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New years was always a time to celebrate. It didn't matter what you were celebrating, whether it was good or bad. The new year meant something new. Something to look forward to—or leaving things behind. The holiday season was always the most chaotic and favored time of year with Thanksgiving and Christmas in the span of 1 month. A lot of people show others how much they mean to them during this period of time as well. That's what a lot of people did, including her sister with her girlfriend.
Powder has never liked anyone the way Vi likes her precious cupcake. She doesn't dislike Caitlyn, even to her surprise she actually liked her. They have been together for a couple years and are total opposites of each other. That's what Powder thinks helps with their relationship. A lot of people from her class have tried to make advances on her this year. Whether it was men or women, she always shut them down before they could even speak.
All her attention this year went to someone very special in her eyes. Her best friend. Her only friend. Vi always told her only having one friend was completely unhealthy, but when did she ever follow anyone's advice except her fathers. Ekko was her best friend, has been for nearly a decade at this point. They've done everything together. Anything that could be done with two people, they did it together. Every dance, every party, every event that they ever went to—they went to together. They were rarely apart.
Everyone thought that they were a couple when they entered High School last year. Powder always had to make sure that people knew that they were just friends. Nothing more. Nothing less. They were basically brother and sister—living under the same roof after Benzo passed a couple years ago—neither of them really felt anything more for the other. Unless that wasn't true. Ekko was always more popular at school than she could ever be. He always had friends and other girls fighting to try to get his attention. None of them succeeded in the way she did so effortlessly.
To Ekko, SHE always came first. It didn't matter what happened. If she called, he ran towards her every time. Nothing else mattered to him as much as she did. Vi always teased her that he has a crush on her and that was the reason he was always running to help her. That couldn't be the case… Could it? It didn't matter. Powder loved Ekko as a friend. Friend—Even that word felt weird to her now. All these new feelings she's had for him since the summer haven't gone away. Every time she looks at him, spends time with him—butterflies enter her stomach hard.
She can't be in love with him like that, can she?
It didn't matter that she started paying attention to every little detail about him. The way his face scrunches similar to hers when he's deep in thought. The way he always bounces his leg when he's nervous. Every single day this year she's noticed something completely new about him even after nearly a decade of being best friends. Her body moved to the side as she's nudged from her left. Powder looks over to who nudged her, only to find her annoying older sister standing there with a giant grin spread across her face.
"Hey, Pow-Pow," she said with the happiest tone she's ever used with her.
She turns her head back to the sink she was standing in front of. Usually dinner was earlier in the day every year, but this year her dad wanted to make sure that their other dad could actually make it. It was nearly midnight, the new year was just 30 minutes away and so much information was thrown her way. Vander and Silco talking about getting back together, Vi and Caitlyn mentioning about moving in together finally. It was a lot to digest all at once. Out of everyone in attendance, she was assigned to wash the dishes with her sister. The one who won't let that nickname go.
"I'm not a child anymore Vi. Please stop calling me that," she said in annoyed look as she barely glanced at her with a side eye.
A small chuckle came from the burly woman. Vi has called her that since they were little. It has stuck around for so long because that's what their birth mother used to call her. Her sister remembered their birth parents, unfortunately she never got to have any memories of them. The only parents she remembers are the ones that were currently sitting on the living room couch talking like their relationship never ended.
Powder continued washing the dishes in front of her—but her mind kept crawling back to him. Even more lately, she hasn't been able to do the most simplest things without thinking of her best friend. Deciding to look over her shoulder, she spots Ekko on the couch laughing at whatever Vander was talking about. A small smile crosses her face as she sees him talk so normally with her fathers. Vi notices her little sisters head turn right away and follows her line of sight. A huge smile breaks open on her face as she smacks Powder's shoulder hard.
"OH MY GOD!" Vi said in such a high tone it was nearly a scream, causing Powder to turn her head back around extremely fast. She hit Powder's shoulder again like she just struck gold. In her eyes she just did exactly that.
"You have a crush on Ekko!?"
