Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You are the most insufferable person I have ever had the displeasure of meeting,” Caitlyn snapped and Vi scoffed at the unfair accusation. There were at least twenty much more insufferable people she could see from where she was standing. It was a Piltover gala, after all, meaning she was never more than two feet away from someone deeply insufferable at any given moment. 

In the years since a tentative peace had been brokered between Piltover and Zaun, Vi had spent far too much time at ritzy galas and dinners and balls. As Vander’s heir apparent, he’d impressed upon her the necessity of showing up and playing nice with Piltover’s ruling class. And normally she managed just fine. There was just one person she’d never quite managed to charm. 

Caitlyn Kiramman was the daughter of one of the most powerful Piltovan councilors and she’d hated Vi since the first time they’d met as teenagers. Vi could admit that she hadn’t exactly been at her best at sixteen, still skeptical of everything to do with Piltover while being pushed to represent Zaun with a level of gravitas she’d never possessed. And Caitlyn was apparently incapable of moving past their terrible first meeting, so here they were seven years later, their sniping a well-worn pattern that Vi almost looked forward to because it at least broke up the tedium of these events. 

They always seemed to find each other amongst the throngs of people milling around whatever party or cocktail hour or ball they both attended. Tonight it was a fundraising gala, hosted at the Kiramman mansion, raising money to improve transit between Piltover and Zaun. Vi hated how stuffy she felt, wandering around in a suit with only champagne being offered to drink, but Caitlyn looked in her element, as she always did. Why she had given up on mingling and made her way over to where Vi was hiding out by a tower of frou-frou little desserts was a mystery. 

Caitlyn looked amazing, as she always did, wearing a satiny dark blue gown. It was almost infuriating the way she seemed to have an endless supply of slinky dresses that were both modest enough for a councilor’s daughter and perfect at highlighting every curve of her body. 

If Caitlyn had hated her less, or if Vi wasn’t almost positive Caitlyn was straight, Vi would’ve made a move by now. But all she could do was return Caitlyn’s barbed comments like a neverending verbal boxing match.

“Aw, cupcake,” Vi schooled her expression into a fake pout, “you can just say that you’ve missed me.”

Eyes narrowing, Caitlyn stared at Vi with that little furrow she got between her brows when she was really aggravated. It was one of Vi’s top-five favorite Caitlyn Kiramman expressions. “I’ve told you to stop calling me that,” Caitlyn’s tone was sharp, “repeatedly. Do you have some sort of short-term memory condition?”

“Nah, it’s just that you’re so sweet,” Vi laced the words with enough venom to make it clear that she actually thought the opposite. She felt a twisted sense of glee as she watched Caitlyn’s face color with rage. Riling her up was just too easy and Vi would be lying if she said she didn’t think it was kind of hot. 

“I’ll show you a cupcake,” Caitlyn said suddenly. And before Vi could point out how nonsensical that comment was, Caitlyn reached out and grabbed a cupcake from the tower of desserts they stood next to, smashing it into Vi’s cheek. 

For a moment they just stared at each other in shock. 

Then Vi blinked, feeling a glob of buttercream slide down her cheek. And she tried to process the fact that Caitlyn Kiramman, who Vi knew had grown up attending countless etiquette classes, who had always acted as though she was too well-mannered to entertain having a conversation with Vi, had just attacked her with a baked good. 

Eyes wide, Caitlyn continued to clench the crumbling remains of cake in her fist. 

Vi stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth to lick at a glob of frosting, “Hm, chocolate.” 

Noticing how Caitlyn’s eyes followed the movement, Vi waited to see what she did next. But then Caitlyn’s gaze focused over Vi’s shoulder and she blanched. 

“Shit,” she said and Vi could hardly believe her ears. Not only had Piltover’s golden girl just shoved a cupcake in her face, she was apparently swearing now. But when Vi turned and saw both Cassandra Kiramman and Vander staring back at her, looking horrified, she found she agreed with the sentiment. 

“I simply cannot believe your behavior,” Cassandra said, glaring from behind her massive wooden desk. 

Vi and Caitlyn sat silently across from her, having been given a few minutes to clean themselves up for the diatribe, while Vander loomed in the corner over Cassandra’s shoulder. A traditional school education wasn’t something Vi had had the privilege of experiencing, but she imagined that this was what being called into the headmaster’s office felt like. 

Cassandra’s glare locked in on her daughter, “What were you thinking, Caitlyn?”

“I— she started it,” Caitlyn said. Her arms were crossed over her chest like a petulant child and Vi had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. 

“Whatever Vi did didn’t involve causing a public scene at a fundraising gala. You’re the one who made the altercation physical. You were raised better than that,” Cassandra stare was cold and Vi saw Caitlyn’s gaze drop to her lap. 

“I’m sorry,” Caitlyn said quietly. 

“Your father is in the ballroom trying to convince everyone that it was simply a friendly prank gone wrong. Friendly is the keyword there,” Cassandra’s flinty gaze flicked between Caitlyn and Vi. “Which means that, for the foreseeable future, the two of you need to behave as though you are friends.”

“What does that mean?” Vi asked warily.

“There’s a dinner next week for councilors, their families, and a few select stakeholders. You will be seated next to each other and you will look like you’re enjoying each other’s company. You will laugh. You will make polite small talk. No one will physically assault anyone with food,” Cassandra’s tone left no room for argument. 

“Wait—” Caitlyn said, but her mother just held up a hand to stop her.

“Vi, you will attend Caitlyn’s birthday party next month,” Cassandra continued, “and again you will behave like two grown women who get along well. In the interim, you’ll be seen together publicly at least once a week. Get coffee, walk through a park, I don’t care. Just do it where people will see. You both know that there are still plenty of people looking for any reason to rescind Zaun’s council seat. I will not allow your inability to move past this childish grudge match be that reason. We have worked too long and too hard to make this work for our efforts to be thwarted by our own daughters’ tempers.”

Vi looked helplessly to Vander, who simply nodded, and she felt a rush of shame knowing that she’d put his reputation as a council member at risk.  

“Now, I don’t want to see either of you again tonight,” Cassandra said with an air of finality. “We need to let things settle down. Caitlyn, return to your room. Vi, Vander will escort you home. And the two of you will be meeting for brunch downtown in the morning to kick off this attempt at salvaging your reputations.”

With that, they were dismissed. Caitlyn slunk away wordlessly, not making eye contact with anyone, and Vi followed Vander down the hallway toward the exit.

“I’m sorry,” Vi said as soon as they were outside. “I didn’t mean for any of that to happen.”

Vander sighed, “I know. I don’t understand what it is about that girl, Vi. You’re normally so good at not rising to antagonism. You’ve had so much practice with your siblings, after all.” 

“She’s just so stuck up,” Vi complained as they made their way through the streets of Piltover, toward the bridge. It was late enough that the city was quiet and the cool air felt refreshing after so much time in that stuffy ballroom. “I can’t stand how she just walks around acting like she’s better than everyone.”

“I have to say, she’s never been anything but perfectly pleasant to me,’” Vander’s large hand came to rest on her shoulder.

“I know,” Vi’s voice pitched close to a whine. “She’s good at putting up a front, I’ve gotta give her that. But that facade drops around me. She’s evil, I swear.”

“Well you’re just gonna have to get over that, kiddo,” Vander said, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

“Don’t remind me. I can’t believe that the grand master plan to fix this means I have to spend a bunch of my free time hanging out with her,” she let her weight shift dramatically into Vander’s side.

Vander just chuckled at her misfortune, the sadist, “There are worse punishments out there.”

“Are you sure? Because I think maybe I’d prefer being tossed in Stillwater to spending time playing friends with Caitlyn Kiramman.”

“Sure you would,” Vander’s tone was dry, the way it was whenever he felt she was being overdramatic.

After a few minutes of walking in silence he said, “You know, maybe she’ll surprise you and the two of you will end up getting along.

Vi snorted, “Un-fucking-likely.”

“Stranger things have happened,” Vander replied, before finally letting the subject drop and the rest of the walk passed in silence.

Vander left Vi outside of her apartment building with a pat on the back and an order to play nice at brunch tomorrow.

The apartment Vi shared with Powder was a small two-bedroom in a building that had certainly seen better days but was better than a lot of other options in Zaun. Despite Vander being happy to let them live with him for however long they wanted, by the time Vi had been old enough to work full time she and Powder had been more than ready to have a place with their own space. 

Powder split her time between the apartment and her student housing at the Academy, having been offered a scholarship for engineering now that they were accepting students from Zaun. Since her scholarship covered housing, Powder stayed there during weekdays so she had less of a commute to her classes. But on the weekends, more often than not, she came back here with Vi. It concerned Vi a bit that Powder hadn’t seemed to make many friends at school yet, but at least she had Ekko in the same program. 

While Vi loved having her sister around, tonight she’d hoped that maybe Powder would have found a reason to stay at school. She wasn’t exactly in the mood to face her sister’s questions about how the event had gone. 

But nothing was working out in Vi’s favor tonight and when she walked inside the apartment she found Powder sprawled across the couch, eating Vi’s snacks that she’d bought at one of the nice grocery stores in Piltover.

“Hey sis,” Powder said, mouth full, “how’d the shindig go? You’re back awfully early.”

Sinking onto the couch with a groan, Vi said, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

She said it even though she knew that not talking about it was never an option with Powder, who was the nosiest person Vi had ever known. 

It only took a few minutes of Powder pestering for details, while spilling crumbs all over the couch, to get Vi to start talking. 

By the time Vi finished relaying the story, Powder was off of the couch practically rolling on the floor with laughter.

“I know you’re annoying, sis,” she said when she caught her breath, “but getting the Piltie princess to start a food fight? That’s a previously unprecedented level of irritation. Sheesh. I’m almost proud.”

“Thanks, Pow,” Vi said drily. “I can always count on you for reassurance.”

“I keep telling you, all you’ve gotta do to get Vander to stop taking you to those things is make a chocolate fountain explode.” 

Vi rolled her eyes, “I don’t think I’d get away with that the way you did when you were twelve.” 

When Vander had first become a councilor, he’d had the idea that it wouldn’t just be Vi joining him at Piltover gatherings, he’d wanted to give all of the kids the opportunity to see how the other half lived. And what a mistake that had been. Powder had immediately hated the scratchy clothes and the forced niceties and had shown that hatred by somehow rigging explosives to a chocolate fountain at a garden party. Mylo had stopped being invited along because he was absolutely incapable of making small talk without offending someone. And Claggor had had the opposite problem of being too shy. So it had fallen to Vi as both the eldest and the only sibling who could turn on the charm when necessary to show up on behalf of their family.

And look where that had led her. Maybe she should’ve taken Powder’s advice back before she was old enough for it to be considered a felony to blow shit up.

“So, now you’ve gotta make nice with your sworn enemy, huh?” Powder’s tone was considering, her eyes staring off at nothing. She was probably mentally preparing a half dozen pranks that Vi could pull against Caitlyn.

“Yeah. But as much as I hate it, I think I have to approach it in good faith. I can’t let Vander’s reputation take a hit because of me,” Vi said, hoping to nip any of Powder’s plotting at the bud.

Powder stuck her tongue out, “Taking the high road— boring. But I get it. Let me know if you change your mind and need some minor explosives. You know, stinkbombs, color bombs, the annoying but not illegal shit.”

“I won’t be needing any explosives. Period,” Vi gave Powder a look that she hoped conveyed how serious she was.

“Fine,” Powder sighed as though Vi was being unreasonable, “suit yourself. By the way, you’ve got a little something,” she pointed to her chin and Vi wiped at her face. When she pulled back her hand, she found more chocolate frosting.

“I’m going to bed,” she said as Powder continued to laugh at her. The night had been too fucking long, she was done with being conscious for any more of it.

“Sweet dreams,” Powder said. “You won’t want to look too tired for your date tomorrow.”

“Shut up,” Vi said, flipping her sister off on her way to her room. Powder just kept laughing.

Chapter Text

At exactly ten the next morning Vi walked into the café that Cassandra had given her directions to. And by given her directions, Vi meant that a courier had shown up at her door at sunrise with a handwritten note that contained nearly step-by-step directions for Vi to follow. 

Unsurprisingly, Caitlyn had beaten her there and was sitting at a table in the front window, a prime setting for anyone who walked by running Sunday morning errands to see them being friends. Cassandra had probably woken her up and driven her out of the house bright and early so that this fake friendship wouldn’t start off on the wrong foot by making Vi have to wait for her.

As Vi approached the table, she realized that she’d never seen Caitlyn dressed so casually before. Sitting in a black sweater, with her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, Caitlyn almost looked approachable. 

That was until she spotted Vi and watched her cross the space with her typical frosty expression. Unfortunately, Vi found the way Caitlyn glared at her to be kind of hot, with her bright blue eyes and cheekbones that looked sharp enough to cut glass. And she hated herself a little bit for it.

People were certainly watching them as Vi walked over to Caitlyn’s table. She had to give Cassandra credit, she’d chosen the venue well.

“Hey cupcake,” Vi said as she slid into the chair across from Caitlyn.

“You really can’t help yourself, can you?” Caitlyn sighed as she glared at Vi even harder, that crinkle showing up between her brows.

Vi brought her hand to her heart in mock hurt, “I thought we’re supposed to be besties now. Doesn’t that give me nickname privileges?”

Whatever Caitlyn’s response would have been, she was interrupted by the waitress coming over to take their order and pour them both some coffee. Not having had time to even glance at the menu, Vi just seconded what Caitlyn ordered. There was no need to extend their time together any further and she’d eat basically anything. 

As soon as Vi had a steaming cup of coffee in front of her, though, she felt more willing to make a better attempt at this farce. 

“So, how’s work going?” She asked, hoping that that was a casual enough question to start with.

It wasn’t. 

“You hate my job,” Caitlyn said coolly, “a fact you’ve made abundantly clear, over the years.”

“I’m just trying to make conversation so we don’t have to keep sitting here in awkward silence,” Vi said. It was true that she would never be a fan of enforcers, that she couldn’t understand why that was Caitlyn’s career of choice, but she had to admit that at least Caitlyn seemed to have taken the job for the right reasons.

Caitlyn’s eyes defrosted slightly, “Fine. Work’s been going well. We’re starting an outreach initiative for harm reduction in communities that continue to be impacted by shimmer addiction.”

“That actually sounds pretty interesting,” Vi admitted.

“I just hope that it can be helpful,” Caitlyn said. “It’s hard to know whether it will actually work at all, but I want to try. I know that in the past enforcers weren’t exactly a force for good, but I’m truly hoping that that can change.”

“Who knew you had such a nobility streak,” Vi aimed to keep her tone teasing.

“It’s always been a point of contention between my parents and I,” Caitlyn stared down at her coffee.

“Really?”

Caitlyn sighed, “Yes. They thought my talents would be better suited toward politics or law. And I understand their perspective, but I think that I’d hate being behind a desk most days. I want to be on the ground, to see for myself what the conditions of every day people are. I don’t know how anyone expects to make a difference without confronting the reality of the situation.”

Vi felt a bit dumbstruck, “You actually care about this, huh?” She’d known for a while that Caitlyn defended her choice of career as being driven by a sense of justice, but she’d had no idea the level of passion behind the decision. 

“Of course I care,” Caitlyn sounded almost angry, her eyes meeting Vi’s. “If you’d ever given me a chance to explain why I chose this career instead of making degrading comments about it, you would’ve known that.”

Feeling defensive, Vi said, “Yeah, well if you remember, I have a pretty good reason to be skeptical of enforcers.”

Caitlyn’s expression softened again, “I know. Honestly, your story was part of what influenced me to still join the force.” She stared pensively back down at her coffee, “I never want anything like that to happen again. Maybe I am being naive, but I feel as though I have to try to make a positive change.”

“Well,” Vi slouched back in her chair, “I guess if anyone is stubborn enough to pull that off it’s probably you.”

“Thanks, I think,” Caitlyn said, her brow slightly furrowed. 

They were interrupted again by the waitress dropping off their food. Vi stared down at her plate, some kind of green mush spread over a slice of bread stared back at her.

“What the fuck is this?” Vi asked, picking the bread up and sniffing it.

“Avocado toast?” Caitlyn said, her tone sounding surprised that Vi had never seen such a thing before. “The name is quite literal.”

“This is what Pilties eat for breakfast? Just when I thought things up here couldn’t get any more bleak.”

“It’s good,” Caitlyn said. “You could at least try it before complaining.”

Sighing, Vi took a bite out of the toast. It wasn’t the worst thing she’d ever tasted, but it certainly didn’t hold a candle to the heavy, greasy breakfasts she was used to from Zaunite restaurants.

After eating in silence for a few minutes, Caitlyn said, “Since we’ve already discussed my job, how is work going for you?”

It turned out to be the perfect question to break the stiltedness between them because Vi could talk about her jobs for hours. She split her time between bartending for Vander at The Last Drop and teaching boxing classes at a gym Sevika had opened a few years earlier. She had a never ending well of stories about her patrons and students.

By the end of the hour she had actually managed to make Caitlyn laugh, a feat she’d previously thought impossible, thanks to one of her stories about Mylo being an absolute disaster at The Last Drop.

“So,” Vi continued her latest story as she tried to process how pretty Caitlyn looked when her cheeks were flushed from laughter and the gap in her teeth fully visible, “after hounding Vander for weeks about hiring this girl and at least a dozen embarrassing attempts to actually talk to her, Mylo finally gets up the courage to ask her out. And she tells him that she’s a lesbian and then asks him if I was single.”

“Wait— you’re telling me that your brother went to great pains to have your father hire the girl he had a crush on, just to find out she’s a lesbian who took the job because she had a crush on you?” Caitlyn held a hand over her mouth to contain another laugh.

“Yep, pretty classic Mylo behavior,” Vi shook her head. “The kid just constantly makes the worst possible choices. She’s a great waitress, though, so I’ve gotta give him that.”

“And did you and she…?” Caitlyn trailed off, seeming unsure how to word what she wanted to ask.

Vi easily caught on to what she was hinting at, “Oh, no. I’m basically the acting manager whenever Vander’s busy, I’d never get involved with any of the employees.”

