Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was supposed to be a walk in the park. The Shimmer factory was a manageable size for the enforcers at Caitlyn’s disposal and Ekko and Vi’s knowledge of the undercity gave them the perfect direction of approach for a surprise arrival. With Jayce and his hextech there to support both Piltover’s finest and the Green Lights, the whole thing should have been, at most, an opportunity for Vi to relieve some stress. A much-needed one, as far as she was concerned.

She'd been cooped up in Caitlyn's parents house for weeks now. Sure, she was granted the courtesy of joining the strategic meetings with the council as they discussed how they were going to deal with the problem of Shimmer production in Zaun, but much of those meetings was spent being spoken down to by the manicured elite of Piltover. It would make anyone want to punch something and Vi, especially so.

And on top of that she had barely had a moment alone with Caitlyn since that night by the docks. There was so much that they needed to say. So much that Vi needed to say. But they were always supervised, or Caitlyn was always occupied with responsibility as newly appointed Sheriff, or Vi was working too hard to appear indifferent to her. After all, she didn't want to give Caitlyn's mother a reason to get out of her hospital bed and reach for that gun again. She'd pop a stitch or something. 

So they just… hadn't talked. Not about them, anyway. Vi was practically bursting with the thoughts - the feelings - that they were both just pretending weren't a thing. Yeah. Vi definitely wanted to punch something.

This particular excursion had been talked around for eleven days before it was greenlit - Vi had been counting. And now here it was, at last. The chance to break some noses. Vi's hands had been itching in her Atlas Gauntlets.

To begin with, the plan went smoothly enough. They made it to the factory undetected and Vi, Ekko, Caitlyn and Jayce started clearing out the defensive, Shimmer-loaded bastards standing ready to protect the facility. Jacye and Vi led the central brawl, while Ekko and Caitlyn provided cover; Ekko in the air and Caitlyn sniping from a side balcony. Caitlyn’s enforcers met against the factory workers that tried to defend the Shimmer, but for the most part things were being handled well, with almost no need for excessive force. A few broken bones here and there, some of the Shimmer battle suits went boom, but otherwise the casualties were minimal.

And then Jinx showed up.

Half a dozen of Caitlyn and Ekko’s people were dead after the initial explosion as a volley of neon-painted nail bombs rained down from the walkway above the main factory floor.

Vi immediately scanned every corner and shadow for a sign of blue hair and bright purple eyes.

As gunfire and crashes continued around her she swivelled on the spot, Gauntlets raised and ready. No sign yet, but somehow she just knew that she was here.

"Hey sis," came the voice right behind her ear.

Vi whirled on the spot, putting her fists between her and her sister, whose machine gun was held heavy in her hands, aimed directly at Vi. Seeing her was almost unreal. Too real. How was it possible that this wide-eyed young woman was responsible for so much horror? Or the victim of so much.

"You here to kill me, Powder?" Vi tried to keep the pain from her voice but even as she spoke she knew she'd failed to.

"Aren't you here for the same?" Eyes flickered over Vi's shoulder as the sound of a sniper rifle rang out. But no impact here; Caitlyn wasn't shooting at them. Hadn't noticed them yet. Good. Best not to give her sister a reason to shoot back.

"We're here to put an end to Silco's bullshit," Vi replied.

It was the wrong thing to say. As soon as Silco's name had left her lips she saw the switch flip in her sister. The clench of her jaw and the flare of her nostrils. Vi was ready as she pulled the trigger.

Bullets tore through her left gauntlet as she used it to shield herself. No matter. It bought her time. Gave her the chance to bring the right one around as she lunged forwards, fist connecting with the barrel of the gun.

The spinning barrels met with the articulated knuckles of the gauntlet and the deep boom and shattering of metal marked the end of both weapons. Vi followed the momentum of her movement into a roll to avoid the spray of shrapnel and sparks. Springing back to her feet she felt deep heat inside the gauntlets. A quick glance at them showed sparks and smoke from both. She let them slip off her hands, her knuckles cracking as she balled up fists in readiness at her sides.

Wait. No fists. Perhaps there was still a chance here to fix this. To do this right for a change. She unfurled her fists as her sister tossed the ruined machine gun aside with an angry snarl.

“Powder, please. I know you’re still you. I don’t believe you really want to do this.”

The girl in front of her - Jinx? Powder? - laughed hollowly, her wide, watery eyes fixed on Vi’s.

“She knows, she says,” she said loudly. Vi was uncertain who exactly the comment was directed towards. “Gotta be me. The real me. Not the one from before but the only one left…” she turned sharply, glancing over her shoulder and scrunching up her face. “Shut up! She doesn’t know. Can’t know. Won’t believe. Doesn’t understand.”

“I understand, Powder,” Vi took a step forward, hands up and palms out non threateningly. “I know it all got fucked up. I’m sorry. I’ll never stop being sorry, but I’m here now to fix it.”

Jinx - Powder? - Jinx’s eyes snapped round to Vi’s once again.

“Fix it,” she repeated, like she was trying to understand what the words meant. “Gotta find the fix for the thing that broke.”

“You’re not broken, Powder.” Another step forward. This time, the younger sister nudged forward a fraction too. “But I want to help you. It’s not too late to fix this." She gestured between the two of them. "To be a family again.”

Vi closed the last of the gap as her baby sister stood unmoving, arms slack at her side. Well, here went nothing. She wrapped her arms around her in a tentative hug, mercifully met with no resistance. She couldn’t help but smile, overcome with relief that she’d even been allowed to get this close. That had to mean something, right? That had to mean Powder wanted Vi to be there.

The sounds of battle raged on in the room surrounding them but on some level the noise just faded into the background as the sisters shared this moment.

“I had a family,” said Powder’s sad, small voice over Vi’s shoulder.

Vi felt her sister move, lifting her arms. Could this really be happening? Was she really, after all this, about to get her sister back? She expected then to feel Powder’s arms reach around her back and embrace her in return. What she didn’t expect was to feel a sudden sharp, searing pain in her side.

