snowballing more,

"I don't know what happened to him," You said truthfully, "But I know Silco is strong. He might not look like it- to be honest, he kinda looks like a rat-" this made her laugh, good, "-but I promise you that he's good at protecting himself and those around him," You assured her, "I grew up with him remember? He protected me, he'll do the same for you," You watched her consider your words,

"So he'll come back to me?" she asked, her voice was quiet again. You nodded with a reassuring smile,

"Of course he will," You affirmed, "He came back for me. He'll do the same with you," you said, watching as she whipped the tears from her face into her forearms, taking a breath to calm herself. She was quiet for a bit, before speaking up

"As much as I want to try a cupcake... I just want to draw now," she said, to which smiled. Good, she was calm,

"Course," You said, "Go to the living room I'll get some paper," you said, leaving to your storage closet, digging around for some paper and crayons that you kept on hand for her. You smiled softly, noticing the drawing pad you bought her a while ago but forgot about. The few times you had noticed it, you made mental notes to give her the pad but always forgot. Considering she was still down, you knew this would be the perfect time, "Hey Jinx?" you called her attention, walking to your living room where she now sat on the floor in front of your coffee table. She looked up at you with her large grey eyes in curiosity as you placed the pad in front of her,

"What's this?" She asked, flipping through the empty pages confused,

"It's a place for you to keep all your drawings," You told her, and she smiled so brightly it lit up the room again, "So instead of having all these loose pages they're all confined in here and easy to keep track of. Hang on, I might have some glue you can use if you want to stick anything in," You left, and when you returned you saw she was already occupied with her doodles. Deeming this a safe enough distraction, you moved off to the kitchen to make yourself some tea, as well as a hot chocolate for her.

Silco was late. Very late. Usually, he would be able to predict being an hour or two late. Today he didn't tell you anything about not being on time. He rarely discussed business with you, only ever responding that it's 'good' and not giving you more information. Today, he was almost five hours late. 'The Last Drop' would be opening up by now, with no sign of its host. Nervously tapping your fingers in time with the clock ticking handles, you waited for the kettle and at the cup of milk in a pot on your stove to boil. What was going on? Perhaps Jinx was right to worry so much. You had told him it was no problem for you to watch over her here, where it was safe when his work got a bit too chaotic or dangerous for a child. You would have greatly appreciated a word of warning before, though. Rejoining her again at the table, now trying to now quell your own bubbling thoughts of worry, you gave her a small tight smile as she thanked you for the hot chocolate,

"(Y/N)?" she asked, picking up the blue crayon to now draw with, "You grew up with him, right?" She looked at you. With a confirming nod, she continued, "What was that like?"

"Oh! It was uhm..." You said, raking your brain for any stories you could tell her that were... appropriate, "It was nice. One night, on my birthday, he took me up to Piltover to show me the stars and-"

"I know that one," She said, surprising you, "He tells it to me a lot. He says that was the happiest he's ever seen you," You blushed softly, taking a sip of your tea,

"Huh.. Well, that's nice to hear," You said, with a smile,

"Tell me another one," She demanded, stopping colouring to focus on you entirely, arms crossing over the book as she leaned forward in intrigue,

"Another?" You asked, and watched as she nodded,

"A story I haven't heard," She added,

"You're gonna have to help me out here, kid- I don't know what you know and don't," you said, making her giggle,

"Hmm... I know the star one, I know his eye one, I know the rooftop one-"

"You know what happened to his eye?" you asked. He told her the story of how he lost his eye? Considering how literal Silco was, you feared how many details he had told her,

"Yeah. He said that Vander was his brother, and they had a fight and he almost drowned. His eye was badly messed up and the chemicals in the water made it go bad. Then you saved him and then he went to the scientist in the underground lab," you stared at her in alarm, noticing how casually she told the story, "It was a boring story. He just kept talking and talking and I fell asleep," you laughed nervously,

"And you know the rooftop one?" you asked, and she nodded,

"He took you to a rooftop and you were scared to go down," You blushed,

"I just kept thinking I was gonna fall," She explained, and were surprised she nodded with understanding,

"For a while, I kept thinking monsters would take me away and eat me," She said, "But Silco said he'd kill the monsters if they ever tried to come for me," You nodded,

"Yes, that sounds like him," you let yourself take another sip,

"Tell me a story then!" She demanded, eagerly now, causing you to laugh again at her insistence and went back to searching your brain, staying quiet for a moment. You could feel her eyes on you,

"Hmm.. Has he told you about the knife?" You asked, and smiled softly as she shook her head,

"No, tell me, tell me!" She asked enthusiastically, making you laugh,

"Alright. Back when Silco and I were younger, we mostly worked in the mines all day. We weren't that close yet, but we knew about each other. The mines were a lot of hard, dangerous work. We'd see our friends getting hurt every day because of the machinery, the rocks, the tight passages and toxic chemicals. We didn't have anyone to protect us from that, so we had to protect and rely on each other. That closeness brought us all together. At some point, a few of us got tired of being down there, breathing those chemicals in all day and being treated horribly. Only thing was, if we wanted to leave the mines, we would be left without a job, money, and a home. Our only option to survive was to turn to crime," You explained, "Silco and I got close then. We made a reputation for ourselves- a bad one. In the beginning, it was simple muggings and petty theft. In those times, the Uppersiders would just turn up in certain areas they claimed as their own. And if you were as charming as Silco, you could hold their attention long enough for someone like me to snatch a few coins or expensive nicknacks they had in their pockets" You said with a wink, "One day, someone caught on to what we were doing and demanded we gave them their things back. If we did, it was likely we wouldn't be able to feed ourselves, so of course, we said no. In hindsight, maybe we should have just run away... We didn't know they bought any backup and fighting four against two was never gonna work out well," You grimaced, "Being the tough guy he is, Silco took on the largest guy. I thought I could trick the other three and get them to chase a blind trail, then go back and help Silco. What I would do is find plates that looked golden, and widdled them down to resemble coins. From far away, they were quite convincing. Only when you looked up close, you could tell they were fake. I grabbed a handful and threw them away, before running in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, only one of them bought it, the other two doubled down and blocked me into a corner. At that point in my life, I didn't know how to fight correctly, let alone defend myself. We were still in our early thieving days, no one had taught me, and Silco was just a kid I happened to work with. One of them had a knife and I got stabbed in the side in the scuffle. I made a big show of falling to the floor, and I guess once these assholes realised they had hurt a child, they ran off. Silco found me and bought me to this shared home we had- there were about twenty kids there already- and he was the only one I knew. He told me it was a good thing that knife was dull and I was able to move too quickly because I wasn't seriously hurt. But then he told me no one had ever sacrificed themselves for him like that. I guess that's when we started trusting each other with our lives. We slept in the same room, often sharing clothes and possessions. For a while, it was me, him, Vander, and a few other kids our age. We slept further away from them, closer to a door and window. I... Had a lot of issues sleeping when I was younger-"

"Like nightmares?" Up until now, she had listened intently, not asking any questions,

"Uhm... Maybe? Finding a home was difficult- considering we weren't working anymore our superiors kicked us out to the Lanes. I didn't know Silco well enough when we left, so I was sleeping on the streets alone for long enough that I became too restless and attentive," You said, "I was always scared someone would hurt or steal from me. Silco found me, saying he recognised me from the mines and asked if I needed a home. The rent was very cheap- I'm always thankful for... Agh, I can't remember her name," You put a hand to your forehead, sighing as the name escaped you, "She let a lot of kids stay with her for very cheap. She was a kind woman. Kinder than she needed to be," You said, smiling fondly, "Anyway- on the nights I couldn't fall asleep, Silco thought the best way to help me was to tire me out. We'd sneak out outside and chase through the lanes, or find interesting places to hang out in until we grew tired and went back home. The knife was probably a gift for my sixteen or seventeenth birthday. He showed me this scrap of fabric- a fancy one too, clearly from an uppersider who wasn't careful- and said he got something for me. It was this small switchblade. He'd carved out initials into it, and then for the rest of the night, he taught me how to use it," You smiled, reminiscing the memories of your younger selves, "Well that was until we got too tired and had to go back home," You said, "Stars, that feels so long ago now..." You sighed,

"It sounds very lovely," She smiled brightly, "Do you still have it?"

"Of course! I couldn't possibly throw it away," Your smile matched hers, "It was such a special gift- here give me a second," You quickly left to your bedroom to retrieve it, not realising the spring in your step. It was located in the drawers next to your bed, ready to be grabbed at any moment in case you felt unsafe, even if it was still unsharpened. Before coming back, you took a short detour to your storage closet, grabbing the glue you promised her a while ago. Returning, you set the knife down in front of her, and placed the glue nearby "There," Jinx took the knife, looking over it curiously, her fingers running over your roughly etched letters, and finally setting it down,

"I think it's a really nice gift," She said happily,

"It is," You agreed, and as she asked you for another, you gave a small sigh, racking your brain once again.

You were thankful Jinx was a heavy sleeper.  Just as you were exiting the spare bedroom you set up for her to sleep in for the night, you jumped at the sudden pounding on your front door, startled. Grabbing the switchblade from your coffee table, you approached the door, opening it slightly with your weapon ready. You likely wouldn't do a lot of damage, but at least you were armed,

"Silco!" You exclaimed in surprise, gasping softly and moving to the side as he stormed inside, looking around wildly. Something wasn't right. He stood still, scanning your apartment momentarily, eventually settling his on you,

"Where's Jinx?" He asked. He was dishevelled clearly- strands of hair hanging over his forehead and sticking to the accumulated sweat there, eye wide, making him resemble a dear caught in the lights. The intense expression on his face conveyed fear and showed you he was alert. There were tear tracks that caught in your overhead lighting. Had he been crying?

"In the spare room- Silco what's-" You barely got your sentence in when he gracefully, yet rapidly moved to the room you mentioned and entered. You heard Jinx's happy exclamation of 'Dad!', and slowly moved to the door to watch as Silco dropped to his knees near her bed, embracing her tightly. He appeared to be shaking slightly,

"Where were you? I was worried you left me o-or got hurt," You heard Jinx say, sounding like she was on the brink of tears or crying already,

"I just had a few things to attend to," His voice was soft; but it was evident to you he was trying to sound sure of himself and not worry her anymore, "Forgive me. I didn't realise the time," His body betrayed him. He was shaking like a leaf, alarmed, or frightened by something unknown. Something that had happened to him. Suddenly feeling like an intruder, you made yourself useful and went to your kitchen, deciding to make some more tea would allow them more time alone, and you to collect yourself. As you put the kettle on, you noticed your heart beating rapidly in your chest and placed a hand over it as if to steady it.

Silco was unharmed and safe, but clearly scared. This was good and strange, and so unusual it was unsettling. Moments later, Silco emerged again, quietly shutting the door behind him. You turned your head to watch as the man stooped slightly, bending down to press his forehead to the door momentarily, his hand still resting on the door handle. You watched his eyes squeezing shut, and his lips mumble something, before he straightened and looked to you, catching your gaze. His red eye gleamed in the now dark room, and you could only see his outline. As he joined you in the kitchen, standing near you, his features were illuminated by your bright kitchen lights.

He reached for your warm mug, bringing the tea to his lips and taking a long drink, before setting the cup down and looking at his hands that now rested against the counter. You heard the mug clink as he set it down, and didn't miss how it shook slightly in his hand. Was it best to ask him anything, or just sit in silence and let him work out whatever was going on on his own?

He didn't speak, just stood there, frozen in place and staring at a spot on your counter. His hands were pressed hard into the table, fists balled up. You could see a few veins in his skinny arms, and you realised he wasn't wearing his usual long jacket. His sleeves were rolled up, allowing you to just stare. He wasn't shaking anymore, but his breaths were audible. Slowly, you moved away from the counter, deciding it was best to leave him to his thoughts. You were surprised to hear the rustle of clothes, and you turned your head, seeing him stand and follow you,

"I... Thought you wanted to be alone," you explained, standing at your bedroom door,

"No," He said sharply, his voice low and breathy, panicked. Blinking rapidly, you glanced towards your room and bit your lip, "I don't want to be alone," His voice was a whisper, afraid if anyone else heard they'd view him as weak. Your eyes grew wide in shock and fear. You hated how mysterious he was in moments like this when all you desperately wanted him to be blunt and honest with what he wanted from you,

"Okay," You said, "Well.. I'm gonna go on the landing outside," You said, watching as he nodded. You led him through your room and prayed he wouldn't notice or ask about the apron or pile of clothes on your bed. You stopped at a door, opening it to let light into the dark place, and stepped out onto an open landing that had two chairs, a table, and an ashtray full of ash and cigarette butts looking over the gothic underground city. Watching as he slowly followed you and surveyed the area, his gaze focused on the small tables only item. Moving to a withered plant pot off to the side, you produced a box of cigarettes, offering him one. A light chuckle emitted from him as he took one, inspecting it. He was clearly relaxing again,

"You still smoke these?" He asked bemused, and you smiled as you put them back, grabbing a lighter,

"Hey, not everyone can afford Piltover's finest cigars," You said, lighting the end for him as he put it to his lips, "And not all the time. Only when I need to relax," You noticed the slight tremor in his hand as he moved it away from his mouth, exhaling the smoke,

"Star's, that's horrible," He said with a grimace, looking over the cigarette in his hand and handing it to you and sitting in one of the chairs. You laughed, moving to occupy the other,

"You get used to it," you said, glancing back at him, seeing a small smile of recognition on his lips. With a small sigh, he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, and put his face in his hands, rubbing over his face. His smile quickly faded, his expression turning serious as he turned his gaze up,

"I'm not usually late like this," He began, glancing at you,

"We were both getting worried..." You admitted, watching him intently, "What happened?" You asked bravely, "We went to 'The Last Drop' and you weren't there... I asked the bartender to let you know we came back here," He nodded his head again,

"Do you have any alcohol?" He asked, and you nodded. Walking by him to get back inside, you were surprised when he reached out and grabbed your hand. Stopping, you watched him take the cigarette from your hand, bringing it to his lips and leaning his head back in the chair, hands drifting to rest between his legs. You left and came back quickly, trading the bottle for the cigarette and blushing at the feeling of his soft, slender fingers against yours for a second. For a moment he said nothing, and the longer you sat in silence, letting the cigarette burn out, the more you realised you'd likely overstepped an unspoken boundary. Looking down, you readied an apology. Instead, you heard the liquid moving against the glass bottle, a few gulps, and then the clink of the glass as it was set back down,

"The deal got called off," He spoke lowly, his voice rough, his tone turning bitter as you turned to focus on him, "I lost six barrels of Shimmer to some children. They ambushed us out of nowhere on some... Floating boards and burned our product.  The buyer called off the deal, and wanted to have me killed until Sevika put him in his place," He said, anger clear in his tone. A chill ran down your spine as you thought about the implications, "Then we went back. And..." he trailed off, going quiet again. You noticed his shaking hands clench and unclench, nervously. This was strange for him, "Something happened then..." He nodded, taking another long swig,

"And it took you longer to get back," He nodded again at your words. Without asking more you lifted the cigarette to your lips and inhaled the smoke, thinking of what to say as your gaze turned skywards, "did-"

"No, (Y/N). Let me finish," He interrupted sternly, prompting you to shut your lips. He took another swig, before beginning again, "Zaun has always been a violent place... I know that," He was clearly trying to reason with himself, "You see people getting beaten all the time in the Lanes; in the streets. And the enforcers are getting more brutal every day," He sighed deeply, "I thought it was her," He shook his head, "Jinx," He elaborated, "That somehow, she had gotten out and was looking for me. Those enforcers found her and were killing her," his hands were clenched so hard his knuckles were white against his already pale skin, "I was already pissed off, and seeing that I... I killed them," Your eyes widened at his confession, and he let out a sigh, "It was just a girl with blue hair... Just a fucking kid..." He said emotionally. Shaking his head again and downing the rest of your bottle with a groan, he set it near his feet on the floor "Marcus will..." He groaned, "Fuck," He hissed, leaning back in the chair and placing his hands over his eyes in frustration. Blinking rapidly, you really didn't know how to respond.

