Chapter Text
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jinx huffed as she lugged the final box up the stairs, sweat dripping down her back and irritation flowing through her veins.
vi was supposed to come help, but she'd gotten caught up with "work" (the waitress at her job) and flaked. mylo and clag had similarly let her down, each citing the other as to why they couldn't make it. it'd taken her all morning, a headache, and a bit of back pain, but she was finally finished. as she rounded the corner, however, she ran smack into what felt like a brick wall.
"oh, shit," said the wall, kneeling down to help gather the collapsed belongings. it was just her kitchen utensils and the lids to her pots, of which she was pleased. she could not remember what she'd packed where. "sorry, i didn't see you coming out of there."
the irritation reached full blown anger, and jinx snatched a spatula out of the strangers hands without looking up. "maybe watch where you're going? it's the fucking stairwell."
she saw his hands still, resting on his knees instead before he stood up. "everyone uses the elevator."
finally her head snapped up, looking the direction she'd seen it downstairs. perfectly functional. "it had an out of order sign-" only then did she look at him, embarrassment replacing everything else.
his shoulders were so broad he blocked out the single dim light behind him, and all jinx could really see was the barest outline of his features and the striking white locs falling over his eyes. the hoodie he wore made him look even bulkier. "they think it puts people off using it. i guess they were right."
she blinked. his voice was raspy and warm, oddly calm, even as she sat sweaty and wielding a spatula like a weapon. clearing her throat, she smoothed her hair back from her face. "yeah, well, thanks for the heads up." the spatula was tossed in the crumpled box with little care. "would have been nice to know before i hauled all this shit up five flights of steps."
the stranger tilted his head, and she thought she might have seen his lips pull up in a smirk. "damn, most people give up after two and camp out in the stairwell." he stood for another moment before crouching, setting the last two of her lids back in the box before walking towards the stupid fucking elevator. "next time, leave the heavy lifting for this bad boy. or bribe someone to help you- lotta suckers around here."
"noted," she said with a huff, though there was little bark to her voice this time. she hefted the box onto her hip, casting one more sidelong glance to the man as he stepped into the light. her breath caught when she got the barest glimpse of his actual features- a strong jaw, smooth dark skin, and eyes that twinkled even in the dimness.
"welcome to the building," he said with a bright smile, saluting her in the split second before the door closed.
for some reason, she was irritated again.
jinx shoved her door open with her shoulder, huffing as she stumbled inside. she kicked it shut behind her with enough force to rattle the frame. dropping the box onto the floor, she stood there for a moment, hands on her hips, chest rising and falling as her face burned. "stupid elevator," she grumbled, kicking the crumpled box into her kitchen.
-
a couple mornings later, she jumped awake to the sound of heavy bass thumping through her walls. for a second she thought it was a dream, but as she rolled closer to the wall it grew even louder. groggily she squinted at her phone.
5:30am.
"you've got to be fucking kidding me." jinx was more than fed up with the shitty little apartment- the pipes leaked with more water pressure than the shower head provided, the heat went in and out on a whim, and her electricity was just as infrequent of a visitor it seemed. but it was hers, so she had grit her teeth and bear it. but this? being awake this early in the gods damned morning? she wouldn't.
throwing the blanket off and stomping to her door, she marched down the hall, still in her pajama shorts and one of mylo's muscle tanks. the source proved to be her next door neighbor, the one right at the end of the hallway. could no one else hear this shit?
wasting no time jinx pounded on the door, her hair falling loosely around her. "hey! some of us are trying to sleep!"
the music cut abruptly off, the sound of footsteps followed it, and when the door opened it was the confused face of the guy from the stairwell. this time he wore no hoodie, no shirt at all, shorts of his own rolled up on his hips and sweat gleaming down the entirety of his chest. his arms and thighs were muscled in ways his previous outfit would have never implicated, and only a few white locs fell over his eyes now- the rest pulled loosely back. the glimmer of the charms in them combated that of his earrings, all gold.
he leaned on the doorframe with an eyebrow raised.
"you?" was all jinx could say, courage dissipating as her legs went weak.