Pain was no stranger to Vi. She was well acquainted with shivs and stab wounds. She’d been a pin cushion for more than one inmate of Stillwater who wanted to boost their standing or who simply took a dislike to her. Or she to them. Sevika had buried her razor-sharp mechanical fingers into her belly not so long ago. That had hurt like a motherfucker, sure, but it was little more than a faint ripple in the ocean of agony Vi had been swimming in her whole life.

This felt like every knife, talon, or sharpened implement that she’d ever been on the receiving end of, driven directly through her heart all at once. Powder- no, Jinx had stabbed her.

There was no need to look; Vi could feel the hilt of the knife sunk down to her skin. Vi’s back straightened reflexively with the pain and she found herself gasping for air, hands digging sharply into Jinx’s shoulders as she leaned against her. Jinx didn’t move, simply holding the blade in place.

“I killed them all,” Jinx said sadly, over Vi’s shoulder.

Vi grit her teeth, gasping in pain as her eyes began to sting with tears. It wasn't- couldn't be too late. Even now. There had to be something of her sister left. Something to reach and hold onto. Anything.

“P-Powder, don’t-”

“I killed everyone.”

In one lightning fast movement, Jinx ripped the blade - a small knife, as Vi caught a glimpse of it now - out of Vi’s side and lunged forwards a second time with brutal speed and force. This time, as the knife slipped through her flesh like butter, aimed upwards and under her ribs, Vi couldn’t contain the raw scream of pain.

Perhaps Vi could have, should have pulled away. Planted a fist square in her sister's nose and put some safe distance between them before there was even a chance for a second strike. Maybe she was too taken by surprise. Maybe she was too weak. Maybe she'd never get the chance to figure out which. Her name rang out somewhere in the distance, a scream from a familiar voice somewhere far away. She wanted to reach out to it but it was growing further away every second. Jinx’s hand tightened by vice-like on her shoulder, holding Vi in place against her as the other pushed the knife in up to the hilt. There was a familiar coppery scent on the air that she knew by now as that of her own blood.

And as all these feelings came at once she could also sense none of them. Only the pain. The searing, agonising pain in her side and the devastating shattering of her heart. Any final spark of hope to save her sister finally flickered into darkness. Powder was gone. Vi had killed her. And Jinx had killed Vi.

“Goodbye, Violet.”

A single tear rolled down Vi’s cheek as Jinx stepped forwards, releasing her grip of Vi’s shoulder and tugging the knife from her abdomen sharply. A gasp ripped from Vi's chest as the knife tore free and she felt Jinx step past her, out of her line of sight. The pain was dizzying, sickening and as Jinx vanished behind her she was adrift without anything stable to grab for support. Her heart thudded in her excruciating, ever-tightening chest and gasping to breathe found her choking on the bitter, metallic, red fluid that was bubbling up from inside her slashed body. Her vision began to swim and she felt the world turn, the grubby metal of the factory floor rising up swiftly to meet her.

***

“Vi!”

Caitlyn hadn’t seen the first strike - she’d been shooting, taking care of a shimmered-up enemy in some kind of augmented battle suit that had tried to get the drop on Jayce. As she saw the figure drop to the ground through her scope, she felt the sudden inexplicable urge to turn and look the opposite way - which was when she saw Vi, standing face to face with Jinx on the far side of the factory, half-way wrapped in an embrace, except Jinx was holding a knife that was already sunk into Vi’s body.

Now her feet were carrying her before she even realised they were - heading towards Vi, already leapt from her balcony vantage point before her rifle had even hit the ground. It hurt like hell when her feet reached the floor below but she didn't care, tearing off again into a sprint. She had forty feet left to run as the sisters stood in place, a look of shock fixed on Vi’s expression as she began to gasp for air. Thirty feet as Jinx, with lightning speed, pulled the knife and drove it in a second time, aiming it upwards into Vi’s torso.

Caitlyn let loose an open sob of horror at the scream that erupted from Vi. It echoed around the dank factory, piercing through the sounds of gunshots and explosions. Twenty feet and Jinx wrenched the knife free and walked away from her sister, not even turning to look back as Vi simply crumpled to the floor.

Closing the last few feet on her knees, Caitlyn skidded to a halt at Vi's side and rolled her over . Her eyes were watery and wild, her lips already painted red with blood as she spluttered and gasped for breath.

“Caitlyn…”

“It's going to be ok, Vi, just don’t move,” Caitlyn said, her voice trembling. She looked down at Vi’s ruined body, the stab wounds already pumping out thick, deep rivers of red. She practically tore the jacket off her shoulders and pressed it to Vi’s abdomen, trying to ignore the cry of pain as she did so. She just needed to stop the bleeding. Get help. Save Vi.

“Jayce!” Caitlyn screamed out to the rest of the fray in the factory. “Ekko, please! Vi needs help!” Though the tide of fight was beginning to turn in their favour, the conflict was not over and her friends were out of sight, hidden by the throng of bodies in battle and the swirl of smoke and debris in the air. Please. Anyone. Her own gasping breaths came rapid and uneven as she scanned for any kind of lifeline.

A cold, shaky hand rested on her cheek and she looked back down to Vi. The UnderCity brawler had reached up and was gently brushing a thumb across Caitlyn’s cheek, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

“H-hey Cupcake,” Vi spluttered weakly. “You wanna g-go get a drink sometime?”

Something between a sob and a laugh spilled from Caitlyn's lips. "You're asking now?"

"Might be... 'only chance I get," is Vi's ever-weakening reply. She looked so small.

An ache set into Caitlyn's chest. They had been dancing around this since they met. But there were always distractions or other priorities. Always the assumption that there would be time later to unpack and identify what had been rapidly forming between them. But until then they had buried it, as if not looking at it would put it on pause or keep it and them protected. Well, there was nowhere else to look now.

Caitlyn’s eyes burned with tears as she reached up and wrapped her fingers around Vi’s. She nodded emphatically.

