Convalescence

By Eadon

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Riot; I just play with their characters.

A/N: I know ffnet doesn't like authors responding to reviewers in their chapters, but I have no way to respond to anonymous reviewers so I'll keep this short. This story is not on hiatus and won't be any time soon, I have everything for this fic planned and work on it as often as possible, but sometimes chapters may take two weeks tops to be released. I'm afraid chapter alerts can only be achieved by "subscribing" to the story with a ffnet account. I'm very glad this story is enjoyed and hope I don't disappoint. :)


It was ironic, Jayce thought, to be surrounded by water yet his mouth was so damn dry. Well technically it was just heavy rain, but his hair and clothes were already soaked. Sure he let some of the rainwater drop into his mouth just so he could have some moisture in there, and not choke on his own tongue, but it didn't quench his actual thirst.

His eyebrows furrowed in worry when he noticed Vi was still sitting on the ground and holding her shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked as he approached her still form. His tongue was moist enough for him to speak clearly, at least.

"Can you gimme a hand?" She asked.

Jayce blinked in surprise, but he quickly squashed the emotion and was instantly at her side. "What's wrong?" He checked her over for injuries, but he found nothing save for her cut lip.

She winced when she moved. "I think my shoulder is dislocated." Her hand moved to her gauntlet. "Take this off."

Jayce responded with a curse. "Caitlyn is going to kill me." He carefully, and slowly, removed her gauntlet and hoped he didn't hurt her. He seemed to be an expert lately in harming her.

"Why would she kill you?"

"I, uh, kind of promised her I wouldn't let you chase after Jinx. She was worried you'd get hurt."

Vi's face darkened. "I'm not a child! I can take care of myself."

"I—we didn't say that!" Jayce felt a chill wiggle down his back when he looked at the anger displayed on her pale face. "Caitlyn is just worried about you and she doesn't want you to get hurt again." He thought about keeping his mouth shut, but he couldn't help but add more. "I've been worried as well." A tinge of hurt warmed his chest when he noticed her eyes roll. "It's what friends do, they worry about each other. It has nothing to do with thinking you're a child or incapable of taking care of yourself."

The injured woman shook her head as if dismissing what he just said. "Whatever. I need you to set my shoulder."

"Wait, what? You need me to what?" Jayce looked at her with a bewilderment expression.

It was unclear if Vi meant to roll her eyes again or she hid a wince. "Fuck, it hurts. I need you to do it now."

Just knowing that it was hurting her was all the motivation Jayce needed. "I don't know how to set a dislocation."

Vi's blue eyes looked hazy when she looked up at him. "It's easy; I did it for someone once when I was a kid." She looked around. "There, I need to lie on that fallen log."

Getting to her feet must have moved her shoulder because she hissed in pain as she stood. She carefully sat on the log and tested it to see if it would wiggle or roll. When it didn't she stepped on a few branches to clear them off so she could lay on it.

"Okay, I'll be lying down. You grab my arm, keep a firm grip on it, and pull my arm towards you. If you need to put your foot in my armpit to put extra strength into it, fine. But be sure to keep my arm straight as you pull."

Jayce felt more nervous than he's ever felt in his life, he was worried to do more harm than good. And, again, they were far away from Piltover, there would be no one nearby to help if he messed up.

Once Vi laid on the log he wrapped his fingers around her wrist. He counted to five to calm his own breathing and glanced at her. She looked unfazed by the whole situation and, again, he admired her for her calmness. He pulled her wrist, but his fingers slipped.

Damn this rain!

Whether Vi hissed in pain or agitation, Jayce wasn't sure. He apologized profusely and wondered if he was capable of pulling this off. He was no medic. His expertise was hextech, not medicine.

"Grab my hand this time." Vi told him.

He did as she asked and paused briefly when she interlocked her fingers within his own.

She's holding your hand like this so your grip won't slip, Jayce scolded himself.

