Caitlyn and Vi laid there, a comforting thumb brushing over bandages and a steady cadence of rest. Except, for Vi, this wasn't restful. The longer she held Caitlyn's hand, the longer she felt she'd go mad. Her heart was deafening in her ears as she looked at Caitlyn, who had dozed off after their unraveling heart-to-heart.
Vi is attached to Caitlyn Kiramman.
Vi wasn't sure which was worse: the Piltovian enforcer whose porcelain ass constantly served her nothing but self-righteousness on a silver platter, or the girl who saved her life twice and has a heart that bleeds gold and kindness and softness that she can almost not stand. To add insult to injury, the heaviness that would be the Undercity, the hearing, Powder, Silco, whether or not Ekko was alive, this hexgem shite, and whatever rubbish had yet to come, Vi was sure that she needed some breathing room and a damn good distraction. Eager to fill the silence about Caitlyn, the weather, or literally anything other than the surmounting flashbacks Vi had more than enough of recently, Vi released her hand and sprang up.
"So!" Vi said too loudly. The Kiramman blinked away. "Wake up, cupcake! What's the deal with this place?"
Caitlyn fought a yawn and sat up. "I beg your pardon?"
"This- this palace? This place is yours?" Vi's newfound energy was from touching near everything in Caitlyn's room. From the ornate windowsill to the porcelain knobs, she examined it, wanting to get lost in Caitlyn's world.
"Mm," Caitlyn ran her hands through navy hair tousled from the blink of rest. "No, not mine. My mother's. She's a councilor."
"No shit?"
"Regrettably so."
"And your dad?" Vi began to open the heavy drawers only to find clothes she could not imagine on Caitlyn.
Hurriedly, before getting to the bottom drawer. "Vi, please not this drawer, those would be my intimates." The other woman put her hands up and stepped back. "He does business between Piltover and Ionia. He's from there."
Vi had no idea where Ionia was, but continued pandering questions about what Caitlyn liked to do outside of the force (read and shoot), if she had picked out the furniture herself (she had), and what the scrapes on the marble flooring were from (dropping the pistol she swung when deep in thought) among other things. This continued on for a while as Vi built her knowledge of Cait's history, like going to boarding school and that her least favorite subject was arithmetic. They reveled in the easiness of this rapid-fire questionnaire where Cait would only ask Vi the same question sometimes, trying to be courteous and avoid anything too sensitive.
"Is your favorite color pink?" Vi teased as she examined the sabre tucked behind the privacy screen.
"Ha ha, no," Caitlyn traded the sabre in Vi's grip for the épée. "it's probably blue. Try this one, it's the heaviest one."
They both felt featherlight to Vi. "But you wear so much purple."
Caitlyn shrugged in response, sheathing the weapons. "Is your favorite color purple?" she teased back.
"Sorry to break it to you, but it's red." Vi moved onto the shelf of trophies and a vase with flowers.
"Do you have a favorite flower?"
"Nada, do you?"
"Promise me you won't laugh?"
"I can't promise that, cupcake."
Caitlyn rolled her eyes and rested her gaze elsewhere. "I like violets."
It wasn't a laugh, probably best categorized as an amused sigh, maybe even chuckle. "These few days really do you in, huh?"
"Shut up," Caitlyn surrendered her head resting on her knees, a mistake if she has ever known one. "They grow in groves in Ionia," she continued explaining. "My parents and I always went to see the blooms of my father's hometown."
"So it has nothing to do with me?" Vi teased to only receive another scoff of annoyance from the enforcer. "Why aren't there any around this fucking estate of yours? Seems to me that the Kirammans love their plants." Vi's eyes darted between the climbing ivy and hanging pothos in Caitlyn's room. Not that she could tell what species of plants they were, hell, the first time she had seen a tree was at Ekko's. The abundance of the Kiramman's greenery rubbed Vi wrong considering the feeble scarcity of the Undercity. The wilting bouquets carelessly tossed around also probed Vi's nerves.
"Violets aren't to Mum's liking." The irony of it all.
Vi picked up one of the lifeless bouquets on the floor, tossing it into the trash. "And these aren't to your liking either?"
"Empty gestures from different politicians and their sons," Caitlyn joined her as she also placed the dying blooms in the bin. "I suppose I more so didn't like who the flowers came from." The sullied floor beneath the bin had dried leaves and notes alike scattered on the marble floor. "Or what arrangement of flowers most of them give."