“Yes. Please, yes, whatever you want, just please hold on,” she turned back towards the factory again, desperately scanning the room for any sign of the others. A flash of green blurred through the smoke and she screamed reactively. “Ekko! Help, Vi’s hurt!”

On the ground below her she heard an even quieter voice murmur, “Great… s’ a date.”

Feeling Vi’s hand go limp in hers, Caitlyn turned back to the woman on the ground in front of her. The woman she…

Vi was pale. A shocking contrast to the deep red blood that was staining her lips and pooling around her on the ground. Her eyes had unfocused, her expression going slack. A weak, gurgly breath escaped her mouth and then no more. With Vi, the world went silent.

Caitlyn felt herself screaming Vi’s name, pawing frantically at the woman’s jacket trying to shake her back into consciousness, but she saw it all through a dark, muffled tunnel at the end of which she was frozen. She barely registered that the hysterical, trembling voice was her own, or that by this point her hands were entirely covered in Vi’s blood, leaving red prints over everything she touched.

The flash of green and whir of hoverboard signalled Ekko’s arrival, but Caitlyn didn’t look up. She couldn’t. Her gaze was forever fixed on Vi; pale, unmoving, eyes half-closed and empty. An image she already knew she’d see for the rest of her days.

Ekko scrambled to Vi's side, lingering just long enough to take stock of the situation.

“Vi? Shit!”

And then he was gone again.

Caitlyn cradled Vi's face in her hands, fingers shaking against her cold cheeks. Leaning in close until their foreheads touched, Caitlyn was almost overwhelmed with the dizzying smell of copper.

"Please," she whispered. "Please don't leave again."

Rough hands grabbed her arms suddenly and hauled her away from Vi.

"Back up!"

Stumbling backwards onto her elbows she watched Ekko tearing the cap from some kind of injection device with his teeth. The device, a glass double-cylinder in a metallic frame like a pistol, was unfamiliar to Caitlyn but the sloshing purple liquid inside was not. Realisation struck only a second before Ekko drove the now-exposed needle square into Vi's chest.

Later, Caitlyn would be able to discern that only seconds passed during this moment following the injection into Vi's lifeless body. It would be apparent that it was no longer than the mere moments it took for Vi's fading heart to circulate the shimmer around her system. Three, maybe four seconds at most.

Happening, it felt like an eternity.

And then Vi's body convulsed violently. A mouthful of blood sprayed forth from her lips as her body folded in on itself, every muscle tensing and contracting, her hands balled into fists and her knees rising so sharply Caitlyn was sure they would collide with her own head. Then the convulsions began.

Ekko attempted to hold the Zaunite steady as she thrashed. Frozen for only a second more, Caitlyn scrambled forwards and tried to hold onto Vi's other arm.

"What's happening?" She asked.

"Shimmer," Ekko replied shortly, through gritted teeth.

Caitlyn's eyes widened as she watched Vi's eyes snap open wildly, burning purple shining back at her. The shimmer in her veins pulsed at her neck as she roared, spittle and blood on her lips. Whatever was compelling her back from the dead was firing up her muscles beyond their normal capacity and Caitlyn watched Vi's arms bulge inside her jacket sleeves, wrenching free of Ekko's grip.

With none of her usual control or technique, Vi swung forward with a closed fist, striking Ekko hard in the jaw. He span backwards, sprawled out and unmoving.

"Vi! Please, we're your friends!"

The words fell on deaf ears as Vi, eyes bloodshot and wild like an animal, whirled around to face Caitlyn, her bloodied fist raising for a second hit. Caitlyn scrunched up her face and braced for pain, but it didn't come. Instead there was the wet, sharp smack of something connecting with skin and bone. Caitlyn opened her eyes to see Vi slump limply again, the end of Jacye's hammer handle hovering in front of her as he stood over them both, breathless.

Shock, fear, pain, and disbelief gripped Caitlyn's chest as she remembered to take in a breath of air. An equally breathless Jacye hovered above her, hammer in hand, looking urgently from Caitlyn to Vi and back again.

"Are you ok?"

Chapter Text

Pain. Cold. Emptiness. Darkness. Nothing.

And then light. Searing. Blinding. Toxic. Violet.

Darkness once again.

Opening her eyes was a slow, laboured event. Vi's eyelids were heavy and crusty, cemented together enough to tell her that they'd been shut for some time.

Through the blur and fog of slowly regained consciousness, a room came into focus around her. Curtains. A dusky pink colour and embroidered, hanging around the canopy that framed whatever bed she was laying in. Beyond that were walls adorned with framed paintings, fancy and old-looking furniture, and light shining from behind a window that was covered with more of the same heavy curtains as the bed. Caitlyn's parents' house. This was her room. Well, the room she'd been staying in for the past weeks. 

Vi let her eyes slide closed once again. The next time she opened them the shadows had moved on the walls and the light outside was a different shade. There was also pain. A deep, throbbing, burning in her side. She tensed up reactively which served only to make it worse. It took some effort to keep her breathing steady and relax her body well enough to return to the dull, constant ache instead of the sharp stabs that accompanied movement.

What the hell had happened?

Clenching her fists into the soft linen she was laying in, Vi tried to concentrate and organize the mass of images, sounds, smells, and feelings jumbled around her head. They were fragments, disconnected and confusing. The factory. Caitlyn's face painted with distress. Factory workers in shimmer-fuelled battle suits. Caitlyn's fingers intertwined with her own. Explosions. A knife. Powder's knife. Jinx's knife.

The tears were already falling steadily from her eyes by the time she noticed them and she wiped at her face urgently, as if there was anyone else here to bear witness to them. As if a witness to the tears would make the feelings causing them real. The pain in her side as she took a deep breath in was like a mirror to the reality of what had unfolded in the factory. There was no escaping it. Her sister had stabbed her. Twice. Jinx had tried to kill her. Powder was gone. 