His free hand wrapped around her wrist and he took a deep breath before he pulled. There was no popping sound as he expected and Vi didn't scream out, but she sucked in a sharp breath. He didn't know for how long he was supposed to pull, but he figured Vi would tell him when to stop.

"Okay, okay!" She gasped.

Jayce started then immediately stopped, his heart thudded loudly in his ears. He waited from his position, unaware his fingers were still enveloped within hers.

The ex-enforcer grunted as she slowly sat up. She looked down at their hands before she glanced up at Jayce. He noticed what she glanced at and quickly let go of her hand, heat warmed his cheeks.

"Thanks," she whispered to him. She bent her elbow and draped her forearm over her abdomen.

Jayce looked back at the flaming wreckage of the police vehicle. "Do you think the police will come looking for that?"

Vi shook her head. "Nah, they'll probably assume it was one of Jinx's goons that stole it."

"Still," Jayce added, "I'm worried they may follow our footsteps. They can follow the tracks to the wreck and they'll know the occupants are missing. The last thing we need is for the police to be looking for us."

Vi furrowed her brows. "Isn't that a good thing? I sure as fuck don't want to walk all the way back to Piltover."

"And what of the crooked cop? I'm in charge of keeping you hidden from him."

"You don't get it," Vi exasperated. "You're so fuckin' paranoid. Even if he just happened to be the one in the search party it's not like he could kidnap me on the spot. He wouldn't be able to get the drop on me again, either." She stormed off towards the road by following the car tracks.

Instinct told Jayce to give her some time alone to cool off, but they were miles away from the city, in the woods and with rain pouring down. There was no way he was leaving Vi alone. He made sure to grab his hammer and followed the angry woman.

They walked in silence; the only sounds came from the rain drizzling down on the trees and dirt, and the clanking of Vi's gauntlets thumping against the hextech power core she kept on her back. When she wasn't wielding her gauntlets she hung them on her back. On foot, it took them a long time to backtrack to the road. There were no police cars or blimps in sight or any other vehicles on either side of the long stretch of road.

"See?" Vi told him. "You were shittin' cogs for nothing."

He didn't respond. The short distance they walked already intensified his thirst, so he wanted to avoid talking as much as possible. He looked over to Vi and wondered how she was able to deal with the thirst, especially considering she had been a lot more active than he. With a tilt of his head, he allowed more raindrops to moisturize his dry mouth.

Hours passed, the gray clouds grew darker when the sun began to set, and the rain was steadily getting heavier. Jayce felt miserable. His clothes were thoroughly soaked, he shook from the cold, his throat was still aching for water, and he really needed to void his bladder. Unfortunately, Vi was too focused on getting to Piltover before the evening so she refused to stop and wait for him.

Maybe he was really paranoid. He's see enough movies where a couple or a group of friends separate for literally less than minute and everything goes downhill from there. It wouldn't take Jayce more than a minute to relieve himself, but he couldn't bring himself to take the risk. Especially with how dark the woods were. Only reason why they were heading the correct way was they just followed the bright lights of Piltover.

Then he saw it. Vi faltered and nearly tripped. She caught herself and kept walking, but enough was enough. They needed a break.

"Damnit, Vi." Jayce told her. "We need to take a break. We're both exhausted."

Vi was mostly in a foul mood because no one showed up in a vehicle. So the longer they walked the fouler her mood. He also guessed her shoulder was aching; she got cranky when she was in pain.

Surprisingly, she paused. Her chin lifted slightly as she looked at the bright lights miles in front of them. When they were chasing Jinx it didn't seem like they drove long, but now that they had to walk back it felt like it would take days. Vi nodded weakly and headed for a cluster of trees.

"You follow me I'll fuck you up," she warned him.

Jayce understood her desire for privacy, and sought for his own privacy, but he was careful not to drift too far away. He still couldn't shake his paranoia of losing Vi, though. He tried to keep an ear out for anything, but all he could make out was the constant drone of rain hitting leaves and dirt. When he returned to where he last saw her, feeling immensely better, he found her sitting at the bottom of a thick branched tree, her gauntlets laid next to her.

