Chapter Text
One may think they know chaos. Swear their life’s a mess and that there’s no time and no rest. And that may be true, dear readers, but one thing remains the same in all universes and lifetimes: kids are the incarnation of Chaos.
Cute, sure. But loud, messy, unapologetically cruel and demanding. Forcing everyone to see them, to care for them and to accept they ain’t going nowhere. Yet, being a parent meant you wouldn’t have it any other way - Well, maybe with a whole night of sleep and no tantrums to do basic hygiene everyday, or perhaps meals without discussions over eating the vegetables and some sense of urgency from the kids would be appreciated. Yeah, maybe forget about not wanting to have it any other way.
Ekko definitely would have it another way as he tries to urge Isha out of bed and onto some normal clothing so they can move on with the day without them both being late to work and daycare.
“Don’t wanna go. Sick” She signs from under the covers, just small hands out to make her statement.
Ekko tries not to roll his eyes. Isha’s been trying this technique almost everyday after getting sick months ago. Ekko’s sure she remembers the occasion as a good occurrence, had stayed at home for a week watching cartoons all day while eating her favorite treats. Ekko’s pov, on the other hand, was a lot more drastic. He spent the whole week panicking for his little girl, missing work days while his bosses talked his ear off, and trying his best to take care of Isha all by himself.
So, every time she claimed to be sick and Ekko checked her for any signs of being unwell, not finding any, Ekko would cheer and be happy that at least one thing the universe had in his favor.
That day tho, sweet readers, was not one of those beautiful, colorful days of peace. As Ekko took the little girl from under the thousand blankets covering her and put his hand on top of her forehead, he knew his plans for the day were over, feeling how heated her skin was.
“Wow Ish,” He exclaims for himself before signing to Isha, worried. “You actually don't seem very well.”
Isha’s eyes widened like she wasn’t expecting to be actually sick, used to just be taken out of bed once Ekko checked and there was nothing to worry about.
“Really? I can stay home?” She signs quickly, even happy. A small smile and a glint of hope in her eyes.
Ekko made a disapproving face, ready to scold her. “To be sick isn’t supposed to make you happy! What else are you feeling?”
Isha shrugged, thinking. As a three-year-old, she wasn’t very good at telling what she was feeling. “Tummy hurts?” She signed hesitantly.
“Your tummy is hurting?” He got even more concerned. “What about your head? Do you feel like throwing up?”
Isha thought about the questions for a second, then opened her mouth in a big yawn. “Sure” she signed with her eyes closing and trying to go back under the covers, shivering a little.
Ekko didn’t think her last answer was reliable, but the way she looked tired and cold while her skin was so hot left no doubts about a real fever. Ekko went to grab the thermometer just to be sure and the 37.8° appearing in the tiny little scream of the device left no doubts, she was really sick.
Ekko put both hands on his face and sighed, tired from the night he barely slept and worried about what he was going to do now.
There was a soft knock on the open door of Isha’s room and he lifted his head to look at the woman quietly standing there.
“Breackfast is ready” Jinx said, but at little taken aback at Ekko’s worried gesture. “Is everything all right?”
Ekko shook his head. “Isha has a fever.”
“Uhg, a bad one?” Jinx entered the room to sit across from him, on Isha’s little drawing table.
“Not yet. Bad enough to stay at home but not to go to the hospital just yet, at least. I hope it doesn’t get worse, though I don’t know what to do now.”
“She won’t go to day care?”
“Nop, they’ll just send her back if she goes like this.” Ekko looks at her, noticing she was already sleeping again. “But I can’t miss work today, there’s this very important meeting I have to attend-”
“The one you were talking about? The big important pitch of the project that can get you promoted??” Her eyes widened while saying it and she looked… Excited?
Ekko let out a small laugh, he isn’t surprised she remembered him talking about it, but all the interest she shows is kind of new to him.
“Yeah, that one.”
“Well, you can't lose it! You’ve been working on it for weeks!”
“Well, I can’t lose this one either,” He pointed at Isha. “I’ve been working on this little project for three years now!”
Jinx rolled her eyes at his stupid joke at this serious moment, but she couldn’t hide her smile for long.
“Idiot, I’m serious. Go to work, I’ll stay with her!”
Ekko shook his head. “No, I can't-”
“Yes, you can! That’s an important meeting and I can be here with her. Don’t be so stupid.” She looked almost angry.