Grimacing with the ache that it came with, Vi leaned and twisted enough to inspect the wound in her side. Under the soft bed sheets her upper body was covered only with the usual wrappings she wore around her chest and some layers of bandages across her middle, holding in place more gauze and wadding just below her ribs. Spread out from under that was a patchwork of purple and yellow bruising. Despite the technicolor of her injuries, she was clean and neatly tended to. So, a doctor had been by then. A Piltie doctor, presumably. The first real doctor Vi had probably ever been treated by. 

She leaned back onto the stupidly soft pillow. It was like sinking into a cloud. A far cry from the bed she’d had last time she was recovering from a stab wound. A dirty box in the corner of a shack crumbling amongst the shimmer-ridden lowest levels of the UnderCity was so far away from the world she was in now that she would probably believe it was a dream if someone told her so. At least her recovery then had been brief. Thanks to Caitlyn.

Caitlyn. Had she been by yet? Surely she would have come to check on Vi at some stage since they returned from the shimmer factory. Unless she was also hurt. Gods, Vi hoped she wasn’t hurt.

Blinking away the heavy weight of her eyelids, Vi realised she must have passed out again. The room was growing dark now, the day outside passing by regardless of her condition. How long had she been lying here? How long had she been simply blinking away hours?

The fog and confusion of the factory was getting clearer the more times she returned to consciousness. These high walls and dusky pink curtains were like anchors to hold on to; something recognisable and consistent and solid amidst the blurring memories and constant pain in her abdomen. 

It went like this for some time further. Waves of mixed up images and smells and feelings would swirl around her head as she pendulum-swung in and out of consciousness. Upon waking she would take stock of the room - the things that were constant and reliable, like the feel of the sheets on her skin or the shape of the curtains against the window; and also the things that had changed, like the position of the shadows on the wall or how a fresh glass of water arrived on her bedside at some point in the night.

It took a lot of effort to reach around and grab it, but the feel of the cool liquid down her throat was so refreshing she could almost cry. Water in the Lanes was never this clean. No water she’d ever experienced before staying here was this clean. It tasted like Piltover; absent of the filth and the toxic elements that would kill you if you were exposed to them enough, but also stripped of notable flavour. Not to mention the knowledge that achieving this kind of clarity was the result of money and security. People down below would kill for water like this and here was a glass of it, brought as if by magic to her bedside should she simply fancy a sip. Whoever had brought it for her obviously wouldn’t have thought about that at all. This is just the norm. To bring something that people like Vi could only ever have dreamed of like it was nothing. 

Something about the water was the last straw for Vi. She needed to find out what happened and make sure Caitlyn was ok and if nobody was going to come to her then she’d have to go to them. No more laying in this bed. Grunting through the pain, she pushed herself upright. Her muscles screamed with the effort but she pulled the sheets away and slid herself round to sit on the edge of the bed. There she rested for a moment, waiting for her vision of the room to catch up with her new position. What had the docs given her? 

Her head felt like it was filled with water, sloshing unevenly when she moved. When she repositioned her head it left blurry trails in her eyes. Moonshine was the popular beverage of Stillwater prison and this felt somewhat similar, though Vi assumed the Piltover medical professionals wouldn’t have given her dodgy alcohol for the pain. Whatever it was, it was likely the only reason she was coping with the pain well enough to push off the bed and onto her somewhat shaky feet. 

Across the room, on the dresser she located her pants, boots, and jacket. No shirt. The smell of freshly cleaned laundry was something Vi had come to associate with Caitlyn and the faintly floral scent was like a wave of comfort as she lifted her jacket and caught some of it. Clean clothes. Another novelty of life in Piltover. Another thing that the people here just couldn’t grasp the value of because it was just part of their every day.

At an agonisingly slow pace she managed to pull her clothes on, only stumbling and nearly falling once. Maybe twice. She pulled her jacket over her otherwise undressed top half. Who needed a shirt anyway? She was decent and there were more important things to figure out right now. Like where was Caitlyn and was she ok? What had happened at the factory? Did Pow- Jinx escape or not? Had she hurt anyone else?

The list of questions rolled around in a cycle in Vi’s head as she staggered clumsily to the bedroom door. It was good, it gave her something to concentrate on. A purpose. A driving force. She needed that. 

It could have been any hour of the night or early morning at this point. The darkness of her room carried on into the darkness of the hallway outside it. So everyone else was asleep then. These were the antisocial hours. Typical. And reflective of much of Vi’s experience of Piltover; there was a proper time to do things here. Action would only be taken after ten rounds of discussion, a three course meal and a good night’s rest. As if urgent things like communities starving to death, or crimelords taking over neighbourhoods that couldn’t defend themselves operated on a schedule. 

Whatever. Vi began her unstable stride down the hall. This couldn’t wait any longer; she needed to know if Caitlyn was ok. She’d check Caitlyn’s room first and if she wasn’t there she’d march to wherever the fuck the Kiramman seniors were sleeping and-

WHAM.

“Oof!”

“Argh!”

As Vi had taken the hallway corner too fast she had collided with someone doing the same from the other direction. It was a wipeout. 

She was dimly aware of the sound of the other person hitting the floor just as she felt her own body connect with the hardwood. Ouch . The shockwave of pain radiated out from her abdomen to fingertips and toes as she sprawled out on her back, fists clenched and face gripped tightly in this new round of agony. Every beat of her heart sent the pain throbbing around her body, like the stab wounds were fresh and new and overwhelming all her other senses for a moment. Even with her eyes shut like this she could still feel the world around her spinning as she lay, causing her stomach to turn and flip with the sensation.

But there was a voice reaching out to her softly and she felt a hand on her cheek, a thumb gently tracing over her tattoo.

“Vi, are you ok?” 

Vi blinked away the stars in her vision and found herself looking up at Caitlyn. And just like that, she was grounded once more and the pain seemed just a little less.

“Caitlyn,” she whispered, only realising after the fact the name had escaped her lips. 

The other woman’s face was cast in the speckle of moonlight through the net curtains nearby. Vi found herself immediately assessing for signs of injury, but there were none. Just the most beautiful face she’d ever seen, framed by midnight blue hair and with piercing blue eyes that were like a beacon of light through the darkness.