In a second, Powder dropped the plates in her hands as they crashed into the sink and covered Vi's mouth with both of her hands. "Shut it, Fat Hands!" she said in a high tone that matched her sisters as her face turned bright red. Both of them looked back at the living room to see him still talking with the older men in the room. With a surprising amount of strength, Powder drags Vi through the kitchen to the sliding glass back door. They walk through it into the backyard as she shuts it at lighting speed behind them.
Looking through the door, Powder spots Ekko looking at the two women with a smile on his face. He giggles at the sight of Powder having her hands over Vi's mouth and waves at them in a very enthusiastic movement. Taking one hand off of her sisters mouth, she waves back at the boy she loves. Ekko turns his head back around and starts talking to Caitlyn who was sitting right next to him. Her attention goes back to her annoying sister.
"If I take my hands off your mouth, will you please not tell the world that I have a crush on my best friend?" she asks so nervously.
Vi looks back through the glass door at him. In all her years of taking care of these two little annoying kids, she never thought that her sister would fall in love with anyone. It was obvious to her that Ekko LOVED Powder. Her little sister was just so god damn oblivious about the hints that were right in plain sight. A smile forms on her face as she looks back at her little sister that looked like she was pleading for her life. She gives her a small nod, letting her know that she won't say anything.
Powder slowly removes her hands from Vi's mouth as she looks back inside and then back at her sister. Both of them stared at each other at a lost for words. The truth was in the air and neither of them had no idea what to say next. Vi opens her mouth but then closes it when she honestly is at a lost for words. She could tease her little sister for having her first ever crush, but that would just make her angry at her. Powder walked down the steps of the back porch into the snow covered yard. What was she supposed to tell her sister even with it out in the open?
The red head looked back into the house to see Ekko getting off the couch and heading towards the bathroom. She turns her attention back to Powder as she is looking up at the night sky with her eyes closed, trying to stay as calm as she could be. Exhaling a deep breath, Vi steps up to her sister with caution. Not because this moment would make her sister go over the edge, but because she knows this would be a topic neither of them have really discussed before and she doesn't know how to approach it.
She stops right next to her, looking over at the surprising calmness stretched across her face. Following her sisters action, she closes her eyes and stares up at the night sky with her. Vi wanted to break this weird calm silence between them. Finding the right words is hard when you don't know how the other is going to react. Sometimes ripping the band aid off would be the best approach for situations like this and start asking a bunch of questions.
"I'm surprised you haven't asked me anything yet," Powder's voice breaks through the silence of the air between them like a knife.
Vi opens her eyes to find her sister looking up at her with a little worry on her face. It was almost like she was waiting for her to question why she had a crush on her "brother". She understood why. Watching these two kids grow up at the hip, inseparable from each other, it's no wonder that at some point their feelings for one another would blossom more than 'just friends'.
"I mean… I don't know what to say, Pow."
Powder stared into her eyes like she wanted approval. That having these feelings for Ekko wasn't the worst thing to happen to her. That maybe in some way, he felt exactly the same way about her and that this wouldn't ruin their friendship. Vi looked away from her as she took a couple of steps forward. Pow's eyes followed her as she walked forward, carefully watching her every move for any hint that she disapproves of her feelings. Her older sister stood there for a couple of minutes, trying to find the words to start this conversation the right way. Vi opens her mouth to say something, but Powder beats her to it first.
"I'm scared, Vi."
That causes her to turn around to look at her younger sister again. There were tears starting to slip from her mask that she had been waring around the family.
"I'm scared that I even feel like this about him," she starts pacing back and forth on the snow covered grass, "Every time we hang out lately I've been getting this feeling in my stomach. I don't know if I like it or not but… it terrifies me."
Vi watches her sister visibly start to cry as the tears break free as they start flowing down her blushed cheeks. She starts getting closer to Powder inch by inch as her shoulders start to visibly shake from the crying. When she got within arms reach, Powder backed away from her quickly. That didn't stop Vi as she get closer until her sister didn't move away from her. Powder looked up at her sister with tears still spilling out of her eyes, sniffling as she tried to keep her nose from running. She put her head down as a sound finally broke free from her mouth.
