Chapter Text
Vi could see the Kiramman estate in the distance as she and Caitlyn limped towards it slowly. She immediately started thinking of entryways, escape routes, and guard positions, her old heisting skills helping the process.
“That window, over there”, Vi said, pointing at an open window on the upper floors of the mansion. “We can climb through it.”
“Oh, that’s actually my bedroom…”, muttered Caitlyn, blushing and looking away.
Vi’s eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t have the time to process this new piece of information. Her priority was to treat Caitlyn’s wound.
She scaled the fence easily (the security really was piss poor), and helped Caitlyn over. Climbing to the first-floor window was nothing for her; she had grown up parkouring the twisting tunnels and towering heights of the undercity.
She pulled Caitlyn up with her, her arm across her shoulder, and limped across the bedroom when the door suddenly burst open. There stood a woman, who resembled Caitlyn (must be her mom then, thought Vi), aiming down a rifle at the two of them.
They froze momentarily, but Ms. Kiramman recognized her daughter and lowered her gun. They led her away to talk privately (and hopefully treat her wounds), leaving Vi alone with her thoughts in Caitlyn’s bedroom. Great.
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Pretty. That’s how Vi would describe Caitlyn’s bedroom. The clean marble floors, the white walls, and the decorated ceiling. Even the damn bed had intricate woodworking. On the wall, there was a mounted rifle in pristine condition. Vi could tell it was one of Caitlyn’s prized possessions. She walked to a nearby shelf and picked up a photo frame.
One of the photos was of the Kiramman family. Caitlyn looked like she was around 10, and Vi couldn’t believe how cute she was. The other photo was more recent. Caitlyn was a teenager (still looking adorable), standing next to some guy about the same age. They seemed very close.
A spark of jealousy rose in Vi, but she quickly pressed it down. Not the time, nor the place.
Eventually, she couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room. She turned her eyes to the giant map of Piltover, with photos and threads making a network of webs over it. She laid down on the bed to get a better view. As she inspected the investigation closely, she was really impressed. Caitlyn was able to figure all this out even without going to the undercity once? “Damn, Cupcake is *smart*”, thought Vi with a smile.
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Caitlyn entered her room quietly, lost in thought. She was still thinking about her mother’s tone when referring to Vi. *Friend*. She didn’t know why that was bothering her. They were friends, weren’t they? They joked, they laughed, they got into dangerous situations and saved each others’ lives. That’s what friends do, right? Caitlyn still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling she had.
That’s when she saw Vi lying on her bed. Oh gods, Vi was *lying on her bed*. Why did it make her feel... happy? Excited? She tried to stop her thoughts by diverting.
“We’ll present our case to the council tonight”, she informed Vi.
“You did all this yourself? Without even going down there?”, asked Vi, looking up at her. She looked somewhat in awe. Caitlyn didn’t want to unpack why the thought of impressing Vi was making her feel this fluttery, so she remained silent.
“And I thought Powder could get obsessed.”
Right. Powder, or Jinx as she liked to be called. Caitlyn couldn’t begin to fathom how Vi must be feeling. She was gone for 6 years, stuck in prison, while Jinx was suffering alone and turning into the person she was now.
“What happened to her, it’s not your fault”, Caitlyn told her gently, laying down next to her on the bed.
As Vi told her about the game she and Powder used to play when they were kids, Caitlyn couldn’t help but stare at Vi. It was so unfair, what had happened to the two of them. All Caitlyn wanted was to fix it somehow. Make it so that Vi and Powder could live without worry, laugh without restraint.
Overcome with emotion, she reached out and touched Vi’s cheek gently. She discovered that she really liked doing that, and she was pretty sure Vi liked it too. She’d done it after giving her the potion, and then Vi had done it to her when they were parting ways on the bridge. It had sort of become their thing.
Vi grabbed onto Caitlyn’s hand and held on tight. She opened her grey eyes and looked back into the blues of Caitlyn’s. She looked so vulnerable.
*Oh*. It all became clear to Caitlyn at that moment. The realization hit her and took her breath away. This is why her mother’s tone made her uneasy. Why the word “friend” was bothering her. Because that word couldn’t begin to describe how deeply she felt for Vi, which seemed ridiculous considering they’d known each other for just a few days. But she couldn’t deny it. Vi was much closer, much dearer to her than any friend she could imagine.
Before she could think more on that topic, her eyes started drooping with sleep, as did Vi’s. Exhaustion (both physical and emotional) overtook the girls, and they slowly drifted off to sleep, hands still held between their bodies.