Arcane: Ekko and Powder

The day had been long, filled with laughter, shared stories, and comfortable silences between Ekko and Powder. They had spent hours walking through the winding streets of Zaun, a place that was no longer just an industrial wasteland in their eyes but a canvas for their dreams. As the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting a warm orange glow over the city, they found themselves sitting on the roof of an old, abandoned building—one they used to frequent when they were younger.

But this time, it felt different. The quiet evening was thick with unspoken words, the kind that only friends turned something more could understand. Neither of them knew exactly when it had shifted, but they were both keenly aware of how their relationship had deepened over the past weeks. What had once been a friendship filled with shared laughter, silly pranks, and broken toys was now something more complex, more meaningful.

Powder leaned back against the crumbling stone wall, looking out at the horizon, her eyes catching the last light of day. Her hair, wild as always, framed her face in a way that seemed almost ethereal against the dying sun. Ekko sat beside her, his eyes occasionally flicking to her, the way her expression shifted between contemplation and calmness, the way her presence had always anchored him in a way nothing else could.

The city around them seemed to fall away, and in that stillness, Ekko's thoughts kept circling back to one single question: What were they to each other now?

It had been a question he had asked himself for weeks—since the first kiss, since the heart-to-heart confessions, since that moment of vulnerability when everything between them had started to change. And with each passing day, it became clearer.

He had wanted to keep pretending, wanted to push his feelings back down where they had been for years, but the truth was undeniable. He loved her—not in the simple way a friend loves another friend, but in a way that made his heart race when she smiled, in a way that made his stomach flip whenever she touched him.

The cool evening breeze stirred around them, and Ekko shifted beside her, his gaze drawn to her once more. The dim streetlights from below flickered like fireflies against the darkened streets. The faint hum of Zaun's machinery vibrated in the air, but here, on the roof, it was as though time itself had slowed, giving them the space they needed to confront what had been lingering for so long.

"Ekko," Powder said, her voice breaking the silence. She turned her head to face him, her eyes soft but full of intent. "I've been thinking a lot lately… about us. About everything."

Ekko felt his breath catch in his throat. He had expected this moment, had prepared himself for it, but it still sent a rush of nervous energy through him. He turned toward her, his heart pounding in his chest. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice a little more tense than he intended.

Powder hesitated for a moment, her eyes searching his. "I don't know what this is… or what it's going to be," she started, her voice steady despite the weight of her words. "But I do know that I don't want to be afraid of it anymore. I don't want to keep pretending that what's between us is just a friendship. Because it's not. It never really was."

Ekko swallowed hard, his pulse racing as her words sank in. The way she looked at him now was different from how she used to. The playful glint in her eyes, the one that used to always be there, was still present, but there was something deeper behind it—something that spoke of trust, vulnerability, and the kind of connection that only a few people ever get to experience.

"Powder, I—" Ekko began, but his words faltered. He had never been good at putting his feelings into words, not like this. Not with her.

But Powder placed a hand on his, her fingers warm against his cool skin, grounding him. "You don't have to say anything," she whispered. "I know what you're trying to say. I feel it too."

The simplicity of her words struck him harder than anything else she could have said. The shared understanding between them—the unspoken connection—was clearer than ever. He had been afraid of what this would mean, afraid of the unknown, of the risk that came with taking that next step. But now, in this moment, none of that mattered.

Ekko's heart raced in his chest as he slowly leaned in closer, his eyes never leaving hers. The distance between them was gone. The last layer of uncertainty melted away, leaving only the two of them in that quiet space.

And then, for the first time, they both knew without a doubt: It was time.

Powder closed the small gap between them, her lips meeting his with a tenderness that spoke volumes. The kiss was slow at first, a tentative exploration of something neither of them had fully allowed themselves to experience. It was a kiss that spoke of years of friendship, of shared pain, of growing up together in a world that had never given them an easy path. It was the culmination of all the moments they had spent together, all the silent confessions, all the unspoken promises.

But as the kiss deepened, something inside of them both shifted. The tenderness gave way to passion, to a rush of emotions that neither of them could contain. Ekko's hands found their way to Powder's face, cupping her cheeks, as if he couldn't believe she was really there, that this was happening. Powder's hands tangled in his hair, pulling him closer as if to confirm that this wasn't a dream.

The world around them seemed to vanish in the heat of the moment. The sounds of Zaun, the darkness of the city, the worries they had been carrying—it all faded into the background as they surrendered to the kiss. This was something they had been fighting for, not with each other but with themselves, with the fear of what they didn't understand.

When they finally pulled away, breathless and flushed, there was a moment of silence between them—a pause that felt like everything in their lives had led to this one defining moment. Powder's eyes were wide, her lips parted as she tried to catch her breath. Ekko was equally stunned, his mind racing with the reality of what had just happened. He had kissed her, and she had kissed him back. And somehow, in that instant, everything felt right. More than right. It felt like fate.

Ekko smiled, his voice soft but filled with emotion. "So… we're doing this?" he asked, his eyes searching hers, waiting for an answer.

Powder's smile mirrored his, a little uncertain but full of something he couldn't quite describe. "I think we already are," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

The air between them was charged with something new, something they couldn't explain but both felt in their bones. They had crossed the line between friendship and something more, and there was no going back now. But neither of them wanted to. Not anymore.

Powder reached up, brushing a stray lock of hair from Ekko's forehead, her touch gentle and reassuring. "We've been through a lot together, Ekko," she said, her voice steady now, as if she were grounding herself in the moment. "But this... this feels like something worth fighting for."

Ekko nodded, his hand still resting on hers. He could feel the weight of her words in his chest, the same sense of certainty that had been building between them all along. "I agree," he said, his voice low but filled with conviction. "And I'm not going anywhere."

For the first time in what felt like forever, Ekko felt as though he had everything he needed. He had Powder—her trust, her affection, her heart. And he would never let her go.

As the night stretched on and the stars twinkled above them, Ekko and Powder stayed on the roof, side by side, silently acknowledging the new chapter they had just begun together. Neither of them knew what the future held, but for the first time, they didn't need to. All that mattered was that they had each other—and that was enough.

The world could wait. For now, they were together, and that was everything.