“Hm, I guess I’m not the only one with a noble streak,” Caitlyn said, still smiling at Vi.

“Guess not, cupcake. I’ll have you know I can be chivalrous as fuck when I want to be,” Vi said with a wink. She wasn’t sure what to say next, didn’t know how to act when she had Caitlyn’s attention for a positive reason.

Caitlyn was the one to finally break the silence, “Look, I truly am sorry about last night. I never should’ve done that. I’ve been having a rough time at work lately and, well… I should never have taken it out on you.”

“It’s okay,” Vi shrugged. “Who hasn’t shoved food at someone for annoying them?”

Caitlyn stared at her for a beat, “Until last night I’d never even considered such a thing.”

Her confused expression made Vi laugh, “I’d forgotten you’re an only child.”

“Was this a regular occurrence between you and your siblings?” Caitlyn asked.

“Oh yeah,” Vi said. “We were always tussling with each other. Still do, honestly. I guess roughhousing isn’t as typical Topside, huh?”

Caitlyn shook her head, “No. Even if I’d had siblings I’m sure it would have been thoroughly discouraged. Why would you have a physical outburst when you can bury your emotions and plaster on a fake smile?”

“That’s kinda dark, cupcake,” Vi said. “Explains why you’re so repressed, though, I guess.”

“I’m not repressed,” Caitlyn bristled.

“Sure you’re not,” Vi smirked at her. “People who aren’t repressing anything always snap and smear cake all over the face of people who annoy them.”

“I was going to say that this meal is my treat, but on second thought…”

Vi held her hands up, “Okay. I didn’t realize I was jeopardizing the chance of free food.”

“You’re not going to fight me over the check?” Caitlyn asked, brow raised.

“Not after you tricked me into eating avocado toast, no,” Vi said, finishing her coffee in one long sip.

Caitlyn waited until she’d handed the money over to the waitress before saying, “I think that paying means I win for most chivalrous.”

It took Vi a moment to process her shock at Caitlyn making a joke.

“I guess I’ll just have to get you next time, cupcake,” she finally said and she ignored how it felt when Caitlyn grinned at her.

Vi’s shift at The Last Drop wasn’t until the evening, but after her brunch with Caitlyn she needed to feel grounded again and there was no better place for that. The familiar smell of the bar, lingering booze combined with the wood polish Vander had always used, automatically made Vi feel calmer.

The bar was basically devoid of patrons at this time of day, Zaun didn’t really have a brunch scene, so Vi had no qualms about walking straight to a seat at the bar and resting her head on her arms.

“Brunch went well, I take it,” Vander said, tone dry.

“It was weird,” Vi’s voice was muffled by her arms.

“In what way?” she could hear Vander moving around the bar, but she still didn’t look up.

Vi huffed, “It wasn’t terrible?”

“Oh?” It was hard to tell if Vander was actually surprised or if he was faking it. 

The sound of a glass being placed on the bar beside her arm finally got Vi to turn her head, keeping her cheek pressed to her forearm. Vander had brought over a glass of the juice and soda concoction he used to make her and Powder when they were little.

“Shouldn’t you be relieved that it went well? You do have to spend more time with her,” Vander said as Vi finally sat up to take a sip of her drink, letting the familiar rush of sugar comfort her.

“I guess,” Vi said. “I don’t want to like her, though.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re stubborn to the point of stupidity?” Vander said and Vi laughed.

“Only you, on a regular basis, for my entire life.”

“You know,” Vander’s tone turned considering, “for someone so concerned about Powder making friends with her Topsider classmates you could set a better example.”

It was his favorite method to get Vi to work on her own behavior. Won’t you set a good example for Powder? And Vi knew that the only reason he still used it was because it worked every time.

“Fine,” she said, “I’ll keep trying to be nice.”

“That’s all I ask,” Vander said. “Now, what do you say you help me get set up for the day instead of moping around?”

Vi groaned, but she still pulled herself off of the barstool. Working with her hands had always helped her get out of her own head. Maybe it was a little hypocritical, that she’d just been making fun of Caitlyn for repressing her emotions and then turning around and doing the same thing, but Vi didn’t care about that right now. She just wanted to get rid of that stupid warm feeling that was lingering in her gut as she remembered Caitlyn smiling at her.

Dinner parties were definitely Vi’s most hated form of Piltie function. Between having to sit still, unable to excuse herself from terrible small talk, and needing to remember the intricacies of all of the different pieces of silverware and the proper way to use them, the entire experience was always painful.

This one was being held in a function hall with vaulted ceilings and a long table that seemed to be set with a nearly endless number of place settings. Remembering how it had been described as a fairly intimate dinner party, Vi nearly laughed. 

Vi wandered down the row of seats, glancing at each name card until she finally spotted her own name. Vander had been seated toward the other end of the table, surrounded by names Vi recognized as potential investors for a project he and Cassandra had been working on.

As promised, Vi found her place next to Caitlyn’s. The seat was still empty, Caitlyn was likely mingling somewhere. Vi knew that was the appropriate thing to do, wander around and chat with people before everyone moved to the table, but she wanted to enjoy the quiet while she sat alone for as long as she could.

“Hello Vi,” Caitlyn greeted when she finally slid into her seat.

“Cupcake,” Vi said, throwing her an exaggerated wink. Caitlyn just shook her head, an expression that was partly exasperation and partly too close to fondness for Vi’s comfort passed over her face. “How’s your week been?” She asked to move on from that thought.

“I’ve been alright,” Caitlyn said. 

Across from them sat Jayce Talis and Mel Medarda. Vi had never talked much with either of them, but she knew that Caitlyn was close with them both.

Jayce was a surprisingly engaging conversation partner. It turned out that he was part of the same engineering program that Powder was in at the Academy and as soon as he mentioned that he and his partner were looking for younger students to work with them as interns, Vi started talking up Powder and Ekko. She was always happy to play the proud older sister and brag about their accomplishments.

When Jayce promised to get in touch with them, Vi realized to her mild horror that she was networking. But it was worth it if she was helping Powder and Ekko get a leg up in their competitive academic program.

“You know,” Jayce said, “Viktor, my partner, is from Zaun. I think he’ll be really excited to get the chance to work with students who have a similar background. He’s talked before about how hard it was to get anyone to take him seriously when he first started at the Academy and I know he wants to make things better for other kids like him.”

“Has he ever been at any of these things?” Vi asked, gesturing to the room around them. “I don’t remember seeing him before.”

“No,” Jayce snorted, “he hates this shit. He happily shoos me out the door with Mel so he can have our lab to himself for the night. But he’s planning on coming to Cait’s birthday party. You’ll be there, right?”

“Under pain of death,” Vi said, wincing when Caitlyn elbowed her.

“You can’t be mean to me on my birthday,” Caitlyn said, “it’s illegal.”

“Noted,” Vi said, “but it’s not your birthday yet. And I’d be lying if I said I was looking forward to another night of wandering around a ballroom in a suit.”

“Wear whatever you’re comfortable in,” Caitlyn said with a shrug and Vi laughed.

“I’m sure your mother would be thrilled if I showed up in jeans and a tank top.”

“It would take her attention off of me,” Caitlyn shrugged.

Vi pretended to think about it, “Nah, I’m not taking that risk. Sorry, cupcake.”

When Caitlyn had no reaction to the nickname, Vi turned her attention back to the salad course that had been placed in front of them.

Having made it through the salad course without any major faux pas, Vi found herself stumped when the soup course was served. She’d finally gotten a hang of the forks, but she still never knew what spoon to use. As she reached toward the roundest spoon, laying across the top of her place setting, a hand gently tapped hers. Vi paused, looking over at Caitlyn. 

“That’s the dessert spoon,” Caitlyn said quietly, “here.” She handed Vi one of the spoons that was sitting to her side, “This one is for soup.”

“Thanks,” Vi said. No one had ever bothered to take the time to explain the intricacies of cutlery etiquette to her, always choosing to judge her for not somehow innately knowing how each piece was supposed to be used.

Caitlyn just gave her a nod and returned to talking with Mel about some political situation that Vi had no interest in.

So far, the meal had been passing at a much more comfortable place than these things usually did. Before Vi knew it, their entrées were being served and the first genuinely appetizing looking plate of food of the night was sitting in front of her. Even Piltover’s upper crust couldn’t fuck up a plate of meat and potatoes.

Beside her, Caitlyn was picking at her own meal, barely eating anything. 

“Everything okay?” Vi asked quietly. 

Caitlyn’s eyes met hers, looking mildly surprised, “Oh, well, I don’t really like seafood.”

Eyeing the fish sitting on top of a meager pile of veggies on Caitlyn’s plate, Vi asked, “Then why’d you order it?”

“I didn’t,” Caitlyn said, continuing to poke at the fish as though it had personally insulted her. “It must have been a mistake.”

“Can’t you ask for the right food?” Vi didn’t understand what the problem was.

Caitlyn gave her a wry look, “That would be rude.” She sighed as she stared down at her plate, “It’s alright, I can always eat more at home later.”

The whole thing was just too damn sad for Vi to continue watching.

“Alright, here,” Vi mentally bid farewell to the meal she’d been enjoying and swapped her plate for Caitlyn’s. 

“You don’t have to—” Caitlyn began to protest, but Vi cut her off.

“I’m not picky,” Vi said, “and it’s just depressing watching you go hungry.” She took a bite of the fish. It wasn’t as good as the seafood she was used to from Jericho’s, but it was definitely fully edible. “S’better than the fucking avocado toast,” Vi said as she chewed.

Caitlyn gave her a small smile, “Thank you, Vi.” And Vi grinned back as she watched Caitlyn happily dig into her food.

As she watched Caitlyn clear her plate, there was a warm feeling in her chest that Vi couldn’t quite place, like it was making her happy just to see Caitlyn happy. She shook it off and went back to eating her fish.

Chapter Text

Caitlyn’s birthday party was exactly what Vi expected.

When she arrived at the Kiramman mansion, one of the butlers took her coat and showed her to the ballroom where at least two dozen people were already gathered. 

A table near the entrance was stacked with presents and Vi palmed the small box in her pocket, suddenly feeling like it would be inadequate in comparison. 

She had had no idea what to buy Caitlyn for her birthday. The old what do you get for the girl who has everything conundrum. And then she’d walked past a glass shop in Zaun that had a bracelet in the window, a delicate silver chain decorated with small blue glass beads that matched Caitlyn’s eyes, and without thinking twice Vi had walked into the shop and bought it.

But now that she was once again surrounded by the luxury that was Caitlyn’s home, the dripping jewels and gold that all of the other guests wore, Vi couldn’t bring herself to add her simple gift to the pile.

Taking a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, Vi scanned the room to try to find Caitlyn among the partygoers. Vi finally spotted her across the room, having an animated conversation with Mel. Grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, Vi started making her way across the room. 

But before she took even three steps, she was intercepted by Cassandra.

“Vi, how nice to see you,” Cassandra said, as though she hadn’t been the one to mandate Vi’s presence at the party.

“Hi Councilor Kiramman,” Vi said, feeling a vague sense of panic as she flashed back to the last time she’d seen the woman. “How are you?”

“You know you can call me Cassandra,” Vi had known that, but she hadn’t been sure if that privilege had been revoked. “And I’m well.”

“Good, good,” Vi said. And Cassandra just stared at her, her eyes so similar to Caitlyn’s that Vi dropped her gaze to her glass. “So,” she said, after spending a solid three seconds watching the bubbles rise in her champagne, “do people think we’re friends yet? Me and Caitlyn, that is,” Vi wasn’t sure why she felt the need to clarify that last point. But she’d been wondering how the whole charade was working, but had felt strange about bringing it up with Caitlyn. Like if she reminded Caitlyn of the circumstances of their tentative friendship it would crumble around them. 

“They certainly have noticed the two of you spending time together,” there was a glimmer of… something in Cassandra’s expression when Vi looked back at her. 

“That’s good?” Vi wasn’t sure what else to say.

Cassandra just hummed, seemingly content to watch Vi squirm.

Fortunately, Vi was saved when Caitlyn appeared beside her mother. She looked downright resplendent in a sparkling silver gown and when she smiled at Vi, Vi could feel her cheeks flush like a teenager with a crush. 

“Mother,” Caitlyn greeted, inclining her head, “may I steal Vi? Jayce has been wanting to introduce her to Viktor.”

“Of course, dear,” Cassandra said, squeezing Caitlyn’s arm. “It was nice talking with you, Vi.”

"You too," Vi said quickly, as Caitlyn pulled her away.

“I hope she wasn’t being too hard on you,” Caitlyn muttered as she led Vi through the crowd of partygoers. “You looked downright cornered.”

“She was just saying that apparently people have been noticing us spending time together and she didn’t seem peeved about it, so I’ll take that as a win,” Vi said. “Has she said anything to you about—” Vi didn’t manage to finish the question because Caitlyn had moved in front of her to lead her through the crowd and Vi noticed for the first time that Caitlyn’s dress was backless, unusually revealing for her. The line of her spine was visible down to the swell of her ass. Vi could see the muscles of her shoulders moving as her head turned back to Vi. It was all too distracting.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.” Vi nearly sighed with relief that Caitlyn didn’t notice her stumble thanks to the noise in the room.

“I asked if your mom’s said anything to you about us hanging out together,” Vi said, raising her voice a bit.

“Not really,” Caitlyn said, “I got the impression that she doesn’t want to keep thinking about it. What did she say to you?”

“Just that people have noticed. And then we stood there in awkward silence until you rescued me,” Vi said.

Caitlyn smiled back at her and reached out to squeeze Vi’s elbow, “You’re welcome.”

“My hero,” Vi said, pitching her voice to a simpering falsetto and Caitlyn laughed.

“You’re ridiculous,” Caitlyn said, but, for once, she didn’t sound annoyed about it.

Before Vi could say anything else, Caitlyn was stopping in front of a small group of people. Vi recognized Jayce and Mel, of course, but there was another man with them who was unfamiliar, who she assumed must be Viktor.

She was proven right a moment later when Jayce greeted her with a clap on the shoulder and said, “Vi, meet my partner Viktor. He’s been looking forward to meeting you ever since we started working with your sister and her friend.”

Vi held out her hand for Viktor to shake, “Nice to meet you. And thanks for giving Powder and Ekko a chance.”

“I should be thanking you,” Viktor said. “It’s rare to find students with as many new ideas as those two have. Your sister especially is quite the spitfire.”

“That’s one word for it…” Jayce muttered.

“Has she been causing problems?” Vi asked, concerned.

Viktor chuckled, “She may have accidentally set one of Jayce’s notebooks on fire the other day.” When he noticed Vi’s horrified expression he added, “It was a very small fire and she put it out almost immediately. A small price to pay to work with a student so bright.”

“Maybe you’d feel differently if it had been your notebook,” Jayce muttered.

Viktor rolled his eyes, “I’m not sure why you’re under the impression that the Academy will want every note you’ve ever written added to its archives one day, but I don’t think that a few notebook pages were any great loss. You’re just jealous that Professor Heimerdinger has taken a shine to our new interns.”

“I’m not jealous,” Jayce said, but the petulance in his voice betraying him. 

“You certainly seemed jealous when you were sulking about walking in on Ekko and the professor drinking tea together the other day,” Mel said with a laugh. “You’re such an only child, pouting when your favorite authority figure gives attention to someone new.” She reached out to pinch at his cheek and he ducked away from her with a glare.

Vi felt a hand on her arm and she looked over to see Caitlyn pulling her away.

“Come on,” Caitlyn said, leaning close so that Vi could hear her, “they’ll be going back and forth for ages and I want to get some food.”

“And you expect me to trust you around the buffet table?” Vi asked and Caitlyn elbowed her side.

“You’re going to have to let that go eventually,” Caitlyn said. 

Vi shrugged, “I think it’s up to the victim to decide when they’re ready to move on.”

“Oh, shut up,” Caitlyn said, but Vi could tell from the way she was pressing her lips together that she was trying not to laugh.

Unsurprisingly, they were separated at some point during the night when Caitlyn was pulled away to talk with her other guests. For what felt like hours, Vi found herself engaged in painful small talk with insipid people who clearly considered her below them. When she finally felt she was reaching her limit, she looked around to try to find Caitlyn again and realized she wasn’t anywhere in the ballroom.

Vi spent at least twenty minutes wandering around trying to figure out where Caitlyn had disappeared to, this house was fucking huge, when she finally found her standing on a balcony at the end of a hall off of the ballroom. 

“Hey,” Vi said and Caitlyn startled and turned to look at her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, I  was just wondering where you were.” She went to stand next to Caitlyn. It was cold outside after being in the crowded ballroom for so long. “Why are you hiding from your own party?”

“Don’t tell anyone,” Caitlyn began and something in Vi thrilled at the prospect of Caitlyn confiding in her. She pushed the feeling down before it could show on her face. “But I kind of hate these parties.”

Vi blinked at her for a moment, “Really?” From the outside it had always seemed like Caitlyn was happy with spending half of her time attending parties and events like this one.

“Really,” Caitlyn said with a small sigh, leaning her forearms against the railing of the balcony.

“But it’s your birthday,” Vi moved to stand next to her, standing with her back agains the railing.

“It is. And I’ve had a party just like this every year I can remember,” Caitlyn stared off into the darkness. “My mother insists. It would be bad manners to exclude anyone, so they’re always these huge over the top affairs. I’d much prefer something smaller with only my actual friends.” 

Caitlyn looked back at Vi and gave a small, sad laugh, “I know I must sound very poor little rich girl.”

Maybe it did a bit, but it also sounded lonely. Even when they’d been barely making ends meet, Vander had always made sure each of his kids had their own birthday celebration tailored to their interests. While Vi’s birthdays had always been loud and filled with food and family, Caitlyn had apparently spent hers in uncomfortable clothes surrounded by people who barely knew her.

“I wasn’t going to say that,” Vi said. “It sounds stressful.”

“It is,” Caitlyn’s voice was soft, as though she’d never admitted that before. 

They stood silently for a moment and an idea formed in Vi’s mind.

“What if you did have a party just for you?”

Caitlyn looked questioningly at her, “What do you mean?”

“How about you come down to The Last Drop sometime and we can have some real fun? You can bring Jayce and whoever else and we can just hang out and drink.”