"me," he replied with a smirk on his full lips, leaning down into her. "didn't take you for a morning person."
oh no, she thought, disastrously. he's hot.
her brain, trying its hardest to reboot, set her hand on her hips. "i'm not! why would you ever start blasting your music at five thirty in the morning like this? is no one else bothered?" she glanced around the dilapidated hallway, not another door opened.
"workout," he said simply, shrugging as he did so. the casual shift of his muscles did nothing for her concentration. "and it's just us on this floor, i guess. funny that they'd put you right next to me."
"workout?" she said incredulously, running her hands through her hair. brown eyes followed the movement. "you can't just-"
"what's your name, anyway?" he interrupted, tilting his head like he had in the hallway. did his voice always sound like that? he sounded like he'd just woken up.
jinx scrunched up her face, thrown off. "what?"
"your name," he said slowly, like that was her problem. "figured i should know it, since we're neighbors and all."
she crossed her arms, gnawing at the inside of her lip a bit harder than she intended. "it's jinx," she muttered. she tried to hold his gaze, but it was becoming increasingly hard not to glance down to the little trail of hair above his shorts.
"jinx," he said the name slowly, drawing the last sound out between his teeth. "my bad, jinx. i'll keep the next set quiet."
"and the one after that." she allowed herself one scan of his body as she walked away, committing the sight to memory as payment for her troubles. before he shut the door, she turned around, reaching out for him as though he were close at all. "hey! you didn't tell me your name."
he let the door open again, just enough for her to see the subtle nod and smile he gave her. her stomach did an odd flip. "it's ekko." the door shut, and she resumed her gnawing as she reentered her apartment.
if the music turned back on, she couldn't hear it.
-
they went long stretches without seeing each other, and for that jinx was grateful. she wasn't sure what he did for work, but he was usually gone when she got back. this let her settle in a bit easier, and she'd learned quite a bit of handiwork over her few short weeks there.
one afternoon jinx was her usual level of irritated, balancing three grocery bags in one arm and her keys in the other. she'd actually ducked beneath the out of order sign, pressing the big bold 5 every two minutes for what felt like an hour until she finally said fuck it and took the stairs again. by the time she reached the door her arms were aching, in such precarious positions everything would spill out if she set them down. her patience, sparing as it was, was worn to near non-existence.
"need a hand?"
the voice startled her, nearly fumbling the bag at the frontmost of her grip. ekko had just left his apartment, keys in hand, hoodie slung over his shoulders. though not shirtless this time, his tank top left little to the imagination.
"no," she said quickly, adjusting the best she could. "i've got it."
that eyebrow raised again, his lips pulling up. "yeah? looks like the bags are winning the fight right now."
scowling, her fingers felt disjointed as she tried to shove her key into the lock again. "i don't need help," she insisted, glaring at the door like it could feel her displeasure with it.
"alright," ekko said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. instead of walking past her, though, he stopped just a few steps away. "what's in there, anyway? bricks? a new spatula, maybe."
she adjusted her glare to be on him instead, his smirk turning to a full blown grin. "groceries. you know, food, that you eat."
"groceries," he echoed, nodding his head. "important stuff. would be a real shame if you... spilled them all over this dirty ass carpet."
her grip faltered, and she uttered a loud "fuck!" as a bag shifted dangerously away from her. before she could react ekko was beside her, steadying the bag with one hand. their fingers brushed, and she yanked away as if burned, wrapping both arms around the bags as if protecting them.
"i said i didn't need help."
"i know, but you're not very convincing." he held his hand out for the keys, and she moved back again, holding them childishly out of his reach.
"no! i've got it!"
"okay, okay, you've got it." he raised his hands again. "just being neighborly."
finally, finally she managed to get the key in its lock, turning it so fast she almost dropped the bags again. before she went in she snuck another look at him, her annoyance at the very surface of her skin. "what?" she demanded, that stupid grin still on his face. she hated being mocked.
"glad you're settling in, that's all." he finally crossed her and headed towards what she thought was the elevator.
perceptively, he chose the stairs instead.
-
every time she saw him, it felt entirely against her will.
she was halfway through fixing her sink- trying to, again- when a heavy knock on her door made her drop her wrench. the metal clang echoed through her small apartment, and she grumbled curse words that had never even been thought of before as she wiped her hands on a rag.
