AFYE chapter 10
Eventually, Vander told them that they had to go back downstairs so he could run the bar, which was fine with Vi. It was starting to get late, and she could tell Powder (even with her massive excitement about getting her device to work) was getting tired. So, she dragged her siblings back down to clean up (as best they could) and go to bed. It wasn't until they got down there that Vi was informed that they had a small problem.
"Umm, Vi?" Caitlyn asked after the boys left to get cleaned up first. "I don't have any other clothes." Vi froze as she realized Caitlyn was right. She felt a quick flash of guilt for grabbing Caitlyn and getting her only clothes dirty. The undercity brawler looked her friend up and down, grimacing as she realized Caitlyn definitely wouldn't be able to wear those clothes another day.
"Just use Vi's clothes." Powder called from the dresser she was digging through. Vi couldn't help but startle at the thought of Caitlyn wearing her clothes. She didn't know if she even had clothes good enough for Caitlyn. "She's bigger than you so the clothes might be a bit large, but that should be fine." And Powder threw an old shirt and some sweatpants at Caitlyn, hitting her in the head.
"Oh, umm. Thanks." Caitlyn sounded a little less than impressed with Vi's clothes, making her a bit nervous.
"I'm sure I could find some better clothes for you, Cupcake. There are a couple of stores around that should still be open." Vi offered, reaching out to take the old shirt from Caitlyn, only to be surprised as the other girl pulled away, keeping the clothes close in her grasp.
"No!" the protest caused Vi to stop short. "I mean, these are fine." Vi went to respond when the bathroom door opened, showing Mylo and Claggor were done. Caitlyn quickly excused herself and took Vi's clothes to clean up and change. Vi just stood there dumbfounded for a moment.
"You are never getting those back." Powder commented, causing Mylo to chuckle.
"Aww did Vi give her girlfriend her clothes?" Claggor asked.
"Shut up. And she isn't my girlfriend!" Vi protested, only earning an eye roll from her brother.
"Could have fooled me," Mylo muttered. Vi decided to pretend she didn't hear him and went about finding some clean clothes for herself. She had just found them when the bathroom door opened again.
Vi sighed in relief. No matter how happy she was that Powder's device worked, she was growing tired of the way the powder she used chafed and was ready to put on some clean clothes. She turned around to clean up and froze. Caitlyn had just come out, her hair a bit damp from trying to clean the powder out of it and wearing her shirt. Vi had felt a bit weird about the other girl borrowing her clothes but seeing her in them… Vi had no idea how to describe it.
"Bathroom's open," Caitlyn called, shaking Vi out of her stupor enough to realize she had been staring.
"Oh yeah. Ummm good." Vi stuttered out, pointedly ignoring the snickers from her brothers as she ducked into the small space along with her sister. If stuff like this kept up, she thought to herself, it was going to be a long night.
A quiet laugh pulled Vi from her self-pitying thoughts. "What's so funny?" Vi snapped at her sister, who continued to laugh.
"You- you should have seen your face." She gasped out between laughs. "You were all," Powder dropped her jaw and stared at the doorway for several seconds before dissolving back into laughter. Despite Vi's effort to fight it off, heat crept up her cheeks.
"I was not!" Vi protested, causing Powder to laugh harder. A sudden realization came to her. "You did that on purpose."
"Are you telling me you didn't like seeing Caitlyn wearing your clothes?" Vi paused. She couldn't deny it without her sister knowing immediately. "Huh. Look at that, Mylo was right." Vi gaped at her sister. She couldn't believe her siblings, her own flesh and blood (okay so not all of them are actually related but that's not the point), conspired together to betray her like that.
Vi couldn't let this stand, she had to do something, if only to make her sister stop laughing! So, Vi did the only thing she could think of. She grabbed the detachable showerhead and sprayed Powder with it. Laughter quickly turned to squeals of protest as the icy water hit Powder's skin, sparking what quickly devolved into a water fight, soaking both girls.
After several moments of spraying, both girls stared at each other, each dripping wet. "Well, at least we're clean." Powder shrugged. Vi couldn't help it. She laughed.
Caitlyn had never thought about wearing Vi's clothes before they were offered. She just kind of figured they would wash what she had on as she cleaned up, but when Powder offered her an old shirt of Vi's… well Caitlyn couldn't help but jump on the chance. She even refused (maybe a little aggressively) when Vi offered to try to find her something nicer before all but racing into the small bathroom to clean up and change.
It took a lot less time than Caitlyn predicted to clean off the powder. Vi's sister had apparently used something that washed away easily, much to Caitlyn's immense relief. It wasn't long before she had cleaned up and washed her hair in the small bathroom and started to put on Vi's clothes.
