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Vi had always been a fighter. All her life, she had been fighting. From the very moment she had been created into that laboratory in the lower levels of Zaun. She was given immense strength and power, combined with incredible speed and agility. A blessing, or maybe a curse. She fought hard not to remember those days.
She had fought hard to escape hell. But even when she was free, the fight wasn't over. She still had to fight. To survive. Zaun never had a place for the weak. Only for those who were strong enough to put up a fight. Fighting was the only thing she knew. And the only thing she was ever good at, because they had infused all those chemicals in her blood system.
Vi fought for herself. For survival. Until she managed to break free off the chains of her former gang. But the fight wasn't over yet. She had to keep fighting in a new city where she wasn't welcomed. Piltover wasn't famous for its hospitality, but Vi didn't care. She was a fighter. This is what she always did.
Then she met Caitlyn. Caitlyn, who had given her entirely new reasons to fight, noble reasons, as Vi perceived them. Justice. Peace. Fight for those who cannot. Protect the innocent. Destroy a corrupted system that benefited only the rich. In her opinion, good reasons to fight.
Vi had been fighting all her life. So that was why she couldn't understand why she wasn't allowed to stand up for herself when she was provoked by the very same people she worked with. Why she wasn't allowed to put down those who didn't serve their badge, but their own selfish desires. She couldn't understand why Caitlyn had told her not to, to keep her mouth shut, and swallow her pride.
Actually, she knew. Vi wasn't stupid. There were forces in Piltover that even Caitlyn couldn't fight against. One wrong step, and Vi could end up in a dumpster. And this time Caitlyn wouldn't be able to protect her. She had asked her not to fight to keep her safe.
For someone like Vi, this was oxymoron.
Since she didn't align with this idea, why on earth was she walking home with a bruised face, a cut lip, her clothes all dirty, humiliated and with her pride stomped on? Vi couldn't tell. She knew she could easily put a fight, beat them all up, because that's what they deserved anyway, but she had held back, and their numbers quickly became overwhelming. If she was in Zaun, this hesitation would be severely punished. She would pay with her life. No room for compromises like this.
Either way, Vi was still in a lot of trouble. She had no clue how she was going to explain this to Caitlyn. The sheriff would be livid with her, that was certain. That was beyond her control at this point. The reason question was, did she have any regrets?
Absolutely not.
Her only regret was Caitlyn's disappointment.
Vi reached their apartment and searched for her keys. She tried to be quiet, in hopes that the sheriff would be asleep by now, although she didn't have a lot of expectations. More often than not, Caitlyn would stay up during those unholy hours, working on some case. Vi could only hope to manage to crush and find an explanation the next day. Although, it was highly unlikely that Caitlyn would believe any lie she'd tell her.
Vi opened the door quietly and left her shoes aside. The apartment was dark, or at least she thought. As she made her way towards the bathroom to take care of her wounds, she noticed the line of light coming from Caitlyn's office and she cursed under her breath. Vi couldn't get anywhere without being seen by the sheriff. She was basically trapped. No amount of fighting could get her out of this situation.
Shite.
The light shredded all over her. Caitlyn raised her gaze from her papers. She frowned. She placed them on her desk and walked outside to meet Vi half way.
"Vi?"
Vi's mind went blank. She was frozen, unable to say anything in her defence, or do anything to avoid this conversation. She wanted to fight. But for some reason, she couldn't. She swallowed hard, preparing herself for the impact of Caitlyn's wrath.
Caitlyn came close to her, expression unreadable. She tilted Vi's chin up to get a better look at her face and the evidence of the fight. A delicate thumb cleared the streak of blood by Vi's mouth, saying nothing as she examined it. After a brief pause, Vi's heart skipped a nervous beat as Caitlyn looked at her dead in the eyes. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and tense, her anger barely restrained.
"Who did this to you?"
As Vi had predicted, Caitlyn was furious, but not at her. That she hadn't expected. She took a sharp breath before gathering the courage to explain to the sheriff what had happened at the bar a couple of hours ago.
“I went to ‘Ragdoll’ for a drink,” Vi began. “Turns out I wasn't the only one who wanted to blow some steam off. Gordon and his group of friends were there too. I ignored them. And so did they, until Gordon got drunk enough to start insulting me in front of the entire bar. Again, I didn't speak to him. He didn't appreciate that.”
Vi had to make a small pause. She wanted to see Caitlyn's reaction to everything. She continued only when the sheriff nodded, letting her know she was listening.
"He then proceeded to insult you right in front of my face. I was light headed and I just… snapped at him. That was exactly what he was looking for." Vi swallowed hard. "An opportunity to get to me. He and his friends - no, sorry, his goons - outnumbered me."