Vi enveloped her with her arms in seconds, pushing her face into the crook of her neck like she always did. Neither of them said a word. They stood there in the winter weather with no jackets in each others embrace. Nothing had to be said between them. She was her little sisters anchor for a lot of things. This was absolutely the one time she needed her. The sound of the glass door closing startled both of them. Vi looked up to see Ekko standing there on the porch, watching both of them with curiosity.
"Is she okay?" he asked.
Powder hugged Vi tighter as she wanted Vi to speak for her, "She'll be okay, Ekko. We'll be back in soon."
The young man nodded as he turned around and headed back inside the house. Vi rubbed the back of her sisters head in small circles and kept saying over and over that it's okay. The glass door opened once again as Ekko stepped back onto the porch, this time he stepped off the porch with his dark green jacket in his hands. He got closer to them as he opened the jacket so someone could slip it on.
"Here," he said in a soft voice, "Wouldn't want you to get too cold out here."
Powder sniffles as she turns her head around to find Ekko holding his jacket out to her. Vi smiles as her sister lets go of her to walk towards him. A small smile breaks through on her face finally as she slides her arms through the sleeves with Ekko's help. He turns her around and sips up the zipper for her without her even needing to say anything. Ekko looks at her in the eyes with a giant smile on his face.
"I'll be inside if you need me okay," he says to her softly.
She closes her eyes as she nods to him. Ekko grabs her small hand in his like he always does. He lets go of it once he turns around and walks back into the house. Once the door closes, Powder looks back at Vi with an expression that said more than words ever could. Yeah, her little sister was definitely in love with her best friend. She walks up to her sister once again and wraps her arms around her with the most gentle hug she's ever given.
Powder looks up at her with tears streaking her cheeks, her eyes red from crying, "See what I mean Vi? I'm so scared that if I tell him… I will ruin our friendship."
Vi backs up a little bit so that she could look into her eyes with the most care in the world, "Pow. You're not going to lose him. Not now. Not ever."
The blue eyed woman looked up into her eyes with worry spread across her face. She knew that she could trust her words, but did she really think that Ekko wouldn't leave her if she told him that she was in love with him? Losing him would be the worst thing that would ever happen to her. She's never felt this way about anyone before. It hurts to think that if the truth was out there, he would leave her and their friendship they've had would be over permanently.
But—But she must be telling the truth. Ekko wouldn't just end their friendship/leave her just because she wants to be more than friends. Wouldn't he? God, she had no idea what could happen if she told him. There were so many things that could go wrong with admitting it to him. What if he reacted poorly? What if she keeps stumbling over her words and confuses him? What if he's never seen her the way she sees him now? She didn't want any of that to happen. Vi could see Powder's thoughts scrambling in her mind all over her face like it always does when she's overthinking. She needed to help ease her sisters overlapping thoughts.
"Pow, listen to me," she says to the small girl in her arms, "Ekko isn't going to leave you."
Powder's eyes shot right up to hers in an instant, like Vi just solved her issue.
"If he loves you sis—He won't leave you over this."
A sniffle comes from the small woman, "How can you be certain?"
Vi chuckles as she's about to shine a bright light onto the question on her mind, "With the amount of time you two spend together, it's natural that both of you would feel this way about the other. I mean look at Cait and me. We were just project partners and I hated her guts the moment I met her."
The look of shock spread across Powders face. Vi didn't like Caitlyn at first?
"What changed between you two then?"
A sigh comes out of her older sisters mouth as she recalls the memory, "We kept spending time together because of school. After the project was over and we weren't spending time together, I felt this emptiness in my chest. Like if something was put there during our time together that wasn't there before and then it was taken from me—"
The dirty blonde girl stared at her older sister with the eyes of someone completely invested in the story of what was being told.
"—Did you ever feel something like that with him?"