“Jinx, you don’t have to-”
“Hey, don’t start with this okay? You’ve been doing so much for me, this is the least I could do.” Yeah, definitely angry now.
Jinx had been staying with them for three weeks now, sleeping under his roof and being fed by him. She did everything she could to help around the house, cleaning everyday, watering plants and taking breakfast duty upon herself.
She did her best to be useful, while she couldn’t pay him with money, but Ekko wouldn’t accept any help. Always scolding her when he got home after work, taking in that there were no toys on the freshly clean floor, and the sink was empty and the dishes organised where they belonged.
He repeated the same thing everyday, even after it had become a routine for Jinx, saying she shouldn't be doing this amount of effort she did while almost eight months pregnant, saying she didn’t own him anything, that all he did was because he could and wanted to do. But Jinx did it all everyday, thinking even that wasn’t enough.
Honestly, I wouldn’t be able to say who’s more stubborn and it isn’t any narrator’s job to say so, so I ask you readers your bets on which of those idiots is worse than the other? Quick, make a bid!
It was an endless fight. Now though, with Isha sick and such a big opportunity at work, Ekko couldn’t just refuse the help, he knew he couldn’t.
It was all very strange for him, honestly. Ever since Isha dropped into his life, it has been just the two of them, he never really had a real support network. With the duty of parenthood as a young adult and freshly out of college, Ekko has become very lonely in a lot of ways.
His parents long gone, the mother of his child nowhere to be found, and his friends… Well, his “friends” had other things to worry about, to look forward to, and they ended up going different ways. He would still follow them on Instagram and peek at their unoccupied, unbothered, childless lives, while trying to ignore an ugly feeling he didn’t have the balls to name. Ekko can’t actually blame them, their priorities were just too different.
He had grown used to doing it all, to not expect anyone to help because honestly, why would they? Of course, he still could pay for someone to help with the house and for a nice trustful daycare for Isha to spend the day, or even for a babysitter eventually so he could go out for a drink - drastically alone.
But to him, at least, he wasn’t buying Jinx’s help and she just did it to be grateful, which he didn’t think was necessary or even acceptable since she was very much pregnant and it had to take a tool on her.
But as he kept being remembered, the situation he woke up to today required more than just him.
“I wasn’t going to leave the house today anyway.” Jinx was still trying to convince him to let her take care of Isha by herself. “I’m very much free to stay with her!”
“Yeah, but you shouldn’t have to.” Jinx opens her mouth to protest but he keeps going. “Besides, she’s sick. She needs me around in case she gets worse.”
“Oh, please! I know what to do with sick kiddos! Keep them hydrated, make sure they rest properly, keep checking their temperature, get them to the hospital in case it gets higher than 39°. Easy.”
“Rigth,” Ekko says still not wanting to let go. “But sick kiddos need their parents so-”
“C’mon, Ekko! She’ll be okay! I’ll keep texting you throughout the day and I’ll make sure she’s well cared for.”
And Ekko knew she would, he knew he could trust her, that wasn’t the matter. It was just that he never, in the past three years of Isha’s little existence, has been away from her in such critical circumstances. Leaving now felt like abandoning her out alone into this cruel world - Except she wouldn’t be alone and she would keep being safe inside the house, but whatever, a parent’s heart will feel what it pleases.
“Jinx, I don’t know…”
Isha blinked awake again. Her eyes shined at the sight of her fairy and Jinx couldn’t help but to look at her the same warm way.
“Hey, kiddo! She shuffled the little girl’s hair. “Heard you’re not feeling very well today?”
Isha pouted a little too dramatically and nodded.
“Oww, poor baby…” Jinx mimicked her expression and looked at Ekko.
He let out a deep sigh. “Isha… you’ll have to stay at home today,” She smiled brightly just to remember she should act sad and the pout was back to her face. Ekko ignored that and the little chuckle Jinx was fighting to hide. “But daddy really needs to go to work, what do you think of staying with Jinx for a while?”
Isha immediately drops the act and nods violently, smiling ear to ear. “Yes, yes yes!” She signed frantically.
“No, but listen closely now, baby” He said slowly. “You would be alone with Jinx for the day. Daddy won’t be here!”
Isha kept nodding, completely unbothered.
