Chapter Text
The air was getting chillier as the October wind blew. Ekko lifted his jacket closer to his face to block a bit of the wind, glanced down at his smartwatch as he noticed a glow of blue covering the screen. He let out a groan of annoyance as he tapped the blue screen. His work held him back a few minutes due to an annoying customer complaining they changed a tire wrong. He'd been working at this car repair shop for almost three years now, he knew how to change a tire. He’s only four minutes late, but those four minutes mean a lot. He hated being late. Ekko never wanted her to think he was late, or not coming at all. His watch vibrated again as blue filled his screen again, noticing the time was 3:04pm. “Yes, I know I’m late.” He muttered to himself as he ran down the road. His destination was in sight, but he couldn’t see her yet. Ekko slowed down to a walk as he looked over the sea of children on the sidewalk. His eyes glazed over the children until he spotted a familiar grey hat. He lifted his wrist with the watch and started scrolling through colours, taping on green with a smile. He looked back up and watched as the hat shifted downwards, before shooting up and looked around until their eyes met. Her face lit up when she finally found Ekko. She let go of her teacher's hand and sprinted towards him. Ekko knelt down as she jumped into his awaiting arms. He held her tightly, feeling her squeeze back. “Hey Kid.” He muttered into her hair though he knew she probably couldn’t hear him.
The girl leaned back, quickly signing her greetings. Her legs wrapped around him so as he stood up so she wouldn’t fall. With one hand, Ekko signed back and spoke at the same time. ”Missed you too Isha. How was today?” He watched the smile on her face disappear before burying her face in his shoulder. He placed a hand on her back as the teacher walked towards them. “What happened this time?”
The teacher looked at Isha then back at him. “We sorted the kids into groups today and apparently some of them said some hurtful things.” She admitted. “We are dealing with the children who were involved, we sent a letter home to the parents to sign and bring back so they know what happened.”
Ekko could feel his anger bubbling, narrowing his eyes. “Who was it? Was it Jack again?” He tried not to hiss out the name. Jack was a boy who kept picking on Isha since this school year started, and it’s only been a month. “Can she switch classes so she’s not in his class? Why were they grouped together when you know he bullies her.” He asked without waiting for an answer.
She shook her head. “All classes are filled. We can’t move her. We are dealing-“
“Whatever you are doing is not working!” Ekko snapped. He watched her eyes widen in alarm at his tone. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He has gotten better at managing his anger, but it still slips sometimes in these situations. “I’m sorry. This is the second time this week, and it’s only Tuesday! I am very frustrated that my kid is getting bullied, and nothing seems to be done about it. What is the next step so Isha can go to school safely?” His voice shook a bit as he held back his anger.
The teacher looked at him sympathetically. “I know it’s frustrating, and I’m sorry there isn’t much else we can do. We could look into other schools-“
“No other school in the area can accommodate her.” He shot back. “All this, because one kid keeps spreading lies about her?” He half turned away from her. “Do you have an incident form so I can have documentation of what happened?” He shifted Isha in his arms and held out his hand. He knew he had to leave before his anger got the best of him. The teacher placed the paper in his hand. “We can discuss this another time.” He fully turned away and started walking back down the sidewalk. Ekko placed a hand on Isha’s back, causing her to lift her head. He lifted his hand off her back so she could see his hand ‘Do you want to talk about what happened?’ He signed and spoke at the same time.
Isha shook her head and placed her head back on his shoulder. She could still see him, lifting a hand and signing ‘I want to go home.’
‘Okay. We will go home. Do you want to walk?’ He asked, getting a nod in response. He stopped and put her down, holding her hand as they walked towards the edge of town. Their home was just over a half hour walk away, but they loved walking together. Ekko always walked Isha to school before heading to work, which was luckily a few streets down the road from her school. He knows how much Isha hated school, but she always seems to brighten up on the walk home. She has separation anxiety when it comes to him leaving, they've been working on it and found the walk to school helped. This year has been a lot better than last year, the meltdowns have gotten better with the help of the therapist they see once a week.
