𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 || A Timebomb Fanfic

Cracks In The Armor

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

The word hung between them, a single thread that seemed to pull the night apart. Ekko’s voice echoed softly through the empty streets, his tone both cautious and desperate.

“Jinx.”

She didn’t move at first. Her figure remained cloaked in shadows, her body still as a statue. The only sign she had heard him was the subtle tremor in the air, like the calm before a storm. He could feel the weight of the silence—the distance between them so thick it was almost tangible.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Ekko’s heart raced, his mind spinning, trying to predict what would happen next. Part of him wanted to jump down and confront her, to demand answers to the questions that had been gnawing at him for weeks. But another part of him—perhaps the part that had known her when she was still Powder—wanted to stay hidden, to let the silence stretch a little longer, to give her time.

Finally, Jinx moved.

She shifted her weight, pushing off the rooftop edge in a fluid motion. With a soft landing, she stood before him, her eyes meeting his in the dim light. There was no smile this time—no mocking grin or playful twinkle in her gaze. Just a cold, steely resolve, as if she had built walls around herself once more.

“Ekko,” she said, her voice low and sharp, like the flicker of a match. “You shouldn’t have called me that.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why not? Powder’s still a part of you, Jinx. She always will be.”

Jinx’s hand twitched at her side, but she kept her expression impassive. She stepped forward, her boots clicking softly on the metal rooftop, closing the distance between them. The tension between them thickened with every step she took, the air humming with unspoken words, like electricity waiting to spark.

“I’m not Powder,” she said through gritted teeth, her voice low but dangerous. “And you need to stop pretending like you can save me.”

Ekko’s jaw tightened at her words. There it was again—her refusal to let him in, to let herself be vulnerable. But he wasn’t giving up. Not this time. Not when he could see the cracks in her armor, the way she flinched whenever he mentioned her past, or when she said his name like it was a curse.

“You don’t need saving, Jinx,” he said softly, stepping closer. “But you’re not invincible either. You don’t have to be alone.”

Her gaze flickered with something that almost looked like pain. For a moment, she seemed to hesitate, her guard slipping just slightly, but then she blinked, as if shaking herself awake. She stepped back, distancing herself from him once more.

“I’m fine,” she snapped, her voice taking on a sharper edge. “I don’t need anyone. Not you. Not anybody.”

Ekko watched her carefully, the way she fidgeted, the way her hands twitched as if they were itching for something to destroy. Her words were angry, defiant—but the way she avoided his eyes told a different story. She was scared. She was hiding.

But why?

“Jinx…” Ekko began, his voice full of something that felt like sorrow. “We’re not enemies. Not really. This whole thing—this chaos—it’s not you. It’s not who you are.”