“Are you sure? You’ll be alone with her…”
Jinx almost pities him, it was obvious he was hoping for resistance from the kid, or at least for her to be a little sorry he wasn’t going to be there. As a three-year-old though, Isha couldn’t care less for her poor dad’s feelings.
“Girls day!” She signs happily and Ekko knows he lost.
Later in the morning, after breakfast and getting ready as fast as he could, Ekko would hesitate to walk out the door. Sad he couldn't do it all, but as he closed the door behind him, Ekko could hear little giggles from his daughter as Jinx told her some secret story about something he couldn’t hear because ‘it is a fairy secret!’ and he knew with some bitterness that his baby needed more than just him.
*
Isha for sure doesn’t look sick as her dad leaves and there’s no chance she is sent to school.
She's excitedly jumping up and down on the couch, happy to spend the day with Jinx.
Since the woman has gone to live with them, it is nearly impossible to get Isha to the daycare, she just wants to be with her new friend, never actually accomplishing it until this very day - it is a victory Isha’s very proud of.
“Ish, Ish! Enough jumping now, okay? You gotta rest kiddo.”
Isha stops, but she doesn’t look less happy. “Sorry. Happy!” She signs excitedly.
Jinx recognizes the signs immediately. She has taken it as a very serious task to learn the little girl's language. In addition to the daily ‘classes’ she had with Isha and Ekko, she’d train every night until she fell asleep to some ASL lesson on tiktok.
“I know, bug! We get to have fun all day…” She lifts a finger to punctuate her next words. “IF this fun involves lots of blankets and pillows and cosyness and movies AND vegetables AND drinking water!”
Isha scrunches her face at the last words but forgets about it quickly to sign “Lets build a fort!!”
And so they do. Bringing every blanket and pillow in the whole house to the living room and using the couch and some chairs to make the most respectable fort Jinx has ever seen. She was honestly VERY proud of their job!
They took a photo in front of their construction, making funny faces. Isha had her tongue out and faked a lazy eye and Jinx showed her teeth and squished her eyes like she was growling, but it was easy to see the happy shine in both their gazes.
Jinx sent the photo to Ekko.
You: Jpg.photofile
Bet our lil project would win over your bosses 🙂↕️😌
10:31 am
Boy savior🫡: Cute
Hope my project win over my bosses too
How’s she?
10:33 am
You: She okay
Just a little feverish, nothing much
We watching E.T
10:40 am
Boy savior🫡: Tell me if something changes
Isn’t she afraid?
That movie kinda creepy, she’s only 3
10:40 am
You: It ain’t! You are kinda pussy
10:47 am
Boy savior🫡: Im not!
10:47 am
Isha still wasn’t all fine, too tired to play for long or even to keep herself awake, so Jinx and her just spent the time watching old cartoon movies Jinx swore Isha would like and having tea parties at their fort.
The afternoon came and they settled for Barbie in the nutcracker as the next film. It seems magic is really a thing, because within the first five minutes into the movie, Isha claims she has never been better and demands to learn the same ballet moves the bailarinas are dancing in the beginning.
“Hum? Are you sure you’re this well?” These are some master moves there!” They aren’t really, Jinx has actually tried to teach something similar in the first and only ballet class she’s given to Isha.
The little girl nodded, decided.
Jinx considers her for a moment. “Let’s see, then.” She takes Isha’s temperature again. Not much had changed apparently, as the little screen shows 37.6°.
“Okay, I guess a mini-lesson won’t hurt you. But we will try it just once and then you’re back to resting! Is it a deal?” - By the great power granted to me as the master narrator of this story, I’ll spoil that they end up trying it thrice.
Isha laughs and nods, content. They each get their ballet slippers and after Jinx insists they should stretch properly, the lesson begins.
Isha does her best, trying hard to mimic every move Jinx does in slow motion. Jinx takes notice of every little flicker of her feet, correcting gently when she got something wrong and thinking of better ways to show her the right way when Isha just couldn’t make it right.
Sooner than Jinx expects, Isha’s doing the same moves as the bailarinas do at the beginning of the movie. Not perfectly, certainly very sloppily, but enough to make a sick three-year-old proud of herself.
Jinx compliments her, a genuine smile brightening her face as she sees the girl happily dance. “You’re doing it so well, Isha! I’m so proud of you, baby girl!”
And despite everything, Isha is so happy she can’t stop smiling.
“Show daddy!” She signs and once again Jinx has no problem understanding the signs besides how fast Isha does them, still dancing.
