A/N: hehe hey everybody! We're back with another chapter and I have to give a huge shoutout to my wonderful friend LadyWintr for being my beta for this. she rocks my socks off and as I have told her already has set the bar extremely high for anyone who tries to take her throne as my beta. BUT I'm super excited for this chapter and would like to give a fair warning that it is not going to be all rainbow and butterflies from here on out, as we already know from watching this heart wrenching show. I am going to try my absolute hardest to post frequent updates on this story, switching between updates for this and my Bechloe Spider-Girl AU Freak of Nature so check that out too if you are interested in hot women singing a cappella and fighting crime ;) I loved your feedback on the last chapter and would love to know how you all feel about this one :) I love you all and hope you are staying safe :D


It took about a week until Caitlyn had been able to go back to Zaun. Her parents had been quite upset with her late arrival home the last time, and she had lied about staying late at the library with a classmate for a chemistry project. Her parents didn't seem to believe her but she held her ground until they backed off. She decided to lay low on their radar for a few days until things settled, and she needed to be more prepared for when she made future trips to the Undercity.

Naturally, she went to Jayce for help because she could convince him to do anything for her no matter how reckless it would be. If Caitlyn was good at one thing, it was talking her way into getting exactly what she wanted. She had been trained for diplomacy since the day she could string a coherent sentence together. And if Jayce was good at one thing, it was putting his foot in his mouth until he had no choice but to concede.

"You want me to lie to your parents so you can sneak off into Zaun for a girl?" Jayce asked incredulously, his eyes looking like they were about to pop out of his head.

"Precisely."

"Caitlyn, I don't think I can do that," he sighed, pacing back and forth in his evil lair, as Cait liked to call it. "Those people are dangerous, you could get hurt, and if your parents knew I lied to them they would kill me."

"'Those people?'" Caitlyn seethed. She was surprised by how angry that comment made her, but felt defensive of her new friends, knowing they were just trying to survive. She hated that Jayce was sounding like every other person in Piltover. "Careful, Jayce, you're starting to sound a lot like my mother, and we both know how I feel about her."

"I'm sorry. Poor choice of words," he smiled sheepishly. "But my previous point still stands. You could get hurt in Zaun and if your parents found out I was covering for you, I would no longer be alive."

"Jayce, I'm not a child that needs to be protected," Caitlyn huffed in annoyance, her previous anger simmered down a bit. "I know my limits and the moment something feels off I'll leave and won't go back there. Plus, it's not like I go to Zaun without my rifle."

She flashed pleading, puppy-dog eyes at him, hoping it would do the trick and get him to change his mind. She loved Jayce like an older brother, and knew that when push came to shove he would do anything for her. Was she being reckless? Probably. But she also was true to her word and knew her limits, and fully intended on listening to her intuition if things started to go south.

"Fine, I'll do it," he sighed. "But if this goes to shit, I'm telling your parents you threatened to shoot me."

"Deal," she beamed, wrapping him in a big hug before making her way to the door. "You're the best! I owe you."

She scrambled out of the room to immediately make a trip to Zaun. Before she clicked the door closed she heard Jayce release a heavy sigh, probably immediately regretting his decision, but she truly couldn't find it in herself to care.


After quite a few successful trips to the Undercity, Caitlyn was finally going to meet Vander. He had always been busy the other times she made the trip, but from the way the group talked about him, she knew he was extremely important to them, and that his opinion of her could be a make or break in the friendship she had formed with them.

Vi and Powder had warmed up to her the quickest, but after a couple of weeks Mylo and Claggor also became fond of her. It was obvious that the latter of the two definitely had developed a little bit of a crush on her once they started to trust Caitlyn, which Vi would tease her about constantly when they were alone together. She kept her promise of seeing all of Powder's inventions on her second trip to the Undercity, which was probably why the girls were more open with her from the jump. She had to admit, Powder was incredibly smart for a girl her age, and even though her inventions didn't work yet she didn't give up. The girl was resilient, just like her older sister. When Cait would hang out with Powder and see all of her gadgets, she would feel Vi's gaze on her from the corner of her eye, and whenever she looked up Vi had a soft, endearing expression on her face which would cause a blush to form on Caitlyn's cheeks and her heart rate to skyrocket.