“i'm beating whoever this is, i'm beating them with the wrench,” she muttered, stomping over to the door and yanking it open.
it was him. of course it was him. ekko.
he was leaning on the doorframe again, as if he wanted her left dumbstruck and wordless. to her, there was nothing worse than an attractive man who knew he was attractive, and he looked far too smug for someone who’d just interrupted her day.
“you busy?” he asked, though the look on his face suggested he already knew the answer.
“why?” she asked suspiciously, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe to mirror him.
“heard some banging,” he said with suggestion in his tone, gesturing vaguely toward her apartment. “figured i'd check in. you know, make sure you weren’t demolishing the place.”
jinx narrowed her eyes. “and who made you guardian of the fifth floor?”
"self-appointed," he teased, leaning into her as he had that obnoxiously noisy morning.
when she felt that insidious twist in her belly she stepped back, taking a breath. "i was fixing my sink."
“ah,” ekko said, nodding. “again?”
she was not entertained. "what is that you want, ekko?”
he nodded to the toolbox at his feet that jinx had... somehow... not noticed at all. “thought i'd offer my services. i'm decent with a wrench.”
"just being neighborly again?" jinx snorted, shaking her head. “for the millionth time, i do not need your help.”
his expression turned a bit hard for the first time that she'd seen, his brows pulling together instead of lifting up. "why do you act like you're allergic to someone helping you?"
“i am, it makes me sick,” she shot back, stepping to the side. “you can go back to whatever it is you do when you’re not bothering the hell out of your neighbors.”
“suit yourself,” he said, shrugging as he straightened up. but he didn’t leave right away. instead, he made an odd face, like he was trying to figure out how to stifle amusement for the first time in his life.
“what?” jinx was fed up with him. him and his broad shoulders and raspy voice and- she crossed her arms tighter, hoping her glare would burn a hole into him so he could never knock at her door again.
“nothing,” he said, shrugging. “you’ve got a little…” he gestured vaguely toward her face.
“what?” she asked again, her voice shrill as she rubbed at her cheek.
ekko's hand lifted again, higher but only for a moment before he chuckled, shaking his head. “never mind. good luck with the sink.”
she slammed the door in his face, but as she turned back toward what now qualified as a demolition she caught her reflection in the oven door and groaned.
there was a streak of grease smudged across her cheek, right down her lip and chin.
what an asshole, she thought, going to turn on the water. the pipe below bust right open. she slammed her head into the counter with a groan.
-
the sink was still dripping when jinx gave up for the night. she had spent hours fighting with the wrench, swearing at the pipes, summoning demons and trying to decipher the instructions on a repair forum that she realized forty five minutes too late was written in an entirely different language.
slamming the cabinet shut with more force than necessary, she sat back on her heels, asking the gods why their toughest battles were bestowed on such strong soldiers.
her thoughts, uninvited and infuriating, drifted to ekko, just a thin wall away. she could practically hear his husky voice in her head. "i'm decent with a wrench." that smile flashing in her mind only made her punish the tender flesh at the back of her lip.
“don’t need his help,” she muttered to herself, pushing to her feet. she grabbed her phone, intending to search for a professional, when the water pressure suddenly gave out entirely. the faucet sputtered once before going silent.
“no, no, no!” jinx crouched again, fiddling with the valve under the sink, but it didn’t matter. the middle piece of the pipe had broken out entirely, and within seconds her whole kitchen was flooded.
all she could do was sit back for a moment, defeated.
the walk to his door was less emergent than it should have been, but he opened his door by her second knock.
“let me guess,” he said, his voice warm and teasing. “sink beat you? you're oh-and-two right now."
her jaw tightened as she glared up at him. a puddle formed at her feet, the steady drip drowned out by the rushing she could hear in her own apartment. ekko lounged against the door like he had all the time in the world.
"will you help me or are you just gonna gloat?" the words stuck like thorns in her throat.
ekko’s smile widened, and he pondered the thought for a moment, like he was trying to decide whether or not to push her buttons. "you came to me, remember? i'm just trying to figure out what kind of apology this is."
she groaned, running her hands down her face until her eyelids hurt. "i'm not apologizing. my kitchen is flooded, and you’re the only person here- that i know of- who knows what to do with this shoddy pipework. supposedly."