Powder had been right that the shirt would be a bit big on her as it hung slightly off her shoulder and came to halfway down her thigh. She could also tell the shirt had seen better days as it probably started white, but was now permanently marred an almost dirty, light gray color. And while she could tell the pants were still their original brown, they weren't in much better condition, being filled with holes and worn down by use. The clothes smelled like sweat, dust, and… Vi.
Caitlyn loved them.
After making sure she had folded her dirty clothes as best she could without covering herself in powder again, Caitlyn opened the door back into the main room only to find Vi staring at her. At first, Caitlyn assumed Vi had seen something behind her, but upon turning around and seeing nothing, she determined Vi was, in fact, staring at her. "Bathroom's open." That seemed to bring Vi back to life.
"Oh yeah. Ummm good." She stuttered, walking briskly into the bathroom with her sister and slamming the door. Caitlyn watched the door Vi had disappeared into for a moment before turning to her brothers.
"Is she okay?" Caitlyn asked.
"Oh, I'm sure she's real okay," Mylo replied snidely, making Caitlyn unsure if he was serious or not.
"I'm sure she'll be fine when she comes back out," Claggor told her, hitting his brother over the head. "I wouldn't worry."
Caitlyn was still worried, but it didn't last long as Vi and Powder soon reappeared in clean clothes, both slightly resembling drowned rats. She shot Vi a quizzical look, to which the pink-haired girl just shrugged sheepishly, a small blush painting her features. She went to go sit down by Caitlyn on the couch but was cut off by Mylo.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I am bushed." Mylo loudly exclaimed with an overdramatic yawn. "Time for bed." He then flopped down into his small bed and ceased to move as though already asleep.
Claggor rolled his eyes and shook his head before climbing up and into his own bed. Caitlyn turned back to Vi to see a familiar, nervous expression on her face. "Umm… do you want the bed again?" she asked.
"Oh, umm-" Caitlyn had forgotten about the sleeping arrangements from last time and wasn't sure how to proceed. Luckily, she didn't need to figure it out.
"For the love of god, please don't do this again! Just sleep in the fucking bed! All of you!" Mylo sat up to yell before flopping back down with a loud thud. Powder shrugged, making a noise of indifference before climbing into the large bed and lying down near the wall. Vi soon climbed in after her and Caitlyn followed.
"Sorry, we haven't gotten around to fixing Powder's bed yet." Vi apologized as Caitlyn followed her into the large bed.
Very quickly, Caitlyn noticed a new problem. The last time she had slept next to Vi in this bed, Powder had been curled up on top of her sister. But now, with Powder laying on her own, Caitlyn realized she needed to lay extremely close to Vi just to avoid falling off the bed.
Vi apparently noticed the same problem as she blushed heavily and opened her mouth to say something, maybe apologize, but Caitlyn signaled to her to be quiet. Vi shot her a confused glance, but soon a look of understanding crossed her features as Caitlyn gestured to where Mylo and Claggor were lying in their own beds. She figured they had bothered the boys enough for one night.
With that reassurance, Vi laid her head on the pillow and quickly fell asleep, leaving Caitlyn awake on her own. Or so she thought.
"She really likes you, know you." A small voice had Caitlyn looking over Vi to see Powder sitting up just enough so she could look down at Caitlyn.
"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean," Caitlyn replied, just as softly, prompting the younger girl to roll her eyes.
"You're both hopeless." Powder muttered under her breath before looking back at Caitlyn. "Look, I love my sister, but she's as dense as a topsider's bank vault. Stubborn as one too." Caitlyn couldn't help but snort a little in a small laugh at the comparison. "So, if you want her to know how you feel, you are going to have to just tell her." the smile dropped from Caitlyn's face. She hoped she was misinterpreting what the young girl was saying. Was she so obvious that even a child would notice? She looked back at Vi's sleeping face, relaxing slightly.
"I don't know if I should do that." Powder just groaned and laid back down in response.
"Absolutely hopeless." Powder grumbled before falling asleep herself.
After waiting for a long time (to her at least) and now thoroughly convinced she was the only one awake (and maybe a little emboldened by Powder's advice), Caitlyn scooted past the small space separating her and Vi until they were just a couple inches apart. She hesitantly put an arm around Vi's shoulders and sighed, content with the little contact.
Apparently, Vi disagreed. Still asleep, the brawler leaned impossibly closer and wrapped an arm around Caitlyn's waist, then pulled her towards herself until Caitlyn found herself almost completely flush against the other girl.
Caitlyn's face was definitely on fire as she gently tried to fight her way out of Vi's hold, only to have the other girl tighten her grip. Sighing in defeat, Caitlyn relaxed into Vi's embrace and thanked her lucky stars that everyone else was asleep.
Despite the awkward situation, sleep came easier to Caitlyn that night than it had in a long time.