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It's wasn't a place for a two-month-old, that was for damn sure: you wondered if the reason Silco was so hesitant to have you stop by was because of the bar's.... usual demeanor, or he'd gotten himself into something he was struggling to sort out.
Stood outside The Last Drop, you had caught Sevika side-eyeing the infant propped up in your arms, Mira kept staring longingly at the woman and squealing. You had offered Sevika the chance to hold her, but she'd flinched and shrugged you off.
"It'll be okay in there, right?" You found yourself asking, eyes scanning the front and trying not to wince at the few coming in and out of the building, some clearly worse for wear. A couple guys eyed you suspiciously and you weren't sure if it was because of the baby in your arms, or they'd recognised you from the brothel.
Sevika rolled her wrists, "You're fine. Silco wouldn't let anyone touch you. It's closed right now, anyway."
You knew Sevika well enough, she wasn't a stranger anymore. In the years she'd been visiting the brothel, you earned a jut of her chin whenever she came through the hallways, parting beaded curtains and disappearing into the purple and pink hued beyond.
Is that the closest to a friend you'd had in years? Eh, maybe.
You could trust her judgment.
Not that you wouldn't trust Silco's– but you'd have enough evenings with the man where he'd turned up bruised and battered to call into question a few of his decisions.
"Okay, okay." Mira responded to the shaky tone in your voice, her seafoam eyes beaming up at you, "I know. Come on then."
Gingerly, you stepped through the door as Sevika held it open for you.
On the occasions Silco had brought you back here, he'd whisked you immediately upstairs and you hadn't had a chance to take in the surroundings.
It was as you had expected, though: enough tables and chairs to go around, a bar top wide enough that you could probably dance on it, and a general smokey air that didn't dissipate despite it being before noon and practically empty. Sevika walked off to grab a drink.
A song hummed from a jukebox, but you didn't recognise it.
But soon enough you were bouncing Mira along to the beat, the little strands of hair on her head floating up and down like a picnic blanket on the grass.
"A perfect sight, indeed."
You'd recognise that voice any where.
Spinning around to face him, Silco was stood on the final step, palm on the bannister and the other loosely holding some papers. He was smiling, nothing close to toothy or anything crazy, but a smile that said love.
He made his way over, putting the papers down on the table before dragging you in, his hand resting on your hip as he kissed your mouth. You moved in tandem, fighting back your smile, before you pulled apart.
His attention then switched to Mira, who was wearing a red onesie to match his shirt.
"Hello, poppet. Don't you look adorable?" Silco's voice was as straightforward as he always was, but there was a lightness and fondness to it that you noticed.
As though he couldn't entirely switch off his chem-baron mindset, he was within the walls of The Last Drop after all, but he was so full of endearment that there were cracks in his mask.
He brushed her chubby cheek with his thumb and Mira scrunched her face up, her mouth widening as she made noises at him.
"Has somebody missed me?"
You let him take her into his arms, melting at the way he held her. Almost alien to you how gentle he was.
But he could be like that. With you.
The Silco you saw wasn't the 'Eye of Zaun' that had everyone fear stricken.
He was a partner. A protective one. A loving one.
And now he was a father again.
In the corner of your eye, you caught a flash of blue beside the staircase.
Jinx.
His eldest daughter.
You'd been with Silco long enough at that point that one day, expecting to accompany him either in his office or at your room in the brothel, he'd surprised you with a gaunt, exhausted face that knocked you back.
He looked ill, slightly more broken than usual, so you'd asked him what was wrong.
A little girl, Powder, who he had taken under his wing.
There was something about Vander, and a Violet, but the way he sneered meant you didn't follow those lines of questioning.
You ran into her, quite literally, a few weeks later.
Sneaking down the stairs, you realised you'd dropped something out of your purse on the way up to Silco's office, and then a force barreled into you.
Her widened eyes said enough apologies when she ran off within seconds.
You mentioned it to Silco: he told you Powder was Jinx now.
There was more occasions like that, and you weren't sure if she was warming up to the idea of you, and then... there was that one time.
You were alone in Silco's office.
And Jinx had a meltdown, storming into the room.
She was a force to be reckoned with, a fire you couldn't smother.
But she hadn't realised the person sat in the chair wasn't Silco, not until her shaky breathing forced her to stop.
Maybe she wanted the world to swallow her up there and then.
You said nothing.
Only, you stood up and opened your arms.
It was intimidating how much strength she had as she squeezed you, like you were going to fade away if she let go. You brow furrowed, but you kept your hands secure on her shoulders, drawing her back eventually to cradle her face.
Her face was a mess, and you frowned.
You sat back into the chair and she crawled onto your lap, settling into your arms but refused to meet your eyes.
It was okay to just hold her like that for a bit. She needed it, clearly.
Silco found you half an hour later: your hand gently combing through her lapis hair while the other held her securely in your embrace.
You shared a look, and he closed the office door again.
A year and a bit later, a teenage Jinx was getting to be far more of a handful but evemore the budding engineer, so Silco had told you.
But you hadn't been at the bar as of late, you hadn't seen her in a while. For reasons that so happened to be nestled in Silco's arms.
Her blue hair just looked a little longer.
Still Jinx.
"Hey." You waved.
"Is that a baby?" She asked, almost freaked.
Silco looked at her now, a look you couldn't decipher, "Jinx. Put two and two together, dear."
Even Sevika seemed amused by Jinx creeping forward, cogs turning in her brain. The way she moved, like she was trying to be invisible.
You waited, and for a moment part of you wondered if Silco had kept her in the dark about everything.
Jinx stopped rignt in front of Silco, "Is she...?"
She answered her own question, staring at Mira like she'd hung the moon.
You tickled Mira's foot and she kicked a little. Jinx brightened.
Rapidly she looked between you and Silco, then Mira, then you, then Silco, and then Mira.
Then her hands reached out and she took Mira's hand.
Careful, like handling a cloud.
"She's small."
You snorted, "is she? She weighs a ton."
She'd give a Piltie baby a run for their money.
Well. Not a run.
Not even a crawl, yet.
"You can hold her, Jinx." Silco offered, his tone understanding. His face softened.
He knew something you didn't, and it almost seemed like he was treading on glass.
You grew worried.
Her hand on Mira froze.
"I..," Jinx spooked, and she stepped back, "I shouldn't... I don't want to.. to.."
She casted her gaze to her boots.
You filled in the blank.
"You won't hurt her. I promise you," your hand came up to brush away the blue strands that now covered her face, "We can sit down if you want and you can hold her that way? ..Or I'll hold her and sit next to you?"
Jinx's eyes darted to one of the benches against the wall, giving you a timid nod.
Silco cooed at Mira while you two got comfortable on the bench. Jinx watched Silco, until you nudged her and she settled into your side - then Silco placed Mira in your arms.
"There we go... look at you." You couldn't held yourself, grinning at your daughter who's gemlike eyes seemed obsessed with staring at her own hands.
Jinx giggled as Mira shoved her fist into her mouth.
Silco reached down, prying it from her gums. His browns furrowed but the corners of his lips only tugged upwards. He remained sat on the arm of the bench, his hand behind you.
Blue crept more into your sight as Jinx got closer and closer to Mira.
Tiny hands reached up, still slightly slobery, and patted Jinx on the face.
"Hi..." she whispered, "I'm Jinx.. I'm..,"
She drew in a breath.
"I'm your big sis."