Chapter 30: Chapter 30: The Second Kiss
The night air in Zaun felt crisp, a rare and fleeting moment of calm in the chaotic undercity. The familiar hum of machinery and distant sounds of activity filled the background, but in Ekko's workshop, there was an almost eerie quiet. Powder had come over again, as she often did now, drawn to his creations and the simple joy they shared in each other's company. This time, however, there was an unspoken tension between them, a palpable shift in the air that neither of them could ignore.
They had spent the evening together as they always did—working, talking, laughing—but something was different. Powder had been quieter, more introspective, just as she had been the night before. Ekko, too, couldn't shake the sense that something was changing between them. It wasn't just the closeness, the easy companionship they had built over the years, but something deeper, something that neither of them could articulate.
Ekko had tried to focus on his work, to keep his hands busy with the gadgets and devices that had always brought him comfort, but his mind kept drifting. He couldn't stop thinking about the way Powder had looked at him earlier, the vulnerability she had shown when she admitted her confusion about their relationship. It was in the way she seemed to linger just a little too long in his presence, her eyes soft with an emotion he couldn't quite place. The closeness between them had always been there, but now it felt like there was a new weight to it—a pull neither of them could resist.
Powder was sitting across from him at his workbench, her feet dangling off the edge as she absently fiddled with one of his discarded tools. Her brow was furrowed in thought, her usual playful energy subdued. She looked up suddenly, catching Ekko's eye, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.
The silence was heavy, charged with the same unspoken question that had been hanging in the air for days. What was happening between them? Was it still just friendship? Or was it something more?
Ekko couldn't take it anymore. He needed to know, needed to understand if the feelings he had been carrying were shared, or if he was just imagining things.
"Powder," he said, his voice low, hesitant. He set down the tool he had been working on and met her gaze directly. "We need to talk."
Powder's gaze flickered to his, and for a second, she looked like she might pull away, but then she sighed, her shoulders sagging in a way that told Ekko she had been feeling the same unease. "Yeah," she murmured, almost too quietly. "I think we do."
There was a weight in her voice, a vulnerability that made Ekko's heart tighten. She looked at him for a moment, her eyes searching his, as if trying to decipher something—maybe even trying to figure out what had shifted between them. Then she spoke again, her words slow and deliberate.
"I've been thinking," she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "About everything that's changed between us. About... how we've changed."
Ekko nodded, his stomach fluttering nervously. He hadn't realized how much he was holding his breath until that moment, when Powder finally spoke the words he had been both dreading and hoping to hear. "Me too," he admitted quietly. "I don't know what this is anymore, Powder. I don't know what we are."
Powder's gaze dropped, her fingers fiddling with the tool in her hand as she seemed to gather her thoughts. "It's like..." She paused, biting her lip as if searching for the right words. "I feel like we've always been close, but now it's different. I can't stop thinking about it. About you."
Ekko's heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, he couldn't say anything. He had always known there was something more between them, but hearing her say it out loud made everything feel so much more real. So much more complicated.
"I've been thinking about it too," Ekko said, his voice steady despite the whirlwind of emotions in his chest. He stood up slowly, taking a step toward her, not sure if he was ready to cross that line, but unable to ignore the pull that was drawing him closer. "I don't know what it means, Powder. But I can't ignore it anymore. I can't keep pretending like everything's the same."
Powder looked up at him then, her eyes full of something Ekko couldn't quite name—something between fear and longing. She stood slowly, her movements hesitant but determined. Her hand reached out, almost without thinking, brushing against his. The touch was electric, sending a jolt of warmth through Ekko's veins, and he felt his breath catch in his throat. There it was again— that unspoken understanding, that connection that had been building between them for so long.
Neither of them moved for a moment, the space between them charged with the weight of their shared feelings. Powder's hand trembled slightly as she lowered it, but she didn't look away. Instead, she stepped closer to him, the distance between them closing until they were standing only inches apart.
"I don't know what to do with this, Ekko," she said softly, her voice barely audible. "I've never felt like this before. And it scares me."
Ekko's heart raced as he looked down at her, seeing the uncertainty and the raw honesty in her eyes. He understood exactly what she meant. Everything between them had always felt easy—simple, even. But now, everything was different, and neither of them knew how to navigate it.
"Me neither," Ekko confessed, his voice barely more than a whisper. "But I don't want to pretend it doesn't matter. I don't want to keep ignoring it."
Powder looked up at him, her gaze searching his, as if trying to find something in him that could answer the questions they both had. Then, in a sudden, impulsive movement, she closed the gap between them, her hand coming to rest against his chest.
Before Ekko could react, Powder stood on her toes, her lips pressing against his in a kiss that was soft but full of intent. It was nothing like the accidental brush of their lips in the alley, no longer a fleeting moment of confusion. This was different—intentional, deliberate, as if both of them had been waiting for this moment to finally happen. Powder's lips were warm against his, tentative but eager, and Ekko's heart raced as he kissed her back, his hand coming to rest gently on her waist.
The kiss was brief, but it sent a surge of electricity through Ekko, a rush of emotions that he couldn't quite process. It was a mix of excitement and confusion, of longing and fear, all tangled together in a moment that felt both thrilling and uncertain. When they pulled away, both of them were breathing heavily, their faces inches apart, their hearts racing.
Powder's eyes were wide, and she looked at him as if she were trying to figure out what had just happened, just as Ekko was. For a long moment, neither of them spoke, the silence between them thick with the weight of the kiss they had shared.
"Do you think..." Powder started, her voice trembling slightly. "Do you think we just ruined everything?"
Ekko shook his head slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. "I don't know," he said honestly. "But maybe... maybe it's worth figuring out."
Powder took a deep breath, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she smiled—a smile full of vulnerability, uncertainty, but also something deeper. "Yeah," she said softly. "Maybe it is."
And in that moment, Ekko knew that whatever came next, whatever they had just begun, it was worth exploring. Together.