"ahh," he cooed, the fake understanding in his voice only making her more irritated. "so, not an apology-just desperation."
"ekko," jinx said through gritted teeth. "if you don’t help me, i swear to g-"
he raised his hands in surrender, the toolbox in his hands before she could continue. "relax. i got you. i wouldn't leave a neighbor drowning."
he stepped past her without another word, his shoulder brushing hers as he walked into her apartment. she lingered in the hallway for a moment before following him.
when he reached the kitchen, he crouched down and surveyed the chaos. water pooled around the cabinets, the broken pipe gleaming under the weak fluorescent light. ekko let out a low whistle. "man, this is a mess."
"that a professional diagnosis?" she jumped onto the counter, kicking her legs as water droplets flew from them.
he glanced up at her, still wearing that perpetually amused expression. "you always this pleasant, or do you just lay the charm on extra thick for me?"
jinx opened her mouth to retort, but he’d already turned back to the pipe, pulling out a wrench and adjusting it with practiced ease. she watched him work, her irritation ebbing slightly as he moved with a calm confidence. maybe that was all she'd needed, but the pipes had worked her nerves so hard they felt frayed around the edges.
the muscles in his back were even more well structured than those on his front, every push and pull of his arms showing in the spread of them. she looked away. and back again.
"how do you even know how to do this?" she asked after a moment, her tone suspicious.
ekko shrugged without looking up. "picked it up. had to learn a lot of this stuff in the lanes. you’d be surprised how often things fall apart when you can't afford to replace them."
the mention of the lanes gave her pause, and she looked away for good, suddenly unsure of what to say.
after a few minutes, ekko sat back, wiping his hands on the same rag she'd used. "alright, that should hold for now. you’re gonna need a new pipe, sooner rather than later, but this’ll keep it from flooding again."
jinx blinked, surprised at how quickly he’d finished. "that's all?"
"that's all," he said, standing and tossing the rag onto the sink. hips lips made a popping sound as he leaned against it, crossing his arms. "you owe me one."
she scoffed. "this does not mean i owe you one. you offered, remember?"
he laughed, a low, warm sound that made her heart lurch in a way she refused to acknowledge. "then you acted like a dick and had to come say sorry. the offer was withdrawn in between, obviously."
jinx rolled her eyes, stepping around him and opening a drawer in search of a towel. "fine. i'll buy you a coffee or something."
"make it two," he said casually, taking care not to make contact with her as he walked out. "dark roast, please."
before she could respond, he was gone, the handle locked behind him.
she mopped the wet floor with her heart beating uncomfortably in her chest, but the corners of her mouth twitched up when she heard his door close, betraying her.
-
jinx could have cried as she rattled the doorknob again, her phone pressed between her ear and shoulder.
"mylo, where are you?" she yelled, her voice echoing through the empty hallway.
"i'm almost there, chill!" came his exasperated reply. "vi's giving me a ride."
"you said that twenty minutes ago," jinx growled, pacing back and forth. "i can't believe i lost my key. if i have to stand out here much longer, i'm gonna-”
she froze when the elevator doors opened, ekko appearing in the void like some hazy dream beneath the flickering light. gods, why? surely this isn't all a punishment for stealing vi's boots, that's such a silly thing for gods to be-
"locked out?"
he was bundled up in a nice coat and heavy pants, his locs twisted out of his face and his hands shoved in his pockets
"another genius observation," jinx mumbled, stuffing her phone in her pocket.
ekko's mouth quirked up. why did he take her for such a joke? "well, you're welcome to hang out in here while you wait. unless you just really like the ambiance of a freezing hallway."
she hesitated, crossing her arms. "is this part of me owing you for the other night?"
"gods, nevermind," his tone took on that temporary hardness that she didn't like at all, shrugging and starting to close his door. "forget i asked."