Powder looks down at the snow beneath her converse shoes. Whenever the two of them had their own space when he needed time alone, she always felt okay. Like nothing was wrong. Now… Now it felt like her chest was being ripped open when they weren't together. She looked up at her sister with the answer written on her face. Vi knew without her saying anything out loud. She wraps her arm around Powder's shoulders and gives her a side hug.
"Listen to me, Pow-Pow."
"I told you to stop calling me that," she said with a chuckle under her words.
Vi smiles at her as she looked up at the night sky, "You're stuck with that nickname. Mom coined it and it's who you are to me."
Powder rolled her eyes at her sisters words. Only her older sister could be this corny about a nickname.
"Seriously, Pow," her name makes her look back at her sister, "Tell him how you feel before its too late."
Before she could feel any deep emotions, Powder pushed right back into her sisters arms. Vi returned the hug with a gentle hug to not hurt her. The sound of the glass door opening once again startled both of them as they looked back at the house quickly, only to find a certain someone standing there. A woman with a bright blue sweater and her glasses covering those eyes that were very similar color to Powders was there holding her arms together.
"Are you two going to stand out here all night? It's freezing and it's almost midnight," Caitlyn said with her accented voice that always made Powder giggle.
The two sisters looked at each other and nodded with a simple understanding between them. Powder needed to talk to Ekko soon. The sooner the better.
Vi lets go of the hug first as she starts moving away from her, "I'm coming, cupcake."
She walks up the steps and kisses her girlfriend softly. From behind, Powder makes a gagging sound at the sight of them. Both woman laugh and chuck the woman the bird. It was a running joke between the three of them. Powder hated seeing them kiss around the house when they first got together a couple of years ago and has constantly made the gagging sound just to make fun of them. Vi turns around to look at her sister that was standing there with a smile on her face.
"You coming back inside?"
She shakes her head, "No. I'll be in soon. Just need to work on a few things in my head."
Vi smiles as her and Caitlyn turn back, walking into the house as they shut the door behind them. A white cloud forms in front of her mouth as a deep exhale leaves Powders mouth. She pulls out her phone, turning on her screen in the process.
11:43 P.M.
Just under 20 minutes left of 2016. She never thought that her life would be like this going into the new year. Being deeply in love with her best friend was something that if she told herself from last year, she would never believe herself. Powder looked up into the night sky, watching the stars fill the vast emptiness of space above. She closed her eyes slowly, hoping for any sign that she could ever work up the courage to tell him the truth.
The sound from the door behind closing again hit her ears as if something of a higher power answered her. Opening her eyes, she heard the footsteps get even closer to her as they walked through the snow. She knew exactly who it was. The scent from the jacket stopped right next to her. The white shoulder length dreads were visible from the corner of her eye. Something or someone wanted this to happen. Maybe Vi decided to tell him that she needed to talk to him. That was such a Vi move. The two of them stood there for a minute, not saying a word. Just taking in the air between them.
Both of them just stared up into the night sky as they took in the view. Powder's mind was freaking out. She didn't want it to be this soon. So what if she's been crushing on him for months, she didn't feel like she was ready to admit it. Her phone went off in her pocket. A simple text message.
You're welcome 😊, from her annoying older sister.
"I'm gonna kill her," Powder said out loud.
Ekko looked over at her finally from the sudden break of the silence. A laugh sterns from his mouth as the random words make him chuckle.
"Let me guess, your sister?"
She puts her phone back into her pocket quickly and frowns deeply as she crosses her arms. That was enough confirmation for him without her even saying anything. He always noticed the way Powder reacts to things inside and outside of her head. Biting her lip was always something she did when she was nervous. Something he picked up on a couple of years ago. She was doing that right now, biting her lower lip like her life depended on it.
"What're you nervous about, Pow?" he asked her gently.
Powder looked over at him for just a second and instantly regretted it. The feeling hit her stomach instantly and harder than ever before. He was looking at her with the same tenderness that he always did. Why did he always have to look at her like that?
"Stop looking at me like that…" she says as she turns her head to look away from him.