Once they arrived on their street, Isha let go of his hand and ran to the front of a cafe they lived on top of. She peered in and noticed a handful of customers there. She looked back at him with a sweet smile. ‘Cookie?’ She signed quickly.
He chuckled and lifted his hands. ‘Yes, you can have a cookie.’ He watched her jump towards the door in excitement and opened the door, leaving it open for him to walk in. He ruffled her hair as he walked back, lifting his hand to his chin to sign thank you and felt the wind rush past as she booked it to the showcase of sweets to see what they had left.
The worker looked up from her cleaning and smiled. “Hey Ekko. Just getting back?” She leaned over the counter and waved at Isha, who waved back.
He nodded. “Hey Gert. Yeah, the kid wanted a cookie after a bad school day.” He admitted, reaching for his wallet.
Gert shook her head. “You know the owner lets Isha have free treats. She has such a soft sport for you two.” Gert smiled as she reached into the case to get Isha a chocolate chip cookie. “Anything for you?”
He shook his head. “No thanks. Are you closing today?” He asked as he watched Isha sign her thanks before taking a bite of the cookie.
She nodded. “Still have four hours to go. Glad for the extra hours, but Janna, do I want to go home.”
They both laughed. “Don’t I know it. I’ll see you later. Thanks for the cookie.” He waved before Isha led him outside. She went to the door next to the cafe and swung it open, keeping it open for Ekko to walk in. He walked through, signing a thank you to her and couldn’t help but grin when he saw her smile at him. He watched as she ran past him and up the stairs to the apartment above the cafe. Isha stopped at the first one and grabbed hold of the doorknob. She impatiently placed her hand on the handle and shook it. Ekko could hear the clank of the lock as she twisted the knob. She looked over at him, crumbs around her mouth as she took another bite of her cookie. ‘You have crumbs all over your mouth.’ He chuckling as he knelt down and gently wiped the crumbs off her face.
Isha giggled at the touch, holding the half eaten cookie towards his face. Ekko leaned down and took a small bite, smiling at her as he stood back up and unlocked the door. Isha quickly stuffed the rest of the cookie in her mouth as she walked through the door Ekko held open for her. She looked up and signed a thank you to him back. Their place wasn’t big, a one bedroom apartment, But it worked for them. Isha took the bedroom while Ekko slept on the fold out bed in the living room. Most nights, Isha wouldn’t let him leave the room. She always has bad dreams and preferred to have Ekko sleep in the room with her, or she would sneak on the fold out bed with him. He never minded, as long as she was able to get a good nights sleep. The kitchen wasn’t big, but it was perfect for the two of them. Isha liked helping Ekko cook, but she loved baking. She was always asking him to bake different things every Monday, and on Tuesday they would take the goods to the community center Ekko volunteered at. The same community center they met at.
Ekko watched as Isha ran to the kitchen, grabbing her step stool and dragging it to the counter where her cupcakes from the day before sat. Ekko chuckled before waving his hand to get her attention. ‘I love how excited you are, but we aren’t leaving for a few hours. How about we make spaghetti for supper first?’ He signed when she looked at him. He watched her frown before nodding, leaving the cupcakes on the counter.
~
As they ate, Ekko kept glancing at her. They almost finished when Ekko put his fork down. ‘Lovebug, Will you tell me what happened today?’ He signed, seeing her watching from the corner of her eye.
Isha stiffened, putting her fork down as well. She stared down at her food, avoiding his gaze. ‘The normal.’ She signed before placing her hands on the table, not wanting to say more.
Ekko reached over and placed his hand over hers, causing her to glance at him again so she could see his hands. ‘You know you can tell me. If I don’t know what they’re saying, I can’t help.’ He gave her a smile. ‘I love you. You are my kid.’ Before he could finish Isha jumped off her chair and went to his side, raising her arms to him. He chuckled as he lifted her onto his lap.
She immediately pressed herself against him, feeling the rise of his chest under her head as she relaxed. She lifted her hand and started spelling out ‘love you too’ with one hand.