"wait!" she blurted. mylo was no known for his timeliness. "sorry. i really don't want to freeze to death in this dingy little hallway."
ekko paused, glancing back at her with a ponderous expression that made her want to throttle him. "that's the spirit," he said finally, holding the door open for her.
she moved past him, and- what cologne was he wearing? she stopped for a moment to smell at the air before she caught herself, taking another sheepish step inside.
his apartment was... annoyingly nice. the lighting was warm, the furniture simple but well-kept, and the faint scent of something clean and herbal mingled in the air. it wasn’t at all what she’d expected, though she wasn’t sure what she’d expected in the first place. he'd made such a cute little space out what she knew to be an awful apartment, just a layer beneath what she saw.
"make yourself at home," ekko said, tossing his coat over the back of a chair. be disappeared into the kitchen, calling back a moment later. "want some tea or something? you look even paler than usual."
jinx rolled her eyes and flopped back onto his couch, tapping beats into the soft suede. "i don’t need tea. i need my idiot brother to get here and pop that busted ass lock."
"who would have guessed?" he said, the sound of a kettle clicking on punctuating his words.
she glanced around the room, her gaze catching on the books stacked neatly on a low shelf, a sketchpad lying open on the coffee table. she leaned forward, curiosity getting the better of her, and caught a glimpse of a lithe female body, long hair falling over her breasts and hips. there was no color to it. just a sketch. her mouth ran dry.
“you draw?” she asked, her tone far more casual than she felt.
ekko reappeared, leaning on the doorway with a mug in his hand. "a little. helps me map out projects before i build them."
"projects?" she raised an eyebrow, taking the opportunity to flip the page before he could see what she had. the next one was quite the opposite of the first. a series of intricate mechanical designs, each more elaborate than the other.
"yeah," he said, walking over and setting the mug down on the table. "most of it’s just ideas, but some of it actually works."
jinx snorted. "a mechanic and an artist. rescue any puppies in your spare time?"
ekko laughed, sitting on the arm of the couch. "only on weekends. funny way of saying you're impressed."
she glared at him, though there was no real heat behind it. "arrogance brings you down a couple points." the dryness had moved to her throat.
the sound of hurried footsteps interrupted them, followed by a loud knock at a door that was not ekko's.
"jinx! you in there?" mylo's voice rang out, muffled but unmistakable.
she shot up, heading for the door. "finally!"
when she opened it, vi swung around looking at the space above jinx's head with a confused expression.
"vi?" jinx asked, but her voice was overshadowed by someone saying the same thing right behind her. she whirled around, confused herself to find ekko's face soft and bright, like a child's.
vi blinked, her expression shifting from surprise to something almost... fond. "little man?”
jinx's head moved between them so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash. no fucking way. "you two know each other?”
ekko grinned, stepping closer. “haven’t heard that name in a while.”
vi's grin widened, and before jinx could process what was happening, she threw her arms around ekko in a massive hug. he laughed, boisterously, and hugged her back. jinx flinched a bit when she heard his spine crack from the sheer strength of her sister's affection.
“no way,” vi said, stepping back and looking him up and down like a proud father. jinx was sure she'd seen that expression on vander once or twice. “this is your sexy neighbor? this bobblehead?”
ekko froze, caught off guard for once, his brows shooting up in surprise as he glanced at jinx. “wait, what?”
"vi, shut up!” jinx wanted to die. she could right then, if she thought hard enough about it. of that she was certain. she focused her energy on that instead of the way ekko was looking at her.
vi ignored her entirely, laughing as she clapped ekko on the shoulder. “what happened to you? last time i saw you, you were all scrawny and scraggly looking. now you’re…” she gestured vaguely at him. “...not.”
ekko blinked. “thanks, i guess?” his gaze flickered to jinx again, his lips twitching. “didn't know i had a reputation to live up to.”
“you don’t,” jinx blurted, panicked. "she's got brain damage from all the fighting she does.”
“oh, i'm listening.” his smirk finally broke free. shame turned quickly to infuriation, and she welcomed the familiarity. "this is so very enlightening.”
vi grinned wickedly. “you don't even know the half of it. she said-”
“that's it, i'm kicking your ass," jinx started, but her sister was already turning back to ekko.
just in time, mylo pulled away from her door, swinging it open with triumph on his face. jinx shoved past him, slamming the door shut and slumping down against it.
she could never, ever leave her apartment again.
-