The first time you bore witness to Silco killing someone was an accident. He'd been scammed by some kid thinking he was being clever during a card game. As soon as Silco realised, he flew into a rage, and the other kid ran off. You followed them, nervous and knowing what would happen during Silco's violent episodes. When you caught up to the two, the kid was trying to fight back. Trying their best to stay alive. Only moments later, they were on the ground, begging for mercy and offering to give back the money they stole. Silco wasn't listening- so enraged nothing was getting through to him. Only when you dragged him off, did you realise the extent of the damage. You ran so fast your lungs burned and bile rose in your throat, realising what had happened. Neither of you told Vander at first- even though he could tell something was wrong with how unusually quiet the two of you were- until you tearfully confessed. He simply grunted and told you both to 'grow up'. Silco took that to heart. You, on the other hand, didn't.

"I- Silco you can't just kill people because-"

"I thought it was her," He said exasperated, looking at you with desperation clear in his face, "I thought they found Jinx, and they were going to take her away from me," By now, your cigarette had completely burned out, and you placed it into your ashtray. With a slight shake of your head, you sighed, "(Y/N) I promise you I wouldn't have done it without good reason," He said, running a hand through his hair, "I couldn't stand by and let them hurt her like that,"

"I... Silco that doesn't justify murder," You said with a deep frown,

"You think I don't know that?" He laughed coldly, watching you, "Marcus will surely want to know what happened. I can't just tell him it was because I thought my daughter was getting attacked," He sighed deeply, silence falling between you two as you thought. 'My daughter'. The first time he had referred to her as so,

"Perhaps..." You spoke quietly, "Perhaps, you can...?" You said, making him turn his attention back to you,

"You want me to lie to him?" He asked,

"It would save you and Jinx wouldn't it? Or help your case," You said with a frown. You watched him consider and sigh, "The enforcers made a mistake and tried to hurt you. You were simply protecting yourself and her... Or just blame it on the growing violence of the Lanes," he grimaced,

"That won't help, he knows I'm responsible for that," He shook his head, resting his elbows back on his knees, "He's already covering up my affiliation with the Shimmer. I think it'll be more difficult to cover up the random deaths of five enforcers,"

"Maybe it won't be," You said, trying to help, "Random, right? Someone got a little too high, or drunk, and killed them. No witnesses means no suspects, right?" You said, "And considering your position, no one will accuse you if they want to stay alive... Also, who in Zaun would want to help Marcus, of all people?" He watched you curiously,

"I forget how sharp you are sometimes," He muttered, "I'll see... He'll contact me inevitably. Thank you for the help," He said, "All that matters to me now is that Jinx is safe here with you," He said with a solemn nod, which you copied,

"You know I'd never let anything happen to her... Your daughter," You assured him, and he nodded,

"I should have guessed it wasn't her considering you weren't with her," He said, looking to you. He went quiet then, suddenly lost somewhere in his head,

"Are you going to take her home?" You finally asked, "Or will you stay here? I can set the couch up and sleep there while you take my bed," You offered. Silco just sighed deeply,

"(Y/N), we've shared a bed before. And this is your house. If anyone were to take the couch, it would be me," He said bluntly, and you blushed at his words, "And no. Thank you, but I'll take her home. Thank you for looking after her," He said, and although you were disappointed that he wouldn't stay, his words meant so much to you. He trusted you. Clearly there, this meant he trusted you.

"Oh," Is all you said, nodding. He stood, and you followed after him, "I really wouldn't mind you staying," You repeated, in hopes of changing his mind. This was near impossible, with him being so stubborn,

"Goodnight, (Y/N)," He said softly, exhaustion clear in his voice. There was no more use trying to convince him. He let you enter first and closed the door behind you, filling the room with darkness again.

"Hey... Why'd you ask me to come here so early?" You frowned as you stepped into Silco's home, looking around the empty room.

The following morning, at an ungodly hour, you had awoken to Sevika knocking on your door and telling you had a day off. She then told you Silco wanted to see you as soon as you were awake, and gave you thirty minutes. She remained in your living room sitting on your couch and dwarfing it. Sevika exuded power, and it took everything in you not to thirst over how attractive this woman was. The few times she had caught you ogling her muscles were embarrassing, but she'd smirk and you acknowledged you clearly fueled her ego. Once you were done, you blushed as she complimented your outfit, letting out a sharp laugh and escorting you to his home. It was only ten minutes away from yours, and you noticed a few of his henchmen around the area guarding it discretely.

Met with silence, you tried again, "Silco?" you called out, glancing around the living room. The walls were full of Jinx's drawings, stuck to the wall, a few framed, and many others strewn across the floor and table, along with crayons. The only neat thing was the neon markers that lay on the table, organised in rainbow order. You smiled as you saw the fish you had made was decorated and glowing neon, clearly decorated with her favourite markers, and placed on a shelf with a few other knickknacks. Everything else was high quality and miraculously untouched by Jinx's chaos and markers. You turned sharply, hearing the door creak behind you, seeing a sleepy Jinx shutting the door behind you, and struggling to reset the three locks on it. You quickly moved and helped her, before looking down, "Hi Jinx. Good to see you this morning. Do you know where Silco is?" You asked her

"He's in there," she pointed to a door down a long hall with her free hand, the other holding on to the paw of a stuffed bunny "He told me to tell Sevika to come and get you... And now I'm going back to sleep," You watched her cross the room and flop on the pale couch, turning away from you and hugging the bunny tightly. Smiling and whispering a thank you, you walked to the door she indicated. Following up yesterday's conversation, you had wanted to check on Silco regardless to make sure he was alright. You were thankful when he had asked for you to join him, even in the early hours of the morning. Slowly, you knocked,

"Silco? It's me, (Y/N)," You announced, and heard him sigh through a 'come in' behind the door.

Entering you glanced around the neat room. Green light flooded through the window, illuminating his bed and Silco himself, sitting before you with one hand on his forehead, the other clenched tightly, resting against his bouncing knee. He was nervous. His gaze turned upwards to look at you, but quickly he looked back down to his hand. In the dim lights, you couldn't see his features clearly,

"Good morning," You told him with a small smile, to which he only nodded. Sure he wasn't talkative but him being almost silent was new, "Uhm. Sevika and Jinx said you wanted to see me?" You told him, and watched him nod again. He stood from where he was, hands still clenching together tightly as he slowly paced,

"It appears I'm still suffering from the... events that occurred yesterday," the first words he said to you this morning. You tilted your head as you watched him expectantly. He came to a stop near you, turning the lights on and lifting his hands slightly "My hands haven't stopped shaking," He said, and you could detect a hint of embarrassment in his tone. Gently, you looked to his trembling hands, taking them in your own, hoping to comfort him. Your fingers interlocked, and you felt him release a shaky breath, "Ah... Right," He mumbled, "I was hardly able to..." You didn't miss how his gaze flicked to his bedside cabinet, where a cylindrical object was placed. What was that for? "I can't fix the scarring around my eye," He finally said.

Looking up at his face and focusing, you could clearly notice a change in his appearance. Not only were the scars surrounding his eye more prominent, but his skin had also blackened due to the toxicity in the waters decades ago, eroding it away. You remembered that night you saw him again in your home. In the faint light then, you recognised how he had looked the same then as he did now. You guessed he started putting on make-up to cover the extent of the damage, or for Jinx, to not scare her.  It would explain why she wasn't allowed in his room. Glancing to a small vanity table in his room, you noticed the very basics of makeup products littered on top of its surface, along with a hairbrush that still clung on to strands of Jinx's blue hair and with hair bands. You quickly understood what he required you to do,

"You need my help?" you asked him, seeking confirmation,

"Please," The softness in his voice captivated you. Granted, Silco was always more relaxed and soft around you and Jinx, but this? It reminded you of him soothing you at night after a nightmare, or saving you from a particularly dangerous fight. To tell the truth, when you saw him again almost a year ago, you weren't sure if the man you used to know was still there. This was all the proof you needed. You nodded with a silent smile, letting go of him as he moved over to the vanity, getting the products he usually used and handing them back to you. You didn't miss how his touch lingered on your hands before he sat back on the bed and watched you expectantly.

You opened his compact, catching a glimpse of your own face in the small mirror and gently dipping the included pad in the pale-coloured product on the other side. Leaning in close to him, you began to cover the darkened skin but realised you were in an uncomfortable position. With a small breath, you moved to lean one leg on the bed, brushing it involuntarily against his own. You could feel his steady breaths fanning against your face and neck as you worked on covering his skin with an even colour, a soft blush forming on your cheeks at the intimacy. You felt your skin heat up as you worked around his eye, and as you set the compact down near him, placing a hand on his left cheek to tilt his head and give yourself better access to his face, you felt like you were burning.

It took you a few minutes to make sure you had done a good job, the two of you sharing a comfortable silence as you focused on ensuring you applied an even coverage across his face. At some points, you noticed his hands were no longer shaking, and he was entirely relaxed. When you were satisfied with what you had done, you reluctantly moved back. He kept his gaze on you, before picking up the compact and opening it, examining your work with a small smile. If you weren't so focused on his slender hands, you would have missed they still shook. Only ever so slightly,

"Not bad," He said, before handing you the other item- a pencil- to draw on his eyebrow. You carefully took it from him, face falling as you took your lip between your teeth. Noticing your anxiety, he smiled, "Breathe, (Y/N). It's only an eyebrow," He said, "Try get it as even as you can. Usually, I start by dotting the most important points, then connect them with outlines, then fill the space," He said calmly,

"How'd you know how to do all this?" You asked amused, leaning back to study his existing brow, and then reaching out gently to touch his brow bone above the blackened eye. You carefully dotted the beginning of the brow, top of the arc and end of it, moving back each time to see if they were mirroring his existing brow,

"Sevika," He said plainly, and this time you pulled back from his face to stare in shock,

"Really?"

"She's surprisingly good at make up," He said, and you laughed softly, "She is," He added as you smiled, beginning to carefully connect your rough dots,

"I would have never expected it," You admitted, "She doesn't look like she wears any make-up. She's just naturally beautiful," You felt the way his face moved against your hand as he smiled again,

"Looks can be deceiving, my dear," You blushed at the term of endearment, pulling back to compare the two brows. Silco surprised you, leaning his head forwards and looking to the side into his vanity mirror. The urge to suddenly run your hands through his hair overwhelmed you, and you found yourself biting the inside of your cheek to regain some self control,

"Thank you," he said with an approving nod,

"Is it fine?" You asked nervously, looking at him. He smiled as he nodded, taking the products from your hands and standing. He looked down at you appreciatively,

"It's more than fine. Thank you. You've done more than enough for me," He said, moving by you to set them down. You smiled,

"You asked for my help. I wouldn't just ignore you," You told him truthfully, standing in the centre of his room. He was already dressed and ready in his usual fancy clothes, so he led you back to his door and opened it for you. He glanced at Jinx on the couch after following you, and sighed, "Have you eaten yet?" He asked. You watched as he took a seat next to Jinx's sleeping form, a hand gently touching her shoulder as he inspected her sleeping face. You sat on an armchair he had nearby, and shook your head,

"Sevika didn't give me a lot of time. She said your request was urgent," He nodded with a hum,

"I'll get you something to eat when Jinx wakes up," He said, "And then you'll go home and have your day off,"

"I can teach her as normal. It's no problem to me," You quickly said, but he shook his head,

"Take a day off," He repeated, "It'll do you some good," He added, and you sighed,

"Right," You didn't hide the disappointment from your voice, and looked down,

"I did want to invite you out somewhere..." He said, drawing your attention back to him in interest, "I need to discuss it with you in my office first, so be there around 5?" He said, and you nodded,

"Am I gonna get a hint as to where I'm being invited?" You asked, and he shook his head, "Fine. What should I wear then?"

"Hmm... Something you won't overheat in," He said cryptically, and when you narrowed your eyes he only smirked. Scratching his face and placing a hand to rest over the back of the couch, he spoke up again, "Frankly, I just want to see you again," You blushed at his confession, "Marcus already contacted me," He announced, surprising you. His smile was gone, and he looked up at the rafters on his ceiling,

"Seriously?" He nodded, "That fast?"

"A group of his enforcers didn't report back in the morning and their bodies were found dead in the streets (Y/N)," He reminded you with a sigh, "He wants to talk to me,"

"Good luck," You wished him,

"Yeah... But I look forward to seeing you afterwards," You blushed again and looked away this time, "I'm serious,"

"I will, I'll be there," You assured, "Just wish you'd tell me where we're doing,"

"Be patient. I think you'll like it," He said, and you smiled softly at his words. Be patient. That's what you've been doing for the past year and still, here you were on his couch, talking casually. Some days, you just wanted to grab his face and confess all those feelings you kept locked inside your chest. It was frustrating, not being able to express the love and desire you felt for him, but patience ensured you'd reconnect safely again. Patience, and slow progress...