“That…” Caitlyn trailed off, sounding unsure.

“Hey, no pressure,” Vi bumped her shoulder against Caitlyn’s.

“I think I might like that,” Caitlyn said after a moment of thought.

“Yeah?” Vi couldn’t believe that Caitlyn was agreeing to come hang out with her in the undercity.

“Yes,” Caitlyn said with a decisive nod and a small smile.

Vi could feel herself blushing as Caitlyn continued to look at her. “Cool,” she said, finally dropping her gaze and running a hand through her hair before shoving her hands in her pockets, where her right hand hit the box she was still carrying. 

“Oh, I have your present here,” Vi said, pulling the box out of her pocket. “I, uh, didn’t add it to your present tower because I’m sure it doesn’t really stack up to everything else there. But I still want you to have it.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Caitlyn said, but she still reached out to take the box.

An odd flutter of nerves invaded Vi’s stomach as she watched Caitlyn carefully untie the ribbon wrapped around the box and lift the cover.

“Vi, this is lovely,” Caitlyn said as she rested the box on the railing to take the bracelet out for a closer look.

“You think so?” Vi hoped her relief wasn’t too obvious.

“Here, help me put it on?” Caitlyn held out her wrist and Vi took the bracelet. It took Vi a minute of fiddling with the tiny clasp, trying not to think too much about how soft the skin of Caitlyn’s wrist was as her fingers grazed against it. “What do you think?” Caitlyn asked once the bracelet was fastened, holding her arm out for Vi’s inspection.

“It looks great. You’d look good in anything, cupcake,” Vi allowed herself to be a bit too honest. The champagne and Caitlyn’s closeness were both going to her head, but she thought that Caitlyn seemed to blush a bit at the compliment. “We should probably head back inside. It is your party, after all.”

“Must we?” Caitlyn sounded as though Vi was asking her to walk in front of a firing squad rather than return to her own birthday celebration.

“It can’t last that much longer. Plus, there’s drinks inside,” Vi said, holding her arm out and Caitlyn laced her own through it.

“I’m only going for the drinks,” Caitlyn said as they walked back toward the party.

“Noted,” Vi said with a laugh. “No stopping for small talk, we’ll go straight to the bar.”

“Perfect,” Caitlyn said and Vi found herself thinking that maybe this party wasn’t so bad after all.

To say that her siblings were surprised when Vi told them her plans to bring Caitlyn to The Last Drop would be an understatement. She told them her idea when they were all gathered at The Last Drop for their semi-monthly family dinner and watched their jaws drop.

“So what, we’re supposed to like her now?” Powder asked with a scoff. “Not gonna happen.”

“I’m not saying you have to like her. I’m just asking you to give her a chance. I think I might’ve judged her too harshly before. It was actually pretty sad hearing her talk about how she’s never really had a birthday party that was actually just for her before. Shouldn’t everyone get the chance to let loose a little on their birthday?” Vi’s voice sounded too close to pleading for her own liking by the end and her siblings were all looking at her with varying levels of confusion and concern.

“Leave Vi alone,” Vander said, and Vi felt grateful for the intervention until he added, “you know she has trouble acting normal around girls she likes.”

“Hey,” Vi said, “I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this. She’s just a friend. Barely even.”

“Well of course she is, you’ve never had a girlfriend,” Mylo said. “That’s kinda sad, actually.”

“You’re one to talk. At least I’m able to get laid and don’t scare off every woman I’ve ever spoken to,” Vi said and it was enough to tip the scales so that everyone turned their attention to mocking Mylo instead of her.

Later, when Vi was the only one who hung around to help Vander wash the dishes, he said, “I really am glad that you’re giving Caitlyn a chance.”

“Yeah,” Vi shrugged, “I guess she’s not that bad.”

“Mhm,” Vander said, giving her a knowing look that immediately made her wary.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Vi asked, suddenly self-conscious.

“No reason,” Vander said, holding his hands up. “No reason at all.”

Four pairs of incredibly judgmental eyes followed Vi as she frantically tried to deep clean one of the larger tables in the bar. 

“You know, I always knew she’d lose it one day, but I never would’ve guessed it’d be over some Piltie,” Mylo said, loud enough for Vi to hear. 

“Uh, Vi?” Claggor’s voice was gentler, “I think those stains are kinda permanent.”

“Yeah and they’re probably not blood,” Powder added, moving closer to squint down at the table. “Actually I’m pretty sure that big one is from that one time Ekko spilled juice all over the table.”

“You mean the time you knocked over my full cup of juice because you weren’t paying attention to your hands when you were telling a story?” Ekko raised a brow at Powder, who just shrugged. 

“Semantics,” she said with a wave of her hand. 

“Ruined my favorite shirt that day too,” Ekko added. 

“And then I helped you tie-dye it, which looked so much cooler,” Powder rolled her eyes. 

“Are any of you going to help me?” Vi snapped. “Or are you just here to make me wish I’d been an only child?”

When no one responded, Vi looked up to see them staring behind her. She turned and found Caitlyn, flanked by Jayce, Viktor, and Mel, hovering in the doorway. 

“Sorry, are we too early?” Caitlyn asked and Vi straightened up, hiding the cleaning rag behind her back. 

“Not at all,” she said, ignoring the snickering behind her. “Come on in, I was just clearing this table for us.”

As they filed in, taking seats around the table and trading introductions with Vi’s siblings, Vi offered to grab everyone a drink. so that she could toss the rag back behind the bar

“Why did I think this was a good idea?” She hissed to Vander as he poured drinks for the group, including two cups of juice for Powder and Ekko.

“Calm down,” Vander said, “you’re all going to have a great time. Now buck up, your girl’s heading over here.”

“My— what?” Vi turned to see Caitlyn behind her.

“I thought you could use a hand with the drinks?” Caitlyn said with a shy smile.

“That’s very thoughtful, Caitlyn,” Vander said while Vi’s brain was still scrambling. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s nice to see you as well, sir,” Caitlyn replied as Vander slid one of the drink trays toward her.

“You know you can just call me Vander,” he said, “none of that highbrow nonsense in my dive bar.”

“Aw, she can’t help it,” Vi teased, finally coming back to herself, “it’s all those years of charm school and etiquette lessons.”

“It’s true,” Caitlyn said with a shrug. “You know what they say, you can take the girl out of charm school but you can’t take the charm school of the girl.”

It took Vi a moment before she laughed, she still wasn’t used to the fact that Caitlyn actually had a sense of humor. Vander laughed too, before handing Vi the rest of the drinks and shooing them back toward their table.

Vi had worried that things would be awkward mixing the two groups, but by the time she and Caitlyn returned with the drinks, everyone was already deep into conversation.

Ekko and Powder were nerding out with Viktor over some engineering stuff Vi couldn’t follow, but she was thrilled to see how well the three of them were getting along.

Jayce was talking to Claggor about… hammers? Which she supposed made sense since Claggor really loved his job as a contractor, but who knew that anyone could have such strong opinions about hammer handle composition. It was rare to see Claggor so animated around anyone other than their siblings and Ekko.

And Mylo was, unsurprisingly, making a complete ass of himself by bringing out all of his worst pick up attempts to throw at Mel. Vi thought briefly about stepping in, but Mel looked deeply amused by it all and maybe it was good for Mylo to humiliate himself in front of an incredibly hot woman. Maybe it would be character building and could get him to actually act normal around girls he might have a chance with. Like exposure therapy.

Since everyone else was occupied, Vi slid into the booth side of the table next to Caitlyn, knocking Caitlyn’s knee with hers, “So cupcake, did you score any good gifts from your present mountain last weekend?”

“Well, someone got me a tiara,” Caitlyn said with a small laugh. “I have no idea who, there wasn’t a card attached, but it was incredibly over the top.”

“Okay, princess,” Vi said teasingly, “anything else?”

Caitlyn shrugged, “It was all a lot of similar things. Some jewelry, some books, a few trinkets. I’m wearing my favorite gift, though,” Caitlyn held up her wrist, the bracelet that Vi gave her sparkling in the low light of the bar.

“You really did like it?” Vi said, feeling warmth creep up her cheeks.

“Of course I did,” Caitlyn said, gazing earnestly at Vi. “With everything else it was as if someone had just walked into a store and randomly grabbed something expensive, but this… the beads are the same color as my eyes.” She watched Vi as though she was waiting for confirmation.

“Yeah,” Vi’s voice came out raspy and she cleared her throat before saying, “that’s why I picked it.”

The smile that Caitlyn gave her was small but clearly pleased. And there was no way that Vi was reading this entire conversation right, because it almost felt like…

“Vi,” Powder’s voice broke through her thoughts and Vi was torn between feeling frustrated and relieved. “Vi, can we please do karaoke? Viktor just told us he’s never done karaoke before and that’s just so sad.”

Vi looked over at Viktor, who’s deadpan expression certainly made it look like he didn’t want to change his karaoke-virgin status. But it was basically impossible to stop Powder once there was something she wanted to do.

Glancing around the bar, Vi recognized most of the patrons as familiar regulars who were more likely to be amused than pissed off if the owner’s kids started an impromptu karaoke session. 

“Okay, fine,” Vi said, “but you’re setting it up and going first so that those of us who can legally drink can get buzzed enough to maybe consider participating.”

“Deal,” Powder said, heading toward the back of the bar where there was a small stage for local music acts and the karaoke machine that Benzo had given the bar when it had come into his store. Vi still wasn’t sure if he’d given it as a gift or a prank since official karaoke nights brought in a lot of business but also tormented the bar staff with questionable singing.

As soon as Powder was out of earshot, Vi leaned across the table and said to Viktor, “You can leave while she’s distracted.”

Viktor chuckled, “I’m alright. But I could use another drink if I’m going to be expected to sing.”

“I’ll grab a round of shots,” Vi said, garnering cheers from the rest of the table.

As promised, Powder kicked things off, cajoling Ekko into a duet with her while the rest of the group took their shots.

Powder and Ekko really hammed it up on stage, Powder taking the lead and Ekko always willingly playing along. They were actually pretty good, Vi had to give them credit there, it was fun to watch and they were mostly in tune with the song. 

“You’re next,” Powder said into the microphone when they finished, pointing at Viktor who looked resigned to his fate.

Jayce reached over and clapped Viktor on the shoulder, “Come on, I’ll go up with you.”

Unsurprisingly, Jayce stole the spotlight in that duo. What he lacked in talent he made up for with enthusiasm while Viktor stood awkwardly next to him, providing terrible backing vocals.

Another round of shots and Mylo and Claggor were on stage jumping around like a pair of idiots. Vi found herself laughing throughout their performance and Caitlyn was laughing too, leaning against Vi as she tried to maintain her composure.

They all found out that Mel could actually sing. She commanded the stage with a full-on ballad, hitting every note, and Vi thought that it was actually unfair for someone to look that good and be talented.

“You’re up next, Cait,” Vi said as Mel made her way back to the table.

“Me? You still haven’t gone,” Caitlyn said, poking Vi’s arm.

“Well I’m not going right after that performance,” Vi said, bumping her elbow against Caitlyn’s.

Caitlyn pouted at her, “This feels unfair.”

“It’s okay, you’re the birthday girl. Everyone will have to be nice to you,” Vi said, ushering Caitlyn out of her seat and toward the stage.

Vi quickly discovered two things about Caitlyn. One, she was enough of a Seraphine fan that she was singing along to the upbeat pop song without having to look at the lyrics. And two, she could not carry a tune for her life. It didn’t help that she kept stopping to have giggling fits throughout the song, the shots had clearly gone to her head. Vi couldn’t stop smiling as she watched, it was the cutest fucking thing she’d ever seen.

When Caitlyn was done, Vi knew there was no avoiding her own turn anymore. She felt oddly nervous as she took the stage, despite the fact that this was far from the first time she’d been roped into karaoke at this very bar.

Shaking off the nerves, Vi tried to lose herself in the familiar melody of one of her favorite songs. She knew she had a decent voice, nothing nearly as good as Mel, but she’d gotten a fair amount of compliments through the years. As she sang, she found her eyes locking on Caitlyn, who was watching her just as intently. It felt strangely intimate, holding eye contact while the song finished, like there was no one else in the room.

By the time she finished, Vi felt like her head was spinning. She made her way back to the table in a mild daze, letting the conversation wash over her as she took her seat beside Caitlyn.

“You never told me you could sing,” Caitlyn said, leaning in close enough that she didn’t need to raise her voice over the noise of the bar.

Vi shrugged, “I’m alright, nothing special.”

“No,” Caitlyn looked at her imploringly, “you are special.”

“You’re drunk,” Vi said, not knowing how else to reply to a statement like that.”

Caitlyn just laughed, “Maybe. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

Seeing Caitlyn laughing beside her, looking fully relaxed in Vi’s presence for possibly the first time ever in the dim bar lighting, Vi realized she might have to fully rerank her top five Caitlyn Kiramman expressions. Because this was so much better than annoyed Caitlyn or grumpy Caitlyn. This was the type of reaction Vi should’ve been going for the whole time. 

They were pulled back into the group conversation when Powder started ranking everyone’s performances. A scale that Vi knew immediately was rigged when Powder announced that she and Ekko were the obvious winners. It kicked off a good-natured argument where everyone tried to make a case for themselves, aside from Caitlyn who was openly accepting her obvious defeat.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I have many skills, but I know singing isn’t one of them.”

“Sorry that you’re a loser at your own birthday party,” Powder said and Vi glared at her for the snotty comment.

“There are no winners or losers,” Vi said firmly. “It’s just supposed to be fun, Pow.”

Powder rolled her eyes, “Whatever. We should play something I can actually win, then. How do you all feel about poker?”

It only took two rounds of Jayce being wiped clean of his petty change by Powder and Ekko for everyone to move on from poker.

“Well, there was a clear loser in that game,” Caitlyn said, taunting Jayce.

“I did warn him to not use actual money,” Vi said. “Those two are fucking sharks. They’ve been hustling customers here since they were ten.”

“As much fun as this has been, I’m going to take this as a sign to call it a night,” Jayce said, he threw a glance toward Viktor who looked half asleep at the table and immediately perked up at the mention of leaving. Mel began saying her goodbyes as well, which left Jayce looking expectantly at Caitlyn. 

Caitlyn waved him off, “I’m not ready to leave yet.”

“Cait—” Jayce began to argue, but Caitlyn cut him off.

“I’m a grown-up Jayce. I can get myself home at the end of the night,” it might have been more convincing if Caitlyn wasn’t mildly slurring her words.

Jayce locked eyes with Vi. 

“I’ll make sure she gets home safe, I promise,” Vi said and Jayce nodded at her.

“Alright, enjoy the rest of your night, sprout,” Jayce said, reaching out to ruffle Caitlyn’s hair.

She swatted at his hand, “Stop it. Go home.”

The three of them chorused their goodbyes as they left the bar. 

Without the rest of the party, Vi’s siblings quickly began to leave as well. Ekko headed back to crash at his old room above Benzo’s shop and Mylo and Claggor offered to walk Powder home on their way to their own apartment.

“And then there were two,” Vi said, turning toward Caitlyn who was already leaning into her space again.

“Then there were two,” Caitlyn echoed. “Your siblings are certainly something.”

“I hope they didn’t scare you off of wanting to come here again,” Vi said, running a hand through her hair.

“Not at all,” Caitlyn said, smiling. “They were fun. I’ve had fun. There must have never been a dull moment with all of you growing up together.”

Vi laughed, “Never. It was constant chaos.”

“Tell me about it,” Caitlyn said. Vi did.

It was hard to tell exactly how long they sat there, curled towards each other in their booth, just talking. Vi had never found it so easy to lose herself in conversation with another person. She found herself telling Caitlyn stories she’d never shared with anyone and Caitlyn shared her own stories in return. 

When Vander came over to tell Vi he was getting ready to close, it was a shock. 

“I had no idea how late it is,” Caitlyn said as she began to pull on her coat.

“Sorry, we really lost track of time, huh?” Vi said.

“Don’t apologize, I was enjoying myself,” Caitlyn replied, smiling at Vi again and Vi’s stomach flipped. “Walk me out?”

“I’ll walk you home,” Vi said immediately.

“Don’t be silly, I’m not making you go all the way to Piltover just to come all the way back here. I’ll be fine. You know I’m down here for work all the time,” Caitlyn said as she swayed slightly in her seat.

“Cait, I’m not letting you go home alone this late,” Vi pulled on her own jacket. “I know you can handle yourself, but you’ve been drinking and at least when you’re working you’re armed. Also I promised Jayce and I think he’d kill me if anything happened to you.”

“Who says I’m not armed?” Caitlyn asked with a cheeky smile.

“Where would you be keeping a gun in that outfit?” Vi eyed the mini-skirt and tight turtleneck that Caitlyn was wearing.

“Thigh holster,” Caitlyn said smugly. Vi couldn’t help the flare of heat she felt that image in her mind. “And you could take Jayce in a fight, I think.”

“I’m flattered, but his arms are pretty big.”

“Pfft,” Caitlyn said, “vanity muscles.”

Vi wasn’t sure if Caitlyn was joking, or not, but she laughed regardless.

“Alright, come on,” Vi stood and held her hands out to pull Caitlyn up. “Time to get you home.”

As they weaved through the streets, Caitlyn was leaning heavily on Vi. The warmth of her against Vi’s side felt nice against the cool night air. Caitlyn sat close beside her on the tram that had been built between Zaun and Piltover and they watched the lights of the city reflecting off of the river below.

They didn’t say much, Caitlyn seemed comfortable staying quietly content in each other’s company.

As they entered the gates of the Kiramman mansion, Caitlyn started pulling Vi toward the side of the building.

“Where are we going?” Vi asked.

“I don’t want to wake my parents up,” Caitlyn explained, which seemed reasonable enough until Vi realized they weren’t going to a back door. Instead Caitlyn started climbing up a trellis along the wall.

“Cait,” Vi said, “get down. You’re going to break your neck.”

“No I’m not,” Caitlyn replied, her boots now in line with the top of Vi’s head. “I’ve done this dozens of times.”

Vi resigned herself to following Caitlyn up the wall, “I didn’t realize you were such a rebel.”