He wordlessly sat next to her. His stomach growled loudly and his feet were killing him. It was getting a little difficult to keep his eyelids open as well. What he wouldn't give for a little cave to get away from the rain. The tree branches protected them well enough, but a cave would be much better. A fire was out of the question as well.

A new worry gnawed at the inventor. There was a great risk they both could freeze and they had no way to warm up. Jayce vaguely remembered hearing his personal sentry bot, Apollo, explain the symptoms and ways to treat hypothermia when Vi had thrown herself out into the rain in an attempt to keep herself awake a few days ago.

Something heavy pressed against his shoulder suddenly. It was Vi, she had fallen asleep and her head slid and rested against him. A small smile grew on Jayce's face as he watched her a moment. He was extremely tempted to join her and take a moment or two to rest his eyes, but he knew with his luck someone would drive by them and he'd miss the opportunity to avoid sleeping the night outdoors and possibly freeze to death. He shook his head at that thought, he had to think positive.

The sun had fully settled, but there was no moonlight to light the dark woods for them thanks to the dark clouds. Although an occasional lightning lit up the sky, but only for a quick moment. Despite the evening being early there was nothing for them to do but rest.

A long yawn escaped him, but he continued to fight the drowsiness.

Shit!

Panic shoved the drowsiness right out of his system. Jayce remembered the symptoms of hypothermia now, and drowsiness was one of them. Then realization slapped him.

Vi!

He shook her awake and prepared to face her wrath.

"Hmm…" Vi mumbled sleepily. Her eyelids lifted to show off blue eyes. "Wha?"

Relief spread through the Defender of Tomorrow momentarily. He was able to awaken Vi, but how would they warm up? Wet sticks wouldn't catch fire. The one and only silver lining was that the rain was reducing to a soft drizzle again, but without the sun the nights grew cold.

Think, man, think! What did Apollo say to keep warm?

Dry clothes. He glanced at his own soaking clothing and shook his head. That was a negative. Warm beverage. Jayce suppressed a laugh. That was a negative as well. Share body heat. The details of sharing body heat, skin to skin, brought a new found heat to his cheeks. Would Vi even agree to that? He could only hope she would. They had a long night ahead of them, and spending it half frozen would suck.

"Are you cold?" Smooth, Jayce thought to himself. He could literally feel her body shake against his shoulder. There was no need to ask, not that she would admit to it probably.

Vi rubbed her eyes. "You woke me up to ask me that?" She hit his leg with her good arm.

Jayce replied with an, "ouch!" He rubbed the soft spot. "I was remembering some stuff Apollo told me. So…are you?"

"Fuckin' freezin' my ass off." She peered at him. "Why? Your hammer got another alternate mode, like a heater or somethin'?"

Another smile grew in the corner of Jayce's mouth. "I wish." His mouth opened then shut. How would he explain what they had to do to keep warm?

Just be direct, he told himself.

"You won't like what I have to say…about what we have to do to stay warm."

Vi laughed. "What, do we have to snuggle or some shit?" When Jayce hesitated to reply her smile faded. "You gotta be fuckin' with me."

Jayce took a deep breath and explained what Apollo had told him.

"Hell no," Vi exclaimed. "Unlike other girls, I'm not touchy feely. Unless we're fuckin', keep your hands off me."

Jayce blinked. He had a strong feeling that Vi would refuse him for warmth, but he wasn't expecting her to say it like that. Well, he was far too tired to convince her to do anything. "Suit yourself," he told her before he stood up and started to remove his clothes.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Vi asked him. They had no source of light other than the moon, but it was still hidden behind the thicket of dark clouds, which left them in utter darkness. But she was able to hear him unbuckle his belt and seemed to know he was undressing.