Nearly twelve bouquets stacked in the trash can, Vi couldn't help but notice two of the notes were from a certain Jayce Talis. "Not even Piltover's Golden Boy himself?" Vi drew the backside of her hand to her forehead, mockingly fawning as she retrieved the notes from the ground. A few murmurs before deepening her to recite, "'Miss Kiramman, Roses are red/Piltover is the finest city,/Has anyone told you,/You're very pretty."
"Stop that!" Caitlyn burned in embarrassment, trying to swipe the cards from Vi's bandaged grip.
Now, a nasally voice as Vi scrunched her face to read the next card. "The Eaton Estate cordially invites you to dinner for two. Please join Sir Richard Eaton for an evening beneath the stars next Tuesday." Vi coughs, returning to her natural timbre. "Sorry for making you miss a date with a very prissy Eat-a-Dick." Vi flashed a toothy grin at her own cleverness. "Get it? Richard? Dick?"
Caitlyn entertains her snide. "You are so crass," she swipes two of the cards Vi had reenacted and buries them into the bin. "As if I would've gone anyways," she retorts matter-of-factly.
Vi continues to read off the remaining cards, taking on different characters with each profession or "cordial request." Caitlyn's trite disdain fizzled out as she struggled not to smile (then laugh) at the other girl's acting. From what she barely remembers from the parties her mother hosted, the characters may very well be what her suitors were actually like. Though, none of which were actually as charming as the girl in front of her.
"Well I'll be damned," Vi said as she disposed of the cards. "You have that woman from the brothel and Piltover's finest bachelors in the palm of your hand!" Vi sunk into the excessively luxurious silk of Caitlyn's bed.
Caitlyn sat an arm length away from Vi who folded her hands behind her head to watch Cait's profile study her. "Maybe if they had sent a bachelorette, I would've entertained the idea."
"Wait so, you've never gone out with any of them?"
"In what world would I have wasted my time on that?"
A dry cackle teased, "not even with the Boy Wonder himself?"
Caitlyn twisted to flick Vi's cheek. "Absolutely not!" Her posh accent heavier when upset. "Why would you even insinuate such animosity?"
"Like two of those cards were signed," Vi sat up to rub her face. "love, Jayce," Vi cooed as she made kissy sounds, preparing to catch the marksman's wrist.
"That's rancid, he's like a brother to me!"
"Hey, I don't know your business, cupcake," Vi said softly, slapping her hand with force not even enough to squish grapes. "And don't hurt the goods, the ladies love this face."
Caitlyn squinted an annoyed agreement. "So," the enforcer released her hair from its tight ponytail. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Have you ever...gone on a date?"
Caitlyn's meek question surprised Vi. "Not a lot of dates you can go on in prison, cupcake."
"And if you could have gone on one, what would you have done?" Caitlyn finally laid down on her side as she continued to study the other woman across her, idly feeling the material of the freshly cleaned red jacket.
Vi turned, giving a heavy exhale from her nose. She couldn't imagine it, not with the raids with Claggor, Mylo, and Powder, the bustling Last Drop, and a variety of uncertainty and lack of romantic escapes the Lanes had to offer. Babette's was maybe the only place where she saw couples (maybe for just the night) on dates (if you could even call it that?).
"I don't know, uh," The two locked eyes for a beat, but Vi went to study the heiress also. "Maybe the arcade, grab a bite to eat. Stuff like that?"
Caitlyn smiled in response. Imagining the duo playing rigged arcade games and having lunch was an easy fantasy to digest. Although, she was sure that what she had in mind and what Vi had in mind looked entirely different. A blush creeped on as Caitlyn dismissed the idea of wanting to go on a date with Vi despite the councilor's meeting rapidly approaching, and the points to her prepared speech escaping her. Caitlyn cleared her throat.
"What about you?" Vi was well aware of the dangerous game they were playing; ignoring the flames burning in near every aspect of their lives. It was nice, she admits. To dance with this feigning normalcy. In the confines of Caitlyn's room, she felt safe.
