Chapter Text
Being a median between Piltover and the Undercity was difficult, especially since the Undercity is where I came from. The rest of Piltover's council members certainly didn't hide their opinions on people from the 'crumbling hell hole'. The fact that most of the members of council - scratch that - all the members of the council aside from me were from the upper crust made meetings extremely unfair. It felt like I was fighting a losing battle every day. Some days it was just too much.
Recently, I had been hired by Silco. Well, not exactly hired but we had an understanding. He would give me important information I could use during council meetings and I gave him a heads up on when certain unwanted guests were getting too close to him and his business. The deal itself was still relatively new so he didn't completely trust me yet but I hadn't led him astray yet. We had our own weekly meetings in his office which is why I was here now.
The Last Drop was crowded and loud, as it was most nights, and my ears were stuffed full of loud chatter as well as the music playing through the speakers. I had to wait downstairs in the club while Silco finished up some other, probably very dangerous, business. Having grown up in the Undercity, no one paid me any mind. Everyone knew I was here at Silco's behest and anyone dumb enough to start something would be dealt with...probably publicly.
I reclined back in the booth I sat at, making the most of the time I had to kill. Glancing around the dark sea of gyrating bodies I caught a glimpse of a familiar metal arm glistening under the low lights.
Sevika.
Silco's right hand.
And probably the hottest woman I've ever seen.
I've known Sevika for years. We weren't exactly close but we weren't strangers either. She'd always been respectful to me, and I had always thought she could crush the moon itself with one hand. We pretty much saw each other as equals. (I'm not delusional.) Part of what made me so valuable to the Council of Piltover was how much knowledge and first hand experience I had of the Under City's under belly. I wasn't AS strong as Sevika by any means but I could kick ass when needed. So any time we crossed paths, we'd say hello and be polite, nothing more.
Until she lost her arm.
That day was nothing short of pure chaos. It hadn't been until I had seen her laying there, limb missing, barely breathing...weak...that I realized just how MUCH I admired her. She didn't really understand at first why I had volunteered to watch over her while she recovered but she didn't make a fuss over it. Those months that followed brought us from mere acquaintances to deeply close friends. It was a rough enough time for her just adjusting to not having one of her arms, but what she was more upset about was Silco's decision to adopt the creature that caused it.
Jinx was a sore subject for both Sevika and Silco. Silco saw her as a sort of surrogate daughter. He's convinced she's something special. Sevika disagrees to an almost enraged degree. She fought him over it at first, but eventually dropped the argument altogether when she realized he would never budge. I spent many nights staying up, listening to her vent her frustrations about Jinx. Even though I had gotten to know Jinx over the years, it was difficult to fully accept her when I saw first hand the damage that had been done to Sevika.
Basically, I try to avoid talking about her at all when I can.
I watched as Sevika barreled her way through the crowd, parting it like the red sea. No one in their right mind would do anything to piss her off, accidentally or otherwise. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, about to climb up, her eyes caught mine. A knowing smile curved on her face and I waved before taking another sip of my drink. Her smirk turned into a grin as she turned and headed straight for my booth. She flung herself down into the booth, placing her right arm along the curve of the bench, resting behind my back. I could feel her breath against my neck as she leaned in to speak.
"It's been while."
"Aw, miss me?" I tease her, letting my head recline back onto her outstretched arm.
She let out a soft chuckle as her lips skimmed across my ear. "Maybe a little," she whispered in my ear, leaving it feeling tingly. Before her warm breath tickling the shell of my ear sent shivers down my spine. "How've you been?"
I sighed and closed my eyes. "As good as I can be, dealing with all those Piltover jackasses."
"That bad, huh?" She asks before taking a swig from a liquor bottle she probably stole from someone.
I groan, slapping my hands over my eyes. "Sevikaaaaa, it's awful you have no idea-"
"Don't."
I pull my hands down from my face and look up at her. The look in her eyes is wild and hard to read.
"Don't whine like that." She bites out.
"...why?"
"Because it-" She stops herself, almost like she's fighting her own words. "Because it's annoying." She finally answers before chugging the rest of the bottle in her hand.
By now, I'm used to how blunt she is. At first it hurt my feelings but now I know that's just how she communicates, so I let it roll off my shoulders. I watch her pull a cigarette from her pocket and light it up. My eyes fall to her chest as it rises with the deep inhale she takes. I force myself back to the present.
"It's awful. Every one of them is awful. They pretend not to be, but deep down they're all exactly the same." I complain, finishing the last of my drink.
“Well, what’d you expect? Those rich shitbags don’t care about anyone they think is beneath them.” She grumbles, smoke billowing out of her nose like a dragon. “And they think everyone is beneath them.”
I sigh, pressing my cheek into her arm as I slide one hand up onto her shoulder. “Don’t I fuckin know it. I feel like they only put an under city representative on the council for looks. They don’t listen to a fucking word I say.”
Sevika lets out a frustrated sigh and I look up at her to find her already watching me. The look in her eyes is…intense to say the least.
“What? Something wrong?”
She hesitates, looking down at me with those eyes.
“No.” She says, turning her head to look out at the crowd of people on the dance floor.
Knowing her as long as I have had made it easy to tell when she’s thinking something but won’t say it. No matter how close we had become, she still kept up the strong silent act.
“Mhm. Sure. Always so stoic, Sevika.” I say, teasing her.
I sit up to lean against her side, turning her face back towards me. “One of these days you’re gonna have to drop that wall you keep up and tell me what you’re really thinking, yknow that?”
She raises an eyebrow at me, cigarette clenched between her teeth. Her body shifts to fully face me in the little booth. I feel that mechanical hand slide onto my thigh and squeeze. “You wouldn’t be able to handle what I really think about.” Her voice is heavy and smoke billows around me as she speaks.
My breath catches in my throat for a minute, whether it’s from the smoke or from her I don’t know.
Am I crazy? Is she…flirting with me? No. No way. That’s crazy. I’m just projecting. We’re just friends. She wouldn’t ever like me like that.
I recenter myself, determined not to let her fluster me.
“That a challenge?” I ask teasingly, running my free hand up her chest and over her other shoulder. She opens her mouth to respond when someone calls out to her.
”Sevika!”
A wiry looking guy slides up to the booth and whispers something in her ear. She nods and waves him off. As she turns back to me I give a questioning look.
“Silco’s ready to see you now.”