Ekko smiled, gently rubbing her back to help soothe her. He held her until he felt her shift, only a few minutes had passed. He looked at the clock, noticing it was close to five. ‘Want to go to the park before we head out? We still have an hour to spare.’ He saw her lift her head, turned to face him with a grin. She loved the park, the swings were always her favorite. She jumped off his lap, but before she could get far Ekko tapped her head. He pointed to the bit of food left on her plate. She hopped back up on her chair and started shoveling the pasta into her mouth. Ekko couldn’t help but laugh as she slurped her last noddle and flicked sauce in her forehead. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow with confusion. Ekko quickly took out his phone and took a photo of her, showing her. Isha laughed when she saw her face was covered in sauce. ‘Go wash your face, then we can go.’ He signed as he stopped laughing. He collected their plates as she ran to the bathroom to clean up. He quickly washed the dishes as he waited for her to finish.
Isha ran to the front door once she was clean, stuffing her feet in her shoes and holding her hands up. ‘Let’s go! Let’s go! I want to swing!’ She signed.
Ekko quickly dried his hand and went to the door. ‘Okay, okay. Let’s go.’ He grabbed his backpack that he takes everywhere. ‘Don’t cross the street without me.’ He signed to her as he opened the door. Ekko looked at the park across the street, it was busy but he could see spots to sit and watch her play, though he could see the swings were all taken. He held his hand out and Isha held it as she looked both ways. She looked up at him and nodded before they started crossing the street. Once they crossed Isha let go of his hand, watching as he lifted his hands to sign. ‘If you want me to push you on the swings then they’re free, let me know. Go have fun.’ Isha grinned before running off to the monkey bars.
Ekko sat at a bench at the edge of the park, a good view of the playground and the swings in case Isha needed him. He pulled out an old laptop and started typing. Ekko had been taking college courses online, things he could do when Isha was asleep or occupied. Having two jobs and a kid left him very little time to go to physical classes.
It wasn’t long till a couple of kids left the swing, and Isha quickly ran to the closest one. She waved at him to come over, kicking her legs pathetically to show she wanted him to push her. Ekko chuckled to himself as he placed the laptop back in his bag and placed the bag on his back and called over to her. He knew she could use the swing by herself, but she always preferred him to push her. Watching her fake struggle to swing always made him laugh.
Isha smiled when she saw him getting closer, swinging slowly on the seat as she signed. ‘Can you push me? I want to go fast!’
Ekko ruffled her hair. ‘Of course, but you better hold on tight.’ He said daringly, chuckling when he saw her quickly grip the chains tightly. He stood in front of her and grabbed her legs, feeling her playfully kick in his grasp as he took a couple steps back. He pulled her forward and let her go, watching her swing away from him.
Isha giggled as she flew towards him, her feet pushing against his hands as he pushed her again. She pumped her legs to go faster, soon going higher than Ekkos head. She laughed loudly as she swung back and was as high as the bar holding up the swing.
Ekko loved hearing her laugh, thankful that even though it was a hard day at school she was still laughing. He admired how strong of a kid she was. He glanced down at his watch, noticing it was 5:30 pm. ‘Okay kid, time to go.’ He watched as she started to slow down. Once she fully stopped, she jumped off and grabbed his hand to start walking back to get their cupcakes. As he started towards the road he noticed a woman going to a police car, he continued to look for cars before they crossed. Ekko let go of Isha's hand as she went to their door before he heard a voice behind him. He looked up to see two police officers walking towards him. He stiffened as he turned to face them. “Hello.” He greeted them calmly.
“How do you know this kid?” The older one asked in a ruff tone, looking from Ekko to Isha.
“She’s my daughter. I adopted her.” Ekko replied, glancing down to see Isha had pressed herself against his leg and held his shirt tightly in her little hands. ‘It’s okay. Just stay with me.’ He smiled down at her to help assure her as he saw her nervousness slowly growing.
“You look like a kid yourself.” The second one answered. “We got a complaint that…someone may have taken a child from this park. Do you have the paperwork confirming she is yours?” He asked.
Ekko nodded. “I always do. This isn’t the first time.” He muttered the last part to himself. He let his bag slide down his arm and pulled out multiple pieces of paper. “Here are her adoption papers, my ID, her ID. Anything else?”