True to his words, two large burly men strode into your apartment, comically barely fitting in the hallway and carried your one backpack and bag.  Silco greeted you in front of the repurposed 'The Last Drop' as his eyes scanned over the two bags and you felt your cheeks blooming with embarrassment. He luckily didn't comment, and only instructed you to follow after him. Your eyes widened as he led you inside an apartment building a little far from the bar,

"Stars, Silco this is-" you found yourself at a loss for words, staring at the spacious apartment. The two men set the bags down and promptly left, leaving you alone with Silco. This living room alone was so much larger than the single room at Miss E's, and had a walk-in kitchen- complete with an oven, a stovetop, a microwave and a fridge! You hardly noticed as Silco turned away, the corners of his lips curved slightly in a smile,

"There's no mould here," He told you, heterochromatic eyes scanning the clean, empty walls as your own eyes practically sparkled with excitement. You examined all the empty cabinets, noticing they were clean of dust. Then the working fridge, and then seeing if all the burners worked. They did. Silco called your attention to a door that led to a small bathroom that had a bath and shower, along with the other bathroom necessities. The smell of bleach was a godsend as it hit your nose, indicating it was clean. Still, you smiled happily at something so basic.

The bedroom is where your two bags had been deposited, and it's where they sat on the bed, waiting. The room had a closet, a desk, a set of draws- everything. It was even illuminated by a window that was high above the ground, and let in some of the neon light from the outside. The bed was soft and springy. It even came with a fluffy blanket. Flinging yourself face-first into the soft fluff, you heard a faint chuckle from the doorway, and lifted your head slightly, surprise clear on your face as you felt the bed bounce beneath you for a moment. It's springy too. Contently, you rolled onto your back, stretching out the remaining aches in your joints and bones and letting out a long sigh.

You felt Silco's gaze on you, unmoving. Turning your head to look at your friend, you noticed he was still smiling- a rare expression for Silco, and yet one that suited him so well. He moved from where he leaned against the door and picked up one of the bags that had fallen to the floor. He didn't wear the coat anymore- he'd hung it up by the door on his way in. How kind of him. He was clearly surprised by how light this bag was, and glanced at you as he opened it,

"This is all you have? Cloth and-" He froze as you sat up, drawing your legs together to sit before him cross-legged, craning your head to look up at him,

"Places like this must cost a fortune, Silco," You said, suddenly wary of the luxury around you. Silco clearly wasn't listening, delicately unwrapping the faded material, and pulling out a switchblade from its confines, examined it. His reflection was distorted in the metal, and the blade was dull, and yet he still noticed the faint crimson glowing of his corrupted eye. The blade was so familiar to both him and you. He let his fingers graze the blade- it barely left an indent in his pads. His mouth, which had opened slightly, closed, and his gaze fell down on you, "You think I wouldn't have kept it?" You smiled, "You spent so much money on it I felt bad for throwing it out," You apparently also felt bad about throwing the wrapping- a cutting from a Piltover Gent who visited years ago, when tensions weren't so high. You reached out and took the knife from him, closing the blade back into its place, fingers tracing the "S&(N)" scratched into the side. His original carvings had been clean. These had been scratched over multiple times, but the white letters still stood out against the brown handle, refusing to disappear, "I also have the tools in here-" As you reached for the bag and pulled them out to show him, he took the wrapped tools, hearing them twinkle together, "Hey that's-"

"I got you new ones," Unwrapping them and taking one glanced caused him to nod, "These are rusted and unusable,"

"Where is all this charity coming from?" You asked in surprise, "The house, the tools. Silco is-"

"You deserve a decent quality of life," His tone was stern and soft, as usual, but still commanded your attention and silenced you, "This is what you deserve, having lived in a shithole like that myself for years, I know it's not a good place to exist. As for the tools- considering you'll be a teacher now, you need the correct equipment," He took the tools with him as he walked out of the room, lingering by the doorway and indicating with his head for you to follow,

"You never told me how much you paid for all this- I'll make it all back to you," You finally said as you followed him to yet another room. You assumed it was probably a closet at first, but as he opened the door you were once again pleasantly surprised to find a workshop there. Workbenches, new tools, metals and equipment. A blowtorch. You barely registered his knowing smile as you gravitated towards the torch, gasping as you turned it on, causing fire to roar out of the other end, "Silco!" You exclaimed in happiness, looking at him with a  bright smile,

"I would have brought you clothes as well, but unfortunately I don't know what you like,"

"I would have liked anything that you got me," You said honestly, "I've never been picky. Remember how we always liked to steal each other's sweaters that those sorry Piltover fucks would send down to us as charity?" You smiled pleasantly at the memory, "I wish I had some of those,"

"Luckily this apartment has heating- I made sure of it," He assured, "And- could you turn that off?" He asked, glancing at the torch you still had, transfixed by the flames,

"Benzo never let me touch them," You smiled, "I could only use his soldering tools,"

"There's some of those as well," He mentioned with a sigh, "About those sweaters, I can arrange-"

"Silco, do not get me anything else," you threatened quickly, "This is too much as is,"

"Stop being so humble, (Y/N)," He countered, thinking for a moment, "I'll find someone to take you shopping," He informed, watching you sigh and roll your eyes, "You can't live in those clothes. You'll get new ones..." Seeing you still unhappy, he let out his own sigh, "they don't have to be expensive. Just wearable," at this you smiled and nodded pleasantly, thanking him "I'll give you some more time to get used to this. Then you'll meet her and you can begin teaching,"

"Can you give me a week? I need to get used to all of this again," You gestured around the workshop,

"Of course. Your books should arrive tomorrow," He ignored your whining about spending too much money again, "You need a refresher don't you?" This made you fall quiet, "You won't be paying me back for this with any money- I won't hear your protests," He interrupted quickly, "You're here to teach her what you know and make sure she is safe. Do you understand?" He spoke, now serious. It was clear he cared for her greatly,

"What happened to the cold, unforgiving and untrusting Silco I grew up with?" You teased, but the curiosity was also clear in your tone. His eyes scanned your face, and he turned,

"I owe you a lot," He spoke, turning to leave, his back facing you as he stopped in the doorway. His tone was quiet. He was vulnerable, "Considering how much you did for me growing up... You deserve to be repaid. You deserve this," He spoke, making you smile warmly. Turning his head slightly to catch your expression, he rolled his eyes again, "Don't get too happy," He stressed, "Accept this. From friend to friend,"

His words made the warmth now spreading to your chest and fluttering around your stomach falter. Of course. Of course. After all, Silco had it all now. Why would he still feel like this about you so many years later? All you could do was nod, your gaze drifting to his shadow extending across the floor, "Friend to friend," You echoed, watching his form nod, and fade away along with his footsteps. You heard the jingle of keys as they were placed down, the distant ruffle of a coat, and the shutting of a door.

Friend to friend...

It had been a few weeks since you had moved in and frankly, you were still getting used to this new way of life. Relearning and reengaging in the technology brought you more joy than you had expected, and it took a phenomenal amount of self-control to not read more and tinker on into the late hours of the night. Luckily, you still had the skills necessary to weld, screw and remember the basics. The chemicals you requested arrived quickly, no thanks to Silco's influence, and all it took was a little practice to get back into the swing of things. Once you had informed Silco that you thought you were ready, he told you he would bring over the girl.

"Her name is Jinx," He said, and even after knowing her for such a short time, the hint of pride in his voice was unmissable.

Your gaze travelled down to the young girl, clutching at his leg to try and hide. From what you could see, her blue hair was unkempt and was let loose, the wavy texture indicating it was usually worn in a braid. Her grey eyes were wide with a mixture of curiosity and fear, as she glanced up at you. The moment your eyes met with hers she moved slightly behind Silco, her eyes darting around the apartment. She was in an unfamiliar place of course. That was always terrifying,

"Hello there, Jinx" You bent down with what you hoped was a pleasant smile to the girl, but you couldn't help notice her wince at the name. It confused you momentarily, but you carried on, "My name is (Y/N). Silco asked me to teach you a few things. He says you're very smart," You watched the girl nod timidly, "Wanna show me what you can do?" You asked again and watched as she glanced up uncertainly at Silco.

The Silco you remembered hated any form of physical affection. The Silco you remembered didn't care for any child that joined your rebellious group. The Silco you remembered was untrusting of anyone he met, always paranoid they would double-cross him. The Silco you remembered was never be caring and loving to anyone.

And yet when you looked up at those calm features, giving the girl a confirming, comforting nod, your view on him somehow changed. Somehow, it also filled you with hope. In that simple gesture, he told her you were a person of trust. And she listened- taking her hands from around him and hesitantly stepping closer to you, her own eyes scanning your still empty apartment in a similar expression of astonishment. He had only known her for a few weeks, you guessed. And yet he trusted and cared for her as if he had known her for a long time. She looked to him for guidance already. You knew people were always capable of change- greater, lesser, it didn't matter. It was still change. Silco had changed... Certainly for the better.

You led the girl to your workshop, turning the lights on for her and showed her to your clearest workbench, dragging a stool over with your foot she she could sit atop it. You produced the basic materials to make a bomb out of the storage area that had been stocked a few days ago and set them before her. Silco stood nearby, arms folded as he watched the two of you. His face was unreadable, but his eyes held a curiosity,

"Alright here," You said, placing the final bag of chemicals down, "Show me what you can do," You said. You watched as at first as she tentatively reached for the metal and the chemicals. She didn't measure- that's something you noticed quickly. She made do with what she had and didn't know what to do with an abundance of items. How familiar. She knew how to work a screwdriver, and she knew which substances to use. In the hands of someone inexperienced, perhaps you would fear for your life, but seeing Silco's own unwavering composure eased your fears. Finally, she set it down, her hands falling to her lap once she was complete,

"I... I like to put colours in them," It was the first thing she said. It reminded you she was a child. A child you had just asked to build you a bomb. With a tilt of your head, you moved back to the storage area, taking a few powdered paints and setting them down for her. Carefully, she tipped the blue into the opening and set it back down. She looked to you expectantly, as did Silco, "Did I do good?" She asked with a frown.

Examining the bomb once more, closely this time, you nodded, being careful when you set it down. The faintest smile appeared on her face, which seemed to light up,

"It's perfectly contstructed- you were very careful with the chemicals and know your way with tools. Your only problem-" you didn't miss the way her face fell as you began the sentence, becoming a pout, and a crease forming between her brow, "-is you didn't measure the chemicals correctly," You said. Taking the bomb and passing the end over a candle on the bench, you threw it to the ground, making it clink against the hard floor. At this, Jinx gasped, sliding off the stool and moving to Silco quickly, resuming hugging his legs. Peaking out from behind them, her eyes widened as the blue pigment, now shaken up, escaped from a small crack in the seams, "I use these," You caught her attention again, producing a myriad of glass measuring spoons, "They tell you the measurements here on the side. I can make you a chart that says how much of each chemical you need and the reactions they'll cause," You offered. Interested by the glass, she took it from your hands, curiously examining the varying shapes and sizes,

"Why are they like this?" She asked, moving one of the scoops to her eye to look through, no doubt interested by the distortion caused by the material,

"They're made from glass,"

"Like a window?" She asked; you nodded, "Why?"

"Glass doesn't react with any of the chemicals. Sometimes, metals react with the different powders and acids, so I-"

"So you use glass so they don't mix," She chirped in, and you nodded. She smiled to herself,

"Yeah. Here, I can teach you how to make an actual bomb with these chemicals," You said, turning to the workbench again. Eagerly, she joined you, sitting back on the stool. She followed your movements and instructions closely, asking questions wherever she could. As you worked, you noticed her grabbing the black marker you had and beginning to doodle on a scrap piece of paper she found. She was still listening- multitasking seemed to come easy for her. Once you finished with the bomb, you let her examine it. Picking up her defect-bomb you placed it next to her, "See the differences?" You asked, to which she nodded, "What are they?" You asked- of course, she did, naming all of them. She was a very smart kid. With a smile, you looked through some of the drawers and produced a set of neon markers that made her eyes light up, "I asked for these so I could see them better in low and black light. But if you want to decorate, I think these'll do you more favour than that marker," She took them and opened them, testing them over her previously drawn lines and eagerly filled them out, marvelling at the brightness. Turning your gaze to Silco, he motioned for you to follow him towards the still-open door of the workshop. You noticed the prideful smile he had before he turned his head,

"Good work," He said, leaning against the door, "You'll teach her what she needs to know," His gaze drifted back to the girl, transfixed and drawing away on the two bombs,

"It's strange..." You pointed out, "It's amazing she knows so much already... Her skills are impressive. But it hits me at times that I'm teaching a child how to craft weapons," You frowned, looking to him. He gazed at you for a moment, a look of understanding on his face. He let out a long sigh, rubbing his jaw,

"You are teaching her safety and technique," He stated, straightening from where he leaned on the wall, "So she doesn't get hurt. She has a talent for this," He looked to Jinx again, who slid off the stool and walked to you two, showing Silco one of the bombs, now covered in bright, neon marker doodles. He took it from her, examining the crosses, sharp zig-zags and an angry-looking monkey that jogged your memory. Moving away from the two, you moved to a desk and dug around the items on it, soon finding the cool metal of the monkey-head. Turning back, you saw Silco patting Jinx's hair and muttering praise for her art and craftwork. It was so beautiful and sweet and seeing the bright smile on the child's face made your chest flood with that same fuzzy warmth again. Stopping next to them, Jinx's happy face turned to you. Opening your palm for her, you showed her the metal. Her eyes grew wide. You hadn't expected her to freeze like this, her eyes turning glassy, the smile vanishing,

"I uh... Silco found this and gave it to me. I thought I should return it to the rightful owner," You said with a smile, but the girl only moved away, fearful again. When she finally stopped looking a the object she put her hands to her eyes, covering them. It confused you, and you looked to see Silco's equally puzzled expression, "Perhaps today has exhausted her..." You spoke, straightening and looking at Silco, who only nodded. Before they could leave, you moved quickly to grab the markers, sighing softly and handing them to him, "Here. She likes them. She can have them," You said, feeling guilty. He still hadn't explained the circumstances under which he found the girl, and you felt rude to pry into him. There was also no telling if he would tell you directly. Perhaps he had given you the metal object for a reason- to keep it away from her. It clearly had something to do with Jinx but you didn't yet know what. Something negative of course- you could tell from the way her shoulders shook and her small breaths, muffled by her hands, trembled. He simply nodded,

"Stop by the bar tonight. I'd like to discuss some things with you," He said, placing a hand on Jinx's shoulders and leading her from the workshop to your front door.  Guilt made your heart thump loudly as you slowly shadowed them. She put her shoes on almost robotically, mind clearly elsewhere, while Silco looked back to you,

"What time?" You asked him to clarify the vague answer. His eye slowly blinked,

"Once everyone is gone," Is all he cryptically said, before he opened the door and exited, offering a hand to Jinx who took it. You watched him present the markers to her as their shapes grew smaller, and a small sigh escaped you seeing her light up again, and grab them eagerly.

