Hey! Glad you decided to come by. I'll try to keep my beginning author's notes short as possible, but there are some things that need to be said.

First of all, this will be a collection of one-shots; the stories posted will usually have no significant connection (plot-wise) to each other and can be read separately. Also, the order of posting has nothing in common with the order of events (meaning that the events from any given story may occur, for example, a few months before the previous one) - if the time of action is important in a certain one-shot, I'll state it in the footnote A/N.

Secondly, what all these stories do have in common is the main setting, including the characters - Garen, Lux and Katarina; besides, the universe is related to my other story, Prism, but it's not required to read it to understand the one-shots (as I said, they will mostly be stand-alone stories).

The whole collection will be kept at the T rating, so there's a possibility that mild descriptions of violence, swearing and mild scenes of sexual nature (not even M rated) will be present. If there is anything peculiar in a specific story, I will state that in the beginning A/N.

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned belong to Riot Games.

Last thing: I'd like to dedicate this whole collection to the amazing Vay (who prefers her nick to be cut short), who inspired me to write Prism those two years ago.

The Deal

The blade passed only millimeters from her right shoulder. She jumped to the left and rolled over in the grass, groaning as her hip crashed awkwardly against some rock that protruded out of the path. In the next second, she was back on her feet again and throwing blades at the opponent; she'd underestimated his swiftness as the broad sword moved to protect his head, successfully deflecting the flying daggers.

Katarina smirked; he could have just moved aside, her aim was far from perfect.

"Show-off," she muttered as she threw another pair of daggers at his legs. This time Garen chose to jump, even though the massive armor was bound to weigh him down. She made use of his momentary distraction and sent another blade flying, this time directed right at his right eye.

He turned in mid air just in time to avoid the full impact; blood gushed from his ear as the razor-sharp blade grazed the side of his head.

For a moment, he seemed to examine the red liquid that now stained the front of his armor. Then he looked up at Katarina again.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" he mocked, earning a grin from the redhead. "You'd have to do far better than that, Noxian."

"Quit talking and fight, Demacian," she answered with a short laugh, crouching down slightly and ready to jump. "At least you get a little chance to shine in physical acts... every now and then."

The compliment was slight, but it was enough to send him into a rushed mode again; he swung at her with his sword, only for her to jump out of his reach and sight. Dumbfounded, he looked around, searching for Katarina.

Her whereabouts became clear as Garen felt the stinging pain of two daggers pushed right between his shoulder blades. Damned finest Noxian steel, strong enough to push through his armor.

"You're getting slow," he heard her right behind his ear. The wicked smile on her face was almost audible. "I hope it's only... temporary. I'd hate it if you—"

Instead of responding himself, he let Katarina scream in pain. The sword in his twisted hand found target as it sank in tender flesh just above the woman's hip, at least five inches deep. She retreated quickly, holding her side. Her face was furious now.

"Is something wrong, Du Couteau?" he mocked again as Katarina fell to one knee, blood spilling from between her fingers. The wound was deep and possibly a fatal one. She looked up at him, disbelief clearly visible in her eyes. She tried to shunpo away from him, but her Summoner was still silenced after the attack. The hopelessness she felt because of that was one of the worst things in the League.

She'd rather have her hands tied, at least she could cut her way through some rope.

The sword swung down at her one last time and Katarina felt her soul being severed from her body - a feeling she'd never quite enjoyed.

She watched helplessly as her base got invaded.

oOOo

Garen waited outside the locker room when she got out.

"Oh, get lost," she groaned, punching his shoulder as he moved to stand in her way. Really, she was furious after the match; especially after the rather heated argument she'd just had with her sister in the showers. Instead of taking her advice, though, the big guy just grinned down at her. "Seriously, Crownguard, leave me alone now or I'll cut that goofy smile out of your face."

"Uh-uh, that's not what the deal said." He crossed his arms across the broad chest.

Whenever Katarina tried to get past him, he stepped into her way again.

"What are you, five!?" she shouted as she bumped into his shoulder again while trying to slip past the man, farther into the corridor. Of course it wasn't what the deal said. But the deal was supposed to be won by her, and as much as she hated to admit it, Garen did get a better KDA score.

He looked down at her again, but this time the grin turned into a frown. He clasped a big hand around her arm, earning a very feline growl.

"It's just a match," he said, as if that wasn't clear enough.

With an exaggerated huff, she shrugged out of his grip.

"I know it's just a fucking match, do you really think I'm angry about that?" This time it was her who crossed her arms across her chest. She bit down angrily on her lower lip as she looked him straight in the eye. They were fighting again; this time it was about who would be the first one to look away. "I know how to lose one with dignity," she snarled at last, still not taking her eyes off him.

"Oh, I'm sure you do," he mocked her again and she could almost feel a vein popping on her forehead. Oh, how she wanted to wipe that crooked smile from his face right now. "You're just very good at hiding—"

"Shut up," she cut him off, punching the broad (even without his armor on) chest half-heartedly. He hardly even moved.

Losing with dignity, a voice said at the back of her mind. She cast a quick glance down the corridor, and then back at the closed locker room door behind her. There was nobody, just the two of them.

You could just kill him on the spot and nobody would know, said another voice.

Quickly, hurriedly even, she climbed onto her toes and, catching him by the collar of his untied shirt (that he probably thought she'd find rather alluring), she pulled him in for a kiss. To the cheek. Lasting about a third part of a second.

"There," she said as she let go of him and stepped away, crossing her arms again. Though she wasn't sure how it was physically possible, his smile got even goofier now. "The deal. Now get lost."

Garen moved to the side of the corridor to lean against the wall, letting her through. With the anger almost visible in little puffs of smoke from her nostrils, she brushed past him.

She could still feel his gaze on her back, just as every trained assassin would.

But it wasn't half as bad as she'd like it to be.

A/N: Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed this short first installment. I have no idea how often I'm going to update this (those shorts practically write themselves, but only when I'm in a proper mood); as I said at the beginning, the next stories won't pick up where this one's left off. They will be just scenes from Garen's, Katarina's or Lux's (or any mix of the three) lives up to the moment where Prism occurs. Again, like I said, reading Prism is not required, but I invite you to do so; however, brace yourself for sadness.

If you liked the story (or not), please leave a review. If there's anything you'd like to see (any particular scene or event), send me a PM and I'll try to do my best to fulfill your wish :)