Jayce squeezed as much water as he could from his clothes and spread his pants and shirt on the damp ground. He left his underwear on for modesty sake, despite the darkness, and tried to use his jacket as a blanket, despite the dampness of it. It wasn't the warmest, but it was immensely better than wearing the wet clothes. He also made sure to have some space between Vi and himself, he didn't want to give her the wrong idea and get his face smashed in.

"Trying to warm up," he told her. He kept his mouth covered by the jacket so his breath would reflect back onto his cheeks and warm them.

Now to wait until she caves, Jayce thought. He knew Vi was extremely stubborn, but how long until she couldn't take the cold anymore? She was tough, but she was still human. Until then, he got as comfortable as he could and fought the wariness that ate at him. It was stupid to still hope a vehicle would pass by and keep an eye out for one. Even if someone did drive by he wouldn't be able to chase them down and get their attention. Plus he was only in his underwear at the moment.

While deep in thought, Jayce caught himself nearly falling asleep. He quickly rubbed the sleep from his eyes and mentally cursed. Sleep was getting more and more difficult to refuse each passing minute. The only thing that was keeping him awake was his worry for Vi. He was terrified of waking up and finding her frozen to death. He'd never forgive himself. She was certainly stubborn enough to risk hypothermia than rely on him for warmth. Which was odd considering Vi would do anything in order to survive.

"I can hear your teeth chattering." Jayce whispered. "It's awfully warm in here. You really sure you don't want to join?"

"Fuck you," Vi spat. "You just want to cop a feel."

Jayce chuckled. "I promise to be a gentleman and keep my hands to myself."

She snorted in response. "Like you can control yourself."

"Why do you distrust me?" Jayce somewhat regretted blurting his thoughts aloud, but he supposed this would be the best chance to get some answers from Vi. It was too dark, wet, and cold for her to storm off.

"I don't trust anyone."

"Even Caitlyn?"

She remained quiet, but it was all Jayce needed.

"You can trust Cait, but why not me?" He could picture her rolling her eyes.

"Caitlyn is different."

"How so?"

Vi made an irritated noise in the back of her throat. But talking helped take Jayce's mind off the cold for a few seconds, which was better than nothing, and no doubt Vi probably felt the same.

"Caitlyn…gave me a lot. She earned my respect and trust."

Jayce felt a little jealous. He wished Vi would feel the same way for him. He certainly respected and trusted her. "She's your friend."

"Yeah, she is."

"So why can't I be your friend as well? Is it because I'm a pompous bitch?"

Vi laughed. "That might have somethin' to do with it."

"I'm serious, Vi, why can't you accept me as a friend? I like to think we've learned a lot about each other this past week. We get along, for the most part. Why do you see me as an enemy?"

He heard her sigh. It felt odd to be talking in such darkness and he was tempted to activate his hammer so they could have a source of light. "Do you think I survived the streets by blindly trustin' people? I couldn't rely on anyone but myself. I had to be strong. The weak made easy targets."

Jayce was now finally starting to understand her perspective. It was mind boggling that she still clung to her survival instincts when she was a child growing up on the streets, but he couldn't fault her for that. "Now I see, so that's why you were so adamant against being seen as weak."

She didn't reply, but he could hear her teeth chatter again. Would she freak out if he tried to pull her to him? It was killing him that he was— well he wouldn't say warm—not freezing, but she was.

"That still doesn't explain why you can't trust me."

"You're a pompous bitch, remember?" She blew into her uninjured hand. "People like you, wealthy, famous, whatever, pretend to be good people, but you only care for yourselves. You're only helping me so you can get in cupcakes pants."

Jayce felt as if he had been slapped. "That's not true." Is that how Vi truly felt about him? "Caitlyn has made it clear she's not interested in me romantically." He continued to ponder about the other things she said. She didn't like him because of his different upbringing? "What about Caitlyn herself? We grew up together in the same neighborhood. Her parents are wealthier than mine. Why don't you feel any prejudice against her?"

