Chapter Text
The weeks following the Enforcer attack on Vander’s statue were some of the hardest Sevika had to endure. Which was saying a lot considering Sevika had endured much throughout the course of her life. Propaganda from Piltover, predictably, painted Zaunites as monstrous enemies. This also meant a slough of vigilantes coming down and “seeking justice” on their own, copycats, and a host of deep fakes to try and undermine Jinx.
And whatever it was she was trying to do.
What was she trying to do? At first, Sevika figured it was continuing Silco’s work, or maybe Vander’s work. Having had a space to finally get to know Silco’s daughter, it wasn’t something so clearly defined. She was her own story with her own mess. Maybe it was as simple as just trying to live out her days, have the freedom to be left alone...but, it was more than that: She did things for other people. Despite her unpredictable nature at times, her Shimmer-filled PTSD fits, Jinx had a good heart. It was worth dying for.
Not dying. Turning death into a fighting chance to live. That was closer to it.
However, this jar was going to be the death of Sevika.
Having lost her arm...again...in all the fighting, and waiting for a new one to be crafted, Sevika had the dubious distinction of playing maid to Jinx and Isha while they were out doing the Lord’s work.
With a sharp sigh of frustration, Sevika braced the jar against the wall to the skateboard countertop of the kitchen peninsula she worked in. Clutching a knife in her remaining arm she stabbed at the top of the jar, only to have it impact on the lid wrong and squirt away onto its side.
“Come on.” Sevika growled at the olives she wanted to throw in the dinner she wanted to surprise Jinx and Isha with: Something she learned to make while on her own in her youth. She righted the jar and braced it against the wall once more and stabbed at it.
Same thing.
“Uuuugh!” Sevika growled more loudly.
The front door opened and then slammed shut meaning Jinx and Isha were back and the surprise had been ruined.
“Honey, I’m home!” Jinx called from the other room in her usual mocking tone.
Sevika righted the jar and sighed in defeat. “Hi. Can you give me a hand?” She asked, glancing at the wall behind her.
Jinx and Isha rounded the corner and came into the kitchen.
Isha raised fingerguns at the jar and shot at it in support of Sevika’s plight. It was enough to elicit a partial smile from the latter.
Jinx’s face softened seeing Sevika’s predicament and the spoiled surprise. She grabbed the jar and popped the top off with a deft move.
“My hero.” Sevika said wryly.
“Shut up.” Jinx shot back with a smirk on her face and placed the jar back in front of Sevika. “What’s all this?”
“Goulash. My own take on it at least.” Sevika said. “I wouldn’t call it gourmet but it got me by when things got low.”
Sevika turned to the stove along the wall behind her, her back turned to Jinx. For a big, dumb, ogre, Sevika wasn’t as bad as Jinx made her out to be. At first, the relationship had been strained; Jinx incorrectly saw her as competition, but in reality, she was just a girl who was a firm believer in the Lanes and needed a family. Just like a lot of people who gravitated to Vander or Silco or Benzo or one of the other leaders who managed to make it down here long enough to have a semblance of a following.
Perhaps it was self-esteem issues that held Sevika back, perhaps it was a genuine desire to not be the center of attention, but she was worth more than she made herself out to be. Nobody listened to her, and Jinx wondered if that was partly her fault.
The food sizzled in the pan as Sevika worked, her short, black hair falling away from the back of her neck. She wore her typical black tanktop, revealing her broad, muscular shoulders, arm that was the size of a tree trunk and felt like one when colliding with it. Either harshly or softly.
In some ways, Sevika reminded Jinx of Vi: Always happier hitting something, but never too good to stop and smell the flowers. Sevika was pretty, too, in her own way. Not like Jinx was ever going to tell her that.
“When we were kids, Violet used to make macaroni with little hot dogs. We’d steal the stuff from somewhere, find a hole to cook it in and then ate while we bet on drunks coming and going from The Last Drop: Who would make it 3 steps before passing out, or 5 steps before puking.” Jinx reminisced and laughed. She came around the peninsula and leaned against the counter near the stove.
Sevika laughed softly at her pan and then glanced up at Jinx. The stove light made everything in this room soft and orange. Perhaps it was the smell of food or the gentleness of this moment, but it made Sevika pause and admire just exactly how pretty she actually was.
“I don’t remember betting on you.” Jinx said with an amused tone, her eyebrows lit artfully.
“Maybe if you’d known me when I was younger you would have.” Sevika replied, suddenly wishing she had. “I never drink more than I can handle, but...that was a hard lesson to learn.”
“The valuable ones generally are.” Jinx quipped. The thought of a younger Sevika danced through Jinx’s mind causing a small smile to stretch across her face. It was hard to imagine Sevika as a dumb kid. As much as Jinx made fun of her, she always seemed to be someone who had her shit together. Those must have been harsh lessons to learn, she mused, reminding herself that even the toughest people came from somewhere.
Not taking her eyes from Sevika, Jinx picked up a bottle of spices and popped the lid for her out of consideration before handing it to her. Sevika’s jaw moved almost imperceptibly and her gray eyes, lit like the left over embers in a cooling fire, flitted over Jinx’s jaw. To her lips.
No...no no no. Jinx thought to herself. Sevika was not the kind of person you kiss. She was the kind of person who dug you out of firefights and lifted you into high places because she’s extremely tall and muscular. Except those muscles were soft. As was the rest of her. Those lips would be soft, too, and slightly waxy from the lipstick she wore.
“You’re going to burn dinner.” Was the only thing Jinx could manage.
Sevika broke her gaze as if waking from a trance and resumed cooking.
The moment was gone, but what hung in the air forever changed the two of them.
“It shouldn’t be much longer.” Sevika said. Her words were brisk. She was nervous. “You should tell Isha to wash up.”
“Yeah. I should go do that, too. Don’t want to poison myself with Lane juice.” Jinx joked and pushed off the counter. It would be lying if she said she didn’t have a nervous shake of her own.
Over Sevika?
Jinx hazarded one last glance at her right hand woman as her back was turned once more, lost in her cooking. This time, she let herself admire the shape of Sevika’s body, even the curve of her ass. It was a nice one. She’d seen it without pants, too. It was even nicer then.
What was she even thinking?
That there could be worse. She answered herself. There were people out there that wouldn’t hesitate to betray her. Or worse, Isha. Yet Sevika didn’t. There could be worse people to play house with. Perhaps...it didn’t need to be playing.
Was it Jinx or Powder who reached out and placed a grateful hand on Sevika’s back? It didn’t matter. What mattered was the fact Sevika was here, had always been here, and would never leave. She let her hand linger for a few moments before retreating to get Isha.
Whatever was going on was something mutual. Lightness against the dark. If Violet was here, despite it being Sevika, she’d say it would be something to build on. And she was right.