She films as Isha keeps doing her movements, not very bothered when she can’t get her rhythm exactly right.
You: mp4.videofile
got a dancer over here 🩰
02:15 pm
Boy savior🫡: She’s well enough to be doing this? 🤔
Wowww, she’s so cute tho 🥹🩷
Tell her I said those are the best moves I’ve ever seen
Is she fine?
02:18 pm
Jinx laughs while reading the texts, of course he was one of those parents who over congratulate their children. Also, Ekko hadn't stopped sending messages all day and Jinx would have the same answers all along. ‘She’s fine’, ‘Not aggravating fever’, ‘Resting like a champion should’. This time’s no different.
You: She is alright
I’d tell if she wasn’t and wouldn't let her do this
02:21 pm
Boy savior🫡: Okay, okay, got it
What about you?
02:27 pm
You: What about me?
02:30 pm
Boy savior🫡: You alright?
02:31 pm
She can feel something in her stomach at his worry, something that’s definitely not her child but it’s also growing inside of her. She wasn’t going to let it show, though.
You: I’m fine 🙄
02:45 pm
Boy savior🫡: Don’t tire yourself
You need rest too
02:46 pm
Jinx's not sure how to answer that, so she doesn’t. The way he worries about her and cares if she’s fine is a foreign concept to Jinx and she rather not confront how it makes her feel about him.
She turns her attention back to the movie, not really paying attention to it at all.
By the time the clock hits 4:30 pm, Isha starts getting worse. She says her tummy is hurting for real and in a matter of seconds she is throwing up in one of the blankest of the fort.
Jinx holds her heir out of the way and says there’s no problem when Isha starts crying for the ruined fort.
You: Ekko
She’s getting worse
Says her tummy hurts
4:35 pm
He doesn’t text back right away, and Jinx thinks he must be in his meeting at the exact moment. Just, perfect. She tries not to panic, thinking about the responsible thing to do.
You: She’s throwing up
You there?
Fever is 39.2 now
Gonna take her to see a doctor
4:42
Jinx gets herself and Isha ready to leave the house as soon as she can, hoping Ekko doesn’t take long to answer. It is too much for Isha and soon she’s crying for her dad. “Where’s daddy? I want my dad!” She signs, and it is obvious she’s sad and unwell.
“I know sweetheart. Your dad is going to meet us as soon as he can, I promise” And that’s how Jinx makes her way to the closest hospital, with a crying toddler nested to her chest.
*
Ekko’s got it! After months on end he finally got it! His pitch for the biggest project he’s ever made was approved and he just got a much deserved promotion when he turns his attention back to his phone, and oh well, the happiness soon leaves him to make place for desperation.
The amount of messages and missing calls from Jinx take all the air from his lungs. He has to pass his coworkers kinda rudely as they try to congratulate him and he’s trying to leave to get to his car.
Blue Bug🧚♀️: She’s throwing up
You there?
Fever is 39.2 now
Gonna take her to see a doctor
4:42 pm
He swallows hard. I was almost an hour ago and the rest of the texts make him feel even worse.
Blue Bug🧚♀️: Ekko???
She’s crying for you
Won’t stop
5:02 pm
Guilt takes over him. He knew he shouldn’t have left. He should be there with her! What the fuck was he even thinking??
Blue Bug🧚♀️:
Call me as soon as possible
We at the saint mary hospital
5:10 pm
Blue Bug🧚♀️: Doctor says it’s some viral infaction
The flu or something
Nothing too bad
She wants to get her an iv drip tho
Just too make sure she feels better faster
You have to show up to allow that
Where are you??
5:25 pm
Ekko looks at the current hour and sighs when he realizes these last messages were sent recently. He’s already in his car as he texts back.
You: Sorry
On my way
Be there in 15
5:32 pm
Ekko actually gets there exactly nine minutes after sending the messages to Jinx, and he may have gotten some traffic fines in the process but he really doesn’t have time to think about that at the moment!
He goes running through the hall and stops abruptly at the reception desk. Asking for his little girl. The woman there just points nonchalant at another hallway and there Ekko goes, worried sick.
The moment he stops in front of a door and sees a desperate Jinx trying hard to comfort a sobbing Isha, his heart sinks.
