"That concludes the end of the interview. Thank you for your application and we'll be in touch."
Caitlyn waited until the applicant had left the room. As soon as the door clicked shut, she rested her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands. She picked up her pen to resume going through the paperwork piling up on her desk, but was interrupted by a series of knocks on her door.
"Come in," Caitlyn let out an exhausted sigh.
"If it isn't the new sheriff herself!" a voice called out from outside.
"Vi! Am I glad to see you!" Caitlyn perked up, immediately leaping up to give her friend a quick hug.
"You look completely worn out. First day isn't going well, huh?" Vi asked, plopping down into the seat on the other side of Caitlyn's desk.
"I've had nothing but interviews all day," Caitlyn huffed. "We need to recruit and train more enforcers after losing so many from Jinx's attacks, but there just aren't enough quality candidates even after lowering the entry standards. Half of them don't have the heart to serve and the other half spent the interview giving me pick-up lines."
"What did I tell you, Cupcake? You're hot," Vi smirked, causing Caitlyn to blush. "Sorry I won't be around to help you though."
"You being here is more than enough…" Caitlyn trailed off. "Hang on, what about…"
Caitlyn sat up, a light bulb lighting up in her head. She grabbed a piece of paper from her desk and placed it in front of Vi before slamming a pen onto it.
"There's one thing you can do to help me. Fill up that form and sign it," Caitlyn commanded. Her voice livening up all of a sudden.
Vi picked up the pen and was about to fill up the form, but she froze when she saw its title.
"Ha, great to see you're still in the mood for jokes, Cupcake!" Vi laughed. "You can't seriously be asking me to become an enforcer!"
Vi's laughter died out when she saw that Caitlyn was not laughing with her.
"I am serious. I want you as my enforcer," Caitlyn said, her amethyst irises staring unblinkingly at Vi.
"Look, Cupcake," Vi said, dropping the form and pen back onto the desk. "I didn't come here today to become an enforcer. I'm going back to Zaun tomorrow."
"What?" Caitlyn almost shrieked. "You're leaving? Why?"
"I need to find my sister. She disappeared after blowing up the council," Vi replied.
"Then I'm going with you," Caitlyn said. "We'll get her this time."
"Cait, listen. You have two cities to save. Piltover needs its sheriff. Leave Jinx to me, she has nothing to do with you," Vi said.
"Nothing to do with me? She's Piltover's biggest threat! She killed my mother! She has everything to do with me!" Caitlyn shouted.
Vi shook her head. She stood up, ready to head to the door.
"No, Cait. I can do this myself. No one else needs to get hurt."
At this, Caitlyn leapt to her feet. She crossed the room in two large strides and slammed her palm against the wall, pressing her body against Vi's to prevent her from leaving.
"Do you remember the last time you tried that?" Caitlyn growled, moving her face closer to Vi's. "Jinx blew up the bridge. Both of us almost died. I lost my mother. You need to understand that Jinx isn't Powder. Shimmer has made her more powerful than you, more powerful than me. Every way I slice it, if I go after your sister alone, one of us comes back in a box. The only way for us to chase her down is if we work together. Piltover needs you. Zaun needs you. I. NEED. YOU!"
"Forget it!" Vi screamed, her hands shoving Caitlyn's chest backwards. "You think I give a damn about Piltover or Zaun? I just don't want you to get hurt!"
"Is that really what you think of me?" Caitlyn whispered in anger. "You think I'm a snowflake who'll only drag you down? I'm going with you and that's final!"
"YOU'RE NOT READY!" Vi roared.
Caitlyn was silent this time. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words were stuck in her throat. It was as if Vi had slammed a door shut in her face. She tore her gaze away so Vi would not see the tears welling up in her eyes. She left the room before her knees could buckle and leave her in a sobbing heap on the floor.
"Cupcake, wait!" Vi ran after her and grabbed her wrist from behind.
"Ow! Let me go, you're hurting me," Caitlyn pleaded.
"I said the same thing to Powder back then and she took it the wrong way," Vi sighed, her hand tightening its grip on Caitlyn's wrist. "It's not what it sounds like. With my sister missing, you're all I have left. I can't lose you."
"You're hurting me," Caitlyn repeated, turning her head to look over her shoulder at Vi.
Vi was alarmed to see the tears streaming down Caitlyn's cheeks. She let go of Caitlyn's wrist.
Caitlyn ran out of the building. Vi did not chase her this time. She could not, after seeing the pain in her eyes – the same pain she saw in Powder's eyes when they were children.
"That concludes the end of the interview. Thank you for your application and we'll be in touch."
As soon as the door clicked shut, Caitlyn crumpled the applicant's form into a ball and chucked it at the corner of the room, where it landed cleanly in a wastepaper basket that was overflowing with rejected application forms.
Caitlyn leant back into her chair with her hands behind her head. She had made barely any progress with recruiting even after another week of interviews.
She had not seen Vi either after their argument. She missed her.
"Come in," Caitlyn sighed upon hearing another knock on the door. Without looking up, she started pouring water into two paper cups, one for herself and one for the next candidate. "Please state your name and tell me why you want to become an enforcer. I've heard enough pick-up lines today, so if that's your purpose for coming then please leave because the answer is no."
"You can call me Vi," a familiar voice said. "I heard the sheriff is as sweet as a cupcake, so I want to become an enforcer so I can stay at her side."
"Vi!" Caitlyn exclaimed, turning around immediately. "Where have you been? I was worried sick! I thought you left and went chasing after Jinx all on your own!"
"I'm sorry for what I said," Vi placed her hand on top of Caitlyn's. "You're right. I won't be able to get my sister back on my own. I made the mistake of making Powder feel inferior back then. I won't make that same mistake with you."
"You don't need to worry," Caitlyn replied, clutching Vi's fingers. "I'm not like Jinx. I won't react by letting my weakness turn to wrath. I know I'm not ready. Which is why I'll train. I'll train until I'm strong enough to take on Jinx together with you."
"As will I," Vi affirmed. "From now on, sheriff, I will be by your side as your shield."
A smile spread across Caitlyn's face.
"And I will be your sword, enforcer."
Piltover's finest is on the case. Together.
A/N: It's been more than seven years since I last updated "Married to the Enemy". I wonder how many readers are still here. I'm thinking of simply putting up a short summary just to give the story closure, since I most likely will never be able to finish writing it.