This was clearly a mystery, you thought, as you shut the door, moving back into your spacious home and leaning against your couch, allowing your body to fall back onto it and pressing a hand to your head. Stars.

Silco was an enigma but Jinx- she was an oxymoron. On one hand, she was a young naive child, easily distracted by bright colours, and on the other, she was a fairly experienced bomb-maker who needed a bit of practice. And under Silco's care, she would no doubt be used to fill out a role in his inevitable grand plans at some point. Perhaps this is what he was preparing her for. Or perhaps he was simply a man who cared for this child and wanted what was best for her- capitalising on her strengths to get her prepared for an uncertain, yet violent future... You'd need to get some more markers.

You recognised one of the bouncers outside the bar to be the same large man who helped move your two small bags into your new apartment. You'd been through this street before a few hours ago and realised why Silco gave you a home so far away from 'The Last Drop'. The music alone could be heard from a few streets down; you were placed strategically, in a spot the music didn't touch. Perhaps he still cared enough about you to remember your issues with sleeping from when you were younger, easily disturbed by unfamiliar noise. Your hands were stuffed into your pockets and your pockets as you approached the now quiet bar, eyeing the guards. They simply gave you glances, and one motioned his head towards the door, indicating you should enter. Slowly pushing the door and walking in, you glanced at the aftermath of the evening. It was empty, except for the few punks who had to clean the mess. You made your way to the bar, still lit brightly, a lantern in the sea of darkness. A familiar, thin shape stood behind it, his elegant waistcoat illuminated by the hued toxic green lights around him. Silco stood drying two glasses, one of which he set in front of you as you approached. He reached down as you sat up on one of the stools and watched as he poured you both a drink of amber liquid, then set the bottle on the bar next to you,

"Is she alright?" You broke the silence between you two, only interrupted by the scrapes of brooms and quiet footsteps of the few workers. Looks like he still cared for this place since Vander's death. His eyes snapped to look at your face, twisted in discomfort, still affected by the guilt of upsetting her. He set the bottle down with a sigh,

"She'll be okay," The softness in his tone surprised you once more. Stars, he really fucking cared for her. His own gaze filled with sadness at the mention of her, and you watched him lean his pointy elbows on the bar as he took a drink of the liquid, two ice cubes clattering against the glass encasing them, "She's still a little shaken up by what happened," He clarified, setting down the ice-filled glass and reaching the same hand up to rub his wrinkled forehead, a strand of greying black hair falling from where it was usually slicked up, "But she'll be okay," His gaze fixed itself on you, watching as you looked away and nodded slowly, not convinced, "She needs to let go of what happened in the past. Unfortunately, it's still fresh in her mind," He spoke softly and slowly, in a code you didn't yet understand but didn't pry, once again. It was rare for Silco to say exactly what he was thinking,

"I'm sorry I upset her, I had no idea," You said to him. He let out a long sigh, straightening to grab the bottle and pour himself another drink, taking the glass from the top and swirling the brown liquid with the clear melted water from the ice,

"She will be okay," He repeated, forcefully, looking up at you with a stern expression. You held his gaze, "She appreciated your lesson today," He changed the topic, "She's eager to continue learning,"

"That's a relief," You sighed, picking up your drink and taking a sip, savouring the burning alcoholic taste. Silco let out a gentle hum,

"She likes the markers," He added, making you smile softly,

"I'm glad that made her happy at least," You said with a sigh. Drinking the rest of the contents in the glass, you set it down, looking over the clean bar, "Why did you want me here again?" You asked,

"I wanted to ask you what you think of her," He said, "Honestly," He added, raising a brow. You eyed his scar, noticing the usually paler skin matched the side that hadn't been corrupted by the waters of Zaun, "(Y/N)," He caught your attention again, silently watching,

"Jinx is... Well..." You sighed, trying to find the right words and watching as he poured you another drink, "It's strange. I don't know how okay I am teaching-"

"You are teaching her the safety and technique she lacks," He repeated, spreading his arms and leaning against the bar, peering down at you "(Y/N) you know I wouldn't have asked for your help without good reason, and if I could absolutely do without it," that hurt. He noticed your frown and almost challenged you to go off-topic, "Tell me what you think about her, being an expert in the craft," You sighed loudly, showing signs of your annoyance as you turned your head away,

"She did incredibly well. Considering you didn't tell me what she already knew, and the fact that she's so young, she's very good. You're right- she's passionate. This is why it's easy for her to make mistakes," You picked your glass back up and swirled it, watching the liquid form a whirlpool in your glass, "She needs patience if I'm going to teach her more dangerous things. She also needs to understand the basics- I have a few charts I can make her. She'll also need to know which chemicals can mix and which can't to avoid unexpected reactions," You explained,

"You can teach her all this?" He asked. There was only one answer. You both knew this well. A commanding question. Just as oxymoronic as the child under his care,

"Is she here?" You countered,

"She's safe," That likely meant somewhere away from here,

"It was loud here, before. Is she here?"

"She's somewhere quiet,"

"Is she near me?" He looked at you knowingly. You'd clearly worked out why he moved you so far from 'The Last Drop' to not be plagued by the noise, "How much do you-"

"Will you teach her what she needs to know?" The topic diverted back. He humoured you for a moment but took control again. Same fucking Silco. You smiled at him, but sighed, pushing some hair from your face,

"It'll likely take a few years for her to reach the level of perfection you expect," you finally said, watching him nod knowingly,

"If it means she knows what she's doing and that she's safe, that's all that matters to me," He said softly, drinking the contents of his glass again, setting down an empty one, the ice having melted,

"You really care about her, Silco," You pointed out to him, "I don't think you've ever cared for anyone so much," he wasn't looking at you, casting his gaze down at the ground lost in thought. He lifted his head finally, and it looked like he wanted to say something. Instead, he straightened, rolling his shoulders,

"I do," He said softly, looking at you a little too long, "We'll be there in the morning after breakfast. Prepare what you need tonight. See you..." he trailed off, giving you a nod, before walking to the stairs. You glanced down to the empty glasses and the bottle,

"See you..." You echoed before he could disappear entirely, pushing yourself off the stool and letting your hands stuff themselves back into your pockets. You found your walk home was disturbed with thoughts of your... friend and the girl. They wouldn't leave you alone as you tried to solve the mystery of their connection to each other. None of your leads stuck and no matter what you thought you were likely wrong. Silco would tell you in due time. Given your friendship, and the fact that he still considered you to be a friend gave you some hope. He wanted to see you again. He gave you so many nice things. He cared for you too.

The following morning, you greeted them both with a smile,

The next few weeks were dedicated to your healing, and for a pleasant amount of that time, Silco joined your side. Considering all the time he dedicated to changing your bandages, checking in with you as well as keeping you company, you had a sneaking suspicion he truly did care for you. Perhaps more than you had let yourself believe. People change, after all. Time changes them. Perhaps the water had changed him too? On one hand it had transformed him into a man seeking revenge on the world that wronged him, in the other perhaps it made him realize the worth of those who cared for him?

Jinx visits were occasional- with all the free time she suddenly had, and considering you weren't 'fit' for teaching her, it needed to be filled. You'd hear plenty of tales from Silco of finding his office (pleasantly, though he wouldn't admit it) vandalized with bright neon drawings and 'Jinx was Here' scribbled in the most obvious places. What followed would be the stories of him having to explain to his buissness associates and the Chem Barons the reason they were there- which all caused you to laugh  At your laughter, he'd smile, lean back in his chair, and mention he needed to get new wallpaper in his office anyway. 

When Silco had a job to do- after all, his newfound duty as the Eye of Zaun kept him busy- he would drop Jinx off for you to look after, as he had promised. Your lessons resumed, much to his distaste and protests. Her skills had to be perfected, and you couldn't exactly do anything but lay in your bed and let your body heal itself. Though, by his request, not all her time was spent learning. Those same blue swirls began flooding the pages of her sketchbooks and arms in the forms of blue paint, pencils, or whatever she could get her hands on. She appeared fixated upon them. In fact, sometimes you'd let her use your own arms as her canvases, eager to see her chaotic designs on your body. It made for a more interesting time

Finally when your body had healed, and you were declared fine by the doctor, you were allowed to leave the room. Silco insisted you do not work just yet, but the longer you stayed in his home with nothing to occupy your time with, the more bored and useless you felt. Luckily, Jinx's company proved delightful once again, and now that you were out of bed, the activities you could both get up to were endless. Baking at anytime to surprise Silco, helping her put up her drawings, entertaining her with small chemical reactions and experiments in his kitchen- and maybe accidentally destroying parts of it in the process.

Perhaps in a small, selfish part of your head, this is what you always longed for. Perhaps the adventures you shared in your childhood and teenage years where enough- they brought their excitement, but as you grew up, you privatly dreamed of a more relaxed life. A more... domestic, if you will. 

Every morning, you'd wake at relatively the same time and brew some coffee for both you and Silco- yours to your liking, and his strong and black- while fixing Jinx whatever breakfast she desired that day, along with a hot or cold chocolate. You'd chat together in the kitchen: sometimes about your day; sometimes about a dream you had' sometimes you'd speek with Jinx as well... And sometimes, you would stand together in a comfortable, yet tired, silence. Then Silco would leave for work and return home for lunch or dinner, which had either been brought or made by you and your d-

His daughter. 

But you could dream... 

"I decided to spend my evening with you, (Y/N)," Silco announced, barely glancing up over his newspaper. This was one of your more silent mornings- Jinx was sleeping in instead of pounding on either one of your doors and whining that she was hungry. This was his fourth sip of coffee, and the second thing he said to you today. Usually, he only spoke after his fifth sip,

"Oh?" He hummed, nodding his head and continuing to drink the coffee, engrossed in the paper before him. You hummed back, moving from where you finished drying the dishes from last night and placing them on the drying rack, "Is there any special occasion I'm unaware of?" You mused, folding your arms over your chest as you turned to face him. He glanced up at you, quirking a brow,

"When was the last time you left the house?"

"A while ago- but only because you'd forbid me from leaving," You smiled, walking towards the table he was sitting at and placing your hands on it. You watched him neatly fold up the newspaper, placing it back on the table with a sigh,

"You were healing," He said, watching you calmly, 

"Yeah, and I think I'm healed enough already,"

"Hmm... That's why I decided you deserved something nice after being stuck here for so long," He said, finishing the rest of his coffee and standing to clean his mug. Your smile brightened at his words, and you felt a happy warmth settle in your stomach at the idea of him thinking of you. You turned to face him,

"May I ask what this 'nice' thing is?" You asked. Once he finished washing the mug, he placed it on the drying rack and turned to look at you,  lips curved slightly into a smile,

"I think you'll have a good time," He assured, "It won't be like the last time we were together," He followed up fairly quickly, "I'll make sure something like that will never happen again," He said seriously to which you nodded,

"Of course," You nodded, "I'll make sure to be armed too and-"

"That won't be nessessary. I'll be with you the whole time," He said, holding up a hand, "I just need you to be ready by seven,"

"You'll be staying out that late?" You asked, and he sighed,

"I would have liked to take some more time off, especially for this, but I have too much work at the moment" He said. He sounded disappointed, "Considering Zaun and-"

"I understand," You smiled, nodding, "I look forward to our evening together," You told him,

"Good. I'm glad..." He trailed off, "Sevika agreed to take care of Jinx for the evening,"

"Did she agree or did you force her?" You teased, to which he exhaled a small amount of air in a laugh, "I knew she wouldn't willingly agree," You mused,

"You are in fact right," He sighed, "I did pay her a... Rather obnoxious babysitting fee," You laughed at that,

"Stars, guess you were pretty desperate, huh Silco?" You teased again, to which he rolled his eyes,

"You could say that," He sighed, "I'll see you later tonight?" He asked again,

"Mhm," You agreed with a nod, "Do I need to wear anything particular?"

"That coat I got you," As he saw the complaints already building in your head, he quickly hushed you, "Wear it, you haven't gotten the chance to yet," Since you spent your birthday bedridden, he had graciously bought you a new, incredibly expensive coat for the colder months. Although you loved it, you don't think you'd ever be used to owning such expensive articles of clothing- let alone wearing them in fear you'd damage them,

"It's way too expensive! What if I ruin it?" you protested,

"I'll buy you a new one," He retorted, "I'm heading off to work," He stated before you could continue arguing with him, "See you at seven,"

"See you at seven," You repeated, watching as he left. You sighed, putting a hand on a chair and getting lost in thought once the door shut behind him. All you knew was that it was just the two of you tonight, somewhere away from here- judging by the fact that he asked you to bring your coat. Maybe this was the perfect oppertunity for you to finally tell him how you feel? Oh, Stars. You'd have to confess your true feelings. Through these last few months you spent inside his home, in his presence, you felt a multiple opportunities to say something. Unfortunatly, your anxiety always had you coming up short and stuttering out some stupid thing that made him laugh or look at you worriedly. Some small part of you believed he maybe loved you as you did him; a larger part of you figured he was only doing it out of friendship. You hoped the latter to be true but you had no way of telling unless you asked. Mentally, you decided that this was it. Regardless of the outcome, you had totell him tonight. If he rejected you, you'd simply acknowledge and move on... How long that'd take or if that was even possible, you only dreaded to find out.

With a small sigh, you dropped your head. Tonight. Tonight. You'd tell him tonight. Tonight, tonight, tonight. Glancing at the clock told you seven was still hours from now. What would you do between then and now to occupy the time? As you stood there pondering, your eyes widened. Silence was never a good thing in this house- knowing Jinx, it meant she was up to something,

"Stars not the walls again," You hissed to yourself as you practically sprinted to the young girl's room. You recalled a few incidents in the past- once you had found her carefully painting and drawing on her face in a mirror she had taken from your room and was covered in bright pinks and blues for days afterward. Once she had decided to do the same with her hair- it stayed pink for a few weeks. Once, you found she was quietly talking to herself. It intrigued you, and you decided to listen in through the crack of the door. This one-sided conversation she was seemingly having was normal- well... As normal as talking to one self when they were alone was- until there was  a prolonged silence. She stared ahead at a drawing she had made to commemorate her brother. His jagged features stood out to you, from his sharp chin and hair to his exaggerated sharp teeth and fangs. He looked sharp, ready to strike... Evil, maybe. It greatly surprising to you when Jinx, with a small gasp and whip of her twin braids, sprung up, yelling for the picture to shut up and ripping it to shreds with her small hands. 