Vi was staring and she knew it. Caitlyn must have assumed it was the pain or the meds because under normal circumstances she’s probably have wilted under the brawler’s persistent gaze by now. Instead, her brow was knitted together with concern, her hand still against Vi’s cheek, gently holding her steady.

“Just breathe for a second, the pain will pass and we’ll get you up.”

Vi nodded lightly, the pain from her middle finally fighting its way to the forefront of her attention. She began to methodically breathe through the waves of it as she lay there, closing her eyes and attempting to bring her heart rate back down. She felt Caitlyn begin to pull her hand away and reached out wildly, capturing it with her own and holding it tightly, bringing it to rest on her chest.  Caitlyn felt like a lifeline in this moment, guiding her through the fog and pain.

As her pulse calmed, the throbbing eased at least a tiny bit and she opened her eyes. Caitlyn was knelt beside her, dressed in what appeared to be a blue camisole and sleep shorts with a loose linen robe over the top. She’d obviously been sleeping. Why was she wandering the halls of the house at gods-knew what time of the night?

“Do you think you can stand?” she asked Vi as she watched her.

Vi nodded. “Some help, cupcake?” she asked with what she hoped was more of a grin than a grimace.

It must have worked because she was met with a nod and smile as Caitlyn reached out and helped pull her to her feet. She was much stronger than her slender build would lead you to believe. The thought gave Vi a new, gentle burning feeling in her stomach that had nothing to do with the two stab wounds nearby.

Holding her upright like this meant that they were close within each other’s personal space and once again Vi was taken back to the shack in the Fissures, where Caitlyn had saved her life. Where she had held her steady and made her feel safe. Where, as with now, Vi was acutely aware of the mere inches between them and how easy it would be to lean forward and close that gap. 

Back then had been a maelstrom of conflicting and contradicting feelings and information. She barely knew Caitlyn and had no reason to explicitly trust her, despite feeling the instinctual compulsion to do so. Crossing that kind of line then could have meant falling into a ploy that would ultimately spell her doom. Back then they were Piltie and Fissure Folk; enforcer and criminal; water and oil. But now…

This train of thought was broken as Caitlyn cleared her throat bashfully and took a little step back, tucking her hair behind her ear almost nervously. Vi blinked self consciously. She’d been looking at the other woman’s lips and had even started unconsciously leaning in. Though attempting to cover the move with an unstable wobble, she couldn’t help feeling like the action had been obvious. Shit. This was the first moment alone the pair had really had since that night at the docks and it was fast occurring to Vi that she didn’t have a plan in mind as to what she wanted to say to Caitlyn about… well, everything. 

They stood in this comfortable - awkward? - silence for a few more moments before Caitlyn looked up, a small smile on her lips.

“Shall we get you back to your room then?”

“I was uh, coming to find you actually,” Vi replied her voice a little gravellier than usual. How long had she been out? “You’re ok? After the factory… I didn’t know what happened…”

Caitlyn gave a short huff of a sigh, tilting her head contemplatively at Vi as she nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. Everyone is fine. You’re the one who…” she trailed off as she gestured faintly towards Vi’s bandages, before clearing her throat again and looking away. 

Vi frowned quizzically at the action and then glanced down at herself. Oh yeah. She wasn’t wearing a shirt. She looked back up at Caitlyn and even in this moonlit hallway caught the faintest tint of pink on her cheeks. Was she… flustered? Was that what was happening? Vi permitted herself the slightest smirk at this but didn’t say anything.

Instead she began a shuffle back in the direction of her room, Caitlyn quickly putting an arm around her back to support her as she went.

“Did we seize the factory at least?” Vi asked between gritted teeth.

“We did. Well, Jayce and Ekko did. I was a little… preoccupied.”

“Oh? With what?” Vi feigned innocence playfully, but Caitlyn didn’t seem keen to join in the joke. Her expression was heavy and that furrowed brow of concern returned.

“You were… It was bad, Vi. For a moment there I think you slipped away entirely. If Ekko hadn’t grabbed the shimmer canister-”

“Wait, what?”

They had reached the room but Vi stopped their progress mid-way towards the bed to turn and look at Caitlyn again. 

“You gave me shimmer?”

“You would be dead, Vi ,” Caitlyn said sternly, tight lipped. “You… you were dead. I won’t apologise for what we did to save you. If I had to do it again I would, a thousand times over.”

That warmth Vi felt earlier at the security of Caitlyn’s strength returned, this time blooming somewhere in her chest. Whatever anger had been bubbling up at the mention of shimmer was evaporating quickly. Whatever feelings she had about shimmer in this moment didn’t feel more important than Caitlyn or the swell of feelings Vi could see behind her eyes right now.

She swallowed the ire and gave a quick nod instead. Caitlyn didn’t entirely relax, but some of the tension in her jaw eased at this at least. Another moment passed with them standing there, this one more definitively awkward. 

“Well, let’s get you back into bed then,” Caitlyn said with that kind of practical gusto that, despite herself, Vi couldn’t help but find somewhat adorable. But wait, go back to bed? Seriously?

“What about Jinx?” 

Caitlyn’s face looked sad for a moment at this. Perhaps she too was acutely aware of the name that Vi had chosen to reference. But she seemed to quickly push past it, returning to that authoritative expression of Sheriff that she had gotten so good at these past weeks.

“No leads, yet. A couple of Ekko’s people tried to follow but… well, one didn’t make it and the other is recovering. We don’t know why she was there or what she’s aiming to do next.”

“She was there for me,” Vi said hollowly. “To kill me.”

“She nearly succeeded.”

“Yeah well, I guess I’m too stubborn for that.”

At this, Caitlyn laughed and it was as surprising as it was delightful to hear. There had been so few opportunities for laughter since the pair met and the sound was like a melody to Vi. Another piece of the beautiful puzzle that was Caitlyn Kiramman. 

“Ekko’s quick thinking and my father’s medical expertise had more to do with it than your stubborn streak.”

“Oh, I’m glad you find my near-death experience so amusing.”

