Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They are property of Riot Games.
Caitlyn took another sip of her coffee, which had long since grown cold, before leaning into her left palm again. Her face was disgruntled, her hair was messy, and her eyes had deep, purple bags hanging under them. She was tired, to say the least, but not only that, she was stuck here, on Snowdown eve night, doing paperwork.
The entire precinct was empty. Every light in the building was off, and the place was quieter than a sleeping mute with a muzzle. The only sound that could be heard was the scratch of the sheriff's pen on the seemingly never-ending papers. She took a glance at the tower of documents sitting on her desk and groaned. She picked up the mug, noticing the rather light weight of it. She peeked into the cup and saw the emptiness.
"I'm going to need more coffee..." she said quietly to herself. She had been working on the paperwork for at least four hours last time she had checked. It wouldn't hurt to take a quick coffee break.
The sheriff stood up from her seat and felt her muscles cry out in agony. They were stiff and sluggish. Her movements were delayed as her limbs tried to get into the habit of moving.
When Caitlyn got to the doorway of her office, she took hold of the handle and then sighed deeply. She glanced back at the tower of papers still sitting on her desk. All of it would need reading, approval, signing, and stamping.
She regretted taking on nearly everyone's paperwork so they could celebrate Snowdown with their families. Caitlyn herself had never had anyone to celebrate Snowdown with. Her father had been killed when she was younger and when Caitlyn appointed herself as sheriff, her mother and her grew apart. Ever since Jayce had shown up, Vi and him had spent everyday together.
She was lonely.
The sheriff made it to the coffee machine, setting it up, and then turning it on. She sat down on the couch in the middle of the break room. Her mind went to Jayce.
Jayce, that self-righteous, pompous, cute, brave...
The sheriff blinked a few times. Since when had she seen Jayce in a light other than envious for taking her only friend? Every day off Vi had was immediately occupied by Jayce. She didn't hate him, he had done nothing to wrong her. However, had he suffered an accident that severed his relationship with Vi...she wouldn't be opposed to it.
It wasn't just Vi that had gotten her annoyed by Jayce. When he first popped up in her office with a "destruction of private property" charge, she knew he'd be a problem. Maybe it was the way he carried himself the "hero" of Piltover, cleaning out the villains in his spare time, something that she had started doing long before Jayce had even shown his face. Something about him just rubbed her the wrong way. His very presence lowered her mood.
The coffee machine dinged, announcing her cup had been filled with the steaming liquid. She reached up from the sofa and took the warm drink in her hands. The mug radiated heat into her palms and spread it throughout her arms. It was comforting to say the least.
Caitlyn sank back into the couch before glancing at the clock. 12:30 AM. She sighed once more.
Just as the sheriff was getting comfortable in her seat, she heard a knock at the entrance to the precinct. Her eyes narrowed. Who would be coming to the precinct at this ungodly hour of the night. It took her a few moments and a couple of more knocks to get her standing up and heading towards the door. Her face held a scowl of annoyance as she stomped towards the doorway. Her hand gripped the handle tightly and she nearly yanked the door off of its hinges.
"Wh-Jayce?"
The Hero of Piltover stood before her. He wore a nervous smile. His usual clothing worn during matches were replaced with a crimson sweater underneath a black jacket. He wore baggy green pants that tucked into dark brown boots. Around his neck was a red scarf.
"Hey Cait..." He said before giving a slight chuckle. Caitlyn herself was at a loss of words, mostly due to having him shown up as if he had known she was thinking of him. Her annoyance and anger dissipated rather quickly upon seeing him.
The two stood staring at each other for a few moments before Jayce peeked inside the building, "Are you going to invite me in? It's pretty cold out here." Caitlyn was knocked out of her trance and stepped aside.
"Uhh...yeah, please, come in," she said, sounding rather flustered. Jayce took no hesitation in entering the much warmer setting of the precinct, closing the door behind him while doing so. He shook the snow from his clothing before turning towards Caitlyn. She looked like hell.
"Why are you here, Jayce?" The sheriff asked before Jayce could even say a word. Her tone was firm, but also genuine, not sarcastic like usual.
The scientist took a few steps forward, "Vi left a couple things," he began heading towards Vi's desk with Caitlyn following behind him.
"Why didn't she come get them herself?" Caitlyn asked once Jayce began scrounging through Vi's drawers.
"She was busy," he answered.
"With what?"
Jayce shot Caitlyn a glare before continuing to go through Vi's belongings. Caitlyn narrowed her eyes a second time. She hated the way Jayce carried himself as if he was above the law. Just because he was a vigilante did not mean he was above her. The sheriff gritted her teeth and clenched her fist.