You had ran into the room, gently snapping her out of this rage, slowing the tears flowing down her face and watching her face relax from its angry expression. She broke out into sobs, holding you tightly until you removed the shreds of paper from the room. You had taken her from the room and spent the day comforting her as best you could- painting together and baking. Though you could tell that morning's events had caused her mood to be off the entire day. She had asked you if she could go to sleep earlier that day, to which you agreed. You checked in on her occasionally, but ultimatly left her alone and let her have her space. Once Silco returned, you told him about these events, and learned that boy had been her sibling. He mentioned soon after the explosion they had returned to the location, trying to salvage any rememnants of the Shimmer Lab that had been destroyed and paying off the Piltover Guards to not alarm the city above. Considering he had no one he could trust to look after her, he brought her along to the location that had caused her so much pain. He had mentioned it was the explosion that killed them, but when she returned she was silent and stoic, finding cracked goggles that had belonged to another sibling of hers and allowing her to take them. It broke your heart to find her still so wounded by the events of that day, and you quickly found that snapping her out of this state and distracting her worked well in bringing her back to you as more incidents like this popped up. Ideally, you would want to speak with her about this, but you weren't sure how best to help her through this. 

You breathed heavily as you knocked on her door and entered quickly before anymore of... Whatever she got up to was happening. To your relief, she was only sat on the floor, doodling in blue marker on a sheet of paper,

"Good morning," She said, her usually chipper tone replaced by a monotone one, clearly focused on her innocent task. You sighed in relief, smiling at her,

"Morning, Jinx," You said, looking at the blue squiggles on the page, "What're you working on?" You asked curiously, trying to decipher her drawing. She stood, studying the page for a moment, before walking to a wall in her room so full of paper you could hardly see the wallpaper behind it. You watched her as she taped the drawing to the center, stood back and looked over it, judging her work,

"Just connecting everything," She said. You moved to stand near her, and similarly studied the drawing. The blue squiggles connected across the pages, sometimes disappearing behind drawings of animals like monkeys and bunnies- drawings you had grown accustomed to and associated with the child- as well as others. Faces of you, and Silco, cakes cupcakes, her various bomb designs and explosions, along with the word 'boom!' thrown in a few times,

"Hmm," You looked at the wall, "It's certainly more exciting than the dust bunny grey Silco's got," You smiled at her, and watched as she giggled at your comment, 

"I think so too," She said happily. You just had to accept that not every day would be happy like this for Jinx. You just had to show her you were there for her in any way she needed, and that with you and Silco, she would be alright.

By six-fifty, you were dressed and ready. Perhaps you were a little bit overexcited for tonight and got ready way too early- eager to spend time with Silco in a setting where he wasn't worrying over you, stuck in that boring room. Sevika had come about two hours ago and picked up Jinx, giving you a slight nod and glaring down at the girl. Jinx was hugging her art supplies close to her as she waved goodbye to you and dissapeared with the woman. Sevika particularly hated Jinx's doodles, so you made sure the young girl was armed to the teeth with her markers, crayons, colouring pencils, sharpeners, and her notebooks- in case one ran out of empty pages. You spent that time getting ready, showering, styling your hair and picking out an outfit. He hadn't exactly given you a dresscode and now that he had some say in it, your wardrobe was full of fancy and nice clothing. There's too much choice, you argued with him, only for a package full of more clothes to arrive at your door the next day. You glanced up from where you sat on the couch as Silco entered his home, and slid the coat he asked you to wear from the side of the couch where it rested. You stood and walked to greet him,

"I hope you don't mind I'm ready a little earlier than we agreed," You said, almost timidly, 

"No, no. It's rather alright," He said, his gaze flicking over you as you stood there for a moment, watching each other. Your cheeks flushed as you watched him take you in,

"Right," You broke the silence, "Should we go?" 

"Yes... Yes, let's," He said, turning to the door again. What surprised you was when he cleared his throat, causing you to turn and glance down at his outstretched arm. With a small 'oh' of understanding, you linked your arms together and exit the home, approaching a carriage waiting for you. He helped you in, before entering himself. Soon you were moving, "You've got the coat," He pointed out, smiling at you. You sat across from him and observed his tired features as he reached down into his inner pockets, pulling a small compact out and opening it. He gazed into the small mirror with his corrupted eye, and gently dabbed the puff with foundation over the rotting skin of his face where it had rubbed off during the day,

"How was work?" You deflected, leaning your head against the side of the carriage, enjoying the way it moved along the roads. With a heavy sigh, he spoke,

"Tiring. As usual," He said, "Believe me, I am more than happy to be relaxing here with you now, (Y/N)," Your smile widened at his comment,

"That true, old man?" You teased. He looked towards you over the mirror with a stare, at which you simply laughed. With a small smile, he shook his head and went back to dabbing at his face,

"Yes, it is," He said, placing the puff back face down into the foundation and shutting the compact, storing it away in his pockets. He produced a cigar from his pocket, lighting it with a match. Your eyes followed him as he leaned back into the blush seat, blowing a ring of smoke into the roof of the carriage. His shoes touched your own but you didn't dare move,

"Better now?" You spoke, a hint of playfulness in your tone,

"Certainly," He smiled,

"Care to tell me where we're headed now?" You asked, moving the curtain covering your window slightly to try see where you were. Deffinatly still in the lanes,

"You'll see," He said cryptically, "Have some patience, my dear,"

The carriage ride was calming, easy conversation flowing between you two until it came to a halt. By then, Silco had finished the cigar, and as he exited first, he dropped the butt to the floor and reached a hand out to you to help you get down. Softly, you thanked him and stepped out onto the murky street. The carriage pulled away, and you were alone. Alone. Just the two of you. No drunks or shimmer infested people wandering the streets. Just you and Silco in a small street of Zaun,

"Do you remember it?" He asked, eyes focused on the large building towering before you both. The shades  of grey and brown faded between each other in the bricks, weaving uneven ugly patterns. There were large cracks spreading through the weakened building, and many of the bottom windows had cracked glass or where simply boarded up. It was old, crumbling, and dilapidated. It looked like something you lived in once... A long time ago. You searched your brain for any remembrance in the building's bricks, struck by a chord of unknown nostalgia,

"No?" You say uncertainly, looking to him for any guidance. His lips simply turned up at the corners, and he glanced down at you amused, "Should I? I've got a terrible memory you know," You mentioned, watching his smile falter momentarily,

"Considering we lived here for a substantial amount of our youth I'd think so, yes," He said, looking back to the building. Your eyes widened and you turned your gaze forward in surprise. Of course. Although you never really stopped to stare at the place you once lived in, you began to feel the familiarity, eyes flicking up to the broken balcony and corregated roofs above, mouth falling open slightly. Your gaze fell, focusing on the door. The familiar shade of deep forest green broken by rivets of brown wood beneath the chipping paint held your attention. You remembered all the time's you and Silco would burst through it, either running in, or out and up to your floor. You also remembered how Vander would almsot always hit his head on the top of the door, being too large, and how hard you and Silco would laugh. You remembered how Vander took the door off the hinges after a particular game of cards where Silco and you had cheated him out of all his money. Without realising, you were slowly approaching the door with Silco,

"Right," You breathed slowly, gaze fixed on the door as you stood infront of it, "37," You pointed  at the bronze letters on the door with a small smile, "I remember now," You assured him, glancing up, "But why are we here exactly?" You asked quizzically,

"Sometimes, we need to visit those places from the past that once haunted us in order to move forward from them," He said, looking forward,

"Profound," You commented, making him look down at you, "I mean- it's very wise," You restated, smiling at him,

"Hmm," He hummed, before leading you inside. As you wove your way through the familiar thin corridors, your thoughts raced. This was the place where he had left you behind following Vander's betrayal and honestly, you had no clue how to feel. You still loved him just the same- he found you eventually, he care for you so much now. You felt as though your relationship was rekindled. You felt no malice or ill will towards him. So why were you so nervous? You considered his words: you were visiting a 'place from the past that once haunted' you and him. He said 'us'. There were a few unpleasant memories of cleaning eachother's wounds as aftermath's of won or lost fights, but that was about it. You'd already discussed Vander's betrayal, so what else could he possibly be referencing?

Your brain slowed and went blank as you entered your old bedroom. It was completely bare and empty, the multiple matresses and posters stripped from the walls. Void of any life and covered in a thin blanket of dust, all you could do is stare. It was fairly dark within the room, the only light coming from the dim one in the hall behind you, casting soft shadows into the ground. The only other light source was the open doorway to the balcony, casting warm shades of orange and pink. Mentally, you could still picture the large bed Silco and you shared each night, Sevika's corner, Vander's large bed... You felt yourself gravitating towards the balcony doorwar, walking slowly and trailing a hand against the thin walls, fingers catching on the multitude of cracks within the plaster. Once outside, you looked down over the street from where you had entered, noticing the same emptiness. It looked much more familliar from birds eye of view. Looking further upon Zaun, most of the lanes were obscured by various plumes of grey and yellow fog. The air was much cleaner up here. It always was,

"Shall we?" You heard Silco's smooth voice break the silence behind you. Turning, you found he had followed you, and stood near the wall, looking up with a longing to the roof, then back at you,

"You're like a cat, you know?" You teased, smiling as you approached him, careful of the broken fence beside you. He looked at you confused, "You like being up in tall places overlooking everything," At that he smiled, humming, and you watched him climb onto the corrugated roof like all those years before, with surprisingly similar agility. He helped you up with a firm grip on your hand and smoothed down his outfit once you were both up on your feet on the landing. You reminiced on all the times he had pulled you up to his level in the past. How many moments you both shared together. How many of those moments you held so close to your heart.

 As you walked forward slightly to admire the setting sun and the various splotches of pink, orange, and white covering the darkening blue of the sky behind them, Silco moved behind you. He removed the long black jacket he had been wearing and fixed his sleeves, rolling them up slightly. You turned to look at him, "I remember this now," You told him,

"That's a relief," He smiled to himself, pinning the sleeves back so they wouldn't move. You glanced back to the view with a smile. You moved forward, careful of the edge, and sat down. The landing here was smooth and concrete- safe as long as you stayed away from the edge,

"It's quiet here," You mentioned, looking down at your hands. Gently, you traced your burn scar with your fingers, and glanced over as his hand reached to yours, the scars touching. He had joined you, sitting besides you. The scars crossed over your hands, "Together forever," You hummed,

"It is," He confirmed. You glanced over to him to see a plume of smoke exit his thin lips, and his other hand passing you a cigarette. You smiled, taking it from him,

"Back to these?" You asked, to which he laughed dryly,

"No, no. Not really," He said, "I brought them just for you, actually," he admitted, causing your eyes to widen in surprise,

"Huh..." You exhaled, smoke rising into the air from between your own lips. Your head turned to the sky again, "Right. Because you're used to your fancy cigars," You said playfully, to which he nodded, "Smoke is smoke, Silco. Kills you no matter what the source is," You reminded,

"Look who's being profound and wise now," He said, letting go of your hand. You laughed to yourself, looking at the cigarette between your fingers. Although still just a cigarette, you recognized it to be a more fancy one. Likely from Piltover? Must have been imported by him. Just for you. That explained the change in taste. It didn't make you want to cough as badly as the Zaun cigs. Just for you. You hummed, cheeks reddening as you glanced back to him to speak, hoping to enact your plan, but finding yourself alone. Looking behind you confusedly you noticed a withered gramophone and Silco beside it with his back turned to you. Quickly stubbing out the cigarette on the floor you stood, quietly approaching him. 

He looked so relaxed and at ease, shoulders dropped as his long slender fingers slid over large vinyl covers in his hands, reading the titles. He pulled one from its sleeve, placing the black disc onto the board and turning the machine on. To your surprise, it began to smoothly spin, and when he placed the needle onto one of the rings, loud brassy jazz filled the air with a slight crackle. You recognised a melody from long before, both delightfully happy and unimaginably sad in its own way. Tinged with the nostalgia of older times. He then turned to look at you, standing beside the flower-like horn from where the music was coming from,

"May we...?" He trailed off. Your wide, glassy eyes snapped to him, mouth agape as the music continued to softly play beside you. He held a hand out for you to take, and with minimal hesitation, you did. 

