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“Pleasure doing business, Caitlyn, as always.” Ekko says.
They clasp hands, details of their agreement settled. Another Firelight raid, another smuggler gone, another missing batch of supplies that will go overlooked in the report. She gives Ekko a smart glance down the bridge of her nose. “Is it always? I seem to recall a time where I was tied to a post with a bag over my head once that was less than pleasurable.”
Heimerdinger jolts, a small ‘oh goodness’ escaping him, while Ekko scoffs with a willy look. “Never gonna let that go.”
She sends him her own look. “Not anytime soon.”
He arches a brow and leans back against the wall, unimpressed. “Don’t know what your issue is. It was a pleasure for me at the time.”
“It wouldn’t kill you to wash the bag every now and again.” She scolds.
He chuckles and she’s glad to watch his stress ease even for a moment. Then a scream rips across the Firelight’s haven and it is gone.
It’s a child’s scream and more disconcerting is the silence that follows it. Her heart is in her throat and they’re all rushing out of the dimly lit interior to find the source. Midway to unclipping her rifle, Caitlyn relaxes, letting go of the knot in her shoulders. Outside, in the clearing, they are greeted with a cacophony but no danger, instead peals of laughter as children run and scream as they play with Vi.
There’s a good pack of them, six or seven that orbit around Vi, racing and screeching loudly, with a few on the fringes too shy to join. Heights vary but all of them have the same skinny limbs, torn clothes, large bright eyes, and dusty faces. They attempt to stay out of Vi’s reach as she locks on to one of them and gives chase. A game of keep away. They circle near her, taunting sometimes, get a few steps too close, and Vi will course correct, pretending to snatch at the new target before they gleefully dash away. She puts on a tremendous act, groaning about how she’s old and tired, as if those little legs are truly outpacing her. Over and over with a new child every time and they revel in it, smiling, panting, giggling, for once every bit their age.
The same wild scream emanates from a small girl that is now recontextualized. Professor Heimerdinger, beside her now, sighs wistfully as they stare out at them. “‘It’s the children the world almost breaks who grow up to save it.’”
Vi “trips” on air and misses one by a length. She staggers back up and roars out with mock anger. There’s a chorus of laughter, blown raspberries, and several young voices piping up at once, cries of ‘can’t catch me’, ‘come get me’, and ‘run!’ overlapping. Above all, Vi’s name is a constant, all of them angling for her attention.
Caitlyn can’t stop staring. Her heart seeps warmth into her chest. The affection she feels is overwhelming, it crystallizes, jabs at a point under her flesh that hurts sweetly. Vi acts as if her gentleness is rare, a nonexistent thing, but she knows better.
“Hey, madam enforcer.”
She reluctantly slides her attention to Ekko, getting into character bemusedly. “Yes, sir?”
Half smile on his face, he jerks his chin in Vi’s direction. “Go tell the riff raff to keep it down.”
Slowly, dutifully, she begins to stroll towards the boisterous crowd. Watching as a braver one tumbles forward and shoves Vi all of an inch. Not that you’d ever know. She falls to the ground as if brutally attacked, crying out, “Augh, too strong! You got me.”
She goes still, legs splayed out, arm thrown over her eyes dramatically. There are stunned whispers of awe, ‘you killed her!’, ‘she’s just faking’, ‘get up, Vi!’, but the circle starts to nervously move in towards her anyway. Caitlyn stops, not wanting to spoil the fun, or trigger the surprise before it can be properly done.
Vi jolts up suddenly, cueing screams and then she’s quickly got two under her arms as some escape and a loyal few begin to attach to her legs. She keeps walking after the runners with fake monstrous growls, barely encumbered at all. Then another noise breaks out and they both snap toward an unmoving figure. Vi’s expression crumples, overcome with concern. “Hey, hey, hey, time out, guys. Ki, what’s wrong?”
Ki, the smallest, who couldn’t be more than three, stands stock still and weeps. Vi sets down the kids in her hold and kneels down in front of him. The others gather around them, asking questions, shushing him softly. Vi dusts her hand off so that she can brush his tears away.
“Aw, buddy, did I scare you?” And her voice is so tender, gaze so earnestly searching, that Caitlyn is shot through.
His wobbly chin dips with a nod, with his arms outstretched he barrels into Vi, who wraps him up in her arms without hesitation. Vi’s eyes shutter closed, brow creasing with sympathy. Caitlyn’s knees go weak. She’s not close enough to hear what she murmurs into his ear, only knows that upon approach Ki seems to be recovered, nodding his head and drying his own face with little hands.
It’s then that Vi notes her, gaze flicking across hers briefly, and she sets him down. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” he shakily answers.
Vi cups the back of his head, making sure to keep his focus. “You sure?”
“Yeah.”
Satisfied, she releases him, vigilantly watching him go as the others start to drag him along into another game. Then Vi’s gaze shifts towards her, shy, unlike her, and ardent in a way that Caitlyn isn’t used to but how she always seems to look at her now.
Vi’s smile takes on teeth, too smarmy as the distance between them vanishes and she can wrap her finger through a belt loop to reel her in. “Hey.” She murmurs at her softly.
Caitlyn sidles up near her, body to body, runs a hand up along her collar. “Hi.” She raises her chin. “I’m going to kiss you now.”
Vi’s eyes widen. “Wha-”
Caitlyn takes the words from her tongue. She is firm, unyielding, trying to press every bit of affection she feels into the cracks of her lips. Vi's hum is a surrender, blissful, mouth going pliant beneath hers. Enough to where she can taste the warmth of her.
She pulls away softly, feels Vi shudder and then look up at her earnestly, lets the seconds stretch as their breath mingles. Her gentle laugh rumbles through them both as her palms fit to her hips. “What was that for?”
Caitlyn, delirious, places her lips at the corner of hers. “For being you.”