“Shut up,” Caitlyn replied with no venom whatsoever. She crossed past Vi towards the bed, casting her eyes away again as another blush emerged on her face. “Now, get over here and lay down.”

Something about the blush spurred on Vi’s confidence. “Can’t wait to get me in the sheets, cupcake?” She turned to look at Caitlyn, who was rolling her eyes.

“I can’t imagine what activity you think you’d be able to keep up with in your current condition,” she replied cooly. “Too high a heart rate and I imagine you’d simply pass out.”

That was… unexpected. It seemed the uncertain enforcer Vi pinned to the wall those weeks ago was gone and now stood a confident sheriff in her place. It was extremely attractive. Vi’s mouth was painfully dry. And the room was still swirling just a tiny bit. She could definitely blame her delayed response on that and not that she had been stunned into silence by the implication of ‘activities’ with Caitlyn Kiramman. Nonetheless, she composed herself and realising her mouth was hanging agape a little, swiftly closed it and wet her lips. Two could flirt at this game after all. 

“Oh, that hurt’s cupcake. You should know by now I’m made of stronger stuff than that.”

Caitlyn simply stared, deadpan. Then she strode confidently over and for one panicked second Vi thought she was about to… well, Vi didn’t even know what she thought, but fortunately that did not appear to be the other woman’s intention as she stopped squarely in front of her. Then she wordlessly reached out a hand to close the distance between them and gave Vi’s bandages the slightest prod.

Vi crumpled with a yelp. It was like lightning shooting through her all over again. As she wheezed through the pain, Caitlyn turned and calmly returned to the bed, arranging the sheets.

“As I suspected,” she said with no attempt to hide her smugness.

“I just need some time to heal up,” Vi insisted, straightening up again as best she could. “But no more sleep.”

“You need fresh bandages,” Caitlyn said with a sigh, turning back to face her. 

Vi glanced down again and saw that she was right; the gauze and bandages wrapped around her wounds were stained with red. It made sense, now, the tearing pain she had felt in the hallway when she fell. She must have popped a stitch. Shit.

When she looked back up, Caitlyn stood in front of her again, this time leaning forwards. Vi’s heart fired into overdrive as the other woman reached forwards with both hands, gripping the lapels of her jacket and sliding it back and off her shoulders.

It was at this moment that Vi wondered if her heart had stopped entirely. Caitlyn was so close now that Vi could smell the sweet scent of her perfume - if it was perfume. Maybe Caitlyn just smelled sweet naturally. Vi would believe it if she were told it was so. She would happily drown in it. The sensation of her Piltover-soft hands running down Vi’s arms as she deftly removed the jacket was like electricity, setting her skin on fire. She was close enough as she reached around that Vi was sure she must have been able to actually hear the Zaunite’s racing pulse. Well. At least she didn’t pass out.

Jacket removed, Caitlyn calmly folded it and placed it back on the dresser across the room, where it had been earlier. Vi took this time to try and compose herself and subdue the fire that was growing in her stomach and the tingling feeling left by Caitlyn’s fingers on her skin. Gods , her mouth was dry. But she had barely time to catch her breath before she felt those soft hands again, this time on her shoulders, gently urging her forwards towards the bed. Once there, Caitlyn turned her around until they were facing each other. Just a few inches apart again. Vi just caught the faintest sound of uneven breathing from the blue-haired woman before she very pointedly pressed her palms into Vi’s shoulders, encouraging her to sit. Which she did. 

And now there they were; Vi sat on the bed mostly topless, as Caitlyn stood in front of her - between her knees - with her hands resting gently on Vi’s shoulders. It would have been so easy for Vi to just reach up and pull her in close. To feel Caitlyn’s body press into hers and just hold her tight. She almost did, but in the few seconds too long that it took for her to make her decision, Caitlyn stepped away again. 

She headed across the room and disappeared into the ensuite bathroom, giving Vi an opportunity to take a deep breath and attempt to more permanently compose herself. Sure, she had a lot of feelings about… for Caitlyn and sure she was utterly stunning and smart and brave and kind and so much more , but where was all this fluster coming from? Vi was used to the ball being at least somewhat in her court but right now she was behaving like a nervous teenager. Time to wrestle some control over the situation, surely. After all, she still didn’t know exactly where they stood. Neither of them did.

“So you didn’t tell me what you were doing roaming the halls at night,” she ventured towards the bathroom door.

The reply from the other room wasn’t immediate, like Caitlyn was taking a moment to construct an answer. 

“I couldn’t sleep.” Caitlyn’s answer came as she returned to the room, a basin of water and some fresh bandages in hand. “I haven’t been sleeping well the past few nights.”

“And a nighttime stroll fixes that?”

Again, Caitlyn paused before answering, coming to stand in front of Vi and their eyes locking before she murmured, “Something like that.”

Vi chose to conclude from this that it had been a few nights since the factory. She didn’t ask to confirm it. She didn’t need to. Just like she didn’t need to confirm where the woman before her had been going at night when she couldn’t sleep. 

Caitlyn blinked and the spell between them broke. Now it was her turn to look flustered.

“So, um, I’m going to change your bandages. My father will need to see to your stitches tomorrow but at least it can be clean until then.”

“Sounds great, cupcake.”

Caitlyn didn’t move. She looked purposefully down at the bandages in her hand and then back up at Vi, who also hadn’t moved. The fluster in Caitlyn’s face intensified and the tips of her ears started to turn pink.

“Um…”

“You ok there, cupcake?”

Another roll of Caitlyn’s eyes at the nickname but Vi already knew that she didn’t really mind it. A smile started to creep onto the Zaunite’s lips.

“Would it help if I…” Vi leaned back onto her elbows providing clearer access to her abdomen but also, flexing the muscles in her upper half and arms a little in the process. It hurt like hell, but she managed to bite her cheek enough to contain her wince. It seemed to do the trick.