“There’s a lot you still don’t know about me,” Caitlyn said, which just made Vi realize how badly she wanted to know everything about Caitlyn.

Caitlyn’s landing wasn’t graceful when she climbed through her window and as soon as Vi followed her inside, Vi helped her up. 

As she was herding Caitlyn toward the bed, the door suddenly flew open and Cassandra was standing in the doorway, aiming a rifle at them with Tobias hovering behind her.

They froze, staring at her as she quickly lowered the weapon.

“Caitlyn,” she said, “why in the world are you climbing through the window instead of using the front door? I thought you were intruders.” Cassandra sighed and turned her attention to Vi, leaning against her rifle, “Vi, will you be spending the night?” 

“Uh, no,” Vi said, rubbing a hand against the back of her neck. “I just wanted to make sure her highness got home safely.” Caitlyn snorted at that and Vi rolled her eyes, “The window was her idea, for the record.”

“I didn’t want to wake anyone,” Caitlyn said with a huff. 

“A plan flawlessly executed,” Vi said dryly.

Cassandra sighed, “You know,” her voice pitched to a light, teasing tone that Vi had never heard before, hadn’t thought possible from the stoic woman. “I truly thought you’d outgrown sneaking girls in through the window Caitlyn.” 

Vi’s brain screeched to a halt. Girls?  Caitlyn used to sneak girls through her window?

“You knew about that?” Caitlyn sounded scandalized. 

“Of course we knew. We have a security team, dear. We just decided it was preferable that you were here instead of sneaking off to who knows where.”

Caitlyn said something back, but Vi was too distracted by the confirmation that Caitlyn both liked girls and that her parents clearly knew. How much time had Vi wasted thinking she had a pointless crush on a straight woman? She felt dizzy as she replayed the entire night through the lens this new information provided.

“Anyhow,” Tobias’s voice interrupted the back and forth between his wife and daughter, “thank you for seeing Caitlyn home safe, Vi.”

“Yes,” Cassandra said, “thank you. We’re going back to bed now. Please leave through a door on your way out, Vi.”

“Uh, of course,” Vi said. “Good night.”

Once Caitlyn also bid her parents goodnight, she turned back to Vi.

“Thank you for tonight, Vi,” Caitlyn said, reaching out to squeeze Vi’s shoulder. “You were right about how nice it was to have a relaxed birthday with friends.”

“Anytime,” Vi said, feeling herself flush at the attention. “Now, drink some water before bed, yeah? You don’t want a headache in the morning.”

Caitlyn grinned, “Of course. Get home safe, okay?” And before Vi could process what was happening, she pulled Vi into a quick hug. It was hard to keep herself from sinking into the touch, but Vi stepped back after only a moment.

If Vi made her way out of the house and back toward the tram with some extra pep in her step, buoyed by her newfound knowledge that Caitlyn was interested in woman and the lingering warmth from the hug, there was no one around to notice.

Vi quietly eased open the door to her apartment, only to be scared shitless when she found Powder sitting on the couch, waiting for her.

“Fucking hell, Pow,” Vi said as she locked the door behind her and turned on the light. “Why are you sitting here in the dark like a weirdo?”

“You like her,” Powder said accusingly.

“What are you talking about?” Vi said, feeling her pulse race. She hadn’t meant to be that obvious about her attraction to Caitlyn. But then again, maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.

“Don’t bullshit me,” Powder rolled her eyes, “it’s obvious.”

“It is?” Vi felt caught out.

“Are you seriously gonna date a Piltie?” Powder’s voice took on a whining tone.

Vi shrugged, “I think that’s partly her decision.”

Once again, Powder rolled her eyes. More dramatically this time. “I saw how she looked at you too.”

“Really?” Vi couldn’t help the flare of hope in her chest at that.

“You’re pathetic,” Powder said. “But I guess she’s okay, for a Piltie.”

“Are you saying I have your blessing?” Vi wasn’t completely sure she was following this conversation. The entire night was beginning to feel like a fever dream.

“Shut up. But I guess you could do worse,” Powder said. “I’m going to bed now, all of the yearning is giving me a rash.”

Vi stayed standing by the door as Powder flounced dramatically down the hall to her room. When she heard Powder’s door close, she shook her head and finally went to get ready for bed herself. She found herself unable to stop smiling as she fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Caitlyn had always hated her parents’ gatherings. Her mother always insisted she wear some horrible, itchy dress and then would drag her around, forcing her to make small talk with every acquaintance. The moment her mother’s attention was elsewhere, she would retreat to a quiet corner where she could watch the proceedings unfold from a safe distance. 

It was from one such quiet corner that she caught sight of Vi for the first time. A few months had passed since the peace treatise between Piltover and Zaun had given Vander a seat on the council and the fact that he was attending this event had caused quite a stir. Her mother had been distracted enough that Caitlyn had only been put through fifteen minutes of forced socialization. 

Caitlyn had heard that Vander would be bringing his eldest daughter, but nothing could have prepared her for Vi.

It was hard to miss Vander in the crowd. Even if Caitlyn hadn’t met the man, it would have been obvious who he was based on his size alone. But as much as Vander stood out, Caitlyn found all of her attention immediately turning to Vi, who was following her father around with a mildly pained expression on her face. It was a similar expression to the one that Caitlyn was sure she herself must sport while accompanying her mother. 

Caitlyn’s gaze followed Vi across the room. She’d never seen a girl quite like her before, with her short, partially shaved hair, wearing trousers and a button down rather than any sort of dress. And there was something about her stride that seemed so self-assured. Caitlyn knew they were close in age, her mother had mentioned that fact at some point, but Vi gave off an air of maturity that Caitlyn knew she lacked with her stupid frocks and sheltered upbringing. 

But maybe they could be friends, Caitlyn thought. Since Vi looked as uncomfortable as Caitlyn felt, maybe she’d appreciate Caitlyn’s knowledge of the best corner to hide away in at every ballroom and function hall throughout Piltover. Caitlyn felt a bit of a thrill at the idea of getting to talk to Vi alone, of the potential for a new friendship.

Intrigued by the other girl, enraptured by her daydreams of a blossoming friendship, Caitlyn lost track of how long she’d been staring when Vi’s eyes suddenly met her own and she looked away quickly, feeling herself blush. 

Apparently she wasn’t quick enough, because the next time she looked up Vi was crossing the room toward her.

“Why do you keep looking at me?” Was the first thing Vi said to her, her tone cold. This close, Caitlyn noticed that her eyes were a pretty, light blue-gray that reminded Caitlyn of the sky on a winter morning.

Feeling flustered by the sudden closeness of the other girl, Caitlyn said stupidly, “I like your outfit.”

Vi scoffed, her eyes narrowing, “I don’t need you making fun of me.”

“What—” Caitlyn scrambled to form a response. Instead, all her brain could focus on was the fact that Vi had a delicate spray of freckles across the bridge of her nose. 

“Look,” Vi’s tone was unyielding, “I have enough problems without some Piltie princess mocking me.”

Caitlyn blinked at her, “I wasn’t—”

“At least I’m not dressed all frilly like some fucking cupcake.”

Caitlyn had no response to that, especially since she agreed with the assessment of her own appearance. She just gaped at Vi, unspeaking, until Vi rolled her eyes and stalked away.

All of Caitlyn’s fantasies of finally having an ally at these terrible events were quickly buried in the back of her mind. It was clear that Vi had no interest in being her friend, of even getting to know her at all beyond the facade she was forced to present to the world. 

At every event that followed Vi would greet her with a smirk and a derisive, “Hey cupcake.” 

But Caitlyn was never one to back down when something caught her interest, and Vi only became more fascinating to her as they got older. 

First it was the piercings, silver and glinting in the light, always catching Caitlyn’s attention. They brought Vi’s already edgy look to another level that Caitlyn, with her single ear piercings, envied. 

Then it was the fucking tattoos. They peeked out of the collars of her shirts, skirted along her forearms when her sleeves were rolled up, and drove Caitlyn insane with how badly she wanted to see the completed pattern, which she was pretty sure extended all the way down Vi’s back based on one time Vi had stretched and Caitlyn had seen tendrils of ink in the space between where the hem of her shirt ended and line of her pants began. 

Finally, Vi had the audacity to start weight training. At some point in their early twenties, her already attractive figure had begun to fill out her dress shirts in an entirely new and infuriating way, biceps straining at the thin fabric. Caitlyn had always kept in shape, but her own lithe musculature was nothing in comparison to the rippling muscle Vi now sported. In fact, Caitlyn was pretty sure Vi could easily pin her against a wall and Caitlyn wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. The thought shouldn’t be nearly as enticing as it was. 

It wasn’t as though Caitlyn had trouble finding women who were willing to go home with her, she was more than capable of being seductive when she wanted to be. There was just something about Vi that got under her skin like no one else. 

So she continued to poke at the tension between them. Vi always seemed up to another verbal sparring match, she even won them most of the time due to Caitlyn’s inability to manage any high-level brain function in her presence. Sometimes, Caitlyn even thought Vi enjoyed it based on the slight glint in her eyes as they sniped at each other. 

And then, because she never had known when enough was enough, Caitlyn had pushed too far and set off a chain of events that she never could have predicted.

Chapter Text

After Caitlyn’s birthday, they hadn’t made any plans to see each other again. Vi hadn’t really thought about, had gotten used to seeing Caitlyn on a regular basis, and now she found herself hesitating to reach out, second-guessing if she'd been reading too far into things. Thinking about Caitlyn, it made her feel like she was a teenager again, unsure how to act around a girl she had a crush on.

It was Wednesday evening, always a quiet one at The Last Drop. A few regulars were scattered around the tables and the only person sitting at the bar was Ekko, who’d been picking up some parts at Benzo’s and was killing time doing some homework and getting Vi to give him free sodas before meeting Powder back topside when she was done with her classes.

Vi was in the middle of polishing glassware, getting ahead on prep work before the weekend, when the door opened and Caitlyn walked in. For a moment Vi was struck dumb, wondering if she’d spent so much time thinking about seeing Caitlyn that she’d somehow conjured her here. 

But it became obvious as Caitlyn moved toward the bar, dressed in a long black wool coat over a suit that Vi had never seen her in, that she wasn’t some product of Vi’s imagination. 

“Hey Cait,” Vi said, trying to not come across as flustered as she felt. Judging from the look Ekko flashed her, she’d failed. “What are you doing here?”

She had to get it together. Ekko had always loved to eavesdrop and she knew that every awkward moment was going to be relayed to Powder in great detail. 

“I was down here for work and I could really use a drink,” Caitlyn said as she settled into a seat a few places down from Ekko’s setup, sliding her coat off.  

As Caitlyn sat down, there was an unusual slouch to her shoulders. Her hair was half falling out of the ponytail it was pulled back into and there were visible circles under her eyes.

“Rough day?” Vi asked, moving to make Caitlyn her favorite drink from the other night.

Caitlyn’s deep sigh coupled with her overall appearance said enough.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Vi asked as she handed Caitlyn her drink. “Listening to peoples’ problems is part of the bartender job description, you know.”

A small half smile crossed Caitlyn’s lips, “Is it, now?”

“Yep,” Vi said, “and I can even stand here thoughtfully polishing a glass to give the full effect if you’d like.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Caitlyn said with a small laugh. But then her smile dropped again, eyes cast downward to stare at her drink, “I just can’t tell if I’m doing the right thing. Are we even helping anyone with what we’re doing here?”

Vi leaned a hip against the bar, settling into the conversation, “This might be too obvious, but have you tried asking the people you’re trying to help what they need?”

“What?” Caitlyn’s brow furrowed as her eyes met Vi’s.

“You know, instead of continuing to come down with good intentions that keep missing the mark you could just ask what would actually be helpful to them.”

“That’s— yeah. You’re right,” Caitlyn said.

Vi blinked at her, “I didn’t know you were capable of admitting that.”

“Shut up,” Caitlyn said with a playful smile. “You do have the occasional good idea, I have to admit.”

“I bet I can even guess what their answer will be,” Vi leaned across the bar conspiratorially. 

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow at her, a clear invitation to continue.

“Money,” Vi said, smirking.

“Money?” Caitlyn’s tone was confused.

“I know you’ve never had the experience of not having any, but money is by far the biggest problem around here. People just want to be able to afford basics, like food and housing and medicine.”

“Could it really be that simple?” Caitlyn asked, a finger tracing the rim of her glass.

“Well it’s not an immediate fix,” Vi said. “Just a solid starting point. I think there’s also still a lot of trust that needs to be rebuilt. My family wasn’t the only one who lost people during the bridge conflict, you know. The communities here? They’re not the type to move on and forget easily.”

“I understand that,” Caitlyn said. She ran a hand through her hair, making it even messier, “and I’ve seen the amount of corruption that exists in the enforcers. I trust Grayson, of course, she’s half the reason I joined the force to begin with, but sometimes it seems like it’s a losing battle trying to root out the officers with bad intentions. The prejudice just… it runs so deep.”

“It sure does,” Vi said, but she reached across the bar to nudge Caitlyn’s shoulder, “you’re basically the most stubborn person I know, though. If anyone has a chance at turning that shit around it’s probably you.”

“I suppose I’ll take that as a compliment,” Caitlyn said, smirking slightly.

Vi smirked back at her, “I meant it as one.” 

For a long moment, Caitlyn held Vi’s gaze and Vi found herself caught off-guard once again at just how blue the other woman’s eyes were. Caitlyn’s cheeks were flushed a bit from the drink and with Vi leaning forward across the bar, she was almost close enough to…

Vi snapped herself out of it, blinking rapidly as she stood up straight again. “So,” her voice cracked a bit and she cleared her throat, “what else do you do to blow off steam when work’s tough? Other than bellying up to dive bars, of course.” Vi threw her a wink, feeling back in control of herself again.

“Oh, um,” Caitlyn’s cheeks darkened further, “I like to go shooting. Sometimes I’ll go for a run. Maybe take a nice bath?”

“That all sounds very… proper,” Vi said, ignoring how her stomach had flipped at the thought of Caitlyn in a bathtub.

“Yeah?” Caitlyn cocked her head toward Vi, “What do you do to blow off steam?”

“Usually I just punch shit,” Vi said with a shrug, crossing her arms. She wasn't about to mention anything else that came to mind with that question.

Caitlyn laughed, a real laugh this time with her head thrown back, “I should’ve known.” Her eyes seemed to focus on Vi’s biceps for a moment before she looked away.

“C’mon cupcake,” Vi teased, “don’t you ever just wanna go apeshit?”

“Not everyone has spontaneous urges for violence, you know,” Caitlyn said primly enough that Vi knew she was hamming it up.

“Um, do you even remember what fateful event led us to this very moment?” Vi asked, gesturing widely. “If attacking me with a cupcake wasn’t a violent urge, what is?”

Caitlyn rolled her eyes, but Vi could see the smile she tried to hide, “You’ve got me there.”

“If you ever want to get out that aggression in a healthy way, you should come down to the gym with me sometime,” Vi said, suddenly entranced by the prospect of having Caitlyn in her gym, on her turf.

Caitlyn hummed and took a sip of her drink before she finally said, “Alright. I have always wanted to improve my hand-to-hand combat skills.”

“Yeah?” Vi hadn’t expected her to agree so readily. And she wasn’t about to give her too much time to change her mind, “Are you free sometime this weekend?”

“I don’t have any plans on Saturday afternoon,” Caitlyn said, “would that work for you, if you don't have any other plans?” There was a hopeful tilt to her expression that would’ve had Vi immediately rearranging her plans, if she’d had any.

“Nope, I’m all yours,” Vi said, meaning any possible interpretation of the statement.

Caitlyn gave her a small, pleased smile, “Good. Can I meet you there around three?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Vi said, her eyes meeting Caitlyn’s again. And again she found herself unwilling, unable to look away. 

This time it was Caitlyn who looked away first, glancing up at the clock that hung on the wall behind the bar, “Oh, I hadn’t realized how late it was.” Caitlyn began to move to leave, “I’m supposed to have dinner with my parents.”

Vi watched her pull on her coat and she felt a twinge of unease at the idea of Caitlyn walking alone through the lanes at night, dressed like she clearly had money.

“Hey Ekko,” Vi called toward the end of the bar and Ekko looked up at her, “you were heading back topside soon, yeah? Would you mind walking back with Cait?”

“No problem,” Ekko said, beginning to pack up his things. Vi would feel bad about asking him to leave early if she wasn’t positive he was only hanging around to have more details to report back to Powder.

“I don’t need an escort,” Caitlyn scoffed. “I can handle myself.”

“I’m not saying you can’t,” Vi said, keeping her voice even. She didn’t want this to be a fight, “But there are still parts of the Lanes that get dicey after dark. Ekko knows the streets like the back of his hand. He’s also pretty good in a fight if anyone tries to mug you.”

“Pretty good? I thought I still punch like a little boy?” Ekko joked. 

“I can’t go letting you get a big head,” Vi said, reaching over to ruffle his hair as he ducked away from her. 

Caitlyn looked amused, but she still said, “I really don’t think it’s necessary.”

“Please, Cait,” Vi didn’t know how to make it clear why this was important to her without showing her hand. “I just want to be sure you’re safe.”

“Vi’s always been a worrier,” Ekko chimed in. “You might as well just agree and get it over with.”

“Fine,” Caitlyn said. “I know a losing battle when I see one.”

“Hold on,” Vi rushed to the back to grab a hoodie she’d stashed there. She returned to the bar and held it out to Caitlyn, “Wear this and carry your jacket. You’ll look less conspicuous, at least from a distance.”

Caitlyn gave her a weary look, but she removed her coat to pull on the hoodie instead.

“You’ve really gotta start wearing some less Piltie-ish clothes if you’re gonna be hanging around here, cupcake,” Vi said, masking the relief she felt knowing that Caitlyn would get back topside safely.

“I’ll take that under advisement,” Caitlyn said with a small smile and Vi realized with a swoop of her stomach that that meant she was planning to come back. “See you on Saturday?”

Vi smiled back at her, “Yeah, I’ll see you then.”

“Bye, Vi,” Ekko said, pulling Vi’s attention away from Caitlyn. He looked like he was trying not to laugh.