"Like what?"
She deadpans a look over at him as she turns to face him.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about."
Oh he knew what she was talking about, its just that he doesn't know how not to look at her like she's the best thing in the world. Ekko turns away from her to stop looking at her, he wasn't frustrated with her, she's always like this. More so recently then ever before.
"Vi told me you wanted to talk," he said softly.
Powder sighs loudly. Of course her sister is interfering with her love life. "I don't know why she said that. I don't want to."
He turns back to her suddenly at that, "Powder. We haven't spoken alone in weeks. The only time we've said more than 5 words was if someone else was in the room."
That was very true. The second she felt what Vi described to her, she pulled away from their friendship. That's what she always did when complicated emotions came out of no where. She was never one to embrace them, especially when they tell you that you're in love with someone you never saw like that before.
"Are you angry at me?" he questioned her like he was at fault.
She stayed silent and looked away from him. Ekko scoffs at her and looks back at the sky with anger spreading across his face. He turns around and starts walking back towards the house.
"If you're not gonna talk, then I'm not gonna stand out here."
Powder turned around fast to look at him. She wanted to say it, I'm in love with you, you idiot. What came out of her mouth was something entirely different.
"I'm not angry at you."
He stopped in his tracks as her voice filled the air. Ekko turned back around to look at her. All he saw on her face was terror. That whatever she was nervous about was something she was also scared of. That it was eating her alive on the inside. He decided to walk back to her, stopping a few feet in front of her.
"Then talk to me, Pow."
She turned around again, "I don't know how to talk to you about it."
He looked at her the same way again, the look of love spread all over his face whenever he looked at her. All he's wanted since the start of Christmas break was for them to talk. It's been killing him that they haven't talked like they always do. He misses his best friend. He misses the love of his life.
"Do you even want to talk about it?"
That question made her turn around fast. Did she want to talk about it? Of course she did. She wanted to follow her sisters advice—but risking their friendship over her own feelings towards him was something she wasn't ready for.
Powder nodded slowly, "I just don't know where to start."
Ekko walked closer to her, grabbing her hands with his. Something physical so that she knows that he's there. It was something he always did when they had to talk or to just remind her that he's there. She looked down at their hands, his were huge compared to hers. Powder always felt safe with him around. That nothing, even the voices in her head, would never hurt her. He was her safe place.
"What ever you can think of. Take your time," he said softly.
That was the thing wasn't it. The man in front of her was always so god damn gentle with her. Nobody else in this world has ever made her feel what Ekko makes her feel. She felt like a child inside of a teenager right now. Powder closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.
"How long have we been friends?" she asked under her breath.
A laugh came from him as he wondered why was she asking this, "Almost 10 years."
"9 years, 9 months, and 17 days."
His eyes widened at what she just said. Ekko knew it was nearly 10 years, knew the exact date, but this—this was something he never payed that much attention to. She knew exactly how long they've been friends. Down to the day.
"That's how long we've been friends, Ek."
Pulling away from him, she started pacing back and forth, thinking about how to even say it. She start thinking of her older memories with him. Then the first one she remembered this feeling came in her stomach resurfaced into her mind.
"Remember the first Christmas we celebrated together?" she asked with such a soft voice.
Ekko nodded at the question. Of course he remembers it. He begged Benzo to take him gift shopping for weeks to get her something. When they didn't have the money for one, he decided to make one himself.
"I remember pretty well."
A smile forms on her face as she unzips the jacket and pulls out a necklace. Recognition plasters all over his face as his eyes see it for the first time in 9 years. Powder handed it to him gently like it was made out of glass. To her it was.
"You've kept it?" he asked with genuine surprise in his voice.
Her cheeks turn a bright red from the embarrassment of what she was about to admit, "I don't usually wear it. It stays in the box it came in when you gave it to me."
His eyes look at it carefully. It hasn't worn out after all these years. No chips, scratches or anything. Their initials were still on one side while the other was their faces when they were kids. It was in perfect condition.
