As she waited for Rakan to get them drinks, Xayah realized she liked this small town. Though it was out of the way from her magical home of Ionia, Vindor was a place Xayah would have decidedly called her home if her very being wasn't tied to the First Lands (and the Noxians weren't trying to steal her ancestral home).
At the moment, Rakan and Xayah were undercover, trying to catch word of the Noxian plans for their next trip to Ionia.
Out of nowhere, a voice materialized at her shoulder. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again," said the voice.
Xayah knew that voice.
A little over a year ago, when Xayah still worked alone, she had visited Vindor with the same purpose she had tonight. That fateful night though, as the moon shone bright in the sky, Xayah had left the bar with a handsome man. She turned around and saw the same man, broken nose and all, standing behind her.
"Sett?" she asked.
"So you do remember me," his cocky smile made Xayah roll her eyes.
Sure, she had fun —too much fun, her comrades in arms would go on to say— but it wasn't like he was some kind of unforgettable sex god.
"I have a boyfriend now," she said, stretching the truth a little. Rakan was her partner in crime, and they had had a tumble or two in the sheets before, but he was not Xayah's boyfriend.
"I saw you come in with someone… don't you want to ditch him for a night of debauchery?"
Xayah raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? That's the best you can come up with?"
"I don't typically have to wait a year to see someone again," he teased. "But you disappeared the morning after without even saying goodbye."
He sounded surprisingly earnest to Xayah's ears, and she briefly wondered how many broken hearts she had left in her wake.
"Xayah? Is everything okay? Is this guy— Sett?" Rakan asked, his face going from concern to honest surprise. She watched as Sett went pale before shaking his head and putting his flirty smile back on.
Wait a minute.
"Do you know each other?" she asked.
"Intimately," said Rakan, no a tremor in his voice.
"Fae'lor. Last summer fair?"
"Two summers ago," replied Rakan immediately. "You left without even saying goodbye."
Now, that was interesting.
Xayah tried to contain her smile as she said, "oh my god, you left Rakan after sleeping with him?"
A couple of people turned around at that.
"Can we not do this here?" Sett asked.
Rakan nodded and passed Xayah her drink. "I'll be back," he said, kissing the top of her head in a show of intimacy they'd never had outside of the sheets. Then, Rakan disappeared in the crowd.
Xayah drank her mulled wine in silence, watching Sett carefully. Rakan was back before Xayah could think of something smart to say.
"I settled our tab. We can go now," he said, looking at Sett expectantly.
Sett walked out of the tavern first, followed by Rakan and Xayah. They walked for a good minute before anyone said spoke up.
"So let me get this straight," Rakan started. "You saw me go into the tavern with a girl and thought the best course of action was stealing her?"
"Not your property," said Xayah.
"Right. Sorry. It's just… really?"
"As a matter of fact, I did not see you," said Sett. "My eyes were busy following the one who got away."
Rakan came to a stop then, Xayah and and Sett walked a couple of steps before turning to look at him, in sync.
"No way," he said. "Xayah? You and Sett—?"
Xayah rolled her eyes and turned to continue walking, but Sett blocked the way. "Oh no, you can't run away from this."
"Wait, you walked out?" Rakan asked. "From Sett?"
"I was on a mission. I lost my target because I left with him... It set us back months," she defended.
"You still talk about your job as if you were a spy," Sett smiled fondly.
"We are spies," said Rakan.
"You're a performer," Sett deadpanned.
"That was before I met Xayah," Rakan replied.
"You know, the whole point of being a spy is not saying you're a spy," added Xayah, unable to hold back the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth.
Sett frowned. "Oh, this is not going to be good for the business."
"People at your fighting ring care too much about their heads to say something to the authorities about your Vastayan acquaintances," said Xayah.
"How did you—"
"Spies, remember?" Rakan interrupted.
Sett gave them a considering look. "I'm sorry I walked out on you, Rakan. The gods made sure to send Xayah my way for me to learn how it felt."
"What your excuse?" Rakan asked.
"I've got none. I was worried word might get out about me sleeping with a man, that's all. I had recently acquired the ring, so I couldn't exactly advertise, you know… I'm sorry."
Rakan gave him an appraising look. He seemed to decide the man was being honest, so he nodded and turned to Xayah.
"What about you?"
Xayah raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean 'what about me'?"
"Are you still into Sett or did I completely misread the looks you've been throwing at him?"
Xayah moved her head from side to side as if shaking her own thoughts inside her head for clarity. Did she find Sett attractive? Of course she did, broken nose and all. Did she think going to bed with both Rakan and Sett was a good idea? On the one hand, it was a dream come true: two men who only wanted her and each other. Conversely, Rakan and Xayah had to leave; they had to go back to Ionia sooner rather than later. Sett would never agree to go with them.
"It's not a matter of Sett being attractive, of course he is; it's a matter of leaving. You and I have to leave in a couple of days," Xayah said in the end.
"Aw, look at you, worried about the hearts you're breaking on your way," Rakan teased.
"One is too many," she said.
"Then unbreak my heart tonight, Xayah," Sett offered.
Xayah looked between Rakan and Sett before setting her sights on the latter. "Only if you promise to unbreak Rakan's."
"Deal," Sett agreed.
Xayah took Rakan's hand in one of her own, Sett's hand on the other, and lead them to the place they were staying for the night. Perhaps, it was Xayah's turn to get her heart broken.
"And no broken hearts this time," warned Rakan, as if reading her mind.
With a smile, she said, "deal."