𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒

morning breeze; ekko

i stretched my arms, legs, and torso, finishing my morning stretches with an arm workout. i took a long sip of water before wandering over to my door. i opened it, smiling and shutting my eyes as i let the cool, summer breeze calm me down.

"since when are you up this early?" a familiar voice interrupted the moment.

"good morning to you too, little man." i opened my eyes, putting my hands in my pockets.

ekko's smug smirk disappeared in an instant. he rolled his eyes, standing to my left while we watched the younger firelights learn how to hoverboard. "will you ever stop calling me little man?"

"never."

"i think the nickname is a little old." ekko gestured vaguely to his height and toned muscles.

"is that why you workout so much?" i fake gasped, "hey, i get it now."

ekko rolled his eyes, "only you know how much i workout."

"and what's that supposed to mean?" i jokingly glared at him, smirking.

"well, you aren't as smooth as you think," he said, his gaze flickered between me and other firelights. i furrowed my eyebrows before he revealed, "i see you watching me, stalker."

my eyes widened slightly, and i immediately turned away from him. "i have no idea what you're talking about."

"oh, don't act dumb. you're dumb enough as is."

i stared at him, my jaw hanging open. "i am not dumb!"

"sure, sure." he said, putting his hands up in defense, "whatever you say."

i clicked my tongue, rolling my eyes before turning back to the firelights. suddenly, a thought entered my mind. i turned to ekko, "do you wanna get outta here?"

"no."

"what do you mean, no?"

"i have to take care of the firelights. you're forgetting that i'm in charge around here."

"the firelights can take care of themselves! come on, mom! have some fun once in a while," i whined.

"fine! i'll do anything for you to shut up." he sighed, smiling softly at me while i giggled.

we practically ran out of the sewers, laughing and joking like little kids while we walked around zaun. we wandered around for hours, visiting all sorts of tacky shops. "n/n!" he called for me. i turned to him, laughing hysterically when i saw his outfit. he was wearing enormous purple sunglasses, a floppy beach hat, and a scarf with a cheetah print on it.

he saw himself in the mirror, bursting into laughter. we laughed and joked around until we got kicked out for disrupting other customers. "whatever, that store was tacky anyway," i huffed with a smile, crossing my arms.

ekko giggled at how dramatic i was being, "come on, let's get lunch. it's already two."

"holy shit! that means we've been out for like . . . " i paused, adding up the numbers with my fingers, "five hours!"

"have you not looked at your watch this whole time?" ekko snickered.

"bold of you to assume i have a watch."

"that is the main thing about being a firelight."

i shrugged my shoulders, "you up for ice cream?"

"did you not hear me say that it's two . . . ?"

"two is the perfect time for ice cream," i said, smirking before interlocking our fingers. "and . . . it's the only good food around here," i whispered.

he sighed, pondering his choices for a few moments. "fine," he smirked at my sudden burst of excitement.

after we bought our ice cream, we wandered over to a small bench behind an abandoned warehouse, our fingers still intertwined.

"shit!" i breathed out, ice cream melting all over my jacket.

"i told you not to get a cone," ekko sighed before setting down his cup of vanilla ice cream next to him. he took off his jacket, handing it to me.

"huh?" my gaze flickered between his gray jacket and him. "but . . . won't you be cold?"

though it was summer, it was -for some odd reason- in the low 60's. though this was cool weather, it had me shivering due to me not being used to anything cooler than 80.

"you want the jacket or not?" he asked, obviously aggravated.

"yes!" i yelled, louder than i anticipated. i sighed lightly, putting on his jacket before chucking my melted ice cream into the distance. "thanks, litt . . . " i trailed off, studying his eyes, "ekko." my grin widened.

he rested his head on my shoulder while we shared his ice cream, our hands intertwined the whole time.