"I did. But she gave me a chance, remember? She recognized my strength and gave me a job. Fuck, she let me crash at her place until I was able to afford a place of my own. She never looked down on me because I didn't know how to read or write. And she defended me when the other cops gave me shit for being a criminal. I owe her a lot. She's not like you or other rich people."

Jayce didn't know whether to feel hurt or angry. Vi didn't know him, but she was quick to label him.

Is she wrong about why I started helping her, he thought to himself. Realization dawned on him. The whole reason why Vi stayed at his house was because it was a favor for Caitlyn. And he was asking for a date in return. When Vi got hurt earlier, his first thought was that Caitlyn was going to kill him. She was right, he cared for himself first.

Her chattering teeth knocked him out of his thoughts. He felt terrible for wanting to help her for the wrong reasons; he didn't blame her for not seeing him as a friend.

"Then can you let me start over?" He asked her, he meant every word. "I'll prove to you that I do want to be your friend." He ignored her snort. "I'm serious."

"Whatever," Vi replied harshly.

Her teeth continued to chatter and Jayce's own getup wasn't doing much to warm him. "I wasn't joking about how we can keep each other warm. If you don't trust me we'll both freeze to death."

"For fucks sake, fine!" Jayce could plainly hear her strip out of her clothes and he was grateful for the darkness, he didn't think he'd have the willpower to not sneak a peek. "If you try to get touchy—"

"You'll pulverize me." Jayce finished. "I know. And I believe it too. I'm more afraid of you to try anything. Not that I'd ever think about doing something like that in the first place."

He heard her hold in a cry. She probably had difficulty removing her clothing in a way that didn't move her shoulder.

"Okay, now what?"

"You'll want to squeeze as much water out of your clothes as you can. Then you can put them on the floor so you can lay on them. So you won't get muddy."

Wait, she can't use her injured arm, Jayce thought.

"Do you need help?"

"I got it." Vi replied. "Holy fuck, I don't know how those people in F-freljord can stand being c-cold." She was beginning to stutter terribly.

Jayce agreed. "And it isn't even snowing here." He felt her shivering form sit close to him. Would she freak out if he suddenly touched her? He tentatively and blindly reached his arm over and immediately felt her skin. As he predicted, she tensed, but thankfully she didn't react violently.

She most likely knew I was going to touch her, Jayce thought.

He pulled her to him as gently as he could and did his best to avoid agitating her injured shoulder. Even though it was set it would still probably hurt her for a few days. Holy cogs though, she shivering badly and her skin felt colder than his own. He quickly draped his jacket over them both. It would take some time until they warmed up.

"What are you doing?"

Jayce's hand stopped moving. He hadn't realized he was rubbing his hand along her arm. "Trying to warm you up," he answered truthfully. "You're like ice."

He was grateful she accepted his answer and didn't reject his hand, so he resumed his feeble attempt at rubbing some warmth into her skin. Long minutes passed in silence. His feet felt so cold they were beginning to tingle and he was beginning to shiver.

"Vi?" Another long moment passed in silence and Jayce felt panic flood into his veins. "Vi?"

"What?" Her voice was extremely soft and was etched with exhaustion.

Relief warmed the inventor. "Just making sure you didn't fall asleep."

"I want to." She yawned audibly. "This idea failed. I'm still freezing my tits off."

"Give it time," Jayce answered. Great, now he was thinking about a certain part of Vi.

For the next several minutes she began to wiggle. "I prefer if we lay down. I'm done with sitting up and sleeping."

"Sure," truth was Jayce felt his own back hurt from rubbing against the rough tree trunk. They both moved quickly, he laid so his back was to the tree and Vi placed herself in front of him so she rested on her non-injured shoulder.

More minutes passed and they were finally able to share their body heat. Even with the coat being damp it didn't chill them; in fact it seemed to help maintain the heat they shared. Jayce still felt Vi shiver occasionally so out of habit he draped an arm over her waist and pulled her closer to him.