He always treated her this way, like she was nothing. Her word meant nothing to him and she hated that. But at the same time, she saw in him something that she could never have...his charisma. She only made a great sheriff because of her stern attitude. Yet, Jayce had convinced an entire city that performing property damage had been for the good of all. She hated him, but at the same time, she couldn't.
"Get out..." She whispered. Jayce paused and turned around to look at Caitlyn. Her head was held down and her eyes watery. A single tear slid down her cheek as she lifted her fist upward and slammed it against his chin, sending him sprawling onto the ground. "Get out...right now."
Caitlyn shook her hand as Jayce looked up at her with wide eyes. He was confused, not that Caitlyn had hit him, but from the tears he could see in her eyes as she looked down at
him. She turned on her heel and walked back to her office, slamming the door as she did so.
Caitlyn glanced up at the clock. 12:35AM. She had been sitting in her chair, cursing Jayce's charm. As much as she had wanted to deny it, she was attracted to him, but simultaneously hated the way he treated her. It didn't help he was with her only friend.
Inside that office, in that chair, Caitlyn felt truly...truly alone. First her father was killed, then she grew away from her mother, and her only friend was probably angry at her for hitting that self-righteous jerk. She took a deep sigh.
"Merry Snowdown..." she whispered.
A knock at the door to her office had caused her to nearly jump out of her skin. Her head shot up and looked at the door leading out of her office.
"Cait...it's me, Jayce."
"Leave me alone." Caitlyn could hear Jayce's sigh.
"If you don't open this door...I'm going to call Vi to smash it open." The room was silent for a few moments before Jayce heard the lock click and the door creaked open. It was then that he really noticed how strained Caitlyn looked. She was disgruntled and appeared as though she had gone a whole week without sleep. He felt sorry for her and seeing her here on snowdown only her seem more pitiful to him. It was then, an idea came crashing into his mind.
He flashed that smile that made women melt. She despised it. "How long do you plan on staying here?" He asked.
"Until I'm done," she slammed the door again.
"Good!" He called out. Caitlyn gritted her teeth. It was good that she was staying here all night? Her fist clenched again, but before she could scream anything to him, she heard the door open and close. The words of anger died in her throat as she sat back down at her desk, picking up her pen once again.
Time seemed to mesh together. Seconds felt like hours and minutes felt like eternities. The constant scratch of the pen being the only company Caitlyn had. The monotony was killing her and she wished at least something would happen.
Her ears perked up at the sound of the door to the precinct opening. The sheriff grabbed her rifle and held it up before approaching the door of her office.
"Cait! Cait! You still here?" She heard Jayce's voice. Her rifle instantly lowered and she leaned it against the wall before opening her door. Jayce was standing right outside her doorway with a rather large box sitting in the breakroom. "Oh, good, you're still here." He smiled.
"What's in the box?" Caitlyn asked as she looked past him.
"A gift..." he said quietly, "...for The Sheriff of Piltover," he smirked. Caitlyn slowly began to approach the present as if it would explode if she moved too quickly. Her fingers traced lightly over the reflective green wrapping paper.
Jayce's smirk persisted, "Go ahead...open it." Caitlyn began unwrapping the gift, tossing the torn pieces of paper aside. What was lying in front of her was something that looked like a toolbox. She clicked open the case and lifted the lid, finding various tubes and parts. However, they looked familiar somehow.
"I've noticed that sometimes your rifle falls apart, so I built you a new one. Been working on it for a few months already. I was going to ask Vi to present it." she turned to look at him. "Some assembly required," he chuckled. Caitlyn's hands shivered as she stood up and looked at Jayce.
The scientist expected a hug, but instead, his collar was seized by the wiry woman and he was shoved against a wall. What happened was nothing short of unexpected. He found the sheriff's lips on his own. They were warm and begging for his attention. His willpower faltered and it wasn't long before he was kissing the sheriff back.
The two only stopped to take a breath, but before a second session could be started, Jayce turned his head, "No...stop...we can't do this," he said breathlessly. Caitlyn was more than just disappointed. Her grip didn't waver and she continued to clench onto his jacket. Instead, she buried her head into his chest.
Deafening silence followed, making Jayce extremely nervous.
"Thank you..." he heard Caitlyn silently say. She finally let go of his collar, allowing her knuckles to turn their normal color. "Vi doesn't know what she has..." She flashed him a smile before walking back into her office. Jayce could only stand in shock at what he had found out that night.
Author's Note: It's that time of year again! Yes, I am still alive, but I'm just totally swamped right now. I've got a few projects in the works at the moment, but hopefully one will see the light of day soon.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! I love all of you!