The ever-deepening red of Caitlyn’s cheeks was a fun contrast to the blue of her hair and something about Vi’s movement appeared to capture her focus like a trance. Her eyes trailed down Vi’s body and her mouth went slack for a moment before she seemed to realise. That practical gusto returned, with force and with a purposeful nod she put the basin of water down on the nightstand and the fresh bandages on the bed. Then she turned her attention to the old bandages.

It took all of Vi’s willpower not to lose it when she felt Caitlyn’s hands on her skin, gently removing the clip holding the fabric in place and methodically rolling the bandages back. She did her work without looking up and with that adorable little frown of concentration that Vi had come to adore. Goosebumps emerged across the brawler’s bruised flesh, but if Caitlyn noticed, she didn’t mention it. Perhaps she was concentrating as hard as Vi was right now. 

It took longer than it probably should have, for Caitlyn to unravel the bloodied bandages, reaching around Vi’s body as needed to unwrap them fully. Every time she did so it brought their faces tantalisingly close and this time Vi knew she could hear the other woman’s uneven, affected breaths. Once the wounds were revealed, Vi had to admit it looked pretty bad. 

Two punctures in her side, the flesh a kaleidoscope of reds and purples from swelling and bruising. Both were stitched but the lower one had pulled a couple and was now bleeding. With the basin of water and a cloth amongst the fresh bandages, Caitlyn delicately cleaned the area. 

She was so gentle and focused that Vi thought perhaps she had forgotten for a moment that she was still leaning over her half naked body. She certainly seemed to not notice that she had placed her other hand on Vi’s opposite hip to steady herself as she worked and she absolutely appeared not to notice that she was absent mindedly tracing a circle over Vi’s bare hip bone with her thumb. The person who was aware of all these things was Vi, whose heart felt set to burst out of her chest with the speed at which it was beating. Would that make the wound bleed faster? While the idea felt somewhat embarrassing on some level, another part of her considered that maybe that would draw out this cleaning process and Caitlyn would have to touch her like this for longer. 

Or she could stop being so pathetic and just be honest about what she was thinking and feeling. Gods, Caitlyn had to feel the same, right? The way she looked at her and moved around her, the way her breath hitched around her and her face blushed… Vi was plenty observant and these things had to mean what she thought they meant, surely . The only reason they hadn’t addressed the elephant in the room already was simply a matter of timing.

Caitlyn Kiramman was classy and gorgeous and intelligent and came from this world of propriety and performance. The past few weeks had been a blur of healing and meetings and strategy and war and none of these things made for the right scenario to declare feelings, as far as Vi had been concerned. She was a Trencher; a grubby brawler who had spent her whole life punching her way out of problems. She was a terrible proposition for the daughter of a Piltover councilwoman and a doctor. But she had eyes and she knew what those looks from Caitlyn meant. It meant that perhaps there was a chance. Perhaps there was a path ahead that Vi could follow that would lead her out of the gutter far enough to be worthy of her.

At least, that had been the plan. And then the factory happened and just like that, they were out of time. It kind of threw a new perspective on the problem. As Caitlyn began wrapping the clean bandages around Vi’s body, more memories of the factory came back. Her hand in Caitlyn’s as she bled out. The vision of her beautiful face as the world around her went black. The promise of a date. Perhaps Caitlyn already thought she was worthy.

“So,” she said, voice gravelly and heart in her throat as Caitlyn pinned the bandages in place. “About that drink…”

The other woman’s striking blue eyes flicked up immediately, alert and anxious as if she didn’t know where Vi was going next with this.

“So you do remember that?”

“I think it’s bad manners to forget plans for a date, cupcake.”

“Oh, you’re an expert on manners now?”

“I’m a quick study.”

Some of the anxiety began to leave Caitlyn’s face and a smile started to appear in its place. Vi was still leant back on her elbows as the other woman methodically gathered the bandages.

“And what other manners have you learned are important to you?”

“Please and thank you,” Vi replied playfully as Caitlyn leaned back onto the bed beside her. As gently as she could manage it, Vi relaxed onto her back to mirror the position. “For instance, I should thank you for fixing me up just now.”

“You should.”

“And also for coming to save me in the factory.”

“Of course.”

Caitlyn rolled onto her side to fully face Vi and now they were just inches apart again. The moonlight from the window ignited the blue in her eyes until Vi felt like she was looking at stars. Gods, she really was beautiful. For a moment they simply gazed at one another in the relative silence of Vi’s heartbeat pounding in her head.

“So?” Caitlyn asked after a couple of minutes passed.

“Huh?”

“Are you going to thank me then?”

“Well there’s something else I need first for it to be good manners.”

“And that is?”

“Permission.”

This was it. Moment of truth. Either Vi was worthy or not. 

“So…” she breathed nervously. “Can I…”

“ Yes .”

The pain in her side as she rolled over was excruciating but fleeting as she closed the distance between them, lips meeting at last. And then it was euphoria. She felt Caitlyn’s hands tighten around her arms as she reached up to the other woman’s face, her fingers sliding into her silky hair and thumb tracing the skin of her cheek. Her lips were soft and perfect, because of course they were. Everything about her was the opposite of the rough, calloused, scarred physicality of the Zaunite but it didn’t matter because against all logic and propriety, she wanted her too.

Caitlyn’s hands moved around Vi’s shoulders to pull her in closer and deepen the kiss, urgent and insistent as she captured the brawler’s bottom lip between her own. It sent electric thrills through Vi’s entire body and the gentle moan she gave in response was involuntary. The kiss was dizzying in the best possible way and very quickly the room around them disappeared, giving way to a world that was nothing but raw senses. The feel of Caitlyn’s hands on Vi’s bare skin, the taste of her lips and her tongue, the sweet floral smell of her hair and-

“Agh!”

The moment burst like a bubble as Caitlyn’s hand drifted over Vi’s bandages, sending a shock of pain across her abdomen like a hot poker.

“Fuck! I’m so sorry!” 

“It’s ok!” Vi gasped, waiting for the radiating pain to plateau again. “I’m ok, it’s fine just… gimme a second.”

Caitlyn held Vi’s face in her hands, gazing deeply into her eyes as they both caught their breath.