The group showed her how to travel throughout Zaun. She thought they had been kidding when they told her to follow them onto the rooftops of the buildings, not that she was afraid of heights but why climb all the way up there when there were perfectly good sidewalks they could use? They explained to her that it was faster to get around up top, and the odds of running into a thief or someone who just wanted to pick a fight were slimmer from above. As time went on she got better at jumping from each building, however there were some moments when she miscalculated the distance and almost fell to her untimely demise, but one of them was always there to grab her hand and pull her back to her feet, usually being Vi. She noticed that Vi tried to stay as close to her as possible, especially when they were pulling risky stunts.

Vi was simply wonderful. The more time she spent with the girl, the more butterflies erupted in her chest. She always walked Caitlyn to the bridge, no matter what, and sometimes their hands or arms would brush against each other and make both girls' cheeks turn crimson. They would stick to the streets whenever their night was winding down and she had to make the trek back home, and Caitlyn had a suspicion that Vi brought them this way so they could spend more time together. She never wanted her time with Vi to end, and often was tempted to ask her to come over even after they spent hours on end together.

Before heading to The Last Drop, Caitlyn decided to pluck some flowers from her family's garden to bring with her, wanting to give Vi something she could look at during the day when they were separated and think of her. It was an assortment of flowers of different shades of blue, matching the color of Caitlyn's hair and eyes, pink to match the color of Vi's hair, and even found a blue-gray flower that reminded her of Vi's eyes. The colors complemented each other well, just how she felt her and Vi complemented each other. If she ever verbalized that train of thought to her, the girl would probably laugh in her face but secretly find it endearing.

Vi had been waiting for her outside of the bar, and a smile instantly lit up her face when she noticed Cait, who was wearing a matching grin. She quickened her pace to get closer to the pink haired girl, and without thinking immediately pulled Vi in for a hug, wrapping the arm holding the flowers around her shoulders, and the other came up so she could cup the back of Vi's head with her hand. After a moment of shock, Vi wrapped her arms around Cait's waist to pull her in closer.

"You miss me, Cupcake?" Vi chuckled, but continued to hold her close and bury her head more into Caitlyn's shoulder.

"Oh, shut up," Caitlyn giggled. "You clearly missed me too, or else you wouldn't have been waiting outside for me."

"Touché," Vi grumbled into her neck, the feeling of her breath against Cait's skin nearly made the taller girl lose her balance. "What did you bring with you?"

"Oh!" Caitlyn exclaimed, nearly forgetting about the flowers she brought. She reluctantly pulled away from the embrace to show Vi the flowers she picked, but instantly deflated when she noticed they were already wilting and slightly discolored. "Oh no, they're dying already."

"Unfortunately, that's what the air down here will do," Vi said. She took the flowers, their fingers brushing from the action, and again caused heat to rise in both girls' faces. "Don't worry though, I love my beautiful, dying bouquet."

"Who said they were for you?" Caitlyn teased. "Maybe I brought them for Claggor."

"Well, I haven't seen you come down to the Undercity to leap into Claggor's arms, so I think it was a safe assumption they were for me."

The smirk on Vi's face, and the very minimal distance between them, made Cait want to wipe that smug look off her face. Every voice in her head was screaming at her to close the distance between them and give that mouth something else to do. Almost subconsciously, she wet her lips and took a small step closer, her eyes flicking between Vi's own lips and back up to her smoldering gaze. She marveled from the way the smirk slowly slipped from the girl's face, watching her throat bob as she swallowed her sudden nerves.

Suddenly, the sound of the door swinging open next to them popped the bubble they had created around themselves. It was so easy for Caitlyn to just get lost in Vi's presence, and from the way her cheeks were almost as vibrant as her pink hair it was safe to assume Vi felt the same way. It felt as though they were the only two people who existed.

"Vi, dinner is rea– oh," a deep voice bellowed, but paused mid sentence when coming across the pair. "Am I interrupting something?"

The two sprung away from each other in the presence of the man, who was absolutely huge. Caitlyn scanned his face: a small scar on the bridge of his nose, salt and pepper beard, long dark brown hair that was also starting to gray, and a very familiar smirk on his face. Wonder who Vi got that look from, Cait thought to herself. This must be Vander.

"Um, no, Vander," Vi responded, clearing her throat from what Caitlyn wasn't sure to be embarrassment or lust. She watched on in amusement as Vi stumbled through introductions. "Uh, this is Caitlyn, our friend from Piltover who we invited over for dinner."

"It's good to finally meet you, Caitlyn," Vander said, holding out a large hand for the girl to shake. For such a big guy, he was very gentle when shaking Cait's hand. "These guys have been going on and on about you, especially this one here."