The first officer quickly took the paperwork and started reading. “They seem real…” he muttered, unsure if he believed them.
“They are real.” Ekko said sternly, his free hand clenched into a fist to remain calm.
Isha looked between Ekko and the officers, noticing the tension slowly rising. She reached into Ekkos pocket and pulled out his phone, unlocking it and went to his photos. She pulled some of them together and held her phone up to the officers, wanting to show them that they were a family. When neither of the officers looked at her, she took a few steps towards the younger one. The officer didn’t realize she got close, tugging on his arm caused him to jump. His hand hit the rim of her hat, causing Isha to stumble back. Isha gasped loudly as she tripped over the crack in the sidewalk. She could feel herself falling back. She closed her eyes as she waited for a hard impact, but it never came.
She kept her eyes closed for a few seconds longer than she probably needed too, but she expected there to be more pain from her fall. She only felt a bit of pain on her arm. Isha opened her eyes to see Ekko kneeling in front of her, about to scoop her up. She felt another arm around her. She looked down at the arm and followed the blue cloud tattoos to find extremely long blue braids. Isha marveled at how long the braids were, pooling on the ground where the two sat. As Ekko lifted her off the person, Isha kept her eyes on the lady sitting on the ground. She could finally see her face. Bright blue eyes were staring back at her, black cat ear headphones over her ears that she was moving down to hand around her neck. Their eye contact broke when the woman shifted her gaze to the officers. Isha watched as her mouth moved rapidly, but there was too much going on around her to understand. She looked up at Ekko, seeing him talking but couldn’t make out the words. Her stumble disoriented her too much to figure out what they were saying.
“What the fuck?! Did you just hit a child?!” The woman’s voice rang out loud, startling Ekko and the officers. He could hear loud music coming from the ground but he paid no mind, his focus was on Isha. He
“I-I didn’t, I moved my hand-“ the second officer tried to defend himself, but was cut off.
“She was trying to show you my phone to see the photos on it!” Ekko shot back, seeing red. He quickly scanned her over, signing to her. ‘Are you okay? Did he hit you?’ He moved her hat to make sure no marks were on her face then looked at her arms and legs. Ekko let out a small sign of relief when Isha glanced at him and signed back that she was okay.
“I hit her hat.” He said, getting a glare from everyone surrounding him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see her there.” He apologized, but Ekko didn’t care. He wasn’t apologizing to Isha, he was just saying it to cover his ass.
“She has a hearing disability, she can’t hear you if you don’t face her.” Ekko glared. “Why are you even here?! We live here.” He motioned to the building next to them. “I work there.” He pointed to the cafe next door. “And we go to this park almost every day.” He looked down at Isha, who was rubbing her elbow.
Isha glanced down at her scrapped hand and elbow, but there was barely any blood. She nodded as she showed him. She could see his face harden at the sight of her scraps. ‘I’m okay. They don’t hurt.’
The first officer looked at Ekko and Isha. “Is she okay?” He asked, concerned in his voice.
Ekko glared at him. “Luckly, she only had scraps. You can ask her yourself.”
“I'm pretty cut up, but fine. Thanks for asking.” The woman spoke up, but Ekko didn’t look at her. “You should sue.” She told him, watching as the second officer stiffened. He looked like he wanted to disappear off the face of the earth.
“I’m thinking about it.” Ekko breathed out.
The first officer took out a notepad and jotted a few things down before ripping it off, handing it to Ekko alongside his paperwork. “Here is both our information. He apologized. We’re sorry to have bothered you.” He turned and headed back to the car, the other officer quickly following him.
“You broke my roller blades!” She called after them, waving a broken wheel in her hand after them. “What the fuck was that about?” She turned to him.
Ekko finally turned to the woman. “I’m sor-“ He froze. He couldn't help but stare at her, unsure he believed what he was seeing. Their gazes met, he knew it had to be true. She looked as shocked as he felt. He felt like he was seeing a ghost.
“Ekko?” She said, barley above a whisper.
“Powder?”