For a moment, it was only you, Silco, and the music. The world faded away, your ears filled with the brass, your eyes only saw him. His hand went to your waist, gently holding on, and his hand was firmly holding yours. Your hand gently arched around his shoulder, and you both begun to slowly move to the melodies. Not even the gentle crackles interrupted your moment of peace. Dancing among the fading day's hues with a man you had loved for years. To you, there was no better way to spend your first, healthy day,

"If you'd told me this morning we'd be dancing on the roof of our old home together, I would have asked you if you had fallen ill," You admitted, unable to hide the bright smile on your lips beginning to make your cheeks ache. He laughed gently at your comment, tilting his head so he'd be closer to you,

"I knew you'd enjoy this, (Y/N)," He said with a smile, suddenly letting go of your waist and holding your joint hands above you, encouraging you to spin. With a surprised laugh, you did so, laughing as you unglamorously fell into him. Luckily, Silco's hands caught you, smiling as he sett you on your feet and continuing to dance. You moved together in a circle  until you were out of breath. You slowed to a stop with the song, holding his hands in yours tightly,

"Give me a moment," You said to him breathily. With a glance at the sky again, you sighed as you felt a gentle breeze swirling around you, cooling off the radiant heat on your skin. You realized he was watching you, awfully intensely, yet with a kind expression on his features, "What?" You asked,

"I didn't bring you here just to dance," He admitted in a low voice, "Though it has been something I wanted to do with you for a while," He admitted, eyes not meeting yours momentarily, "(Y/N), I've been... Meaning to talk to you for a long time about this," Your heart dropped at his words, and you watched him expectantly now. The record stopped momentarily, only to start again. The same jazzy melody filled the air as Silco took a deep breath to ready himself, 

"(Y/N)," He began, eyes meeting yours and holding your gaze "I care for you... Deeply. You may not believe me, but I always have," His declaration honestly surprised you, "For the years I was gone, I always cared for you. I always hoped that miraculously you'd cross my path one day. I always hoped I would find you again- and then, I'd make sure I never left you again... I hated the way things ended between us so suddenly," His voice was full of remorce,

"I always thought you didn't have time," You breathed, to which he smiled,

"I was a stupid man," He said softly, moving a hand to rest gently on your cheek, "I was focused on too many things at once. I should have made space for you..." He said. For a moment he was quiet, and his eyes left your, downcast, "When you... Were attacked. And I found you in that alleyway... A part of me felt that that was it. That I had been foolish enough to get you killed," He said, the sadness clear in his tone, "That I had not gotten the chance to rebuild what we once had properly," Gently, you covered his hand on your face with your own,

"But you didn't, Silco," You assured him, "You saved me. You kept me safe and you nurtured me back to health. I wouldn't be... Here without you," You reminded him. With a defeated sigh, he comes to rest his forehead against yours, closing his eyes. You reveled in the closeness, a small smile coming to your lips once more as your own eyes shut. For a moment you remaind in eachother's presence, happily, until he pulled away to continue. He didn't move far, staying close and gazing at you with eyes full of emotion,

"When you were unconscious," He continued, his voice soft and velvety, "I truely felt like I had lost everything," He admitted, shocking you with his words, "In those moments that Sevika and I found you... It was as if the very future of Zaun didn't matter to me anymore. All the work I had built up to, and spent years of my life planning- it all didn't matter to me... Because you were close to death and it was my fault. All I could hope for was that you would make it out alive,"

"Silco..." You breathed emotionally, feeling tears welling in your eyes. Stars, you had no idea you meant that much to him,

"And when I found out you were alive... And you would stay alive..." He continued, "I don't think I have ever felt a greater joy and relief," He spoke. Gently, he traced your cheekbone with his finger, "I vowed I would protect you... And I intend to keep that vow until the day I die," He spoke,

"Silco..." You whispered softly, eyes wide and watching his bio-coloured ones intensly. You hardly felt the tears slipping down your cheeks until he caught one with the pad of his thumb, whiping it off of your face,

"I am close to you in a way I haven't been with anyone in my life, (Y/N)" He spoke softly again, face moving closer, "The truth is, I have been in love with you since I was young. Since all we did was run the streets and survive together. At one point, I realised that... Survival to me wasn't all that mattered. Surviving with you was a greater pleasure than life itself," He smiled softly,  "You've always been there for me from the start, for Jinx as well. Only now have I been... Courageous enough to tell you how deeply you have affected me," He spoke. The music ended, and started once more. There it was. The confession you longed for since the beginnning. Since he had shown up, and reignited those volatile feelings you had let fizzle out into embers. There he was, reciprocating your love for him, "I shouldn't have waited until you were almost gone... For that, (Y/N), I am eternally sorry," 

"I love you too, Silco," Was all you could say, smiling brightly up at him and moving your hands to wrap around his neck, "I have for a long time too... I was just... Never sure you'd feel the same for me," You felt your cheeks flush with warmth, more tears spilling down your face, "Stars, it feels really good to finally tell you..." You admitted, laughing happily

"Well, my love," He said with a smile, making your thundering heart flutter with joy, "I'm certain you know where I stand now," Those were the last words he said to you before you felt his lips  press against yours. Carefully moving a hand to the short ends of his hair, you held him there as you reciprocated the kiss- a staple of your shared love for one another.

And there you stayed together, until the stars lit up the sky and the music faded away into the air. Holding one another in a never-ending embrace, twin smiles covering your faces, and happiness fluttering between your aching hearts. A warm glow; a warm love, cemented within just a burning memory.

AN: AND WITH THAT VOLATILE IS FINISHED!! Thank you, eternally, for reading this silly fanfic! Your kind messages helped me finish this and reassured me my work was good. As of completion (9/5/22) i have no plans in writing extra parts BUT check back in the future! You never know ;)

I'm hoping this ending was good and not a dissapointment- I know it took me a while i'm very sorry ;-; but it's here now.I love you all, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day <3

As he pulled away from the hug, you studied his face with a small smile. Your hand gripped his arm gently, refusing to stop this moment from ending; this rare intimacy you had with him- you wanted to relish in it a moment longer. Evidently, he did too, leaning closer, forehead touching yours. Your heart began to pound in your chest, mouth growing dry at your sudden closeness. You could feel his steady breaths against your warm cheeks, and as you close your mouth, you dry swallowed. Stars, the effect he had on you,

"Is there a reason you're shaking?" He whispered, voice too nice and soft, and making you want to cower away in embarrassment. He opened his blue eye, his head moving back from yours to curiously watch you. For a moment, you were just enamoured by him, unable to speak. Collecting your fleeting bits of courage, you spoke

"You're so close," You breathed out, whispering back. He really did take your breath away. As if inviting him, or clueing him in to do just what you wanted, you wet your lips with your tongue, not missing how his gaze followed it against your soft pink lips,

"Close..." He breathed, taking a step forward to press himself unbelievably closer to you. His hand moved to your chin, directing your face up to get you to look at him, "But not close enough," He muttered before his lips latched themselves to yours. His thin lips pressed against your soft ones with an unexpected gentleness that warmed you up. All too quickly, he pulled away and touched his forehead to yours, taking one of your shaking hands that had clenched into tight fists and carefully prying your fingers apart with his own. He slotted his fingers between yours and lifted them up to press a kiss to your knuckles, "You cannot fathom how much I've longed for you, (Y/N)," His voice was low and barely above a whisper. From your close proximity, you could hear him swallow, and your eyes followed down to his throat in time to see his Adam's apple gently bob. Your intertwined hands pressed gently against your chest, your fingers warming his cold ones. Looking back at his face as he spoke again, he pulled back to be able to see you more clearly, "The years we were apart, I-"

"Me too," You may have interrupted him too fast. You may have been too forward, too confident. But you smiled seeing his eyes widen slightly in shock, and you certainly didn't miss how the pupil in his blue eye dilated, "I never thought you would yearn for me too... You were always so caught up in your own world, driven by power," Your voice held some sadness as your eyes drifted down to the illuminated blue ground. He cupped your cheek with his other hand, gently guiding your gaze back to his,

"(Y/N), would you believe me if I told you I was doing all of this for you?" he spoke softly, "My... Vengeance against Vander. It was part of it of course, but I always viewed him as standing in our way," He said, his voice still holding some malice, but with a sigh and glance back to you it seemed to melt away, "I have you now, do I not?" He asked gently, and you nodded,

"You have me now," You repeated in a whisper only he would hear, causing him to smile. With that, his lips returned to yours.

Quickly, he became rough and controlling, lips crashing against yours possessively. Silco's long, pale fingers reached for the back of your head, entangling in your hair and pulling you closer to him. His other hand let go of yours, landing on your hip, letting a few cold fingers slip under your shirt. A shiver ran down your spine at the contact that made your lips widen, letting his tongue dart in and slide against yours. A gentle moan followed from your throat, making him only shift closer to you.

It was all just him for a moment, your senses claimed entirely by Silco: his intoxicating smell; the way his lips met yours and moved smoothly together; his fingers tracing your skin below your clothes. The low ocean tones drowned beneath the sounds of your short breaths and soft moans. As he moved impossibly closer, lips never leaving yours, you felt his hands begin to gently guide you backwards, until you were moving. Pulling apart as you stumbled backwards, drunk off the kiss, your half-lidded eyes noticing his hair beginning to fall onto his forehead. Then the feeling of his lips ghosting down your cheek and jaw caused you to let out a small gasp. When you felt your ass hit the desk, and you lowered yourself slightly to sit on it, eyes falling shut at the feeling of Silco's lips on your neck.

With a louder moan, you felt his lips smirk against your skin. You let out another, louder moan, calling out to the stars above as he took the skin between his teeth and bit gently, his tongue licking at your supple, sensitive flesh, and mouth sucking gently. The mark you'd have would be obvious unless covered. Fucker was marking you as his own. He moved spots a few times until he found the one that made your back arch and wrap your legs around his hips, pulling him closer. A soft chuckle emitted from him as he pulled away, only for his lips to return to yours. You felt him pressing against your core and involuntarily, you jerked your hips, eliciting matching gasps from the two of you. He pulled back to glance down as your hips began to move against his, and with a small groan, you watched a lock from his hair fall onto his forehead. Gently, you lifted a hand to push it up for him and traced a hand along his scarred face. He met your gaze, his breath heavy and audible. You leaned forward sitting up to kiss the indents in his face. One of your hands touched his neck, caressing gently, while you're other cupped his cheek, thumb rubbing his jagged cheekbone. You heard him gently sigh into your ear,

"I don't think I've told you how handsome you are to me, Silco," Your voice dripped with arousal as you pulled away to look at him. The pupil of his good eye was so dilated, hardly any blue remained. Stars, he wanted you bad. Leaning forward to kiss him again, you trailed your hands from his face down to the expensive jacket, hands fidgeting with the clasps holding him away from you. You shifted your body backwards slightly as he moved closer, hands leaning against the desk and holding himself up above you, effectively caging your body close to his. Finally, you felt the clasps of his jacket loosen, allowing you to slide your hands under to touch his chest through his shirt, quickly working with those buttons too.

Panting as he pulled back from you and straightened, your hands wouldn't leave him as you eagerly undressed him. He gazed down at you lustfully,

"I want to see you out of these clothes," He rasped, making you glance up at him. With a smile, your cheeks reddened,

"The feeling's mutual," You told him, undoing another button. With a slight chuckle, he moved his hands down to the hem of your shirt, smiling as you put your arms over your head, allowing him to easily remove it. Shamelessly, his eyes gazed at your body, focusing on your still covered chest, and he reached out to touch your breasts through the fabric that contained the,. Letting your head fall back as he moved closer once more, you could feel his clothed cock pressing into your open thighs. With a moan, you shivered as his cold fingers brushed against your skin moving against your back until he reached the back of your bra. Unclasping it, he watched you remove it, letting it carelessly drop to the floor beside you. He touched this newly revealed portion of your body, eliciting a gasping moan from you as his icy fingers brushed against your nipples,

"You like this, hmm?" He mused, lowering himself as you let yourself lean back against the desk and whining as he pressed a gentle kiss to your areola, before taking your nipple into his mouth. You felt like you were about to combust as he pulled his mouth back, teeth lingering and eventually letting your breast fall back, with a smirk, "You look beautiful like this," He muttered, bringing your attention back to him and smiling softly. You moved a hand closer to your face to try hide from him, aware of his gaze. He slid one of his hands up your body and into yours, holding it gently and moving it from your face, "Don't hide from me now, (Y/N)," He said lowly, watching you from where he hovered near your breasts, "Don't ever hide," He whispered, giving your intertwined hand a gentle squeeze. Once you reciprocated, you felt his other hand tracing down your body to the waistband of your pants, coaxing a gentle sigh from your mouth. With a gentle shiver and arch of your back, you felt his hand dip inside,

"Silco," You moaned his name, and then again, louder as he brought your other nipple into his mouth, gently sucking. His lips formed a smirk as his hand cupped your heated sex,

"You're already so aroused and I've barely done a thing, darling," He teased, laughing lowly as your body shivered at the feeling of his cold fingers rubbing the slick wetness across your folds, fingers skimming over your clit slowly. Helplessly, you moaned, clenching and unclenching your fingers around his hand. This clearly amused him, seeing you so powerless beneath him,

"P-Please touch me," You moaned out, and as he leaned forward to capture your lips, you let out a sharp moan into his mouth as a long finger dipped inside your pussy, "Fuck!" you gasped, tilting your head to the side, allowing him to kiss your cheek, then neck. All the while he smiled, relishing in your gasps and moans as his finger slowly moved in and out of you,

"You like this, (Y/N)," He breathed, and you could only nod as you felt a second finger slowly entering you, stretching you, "I can feel it," He commented, teeth nipping at your skin and ear lobe, "And hear it," He smiled against your face, curling his fingers to brush against your g-spot. your moans growing in volume, "You remember to tell me if you don't like anything, alright?" He asked softly. Dissatisfied with your simple, distracted nod, he stopped all movement and looked down at you with serious, heterochromatic eyes, "(Y/N)," he smiled slightly at the frustrated wine you let out. Nevertheless, you opened your eyes and looked at him,

"I will, Silco," You said, sighing in relief as he began to finger you again, "Y-You don't have to be so slow," You said, eyes shut as you relished in the feeling, "You can be rough, I can take it," You told him, and opened your eyes to see him gazing at you with desire blazing in his eyes,

"Is that so?" He asked, teasingly pulling his fingers out and pressing them against your lips. Eagerly, you opened your mouth and sucked your own juices from him. Swallowing his own moan, he quickly pulled his fingers from your mouth and quickly unbuttoned his pants. With a similar eagerness, you sat up, pulling your pants and underwear off and letting them fall from your legs, his own following right after.

You gazed at his now free cock, hard and standing proud in front of you. You reached a hand out to curl your fist around him, causing him to let out a shuddering breath as you let your thumb graze the head, coating the red tip in his precum. You stuck your tongue out to try to taste him, but were abruptly stopped as he reached out a hand and roughly grabbed your chin,

"Not now," He rasped, moving to grip your arm, causing you to let go of him as he guided you to lean back on the desk, "Another time, darling," He assured you in a whisper. Taking his cock into his own hand, he gave himself a few strokes and lined the head up to your pussy. Letting it slide along the accumulated wetness, "I've waited too long for this- my patience has worn thin," he smirked as your breaths grew heavier and shakier, eventually gasping out a long, drawn-out moan as he slowly pushed his cock inside your pussy.

The pain was instant, his large cock stretching out your tight folds and causing you both to let out a cacophony of moans. You gripped his bare arm tightly, fingernails littering it with small crescent indents. He let you adjust for a few moments until you were no longer squeezing his arm quite so tightly. You let your hand slide down to his hold his hand, relishing in the feeling of his veins prominently sticking out,

"Good?" He made sure, and you breathed out a gentle 'yes', "Rough?" He asked again, and your next 'yes' held more desperation, causing him to chuckle softly.

He pulled out almost entirely, and for a split second, you missed this new, full feeling. Before you had any time to beg him to get back in you, he thrust in once again, causing you to yelp in surprise. He was slow for a few moments, then stopped, adjusting himself and leaning down to kiss you, drowning out your moans before his pace increased rapidly. He pulled away to hear your aroused moans echo through the destroyed laboratory, lips instead latching back to your neck, taking your skin between his teeth and biting down near the red marks he had already proudly left behind,

"Fuck- Silco," You gasped out as he rhythmically snapped his hips against yours,

"You have a filthy mouth, you know that?" He managed to rasp out, breaths coming out in short ragged puffs as more of his hair fell against his face.

