Chapter 20 – A Night to Remember
The workshop was quiet that night. Outside, the lanterns of Piltover glowed like scattered stars, and the gentle hum of hextech energy pulsed through the walls. The city never truly slept, but in this corner of the Academy, time felt suspended.
Steven sat at his workbench, tools forgotten, his mind somewhere far away. He was used to late nights, to loneliness. But not tonight.
Sera entered, barefoot, her hair slightly damp from the shower, wearing one of his oversized academy shirts. She crossed the room without a word and sat beside him.
"You're thinking again," she said softly.
"Can't help it," Steven replied. "Everything's moving so fast. I feel like if I stop, I'll fall behind."
Sera leaned her head against his shoulder. "Then don't stop. Just… rest. With me."
He turned to look at her, and in her eyes he saw something that scared him more than all his designs and plans: a future.
"You ever think about what it would be like… to have a normal life?" he asked.
She smiled. "What's normal in a city built on glowing rocks and floating elevators?"
"You know what I mean. No pressure, no saving the world, just… waking up next to someone, sharing a small home, maybe… maybe a child running around with bright blue eyes and a stubborn streak."
Her smile faltered slightly, replaced by a quiet wonder. "You'd want that, a child? With someone like me?"
Steven reached out, cupping her cheek. "I think you're the only real thing in a world that still feels like a dream."
She kissed him not out of passion, but a promise. One born from two broken souls finding light in each other.
That night, they stayed in the small apartment Steven had been assigned, lying close beneath old academy blankets. There were no grand declarations, no need for explanations. Just two hearts in a passionate battle, tired of fighting alone, sharing the warmth they'd found.
In the morning, neither of them spoke much about it. There was no need. Everything had changed.
They spent the day wandering Piltover like any other young couple. Sharing food. Laughing at street performers. Pretending, if only for a few hours, that the world wasn't waiting to crumble.
As they returned to the workshop that evening, Steven glanced at her with a gentle smile. His hand found hers instinctively.
They didn't need to say anything. The silence between them spoke more clearly than words ever could.
But high above, in a shadowed spire of metal and brass, dark eyes watched Piltover. And far below, in the depths of Zaun, plans were already in motion.