“Hey baby girl,” he turns their way and Isha immediately looks at him with widened eyes full of tears, she lifts her little arms for him and starts to cry even harder as if the cry alone could tell her father all that’s wrong. Ekko wraps her with his arms and brings her close to his chest. “I know love, I know.”
He looks at Jinx mouthing a ‘thank you’. She seemed relieved he had arrived but also anxious and Ekko wonders that all this stress can't be good for her and the baby.
A woman with white medical coat enters the room. “Ah, excuse me, so you're Mr.Wyeth? I am Dr. Lia”
He looked at her nodding. “Yeah, yeah. Nice to meet you doctor. Do you know what’s up with this lil'lady?” He says, shaking Isha a little in his arms.
“I've examined your daughter already, it seems it’s a viral infection, normal in this season of the year. It’s nothing too bad, but I'd say we better medicate her to alleviate the symptoms.”
Ekko nods again. "Yes, that'd be good, thank you.”
“She’s also a little dehydrated, we should put her on IV drip just to be sure.”
“Yeah, Jinx told me so.” He looked at her briefly and the doctor followed his gaze.
“Oh, yeah! Ms.Lane was great with the little girl today. I was surprised to hear she couldn’t sign the papers.” The doctor laughs lightly, and Jinx smiles at her awkwardly, a little uncomfortable. “As Isha’s legal responsible person you should sign the permissions, sir.”
“Sure, sure!” Ekko tries to lower Isha so he can do what he is asked, but she only starts to whine and to cling to him, desperate. “Hey baby, daddy needs to let you down for a bit…”
A little cry escapes Isha’s pout.
Jinx is surprised to lift her arms and try to get the girl, the action so natural not even she has thought this through. If the way Isha was crying for her dad was enough proof, Jinx was sure she would just start a tantrum from being pulled away from him. Which is why the woman is even more surprised when the little girl throws herself at Jinx without much more than a look at her father to make sure he doesn't go far.
Ekko seems surprised too, even a bit confused. “Okay? That was easier than- ah, yeah. Good. Easy is good.”
He looks at the two for a while, just for a few seconds, and sees something different, something that wasn’t there in the morning. Isha has always liked Jinx, of course. Has been obsessed with her since they met. But… as Ekko looked at them he could see… Well, something! He really doesn’t know!
Aaand the doctor is already dragging him around.
A few minutes later and a battle to get Isha to calm down and let the nurse do their job, they finally got it. Isha’s lying on the hospital bed, Ekko and Jinx sit on each side of her, holding her little hands while they tell absurd tales of magic and adventures to distract her, to make it all easier since they can’t switch places. Soon, Isha is drifting to sleep.
They stay like that for a while, just a comfort silence evolving them, holding onto Isha and lost on their own thoughts.
Ekko sighs, tiredly, then looks at Jinx just to find her already looking at him. She averts his gaze but it is too late, the awkwardness of the moment very clear to everyone present.
“Hum, I’m sorry, I just-” Jinx words get out of her mouth without actually going through her brain first, as she has no idea how to finish the sentence.
“No,no, it’s fine, I-I’m..huu” Just at the same time, fortunately, the same happens to Ekko.
They just stop to stare at each other for a very breath moment before starting to laugh. A real, well deserved, laugh at themselves.
“We’re so strange! Why are we so strange??” Jinx says while laughing, judging tone matching the expression on her face.
“You were the one creepily staring at me, alright? You the strange here!” Ekko’s no better than her.
Jinx coughs, apparently offended. “Excuse me??” She brings a hand to her chest without actually managing to stop laughing despite her attempts. “I was just noticing you have a little something there in your stupid face, close to your lips. Big baby can’t eat without making a mess.” She mocks him and it’s technically not true. - But hey! My girl needs an excuse out of this awkward situation!
Ekko rolls his eyes. “Alright…” His tone is disbelieving, but he actually wipes his face anyway.
They are still laughing and giggling when Isha makes a little whine noise, moving a little on the bed. They immediately freeze and go quiet, remembering where they are. When they look at each other again, the air is more charged, serious.
Ekko breathes in slowly. “Hey, listen. Thank you. For today, I mean, for everything. And I’m sorry you had to take care of Isha and for all the hospital situation." He says gesturing at the room around them.
Jinx puffs out a breath. “You don’t have to thank me, silly. You already do so much for me, this is nothing-”
“Yes, I do have to thank you. I already told you Jinx, everything I do for you is because I can and want to, it doesn’t mean you’re owning me anything.”