Silco pounded into you with unrelenting force, the desk creaking in time with his movements as your moans mixed together, bodies moving in blue light as mutated fish slowly filtered by the huge window, overlooking your late-night activities.

He could feel your orgasm quickly approaching; the way your moans grew in volume; the way your walls began to flutter and tighten against his cock almost made him lose his mind. One of his hands gripped yours tightly, while the other gripped your hip roughly, enough to leave bruises there, effectively pulling you into him more.

"I'm close," You managed to moan out before your eyes closed and your mouth fell open, feeling as the hand on your hip shifted and begin to rub quick circles against your clit. Instinctively, your legs began to shake and moved around Silco's waist, heels digging into his skin to urge him on, "Fuck!" You yelled out, loud gasps and moans leaving you as you came around his dick, followed shortly by his grunts and desperate groans.

Silco's own release soon followed, and he somehow managed to pull out, his cum landing across your stomach as your body spasmed from the orgasm, chest heaving with deep breaths. He leaned over you, forehead touching yours for a moment as you reached a hand up to touch his cheek affectionately, letting the two of your catch your breaths. You took the opportunity to gently kiss his face, making him smile gently,

"Are you okay?" He asked tiredly, and you smiled, nodding,

"With your here, I'll always be okay," You told him, and sighed as he pressed a kiss to your forehead, lips lingering against your skin. He left you on the desk for a moment, and you watched him pick his coat back up, slightly brushing the dust off it before he retrieved a handkerchief from one of the pockets. He walked back to you, helping your clean yourself from the mess he'd made.

Once you were both dressed- Silco having delicately draped his long coat over your shoulders- he sat next to you on the squeaky desk. You watched the fish calmly, passing a lit cigarette between the two of you. At some point, you let your head drop against his shoulder, and your eyes closed as he leaned his head against yours,

"Silco?" You broke the silence, earning a hum from him, "Did you bring me down here to show me the fish and have sex with me?" You asked playfully. You felt the gentle pressure of his head against yours lift, and your eyes opened, looking at him. He was frowning at you,

"I brought you down here because I wanted to see you again," He said softly, "I liked being down here, until it became a hazard... And until I didn't have to hide anymore," He explained, gaze following a large fish that swam across the window. His blue eye focused on you again, "I brought you here because I trust you. Confessing and having sex with you was a bonus," he said, and you smiled, leaning up to kiss his cheek and make him smile again as he pressed the cigarette to your lips,

"Well, thank you," You said after you inhaled the smoke, "Next time, take me somewhere that isn't falling apart, please," He laughed softly, as did you.

When you arrived home from 'The Last Drop' you blinked in confusion as a courier set a parcel down in front of your door and rang the bell. Quickly moving to them, your keys jingling in hand, you let them know you lived there and took the box from them, bringing it into your home and locking your door behind you. Curiously, you set your bag down, hand skimming over your neatly written name and address on the brown paper wrapping it- in Silco's writing. You kneeled on the floor in front of your coffee table, tearing the paper apart and finding a smooth box inside, as well as your letter in neat handwriting. Silco's again.

I'll see you later today. Enjoy the gift. That's is all it said, and your eyes widened as you lifted the lid off the box, eyes scanning over the very fancy clothing inside. You pulled it out delicately, eyes darting over the article. It wasn't something that reminded you of Piltover's fashion; the patterns were neatly stitched together yet mismatched, but the red and black colour scheme with hints of gold along the seems and details stuck out to you. Silco's colours. You recoiled slightly, dropping it self-consciously back in the box and sitting back on your haunches.

What was this? Why was he giving you gifts, being so nice to you? It was very unlike him. He had told you he would get you anything you wanted and required- all you had asked him for so far was to help you with your job of educating Jinx: equipment once it got damaged from frequent use; chemical refills and top-ups; notebooks; metal and metal parts. Nothing personal.  Maybe this was his way of saying he was impatient in waiting for your request? Maybe he was subtly claiming you as his own...

What was this all for? Having your own feelings for him reciprocated this much was alien. And his dubious intentions muddled your mind even more.  It almost pushed you over the edge, made you want to cower away and hide from him. Millions of questions flooded your brain at once, but the main one that struck out was: Where in the stars was he going to take you?

You looked back at the clothing in the box that had been recklessly placed back. Gingerly, you reached a hand to stroke the material as if it were a skittish cat. Smooth, expensive, strange- unfamiliar. Should you just tell him you can't go tonight? Something else came up? You realised you had a project left unfinished that couldn't wait? You got distracted? The latter seemed more plausible but he'd likely just find you in your home and persuade you to follow him anyway. There really was no use in hiding.

To be true, you did want to see him today, but this outfit... He must have spent good money on it. It would be a shame if you never wore it... Would it even fit? How did he even know your measurements?  You should likely just give it back to him, if you end up going later today. Or at another time? Or not at all? Should you eat before you go- if you go? Oh stars, was it another restaurant? Would this one be full of people? Would they all stare at the two of you?  You didn't even know what you'd order. What if you picked something so foreign and disgusting you couldn't eat it and embarrass yourself? What if your nerves made you too anxious and nauseous to eat? Would he be concerned?

You felt the urge to just crumple to the floor and weep until you noticed another note that you missed. Perhaps it was hidden in the clothing and had fallen out as you picked it up. This was also written in Silco's handwriting. You read:

Stop stressing and wear it. Don't even think about returning it. I'm really looking forward to seeing you.

You felt your face flush with warmth, your cheeks filling with crimson and a small squeak slipping out of your lips- you quickly pressed your hands to your face to hide. You lay back on the floor, clutching the note against your chest. Stars Silco was...

"Mindreader," You muttered to yourself, feeling the edges of your lips turning up in a smile.

Fine.

If he wanted to see you so badly, you just had to put on your bravest face and ignore your rapid heartbeat. Slowly raising yourself from the floor, you picked up the box. Making a quick detour to the kitchen, you ate a snack and went to get ready, doing your usual skincare routine and brushing your teeth. You laid out the outfit on your bed and smoothed it down, inspecting it once again. With a nervous sigh, you picked it up, holding it against your body and glancing in the mirror. The measurements appeared correct. Perhaps this outfit would fit... And not look too bad.

In fact, it was possible you looked amazing. You shamelessly raked your eyes over your body and smiled in satisfaction. Silco did always have good taste and was well dressed, you shouldn't expect anything less really. You sat down to finish getting ready- styling your hair, putting on makeup that you deemed necessary. Soon, it was time for you to leave.

You had your reservations about walking through the streets of Zaun in such expensive clothing- without the terrifying reputation Silco built for himself over the years, you were just a person in a fancy outfit. You prayed to the stars above no one would stop you or rob you of the keys and the pouch of coins you carried in the fairly deep pockets.

The doors of the empty 'Last Drop' swung shut behind you as you looked around the almost empty establishment. The bartender was the only one there, meticulously cleaning glasses. He was unfamiliar to you- a replacement you guessed. You wondered what had happened to the previous bartender- had they done something wrong?

"Hey," You called his attention, startling the boy so much he almost clumsily dropped the glass. You winced as you stopped infront of the bar, hands finding your pockets and fingers grazing over the cool metal and soft pouch, "You're new here, aren't you?" You asked, and he nodded,

"J-Just training," He said, "Did you want something uhm- I can get you ah..." he didn't finish the sentence, words dying on his tongue as he just stared at you. Tilting your head to the side you waited a moment for him to finish, collect himself, but the boy just stared. Realising the silence was now certainly uncomfortable, you spoke up,

"Where's Silco?" you bluntly asked the shocked boy. He shakily pointed to the stairs, and you nodded easily stepping over the staff blockade,

"Y-You look great!" Your head spun to look at the boy, who seemed to cower slightly away from your curious gaze. With a small smile, you nodded, thanked him, and resumed your journey upstairs, hands smoothing over the outfit in a small proud smile.

You tapped your knuckles to the door gently and pushed it open at the tired 'come in' you heard from within. The smell of smoke hit you first; the room was cloudy, full of it. A lit cigar, perched between Silco's thin lips, was the source, the end burning bright orange as he inhaled, his form partially obscured. More smoke emanated from his mouth, and as you focused on his eyes, you watched his posture straighten, leaning against the back of the chair. His lips tugged themselves into a small satisfied smile behind the curtain of smoke as you shut the door behind yourself and put your arms out, turning from side to side as you crossed the room in a strange but playful dance, showing off the outfit. You came to a halt a few feet before his desk, arms falling to your sides and sliding up to find the pockets,

"Well well... I won't lie, I am surprised you put it on," his smile widened ever so slightly at your mock glare, "Don't blame me," He said, taking a final inhale of the cigar and dropping it into his ashtray, decorated by Jinx, "I know your nature is to reject any nice gift given to you. I'm glad you are wearing it though. You look good," Your own smile widened at the compliment, and you hoped he thought the blush dusting your cheeks was from the makeup and not your foolish happiness,

"Thanks for adding the pockets," You responded, trying to be smooth and confident, moving your exposed thumbs slightly and glancing down at them, "They were the main selling point to this whole outfit," You told him, eliciting a hum and gentle chuckle. He ran a hand over his hair, a few strands falling onto his forehead from where they were originally styled,

"Have you seen the inside ones?" you looked at him confused, "The pockets on the inside," He restated,

"There are pockets inside?" you gaped, making him shake his head slightly with an amused chuckle,

"My dear, you'd think I'd outfit you in a custom piece with no place for you to conceal a weapon?" He raised a brow, and you blinked, taken aback by his use of the term of endearment, "I may have this small luxury now, but I'm very aware the streets of Zaun are still violent," He chastised, standing and rounding the desk. He stopped in front of you, holding your gaze for a moment.

Suddenly, you became very distracted by the feeling of his hands against your front, undoing the buttons and holding one side of the outfit, showing you the empty pockets. You blinked, admiring his long fingers and relishing in the feeling of them pressing against you. Your heartbeat pounded loudly in your chest and quickly filled your ears almost in anticipation. With a dry swallow, you nodded in recognition and turned to meet his gaze. Searching his bi-coloured eyes for a moment, you found them unreadable- even his human one. If there was an emotion in them, it was one so foreign to you, you couldn't interpret it. With a nervous laugh, you tilted your head and broke the intense eye contact, before giving him a pleasant smile,

"Thanks for showing me. Without you, I wouldn't know they were... there" You said, still cheerful, even in your low tone, "Thank you again- it's a beautiful outfit and I don't know why you'd even get it for me ah-" You couldn't stop rambling suddenly, "How did you know my measurements?" You asked curiously, "It fits perfectly which-"

"Are they here, are they here!?" Jinx's excited voice cut you off as she practically bounced into the room, grinning eagerly, "They are!! We can go now, Dad!" She ran to Silco and grabbed his hand, tugging him towards the door, innocently ignorant of your close proximity together. You beamed at her excitement; clearly, she had also been invited along, and you really didn't mind. Silco's form barely moved as she stopped trying to drag him after her, and instead, she turned to look between the two of you curiously, "Silco, you said we could go once they got here. They are here. Can we go?" She whined impatiently, and you noticed she was clutching a small bag that rattled with marker noises, and that she was hugging the notebook you had gifted her close to her chest with one hand. You glanced to the man next to you with a smile, meeting his pained and apologetic look,

"(Y/N)," He began, but you shook your head, taking a step towards the door of the office,

"I have no issues with her coming along," You said calmly, "Wherever we're going sounds exciting, Jinx," You said, and her wide grin returned as she eagerly grabbed your hand, pulling you along. Willingly you followed her, Silco trailing after you and pausing to lock the door.

Once you were outside in the streets, you quickly recognised he was taking you through the back lanes. Even in daylight, you wouldn't dare go through these areas of the undercity. The one time you had tried to take a shortcut on a day Silco had asked you to come in, you lost count of how many times you had almost been pickpocketed and counted your blessings when you saw a quick flash of a knife almost cut you. You darted into the bar, breathing heavily and only slightly late, but knew enough to not go this way.

Clearly, Silco didn't share the same fears as you. He didn't need to. You watched at how calmly he walked, taking measured, confident strides, shoulders proudly raised as he eyed his daughter eagerly running ahead of him, The lanes were almost empty, and those who were there kept to themselves and didn't dare bother the three of you,

"Marcus got to me eventually," He sighed deeply, breaking the silence between you. He cast a sidelong glance your way, and perhaps he admired you, his gaze lingering slightly on your body in this outfit, "It was like you said, (Y/N). A random accident before the perpetrators got away," He let out a deep sigh, "No witnesses," he said, pausing in his short speech,

"At least you're here now," You said, trying to pull him back to you as you saw him rapidly sinking in to his thoughts. His head lifted, red and black eye glancing at you quickly,

"Right... Yes," He said, "Here now," He muttered, and you let yourself walk closer to him, shoulder brushing against his,

"Did he say anything else worth mentioning?" You asked, trying to change the topic,

"They'll lead an investigation but it won't be successful. I had any obvious evidence removed or fabricated to lead them away," You nodded your head slightly, "He informed me my bartender had been helping himself to the product when he thought no one was around," He sighed deeply,

"So you hired a scrawny kid to poor drinks?" You asked, and he sighed,

"He was the only one available and qualified... Surprisingly," He said, "He got some extra training under the impression he would be helping. He is. But this job won't allow him to slack off," He spoke,

"You're teaching him a lesson?" You asked amused, and he glanced at you,

"If that's how you want to think of it, then yes," He said, and you hummed, nodding,

"Teacher Silco," You mused, glancing at him with a small smile,

"My dear, I believe you are the better teacher between the two of us," He said, and his gaze once again drifted to Jinx, giving you a moment to yourself, heartbeat racing at the intimate moment.

"So why are we here?" You asked after a while of just walking. You were now in another abandoned building, not the same one that led down to the aquarium lab, but a different one, that felt familiar to you. Now, you were gently holding on to Jinx's hand as the girl stood between you and her father, regarding him with her own curious confusion. He had been quiet for the most part- mostly talking and humouring Jinx with whatever she wanted to hear, Silco occasionally responding with his usual short answers to any questions you asked him,

"I wanted to show you something... Do you remember this place?" He asked. At your shake of the head, you observed as he approached a door, "I thought maybe there was a chance you would remember this place," he spoke to you. He didn't sound disappointed. Glancing over his shoulder and meeting your gaze for a short moment, he spoke again, elaborating "It was dark when we came here first... Years ago now" He mumbled, the door opening.

