Ending the Cycle || A Timebomb Fanfic

Chapter 4

"Let me come with you."

The words echoed in the quiet night, raw and unguarded. Jinx froze mid-step, her back still turned to him. Her shoulders stiffened as if the weight of his plea had landed squarely on them. She didn't turn around, didn't acknowledge him right away, but the pause in her stride told Ekko she'd heard him.

The silence stretched between them, taut and fragile, like the strings of an instrument tuned too tightly, ready to snap. Ekko's pulse quickened, uncertainty gnawing at him as he searched for the right words to follow. He couldn't let this moment slip away.

"You don't mean that, Ekko." Her voice finally cut through the stillness, flat but edged with something he couldn't quite place—regret, maybe, or disbelief. "You've got the Firelights to think of, your home base to protect. That's why you came back, isn't it? To take care of them, to rebuild what you started."

Ekko took a step closer, his jaw tightening. "That's not the only reason I came back."

Jinx shifted slightly, enough that he could see the faint glimmer of her profile in the dim light. Still, she didn't meet his gaze.

"I came back to take care of you too," he said, his voice steady despite the knot in his throat.

Finally, she turned, her eyes catching his, sharp and wary. They were the eyes of someone who'd learned to expect the worst from people—someone who'd been let down too many times to count.

"Why?" she asked simply, her tone a careful mix of defiance and curiosity.

Ekko exhaled, the words spilling out before he could second-guess them. "Because I gave up on you, Jinx. And I shouldn't have. I thought the old you was gone, buried under everything that happened. But every time I see you—when we're not trying to kill each other, anyway—I catch glimpses of her. The girl who used to race me across rooftops, who laughed like the world wasn't falling apart. I see her in your eyes, in the way you smile—when it's real."

Her expression faltered, just for a moment, before the wall came back up. "That girl doesn't exist anymore," she said bitterly. "She died a long time ago."

"No, she didn't," Ekko insisted, taking another step forward. "She's still there, Jinx. You might not see it, but I do. And maybe... maybe that's why I need to come with you. Because I can't stand the thought of losing you all over again."

Jinx turned away, her head lowering as if the weight of her thoughts had grown unbearable. The silence between them was thick, heavy with unspoken words and raw emotion. For a long moment, she remained motionless, her hands curling into fists at her sides. Her voice, when it finally came, was soft and frayed, barely more than a whisper.

"You don't know what you're asking," she murmured, her words trembling like a fragile thread ready to snap.

Ekko didn't stop moving toward her, his footsteps slow but deliberate, his eyes never leaving her. Jinx could feel him getting closer, his presence a force that seemed to pull at her, even as her instincts screamed at her to run, to escape. But her legs wouldn't obey. She stood rooted in place, caught in the magnetic pull of his gaze.

When he was close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from him, she finally looked up. Her heart pounded against her ribs, an erratic drumbeat that seemed to echo in her ears. She wasn't sure what she expected to see in his eyes—anger, frustration, maybe even pity—but what she found instead left her breathless.

It was tenderness. Unwavering and resolute.

He stopped just inches from her, close enough that his breath brushed against her skin, warm and steady. Her eyes flickered down to his lips, parted slightly as if he were about to speak. She swallowed hard, her throat dry and her pulse racing.