"You didn't fight back?"
Behind Caitlyn's question was another question; Vi could easily have bested them all. Why did you hold back?
Vi laughed a bit. "You told me not to pick unnecessary fights."
It wouldn't look good if I had beaten eight colleagues of mine.
Although, for you I'd take that chance.
Caitlyn pressed her lips into a thin line. Her expression was hard. Almost terrifying. She was very scary when angry, Vi had learned the hard way. Her gaze met Vi's and her expression softened. "Let's patch you up."
She led Vi to the bathroom and made her sit on the toilet seat while she pulled a first aid kit from the cupboard. Caitlyn brought her some ice and asked her to keep it close to her left eye as she worked on the other wounds. She fell to her knees and gently cleaned the blood off Vi's face and then the wounds themselves. Vi gazed at her the entire time while she worked, her brows slightly furrowed. It was a thing she unconsciously did when she concentrated.
"I'm sorry, cupcake," Vi said softly.
Caitlyn stopped to look at her. "Don't be," she said in the same tone, catching Vi off guard. "It wasn't your fault."
"But-"
"If anyone needs to be sorry right now, that's Gordon and his crew," Caitlyn cut her off, her tone suddenly getting harsh. "Not only did they provoke another colleague and tempted them into a fight, they also used my name against you. All you did was defend my honour. For that, I thank you."
Vi was left speechless. And what was to say to this wonderful woman before her? Vi was known to be impulsive and give straight retorts to whoever dared her, but Caitlyn was the only one who could leave her speechless like that.
Caitlyn cupped Vi's face and brought a kiss on her forehead. "Give me your clothes and go rest," she said softly.
Vi nodded and obliged. There were many things she wanted to say at the moment, but her breath caught up in her throat. She could only feel grateful for this woman that had emerged in her life.
The next day, Vi was almost late for work. She had overslept and Caitlyn hadn't woken her up, for some reason, which was unusual, because she always did. On the other hand, she was glad she hadn't that morning. Vi was still exhausted from the previous night.
She rushed to the Hall of Law. She was half an hour late. Harknor made sure to mock her about it. Vi rolled her eyes at him before making her way towards the office she shared with Caitlyn. She couldn't help but notice people looking at her and whispering to each other. It wouldn't be the first time, but something about it was different that day. Vi was certain that rumor about her fight with Gordon had already spread. And the fact that she was bruised didn't exactly help the situation. Great, she thought. Now she had the entire station ready to jump her at any given time. However, no one dared to approach her.
To get to her office, she had to go through a corridor of cubicles occupied by different officers at a time. The last thing Vi needed was to face Gordon first thing in the morning. She definitely didn't look forward to it. But as she passed by the cubicles, she noticed that Gordon was absent, and so were his friends. Weird. However, the stares she received weren't any less here.
As she had already guessed, Caitlyn was already there, signing a bunch of papers. She didn't comment on Vi's tardiness, which was a first, but considering the circumstances, she wasn't going to. She momentarily raised her gaze off her papers to see who had entered her office without knocking.
Vi's curiosity reached its peak. If anyone knew what had happened to these officers, that was Caitlyn. "Where's Gordon and the others?" she asked.
Caitlyn stopped writing and placed her pen on the desk. She looked Vi dead in the eye. "Officer Gordon was dismissed this morning. As for the rest of his colleagues that participated in last night's incident, they are suspended for a week with no payment, based on the testimonies of eye witnesses that had been present during the incident. This should be a lesson for everyone who believes that they're above the law just because they wear a badge."
Don't fuck with Vi, or you'll suffer the consequences.
Vi raised an eyebrow at her. "That's why you didn't wake me up. You didn't want me present when you'd fire Gordon." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
"I didn't want the situation to escalate, simple as that," Caitlyn responded. "Gordon isn't exactly known for his ability to remain calm. He almost created a fuss even without you around. I hope you understand."
"I'm not mad." Vi shook her head. She really wasn't. In fact, she was grateful. "Thank you, Caitlyn. I mean it."
Caitlyn smiled at her, a genuine smile, which wasn't something she did very often, although Vi was the only privileged enough to occasionally capture it. "Vi, you've always had my six, and last night is an excellent proof of that. I would be a terrible partner if I didn't have yours."
Thank you.
Vi gave her a grin. "You know me, cupcake. There's always something worth fighting for. You taught me that."
I'll always fight for you.
"Oh, I'd like to think you knew that way before we met," Caitlyn said sincerely. "That's what makes you who you are."
She was right, of course. "Stop, you'll make me blush." Vi grinned.
Caitlyn rolled her eyes.