Chapter Text
Vi watches apprehensively as Jinx turns the old bathtubs rusty tap on, the pipes creaking and spluttering before releasing a steady stream of clean warm water. Her sister hums absentmindedly to herself as she grabs a bar of soap and some cheap looking shampoo and conditioner from the cabinet under the sink, setting them down beside the tub. She signs something to Isha who darts out of the bathroom, returning a minute later with an armful of folded clean clothes and sets them on the counter. Vi hasn’t even noticed the bath is run, vaguely hearing Jinx say her name, her voice muffled as though her ears are filled with water.
“VI!” Jinx’s shout finally pierces through her state of dissociation, making her jolt, head snapping back and eyes blinking rapidly, startled gaze snapping to her sisters slightly alarmed one. There’s a tug on her hand, and she looks down to see Isha amber eyes wide with worry. The kid makes a gesture with her free hand.
“She’s asking if you’re okay.” Jinx translates; her brows furrowed with concern. Vi gently frees her hand from Isha’s grip and gives her a slightly forced smile.
“I’m alright kid.” she assures roughly and begins to peel her jacket off, the black leather sticking to her with old dirt, blood and sweat. Isha wrinkles her nose a bit at the filthy jacket now sitting on the floor, her face screws up more when she takes in Vi’s chest wraps also soiled with blood and other muck from the fighting pits as well as her torn black pants, an unimpressed grunt coming from her throat. She turns to Jinx who’s adding bubbles to the bath and taps her leg and points to Vi who’s leaning against the counter confused. Isha begins to sign and Jinx glances over at her sister then back to the kid, her expression hesitant. Isha taps her leg more persistently until Jinx clears her throat and looks to Vi again.
“Isha wants to help get ya clean. Says you need to be taken care of properly.” she says a bit awkwardly. It takes Vi a few seconds to understand before Jinx’s words dawn on her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she looks to Isha who makes a noise of confirmation. Taking a shuddering breath, Vi nods hesitantly.
“Alright kid. You can help.” she says weakly. She shucks her boots and socks off, setting them aside. “Can you guys uh turn around or close your eyes or something.” she mutters, cheeks heating with embarrassment. Isha comically slaps her hands over her eyes. Jinx snorts at the action but brings her own hands to cover her face. Vi hurriedly strips her dirty clothes off and unwinds her hand wraps and steps into tub, easing herself into the hot soapy water, the suds covering her the most private areas of her body.
“Ya done?” Jinx asks, faint amusement lacing her voice. She clears her throat. “Yeah.” she says with a cough. Isha uncovers her eyes and gestures for Vi to turn around, so her back is to her and Jinx. Peeling her fingerless gloves of, she steps on a small wooden stool and holds out her hands to Jinx, who squirts shampoo in them and then uses a cup to scoop water to wet her hair. Vi’s eyes close involuntarily when Isha starts to work the shampoo through the tangled strands, Jinx murmuring gentle instructions to the girl, assisting her in scrubbing the black dye from Vi’s scalp. The process is repeated twice more before her hair is more or less returned its original pink- red. Jinx then runs conditioner through the end locks before rinsing it out.
“Done.” Jinx declares satisfied. “You good from here?” Vi looks over her shoulder and smiles slightly. “Yeah. I’m good. Thank you. Both of you.” she adds meaningfully, glancing at Isha who’s wearing a rather pleased expression on her face. Her sister guides the kid out of the bathroom and closes the door behind them, leaving Vi to scrub the layer of grime coating her body. Once she’s done, she steps out of the tub, the water now murky and tepid, drying off with a towel. She puts on the clean clothes Isha set on the counter for her, throwing her dirty ones in the wash basket by the door. Vi's eyes go wide when she catches her reflection in the small mirror above the sink. Isha and Jinx had managed to get her hair back to its original colour and her face clean of the black streaks of paint. Vi swallows a lump of emotion as she raises a hand to the pink- red strands.
Abruptly turning on her heel, she exits the bathroom, wandering around until she hears Jinx’s laughter, followed by footsteps. She finds her sister and Isha running around in Van- Silco’s office. Well, she supposed it’s Sevika’s now. Whatever. Vi watches as the two roll around laughing and she can’t help the smile that creeps onto her face at the sight. Jinx grins lopsidedly when she spots her by the doorway and scoops Isha up, so she’s draped over her shoulder, the girl giggling and squirming.
“Nice to see you not looking like a zombie.” Jinx muses, vibrant eyes appraising her now clean form, approval clear in her expression. She sets Isha down with a grunt and places a hand on her hip.
“Whatcha think squirt? Think we did a good job in making Captain Grumpy look human again?” Isha gives Jinx the stink eye before turning to face Vi, finger tapping her chin as she scans her up and down before giving her a satisfied thumbs up. She starts to sign something but must think better of it and instead just points to her hair and tilts her head. Vi looks at her puzzled for a second before realising what she means.
“Do I like my hair?” she questions, lips quirking up when Isha nods eagerly. “Yeah, I really do.” she says earnestly. “Thanks for getting the dye out. It wasn’t an easy job.”
Isha beams, puffing out her chest at the praise and throws her arms around her waist. Vi inhales sharply in surprise, hands coming to tentatively rest on her shoulder blades. Her eyes flit to her sister, who’s observing them, her face relaxed with a rare softness. Isha pulls away after giving her one last squeeze before darting back over to Jinx.
Finally able to examine the room properly, Vi wanders over to the desk, fingers running over the worn wood, thoughts straying to the hours she spent as a child up here with Vander, her sitting on his knee as he did inventory, patiently explaining the inner workings of the bar. ‘One day you’ll be running this place.’ he’d tell her as Powder tinkered on the tattered couch in the corner, Mylo and Claggor bickering quietly on the floor. She hastily steps away from the desk, a sudden wave of grief washing over her.
“Can we go back to your hideout now?” she asks, her voice strained. Jinx nods quickly, eyes flashing with something that looked oddly like guilt. Vi immediately stalks out of the office and down the stairs and bursts through the door of the bar panting. She leans against the wall, trying to shake of the feeling of being suffocated by the old ghosts of her long dead family. Her sister and Isha come out of the bar a minute later, Jinx quickly locking the door, and she’s reminded that not all her family is gone. Because it didn’t matter that Jinx wasn’t fully Powder anymore, she was still her sister. And she’d be damned if she lost her again.
Inhaling and exhaling deeply she takes a few steps towards Jinx who’s shifting from foot to foot awkwardly, deliberately averting her gaze, pink eyes fixed on the bustling streets of Zaun. Her sister tenses slightly when she stops right in front of her, expecting her to be angry and accusing but relaxes when all Vi does is gently grab her hand and holds it tightly. Jinx’s head snaps up; brows furrowed slightly in confusion when all she sees in the older girl’s face is love with traces of melancholy. The expression achingly familiar. Her eyes wistful and soft instead of hard and filled with blame. She waits for Vi to say something. Anything. But all her sister does is hold out her free hand to Isha who’s quick to grip it in hers.
“Let’s go home.” she says simply. So, that’s what they do. Vi holding the hands of both her sisters. Because if she knew anything at all, it was that family isn’t always about blood. It was about love. A constant hum. A presence in your mind. Your heart. It was gritty and messy. It could consume everything. Your thoughts. Your actions. It could make things hurt. But it could also heal. So, Vi let herself begin to heal.