"I know I usually lose the gifts I get," she starts pacing around the yard again as she spoke, "but I think subconsciously I kept it safe for a reason."
Ekko followed her with his eyes as she kept walking around the yard, "Safe for what reason?"
She stopped in her steps suddenly. The weeks of not talking, the weeks of avoiding him have come to this one moment. This one decision to let the truth be free between them for the first time in months. Powder walks back up to him with steps that look like they've been rehearsed for years.
"For this moment," her voice softens on the last word.
"This moment?"
Powder nods, "These last few months I've started getting this feeling. A feeling I've never felt before in my life."
He wanted to ask her to clarify what she means by feeling, but this is her moment. She was always the voice of their friendship. Whatever she said, he followed without hesitation. When she spoke, she hated being interrupted. Ekko figures he could wait for Powder to speak her mind so she doesn't get mad.
"It started growing stronger and stronger to the point where it scared the hell out of me. It still does," she took a deep breath as she prepared for his reaction to this, "Which is why I pushed you away these last couple of weeks."
She stared at him, waiting for the reaction. Powder watches as his face goes from angry, to upset. His mouth opens then closes over and over again as his face just drops.
"You've could've talked to me, Pow," he said with his voice slightly breaking.
She grabs his hands gently as fast as she could, "I'm not trying to upset you, Ek. I'm trying to talk to you right now."
He closes his eyes hard, not trying to lose his cool. After a couple of seconds, he nods as he opens his eyes. Giving her the go ahead to continue. They stand there for a minute before she lets out a deep breath before continuing.
"I think the reason I've kept this for months, is because back then I felt the same emotion when I opened it. The same one I'm feeling just standing here."
Ekko's eyes widened with confusion. 'There's no way that she's about to say what I think she's going to say.' Her eyes start watering from the fear she has of what he says or how he's going to react to this. To the truth.
"Ekko, I'm so scared to even say it," she says with a broken voice as the tears start streaking down her flushed cheeks, "To be honest with myself, I've felt this way for the past 9 years. I've just been so god damn stupid to not realize it sooner."
Within seconds, his hands moved to her face to hold it. Whatever she wanted to tell him was hurting her so bad that she kept it in for almost a decade. Powder closed her eyes as she started shaking badly from her crying so hard. Ekko pulled her into his embrace quickly like he always did when she was crying. This time is the first time that he's ever seen her this terrified about something.
"It's okay, Pow. It's okay," he said softly into her hair.
Her crying hits his ears as she frantically starts blurting her words out against his chest, "It's not—It's never going to be okay! If I tell you, you—you're gonna hate me! You're going to leave me and I can't have that happen!"
Ekko pushes back slightly to give space between them as he moves his arms from her back to her biceps. The tears were flowing down her face faster than before. She was clearly terrified about him leaving if she says what she has to say.
"Hey, look at me," she listens to him as she slowly opens her eyes to see him standing there staring into her with worry on his face, " I promise you, Pow, whatever it is I won't hate you. I won't leave you. Not now, not ever."
Powder's face mirrored his with the same worry. Even with his promises, she can't help but think that this one thing will change everything between them. Deep down she knows that even if the promises he just made are kept, something is going to change between them. For the better or even for the worst. The worst is what she was afraid of. That he would pull away from her over time to the point where they aren't friends anymore.
She pushes out of his hold as she starts hyperventilating. Ekko watches as she turns around and falls on her knees, holding her chest like she needed to keep everything that was pouring out of her in. He hated watching her struggle with her feelings, struggle with her thoughts. The sight of her struggling was pulling at his heart as he watched her on the ground. Within seconds he fell onto the ground behind her, wrapping his arms around her to put her in a comforting hold. One arm wrapped around her shoulders with his other hand coming up to clutch at hers to hold them in place above her heart.
A deep sigh escapes his lips as he comes to the reality that he needs to say it. Say what has been locked inside his chest for 9 years. Ekko puts his chin on her left shoulder as he knows what he's going to say will change everything between them.
"I Love You, Powder."