“Later, little man,” Vi said, using the nickname just to annoy him. 

She waved to them both as they left the bar before turning her attention back to the prep work she’d started earlier, mind racing even more than it had been before.

After work, Vi settled onto her couch with a plate of food that Vander had sent her home with. The bar might not offer food, but Vander had never gotten out of the habit of cooking like he was feeding a family of five so Vi was frequently sent home with leftovers.

She’d just picked up a book to read while she ate when the apartment door opened and Powder walked in.

“I heard you had a visitor at the bar today,” Powder said, taking her regular seat next to Vi. And Vi knew she should’ve expected this visit as soon as Ekko had seen Caitlyn walk into the bar earlier.

“You and Ekko gossip like old women, I swear,” Vi rolled her eyes. 

Powder ignored the comment, continuing on like Vi hadn’t spoken, “Apparently she spent the whole trip topside grilling him about what it was like growing up in Zaun and what he thought could make things better here. I think you’re making an impression on little miss spoiled.”

“She may be spoiled, but I think her heart’s in the right place,” Vi said, feeling suddenly defensive. “All she needed was a bit of a push in the right direction.”

Powder just raised her eyebrows, “Not that it hasn’t been fun watching you dance around your crush on her, but could you just put us all out of our misery and ask her out already?”

Vi sighed and collapsed back into the couch, “Pow, whatever is happening between me and Caitlyn is not on your timeline, okay?”

“I’ve just never seen you be such a loser about a girl before,” Powder said, staring at Vi like she was something to dissect. 

“It’s— Cait’s different than other girls I’ve been with. She has…” Vi trailed off, unable to put into words exactly what it was about Caitlyn that made her so special.

“Standards?” Powder offered in a tone of fake innocence.

Powder shrieked when Vi walloped her with one of the couch cushions. 

“Okay, sorry,” Powder laughed, not sounding sorry at all. “You should save that fighting spirit for your date on Saturday.”

“It’s not a date,” Vi said, returning her attention to her dinner as she felt a blush creep up her cheeks.

“Sure it’s not,” Powder said.

“I guess it’s not not a date,” Vi said hesitantly.

“There’s you go, tap into that confidence,” Powder said, tone dry. “C’mon, you know exactly how to get the girl.”

“Not this girl,” Vi said. “As you kindly pointed out, she has standards.”

“And you’re a catch, don’t sell yourself short. If she doesn’t see that, fuck her,” Powder said, unusually serious.

“Thanks,” Vi said. 

“Anytime, sis,” Powder said, “I owe you after all the talks you’ve given me over the years.” She patted Vi’s arm, leaning against her the way they used to sit together when they were kids.

Then she stole Vi’s fork out of her hand and started eating her dinner. Vi let her without putting up a fight.

“And you know,” Powder said around a mouthful of food, “if she does see it, then fuck her.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Vi, who just sighed and stole her food back. 

When Vi had offered to bring Caitlyn to the boxing gym, she hadn’t expected Caitlyn to take her up on it. Now, faced with Caitlyn dressed in just a matching sports bra and legging set, Vi was seriously regretting ever offering at all.

Vi loved the gym, the reclaimed warehouse space by the river had massive windows that allowed in plenty of sunlight and it was filled with equipment that Sevika had found secondhand and refurbished to look almost new.

It was a space that Vi knew like the back of her hand, had always been comfortable in, but having Caitlyn in such close proximity was kicking up her nerves.

“So,” she said, running a hand through her hair, “this is it.”

“I like it,” Caitlyn said, wandering around and taking stock of her surroundings. Vi watched as she trailed her fingers along the edge of a weight bench.

The room they were in was one of the smaller ones that was available only to staff for private sessions and small group classes, away from the bustle of the main gym.

Caitlyn turned back to Vi with a smile, “Are we going to punch shit now?”

Huffing out a laugh, Vi said, “Sure thing. I wanna start by checking out your form.”

“What?” Caitlyn’s voice was high-pitched, a blush beginning to spread across her cheeks.

“Oh, uh—” Vi suddenly realized how that might have sounded, “I want to see what you know about throwing a punch. I’m not going to stick you in front of a punching bag and let you, like, break your thumb by keeping it in your fist.”

“I know that much, at least,” Caitlyn said, glancing down at her hands.

“Well that’s a good starting point,” Vi said with a smile.

Caitlyn turned out to be an excellent student, which shouldn’t have surprised Vi considering how seriously she seemed to take most things.

They walked through how to hold a fist, the best way to position your wrist, and some basic footwork for really putting weight into a punch.

That last bit seemed to be tripping Caitlyn up, though. She had excellent control of her hands and arms, again unsurprising considering that her primary hobby was riflery, but it was clear that she wasn’t used to having to coordinate with her feet.

Vi watched as she stumbled a bit through a practice punch, not moving her hips enough to follow her swing.

“Here,” Vi said, stepping up behind her, “do you mind if I—” her hands hovered over Caitlyn’s waist and Caitlyn inhaled sharply.

“Go ahead,” Caitlyn said, voice slightly rough.

Steeling herself, Vi lowered her hands to grip Caitlyn’s hips. “Okay, so since you’re right handed you’re going to want to keep your right foot back first so you’re able to step into the punch.”

“Right,” Caitlyn gave a small nod and moved her foot back as Vi steadied her hips. It was intoxicating having Caitlyn so close, Vi could smell the floral scent of her shampoo, feel the warmth of her body under Vi’s hands and Vi could feel a flame of arousal spark in her stomach.

“Now shift your weight with your arm,” Vi’s hands moved Caitlyn’s hips as her fist flew forward. “Could you feel the difference?”

“Yeah,” Caitlyn sounded breathless, so close to Vi still.

Vi cleared her throat and dropped her hands before she could get carried away, “I think you’re ready to try out the punching bag now. I have some gloves ready for you.”

“Alright,” Caitlyn said, reaching up to fix her ponytail that was starting to come loose around her face. Vi turned away to grab the gloves before she could get distracted by the flex of Caitlyn’s arms as she tied back her hair.

“Hold out your hands,” Vi said once she had the gloves and Caitlyn’s hair was fixed. She helped Caitlyn’ put the gloves on, securing them around Caitlyn’s wrists while trying to avoid making too much contact with her skin. Vi couldn’t handle much more touching right now.

Fortunately, the tension between them settled into a more relaxed friendliness as Vi coached Caitlyn through punching the bag that hung in the corner of the room. By the time Caitlyn started to get tired, they were joking and laughing again like nothing had happened and Vi found herself both relieved and disappointed at the return of their banter.

“I’m exhausted,” Caitlyn said, collapsing against a stack of mats, taking her gloves off. Breathing heavily, she tipped her head back and closed her eyes. “Turns out punching shit’s a good workout.”

Her face was flushed and it ran to the top of her chest, which was still heaving with exertion and Vi couldn’t tear her gaze away.

“Did it at least help you let out some of that frustration?” Vi sat down next to her.

Caitlyn sighed, her relaxed expression hardening as she opened her eyes. Vi’s gaze flew to hers, not wanting to be caught in her ogling. “It did. I’d even forgotten about the rather unfortunate news I received this morning.”

“What happened this morning?” Vi asked, suddenly concerned.

“There’s an officers ball next weekend that I haven’t been particularly looking forward to, and I found out today that I’ll be going alone.”

“Why aren’t you looking forward to it? And who were you going with?” She hoped that the flash of jealousy she felt wasn’t obvious.

“Well, as I told you the other night, a lot of my colleagues don’t take me seriously,” Caitlyn looked down at her hands, picking idly at her nails. “And normally I’d drag Jayce along, I was planning to drag Jayce along, but there’s also a hospital benefit the same night that Viktor just found out he’s receiving an award at for his research. So of course Jayce will be going with him and my parents are going to the benefit too. I’m being dramatic, I know, but the idea of having to spend a full night with no one to act as a buffer…”

Vi watched as Caitlyn continued playing with her fingers, a nervous tick that Vi hadn’t noticed before. Normally Caitlyn was so outwardly composed, it was still strange to see her showing any signs of anxiousness.

“I could go with you,” she found herself offering, just to try to get Caitlyn to stop radiating stress after they’d just spent an hour blowing off steam. She wanted the relaxed, content version of Caitlyn back, would offer almost anything if it would get rid of the strained look on the other woman’s face.

Caitlyn looked at her, wide-eyed, “You would do that?”

“Sure, why not,” Vi shrugged like spending a night at a ball full of enforcers didn’t sound like her worst nightmare, “there’ll be free booze right?”

“Yes,” Caitlyn said slowly, “but—”

“But nothing. We’re friends now, right?” Vi asked and she couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face when Caitlyn nodded in agreement. “Friends don’t let friends suffer through terrible social gatherings alone.”

“You’re sure?” Caitlyn still looked mildly skeptical.

Vi reached over, squeezing Caitlyn’s shoulder, “I’m sure, Cait. Just give me the details and I’m there. It's a date.”

When Caitlyn smiled at her in response, her full smile that showed off the gap between her teeth, Vi realized she’d suffer through a hundred enforcer balls just to see Caitlyn smile at her like that.

Chapter Text

Nerves had never been much of an issue for Vi before fancy events. She’d always known that she didn’t fit in, would get judgmental stares and comments no matter what. This ball was different, though, and it wasn’t hard for Vi to put her finger on why.

This night was for Caitlyn. She’d been invited by Caitlyn, to accompany Caitlyn, and there was a new amount of pressure that Vi felt because of that. Sure she’d always tried to be on her best behavior for Vander, but that had never felt like it mattered half as much. She’d disappointed Vander plenty of times, but he was her dad, that would never affect the foundation of their relationship. But disappointing Caitlyn? That was a possibility she wanted to avoid at all costs.

“Buck up, sis,” Powder said from her perch on Vi’s bed where she was watching Vi apply eyeliner. “You look great. Caitlyn won't know what hit her.”

Vi paused for a minute, she was pretty sure she’d never heard Powder use Caitlyn’s name before. She didn’t have time to unpack that, though.

“I’m still not sure about this outfit,” she said, finishing with her eye makeup and stepping back to look at herself in the mirror. 

The outfit in question was a sleeveless black jumpsuit that had a deep v-cut in both the front and the back. It was more feminine than she usually dressed, but Powder had convinced her to buy it based on how well it showed off her arms and back. Vi did have to admit that it was at least more comfortable than most of the stuffy suits she normally wore to these things.

“Add a couple necklaces and wear a suit jacket over it,” Powder said, “trust me.”

Vi sighed, knowing that it was a losing battle, and followed Powder’s instructions to finish the outfit. When she finished and gave herself a final once over, she had to admit that the look was effective.

“Alright, I’m not risking being late,” Vi said, “I’ll see you later.”

“See you tomorrow,” Powder said with a shit-eating grin.

“I’ll see you tonight, when I come home after the ball,” Vi said, messing up Powder’s hair as Powder followed her down the hall.

“Mhm, sure you will,” Powder said, tone dry.

“I’m leaving now,” Vi said pointlessly as she reached the door.

“Have fun,” was the last thing Powder said before Vi closed the door behind her.

Approaching the building where the ball was being held, Vi felt antsy as she watched enforcers stream in through the gates. It still felt wrong on some level that she was attending this event at all. And then she caught sight of Caitlyn, standing to the side, clearly waiting for her.

Caitlyn was dressed in her full enforcer regalia, a fitted dark blue suit and even a fucking gold-trimmed cape. It should look ridiculous, but instead the high collar brought out the sharpness of her cheekbones, the blue of her eyes, and Vi nearly stumbled as those eyes widened when Caitlyn caught sight of her.

“Vi, you look—” a blush crossed Caitlyn’s cheeks, as she fumbled for words, “quite nice.”

Vi grinned at her, maybe Powder had been right after all, “Thanks cupcake. You clean up nicely too. You look all official and shit.” Maybe she didn’t need to add that last bit, but it did make Caitlyn laugh. “Are you ready to head inside?” Vi offered her arm for Caitlyn to take.

“I don’t have much of a choice,” Caitlyn muttered darkly as she threaded her arm through Vi’s. 

“C’mon, it’ll be fine,” Vi said as they made their way to the door. “We’ll talk to some people, have some drinks, I’ll even pretend to have an upset stomach if you want to leave early.”

Caitlyn gave her a small smile as they handed their outerwear over at the coat check, “I’m sure that won’t be necessary.” In a lower voice, close enough to Vi’s ear to make her shiver, she added, “I fully expect most of the attendees to be plastered within a few hours, no one will even notice if we sneak out early.”

“Well, let’s see some of your coworkers humiliate themselves then,” Vi said, nudging Caitlyn who seemed to be tensing up more and more with each step toward the ballroom. 

The room was set up like every other function that Vi had attended in Piltover, chandeliers dripping with crystals, gilded mirrors on the walls, and a massive polished-wood bar set at the far end that Vi immediately steered them toward. Once they had drinks in their hands, there was nothing else they could do to put off the inevitable socializing. 

As they made their way around the ballroom, Caitlyn kept a surprisingly tight grip on Vi’s arm as she introduced Vi to her various coworkers and their families and partners. 

Moving from person to person, Vi forgot the names almost as soon as she learned them. Her entire focus was on Caitlyn. It was nearly unnoticeable, the way she held her tension hidden under polite smiles and only slightly-stilted small talk. But now that Vi had so many points of comparison, so many moments she’d spent with the happy, relaxed version of Caitlyn, she couldn’t stop noticing the way Caitlyn’s posture was forced, her smiles put-upon. 

Vi had the startling realization that Caitlyn was uncomfortable . It wasn’t that Vi hadn’t believed Caitlyn when she’d talked about not enjoying events like this, but she hadn’t realized the depths that seemed to reach.

It was something of a shock to the system, that the entire time she’d thought Caitlyn was being mean or rude, she was just awkward. Vi found herself combing through years of conversations in a new light.

The sudden swell of protectiveness she felt toward Caitlyn was also a surprise. She wanted Caitlyn to feel comfortable, to feel like she could be herself. Vi’s arm moved from being twined with Caitlyn’s, to settling more fully around her, hand at the small of her back, hoping to be a steady presence that Caitlyn could draw strength from.

Finally, when it felt like they’d spoken to every person in the room, they got a second round of drinks and found a table to sit at.

“I don’t know how you do it,” Vi said, slouching back in her chair. 

“Do what?” Caitlyn’s posture was impeccable as she looked over at Vi.

“Keep track of so many fucking people. How do you manage to remember who everyone is, and their spouses’ names, and their children's’ names? I need flashcards or something to keep up,” Vi took a long sip of her drink.

“I suppose I spent my whole life being trained for mingling like this,” Caitlyn shrugged. “I’ve never even considered that it could count as a skill.”

“Well it’s really impressive, Cait,” Vi said, “especially when you hate it so much.”

Caitlyn grimaced, which was the exact opposite reaction Vi was going for, “Was I being that obvious?”

“Not to anyone else,” Vi quickly reassured her. “I just hadn’t realized before how much you’re acting at things like this. But now that I know you, I see it.”

The look on Caitlyn’s face was unreadable when she met Vi’s gaze, and Vi immediately panicked, wondering if she’d said to much. She glanced around, searching for some other topic, and her eyes landed on Caitlyn’s hand where it was wrapped around the stem of her champagne glass.

Caitlyn’s nails were always neatly painted, but she normally stuck to neutral colors. Tonight, she was wearing a sparkling midnight blue polish unlike any shade Vi had ever seen her wear. 

“Nice nails,” Vi said, knowing that the topic change was incredibly forced.

But Caitlyn went with it, “Thanks,” she said, looking down at her free hand. “Your sister actually picked it out.”

“Wait, what?” Vi blinked at her, “When did you see Powder?”

“She didn’t tell you?” Caitlyn’s brow furrowed, “I thought she would have.”

“No,” Vi said, already planning the lecture she’d be giving Powder later. It made sense now, the way she’d noticed earlier that Powder had started using Caitlyn’s name instead of calling her princess or the Piltie or some variation thereof. “She definitely didn’t tell me.”

“Well,” Caitlyn’s tone turned hesitant, “I ran into her outside the gates to the house yesterday and I happened to be on my way to the nail salon, so she joined me. She said that she wanted to get to know me better since you and I have been spending more time together.”

“I’m sorry,” Vi said, finishing off her drink to try to reconcile with this information. “I hope she wasn’t rude to you.”

Caitlyn shook her head, “No, she was fine. We actually turned out to have some things in common.” Caitlyn smiled, “I may have promised to take her to my family’s shooting range sometime. You never mentioned that was an interest of hers.”

Rubbing at her temple, Vi said, “You bonded with Powder over shooting?”

“If it’s a problem, I don’t have to take her. It’s not as though we have any solid plans yet,” Caitlyn’s smile had dropped.

“It’s not a problem,” Vi said quickly, “it’s just so fucking typical of Powder to do shit like this. She’s always loved meddling.”

Caitlyn opened her mouth, about to reply, before her eyes caught on something across the room. “Oh no,” she said, sliding down in her chair and turning her face towards Vi’s shoulder like she was hiding.

“What’s wrong?” Vi asked, scanning the room trying to find what had suddenly upset Caitlyn.

“That woman over there, the short redhead, we, um— slept together,” Caitlyn’s voice dropped to a whisper.

A strange mixture of jealousy and amusement swirled in Vi’s gut. She shoved the jealousy down and kept her tone light, “I never knew you were such a womanizer, cupcake.”

When Caitlyn looked at her, the bitterness in her expression caught Vi off-guard, “It was over a year ago now and it turned out that the whole time she was just hoping I’d put in a good word for her with Grayson. She wasn’t actually interested in me, she just wanted a promotion. I didn’t think she’d be here, she’d been on an assignment in Noxus for months.”

“That’s so fucked up. I could just—” Vi’s eyes raked over the other woman, who was still standing on the other side of the room. She was small enough that Vi was pretty sure she could squash her like a bug for having used Caitlyn that way.

Caitlyn grabbed Vi’s hand that Vi hadn’t even noticed she’d clenched into a fist, “Vi, you can’t fight her. No matter how satisfying it would be to watch.” 