“Well, then let’s make it clear, I didn’t do it because I own you.” A small smile begins to appear on her face. “I did it because I could and wanted to.”
Ekko smiles wormily at her too, but then he looks at Isha and his smile slowly fades.
“I shouldn’t have left” his voice leaves quietly and Jinx wouldn’t have heard it if she wasn’t paying attention.
“You didn’t have a choice.” The reassurance didn’t seem to work as he just shaked his head, so Jinx kept going. “You had something important to do at work, something you worked so hard to get. And it isn’t like you just left her alone and unassisted.”
“Yeah, but she was crying for me and I wasn’t here, and-”
“You got here as soon as you could, Ekko.” Just then does Ekko look at her. “And everything turned out okay! We had the funniest day besides everything! She danced, laughed, had some treats… With all due respect, she didn’t even remember you for the longest time.” She smirked at him playfully.
Ekko dramatically put a hand above his heart. “Ouch! That hurt!”
Jinx laughed freely at his stupid antics.
“No, but seriously. It just breaks my heart that I can't be there for her. Always.” He says, seriously this time.
Jinx caresses her bump. “Yeah, I’m beginning to understand that.”
When she looks at him again, he's staring at her belly, where her hand is resting. “I just don’t want to wrong her too badly, you know?”
Jinx nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I know. But you won’t… you haven’t!”
Their eyes meet and Ekko hopes she’s right, hopes he can be the father she takes him for.
It is good to have someone believing his work there with Isha. It feels nice to have someone else easing his guilt, even if he doesn’t believe it completely.
Jinx takes a big breath in and out in a second. Repositioning herself and changing the object abruptly. “So, enough sadness and sourness for now! And since we are staying here for at least two more hours, we better talk about something else.”
“Alright…”
“So, start talking! How was your meeting? Did it go alright? Did they approve the project?” She says it all at once, anxious, like someone who really cares.
Ekko can’t say he’s surprised by her reaction, since she’s been actively asking about the project since he absentmindedly talked about it during dinner a week ago.
He bites his lip and makes a disappointed face and Jinx’s expression turns miserable for a moment, until Ekko drops the act and opens the biggest smile of all time. “I got it! They loved it!”
Jinx lets out a high pinched scream and jumps to her feet. In seconds, she’s hugging him, almost falling to his lap in excitement. Ekko does his best to hold her and tries to hug her back while still sitting in his chair.
“Oh my god!! That’s amazing!” She says happily until she seems to realize what she’s doing. She awkwardly lets go of him. “Hum… I- I’m glad it worked out!”
“Yeah, me too.” There’s an embarrassing moment where they stay there looking at each other. Ekko moves in his chair trying to find something to do with his body and Jinx just stands there,not sure of what she had just done.
Jinx clears her throat loudly and turns on her heels to go back to her chair. “Anyways, ahn… Tell me everything!”
“Okay. So you remember I told you the briefing? They wanted a vehicle that was fast, resistant and supported long distances.”
“Yeah, yeah! But you had this problem with the fuel. I remember, this has been, like, my favorite show to keep up with.”
“Glad to know my struggles entertain you.” He rolls his eyes but keeps talking, telling her every part of the project and justifying every design choice as if he was presenting the idea to the stockholders all over again.
Jinx pays close attention to every single detail, stopping him to make questions most people wouldn’t even think to ask until she had a solid answer and writing mental notes to every explanation.
Despite it all being very technical, Jinx keeps up without much problems and Ekko is happy to explain all the concepts behind the designs. It feels nice, having someone to talk about his projects with and to be happy when he succeeds at something.
It isn’t like Ekko’s complaining, but Isha doesn’t give a fuck about any of these. He can’t get home and tell her he just got promoted, or that he made huge progress at work, or even that his day was frustrating and he couldn’t get an equation right.
Of course it wasn’t her fault, she was three, it only mattered to her if he’d play with her and if she’d get some chocolate after dinner. She didn’t care if it meant more money or how accomplished Ekko was, or whatever. But it felt nice to have someone there that would care, that would be anxiously waiting to hear he got the damn promotion.
Because, damn it! He got the fucking promtion!
And it felt good and important and… not so lonely, not when Jinx is looking at him with her eyes shining and evident gears turning in her head.
I makes him wonder, if just for a second, if this could be forever?