There it was. Those words that have been trapped inside of his chest since the day he met her. Now they were out in the open, twisting in the silence of the wind around them. Everything in that fraction of second froze. Those words. Those very same words that she was struggling to get off her chest hit her ears like match to a flame. Powder broke free from his grip and turned around to look at him.
Her heart was racing faster than it ever has before in her life. Everything around them seemed to blur with the only thing that was crystal clear, was him. She glanced down at her trembling hands, then back up at him. The smell of the neighbors beginning to light off their fireworks filled the air around them as it hit her senses. Their eyes lingered on each other for longer than they ever have been.
Faster than her brain can process, she moves her arms forward as she wraps her fingers into his sweater and yanked him towards her. Their lips crashed together in an instant as she tilted her head to the side. Ekko's eyes widened as her tongue invaded his mouth. His hand moved to the back of her neck, closing his eyes as he leaned into the very thing that he's wanted to happen for years. She tasted like her tears mixed with a hint of cherry.
A soft noise left her throat as she melted into it. A loud bang hits her ears as the fireworks start going off all around them but the sound fades as nothing else in this moment mattered but them. She couldn't smell the fireworks anymore. The only thing she could smell was the sweet scent of his Versace cologne. Powder felt something slow wash over inside her chest that mixed with the warmth and softness of his lips. This didn't feel wrong like she thought it would—it felt terrifyingly right, like this was always meant to happen between them.
She pulled back first, breaking this contact between them. Both of them were panting heavily from being out of breath. Ekko leaned forward as he touched their foreheads together, reestablishing the contact with her. Their eyes opened as they stared at each other for a couple of minutes before both of them share a smile in this open space. The silence between them stretched as they processed what this means for both of them. A small chuckle escapes her lips as the reality set in.
"You're such an idiot," she said with the biggest smile on her face.
He joins her laughter as a tear slips from his eye, "I've waited for this moment my entire life."
"Sorry it's taken me this long to realize how much I love you," she said under her breath.
As he laughs harder at her words, he wraps his arms around her. "We're here now. That's all that matters, trouble."
Ekko moves back as he stands up and wipes the snow off his knees. He reaches down with his hand, she takes it instinctively as he helps her off the snow. Both of them clean the snow off of her and then look up into the sky as the fireworks covered the stars. Powder moves her hand into his, interlocking their fingers for the first time. She leans onto his shoulder as they watch the New Year unfolding in front of them.
"New Year. New Us," she said softly against the cold air.
He nodded at that, "New Year. New Us."
The jolt of his body shaking hits her. He was freezing and she kept him out here this long. She nudged her arm into his to get his attention.
"Come on, boy savior. I don't need you freezing to death just when I confessed my feelings."
Ekko laughs at the new nickname she bestowed upon him as they turn around and begin walking back to the house.
"A new nickname? I'm flattered."
Powder's face lit up with a smile that he's never seen before, "You better be. No one else in my life deserves that one."
They walk up the stairs slowly, both of them slowly realizing that when they walk into the house, there will be an abundance of questions for both of them to answer. Neither of them say a word as they walked up to the glass door. They look at each other with a look of peace they've never seen within each other. Powder lets out a breath as she reaches for the door handle and slides it open. Ekko steps through the threshold first with her following right behind him. She closes the door as they look at each other with a love they never knew the other one shared.
Ekko bends down and kisses her on the lips softly. They get interrupted by a whistle coming from the living room. Both of them jump from the scare as they look at who's making the sound. Of course no one other than her annoying older sister would care more about this than anyone else.
"It's about fucking time!" Vi shouted at them.
Powder's face turns into anger as she looks like she was going to pounce on her. A laugh stems from Vi's throat as she sees her sisters face turn bright red. She lets go of his hand as she sprints at Vi and tackles her to the floor. Vi couldn't stop laughing as Powder started punching her softly. Ekko sprinted to them as he starts laughing knowing this was exactly what he signed up for when he kissed her back. There was no way that he would trade anything else for this.