Vi wrenched her eyes back toward Caitlyn, who was almost smiling again as she let go of Vi’s hand, “I appreciate the thought nonetheless. It’s certainly not the first time someone’s tried to use me for my connections.”

“You don’t deserve that,” Vi said, holding eye contact, hoping that Caitlyn could tell how much she meant it.

“Vi—” Caitlyn sounded like she was about to argue, but Vi cut her off.

“You’re one of the best people I know and I’m sorry it took me so long to get over myself and see that. Fuck everyone who’s ever made you feel like you’re nothing more than your last name and your social standing,” Vi was surprised by her own vehemence.

“I—” Caitlyn’s gaze drifted over Vi’s shoulder, her cheeks flushing a dark red. And then she froze, “Shit, she’s coming over here.”

“Okay,” Vi said rising to her feet.

Caitlyn looked startled, “I just said no fighting.”

“I’m not going to fight her,” Vi said with an eye roll, “we’re gonna go dance. No one can talk to you if we’re dancing.” She reached her hand toward Caitlyn, who took it without hesitation. “You’ll have to lead though, I’ve always sucked at waltzing.”

“Says the woman who spent the entirety of last Saturday afternoon critiquing my footwork,” Caitlyn joked as they found a spot on the now-crowded dance floor.

Caitlyn pulled her easily into a ballroom hold and said, “Dancing isn’t so dissimilar from boxing is it?” Vi knew enough of the basics of dance to know what was considered a polite, platonic distance for two dance partners. The way Caitlyn’s hand curled around her waist, holding her close enough that the bottom of Caitlyn’s jaw brushed the top of Vi’s cheek, this certainly wasn’t polite and it sent Vi’s heart racing.

“After all,” Caitlyn continued as Vi tried to mirror her steps as though she wasn’t having a small crisis over the warmth of Caitlyn pressed against her, “you’re moving intentionally with a partner. The only real difference is that instead of moving in opposition, you’re moving together.”

“Sure,” Vi’s voice came out cracked and she hoped that her left hand, which Caitlyn was holding, wasn’t too obviously clammy. 

“I want to thank you again for coming with me tonight,” Caitlyn pulled back enough for her eyes to meet Vi’s. The deep, stunning blue was as captivating as it had ever been as she added, “You really can be quite chivalrous, I must admit.”

“Hah— yeah, well…” Vi again found herself fumbling with words in a way she hadn’t since she was a pre-teen. The effect Caitlyn had on her, she shook her head a bit to try to snap herself out of it, “What are friends for?”

Caitlyn’s face fell almost imperceptibly, “Is that still what’s happening here?”

“What?” Vi missed a step, but Caitlyn just paused for a moment before correcting course. It was impressive, the way she could glare at Vi without missing a single step.

“Have I been misreading things the past few weeks?” The frustration on her face melted into something downtrodden, “I thought you were interested in me the way I’m interested in you.”

"You’re interested in me?” Vi said, feeling like the floor had fallen out from under her. Sure she’d considered it, but the possibility had still seemed so unlikely that hearing it stated directly was making her dizzy.

“I’ve always been attracted to you,” Caitlyn’s voice was low, confessional. “But if the feeling isn’t mutual—”

“No you weren’t,” Vi cut her off before she could finish. “You never liked me, from the first day we met. Remember? The first thing you said to me was making fun of how I was dressed.”

“I told you I liked your outfit,” now Caitlyn just sounded exasperated. “I meant it sincerely. If we’re rehashing this now, may I point out that you opened that interaction by snapping at me for looking at you?”

“Because you wouldn’t stop staring at me,” Vi hissed, trying to not draw attention from the people around them. “What else was I supposed to think?”

Caitlyn gaped at her like she was an idiot. Abandoning the pretense of dancing, she grabbed Vi’s wrist and pulled her toward the exit.

Once they were alone in an empty hallway Caitlyn turned to her, eyes burning into Vi’s, “I couldn’t stop looking at you and when you confronted me about it I complimented your appearance. Did you truly never once look back at that interaction throughout the past seven years and put that puzzle together?”

Vi stared back at her, mind reeling, “You… liked the way I looked?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake Vi, yes,” Caitlyn dropped Vi’s wrist in favor of crossing her arms across her chest. “I probably would’ve had a full blown crush on you by the end of that night if you’d been even slightly nice to me.”

There was silence as Vi attempted to reconcile that admission with her own memory of that night. Finally she said, “In my defense, I was pretty sure you were straight until a couple weeks ago.”

“Excuse me?” Caitlyn’s voice rose.

“Yeah, I know,” Vi gave a hollow chuckle and ran her hand through her hair, “Assumptions, huh? Something, something, I’m an ass?”

Again, Caitlyn was looking at her as though Vi was an idiot. A look that was fully warranted now, as far as Vi was concerned. Caitlyn eventually sighed and said, “My sexuality has never even been remotely secret. If you’d ever even bothered to get to know me you could’ve known that this whole time.”

“I get it, okay?” Vi couldn’t keep the misery she was feeling out of her voice, “I’m an idiot who’s massively fucked up and ruined any chance we had at...” Vi wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. She stared at the ground by Caitlyn’s feet, feeling incredibly small.

She nearly jumped when Caitlyn’s hand cupped her chin, tugging Vi’s gaze up to hers, “I didn’t say you ruined any chance. You’ve just been quite obtuse about everything.”

Vi had never been good with words, she’d always let her actions speak for her. So instead of trying to put together an adequate response she took a step closer to Caitlyn and reached out to touch her cheek. When Caitlyn leaned further into her space, that was all the encouragement Vi needed to close the gap between them. 

Kissing Caitlyn after weeks of longing felt like a dream. Her lips were soft against Vi’s, parting just enough to soften the kiss into something delicate, something laced with promise.

Caitlyn pulled back far too soon, letting her forehead rest against Vi’s as she whispered, “Come home with me?” She asked hesitantly, as if there was any world in which Vi would answer anything but yes.

The Kiramman manor wasn’t a far walk from the venue, but it felt like one of the longest walks of Vi’s life with Caitlyn’s hand laced through hers, guiding her through the quiet streets.

When Caitlyn brought her in through the front gate, Vi couldn’t help joking, “Wow, what an honor to use the front door instead of being snuck in through the window like all of your other girls.”

Caitlyn laughed airily, a lightness to her expression that Vi hadn’t seen yet that night, that she was thrilled to have return, “I told you that my parents are out tonight. There’s no one to sneak past.” Her hand squeezed Vi’s and she paused to press a kiss to Vi’s cheek, stunning Vi to silence as she followed Caitlyn through the mansion.

As soon as the door to Caitlyn’s bedroom closed behind them, Caitlyn was pressing Vi against it, kissing her like she’d been starving for it, like she’d been thinking about it just as much as Vi had.

This was nothing like the soft, chaste kiss they’d shared at the ball. Caitlyn nipped at Vi’s lower lip as Vi began stripping off the layers that Caitlyn was wearing. The stupid, hot cape, her jacket, undoing the buttons of her shirt with slightly shaky hands. And Caitlyn reciprocated, fumbling to push Vi’s jacket off of her shoulders. They had to separate for a moment, each time a layer came off, before their hands were on each other again, pulling closer.

Caitlyn pushed the sleeves of Vi’s jumpsuit off of her shoulders, leaving a bruising trail of kisses down her neck and across her collarbone, while Vi’s hands were in Caitlyn’s hair pulling the hairpins out of her bun.

When Caitlyn’s hair was falling down her back and her shirt was mostly unbuttoned, she pulled away. Vi’s breath caught at how thoroughly debauched she looked already with her hair loose, her eyes dark, and her lips a bright kiss-bitten red.

“Bed,” Caitlyn said, making quick work of the rest of the buttons on her shirt and kicking off her boots while Vi followed suit. It took Vi a minute to unzip her jumpsuit and pull it off, and to unclasp the necklaces she wore, letting it all drop to a pile on the floor.

Dressed in nothing but a pair of black boxer-briefs, not having bothered with a bra, Vi looked back at Caitlyn and found her in just a lacy dark blue bra with matching underwear.

“Cupcake,” Vi’s voice was rough with want as she reached out for Caitlyn again, “were you planning to seduce me tonight?”

“Isn’t that a bit obvious at this point?” Caitlyn pulled Vi into another searing kiss as she backed toward the bed. Her hands splayed across Vi’s hips, tugging Vi on top of her as she laid down and Vi happily obliged.

Her hands wandered as she kissed Caitlyn into the mattress, cupping her cheek, running through her hair, gliding down her sides. She couldn’t decide what to touch first, she felt gluttonous with how much she wanted it all. As her touch wandered, Caitlyn had already locked in on a target, her hands cupped Vi’s breasts, playing with her nipples until she figured out exactly how to make Vi gasp against her mouth.

“Fuck,” Vi moaned, leaning down to kiss at Caitlyn’s jaw, her pulse point, the arch of her neck.

“Wait,” Caitlyn said, pulling back. Vi immediately stopped kissing down her neck to look at her, worried she’d done something wrong, misstepped somehow. But there was no hesitancy in Caitlyn’s gaze, just a heat that made Vi’s stomach flip to have it leveled at her. “Lay on your stomach.”

“What?” Vi was too overwhelmed by want to process the request.

“I’ve always wanted to see your tattoos up close. Lay down,” Caitlyn pushed at her shoulder and Vi followed the instruction, would do basically anything Caitlyn asked of her, and laid face down on Caitlyn’s bed, folding her arms to rest her head against.

Caitlyn’s breath audibly hitched as Vi felt her fingers trace along the lines of her tattoos. It was a terrible tease, having Caitlyn’s hands trailing across her body without touching her where she wanted it most, but Vi tried to sink into the feeling, letting the heat build with every graze of Caitlyn’s fingertips. Desperate as she felt, she didn’t want to rush this. She wanted to luxuriate in every moment Caitlyn was willing to give her.

As Caitlyn leaned over to pepper kisses across Vi’s shoulders, Vi’s hips shifted and pressed into the bed, seeking any level of contact. She was sure she must be practically dripping wet. Caitlyn’s hands slid to grip at Vi’s hips, holding her steady.

“You said I could lead tonight,” Caitlyn’s voice was low, her breath hot against Vi’s ear, “do you still mean that?”

“Yes,” Vi gasped, feeling impossibly wetter at the suggestion. “Whatever you want,” the words tumbled out of her like a promise.

“Can I take these off?” Caitlyn asked as her fingers ran along the waistband of Vi’s boxer-briefs. 

“Yeah,” Vi gasped, lifting her hips to allow Caitlyn easier access to tug her underwear down and off. 

Caitlyn’s hands gripped returned to her hips, guiding them upwards until Vi got with the program and tucked her knees under them, tracing soothing circles there as Vi arched toward her, desperate for contact.

“Look at you,” Caitlyn said, “all spread out for me.” 

Vi couldn’t help the moan that escaped her at Caitlyn’s words. Sex had never been like this for her before. She’d never felt this level of wanton neediness. In Vi’s all of  previous experiences, she’d always been the one who’d taken charge. It had always felt like her partners expected her to fall into that role, so she always had and she’d never thought much about it. No one had ever made her feel like this, had made her so desperate so quickly.

When Caitlyn’s fingers finally found their way to Vi’s cunt, Vi moaned again, bucking into the glide of Caitlyn’s touch. 

The teasing didn’t stop, Caitlyn traced circles around Vi’s clit, keeping it light. Occasionally her hand slid back towards Vi’s entrance and Vi would think finally , but then she’d just collect the wetness there and return her attention to Vi’s clit.

Vi could tell from the pleased noises Caitlyn made whenever she tried to press further into the contact that Caitlyn knew exactly how badly she was ruining her.

“Please,” Vi groaned, when Caitlyn again traced her entrance without going any further, “fuck me.”

“Of course,” Caitlyn’s tone was indulgent, as if she hadn’t spent the last however-many minutes purposely driving Vi out of her mind.

Two fingers slid easily into Vi and Vi moaned with relief, her hips rocking back towards Caitlyn’s hand.

“Fuck, Cait,” Vi gasped as Caitlyn’s pace increased, matching the movement off Vi’s hips, “I’m close.

Caitlyn leaned in close, Vi could feel the lacy scrape of her bra against the planes of her back, and began to place long lingering kisses along the column of Vi’s neck.

And then Caitlyn’s fingers twisted, palm down, her thumb pressing against Vi’s clit. That was all it took for Vi to shatter below her, clenching around Caitlyn’s fingers and shoving her face into the mattress to keep from screaming.

She came down to Caitlyn laying beside her, her clean hand stroking through Vi’s hair as Vi’s eyes fluttered open. Her eyes met Caitlyn’s and Caitlyn grinned as Vi’s hand traced across her cheek.

“That was fucking mind-blowing, Cait,” Vi rasped, voice wrecked, pulling Caitlyn into a kiss.

Vi kept the kiss soft for the moment, using the time to ground herself, to recenter her attention to Caitlyn’s pleasure rather than her own.

“My turn?” Vi asked when she broke the kiss, rolling over to pull Caitlyn into her lap.

Letting out a happy hum, Caitlyn climbed easily into Vi’s lap, arms twining around Vi’s shoulders.

Vi’s hands were still shaking a bit when she reached to undo Caitlyn’s bra and she fumbled for a moment. Caitlyn caught her eyes and giggled and Vi couldn’t help but laugh too, resting her forehead against Caitlyn’s while she steadied her hands enough to successfully unhook the bra. 

As soon as the straps fell down Caitlyn’s shoulders, Vi’s mouth went dry. She’d never seen anyone as perfect as Caitlyn.

“You’re so gorgeous, Cait,” Vi said, feeling awed as her eyes traveled along the curves of Caitlyn’s body. Caitlyn shrugged the bra off before her hands returned to Vi’s neck, tugging her closer.

“Touch me,” Caitlyn’s voice was soft, pleading, and Vi immediately brought her hands to cup Caitlyn’s breasts.

Vi took her time, kissing along Caitlyn’s neck and then further down, and she adjusted her legs so that one of her thighs was pressed against the heat of Caitlyn’s center.

Moaning, Caitlyn’s head tipped back as Vi’s thigh pressed upward and Vi’s mouth wrapped around one of her nipples. Vi pressed sucking kisses to the plush skin of Caitlyn’s breasts, red marks appearing along the meandering path she took from one nipple to the other.

Her hands clutched Caitlyn’s hips as Caitlyn rode her thigh, Caitlyn’s fingers digging into her shoulders as she held on.

It was incredible, burying herself in Caitlyn’s tits while she could feel Caitlyn’s wetness seep through her lacy underwear and onto the skin of VI’s thigh. Vi marveled at the flush that ran down Caitlyn’s cheeks to her chest, the blissed out expression on her face and the small noises she made. Vi would be more than happy to let her come like this, but, “I want to eat you out.”

Caitlyn’s eyes flew open when Vi spoke, like she was awakening from a trance, “Yes. Vi, please.”

Vi flipped them so that she was hovering over Caitlyn, who stared up with her wide-eyed and panting. She was a vision with her dark hair spread across the sheets, the marks Vi had left behind littering her perfect skin.

“So beautiful,” Vi said softly, leaning in to press a kiss to Caitlyn’s lips before settling between the v of her thighs.

Hooking her fingers through the sides of Caitlyn’s underwear, she slowly pulled them down Caitlyn’s legs, uncovering a thatch of trimmed damp curls. Vi’s mouth watered at the sight and she wasted no more time.

Vi leaned forward, bracing her arms around Caitlyn’s hips as she licked her slit open and Caitlyn let out a choked noise, hands tangling in Vi’s hair like she was holding her there. Like there was anywhere Vi would rather be than drowning between her legs.

The taste was heady, slightly tangy and salty, and Vi moaned into it, making Caitlyn’s fingers tighten even further as she pulled Vi impossibly closer. Vi pulled her tongue, flat, between Caitlyn’s lips, up to put pressure against her clit.

Caitlyn’s hips bucked toward the contact and Vi let her mouth be used, let Caitlyn seek what she wanted as her hips squirmed without much rhythm, guided only by want. It took barely any time until her thighs squeezed tighter around Vi’s head and Vi could feel Caitlyn shudder around her, more wetness flooding against her chin.

As Vi worked her through the aftershocks, Caitlyn didn’t let up on her grip on Vi’s hair, so Vi kept going.

She backed off a bit, assuming Caitlyn would be more sensitive now, tracing Caitlyn’s clit with the tip of her tongue as she maneuvered one of her hands to trace Caitlyn’s entrance.

“Yes,” Caitlyn said when Vi’s fingers pressed against her. 

Vi immediately allowed two fingers to slide into Caitlyn’s warmth, so easily that it was almost as if she’d been made just to be here fucking Caitlyn like this.

She hooked her fingers, keeping a steady pace as she found Caitlyn’s g-spot, making her cry out and thrust her hips against Vi’s hand. Caitlyn continued making high, needy noises as VI fucked her. Vi swapped her tongue against Caitlyn’s clit for her lips, sucking lightly and making Caitlyn whine.

“Vi, Vi,” Caitlyn cried, her hips stuttering and clenching, “Violet.” 

Hearing her full name falling from Caitlyn’s lips made Vi moan against her cunt, and the extra vibration was apparently all Caitlyn needed to come again. She shuddered and Vi felt the fluttering around her fingers where they were buried inside of Caitlyn.

Once Caitlyn had stilled, Vi crawled back up the bed, pulling Caitlyn against her, holding her as her breathing slowly returned to normal.

“That was—” Caitlyn’s eyes closed as she took a deep breath.

“Did I fuck you so good you forgot how sentences work?” Vi teased, gently kissing Caitlyn’s forehead.

Caitlyn snorted a small laugh, “Don’t be smug.”

“You just came against my mouth. Twice, might I add. I’m going to be as smug as I want,” Vi replied. 

“Insufferable,” Caitlyn said, but she was burrowing against Vi’s chest in a way that negated the sentiment.

They laid there quietly for a few minutes, enjoying the afterglow. Which was another thing that was unusual for Vi. She’d never considered herself much of a cuddler, but this was nice, holding Caitlyn as their skin cooled, feeling Caitlyn’s heart beating so close to her own, her fingers tracing lazily along the curve of Caitlyn’s hip.

