the day had dragged its nails down your back, slow and merciless. grime under your fingernails, sweat clinging to the back of your neck, and smoke stinging your eyes long after you left the workshops. everything ached. not just your body—your soul felt worn, like cloth too thin from too many washings. zaun had always been rough, always forced you to take more than you had to give, but lately? it was like it had turned on itself. poisoned veins, dying lights. everything was coming undone, and no one was saying it out loud.

being a firelight used to give you a reason to keep going. it was rebellion, it was hope—hell, it was family. and ekko? he was the gravity that held it all together. brilliant, brave, too stubborn to give up. you used to look at him and believe that change was possible. that even in a city built to break you, someone like him could build something better.

but after powd—jinx. after jinx...

that fire started to feel more like a flicker.

you didn’t say it. none of you did. but it was there, heavy and unspoken in every glance, every missed patrol, every whispered name you didn’t want to remember. and ekko—he wore it like armor, polished and silent. he smiled when he had to. made speeches when he needed to. but the light in his eyes had changed. not gone… just dimmer. like even he wasn’t sure it was enough anymore.

and you? you weren’t sure how much more of yourself you could bleed into a cause that kept losing.

you stood alone in that alleyway, the kind that stank of oil and burnt wiring, boots scuffing against concrete that hummed faintly from the undercity’s pulse. the kind of place that used to be yours. your turf. your home. now it just felt cold. too quiet.

and then—there he was. ekko. half-shadowed, leaned against the wall like he’d been waiting for you. arms crossed, jaw tight, goggles pushed up into his mess of curls. his posture said he was calm. his eyes said otherwise.

"you’re still at it, huh?" his voice was softer than it should’ve been. not accusing. not amused. just… tired. like he already knew the answer and didn’t want to hear it anyway.