.•What Once Was•. (vixreader)

The Way it is Now.

TW: Slight mentions of PTSD.

That day, was one you'd never forget. How you were alive had been luck, and till this day you wondered how you were still standing.
Of course, you didn't leave the scene unscathed, and you had permanent reminders of that.
Your arm and torso had been scorched, and a jagged scar had been branded on your temple all the way to your jaw. Somehow, someway, that piece of the roof had saved you from getting burned alive fully.

At times you had wished the thing wouldn't have been there, and that the fire would've engulfed you completely, leaving you dead for good. But that would've meant leaving Ekko alone, and you wouldn't have been able to bear with that. You had to take care of the poor boy that found you that day; so alone and afraid.
That day his cheeks were tear stained, and fresh ones kept coming as it dawned on him that his friends were gone. When he found you, he was quick to help. And when you were surprisingly on your feet, he hugged the unharmed side of you as he sobbed. The poor boy just continued crying, somehow trying to let out all of his heavy feelings out in hopes that they'd go away
You couldn't help but cry with him, trying your best not to so that you wouldn't burden the boy more than ever.
You'd make sure to never bring any worries to him from now on, that was your one goal; your one job.

Unwillingly, physical scars were earned that day, but so were mental ones.
Scars that would never ever leave. Scars that would always remind you of what occurred on that calamitous day.

•. .•. •.

. •7 years later• .

The sunlight peered over the window and onto your face, which made you wake up sooner or later. Your body still ached from yesterday's events, which were ones that included busting a bunch of shimmer exporters.
Luckily you weren't injured, but that didn't mean you weren't fatigued.
"Monny? Are you awake?"
A small voice whispered; a tiny finger poking your cheek.
"I am now."
You sat up and were met with bright green eyes.

Bex, a little five year old girl you had rescued at a Firelight job from three years ago, was now apart of your daily life. You had decided to take her under your wing after the incident in which you saved her from, and it shocked everyone as to how the grumpy 20 year old (at the time) volunteered to take care of a youngling.
But there was a connection the moment you met her, and you knew you wanted to be a parental figure in her life.
Ekko would always tease and say you were her 'mommy', but you hated that title at such a young age, so you convinced the tiny human to call you 'monny'.

She had brown skin with textured red hair, complimenting the freckles that dusted her cheeks.
"What's for breakfast?"
You rubbed your eyes, letting out a small yawn.
"I don't know Bex, I kind of just got up."
She shrugged, and began jumping on the bed.
You breathed out a laugh, this little girl was sure a handful.

As you stood from the bed, you headed over to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Fresh eye bags hung from below your eyes, making you groan. Once finishing your morning routine, you came back to find Bex still jumping on the bed.
"Come on Bexie, let's go see what Ekko's doing."
She took one final leap, and you managed to catch her just in time.

She laughed, and with her propped up on your hip you left the room to be met with a cool breeze. Living on a giant tree had its perks. The sun's rays were particularly calming today, and you knew it was gonna be a decent day today. Bex immediately requested to go off with her friends, and you complied. Scar was there already watching over the kiddos when you waved at him, where he returned the gesture.

You made your way to the place Ekko normally was at during this time of day, the mural. You would always catch him there reading one of his books, or simply just chatting with several people.
And behold, there he was, with a book in hand.
You slowly crept up to him, before you spooked him with a 'boo'.