As much as she’d love to never move again, Vi could feel her face drying, becoming tacky, along with the clammy sweat that covered her body. “We should probably get cleaned up,” she said quietly and Caitlyn made an unhappy noise against her neck. “Come on, I wanna see the fancy-ass shower I know you have.”

“Fine,” Caitlyn said, dragging herself away from Vi like she was going to the gallows rather than the bathroom. She pulled Vi up behind her, hand around Vi’s wrist as she tugged her toward the door of the, thankfully en-suite, bathroom.

Vi was right, Caitlyn’s shower was phenomenal. It heated up immediately, the water pressure was amazing, and there was an array of delicious-smelling products to choose from.

Her intentions had been pure when she’d suggested showering, they really did need to clean up, But when Caitlyn pressed her against the shower wall, fingers finding Vi’s clit, well it wasn’t like Vi was going to stop her. And of course she had to return the favor.

By the time they were finally clean enough to return to bed, Vi should’ve been exhausted. Caitlyn clearly was, she fell asleep basically the moment her head his the pillow, one of her arms reaching out to settle across Vi’s waist as she drifted off.

But Vi’s mind was still reeling. There was a sense of unreality hovering over the evening, her head always unable to accept that something good was happening to her.

She couldn’t stop thinking about everything Caitlyn had said to her. That Caitlyn was attracted to her, that she’d always wanted to see Vi’s tattoos, that she was interested in Vi. And Vi couldn’t help the sickening swirl of dread she felt creeping through her as she realized all of the things that Caitlyn hadn’t said.

The attraction was obviously mutual, but Vi wasn’t just attracted to Caitlyn. She wanted to date Caitlyn, to keep being the one on Caitlyn’s arm at insipid events, to keep bringing Caitlyn to all of her favorite places in Zaun and show her off there.

As she replayed the evening, her horror increased when she confirmed that there was no proof that Caitlyn wanted this to be anything more than one night of blowing off steam. And why would she? What did Vi have to offer her? 

Vi listened to Caitlyn’s even breathing beside her, trying to commit the soft sound to memory if this was really her only chance to have Caitlyn like this.

It took a very long time for her to fall asleep.

Chapter Text

When birds began chirping outside of Caitlyn’s window the following morning, Vi felt as though she’d gotten maybe ten minutes of sleep. The clock on Caitlyn’s nightstand showed that it was just after six.

During the night, she and Caitlyn had drifted apart to lay curled toward each other with a couple feet of space between them. Caitlyn looked beautiful in the soft morning light. Her face was peaceful without the furrow between her brows that was so often there during waking hours, her hair falling across her cheek, slightly wild from air drying overnight. The red marks fading along the line of her neck were a map of where Vi’s mouth had been just hours before.

The space between them on the bed felt suddenly like an uncrossable chasm as the panic that had invaded Vi’s brain continued to spiral. Some terrible, inescapable voice in her head was telling her to run, to leave before she had to face the reality of an awkward morning after when she still felt so raw.

She’d never been able to trust anything good happening to her, and she decided she wasn’t ready to start as she slid carefully out of bed and began searching for her clothes as quietly as possible. 

Caitlyn stirred as she was trying to shove her tangle of necklaces into her jacket pocket.

“Vi?” Caitlyn’s voice was rough with sleep as she sat up slightly and squinted across the room.

“Sorry,” Vi said with a grimace, “I was trying not to wake you.”

“Oh,” Caitlyn’s response was barely audible, the furrow between her brows was back.

“I’m scheduled to teach a morning class,” Vi said, not a lie exactly, but the class wasn’t until nine-thirty and she certainly didn’t need three full hours to get there. “So I’ve gotta get going.”

“Right,” Caitlyn’s eyes dropping away. “I won’t keep you.”

“Well,” Vi fumbled to find anything else to say, unsure how to read any of Caitlyn’s reaction. Or maybe she was too committed to ruining her own chances, she never could be sure. “I had a good time last night, cupcake.” Vi wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light or if Caitlyn’s mouth actually twisted unhappily at the nickname, a reaction she’d stopped having weeks ago.

“Yeah,” Caitlyn was staring at her own hands, picking at her nails, “I guess I’ll see you around.”

Vi took that as a dismissal, making her way toward the door. “See you,” she said as she stepped quietly into the hallway.

She tried to keep her footsteps light, the absolute last thing she needed was to wake up either of Caitlyn’s parents during her walk of shame out of this stupidly giant house.

Luck seemed to be on her side as she crept down the long hallway to the stairs, passing so many closed doors that the hallway was beginning to feel like something of a fever dream.

But her luck ran out as soon as she hit the ground floor and tried to sneak past the sitting room.

“Good morning, Vi.” She nearly jumped out of her skin when Tobias’ voice drifted out of the sitting room. She should’ve climbed out Caitlyn’s window. “Would you like to join me for some coffee?”

The siren song of a caffeine boost before slinking back to the undercity drew Vi into the sitting room. Tobias had already seen her, the jig was up for getting out without Caitlyn’s parents knowing she’d stayed the night, she might as well at least get a cup of coffee out of it.

“Morning,” Vi said sheepishly as she took a seat on one of the armchairs across from Tobias. Unable to stand sitting in silence, Vi said, “You know, I always assumed this was more of a tea-drinking household.”

Tobias just smiled at her as he poured a cup of coffee from the silver pot sitting on the low table in front of him, “It is. But sometimes, after a late night, I prefer something stronger.” He pushed a small tray holding small vessels of cream and sugar toward Vi and handed her the cup

“Right, thanks,” Vi said, nodding dumbly as she stirred a splash of cream and a spoonful of sugar into her coffee. “So did you and Councillor Kiramman have a good time last night, then? She’s sleeping in.” She took a sip from her cup, the coffee was much better than what she was used to. Rich, with only the slightest hint of bitterness. It took all of her self-control to not finish it immediately, to take polite sips befitting her surroundings. 

“You know you can use her first name,” Tobias’ expression was amused. “And yes, we did have a nice night. Don’t tell anyone, but Cassandra actually isn’t much of a morning person. She and Caitlyn have that in common. Speaking of Caitlyn, it seems that the two of you also had quite the night.”

Vi nearly choked on her coffee and a servant appeared seemingly out of thin air to hand her a napkin, “What? Oh— um, yes. The ball was… y’know. Lotta people,” Vi stammered.

The same servant slid a plate of pastries onto the table and Tobias nodded toward them, inviting Vi to take one. She was almost positive that he was actively trying not to laugh at her, his expression was so similar to one she’d seen on Caitlyn that she had to look away.

Vi turned her attention to the pastries, picking one that had a golden crust and some sort of berry filling. It nearly melted in her mouth, the flaky, buttery pastry complimenting the sweet berries, and she imagined what it would be like to have access to food like this every morning.

“You and Caitlyn certainly have been spending a lot of time together,” Tobias said as Vi ate.

“Well, that was the plan, right?” Vi said with a forced laugh.

Tobias just hummed, “I suppose. Though that doesn’t quite explain her recent trips down to Zaun. After all, there were no prying eyes down there.”

“I guess not,” Vi said, feeling a creeping sense of trepidation. She probably shouldn’t have accepted the offer of coffee and food, like something out of one of the fairy tales she’d read to Powder when they were kids she’d taken the offering and now she was trapped under Tobias’ searching gaze.

“It’s been nice,” Tobias continued, “seeing Caitlyn open up more. She’s always held herself a bit apart from others, kept only a few friends, but something about you has always brought out a spark in her. Even when that spark led to the two of you fighting at one of our galas.”

Vi didn’t know how to respond, but she was starting to realize what he was implying.

“I’ve never seen my daughter look at anyone the way she looks at you. Things between the two of you might have gotten off to a rocky start, but I don’t think you’d want to hurt her now, would you?” The weight of Tobias’ stare on her made Vi’s stomach sink.

“No, sir,” Vi said quietly as she finally realized exactly how stupid she was being, trying to run from her own feelings. But at least she could try to fix it. She put her cup back on the table and said, “You know, I think I actually forgot something upstairs.”

Tobias’ eye seemed to twinkle slightly as he said, “Oh? Well you’d better go get it.”

“Thanks for the coffee,” Vi said, as she headed back toward the staircase, her heart feeling like it was going to beat out of her chest.

“Anytime,” Tobias said from behind her, tone sincere. And she let herself imagine it, briefly. Waking up in Caitlyn’s bed, running into Tobias foraging for caffeine while the Kiramman women got their beauty sleep. It was a nice picture. 

Vi took the stairs two at a time, her need to fix everything as soon as possible quickening her steps. But she faltered when she found herself in front of Caitlyn’s door because she still had no idea what to say, what Caitlyn might be feeling, whether this was even the right thing to do.

But she couldn’t let any of that stop her, she had to be braver than that if she was going to have any chance with Caitlyn.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door, not bothering to wait to open it. 

“Vi?” Caitlyn sounded confused as she turned to look at the door. She’d been sitting at the edge of her bed, staring out the window. And she was… she was wearing Vi’s sweatshirt. The one Vi had loaned her weeks ago. Vi swallowed thickly, feeling her stomach drop. 

“What are you doing back here?” Caitlyn’s eyes were red-rimmed and slightly puffy, she wasn’t even making eye contact, and Vi knew she’d fucked up so badly. She just hoped she could fix it. 

“I ran into your dad on the way out,” Vi said, closing the door behind her. She crossed the room to hover awkwardly by the bed, “And he asked me to have coffee with him and started subtly questioning my intentions toward you.”

“I’m sorry,” Caitlyn’s tone was exhausted and her shoulders dropped like she was curling in on herself. “I’ll talk to him.”

“No,” Vi said quickly, loudly enough that Caitlyn looked startled. She immediately softened her tone, “No, it made me realize I want to have intentions toward you. That I kind of already do, even if I panicked and didn’t say anything.”

“You do?” Caitlyn finally looked up at her. “I thought— the way you tried to sneak out this morning…”

“I know,” Vi said, running a hand through her hair. She made her was around the bed, to stand in front of Caitlyn. But standing felt wrong while Caitlyn was still sitting so she dropped to her knees. “I’m sorry. I just panicked. I started overthinking everything and realized that it made sense that you’d want a hookup, to blow off some steam. Last night, you said you were attracted to me, but I freaked out and thought that maybe the whole thing was just physical for you. And it made sense because I’m not exactly a catch, you know?”

Caitlyn sighed, “When you left, I thought that you didn’t want me that way. Didn’t want me romantically,” her voice shook slightly. “All of those comments you used to make about how cold and prissy and mean I was, they all came flooding back and I— they’re all true. It suddenly seemed ridiculous that you would want to be with me.”

“No, Cait,” she reached out for Caitlyn’s hand and Caitlyn let her take it. “I’m so sorry I made you feel that way. I was just being— what was it you called me last night?”

“Obtuse,” Caitlyn supplied helpfully, finally cracking a tiny smile.

“Yeah, obtuse,” Vi said, smiling back at her. “It’ll probably happen again at some point. Vander always said I had a thick skull, sometimes it just takes me a while to come to the right conclusion. I’ve never wanted anyone else the way I want you. I love spending time with you, you always keep me on my toes with that giant brain of yours. You have such a big heart. And it doesn’t hurt that you’re drop-dead gorgeous.”

Caitlyn laughed lightly at that.

“God, I love your laugh,” now that Vi was finally sharing her feelings it was like she couldn’t stop. “I love the gap between your teeth. I want to keep making you smile and I can’t believe how many years I wasted trying to get your attention by making you angry instead.”

“Violet,” Caitlyn reached her free hand to cup Vi’s cheek. 

“Will you give me another chance?” Vi asked, even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer from the tender expression on Caitlyn’s face.

Instead of answering with words, Caitlyn leaned forward to kiss her. Vi nearly sighed in relief as Caitlyn’s lips met hers.

The kiss was short, cut off by Caitlyn pulling back to say, “Get up here.”

Vi followed the direction easily, her legs tingling slightly after kneeling for so long. She allowed Caitlyn to pull her onto the bed, pausing to toe her shoes off before letting Caitlyn maneuver her so that she was sitting back against the pillows with Caitlyn sitting next to her and she wrapped her arm around Caitlyn’s waist.

“I need you to know that I feel the same way about you,” Caitlyn said. “These past couple months, getting to know you better, to see how much you care for everyone around you, I didn’t want our time together to end.” She leaned her head against Vi’s shoulder, “I’m glad you came back.” 

“Me too,” Vi said, pressing a kiss to the top of Caitlyn’s head. 

“There’s something else I need to tell you,” Caitlyn said after they sat quietly for a few minutes. 

“Yeah?” Vi didn’t feel any nerves at the statement, not with Caitlyn snuggled into her side like this. 

“Half of Piltover’s high society already thinks we’re dating,” Caitlyn said. 

“What?” That was not what Vi was expecting. 

Caitlyn pulled back slightly to make eye contact with her. “It turns out that that’s why my mother was acting so cagey when you talked to her about her plan at my birthday party. Because apparently it worked too well and now people think we’re a couple. She only told me a few days ago and I wanted to tell you, but I wasn’t sure where we stood and I was afraid of, I don’t know, scaring you off I guess.”

Vi couldn’t help but laugh, “Did everyone figure it out before us?”

“Just you, darling,” Caitlyn said, running her hand through Vi’s hair. “I’ve been flirting with you for weeks. When I said I wasn’t sure where we stood, it’s because you were so hard to read.”

“I wasn’t sure you were flirting with me,” Vi said, “if I’m hard to read, you’re just as hard.”

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter,” Caitlyn said, ducking in to kiss Vi’s cheek. 

“Water under the bridge,” Vi said, turning to capture Caitlyn’s lips with her own. 

Caitlyn reciprocated immediately, moving to straddle Vi’s lap. It was so easy to lose herself in it, in Caitlyn. The heat of her, the sweet floral scent of her hair, the plush feeling of her lips. 

As Vi slid her hands underneath her sweatshirt that Caitlyn wore, she realized that Caitlyn was wearing nothing underneath. She couldn’t help the moan that escaped her as her hands travelled from Caitlyn’s bare back to brush across her breasts. 

Vi wanted to stay here in this moment more than anything, but she also really did need to go to work. Sure Sevika would never actually fire her, but she really wanted to avoid being on her boss’ shit list. It’d happened before and it was never a fun time. 

“Fuck,” Vi said, pulling away, dropping her hands to Caitlyn’s waist. 

Caitlyn made a small, unhappy noise as she tried to chase Vi’s lips. 

“Sorry, Cait,” Vi said, her thumbs stroking soothing circles against Caitlyn’s skin. “I really do have a kids class to teach in a little over an hour, so I’ve gotta get going. Sevika will murder me if she has to cover, she can’t stand the kids.”

“Fine,” Caitlyn said, kissing Vi’s cheek with a small sigh before moving off of her lap. “Can I see you later?”

“I said I’d help with prep at The Last Drop this afternoon, but I’m not working an actual bartending shift if you want to meet me there around six?” Vi offered as she got up to put her shoes back on.

“That sounds lovely,” Caitlyn said. “I hope you have a good day at work.”

“Thanks cupcake,” Vi leaned in for one more quick kiss. “I hope your parents don’t give you too much shit.”

Caitlyn groaned, “I’m sure they will. I think they’ve expected this development for a while.”

“I’ll just have to make it worth it for you later, I guess,” Vi said with a wink.

“I suppose so,” Caitlyn said with a bright laugh. “Now get out of here. We won’t be able to have our date later if Sevika strangles you for being late.”

“Okay, I’m going,” Vi headed for the door. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you,” Caitlyn replied and Vi looked over her shoulder before opening the door and felt a surge of longing seeing her looking so soft and comfortable lounging in bed. It took everything in Vi to follow through with stepping through the door and closing it behind her instead of saying fuck it and climbing back into bed with her.

“You have got to be shitting me,” Sevika said when Vi walked into the gym, having made a pitstop at home to get dressed in gym-appropriate clothes before rushing over. Thankfully Powder had still been asleep when she’d gotten there, or else she never would’ve made it to work in time.

“What?” Vi asked, glancing down at herself in case she’d forgotten pants somehow. With the happiness-induced haze that had clouded her head all morning, it wouldn’t have surprised her.

Sevika rolled her eyes, “You have a fucking massive hickey on your neck.”

“Shit,” Vi said, brushing past Sevika to check her reflection in the mirrored wall on the far side of the room. There on the base of her neck, sitting far enough back that she had to turn her shoulder to fully see it, was the large purple mark. She zipped up the sweatshirt she’d thrown on and that mostly covered it.

“Did you hook up with some sort of vampire?”

Vi’s mind flashed back to how Caitlyn had looked in that cape and her “No,” came out a bit strangled.

Sevika shook her head with a sigh that said she’d been putting up with Vi’s shit for too long. “Just go get your shit set up, your kids are gonna start trickling in any minute and I want to be in the back office by then,” Sevika gave Vi’s shoulder a small shove on her way out of the room, the closest she ever got to showing affection.

The kids were a handful, as always, but Vi always had a great time with them. From nine-thirty to eleven she had the little kids, ages three to five, and most of them had almost no coordination to speak of and it was adorable. She had the six to eight year olds directly after and they were more interested in actually learning what Vi had to teach them rather than just running around. 

By the time she made her way home at one, she was more than ready to eat lunch and rest for a bit before heading to The Last Drop. She knew as she unlocked the door to her apartment that there was no way she’d be lucky enough to find Powder still sleeping.

And she was right. Powder was wide awake, sprawled across the couch, clearly waiting for Vi to walk in.

“Well, well, well. Where were you last night?” Powder asked, with a sing-song tone and a shit-eating grin because they both knew that Powder knew exactly where Vi was.

Vi ignored her, heading for the kitchen to make herself lunch.

“Were you sleeping on a down bed?” Powder followed her into the kitchen. “With expensive linens? Did your paramour give you silk pajamas? Was there a butler who brought you breakfast in bed?”

“Powder,” Vi groaned as she rifled through the fridge, pulling out everything she needed for a sandwich, “shut up.”

“What happened to you definitely being home last night? To your insistence that nothing was going to happen?” Powder continued goading her gleefully, perching on the counter next to where Vi was assembling her food.