He was so exhausted he hadn't realized what he did at first. But when the scent of her hair drifted into his nostrils and her body brushed against his lap all drowsiness vanished.

What in the void did I do, Jayce thought frantically. His heart threatened to pump out of his chest and a shiver traveled down his spine that wasn't due to the chill in the air. A moment passed and then another and Vi hadn't moved. Did she fall asleep?

Jayce struggled to swallow the lump in his throat, a feat not easy as he was still incredibly thirsty. "Vi?"

"'M awake," she muttered sleepily. She sounded as if she had just woken from a nap. "What is it?"

Unconsciously, Jayce pulled her even closer then promptly regretted it when he realized what he did. He hated how exhausted he was if he was doing things without realizing it. It didn't help with the cold and darkness his need-to-be-a-hero-and-protect-everyone mode turned on.

"Nothing," he replied. "It's safe now to sleep."

Well, it wasn't just his desire to protect those around him that made him snuggle close to her. And it wasn't purely because of how warm they were getting, but he felt this would be the only time they would share a moment like this. In their short time together he did slowly learn more about Vi, respected her, and reluctantly he grew attracted to her, despite the many times he tried to convince himself otherwise. He reflected on his attraction to her sadly, if Vi would never trust him as a friend then becoming anything more would be out of the question.

Sighing, Jayce succumbed to the pull of sleep. His thoughts were still on his luck of falling for women that weren't interested in him.

Whether it was a few minutes or hours that passed Jayce didn't know, but movement jarred him awake. It was still dark and impossible to see anything within a few inches from him. Panic chased away the sleep from his eyes, but then he realized that the movement came from Vi. She twitched and groaned, "Stop."

Sorrow and anger tightened Jayce's chest. Even though Vi refused to tell him what she dreamed it didn't take a genius to know she dreamt of her imprisonment and torture. She was strong and independent, but she was still human. As much as she pretended that what happened to her didn't matter and wasn't worth remembering it was obvious that deep within her it clearly haunted her. And it was a bitch, Jayce thought, that her memories wouldn't give her a moment peace to rest and forget temporarily.

This is why she drank every night, it probably helped her sleep, Jayce reflected.

He squashed the anger that continued to boil within him and focused on comforting Vi, even if she didn't want it. No one should suffer alone, it didn't matter how strong they were. It pained him she grew up without having to confide in anyone and still clung to that belief now. He pulled her so her back was against his chest and he planted a soft kiss in the space between her neck and her shoulder.

"Vi," he called. "Wake up."

She continued to mumbled incoherently then a soft whimper escaped. Jayce's chest swelled with sorrow as he listened to her. He called her name again, but she still stayed in her troubled slumber. He hugged her close and feebly wished his mere comfort would awaken her and fend off her fears just as his own nightmares were drowned by the comfort from his mother.

After he called her name a third time Vi's breathing hitched and she was completely silent. Jayce knew she was awake, but he wasn't sure if she would feel embarrassed that he witnessed another one of her nightmares.

To void with it, Jayce thought, she needs to know she won't suffer alone with me.

He couldn't hold her any closer than he already was so he planted his lips on her shoulder again. Why he was treading to be this intimate with her, he couldn't figure out, but sometimes intimacy was the best type of comfort. And frankly, it was one of the best ways he was able to comfort women.

As he predicted, her body tensed upon contact with his lips and it brought more disappointed into Jayce. She cried out in both fear and anger and tried to pull herself away from him, but Jayce kept a firm hold of her. It was pitch black, she was probably still terrified that she was in that basement. She had said it was so dark she couldn't see her torturer.

"It's okay, you're safe now," he said gently.

"Let go of me!" Her voice sounded weak and on the verge of breaking.

Jayce pressed his lips onto her shoulder again. He desperately hoped he wasn't terrifying her further, he honestly didn't even know if the bastards forced themselves on her. The thought brought more intense anger, but he forced himself to ignore the thoughts and focus on Vi.