For a moment you were blinded, moving a hand to shield your eyes from the bright white light that flooded your vision, and illuminated the dilapidated building you were standing in. Slowly blinking, you let yourself adjust to the light and then moved your hand out of the way.

The sky before you was a pale blue, and large white clouds lazily danced along its surface in a circular fashion. The air was addictively clean, rushing in and replacing all the toxic chemicals that your lungs had grown used to, lapping it up like a starved creature, causing you to almost gasp, trying to get enough of this pure oxygen. Your eyes prickled with tears of joy, a smile gracing your lips. Feeling so elated, you hardly recognised Jinx's hand slipping from yours, or her eager footsteps as she ran outside towards the brightness.

Who knew the sky was just as beautiful in the day as she was at night?

"Would you care to join us, (Y/N)?" His smooth voice coaxed you to break your gaze away from the outside world and step into it. He was standing outside now, pausing halfway in, halfway out and outstretching a hand out for you to take. Fearlessly, you let the tear slip down your cheek, meeting him in the doorway as you still marvelled at the real world as your hand slid into his comfortably. The naturally beautiful one. The world you deserved. You barely registered a feather-like touch skimming your cheek, and briefly, you turned your head to catch Silco's eye as he whipped the tear from your cheek, "Don't cry," He said softly, and you felt like melting.

He took a step forward, offering you his arm that you gladly looped your own into, and off you went. The stroll by the river was quiet at first, the sounds of a gentle breeze rustling through the grass, the birds chirping their songs occupying your senses and filling you with joy. Jinx ran a little ahead of you again but kept glancing back and excitedly asking about the different flowers, and bugs she would see in the tall grass nearby,

"Oh, what's this?" she gaped, stopping to point a hand at a peculiar, white plant that resembled a tuft of fur. Unhooking your arm from Silco's you moved to her, crouching next to her,

"Those are called dandelions," you told her, pointing to a bright yellow flower amongst the dark green grass, "That's what they start like,"

"How'd it get so fluffy?" She asked, her eyes widening as you reached for the white puff, breaking the stem, and moving it closer to her,

"If you look closely, this fluff is just super thin fibres that allow it to travel in the wind. And at the bottom- this brown bit- this is a seed," You explained, "So when it flies away, the seed gets planted and there are more dandelions," Her eyes were wide with awe and happiness, "We can blow it out together?" you offered,

"Like the birthday cake?" you nodded,

"Mhm- and you also get to make a wish here," You said, smiling wider at her excitement,

"A special plant candle!?" She asked eagerly, and you nodded at her childish antics, "Ok ok, give me a second I need to think of a good wish," She squeezed her eyes tightly, moving her arms excitedly, unable to keep still. Patiently and expectantly, you watched her, "OK got it," She suddenly said, looking at you excitedly, "Do you have yours (Y/N)?"

"Yeah! Ready?" You counted her down and together blew the puffs away into the grass, both watching in silence as they floated away in small bursts, some landing in the thick grass before you and some disappearing further away,

"What did you wish (Y/N)? Did it come true?" she asked eagerly, grabbing your arm,

"I wished for Sevika to be nicer," you smiled playfully, to which Jinx squeaked,

"But now it won't come true... Oh," She giggled, glancing around, "I wanna find more," She said, "I wanna know the limit to these wishes," she said, determined,

"There's a few just over here," Silco's voice interrupted your wholesome exchange, and you were thankful you could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke, unbothered by this distraction "Just a little further this way," he urged, and you returned to your spot next to him, arm going back to his. You thought of anything to talk to him, but for the first time in a while, you drew a blank. There was something so beautiful about the world surrounding you, it took your breath straight from your lungs and wouldn't let you speak. Desperately, you racked your brain for anything to say, "Go on, (Y/N)," He said with an amused smile, making you look at him confusedly, "Clearly you're curious about something," He elaborated, "What are you thinking?" He asked,

"What's going on? Why are we here?" You asked after another moment,

"I told you already it was a surprise," he reminded,

"This isn't the surprise yet?" You gestured with your free hand to the world around you, eyes wide,

"It's part of it. Stay patient, dear," You blushed again, but nodded, glancing at Jinx and telling her not to pick up the yellow dandelions as they were poisonous. After a few moments of walking, you turned up at an old building,

"Is..." your eyes scanned the building, "It's not," Your smile grew as he nodded, "It is?" You asked for confirmation, happily grinning, "Oh my stars- I thought surely it'd be broken down by now," You said, moving  eagerly towards the building,

"What is it?" Jinx asked, following after you,

"When I was a little older than you are now, Silco brought me here... It's where I saw the stars for the first time... The opening closer to here must have flooded by now, considering you didn't take that passageway," Turning to see Silco's small smile and confirming nod, "But I vaguely remember this..." You pushed open the door, letting it creak, and revealing the interior was empty. There was a large hole in the house, crashing through the roof, first and accumulating leftover rubble in the living room area. This strange window let through the last moments of sunlight before dawn, and you were quickly drawn to the reds, oranges and pinks rapidly filling the sky and subsequent room, "Oh wow..." You whispered to yourself and heard Jinx stopping next to you. It was beautiful. You hadn't wanted to cry tears of joy- you were close to. The feeling of your eyes stinging gently forced you to blink quickly as you marvelled at the view,

"Come here," Silco caught your attention, having snuck in behind you and sat on a bench that had roughly been made of a few wooden boards salvaged from the wreck you were standing in front of. Silco was bathed in the bright oranges and reds of a polluted sky, the light making his features appear sharper and more handsome. As you didn't move quick enough, he tilted his head, involuntarily giving you better access to stare at his neck and jawline, "Do you want your surprise?" He asked,

"This still isn't the surprise?" You asked in shock, your tone and wide eyes made him laugh loudly. And when you heard him snort softly between laughs, your heart fluttered warmly, making you giggle softly to yourself. Jinx turned to look at you with a confused expression, probably very confused as to why her nearly emotionless father was suddenly so expressive,

"Course it's not," He said, smiling at you, "You think all I can offer for you is an old building?" He said, shaking his head, and glancing over as Jinx moved out of view to doodle on the walls of the house, already marked by fading spraypaint with the markers she brought,

"You also bought me this?" you said, putting your arms out to gesture to the outfit, "What's all this for?" You asked in confusion, dropping your hands back down. He simply watched you, a small smile set on his lips. This lighting, the bright orange of a setting sky, illuminated him in such a strange yet handsome way. He looked utterly relaxed, leant back against the backboard of the bench and shamelessly looking at the outfit on your body. You felt yourself blushing and

"It's for you," He said, "It's always for you," He said, "I bought you back to the places that I knew made you happiest... You're still clinging to the past somehow, aren't you? You want things to always be this way" he read you like a book, and you felt your lips part slightly in a shock, "I keep telling you I can make you happier now. I'll give you whatever you want,"

"Why..." You breathed "For what?" you asked. He remained quiet for a moment, studying you, waiting for his words to sink in. He sighed then,

"Why can't you accept what's given to you?" he asked with a small sigh, "Must you always ask so many questions?" He asked, eyes flicking to the sky before you,

"Isn't it necessary when you don't give me straightforward answers?" You responded, gazing at him, "Why do you care for me so much, Silco? I thought 'emotions are a distraction.' That's what you always said, isn't it?" His eyes looked back at you, searching your face. His expression was serious but otherwise unreadable as he remained quiet for a moment

"Did you ever see Vander? After what happened?" He asked curiously, the topic of your surprise seemingly forgotten. As you looked off to the side, thinking about your answer, he spoke again, "Did you do anything for him?" He asked softly. Anyone else likely would have missed the hint of sadness that clung to those words,

"He was... different," You started, "The day after, he found me in our home. He was cold. He told me you died and if you'd been here. I lied and told him no. I didn't tell him I helped you. I was scared he'd-" you shook your head, dismissing those thoughts and continuing on, "He just said it didn't matter anymore. You were gone," your voice was low, sadness clear in your tone, "The violence with topsiders would be gone too. He then told me I had two options: I could either let those ideas die with you... Or I could join him,"

"And you didn't?" He finished for you, dual coloured eyes boring into you expectantly. His features flooded with relief as you nodded your head,

"To tell you the truth, I didn't want to live in a world without you, Silco," you said bravely, "I've always hated Piltover and been loyal to Zaun. I honestly didn't know what to do with myself once you were gone," You explained, "Vander directed me to the mines. He said my talents wouldn't be useful anywhere else" You said sadly, "And that's where you found me,"

"He was wrong," Silco remarked next to you. You heard the slight ruffle of clothes and felt his cold hand as it rested against the back of the bench, brushing against the exposed skin of your neck, "Your talents were never useless," He muttered. You bit the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from shivering at his cool touch but refused to look at him,

"Right. They're useful to Jinx now," You sighed, and remained quiet, hoping he would speak. When he didn't, you turned to look at him, regarding him, "May I ask you something?"

"Always," he sighed, watching you with an intense, unreadable gaze,

"Why are you asking me to teach Jinx how to make the bombs?" You noticed the slight roll in his eyes as you bought up the topic yet again. Opening his mouth to answer, revealing jagged, almost fang-like teeth, you quickly interrupted, "Do not give me some bullshit about her safety again," Your answer shocked him enough to widen those bicoloured eyes and shut his mouth, "I need to know the whole truth," You said. Met with his silence, you impatiently brought your hands together, clenching your fingers to stop them from shaking, "You aren't... Using her for any of your plans regarding Piltover, are you?" You didn't meet his gaze. You looked off to the side,

"(Y/N)," He warned, and you swore you could feel his glare burning into your skull, "To even insinuate I would willingly want to put my daughter in the face of danger-"

"Why are you teaching her then?" You asked with a frown,

"Safety-"

"The Silco I knew always had ulterior motives," You accused, "The Silco I knew didn't care for safety, or how many people got hurt as long as he got the results he needed. I doubt you spent time with me solely because you enjoyed my company all those years," You scoffed, true emotions that had been dormant for years finally bubbling up, "Is this it? Did you only want me to teach her what you couldn't? Or did you hope you could make her into a weapon- Silco!" You yelped in surprise as he stood up quickly, raking a hand through his hair. His posture was no longer relaxed but incredibly tensed, angry,

"I don't know who has been filling you with these thoughts or why you're even thinking like this," He said lowly, and you noticed how his hands shook as he clenched and unclenched them, "But these lies and fabrications stop here," He declared, turning to face you and glaring, his lean figure illuminated almost menacingly by the setting red sun,

"I'm simply curious," You said defiantly, standing to meet him, squinting in the light, "Silco, it's been almost a year since you came and reunited with me again. I've been thinking about this for a while now; I'm not influenced by anyone but myself" You said, moving to stand opposite him so you could see his face clearly. The sunlight was rapidly disappearing now, and his stern features were bathed in a fading orange glow, "But- and you call me ungrateful all you want- I realised that you could have come and seen me at any point," You sighed deeply, shoulders slumping in defeat, "At any point, you could have found me in those mines, had you wanted to. You. Yourself. With no other need for it than seeing me, a person who I genuinely thought you cared for. Once you realised I was only something you could use to benefit your 'cause', you found me and gave me no option. And I was so blind because it was you. My... My..." You struggled for words, and let out a frustrated groan, "Stars!! Silco, I thought perhaps you cared for me just a little bit.  I was wrong. It's abundantly clear you only care for Zaun and nothing else, and it has always been this way!" You said coldly, quickly moving for the exit to the house, "This is the last time I let my feelings run so rampant. Don't look for me again. I don't want to see you," Glancing in the direction of where you had last seen the blue-haired girl, you eyed her pink, unfinished drawing, "Jinx knows everything I could ever possibly teach her too... Her lessons are finished. Have a good evening," You muttered as you exited, not daring to look back a final time at his red and blue mismatched eyes.

Swiftly walking down into the streets again, you let your tears slip down your cheeks reluctantly. You'd already cried over Silco enough in your youth. How foolish had you been to think he had changed at all in the near-decade you hadn't seen him. All he ever did was use those around him until they weren't useful to his cause anymore.

And how dare you think so highly of him when you were a mere afterthought for him? It was clear he was just buying into your affections to stay and teach his daughter how to be violent- no doubt for his personal uses later on. Always scheming, always planning. Void of all humanity. That's who Silco was. That's who he was always destined to be.

It was selfish of you to think the years would change him. You grew up with him; you watched his vaulting ambition in hopes of one day ruling Zaun propel him into power alongside Vander, their stubborn and violent natures becoming overbearing and overpowering. Until the betrayal. He slunk down into the sewers, shutting you out, and plotting his revenge. Now he had it all. And he had lost you. How easily would he replace you now that-

"Hey!" You were snapped out of your thoughts, swiftly turning to stare at a group of enforcers you had passed by unknowingly, too occupied by your racing thoughts, trying to quickly hide your tear-stained face as they approached, heavy footsteps menacingly stopped before you, followed by the heavy exhale of air through their masks, "What are you doing here?" One of them asked, voice muffled by the contraption on their mouth. You glanced between the three of them who suddenly crowded around you,

"I'm going home," You said, desperately trying not to let the shakiness in your voice show. You clenched your fists, and glared at them, "So leave me alone,"

"Home, eh?" The amusement in their voice told you clearly they didn't believe you, "Down here? In the slums? Pretty thing like you shouldn't be down here by yourself," They said, and you felt like pray around hungry dogs. You felt a hand brush against the neat outfit's shoulders, touching your hair as one of them circled behind you, blocking you from running from them. Shit,

"I- A friend gave this to me these-" you stuttered nervously,

"So the clothes' are stolen?" You gasped as one grabbed you by the front, pulling you closer to their metal-clad face to inspect your fearful expression,

"No, I promise-" You attempted, but barely got a word in,

"Shut it," Harshly they threw you down to the ground, making you wince as you placed a hand down to try and brace yourself, pain shooting down your arm, "Search them to make sure they don't have anything else that shouldn't belong to them," Feeling their invasive hands on you, you fought back, wishing you had something to protect yourself with. You wished you knew about those concealed pockets sooner. You wished you weren't an idiot who left their knife at home and went on a stroll in the most dangerous areas of Zaun. You wished Silco was with you.

Gasping, you felt them cutting into the expensive material with daggers of their own, roughly searching your pockets. Pulling, ripping and grabbing at you, then barking orders you cowered away from as you moved too much. Somehow, you worried more for what Silco would say about you not taking good care of this outfit more than the cuts rapidly flooding them with red.