“I’m truly, so sorry. I just got caught up and wasn’t thinking-”

“Really cupcake, it’s totally fine.” Vi managed a reassuring grin “I’ll be all good to carry on in just a minute.”

Caitlyn laughed softly and rolled her eyes. “You need rest, Vi.” She ran her fingers through pink hair and Vi hummed appreciatively, her eyelids fluttering closed of their own accord at the feeling. “I think that’s enough activity for now.”

Vi made no attempt to hide her pout as Caitlyn shifted and sat up, leaning away to reach and grab the glass of water from the nightstand.

“Here. Take a sip and let’s get you back in bed properly.”

Vi begrudgingly eased herself upright enough to take the water and gulp a mouthful down. Gods, it really was refreshing as fuck. 

“Y’know,” she said, giving the glass a meaningful jostle. “This wasn’t the drink I had in mind when I asked you out.”

Caitlyn took it back with a smile and placed it on the nightstand. “Well, I’m not sure that this constitutes a date,” she said, reaching down and starting to undo and remove Vi’s boots. “So we’ll consider that whole arrangement yet to be fulfilled, shall we?”

“Yes ma’am.”

With combined effort and choosing to leave her pants on, they got Vi laying back in her bed, head on the pillow. Back where she started once again, Vi had to admit that she was exhausted. Her head, though less foggy than when she awoke, was still somewhat dizzy and her body was a giant knot of ache and pain that she couldn’t tell the start from the end of. It was the last thing she wanted to admit but it was true: she needed to rest, still.

This fact would have been more frustrating if she had the energy left to rage about it, but also if Caitlyn hadn’t leant down once she was settled and pressed her lips to Vi’s once again. The fierce urgency of their first kiss was replaced with a calming, soothing intimacy here. It was intimacy that Vi had never experienced before Caitlyn, but that was so present in the way the woman interacted with her. Like she wasn’t just an unfeeling boulder of brute force. Like she could break too and was deserving of care. 

It was Caitlyn who broke away this time, pressing one more soft kiss to Vi’s forehead before standing and heading for the door.

“Wait…” Vi didn’t realise that the voice was her own until the word was already out. Caitlyn turned at the door to look back. Vi gave the weakest of shrugs. “You haven’t been sleeping well. Maybe you should just stay?”

The smile that spread over Cailtyn’s face was one of relief and excitement. “I didn’t want to presume.”

“Well of course not, that’d be bad manners,” Vi replied with her very best trademark charming grin. She glanced at the open space on the bed beside her. “There’s plenty of room over here though, if you feel like breaking all the rules.”

Caitlyn bit her lip and dipped her head, but the blush was clear even from across the room. Pushing the door closed fully, she made her way over and slipped under the sheets beside Vi, careful to avoid jostling the bed too much. With still so much unsaid and so much territory uncharted between them, this could have been an awkward arrangement, but Vi was determined not to make it so. She captured Caitlyn’s hand in her own, intertwining their fingers before bringing them up to her lips and giving them a gentle kiss. Caitlyn simply beamed in response and gently snuggled in closer, tucking her head in beside Vi’s neck until they were touching. 

As the peaceful, safe silence of the Piltover room descended once again and with the warm, comforting breath on her collar, Vi slipped away into sleep in seconds.

* * *

Caitlyn’s slumber was ended by just the faintest clearing of a throat. She blinked away the sleep and let her eyes adjust to the light of the room. She was warm and comfortable and for a moment couldn’t understand why she’d been resting so well considering how badly she’d slept for days now. And then she felt the fingers tangled with her own and the warmth of the body she was nestled up against and it all came flooding back to her. The peaceful rise and fall of Vi’s chest along with her steady deep breathing told her that the brawler was still asleep, which then prompted Caitlyn to look around for the source of the cough that had woken her.

Her eyes rose up and met with that of her father, who was standing in the middle of the room, holding a small tray deftly on one arm with a plate of toast and cup of tea on it. The other hand held a wad of fresh bandage and gauze. His expression was expectant and his head tilted, clearly waiting for some kind of comment - or perhaps, explanation - from his daughter. 

Fuck. Caitlyn made to move and disentangle herself from Vi, whose arm had looped around hers in the night as they had obviously endeavored to hold each other closer. But before she moved too much to disturb the sleeping Zaunite, her father spoke.

“Ah, no, don't wake her.” 

Caitlyn looked up, frozen in place and unsure of what to do next. She’d never been caught in a compromising position by anyone before, much less her parents. Her father gestured silently for her to stay where she was as he quietly placed the tray and bandages on the nightstand. He didn’t look mad at least. He looked… amused?

“I came to check on her bandages,” he whispered. 

“I changed them in the night,” Caitlyn replied, eyes still wide and wary like this was a trap that was about to spring. “She popped a stitch though, so you’ll need to… change… that…” she trailed off under the meaningful stare of her father, whose eyebrows reached a height on his forehead that she had never witnessed before. “Oh… no, no, no, it wasn’t…. I didn’t… we…” Well, this was going horribly. Caitlyn felt her cheeks burn red hot. “She tried to come find me and we literally bumped into each other in the hallway.”

Witnessing the smirk appear on her father’s face was possibly the most mortifying thing she had ever experienced. He nodded, understandingly. 

“Well, there’s some food here when she wakes. I’d like her to eat something before we give her anything more for the pain.”

Caitlyn nodded, tight-lipped and face on fire. Gods, she just wanted him to leave. 

“I’ll pop back in a little while to see how she’s doing.” Smirk still in place he headed back for the door. “Sleep well!” he added cheerily before disappearing out into the hall and closing the door behind him.

Caitlyn stared at the door for a moment, frozen still by the latent horror of the encounter. She looked back to Vi, sleeping peacefully and blissfully unaware of the audience they just had. Gods, she was beautiful. And with the choice of snuggling back into the best sleep she’d had in weeks beside the woman she loved or continuing to fret over her embarrassment, Caitlyn nestled back into the crook of Vi’s neck and closed her eyes.

- The End -