"Have they now?" The taller girl beamed, glancing at Vi and seeing her cheeks burning up even more so than they already had been from their flirtatious banter.

"Didn't you say dinner was ready?" Vi piped up, trying to veer the subject away from the dangerous territory it was heading in.

It made Caitlyn giddy knowing that her friends, especially Vi, spoke about her to Vander. She had a niggling fear that they wouldn't fully accept her since she was from Piltover, but hearing that all of them have talked about her to Vander made her worries vanish. It also made her more confident in her feelings for Vi, that it wasn't just her who was crushing on the other girl. The moment they'd shared before Vander's interruption seemed to be a mutual pining, and his comment confirmed her speculation.

Luckily for Vi, Vander didn't continue with embarrassing her in front of Caitlyn and the girls followed him into The Last Drop where he had prepared a huge meal for the group. It was so different from the meals she usually attended, where she had to be so prim and proper to the point that she felt like she couldn't even enjoy herself or the food. They had heaping portions on their plates of mouth-watering steak, garlic mashed potatoes, and asparagus, and they all immediately started to dig in.

"So, Caitlyn," Vander said with a mouthful of food. If her mother was here she would be scoffing in disgust, but it made Cait smile, happy that they were so comfortable in her company. It felt like she was one of them, a part of a little makeshift family that would do anything for each other. "What brought you to the Undercity in the first place?"

"It was something that Sheriff Grayson said to me actually," Caitlyn began, feeling all eyes at the table on her. She hadn't told any of them this story, and wasn't sure how well it would be interpreted that someone she saw as a mentor was an enforcer. She knew how most of the citizens in Zaun hated enforcers, which she couldn't really blame them for, and she suspected that her friends felt that way too. "I beat her in a shooting competition, but she pulled her shot, I saw her! So I confronted her about it, and thought my parents may have bribed her to let me win."

"You accused the sheriff of the enforcers of taking bribe money?" The man asked with an amused smile on his face.
"If you knew my parents you would know it wasn't an entirely outrageous accusation," she chuckled. "But she just told me she felt like I deserved it, and said that she knows how to handle a rifle because it means that she can protect and serve the citizens and keep them safe. Then she asked me what I shoot for, and it got me thinking."

She paused, thinking about her reasoning. It wasn't something she really came to the conclusion to until this moment, sitting beside the friends she made, enjoying a meal together, laughing and talking about anything and everything. Seeing these good people suffer and struggle their way through life while the citizens of Topside only had to be concerned about getting a bad haircut or running late for a fancy dinner party.

"I want to help people and fix the broken system that has caused so many people pain and hardship. I see the way my mother and her colleagues talk politics, and it always just seems like they talk in circles about miniscule issues that aren't important," she explained. She had all of their attention, and instead of seeing judgment she saw interest. They actually cared about her answer and didn't judge her for her upbringing, and she couldn't have been more grateful for the group sitting around her. "I don't just want to talk about issues, I want to actually do something to solve them. My mother hates that I don't want to follow in her footsteps, but with all of her so called power I see very little results. That's why I had to come and see what it is really like, because I want to help give the citizens of Zaun results."

The group was quiet for a moment, and Vander's gaze felt like it was burning a hole straight through her. She held her breath as she anticipated his answer, hoping she was able to win him over like she had been able to with her friends. She felt Vi's wrapped hand reach for hers under the table, immediately interlocking their fingers, her thumb brushing gently over Caitlyn's knuckles. As much as she wanted to look over at Vi, she didn't dare break eye contact with her friends' father figure.

"I can see why Violet and these goofballs have taken a liking to you, Caitlyn," Vander finally spoke up, a genuine, toothy grin on his face.

And just like that the group erupted into more lighthearted chatter, while the air finally rushed from Caitlyn's lungs and she could breathe easily again. She was happy to have gained Vander's approval but one thing he had said was shooting through her mind at the speed of light. She glanced over at Violet with a heartwarming smile plastered on her face, showing off the small gap in between her front teeth, and saw the girl also looking at her with a bashful grin. She gave her wrapped hand a reassuring squeeze as if to say, I now know your deep, dark secret, and you're safe with me.

She watched on as her new family conversed and finished their meals, feeling absolutely elated to be in their company. She would catch Vi's eye every couple of minutes, and see something shining in her gaze that she hadn't seen before, but made her heart happily hammer against her chest. It looked a lot like love.