“Fine, I was with Caitlyn. Which you knew already,” Vi snapped. “Are you happy now?”

“Ha,” Powder said, “I knew I’d wear you down. So it’s official now? We can all stop pretending that we don’t notice the two of you making heart eyes at each other?”

“Yes,” Vi said, unable to help the smile that spread across her face. “It’s official. Now,  I have my own line of questioning for you.” Vi turned to point the knife she’d been using to point it at Powder, “Cait told me that you showed up at her house to interrogate her the other day. What the fuck, Pow?”

“What?” Powder held up her hands in a gesture of innocence, “A girl can’t get to know her future sister-in-law?”

“No,” Vi said, “you can’t just show up unexpectedly at her house.”

“She didn’t even mind, she even paid for me to get my nails done with her,” Powder waved her fingers in front of Vi’s face. They were painted a bright blue that matched her hair and were much neater than her normal paint job.

“That’s because she’s too nice,” Vi said with an eye roll.

“And she offered to take me shooting at her family’s range. Fucking rich people, having their own shooting ranges,” Powder scoffed. “But I won’t hold that against her, I guess.”

“Nothing I say will stop you, will it?” Vi sighed as she took a bite of her sandwich.

“Nope, me and the princess are gonna be besties. Just you wait,” Powder said. Jumping off the counter, her hand darted out to grab the other half of Vi’s sandwich. Ignoring Vi’s protests, she waltzed out of the kitchen, stopping only to say, “By the way, I have an early lab tomorrow so I’m staying at the dorms tonight. Just in case you want to have anyone over. I won’t be around to be traumatized.”

It was a testament to how hungry Vi was that she didn’t throw the rest of her sandwich at her retreating sister.

The rest of the day dragged by. Vi showered and got dressed in a nicer outfit than she’d normally wear to The Last Drop. She made sure to pick a shirt with a high neckline so that her family wouldn’t see the mark Caitlyn had left on her neck and heckle her the way Sevika had.

Normally, prep work shifts flew by. She enjoyed letting herself get lost in a task where her hands were busy and her mind could wander. But there was only one place her mind was wandering, and that place was deeply distracting. It slowed her down enough that she was incredibly thankful that she was the only one in the bar until an hour before opening.

By the time Mylo arrived and Vander made his way down to the bar, Vi was almost prepared to act like a calm, normal person. 

“So, Vi,” Mylo asked as he slid behind the bar, “did you have a good time partying with the blue bellies?”

“Shut it, Mylo,” Vi said, throwing a bar rag at him. “I was doing a favor for a friend, you know that.”

“Leave Vi alone,” Vander said. Vi almost thanked him before he continued, “You know how hard it is for her to make friends.”

“Why does this entire family hate me?” Vi complained. “First Powder, now you two. Can’t a girl just live her life in peace?”

They just laughed at her. Because of course they did. 

“I’m happy for you, though,” Vander said softly when Mylo had fucked off to the back room to grab some bottles. “It seems like Caitlyn’s good for you.”

“Thanks old man,” Vi said, and he reached over to ruffle her hair. “I think she is, too. I don’t want to fuck this up.”

“I don’t think you will,” Vander said. Then the door opened and he said, “Well, speak of the devil.”

Vi turned quickly, feeling a dopey grin spread across her face as she watched Caitlyn walk into the bar. 

“Hey cupcake,” she said as she hopped across the bar to meet Caitlyn halfway. 

“Hi,” Caitlyn said with a delighted giggle as Vi pulled her into a hug.

“Ew,” Mylo had returned to the bar just in time to jeer at them, “get a fucking room.”

Vi flipped him off without looking. To Caitlyn she said, “Let’s get out of here.”

She called out her goodbyes to Vander and Mylo as she led Caitlyn out of the bar, not wanting to give Mylo any more mocking material.

“I really want to make you dinner,” Vi said, taking Caitlyn’s hand as they walked down the road. “And Powder’s staying at her dorm tonight, so we have the place to ourselves.” 

“That sounds perfect to me,” Caitlyn said, grinning over at her.

Vi couldn’t help but pull Caitlyn into an actual kiss, just one to reacquaint herself with Caitlyn’s lips.

“How was your day?” Caitlyn asked as they continued to walk. “You mentioned you had a kids class earlier?”

“Oh, they’re always a handful. But they’re hilarious,” Vi said, easily filling the rest of the walk to Jericho’s with different stories about the kids acting up.

Once they were back at Vi’s apartment, Vi asked, “How about you? How was your day? I hope that things weren’t too awkward with your parents.”

Caitlyn just shook her head, “There’s nothing that the Kirammans excel at quite as well as sweeping awkward moments under the rug. They both acted like you spending the night was entirely normal. And they send their regards, of course.”

“Of course,” Vi said with a chuckle. “I’m glad that I didn’t make things uncomfortable for you.”

“It would’ve been worth it,” Caitlyn said, her eyes meeting Vi’s and Vi could’ve melted under the warmth in her gaze.

“Stop being sappy,” Vi said, making Caitlyn laugh. “Anyhow, welcome to my apartment.” She spread her arms wide, “It’s pretty small, but it’s one of the better places I could find in my budget.”

“I love it,” Caitlyn said as she glanced around. “It’s cozy.”

“Kitchen’s through here,” Vi led her through the hall, “I was thinking I’d make some kind of pasta?”

“That sounds perfect,” Caitlyn said, “can I help with anything?”

“Um, no,” Vi said, laughing slightly nervously. “Everyone always jokes that I’m too bossy to accept help in the kitchen. And I want you to just relax tonight.”

“Fine by me,” Caitlyn said, taking a seat at the small dining table that was against one wall. 

While Vi worked on the food they continued talking, the conversation flowing so naturally that Vi almost couldn’t believe that this was the first time Caitlyn was in her space. It felt like she fit here, sitting in Vi’s cramped kitchen while Vi cooked them dinner. Like her presence was almost an afterthought, despite how keenly Vi felt it. 

Caitlyn was suitably impressed by the simple dish that Vi put together, complimenting Vi’s skills in the kitchen as though she hadn’t been fed by professional chefs nearly every day of her life. There was a sense of warmth bubbling up in Vi’s chest as they ate together, it was impossible to ignore, so she let herself feel it instead of trying to run from it. 

After dinner, she showed Caitlyn to her bedroom and since it was definitely too early to try to put that feeling into words, she showed it in her actions. Infusing the warmth into the glide of her fingertips across Caitlyn’s skin, the cup of her palm holding Caitlyn’s hip, the press of her lips against Caitlyn’s. 

As they fell asleep, much later that night, so late it was actually early morning, Vi found herself incredibly grateful to have Caitlyn there in her bed. To have had another chance at this. She couldn’t wait to wake up to Caitlyn the next morning, and hopefully many mornings after.   

Chapter Text

Caitlyn had always hated her parents’ gatherings, but they were certainly less painful now that she had Vi by her side after officially becoming a couple a few weeks ago. The clothes were still uncomfortable and the small talk was interminable, but Vi added a sense of levity. She was always making snarky comments under her breath, just loud enough to get Caitlyn to laugh. And her willingness to use her own natural charm to draw attention away from Caitlyn was something Caitlyn deeply appreciated.

But Vi wasn’t by her side at the current moment. They’d been separated when Caitlyn had been pulled aside by an acquaintance of her mother’s and Vi had excused herself to use the restroom. When Caitlyn had managed to extricate herself from that conversation, it had taken her a minute to find Vi again, and when she finally spotted her she wasn’t happy to see that there was another woman taking Vi’s attention.

Caitlyn watched as the woman, who she only vaguely recognized, laughed at something Vi said. Vi’s expression was politely reserved as the woman twirled a piece of her long red hair around her finger, but Caitlyn still felt an ugly, angry twinge in her stomach.

“Dear, could you please stop staring at the Bilgewater representative as though you’re hoping she’ll spontaneously combust?” Cassandra appeared next to Caitlyn, resting a hang on her shoulder. “This is a peace-promoting function and having my daughter glaring at my guests isn’t the best look.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Caitlyn said, turning her gaze to face her mother while still keeping Vi in the corner of her eye.

“Of course,” Cassandra said, so obviously placating that Caitlyn had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. “You’re having a nice time, then?”

“Yes,” Caitlyn clenched her hands into fists as she glanced over to see the woman reach out to touch Vi’s arm. Vi took a step backward, but Caitlyn’s voice still came out strangled when she said, “I’m having a lovely time.”

Cassandra’s hand squeezed Caitlyn’s shoulder gently, “I think your appearance here has lasted long enough. Why don’t you turn in early and take Vi with you?”

“What?” Caitlyn turned her focus fully to her mother, blinking at her with surprise.

“Oh, Caitlyn,” he mother’s free hand gently tucked a piece of Caitlyn’s hair away from her face. “It may seem hard to believe, but I do remember what it feels like to be young and newly in love. Go spend some time with her.”

“Thank you,” Caitlyn reached up to squeeze her mother’s hand. Cassandra gave her a warm smile and waved her away.

As Caitlyn made her way toward Vi, Vi was turning away from the other woman who looked disappointed. When Vi saw that Caitlyn was only a few steps from her, she grinned widely, relief clear on her face.

“Hey cupcake,” Vi said, reaching out for Caitlyn’s hand. Caitlyn threaded her fingers through Vi’s, feeling the usual flood of warmth that came with the nickname. 

Pulling Vi closer, Caitlyn wrapped an arm around her waist. “Let’s go upstairs,” she said lowly, right next to Vi’s ear.

“What?” Vi looked up at her, surprised. “Won’t your mom notice?”

“Actually, she suggested it,” Caitlyn said. “And I’m trying not to think too hard about the implications behind that, so let’s go.”

Vi raised her eyebrows at that, but she didn’t argue. Instead she allowed Caitlyn to lead her out of the ballroom and upstairs to Caitlyn’s bedroom, far away from all of the guests.

“What’s gotten into you?” Vi chuckled lowly when Caitlyn pushed her up against the bedroom door as soon as it was closed and locked behind them.

“Nothing,” Caitlyn said as she pulled Vi into a heated kiss. Then she pulled back slightly and said, “I just didn’t like the way that woman was talking to you.”

“Wait,” Vi said as Caitlyn tried to kiss her again, gently cupping her cheek. “Were you jealous?”

“What? No,” Caitlyn lied. “Of course not.”

Vi huffed a laugh, “You really are such an only child. So possessive, never learned to share.”

“Share?” Caitlyn’s eyes narrowed to a glare. “Do you want me to share?”

“No, that’s not what I—”

Caitlyn interrupted her with another heated kiss, still too pent up to try to have a reasonable discussion about this now.

“Fuck,” Vi groaned as Caitlyn’s lips moved to her neck. Her hand tangled in Caitlyn’s hair, ruining the bun it was in.

With steady, sure hands Caitlyn began unbuttoning Vi’s dress shirt, pushing it off of her shoulders and her breath caught when she realized Vi wasn’t wearing a bra. She kissed her way down the center of Vi’s chest, between her breasts, until she had to drop to her knees. Her mouth stopped at the waistline of Vi’s pants, just above her belt.

For a second she fumbled as she undid the belt, moving too quickly for her hands to be steady, but it wasn’t long before she was pushing Vi’s pants and underwear down her legs.

“Shit, Cait,” Vi let go of Caitlyn and scrambled to toe off her boots, allowing Caitlyn to pull her pants all the way off. “There’s no rush.”

Caitlyn didn’t dignify that with a response. Her arousal was too heightened, she felt as though she couldn’t get close enough to Vi quickly enough as she gazed at the thatch of dark curls she’d uncovered, Vi’s heady scent washing over her.

Grasping Vi’s hips, Caitlyn leaned forward, burying her mouth against Vi’s cunt. Vi groaned above her as she ran her tongue along Vi’s slit, letting the salty, tangy taste of Vi’s arousal wash over her tongue. 

Vi’s hands found their way back to Caitlyn’s hair, holding her in place. Caitlyn couldn’t help the moan that escaped her at the slight sting as Vi’s fingers pulled slightly when her tongue pressed against Vi’s clit.

As she felt Vi’s thighs begin to tremble, Caitlyn knew it wouldn’t take long. One of her hands left Vi’s waist, moving between VI’s legs and Vi stepped wider to grant her access. The angle was still a bit awkward when Caitlyn slipped two fingers inside of her, but the noises Vi made as Caitlyn fucked her made the wrist pain more than worth it.

“Cait,” Vi’s voice was strangled as Caitlyn curled her fingers, “I’m so close.”

Caitlyn pressed somehow closer, her lips wrapping around Vi’s clit and sucking, just the way she knew Vi loved. That was all it took for Vi to come, shaking against her mouth, clenching around her fingers.

Continuing to gently lick at Vi’s clit, working her through the aftershocks, Caitlyn was more than ready to bring Vi to a second orgasm,

“Cait, wait,” Vi rasped, stopping her with a hand cupping Caitlyn’s chin, “come up here.”

Caitlyn stood, allowing Vi to pull her in close as she realized she’d lost feeling in her legs from kneeling.

Kissing her softly, Vi’s arms wrapped around Caitlyn’s waist. The pace of the kiss was slow, soothing, taking the edge off of the rush Caitlyn had felt when she’d brought Vi upstairs.

“My turn now,” Vi said when she pulled back, her dark eyes raking over Caitlyn, who was still fully dressed. “And I want to take my time.”

The heat in her voice made Caitlyn’s cunt clench with arousal. “Okay,” she agreed easily and Vi’s smile was tinged with hunger.

“Turn around,” Vi said and Caitlyn did. She’d nearly forgotten that they hadn’t made it past the door, she realized as her eyes tried to focus on the room around her.

As Vi slowly unzipped the back of Caitlyn’s dress, she said, “You’ve always been the only one I have eyes for.” Her breath tickled the back of Caitlyn’s neck as she pressed a kiss there. She pushed the straps of the dress forward across Caitlyn’s shoulders and Caitlyn shivered as she continued. “Even when we said we hated each other, it annoyed me to no end that you always caught my attention.”

“Vi—” Caitlyn said, but Vi just shushed her and kept talking.

“No one else could hold a candle to you,” Vi’s hands moved to carefully pull the hairpins out of Caitlyn’s already ruined bun. The soft brush of her own hair against her shoulders made her squirm. It felt like too much in the state she was in, for how badly she wanted to be touched.

Vi’s hands went to her hips, turning her so that Caitlyn’s back was against the door and she dropped to her knees to unbuckle Caitlyn’s heels, gently pulling them off her feet. Caitlyn gripped Vi’s strong shoulders to keep her balance as she switched from one foot to the other. She pressed a kiss to Caitlyn’s ankle before she stood again.

“I still can’t believe that you chose to be with me,” Vi said as she pulled Caitlyn’s dress fully off of her shoulders so that it pooled at her feet. Despite the fact that Vi had seen her naked before, plenty of times now, Caitlyn felt suddenly indescribably vulnerable as Vi looked at her, standing in nothing but a pair of black silk underwear.

“Believe me, the feeling is mutual,” Caitlyn said, stroking her hand against Vi’s cheek.

With a soft grin, Vi leaned in to kiss her again and Caitlyn allowed herself to get lost in the slow glide of their lips. It wasn’t hard to get onboard with Vi’s agenda when Vi was kissing her with such dedicated focus and tenderness.

As they continued to kiss, Vi’s hands wandered across Caitlyn’s back and sides, winding her up with each touch until Caitlyn couldn’t help pressing her hips into Vi’s, seeking out any level of pressure she could find.

“Alright,” Vi said, sliding her hands under Caitlyn’s ass, pulling in a way that encouraged Caitlyn to wrap her legs around Vi’s waist. “Come on,” Vi said as she lifted Caitlyn off of her feet and carried her toward the bed. Caitlyn pressed her face into Vi’s shoulder, feeling overwhelmed by the reminder of Vi’s sheer strength as Vi held her.

Caitlyn felt unbelievably aroused by the time Vi spread her out on the bed and finally pulled her underwear off.

“You really are so beautiful,” Vi said quietly as her hands stroked gently across Caitlyn’s skin. Her shoulders, her breasts, her waist. “Looking at you, it almost feels like you shouldn’t be real.”

Caitlyn whined as Vi’s hands cupped her breasts. She could never understand how Vi could manage to keep up a stream of speech during sex. Caitlyn could hardly verbalize her feelings under prime conditions, she could never seem to find her words in moments like this. But she loved the way Vi’s voice took on a husky, deep tone, the way she made Caitlyn feel like the center of the universe.

Straddling Caitlyn’s hips, Vi leaned forward and rested one arm next to Caitlyn’s head while her other hand found it’s way between Caitlyn’s thighs. She kissed Caitlyn again and Caitlyn’s brought her arms to wind around Vi’s shoulders. Her hands splayed across Vi’s back, marveling as always at the feel of Vi’s muscles moving under her touch.

“I’m not gonna lie, the possessiveness is kind of hot,” Vi said as her fingers finally slid inside of Caitlyn, making Caitlyn gasp. The touch felt incredible after the long build-up, she bucked her hips against Vi’s hand, trying to encourage her to move faster, but Vi kept a steady pace.

“But,” Vi continued, pausing to pepper a few kisses across Caitlyn’s face, “I don’t want you to feel jealous. There’s nothing to be jealous of,” her thumb swiped across Caitlyn’s clit and a moan wrenched itself from Caitlyn’s throat. She could feel her cunt beginning to tighten around Vi’s fingers. 

“I only want you, Cait,” Vi’s voice was practically a whisper now. Caitlyn tilted her head up to capture Vi’s lips, holding her close as her orgasm crashed over her, leaving her shaking beneath Vi’s weight.

Vi held her close as she came down, one of her arms wrapped around Caitlyn’s shoulders and the other around her waist, pulling her sideways so that they were cuddled against each other.

Trying to catch her breath, Caitlyn let her head fall against Vi’s chest and Vi’s hand threaded through her hair. 

“I only want you too,” Caitlyn said, once she was able to form a complete thought. 

“Good,” Vi said, kissing her temple. “I’m glad we’re on the same page.” And then, with a smirk that Caitlyn could feel against her skin, she added, “You’re stuck with me now, cupcake.”

And that was all Caitlyn could ever want.