"You're safe, Vi." He told her. "I'm here."

Her squirming weakened which brought a smile to Jayce's face. Maybe she recognized his voice?

"We're in the woods, remember?" He continued. "We chased Jinx out here."

Finally, he felt her body relax against his own. She was slowly coming back to the present.

"And for survival, we're snuggling under my jacket." His smile brightened. "And I kept my promise, I've been a gentleman."

Her breathing had calmed and then he felt her hand on his arm that was still around her torso. "Then what's this?"

"It's part of snuggling." He fought the urge to kiss her neck. Being so close to her, smelling her hair, feeling her body against his own, it was sending signals to his brain that urged him to continue kissing her.

"You're lucky I'm too damn warm." She said. "Or else I would've left."

"I know," replied Jayce. He took a deep breath and rested his forehead against the back of her head. "Just…know that I'm here."

She didn't respond. They laid in silence for the rest of that night. Jayce listened closely and smiled when he eventually heard her breathing settle into a slow, steady melody which was eventually followed by her soft snoring.

It'd be nice to think that she wouldn't have any more nightmares now that he held her close, but things didn't always turn out like in romance movies and novels. Jayce estimated that it was another hour or so that passed when he felt Vi struggling with another nightmare.

He repeated what he did earlier; call her gently until she awoke. She fell into a panic upon feeling his arm on her, but he kept her close and whispered into her ear until she calmed. She would fall asleep again and then so would he. But then their cycle repeated into the early morning.


Great, my fucking clothes are muddy, Vi thought as she dressed. They were also still damp, but the bright side was that despite the gray clouds covering the sky it hadn't rained.

Vi ignored the nagging urge to smoke a cigarette. Even though she had her smokes and lighter on her it would make her thirst worse, but it would at least make her stomach stop feeling like it was eating itself. Since she hadn't had anything to drink since yesterday morning, and she had sweat most of it in the Jinx chase, Vi didn't have much urine to void. By the time she returned to where she and Jayce slept she spotted him awake, dressed, and carefully removing dried mud from his jacket.

Heat warmed her cheeks when he glanced at her and he fucking smiled at her. Vi frowned slightly and mentally willed the butterflies in her stomach to drop dead. She remembered everything last night. He was awake every time she had a nightmare; actually he was the one that would wake her from them.

And he had to be so fucking nice about it, Vi thought. Fuck it, she sat on a large, flat rock and pulled out her cigarettes. After she lit one she took a long hit from it and let it work its magic on calming her nerves.

Despite the embarrassment, Vi felt…good. It was a strange feeling to have considering she was hungry, thirsty, and her shoulder was still aching. She was eager to return to Piltover, eat a massive meal, have some drinks, and take a hot shower. Still confused, she glanced in Jayce's direction. He hadn't notice her gaze as he was putting on his socks with a very disgusted expression.

She sighed.

Okay, so maybe Jayce didn't act like the pompous bitch she expected of him last night. The way he was so…nice was refreshing. And in all honesty, Vi was never shown that type of nice treatment even from her own people, especially when she was in a gang. She vaguely remembered a time she awoke from a bad dream, the guys that shared the room with her chewed her ass off for being a weak kid.

Vi sighed again as she stuffed her spent cigarette into her portable dispenser. Great, she could have just tossed that damn thing anywhere, but now she was in the habit to be good to the environment.

Damn you, Cait, Vi thought with a small smile on her face. Soon, her smile faded. She was going to miss being a cop. It was the best, and only, job she ever had. The paperwork was ass, but the patrols and emergency calls were the best. And she was going to miss giving Caitlyn a hard time.

She was going to miss having a friend.

Vi squashed the self-pity thoughts and stood. Her eyes drifted back to Jayce. Maybe, just maybe she could see Jayce as a friend. He certainly proved himself a little last night.

Just a little.