She couldn't keep the massive grin off her face as they all finished up their dinner. She hadn't felt this happy in a very long time, maybe even ever. The company, the food, the conversation, all of it had been so wonderful. She wished they could stay in this moment forever, just the five of them, happy and safe.

Caitlyn also happily noted that Vi's hand didn't leave hers for the rest of the night.


Vi walked her all the way home after they finished dinner and helped clean up. It was the first time they went past the bridge together, usually parting ways there so they could both make it back home safely at a reasonable time, but neither of them wanted their time to end tonight. Caitlyn reached out and took Vi's hand in her own once they started the trip, feeling brave after the dinner they had. It was colder than it had been when she first arrived in Zaun, so she also used that as an excuse to walk as close as possible to the other girl.

They walked in a comfortable silence, which was another thing she appreciated about Vi. They didn't always have to be conversing to enjoy each other's company, and it never felt awkward or forced between them. Some days they chatted the entirety of their walk back to the bridge, and other times it was a nice mixture of conversation and silence. Tonight had been perfect, and it didn't feel like any more words needed to be shared.

As they approached the garden leading into her yard, Vi whistled from the sight of Caitlyn's house. Her house was more like a mansion, including groundskeepers, personal chefs, and maids. She enjoyed all of the people that worked in her home, but more as friends than workers. She often didn't like having maids in her room, as she was already a pretty organized person as is and didn't want her belongings to be moved. She would also use the time when her parents weren't home to make her own food in the kitchen, probably being the only Kiramman who utilized it. She also liked helping in the garden, which was another reason why she decided to bring Vi flowers.

"Damn, Cait. I knew your house would be big but this is like a fucking fortress."

"It is quite over the top," she mumbled, feeling slightly ashamed for having so much of this space wasted when some people didn't even have a home to live in.

"Is this where you got the flowers?" Vi asked, seemingly aware of Caitlyn's discomfort and steering the conversation in a different direction. Just another thing she lo– liked very much about the girl, she never made her feel guilty for her privileged upbringing, knowing that she didn't choose the pampered lifestyle her parents built for her.

"Yes, I help the groundskeepers tend to the gardens when I have time so I thought it would be a nice gift to give to you," she explained. She began to tug Vi in the direction of where each flower she'd picked was from. "Come on, I'll show you what they look like before they die."

She brought Vi to each area of the garden where she found each flower, explaining to her why she chose them, even though she knew that the girl was probably dying to tease her for it, but she didn't care. She knew that behind all the teasing Vi dished out, that she secretly reveled Caitlyn's sappiness.

"You're quite the romantic, Cupcake," Vi softly said. They were facing each other now instead of admiring the garden, still huddled close together due to the chill of the night and their hands interlaced.

"Only when it's worth something," Cait practically whispered, feeling like any loud noise would shatter the pure bliss they were enveloped in.

"And what is it worth to you?"

"Everything, Violet, absolutely everything," she vulnerably replied. She couldn't keep her feelings to herself anymore, taking all her self-restraint not to blurt it all out several times throughout the night, but now they were finally alone where she could lay it all out there. "I like you so much, Vi. I have since I first saw you, and then I got to know you better and those feelings just keep growing."

She reached up and placed her hand that wasn't entangled with Vi's against her chest. She was happy to feel the rapidly beating heart under her fingertips, knowing her heart was hammering away just as fast. She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth, wanting desperately to finally know what it would feel like to kiss Vi, but also wanting to get everything off her chest while she still had the courage.

"You have a good heart, and I crave to see more of it. I know it feels like we practically come from two different worlds, but everything feels so right when I'm with you. And I know that other people may look at us and think we wouldn't mix, like we're–"

"Oil and water?" Vi interrupted, a charming smile gracing her lips.

"Yes, exactly. Like oil and water. But I don't see that, Vi. If it's so wrong, why does it feel so right?"

Caitlyn wasn't inexperienced when it came to kissing, but nothing could have prepared her for the way she would feel as Vi closed the small distance between them and captured her lips in a tender kiss. People always told her that kissing the right person would feel like fireworks were exploding in her mind, but instead what she felt was complete peace. Like they had walked hand in hand to the galaxy's edge and looked upon the millions of stars scattered across the rest of the universe, as if they were the only two people that existed.

Vi was someone who expressed how she felt not by words but by actions, something Caitlyn had seen on numerous occasions during her time with the other girl, and in that moment her feelings couldn't have been more clear. Their lips shared a message without the need for words, pouring their passion and affection and need for the other into the tender kiss. It was everything Cait imagined it would be, yet somehow it was more.