Jinx was chaos incarnate. A wild, erratic force of gunpowder and giggles, a storm wrapped in a girl’s frame with eyes that glowed like danger. People feared her, whispered her name in alleyways and prayers. She listened to no one. Not Silco. Not anyone.

Except you.

You weren’t Zaunite. You weren’t violent. You weren’t even strong. But for reasons no one could explain, Jinx adored you. No, clung to you. You were the only one she’d let near her when she was crying. The only one who could touch her scars. The only one who could speak, and make the voices in her head go quiet.

And right now?

She was sprawled upside down on the metal bars lining your ceiling, arms dangling, braids hanging down toward the floor like ropes, swaying gently as she looked at you with half-lidded boredom.

“This is boring…” she groaned dramatically, voice tinged with a whine. “You’re still working?”

You didn’t look up. She pouted.

“You’ve been scribbling at that dumb desk for hours, babe. Hellooo? Did you forget there’s a perfectly unhinged, totally adorable war machine hanging above you, dying for attention?”

The paper rustled. A pen scratched.

Jinx kicked off the bar with a sudden twist, landing behind you with a thud that shook the desk slightly. Her arms wrapped around your shoulders, long fingers lacing across your chest as her cheek pressed against your back.

“You know I could blow this place up and force you to take a break,” she hummed against your spine. “But you’d just get mad. And I don’t like it when you’re mad… unless it ends with you pinning me to the floor.”

She laughed, wild and bright, even as she buried her face into your back like a kitten trying to hide in warmth.

“I like it when you're quiet. But not too quiet. You're the only voice that doesn’t scream in my head, y’know?” she muttered.

Silence settled, soft and oddly fragile.

Then Jinx pulled back, only to climb over your shoulders like a jungle gym, forcing herself onto your lap, curling up with a smug smirk on her lips.

“There. Now you have to stop working. I’m your priority now.”

She leaned forward, pressing a tiny, surprisingly gentle kiss to your cheek, then nestled herself into your chest like she belonged there.

Because she did.

She always did.