"I mean, if we're pretending everything is fine," she begins, tasting different scenarios. "Probably in Ionian, honestly. I'd want it to be relaxing, pleasant-" she blows a dark lock of hair off of her face. "quiet, even. Maybe a picnic near the grounds I learned how to shoot. I'd like to drink rose tea and enjoy an array of finger sandwiches. We could talk about the different species of life in Ionia. I don't think you could even imagine how much nicer the air is up there." There's a smile creeping on Caitlyn's lips and she fluttered her eyes open with a new gleam Vi hadn't seen before. Hopeful. Soft, so unlike the Topsider Vi was so accustomed to with her constantly furrowed brows and tension in her angular face. Vi's heart spasmed. Not once, but twice, had Caitlyn Kiramman been absolutely chivalrous.
"Did you just say 'you' as in me?" Vi teased as Caitlyn's expression twisted from embarrassment to horror to denial. "'Cause it kinda sounds like you're taking me on this date, cupcake."
Caitlyn struggled to retort as every time she opened her mouth, no feasible explanation formed. "You're insufferable and you know it."
"But you like it."
"Have you ever tried modesty, Vi?" Caitlyn flopped onto her stomach away from the accusations. "I'd recommend it."
"I don't think it'd be a good look on me, honestly," Vi moved closer to the pouty Caitlyn who was now busying herself with the files she had left on the nightstand. "Big talk coming from," Vi readied her next impression. "An excellent shot like yourself, princess."
"Princess" was a new one to Vi's already too-long list of pet names. Caitlyn clenched her jaw fighting a smile, because who would've known that this big, broody brute was an excellent actress.
The air stilled around Caitlyn's front now that she was, once again, immersed in reality and its consequences while meticulously plotting out new lines she'd add to her map. This dead silence, save for the shuffling of papers, emphasized that Caitlyn had Vi in mind for the perfect date. Vi rested her head on Caitlyn's shoulder. Caitlyn scooted closer to accommodate the bruiser.
Vi took a few respectful peeks at how skillfully sculpted Caitlyn was. The fleeting tension of what Caitlyn had said seared burning questions (or confessions?) that Vi couldn't handle to voice right now. It was Caitlyn who couldn't bear the abrupt end to the conversation that spoke first.
"How many times do I have to remind you, my name is Caitlyn. 'Cupcake,' I can barely stand, but I am no princess." They locked eyes.
"Caitlyn Kiramman: queen of avoiding the real questions," Vi dared. Her heart in a frenzy deciding if this, too, can be set ablaze.
She liked the way her name sounded in Vi's rasp. "And what am I avoiding?" Playing it cool, seeing if she would do what she usually does and upright ask the begging question.
The game of chicken between the two orchestrated a crescendo of hearts to which Vi is pretty sure would burst any second now. "Did you take dance lessons as a kid? Because you're waltzing around the subject real nicely."
"I've not the slightest idea, Violet," she curtly deflected.
Vi's growing impatience was evident as she lolled her head off the enforcer. "Caitlyn."
She swallowed and turned to briefly acknowledge the gray gaze fixated on her. Caitlyn shivered. "Hmm?" she hummed, feigning ignorance.
"Look at me," she commanded.
A heat spread across the enforcer, the cortisol caused her to perspire. She followed what she was told.
A smug lick of the lips answered by hurried eyes to follow, Vi cooed, "does the Caitlyn Kiramman, daughter of Councilor Kiramman, have a crush on the likes of little ol' Undercity me?"
Their eyes met and Caitlyn felt small, cornered even, by the big, bad wolf of Stillwater. She was unable to lie. But, instead of answering, to which she decided that no matter if she confirmed or denied Vi's auspicious suspicion, she surprised her with the same level of audaciousness.
Caitlyn kissed Vi.
Chaste, with only their lips meeting. A burning blush appeared both on their faces rivaling Vi's pink hair. The kiss separates with a slight pop and heavy-lidded eyes searching for a response from one another. Vi, stunned, cursed a barely audible "holy shit."
Regaining her composure, Caitlyn cleared her throat and began skimming the files once more. "Even if I do," she flicked her eyes to the still frozen Vi. "I guess, it'd have to wait." Gathering herself, with a heavy hand, Caitlyn patted Vi on the shoulder who seemed to instinctively follow. "We have to meet the council soon. Let's get ready to leave."
At that moment, Vi decided which was worse. Caitlyn Kiramman, who has a heart that bleeds gold and kindness and softness, can really throw her for a loop with how quickly she changed gears. Steeling herself and tucking the snapshot of their kiss away, Vi opened the double doors to Cait's bedroom.
"Here goes nothing."
